Chapter 13 – Robin(s)

Damian was silent as he brought her up to his room. As always, his room was neat with his bed made and his easel sitting out of the way near his desk.

"Take a seat," he said nervously, realising there was only the bed and the single chair he used for both his easel and desk.

Mar'i didn't pay any attention to his nervousness as she came in and just plopped herself down on the bed. Despite basking in the sun before coming here, she felt drained.

"What happened?" Damian asked. There was no demand in his voice, making it deep and smooth, almost kind.

"Dad's mad," she responded. "And I'm mad. And it was a mess," she huffed.

Damian pulled up the chair and sat down as close as he could without touching the bed.

"And you came here? Not to be mean or anything but, it's probably the first place he'll look."

"Not if you lie for me," Mar'i grumbled back. She had considered that option but, since she flew, she probably beat him by a few hours.

Damian was silent for a moment before admitting. "I have no idea how to handle this."

"Just… listen?" Mar'i suggested, sitting up. She pulled her shoes off and crossed her legs on the bed. She told Damian about the fight. About how her dad started scolding her for getting captured and how they yelled at each other. And about her fears. "I swear, he's trying to get me to quit on my own."

Damian sat there with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"If he wanted you to quit, wouldn't he just order it?"

Mar'i snorted. "He's afraid I'll run off or something. I don't know. Maybe he's doing it to make me give up completely. That way he wouldn't have to worry about me."

"Maybe worry's the reason," Damian mused. Mar'i stared at him, waiting for more information. "Look, your dad has been around for a while. He's seen a lot. And, he doesn't take loss well."

"That's for sure," Mar'i muttered. She remembered what her dad was like after Bruce 'died' and then after Damian 'died'. Sure, he bounced back after a while and moved on but, the time between the death and moving on showed just how much they meant to him.

"And you're his daughter. He cared enough to try and keep you away."

Mar'i frowned and rested her head on her hands. "Go on."

"When you finally convinced him to let you be Nightstar, what did he do?"

Mar'i thought back. Her dad hadn't been excited about it, but;

"He got me training." She still wanted to be angry at him so she added, "couldn't even train me himself."

"Really?" Damian sounded surprised. "Who did you train with then?"

"I've got my gymnastics and other martial arts and he had me train with… some people he knows." There was no way she was going to mention that she had trained with Deathstroke.

"Hero people or criminal people?"

Mar'i cursed Damian's perceptiveness. Why couldn't he take things at face-value and move on?

"Honourable people." While mercenaries, the people Dick had her train with had their own codes of honour.

Damian smirked as if he knew exactly who she was talking about. He didn't say anything more though, leaving Mar'i wondered just what he was thinking.

"So, you announce you want to be a hero and your dad gets you training?" Damian questioned with raised eyebrows. "Gee, he sounds horrible."

Mar'i's insides churned with guilt.

"Thanks," she responded sarcastically. "You know, when I come to you with problems like this, you're supposed to agree with me."

"You're not wrong. But neither's Grayson." The air around Damian grew heavy as he quietly added, "sounds like he's actually proud of you."

Mar'i wondered if she wasn't the only one having problems with her parent.

"Um... has your dad figured out your role in the murderess' capture? Dad said he didn't bother asking for reports."

Damian's frown answered that question for her. Obviously, Bruce still hadn't figured out why Damian had been over the top with his sightings and exposure as Batman. Or even what Damian had been busy with while he was gone.

"That sucks," she commented.

Alfred came and went throughout the day, bringing things for Damian and Mar'i. Damian drew while Mar'i worked on her homework and assignments. They ducked out of the room for a few hours to play a couple of video games. Even though the eighteen year old was apparently 'grounded', Alfred overlooked their breaking of Bruce's rules and let them have a few games together. Mar'i was good enough to make Damian frustrated while playing.

"Ha! I win!"

"It was luck."

"True heroes don't need luck! I. Won."

"That's, what, still one game to my three?" Damian commented in a smug tone.

"Another round!" Mar'i announced, determined to close the gap between them.

It was late and Mar'i was beginning to consider calling her dad when someone came barging into Damian's room.

"Hey- whoa," whatever the intruder was about to say was cut off by an exclamation of surprise.

Mar'i reflexively sat up straight. She felt as if she had been caught doing something wrong, even though Jason would have no way to know that she ran away from home.

"Todd! Get out of my room!" Damian bellowed at the intruder. Jason snickered and didn't move.

"Am I interrupting?" he said in a sickly-sweet voice, designed to mess with his little brothers.

"Yes!"

"Then, you should put a sock on the doorhandle when you have a lady friend over," Jason snickered, not even buckling a little under the glare Mar'i gave him.

"Why would I put a sock on my doorhandle? That's ridiculous, Todd."

Mar'i was surprised at his ignorance. She knew what that meant and she wasn't even a guy. She was certain her mother even knew what that meant! And idioms were her mother's weakness when it came to the English Language.

"He's implying that we're dating," she translated in plain English.

Damian had a blank look on his face as he processed this. There were a few moments of silence where Jason's grin grew even wider.

"Hey, you're an adult, you can do what you like," Jason commented.

Damian exploded.

"TODD! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" He pulled out a number of Batarangs and proceeded to pelt the older man with them. Jason danced around them and ducked out the door.

"Oh, and I came because Alfred asked me to," he said, poking his head back in. Damian absorbed that information before he could toss another Batarang, freezing with it held out and ready to throw. "He wants you both at the table for dinner."

"Both?" Mar'i questioned, heart thudding. She wondered if Alfred knew about her fight with her dad. Would Dick be there?

Jason was already gone.

Mar'i didn't have anything to change into. She felt completely exposed as she walked into the large dining area wearing her school uniform.

She needed to keep her emotions under control. Having her hair burst into flames would not be good.

Alfred guided her to her seat next to Damian and across from Jason. Bruce sat at the head of the table, with Tim and Damian sitting at the sides. Mar'i noticed that her dad wasn't here.

"Sorry we're late!" Stephanie cried out as she dashed through the doors with Cassandra following her in.

"Did anyone contact Dick?" Damian asked, looking around. All they needed to finish the family picture was him and Barbara, after all.

"He's not answering his phone," Bruce announced. Alfred made an interested hum as he placed the food on the table. "And, Damian, who is your friend?"

"I'm Mar'i."

"She's actually Colin's friend," Damian responded, "and new to Gotham."

"What's she doing here if she's Colin's friend?" Tim questioned curiously.

Mar'i wondered if the questions ever stopped with this family. Seems like all they did when she was around, whether they realised it or not.

"She had a fight with her dad."

"Damian!" she hissed at him. She didn't need the Batman family knowing about her family problems.

"-Hh-. Just make sure her dad knows she's here," Bruce said. "I don't need angry parents breaking down the door."