i don't even have words for this

[gevurah]

WHO: xuffasch and soldarius
WHERE: some grocery place.
WHEN: today at noon.
WARNINGS: ... it’s Damian.
SUMMARY: Kate and Damian do some shopping. Welp. Somewhere Bruce is shaking his head.
FORMAT: prose to start. Then whatever.


The sunlight hit the streets and gleamed off reflective surfaces, forcing Kate to squint her eyelids and turn on her heel away from the glare of the light hitting the corner of her eye. She stood at the corner of the street she and Damian had agreed to meet at, looking up and down for a glimpse of the boy. She had sincerely hoped this was a good idea when she got up this morning to take a quick shower and ready herself. He didn’t sound like he was in pain or that he needed to stay bedridden but that worrisome feeling sat on her chest regardless of his assurance.

And now she was partially concerned about Bruce’s attitude about his own son. In her mind, it certainly explained some things about the kid.

Comments

[xuffasch]

Damian was in not in a good place. One leg in a cast and a brace around his neck, he clunked along on crutches perhaps more nimbly than anyone else might, but he still felt useless and hurt and inelegant. It took him half an hour to get from the house to the street corner, and even then he was five minutes late. However, there was no need to let Kate into these frustrations, so he merely came up the corner, nodded at her, and said, "Kane."

[gevurah]

She turned to face him when hearing her name called and despite her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, her mouth made a little 'O' shape and her eyebrows looked as if they were ready to migrate over into her hair given how high they arched. Complete surprise.

"Christ," she began. The initial shock wore off and she steeled herself. But she looked highly concerned. "What the heck, Damian?"

[xuffasch]

The look of irritation that passed over Damian's face made it clear he wasn't in the mood. "It's not as bad as it looks, I'm perfectly mobile, and I don't want to talk about it. Now can we go?"

[gevurah]

She returned the look, giving him a frown that read she wasn't buying that BS.

"You have a neck brace and a cast. I'm sure the doctor said you shouldn't even be moving too much with the brace one." Having been in one before, Kate knew all too well the discomfort of moving about with an injury like that.

[xuffasch]

"I have been sitting inside, doing nothing, for almost a week. The breaks are all healing clean, and I have crutches, so I am not dragging the leg. I'm fine."

He says these things as if he's a medical expert himself.

[gevurah]

She mulled over her options quietly for a minute. Then she heaved an exasperated sigh and nodded. As long as they didn't push him beyond what he was capable of at the time, it would be alright.

"Fine, but we're taking it slow." She added coolly.

[xuffasch]

"If you insist." Damian wasn't acting like it, but he was incredibly happy to have a distraction. The past week had been full of him lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, recounting his failure.

So he was grateful to Kate, in a way, as he started down the street, expecting her to follow. It's not as it it was very hard to keep pace.

[gevurah]

She did follow, eyes glossing over the streets briefly for maybe a cab she could call. It would be easier, she thought. But she let that idea go, moving to his left so she could walk alongside him.

"What happened with the car? Driver lost control or someone hit you guys?"

[xuffasch]

"Some psychopath hit us from behind. I was the only one in the backseat." This seemed reasonably plausible to Damian. And if the Joker had hit him head-on, well, it hardly mattered since he was already lying.

[gevurah]

"I hope your driver got their information," she said, not thinking twice about the validity of Damian's story. Dire need of attitude adjustment aside, there wasn't any basis for her to believe he had just told her a fib.

With the Joker still running around and the announcement of Catman's murder, there were more pressing matters to focus on.

What a way to start her day.

[xuffasch]

"My father's taking care of it," Damian said, almost without thinking. Funny how true it was--the Joker would be dealt with, eventually. The idea made his stomach turn in a bad way, however, since it reminded him that Batman would seek vengeance without him.

[gevurah]

Bruce.

His attitude upon arrival should have been expected, nonetheless she wasn't impressed. The humor wasn't right for the situation, however it could have been his own way of adjusting and keeping his defense up in a place like this.

Maybe.

Kate didn't want to think he would act so nonchalantly about his own family.

Something didn't add up with Damian's story, she realized. Unless he meant Bruce was dealing with the insurance company now. She shrugged it off.

"Good thing your dad's got a business up and running here," she said.

