Chapter 2

Damian plugged in his headphones and lay on his bed, furious. This was all the fault of that girl child! He hadn't done anything wrong! She had issued the challenge. Even if their weapons were whatever they could get their hands on. Like food.

His honour had demanded he meet her challenge.

"I don't want to hear any of your apologies," he growled as soon as his door opened a crack.

Grayson walked inside, completely ignoring how this was Damian's room.

"Good. I'm not here to give any," Grayson responded. His tone was between his everyday one and the one he used for Batman. It was strange to hear. Grayson sat down on the edge of Damian's bed and pulled his earbuds out of his ears.

Damian glared and bared his teeth.

"Don't," Grayson said. He then sighed. Damian noticed the lines in his face and the way Grayson's body language screamed 'tired'. It was a rare sight, one Damian was shocked to realise he hadn't seen before. Sure, Grayson had yawned in front of him and made jokes about being tired but Damian had never seen him so... weary. "I'm asking you to put up with Mar'i being here for just a few days. If you don't want to, you don't have to be included in our time together. But, I ask that you leave us alone if you're not going to join in. I do not get to see Mar'i a lot. I'm not in her life the way I try to be in yours."

Damian huffed. "Why not?" he demanded to know. It was important that Grayson stay with him because Damian wasn't old enough to be Batman and Gotham needed a Batman. However, Damian hadn't even heard of Mar'i before. Damian could tell, there was some piece of information he was missing.

Grayson looked away.

"Don't worry about it. That's between her, her mother and me." He then rose from his seated position. Damian rushed forward to grab at the man's shirt, suddenly feeling like Grayson was abandoning him. "Yes, Damian?"

Damian needed to think quickly to explain his reaction.

"We still need to patrol," he said. "Crime doesn't rest so neither do we."

Grayson gave him a weak smile.

"Maybe later. Get some rest first." When Damian didn't move, Grayson added, "you can't beat up the criminals if you aren't rested."

"Not true."

Dick seemed to ignore his final words and left. Damian stared at the door, wondering what had happened. There had been no shouting, he hadn't wanted to fight with his Grayson. Grayson didn't shout at him either.

A few days. Damian dropped down onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling as he thought. He could handle a few days, he was Damian Al Ghul Wayne, the current and best Robin. Mar'i was just a girl.

Batman and Robin returned from patrol, the air still heavy with whatever emotions had been flying around that night. Alfred greeted them upon their return.

"Master Richard, the young miss has tried to leave the building three times during your patrol."

"I see."

Damian looked up at Grayson, trying to gauge the emotions on his face. It was difficult, even though Grayson had pulled the cowl off. His mouth was in a thin line and he seemed focused on the distance.

"I'll go speak with her," Grayson said as he moved to take the uniform off. Damian watched him go.

"It is not easy, being separated from your child or your parent for a long time," Alfred commented in a wise tone.

"-tt- Whatever," Damian responded haughtily. His hand clenched into a fist as he thought about his own father. "I'm going to practise," he said. He had the urge to unleash deadly force against inanimate fighting robots.

Breakfast had been a silent affair. While that was the norm, both Grayson and Damian were usually tired come breakfast time, Damian had expected the girl to be full of energy. Instead, she had been silent. She ate her breakfast and then excused herself to her room.

Grayson followed a little later.

"I am a Princess of Tamaran! I can fight!"

Damian had not expected to be able to hear Mar'i's voice in the lounge. He was seated on the couch, reading the book on chess tactics Dick had bought him.

"I don't think my mother would care if you did take me out to patrol, just once!" she argued.

"Mar'iander Grayson, I do not want to see you out there, risking your life! We have had this discussion a hundred times. My answer is 'no'! It is not going to change no matter how many times you ask!"

From the kitchen, Alfred sighed.

"And Master Dick was so adamant about not losing his temper," he mused in a knowing way.

"What are you dithering about, Pennyworth?" Damian demanded to know.

"Surely someone who has inherited detective skills like yourself should have realised that it is Miss Mar'i's birthday today." It was a slight change of subject; the subject still relevant to the conversation. Damian didn't notice.

