Fic: Damian's New Skill Chapter 3
Title: Damian's New Skill
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Thanks to another crazy night in Gotham, Damian has a new skill.
Thanks to Kathy for the beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two
Dick finds Tim on a rooftop during patrol. It's the only chance that he gets to actually talk to Tim anymore, which makes him think that he really needs to work on their relationship more. Fortunately, for tonight, Dick made Damian stay at home, despite Damian's protests that he was fine. The kid had definitely been more upset about that then Dick had expected, but they still aren't sure what that spell did to him. Damian hasn't been acting nearly as hostile as he normally is, and Dick is honestly starting to worry about the kid. He lands beside Red Robin, making sure to scuff his boot once. After all, there's no point in trying to sneak up on Tim...not anymore. “Slow night, huh?”
Tim steps away from the edge of the roof, and nods once. “You sound almost disappointed.”
Dick shakes his head, and smiles at the feel of the wind in his hair. He's so happy to be back in the Nightwing uniform. “Nah, I'm just a little bored. That's all.”
Tim grins knowingly at that. “So, you came to bother me. I knew you couldn't last one whole night without talking the ear off of a Robin.”
Dick's smile turns a little rueful at that. There's something about Tim's voice that makes the accusation sting a bit more than it should--although Dick isn't surprised that Tim believes that he just wants to bother a Robin, as opposed to actually want to talk to Tim. Still, there's no reason he can't just lead into this conversation nice and easy. “Yeah, speaking of which, you have any idea what's up with him? He's been acting weird lately.”
Tim stares at him for a moment, not saying anything. It looks as though he's thinking it over, and deciding something. Dick doesn't know what, but before he could ever hope to figure it out, Tim's entire posture changes, and for a split second he looks like the teenager and begrudging older sibling that he is. “How am I supposed to know? It's not like we've ever been close.”
The response, while a normal one, doesn't seem to fit, and Dick doesn't know why. It's a completely accurate statement. Damian and Tim might not be at each others' throats anymore, but they hardly get along. Still, something doesn't feel right about this interaction. “I don't know. I thought maybe you had noticed something. I mean, you were at breakfast. You saw how he was acting.”
Tim shrugs as he turns back towards the street. “I don't know. He seemed just as annoying as always.”
Dick shakes his head. Now that he thinks about it, Tim hadn't really been acting like himself at breakfast either. He's frankly starting to wonder if his two youngest brothers are planning something. “No, he wasn't. Come on, his comments weren't nearly as cutting as normal.”
Tim sighs as he moves closer to the edge of the rooftop. “I don't know what to tell you. He seemed perfectly fine to me. Maybe you should go talk to him about it.”
Dick grabs a hold of Tim's cape before he can go jumping off the side of the roof. “Now I know something is going on. You, of all people, know that talking to Damian directly never works, and so, would never suggest such a thing. What's really going on?”
Tim tries to pull his cape out of Dick's grasp, but Dick isn't relenting...not until he knows what's going on. “I don't know anything. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my patrol.”
Dick knows that he's not going to get anything else out of Tim right now, so he lets him go. Dick swears that this isn't the end of the subject. He's going to find out what the two of them are hiding, and he's going to figure it out...tonight. He heads off in the opposite direction, despite how much he wants to follow Tim. However, Dick knows that if he does that, then they'll just end up fighting. It seems like all they do is fight now. Sure, they still have their moments of brotherly tenderness, but it usually only lasts for a short time before they're right back to arguing. Sometimes the arguments are punctuated by one or both apologizing, but for the most part, they just go their separate ways, and then act like the fight never happened afterward.
Dick doesn't know when it got to be this way, but he doesn't like it. He misses being able to talk to his little brother without feeling like they're always on the brink of some massive fight. Tim doesn't talk to him...not the way that he used to. There once was a time when Tim spoke freely with him, but now all of his sentences are either short and clipped, biting and harsh, or superficially light and happy. It's nothing Dick's ever wanted, and he's not really sure what to do about it.
