The world is a small place where anything is possible. That's a lie, but it's a pretty lie, so few people will destroy it with the truth. The truth being that the world (at the equator) is 24,901.55 miles long, and not everything is possible; but people seem to hate it when I bring facts and logic into arguments---especially Dick, but that's something to brood over at another time. Right now, I'm going to chose to brood over the loss of another bright child. The last thing I expected or really wanted to hear when I got back to Gotham is that another one of us has lost someone dear to them, but at this point I think I might actually get to the point where I expect it.

"Drake, I want to talk to you."

I hadn't even heard Damian enter my room, which means I need to focus more, but I'm still not used to being back yet. I glance up at the kid, but his tone doesn't match his expression. His tone is a warning, but his expression is miserable and sad. I was a bit surprised to find Damian, of all people, taking Lian's death so hard. "What's up, kid?" I may not like Damian, but I know better than to start something now.

"I've read the files. I know that you've lost a lot of people before, and…" Damian trails off, and I know that this is probably hard for him. After all, he doesn't really like me, either.

"And you want to know how to deal with the pain?"

Damian nods curtly, and I want to laugh, because if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be the way that I am. "Have you tried talking to Dick?"

The kid's eyes flare with anger, and I know that he took that as the brush off that it actually wasn't. "Chill Damian, I didn't actually mean that as a 'get the hell out.' It's just that Dick is better with emotions, and well…a hell of a lot of other things."

Damian huffs out a breath and sits down on the bed next to me, which I actually hadn't expected him to do. "I did try to talk to him actually."

I hum to myself for a moment. Talking with people is awkward enough…having a serious discussion with someone who's tried to kill you multiple times…well, awkward really doesn't cover that. "And how did that go?"

Damian gives a small shrug. "There was a lot of hugging, and he kept repeating, 'I know it hurts, but it'll get better,' which didn't actually help."

I nod as I place a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, Dick's definitely more physical, and he's not actually so good with words sometimes."

Damian stares up at me with big sad eyes. "So what's your suggestion?"

I shrug, because hell if I know. "Try to remember you still have people who care about you, don't go crazy, and I don't actually recommend taking it out on other people. Not that I haven't done that myself from time to time."

Damian looks thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "Can I take it out on you?"

I feel myself blink a few times because I really wasn't expecting that. "Um…" is all that I get out before Damian wraps his arms around me and starts crying--and I'm not really sure how to react to that, either. I tentatively place a hand on his back. "I'm not going to tell you that it's okay, because it's not. And I'm sure it doesn't feel okay, but I can tell you that the pain…well, it doesn't so much lessen, as it gets buried under a few layers of less painful emotions."

Damian rubs his tear-streaked cheek against my shirt, and I'm pretty sure that's a sign to keep talking. "She was your friend, right?" I don't actually know how well Damian and Lian knew each other, but I think, with the way that he's reacting, it's safe to say that he liked her.

He nods and sniffles slightly. "Best friend…only friend." He mumbles against my shirt, and I know exactly what it's like to lose someone that close to you.

"You've got all this pain and you're not really sure what to do with it. You've cried and it hasn't really helped, right?" Damian nods again, and I feel my throat tighten, because no one should feel this type of pain…at least not this young. "This is the part where I tell you it will get better because that part, at least, does go away after a while."

Damian sniffles again, sits up, and wipes his eyes. "When?"

I shrug, and bite my tongue, because there's no way in hell I'm going to tell him when that pain went away from me. "In time…that answer sucks, I know, but it is the truth."

Damian stares up at me with an unsure expression for a moment. "I…I have a request for you."

I raise an eyebrow at him, but motion for him to tell me. "Go ahead, what is it?"

"Could you..." Damian swallows hard before continuing. "Could you tell me more about her?"

I smile a little because the kid looks like he could use it. "Yeah, what do you want to know?"

"Well, we were supposed to hang out, but before we could…" Damian trails off for a moment before visibly composing himself and continuing. "Anyway, she was going to tell me about the time that she made you dress up and play tea party with her."

I laugh at that, because of course Lian was going to tell Damian about that. "Which time?"

Damian looks absolutely shocked at that. "She got you to do that more than once?"

I laugh again a little harder this time. "Lian was a princess. She could get pretty much anyone to do whatever she wanted. She even got Bruce to dress up and play tea party with her."

Damian scowls at me. "You're lying."

I shake my head. "Really not…Alfred was pouring tea with this very small, very slight smirk on his face, but everyone could tell that inside he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Bruce was trying to look indignant--he was wearing a tiara while sipping from his--I kid you not--pink tea cup. Really, we should all just be happy that Lian usually used her powers for good instead of evil."

Damian tries to hide his growing grin, because even he can't deny that Bruce in a tiara and drinking from a pink tea cup was hilarious. After a moment or two, he heaves a little sigh and smiles a little. "Yeah, she was awesome."

I ruffle his hair, because if this was Dick and me, that's what he would do. "Yeah, she really was."

The End