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Damian withheld a sigh of disdain. He had little desire to celebrate something as ridiculous, trivial, and plebeian as Easter. If he was required to entertain a celebration at this point in the year, he would much rather celebrate Ostara.
Easter was such a plebeian holiday - and extremely harmful towards animals. He had petitioned his Father countless times to request that the clout of the Wayne name and Enterprise be used to make the sale or purchase of an animal related to a gift for the infernal holiday illegal.
His Father had listened patiently to each of his harangues, which was more than Damian expected - even after all of this time. His Mother would have had him entertain the staff with his “impossible demands”, but his Father had made no mention of sending Damian to the location in Gotham to speak to the staff.
Pennyworth, of course, was not simply a member of the staff.
Damian still did not understand why his Grandfather would lower themselves to tending to the family, but that did not mean that he would not offer aid as best he was able in secret. He did not wish to imply that he did not think the butler was capable, after all.
Regardless of how much time had passed since his arrival, Damian was still unused to how he was treated within his new family. He was listened to, even when he ranted about something that he himself regarded as trivial.
He knew, as he had tested his Father.
And yet his Father had listened. More than simply listen, as he had acquired the exact eraser that Damian had ranted about wanting to write with by the next sunset.
Damian had expected nothing at all to come of his rant; as it was merely a way that Damian was utilizing to gauge how his Father would react to his rant.
Damian had managed to thank his Father, and had even managed to do so without showing his surprise. He forced himself to behave as he should; grateful for being listened to and heard. His Father had, in turn, gifted him a small smile in addition to the gift that had been the topic of his rant.
It now sat, unused, in his windowsill - with protection from any of his beloved pets’ curiosity. From time to time, Damian found himself gazing at the small eraser; an orange carrot with a green top and bright smile.
Damian couldn’t figure out why such a small object brought up such powerful feelings.
Lost in thoughts as he was, Damian ensured to give Alfred the cat an extra scratch just under his ear for jumping onto his shoulder as he approached the room where his family was. He shifted the cat so he could cradle the cat in his arms.
Richard was the first whom he saw, and though it pleased him to see him; Damian did not show it.
“Dami! Little D, there you are!” Richard was beaming at him. Damian arched an eyebrow, which served as encouragement for the human octopus to come over and hug him tightly.
Damian endured, though he made certain that he angled his elbows to keep Alfred the cat safe.
Richard finally pulled away, still smiling down at him. Damian scowled back, though he was secretly pleased that he was worthy of the eldest heir’s easy affection.
“Baby bat, I’m glad you decided to join us!” Richard beamed, as though he believed that Damian would choose to grace the celebration with his presence. “Here, I got you a gift! I saw what was displayed so carefully in your room when I carried you to bed a few nights ago, so I got you a few more.”
Damian… was nervous. He had not planned to be carried to bed; it was childish of him that he fell asleep after patrol. He had not planned to do so; and so he was certain that he had artwork displayed in his room that he had not intended to show Richard yet - or at all.
As Grayson, for lack of a better descriptive word, flounced to the other side of the room. Damian gently put Alfred the cat down, despite the cat's protest. Damian stroked his head, but he wished to be prepared for anything that Grayson may do.
He did not truly believe that he would have had anything in his room that would’ve angered Grayson, but Damian knew that he would be safer if he was prepared to act quickly.
As it was, Damian was tense as Grayson carried a box wrapped in brightly coloured wrapping - complete with glitter - over to him.
“Here, Dames! The wrapping paper is eco-friendly, and the glitter is biodegradable as well.” Richard smiled down at him, and practically shoved the box into his hands. Damian was struck by the care, as he always was, that Richard put into ensuring that everything that he gave him had such thought behind it.
“Thank you, Richard.” Damian said stiffly.
“Well; open it!” Richard encouraged, practically bouncing in place. Damian was exasperated, but he did as he was bid.
Carefully, over a singular blanket. He had no intention of being the one to give Pennyworth unnecessary work.
When he finally opened the container, he was stunned at the three small characters occupying the box.
“I saw your carrot eraser, and I could see that you guarded it from any of your pets being able to knock it over or eat it - so I figured it could use some friends! There are two rabbits, since the store had two colour options of pink and blue, because rabbits like carrots - no you can’t tell me it’s a myth, I can’t hear you.” Baba jostled his shoulder, Damian had yet to look away from his new belongings. “And the bird; I thought of me when I saw it. Now you can have rabbits for your carrot, and a little me to watch over you.”
