TW: BLOOD

Nine months had gone by without a word from Dick. On the news, they saw him occasionally pop up, but he wasn't consistent enough to know where he was or where he was heading. Dick's home had been a welcomed escape from Bruce's parenting and in their time apart, his siblings often found themselves heading to the empty apartment only to remember that he was no longer there to offer them comfort. Family dinners were tenser as everyone tried to ignore the empty seat at their table and they could all tell that Bruce was praying for the chance to see where his ward had gone. They supposed it reminded him of the Titans days and he was struggling with the lack of media giving him at least a few hints as to if his son was safe. Right now, Dick could be anywhere whether that be willingly or unwillingly. It was so tempting to try and track him down but they weren't going to. They understood that he needed this time away and it was working as a test. If they passed, he'd come home eventually. They'd just have to wait for that day they got a call telling them that. 

School was boring and tiresome but Damian was forced to go. The only thing he could do to make it less dull was to imagine his brother standing by the steps. He always had the window seat in his last class of the day so when he became disinterested, he began daydreaming. There were usually a few people walking past and on very rare occasions they would resemble his big brother. He'd imagine one of them was his brother who'd finally come back from travelling. When he felt particularly morbid, Dick would stumble up to the steps and lean on the wall as he hid an injury poorly. Then Damian would imagine running out to save him and they'd go home, exchanging stories from their time apart so Dick would be too occupied to pass out. He'd find some comfort in knowing that Dick would have to stay with them so he could recover and in that time they could work everything out. On the less morbid days, he'd imagine Dick in the most obnoxious outfit he could find, usually a bright Hawaiian shirt paired with some God-awful skinny jeans, and have him looking through the windows. When the older would spot him, he'd wave and be overall embarrassing. Damian would pretend to hate it and scold him for drawing attention to himself. He wouldn't hate it though. He missed the absolute trainwreck that was his brother's fashion sense. He missed how excited the guy was just to see him. Damian didn't have to do anything. He'd just be there. 

Today, as he looked out the window to escape the last boring ten minutes of class, he noticed someone standing by the steps. He knew the regulars that stood by the school, often parents or nannies picking up a kid, so he was quick to notice this wasn't a regular. Perhaps they were a new nanny or something. They were around average height and had a muscular build that wasn't too bulky, more so athletic than anything. They had a black curly mullet that was just past shoulder length and wore dark clothes aside from the bright blue shirt that was unbuttoned a bit to show their chest. Damian's eyebrows furrowed as he got a sense of deja vu upon seeing the shirt. He'd seen that blue shirt before but he couldn't remember where it had been. Currently, their face was turned away and slightly obscured by the shadow of the building so he wondered if the shirt had belonged to some designer brand he couldn't care less about. Then they turned and his eyes widened with recognition. Damian immediately got up out of his seat, snatched his backpack from underneath his desk and ran out of the room much to the dismay of his teacher. He ran through the empty halls and ignored the receptionist yelling at him as he shoved the front door open. They didn't matter. "Grayson!" he exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes as he got closer. Dick smiled at him and opened his arms as the teen jumped into them, almost knocking them both to the floor and winding the acrobat. 

"Don't you still have ten minutes of school?" the older asked. Damian didn't respond as he held onto him for dear life. He was back. He was real. The first words he'd said to him in so long had been done with a smile and a joke, a stark contrast to the last words he'd said. Those ones haunted the teen to no end and he was so glad to replace them. "Hey buddy, you're kinda crushing me here." He stepped away and punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"You left for nine whole months without a word and I had no idea where you were or if you were okay! Don't you ever do that again!"

"I had to go," Dick replied without any regret. He knew that it was something he had to do but fuck did it hurt to be stuck trying to act like everything was normal without his big brother there when he knew it was everyone's fault that he was gone. Including his own fault. The situation made his stomach churn. "Sure I'm a little worse for wear-"

"Worse for wear?" he repeated worriedly.

"I got a little banged up on my way back from Wyoming but don't worry about it. Got out in one piece didn't I?"

"Pennyworth must look over your injuries. He should be here soon." Then that hope that things were getting back to normal died a little when he saw Dick's happy smile turn into something bittersweet. He frowned at that. "You are coming back, aren't you?"

"I was just letting you know I was back in town. I'm staying here for a night. I've been driving for a while so I need the time to stretch my legs." 

"What? But I feel bad! We all feel bad. You've taught our lesson so we should do the making up part of the punishment now," he argued. A hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly but he couldn't draw that comfort away. It wasn't fair. If Dick was back then why wasn't he coming home? He'd always said that once you got through the punishment part, there was the forgiving part so why weren't they at that part if he was back? He pulled back angrily, frustrated with the perceived injustice. "This isn't fair! You left for so long. Long enough for us to question your safety and you're not even going to come home? What about Pennyworth? He has done nothing to deserve your treatment. Can't you come back for him since you're already here?" Dick sighed and the teen quickly realised that he'd done something wrong. 

"I said I was back in town not that I was coming back and I'm going to stick to that," he stated firmly. "And you can tell Alfred I'm sorry but I can't go back yet."

"Then why are you here?" Damian asked in a more accusing manner than intended. 

"Like I said, I needed to stretch my legs. I saw your school so I thought I'd stop by for a catch up."

