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“This is absurd.” Damian grumbled, tightening his hold on the blanket around his shoulders.
Dick had to hold back laughter at his little brother. Damian was coated head to toe in an attempt at keeping warm. He wore a sweater, coat, sweatpants --stolen from Dick’s dresser-- the thickest socks in the Penthouse, and to top it all off had encased himself in a blanket.
His nose was shaded a little red, and his face puckered in a furious scowl, “I do not understand why we cannot do anything to stop this--” he stopped speaking to wave a blanket covered hand at the window, “ nonsense. ”
Dick crossed his arms and grinned at his brother, “If you can tell me how you expect us to stop a natural weather phenomenon then I’d be happy to help.”
“Tt.” Damian spun on his heel, presumably to glare at the weather outside.
Outside the penthouse windows the site was gorgeous. Snow drifted past in huge fluffy flakes that piled against the windows and built up on the ground. It had been doing this for days now, and honestly Dick was kind of enjoying it. Gotham was cold, and often plagued by rain, ice, and snow, but rarely did it snow quite like this unless instigated by someone like Freeze.
But this? This was all mother nature. Come to give Dick and Damian a much needed break from patrol and work.
They’d gone out the first couple nights, but Damian’s obvious total distaste for the “dreadful cold” and the conditions growing more and more dangerous had pushed them inside. If Batman and Robin weren’t out, then Dick doubted too much crime was going on. They were all as snowed in as Damian and he.
“I think you’re overreacting a bit. We do have the heat on you know.” Dick said, moving over to stand beside Damian.
He shook his head, “Not nearly high enough. I do not understand how you two are not frozen through.”
Dick glanced towards Alfred’s room. The butler had taken an actual pot of tea and a book into his room earlier that day declaring a reading day and requesting they refrain from doing anything too catastrophic to the penthouse.
He was a bit jealous of the older man, Dick would like to settle in with a book or some knitting, maybe to do a puzzle. Cold like this stilled something in him, at least for a bit. But Damian had him on edge. He’d been wandering around the penthouse, piling on more layers and shuffling from room to room aimless and ornery.
He bounced on the balls of his feet, “We make do. You get used to Gotham’s cold. Especially with Freeze about.”
Damian slid his gaze towards Dick, “Are we certain it is not Freeze?”
“I’ve told you six and a half times, that it’s just weather. Freeze is snug in Arkham wishing this was him.”
“Tt.” Damian tugged the blanket a bit tighter around his shoulders, spun on a heel and stomped off.
Dick watched him for a few more minutes as Damian paced. He wandered from the living area over to the kitchen, stared at the fridge, turned and trudged down the hall. Dick could hear his socked feet scuff against the wood floor, then the carpet of his room, and back onto wood.
When he returned to the living room Dick stepped in front of him to stop his continued pacing.
“Dames.”
“What?”
“Why don’t we sit down and do a puzzle? Or we could get out those coloring books Stephanie dropped off a couple days ago, I saw you eyeing the forest animal one.”
His brother’s scowl deepened, “If I become stationary I will freeze.”
Dick sighed, unable to stop himself, “Damian, stop. The thermostat is set to the same it always is. You won’t freeze if you sit with me for a bit.”
Just then, the lights around them flickered then clicked off altogether. Dick and Damian were blanketed in darkness in a moment, with the only light inside that from the clouded sky outside the windows. The room was strangely silent without the heater running.
“This is your fault.” Damian snapped, and turned again to leave Dick alone in the room.
“Well.” Dick said, to the dark, “I guess that happened.”
He sighed, and with a forlorn glance out the windows at the snow still gently drifting down, he got busy getting the penthouse ready for a blackout.
After about fifteen minutes Dick had successfully dug out a number of candles, and a few of their big flashlights. He lit a few candles to add to the dim lighting in the room, then rolled up his sleeves to get started on the fire.
The fireplace was traditional. Bruce had insisted on it, in case of events just like this. Electric or gas just couldn’t be relied on in the case of bad weather or a Rogue attack. They stocked plenty of logs and starters in the penthouse, making it quick and easy for Dick to get the fire set up and started.
