Title: Don't Go, Grayson!
Author: Subaki
Summary: Damian overhears the end of a conversation between Dick and Alfred and misunderstands.
Words: 2,001
Date: Originally posted 10/31/12, 12:30 pm
This is not a 'Dick leaves for Reboot fic,' though I might write one in the future.
Warnings: There is literally one swat delivered to a child's backside, and mention of a past swat. I feel as if this isn't even worth the warning, but you never know.
For the Little Bird with abandonment issues.
"You know I have to go, Alfred. I just can't take it anymore."
Damian froze just before the doorway to the kitchen.
"Will you be taking Master Damian with you, sir?"
"Of course not!" Grayson sounded incredulous.
…So Grayson was just going to up and leave? Damian racked his brain for what he could've possibly done recently to send his mentor -or soon to be former mentor- away. Nothing in particular came to mind… except last night. He hadn't thought it was that big of a deal. Grayson had given him one little swat to his rear for not following directions, but Damian had thought it was more out of exasperation than anything. Had Damian misjudged the situation completely?
Damian twitched, startled, when he heard the sound of a chair scraping lightly on the floor as someone stood.
"Alright, Al, I'm going to go wake up Damian and tell him I'm going. You okay with looking out for him?"
"Of course, sir."
So Damian was to be dropped into the hands of the butler and expected to be fine with this? He hadn't meant to disobey Grayson last night! He'd done what he'd thought was best and after Grayson had swatted him (which he'd been outraged over by the way as it had been done not far from where they'd tied up the thugs and one of them could have seen!) and explained what he'd done wrong Damian thought they were fine. Granted he hadn't exactly been as repentant as he should've been but-
"Oh! Hey, Damian. I was just on my way to wake you." Grayson was smiling down at him like he always did -bright and warm. As if he wasn't utterly sick of Damian and totally at his wits end at how to deal with his dreadful sidekick.
And then, because clearly he wanted to sweeten up his horrible news, Grayson bent down and gave Damian a quick peck on his forehead like he did every morning. Normally Damian would've tried to duck out of the way or glare, but this time he clenched his fists and stared determinedly at the floor.
He would not show weakness. He would take Grayson's leaving like a man and accept that he was just unwanted. His father would not want him, his mother clearly didn't want him, and the one person he'd begun to believe perhaps even enjoyed having him around was going to abandon him as well. His eyes began to sting and a tight ball had formed in his throat.
Damian's head was down, so the only thing Dick noticed were the clenched fists and assumed it was his little bird expressing his annoyance at being given his 'good morning kiss.' Dick rolled his eyes and continued with what he'd planned to say, "So, Damian, I just wanted to tell you that I'm going-"
"NO!" …And suddenly Dick had a child sized growth attached to his leg. He blinked, dumbfounded, as Damian squeezed his thigh and rubbed his face on Dick's pants, his shoulders trembling.
'Noooo,' Damian thought desperately. He couldn't allow Grayson to leave! The only thing he could think of to stop him was to latch onto Grayson and try to bodily keep him from walking out the door.
Dick stared down at his little brother worriedly. 'Is…is he crying?' He placed a hand atop the boys head and tilted it back so that he could see his face. Damian resisted the movement at first, but after a moment allowed Grayson to view the thick tears rolling down his flushed cheeks.
"Damian!" Dick gasped, astonished. He quickly swooped down and grabbed the little boy up, perching him comfortably on his hips. One hand held him up beneath his bottom while the other smoothed down the boy's hair. In response, his little brother wrapped his legs around Dick's waist, conceding to being held.
As he grasped tightly onto the older male's shoulders Damian could not even take pleasure in the comfort that he usually only indulged in when he pretended to fall asleep so that Grayson would carry him to bed and tuck him in. Instead, he felt the cuddling was Grayson's way of saying goodbye forever.
Damian broke out into harsh sobs, knowing it was completely unbecoming of the son of the bat but unable to get control of the emotions he wasn't familiar with.
"Dami, what on Earth?" Dick was now becoming a tad frightened by the display, and anxiously tried to soothe his charge by running a hand up and down his back and rocking them from side to side. "What's got you so upset?"
Crying like a needy wimp would hardly help him in convincing Grayson to stay and give him one more chance. Damian began to shake with the effort of holding in some of his sobs so that he could attempt to plead his case.
"I…I-mmmm -gasp- soo-oory, Graysuuuuhn." He managed, gripping the fabric of his mentor's shirt tightly as he tried to gain some control of himself.
"For what, Little D? I don't understand." Dick kept his tone soft and comforting, unsure what Damian thought he could've possibly done to warrant a breakdown of this magnitude.
A stray sob escaped Damian's throat, and with it rushed the rest of what little composure he had left. "DON'T GO!" He wailed before collapsing against Grayson and burying his face in the crook of his neck as he began to bawl uncontrollably.
More confused than before, Dick began to pace around the room, bouncing his brother lightly in his arms as he attempted to calm his cries and coax an explanation out of him.
Alfred, who had heard the shout, came out from the kitchen and looked on with concern as Dick walked around the perimeter of the room several times, trying and failing to get their youngest household member to quiet down.
"Whatever is the matter with Master Damian?" Alfred inquired, striding forward. Dick stilled at his approach and grimaced helplessly.
