I like magic users and Gotham City. I literally just need somewhere to reblog DC posts that isn’t my main blog because I cannot find anything over there.
Something something Jack actually liking YJ because his son has a group of close friends who share his interests and regularly socialize with him (all part of the Make Sure Tim Doesn't Go Feral Agenda Jack has cooked up).
Dick: The Titans are like my family. We love each other, and even though we may be doing different things now we still make sure to get together every once in a while and hang out.
Jason: Exactly. The Outlaws have a mission planned next month where we’re going to go chill on an island for a week.
Dick: That’s a Vacation.
Jason I mean…
Tim: [So completely codependent with the Young Justice Core Four that going an hour without talking to at least one of them has him gnawing at the bars of his enclosure]: Yeah. Sure. Family.
One Halloween, the batkids decide to make Bruce grumble by literally dressing up as bats, each in their respective colors. Alfred helps them, of course. It's very much just like a gaggle of sheet ghosts, only with bat-eared headbands and little wing capes. They trap their father figure in a circle and run around him, screeching and giggling. Even Jason is having a bit of fun.
Bruce looks annoyed, but that's just because he's trying not to sob and take one million pictures. This man is a dad at heart. His silly baby bats are so adorable in their costumes.
The real reason Wayne Manor is outfitted with the best security cameras Bruce can get is not for security purposes, but so that he can get the best photos of his kids without scaring them off by pulling up a camera.
Did he get photos of them in their costumes? Yes, one taken by Alfred. Does he have a few hundred candid ones pulled straight from the security cameras saved onto his phone and about five backup hard drives? Obviously.
As much as I love the idea of 'Brucie Wayne' and airhead celebrity Bruce Wayne who is beloved for being a little flirty and silly, a complete loveable idiot and I really do love that, I counter you with reserved, caring and informed celebrity billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Bruce who when gets interviewed at a charity events will use his air time to talk only about that charity and its goals rather than who he's wearing or who is date is.
Bruce on a panel show hearing a female guest being asked a personal or a sexist question, like about what's she is wearing or whether she's dating a certain guy, and politely shutting that down or answering the question like it was for him or pointedly wondering why he wasn't asked the same question.
Bruce when asked something personal or not pertinent to the reason he agreed to do the interview, asking why they are wasting time on questions like that when they could ask him about important matters. The reporters ask like what and he begins listing off social problems in the city or worldwide.
Bruce who will answer questions from reporters in their own language or talk to people in their own language
Bruce at some show presenting an award and escorting his female co presenter down the stairs.
Bruce Wayne ruining creepy camera shots of women on the red carpet by walking into the shot.
Bruce will proudly wear pins or t-shirts to support organisations, not limited to LGBTQIA+ charities.
Bruce going in cognito to small local cafes and restaurants for a peaceful lunch and gets to know the server, hears about them working for college tuition or being a single parent leaves a massive tip.
Bruce who matches a child's charity raising efforts or participants in events where he's hands on or will wear and do silly things for the kids
Bruce getting crowded by reporters when he's out with the kids or some fans, just very politely asking for some space.
Bruce giving interviews for local school papers or coming in as a special guest
Concept: Ra's al ghul and Tim see eachother but tim wants nothing to do with Ra's so he just ignores him, won't even fight him, until Ra's starts talking shit about his grandson and Tim almost kills that old ass whore.
_______
Ra's: Hello, Detective
Tim: Immediately turns around and leaves
Ra's: Oh, come on!
Tim: Nope.
Ra's: But you would be such a better heir than my stupid grandson!
Damian is not expecting his Grandfather to appear on the day that he has been forced by Richard to 'spend time' with Drake. It is... either a mercy in the form of a distraction, or an unfortunate situation that may result in another of these outings being planned against Damian's wishes.
Of course, Damian is expecting his Grandfather to focus on him in this encounter. He is Ra's al Ghul's grandson by blood, after all. But, of course, of course, Drake is a distraction for Damian's Grandfather for reasons that Drake has seen fit to refuse to explain to the family.
Damian doesn't care, naturally, he's simply curious. That's all.
"Grandfather," Damian says in the flattest tone he possesses. If it sounds similar to Drake's when the usurper is exceptionally exhausted and not in the mood for Damian's posturing... well, it is an effective tone indicator for conveying how little desire Damian has to entertain his Grandfather today. "What are you doing here? Father has expressly warned you from entering Gotham."
Well, Damian assumed Father warned Grandfather away from Gotham after that fiasco with Wayne Enterprises that Drake somehow managed to work to his advantage and steal Damian's birthright as CEO of his Father's legacy. There would be little reason for Grandfather to avoid Gotham if Father had not specifically made it unwise for Ra’s al Ghul to venture within the city Father claimed as his.
“Quiet,” Grandfather says, barely even looking at Damian beyond a cursory glance. There is not even a measure of respect for Damian despite the fact that he is Robin and a warrior-born-and-raised. An assassin. It is as if Damian in civilian attire is such a non-threat that Grandfather thinks nothing of him.
It is supremely… Damian does not quite know. Embarrassing, perhaps? Shameful? Upsetting?
He feels… slighted. That’s it, Damian feels slighted by his Grandfather’s disregard.
He opens his mouth, about to spit something ill-thought-out at the Demons Head when Grandfather continues speaking but not to Damian.
“Detective, it is a pleasure to see you in better circumstances.”
Damian automatically glances around the area for Father because, Detective is what Grandfather calls Father. Father is not present. It is just Damian and Drake in the open area of the one park Ivy has left alone this week with her plants and schemes. Grandfather is not speaking to Damian, clearly, but he surely cannot be speaking to Drake of all people.
Grandfather must be speaking to Father via a comm.
“The feeling isn’t mutual, Ra’s,” Drake says as though Grandfather is speaking to him and Damian steps toward the usurper because, regardless of Damian’s opinion of Drake Damian does not wish to see him struck down by Grandfather for speaking so casually and with no respect for the Demons Head. “You’re going to run out of back-up bases at this rate.”
