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Damian sighed as he ran a hand through his damp hair, droplets of water sprinkled down on to his Nightwing suit. Well that was a pleasant patrol. There was no sign of Arkham breakouts, a few robberies but those were easily stopped by Jason and besides they could take care of themselves. Overall. It was a good night. The oldest brother climbed out of the Batmobile and walked the stairs accompanied by his younger brothers, Tim and Jason. He was welcomed by two people in front of him. One was Pennyworth, the Wayne's lifelong butler, how he was unfazed by how they all dressed up in suits and went out every night beating up bad people will sometimes baffle Damian. Then next to the English man was the newest member to the Wayne family. Grayson. Dick Grayson. The boy had a habit of staying up and waiting for their return every single night.
"Man did you see the way that goon started cowering in his pants as I dangled him upside down! Must be pathetic to be beaten up and intimidated by a kid! All the guys in Crime Alley would have taken the piss out of him." Robin... wait no Jason laughed as he removed his mask that revealed the over-confident shine in his emerald eyes.
"Yes but you should be aware of your surroundings. You almost got clocked around the head. Let your guard done for a second then you would be a bigger mess than you were already were in." Tim explained as he retracted his cowl with a sigh, the second eldest rolled his eyes as the younger boy retorted with the lame answer of 'yeah but that didn't happen did it?'
"I figure that patrol went well, sirs?" Alfred asked, snapping the two boys out of their childish bickering.
"Indeed Pennyworth. Only minor conveniences but those were handled by Robin." Damian explained, both Todd and Drake had pushed past him and the two went their separate ways, his gaze shifted to the young boy who remained beside the butler. Dick just seemed to stare at the logo on his Nightwing suit, it was almost as if the boy was hypnotized by the bright red bird that spread across his chest... Almost as if it meant something special to Dick. The raven haired then shook his head before he retreated back to the elevator, Damian noted that was the routine for the youngest.
Watch his older brothers go out on patrol.
Wait on the floor beside Alfred.
When his brothers pull up and then he would retreat into his room.
It had occurred to them why the boy would follow the routine.
While the Batbrothers would leave Dick in the care of Alfred and return before sunrise.
The Flying Grayson left Dick in the hands of the Court....
They never returned back for their son.
"I advise you to go take a shower Master Damian, a nice warm one. " Alfred's voice had brought him back to reality, he almost forgot that he was the only one left with the old butler who then continued. "I believe it is known to clear your clouding thoughts. " The man blinked back in surprise and striped the mask off his face. Only Pennyworth could read them oh so well. The eldest sighed and stopped to the showers that were located at the side of the Batcave, he stripped out of his vigilante gear and entered the shower. He twisted the knob, warm water splattered on to the surface of his tanned skin. Warm showers always did the trick of lifting the stress off his shoulders, whether it was the Wayne or vigilante life. Now to face the truth... He was worried about Grayson. The boy had barely adapted to the manor and his trust fluctuated at times. Those amber eyes burned right through him, just empty. An empty void. A shell of the bright eyes little boy he met at the circus all those years ago. He needed to break that shell and reunite everyone with the same bright eyed little boy.
How would he be able to do that?
The cold water showered him with the realization that he had to make a plan of action. He switched off the shower and gazed at the tile floor, droplets of water clung to the strands of his hair. He remained deep in his thoughts.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The droplets fell one by one... It reminded him of a phone dial tone.
Drip
Drip
Drip.
Wait-
An idea received his message.
"So you're asking me for advice... on how to bond with your brothers?"
"Barbara, that is what I have been asking for the last ten minutes."
"Oh my god, you are serious." The red-haired girl facepalmed as the young man on her laptop screen remained cross legged on his bed, eyebrows pinched upwards in slight confusion. Damian, of all the people she would be giving advice to… It was Damian. Social interaction advice. Either he had hit his head so hard on patrol or her father for once was right, she was going to need to improve her sleep schedule.
"Look I just require your assistance."
"You require my assistance for your night-time activities which revolve around you guys dressing up as birds and beating up the dangerous mentally ill. Yes, I am going to be quite flabbergasted when you come to me with that requirement."
"Tt. All I ask is for your guidance to bond with my brothers altogether. It's already as painful admitting I need help than needing to perform the act. "
"Wow the Batbrothers having difficulty with social interaction how am I not surprised."
"From the woman who hacks people's records behind the scenes."
"Who employed me to do that again?"
