#and those who has impromptu rivalry with his family lineage

[ellestrade]

The first time Tim had seen Damian, it was through red-tinted glass.

Everything about the boy had been so... Hostile. Violence lingers around the air that he breathes, and tragedy always follows his every footstep. Granted, Damian's tendency to attack him disappeared as fast as they come, yet he never really passed that judgement as his first impression of him.

Tim supposed that time was never really forgiving.

He sets himself apart from Damian, letting a permanent distance between them become, well, permanent. He never really minded when Damian used his surname in contrast to his actual name whilst addressing him— never correcting him because then their relativity is acknowledged, apparent to the world.

Even if Damian was technically his brother, in paper and in practice, actually admitting to that feels... Wrong. Blasphemous, even.

However, looking back now, he shouldn't have condemned the boy for utmost isolation.

"Where are you going?" He asked— it was Saturday afternoon, a little bit past lunch. Tim hadn't had anything to do, doesn't feel like cooking, so he decided to crash in the manor for a bit.

As usual, Damian makes himself scarce; he didn't interact with Timothy much past the expected pleasantries, only exchanging a few hellos and greetings over silently passing the plates to one another. Tim takes it that the younger doesn't want to fill him in on anything that he's been up to, which won't be much considering that...

That...

...

What has he been up to, lately?

"I'm going out with a few acquaintances of mine," Damian responded, as if stating an obvious fact, as if Tim was supposed to know this when in reality Tim wasn't even aware that the brat had somehow made friends— because when did that happened?

Last he knew, Damian was still being homeschooled by Alfred, and such curriculum doesn't provide an actual experience in social interactions other than his family.

"Huh?" He gaped, mentally slapping himself for giving such inappropriate reactions. He's happy for Damian, truly, but he's more aghast over the fact that he didn't know. Despite everything, Damian is still his little brother. The least he could do is know what kind of crowd he decided to mingle in. "Sorry, that came out weird. When— who are your friends? And when did you guys meet?".

Damian clicked his tongue. "If you must know, we're not friends. They all just so happened to be more involved in my life than anticipated," he claimed, "But they're all nice people, I suppose. Mizoguchi, Wilkes, Kane, Ducard, and of course, Jon. I met them through separate circumstances, but majority of them are now eligible to be called my schoolmates."

Tim blinked, and suddenly that red-tinted glass was gone.

He's now being embraced with an image of a teen— gone was the 10-year-old whose hands were tainted in blood, who screams bloodied but desperate. Now, there stood Damian, 16 years of age, and is almost a different person.

This is Damian, his little brother, and he's growing.

Without his knowledge, nonetheless, and he supposed outside of everyone else's too.

"Oh," Tim hummed, but his heart fell— he had promised that he'd be better, when the boy in front of him died in the most tragic way possible, so so young and so so alone.

The lump in his throat grew heavy when he realized that Damian hadn't instigated in casual conversation with him not because he was arrogant or doesn't have anything to offer, but because Tim had grown so estranged to him that he doesn't know how to reconnect.

"Right— cool cool cool. You, uh, have fun," he said, but he doesn't even know what he was wishing for. "Say hi to them, for me."

Tim could've sworn he heard Damian murmured, 'You don't even know them,' but the other nodded nonetheless. "Alright," he said, before turning his heels and walking away.

The glass is now shattered, and the aftermath of seeing the world as it was is brutal.

I have this fic idea in my head and can’t get rid of it sooo

I’m making it everyone’s problem

Okay so everyone’s kinda living their life

Tim’s basically a ceo

Dick and Jason are full add adults they spend a lot of time away from the manor

Bruce is obviously always busy

And then you have Damian

I just I need a fic of the family realizing oh shit the kid grew up

Like night wing ,red hood are like hey it’s not worth it let’s crash at the manor and Tim so happens to be there and Damian walks by and they all double take cause that’s not the little murder assassin they first met

I’m talking like Damian’s 16 now ,he has after school things before patrol ,he’s quiet and a little more mature then when he first arrived

He’s healed a bit ,he’s growing as a person

Like imagine the look on Jason’s face when Damian is almost to his chin now

How his features matured too

Damian drives now

Dick watching Damian handle situations in a more level headed way

Tim realizing he doesn’t seem to be at his throat anymore

And I feel like it’s the kinda thing where Damian is used to them not noticing at this point

But it also makes everyone realize how they’ve missed out on watching him grow up and they all decide to hang out with each other a bit more

And Bruce is just happy to see his boys together for a bit

Pleaseeee someone write this