Damian was a warm weight against his chest as they made their way through the last stretch of their journey. Three days they had been travelling through the mountain pass to the next village hoping to shake off their attackers.
Another hour and Bruce saw lights ahead. Hurrying his pace he found himself in a little holiday village that catered to the tourists that deemed to visit. There was a hotel relaxing next to the ski slope and Bruce breathed a sigh of relief at the anticipated warmth he could see seeping out the hotels doors.
It was late out meaning that most of the tourists were relaxing further in or in their rooms. The lobby was deserted thankfully and all it took was a pitiful smile at the receptionist and he was being handed the cheapest room they had. He thanked whatever God there was that Damian was asleep as he turned to their room, the amount of cooing the receptionist was doing would have had him in fits.
Dropping Damian off he checked the hotel for weak spots and any unusual activity before hacking into their system and looking at their customers. For all he knew his attackers could have reached or been stationed here for ages. The computer turned up nothing unusual, though there was the odd appearance of Lex's name in the computer. Bruce hoped it was just a booking error as he went back to his room.
Being a father of a seven year old meant waking up early. Naturally Damian was jumping on him at five the next morning since he hadn't been the one walking through the night with two bags and a small child.
"They have a pool, can I go swimming?" He asked in perfect Arabic.
"Fine," Bruce agreed turning over and getting a couple more hours of sleep "Be in the breakfast room at ten though."
Damian agreed as he shot out towards the pool. He was soaking when they met up at the breakfast buffet. Coming straight from the pool he dripped water everywhere he touched which made Bruce let out an amused huff as he took one of the five plates Damian was loading.
They took a seat at the back of the dining room where Damian relayed him with his previous activities. "Naturally I overtook them but I expect they'll be relaying something else to their parents," He bragged finishing off his third plate.
"That's nice," Bruce told him distractedly. Someone on the opposite end of the room had took his attention.
The computer hadn't been lying, Lex Luther himself was seated in the breakfast room and hissing quietly into his phone. It had been years since Bruce had seen his old friend what with him leaving the country after dropping out of college. He vaguely hoped Lex didn't recognise him then reasoned that he had changed so much and looked nothing like his old self to give Lex any reason to suspect it was him.
"Enemy?" Damian had picked up on Bruce's target.
"No, old friend actually," Damian's shoulders relaxed "Keep your guard up Damian. The Luther's aren't someone we want to cross," Damian arched an eyebrow "Yet," he added.
Nodding his agreement his son went to fetch another plate from the breakfast buffet making Bruce wonder if he was under feeding Damian somehow.
After dragging Damian away from the pool they collected their things and made their way to the reception. Another girl was manning it this time and seemed just as taken with Damian as the last one had been.
"Aw look at him trying to be all serious," She cooed making Damian bristle and stand straighter.
"Could you please keep looking," Bruce pressed. They needed to get out of here in the next two days.
Bruce straightened before Damian turned his glare behind him. He heard the rich leather shoes tapping their way across the floor and knew that the drawling voice could only belong to Lex "So this is what you've been doing?"
Turning to face his friend Bruce wasn't even going to deny it was him "What I've been doing?" Lex nodded to Damian.
"We all thought you'd been kidnapped or sent to some secret clinic. All of which resulted in your untimely death naturally," Lex smirked keeping his eyes on Damian greedily.
"Naturally. But you can see the rumours were wrong. Now if there wasn't anything you needed I must ask you to leave us," Bruce stated and turned back to the receptionist who turned to her computer again.
"We seem to have two for a flight to New York," She offered.
Lex pushed in "There's no need," He grabbed Bruce's arm and steered him away from the desk "Honestly if you needed a lift home all you had to do was ask."
"I don't need your pity," Bruce pulled his arm away.
"It's not pity," Lex faced him his face sincere "We're friends. It's what we do for each other."
Carding his hand through his long hair Bruce sighed "I know, sorry. We're just in a hurry."
"Trouble?" Lex guessed.
"You have no idea," Bruce muttered calling Damian over in German. He would have to get started on those English lessons soon. "Damian this is Lex Luther. Lex this is my son Damian," He spoke in English this time. Damian understood English but he couldn't speak it yet. Bruce figured it was all the other languages he knew making it slightly complicated for him to wrap his head around another one so soon.
"It's nice to meet you," Lex shook his hand. Turning back to Bruce he told him that "You're both coming back with me. It's settled."
"I'd rather not Lex," Bruce argued. Lex looked like he had a retort ready so Bruce explained "We're trying to lie low. There's all the buisness in Gotham I have to sort out and then there's… I just can't come back with you. The publicity you have would ruin whatever chance we have at getting our lives back on track."