Tim's pretty damn good at avoiding any conversation that he doesn't want to have, and Dick feels like he's been avoiding this conversation for years. He's not even sure how to pin Tim down long enough to have a discussion with him. The cave is never a good place for this type of thing...too many weapons lying around. The manor is big and there's too many escape routes...not to mention that Dick doesn't really want to have this conversation around Damian. He just knows better. Cornering Tim at the Tower is just as bad as the manor, except, considering how protective Tim's friends are, it's actually worse than the manor. He's already exhausted his rendezvous-on-a-rooftop option, and Dick knows that Tim will spend the rest of the night moving too quickly to track, so he's kind of out of options.
The rest of Dick's patrol is just as slow as the beginning, and with nothing to distract him from his current predicament, Dick spends his entire night in a brooding snit that would make even Bruce proud. At least, that is, until he returns home to find Damian pacing the length of the cave. Damian pauses and turns to him before Dick even gets a chance to say anything. “What's wrong, Grayson?”
Dick raises an eyebrow, because Damian has been doing that a lot lately. He's not sure why Damian seems to be so perceptive of people's moods lately, but it's definitely a little strange. “Nothing. Is Tim around?”
Damian's eyes slit slightly at the mention of Tim's name, and he suddenly looks as though he knows exactly what's going on. Dick wishes that someone would let him in on the damn joke, because he's still just as lost as when he started his evening. Before Dick gets a chance to ask him any questions, however, Damian shakes his head. “Drake went back to his apartment. He told me to tell you, and I have. Do you also require me to act as your carrier pigeon?”
The last sentence is just as harsh as it always is, and it makes Dick roll his eyes. He's not really sure why all of his little brothers are so difficult, but he guesses it's just par for the course. “No, Damian, but thank you for the offer.”
Damian bristles at the comment, which makes Dick smile brightly. “I am a fully capable fighter, and my abilities should not be wasted in such a...”
Dick bursts into laughter at the look on Damian's face. He can't help it, and suddenly he doesn't even care what's going on because Damian is still Damian, and at least one thing is the same as it has always been. “Chill, little D. It was a joke.”
Damian folds his arms over his chest as he scoffs. “You are such a simple minded plebeian, Grayson.”
Dick's smile only widens as he moves to ruffle Damian's hair. He can't help but mess with the kid...not when it's so easy. “Yeah, but you know you love me.”
Damian huffs out a breath as he ducks out from underneath the offending hand. “I have never said any such thing.”
Dick sighs as he starts removing the top half of his uniform. “Shouldn't you be in bed? You do have school tomorrow, after all.”
Damian glares at him. “I've dealt with the utter morons at that school with far less sleep. I can certainly handle tomorrow's classes.”
Dick shakes his head as he strolls toward the showers. “Yeah, but just because you can doesn't mean you should. What are you doing up anyway? You didn't start noticing any strange side effects of that spell, did you?”
Damian follows him in order to keep up their conversation. “If I had would I still have to go to that ridiculous institution?”
Dick laughs again. He doesn't know why, but Damian is always sure to make him laugh. “Well, that depends. If you're going to randomly start croaking in the middle of class, it might be best to keep you home.”
Damian's nose scrunches up at the very thought. “I doubt I will suddenly transform into such a pathetic...”
Dick cuts him off before Damian can launch into a full blow rant. “Hey, we have no idea what that spell did to you. Who knows if it's a time-sensitive thing? Or maybe there's a certain person that sets it all into motion. These things can be very specific and dangerous, Damian.”
Damian shakes his head at that. “It's not a specific person.”
Dick pauses while turning on the water and glances back over to Damian. “What was that? Damian, what's going on?”
Damian looks uncertainly at him for a long moment. Dick's just about ready to forgo the shower and start running every test that he can think of on him when Damian suddenly takes in a large breath and stands up straighter. “There's no need for your concern, Grayson. I'm fine. The spell didn't alter my biology, and I won't be transforming into any animals.”
