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silvergreenseraphim · 3 months

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The First Soldier: Chapter Six

Japanese highlights + analysis

Hi guys! Okay, let’s look right into this chapter-

Opening with Team Glenn, we learn some small details. The Shinra dig will start soon, and Glenn marvels at how fast everything is moving. Matt credits Shinra power, Glenn credits their hard work as a team, and Lucia credits Sephiroth, who did most of the work. Glenn, being more humble now, admits that he cannot deny it, and remembers that he must tell Sephiroth about the payment.

However, he notes that Sephiroth does not seem interested in money. This is one of the first hints throughout this chapter that Team Glenn still do not fully understand what Sephiroth is to Shinra. It is a subtle but reoccurring pattern, particularly when the notion of “being fired” comes into play later on.

The English in this scene was good. No major changes.

The chief engineer calls the team over and reprimands them for being too relaxed, saying that they need to do their jobs and clear out the monsters near the living quarters. Glenn awkwardly agrees to get back to patrolling, but first he asks,

“Hey, have you seen our squad leader?”

The engineer responds,

“If you mean that kid, isn’t he still out looking through the bodies? It’s disgusting. Please make him stop.“

Glenn is surprised and says, “Sephiroth is rummaging through the corpses?”

Matt notes that Sephiroth does often disappear/go off on his own, and Lucia says to look for him on their patrol.

(Seeing how the other Shinra employees behave and speak helped me see why Sephiroth had no luck asking around about his mother. They are only there to do their jobs, and don’t understand the child SOLDIER at all. It is very much an indifferent workforce).

Next is the scene where we learn about the materia fragments that were shattered over time. This scene adds greater weight to the mako spring discussion in the Nibelheim flashback, where Sephiroth comments that the condensed formation must have taken ages. It takes a very long time for even small bits to form, and even then they can shatter.

There is the silly bit of banter between the team about using diversion pebbles/materia fragments, but I must note again that Glenn seems calmer and less cocky even in his jesting.

Then Lucia becomes visibly concerned and says,

“Looking through corpses…I wonder if he’s really doing that…”

Glenn responds,

“The chief engineer is just joking around right? There’s no way he (Sephiroth) would do something like that.”

Matt agrees that there would be no need for it, and the team moves forward.

(It is very wholesome to see them believe only the best of Sephiroth despite what others think, and they are more perceptive and accurate about him anyway. This story constantly leads the audience to worry that Sephiroth always held darker traits before immediately disproving these concerns or at least showing that his reasons were always understandable. Team Glenn speaks for the more optimistic viewers at this point).

Of course little Sephiroth is caught undeniably searching a body, and Glenn questions him in surprise. Sephiroth is confused at first, but then acknowledges that it does look wrong. Lucia asks him if he is looking for something. Sephiroth says,

“I lost the pendant with my mother's photo in it.. . . . . .I was looking for it. I was checking to see if someone might have picked it up and had it on them…”

(So, a small translation nuance; it is clear in Japanese that Sephiroth dropped it and believed that someone could have picked it up. He is not just looking under bodies, he is going through their pockets and all to see if anyone has it with them.)

Sephiroth chuckles and admits,

“Haha, I suppose I am a corpse-scavenger…“

(This is another case of Sephiroth’s childlike innocence mingling with his very dark reality. He lost his most precious possession like a normal child would, but now has to search for it among the dead that he himself laid to waste).

When the others understand, Glenn says,

“Alright, let’s look for it while we kill monsters.”

And Sephiroth replies,

“Thank you very much…that helps…“

The team moves on to kill monsters and search.

Glenn notes the lesser number of bodies and Sephiroth points out that it was because of the monsters. Glenn shudders to think of dying in the area, but Sephiroth takes the opportunity to beseech them to not let their guard down. He says,

“You all seem to be feeling a little relaxed. You can never be too careful. You must protect yourself. If you don't apply this basic rule...”

Right then a monster swoops in and Sephiroth kills it, stunning the others. He concludes with, “…then even I can’t protect you.”

Glenn asks, “So, you’re protecting us?”

Sephiroth walks up to him and responds,

“It’s because you’re my team.”

They are interrupted by more monsters, but when the fighting ends, Matt repeats what Sephiroth said.

“I’ll protect you because you’re my team…”

Matt glares at Glenn and says,

“I’d like to hear that from a team-leader I know who previously threatened to hit one of his own squad members…”

Lucia chimes in with the comment about that same team-leader making them be near his gross socks.

(They are both referencing the first chapter of the game, where Glenn’s outburst on the helicopter made it appear as though he were going to punch Matt, and when Glenn made a joke about his socks being so bad that they would pull Lucia out of shell-shock).

Sephiroth looks up at Glenn while shaking his head and laughs, saying,

“Ha…that’s the worst.”

Glenn remarks,

“But it’s “memorable,” isn’t it?”

Sephiroth thinks for a moment and says,

“Yes, I see. So, that team-leader fears being forgotten…”

This observation strikes Matt and even Glenn. They appear to rethink Glenn’s leadership style. Glenn does not protest the observation, but he ponders it.

(I found it sweet that Sephiroth did not judge Glenn, but pointed out what is likely a true insecurity of Glenn’s, but in a very mild and childlike way. Part of me even wonders if Sephiroth understood the fear because he too had struggled with it. After all, adult Sephiroth refused to be a memory even post-insanity.)

(Also, it is hard to fully explain, but reading this text in Japanese—it becomes easier to see how it is not just Glenn that influences Sephiroth, but also the other way around. It’s strange but…it feels as though Glenn has become…softer? Even when alone with his team, he is not disrespecting them so much or being so brash. It was his meeting with Rosen that helped him to develop sympathy for the “enemy” and it was Sephiroth that helped Glenn become kinder to his team. Even the way he speaks seems gentler.

In the last chapter, Glenn was so harsh towards Seph at the beginning, but learned remorse and how to apologize when Sephiroth’s vulnerability was showcased. In this chapter, Sephiroth is the one to understand that Glenn might have been such a brash leader because he feared being forgotten, which was a very perceptive and empathetic observation, causing even Matt to reconsider. It was a very heart-warming scene).

(The next sequence is devastating and I believe it caused some minor controversy with fans because of how Glenn speaks, but I can affirm that the tone in Japanese seems to aim for sympathetic character development. As I mentioned before, Glenn is different to the character we first met, and his arc is becoming more clear as we move forward.)

As the squad looks through the bodies, Glenn notices that there were not many Rhadoran remnants left, and Matt suspects it was because of their living conditions and the endless battle with monsters. Glenn remarks that it must have been a hard lifestyle. He then says,

“...I don't really understand why Rhadore hated the Mako reactors…I mean, there's no such thing as convenient (as the reactors), right?”

They are swiftly interrupted again by monsters, causing Sephiroth to say that they seem more interested than usual.

“The monsters seem more interested than usual.”

“They’re excited about live bait!” Glenn says.

“If you want to be bait, I won't stop you, but as a SOLDIER, please fight first.” Sephiroth urges.

