Chapter Text
Damian had been trying to sleep when his phone, the one he hid under his bed in a shoe box, began to ring.
Only one person had the number on that phone. Mother. He forced Titus off of him and lunged over the edge of his bed to hang down and find the box. It was only seconds before the phone was in his hands and he was answering the call.
“Umi?” He answered hesitantly, his voice sounding odd from barely being awake.
“Hello Habibi.”
Damian felt his stomach grow warm and a smile grace his face at the sound of his mother’s voice. He hadn’t heard from her in far too long. Three months by his count. He had wanted to call often, but didn’t want to compromise his mother’s location or position. So, he was left to send her text messages every week with updates on how he was doing.
When he got the phone call, he remembered he hadn’t sent one before going to bed like he normally would do on Fridays.
“My love, do you know why your father felt the need to pull you out of that wretched school without informing me?” she asked sweetly.
D*mn it. Of course, she had checked his school records when he didn’t check-in. “I finally convinced him that your schooling was more than enough for educational standards. My talents were wasted there” He lied easily trying to forget about the paint stains that would never come out of his uniform.
Damian rarely lied to his mother. She had always taught him to report honestly and for the most part, he listened. However, Damian knew his mother very well and he knew that if she discovered what Adams and his friends had done, they would turn up dead.
Damian wasn’t actively seeking the death of civilian children.
“I see,” Talia replied sounding unconvinced. “It seems odd to me that he would do it so suddenly without speaking with me first if it was merely your arguments.”
If I don’t give a better answer, she’ll check the school security footage and then Adams is f*cked. “There may have been a small altercation today but I handled it.” He admitted. If Mother looks at the feeds, she’ll see that Father carried me out of school. His face burned at the mere thought of it all. “Afterwards Father felt there wasn’t a need to keep me enrolled.”
He heard his mother release a frustrated sigh.
She’s mad then.
“Why the H*ll did I bother with that animal if your father was going to hide you at home regardless?”
….
What?
“Animal?” He asked confused and yet staring at Titus, who still laid across the bed staring back at him.
Where did you go when I was away?
Duke knows he’s had training but he wasn’t privy to who or when
Titus had gotten training from somewhere. Training that was helping.
I haven’t ever told anyone that lights bother me .
Someone knows far too much about me.
The thoughts he’d had since camp came back to him in a mass horde as realization struck him.
“Titus. Surely he was with you?” Talia asked.
Holy Sh*t.
Mother trained Titus. How? Why? “I- uh-” Damian stuttered trying to find his voice. She’d never admit to weakness. Her own or mine. Why would she willingly train a dog just for that? How does she even know what a service dog is? “Ummi-”
“Was he not with you?” She asked sounding more upset. “Drake had assured me that he would be able to guard you even as a civilian. Was that a lie?”
Drake you son of a b*tch.
“No mother” he answered quickly. There was no need for Tim and Talia to get into a fight over something so inconsequential. As amusing as it would be to find out which of them would win. “I had Titus with me. He did excellently, father is just dramatic.” That much, was entirely true.
Talia laughed and Damian felt some of his concern fade. It was rare he got to hear her happy. “That, I believe” She agreed. “He’s always been a bit too emotional for his own good.”
And you can never pass the opportunity to say something bad about him. Damian’s smile faded a bit as he settled back against the headboard. “Mother, how did Drake convince you to train Titus?” he couldn’t help but ask, both for his curiosity and to change the topic.
“I don’t understand.” Talia deadpanned staring at the great dane Tim Drake had brought to her front door. “How is this thing going to help my son?”
It was a rarity for any of her beloved’s children to visit her. Mostly because they all despised her greatly and judged her parenting. When one of them did show up it was often because she did something that they deemed ‘irredeemable.’ Not to bring a dog and tell her to train it to do odd things.
“Listen, Damian wouldn’t trust just anyone to train him, so I’m asking you to do it.” Drake told her plainly. “I hate you, but I love Damian so this is my compromise. Damian is struggling with anxiety, mostly caused by you might I add, and this is something you can do to help.”
