Disclaimer: See previous six chapters - nothing has changed from last weekend.
A/N: Cowritten with Lovergirl85 - go check out her stuff. Also, Gotham's geography is all according to my head and may or may not have basis in "real world" Gotham. Mostly do to the fact I can't find a halfway decent up to date map - all the ones that I find are pre Crisis. So, any suggestions would be welcome. And, as always, review.
Tuesday
Damian kept his composure today. Kind of. He only insulted one teacher when he got fed up and he'd only insulted three-quarters of his classmates as opposed to the entire classroom. He was relieved when the school day was over. He was annoyed when both Dick and Jason were there to pick him up. He was even more annoyed when the teacher asked to speak with them in lieu of speaking his father.
It was the teacher he'd insulted. Joy.
Jason waited in the hallway with Damian while Dick went in to talk with Miss Cummins. Dick was the socialite and Jason hated school atmospheres.
"So what'd you do?" Jason asked, sliding down to sit on the floor. Damian loved how out of place Jason looked. He was wearing his carpentry clothes, which meant he had probably just come from his job and sawdust kept falling off him. Jason had helped it along by brushing it off as he walked through the corridors.
"I called her an egotistical peacock who wouldn't know a compound sentence if it bit her on the nose," Damian answered, not looking at his older brother, opting to stare at the trophy case across the hall instead.
"Ah," Jason nodded. "English teacher. Way overrated. Was that all?" Damian shrugged.
"No," he answered. "I might've also called my classmates some less than savory names." Jason snorted. Damian scowled at him.
"Sorry, kid," Jason chuckled. "But you're the only ten-year-old I know who uses words like 'savory' and 'egotistical.'" He paused. "Well, Timmy might've. But I didn't really know him then, so I can't tell you." Damian smiled slightly, then looked worried.
"What will Father say?" He asked. Jason shrugged.
"Dunno," he replied. "But knowing him, he'll find it funny even while he's scolding you. I wouldn't worry too much." He looked at his watch. "Geez, it's been five minutes already! What are they talking about?" Damian snorted and sat down beside him and pulled off his tie, throwing it across the hall. "Don't lose that."
"Why?"
"Dunno. It sounded like an older brother thing to say."
About ten minutes later, Dick came out followed by the teacher and laying on the full Dick Grayson charm. She looked greatly appeased and even had a small smile for Damian when she looked at him. Jason and Damian stood.
"Damian would like to apologize for his earlier behavior," Dick smiled brilliantly. Damian opened his mouth to object, but Dick's hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing slightly in warning.
"I'm very sorry for my earlier behavior," Damian muttered, glowering at the floor.
"I appreciate that, Damian," Miss Cummins said, warmly. "I'll try to be more patient, as well. I didn't realize how difficult of a transition this must be for you." Damian shot a look at Dick. What had he told her?
"Thank you, ma'am," Damian said, because he knew how to play this game. Dick smiled and held his hand out for her to shake.
"We'll be heading home now," he said. "Thank you for your time." Dick guided Damian away from the teacher, Jason coming up on Damian's other side.
"Where's the car?" Damian asked when they got outside. He was at least trying to wait until they were in private before chewing Dick out for whatever it was he said to the teacher.
"Didn't bring it," Jason said cheerfully. "You, little man, are going to experience the wonders of walking." Damian stared at him blandly.
"I swing from rooftops at night fighting thugs. I don't think I need any more exercise, Todd." Jason laughed.
"Walking is relaxing," Dick cut in, just as cheerfully. "It gives you an opportunity to see stuff you might not see otherwise."
"Plus, your big brothers wanted to make sure you got home safely after what happened this weekend," Jason chimed in. Damian glared at them both.
"By walking me through exposed streets?" Jason and Dick looked at each other before shrugging.
"We're here," Dick said, as if that settled the matter. Damian wanted to smack him, but refrained. They were in public after all.
"Jason and Tim were there as well and look how well that turned out," Damian muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. They were walking down a residential street. The school really wasn't that far Wayne Manor, only a few miles and it was fairly nice day. Damian began trying to make his outfit as casual as he could. He untucked his shirt and shoved his tie in his pocket and then turned to glare at Dick.
"What did you tell her?" He demanded. Dick looked down at him in amusement.
"Just that you recently went through a custody change and were having trouble adjusting to your new life," Dick answered easily. They were coming up to a playground and they paused a for a moment.
"Jason, look!" Dick sounded delighted. "The Fun Sucker Police missed this tire swing!"
