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“It should have been you, demon brat. Grayson protected you, but he should have left the bullet for you. You’re not worth what he gave up for you, brat”
Those words haunted Damian.
Today was supposed to be a mission like any other. An arm’s deal in an abandoned Gotham warehouse - it should have been easy. Damian had been prickly all day. Bruce had ordered that he worked with Dick for this particular arms deal, as there was intel that Slade would be in the area. Dick was Damian’s favorite person by far, but he also felt like Bruce was babying him by giving him a chaperone for what should be an easy ambush.
Damian hated feeling incapable and he took it out on Dick - refusing to be touched, barely talking, and commenting often on how stupid it was that he couldn’t do this alone. Dick simply smiled at him and let him complain as he wished. They watched from outside the abandoned factory building as the deal began and progressed. They waited for a handoff of the contract for the illegal arms before moving in.
Dick had told Damian to move carefully. Damian wasn't listening - he jumped through the ceiling window and right into battle. Dick sighed and followed closely behind. They fought well, though as they were fighting, Dick noticed a red dot following them as they moved. As they began to wind down and get rid of the last of the lackeys in the arms deal, Damian found himself distracted.
Dick noticed the red dot had moved to the side of Damian’s head, right above his temple. Dick moved quickly, running at Damian and acting as a shield as he leapt in front of him.
Damian heard the gunshot. He turned just in time to see blood flying out from Dick’s chest. Damian immediately held his arms out to support Dick’s upper body before he could crumple immediately. Damian slowly lowered Dick to the ground, seeing Dick press both hands to the lower part of his sternum where his diaphragm was, grimacing as he tried to add pressure to his injury.
Damian rushed in front of Dick as the assailant showed themself; Damian growled, “Wilson.”
Slade sounded unimpressed, “Demon brat. Looks like Grayson protected you in the nick of time. The world was almost better off without you here.”
Damian pinged for backup and did his best to keep Slade away from Dick. Before they arrived, Slade was clear of his thoughts, “It should have been you, demon brat. Grayson protected you, but he should have left the bullet for you. You’re not worth what he gave up for you, brat.”
Damian was so lost in those words that he barely noticed when the other members of the Batfamily arrived. At that point, Dick was losing a lot of blood. Damian ran to his side, just to hear his older brother speak as Bruce was lifting him up, “Better me than you, Little D.” Those words cut him just as deeply as Slade’s.
Dick lost consciousness as he was brought back to the cave. Bruce and Jason carried him to the medical table while Duke and Tim were putting pressure on the wound to keep Dick from bleeding out. A trail of blood still followed behind Dick as they moved him.
Damian ran to medbay with them. Once Dick was stable, Tim approached Damian and said, “You called for help at the right time, brat. You saved Dick’s life.”
Damian’s eyes traveled to Tim’s blood-soaked gloves; he didn’t feel like a hero. “Grayson got shot trying to protect me. It is my fault that he is injured at all.”
The guilt set in quickly. Damian ruminated on Slade’s words - the man was insufferable, but he was right; Dick should have let him bleed for his mistake. Instead, his favorite person in the world was in medbay with a bullet in his diaphragm.
Several members of the Batfamily noticed Damian sitting near Dick, not moving, not doing anything but watching Dick breathe. Bruce tried to intervene, but Damian quickly shut his father down, “I made a mistake, and Grayson bled for it.”
It took several hours for Dick to return to consciousness. Alfred had been taking care of him, with Damian sitting further away, watching Dick like a hawk. He dared not get up or move, worried about how Dick would fare if he looked away for even a second. Alfred noticed Dick’s fingers twitch, brushing the sweat-soaked hair out of Dick’s face as the injured man slowly opened his eyes, flinching at the bright medbay lights.
Alfred addressed him, “Master Dick, welcome back.”
Dick blinked a few times before asking, “Damian…where is he?”
Hearing his name, Damian moved to stealthily leave the medbay. After what just happened, Damian didn’t think he deserved to see Dick right now.
Alfred noticed Damian moving and turned to him, “Master Damian, come here please.”
Damian walked up to Dick, avoiding eye contact. He was expecting a lecture, anger, and vitriol. After all, the injury Dick had gotten was entirely his fault. Dick waved to Alfred to give the two of them some privacy.
Once they were alone, Dick asked, “Won’t you look at me, Little D?” Damian hesitated before his gaze met Dick’s. Dick’s eyes were full of warmth - Damian felt like he didn’t deserve it.
Damian spoke almost inaudibly, “I failed. I failed the mission, I failed you.”
Dick was firm when he spoke, “You didn’t.”
Damian’s voice cracked as he replied, “You took a bullet - one that would have killed me. And what did I do? I was reckless and I ignored your orders. I couldn’t have your back. You could’ve died, and it would have been all my fault. Slade…Slade said that it was a mistake - that you shouldn’t have gotten hurt, and I should have. And…I believed him.”
Dick slowly lifted his arm and firmly grasped Damian’s arm, speaking firmly and confidently, “You’re wrong, and so is he. I didn’t choose to save you, I had to save you, Little D. Because you mean the world to me.” Damian’s eyes widened as Dick continued, “Not because of your potential. Not because you’re my Robin. Not because you’re Bruce’s son. I protected you from that bullet because you’re you , you’re my family - and no one hurts my family.”
Damian didn’t cry. He didn’t. But right now, a fresh stream of tears ran from his eyes.
A silent
thank you
hung in the air as he wiped his tears. Dick’s hand faltered, and Damian grabbed it firmly. Their eyes met and there was an understanding between them. A bond that would never be broken.