Soon it was crackling away and adding its own light and warmth to the room.
Dick stood and grinned at it for a moment, then moved to check on Alfred and Damian.
He knocked on Alfred’s door first, sure his welcome would be better received here than at Damian’s door. After a moment he cracked the door open.
“Hey, Al. I got a fire going if you’d like to move to the living room.”
Alfred’s room was already lit with candles, and Alfred was snuggled in his bed. He folded a book closed around his index finger and smiled, “If I get too cold I will gladly join you, but for now I am fine. Have you checked the bunker yet?”
Dick shook his head, “Not yet, I figured I’d get upstairs livable first. Plus it’s got emergency generators. It should be fine for a while. And--” he grinned, “If it really gets too cold up here we can always head down there.”
Alfred nodded, “Excellent. If the blackout persists we will have to consider alternatives to dinner.”
Dick nodded, “Yeah, but I’m sure you can figure out something. You are a wizard in the kitchen.”
Alfred waved him off, “Is your next stop Master Damian? I doubt he has experienced this kind of outage before.”
“He told me last week he spent a week in the mountains of--somewhere without power.” Dick pointed out, a little joking, but also serious.
He wasn’t sure how true Damian’s story had even been, but he had a feeling there was at least a grain of truth to it. Just imagining a milder version of the story had set off Dick's desire to tug the kid into a tight hug.
“Which was an expected situation. This is anything but that. Have patience with him, Gotham is something entirely new.”
Dick nodded, “I hate that it was ever a situation for him, but you’re right. I was going to see him next.”
Alfred nodded, “Be off then. I will let you know if I need anything.”
“Be sure you do, I know you’re enjoying the quiet but if it gets too cold please join us.”
With that Dick left Alfred to his reading and moved to Damian’s room. He stood at the door for a moment, considering what his brother’s reaction might be to being interrupted.
As dramatic as Damian was being over a little cold weather, Dick knew he was shaken. He’d been obvious about his distaste for the cold, which had surprised Dick more than anything. Damian never admitted to things that might seem like a weakness. The power going out had probably made everything worse.
He knocked on the door, his knuckles rapping lightly, “Dames?”
“Go away.” came the muffled answer, “Unless you have devised a way to change the weather.”
“I haven’t, but I did get a fire started. It’s really warm to sit by, and probably better than hiding in your room.”
“I am not hiding.”
Dick tried the handle. To his relief it turned. If Damian was really angry with him he’d have locked it tight.
Inside, he found a bundled Damian sitting on his bed. He was glowering out from his blanket, now pulled up over his head. He hadn’t even bothered to dig out a flashlight or candle, so the only light in the room came from the window.
“What?” he snapped.
Dick leaned against the doorframe and grinned at Damian, “You sure you’re not hiding? Bundled up in here in the dark?”
“Tt. And who’s fault is it that I am in the dark?”
“Yours?” Dick raised an eyebrow.
The boy shook his head, knocking the blanket off and revealing tousled hair.
Dick shifted, crossing his arms, “You can’t possibly blame me for the weather or the power?”
He looked over Damian. His brother still didn’t look happy, but the stubbornness dropped off his face. He shrugged, tugging the blanket a bit closer. Dick sighed, and pushed off the frame to move into the room.
“Come on, Kiddo. You can’t just stay in here all day.” He said.
Damian straightened, his expression set, “I can and will.”
Closer now, Dick could see Damian was shivering. Really, his stubbornness was just as bad as Bruce’s sometimes. Dick shook his head.
“You’re shaking. There’s no way I’m leaving you in here alone.” He nodded to himself, “No, there’s only one thing to do.”
With that, he closed the distance between himself and Damian. In a movement he scooped his brother up into his arms. Damian immediately started to squirm and kick.
“Release me, Richard!”
Dick adjusted his hold, Damian was slippery on a normal day, and cocooned in a blanket it was even harder to hold him. He ignored Damian’s protests, tucking his bundled brother under his arm and strolled out of the room.
“Put me down!” Damian yelled, kicking his legs.
