Chapter 11
Peter didn’t hate kindergarten. He liked making new friends in class. The homework was easy too and he barely had to spend too much time on it. What he hated was leaving home.
Since his Great Escape three months ago, Peter had been given a necklace with a tracker and he was pretty sure there were trackers in his shoes too. Alfred always picked him up after school and he wasn’t allowed to go out without at least two people to watch him.
When he left home, Peter felt like all the cameras were watching him. And knowing Barbara, she probably was.
Peter had gotten better at hiding in the Manor, only Cass really manages to find him now when he’s hiding. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for outside. His dad apparently had heat sensors placed throughout the garden and lawn.
Even Tony Stark wasn’t as paranoid and his identity was out in the open! These steps were unnecessary. Peter had left with a goal and returned with a new sister. It wasn't bad, Peter loves Cass. Still, he would have liked to have found Jason or Steph and maybe work on the curse.
Peter dragged his backpack into the Boring room before jumping onto the couch. The school wanted him to get tested so they could kick him up a grade but his parents were against it. They wanted him to spend time with his peers and make friends his age. This meant Peter was stuck with basic addition and spelling assignments. The simple assignments were killing him.
“Why do you look worse than me?” Tim laughed, falling onto the couch next to him. Peter yelped when he nearly bounced off of it before hands pulled him back up.
“It’s boring! I can count past ten .” Peter huffed, shuffling to sit on his knees. Tim handed him printouts of fourth grade coursework that Peter eagerly grabbed.
After starting school, Peter made sure to be extremely vocal about how boring class was. His dad gave him a test that Peter’s Before mind caught up to easily when he made out most of the words. A few words were still hard but Tim would read him his textbooks and the memories were refreshed. Some things were still too buried but Peter was confident he could relearn everything if he just studied a little more.
His dad and Tim started printing him different worksheets to work on when he finishes his homework to keep him busy but his dad still wanted him to be around kids his age. So he had to put up with the curriculum.
“Well… Maybe I can invite a friend over. She’s been wanting to see you.” Tim offered, lounging casually back.
“I don’t wanna meet your girl friend.” Peter stuck his tongue out, remembering the last time Tim brought a girl over. They were kissing on the couch. This couch.
He had to beg Alfred to help sanitize the entire thing before he would even get close to it again.
“Yeah yeah, no girlfriends when you’re here. I got the lecture.” Tim snorted. “She’s not really my girlfriend… I don’t think?”
“No. Dick tried showing me off to someone and I told her he eats garlic before bed.” Peter stole a pencil from Tim’s bag before getting to work on the worksheet, pressing it onto one of Tim’s textbooks.
“Too late. She’s coming over.” Tim shrugged, leaving Peter to his work.
Peter turned to his work, long division wasn’t hard but it still took him some time. Like stretching an old muscle. He worked his way through the entire sheet before going through his own homework. Maybe he should just be homeschooled.
“Hey Peter.” Tim leaned over the back of the couch, snagging his homework off the book.
“Hey!” Peter shot up, glaring at Tim who danced out of his reach.
“Long time no see, Peter.”
Peter turned to the second person to enter the room, her blonde hair as long as it was before held in a purple ponytail. Her blue eyes looked him over. Stephanie…
“S-steph? You’re… you’re alive?” Peter scrambled off the couch, rushing around it quickly. Steph crouched down in time to catch him as he wrapped his arms around her. “I knew it! I told‘em! I told'em!”
Peter buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing into her hair. He knew it. He knew she wasn’t dead. She couldn’t leave him too.
“I’m alive, Pete. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.” Her fingers ran through his hair, the gesture as comforting as it always was as he sobbed. She breathed deeply, relaxing onto the floor with him. “I promise I won’t do that again.”
“You’re not allowed ta die!” Peter huffed, pulling back to look over her face. Bags under her eyes were heavier than before but it didn’t matter. It just meant she was alive.
