Chapter 12
Homicidal brothers weren’t so bad when the threat of ‘The Shirt’ became a real thing.
Damian reminded Peter of a feral cat, unaccustomed to love and constantly on edge. The shirt instance might have worked since Tim didn’t hide in his room anymore but Damian hid in his own room now. Peter felt a little guilty about it but he was more relieved that he at least won’t target anyone in the house for a while.
Peter hoped he could get along with his newest brother, even if it will be harder since ‘The Shirt’ came around.
“Damian?” Peter stuck his head out of Cass’s room, seeing the boy stalking towards his own room. Damian stopped but didn’t turn around, so he took it as an invitation. “Wanna play in the gym? Dick taught me how to backflip and I can do it off the beam now!”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I do not have time to entertain a child nor do I wish to squander my time with you.” Damian huffed, moving towards his room again.
Peter pouted, gymnastics wasn’t childish! Cass was watching him but Peter left her room to chase after his newest brother. His dad said he was Peter’s half-brother. Meaning they were both biologically related. They should get along better than everyone else! And he could teach Peter to fight. He just had to be careful with his words or maybe beg for forgiveness over the whole shirt thing… It was probably hard for Damian to have so many new siblings.
“Wait! Whatcha gonna do then?” Peter ran to catch up, slowing down when he reached Damian.
“Something productive.”
“So you don’t know.” Peter grinned when Damian glared at him. He was right, obviously. “Why don’t you teach me to be like you, then?”
Peter stopped walking when Damian did, his newest older brother turning sharply on his heels to face him. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you said I'm childish, so teach me to be better. It’s a big brother's job to teach, too.” Peter nodded at his words. Damian might not know how to be a big brother but Peter has so many now he’s positive he could show him. He just needs to start with training before someone swoops in on it. It wouldn't be long before his dad warns Damian of the same thing he does with all the other siblings in the house.
Damian stared at him for what felt like hours before he nodded, turning back down the way he came. Peter took it as acceptance and rushed after the ten year old.
Peter took the lead when Damian tried to take them down to the batcave. He tried to explain that he wasn’t allowed down there without mentioning the batcomputer so he brushed past it quickly. He would just have to gather more material or plan to convince someone eventually to help him there later. Instead, Peter led Damian to the indoor gymnasium.
Dick told him that his dad had the room made when he first took him in. The room had a jungle gym and a small trapeze line with mats all over the ground. The beam that Peter practiced with was set a foot and a half from the ground. He was getting better but Alfred kept lowering it when he tried to raise it higher.
“We can practice here!”
“Hmm.”
Peter could see where his dad’s genes transferred the most. Peter Parker was always talkative and Peter Wayne is exactly the same. Though if that came from his mom or from the memories, he wasn’t sure. Peter hoped to study it more when he’s older but until then he could only accept it as it is.
“How much have you learned?” Damian offered the first question without being prompted.
“I can punch a dick!”
Damian didn’t seem as impressed as Tim was when he shared his story from his Grand Escape. Peter wasn’t sure how to make it sound any better so he only shrugged. Damian had him get into a stance, correcting it with the foam noodle he found by the balancing beam. The swats on his arms or legs didn’t really hurt but Peter was sure Damian would have hurt him if he found something else. Maybe he should have asked Steph to supervise…
They moved onto punches and kicks. Peter finally learned to throw a punch properly just as Damian suggested a spar.
“Already?” He was pretty sure training didn’t jump straight into fighting. Ms. Natasha had him practice on dummies before she entered the ring with him. Even Daredevil had him practice with the air before he was confident enough in Peter’s skills.
“You will never learn anything without fighting.”
“Um.. okay…” Peter was sure he could learn without fighting, at least for now. But he also didn’t want to lose the chance to learn before someone came to drag him away.
Peter circled Damian on the mat, the older boy clearly waiting for him to make the first move. Peter tried to call on muscle memory from Before before lunging forward. He pulled his elbow back for a punch before a leg swept over him. Damian’s leg hooked over his arm, knocking him to the side where Peter rolled on the mat.
Peter screamed when Damian still came after him. Scrambling to his feet before he could be pinned and racing across the room. He could faintly hear Damian giving chase as he ducked under the balance beam.
“You will not learn by running away, Kyle.” Damian snapped, his foot hitting Peter’s ankle. Peter crumbled, tears bursting in his eyes from pain. He managed to roll away before Damian caught him again, pinning him to the mat.
“Damian!” Tim and Dick rushed in, the latter lifting Damian from Peter as the former knelt by him.
“Peter? You okay?” Tim’s hands gently ran over him, checking over his ribs before coming to a stop at his ankle. The skin was red, yellow and blue already as the bruise bloomed. “Let’s get you to Alfred.”
