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Red was his color. Tim looked at his uniform as he was putting it aside. Well, red was is color, and also Jason’s color, but that wasn’t the point.
Why did Damian wanted to change his uniform outfit with so much red. Black and red. The boy ( well, the teenager was more adapted ) had been drawing his new design costume only with red and black. The inside of his cape, red, the outside, black. A red domino mask, black pants, black shirt, red logo on his chest. Red boots, and red gauntlet.
Timothy put Damian’s sketch back on the table with a grunt. Did the boy want to look like to Red Hood or what? Speaking of Damian, here he was, coming back from the training room, a towel on his back, a water bottle in his hand.
“Damian, why so much red?”
The dark haired boy looked at Tim with a scowl.
“Why not?”
“Don’t you think there’s enough red in our ‘family’ ? I mean, Jason, RED hood, you know… Me, RED Robin…”
“You’re jealous, Drake?” Spurted Damian with a cocky grin on his -way too handsome- face.
Timothy kind of barked a laugh.
“ Jealous? More like annoyed. It’s probably you who is jealous, boy. You’re copying us.”
“Never ever call me boy” Hissed Damian, walking dangerously close to Tim. His eyes were all angry and, truth be told that might be rather impressive. If it was anyone other than Timothy in front of him.
Timothy didn’t even blink.
“Oh? But in my eyes, that’s what you are. You may be taller than me now, but you’re still a boy, no matter how much how much has changed. A jealous boy wanting to look like his two elder big brother.”
Damian eye’s burned with rage, and he took Timothy by his collar, upping him on his tiptoes.
“You are not my brother, Drake. And you never will be. “ Hissed Damian in a low voice. He let him go, and turned around, walking upstairs.
Timothy looked at him, feeling mixed emotions.
He was angry, because Damian was stupid and stubborn, and he didn’t want Damian to wear the same color as him, but somewhere deep in his heart, he was sad. He figured out how to work with Damian through the years a little better, without trying to constantly attack each other physically or verbally, and he thought stupidly that maybe one day, he’ll be able to be as important to the boy than Dick was. But that was never going to happen. Because Damian will never consider him as a brother.
Just a nuisance under his feet.
Clenching his fists, he finished changing, and walked up to the manor.
Damian was blasting with anger.
Why the hell didn’t Drake want him to wear red?
He thought that the man would be happy if Damian wore the same color than him. No matter how much he tried, he never understood his elder’s way of thinking. With irritation, he took a pancake and put it in his mouth, walking into his bedroom. Maybe Grayson will be able to help him.
Sending himself on his mattress, Damian grunted and chewed at his pancake, taking his phone out.
Dick answered almost immediately.
“Little D, how’s going?”
“He don’t like the red uniform. Actually not at all.”
“… Yeaaah, I’m fine too, thanks for asking”
Damian rolled his eyes with a faint smile.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’m pretty upset right now. I wanted advice.”
“‘kay, no worries. So what, you said Tim didn’t liked your new uniform?”
“Not at all. He was like ‘I don’t want you to wear red, red is my color, you’re copying me’ and stuff… Like I was a little boy wanting to look like my big brother…”
“Hm. Okay, he took it the wrong way. Then what about trying to make an outfit with complementary color? Like, you know, opposite to blue is orange, the opposite of red is… Green. Complementary.”
“Green. Seriously, Grayson? Green is…”
“What you have wearing until now. I knoooow, but hell, just change your red stuff with green.”
“But I’ll look like some bat-ecologist”
Dick bursted out laughing at the other end, while Damian pinched his nose in aggravation.
“Little D! Haha, just… You know, your bat symbol, make it in different black, your boots, gauntlet and cape’s inside in a dark green. But without red laces.”
“Got it, but what if Tim still doesn’t understand…”
“Then you’ll have to be a big boy like you are, and tell him directly.”
Damian grunted, not pleased with the idea, but nodded to himself. He hung up after thanked Dick, and stood up to take his sketchbook. Flipping all his drawing of Timothy . Hell, most of them was made by memory, he never took the risk to look at Timothy directly and then sketch him -Tim would notice immediately- he found an empty page and sketched his new outfit design.
Later on the evening, he walked in the Batcave, searching for his father. When he found him, he put his drawing toward Bruce.
“Father, what do you think about this?”
Bruce looked up after a while, finishing typing something on the computer.
“… Green?”
“… I… Yeah, why the hell not? I mean, there’s already red in our ‘batfamily’ so… Green.”
“But green is…”
“I don’t ask for an apple green, father. A dark green, not a flashy one.”
Sighing, Bruce nodded and waved his hand at him. Knowing when he was asked go, he put the sketch on the table, and took the old one, sighing. Red would have been so much cooler. Matched uniform with Timothy. Well, Grayson had right. If Timothy didn’t understand this time, he would have to say directly something. With a lots of chance to be coldly rejected. He didn’t wanted that to happen at all.
Way later in the night, Timothy walked back in the Batcave. He had an injury he needed to take care off before losing too much blood. What he didn’t expect was Damian sitting on the batcomputer. When the boy looked at him and saw him injured, he silently stood up and helped him to make his way toward the infirmary. Sitting Tim on the operation table, he went back to search for what he needed.
“I can take care of myself, Damian.”
“But it’ll be easier if I do it for you, don’t be stupid, Drake.”
