Notes

Me last chapter: oh yeah! things are about to start happening! Val is coming and then Jazz makes a appearance! Im so excited to post the dazz scenes. I just need to write another timucker and dead on main scene and we're good to post!

me now: i havent had a chance to work on this in like two weeks you're getting the 1k that didn't make it into last chapter and hopefully i'll have a bit of time to write something later today.

Damian jolted upright in his bed. He scanned the room before he quickly got his breathing under control. Damian has had nightmares before, and he always reacts as if a threat woke him up. Which means he wakes fast and alert. The clock on the nightstand read 4:03 AM. Late enough everyone will have finished patrol and have gone to bed, but too early for anyone to be awake.

Perhaps some warm tea would relax Damian enough to go back to sleep. Titus whined as Damian got out of bed.

"It's alright. I am going to the kitchen. I will return shortly."

There was rustling from behind him as Titus got off the bed to join Damian by the door. Damian reached out and pat Titus on the back. He was a good dog.

Damian quietly exited his room and made his way down to the kitchen, Titus following behind him. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, Damian could make out yellow light coming in from one of the windows of the east sitting room. Damian altered his course. Who else would be up at such an hour? Perhaps Father was working on something, or Drake could not sleep again? As he got closer Damian saw the light was coming from the patio. Todd then? He had been caught out there smoking when this lockdown first began.

There was a figure sitting on one of the patio chairs, looking into the treeline. The figure was small, likely Cassandra. Titus trotted ahead of him and slipped out the well disguised dog door. The figure turned towards the sound of the flap and Damian could see it was Dani.

Dani was in her pajamas, an oversized shirt and basketball shorts, and she was resting her chin on her hand, who's elbow was resting on her knee. Dani smiled and reached out to Titus as he got closer. Dani pet his head as his tail wagged lazily.

Dani looked different in the dim light. Grayson and Brown had insisted on stringing 'fairy lights' around the patio and pool at the beginning of the summer. The light they gave off was a dim yellow that flickered in intervals. The light cast her in shadows, which, in the addition to her large pajamas, made her look… vulnerable? No, that wasn't right. Unguarded, maybe.

Titus wedged his head in between Dani's torso and legs. Dani let out a gentle laugh as Titus rested his head on her lap. Damian opened the glass doors and stepped outside. The sound of crickets filled his ears.

"Why are you awake this early?"

Dani continued stroking Titus' neck, "I'm still adjusting my circadian rhythm. Why are you awake?"

Damian did not want to admit he was awoken by a silly dream. Drake had married Grandfather, to get back at Damian claiming Drake had no authority over him. In the moment it was truly frighting. Drake had made Damian call him "Grandfather" and forced Damian to have a Hot Wheels themed birthday party. Now that he'd been awake for some time, he realized how ridiculous the dream was. Although, if that situation were to happen, it would still be cause for some concern. "My sleep was disturbed."

"Titus jumped on your bed, didn't he?" They both remained in quiet for a moment, the sounds of the night filling the silence. "You can come closer, I won't bite. At least, not 'til the sun comes up. I'm too tired right now."

Damian slowly made his way over to her, sitting in the chair next to hers. "Where did you go?"

"Before we came here I was in Egypt."

"Egypt is seven hours ahead."

"Yep. Add chronic insomnia to the mix and it takes forever to get yourself back on something resembling a schedule."

"Where in Egypt?"

"Cairo, Luxor, all the big spots. Wanted to see what the big deal with all the ancient sites are about. I just thought the pyramids were just some massive triangles," Dani laughed at herself, "and then I was there and I felt so small next to these ginormous rock constructions, and now I get why people are so obsessed with finding out how they were built and stuff. It was… breathtaking. Not in the sense of beauty, but in how impressive they were."

Damian simply watched as her face slowly lit up as she continued to speak. Damian remained in silence as she passionately told him about her trip. He found himself enjoying her smile.

"Oh, looks like we have a friend."

Damian quickly sat upright. Surely he wasn't that distracted by their conversation that he lost track of their surroundings?

Dani giggled as she looked into her cupped hands. She turned sideways in her seat and leaned towards Damian. She waited for Damian to lean in as well before slowly opening them, revealing a lightning bug.

"Have you ever gone firefly catching before?"

"Once. Grayson insisted."

The insect crawled around Dani's fingers. "I remember the first time my family took me. Dad showed me how to catch them. I watched that first one sit blinking on my hand for a while, until it finally flew away. By the end we got into a competition over who could catch more," her voice was fond as she recalled the story.

"Do you want to hold him?"

Damian nodded. Dani reached out and gently grabbed his hand. Her skin was colder than he expected, she must have been out here for quite some time. Damian let her flip his hand palm up and pull it to the center between them. She continued to hold it as she rested her hand with the insect on his palm. She gently pushed at the bug until it crawled over to Damian, and then she retracted her hands.

Damian watched him for a few moments. He flew away as Damian turned his hand over to keep the bug upright. They watched him fly off in silence.

"Who won?"

"Hm?" Dani turned towards him again.

"The competition, who won?"

Dani smiled, "Depends who you ask. Danny lost count at eight, me at eleven, Dad kept catching and recounting the same bugs, and Mom and Jazz teamed up, which is totally cheating, for a combined count of thirty-seven."

Damian found himself thinking that, perhaps, going firefly catching with Dani, and in turn spending time with her, wouldn't be so bad.