Update: After reading the reviews, i decided to make this a multi-chapter fic. (It will take some time though :S)
I want to show more interactions between all of the involved characters.
I think there will be a chapter for each of them, and there will be some changes on this one as well. i will add a scene, in which Dick says goodbye to Dami.
I really thank you for the reviews and i will try hard to do even better :)

My first Batman story :D
I totally fell in love with Damian right away, he is so awesome.
In my opinion Dick would be a better father...

thoughts are italic

General music i recommend for this : goodbye apathy - One Republic

Part 2: la familia - Mirah

Disclaimer: I don't own anything :(

"ROBIN! Use the gas mask!" Batman a.k.a. Bruce Wayne yelled at the boy wonder next to him.
Robin a.k.a. Damian Wayne obliged and put the mask on with one hand while throwing a sonic batarang at one of the thugs, disabling his gun.
"What kind of gas is this?" Robin asked as he struck down his opponent with a high kick.
The dark knight observed the victims of the gas while he fended off three armed thugs.
The civilians were either lying on the ground motionless or crying and screaming, babbling nonsense.
"My first guess would be a hallucinogen. The victims don't die but enter a state of apathy or lose their minds. I think it's similar to scarecrow's gas."
They both continued fighting against the dozen of thugs, trying to rip them apart, when suddenly one of them distanced himself from the crowd and attempted to flee.
That was the Riddler's spy; Robin realized and wanted to go after him.
"Robin! Where do you think you are going?"
Robin ignored him and chased after the spy.
The chase ended suddenly when the thug found himself running straight into a brick wall.
Huffing amused Robin waited for the thug to get up again.
"Dead end you idiot. And don't think you'll get away from me."
The thug chuckled.
"You are just a kid, what do I have to fear from you?"
Raising his baton, Robin smiled calmly.
"Oh you have to fear a lot from me, pal. Batman knows mercy, unlike me."
He raised it even higher, and just as he wanted to go in for the kill, he hit the pavement.
The last thing he realized before losing consciousness completely was a strange unknown odour and a calm voice talking to him.

"Riddle me this little robin, I travel by night and fade by day, what am I?"

A dream, he thought

"Now little robin, a little hint. It will be your last and eternal."

Well, fuck

"Robin?"
When the dark knight saw his son lying on the floor motionless and covered in blood that streamed out of his head, his heart stopped still and he held his breath.
Oracle had to be contacted right away. With one hand he fidgeted with his headset and checked the boy's pulse with the other.
"Batman? This is Nightwing, Oracle is not here at the moment."
"Di… Nightwing? I didn't know you were back already."
His oldest protégé had announced his return to be next week, but maybe this was a positive turn of events.
"Nightwing, get your Bird over here and tell Alfred to prepare for surgery."
Bruce knew that Dick would know right away that Damian was the problem, since Batman was all right, and the panic in Dick's voice betrayed himself.
"What happened? Is Robin okay?"
"He got his head bashed in…"
Dick cursed
"… but he is alive, barely but I think he'll make it. What worries me is the gas he's inhaled."
"Batman I am on my way already. Just…"
"I'll take care of him until you arrive, Nightwing."
"Thank you…"

It was a somehow bizarre situation. Bruce was Damian's father, but he knew that Dick cared a lot more for the little boy.
During his absence Dick had taken care of Damian and they had bonded a lot, even accomplishing Damian to warm up to other people a bit.
So it was natural for Dick to worry like a mother over his little brother, but it was unnatural that Bruce didn't worry half as much.
He knew the boy was going to survive. That was all that mattered.
In a way, his inability to worry for his own son hurt him more than the fact that Damian had just gotten his head bashed in.
The Nightbird arrived with a lot of noise and landed a bit away.
Nightwing came running, carrying a folded stretcher.
He fell out of step and almost stumbled when he saw Damian, face down in his own blood.
It was like the scene after Flamingo all over again.
"Oh god Batman… What happened?"
Nightwing handed the stretcher batman and knelt down next to Robin.
While getting the Stretcher unfolded, Batman started to explain.
"We followed one of Riddler's spies. And I guess that he found him and was ambushed. He inhaled a gas, it's dispersed now, but it keeps him in a state of sleep."
"So sleeping gas?" Nightwing replied testy.
"No. It caused hallucinations for the other victims."
Together they carefully placed Damian on the stretcher;
Dick brushed the short strands of hair out of Damian's face gently and rubbed the sleeping boy's cheek with his thumb.
"His eyes are moving under his lids… is he dreaming?"
Batman was already on his way to the Bird.
"We will find out when we get back, get him into the bird please."
Nightwing frowned and made to bring the boy in.