Damian blinks and stares at Grandfather when Ra’s al Ghul, the Demons Head, immortal and powerful anddeadly, laughs at Drake’s words.
Damian has never heard his Grandfather laugh in his life. He rather wishes he never had actually. It’s… disconcerting.
More disconcerting that Grandfather actually being capable of laughing, Damian decides, is the fact that Drake seems resigned to Grandfather’s amusement. Somehow, that fact is worse.
“Not all of my bases have such easily accessed back-up generators, Detective,” Grandfather replies, and Damian feels very unsteady because Grandfather’s voice is… he sounds not dissimilar to how Mother would sound when Damian would impress her and had gained her favour in training.
The idea that Drake has somehow gained Grandfather’s favour is simultaneously offensive and terrifying. One the one hand, how dare Drake take from Damian like this? But, on the other, the idea of having Grandfather’s favour has always scared Damian because Grandfather is not a good man.
What kind of person is Drake that Ra’s al Ghul looks at him with approval and respect that is absent when the Demons Head looks at Damian?
“It’s sort of sad that you think back-up generators is the only way I can wreck your bases Ra’s,” Drake says with a put-upon sigh. As though Grandfather is disappointing Drake! “You operate in the twenty-first century, Ra’s, and every base you have that’s even worth calling a base has WiFi.” Drake raises an eyebrow at Grandfather. “And your password choices suck.”
Damian…
Damian does not like Drake.
He doesn’t.
But… he may… he may be capable of appreciating the way Drake is so blasé right now facing Damian’s Grandfather with no weapon, in civilian attire, and in an open, public area where there is little chance of a quick, easy get-away should things turn violent.
With Ra’s al Ghul involved, violence is already a foregone conclusion. It is merely the form that violence may take that is yet undecided.
Grandfather grimaces. “Truly, Detective,” he says, sounding put-upon himself, “must you use such base phrasing? You do yourself a disservice.”
Damian has heard similar comments from Mother on the, thankfully, rare occasions when he and Father have interacted with Mother. It is unbecoming, Mother always said, for an Heir to speak with anything less than the degree of quality such a position deserves.
Damian had taken a not-inconsiderable amount of pleasure in calling Father ‘dad’ and commenting that the décor in this particular hotel room sucked balls just to witness an expression Damian had been informed was called ‘sucking on a lemon’ cross Mother’s face before Father had wisely ushered Damian away and to Richard’s protective embrace.
Todd and Drake had been present also that day, Damian recalls as he watches a similar expression cross Grandfather’s face when Drake dryly responds with; “like I give a fuck about that, Ra’s.”
Perhaps Drake is aware that Grandfather, much like Mother, dislikes crass language and poor vernacular? It would stand to reason, considering how little Grandfather enjoys Todd’s presence; especially when the Red Hood emphasises his natural Crime Alley accent when telling Grandfather to get fucked, Creeper McCreep-Face.
Drake had laughed aloud on comms the night Tood had said that to Grandfather, startling everyone with how unexpected it was to hear Red Robin break on comms. Break at all, really, if Damian thinks about it now. Drake, in most of the time that Damian has known him, has seldom acted in a manner that indicated comfort and familiarity with the family. Clearly due to the reality that Drake is not family however Damian is aware that Father did adopt Drake at one point.
Perhaps had the adoption remained so, rather than Drake insulting Father by emancipating himself and stealing Damian’s rightful inheritance then Damian may be able to look at Drake and consider him a brother as he does Todd on occasion. But that is wishful thinking and Damian was not raised to be wishful.
Thus, Drake is an ally at best, an inconvenience at worst.
With Grandfather so focused on Drake, Damian is not quite sure where Drake falls on that spectrum of value, but the way Grandfather takes a purposeful step towards Drake causes Damian’s heartrate to increase in a way that could be mistaken for worry for Drake. It is merely Damian’s reasonable response to a threat.
Grandfather is, after all, most definitely a threat, even to Damian.
Perhaps, especially to Damian.
Drake, likely capable of the thought required to consider such a thing also moves in tandem with Grandfather, shifting to the side so that he is partly in front of Damian, limiting the ease with which Grandfather could access his person while, at the same time, Drake does not step back even as Grandfather comes to a stop barely a foot away from Drake’s person.
There is a degree of personal space that Drake has always sought to ensure around himself. Something that Damian has largely respected because Drake has given Damian the same courtesy when Richard, Todd, and even Father have not. To see someone that is Damian’s blood relative but also a threat invading Drake’s personal space without hesitating causes Damian’s finely-tuned reflexes to shiver with the need to lash out and make Grandfather move back!
Drake’s left arm is strategically placed against Damian’s shoulder—just in front in fact, imparting no pressure even with the actual physical contact and not preventing Damian from moving but making it clear with body language that to try and get to Damian it is required for an assailant to get through Drake first—tenses imperceptibly to the naked eye but Damian can feel it and it makes Damian want to bare his teeth at Grandfather.
“You should, Detective,” Grandfather says in a soft, dangerous voice. It reminds Damian of Mother when she was displeased with his training and often preceded correction. Hearing it from Grandfather makes Damian shiver unintentionally and the tension in Drake’s arm sharpens. Damian is surprised he cannot hear Drake’s muscles creak with how tense he suddenly is. “It is unfortunate that you act beneath yourself when you speak in such a way. Perhaps,” Grandfather continues, pausing for a moment as though he is thinking his words through, as though Grandfather does not plot every word long before he says a single word aloud, “my grandson’s influence upon you is more disruptive than it is worth if you are ‘acting out’ like he did with his mother only months ago?”
Damian lets out a soundless breath because that-
Grandfather-
Ra’s al Ghul just threatened him directly and Damian doesn’t know what to do-
Drake inhales slowly, breath making a low hissing sound that Damian registers is caused when someone breathes in through clenched teeth. The arm against Damian’s shoulder tenses even more and Drake’s hand beside Damian’s elbow clenches into a fist. Damian can feel Drake’s knuckles against his skin. There is a fine tremor in them, minute but able to be felt through contact.
“Ra’s.”
