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“You’ve told your parents?”
Jon rose his head immediately, yet with wary, to answer but he quickly shut his mouth as Damian’s glare settled on him. Damian didn’t spare Hope a look as he answered her, too concentrated on the TV screen to look her way. “What exactly?”
She glared at him, cursing in her head both Bruce and Talia since she had no idea where he got his annoyingness from. Most likely Bruce but it’s not like she was really getting along with the assassin.
No, more like the hate was mutual between the two women.
Hope passed through many emotions that day. Having a call from Bruce wondering if she heard anything of Damian and her, angered, calling him a shitty father – not literally, more like a bitter jab filled with disappointment – and incredulity since she was in the French countryside because she was tired of his suicidal antics and “shitty manner of being” – her exact words. He still didn’t say sorry over the fact he just disappeared with everyone believing he was dead, and just come back with no explanation and demanding love making. Which she, thanks to her despair and sadness over the months, gave to him willingly, scared he was about to disappear once more, sink into the shadows once more and leave her all alone. When they started to fight over his lack of emotional awareness – for the nth time – she finally said screw it and left Gotham. A vacation to the villa she bought in the countryside, where her mother had lived previously to marrying her father, would have served her well. And it did, the two months ignoring Bruce’s existence and doing the minimum to help out the League – even if some members were feeling awkward for the coldness between her and Bruce – and away from Gotham were perfect. She missed the city and the permanent Sin in the air but she was better off not being involved with Bruce for a while.
Until said call, which infuriated her, and then, a few days later, running home from an outing in the valley since her booby traps had been tripped. She thankfully got home quick enough in time to stop her Shades from killing Superboy and the missing Robin, apparently.
She only realized she needed to make the question as she was making the boys lunch, while they were playing Mario Kart.
“Damian Wayne. Jon Kent. Have you told your parents where are you?” Using the mother tone on them immediately made the two boys look away guiltily. Alright, more like Damian was stubbornly still looking at the video game and Jon has long lost the race, unaware how to answer.
The sound from the TV was mostly background noise for the silence was thick.
“Jon.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your mother and father must be worried.” She pinched her nose, not prepared for the lecture Clark will give her. Jon looked guilty but what most annoyed her was the quietness of Damian, who crossed his arms in anger as Jon stopped playing. “How about this? We are going to call Clark ” – mostly because I don’t want to deal with Lois – “and tell him you are here with me because I needed your help with something and didn’t want to bother him. As for that 'something' I’ll come up with some story. Now take my phone and go.” Jon floated slowly towards her, taking the phone and dialing his father’s number, a grim expression on his face.
Hope watched him leave the room and plopped down on the sofa, her hand with the PBJ sandwich stretched towards the missing boy. He took it, murmuring a thank you.
Alfred is a saint.
“Your mother or your father?” She wasn’t going to beat around the bush.
“Both.”Oh Lord.
“Do I need to expect the League and Bruce to come uninvited?”
He ‘Tts’ ed in annoyance. “I covered my tracks.”
“Also Jon’s?”
He cursed in his mother’s tongue and he was about to jump off the couch when she put a hand on his shoulder.
“If you don’t want to be found for now and if they do appear I’ll just chase them away.”
“It’s mother and father.”
“Kid, I’m a demonic witch. Even Superman has a hard time dealing with me. With one spell I can knock them both out with no fuss. Not only your father has countermeasures against certain people.” She scoffed and Damian threw her a glare. She gave him a bored look and he stopped glaring, only – to her utter shock – to start doing something she never expected will witness. Damian Wayne, the heir of the Demon and the son of the Bat was sulking in her living room.
“I’m gonna kick your father’s ass once I see him, I swear. But anyways, why did you come to me? Didn’t you tell me that you more or less hate me because I’m occupying your mother’s place?”
She remembered that day clearly. After him and Bruce had an argument, Damian decided to turn her into target practice for his anger. She didn’t care per say of his insults – it was more like a chihuahua barking at her – since at one point she had been like him when her mother died and her father might as well have been just a stranger in her life. So, she didn’t care then. After the whole matter with Bruce’s death happened, her and Alfred trying to keep the family together during almost a year, explaining to the public and to the board members of Wayne Enterprises he was away for a long time for reasons they couldn’t explain and then Bruce coming back from the dead with no explanation whatsoever after which she dumped him.
Damian, with regret – Is Darkseid attacking tomorrow? – in his young face, lowered his head and murmured what sounded like a sorry .
She was so tempted to act like a bitch and make him repeat the words louder but because of some part of her that sympathized with him, she decided to cut him some slack. She hated how Bruce sometimes really reminded her of her own father, with the way he treated the kids at times. No . With the way Batman treated his child soldiers .
Fuck him and his bigotry.
“Still don’t know why you came to me.”
Once more annoyance settled on his face and he looked away, cheeks red. “I spoke with Grayson and by the end of our discussion he said, in his words, ‘I wish Mom was still here to deal with Bruce.’ and it made me think.”
She was about to question what her oldest boy calling her mom had to do with him being– Oh. Oh!
Her eyes widened instantly and he, seeing her reaction, was about to run away from the room when she grabbed him by his small shoulders stopping him. It was weird seeing Bruce’s young face from the portraits and photos littered around the manor but it reminded in that instant that Damian was still a child himself. And that he had horrible guardians. One of them being her.
“I’m sorry.”
It was his turn to be surprised.
“I shouldn’t have left Gotham. I... was overwhelmed over everything that happened and... I should have thought about you, the boys and the girls.” She allowed regret to show on her face, the show of vulnerability upsetting the more prideful side of her. “I was so upset over your father’s actions, I... I was selfish. I’m sorry.” Dangerous wrathful thoughts overcame her mind.
If he even dares step a foot near here, he’ll need Clark and Diana to save him from my wrath.
Wait a minute-
“And Selina?”
“She’s been avoiding father. Said she doesn’t want to interact with him since he’s... broodier than usual ever since you ended your relationship. He’s... also more violent and snappy.”
For fuck’s sake.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she growled. “When I return to Gotham, I’m going to terrorize everyone I can’t stand with nightmares. Criminal scum, anti-hero and vigilante. No one will escape my curses.”
Damian looked almost wary. “Me... too?”
“No. No, Dami, no. Never you.” She blew a sight, pushing her anger back for the moment. She chuckled “I guess I will also need to have a chat with your father.” Another chuckle, imagining how horribly that would go. “Then maybe we could eat somewhere. On my tab. Me, you and everyone else that’s part of our dysfunctional family. I’m still on the fence about your father.” Her hand rose automatically and ruffled his hair. Damian blushed a little, the notion reminding him how she would do it with Grayson, Todd and even Drake but not him. At least, until now. “But for now, how about staying over for a while? I’m still not mentally prepared for Gotham yet so would you like to stay here with me?”
Damian kept quiet for a few moments. “Are you going to let me try out your black magic sword?”
Hope’s immediate answer was No. but she didn’t say it outright, for the hope in his voice. “I’ll have to train you for a bit but maybe it can happen before we get back home.” Thank God, he’s still in summer vacation.
Another booby trap tripped and she rose from her seat. “Stay here.”
Damian frowned and he was about to argue when Hope spoke again. “It’s Superman. Don’t worry. I just have to help out Jon with his alibi and make him leave.”
Him and his not-so-flying rat best friend.
She thought she might as well deal with Bruce now rather than later.
“… Alright.” The boy looked unconvinced but with a cheeky smile from her and a hand messing up his hair again she went outside, totally not ready to deal with the World’s Finest.