Office Visit Part 3

Author's Note: This chapter isn't as lighthearted as the other ones...

Credit goes to AJCrane for the idea (Thanks!)

"I can't just take off work, Damian. I'm in charge of the company, now that Bruce is... gone."

Damian let out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on Grayson, what do you do there anyway?"

"Meetings and paperwork."

"Sounds like a blast, can I come?" Damian answered sarcastically.

"Yes." Dick walked out of the kitchen with a handful of paperwork. Damian almost spit out his orange juice when he realised his sarcasm had backfired.

"What? No I wasn't serious! Grayson! Grayson come back here! Now!" He let out an irritated grunt when he realised Dick wasn't coming back. He jolted out of his chair and caught up to Dick on the way to the door.

"You have got to be joking me! Just take off work today! I'm sure they won't need you for anything," Damian winced when he realised the statement could be taken as an insult, and much as he enjoyed insulting Dick, he knew it wouldn't help him get what he wanted.

"No, Damian. That's out of the question."

Damian decided to pull out his big guns. He pouted. He wasn't proud of it. But he pouted.

"But Graysooon, why can't I stay hooome."

"Because you're ten years old and I'm in charge of you. Put on a coat," Dick answered without looking down at Damain. Damian gave a huff of annoyance. Dick continued walking to the door, still carrying a stack of paperwork and shuffling through them. Alfred met him at the door.

"I think you're forgetting something Master Dick," Alfred held out the briefcase that Dick had been using. It was an item near to his heart, the initials B.W. were engraved into the leather. Now that Bruce was gone Dick learned to cherish the few civilian items that Bruce had personalized.

"Oh gosh, thanks Alfred," He gave the butler a boyish smile before heading out the door.

"Would you like me to drive you?"

"No that's fine, thanks though." Dick turned back to give the butler another smile. Alfred waved a silent goodbye. He had assumed Dick wouldn't want to be driven. He never had, not since Bruce's absence. He knew it was because it was always an activity Dick and Bruce had done together, they always sat together in the back when Alfred drove, and Alfred knew it would pain Dick to sit back there alone.

"Damian! Come on, I'm going to be late!" Dick shouted just before he opened the driver's side door. Alfred stared in confusion, Damian? Why is he going with Dick today?

"So? What are they going to do? Fire you?!" Alfred heard the reply come from behind him.

After thinking about why Damian was going with Dick, he remembered the last time Dick had left Damian alone with only Alfred to watch him. The boy had tried to sneak out as Robin and gotten himself lost. After all he may be one of Gotham's heros, but he was still only ten.

Alfred was torn from his train of thoughts when the young boy came running by him out the door, he was holding a Pop Tart in his hand.

"Say bye to Alfred," Dick directed the statement at Damian as he ducked into the driver's side.

"Bye to Alfred!" Damian yelled back in the general direction of the old butler. Alfred waved another silent goodbye and sighed before closing the door.

Dick took a look at the ten year old as the boy settled into the passenger seat of the car.

"Fhwut?" Damian's question was muffled as he stuffed part of the Pop Tart in his mouth.

"Really, Dami? You're going to get crumbs all over my car?"

"Yes," he answered curtly. Damian paused and stared back at Dick, "Didn't you say you were going to be late?"

Dick chuckled before starting the car, "What are they going to do, fire me?"

Damian crossed his arms moodily and huffed, "They should," he mumbled under his breath. Dick gave a snort at the statement. There ride mostly compiled of silence or complaining from Damian.

"Do I have to go in?"

"Duh. You would really rather stay in the car for like, hours?" Dick turned the car into the parking space. The paint on the sign marking the parking spot was new, but he could still make out the words Bruce Wayne faintly underneath where they had been scraped off.

Damian made a noise of displeasure from the back of his throat as he got out of the car after Dick.

"Fine but I'm not smiling for anyone. I refuse to play nice. After all I was dragged here against my free will," Damian caught up to Dick and walked alongside him to the door.

"Nobody's asking you to play nice," Dick smiled down at Damian.

"You were gonna," Damian pouted. Dick chuckled again.

"Ya, I was."

Dick opened the door to let Damian in before heading in himself. As they got into the lobby Damian reluctantly let Dick go first.

"Have you been here before?" Dick asked as he made his way to the elevator.

"Nope," Damian answered curtly. Tim never brought him? Not even once?

Dick frowned slightly to himself as he pressed the right button in the elevator. He could remember clearly the first time Bruce had taken him to the office, he loved it. Now all those times he said he'd rather stay home pained him. I would give anything to go back to the time when I was ten or eleven and I thought the coolest thing in the world was my dad's office.

Dick's heart skipped a beat when he realised he just refered to Bruce as his father, and he shook his head to clear it of thoughts. Why am I tearing up in the elevator? He almost sighed out loud. Oh, Bruce, I miss you more than I ever could've imagined.

