Hanging with Sorrow

Chapter 2

She had found him on the floor, laying in a pool of his own blood. She didn't even know why she was crying so much; he was only a friend. Possibly the best friend that she had ever had, but still.

She quickly got up and unlocked the door letting Dick in. He stared in shock at the mess, his face going pale, his hands starting to shake. Dick loved all of his brothers a lot, but he favored Damian. He was just so cute. How could anyone hate Damian?

Raven, noticing how Dick was shutting down, decided that she had to be the calm one. The whole team was guilty of looking to Dick for guidance in situations like these, and right now he didn't look capable of being calm.

"Dick." She said this in a firm, calm voice, which made Dick snap his eyes away from Damian's still body.

"Dick, go tell the team and set up the med bay. I'm going to make sure he's stable and move him down there. I'll give you five minutes." Dick just nodded, and took a second to look at Damian once more, wiping the tears from his eyes. He then turned, and ran out of the room.

And then they were alone.

Just Damian and Raven.

Raven gazed at his face, and noticed that he had dried tear streaks running down his face. She noticed the picture frame, shattered on the floor a few feet away from him. She noticed the big glass shard with his blood staining it, clutched loosely in his hand. And her heart? It was already shattered. But now it felt like each shard of her heart was repeatedly stabbing her insides, and a stray tear leaked down her face. She felt a pang in her broken heart as she gently brushed her hand on his cheek. And that's when she realized it.

She had feelings for Damian Wayne.

...

     Dick was in the med bay pacing. Kori watched him with tears streaming down her face. No matter how rude Damian was to her, she still loved him. She loved all of her teammates. And her heart was breaking inside for Dick, who's eyes were brimmed with tears. Dick had only cried once in front of Kori since they had met, and it was because it was the anniversary of his parents' death. Garfield and Jaime sat side by side, hanging their heads in worry. Even though Damian could be an absolute jackass to them, he was their teammate, and nothing would be the same without him.

Suddenly, their worrying was interrupted when Raven phased into the room, carrying Damian bridal style. His head was lolled back, and Raven layed him down on the awaiting bed. The other teammates gaped at his arm. Dick stopped pacing and dragged a chair by Damian's bed. He put his good hand in his. Then he let out a sob. Kori went over and hugged him.

Dick had been so busy worrying over his brother's well being, that he had forgotten to think about the cause of the injury. It was evident that his younger brother had cut himself. A lot. And it was all his fault.

"It's all my fault," Dick whispered quietly, but loud enough for everyone present in the room to hear. Raven put a hand on his shoulder. The gesture was comforting, but not as much as the words that came out of Raven's mouth next.

"Richard Grayson, listen to me now. This is not your fault. Sure, your words might have been the tipping point, but someone as tough as Damian doesn't just almost kill himself because of an argument. Any one of us could have been the tipping point; he has clearly not been himself for a long time if he resorted to self harm. So stop using your ass for a hat, and get your shit together. We all know that when Damian wakes up, he's not gonna want to wake up to crying faces. So stop blaming yourself." The room was quiet for a moment, and then there was a soft chuckle that came from the bed. Everybody looked in surprised. The first one to make a move was Raven who just leaned in and gave him a hug.

"Azar, Damian. I swear, if you ever do that again..." Damian put his good arm around her and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Garfield walked over and mimed a slap.

"Dude, what the hell were you thinking? I don't know if you know this, but even though you're a complete moron, and everybody here hates you, we do kinda need you."

At that, Damian chuckled again. "You wouldn't last a week without me." Garfield smiled, and fist bumped him.

"I'll give you some space bro." Garfield left the room, and then Jaime came up to his bedside, fuming, starting to rant at him in rapid Spanish.

"Hermano, ¿cómo pudiste? ¡Estábamos muy preocupados! ¡Pensamos que sabías que eres importante para nosotros, pero no debes hacerlo desde que te fuiste! ¡Casi mueres! ¿Y luego que? ¡No vuelvas a hacer eso nunca más, o juro por Dios que te salvaré, te abofetearé y luego te mato!" Damian knew a lot of languages, but did not yet know Spanish. So he just sat and listened with a confused expression on his face. Jaime sighed, and grabbed his shoulder.

     "Listen amigo. We may not be blood related, but this here is my family. You are my family, too. Whether you like it or not. And this," He pointed to Damian's cut up arm. "This doesn't just hurt you. It hurts us too." Damian put his head down in shame. He didn't even think about the pain it would cause his friends. He was just being selfish. He didn't deserve to live.

     "I apologize Jaime." Damian looked up into Jaime's eyes, his own emerald ones wide with shame. "I didn't realize that you guys cared about me too." Jaime opened his mouth to comment on how Damian just admitted to caring about him, but shut it, shaking his head. He ruffled Damian's hair and followed after Garfield.

     And then there were only three people in the room. Dick, Kori, and Raven. Kori walked up and sat on the edge of his bed, and looked into his eyes. Damian thought that he saw disappointment, but what he perceived as disappointment was actually concern.

     "Dami... you realize that you can talk to any of us, yes? Talking about your feelings doesn't make one weak, Damian. On Tamaran, where I grew up, my k'norfka, Galfore, took care of me when my parents died. He is an amazing warrior, possibly the best there is on Tamaran. He has always encouraged me to talk to him about my emotions, and feelings, like I am doing to you now. You don't believe me to be weak, correct?

     Damian shook his head. "You would not be fit to be leader if you were weak,"  Damian said this with a slight amount of admiration in his voice. "In fact, I rather admire you for your strength, and think that Jaime and Garfield would rather benefit from a bit of your strength." Kori laughed. She got up.

     "In the future, please, do not hesitate to speak to any of us. We all care about you." She left the room, leaving just Raven and Dick waiting. Dick walked up and looked at Damian.

     "Grayson... have you been crying?' Uncharacteristically, Dick scowled.

     "Dammit, yes Dami I was fucking crying. Why did you do this? I don't know what I would do if- if-" Even though Dick stopped there, the three in the room felt the words there. If he hadn't made it. If he had died from the amount of blood loss.

     "Dick... You're my favorite brother." Dick's scowl turned into a face of confusion, and then they laughed.

     "I know, you're mine too. Don't tell Tim or Jason though." They laughed again.

     "It's funny... this is the most I've seen you laugh and smile and it's ironically right after you almost died." At the word 'died' Dick's smile faded. He took hold of Damian's hand.

      "Please... don't do this ever again. And I'm not just saying cutting yourself to the point where you're almost dead; I'm saying don't cut yourself at all."

     Damian looked down. He was so ashamed of himself. "I won't," he looked up, blue eyes meeting green eyes. "I promise."

     Satisfied, Dick let go of his brother's hand. "Well I'll just leave now," he looked at the two left and winked. Jaime and Garfield had recently convinced him into shipping them. Raven and Damian's cheeks both tinged pink, and Dick walked out.

     And then it was just them alone again.

     Just Damian and Raven.