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To his credit, Damian had just assumed his father was being over protective when he told him not to go exploring in the cave system that connected to the main batcave. In his defense, he had also seen an injured bat doing its best to fly deeper into the system, and had wanted to help.
Of course all those excuses were useless when he was faced with the reality that he was lost. Hopelessly, desperately lost. He hadn’t been paying close enough attention to what turns he’d been taking and was now in what could only be described as a small room full of bats. Just filled to the brim, with chirping chittering bats. It wasn’t his worst nightmare, infact Damian was quite pleased with where he’d ended up, but the looming fact that he didn’t know how he got here was starting to set him on edge.
The young assassin looked up at the chittering family above him and gazed at the galaxy of twinkly eyes gazing back at him. They were adorable. Little ears and the sound of ruffling wings warmed Damian’s heart as he took a moment to center himself. It was like meditation, he focused on his breathing and the senses around him.
A few of the bats swooped down and Damian came back to himself a little and remembered where he was and why. He needed to get out of here. With a bit more haste Damian glanced around the cave in front of him, there were three possible exits. The one he entered from, one that went east and one to the south. The smart thing would to retrace his steps best he could, so Damian turned back to the hole he’d come from.
Damian ran his hands along the cold, slightly damp cave wall as he wandered down. He probably should be more worried then he was, but the cool atmosphere and gentle sounds of the cave left him feeling at home. Besides, it wasn’t like he was in any real danger. He had his comm, a knife, and a flashlight. Worst case scenario, he had to endure a lecture from father about recklessness for wandering by himself.
Or he’d get caved in.
But that was such a small possibility Damian didn’t pay any attention to it as he wandered down the cave, following the direction stray bats flew when he accidentally scared them from their resting spots. Eventually he’d find an exit from following the bats, even if it wasn’t back to the Batcave, the small mammals knew where they were going for fresh air.
Maybe in the past Damian would have put more thought to it, he would’ve stayed on target not allowing himself a moment of deviation from his mission. He wouldn’t have allowed even a second of relaxation or fun, he had a goal and he would accomplish it. Now… now he didn’t really have a direction.
Father had been insistent on the idea of him just being a child. The mission had changed, his new assignment was specifically to relax and have fun. Damian had to admit he wasn’t a natural at it, at first every moment he spent not fighting felt like a crime, worthy of the worst punishments.
Now, well now he spent most days destroying Timothy in video games, painting and playing with his dogs. Most days now he was closer to what he used to view as the useless citizen than the trained, perfected tool he’d been taught to embody. Even Mothers mission had changed for him. Last time they spoke, in secret of course, she had admitted she liked him more this way. She said what mattered now was that he was happy, now that he was away from grandfather his new mission should be to pursue happiness, not skill.
The feeling of whiplash he got from that conversation sent him spiraling for weeks after, but her permission to pursue that feeling had clicked something inside of him.
Damian broke out of his reminiscing when his toe got stuck on a rock, and he stumbled and fell flat against the sharp stone below him. The boy yelled in surprise as a thick blossoming pain welled up from his ankle and steadied himself for a moment on the floor, letting the first wave of throbbing pain wash over him before slowly moving to a sitting position. Something definitely felt broken.
Damian pointed his flashlight at his ankle and bit back a groan, his ankle was at a truly gross angle and was throbbing sharply. Great.
Something hit his head, and Damian flinched back, before quickly shining his flashlight above him. Another small pebble shot down and bounced on his forehead when he did and a slowly rising horror welled in his gut. He needed to get out, and now.
Scrambling to his feet Damian used one side of the wall for leverage, and started his best hobble down the path he wasn’t quite sure he was supposed to follow. More pebbles were starting to fall and Damian could hear the sound of chittering bats behind him as something deep in the ground stirred.
The boy's pace picked up and he fumbled for his comm device, taking the little implement and stuffing it in his ear.
“Mayday mayday,” The words tumbled out of his mouth in panicked gasps as he continued on, trying to ignore the fact he could hear the storming sound of bat wings behind him.
“Damian?” The crackle of Bruce’s voice came through the comm and Damian sent a silent thanks to Oracle for making their tech work even this far underground.
“I know you said not to go into the caves alone but-“ Damian started, when he first arrived at the manor he wouldn’t have made any excuses, hell he wouldn’t have even admitted he did anything wrong. Now, now he felt almost sheepish as he called in the emergency unfolding behind him.
“ Damian-“
“There was this bat and it looked hurt, I followed it and my ankles broken and I think the cave is collapsing,” Damian rushed out, wincing with every stumbling slow step. A bat swooped just barely above his head and he cringed away from it.
