Morning 10 AM, five hours since he returned from patrol and crashed into his bed. Tim groggily pulled himself up and readied himself for the day. If it was up to him, he would have slept until noon, but today wasn’t about him. Today was all about Damian Wayne—not Robin, Damian.
Two months ago, the youngest Robin approached him in Paris and asked for his return to Gotham. At the time, all he saw was anger and resentment towards him, for taking the Robin mantle, for taking his place in Gotham. There was little reason for him to believe that the brat wonder wasn’t plotting against him.
Who could blame him? Damian tried to kill him, tried to kill Terry and has the superiority complex that could match even the worse of rogues. Only Dick with his big brotherly nature could handle his snide remarks and venomous tantrums. It was hard to see if a heart actually existed in the brat.
Yet, in the few weeks he was back, he saw something changed in the youngest Robin. Don’t get him wrong, the scathing words were still there, but somehow it seemed less… vicious.
Tim smacked the alarm with a yawn as he rolled out of bed. No snoozing, no sleeping in, he had something to do today. By the time he was washed up and dressed himself, Damian was already in the kitchen done with breakfast and nursed a hot cup of tea in his hands.
“Morning.” Tim greeted him as he leaned the crutches for his fake injuries against the counter. He needed them to keep up his façade later. “Are you ready for school?”
“…I hate you.” Damian grumbled behind his morning tea.
The former Robin grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Unbelievable right? To think the brat wonder would grace himself in the same room with commoners and those he deemed as below him. Yet, it was his yearning for his deceased father and brother that submitted him to humility. Tim had thought it would benefit the younger boy if he supported his thirst of knowledge of his deceased family… but he was wrong.
No doubt, Damian drank up the information like a dying man in a desert, but it did little to help him. Tim could see the dissatisfaction on his face. He wanted more than what Tim could give. He wanted the closeness to Bruce, to Terry that Tim shared.
It was then that he decided to change how he gave the information. And it helped that Terry made his information such a maze. He would make Damian Wayne interact with people outside his family. He needed peers, peers he couldn’t make as Robin because of his personality issues. Either he learned to ask others for help or he played by Tim’s rules to get the passwords.
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Tim tried to cheer up the sullen boy. “You’ve never been to school before right? Just think of this as a learning experience.”
Damian scowled. “I was educated by the elites. I don’t need a worthless piece of paper to prove my worth.”
“True, but I doubt any of those teachers of yours were conversationalists.” Tim reasoned.
“I don’t need them.” He said bluntly.
“Ah, but you do need to interact with people this time around if you want more information on Terry.”
“… Why are you doing this to me, Drake? Is it punishment for the attempts on your life?”
“At least give it a try before you decide you hate it.” Tim sighed as Alfred came with two packed lunches.
“I believe both of you are going to be late if you don’t hurry.” The elderly butler said as he collected Damian’s mug.
“I’ll let you drive.” Tim tempted him in song.
“…” Damian stared at him in silence for a moment. He debated whether or not he should take the bait. “I doubt the crippled Tim Wayne could drive in his current condition.”
Tim shrugged. “We could always have Alfred drive.”
“… I get to pick the car.” Damian decided.
“Of course.” Tim grinned.
Dick made him get his license the moment Damian turned sixteen. It was one thing for Robin to take the bat-mobile out for a joy ride, but it was another thing for Damian Wayne to speed around Gotham without a license. Not that the police could catch him even if they wanted to. It was just the matter of keeping up eccentric profiles for the Gotham socialites.
If there was anything Tim and Dick could agree on was his skillfulness. While he could never match Terry’s intellect, the elder of the two was definitely better with his hands. From building a bat-mobile from scratch to the many repairs around the cave there was little he couldn’t tinker and fix.
“Mind if we swing by one place before classes start?” Tim asked as he buckled in.
Damian glanced at him, his curiosity peaked despite his attempt to hide his interest.
Tim ran his hand over the touch screen. “Just go to this address.”
Damian eyed the screen for a moment to memorize the route before he pulled the convertible out of the driveway. He was oddly agreeable. Dare he suggest that the brat wonder matured?
He was far from close.
Once off the manor grounds and onto the highway an evil smirk quirked up at the corner of his lips. Tim was given no warning as the car lurched from zero to eighty. He could hear the faint sounds of Damian roughly shifting gears over the roar of the engine and wind. With the speed he was going, Tim found himself pinned to the chair, clinging for his dear life as the other made hairpin turns and screeching drifts around the cliff side.
Just who the hell taught him how to drive?
o.o.o.o.o
It was two years since she returned with Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Two years since she made the mistake in not learning whom Matches Malone was before she started an all out gang war. She was kidnapped, beaten and declared dead, but she wasn’t. Dr. Thompkins faked her death in order to save her from further danger. She knew Bruce had a hand in shipping her out of the country even if Dr. Thompkins denied the fact.