Dick's eyes narrow at that, and he stares at Damian for a full minute. “If you're so sure about that, then you know what it did do to you.” Damian doesn't move an inch, so Dick takes the opportunity to fold his arms over chest, and look as menacing as he possibly can while clad in only the bottom half of his uniform. “So, what did it do, Damian?”
Damian glares down at the floor in front of him, and looks torn between answering Dick and just walking away. Dick's not really sure what makes the decision for him, but after a few seconds Damian levels that glare at Dick. “The spell made me empathic.”
Dick's not really sure what he expected to hear, but that sure as heck wasn't it. He blinks a few times while he tries to find some sort of response to that. He doesn't really have anything. Sure, one of his best friends is an empath, but she was born that way. This is hardly the same thing. After a few moments of silence, Dick clears his throat. “Well, that certainly explains a lot.” It's really the only thing that he can think to say in this moment. That is until the questions start to form on his lips. “Wait, so does Alfred know?” At the boy's head shake, Dick continues. “Why didn't you tell anyone?”
Damian sighs as though this is something that should be obvious. “I didn't want my Robin duties to be taken away from me, but you've already done that.”
Dick winces at the explanation and the pain and anger he sees in Damian's eyes. He's caused that look on more than one of his little brothers' faces, and yet it only seems to hurt more every time it happens. “I'm sorry, Damian. I didn't mean for it to seem like a punishment. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
Damian nods once, and waves his hand in the air as if to dismiss Dick's apology. “I'm aware.”
Dick wishes that all of his apologies were this easy. He knows that it's only because Damian can feel how genuinely remorseful he really is, but Dick will take whatever he can get. Things haven't been simple lately, and he's sure that this new predicament is going to come with it's own slew of problems, but at least for right now, he can take comfort in the fact that one crisis has been averted.
The End (for now)
Author: Brokaw22
Disclaimer: The norms
Rating: T
Story Synopsis: Thanks to another crazy night in Gotham, Damian has a new skill.
Thanks to Kathy for the beta work.
Previous Chapter: Chapter One Chapter Two
Dick finds Tim on a rooftop during patrol. It's the only chance that he gets to actually talk to Tim anymore, which makes him think that he really needs to work on their relationship more. Fortunately, for tonight, Dick made Damian stay at home, despite Damian's protests that he was fine. The kid had definitely been more upset about that then Dick had expected, but they still aren't sure what that spell did to him. Damian hasn't been acting nearly as hostile as he normally is, and Dick is honestly starting to worry about the kid. He lands beside Red Robin, making sure to scuff his boot once. After all, there's no point in trying to sneak up on Tim...not anymore. “Slow night, huh?”
Tim steps away from the edge of the roof, and nods once. “You sound almost disappointed.”
Dick shakes his head, and smiles at the feel of the wind in his hair. He's so happy to be back in the Nightwing uniform. “Nah, I'm just a little bored. That's all.”
Tim grins knowingly at that. “So, you came to bother me. I knew you couldn't last one whole night without talking the ear off of a Robin.”
Dick's smile turns a little rueful at that. There's something about Tim's voice that makes the accusation sting a bit more than it should--although Dick isn't surprised that Tim believes that he just wants to bother a Robin, as opposed to actually want to talk to Tim. Still, there's no reason he can't just lead into this conversation nice and easy. “Yeah, speaking of which, you have any idea what's up with him? He's been acting weird lately.”
Tim stares at him for a moment, not saying anything. It looks as though he's thinking it over, and deciding something. Dick doesn't know what, but before he could ever hope to figure it out, Tim's entire posture changes, and for a split second he looks like the teenager and begrudging older sibling that he is. “How am I supposed to know? It's not like we've ever been close.”
