Chapter Text
Dear Damian,
I have missed you so much, it’s been so long since I have last seen you. We have been planning quietly since Richard received your letter two days ago, and I can’t thank you enough for saving our family’s lives. Just imagining Mar’i going through all the pain of the nanobot could inflict, makes my heart drop and my mind fuzzy. But the price of being saved, of saving Richard and Mar’i, was so high and I am so sorry that you were the one who had to pay it.
Richard and I taught Mar’i how to say your title the other day (Ekhwah, correct?).
Forever Grateful and Missing You,
Kor’iander Grayson
“Baba!”
Damian shouts as he startles out of a dream, one where Damian and his Baba were playing video games, till Kor’iander walks in with his Qalbi- and suddenly all three of them are on the floor convulsing, crying out in pain, and Damian doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t— Damian wakes up in his dark cell, tears running down his cheeks until he has no more left to cry, and feels empty- hollowed out.
A few hours later the door opens and Damian sees a servant with a tray- most likely his breakfast or spares medical supplies- and begins to talk to him, “Your mother wanted to know if you had changed your mind?” Damian just rolls his eyes and shakes his head at the servant, not having spoken to anyone here since the time he arrived all those weeks ago. Or has it been a year? After his bath in the Lazarus Pit he lost track of time.
But every morning, every single morning, with his breakfast the servant asks the same question, and every time Damian shakes his head, refusing to accept this position- or any position- within the League. The servant drops the tray inside his cells, a slice of bread, few pieces of fruit, and a small container of water, then leaves him alone. Damian knows he has very few minutes to eat his breakfast, so he quickly wolfs down his meager meal and prepares himself for more torture. He hears the door slam open again, but instead of a servant; it is a few guards.
He sighs, familiar with the abuse; the abuse Talia and Ras call training.
Soon he is led out to the training arena and is tied to a wooden post that is surrounded by dry blood, and he can’t remember—remember if it was his blood or some other poor soul’s. Once securely fasten to the post, he is told to count his strikes. Soon the accustomed sharp pain of the whip was brought down upon his back and shoulders were opening new wounds or reopening old ones, but Damian counted every single one. He felt the sting and burning sensations with every crack that seem to echo through the open space; every so often when one strike would be on or a little too close to a healing wound, Damian would hiss slightly, making the striker chuckle out a laugh.
After the mind-numbing painful session Damian is being untied from the post; feels and smells his fresh and old wounds seep the scarlet blood and sees it dripping off of him and land on the dirt below him. The sight, smell, and feelings make his breakfast churn in his stomach, wanting to make a reappearance. He shakes off the nausea, and is led to the apprentice healers. They wrap his back loosely for his day was not finished and do not know how tight to tie the bandages. After deemed finished, Damian is being pushed to his feet and shoved back to the training grounds to begin his sparing of the day. He was given a double edge sword, not his favorite but he knew his way around a blade, and his sparring partner moved to their side of the arena.
Then he heard the sounds of an aircraft.
One that was too close for a League craft.
Damian knew that because he was waiting for this sound for months.
Dear Chikno,
We are on our way, as I’m writing this. But I just need to get it all out now, so I don’t do anything stupid when I see you later. Everyone was—is so worried, Kor’i cried a lot since your letter, Mar’i is confused and sad why you weren’t at her birthday party, Bruce and Tim hasn’t slept and refuse to till you are home, Alfred is stock piling all your favorite foods till you can eat them, Jason refuses to leave the Manor till he sees you (not that anyone told him to leave), Cass began her late night dancing because she was worried for you, Stephanie was up all night trying half-heartedly to pull Tim away from the computer but was bringing him coffee when he was empty, Barbara was booted off the computer when she faceplanted against the keyboard. And Duke—Duke was furious when we told him after setting up a plan of action and stated he would be coming along, no matter what anyone said. Your friends wanted to know where you were being held, and Bruce didn’t want to tell them, he—he didn’t want Ras to have a reason to go after them, I guess.
But we are Ras’ biggest menace, so we have nothing to lose, right?
I got your letter, through your waitress from that night. I don’t think my heart has slowed since that day. I’m trying to stay calm, but its so hard when we are so close to finding you. You saved her son, Xaiver Hayes from his kidnapper all those months ago, remember? That was probably why you passed on the message through her, right? Because you knew you could trust her, for some reason that I don’t understand.
