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Damian didn’t quite see what the huge fuss was about. Richard always tended to get overdramatic over a lot of daily occurrences, injuries especially, but this seemed like overkill.
“It was loose already,” Damian said stiffly when he finally managed to bat Dick’s hands away.
Dick paused, his fretting but just seemed even more horrified at this information. He stared at Damian with his jaw dropped and Damian could tell that his eyes were wide behind his domino.
“Baby Bat,” He said slowly, “Do you still have baby teeth?”
Damian clicked his tongue, grimacing slightly when the blood from his gums crossed his taste buds. He felt oddly embarrassed, though he knew there wasn’t anything remotely shameful about baby teeth, except for the name, perhaps. It was a regular human function, and not even Damian was above that.
“As of now,” Damian replied, “I only have one left.”
He looked down at the tooth in his hand. He had tugged it out when it became clear it was going to pop out of his gums any minute now, which is what had sent Dick into a frenzy. Now it just seemed to flabbergast him.
“Well,” Dick said, and a smile curled at his lips slightly, “You have to keep it for the tooth fairy!”
“Tooth fairy?” Damian asked distastefully, “Do you take me for a moron, Nightwing?”
Dick laughed and held his hand out, “I’ll keep the tooth safe for you, and you can put it under your pillow when we get home. How does that sound?”
It sounded wonderful, though not because of the prospect of putting the stray chunk of bone under his pillow. Home, Dick always called the two-bedroom apartment he and Wally lived in, and Damian could never quite stop the way he grew happy at the sentiment.
Deciding to humor his guardian, Damian handed over the tooth he had pulled. Dick carefully tucked it away into his utility belt and gave Damian’s head a pat before he pulled his grapple gun out.
“Ready, Robin?” Dick asked.
For a moment, Damian could imagine him in dark armor with half his face covered, and quickly shook the image from his mind. Bruce was Batman, and Nightwing had always suited Dick better. That didn’t stop Damian from being his Robin, didn’t stop him from being Dick’s son.
“Always, Nightwing.” Damian said, grinned, “Keep up.”
When they returned home, Damain made quick work of doing the post-patrol checks. He was sluggish as he made his way into the shower, washing off the grime of Bludhaven eagerly. By the time he shuffled into the kitchen for some water, Dick was already waiting for him.
“You look tired, Sugar Snap,” Dick commented, tossing over a granola bar.
“I am,” Damian admitted. He could admit such things with Dick and Wally, and though Dick always insisted the rest of their family could be trusted with such knowledge, Damian never felt that he could. Being tired was weakness, and he didn’t want to give anyone a reason to see weakness.
Damian ate his after-patrol snack quickly, and he stood when he decided it would be best to sleep. Dick smiled at him fondly for a moment before he put their glasses in the sink and hurried after him. This was yet another thing Damian had grown used to since he had been put in Dick’s care when Bruce had been dead. Dick liked to tuck him into bed, flick on a night light as if Damian was foolish enough to be scared of the dark and wish Damian a good night as he closed the door.
Damian quite liked their ritual.
“Oh, before I forget,” Dick said and offered his hand. Damian peered at his palm for a moment before taking the tooth from his palm. “Put it under your pillow, Dami.”
“There is no such thing as a magic woman who collects teeth.” Damian said.
“There is too,” Dick argued – pouted, really.
Damian huffed slightly but had to admit that anything could happen in this world. He’d seen magic too many times to truly doubt anything. Besides, if Dick believed in the tooth fairy, Damian wasn’t going to miss her existence. He picked up his pillow and placed the tooth under it quickly.
“Happy?” Damian asked.
“Very,” Dick agreed, and tucked the blankets up quickly. He pressed a quick kiss against Damian’s temple. “Sleep good, Damian.”
Damian watched his guardian flick on a nightlight before turning the overhead lights off. He sent Damian one last smile before he walked out of the room and carefully closed the door. Damian stared at the ceiling for a while, determined to stay awake to catch the tooth fairy in the act of stealing his teeth. He felt foolish, childish, doing so but reminded himself that Dick clearly believed in her. So, she must be real.
Damian fell asleep before he even realized it.
He woke up quickly, as he always did. He listened with half an ear, not worried about keeping all his senses on his environment when he heard Wally’s off-key singing paired with the smell of breakfast.
He stretched slightly as he sat up and glanced at his phone. There was a text from Bruce, a quick ‘good morning’ which had become ritual since Damian started staying with Wally and Dick on the weekends. He’s not sure what arrangement the three made that allowed Damian to spend breaks and weekends with the Bludhaven heroes, but he wasn’t one to question gifts if it meant he could spend more time with two of his parental figures.
Damian paused when he heard a soft crinkle of plastic as he shifted to stand. He sent a glance at his pillow and a sharp disbelief flooded him. Slowly, he lifted his pillow and gasped quietly when he saw the few bills and candies nestled on his sheets. He looked for the tooth and found nothing, only thirty dollars and his favorite candies.
“Baba!” Damian screeched, unable to stop himself as he grabbed his treats.
He hurried from his room, bursting into the kitchen to see Wally and Dick staring at him in shocked concern.
“Damian?” Dick asked, voice tight with worry.
“Is something wrong?” Wally inquired quickly.
Damian showed his hands, letting them see the treats that had been left for him. “Look!” He demanded, “She took my tooth!”
His parents were quiet for a moment before Dick beamed at him and Wally let out an impressed whistle.
“Wow, what are you going to do with that, bud?” Wally asked, eyes wide with his curiosity.
