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Evelyn stood in the kitchen, faintly humming along to her favorite song when Damian entered. He was wearing his school uniform, with his bag thrown over his shoulder.
She turned around, smiling at him. "Morning, Damian," she greeted him before handing him a Tupperware box with his breakfast, along with a few dollars for some hot coco or tea. He grunted in response, taking the box and the money. He wasn't particularly talkative in the mornings. Or at any other time of the day. With her at least.
"How did you sleep?" Evelyn wanted to know, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Alfred was still in bed; he wasn't feeling too well. She didn't mind, though. Sometimes, being alone was… nice.
"I had a good night of rest," Damian replied. "Though I would have preferred to patrol with Father."
Evelyn smiled. "Well, your father sure would've loved to have you tag along, but school is just as important." Bruce always loved to have Damian with him on patrol. But Evelyn set her foot down and told him there would be no more patrols during school nights for the young boy. He was young; he needed sleep.
Damian rolled his eyes and stuffed his lunch box into his backpack. He grumbled something under his breath before he turned on his heel and stomped toward the hallway. He didn't need Evelyn to go full mother hen on him. She wasn't his mother. And she would never be.
A deep sigh escaped Evelyn's lips as she set her coffee cup down to follow Damian. She just couldn't figure him out. Bruce said he needed time, but it's been almost two years now, and Damian was still as cold as ever—at least to her. Sometimes she just lost a bit of hope…
She'd tried everything. She took him to the zoo, to exhibitions, to museums. Hell, she even helped him convince Bruce to let the cow stay, but nothing worked. It felt as if all her efforts only made the rift between them bigger.
She took care of his animals when he couldn't, and it wasn't like he only had Titus. He had the Batcow, of course, and then Alfred the cat and probably a lot more to follow. Evelyn still acted as if she and Bruce didn't know about the three kittens Damian kept hidden in his room.
On some days, she offered to go art supply or tea shopping with him—he liked that one specific one you had to order in one of Gotham's tea shops—but he always found an excuse to say no, just for her to find out a few hours later that he went with Dick or Alfred instead.
It wasn't uncommon for her to sit in her office at Wayne Foundation and question everything she did regarding Damian. She did everything the same way she did it with Dick and Jason, and then with Tim. And it worked with them, so what was she doing wrong now?
Was it the fact that Damian still clung to his mother—though Bruce said he wasn't—or did Damian just feel natural resentment toward her?
She caught up to him in the foyer, just when he was about to step outside.
"It's cold outside," she said, walking over to the small wardrobe just next to the door. She fished out a beanie and held it out to him. "Here. We wouldn't want you to get sick, hm?"
Damian side-eyed the beanie for a split second before he extended his hand and took it from Evelyn, pulling it over his hair. "Thank you," he muttered, turning to leave.
"Dick wanted to meet for lunch today," Evelyn spoke up again. "I thought you might want to join. I could pick you up from school."
The boy pondered for a second before he agreed. "I… suppose I could join. I haven't seen Richard in a while."
A smile spread on Evelyn's face. "Alright then. I'll let him know." She went to open the door for Damian. "And I'll pick you up from school later."
Damian nodded in response as he brushed past Evelyn, down the stairs toward the car already waiting for him. Bruce had sent someone to pick Damian up since Alfred wasn't available.
"I'll see you later," Evelyn called, not surprised to not receive a response. She tried to remember Bruce's words—Give him time—but it was so hard. So incredibly hard…
"I don't know, Dick…" Evelyn sighed as she pulled up to Gotham Academy. "He's just not warming up to me. I don't know what to do."
"I wish I could help you, but he's still a mystery to me in some sense," the oldest Wayne son replied over the phone. "His upbringing with the League really messed with him…"
The car stopped in the pickup line, and Evelyn glanced outside to see if Damian was there already. "I have tried everything, Dick. He doesn't like me." She paused for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. "Am I doing something wrong? I'm just—I'm doing what I did for all of you…"
"And you're doing an amazing job," Dick replied, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. "And I hate to sound like Bruce, but maybe he really just needs time."
Evelyn sighed again, massaging her forehead. "Yeah…" She glanced outside, and then she spotted Damian. He was making his way through the crowd, head bowed and shoulders square.
