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There is something wrong with Dick. Damian knows by the way he walked down the stairs for breakfast this morning and the way he'd been hovering more than usual. Damian also knows Dick will refuse to speak about it. So, he corralled Tim and Jason into one of the sitting rooms far from Dick's designated study in the manor. At least, they let him think he corralled them. They went far too easily and Damian suspects they are also worried about Dick.
Damian is pacing across the rug as he tries to come up with the best way to voice his concerns. It's taken him a long time to become comfortable around the rest of the family. One nightmare and a year after that, a cold, Damian still doesn't seek out comfort often. Nor does he know how to best comfort others in the family. He knows how Jason seeks comfort. He lurks. Tim will barge into a someone's space and wait for any amount of permission before seeking out comfort via physical touch. And Dick… He's never sought out comfort before. At least, not with Damian nor with Jason or Tim. Damian is unsure how best to navigate this.
Damian realizes his pacing is not a trait of his own. Something he's picked up from… someone in the family. He can't be sure. Perhaps Tim. He stops pacing. He stares up at Jason and Tim. They're staring back at him with only mildly puzzled looks.
"I assume the two of you have noticed Grayson's odd behavior," Damian says. Jason and Tim look at each other and shrug. They're trying not to worry him. Damian wants to be upset at that, however, he can't help but understand.
"He's been a little out of it today," Tim says, "He had a late patrol."
"He did not patrol last night."
"Yeah, kid, he did," Jason says. Damian's brow furrows. He'd asked Dick and he'd told him he had stayed in. Tim and Jason share another look. Damian isn't sure what passes between them with that look, but he feels left out by it.
"Why would he lie to me about this?" he asks, interrupting their silent conversation. At that, Tim and Jason don't give an answer. Their brows furrow in similar looks a they think. Something dawns on Jason's face. He tries to hide it, but Damian had seen it. He's perceptive.
"Todd?" Damian demands more than asks. Jason sighs and sits up.
"He got hit by someone's attempt at fear toxin," he says, "It didn't work but maybe…"
"Oh." Tim says. Damian looks between them. He frowns and resists the urge to stomp his foot. He's still not used to acting fully his age, and he knows if he did in this situation, they would tease him about it for months. Possibly years. Instead, he taps his foot and waits for one of them to spit it out.
"He might've had a nightmare," Tim says, "Delayed reaction to the fear toxin attempt. It would make sense. If his fear included something happening to the family…"
"Then his nightmare would include harm to us," Damian finishes, "Explaining the hovering." Tim nods. Jason crosses his arms and leans back, as if satisfied with their work.
"There ya have it," he says, "Mystery solved. Are we free to go?" Damian glares at Jason.
"No, you are not free to go," Damian says, "He needs… Reassurance."
"You want to comfort him?"
"Comforting is coddling."
"Dami…" Tim starts. Damian glares at him. He's aware the phrase is more League than anything else. With the way Jason's body tenses a minuscule amount, Damian knows he's heard something similar from the organization before. Damian sniffs and looks away from his brothers. He focuses on the rug. Before he looks up, he hears rustling. When he does raise his eyes, his brothers are sharing a look. Another look he doesn't understand, but he does understand the glint in their eyes. Damian tries to take a quiet step back.
"Alright, Dami," Tim says as he stands, his fully attention on Damian, "Let's go reassure Dick." He lunges towards Damian. Damian doesn't yelp. He's not meant to be afraid. And he isn't, not from Tim. But he doesn't know their plan and he doesn't like the grin Jason had when him and Tim were silently discussing.
Damian tries to lurch away, but Jason is blocking his way. He's not sure when Jason had moved. Damian's not able to get good enough moment to leap away. Even if he tries, Tim would be able to grab him. Damian slouches his shoulders and resigns himself to his fate.
Tim throws him over his shoulder and follows Jason out of the sitting room. He complains the whole way ("Your shoulder is pointy. You're walking funny on purpose, Drake. Don't act like you're not."), occasionally pounding his fists against Tim's back. He doesn't try to escape, though it would be easy. Tim is holding him loosely on purpose. Damian could slip out at any time. However, he is curious as to what Jason and Tim thought would be reassurance to Dick.
"DICK!" Jason shouts as they approach the study. He doesn't wait for answer. Simply shoves the door open and holds it open for Tim. Damian has gone fully limp in Tim's hold. He had given up on the punching. It had little to no effect. Although, going limp had much of the same results. Damian wonders if that is Tim's Robin training or just what comes with the older brother package they all seemed to gain whenever Bruce scrambled up another ward.
"What do you need?" Dick sighs. If Damian remembers correctly, Bruce needed help with the quarterly reports meetings happening this week. A small part of him feels guilty, hoping Dick is not in a meeting. Though, another part of him knows his eldest brother would've mentioned it the moment Jason had shouted.
Before Damian can keep thinking, Tim plops him on the ground between him and Jason. His equilibrium is thrown for a moment and he wobbles. He glares up at Tim who is beaming back down at him.