On the way back Dick sat next to Damian, holding his hand and brushing over his hair occasionally.
He was angry at Bruce for not caring. How could he stay so calm? Okay, stupid question, it was Batman live.
Never caring about anything but the job…
No. It wasn't as simple as that, but Bruce simply didn't care enough for Damian to really worry.
Damian's eyes kept moving under his lids, making Dick wonder what he dreamt about.
"What is it that you dream about little robin?"

Light.
Light and warmth was the first thing Damian noticed.
He opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on a white warm ground, surrounded by white.
Moving slowly he got up and examined his head for any injuries, but even though he was sure that one of the thugs had hit him pretty hard, there was nothing.
No blood or pain at all.

"Okay, now where am I? Am I dead?"

"No, just caged in your dreams"

Damian spun around, startled by the young voice behind him.
Smiling, there stood a little boy about five years old. Blue eyes shined with happiness and life.
Black tousled hair fell into the boy's face.
"Who are you?" Damian asked.
The boy cocked his head aside
"I am your guide I guess."
"You guess?"
The guide nodded.
"This is inside your dream and I am something like your guide. A personality you created subconsciously to prevent you from getting lost in your own mind."
"So I am inside my own mind?"
"Exactly, only you are a conscious mind like me, you cannot change or control anything here inside your dream. And only when you find yourself again, you will be able to wake up.
God that sounds so confusing."
"You don't say... How is it possible that you are confused by the things you say yourself?"
The guide shrugged and smiled.
"Ask yourself, you created me."
Damian sighed annoyed.
"Okay and how am I supposed to find myself? There is nothing but white here!"
Frustrated Damian sat down cross-legged and huffed annoyed.
"Well, this is your dream. Let your mind wander and I think it'll take you there."
"Are you kind of a know it all?"
"You created me"
"Fuck you."

Damian decided that it was no use to ask his guide any more questions, so he lay down and tried to let his mind wander a bit.
It was futile.
How could someone that was trained to stay alert all the time let his mind wander?
It was a sign of lack of defence and vulnerability.
He had been told ever since he was a child that he should never…

"DREAM!"

Damian jumped to his feet in surprise.
He wasn't in the white room anymore but in an old Asian building.
His bare feet felt the hard tatami beneath them and the training suit he wore was heavy on his shoulders.
He had shrunk as well.

What the?

"Master, did you listen? Never dream during training!"

Damian looked up to the hooded man that had talked to him. It was a faceless person, but the voice seemed familiar.
The guide had disappeared.
Looking around the room he recognized the place. It was the old Dojo where he had been trained as a child.

And the man yelling at him was his old sensei, one of many.
Damian felt like yelling back, but he couldn't control his movements, instead he heard himself sobbing.

"But I want to play with the tiger cups!"

What the heck? Have I really just uttered the wish to play with baby tigers?

He was thrown off his feat when the sensei's foot made contact with Damian's stomach.
Damian felt himself retch and tears ran down his cheeks, gasping for air he got on his knees when he was hit by a knee in the head.
Everything blurred and became dizzy for a moment and the disgusting taste of his own blood in his mouth made him want to throw up.
The teacher continued beating Damian.

Why the fuck can't I do anything?

All Damian was able to do was crying and trying to block some of the attacks sloppily with his tiny arms.
For a moment he blacked out when he was thrown into the wall. The attacks stopped.
When he opened his eyes, everything was red, his teacher hovering over him, still faceless, the dojo, even the boy standing behind the teacher.

"Take the knife and end it." The boy said.

Damian realized that he had been thrown into a wall, on which several weapons had been stalled and the impact had knocked some of them down.
One of them was right next to him.
He took the knife and suddenly everything he had ever been taught floated into his mind.
He knew how to kill this man easily, but something made him hesitate.

"It's okay; I will take the guilt upon myself." Added the boy.