When they clear out the area again, Matt considers the similarities between the Rhadoran believes and “Planetology” or the “study of the star.”

“When a person dies, their life returns to the planet with their consciousness and heart and intersects with the energy of life circulating around the planet. The idea is that a new life will eventually be born from it. The life around this planet is what they call “qi” (mana). The “qi” going around the planet enriches people and nature and the planet itself. It would be unthinkable for Rhadore to consume such an irreplaceable energy.”

Glenn is still confused, and then Sephiroth interjects with,

“Dr. Hojo talked to me about this…

“No matter how rationally and logically we explain things, there are people we will not be able to share understanding with. That is because they see the world differently.””

Glenn argues that such things won’t matter if someone dies, and that it would just be better to accept an easy life instead of fighting so hard against it. He points out that Rosen is the only one left, and says that if the Rhadoran beliefs are true, what will become of the last Rhadoran boy when he dies? When he is gone, no one will be left, and people will forget Rhadore.

Sephiroth sadly shakes his head and turns away, saying that,

“The planet remembers…I am certain that is what the people of Rhadore believe…”

Glenn receives his epiphany, and understands that the Rhadorans resisted the consumption of mana/mako because it would erase all memories of life. He is suddenly overcome with sadness and turns to kneel and honor the fallen soldiers. The others do the same.

(This scene was, in my opinion, intended to deliver a strong message, but was maybe limited by the story-telling style. Some people were shocked by Glenn’s questioning why the Rhadorans all died for their beliefs when he is with the very company that wiped them out. But I think it does help to remember that this war between Shinra and Wutai was something that soldiers like Glenn and his team only had seen one side of until this point. They were a survey team working for money after all, not the ones directly sent to kill the Rhadorans until Sephiroth arrived, who did most of the work anyway, and even shocked the others with his conditioned ruthlessness in the previous chapter.

Shinra is a propaganda monster, and undoubtedly played off the war as something the Wutaians started and were responsible for, as well as the Rhadorans. It does sound like Glenn is genuinely confused here, especially as someone who was probably used to Shinra being the default government for everything.

“Why would these people willingly die and fight Shinra for trying to make their lives easier?”

But that is the simple darkness of imperialism. Shinra was going to erase something very important to the Rhadorans for the sake of “convenience.”

Glenn only sees this after Sephiroth himself acknowledges the Rhadoran faith. This is where a change of heart occurs. The Rhadorans were fighting for a genuine reason. Of course they were.

I actually felt this was a very meaningful sequence after translating it. Very good attempt at addressing imperialist destruction.)

Afterwards, they keep up the search and Matt asks if Sephiroth is sure he dropped the necklace in the building they are in. He says he had it before the ruins, so he is sure it must have been in the building. Lucia explains that it might be difficult to find if they haven’t already. Sephiroth tiredly shakes his head and says,

“It’s okay. Thanks to everyone for looking together, I think I’m about ready to give it up.”

He is saying that since everyone looked at the same time, he is ready to accept that he has to let the photo go. If they can’t find it together, then it is truly lost. The others become downcast on his behalf, and then Glenn moves over to one of the dead soldiers. He suggests they bury them as a way to say sorry, though he is not sure if that is their custom. Either way, Sephiroth immediately says that he will help, and Glenn is grateful.

The next scene was clearly translated into English. As they bury the bodies, the dig begins and Sephiroth explains that they will need to evacuate to the sky in thirty minutes, thanks to a possible mako eruption or “torrent of qi” caused by Shinra’s explosives. Glenn remembers Rosen’s words, and Sephiroth says they need to hurry.

The following sequence is endearing as Sephiroth makes shortcuts for the team. He reveals a unique power that allows him to create great bursts of energy from simple materia fragments. The others are stunned. Glenn, in particular, cannot believe it even after Sephiroth explains. He says,

“No, it’s impossible! Sephiroth, you’re amazing!!”

In the next scene, Glenn is initially ready to chop down a tree to form a bridge across a river, but Sephiroth steps in and says his way will be quicker. Where before, Glenn would have been eager to lead the way, he kindly steps aside and lets Sephiroth take over. Glenn is once again verbally supportive, and says,

“Ha! As expected.”

Sephiroth says,

“As expected of a modified human (cyborg), right?”

Glenn says wasn’t going to say that, nor was he thinking it. Sephiroth says,

“Really?….I’m a little disappointed…”

Glenn is confused and Sephiroth shakes his head,

“I don’t really understand it myself…”

Bringing his head low and his hand to his heart again, he guesses,

“It’s just…nothing you guys say makes me feel bad, so I want you to be able to say anything…”

(The English got the point across as well, but Seph is sincerely saying that he trusts them because they don’t say things that hurt him, so he doesn’t want them to feel as if they need to hold back their thoughts. He is pointing out that he has grown to feel safe with them because they are not malicious with their words. It feels like he discovers the idea of trust in relationships right here).

Glenn perks up and says,

“Alright then, I’ll tell you what I think!! I’m counting on you, squad-leader! Now, let’s go!”

Sephiroth enthusiastically responds with “Yes!” and they move on.

The waterfall scene is largely the same. Glenn fully goes to Sephiroth to lead this time and hands him the materia fragment. He asks if Sephiroth can use it like before, and in Japanese, Sephiroth endearingly says he doesn’t want to “make things go boom” but that he has an idea. He freezes the waterfall and Glenn voices his praise again.

When they finally draw close, Glenn stops to think of Rosen, but Sephiroth urges him to hurry. When they get to the overlook, it becomes clear that Glenn and the others are struggling with remorse over the Rhadorans and Rosen being in danger. They exchange glances and Glenn almost says something to Sephiroth, but stops himself.

Sephiroth himself is far more concerned about them, his team, and their safety. The divide is obvious, and a choice will have to be made.

They arrive as the last ones to the Shinra helicopter and the engineer is ready for them to evacuate, but Glenn begs the man to delay the dig so that he can go and warn Rosen, thus setting his plans in motion without forewarning Sephiroth. The engineer refuses despite Glenn’s pleas and brings up the amount of money Shinra has put into the program. Glenn shouts,

“This isn’t about the money!”

And punches the engineer, much to Matt and Lucia’s exasperation.

The engineer says,

“I'll report you to headquarters! I can even have you fired.”

Glenn does not care. It is the first time we have seen him willingly dismiss money and fight for something else. He tells the engineer to get on the other helicopter, and Matt tells Lucia to make her decision. She apologizes to Sephiroth and hi-jacks the copter. Sephiroth simply turns his back quietly.

The final Stamp battle occurs afterwards as an interruption, and the team finishes the job, with more remorse from Glenn about messing with Stamp’s island. Then the engineer flies overhead and drops down the ladder, offering one more chance. Lucia says,

“Will Sephiroth also be disposed of?”

Matt reminds her,

“It’s okay, we’re the only ones at fault. There are witness too.”

With this, the team says goodbye to their leader, and Glenn tells him,

”Sephiroth, take care! Don’t overdo it/push yourself too much!”

