#Damian found Danny on the way to to the mall

[moonlight-stalker]

# 71 Dc x Dp

Damian was told not to come back from the mall with any animals he doesn't instead he comes home with a toddler dressed up as a cat

[evandarya]

Family

{Read on AO3}{Part 2}

"So," Dani said, slipping into the hotel room, arms loaded with food from the complimentary breakfast in the lobby.

Danny looked up from his phone and sat up on the bed. "So?" 

"Do you think Bruce Wayne will show up at the convention today? I've heard rumors that he was in town." Dani said conspiratorially, handing him a muffin.

"Using your invisibility to eavesdrop on the housekeepers is rude and a misuse of your powers." Jazz said, stepping out of the bathroom and combing some mousse into her hair.

"You know he owns the penthouse, right?" Danny said. "We could go up and see if he's here."

"No, absolutely not." Jazz said.

"Come on, Jazz, live a little," Danny said.

"That's trespassing," Jazz said.

 "If Jason suggested it, you'd do it," Dani said. 

Jazz blushed, but held her ground. "You two are absolutely not going anywhere near Bruce Wayne or his penthouse." She said before grabbing her hairdryer and heading back into the bathroom. 

"We're going up to the penthouse, right?" Dani asked once the drone of the hairdryer started.

"Oh, absolutely, we are,” Danny said. Both of them changed to their ghost form and flew invisibly up to the top floor. 

The penthouse was decorated sleek and modern, far removed from the gaudy green and gold of Vlad’s Wisconsin castle. Danny looked around the living room and found evidence of people staying there. There were shoes set by the door and bathing suits thrown over the balcony railing to dry. Stashed on the balcony was a familiar inflatable unicorn. 

“Shit,” Danny whispered.

“What?” Dani asked quietly.

“What’s Damian’s last name?” he asked. Tim’s last name was Drake, he knew. Tim had explained about Damian’s propensity to use people’s last names unless he was particularly fond of them.

“Um. I don’t know, I never asked, why?” Dani asked before spotting the unicorn. “Oh. You think they’re Wayne’s kids?” 

Before Danny could answer Damian’s voice called from one of the rooms in the back. “Drake, do you have my pomade?” 

“Why would I have it? I don’t use pomade.” Tim’s voice was getting closer so Danny and Dani made sure they were invisible and floated up near the ceiling. “Check with Jason.” 

“I already asked Todd and Richard and they don't have it, so you must have taken it.” the two brothers came out into the living room and Danny felt himself blush. Tim wasn’t wearing a shirt and Danny could see leaned toned muscle and scars. More scars than the son of the CEO of a Fortune 500 company should have. 

Dani caught his eye and mouthed “We should go.” Danny nodded and the two left the same way they came. 

***

Dick loved his family. He did. When he was a kid in the circus everyone was like his family. He still keeps in touch with them. When Bruce took him in he missed having a large family. It was just him, Alfred, and Bruce for a long time. Then he formed the Titans and it was like having a big family again. Still, having a big family came with its own unique challenges. 

“Damian put the knife away. Did you check your beach bag for your pomade? You brought it to the beach house yesterday.” 

Tim snickered. “He had to make sure he looked good for his girlfriend.” 

“Shut your mouth, Drake! At least I wasn’t hanging all over Danielle.” Damian said, stomping out of the room.

“We were stargazing!” Tim defended. 

Jason chucked from where he was making pancakes at the stove. “You two were cuddled awfully close for stargazing.” 

“I know, they were so cute!” Dick said. “I took pictures.”

“Oh, my gods! Delete them now, Dick!” Tim said, leaping over the table towards his brother. 

Yes, Dick loved his family, he wouldn’t trade them for the world. 

***

Danny, Jazz, and Dani were walking around the mall when Danny felt the prickle on the back of his neck like someone was watching him. He glanced around but didn’t see anyone suspicious. Years of fighting ghosts who liked to stalk and then ambush him taught him to trust his gut instincts, so he kept an eye out. He tried not to let the paranoia interfere with spending time with his sisters, but every now and then he would see movement out of the corner of his eye. 