She had planned to return to Gotham as a happy surprise to them all, but sadly, life was never simple. She returned to a Gotham in flames where Batman was dead and the fight for the mantle tore the city apart. It was a painful sight. She did what she could to help as Spoiler, while the city struggled through the fight.
The ending was not pleasant. Tim left, Cassandra abandoned Batgirl and Gotham was left darker than what she remembered. Not able to stand such a bleak city, she took up what Cassandra left behind. She became Batgirl. At first everyone disapproved her choice. From Barbara to Bruce’s brat son Damian, everyone had something to say either about her skills or her intentions.
But she stood firm through it all. Even with her extra college workload she managed some how. She won’t let their lack of faith and scathing remarks make her give up Gotham.
10:30, her mom had already left for work and it was time for her to leave for school. She grabbed her bag and left the house with her keys in hand. If she hurried, she could still make the next bus heading to Gotham U.
Not even five steps onto the sidewalk the roar of a powerful engine caught her attention as a red convertible rounded the corner at breakneck speeds. Worried that it might be a robber she tensed ready to run off and change into her Batgirl costume if needed, but at the sight of a familiar face at the wheel she paused.
The car raced past her in a gust of wind before it swerved in a one-eighty and slid neatly into an empty spot in front of her. She could smell the burned rubber streaked on the grounds as the screech of tires died off and the crack of the break was pulled up.
At the wheel was the brat prince Damian and in the passenger seat was a pale-faced Tim. Stephanie raised a brow at the two wondering why they were here in such a conspicuous manner.
“… Good morning?” She debated whether or not she should scream at them for coming to her house in this manner. Do they want their cover blown?
“… You wanted to stop here to pick up the fat-girl?” Damian said in a deadpanned voice. “You do know she can use the exercise.”
Stephanie felt her eye twitch in annoyance. “I have a name! Why are you two here? Do you want to get noticed?”
“Just get in the car!” Damian grumbled.
She crossed her arms. “Sorry, I have classes and can’t indulge on your selfish little joy ride. Tim I thought you should know better than to join him.”
He grinned sheepishly as he finally regained his voice. “We do too. Classes I mean.”
“By we…” She trailed off and stared at Damian.
“Yes.” Damian scowled. “What of it?”
Tim grinned as he waved for her to jump in. “I’ll tell you on the way.” He turned to Damian. “Speed limit only or Alfred is driving tomorrow.”
Stephanie expected a dismissing “tt” from the brat prince and he would continue to drive in the manner he arrived, but much to her surprise, the ride to Gotham U was peaceful. From Tim, she learned that the youngest Robin was joining them as part of some bet. Tim didn’t tell her the details, but from what she gathered, it sounded like the brat prince needed to learn some humility and social skills.
“Aren’t you cute?” She grinned and ruffled his head as they walked out of the parking lot. “You’re following your big brother to school.”
He swatted her hand away. “I’m not following him.” He growled.
“Then why are you so close to him?” She chirped.
He hurriedly shifted away from Tim. The older boy sighed in amusement at the teasing. As much of a brat he was, she could see the subtle aversion he had towards others in the past. He may be foul tempered towards her, but at least he talked to her. He didn’t ignore her like he does to the rest of the school. Though, she was not sure whether or not it was a compliment.
“I’m not.” He denied pathetically.
“Sure you’re not.” She sang. “So what classes do you guys have?”
o.o.o.o.o
Tim smiled at the banter between the two. It looked like sibling squabble. This was definitely healthier for Damian compared to the company of computers and cold hard equipment all day. Between he and Barbara they managed to get Damian classes with either Tim or Stephanie at the same time. Sure, he managed to get into Gotham U with his grades and a hefty donation from Wayne Enterprise, but they weren’t that cruel to put him through this alone.
“You do know, if I really want to leave, I could easily outrun you.” Damian said dryly as Tim noisily followed him in his crutches.
“I know.” Tim replied. He knew Damian would be annoyed with either one of them following him, but he really didn’t want to deal with a runaway student if Damian lost his nerve.
Damian paused and lowered his head with a sigh. “I’m not going to run away. I gave you my word I’ll be in school didn’t I?” He said in annoyance.
“When’s the next class?” Tim tested him.
“Two-thirty.” Damian grumbled.
Tim smiled slightly. “Don’t be late.”
Damian raised a dismissive hand and left without a word. Tim could see the dwindling patience in his body language and it was best to let him be before he snapped. After all, he already noted all the nooks and crannies the other could hide in. Even if the other doesn’t run away, he could still hide.
He adjusted his grip slightly to ease the tension in his arms, the crutches he used for his act made him sore. He glanced at his watch before he continued on his way towards the cafeteria. He promised to meet Stephanie for lunch.
