Okay so let's say Bruce met Damian when he was like four or six, right? Damian who's never had a father figure is confused because why is there a man in a full klevar suit looking at him like a mother would be with her cub? Anyway so Bruce is around the League of Assassin's for the next few weeks and everything is just so futile.. he doesn't want to interact. Not out of curiosity, but out *fear*.
So, let's say after some pestering from his mother he finally winds up asking. Bruce is at a computer, some report or whatever of importance and all the sudden he hears, "Baba?" In the soft, almost timid voice if Damian could help it.
And he's immediately dropping anything and everything for his babyboy. Because that's his *baby*. His baby who wouldn't come out from behind his mother leg, who's well-spoken and definitely a hell of a fighter but still his baby nontheless and finally getting a solid conversation and potential bonding experience? Hell yeah.
Oogh you're fuckin cooking
Bruce can barely stand it when he hears that. Because Damian is so small, impossibly small, and so big at the same time. He's five already, and Bruce has missed every milestone up until this point. He's so perfect, too; he looks just like his mother with his sharp, intelligent eyes and his small, curious frown.
Bruce's breath hitches as he looks down at the boy. There's no doubt in his mind that Talia is nearby. Damian is too attached to her for that. He's a little- no very jealous of that. But now, here Damian was, asking him for something. And it must be important because Damian's voice was usually the strongest in the room. Bruce smiled, the softest, most genuine smile he thinks has ever graced his face.
Damian stood rigid, something Bruce had noticed he'd done when stopping himself from fidgeting. "So you are my father."
Bruce was a little taken aback by that. He assumed someone, or at least Talia would've told Damian that by now. He was a little hurt. Was that why the boy was so cautious around him? Because from that perspective, a strange man just showed up one day with clear tension with his mother, and wouldn't leave.
Well, in the boy's defense, it wasn't as if Bruce had been giving it his best effort either. Dick was older than Damian when Bruce took him in, and Bruce was already terrible with interacting with a kid that age. Also, he didn't know how Damian had felt about him. Part of him assumed the boy hated him for abandoning him.
Damian's frown deepend. He hesitated, then walked closer, his voice back to it's usual state. "How come I never met you before? Is it because of Mama?"
Bruce looked away. It was probably not a good idea to tell his son he didn't know he existed. "Somewhat. It's a little more complicated than that."
Damian stood in front of his chair, looking up at him. "Is it because of Grandfather?"
"Also somewhat," Bruce answered. "But why do you ask?"
Damian went rigid again. "They talk about you a lot. Grandfather thinks you're very important and would be a great help to our cause."
Bruce hummed. "I've always wondered why he thought that. I'm only a detective, Damian, and while I have a lot of money, it's nowhere close to what your grandfather has."
"So you investigate things?" Damian's eyes widened. That beautiful green that reminded Bruce so much of the boy's mother. "You stop crimes?"
Bruce chuckled. "Yes, I stop crime."
"Well, Grandfather said what humans are doing to the Earth is a crime. Maybe he wants you to help stop it."
"That's a very good deduction, Damian. You're very smart."
Damian preened. "Is that what you're working on now? Are you stopping crime?" He asked, pointing to the computer screen.
Bruce glanced at the pages of notes he was currently working on. Ra's had put him onto a case where a man had his company illegally dumping waste too close to a wildlife reserve. Thankfully, he was letting Bruce do it his way instead of sending assassins to take care of the Guy.
"Yes. Do you want to see?"
Damian nodded and stood on his tippy toes, trying to get a better look. Bruce noted he was a little small for five. It wasn't really a problem, Bruce himself had been short until he hit puberty.
"Would you rather sit in my chair?" He offered.
Damian nodded. Before Bruce could stand, like he was fully planning to do, Damian was pulling himself into his father's lap. Bruce's heart squeezed. Damian was so perfect, so adorable. Bruce would certainly be sent to hell if he missed out on anymore of his son. Once settled, with Bruce's help, Damian looked at the screen.
When he got here, Bruce had demanded to know everything about Damian's education, among other things. He knew English was Damian's third language, and even if the boy excelled in it, he was still only six. He had trouble with the bigger words.
"Robert Green, in asso... asso-shi-a-shun with Lex Luthor," Damian read.
"Very good," Bruce praised. "But I can translate the pages if you want."
Damian shook his head. "I'm fine, I can read." He pointed to the picture of Robert Green. "What did he do?"
"He's dumping trash by a wildlife reserve. It's hurting all the plants and animals." Bruce frowned. "And Lex Luthor is funding his company."
Damian bristled. "Then he should be dead! Grandfather can get assassins to kill him."
Bruce ran a hand through Damian's hair. He'd make an effort to dispel Damian's beliefes, but it may take a while. Especially if he can't get them both back to Gotham, which he will. "It's not that simple, sweetheart. Do you know what the word systematic means?"
"It has to do with systems?"
"Very good. Yes, the dumping of waste into the wildlife reserve is systematic. That means it's not just him and Lex Luthor, there are probably dozens of people making this decision, all with different jobs and roles. Some of them might not even know what they're doing because they're too deep in the system. And as much as your grandfather wants to, even he knows killing that many people at once is a bad idea."
Damian pouted and Bruce fought the urge to pinch his cheeks red. "So we can't kill them?"
"No, sweetie. But that's why I'm helping. I'm going to take down the system from the inside so he can't hurt the wildlife anymore. And if it all goes according to plan, then it will be much harder for companies to hurt wildlife in the future."
Damian nodded hesitantly. "Okay, Baba. That sounds smart." Baba! Bruce wanted to explode. Damian started to climb out of his lap. "I have to go take care of my horses."
Bruce frowned as he helped Damian back on the ground. "Alone? Do you want help?"
Damian shook his head. "It's alright, Baba, you're busy."
"No I'm not." Bruce quickly saved his files and closed his tabs. "I have pleanty of time."
"But that was important," Damian frowned.
"Nothing is more important than you, sweetheart," Bruce said, standing from his chair. "And I haven't met any of your animals yet. I want to meet them."
"Oh." Damian smiled. "Promise?"
"I swear it. Now will you show me where the stables are?"
Damian nodded and grabbed Bruce's hand, tugging him out of the room. "They're this way!"
