Work Text:
It wasn't like Dick hated his new responsibilities, it was just... He was tired . Being Batman wasn't easy, and with Tim looking for answers, Babs busy with the Birds of Prey, Jason in an undercover mission with the Outlaws, Black Bat in Tokyo and no actual way to contact Batwoman, Dick only had his Robin, Steph, and Alfred to help him. He didn't want to burden Steph because she was in med school and was way too busy and as much as Alfred was a godsend, he didn't want to depend on him.
In the moment he was looking into the Penguin's case while processing some alien tech the League needed help with and looking into any tips of where Catwoman was, since she had gone underground since B's death and he didn't know if that was good or bad. He thanked his lucky stars that Clark and Diana knew how hard it was for him and helped how they could, because at the moment the "free" time the League gave him was the only time he had to sleep/eat.
Dick was almost banging his head on the computer when an enraged voice reached his ears, making him drop all his work and hurry upstairs, to his most important responsibility.
Damian was in the kitchen, arms crossed and school bag on one shoulder. Dick internally sighed in relief upon seeing that nothing physically wrong was happening.
"What's up, Little D?" He asked, smiling when his scowl deepened. He wordlessly shoved a paper at him.
If they were a normal family, Dick would get mad at Damian for the detention paper he gave him.
Since they weren't, in any circumstances a normal family, Dick was mad at the school. The paper was addressed at one "Damian Wayne Al Gol".
"I can’t believe they spelled your name wrong again." Dick said, biting his lip to hold a curse. He was lucky that his parents gave him a, as the social worker said to him when he was nine, "civilized English name". He remembered how he felt then, when he was mocked and punished in the orphanage because he didn't speak English very well and was considered a "good-for-nothing gypsy". He would never let Damian feel like that.
"That reinforces my argument, Grayson. Going to school is a loss of time." Dick sighed.
"Dami, we had this talk before. It's the best for you."
" Tt , that is debatable." Dick closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of how he could make Damian understand his point. He kneeled in front of him, opening his eyes and keeping eye contact.
"Okay, listen. One day you will be Batman, and inherit Wayne Enterprises, right?"
"Obviously." Damian agreed, not breaking eye contact (That was to most useful thing Dick learned while working with him; act as if you were talking to a dangerous animal and he would usually respond accordingly).
"So you'll need practice on talking to people and not showing what you actually think. Being in school is one of the best ways to do so, at the moment." Dick knew, in the pit of his stomach, that this was a horrible advice and it would backfire on him. But he had to get Damian to socialize and have things for himself outside the al Ghul and Batman legacy. He needed Damian to have a relatively normal childhood, because even if Dami was already on the field, Dick refused to treat him as a little soldier, Like Bruce did to him.
Damian frowned, thinking, and the nodded his approval.
"That is a sensible line of thinking, even though I refuse to have my name misspelled again." He paused, looking up and down at Dick. "Very well, Grayson. I did not expect this of you."
Dick held back the urge to strangle his little brother and got up, messing his hair in retaliation.
"Now go make your homework and I'll write to the school." He commanded, already thinking about how he could do this. Maybe he could ask Babs, in her free time. Or maybe Alfred. One of those was sure to put the fear of god into the director.