“Danny, check out this shirt!” Danny glanced at the shirt Dani was holding. It was black with a picture of the old comic hero, Space Ghost, and said ‘Space Ghost is ***king Dead’ in block letters underneath.

“I need that immediately,” he said, making grabbing hands towards the shirt. Dani tossed the shirt to him. When he turned back toward a display of pins he saw a familiar mop of black and white curly hair. “Hey, Jazz,” he called to his sister who was inspecting a display of Disney merchandise. 

“I saw the Space Ghost shirt, Danny.” She said, inspecting a Mulan purse. 

“Okay, but did you see your boyfriend?” He asked. Danny could tell by the way Jason’s shoulders tensed that the other man was listening. 

“Jason is not my boyfriend he’s–” Jazz cut herself off when she turned and spotted Jason. “Jason, hi, what are you doing here?” she smiled and blushed when she caught sight of him. Danny smirked. 

“Yes, Jason. What are you doing here?” he asked. Danny couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness from Jason, but the man wasn’t giving off anything like hostility so Danny was just going to keep an eye on him. 

“Dick dragged us here for some brotherly bonding. He’s over there with Damian and Tim getting boba.” Jason said, waving toward the boba stand. Dani came up holding a purple and blue Axolotl stuffed animal.

“What’s boba?” she asked. Jason blinked once before explaining. 

“It’s milk tea with chewy tapioca balls. It's not to my taste, but Dick and Damian like it." Jason glanced at Danny and Jazz before asking "would you like some?" 

"Yes, can we, Jazz?" 

"Alright, we'll pay for this stuff and head over there next," Jazz said. 

"I'll just text Dick to get three more on his order so we don't have to wait in line," Jason said, already sending a message. 

"Oh, you didn't have to do that." Jazz said, but she was smiling. 

Danny rolled his eyes and went to the register to pay for his shirt and Dani's stuffed axolotl.

***

Danny looked at Jason across the food court table and sipped his boba. Damian had gone off with Dani to find some vegetarian food and Jazz, Tim, and Dick were getting food for everyone else, leaving Jason and Danny to secure a table for everyone. “So,”

“So?” Jason asked, leaning back in the seat.

“Are you and Jazz dating?” Danny asked. He enjoyed the way Jason’s eyes got wide as a blush crept up his neck. 

“We haven't talked about that yet.” He hedged. “Are you dating Tim?” 

“Tim and I are friends,” Danny said quickly. “Do you want to date Jazz?” 

“Yes. I’d love to date her. She’s smart, kind, and beautiful.” Jason said, a soft look on his face. 

Danny watched Jason as he found Jazz across the food court. He seemed sincere, but Danny had to make sure his sister was safe.

"Jason, I love my sisters, and I would do anything to keep them safe." Danny was watching Jason's face and waited until the man's attention was back on him before flashing his scary eyes. "Anything."

Jason didn't say anything for a second before laughing. Danny scowled at him. "Sorry, I know you're being serious, but you look like a kitten." That only made Danny scowl harder. "I'm not going to hurt your sister. She may not even want to see me after you leave." 

"Did she give you her number?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Then she's going to want to keep in touch with you." He said, going back to his boba.

***

After lunch Dani wanted to go back to the beach, so Dani, Jazz, and Danny headed back to the hotel. In the lobby, they were surprised to be greeted by their parents and Vlad. “Oh, there you are!” Maddie said, hugging Danny and Jazz. “We have some exciting news.”

“I want to tell them!” Jack said. “Vlad has offered to fund an exclusive year-long ghost hunting trip to Peru!” 

“Peru?” Danny exclaimed. “We can’t move to Peru, Jazz and I have school and jobs.” 

“Jazz is starting college soon. She’ll be staying in the dorms next year, and it’s not like we’re selling the house, Danny. You can still live there.” Maddie said.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Vlad asked, his voice dripping with sickly sweet honey. “You know how much trouble Daniel can get himself into, even with the two of you there to watch him." Vlad's eyes fell on Dani and it took everything in Danny not to punch the man right then and there. "And with him and Danielle becoming such good friends, it would only make sense for them to come to stay with me." 