The dining hall was crowded from the lunch rush as expected, but he wasn’t deterred by it. If worse comes to worse, he could sucker some poor soul to give up their seats. Not that he would, he wasn’t in the mood to play the pity card. Instead he skimmed the hall for free seats. Much to his surprise a familiar face caught his eye.
“…Terry?” He said in disbelief.
Halfway across the room was a young man with a pair of glasses munching on a sandwich while he glared intensely at his textbook. Tim wanted to approach him, but he never had a chance. The young man was in the middle of turning a page when he caught sight of the time on his watch. He jumped up in a hurry and shoved his books into his bag. He barely slung it over his shoulder as he polished off the rest his sandwich and ran off. It took no more than a minute for him to stumble out of the cafeteria, he must be late for class.
“…It… couldn’t be him.” Tim was uncertain. Terry was dead he saw his body. They buried him. But Jason came back from the dead before… was it possible Terry coud…?
“It couldn’t be who?” Stephanie asked as she came up from behind.
“It’s…” Tim trailed off and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
o.o.o.o.o
Once Damian was freed from Drake and walked out of his sight, he quickly searched for a place to hide from the overbearing former Robin. True he said he would attend school in exchange for passwords, but he said nothing about interactions with others. He fully intended to find a place within the school and hide for the next few classes. He scoured the building for a suitable place where the other would least likely search for him.
Sadly, there were very few places he could hide and stay in solitude. In the end he decided to hide in the recital hall. It was silent and dark, compared to the rest of the school. The only light was situated on the stage on a lone baby grand.
“Tt…” Damian grumbled as he walked down the dark isle. “Trust these imbeciles to use every room in the damn school and leave the theatre alone.”
He jumped onto the stage and rested a hand on the cool wood. It was a while since he seen one. The manor has one, but rarely does he go down the wing where it sat. The last time he touched one was during his vocal training. He sat down and pried the cover open with a bored face. He had some time to kill before he needed to move to the next location and avoid the older Robin.
His hand danced over the ivory keys softly, gently plucking a note or two to check the tuning on the instrument. His mind ran through a selection of notes his instructor pounded into his head in the past.
He raised his second hand and closed his eyes as his hands flow across the keys on its own. The soft melody resonated in the empty theatre soothingly. He surrendered himself to the somber music for a moment as he thought over his actions.
Was it really worth it to come here? Just for answers? He never gave a damn about his brother before, why was he now? Why was he so desperate to know more of his brother? He wanted the affirmation from his father, not his brother. Yet, he found himself desiring more.
Damian’s eyes drifted open slightly to stare down at the white and black keys, his hands still playing the melody.
Those brief weeks they spent together, while short was probably the most enjoyable time he had in his whole life. To be able to compete with someone who shared father’s blood. To feel the rush without having to worry about being judged. It felt… nice. It wasn’t annoying like Grayson’s constant shower of affection. He was his… equal.
His eyes drifted close again as he played the final measures of the melody. He could forget about classes and imbeciles, but he wasn’t allowed to when he heard clapping.
Damian snapped his eyes open and glanced towards the source of the noise. There were two people at the doorway. When did they come in? The one clapping was a dark-skinned classmate from his history class and next to him was a pink-haired girl with a camera phone in her hand. He quickly closed the lid and stood.
“Oh don’t stop, you were great!” The pink-haired girl said as she lowered her camera phone.
Damian ignored her compliments and jumped off the stage. His hideaway was useless now, he needed to move to the next location before Drake found him.
“Damian right?” The other called out to him as he walked past them and towards the exit. “We saw you in history class this morning. The way you argued with the professor was hilarious.”
“I don’t care.” He remarked snidely and left them. He has no interest in peasants.
o.o.o.o.o
Max watched as the peculiar Wayne walked passed them and out of the theatre. With the way he acted, she never expected the gentle melodies from him. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel like she should get to know him better. While she was not the type to fall for someone easily, there was something about him that was captivating. Something about the way he acted reminded her of someone.
“What’s his problem?” Jared crossed his arms mildly peeved at the dismissal.
“Maybe he’s having a bad day.” Max reasoned as she saved the video clip. She would look it over again to see why it bothered her later when she doesn’t have classes.
She and Jared were in between classes when they heard a melody from the theatre hall. To tell the truth, she never expected to make much of herself when the earthquake took her parents from her. After Gotham was plunged into chaos and the government cut the city off from the rest of the country, she was left virtually defenseless in the crazy city. She expected to die if it was not for Poison Ivy who took her along with all the other orphans created from the crisis.