"But anyway, Damian is here," she changed the topic, eyes fixed on the young boy. "I have to hang up now."
"Alright, Eve. I'll see you in a few minutes then." Evelyn could hear the smile in Dick's voice.
"Yes, see you in a few, darling," Evelyn replied, hanging up just when Damian opened the door.
Evelyn turned her head, smiling at Damian. "Hey," she greeted him, starting the engine. "How was school?" she asked as she steered the car off school property. The drive to the diner, where they'd meet up with Dick, wasn't too long.
"School was acceptable," Damian replied, his backpack sitting on his lap. "We had art class today. I appreciated that."
"That's good to hear," Evelyn answered, briefly glancing at Damian. "How was PE? Your schedule said it was on today." She took a left turn, eyes fixed on the road again.
At first, Damian didn't reply, but then he opened his mouth, "It was alright. Father said that as civilians, we can not let the general population know about our capabilities, so I am very moderate compared to the others."
Evelyn hummed in acknowledgement. "Ah, yes." She took another left turn, and the diner already came into view. "But otherwise, did you enjoy it?"
"No."
That caught Evelyn off guard. She wanted to ask why, to get to the bottom of the matter, but then Damian spotted Dick, who was leaning against his bike, and Evelyn knew she wouldn't get an answer from the young boy now. Probably never.
She pulled up next to Dick, and the moment she killed the engine, Damian was out and about, rushing into the arms of his older brother.
"Richard!" Damian laughed as he almost tackled the other to the ground. Dick managed to catch Damian just in time, a small "Oof" rushing past his lips.
A big smile spread on Dick's face, and he ruffled Damian's hair. "Hello to you, too, Dami. How are you, hm?"
Damian clung to Dick's side, talking to him, while Evelyn left the car. She smoothed down her coat and put on a soft smile. She hadn't seen Dick in a while, and she was genuinely happy to talk face-to-face with him again.
When he spotted Evelyn, his eyes lit up. "Eve!" With a few steps, he crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around her. "I missed you," he muttered, and Evelyn chuckled as she placed her arms around him.
"Hello, darling," she greeted Dick, pulling out of his embrace. She cupped his cheek, smiling up at him. "You look good," she mused in a way that only mothers could, and Dick blushed.
"Babs is taking good care of me," he replied, nodding. "She makes sure I get enough sleep, you know."
Evelyn shook her head, tutting. "She better! You're just like Bruce when it's about that."
Dick grimaced. "Sorry, Ma. I try."
A sigh left Evelyn's lips, and she pulled her hand back. "I know, I know. You're all just trying, aren't you?" She forced a weak smile, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "But why don't we go inside? I imagine you and Damian are quite hungry."
Her eyes fell onto the young boy next to Dick, who was impatiently tapping his foot against the asphalt of the parking lot. Dick followed her gaze and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed, placing a hand on Damian's shoulder to guide him toward the diner.
"Let's go, Baby Bat. Time for lunch!"
All three walked inside, Damian rushing off to secure a booth. Evelyn, however, held Dick back.
"I think something happened in his PE class today," she said in a quiet voice, her hand resting on Dick's lower arm.
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
Evelyn sighed again. "I don't know. But… I asked him if he enjoyed it, and he said No. Usually—well, according to Alfred—he enjoys PE. He's one of the best in his class, actually." Her eyes briefly glanced at Damian, who finally found a booth. "I'm just worried that there is something. And I know that he won't talk to me."
Dick hummed in acknowledgement. "I can try to talk to him, but I can't promise anything…" He scratched his head. "Why don't you ask Bruce to talk to him, though?"
At the mention of her husband, Evelyn's jaw tensed, and so did her hand on Dick's arm. "Bruce and I…" she began slowly, and Dick immediately understood. Evelyn pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's being complicated again, but it's nothing we can't navigate."
She knew that Dick always worried when she and Bruce were going through one of their phases, so she tried her best to reassure him.
The frown on Dick's face only deepened, though. He wasn't reassured at all."But he's not talking to you again, is he?"
Evelyn's lack of an answer confirmed Dick's suspicion.
