READING

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Dick practically jumped down the steps, up two at a time - sometimes even three at a time.

He had arrived just over a minute ago, long enough to see Bruce Wayne with his elbows on the table, looking down, while Alfred tidied up the kitchen. It only meant one thing: he said what he shouldn't. At worst, he said what he shouldn't have done to Damian.

So Richard broke into his younger brother's room, unsure if he had broken the door or simply used the doorknob. He only quieted down when he saw the little boy stretched out on the bed, calm, while Jason was leaning against the headboard reading aloud:

— When she returned to where the Cheshire Cat was, she was surprised by the crowd around her: there was an argument between the executioner, the King and the Queen, all talking at the same time, while the rest remained silent, looking quite embarrassed — And, without changing the pleasant voice he was using when reading, Todd looked at Dick and said: — Almost as embarrassed as I am now, reading a children's book while being judged in silence...

— This does not seem to be part of the story... — Damian commented, yawning shortly thereafter.

— It is because it is not, Dami — Barbara said laughing, without taking her eyes off the drawings she was analyzing - she was sitting on the rug near the bed. — Do you want to sit and listen too, Dick?

— No, no, I just came here because...

Richard wasn't sure what to say. He assumed that Bruce had fought with Damian, that the little one would be scared and alone, that Jason was still sleeping without worrying about problems involving the "child" in the house. It would never have crossed his mind that he was taking care of Damian with Barbara and... Tim?

— Because he saw Bruce sulking in the kitchen — Timothy muttered, he also looked like the father. He was the only one farthest away, sitting in the armchair while fiddling with the laptop.

— ... I better go see if Mr. Pennyworth wants help or...

— No way, brat! — Todd ran a hand through his little brother's hair — You stay here, without getting into the things of grown-ups.

— But I'm already at the same height as Timothy's shoulders! — Damian said slyly, still hoping that he could do something for his father.

— In return, waist-high for everyone else! — the second youngest replied, frowning even more.

— Don't mind, Dami... I was shorter than Dick and Barbara too.

— Realy? — the little one looked at his "favorite brother" with shining eyes — Do you think that one day I will be tall too? Like... taller than you?

— You will even reach the secret cookie jar without needing a chair like certain little ones!

— Shut up, Jason! — Drake demanded. He was irritated and his face was completely red, denouncing himself.

— Hey, you two! No more fights for today! — Babs scolded them — Dick, will you stay by the door or will you want to hear Alice in Wonderland* too?

— I... of course, of course I want to hear! — He smiled and sat next to her, she also wanted to see her little brother's drawings.

Jason cleared his throat, ruffled his younger brother's hair again and continued reading, trying to circumvent the embarrassment he felt when reading to so many listeners:

— The moment Alice appeared, she was called by the three to decide the issue. They repeated arguments, but, as they all spoke at the same time, she found it very difficult to understand exactly what they were saying — Her voice remained calm, probably due to the effects of the tranquilizer. — The executioner argued that one cannot cut a head unless it is not attached to a body. That he had never done such a thing in his life and it would not be this time that he would begin.

Damian was visibly anxious. His love for animals made him instantly like the Cheshire Cat, making him apprehensive just to imagine his favorite character in that story being beheaded. Unlike the other books he picked up to read before going to sleep, this one in particular he couldn't remember the plot, he didn't know if the Cat would have a tragic ending.

— The King argued that anything with a head could be beheaded, and that conversation was bullshit — Jason continued. Damian was tortured, keeping his reading calm and slow: — The Queen argued that if something was not done quickly, she would have everyone executed around — Yawned — That was what made everyone anxious, just like you, Dami...

— Jay...! — the little one mumbled with dengo.

Unlike the youngest in that room, anxious to continue reading, Barbara and Richard were concerned - despite disguising it. Damian's drawings have always had a morbid, monstrous touch, but those nightmare portraits surpassed all expectations.

Disfigured, severed, dead creatures;

Scary scenarios, even more than Gotham's barbaric crime scenes;

Batman, present in almost every drawing, looked like a murderous monster.

It was almost impossible to imagine that that sweet child that Damian was now could draw such things. The "almost" is due to the fact that all that was nothing but old, more frightening memories, but still memories of what he has already lived.

— Alice found nothing better to say that "He belongs to the Duchess: it would be better to ask her about it." — again, Jason yawned — "She is in prison," the Queen said to the executioner. "Go get it." And the executioner shot like an arrow... — He got better on his bed, lying next to his younger brother. Damian could barely hold himself out of curiosity while Jason, tired, tried to keep his eyes open and continue reading.

Before the rebel could finish the eighth chapter of the book - only a paragraph was missing - Bruce knocked softly on the door. It was open, but he still preferred to knock before entering.

The kids looked at him with an inviting smile, except for Tim. The second youngest closed his laptop and left the room without even looking at his father, he was still very upset about everything.

— I will go after him... — Dick warned while getting up, but Barbara pulled him by the hand to sit down again.

— He needs a time alone — the older Wayne justified, finally entering the room. With that, the children continued to analyze the drawings while Jason resumed reading, controlling himself as best he could to not close his eyes and give himself up to sleep:

— "I agree with you," said the Duchess, "and the moral of this is... 'Be what you seem to be' or, if you prefer to put it in a simpler way, 'Never imagine yourself different than you should appearing to others as what you were or could have been is no different than what you have been could have seemed to them to be different '".

— Jay, you didn't say what happened to Cheshire! — Damian grunted.

— Alice in Wonderland — Bruce noticed with a small smile breaking out on his lips — I can't believe this book still exists... — He looked closely at the cover, it was one of those he had in his possession since he was a child — Will you allow me, Jason? — he asked, reaching out to pick up the book, after all, the son's inability to continue was clear.

— Do what you want, old man... Just remember to show the figures to Dami — The rebel handed him the book.

The older one kept his smile low. He pushed the armchair and placed it beside the bed so that it was closer to the children and then sat down. With a calm and kind air, he continued reading where Jason had stopped, at the end of the chapter:

— The Cat's head started to disappear right the moment he left and by the time the executioner returned with the Duchess, he was completely gone. — He observed the youngest son, his green eyes shone — The King and the executioner started looking for him desperately everywhere, while the rest of the group returned to the game.

Even Dick and Barbara stopped what they were doing to hear the story. They looked like children, maybe even more than Damian...

— Now the ninth chapter — Bruce communicated — "You cannot imagine how happy I am to see you again, my dear," said the Duchess, touching Alice's arm affectionately, walking with her — She showed the picture the two characters for the children, all of them.

— ... Damian, you should redo these illustrations, they are so ugly! — Jason murmured. He was fighting sleep to be able to hear the story too.

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NOTE

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In several comics, Jason Todd has been portrayed reading a good book. Perhaps the most famous is that red-haired panel reading Pride and Prejudice in the courtyard of a jail. In his first appearances as Robin, he was a redhead, it was nice to have him like that.

Damian has also been shown to read several times, so why not put this as a hobby of the two?

Note Note: I am in love with fairy tales. I know that Alice in Wonderland doesn't fit into that category, but it's also a book that I love! I love the Fantasy genre!

(*): in Brazil, the name of this story is "Alice no País das Maravilhas". I don't know what changes besides the name of the book, sorry for the possible mistakes.