Chapter 32:

Daphne avoided Damian the whole week. Even though she carried out her duties as his maid, she didn't speak to him at all. After serving him food, she rushed back to the kitchen. When it was his bath time, she'd draw him one and got his clothes ready but she didn't reply to anything he said. When Bruce asked her to train with him, she refused, saying that she was not in shape to do so. Bruce noticed her change of mood. He decided to consult Dick and Dahlia about it so one night, he called the two kids out to the Batcave.

"I need you to patrol the city in my place tonight," he said.

"What?" the girl exclaimed.

Damian looked over to her. Daphne refused to look at the boy. She didn't seem pleased with the order. She shook her head rapidly.

"I have some things to discuss with Dick and your sister," Bruce explained.

"But, Master Bruce!" she shouted, disagreeing with him.

The man shut his eyes and sighed. "My words are final," he said.

He stood up from his chair and walked up to Damian. He held his son's shoulder, confusing the boy. He nodded to him, but Damian still didn't understand. Daphne was still shocked at his orders. She watched as the man exited the Batcave. She sighed, looking down at the floor. She clenched her fists. Damian glanced up at the girl.

"I'll go and get change…" he said, walking up to his uniform.

Daphne went back to her room to change too. Her uniform was neatly laid on the bed by Alfred. A memory of Delphinium flashed into her mind. It was when her sister had created a lot of weapons for her. After a few minutes, Daphne was staring at her reflection. There was a knock on her door.

"Yes?" she called out.

"Are you…ready to go?" a hesitant voice was heard.

She sighed, fastening her shoulder holsters for her kukris. She fixed her gloves. She opened the door and was surprised to be facing Damian's chest. She could see how toned his body was in his Robin uniform.

"Let's go. We'll be taking the Batmobile," he said to her and she nodded.

They hopped in and Damian drove it. Daphne brought her knees to her chest and hugged them. She looked out through the window as Damian kept his eyes on the road. There was not much crime going about but still duty is duty after all. The boy took a glance at her every five minutes. He couldn't help but noticed how much she was trying to avoid him. He didn't mind it because he knew she was still confused, but it still bothered him since they live together and work at the same office.

"Hey…" he spoke up.

"Robin! Something's happening over there!" she interrupted him, pointing towards a building which was on fire.

Damian turned the mobile and rushed towards the direction immediately.

Bruce meet up with Dick and Dahlia at a restaurant. They sat down and ordered some drinks.

"So, what are we here to discuss about?" Dahlia asked.

"Daphne and Damian," Bruce replied in a stern tone.

Dick and Daphne looked at each other. They turned to look at Bruce. He was staring at his warm coffee.

"She's been avoiding him the whole week. I just thought you might know why," Bruce explained.

"I never thought that those two kids would be the topic of the day," Dick joked.

"What did he do to my baby sister?" Dahlia asked with a soft growl.

Bruce shook his head. "I don't really know. Suddenly, she was all quiet," he explained.

Dahlia sighed. Dick shrugged, not knowing what to say. They sipped their drinks. All of them thought hard for a while.

"Maybe Damian made a move on her?" Dick shrugged.

Dahlia disagreed, asking, "Like what?"

"I don't know…maybe he kissed her or touched her somewhere he shouldn't? I mean, this is Damian we're talking about," the man chuckled.

The woman punched his shoulder angrily. Bruce shook his head, disagreeing as well. His son is a quieter. It is always hard for the boy to speak his mind. Bruce was convinced that he would never lay a finger on any girl, especially Daphne.

"You shouldn't be making such remarks," Dahlia warned Dick.

"It was just a friendly guess," Dick replied, rubbing where she had punched him.

"I don't think he would do anything like that," Bruce spoke up, grabbing their attention.

Dahlia sighed. "Then, what do you think happened?"

"He must've offended Daphne in some way. She's always like that when he did," the father explained.

The woman pondered for a while, thinking hard. Daphne hardly talked about Damian with her, so she didn't know what her sister had been through with the young Wayne.

"Should we do something about it?" Dick asked Dahlia.

"I don't really know…but I have an idea," the orange-haired smiled.

She started to tell them her plan.

Damian and Daphne jumped out of the Batmobile and rushed inside the building without second thoughts. It was a jewelry store. Most of the merchandises were already stolen. There was a man with a bag and he was busy throwing the jewels into it. He didn't realize that the two kids were right behind him.

"Drop the things you stole," Damian growled.

The man stood up with a calm expression. He had a scar across his face which frightened Daphne. She hid it very well, though. He pointed a gun towards them.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot you," he growled back.