“Okay, Pete.” She pinched his cheeks, wiping his tears and Peter was reminded why he never really liked her that much to begin with.
Scrambling away from her while he rubbed his abused cheek, Peter hid behind Tim’s legs by the door. He peeked around to catch Steph’s eyes. “I’m glad you’re not dead but I’ll bite you next time.”
“He’s gotten pretty good at it too.” Tim agreed, rubbing his wrist absentmindedly.
Peter nodded, he had gotten better at biting Tim. Mostly because Tim had decided to mess with him more since Peter had been grounded. He still liked Cass the most.
“CASS!” Peter shouted, racing out of the room. He could introduce them now! He knew they would get a long and Cass could keep Steph safe when they went out on patrol.
He ran towards the stairs, rushing up them quickly before turning down the hall. She usually hid in her room after school. Cass learned from home since she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of going to school just yet. Even while homeschooled, Cass took time after her classes to recharge before joining Peter and the family. Peter had been learning ASL with everyone else since Cass joined them.
Peter nearly ran into her legs before he spotted her. Stumbling back a little, he took her hand before turning back for the stairs. “Come on! Steph’s back! You gotta meet her!”
“Steph!!” Peter called as he and Cass reached the bottom of the stairs. He led her towards the Boring room where Steph and Tim were standing inside of. “This is Cass! She’s better than you but you’ll like her.”
“Better than me?”
“Peter adopted her after he went to look for you. It’s a long story.” Tim sighed, leaning back onto the couch as Peter brought Cass to the blonde.
“Bruce has his first grandchild already? Damn, the things I miss.” Steph grinned, eyeing the new girl.
“ Little brother. ” Cass signed, leaning towards Peter the slightest bit. Peter watched her, reciting the words for Steph.
“I’ve learned ASL, Pete.” Steph waved him off. “Tim suggested it.”
Of course he did. Peter gave Tim the stink eye, dodging when Tim tried to grab him. Peter wanted the girls to talk so he chose to make his third great escape and raced out of the room. Tim’s feet pounded on the floor behind him. “Alfreeeed!”
__
Peter liked to say he was right after introducing Cass to Steph. They got on too well and Peter had two accomplices to his plans. Since his parents weren’t currently fighting, he had to come up with another plan to hatch and Steph didn’t know about the new rule yet. Which was perfect.
“Let’s go to Batburger!” Peter bounced on Cass’ bed where both girls sat. Cass raised an eyebrow while Steph perked up at the plan.
“Yes! I have my permit!” Steph shot off the bed, racing out of the room to steal one of his dad’s cars.
“ You can’t leave. Bruce and Alfred out. ”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
Steph was a decent driver, though Peter didn’t have much of a baseline for it. Tony drove like a rich guy who didn’t care about rules and his dad and Alfred drove like breaking the law would give them the death sentence. Though that was probably because Peter sat in the backseat. So Steph drove like she was learning.
They didn’t hit anything or anyone so Peter considered it a success.
They settled in a booth by the windows as Steph told them a story about Africa, because apparently she went to Africa when she died. Or fake died. Peter was still pretty mad about her for it but she’s alive so he won’t be too mad. He couldn't be mad when it brought his family back home. He just didn't like having to go through all of it while everyone apologized for her death. As if that made a difference.
Cass stole his fries while Peter stole Steph’s nuggets. She wasn’t paying attention as she talked about a market she was lost in at some point.
“Peter.” He should have left his shoes at home. Peter slumped into his seat at the familiar voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Bruce! Pete wanted Batburger and I thought…” Steph trailed off, eyeing Bruce’s disappointed face. “That he needed supervision. Always up to mischief. How could you, Pete.”
Peter slumped into the booth, pouting. Cass slid over, giving his dad space to join them in the booth. They ignored the double takes from other patrons of Batburger.
“You didn’t tell anyone” His dad started, gearing up for another lecture.
