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Damian felt distant.
It wasn’t surprising that his father had yet to pull him into his pack, given Damian’s terrible attitude in the past, and how firmly he’d set down boundaries. Damian had been under the misguided assumption that he was still a part of his mother’s pack, and that it would remain that way until she came back to retrieve him. Damian wouldn’t let anyone else scent him, touch him, or even mention pack initiation.
It’d been within his intentions to return to his previous place.
Damian hadn’t anticipated that he’d end up staying with his father, and he hadn’t predicted that his own boundaries would hinder his progress.
Damian wasn’t a member of any pack now. His mother’s scent had long since faded. Dick never claimed him in the past, his father wasn’t approaching the subject, and Damian was stuck in a strange middle-ground. One of his own creation.
It was only right that he suffer the consequences. He’d dug his own pit. Now it was his time to lay in it. Damian had come to terms with this fact. He was ready to follow his fate to the end, to spend the rest of his life standing on the sidelines.
“-is clearly depressed.”
“I know, Alfred,” Bruce murmured in the background.
“-ow long are you willing to let this be?”
“It would be disrespectful for me to intervene.”
“Bruce, he’s your son, this is your right.”
Damian tried not to eavesdrop as he passed the living room, backpack strapped around his shoulders, weighed heavily with textbooks. Damian waited by the door feeling empty and hopeless. It would have been better if he hadn’t caught snippets of his father’s conversation.
Alfred joined him after five minutes of idling. Damian didn’t say anything as he followed him out the door, and he kept himself mute as he sat himself in the car parked in the driveway. Alfred glanced up in the rearview to look at him, and Damian kept his gaze purposely averted towards the window. The surrounding scenery was not as intriguing as he pretended it was. Damian’s mind was on other things as he watched the trees sway. Wind rushed through leaves and pine needles. Pinecones plopped onto the ground. Orange and brown colors picked up in a swirl. The landscapers had yet to fix up the driveway’s collection of brittle leaves.
“Today is going to be a good day, Master Damian,” Alfred insisted.
Damian didn’t reply.
Alfred started up the car, Damian leaned his forehead on the window, and the radio began to play a melancholic symphony.
Damian went about his schedule with little energy, dragging himself from class to class, ignoring classmates, socialization, and concerned teachers.
It wasn’t a surprise that his teachers were concerned about his well-being. It hadn’t been the first time they’d been nosy about his business. Mrs. Robinson wouldn’t have sent him to the counselor otherwise, and he wouldn’t have been questioned about life at home. It took careful wording to keep them from sending a social worker in. It still didn’t stop them from calling up his father and asking him questions. Damian felt embarrassed that his father was being pursued by the school.
It wouldn’t have happened if Damian had a claim on his person, a scent that followed him, no matter where he was, where he decided to live, or what cologne he dabbed on his wrists. It was humiliating that the school was making a big deal out of his pack status. It was also an invasion of privacy. Damian was not happy that they were snooping through his life, calling random people associated to him for answers, and investigating things that they had no right investigating. It was as if they fancied themselves a police station.
Damian was eager to get the day over with, if only to avoid the eyes of others, and shot out of the building when the day ended. Damian waited at the front, as he always did, and searched for Alfred’s vehicle. It concerned him when Alfred’s car couldn’t be seen. Alfred was often timely. Damian was never left to wait for him, not without a text, or a provided reason prior to his drop-off.
Damian waited until only a few children were left. At some point, he began to entertain the idea of walking home. Maybe heading off into Gotham for the evening and spending the rest of his time in the arcade. Anything to get his mind off the situation at hand.
Damian adjusted his backpack, scanned his surroundings one last time, and then blinked when a silver car pulled up to the sidewalk.
“Hey,” Dick rolled down the window, leaned sideways, and gave Damian a beaming smile. “Guess who got permission to pick you up from school?”
“Richard,” Damian greeted flatly before hopping into the vehicle.
Dick’s smile turned into something charming as he readjusted the rearview mirror and checked his blind spot. A red car kept him from pulling out. He waited for it to pass. Damian fidgeted with the seatbelt in the meantime, feeling zero enthusiasm. His brother seemed to be on the opposite side of the spectrum. Damian could feel the enthusiasm bleeding off his older brother.