How dare he. Talia felt rage grow in her soul. I protected Damian when no one else could. “Damian is perfect unlike you, Drake. How dare you-”
“He is perfect” he agreed speaking over her. “But not in the way you seem to insist. He’s in pain Talia. As much as you want to deny it, it’s there and if you love him, you’ll do this for him.”
Drake you son of a b*tch. She looked down at the dog, pleased her son had selected such a wonderful name and large breed. The animal looked like it could fight if taught correctly. She glanced back at the bat in front of her and sighed. “F*ck you” she told him first but grabbed the leash being offered to her.
“He needs to know DPT, anxiety alerts, and how to find someone to help in an emergency. Please don’t teach him anything else.” Drake told her and Talia smiled already beginning to walk away.
“We’ll see.”
I know my son better than you ever could, Drake.
She knew that Damian needed more than just comfort. Titus would know how to protect him in every sense of the word. Just in case he needed it when Talia couldn’t come.
“He said it was for you, Habibi. I would do anything for you” Talia answered and Damian felt his face grow hot.
The line was quiet for a minute before Damian gathered the courage to talk. “I want to see you.” he requested. “It’s been-”
“Three months. I know” She interrupted.
She’s been counting the days too then. For some reason that made Damian feel better.
“Your grandfather has me doing important work at the moment my love. I cannot be away.” She explained and Damian felt his back tense.
He hated hearing about Ra’s. He hated thinking about the fact that while he had escaped, his mother could not. Refused to. She was bound to him in a way that Damian couldn’t help. What is he doing to you? Are you safe? What could you be doing for three months? How long until it's over? “I shall come to you then” He settled.
“No Damian,” Talia ordered instantly.
“Ummi, I can-
“No. It is too dangerous for you to be here” She interupted not willing to hear his arguments. “Even if you were feeling well, I never would allow you to come with me for a mission like this.”
She knows I’m hurt. “Ummi, I’m fine. I can help you. If it’s that awful then you shouldn’t be doing it alone. I’ll just-”
“Damian” she snapped and he felt his tongue go dry.
Discussion over.
“You are not to come here. Do you understand me?” she asked but Damian knew the warning in her tone. There wasn’t an option.
“Yes, mother.” he whispered, noting that Titus had slipped out of his room during their conversation. He was alone staring at the door to his balcony. If I could find her maybe then I could help.
“I will see you as soon as time allows. Don’t forget to send me reports,” she ordered and he nodded even though she couldn’t see.
“Yes, mother.”
There was a quiet and then, “Ana Ahibuk, Habibi.”
“Ana Ahibuk, Ummi, but-”
She hung up on him.
He threw the phone against the wall, even more frustrated when it survived the blow with no damage.
F*ck. His chest heaved as he stood from his mattress and contemplated how much trouble he would be in if he used his sword to slice up his room. Again.
“Woah.”
Damian eyes snapped up to see that Tim was standing in the doorway, Titus beside him, staring at him.
“Who were you talking to?” Tim asked and Damian’s chest stuttered.
He was so exhausted. The day had been emotionally tiring from school to having his father explain why Damian was pulled out of school at a family dinner. It was all awful. Then to top it off he ruined his one phone call with his mother by trying to see her. Asking to see her shouldn’t ruin everything.
I miss her.
Damian shoved his hands up to his eyes as he started crying. It seemed to be all he was good at doing lately. His chest gasped as he tried to block out his vision and rub away the emotions that coated his cheeks.
“sh*t” he heard Tim curse. It didn’t take long for his brother to close the distance and try to pull him in for a hug.
Damian pushed him away.
“Back the f*ck off” he snarled feeling like a hug would suffocate him.
Feeling angry.
Drake is the reason for all of this. He contacted Mother and didn’t bring me. He felt betrayed. Far more than when he realized they trained Titus without asking. This was much worse. He saw her. As Tim tried to demonstrate deep breathing for him Damian ran a hand through his hair.
