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noraarchontis · 5 years

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Don’t Fall

Chapter 2: Ticking Time

Link: AO3 | FF

A.N: Please enjoy!

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He would never have thought that Damian would eventually return the mantle of Robin back to its previous owner, back to Timmy. Jason never really expected Damian to do such a thing since he was the one who fought his way through for the Robin’s mantel. The thought of him returning it was crazy by nature itself since Damian tried and almost killed him and Tim just for that. Yet, when he heard the news; Jason was filled with nothing but strangeness - confusion - weirdness.

Yes, Damian Wayne was weird. He was weird from the very first time they met him. Then, again, everyone were weird in their own ways and he couldn't be excluded from it too. Being brought from life to death then back to life again had totally changed his perspective on everything. Jason was weird, or maybe more toward mad.

Jason turned his head, facing toward the Pennyworth's garden with a cigarette between his fingers and smoke decorating his surroundings. He didn't want to think about anything. Nothing, there was nothing to think about for Damian's decision. Jason found no reason for his withdrawal, both physically and mentally.

Damian was fine in his eyes; there was nothing wrong with him beside his attitude was a little less annoying now, for some reason. His smirks, grin, annoying voice were still the same. But, Jason realized that Damian was much slower than he usually was. Damian never walked that slow before, not if there was some sort of victory that he won against anyone, but still... Damian was fast. He was faster and sneakier than anyone else in the family because of his physical attributes and trained body. Yet, all of that suddenly dropped when he quit Robin and stopped being sneaky to everyone, especially to him and Timmy.

Jason could recite the whole scenario of how Damian secretly attacked him in his own safe house where no one was supposed to know it. He still remembered it clearly when Damian suddenly shown up inside his safe house by the moment he greeted all his safe house beddings. Yes, Damian was weird but Jason was probably weird too, if anyone really seen what Damian had seen on that day. He greeted his pillow, bed, the house; he would probably greeted his whole stuffs inside his house if Damian did not, all of a sudden, gave him a surprise visit and stole his helmet.

Ah, Jason sighed at the thought of his encounter with the little assassin. He never thought that little demon would ever give up on the thought of being a Robin. After all the fight he went through with him, all the Robins went through with him; Damian just returned the mantel without any explanations.

No nothing.

No reasons.

Another smoke was blown by him, decorating his surrounding again as he thought very deeply about everything that happened, or suddenly happened.

"I suggest you quit smoking, Master Jason," an old and familiar voice greeted Jason from his side. "It is not a good habit and hobby to be further explored."

He inhaled further and blew out the remaining of what was left inside of his lungs. Old man, he thought. Alfred just stood there, looking at the direction of his garden, perhaps admiring his work.

"So, you know anything about the little demon?" He asked. Eyes not moving to see the other.

Alfred did not answer right away; instead he waited a little longer to answer the curious man to see his reaction. The butler knew all the Robins, especially the first two since they were the first to be adopted to the Wayne family, and he knew their personalities very well including the smallest details possible. But for Jason, the aged man also knew his rage towards the father and that time's current Robin after he came back from death to life. Impulsive, impatient, harsh, and many more... Alfred could name it all but he could never hated the boy; in fact, he actually loved him.

Alfred knew Jason well enough though Jason may not know it.

"Speak up, Alfred. Anything about the demon spawn?" Another question asked.

Alfred smiled, a smile that could be identified as ‘I know something but I can't tell you’. There was such a smile. But he promised, and he had always kept his promise, to his young master that he would not tell anything until it was clear to the young boy - perhaps teenager - as what really happened to his own body.

"No, Master Jason," Alfred spoke. "I know nothing of our young master's sudden decision."

Liar, Jason thought. He knew Alfred was lying because he had promised Damian not to tell anyone. He knew; he knew it because he had done the same to Alfred as well. Jason had told him something and Alfred had always kept his mouth shut unless Bruce told him to speak up; sometimes even Bruce himself couldn't get Alfred to talk too.

