Unlike most people at this time of year, Damian was not having a good time.

He glared at the light that had been shining through the curtains he hadn't bothered to close the night before for a while now. With a small huff he curled up a bit more in the blankets he had cocooned himself in. The usual rush to get out of bed at the slightest sight of dusk was nowhere to be found. It took a lot to make Damian break routine and not get up at his usual time. The current state of affairs was, in his opinion, more than enough to warrant such a juvenile thing as staying in bed longer. Only for the fact it meant he could avoid the other inhabitants of the household for just a bit longer.

To somebody as mature as Damian, the month of December was no other than any other months. In Nanda Parbat, there were no such foolish celebrations as Christmas. Who in their right mind would let an obese elderly man climb down a very narrow chimney to leave boxes with unknown contents inside. Luring everybody but especially young children to let their guards down and risk even bigger disasters. Let alone the ritualistic murder of millions of beautiful trees worldwide just for some temporary decor. Thousands of acres of habitats were destroyed just to grow these trees and then only let them slowly die inside the house over the course of a month to then be disposed of like trash once it served its use.

Truely whoever came up with this must have been mentally unwell to think this to be a normal occurrence to be celebrated each year.

Not only that, but for the residents of Wayne Manor specifically it was a mess. Of course his mother had explained that his father was Jewish, so he would be celebrating Hanukkah. While his father wasn't actively practicing his faith he still enjoyed some of the traditions with which he grew up.

As it turns out, Grayson would also follow the traditions of his birth family and fast until the day before Christmas. Of course with both his jobs this was hard and he only followed a partial fast to continue to honor his own traditions. Even with his own residence and work in Blüdhaven, he would often make the trip to the manor or sleep overnight after patrol to spend time with the family.

Drake had grown up here in the states and had some form of connection to the Christmas celebrations. Having grown up mostly with his servants while his parents were elsewhere, made him have quite a dislike for the holiday. Envious of all the happy families that spend the holidays together while his parents couldn't even be bothered to send him a simple message. It wasn't until well into his integration into the Wayne household that he started becoming more fond of the celebrations. He still did not go into any extremes and kept things rather lowkey. While he wouldn't go out of his way to participate, he would dress festively and chose what he wanted to participate in. Still, most of his time was spend working for school, WE or in the Cave as the days leading up to the holiday were very hectic in all three aspects.

Cain was very similar to Drake in only participating when she chooses so, but usually she would trail behind Grayson and help where she can.

Both Brown and Gordon had their own families to spend time with so while they did spend time at the manor, they had their own family traditions to attend to.

Pennyworth would always be given the choice of where to spend his holidays as the elderly butler didn't have much family remaining in England these days that he felt the need to spend time with. This year he had chosen to return oversees and had left detailed instructions on how to care for the home in his absence. Including a long list of readymade meals he had prepared and catering that had been set up in advance.

That only left Todd. While not a resident himself, the others would attempt to rope him into their activities just like they had with Damian. Of course Todd had it way easier to refuse as he lived in Crime Alley and had his own work to do there. Most of them knew to not trespass and to give Jason space if he so wished. Damian found himself envying the man. How he wished he could as easily avoid Grayson's insufferable attempts at participating in such childish traditions as decorating the tree and manor or making cookie houses. Nearly stabbing the man with the damned star last year had done little to deter the man from trying the same this year it seemed. At least he had managed to convince his father to get a tree that could be watered and replanted on manor grounds after the blasted festivities were done with.

Small victories.

The young boy perked up as his phone vibrated on the nightstand. Begrudgingly he crawled out from under his blankets enough to reach for the device. Somewhat annoyed by the cool surface, he checked the notification bar before daring to unlock his phone. Mostly in case it had been Grayson to ask if he was up yet. The fool had no need to know that information lest Damian wanted to get bombarded with activities his elder had planned out. While he had a long list of plans of retaliation, he was not looking forward to the scolding the enactment of those plans would bring. Why was he to blame for Grayson's inability to keep himself at a respectable distance and to leave Damian to his own devices.

He took a moment of surprise as he read the name on display. Somewhat surprised at the sender, he opened the chat with Todd and found himself rolling his eyes.

RedDeadRedeption

any plans for today

Aragami

I fail to see why this is of any use to you

RedDeadRedemption

got a thing coming up that i could use ur help with

Aragami

*your

Learn to type Todd

What is it that you are too incompetent to do on your own

RedDeadRedemption

Never 😈

anyway

do u rlly need a reason to get out of there

or should i let goldie know ur up

Aragami

Don't you dare Todd.

I still have many files Gordon has gifted me should the need arise

Damian paused. He had been looking for ways to avoid Grayson. He was quickly running out of excuses now that school had ended so maybe this was exactly what he needed. Plus it would give him more leverage for the future. None of the others liked being bested by him so this would prove to be very useful in future extortions. Another vibration of his phone pulled his attention back to the conversation.

RedDeadRedeption

aite aite i wont

Aragami

When will u require my assistance

RedDeadRedemption

eh

come over whenever

just lemme know before u leave

make sure u got some of ur stuff with u

it might take a while

oh and sneak some cookies with u

my stash ran out

Aragami

I will do no such thing

Learn to ration better

Preferably after learning how to type

RedDeadRedemption

hard to do when

certain

little birdies decide to raid my safehouses the second they run out of theirs

but u wouldnt know shite about that

would u 🤨

A small smirk ghosted over Damian's lips. Of course he wouldn't lower himself to breaking into the elder's preferred apartment safehouse. That's what he had Cain for. She was the only one of the entourage who could be trusted with sharing the loot equally. The man knew how to make his own cookies, and while they weren't as special as Pennyworth's, they would suffice. Of course everybody knew where he hid his confectionary treats. Even when he tried to change the locations, within the week Damian had found them again and relayed the information to Cain for extraction of the goods.

Feeling a bit more enthused about his upcoming day, the young assassin finally left his nest of blankets. Opting for a quick shower he prepared to go downstairs and make himself a light breakfast. If Todd was going to ask for the limited amount of cookies Pennyworth had set up to be distributed daily, lest everybody finishes all of theirs in one sitting and fights break out over the remainders, well then the elder might as well provide a meal for the trouble he was going through.

He had grabbed a small backpack and packed up his tablet as well as other necessities he felt like he could use. Though not directly stated, he felt like it was implied that Damian was to stay late and possibly remain there for patrol as well. Yet another great excuse to avoid interacting with the rest.

With practiced stealth he quietly made his way down to the kitchen. Not that Damian wanted to admit it but it wasn't that hard of a task to accomplish. While he didn't have any shadows to cling to due to the overwhelmingly annoying colored lights everywhere, the permanent background music of equally annoying music helped hide any sound he may have made. He did find it a bit hard to breathe with how strong each room smelled of a different yet equally intense seasonal smell. Once he made it to the kitchen, a wave of overly seasoned mulled wine assaulted his nostrils.

"Baby bat you're up!" 

Damian sighed mentally as Grayson's obnoxiously loud voice filled the room. Somehow his presence in the same space as the lights and music caused a headache to start forming. Trying his best to refrain from voicing his annoyance, the young boy gave a short greeting. "Grayson." Of course the man was not put off by the verbal distance that Damian sticks to. Exactly opposite to what Damian would have wanted, the older man saunters over and wraps an arm around his shoulders. "How long have you been up? There's so much we can do today! We still got the trees outside to decorate and so many games to play! It snowed again last night so we got fresh snow to make snowpeople of!"