Damian finally found his voice. “Th-thank you, Richard. They will be a worthy addition to my art supplies.”
“Great! I’m glad you like them.” Baba hugged him tightly around his shoulders, before he lightly shoved him away. “Go on, I’ll cover for you - go hide them away so you can keep your big heart hidden.”
“I am Damian Wayne; I have the exact amount of empathy that is required of someone holding my station.” Damian sniffed.
“Sure, buddy.” He was given a fond smile and another light push. “Go and tuck them away before Jason uses them as ammunition.”
“As if the zombie could take them from me.” Damian scoffed as he left the room.
He had three more erasers to protect, and he hoped that he had enough room to display them safely today.
Perhaps the bird would be placed somewhere aside from his windowsill…
Damian had managed to get not only his Father’s family to accept Earth Day from sunrise until sunset, but his Father and Drake had also ensured that Wayne Enterprises observed the entirety of the day as well.
Of course, no employee suffered as a result. They were all given a full day's earnings regardless of the fact that they had not worked. Damian had learned how many struggled unnecessarily within this country. It was shameful, and still so few thought to try to change it.
Damian had ensured that his Father paid each of his staff to live comfortably. He would not have anyone shame the Wayne name by saying that they could not provide adequate and sufficient funds to their associates.
The fact that some were of the mindset that what Wayne Enterprises did was shameful angered Damian a great deal. Those, he worked - unwillingly - with Drake to ensure their lives were miserable for a time.
Richard was teaching him to have and show empathy for others; and he was merely passing along his teachings.
As Damian went to enter the library, a library that the Zombie had contacted their Mother for aid in convincing their Father to expand, Thomas shuffled into his path.
Damian looked at him curiously, if guardedly. Thomas looked as though he was both nervous and embarrassed - which was an unusual combination for the last stray his Father picked up.
“Damian! My dude, just who I was looking for.”
Damian was more guarded than before; it was unusual for any but Richard to seek him out.
“Yes?”
“Look, so. Like, I’m - actually, you’re a private person, you want to go into the library or something?”
Damian appreciated the thought that Thomas had in regards to his comfort. “Entering the library would be sufficient; the others are occupied by Todd and my Father.”
“Dick has a bet that Jay and your Mother will take less than an hour to expand the library.” Thomas was grinning as he led the way to Damian’s favoured spot. “Tim bet that Bruce would be convinced - and that Alfred would take longer, as they’re the one who carefully cleans and guards the rare novels that we have here.”
“Pennyworth does an adequate job of providing the needed care for the preservation of such books.” Damian nodded, sitting appropriately. Thomas sat nervously, rubbing the side of his head.
Damian was still on his guard.
“Okay, so look. I didn’t mean to do this; it truly was an accident.” He said. Damian was wary. “Look, I still sometimes have trouble with my powers. I don’t - I never mean to use them like that, but sometimes when there’s been some sort of strong emotion or something - I get a flash of the scene in my head even if I’m not trying to see anything. So like, a while ago I was just going to get a book from a room when I got hit with the vision.
“Now,” Thomas again rubbed his head. “I’ve learned that I can force myself to back away and that kinda stops the vision? But like, I still get the flashes before I can back away. And like, that’s what happened the other day.
“Dick giving you the rabbits and the bird meant a lot to you, and I saw it and I’m sorry.”
“What do you want for the information?” Damian asked, jaw clenched.
“What? No, Dames. I don’t want anything.” Thomas shook his head. “I, er - I actually got you something?”
“Oh?” Damian was curious now.
“I used some of the allowance that Bruce has given me to import them from France.” Thomas held out a small package wrapped in paper with earths on them. “Here, a present for Earth Day.”
Damian cautiously opened the package, and gazed down at the three sections of the box - unsure of just what he was feeling.
“I got you fourteen different coloured little owl erasers, a white mushroom eraser, a purple fish, and a green fish eraser.” Duke explained to him unnecessarily.
“Thank you, Thomas.” Damian barely remembered to use the last name when giving his heart-felt thank you.”I will find use for them all.”
“Course, Dames. Glad you like them.” Duke ruffled his hair before he left them the room.
Damian waited until he was certain that he was alone, before he stood up and headed to his room.
He had fourteen owls, a white mushroom, purple fish, and a green fish to add to his collection.
He needed more supplies if he was to keep his meaningful belongings safe.