Damian’s heart is pounding because Grandfather just threatened him, he’s alone with only Drake as back-up, and the panic button he hit the moment Grandfather appeared is either faulty, the signal blocked, or the signal is being scrambled because Father or Richard or Todd or Cain, Brown- one of them should have been here by now.
“Detective.”
Grandfather sounds pleased at how flat Drake’s voice has become. Damian finds himself more afraid of what will happen now because Drake cannot fight Grandfather for Damian, why would he? Damian has tried to kill him over and over and he has never apologised and Drake hates him and has no obligation to try and protect Damian from his own grandfather-
“Try and touch Damian and I won’t stop at just your bases.” Drake’s voice is death. Dark and ominous in a way that Damian has never heard from him. The tone is something that even Todd with his anger and rage and resentment of Father and Drake cannot match.
Father cannot match this.
Damian does not know if he should fear Drake or Grandfather more right now. Grandfather has just threatened him, and Drake has just threatened Grandfather right back. The idea of someone like Drake threatening Grandfather without blinking is…
Even Father has not threatened Grandfather like Drake now. Father’s threats to Grandfather have been centred on beating him, fighting him, siding with Mother in the civil war occurring with the League. Father would not outright threaten to destroy the League itself.
Damian doubts Father actually could.
Before Drake’s threat to Grandfather, Damian believed no one could achieve such a task. But Drake is the one who went hunting for Father after he ‘died’ and proved he was alive. Drake is the one who thwarted Grandfather’s plan to destroy Father’s legacy. Drake is the one who has solved crimes and cases that Damian truthfully did not think could be solved.
He has never said it aloud, barely even deigned to think it, but Drake is perhaps one of the most competent individuals Damian has even known. It is partly why he was so determined to kill Drake for Robin. It is likely partly why Mother often spoke of Drake as an outlier in Father’s family, as the one Father listened to even though he was not a son, who was a threat to Damian’s position in Father’s court.
Damian is aware, also, that Grandfather has been interested in Father for a long, long time. Since before Richard became Robin, in fact. Grandfather had met Todd when he was Robin and, according to Mother, had not been impressed with him. Mother never told Damian if Grandfather met Drake when he was Robin, before Damian joined Father, but it would explain the degree to which Mother resents Drake. And why her ‘lessons’ on how to approach Father’s court centred on removing Drake in a permanent manner.
Considering the way Grandfather is staring intently at Drake, Damian cannot help but think that Mother may have sent Damian to his death had he succeeded in killing Drake for Grandfather certainly would not have appreciated his actions. Although, considering how Grandfather is so focused on Drake currently, Drake may well have experienced the rejuvenating powers of the Lazarus Pit whether he wished to or not.
Damian still would have most certainly died, however. If he was lucky, Mother might have revived him also, but just as Damian was not raised to be wishful, he was not raised to believe in luck, either.
“Really, Detective?” Grandfather asks, looking intrigued as he continues to stare at Drake. “What would Batman think to hear you making such threats after what happened with George Harkness?”
Damian is aware that Harkness murdered Drake’s father and that Drake had, in some way, orchestrated the death of the man but had apparently changed his mind and prevented the demise of the appallingly named Captain Boomerang. Father had been angry about Drake’s actions though Richard had insisted to Damian that it was not anger but rather regret. Damian did not see what Richard saw in Father’s actions and words, however, and clearly neither did Drake for the distance between Drake and the family had grown only larger after the Captain Boomerang incident.
Grandfather knowing about it is… not ideal, but Damian is unsurprised considering how extensive the League’s network is. Even if Drake had damaged it somehow if Grandfather’s words were true.
“Honestly, I don’t give a fuck what Bruce would think, Ra’s,” Drake snaps and before Damian can even blink or process the vitriol in Drake’s voice, there’s a flash of movement from Drake’s other arm and Grandfather is reeling back with a red line on his face.
The arm against Damian’s side shifts and Damian is suddenly held against Drake’s side with an arm around his shoulders in a way that reminds Damian of Richard when he feels protective. Damian cannot fathom Drake feeling protective of him yet the fact remains that the embrace is disturbingly similar to Richard’s.
Damian realises that Drake likely learnt this embrace from experiencing it with Richard embracing him and Damian is simultaneously jealous and relieved, though he cannot fathom why he’s relieved.
“Fuck off Ra’s or next time I won’t aim for your face,” Drake snarls. “You can’t come back from the dead if all your Pits are destroyed and I will destroy them if you try and harm Damian.”
The expression on Grandfather’s face is… Damian does not know how Drake is not terrified right now because Damian is not even the recipient of that look and yet it scares him. Damian chances a glance up at Drake’s face to try and determine how afraid Drake is and finds himself staring.
There is not a hint of fear on Drake’s features.
What Damian sees instead is anger. He has not seen this kind of anger on Drake’s face before. Richard… yes. Father, also. Todd has on occasion worn something similar when Damian has been hurt by a villain while in uniform. Drake, however, is not someone who lets his emotions show. Not for as long as Damian has known him, and Richard has said himself that Drake is not known for displaying his feelings. Or sharing them.
So, to see the anger, the rage on Drake’s face and burning in his eyes like the coldest peak in the most remote mountain range, is shocking. Coupled with the way Drake has Damian pressed against his side with his arm while his free hand wields a stiletto blade sharper than even Damian considers wise for a blade concealed near the wrist…
Damian doesn’t understand but it makes his heart settle and the fear he feels start to fade.
Grandfather drops his hand from his face, allowing the blood welling from the surprisingly deep slice on his cheek to continue flowing unimpeded. “Detective–”
Drake cuts him off. “Tehran. Al Hajar. Copenhagen. New York. Frankfurt.” The arm around Damian twists, shows the watch on Drake’s wrist that lights up with each city Drake names. Grandfather’s expression grows darker with every city until he’s outright glowering at Drake. “The one in Frankfurt is really important, right? It’s going to hurt losing that one.” Drake tilts his head. “I’ll give you a chance Ra’s. Leave now and don’t try anything with Damian and I’ll leave Frankfurt alone.”