Jason knew the butler knew something, anything, about Damian. The closest person Damian could ever told anything about himself was Alfred, Titus the dog, and the other Alfred, the cat. Those were the ones the little brat could open himself up to; sometimes he also opened up to his previous mentor, but it didn't seem to be in that way since Dick had no idea what had happened to his precious little brother until this happened.

"Do you think Damian is happy for Tim to be Robin again?"

A sudden question went out from Jason's mouth as he inhaled the smoke for a few moments before letting it go in the air again. Alfred was still there with him, doing absolutely nothing but looking at the garden and enjoying the presence of the second Robin. It was a hot day but he still wore his best as if it was nothing at all even Jason looked at him with a weird gaze because of that.

"I think Master Damian is happy with Master Tim, Master Richard or even you, Master Jason, for being Robin," Alfred paused as if to appear dramatic, but it was surprising even for the former Robin and rebeller too. "Master Damian never thought of himself as highly as you might think he does."

He couldn't reply him. Jason just stood there with his almost-done-cigarette burning away; his gaze didn't meet the older man as he just stood there in the shade, leaning on the wall while standing still. Alfred might try to ask him to join his little tea party anytime soon but for now, the silence was perfect. It was perfect for him to think, perhaps rethink, of everything the youngest member of the Wayne family's action and harsh words he had given to him. Maybe those words actually meant nothing but words to cover the vulnerability of their little brother and with this decision, maybe Damian was ready tell them everything.

Tch, a quick smirk appeared on his face. Like hell that little demon would tell us what's wrong with him, Jason believed that. Believed that Damian would never tell anyone about his situations, hardships, or even small problems of his. He was always a person who handled his problems in his own way even though he knew others would have helped him willingly.

Yes, willingly...even himself.

Yeah, even Jason too...

It was eleven o'clock when Dick Grayson, the eldest of the brothers, came back home to pick Damian up. He knew their appointment was not until twelve o'clock, but since he had finished his work earlier than usual and thought about how Damian would probably appreciate his extra time and would just spend it together with him. Maybe going to a park nearby after eating lunch, or maybe, just maybe, Damian would talk to him about what really happened about his decision. But, it was just a maybe.

Dick knew how Damian was when he returned the uniform to Tim. Damian's face was conflicted but his voice was so calm and content as if he really just gave up on it and that was it. That was it. Damian didn't look at Tim in the eyes at all; his head was straight up facing Tim but his eyes were not. Dick could feel that Damian still wanted to be a Robin but something had happened, and he had no other choice but to take that action.

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his head from everything that had happened. He went down to the basement, or what they all called it as Bat Cave, to retrieve some information about a certain criminal that had been running around Blüdhaven and Gotham for the past few months. Dick didn't plan to take too long down in the cave as he wanted to meet Damian as soon as possible and take him out for lunch as well as other things else. But, Dick didn't see Alfred coming into the cave as well with both hands full of boxes as well as a cart full of boxes of bandages and other supplies. Dick smiled to the old man's back as he knew Alfred was unaware of his presence.

"Would you mind to help me, Master Dick?" The butler had spoken, and maybe Dick had spoken too soon about not being noticed by him. "Have my hands full at a moment. I would appreciate some help, if you like to."

Another smile formed on Dick's face as he walks toward Alfred to help him.

"I was just thinking of getting some information from the bat-computer, not helping you with restocking, Alfred." Dick teased the butler with his smile.

"Well then, I will tell Master Damian that Master Dick has suddenly changed the plan and decided not to take him for lunch," Alfred replied.

Dick looked at him in shock.

"Young Master has faith in my words as I am a man of my words, Master Dick." Alfred smiled while turning his back toward Dick to see his master’s appearance.

Dick looked at him for a moment before finally smiling again. Alfred should have known that Dick would, for sure, help him with anything since the old butler was like his own grandfather. There was no such need for Alfred to even ask him for help as he would willingly help him right away.

