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For three years, Damian ran the Titans as their leader. Not as an authority figure, but he was the one most familiar with everyone, so he naturally gravitated towards that spot. They were a group of misfits (mostly children of villains or former villains themselves) who needed support from each other on their path to better. The dynamic didn’t change much after Jon came into the fold (other than Damian having less sex with everyone after a while). No, the change happened when Reyes came into the fold.
Jaime Reyes (AKA Blue Beetle) was someone they met on a mission in Texas. he showed potential but clearly had trouble with his powers, having no real support system around him for the whole hero gig. The group invited him into the fold. Jon helped him with his powers; he related to the kid, his own powers being Fucky from a young age. While Damian helped him with the emotional side, Damian knew what it was like to have voices in your head (literal and metaphorical) telling you what to do; he trained Jaime to listen to what they were telling him without succumbing to them.
Then it was Connor Kent, a clone of Superman, who Uncle Clark kind of just dropped into their laps without warning. That’s not to say Connor wasn’t welcome. By this point, many Titans’ members had either joined the league or taken their mentor’s mantle (Irey and Hawke becoming Flash and Green Arrow, while Mia and Jai joined under their own titles), so new blood was always welcome. Jon gave Connor a sense of family he’d never had before. While Damian helped him work through the feelings he had on being an experiment and sharing half his DNA with a villain, two things Damian understood far too well. Damian even taught him more about style, piercings, and makeup, Connor eventually taking a punk style similar to Damian’s own.
After that, though, the fucking flood gates opened and the Titans became the dumping ground for any young hero or problem child the main JL didn’t want to deal with. First, it was Cassandra Sandsmark, whom Lizzie dumped on them; the two really couldn’t say no to her. She was like a big sister for both of them, even babysitting them on missions or as civilians a few times when they were younger. Then the bat trio came in; this was more intentional. After Duke, Damian didn’t trust Bruce with kids, so he gave them a safe place away from the manor to ensure they always felt comfortable leaving when in distress (like he had with Ma and Pa). After them was Cissie King-Jones (AKA Arrowette), a protege of Queen’s. Next was Bart Allen (AKA Kid Flash), Barry Allen’s grandson from the future. Finally, there was M’gann M’orzz (AKA Miss Martian), Niece of Martian Manhunter. By the end of their recruiting spree (read responsibility dumping), it was just Jon and Damian left, along with the kids, everyone else having left for the league, though Damian couldn’t really blame them.
—
Jon and Damian became mentors to the younger generation and found that they both quite enjoyed it. Jon taught all the kids with powers, while Damian trained the unpowered to make sure they weren’t liabilities in the field. They also became most of the members’ first call whenever anything went fucky, Damian was the one you went to if you needed a solution for a problem, while Jon was the one you went to if you needed to be heard or whatever. So when Stephanie brought the two to their office (the two shared a bedroom, but everyone got their own, so the two claimed a second room as the office for when they needed to have private conversations or to talk to the league without someone (Tim) bugging them), they knew something had gone FUBAR.
“So, um, guys, I’m pregnant,” Stephanie told them.
Damian and Jon just looked at each other for a moment, silently having a conversation, trying to decide how they could possibly fix this situation without one of them getting punched. Eventually, Damian broke the silence. “Well,” Damian said, “that is not ideal.” That seemed to be the wrong answer as Steph just glared at him with a look he knew quite well.
“No shit, asshole, sorry some of us aren’t celibate monks until we meet our gay soul mate like you did!” she screamed, and Damian was willing to let that shot slide. This was a stressful time for Steph, and Damian didn’t make it a habit to get in flame wars with fourteen-year-olds, much less pregnant ones. But Jon couldn’t. It was too funny, too incongruous with the reality he knew. Jon couldn’t hold it in. First, it was the sheer absurdity of the situation, them getting told this before anyone else. Then there was Damian calling the situation “not ideal” as though their favorite lunch spot was closed that day. Finally, the coup de grace, Steph calling Damian DAMIAN a celibate before getting with Jon. The whole situation was too ridiculous. Jon just burst out laughing. Both bats glared at him for this as he tried desperately to get it under control.
“What the fuck, asshole, aren’t you supposed to be the feelings one?!” Stephanie roared, “What the fuck is funny about this? My life might be ruined, and you're laughing.”