It was funny to watch, with them wrapped up in his blanket and partially restricted. However, Dick didn’t laugh. The goal was to get him comfortable, and laughing at Damian was the opposite of that, no matter how adorable he was.
“Here you go.” he said, reaching the living room.
There, he plopped Damian down onto the carpet in front of the fireplace. Dick left Damian there and moved to the kitchen. Ever practical and overly prepared, Bruce had set the fireplace up so if needed, they could hang a pot or kettle over it. Some hot tea would be just the thing to soothe Damian. Well, Dick hoped it would at least help.
He tested the water, happy to find it running still, and filled a kettle with enough water to make a few cups, but not take forever to heat over the fire. When he returned, Damian hadn’t moved from the spot he’d been dropped in. He had adjusted his blanket, and was leaned against the brickwork.
“Careful or you’ll set your blanket on fire.”
“Doubtful.” Damian said, eyes on the kettle, “This is not my first time being settled by a fire.”
Dick hummed, and hung the kettle. He plopped down next to Damian, kicking a foot close to one of his brother’s hidden beneath the blanket.
“Is it helping you warm up?”
“It is doing an adequate job.”
Adequate was about as good a descriptor as Dick could expect to get from his brother, and he accepted it. He nodded, leaning back on his palms.
“Good, now I guess we just wait on the lights to come back on.”
Damian hummed, his attention on the fire.
This close, Dick could see the light flickering against the green of Damian’s irises, and the way the heat was already warming his cheeks. He should probably tell the kid to scoot back a bit, but it was the first time all day he hadn’t complained of feeling cold, so he left him be.
“I’m going to grab a couple things to do, you want something to read, maybe your sketchbook?” Dick asked, pushing himself to his feet.
The dark and Damian were making him antsy again. He’d feel better with a goal. A book to read, a page in a coloring book to fill in. Anything. The idea of waiting had his feet almost physically itching in a way he hadn’t felt since he was a kid, learning how to sit quiet for his first stakeout next to Batman.
Damian shook his head, still watching the fire.
“Ohh-kay.” Dick said with a clap, “I’ll just get a little of everything then.”
He used his phone to look into the closet where they kept games for infrequent hang outs with Steph and Tim, and any of Dick’s old friends who might show up at random. He considered for a moment actually grabbing a board game, then decided against it. Damian didn’t seem in the mood to get trounced at Twister or to totally defeat Dick at Monopoly. Instead he scooped up a puzzle featuring a kitten playing with a ball of yarn and moved on.
From there he stacked a couple books from his bookshelf on top. One he’d been looking forward to reading, and Howl’s Moving Castle. He kept seeing Damian linger by, but he’d never picked up. Dick figured it was because he’d probably thought it was childish to pursue fantasy.
Coloring books and a box of garishly shaded colored pencils were balanced atop the stack, and with that Dick made his way back into the living room.
It was cozy, the fire having warmed the area considerably in his short time away. Snow still drifted lazily down outside their windows, and Damian was still perched by the fire. He didn’t look like he’d really moved at all.
Dick returned to his seat on the floor and dropped the stack of ‘things to do’ between him and Damian. When his brother didn’t so much as glance at it or Dick, he opted for selecting his own book and waiting the kid out. Damian would get bored eventually and the temptation of books and art was too strong for any ten year old. Even one supposedly trained out of being a kid.
For a long time they sat there together, with only the crackle of the fire and the wind outside to keep them company. Dick’s attention kept drifting over to the fire as well, his mind wandering onto his dad.
If only Bruce were still alive. He’d be secretly delighted to finally get to use all the fail-safes he built into the penthouse. Then again, if Bruce were alive they’d be at the Manor, with its own generators, and back up energy pulled from solar power and not facing the blackout at all.
Still, Dick thought Bruce would enjoy this. Gotham quieted by snow, all real distractions pulled away from them along with the power. All they could do was read or write, or talk. Dick would have pestered his dad with a million words, a flood of conversation that could have easily made the time fly by.