They run off, leaving Sephiroth to evacuate, but he hesitates. The engineer shouts,

“Hurry up and get on, hero!”

But our hero can’t leave his friends just yet!

He runs up to them and Glenn is surprised. He says,

“You came…….are you sure? If you get on this helicopter, you could get fired, right?”

And the chapter ends with Sephiroth’s simple reply,

“I’m special.”

Glenn just laughs.

—

This appears to be a direct reference to Sephiroth’s future statement about always knowing he was special or different since he was a child.

The word is the same.

“Exceptional, unique, beyond ordinary…”

But this line from Sephiroth is actually more upsetting to me than funny or cocky, because yes, there is indeed a chance he is merely being proud about being able to get away with his current actions due to his status as Shinra’s hero, but…

There is also the chance he knows he cannot be fired or disposed of because Shinra would never let him leave. They have control over him. He is different or special in that sense too. He is a prized possession, unlike the others.

I have yet to see, but I wonder if Sephiroth knows that he is risking severe punishment for his actions by helping his team and will not be met with a simple lay-off, but since this is his last chance to help and be with his team, he is ready to pay the price. If they are fired, he may not see them again. Now is his chance.

His hesitation at the helicopter is sincere. He clasps at his heart and everything. I don’t believe he is being light-hearted when he tells Glenn he is different. In the English, it came off more prideful, as though Seph were daring Shinra to come after him. In Japanese, I get the feeling he is making a sacrifice.

Sephiroth also believes it is his job to protect his team. If Shinra tries to harm them, he will have to face that. I fear that for now, Sephiroth has not learned that Shinra will not just punish him, but they can also kill people he considers friends.

I also think this chapter was full of foreshadowing.

Even the scenes with Glenn praising Sephiroth and making an effort to do it honestly and constantly felt as though it were meant to be a contrast for what could be shown later if the Shinra higher-ups appear and catch Sephiroth in the act of treason.

I am very proud of him, but I am very concerned for him now.

(I have more thoughts on Sephiroth’s relationship with Team Glenn after this chapter, but I will save it for another post! Hope you guys enjoy this one in the mean time!)

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albatmobile · 1 year

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The Art of Rehabilitating Snowbirds Chapter 6

𓅪 After not hearing from Roy or Jason for five years, you suddenly find yourself taking in extra income as a babysitter for Roy and Jason's child.

𓅪 Rated: M | TW: underage drinking | 11.2k includes: sleepover w Damian (y’all already know there’s bed sharing), dinner and breaky w batfam, sex talk from bruce, Jason throws a party at the manor and you’re invited (shenanigans and dirty dancing w ur boy roy)

fem!Reader x Jason Todd x Roy Harper [masterlist]

Chapter Six: Growing Pains | ao3 - wattpad

THEN

Damian held out the chair for you as you walked up to the overly-stuffed table that was filled to the brim with every type of food imaginable before sitting to your left. Maybe even some foods that weren’t imaginable, considering you couldn’t quite place the fluffed bowl of purple goodness in front of a runny-nosed Jason to the right of you.

Tim sat parallel to Jason with his raw-rubbed Rudolph nose, but you didn’t remember him mentioning anything about being sick.

Weird.

Upon closer inspection, Tim’s eyes appeared to be red, as if stained with tears. You looked around the table to see if anyone else had noticed, but Damian was too busy fiddling with his napkin next to you. Meanwhile, Jason was preoccupied with blowing an excessive amount of snot into his own, leaving both Alfred and Damian to frown in distaste.

“Miss,” Alfred’s soothing voice drew you from your thoughts. You looked up as he set down the last serving plate and then picked up the water pitcher, “I do have a few questions for you."

What questions could the Wayne's most prestigious help have for a nobody like you? Oh, god, you thought. Here come the questions about your home life. You were really hoping to avoid the topic, let alone in front of the entire Wayne family. At the same time, how could you say no to Alfred?

You gulped nervously, “Uh, sure.” You looked around to see them all glancing between you and Alfred warily. Everyone, that is, except Tim. Upon seeing the raven lift his head, you attempted to hold his gaze from across the table, but Tim seemed to purposefully avoid your eyes. “What about?”

“Well," He looked like what he was about to say was rather obvious, "it’s regarding you and the young men at this table.”

“Oh?” You didn’t know what else to say.

Alfred’s poker face remained strong as ever as he began filling everyone’s glasses with great care. “You see, Master Damian has been nothing but complimentary about your art skills,” He poured your water, “and Master Bruce seems quite taken with your baking skills.” You smiled modestly at Bruce, not understanding where Alfred was going with this in the slightest. “Master Timothy can’t seem to stop talking about which comics you like and which ones you don’t,�� Tim finally caught your eyes long enough for him to see your worried expression, but the glance was over just as quickly as it'd begun. “You even have Master Jason cooking tirelessly for you nearly every day of the week.” He stopped pouring, tilting his head from in between the empty space between where Damian’s seat met yours. “I’m simply wondering what magical powers you possess, Miss?”

Woah, woah, woah... Hold up. Jason cooked for you? A quick look his way proved he was too busy glaring at Alfred to notice your dumbfounded stare. Even Tim seemed upset with what Alfred said, but you were still caught off guard by all the information you’d just obtained.

“Pennyworth, whose side are you on?” Damian spat, pouting petulantly at his empty plate.

“I’m merely on the side that causes you more embarrassment, it would appear,” The older man said sarcastically as he finally sat down. “Please, do dig in before it gets too cold. I’ve worked too hard for it to go to waste,” He gave you a knowing smile as you blushed down at your plate.

None of them needed to be told twice and they began digging in with such fervor you had to laugh at the barbaric sight.

“Boys, calm down,” Came Bruce’s deep, rumbling timbre from the head of the expensive wood table. You could understand his playboy reputation when he looked and talked like that, but now was definitely not the time to be checking out your friend’s dad. “You act like we don’t feed you.”

“Shi-” Jason sneezed into his arm, cutting off his curse before Alfred could claim any swear jar money. “It’s really good,” He shrugged way too innocently, leaving everyone to roll their eyes.

“So,” Your name dripped from Bruce’s mouth like honey. “What is your secret?”

You met his dark eyes and with a kind, hopefully unaffected, smile before quickly retreating to look at the much less intimidating Alfred. “I just do my own thing and whoever tags along for long enough, I try to keep them around.”

You really didn’t know how else to answer the question and figured you were at least being truthful with them. You’d never been in a situation like this before, let alone in a situation where you had multiple friends.

“I understand,” You glanced back at him to see his face had softened. You waited for the uncomfortable question about why you were always over here or where your parents were, but it never came. “Guess we’ll have to keep you around too, then.” He flashed you a dazzling smile, causing Damian to mutter something under his breath from beside you.

You gave the beguiling man a weak thumbs up, “Sounds good.”

Damian snorted at your awkwardness, only to sneer and shove at your shoulder when you brought your foot down hard onto his from underneath the table in response.

“Master Damian, no roughhousing at the table.”

