It had been a few months now, since Dick took Damian under his wing, and Damian wouldn't admit it, but he was starting to really like the older boy. There was something between them that Damian had never had with Bruce, and he liked that.

Despite all of that though, Damian was still not above sneaking out at night.

Dick was a fair Batman, and let Damian go out most nights, but there were times when he didn't. His reasons for that would vary. Sometimes, it would be because Damian was still recovering from an injury, or he needed to keep working on a technique or something along those lines. And when that happened, Damian (being Damian) snuck out to go patrol Gotham on his own.

He may have been 10, but he wasn't stupid. Without Dick as Batman, he wasn't going for the real baddies alone, like the Joker or Two Face or anything. He would just deal with simple muggers and stuff like that. Dick would never know.

Anyway, tonight was one of those nights. Damian, dressed up in his Robin garb, was patrolling Gotham alone. He had already taken out three muggers, one rapist, and one minor drug dealer. Things were going pretty great (for him anyway), and he was about to return to the manor, when he heard a noise.

"Meow?" The noise was heard again. Damian turned his head. It was coming from the alley in front of him. He gripped a batarang in his hand as he stealthily approached the subject of the noise.

Suddenly, Damian jumped out to surprise whatever made the noise and saw--

--a kitten?

"A kitten?" Damian murmured in disbelief. It was a gray tabby with black stripes running down it, and though Damian wouldn't admit it out loud, the tiny creature was adorable.

He slowly approached the kitten and held out his hand, not sure what to do. He didn't want to scare it off, but wanted to see if it would let him let it. To his surprise, it did, and even started purring as soon as his hand made contact with its fur.

Damian gave a rare smile. "Aw," he said (though if anyone asks, he most definitely did not just utter 'aw').

After stroking the content kitten for another minute or so, Damian looked at it curiously. "Are you lost?" he asked it, though wasn't expecting a reply, of course. The kitten merely meowed again.

"Hmm…" Damian looked around for a second, before turning back to the kitten and picking it up. "Well, I'll give you a home then."

Damian/Robin made his way back to the Batcave, the tiny little bundle of fur in his arms. As soon as he arrived, he changed back into his pjs, then made his way up to his room as silently as possible. Once to his room, he quietly shut his door and set the kitten on his bed. There, it curled up into a little ball, and smiling again, Damian laid down beside it.

The following morning, Dick noticed Damian wasn't up for breakfast yet, and decided to go and wake him.

"Oh Damian," he called as he opened the younger boy's room. "Wakey wakey, time for breakfast you little sleepy-"

Suddenly, Dick paused, and his mouth hung open. On his bed, Damian was curled up right next to a kitten. A kitten. "Okay...What?" Dick said.

Damian's eyes fluttered open, hearing Dick, and he yawned, before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Urg...Grayson? What are you-"

Suddenly, the 10 year old's eyes widened as he looked between Dick and the kitten. Panicked, he exclaimed, "This isn't what it looks like!!!"

After the initial shock of seeing Damian with a baby animal wore off, Dick grinned widely. "Damian, I didn't know you liked cats."

"W-wha?" Damian quickly shook his head, then cleared his throat. "So what if I do, Grayson?"

Dick came over and gave Damian a hug, much to the younger boy's annoyance. "Awww Dami that's so cute. I should have taken a picture. You looked so adorable and peaceful with that kitten."

Damian glared at Dick, and the older boy just smiled.

"Grayson, I-"

"We'll have to pick up some supplies for it of course, like a litter box and some food and-" Dick continued.

Damian stared at him in shock. "You...You're letting me keep it?"

Dick nodded. "Yeah, of course. You'll have to give him or her a name though. It'll be a good experience for you, showing the responsibility it takes to take care of an animal."

"-tt- Yes, of course. That's why I picked up the kitten. To show you I can be responsible," Damian replied.

Dick ruffled his hair and laughed lightly. "Of course you did. Now what names are you thinking of?"