Damian grumbled under his breath and ran a hand through his hair, still damp from the shower earlier.
"Will you help me?" He asked defeatedly.
"I guess I could under one condition."
"Which is?"
"You owe me."
"That isn't-"
"The higher the success is, then the bigger the favor becomes."
"Tt... fine."
"Firstly, there are two important things to family bonding. You have to smile and not grunt like your emotionally constipated father while with Dick and the others." Damian's lips were drawn to a thin line and his eyebrows perched upwards, Barbara sighed, it's almost as if emotional constipation was a contagious condition within the Wayne family, she then continued. "Then the most important thing is to have fun."
Have fun?
What did she mean by that?
"I don't understand." The man commented.
"You'll figure it out."
Minutes later, the eldest Wayne son laid underneath the cover of his sheets, laptop rested on his table bedside.
Although he was the son of the world's greatest detective... This was a case he believed, he was incapable of solving.
Saturday afternoon. It took him until noon to get his brothers out of the manor.
Tim was somehow still awake after that patrol, all he needed was a cup of coffee and that man was ready to function for the day. Jason had stormed up a fuss when Damian had attempted to get him out of bed, to the point where the man had to drag the teen out. Dick was reluctant to go and have a shower much to Damian's dismay, it took some persuading and potential blackmailing for the kid to agree. Now the four brothers were sitting inside the car, none of them were willing to even start a conversation with the exception of Dick who couldn't communicate verbally.
Was this really a good idea?
Talon stared outside the car window; his chin rested against the door of the car. It was Saturday, his brothers usually did their own thing and well he would be all alone again. Well not the Court of Owls type alone but still alone. People's definition of alone was certainly not in his dictionary. Then again, he was wired differently than others. He was an emotional package, his abstruseness to his and other's emotions just made his blood boil and his vision filter red. He didn't understand. He would never understand. His amber eyes tracked the cars that zoomed past, he blinked slowly and slid down further in his seat, he turned to his older brother-Damian- who was at the wheel, his emerald eyes glued to the busy roads littered with vehicles of varying sizes. The car gradually slowed down to a stop. Talon flinched as the adult seemed to catch his confused gawking, his eyes shifted down to the man's leather varsity jacket. Damian watched sports? He wore a Metropolis Meteors one... But Damian was from Gotham, surely he would support the Gotham Knights?
"Are you okay Richard?"
He Talon doesn't know if he Dick is okay.
Talon is isn't Dick Grayson.
Richard 'Dick' John Grayson didn't exist anymore.
The boy let out a hum as a response before he shrugged. A shrug was a good sign? He didn't seem to see the point of lifting his shoulders up and down like a digger truck but it was a better response than nothing. He then adjusted the amber filtered goggles that shielded the harsh UV light from his highly sensitive eyes. Dick Grayson never needed color filtered goggles that reduced the blinding pain of light that entered his eyes. No. Only Talon needed those. Hell, he wore long sleeved shirts in the middle of summer, that's just weird.. Why does he do that Oh yeah to hide the black veins webbed underneath his ghostly pale skin. He was an imposter. An imposter inside a dead boy's body. He wasn't Dick Grayson. He wasn't even human. He wasn't even a full Talon. He was a-
"Richard. Snap out of it."
Talon flinched and felt the hairs on his body straighten as he was forced to stare at Damian in the eyes, the eldest hands were on his shoulders. His amber eyes forced themselves to look down and then he noticed the redness around his hands. Oh... He did that to himself. He deserved it anyway. He watched as his brothers got out of the car and glanced down at his feet before Tim opened the passenger door which he leaned against.
"Come on Dick."
Wait he had to attend as well? Well then again, they still didn't trust him to be alone. Talon liked to be alone. He had been alone for 7 years anyway. The raven haired climbed out of the car and squinted his eyes shut at the sudden harsh sunlight. Not even his goggles could protect him from that annoying feeling. He looked to the side and noticed the numerous parked cars around them and the gray pillars that peaked higher and through the upper floor levels. They were in a parking place. To the point where the massive buildings seemed small, miniscule and the faint outline of a shop in the distance. That meant that they were-
No.
Talon didn't want to be here.
