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Bruce was grateful that his two youngest children were finally getting along despite the cause of that being a traumatic kidnapping that left his boys scarred. Personally, Bruce would have preferred them to get along in their own way but after years of living, he understood that he never got the option.
However heartwarming it appeared, the bond wasn’t without its issues.
Tim was taking it like a champ. He made sure not to pity Damian but allowed just enough comfort to calm him down when panic arose. For a moment, Bruce considered Tim to be regarded higher than Dick in Damian’s eyes.
Damian was… different.
It was clear he was holding on to the guilt he faced after killing the coyote. Bruce tried his best to work with his son while trying to take the weight off of his shoulders. The issue was, that Damian refused to leave Tim’s side.
His boy – the one that was raised by assassins and hated Tim with every bone in his body – clung to Tim like a spooked animal.
Bruce was afraid to approach the problem with anything other than gentle words. No matter how “grown-up” Damian insisted he be, his son was merely a child.
After a discussion with Tim, while Alfred kept Damian occupied, the two of them decided to temporarily pull Damian out of school. The boy would join Tim for a full day of work at Wayne Enterprise. It was a fairly reasonable compromise and Bruce was incredibly proud of Tim for being such a good sport.
But then, the day came when it was time for Damian to return to school.
“I do not need to attend school surrounded by snot-nosed idiot children while my teacher mumbles about nonsense that I learned at four years of age,” Damian insisted. He stood close to Tim’s side.
Bruce pursed his lips. He had to be careful when handling situations that involved Damian leaving Tim for prolonged amounts of time. If the idea that Damian was uncomfortable when leaving Tim’s side was brought up, Damian began to have a fit. It clearly upset him when he was so outwardly vulnerable, especially regarding something like separation anxiety. It was common in young children who went through a traumatic experience.
“Damian, you have to go to school. If not for the education, go for the appearances we have to uphold,” Bruce said. He could hardly stand the look on his son’s face.
Dick decided to chime in. If it had been before the kidnapping, Damian would have taken his older brother’s word without flinching. “Don’t you want to go back to school and see your friends?”
Damian scoffed. “Those children are not fit to be my friends.”
Dick tried to hide the sullen look on his face. Bruce could tell his eldest’s mood had significantly dropped after not being Damian’s favourite anymore. They still had a strong bond, however, Damian was less reliant on him as opposed to Tim. It burned even further when Tim crouched down and spoke to Damian quietly enough that the others didn’t hear.
Bruce watched for a burst of emotion from Damian and prepared for him to flee to his room. Only, Damian’s face just crumpled in thought before he hesitantly nodded. It was silent in the room while everyone waited for someone to break it.
“Fine,” Damian relented. “I will go to school.”
Bruce was about to praise him for the answer, however, he didn’t get the chance as Damian deftly pivoted and stomped up to his room. He didn’t slam the door but it was a near thing.
Both Bruce and Dick looked at Tim with confusion, silently prodding him to explain how he uttered one sentence that was enough to convince Damian to go to school.
Tim clearly understood. “I told him that if he goes to school and wants to leave, all he has to do is call me and I’ll pick him up, no questions asked.”
“Tim–” Bruce said before being cut off.
“He’s scared, Bruce. I know you can see it too. I don’t know if it’s because he had to kill that coyote or because he thinks he’ll get kidnapped again, but he’s scared, ” Tim whispered with clenched teeth.
Bruce was stunned into silence. He watched Tim with a steady gaze, suddenly wondering when his boy became so mature.
“I know I would have wanted some kind of reassurance when I was his age. God knows my parents didn’t give me any,” muttered Tim.
Tim walked off, leaving Bruce to stare at the now-empty spot on the floor.
Bruce had been so focused on Damian.
He was so focused on Damian he didn’t notice Tim was going through something as well.
And God, did Bruce feel like an idiot.
Damian was less than pleased to have to go to school. Just the thought of leaving Timothy coiled something akin to horror within him. When Timothy was around, Damian just felt… safe. It never used to be like that. Damian didn’t like it – he didn’t like to depend on people.
It was the same way with Grayson, however, their bond lacked the unadulterated fear that Timothy seemed to cure. Damian wanted to hate Timothy again; it was easier that way.
Father made it very clear that he wanted Damian out of the manor and at school. He wasn’t quite sure how he was bothering Father if Damian was just trailing after Timothy all of the time but it was obvious his presence was not welcome.
Therefore, Damian was to attend a gruelling school day. The only saving grace was Timothy promising to get him under any circumstances. Father had never offered anything like that and neither had Grayson.
Damian convinced himself that he hung around Timothy because he had the most appealing choices when dealing with issues.
