Work Text:
Damian and Bruce were arguing. Again. Dick rolled his eyes where he was sitting in the big chair, working on the Bat-computer. He had a new criminal group in Bludhaven and he was trying to find out something more about them. He had already called Jason, but his brother had been as surprised as him about where they came from. He had promised to check amongst his dealers and see if they know something. Dick smiled. Even though Bruce hated it, he could appreciate that his brother was a criminal. It meant that, every time a new group appeared in Bludhaven, it was bordering with Jason’s gang and Red Hood wanted them gone. They had teamed up on more than one occasion to make sure that they took down the entire gang. Damian and Bruce started getting louder and louder and Dick wondered if he should just go up to the kitchen and wait this out with Alfred. Those two had been arguing more and more, only to go out on patrol, work together and then not speak with each other for over a week. As far as he knew, nothing too hurtful had been ever said, so neither him nor Alfred had felt the need to step in. He concentrated back on the screen, only to jerk up when he heard Bruce’s angry voice.
“You are just like your grandfather! You don’t deserve to be Robin!”
Dick was on his feet before he even knew when he was doing, his hand slamming down on the table. It made Damian startle slightly and Bruce glare over to him. With fury in his eyes, he walked over to them.
“Don’t you dare saying that EVER again, Bruce.”
For a few seconds, he saw Bruce struggle to calm himself down, clearly not wanting to argue with his oldest.
“I’m only telling the truth. I should never have let Damian become Robin.”
And Dick snapped completely.
“You LET HIM? You didn’t want him to be Robin. You never trusted him. I made him Robin. I trained him. I was here for him when you were gone. You don’t get to say anything about Damian, because you don’t KNOW HIM.”
He was aware that he was taking a page from Slade’s book, not raising his voice even when he was getting more and more agitated. He remembered how he always got uncertain and angry when Slade kept talking with that calm voice of his. The way he never could judge just how angry the man was until a punch landed. Bruce glared down at him.
“He’s my son. I know enough about him.”
Dick smiled, knowing how much such a simple thing like that could put your opponent off.
“You do? Then what’s his favorite food? Favorite colour? Favorite movie?”
Bruce snorted.
“That’s unimportant. All that matters is that he knows how to take care of himself out there. As far as I’m aware, I never knew those things about you, Jason or Tim. And you all are still alive, so…”
Dick cut him off, anger starting to creep into his voice.
“Alive? Did you maybe forget about Jason being beaten to death by Joker and coming back as a drug lord? Did you forget about Tim being kidnapped by Joker and almost killed? Or maybe you forgot about the time Slade almost ran me through with his swords? But no, you’re right. We’re all alive now so why should you care about anything?”
Once again, he saw Bruce trying to calm himself down to not snap. Dick waited in silence. Everything he was saying was a fact. If the man couldn’t take the truth, it wasn’t Dick’s problem.
“Listen, Dick. I don’t want to argue with you. We clearly don’t agree about this. But the fact is that I’m Damian’s father. I’m the one raising him.”
Dick nodded.
“Yeah. You are his father. But you are not raising him.”
Bruce, who had been starting to turn away from him, now snapped his head back to the young man. Dick continued, his voice still calm and collected.
“You’re not. You’re training him. You’re providing for him. But you’re not raising him.”
Bruce was going to argue, but Dick just kept talking.
“You seem to forget something. Jason didn’t have a good childhood, so he wouldn’t understand. Tim had a good childhood, but he’s not around enough to see what’s happening. And he’s too young to have to think about this. But I was raised in a circus, by a loving family. You see, the circus is a bit different than a normal family. If you have a child, everyone has a child. I was raised by the entire circus, so I have a different mentality about this. When I met Damian, heck when I met Jay and Tim, I automatically accepted them into my family. I saw the mistakes you made with Jason. You tried to raise him the way you had raised ME. But we weren’t similar in any way, and it ended up with Jason getting more and more violent. Tim didn’t need raising. Not the same way me and Jay did. He was too smart for that. Now you’re making the same mistake with Damian that you did with Jason. He doesn’t need a trainer or drill sergeant. He needs a father.”
Damian, who had backed away when they started arguing, watched as Bruce’s expression got darker and darker, especially after Dick mentioned Jason.
“This is not a circus. Damian is my son, and I’m raising him the way I see fit. With all that anger of his, he needs training. He needs discipline.”
Dick sighed heavily.
“If that’s what you really think, then you are not any better than Ra’s and Talia.”