Damian had to fight off his need to forcefully remove the man's arm from his being with every shred of his self-control. He still did not enjoy such casual touch, or most forms of physical contact to begin with. The added sensory input of being touched nearly drove him mad. "Absolutely not. If you must, go bother Drake with these plans. I will not be participating." He ducked under the man's arm to get away from his touch and reached into the fridge for one of his smaller servings of overnight oats. If Grayson continued to pester him about childish things, he would be very tempted to take it to go and eat along the way.

"Oh come on Dami, don't be like that. Christmas is all about spending time with family and we have so many Christmases to catch up on! Timmy didn't like it either but now he does! You just gotta get used to it I'm sure."

To go it is he thought as he put the container in a separate compartment. "That is not my name, Grayson. Surely you must not have been fasting so much it has inhabilitated your memory?" Was the slight dig to the man's own beliefs necessary? No. But respect is a two way street and Grayson was not respecting his boundaries so it felt somewhat justified. Need it be necessary, he would apologize at a later date but at this moment he could not care any less. So long at it made the elder leave him alone. "Secondly, I already have a prior commitment so I will not be available for the foreseeable future. I have already informed Father of my departure." Technically he had not, but he was aware of his father receiving a notification for any and all changes made to the schedule so sending additional messages felt unnecessary.

Grayson raised an interested eyebrow as he leaned onto the counter with a slight slouch. "Oh? Going to spend time with Jon?" Damian had to yet again refrain from audibly signing. What was it going to take for the elder to leave him be? "Jonathan has returned to Smallville to spend the holiday break with his grandparents." He opted to not elaborate any more. It was not Grayson's business to know what Damian will be doing or where he is going. If they need him for anything truly important they could always comm in or check his tracker in the Cave. He had already taken the liberty to take his name off the schedule for patrol tonight should it arise that he would be too preoccupied by whatever Todd requested his assistance for. No doubt Drake was already aware of the change and would be informing the others later on.

Grayson kept staring at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly expecting more without having to ask for it. Perhaps he had spent too much time with father lately to be taking over his non-verbal communication habits. Non the less, Damian ignored the unspoken question and packed a few extra snacks as well as the extra cookies Todd had requested. If Grayson had noticed, he had thankfully chosen to remain silent on the fact. Yet another small victory Damian could be happy about.

Zipping up all the compartments of his bag, he gave his elder a final nod in goodbye. He pointedly ignored the yells of his elder as he started heading to the Cave to suit up. "Be safe baby bat!" Ah. Yes. 'Safe'. Because going to visit one of the most dangerous crime lords located in an area called 'crime alley' just screams safety. Damian allowed himself to roll his eyes at the absurdity. He was a trained assassin and heir to the demon throne. Of course he will be safe. If anything, people should fear him instead of the other way around.

Getting dressed and storing his clothing in the bottom compartment of his bag didn't take long. He sent off a quick message to Todd to let him know he was leaving before getting on his bike. The trip to Gotham itself didn't take too long. Once he had reached far enough into the city to grapple, he left his bike in one of their many designated safe spots. With it being broad daylight, he would stand out too much if he took the roads. While still being very clear to see up on the snow covered rooftops, it was a lot easier to retain at least some levels of stealth as he made his way to Todd's safehouse. He needn't ask which one as he had quickly learned that unless the man specified which address to converge at, it would be the one he preferred to live in. It was the nicest one of the apartments and was somewhat decently furnished outside of base necessities.

It also happened to be the one Cain would be sent to raid for snacks.

Once he got within a block of the residences, he made sure there was nobody that could spot him. Quickly yet carefully he made his way inside the apartment via the window. He didn't have many concerns for the safety measures being active as Todd knew of his arrival. He landed with a soft thud on the wooden floors.

Outside of a small plastic tree standing on the coffee table and a soft vanilla scent, there weren't any festive decorations to be seen. No obnoxious music, no overly aggressive flickering lights and no strong scents that choked him out. A sense of calmness washed over him as he found it easier to relax without his senses being overwhelmed in every way. Letting out a soft sign, he felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate.

"Shoes!"

Right.

He was in Todd's apartment safehouse. The man had quite a strict rule of no shoes inside the house. Even going as far as to have a small shoe rack at the window for special visitors to store their shoes in. A sentiment Damian shared as he had his own storage for shoes by his bedroom door. It had been quite a debacle to get his consistently intruding siblings, aka Grayson, to adhere to his preference. Todd's implementation of this rule as well was a great help as the man would not hesitate to force whomever broke the rule to clean the entire floor.

Damian placed his shoes in the usual spot and chose to remove his domino mask as well. It felt rather odd not having his shoes on yet keep the mask, so off it went. He roamed a bit more inside and placed his bag next to the coffee table. "What is it that you required my assistance for, Todd?"

Said man walked out of the guest bedroom, dressed rather casual for having asked Damian's help in something. "Did you eat yet?" He asked as he wandered to the kitchen. He didn't wait for Damian's answer before already taking out some bowls and ingredients.

Damian glanced back at his bag, the container of overnight oats forgotten until now. "I had planned to but it seems it slipped my mind." He answered as he made his way back to his backpack so he could place his oats and other refrigerated snacks in the fridge. Without any further communication, Todd started to make the batter for vegan coconut pancakes. Arguably one of Damian's favorites, but he didn't get to eat them often as the others in the manor weren't quite fond of them.

It would be a waste to have Pennyworth make them special for him. The elderly man already worked hard to provide them with well balanced meals every day. It would be quite selfish to demand a separate breakfast just for himself. Most times he got to enjoy them just happened to be when Damian visited Crime Alley as Todd also seemed to enjoy them. He wasn't sure when the last time was that he got to enjoy some so it was quite a welcome surprise to be able to eat them now.

Damian silently watched as Todd mixed everything together. Still enjoying having a break from the overwhelming decorations of the manor. The other also didn't seem to mind the peace and quiet which absolved it from being anything awkward. Not wanting to leave all the work to Todd, Damian removed his gloves so he could already wash off any dishes that wouldn't be needed anymore.

He was quite aware of the privilege he had to somewhat assist in the kitchen as Pennyworth had banned everybody outside of Todd and himself from the kitchen. Damian was only allowed to assist in a selected few things until he grew bigger. According to Pennyworth it was a safety risk he wasn't willing to take to let the youngest operate some of the appliances or tend to meals like a roast in the oven. Some of these tasks also required a certain level of knowledge and expertise Damian had yet to gather so often times he would observe and help where possible. This was a habit that carried on to Todd's kitchen as well as he only allowed Damian to help the most. Cain and Brown had limited access but Grayson and Drake were fully banned to even step foot inside the kitchen. Of course Father wasn't even allowed on the premises so it went without saying that he, too, was fully banned.

He was about to start drying off the dishes when Todd took the towel from him. "Let me do that. Got some spare clothes for you in the guest room." He nodded over to the room he had previously walked out of. Damian raised a quizzing eyebrow as he looked over to the room. "I thought you has requested my assistance on something, not to play dress up."