"I'm not coming to stay with you," Danny said, just barely keeping the venom from his voice. "And neither is Dani."

"Danny, be nice," Maddie said.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Madeline," Vlad said, leaning down into Danny's space. "I'm sure Daniel and I will come to an understanding. A year is a long time." 

Danny could feel his eyes burning and his fists clenching. He wanted so badly to punch Vlad in the face, and he might have if Jazz hadn't put her hand on his shoulder and stepped between him and Vlad. 

"Mom, Dad, maybe we can talk about this later when we aren't in the hotel lobby? We were wanting to go to the beach this afternoon." 

"Well, alright. We can talk after the convention is over." Maddie said. "We don't leave for Peru for a few weeks, so there is time to make plans." 

"Okay, great." Jazz said, pushing Danny and Dani toward the elevators. Once the doors closed Danny groaned in frustration. 

"I'm not going back to him," Dani said, hugging her stuffed axolotl to her chest. "I’ve disappeared before and I'll do it again." 

“It won’t come to that,” Danny said. “But if it does, you won’t go alone.” 

“Maybe we can talk some sense into them.” Jazz said, but she didn’t sound hopeful. Danny hated to admit it, but he was starting to give up on his parents ever seeing reason and he could tell that Jazz was feeling the same way.

“Let’s just go to the beach.” 

***

“I don’t think I have ever seen someone so grumpy at a beach,” Tim said, flopping down next to Danny. He handed Danny a can and Danny popped it open and took a sip without looking at it. “What’s on your mind?”

“My parents are going on a trip to Peru in a few weeks. They want me to stay with our uncle Vlad,” Danny said. 

“And you don’t want to?”

“He’s a fruit loop. He’s in love with my mom and obsessed with me. He wants an heir or something, but he’s really creepy about it.” Danny said. “One time, he tricked my mom and me to fly out to Colorado. He had sabotaged the plane so we had to bail right over his hunting lodge. That was a weird weekend.” 

“And your mom wants you to stay with this creep?” Tim sounded just as disgusted as Danny felt.

“He technically saved my life once, so he’s redeemed himself in her eyes. I know he hasn’t changed, but try convincing her of that.” 

“If there was another option. If you didn’t have to stay with Vlad for a year–”

“I’d take it, no question.” 

The smile Tim sent him loosened the coil of anxiety in Danny’s stomach just a little.

“Tim, are you seeing anyone?” Danny asked. The anxiety had lessened, but now his heart was pounding. He knew, though, that if he didn’t ask he’d always regret it.

“No, not right now.” Tim was leaning back on his arms and giving Danny such a soft smile that he had to look away.

“Oh. Would you. I mean, I know we just met like three days ago, but would you like to maybe–” Danny didn’t get to finish his sentence because Tim’s lips were on his, soft and sweet. When he pulled away his blue eyes were sparkling like sunlight off the waves. 

“I’d love to go out with you, Danny.” 

Danny smiled and pulled Tim into another kiss.

***

Danny and Tim entered the lobby of the hotel holding hands. Danny couldn't get over the fact that he had a boyfriend. That Tim had agreed to go out with him, even if it may have to be long distance. 

"Hey, Danny, if you were offered a scholarship to Gotham Academy, would you take it?" 

"Yeah, but my grades suck, I wouldn't qualify." 

"Didn't you say last night that you were in an astronomy club and discovered a new moon of Saturn and figured out its composition?" Tim asked. "That could qualify you even with a low GPA." 

"But that's just a hobby," Danny said, waving the comment off.

"Danny," Tim said, pulling him to a stop. "Your discovery is published in a scientific article, that's incredible." The intense sincerity in Tim's eyes threw Danny off. If he wasn't careful he could get lost in those slate blue eyes. "I'm going to send you a form, fill it out, and send it in before the third. Do one for Dani-with-an-I, too." Tim said before going back to his phone. 

Danny felt the tension leave his shoulders for the first time since he heard about his parents trip to Peru. Maybe this wouldn't be a complete disaster.