But he wasn’t here. And he’d never experience this strange sort of twilight quiet with them. Dick’s heart twisted a bit. A sharp tug of grief he hadn’t been expecting. But then again, he never really expected the way it washed over him. It was always something little. Bruce’s contact still in his favorites on his phone, the scent of his cologne on someone else passing Dick in the street. And now this. A missed moment.
Tears wanted to prick at his eyes, but Damian was right there. Dick couldn’t just randomly start crying in front of him. And getting up to leave suddenly would only draw his attention. Instead he blinked them back, and tried turning his attention to his book.
It took a few tries, as he had to re-read a page almost four times before it sank in, but eventually Dick got back into the narrative.
When the kettle started whistling Dick moved to get mugs and tea bags, one for each of them.
Damian watched him, his attention moved for the moment on Dick as he went about his task. He seemed a bit more relaxed, even if he hadn’t risen to Dick’s bait yet. Still, he was confident Damian would enjoy this unexpected free time with him at some point.
“Thank you.” Damian said, when Dick handed him a steaming mug, fitted with a bag of green tea already seeping color into the water.
“No problem.” Dick answered, “Want to do a puzzle?”
Damian shrugged, and Dick bit back a smile. See, a little time was all the kid needed.
He shifted the mess he’d brought in to the side and promptly dumped out the puzzle pieces onto the floor in a heap. Almost automatically, Damian started shifting end pieces away from middle ones. Dick followed suit, and soon they were slowly but methodically putting the puzzle together.
“I hate the cold.” Damian said, the statement so sudden and surprising Dick actually dropped his puzzle piece.
He bit back an immediate response of ‘You don’t say.’ and instead picked the piece back up and nodded at his brother.
Damian fiddled with a puzzle piece, turning it over between fingers in his hand, “It makes me slow.” he continued, careful with his words, “It makes my fingers feel dumb and my body tired when I’ve worked so hard to make it anything but. I can catch an arrow shot at me, and climb a mountain with a broken wrist. And yet--the cold seems to step in and say that all of that work is for naught.”
He pressed the piece down into its spot, fingers lingering on it for a moment, “It makes me feel powerless in a way only Grandfather’s stare could.” his voice was so soft at this point it was almost like the whisper of the wind outside their window.
“It is not that I am unused to the cold. I trained in it, and we had winter. I simply have never been able to acclimate to it.”
Damian pulled his legs towards him and turned his gaze back to the fire, “What does that make me?”
“It makes you Damian.” Dick said, “Human. A child. One of many people who prefer warm sunny days to cold cloudy ones.”
Damian’s arms tightened around his legs, and Dick could practically read his mind. He could almost hear the list of people in Damian’s family who would disagree with that statement. Who would call him weak and a failure and unworthy of his title.
“Plus, that’s why you have me. And Stephanie, and Cass, and even Tim.” Dick added, “Though, don’t tell anyone but I’m pretty sure Steph hates the cold about as much as you do. My point is, we’re here to help. To have your back if you want to go out, and to be by your side if you want to stay in. And to remind you that being yourself means liking, hating, excelling, and failing at all kinds of things. You are not defined simply by your failures or successes. You are every bit of Damian.”
His brother’s gaze flickered back over to him, and after a moment he nodded, “Perhaps.” he said.
“You have done a good job making it bearable. Even prior to the power failing.” Damian added, uncoiling a little, to let his legs slip forward, “Though, your taste in puzzles is questionable.”
“Hey!” Dick protested, “It was this or the totally impossible all black one.”
“It is only one color?” Damian asked.
Dick nodded, “Bruce got it thinking it would be a good Robin challenge. Only even he got so frustrated he gave up on it after a while.”
A flicker of competition lit behind Damian’s eyes, “Get it. We will accomplish together what Father refused to. And if we fail, it will at least be a better challenge than this kitten.”
It was a request Dick couldn’t say no to.
They worked on the puzzle through the rest of the day. Into Alfred joining them by the fire, through a simple dinner of sandwiches, and into the evening.
When the power at last kicked back on with a gentle hum that was the heater, Damian was leaned against Dick, his blanket drooped off his shoulders, snoring slightly. The puzzle was half finished. And the sun was just peeking over the horizon.