Damian nodded and lunged towards the teacher quickly.
The knife ran deep into the old man's throat and a fountain of blood bathed the young Damian.
Now he could see other faceless people staring at him, bystanders that now applauded the young killer.
Damian fell to his knees again and watched his teacher die, when he was sure that the old man's heart had ceased to beat, he fainted.

When he opened his eyes, he was in the white room again, still lying on his back.
The room had darkened a bit and was now more of a gray than white.
Something moved next to him and he saw the guide sitting there, his eyes visibly darkened.
"Are you okay?" Damian asked, surprised by the change.
The boy nodded, face indifferent.
"I just relived my first kill… why?"
"Because it is something your subconscious has never really come to terms with it."
"But I can kill without hesitation"
"That's because it all works in your subconscious, not your conscious state now."
Damian nodded slowly.
"So what do you think will be my next step? Wait… don't tell me, I know ask yourself, blablabla. "

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he found himself in the middle of a huge pile of presents and a lot of faceless people, staring at a beautiful woman walking towards him.

Mother…

The Woman opened her arms and held them outstretched in front of the eight year old Damian.

"Come here, son."

Damian stepped forward and embraced his mother.
It was definitely not what he had imagined their first meeting to be.
He had always dreamt how they would smile and laugh and how his mother would shower him with love instead of presents.
But this was a cold and very formal occasion.
Even the hug was all too short and only for show.
The maid behind him nudged him lightly, signalizing for him to say his lines.

"I am honoured to meet you Mother" he bowed down "I will do anything to become an honourable son and heir to our family."

His mother smiled obviously content with her son and left to talk to someone else.

Damian turned to look at the maid.

"Salia, why didn't she stay?"

The maid smiled sadly

"Your mother is a very busy woman, I am sure she will talk to you some more later."

Damian nodded, but he was sure that he had experienced all of his mother's attention for one day already.

The scenery changed and he was now kneeling next to a corpse. It was his maid Salia.

"You know that she was interfering with your education, Damian. She almost destroyed everything we worked for. You had to kill her."

Damian nodded, mind blank as was his face.
Now, just like in the other dream he saw the boy.

"I'll take your burden, don't worry" the boy said, smiling.

Damian nodded and got up following his mother out of the room.
As he passed one of the guards he held out the bloodied knife.

"Clean up this mess, would you?"

He closed the door behind him, draining the room of all light, leaving it completely dark.

"Hmmm" Damian hummed as he woke up, in the white room again.
He looked around, seeing that the room had gotten a lot darker again.
Across the room he saw his guide, sitting with his knees pulled close to his chest, observing Damian calmly.
Like the room, the guide had changed as well; he was now covered in the occasional bloodstain and bruised.
"What happened to you?"
The guide shook his head but didn't respond.
"Tell me, what happens when this room turns black?"
"Then that means that you will have lost yourself eternally."
Damian got up quickly and walked over to the guide.
"What? Then I am going to die? Why? I cannot control what to dream but the room always ends up darker, and you more beat up!
What kind of guide are you anyway? You are no help at all!" he snapped throwing his hands in the air.
"Have you ever considered, that maybe you only see dark dreams because that's what is consuming your mind?"
For a moment Damian stared at his guide and thought about it. Maybe it was true.
He sat down again and thought about what was or had been good in his life…

Exhausted, Tim sat down on the bench outside of the medical bay inside the batcave, followed by Dick who had changed into more comfortable clothes.
Tim had assisted Alfred during the operation on Damian.
His skull was fractured and they had to work on his spine for a while.
Now all they could do was wait for him to awake.
Tim leaned against the cool wall and closed his eyes.
The bench shook lightly due to Dick's constant tapping of his feet.