***

Bruce had expected a few things from this trip. He expected his sons to bond, check. He expected a few new contracts from the engineering convention, check. He expected at least one of his sons to get a bad sunburn and was glad to not have to check that box. 

He did not expect three of his sons to meet someone, but when he walked into the penthouse and Damian was teaching a black-haired blue-eyed girl how to escape a chokehold, a rare smile on his face, it was unexpected to be sure.

"Father!" Damian said, looking sheepish. "We did not expect you back until this evening." 

"I decided to come home early. Who's your friend?" He asked, shedding his tie and suit jacket. 

"This is Danielle, we met her and her siblings at the beach," Damian said, relaxing a little. 

"It's nice to meet you, Danielle." He said, offering a hand to the girl who was eyeing him suspiciously, but she took it anyway.

"Nice to meet you, too." 

"Father, Drake wanted to speak with you when you got in. He and his new boyfriend are in the media room."

"Boyfriend?" He asked, receiving only a solemn nod.

Bruce made his way toward the media room and found Tim and a boy who looked very similar to the girl he just met sitting close together, pouring over a laptop.

"Tim, I heard you have a boyfriend?" Tim and the boy's heads shot up in unison and a blush crept up their cheeks. Bruce had to admit they made a cute couple. 

"Hi, Bruce. This is Danny," Tim said. Bruce opened his mouth but the boy, Danny, cut him off before he could ask the question. 

"She's Dani-with-an-I, I'm Danny-with-a-Y, it's a family name."

"Alright, it's nice to meet you. Damian said you needed to see me, Tim."

"Yeah," Tim said, "I'm sending you some files on Vlad Masters. It may be something to look into tonight." 

That caught Bruce's attention, looking into something at night' was code for getting Batman involved. "Alright, I'll look into it. Have you seen Dick or Jason?" 

"They're on the roof with Jazz. Jason wanted to grill dinner tonight." Tim said, going back to his laptop. 

Bruce made his way to the roof and found his two oldest boys and a redhead girl who he could only assume was Jazz sitting around an empty fire pit. Jason had his arm around Jazz's shoulder and was laughing at something she had said. He loved the sound of his son's laughter. 

Bruce shut the door and headed to the master bedroom to get a shower. He'd have to look into these Fenton kids, but they seem to make his children happy. As long as Bruce's family is happy, he's happy.

[poke-me-with-a-stick]

Artificial Wingman chapter 5!

Since this has reached 5 chapters, I've decided to post on my AO3! For the entire story, click here!

Enjoy!

---

The next day started bright and early. Well, as bright as Gotham got, anyways. Damian was naturally an early riser, and honestly expected to be the only one up for a while. Most of his 'siblings' slept in any chance they got, Cain and Grayson being the exception most of the time.

He was pleasantly surprised, however, when a sleep-muddled Danny wandered into the kitchen only a few minutes after him. He watched in amusement as the teen rummaged through the cabinets clumsily, seemingly not realizing where he was or who he was with.

Or, he assumed the teen wasn't aware of his presence in the room. He was proven only half right, as the teen handed him a bowl, going back to digging through the cabinets until he re-emergerged with a box of cereal and a second bowl. A victorious trill emerged Danny's mouth, the sound far from human. That was one theory confirmed.

A bit more awake now, the teen jumped slightly as he turned back towards Damian. In response, Damian simply raised an eyebrow at the teen, taking the box of cereal from his hands and pulling a carton of almond milk from the fridge. Danny continued to stand there with a blank look on his face, before shrugging to himself and settling himself on one of the barstools at the counter.

They ate their breakfast in companionable silence. Danny was the first to break the silence. "So, what's on the agenda today?" He asked, taking his bowl to the sink. Damian didn't answer immediately, thinking it over in his head. Absently, he noted a bit of milk that clung to the corner of Danny's mouth.

Pulling out the list from his pocket, he looked over the ingredients before responding. "I suppose our next stop would be a grocery store." He answered, standing to follow the teen into the living room.