“No one was home! And I have Cass and Steph.” Peter whined, sitting up after his dad took a fry from his tray. “Hey!”
“Grey hair tax.” His dad smiled, chewing on his fries.
__
Peter’s dad liked to think he was smart but Peter knew better. Or rather, Peter was extremely patient and blackmailed his numerous siblings that his dad kept bringing home.
“Just don’t touch anything.” Tim groaned, following Peter through the batcave.
Tim was the easiest to blackmail now that he lives full-time in the Manor. Dick visited often but Peter couldn’t blackmail someone who was so shameless. He refuses to blackmail Cass and Steph is still just back from the dead so Peter is giving her a grace period.
Hence, Tim brought him to the cave and disabled any alarms set to keep Peter out. He hadn't had a chance to really explore the first time he came inside the cave and now Peter wanted to actually see it.
Peter wandered to the batcomputer, climbing onto the chair before sitting into it. He had to stretch to reach the keyboard before Tim’s hands stopped him.
“No touching, Peter. Bruce will find out if you do.”
“How? He won’t know!”
“Alfred will know and it’s only a matter of time till he does.”
Alfred knows everything and Peter was seriously concerned about the Spider-man plan. He still hasn’t convinced his dad to teach him to fight and no one was willing to face his dad and fight for him. At least Dick still taught him gymnastics.
Peter slid out of the chair, choosing to walk around the training mat. There were dummies lined along a wall and plastic weapons hung on racks nearby. He ran towards them, lifting up a sword. The tip landed heavily against the ground, somehow weighing as much as a real sword would.
“Wha-what did I just say?” Tim groaned, grabbing the sword and wiping it down. “Fingerprints, Peter. You have ‘em and he’ll see it.”
“Dad can’t see fingerprints.” Peter argued but left the sword to Tim. He instead focused on the batmobile, parked to the left of the cave. He didn’t dare touch this, the frame was too clean to not leave visible marks if he did.
“Maybe not but he’ll know anyway and then he’ll ask me and I can lie but when he figures it out I’ll still get in trouble.”
Peter ignored Tim’s rambling. The worst his dad can do is ground them. Besides, Peter is practically already grounded for life so he isn’t all that concerned. He found a batarang on the table, a quick glance showed him that Tim was wiping the car down as if Peter touched it.
He plucked the batarang before turning to find the targets along a wall, some were hidden away by shadows but were barely visible enough to still spot. Readying his hand, Peter calculated the best angle to hit the highest one. This felt familiar, so bone deep familiar that Peter knew he could do it.
“Peter!” Tim snapped just as he threw it, causing Peter to twist his wrist a little too much. Both brothers watched the sharp batarang fly through the cave, embedding itself into the batcomputer.
“Umm…” Peter glanced at Tim only to see him looking at Peter just as helplessly. “Maybe he won’t notice?”
He did notice. And Peter lost TV privileges. Tim had been benched and assigned clean up duty of the batcave.
“He can’t be mad for long.”
“Shut up.”
–
Peter eyed the new boy at the breakfast table. Tim had a cast and was glaring at the new kid while Cass just ate her food like nothing was wrong. Peter wished his mom was home to call his dad out on bringing home more kids because Peter wasn’t sure if they should start counting themselves as an orphanage or something similar. Daycare maybe? Boarding house?
“Who’s he ?” Peter pointed at the boy when his dad finally joined them. The new kid growled at him which drew Cass’ attention.
“This is Damian. He’s your half-brother. Damian, this is Peter.” Alfred brought out the plates for breakfast after his dad introduced them, Peter figured Alfred planned it this way.
Damian didn’t quite look like their father. Peter studied the boy more with the new information. His skin was darker than his and his eyes were a sharp green. He could make out the similar nose they shared, maybe the shape of their eyebrows. Damian must take after his mother, then.
