Chapter Text
Phones were a weird thing for Damian. You see he could understand their uses and the appeal of being able to contact anyone from anywhere, but that wasn’t Damians personal experience with them.
For Damian his phone was just a reminder. It kept his schedule, it told him of family meetings, reminded him his family could contact him at any moment.
You see the fact that it allowed such easy contact to his family was what made it weird.
He could reach out for their help or keep in contact with them using it, but it also let the league access him even with the batfamily tech and coding the league could get to him. And sure Damian had been taught hacking from the league and could lock them out but then he would cut off that side of his life, completely.
Now don’t get him wrong he should cut off that side and he knows he should. I mean his mother killed him. But, Damian could never bring himself to do it.
So Damians phone haunted him. Bringing back his past whenever his mother desired.
But it also allowed him to talk to his friends and members of the hero community. Damian's phone had also played a part in winning several villain fights or preventing/stopping kidnapping situations. So it wasn’t all bad.
Really Damian only kept his phone because Alfred liked him to have it on him.
Even when Damian sat in his bed, his phone sitting as a reminder that he was not free of the league, a reminder that even though his siblings could reach out at any moment they didn’t, He kept it charged and close by.
Damian had come to live with Bruce when he was ten. Then Bruce died and subsequently came back within the year. Then about a year after Bruce came back, Damian died. A couple months later, and Damian was back. A year later he got his phone
Now at sixteen Damian had gotten a total of 38 calls from his siblings, 22 were asking for backup or related to an emergency, 9 were from Greyson checking on him after an injury. Damian’s siblings had called him for fun or normal reasons a total of 7 times over three years.
Alfred on the other hand called him everyday, often asking Damian to join him for tea. Sometimes asking for Damians assistance.
So when he got a call at 6:00 Damian was expecting it to be Alfred asking for help preparing dinner, which would be served in an hour.
Looking from his canvas to the screen proved Damian wrong and made him rather nervous. Todd was calling.
Damian answered the phone. “Hello” The word barely escapes his mouth before Todd hangs up.
Damian calls him back, the couple of rings it takes Todd to answer, drag around him.
“Hey, Little pest, what's up?” Todd says.
“What’s up, is you hung up on me. After you were the one who called me. Are you ok? What’s wrong?” Damian said, moving to his laptop where he could track Todd's phone.
It was a minute before Todds's voice came through, worried but soothing, “Hey, Hey. It’s ok. I’ll come help you fix it, Alfred isn’t going to be mad! Every one of Bruce's kids has broken a vase, or eight. I’ll be there in an hour or two.” Damian felt like he had been drugged.
“Todd what on earth are you talking about? I didn’t break a vase! Are you ok!?”
“Oh, little, it’s ok. I will come home now, do you want to pick up the pieces and get some glue? I can be home in twenty minutes. Is that ok?” Todd paused for a couple seconds, Damian truly felt like someone had slipped him something, “Ok cool, see you soon.” As Todd was talking Damian found Todd's location. A little Italian restaurant.
Todd hung up again.
Damian walked over to Titus who was looking at him from his place resting on the rug under Damians easel. Damian sprawled on the floor next to Titus and mused aloud. “So is Todd actually on his way home or was that him asking for help in the weirdest way I have ever heard?”
Titus just tilted his head in response. His skin prickling forced Damian back to his computer to check Todd's location. Todd was now outside of the restaurant. Damian ran a finger over his lips for a second before he grabbed his phone and headed towards the cave.
He got a couple steps from his room before his phone started ringing again. Damian picks up as soon as he sees the contact. “Todd, What is going on? Are you ok!?” Damian tried to keep his voice level but made sure to emphasize the last sentence, Todd's earlier lack of response was making his skin crawl.
“Hey, Demon Brat. I’m fine. But are you? What's got you so twisted up?” Damian could hear that Todd was trying to play it cool but he was rather worried.
“Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask? What was happening?” Damian said, leaning against the wall. Looking back at his door and watching Titus peer out of his room.