He had an odd look on his face, but Danny only nodded, tossing on the hoodie that he had tossed in the drier before he had gone to bed, along with his canvas bag. Turning, he posed quite ridiculously as he faced the Robin. "Okay, lead the way!" His voice was light and playful, reminding Damian of his friend John a bit. A small voice in his mind that sounded a bit like Grayson told him to be thankful for the sunglasses that sat perched on his face.

With a small smile, Damian took Danny's hand, using his free hand to wipe the milk off the teen's face. Now slightly red and stuttering, Damian had zero trouble leading him out the door and into the shadows.

He recovered quickly, keeping close to Damian as they trekked quietly in and out of alleyways. It wasn't long before they found themselves slipping quietly into a supermarket. The light-up sign on the building was missing a letter towards the beginning, and had one blinking towards the end of the name. The door also squealed loudly as they pushed it open, almost drowning out the annoying bell that rang, announcing their entrance.

No one looked at them twice as they began to explore the aisles. Cheap, off-brand products lined the shelves. A lot of them past their expiration date. 'Alfred would not be impressed by this place.' Damian thought as he put a box back in its place.

Danny was ahead of him, looking over the shelves for the ingredients that they needed. He kept glancing down at the list, then looking back up. Occasionally his head would tilt as he peered at the aisle signs. 'Cute.' Damian couldn't help the small smile that turned the corners of him mouth.

As he moved to follow after Danny, who was just turning around the corner to the next aisle, something stopped him. He was aware of his surroundings, much more so than he had been at the mall. The front door squealed open, the bell going off with a high-pitched ding! Glancing at the noise, he madeneye contact with a familiar set of feminine blue eyes. Cain.

She glanced around a bit before looking back at him, a silent 'why?' in the way she shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head slightly. He rolled his eyes, but didn't move as she approached him.

"Hello Cain." He greeted when she was close enough, his voice low and a bit cold. She nodded at him.

"Hello." She signed. "Why are you here?"

Damian scoffed. "I could ask you the same."

She scrunched her nose at him, but made no move to sign. Waiting for his answer.

"I'm busy." He responded.

"With what?" She asked. He started to walk, then. Danny was out of sight, and he had no way of knowing which of his other siblings were hiding in here.

"It's a…Personal mission." He decided on. She kept pace with him as he checked the next aisle. No Danny here. 'Maybe the next one?'

"Personal mission?" She repeated. Damian sighed. 'At least she isn't trying to drag me back to the manor.'

"Yes. A personal mission." The next aisle was empty as well. 'How far did he get?' "One that is delicate." He looked at her from the corner of his eye. Cain was frowning slightly, but in a confused manner.

"Does this mission have anything to do with him?" She pointed down an aisle, to where Danny was looking between two canisters of salt. A small sigh of relief left him, tension dropping from his shoulders. Beside him, Cain's face cracked with a small, knowing smile.

"Yes. He is an essential part of that mission." Damian's cheeks tented lightly with blush, not that he noticed. Cain did, though. That blush told her all she needed to know.

"I understand now." She signed to him. "A new brother." He glared at her, but she continued before he could retort. "Your 'courting' him, yes?"

The blush that stained his face darkened. "Well, yes. At least, I'm trying to. He seems convinced that my feelings are artificial." At her questioning glance, he elaborated. "We met when I landed in a fountian that he had made. The water was contaminated with a 'love potion'. Though my thoughts and actions are slightly skewed at the moment, I do know myself better than that." Her face scrunched slightly, but she didn't object.

"What are you doing about it?" Danny was moving again, Salt canister added to the cheap green basket he had grabbed when they entered.

"I'm helping him collect the ingredients for a cure." They followed from a distance, watching as Danny pulled a bag of…something from the top shelf, sending a few more bags raining down on top of him. His surprised cry went semi-ignored by the two.

"Alright." She patted his shoulder gently before turning away, headed back towards the front of the store. She turned back to face him for a moment. "Don't worry, I'll stall the others. Good luck romancing!" And with that, she was gone. Damian watched her slip through the door before turning to catch up with Danny.

He had just finished putting the bags back up when Damian made it to his side. The teen glanced at him over his shoulder as he chucked the last bag up. "Hey, Robin. Who was that?"