Lex nodded but didn't seem to be giving up "You can stay with me," he offered warming to the idea now he'd said it "Listen, my dad sent me to this tiny town in the country. There's literally no one there and not to mention, no press. It's ideal for you if you're laying low, after all it's the whole reason I'm there. Come on, it'll be nice to catch up," he bargained.
There were so many things wrong with agreeing to Luther. For one there was the fact that he would be in Lex's debt, something he never wanted. As for the others, well, they could all be swept under the rug at the one thing that had him agreeing to Lex's proposal. If there was one thing he had learnt in his travels it was to keep his enemies close. Lex knew he was going to the country, he could out him and Damian at any moment. It was better to keep a close eye on him. Damian seemed to realise the same thing since he told Bruce to take him up on his offer also.
"Alright. But your dad better not be hanging around," Lex cringed. "Oh God," Bruce sighed but went to get his bags nevertheless.
Lex's private plane was ideal for those who wanted to enter the country discreetly. For one there wasn't any security checks meaning Bruce could sneak all the weapons he and Damian had accumulated over the years onto plane.
"So can he speak English or just understand it?" Lex gestured to Damian who was talking a mile a minute in Bruce's ears.
"Understand it. No Damian you can't have a plane," He answered back to the disgruntled seven year old. Swiftly changing languages he addressed Lex again "He knows a lot of languages and I think it's just adding another one to his list that has him a bit wary of speaking it."
"How many does he know?" Lex had taken an interest in Damian since they had met.
"Too many for seven year old," Bruce answered and switched the conversation back onto Lex. They spent the plane ride reminiscing about their school days and Bruce even broached the topic of Queen as the plane landed.
An argument with the driver of Lex's limo later and they were passing fields and farms to the looming shadow of Lex's manor house.
"Lying low?" Damian smirked making Bruce scoff and Lex raise an eyebrow. Bruce waved his concern away as he gathered the two bags and Damian into his arms. The boy was starting to stumble as he walked.
"I've had rooms prepared but if you like I can put another bed in yours," Lex offered. Bruce nodded, he didn't like to leave Damian on a night no matter how deadly the boy was. Bruce put him in the large bed as the maid directed another bed into the room. "He really is quite cute," Lex remarked "It's actually how I recognised you. Damian's almost the split of you at that age."
"I know," Bruce sighed. "So what time's breakfast?"
"Ten. But if you want something sooner just ask someone," Bruce nodded "Also if you hear my father, I won't out you but he might," Lex warned and bade him goodnight.
Bruce turned the door and checked the hall before checking the window in their room. Happy that no one could get past him he curled up, ignoring the bed, next to Damian.
A familiar drawl was lecturing haughtily on the merits of war plans somewhere. Waking up slowly Bruce had a second the register the annoying voice of Lionel Luther before the panic set in. It was eleven. Meaning not only had he missed breakfast but Damian would have been up for hours.
Dressing himself quickly his hissed Damian's name in the room waiting for a reply. When none came he checked the hall and the rooms beyond.
"Dami? Baby Bat?" The drawl was getting louder so Bruce stayed quiet as he passed the half open door and continued to the entrance hall. Checking everywhere he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Damian doing pull ups on the Luther's chandelier. "Dami," He called and held his arms out when the boy looked down. Damian never got a chance to jump, footsteps of someone stalking angrily sounded and Bruce made a snap decision and joined Damian in the Luther's light.
Damian was smirking at him as he pulled the boy closer "You realise this could snap," he remarked looking up at where it joined the ceiling.
Bruce knew as well as he did that it could support both of them. Training that had been ingrained into them made sure they always knew which surfaces could support their weight before they tried it. So he didn't bother looking up instead he kept his eyes on a black haired man that was muttering angrily under his breath. The one who paused when Damian whispered to him, like he could almost hear them. He continued on after his pause closely followed by a calling Lionel.
Lex chose that time to come into the room just as the door shut. He was sweaty from something and had taken a long drink, looking up and caught them. Choking ensured "What the hell?"
Bruce rolled his eyes and leapt down "Your father just passed," he told Lex patting him on the back. He left out the part where Damian had been playing on the chandelier beforehand. "Seemed awful excited about something."
Lex waved Bruce's patting off and regained his breath "Probably something about Clark no doubt," was that jealousy he detected? "He has a sudden fascination with him."
Bruce pulled a face"Ew!"
"Not like that," Lex reprimanded. "Clark's a friend of mine but father seems to see something. Something that has him treating Clark like he's family."
"I reiterate, ew!"
Laughing this time Lex stopped trying to explain and asked about their plans for the day. Once asked Lex was glad to give him access to a computer and offered to take Damian for the day.
Damian had other ideas "There were farms," He told Bruce "With animals."
