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Damian was the quietest child Dick had ever seen. He would sneak through the corridors, avoid walking through the center of the rooms, and mostly always answering "yes" or "no" to any questions. Sometimes he didn't even bother to answer, just muttering something.
It used to break Dick's heart, who couldn't bear a child growing up with trauma or enough tiredness to even talk. However, it wasn't as if that made much difference. Bruce, Tim and Jason, they didn't seem to care that much, never trying to make Damian talk more than what he already did. But Dick was not like that.
It was a late afternoon when Dick found his perfect opportunity. Batman had just left his cave, Tim had gone with him, and Jason was somewhere out there. Only Dick and Damian remained in the cave, a little tired from last night's patrol and silently monitoring the progress of Batman's mission.
"So..." Dick started. "What is your favorite color?" he asked, turning in his swivel chair to face Damian.
"Green." he answered without looking at Dick.
"Oh, green. Mine is blue." he said, smiling.
Damian didn't answer.
"Do you like submarines?"
Dick could barely hide his smile at the random question he'd just asked. He smiled even more at the small look of surprise on Damian's face.
"I think."
"And you like animals?"
"Yes."
"What is your favorite animal?"
"I don't have a favorite animal."
"None? Not even bats"
That seemed to get enough attention from Damian, who looked at Dick.
"I like cats"
"Oh, look there! I also like cats. What do you enjoy doing the most?"
Dick hoped Damian wouldn't answer 'train' or 'fight'.
"I like drawing."
"What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"
"I never ate ice cream."
"Oh My God! Seriously? We need to go then for ice cream, urgently."
Damian didn't answer.
"Do you like cold or hot?"
"Hot."
"Hot? I like a little more cold. Heat leaves the clothes sticking and sweaty. Why do you like hot the most?"
"I lived ten years in a desert."
"Oh yeah. I forget that sometimes. There was only sand there?"
"There was a palace."
"A palace? That must have been amazing. Did you speak Arabic?"
"Arabic dialects."
"Was it hard for you to learn English?"
"A little bit."
"What is your favorite food?"
"Falafel with babaganoush."
"And American?"
"I... I don't know."
"I understand a little bit what this break of culture is. I grew up in an immigrant family from Romania. English is not kinda like my native language."
Damian didn't answer.
"What is your favorite place in the world?"
Damian blinked, as if he had suddenly remembered something.
"I like a garden at home."
Home. It must be bad for a ten-year-old to leave his home to live with people he had never seen before.
"A garden?" Dick asked. It didn't look much like Talia or Ra's a garden.
"One of the killers kept it."
"Ah yes. And which color do you like the least?"
"Orange."
"Orange?" Dick asked smiling, remembering one of his costumes.
"Yes."
"Which is your favorite drink?"
"Tea."
Dick would ask him more silly things, as he would any other child, before the communicator beeped with Batman's message, and their attention had to focus on her. Something was heating in his chest from talking to Damian Wayne, who never talked to anyone.
Later, in another casual conversation with Bruce, he commented with an open grin, only to get a suspicious look from his father.