Archive of Our Own

Damian went about his schedule as normal, he didn’t complain, he followed the rules just like his mama instructed him, just like a big boy does. Because Damian was six years old now. He was a really really big boy, who knew how to behave properly.

Damian knew what to expect every day. First was his reading class, which he already did- he had a big gold star sticker to prove it! That just shows how very extra good he was at reading class. He was the bestest. He had put the sticker right on the front of his shirt to show it off.

Second was his math class, one of his least favorite classes. Damian preferred his reading class much more than his math class. He didn’t get stickers in his math class. That's why he only had one sticker today.

Third was supposed to be his history class, where he learned about old dead guys and different wars, because that's just the kind of things a big boy needs to know.

But today he wasn’t in his history class. His mother had led him to a strange room, dark and scary. It’s not like he was scared of the dark- no, that was only a little kid thing. Damian wasn’t a little kid. Plus, he was being taught to be the bravest person ever. A little darkness would do anything to scare him. Not at all.

Talia placed her hand on the door handle, but she didn’t go in herself. She only motioned for Damian to go closer to the door.

“Go inside, Damian.”

Damian looked at his mother with confusement. Why was he supposed to go into a big, dark, scary - Not scary , he reminded himself.- room all by himself?  Was he in trouble? Damian didn’t remember doing anything wrong. He had read all the books he had to in class, and he even learned what thirty plus fifteen was! Those were big numbers, and Damian was proud of himself. But now he wasn’t so sure. Good boys aren't locked in dark rooms.

“ Inside , Damian. I will retrieve you when your job is done.” Talia informed him,

“What job?” Damian asked, looking at his mama with big eyes.

“You’ll know what you have to do.”

Damian watched as his mother quickly opened the door, pushed him inside and closed the door, taking most of the light with her. The room was dark, but thankfully not dark enough to overtake his vision. Damian could still make out his surroundings.

Yet that didn’t make it any less scary.

Damian stool still for a second, looking at the closed door that had previously held his mother at the other end. Damian expected it to open, and be retrieved by his mother, but that didn’t happen. Damian was alone.

Or, at least, he thought he was.

Damian jumped when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. He quickly turned around, and got in the defensive stance he had been trained to do.

In the corner of the room stood a tall man. Damian couldn't make out all of his features, but he guess the guy was probably in his late teens, maybe early twenties. The man seemed to have been in a defensive stance as well, but had switched to a more casual stand when he saw that it was only Damian who entered.

The man blinked in what appeared to be surprising. “You're just a little kid.”

Damian scowled. “ No, I'm not a little kid.” He crossed his arms. “I’m a big kid.”

The man stared at Damian for a second, looking very confused, before nodding slowly. “Okay then. You're a big kid. Cool.”

Damian backed up, and tightened his fists when the stranger began slowly approaching. “Stay away.”

Damian wished his mother would come back through the door, and stop the big man from getting any closer to him. Damian didn’t like the tall man. He was scary, and Damian missed his mother already.

Damian suddenly didn’t feel like a big boy. Big boy’s aren't scared of anything, but Damian was scared right now. He was very scared.

The tall man brought his hands up in surrender. “I’m not gonna hurt you, kid. I promise.” His eyes landed on the gold sticker on Damian’s shirt. “Where did you get that cool sticker from? It seems like you did something pretty great to get it. Can I have a sticker?”

Damian lowered his fists by only an inch, and stood in a semi normal stance. “You only get a gold sticker when you're the bestest reader, like me! Are you the bestest reader?”

The man chuckled. “The best reader in town. Although, with that star I bet your way better than me, huh?”

Damian nodded excitedly. “Yeah! I can read real good!”

The stranger put his hands down, deeming it safe to, and crouched to Damian’s height once he was close enough. “What’s your name, squirt?”

Damian thought about answering. He took back what he said before about the man being scary. Damian was beginning to warm up to the stranger. He liked him. Damian wanted to tell him his name, but his mother also told him not to tell his name to people he didn't know.

“I’m not supposed to tell my name to strangers.” Damian informed the man.