He knows where she is.
“Are your injuries acting up? I shouldn’t have touched without-” Tim tried to ask gently but Damian just wiped his face and glared at him.
“Where is she?”
Tim, still in his coffee-stained pajama top, only stared at him confused. Damian didn’t miss that he clearly had his emergency comm in just in case. A wrong move and his entire family would be here in a second.
He couldn’t have that if he was going to leave.
“Where is who?” Tim asked using a voice normally reserved for when Damian was high on fear toxin.
“Don’t try to placate me.” pity me. He turned away, injured groaning at all the motion so that he could grab his katana from where it lay under his bed. “I won’t take any of your lies. Where is Mother?” he demanded once he was standing with his blade.
Tim’s posture stiffened and straightened after that. He dropped his outreached arms and leveled his gaze toward the weapon in Damian’s hand.
“You’re shaking”
At least that’s what Damian had assumed his brother was looking at.
D*mn it. Tim was right. Looking at his hand, his sword was unsteady from the tremors that racked his body. He was emotionally compromised.
“Where is she?” Damian asked again, aware that his voice cracked at the end of his question.
“Put the sword down.” Tim ordered.
“F*ck you” he seethed.
“Damian, you need to calm down. Me forcing the sword out of your hands isn’t going to help but I will do it” his brother warned. “We both know who wins out of the two of us when you’re like this.”
It was a clear reference to the last training session they’d had. Damian had been absolutely enraged that Tim had decided to exclude him on a case just because there was child abuse involved. He’d wanted to prove that he could handle it and that Tim was exaggerating.
Tim won.
When you’re like this. The words cut Damian even further than he’d already been for the night. It always comes back to me being the problem. He wasn’t going to let all the blame go to him though, not when Tim was right in front of him.
“Surely you’ve pieced it together already. You’re the smart one, aren’t you?”
“Damian, the sword-”
“Answer me” Damian pled more than ordered. He didn’t feel strong enough to order even if he was too angry to fully beg.
Tim sighed and held out a hand. “Pass me the sword, I answer you” he offered and Damian didn’t hesitate to put the hilt in Tim’s hands. His brother was quick to slide the blade across his carpeted floor before coming to stand directly in front of him.
Damian still pushed his hands off when they went to examine his facial injuries from earlier in the day. “Don’t touch me.” he whispered. I don’t want your comfort. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know”
“bullsh*t”
“I don’t, Damian. I’m sorry but I haven’t heard or seen her in-”
“Two months” Damian answered for him. “When you took Titus to her during my summer camp with Jon.”
Damian hadn’t thought it was possible for Tim to look more uncomfortable and yet, he did. A clear sign of guilt. Their entire family would react pretty much the same when confronted with their lies or mistakes. Tense up. Get ready to run, or fight depending on who it was.
Tim always fought.
Damian always ran.
“How did you find out?” Drake asked instead of denying it.
“Do you always think me an idiot, Drake?”
Drake looked like he wanted to argue but instead let the silence linger, giving Damian time to properly respond. “Titus knows tricks he shouldn’t. Things you wouldn’t have known to teach him. Beyond that, Mother told me as much. You met her without me and told her things that were not yours to share.” Told her I was weak.
Sharing weakness with his brothers was one thing. He’d only just become comfortable with seeking out his father, he sure as h*ll never planned on telling his mother. His mother who used to lock him in a closet if he cried for too long as a toddler. His mother who pleaded with him to not complain about injuries.
His mother who injured him for complaining.
“Talia wanted to help and you wouldn’t have wanted us to leave Titus with someone-”
“You don’t know that” Damian interrupted. Not yelling. Just certain. “Because you didn’t f*cking ask me.”
“This isn’t about Titus. It’s about Talia. She called you? Why?” Drake argued and Damian scoffed.
“Why should I tell you? So you can go to Father and tell him?” I’m not falling for that. The comm in Drake's ear would bring his father home in minutes. The second he could find a zeta tube. “Just tell me where she is Drake.”
