Chapter 6: Smothering

AN: I'm so sorry this is so late T.T keep getting writers' block and distracted . not a good combination…but thank you all for sticking with me! And also, thank you all so much for the reviews, alerts, and favs! ^.^

Damian peers out of his room, his eyes darting back and forth to make sure the coast was clear. Seeing that no one was in the hallway, he deems it safe, and takes a step outside. He slinks down the hall to Dick's room, making sure he stayed hidden in the shadows. Once to the newest bat's room, he slips effortlessly inside, like the trained assassin he was.

"You're up late, Dami." Dick's soft voice murmurs from the bed. Damian starts from the sound, having not expected his older brother to be awake. He frowns, crossing his arms, and turns to face Dick.

"I should say the same for you. You're injured. You should be resting." The younger bird snaps. Dick just rolls his eyes, setting his laptop aside. The light blue glow of the screen illuminated the room slightly, allowing the ex-assassin to see the slumbering speedster who was sprawled out beside the acrobat. "I wasn't aware that you had company." Dick shrugs, scooting closer to the ginger in order to give Damian room to sit on the bed next to him. Damian eyes the space cautiously before slowly making his way over to his older brother and sits down. "Bruce showed us the surveillance footage." The youngest bird mumbles, staring down at the bedspread. Dick sighs, draping an arm around Damian's shoulder, pulling him into a side hug. He smiles softly when the ex-assassin doesn't pull away from the embrace.

"I forgive you guys…" He states, knowing that was Damian's way of apologizing. Instead of dragging on the awkward moment, he decides to change the subject. "So…Timmy said that you guys wound up in another universe?" He raises an eyebrow as Damian pouts slightly.

"That Robin was a tool. I don't understand why that idiotic team followed his lead. Barking orders is no way to gain respect." Damian grumbles as Dick smirks.

"So, you're saying that you prefer my way of leading?" The acrobat presses, nudging the young bird with his elbow.

"Don't flatter yourself, Grayson." Damian grumbles, scowling in protest when Dick giggles, pulling him into a hug once again. Dick ignore his comment, ruffling his hair before collapsing back onto the mountain of pillows he had used to prop himself up. Damian's eyes instantly narrow, seeing Dick wince ever so slightly. The acrobat instantly notices his younger brother's change in mood, and sighs heavily.

"I'm fine. It's not like I've never had broken ribs before."

"Crushed." Damian snaps, staring down at the bedspread as though it deeply insulted him. "Your ribs were crushed. You also had a punctured lung. We should have taken Bane down sooner. None of this would have happened."

"Well, I'm going to be fine. I don't understand why everyone is making a big deal out of this."

"Because we fucked up!" Damian hisses, finally returning Dick's gaze. The Bat finches back slightly from the ex-assassin's harsh tone. Damian clenches a fist, barley containing his rage. "You were injured and we blamed you. It wasn't your fault. You were only trying to protect us, and we threw it in your face! It's unacceptable! You should not forgive us so easily! We don't deserve it!" Dick tugs on Damian's arm, pulling the young teen down next to him.

"You're family. Of course I'm going to forgive you. Now, just try to get some sleep. It's already late." Dick lazily rubs reassuring circles across Damian's back, trying to get him to calm down. Wally stirs beside the acrobat, mumbling something incoherent, before snuggling closer. Damian raises an eyebrow, noting that the two males were missing their shirts.

"You started dating West?" He inquires, sounding nearly appalled by the idea. Dick blushes, staring up at the ceiling to avoid his younger brother's gaze.

"Yes. It just happened actually…I-…I really like him, alright?"

"Tt. Whatever. I am not responsible for your sex life." Dick's lips quirk up, knowing that this was Damian's way of accepting his new relationship. "Nor do I want to hear details about it." With that, Damian rolls over onto his side, facing away from his older brother.

"Thanks, Dami…for everything. Night, Little D." Dick wiggles himself further under the covers, making himself more comfortable. He grins when he feels Damian shift closer, so that his back was pressed against the acrobat's side.

The next morning, Dick wonders out of the bathroom, still brushing his teeth lazily. The steam from the shower he had just taken was making the room nearly smothering. He sees a shift from the bed and jumps, shouting in alarm as he chucks his toothbrush at the figure sitting on his bed. Bruce catches the projectile, frowning as Dick coughs, wiping the toothpaste from his lips.

"What the hell, Bruce! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Bruce states, as though it were obvious. Dick's eye twitches as he stands off to the side, gesturing to the bathroom, where Wally was peeking his head out, toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

"Wally's got that covered. Though, I don't need a babysitter twenty-four/seven." Bruce stands up from the bed, nodding at Wally as he hands Dick back his toothbrush.

"Just be mindful of your wounds." The Dark Knight disappears as Dick groans irritatedly, running a hand through his damp hair. Wally raises an eyebrow curiously.

"Don't ask." Dick grumbles, stalking back into the bathroom with his boyfriend, slamming the door behind him.

Two more times that day, Dick caught Bruce or Roy waiting outside of the bathroom for him. He seriously needed a break. At least Wally seemed to understand his frustration and just so happened to let slip that Clark was on Watchtower duty today. Dick smirks, slipping into his room, and pulls out his comm link. He places it in his ear, and taps it on, connecting to Watchtower.

