tushanshu | video; dated to not much after the exploration team's return

[Shit. First Bruce, now apparently this friend of Damian's. She flips on a light encryption, not because she's expecting deep secrets but just for a little privacy.]

Hey. Sorry to hear that. Were you two close? [Of course they were, if Damian's taking on obligations. But it's a start.]

[ And he can't even really tell people about his Father's absence, yet, since 'Bruce Wayne' is still right there. Sort of. ]

[ Damian gives a sharp, small nod. 'Close,' for his values of it, certainly covers what he and Bean were. ]

After his older friend - who was my age - disappeared, I invited Bean to live with me, which he has been doing since.

[ He couldn't just. Let him go, alone, the way he was. And he had no reason to regret the choice, either. ]

[That inability to talk about Bruce's disappearance is part of why she replied. At least he could talk about this.

She winces.] Ouch. Yeah, I-- know how that goes. Nice of you to take him in like that. A kid as young as he is shouldn't be on his own.

[Lois Lane seal of approval for you, Bitty!Bat.]

[ Thank you, Lois. His words most of the time notwithstanding, he is trying to do the right things. ]

It is not that he could not have made it on his own. But he was - it was a bad time, for him.

[ He was never going to see his friend again back home, either. ]

[ After a moment, Damian shakes himself from memory, and eyes the face on the screen. ]

Are you in need of ... something?

[ He's not mentioning about the fact that she is still on her own, either. ]

Just because he could doesn't mean he should.

[It's said firmly, with all the conviction of a woman strong enough to handle marriage to Superman and refuse to take crap from Batman.

On the other hand, it also holds all the obliviousness that it might apply to her current state as she once had to certain secret identities.]

Hmm? No, thanks. I'm generally pretty good. Just worry about yourself, okay? And let me know if you need anything.

[She's a total hypocrite. She looks exhausted.]

>Tt.< And what determines that?

[ Damian's question is half skeptical and half genuinely curious. Since he can certainly not tell, and he's not sure about anyone who could. And, yet, there are kids like Bean, like Colin back home, who are far more than meets the eye. Could they sit by and watch the world pass by until they're 'old enough'? Damian doubts it. ]

[ And he's also totally unimpressed by her reassurance of her well-being. Should he have called on her sooner? Probably, but he's been too shaken - and not a little angry at her husband - for that to actually occur to him before. ]

[ He opens his mouth to argue, then swallows, reconsiders his approach. Skimming over the fact that he's still living with Dick, he shrugs. ]

Perhaps I could take you out for dinner?

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[ Jack is so emotionally drained and numb from people leaving that he doesn't even verbally reply to this... just accesses it for a moment and shuts the feed back off. ]

I'm not sure if that's better or worse for him, with how he was talking about his home world. Friend of yours?

[How many kids are there here? This one looks like Molly's age, at least, which is better, but even so.]

Wars are never easy on those who have to fight them.

[ Quietly, and Damian doesn't add that at least Bean wouldn't have to remember losing Ender twice, back home. And, maybe, he wouldn't have to deal with the weirder aspects of the war to come. But, better or worse? Damian doesn't know. He can't judge. These calls are not something he's qualified to make. ]

[ After a moment's consideration (that's also a tough question), he nods, slightly. ]

Yes, I believe so.

I wouldn't know. Fights, sure, I've been in those, but never really a war.

[He shrugs, but really, he's a little bothered by the answer; it's a little too cool for a kid that apparent age, at least to Victor. Are all the kids here like this?]

Sorry, then. He seemed like a good guy to know.

[ Not all kids. But some of the kids here have been through... a lot. Various flavors of war included. ]

I suppose your time here may change that. But... yes. He is.

[ Because, as far as Damian knows, Bean's not dead. Which means he's not talking about him in the past tense very easily. ]

It's sounding like it. I guess I really need to do some research into the guy whose name I'm not meant to say.

[Vic pulls a bit of a face, because that sounds so stupid it's not even funny. Still, presumably it's a rule for a reason.]

I only got to speak to him once. What was he like.

[ Damian's mouth pinches, but he's too tired to argue - he'll direct the curious person to the evidence, and, well. Maybe he'll be smart enough to draw the correct conclusions. ]

That is a thing that would be good for you to remember. It may sound like a superstition, but calling its attention in such a manner does make a difference, as you can find out if you look back through the messages on the consoles - in particular, around the announced arrival of the individual named Khan, and what happened shortly after. Do not say it, or write it.

[ In fact, the warning about the latter came from Bean, but Damian only found that when he was looking through the younger boy's files, these days. ]

[ As to the question, Damian thinks about it, for a moment. ]

Brilliant. A trained general who always had questions. He'd never had what people would call a normal life, but he is... adaptable. And... he is a good person.

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[He already knows, but...] I'm going to get groceries, want anything in particular?

[ Dick is one of the very, very few people in front of whom Damian doesn't need to pretend. And that's mostly that he's not... up for making choices. For himself. He'd been trying, sort of. Not the smooshier stuff, the stuff that'd make him soft, but he'd been trying some of the other things he's found people expect of him. Like have things he likes and dislikes, and so on. ]

[ But, right now, the store he had for trying things like that is just... empty. So he shakes his head. ]

Only if you want something in particular cooked.

[ Which he'd do. Cooking is easy. ]

[Dick just smiles. Maybe a little sad, because he is going to miss that kid as well. But he was Damian's friend, and he knows the loss of a friend.]

I'll figure it out. Dinner'll be around seven, so don't be late.

[ Damian stiffens. Not because Dick's words were meant as a criticism, but because he was avoiding their suite, and maybe that made him miss something important that Bean might have told him, or maybe some way to change things... ]

[ After a moment, he gives his brother a small, choppy nod. ]

I shall not be late.

[And that's the whole reason why he's going to attempt to make dinner. Because you can't avoid things forever. Dick knows this all too well, and he's going to do his best on this one.]

See you then. [And then he'll go.]

[ Damian is prompt, even a little early. He's still wearing the business attire from the latter half of the day at WE, but he's stopped to pick up extra salad and a dessert, in case Dick's cooking... was not quite as successful as he would wish. ]

[ It totally doesn't register that he's picked the latter as one of the few foods that Bean actually showed preference for (since Bean was absolutely appreciative of all food, on the whole). ]

Grayson?

[...this might be the first time MIdii truly felt the weight of someone's disappearance. She and Bean were...close might have been a slight exaggeration, but it would have been a lie to say she had not grown fond of the younger boy.]

Do you think he'll be alright?

Yes.

[ Damian's response was decisive, steady. ]

He is one of the most brilliant people I know. He's a survivor. He'll get to make things so he will thrive.

[ It was not a lie, in the projection he could make. But he didn't say that Bean would be happy - he didn't know if he would be. He never knew if anyone would be. ]

[She nodded, accepting his statement without question. Damian would know. There was no reason to suspect otherwise.]

[It was a small comfort, even in its truthfulness, because it still meant that Bean was gone. And his absence was clearly affecting them both. Comfort was not Midii's strong suit. The last time she had sensed something was off with him, she had gone looking to his brother for advice. The only difference now was that she knew exactly what had happened. For all the good that did.]

Then...it's alright. That he got to go back home.

If he stayed here, he wouldn't have been able to do the things he'll be able to do in his world.