Chapter Text
In the shadows of Wayne Manor, where time seemed to have stood still, there was a secret garden that held secrets and magic. Surrounded by high walls and dense foliage.
Unfortunately, no one was curious enough to delve deeper to seek out the garden's secrets.
But, this doesn't last forever.
"Today I woke up without remembering if I lived or if I dreamed..."- Eu ainda gosto dela
Damian Wayne was a soldier boy, as his mother called him, or rather, a weapon.
He doesn't know what exactly for, he just knows that his existence is for that purpose.
But... His father thinks differently. He says Damian may be different, but he's a child, not a weapon.
Damian lived for 8 years with his mother, who filled his head with the ideologies of her sect.So on Damian's 8th birthday, she sent Damian to live with his father.
Damian still doesn't know why his mother sent him away, he doesn't know if he failed or something, but it doesn't matter.
Because he is happier with his father than with his mother .
It was strange at first, it was a different culture, different rules, different language. But Damian managed to adapt little by little.
Father was a good person, he was strong, a worthy opponent.He spent time with Damian along with the butler Pennyworth, but is considered Damian's grandfather and Bruce's father figure.
His father worked during the afternoon and disappeared during the night. What Damian found strange was that sometimes the butler disappeared too.
Damian even tried to follow them, but when he was not seen, his object never reached completion. Damian began to think it was magic or something.Because Father and the butler always disappeared into the hallway, leaving only the clock, a vase of flowers and a painting.
Damian always went in the morning to fix the clock, which was always behind the current time.It was as if someone moved them on purpose, since the wrong time is always the same.
Aside from that, Damian draws the conclusion: he feels alone.
Not that Titus and Alfred (the cat) are bad company, but sometimes, he just wants someone to talk to.
His mother would punish him for thinking like that, saying he was overreacting for attention, and that his father and Pennyworth had work to do rather than keep an eye on Damian.
"Why don't you take your pets to the garden, Young Master?" Pennyworth says as he collects the dishes from the dining table.
It was a cloudy afternoon, Bruce was at a Wayne Enterprises meeting and would not be returning home that day.Unfortunately, Damian didn't have much to do, he was already fed up with drawing that day.
"Sounds like a nice idea Pennyworth, but I doubt Titus would like it, he knows he'll need to take a shower after this" Damian replies as he rests his head on the table in boredom.
Pennyworth on the other hand sighs, this makes Damian feel bad, what if he is disturbing Pennyworth? What if he is giving Pennyworth trouble?
"But... I think taking a walk in the garden wouldn't be a bad idea..." Damian completes.
"Of course Young Master, just be sure to come back before dark." Pennyworth offers a tired smile as he heads to the kitchen.
Damian heads towards the garden, which is behind the mansion with a wall covered in leaves and red flowers.There is a door with a small lock to enter, fortunately, it did not have a padlock.
The little boy realizes that he has not yet explored the garden.But it wasn't like he had high expectations for that place.
But the boy's expectations were shattered the very moment he entered.
For the Garden was not like the mansion .
The mansion was gray and brought a message of loneliness with it.
The garden was a true spectacle of colors, with flowers of all imaginable varieties and hues. The rose bushes bloomed in shades of pink, red, and white, while the petunias exploded in a vibrant display of colors, from shocking pink to deep purple. The daisies danced in the wind, their white and yellow petals shining in the sun.
Damian felt that... He liked it there... He should bring his notebook to draw the flowers and the scenery.
He walks around there, the garden is huge and you can't even see the end, like a forest.
He follows the main trail so as not to get lost, then he hears branches breaking.
As if someone was running towards him
His league training tells him to stay, not run away like a coward, a killer instinct. Someone broke into the garden, maybe a thief? A murderer? A--
A child?
No no no wait wait
He was a boy taller than Damian, he had blue eyes and dark hair, just like Bruce, only whiter, he also looked thinner.
The boy stops when he notices Damian and stares at him with wide eyes, but immediately relaxes, Damian doesn't.
"Who are you intruder?! And what are you doing in my garden?!" Damian says, his words coming out like venom. Luckily, he brought a knife in his pocket to protect himself in situations like this.
But... It doesn't seem like a situation where he really needs to use violence.
The boy is confused for a moment until he decides to answer uncertainly.
"Uh... Hello? I'm Timothy, are you lost?" Timothy introduces himself as he closes the distance between him and Damian.
"I'm not stupid enough to get lost in my own garden, now tell me, how did you get in here?!" Damian replies with a frown.
"I don't understand" Tim says "I come in here through the garden of my house" he replies "I do this every day, is this your first time here?
"first time?..."