"Damian isn't feeling well." Jason says. Dick raises a brow and looks at Damian. He doesn't squirm under Dick's gaze, though he knows his glare is permanent from being carried on Tim's shoulder. Dick looks back to Jason.
"Is he now?" he says, voice dry. Tim nudges Damian.
"Achoo." Damian says. Tim groans.
"Really, dude?" he asks.
"Perhaps if I had been made privy to this plan, it would have gone smoother."
"You grew up with assassins and you can't fake a cold?"
"I can fake a cold, Drake. However, Grayson would know I was faking!"
"He has a point," Jason chirps in. Damian fixes his glare on him instead. He had also known the plan and decided not to let Damian in on it. If either of them had thought beyond a half baked plan, then this situation wouldn't be happening. Still, he's watching Dick from his periphery and as much as the man seems to be getting annoyed, the tension in his shoulders is bleeding out bit by bit.
"I mean," Jason continues, "Dick's like the only person who's seen Damian sick."
"Oh! Right." Tim says. "I forgot. B sent the—" Jason's hand slaps over Tim's mouth. Damian's glare deepens. He suspects he knows how the sentence was meant to end.
"Guys," Dick sighs again, "I'm doing a lot of work for Bruce right now. Is this actually important?" Jason and Tim are still frozen with Jason's hand over Tim's mouth. None of them speak for a long moment. Then, Jason makes an "EUGH!" and pulls his hand away. Damian scurries out of reach before he can wipe Tim's saliva on him. He watches Tim and Jason fight for a moment before turning his gaze back to Dick. The eldest is watching them with a fond look. There's still tension in his shoulders and tight lines around his eyes, but he's better.
"I'm tired." Damian announces. It's just loud enough to carry over Jason and Tim's fighting. Damian makes sure he's looking at Dick as he says it. "I want a nap."
"You can take a nap, Damian," Dick says. He looks confused and Damian has the urge to huff. Instead he frowns and shakes his head.
"No," he says, "We all need a nap." Damian points to where Jason and Tim had stopped fighting to give Damian a confused look. "They are grumpy." As Jason and Tim take up arguing again, this time directed at Damian, Dick narrows his eyes at Damian. Damian doesn't glare back this time. He let's Dick watch him (maybe makes his eyes water a bit like he knows they did when he was sick) and waits it out. Dick won't stop unless his brothers need him. Damian's figured it out. Dick's comfort is his family.
"Alright," Dick says. He types a few things on the computer, the keyboard clacking in the silence his voice brought. "Let's go. Bruce's bed is big enough for all of us." Tim opens his mouth to complain, but Jason elbows him in the sternum. Tim doubles over as he wheezes. Damian tries to hide the smile the action brought him. Its wiped away a moment later when Dick manages to grab his ankles.
"Hey!" Damian says as the world flips. "Grayson, this is not funny."
"Sure it is!" Tim pipes in as they walk down the hallways. Damian crosses his arms as he's carried down the hallway to the chatter of his older brothers. Sometimes, Damian misses when he had been an only child. Then he remembers where he'd been during those memories. As he hears Dick try to get Jason and Tim to stop fighting for more than five seconds, he thinks about how he much prefers the memories this will create.
By the time they make it to Bruce's room, Damian is sure Jason has broken at least one irreplaceable vase in the manor. Not that he heard any glass shatter. He just believes Jason would have managed to do such a thing.
Dick swings Damian and he grunts as he lands on the bed. He shifts up to the fancy pillows, shoving the uncomfortable ones aside as the rest of them make the bed comfortable for themselves. Tim found a blanket that's just light enough to not be a nuisance with the body heat of four people. Damian grumbles as Jason and Tim press in on either side of him. It's not a moment later that Dick has managed to get a spot beside him and lift him up.
"Seriously, you two act like you're five," Dick says as he swats at one of Tim's fists. If it were anyone else moving Damian around so they could be more comfortable during a cuddle-pile nap, he'd have a knife in their gut already. But it's Dick and he's warm and Damian hadn't fully lied about wanting a nap. He curls against Dick's chest once he's settled. The thin blanket lands over his back and Damian let's out a long breath.
Dick's arms wrap protectively around Damian. Jason and Tim settle and stop trying to swat at each other over Damian. Instead, their arms also manage to wrap around Damian. He'd meant for this to be a comfort to Dick. But Damian would be lying if he told them he didn't also enjoy to physical comfort he gained from his brothers during this. He knew he could be more vulnerable around them, however, this was easier. Helping Dick was easier than asking for himself.
"Thanks Dami," Dick says once Jason and Tim's breathing evens out. Damian curls on Dick's chest, his arms stretching to wrap around Dick's neck in a hug.
"I had concerns," Damian says, "That is all." Dick huffs a laugh.
"Well, I appreciate it, bud." Damian nods. He can hear Dick's heartbeat thrumming under his ear. He let's the sound lull him to sleep.
If he hears Bruce enter the room at some point and snap a picture before wandering off… well Damian doesn't need to tell anyone he likes the family photo's.