The boy shook his head and attempted to retreat back to the car but failed to do so as a harsh force yanked him away, he saw Damian's hand tightened around a strap.. The strap that led to the child harness around his shoulders. Oh yeah they didn't trust him without it. Of course they didn't. They probably feared he would slit people's throats with his bare fingernails. He managed it before. The raven haired boy felt his stomach fall into a further void as they approached the elevators and staircases that led to the mall. Talon dragged his teeth against his tongue, he then fidgeted with his sleeves as his gaze fixated on the ground. The shiny floor then replaced with a dull patterned floor of an elevator. There were currently 8 pairs of feet. 5 pairs were the regular sizes of an adult. 2 were the sizes of a teen then there was a pair that was a child's. That child was him.
Ding!
One pair left.
Ding!
Two pairs entered. One adult. One child.
Ding!
Three pairs left.
A few back and forth words from both Tim and Jason.
"Why were we dragged along in all of this?" Jay asked and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall of the elevator.
"No clue. Damian why are we here?" Tim turned to the older adult with a raised eyebrow. Damian remained quiet and concentrated on the map of the mall that was printed on a poster that hung to the side. Talon sighed to himself and his lips drew into a thin line as he heard his older brother bicker back and forth once more but it was off-topic to what they were doing at the moment. Which was taking an elevator to the mall...
The raven haired watched as the feet- the child's- shifted towards his own. What did they want from him? The boy tensed as the child had greeted him, they greeted him. He didn't even know who they were so what should he do. His options were either to ignore them, respond or he asked his brothers for help. But his parents said he wasn't like any of the other kids, since he shielded himself with a protective bubble to social interaction. He heard the child greet him once more. Talon forced his head to lift up to meet the child, they were around about his age, well they were not a they, more like a she. A girl. They-no she was a girl. She asked him what his name was. His name, did Talon even have a name anymore? He wasn't Richard, Dick or chum (he didn't understand why Mr Wayne called him that) his brothers wanted him to keep his mouth shut about the 'Talon' name so he couldn't say that.
Huh. He didn't have a name. But then again he was a nobody.
He unwillingly stared at the girl, his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion as he complemented on how to respond. Talon watched as the girl's features twisted into identical confusion. It was already a task to just meet her in the eye, the raven haired flinched slightly as he stopped himself from signing. She probably didn't even know Sign Language. Plus, his speech was incoherent. So how could he speak with this girl? His amber eyes lost to the battle and shifted away to face her shoes once more and his throat tightened. He really wanted to say something. But he couldn't.
He wanted to try and say hi.
He wanted to comment on her blond hair.
He just wanted to say something.
But he couldn't.
"His name is Dick."
Talon turned to Damian and noticed that the elevator rang out as it reached a new floor. He watched as the girl walked out with someone who he had guessed to be her older sister, the young boy perked up as soon as the girl responded before she left.
"Mine name is Artemis. Hope to see you around Dick."
The raven haired blinked, he then fiddled with his sleeves and walked out of the elevator with his brothers, Talon's hands immediately flew to his ears and hissed at the sudden burst of overwhelming noise. Every hair on his body straightened and it felt like a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over his body. He knew for certain that he did not want to be here. The words from Tim were drowned out by the continuous chatting and thudding steps, the boy patted his ears and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the noise. He needed to get away now-
Without a second thought, Talon bolted off only to stumble face flat, he forgot about that stupid child restraint. The young boy curled up on the floor and felt a strangled cry erupt from his throat as he felt the invisible snakes constricted his chest. Talon felt someone lift him from the ground and hold him close into a carried hug. He was going to mess it up for everyone... The raven haired flinched when the noise died down, he opened his eyes. He registered that they were in a different setting and bright lights didn't blind his vision. The boy recognized the pair of arms that were wrapped around his waist.. Tim's.
"It's alright Dick, we got away from the noise. This place is way quieter and darker. You prefer that don't you?" Tim comforted as he ran a hand through the young boy's unkempt hair. "You okay? Anything you need lil bro?" Talon cocked his head to the side and glanced at the place around them, yeah there were less people and it was much darker but it was lit by the colorful primary color lights. A few arcades were in the corner of the big room-no place. Arcades were in the corner of the big place. There were workers behind a counter and behind them there were machines that contain... Popcorn? That's what the snack was called. Yes it was popcorn. But if they were in a dark room with a number of people, arcades and popcorn that only meant-
'Cinema?' His hands signed immediately.