I hope you weren’t hurt too much; I don’t think I could forgive myself if you are in pain. Every time I think about you making the choice to save Kor’i, Mar’i, and I, there is a pain so sharp in my chest and it becomes hard to breath. I never wanted you to make the choice between you and your family, because I have had to make that choice before and it was the hardest decision in my life.
Hold on just a little longer, my chikno. Just a little longer.
Love,
Baba
Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, Black Bat, Signal, and Starfire were in charge of extraction. Batman and Black Bat were to deal with Ras and Talia, Batgirl and Starfire dealt with the assassins. Nightwing and Signal had the most important part: extract Damian. They were to take the Batplane and launch a surprise attack and rescue Damian.
Dick was so close; he could feel Damian’s presence before he saw it. And when he did lay eyes upon his chikno, he was so joyful and so pissed. Because Damian was standing in the middle of an arena with a sword in his hand and looked so hopeful before disguising it with a look of indifference, but not is why Dick is infuriated.
It’s because Damian isn’t wearing a shirt, his pants are in tatters with holes in the knees and long strips are brushing Damian’s feet, his feet are bare and has untreated sores on them. It’s because Dick can see that Damian is bleeding from is back from what is obviously whipping strikes and that is so horrifying.
It’s because Damian is hurt, and Dick is so close. Dick wants to crush his chikno to his chest and not let him go for a week—no a month, but he needs to take Damian out of danger first, medical treatment, second. Then he can hold his son for as long as he wants.
So, Dick jumps out of the plane with no hesitation once he knows he can stick the landing without breaking anything, his only thought is to get to his son and destroy anyone who gets in his way.
“Nightwing!” Starfire, Batman, and Batgirl scream when they see him jump with no parachute. Kor’i is not used to seeing people do that, because usually people don’t do that. Bruce and Barbara worrying that Dick will die on the way down.
But this is not a normal situation and Dick is not a normal person.
So, he jumps, shoots his grapple to the tallest building and does a series of twists and flips till he is in the training arena. He hears Duke do the same path with slight adjustment to keep the assassins on their toes, and land behind Dick and say, “A little warning next time, dude?” Then the two vigilantes begin to run to Damian taking out anyone that stood in their way with a sweep of the feet, well placed punch, and a couple of times- throwing one into another. They hear the familiar sounds of breaking walls, explosions, and screams as the others handle their mission objectives.
Finally—finally— they reach Damian as he deflects one blade and ducks below another, his injuries slightly slowing him down, but ignored in favor of freedom. Dick immediately covers his right and Duke his left, and the three of them are a whirlwind of punches, kicks, and a blade- each covering someone’s weaknesses flawlessly. They move their way towards the plane as Dick calls over his comm, “Signal and I have Damian. We are leaving in a minute, either get on the plane or call for back up now.”
“Batgirl and I are finished here and can be back up if needed,” Starfire responds as an explosion goes off in the background.
Batman grunts an affirmative, and Cass reports, “Talia is down, headed to plane.”
Thirty seconds later the plane is nearly lifting off, Batgirl, Black Bat, Signal, Nightwing, and Damian are on the plane, waiting for Batman, when they hear, “Take off! Ras is about to set off an EMP! Go!” in Batman’s gruff voice over the comm, then a grunt and a sound of blades rings out over them.
Dick doesn’t ask for more information before he is in the cockpit, takes the controls, and calls over his shoulder, “Starfire, get Batman and fly him here!” Starfire nods and flies towards Batman’s location, and Dick continues, “Everyone, I’m leaving the bay doors open for takeoff so strap yourselves in, put on oxygen masks, and prepare for a rough ascent!” Dick flips a few more switches and roughly pulls back on the steering controls, causing everyone to jerk in their seats. A few minutes later and the force trying to pull everything and everyone from their various seats, the plane is in the air, a safe distance from any EMP range.
The various Bat family members in the seating area look at eachother and the bay doors, waiting for Starfire and Batman to return, the adrenalin still pumping through their veins. Then in the distance Cass sees a blob in the air, points excitedly at it, prompting everyone to do the same. Slowly making out red hair and black Kevlar, Duke fist pumps in the air and shouts into the oxygen mask, Cass and Barbara share a smile around the masks, and Damian slumps with relief in his chair. Soon after Kor’i lands in the plane with a slightly pale Batman then she calls out, “Richard you can close the aircraft doors, now!” and in response Dick does what his wife tells him, and shuts the bay doors, then flips on the autopilot to the cave and gets out of the cockpit, ripping off his mask as he goes.
It takes a few minutes before it everything settles in.
They did it, there was no one left behind. Everyone is coming home.