"Watchtower." Clark's bored voice comes through, causing Dick's smirk to grow.

"Hey, Clark! I need to get out of here for a while. Family's fighting. What else is new right? Anyway! Can you please beam me up? Maybe we can hang out for a bit?"

"Are you sure Bruce is alright with this?" Clark asks hesitantly.

"Of course! It'll be no problem at all! Please? I'm starting to get a headache with all the yelling. I mean, you know what happens when you get an irritated Damian, Jason, and Bruce in a room together."

"Alright…but just for a little while!" Dick grins as he feels the Beta transporter take hold, and transport him up to their space headquarters. Clark was waiting for him, a skeptical look on his face. "Why do I have a feeling that this was a bad idea?"

"Because you're paranoid of Bruce's wrath?" Dick suggests with a shrug. He glances over at the main computer and his eyes light up with glee. "Can I find different universes with this thing?" Clark's brows furrow as he follows the Bat's gaze.

"Yes…why?"

"Well, Damian, Tim, and Jason were transported to another universe through a Boom Tube recently. The place sounded interesting."

"Don't tell me that you're going to try to visit." Clark frowns as Dick walks up to the computer beside him, starting to type on the control panel.

"Then I won't tell you."

"Dick."

"Yes~?" Dick beams up at him innocently as Clark sighs, running a hand over his face.

"Did you want to come up here just to get me in trouble?" The acrobat gasps, putting on his best hurt expression.

"I would never do something like that, Clark! You wound me!" Clark rolls his eyes, watching the screen. "Look at it this way. At least now you have company!"

"True. I hate it when I have to be up here all by myself."

"Everyone has to have a turn."

"Why can't they get the rookies to do it?"

"Because they actually need field experience." Dick glances over at the Boy Scout, smirking. "You're not talking your way out of this one, Clark." Superman frowns, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "At least it's not those crazy twenty-four hour shifts Bruce used to make everyone go through. I believe eight hours of torture is enough." Dick beams, finding exactly what he was looking for. "If anyone asks, I wasn't here." Clark's eyes widen as Dick presses a button on the keypad, starting to disappear.

"Wait! They were fighting over you, weren't they?!"

"Oops~!" Dick chimes before disappearing completely. Clark stares at the spot where the acrobat just was in horror. He was so very dead when Bruce found out.

Dick groans in pain as he picks himself up off of the asphalt. He hadn't expected to land face first onto the road. Not to mention that he was only in a hoodie and jeans, which meant no padding for when he hit the ground. He winces, staggering over to a street light, and uses it to hold himself up. So, maybe spontaneously deciding to visit another universe was not his best idea.

"The energy spike came from over here!" A young teen calls out close by. Dick glances behind him, seeing a group of costumed teens heading towards him. They pause, standing right where he originally landed, frowning when they found no one there. The half cyborg hero types something into his arm computer before looking around, his red eye glowing as he no doubt scans for traces of the energy signature. His gaze lands on Dick, who smiles weakly over at them. The teen frowns. "Strange…that guy over there has traces of the energy on him." He gestures over to Dick, who waves over at the team.

"Hi there." The acrobat tries, hoping that they wouldn't attack. The traffic light dressed teen merely glares over at him.

"Let's take him back to the tower. Raven." He nods over to the girl dressed in the deep blue cloak.

"Hold up! No need to use force." Dick frowns, holding his hands up as a show of peace. Robin ignores him, and yanks him away from the light pole roughly, and handcuffs him. Dick grimaces in pain as the young bird shoves him forward. He coughs, gasping slightly for breath. He definitely should have planned ahead. The red headed girl floats over to him, her brows knitting in concern.

"He is hurt." Dick nods, swaying slightly on his feet. She stabilizes him, sending the bird a panicked look.

"We'll examine him when we get back." She nods slowly as Dick sighs, giving her a grateful smile.

"Thanks. I already know what's wrong though. Broken ribs and a punctured lung. I was still being watched for internal bleeding, but I think it's safe to say that there is none considering I'm walking and talking." Robin glowers over at him. "Being tossed around by Bane is a bitch, what can I say." The whole team freezes, staring at him in shock.

"Dude! You're the one the other guys were talking about! Their teammate that got hurt! They were seriously freaking out over you!" Beast Boy blurts out.

"Actually, I'm their older brother. They shouldn't have really worried about me. I'm not that fragile." Dick shrugs a shoulder, before smiling warmly up at the team. "Thank you for sending them home." Dick eyes Robin curiously, noting his grumpy expression. "Tell me…what are your feelings on crowbars?" Robin raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nevermind. Name's Dick Grayson. Nice to officially meet all of you!" He smirks slightly when Robin freezes, a look of horror on his face as the rest of the team greets him warmly. He was going to figure out why this version of himself was so grumpy, and change that. He needed to restore order in the universe and have a happy Grayson. This sourpuss was just unnatural.

AN: So, slightly longer chapter than usual since I'm SUPER late *cries* again, I'm sorry! I'm going to try to start updating my other stories again soon as well!