“I thought we’d hang out at my place today,” Dick said as he pulled out into the street. “I bought a couple of movies I think you’d like. I ordered some pizza too. It’s probably cold by now, but we can heat it up in the microwave.”
Damian sunk into his seat with apathy.
“Alright,” he agreed.
“Great,” Dick chirped. “It’ll be like old times.”
Damian stared out the front window as they started their way to Bludhaven. It would be a thirty-minute drive. Damian could already anticipate Dick’s prolonged conversation. It made him realize that he’d rather head back to the mansion. Damian loved his older brother, Dick was a good person, but Damian had no energy for him. It wasn’t fair to the man.
Damian couldn’t bring himself to speak his opinion when Dick was chattering happily to his left.
Damian gave Dick hardly any engagement throughout their journey, but that didn’t stop Dick from talking 1,000 words a minute. Damian didn’t realize, until the car came to a stop, that Dick was talking a lot faster than usual. It was suspicious.
“I hope you haven’t upped your caffeine intake,” Damian remarked dryly after hopping out. “I shouldn’t have to tell you about how unhealthy that is.”
Dick led the way up the crooked stairs.
“I didn’t drink anything caffeinated today,” Dick insisted as he guided Damian to his apartment. “I’m just excited. I haven’t spent time with you recently. I was getting some serious withdrawals.”
Damian didn’t know what to say to that as Dick invited him inside.
“It’s a mess in here,” was his first observation. It was certainly true. Damian found clothes, linens, and pillows scattered around the room. It was hard to take one step without getting his foot snagged up in something. Damian avoided everything he could just to get to the kitchen, and then took immediate notice of the sparkly clean table. It was devoid of any clutter or junk.
“I’m going through the apartment,” Dick offered in explanation as he grabbed for the pizza box on the counter, “and I thought you wouldn’t mind the mess.”
“You’re typically a tidy person,” Damian mumbled.
Dick put a slice of pizza on a plate, stuck it in the microwave, and punched in a number of seconds.
“Usually,” Dick agreed, “but this is what happens when I want something bad.”
Damian quirked a brow, incapable of deciphering Dick’s meaning, and Dick shot him a knowing smile.
“I assume that you’re looking for something?”
“I am,” Dick confessed.
Dick didn’t provide further context after the microwaved dinged. He pulled out the plate of pizza and placed it in front of Damian. With a wink, he turned away to work on his own plate. Damian looked down at his pizza with a confused pinch of his brow. Something about this situation felt… strange. The atmosphere wasn’t settling in right. Damian wasn’t certain if it was because of his unhappy mood, or if there was something else to be considered about the situation. Perhaps the mess of Dick’s living room had something to do with it. Or maybe it was because he hadn’t hung out with Dick in over a month.
Damian lifted his pizza up to take a slow bite.
Damian ended up on the couch after eating, watching his brother fumble around with the television set, then the remote, and then nearly trip over his own pile of clothing. It was an embarrassing spectacle that had Damian shrinking back into the cushions. Dick could play it off with a smile, laugh at his own clumsiness, but something about his actions made Damian uneasy. Dick was making Damian nervous.
Dick sighed after collapsing onto the couch.
“I think we should give this one a shot,” he suggested, pulling up an animated feature, glancing in Damian’s direction for feedback. “I’ve seen it before but maybe you’d like it? It’s called Spirited Away, an absolute classic, and the animation is amazing. It’s the type of thing you’d appreciate.”
Damian didn’t answer beyond a shrug.
Dick took that as a confirmation, switching on the movie without further prompting, and then setting the remote on the coffee table.
Damian watched half-heartedly as the movie began by establishing the main character, a little girl with more brains than her parents, and found his mind drifting as the movie progressed. Damian probably should have been paying more attention, but it was difficult to focus when he was feeling despondent.
“I always have a hard time watching this part,” Dick mumbled as the girl ran around in distress. It didn’t occur to Damian that Dick had inched closer to him.
Dick went quiet for another five minutes, enough time for Damian to realize that his brain was fogging up, and that there was something different about this situation. It might have to do with the combination of clothes, heightening a smell that was usually passive, or it might be because he was emotionally unavailable.
