Love at First Sight (Damian Wayne x reader)
Summary: While the rest of his family are off trying to fend off Gotham from a deadly attack, Damian is forced to keep the civilians calm and save them from the carnage imposed by Joker. High off a victory, Damian bumps into a mysterious someone and immediately feels an unwanted connection.
Warnings: Slight Barbara slander(?)
Gotham was ablaze. The shadowy night contrasted with the passionate crimson flames burning into the sky, buildings slowly caving in on top of each other. The people were in a panic, running into the streets with the few belongings they could grasp, most of which being pets or little trinkets. It had been a while since Gotham was this terribly under attack, making it harder for Damian and the rest of his family to take control of the situation.
Chaos bloomed around Damian like a sickening flower. Batman had told him that he was in charge of keeping the civilians in line and making sure they were away from any harm to come their way. Normally, this would be a job for his older brother Tim, but his father had thought that it would be a good growing opportunity for himself; although Damian was not fond of this idea, he knew better than to complain.
The voice of Oracle came through his comm system. “Robin, there’s a burning building about to collapse on the far east of Crime alley with a family of four. You need to get there now,”
Damian let out a small hum of confirmation before grappling his way to the falling building. He jumped, following the direction he fired the hook. As his body flew through the air, the youngest Robin couldn’t help but feel a sense of freedom - he felt accomplished, like he had a purpose, and with purpose comes control; a control that Damian desperately desired to cling onto in his hectic life.
If his name were Robin, he deserved to fly like one.
By the time Damian got to the designated location, the top half of the building had mostly fallen apart. Smoke rose from the building at a dangerous level. The screams of children pierced the air, and as Damian got closer, he realized that it was the family. They were wedged in the staircase of the building, fire surrounding them and effectively preventing them from reaching safety. Without another word, Damian ran over to the building, using his cape as protection from the smoke.
Damian’s mind raced, trying to think of the most operative way of saving all four members of the family. As he assessed, there were really only two options: either through the burning window or down through the ablaze living room and out the door. Both options, admittedly, were terrible and would require immense agility from the family, and judging that they took in copious amounts of carbon monoxide already, they wouldn’t have the speed needed to get out through the door, even with his help.
“Oh dear Lord, please help us, Robin!” The older woman had said, her voice weak and grainy. A subtle warm and bubbling feeling arose in Damian’s chest at the words, but he managed to push it down before he could actually assess it. He planted himself down on the remaining staircase, silently thanking his father for his fireproof suit.
“The only way out is through the window and out onto the street. I’ll grab you guys one by one and grapple us down to safety.” Robin said.
“But how can you do that, won’t you drop us?” The child’s voice tremored. Robin’s eye twitches and it took him a moment before properly responding. This was the exact reason why he loathed working with civilians…
“You’ll just have to trust me. I promise I won’t let you go.” He managed a crooked smile which seemed to soothe the children’s worries enough to carry them one by one out of the window and onto the safe pavement.
“Damn…this whole city is in chaos and you took the time to save us,” The father stated, “Thank you, Robin.” The warm feeling Damian had felt before resurfaced again, this time in force. It worsened further when the two boys he saved gave him a surprise hug. Out of habit, the youngest Robin stiffened. He failed to miss the glimmer in the boys’ eyes when they looked up at him.
He was able to save them, and for once in his life Damian accepted the emotion he was feeling - happiness.
A voice broke his train of thought. “Will we be okay, Robin? What if someone else comes and tries to hurt us again?”
“I…I won’t allow it. No more bad guys will harm you or your family again, I swear by it.” Damian slowly pulled away from the children before awkwardly giving them both a head pat.
The familiar buzz of Oracle’s voice came through his comms once more. “Wow, that was pretty impressive, Robin. Maybe we should get you and Red Robin to trade places permanently.”
“If you say that again I might feel inclined to poke a hole in one of your tires,” He grumbled. “Besides, just because I do not like most people does not mean I am incapable of saving them one-on-one.”
Anything else Oracle had said was blocked out by Damian, who was still high from his heroics; nevertheless there was still more saving to accomplish. Gunshots and screams were still the background music of this city and he wouldn’t stop until he changed it for the better.
At least, that was his plan until he managed to bump into someone and completely lost his train of thought. It was a lapse of judgment on his part, really. He should have been paying attention to his surroundings, especially on this night. Damian turned to mutter a quick apology only to feel a rush of attraction violently hit his face. He had bumped into a girl, a girl with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. The background seemed to fade away as all he could focus on was her - her eyes, her face, her delicate hands, everything.
It was the same for the girl; she felt everything fade into a Fourth of July night as she stared at the legendary Robin. Blood had decorated parts of his costume like splattered paint and his dark hair was a disheveled mess. Everything about him exuded confidence, as if Gotham’s siege was as easy to take care of as a load of laundry. She treated it as a sign of hope, hope for the wellbeing of herself and the city. There was something else though, something more foreign. A feeling of belonging and connection embraced them both.
The interaction lasted only a moment, an excruciatingly short moment before everything reverted back to normal. Damian blinked away his fuzziness while the girl quickly turned to hide her blushing features. It was all so sudden, this immense feeling, that they could only run away from each other.
Tearing away from each other felt like dragging away two magnets destined to connect. The sensation Damian was feeling completely went against everything he believed in. It was too brash, too annoyingly persistent no matter how hard he tried to push down the feeling. It took everything in his power not to turn back and gaze at the girl. He felt the remaining control he thought he had in his life vanish in his hands.
These emotions he was feeling were too unstable, insatiable even, to be trusted...
I will probably write a part two of this that will focus on a more romantic perspective. I wasn't originally going to write out the whole family saving scene, but I ended up getting carried away (;w;). Fun Fact: This is also the first proper one shot that I have written in over a year! The writing might be rusty but hopefully the story still stands!!
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