Fight or Flight? : A Damian Wayne Book

>Chapter 16<

Thank you so much for the reads! Please enjoy!

The sounds of clashing metal against metal was the only thing heard, as Damian faced off with two other assassins. He blocked their moves, and used his own katana to permanently wield the others weaponless, as their katanas flew up into the air, and fell to the ground. Damian pointed his katana towards their hearts, and held. Talia called out, "Time!", and the young assassin slowly lowered his weapon. The only thing he hated about combative training, was that it was fight to practice, not to the death. The fury and wrath he was feeling right then, a mixture of adrenaline and anger about the situation, left him breathing heavily. His green eyes flashed and his nostrils flared with extreme excitement and adrenaline. Damian walked away from the assassins, and went to stand beside Talia, as the next round began with the two other assassins. He watched them pleased, but with a frown. It was wrong to show emotion no matter what, and he knew that plainly well.

He watched, then noticed how cold the air was. It was cold enough that he could see his breaths in the air, like small clouds. Seeing those clouds of air, reminded the young teen again, about Dick, and his love for the childish things in life, despite being a full adult. No, Damian could not let his mind wander back to his brothers and his past. Everyone else in that house was his past. He was focused on the future, and leading the League of Assassins. That was where he belonged. Shaking his head, Damian mentally forced the memory of Dick from it. He didn't need to be dragged down, even if it was a memory he enjoyed. Keeping his mind focused on the present, Damian watched the other assassins fight, and knew it was his bloodline that brought him back to the League in the first place. 

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Dick stared at the calendar, and crossed off yet another day from it. It was six days until Christmas, and still no word from Damian. The Bird began to lose hope that his favorite brother would ever come back. Sighing, he put down the marker, and sat on his bed. Titus came over and laid at Dick's feet, his brown eyes sad for the loss of his beloved master. Dick said, "I know you're sad about Dami leaving you behind, Titus, but we have to move on. Damian is not coming back, and I have to accept that, even though it is incredibly hard. I just wish Dami had told me if something was wrong, and if it was the reason he left." Titus looked up at Dick, and whimpered, then shoved his large, black head under the Bird's hand, and leaned in, begging for a scratching or affection. Dick obliged, and rubbed the dog's head, as Titus groaned happily. Realizing he was thirsty, Dick stood up, and patted Titus, saying, "I'll be right back, boy, then we can hit the hay." Titus watched sadly, as the raven haired Bird left the room. 

The Bird stepped down the stairs in a pair of black gym pants and a blue t-shirt, and came into the kitchen. Hearing the sound of the fire crackling in the living room, Dick peered in, and saw Bruce reading the paper again. His brows were furrowed, but his eyes appeared sad. Alfred walked in, and said, "Master Bruce, it is late. Should you not go to bed?" Bruce responded standing up abruptly, "No, Alfred. Not when my son is out there, reverting back to his ways. I'm going out, and I am going to find Damian, even if it kills me. That's what this family needs for a Christmas present. Not weapons. Not food. Not coffee. If Damian is not back, Dick will be devastated over Christmas, and you remember how bad things are when he isn't the happy Bird he always is. It's my fault Damian is gone, so it's my problem to find him." "Master Bruce, I must insist that you go to bed. You have that meeting in the morning for the new contract with that other company. One cannot negotiate on such little sleep as the Batman receives.", Alfred pushed. Bruce thought for a moment, then said, "I am leaving. Make sure Tim and Stephanie are in bed before I get back." He walked out of the room, and headed for the secret entrance to the Batcave, while Dick watched. He turned around and went to the cabinet, grabbed a glass cup, and filled it with water, and drank slowly. When he was finished, he set the cup in the dishwasher, and headed back up the stairs, Titus greeting him when he opened the door to the room he was in.

Dick climbed into the large king sized bed, and pulled the covers over his body. He then leaned up, his whole body weight supported by his left arm, as he brought out his phone, and went through his contacts, one name popping out at him. Dick had chosen to give the younger Bird a phone for his birthday, considering how much he knew that Damian would go off on his own and return hours later. He hoped, that by giving the Bird a phone, he would become more civilized and trust him more. The elder Bird tapped on the younger's name, and pulled it up to his ear, knowing that since it was night in Gotham, on the other end of the world wherever Damian was, it was day. The phone rang and rang, but there was no response. Sighing, Dick stopped the call, and placed his phone by his bedside, waiting for it to charge, and possibly waiting for the younger one to call back, but when it came to the call, none came. The raven haired acrobat went to sleep, thinking about how much he missed Damian, and wondered if he had gotten back.

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Bruce pulled on the Batman cowl over his head, and walked over to the Batmobile, his mind fixed on nothing more than getting his son home. Without Damian, no one was insulted as roughly as he did it. No one was corrected for their grammatical errors. No one had the young assassin around to make sure that the proper people were given their due justice. But mostly, without Damian, no one had a Robin. Bruce climbed in, then used the control panel to turn the car around so that it faced the exit. Alfred strolled mindlessly in, and mewed, catching Bruce's attention. The big Bat leaned over the side of the car, and asked the cat, "Alfred! What the heck are you doing down here? You shouldn't even be down here." The cat mewed again, his green eyes watching Bruce's every move. Finally, Bruce said, unable to stand the fact that the cat's eyes were the same green color as his son's, "Fine. You can come. But don't think that just because you get to come with me, that I'm letting you out of this car. Damian would kill me, if I got you killed. And don't you dare scratch my leather seats with your claws." The cat mewed a third time, as the Bat opened the door, picked up the cat, and set him on the seat beside him, before closing the door. Alfred turned three times around, then laid down, and stared at Bruce, his eyes looking innocent and adorable. Bruce rolled his eyes under the cowl, then put the car in motion, and lifted the hidden exit, before driving away, heading through Gotham, looking for trouble, and looking for clues as to where Damian was.

Agh... I swear this took me like three days to write for some reason, when it usually only takes me a night! Anyway, here it is, Chapter 16. Please tell me what you think!  (I really felt like there needed to be a cat/Bruce intervention moment in here, so that's why it's in here...)