𝕊𝕆𝕃𝕀𝕍𝔸𝔾𝔸ℕ𝕋║[ᴅ. ᴡᴀʏɴᴇ]

ɴᴏᴅᴜꜱ ᴛᴏʟʟᴇɴꜱ

"And he had the gall to accuse me of enjoying his company." Damian spat out, his face twisted in a dark glare. The Wayne had been attending Gotham Academy long enough for the general populace to know when to avoid the youngest heir. Just stay back, give it a day or so, and let that no-good Bertinelli fix it. Wayne will be back to his displeased, kinda hot scowl in no time.

Hm. If only Damian and the masses knew that it was partially Vin's fault that Damian was so peeved. Yes, he told Jason some insider info, and yes, he was aware that the likeliness of Jason Todd using it to rag on the blood son mercilessly was quite high. But hey, Vin was starting to regret his actions, and that's all that mattered.

(What really mattered most is that Red Jay hadn't told Damian of his backstabbing informant; he wouldn't have any phalanges left in his body otherwise.)

"You sure he wasn't just teasing you? It's what older brothers do, right?" Vin asked offhandedly, subconsciously flexing his fingers and toes. "I wouldn't know. I have only child syndrome." A pause. "Well, unless you count the stampede of cousins, nieces, nephews, and some second-twice-removed relatives I have back in Italy, France, and parts of Austria."

"You haven't a single sibling, and yet you are an uncle?" Damian's glare relented lightly to make room for his confusion.

"Yeah, it's something, right? Some of my relatives aren't even related by blood. Just close friends of the family that I grew up with until we moved to the Americas. My cousin, who is also my appointed unofficial sister during the holidays, just married her five-year girlfriend, Yekaterina. They've just adopted a sixteen-year-old who needed a home. His name is Rimskiy or 'Roman' English-wise. So, I have a nephew, and he's older than me, but I'm still his superior." Vin finished with a sly smirk. Rimskiy always got that moody look whenever Vin bossed him around the kitchen or ruffled his hair.

"You never mentioned that you had pseudo-siblings." Damian acquired a grumpy look. It was an improvement compared to his earlier face, which gave off an air of DEATHDEATHDEATH. Vin could already see the students around them start to relax as the oppressing shadow weighing down on their tensed shoulders yielded slightly.

"Ah, I haven't talked to them on the phone in a while. Just letters back and forth. I've been busy with extracurricular activities outside of school. Been keeping my time occupied. They understand." Vin shrugged, fighting down a smile. He knew Damian's detective nature would want to ask; it was genetics, after all. He could read it on the boy's face: What was keeping Bertinelli busy? What could he possibly be doing? Shall I investigate? Is it something malicious, or is he merely poking fun again? Perhaps I will strike him down this very instance.

"Relax," Vin chuckled. "Nothing that would concern you, pal." He assured and received narrowed eyes and an eventual nod from Damian. They finished their lunch in companionable silence (Vin brought a veggie wrap for Damian today). The only noise was the backdrop of the chattering students in the lunchroom. Ever since he had been banned from his isolated lunch spot, Vin had learned how to ignore the irritating buzzing of voices. Hammerhead's declaration of damnation on the Bertinelli boy, who may as well have been the reincarnated Anti-Christ in his aging eyes, was still in effect.

Damian, however, didn't seem to have the same immunization to loud, rich kids that Vin did. He stood and collected his food and bag, declaring, "We are moving, Bertinelli," and waited for him to pick up his belongings. The fact that he was idling, patiently standing by, meant that their friendship had to be moving to a new level, and this made Vin feel content enough not to protest having to get up. It's not like he was going to argue about sticking around the feeding ground of wealthy, entitled teenagers.

"I know just the place, pal." Vin grinned and led them to the courtyard, towards the base of his tree. He patted the trunk and looked expectantly at Damian, who was examining the tree thoughtfully.