Maybe his situational awareness was better than he first thought. "My adopted sister. She came to make sure I was in good health." Damian looked over the items in the basket, mentally ticking them off the list. "How much more do we need?"

"From here?" Danny pulled out the list again. "Umm, this is it. We can go pay now, but the last thing we need could probably be found at a flower shop." Slipping the list back into his pocket, he offered his hand to the teen absently. Damian took it immediately, taking the lead and heading towards the checkout.

"So, where to after this?" The teen asked. Damian was silent as their items were scanned. The cashier read out their total, and Damian tossed him a few bills before grabbing their things and walking out.

Back in the Gotham air, he decided. "How about lunch?" He started towards the nearest restaurant, which just so happened to be a Bat Burger.

"Sure, I could eat." Just as the teen said it, his stomach growled loudly. His face turned red, a hand coming up to rub his neck. His blush deepened as Damian chuckled, allowing himself to be pulled along the sidewalk.

In no time, the two were seated in a booth, farthest from the window and hidden by a few fake plants, should anyone walk in. "What's good here?" Danny asked as he glanced over the menu.

"I wouldn't quite know. The only thing I get from here is the veggie burger. And my siblings are a bit… biased, when it comes to ordering." Seeing as how they all claimed that their namesake meal was the best.

The teen looked over the menu for a few more minutes before sighing in defeat. "Could you order something for me?" He asked.

Damian nodded. "Of course. Do you have any preferences I should know about?" It would be horrible if he ordered something the teen was allergic to.

Danny shook his head. "Nah. Anything is fine. My friends often joke about me having an iron stomach." Chuckling a bit, he went a bit further. "Heck, I'm pretty sure I ate a spork once!"

For both their sakes, Damian hoped that the teen was exaggerating. Human or not, swallowing something like that was not healthy. He ignored it for now, simply nodding and heading to the front counter.

The teen standing behind the counter looked at him with a bored expression, a mock of Batman's cowl sat awkwardly over his head. "Welcome to Bat Burger, home of the Batburger and the Jokerized fries. How may I take your order?" He asked in a monotone voice.

Damian ignored the part of him that wished to scoff at the boy, placing his order quickly and paying, before heading back to their booth to wait.

Back at the booth, Danny was fiddling with the salt shaker. He pushed it from one end of the tabletop to the other, again reminding Damian of a cat. All he was missing were the ears and whiskers. He filed the picture his mind provided away for later, sitting down across from the teen.

Abandoning the salt shaker, Damny sat back up. "So, what's with this place?" He asked. Damian raised an eyebrow at the random question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this place is named 'Bat Burger'. Unless they actually use bats in their burger patties, which I hope to all the Ancients that they are not, what's up with it?" Damian couldn't decide if he wanted to be amused at the teen's question, or disgusted at the thought of honest-to-god bat burgers. He eventually landed on neither, instead focusing on the odd curse he used.

"'Ancients?'" He voiced his curiosity.

Danny gave him a look. "You tell me, and I'll tell you?" He suggested.

'That sounds fair.' Damian decided. "This restaurant is themed after Gotham city's vigilante protectors."

Danny nodded. "Cool. So, are you one of those vigilanties?"

Shaking his finger at the teen, Damian smirked. "Ah-ah-ah. It's my turn, now." The teen across from him made a show of letting his shoulders droop before motioning for him to continue. "What, or who, are these 'Ancients' you keep referring to?"

"Ancients are the oldest, and strongest, beings that inhabit the Infinite Realms." He answered. "Now, it's my turn again. Are you one of the 'helpers' for this city?" His discrete wording was appreciated, as while they were talking the door dinged, a couple walking in and sitting in a booth not too far away from them.

"Yes. I am a 'helper'. One of the main ones, in fact." He couldn't help the way his chest puffed up slightly with pride as he spoke. Danny noticed, giving him a knowing smile, but said nothing. Instead wiggling his fingers as he waited for Damian's next question. "What is the 'Infinite Realms'?"