The man nodded. “Okay. Smart kid. I’ll go first. My name is Jason Todd. There, now we aren’t strangers anymore, yeah?”

Damian blinked. Oh, that was right! They were not strangers anymore. Now Damian could tell him his name.

“My name is Damian.” Damian whispered, sharing his name as if it were a secret.

“Oh yeah? Damian what? Damian Beyonce? Damian Shakira? Damian Stark? Damian The Rock Johnson -”

Damian giggled. “No, those are silly.”

“Silly, huh? Okay, then what is it really?”  Jason asked, although he looked to be suppressing a smile himself.

“Okay, but I’ll only tell you since we're not strangers anymore.” Damian told him.

Jason nodded. “Yup, not strangers. We might as well be best friends.”

Damian beamed. “I’ve never had a best friend before. This is so cool!”

Jason chuckled, and Damian leaned closer as if he was about to share a huge secret. “Damian al Ghoul.”

Damian didn’t notice it, but Jason’s smile nearly slipped off his face. “Al Ghoul, huh? As in, your mom is Talia al Ghoul?”

Damian nodded proudly. “Yup! That's my mommy.”

Jason nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay then. Nice. Well, as your best friend, I say that your staying with me for now on.”

“In this room?” Damian asked with a frown. He may have made a friend in this room, but it was still too dark and scary for his liking. Damian didn’t want to live in this dark room. After all, his mother wasn’t in this room, and he couldn't get any more gold stickers in this room.

Jason nodded. “Only for a while.” He promised.

Damian didn’t know what he meant by that, but he nodded anyway.  “Okay.”

Jason held his hand out for a shake, and Damian accepted it. He smiled when his new friend shook their hands. “We won’t be in this room for long, I promise. I’ll get us out of here, how does that sound?”

Damian tilted his head in confusion. “But the door is right there.”

Jason chuckled. “It is, isn’t it? As for right now, it seems we're stuck in here, But , when we get out I'm taking you home with me. This isn’t the best place for a little-- for a big kid like you.”

“Why not?” Damian asked.

“Do they let you have chocolate here?” Jason asked.

Damian blinked. “No.”

“And that, my friend, is exactly why.” Jason stood, and offered a large hand to Damian. “Here, I’ll show you around the room.”

Damian craned his neck to look at Jason’s face. “But I can already see the whole room from here.”

“I know, but it's the thought that counts.”

—------------------------------------------------------------------

Damian didn’t know how long they stayed in the room for, but all he knew was that it was upwards of two weeks.

He missed his mama real bad, but Jason was super super fun to talk to. He told Damian funny stories, played games with him, and even taught him how to make different animal looking shaped with his hands. Damian thought Jason was the coolest person he had ever met.

Damian still wondered what his ‘job’ was, and when his mother was coming back for him, but eventually he was content to hang out with his new friend.

Damian couldn't make out much of Jason's face in the dark, and he knew the same went for Jason with Damian’s own face, but he could see enough to make out when Jason smiled at him.

Jason smiled at him a lot.

Damian always smiled right back, because he was just happy to have a friend.

But even though Jason was his friend, he acted kind of like his mama sometimes. But not like his mama when she was mad, only when she was calm and kind. That’s how Jason would act towards him. 

When the servants brought in a bucket of water and rags for baths, Jason would gently scrub the dirt and grime off of Damian until he was all clean. Then he would lay Damian down for a nap. 

At first, Damian had protested because big boys don’t need naps. Naps were only for babies. 

Then, Jason told him that even he naps sometimes, and that naps were fun. Damian believed him, and began taking his naps without complaint. Only when Damian was comfortably sleeping did Jason clean himself. 

Another funny thing Jason did was he didn’t let Damian sleep on the floor. He insisted Damian sleep with him. Damian didn’t understand why at first, but he slowly began to. When he slept on the floor he would get purple bruises on his arms from the hard tile, but when he slept wrapped in Jason's protective arms he didn’t get bruises. His friend was funny like that. He seemed to know everything that would help Damian.