“Look,” Dick pointed, “he’s one of my favorite characters.”
Damian hummed in acknowledgment as Dick stretched out his arm and slid it over his shoulders.
“I always felt bad for him.”
Damian made another hum, feeling groggy, and drowsy for reasons unknown. It didn’t make much sense. Damian knew he shouldn’t be tired right now, and yet he was exhausted. It was if he’d stayed up the night... which wasn’t the case. Damian would know. He hadn’t gone on patrol. He’d gotten all the sleep he needed for the next day. There was no reason for his mind to be as muddled as it was.
Something was invading his senses. Dick’s scent was becoming intensified. His concentration was waning significantly.
Damian dug his face into Dick’s chest, unaware that he’d been half-dragged onto the man’s lap, and that Dick was nuzzling his head. It was hard to focus when Dick was testing out a rumble. It started out small and mild. It didn’t have much of a presence. Dick was testing boundaries right now, checking for something that could be there, but Damian didn’t give him any warning signs.
Dick’s rumbles increased in intensity.
Damian was confused as soothing rumbles vibrated throughout Dick’s body, but he was too brain-fogged to get to the bottom of what was happening. It was hard to think, not that Damian felt there was a need to do so to begin with, and maybe that’s because something inside of him felt that this was right. It was accepting. It was eager to stay.
Dick was nuzzling him now – saying sweet words – Damian could barely hear any of them.
“Richard,” Damian mumbled dazedly, “you feel warm.”
“Good,” Dick purred, “I don’t want you feeling cold.”
“Oh,” Damian sighed as his eyelids drooped.
Damian didn’t make it to the end of the movie before falling asleep atop his brother’s heart.
“No, Bruce, it was my fault.”
Damian slowly came back to consciousness, surrounded by blankets, and burrowed in a fluffy mattress. It was difficult to process what was going on. Damian decided not to worry too much about what was happening in his mind and narrowed in his hearing on the conversation occurring nearby.
“I wasn’t going to take him away from you. I had given it some thought before you left, but when you came back? I couldn’t do it. I thought that it would infringe upon your rights as his parent.”
Damian rolled his head. Dick’s back was turned to him. He stood near the closet. Phone in hand.
“Yeah, it worked out pretty well,” Dick mumbled. “I’m thankful that you’ve even allowed this. I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.”
Damian stretched out with a drowsy yawn.
Dick stopped talking, turned to look at Damian, and assessed the situation with his eyes. The thin line on Dick’s lips tugged into a small smile. “I’m going to put you on hold.”
Dick drew the phone away from his ear, set it on the bed stand, and then climbed up into the bed.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Dick crooned before running a hand over Damian’s bangs. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“So tired,” Damian whined. It wasn’t like him.
It also wasn’t like him to feel content. It was unnatural. Damian had been feeling empty just a few hours ago (he thought it’d been a few hours since he’d fallen asleep), but something inside of him was now inexplicably whole. Damian had never felt so peaceful in his life.
“I know, buddy,” Dick hummed before collecting Damian up into a hold, “it’s going to be like that for a while.”
“Richard, this has something to do with you,” Damian complained weakly as the man pressed a kiss to his crown. It didn’t spark any protests from him, not this time, and Damian had no clue as to why. It felt inconsequential.
“Yeah, I take full responsibility,” Dick said, “but you could’ve rejected me if you really wanted to.”
It distantly came to Damian, in some deep crevice of his mind, that Dick was correct.
“I’m sorry it took this long,” Dick murmured as his thumb rubbed over Damian’s shoulder and upper arm. “I bet you were feeling pretty bad up until this point.”
“Hm,” Damian hummed before setting his head on Dick’s bicep.
“Well, never again,” Dick promised. “I’ve got you in my heart now, pup, and I’m not letting you leave.”
“Okay,” Damian sighed heavily before drifting off again.
Dick chuckled, pressed a kiss to his face, and then swayed them together.
“I can’t wait until you’re actually awake,” Dick teased.
“Mm awake,” Damian slurred before closing his eyes.
Dick laughed, tucked Damian up in a blanket, and the rest was history.
Jason pulled up into the manor driveway, tore off his helmet, and took a deep breath.
