Chapter Text
Bruce gets home after a long night.
He was off-planet with the Justice League, only to get home and discover that his youngest son had been shot.
It seems like something out of Bruce's worst nightmares. Ever since his parents were murdered, victims of gunshot wounds produced by an armed man, Bruce struggles with his sense of justice and peace.
This is one of his greatest fears, if not the greatest. That his sons will leave home to fight a fight that belongs to him and never return.
Despite the panic, Bruce quickly finds out that the crisis has been resolved by his older sons. Thank God for them. Apparently, Tim had donated blood to Damian.
Tim.
Who would have thought? His middle son and his youngest son hated each other until recently. But Bruce didn't care about that; he was relieved that Damian was alive and he was also proud of Tim. He made a mental note to check on the boy later.
Now he was going to see his youngest. Damian was still lying on a bed connected to an IV, recovering.
Bruce sits in an armchair next to the bed, watching the boy. Damian had gone from a (not very pleasant) surprise to a constant in his life. He couldn't imagine life without him.
"Father"
"Damian," Bruce says, using the softest voice he could find. "I thought you were sleeping"
"I was waiting for you" Damian replies, his eyes half-open. He’s staring at him tiredly.
"Hm," Bruce thinks about what to say. Damian isn't a child like the others. He needs to carefully choose his words, because the boy has a tendency to interpret things... differently. "You scared me".
Damian looks alarmed, “I’m sorry, Father. I shouldn’t have been so careless. I’ll do better next time. I’ll be stronger.”
Damn. That’s what Bruce was trying to avoid. Since he arrived, Damian has done everything to appear strong and fearless. Bruce is sure that he was taught this behavior in the League of Assassins. It’s difficult to undo something that has been conditioned since early childhood. All Bruce wanted was for his son to have had the opportunity to grow up as a normal child…but who was he trying to fool? Damian would never have had that, even if he had grown up with him. Not having this set of parents.
“Damian, no. That’s not what I meant. You scared me because I don’t want you to get hurt.” He tries to use a welcoming, yet firm tone of voice, seeking to convey the necessary message.
“Because I have to show strength, I need to—”
Bruce interrupts this train of thought immediately “Because you’re my son and I care about you. Regardless of what you do, I…” Bruce hesitates before speaking; he can't remember ever having said this to his youngest son before. Well, it's about time. "I love you, Damian".
Damian's eyes widen, looking incredulous. "Father, what is this? You don't need to say these things, the things one says to a child".
"Love isn't just for children, son. I think I made a mistake in not making that clear to you as soon as you got here. I love you and your brothers. I need to learn to show it more often" Bruce says, unable to contain the affection in his eyes as he looks at Damian.
The boy still looks puzzled by the situation, speaking suspiciously, “Is this about what happened?”
“It is too. Almost losing someone makes you think,” Bruce says thoughtfully. “I just want you to understand that I care and that you don’t need to hide”.
“I’m here with you, Damian.”
Bruce notices that the boy is, in his own way, emotional, but tries not to make it too obvious. Damian still has a long way to go when it comes to accepting his own emotions and letting his family take care of him.
“I understand, Father,” the boy replies, in an embarrassed tone, his cheeks suddenly turning pink.
“That’s all I need, for now.”
Bruce runs the back of his hand across the boy’s cheek, caressing it.
Yes, Damian has a long road ahead of him, but for now Bruce will just stay by his side.
But most importantly, he will make sure Damian knows that he is loved.