Todd chuckled at the accusation as he placed some of the now dry cutlery back in its place. "I do, but it's not a traffic light colored bird kind of thing. You'll need to look the part for it to work." Feeling like he wasn't going to get more than that, Damian tutted as he went to grab his bag and shoes again before going to the guest room. On the bed was a pile of neatly folded clothes. They looked like the standard ware youth would wear in this kind of weather. A simple black jeans, a shirt and a green hoodie. There was also a rather thick looking jacket but that would be for later. Before getting dressed, he opted to put his reserve clothing in the dresser that held some of his other clothes. He hid his Robin suit in the hidden compartment and let the other clothes rest on top of the rest.

When he returned to the kitchen, Todd had already started baking the pancakes. Looking over at the younger, a small smile appeared on his face. "Look at you, you do know how to dress like a normal kid." He snickered at his own joke as he placed a fresh pancake on the plate at Damian's usual spot. Small bowls with already cut fruits and nuts laid ready to add on as he pleased. He spooned a few onto his own plate before adding some of Todd's favorites to his plate. While Damian preferred his fruits on the side of the pancakes, Todd preferred to have raspberries and chocolate shavings stacked between the pancakes so the berries can release some of their juices and the chocolate can melt.

It wasn't a big deal to Damian to help prepare the elder's pancakes while he baked new ones. Though these small things only happened with Todd. The others did not deserve his kindness when they have yet to earn such a privilege. Perhaps Pennyworth would receive the same assistance but a situation where it would be warranted had yet to occur.

They ate their meals in relative silence, outside of some small talk. As predicted Todd had asked about the decor in the manor. Damian felt no need to hold back from explaining just how awful it is to even exist anywhere outside of the Cave or his bedroom. Luckily the library had also been spared but it was too open of a place for Damian to willingly risk being found by Grayson. He was also relatively sure that if they dared bring in any of those horrendous scents, neither Todd nor Pennyworth would let them live. Both men treasured the ever present tranquility of the library and the smells would take ages to get out of the books.

Before long they had finished eating and had also finished the remaining dishes. While this kind of a relaxed morning was welcome, Damian would very much like to know why he was asked to come over. He could just ask again, but he did not feel like his question being ignored yet again. He checked his phone for any messages he had been sent. Some of them were from Jonathan who had sent multiple pictures of the barn cats and of the food his grandmother had prepared. He promised to bring back some extras for Damian to taste. There was also a message from his father asking about his absence. Likely remaining in his Brucie persona whilst he was still at the company. Replying with the same mannerisms, he informed his father that he was staying with Todd for the day and might stay the night. Any further reporting would need to wait until he was actually told what he was called over for.

Todd had left to his own room to get changed while Damian was preoccupied. When the man reemerged, he was wearing quite a similar outfit to Damian. The only difference being the sizing and Todd's hoodie being a dark red one. Damian had taken the que to retrieve his backpack and the jacket as well as a spare set of shoes. When he came back to the living room, Todd was already putting his shoes on. "Are you going to explain where we are going or am I expected to go in blind?" He somewhat mumbled as he went over to the door to put his shoes on as well.

Jason smirked before handing the younger a small box wrapped in what seemed to be seedling paper. "Not until you open this. Selina dropped it off with the instructions to not let you outside without at least having opened it." Damian eyed the elder suspiciously before carefully unfolding the paper from around the box. His respect for the serial burglar grew a bit at the lack of tape used on the delicate paper. Rather she had folded the edges together so they would remain closed without the assistance of tape that would likely have left some of the seedling paper unusable. He handed the paper over to Todd who placed it on a nearby shelf for later.

Unsure of what to expect, he slowly opened the box to find a little hand written card and a black crochet hat. The note wasn't anything over the top with a request to come visit again. "Stay warm out there, kitten" was written on the bottom of the card. Further inspecting the hat, it immediately stood out how soft the fibers were. His hands rubbed over the softness for a while, vaguely registering Todd taking the box out of his other hand. He glanced up to the elder to see him smiling softly at him. He held out his hand, a silent offer to put it on for him. It had likely seem like Damian was unsure of what to do due to the long pause he took. Not thinking much of it, he handed the elder the hat.

Damian usually wouldn't wear hats. The fabrics used often made him feel uncomfortable or itchy. The feeling of having them on never left as with the smallest of movements or a light breeze was enough for the fabric to make him want to rip it off right then and there.

He barely felt it as Todd pulled the hat onto his head. The soft fibers felt like warm clouds. There was no tightness or need to take it off. Damian reached his hands up to feel the softness just to make sure it was actually still there.

"Hold up."

Todd pulled out his phone and turned on the front facing camera so Damian could see how he looked. Unbeknownst to him, the shape of the hat had two bumps on each side of his head, almost making them look like cat ears. Damian smiled at himself. He quite liked this gift and he felt no need to force any pleasantries since the woman wasn't here to warrant them. Still, he felt it only appropriate to properly thank her on his next visit.

Todd had pulled out a similar looking hat himself. His hat had a white spot in the front and the 'ears' had white tips to them. He gestured to Damian with his phone as he grinned at the younger. "You good with taking a pic? I'm sure Selena would love one to know you opened it." If not, then not didn't need to be verbalized. Todd usually made sure to ask his permission over things like this as well as respect his boundaries. Seeing as he was quite genuinely happy at the moment, he nodded. He knew there was no need to demand it only be sent to the cat burglar, Todd already knew.

The taller man had bent his knees a bit and leaned towards Damian so both of them would properly be in the shot. While coming close, the man made sure to stay out of Damian's personal space, unlike Grayson's annoyingly clingy habits. As Todd sent the picture, likely with a short message as well, Damian finished up tying his shoes and swung his backpack onto his back. Todd had yet again extended a hand in silence, offering to carry the bag for him, but this time Damian preferred to keep it with him.

Both ready to leave now, they left though the door. When the little click of Todd's security sounded, they both made their way down the stairs and onto the streets. Damian had felt a little tensed, not knowing where the man was taking him. He had often joined Todd on patrols but being down on the streets was a whole different perspective than being up on the rooftops. As if sensing his unease, the elder walked around Damian so he could stand between Damian and the streets. "There's some things at the community center that need to get done first. It's only 20 minutes from here so it won't take long." He finally explained.

Damian glanced up. "The one father had built?" after your death

Todd playfully pushed Damian's shoulder with his elbow. "The one I run. The old man has nothing to do with it outside of having his name on the contract and paying the taxes. The alley doesn't take outsider help all too well especially from people like him. Not when they feel like they're just a marketing stunt or a charity case. You can take the kid out of the alley but you can't take the alley out of the kid. He never understood that. Probably still doesn't." The look Todd gave him was nearly unreadable outside of a hint of something that felt oddly familiar.

Damian looked on thoughtfully. His father had reacted rather negatively to his arrival. Even worse when he first took over the mantle of Robin. While it had been his birthright to be his successor, Father had made it overly clear that he would not tolerate what the League, what his mother, had taught him. At the slightest hints of how he was raised would have the threat of Robin being taken away looming over him. All the instances of their screaming matches flooded his mind. Between him and his father, him and Grayson and oddly enough both Grayson and Todd had defended him on a few occasions. While it had improved in both ways, there were still many intolerances that Damian had trouble agreeing with.

Damian looked over at Todd again. The man seemed lost in thought just like Damian had been just a moment ago. He got the sense that while they both had wildly different youths, the man would understand him. After all, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch as Damian had openly defended Todd's actions as Hood. Something father had not taken kindly to.

