Castle Of Glass | B. Wayne

[15]

Calmia had not been expecting to find Damian waiting for her when she came home from work. But he didn't immediately say anything as he knew she was tired and would need time to freshen up.

So he stayed in the living room while she went up to her room after greeting him, quite like the usual routine whenever they crossed paths with each other. Damian knew she would come down to have tea so he waited there, playing with his dog Titus.

Half an hour later, Calmia came downstairs and reconsidered her decision of having tea in the living room as Damian was already there. But then she thought that perhaps he was intentionally waiting for her all that time. He must have wanted to talk to her.

"Damian, would you like to have some tea?" She asked before going to the kitchen.

"If you're having jasmine tea then yes."

"Alright."

She came to the kitchen to find that Alfred had already prepared tea for them and set it in a trolley. At times she wondered if the man was a supernatural entity who knew exactly what they all needed at the precise time.

Nothing could escape Alfred Pennyworth's notice.

"Thank you so much, Alfred, I'll take it from here," she smiled as she took the trolley, knowing he had a lot of other work to tend to.

She took the trolley out and Damian stood up immediately, intending to help.

"That's okay, I've got it," she remarked, pouring out the tea into two cups then handed one to him, "here."

"Thank you," he took the cup and then sat down on the sofa he had been on. Titus had curled up near his feet contentedly, its head nuzzling against his shoes.

Silence engulfed them as Damian thought of how to begin. Usually, Calmia would ask how his day went or what he was up to but ever since that little disagreement they had had, she was making sure not to talk too much to him that it could be considered bothersome.

She had been giving him both time and space.

He didn't know how exactly to start the conversation either way so he said what first came to mind, "Father mentioned that you can also speak Arabic..."

"Oh."

He had to clear things up because he knew that once it was very much necessary, "I didn't mean to say what I did that day."

"In all fairness, I should have taken the hint and not pestered you." She remarked watching his expression closely, "but I have to ask one thing. Did you not mean for me to just know what you said or did you not mean to say it either?"

"I did not mean to say it. I was having a particularly rough day though I know it's not an excuse to give and it just..." He was fumbling with his words because he had never been in such a situation.

"No that's fine. I get cranky too when I'm having a bad day so I totally understand," she smiled slightly, giving him the assurance that she wasn't angry at him.

"But Miss Hardin... Or should I even call you that...? I don't know."

"Calmia is fine. Though if you want to stick to your habit of using surnames, I have changed mine to Wayne so..."

He shook his head, knowing that addressing her by the same surname as his own would be awkward.

"You can address me however you're comfortable," she prompted.

"Miss Calmia," he spoke up after thinking about it, feeling somewhat awkward still, "I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"This willingness that you have to understand us and to accept us, I don't understand that," he resumed, trying to find the right words to put it, "I have been unapproachable and rude to you but you always look past that... You always try to make me feel as if it was nothing. Sometimes it feels like you just let it all slide because I am the youngest... Why do you do that?"

She paused, thinking about how to explain it to him. She was genuinely very fond of Damian but perhaps he would not believe that. "I don't do that to make you feel like I give you extra attention or treat you like you're the youngest. I just really like you and want you to be included."

Out of all the things he had expected her to say, that was definitely not on his list.

"But I see that it might come off as somewhat overbearing on you so I will keep in mind not to do that if you're uncomfortable."

Hearing her say all that made him feel even more terrible for his abrupt reaction that day. He knew he had to apologize. "I'm sorry, I was just angry and got frustrated when you asked me to open up. I know you were trying to be good to me and I feel bad that I ruined it. It won't happen again."

She sighed softly, brown eyes gazing into those piercing emerald irises, "that's alright. You know, Damian, I have been meaning to talk to you about this ever since that day. I feel like we should address a few things so that we do not get misunderstood by each other. That is if you're willing to talk right now."

He agreed, "of course."

Her tone was gentle as she resumed the conversation, "I know I'm not your mother and I'm not trying to be her. She has her special place in your heart and no one can take that away. I don't expect you to treat me the same way as her either. I just want us to get along with each other. Like friends do."

"Oh..."

"All I wanted to tell you back then was that if things are going on that you feel like you can't share with Bruce or the others because they are too close to the situation, you can tell me. I might not be able to provide a solution every time but I am here if you want to vent. I just want to make sure that you're doing okay."

He could see that she was still very caring towards him and trying to give him a chance to mend the rift that had come between them. "I... I really appreciate that."

She smiled, feeling much better now that she had talked things out with Damian. "You know maybe we're not that different. We're both relatively newer additions to the family and we're both trying to figure out how things work here," she added on a lighter note, "so why not do it together?"

Damian nodded, considering whether or not to follow her advice and tell her about what exactly happened at school that day. But then he decided against it.

He might tell her eventually but not just yet. Or perhaps she would find out herself considering the level of interest the press took in the personal matters of the Wayne family.

Right then, he too had a lot to process because that conversation had not gone as he expected it to at all. But after knowing her perspective, he felt better that he had cleared things up. 

It wouldn't be fair to let such a genuine person like Calmia live with the feeling that her stepson didn't want her around despite all the effort she was putting in.

***