After all, he had taken the blame Damian threw on him when he killed the coyote. Then at the hospital, Damian had bashed his brother’s chest and sobbed hateful words. Yet, Timothy didn’t shove him off. It was all very confusing.
However, he didn’t have much time to mull it over as Pennyworth called him down to the kitchen. Eating his food was heavenly. Damian could not so much as look at a berry without feeling sick, nor did he ever want to go back to Canada.
“Master Damian, you will be late if you don’t eat quicker,” Pennyworth chided.
Damian scowled at him but didn’t have the energy to retort back. He shovelled another pile of breakfast into his mouth and hummed at the taste.
“Where is Timothy?” Damian asked. He preferred to only request for Timothy when talking to Pennyworth. Pennyworth didn’t look at him with poorly masked pity; Father did and so did everyone else.
“I’m afraid he already left,” Pennyworth informed, taking care to scrub a particular dish.
Damian was grateful the attention was no longer on him as the sentence brought a wave of nausea forward. No matter how attentively the breakfast was made, Damian refused to eat any more of it. Instead, he hesitantly stood up and stepped out of the kitchen.
Father was waiting for him in the foyer. It wasn’t until he spotted the keys in his hand that he realized Father was going to drive him to school instead of Pennyworth. Had he taken the day off for this? Why would his father do such a thing if he wanted to stop carrying the burden of having Damian around?
“Ready to go?” Father questioned. He was dressed in his usual work attire meaning right after dropping Damian off, he was going to go into Wayne Enterprise.
Damian allowed nothing but a nod. It caused Father to poorly mask a frown. The expression just made Damian want to retreat back to his room even more; or find Timothy – he wanted to do that as well.
Father placed a gentle hand on his back and led Damian to the car. The trip was spent silently, much to his father’s dismay. He continued to try and make conversation while Damian wanted nothing more than to just blankly stare out the window. Eventually, after multiple failed attempts, Father too gave up and looked straight ahead.
When they arrived at the dreaded school building, Damian paused with his fingers clasped on the handle. One push and the car door would open, yet Damian couldn’t even manage to do that. He didn’t even notice Father getting out of the car and opening the door himself. That just proved that Damian was not ready to be around threats. He wasn’t in his right mind.
After the much-needed fresh air washed over his face, the minuscule amount of rejuvenation allowed Damian to exit the vehicle and wordlessly trek his way into the building.
Just the smell of the school sent a nauseating wave to overtake him. Children bustled around the hallways, much too loud for Damian to ever think about concentrating. Already he wanted to call Timothy, however, he promised he would give the day a try.
Damian decided to get away from the crowds as soon as possible. He made his way to his classroom and got seated. The school atmosphere was feeling like too much and the day had barely begun.
Damian stared ahead blankly, eyeing the colourful lettering on the walls. He didn’t notice someone behind him until a hand dropped on his shoulder. Damian jumped, whipping his head back to look at the threat. His flinch caused the chair to screech across the floor.
The hand on his shoulder retreated and Damian relaxed. It was only then that he realized the appendage belonged to his teacher. She was looking at him with poorly hidden pity.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, honey,” she said. “I was just going to catch you up to what we’re learning today.”
Damian tried to even out his breathing. “I am certain I will not need to ‘catch up’, but yes, that is okay.”
The teacher let out a pathetically fake huff of laughter. “I don’t doubt that but I’d like for you to at least have context for this lesson.”
“Alright,” Damian allowed.
He stayed quiet as the teacher told him what they were learning. Damian could name information about the topic off the top of his head upon hearing it, yet no complaints came from the boy. He was too tired to argue or claim he knew more than the rest of the kids. The teacher was aware of it anyway.
A new kind of Hell arrived when the bell went, not only startling Damian but overwhelming him with the gaggle of children pooling inside the classroom. He took care to make sure nobody got too close.
Damian still had no idea why he felt so uneasy without Timothy. It was pathetic and nothing like how he was trained. He was aware Father was tweaking what he had learned but none of that included being scared of your surroundings. Damian had experienced much worse things before – things that couldn’t even compare to getting kidnapped and stuck in the woods. For the life of him, Damian just couldn’t figure out why he was acting so oddly.
For a moment, it felt as though he spaced out. When Damian came back to it, he looked down at an empty worksheet while the board was filled with information. His chest hurt and it felt tight, like he had been crying.
Voices chimed in from around him, drawing Damian toward every corner and perceiving it as a threat. The insufferable children were far too loud. It was hurting his ears. To keep from tugging the hair from his scalp, Damian hastily stood up and marched over to the teacher. He wasn’t sure if his classmates were watching him, nor did he care.