"Dick, he's okay…"
A desperate sigh escaped Dick's throat.
"He hasn't woken up, has he?"
"No, but…"
"That means he's not okay, Tim. Okay means that he's back to bickering and fighting, back to annoying the shit out of you… back to…"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence, and buried his face in his hands instead.
Taken aback by Dick's reaction, Tim started rubbing his older brother's back trying to calm him down.
"It's not like he's never been injured before. Remember Pink Flamingo?"
Dick shook off Tim's hand and glared at him.
"As if I could ever forget that! It was my fault that he got his spine shattered; I failed to look after him! And now he's hurt again…"
"Dick it's not your fault."
"No. It's Bruce's fault, I know that."
Tim frowned.
In his eyes Bruce hadn't done anything wrong, Damian was responsible for himself.
"It was not his…"
"Of course it was his fault! He should take care of Damian he is his son for god's sake! And now he's not even here, taking care of him."
Dick closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.
"He's trying to find a cure to that gas, so he is doing something."
Eyes still closed, Dick chuckled coldly.
"Why do you think he does that? For Damian? He just wants to be prepared in case the Riddler uses the gas again."

Before Tim was able to a respond to that, the door next to them was opened slowly.
Alfred stepped out and closed the door behind him, Dick quickly got up and his look was all it took for Alfred to know how he felt.
"Calm down Master Dick. Master Damian is stable but still asleep."
"Asleep or in a coma?"
The butler fidgeted with his gloves.
"I'm afraid I can't tell, sir. It looks as if he's simply asleep but I doubt that he's going to wake up anytime soon. I am sorry, sir."
Dick shook his head and patted the butler's shoulder as he passed him to enter the room.
"It's not your fault. Thank you for patching him back together Alfred."

Inside, Dick's heart ached as he saw Damian lying in the white hospital bed.
His skin was so pale and the IV and the breathing mask made him look so extremely vulnerable.
There was a stool next to the bed, Dick grabbed it and sat down next to Damian.
Alfred had been right, saying that he looked like he was asleep.
But it seemed to be a very unpleasant dream, judging from Damian's clenched eyes and furrowed eyebrows.
"Damian… I am so sorry." He put his hand over Damian's and was surprised to feel that the small fingers moved occasionally.
"Please wake up, Damian…" Dick heard his own voice shake, and his eyes began to sting.

PART 2:

This time it was different, Damian thought.
It was not like the other times when he had been ripped out of his sleep like state and thrown into the dream sequence, this time it was as if he was slowly pulled down and fell through something very soft.
As he fell, he was completely aware of his surroundings.
All around him were pictures of people he had met and events that now played on his mind.
The first time Grayson made him laugh, though of course it was all on the inside,
the undercover job with the girl blunder,
the movie night with his… his family.
As he looked at all these pictures while falling, all of the feelings he had felt back then started to return.
He felt proud, when Grayson had noticed their perfect Team work,
he felt flattered when the little girl had wanted to play with him,
confused and a bit embarrassed when the others talked about obvious things that seemed completely absurd for him,
and he felt joy and calmness when they explained them to him patiently despite his arrogant bickering.
He felt his fears vanish just like at the time, when Grayson had put his hand on Damian's arm, soothing him after he got shot by Pink Flamingo.

Among all of those pictures there were two kinds of pictures that stood out more than the others…
Pictures of his father and Grayson, those of Bruce showing love to his son were rare, but they existed,
while those of Grayson fooling around and having fun were quite prominent.
Pictures of his Mother were nonexistent.
Suddenly, he no longer fell slowly, but at an immense speed.

A hoarse cry emerged from Damian's throat and he tried to stop the falling, because when he looked down, he could now see a black and white floor coming towards him alarmingly fast.
Damian realized that there was nothing he could do about it so he closed his eyes and just let it happen, let himself fall.

It was then, that a warm and soft pair of hands grabbed his and stopped the fall.
Quickly he opened his eyes and saw Stephanie Brown smiling down at him.

"Hey kiddo, how's it hanging?"

Despite his normal arrogant behaviour he smiled at her, though it was a smug smile.

"To be honest, I never thought I'd be happy to see you, girl blunder."

Brown chuckled and let go of Damian, who fell down at high speed again, but only for a short moment before he was caught again.
This time though, two different hands held him.
He looked up to see Timothy Drake and Colin Wilkes holding his hands.

"Got you, you annoying little brat." Drake said smiling friendly.

"Gosh, I didn't want you to touch me, I'd rather fall and die" Damian hissed but somehow he couldn't get that stupid smile off his face.

They let him fall again and even though he knew that the ground came closer faster than ever, he had the feeling that someone was going to catch him again,
so he closed his eyes and waited for them.
And indeed, again two very different hands grabbed his, one thin and delicate, the other strong and safe.