Damian refused to startle, though he was certain that Cain had seen how he had stiffened. He doubted that she would tell Father that he had not realized that she was there, as she never had before. He almost trusted that she would keep the knowledge to herself.
“Baby brother.” She said softly.
“Cain.” He returned curtly. She smiled, looking amused.
“Present, baby brother.” Cain held out a green box.
“What is it, Cain?” Damian asked as he took the box.
“Look, open.” she insisted.
Damian managed to refrain from rolling his eyes as he turned to open the box.
Inside, there was one small, green maple leaf, a little blue turtle, and a black and white cat - with its markings more similar to that of Batman’s cowl than that of Alfred the cat. They were all erasers.
Somehow, Damian was not surprised.
“Erasers?” Damian asked, keeping the surprise and joy out of his voice.
“Yes. Have many; now more.” Cassandra nodded proudly. “Saw Duke give, and was pleased. So I got, to make pleased as well.”
“They will be adequate for my work. Thank you Cain.” Damian thanked his sister quietly. Cass beamed, snagging him in a hug.
As he knew it was useless to try to get away, Damian sighed heavily and rested his head against her shoulder. He grumbled as she reached up and started to stroke his head.
While he was trapped, Damian was mentally planning how to arrange his erasers.
His bluebird eraser was sitting on his headboard - watching over him at all times. Perhaps his turtle would join it.
Damian was very pleased, and very proud of himself. He had accomplished the very difficult task of getting his artwork published. It was under a pseudonym, Thaddeus Gray Todd, as he refused to have anyone say that he used his heritage to earn his popularity.
His heritage was there for him to use in other ways after all.
As it was, Richard had found out and had told their family. His Father had arranged to celebrate.
It… pleased him immensely, though Damian would not tell anyone.
“Demon prince ~”
“Demon brat ~”
Todd and Drake had entered the same room through separate doors, and had spoken at the same time as well. They glared at each other, making Damian idly wonder if he witness a fight between the pair.
It would not be their first fight, and he suspected that it would not be the last.
“Fuck off replacement, I’m busy with the demon brat.”
“Well, I have a business meeting in twenty minutes.” Drake snapped back. “And I can’t reschedule.”
“Well, I’m not leaving.” Todd straightened to his full height; Drake didn’t so much as blink.
“Neither am I.”
“I have my own meeting in a half an hour.” Damian interrupted in a bored tone. “So you will either have to offer your congratulations now or you will have to wait.”
Drake and Todd continued to glare at each other, before they finally sighed.
“Fine. I can put up with the replacement.”
“I can put up with the zombie.” Drake was unfazed as Todd growled at him, eyes glowing faintly.
“Then what is it?” Damian snapped impatiently.
“Here, brat - I got you a gift.” Todd threw a package at him.
“That would be why I am here as well.” Drake walked over to him, and handed him a similar package carefully.
Damian barely refrained from rolling his eyes at the show.
“Open mine first, it’ll be better than the pretenders.” Todd glared at Drake. Drake glared back.
“Mine will have more thought behind it.” he countered.
“Fuck it will, replacement.” Jason snapped.
“I will open them at the same time.” Damian thought that that would be an adequate display of the mediation that his Father and Mr. Fox had been attempting to teach him.
He thought he may have been mistaken as the intensity of which they were glaring at each other increased. Finally, they both grumbled something in one of their secondary languages and looked back towards him.
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
If Damian had been a lesser heir, like Todd or Drake, he would’ve breathed a sigh of relief. As he was a superior heir - he did not.
The wrappings were different, but the boxes were the same size.
It seemed to make his brothers as annoyed as it made him curious. Of course he concealed that fact. It was beneath him to wonder over something so trivial.
It was incredibly difficult to open the pair of boxes simultaneously, yet he prevailed.
He would not have made it to find his Father if he was unable to complete difficult tasks. The League would have ensured it; regardless of how he and his Mother would have contested and fought.
Nonetheless, Damian was not expecting to see that inside the similar boxes there were identical presents. He tilted his head in surprise, keeping his face blank.
Drake and Todd were the two with the strongest ties to the League. Damian would not put them at even greater risk by revealing that he cared for them. It was to his great shame that they already knew he had grown close to Richard; he dared not divulge his warmth for the rest of his kin.
He reached into each box and pulled out twin blue sharks, carefully keeping any emotion from his face.