Damian is the first one to act, unbuckles himself with trembling hands, throws himself at Dick yelling, “Baba—Father!” and lands in Dick’s awaiting arms and sobs, his chin resting on Dick’s shoulder, and hand grasping Bruce’s shoulder. Damian screams and cries for the months of pent up pain, horrors, and sorrow that he endured for so long. Dick just holds the young man, holds him as tightly he can without causing more pain, and gently shushes him with endearments and promises of security, of safety, of home, and of love. Bruce quickly takes off his cowl and stands behind Dick with his hands wiping Damian’s cheeks free of his tears that are streaming from his emerald green eyes that are locked with his own blue ones. Damian’s eyes tell Bruce all he needs to know right now and wraps both his sons in his own arms, refusing to let go for a few minutes, giving his youngest the feeling of being protected he hasn’t felt in months. Soon, Damian’s screams turn to whimpers, and snuggles a little deeper into Dick’s arms, transfers his hold of Bruce’s shoulder to his back and clutch onto Bruce’s cape. Thoughtfully, Kor’i slowly makes her way over to the trio and begins to brush his hair out of his face and gently begins to untangle it with her fingers.
When Damian stops screaming and his whimpers taper off, Bruce slowly leads him to a gurney near the back of the bay and begins to treat his wounds while Dick holds onto his hands and Kor’i hums a little tune into Damian’s hair, ignoring the blood, sweat, and dirt. During this time is when Tim’s voice is emits over the speaker, “I am picking up co-ordinates, did you guys get him? Please tell me you guys got him.” This prompts Barbara, Duke, and Cass to hop into the cockpit and take the call to explain to the best of their ability the sequence of events that led up to Damian’s rescue, leaving Damian, Bruce, Dick, and Kor’i their own devices.
Dear Dick Grayson’s Brother (or Son),
I don’t really know why I’m writing you, besides to say I hope you are well, and to offer my gratitude that night seven months ago.
That night, it changed my world. You see, I have a son, Xavier, and he wasn’t born from a proper relationship- in fact I never knew the guy’s name when he did what he did- but I wouldn’t give up my son for the world, because my son is my world. A week before that night my babysitter called and said Xavier had fallen when he was in his bouncer and she was cooking dinner. He knocked his head pretty hard when the bouncer broke and he lost conciseness till she found him on the floor couple of minutes later, so the sitter took him to the hospital and they did their thing. Well, the problem was, I don’t have insurance, because I’m a full-time waitress at a restaurant with a crappy boss, and I’m a full-time student at BC for communications, that doesn’t leave me with money to spare, in fact, that usually means I don’t have money at all. So, when I got the medical bill for an infant overnight stay, I did what any mother would have done, I took all the money from my college fund and payed the bills, leaving me so broke, I hadn’t eaten much in several days.
But then you came in, and saved me and my son. You gave me enough money for my college fees and my rent for the month. And I can’t say, write, or communicate thank you enough. So thank you for saving us from being kicked out, thank you for putting food on my table, thank you for providing me the money to finish my schooling.
Just thank you.
Forever Grateful,
Blyss Hayes
It was a few months after the rescue of Damian Grayson-Wayne. A few, nightmare-filled, therapy-packed months; but Damian had finally did return to where it all started.
The a five-star, high end, black tie only restaurant.
But this time he is with his family, Father, Alfred, Tim, Jason, Barbara, Duke, Cassandra, Stephanie, Kor’iander, Baba, and his Qalbi. This time Damian chose to come on his own accord and made the reservation himself, making sure to be seated in Blyss’ section, but asks for the hostess not to tell her. Damian wants to see if she recognized him after eight months of no contact, and only two months of meeting Dick, Kor’iander, Mar’i, and Tim one time.
Damian walks into the establishment first, head held high, and Qalbi on his hip, refusing to let any of his nerves show. He feels Dick’s hand on his shoulder as he tells the hostess his name and time of his reservation, and is slightly calmer. When the hostess walks them over to their big table, Damian makes sure he is at the corner chair with Mar’i in a high-chair at the head of the table, Father sitting next to him, and Baba sitting across of him. He looks at all the exits and entrances, takes note of all the windows- how many there are and what type of glass they are made out of, and notices the vents- how big they are and how many there are. When the hostess leaves, Damian looks at his menu, picks the vegetarian, white-sauce pasta with a glass of water, and puts his menu down.
