Archive of Our Own

Dick had told Damian to clean his room, and to his son’s credit, Damian did it without complaint.

Well, mostly anyways.

Damian’s lack of arguing was probably due to him being fourteen, and wanting to get rid of some unwanted childhood toys. Dick was just glad Damian was finally cleaning his room. Not that it was really that messy to begin with, as Damian preferred to keep his stuff neatly put away, but had a grandpa and multiple aunts and uncles who loved to spoil him.

Dick understood, he really did. He too couldn’t help but spoil the kid, but he couldn’t help it. Damian was just so perfect , and adorable, and Dick loved his kiddo so much it hurt. So sue him, but he liked to indulge his kid with things he liked.

But that also meant that Damian had so much stuff . Dick was glad Damian was ready to part with some things, it would clear up the house a bit, and help some kids who needed the toys. It was a win win.

So here he was, holding a cardboard box as his son threw unwanted toys into it.

Damian didn’t take very long to part with the toys, only gave them a single glance, and threw them in the box. Dick was impressed with how mature Damian was being about this whole thing. Dick remembered when he was Damian’s age. He took hours deciding on which of his stuffies he wanted to throw out, and he’ll admit, he even shed a few tears.

But Damian? Easy as pie.

Dick was proud of him.

Dick didn’t pay much mind to what was being thrown in the box, that was, until he caught sight of a familiar blue dog.

Dick couldn't help but stop Damian before he put the plushie into the box. “Woah, woah, wait. That's Mr. Puppers.”

“Yeah, I know Dad.” Damian states. “What about it?”

“It's just, he was always your favorite toy. When you were a baby you carried him around all the time, and you cried when you lost him. You even held onto him while I changed your diapers. ”

Damian’s face turned pink. “I know , but please don’t talk about changing my diapers.”

“You're just going to give him away?” Dick whined.

“Yeah. I don’t want him anymore.” Damian tossed Mr. Puppers into the box, but Dick placed the box on Damian’s bed and picked the stuffed animal up.

“But you loved him. He would protect you in the thunderstorms, and he was your best friend.”

“I’m fourteen, dad. I don’t need a stuffed animal to protect me anymore.” Damian told him.

Dick frowned, because he knew Damian was right. Damian was fourteen, he was a teenager, and he didn’t need his stuffies anymore. But Dick remembered what felt like yesterday when Damian was a tiny little tyke, who climbed into Dick’s bed whenever he had a nightmare, and would eagerly throw himself into his daddy’s arms. Dick remembered carrying him to bed when he fell asleep on the couch, building pillow forts, and playing super heroes.

But Damian didn’t need  to play anymore. He was a superhero. He was Robin. He was Dick’s Robin.

Dick remembered his round cheeks, and adorable button nose, and that one piece of hair that would always stick up. Dick wished he could capture that little boy, and keep him forever. Never age, and never grow.

Then, he looked at the teen that stood before him. In many ways, Damian was the same little boy. He still loved animals, still had the same button nose, still not quite average height, still loved drawing and he still let Dick occasionally comfort him after a nightmare.

Yet he was so immensely different.

Damian was an incredibly brave boy, who put his life on the line to help others. He was mature, and was able to keep his cool, but also knew when it was time to ask for help. Damian took responsibility for his actions, and put others before himself in a display of selflessness.

Dick had tried to capture every moment of Damian’s life, yet he couldn’t help but feel like Damian was slipping right through his fingers. He kept growing and growing.

Dick felt a wave of melancholy flood through him, suddenly feeling like he needed to sit down. Each time he felt like he fully understood his kid, fully memorized every inch of him, he just kept growing.

Dick realized just how much his baby boy was growing up, and it hurt. It hurt to know that his little baby wasn’t a baby anymore.

Yet he was more proud than he ever thought possible.

His little boy was growing up.

Dick felt a big, goofy grin spread across his face, and he pulled his kiddo into a big hug.

“Dad!” Damian protests.

“Aw, my little baby’s all grown up.” He gushed with love, landing a big fat kiss to the top of Damian’s head.

“Ugh, You're disgusting.” Damian complained. He wiggled and turned in his dad’s hold, but Dick didn’t let go. He only held even tighter.

“I’m so, so proud of you, baby.” Dick poured out with adoration.

“ Why ?” Damian drawled, sounding immensely annoyed.

“Because you’re amazing , and perfect and you're growing up . But most of all, you're my kid. That's all you need to be.” Dick placed another round of kisses to Damian’s head.

Damian groaned in annoyance.

After a few more kisses, Dick pulled back to examine his beautiful son. “Now, why don’t we finish up your room, and then get some ice cream. You deserve it.”

Damian crossed his arms, and frowned. “I don’t understand where this is coming from.”

“You will, when you see your baby growing up.” Dick placed Mr. Puppers back into the donation box, and turned to help his son finish up his room.

Dick was smiling like a goof the entire time, because no matter how old Damian was, he would always he Dick's baby boy.