He stuck out his tongue at you, “She started it.”

“Woah! Careful, Damian you know what she does with those,” Jason said with a wicked glint in his eyes. Tim, to your surprise, chuckled from across the table around a mouthful of purple fluff. How fitting that they wouldn’t let you live down grabbing Damian’s tongue during Injustice.

“Yes. Please refrain from further tongue-grabbing,” He smirked around your last name, “and stomping like a cow.”

“Damian!” Bruce and Tim reprimanded in unison, but you just laughed. You were growing more accustomed to his jokes which were honestly more like jabs than anything else. Nonetheless, you could appreciate his prickly humor.

“What?” He looked innocently from Bruce and Tim to you. “At least she has a sense of humor.”

You shook your head in amusement and sipped at your water. “Thick skin is more like it, asshol-” You looked up quickly, first at Alfred, then at Bruce with worried eyes. You weren’t used to censoring yourself for parental figures. “Sorry,” You managed sheepishly.

“We do have a swear jar here in the manor, Miss,” Alfred says your name. “We wouldn’t want you to start adding to it, now would we?”

“What do you guys do when it’s filled up? Go to Disneyland or some-,” You’d been about to say shit but corrected yourself before it could squeeze out, “-thing?”

You hoped you'd corrected yourself fast enough that Alfred wouldn't claim any swear jar money from you, but his distasteful gaze seemed to say that you were on thin ice.

“Something like that.” Bruce agreed, shooting a highly amused gaze your way.

Dinner continued somewhat normally, with Tim and Damian talking about their respective days at school until it came down to Jason.

Bruce cleared his throat before saying your name. Your eyes instantly drew from your debate with Damian over which genre ‘Las Meninas’ was to Bruce’s baby blues, but they were more focused on the pathetic sniffling mess next to you. “Was telling me earlier about the strange circumstance under which you got sick, Jason. Care to explain?”

You visibly winced in your seat when he turned to glare at you with his gorgeous green eyes.

Whatever.

It’s not like you’d meant to rat anyone out, anyway.

“Must’ve been something in the air, Bruce,” He pushed his empty plate away. “Speaking of, I better go quarantine myself in my room before I share the love with all of you.”

Tim and Damian also went to stand.

You grabbed your plate, getting up from the table with it until Damian slapped the plate out of your hand. “What are you doing?” You gave him a naive look that he ignored in favor of pulling you upstairs. “Come along.”

“Don’t stay up too late now, you two,” Alfred warned after your retreating forms.

“We won’t,” You promised innocently enough.

“You dare lie to my butler?” Damian smirked at you.

“Please, Damian,” You gestured to his short form. “You look like a kid who goes to bed at eight. I garuntee you’ll be out in the fetal position in another three hours tops.”

He snorted, “I could stay up longer than you could ever imagine.”

You knew he hadn’t meant it to sound so provocative, but that didn’t stop the blush that blossomed crudely across your cheeks. “I guess I’ll just have to take your word on that, then.”

Damian didn’t have time to respond as you smacked dead into Jason’s bare chest.

You scrambled backward and attempted to keep your eyes off his oddly scarred chest. The rise and fall of his chiseled stomach ceased as if he'd stopped breathing upon contact. You steeled your face, forcing yourself to look up at his usual blank expression.

The gym shorts he’d had on at dinner, however, had other ideas on where your attention should be. They hung deliciously loose around his protruding muscular hipbones leading your eyes right down to…

“What are you looking at?” He scowled at you, though it held no actual malice. He seemed to be testing you or maybe even teasing, but you couldn’t tell in your flustered state. You were more surprised Damian had remained silent through you blatantly checking out his older brother.

You ignored him and chose to keep your eyes on the towel wrapped around his shoulders for the sake of your own sanity. “So, you cooked for me?”

He’d obviously been caught off guard. “Whatever, just the one time.” You thought back to the scones and somehow now doubted that was the only time based on his sudden defensiveness on the topic. He hesitated before hastily adding, “The other shit didn’t come out right, but it wasn’t even for you, so you get that shit out of your head right now.”

He huffed at your growing smirk. After all, you’d just been the one fawning all over him and now you have him flustered?

Time to amp it up.

“The scones you made were so good! I was getting kind of sad you hadn’t made anything else for me since then,” You trailed off, looking up at him through your lashes. Damian tutted somewhere next to you, but you hardly noticed. It was like Jason had you in a trance where everything disappeared until it was just the two of you locked in a heated gaze.

He broke the eye contact first, running a sheepish hand through his locks before coughing into the crook of his elbow, “Once I’m better, maybe.” You smiled widely, “That is, if I even remember,” He added on with a cool nonchalance you saw right through.

“We should make something together sometime.” He gave you an odd face, knowing the joke Roy would’ve told if he’d been around. “You know what I meant." You sighed, "Cooking, baking, whatever. Anything’s cool.”

"Cool," He fiddled slightly with the ends of his navy towel. “Now move so I can hack up mucus in the shower and shit.”

You ooo’ed, “I’m totally telling Alfred you just said that.”

He glared at you as you waved and left to find Damian, who’d snuck off while you’d been flirting. “I bet you will, snitch,” He called after you.

You ignore his jab, “See you around.” You called back to him, but he was already gone.

•

It was only after you’d beaten Damian three times in a row at Dragon Ball Z that he rage quit and demanded you get ready for bed.

His new puppy Titus followed him around like a, well, lost puppy and went wherever the two of you went. It would be more endearing if he didn’t come up to your tits and all, but, hey, Damian really seemed to cheer up with the new addition to the Wayne family.

You yawned and sleepily followed him and Titus back to his room where he disappeared swiftly into his attached bathroom. Damian reappeared shortly after to open the door for you in sleep shorts and a cotton crewneck.

“Don’t use my face products,” He warned around the toothbrush that was in his mouth.

You rolled your eyes and joined him at the his-and-her sinks to unload your own products, “As if I need your expensive shit. It’s filled with a whole bunch of alcohol and fragrances, anyway.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means you’re paying for overpriced shit that’s going to make your face break out all for the sake of having a name brand?” You said it as if it were obvious. You snickered as he continued to stare at you with a vexing glare.

He pulled the toothbrush from his mouth to hiss at you, “You’re so annoying. Do you ever hear yourself talking and want to shut up?”

Damian’s fucking funny. You’d never met someone who could banter with you so well before.

“I can’t wait until I leave and you check the ingredients on your shit because I know you will,” You tilted your head condescendingly. “And you know I’m right.”

He flipped you off in the mirror with his signature slitted, hazel glare, “You know nothing, peasant.”

You snorted at the fitting nickname and began your lengthy skincare process. Damian did the same in silence, only stopping a few times to steal glances at you in the mirror and quickly look away when you stared back. You blamed his weird behavior on the late hour and hurried to put on your moisturizer, brush your teeth and call it.

“I totally forgot about the air mattress.” You walked into his room to see the air mattress set up next to the side it seemed Damian slept on. The whole thing looked decked out enough with all its fluffy pillows and soft-looking blankets adorning it that it didn’t seem like it’d be too bad to sleep on, though Damian’s king-sized bed definitely looked a lot more appealing. “You’re such a spoiled fucking brat.”

