Chapter 23:
The next morning, Daphne set out to cook them some pancakes. Damian was the first to wake up after her. He was wearing his uniform. He didn't eat anything but went off to train. Daphne followed him. He started the training facility. Daphne watched him.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat first?" she asked.
"I'll puke if I do before I train," he replied coldly.
Daphne sighed. He took out his sword. After a while, Raven, Garfield, and Jaime came by.
"Thanks for breakfast," Raven said.
"How long has he been training?" Garfield asked.
"An hour or so…" Daphne replied.
They stood to watch as well, thinking that Damian would take turns. Half an hour of waiting, Kori showed up as Starfire. She stood by them.
"He hasn't stopped for an hour and a half," Jaime sighed.
"Damian, it's time to let others have their turn," Starfire said.
Damian slashed another projected enemy. "I'm not," he slashed another, "Finished."
Jaime shut down the system, earning a glare from Damian. He gave out a smug.
"Gee, how'd that happen…?" he sneered.
Daphne, sensing what was going to happen next, took out her kukri. Damian pulled out a batarang and threw it at Jaime, but before it could reach him, the girl cut it off. It exploded in front of her. She shook her head at Damian who frowned in return.
"What was that for?" Jaime asked.
Damian chuckled and replied, "I heard your tech was fast, but she got to it before I could know how fast it is."
"Master Damian, stop this nonsense," Daphne said to him.
Damian went up to her. Jaime stood in between them before he could say anything.
"Don't mess with us, little man," he warned.
Starfire cut them off. "Okay, that's enough. I can see we're getting off," turning to Damian, "…on the wrong foot."
"Master Damian, calm down…" Daphne whispered to him.
"Damian, this is a team effort. We need to learn to accommodate others," Starfire said.
Damian sheathed his sword. "Nightwing said you were a princess. Exiled, no doubt."
Daphne disagreed with what he was saying. She turned to Starfire.
The young woman replied, "Technically, it was a coup. Like it or not, I am the leader of this group."
Damian replied, "As I see it, you're an alien with nowhere else to go."
Raven stepped in, arms crossed. "Everyone needs a home, Damian. You, included."
"Thank you for chiming in, witch girl," Damian muttered rudely.
"We are only here to help you realize your potential," Starfire reasoned.
"You've been here long enough," Damian crossed his arms, "When do you think you'll realize yours?"
He started walking after that. Daphne sighed.
"I'll talk to him…" she said to Starfire.
Before she could, Jaime held the boy's shoulder. "Dude, you need to show some respect."
He twisted Jaime's arm, elbowed him in the stomach. He kicked him, sending him towards the wall. Raven gasped at the scene.
"Oh, no…" she muttered.
"Master Damian, that was…" Daphne's words were cut off.
"Out of the way," Damian said, pushing her away.
Daphne was stunned at his behavior. Jaime stood up, his armor covering him. Damian unsheathed his sword, getting ready for a spar. They both rushed in and the clashing of blades started.
"No, stop this!" Starfire spoke, but they both ignored her.
"Who's fighting me? You or the bug?" Damian asked.
"You'd better hope it's me!" Jaime replied.
"This is not going to end so well," Daphne sighed.
The scarab tried to stab Damian but the boy flipped away on time. Jaime took a longer time to respond after that, giving Damian the win. He threw some bombs towards Blue Beetle, sending him again towards the wall. Damian stood up straight, proud of himself.
He approached Jaime, saying, "That's the difference between you and me. You wear a weapon. I am a weapon."
The scarab started to take control of Jaime's body, charging up. It turned over and shoot Damian with its light beam. Damian collapsed in the middle of the training ground. The scarab was about to shoot again, but Starfire stopped him with one of her green bolts.
"Enough!" she shouted in a stern tone.
"I tried to stop him…" Jaime explained.
Daphne went up to Damian, almost tearing up to see his face. She rested his head on her lap. She could still hear him cringed as she took off his mask.
"Dios mio. Is he dead?" Jaime asked, concerned.
"He's okay…I think…" Daphne said in a low voice.
Garfield scratched his head, saying, "This is going to be an awkward call to Batman."
