Age Reversal AU (For Batfam)

[dfordangerous]

[ His father is dead, and he's still reeling from the shock. Alfred and Tim both know he's barely keeping it together, for all his standoffish composure. Years of preparing for this moment--

(steeling himself, to watch his father be laid to rest next to his grandparents)

--have done little to offset the grief. He wouldn't be seen at all if it weren't for his brother; if Tim hadn't coerced him out of his room in the hours following the funeral, hadn't confessed his worries for Cass (retreated, to the attic of all places), Jason (god, Jason, Damian's own cunning little húlí, he'd adored the man), and his father's newest stray, Richard. Dick. His father's Robin.

His Robin, now. As strange as the thought is. But the cowl is his, and so is Robin.

His Robin, who Alfred has informed him is currently making his roost up in the ballroom's chandeliers. Refusing to come down.

Damian, briefly, contemplates leaving him up there in favor of finishing reviewing this case file.

('He'll come down when he gets hungry,' he tells Alfred.

'He's in mourning, Master Damian,' Alfred points out, with all the dry chastisement his stiff upper lip can give.

'I'll get the broom.')

And here he is. He finds himself squinting in irritation up at the boy monkeying around on the fragile, expensive crystal. ]

Richard. [ Prim, clipped tones. Damian hardly raises his voice unless his fuse is blown; usually only when he's locked in a shouting match with Tim or with his father.

He doesn't know Richard that well. The boy is a relatively fresh arrival, and the past few months he's been here have seen Damian on longer missions; international and galactic trips alike. Before Bruce's death, they had maybe spent only a few hours in each other's company, and the boy was clearly not overly fond of him. ]

What are you doing?

Comments

*GASP*

[volving]

[ Cass is having her own issues. Cass has... a lot to think about. A lot to figure out. Sure, talking to Steph or Tim or even Damian might help, but it's more than she can manage right now.

But when her baby brother that she's had so little chance to really interact with shows up, she can't help but smile. Not a bit smile, not for long, and there's still sadness under it, but it is a real smile.

She doesn't say anything just yet, but waves Dick up - come join her on the roof, baby bird - maybe you can finally get to know each other. ]

[graysondive]

[He drums his fingers for a moment, then hefted himself up out of the window and onto the roof. With-- well, a little less hesitation than before, he crawled and shuffled over to where Cassandra was seated, sitting back and drawing his legs up in front of his chest to imitate the way she was sitting.]

Um... [He fidgets a moment with the end of his sleeve, searching for something to actually... uh, say. And maybe he was a little intimidated. Just. A little.]

Are you OK...?

[volving]

[ She wishes she could make him less intimidated. She can tell he is, and she just... isn't quite sure how to change that. So she's tried, in the few interactions they've had, to make herself small and quiet and unintimidating and hoped for the best. So far? It seems to have not worked.

Now, though, she is... mostly too sad to worry about it. Too sad and confused and uncertain. So for right now she is - well, still gentle, because he is sad and confused and uncertain too, and he's still so young.

She lets out a shaky sigh, shakes her head, then shrugs. When she speaks, her voice is soft and hesitant. ] Don't... know.

Are you?

[ She can't imagine he's doing great. She knows how he came to be in Bruce's custody, and now only months later... It has to be hard on him. ]

[graysondive]

[The boy is young, but he's smart; he spent his very short life training to master his body's movement and momentum, and he can tell when someone's strong and poised. Cass was kind of like that. Always alert, even when she was trying to make herself look unassuming. The entire family was kind of like that-- but Cass was... Cass moved like Bruce.]

Mm.....

[He lowers his head. It's easier to see now that he's been crying, but the young one's face always seemed to be messy with dirt and tear streaks since Bruce's death.]

Can you keep a secret...?

[volving]

[ She smiles faintly - very faintly, more an attempt to reassure than anything, but it's not forced - and nods. Then, after about half a second's pause where she remembers the gesture, she mimes locking her lips shut.

Steph taught her that one. ]

[graysondive]

[Her smile and gesture make him smile a little in turn, and he nods back. But his expression falls back down again, a frown on his face as he hugs his legs closer to his chest and rests his chin on his knees.]

I think... I miss my parents more than I miss Bruce.