He chuckled silently and climbed into bed after making Titus scootch over to the edge of his bed. He positioned himself so he was facing the way you were, but he was slightly higher up on his mattress, considering you were ground-level on your blow-up one.

He reached his hand down and you started at him in confusion, thinking he was handing you something. You brought your hand up to meet his cool one and he clasped them together. “Is this comfortable?”

Your arm was only slightly raised and it wasn’t that bad, so you nodded your head, “It’s good.”

“Okay.” He shifted around a bit before settling down, all while keeping your hand clasped in his. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Damian.” You closed your eyes only to open them a moment later to see his closed as well. You closed them again and drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up, it was still dark out.

At some point in the night, Damian slid partially off of his bed and onto yours in just a way that left his legs completely on his bed, but his head and shoulders pressed just slightly into your side on your shorter mattress. Titus had taken up the remaining space on the mattress, leaving nearly no room for Damian.

You winced at the heat on your left hand and noticed it was still encased in Damian’s unrelenting grasp. You pulled it free of the sweaty grip that had accumulated between you and Damian from overnight, trying not to wake him up in the process. Regardless, Damian stirred as soon as you pulled away. Before he could fully wake up, he slumped forward like a slug to completely fall onto your bed with a pained groan into your blanket pile. He shuffled around on the bed so he was facing you with his head on your same pillow.

“My neck is killing,” He rubbed lightly at his neck and pushed at your stomach so you’d make room for him.

You thought back to his uncomfortable-looking position from mere moments ago. “I can’t imagine why,” You teased and giggled softly when he squirmed closer into the newly created space between you.

You could feel the smoothness of his legs as they popped beneath your duvet one at a time. It’s also at that time that he and he began his assault on you with his cold ass feet.

“DAMIAN!” You jolted across the inflatable mattress, but Damian’s arctic feet followed you relentlessly wherever you tried to escape.

“Quiet, wench,” You huffed at the stupid nickname, but remained quiet. All these old-fashioned insults were getting… well, old. “Good,” You blushed pathetically at his praise, thankful it was still dark in the room.

“Whatever, just stop putting your nasty feet on me,” You huffed as you flipped around to snuggle into his chest.

He let out a breathy laugh, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

You’d never heard him sound like that before and it was doing all kinds of things to your already raging hormones. You felt the dull ache of simmering arousal heating up. You were so focused on holding in a moan that you couldn’t stop your hips from inadvertently arching into Damian’s front.

“Watch it,” He moaned lightly, voice barely above a whisper.

“Sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” You quickly whispered back.

It was somewhat the truth.

Namely, you knew it had mostly been on account of Damian’s sexy, newly deepening voice. You hadn’t realized that your tanned friend was capable of producing the most delicious sounds like the one you just bore witness to.

“Don’t let it happen again.” It was dark and deep and, along with his hushed moan, it did nothing to help the wetness that was accumulating in your underwear.

“Sorry,” You said again, forcing yourself to ignore your urge. You eventually fell back asleep, still wrapped in Damian’s arms.

•

“You look well rested today, Damian,” Bruce said when you and Damian joined Bruce and Alfred for breakfast. Just like last night, Damian is sure to pull out your chair and push it in for you before taking a seat himself. “I trust you were both able to get some sleep last night, then?”

“Of course, father.” Damian kept a calm and even tone as he cut into the slice of quiche on his plate.

“So it wasn’t giggling that awoke me at four in the morning then, Master Damian?” He looked between the two of you with a knowing look before cutting into his eggs with careful precision.

“Purely my fault this time, Pennyworth.” Damian looked down at his plate.

Meanwhile, you looked over to Bruce, who you were startled to see was already looking your way. You blushed, not wanting him to think anything had happened because, well, technically it hadn’t… but it also hadn’t been completely innocent either with the bed sharing and spooning. Or had it been???

Ugh.

Breakfast returned somewhat normally, though a bit quieter than it’d been previous to Alfred’s question. That was until a flushed, wet Jason appeared behind Bruce, seeming to be fully recovered in his half-naked state of gym shorts and sneakers.

You attempted to hide your gaze, fighting not to rake your eyes down his toned chest, but your eyes had minds of their own. Without permission, they unabashedly flitted across Jason’s dripping abs to his loose-hanging gym shorts that rode down extremely close to his-

“You’re still here?” He asked you haughtily. It was his turn to eye you up, taking in your PJs up and down.

You went to open your mouth to retort, then took note of Alfred’s polite presence and thought better of it.

He rolled his eyes, seeming to realize your predicament. He came closer to lean casually against Damian’s chair, where he then began to assault his younger brother’s face with intense pokes. You winced at the venom behind each jab of Jason’s index finger into Damian’s tanned cheek.

“Fuck off, Todd,” Damian vehemently batted at his hand with irritation.

“I’ll go get the swear jar,” Alfred sighed, elegantly pushing his chair away from the table. “I would like to have just one proper meal around here for once,” He shook his head and disappeared off to find the elusive jar.

Damian looked at Jason’s dripping wet, rippling abs with disgust. “How long would it have taken you to put on a shirt, ugly?”

“I don’t know, it’s kind of freeing without one. You wouldn’t have the muscles to pull this look off quite yet though there, squirt,” He ruffled Damian’s inky locks and flexed.

You couldn’t understand why he was acting like such an asshole all of a sudden. Not that you could entirely focus on that when the cause of your recent lust was standing directly in front of you exactly how you wanted him: shirtless and wet.

You looked away just as your eyes reached down Jason’s torso to the dark patch of hair that was cut off by a nasty-looking scar. You bit slightly at your lip all while hoping no one had noticed all of your oogling.

“Jason. Stop instigating,” Bruce warned lightly.

“Sure thing, dad!” He said in an over-exaggerated tone and threw his wet towel over your head before sitting next to you. You’d never heard him refer to Bruce that way and outwardly cringed at how forced it sounded coming from his cracked lips.

You peeked out from under his towel with a deadly gaze. “You’re lucky I didn’t do my hair yet, or I would’ve-”

“You would’ve what?” He snorted. “Done nothing? Right, right,” He nodded petulantly at you, flicking the hanging towel as if to cement his point.

You glanced at Damian, but he seemed more preoccupied with the fact Jason was still shirtless. You completely understood his distracted state, still very much in state of your own.

“Why are you being such a dick today?”

“I didn’t see him around here today, actually,” He continued his petty tirade.

You gave him an admonishing look as you dumped his wet towel onto his still-soaked head, “You forgot this.” You scurried away from the table before he could throw the damp fabric back onto your PJs, not caring how rude it might’ve looked to Mr. Wayne. You were quickly preoccupied with how ruthless Jason was being and had to pathetically dodge back around toward Damian in hopes he would avenge you, but Bruce materialized out of nowhere before either could react.