"Master Damian, this is dangerous…" Alfred said smiling concerned.

Damian looked up and smiled at the butler, but as he faced the other person, his heart stopped for a short moment.

"Damian… my son."

Bruce smiled at him. His smile was barely visible, but the hand that held him promised safety and love, and it was all it took for Damian to feel a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes.
Even though only hesitantly, Bruce and Alfred let go and Damian fell down still facing the two, unable to move now, and all he could do was hope that someone would catch him before he would shatter on the ground.
For a tiny second, he feared that no one was there and he'd die, but then he felt himself being caught by two strong arms.

"Hey Dami…"

Damian looked up to see Dick Grayson's blue eyes, fixed on him and filled with both love and concern.

"Finally decided to come back, have we?" Grayson chuckled and set down Damian.

When he got up he saw the guide standing a bit away, looking at him smiling weakly.
He was still terribly beat up and looked miserable.
"Why aren't you well again?" Damian asked.
"Because I have suffered damage that can never be healed, Damian, that's why."
Damian frowned.
"I have created you, right? So why can't I heal you?"
Smiling, the guide stepped closer and stopped only steps in front of Damian.
"My sole purpose is to keep you sane through all of the insanity of your world. For example, when a person kills, some of its humanity is lost in the process.
You created me when you were younger to shield yourself from losing your mind, because you wouldn't have been able to bear the wounds alone.
But no matter how good your life is now, you cannot deny your past and you will always carry scars."
"But that's not fair… not that I care personally of course."
"No use lying to yourself, Damian. I know you care."
"tt"

For a moment Damian studied the boy facing him, noticing that they really looked alike, and wondered what he could do to lift some of the other's pain.
"How about I take some of those scars you talk about upon myself?"
The guide looked rather confused.
"Why would you do that?"
Damian sighed.
"Because I want to get out of here, and to do that I need to find myself, right? I guess that you are me, so I have to help you."
He took a step towards the guide and grabbed his hand.
"So, how does this work? Do I have to…? "
He was cut off when he felt a stinging pain in his head, then in his heart and finally in his legs forcing him down on his knees.
It was a kind of pain Damian had never felt before and he didn't now how to handle it.
He tried several breathing techniques and mental tricks, but nothing worked.
He felt tears rolling down his cheek and when he looked up he saw that the guide, who still held his hand, cried as well.
"LET GO!" Damian cried out, trying to pull his hand away, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't break free.
Damian raised his left hand to hit the guide when a warm hand kept him back.
Grayson sat there; his eyes closed and simply held his hand.
"GRAYSON! Help me!" but he didn't move, and even though Grayson's hand was only covering Damian's without any force, Damian couldn't move again.
Slowly, Damian felt his consciousness slipping away, and somewhere in his mind he knew that he was going to die if it slipped away completely.
"Damian, just accept the pain… you have to." He heard the guide's voice in the distance.
Gritting his teeth, Damian closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the pain, allowing it to settle in and becoming a part of him before he fainted.

Dick still sat next to Damian; fast asleep, his hand still holding Damian's left.

On the other site of Damian's bed stood Bruce and simply studied his son's face.
Without a sound, Alfred entered the room and put a hand on Bruce's broad shoulder.
"Master Bruce, you should eat. I have prepared something, sir."
Shaking his head, Bruce turned to look at the elderly Butler.
"Alfred, it was my fault. I should have protected him."
The butler sighed.
"Maybe you should have, sir. But we all know that it is impossible to protect a young man like Master Damian."
"Dick did a great job at that…
why can't Dick take him in?"
"Because first of all, Dick is living his own life and should not bear the consequences of yours.
And second, I know that you didn't mean what you just said, sir.
You love your son. You only want to protect yourself."
Bruce frowned
"What do you mean? I think I know better…"
"With all due respect, sir, I know that you keep telling yourself that you don't love the young master, simply to keep yourself from being hurt.
You don't know how to act around him and you don't want to try, because you're afraid of him being so much like you.
But not the young and lively Bruce Wayne, he resembles the dark knight."
It was as if Alfred had read Bruce's mind, like always and Bruce knew that there was no use objecting now.
"Master Bruce, he is not only a killer, but a child, your son.
And a child needs love, Master Dick is doing a great job at that, I agree,
but you are his father and the boy wishes nothing more than to be acknowledged by you, sir."
Bruce looked back to Damian lying in his bed, looking so vulnerable and fragile. He was smiling slightly and his face was relaxed.
"I will try Alfred…"
Satisfied with the result, the butler led Bruce out of the room, to get his Master to eat something, leaving the others to sleep again.

