Chapter Text
Damian ran down the stairs of the Wayne Manor, not that his footsteps made a sound. It was not even five in the morning as of yet, but he was excited. It wasn’t every day that karwa chauth came around. He had a crisp white shirt and pressed linen pants on, brand new, like umma had always dressed him in.
This day was not for him , he knew that, but it was still nice to feel attached to her today. He stopped short of the dining room as he smelt the breakfast Alfred usually prepared for his father. Bacon, eggs and bread, was what it usually consisted of, but that couldn’t be right. Forget meat, father wouldn’t eat today.
Right?
Damian resisted the urge to chew his lip, a habit unbecoming of someone of his stature and heritage. He carefully took a few steps forward after he glanced at his watch, it wasn’t dawn yet. Taking in a steadying breath, Damian took his seat next to his father and stared at his plate, not strong enough to look up yet. He carefully took two slices of toast and thanked Alfred as he filled his cup with the morning blend of tea he’d come to appreciate— even if it wasn’t the chai he’d never stop missing.
“I’m surprised to see you up this early after last night, Damian.” Damian made a noncommittal noise before he finally looked up at his father, his eyes skimming the plate that sat in front of Bruce. His lips turned down into a scowl even as tried to fight the anger that bubbled below his skin.
He could almost hear his umma telling him to let it go, that his father was not the same as them— but that shouldn’t matter. “I am surprised to see you eating today.”
Damian saw he finally had his father’s attention with that, while somewhere down the table, Alfred also stilled. The boy pushed away from the table, his chair noisily screeching on the floor as he stood while still spitting venom. “Or maybe today does not matter to you?”
“What? Dami-“ Bruce’s words and befuddled gaze were lost on the boy as he stormed out of the room. Bruce exchanged a glance with Alfred, who shook his head in clear answer. Neither of them had any idea what the outburst was about.
“Master Bruce, perhaps you should check with-“
“Dick!”
“Quite.” Alfred’s tone was dry as he moved to clear Damian’s place at the table, only to sigh. He hadn’t touched anything on his plate. “I think sooner rather than later would be best.”
Bruce ran a hand over his face and sighed, fishing his phone out of his pocket.
⋙
Twenty minutes later, after a bit of phone tag, Bruce found himself sitting in front of the batcomputer with Dick on speaker phone.
“Is it anyone’s death anniversary?” Dick asked again, his connection choppy as he crunched on— god help Bruce — what sounded like his latest sugary cereal obsession.
“Already checked that, checked for revival dates, everything related to Jason, birthdays…” Bruce was almost tempted to check Damian’s birthday again. What was he missing ?
“What about a break up date?” Bruce froze, the mental image of Talia storming out his life flashing before his eyes. “Bruce?”
Bruce cleared his throat, thinking back to their divorce date as well. “It’s- not that. Not an- any anniversary of ours either.”
Dick was quiet for a moment, his chewing having stopped, though Bruce knew there was no way he was done. He’d just started eating, after all. “Do you want me to come over tonight if you don’t figure it out?”
Bruce wanted very much for him to come over now. “If it’s not too much.”
“For Damian? It’s never too much.” Wasn’t that the truth.
⋙
Damian had left Bruce while he was talking with Commissioner Gordon. He purposely told Oracle to ‘tell Batman that he was not going anywhere dangerous’. “I just want to be alone for a bit.”
It was close to midnight now and Damian was well aware he had been sulking all day. He had even refused to talk to Richard when he had come to visit . He chose to ignore the carefully questioning remarks, as he knew Bruce had put Richard up to trying to figure out why Damian was upset.
He had just continued to do his homework and then sketch, sometimes petting Titus when his hand cramped.
Thankfully, Damian had been busy scheming before Richard had arrived. It was with skill that he had replaced his gloves with Timothy’s earlier in the day. He did it purposely, so that they would not fit. To someone that did not know what his end goal was?
It just seemed to be a product of him being simply petulant and childish, not paying attention out of anger.
This also fit in with the next step of his plan. He then waited until three hours into patrol to make Bruce open a water bottle and rip open a candy bar for him.
— more so, he had shoved them in his father’s face and snatched them back when he was done .
No pleases or thanks were going to be coming from him tonight.
However, it had worked. He had everything he needed— or had wanted— as he swung away from the police headquarters. Damian yanked his tracker out from his outfit, carefully turning it off. He told Oracle he was the one doing it as he did, promising he would only need an hour and listening as she sighed in his ear, before she finally relented.
As expected, she agreed to keep Bruce none the wiser— as long as he put the tracker back on after. He turned off his comms, not promising anything. He had more important things to do with his hour.
Umma would be close.
He swung around aimlessly at first, sometimes scrambling from one roof to the next. Damian did this in a vaguely circularly pattern. This continued, until he caught her scent, a perfume she always indulged in spraying on this day.