Dick took the boxes from Alfred’s hands and placed it on his own as the butler put some more to Dick’s stack of boxes. Alfred pushed the cart towards the elevator with Dick inside it also. It didn’t take a long time for the elevator to reach where it should be. They went out from the elevator with nothing accompanying them but silence, silence that was probably too loud for Dick to keep on having.

“So, how’s Damian doing?” Dick asked. “Is he home?”

He put down the stack of boxes on the ground slowly with the help of Alfred as he waited for Alfred to answer his question about his little brother.

“Master Damian is doing well, Sir. However, I believe he will not be home until noon,” Alfred explained Damian’s lack of presence in the manor to Dick. “Young Master should be home just right before his appointment with you, Master Richard.”

There was no fear in Alfred’s words but Dick could feel something hidden inside the words. Something in the words that were well hidden inside it; something about his little brother.

“So, do you know where is he now?” Dick asked while opening the boxes and giving the content of the boxes to Alfred one by one.

Alfred received the bandages given to him by Dick with his hands as well as the question that was asked by Dick. And no… There was no way for Alfred to honestly tell him that Damian had gone to Gotham City Hospital to check up on his condition. No, he was sure of it that his Young Master did not even go to doctor Leslie Thompkins’ clinic for his check up because he was afraid she would tell the whole bat-family about what really happened to him.

Damian never wanted everyone else to think of him as weak or in need of protection from anything. It was a total no and never for Damian, but he did know that sooner or later, his whole family would know about it and would have to protect him from all the harm from all the enemies of their family.

Alfred sighed quietly as Dick’s question still lingered in the air; haunting the butler for answer to the seemingly simple question.

“He is in Gotham City Hospital, Sir,” Alfred quietly replied. “Seeing a friend of his who has gotten a surgery lately.”

Of course Alfred would lie for Damian. Everyone always believed in the old man’s word for he had always been telling the truth. So did Dick Grayson too. He trusted him with all his heart and genuinely care for the aged butler.

“I see,” Dick replied. “I’ll go pick him up there. Tell Damian that his eldest brother is coming for him in no time.” Dick said with a smile on his face.

Alfred nodded his head as he sent Dick away to the bat-computer to get the datas he needed. He looked at Dick’s back turning from him as he walked toward the big screen computers inside the cave, and Alfred could only look at Dick’s back silently while finishing off the current box before calling Damian to inform him about Dick’s decision.

It took Damian sometimes to actually accept the fact that his older brother was going to come for him in the hospital. He had no idea what Alfred might have said to Dick about him being in the hospital or whatever else but he had to face it because he knew Dick was already here, just waiting for him to come out from whatever excuses Alfred had told him.

The clock was still ticking loudly, but it was not as loud as how it was before since Damian was already over with all the examinations and tests he had to go through inside this hospital building. He was sweating and his muscles began to wear him out, and all he wanted to do was sleeping on his bed. But sleeping itself might be hard and dangerous for him as the doctor had already warned him about possibility of sudden death during sleeping. So, all Damian had to do was keeping himself wide awake and rest as much as he could without falling asleep.

No sleeping until he didn’t feel as tired as he was right now.

As Damian was about to sit down on the hallway to rest up for a moment, his phone vibrated multiple times with all the sudden text messages, emails, and a lot of missed calls from Dick Grayson especially. By the time he wanted to swipe one of the text to reply it, his phone vibrated again saying “Dick Grayson” in the middle and as big as it could be.

He picked it up and without saying anything Dick already went ahead of himself.

“I’m in front of the hospital. Where are you, Dami?” Dick asked while holding his helmet and placing it on his thigh.

“Coming out now,” Damian replied simple and clear.

“Okay. See you soon, lil' bro!" With that Damian ended the call as he inhaled the oxygen deeply to calm himself down.

You can do this. Just go out there and pretend like nothing happened. Don't speak until Grayson asks anything about it. Damian had to reassure himself that everything would be alright. That nothing would be noticeable at all. He would be fine. Totally fine and there would be no problem at all.

