Batty Family - Batfam Oneshots

Al Ghul - Finale

Damian arrived at the Batcave an hour or two before the sun came up. Sprinting in, he ran face first into his eldest brother.

He stuttered, "Grayson, I'm...I'm s—"

Dick didn't say anything, only knelt down and yanked the boy into his arms. Damian fell with him, limp as he was held tightly.

"I thought you'd be furious with me..." he said quietly in astonishment.

The young man paused, then said, "I was never really angry with you. I was sad 'cause I thought you'd lost your way."

"I did, though," he responded in confusion.

"But you found it again," Dick pulled away from him and held him at his shoulders, "And I am so happy you found your way here."

Damian gave a watery chuckle, and Dick smiled at the sight of his little brother relieved. The two talked about what had happened that day, from Tim's kidnapping to his betrayal; in only a few days, he betrayed both of his families.

How honorable, he mocked himself.

When the other members of the batfamily showed up in the cave, Damian froze. He was no longer wearing his assassin armor, nor was he wearing his Robin costume. Dick put a hand on his shoulder and he began to explain himself hastily.

"I—I promise, I'm not with them—I'm with you. It was wrong to join them, I see that now. I'll never go back again, I promise. Please, just—just give me another chance."

Tim glared at him, but he failed to argue with his little brother. Instead, Bruce was the one going against him.

"Damian, we can't have someone who hasn't pledged everything they have to this team. If we can't tell what side your on, you are certainly not on ours."

"Father, I've changed! I know it's only been a few days, but I see the error of my ways. The League isn't something I want to be a part of! They're cruel and selfish—I know I can be like that, too, but—" he sighed in frustration, "But I...I can't be part of their team. They kill innocent people. I won't follow their lead."

"You didn't let me finish."

"What?" the boy gaped a slight bit.

"I said, you didn't let me finish. You're my son, Damian. Maybe I'm being naïve, but I'll give you a second chance. You'll be under close watch, but you'll be allowed to operate as you were before."

"Father," he sighed out, "Thank you."

Bruce nodded, then went off to the Batcomputer to finish up the work for the night. As their father left, Tim crossed his arms at Damian. He tutted.

"I haven't apologized enough?"

"Damian," Dick scolded, then stood, "I'll leave you two be. Figure this out. You're brothers."

The boy bowed his head, "I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me."

"Anger's more like it. Damian, you betrayed me—you betrayed all of us, but me to my face. I pleaded and begged you to come home, and you still left. That could've been the end, y'know? Your mom could've killed me."

Damian interjected, "She said she wasn't going to—"

"I don't care! I was in danger—you put me in danger!" his eyes welled up with tears, but he wiped them away quickly, "You heard Dick. We're brothers, or at least, we were supposed to be."

"I just—I just wanted her to be proud of me!"

Tim's eyes blazed with fury, and the boy knew his outburst wasn't the right choice of words.

"What?"

"I—I didn't mean that, exactly...I mean, no one ever seems very proud of me here, save for Grayson. I just wanted someone to cherish me for once, and she said she would. And in any case, she's my mother; of course part of me wishes she would love me."

"Augh, Damian—" the teen reached out.

"I don't need your sympathy," he tutted, his demeanor switching immediately.

"Will you shut up and let me help you for once?"

Tim smirked at Damian's silence, which in turn made him narrow his eyes. The teen quickly rubbed the smile of his face.

"I know I don't tell you enough, but I'm proud of you. Dick is proud, Bruce is proud, this whole family is proud. You've made an amazing shift in your life, you just...made a mistake. That's to be expected, though; you're still a kid."

Damian flinched at the word; he preferred to be seen as an equal, not someone less than. In the end, he—through a struggle, of course—swallowed his pride.

"Sorry," he spoke quietly.

"Eh, I don't care," Tim shrugged.

"But you just—"

"Yeah, but it's whatever. You're my little brother, so it's just...whatever. I'll have to put up with you anyway."

The corner of the boy's mouth raise the tiniest bit, and Tim smirked back at him, then began to walk away.

"Hey, Drake?"

"Yeah?" he turned back.

"Thanks."

He nodded, then continued his leave.

Damian was satisfied. He knew things would be rocky for a while, and he would have to gain back everyone's trust (an excruciating process, really), but at least he knew it wasn't impossible. Besides, he and Tim were finally starting to get on good terms. Although Damian loved to annoy him, it was nice to be tolerant of each other for once.

"Damian!"

He cringed, hearing Tim's yell, "What?"

"Where is literally all of my money?"

The boy smirked nervously, shaking hands with his past self as he watched Tim angrily holding an empty wallet.

Right, he remembered, toying with the dollar bills in his back pocket, I forgot about that.