“Get back here,” He smirked around your name, but Bruce caught the towel in his hand before he could throw it at you. He glowered at Jason with an intensity that stopped even you in your tracks.

“Enough.” It was enough that Jason did, in fact, stop but not without letting his annoyance be known.

“What? Let me get this straight. The hellspawn can fuck right under your roof, but I can’t walk around shirtless?”

Bruce tensed, analyzing you and Damian briefly. You looked over at his tired form, noting how resigned he seemed by Jason’s statement, but before you could vouch for yourself, Bruce had already taken control of the situation.

“Enough with the pissing match- both of you,re” He looked from a scowling Damian to a seething Jason. Bruce soothed at the crease in between his brows as he said your name, then Damian’s. “Meet me in my office.” Before you could scurry out from under Bruce Wayne’s intense stare, he continued. “Now,” Jason ooo’ed, leaving Damian to glare at him like he’d reached his limit of patience for the day- no, week. “You can join them if you want to keep instigating.”

“Hey!” Jason threw his hands up in exhasperation. Bruce shot him a warning eyebrow which was enough to shut Jason up. He sulked off to his room, but not before grabbing a piece of toast in a huff.

You looked over at Damian, now recognizing the deep, dark tone he’d used on you last night… He’d been imitating his dad? You wanted to laugh, but the situation was far too intense for it. Instead, you resigned to staring at your feet.

Damian, on the other hand, continued to scowl at his dad, “You’ve got it twisted, old man.” You held in your smile at his insult, figuring it wasn’t the time to be pissing Bruce off any more than he already seemed to be with his sons. You tugged Damian out of his aggressive stance to drag him up the steps to where you guessed his dad’s office might be. Eventually, Damian took charge and led you to where it sat at the end of a short hallway. At the door, he turned to you and offered you simple advice, “Don’t let him intimidate you.”

You snorted, “Easier said than done.”

“You’ll manage just fine. He enjoys your company, it seems.” He sighed as he pushed open the door and sat down in one of the two chairs that faced Bruce’s desk.

“Really?” You raised a dubious brow at him.

“He’s very protective over me and my, erm, well, with fornicating. The Wayne fortune and all.” He looked at you hesitantly, like he didn’t want you to misunderstand what he was saying because it wasn’t about your character at all. He completely trusted you. “He learned this all the hard way,” He added cryptically.

You sat down in the other chair and instantly began to wring your hands in the hem of your PJ top.

“Stop that,” Damian chided. You returned your hands to your side sheepishly. “I told you, don’t be nervous.”

Bruce arrived a few moments later, shutting the door lightly behind him. There was no need for any aggressive door slams, considering his presence alone held all the intimidation he'd ever need.

“You guys aren’t in any trouble,” He said lightly as he leaned against the front of his desk, facing the two of you, “but I do realize you’re both at a confusing, developmental age where you might want to start trying things,” He trailed off, clearing his throat.

You could tell he was trying his best not to make it awkward, but holy fuck was it awkward.

“I’m pretty sure we're both well versed on the sex talk, father,” Damian crossed his arms and looked out the window before he could go any further.

You were grateful for the interruption seeing as, even though your only information had come from school, you felt knowledgeable enough about the topic.

You nodded, but your eyes remained glued to the clock on the wall directly behind his hulking form.

“Are you both sexually active?” You and Damian both laughed at the same time. “Alright then,” He looked from you to his son with gentle eyes, “My best friend when I was your age was a girl named Rachel. I remember what it feels like to be young and in a situation like this. I just want to make sure we were on the same page,” He confided, looking off briefly as if reminiscing before focusing his attention back on the two of you. “Will you be staying over again tonight?”

You thought about your empty apartment absentmindedly and nodded. “If that’s alright, that is!” You were quick to add, seeing as you didn’t want to intrude or overstay your welcome.

“Of course. As I said, you’re welcome over any time. Just be safe.” He looked at his watch and sighed. “I’ll be headed out soon with Tim and Alfred on our trip, but Dick should be around to hold things down while I’m away.”

It was a thinly veiled warning not to do anything stupid and you understood completely.

“We will be respectful of your wishes, Father.” You hummed in agreement.

Bruce walked forward and placed a gentle hand on Damian’s shoulder. “I know you will,” He looked over at you, causing you to flush under his attention. “And I know you will too.”

God, this shit was so fucking awkward. You thought, no, knew that this is probably the first and only time you were glad not to have parents to discuss you the birds and the bees.

You nodded for what seemed like the billionth time, “For sure.”

“Good. You can shut my door on the way out.” Damian got up and you went to follow, but Bruce stopped you before you could leave. “Just be careful,” He looked to Damian at that point, leaving you to wonder what exactly had happened between Bruce and Rachel. “Both of you.”

“Father,” Damian nodded in acknowledgment.

As soon as you were out of his father’s office, he ushered you in the direction of the game room and loaded up GTA V. All the while, you had Bruce’s last words replaying eerily in your head.

“What do you want, Todd?” Damian’s voice drew you from your thoughts.

You looked up and over to the doorway to see Jason draped against it in a way that accentuated every muscle on his body without even trying.

“Bruce told me to come apologize.”

“Okay,” Damian paused your game to give Jason his undivided attention. “Get on with it then.”

“Don’t make me regret doing this, fuckface,” Jason merely shook his head, looking at the ground.

Damian pinched his face together at the nickname, “Doing what, Todd? For fucks sake, just say something.”

You giggled. One stern look from Jason through the slits of his eyes, causes you to cease under the intensity of his green glare.

“Whatever. Don’t be lame about it, but me and Roy-”

“Roy and I,” You and Damian corrected in unison.

“Yup, already regretting this. Nevermind. Bye.” Jason spun around to leave, but you got up and grab his pale arm before he could.

“Please tell us?”

He looked down into your sincere eyes and sighed like he regretted ever stepping foot in the room.

It was weird how he could go from sitting with you at lunch and skipping with you and helping you through the whole... incident to being embarrassed to be seen with you. And by weird, you meant hurtful.

You didn’t have time to mull it over before he divulged your curiosity.

“Fine,” He flicked your hand off of him with ease. “There’s a party here tonight, so stay out of the way or come. I really don’t care as long as neither of you snitches,” He shot you a pointed look.

“I didn’t even snitch!” You said to no avail. He merely rolled his eyes, clearly not believing you in the slightest.

He gave you both a stern look as he pointed to both of you and backed out of the room, “Keep it quiet and don’t make me regret inviting you lame freshmen.”

You ignored his jab, thinking back to how lucky you were to have randomly packed a dress in your haste. You lamented, however, when you came to the realization that you’d only packed a single pair of PJs. You’d have to get a shirt or something from one of these Wayne’s, but definitely not from Damian’s twig-ass.

•

It was yours and Damian’s first high school party, so you guys got ready together. Downstairs, you could hear the commotion from Roy and Jason obnoxiously setting shit up for the party. It seriously sounded like they had a gang of thirty-some people breaking in or something, though you hardly doubted anyone could get past the extensive security system Wayne Manor had.