At his question, Danny's eyes seemed to take on a gleam. Though what it meant, Damian didn't quite know. The best way to describe it was a mix of fondness and excitement. "The Infinite Realms is basically the realm of the dead. Though it holds more than just ghosts, it holds entire civilizations, as well as portals to any and every dimension that exists." He blushed as he realized what he had said, looking away from Damian to examine the table in front of them.

Damian sat there for a moment, a bit stunned by his explanation. Sure, Damian knew that other universes existed, so it was no surprise to him. What did surprise him though, was how blunt and honest the teen was with him. If their roles were reversed, Damian couldn't say that he would be as up-front as Danny was being with him.

Not wanting to make the teen uncomfortable, all Damian did in response to this information was nod. "Makes sense. I suppose that you are one of the 'beings' that inhabit this realm?"

"Ah, no. Though I do spend quite a bit of time there, I'm not from there. I have a family in the mortal realm." Danny chuckled and rubbed nervously at the nape of his neck. Before Damian could respond, the teen at the counter called out their order number.

Damian stood up without a word, fetching their food and bringing it to the table quickly, a bit eager to get back to their questions.

Danny reached for his food, looking over his tray with a small smile. "Thank you." He said before digging into his burger. Damian watched him with a small smile, taking a bite of his own burger.

Swallowing, he picked up where they left off. "You aren't human though." At his words, Danny seemed to choke on his food, swallowing hard and coughing loudly into his fist while thumping his chest with his free hand.

"W-what do you mean?" He asked when he could speak again, his voice rough and squeaky.

"Exactly what I said. You aren't human, are you?" He took another bite of his veggie burger, watching as the teen struggled to find a good response.

Finally, after half of Damian's burger was gone, Danny sighed. "How did you know?" He asked, slightly exasperated.

Damian chuckled and began to list off his evidence on his fingers. "Your hands are constantly cold, you are concerningly light. You have fangs. Your eyes have a sheen to them, and glow in dim lighting. And just this morning, you trilled like a bird." With each piece of evidence, Danny's face grew a shade redder until he was sporting a bright lobster red.

Sighing, Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really need to get better at hiding it." He mumbled. Looking back up, he refused to meet Damian's eye. "Yeah, I'm not completely human. But I am half."

"And what is the other half?" Damian couldn't help but ask.

Danny twitched, but didn't flinch away. "Um. Well, to be honest, I'm part ghost." Damian blinked at him. "The ghosts from the 'Realms' refer to me as a 'halfa'. Half ghost, half human." He did jazz hands with a small 'ta-da!'.

Again, Damian could only blink as he tried to process that. He had seen a lot over the years, as a child assassin and as Robin, but this was a new one for sure. How could someone only be half ghost? Does that mean that Danny had, at some point, died? That generally is the only way someone becomes a ghost, is it not?

Something clenched painfully in his chest at the thought of Danny being in such a perilous situation. He hoped that was not the case, but he knew that it was most likely wishful thinking. "You're being incredibly up-front and honest with me."

Danny looked a bit surprised at the sudden change in topic, but only shrugged. "I mean, what's really the point of lying? I doubt that you're gonna do anything to me." That… was actually a very valid point. Damian had no urge to do anything to him, anything to hurt him anyways. In fact, it was only Danny's hesitance that kept him from spilling all his secrets, along with his family's secrets. Another thing that endeared him to the teen. His sense of honor.

"Anyways," Danny pointed at him with a fry, "who are the other 'helpers' of the city?"

Ah, an easily answered question. "Well, there's Batman, for starters. Nightwing occasionally helps out, but he mostly stays to patrol around one of Gotham's sister cities. Red Hood is more of a crime boss than a vigilante, but he protects his district fairly well. Red Robin, Signal, Orphan, and Spoiler are the other vigilanties that patrol Gotham regularly with Batman and Robin. And Oracle is the 'person in the chair'. She gives them most of their information while they are in the field." He listed off the names of his siblings alter egos easily, pausing after he was finished to take another bite of his food.

Danny nodded. "Okay, cool. But if that's all the vigilanties, then why are there more names on the menu items?" He pointed to the menu with another one of his fries before shoving it in his mouth.