“I don’t know-”
“Yes you do!” he screamed and his tears began to spill over at his brother’s stubbornness.
They were both quiet and still for a moment as Drake just calmly stared at him.
Then, he was pulled into a hug.
No you mother f*cker. Damian immediately started trying to hit him but was only met by a stronger grip and a hand cupping the back of his head. It was gentle and firm and it made his stomach do flips in the confusion.
“I hate you. You know where she is” Damian told him venomously trying to shake out of the hold with no luck. It made the injuries on his back burn.
“I can find out” Tim agreed and Damian stopped moving as much so that he could hear him over his panting breaths and sniffles. “But I’m not going to. I’m sorry.”
“Son of a b*tch” Damian cursed still angry and stiff. They would rather die than help Mother . Damian wasn’t sure why he was surprised. It was no secret that all of his siblings hated Talia with a burning passion and would do anything to keep Damian away from her forever. Dick pretended that he understood, but it was so obvious that he didn’t. Damian saw the way his brother would flinch when he told his childhood stories.
“Stop moving, you’re making your injuries act up,” Tim told him and Damian continued to wriggle out of spite.
“f*ck you”
“Ok” Tim agreed, and Damian tried to calm his breathing and tears. Crying wasn’t helping. Tim was clearly only trying to pacify him. “You can yell at me just don’t hurt yourself.”
Deplorable. “I don’t need permission to yell at you” Damian muttered and was even more enraged by the hand Tim was running gently up and through his hair. Angered that it was helping. “I don’t need your help. I’ll figure out where she is on my own.” As soon as I get enough strength to break out of this hold.
“Why do you need to know?” Tim asked gently and Damian felt himself freeze.
If I tell him, He’ll stop me.
“You cannot go where she is”
Took too long to answer. “You don’t get to decide that” He countered pulling away from the hug as far as Tim would let him. His brother shifted to keeping a hand on his wrist so that he couldn’t fully escape. It was a clever move in the sense that if he continued the hug, Damian would’ve found a way to stab him.
“What did she tell you? She called just to talk about Titus and what? Does she want you to do something for her?” Tim demanded looking more on-guard than he had a moment ago.
Damian couldn’t blame him. Tim knew well enough to understand that if Damian wanted to leave, he would find a way to do it. He’d escaped before and the new manor upgrades wouldn’t keep him from doing it again.
Screw Deathstroke’s hit, no one could keep him from his mother.
“You are not to come here. Do you understand me?”
“No” Damian admitted feeling some of his fire die.
Ummi doesn’t want me there. Ordered me not to go.
No one could keep his mother away from him, except Talia herself. Like she’d done so many times before.
“That doesn’t matter” he denied trying to will himself to steady. He’d ignored her orders in the past.
She was furious.
“It does” Tim argued, but Damian could hear his tone shift to pity. His brother could read him too well. “She told you to stay here, didn’t she.”
It was phrased as a question, but they both knew he wasn’t really asking.
“This is all your fault” Damian blamed using his free hand to scrub his face, aggravating his healing nose as he did so. “You should’ve taken me with you. She needs me”
“Is she in trouble?” Tim asked gently.
Damian hesitated. He looked at the window and debated if he could just leave tomorrow night and tell Tim to forget it all.
Titus brushed against his hand as he let it fall from his face. He looked down to see that the Great Dane had joined their rather heated discussion and was nudging his leg with his nose.
Anxiety alert. Damian had googled what the signal meant and sighed when Titus decided to use it. How astute of you Titus. I never could’ve guessed that I’m panicking. He pet Titus for a minute and then nodded.
“She says it’s too dangerous for me to see her” he whispered voice cracking.
Tim dropped his wrist. Damian took the opportunity to fully focus on petting Titus, slowly moving to sit on the floor in front of him. Tim followed suit and sat beside them. Damian felt his desire to see his brother bleed drop more as the time went on.
“She’s probably right.” Tim agreed. “You’re still injured from those little pricks. Did she say she needed help?”