"Let go…"

Dick ripped open his eyes and stared at Damian.
Despite being asleep still, he had talked and was now moving around, it was as if he tried to pull his hand away, eyes clenched in pain.
"Damian…"
The young boy whimpered and tears began to run down his cheeks.
"Grayson… let go…"
Like hell, thought Dick, and pressed Damian's hand gently.
"I'm not going to let go."
Damian kept moving, as if he fought something, but relaxed suddenly and more tears escaped from his closed eyes before they fluttered open slowly.
"Damian!" Dick got up quickly, heart racing.
Damian's eyes darted around the room hastily and his breathing sped up for a moment, until he calmed down, having analyzed the situation.
He was still crying, but unable to hold back the tears.
The pain and the shock were still there and it had felt too real for him to shake the feeling off easily,
but he was quickly ripped out of his thoughts, when Dick suddenly jumped at him and pulled him into his strong arms.
"God Dami! You scared the shit out of me!"
Damian felt the urge to yell at Grayson for using his nickname, but he simply buried his face in the broad shoulders and hesitantly returned the embrace, careful not to rip out the IV.
Dick pulled him even closer, until Damian yelped in pain.
"Grayson! My neck!"
He let go immediately and propped Damian up against the pillow, keeping a hand on the slender neck to steady him.
"What exactly happened, Grayson?"
Clearing his throat, he pulled the chair closer, so he could sit and gently caress Damian's head.
"You were ambushed and inhaled some kind of gas… Bruce has analyzed it but wasn't able to create an antidote yet."
Leaning into the gentle touch a bit, Damian closed his eyes.
Normally he wouldn't let Grayson or anyone get this close, but it felt so soothing…
"You really scared us, we weren't sure you'd ever wake up again… even Tim was worried."
Damian scoffed; eyes still closed
"Drake? I doubt he was worried."
"He was, you know that he loves you; he'd never admit it, just like you never would. But I was terrified… never do this again, please."
"You were terrified? What do you think I was? It was hell in there!"
Puzzled, Dick cocked his head aside.
"In where?"
Damian blinked; it would sound crazy to say in his mind, though that was the exact truth…
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does, where?" Dick smiled.
"Shut up."
Dick laughed and leaned back a bit.
"You were the one who started."
"Shut up!"
"And what if I don't?" he asked, raising his eyebrows challenging.
"I'll stab you."

Dick kept laughing and stroked Damian's hair, when the door was opened and Bruce walked in, followed by Alfred and Tim.
Tim and Alfred both looked very relieved, though Tim tried to hide it and acted cool.
Bruce walked over to the other side of the bed while the others stayed at the bed's end.
It was strange, but Damian somehow felt as if he was falling all over again…
He looked up at his father and could barely hold back a surprised gasp when Bruce took his hand and pressed it gently.
"How are you Damian?"
Hesitantly he answered
"fine… I guess, a little sore."

His father smiled and looked at Dick, they exchanged a look and it was all it took for them to come to an agreement.
Dick knew that Bruce would try to bond with his son, accept him and give him as much love he could muster,
while Dick would always be there for Damian, taking care of him and teaching him the things a dark knight wasn't capable of.
"We will only run some tests on you, Damian, before you can get up.
But I think that can wait until you have eaten something." Bruce said and let go of Damian's hand to leave the room with Alfred and Tim.

For a moment, Dick and Damian sat there in silence, until Dick realized that he was still holding Damian's hand.
"So, I think Alfred is done preparing your meal, should I get it?"
Damian nodded, but felt a tiny bit of regret to have agreed, when Dick let go of his hand and got up.
Before Dick had reached the door though, Damian let out a sharp whistle, and Dick turned around.
"Grayson…"
"what is it Dami?"
"If I ever fell… would you…"
Dick chuckled and winked at him.

"I'd always catch you, you know that."

Without a word, Damian nodded and smiled slightly before Dick left the room.

