Hey Brother

Chapter Thirty Five

All of y'all begging me not to kill Jason...I almost feel bad for what I have planned for the next few chapters.

Almost.

(I sound heartless but I promise I am a good person!)

"Son of a bitch!" Damian grunted, tugging at his hair as he paced back in forth in his best friends bed room. "I mean, why can't he leave well enough alone?! We were happy after Talia...after she died. We were a strong family. Why'd he have to go and bring Ra's into this?!"

"Did you give him a chance to explain himself?" Jon asked, flopped over on his bed as he watched Damian pace.

Damian glared back. "No...I was...I was too angry. I mean, what was he thinking? He knows what Ra's is capable of...what he is willing to do." Damian groaned, kicking Jon's bed post. "Damnit, Jason! For a smart guy, you sure are dumb!"

"He could have something up his sleeve? Didn't you say he was playing your mo- Talia the whole time in order to kill her? Maybe he is doing the same thing with Ra's?"

"Yeah, but why? Ra's was leaving us alone..."

Jon shrugged. "Preemptive strike?" Damian grumbled some unintelligible nonsense about how stupid a preemptive strike is and how Jason is just going to get himself killed. Jon felt a light bulb go off in his brain. "Maybe that's the point of all this? Jason has a death wish? You did say you found a suicide note..."

Damian felt his blood run cold. "Jason...wanting to die? No...not possible. He wouldn't...he wouldn't leave me. Not after all this." Damian swallowed thickly, trying his best to deny the obvious. Deep down, he knew it to be true.

Then it hit him, how harsh he was to Jason before he left to hang out with Jon. He felt a wave of nausea hit him as the guilt overwhelmed him. Here he was, being what he felt like was a brat as Jason was fighting more demons than he could imagine.

How selfish could he be?

Jon noticed the look on his friend's face and rolled over, sitting up. "Damian, stop it now. You had no way of kno-"

"But I should've! He hasn't been acting like himself! He has been pushing everyone away, acting aggressive, more moody than normal...he's my brother, Jon. I've been by his side since I was born. I dare say I know him better than he knows himself. Or, I thought I did. Now, I don't think I know him at all..." Damian felt his phone buzz. He looked down and read the text from Dick. "Oh- I have to go. I think I've figured out Jason's plan and his endgame. I need to go talk him out of it."

"Be careful, Damian. This is a delicate situation." Jon warned his best friend. "You never know where Jason's mind is."

"He's my brother, not some unhinged psychopath." Damian sneered. "Barbara is here to take me home. I shall see you in school?"

"See ya, good luck!"

Damian raced to the car and hopped inside, looking over at his eldest sibling. "When did you get a car?"

"I've always had one, it just saves gas if we carpool."

"...we're billionaires."

"I meant for the environment, Damian."

"Ah, yes." Damian buckled up as Barbara pulled out of the driveway. "Is Jason home?"

"Yes...I heard you two got into a little bit of a fight, everything okay?"

"It will be...it will be." Damian hoped.

Once the two of them got back to the manor Damian hardly waited until the car was in park before he took off running into the manor. He burst inside and ran straight to the dining room where he knew the family was just sitting down for dinner, including Jason.

Everyone looked up when the doors slammed open. Jason winced when he saw Damian narrow his eyes at him. All the siblings held their breaths, having heard about the spat between the two of them but not knowing what it was about, only that it was nasty.

Damian rounded the table and made his way over to Jason, who looked like he was holding his breath, waiting for his younger brother to out him to the family.

Instead, Damian threw his arms around Jason's neck and hugged him tightly, whispering in his ear so quietly only Jason could hear his words. "Meet me by the oak tree after curfew. We have much to discuss."

Jason cautiously hugged his brother back. "Dami-"

"Not now. Later." He pulled out of the embrace and took his seat next to Jason, looking around at everyone else with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing. I was expecting you to throw hands with the entrance you had. Honestly a bit disappointed you didn't." Tim shrugged. "Can we get on with dinner? I know we have that stupid gala coming up in a few weeks."

"Its not stupid, its a chance for me to redeem myself in the eyes of Gotham's citizens." Jason snapped.

"You know, you don't have to do this, Jason." Bruce spoke up.

"Yes, I do. For the sake of the family." Nobody but Damian understood the underlying meaning behind this.

"Are you su-"

"For craps sake, Bruce, let the boy have his party!" Selina snapped. The table fell silent and she cleared her throat, dabbing her mouth with her napkin before tossing it on her plate and standing up abruptly. "If you'll excuse me."

Selina left the dining room in a tense silence, everyone's eyes on their plates. Bruce muttered something noncoherent before following after her, leaving the kids behind.

"Well, that was something." Helena chuckled awkwardly.

"If my gala is that big of a deal, I won't do-"

"I think that will make it worse, Jay." Damian coughed. "What even has mom so wound up?"

"She says work has been stressing her out lately. Normally she is able to leave work at the door but maybe something big is happening?"

"You don't think...you don't think she's pregnant, do you?" Stephanie gasped.

"No! Eight kids is more than enough for them."

"It could be unplanned? And that's why she is on edge?"

"Oh, my god. We are going to have another sibling!"

"At least I won't be the youngest anymore."

"I hope the baby is a girl!"

"No way! I grew up with the majority girls, its time for a baby boy!"

As the siblings delved into discourse over what gender their possible unborn sibling should be, Alfred stepped into the room and approached Damian. He tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow him into the hallway.

"What is it, Alfred?"

"The telephone,  Master Damian."

Damian didn't think much of it, answering the phone when it was handed to him. He felt his throat tighten when he heard the voice on the other side.

"Hello, Damian. I have a proposal for you."