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Jason heard the jingle of Damian's keys before the apartment door opened and closed.
“Hi, Dames.” Todd looked up from the book he was reading while sitting in the sofa, expecting Damian's usual greeting, but only caught a brief glimpse of the boy's figure with his head down before disappearing into the hallway without looking at him at all.
Heard the sound of his hurried footsteps until his bedroom door slammed shut.
Jason stood still for a few seconds, before letting out a sigh. Living with a teenager was kind of exhausting. Roy had told him this many times.
First was acne, then Damian's need to shower at least twice a day because of his strong body odor, and a couple of months later, Jason found himself dealing with a boy glued to his phone and responding curtly or sarcastically whenever he could.
And that's not to mention the first time Damian experienced a nocturnal erection and knocked on his door in the middle of the night, covered in blankets and completely embarrassed because he didn't know how to solve his problem.
Jason still remembers what it was like giving Damian "the talk," because how on earth do you talk to "your little one" who isn't so little anymore about sex, masturbation, and sexual health without feeling uncomfortable?
Where did his adorable kid go, the one who used to run to hug him as soon as he saw him and Jason could carry without any problem?
Jason put in the bookmark and get up from the sofa, heading towards the hallway.
At least this time there wasn't a backpack lying in the path. That lesson had been taught to both of them very clearly many years ago, he thought.
“Kid?” Jason approached and knocked on the door but only received a brief murmur of “leave me alone.”
He frowned with concern. That didn't sound like the cold, sarcastic thirteen-year-old teen Damian was becoming, but like the sweet, calm boy who occasionally appeared in some days and who was now trying to hide his tears over something that tormented him.
The adult hesitated for a second, but ended up ignoring what Damian said and opened the bedroom door just enough to peek inside.
He easily recognized the boy's red backpack and black Converse sprawled on the floor next to the bed, and Damian himself lying down on his bed, his back to him.
“Damian?”
The boy didn't respond, but Jason clearly saw his shoulders tremble before a muffled sob escaped his lips.
Todd closed the door softly behind him and knelt down in front the bed, still keeping his distance. Watching as his nephew, noticing his presence, tried to hide himself.
“Hey, what is it, buddy?”
Damian refused to answer and continued trying to stifle his sobs, though it was useless.
A minute passed before Jason decided to sit on the edge of the bed. Even with Damian turning his back on him, he managed to see that the little teen wasn't just hugging himself; Zitka was pressed against his chest, catching the tears that streamed down the boy's cheeks.
Jason know that Damian was inhaling the faint scent of Dick that still lingered on the elephant plush. It brought him calm, sometimes comfort when he needed it, but it seemed that this time it wasn't enough.
So, he risked making things worse but raised his hand slowly and gently placed it on Damian's shoulder, stifling a sigh of relief when the boy didn't move away and, instead, seemed to relax.
“You know you can talk with me, Dame.”
Nothing happened during a few minutes, but then, Damian turned slightly, and unearthed his face from Zitka, just enough to look cautiously at Jason for the first time.
Jason said nothing, just observed his kid's extremely sad and hurt face, his eyes red and swollen from crying, his lips trembling and his throat straining to hold back any further sobs.
But a worried look from the older one was enough to make Damian sit up and seek refuge in Jason, hiding his face in his chest.
Jason immediately hugged him, pulling him closer. He felt his T-shirt getting damp with Damian's silent tears as one hand lovingly strokes the younger one's hair and the other his back.
“It's okay, kid. It's okay.” Jason whispered against Damian's head, holding him until the crying subsided, leaving only a few hiccups.
“Did something happen at school?” He asked calmly once Damian moved aside to wipe away the rest of his tears.
The boy remained silent, with his head down, and hugged himself again, bringing his legs up to his chest.
“Is it because of a girl?” Jason tilted his head curiously.
“No.” Damian muttered.
“A boy?”
“I wouldn't cry for things like that.” The teen snorted. Jason could almost see Damian's urge to roll his eyes if it weren't for his current mood.
“Is that so?” The older one raised an eyebrow with kind of fun.
“I wouldn't.” Damian narrowed his eyes at him in a pout, making Jason chuckled.
Now that things were a little bit calmer, Jason settled more comfortably in the bed, sitting face to Damian, letting one leg stay on the floor and the other bent casually against his thigh.
“Okay…then, what is it?” He asked softly, without pressure and open to the possibility that Damian might not want to tell him, seeing how his nephew looked away again.
Damian bit his lip and reached for Zitka, playing with the fur of her ear a couple of seconds when he whispered: “I overheard some classmates saying things about me.”
“What kind of things?” Jason's posture didn't change, but his face became serious one more time.
Damian frowned slightly, gently rubbing his thumb against his forearm, absorbed in the action. “About my skin...the shape of my eyes...my nose...that it was disgusting to touch me, even to be near me.” He swallowed hard, closing his eyes with sorrow. “And that's why I have no friends and I'm weird, they said.”
Jason's gaze instantly turned dangerous. His anger only increased as he saw Damian tear up again, pressing Zitka against him.
“I'd never cared about any of that....my height, my eyes, my skin tone...” Damian muttered. “But now I can't stop thinking about that, about-” He blinked several times, processing the word, until it left his lips. “How Insecure I feel.”
Enough. Jason pulled Damian back towards him, hugging him tightly, trying to calm all the anger that threatened to overflow at that moment.
“Look at me.” Jason move back far enough to catch Damian's eye, even though the younger refused to look at him. “Please, look at me, kid.” He asked more seriously, seeing how Damian hesitated and barely raised his gaze slowly until their green eyes met.
“There's nothing wrong about you. Nothing.” He emphasized the last word. “You're a beautiful boy with a gorgeous nose, perfect tanned skin, unparalleled green eyes, and a heart of gold. Don't listen to a single fucking word from those racist assholes, did you listen to me?”
The angst in Damian's face faded a little. His tearful eyes focused entirely on Jason and in his words, which now resonated much louder than all those of his classmates in his head, like an absolute truth
The younger one hugged Jason, his face against the man's chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the soft kiss his uncle gave him on the head, like all the times he did in his not-so-distant childhood.
“You're perfect.” Jason whispered against his kid's hair, with Damian releasing the last trace of his crying with a sigh, before transforming it into a calm smile.