“Damian, let’s talk.” Dick carried Damian away, Peter couldn’t catch his eye as they left. He just got himself a teacher and he lost him before the first lesson was over.
–
“What happened?” Dick asked, sitting on the chair in Damian’s new room. The kid was new to the Manor and had attacked Tim a few times already. Dick had a fight with the kid too but had managed a tentative peace. He was not expecting Damian to go after Peter, though.
Maybe it was some sort of revenge for the shirt situation? Damian was no doubt humiliated from the experience, especially considering how he was likely treated in the League. Everyone else understood the joke and had fun with it, even Tim settled down as he worked with Damian. Did Damian understand it, though?
“Peter wished to learn to fight. I was merely teaching him as asked.” Damian sniffed, raising his chin in the air.
Of course. Peter had been hounding everyone for lessons since he was three and Damian was the only one to not see a problem with it. Steph had taught Peter the barest lesson and Bruce had warned her away from teaching his son any more.
Dick knew Peter would get training eventually. The kid was too determined to ever give up on it. It was only a matter of time, even Bruce knew he couldn’t keep Peter away for long. Bruce would no doubt try to keep Peter away from the vigilante business, but at this rate the kid would bulldoze his way into the cave for a suit of his own.
“Peter is five, Damian. He’s too little to learn right now.” Dick held up a hand when Damian was gearing up to argue. While Damian was raised by the League of Assassins, those morals did not align with this house and someone had to tell him. “I’m sure you learned by his age but… Peter isn’t growing up to be a weapon or a leader. Bruce wants him to be happy, which means allowing Peter to grow up safe and unharmed. He will learn eventually but right now, he should just be a kid. Do you understand?”
“Peter is the blood-son of Batman, what is he for if not to take over for Father?”
“Peter is the son of Bruce, and so are you. Bruce would rather have his kids grow up safe and healthy than fighting crime and diving into danger. Blood has nothing to do with it. He didn’t even want to train me when I wanted to learn. I had to force his hand for it. If he had it his way, Bruce would have kept all of us at home while going at it alone.”
While Bruce had told him what Damian learned from Talia, Dick wasn’t sure about him taking on the Robin mantle just yet. Especially since Tim was still Robin. While Damian’s attacks on Tim dwindled down to nothing thanks to Peter’s interference, he was still dead set on taking Robin from Tim. And Tim seems to be losing ground in their little fight.
“So Peter is useless to Batman? Why waste resources on him if he cannot do anything?”
Dick had to remind himself that Damian wasn’t raised in regular society. The concept of kids being kids was lost to him. It was sad to think that Damian only understood children as being useful for some greater purpose in regards to their parents. Whatever lessons he had before would be hard to rewire now, it would take a lot of patience from all of them to do so.
“He doesn’t have to be useful to Batman. Peter is his son and that’s enough. Bruce loves you too, even if you don’t want to be Robin.”
“Tsk. I am Robin. It is my birthright.” Damian scoffed, as if not being Robin was impossible.
“Right… right.” Dick sighed, glancing at the door as if he could summon Bruce to handle his son.
–
“Are you alright now, chum?” His dad sat with Peter on his lap. Alfred had brought them ice cream which Peter happily dug into. Cass was perched on the couch’s armrest with Tim leaning on the wall beside them.
Peter had been embarrassed at first. He should have handled it better and now Damian will never train him again. Peter from Before would have handled the attack just fine! It frustrated him to no end that he burst into tears from a little kick. He couldn’t protect his family if he cried over the smallest of things.
“I’m okay…” Peter pushed his ice cream around a little, tears welling up again as he thought about the pain from his ankle. The faint pulse traveled up his leg as he focused on it more. “I just wanted ta learn…”
“Give it another ten years, Pete.” Tim piped up. His cast already covered in signatures from classmates and some of Peter’s own doodles, a reminder of Damian’s aggression as well as a symbol of the vigilante life. While Damian didn't go after Tim in a duel to the death, he still bore the injury from the initial attack. Something Peter might have gotten if Damian had actually tried...
Another thing Peter realized was that Damian was barely fighting him. He could have stopped Peter from running initially but he took it as a lesson for Peter to stand his ground. His brother was a little unhinged but he did try to teach him.
“Ten years!?” Peter gaped, whirling around to face his dad as the words processed.
“When you’re older.” His dad settled for. No actual time frame but Peter hoped that meant sooner than ten years. Steph and Tim were back now but Jason was still missing. Peter has even more siblings to protect too. He has to learn. He has to be useful.
“Hey Bruce, I talked to Damian. You might want to give it a shot.” Dick entered the room, joining Peter and his dad on the couch. “Remember, emotions. You’re great with Petey here but ya know, humanity. It won’t kill you.”
Peter giggled at the jab, climbing off his dad so he could go ground his half-brother. Hopefully Damian would still teach Peter… just not as violently as earlier.