"Fine! If you don't want to come back then I don't even want you back nor do I want to share something as trivial as small talk with you. It's actually been much quieter without you there and you know what? I think we're all that bit happier in your absence. If anything, we feel sorry for you. Enjoy sleeping in your car when you have a perfectly good room awaiting you," he snapped, frustration building without any ability to redirect it. Dick listened to him without any protests and then turned around, beginning to walk back to his car. The teen reached out and grabbed his wrist to make him stop. Damian was supposed to get a big reaction so why wasn't he giving one? "You're supposed to say something."

"Am I?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'll say I'll see you around Damian."

Around two months passed with continued no contact. Damian had spent most of the first month in his room regretting everything he'd said whilst the others, even Tim reassured him which was saying a lot, told him it wasn't his fault. That Dick said he was just going through town and checking up on him. There was never any intention to stay whatever he said but the teen remained moody and frustrated by it all. 

It was Christmas Eve and a cold snap had hit Gotham like no other. Most places were snowed in and the family were forced to remain inside for the night. Not even the most unhinged of villains would want to go out in this cold and if people were stealing things in this weather then they deserved whatever they stole for making the attempt. Alfred made them all hot chocolates to keep them warm as they sat by the raging fire. As lovely as the manor was, it was a bitch to heat up everywhere so blankets were permanently fixed to their shoulders if they wanted to move around the freezing halls and sock-clad feet were a must if they didn't want to catch hypothermia. The library hosted the family, the fireplace being the biggest and the room being the cosiest of most areas in the home. It always brought a calming atmosphere so they fought the least in the room. Flames licked at the firewood which crackled softly as it burned and brief conversations would fill the dead air whenever one of them got sick of the silence. Alfred the cat sat comfortably on its owner's lap, purring softly at being pet and his tail moving back and forth to show he was pleased with the arrangement. Titus was also close to him, envying how the tiny cat could sit on the furniture happily whilst he was banished to the floor. Damian's animals had done a lot to help him cope with not seeing his sibling for a long time. He could talk to them even if they didn't talk back and they filled his need to be comforted by closeness he couldn't ask from anyone else. Some, rightly, supposed they were unintentional emotional support animals. 

All was calm until there was a heavy thud from down the hall followed by a muffled groan and a slurred swear they couldn't quite make out. They all stood to attention although they didn't feel high alert. Whoever broke into a house, clumsily I might add, in the dead of winter and then let out a groan wasn't someone they felt very intimidated by. They were obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Still, Bruce grabbed a fire poker before heading to the hallway, peeking out to see if he could spy on the intruder first to size up their build. Perhaps just the sight of him would put them off and send him scrambling back out into the night.  His children stood behind him, trying to pick out a figure from the shadows. There was some shuffling and then the crack of someone popping the air in their back. Whoever this was, they definitely seemed comfortable enough to take their sweet time moving away from the open window that was now letting in a blisteringly cold wind and had no care for the sound they were making. Perhaps they thought the place was empty? They sniffled before shutting the window and locking it. If they were breaking in, why were they locking their escape route? 

"Who's there?" Bruce finally called out. He'd used his best intimidating voice only to hear a cackle. That cackle. Their eyes lit up at the sound as the figure finally stumbled their way into the light that spilt out from the library. 

"I'm definitely not Santa," Dick replied, flashing them a smile although it was dampened by a line of red running from his nose. That didn't deter Cass or Damian as they raced up to him and swung their arms around him in a tight hug. He gasped, the pair clearly having hit something that hadn't healed right yet, but he let them stay there and put his arms around them before messing up their hair in a classic brotherly move. "Hey, you two. Do me a massive favour?"

"What's the favour?" Damian asked.

"Can you maybe let up the tiniest bit? I just got shot and I'm pretty sure it's still stuck there." The pair immediately loosened their grip but didn't step away. Instead, they began gently herding him into the library so he could sit down. 

"Jesus, why didn't you use the front door?" Jason asked.

"Oh, I was just gonna steal some stuff from you guys and then turn up on Christmas day. Y'know like the present I am. Speaking of the present, I am quickly losing sight of it." Bruce suddenly surged forward as his former protege's knees buckled. He hooked his arm under his legs and then under his back and hoisted him up into a bridal hold. "Well, this is thoroughly mortifying."

"Don't act like you're not used to it. Everyone two inches taller than you has picked you up like that at some point," Steph teased lightly. He stuck his tongue out childishly and she returned the gesture.

"Did you drive here?" Bruce asked. He shook his head with a nervous grin.

"Remember when you threw Bane into those cars yesterday? That was my car. I had to put on a whole Virgin Mary act asking if any motels were open but they were all full. Ended up sleeping at Selina's place since it was empty BUT she didn't leave any first aid stuff like how rude is that?"

"You broke into her apartment- wait how long have you been injured?"

"You're asking far too many questions. What's a guy got to do to get a welcome home huh?" The older smiled softly at the comment and pressed a kiss against his temple that he'd later deny doing. 

"It's good to have you back chum. I missed you and uh- for all it's worth, I appreciate everything you've done for the family. I'll make sure to say it more often in the future."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Don't think that means I'll protect you from Alfred though."

"Just kill me now then."