INSIDE OUT (DP+Batman crossover)

Spilled secrets

"No, I mean talking to him, like accusing him of everything that happened to me." The halfa growled at the picture and then he threw it into the bin. Hours of work were threw away but he simply didn't care.

Bruce stepped closer to the chair and turned Danny to face him. Two pairs of blue eyes were staring at each other, both searching for some type of an answer.

"Danny, I love you as much as I love all of my children. You don't have to keep secrets inside of you, always having someone to lean on is good for you." The halfa huffed in response. He didn't like the talks about secrets, it always made him wonder how different would the world be without secrets.

After a while in silence, Bruce pulled the boy into a small hug. Danny's body got lost in the muscular form of Bruce. He wanted to pry the man off but it wouldn't be nice of him, instead, he suffered through the long minute. No one hugged him in a long time and Danny didn't think about changing it anytime soon. Jason was the only one with the privilege to do so.

"Alfred prepared dinner, will you come?" Bruce asked with expectancy in his eyes. The boy wanted to decline, he wanted to stay away from people but at the same time, he couldn't say no.

"Fine." Danny grumbled and slowly stood up from his spin chair. "But I would like to take a quick shower before." Bruce only nodded and then left Danny's room. The halfa took off his clothes and stepped onto the cold floor of the shower, making him shiver unwillingly. Danny turned on the water, set it to the coldest possible and enjoyed the feeling of water running down his skin. The droplets of water on his face helped him clear his head and made him feel refreshed. The boy dried himself with a white towel and put on some clean clothes.

When he was ready, he gave himself a short glance in the mirror. Since the separation, he kept seeing glances of Dan in the mirrors which made him feel vulnerable. What if someone saw the ghost while standing in front of the mirror with Danny?

'No! You can't think like that!' Danny internally scolded himself for those thoughts. He had enough things to deal with like it was, he didn't need to make another problems.

The halfa slowly made his way through the huge manor into the kitchen. The smell of a delicious dinner could be recognized from miles away. At least the food was something he was looking forward when it wasn't meeting his family.

When Danny stepped inside, the whole scene in front of him was played. he could tell. Jason was forced to play the role of a son interested in his father's work while the boys were talking about their business trip. The newest addition to their family sat further away from them as he did usually. The dinner conversation soon died down and everyone was staring at Danny who was silently eating from his plate.

"How's you week been?" Tim asked sounding genuinely interested. He meant good but his twin seemed to have a bad day, so Danny snapped at him.

"Don't ask." Worried glances were sent towards Jason who just helplessly shrugged his shoulders. He may know Danny's biggest secret  but the small ones did matter too.

"May I be excused." Danny asked politely and at the same time rudely. Bruce gave him a forced nod while he watched him leave the room.

"I'll go talk to him." Dick sighed and with a small smile, he stood up.

"I know Danny better than you, it isn't a good time to talk to him now. Trust me." Jason said.

"He's my younger brother, it's my responsibility to know what bothers him." The oldest brother gave everyone a small glare, daring them to stop him from going.

Dick caught up with Danny as he reached the stairs. "Danny, wait!" He called after the smaller boy and he turned around.

"Please, just let me go..." Danny sighed and made a small step upwards. Dick didn't like it and pulled him down the stairs next to him. There was a short glaring contest which Danny lost.