“Wanna play hide-and-seek with us? Cass is real good and I’m getting better!” Peter knew his dad wouldn’t approve of him disliking a new sibling after practically adopting Cass himself so he plans to try. Damian seems more detached but Peter was sure they’d get along in time. He just seemed... growly. Plus maybe he could trick this brother into training him. He seems a little angrier than the others. Fighting is great for anger relief.
“No.”
Maybe he’ll just train him… they’ll be friends later.
“Why?”
“Childish games are below me.” Damian focused on his eggs, pointedly ignoring him now. Peter huffed, turning to his own breakfast. He’ll just have to win him over then. Usually it’s the other way around but he won’t back down from a challenge.
–
“A child!? Who was she, Bruce!?” Peter heard his mom’s voice first before even spotting her. She had spent the night with her girlfriends and only just got back. Peter was hoping to read more biology books with her. A tradition his mom started when Tim first started reading his textbooks for him.
“Selina…” His dad sounded stressed though Peter wasn’t too sure what for. His dad’s penchant for bringing kids home has never been a secret and his mom has accepted all of them. She usually took a new child as an excuse to take them shopping with his dad's cards.
“No, Bruce. Her name . When was this? Were you ever planning on telling me?” His mom stressed. Peter could hear her heels clicking on the tiles of the kitchen as she paced.
Alfred had suggested he avoid the kitchen and Peter was beginning to think he should have listened. Still, his parents should not be fighting. If they fought, Peter might be trapped living between two houses again. Rationally, this is definitely an adult business that Peter couldn’t help with.
Except, Peter is a part of this family. Despite his curse weighing them down. It’s on him to keep them together.
“Are you fighting?” Peter peeked into the room, eyeing his furious mother across the room. Both parents’ heads snapped to him, eyes widening minutely. Secretly, Peter preened at not being noticed earlier.
“Oh, no kitten. Mommy is just confused. Did you want something?” His mom came over immediately, her eyes softening as she knelt in front of him.
Peter watched them for a moment, considering. They were obviously talking about Damian, about his mom anyway. Were his parents together before he was born? He didn’t even know if they were married.
“Do you hate Damian?”
His mom frowned, studying him as Peter fidgeted while waiting for an answer. “No, no I don’t hate him. Kit… this is complicated but Damian isn’t at fault for any of it. Do you understand?”
Peter nodded, glancing at his dad who hummed quietly. “You hate daddy?”
“No.” His mom laughed, scooping him off the floor as she stood. “Despite his stubborn secrets, I still love him. Now let’s go read something fun. I found a good book on African cats if you want?”
Squealing, Peter agreed immediately. The fight fading to the back of his mind as she took him to his room where a new book was left on his bed. Peter sat beside her, looking over the pictures as she read through it. Hopefully they both will forget about it now. Damian was with them now and they were family.
–
Damian didn’t seem to like Peter or Tim. While he avoids Peter entirely, his newest brother apparently stalks after Tim.
“Why’re you in my room?” Peter eyed his brother lounging on his bed, a laptop opened before him with files and notebooks scattered around him.
“The demon brat doesn’t come in here.” Tim groaned, glaring down at the screen. “I’ll be out when I’m done.”
Damian’s arrival is chasing Peter out. He thought his brother’s arm was injured from patrol but… what is Damian trying to do here?
Leaving his stolen room, Peter heads off in search of the newest arrival. He’s promised to protect everyone while they are home and that means he’ll have to protect them from each other. Peter stalked past a curious Alfred but he already knew where his brother would be.
“Damian!” Peter yelled as he threw the backdoor open. Damian stood in the center of the garden where decapitated hedges stood at attention. His katana froze mid swing from whatever move he had been practicing as Peter stormed over to him. “You can’t hurt Tim!”
“Tsk. What I do is of no concern to you, brother .” Damian lowered the blade, glowering at Peter.
“You’re tryna hurt Tim so it is .”
“And you will stop me?” Damian smirked, his condescending grin taking over the glare.
“Maybe.” Peter eyed the katana curiously. It reminded him of Wade, in a way. The merc always had a pair strapped to his back. “But Tim is our brother too. You can’t hurt family.”
