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Timothy Jackson Drake can be professional.
Jason always calls bullshit, but Tim had been raised up not dragged up. He knew how to do the perfect hand shake, he knew how to do the small talk that Jason loathed, he could even make a whole group of socialites laugh as one with a joke that is in no way funny.
He is a professional, at least when he wants to be. At Gala’s where Tim specifically had a goal to achieve, and more importantly at Wayne Enterprises as the CEO. His age made people doubt him, so Tim needed to cultivate and maintain the image of a perfect boss.
But Damian was really fucking testing him right now and it was taking Tim’s complete focus not to just reach out and hit his little brother across the head.
Having been suspended from school, a suspension that Tim himself disagreed with since Damian had only done what he did to keep bullies from harassing a girl, Damian had been sequested in Wayne Tower for the day.
Both Tim and Barbara had offered to override the suspension but Damian had only become more incensed, claiming that he wasn’t so much a coward as to not accept his punishment. But while Damian was the one who wanted to stay suspended, he had been non-stop brooding ever since.
With Bruce supposedly on a holiday out in the snow with his two eldest sons, really in space as Batman alongside Nightwing and Red Hood, that left Tim to deal with the little shit and all of his glares and harsh remarks.
Over the years, Tim had gotten used to having siblings but even though biologically he was an only child, he had also apparently developed the inability to stand his siblings sometimes.
And as Damian seethed in the corner of the elevator, Tim found himself itching to curse him out.
But Tim was a professional within these walls. He was the one the workers turned to for advice and big decisions and Bruce had trusted him not only to look after the company but to look after Damian also.
“You know,” Tim said lightly. “It might help if you-“
“Quiet.” Damian snarled.
“Okay, that’s it.”
Tim whipped around towards his brother, clenching his fists.
“I have been putting up with your shit all day and honestly I’m-“
The elevator shuddered.
Damian’s skin turned to ash.
Tim blinked, then again. The elevator shook and Damian pressed harder into the corner.
“Brat?”
When Tim took a step towards the younger boy, Damian flinched, reaching for one of his his hidden weapons.
“No no,” Tim said. “Damian.”
Having hoped the reminder that he was a civilian not a Robin right now, Tim watched as Damian brought out a dagger anyway.
In an instant Tim shifted into a ready stance, even though he knew full well that Damian wouldn’t try hurting him again, but then he straightened again as Damian flicked the knife this way and that. A nervous stim, Tim realised.
“Damian?”
The elevator around them shuddered and the dagger moved faster.
“Shit,” Tim breathed. “Are you claustrophobic?”
“Of course not.” Damian said lowly.
But Damian’s skin still looked wrong and he nearly fumbled one of the movements, barely keeping the dagger from dropping.
They were only a few floors away from the carpark but the elevator shuddered hard enough that Tim had to step to the left to correct his balance while Damian had ducked his head low, his chest stuttering.
“Hey,” Tim said.
The elevator stilted.
Tim glanced to the display, finding that they were not yet at the correct floor. He waited for the door to open but it didn’t. The lights flickered and Damian damn near whimpered.
“Just give it a sec,” Tim said. “They were just doing some works on the elevator yesterday, it’s probably still settling.”
Damian had come up to the top floors earlier that same day perfectly fine and yet now he was almost shaking. When the elevator jolted hard, Damian sank down to the floor and Tim followed him in a single instant.
“Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.”
Damian glared at Tim but when the lights flickered again his eyes blew wide in terror.
“Damian,” Tim said. “It’s going to be alright. But you need to breathe, Baby Bird.”
He was shaking hard, Tim realised. The priority was going to be getting Damian out of here, Tim couldn’t afford to have Damian go into a full panic episode while in this enclosed space.
Hell, Tim had never even dealt with Damian in a panic episode. Usually the demon brat only felt safe enough with Dick for his body to outwardly exhibit any of these symptoms. It felt strange, to be almost happy that Damian felt safe enough with Tim to be like this but in truth Tim just wanted him to be okay.
The elevator completely unmoving, Tim glanced once more up to the screen that declared their position. He could probably hack into the system, see if it is a computer error or an engineering problem.
But when Tim went to stand Damian’s hand shot out and grabbed onto his arm.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Tim said.
Damian’s only answer was to dig his nails into Tim’s arm.
“Damian, you need to let go.”
It took all of Damian’s strength to do just that, immediately curling into a tight shaking ball.
Instead of going to the panel, Tim found himself on his knees again. He set a hand onto Damian’s shoulder, prepared for the trained assassin to lash out with a sharp blade. Instead, Damian just shook harder, unable to hide some sniffles.
“We’re going to get out of here,” Tim said. “Together. Just keep breathing, Bud, I’m going to be right over there okay?”
While in any other circumstance Damian would mock him for using his Red Robin talking to scared kids voice, Damian only gave off a miserable sound.
Tim still hesitated to stand again, even though there really wasn’t that much space between his brother and the panel. Keeping an eye on the shaking boy, Tim finally came up to the screen. He swiped his key card to get executive rights but nothing at all changed about the display. Tim tried again, but the lights only stuttered.
