ARRIVAL

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Oh, Dick... Please behave...! — Selina asked with a tired tone.

— YOU WERE LYING TO ME! — the boy was screaming, he was beside himself. He dropped his phone on the counter with the "speakerphone" option enabled.

— Calm down, Dick! — Tim pleaded, rummaging through the cabinets for more coffee.

Alfred did it for your sake — she justified after a few seconds.

— MY BROTHER DISAPPEARED! — Dick insisted. He was desperate, mainly because Alfred had been omitting things from him for days— DISAPPEARED MORE THAN FOUR HOURS!

Lois told me that Jon took a long time to come home yesterday, maybe it was him... — The woman tried to sound calm, but the concern was remarkable.

— It must be because he was eating my noodle... — Tim grunted, not caring much about the reasons that led Superboy to "steal" his meal that night — I think Jason is involved in this too, he disappeared.

— And while you were creating your theories, you didn't even think to let me know! — the eldest clapped a hand on the table — Damian is helpless, without memory, with an unknown kidnapper and all you know how to do is demand calm!?

— We cannot attract the attention of others... — Tim lifted his shoulders, embracing one of the instant coffee packages as if it were a precious commodity, a kind of magic shield that would protect him from his brother's wrath — and Jason must have taken him, is the most obvious.

— AND WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO!? — Dick got up, walking from side to side — Wait here, doing nothing, until Jason appears with Damian on his lap asking for help because he took him out of the middle of an important treatment!?

— I took him out of the middle of an exam, and I didn't exactly come to ask for help ... — Jason said with some grace, entering the kitchen with Damian asleep in his lap. He had heard the shouting and controlled himself to enter only at an opportune moment.

The older man said no more, just ran over to them and took the little one from Todd. He hugged Damian so tightly that he even made him murmur in his sleep.

— Don't wake up the brat! — Jason hit him with a punch on the shoulder — It took work to make him sleep. Have you ever tried to lull someone while driving?

— And why did you kidnap Damian!? — Despite his irritation, Dick tried to control his voice.

— ... I messed him, something like that — he lifted his shoulders.

— Wow! — Tim stopped putting his beloved coffee powder in the cup and looked at the others — Ok, it's happening! Only in that way would Jason be able to say something like that! — He put a spoonful of powder in his mouth — In fact, you should have kidnapped Bruce too, I need to talk to him about the divergent lines — he said while chewing the powder - the crackles were clearly audible.

— ... We should call Stephanie and let them know that Timmy is broken, — Jason suggested.

— Nothing to include more people in this and not even atract attention — Dick repeated his father's request, leaving the kitchen with the child on his lap. The priority was to take care of Damian, he would worry about the circumstances of that kidnapping afterwards - young Timothy's problems were the last preference.

He hurried over, went up the stairs and entered his brother's room - the new room.

It took a few seconds before he had the courage to release the child. He felt that if left Damian out of his hands, he could disappear again... So small and fragile, helpless against anything - seeing Damian like that was excruciating.

— Kiddo... — Grayson whispered, putting him to bed — What did they do to you?

— Exams... — the little one whispered, finally opening his eyes. The cold bedspread made him cringe — Dick... Am I home? — he asked confused.

— Yes! —Smiled.

— Can I play in the garden? — The youngest smiled too, rubbing his eyes.

— No, little brother... — he held Damian's hands, pushing them away from his face — It's still early in the morning, better to sleep some more, okay? — He kissed him on the forehead.

— ... Ok... — Damian whispered, he was more than willing to continue sleeping.

— Do you want to wear pajamas? Alfred said you love them... — Dick asked as he ran his fingertips through his brother's hair. The truth is that seeing Damian in those hospital clothes made it worse - mainly because it reminded him that the little one should be there, not at home.

— No... — he replied softly.

— Why not? — The older one raised his eyebrows.

— ... It's warm — Damian tried to explain, hugging himself with the jacket Jason had loaned him.

— Just for that? You're not shy, are you?

— Damian, obey Dick and change clothes... — Jason's request, which was already at the door with the family nerd, was enough for the younger brother to sit on the bed and start taking off his jacket. Saving the little one ended up triggering a kind of submission or something...

— Has he lost his memory or been replaced by a more improved version of himself? — Tim asked, staring at his notebook on his lap.

— You can only give opinions when you know everything... — Jason scolded the second youngest.

