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“Drake I can no longer touch the bottom,” Damian is clearly trying to make it sound matter of fact but there is real fear behind it.
“I told you it’s going to dip down in the rocky area but then it was going to go back up and smooth out. That’s why I’m helping you through this part.” When he sees the still very clear hesitance on Damians face he says, softer, “Or we can go back. It’s okay if you don’t want to keep going. Bart never comes in anyway so you’ll always have someone sitting on the beach with you even if most of us want to come in.”
Damian hesitates then says, “You promise it goes back up?”
“Promise.”
Damian nods. “Okay I trust you.”
Tim tries not to let how much that warms his heart show on his face. He actually wasn’t expecting Damian to react like this when Tim had suggested it. He’d expected resistance when he’d insisted on going out first to figure out where the drop off was. He’d expected resistance when he’d insisted, he help Damian swim over the rocky part to the smoother part further out in the water. He was not expecting Damian to be hesitant to go in the water at all. Tim knows that he has to know how to swim and he must be at least mildly decent at it. Theres no way the league or Bruce would have just let that one go but it seems to be a real fear of the ocean Tim can’t quite pin down.
They’re across the objectively small divot in the sand before either of them can really say anything. “See!” Tim says, “There the ground is all sand and it came back- oh.”
“What?” Damian panickily looks over his shoulder.
“No! It’s nothing sorry.” Damian had stood up and was tall, taller than he was when he came to them last summer at least. It makes sense, kids hit growth spurts, but they’re now standing in what Tim had expected to be just around mid-chest height water for Damian but he is only up to his waist. Damian must be up to Tim’s shoulder now or at least nearly there. Tim could no longer comfortably rest his arm on his head to annoy him. When did that happen?
“Drake,” Damian glares at him but before he can ask any further questions he shrieks and leaps around a little.
“What? What?” Tim asks, now the one panicking. Then he feels it. “Damian that’s a fish. We are in the ocean there is going to be fish.”
“I KNOW THERE WILL BE FISH! I HOPE YOU DROWN!” Is Damian’s completely rational response. “Oh, look there’s a whole school of them,” he says, pointing just past Tim.
“Where? I don’t-“ and then something rams into the back of his knees and he goes down sputtering.
He resurfaces sputtering and Gar and Raven have joined them. They are both laughing. “Did you distract me so Gar could push me over?”
Damian crosses his arms and huffs "Only loyal brothers get warned of ambush.” Then he turns and starts demanding more and more obscure sea creatures out of Gar.
Kon comes up behind him and throws his arm over Tim’s shoulder. “He doing, okay?”
Tim nods. “I didn’t realize he was going to freak out. I know he can swim and I guess the water has just never come up before? It might be the waves. I don’t know where he would have practiced.”
Kon nods. “Yeah, that makes sense. You did good though. He trusts you.”
Tim smiles again. “Yeah. He does.”
Kon shoves him playfully. “Well don’t sound so surprised.”
Tim laughs and splashes him. “Hey superstrength! You need to work on your playful shoving.”
“Please!” Kon says, indignant, “You didn’t fall, did you?”
“Only due to years of highly sensitized training.”
“You are so full of shit!” He charges Tim and throws a shrieking Tim over his shoulder before leaping forward and throwing them both into the ocean.
Tim barrel rolls them both underwater and they spend a few minutes kicking and splashing each other while the waves throw them around.
“If either of you splash me, I will drown you,” Cassie says from where she is floating casually on a boogie board about 3 feet away.
“I have super strength and the ability to hold my breathe for up to 3 minutes,” Kon shoots back.
Cassie shrugs. “I’m resourceful.” Before paddling away towards the oncoming wave.
“Drake!” Damian says, appearing next to them.
“Jesus!” Tim jumps about a foot in the air. “What’s up bud?”
“Raven and Garfield are being romantic. It is disgusting me. Make them stop.”
“I’m not going-“ Tim starts to say at the same time Kon says, “On it!” and salutes Damian before diving into the water and disappearing in their direction.
Tim rubs his forehead. “If we have kids, I’m going to have to be the boring parent, aren’t I?”
“Do not worry Drake,” Damian says, patting his shoulder, “You were always going to be the boring parent! That was never exclusive to Kent.”
Tim just glares at him. “Alright I’m teaching you to wave jump. Come on. We have to go further in.” He marches forward without looking back at Damian
+++
“This is straight forward. I don’t know why you had to teach me.” Damian says.
“It’s about feeling when to jump and when to dive. It’s intuitive.”
“You can do either and be fine.”
“If you try to jump to big a one, you’re going to get a face full of water and if you dive too small of one it’s not as fun.” Tim counters.
“I think you just like feeling like you know more than me.”
“I think you just don’t like being wrong.”
“Yeah, well I think-“ Tim sees the wave coming in but doesn’t have enough time to stop what’s coming. He has just enough time and instinct to plant his feet. He immediately dives for Damian after he goes under and gets him under the shoulders, hoisting him off his feet and into the air so he’s securely above the waves. Damian is panting heavy and there is brush burn on his shoulder but he looks otherwise unharmed.
“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”
“I’m fine Drake.” His voice is shaking. “There is no need to freak out.”
Tim tries to set him back on his feet. Damian starts frantically flailing towards him, scrambling at his arms before he’s even let go. “We should go back to shore now.” He announces. “So, you do not get scared like that again.”
“Okay bud,” Tim says, allowing Damian just this once to hide his own fear behind Tim. “I think I would feel better carrying you until we get across the rocks again. Is that okay?” It’s only half true. He thinks Damian would prefer it too.
Damian scoffs. “I suppose.” He is still shaking.
He puts Damian on his hip, which is slightly more awkward now that the height difference isn’t so extreme even with the water’s assistance, and starts wading back to shore.
Connor stops where he was wrestling Gar and makes eye contact with Tim. He makes their agreed upon is Damian, okay? symbol. Tim does his best attempt at their Yes, I’ve got it symbol in return while one handed.
Once they’re mostly back to shore he sets Damian down on his own two feet but he hovers until they’re back to the blanket.
“Here water,” He hands Damian a bottle of water.
“I’m fine.” Damian insists and at least his voice sounds less shaky.
“You should still drink it and I’m going to grab your sandwich too. It might hit you in a minute you should eat and drink something.”
Damian huffs but takes the bottle of water and drinks it while Tim goes digging for the sandwich that Damian labeled as his own. He also grabs the books he and Damian brought. Finally, he flops down on the blanket next to Damian. “Eat” he throws the sandwich at Damians head. And sets the book next to him.
“I had fun until then,” Damian admits in a quiet voice after a few minutes of silence.
“It’s okay if you didn’t or if you don’t want to go back in ever Dami. I promise.” Tim tries to reassure.
“I-“ Damian hesitates, “Not today but I would like to go in again?”
Tim nods. “Of course. We can always come back another day.”
Damian nods and opens his book.
Tim flops backwards and does the same.
He is in a half doze when he hears Damian start talking to Bart.
"Me when I launch an earth element at my mortal enemy" he leans into Bart and stage whispers "I’m about to launch a clump of wet sand at my brother" which is the only part Tim manages to register
"What?" He says half sitting up Damian right as a clump full of wet sand hits his face. He does not shriek no matter what anyone else says. "I am going to bury you in the sand and let the tide take you!"
"I’d like to see you try" Damian says before using Tim as a spring board to take off running.
Tim grunts, rolls over, and begins scrambling up to take off after him.
Damian shrieks with laughter as Tim gains on him.
It’s a good day.