[xuffasch]

Damian just nodded in response. He'd seen the performance that Bruce had put on on the network, and it had just made him even more confused, really. It had been much easier to idolize his father when he saw him as distant, cold, and infallible. Needing a stupid civilian identity and behaving the way he had been? That was not the Batman his mother had always told him stories about. And now he didn't know what to think.

"So what are we shopping for, then?"

[gevurah]

Her hand slipped into her back pocket and produced a small, manila paper with several necessities scribbled in neat order on it. She waved it idly before tucking it back into the pocket.

"Some groceries; milk, eggs, bread..." she figured he got the picture.

[xuffasch]

Another nod, and then a brief pause as Damian mentally accessed his map of the area, remembering where the different grocery stores are. After a moment, he asked, "Do you cook?"

[gevurah]

A beat.

"I can. I do live by myself, you know."

[xuffasch]

"That doesn't necessarily mean you can cook." Damian just shakes his head.

"Hardly anyone I know can."

[gevurah]

"Eating take out every day would become expensive," she slipped her hands into her pocket. "And not very healthy. Who usually cooks for you and your family?"

[xuffasch]

"Family," Damian mutters ruefully. At home, he hardly considers Grayson and Pennyworth family. But then he shrugs, an awkward movement for someone on crutches. "At home? Our butler. Here... we make do."

[gevurah]

A derisive snort.

"Maybe Nill can teach you," she says in a lighthearted tone. "I'm surprised Bruce doesn't just hire a butler or maid for you guys." Although she is not a fond believer of children being raised by employees. They need their parents and it's clear to her that Damian needs Bruce to partake in his life more.

[xuffasch]

He just shrugs at the mention of Nill. She's someone he doesn't like discussing with other people. But the rest of it has him shaking his head haughtily. "If I wanted a maid, I'd hire one myself. It's easy enough to do things for oneself."

[gevurah]

"Can you use a stove?" Kate looks vaguely amused, carrying an expression hinting at her knowing something he didn't.

[xuffasch]

"Of course. It's not as if that takes advanced training."

[gevurah]

"Seriously?" It was surprising to hear from him. "Even at your age I wasn't allowed to touch a stove."

[xuffasch]

"I do not ask permission for things before I do them. Maybe you should have been more like that."

[gevurah]

There's a crease on her forehead, eyes narrowing slightly as well as she listens to him. She doesn't take offence to his comment but she finds the more she observes his mannerisms, his speech and even those in his family (thank you, Bruce) she actually worries. No doubt, she was a brat when she was Damian's age. It came with many other luxuries and the absurd notion she could get away with it because she was used to getting what she wanted.

Maybe that's the issue with Damian. Being spoiled to a certain degree.

"Where you get these ideas from?" Actually... "Who tells you this stuff?"

[xuffasch]

Her questions always put him on guard, in a strange way. It doesn't feel like she's fishing for information, but rather asking about the other side of things--beliefs, emotions, psyche. Damian would be happier telling evasive lies about the practical side of things.

"Why should anyone have to get ideas from somewhere?" He scoffs. "I have a mind, it can develop it's own thoughts."

[gevurah]

She can bring to light all the psychological proof on how impressionable young minds can be but she opts for the other explanation.

"We all get our thoughts and ideas from somewhere." Something shapes one's ideology. She shrugs, eyes darting to the small grocery store getting bigger in the distance as they get closer to it. "But the thing is, there has to be something you need to ask permission for."

[xuffasch]

"If I had shown up in this City, and my family hadn't been here, I would have had to live on my own. In that case, permission would not have been an issue. There are others for whom it works, just like that."

[gevurah]

"Asking for things is just an obstacle, then?" she frowns. "But I doubt you'd have to live on your own," she adds as they finally approach the small grocery store. As she steps forward, the doors slide wide open. Her eyes then dart to where the baskets are. "Someone would have taken you in."

[xuffasch]

"I realize this may be difficult for you to process, but I wouldn't want to be taken in. I like being by myself."

[gevurah]

He has an argument for everything, doesn't he?

"Legally you can't be left alone. You wouldn't want to become a ward of the state, would you?"

[xuffasch]

He rolls his eyes at this suggestion. "Would anyone want that?"