"Thank you… I'd catch you too." He said, knowing that no one was able to hear him.

For the next days, Damian remained bed ridden.
The aftermath of the gas was a terrible migraine and his skull had yet to recover completely.
But it almost bored him to death to simply sit in bed all the time, doing nothing but playing games and watching movies.
They had moved him from the old room to his bedroom, so it was not like sitting in a hospital, but still it was boring.

Damian heard the door open cautiously and noticed Dick entering the room.

"Ever heard of knocking, Grayson?" his voice sounded bored and a bit annoyed, but deep inside he felt happy about the visit, and he couldn't help but smile at least a little bit.

Ignoring the comment, Dick crossed the room and sat down on the great bed, next to Damian.

"So, how are you feeling?" Dick asked.

The boy scooted almost unnoticeable closer to Dick. In a way he wished that Grayson would pat his head or massage his neck gently, but it was unbecoming for him so he refrained from uttering his thoughts.

"I am fine, just sleepy from time to time."

To demonstrate his state, he turned his head from side to side, but when he turned to the right, pain struck through his spine and he gasped in pain, clenching his eyes shut.
Sighing, Dick started to gently rub over Damian's hot neck, careful not to add too much pressure.

"Doesn't really seem like fine to me."

Annoyed, and maybe a little embarrassed, Damian huffed and glared at Dick.

"Would you kindly tell me why you are here, Grayson?"

Dick chuckled and withdrew his hand from Damian's neck to fold them in his lap.

"Actually, I am here to inform you of my departure. I wanted to make sure you are okay before I leave."

Quickly Damian scooted away a bit.

"Where are you going?" He hadn't intended to sound as angry and surprised as he did, but he hadn't expected Grayson to leave again so soon.

"Look Damian" Dick said with a sad smile "I have to go back; my help is needed in a case. And you have Pennyworth and Bruce and even…"

"Don't you dare mentioning that dork Drake"

"And even Tim" Dick added, ignoring the remark.

Damian looked at Dick, searching his face for anything he could use to change his decision to leave.

In the end, though, it was no use. The decision was Dick's to make, and it didn't mean that he was gone forever, right?
Still, he didn't feel like breaking the silence, even though he knew that Grayson expected him to say something,
but it was not like a word of approval or disapproval would change anything, so why make any effort?

They remained silent until Dick got up.

"I have to go, Dami. If you want to stay silent about this, it's fine by me." Damian knew that was a lie; it was obvious that Dick was a bit hurt, though Damian couldn't tell why.

Dick was already at the door.

"Grayson…"

The tall man turned around and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Damian, the Damian, sitting there with his arms outstretched towards him, a slight blush on his cheeks.
For a moment he simply stood there, taken aback by the situation.

"At least say goodbye properly, Grayson."

The room was crossed once again and even though it had been Damian that had offered the hug, it was Dick that pulled the boy close.
He felt Damian wrapping his arms around him hesitantly and couldn't help but smile. He tightened the hug a little bit, savouring the unusual gesture of affection from Damian, when once again Damian yelped in pain.

"Grayson! My neck! Do you want to break it?"

Dick released Damian and gave him a worried look.
Damian rubbed his neck

"I think you dislocated something you monkey."

Dick chuckled and ruffled Damian's hair gently.

"I know I didn't and that won't make me stay."

"It was worth a try." Damian said, smiling.

After an hour, Dick had finally finished packing up.
He sat down on his suitcase and let out a tired sigh.
Damian was at the Doctor's - in public Damian Wayne fell down a climbing wall and hurt his head and neck - and Tim was out with Tam.
He was about to leave when he saw Alfred walking towards him.

"Alfred! I thought you accompanied Damian." Not that Dick minded seeing the butler once more before he left.

"No, sir. Master Bruce is accompanying his son." Dick gave him a surprised look and noticed the butler's smile.

"I was told to give you this, before your departure." Alfred held out a folded paper, and Dick took it.

He wanted to open it immediately, but Alfred held up his hand.

"I was told that no one, except you, is allowed to see it, and that you shouldn't unfold it until you are home, sir." Confused, Dick stared at the paper.

