Locked Hearts

Chapter 9

   Damian basically avoided me for the rest of the school day after the incident in the bathroom. Lily tried to get what happened out of me, but I refused to talk about it. Finally the two of us climbed into the car and Damian glanced at me.
   "That's it, Damian. Stop avoiding me!", I gripped the sleeve of his jacket, "Tell me why you've been avoiding me since the incident at lunch!"
   "Elena, I was trying to stop Sandra from doing anything more to you. I apologize if I upset you", he frowned and gently pulled my hand off his sleeve. He brought it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. My cheeks flared with heat and I knew I had to be a bright shade of red.
   "Sorry for overreacting", I whispered.
   "Don't worry about it", Damian answered, "But I promise I wasn't avoiding you."
   "I was worried... I mean, you did so after what happened in the bathroom and I was worried maybe it was because you saw me like that and didn't like it", I shrugged.
   "Elena, you're beautiful", Damian answered and wrapped an arm around me to pull me closer to him.
   "I'm glad you think so", I said softly, "I still can't believe you saw me almost naked."
   "I can't either", he answered, "I've never really worried about a woman being like that in front of me before because it was never of any interest to me. Yes they were beautiful women, but I didn't feel connected to them so I never felt anything like that. But with you, it's different."
   "Is that why you didn't care about going shopping with me?", I asked.
   "Even then there was a small amount of attraction. But I just ignored it much like I do other things", Damian answered.
   "Oh", I nodded, "Okay."
   "Elena, can we stop talking about this now?", Damian asked, glancing over at me.
   "Oh. Yeah", I nodded and looked away from him. I was looking out the window when I saw a dog struggling to walk along the sidewalk.
   "Stop the car", I called and Alfred hit the brakes. I climbed out of the car and carefully approached the dog. I crouched down and held my hand out to it. It limped up to me and sniffed my hand. It gave my hand a small lick and I felt my heart shatter.
   "Can we take him to the vet?", I asked when I turned and found Damian.
   "Of course. Do you think you can get him into the car?", Damian asked.
   "Possibly", I nodded and gently coaxed the dog towards the car. I got him to jump in but only after climbing in before me. Damian climbed in after him and shut the door. Alfred drove us to a vet's office and ran inside to get us a leash. The moment Damian mentioned who he was, we were taken back.
   "What seems to be the problem?", the vet asked Damian.
   "Elena found this dog on the side of the road. It can't walk on one of it's legs", Damian explained.
   "Alright. Let me take a look", she stepped up to the dog, "Which leg is the one he was having a hard time walking on?"
   "This one", I pointed to the leg. The vet checked his leg, earning a pained whimper from the dog.
   "It looks like his leg is broken. And he is very malnourished and dehydrated", the vet explained, "We can give him any shots he needs and you guys can take him home or we can keep him here until he is healed and send him to a shelter." I looked at Damian, basically begging him to let us take the dog home.
   He didn't even look at me for more than a few seconds before he looked at the vet, "We will take him home."
   "Alright. I'll go get those shots", the vet nodded and stepped out. I threw my arms around Damian, smiling widely.
   "Thank you! Wait, Bruce isn't going to be mad, is he?", I asked, pulling back from Damian.
   "Even if he is, I've made the decision and we will be keeping the dog", Damian stated.
   "Can I name him?", I asked, biting my lip.
   "That depends on what you're going to name him", Damian answered.
   "What about Batty? I mean, he is a pure black dog so it kinda makes sense there", I smiled. My real reason for the name was one I couldn't talk about in public. It was mostly because it reminded me of Batman and since Bruce was Batman, it might drive him a little insane.
   "I supposed Batty is a good enough name", Damian chuckled.
   "Yay!", I smiled and walked to the dog, who was lying down on the floor, "Hi Batty." I stroked the dog's head and it wagged it's tail slightly. The doctor walked in and gave Batty the shots he needed and braced his leg. We were then allowed to take him home. We stopped by a pet store and picked up food, two bowls, a collar, a bed, toys, treats, and a tag for Batty. We then took him back to the mansion. Bruce's eyebrows raised when he saw us leading Batty through the house but we just kept walking, pretending to not be paying attention to him.
   We put water in Batty's water bowl and he drank it up.
   After that we filled up his food bowl and refilled his water bowl. He ate and drank a little more water. Damian led both me and Batty out to an area outside where Batty could go potty. Batty sniffed around before marking his territory. We then took Batty back to the the room he was going to stay in until we had him trained and his leg was better. It had a doogy door leading outside.
   "He is such a good boy", I cooed as Batty curled up in his bed.
   "He is. We will have to give him a rag bath. We can't bathe him with the splint on", Damain answered.
   "That's true. Want me to get the wash clothes?", I asked, crouching down and petting Batty.