"Fine." He told Lex Damian was going to play in his garden which seemed to satisfy him. When Lex had walked away he warned his son "If anyone finds you…"
"Play the innocent seven year old, I know father. And if someone else shows up show no mercy," Bruce nodded and they parted ways.
Reclining in Lex's study he checked up on Alfred and his city. Mob bosses were the new royalty of the city. With their wallets bigger than boats they had bought up almost all of Gotham. What didn't belong to them belonged to him which was even worse. His name was being used as a means to sell arms to mob bosses and terrorists while the criminals who ran his company grew rich on the suffering of others. The only bright side was that Alfred was still in possession of his trust fund and the rest of his inheritance. Leaving him in his will had been the smartest thing Bruce had done.
Finishing his check earlier than Lex's plans for dinner he decided to go bother his old friend. "Lexy," He called walking into the room the maid pointed "I'm bored. Come and entertain me," He purred in an imitation to one of Lex's college girlfriends. Stopping when he entered Bruce found Lex in chuckles and the girl he was spotting casting a curious eye over him. "Oops," he remarked.
Lex finally realised there was still the girl in the room and sobered up "Ah, Lana maybe we should take a break."
"Sure," she smiled and walked out the door.
"Sorry," Bruce breathed.
"It's fine," Lex waved off "What did you want?"
"I'm bored," Bruce repeated.
Lex appeared thoughtful "Well, I have this one idea but I'm not sure if I'd be being offensive or not."
"I'm intrigued, tell me more," Bruce listened.
Lex came forward and twirled some of Bruce's hair "How fond are you of this look?"
Smirking Bruce realised what he was suggesting "I'm guessing the barber's been here for hours."
"I didn't want to be too presumptuous. For all I knew you liked this mountain man look," Lex defended.
Laughing he followed Lex towards a room where a man was waiting with a razor and scissors "It was more out of necessity that I adopted this look actually." He took the seat appointed to him "I don't suppose he could do Damian too?"
The man nodded and Lex agreed "I'm sure we can corner him after dinner."
Dinner involved Lex wolf whistling at Bruce's freshly cut appearance and Damian narrowing his eyes at what he knew was an upcoming grooming trip. He supposed it was his own fault Damian hated hair cuts. With nothing but a knife most of the time Damian's hair cuts have been interesting over the years.
"My head feels ten times lighter," Bruce remarked "Though I will miss swishing that hair around. You know like on the adverts," He did a mock hair flick making Damian snort. "You better get your last flicks in now Dami," He warned as the boy scowled again.
"You look more like yourself now," Lex complimented.
"If by more like myself you mean more handsome and masculine then yes. I am," Bruce joked. He missed the easy banter that came with having friends. It seemed Lex had too since he didn't deem to retort to Bruce's comment. "So that girl I saw this afternoon. Girlfriend or…?"
Lex narrowed his eyes playfully "She's in my employment," He tried to kick Bruce under the table as he 'oohed' "Not like that. The reason she was around here was she's been on the wrong end of a fight too many times and asked me to toughen her up. That's all."
"That's all?" It didn't seem like that was all to Bruce. Lex had all the tell tale signs of attraction growing. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," Lex agreed "And if you're thinking of moving in on her I'd suggest you reconsider. Her boyfriend wouldn't be too happy if you did," he smirked thinking he had gotten Bruce.
Bruce scoffed "Sorry to disappoint but she's not my type."
"Oh?"
"After," He motioned to Damian whose head shot up at even the briefest mention of his mother "I kind of went off women," He confessed fiddling with his drink.
"Went off women or 'went off women'?" Lex asked curiously.
Bruce laughed "It's like we're on the playground. The second one and before you get all up yourself you're not my type."
Lex pretended to be hurt and soon the conversation drifted onto Lionel's recent crimes against humanity. Bruce would occasionally speak in Arabic to Damian about his day to which he got a monologue about the chickens he'd found and how safe he'd been on his travels. By the end of the meal they had established a plan for the next day. Lex was insistent that they all go see the Talon which was his little coffee shop in the small town. Bruce was against it at first but Lex reminded him that most people in Smallville only knew who he was because Lionel had ruined so many people's lives here. They weren't to know who Bruce Wayne is or even what he would look like if they did see him.
Bruce performed the customary checks that night wondering how long they would stay here before they would have to move. So far they had been lucky. Three nights without an attack could only mean that she hadn't tracked them yet. It would only be a matter of time though.
He slipped into the soft bed of the Luther mansion and kissed Damian good night as he turned to the window to keep watch.
Bruce had overslept again and began to wonder why Damian had stopped waking him up on a morning. Stumbling sleepily into Lex's study he found Damian in tears with Lex trying to comfort him. A man was standing in front of them with a concerned but stern frown on his face with a worried teenager beside him.