Every time the door would open, Jason would step in front of him protectively, as if expecting someone to come in and take him. So far, it had only been servants dropping off food for the two of them.

Damian would expect his mother to walk in and retrieve him whenever the door swung open, but she had yet to come. Frankly, Damian didn’t know if he wanted to be retrieved anymore. His new friend was just so so cool, and Damian didn’t want to leave him.

When the door opened this time, just like every other time before, Jason held an arm in front of Damian as a shield, and Damian was expecting his mother.

Yet, it was only a servant dropping off food. It was a timid looking woman, who placed the tray on the ground, and hurried back outside. She closed the door with a heavy bang.

Jason waited a moment before standing, and retrieving the tray,

“What is it?” Damian asked, his stomach rumbling with anticipation. He jiggled around on the floor where he sat, excitement leaking out of him. Mealtime had always been Damian’s favorite time.

Jason laughed lightheartedly at Damian’s little wiggly dance, and placed the tray down. Jason plopped down after it. “Looks like soup to me. Same as always,”

Damian began reaching towards the bowel he claimed as his own, only to be stopped by Jason. “Hold on, Tyke. I gotta check it first.”

Damian frowned. That was the only thing he didn’t like about hanging out with Jason. He always insisted on trying Damian’s food before him. Jason claimed it was for safety reasons, which Damian didn’t understand. Why would Jason eating some of his food protect him?

Jason tried a little bit of Damian’s food, and after about a minute he ruffled Damian’s hair. “Okay kiddo, you're good to go.”

“Yes!” Damian grabbed his spoon, and took a big spoon full of soup.

Jason did the same with his, and they ate in comfortable silence until Damian had finished. He looked up at Jason, who was still finishing up his bowl of soup, and decided to figure out why Jason stole his food for himself.

“Why do you have to try the food before we eat every time ?” Damian stressed.

Jason decided to finish the last bit of his soup, and place the now empty bowl down before answering. “Well, kid, it's to keep you safe.”

“From my chicken soup?”

“ No” Jason chuckled . “ From something that could have snuck in your food and made you sick.”

“Why would something sneak in my food?” He asked.

The thought seemed funny to him, something on a super secret spy mission to sneak inside Damian’s dinner. How did it even fit in there? That idea seemed silly.

“Were in the League of Assassins, anything could happen.” Jason answered.

“But then wouldn’t it make you sick too?”

“Yup, I guess it would, but I would rather me get sick than you.”

“Why?” Damian asked. Why did Jason want to get sick? That idea made no sense to Damian.

Damian didn’t like when he got sick, and would never wish for it to happen to himself. Did Jason like getting sick?

“Because I have to protect you, Squirt. That's just what friends do.” Jason shrugged.

Then that made sense to Damian. They were best friends now, so it would make sense. Did that mean Damian would have to get sick for Jason? Friends were weird.

However, Damian thought it was very nice of Jason.

So, Damian peeled off the gold sticker that had stayed on his shirt, and he stuck it on Jason’s shirt.

Jason gave him a puzzled look. “What's this for? I didn’t read anything.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m still the bestest reader, but you're the bestest friend.” Damian declared, giving the sticker one more pat.

Jason laughed with a wide smile, and pulled Damian into a headlock, ruffling his hair playfully. “You’re just a little charmer, aren’t ya?”

Damian giggled. “No!” He playfully complained, and pushed against Jason's chest. Damian didn’t know what a charmer was, but Jason was making Damian’s hair spike up in all different directions and he didn’t like it when his hair was messy.

Jason didn’t let go before smoothing Damian’s hair back down to how it previously had been. “There we go. All nice and tidy again.”

Damian was about to say something when the door opened once more.

The door never opened more than three times a day, and certainly not back to back. Jason instinctively pulled Damian behind him protectively, and stood.

The door allowed light to flood into the room, and Damian had to squint at the sudden brightness of the room. His eyes had adjusted to the dark. Yet, even with the sudden brightness, Damian could easily tell who had come in.

“Mama!” Damian exclaimed in joy.

Talia shot him an amused smile, and it only widened when she took in Jason’s protective stance.