–
Peter lost his teacher.
Damian ignores him entirely now and Tim was chased out. Well, Damian had convinced their dad to take him out as Robin and Tim was angry and left to join his friends in the Titan Tower. Peter technically shouldn’t know about it yet but really, people forget that Cass was teaching him how to sneak around.
He calls Tim every night to check in on him and hear stories of what he’s getting up to. While Tim doesn’t say everything that he’s doing, Peter was just glad he has time to answer the phone. The news has started talking about the newest Robin who, surprise surprise, is more violent than the previous ones. The newest Robin flew around with Batman, carrying a sword into fights and causing more injuries. Though so far there haven't been any deaths due to the sword so maybe Damian was learning a little.
His dad and Dick have been trying to teach him to hold back but Peter was pretty sure it wouldn’t be so easy. Damian reminded him of Daredevil with his technique. It wasn’t boxing but the bloodthirst and violence was still there. He wondered if Damian felt the violence in his blood. If the call for vengeance and justice sang when he flew through the city.
“Damian?” Peter peeked into Damian’s room, ducking when a shuriken flew at his head. “Wanna watch Charlotte’s Web?”
“Tsk. Leave me alone.”
Damian really avoids him now. Peter huffed, leaving Damian to hide in his room. Maybe he can convince Alfred to drag him out. Damian doesn’t try anything when Alfred is around. Peter would have been surprised if he did, no one crosses Alfred.
“Still ignoring you, huh.” Steph joined him with Cass at her side.
Since Tim left, Steph kept coming for Cass. Peter was just glad to see she was okay. Even if she still annoyed him sometimes.
“Does he hate me?” Peter looked up at the girls, crossing his arms when Steph hummed.
“No but I’m sure Bruce let him know he was in trouble for hurting you.”
“He doesn’t know you. You are so little.”
“So he hates me.”
Peter left the girls in favor of hiding in his room. Dick had let Peter keep Zitka as a promise to keep visiting as well as an apology for losing Quack. After Jason left, Dick came over a lot more for Peter and the other kids his dad brought home. He needed to figure out a way to fix this. Damian isn’t his first brother by this point but he is the first to downright avoid him.
Even Tim didn’t avoid him when Peter was constantly pushing him around. Though now he knows it was more because Tim didn’t know how to deal with him other than let him get away with everything.
What does Damian like? Fighting… but Peter can’t do anything about that. Maybe he would like to go to the museum. That was always a good middle ground of interests.
–
“Stay close, kitten. Damian don’t wander too far either. The museum will be crowded today.” Peter grinned, holding his mom’s hand as he bounced on his heels. Their dad didn’t want Peter scheming to get his mom to steal more historical pieces but after ensuring the art museum didn’t have any cat pieces they were cleared to go.
Damian didn’t look impressed in the slightest but they were just getting inside. They had time.
“Come on, Damian!” Peter left his mom’s side to take Damian’s hand before running towards the Da Vinci exhibit.
Peter could feel Damian try to tug out of his grasp but he hardly put in any actual effort so Peter ignored it. He could hear his mom’s heels behind them as they ran. Peter led Damian towards the paintings lining the walls. He ducked around other guests to pull them towards the front.
The real Mona Lisa would never be brought to Gotham but they still had a copy on display.
Peter beamed up at Damian when he caught him studying the painting. Maybe Damian liked art?
“Tsk.” It’s progress.
Peter led Damian around the museum, taking note when Damian would hesitate over some paintings over others as well as the lack of interest in sculptures entirely. He made a point to ignore the statues and busts, leading Damian to various paintings and sketches instead.
“Which is your favorite?” Peter asked when his mom had to drag them to the cafe in the museum for lunch. He bit into his grilled cheese while waiting for Damian to think of an answer.
“The paintings were adequate.”
“That’s not an answer!” Whining, Peter turned to his mom instead. “What is your favorite?”
“I liked the Black Cat and the Tomato Plant by Takahashi Hiroaki. Cats are mischievous creatures.”
“See, that’s an answer.” Peter huffed, pointedly staring at Damian.
“Tsk.”
Peter hoped Damian would change his answer by the end of the trip. They already saw most of the artwork here. After finishing up their lunch, Peter let his mom lead them back into the halls of the museum. They passed old portraits and castle paintings before finding their way to the Baroque side of the museum. While they've already seen most of the displays, maybe going back with the knowledge of other pieces could help his brother decide on his favorite.
Damian dodged all of Peter’s attempts of taking his hand so he eventually had to give up as they continued to explore. Instead he chose to run ahead, yelling at him and his mom to hurry. They would have to go back soon enough.
They managed another two hours before his mom decided they should head back. The museum would close within an hour or two and after purchasing sketchbooks and a new plushie, it was time for them to go.
Peter beamed when Damian tried to lag behind on their way out.