“May I go to the bathroom?” Damian asked. The teacher shallowing bowed her head in a nod and Damian was out the door before words ever escaped her mouth.
The walk in the hallway only made his chest hurt worse. Damian, feeling like a shell of himself, considered that finding the bathroom would soon become an impossible task. He looked down at his hands as he continued moving. They were shaking right on beat with his heaving chest. Something was wrong.
When Damian found the bathroom, he slipped into a stall, shut the lid on the toilet, and sat down. He tucked his knees up to his chest and tried to make himself as small as possible. Damian didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go home.
His hands were on his phone before he could even process what he was doing.
“Damian?” Timothy’s tinny voice echoed throughout the stall.
“I want to leave,” Damian answered. His voice was shaking more than he thought it would.
“Buddy…” Timothy trailed off. The tone made him nauseous. “The day just started. Why don’t you hang in there a little bit longer – see if you can make it to lunch?”
As Damian’s stomach sunk at the words, his chest stuttered harder.
Timothy promised. He had promised he would get Damian if he wanted to go home. He promised.
“What?” Damian gasped. “You – you said you would come and get me. You said you would. You promised.” He could feel himself falling deeper into panic.
For a moment, Timothy was silent – so silent that Damian had to check he hadn’t hung up. It only made the boy fall deeper into a state of panic.
“I don’t feel safe,” Damian whispered. “I want to go home.”
Apparently, that was what his brother needed to kick into high gear. “Alright, okay, I’m on my way,” Timothy assured. “I’ll get Bruce to sign you out right now. Go outside and wait for me.”
Damian took the order in stride, not wasting any more time in the confines of a disgusting bathroom stall. He pocketed his phone and hoped no one would stop him on his way to the front of the school. Thankfully, most teachers were in their classrooms with the exception of some roaming the halls.
Despite his panicked state, Damian made sure to be as stealthy as possible, avoiding every open door. Eventually, he got to the front and sighed at the warmth of the sunshine on his face. It was finally quiet. Damian didn’t have to hear the shrieks of children or the subtle hum of artificial lights. However, what really calmed him down was the sight of Timothy at the wheel, pulling up to the school.
Timothy was not supposed to be driving without supervision but in Damian’s opinion, it was a very stupid rule. Timothy could drive just as well as any adult and Damian could drive even better.
He hopped into the car as fast as possible, ignoring the worried look Timothy was sending him. Immediately, just the presence of his brother quelled his panic, albeit, he was still trembling. Damian tried to regulate himself with his breathing, counting out the patterns.
The drive back to the manor was filled with wary glances and laboured breaths. Timothy occasionally hummed along to the music which served as a good distraction but did little to improve his mood.
As soon as the car stopped, Damian leaped out of the vehicle and followed Timothy into the house. He was uninterested in talking to anyone other than his brother. When they got inside, Damian kept close to Timothy, even following him into his room. He sat on his brother’s bed, tucking up his legs so he became smaller.
Damian just wanted to disappear.
Tim had been so sure Damian would have lasted until Lunch at the earliest. If anything, even if the boy did want to come home, Tim figured he would wait until Lunchtime out of pure spite.
He felt bad responding to Damian’s call with a negative comment. It was clear it only made him increasingly upset and as soon as Damian said he didn’t feel safe, Tim was already hopping into his car. Admitting something like that was a huge deal for Damian.
Once they got home, Damian trailed after him like a lost puppy and Tim made sure not to comment on it. He wanted Damian to feel comfortable and after he had seen the boy trembling after what was clearly a panic attack, Tim didn’t want to push him too far.
Damian curled up on Tim’s bed looking so small and childlike that for the first time, he wished it was Dick who Damian latched onto. He was grateful for the lack of hate between them but often Tim felt unequipped when dealing with the boy’s emotions. Tim was a lonely child with his parents hardly ever present. He didn’t have much to go off of and God knows Bruce was not a good example.
“Dami,” Tim began, sitting down next to him on the bed. Damian only shifted enough to meet his eyes. “What made you so scared today?”
Damian pursed his lips. If it was any other situation, Tim would have laughed at the sight of his brother pouting and acting his age.
“It was too much,” Damian whispered.
Tim tried to pick apart the sentence to determine the problem. Too much? Too much of what? Too loud, too many people? As much as he didn’t want to, he had to ask for clarification.
“What was too much?” Tim asked.
Damian huffed and obsessively picked at his nails far down enough to bleed. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
“Children are obnoxiously loud and they were everywhere,” Damian answered.
“I can see how that would be overwhelming but it’s a classroom, it's bound to be loud and filled with kids,” Tim said.