“I see you’ve befriended your brother.” She stated.

Damian paused in thought, and Jason’s hold loosened for a second in surprise.

“Brother?” Damian asked.

Talia nodded a yes. “That is correct, Habibi. This is your father’s son.”

“Father?” Jason asked. He cautiously looked away from Talia to look at Damian, and when he looked at Damian he paused. This was his first time seeing Damian in the light, as the room had been dark the whole time they had been together.

Damian also had the opportunity to look at Jason’s face. Jason had warm, blue eyes, and a white streak in his dark hair. Damian thought Jason looked kind.

Jason’s eyes widened when he examined Damian’s face. “Bruce.”

“That’s correct.” She praised. “Did Bruce ever mention we were once married?”

Jason didn’t look away from Damian’s face when he answered. “He mentioned it once or twice, but he never told me he had a kid. He said you miscarried.”

Talia gave an amused chuckle. “Yes, that's what he believes.”

Jason peeled his eyes off of Damian’s face, and turned to Talia. “What do you want? Because you're not taking him. He’s staying with me, whether you like it or not.”

“I am only checking in on the progress you two are making, and it's coming along very well.” Talia responded, clasping her hands behind her back.

“Okay, you’ve seen what you need to, now leave.” Jason growled.

“Do not use that tone with me, Jason Todd. Worry not, I will leave. However, when I come back I am taking my son with me.”

“The hell you are.” Jason spat. “Over my dead body.”

“You have no choice in that matter.” With that, Damian watched in confusion as his mama turned and walked out of the room.

—--------------------------------------------------



Damian sat cross legged as he watched as Jason attempted to reach the air vent by jumping.

Jason was very tall, but not tall enough to get the vent off the ceiling. 

He could touch it, but not for long enough to pull it off the ceiling. The extra tall room didn’t help.

“What are you doing?” Damian asked.

“I'm getting us outta here. Here, why don't you give me a hand? I need the help of a really big kid over here.” Jason motioned for Damian to go to him, and Damian didn’t waste a second. He jumped up and hurried over to Jason. Because he was a super duper big kid! He could help Jason with whatever he needed!

“What do I need to do?” Damian asked eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“I'm going to pick you up real high, and then you're going to pop the vent off the ceiling, okay?” Jason asked. “This is a real important job. You're the only one that can help me with it.”

“Because I'm your brother?” Damian questioned innocently, craning his head to look at Jason.

Jason nodded, and ruffled his hair. “Yup, brothers help each other out.”

“I always wanted a brother.” Damian admitted.

He had never told anyone he wanted a sibling before, because it was his super extra secret. He knew that if his mommy knew he was lonely, she would probably give him a lesson to not be lonely anymore. Damian didn’t like the kinds of lessons his mother gave him. They could be scary sometimes, and they made Damian cry.

“Well, Lucky for you, you got the best and most attractive brother.” Jason teased.

“Where is he then?” Damian asked. 

Jason gave him a mock offended face, but laughed anyway. “You little gremlin,”

Damian giggled.

“Now,” Jason announced. “Are you ready to help me?”

Damian extended his arms in the universal sign to be picked up. “Yes! Yes I am!”

Jason easily lifted Damian up, pressing Damian against his chest, and positioned them under the vent. Then, he listed Damian away from himself, and towards the ceiling.

“Simba,” He heard Jason say, but he ignored him in favor of accomplishing his task. Damian used all of his big boy strength to push on the vent, but for some reason it wouldn’t budge. Damian attempted to shake it, pull it, push it, and even hit it, but nothing ever worked.

Damian pouted, feeling his eyes start to sting.

“It’s okay, kiddo.” Jason said, placing Damian back on his own two feet.

“But you said a big kid could do it. I couldn’t do it.” Damian whined. “Brothers are supposed to help each other out. Am I a bad brother?”

