Chapter Text
Nightwing felt the cold night air Gotham always offered against his checks. He leaped to the next building making sure it would not crumble under his feet.
He watched what little lights the city offered coming from sirens of cops or firefighters helping those on the ground. People were yelling orders or walking around in a complete haze still trying to make sense of what happened not too long ago. All wondering when it was everything went wrong and the world crumbled around them.
Funny thing, he was thinking the same. He heard some heavy steps coming from behind him. He didn’t need to worry, Nightwing knew who it was.
“Quite a sight ain't,” Red Hood pierced down to Nightwing's view.
Nightwing's voice although cherry was anything but how he was feeling. “An earthquake sure can rock a city huh.”Bad pun in bad taste he knew but it was all he could think of. His mind was not exactly in its most positive space. Red Hood took off his red helmet revealing his other mask under.
'What's the point of it then,' Dick briefly wondered.
“Looks like the same old Gotham to me.” Jason gave a crooked smile.
To this Dick gave a small chuckle. Leave it to his brother to try and act so nonchalant. Even though Jason was just as tired as him. Because Dick knew that if he took off Jason’s mask he would find bags under Jason's eyes similar to his own.
They were both exhausted both physically and mentally. Not that either of the two would ever admit it.
They were lucky enough to be able to finally convince Bruce to let some of their teams into the city to help with the earthquake relief efforts. It took off some of the weight they bore.
But that didn't mean they wanted to be on the sidelines. Hence why they were still out in the city, even if it was their turn to rest. Tim was gonna hate them for ruining the sleep schedule.
“If you say so,” Dick smile went away, his demeanor changing with it. “You were really the last one to see it with him before…”
Jason gave a heavy sigh he knew what it was Dick wanted to talk about but honestly with all the searching they’ve been doing along with the saving he didn’t have the energy or patience for it.
Even if he knew he had it coming.
“You’re really not going to let that go are you. I swear when we find that brat he’s going to owe me big time for putting up with your pouting.”
“I am not pouting,” Dick turned to face him. He sounded like such a child that Jason gave a small laugh this time.
Damian was right about how Dick could be such a kid even though he was the oldest among them.
‘Age does not mean maturity,’ Damian once scoffed when Dick had begged them all to go to an amusement park.
That thought made Jason laughter die out a bit. “Still upset about not knowing aren't you.”
“No.” That was a full on lie if Jason ever saw one. How Dick survived being a spy for spiral he does not know.
“You do know your aren't his only brother right?” Jason raising his voice in a slight pitch, “is it really that much of a surprise he would confide in one of us. I mean isn't that what you've always wanted. For us to be all brotherly and stuff.”
“It is Da- Robin,” for a moment forgetting to use their hero names in nightwear, god he was tired. “He knew… or at least I thought he knew he could tell me anything."
"He does most times."
"I thought he did but to find out that he didn’t trust me enough to tell me about-”
“It’s not about trust Dickie boy.” Jason held his helmet tighter watching Dick who always appeared the happy one out all of the family was anything but.
Jason wasn’t that cruel to his brother. Not in a time like this, not when each day that passed hope went down further and further.
“Listen I can’t say much because I am guessing there are things that even the demon kid tells you, things that I am pretty sure he’s made swear you never tell another living soul under the threat of some bodily harm never to tell right.”
Dick only gave a nod to him.
“Well we have the same deal too and when we get the shrimp back I don’t want him to think he can’t trust me anymore. Especially now with how I revealed Talia visit. That trust will take time to build up again.
And as hard as it is to believe I actually want him to come to me in the future when he needs my help specifically if Talia comes up again and has no one to go to.”
“He can come to us Hood!” Dick exclaimed. “If Talia is threatening to come for Robin, he has to know he can come to us for help!”
Jason shook his head, Dick was missing the bigger picture. “It’s not that simple.”
“Yes it is,” Dick walked up to Jason placing his hands on his shoulders. “All he had to do, all you had to do was tell us and we would have helped separate them. Gotten him away from her.”
Jason slapped away Dick’s hand.“See this is exactly why he didn’t go to you about this. Why can he never goes to you for this. You don’t know all of him.”
Jason's statement made something boil inside Dick. Right now for who knows how many hours or days passed he has been searching for their little brother.
Looking, searching, trying to find and bring Damian back home. Every hour, every second hoping that he wasn’t somewhere hurt and alone waiting for them to come get him.
The thought that he could be, that once again Dick had left Damian all alone again to face something he knew he could have helped him if he was just there.
He could, should have been there to stop the fight between father and son from once again getting out of hand. Stop them from saying hurtful words they did not mean and do things they did not mean to do.
Who knows maybe he could have stopped Damian from leaving so he wouldn’t have been caught in the earthquake.
All these thoughts came to form his anger. It wanted to seep out of him and it did. It allowed him to say these words, “how would you know you’re never in this family!”
He couldn’t see Jason’s eyes with his mask on but he could see the lense widen. Dick regretted his words immediately. He honestly waited for Jason to burst into a fight or yell back.
Instead what he got was worse. He got a silent Jason who just simply said nothing back. One second passed, then another. It felt as time simply slowed down at this point.
