A/N: So…hi. A year after creating this account, I thought it was about time I posted something. Well, here goes nothing, I guess.
Disclaimer: Bruce, Tim, Dick and Damian belong to DC Comics, just like Gotham and Bludhaven
After an exhausting night of patrolling in Bludhaven, there were a couple of things Dick Grayson was looking forward to as he climbed the open window and entered his apartment. Those things were along the lines of a relaxing bath, a cup of warm milk, a cookie or two and sleeping through the rest of the night until noon.
What he wasn't expecting, however, was to see his little brother Damian sitting no his (unmade) bed, tapping his foot impatiently and with a sports bag on the floor next to his feet.
"Dami?" Dick blinked as he closed the window behind him. Blue eyes snapped to him "What are you doing here?"
Damian got up, and Dick quickly took notice of his tense shoulders, tightly crossed arms, stiff posture and slight twitch of his lips.
"Father replaced me with Drake." The smaller boy said, emotionlessly, and Dick gaped. Damian scoffed "Close your mouth, Grayson, you look more like an idiot than usual."
Instead of replying, Dick took off his mask, furrowed his brow and asked "What happened?"
Damian briefly looked at the ground, before looking up once again "Father and I weren't really…getting along that well. And tonight, during patrol, we got into an argument, again, because the men we were following got away, and Father blamed me for it. He said that if I didn't follow his orders, I couldn't be Robin. I told him that knew perfectly well what I was doing and that it wasn't my fault that the men escaped. Then, he said that until I learnt to follow orders and gained his trust, I couldn't be Robin. He called Drake, and went on patrol without me."
Dick blinked, once, twice, before groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. Father and son, both incredibly proud and stubborn as mules. After he stepped down from the Batman role, Dick had hoped, already back in Bludhaven, that it would work out and they would make a good team. Not as good as, say, he and Damian, but at least, pretty decent.
Clearly, that wasn't the case.
Sighing, he motioned for the younger boy to follow him as he walked out of his room, through the living room and into the kitchen, getting rid of his gloves and boots on the way. Rummaging through the fridge, he found a large crate of chocolate ice cream. Closing the fridge's door with his hip and picking two clean spoons from the sink, he took a chair, sat down, put the ice cream on the table and offered Damian one of the spoons. Wordlessly, Damian took the piece of cutlery offered to him and sat down as well. Both stayed in silence for a while, just eating ice cream, before Dick, after gulping down and licking his lips, decided it as good a time as any to continue the conversation.
"So," he said, carefully, looking at the boy sitting across from him "Bruce fired you. What happened next? Why'd you come here, of all places?"
For the first time since he'd entered the apartment, Dick saw insecurity creeping into the blue eyes of the Arabic boy, before being, once again, hidden behind the usual arrogance. Damian frowned, before answering.
"Well, I assumed that if I couldn't be Robin, there was no use staying in the Manor. Drake's insufferable and I know Father doesn't like having me around. I knew where you lived, so I packed a bag, warned Pennyworth and came here. You weren't present, of course, so I entered by the window, like you did. Really, Grayson, if I'm going to live here, you better upgrade your security."
Dick nearly spit his ice cream.
"Wait, what?" He stared at Damian "You actually want to live here?"
Damian frowned "Of course. As I previously stated, I can't really live in the Manor anymore and I do not wish to go back to my Mother, not to mention she probably wouldn't allow me. I don't really have anywhere else to go, therefore this was the only logical choice."
Dick grimaced, and pinched the bridge of his nose again. He couldn't help but feel pity at his brother's situation. The kid had just been rejected by the father he had looked up to his whole life, after having the same being done to him by his mother. Granted, the fact that he didn't have anywhere else to go was also the boy's own fault, for refusing to socialize with anyone out of the family, but Dick could understand that – being raised as an assassin probably didn't teach him many social skills. So, yeah, it wasn't surprising Damian would choose to go to the only person who had accepted him, apart from Alfred.
ON the other hand, Dick could barely live by himself, living on take outs and not spending that much time at home. How on Earth would he be able to raise Damian on these conditions? It was insane! He decided to tell Damian as much.
"Look, Dami…" Dick tugged at his hair slightly, trying to figure out how to tell Damian what he wanted in a delicate manner "It's not that I don't want you here but,…I can't take care of you. I don't know if you've noticed, but my house isn't that big and I have a day job."
Damian rolled his eyes.
"Please, Grayson. As you know, I am perfectly able to take care of myself. And I am aware that if I come to live here, it will not be like at the Manor. Also, I have school and, as unbecoming and worthless as it is, it's a part of my secret identity, so I will probably also be out when you are. Besides, thanks to being my Father's ward, you are rich, so you know as well as I do that money won't be a problem."
Dick blinked. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately "How about patrolling? You can't be Robin in Gotham, that's out of the question, and Bludhaven is different from Gotham. I'm not letting you patrol alone on a city you don't know."
Damian rolled his eyes, a movement that seemed oddly fond, before smirking at his older brother.
"Father doesn't want me, and we have proven to be a good team. Besides, I spoke with the Kryptonian recently, and he told me a few things. I believe that the Flamebird mantle is free, yes?"
No way. Was he…he was, wasn't he? Damian really was saying that he wanted to be Dick's partner again.
Feeling a grin take over his features, Dick raised an eyebrow "You'll need a costume."
Damian grinned, actually grinned, back "Ten steps ahead of you, Grayson." An, taking a notebook out of his jacket's pocket, he made it slide across the table, to Dick.
Opening the notebook, Dick's grin widened. There were sketches of a full body leotard, like his own, with a similar bird design (finger stripes and all), and with a hood, much like the one on Damian's Robin costume, but without the cape. The colors of the suit were scribbled in Damian's writing, indicating that the leotard would be dark red with a golden bird design, unlike his own black and blue. A mask, also red and similar to his own, was on the next page.
Looking up, Dick shared a grin with his brother "I'll take care of the residence change paperwork with Bruce. We'll work on the costume tomorrow, it's Saturday. Or, later today, I guess." He emended, sneaking a glance at the time displayed on the screen of the microwave. "I'm just going to take a bath and clean this up. You can sleep in my bed, if you want."
Nodding, Damian got up and, after hesitating for the smallest of moments, quickly walked forward and hugged Dick tightly around the middle. Smiling, Dick hugged back. He would swear he'd heard a soft "thank you" but, as his little brother retreated and acted as if the previous seconds hadn't happened, Dick decided not to comment on it, for Damian's sake.
As Dick Grayson had entered his apartment that night, he'd been expecting a couple of things, and finding his brother on his bedroom, hadn't been one of them. However, as he finally got under the covers, hair still damp from the shower, and felt a small body shuffle closer to him, he realized, as he pushed Damian closer and put an arm around the smaller boy, that this was the happiest he'd been in ages. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
The Flamebird suit was partially inspired by dhauber's "Tumblr Dump 9" on Deviantart. Go check it out, it's awesome!
Now, how about you click on that pretty little button down there and tell me what you think of this oneshot? Pretty please? :)