After Batman ripped Gotham from the clutches of the rogues and psychopaths, they were all shipped off to various orphanages. College was the furthest thing from her mind. She wouldn’t have even considered it as an option if not for Terry’s constant encouragement. To tell the truth, she found him a bit odd even when they first met at Poison Ivy’s care. He was always quiet and reserved. Never spoke unless spoken to and never gave out much information about himself even when asked.
If it weren’t for him, she’d probably end up at some dead-end job or sold herself like Michael. Mind you, he actually enjoyed his job. With tutoring from Terry and scholarship from Wayne Enterprise, she and Jared had made it into Gotham U. They weren’t the only ones, Terry was in Gotham U at the tender age of 14. Kevin had made it into Princeton University under the Thomas Wayne foundation for aspiring medical students. And all the others had found one way or another on their own career pursuits. There was a lot she had to thank Terry for.
That was it! She knew what was so familiar about the young Wayne. He reminded her of Terry. The outward coldness, the serious vibe and the hidden gentleness, it all reminded her of Terry. Albeit she wasn’t too sure if the gentle melody really gave her the impression that the snarky young man was actually nice, but there was an odd similarity between the two.
When she brought up the topic of Damian Wayne later that week, the younger boy looked mildly interested for a brief moment before he shrugged it off. “If you think he might have a nice side, why don’t you try making friends with him? He could probably use a positive influence to tone down his bigot personality.”
“Really?” She was surprised that he suggested this so casually without even going into details about how it would be beneficial to befriend a blue blood like Wayne.
“You could always ignore him if you see he’s not worth your time.” Terry shrugged.
He didn’t say much, he preferred to listen to the problems of the other Ivys. She didn’t press on, but she couldn’t get over the nagging feeling that the young Wayne reminded her of him.
o.o.o.o.o
Terry was surprised when Max came to him with a recording of Damian on the piano. What was the homicidal brat doing outside of the manor? Much less out as a civilian playing the piano. His moment of disbelief lingered briefly before logic resumed.
This was likely the work of his dad’s wards. Why else would Damian grace himself among peasants? He paused in his thoughts and watched the rest of the clip. He never thought it was possible for the other to be human. Maybe this attempt wasn’t as fruitless as he thought. He glanced at Max at the corner of his eyes. She was waiting for an answer.
Sure, why not?
“If you think he’s worth your time, then befriend him. If not, you could always ignore him.”
It was a good arrangement. He could help his fellow Ivys advance in their careers, spy on the family, and maybe get a less homicidal brother out of this. It was a triple win situation. He opted to not show much interest to avoid suspicion. He did train these Ivys to interrogate and pull information from people. He wasn’t about to let them use it against him.
He stayed with the Ivys for an hour longer before he dismissed himself. It was part of his weekly routine. During the week, he would juggle schoolwork and the alleged Warren McGinnis’ work. On Friday evenings he would get together with the Ivys to listen and deal with problems that came up in the week. Then after he was done with all his business in Gotham, he left for Titan’s Tower for the weekend before repeating his routine again.
XIII regularly came to pick him up from the rooftop after his meetings with the Ivys. It was cheaper than the alternative until he was either old enough to drive or build something of his own.
“Hey Beyond… you wouldn’t have happened to run into Tim while in school did you? Did you know he’s going to your school? And with your brother?”
Terry shrugged. “Tim’s in crutches, it wouldn’t be ethical for me to run into him even if it’s an act on his part.”
“… That’s not what I meant.” The super clone said in deadpanned.
“I know.” He chirped.
XIII sighed. “Did you let him see you? Or did you not know and ran when you realized he was there?”
“Oh, you mean in the cafeteria? I was late for class.”
“… So it was you.” XIII palmed his forehead with his palm. “He said something earlier this week about seeing someone that looked like you before laughing it off as a crazy obsession… Argh, that idiot.”
Terry laughed loudly on his fellow project’s back with his arms held firmly around XIII’s neck. “XIII, your dad’s disguise is awesome! Even Tim the genius of the family can’t tell it’s me!”
The younger project grumbled. “And he used that same disguise when he was in boarding school too. Tim!” He whined. “What is wrong with you?”
Terry fell into another fit of laughter. “Maybe he’s too smart for his own good.” He held back his chuckles and continued. “Putting Tim aside, how’s school for you?”
“I’m taking chem, it was better than some of the other classes they offered.”
“Be careful XIII, you might just make an arch enemy there.” Batboy teased.
“Huh? Why?”
“Don’t you know?” He grinned brightly. “Your pa was the cause of your mother’s baldness. If you’re not careful, you might just go bald and evil.”
“What?” Superboy cried in horror. “Never! My dashing good looks would be ruined!”
The smaller teen giggled breathlessly. “You never know!”
“Come on! It’s not even funny!” Superboy whined.
“Of course it is! Future baldy!”
By now, the two forgotten all about Tim and Damian.
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