Silence Speaks Volumes

A Young Assassin and Food

Damian didn't eat much. They'd been trying to get the boy to eat three meals since his first day here, but he still only ate a meal a day. It wasn't healthy to Bruce. The boy burned way too many calories training."Damian, you need to eat," Bruce said.

Not hungry. Damian really wasn't hungry. He'd been eating a meal a day since before he could remember.

"Just try, Dami," Dick said sweetly. Damian grabbed piece of toast. He could feel himself getting more and more nauseous after each bite. He finished it. Five minutes later, he was puking it up in the bathroom. They'd try again tomorrow, Bruce thought.

...

Bruce tried to get Damian to try again today, but Damian wasn't having it. He was tired of puking up food he didn't want to eat in the first place. "Bruce," Jason said after inhaling his own breakfast, "He's good. It's not like he's too skinny anyway." Jason loved food. Starving on the streets for a few years did that to you, but Damian was fine. He didn't think the boy should be forced to eat.

Americans and their overindulgence. Damian signed.

"Then call me American," Jason defended.

"I'm not American," Dick said, insulted.

"He never said you were," Jason chuckled.

"I don't indulge," Tim said.

"You need to," Dick said as he flicked Tim's arm. Tim was pretty skinny, but he still had a bit of muscle.

"Damian, eat," Bruce said in a low tone. The boy tried eggs today. He ate a few bites. He could already feel it. Bruce glanced at him. "Keep it down." Damian nodded. Damian was turning green.

"Bruce," Dick whispered. He nodded his head at Damian. Bruce ignored Dick. Dick sighed. "Bruce, let him go." Bruce still ignored Dick. Dick gave Jason a look and Jason took Damian to the bathroom. They knew the boy would never disobey his father. "Bruce, if can't eat, he can't eat." Dick went to check on Damian. When he came in, the boy was still retching and Jason was rubbing his back. After a minute, Damian sat down against the wall panting.

"You okay," Jason asked. Damian nodded. His color was coming back. Damian still seemed a little out of it.

"Why don't you and Dami go to the park or something with Tim," Dick whispered to Jason.

"Yeah," Jason said. He went over to Damian. "Let's go to the park, buddy." Jason picked Damian up and they walked out. "Timbo, let's roll!" Jason was yelling for Tim as they walked out the door. Dick went to find Bruce.

"Bruce," Dick said firmly when he found the man in his study.

"Dick."

"You're gonna make him sick. It's okay if he doesn't eat much. He's not malnourished and when he does eat, he eats well."

"He needs to be--"

"What? More normal? He's an assassin and his dad is Batman. He's never going to be normal." Bruce was quiet for a minute.

"It's not healthy," he said. Dick scoffed.

"Name one thing any of us do that is healthy. We're vigilantes. We never get proper sleep. We have unresolved and unacknowledged coping mechanisms. We're not healthy, so leave him alone." Bruce never thought about it in that way.

"Okay," he said. He didn't know what else to say. Dick nodded and left.

...

Jason is starting to think he should have taken Tim and Damian to the movies instead. The boys were standing in front of the playground staring.

Is this a training apparatus , Damian asked.

"No, it's a playground."

I don't know how to use those.

"Well learn." Damian shook his head. He still felt sick and he wanted his mother.

"My nannies used to take me here sometimes," Tim said with a nostalgic bitterness. He used to wish his parents would take him here.

'Well this is depressing,' Jason thought. "Okay," Jason said, "Let's stop the feeling sorry for ourselves and go play." Damian walked up to the slide and climbed the ladder carefully. He got to the top then looked confused as to what to do next. "Slide down, Demon," Jason yelled. Damian decided against it and scrambled down the ladder. "Why didn't you go?" Damian just shook his head. He remembered when he was sent tumbling down an erupting volcano for climbing it too slowly. He was burnt pretty badly.

"Can we go," Tim asked. Damian nodded. Jason rolled his eyes and began to walk to the car.

"Fine, let's go." Jason sighed. "Where do you guys want to go then?"

"Can we get ice cream?"

"Okay." They got in the car and left.

...

Tim and Damian were in higher spirits when they came back to the manor. Tim went to the Titans Tower and Damian grabbed his sketchbook. Jason was polishing his guns with Damian by his side when Bruce came into the cave. He wanted to ask if Damian had any ice cream, but not in front of the boy. Dick could see his internal struggle as he came back from flying on the trapeze. "Dami," Dick called. Damian came attentively. "Wanna come with me to visit Babs?" Damian wasn't sure if he liked Barbara or not. "She's with Cass and Steph," Dick singsonged. It was no secret that Damian liked Cass. She was mute when she came, but Barbara taught her how to talk. That's not why Damian liked her though. He loved sparring with her. She was a worthy opponent. Dick liked having Cass spar with Damian because she taught him how to use the assassin moves non-lethally. Damian nodded and took Dick's hand. Once they were gone, Bruce approached Jason.

"Hi, Jaylad." Jason didn't turn from his guns.

"B," he said.

"I heard you all had ice cream." Jason knew what was coming, but he wanted to make Bruce ask.

"Yep."

"Did Damian have any?"

"Nope."

"I'm worried about his health."

"He's healthy as a kid can be. Even more so because of his training. If you keep going on about this eating thing, he may end up having some mental health problems. He'll end up with Bigorexia or something."

"I just want to make sure he's getting enough nutrition."

"He is, Bruce. Don't worry about it." Bruce sighed.

"How are you doing, Jason?" Jason froze. He didn't think about how he was doing. He tried not to. It never ended well.

"Don't know," he murmured and continued to polish his guns. Bruce didn't think this was an answer, but he accepted it to keep Jason on good terms with him. Bruce came and sat by Jason on the floor. It weirded Jason out, but he didn't mind it.

"Hope you're doing well, Jaylad." No one questioned that dying and the pit messed with Jason's mind. He came back a totally different person than he was before he died. Bruce, Dick, and Alfred, having known Jason before, were still getting used to the new Jason. Damian and Tim on the other hand only knew this version of him. Jason used to be more affectionate and lighthearted. Dick had the theory that the previous Jason was still there. That the version was just shelled by a hard exterior. Bruce's not saving Jason hurt the man. The shell was to make sure no one could hurt him again. Sometimes, like when Tim made the ill-thought through comment, the shell was chipped at, but Jason always worked to fix it and keep it up.

"Yeah," Jason said softly. He leaned against Bruce and continued to polish his guns. Bruce smiled and sat quietly as he watched his son.