— If you explained to me what is happening...

— You will only know everything when Bruce comes back, or when he stops acting like... that... — The eldest searched for a word good enough to describe that state that Tim was in - he seemed to have lost part of the reason for lack of rest.

— Help? — Damian asked slyly, raising his arms to be helped with the shirt.

That childish and sweet request was enough for the little one to steal all the attention. Dick helped him with all the delicacy he had, especially after noticing some marks on his brother's torso and arms. Jason went to the closet to get something that made Damian comfortable. Drake, unlike the brothers, just stared at Damian as if he expected something - perhaps a surprise attack.

— Are these marks from the exams? — Asked, approaching them — It seems that someone was arresting you... been misbehaving, Damian?

Little Wayne's eyes watered instantly. He tried to hide, he was even pouting for that cruel accusation... mainly because it came from a still "stranger" who was watching him from top to bottom.

— Stop, Timmy... — the eldest scolded the other, caressing the youngest's face — He is just sulky, doesn't care about him — He smiled.

— I bet you attacked someone, gremlin — Drake continued, approaching the bed a little more, wanted to analyze the "impostor" better — Can you tell the truth: what did you do to get stuck like that? It must have really upset the B this time...

The little one, by this time, was already crying with the dubious statements that the "unknown" made about him. He didn't want to think that was true, but the torturous exams seemed more like a cruel punishment than anything els ... what could he have done to irritate his father so much?

Dick and Jason looked at each other, the two didn't want Damian to continue that way.

— Stop talking this shit! — Jason sent, stared at Drake while handing the change of clothes so that Dick would dress the little one — You don't know what happened, you don't know what's going on and I don't want you to annoy Dami! — he warned, seeing Tim as if he were an enemy - he was too protective.

— I-I'm not bothered... — the little one whispered trying to end that fight. He knew that his former ways caused people to loathe, he had become accustomed to being confronted before they realized that he was no longer guilty of anything.

— The sooner you sleep, you will be able to wake up earlier and play more outside ... — Grayson tried to hide all the concern he felt to calm Damian. He held out the jacket for the little one to wear again - it was still warm, maybe it would help him sleep soon.

— Dami, remember the moon? She was beautiful... — Jason sat on the bed, pulling the little one onto his lap. Now he looked like someone else, he tried to sound even kind — Be calm... — he asked.

Tim rolled his eyes and shrugged. He preferred to see that childish explosion as a kind of emotional blackmail... Damian was not like that and a simple loss of memory would not make that much difference.

He threw himself on the bedroom chair and went back to fiddling with the notebook. As much as he tried to focus on the results of the simulations, the theme "Damian behaving like a baby" left him abstracted - mainly because the two older idiots fell into that scene.

Dick had filled him with messages about the little demon, from waking up without any memory to even suffering from an incurable disease, whose name would only be said if they had confirmation by exams - an ominous preventive measure. Now Drake saw everything as just overkill.

He had to admit: Damian was playing that game very well, he managed to trick even Jason into staying with him... he probably had chosen him as a "play" if he needed to do something against his father - if he wasn't already, too, another one of his loyal pieces.

Now, more than ever, Tim was looking forward to talking to Bruce.

Perhaps Damian was involved with that point of reflection out of context; he was probably hiding the game because of this - until he had some advantage in the whole situation so as not to be punished.

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NOTE

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Poor you, Timothy J. Drake, for not yet believing in our little, helpless Damian. As an investigator, you must be looking for a concrete clue that the little brother is really bad...

I think it's interesting to explain something previous here, so that everyone understands that Timmy has his reasons for distrusting his little brother (just like Jason had his):

Damian has never had an exactly "good" relationship with Tim. Damian is extremely jealous with those he likes (his father and older brother), people with whom Tim has lived for much longer than he. It only got worse when Dick (with Bruce's "death") took on the bat cloak and made Damian his Robin - taking over from Timbo.

Taking into account these antecedents that may have resulted in hurt accumulated in Red Robin - Tim's current title - little's heart as much as he even went to "hell" to help save Damian, it is justifiable that he is so suspicious. Mainly because he believes that the little brother is involved in something big and dangerous related to the divergent lines.

In fact, the way Damian simply disappeared until he was found led Timmy to believe he was on the wrong side. Now, with this sudden "memory loss", Damian would not have to bear any responsibility for what he did.