Subconsciously, Damian moved to walk a bit closer to Todd, seeking out some comfort that the other could also use at the moment.

The pair continued on in relative silence amongst the surprisingly busy streets. Damian had no trouble following Todd as their close proximity allowed for the use subtle hints to indicate where to turn next while weaving between other pedestrians. Lots of people seemed to be out for some local shopping or simply enjoying the nice winter weather. Some of the younger children were playing in the snow while some older ones stood guard. The younger ones were screaming a lot and running around but they didn't seem to be in any danger. Todd also paid them no attention outside of smiling at the kids so he chose to ignore them.

Just like he said, it didn't take long for them to reach the community center. It looks rather barren save for some tables and boxes on the small stage at the far right side. It could definitely use a bit of cleaning as well but this was the Alley and not Gotham Proper, so it was no surprise the place didn't look pristine. Damian side eyed the elder as he shrugged off his jacket. "There is a community gathering tonight for the kids. Most of the few workers we do got called in sick or couldn't leave their own families. We just got to set up shop for tonight and we're done here. Think you can manage?"

Damian scoffed. Who did Todd think he was talking to? He wasn't some servant to do the work for others. Not only that but he agreed to assist Todd with the intent of avoiding the damned holiday mess. "I wasn't aware you were so incompetent that you had to do a servants work at the last minute. You could have easily requested Grayson to do this. He would gladly make it look like the personification of Saint Nicolas threw up all over."

Todd laughed as he beckoned the younger to come over. "I could have. But Goldie has a horrible sense for interior design and I would rather it not look like a sensory overload gone to the extreme. Not all the kids here do too well with flashy lights or that horrible music he likes." Damian found himself agreeing with the elder's reasoning. It would be best to not subject any more people to Grayson's holiday disaster. While he still wasn't all to amused to be helping, he figured he could use it to get more meals out of the man later.

Damian stood next to Todd who was checking all the boxes. With a small victory cry he put the box he had been searching for onto a nearby table. Inside were multiple sets of decorations for a tree. "Think you can pick a few out that would look decent? Half of the sets are all mixed up so you can just pick and choose which ones would look best." Damian crinkled up his nose as he sent a mildly annoyed glare at the elder. "And what tree did you murder to decorate?"

Another laugh sounded from Todd as he pulled out a transparent board that held a lot of strings. "No tree murder here. Was planning on a tree-less tree."

"A tree-less tree? How does that even make sense in any way?"

Todd held the board up higher over the edge of the stage so the strings would fall a bit further to the ground. "Basically we have to put this on the ceiling and then put the decorations on the strings. They're already pre-cut to length so once you're done it will have the shape of a tree without actually needing one." Damian walked a bit closer to inspect the contraption.

Fascinating.

It did look sturdy enough to handle the weight of decorations, perhaps some extra glue on some of the strings on top to properly reattach some that looks like they're coming undone. But it will do. Much better than the large plastic trees that cause even more pollution than the murder of a real tree does. Perhaps this is also something he could pitch to Father so there would be even less trees being harmed. The WE offices could surely use decorations that don't require as much cleaning by the staff every day.

Damian nodded in agreement as he took the box over to an open area on the stage so he could see all the decorations he would be working with. "What is the theme you wish?" Todd paused for a second before jabbing a thumb at Damian's bag. "You brought your tablet right?" At Damian's nod, the elder carried the bag over to where Damian was standing. "Then its your choice. If you get stuck you can always look up some references but other than it looking decent and cohesive, do whatever you like." Damian was a bit unsure of how to proceed as he hadn't had much experience with decorating to begin with. Outside of the pre-chosen mess Grayson has forced upon him of course.

"Oh," Todd yelled over his shoulder, "don't worry about how to set everything up later. We're pretty much alone here. And even if some passerby would look in, nobody would bat an eye at a kid hanging from the ceiling. We see weirder shit around here every day."

That...helped a bit. Damian set to work on researching inspiration that would work with the pieces he had. Some sets were incomplete and with the side of the board he guessed it would need more than just a single set anyway. Todd had helped for a bit to resecure all the strings back onto the board while Damian decided on a good place to hang it. The stage itself had a few support beams running above it that would make it the easiest to also decorate it using those same beams to reach everywhere. In the middle of the stage was also a small hatch that lead underneath where they could plug in the power cables for the lights.

The elder had put on one of his playlists and got to work. Much to Damian's own enjoyment, there wasn't any of that horrid music in the list. It was just the man's usual mix of alternate artists. There were a few that were of the more holiday type like Christmas EveL but at least it wasn't anywhere near as brain rotting as what Grayson would play nonstop.

While Damian busied himself with the tree, Todd was doing the cleaning and arranging of the tables and chairs. By the time it came to pass by with a broom and mop on the stage, Damian was already hanging off the ceiling, placing balls and lights around. He had chosen for an array of red, green and black balls in varying sizes, surrounded by simple golden lights.

Here and there Todd would come over to help hang up the lights as it was easier as a two man job. The elder remained on the floor while Damian would be up in the air making sure they sat exactly where he wanted them. The static setting had seemed a bit too underwhelming for how the tree looked so he opted for the slow twinkling mode instead. A few balls had to get switched around as they weren't giving the desired effect he wanted. Once he was pleased with his work, he went to look for Todd. The man was in one of the storage rooms looking for ingredients to make a few simple dishes.

"I've finished."

The elder sat down some of the stuff he had been holding on to to walk back to the main room with Damian. He let out a low whistle as he inspected the tree himself. Damian somewhat nervously waited as he watched Todd stalk around the tree-less tree. Somewhat subconsciously he pulled the sleeves over his hands to prevent himself from picking at the skin around his nails. A nervous habit he thought he had grown out of but brought a bit of comfort nonetheless.

"Damn kid. And you wanted to let Dick do this. I don't think anybody could have done better." Warmth filled Damian's chest at the praise. He felt a small smile creep up as Todd walked back over to where he was waiting. The taller of the two reached into his phone to check the time and cringed slightly. "Damn already that late?" Damian checked for himself. Without noticing it had already rolled well into the afternoon.

"I know I said it would only be a few things but the snacks still have to get made. You want a food break first or power through?" Todd looked at him for an answer. Damian contemplated powering though just so he would be done faster with assisting the man with the preparations. A small frown formed as he wasn't sure if he actually wanted this to be over yet. He hadn't minded too much to set up the decorations and had quite enjoyed the freedom he was given. A level of trust he did not receive often from the others.

"Perhaps having a meal first would be better lest we end up eating the snacks for the party before it begins." Maybe the meal would stretch the time a bit longer so he would have an excuse to definitely stay the night. After a bit of deliberation, they finally managed to pick a place where they would both have something they felt like eating. While awaiting the delivery, Damian assisted setting up some more preparations for the baking. It would save them some time before they would actually start cooking.

"Delivery for Jason?"

Damian was already hopping off the stepping stool before Todd has a chance to react. "I'll go, try to not spill anything." The elder nodded as he kept pouring out the ingredients into measuring cups. He grabbed the extra cash they had set aside to give the delivery person an extra tip for coming out during the winter weather

Damian walked out into the main hall to find a young woman admiring the decorations they had set up. "Oh," she said as she noticed the youngster approaching her, "Jason?" He shook his head as he finally reached where she was waiting. "He is in the back, I can take it." The lady smiled at him as she crouched down to open the thermal bag on her back. "That's a very nice tree you got. Wish I could decorate one just like it but they're rather expensive this year."