Damian’s face dropped into a scowl. “I told you I didn’t want to go and you made me go anyway. You don’t listen! You didn’t listen on the phone and you aren’t listening now!”
Tim froze, weary of the increasing tension. “Damian–”
“I don’t know why I’m acting like this – like a pathetic child. I feel as though I need to protect myself when you’re not there and it’s all your fault!” Damian screamed.
“That’s normal, buddy. You’re having a normal reaction,” Tim assured, reaching out to him.
Damian didn’t flinch but it looked like a near thing. The boy was still shaking slightly. Tim wasn’t sure how to help. He hadn’t ever interacted with Damian positively before the kidnapping so he didn’t have much experience.
“Why don’t we just stay here a calm down for a bit? You can draw and I can work on the emails I have to send for work,” Tim suggested.
Damian didn’t respond to the question, simply opting to go to his room to grab his sketchbook. Tim didn’t follow but still felt the need to, however, there was not enough time to mull it over as Damian returned quickly. He got comfortable on the bed and flipped open his laptop while Damian silently began to sketch.
Tim couldn’t find himself focusing on the emails enough to make them sound professional. He was trying to think of solutions to get Damian to stay at school for the full day or at least until Lunch. It seemed he had been overwhelmed and possibly scared of all of the people. He didn’t necessarily mention anyone by name but him being bullied was always another possibility Tim wanted to consider.
When Damian mentioned that he was scared when Tim wasn’t present, it made his heart hurt. He didn’t know how to fix it and neither did Bruce. Dick at least tried to occupy Damian and get him less attached to Tim but it never did the job.
Tim didn’t mind the boy following him around but for Damian’s sake, it wasn’t good. He was supposed to have friends his age and act like a kid despite his less-than-ideal background. Before the kidnapping, they had actually been making good progress. Damian's developing separation anxiety was not helping.
The thought that Damian felt unsafe was also a major issue. The entire time Tim had known Damian, he was extremely confident in his ability to protect himself. The fact that he felt so scared when he was alone told Tim that the boy didn’t believe he could protect himself. That could have been due to many factors, however, the most prominent one would be not being able to prevent the kidnapping.
Tim had passed out before Damian therefore the boy had to take the man on his own. It must have been hard or perhaps they got the jump on him. Damian sure as Hell wasn’t weak.
Hours passed with Tim sitting in silence while conjuring emails, listening to the faint sounds of pencil on paper. Damian didn’t say anything even when Tim would take his eyes away from his laptop and complement the masterpiece his brother had created.
Eventually, well into the afternoon, Alfred interrupted them to tell them dinner was ready. It was far too early for dinner but seeing as Damian didn’t eat lunch, Tim couldn’t find the strength to complain.
Eating another one of Alfred’s meals was so much more of a blessing than it used to be. The forest was not home to the best meals, nor had Tim been able to ingest any protein without a horrific incident happening. Don’t get him wrong, Tim was always grateful for Alfred’s food, especially coming from a home where most of his dinners were made by him.
While eating, footsteps sounded from behind them. Tim could instantly recognize them as Bruce’s. Lately, Bruce had been making himself known before coming too close to prevent them from being startled. Tim appreciated the sentiment.
“Tim,” Bruce greeted. “Damian.”
“Father,” Damian responded, keeping his gaze solely on the plate in front of him.
“Hey,” Tim said, sending a tight smile in his direction. Bruce met his eyes with a raised brow and Tim instantly clued in on the nonverbal question. He shook his head. It was not a good idea for Bruce to confront Damian about why he left school so early.
After the food was finished, Damian stood up quickly. “I am going to my room,” he announced.
Tim nodded and smiled. He wanted to make sure he was giving positive reinforcement when Damian himself decided to be alone. Tim just hoped Bruce wouldn’t make a stupid comment that scared Damian off.
“Alright, bud,” Bruce accepted. Tim sighed with relief.
Tim pushed the food around on his plate while he waited for Bruce to speak. It was clear the man was watching him.
“How’s it going?” Bruce asked. His question was hesitant and careful.
Tim finally broke his gaze away from his plate. “I think Damian’s doing better. He’s been able to spend more time with Alfred and I guess that helps. He felt overwhelmed at school today.”
“I..." Bruce paused. "I’m glad to hear that but I was actually talking about you,” Bruce admitted, placing a hand on Tim’s shoulder.
Tim didn’t even attempt to hide his confused scowl. “Me?”
Bruce squeezed his shoulder, looking distraught. “Yes…I’m not sure if you realized, but you were kidnapped as well.”
Tim managed a small chuckle that was nothing but fake. “I’m fine.”
“ Tim,” Bruce stressed, chiding him for using the “f-word”.