And hearing that Jon pushed to the edge of his sanity to get back under control, seeing a warning look from Damian and ignoring it, Jon said through labored breathes, “no, that's not it, hehe, its just that you basically called D a virgin when he was the biggest slut i knew before we got together.”
At this, Damian put his head in his hands and groaned a sigh of truly guttural sadness, something reserved normally for dying animals, and Stephanie looked at him like he’d grown three heads. “Really? Damian? Super stoic older brother, Damian, who only has eyes for his ‘beloved’ Damian.”
This made Jon start laughing again “yeah, Damian here was the titan’s resident barracks bunny before we dated, I’m pretty sure the only people he didn’t bang on the original team were Maya, who’s like a sister to him, and Jai who isn’t gay, even then I'm pretty sure he gave him a handy”
Damian, looking thoroughly embarrassed and without a defense, just replied, “Once, he was Bi-curious at the time.”
Jon just kept laughing. “I'm pretty sure that 7/10 nights Damian spent in the tower before he and I got together were spent in someone else's bed. That’s not even mentioning Nika, who Damian kept sneaking into the tower.” Jon barely croaked out.
“Really, that just seems so unlike him. Also, Nika?! Like, goth assassin, we use as a contact in Japan whenever we run ops there, Nika?” Steph asked incredulously
Damian decided that keeping Steph in high spirits was worth more than his reputation. Admitted, “Yes, that Nika, she and I dated from thirteen until I was sixteen. She was actually one of the biggest causes in Bruce and my falling out. When he learned about her and her profession, he got paranoid I’d get back into that life, and everything surrounding her became an argument. But that is a story for a different time. As for my escapades, I had just gotten dumped and kicked out of my house in two months, so I was pretty desperate for validation of any kind.”
“Shit, man, I had no idea about that,” Steph said
“Very few do know the whole story, mostly just Jon, Ma, and Pa; others know bits and pieces, though.”
“This whole mess started with a similar situation. I got back with my ex, some scum fuck named Dean, cause I was mad at Bruce trying to control me, and look where that got me.”
“Ok, now that we’re talking about this, I’m going to go into solutions mode. Are you carrying the baby to term?”
“Uh, I want to, but I’m scared that Bruce will kick me out if I do. Maybe I should just get rid of it.”
“That will never be a problem. If he does try that shit, I’ll beat his ass and then you can stay at the farm with us or in the tower until you are old enough to be a legal adult, then I’ll buy you an apartment or something. I think you forget that I am independently wealthy apart from Bruce, and you are my baby sister, whom I care very much about. Next question, do you want to raise the baby or do you want to give them up?”
Stephanie once again looked unsure. “I don’t know, I’m definitely not ready to be a parent, but all of the cases from foster care we get, the trafficking rings, the sex abuse, the straight neglect, make me want to keep it.”
At this, Jon and Damian looked at each other, mentally cataloging all the couples they knew to see if one would want a baby. “That is also not a problem. There is actually a couple in Smallville whose parents are good friends with Ma and Pa. Anyway, they’ve been having trouble conceiving and are looking into adopting. They’re great people, and everyone in Smallville is vaguely aware of the whole capes situation, so there’ll be very few questions asked.”
Stephanie nodded, “That’s perfect.”
“Okay, final question, do you have any doctor’s appointments set up?”
“No, I just found out and didn’t want to tell Alfred then.”
“Well then, I’ll go into the other room and call our couple and get you set up with doctors. I'll also be there when you tell Bruce as a buffer. I’ll leave the feelings portion of this to Jon, as it is customary.”
“Okay, D,” Jon replied, having sobered up through their conversation.
Having gotten up from his seat, Damian was stopped by Stephanie, who hugged him from behind. “Thanks, D.”
“No problem, little one. Now go talk with Jon about it for a little bit. This can’t have been easy on you.”
