Kintsugi

Chapter 17

Shout out to @SasputeArshita and @AyumeRuiz

September 1, 2017 - Wayne Manor

Marinette POV - 

"So what are we watching?" 

I looked over at my brother as he rifled through a large DVD collection. I raise an eyebrow and turn to Dick, an idea of what to watch already in mind. 

"Have you showed Damien High School Musical yet?" I smirk as Dick shook his head. Jason pulled the movies out of the stack and turned to me, holding all three like a fan and grinning evilly. 

"I guess I can't get out of this can I?" Damien turned to me with a defeated look on his face, I sent him a smile and patted his shoulder.

"If I can't get out of it you're staying here with me." Tim spoke up from his blanket burrito at the other end of the couch, laptop casting an eerie glow on his already pale skin. He clutched a mug of coffee in his hand letting the steam float up and warm his cheeks as he sent a glare in Damien's direction. The man just rolled his eyes in return. I huff out a small laugh and card my fingers through my betrothed's dark locks.

"Alright, let's start." Dick clapped and grabbed his mixing bowl full of popcorn, cuddling with it on the couch as the movie started.

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Damien had made it through the first movie and part of the second. I found it funny because even though he scoffed at his oldest brother as he sung along, Damien himself was tapping along to the catchy beats.

I smiled at the now sleeping form of my beloved, and gently run my fingers through his hair again. His head was in my lap, and he was the most comfortable I had seen him in a long time. I loved seeing him getting to open up with people deserving to be called his family. Not his sorry excuse for a mother and the grandfather too old to have a daughter so young. 

Jason shoots me an odd look as I treat Damien with tenderness and that invites a series of new questions. But they beat me to asking when Tim speaks louder than the movie currently playing.

"So, how long were you two together?" I raise an eyebrow at this.

"Damien really told you nothing about me then?" I scan the room to find all three brothers nodding.

"Well, I was raised by the Order of the Guardians for three years until I met him, then I spent seven years at the compound. I was his betrothed but they trained me to be his bodyguard. They figured that the close personal attachment would mean I would give my life for his. And they were right. I would." I shrugged and looked up to see the shocked faces of the three brothers.

"You had a pretty rough go of it huh?" Jason's eyes swirling with emotion. His Crime Alley accent breaking through his weak concentration, as he thought of the years we spent apart. I just nodded in response.

"Not nearly as tough as him though." I sent another glance down at the person in my lap, memories of our childhoods flashing through my brain. 

"Could you... shed some light on his childhood for us? He has been here for five years now and he hasn't opened up once about it." Dick asked it so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. I almost started laughing. 

"Of course he wouldn't tell you anything. Stubborn child." I send him a fond smile before I look up to meet Dick's eyes. 

"Well, I got there when he was six. He was already way too mature for his age, he had to grow up way too fast. He had been taught that family is everything, who your blood ties are is where your loyalties lie. It seems that there had been a few maids and kitchen staff members that had taught him differently. They showed him kindness and gave him chocolate chip cookies. You know that that's still his favorite dessert?" I sigh and lean back on the couch, old memories flooding to the front of my brain.

"I had to share a room with him after the ceremony." I pull up my sleeve to show the blood red mark still on my arm and recognition lights up in their eyes. 

"He apologized. That's how our relationship started, he said sorry for bringing me into his life. For his mother and how she treated me. Then we started leaning on each other. Emotions became taboo, so Damien learned how to suppress everything. He was expected to be cool and collected, a logical thinker. I remember one time he giggled in the throne room. He was whipped publicly. Then he was expected to go back to his normal routine, I remember that by the time I was allowed to look at the wounds, they had scabbed to his tunic. It was awful." I close my eyes and take a deep breath and I continue to talk about how the one I loved most was hurt as a child. 

"He would always rant to me about how awful his family was, but he loved them still. He knew how he was conceived and he never forgave his mother for that. He knew about his grandfather killing Thalia every time she slightly stepped out of line. Just to throw her into the Pit and start over. He still loves them though, because  has a heart that's too big for his body." I hear a snort from Tim and my eyes snap to him. 

"Timothy. Do you know why he still calls you all by your last names or your titles?" A raised eyebrow and a couple head shakes are all I get in response. 

"Because he doesn't view you as his equals." 

"Yeah obviously, he tells us all the time how we are inferior to the blood son-"

"That's not what I mean. In the League, you shed your name. You adopt titles, every title shows your rank. People under your rank have to refer to their authorities as their rank only. Equals get to call them by their more casual names. You guys may have formal titles like Nightwing, Red Hood, and Red Robin, but he can't call you that anywhere but the field. So he will call you as your last names until he feels as though he is your equal." 

"You're lying. He hates me. He tried to kill me." I send a sad look at Tim.

"You're everything he wants to be. You're smart, you understand business, you have a good relationship with Bruce, and you're invaluable to the team with your technological skills. He feels as though he is replaceable. You guys did fine without him and all he has to offer to your squad is his sword arm. While that might be an offer of extreme trust and acceptance in the League, it doesn't mean much here and he knows it." I look back down at the still sleeping form of Damien, and I run a few fingers through his hair. His brothers had been stunned into silence. 

"You know that he was ten when he first killed?" I don't make eye contact with any of the men in the room, I needed to finish. 

"He cried for hours that night. He spent so long in the shower trying to scrub everything off of himself. He came out and his skin had been rubbed raw. His hands were cracked and bleeding. That was the first time I feared leaving him alone. I just held him. That's all I could do." I feel a tear trail down my face. I wipe it away and look at the brothers. I drew a breath before pressing on.

"I think that there's one more thing you should know. He has died a few times before."

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Word count: 1314

edited 7/26/23