The Love Birds - A Damirae Story

Chapter 1: The Reunion Part 1

     Damian arose from his bed, the light hitting his eyes from between the window’s blinds. He closed his eyes shut in annoyance and then got up, starting towards the bathroom. In the shower, Damian’s thoughts were only on the day ahead. He’d be lying if he said he never imagined he would be taking over Wayne Enterprises someday, but he never expected it to happen so soon. It had only been about two months since his father was killed at the hands of the Joker, but Damian still thought he had taken too much time to grieve and needed to get control of his life. As he washed the soap from his eyes, he remembered what he felt when he held his father as he took his final breath, and his eyes started to well up again before he pushed the surge of emotions back down.
     After getting dressed in one of the business suits Bruce had custom made for when Damian would go to work with him. Even though he thought nothing of it, he knew most would see his first day as the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises as a special one and would expect him to dress for the occasion. As he walked down the grand staircase leading down to the main hall, Damian saw Alfred standing at the bottom with a plate of toast and eggs.
“Good Morning, Master Damian. I have prepared breakfast for you if you would like to eat before we head to the tower,” Alfred said as the young man walked past him.
“I'm good, Pennyworth, but thank you,” Damian replied, barely acknowledging the butler as he headed for the front door.
“Very well, Sir. I'll get the car ready,” Alfred said, setting the plate down on the nearby table.
“Actually, Pennyworth, I was just going to take the bike. You can stay here,” Damian replied, going for the door handle.
“Oh…very well, Sir,” Alfred replied with a sad tone.
As Damian grabbed the doorknob, he paused and with a sigh said, “Well, I suppose it would be more professional to arrive in the car.”
Alfred stood a little straighter and replied with a more pleasant tone, “Very good, Master Damian. I'll bring the car around.”
     As the car pulled up in front of Wayne Tower, Damian could see the army of reporters lined up by the front doors. “Would you like me to drive around to the back, Sir?” Alfred asked, looking at Damian through the rearview mirror.
Damian glared out the window at the media circus and replied, “That won't be necessary,” before opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle.
Almost on cue, a swarm of reporters ambushed Damian as he exited the car.
“Mr. Wayne! Do you have any comment on your father’s death? Was it murder?” said one journalist.
“Mr. Wayne! Do you really think a young man your age is ready to take control of a company of this scale?” said another.
Damian brushed past them, ignoring all of their inane questions. One reporter, however, said something that he just couldn't ignore.
“Do you believe you'll be able to run this company better than your father, Damian?” said one blonde reporter that Damian thought looked familiar, but he was more stalled by what she said.
He turned around and looked her right in the eyes. He couldn't find the words he wanted to say, so he just glared at her with all the disdain he could muster. The woman, clearly afraid, took a couple steps back, and Damian turned back around and headed into Wayne Tower.
     As he walked through the front entrance, Damian was greeted by Lucius Fox.
“Ah! Damian! It's good to see you! I have to say, you looked like you handled yourself pretty well out there. Your father always uses his charm to swat away these flies, but silence and mean looks work just as well I suppose,” Lucius said as he shook Damian’s hand and smiled.
Damian had always found Mr. Fox to be acceptable company, but he rarely saw him besides the times Bruce took him to work and when they met while he was on patrol as Robin.
“Thank you, Mr. Fox. I appreciate the kind gestures, but I would like to head straight to the office and get to work,” Damian replied as he finished shaking Lucius’ hand.
“Ah! I understand. We’ll head up there in a minute, but I think you should meet someone,” Lucius said, gesturing to a young woman who was previously talking to another associate.
The woman walked up to Damian and held out her hand, saying, “Hello, Mr. Wayne. I'm Tiffany. Tiffany Fox. It's nice to finally meet you!”
Damian shook the woman’s hand, replying with, “Fox, is it? You must be Lucius' daughter. You've worked here for a few years under my father?”
“That's right!” Tiffany said, “It's strange we’ve never met before.”
After releasing Tiffany’s hand, Damian turns back to Lucius, almost completely ignoring Tiffany after the interaction, which Lucius seemed surprised by.
“Alright then. Let's take you up to your office, Dami- Sorry, Mr. Wayne,” Lucius said as he turned towards the elevators with Damian following behind.
      As Lucius opened the door to Damian’s new office, Lucius remarks, “Oh! I almost forgot. There's somewhere here to speak to you. I think you’ve met.”
Damian did not know who to expect until the door fully opened and he could see a woman with red hair who he recognized as Katherine Kane.
Katherine was examining a picture of Bruce before setting it down and saying, “Damian. We need to talk.”
“I suppose we do. Mr. Fox, could you give us some privacy?” Damian said before closing the door on Lucius, barely giving him time to respond.
Damian started walking towards his father’s old desk as Kate asked, “How are you doing? I know about what happened with Bruce.” Damian sat in his father’s old chair and replied, “I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. You can leave now.”