"A what swing?" Damian stared at Dick in disbelief before following his gaze to a tire held up by three chains. "What is the point of that?" Jason and Dick both fixed him with a look. Damian was starting to get a really bad feeling and began subtly backing away.
"You've never been on a tire swing before?" Dick asked.
"Never ever?" Jason reiterated. Damian cautiously shook his head.
"I don't think that me getting on a tire swing is really necessary to my childhood development – " Damian began, trying to head off whatever was going to happen, because Jason and Dick were starting to get a look their eyes that he really didn't like. "Grayson…Todd…don't you dare come near me-"
"I got him!" Dick yelled, lunging and sling Damian over his shoulder. Damian shouted and began squirming, yelling every profanity he knew of at his older brothers. Jason almost felt sorry for the elderly couple walking down the sidewalk across the street. But then he followed his brothers across the tire swing, where Dick was wrestling Damian onto it.
"C'mon, Damian," Dick cajoled, even as he forced Damian into a sitting position. "It'll be fun."
"Grayson, the last time you said something would be fun, I ended up nearly falling to my death," Damian snarled, trying to yank his foot out of Dick's hand. Dick pouted.
"I caught you," he pointed out. "And admit it, you liked the trapeze." Damian growled and nearly succeeded on kicking Dick on the nose if Jason hadn't stepped in. Together, they managed to force Damian to sit.
"Okay, now hold the chain in front of you," Dick instructed, ignoring his youngest brother's look of pure death he was sending his way. Damian acquiesced, clearly hoping that the compliant route would get him out of this ridiculous situation. "Hold it tight, now." He looked at Jason. "You ready?"
"Shouldn't you be asking me that?" Damian demanded.
"Nah, cause this is happening no matter what," Dick replied cheerfully. "And you're as ready as you can be." Damian was starting to fear for his life. The fear only intensified when Dick pushed the swing up and began moving in a wide circle, still holding Damian up in the air. Then he let go, allowing Damian's weight and momentum to continue carrying him the circle. When he reached Jason, Jason gave an almighty shove causing Damian to pick up speed and then Dick did the same thing when Damian swung around to pass him.
He was moving rapidly, the world a blur around him. If he shut his eyes, he experienced a feeling of continual weightlessness that was disconnected from the world. The wind was blowing on his face and he was treated to the grinning faces of Dick and Jason each time he swung towards them.
And he was not having fun, dammit.
Finally, they stuck out their hands to slap at the tire swing when it went past them to begin slowing it down and Dick finally grabbed the chains, bringing the horrible device to a halt. Damian tried to get off and would've fallen flat on his face is Jason hadn't caught him. Jason swung the younger boy up on his back, indulging in the urge he'd had ever since Tim was attacked. He saw Dick smirk and subtly flipped him off.
"Do all of father's adopted sons have an insufferable need for physical contact?" Damian sighed in a long-suffering voice, but nevertheless tightened his grip on Jason's shoulders.
"Dude," Jason said. "Don't complain. We could get Tim in on it, too. He'd do just to bug you, you know." Damian scowled, but was interrupted by a gleeful shout.
"ICE CREAM!"Damian stared at Dick in disbelief as the older man shot down the street in the direction of a offensively yellow truck playing tinny music.
"This is one of Gotham's most terrifying crime fighters?" He deadpanned as he watched Dick chase down the ice cream truck. Jason snorted as they watched Dick buy ice cream.
"You should see him when Flash visits, Baby Bird," Jason told him. "Or vice versa. He's like a three-year-old on three gallons of ice cream." Dick came bounding back to them and handed Damian a fudge bar and opened Jason's for him. They continued down the street, Jason still carrying Damian, who was pretending not to enjoy the fudge bar or the attention.
"So, is this what he's like when he's only hopped up on a fudge bar?" Damian asked cynically as Dick began bouncing back and forth and eyeing the light posts in way that would probably not bode well for the light posts - or at least their horizontal sections. Damian could see the headlines now, "Son of Billionare Destroys Century Old Lights".
"Yup," Jason confirmed. "Dick! You're making me the responsible one! Cut it out and stay off the light posts!" Dick pouted and returned to their side. Jason briefly considered passing Damian off to Dick, if only to make him behave, before deciding that Dick had more than his fair share of time getting to indulge on older brother feelings.
Across the street, Cain stared at them in disbelief. The display was so sweet it was sickening. He was certain he'd developed diabetes on the spot. And really, if they weren't in public, Cain could've grabbed them several times over already. He shook his head in disbelief. They may be the scourge of Gotham's underworld, but sometimes Cain couldn't help but privately feel that Batman might've raised a couple of idiots.
