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Damian’s hand curled and gripped around his birdarang and he threw it –
‘God!’ – with a resounding bang into the metal floor.
He growled, more frustrated than menacing, and with a curled lip and two hands dragging up his face and through his hair, ‘Could you just fucking shut up, Todd! I don’t want to have sex with anyone. Ever considered that?’
Jason’s eyebrows shot up as his smirk stretched wider, ‘You sure you aren’t just making excuses?’
‘You sure you’ll get a third chance at life?’
‘Okay, okay!’ Dick called, shoving a palm against Damian’s chest and stretching another towards Jason, ‘Enough teasing for tonight. If Dami isn’t ready for se—’
‘— I didn’t say I wasn’t ready, Grayson,’ Damian snapped, ‘I said I didn’t want to have sex with anyone.’
Dick looked at Damian with soft eyes and a soft smile, ‘Dami—’
‘— Don’t patronise me,’ He snarled, sheathing his blades, ‘I’m not a child. I’m 17, I’m not going to grow up and change my mind. And I’m not broken either just because I have no desire to behave like you heathens.’
Dick’s eyebrows furrowed and Jason’s rose higher, a beat of silence pounded through the room.
‘Hold on, are you serious?’ Jason asked, incredulously.
Damian’s eyes snapped back to him, glare sharpening, ‘No, I’m obviously joking.’
‘Wait,’ Dick said, turning to properly face, Damian, ‘this is important. Do you think it could be because of your time with the League of Assassins?’
Tim winced. Damian looked like he’d just been slapped and, for once, it had actually hurt.
‘Do you really not want to ever have sex,’ Dick continued, ‘or is it more your difficulty with being vulnerable?’
Damian’s fists clenched tighter, ‘No, there’s no one I’m… interested in like that.’
‘That could still be the League,’ Dick said, ‘the trauma interfering with your ability to feel sexual attraction.’
Damian took a step back, mouth parting to say something but his eyes were still warring between angry and alarmed. Tim suppressed his urge to get involved.
‘I’m- I’m not broken, and I’m not traumatised.’
Dick held out his hands like a man trying to calm a panicking horse, ‘Damian, I wasn’t trying to say you’re broken,” he said.
Damian’s eyes flashed, ‘Your intentions mean less than your words,’ he snapped, ‘But I don’t care about your western culture and its base obsession with fornication, I have no desire to be “fixed”.’
Dick’s gaze retained that soft, pitiful quality, ‘Dami, this is serious. If the League is still holding you back, harming you, we need to solve that.’
Damian bared his teeth, ‘How much of you has been shaped by your childhood, Grayson? How much will you demand I change until I’m normal enough for you? I’m not broken.’
Dick retracted his arm as if scalded. Damian clenched his hands, nails bitting into his palm, hard enough to break skin. His chest would be heaving with anger if he hadn’t been so good at pretending he was apathetic, in control. The two boys stared at each other, one with hurt hidden and the other with it written all over his face. Tim’s grimace deepened and he shot Jason a worried look, if these two are fighting… Jason nodded in agreement, he slowly raised his palms.
‘Okay, let’s not overreact,’ he said, ‘maybe little D just hasn’t met the right person yet.’
Tim was going to attack him. If Damian didn’t first. But Damian didn’t unsheathe his blades or yell again or even shoot another glare. He closed his eyes and sighed defeatedly, resembling Bruce, for once, more than he did Batman.
‘I’m content with who I am,’ his eyes snapped open, ‘Accept it or leave me alone.’
Dick opened his mouth to say something else, but Tim grabbed his arm, ‘I know what you are, Damian,’ he said.
Damian looked at him, clearly doubtful; his shoulders were still held tensely.
‘You’re the A in LGBTQIA,’ Tim glanced at Dick, ‘not traumatised,’ at Jason, ‘or waiting for the right person.’ His eyes re-found Damian, ‘Just asexual. If you’re looking for a label that is.’
Damian blinked slowly, ‘… oh.’
Tim smiled, ‘Oh, indeed. Welcome to the queer community,’ he said, extending a hand. Damian stared at it, then looked away with a ‘Tt’ as if it didn’t exist.
‘Asexual?’ Dick questioned.
Tim nodded, ‘Meaning devoid of sexual attraction. For anyone. Though there is also a spectrum, he could be demisexual for example, which requires romantic attraction or feelings as a precursor to sexual attraction. Hey Damian, have you ever been in love? You might only be interested in sex with people you’re in love with.’
Damian’s face slipped back into its natural sneer, ‘I’m not discussing my love life with you, Drake.’ Tim blinked languidly before rolling his eyes, ‘I’d prefer that, actually.’
A cough interrupted from behind them, the three turned back to Jason who was staring at Tim strangely, ‘Welcome to the queer community?’
At that exact moment, all of Tim’s sweat glands decided to remind him of their existence.
‘Oh, uh,’ he laughed awkwardly, ‘umm.’ His hands circled around each other, like cards reshuffling in a deck, , ‘You see…’
Jason raised an eyebrow, ‘We see…?’
‘Boys!’ Tim blurted, then grimaced, blushing slightly, ‘No, umm, I mean… girls, and boys.’
The others stared at him. Tim awkwardly raised his hands into mock guns. Damian’s lips twitched, ‘Learn how to speak, Drake. You’re an embarrassment.’
A smirk broke out on Dick’s face as Jason begun to snicker. Tim ducked his head, hair falling to hide his blush.
‘Wait,’ Jason held up a hand, recovering still from laughter, ‘how long have you known?’
Tim scratched the back off his neck, ‘Two months?’
Dick narrowed his eyes, ‘Didn’t you get a new girlfriend two months ago?’
‘Well…’
‘A boyfriend,’ Jason exclaimed, ‘Damn, Tim, does Steph know?’
‘Can we end this discussion?’ Damian interjected, ‘Drake’s love life is the last thing I want to hear about.’
‘Are you kidding me? This is the only thing I want to hear about!’
‘What’s his name?’ Dick asked.
‘… Bernard, he’s a high school friend.’
‘The one that went miss—?'
‘—Two months? Holy shit! You’ve had sex.’
‘No! This is the last thing. I’m leaving.’
‘Have you rid—?’
‘—Jason!’ Dick yelled.
Jason shrugged innocently, ‘What? I’m curious.’
From the intercom a click could be heard, ‘Master Tim, the cookies are ready.’
‘Oh, thank god! Alfred, you’re a life saver.’