“No, but if it’s too dangerous for me to come then-”
“She shouldn’t deal with it alone, right?” Tim finished and Damian felt like he finally understood the urgency of the situation. Tim nodded and began to move for his phone that rested in his pocket.
“Don't tell father!” Damian objected quick to fling himself toward his brother to grab the phone. Unfortunately, Tim was quicker and caught Damian easily, situating him to sit in front of him, lying against his chest as he held the phone above them both.
“Wasn’t going to” Tim instantly corrected. “I’m calling backup.”
Damian stayed quiet, trusting that Tim wouldn’t be stupid enough to call any bats if he didn’t want their father to know. Everyone in their family was too quick to snitch. Including Tim, but it was a bit late for that now.
The phone rang once before the person on the other end picked up. Damian couldn’t tell who it was or what they answered with but he could hear Tim as his brother's chest rumbled behind him. “Constantine, I need you to check on someone for me.”
Constantine? That’s the magician who’s spoken with Raven. Damian hadn’t personally dealt with the man but he’d heard he was well despised by most.
“No I couldn’t care less but I need it done” Tim continued and Damian wished he knew the full extent of what was being said. “Talia Al Ghul…yes, I know….I’ll pay you for your trouble…call me when you know something.” and before he knew it the call was over and his brother was holding him again. Arms wrapped around him in a gentle hug.
“He’s competent?”
“Enough” Tim confirmed. “I’ll take care of it.”
“You should’ve taken me with you” Damian whispered as Titus moved to sit across both of them.
“I’m sorry you can’t see her.”
“You told her things she didn’t have to know.”
“She loves you Damian, and as much as I don’t want her to have anything to do with you, it’s not really up to me. Bruce promised that she would have access to your medical records and part of that includes your-”
“Freakouts?” Damian answered. “My inability to deal with minute consequences of life?”
“Your very normal reactions to trauma.” Tim finished. “If I were her, I’d want the chance to help. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, but I’m not sorry that I did it.”
As Damian pet his dog, leaning further back against Tim he found himself agreeing.
This wasn’t the worst thing.
“I miss her” Damian confessed and his brother held him a little tighter.
“Sometimes, I miss my mom too.”
Yet, they both knew why their mothers should never have had children. What a strange thing to bond over.
“I don’t hate you” Damian corrected finally, feeling completely drained.
“I love you too.”
Yeah, this wasn’t the worst thing at all.
One Year Later
Damian smiled at his landscape of Kent farm, displayed beautifully in the Gotham art gallery.
After winning his school’s art contest he couldn’t deny them the pleasure of showing off his work at the gallery. Not when his father had been so ecstatic to see him engaging in a normal hobby. Besides, it had been Damian's first large accomplishment at his new school and who was he to deprive them of his talents.
He was meant to meet Dick here so that they could walk aroudn the gallery together, but unfortunately his oldest brother had ascertained a GSW the morning of and was unable to make it. Just a graze but still enough that Damian told him not to worry about their plnas. He was more than pleased that his brother remembered the gallery at all. At 14 he was more than old enough to see the gallery on his own.
Did he promise Dick that he’d call Tim to come with him instead? Yes.
Is he doing that? No.
“Are you the artist?” Someone asked and Damian turned to find one of the gallery staff looking at his piece.
“Yes. Damian Wayne” he introduced holding a hand for him to shake.
“Pleasure” the man greeted in return giving his hand a quick shake before resuming his observations of Damian’s painting. “It’s beautifully done. Are you planning to pursue painting?”
Painting? As a professional choice? Absurd. “No. My father, as I’m sure you know, is a business man. I’ll be joining Wayne Industries soon.” He answered. It would be soon too. Damian only had two more years before he was finally of working age in the U.S. Not that he had ever listened to American laws in the past, but it would make his father happier.