The black-haired adult opened his mouth but then chuckled before he signed back at him to confirm that they were in a cinema. Talon's eyebrows furrowed as he was deeply invested in his own thoughts. The Manor had movies at home on the electronic devices. Why did they have to come here? What difference did it make? In addition, Jason and Tim didn't even want to come before the journey and currently the two seemed to be fine with that. Strange.
'Why are we here?' The raven haired signed once more as he tried to understand the motive behind it all. His amber eyes fixated on Damian. The young adult caught the look and sighed to himself, he knew that he didn't have any options to try and lie to the young boy.
"Richard. What movie do you want to watch?"
The boy paused, he had not expected that question.
"Oh come on how come he gets to pick out a movie?" Jason complained and shot a glare at the eldest brother.
"Todd, do you believe whining into my eardrums will give you the opportunity to choose? If you do, you must be pretty stupid." Damian returned the glare that contained much more intensity than the one Todd had given him. Jason flinched and he avoided his brother's returned glared, his mouth twisted to the side as he refrained himself from bursting out in anger. Talon blinked and looked at Tim for help, the other adult just smiled at him. That wasn't helpful. The raven haired was then led by Damian to the board filled with the different movies that were available, he remained quiet as he stared at the board and then turned to his older brother. "I'm not choosing for you Richard. " The man stated. Talon hunched his shoulders as he scanned the selection of movies. Most were either fully booked or were not suitable for his age range.
Love film.. He doesn't understand those movies.
Family film... He wouldn't considered himself part of the Wayne family. He was an outcast to them, he's just forced to stay with them. Besides his real family was dead.
Documentary. 4 Hours is too long and what was.. mates? He doesn't even want to know.
Pixar.
Pixar was similar to Disney right? He liked Disney Films! So maybe Dami wanted him to pick what he wanted to see so he should go ahead and do that. Only problem... How would he sign that? The raven haired mumbled to himself and flinched once Damian had turned towards him.
"Did you choose a film?"
Talon's mouth dropped and a high pitched squeak sailed out to answer the question, the boy flinched and his hands flew to his mouth. Don't speak. Jay will be mad. He doesn't want to be dragged outside to the noise- He watched as the young adult's face morphed, his lips slopped downwards and his eyebrows raised upwards, the young boy ducked down and slammed his hands against the side of his head, he just wanted to go home, he didn't want mess anything up an he was already headed to that direction. Stupid, stupid, broken, broken... He then shook his head and his amber eyes filled with hopelessness met with concerned emerald eyes.
"Alright, is it this one?"
The raven haired watched as Damian pointed... to the exact movie he had tried to sign. He nodded and watched as the man had gotten up from the ground and proceeded to go to the counter in order to pay for the movie. Talon noticed how Jay looked bothered, maybe it was because he chose a movie that he didn't want...
Great he had already messed up the day for one person.
Damian sighed as he crashed into the leather seats, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed to himself. The adult pulled out his phone while the ads rolled on the big screen. He noticed the notification from Barbara, he grumbled as he read the text.
Barbara: 'How's it going?'
Me: 'How high did you set your expectations?.'
Barbara: 'About the same height as Dick is.'
He mumbled to himself and tucked his phone away while he put on his 3D-glasses. Damian didn't mind that they were watching a kids movie but to get Todd to calm down was already a task, in the end he just told Tim to drag the teen back to the manor. In addition, Tim had to discuss a case to father therefore it prevented him from staying with him and Richard, the two had been picked up by father half a hour prior. The young boy sat beside him, he watched as Dick removed the amber goggles-faint lines around below his eyelids from the tightness-to then switched to the black 3D-glasses while putting on the Mickey Mouse Wizard hat that the workers had given him. Damian held in a chuckle as the boy kept lifting up the glasses in slight curiosity, he assumed that the boy had never experienced a 3D exclusive movie.
The ads soon stopped running and the lights gradually blacked out. Damian placed a hand on his face as the movie started, he then reached for the bucket of popcorn beside him and munched on it. He had never seen the film before so it should be satisfactory, not many people were in the screening room, probably twenty or less people. The man stopped when he felt a pair of eyes on him, he turned to the side, Dick's amber eyes were on the popcorn that were in his hands, he sighed and pulled the bucket from his left side and brought into the right, the bucket that laid between the both of them. He watched as the raven haired hesitated, Damian flashed a small comforting smiled and nodded at the boy. Dick reached out a hand to take small handful of the popcorn, the boy then placed the popcorn in his mouth one by one.