Damian scoffed before passing him. Peter stumbled as the older boy pushed past him to head for the door and leaving him behind. He’ll have to come up with something better. He couldn’t talk to Damian about it if he won’t listen but he also couldn’t make him do anything either.
Peter headed inside after him with plans swirling in mind. There were some ways to help them get along…
–
“Daddy?” Peter peeked into the study a day after his first attempt of getting Tim and Damian to talk went up in flames. Literally, unfortunately. A new, much more desperate plan, formed after he helped Alfred with the laundry once again. “I need your shirt.”
“My… shirt?” His dad looked over the computer screen as Peter carried said shirt. He’d taken it from his dad’s room earlier but had run into Alfred before he could make use of it. Hence why he’s had to come ask for permission before putting the plan into action.
“Damian is being mean to Tim so Imma make’em wear this!” Peter raised the shirt to show him, grinning at the idea. He remembers seeing the ‘get-along’ shirt on twitter ages ago from his past and he figured that it might help them now.
Maybe he should handcuff Damian before, just so he doesn’t strangle Tim while they learn to get along.
“One minute, chum. I’ll come with you.” His dad smirked, motioning towards the couch for Peter to wait.
Peter didn’t have to wait long as not even five minutes later his dad left the computer to follow him. The plan was simple enough. Force both brothers to run some team building activities in the shirt so that they learn to get along with each other. It was practically fool-proof especially with his dad on board.
Alfred had agreed with the plan, too. He had promised to keep both boys in the kitchen while Peter spoke with his dad.
Entering the kitchen, Peter spotted nearly everyone waiting to see what ‘announcement’ there was. Steph and Cass sat at the round table with tea, Tim leaned against the door as he kept his eyes on Damian who sat at the counter, and Dick was bouncing on his heels beside Alfred.
Perfect.
“Put this on!” Peter raised the shirt in Damian’s direction, waving it between him and Tim. He grinned as everyone looked at the shirt with a mix of emotions. Steph and Cass were interested, the former perking up in her seat at the commotion as a wide grin grew on her face. Dick’s eyes were alight as he took in the shirt and the two boys while said boys both were in varying degrees of shock.
“Absolutely not. He’ll stab me, Peter!” Tim eyed the shirt, inching away from it. Damian scoffed at both of them.
“Damian, Tim, Peter has a good idea and a point. You two need to learn to get along and this is a good way to start.” His dad started, stepping further in the room. Peter’s grin grew as his dad backed him up. “Think of it as training. You need to trust each other in the field.”
Peter handed the shirt to Tim excitedly. He still wore the cast from his first encounter with Damian so Peter hoped that would make it easier for them to get along. He couldn’t imagine what else to do if Damian tried to hurt Tim again.
Tim pulled the oversized shirt over himself before eyeing the newest Robin cautiously. “How do we do this?”
“Tsk. Father, I will not participate in these childish games.”
“This is not a debate, Damian. You’re living with me now and I cannot have you attacking everyone. Get in the shirt.” His dad ordered, his lips still stretched in an amused smirk.
Peter grinned, bouncing behind him as Damian approached Tim. They stared at each other before Damian slipped inside, his face set in a stony glare. Peter waited only a minute for them to adjust, ignoring their hushed curses before he took the hem of the shirt and pulled.
They moved when they were ready, despite Peter hanging diagonally from where he grasped. He led them towards the counter Damian sat behind earlier where Alfred had placed the ingredients needed to make a sandwich. A butter knife, peanut butter, jelly, and bread laid out with a plate at the center of it all.
“You gotta make a sandwich, now.” Peter pointed towards the ingredients as Dick started filming.
“What?” Tim eyed the ingredients as Damian growled, his eyes peeking out from the shirt’s collar. Both boys looked at Bruce before sighing. Peter couldn’t stifle the grin if he tried, this had to work.