Grandfather is silent for a long, long moment. Almost thirty seconds. Damian doesn’t hold his breath, but he wants to.
“Very well, Detective.” Grandfather is solemn, voice holding a dark promise even as he inclines his head, acknowledging defeat. “You prove yourself every day, Detective. I can wait.”
Then Grandfather is gone, leaving those ominous words for Damian to think on, realise something he does not want to realise, and then he’s shifting out of Drake’s one-armed embrace to turn and stare at Drake who blinks and looks at Damian with a blank mask that Damian hates because Drake clearly is capable of great emotion and just protected Damian and made Grandfather angry and proud in equal measure and it doesn’t make sense because why does Drake get Grandfather’s approval when Damian has never managed the same it’s not fair-
“Damian, breathe.”
Damian pulls in a ragged gasp and stares at Drake who has reached out and is holding Damian’s shoulders with both hands, the stiletto blade missing as though it never existed. Damian, for some reason, doesn’t pull away from Drake’s hold. It is… grounding.
“Of course, I protected you from Ra’s, Damian,” Drake says after Damian has calmed himself. “And I don’t want his approval, you don’t really want it either. He’s obsessed with having an heir only because he wants to jump bodies eventually and that’s something you don’t want. You’ve said it yourself. I get it though,” Drake continues, as though he is not ripping into Damian in a way that Drake has never done. It hurts to hear these truths, to acknowledge them, from Drake but he is saying nothing Damian does not know and believe himself. “Creepy as he is, he’s family and you want his approval. I get that. But, Damian, you deserve better than what Ra’s might give you. He uses approval and attention like a weapon to coerce you into doing things you don’t want to do, or don’t understand the cost of, and you do it because you just want approval, you just want love and acceptance. But you shouldn’t have to do that in the first place. That’s not what family should be about.”
Damian- Damian cannot handle this.
These words from Drake are… they are true and Damian has heard variations of the same things from Richard and Father several times but hearing them from Drake after Drake threatened Grandfather for him…
He cannot handle this.
“What do you know of family, Drake?” Damian snarls and to his own ears he sounds as defensively afraid as any of the animals in his care who have suffered and hurt and lash out to try and prevent further harm. “You don’t even have a room at the Manor so what worth is there in anything you say about what family should be about?”
Drake’s hands spasm on Damian’s shoulders, not hard but just enough for Damian to know his words have hurt Drake. Damian expects to feel satisfaction for succeeding in hurting Drake back, but the satisfaction does not occur. Something disturbingly close to guilt builds in his chest instead.
“I grew up in a mansion where the most human interaction I had was with the housekeeper who came once a week and restocked the pantry when she was there. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t be at school when she came and I’d get to have a conversation with someone instead of listening to podcasts and running around Gotham in the middle of the night because I didn’t have anyone home who cared about me,” Drake tells Damian, spills secrets of his life to Damian after he has just lashed out and hurt Drake. Damian doesn’t understand why Drake is doing this. “I figured out who Batman was and watched him turn violent after his son died,” Drake continues, voice hushed and echoing with something like grief and regret that Damian doesn’t understand the reason for.
“I blackmailed him into letting me be Robin so I could stop him from destroying himself and the memory of his son. And he didn’t want me. He’d look at me and see a reminder of the son he lost, and he hated me for it. I understood. So did Dick and even Alfred couldn’t look at me. I’d go home to my empty mansion and patch up any injuries that I had with a first aid kit that I kept adding to until I could probably have performed a full surgery on myself without running out of anything.” Drake pauses at that, lips quirking up into a sarcastic smile, the kind Damian is familiar with when Drake has been in a good mood before Damian has opened his mouth and torn whatever comfort Drake drew from the family from him. “It started to get a bit better after about a year, I got to go out and patrol after I proved myself with training from anyone Bruce suggested. And a few he didn’t suggest. But then Jason came back, and the Tower happened. Me being near the manor preventing Jason coming back so I left. I didn’t have a room and the guest room I stayed in sometimes wasn’t important so I just… went back to Drake Manor every night. Jason started showing up and Bruce was happy. Dick was happy. Alfred was happy. I got invited to a few dinners with Jason there and it… wasn’t easy but I figured, why not, maybe I’ll get to stick around this time.”
Damian knows what happened next. “And then I arrived.”
Drake nods. “You arrived, yeah,” he agrees. “I figured I’d give you a try because that’s what you’re meant to do. Bruce didn’t need me but there you were, awkward and insecure about your place and- well- I could try and help you at least. Help fix the rift between you and the others. Like I do. Except you didn’t want my help exactly,” Drake continues to tell Damian, narrating the past like Damian didn’t live through it also. Damian cannot seem to open his mouth to tell Drake to cease. Instead, he listens and watches Drake’s face. “Well, not the way I expected you to. But I get it. You wanted to prove yourself. You just went about it the violent, murder way, Jason did. You didn’t know better… until you did. But no one stopped you from lashing out at me, targeting me, and I never told any of them about the multiple murder attempts. And things settled, eventually. I didn’t live in the manor, you got comfortable with Bruce and Dick. Jason showed up more. And then Darkseid happened, and Bruce was gone. So, I went to find him because I had nothing else left and I wasn’t about to let Dick throw me in Arkham. You got what you wanted, Dick got me out of Gotham and Jason got rid of one of his biggest triggers in one go! But Bruce was still gone, and I had something to fix.”
Drake sighs. “You are literally the only person to know any of this that wasn’t directly involved, and you’re only learning about it because I’m trying to make a point,” Drake mutters, looking away from Damian to shake his head before he refocuses on him.
“You could just get to the point?” Damian says and Drake snorts.
“Anyway,” Drake continues. “Jason calls me Replacement, right? Thinks Bruce chose me to be Robin after he died. He doesn’t know that Bruce didn’t have a choice really and that he never chose me like he chose Dick or Jason or even you. I didn’t give him the option because he needed someone to save him from himself and I volunteered for the job. When he went missing, I was just doing my job, the same one I had from day one. I didn’t become Robin to be a hero. I became Robin so Batman wouldn’t become a villain and the Robin I loved wouldn’t be the reason why. So, yeah, I went looking for proof and a way to bring Bruce back because that’s the only reason I’m around. And I did find proof and I did find him eventually. But I had to do it alone until someone offered me resources.”