“YOU FUCKING DID NOT!” Jason turned to glare at Timothy, eyes glowing a vivid green with speckles of blue.
According to reports, the Red Hood had killed less than four days ago. Damian did not believe the reports for a moment.
If Jason had killed, he would not have any blue in his eyes. The Pit would’ve begun to take its stronghold on him once more, and his eyes would have reflected that.
Damian knew the intricate workings of the Lazarus Pit better than any of his family - Ra’s had once seen him as his next heir. It… still distressed Damian that Timothy had been fixated on. Damian knew how dangerous Ra’s was when he became fixated. Timothy was not safe on his own.
It was why he had alerted his older brother's team, useless as they were, that their Bat member was in danger and they should be keeping a careful watch over him.
“Me?! You’re mad at me?!” Damian snapped back to the present as Timothy bristled. “You probably copied me!”
“I’m not the one who is the stalker in the family!”
“ If you had’ve used your credit card or debit card I would’ve known .” Timothy hissed back.
“HA! SO YOU DO STALK US!” Jason pointed at Timothy triumphantly as he crowed.
“ONLY SO THAT WE DON’T GIVE THE SAME GIFTS!” Timothy jabbed a finger towards the boxes on Damian’s lap. “AND IF YOU WEREN’T A PARANIOD FUCKER THIS WOULD’VE BEEN AVOIDED!”
“LIAR!” Jason boomed. “You stalk us for fun so you can add us to your scrapbook!”
“ HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT ?!” he screeched. Jason cackled, though he did ensure to turn so he was facing the most problematically fearsome warrior of their clan.
Jason was cunningly intelligent, perhaps the most out of all of his siblings.
It was something Damian admired about his elder sibling.
The fact that he displayed his intelligence by refusing to turn his back on their sibling would only add credence to the rumours pertaining to his intellect. Timothy had taught Ra’s fear; all else should take heed.
“I would advise running.” Damian said softly.
Jason took his warning and darted out of the room; cackling about telling Father while Timothy chased him, screeching.
Damian shook his head fondly - which he could now do safely, as he was alone. He pulled out the other two products from his boxes; twin green sword erasers.
He had plans for the sharks and the swords. The swords reminded him of his mother, and so one would be placed next to the blue bird and turtle.
Above his bed, where she could once more watch over him.
Damian was in one of his Fathers lower offices, one that he had claimed for himself. He had it arranged in a manner that would be conducive to preparing himself for eventually joining his brother Timothy in taking over Wayne Enterprises from their Father. He had learnt from studying Mr. Fox; Timothy was useless at keeping himself organized with one project, to the point where Damian had little idea as to how he managed to complete his work and projects on time.
His Father… Damian was justifiably in awe of his Father’s many, many skills. However; organization was not one of them. Batman was feared and revered in equal measure, and had the skills to uncover any truth he so desired.
He simply did it without any sort of normal organization. Damian could not understand how; though he had studied his Father at great length.
Damian found that he needed organization; if he did not have it he felt unsettled. Recognizing this, he set out to find someone his Father and kin would approve of him learning from - and it had led him to Mr. Fox.
Damian kept his observations to himself of course. He had not received permission to study from Mr. Fox, and he was less than prepared in the event of an attack on his person. He would be an ideal target if Ra’s chose to eliminate his teachers. His Father would be unable to cope with the full weight of Wayne Enterprises, and so it was necessary that Damian hid where he had learned his skills of organization.
It was why he had come to believe that it was wise that he and Timothy run the company together.
None of his siblings bothered him in his claimed office. Damian did not dilute himself into believing that he had hidden his claimed space from any of his purloining siblings. He was certain that they knew where he was located; they simply didn’t bother to include him in their shenanigans while he was ensconced within.
Which was why Damian nearly threw a knife at Brown as she appeared from the top of his window. He had not expected that his siblings would choose to bother him.
Damian knew that he should have picked a room with less windows. If Alfred saw that he had brought a knife from the armoury he would have to clean all of his Father’s cars alone. Again.
It was not a task he welcomed; which was most likely why he was assigned it.
“Alfie’s on the other side of the manor - though that doesn’t mean they don’t know about the stabby mcstabber already.” Brown said as she landed on his settee.
Damian would never admit to having taken it from Richard’s room. And he would certainly never speak of taking it for the memories he had attached to sitting in the spot with him.
Damian inclined his head, and hid his knife once more.
All of the Butler’s charges had converged and come together to hide their various misdeeds from the eldest member.