"Trees should be made more expensive so that people would finally stop buying them. It is an unnecessary tradition that should have no place in modern day with how little native forest still remain due to the growing farms." Damian hadn't meant to sound overly rude but judging from the slump in the woman's shoulders it had come over as such. "Still," she said, "it's nice to have something colorful in the house that makes the harsh winter months a bit more bearable." She stood up with their order and handed him the boxes. She smiled sadly as she looked over at the tree again. "It's not about the tree perse, but more so something to keep life in the house. A sign we already made it past the shortest day of the year and that better times are coming soon. Plus the kids love to decorate it. Its one of those few times we actually get to spend some time together as a family."

Damian frowned in confusion. Weren't all the times spend together so called 'family time'? He already felt it enough to eat their evening meals together and patrol the city every night. Was this not the same thing? Or were the times they had together so few in between due to the woman's lower paying job. Undoubtedly working more hours than she should if that was the case. Perhaps there was something more to it that he just simply did not understand. Yet, seeing the woman with a fond yet sad smile before him made him feel unsure what to do.

"Perhaps," he waited until he was sure the woman was paying attention to his words, "it might be an idea to make one like this? I'm sure there would be instructions on how to make one yourself on the internet. It does not take much work and will stay useful for many years to come. We have quite some extra decorations should you require some." He had felt rather awkward giving the offer to the woman but the was a spark of something he couldn't quite name in the woman's eyes now.

"Oh I couldn't possibly. Those look like they cost a fortune and I'm not sure it would be allowed." She fidgeted with her jacket zipper as she looked between the unused decorations that left abandoned on the table.

Damian placed the food on a nearby table and grabbed one of the boxes she seemed to be to be eyeing the most. "Ma'am, with all due respect but these truly won't be missed. Should the need arise, we can always get new ones so it won't be an issue. If it would help put your mind at ease, I can always go to the back and ask. I can guarantee Todd will give you the same answer." He held out the boxed set for her to hesitantly accept.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to cause any issues- Wait. Todd? As in the Jason Todd Wayne?" The lady looked at him with a mix of shock and confusion. Damian nodded, yet again not particularly sure what to do in this situation. "Oh god. Would that mean you're Damian Wayne? Oh I am so sorry! Where are my manners." The woman started frantically looking around on where she could place the box all the while trying to make herself look more presentable.

Damian held up his hands in a rather pathetic attempt to get the woman to calm down. "Ma'am please calm down. You have done nothing wrong." The woman seemed to calm down a little at Damian's calm tone. She still looked a bit panicked or rather very nervous as she tried to regain her composure. Damian felt bad for making the woman upset. Surely this would impact the rest of her shift and possibly her earnings.

He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Lifting up the top corners of the phone case, he took out some of the cash bills he kept with him should he ever have a need for it. This, he reasoned, seemed like one of those moments. He reached out his hand and waited until the woman held out her own before placing the tip and the extra money into her hand. He waited a moment before reaching out again to close her hand around the money as she had seemed to be frozen in place. "Please accept this as a gift and as an apology for upsetting you. It truly wasn't my intention."

The lady looked between her hand and Damian a few times, still quite in shock. "I- this is a lot. I can't just take this, it wouldn't be right." Damian gave her a soft smile in reassurance. "Ma'am, it would be my pleasure to gift this to you. If you change your mind, we would be happy to have you come back later in the evening for the event." Damian wasn't sure how to keep this conversation going without having to repeat himself over in an endless loop. He gave her another, hopefully reassuring, smile, picked up the food and started heading back to the kitchen. As he reached the door, he heard the lady yell out a 'thank you' and the closing of the main door.

As they ate, Damian explained what had happened. Todd had found it the funniest thing of the day as he imagined how Damian likely gave the poor woman half a heart attack. As they were cleaning up the trash, the elder cleared his throat. "So, you know how I only mentioned the snacks still needing to be done?"

Damian already had a feeling to where this was going. He crossed his arms and sent a deadpanned look at the elder. "Well," Todd continued, "there is one more thing I could use your help with, but you already did the tree and I know you're not a big decorating fan so if you're not up for it that's totally fine. No pressure-"

"Spit it out already, Todd."

"Well, we don't have much to liven up the place outside of the tree and the table cloths. I found some tempera paint in the store the other day and figured why not." The man shrugged as he lead the way back into the main hall, over to the windows. He grabbed one of the smaller boxes that had been set separately from the others and handed it to Damain. "Got all this window space, figured we could paint some stuff on there like stores do. But I don't particularly have the artistic talent to pull it off right."

Damian raised an unamused eyebrow. He knew that Todd knew that was a blatant lie. He had seen the man's doodles during his visits. They were most definitely not so amateuristic that some window painting would be considered too hard for the man to do. Still, Damian had never thought of painting on the window before and definitely never tried it. It would be quite an interesting experience. He picked up one of the bottles to make sure they were the right product to use without any damage.

"Don't worry, it's made to go on the windows. Comes off real easy too so clean up will be a breeze." Todd reassured as he waited for Damian to make a decision. The younger put the box down and walked over to his bag to retrieve his tablet yet again to research inspiration and how the paint worked so he would know how he can modify it should it be needed. "Do be aware that my agreement to do this is based on the demand of more coconut pancakes later and any more food I request."

Todd cackled as he playfully ruffled Damian's hair. For once he didn't feel the need to slap away the man's hand as it didn't take long for him to remove it himself. "Sure Demon. Maybe a movie to go with it too? Anyway, yell if you need me."

"Please burn yourself." Damian huffed in response as the elder left to return to the kitchen. There was no actual malice in his voice, just like here hadn't been any when Todd had spoken the nickname Drake had given him. Though Drake made sure to make it sound as negative as he could in an attempt to put Damian down, that same feeling was absent when Todd had said it.

Damian lost track of the time it took him to find what he was looking for and ultimately creating a piece he was quite proud of himself. It hadn't taken too long to find out he could use a sponge and some water to thin out the paint to create a frosted look. Nor had it taken him long to decide that the smaller details would be easier and much cleaner looking if he scratched them out instead of painting the negative space. He had struggled a bit to get the top sides done properly since the windows were rather tall. With being in such easy view of onlookers, he couldn't do anything a typical child wouldn't be able to do.

Each set of windows had its own theme. The one closest to the main door had a pair of deer in a pine forest with the moon shining over it.

The middle window had the Gotham skyline in it. Houses with as small of details as windows and gargoyles. In the sky he decided to paint the Red Hood symbol instead of Batman's seeing as the people weren't all too fond of the hero just like Todd was. They saw Hood as their protector so Hood's symbol it is. The logo itself was pained with negative space so that when the lights went on in the evening it would cast a shadow on the pavement outside. It had already started to become dark so a light shadow was already showing.

The third and last one was a more traditional looking one with a decorated tree in the bottom middle and a few buildings to the sides. On the top were strings with decorated balls much like the ones he had chosen for the tree they had inside.