Drake stops there and gives Damian a pointed look. Damian can surmise who it was who offered Drake assistance. “Grandfather.”
Drake nods. “Yep,” he says, “Creeper McCreep-Face himself. And all I had to do for those resources was help Ra’s destroy the Council of Spiders who were hunting his assassins and killing them for sport.”
Damian hisses and tenses. “You–”
“Yeah,” Drake cuts Damian off. “I got the honour of leading the League for a time to destroy the Council of Spiders while looking for proof Bruce was trapped in time. And I hated every second of it.”
Damian freezes. “What?”
“Lucius sent Tam looking for me and she found me, eventually, except I had a hole in my side and an assassin with her throat cut bleeding out even while I was almost dead myself and still trying to save her. Only problem is Ra’s assassins found her too and I couldn’t refuse what Ra’s offered when he had a civilian for a hostage.” Drake’s voice is quiet and artificially flat. Whatever Drake feels about the circumstances surrounding his working with Grandfather, his words serve to give Damian a moment to think through what Drake is telling him and what it means for Drake.
Drake had been alone, isolated, in need of support and resources. He had been desperate and only Grandfather offered him anything. But it had a price attached that Drake did not wish to pay so Grandfather ensured his cooperation.
One thing Damian can say with certainty about Drake is that he would never allow an innocent to suffer even if it cost Drake his very soul. Drake clearly does not value his life, considering how willing he was to draw Grandfather’s blood, but Drake has been fiercely stubborn about his morals. That Father’s absence and the isolation Drake experienced has led to the deterioration, the selective destruction of his moral fortitude strikes Damian as greatly unfair.
Drake should not have had to pay the price for Father’s return alone.
Perhaps if Damian had been able to look at Drake and see a brother like he did Richard and even Todd… perhaps Drake would not have suffered quite so much at the hands of Damian’s own blood.
“You implied that you had done something to League bases,” Damian says, quiet and somewhat hesitant where he would not have been before.
Drake huffs a quiet laugh. “Yeah… that was Ra’s own fault, really,” he tells Damian with a quirk of his lips that is more amusement than sarcasm. “He wanted me to lead the hunt for the Council but I couldn’t do that without access to League systems.”
Damian blinks. Drake blinks slowly back.
“Even I know it to be unwise to allow you access to such a thing,” Damian cannot help but say and Drake smiles at Damian with genuine mirth in his icy blue eyes. It is astonishing to witness such open emotion on Drake’s face. Damian has never witnessed such but perhaps this is how Drake used to be with Richard.
Before everything.
“He learnt that lesson the hard way, I guess.” Drake shrugs. “I did destroy the Council, of course, they were after me too and slowing down my search. But I also got into League systems because I knew Ra’s wasn’t going to just let me go after I destroyed the Council.” Damian nods. He knows Grandfather would not have allowed Drake to leave after achieving such a thing. “So, I made sure to have some contingency plans in place. One of them just so happened to be blowing up every League base on the globe that used the same patch code for their back-up generators.”
“Anyway, you know what happened after because Ra’s went after Gotham and everyone there. He wanted to take WE and I wasn’t going to let that happen. Not when I had proof and Bruce needed to have his family and his company when he came back,” Drake continues. His eyes flash with that same rage Damian saw directed at Grandfather. He realises it is Drake’s protectiveness of Damian’s family and it makes Damian’s chest ache with the realisation that Drake cares about them all. Even those who have tried to kill him.
The shame Damian has tried to ignore for a while now flares.
“I didn’t expect to win my fight with Ra’s physically but he didn’t expect me to emancipate myself and take over WE so he couldn’t pressure Hush to sell. Killing me wouldn’t have gotten him WE anyway, I made sure that if I died, the shares went to Dick in trust until you were eighteen and they’d be transferred to you.”
Damian… did not know this. Drake never told him.
Damian never asked. He just assumed Drake had stolen his inheritance just like Mother warned he would.
The shame burns.
“I’m glad Dick caught me after Ra’s kicked me out the window, but it was awkward,” Dra- Tim, his name is Tim, and he deserves to be called thus, says, shrugging a shoulder. “But then Bruce was back and–”
For the first time since this whole thing began, Damian witnesses Dr- Tim’s expression shift to something painfully familiar to Damian. It evokes memories Damian tries hard to forget. Feelings of insecurity, doubt, shame. From when Damian questioned whether Father would accept him, whether Richard would truly see him as family. From when Damian thought he had to kill to prove himself worthy of Father’s legacy.
“Do you know, I think that was the first time Bruce ever hugged me?” Tim says, sounding like he’s asking Damian a question that Damian cannot possibly know the answer to. It is a painfully sad question, also. “Said he was proud of me.” Tim’s lips lift into the saddest smile Damian has witnessed and it’s then that Damian realises.
“Approval.”
Tim looks at Damian and nods. “Yeah,” he says softly in agreement. “I get what it feels like to look at someone you care about who you think should love you, or at least want you, and to be desperate for their approval. I also know what it’s like to get it and realise that it’s not enough because it’s conditional.”
“Father loves you as he does Richard, Todd, and myself,” Damian says.
Tim shrugs. “I know Bruce cares about me,” Tim says and Damian relaxes, realising he’d tensed at Tim’s words. “But Bruce didn’t want me the way he wants all of you and that means there’s a difference in how he treats me to how he treats you, Jason, and Dick.”
Damian shakes his head.
“Damian, it’s fine,” Tim insists, giving Damian’s shoulders a gentle squeeze as though he’s comforting Damian because he’s upset when clearly the issue is that Tim thinks Father does not love him like he does Damian, Todd, and Richard. Does not love Tim like a son. “Bruce is a far better person than Ra’s but he’s not the only person who I’ve experienced this with. I’m okay with it.”
