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Damian’s sweat began to slide down the side of his head as he caught his breath. Himself and Jason had only a few more moments of sparring left before they swapped for someone else and Damian wanted to prove his worth.
By wiping the floor with Jason Todd, the largest thorn in Damian’s side.
He darted under Jason’s heavy, but slow, right hook, Damian slammed a fist into Jason’s kidneys, making the man splutter for a moment before a fist came down on Damian’s back, sending him flat on the floor in mere seconds.
Damian heard Jason laugh above him, pure sadistic amusement. “Better luck next time, gremlin,” Jason said before reaching down, his hand out to Damian.
Reluctantly taking the help, Damian was hiked back up and onto his feet. “That was satisfactory,” Damian mumbled, glaring at the man.
Dick’s applause rang through the cave. “Good job both of you!” He shouted from the railings above. “Damian, that punch was solid, and Jason that was some quick thinking.”
Jason shrugged off the praise and retreated to the stairs where he joined Dick and Cassandra.
However, the praise coursed through Damian’s veins and he gained a burst of energy, it made him bounce on his feet. He liked being acknowledged and the feedback helped him improve. Helped him become better than he already was.
The excitement came to a screeching halt when Tim stepped forward from the stairs, his hands wrapped in tape.
Damian despised him with every fibre of his little being.
Tim Drake. The moment Damian met the teen he knew they were going to never get along. And that seems to have held true for the most part.
There was never a day that went past where the two do them didn’t bicker, fight, or insult each other. More often than not, one of their siblings, or god forbid, Bruce has to step in and break up the fight. Damian had scrapped with Tim more than any supervillain he has ever faced.
But Damian loved Tim and Tim loved Damian. They just showed it with less mush and more push.
Tim finally stepped into the ring and the fight commenced, but instead of falling into a basic stance like Damian, Tim just stood there and a sly smile took over his face.
Damian felt as his heart began to race again, it was loud and fast in his ears. “Don’t have a plan of attack, Drake?” Damian said as he raised his fists to his face.
Tim didn’t say anything and stared at Damian. If he wasn’t used to the calculating stare, Damian would have folded under the intensity of it.
In hopes of forcing Tim to move, Damian began to circle around him, keeping himself low to the ground and he watched Tim’s feet because he has a reputation of his feet giving away his actions when training.
“Scared to make the first move, Dami?” Tim’s voice cut through the nervous fog that began to settle in Damian’s brain.
Damian growled and shook his head as if to get rid of his nerves. “Never, Drake. What are you waiting for?”
This situation is foreign and it caused unease to settle in Damian’s stomach. He knew better than to look at the peanut gallery at the railing but he spared a glance.
The unease evolved into suspicion as he took in Dick’s confused but curious face, Jason’s back as he is faced away from the training mat, and Cassandra is unreadable as always.
Damian pulled his gaze back to Tim and he was no longer standing still but instead he had mirrored Damian’s actions perfectly. Almost too perfectly.
“Need help from big brother, do you?” Tim teases, his voice changing to the baby-talk tone.
“No, just waiting for you to do something skilful.” Damian retorted, watching Tim’s feet once again. “So far, I’m not impressed.”
“Same could be said about you, brat. Jason beat you quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
“I lasted longer than you did, Drake. I actually reach peoples expectations of me.”
“What expectations? That you’re a selfish, egotistical, temper-tantrum throwing child-?“
“I think that’s enough, Tim,” Dick’s call interrupted Tim from the railing, the frown evident in his voice. Damian spared a glance to see that Bruce is now standing beside him, his face hard as steel.
“No. I think this kid needs a thicker skin,” Replied Tim with a smirk as he continued to mirror Damian’s movements. “Don’t you agree?”
“Do your worst, Drake,” Damian spat back as he glared at Tim. He then clenched his fists and widened his stance, pushing his weight forward so he is now balancing on his toes.
The two of them finally stopped posturing and Tim raced forward, dropped, and swing his legs at Damian’s, aiming for the boys ankles.
Damian jumped to avoid the trip and instead swung at Tim’s head as he came back down. His fist collided with Tim’s cheek but Damian’s wrists were grabbed and he was pulled close until the two of them were chest to chest.
“Loser gets punished and-” Damian doesn’t hear the rest of what Tim says after. He froze. Damian is paralysed and when Tim pushed him away, he hit the floor.
Hard.
There were shouts from the balcony but Damian quickly gathered his thoughts. Roughly shaking his head, he scrambled to his feet and faced Tim.
Tim looked almost as surprised as him. As if he didn’t understand the weight of his words.
Panic started to rise inside of Damian and he couldn’t stop himself from frantically looking back up at Bruce who was gripping the bar like he didn’t know if he wanted to jump down or not. Damian didn’t want his father to step in and and take away his chance to prove himself.
Damian whipped his head back to Tim who resumed a weak stance, quickly spotting the vulnerabilities Damian darted forward, not wasting a second.
Tim predicted Damian’s uncoordinated movements and Damian started to tremble when all of his punches were either blocked or countered.
He wasn’t usually this chaotic but the panic was starting to cloud his brain in a thick fog.
Damian abandoned the punches and thrust his hand out to pull at Tim’s hair, it was a dirty trick, something Jason would do, but Damian was becoming desperate.