“I’m okay,” Tim correctly, exasperated.
Bruce grabbed both of his shoulders and crouched down to meet eye-to-eye. “Why do you think I’m only worried about Damian?”
Tim frowned. “Because he’s your son?”
“You’re my son too,” Bruce fought, tucking back a strand of Tim’s hair. “And I want to know how you’re feeling.”
Tim shook his head. “But Damian–”
“Has my support as well. Not to mention your care,” Bruce interrupted. “Sweetheart, I want you to stop closing yourself off.”
It was too late for Tim to notice the stray tear tracking down his cheek. Once the cold air hit him, he swiped it away.
“You’re just as important as any one of your siblings and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren’t. I had a talk with Damian after the hospital but I should have also had one with you ,” Bruce consoled.
Tim’s chest began to heave with poorly hidden sobs. Tears freely ran down both of his cheeks, having to be swiped away by Bruce.
“It’s not your fault,” Tim sobbed, curling in at the way Bruce tucked him into his chest.
“It’s alright if you feel like it is. My job is to be there for you and I failed at that,” the man said. It only made Tim cry harder.
Tim stayed with Bruce for a while, simply soaking in the comfort he radiated. He still wasn’t used to getting comfort from adults.
“Why is Timothy crying?!” a panicked voice rang out. Tim broke off from the hug to look toward the noise.
Damian was standing there with more emotion than Tim had seen from him in a while. He looked utterly distraught at the sight of Tim in tears.
Damian’s attention whipped over to Bruce. “Did you make him cry? Why would you do that?”
“Damian, Bruce didn’t do anything. We were just talking–”
“Let go of him!” Damian ordered, grabbing Tim and prying him out of Bruce’s arms as if he were a ragdoll.
Bruce allowed it yet looked pained while doing so. Damian hugged Tim’s arm like a lifeline. The hatred radiating off of Damian toward Bruce had to be fixed yesterday.
Tim kneeled down to Damian’s height. He grabbed both of the boy’s hands and made sure he was paying attention.
“Damian, look at me,” Tim began. “Bruce didn’t make me cry, he was making me feel better. I know you had a tough day but blaming people isn’t going to solve anything.”
Bruce walked over and took Tim’s place, gingerly smiling at his son in the process.
“Remember when you and I had that talk after the hospital?” Bruce asked. Damian only nodded in understanding. “Well, that’s what I was doing with Tim.”
Damian pouted, toying with the hem of his shirt. He looked like a little kid, it made Tim smile.
“Now,” Bruce began, “I think it’s time we come up with a solution that allows you to attend school while also feeling safe.”
At that, Damian’s eyes grew wide and panicked, desperately seeking out Tim’s help. Like the newly appointed big brother he was, Tim stepped in.
“Because school with your classmates makes you feel uncomfortable, what do you think about online school?” Tim asked, looking to Bruce for encouragement.
Bruce nodded and smiled proudly eliciting something akin to joy in Tim. “I think that’s a good idea,” he confirmed. “How do you feel about that, Damian?”
Damian looked to Tim then shifted his gaze over to his father. “Timothy would stay home with me?”
Tim clenched his teeth. “I will when I can but I do have a job so I can’t be here all of the time. It’ll be something we work on.”
Damian looked less than pleased at the words yet seemed to mull over his options. Tim could see the gears churning in his brain – how the public school had no Tim while the online school had some Tim.
“I will do online school,” Damian announced. Tim could see the glisten in his eyes when Bruce approvingly smiled back.
“Alright, I’ll get on that right away,” Bruce said, finally rising from his crouched position.
The next few days went by without any particular events. Thankfully, Damian was doing much better in online school and it seemed to bring his stress levels down a ton. Tim was glad he didn’t have to console the boy every night.
When Tim had to leave for work for the first time, Damian insisted that he would come along and simply attend school while at Wayne Enterprise. While that wasn’t necessarily impossible, they were supposed to be working on the separation anxiety Damian developed which needed to be tested. Tim wasn’t going to be around all of the time and if Damian panicked at that, a lot of issues could open up down the road.
Tim ended his day earlier than usual, partly because he could but mostly because he felt bad for leaving Damian. When he got back home, Damian was beside him in an instant. He spent the rest of the day following Tim around.
And then finally, Dick took Damian out to a new zoo exhibit while Tim stayed behind. Damian didn’t even protest. He seemed so excited about the animals that he would go whether Tim was there or not. Of course, it probably helped that Dick was there – the prior favourite – but it worked nonetheless.
It wouldn’t be right to say things went back to the way they were before the kidnapping.
In fact, things got a whole lot better.