[His voice peters off near the end, sounding smaller and smaller as Dick couldn't help but feel ashamed. Bruce had already done so much for him, may well have saved his life, but it felt like he'd barely known him at all.]

I still miss him a lot...! But... do you think everyone else will be mad...?

[volving]

[ Oh, oh why did it have to be her? It's not that she doesn't want to reassure him, it's that she's uncertain she'll be able to do it properly. If he could sign, it would... still be difficult, but it would be a bit easier, but he certainly wasn't fluent enough to have that conversation in sign.

Right, then. She needs to suck up and be a big sister, even though it's difficult for her to say what she knows she needs to. ]

No. [ Oh, to leave it at that! ...she won't, but she wishes she could. With Steph or Tim or Damian or even Jason she could probably get away with it, but not this little one. ] You're... new, here. You weren't... new in... your family.

[ She hesitates, then tries a tiny, teasing smile. ] I'd... miss Jason more... than you. But still... miss you.

[graysondive]

[Well, it's not like he could really go to Damian-- couldn't very well go to the eldest son. He was pretty sure Jason hated him, so that was out. And Tim was always busy and he didn't want to bother him, and Steph wasn't really around much lately. He wasn't even really sure what behooved him to tell Cass at all.]

But he's done so much... for me, and for so many people... [He sniffles, shifting his arms so he could wipe his forearm under his nose.]

Jason's a big dummy anyway. [A pout. Sulking. What a jerk.]

[volving]

Yes.

[ She lets out a little huff of air that might be almost a laugh. Jason is a big dummy, but he's their big dummy. ]

They were... yours. Family. It takes... time, to... to... [ she pauses, trying to find the right turn of phrase for what she's trying to say, absently signing a couple of words to herself to try to figure it out. ] To grow... close. To new family. And you... don't forget first... families. Good or... bad. They're... still yours. It's okay to miss... them most.

[ All together, probably more words than Cass has directed to Dick since he got here. She doesn't INTEND to not talk to people, it just happens. ]

[graysondive]

[He watches the signs curiously; Dick may not know the specifics, but her predicament isn't a mystery to him. Damian was trying to teach him signs, but for as physical as the little polyglot was, learning to speak with his hands was a lot harder for him than speaking new words with his mouth.

But her assurance seems to help, a little. His eyes are tearing up again, and he once again has to furiously rub at his face to keep his face clear, but despite that his demeanor seems to... ease. He's quiet for a moment, before he perks in attention again and speaks.]

...What about your first family? What were they like?

[volving]

[ It loosens something in her chest to see the way his body language relaxes a little, even if he is trying not to cry again. She knows by this point that people don't usually like to be watched when they're crying, boys especially, so she glances away until it sounds like he's done.

For his pride. It's a delicate thing sometimes, she's noticed, and she doesn't want to damage his. Not over something like this.

When he asks that question though... oh, child. They haven't told him anything, have they? Oh gosh. She appreciates it on the one hand, because it should be her choice to share, but gosh, trying to explain that to someone who can't sign yet...

Well. She doesn't have to explain everything. Or much at all, really. She wrinkles her nose a little. ]

Not good. My... father is not a... good man.

[graysondive]

[His face twists into a deeper frown at that-- it's hard not to start asking questions, like why, and what'd he do here is he now is that why you're living with Bruce what happened to your mom? But first families always seemed to be a touchy subject in this household. Probably for good reason, but the most he'd ever heard was Tim talking about his mom and dad a few times, and even then he always seemed so... sad about it.]

I'm sorry. [He tries to leave it at that, glancing around the roof and fidgeting his fingers together. But... well he's ten he can't really help himself.]

Was he a bad guy? Is that why Bruce took you in?

[volving]

[ She doesn't bother to hide the little smile that his curiosity brings out, even before he asks. He's a smart kid, and he asks good questions (for finding out more information, anyway), and maybe after this she can just be his big sister and not someone intimidating.

Nothing makes Bruce dying okay, but maybe good things will happen afterwards, now. It almost felt like they wouldn't, even though she knew that was irrational.

She nods. ]

I ran away... when I was about... your... ...size? [ she looks a little unsure and a little exasperated - she's pretty sure that was the wrong word, but she can't remember the right one. She knows the sign she's thinking of and does it, then tries again. ] Your... old. [ Bah, close enough ] Maybe a... few less.