He pulled harder and Tim shouted, he pushed Tim to the floor and straddled his back, pulling his hands behind him and up, effectively holding him in a position where Tim could risk breaking his wrists or dislocating his shoulders.
Damian’s chest heaved as he took short, shallow breaths. “Give in, Drake,” he spat out, pushing the hands up higher.
Tim only writhed underneath Damian. “You won’t beat me, brat.”
Suddenly Damian could feel Tim’s feet in his back, in his frantic haze he had forgotten to pin down his legs. The mat was cold on Damian’s back and he could feel Tim pull him into an armbar.
The dread of failure had overtaken Damian’s previous rigorous training and he struggled to escape the position. He began to hyperventilate and he could feel his eyes water.
“No. NO!” Damian shouted before he bit into Tim’s leg so hard the taste of blood seeped into his mouth.
Tim immediately dropped the armbar like Damian was a hot iron and shouted profanities at him. “What the fuck, Damian-!”
But he was cut off when Damian once again tackled him into the mat and a forearm was ruthlessly pressed into his neck, cutting off his air supply.
“DAMIAN!” Dick’s shout rang through the cave but Damian’s heartbeat was so loud it was the only thing he could hear echoing inside his skull.
He couldn’t fail. He couldn’t be punished. He had to win. He had to show he was capable of defeating the enemy. He had to prove his worth.
He wouldn’t fail. Never again.
Damian shook as he held his arm to Tim’s neck. Tim’s blunt nails cut into his skin but it didn’t cut through the haze.
“Attack me, Drake, damn it!” Damian shouted, his voice breaking at the volume.
But it wasn’t Tim that had attacked Damian, but a quick flash of black that barrelled into him. Damian was enclosed in pitch blackness quicker than he could object.
He tried to struggle against the body holding him close, but his scratching and pounding had no effect, instead it made them hold him tighter.
“Listen to me, Damian,” the voice sounded like his fathers but Damian couldn’t believe it.
It was a ploy. It was a fake. It was a distraction.
Damian felt the frantic fight-or-flight begin to subside and be replaced with a paralysis that froze his body. He couldn’t see and he could hear a voice that was deceiving him.
“You’re not at the League, son. Take a deep breath and tell me what you can hear.” His fathers voice continued, it was soothing and soft.
Damian pushed down his panic and attempted to hear over his thumping heartbeat. “I-” he began then he stopped himself and listened, shutting his eyes tightly.
He could hear Dick coddling Tim from a few meters away. He could hear Tim’s ragged breaths. He could hear Jason’s pacing. He could hear Cassandra’s fingers tapping the mat.
He could hear another heartbeat. But it wasn’t frantic. It was calm, slow, and strong.
Damian bought back his voice and spoke into he darkness. “I can hear everyone. Grayson, Drake, Todd, and Cain. I can hear you father.”
There was shuffling and Damian kept his eyes shut. “Open your eyes, Damian,” Bruce said as he bought his hands up to cup Damian’s cheeks.
Fighting back the impulse to keep them closed, Damian knew he could trust his father, he wouldn’t harm him. He wouldn’t lie to him.
When he opened his eyes he wasn’t confronted with iron tipped whips or sharp blades only the deep blue of his father’s soft, kind eyes. Damian struggled to blink the tears that gathered in his eyes and instead opted for burying his head in his father’s neck, his legs tucking up tightly.
Damian didn’t realise he was apologising like a broken record until Bruce had tried to shush him. “It’s okay,” Bruce said as he rubbed his hand up and down Damian’s back, feeling the young boy tremble. He then waved Tim over. “Tim’s alright. Aren’t you?”
Damian glanced up and Tim nodded. He shifted closer to Damian and rested a hand on the young boys back with a small smile. “I’m alright, Dami, it's ok. I’m sorry for saying what I said.”
With a shake of his head, Damian reached back for Tim’s hand and held it in his own. Damian trembles but after studying Tim’s face for deceit and finding none, he relaxed and smiled softly when he felt Tim’s thumb run over his knuckles.
Damian felt when Dick, Jason, and Cassandra had joined the three of them on the floor and sat beside them. They all formed a small circle around where Damian was situated in his father’s lap.
“I’m sorry,” Damian stuttered out softly after the silence became unbearable. “I don’t know what happened. It won’t happen again.”
“It will happen again,” Jason interjected, then hastily continued. “But that’s alright. It happens to me too, junior. You think all this is made without a bit of trauma?”
Damian stifled a snicker as Dick’s jaw dropped and he punched Jason’s arm. Jason shrugged his older brother off and smirked at Damian.
“He is right, baby bat. There is nothing to be afraid of.” Cassandra signed, her hands moved quickly.
Damian nodded and hid his face back into Bruce’s neck. At his father stood up, Damian wrapped his free arm around his neck and sighed.
“I’m going to take him to bed,” Bruce’s deep voice vibrated in his chest, it feels nice. “My bed, So anyone is welcome but we are sleeping. No messing around.”
As Bruce began to walk, Damian did not let go of Tim’s hand and his eyes started to droop.
Sleep sounded good. But he didn’t want to be alone and cold when he woke up. He’s had enough nights like that to last the rest of his life.
“You won’t be alone, son,” Bruce said, holding him tighter. “We’ll be there for you.”