Batman drabble
Characters: Bruce+Damian
A/N: I decided to try my hand with some father/son bonding. I tried to match Damian to how he was when we first met him…after he calmed down a bit.
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Clutching the edge of the table he was sitting on for balance, Damian eyed his father’s back warily.
“Is this really necessary?” Damian asked, pushing his sleeve up and presenting his arm as Bruce turned around with an alcohol pad in hand.
Bruce said nothing as he went about wiping the inside of Damian’s elbow.
“You really didn’t know about me.” Damian’s voice held a level of awe before he straightened as the needle came into sight. “I knew about you, of course. I know everything about you, Father.” He fell silent for a moment as the needle pierced his skin and blood was slowly drawn. “Did Mother really rape you in order to conceive me?”
In the distance, a clanging sounded as Alfred’s hand slipped with whatever he happened to be doing.
“Is that what she told you?” As one vial filled, Bruce switched it out for another.
“No. She told me you were in love. You said you were drugged.”
“I lied.”
Damian’s head tilted to the side. “About being drugged or about being in love?”
Bruce actually glanced up at this before returning his focus to the task at hand as he withdrew the needle completely. “You’re a smart kid.”
“I’m a genius,” Damian corrected, his matter-of-fact tone only slightly curbing his arrogance. “My IQ level - is that a smiley face band-aid?”
“You’re ten,” Bruce said in way of explanation.
Damian shifted his arm away. “And you’re Batman.”
With a roll of his eyes, Bruce turned back to the counter and sifted through the pile of bandages Alfred had provided for something more appropriate.
“Superman?”
“It’s something of an inside joke with the boys.” Bruce quickly stuck on the band-aid before anymore complaints could be voiced. “I’m sure your brothers will be quick to bring you up to speed on it.”
Damian scowled down at his arm. “They’re not my brothers.”
“They are if you plan on being part of this family.”
“You haven’t even run my blood through DNA analysis yet,” Damian pointed out, glaring at his father as Bruce began organizing the work station. His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. “You did know about me, didn’t you? Or, at least, had your suspicions?”
Bruce didn’t answer as he gathered up the blood samples and headed over to the forensics area of the cave, leaving Damian to hop off the table and follow.
“Mother never hid her intentions from you, so regardless of being drugged, you should have…” Damian trailed off as he watched Bruce store the blood samples instead of testing them right away. His eyes snapped up to his father’s face in shock. “You weren’t drugged, were you?”
Closing the container, Bruce turned. “I told you I was lying.”
“I didn’t know you were being honest!”
Bruce crossed his arms. “Damian, if there are only two people a child should be able to trust in this world, it should be your parents.”
Damian’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a stupid philosophy.”
“Has Talia ever led you astray?”
“Of course not.” Damian looked away and began fiddling with a few of the instruments that were littered across the desk. “But you lied to her.”
“And she’s not my mother. My relationship with her is different than yours is with us,” Bruce explained. “Try to remember that.”
“Tt. I bet she’s never lied to you before.”
Rather than answer, Bruce calmly pulled the scalpel out of Damian’s grip and set it back in its tray.
“Does this mean you wanted me, then? A son? A real son and not an adopted knock-off?” Damian met Bruce’s gaze challengingly. “According to your stupid philosophy, you’re required to give me an honest answer.”
Bruce watched as Damian almost seemed to brace himself for whichever truth he would encounter. Allowing his stoic facade to morph into a small smile, Bruce reached out and ruffled the kid’s hair.
“Welcome to the family, Damian.”
The End.
A/N: This fills me with fluffy feelings. But then at the same time, it kind of hurts my soul…