The music from the movie played and it did surprise Damian by the lack of dialogue within the movie but then again it was about a small robot that worked similar to a dumpster truck so he shouldn't surprised. But the concept of the movie was smart. The animators really captured the loneliness of the robot, he glanced at Dick and noticed how the boy's face was blank. The boy never showed an emotion when engrossed in a movie. Neither Damian or Tim could work whether the younger boy was really enjoying the movie. The older brother then turned back to the big screen and time passed and there was a small timeskip to the evening, he watched as the small robot stored his collectibles and hell the movie forced a small chuckle to escape his mouth as the character danced to some jolly music.
Once the music, he noticed something was different.
"And that is all, that love is about
And we'll recall when time runs out"
At first he thought it was because he recognized the song, he had heard it somewhere before -
Thanks to Barbara of course.
But something was still off.
Damian turned to the side and noticed what had been different.
It was Richard.
The expression on the boy's face had completely changed. Dick's mouth hung open slightly, his head cocked to the side and those amber eyes were filled with curiosity and... Sympathy.
"That it only took a moment
To be loved
A whole lifelong"
It was almost as if he resembled the character himself. The raven haired remained silent and oblivious to his older brother who studied his reaction.
As the movie progressed, the more and more Damian saw the little boy, whom he met at the circus all those years ago, started to come out of his shell. The adult felt somewhat relieved that the younger boy was enjoying the movie as it accomplished in causing the boy to erupt into a fit of giggles. Damian sighed, the movie was gorgeous and he could tell that the animators had put alot of attention to detail. The 3D just made the movie enjoyable for the viewer, he hummed to himself and pulled out his phone from his pocket as he scanned through a few messages and social media posts.
Tap! Tap!
Damian craned his neck to his little brother who looked at him, the hesitancy strong in his eyes. The raven haired raised his arms and puffed his cheeks.
"U-Up!"
He wanted to go up?
The man didn't want to say no but also didn't want to say yes. Mainly because of the people behind him, he was soon ripped out of his own thoughts as the smaller boy grasped on to his shirt and climbed on to his lap.
"R-Richard!" He warned in a quiet tone.
"U-Up p-please!" Dick squeaked and raised his arms once more in desperation, great now the little brat was probably obscuring the view for the people behind. Damian turned and was about to apologize before the two people behind him but stopped as he realized who they were... Artemis and her sister from the elevator.
"I don't mind. Just let Dick go up." Artemis commented and crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. Damian sighed in relief and placed his hands underneath the boy's arm as he lifted him up. Dick giggled and kicked his feet in excitement, the boy outstretched an arm and waved it in the air, Damian looked up and noticed how the stars from the movie were then projected on to the ceiling. It only took a few minutes before the boy protested that he wanted to be placed in his seat again. Damian watched as the boy quickly turned his head to the movie, the adult chuckled.
The more time that passed, the better it became.
It was honestly adorable as his younger brother laughed at certain scenes and signed happily but then the tone of the scene changed and so did the boy's expression did. The movie came to an end and the credits rolled, Damian stretched and stood up from the seat.
"Okay Richard let's-" He paused as there a hand on that clenched on to his pants, he then caught the sight of the 11 year old.
Dick was slumped in his chair, mouth open as a small trail of drool emitted from his mouth and stained his shirt, the Mickey Mouse hat covered half of his face, the boy was still wearing his 3D glasses while his amber goggles held in right hand while his left hand clenched Damian's pant leg. The older brother smiled before he picked up his sleeping brother and held him close, he turned to thank Artemis but noticed how the girl and her sister were gone.
Strange. She didn't even say goodbye.
Oh well.
Damian scoffed and shook his head, it didn't matter. The black haired man walked out of the screening room and proceeded to leave the cinema. After a few minutes, he reached the car and opened the back seat and laid the boy on the back seat, he reached over for the seatbelt and put it on for the asleep boy. His phone buzzed inside his back pocket once he jumped into the driver's seat. He raised an eyebrow as he saw a text from Barbara, he selected on the green phone logo and pressed on the loudspeaker button as he powered up the car. Once he reached the bottom of the car par, the red haired finally picked up the phone.
"Sorry, I had to decrypt some message Tim just sent me. "
"It's fine. Figured you were working."
"The Oracle never stops operating."
"Hm."
"So... How'd it go?"
"Tt..." The older brother glanced at the knocked out boy as small snores emitted from him.
A smile crept on to his face.
"It only took a moment."