"Oh! So you're gonna love this place, there's something I want to show you!...Uhm....What's your name?" Tim asks while offering a smile
Damian is still uncertain and answers the boy, still not understanding how he ended up there, and what the hell does "first time" mean?!
"Damian. And why should I follow you?"
"You'll only believe it when you see it!" Tim reaches out to take Damian's hand, but steps back when the boy pulls out a knife.
"Wow! Stabbing baby? That's the first time I've seen that." Tim laughs, but is undeterred as he takes Damian's hand and leads him deeper into the garden.They deviate from the main trail, Damian worries about... No! Damian is not worried, and much less afraid of getting lost.
Damian continues with a frown until he reaches a crystal clear lake, he is impressed and can barely control his reaction.
"Calm down, this is just the entrance" Tim says as he points to a small bridge to cross to the other side
"My parents are away, so I'm coming here more often, sometimes I spend the night with Stephanie here," he says.Damian finds it strange, he doesn't look very old Damian, and who travels and leaves their son alone?
Damian opens his mouth to ask but is interrupted by Tim "How old are you? You're a baby, shouldn't your father be here?"
"I'm not a baby!!!" Damian replies indignantly "and my dad has...much more important things to deal with than spending time with me" Damian says as if it's no big deal.
"I see....We're not that different" he laughs
As they cross the bridge, Damian notices strange flowers... Flowers he has never seen before.
The grass was no longer green, but a light purple.The trees had the strangest shapes, until he saw a purple tree with red fruits, Damian had never seen that before.
"Oh... That's a Apple Tree" Tim says as he lets go of Damian's hand to climb up and pick a fruit
He hands it to Damian who looks at him with confused eyes. "You can eat it! It's safe and delicious," Tim encourages.
The fruit doesn't look bad, it's red, looking like a cherry, but with the shape of an apple mixed with a pear.
He hesitantly bites into it, and Tim is right, it is delicious, a sweet, slightly sour taste, and Tim laughs at his reaction.
"I've never seen this before" Damian says
"Not really, it's something that only exists here I think" Tim replies, and Damian frowns.
"This is a secret place, we can't tell anyone about it, okay?" He asks Damian
"why?"
"It will lose its charm... I doubt this place will remain beautiful if they find out." Tim shrugs.
"it doesn't make sense!"
"I know...But trust me, I also prefer this place like this...And more...Quiet. And the locals here don't like outsiders very much...Especially Him" Tim continues
"Who?"
"He who cannot be named." Tim changes his expression, he looks tense. "The demon, he watches everything and everyone here.Mainly at night.You're so cute, I wouldn't want him to get you" Tim adds.
Damian just squirms at the compliment
Damian thinks this is a children's story, but it's not like he knows the place as well as Timothy does.
Then, another noise coming towards him, it's slow, Damian deduces that it sounds like a squirrel but is surprised when--
"What the hell is that???" Damian walks away, unlike Tim who stares at a small mushroom with a cute smile on his face as if it were normal.
A small, smiling being with small legs and arms and no fingers.
"I don't know the name of their species, but they are locals." Tim bends down to pet the mushroom.
"I call it Camy" Tim introduces
Damian hesitantly approaches, Tim takes his hand and places it above Camy's head.
"It's...Soft..." Damian says, he's never seen that before, and definitely no one would believe him if he talked about it.He would like to take it to the mansion...
"But-- what is that? It's a little animal but... What species? I've never seen anything like a living mushroom with a cute face mentioned before." Damian says.
"Yes!" Tim smiles excitedly as he stands up "there's a lot more around here!! I could introduce you to the others, they'd be here tomorrow!" Tim says.
"We better head back, it's getting dark"
"Why don't we stay a little longer?" Damian whines, he liked that place, but he wouldn't admit that he liked Tim's presence
"They say if you stay here overnight you won't be able to come back" Tim says
"Tt... You said you've stayed here overnight" Damian retorts
"But I barely escaped Him" Tim gets tense "I wouldn't want him to see you... He's not a good person" Tim finishes as he holds Damian's hand again and takes him out of there.
Tim and Damian walk back to the entrance Damian came through. Damian protests when Tim asks to carry him, but Damian immediately refuses, leaving Tim pouting.
And for some reason
Damian doesn't remember... Sleeping? He doesn't remember if he spoke to Tim or when he reached the garden exit...
Strange...
When he arrives at the door, he is greeted by cold, lonely air.Dinner was already on the table, but Pennyworth was nowhere to be seen.
Damian does his homework and goes up to his room, it seemed like it had been a long day, but at the same time, he wished he had done more.
He thinks he has heard or seen Timothy somewhere, maybe he should look into it in the morning.