Damian sat down for a few minutes to rest in the hallway. Many people pass by and some noticed that he was, in fact, Damian Wayne. He knew he had to leave right away but his body just wouldn't obey him. He needed to move so badly, walked away from the crowd and escaped with Dick who promised him lunch. Yes, Damian told himself again. I need to do it now, he reminded himself as he began moving forward again toward the exit of the long white hallway.

No one suspected anything from Damian's behavior as he tried really hard to act like everything was alright and there was nothing to worry about him. But the moment Dick saw his precious little brother coming out from the hospital's main entrance with a different shirt and another baggage on his hand, his suspicions grew a little of what really Damian was doing in the hospital. He didn't say anything about the extra bag Damian brought with him as he just parked his motorcycle and opened the trunk for the teenager to put his bag in.

"So, are you hungry?" Dick asked, masking his suspicion with that happy voice. "What do you want to eat?"

Damian didn't look at Dick right away as he wanted to place the extra unusual baggage inside the trunk first before talking to his older brother. Dick didn't say anything further than his questions that didn't get answered. He just quietly looked at Damian who was putting his extra bag on his trunk and secured it with a lock. After he finished watching his little brother doing whatever he was doing, he asked the same questions again as if to annoy him.

"So, Dami... Anything to eat?" Another question launched at Damian to answer.

Dick wore his helmet back as he waited for the reply he deserved from the ex-Robin. Nothing really came out from Damian's mouth but when Dick sat back on his bike and was about start the engine, Damian finally replied him with something that was slightly confusing.

"Iamfinewithanything," was what Damian replied him with, and the words was either too fast for him to catch on, or slurred together as if his little brother was drunk with something.

"What did you say again, Dami?" Dick asked just for a confirmation.

Damian climbed the motorbike and clutched on Dick's jacket as if his life depended on it. But Damian never said a word to reply Dick's questions. Damian just simply didn't want Dick to hear him slurring over his words anymore and had any suspicions over what really happened to him. It was a total no and no for him.

Dick waited for a few minutes to allow Damian repeat whatever he was saying before. He was sure that Damian was not drunk or at least, there was no sign of him being drugged to slur his words. Or maybe, he was just talking as fast as he could to just get out from the hospital... Dick wasn't sure which one it was but there should be a reason for him to talk that way, especially since it was not his personality to talk that way.

"Okay," Dick finally said something after a few minutes of silence. "Since you're not suggesting anything for our lunch, I guess you are fine with whatever I choose then. Let's go to my favorite place then, Sepi's."

Damian could only nod his head against Dick's back in agreement to the choice of restaurant. No words came out from Damian's mouth afterward as they just pulled off from the hospital with eldest Robin's directing the way.

"So, what do you want to eat?" Dick asked the same old question again and again. "They have the best grilled chicken and barbecue chicken. Their caesar salad and chinese chicken salad are also good."

Dick was looking at Damian's silence, trying to see and understand what the younger man was thinking at the moment since he had been staring at the menu for a while without saying anything or responding to his suggestion.

"Damian?" He called as his right hand was slowly gripping the younger man's to snap him out of his imagination. "Are you alright? Why are you not saying anything?"

"I'm alright, Grayson. Don't worry about me."

"No, Damian. You are not alright," Dick's voice was getting serious as he stared at Damian's eyes. "You suddenly becoming so quiet about everything. This is not like you, Dami."

"Then, what is like me?"

Dick was surprised by the question his little brother suddenly asked him. To him, Damian was supposed to still be selfish, pouty like he used to when he was a kid, and Robin... He was supposed to be Robin. Damian fought for that role and tried his best to be the ideal, the good Robin that his Father wanted him to be. That he, Damian himself, wanted to be. They were great together, even during Dick's time as Batman and Damian as his Robin.

They were awesome, and Dick knew that they would always be.

You were supposed to be Robin was the only thing Dick could say to himself as the answer of the question.

"Damian, why do you suddenly quit? It's not like you to suddenly quit whatever you've been doing for so long."