Damian had been watching the numbers increase above the door telling him which floor they arrived on and had not seen the tears welling up in Dick's eyes.

Ding.

They had reached the top. Damian stepped out of the elevator but stopped when he relised he would have to wait for Dick to show him where to go.

Dick led the way to Bruce's... his, office. The secretary outside the door flirtily waved.

"Morning Brenda," Dick gave a flirty smile back, he did have to play the part of a young billionaire. Brenda paused when she saw the sulky ten year old walking behind Dick.

"And who is this?" She asked with a large smile, she had directed her statement at Dick but made eye contact with Damian.

"Damian Wayne," Damian deadpanned. He moved toward the office that had Dick's name on the outside. Just like with the parking space, it was obvious that the name on the door was placed over an old one.

"He takes a while to warm up to people, don't take it personally," Dick winked at Brenda before following Damian. When he arrived in the office he saw the boy had placed his face against the window. The glass fogged when he exhaled.

"Pretty amazing view, isn't it?" Damian turned around at the sound of Dick's voice. Dick kept his jacket on, he had an idea.

"I've seen better," was the only reply he got from Damian.

"Oh you want to see something cool? Let me show you something freaking cool," Damian rolled his eyes at Dick's words and plopped down in the plush office chair that was much to large for him to sit comfortably in. Dick had walked over to the staircase.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" Dick asked good-naturedly. Damian sighed.

"Coming," he slowly got up from the chair and followed Dick up the stairs. Dick paused at the top.

"Ready?" He poised his hand on the doorhandle.

"Yes. I am ready," Damian said flatly. When Dick opened the door they had to momentarily cover their eyes to block out the glaring brightness.

"Wooow," Damian managed as he leaned over the railing on the roof. Dick gently pulled Damian's shoulders closer to the center of the roof. Wouldn't that be the greatest irony? Kid fights crime in the night, but falls over the railing on accident and thats how it ends...

"This... this is... pretty cool... I guess." Dick could tell by the tone in Damian's words and the look on his face that he thought the roof was, in Dick's words, "pretty freaking cool."

They stayed on the roof for much longer, Dick momentarily leaving to get some paperwork from his office before coming back up. He worked on it while they enjoyed the sight of the city.

How can a city so dangerous at night look so mundane in the day? Dick wondered.

He was just wondering about the city when Damian suprised him with his words.

"Do you think Bruce would still be thinking of us if it were us that were... gone," Damian continued looking at the skyline of Gotham as he asked the question, and Dick did the same.

"Ya. He really does... did... love us. Even if he had trouble voicing it sometimes."

"Yes I know he loves you, Grayson," Damian replied a little bitterly.

"Are you saying you think he didn't love you?" Dick gave a hurt look to Damian.

"Well... I'm just... he didn't ever..." Damian sputtered and Dick could hear the tears in his voice. He inched closer to his little brother and put and arm around his shoulders.

"He loves... loved you. I know it. Just like I know he loved Jason, and Tim and Alfred. Even if he never had a chance to tell you. I know it."

"You didn't mention your name..." Dick was surprised at Damian's words. He sighed lightly.

"And me, and Barbara and Titus and all the others. But that's not my point. My point is that you are loved. Understood?"

The boys made eye contact before Damian turned away with a shy look. He leaned his head on Dick's shoulder.

"I think I understand," Damian whispered.

"You remember that I love you, right Dami?" Damian remembered back to the night he was first told he was loved by Dick, by anyone ever actually. He would never forget.

"Mm-hmm," he mumbled into Dick's shoulder. After a while of comfortable silence Damian turned his head to look back at the skyline.

"I... I... umm..." Damian fumbled. Dick's heart nearly stopped. Is he going to tell me he loves me?! Joy filled his heart and he had to close his eyes to keep the water in.

"Well... I... IReallyLikeYouAndThankYouForTakingCareOfMe," Damian blurted the last part of the sentence in a rush of words. Dick chuckled softly.

"It's no problem Dami. No problem at all," Damian could feel Dick's mouth turn upwards into a smile because Dick had pressed their cheeks together.

"Ok... I love you," At Damian's words Dick closed his eyes, but the tears leaked out anyways.

"I know, Dami. I'm just so happy to hear you say it."

In an uncharacteristic moment Damian wrapped his arms around Dick and buried his head into the place where his neck met his collarbone. They sat like that for a long time. Two brothers wrapped in each other's embrace as they stared at the skyline.

Author's Note: That little part in the middle about Damian remembering the first time Dick told him he loved him is something I did in one of my other stories "Dick and Dami." If you want to see more make sure you check that one out:)

EDIT: A guest reviewer pointed out that I had Dick in charge of the company, but it should've been Tim. I put Dick in charge here on purpose so that he could be the one to take Damian, I meant to mention this in an author's note when I posted it but I forgot! Thanks to that reviewer!:)

Thank you all for reading! And I really do appreciate your reviews:)