Damian stared at the kitchen door. Another wave of nervousness washed over him just like it had with the tree. This time it had fully been Damian's own choices as Todd hadn't once come out of the kitchen to supervise his work. The mad hadn't even said anything of what he was expecting. Was it okay for him to have used his symbol without permission? The older man was rather protective of his reputation so maybe he wouldn't appreciate it being on the community center's window. Perhaps there was even a risk of outing his secret ID. Maybe it would be for the best if he took down the logo before going to get the man.

Ultimately he decided against it. Still quite nervous, his hands found their way back into his sleeves as he entered the kitchen. Todd had turned his music louder and was clearly enjoying himself as he focused on the cooking. Not wanting to have to raise his voice too much, Damian walked up to the man and tugged on the man's hoodie.

Todd cleaned off his hands and turned down the volume. "Need anything?" Todd had only spared him a glance as he continued to whisk colors into a cream. Had he already upset the man by interrupting his work?

He wasn't sure why he felt this overwhelming amount of nerves. He knew it was childish to feel like this over something so small and insignificant. He had done way bigger things and not bat an eye. He regularly had his art displayed during school events, yet this? For some odd reason he felt like he was back in Nanda Parbat. Back his training when his grandfather would evaluate his skills. When nothing was ever good enough. Just like he wasn't good enough for his father now.

Not finding the courage to speak up, he simply walked back out of the kitchen with Todd following behind him. He could already imagine the disappointed reaction. Maybe he would be so upset it would trigger the Pit madness even. Damian had never seen it for himself, always only hearing stories as most of it was before he came to live here. A small part of him wanted him to believe Todd wouldn't do that, not with how he praised his work on the tree. But he had been supervised for that, unlike now.

The stress of waiting for his reaction caused his hands to find their way towards each other, despite his sleeves. He picked at the skin around his nails as he watched Todd inspect every window. His breath hitched as he watched the elder look over the middle window.

A little pause at the top of the window.

Was he unhappy? Damian couldn't tell as he had his back turned towards the younger. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not but without saying anything on it he had moved on to the third window. Was it that bad it wasn't even worthy of a comment? Or was he waiting until he wasn't in full view of the pedestrians outside? There were already a few people stopping to take a look and take some pictures. God how Damian hoped that wouldn't cause any more issues if Todd didn't like it.

He looked down at his hands, only noticing now that he had managed to make one of his fingers bleed already. He could faintly hear his mother's voice scolding him for doing something so unbecoming of an Al Ghul.

Transfixed on his bleeding finger and haunting memories, Damian hadn't noticed Todd approaching. A sudden pressure on his shoulder made him jump as he pulled away as if the touch burned his skin.

Giving himself a minute to get both his breathing and heart rate back under control, he noticed Todd had crouched down in front of him. A tactic often used on a scared child to seem less threatening. A tactic that was, annoyingly enough, working. Todd waited patiently for him to calm down. A slight raise in his eyebrow and an unspoken question.

Are you okay?

Damian nodded his head a single time. He held out his hand for Todd to look at, already knowing the man would want to check out where the blood was coming from. It hadn't taken long for him to start rubbing soft circles on the back of his hand. "You did great, Damian."

Damian wasn't convinced. He'd fully been expecting some verbal lashing out. To tell him to wipe it all off. Start over and do better.

To not be a disappointment to the Al Ghul name.

He knew he pulled a face when Todd squeezed his hands lightly. "I'm serious, Damian. Look at all the people outside looking at your art. You know how hard it is to stop Alley people on their way home." He did yes. Alley people wouldn't even stop to look at a dead body so long as it didn't bother them.

Still.

He looked up to the windows again. Todd had yet to say anything about his use of the man's logo. Said man seemed to have noticed what had kept bothering the younger. He stood back up and took a careful step forward, making sure Damian would voluntarily follow him. Slowly they walked towards the middle window. Todd had crouched back down next to him but Damian couldn't get himself to look the man in the eye.

"Damian?" The younger lifted his vision for just a second in acknowledgment. "Why are you so worried about that?" He didn't sound condescending. Not upset.

Not disappointed.

Damian swallowed before answering barely above a whisper. "I didn't ask permission." He could feel Todd pause the circles he had been rubbing on his hand. Had that been the wrong thing to say? Had he still managed to disappoint the man?

"Why would you need my permission?"

At that, Damian finally managed to look up. Genuine confusion danced over the man's expression as he waited for Damian to elaborate.

"I-" Damian paused to think over his response more. "Because it is your logo?" Damain felt as confused as Todd looked to be.

"I mean, yeah. But it's also the Batsignal. Honestly, I would have thought you'd use B's."

His confusion deepened as his brows knit together. "Why should I use Father's? He barely set foot in the territory even before you claimed it as your own. The Alley sees you as their protector, using Batman's logo would be an insult to the work you have done here." Did Todd think so lowly of his achievements that he didn't ought himself worthy of being its protector?

To his continued surprise, Todd smiled at him. "You've also done a lot for the Alley, Damian. Come on, you can't give me all the credit here. They trust you as much as they trust me." Todd let go of Damian's hands, much to the younger's displeasure. As he stood up only half way, he kept holding out his arms. With a bit of hesitation, Damian accepted the silent offer and let the man pick him up. He felt awkward in such a childish position as he held onto the elder's neck while balanced on his hip.

Todd walked over to where Damian had left the paint supplies and picked up one of the smaller brushes. He handed the paintbrush over to Damian and walked over to the window.

Damian looked between the window, the brush and Todd as the elder nodded encouragingly. With a ghost of a smile growling slowly, he tried to climb up just a bit higher so he could reach the spot at a more comfortable angle. Todd helped him up by adjusting his hold so Damian was now sitting at the man's chest height. Using one sleaved hand to steady himself without leaving finger prints on the window, Damian carefully painted his own Robin logo next to Red Hood's.

It felt rather sentimental as each Robin had designed their own version of the logo and their suits to suit their preferences. Each had their own distinct traits that would set them apart to those with a keen eye. Damian had continued the tradition of designing his own logo and suit but had taken elements from older designs. For the suit, it had been the return of the green which Drake had removed in his adaptation. For the logo, however, Damian had used Todd's Robin logo as a reference the most. He had added a few extra details like some overlapping parts and a slight font change but the resemblance was there. It hadn't been an issue before as Drake's design had also been clearly inspired by Grayson's so it was somewhat of a tradition.

Once he was finished, Todd let him down again. "You know, you should probably sign it. Then people will know it was your work. Some good PR will make B and Replacement leave you alone next time something goes wrong." Damian trudged over to each window to scratch out his official signature in each bottom right corner.

He looked over to Todd who was looking at him proudly. The warm feeling from earlier had come back full force, causing him to puff up his own chest with pride as well. Not only did the man think it acceptable, but he encouraged Damian to sign the work so all would know it to be his. To be able to show off who painted the windows. "Come on, Demon. Let's get cleaned up and get your finger bandaged. Got some cookies that could use some decorating." Todd waited for Damian to catch up to him before they started walking back towards the kitchen.

By the time they had finished the last of the preparations, some of the workers who had been scheduled to supervise the event had already shown up with some of their own treats and a bit more things to decorate the main room. Some of them had offered the pair a Santa hat to wear but they had declined. Damian was rather fond of his new hat and would rather not switch it out for one he know would drive him mad within the hour.