“Yes, I’m sure everyone in Gotham knows Bruce Wayne” the man agreed but Damian could tell that he wasn’t in complete agreement with all he had said. He let his sentence linger openly for too long. “But not every child follows what their parent does. Beyond that, your older brother is the CEO right? Surely that must mean you have other aims.”
Damian felt himself stiffen just a bit and he found himself folding his hands differently than before. Ever so slightly fiddling with the metal ring on his finger, a nervous habit he’d picked up from the moment Cassandra had gifted it to him.
Other aims. Sure, Damian had thought about what he wanted to be. In fact, for a long time it was all he thought about. The majority of his life his only goal was to take over the League of Assassins, but that was crushed when he moved to Gotham and was disowned by his grandfather. He shifted his gaze to the Batman, content with fighting in a different way, only to find that the role of Batman was more complicated than he’d hoped. His brother showed him that Batman wasn’t something that someone could do alone, and more importantly, it can never be all that you are.
With that in mind, Damian assumed that he’d be Batman by night and business man by day. It seemed to work for his father and Tim. It was respectable and his mother didn’t much care what he decided to do outside of the suit. As long as he still fought well and could come when she needed him that was all that mattered.
Your brother is CEO. Companies don’t need two CEO’s. His father already managed things that Tim was too busy for. To this man’s point, there wasn’t a need for him to be a part of the company. When Bruce retired, Tim would take over control and Damian didn’t see the need to try and demand some part of it from his brother. Not when he’d seen how hard he worked.
Where does that leave me?
He felt leather and fur rub against his hand and looked down to find Titus was passing Damian his lead. He grabbed it and frowned when the great dane nudged his hip. Anxiety alert. How astute. He supposed thinking about his life’s plans was probably pretty quick to cause anxiety and it was good that Titus was able to tell. Best to avoid this for now.
“Timothy does an excellent job with managing things, yes. I’m only fourteen so we have time to decide what roles are needed.” He answered, aware that his spiral probably cuased him to wait an unreasonable amont of time before answering.
“Don’t tell me Mr. Wayne doesn’t approve of the arts? If that’s the case I’d be happy to convince him that you’d be a very successful artist.” The man offered and Damian shook his head.
This man, meet father? A disaster waiting to happen. Bruce didn’t tend to like anyone who came to speak with Damian that was over the age of twenty. “I’ve never asked father’s opinion of such trivial things, though he’s always supported my pursuits. Are you quite interested in seeing what I do with my career?” He asked in return. It is odd that a simple gallery worker would be so interested in just my piece.
“Well I think everyone is interested to see what the youngest Wayne will do. Must be a lot of pressure.”
It was that moment that Damian finally saw it. The little wire connected to the man’s ear.
sh*t. Titus hit his hand again. He’s mic’d? Law enforcement? He looked quickly around the gallery room but didn’t see anything to be concerned over. No one from any of the crime families appeared to be present. No. something else. A reporter? The older Dmaian got, the more clever they seemed to become. Constantly interested in what he was doing with his life. The questions made sense if they were for a tabloid.
Damian felt Titus’ lead pull out of his hand and looked down to see that his dog was fetching his backpack. He’d laid the bag against the wall his painting was resting on so that he could take in the art piece. Now, Titus was shoving his head inside and collecting Damian’s phone.
“That’s quite the dog to be walking around an art gallery” The man commented and Damian just sighed as he grabbed his phone. Damian was tired of explaining to people what a service animal was and even more tired of denying their demands to know what was wrong with him that he needed one.
I suppose you’re right. We have to call someone. He rolled his eyes and dialed his emergency contact.
“It’s a bit rude to igno-”
“Timothy” Damian greeted the minute the line connected, pretending he couldn't hear any bit of the sentence he’d just cut off. “You wouldn’t happen to be near city hall, would you?” He asked just loud enough for the threat to know that he had reported his location. While the press was most likely responsible, he couldn’t rule out hte possibility of the man being something more.
Not since it was so obvious that Titus didn’t like him either. The great dane smoothly worked to sit between them.