Damian frowned, “Must I do something with it?”
“You can do whatever you want,” Dick said.
“We can go to the candy store!” Wally added, cheerful, “I used to go to the candy store after the tooth fairy visited.”
“But I have access to Father’s funds,” Damian said. Thirty dollars was quite pale in comparison.
Dick ran his fingers through his hair and Damian leaned into the action slightly. “Yeah,” he said, “But this is tooth fairy money, Dami. You can do whatever you’d like with it.”
Damian nodded and looked back at his earnings. “The tooth fairy is an admirable adversary.” he commented. “I didn’t know she visited.”
“Well, she can’t visit if people see her,” Wally said, sounding like he was holding back a laugh.
Damian frowned at him slightly, “You know her secrets!”
“Nope,” Wally lifted his hands up, “She’s magic, Dami.”
Damian thought about the assessment and nodded. “She knows my favorite candies.”
She could only know that because of her magic. Damian ran his tongue against his last baby tooth and vowed that he would see her the next time she visited. He noticed Dick and Wally sending fond looks at each other over his head.
“I will see her next time,” Damian declared.
“I’m sure you will,” Dick said fondly, and placed a plate at Damian’s spot at the table.
Damian hurried to sit in his chair and smiled to himself when he saw the pancakes in differing shapes awaiting him. He carefully put his earnings from the tooth fairy on the table before he started to eat the blueberry pancakes. He liked when Dick made his food in silly shapes, though he would never admit it. It made the meal feel special.
Damian listened as his guardians talked about this and that, speaking of his classes when they asked about his week. He privately thought about how he looked forward to the weekends the most just because he could come home to them.
“I know what I want with the tooth fairy money!” Damian said once Wally was busy scrubbing the dishes with Dick drying them.
“Oh?” Dick prompted, looking intrigued.
“I want to go to the store.” Damian said.
“We can do that,” Wally agreed, “Go get ready.”
Damian popped one of his candies into his mouth as Wally drove to the shopping center a few blocks from their home. He looked out the window but didn’t really comprehend what he saw.
“She must have magic that is run off of teeth,” Damian said, “Why else would she need them?”
He missed the way Dick shared a teary, happy look with his husband.
“She might make jewelry.” Wally theorized.
That was ugly jewelry, Damian decided. But it was a possibility.
“I wonder how she knew my favorite candy,” Damian said, “Why would she bother to leave me anything?”
“Because she knows you like it,” Dick replied, “She likes seeing kids happy.”
Damian hummed in reply. He had a feeling the tooth fairy would be an excellent ally in battle, not just anyone could sneak around Damian without him noticing. Another thing to ask her when he found her next time.
Damian was the first out of the car when they parked. He bounced on his heels slightly, impatient. He allowed Wally to take his hand and pulled the man – and by extension, Dick – to the pet store.
“What are we looking for, Dames?” Wally asked.
Damian debated for a moment if he’d like to have a fish – Batfish had a nice ring to it – but decided against it. “I want a cat,” he declared. “Alfred needs a friend.”
Father didn’t want another cat in the manor, but Damian earned his money fair and square. He couldn’t say no after Damian told him it was the tooth fairy’s money.
“You heard the man,” Dick said, sounding amused.
Damian ended up deciding on a small orange cat that seemed more interested in the scratching post than anything else. Dick filled out the adoption forms and when it came time to pay the adoption fee, Damian proudly handed over the bills.
“Money from helping your dads?” the woman asked, grinning.
Damian puffed up with pride, he always enjoyed Wally and Dick being seen as his fathers. “I lost a tooth,” he explained because everyone must be awed by a woman like the tooth fairy, “The tooth fairy left me this.”
The woman sent a grin at Wally and Dick, but she seemed more humoring than anything else. After a few moments, she handed over a receipt and explained how to take care of the cat once again. Damian didn’t listen, he already knew how to take care of Alfred the Cat, and instead busied himself with grabbing Alexander’s, his new cat, cage.
He grinned widely; everyone was going to be so envious of him.
“Damian,” Bruce sighed the moment he laid eyes on the cat in Damian’s arms. “I thought we agreed no more animals.”
“But Father!” Damian said, “I bought Alexander myself!”
Bruce sent Dick a sharp look. Dick raised his hands up in surrender.
“Baba didn’t buy him,” Damian sniffed, offended, “I earned the money fair and square!”
“Did you steal it from Wally?” Tim asked.
“Is the demon brat learning about gambling?” Jason whispered.
Damian sneered at them slightly. “I earned the money from the tooth fairy.”
Everyone paused for a long moment. Damian clicked his tongue, unwilling to keep Alexander waiting any longer. He needed to meet Alfred.
“Dad,” Damian said, “Would you like to introduce Alexander and Alfred?”
“Sure thing, Kiddo,” Wally agreed, and walked with him to Alfred’s favorite sunbathing spot.
Damian was unaware of the sharp glare Dick was sending everyone in the room as he left.
Jason stared at him, “The brat thinks the tooth fairy is real?”
“I swear to God, if any of you tell him the tooth fairy isn’t real, I’m going to coat all your suits in glitter and leak all the most embarrassing blackmail I have.” Dick said calmly.
Bruce cleared his throat, “Does he have any other baby teeth?” he asked hesitantly.
“One more,” Dick said.
Bruce nodded, “If he loses it with you, give it to me.” he requested.
Dick grinned, “Nuh-uh, B!” he said, “Whoever’s there first gets it!”