—
Damian always cooked dinner at the tower; everyone else was either a child or Jon, so no one other than him or Stephanie knew how to cook anything. Damian was trained by Ma, so he knew his way around a kitchen and ruled it with an iron fist. He had inherited her beliefs on table manors and food wasting as well (his childhood having been a mishmash of intentional starvation as a punishment also being part of this) when he saw Tim trying to toss his vegetables for the third time that week, Damian snapped “TIMOTHY JACKSON DRAKE, SO HELP ME GOD, IF YOU DON’T EAT YOUR GOD DAMN VEGETABLES I WILL BENCH YOUR ASS FOR A WEEK. Rao, it’s no wonder you don’t grow any. You barely get enough nutrients, and you drink enough caffeine from those shitty energy drinks to kill a horse!!!”
At this the room went silent, and Damian, hair tied back in his wolf tail, several piercings in his ears, eyeliner on and wearing an apron with the slogan “kiss the cook” on it (a gag gift from Maya during his as Stephanie had taken to calling it “slut era”) Damian realized in horror that he was no longer young. This gang of idiots had turned him into a den mother, and at this revelation, he looked over at Jon with abject horror and said, “Jesus Christ, Jon, I’ve become Ma,” which made Jon and the entire table burst into laughter as Damian had a crisis in the middle of his tower. After that crash out, the kids had taken to calling Damian “Ma Wing” whenever they wanted to annoy him, something that they passed onto the new blood the Titans gained and continued to call him long after their time on the team.
—
Damian has always loved sparing. His childhood was spent doing it (for better and worse), it was how he best communicated with people. When he and Bruce or Mother fought, there were no arguments over clothes or duties, just teaching and learning. He still loves it to this day. He loves training the new kids in the tower. He loved fighting with teammates when they were still there, but recently, no one had been able to challenge him.
Now, not no one, but the list was small. Damian was certain he was top five in the world, and most of the others weren’t great company. Damian wasn’t the biggest fan of Deathstroke; he sure as shit didn’t want to spar with Bruce, Bronze Tiger was out of the way, and one could only visit Lady Shiva so many times in a week before the bat got suspicious. Which was why he was so elated when Cassandra came to the tower. She was a great partner; she was technically skilled and sound, she could predict what he was doing next, and she would fight no holds barred. The only problem was that she was able to read too far into the match, and that’s when he realized she was cheating.
Maybe she didn’t realize, or maybe she did and thought it wasn’t a problem, but Cassandra’s training had resulted in her learning to predict entire attack patterns off of just body language. Usually, this would be a great skill, almost no one could mask body language in a way she couldn’t decipher, but in their line of work, it could be deadly. Aliens can move with tells that she doesn’t understand, robots act without thinking or wasting movement, and there were even a few fighters who could mask their bodies in a way she didn’t understand, so this shortcut would and could get her killed someday. Something Damian was not willing to deal with after the last time (especially Shiva’s kid, Damian loved that woman like an auntie), but luckily for him, Damian knew just how to mask such language. It had been part of his training from Shiva; she had learned it from Cain while he was still formulating his idea for Cassandra, creating false tells or overwhelming the user with so much information their senses would overload, similar to how sleight of hand tricks the eyes.
Now, the technique wasn’t perfect; it wasted a lot of energy, was slower than normal fighting, and in most cases was completely fucking useless, more trivia than anything. But for this, it was perfect. The first time he used it, he could see and feel the difference; he was slower, sure, but he trounced Cassandra. She’s on the mat in a minute when their fights take five minimum, usually. Everyone stops to look at Damian, who’s smirking over a shocked Cass. “Cheating,” she accuses.
Damian does a so-so motion with his hand. “Actually, you’ve been cheating; it’s not your fault, it’s just how you were trained. Your reading goes beyond basic information; you can basically see into the future during fights. Guess your opponent's next few moves right?” Damian posits
Cass goes wide-eyed. He’s the first person who’s gotten it, and she didn’t even have to explain. “Yes. But you countered.”
“Yes, it’s a trick I learned from one of my mentors,” deliberately not mentioning Shiva to not upset her (he doesn’t like it when people bring up his parents either). “She always thought it more theory than anything, so did I until you came along. What you have is a great skill to have, but it is a crutch as well. If you go up against someone who can kick that crutch out from under you, well…”
Cassandra nodded, “Work on it.”
“Of course, that's what I'm here for.”
