Batty Family - Batfam Oneshots

Over the Years (Jason & Damian)

Jason's eyes widened, and his brothers looked at him fearfully. Dick grabbed his arm, but he continued to stare forward at the wall in complete enragement.

"—on the job. Guess that's to be expected from an adopted son."

"Damian, shut the f—" Tim began, but was cut off by Jason shooting up and grabbing Damian by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen here, kid. You think you're so great because you're the son of Bruce Wayne, the big bad Batman. Well, let me tell you something. You're not special. You're not the shit. You're not anything," he brought Damian's face closer to his and whispered, "You. Are. Nothing. And until you can prove yourself worthy, you will continue to be nothing. I don't give two shits about how good a fighter you are unless you're a good teammate as well. Which, it seems, you aren't. With the attitude you've got right now, you're going to end up locked in a strange place, beaten within an inch of your life, with a bomb ticking to your death. You hear me? You will die. Man the fuck up, kid, or I will see that you're off this team. Understood?"

Not that he would ever admit it, but Damian was frightened. That was mostly the reason he wasn't fighting back, besides that he knew deep down he didn't have a high chance of success. So, he tried to fight with words.

He choked out, "You don't have any authority—"

"I said, understood?!" Jason yelled in his face.

"Yes," Damian reluctantly responded. The man dropped him onto the ground and he scurried to his feet, brushing himself off.

"And don't you ever mention the Joker again. Unless it's for a mission, I don't want to know that you even thought about him. I assume that's clear, too?"

"Crystal," Damian snarled at the once dead man.

Wish he stayed that way...

"Good," Jason rubbed his face, "Dick, Tim, come with me to the cave. I need to talk to you two," he glanced at Damian, "Alone."

The boy crossed his arms and watched the three walk into the Batcave. He considered listening to Jason's advice for a moment, but then pushed the thought out of his head; when you're trained like Damian was, when you're raised to be selfish and cruel, when you're taught to only answer to yourself and a few others, it isn't so easy to just accept someone else's recommendations. More so, someone of zero status or authority. But the other two seemed to be on Jason's side...what was he to do? God, this place was so confusing.

How'd I even end up here? he thought, with confusion and anger as his motivation.

Swiping at his eyes ferociously, he left the room.
***
"Hey."

Damian turned around quickly, about to bite into the apple he grabbed from the fruit bowl, but pausing in alarm. However, when he saw Jason he inwardly sighed and continued to eat the fruit.

"Good work tonight, kid. I'm not saying you're good or anything, but you did surprise me."

Damian stared holes into the floor as he continued to chew his apple. He heard the man in front of him sigh.

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I guess—I guess I'm sorry. But you were being an ass, dude. I'm willing to start over, though, if you are."

The boy stared into his eyes as if he was searching for something, maybe a sign of deceit or a hint of malice. When he couldn't find it, he asked, "Why?"

"'Cause—even though you don't think so right now—we're brothers now. It's my job to take care of you, even if you can be a douchebag a lot of the time," the hood smirked