“Hey Dami,” Tim said, taking a lock pick from his pocket and prising open the panel. “I heard that there’s an art program getting started up at the community centre by Bruce. Are you involved in that?”
The only answer was a whimper.
“You know,” Tim said. “I think it’s pretty cool.”
He worked quickly to hook his phone up to the elevators system, knowing full well that he could clear the security feed later, but it still wasn’t quite working for him. Tim couldn’t even quite tell if they were at a if they were in between floors or literally less than a foot away from open space.
With Damian like this, the only true cure was going to be getting him out.
Tim still tried to talk to him anyway, distract him from the tight walls and the flickering lights. But no matter what Tim said, there was nothing he could do to protect his brother from the way that the elevator shook periodically.
There was a loud creek and Damian’s entire body went still.
Tim abandoned the panel and went straight to him.
“We’re good.” Tim said. “Everything’s good. We’re just hanging out.”
Hanging out must have been was the worst kind of words to use while they were suspended on a wire that might very well be breaking because Damian had started shaking again, giving off a small moan.
“I know, I know,” Tim said. “I’m an idiot, but I’m right here with you okay? I’m not going anywhere.”
“Neither of us are.”
Damian’s voice shocked Tim, not just by the fact that he spoke at all but by how raw it was, how vulnerable. Damian never sounded like that, at least not in front of Tim. Tim knew that the bravado and attitude that Damian normally presented with was just a defence mechanism, same as Tim’s own attempts at appearing professional in front of adults who saw him as nothing but a privileged kid, but it still felt wrong to see the facade break.
Realising that Dick’s voice might be able to sooth Damian, or Bruce’s, even though they were on a mission, Tim tried his phone. Impossibly, there was no reception. So much for having one of the most technologically advanced buildings.
Tim blinked.
“Wait,” He said. “Did you just say a joke? We’re not going anywhere because we’re stuck in an elevator?”
Though the reminder of their predicament made Damian flinch, he gave the smallest of nods.
“Nice one.” Tim grinned.
“Drake?”
“Yeah?”
Damian’s voice was a wreck, the boy looking smaller than ever before.
“Get me out.”
“I will.” Tim promised. “Just hold tight, okay? Everything’s going to be just fine, I swear.”
Shifting his attention to other exit strategies, Tim looked up to the emergency door on the roof of the elevator. While Damian was normally capable of incredible feats, Tim wasn’t so sure that his brother would be able to climb out through it right now.
They could just wait, surely there had been an emergency alert as soon as the elevator had the fault. It would maintain their civilian identities too, two rich kids stuck and expecting someone else to help them. But the thought of fire fighters breaking in and seeing Damian like this didn’t sit easy with Tim.
It was one thing for Damian to feel safe enough to be vulnerable with Tim, it was another thing entirely to expect the boy to handle strangers seeing him in this state without Damian being able to choose just that.
Remembering that he was going to clear the security feeds anyway, Tim realised that there might be another way to help Damian. It probably wasn’t the most advisable course of action to shock Damian out of his panic but it might also be the only option.
“Robin report.” Tim barked.
In an instant Damian was sitting up straight.
Guilt tore at Tim as he saw all emotion slip away from Damian’s face.
“I am experiencing heart palpitations but it will not affect my ability to fight.” Robin said.
But then Damian’s lip wobbled.
“I…” The boy said. “I can’t breathe.”
“You can, Baby Bird,” Tim said more gently.
Damian shook his head, chest spasming.
“I know your body is telling you that you can’t, I know that it’s screaming at you that you are dying and that the whole world is collapsing all around you but I promise you Dami, you can breathe. You’re going to be okay, because I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
Tim approached his baby brother slowly, giving Damian every chance to move away from him.
Given that Damian was already struggling with the confines of the stuck elevator, Tim would not be shocked at all if Damian recoiled from any touch at all. But when he lightly set a hand against Damian’s shoulder, all at once a weight was slamming into him.
“Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Tim soothed, running a hand up and down Damian’s back. “It’s okay Dames, you’re okay… I’m here, I’m right here, you’re okay.”
Damian’s body shuddered, head burying into Tim’s chest as he sobbed.
“I know,” Tim said gently. “I know…”
The elevator shook hard around them and Damian gave off a wounded sound.
“Get me out. Please. I need to get out. I- I need to get out.”
While Tim had never heard Damian beg before, he didn’t think that he would ever be able to forget the break in the boy’s voice.
“We’ll get out,” Tim promised. “We just gotta calm down a little first, okay? Can we do that? Because it’s not fun if you’re panicking, trust me I know, so let’s just take a few breaths.”
It was a gambit to use we instead of you but given that Damian sucked in a deep breath, trying to follow Tim’s own breathing, Tim knew that he had made the right call.
“That’s it, great job,” Tim said. “Let’s keep doing that.”
Tim exaggerated his own breathing, giving Damian as much time as he needed to work through what he needed to work through. His hand traced lines up and down Damian’s back, speaking to him softly and occasionally pecking the top of his head, praising him for every successful breath that Damian took.
It was slow going, especially because the fucking elevator somehow still hadn’t settled completely, but eventually Damian’s breaths were even and consistent, even if his nails had started digging into Tim’s arm.