“Well you asked several times if I was ok. You do know that's kinda weird? And for your information I was trying to get outta a date. I let Roy set me up on a blind date. Which will never happen again, I forgot under all that charm he's still the most stupid person I’ve meet. It was going fine until she was telling me how The Joker is hot.” Damian cringed at that but could breathe easier, knowing Todd was fine. Maybe even good, with all the jabs he was throwing.
Damian slid down the wall and drew in a breath. “Oh, that is rather rough.”
Todd laughed before pausing then saying “Hey you know what, I have been craving Alfreds cooking. You’ll tell him I am coming for dinner?” It was odd that Todd was willing to come to dinner but Damian couldn’t find it in himself to care.
Titus walked over to where Damian was sitting in the hallway, and tried to lick Damians face. Pushing Titus away Damian answered. “Sure.”
“Nice, ok I’ll be over soon. Is Bruce going to be at dinner? Or is he working?” Damian knew Todd and Bruce were in the middle of an argument. They had been going back and forth for several months about something that no one would tell Damian about.
Bruce and Todd had generally been getting along since Damian had arrived but often were in the middle of some argument.
Before when they were arguing Todd would avoid the manor like the plague but for about the last year, since Todd had started on a quest to be the best big brother and surpass Greyson, Todd had been braving the manor to spend time with Damian. But, that didn’t mean Todd wouldn’t hope for Bruce to be gone.
Luckily for Todd Bruce was away on Justice League business. “Father won’t be there.”
“Cool. Ok, see ya soon.” Todd said before hanging up.
Damian rubbed his eyes before getting up to tell Alfred. Titus followed after Damian and immediately left once he reached the kitchen, Titus was well aware he was not welcome in the kitchen where his fur could get in the food. Alfred was rather happy that Todd would be joining them for dinner and asked Damian to set the table.
Todd arrived twenty minutes before dinner, throwing his arms around Alfred for a hug. Alfred quickly enlisted Todd to help Damian make lemonade. They mostly worked in silence until Alfred walked to set some food in the dining room and Todd asked “Hey, when I called you your first response was, that something was wrong, why was that?”
Damian Glanced at Todd across the lemons and sugar before saying “The majority of the time when one of you calls me it’s about something bad.”
Todd looked back at Damian confusion written across his face, “One of who?”
“Our siblings. When you guys call me, I know someone's hurt or someone needs help.” Damian responded shocked, honestly did Todd not know? He thought all of his siblings were aware. Of the weird unspoken rule. “Honestly Todd, you are well aware we only call each other when something has gone wrong? Right?”
Looking at Damian as if he were insane Todd responded “That isn’t true. We call you for more than emergencies. Right?” Even as Todd said it Damian could tell he was uncertain. “What were the last five calls you have gotten from our siblings?”
Damian and Todd finished up making the lemonade and started cleaning up as Damian answered. “Well, last week Drake called me for backup on the penguin's latest escape from Arkham. A month before that Greyson was checking up on me after the kidnapping. Then it was you on Halloween, high on fear gas. The other two were Greyson asking for help on cases.”
Todd was stunned. He didn’t quite know what to say, so instead of saying something he just kinda started at Damian.
Alfred walked back into the room glancing over their work. “I see you cleaned up. Wonderful. Damian can you grab the pitcher, Jason will you grab the serving utensils?”
Grabbing the pitcher Damian headed towards the dining room Todd rushing to catch up, Alfred following them.
Setting the drink on the table Damian took his seat at the right hand side of the table head, where Alfred took his seat. Bruce used to sit there but as the years went by and Bruce was at the dining room table less consistently Alfred had taken the spot. For the last two or three years Alfred and Damian had become the only routine visitors to the table.
When the other bat siblings had been more common visitors the chairs had often been replaced so the only chairs with wear were the head and the chair to its right. Jason slipped the utensils into the dishes as he took a seat next to Damian. Saying “You know little, you shouldn’t be immediately worried when one of us calls you. I'm sorry we let that happen.”
Damian could only nod “ok” He knew that sentiment wasn’t likely true his siblings had a tendency to claim things or say the right words but not follow through with the execution.