“I could have been eating a delicious taco supreme right now,” he grumbled before swinging his leg over his bike, “but no, I’m not allowed to enjoy the simple things in life. I’ve got to cross the city to come to some stupid meeting in a man’s secret cave.”
Jason would never admit that he couldn’t find the will inside to say no to his guardian’s requests, and that a taco supreme would always come second if it meant seeing his dad again. It probably didn’t help that he had a connection to him, in a pack sense, that kept him coming back, looking for affection, and vying for his father’s attention. Jason pretended he hated anything that Bruce gave him, but he secretly ate all of it up. Jason loved the platonic hugs, kisses, and the scenting sessions that accompanied it.
In fact, he still wore one of Bruce’s jackets back in his apartment, when no one was looking, and that was probably because he was a total pushover for his pack.
Jason parked his bike and tucked his hood underneath his arm. He headed up to the porch. Until he saw Dick step out of his vehicle and head over to the passenger’s side.
“Dick,” Jason greeted loudly, “guess this is a family event?”
“I guess so,” Dick returned jovially before helping Damian get out of his seat.
Jason paused to watch Damian lean against Dick, whine when he moved too much, and snuggle into his side like a clingy kitten.
“Uh,” Jason was perplexed when Damian happily climbed up Dick’s back to be carried. “I’m not sure what I’m witnessing.”
Damian wrapped his arms around Dick’s neck, buried his nose into the crook of it. Jason noticed that he was wearing a sweatshirt twice his size. It was the only clue he needed.
“Dick, you claimed him?”
“Damian’s mine now,” Dick agreed without batting an eyelash. Jason would have assumed he was uninterested in the conversation by his tone. It was the abrupt departure that turned his assumption into a reality.
Jason followed Dick inside with an eyebrow raised.
“Dick,” Bruce greeted in the front, “and Jason. Tim’s already downstairs. Cass is delayed because of a traffic accident. I’m afraid she won’t be here for another two hours.”
“Sounds bad,” Jason said.
“Yeah,” Dick grimaced.
Bruce nodded his head, ran his eyes over the child glued to Dick’s back, and made some kind of twitch with his lips. It was as if he was fighting a smile. Jason zoomed in on the alien moment.
“You can put Damian in his room,” Bruce suggested. “I’ll make certain he’s undisturbed.”
“I thought Damian was going to join us?” Jason questioned.
“Not in his condition,” Bruce said.
Dick grunted, readjusted Damian on his back, and pressed forward towards the staircase. Bruce didn’t let him go too far because he wanted to assess Damian’s condition with closer proximity. Dick paused only to satisfy his father's curiosity.
“Son,” he greeted, “is this alright?”
Damian opened his eyes, blinked, and then considered his father tiredly.
“Mhm,” Damian responded before plunking his head where it’d been.
Dick chuckled, endeared, before leaving the family altogether, transporting Damian to a safer place.
Bruce and Jason were left staying in the foyer. One more confused than the other.
“Wow, he was out of it,” Jason commented.
Damian was too embarrassed to speak the following week.
Dick seemed to think it was funny as he drove Damian to school, a new building located in Bludhaven.
Damian was not excited to deal with years of this from him.
“Be good at school,” Dick said after pulling up to the front, “and don’t make any death threats.”
“I wasn’t going to,” Damian grumbled, making the deliberate attempt to avoid Dick’s gaze, and look literally anywhere else in the car. He hated that he’d been so weird the week previous. Acting like a monkey. Holding onto Dick whenever he could. Bathing in his affection and cuddling up to him shamelessly. Dick enjoyed it more than him because he didn’t have to deal with the resulting embarrassment. Damian wasn’t sure how he was going to endure this for the rest of his lifetime.
“Hold on,” Dick stopped him from undoing his seatbelt.
Damian looked up reluctantly.
“Let me scent you one more time,” Dick insisted before leaning into his space.
Damian threw off his hand, scrambled to undo his seatbelt, threw his door open, and stumbled out of the vehicle.
“Damian,” Dick whined, “just a little bit?”
Damian made his answer clear by running in the opposite direction.
Dick snorted, reached over to close Damian’s door, and then adjusted his seatbelt.
“He’s so cute,” he complained before shifting the car out of park.