After

What About Now

Happy late Birthday, Jason!

-

It had been three months since the incident with Jason and the League of Shadows. No one had really talked about what had happened, and no one was eager to. Jason's absence wasn't new to most of the family, he wasn't usually around, but Damian had grown accustom to his brother standing by his side. He was starting to miss it, not that he would ever say that out loud.

"Dami! Timmy! Breakfast is ready." Dick called up the stairs to the young bat, making his way back towards the kitchen from which he came. Tim heard an audible sigh from Damian's room as he walked by, making his way towards the stairs to the smell of breakfast. Tim decided against messing with the kid in favor of eating breakfast with all of his limbs in tact. He didn't want to start off his day like that.

Downstairs, Dick and Alfred were busily gathering up trays of food, each filled with foods specific to ones taste. Bruce was sitting at the head of the table, a newspaper in hand and a cup of coffee sitting by his side on a coaster. Tim made his way to the table and started laying out napkins and silverware. Once everything was set up, Damian made an appearance.

"Glad you could show up after the table was all set up. Thanks for your help." Tim grumbled. Alfred cut in before Damian could open his mouth to reply.

"Please, I do not wish for our morning to begin with a petty argument." He scolded, setting down the final plate which just so happened to be Damian's.

"" Damian clicked his tongue and made his way to his seat, smirking at Tim. Tim glared back at Damian, sitting down and waiting until Dick and Alfred joined them. Dick walked over to Bruce and snatched the newspaper from his hands, rolling it up and whacking him on the shoulder.

"Breakfast, old man." Damian smirked over at his father before Dick could say whatever he had opened his mouth to say. Everyone flinched at the words. That's what Jason usually called Bruce. Dick missed Jason, so no one was surprised by his response to the reminder of his absence. Tim's reaction was a mixture of surprise and dismay. Sure, Jason had tried to kill him numerous times and almost never called him by his name, but they had started to grow a little closer. Their conversations had started to go from arguments about Jason being replaced to hidden concern about how Tim didn't sleep enough, and old films. Jason loved old films. Tim and Jason once sat down in Jason's safe-house and had a movie marathon full of them. It was too bad Tim had to work the next morning. He never got any sleep that night.

It was hard to tell if Bruce had been saddened by the words, or annoyed by the fact that Damian had used them. He was used to it from Jason, but for Damian to call him anything other than "Father" was a big step. Bruce dared to even think of how much Jason had actually rubbed off on Damian. Alfred's soft sigh and the sound of silverware scraping against a plate broke everyone from their thoughts. Everyone started to eat in silence until Dick spoke.

"We should invite him back." He proposed, stuffing a whole piece of toast aggressively into his mouth. Tim gave him a concerned look.

"He will come when he is ready. We shouldn't push him, or he wont come at all." Bruce took a sip from his coffee and took a piece of bacon off of his plate. Damian watched him take a bite and slowly started to push around the toast and salad on his plate. He thought about that morning Todd had made him bacon, eggs, and toast. When they had split the plate, Damian had given Jason the bacon. Thinking back on that moment now, he was having mixed feelings about his choice of foods.

"Is the food unsatisfactory, Master Damian?" Alfred asked, looking over at the young bat playing with his food.

"Of course not, it's up to par as usual, Pennyworth." Damian snapped out of his trance, shoveling a fork full of salad into his mouth. He finished his salad, avoiding the potatoes and toast, and got up and left. Everyone paused to watch him leave. Looks of concern were passed around the table, until Bruce stood up, pushing his chair in and fixing his blazer.

"I'll go see what's wrong." He announced, making his way towards where Damian had exited but Dick stood up and stopped him.

"I have a feeling this is about Jason. I don't think you're the best person to talk with him about what happened." Dick suggested, making his way up to Bruce who looked stunned at the hallway entrance.

"I'm his father. I have every right to speak to him about these things." Bruce fumed, standing as tall as he could in front of Dick, who's height just about matched his.

"You started the whole fiasco when you threw him out. I'm telling you you're the wrong person for this. Let him talk to someone he's not going to be afraid to open up to." Dick snapped, also straightening up. Bruce knew Dick was right. Damian had always trusted and enjoyed Dick's company more than the rest of the family, minus Alfred. But since Damian's stay with Jason, and Dick's move to Blüdhaven, it seems that Damian was starting to grow closer to Jason. As much as Bruce hated to admit it, Damian and the wayward Robin were a lot alike.

"Alright. I'm heading out. Let me know if any trouble arises. Any excuse to get out of my meeting is welcome." Bruce attempted to lighten the mood as he made his way out the door. Dick sighed and jogged upstairs to Damian's room. Tim and Alfred gave each other a knowing look before starting to clean up.

"He's gone." Tim huffed, smirking as he emptied Damian's plate into the trash.

"I believe you would be correct in that assumption, Master Timothy." Alfred agreed, glancing over at Tim. The sound of a distressed call of Damian's name confirmed their suspicions.