Even his Father.
“Timberella was complaining to me that the undead one got you the same presents as he did - so of course I had to show both of those boys how it’s done.” She pulled a lumpy, balled up, shape of duck tape from her shirt and threw it at him. Damian caught it, scowling all the while.
“Drake is a fool with nothing better to do than to complain.” Damian remarked as he began the painstaking task of unwinding Stephanie’s… wrapping .
She made herself comfortable on his settee, lounging over the side. As if Damian couldn’t tell that she was anxious about how he was going to react to her gift.
Damian was still well aware that Ra’s could have planted bugs in his office, and so he did not outwardly react as he pulled two small erasers from the mess of duck tape.
One was, surprisingly, shaped like a usual, normal, eraser. It was black, with the words “creatively writing” printed on it in green. The other was a brown platypus eraser.
“I know that you’ve published your art, but I also caught you looking at articles on how to make your writing better.” Steph said to him; now upside down on his settee. “So, I thought to get you something for that. And the platypus is because they’re awesome.”
“Thank you, Brown.” Damian said curtly, dipping his head to her. She beamed before she left his office once more - once more through the top of his window.
Damian knew better than to ask.
He also needed to put his new possessions with the others; so that they would be safe.
“Ah; there you are, lad.” Damian sat up straight as Alfred entered the smaller of their dining rooms.
“Am I needed somewhere?” Damian asked.
“No, lad. I was the one searching for yourself.” Alfred shook their head. “May I join you?”
“You may.” Damian nodded his acquiescence. Alfred gave a small, soft smile of thanks and sat at the table with him.
“Thank you lad. Now, as you are well aware; there is not very much that goes on in this manor without my knowledge.” They said, looking serious.
Damian wondered if he was about to be punished for one of the weapons that he had hidden within his Father’s walls. He knew he never should have allowed Todd to see that Mother had sent him a sword.
“Of course.” Damian dipped his head. “You are very aware of what takes place within the walls of my Father.”
“Thank you, lad.” Alfred gave him another small smile. Damian wished they would get on with his punishment. “Now, as it were; I was present the day that Master Tim and Master Jason sparred while not in the cave. It took a little effort, but I found out that they had fought over giving the same gift to yourself.
“They, of course, have faced their consequences for causing strife over such a trivial matter.” Alfred continued, as though they hadn’t confused Damian a great deal. “The reason I bring up the unplanned spar is because the final piece of my gift to you has just arrived.”
Damian was speechless as Alfred handed over a small envelope they had taken from their pocket. He did manage to nod to the butler, before he opened their gift to him.
There were three above-average sized erasers, as well as a handwritten note. One by one, Damian withdrew each; each time filled with more emotion than the last.
His grandfather had gifted him perfect replicas of each of his beloved pets. Batcow, Titus, and Alfred the cat each now had their images perfectly preserved.
Damian would cherish these gifts always.
They were not for use, no. Damian would build an even better protected spot to place each of his beloved belongings, so that he could keep them preserved forevermore.
Each of his kin had gifted his near-useless trinkets for the simple reason that they believed that he would enjoy them.
And Damian more than enjoyed them. Rarely had he ever been gifted something that was so small but meant so much to him.
“Th-thank you; Grandfather.” Damian managed to whisper.
Alfred was the deadliest of his family, and they were nearly the most skilled. His Grandfather could handle it if Ra’s decided to go after them.
They were safe for Damian to show his affection too.
As it was, Alfred gave him a genuine smile. They leaned across the table, and press a soft kiss to the crown of his head.
“I am glad you like it, Grandson.” They whispered back.
Damian had acquired a small fish tank, which he had promptly reinforced so that it could never be broken.
He even had it tested against a Superhuman’s strength.
It had held, and so Damian had carefully arranged his most precious belongings inside.
In the back right corner, his small parliament of owls resided. Next to them, his twin fish were placed with his shark. On the owl's other side were his maple leaf and mushroom. In the back right corner, there were his pair of rabbits, along with their carrot. The platypus was beside them, completing the back portion of the tank.
In the front of the tank, his green sword, blue bird, turtle, and the replicas of his pets were placed. Underneath the fish tank itself, was the letter that Alfred had gifted him - which was double protected from ever coming to harm.
Damian had carefully placed the fish tank beside where he slept, so that his family could watch over him every night as he slept.
It made Damian feel secure; both in his sleep and his place in his kins lives.