The back of Bruce’s hand hit him so hard that he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Pictures of Slade standing over him flashed in his mind as he tasted blood in his mouth from where his lower lip had split. He pulled himself out of his memories when he heard an angry scream and the sound of a sword being drawn. He looked up to where Damian was attacking Bruce with a fury that he had never seen in the boy before. Quickly, he picked himself up and moved closer to them.
“Damian! Stop!”
The boy jumped away from Bruce almost immediately, moving back to stand next to Dick. He looked up at him and frowned.
“You’re bleeding.”
Dick nodded and, not taking his eyes off Bruce, he said calmly:
“Go pack your things. You’re staying with me for some time.”
Bruce looked at them, regret visible on his face.
“Dick…”
“No.”
Dick turned away from him and gently pushed Damian towards the stairs.
“Go. I’ll wait outside.”
Bruce tried to speak again, but was cut off by Alfred this time.
“I think this is a good idea, master Bruce.”
Bruce looked up at him, and Dick almost smiled. Everyone knew that Bruce had lost the second Alfred decided to get involved. Damian sheathed his sword and ran out of the cave. Dick looked a last time at Bruce before getting on his motorcycle and driving out. He drove up to the front of the mansion and, just two minutes later, Damian came running out of the door in his civilian clothes and with a backpack on his back.
“I’m ready.”
Dick nodded and pulled out his phone.
“I just need to make a phone call.”
He put the call through his headpiece, automatically putting it through Damian’s as well. As he drove, a few rings sounded, before a woman’s voice could be heard.
“Dick?”
Damian almost lost his grip on Dick’s jacket when he realized who was on the other side of the phone.
“Hey Selina. Look, I know it’s a very short notice but… Um…”
Dick hesitated.
“What is it, kitten?”
Her voice was soft and Dick found himself talking, before he even realized he was doing it.
“Me and Bruce got into a pretty bad fight. I’m taking Dami with me to Bludhaven, but I’m pretty sure that all I have there is cereal and some old milk. Think I could maybe swing by your place and pick something up for breakfast? I’ll go shopping tomorrow.”
Selina’s answer came immediately.
“Oh, no. You’re coming over and staying the night, kitten.”
“But…”
“No. No buts. I’ll get the guest room ready for you two.”
And she hung up. Dick smiled softly as he changed directions and drove to Selina’s flat. He parked outside it and turned to Damian.
“Please, try to be nice to her. She is a good friend.”
Damian tilted his head.
“You know her well?”
He wasn’t happy that his father seemed to be awfully close to the thief, and didn’t know what to think about Dick being too.
“Whenever me and Bruce fought, I would run away and stay with her for a few days. She would go to Bruce, shout at him a bit, and he would pick me up here with an apology.”
He led Damian to the right door and rang the doorbell. It didn’t even take two seconds, before the door opened. Selina’s eyes widened when she saw the blood on Dick’s lips and chin.
“He did that?”
Dick quickly shook his head.
“It’s alright, Lina. I provoked him.”
Both Damian and Selina looked at him with sudden anger, before the woman turned to Damian.
“The door at the end of the hallway leads to the bathroom. Go shower and I’ll prepare something to eat in the meantime.”
Damian wanted to protest but, seeing the look she gave him, he nodded and walked away. Selina grabbed Dick’s hand and led him to the kitchen, where she pushed him down on a chair. While she was cleaning him, he told her everything that had happened in the cave. As soon as she was done, she sat down opposite from him and grabbed his hands.
“Dick. Listen to me very carefully. You didn’t provoke him. You told him the truth. Pure facts. If he can’t deal with that, it’s his fault, not yours. He had no right to strike you. He’s supposed to be your father. Take care of you. And take care of Damian. You were right to step in. I don’t know him that well, but even I understand that he needs a loving family after all the crap al Ghoul put him through. Do you understand me?”
He nodded slightly.
“Good. Now, we’re going to eat some lasagna and then you two are going to bed. If you want to leave in the morning, it’s up to you. But I would rather keep you two here for a few days.”
Dick smiled at her.
“I know. I’ll talk with Dami about it.”
She smiled back, and stood up to warm the food. Dick sighed softly. He was happy that, whatever happened, he always had Selina to turn to. On the other side of the kitchen, Selina was cursing up a storm in her head. She would have a long talk with Bruce once the boys were asleep. As Damian walked inside, his hair still damp from the shower, she smiled softly. There would always be a safe place in her house for the birds. Ever since a crying, ten year old Dick had appeared on her doorstep for the first time, she knew she would always be there for them. They were her kids too, after all. Her little birds.