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Eyes closed, Cass stood in the middle of the recently remodeled parlor that Bruce had turned into a dance studio for her. As she waited for the piano music to start pouring in through the speaker system, she took a deep breath and pictured the way she had seen Christine teach the dancers at the ballet.
The moment the first note rang out Cass opened her eyes and begun to move, letting the music wash away everything else in the world. It was just her, the piano, and the movement. Cass loved movement, it was the easiest form of communication for her, she knew every dialect and its meaning never eluded her like the way speech would sometimes.
Halfway through the routine Cass went rogue. Closing her eyes, she let her body say everything she was unable to articulate through speech. The sadness she felt when she was unable to save the young man who had decided it was easier to give up then continue on was expressed in a deep penché. The fear that comes anytime one of her family is injured on patrol was conveyed through an écarté. Then with an assemblé Cass felt she could finally communicate the joy she had wanted to speak when Jason joined the family last Sunday for dinner. Each move was a missed conversation, a moment that had passed before she could form the words in her heart.
The last note of the song faded away, leaving Cass standing in the middle of the studio with eyes still closed. As she waited for the song to start over Cass took a calming breath, ready to finally practice the routine that Christine had originally taught her. In the brief silence left by the music Cass heard the quiet breathing of someone trying their best to go undetected, the technique being used a signature of the league. Surprised that she had been so immersed in her dance that she had let herself ignore her surroundings Cass swiftly opened her eyes and faced her newly acquired observer.
Seeing her youngest sibling standing just inside the doorway trying his best not to look startled by her sudden movement brought a tentative smile to her face. Out of all her siblings Cass had the hardest time connecting with Damian. Though, if you were to ask anyone but Dick, it could be said that everyone had the hardest time connecting with Damian. As she watched the thirteen-year-old try and cover any surprise he might have felt, her heart sank as his stance fell into the familiar unease that was always present when she was nearby.
"Cassandra," Damian shifted so that the case he was carrying was held slightly behind him. "I was unaware you had returned home already. I shall leave you to your practice and come back when the room is unoccupied."
Not waiting for Cass to respond Damian inclined his head slightly in a farewell, turning around to exit.
"Wait," Cass surprised both herself and Damian with the sharp demand.
Pausing, Damian adjusted his grip on the case once more before facing Cass again. After a moment of staring at each other with just the piano playing in the background Damian raised an eyebrow, "Well?"
What Cass wishes she could do is be able to initiate a long normal conversation with her little brother. She longs for those classic TV family moments where she can ask Damian about what he's feeling and he responds truthfully and then they hug and everything is better. But Steph says that the Full House family is an unrealistic goal to have as a Wayne. She also likes to say that the if she were to compare the Wayne family to one on TV that they would be a weird cross between the Adams family and the Kardashians. Pushing aside thoughts of unrealistic conversation, Cass chooses to instead ask a short simple question.
"You like to play?" she gestures to the violin case in his hands.
She had seen the case sitting in Damian's room before but he never seemed to play it so she had always assumed it was an abandoned activity, like Steph said the piano was for her. But as she watched him stand in front of her now, she could read the way he held the instrument. His body was projecting the same fierce protectiveness that Cass saw whenever he held Alfred the cat.
"I believe when one has a skill that it is remiss if they do not maintain it." Damian says instead of answering directly.
Cass nods sagely at the serious tone of his statement. Her family finds these types of indirect replies from the boy annoying. But having grown up in a similar environment Cass understands the need to hide things that interest you. Anything and everything could be used against you in the league so it wasn't surprising that Damian would be unwilling to admit to enjoying the violin.
When the silence between the two of them became too much for Damian he adds defensively, "I prefer the acoustics of this room to that of the music room."
Cass bobs her head in agreement, reading the underlying meaning behind his statement. The music room was next to Bruce's office, and he was working from home today.
When Damian doesn't immediately leave to the room Cass offers an alternative, "You can stay."
“Stay?" Damian scoffs, using his words like he would one of his katana's. "Why would I want to stay?"
He injects so much disgust and dismay into the short question that Cass wants to lash out and match him insult to insult like she sees Tim and Damian do all the time. But before she can react with something that she would later regret, Cass sees something change in his stance. Instead of just the usual distrust, there is a yearning present in him that is betrayed by the slight shift in his grip of the instrument case in his hands.
Cass has never been completely comfortable with people whose words never match their bodies. She finds it funny and not just a little bit frustrating that the family that she chose is full of those same types of people. Damian is one of the worst out of her siblings, the present situation being a perfect example. But what he doesn't seem to be aware of is that she's already had years of dealing with similar situations involving his father. And if she has learned anything about Damian it's that as much as he's different he is still his father's son.
So she gives him the same look that always works when Bruce is being stubborn and without giving him the chance to respond chirps out a simple, "Okay." Then Cass turns her back on him, and without missing a beat, slips into the practiced routine once more.
As she goes through the motions of the dance, she lets Damian make up his mind on his own, not ignoring him but choosing to continue as if she had not been interrupted. Throughout the end of the routine and the restart of the beginning, Cass listens to her surroundings waiting to see if Damian would choose to leave or to stay. It's not until midway through the next run-through that she hears the quiet sounds of Damian unlatching his violin case and setting it on the ground next to him. Resisting the urge to glance over, Cass continues with the planned moves and lets a slight smile be her only reaction when the sound of Damian's violin joins the quiet piano from the speakers.
Cass finishes her set just in time to face Damian as he removes his violin from his chin. Knowing the music would resume once more in a few moments she smiles and asks, "Again?"
With a slight nod of his head, Damian lifts the violin back up and joins in with the first note that spills from the speakers.
As Cass danced along with the beautiful mix of violin and piano, she let her body speak once more. Knowing Damian was watching her as he played along, she made sure their eyes caught briefly before beginning her next series of movements. Projecting loudly that each move she made was for her little brother.
This développé was to let him know how she was sorry that he had to go through a similar childhood in the league, one that didn't allow for trust. With a grand jeté she let him know that he could count on her to always have his back, that the deadly skills they both had been forced to learn would only ever be used to protect him.
Knowing the song was coming to a close, Cass completed an attitude devant that spoke of her love for her little brother. The song ended with her facing Damian. Locking eyes Damian drew out the last note a little longer than necessary and Cass broke into a wide smile knowing that they understood each other completely.