Chapter Text
It was a quiet night in the manor. Only Alfred and Damian were home, while the rest of the family was out on some mission. He could practically imagine what kinds of memories were being made without him. The thoughts fogged up his head, bringing him to a childish state of mind. Feeling unfairly left out despite the fact that he knew he was the one to blame for it. He could only let it seep into his creations as it stirred up.
Currently he is working diligently on his next project. A medium sized Nightwing plush. One that he was sure his brother would absolutely love. A plushie that most definitely had to be made perfectly for that reason.
He watched his crocheting, keeping an eye on the yarn’s tension. If the stitching was too loose then there’d be gaping holes in the plush. At the same time, if it was too tight then it would look stiff and rough. It had to be nice and consistent.
The pattern book rested in his lap, a page showing a picture of what the toy will look like and the necessary steps to make it. His brows furrowed in concentration.
He was sitting in the library this time, his several pets gathering around him.
Alfred the cat was laid down on the couch with Damian, leaning his fuzzy body on him without much care.
Just a foot or two away Jerry the turkey had his head tucked under his feathers. The bird sat on the other side of the couch, quiet content chirps coming from him.
A larger body laid on the floor, peering up at Damian. Batcow was quite curious about what the boy was doing with his hands. Even going as far as taking the bundle of yarn in her mouth to inspect and taste it. To her disappointment, the thing didn’t taste very good.
For the next fifteen minutes everything was calm. A comforting feeling, it was to be surrounded by all his pets. Hearing their snores and occasionally seeing them twitch in deep sleep.
…
That was…until Titus trotted in.
He plopped down on the floor, letting out a whine as he glanced up at Damian. The dog’s eyes moved from the boy, to the thing in his hands. At this stage of the project, it looked similar to one of Titus’s toys. The toys specifically bought for him to be able to rip up.
Despite this obvious ask for attention, Damian was too caught up on his project. His hands worked quicker, now nearly finished with the body. Once completed and sewn off, he held his achievement out in front of him. Boasting to his pets about how much progress he’s made. This caught the attention of most of the animals. They turned their heads to him, staring as if they actually understood what he said.
Titus was very interested. With trained eyes he stared at the plush. A small drop of drool fell onto the wood floor. He was now standing, his tail held high and wagging.
In a swift motion Titus leaped up, taking the plushie part in his mouth and bolting out. The sudden loud sound would wake the rest of the animals. All heads shoot up, waiting to see what they should do.
“Hey-Titus, come back!”
Damian called out, pulling himself up to run after him.
A trail of animals would follow behind, letting out their own calls. Crashing through the halls, Damian leads his mini zoo after the dog. The sound of thumping paws filled the manor, along with an assortment of different animal sounds.
Titus barked and howled, excitedly looking back at the horde of animals. With glimmering eyes, he kept on with his run before being met with a sudden wall. He took a sharp turn around the corner, abruptly stopping at the sight of a particularly unhappy man..
Unable to stop as quickly, Damian skidded into the wall with a THUNK! His pets would follow his footsteps, leading to much more thunks. First Batcow, then Jerry and finally Alfred the cat. They all piled into each out, yelping at the contact and stumbling to get out.
Then a shadow casted over all of them.
Rubbing his head, Damian looked up at what was casting the shadow and felt pale in the face.
“And what exactly are you doing master Damian?”
Alfred raised a brow, peering down at the boy with amusement. The scene he had just witnessed was almost cartoonishly comical. A dog running away from a cat, a cow, a turkey and a child. All before stopping and slamming into the wall one by one.
Then his eyes went down to the dog in front of him wearing a guilty expression. Titus’s ears flattened against his head, dropping something on the floor in an attempt to lessen his punishment.
It fell with a wet plop. Slimy dog drool clinging onto the fuzziness of it.
Reaching down, Alfred plucked the item from the floor and took a look. The item that Titus dropped was the body of an incomplete Nightwing plush. Its head was missing and only the arms had been filled. He wiped some of the slime off the plush and saw the stitching.
“Master Damian, did you make this?”
A mortified expression became defensive as Damian turned away from Alfred in hopes of hiding it.
“Maybe…but don’t tell Richard! It’s meant to be a surprise. Don’t tell anyone actually. I don’t want to be ridiculed for it”
Alfred listened intently, trying not to scoff at the boy’s reasoning. He knew that the others would be over the moon if they found out about Damian’s new hobby. He also knew that Damian didn’t like the thought of that ever happening. The kid probably hated the thought of them possibly seeing him as ‘weak’ or ‘childish’ for this.
So Alfred made sure to do what he could to snuff that idea out.
“This is very good handiwork, where did you learn to do this?”
Damian perked up as subtly as he could, trying to keep from looking too eager to respond.
“It was from a kit, there was a book” He replied, letting pride bleed into the words. His previous worry seemed to disappear at the small praise.
Alfred nodded in acknowledgement, handing the work to Damian.
“It looks very nice, just make sure to wash it before you give it Master Richard”
He took the plushie body into his hands, grimacing at the wet spots riddled around it. Despite being in the jaws of a canine, the toy wasn’t as damaged as he expected. Fortunately, there were no holes or stretched out stitches. A quiet sigh of relief came from him at the sight. Tilting his head up towards Alfred, he responded.
“Of course! I’m not going to give it to him like this.”
Afterwards, he began making his way back to the library. The sound of clomping hooves and skittering talons followed him.