The boy skid to a stop, still as one of Gotham’s many gargoyles as he waited for another breeze to waft by. It wasn’t long until it did and brought with it a rare smile from Damian. Suddenly, Robin looked and felt his age. He turned to the left and scrambled to the next building over, too trained to shout or make true noise.
— but not yet trained enough to stop himself from launching straight into Talia’s waiting arms. “My little prince, you’ve grown.”
He trembled, holding back a sob as her fingers carded through his slicked back hair, loosening the strains with practiced ease. There was no resistance in him as she lifted him up like a mere babe. He quietly buried his face in her shoulder blade and hid his tears in one of the few places in the world that he felt safe. He wrapped his legs around her waist in a familiar and possessive hold. “Umma, I knew you’d be here.”
He felt, more than heard, her hum as Talia swayed them back and forth. The sequins of the sleeves of whatever she was wearing rubbing against his suit softly “You are always so bright, my Damian.”
He looked up after another moment, carefully standing back on his feet as he looked at her. Talia was wearing a close-fitting forest green dress that stopped at her knees. She had her hair, which had grown long past her shoulders, loosely curled over one shoulder and there was even red lipstick on her lips. Not to mention the jewelry on her person that she only wore one a few occasions.
— these were gifts from your father, this bracelet was his mother’s. These earrings he bought one Valentine’s Day for me. This ring was a symbol of our love.
She had told him their stories, a lifetime ago. He swallowed roughly and fumbled with the pack on his belt. “Umma, I know the moon is about to rise. I- I couldn’t explain to baba, but you can break your fast with… he opened these.”
He explained weakly, almost shyly as he offered her the half melted Hershey bar and miniature water bottle. The cold air would soon solidify the chocolate bar again, he knew, that was one thing the cool November months were for. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, even as she carefully ran her hand from the top of his head down to his chin.
“Mera chaand ka tukda.” Damian felt his ears redden at the familiar nickname and grumbled slightly, even as she tilted his head up so she could meet his eyes. “You did amazing, I expected none of this. You know your father is not like me… like us.”
Damian scowled and pulled away, but only slightly, not wanting to miss a moment of his mother. “I grow tired of that excuse, you said he did love you! Why did he not learn all about you? Why does he not try to- to make up?”
Talia sighed and smiled sadly at Damian. “If only you knew how much you were like him, headstrong to a fault at times. Maybe one day what you want will happen, my child, but I will not force him to be someone else. I love him for him and now for you.”
Damian stopped scowling, blinking rapidly before he launched himself at Talia once more. “I just hate this, why do you do all of this, if he does not know or care?”
Talia smiled sadly, holding her son close. “I do not do it for my beloved alone, I do it for myself and for you.”
Damian did not understand . However as the moon came out, he found himself distracted.
He kept watch for his mother as she slowly poured out the water bottle she had brought and prayed for his father’s long life. He made sure no one saw when she looked at him with the binoculars she had brought, knowing that the city was filled with vigilantes that did not understand them or their ways. Talia could only smile as Damian fussed over her.
She allowed him to hold up the water bottle for her to drink from to break the fast. After, he made sure she ate the melting chocolate bar, the candy leaving both their hands sticky.
Time passed and Talia pressed her lips to her son’s forehead, holding his face in her hands for a long moment. He stayed still as if she had commanded it, inhaling shakily even as the moon once again became hidden by Gotham’s cloudy sky and protected their meeting.
“Damian, do not fret. Be with your father and do not stop yourself from loving him. This is my choice, I will not force it on him. Remember that he has never forced any of his choices on me.” Damian wrapped his arms around her waist once more and clung to his mother for the rest of the hour, leaving his sketchbook with her when he did leave.
“I love you, my little prince.” Her voice would echo in his ears and support him, even as he withdrew from his father for the next few weeks. “Umma loves you.”
⋙
On another rooftop, Nightwing rubbed his face with gloved hands. He was halfway glad he had installed a secondary tracker that Damian did not know about in his suit and halfway wanted to throw himself off the edge of this rooftop.
He quickly pulled out his phone and searched holidays that fall today, then typed in Karwa Chauth. He let out a groan as he read through everything on the pages he pulled up.
“Oracle I need a secure line with Batman and Agent A. No one else, no offense.” He laid flat on his back and Barbara whistled lowly. It took a few minutes but she eventually let him know that the line was secure with a sassy ‘O out!’ and a loud beep in his ear. “Hey so I figured out what today is and we kind of fucked up— or well, B did.”
It was going to be a long night.
⋙
After patrol, long after, Bruce sat in his study. A jewelry box with a ring sat on his desk, one he had not looked at in years. He sighed as he carefully retrieved and examined it. There was a long scratch on the engraved date, one that had been left with a sword he had felt against his skin far too often in his lifetime. “Talia, what am I supposed to think.”
He put the ring back in its container and stowed it away in his desk, before standing up. There was a small photo album he had not touched that sat in the same drawer he kept the ring in. Bruce had a son to check in on, one that had given him much to think on.
Their son, he was sure, Talia would agree was far more important than his emotions.