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As the cell door slammed shut and locked behind him, Dick walked himself to the far wall and slid down it. He had been investigating what looked like a new arms-dealing ring and was amused at how easily the guards went down.
The floor, however, did not.
Dick hadn’t even heard the click, high on adrenaline, and the next thing he knew he was falling a story and a half. He was positive his ankle was fractured, if not broken, and before he could haul himself out, a new group of men had descended on him.
As Dick leaned back against the wall, he just hoped that someone in his family would be able to track his location soon.
Dick glanced around, eyes landing on the neighboring cell. He could barely make out the figure inside, curled up into a ball on the other side of the cell.
“Hello?” Dick asked quietly, and before he could even register it, his roommate was pressed against the bars. The child, a vampire, was snarling and screeching at him, arms wedged through the bars as he tried to grab at Dick.
With a frown, Dick took in the kid’s state. He was small—no older than five— and noticeably thin. Dick could only assume the poor kid was starving if the drool flying as he snarled meant anything.
After a long few minutes of the vampire banging up against the bars and shrieking, a guard walked down the stairs, a grimace on his face as he kicked at the bars, screaming out, “Goddammit! Shut up, Damian!”
Like a flipped switch, the kid scurried back to the corner he had curled himself into prior, sitting in the corner, knees drawn up. He kept his eyes on the guard, who gave another sharp kick to the bars that reverberated around the room before stalking back up the stairs. Once the guard disappeared, the hungry, blood red eyes were focused solely on Dick.
While Dick’s perception of time was mostly nonexistent, he could conclude it had probably been around two days since he had been dragged into here. He had been given food twice, both times a slice of white bread and a piece of cold, bland chicken. He was also very aware that the vampire beside him had yet to be fed once since his arrival, and Dick would bet good money that the kid hadn’t been fed anytime recently prior to Dick’s arrival.
As Dick sat in the dreary basement, a sort of routine had formed. Dick would wake up to the vampire (Damian, Dick had picked up on after multiple rounds of guards screaming at him to be quiet) slamming into the bars and trying to get to Dick. After a few minutes, a guard would appear, kick and yell, Damian would scramble away and cower, then the guard would leave.
And then the cycle would begin again. Damian would seemingly remember Dick was present and full of food, try with every ounce of dwindling energy to get through the metal bars, making a guard appear again to scream at him, then return to his corner.
Repeat.
By the end of day two, Dick felt horrible. This kid, baby, really, was clearly suffering, starving, and was clearly a slave to his own instincts, only brought out of them by fear. Whenever Damian seemed to try to settle down to sleep, he would make long, sad whines that echoed around the room. Sometimes, Dick would hear a tiny purr try and kick up, probably to self-soothe, but it was always quick to peter off, typically followed by Damian letting out a growl and restarting the cycle of trying to attack Dick.
After Damian made a few more attempts to get to Dick, Dick could see the fight draining from him. Damian would still make his way to the bars, but he didn’t screech as loudly or beat against the bars as harshly.
Eventually, he wasn’t even making a loud enough disruption for the guards to come down. He just sat at the bars, his hands tightly holding them, and a low growl sounded out as he stared at Dick. Dick tried his best to ignore him, but once the growling turned into a sad whine, Dick looked up.
Damian had laid down on the ground next to the bars, still staring at Dick.
Dick stared back, sympathy filling his chest.
Without much thought, Dick slowly slid over towards Damian, who sprang up and away, back to his corner. Dick held his hands out in a calming manner, “I’m not gonna do anything to you, okay?”
Damian didn’t answer, but he was alert, eyes dilated and fixed on Dick. Dick could hear Damian take deep breaths, probably sniffing out the blood that had just moved within his reach.
Dick pulled his sleeve down, hesitating slightly.
Dick had never been bitten by a vampire and had only ever seen one when Talia al Ghul would show up in Gotham. He knew it would hurt since Damian wasn’t old enough to produce the venom that would cause relaxation and a sense of euphoria, but he couldn’t imagine what pain Damian was feeling at that moment.
As Dick slid his arm between the bars, he really hoped that if Damian did latch on, Dick would be able to get him off.
Before Dick could second-guess himself, Damian had crossed the cell in a flash, hands grasping Dick’s forearm with strength Dick didn’t know he possessed, and sunk his fangs into his flesh.
Dick sucked in a breath. It hurt as badly as he assumed someone biting down on his arm would hurt, but it wasn’t making the top ten list of worst things Dick had experienced, probably not even top fifty.
Damian was sucking down blood greedily, and after a few minutes, Dick could feel the effects of the lost blood. Dick brought his other hand to Damian's shoulder, grabbing on and gently pushing him away. Surprisingly, Damian did indeed let go, his only protest a whine that was cut short by the furious purring that had started up. Damian’s eyes were dilated, a tiny ring of red surrounding the black of his iris, and he was quick to lie back down where he had sat.
Dick examined his arm, and other than the two holes in his skin, Damian had done no other damage. He glanced at the still purring vampire, whose eyes were heavy-lidded, but focused on Dick.
Dick gave him a small smile and pushed himself back until he was braced against the wall and cell bars. Dick wasn’t sure when he’d be rescued, but he knew damn well that no matter who or what got him out, he’d take the tiny vampire with him. With that thought, Dick let his mind wander, lulled to sleep by the rhythmic purring coming from the sleeping form beside him.