"Damian?" Spotting him Damian ran to Bruce and buried his head in his midriff. Inwardly rolling his eyes as he recognised Damian's 'when in trouble' act he picked him up and pretended to comfort him "What'd you do?"
"He caught me chasing his chickens," Damian told him sobbing between talking for effect "I saw a cow and the boy managed to sneak up on me," He pointed towards the teen.
"I'm so sorry Mr Kent," Lex apologised. The farmer wasn't paying attention to him.
"He your son?" He pointed to Damian. Bruce nodded "I caught him in our farm spooking the animals."
"He won't do it again," Bruce promised casting a meaningful look at Damian. The boy nodded rolling his eyes into Bruce's shoulder.
"Make sure he doesn't. That's all we need, the hens not laying eggs and all because your boy fancied seeing which could run the fastest," Mr Kent went on.
"Pa," the teen warned. Bruce caught the low note and registered it with the second voice he had heard coming from Lex's study yesterday. This was the man who had heard Damian. "He's only a kid. I used to chase them when I was little as well."
"That's not the point Clark. People like him think they can let their sons do what they like all because they've got a bit of money. Don't care that people like us have got to live off some of their enjoyment," Mr Kent accused pointing a finger at both him and Lex.
"Fan of yours?" Bruce smirked wishing he hadn't when Mr Kent glared at him. He looked to be about to say something more when Bruce bolted from the room. Something had moved in the room. He cursed himself for not checking the rest of the house as he sprinted to their room. He heard Lex calling behind him but ignored it in favour of setting Damian down and giving him his sword.
"How many?" Damian asked drawing his weapon.
"Two. Men and camouflaged in red. Come on," He grabbed Damian's hand as he opened the window. Going first he got a good grip on the side of the manor and checked either side as he helped Damian out.
Movement to his right had Damian swinging an arch around his head as Bruce scaled them down the wall. Solid ground was where the other had decided to cut them off. He was quick to disarm Damian so Bruce took over and set his son on the other one that was quickly following them to the ground.
He tried to break Bruce's leg so he trapped the other man's foot and broke his instead. A deep cry sounded behind him so Damian wasn't hurt just yet. He faced his opponent again and warded off two strikes to the face as he power kicked him into the dirt. Another kick to the jaw had the man out cold. Turning he saw Damian straddling his opponents neck and depriving him of oxygen. A minute later he too was out cold.
Lex found them as they were dragging the men towards the driveway "Bruce," He spotted the bodies "What they hell?" Mr Kent and the teen weren't far behind Lex.
"I told you I'm in trouble and now I have to go. I'm sorry about your manor, if they've broke anything I'll reimburse you when I get my money back." He carried both the men to the edge of the driveway. They wouldn't return to the manor now they had been beaten, it wasn't in a warriors code to try again when they were hurt.
"Wait! You can't leave, you just got here! Bruce whatever trouble you're in I can help. If you need money I'll gladly give it to you," Lex bargained. Bruce wondered how lonely Lex was cooped up in his manor. He had said that Clark was his friend but if Lex was this wound up then their friendship couldn't be that good.
"It's not about money," Bruce explained coming back over "I don't need anything from you. You can't help."
"I thought we were friends," Lex pulled.
"We are."
"Then let me help." he bargained.
"You can't. Those people there aren't here for my money, they're here to kill me. Damian's mother didn't like that I ended up taking him and she's trying to get him back," Bruce confessed.
Lex looked shocked as he surveyed the assassins "The mother of your son wants you dead?"
"Yes, which is why I can't stay here and you can't help. She wants Damian and I'm not willing to give him up," Bruce stated.
Lex looked worriedly around like there were more of the assassins waiting to pop out "You can't leave at least. Stay here."
"You've just seen why I can't," Bruce reasoned.
"No I've just seen why you have to. You said it yourself you need a place to stay that's low key and lets face it Bruce they're going to come for you wherever you are. At least if you're here I can help hide you somewhat. She'll be expecting you to move won't she? This way you'll have the upper hand for a while. Enough to sort out a plan," Lex grew calmer with every word he spoke.
Sighing Bruce agreed with Lex's logic. Knowing he'd won Lex relaxed and turned back to Mr Kent pretending not to hear Bruce's "You sounded so much like Lionel there," as he stopped Damian from mutilating the unconscious assassins.
"I'm so sorry for what happened. I'll make sure that Damian stays away from your farm," Lex tried, probably secretly hoping they hadn't took notice of what just happened.
Mr Kent nodded seemingly willing to play along with Lex's little delusion. The black haired teen Clark on the other hand was staring calculatedly at Bruce.