“This one,” He held up a green plaid shirt, “or this one?” He switched hangers to show off a white dress shirt and argyle sweater vest.

“Damian, you’re 14 not 40,” You stopped doing your makeup to go over and look through his closet. “Don’t you have a plain v-neck or something? Seriously it’s like a closet for a miniature businessman.”

“You don’t have to insult my height or lack thereof, every time,” He scowled your name.

You peered back at him mirthfully, “If your increase in voice crack frequency is anything like lighting and thunder, I’m pretty sure you won’t have to worry about your shortness for too long.” You go back to looking through his excessive sweater vest collection. “Plus, your dad’s pretty tall, so you at least have that going for you too. He is your dad- right?”

“Whatever. And yes, biologically,” He seemed hesitant to say more, but you were used to it after how Jason acted around the subject too. Damian seemed a lot more proud of being a Wayne than Jason ever did though, that was for sure.

“Here!” You throw him a black faux-turtle neck shirt and a pair of jeans to ease the awkwardness. “Do you have any tennis shoes?”

“You mean sneakers?” He snorted.

"Same shit," You rolled your eyes. “Do you have them or not?” He left for a bit and you took the chance to slip into your forest green long sleeve mock-neck dress with a sweetheart cutout on the chest, revealing a generous amount of your cleavage.

“I have red and oh-” Damian stopped in his tracks at the sight of you in your outfit before clearing his throat like he hadn’t completely just malfunctioned at the sight of you. “Red or blue.”

You shrugged, thinking either would look good, “You choose.”

“Fine then,” He then went about putting the read oens on whilst perched on the end of his bed.

You rolled your eyes, thinking back to his go-to color choice for painting, “Typical.” You went into the bathroom to finish your smoked-out, dark brown eye with a sharp cat eye and nude lip just as the party was getting started. “You think we should wait an hour and then go down?”

“Why would we be late for a party that’s being thrown right here?”

“Ever heard of fashionably late, Damian?”

“It’s what father says every time he’s running behind schedule.”

“No, that’s a pathetic excuse for tardiness,” You clasped at his shoulders. “This is a statement. A cool statement.”

Damian looked at you with boredom, “I don’t see the difference.”

“Because you’re not cool yet, it’s okay,” You patted his shoulder condescendingly. “Listen, we’ll wait thirty minutes and go down.”

“15.”

“20.”

“Deal,” He shook your hand with stormy, unreadable eyes. You could’ve sworn he was pissed off, but you could never be too sure with Damian. “In the meantime, what do you suggest we do?” His tone was somewhat teasing, leaving you to believe that, perhaps you’d read his ‘annoyance’ compeltely wrong.

“We could always pregame?”

“Yes, gaming would be good.”

You snickered when he led you to the game room. You stayed and played Lego Batman until two seniors burst in whilst attacking each other with their tongues while you guys were five rounds in.

“This is our cue to head down.”

Damian nodded as he hid his favorite controller. “Jason’s a dumbass if he thinks these plebs aren’t going to steal.”

“I didn’t even think about that.”

“You wouldn’t, would you?” You giggled and pushed at him as he came to your side. Together you walked down the main staircase and witnessed the wreckage below for the first time.

Sweaty, already drunk bodies twisted together in a mangled mass around every square inch of the place. Smoke, whether from cigarettes or what, you didn’t know, covered the air in a blanket of fog over the foyer where the main action was happening.

There was even a DJ. Well, DJ was a bit of an exaggeration considering it was just some kid with a laptop and Spotify premium next to a makeshift dance floor.

You were quickly enveloped in the madness as soon as you reached the ground, only finding relief at the familiar reddish bob of Roy’s head. He caught sight of you, then Damian’s signature scowl and waved you over only to be left speechless by your revealing dress.

“Eyes up, creep,” Jason joked to a completely distracted Roy.

“Yeah, yeah," Roy said, waving him off.

"Anyway,” Jason said, addressing you and Damian again, “get some beer, don’t make fools of yourselves and,” Jason leaned in close enough for you to smell that he’d way overdone it on the cologne. “Try to stay out of the way. Got it? Awesome,” Jason saluted you and Damian and stalked off to where Roy was busy hitting on a group of senior girls.

You bristled, turning to Damian who also looked just as put off.

“It’s not too late to just play video games, you know,” You offered.

He glared at you for even thinking to say so, especially after the disgusting sight you both beared witness to in the game room. You definitely didn’t want to walk in on anyone or, worse, sit where anyone had been… well.

“This is our first party and we will stay. We’re already late enough as it is.”

“20 minutes isn’t even that bad! Plus, look,” You pointed to the doorway where the rest of the seniors were just now filing in. “See. The cool, older kids are just getting here now too.”

““Alright,” He looked at them, nodding. “I suppose we’ve done well for ourselves, then.”

“I told you I wouldn’t lead us wrong.”

It was getting harder and harder to hear each other of the roar of the crowd and the obnoxious bass system Roy had hacked into in order to play his Spotify setlist for the night. Not to mention how crowded and hot the room was already getting.

“Are parties supposed to be this hot and claustrophobic?”

You shrugged, grabbing his hand to lead him over to where the beer was being handed out by two guys you’d never seen.

“ID’s?”

“ID’s?” Damian mocked them, hands landing squarely on the fold up table with enough force to make it cave in a bit. “This is my fucking house. Now, hand over the refreshments or face my wrath.”

They cackled at Damian’s vengeful eyes but did end up handing you each two cans of some piss-tasting beer.

“Okay, beer acquired,” You laughed lightly as Damian nearly spit out his first sip.

“Holy shit, this is fucking terrible.” He downed the first can in seconds and didn’t hesitate to chuck it at the back of Elliot’s blonde head. It landed with a loud thump that you could hear from over the blasting bass, causing you to cover your mouth in disbelief.

“HEY!” You and Damian quickly ducked behind the ping pong table and snickered.

“There’s something seriously wrong with you, but I think I love it,” You playfully pushed his shoulder.

Once the coast was clear of Elliot, he helped you to stand.

“Glad to hear it,” He cheers’ed you again and downed the second one.

“You might wanna slow down there, buddy.” Two beers in less than ten minutes? Not a good start for the rules Jason had just laid out.

“Please, I’ve been drinking since I was six,” He waved off your concern easily as he finished the remains of his can.

You thought back to how strict Bruce seemed and doubted the validity of his statement. The last thing you wanted to do is upset the man who’s given you shelter and food when all he’d asked for in return was respect.

“Sure,” You sipped carefully at your own as you watched him go back and get more.

The majority of the night was spent with you and Damian chatting about random shit once it was settled that Damian refused to dance and you refused to dance alone.

True to their word, Jason and Roy really had ditched you to be with Damian all night. You couldn’t deny it made your heart hurt at what you interpreted as rejection. You weren’t cool enough to hang out with them in front of others, or, maybe they didn’t want people to know they actually hung out with you in the first place. Was that acid reflux or your heart exploding into your throat? No, it was definitely acid reflux from the shitty ass beer.