"I don't know! He started crying out of nowhere and said something about being sorry, then shouted at me not to leave. I told him if he wanted I wouldn't go today but that only made it worse! I don't know what to do Alfred."
Dick's eyes were pleading as he gazed at the family butler, silently begging for his help.
"I see," Alfred muttered, his stare fixated on the trembling little boy who was weeping as if his heart had been torn from his chest. 'Whatever the problem is, it's clearly very serious. I've never known Master Damian to express any emotion at this level besides anger.' Alfred reached out and slid a hand under Damian's pajama shirt, kneading the boys shoulder blades at precise pressure points.
Damian hiccupped sharply, surprised at the skin to skin contact and glanced back to see who else was there as he could feel the difference between Grayson's soft rubs and this person's purposeful kneading
Upon finding that it was Pennyworth Damian flushed and buried his face back in Grayson's shoulder. Now he'd gone and made a simpering fool of himself in front of the elder male too..
The massaging was soothing though, and Damian attempted to focus on it as it distracted him from his misery. After a few minutes, tears were still making tracks down his cheeks and he couldn't help sniffling every once in a while, but the worse of his breakdown had passed.
"There we are, Master Damian," Pennyworth praised. He had a handkerchief in hand and coaxed the small boy to raise his head so that he could attempt to wipe some of the tears away. When he'd finished Damian was still flushed and had tears in the corners of his eyes, but it was definitely an improvement to before. "Now then, what's all this about, young sir?"
Damian bit his lip and looked up at Dick, who was gazing down at him encouragingly. "I …I don't want Grayson to leave," he answered softly, then proceeded to beg, "Please don't leave, Grayson! I'm sorry for how I conducted myself during our patrol last night but I promise it won't happen again!"
Dick and Alfred looked equal parts flabbergasted and Dick tried to reply but Damian was quick to continue, wanting to make sure he'd made his case well enough that Grayson would no longer feel any need to leave.
"I know I am not always the easiest to get along with but if you stay I promise to try harder! I'll, um, I'll work with Brown without protest and I'll be n-nice to Drake, and -and uh-" His voice started to crack, "I'll even participate in the inane things you suggest we do for fun, and I will stop ignoring the ten o'clock bedtime you gave me for when I don't go on patrol, and-"
"Damian!" Dick interrupted, now definitely alarmed and still somewhat confused. " As much as I'd like for you to do these things I'm not just going to up and leave you. Where the heck would you get that idea?"
A knowing look passed over Alfred's face, but it went unnoticed by the two vigilantes.
Now unsure, Damian stammered, "You s-said that you were going to go be-because you couldn't take it anymore."
Dick stared at him uncomprehendingly, making Damian squirm nervously in his arms. Realization seemed to dawn on him because his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.
"Wha…no! I- Dami, no, I'm not going to- …ugh! You took what I said out of context, little bird."
"What?" Damian asked, utterly confused.
Dick chuckled a little as he began to explain, "I was talking about a movie Damian. Tim's been hassling me about going with him to see this movie and when I said I couldn't take it anymore I was talking about his constant begging. I was coming to tell you where I was going and that I'd be back in a couple of hours."
So… Damian was left feeling really stupid and extremely vulnerable after having revealed his insecurities to both men over something that had turned out to be very insignificant.
"If that's true, why did you say that you wouldn't take me?" He couldn't help but ask, feeling a little hurt. "I-If it's because of the way I sometimes make comments I can promise not to talk…"
Dick shook his head, now gazing at Damian fondly. "I'm not taking you because there's no way in hell I'd let you see this movie. Former assassin or not, I can't in good conscience let a ten-year-old watch something rated R. The only reason I was going in the first place was because Tim can't get in without me."
"Oh," Damian muttered because, well, oh. What was he supposed to say now? 'I'm sorry I completely misunderstood and started blubbering on your shoulder like a toddler?' Damian exhaled, as if trying release some of the humiliation he was feeling, and hid his face back into Dick's neck because there was nowhere else to hide while being held as he was.
"You should trust in Master Dick, young sir. He cares for you deeply, as do I," Alfred informed the back of Damian's head (because there was no way Damian was ever showing his face again!) as he turned and retreated from the room, satisfied that the situation had been dealt with.
"You hear that, Little D? I love you soooooo much that there's no way I'd ever want to leave you, m'kay?" Dick nuzzled his cheek against the boy's head as if to show him how much he was adored.
Damian nodded into his shoulder as his face heated from the attention, his arms encircling Dick's neck and holding on tightly.
"Now, I believe I heard something about a little Robin who's been ignoring his bedtime." This statement was followed by a light swat to the boy's bottom.
Damian stiffened, groaned, and mumbled something that sounded like, "Crap," under his breath. Dick smirked.
AN: This was my first Batman fic. I'm a big fan of the Dick and Damian Batman/Robin duo, even though I've never read a single Batman comic. What I know of them comes from reading reviews, some internet research, and fanfiction. Therefore, I'm not even going to ask if I kept them in character, because I know that Damian probably would not react as drastically as he did here. In fact, he'd probably shut himself up in his room and refuse to speak to Dick. Even so, I like the way this turned out and I hope you did as well. If you think my style of writing is something you might like to see more of, please review.