Kate scoffed in return and placed both her hands on the desk, saying, “Ok, kid. I didn't want to be direct, but here it goes. I think we both know you're not ready to run this company.”
Damian simply glared at her with no response.
“Look, I'm sure Lucius can take over this operation with little change to your income, and if the company really needs a figurehead, my father was Martha’s brother, so he could easily take the position of CEO for you,” Kate said, trying not to talk down to him.
“None of that will be necessary. You can leave now,” Damian said, turning the chair towards the window, looking out on the city. Kate let out a sigh before saying, “Figures. Not sure why I tried.”
As Kate turned to leave, Damian remarked with a sharp tone, “Why don't you tell me what you think of me rather than trying to act like you're here to help me?”
Kate let out a laugh before saying, “You know what? Fine! You know what I think of you?”
Kate turned towards the desk and slammed her hands down on it before saying, “I think you're a nineteen year old brat who just lost his father and is more worried about securing his inheritance than taking his time to grieve.”
Damian spun the chair back around and stood up, replying, “Then you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do.”
They stared at each other for a few moments before Kate let out a chuckle, saying, “You're something else, short stack.” Kate began to leave when Damian said, “You know I'm taller than you now, right?”
“Sure, kid. Sure,” Kate replied with another chuckle as she exited the office.
     A few minutes after Kate left the office, Damian was examining the company's analytics on the computer, but his eyes kept getting drawn to the large picture hanging on the wall. He knew it had always been there, but he had never taken an interest in it until now. He eventually got up and walked over to the picture, fully taking it in. The picture was of Thomas and Martha Wayne, the grandparents Damian never knew. As Damian and Bruce grew close over the years, Bruce opened up more about his parents and told Damian how brilliant his father was and how kind his mother was. Damian knew his grandparent’s deaths were a key part in his father becoming Batman and thus meeting his mother, Talia al Ghul. Even though for the longest time, Damian never thought anyone could hold a candle to his maternal grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, but as he looked into his paternal grandfather’s eyes, he could tell there was a strength in his soul. Like he would do what needed doing if things got tough. Damian was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door.
     “Mr. Wayne, I have a visitor for you,” Lucius said from the other side of the office door.
Damian went over to the computer and checked the calendar, replying, “I don't see any appointments for this time.”
“I know, Sir, but she says you'll want to see her,” Lucius said opening the door. Before Damian was able to ask who it was, he saw a familiar young woman with pale skin and dark purple hair enter the office.
Damian was a bit too stunned to speak, so Raven spoke to Lucius, saying, "I think we're ok, Mr. Fox. Thank you."
Raven closed the door to the office and turned back to Damian. Damian, still not speaking, walked around the desk and started towards her, Raven meeting him halfway.
Since Damian still seemed reluctant to speak, Raven broke the silence, finally saying, "Hi."
In turn, Damian took Raven's hands in his, replying with another, "Hi."
They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments until Raven said, "I heard about what happened with your father. I just need you to know that I'm here for you. We're all here for you. I know it was hard for you when you lost your mother, so I can only imagine what it must be like to lose your father, too. I know my father isn't technically dead, but I still understand what you're going through and I'm so sorry that this happened"
Damian only replied by bringing Raven's hands to his mouth and kissing her knuckles.
Returning her gaze to Damian's emerald eyes, Raven says, "I really missed you, you know."
Damian in turn pulled Raven close, hugging her tenderly and saying, "And I you, Beloved. And I you."
They held each other for several moments, and Damian could feel himself starting to break and the tears were about to fall from his tired eyes. They eventually broke the hug and Raven saw the tears in her love's eyes. Wiping the tears away with her finger, Raven leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, passionately kissing him. Damian kissed back, and the tears began to flow. They held the kiss for a while, until they heard another knock at the door. They broke the kiss briefly, Damian looking to the door and asking in a somewhat annoyed tone, "Who is it?"
"Sorry, Mr. Wayne, but there is a board meeting in about thirty minutes and I want to be sure you're prepared," Lucius replied from behind the door.
Damian released a slight sigh and said, "I'll be out in a minute."
Turning back to Raven, he cupped her cheek in his hand, saying, "I'm sorry we don't have more time, but I'd like to have dinner with you tonight, if you don't have any plans." Raven placed her hand on his, replying, "It's ok, and I can't sadly. I'm having dinner with the team at the tower. You know you're always welcome, but I understand if you're not ready."
Damian looked at her with a passion in his eyes that not many get to see, and he replied, "I understand, and I promise to think about it."
Raven embraced Damian once more before going for the door, turning back to say, "Bye," before leaving.
After Raven left, Damian walked towards the window of his father's office and leaned his arm against the glass, pushing his head into his arm. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get the image of his father's lifeless body in his arms out of his mind, and Damian slowly breaks down before falling to the floor, and turning his back to the window and by extension, the world.