When Dick woke up, he quickly noticed the fingers digging into his arm. He opened his eyes quickly, breath picking up before slowing once the scene registered in his mind.
Damian had moved himself up from near Dick’s feet to directly next to his side. Damian’s arms had snaked through the bars and were now holding Dick’s sleeve tightly. His purring had stopped, but Dick conclude that it only stopped because he was fast asleep, breathing softly through his mouth, face soft and body lax.
Dick let his head fall back on the wall, taking a soft breath. He slowly brought his unoccupied hand to Damian’s head, gently touching the child’s hair, and when he did not stir, Dick began running his fingers through it. Dick spent the next hour gently loosening the knots in Damian’s hair and trying to clean the dirt and blood from it.
When a guard came down to deliver Dick’s meal, Damian was awake in a second, shooting across the room and back into the corner he frequented, curling up. Dick’s tray was slid into the cell, but Dick kept his focus on Damian. After the guard had disappeared back up the stairs, Dick turned to Damian. “Um... hi?”
Damian’s eyes flicked to him.
“Hi,” Damian rasped out, head resting on his arms.
Dick gave Damian a small smile. “I’m glad you're feeling better,”
Damian made a noise of confirmation, but nothing else, letting the basement lapse into silence. Dick turned away, closed his eyes, and let himself zone out.
Dick was brought out of his light doze by the shuffling beside him. He cracked an eye open to see Damian had returned to his side, mirroring Dick’s position against the back wall. Once Damian sat down, instead of staying upright, he let himself sag into the bars between them.
“Do you know how long you’ve been here?” Dick questioned softly.
Damian looked up sharply before re-adjusting back to how he was.
“...no.”
Dick hummed sadly. He didn’t want to know how long Damian had been stuck here or how he had been brought here.
The room was once again filled with the quiet.
A day later, Dick woke up, lying on the ground, one arm squished between the bars to be used as a pillow by Damian. Dick had let Damian eat one more time, and those two feedings seemed to have been enough for Damian to trust Dick. He now always sat next to Dick, and instead of running off to the far corner when the guards came with Dicks meals, he tried pushing himself closer to Dick.
They had both been sitting side by side, Damian grasping at Dick’s arm, when a loud bang and yelling started upstairs. Damian flinched, tightening his hold on Dick’s arm. Dick watched the stairs, waiting for anyone to run down, a sigh of relief escaping him when Jason’s voice rang out, gunshots following it.
At the gunshots, Damian made a loud whine before tearing away from Dick and returning to the corner in his cell, a loud growl leaving him. Dick kneeled at the bars, holding his hand out. “Hey, it’s fine. I know them; they’re gonna get us out. I promise.”
Damian continued growling, which escalated into a snarl when the door at the top of the stairs slammed open, and Robin came crashing down, eyes immediately landing on Dick.
“Oh, thank god,” Tim exclaimed, “God, they really ran all around before bringing you here!”
Tim quickly made his way to the cell door, pulling a lockpick out and beginning to work on Dick’s cell door. As Tim worked, he spared a glance in Damian’s direction, who had pressed himself into the far corner, then focused back on the lock, sending Dick a quick smile as Dick moved to the door.
“Get his after mine.”
Tim looked up again, “What?”
Dick motioned over to Damian, “Unlock his door too, he’s coming with us.”
“I—” Tim was interrupted by Jason and Bruce rushing down the stairs.
The pair stationed themselves at Tim’s sides, “How’re you feeling, Big Bird?” Jason said, crossing his arms, head tilted down to watch Tim work.
“Ankles messed up, but other than that, I'll live. Robin,” Dick responded, giving Tim a huge grin as the door popped open, “Don’t forget his.”
At Dick’s reminder, everyone’s gazes shifted to Damian, who had quieted down but once Tim approached his door began to snarl again.
“You sure?” Jason asked, “Seems like he might rip Timbo’s throat out.”
“Names,” Bruce muttered, getting a small laugh out of Jason, “My bad, B-Man!”
Tim moved to Damian’s door, kneeling to work on the lock.
“He won’t do anything. Probably just freaked out.” Dick said, “I’m not sure how long he’s been here, but it was long enough to be practically feral from hunger.”
As soon as the lock clicked open, Tim was shuffling out of Dick’s way, who opened the door and steadily limped over to Damian, hands out to placate him when he began growling.
“It’s okay, buddy. They’re gonna help you, I swear. Let’s get out of here, yeah? Go get something to eat?”
Damian stopped his growling when Dick stopped in front of him, and when Dick opened his arms, Damian was quick to jump up into them, his arms wrapping tightly around Dick’s neck, and his legs wrapping around his waist.
Dick adjusted him in his arms, making sure Damian was fully supported before leaving the cell.
The other three watched as the child clung tightly to Dick, head swiveling around to keep his eyes on them.
As Bruce stared at the pair, he lowly spoke out, “We’ve never housed a vampire before, we don't know how to care for them—”
Dick tightened his hold on Damian, bringing a hand up to cup the back of Damian’s head.
“We’ll learn. I’m sure you can find a way to get us blood for him?”
Bruce stared for a beat longer before turning around to make his way up the stairs.
“I will research.” He grunted out.
Dick huffed in amusement, adjusting Damian one more time, “Alright, let’s go home,” he whispered to Damian, who hummed in response.