After he had arrived at home and finally lay in his comfortable bed, the folded paper popped in his mind again. He had totally forgotten all about it.
He got up to search his bags and suitcase for it, and when he found it, he settled on his couch to look at it.
When he unfolded it, he couldn't hold back a little chuckle. It was a letter.

'Dear Grayson,
I just want you to know that you will have to bear the consequences for your absence, and I hope you are aware of the fact that I will punish you for all the boredom that I will be going through.'

(The next sentence was scribbled over and he couldn't read it, but somehow he was sure that it was something that the writer had felt embarrassed about.)

'Now, I hope that you have arrived unharmed and that you will read this.
It's not like I need you here but I think Pennyworth and father will get lonely when you are not here, and that both of them will miss you dearly.
So please come back soon or at least call every now and then, so I don't have to deal with their moods.

Sincerely

Damian Wayne.

P.S.
Since father told me to, and only because he told me to, I drew you a bird. I like blue better than red, so it's blue.'

Dick felt his heart warm when he looked at the letter and the drawing.
It was not only one bird, but two sitting side by side on a branch. One was red, green, black and yellow, while the other one, a lot taller, was black and blue.
They were quite remarkably drawn to be honest. Damian obviously had some artistic talent, Dick thought.
And as he looked around his living room, he felt somehow alone.
He wished to have a bickering and annoying and unbearably adorable little wild fang here to fight or talk, or simply laugh with.
It was then that it dawned upon him that he really missed Damian.
And obviously, Damian would miss him too.
Even if he wrote the letter in a distant way, his feelings shone through.
He sat there and read the letter over and over again, feeling that he would give a lot to trade places with Bruce now…

The next day, Damian once again sat in his bed reading… bored to death.
It was almost unbearably boring.
Well, it had been bearable until Dick had to leave for New York again…
Damian sighed and tried to concentrate on the page he was reading again, to no avail, when he heard a knock from the door.

"Come…"
"Damian!"
Stephanie Brown stormed into the room, carrying Tupperware, followed by Colin Wilkes.
"…in" Damian finished.
Hastily, Stephanie gathered two chairs and set them down next to Damian's bed. He sat up cross legged and looked at them suspiciously.
"Hi Damian" Colin said sheepishly sitting down.
He greeted Colin friendly and observed Stephanie rushing around the room, obviously searching for something, still carrying her stupid boxes.
"Brown!" he yelled.
"Yes?" she stopped still, for a moment.
"Sit down, will you?"
"But I can't find any cutlery…"
Damian sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"What would you need cutlery for?"
Smiling widely, she opened the box and the delicious smell of warm bakery filled the room.
"Waffles!"
Just as Damian was about to tell her that he'd never eat her Waffles, he saw Colin, practically drooling next to him.
"…waffles" the redhead repeated, eyes widened.
"See? Your little friend likes Waffles."
"TT"
Colin blushed and started fidgeting with his fingers.
"I…If Damian won't take them…"
"Fine, we can eat them… just sit down."
Stephanie chuckled and sat down "We can eat them with our hands, right?"
The others agreed and they started digging in, Damian hesitantly and Colin vigorously.
After a while and about two incidents with Colin almost choking later, Stephanie set aside the emptied box.
"So, I didn't know you had a friend your age Damian. We met in front of the house."
"We met on a mission, he's abuse."
Stephanie whistled impressed.
"I… It's not that big of a deal" Colin stuttered, blushing slightly "Really."
"No it's really cool" Damian said, earning confused looks from the others
"He saved my life back then."

The redhead and the blonde exchanged a puzzled look.
"Damian, are you all right? You act so strange" Stephanie asked, sincerely concerned.
"That hit to your head must have been really bad" Added Colin.
Damian leaned back against the pillow.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe it's the pills. Sometimes they make things seem so blurry and not real." He smiled smugly.
"But Brown still looks fat, so I guess I am okay."
Angry, Stephanie stood up and smacked his leg, while Damian laughed and Colin smiled happily.
But they were right, the pills made his head dizzy and he felt really sleepy all of a sudden, before he could tell them though, his eyes fell shut.

The others both smiled at the sleeping Damian and slowly retreated from the room.
Bruce hadn't told Damian, but all of the others knew that the poison he'd inhaled was normally deadly and that he had slipped in and out of death several times that night.
To the relief of everyone, though, the little devil was still alive and on his way to get better.