Jason winced, and kneeled so he was closer to Damian’s height. Just like he had done the first day they had met. “Hey, that’s not even a question. You-” Jason poked Damian’s small chest. “Are the best brother ever. Here, look, you even have the sticker to prove it,”

Jason peeled the sticker off of his shirt and stuck it to Damian’s. It didn’t stick as good as it had the first time, as it was less sticky, but it stuck onto Damian’s shirt nonetheless. Damian sniffled, and looked at his big brother's face. He couldn't see it very well in the dark, but he knew that if he could, he would see a pair of kind blue eyes looking back.

“The best brother.” Jason repeated.

Damian gave a pathetic sniffle. “The bestest?”

Jason gave a small laugh, and ruffled Damian’s hair. “The bestest.”

—------------------------------------------------


When Damian woke up, he was no longer with his brother. He was laying on his own bed.

Damian gave a large yawn, and rubbed tiredly at his eyes.  He pushed himself into a sitting position, and searched his surroundings. He gasped with happiness when he saw his mother sitting on a chair beside his bed.

“Mama!” Damian climbed off the bed, and threw himself at his mother. He wrapped his small arms around her neck in a big hug.

“Good morning, Habibi.” His mother chuckled as she held him. “You’re in a good mood today.”

“I missed you.” He whispered, sharing his secret with his mom.

“I missed you too, Darling.” Talia smoothed a hand through Damian’s hair.

“Did I complete my job?” Damian asked, pulling away to look at his mama’s face.

“Yes.” Talia confirmed. “You did it very well."

“What was my job?” Damian questioned, tilting his head.

“Your Grandfather wanted you to get to know your brother, as to why, I am unsure. However, I have other plans for you too.” Talia explained.

“What other plans?”

Damian’s mom shushed him, and placed him back onto his own two feet. “I also wanted you to get to know him, but for different reasons.”

Talia kneeled down to Damian’s height, and Damian was reminded of when Jason had done the same.

Damian already missed his brother. “Do not tell anyone of what I have told you, Darling. It is for your own safety. Do you understand?”

Damian didn’t understand, but he nodded anyway.

“When will I get to see Jason again?” Damian asked, looking at his mother in anticipation.

His mother pondered that question before answering. “Hopefully soon. I had a servant retrieve you while you and your brother were sleeping. He was not happy to wake up alone. He has been uncontrollable ever since.”

“He’s mad?” Damian asked. He didn’t like it when his mama was mad, and now he didn’t like it when Jason was mad either. Damian thought about his kind, and cool brother, and then he tried to imagine him being so mad he was uncontrollable.

They seemed like two completely different people to Damian.

“Yes, Beloved. He is very mad.”

Damian frowned, but he nodded anyway. Damian wanted to be with Jason.

As it turned out, Damian didn’t get to be with Jason for quite some time. Instead, he spent a couple days as he would have before he met his brother. He did his reading class (He made sure not to put the stickers on his shirt this time, wanting to save a couple for Jason. Maybe stickers would make him less mad. Stickers definitely made Damian less mad.) Sadly, Damian also had to attend his math classes.

Damian kept his stickers on him at all times, just in case he was brought to his brother's room. Damian had saved his most extra special sticker for Jason. It was the biggest one, and it said ‘Great job!’.

Damian wanted to give it to Jason because Jason did a great job at being his big brother.

As the days went by, Damian found that he himself was a little grumpy. He missed his brother. He missed cuddling up to him at night, and he missed playing with Jason. He even sort of missed Jason testing his food before he ate.

Every meal Damian had had away from his brother, he couldn’t help but wonder if anything had snuck in his food like Jason said something could have. Since he hasn’t gotten sick yet, he didn’t think so. Damian wondered if Jason had gotten sick yet.

Damian was relieved to find that, no, Jason hadn’t gotten sick yet.

But his mother had been right. He was angry .

When his mother led him towards his brother's door, Damian could hear the banging from across the hallway. The closer they got the louder the sound was.

“Go inside, Habibi.” His mother ordered. “Be quick.”

Damian nodded towards his mother, then turned back to face the door. Before he had met Jason, he probably would have been too scared to go inside. He probably would have been afraid of what was banging on the door, thinking up all sorts of different possibilities of what could be behind the door.

But Damian knew what was behind the door. It was the bestest big brother in the world.

