[ Damian wriggles and tries to press his heel into Dick's waist, but Dick's already moving, the hand on Damian's calf grabbing his ankle and sliding Damian's foot against Dick's shirt to keep it from getting purchase, and now Dick does corkscrew, using his greater weight and leverage in an attempt to break Damian's hold as he puts his arms back and pushes his legs up with a hup, into a twisting handstand. If Damian's still holding onto his shirt, fine: he can let it slide right off as he pushes back into a hand spring. ]
Just because I'm not sparring with you every day doesn't mean I'm getting rusty.
( dick can get himself back up, this time. he twists, and damian lets go. waits until he's twisted far enough away damian can bend his arms place his palms down against the ground beside his head and swing his legs over his head - a backward somersault, to get himself back up to his feet. )
He's a grown man, he can figure things out for himself. ( even if damian had just called bruce a child when talking about him to barbara. ) And given his dislike of sparring with me, he's going to need to find someone to manage his physical upkeep.
( which also brings damian to - )
Jon isn't here. Drake and I are... quarreling. Others around my size are untrained, leaving them with a vast disadvantage. That leaves you for potential sparring partners for myself, and I am getting bored.
[ Again: could, probably won't. But it's not like Dick feels great about how this has all shaken out, exactly. He's given Bruce space and he hasn't interfered with Damian's attempts at dragging Bruce into a family he had no idea existed. But the truth is, Damian needs him around more than his baby brother is willing to admit. And if the way he can ask for it is by prodding Dick into a sparring match, so be it. ]
You know I'll spar with you anytime. But we can hang out without it needing to include training, too, you know.
You're closer here than you had been back home. It's not as if I can't find you whenever I please.
( could admit to missing dick, but he's not going to. especially when he is so close; damian could find him whenever he pleases. he just - often chooses not to, given he knows grayson is spending time with gordon, or... whoever else. he's sociable, gets along with most, whereas damian would generally prefer to not socialize with others. )
I. . . have been meaning to ask for Cheese Viking.
( if dick doesn't want to only get together for sparring, they can get together for gaming purposes. )
I suppose there's no harm in picking up a new sport.
( how hard can baseball be, really. grayson fixes his shirt, and damian reaches for his overshirt to shove his arms back into it. buttons it up after, pulling at the bottom hem to help straighten the wrinkles. )
The best cure for boredom is to pick up some new interests.
[ Who knows if that's true, but-- he knows Damian needs things to do, skills to perfect. And baseball's... normal, right? It's not like he's played much himself, but he has perfectly clear memories of the other guys in college playing catch and playing a game of pick-up here and there. ]
And, look, Damian...
[ I'm sorry for keeping my distance. I'm sorry for dying. I'm sorry this is all landing on your shoulders. I want to help. ]
You're right, I am getting a little rusty. So why don't I come train with you in the Batcave? Daily sparring, just like old times.
( it's the pause that gives damian all the information he needs. he almost tells dick no, that he doesn't need to be babied, but he understands that dick is - reaching out, he's trying.
so instead, he just - looks up to dick. scrunches up his nose. )
It'll reflect badly on me if someone manages to take you out too easily. The Batcave will do. ( and - ) I have. . . a friend, of whom I intend to train, too. She heals quickly but I suspect she relies on that too heavily.
Her name is Laura. I believe she's a couple years younger than me. And I wouldn't say she's like us. She's like me.
( you were taught how to hurt people, too had been a statement laura had thrown at him not long into their first interaction. she'd called herself a bad thing after accidentally hurting him. )
Someone raised her to be a weapon. But she is trying to be better.
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[ Damian wriggles and tries to press his heel into Dick's waist, but Dick's already moving, the hand on Damian's calf grabbing his ankle and sliding Damian's foot against Dick's shirt to keep it from getting purchase, and now Dick does corkscrew, using his greater weight and leverage in an attempt to break Damian's hold as he puts his arms back and pushes his legs up with a hup, into a twisting handstand. If Damian's still holding onto his shirt, fine: he can let it slide right off as he pushes back into a hand spring. ]
Just because I'm not sparring with you every day doesn't mean I'm getting rusty.
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He's a grown man, he can figure things out for himself. ( even if damian had just called bruce a child when talking about him to barbara. ) And given his dislike of sparring with me, he's going to need to find someone to manage his physical upkeep.
( which also brings damian to - )
Jon isn't here. Drake and I are... quarreling. Others around my size are untrained, leaving them with a vast disadvantage. That leaves you for potential sparring partners for myself, and I am getting bored.
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[ Again: could, probably won't. But it's not like Dick feels great about how this has all shaken out, exactly. He's given Bruce space and he hasn't interfered with Damian's attempts at dragging Bruce into a family he had no idea existed. But the truth is, Damian needs him around more than his baby brother is willing to admit. And if the way he can ask for it is by prodding Dick into a sparring match, so be it. ]
You know I'll spar with you anytime. But we can hang out without it needing to include training, too, you know.
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( could admit to missing dick, but he's not going to. especially when he is so close; damian could find him whenever he pleases. he just - often chooses not to, given he knows grayson is spending time with gordon, or... whoever else. he's sociable, gets along with most, whereas damian would generally prefer to not socialize with others. )
I. . . have been meaning to ask for Cheese Viking.
( if dick doesn't want to only get together for sparring, they can get together for gaming purposes. )
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Cheese Viking sounds great. Hey, maybe one day we'll get an arcade here and I can destroy you at air hockey.
[ Speaking of new facilities that have popped up, though: ]
And there's that baseball field. We should check it out.
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( how hard can baseball be, really. grayson fixes his shirt, and damian reaches for his overshirt to shove his arms back into it. buttons it up after, pulling at the bottom hem to help straighten the wrinkles. )
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[ Who knows if that's true, but-- he knows Damian needs things to do, skills to perfect. And baseball's... normal, right? It's not like he's played much himself, but he has perfectly clear memories of the other guys in college playing catch and playing a game of pick-up here and there. ]
And, look, Damian...
[ I'm sorry for keeping my distance. I'm sorry for dying. I'm sorry this is all landing on your shoulders. I want to help. ]
You're right, I am getting a little rusty. So why don't I come train with you in the Batcave? Daily sparring, just like old times.
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so instead, he just - looks up to dick. scrunches up his nose. )
It'll reflect badly on me if someone manages to take you out too easily. The Batcave will do. ( and - ) I have. . . a friend, of whom I intend to train, too. She heals quickly but I suspect she relies on that too heavily.
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[ His surprise might be a little insulting, but he doesn't mean it to be. No; he's delighted. ]
What's her name? Is she like us?
[ (An animal-themed masked vigilante, Dick??? ]
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( you were taught how to hurt people, too had been a statement laura had thrown at him not long into their first interaction. she'd called herself a bad thing after accidentally hurting him. )
Someone raised her to be a weapon. But she is trying to be better.
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[ If she's like Damian... and Damian a few years ago... well, he has a fair amount of experience with semi-feral children raised to be weapons. ]
Bring her along, we'll all train together.
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( it's not as if damian was just talking about it or anything. )
Just don't be obnoxiously you.
( don't steal his friends, richard. )