“Okay- okay just keep moving follow the bats, they’ll get you to air- fuck I’m going to try and track you-“ Father was panicked, his voice would have sounded level to anyone else but there was a certain waivor Damian had caught onto that he only did in high stress scenarios.
“I know.” Damian bit out as he stumbled just a little bit faster.
He could hear his father on the other end presumably asking the other members of their family for help. Damian would have been paying more attention to it if he wasn’t feeling a faint rumbling beneath his feet, and hearing the overwhelming sound of bats swarming towards him rapidly.
The first bat to fly past him barely clipped his shoulder as it did so, and so did the next three or four. But very quickly Damian was being pelted with little sharp bodies, and it hurt . He stumbled more, trying to keep his balance as hundreds of bats swarmed around and onto him, the sound of their once comforting adorable chitters and squeaks now drowning out even his own heartbeat.
Once one hit the back of his knee and knocked out his balance, there was no chance of stopping himself from falling to the ground. Damian threw his hands over his head curled up the best he could, hiding against the onslaught of falling rock and little winged bodies hitting against him.
Was he going to die here?
The thought hit him, and suddenly he was sobbing. Crying like he’d never done before and calling out desperately, deep full body sobs wracked his body as he lay on the cold ground, tiny cuts and bruises appearing on his skin as the attacks above him refused to stop.
He wasn’t registering what he was screaming, just the want, the need for anyone to hear him and come help. He didn’t want to die down here- he didn’t want to die at all, he was twelve- he had so much in front of him it couldn’t end like this. Not yet.
Suddenly there was something pulling him up, and he was moving again. It took him a moment to recognize the strong arms wrapped around him, clutching him to a familiar chest before he realized.
“Father-“ Damian cried, burying his face in the man’s chest as he sprinted down the cavern halls.
“It’s okay- we’re almost out it’s okay Damian-“ the man managed to reply. His voice had lost it's panic from earlier, this was Batman.
Damian was being rescued by Batman. The realization felt more than a little humiliating,if not ironic.
Suddenly, they burst from the small corridor and Bruce slowed down until he stood in the middle of the bat cave, panting as bats swarmed and flew above them. He cupped the back of Damian’s head and buried his face in it, just breathing.
Damian hadn’t stopped crying he realized, and let out a shaking sob, pressing harder into the embrace.
Eventually the bats swarming died down and Bruce walked quietly to the Med bay, setting Damian down on one of the cots. Damian was apparently letting the childish side of him win today because he refused to let go of Bruce’s sleeve, and couldn’t help the sob that bubbled up when Bruce had tried to pull away.
“Sweetheart I need to grab- god you’re all cut up I need to grab you some pain killers and bandages, not to mention a rabies shot,” He explained, trying to carefully extrude himself from Damian’s tight hold on his sleeve.
“Please- I’m sorry- please don’t I didn’t- the bat needed help I’m,” Damian was rambling, Damian did not ramble. That was for babies and idiots, sobbing like this was for babies and idiots-
Bruce’s expression broke, and he was pulling Damian back into his arms.
“I know, I know you didn’t mean to sweetheart it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m sorry too,” He whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head firmly.
“You’re allowed to make mistakes baby, I’m not leaving, neither are you. I promise . Just take a deep breath for me okay?” Bruce whispered, stroking his sons hair and he spoke, trying his best to get the kid to calm down enough to tend to his wounds.
“Promise me- promise me you’re not mad.” Damian asked, his voice felt pathetic as he spoke, it was a wavering stuttering mess unbecoming of a person of his stature.
“I promise, I’m just. You really scared me, and I need to make sure you’re okay now alright?” He asked, making another attempt to pull back.
Damian let him this time even though everything in body was screaming for him not to. Bruce extracted himself and cupped both of the boys cheeks in his large, scars hands.
“I love you Damian, understand?” He asked, looking seriously into his eyes.
Damian nodded pathetically, sniffing as another wave of emotion washed over him.
“I love you too, father.” He managed to respond with almost no waver in his voice now, and Bruce pressed a kiss onto his forehead.
______
Between the forty combined stitches, three rabies shots, and cast over his solidly broken ankle, it was safe to say Damian had been banned from the cave and patrolling until he was completely healed.
Now before this would’ve enraged him, it would have convinced him his place in the family hierarchy was moving, that he was on the outs. Today.
Well today he was mixing cake batter with Alfred in the kitchen, while his dog begged for scraps from beside the counter. Today he went to school and claimed he got attacked by hundreds of tiny paper planes to get the other kids to laugh.
Today, Bruce gave him a long winded lecture on cave safety, and held him while they watched a movie together.