Mask off

Broken homes

It was warm outside. The weather was finally clear up and becoming warmer. There were some kids playing on the street. Damian sighed, looking back inside. They have everything, a plan, suits, each other. Yet, he couldn't stop the small ache in his bones. He felt like something was going to go wrong. He shuttered, hoping nothing bad would happen. He didn't know what to do. Would someone die? Would they fail to bring down the league of assassins? Would the Justice League catch them?

Damian tried to bring his mind back to reality, but his thoughts consumed him. They were ready, Layla and Lucy were trained, everyone was ready! So what was he scared about? He sighed, leaning back on the couch a little. Mara came rushing down the stairs, looking at her phone. She looked up, noticing Damian sitting on the couch. He was staring out of the window, his face completely blank. Mara sat down on the other side of the couch, staring at the boy for a second. Damian knew she was there but didn't care enough to mention it.

"Hafid," Mara said, nudging his leg a little. Damian sent Mara a disgusted look, moving his leg out of her reach. "What do you want," Damian said. Mara snorted, "Jeez, just wanted to see if you were alive." Damian rolled his eyes, grabbing his phone. Mara looked at the boy for a few seconds longer, "Are you, nervous?" Damian looked up at the girl, "TT, of course not." Mara rolled her eyes, "You look terrified, Is it about the league?" Damian didn't say anything, just continued to scroll through his phone.

Mara rolled her eyes again, "Damian, you were Robin for 5 years. We are all trained assassins. If anything goes wrong, we can handle it." Damian looked up at Mara and simply nodded his head. "Thank you Mara," Damian said, far too quietly. It was Mara's turn to nod. Damian stood up, shaking his legs a little before walking to the kitchen. Mara was quick to follow. "So, are you ready to take down the league of assassins," Mara asked, sitting down on the kitchen table. Damian shrugged, "I'm ready, just a little bit nervous." 

Mara snorted, "I would have never expected the great Damian Wayne to be scared." Damian rolled his eyes, "I'm not a Wayne anymore." Mara shrugged, "you know you can call quits right now?" Damian put down his drink, look over to Mara. "What do you mean?" Mara stood up, walking to the fridge, "I mean, you can forget any of this. Just grab your stuff and go back to the bats." Damian rolled his eyes, "Mara, I don't want to go back."

Mara looked over her shoulder at the boy, "You sure?" Damian clicked his tongue, "Mara, I'm happy here. Besides, what will happen to you or Lucy if I leave. You guys won't have a home." Mara turned to look at the boy, "Damian, stop worrying about the rest of us. You're happy now, which is great, but what about your future?" The boy looked confused, waiting for Mara to continue explaining. 

Mara hopped back onto the table, "I mean, nobody here is rich. We don't have money to spare, let alone money for college. How are any of us going to have a good future if we can't graduate college." Damian processed that for a moment. He didn't know how to respond to that. "We can save money. Most of us are smart, so we could get scholarships, or we could take our student loans." Mara rolled her eyes, "You would rather live here than go back to Gotham?" Damian nodded his head, maybe too enthusiastically, "I'm happy here, I was never happy there." Mara sighed, "Fine, stay here." 

Damian gave Mara a small smile. There was a comfortable silence between them before Damian broke it. "You know, now that you're not at the league, you could contact your mom" Damian offered, taking a sip from his drink. Mara snorted, "Fuck no." Damian looked at the girl, "Why, nothing is stopping you?" Mara smiled a little, "After hearing the shit you went through with your  parents, I think I'll stick to not knowing her." Damian rolled her eyes, "Unless your mom dresses up as a bat and fights crime every night, I think you will be good." Mara shrugged, "Maybe, but I don't want to take the chance, not now at least." Damian nodded, "Whatever, doesn't really matter anyway."

It was Mara's turn to ask questions now, "What about the friends you made in Gotham, will you tell them you're alive?"  Damian shrugged, "Maybe Colin and Maya if I'm ever in Gotham, but probably not." Mara stood up, going to throw out her apple core, "Why wouldn't you tell them?" Damian just hummed, "I don't want any of the bats to find out I'm alive." Mara nodded, she understood why he didn't want them to know he's alive.

"So, is living here like a long-term thing? or are we just getting revenge?" Damian looked at Mara, confusion clear on his face. "I mean, are we never going to tell them you're alive or are we just waiting for them to actually get there shit together and care about you?" Damian thought for a minute, "Long-term, I can't forgive them for what they did to me." Mara nodded, looking at Damian. Mara sighed, "Damian, as your cousin I have to tell you, You weren't always in the right when it came to your family either." 

Damian nodded, "I know, that's why I left. Maybe we just weren't meant to be a family." Mara nodded, "Whatever you decide to do, we will all support you." Mara hopped off the table as Damian gave her a quick 'thanks'. Mara looked over to Damian, "And if you ever need us to beat up a few bats, we can do that too." Mara left the kitchen after this and Damian let out a chuckle.