Dick was sleeping peacefully in his bed after a long night of patrol. It had went pretty well for the most part, but near the end, they were fighting Scarecrow, when Damian got a whiff of the fear gas. He was okay after getting the cure, but Dick was still worried that there would be some lingering effects. Nevertheless, Damian had insisted that he was fine, and went straight for bed.
Judging by Damian's slightly off behavior that evening, Dick probably should have guessed something was up, but he didn't, until he heard his door creak open in the middle of the night.
Dick immediately sat up in his bed and switched on his lamp. "Who's there?!" he said. He was a bit shocked when he saw the small form of Damian walk in, looking slightly nervous. His hair was tousled in an adorable way from sleep, and he was wearing some blue silk pajamas.
"Damian?" Dick asked, confused, as he blinked the sleep from his eyes.
"Yes, you imbecile, who else would it be?" came Damian's reply. His tone was off somehow though...It sounded almost as though he was afraid of something…
"Lil' D? What are you doing here?"
"I-" Damian started, before pausing, looking unsure of how to answer that. "I was-"
A smile came to Dick's face, and he patted his bed, motioning for Damian to sit down. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"
Damian gaped at him, then glared. "I-I did not have a nightmare! Do not make such absurd accusations, Grayson."
Dick smirked. "Sure." His smirk faltered when he saw the distraught expression on Damian's face. He went over to his little brother and engulfed him in a big ol' hug. "Hey, it's okay! Everyone gets nightmares sometimes, even me!"
Damian bit hip lip and looked down. Dick frowned. It must have been a bad one if he was acting like this. Dick grabbed his arm and led him to his bed, where the two of them saw together.
"It...It was NOT a night a nightmare!" Damian insisted. Then, he was silent again. "It was merely… A fear induced hallucination...From Scarecrow's fear gas…"
Dick slung an arm over his shoulders. "Okay, sure. A fear induced hallucination...What was it about? You seem pretty shaken up by it."
To Dick's surprise, Damian leaned into Dick and rested his head on his shoulder. "I-I don't want to talk about it." Another pause. "It...It was about...You…" Damian said after a moment. He looked away from Dick, as if what he had just said was very self-degrading.
Dick couldn't help but be touched by that. If Damian had a nightmare/fear induced vision about him, then that must mean he secretly cared about him! And the fact that he went to him for comfort just now…
Dick wrapped his arms around Damian again, and pulled him closer. "Well, whatever happened in it, I'm okay now, see?"
Damian suddenly buried his face into Dick's chest and clutched onto his shirt. Dick swore that he heard a faint sob. It kind of startled him, not used to seeing this side of Damian. But at the same time, he liked seeing the kid act more...Human…
"You-" Damian sniffed. "You left me…"
Dick's eyes widened slightly at that comment. Then, his expression sifted. He took Damian by the shoulder and looked him in his eyes, which were swollen from crying. "Damian-" he said in a very serious tone. "I want you to know that I would NEVER abandon and leave you for ANY reason. Not now, not ever. Do you understand?"
Damian sniffed again, and gave a single nod.
"Good, Dick replied. Without another word, the two climbed into Dick's bed and stayed like that for the rest of the night, Damian cuddling into Dick's side.