Damian blinks furiously, his eyes burning just as his chest does with mixed shame and indignant anger on Tim’s behalf and at Tim. “I was okay with Mother’s training regimen when I was with her, but I’ve been informed by Richard that just because I was ‘okay with it’ doesn’t mean it was right of Mother to do it.” Damian fixes Tim with a glare. “The same is true for you. Just because you are ‘okay’ with this D- Tim does not make it right.”
Damian takes a breath, letting it out slowly because he feels shaky and angry and wants to snarl and draw blood and hide all at the same time. “You deserve better than you are currently receiving, Tim,” Damian says quietly. Tim is staring at Damian now, expression growing blank and Damian cannot have that. He cannot. “Do not hide from me! Do not! You should not hide from family!”
Damian is horrified with himself when his chest hitches and the steady burning his eyes and chest turns into a sob. Through watery eyes, Damian sees Tim’s eyes widen in surprise. The hands on his shoulders move, pulling Damian in toward Tim and Damian is drawn into an embrace that he could mistake for Richard’s if it weren’t for the size difference between Tim and Richard.
“I- I’m sorry, I didn’t- shit, uh,” Tim stutters, clearly panicked by Damian’s sudden descent into tears. If Damian were not crying and clutching Tim’s shirt and trying to just breathe normally, he might even feel bad for Tim’s own distress at having a crying young teenager clinging to him. As it is, Damian just clings tighter and cries. “Fuck where are the others already?”
Tim must have activated his own panic button when Grandfather appeared. Perhaps there is a touch of mercy in the air today because only moments after Tim mutters his rhetorical question an answer to it arrives in the form of a very panicked-looking Richard with Father quickly following behind. Even Todd has shown up, though he remains near the car driven by Pennyworth. Richard’s expression when he sees Damian clinging to Tim is one that, were Damian a photographer, he would wish to photograph.
“Uh, I can explain?” Tim says and he sounds so unsure and awkward that Damian snorts even as he continues to cry near silently against Tim’s chest.
“What happened?” Richard asks and Damian fights back his tears and forces his breathing under control because he will answer Richard. If Tim does, then things will not change, and things must change.
“Grandfather came to threaten me, and Tim stepped in to protect me. Grandfather retreated but Tim had to explain to me why I do not need Grandfather’s approval even though he is family and that I deserve better than what Grandfather has seen fit to portion out to me over the years,” Damian explains with the occasional hitch to his breathing. Tim’s arms around him tighten briefly. “Tim explained to me that he has experience with wishing for the approval of others in his life and that the conditional approval is not satisfactory once received when there is an absence of emotional connection, or love, alongside.”
Father has stopped next to Richard by the time Damian is explaining about Tim’s own situation and the way Tim’s arms tense around Damian is not something Damian misses. He cannot help but shoot Father a dark look.
“Damian–” Tim starts to say but Damian will not allow this to be swept aside.
“Tim has provided me with information about his own time as Robin that I was not aware of, information I imagine Todd does not know either, and I find myself angered on his behalf at the failure of Father to show Tim he was valued and loved.” Damian might sound like he is hissing and snarling his words the longer he speaks but he is focused on the expressions on Richard and Father’s faces. Todd, still by the car, has gone very still so clearly, he is listening in via comms.
“Damian stop, it’s fine–” Tim tries again to stop him but Damian will not be stopped.
Tim protected him from Grandfather. Damian will protect Tim from further harm from the people Tim loves who do not seem to realise how much they have hurt him. Damian is realising how much harm he has caused Tim and he will do what he must to atone, but it begins with making sure Tim is given what he deserves from people Damian has been taught love by who should never have been able to allow Tim to doubt being loved.
“It is not fine!” Damian exclaims. “It is not fine that Grandfather and Mother dangled their approval and love to make me kill for them! It is not fine that Father and Richard and Todd and Pennyworth have dangled their approval over you to make you accept being treated like you are lesser! It is not fine that you do not have a room in the Manor and never had one even though you were Robin for years and I had a room the same day I arrived! It is not fine that you were abandoned by all of us when Father disappeared and Grandfather coerced you into helping him by leveraging an innocent for a hostage to make you do what he wanted! It is not fine that even though I have tried to kill you multiple times and have harmed you with words and actions that you still acted to protect me when I do not deserve such from you! It is not fine, Timothy because you have been wronged and I will not stand for it!”
By the end of Damian’s diatribe, Tim’s arms around him have grown slack and it allows Damian to pull back from Tim’s chest to look directly at him.
“I was raised to act with honour,” Damian tells him quietly. Tim stares at him. His eyes look like they’re burning just like Damian’s are again. “Mother told me you were the greatest threat to my position because Father respects you and listens to you. Mother told me you were the danger I had to remove if I were to truly gain my place with Father.” Damian takes a deep breath. Holds it for five seconds. Lets it go. “Mother was right.”
“What–” Richard sounds surprised, but Damian ignores him.
“You are the person who has kept this family together, kept Father alive when Todd died.” Someone makes a sharp sound of something behind Damian. He ignores it. “You did not choose to be Robin to be a hero but to protect a legacy. And you did not choose to be treated as you were for doing the right thing. You say it was okay, how Father treated you.” There is a sharp intake of breath that Damian knows is Father. “You say it was okay how Richard treated you.” Richard makes a noise that echoes distress. “And you say it was okay how Todd tried to kill you to prove a point. How it was okay that I tried to kill you to take your place. But, as you have heard me say, just because it is okay, does not make it right.”
Tim’s eyes finally let go of his tears and just like Damian, he is silent as he cries. Damian learned to cry in silence to avoid punishment. Tim, Damian thinks, may have learned to cry in silence because no one seemed to care whether he cried or not. And when they did, it became crying in silence to avoid punishment too.
“I cannot undo my actions and I cannot unspeak my previous words, but I can choose how I wish to treat you now,” Damian continues, blinking quickly to force back further tears. “And I wish to treat you like the brother you are. It is my hope that the rest of the family will treat you the way you deserve now, also.”
That, it appears, is what it takes to make Timothy Drake-Wayne break.