Sighing, Timothy let the boy do what he had to do with his injury, and as he was cleaning his hand, Damian looked back at Tim, who was rubbing his wrist.
“You broke your wrist?”
“Not at all, just twisted it in a weird way”
With a scowl, Damian went back in front of him, and took his wrist carefully.
Timothy looked at him.
Damian grew up really handsome. It was almost like he didn’t know what puberty supposed to be. No acne, a perfect well tanned skin without any imperfection. High cheekbones, no more chubby cheek, a well traced jaw, deep storming blue eyes, a straight nose, perfect lips, not too puffy, but not too thin either. A pretty good built too, due to all his training, and he was tall.
That was totally unfair.
He let out a surprised mewl when Damian started to massage firmly and gently his abused wrist, and bit his lips hard when Damian looked up at him, a strange expression on his face.
If the boy made any reflection about the sound he made, he was going to punch him in the throat. Damian said nothing, and looked back at what he was doing, still stroking Tim’s wrist. It was strangely soothing to be taken cared of like that. When Alfred wasn’t there, he usually healed himself.
Damian stopped, but kept Tim’s hand in his. They looked at each other awkwardly. There was something in Damian’s expression that made Timothy internally shiver. Slowly, Damian let go, and walked back in the cave.
“I’ve changed my outfit’s color, if you were wondering. It’ll be green.”
Timothy blinked, trying to regain composure, and followed Damian’s step.
“Green?”
He didn’t though Damian will listen at him and change his color, but why green? He took the sheets of paper Damian raised at him, looking at the sketch.
“… I suppose it’ll look good, as long as it’s not a flashy green…”
Damian frowned and sighed. Complementary coloooooor, Timothyyy… Will you use your amazing brain to understand the hidden message or not? He waited.
Apparently not.
Timothy went back in his bedroom, feeling that something strange was going on. Damian looked like upset when Timothy talked with him about his outfit. Why the hell did the boy choose green? Why not simply black, or… Sighing, he decided to ask at the one who knew Damian’s most.
Dick answered cheerfully.
“Little Timboooo, what’s up?”
“Hey; Dick, did I wake you up?”
“Not at all, I’m just coming back from patrol. Did something happen?”
“ Not really…Well, Damian has been weird recently.”
Dick chuckled softly.
“Oh, really?”
Timothy frowned. His voice sounded like he knew what was going on, and he’d get his answer.
“… You know why.”
“Me? Not at all. Timmy, tell me what he’s done!”
“Well. He started to sketch a new outfit design, mostly red. I didn’t liked it, and told him so, and he changed
it… With green.”
“That kind of fits him, no?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know, knowing Damian, I thought he wouldn’t listen to me and just keep it as it was. And Dick, why green?!”
“hm… Maybe to tell you somehow that your opinion matter to him?”
“That’s didn’t explain this green.”
They kept talking, but Timothy didn’t get any answer.
A week passed, and Damian still acted strangely toward him. Like, sometimes he could be “kind” and talk a little with him, sometime he was weird—like he wanted to say something but didn’t knew how to say it, and sometime he would just insult him and tell him it was his fault for being so stupid.
Timothy was completely lost.
But then, one day while he was helping Alfred with cleaning, he found Damian’s sketchbook. Stung by curiosity, he opened it. And what he saw let him breathless.
There was plenty sketch of him. Entire pages of him, sometimes as Red Robin, sometime with his school uniform, sometimes just when he was casual, some of him smiling or frowning…
Blushing madly, he closed the sketchbook and held it against him awkwardly. Eyes wide, he walked on his bedroom and sat on his bed, then flipped through the sketchbook again. Damian’s drawings were amazing, he really had skills, but why would he mostly draw him…?
Then everything became clear. Damian’s awkwardness, his new outfit’s color, the fact the boy didn’t wanted to see him as a brother… Hell, even the green… Complementary color. The boy wanted to give him a hint about his feelings! That’s why he was upset, because Timothy didn’t understand!
With a groan, he fell on his bed, the sketchbook still in his arm, his cheeks burning.
Damian was… In love with him…? Biting his lips, he stood up, and rushed up in the cave.
He found the teenager working on a new batmobile, wearing a black tight shirt and a pair of jean.
Damian looked up at him.
“Drake? What happen-” He shut himself when he saw his sketchbook in the older boy’s arm, and his
cheeks turned crimson in both shame and anger.
“THE HELL, DRAKE! Why did you opened it!!” He stood up and took roughly the sketchbook.
“Damian, listen I…”
“Do you know something called privacy?! I mean you should never have opened it I-”
Damian fell silent when lips crashed on his.
That was rather unexpected. Teeth clashing, lips fighting on his, and he moaned when Tim’s tongue forced
his way onto his mouth. Strong hands cupping each side of his head, not allowing him to move away. Not like he wanted to.
When they moved apart, they were panting a little, and Damian’s eyes were wide.
“Now. Will you listen, you moron?” Whispered warmly Tim on his ear, sending shivers through his spine. The older boy stepped back a little with a sly smile.
“Why didn’t you just tell me right away?”
“B-because I didn’t… want to be rejected.”
“… Okay. But you know, I would never have guessed with those uniforms stuff.”
Damian turned crimson, looking away.
“But … I’m sure you’ll be a great vigilante in dark green.”
“… So, you prefer complementary color?”
“That’s what we have always been. Complementary.” Tim smiled, then leaned in to kiss him again.
Hell yes, they were very complementary.