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Damian was in the kitchen drinking tea. The house was calm, the peaceful and welcoming atmosphere of silence made him happy.
He then stood up and picked up his cup and the empty plate that Todd had left on the table, as he had left in a hurry to take care of business. Damian grabbed a chair and placed it near the sink, using it as a support so he could wash what he had dirty; there were only two dishes, he could do it alone.
When he finishes washing the cup and puts it to dry naturally on the stand, Damian hears footsteps slowly approaching. He recognizes those footsteps, Damian knew the footsteps of everyone in his family. It was something he had learned in the league.
Damian then takes the plate to wash, not paying attention to Tim's arrival; possibly Drake would just grab an energy drink from the fridge and leave, but now he was getting too close…
"What are you doing, brat?" Tim asks softly, placing a hand on Damian's back in case he startled.
Damian feels a chill run up the back of his neck, Tim's presence at his side and his hand on his back giving him a sense of vulnerability. He feels something like déjà vu, as if he had already experienced it. The only problem was that the memory wasn't very good…
The plate slips from his hand and falls with a thud against the sink, injuring his hand in the process. The plate lies shattered in the sink, drops of blood falling onto the shards. His blood.
"Damian?!" Tim exclaims in confusion and concern, pulling Damian off the sink and placing him on the table. He grabs a towel and wraps it around his little brother's injured hand.
Tim wraps the cloth around the little boy's hand, stopping the blood. He looks over at Damian and notices his glazed gaze on the broken plate. "Are you okay, babybat?" He asks his brother softly, his voice no louder than a whisper.
"Sorry." Damian replies, unshed tears blurring his vision.
"Hey, hey, what happened? You don't need to apologize. Why are you crying, love?" Tim asks worriedly as he slightly lowers himself to be face to face with Damian, who bites his lower lip lightly to suppress his feelings.
"Baby, you know you can talk to me, don't you?" Tim pressed, always keeping calm so as not to scare his younger brother.
"I broke the plate..." Was the only thing Damian could say. Tim stood up and cradled the little boy in his arms, stroking his hair. "Yes, you broke the plate, and? It was an accident and you hurt yourself with it. You are much more important than any plate, baby. We can buy another one at any time, Alfred won't mind." The older man explained, practically rocking Damian in his arms.
"If my grandfather was here he..." Damian begins, but Tim cuts him off before he can finish, "but he's not here. He never will be. You're safe, love, you won't be punished for a simple dish or anything." He comforts, pulling Damian away slightly to look into his teary eyes.
"Let's bandage your hand and do something you want, hm?" He proposes, smiling sweetly at the little boy.
Tim felt the anger burning like a flame that would not go out any time soon in his chest, he wanted to hunt Ra's for leaving his little brother like that, but he knew that it would not change Damian's way of thinking. Besides, he had more important things at the moment, like taking care of his traumatized little brother.
Jason entered his apartment, the lights were supposed to be off and the house was pitch black, however, the bathroom light at the end of the hallway was on and the TV was showing a random cartoon that Jason didn't know.
He approached the couch and noticed the small person lying there. Damian seemed to be completely unconcerned about his presence, not looking at him for a moment. He had a blanket over his body and seemed to be starting to get sleepy.
Jason couldn't help but find the sight of his little brother watching cartoons, the most adorable thing he had seen, at least that night. "Hey shorty." Jason greeted in a whisper as he brushed a strand of hair away from Damian's face, smiling at his chubby baby cheeks.
"Don't call me that, Todd..." He whined, his voice barely above a sleepy whisper. Jason couldn't help but chuckle, his little brother was so adorable when he was sleepy. "Okay, kiddo. Tired?" He asked, picking Damian up in his arms to carry him to bed.
"Today Drake fought with me because I got in the way of the patrol, but I didn't want to do that, I didn't want to get in the way... do you think he'll be mad at me for long?" He asked softly as he hugged his older brother's neck.
"Little Timmy will probably have forgotten about it by now. He only gets mad at the time, but tomorrow he'll be grabbing you in the hallways like the clingy brother he pretends not to be." He said, putting Damian on his bed so he could rest.
"Okay then..." Damian whispers, slowly closing his eyes.