( soft as it is, there's a smile that touches his lips there in the darkness. one that can possibly be felt in the way he speaks, shifting ever-so-slightly there beneath the sheets as he does. an attempt to let himself relax a little more into the bed. with damian there. )
( they're not friends yet, but his father will, eventually, find friends he can relate to. not that damian suspects this would be something that comes up in conversation with anyone outside of grayson himself, but.
bruce tries to get himself comfortable, and damian - raises his arm to throw it over his midsection. )
I don't let Richard coddle me. He would whine endlessly if he found out.
( he lets that sit for a moment, before opening his mouth again, )
His son - Jon, and I - spent a significant amount of time quarreling when we first started to spend time together. Pennyworth admitted that it had been much the same when our fathers had met. Their ideals match, but their methodology is quite different. As are their temperaments, given the different ways in which they were raised. Jon and I were similar.
( heβs quiet for a long moment. lets himself chew on that bit of information heβs been given. still. breath content. hand pressing to damianβs back gently. after a stretch of silence, he speaks. clearing his throat first. )
I offered to help him learn to fight. Just the basics. See where he was at and go from there. In case he finds himself without the help of his powers.
( a beat. )
He said he could find other super powered people. So I left.
( it takes him a second to be sure he heard damian right and, after a moment, the faintest sound of amusement can be heard there deep within the back of his throat, hand giving a soft pat or two to damian's back. )
The thing is, despite how that sounds, I know you're being completely serious.
( he's sitting up now, throwing the blankets down as he gets onto his knees; this is no longer a laying down occasion, this is an arms up in frustration moment. )
He thinks he's more capable because he's Kryptonian, but he isn't. I could take him.
( there's a sound he makes at damian deciding to take that route with what he'd said, but he doesn't move from where he is. just lays there. looking to him with those blue eyes. )
Do you really think that's the best way to approach it?
I was trained to sleep in short bursts whenever possible, I don't need rest.
( he still lets bruce pull him down, and doesn't shove off his hand. which is as close to acceptance as damian gets, even if he's also protesting a need to lay down and rest. )
( he's not moving to get up. not physically protesting, just, )
I have to be prepared for every possible scenario that can arise from every feasible circumstance. When I am ill-prepared, people die. And those deaths fall onto my shoulders because it's my duty to be ready for anything. All it takes is not having mapped the emergency exits to one facility, to be the reason why hundreds of civilians had been unable to escape a burning building in time.
( or not having planned for being tied to a machine with drills pointed at their chests, to be responsible for dick grayson's death. )
( it was batman's duty first. batman who took on the role of gotham's proctor, of vengeance and justice. it was batman who his mother had fallen for, batman who created a legacy that many have tried to follow.
but. )
You're young. ( not as young as damian, but he isn't counting in years. ) Can you handle shouldering the rest of them, too? Grayson, Gordon, Todd, Drake, Cain, and Brown. They're all too reckless. Gordon and Cain are less of a concern, but the rest of them can't be trusted on their own. They need to be watched over.
( some he's only seen in the sketches damian had provided him with. the older dick is... around at the manor. at times. the other dick β the one who had helped with the whole martha deal... he has his own place he's staying. sometimes comes and goes. it's nothing bruce holds against him or any of them. they don't want to overwhelm you damian had said. and yet, there has been one constant since he's been here. one person who has always been there at his side, even when he hasn't wanted him there. )
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Who am I going to tell?
( it's not like he has friends, damian. )
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( they're not friends yet, but his father will, eventually, find friends he can relate to. not that damian suspects this would be something that comes up in conversation with anyone outside of grayson himself, but.
bruce tries to get himself comfortable, and damian - raises his arm to throw it over his midsection. )
I don't let Richard coddle me. He would whine endlessly if he found out.
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I won't tell anyone.
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his eyes close, and damian tightens his arm around bruce. keeps pressed close. )
What did he do?
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Does it matter?
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( he lets that sit for a moment, before opening his mouth again, )
His son - Jon, and I - spent a significant amount of time quarreling when we first started to spend time together. Pennyworth admitted that it had been much the same when our fathers had met. Their ideals match, but their methodology is quite different. As are their temperaments, given the different ways in which they were raised. Jon and I were similar.
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I offered to help him learn to fight. Just the basics. See where he was at and go from there. In case he finds himself without the help of his powers.
( a beat. )
He said he could find other super powered people. So I left.
( and bruce, of course, took that as an insult. )
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He's underestimating you. Take him out, and he'll understand how unwise that is.
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The thing is, despite how that sounds, I know you're being completely serious.
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( he's sitting up now, throwing the blankets down as he gets onto his knees; this is no longer a laying down occasion, this is an arms up in frustration moment. )
He thinks he's more capable because he's Kryptonian, but he isn't. I could take him.
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Because everyone has a weakness.
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( damian could take out superman if he wanted to. he knows he could. )
All it takes is one magic wand and he's essentially useless.
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( except, you know. he decided a fellow supe was more equipped to teach him.
licking over his lips, he shrugs, gaze drifting off some. )
He wants to learn the hard way, he can. I won't make the mistake of offering again.
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damian, however, is turning to look at bruce with the most irritated expression on his face. )
No. I'm going to take him down and show him how idiotic he's being.
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Do you really think that's the best way to approach it?
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( so, yes, yes he does. )
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laying there still, he stretches an arm out. drops it against the bed. blue eyes watching the other there on the bed with him. )
Come here.
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but instead, damian moves back over to bruce. leans in close. )
What?
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When's the last time you really had a moment to rest?
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( he still lets bruce pull him down, and doesn't shove off his hand. which is as close to acceptance as damian gets, even if he's also protesting a need to lay down and rest. )
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( he keeps his hand there where it is on damian's head. )
You think too much. Do too much.
( just like him. )
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( he's not moving to get up. not physically protesting, just, )
I have to be prepared for every possible scenario that can arise from every feasible circumstance. When I am ill-prepared, people die. And those deaths fall onto my shoulders because it's my duty to be ready for anything. All it takes is not having mapped the emergency exits to one facility, to be the reason why hundreds of civilians had been unable to escape a burning building in time.
( or not having planned for being tied to a machine with drills pointed at their chests, to be responsible for dick grayson's death. )
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( batman's, he means. )
We're supposed to be a team, aren't we? You and me? ( a beat. ) Batman and Robin?
( hand still there at the back of damian's head, he lets it slip away then. drops it down to rest at between shoulder blades instead. )
You can rest and let me shoulder some of it. Just like you shoulder it for me when I... when I'm not at my best.
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but. )
You're young. ( not as young as damian, but he isn't counting in years. ) Can you handle shouldering the rest of them, too? Grayson, Gordon, Todd, Drake, Cain, and Brown. They're all too reckless. Gordon and Cain are less of a concern, but the rest of them can't be trusted on their own. They need to be watched over.
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( some he's only seen in the sketches damian had provided him with. the older dick is... around at the manor. at times. the other dick β the one who had helped with the whole martha deal... he has his own place he's staying. sometimes comes and goes. it's nothing bruce holds against him or any of them. they don't want to overwhelm you damian had said. and yet, there has been one constant since he's been here. one person who has always been there at his side, even when he hasn't wanted him there. )
I just have you.
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