"He can't keep doing that," he hissed, eyes narrowing, but Evelyn only waved it off.
"I knew what I got into when I married him, darling." She patted his arm, her voice warm and soft. "I can handle it. I know you're worried, but Bruce and I will be okay. We always will." She glanced at Damian again, who was sitting in the booth, hands folded on the table, pretending not to care about the conversation going on between Dick and Evelyn.
Dick wanted to protest, wanted to tell her that she should know her worth, but she cut him off. "Right now, we should focus on Damian, though."
He bit his tongue and nodded. "Yeah, we should…"
Evelyn stared at Bruce's naked back as he searched for something in their closet. "You're not going to take Damian on patrol with you, are you?" She was in her nightgown already, sitting on the edge of the bed. Her voice was tired and her eyes heavy. She'd waited for Bruce for what seemed like an eternity.
But Bruce didn't reply.
She tried again. "He needs sleep. He has school tomorrow."
When she still didn't get an answer from her husband, she stood up from the bed, slowly walking over to him. "I know your mission is important to both of you, but he is a child, and he needs all the rest he can get. Especially with school."
Bruce tensed—barely, but she could tell. He continued to rummage through their closet, though.
Evelyn felt as if she were talking to a wall. He was shutting her out again. After all those years, he still kept his walls up, and she was exhausted by it.
"I know what I'm doing," came the low rumble from Bruce then, and Evelyn had to swallow a heavy sigh. Of course, he would say that. The same man who had basically panicked every day when he took his first three sons in now—magically—knows what he's doing.
She shook her head, wrapping her robe around herself. "If you say so… Have it your way then." She walked back to the bed, picking up her pillow before making her way over to the door.
For one last time, she turned around. Bruce was staring at the inside of the closet now, movements stilled.
Evelyn took a deep breath. "I will be sleeping in the guest room," she announced in a weak voice. "Just know that you're hurting me."
When she stepped outside, she could feel his eyes on her back, and she gripped her pillow tighter. She couldn't give in again. She had to set boundaries, let him know he was hurting himself, and that he had to get better. It couldn't continue like this.
She made her way down the hallways of Wayne Manor until she was in the guest wing. There she picked out a room and set her pillow down on the bed. She didn't feel like sleeping. She was wide awake now.
For a few moments, she thought about what to do, then she decided. As she knew Bruce, he would rush out of the Manor and into the city, hiding behind his cowl. But she also knew that he wouldn't take Damian after she had voiced her concerns. That much respect for her he had left.
Carefully, she stepped out of the room and took the stairs down into the living room. There she stared at that damned grandfather clock a moment too long before she opened the entrance to the Batcave.
The bats shrieked when Evelyn tapped down the stairs—barefoot. It wasn't too cold down there, but still, a chill went down her spine. The Batmobile was gone already, and that meant Bruce wasn't present as well.
It was dead quiet—save for the bats. But Evelyn didn't mind. She enjoyed the quiet. She always had.
With secure steps, she walked into the training wing, heading straight for the changing room. She always kept a pair of spare clothes there for herself, Bruce, and the boys. It didn't take her long to change, and a few minutes later, she stood in front of a training dummy, questioning more than just her existence.
Bruce had taught her a thing or two—of course, he had—but that didn't mean she was really good at this. She just wanted to get rid of her frustrations.
Her first few punches were weak and half-hearted. She hadn't done this in years; she had almost forgotten how to do it, but once she felt as if she got the basics back, each hit was harder than the first.
She'd forgotten to wrap her hands, and after a few minutes, her knuckles started splitting. She didn't care. For once, she didn't give one damn, though. She was frustrated, and she had to get those feelings out. Tears were streaming down her face already, blurring her vision, but she didn't care.
With each passing minute, she grew bolder, her body entering a state she wasn't aware it could enter.
Sweat, blood, and tears started to mix, a burning sensation spreading from Evelyn's hands up her arms. Her muscles were aching, begging her to stop—she wasn't used to this.
Damian hadn't been too happy about his father benching him. But apparently, Evelyn said Damian should rest because he was a child and needed sleep.
He scoffed at that. Yes, he was a child, but the League of Assassins trained him. He wasn't a regular child. He could go on patrol and attend school without his performance being affected. How long would it take Evelyn to understand that?
