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“…Idiot.”
Dick didn’t rise to the bait. Didn’t even smile, or sigh exasperatedly. Just pushed his way past the barely open door, past Tiger, and headed towards the bedroom. “Don’t.”
Tiger frowned, and slowly followed. Must have been serious, then. More serious than it already looked.
That didn’t stop him, though. “Are you out of your mind, Grayson? We’re in the middle of a war, we don’t have time to babysit.”
“Tiger, please.” There was a hint of begging in Dick’s voice. A hint of warning, as he knocked his knees against the mattress and gently leaned over it. “Not today.”
Tiger stayed in the doorway. “He’s a child.”
“You’re damn right he is.” Dick snapped, whirling around just as soon as the unconscious weight was out of his arms. “And it’s my job to protect him.”
Tiger raised his eyebrows judgmentally, glanced down at the boy Dick had laid gently on the bed. At the torn yellow cape, burned green mask, blood and bruises. “Well, you’ve obviously done a hell of a job so far.”
He saw Dick wanted to respond. Hell, he had the sense Dick wanted to cross the tiny bedroom and punch him in the face. But Dick only got so far as to open his mouth, before he sighed, lowered his head and pressed his fingers to his eyes.
“Can you get the first aid kit?” He asked instead. “We still have one, right?”
Tiger nodded, and immediately left the room to retrieve it. When he returned, he found Dick sitting on the desk chair across the room. He glanced up when he heard his partner, and made move to stand.
“Stay there, I’ll handle it.” Tiger waved him off, sat carefully on the edge of the mattress. “You’re tired and emotionally compromised. Not that I’m saying you would, but those could factor in to you messing up, potentially hurting him worse. And I doubt you want to do that, correct?”
“No…no.” Dick sighed, pressed the heels of his hands into his face. “Thank you, Tiger.”
“Hm.” Tiger reached out, lifted the boy’s arm, cutting away the remnants of the armour he wore, finding more injuries underneath the cloth. “So, who is he?”
“Robin.” Dick mumbled.
“To you.” Tiger corrected. “He must be something to you, for you to risk all and bring him all the way out here.”
He glanced over in time to see Dick look up, flop his hands between his knees. “My little brother.”
Tiger nodded. “Name?” A pause, to dig in the first aid kit. “And I’m only asking for a first.”
“Damian.”
“‘To tame.’” Tiger hummed. “Fitting, in a way.”
Dick flashed a smile. “Yeah, you could say that.”
Tiger gently lifted Damian’s arm again, pressing the damp gauze to a cut that seemed relatively deep. Damian twitched, but didn’t wake, and Tiger looked back up at Dick. “What happened?”
Dick met his gaze, and Tiger noticed the dark hollows under Dick’s eyes. “You ever heard of the Court of Owls?”
“That watches all the time.” Tiger added. “Everyone has.”
“Did you know they were real?”
“I’m not surprised.”
“I was supposed to work with them.” Dick explained miserably. “Be one of their Talons.”
Tiger moved the cloth to a different wound. “Interesting.”
“…They came after me again, when I went back to Gotham.” Dick’s voice had dropped, and there was pain in every syllable. “And Damian thought the only way to save me – to save everyone – was to sacrifice himself, and take my place in the role.”
Tiger paused, stared up at the little boy’s face. Baby fat clung to his cheeks, and his lips were pursed in a permanent pout. His lashes were long, and just reached the inside edge of his mask.
He was so young.
“But you stopped them.” Tiger continued, sighing almost mournfully, continuing to clean the wounds. “Or you changed the sacrifice.”
“They said if I didn’t take his place, they’d kill him.” Dick whispered. “A bomb in his mask, or a toxin in his skin, or something.”
Tiger glanced down at the fingers he was holding. They were so small. “Did you test him?”
“I didn’t have time.” Dick admitted. “I just…I agreed to the deal, and then…then I ran.” Tiger looked at him. “I found him like this. Well, I mean, he wasn’t unconscious yet, but he was half-dead. Had been fighting all the other Talons and just…he was spent. Didn’t fight me when I grabbed him, not like he normally would. Passed out in the jet on the way here.”
Tiger waited.
Dick sighed. Ran his fingers through his hair and dropped his head into his hands. “If they can’t find him, they can’t hurt him, right?” A pause, to inhale. “If they can’t find me, they can’t hurt him, right?”
It was a childish and flawed theory, but Tiger didn’t say so. Instead, he just huffed, turned back to the child. “…Idiot.”
And he didn’t see it, but he sensed a smile, this time. Heard Dick look back up.
“You want to know why I never take it personally when you call me that?” Dick asked. “Why I kind of always laugh?”
“Not particularly.”
That, of course, didn’t stop Dick Grayson. “Because he calls me that.”
Tiger gently laid Damian’s arm down, reached for the other one. “He is a smart boy, then.”
“You’d like him, Tony.” Dick chuckled. “I really think you two would get along.”
“I have no doubt.” Tiger returned dryly, running a fresh disinfectant along Damian’s skin. “But do not take it personally, Grayson, when I say that right now? I wish I’d never met him.”
“…Yeah, no.” Dick whispered, as Tiger finished cleaning Damian’s other arm, and went in search of the bandages. “I’m with you on that one, Tiger.”
They lapsed into a silence, then. Tiger cleaning and bandaging wounds, and Dick angsting in the chair nearby. He had just cracked open Damian’s tunic, just located what he believed to be two broken ribs and noticed a serious-looking bruise on the shoulder, when the child stirred. Gasped and jerked, and let out a pitiful moan.
Dick was at his side in an instant. “It’s okay, you’re okay, Damian.” He dropped to his knees and grabbed the Damian’s hand, clasping both of his around it and holding it tenderly to his chest. Tiger paused in his examination, sat back to give the waking boy some space. “You’re safe now, Damian, you’re fine. I’m here.”
Damian’s face scrunched, before he slowly opened his eyes. Light green and watery, and it seemed half-lidded was all he could manage. His eyes struggled to focus, to find the source of the voice.
“I’m here.” Dick repeated, lifting the child’s hand to his cheek, holding it there. “I’m here, Damian, I’ve got you.”
Damian’s eyes suddenly darted up, and recognition hit his features.
He didn’t seem pleased to see him, though.
And Tiger watched as Dick smiled knowingly anyway. Kissed Damian’s palm and squeezed his fingers.
“I’ve got you.” Dick whispered again, slowly, rubbing his thumb along the child’s dark skin. “You’re safe now.”
But the boy’s only response was to drop his gaze, and click his tongue.
“…Idiot.”
Dick only laughed, and Tiger found himself humming one too, as he returned to his task at hand. In fact, he kept chuckling, as he took the arm that Dick held so tightly, and began wrapping a bandage around that tiny, battered shoulder.
“You were right, Grayson – I like him already.”
Dick grinned, like he were a proud parent, as he shifted forward, began running his empty fingers carefully through Damian’s hair. Damian, for his part, looked up at Tiger with two sleepy, yet ferocious, green eyes, and let his natural pout deepen, as Dick leaned their heads together.
“Told you, you would.”