Damian knew better than to open the door while Jason was hitting it. If Damian did that, His brother would probably come stumbling into the hallway, or maybe even accidentally punch Damian rather than the door.

Instead, Damian stood next to the door. “Akhi?”

Damian heard the banging suddenly stop, and there was a pause before he heard Jason’s voice.

“Damian?”

“It’s me!” He confirmed, nodding even though Jason couldn’t see him.

Damian heard the door knob begin to jiggle, but Jason couldn't open it. It was locked, only able to be opened from the outside.

“Damian, I need you to open the door okay? I need you to come here.” Jason instructed.

Damian turned the doorknob, and opened it. Before Damian got more than a crack open, the door was flung open from the inside, and Damian was scooped up into a fierce and protective hug. Jason buried his face in Damian’s hair, and Damian smiled, holding tightly to his big brother.

“Jason! I missed you.” Damian admitted. He distantly noted how his mother had yet to close the door, but he wasn’t paying too much attention. Not when Jason had him tightly secure in his arms.

“Me too kiddo. Me too.” Jason mumbled, squeezing Damian as tightly as he would allow himself.

“Did they hurt you?” Jason asked, his voice suddenly dark and scary. Darker than Damian had ever heard Jason speak.

“No, but I got a lot of stickers!” Damian exclaimed.

Jason gave a relieved chuckle. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Look,” Damian pulled back, and reached into his pocket, still being tightly held by his older brother. “I have three whole stickers! And I saved the best one for you.”

Damian pulled out his ‘Great Job!’ sticker, and showed it proudly to Jason. “I saved it for you. Because you do a great job at being my big brother.”

“I think you do a great job at being my baby brother.” Jason complemented.

“I'm not a baby.” Damian informed, tilting his head in confusion. Damian was much bigger than a baby. How had Jason mistook him for a baby?

Jason smiled in amusement. “I know, kiddo. It just means that you're my little brother.”

Damian thought about that. To have a big brother he had to be a baby? Damian didn’t think that made much sense.

“That's silly.” He decided.

“Jason Todd,” His mother’s voice broke into their conversation, and Jason looked up as if he had forgotten she was there. Damian turned in his brother's arms to look at his mama, who was standing in the doorway.

She held out two objects. A small key, and a gun. “For when the time is right. Do not hurt my son.”

“I would never.” Jason promised. He was hesitant to take the objects. “Why are you helping me? What do you want?”

“I saved you, Jason Todd. Make sure your father knows he owes me a favor.” Talia instructed. She motioned to the objects that were still in her hand. “Do not waste time, Jason. Take my help before it is too late.”

Jason moved the hand that had been cupping Damian’s back, and carefully took the two objects. He held them as if they could explode at any given moment.

Jason didn’t say anything more. He watched as Talia closed the door, a suspicious glint in his eyes. Damian peeled the back off of Jason’s sticker and stuck it on Jason’s shirt.

“There!” He nodded, admiring his work.

Jason chuckled, but he moved to place the two objects behind the water bucket in the corner, where it wouldn't be spotted.

—---------------------------------------------------------


Damian was confused when they didn’t follow their normal schedule. Jason cleaned him, but he didn’t put him down for a nap. Instead, he sat Damian down, a serious expression on his face.

“I’m going to leave for a little bit, but I’ll be back. I swear on my life I'll come back for you.”

Damian blinked in confusion. His brother was leaving? Where was he going?

“Why can’t I come with you?” Damian asked.

“It’s too dangerous right now, but when I come back we're going to be safe, okay? Have you ever flown in a plane before?”

The sudden change of subject confused Damian, but he shook his head. He hadn’t ever flown in a plane, but he had read about them in his reading class, because he was the bestest reader ever.

“Well, you will. When I come back, I’m coming back with our dad, a plane, our brother, and Hershey chocolate. That sounds nice?” Jason asked.

Damian’s eyes widened. “How are you going to get a plane? Our father is coming? We have another brother?”

Jason nodded. “Yes to all three of those. Now, I have to go before the night shift starts. Promise me you’ll be safe until I get back.”