Damian frowned. He charged in and punched the man in his stomach. The man choked and pulled the trigger. A shot was heard. Daphne bit her lower lip. Her arm was hit so easily. When Damian was occupied with her injury, two more men appeared. One of them hit Damian on the head with a baseball bat. He blacked out a few minutes. The other one tried to stab Daphne with a butterfly knife, but the kicked his hand before he could. She swiped his leg. He fell down onto the ground. Daphne took the opportunity to stun him with her stun gun. When she was done with that one, the one with the baseball bat hit her on her back. She gasped, trying to catch her breath. The two remaining men started to kick and stomp on her. Damian's eyes widened at the scene. The man with the bag shot his left leg before he could react. The building was going to collapse soon so they made their leave.

"Not so fast!" a familiar voice was heard.

"Good timing, Batwing," Damian smirked, limping up to the unconscious Daphne.

Blood was pouring from her forehead and some were dripping out of her mouth. He picked her up. She coughed out blood. Her face was pale. Damian gritted his teeth. He was angry at himself at how easily they were defeated.

"I've called the cops. They'll be here soon," Luke said after tying the three men up and putting off the fire.

"Thanks for the help," Damian sighed.

"I can't believe you convinced her to become Phoenix," the tanned man said.

"Convinced? What do you mean?" the wonder boy was confused.

Luke was even more confused. "You didn't know? She quit right after they got back from Titan Tower that one time."

Upon hearing that, Damian's heart was torn. He now knew that he was the reason why she was in such a bad shape. He finally understood why it was so easy to beat her in training. She always seemed like she was struggling not to lose to him, but still did.

"She…quit?" he muttered.

"Yeah. She said she has no reason to be one anymore," the man explained to him.

Daphne cringed and stirred. She woke up to see a quiet Damian and Luke next to him. She flashed a smile. He nodded to her. When the cops came to take the burglars away, Luke went on his way. Daphne saw the bandage around Damian's leg.

"I'm sorry! I was supposed to be covering you…" she apologized.

"Why are you…" he muttered, looking at her.

He shut his mouth. He got into the Batmobile and they drove away. Daphne touched the bandage on her forehead. She stared at the ones around her right arm.

Did he patch me up?

She glanced up at the boy who was in deep thoughts. His right hand gripped the steering wheel tight. Daphne wondered why he was so tensed. She reached up to tap his shoulder.

"Don't bother…" he suddenly said, surprising her.

She bit her lower lip and then, asked, "Are you okay? Were you badly injured?"

He stopped the mobile. Daphne almost hit the dashboard. She blinked at him as he took off his mask. He snapped his head towards her. He ripped her mask off. Their eyes met for mere seconds before he attacked her lips. She tried to push him away, but he was far stronger than her. A single tear dropped from her right eye as she tried to endure the kiss. Damian pulled away after five minutes. Daphne's cheeks were beat red. She kept her gaze on his eyes.

"Why?" he asked.

"H-Huh?" she stuttered.

"Why…after all that I've done to you, why are you still here?" he shouted angrily.

"Master Damian, I don't understand…" she muttered, blinking confusedly at him.

"I said I didn't need you, I pushed you away when you tried to help, and I was always so selfish! But! You're still here…" he shouted, looking away from her, "Why?!"

"Because…I'm your maid," she replied, still confused.

"My maid? Is that why you stayed even after I failed to protect you the second time?" he asked.

"It's my job to protect you. You don't have to concern yourself about me," she assured him, smiling weakly, "I'll be fine."

Grabbing her shoulders, he shook her angrily. "But I won't!"

"Why…not?" she asked, gazing into his eyes.

"Because I…" he hesitated.

The communicator beeped, interrupting them. It was Bruce. He asked them to return to the Batcave. Damian and Daphne put on their respective masks. They did as told by their leader. Daphne stared at the sky. It was cloudy, a sign that it would rain the whole night. Bruce welcomed them with a surprised expression.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We had a little trouble with some jewel thieves," Damian reported.

"I think I'll go and sleep now…" Daphne spoke up.

"Have Alfred check your injuries," Bruce suggested.

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

Bruce turned to his son. Damian was staring at the floor. The father sighed. He told his son to get some rest as well. The boy did as told. He dragged himself back to his room. As he was lying down on his bed, he could hear rustling noise coming from Daphne's room. He didn't bother to check.

"Miss Daphne, are you sure you should be up and about?" Alfred asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Alfred," she smiled sweetly.

The butler sighed and shook his head. He helped her with lunch. She started to tell some stories about her work and Dahlia as they cook. Damian was spying on her. It had become a habit whenever he thought he had done something wrong to Daphne.

"Damian," his father called.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to look at Bruce.

"Did something happened between the two of you?" Bruce asked.

"It's not your concern," he replied, walking away.

Daphne served lunch for the two Wayne and then, she rushed up to her room.

"Daphne," Bruce called.

"Yes, Master Bruce?" she stopped, turning to look at him.

"The Mayor is holding a Charity Ball this Friday night. Will you be coming with us?" he asked.

Daphne glanced up at Damian. He was eating, ignoring the discussion. She nodded once. Bruce nodded to her answer. She ran up to her room. She was going to meet up with her sister that afternoon.