“I am, just finished a meeting with the mayor. Only about a block away. Aren’t you supposed to be there with Dick?” Tim answered and Damian hated that the man didn’t seem to move an inch from where he stood.
“Cassandra couldn’t make it.” Someone is here.
“Who’s with you?” Tim demanded and Damian was glad to hear the sound of a roller chair being pushed away. His brother was coming.
“I’m not sure. Titus isn’t very accustomed to this environment.” I don’t know but Titus doesn’t like him.
“You don’t know them? Do they have any weapons? I’m not even two minutes” Tim asked, panting. Damian hoped that one of the paparazzi would get a picture of him running like a mad man. It would be funny later.
“Unclear. Everyone seems to be enjoying my piece though. I’m hoping to be back in time for dinner.” I can’t tell. He was looking at my painting. I want to go home. Damian didn’t get to hear anymore questions because Titus had turned to the entry of the event.
Tim Drake, papers dripping out his briefcase, tie hung over his shoulder, was jogging into the gallery hall until he was a directly between the staff and Damian.
If God is real, there is a photo of this. Damian smiled and reached up to pull his brother’s tie back in place. “You were fast. Meeting let out early?” He asked as Tim leaned down to pick up some of the stray papers. He didn’t miss Tim’s gaze hovering over the strangers ankle before he stood back up.
“Something like that. You ready to go?”
“Sure, let me grab my bag” Damian agreed easily moving away, content to be under Tim’s watch as he turned his back to the man. Well, Tim and Titus’ watch seeing as how the great dane stood closely behind him as he leaned down to grab his bag.
He dropped everything when he heard Titus growl and the man fall to the floor.
“What the f*** man?” the guy huffed scrambling to pick up what looked to be a tracker. Based on Titus’ position, it was fairly obvious that the man had failed to attach it Titus’ harness.
“I think that’s my line” Tim said.
Uh oh.
“Were you about to put a tracker on a service animal? What breed of deranged are you?” Tim demanded and Damian didn’t waste time in picking his things back up to rush and grab Titus’ lead. “I hope you’re prepared to explain it to the police when they get here.”
The Police? “Timothy, surely-” Damian tried to interrupt, coming close enough to grab Tim’s sleeve from where he was crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m just doing my job. Don’t shoot the messenger, the kid didn’t give me anything worth writing” The man tried to justify to the many people that were now gathering to watch.
Titus bumped his hip.
“And just who exactly hired you to prey on kids? That make you feel good when you sleep at night? Rest assured I’ll come after you and whatever paper or gossip column you work for.” Tim corrected and Damian pulled on his sleeve a bit harder.
“Oh come on Wayne. The kid is old enough to handle a few questions. I didn’t make him talk to me.”
Titus bumped his hip again.
“No, you just tried to track him. Which is for some strange reason, I seem to recall, illegal” Tim deadpanned.
“Timothy” Damian spoke loud enough to be heard over both of them. His brother finally looked at him and Damian forced a neutral face, just in case there were camera’s waiting. “Can we go home?” He asked.
Get me out of here.
“Oh.” Tim sighed and then glared at the man once more before nodding. “Right, yes. We can file a report later.” his brother agreed easily. Damian smiled a bit and held tight to Titus’ lead as they began to walk away.
They were close to making it out without issue.
“Oh and kid? Your painting sucks”
Oh f***
And there went Tim.
As Tim ran to punch the strange reporter into the marble floor of the exhibit, Damian found himself scratching Titus’ behind the ears. The sounds of people screaming didn’t seem to bother him so much as he found a wall for them to sit against. The floor was cool and distracting.
“Help me!” The man screamed as Tim kicked him harder.
Titus settled his head into Dmaian’s lap applying just the right amount of DPT.
“Good boy” he whispered.
“Dear god!” A woman cried and Damian rolled his eyes.
“Alright” He said quietly patting Titus’ back. “Go help Tim” he ordered and grinned as his dog charged through the crowd of people.
Eat him if you must.
Mother was going to love the front page of tomorrows Gazette.