“See this is exactly why he can only come to me for this. He fears you.” Jason’s voice hardly a yell or high in volume. It was simply clear, collected thought that was straight to the point which made it cut all the more deeply. “He fears that if he told you what he tells me that you would react like this.”
Jason hit Dick’s shoulder as he walked past him. Cold regret came flooding into him. “Jay I didn’t-”
“I know,” Jason stopped and turned to him. “I know you didn’t mean it ...We're both running on fumes at this point and we’re both tired trust me I get it.”
“Still I should have never said that!” Dick pleaded to him.
“Like I said I know, I know the type of person you are. I’ve learned what kind of person you are because I know you.
I know how you can react when the people you love get hurt by someone. Go all mama bear...”
“Jay, it just got the best of me I didn't mean it. I swear I didn’t.” Dick already wanted to burst into tears and scream his regret.
Jason took a sniff and a moment to clear his voice, “just so you realize that when you react like this everytime the kids mom comes up to the conversation, when B reacts to her like you do, when the whole bat family constantly reacts like she is the devil himself can you tell me honestly you're surprised the kid doesn't tell you anything.
I mean how do expect the kid to come to anyone when all of you become like that.” He gestured his hands at all of Dick wildly.
“Jay you can’t be serious!” Realizing that his anger was getting the best of him Dick attempted to calm himself. “After all she has done, after what she did, what she made him for.
For crying out crying out loud she got him killed and you want us to what give her another chance with him! Hand him over to her!”
“I have never said that!” Jason's voice boomed, it made Dick take a step back. “Don’t think for one second I’ve forgiven her for that or that I ever would. He was my little brother too!”
The crack in his voice made Dick want to run up and tell him he knows. That they all knew. That Damian knows. “Sure we aren’t as close as you two but-”
“He was your little brother too,” Dick almost had a smile repeating some of his words.
“Yeah he was- is god dammit . What I am saying is that he knows how it is that you all react with any mention of Talia and that is why he doesn’t go to you.
He doesn’t need a reminder of how bad of a mother she was to him. He doesn’t need to be reminded, he knows it. The kid started to get it, he’s lived through it. Trying to live through it.”
“All the more reason for her not to be anywhere near him.” Dick came closer while Jason stood his ground. “He needs to cut off her completely.”
“You can’t!” Jason yelled.
“Why not!” Dick shouted back
“Because she is his mother!” Jason watched as Dick appeared stunned as if that was the first time he’s ever been told. It wasn’t. “She is his mom Dick,” he repeated, this time more defeated. The two felt as all of Gotham city sound fell into silence.
“I know that,” Jason could see how heartbroken Dick was to admit such a simple truth.
“Do you? Like Oracle said no matter how much all of us wish she wasn’t she is his mom Dick.”
“I know,” Dick repeated this time sounding more in distress.
“She is his mom and despite everything she’s done there is still a part of him that loves her no matter how much he wishes he didn't. No matter how much he knows all of us wish he didn’t.
This isn’t about not trusting you idiot. It’s just about not wanting to disappoint our family by letting you know he still wants his old one and honestly I can relate.”
“Jay…” Jason could hear the pity in his brother's voice and he hated it. Damian was really going to owe him one.
“Dick my mom, my birth mom and other mom did me wrong. So very wrong but there are still parts of them that I loved. I know I shouldn’t but I do.
Compared to all of your moms well beside Cass we got the short end of the stick we know. Still that doesn’t mean we didn’t love them at one point. We had our moment. There were happy moments. Moments in our lives we felt loved by them and knew they were capable of it. Like this one time he told me-”
Jason saw as Dick waved his hand away. “Don’t tell me.”
He couldn't see his brother's face and Jason feared he might have gone too far. Dick finally looked up to him.
“That’s why he came to you isn’t. You don’t need to tell more of what was said between the both of you so…” Dick dropped his hand to his side, “when we get him back just keep being there when I can’t be okay.”
“Okay.” Jason whispered but it wasn’t, it was never that simple. There would be more to discuss but when Damian came back but for now this was as much as they could go.
“Just to let you know I know that he will always come to your first about other things. He always does. Like this family always comes back so will he. We promised we would always try.”
Before Dick could say anything more they heard a scream and saw a man run with a women’s purse. “Off to work I guess,” Jason placed back his helmet.
“Wanna take this one.”
“Please your only offering so B doesn’t see how tired you are and get called back to the cave.”
Dick just gave a shrug.
“Dick,” Jason insulted as he leaped down. His big brother soon followed after with some laughter.
They watched as Bruce and Tim analyze the news video. Searching more about the story and the place that Damian was taken to. Barbara was on her way to help analyze the footage so it could tell them more.
But what more could they find out. As far as Jason could tell it was easy to see how Damian was doing. He was hurt and they could do nothing to help.
He turned Dick who just kept looking at the screen. Damian being carried kept going on loop.
Jason turned back to the screen, “he'll be okay he's a fighter remember. Look who his family is.”
His words appeared to break Dick from the screen only for a second to glance at him. His eyes back to it. “Yeah his family. They're hard to...kill.”
Jason knew what family Dick was referring to. He hated that brought some comfort to him.
“We are,” Jason tried to reassure him. Yup Damian was going to owe him big time when he came back.
He'll come back, they always did.