But now, he is exhausted. And he just wants to rest.
He'll do more tomorrow! He'll explore the garden for longer and if he can talk to Timothy one more time.
He barely realizes that he is already asleep, only when the mattress sinks and he feels his father's lips on his forehead in the early morning.
It wasn't such a bad day in the end...
...
Eyes followed him wherever Damian went.
No matter how much he ran, that pair of bright green eyes always watched him from the darkness.
Those familiar green eyes.
Just like his mother's.
Just like his.
He runs, as if his life depended on it.
He didn't expect Green Eyes to catch up with him.
Then darkness grips him.
And the light returns.
The light returns as Damian desperately opens his eyes. And he wakes up in his room with sunlight coming through the curtains.
Damian follows his schedule, but today, he decides to do something different.
He decides he will go after Timothy.
That boy and Damian had already met before, or rather, they had seen each other before.
But first, Damian needs to have breakfast, Pennyworth would give him a lecture if she saw the poor boy skipping a meal.
Father and Pennyworth awaited Damian's presence in the dining room.The father was at the end of the table holding his newspaper and his coffee.Pennyworth had just walked past Damian towards the kitchen, he must be in a hurry since he didn't even see the boy.
"Good morning Damian" Bruce greets Damian as the boy joins the table.
"Good morning, Father." Damian responds, he doesn't admit how much he melts every time his Father calls him.
He gets distracted by his pancakes and berries on his plate. So his father decides to fill the silence.
"How's school? It's a holiday today, so I guess you'll have other plans this afternoon, hm?" Bruce looks away from the papers in front of him to look at his son.
"I'm still planning..." I was planning on going to the garden, but I think I'd rather stay in your presence if you don't mind "I'm afraid my schedule is open this afternoon...So...If you'd like to--"
Bruce's phone interrupts the boy. Bruce immediately stands up as he answers "One second habibi" and walks out of the room, leaving Damian alone.
Damian waits.
He can wait, his father just went to answer a call, he will be back.
Damian tries to stall, playing with his food, but his father doesn't come back, it's as if time has frozen.
"It can't have been that long..."
...
"Maybe just in my head....It must have only been a few minutes..."
...
He didn't come back.
Damian only notices this when Alfred arrives in the kitchen with a frown "Master Damian, I thought it was past breakfast time" he says sternly .
"But- it's still 10:15 right?" Damian frowns, remembering his own father.
"Master Damian, it's 11:15 in the morning."
"oh" is all he can say.
"Master Bruce had an urgent matter at work. Now, since you're here, why don't you help me with this dish, hm?"
Damian nods slightly as he clears the dishes from the table to take to the kitchen.
Later, Damian realizes that it was too late to do his research on Timothy, but fortunately, the answer falls into his hands effortlessly.
When Damian takes the newspaper off the dinner table, he comes across a photo of a family who lives not far from Wayne Manor.
And there was a very family-oriented boy in that photo.
Timothy.
Actually, Timothy Drake.
He was with his mother and father, Jack and Janet Drake.
Damian didn't care what the newspaper said about the Drake family, he was just shocked to see Tim there. He looked happy next to Janet and Jack, who had a kind of...fake smile in Damian's opinion?
Whatever, but now it makes sense how Timothy got into the garden. The Drake Mansion is very close to Wayne Manor, so there is a small possibility that the garden is connected to the two mansions.
Leaving his thoughts aside, Damian heads back to the garden entrance.
The lock remains open, perhaps Pennyworth doesn't even waste his time coming to this place, which is strange, since the place seems to be well taken care of.
Damian opens the door again and leaves himself free to observe the flowers for a bit before going after Tim.
So he follows the trail to a certain point, he stops at a bench with some leaves, then Damian rests for a bit before continuing walking.
The end of the garden path ends exactly where Damian entered the garden. As if it were a circle .
Damian frowns a little at this, but doesn't care.
So, he decides to deviate from the trail and walk alongside the wall that separates the garden from the mansion.Damian hopes to at least reach the wall that separates the Wayne Mansion garden from the Drake Mansion garden.
Damian just walks straight without deviating, and he couldn't even see the end because of the tall plants that obstructed his vision.
It has nothing to do with his size.
...
Ish....
Then Damian stops with his brow furrowed again.
"What the hell?" Pennyworth would scold him for saying such a thing but...
Damian simply stood at the entrance to Wayne Manor's garden.
Damian doesn't remember turning back, or swerving, he's a good driving kid, so how the hell? It was like a loop.
Damian decides not to investigate this too much, so he decides to go after Timothy another way:
He was going to enter the woods.