He should have seen it coming. Damian and Jason were similar. Too similar for his liking. Both of them had been through similar hardships and although the younger one had never lost any of his family members to death yet, he had lost everything when he joined his father. It was just a matter of time until the Joker noticed that, too. It had been the normal routine in Gotham. There were some minor crimes but nothing major. All of a sudden, they were attacked and Robin had been taken from him. It had taken him more than three hours to locate the boy. Three hours were more than enough for the Joker to do his thing. When he arrived, the building the two of them were inside in was only a bunch of rubble, with Damian under them. He could do nothing but look at the boy that was limply lying in his arms, totally unmoving. It was ironic how the very same man killed two of his sons the very same way.

"Damian..." Bruce whispered as he held his son tighter in his arms.

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When he got back to the cave, it was no surprise how the mood was. Dick was sitting in the corner, crying. They had been partners for about a year, so this reaction was to be expected. Tim was standing beside the first Robin, trying his best to keep in his own tears. Over time, the two brothers had started to accept each other. At least they didn't try to kill each other anymore. Stephanie, Cassandra, Barbara and Selina were there, too, each of them with sadness and grief written over their faces. The man lay the corpse of the boy wonder on one of the tables as the Catwoman walked up to him. She lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry."

Sorry didn't even start to describe how he felt.

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The funeral had been brief. Damian had not been the most social person, so it was no surprise that there were almost no people beside his family. Some of the other League members were present and the heroes his age, but the only one that seemed to really grieving over him was Colin. He had been crying through the whole ceremony and it had taken the Dick to reduce the crying to smaller hiccups. Everyone had left by now and Bruce was the last one still standing in front of the grave. He can't say that working with Damian had been easy, but the boy could do and see things that no one else could. He let his eyes scan the inscription once again.

Damian Wayne

Killed in a gas explosion

He felt someone walking up to him but he had no intention to move. They just stared at the gravestone for a while before the younger broke the silence.

"He was only twelve, huh? It's a pity, really. He had talent."

"He certainly had, Jason. He certainly had."

The two men were silent again. They knew why they were still there, but neither of them really knew how to approach the topic. Again, it was the red-head that spoke up.

"Will you do it this time?" The older closed his eyes and sighed.

"I think we both know the answer to this question." That was enough to make the former Robin snap. He angrily stomped his foot on the ground and there his arms into the air.

"Even after all the things he did, you still won't do it? Why? Why won't you kill that bastard? After all the friends he hurt, people he killed, you still just won't put an end to him? Now he even killed the brat! Don't you fucking love the kid at all?" That comment made the original Batman wince a little but he didn't let it show.

"Of course I love him, Jason. His ways might have been off sometimes, but there was never a time I did not love him."

"Yeah, but have you ever told him?" He was so shocked by that question that he was speechless for once. "God, I bet you didn't! Why won't you understand that he's different from the other birds? He had been lonely all this time, but you never noticed! All he wanted was you to love him, but there was nothing that would have made him believe that! If you really love him, then at least do that much for him and kill that killing bastard!" The man was still in shock but quickly to the floor. His silence was all the answer Jason needed. "Fuck you!" and then he walked away. For the first moment in his life, Bruce actually considered to kill the Joker.

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Bruce sat at the computer in the Batcave, trying his best to concentrate on his work. The boys were patrolling that night, so he had time to finally do some research and organizing. He was about to open a new document went he felt something rubbing on his leg and a low purr. The man growled and grabbed the animal by the neck and turned around in his seat.

"Damian! How many times have I told you? Don't bring your damn cat into the cave!" Only silence greeted him and that was when he realized that his son was gone. He looked over to the Batmobile, where the boy would normally sit and and shout that "Bubbles is lonely if she is left alone in his room". He would work on his newest blueprints for the car and try to convince his father to let him drive it. Batman looked down to the little white kitten in his hand and sighed. The former Robin had picked her up on patrol one day and refused to give her away. He finally sat the little cat on his lap and continued his work. Someone had to take care of her, after all.

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He had tried his best to move on, as had the others. Dick continued his job as Nightwing and Tim stayed with the Teen Titans until he reached adulthood. Barbara kept working as Batgirl, Stephanie as the Spoiler and Cassandra as Blackbat. Once in a while, they would come and check up on him, but none of them was able to cheer him up. No one beside the Batfam noticed his grief, so no one asked questions if he stared at the Batmobile a little longer than he had to or if he was spacing out in a meeting. He really did try to move on but it was easier said than done. He had lost another son and he had been unable to to anything about it. It was even worse than when he had lost Jason, because Damian had so many things he hadn't seen yet. While Jason had the chance to do stuff children his age did, Damian never had. He never had more than two friends, never went to an arcade and never understood the point of a birthday celebration. He never had the chance to just be Damian, a little kid that should have fun. There were so many things Bruce should have said when he was still alive, so many things he should have done. If he had been more open with his emotions, more open with his thoughts, maybe the child would not have died thinking that he didn't love him. The man admitted after the first three months that he just couldn't move on. He hadn't been able to take in another Robin since then. He hadn't been able to look Dick in the eye and not see the sadness in his first son's eyes. He hadn't been able to talk to Jason anymore because he saw that the young man was right.

And now, after five years of sadness, regret, guilt and grief, he was standing in front of him. The boy, now almost a man, he had so many things to say, so many apologies to tell. The boy, now standing in a red and black costume beside his other lost son.

He had to try his best to not break down and keep up his mask.

Out of despair or happiness, he didn't know.

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I have no idea, really. I just thought that Damian and Jason are similar and that they might have the same fate. Then I saw this: http:/ thingsaboutdamian .tumblr .com/ post/ 6906197156

And yeah, this was born. Whipped this up up in only a few hours, so I apologize for typos or anything. I just hope you like it.

Batfam belongs to DC not me.

Your Shadow!