30 Days of Demonfire

Artist

We're sitting in what's essentially the living room of Titans Tower. Lian, Zatara, Offspring, Abuse, Wyld, Menagerie, Jai, Iris, and I are sitting on the couch facing him.

Damian's leaving the team. It sucks, but he needs to because he's gonna start being Batman full time. He couldn't just jump into it for a few reasons. We don't really want people to know that Robin graduated into Batman. It's dangerous. He hasn't been Robin back at Gotham for a few weeks, and he didn't change into his uniform until we got here. Besides that, if people know there's a new Batman at right around the same time that Bruce got shot, the implications are kind of hard to ignore. My dad and Damian have been splitting the work, both of them wearing costumes identical to Bruce's. My dad's been wearing lifts in his shoes. Starting on Monday, Damian's gonna wear the new costume and finally be his own Batman.

And I'm okay with that. Mostly. I mean, if Damian won't make a competent, prepared Batman, then nobody will.

I wish he didn't have to leave the Titans, though.

"Leadership will, ultimately, be decided by the majority of the group. But I would like to suggest Red Arrow," he says, folding his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Offspring says, and Damian frowns. "I just have one question. Are the two of you—" he gestures between Damian and me— "you know… Bumping uglies?"

Luke's tactful as always. I dated him a few years back. Damian doesn't like him much, and I don't know if it's because he's an ex of mine or because he kind of has an abrasive personality. Probably both.

"That is completely irrelevant," Damian snaps, annoyed. "But yes," he adds in a much softer tone. "We are dating."

"Wha—Robin!" I hiss.

He shrugs and rolls his eyes. I mean, I can't see his eyes behind the mask, but I can tell he did. "Now if we may return to business…"

Lian ends up being voted leader. Maybe I should be making a bigger effort or show some interest in leading the team and taking up my dad's legacy, but I really don't want to.

Damian has a few things to discuss with Lian so I go back to his room, ostensibly to help him pack but really because I'm going to sleep in here. Weirdly, we always end up going to sleep earlier here than at home. We patrol in pairs, since it really doesn't make sense to have the whole team roam the city, and tonight Wyld and Jai are on duty. The rest of us are free to do as we please until an alarm goes off.

There's not much in Damian's room here. There's not much in his room at home, either. His sketchbook is laying on his dresser, though, and I pick that up and grab a pencil and stretch out on his bed. I don't really draw, but I've been thinking about this since I found Damian's Batman costume drawings in here.

I don't look through it. I learned my lesson. But I do flip to an open page at the end and I start drawing, timidly at first because I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Things don't look exactly the way I want, but I think it's coming out okay.

"What are you doing?" Damian demands defensively when he finally makes his way back here.

"I didn't look," I tell him without looking up.

He doesn't answer right away. He just leans against his door and he watches me, which annoys me so much that I have to stop what I'm doing and glare at him. "What?"

"Are you drawing?" he asks.

"Sorta," I answer. "More like doodling."

"What are you drawing?"

"Come look," I tell him, and I scoot to one side of the bed so he has plenty of room.

He sits on the bed next to me and looks over my shoulder. "A new Nighstar uniform?"

"Yeah. Don't make fun of me because it's bad. I just, you know. I've had this one for a while. I could use a few more bats, I guess."

What I've drawn is sort of like a mash-up between my current suit and a Batgirl suit. I've even given myself a domino mask, because let me tell you, after people found out that Damian Wayne's girlfriend is a model, I got a lot of job offers. If my face is going to be in more magazines or whatever, it's better to have an extra layer of protection.

It doesn't have a bat-symbol on the chest, but the gem on my chest is a small bat, as well as the buckle of my belt. The boots I'm trying to draw come up to the knees and they're spiked on the end. I kept my gauntlets because I like those, and they flare out at the elbows. I added my dad's Nightwing symbol, which kind of frames the Bat gem.

"It's not bad," he says, even though I know that it is. "You're not considering cape," he remarks.

"Of course not," I scoff. "Capes are for losers."

He doesn't acknowledge that except for a quick glance at me out of the corner of his eye. "They offer extra protection."

"Yeah, well, so does this." I charge a starbolt in my palm and splay my fingers.

"I was merely suggesting," he sulks.

I let the energy disperse and I wrap my arms around his neck. "I know. But I'm not wearing a cape. Maybe a cute one-shoulder cape like Power Woman."

"I would really prefer it if you did not model your uniform after hers," he says quickly.

"Not a fan of the boob window, huh?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at him.

"I'd rather not have this discussion," he mumbles. I don't know if he does this to distract me or what, but he asks, "Would you like to see what else is in my sketchbook?"

Yes. Damian never ever lets me look. But I shrug and say, "If you want."

He closes it and hands it to me, and he's watching me really closely. I don't really know what to say as I look through it. It's a lot of scenery, lots of deserts and oases and things, some drawings of Titus and I think a few of Alfred.

"It's good," I say lamely after flipping through a few pages, because it really is and I don't know what else to say.

"Keep going," he says stiffly, and I lower an eyebrow at him but I do.

X'hal. As I leaf through more pages, the scenery and animals give way to the recurring image of a girl and I think it's me. I sneak a glance up at him and now I know why he's nervous about it.

It starts out as generic images, really well drawn but they're just me. Then he adds things like fire in my hair and there's one of me with angel wings and one where he's colored in my eyes really bright green and there are so many, and soon there's no more of any scenery and it's just me.

"Damian…" I breathe. "I don't…"

"I tried," he mumbles, and he isn't looking at me and he's pushing his fingers through his hair. "But I could not get it perfectly right."

I scoot closer to him and I follow his fingers in his hair with mine and I don't even say anything, I just bend down to kiss him. He pulls me onto his lap and touches his forehead against mine and he says, "I love you. So much."

Just saying that we love each other was a huge deal, but somehow it really hits me how much he means it and I can't talk because the butterflies in my stomach are racing through my blood and I can't think.

"I love you, too," I say, and he touches part of my hair that's not on fire and gets up to lock the door.