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A night off patrol.
That's what they called it when they told Damian that she wasn't allowed to go out and be Robin tonight.
When the young thirteen year old started to complain about the arrangement, both her father and her oldest brother quickly told her that she needed a night to rest and get her mind off of Robin for a while. They wanted her to stay at home and chill, or relax and draw, or take care of her animals, whatever it was she did in her spare time. Just not go out and patrol like she had these past couple of days so relentlessly.
She needed to 'have a life outside of Robin, as they both put it, while also asking if she wanted to make plans to do something fun that night, which she did not.
The main reason behind this sudden concern was that Damian was letting Robin practically take over her whole life and persona.
It hadn't been this bad a few days ago but now it had gotten to the point where she was going out almost as soon as she finished her homework after she got home every day. As this happened the green eyed girl often didn't return to the manor until two in the morning.
Because of this, it began to worry everyone, and they all tried in subtle ways to ask if something was on the thirteen year old's mind these past couple of nights, but none were ever successful. Mostly Dick and Bruce did most of the talking while Damian just sat there and spaced off as they tried to probe about what was bothering the girl.
At least these tries were better than Tim and Jason's, who asked more directly, earning a glare and a fierce attack with a katana as they were chased around the manor. That was not a great day for anyone.
Alfred has been on a small vacation down by the beach for the past week so he hadn't even been aware of what was happening in his absence. It was rare but even the Waynes butler took time off every blue moon or so, just to remind himself what freedom was like before he cared for Bruce and all his children.
Damian jumped from one rooftop to another gracefully flying through the air as she did.
Tonight she wasn't permitted to be out as Robin and yet here she was sneaking out in the dead of night just as she had been trained to, ignoring her father's and brother's wishes because she had other things on her mind.
The thriteen year old just didn't understand why this was bothering her so much.
Why this specifically was replaying in her mind lately...
It was only another girl.
Well whatever the reason it helped the green eyed girl forget about it when she was out in the city with things to distract her. Things like people watching and stray animals that would come to the her when she wandered around the rooftops and back alleys.
So that is what led to this moment as Damian petted the cat to her left.
The girl was currently sitting on the edge of a building mindlessly petting the cat as she watched the people down below.
Her jacket hood covered her head and helping her blend in with the background of the dark and gloomy city.
Just as the thirteen year old was getting up to and wandering around some a sound came from behind her.
Now Damian knew that someone had appeared, the question she slightly wondered was who. It was not heavy enough to be her father or even her brothers, so it was someone who was lighter, who aimed to have little present, but also had been trained to some degree.
If she hadn't been raised the way she had the youngest Wayne didn't know if she would have even been able to hear the sound of calculated steps as they got closer.
Before they had a chance to react the green eyed girl turned around and drew her katana out from the holster on her back.
She had brought it so the her just in case she should encounter trouble but she didn't think she would need it.
"Whoa there kitten no need to act all tough I'm not here to cause you any trouble."
Damian clicked her tounge snd shethed her katana as she pulled back her hood muttering, "Kyle."
"You can just call me Selina you know," The woman in a black stealth suit said as she gave a sly smile, a hint of gentleness behind it. "After all I know your dad and your brothers personally, Damian."
The younger of the two crossed her arms.
"I do not call you it out of unfamiliarity if that is what you are implying."
"I understand but... the offer still stands."
Damian looked away saying nothing.
Selina then slowly moved closer and changed the subject to something more appropriate.
"So what's on your mind little one?"
"Why do you think something is bothering me?" The thirteen year old asked as she went back over to the edge of the roof to continue to pet the cat still sitting there.
"Well," The woman began as she followed behind the girl a smile ever present in her face as she watched the younger. "Your face and recent actions tonight give me the impression that something might be bothering you. Something that you don't want anybody to know."
Damian sat down again and glanced at her back, frowning suspiciously as Selina went on.
"There's a look in your eyes that says you have... conflicting emotions."
The green eyed girl looked back at the black and white cat in front of her and shook her head answering, "That is preposterous."
"Look kid both you and your dad may think you hide your emotions well but to be honest I can read you Waynes like a book." Selina replied with a hint of irritation, a hand on her hip.
As the young girl thought carefully about the words the woman said she drew her knees close to her chest and let out a defeated sigh.
If she talked to this with any of the other members of her family it would be so kind of awkward since even she didn't know the reason this issue bothered her. But maybe just maybe Selina could help her understand this thing Damian hoped.
Even if a little bit she just had a feeling that this issue was something that would be easier for someone who wasn't close family that she saw all the time, or of the opposite gender.
This problem just seemed like something you don't tell your father or brothers.
Just as Selina was going to give up and think os was a lost cause she heard a small voice.
"I have this acquaintance..."
The woman smiled patiently and made her way over to the ledge and sat down next to the thirteen year old saying, "An acquaintance you say."
"Yes," Damian confirmed not meeting the older's eyes and focusing on the cat. A part of the girl's not being able to admit the truth about the acquaintance. "They told me that they saw this boy they know talking with another girl."
"A boy huh?"
Selina looked at the green eyeed girl with a knowing gleam and smiled softly as she kept going.
"Correct and then after that they told me they felt this weird feeling in their chest and they do not know what it means."
Damian then looked over as blush lightly dusted her cheeks saying, "What do you think I should tell them?"
Selina then tapped her chin in thought asking, "Did it feel like a burning or unpleasant feeling when they saw this boy with another girl?"