Daphne shot a glare towards him before turning back to look at Damian. Raven told everyone to get back. Daphne stood up, backing away just as everyone else did. Raven rested the boy's head on her lap and started unleashing her power.
"By the powers of Azarath, I beseech you…" she said, cupping Damian's face, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
Damian's face started to slowly heal. Once it was complete, Raven gasped and fainted. Starfire caught her before she met the ground. Daphne sat beside Damian as she waited for him to come back to senses.
"We need to get her back to her room," Starfire said, looking at Beast Boy, "Garfield?"
He transformed into a gorilla, taking Raven into his hands, "I've got her."
Damian woke up, asking, "What happened?"
"Raven healed you. We have to tend to her," Starfire explained.
Jaime said, "Sorry," before following Starfire.
The three started walking, leaving Daphne and Damian alone. Damian sat up, cringing in pain. His head was still aching from the healing process. Daphne sat there, staring at him.
"Why are you crying?" he suddenly asked.
"I-I'm not!" Daphne replied, wiping away a single tear that trickled down her cheek, "A-Anyway… What you did was unacceptable!"
"You're scolding me now?" Damian asked, getting up.
Daphne sighed. She got up too, gazing into Damian's eyes. The boy froze for a second when he caught her gaze in his.
She looked away, muttering, "I don't know why I even bother about you…"
She walked away after that, leaving him to his thoughts.
Dinner came and Damian never got out of his room after the incident, not that anyone cared. They seemed to be more distant and quiet. They ate the food Daphne cooked silently, not even maintaining eye contact with each other. After she was done with the dishes, the orange haired decided to go see Damian. She was about to knock on the door when it swiped opened. She was a bit startled.
"What do you want?" Damian asked.
"I…thought you might be hungry…" she replied, looking at the tray she brought.
The boy sighed. "Put it on my table. I'll eat it afterward. I have somewhere I need to go…" he replied.
"O-Okay… Should I come with you?" she asked.
Damian shot a glare, freezing the girl in the place. She looked away and nodded because she knew what he meant. She placed the tray on the table, looking around. She shook her head at the sword sticking on the wall. She pulled it out and neatly placed it on his bed. Then, she went on her way back to her room. She checked her phone but no new messages or missed calls. She went out to see what the other members were doing.
"Hmm? Something wrong Daphne?" Starfire asked when she saw the girl poking her head at her room.
"Oh,…it's nothing. It's still early so I thought of seeing what everyone was up to…" Daphne replied, smiling.
Starfire flashed a smile to the girl. She patted Daphne's head before going back to her table. The girl took it as a sign not to bother her. She went to the lounge to see Jaime eyeing the screen of his laptop and Garfield playing with blocks. The boys turned to look at her and she crooked a smile.
"Something wrong?" Jaime asked, raising a brow.
"You wanna play?" Garfield suddenly asked.
"Uhhh…" before she could say anything, the boy pulled her to sit with him.
He started to arrange the blocks again. Jaime ignored them as Garfield started asking about her. Daphne wasn't really listening because her mind was still occupied with Damian.
"Jaime?" Damian's voice was heard.
All eyes turned towards the door. "Yeah?" Jaime asked.
"Perhaps it was a mistake to challenge you this morning without knowing the full capacity of your…alien attachment. I promise you, it won't happen again…" he said.
His last sentence sounded like a little kid apologizing for his mistakes. Daphne muffled a giggle. She earned a raised brow from Damian and a stare from Garfield. Then, Damian walked away.
"Did he just say he's sorry?" Jaime asked Daphne.
Daphne shrugged and replied, "I think so. He's not really good at expressing his real feelings."
"Awww, see. He likes you," Garfield cooed.
"Master Damian isn't really good with people. My first time with him as his maid was rough…but I managed," Daphne sighed.
"Did he ever yelled at you?" Jaime asked, interested.
Smiling, she replied, "Listening to him yell and complain is one of my jobs."
"Must be tough, huh?" Garfield asked.
Daphne nodded. "I guess…" she muttered.