Before long it had been time to open the doors and let the people inside. Damian was rather surprised at how fast the day went by. It hadn't felt like they were here for that long, while in reality it had been hours. No doubt by now the rest of the vigilantes were already full swing on patrol. Word had also seemed to gotten out that two of the Wayne children were in attendance as there were some paparazzi outside. Damian wasn't particularly sure what to do as leaving now would definitely look bad. A Wayne leaving a slum like the Alley when the event hadn't even properly started? The media would have a field day dragging their name though the mud.

Damian awkwardly stood next to Todd as the man greeted and chatted with the people who arrived. Most of the people only gave a simple greeting, one that he could easily give a courteous nod to. Others required a few more words to be exchanged. So far it wasn't that much different than Father's galas outside of a different demographic attending. It was rather tolerable, especially considering they made sure there were snacks Damian could also enjoy outside of the ones he had in his backpack.

His quiet musing had been interrupted by a small horde of children and a few adults making their way over to the pair.

"Uncle Jay!" One of the kids yelled as he ran up for a hug. Todd effortlessly picked up the child and gave him a big squeeze. "Heya Henry. You having fun?" The elder asked the giddy child on his hip. The child, Henry, made come big gestures as he tried to explain how his day had been.

One of the smaller kids had timidly approached Damian and tapped his leg while the young assassin was still preoccupied by Henry and Todd. He looked down at the little girl who looked away the moment their eyes met. Todd and the other adults were busy with each other. Damian raised a questioning eyebrow. "Can I help you?" The little girl twiddled her fingers together as she spoke barely above a whisper. Damian had to crouch down to be able to hear her correctly. "Wew," she started, a small speech impeachment already showing through from her young age, "wo are you, mimster?" Damian felt a small smile tugging at his lips. At least this child was being raised with manners. Something Damian had found to be very lacking in the youth these days.

"My name is Damian."

"Do you kwow umcle Jayjay, mimster Damimiman?" Another small girl asked, possibly the first girl's sister judging off of looks and their similar speech issue. She had walked up to hold the first girl's hand and apparently talk to him as well. Damian inwardly cringed at how hard the girl had struggled with his name. Would it be better to use a different name the girls would be able to pronounce lest they get discouraged to approach him.

Damian nodded at the girls but soon realized the shyer one wouldn't see it with how she was averting her gaze. "Dami is just fine. And yes, he is..." Damian trailed off. What was he supposed to answer. He supposed calling Todd 'Todd' wasn't something neither the kids nor any adults who might be listening in would appreciate. With his luck, the children wouldn't even know who he was referring to. Perhaps it would be better to stick to terms the children would understand.

"My brother. He is my brother." He repeated, the word feeling odd in his mouth. It hadn't felt wrong like all the times Grayson had called him his brother. It was foolish when the older man said it. They weren't related and thus not brothers. Why the man insisted that he was, just because Father had taken pity on him all those years, he just simply did not understand.

But now?

Now it made that little warm feeling return that he felt when Todd Jason had praised him for his work on the tree and the windows. Thinking back on it, he had felt the same warm feeling when he was allowed to help with cooking and trusted to handle himself. He couldn't pinpoint when it had first started but he now realized that it was something he felt in some intensity for a while already. He wasn't particularly sure what this meant, and wasn't too keen to find out any time soon. Perhaps he could as Jonathan after the boy had returned from his trip.

The young girls perked up as his answer. The more extroverted one had a slightly mischievous look on her face that the other girl matched to a lesser intensity. "Does that meam you cam come pway with us outside?" The girls gripped their hands tighter together as they attempted to use what Grayson would call 'puppy dog eyes'. Perhaps they were trying to convince him to allow them to go outside. Though, he wasn't sure that would be allowed by any of the adults who still seemed to be in active conversation with Jason.

Damian allowed the smile to fully form. "I'm not sure we can do that. We'd need to ask permission first." Deflect responsibility. Always a good strategy when unsure of what to do. Perhaps it would deter the girls from trying again and stay inside where they would be easier to be kept an eye on.

Of course that wasn't the case.

The girls giggled as they wiggles their way through the adults to stand in front of Jason. "Umcle Jayjay!" The man had to switch Henry to the other side so he could comfortably crouch down to their level. "Something wrong, girls?"

Damian took the long way around the adults and other kids and ultimately managed to stand with the sisters.

"Umcle Dami says we cam pway outside if you says its okay. Cam we go? Pwease?"

Jason looked confused at the two girls, sending a few well covered glances at Damian. "Uncle Dami?" Before he could answer, the timid girl had answered for him. "Umcle Dami says it's okay." "Yeah!" The more extroverted of the pair continued. "It's way easy than Dawimimimaman... And, and he says he is your bowoter so he is our umcle too." Jason smiled at them as the poor girl struggled even harder than last time to say Damian's name.

Damian looked away from Jason's glances as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. He hadn't expected the girls to call him that in front of the man, let alone repeat his declaration of siblinghood. Would Jason Todd be upset at the lack of formality? He hadn't asked permission before. But the man had made it clear earlier that Damian doesn't always need to ask permission for things if it felt like the right and logical thing to do. Would this also fall under those premises?

Damian couldn't dwell long as he felt Todd Jason adjust his hat on his head. While Damian was lost in thought, the man had let go of Henry and was subtly trying to ground the younger back into the conversation. Once the man felt like Damian was focusing back enough for it to not be noticeable he turned back to the other adults around them. "Would it be okay if Damian takes the kids outside? He hasn't had many chances yet to play out in the snow with other kids. I can promise you he is very responsible."

Was Jason not going outside with them? Damian had been sure the man would come with to supervise himself, or perhaps one of the parents would come with. Of course it wasn't because Damian couldn't handle some kids alone. It was more that he wasn't expected to be entrusted with strangers' children.

"Will you not be going with them?" One of the parents asked. Jason gave them a warm smile as he placed a hand on Damian's shoulder. "If I would then there wouldn't be enough staff inside anymore. It's just me and Ruth tonight, Damian just happened to be staying over with me so he came to help out a bit. He volunteers at the shelter near Gotham U so he's used to keeping an eye on a rowdy group. And I'm sure you could all use a little break as well."

That seemed to please the adults enough to allow Damian to keep an eye on them. The parents all helped their kids zip up their jackets again. Something about how Jason had worded his answer made him think there might be something or someone inside that the man wanted to keep an eye on. Perhaps this was part of the mission he had been called in for.

Damian was about to lead the way to the outside before Jason called his name. Looking back at the older man, he had carried over his leather jacket and held it open. "Yours is still in the back with your bag. Can't set a bad example and go out without a jacket can you?" Right, Damian was now in charge of kids. If he was not to wear a jacket then neither would they keep theirs on for long. Even though Damian knew it wasn't so cold that he needed the jacket, he still accepted the help and pulled on Jason's jacket.

For appearances sake, of course. It doesn't matter that the man's grossly oversized jacket was extremely comfortable and smelled like him. That had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Not at all.

As they made their way outside, Damian gave them a few rules to follow, mainly to not go onto the roads. They were in a less trafficked part of the Alley but he would still rather not take the chances of a car speeding past.

Much like he had seen earlier in the day, Damian had taken position on the street edge. Just as an extra safety precautions should they not notice where they were running to. There were also a few adults out for a smoke so he wasn't really the only one keeping an eye on the kids. He could vaguely hear a camera shutter go off a few times as a few of the journalists had yet to leave. Damian tried to pay them no heed, not that hard of a task as he had children to supervise.