A few seconds went by before an answer came.
"Yes."
"Then if I had to guess I think that your acquaintance may like this boy."
"That is ridiculous I do not- I mean... they do not feel that way about them!" The green eyed girl shot back immediately, face burning red all the way to the tips of her ears.
"Ok ok calm down," The older woman tried to placate as she couldn't hold back the smile on her lips. A feeling of entertainment bubbled up in her chest. "All I am saying is that they might feel this way because they want to be with the boy instead of the girl he was talking to. That means it could be as friends or maybe even because they want to be more than friends in the future."
Damian then looked down at the people walking down the streets below.
"So what you are saying is that they are- envious of the attention?"
Selina smiled and chuckled softly saying, "Simply put, yes."
Silence then filled the air as the green eyed girl pondered the verdict that the older had just told her, the most unimaginable answer she could have thought of being the answer.
I mean how could she like Jonathan? Like in a romantic way other than friendship?
Given that they are best friends who hang out a lot I guess it has been pretty odd their wasn't going ok between them in private, which there wasn't. But to think that Damian had been acting this way the whole time because she had a crush on a Kent of all people was just plain ridiculous.
The green eyed girl then thought long and hard about the question, she didn't like Jonathan… did she?
Everything started to become even more confusing as she remembered the way she felt when he saw her best friend talking to another person a couple of days ago, how it made a twisted feeling inherently stoumach, made her skin feel like it was burning, staring and not being able to look away from the scene in front of her.
Oh...
Damian then shook her head and buried it into her hands.
Oh no...
A realization then dawned on the thirteen year old and she couldn't help but groan. A blush then made its way onto her cheeks and she wanted the earth to just swallow her whole.
Tt... she did like him.
It was about an hour later when a new person appeared on the rooftop.
Both the pair that were still sitting on the edge of the rooftop knew but did not acknowledge the person who arrived and instead waited till they approached and sat down next to them with a relaxed smile.
"So this is where you ran off to Dames," Dick said in a relieved tone as he leaned back on the palms of his hands, glancing over at both the other two whose eyes just remained unaffected by his sudden appearance. His clothes were those of a regular civilian as it was both Jason and Tim's night to patrol. "Glad I found you. Bruce called everyone to ask where you went when he couldn't find you in the manor. I didn't expect you to go and find Selina."
It was true, since the green eyed girl's father could not find her he had been slightly concerned as to where she went off to.
I mean he did have a tracker on all of the bat suits but he never thought to add ones to most anything else, even though he knew he should, like their phones or weapons.
"Well for the record little birdie I found her." The woman in the slick black suit said as she smiled over at Dick.
The oldest Wayne kid nodded in response.
"So then what have you two been up to?"
Damian said nothing and didn't want to answer while Selina let out a light amused laugh saying, "Oh just some girl stuff you wouldn't understand, right kitten?"
The thirteen year old muttered an answer and began to stand up.
"Yeah..."
Dick then looked at the youngest face and saw it was a bit flushed as she looked as if she was pouting, it was kind of cute but it would be nice to know the context before he said anything about it.
The twenty seven year old narrowed his eyes at the woman beside him and his face turned grim.
"What kind of girl stuff?"
"Nothing that concerns you," Selina replied calmly as she looked over and met his gaze without missing a beat and just as much seriousness, knowing the younger was just being a tad bit more protective than he needed at the moment. The end of the sentance holding an edge to it while also holding a certain degree of honesty. "Nothing you need to know Dick, I promise."
After a momentary staring contest, Dick sighed and stood up, accepting the answer in stride and not pushing further about it.
"Well I guess we should start heading back home then."
Surprisingly Damian didn't put up much fight and waited for her older brother to lead the way, to lose in her own head to complain or object about going back to her bed to sleep.
The green eyed girl gave one final look back at Selina and quietly said, "Thank you for the help."
"Anytime little one, I'm here if you need to talk..." The woman added with a smile as she proceeded to stand up and stretch.
At that Dick knew that whatever they were talking about really wasn't anything bad and he also let a small smile tug at his lips, his hand giving a wave goodbye.
"See you Selina have a good night."
With that the woman leaped off the building and took off into the night, not to be seen again as she disappeared into the distance.
That just left Damian and Dick as they expertly scaled down the building and onto the deserted streets of Gotham.
Dick was about to ask if the thirteen year old girl was doing alright before she interrupted his thought and asked something instead.
"Do you have a girlfriend Grayson?"
"Uhh I umm well..." The twenty seven year old struggled not knowing what to say as he thought about his current love life. I mean he was dating someone but that was such a random question for his younger sister to be asking it caught him off guard. "Y-yeah yes I do. Why do you ask?"
Instead the green eyed girl shot back, "Are Todd or father dating anyone?"
"Ummm uhh maybe I don't really know the answer that little D, sorry?"
Dick then stopped walking and finally asked the question that was bugging his mind, "Why are you asking this again?"
Damian looked away with a huff and crossed her arms saying, "It is none of your concern."
Now Dick really wanted to know what they were talking about back there. These questions had to have some sort of backstory to them it would be amazing if he could find out what it was, but sadly he didn't have the slightest clue.
After that Damian acted like the questions never happened and they went to their normal dynamic.
Then the pair grabbed some food and headed home with Dick just as confused as ever when the thriteen year old never when the topic was never brought up ever again.
Just what did Selina and Damian talk about that night?