Dick was in pain. Damian knew it; he realized it from the very beginning of the talk. But, Dick was also in denial about everything - about his current reality. The reality where Damian was no longer a Robin, and he didn’t even want to be Robin anymore. Damian was no longer suitable for Batman to be his sidekick, helpers, even partner.

"Grayson, please. Can we just have a normal lunch like normal people do?" The younger man asked - pleaded him for them to be just like a normal people. "Just this once, Grayson."

Dick closed his eyes in frustration of not knowing anything, everything that Damian hid from him. His hands were covering his eyes, closing his eyes from seeing Damian’s tired face, and his begging face. He didn’t want to see Damian’s face like that as he could still remember how happy and energetic his little brother like it was yesterday.

Damian sighed as he looked at Dick’s action right in front of him. He had no idea what to say to him about anything since he was trying to get everything straight himself before telling anyone what really happened. All he needed was time. Yet, time itself was the enemy of him too. No one in the family was patient, except for Alfred, especially his Father, the oldest brother, and the current Robin. Jason was not necessarily patient but he knew how to wait while the others really demanded answer for anything they wanted to know or else, research.

“Damian...” Dick called but was quickly cut off by Damian.

“Can we go home now?” He asked. “I feel like eating at home more than outside.”

Dick could only look at the person in front of him as he slowly placed the menu down on the table and sliding it to the other side of the table, losing interest in it.

“Sure,” he replied as he saw him moving slowly away from the sofa, escaping it. “Sure, let’s eat at home.”

Damian walked away from the table, leaving Dick alone with his heart full of regrets and pain before calling the manor to inform Alfred that they were going home for lunch. He called the waitress and gave enough money for the drinks they had as well as for the tip, and he followed Damian from far back, walking slowly with his black leather jacket on his hand.

He threw the black jacket to Damian and landed right on the teen’s head, covering his whole face with the darkness of jacket. Damian took the jacket off his face and wore it as he knew his older brother never wanted him to get sick or such. But, as he slipped the jacket on to his right arm, a sudden guilt slowly came to greet him. A guilt for hiding everything toward his family, especially to Dick since he cared a lot about his well-being and Damian himself.

Dick was already on the motorcycle, engine had already been turned on, and just waiting for Damian to hop on, so they could go to their destination. He turned toward Damian as the teen was still struggling with the jacket.

“Hey, maybe we could-” Dick’s words were cut off again by Damian as he was now looking at him with such a sad face that even Dick could not named the emotion itself.

“I’m sorry, Grayson.” Words came out from Damian’s mouth while Dick just sat there, waiting for the next sentence to come out. “I truly apologize but please, give me time until I can tell everything to you.”

Damian finally looked up to him; his eyes filled with glass that were ready to be broken down to tears. No, Dick had never seen him this way before. Although he had seen him crying a number of times in rare occasion, this was his first time not knowing the reason behind his tears yet he could feel how gentle and honest those words were.

Dick turned off the engine, took the key out, and placed his helmet on the seat as he got up to be where Damian was standing still. There was nothing he could do besides hugging him gently, and patted Damian’s back while gently stroking the soft dark hair.

They stayed that way for a few minutes before Dick looked properly at Damian with a smile on his face. He wiped the falling tears off Damian’s face and pressed his lips on the forehead, giving a protecting and reassuring kiss to teen.

“Let’s get ice cream sandwich before going back home, okay?” Dick planned on cheering him up before going for their “real” lunch at home. “I know one place that you’ll like.” He finished off with a smile and another kiss on Damian’s forehead before pulling off to turn on the engine back to get ready.

Dick handed the other helmet to Damian, waiting for him to receive it from his hand.

“Let’s go, Dames,” another nickname Dick had for him. “And zipped up the jacket, will ya? It’ll be cold in no time even though it’s still summer.”

Damian properly zipped up the jacket after he got the helmet on his hand and wore it.

“Don’t treat me like a kid, Grayson,” was the last sentence Damian told him after hopping on to the bike, and both of them were gone from the parking lot.

#don't fall #batman fanfic #batman #batfam #nora's writing #dick grayson #damian wayne #Alfred Pennyworth

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