"That's simple enough." Damian scoffed slightly. "They are the names of the villains that Batman and the others often fight." Danny hummed, raking a long drink from his cola.

"Makes sense." He nodded. "Any other questions for me?" He added before sticking the last bite of his burger into his mouth, making his cheeks puff out like a chipmunks.

Damian thought about it for a moment. He had a lot of questions, some branching from his inner detective and some that were decidedly not. In the end, he decided that he would only ask one question. The rest of his questions could wait.

He had plenty of time, after all. They might almost be done collecting the ingredients, but they still had to make the potion. Not to mention, while he did appreciate Cain's ability and willingness to derail the rest of his family, they would find him eventually. And they, too, would want answers. He only hoped that, by the time his family did manage to track them down, Danny would trust him enough not to run.

"One more question before we go." Sipping on the rest of his drink, Danny waited patiently for him to continue. "That… gun, the one you had back at the park. What was it for?"

The look that crossed the teen's face could only be described as a mix of realization and horror. "Oh Ancients. I completely forgot about that." Running his hand down his face, he sighed heavily. "That gun was my 'easy' way home. It's basically a portal gun. It uses ectoplasm to tear temporary holes in the demintional barrier, it's how I got here in the first place." He explained quickly.

Groaning again, he let his face hit the table with a muffled thud. "I can't believe I just left inner-dimensional tech in a random park." He muttered into the cheap wood.

Damian frowned, part of him wishing he had known this sooner and another part happy that he destroyed it so quickly when they first met. Still, even destroyed and hidden away in the underbrush, it wasn't safe to leave it there.

Resisting his urge to run his fingers through the teen's hair as he had his crisis, Damian pulled his phone out of the hoodie pocket he had shoved it in. Scrolling through the contacts, he clicked on the one person he could trust with this at the moment. Typing quickly, he sent a message to Cain, who responded a few seconds later. She sent a confirmation text, saying she was en route and would text again when she got back to the manor.

Satisfied that the issue was being taken care of, he tapped the table next to the teens head. He peeked up, his expression still stuck on dread. "I've taken care of it." He told the boy. His face switched from dread to confusion, one eyebrow raised incredulously at him. In response to the silent question, he held up his phone.

Danny's expression cleared, a tired kind of relief settling. "Oh. Okay, good. My sister would kill me a second time if she found out I left something that important just laying around." A worrying statement, now that he had a bit of context about Danny's 'situation', but a discussion could wait.

"Well, I suppose we should head out. You said something about a flower shop?" They both stood, the teen stretching until three little pops were heard before standing straight with a sigh. Shaking his head, Damian grabbed the teens hand and led him out of the restaurant, pausing as he stood at the crosswalk.

Where was the nearest flower shop again?

—

Cass sighed inaudibly as she rummaged through the bushes. Damian's text had been annoyingly vague in it's instructions, just a simple request to look for and retrieve a damaged, high tech looking weapon.

The location was easy enough to find, remains of an electronic birdbath laying prone in a small clearing. From there, she tracked the pair's movements through the underbrush, broken branches and tracks in the mud making it pretty easy.

It was just her luck that they stopped in a fairly overgrown area, the grass stopping just above her mid-calf. This was where she had been, bent over moving stalks of grass, for almost twenty minutes now.

Finally, though, her fingers brushed over a metallic casing. Moving quickly, she dug around in the green vegetation. With a few careful tugs, she revealed two pieces of what she assumed was some type of gun. Silver and green, with a bulky shape and some sort of slimy, Lazurus green liquid pooling in the glass canister.

She didn't waste any time on trying to figure out what it was, just gathered the pieces and shoved them into her bag. While she was extremely curious about the gun, along with the reason her possible future brother-in-law had it, the only thing she could really think of at the moment was where she could hide the bag where her family couldn't find it. Because if she wanted answers, she knew that they wanted them even more.

---

(I know that there are some spelling/Grammer mistakes, but thats okay. I tried my best.)

For all the lovely people who asked to be tagged, as well as the amazing person who made the prompt for this story! :

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Edit: I forgot the tags again. Oops!