She should just keep out of Damian's business. She didn't have to poke around his life, trying to replace his mother.
He was sitting in front of the Batcomputer, staring at open cases. If he couldn't go on patrol, he at least could try to get farther with these. There was one with a handful of related homicides, another with a series of break-ins, and a blackmail case against Batman himself.
Bruce wasn't too worried about the blackmail, so Damian focused on the other two. The murderer for case one seemed to be a fan of the Joker, leaving his victims with a bright red smile painted across their lips, and the gang for case two wasn't the usual Gotham-type gang. They knew what they were doing, barely leaving any hits, but Batman and Robin would find them. They always did.
In the middle of Damian's research, though, one of the alarms lit up. It came from the training wing. With a frown, Damian opened the CCTV panel, confused about who would enter the training wing at this time. His father was on patrol, Richard was in Blüdhaven, Jason was probably shooting up Crime Alley, and Tim was god-knew-where.
When the footage finally showed, Damian's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was Evelyn.
She stood in front of one of the dummies, and he watched her intensely as she started throwing punches. Her form was… almost terrible. He clicked his tongue. It looked like his father didn't bother teaching his wife any self-defense.
Damian could tell she was frustrated as he watched her, but he couldn't tell why. What got Evelyn so worked up that she came down here by herself to assault a training dummy?
Was it his father? Had he done something? Or was it the foundation, maybe? Was she having trouble handling the press and future or present projects? Admittedly, Damian spent very little time learning about the Wayne Foundation. He just couldn't bring himself to care.
But something deep within him was stirring as he watched Evelyn deliver blow after blow to the dummy. Her stance had steadied over the past minutes, and by now, she was doing a pretty good job, Damian had to admit that. However, he also noticed the blood drying around her knuckles, and he knew how much split knuckles hurt.
So, he got up from the chair, picking up one of the first aid kits, before he made his way toward the training wing.
His steps were quiet as always, so Evelyn didn't notice him at first. He stood in the doorway, watching as the adrenaline in her veins slowly wore off. Her movements were getting slower, heavier. Just a few more moments, and she'd notice him.
"Damian." There, she noticed him.
"You are hurt," he simply replied, stepping inside, med kit in his hand.
Evelyn was looking at him, eyes blown wide and chest heaving. Blood was dripping onto the floor, but Damian didn't care. This wasn't the worst he'd seen or experienced.
Shame spread along Evelyn's spine as she glanced down at her hands. They were bloody and torn up. She cursed under her breath, raising her hands to take a better look at the wounds. She should've known that Damian would be down here. She wasn't being a good role model for him right now…
Damian ignored it. He motioned for Evelyn to sit down before he started to unpack the med kit and got to work.
A sharp hiss left Evelyn's lips when Damian cleaned the wound, and she expected him to make fun of her, but he kept quiet. His touch was soft and gentle, something Evelyn didn't think he could be, at least with her.
"It is going to be a lot worse tomorrow," he said as he began patching each knuckle up, and Evelyn just nodded. Silence stretched between them, but Damian was itching to talk. He had questions, and he wanted answers.
"Why were you down here?" he blurted out before he could stop, and Evelyn tensed.
She thought for a moment before sighing heavily. Her shoulders slumped forward, and Damian thought he saw tears in her eyes. "I guess I just had to take my mind off things. It's just… a lot of frustrating stuff happening."
"Father can be frustrating," Damian agreed, finally done patching Evelyn up. He got up, waiting for her to follow.
"That is true." She forced a weak smile, cradling her hands to her chest. She would have to take at least a week off now so nobody at the Foundation would ask questions she couldn't answer… "Thank you for patching me up."
Damian nodded, lips tight. "Of course."
Then he turned around, ready to leave. Just when he was about to step out of the room, he stopped, though. "If you want me to punch him, I will."
Evelyn opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out at first. " I—I don't think that will be necessary." She could see Damian shrug and quickly added. "Thank you, though. I… appreciate the offer."
That certainly was a new development, Evelyn thought. But it was something, right? He offered to beat up her husband for her, but it was something. At least that was what she hoped.