[graysondive]

My age?

[It was a gentle suggestion for the right word-- he'd done it enough times with the older members of the troupe who'd never gotten to learn the local language when they were younger and able to retain it more fluently-- and he tries to recreate the sign she'd made with his own hands.] Is that how you say it?

[She was probably getting frustrated with trying to talk to him correctly, so the least he could do was try and learn faster...!]

...Were you scared...?

[He'd traveled all over the world and if his parents hadn't fallen that night, he couldn't have imagined ever living without them-- or, furthermore, leaving them on purpose.]

[volving]

Yes!

[ she actually brightens just a little - she was close, she knows she was. And Dick's follow up of trying to imitate her sign is good and makes that brighter expression mostly stick around. She signs, two distinct gestures. ] My age. [ She changes the first sign slightly ] Your age.

[ It is frustrating, but she does need to work on her spoken language skills and she knows it. So in a way, they're both learning! ]

Yes. I hadn't... ever left... home. Before that. [ she rests her chin in her hand and stares out across the treetops pensively ] It was... less scary, after. And more. But... safer. No one making... me hurt people.

[graysondive]

[The brightening of her expression makes him a smile a bit in return, and he quickly set to work imitating both sets of signs with his hands to commit them to memory-- My age, your age, my age, your age.

The gestures were good for putting his fingers to work, keeping him from fidgeting with whatever was in front of him. But when he looks at Cass again after the intense concentration in trying to make signs, it's with surprise.]

He made you hurt people? [He knew Damian and Cass had some Bad Stuff going on before Bruce took them in, and they both had that... scary air about them. But... well that was pretty much the end of everything he knew. But even then, it's hard for him to conceive either of them-- any of heroes he was now surrounded by-- as being capable of hurting people.] Why..?

[volving]

I was... to be an... assassin. Protector for Ra's... al Ghul. [ a small pause ] I only killed... once, though. I thought... it was a game. Until then.

[ she sighs softly, then shrugs ]

It's why I... talk strange. I never... learned. I spoke... bodies? How... people moved. So I'd know... when they were going to... attack.

[graysondive]

[Ra's al Ghul. That League of Assassin's guy. Damian's... relative of some kind. Maybe. Someone really needed to draw him a family tree for everyone.

But. More importantly.]

I... I'm sorry...

[It didn't really... seem like the kind of thing he should've been asking about given the situation, even if Cass was willing to talk about it.]

Um... When I was younger I had trouble learning English grammar. So for awhile I had trouble whenever I had to talk to the townies.

[Not... really the same thing as not being taught how to speak, but-- look he had trouble with languages too!!]

[volving]

[ It's Steph and her dad locking her in a closet all over again, that incomprehensible feeling of companionship bubbling up even over things that seem so vastly removed from one another.

This time, though, it doesn't rise up in laughter, just... love. There is no doubt in her mind, suddenly, that this boy is her brother, not just in name but in how she feels about him.

So clearly the only acceptable reaction is to lean over and wrap him in a tight hug. ]

[graysondive]

Oh--!

[He lets out the small gasp in surprise, for a moment arms hovering a bit uselessly by his sides. Aside from maybe Stephanie, the Waynes hadn't really been a... hugging family. He'd tried to hold Bruce's hand a few times, but Dick had made a dedicated effort ever since he got to the manor to not... seem too weird.

But the surprise wears off quickly and his instinct to curl into the warmth and comfort take over instead. He wraps his arms around her in kind (well, as far as he can reach), and buries his face into the hug.]

Are you... gonna be OK...?

[Judging by the way his voice was still welling up a little, he sure hoped at least one of them was gonna be.]

[volving]

[ She rests her chin on the top of his head, letting him stay curled into her, and taking her own comfort in holding him. ]

Yes. [ Her voice is soft and not without her own emotion, but it's steady and level. ] Soon.

[ Not yet. But soon. ]

[graysondive]

Good.

[There's finally a small smile returned to his face, timid as it was, but still bright, as he stays and settles into her embrace. Truth be told, he didn't know if he was gonna be OK any time soon-- but if she was, if the rest of the family was, then he'd get along just fine. Maybe the big house would even start to feel like a real home.]

I'll help you too, until you are OK. OK?