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They’d been wandering around the zoo for close to five hours now. Damian loved it. He’d been so excited when he’d heard about the new lion enclosure they’d set up for the lions rescued from the trafficking ring that was going to kill them for their pelts. It was only going to be a temporary exhibit while the lions healed from the wounds and malnutrition they’d suffered before they were returned to the wild.
Damian had been wanting to go since he’d heard about it, but hadn’t wanted to bring it up.
Thankfully, Richard had mentioned it at a family dinner and had suggested that the whole family should go.
While Damian would have rather gone with just Richard
or Father,
he also suspected that Richard had mentioned it for him. So, he wouldn’t be too cross with him.
Especially since Father had said he was too busy to go.
They had already seen the lions, and Damian had questioned one of their caretakers until he had been sure that the lions were being taken care of properly and that the release plan was a sound one.
Now they were just trying to finish seeing all the exhibits.
It was dreadfully hot, but Damian could deal with it if it meant getting to see the animals. Several times, the rest of the family had stopped under some shade to rest, and now they were stopping again!
“I will continue forward since you all are too weak to do so. You can catch up when you’ve had sufficient… rest.” Damian said, trying not to sneer or sound too impatient.
“Come on, demon brat. We’re just resting for a little bit. It's hot outside.” Todd said, rolling his eyes.
“How very observant of you.” Damian replied.
“Listen here, you little–”
“That’s fine, Dami. We’ll catch up to you in a bit.” Richard said, showing again why he was Damian’s favorite. “Just make sure to drink plenty of water, ok?” He pressed a bottle into his hands, and Damian took it quickly so he could go.
“Of course.”
He had seen two exhibits and was about to move on to another when he suddenly felt dizzy. He grabbed onto a nearby railing to steady himself. He breathed through his nose till the sensation had passed. But as soon as he took another step the dizziness returned this time accompanied by nausea. Through watering eyes he spotted a bench and slowly made his way toward it to sit down.
He closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Where was everyone else?
Where was Father?
Where was Richard? He should call him, but the idea of moving, even just to take out his phone, made the nausea worse.
He focused on his breathing. He wouldn’t throw up. He refused to. He just had to wait for Richard to get there.
It felt like hours before Damian heard them, though logically he knew it had probably only been maybe twenty minutes.
“Hey, Dami.” Richard said.
Damian only grunted in response, afraid to open his mouth.
“Are you ok, bud?” Richard’s excited voice quickly turned to concern and his face looked even more worried when Damian didn’t answer. His older brother held a hand to his forehead, and Damian tried not to lean into it.
“You’re burning up.” His brother looked down and frowned. “You didn’t drink any of your water.” he said, picking up the still sealed bottle that Damian had set down beside him. He sighed. “I’m sorry, Dami, but we’re going to have to go home early.”
Damian wanted to protest. He still hadn’t seen all the exhibits, but he also felt miserable.
“You guys go on ahead, I’ll call Alfred to pick us up.” Richard said.
“Nah, I think we’re all ready to go home.” Brown said.
“Yeah, it's way too hot out here, and I have too much work to do.” Drake said.
“Alright then, let’s head back.”
As the rest of his siblings started heading toward the exit, Damian tried to stand up and almost ended up falling over as he lost his balance, but Richard caught him.
His older brother bit his lip, bending down to his level. “I think I'm going to have to carry you, Dami. Is that ok?”
Damian felt his face burn even hotter than it already was. He was weak. He shouldn’t need to be carried, but he couldn’t deny that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the exit on his own. When he reluctantly nodded, Richard bent down so that he could climb onto his back. He rested his head against Richard’s shoulder and closed his eyes.
It felt nice.
As long as it was just Richard, Damian would allow this. He would rather die than let one of his other siblings carry him like this. And if they commented, Damian would make them regret it.