The response, while a normal one, doesn't seem to fit, and Dick doesn't know why. It's a completely accurate statement. Damian and Tim might not be at each others' throats anymore, but they hardly get along. Still, something doesn't feel right about this interaction. “I don't know. I thought maybe you had noticed something. I mean, you were at breakfast. You saw how he was acting.”
Tim shrugs as he turns back towards the street. “I don't know. He seemed just as annoying as always.”
Dick shakes his head. Now that he thinks about it, Tim hadn't really been acting like himself at breakfast either. He's frankly starting to wonder if his two youngest brothers are planning something. “No, he wasn't. Come on, his comments weren't nearly as cutting as normal.”
Tim sighs as he moves closer to the edge of the rooftop. “I don't know what to tell you. He seemed perfectly fine to me. Maybe you should go talk to him about it.”
Dick grabs a hold of Tim's cape before he can go jumping off the side of the roof. “Now I know something is going on. You, of all people, know that talking to Damian directly never works, and so, would never suggest such a thing. What's really going on?”
Tim tries to pull his cape out of Dick's grasp, but Dick isn't relenting...not until he knows what's going on. “I don't know anything. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my patrol.”
Dick knows that he's not going to get anything else out of Tim right now, so he lets him go. Dick swears that this isn't the end of the subject. He's going to find out what the two of them are hiding, and he's going to figure it out...tonight. He heads off in the opposite direction, despite how much he wants to follow Tim. However, Dick knows that if he does that, then they'll just end up fighting. It seems like all they do is fight now. Sure, they still have their moments of brotherly tenderness, but it usually only lasts for a short time before they're right back to arguing. Sometimes the arguments are punctuated by one or both apologizing, but for the most part, they just go their separate ways, and then act like the fight never happened afterward.
Dick doesn't know when it got to be this way, but he doesn't like it. He misses being able to talk to his little brother without feeling like they're always on the brink of some massive fight. Tim doesn't talk to him...not the way that he used to. There once was a time when Tim spoke freely with him, but now all of his sentences are either short and clipped, biting and harsh, or superficially light and happy. It's nothing Dick's ever wanted, and he's not really sure what to do about it.
Tim's pretty damn good at avoiding any conversation that he doesn't want to have, and Dick feels like he's been avoiding this conversation for years. He's not even sure how to pin Tim down long enough to have a discussion with him. The cave is never a good place for this type of thing...too many weapons lying around. The manor is big and there's too many escape routes...not to mention that Dick doesn't really want to have this conversation around Damian. He just knows better. Cornering Tim at the Tower is just as bad as the manor, except, considering how protective Tim's friends are, it's actually worse than the manor. He's already exhausted his rendezvous-on-a-rooftop option, and Dick knows that Tim will spend the rest of the night moving too quickly to track, so he's kind of out of options.
The rest of Dick's patrol is just as slow as the beginning, and with nothing to distract him from his current predicament, Dick spends his entire night in a brooding snit that would make even Bruce proud. At least, that is, until he returns home to find Damian pacing the length of the cave. Damian pauses and turns to him before Dick even gets a chance to say anything. “What's wrong, Grayson?”
Dick raises an eyebrow, because Damian has been doing that a lot lately. He's not sure why Damian seems to be so perceptive of people's moods lately, but it's definitely a little strange. “Nothing. Is Tim around?”
Damian's eyes slit slightly at the mention of Tim's name, and he suddenly looks as though he knows exactly what's going on. Dick wishes that someone would let him in on the damn joke, because he's still just as lost as when he started his evening. Before Dick gets a chance to ask him any questions, however, Damian shakes his head. “Drake went back to his apartment. He told me to tell you, and I have. Do you also require me to act as your carrier pigeon?”
The last sentence is just as harsh as it always is, and it makes Dick roll his eyes. He's not really sure why all of his little brothers are so difficult, but he guesses it's just par for the course. “No, Damian, but thank you for the offer.”
Damian bristles at the comment, which makes Dick smile brightly. “I am a fully capable fighter, and my abilities should not be wasted in such a...”