Damian finds himself pulled in against Tim’s chest again, but this time there is a head pressed against his own, Tim’s face buried in his hair and tears dampen it quickly. If Richard and Father have any intelligence between them, they will catch-on quickly and offer Tim comfort also.
Half-a-minute later, Damian feels the familiar embrace that Richard provides wrap around himself and Tim. There is a soft hushing sound and a murmured, “I’m so sorry, Babybird, I didn’t- I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” before a gentle rumble and an arm curls around Damian and Tim.
“Come on,” Father says quietly, in a tone that is both gentle and mournfully full of regret. “Lets go home. All of us.”
Damian does not let go of Tim and Richard does not let go of Damian or Tim. Pennyworth brought the larger state car however and the back seat is more than adequate to accommodate the three of them tangled together.
Todd, awkwardly, sits next to Father in the back while Pennyworth drives them back to the manor. Damian peaks out from beneath Richard’s arm and fixes Todd with a look that promises pain if he doesn’t do something. Showing that he is more than brute force, guns, and temper, Todd actually moves to reach over and, after hesitating, rests a hand on Tim’s left knee.
Damian feels Tim shudder at the contact, tensing briefly, and Damian can see Todd already making the motions to move back, before Tim relaxes and presses his knee against Todd’s hand. Todd, wisely, does not remove his hand.
This is not something that can be easily rectified with one heart-felt conversation and a hug but, Damian decides, it is a good start for the process.
Tim protected Damian and so Damian will protect Tim. If that means Damian must bully his- their family into expressing themselves to Tim and making it clear they love him as well, then so be it.
Tim was willing to break the one rule he has clung to throughout everything, even when he had the opportunity to avenge his father’s death. Tim was willing to sacrifice his moral standing for Damian. It is a sacrifice Damian is determined Tim will never need to offer to sacrifice ever again. To do that, Tim needs to have his place within the family affirmed.
Pennyworth, likely, is already planning on rectifying the gross failure in his duty and assigning Tim a room. Damian will ensure it is nearby to his own. Tim is artistic, albeit with photography rather than sketching, but as a fellow artist, it is logical for Damian and Tim to be nearby for further bonding activities.
Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:
Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.
You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.
When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.
A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)
Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)
The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.
Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.
Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.
As someone who spent over a decade catering luxury events, let me add some back of house info:
These events are almost always open bar. They're not trying to make their money back on alcohol. They want you to drink and eat and donate generously.
If there are cocktails, there will be at most two on offer, pre-made in large tubs. You cannot order a different version, it is what it is.
There are two types of events: cocktail style or seated. The first includes roaming hors d'oeuvres or a fancy buffet with tiny plates called a grazing station. For a long night, the roaming food will get a little bigger throughout the evening and have a 'main' at some point based around a protein.
A seated event will usually be more structured and may include multiple courses. Silver service is not in vogue anymore. You are likely to get either alternating meals brought to you like at a wedding, or served banquet style. A good caterer can get a plate to everyone in a 300 person event in about three minutes.
Drunk people are the same no matter how expensive their suits. They still laugh too loud, spill their drinks and slip on the dance floor. They are usually less embarrassed about doing coke in the bathrooms.
A full scale event that starts at 6pm will have staff arriving at noon to begin setup. Earlier if there's a light show or pyrotechnics. Typically venues don't just have 30 tables and three hundred chairs lying around, let alone table cloths, chair covers, etc. It's all rented and brought in on the day. Bands and DJs will be running audio tests in the background throughout.
Most heritage buildings that host these things, like museums and manor houses, aren't really designed for them. They might put down mats so you're not walking in stilettos over two hundred year old wooden floors, the kitchens are weirdly far away, and there are not enough taps. There is never anywhere for staff to sit, so if you open the wrong door you might find half a dozen waiters sitting on upturned milk crates in a room full of million dollar paintings, eating the left over bread.
Really old buildings don't have enough bathrooms, which means the staff will be sharing with the guests.
Clean up starts the second the event ends, if not sooner. Unattended glasses will start to disappear first, then table decorations. When the timer ticks over, the lights come back on and exhausted staff strip the tables, pack up dirty glasses and unopened wine bottles and have to Tetris it all into the back of a van. The venue is booked for that day only, so everything has to be gone before anyone can go home. A large event that finishes at midnight might take until 3am to be cleared away.
These are very long and physically demanding nights for anyone working them. The staff all get to know each other, and will absolutely notice someone trying to sneak in wearing a borrowed uniform. They are not being paid enough to care.
As someone working events, seconding all this, and can I add:
Everyone prefers when setup can start the day before, but this doesn't happen often enough, either because of budget (venue charging more for rental time) or location (if you are having your event at aforementioned fancy old venues but are located further away, you want to minimize the traveling back and forth).
Speeches/awards/remarks/program tends to happen earlier in the night than I see written into fics. The people who are speaking often can't relax and enjoy themselves till their piece is done, and you'll lose a lot of your audience after program, so best to have a shorter "cocktail hour", speeches, and then let people unwind and properly enjoy themselves.
Name tag use is going to highly vary by institution, but in my experience, if donors are involved, there will likely be a check in table where you pick up a name tag (prevents the people who need to schmooze donors from forgetting their names).
Even if there aren't name tags, if it's an invitation only or ticketed event, there will be a check in desk for the people hosting the event to mark that you actually showed up.
This is the best place to start if you need something at an event. We have event boxes we bring to every event that are stocked with everything from menstrual products to mini sewing kits to random office supplies. Forgot something? Check with the check in desk first.
If the fancy gala is at a hotel, you can also check with the front desk/concierge for these things.
As I'm writing this I realize how few fics I've seen where the fancy event has had a favor. If the event is a themed gala/fundraiser, odds are there could be a takeaway. The comedic potential of a tacky favor is off the charts, friends, and if someone doesn't write something with this I'm afraid I'm going to end up doing it myself.
Okay that's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I love events and am happy to provide thoughts!
Loving the idea of Tim and Jason teaming up at some gala ~politely shredding anyone insulting their family?
Tim raised to it, all this high society nonsense by his parents and then being adopted by Bruce and accepting the Wayne name and so on?