So they did. Cassandra trained like normal during regular practice, then after she and Damian would stay an extra hour or two to work on it. They began bonding as well during this time. Damian would help her practice language by immersing her in it; he’d spend their entire sessions talking about whatever came to mind. Recipes he was trying out, how things on the farm were, date ideas with Jon. It was dual purpose for both of them. Damian got training with a near equal, and used her as a code duck. Cassandra got language practice and unlearned her biggest weakness as a fighter.
Later in their sessions, Damian would talk about more serious things she was curious about. What his childhood was like, why he was still on the outs with Bruce, why his stance on killing was less opposed than his father's, and the many obviously fatal scars that littered his body. It was useful for both of them; it made Damian confront his past in ways he never had before, and it gave Cassandra solidarity in her own traumas. Damian grew up like her, abused and neglected. But he turned out better than anyone could imagine. He was in a loving relationship. Heroes, both young and veteran, looked to him for advice and strategy. He was living proof that what she was doing was neither impossible nor unprecedented; it gave her hope in a way no one else had.
On the day she finally beats him, she’s the one talking. They’re about to wrap up training when she asks for one more fight and then begins complaining about school. She has a math test coming up that she is not excited for, she’s been making more friends recently (Damian thinks it’s because she’s talking more, but let’s her continue, knowing this is what he’s been waiting for), the lunch they serve there isn’t near as good as what Alfred or Damian makes. For once, she isn’t focused on reading his body; she isn’t trying to predict what three moves he’ll make next. She ignores all the useless info he provides and gets into the rhythm of the fight. Then she sees an opening, a real one. Not one telegraphed, or one that’s actually a trap. Damian overextends on a hook she dodged, and she takes the chance to tackle his side and get him in a hold. He taps without a fight. He could get out of it, but that's not the point; she’s already succeeded in the training he was providing. She was able to block out the excess noise and see the real information. They come back upstairs beaming. Damian gives her extra dessert at dinner. He’s proud that he was able to teach someone so well, and it’s what cements his belief that what he’s doing is perfect for him; nothing would fit him better.
—
The first thing Damian thought while forming an opinion on Timothy was how damn similar he was to Bruce. From looks to intelligence to moral stances, Tim seemed more like Bruce’s bio kid than Damian ever did. That wasn’t his problem. What was his problem was that Timothy, once again like Bruce, didn’t have an off switch and was gonna kill himself from overwork.
At first it was things like how he could spend hours staring at the same case making new theories without eating, then it was the constant mountain of soda and energy drink cans that littered his room, it got so bad that he would literally sleep during down time on patrol standing up just to keep some semblance of awareness during busy times. The worst part was that Bruce either didn’t know or care, so that left it up to big brother Damian to build an actual life for this kid before he became Batman 2.
He started small. He mandated that the kids be put on the Titans so he could monitor them. Then he started enforcing the originally unspoken rules the old members had strictly on the new ones, though they really only interfered with Tim. Damian mandated one rest day for each member, where they weren’t allowed to patrol or access cases except in the event of a justice league-scale event. Tim flounced this by going home on his rest day and just doing work there. Damian responded by ruling that this rest period could only end after a member slept for 8 consecutive hours in the tower. Tim responded by doing that and then leaving to work again.
Damian threw the gun and decided that he was just gonna move his rest day to magically always correspond with Tim’s, so he could kidnap the kid and give him a break once in a while. He’d take them to local nature preserves to take photos of the wildlife, or to the skate park to skate together (Damian had skated in the past to piss off Bruce), or to the movies whenever something that interested Tim was coming out. Somehow, these outings always seemed to end with Damian getting hit on, something he was used to, but horrified Tim. What made Tim even more uncomfortable was how Damian would respond by excitedly showing the other person pictures of his massive boyfriend while gushing about how adorable he was. It worked, though, so Tim couldn’t judge. Wasn’t like he wasn’t also in love with a Kryptonian.
Eventually, Tim took the hint and started taking more regular breaks. He’d hang out with the team more, or watch shows by himself, or work on photography. Damian didn’t care so long as the kid had a hobby and sleep schedule, which he was able to achieve through much cajoling by his older brother. He still had days where he’d forget to eat or sleep, but now he had a support network to keep those days from becoming patterns or habits. Which Tim became thankful for when the healthier lifestyle made him start growing again after he was stunted at 5’6 for a year.