Dick bursts into laughter at the look on Damian's face. He can't help it, and suddenly he doesn't even care what's going on because Damian is still Damian, and at least one thing is the same as it has always been. “Chill, little D. It was a joke.”
Damian folds his arms over his chest as he scoffs. “You are such a simple minded plebeian, Grayson.”
Dick's smile only widens as he moves to ruffle Damian's hair. He can't help but mess with the kid...not when it's so easy. “Yeah, but you know you love me.”
Damian huffs out a breath as he ducks out from underneath the offending hand. “I have never said any such thing.”
Dick sighs as he starts removing the top half of his uniform. “Shouldn't you be in bed? You do have school tomorrow, after all.”
Damian glares at him. “I've dealt with the utter morons at that school with far less sleep. I can certainly handle tomorrow's classes.”
Dick shakes his head as he strolls toward the showers. “Yeah, but just because you can doesn't mean you should. What are you doing up anyway? You didn't start noticing any strange side effects of that spell, did you?”
Damian follows him in order to keep up their conversation. “If I had would I still have to go to that ridiculous institution?”
Dick laughs again. He doesn't know why, but Damian is always sure to make him laugh. “Well, that depends. If you're going to randomly start croaking in the middle of class, it might be best to keep you home.”
Damian's nose scrunches up at the very thought. “I doubt I will suddenly transform into such a pathetic...”
Dick cuts him off before Damian can launch into a full blow rant. “Hey, we have no idea what that spell did to you. Who knows if it's a time-sensitive thing? Or maybe there's a certain person that sets it all into motion. These things can be very specific and dangerous, Damian.”
Damian shakes his head at that. “It's not a specific person.”
Dick pauses while turning on the water and glances back over to Damian. “What was that? Damian, what's going on?”
Damian looks uncertainly at him for a long moment. Dick's just about ready to forgo the shower and start running every test that he can think of on him when Damian suddenly takes in a large breath and stands up straighter. “There's no need for your concern, Grayson. I'm fine. The spell didn't alter my biology, and I won't be transforming into any animals.”
Dick's eyes narrow at that, and he stares at Damian for a full minute. “If you're so sure about that, then you know what it did do to you.” Damian doesn't move an inch, so Dick takes the opportunity to fold his arms over chest, and look as menacing as he possibly can while clad in only the bottom half of his uniform. “So, what did it do, Damian?”
Damian glares down at the floor in front of him, and looks torn between answering Dick and just walking away. Dick's not really sure what makes the decision for him, but after a few seconds Damian levels that glare at Dick. “The spell made me empathic.”
Dick's not really sure what he expected to hear, but that sure as heck wasn't it. He blinks a few times while he tries to find some sort of response to that. He doesn't really have anything. Sure, one of his best friends is an empath, but she was born that way. This is hardly the same thing. After a few moments of silence, Dick clears his throat. “Well, that certainly explains a lot.” It's really the only thing that he can think to say in this moment. That is until the questions start to form on his lips. “Wait, so does Alfred know?” At the boy's head shake, Dick continues. “Why didn't you tell anyone?”
Damian sighs as though this is something that should be obvious. “I didn't want my Robin duties to be taken away from me, but you've already done that.”
Dick winces at the explanation and the pain and anger he sees in Damian's eyes. He's caused that look on more than one of his little brothers' faces, and yet it only seems to hurt more every time it happens. “I'm sorry, Damian. I didn't mean for it to seem like a punishment. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
Damian nods once, and waves his hand in the air as if to dismiss Dick's apology. “I'm aware.”
Dick wishes that all of his apologies were this easy. He knows that it's only because Damian can feel how genuinely remorseful he really is, but Dick will take whatever he can get. Things haven't been simple lately, and he's sure that this new predicament is going to come with it's own slew of problems, but at least for right now, he can take comfort in the fact that one crisis has been averted.
The End (for now)