He had not realised it was the girl's birthday. But he was not going to admit that. He guessed it explained why Mar'i came here and why Dick made trips to visit her.

"Master Dick told me a little of her past, just so I would know how best to approach her during this time."

There were a few moments silence before curiosity got the better of the young Robin.

"Well?" he said in a demanding tone.

"Mar'iander Grayson was born on Tamaran without her father's knowledge. When Koriander, you'd know her as Starfire, returned to Earth; she secretly brought their daughter with her. They currently live at an undisclosed location."

"'Undisclosed'?" Damian repeated. How could Alfred not know where it was?

"I didn't tell Alfred where they live," Grayson announced, walking into the room. Mar'i was nowhere to be seen. "And that's intentional. I don't want Mar'i pulled into this world of violence."

"What does Starfire think about that?" Damian asked.

Grayson was as silent as Alfred currently was, leaving Damian without an answer to his question.

"I'll go get her presents. Alfred, could you see if Mar'i would be willing to join us?" Another redirection.

"Of course."

Damian frowned as he watched Grayson go. There was that weariness again. Grayson was slightly slouched, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Damian didn't understand it. The weariness seemed to correlate with Mar'i's appearance. If so, why not leave Mar'i with her mother then?

"Damian, could you check on Miss Mar'i for me?"

"Me?"

"All you have to do is ask her to come and open her presents. I believe you are more than adequate for the task." Alfred seemed to be working on some kind of chocolate monstrosity.

Damian gave Alfred an annoyed look before stalking off to Mar'i's room. He banged on the door.

"Go away!"

Such a child. Damian made an annoyed sound before pulling out his lockpicks and unlocking the door.

Reflexes honed from being the heir to his grandfather's League of Assassins were the only things which kept him from getting blasted in the face.

"What do you think you're doing, stupid girl!" he growled at her.

"It's my room! You don't go barging into a girl's room without permission!" Mar'i yelled back, her green eyes glowing. "What are you even doing here? You don't care!"

"-tt-," Damian huffed. He crossed his arms and glared down at her as best he could. It was rather annoying that they were almost the same size when this birthday made her around two years younger than him. "Your father asked me to get you." A white lie. However, the instruction had come from Grayson and was just passed to him.

"So? He doesn't really care-"

"If he didn't care, you wouldn't be here right now," Damian snapped. This girl was like Todd and Drake. Grayson couldn't help caring, even when it disrupted their work as Batman and Robin. Damian couldn't wait until he was in charge. Todd would be in prison, Drake sent far away and he would be the Batman as he was intended to be.

Mar'i frowned at him, rubbing at her eyes every now and then as moments passed.

Damian didn't miss the surprise on Grayson's face when he walked into the room, tugging Mar'i along. Damian had grabbed her hand to pull her along because she had been walking too slow.

"Mar'i, are you okay?" Grayson asked, kneeling down and cupping his daughter's face with his hands. Damian bristled at the implication that he might have done something to her before he realised it was not what Grayson was implying. It was then Damian noticed the red rims around Mar'i's eyes. The stupid girl had been crying.

"-tt-." Damian turned to the small pile of presents. There were three of the brightly wrapped gifts.

"For me?" Mar'i asked once Grayson was done quietly chatting to her.

"For you, Starshine. Your mother's present is there." It was wrapped in plain silver paper and looked like a cube box. "While mine are the other two." Which were wrapped in gaudy paper with 'happy birthday' scrawled all over it.

Mar'i hugged her dad before picking up one of his presents to her. Damian sat cross-legged on the couch and plugged his headphones in. He watched as Mar'i smiled and unwrapped her presents.

The two gaudy wrapped presents opened to reveal a stuffed unicorn and a purple dress. The silver wrapped present revealed a purple headband.

"Your mother did say that you'd be getting another present when you returned home. She says I shouldn't get all the festivities to myself."

Mar'i laughed.

"Is it over?" Damian questioned.

"There's still cake, Damian," Grayson informed him as Alfred brought in the dessert. "And this time, kids, don't send it flying."

Notes: This is not the end! There's more planned. Just thought I'd make that clear.