“I promise.”

“Okay, I’ll be back.” Jason began to stand, but Damian stopped him.

“Wait,” When Jason gave him a puzzled look, Damian explained. “Pinky promise me you will come back, Akhi.”

Jason extended his pinky, and Damian interlocked it with his own. “I pinky promise.” Jason swore.

—----------------------------------------------------------



Damian was in his reading class when it happened.

The building shuddered, and Damian heard a distant rumble. Ever since Jason escaped, there had been ten times the normal amount of guards on watch, so whatever was happening must be big if it was able to get past the guards.

Damian wasn’t too scared though, because his mother was with him. She quickly dismissed Damian’s teacher, and then picked Damian up. Talia left the room, and carried them down the hallway. The only problem was that they were walking towards the ruckus.

“Mama? Where are we going?” Damian asked, looking up at his mother with innocent eyes.

“We're getting you to safety, Beloved.” Talia assured.

Damian didn’t know how walking towards the chaos would keep him safe, but he trusted his mother. He knew she wouldn’t willingly hurt him.

Damian held tight to his mothers neck as she pushed past the big doors, and outside. Damian’s nose was immediately attacked by smoke, and the copper smell of blood. Damian’s ears hurt when the loud sound of gunshots filled the air.

Hundreds of guards surrounded them, firing arrows at a black plane that was in the sky. Talia walked fearlessly though it all, Damian held tightly to her chest.

Damian remembered when Jason said he was coming back with a plane, and he smiled. His brother was finally back! Damian had missed him greatly.

However, not all the guards were firing at the ship. Most were attacking two oddly dressed men who fought not that far away from them. One was a younger looking man, in a blue and black outfit. The other one was dressed in a black outfit. Both of their eyes were covered.

Damian thought they looked funny.

He didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings, that is, until he felt his mother come to a stop.

“Jason Todd,” She greeted.

Damian turned, expecting to see his brother standing there, but instead he saw a man in a red helmet, and leather jacket. Damian was confused at first, because why had his mother called this masked man by his brother's name?

It made sense when the man reached up, and took off his helmet. The helmet revealed his brother's face.

“Akhi!” Damian exclaimed, smiling with his pure joy. “You came back!”

Jason smiled. “Of course I did, kiddo. I pinky promised, didn’t I?”

“You did!” Damian agreed.

Talia made eye contact with Jason, and her face was more serious than Damian had ever seen.

“Take care of him, and protect him with your life. If anything happens to him, I will have your head, Jason Todd.” Talia swore.

“I'll take care of him. I swear on my life I'll protect him. He’ll never have to want for anything as long as he’s with me” Jason swore.

Talia took a long moment to search Jason’s face, looking for any hint of a lie.

When she didn’t find one, she turned her attention to Damian. “Be good, Habibi. I’ll see you again.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Damian asked, suddenly not so excited about leaving.

“I cannot, but Jason will take good care of you. I will visit soon. I love you, my son.” Talia placed a rare kiss on Damian's forehead. Something she had only done once before.

Damian dove back into a hud, and squeezed his mama tight. He didn’t want to leave her, but he knew he would see her again. After all, his mother promised him, and his mother never lied to him.

“I love you, Ummi.” Damian whispered.

Talia held him close. “I love you more, Habibi.”

Talia handed Damian over to Jason, and Jason took Damian into his arms. “Let’s go, Squirt.”

“Where are father and our brother?” Damian asked as Jason began walking.

“There over there.” Jason motioned with his head to where the funny looking men were fighting, and Damian giggled.

“We have a silly family.”

“We do, don’t we?” Jason agreed. “Now, I’ll tell you what. Once we get onto the plane, I'll introduce you to the idiots we call family, and then I'll give you a chocolate. Alright?”

Damian nodded. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his newest sticker. Damian smacked it onto Jason’s jacket.

“There! For being the bestest brother ever.” Damian announced as Jason steered them away from the battle and to a safer place to walk.

Jason chuckled, “You know what, you're not a bad brother yourself. You're the bestest.”