But also Jason with his love of literature and the whatnot, but Gotham's elite only sees the little street rat who clearly doesn't belong, etc., and just.
Tim's Bristol accent is more noticeable, and of course Jason's leaning hard on his Crime Alley accent as they take down some arrogant asshat who insulted one of their siblings or Bruce or were just some other flavor of unpleasant in general while calmly sipping their drinks and so on?
Jason and Tim have similar competence standards and end up swapping employees sometimes.
---
"Boss, I'm outta the game with this hip---"
"You're outta the beating-up-traffickers game. I got a guy who can get you into the scaring-the-rich game just fine."
"You mean, like...?" A fist into an open palm, quirked eyebrows.
"Nah, verbal intimidation only unless someone steps up to the plate. Mostly you got good eyes and this Wayne kid values having people around who can observe things that aren't spreadsheets."
"Hey, you said I did pretty good at that Excel thing!"
A pointed look.
"Ohhhh. I'm gonna get to learn spreadsheets and threaten people? Oh, man. Thanks, boss!"
"They've got the same insurance, too, so that'll roll over automatically."
---
Meanwhile, on Tim's end of things:
"I noticed that you tend to get impatient with slow results, that you're happy to yell at people for safety violations, and that your plan to remediate the company's incompetence in these areas involves 'firing every single one of them who can't get their head out of their ass.'" Tim smiled.
His employee smiled back. "I mean, that's why you hired me as safety supervisor, right?"
"Of course; your proactive attitude is one of the reasons we chose you. However, I also noticed that a lot of your frustration stems from employees whose work is being impacted by personal issues, often ones stemming from attacks by prominent local criminals."
"Listen, I'm from Minnesota. I know from cold. And I also know that you can't let a little hypothermia from Mr. Freeze screw up your numbers, especially not when those calculations impact lives." Squared shoulders, hands on the hips---yeah, definitely more of a cultural fit with Jason's organization.
Tim nodded and continued his pitch. "And you're competent with a firearm, correct?"
"Hey, I'm not about to go postal just because---"
"No, no, you misunderstand me. You're a skilled employee. I'm just wondering if you might benefit from transferring to a work environment in which you can shoot some of the people who are actually causing these problems."
"I'm sorry?"
"You have a dartboard with Leeds's face on it because he screwed up so many times after that Ivy incident put his kid in the hospital."
"...Okay, I admit that's not my best look."
"The organization I'm recommending you to has a printer next to the firing range; it's sized specifically for target paper."
"Oh."
"It's also an organization that works specifically to keep kids from needing to be in the hospital."
"Oh. You mean---" There was really only one group it could be.
"They need someone with your eye for logistics. Hood's work isn't 'legit,'" Tim made careful air quotes because the dorkiness tended to put people at ease, "but your insurance would roll over to them automatically. And you can rest assured that they take safety very seriously."
Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:
Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.
You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.
When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.
A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)
Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)
The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.
Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.
Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.
When any/all of the bats are at galas, they know shit's about to go down when Tim says, "Do you know who I am?" Because over the years of galas, and high society, and knowing Tim, all of them are aware of the infamous Janet Drake, and they know Tim was basically trained by her in the arts of being cold, ruthless, and polite, since he could crawl. All of the bats thoroughly enjoy watching/listening to Tim politely verbally eviscerate the old men who question is competency and pretty much everyone that makes unwanted advances towards him or any of the other bats.
Where did Tim learn to read people? Gossiping old ladies at galas. He would sit with them as they pointed out different guests, indicated a slight difference, and then accurately depicted what skeletons their closet held.
Lady 1: "Did you see what cufflinks John Wess had on?"
Lady 2: "Oh? They're the ones inherited by his father? It looks like we'll be reading about a divorce by the end of the year."
Tim: *purposefully playing up his naive clueless innocence so he can learn their skills*
Lady 4: "Oh. It seems Rebecca Till has sunset orange lipstick on tonight."
Lady 2: *sighs and starts chugging her champagne*
Lady 3: "Ha! You all owe me a social favor now. I told you she was sleeping with the mayor."
Tim: *startles as he looks at Ms. Till's lipstick and then back at the ladies confused how those add up*
That’s why Tim is the one to go to galas all the time bc otherwise he’s going to have to be cleaning up his siblings’ messes that they don’t even know they’re making.
Lady 1: Did you see what Wayne’s eldest was wearing? Looks like Wayne can look forward to some grandchildren soon.
Tim, knowing Dick wore the wrong suit to piss off Bruce: We must cut him some slack that he can’t seem to recall Gothem’s latest fashion considering his time away in Bloodhaven is all.
Lady 2: Is that so? Well, the Wayne family will be growing regardless. Just look at what that young blonde is wearing. You’ll have a new sister soon, Timothy.
Tim, knowing Steph just wore the dress bc it was purple: But look at her mother’s bracelet. She might remain just a family friend.
Lady 1: Speaking of accessories, what do we think about what your father is wearing, Timothy? Is he trying to catch a certain someone’s eye again?
Tim: Oh yeah no, he’s definitely trying to sleep with that reporter again.
People think the batfamily wear gloves as to not leave fingerprints. This is incorrect. They actually wear gloves to stop their fingernail polish from chipping.
"why don't people just move out of gotham it's so fucked up" is a stupid take for many reasons, but tbh one thing i think some people underestimate is the sheer hometown loyalty of people who grew up in shitty places. especially people who grew up in cities that are weird or poor af. sure it's a fucked up city but it's OUR fucked up city. and we take pride in it. even some of the bad parts! you just KNOW gotham city natives are the same exact way. hell, look at jason, duke, and stephanie. the three of them got hit with some of the worst of what gotham has to offer as kids. but they fucking love this city! it's their home! yeah they'll talk trash about it, but if someone from out of town tries to join in they'll fucking destroy them. how dare you talk about my hometown that way??? motherfucker i'll beat your ass!! at this point most people who grow up in gotham have gone through so much bullshit anyway that nothing fazes them anymore. this is their home and no dumbass wannabe clown is going to make them leave it
