afterthought || d. wayne (2)

FOUR

KING'S APARTMENT
MAY 31ST
6:12 A.M.

He wasn't sure what he wanted to see. Part of him wished there was nothing. It would've been good for him, kept him from spiraling, and cemented the fact that there was nothing he could do to fix his mistakes.

Damian now suspects that something so likely for others would never happen to him.

There's another Lazarus pit.

An island, some sort of competition, whatever. Damian took in all the information he could but right now he could barely think past his own suddenly overwhelming grief.

I can bring him back.

Alfred can come back.

The family could be united, there would be no more blame, and Father would at least speak to him again.

Damian could feel whole.

Logically, Damian knew introducing Alfred to the Lazarus Pit would have consequences. He knew the effects could cause an undesired change. He knew the pit with whatever dangerous competition it held needed to be destroyed. He knew it was stupid and reckless and irrational to care so much.

But he couldn't help it.

Not only did he learn of another Lazarus pit, but his father and mother were involved in keeping it a secret from him specifically. Dinah would have a field day with Damian's attempted suppression.

The thing is, Damian can't decide if he should search for this tournament or not. Only one thing prevented him from leaving Gotham the moment he found out:

His civilian girlfriend, Noelle.

The very civilian girlfriend he had been desperate to see for hours now. Over the past few hours, Damian's desperation had turned into nerves. 

Damian's mind was racing. His chest felt too heavy and ached in response. His hands were antsy for comfort or something equivalent. His eyes were always moving, always anxiously observing his surroundings. 

Damian had only felt fear a handful of times, so why was now one of them?

Noelle's awake, he notes once he gets to her floor on the fire escape. The view through her window is only partially obscured (much to his disappointment because it should be completely obscured, but it was okay because this happened to work in his favor). He knows she's awake because she has the tendency to look at her phone with full brightness.

He sits on a step of the fire escape to pull his phone out of his pocket. He couldn't just open the window, he doesn't want to scare her. The thought of that made his chest ache just a little more. So, he settles for a text.

homewrecker😻✨
having your screen that bright will ruin
your eyesight.

He smiles when the brightness of her phone screen dims just moments before the curtains are slung open. Damian's heart skips a beat.

The sunrise from behind him perfectly illuminated his girlfriend in a golden glow. Her braids are secured in a pink silk hair wrap that practically shimmered in the light. Her pajamas are simply an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts that he could barely see. She looks ethereal.