Lost in the Void, Found in the Stars | Damian Wayne Oneshots

Animal Lover | Emiko Queen

Summary: Damian Wayne and Emiko Queen are distant neighbors until she adopts three kittens. When Damian knocks on her door to see them, and he unexpectedly enters without permission.

.・。.・゜✭・»»——⍟——««.・✫・゜・。.

Damian Wayne wasn’t exactly what Emiko Queen would call neighborly. From the moment he moved in next door, it was clear that he didn’t care much for small talk or pleasantries. Their interactions were cold, filled with clipped words and tight smiles. Damian, always brooding and intense, didn’t seem to care about making friends. Emiko, on the other hand, liked her space. She didn’t need him, or anyone, bothering her. And so they coexisted, barely speaking beyond the occasional grunt of acknowledgment.

But all of that changed when Emiko got the kittens.

It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Emiko had been feeling a little lonely after the last mission with the Outsiders, and when she’d seen the kittens up for adoption at the animal shelter, something inside her softened. She couldn’t resist. Three of them, tiny little furballs, playful and curious. They brought a lightness to her apartment she hadn’t realized she needed.

The day after she brought them home, there was a knock on her door.

Opening it, Emiko was surprised to find Damian standing there, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. His expression was as stoic as ever, but there was something… different in his eyes. His gaze wasn’t focused on her, but instead drifted past her, into her apartment.

“Is it true?” he asked, his voice low and serious.

Emiko blinked. “Is what true?”

“Kittens.” The word came out like an accusation. “You got kittens.”

For a moment, she stared at him, trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic. But Damian Wayne wasn’t exactly the sarcastic type. He was blunt. Serious. To the point. And right now, he was dead serious about her kittens.

“Uh, yeah?” she said, crossing her arms. “Why do you care?”

Without asking for permission, Damian pushed past her and stepped into her apartment. Emiko opened her mouth to protest, but the sight of him—Damian Wayne, the brooding, no-nonsense son of Batman—kneeling on her living room floor, reaching for one of the kittens, stopped her dead in her tracks.

He didn’t even look at her as he crouched down, holding his hand out for the smallest kitten to sniff. The kitten, a fluffy gray one with big blue eyes, cautiously approached him. And then, in the quietest voice Emiko had ever heard him use, Damian whispered, “There you are, little warrior.”

Her jaw practically hit the floor.

“What the hell are you doing?” Emiko finally managed to ask.

“Spending time with the kittens,” Damian said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“And why do you—?” She paused. “You like kittens?”

Damian didn’t answer immediately. He gently picked up the gray kitten, cradling it in his arms as he sat on the floor. The kitten purred loudly, rubbing its tiny head against Damian’s chin.