Just as Tim was going to try to get Damian to stand, to see if he was ready for them to attempt an escape through the emergency exit above them, the elevators lights flickered.
Damian’s whole body tensed but instead of the elevator shuddering, it started smoothly going downwards.
Down and down and down they went as if there had been no struggle in the first place. Damian did not raise up from the ground, his breathing once more tight as if waiting for the whole elevator to suddenly snap off the wires and plummet down the shaft.
The elevator came to a smooth stop.
Doors opened to the carpark, a helpful ding alerting that they had reached their destination.
Before Tim had even felt his brother move, Damian was already making his way towards the car.
Tim made sure that the panel was completely replaced, as well as slated the Elevator as non-functional until it could be checked over by maintenance, giving Damian space to fully cool down.
Damian was fully situated in the passenger side of the car, Tim huffing in amusement as he realised that at some point Damian had stolen his keys. The drive to the Manor was silent, though Damian’s breaths were still a little more uneven compared to his usual calm.
It was only as Damian went for the door to the Manor that the silence was broken.
“You will speak of this to no one.” Damian said darkly.
Damian’s hand was ghosting against a hidden blade and while Tim’s brother instinct screamed at him to make a joke to lighten the mood, his other instinct won out.
“Damian,” He said. “There’s no shame in getting scared.”
“I wasn’t scared.” Damian shot back.
“No,” Tim allowed. “You were fucking terrified. And I get it, I do.”
Before Damian could deflect or attack Tim or walk away and disappear into the Manor or do anything at all, Tim continued.
“I don’t handle being left alone.”
Damian’s breath hitched up and Tim knew immediately that he was listening.
“It’s stupid, I know,” Tim said. “Especially given that when I’m around you idiots, I want nothing more than to be left alone. But… Well, it scares me. To be alone. Because I feel like one day everyone is going to leave me and there’s nothing I can do to change that.”
The silence had returned for a beat but Damian’s hand tighten on the door knob.
“Why are you telling me this?” He demanded.
“Because like I said, I get it.” Tim said. “I might not know why you get claustrophobic, but I know what it’s like to have a fear that runs that deep.”
“I don’t get claustrophobic.” Damian insisted. “I… I was testing your reflexes.”
“Reflexes?” Tim laughed and the sound was hollow. “You were shaking in my arms, Dames, so I guess you could say that my reflexes are on pointe.”
Damian whirled on him but Tim easily caught the thrown knife without so much as blinking.
“You were scared, Damian, there’s no shame in that.”
“Of course there is shame!” Damian spat. “I am the Heir to the Demon’s Head, I am the Heir to Bruce Wayne, I am everything you wish you were, I can’t be some snivelling little brat because of an enclosed space.”
Tim blinked slowly.
Damian seethed, reaching for another blade. His hand curled around it but then his eyes widened. Damian looked down, finding that his hand was shaking.
“Adrenaline is one hell of a drug.” Tim said. “But it’s going to drop soon enough, and trust me, that exhaustion hits hard. You should probably have something sweet, and your temperature might do stupid things too.”
“I am not like you.” Damian said darkly.
“No.” Tim said. “You’re not. At least I know when enough is enough.”
“Hardly.” Damian hissed.
“I told you that I’m afraid of being alone, didn’t I?” Tim shrugged, crossing his arms. “You probably don’t realise this, but just a few years ago I would have rather died than tell anyone that. There is no shame in this, Damian.”
“I am not like you.” Damian said again, but his hand was shaking ever harder.
Tim breathed in, breathed out. He could wait Damian out for as long as he needed to.
Damian seemed to have no such patience at the moment because he stalked right up to Tim, the knife held right against Tim’s chest.
“I’m not like you.” Damian said. “I… I’m not like you. I don’t panic. I can’t panic. I’m better than that. I… I have to be better than that.”
Tim shifted, dropping his arms to his sides. Then, he raised them and while Damian had every opportunity to stab him right through the heart, he didn’t.
Damian’s glare was ferocious but his lip was wobbling and his hand was shaking and he looked so tired. Damian let the knife drop to the ground, slowly pressing up against Tim’s chest once more as his breath hitched in barely contained sobs.
“I can’t.” Damian croaked. “I can’t be useless.”
“It isn’t being useless.” Tim mumbled, resting his chin on top of Damian’s head. “It’s just getting scared, but it’s also moving passed that fear too. It’s going to be okay, Dami, I promise. We can work out things that help. Techniques that you can use. But for now, how about we just get some ice cream and watch something?”
“Ice cream is not nutritious.” Damian said.
“Nah,” Tim said. “But it is fucking delicious.”
Tim waited until it was Damian who moved back, and then he waited a moment longer before Damian actually fully steadied himself. They entered the Manor together, and when they settled in to watch one of David Attenborough’s documentaries with a bowl of ice cream each, they did that together too.
For as interested in the facts as Damian was, it wasn’t long before he drifted off, nestled up against Tim’s chest. Tim carefully moved their bowls away, letting his own eyes to close and his breathing to even out, knowing that no matter what his baby brother was going to be okay and he in turn was going to be okay too.