Here and there one of the kids would ask him to play with them, not just guard them like statue. Damian had politely declined the offer each time. He was too old for such childish games, totally ignoring that Grayson continuously tried to rope him into similar activities for the past month. He hoped the children would tire themselves out soon so he could return back inside and assist Jason in investigating whatever had peaked the man's interest earlier.

Unfortunate for Damian, his constant refusals resulted in an utter riot from the children as they all collectively decided Damian was their new target.

He had meant for it to stick to just dodging their attempts but that soon proved to not be enough after a few snowballs hit their marks. The sisters who had spoken to him first tried to defend him from the attacks but it was rather futile as there were too many for them alone to handle. All too soon Damian had joined in with his own counter attack in defense of the sisters. While the young Wayne kept up their offence, the girls had tried to make a barrier with some snow and a nearby lamppost to create their fort. At this new revelation, the other kids started grouping up as well and built their own forts between trashcans and boxes.

Somewhere during the fight, Damian had noticed a shine of familiar electric blue reflecting on the windows. Of course the others had come to check on where he was. He tried to reel in his activities in order to safe face but the kids' relentless barrage left it near impossible to not react. Though not wanting to let that be it, he made sure to get back at them for spying.

If any of the adults or kids noticed the rogue snowballs going to or coming from the rooftops around them, they didn't comment on it.

Before he could even notice time had passed, some of the parents had come out and called for their children. One by one they started to leave while the others and Damian played on.

He wasn't sure if it were the kids or all the pent up energy he had from the overwhelming amount of emotions he experienced today, but Damian was genuinely enjoying himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had socialized with anybody and it not being work or school related. Perhaps the closest that got to it was when Jonathan had insisted on taking Damian to an arcade the alien had found close to his home. That had resulted in Damian spending the night there as Miss Lane had refused to let Damian go home so late in the night. No amount of objecting made her change her mind and the spineless imbecilic that is her husband refused to go against her will.

Strongest man alive. What a joke.

All too soon, the majority of the children had left. It was just the sisters and Henry left. They were all rather tired from their strenuous snowball competition, so Damian had directed them to make small snowpeople to place on the windowsill. As they were setting up their 7th in the little army, Todd and a woman walked out. "...sure they are all safe. I wouldn't have let Damian say out with them if I wasn't sure he would be able to handle it." He heard Jason say as they walked thought the door.

"Auntie Peggy! Look! We made a snow army!" Henry exclaimed as he dragged the woman over to the windows. "Well look at this, there are so many of them." Peggy said as she listened to Henry introduce every snow person. "And this is Nari! He's the protector of the forest so he had to stand with the animals to make sure no bad guys go in."

"Oh my." Peggy lightly gasped as she looked at the 'forest'. "You've really out done yourself this time, Jason."

Said man held up his hands in mock surrender as he gave a small nod in Damian's direction. "Not me this time, Peggs. This is all Damian's doing."

"UMCLE DAMI DID DIS?" The extroverted sister yelled out as she dramatically fell on her knees before Damian. "Pwease umcle Dami you have to teash us!" The other sister had joined her and was nodding along, clinging to one of Damian's legs. Their damned puppy eyes had made a comeback as well. Damian helplessly looked over to Jason who was having to hold back a laugh.

"Auntie Peggie, can uncle Dami come with us to teach us how to draw like that?" Henry pleaded. Peggie nervously rubbed her elbow, clearly not enjoying being put on the spot like that. "No can do, champ. Damian is staying with me tonight. Maybe some other time though?" Jason cut in to lessen the pressure on the poor woman. Damian noted the not so hidden attempt at securing another meeting with the woman. Had she been the person of interest this whole evening?

Peggy still looked rather uncomfortable as she directed her attention towards Damian. "Oh I couldn't possibly ask that. You've already gone out of your way to look after them tonight."

Damian straightened out as he tried to pull one of the sisters up to their feet again. "Ma'am, I really wouldn't mind if it's okay with you. They weren't anything I'm not already used to. To be quite honest, I had a lot of fun tonight." As hoped, Peggie seemed to relax a little at that. Jason walked over to Damian to collect the girl from the snow covered ground and walked back to Peggy to hand her over. "Think about it okay? You have my number, text or call when you need and I'll see to it to snatch Damian so we can have a chat."

"Smatch umble Dami?" The now sleepy girl said, half spoken into Peggy's shoulder. Jason awkwardly laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck, not having thought about the implications. "Ah, yeah about that...heh."

Damain cleared his throat as he walked over with the last child of the group. "What he means is that Father and him don't always get along. Father doesn't always like when I stay with Jason so I usually stay at the manor." Damian felt panic shoot through him. He hadn't meant to slip up and call the man by his first name. Daringly he glanced at the elder who, thankfully, had made no reaction to the name. Hopefully it had gone unnoticed then.

At that Peggy seemed to look more alarmed again. "I mean if your father would disapprove-"

"Oh don't worry about what the old man might think." Jason interrupted with a mischievous smirk. "He also doesn't like Richard being a police officer in Blüdhaven but all he can do is mope and cope. It really wouldn't be an issue, if anything it's more a rescue mission to get Damian out of that stuffy old place." Jason had made sure to not use Grayson's unbecoming nickname in front of the children, likely much to Peggy's content. The woman sighed as she took hold of the other girl so she would let go of Damian's hand. "I'll think about it, okay? It's been a long day, we should be going home." As they walked off, the kids yelled out their jumbled goodbyes to the pair of brothers.

Walking back inside, Damian felt a wave of warm air and sleepiness overcome him. He trailed behind Jason as they walked to the back to get Damian's things. It barely registered in his brain that they were the last people left at the event. Had he really been out for that long? Damian stood in his place, fighting the sudden drowsiness, as Jason walked around shutting off lights in all the rooms. He hadn't even objected to Jason carrying his backpack and jacket as he felt no strength to carry something at the moment.

Placing a guiding hand between Damian's shoulders, they started heading back to the front door. "How you holding up Damian?" The man's voice, oddly soothing him further into the sleep-induced trap that was Jason's very comfortable jacket. " 'm fine." He mumbled in response, making sure to not trip over his own feet.

Jason chuckled and let Damian come to a sauntering stop right outside the building. After double checking that the door had locked, the man looked over the young boy before him. "You sure about that, Demon? If you want, we can keep that movie for another ti-"

"If you think this is a worthy excuse to not make the pancakes you promised, you are painfully mistaken." Damian grumbled as he glared at the man though hooded eyes. His drowsiness and lack of bite to the words made it seem anything but threatening. Jason laughed again while slinging an arm around Damian's shoulders. "Whatever you say, Demon. Whatever you say."

They had calmly made their way back to Jason's apartment. Damian had laid down for a quick power nap while Jason prepared a whole assortment of snacks and drinks for during their movie. After a bit of discussion Damian had agreed to watch The Grinch as Jason insisted it was a good movie. The elder had given Damian his own fuzzy blanket to cocoon in. As the night went on, and more movies were played, Damain had found himself leaning into Jason's side after the elder had swung his arm over the back of the couch. A silent invitation he wasn't against for what definitely wasn't the first time this evening.

Perhaps, he thought he thought as he made himself comfortable against the elder's chest, this might be worth repeating next year.