After a few minutes of playing with Qalbi’s hands and drawing a giggle from her, he sees Blyss coming over but doesn’t catch her eye; at least, not until she is at the table as she starts to say her introduction, “Hello, welcome to The Starlight Palace. My name is Blyss—" Damian can see when she recognizes him and his family, her eyes grow wide and she begins to shake, and Damian begins to wonder if she is going to pass out, but she doesn’t; she reigns herself in a continues what she was saying, albeit a little shaken, “—and I will be taking care of you all today. Do you all know what you want to drink and appetizers?”
Her eyes still rove over everyone there as she takes in the drinks, five waters, two red wines, two white wines, and three various soft drinks and two orders of stuffed mushrooms and one order of bruschetta, then she leaves to drop the orders off at the kitchen and get their drinks. When she returns with the various beverages and places them in front of the right person, she turns towards Damian and says quietly, “I’m glad you are back. Seems like you were missed by a lot of people.”
Dinner turns out much of the same, Blyss being a professional waitress and his family not causing a big scene, but being a little rowdy. At the end of the meal, Bruce asks for the ticket Blyss retorts that she has it handled and they don’t need to worry about it, throwing a pointed look at Dick, and Kor’i. That throws Damian and everyone else for a loop, and Dick explains up, “I am not cashing in your offer right now. There are twelve of us here, and this man,” he points at Bruce, “is the wealthiest man in the state, if not the country. This was more for Damian’s piece of mind than your generous offer.”
Kor’i speaks up, “Perhaps, we will come back on my birthday or our anniversary, but Richard is right. You have a child to pay for and I cannot in good moral ground have you pay for this. Especially since I know how expensive little ones are.”
Bruce seems to understand the gist of the conversation and nods his head, takes out his card, asks for the receipt again. This time she hands it to Bruce and walks away to take care of another customer, before returning to their table. Bruce slides the small black book over to her, prompting her to take it to the till. Damian watches as she opens the book, her jaw drops sharply in shock, eyes darting over to their table. Her behavior catches the owner’s attention and he quickly makes his way over to her, the owner glances at the booklet and begins to talk angrily at Blyss and she turns pale and tries to calmly talk him down. After a heated moment the owner nods, and Blyss quickly returns as if on fire, begins to whisper into Bruce’s ear. Damian and the rest of the table can see the moment when Bruce gets angry; but he hides it well with a fake laugh, as he stands and begins to make his way over to the owner, jaw set in determination.
When Bruce returns ten minutes later with a slightly red face, Damian is wondering what was happening, but doesn’t ask, yet. Everyone calmly picks up their various jackets and Dick picks up Mar’i, who had fallen asleep twenty minutes ago, then exits the restaurant. But before they can get two feet out the door the Wayne family hears a, “Wait!” and everyone turns around. It’s Blyss with an envelope that reads “Damian” in her hands and she looks nervous as she shoves it into Damian’s hands, “I j-just needed to give you this, t-to thank you for everything you have done for me and my son,” she says before high-tailing it back inside. Damian, looking at where the woman was then at the letter in his hands, begins to place the letter in a pocket on the inside of his jacket, determining that it can wait till he gets home.
As everyone reaches their vehicles and Kor’i straps in Mar’i, Damian pulls his father to the side and asks, “Father, what happened back at the restaurant? With the owner and Blyss.”
Bruce’s jaw clenches a small bit before spitting out, “The owner thought I was paying her under the table, like this meal was some type of way for me to pay her for illicit activities. When the owner was talking to her at the cash register, he accused her of sleeping with me and this was how I could pay her without it looking weird on my bank account. When she was talking to me at the table, she was asking if I could explain my reasoning of paying her so much to her boss—”
“How much did you tip her?”
“I gave her an extra grand. Because when she delivered that note to Dick, she saved your life,” Bruce went on, looking Damian in the eyes, “Because when she decided not to just take the money you gave her, but also did something that seemed weird and could be dangerous, she showed her true colors. Because—,” Bruce continues to look Damian in the eyes and hold Damian’s head in his hands, “Because she saved you by delivering that letter. She saved you, because if we didn’t have that letter you would still be with the League and I—I don’t want to imagine this life without you in it.” Bruce places his forehead against Damian’s with tears welling up in both of their eyes, “I never want to lose you again, son.”
Damian wraps his arms around his father and response, “I don’t want to lose you either, Father.”
Later that night, after patrol, Damian takes out the letter from Blyss and reads it. Once, twice, then again, and thinks “I wonder what would happen…” then he sleeps, with no nightmares for the first time in months.