Daphne was walking to her room. She had just finished another video game with Garfield who as always forced her to play with him. It was a good way to turn her mind off of her sister who hadn't contact her for a while. She suddenly caught sight of Damian exiting Starfire's room.
"Master Damian?" she muttered.
Starfire came out, flashing a smile to her although she looked angry. The young woman approached her.
"Would you like to go shopping for dinner?" she asked.
"S-Sure…" Daphne stammered, confused.
They got into the car and went off to buy ingredients even though Garfield insisted that they order pizza. As the girl was reading the label of a canned sardine, Starfire couldn't help but wonder why Daphne was here.
"How long have you been with Damian?" she asked.
Daphne put the can back on its shelf, replying, "Hmmm…4 years, but I went to stay with my sister in between."
"I see. Is he always like that?" she needed to know.
"Like what? The detective type?" Daphne chuckled, "He will never stop until he gets his answer."
Starfire nodded, taking a bundle of long beans and putting it into the basket she was holding. Daphne chose a few more ingredients, thinking of what to make. They went to pay after the girl was satisfied with what she had chosen.
"He was snooping around in my room today," Starfire started, disappointment in her tone.
"What for?" Daphne asked, curious and confused as to why Damian would invade another person's privacy.
"He was searching for information about Raven," the woman replied.
Hearing that, Daphne bit her lower lip. She didn't know why but there was an ache in her heart. She flashed a small smile to the confuse Starfire.
"Maybe he just wanted to get to know her better. Raven gives out a mysterious vibe, in my opinion," the orange-haired explained.
"She's the quiet type," Starfire replied.
They got to the car. Daphne's phone rang. It was her sister. She flashed a smile to Starfire. The woman started to drive them back to the tower.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Daphne. How are you?"
"Never better… What's wrong?"
There was a pause before Delphinium asked, "Is there a chance you would be coming back soon?"
"Not really. He seems to be interested with another girl now. I think we'll be staying a little longer," Daphne sighed.
"Are you jealous?" her sister chuckled.
"No. I'm glad he's making more friends now. Anyway, why'd you ask?"
There was another pause. "No reason. I'll call you again soon."
Delphinium quickly hung up. Daphne stared at her phone, blinking in surprise at her sister's actions. Usually, she would be asking for more information from her, but not that day. Daphne was worried. They soon arrived at the tower.
"I'm going to take a shower," Starfire said after placing the groceries bags on the kitchen counter.
"Okay. I'll get started on lunch," Daphne replied.
Garfield caught sight of her. He smiled, approaching her.
"Hey," he greeted her. "Can I help?"
"Yes, please. Umm, put these into the refrigerator," Daphne replied.
The boy did as ask. As he did, he stole glances towards the girl. She was busy washing some vegetables, humming a tune as she did.
"So, what's up with you and Damian?" he suddenly asked.
Daphne placed the bowl full of veggies on the kitchen counter. She turned to him with a confused expression. She didn't really understand what he meant.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You never leave his side. You guys always train together. When he refused to eat, you'd be worried. You've been apologizing to us because he didn't want to mingle with us," Garfield explained.
Daphne flashed a smile. She started to dice the carrots and onions. The boy waited for her to reply. She didn't know the right answer to give him. Damian suddenly made an appearance.
"Is lunch ready yet?" he asked.
"I was just about to make it," the girl replied.
Damian blinked and nodded. "Send mine to my room."
"I thought we could eat with them today. It's been two days since we come here. You hardly talk to them," she drawled nervously.
The black haired boy stared into her eyes. She bit her lower lip and looked away. She started the stove, turning her back to him. Garfield studied her reaction and then, studies Damian's. Something was off. He thought.
"Hey, Damian. Wanna play a game?" he suddenly said, breaking the silence in the atmosphere.
"I'm not the type to indulge myself in such an activity," he replied coldly.
Garfield turned to Daphne to see if she would say anything to convince the black-haired. She bit her lower lip and shook her head slightly. She started tossing the ingredients into the heating water in the pot.
"What are you making?" Damian asked.
"Soup," was all she replied.
He sighed. "I'll eat with them," he muttered before walking up to the sofa to watch tv.
Daphne flashed a small smiled, satisfied.