   "No. I can. You stay here with him", Damian replied and walked out. I continued to pet Batty, who had his tongue out and was wagging his tail.
   "You're just a good boy, aren't you", I cooed, smiling happily.
   "You're adorable, beloved", Damian's voice came from behind me and he handed me a wash cloth. I began wiping down Batty. Damian set a bucket of water down beside me. He began wiping down Batty as well. The two of us worked together to give Batty a cloth bath. Once done, the water was dirty, but Batty's fur was nice and clean.
   "You were such a good boy. How about a treat?", I smiled and grabbed a treat, feeding it to him. He licked my hand and continued to wag his tail.
   "We should let him rest now, Elena", Damian said, picking up the bowl of dirty water.
   "Yeah. Okay", I nodded, slightly disappointed.
   "You can hang out with him more tomorrow. We have homework to do and then we have to eat dinner. After dinner, you have a suit to try on", Damian grinned and my eyes widened.
   "My suit is ready?!", I asked.
   "Yeah. But you have to finish homework and dinner first", Damian smiled and walked out. I ran after him. I found my bag on the table thanks to Alfred. I grabbed it and pulled my homework out. I started on it, trying not to get frustrated. Finally I finished right as Alfred served dinner. Damian and I ate together.
   After dinner, Damian and I checked on Batty before going downstairs to the cave.
   "Either of you want to tell me why there is a dog in the house?", Bruce asked, turning in his chair as we walked in.
   "Because Elena found him and fell in love with him. I made the decision to bring him home", Damian answered. Bruce was in his Batman suit with his cowl down. Even with the cowl down, the costume made him even more intimidating.
   "Next time, let me know", Bruce said and stood, picking up a fancy looking box wrapped like a gift.
   "Is that my suit?", I asked, grinning.
   "Open it and find out", Bruce answered as I ran to grab it, "Happy early birthday, Bluebird." I opened the box and my eyes widened. It was exactly how I imagined it. On the top was a blue mask. I put it on and looked at Bruce and Damian.
   "Go in there and change", Bruce pointed to a door. I walked into the room, which looked like a changing room. I took my clothes off and slid the main leotard on. I pulled the skirt over it and then clipped the cape on. I walked out and Bruce held out a pair of red boots for me. I grinned and pulled them on.
   "So, how do I look?", I put my hands on my hips.
   "Like a hero", Damian answered, smiling at me.
   "Yay!", I grinned and clapped my hand excitedly.
   "Calm down. You still have to go on a practice patrol", Bruce said, looking at Damian, "Go get changed." Damian left and came back wearing his Robin suit.
   "I'm so excited", I whispered.
   "Robin, you're in charge of Bluebird", Bruce pulled his cowl over his head.
   "Okay", Damian nodded.
   "Alright. Let's head out", Bruce nodded and walked to a motorcycle. Damian took my hand and led me to another motorcycle.
   "This is so exciting", I told him as he climbed on. He grabbed a helmet and held it out to me. I pulled it on and climbed on behind Damian. He pulled his own helmet on and started the bike.
   "Hold on tight", Damian ordered me and I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tightly. He pulled out of the cave and sped away from it. I clung to him as he drove. It was a terrifying, yet exciting feeling.
   We finally pulled to a stop and Damian spoke, "You okay back there?"
   "Yeah! This is incredible!", I laughed and looked around us.
   "I'm glad you think so. Be careful though. You have to be aware of your surroundings at all times", Damian replied before pulling into an alley.
   "What are we doing?", I asked, frowning.
   "What do you hear?", Damian asked. I fell silent and listened.
   "Wait, I think I hear sirens", I answered.
   "Good", he pulled out of the alley and turned down a main road. Soon the sound of the siren was louder than the bike. We pulled up outside of a jewelry shop. The siren I heard was an alarm. Damian pulled into another alley and climbed off. I followed him.
   "We can't go in the front door. That would be stupid. We have to go in through the top", Damian pointed to the roof. He led me around the back and we climbed a ladder to the roof. Damian led me to an area that looked like an entrance to the attic. He opened it and slid in first. I followed, trying to be as quiet as possible. I followed Damian through the attic. He stopped and slowly lifted a roof tile. He moved it to the side and then dropped down. I dropped down after him. We came face to face with Catwoman.
   "You've got to be kidding me", Damian sighed, "Is he serious?"
   "What are you talking about?", Catwoman asked, stuffing another necklace into her bag.
   "Is he trying to test Bluebird or something?", Damian asked, crossing his arms.
   "What are you talking about?", I asked Damian.
   "Catwoman and Batman are in a relationship", Damian answered, watching Catwoman.
   "Well, of course it's a test. What other supposed villain does Batman know?", Catwoman sighed.
   "Whatever. We just have to capture her", Damian said, getting into a fighting position. I also got into my fighting position, ready to attack Catwoman.