Lost and Found

How To Get Damian To Like You

Damian was not adjusting well. It had been a few months already. He was torn up with guilt and sadness that he wasn't allowed to act on, and all the things that he was good at, he suddenly wasn't allowed to do.

He hated it.

Grayson tried the hardest to make him open up, and every time he tried Damian just couldn't express how infuriating it was.

Drake tried to hide from him because Damian had repeatedly challenged him in combat; Damian was always scolded for it, but he couldn't fathom why. He was only attempting to further Drake's training.

Damian despised Todd the least, although he would never admit it. They had some common ground, and (although this was another thing Damian would never admit) they both felt like outsiders. Todd had just come out of his homicidal rage at his family after his resurrection, and Damian just didn't feel like he was even in the family at all. The downside to Todd was his tendency to give nicknames (that were in Damian's opinion way too close to what his Angel called him).

Alfred was acceptable. He didn't prod Damian for information. He didn't hide from him or avoid him. Alfred didn't call him rude nicknames. But he was also a very distant person, and he was closest to Father.

Father seemed to be avoiding him. Damian couldn't understand why that might be, but it seemed evident. And although it was frowned upon in the league, Damian missed having someone to tell about it all. He missed having his Angel by his side to help him sort through all of these uncomfortable emotions he was feeling.

Maybe he should talk to one of them? Drake was off the table immediately, and so was Father, seeing as he was the one Damian wanted to talk about. It would be extremely uncomfortable to talk to Todd about it, as neither of them had ever expressed a want to speak of their emotions. Alfred would probably tell Father, and that was not something Damian wanted. The only one left was Grayson.

He knew Grayson would listen, and he wouldn't share Damian's secrets without consent. The only problem was that Grayson was incredibly annoying. He would get that look that showed how proud he was, and he would probably try to hug Damian or something else of that nature. But he was Damian's only option.

So one day Damian approached Grayson in the living room while no one was around and sat down on the couch near him. Not knowing how to start the conversation he decided to be direct.

"I think Father is avoiding me," he stated. Grayson turned to face him; Damian avoided eye contact. After a moment, Grayson spoke up.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked gently. Damian didn't know if his vocal chords could produce the noise, so he merely nodded. All confidence in him had vanished and now he just felt like a scared child. Alone and helpless.

"Every time I walk into a room he is occupying he leaves, he doesn't speak to me, he doesn't ask me to join all of you in the Batcave at night, he doesn't acknowledge my presence at dinner, and I've been here for months but I've barely interacted with him twice," Damian struggled to keep his face and tone calm, "does he not want me?" Damian couldn't hold back the crack in his voice at that last question.

Damian heard no response from Grayson, so he finally looked over, but what he saw made him want to look away again.

Grayson looked crushed, and Damian couldn't fathom why he would be distressed at Damian's feelings. But he also looked furious, and that was what made Damian want to stare at the wall again. Was he angry at Damian?

He was torn from his thoughts when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and hold him. Damian was startled by this action, but decided he didn't care and just pretended it was his sister, not his Fathers ward. He didn't push Grayson away.

——-

Dick was pissed. Damian had only just now opened up to him. The boy had been vulnerable for the first time in all the months he'd spent with them, and his only thing to say was that his dad was avoiding him and that he felt unwanted. How could B do that? They all knew the man was emotionally constipated, but this was insane.

So Dick did the only thing he knew how to do. He scooted closer to Damian and wrapped his arm around the boy, holding him close. This kid was ten, and all he wanted was his dad to care and be proud of him. It was Dick's duty to make sure his new little brother felt loved, and if that meant yelling at B for being such an idiot then that's what he would do.

"Do you want me to talk to B about it?" Dick offered, making sure to keep the anger out of his voice, "I could just say that I noticed him doing it, I wouldn't tell him anything you don't want him to know."

"Okay," Damian responded quietly. He sounded small. Not like the vicious assassin he presented himself as.

"Hey, why don't we do something together, to take your mind off things," Dick offered, hoping he wasn't overstepping the kid's boundaries.

"Like what?" Damian asked, the sharpness back in his voice. He looked up at Dick this time, the cold expression back on his face.

"I don't know, maybe we could go to a movie, or go to the park and walk around for a bit," Dick suggested, hoping he would agree.

"Okay, we could go to the park," Damian said. Dick smiled.

Dick let Alfred know where they were going and then they left. It was a cloudy day, as usual but the weather was nice and it wasn't too cold. A lot of people were out on walks with friends or family, and also with their dogs.

The moment Damian saw the first dog, Dick knew this was a good idea. Damian got starry eyed, and looked very tempted to go over to pet the dog. It was a large dog, probably a golden retriever, and it tried to walk over to them and sniff them, although the owner pulled it back.

"You can ask to pet it you know," Dick suggested, and Damian walked over without missing a beat.

"May I pet you dog?" Damian asked the owner. She looked nice, and Dick stayed at a distance to watch the interaction.

"Of course, her name is Poppy," the owner replied, and Damian was on his knees loving the dog instantly. Poppy was super excited about it, licking his face and getting in his face. Much to Dick's surprise and joy, Damian was smiling.

Note to self, get Damian a dog.

Damian stopped to pet all of the dogs during their walk.