Ember noticed that they were all behaving cautiously with her at breakfast. It was almost as if they knew something was wrong with her and were being considerate for her sake.

They couldn't possibly know that she had been fired, she thought as she hadn't told any of them except what she assumed was the ghost of Jason Todd. But it was obvious that something had alerted them and made them go the extra mile to ensure she was doing okay.

Damian had finished his breakfast but he didn't leave the kitchen shortly after, unlike usual. His observant emerald eyes were flickering toward her now and then as if to ascertain the reason behind her slightly depressed mood. Still, none of them asked her anything about it, which made her feel even more awkward.

Richard wasn't there and she knew that was quite expected as he had told her a day prior that he and Barbara lived near Central Gotham and dropped by for family gatherings or to check up on the rest of the lot. But the silence at the table was starting to make her concerned about whether she had ended up doing something that made them so conscious of their behavior around her.

"So what are your plans for today?" Steph asked, breaking the awkward silence. She could see that Ember was feeling uncomfortable in the doleful atmosphere already.

"I don't have to go to work today," she replied, withholding the fact that she had gotten fired from her job.

"That's great." Tim reacted how he would have normally but then caught Damian's disinterested glare again. "Um, like you can stay at home and rest or do anything you like of course..." 

Tim had tried to justify himself but then fumbled with the words as he knew the reason behind her decision to not go to work. And that reason was certainly not something great, considering that she was a passionate journalist who had been struggling to find a job after getting fired from the Gazette.

Two company dismissals certainly didn't look great on anyone's resume, he knew that very well. But in his defense, Ember hadn't told them that she got fired so acting like they knew already was going to put them at risk of exposing Jason. So in a sense, he had been right to try to act normal.

Cass too shook her head understanding his plight as she squeezed Tim's shoulder gently then went to the kitchen to see if there was any coffee left for her. 

Surprisingly, Jason was there and she raised an eyebrow seeing him. He only put one finger to his lips as he resumed finishing the entire dish of pancakes that he had smuggled earlier.

"Why you still here?" Cass whispered, checking back to make sure that Ember couldn't see that he was there.

"I was going to leave but I thought it would be fun to stay and cause chaos. After all, I have yet to see how good you guys are at pretending I don't exist," he replied but kept his voice low nevertheless. His eyes were dancing in amusement.

"Damian kill you," she remarked, shooting him a warning glare before going back outside.

"I'd like to see him try."

To avoid that from happening, Cass sent Dami a text, telling him that Jason was still in the kitchen and probably wanted to cause more chaos. Damian looked down at his phone and then back at Cass who said nothing as the message had been conveyed.

"Miss Sullivan, after breakfast would you like to accompany me and Titus on a walk?" Much to everybody's disbelief, Damian asked and Ember looked slightly surprised at the offer as well.

"Oh..." She thought about it for a minute but then agreed, "A walk sounds nice. Thank you."

"I will be waiting in the gardens. Take your time."

Damian knew if he stayed in the kitchen any longer, the rest of his dysfunctional family members would start silently teasing him through their annoying eye gestures language that Tim and Richard had come up with. 

Besides, with Jason already in the kitchen waiting for the perfect opportunity to cause chaos, he felt it would be better to go outside and avoid the mess.

The morning sun had unexpectedly broken through the thick Gotham clouds and cast a warm glow over the lush greenery as Damian stepped out, his ever-faithful friend Titus following close behind. In a while, the contrast to the green shades around him could be seen too as Ember joined him, with her red hair dancing in the soft breeze.

"Hello, Titus," she smiled, bending down to pat the majestic Great Dane's head, "how are you, buddy?" 

Titus was quite familiar with her by then as it barked contently, moving around in circles as if to greet her. She noticed that the dog wasn't on a leash as Damian wanted Titus to run free, knowing it would always come back home to him.

It was an endearing bond, she thought, for the otherwise stoic facade of Damian Wayne seemed to melt in the company of his pets.

The same emotionless facade melted slightly each time she was around too but she hadn't noticed that yet.

Damian nodded once and Titus bounded to the metal gates that separated the Wayne Manor from the rest of the suburban area. It was clear that instead of staying inside and walking through the Manor's gardens, Damian and Titus went outside for their morning walk.

"If you prefer staying in and walking through the gardens, that's fine with us too," Damian spoke up, realizing that Ember was not familiar with their routine.

She shook her head, her mood starting to liven up due to the calm atmosphere, "the gardens are beautiful but I would like to see the surrounding area as well."

At her affirmative response, Damian and Ember followed Titus to the gate. Reaching there, Damian swiped his card and the metal gates automatically parted after receiving authorized access, one of the security measures employed by Bruce to prevent trespassing. 

Titus happily dashed out through the gates with Ember and Damian following behind. 

The morning breeze accompanied by the rare sunlight felt very welcome as the two walked together. She knew Damian didn't talk much usually but the silence with him was not awkward unlike earlier at breakfast with the rest of the Waynes.

So she said nothing yet as she basked in the comfortable silence, looking around at the stark contrast between the desolate suburban lands and the well-kept Wayne property.

But there wasn't much to see around so her attention flickered to her companion instead who was taking confident strides, his arms crossed behind his back. She noticed that there was a reddish tinge to his ears but she couldn't tell if it was due to the sun or something else entirely.

"If you want to say something, go ahead," he spoke up, shaking her out of her thoughts and making her realize that she must have been observing him for too long.

"You're very different from how the press describes you. I don't know why they paint you in such a negative light," she spoke up at last, seeing that red on his ears creep slightly over to his cheeks as well.

"You would know better than I do that the press cares only for gossip," he replied, "I might have caused them some trouble when I was young, they won't let it slide even now."

Trouble would be an understatement to describe how mean he was to the reporters when he was young and much more volatile, Damian thought. He used to give them hell such that they had stopped conducting his interviews altogether.

"Frankly, I won't blame you for doing whatever you did to piss them off," she sighed softly, looking ahead at Titus who was leisurely roaming around, "Sometimes I get frustrated by the things we are required to write." But then she paused, correcting the sentence, "or rather things I was required to write."

Damian noticed that subtle change but didn't point it out, "it must have been hard. Starting as an investigative journalist and then having to switch to the useless gossip section."

"It was," she agreed, "I once told my editor that I would rather write a conspiracy theory on the mafia than cover someone's wedding."

His lips twitched but no smile formed just yet, "you were there at Richard's wedding."

"Yes, I had to cover it with a senior writer and her team," she briefly explained, "if Jon hadn't shown up in time, I would have screwed big on identifying all the guests."

"You remember Jonathan?"

She nodded, a nostalgic smile gracing her lips, "yes, he was so kind to help me out. You have a great friend, you should think yourself lucky to have him."

He paused as if to say something to contradict her but then let it slide, "I guess. Richard knows a lot of people. We held another event to accommodate the rest of his friends."

She looked at him in astonishment, "Oh... It seemed like he knew everyone in Gotham already."

"Add Metropolis, Bludhaven, Jump City, and Star City to the list too," he remarked, easing up in her company by then.

"Wow... That's a lot of people and cities likewise."

"Indeed."

It wasn't hard to talk to her, he thought. And perhaps their conversation and the walk was working in cheering her up. If that was the case then he could mentally note that his mission to cheer her up had been accomplished.

***