Tipsy Damian truly was the only thing getting you through the night.

“You wanna play beer ping pong?” He said randomly to you, motioning to the table you’d been ducking under two hours earlier.

“Beer pong?” You gently corrected him. “Sure,” You got up and walked over to where a game was ending between two groups of senior guys. Meanwhile, the trashed senior girls mainly stood around the table to watch and cheer.

When you approached you heard the whispers and snickers start, but you were buzzed enough to able to ignore most of it. You were three beers deep and they weren’t going to ruin your good time, especially when Damian was loosening up as much as he was. It was as if he was finally acting his age for once and you were having a blast.

“Who wants some of this?” Damian shouted at the snickering group of seniors, but, eventually, two of them agreed.

“This is gonna be funny,” He nudged his friends as they gathered around the table to watch.

“We’ll see about that,” Damian egged them on. “My drunk aim is better than your sober one any day, fool.”

“This kid’s weird. Mad respect,” He snorted and missed his first shot. You were up and dunked it on your first and second try. “Damnnn,” The senior drank both cups and winced. “I’m gonna feel that later for sure.”

His friend went next and sunk both shots, leaving Damian to drink two more that he probably shouldn’t have. Regardless, your friend wasl still able to make his next two shots, so he couldn’t be that drunk yet… right?

At this point, people at the party had begun to crowd around and place bets.

“GUYS! CLASH OF THE CLASSES!” Someone to your right screamed causing a loud cheer to ripple throughout the room. More and more people joined around the small table and you were definitely feeling the pressure.

Damian on the other hand? He was loving it.

He nudged you in your side lightly, “Told you we would’ve had a blast together at last year's party.”

You could see it in his eyes he was definitely feeling it and laughed with ease, “Anything we do together is fun, Damian.”

He blushed, “Of course.”

“Six left for freshman, eight left for seniors!” Someone called out the score for the room.

You were met with loud boo’s that Damian ate up. He was way too into it, but it made it all the more fun for your now slightly tipsy self.

It was at this point that you saw Roy and Jason break away from their small group. You watched as they tore through to the front of the crowd that surrounded you and Damian with anxious looks adorning their faces.

Jason came right up behind you with an audible huff.

“I thought I told you guys to lay low,” He hissed mainly at you since Damian clearly wasn't the soberest out of the two of you.

You didn’t know what to say, electing to give him an apologetic, somewhat awkward, smile as you dunked your other two balls without ever looking away from him.

“YOO, NO WAY!” The opposing senior lamented, causing everyone to loose their shit in a ferocious roar that left you to cover your ears.

Man, could drunk kids cheer.

Damian was swept into the chaotic energy of the boisterous room and lifted you up into a spin before forcing you into an aggressive chest bump. You rubbed tenderly at the point of impact after he finally released you, nearly doubling over in laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. What made the whole thing better was Jason’s constipated face behind Damian’s beet red shit-eatting grin.

Damian, true to his earlier word about not being drunk, landed both shots even in his not-so-sober state. He yelled out your last name with an excitement that had Jason rubbing at his temples.

Roy came up from behind Jason to see what all the ruckus was and chuckled, “Oh, this is good.” Roy soon joined in on the cheers and you blushed at his and Jason’s attention that was now fully on you.

The seniors missed theirs and someone yelled out the updated score.

Two more rounds like you’d been performing and this shit would be over with you only having to drink one.

“We play next!” Roy jostled a deadpan Jason who looked like he would rather shoot himself in the foot.

You finished up your first game after only having to drink two more cups, but you guys had ultimately won. Jason reluctantly let Roy drag him into a game as the crowd was still hyper from the last match. He looked from a stoned Roy next to him, then across the table to you and a highly energetic drunk Damian who was acting more like a kid on a sugar high. Jason was completely over the situation and completely over his dumb friends, you could tell amusedly. Good. It was about time he acknowledged your presence.

Roy took the first shot and it bounced straight into your cleavage. “Sorry. Guess I have a habit of aiming where I’m looking at, princess,” He winked at you with a tipsy smirk.

Your heart skipped a beat, but you hoped it didn’t show.

You retrieved the ball from its precarious position with an abashed expression, shooting him a glare while motioning for him to hurry it up. After all, you didn’t want to be stuck playing ping pong for another 20 minutes. If you could even last another ten, you’d be content. At the rate you’d been drinking over such a short period of time, you were definitely starting to feel the effects of the piss-tasting beer you’d had the displeasure of drinking all night.

It was a fairly close game, proving it hadn’t been sheer drunk luck that you and Damian ended up being beer pong fiends, but, being as close as it was, your shots were getting sloppier and sloppier. When it came down to your turn, you looked across the table at the last cup and sighed as the one cup spun into two, three- ugh.

You winced, throwing your first ball at the third, most focused cup in your spinning vision, but you’d chosen wrong and ultimately threw it at Jason’s crotch instead. Hey, maybe you had the same problem Roy had. The redhead seemed to think so too as he nudged Jason with a resounding snicker that you could hear even over the crowd.

You were surprised the game had been able to hold everyone’s attention for as long as it had, considering everyone was still gathered shoulder to shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of the action.

“Trick shot for the last one,” The dude you’d just played warned you as you set up your last shoo-in shot.

Jason came to your defense with a quick ease that shut down any further arguments, “That’s not a real rule.”

You could tell that they hadn't wanted either of you drinking anymore just to win, even though you'd assured them you were fine. Aside from the slight buzz and heat that has settled across your skin, you could still see and think somewhat straight.

Without a second thought, you turned around and threw your last ball over your shoulder, figuring it was probably better that you couldn’t see. It sank with a resounding ‘plop’ into Jason’s cup mere seconds later.

“Fuck my life,” Jason said, rubbing his hands pathetically down his face.

Not only had he lost the match in front of the entire his entire grade, but you and Damian were breaking the only other rule he’d given you: don’t make fools of yourselves.

Your celebration dance with Damian seemed straight out of The Parent Trap and Jason begged for Roy’s help in hiding you two for the rest of the night.

Luckily, he told Jason to knock it off and that you guys were just having fun. “How many times have you seen them let loose?”

“Yeah, Jason,” You stuck out your tongue, becoming surprised when Damian grabbed it with a loud snort. “Hey!”

“Now we’re even,” He laughed as he said your last name. He looked unsteady with a blaring red ringing his face, “We should sit.” Which was Damian code for he wanted to sit.

Another group of teens had already taken over playing, so you guys wandered back towards the makeshift bar, where there were a few seats scattered around the bustling dance floor. Damian uneasily plopped down into one of the fold-up chairs while Jason sat down with more grace and draped his arm around the back of Damian’s.

Roy crossed his arms, “You guys are lame. It’s barely even one in the morning.”

“Pathetic,” You drunkenly nodded, causing an odd rush to ripple across your brain. You shook the odd feeling and glanced enviously at the groups of people dancing. It was then you realized, that, yes, you’d been to your first party, but you hadn’t even gotten to dance because of Damian’s blatant refusal.

Roy, catching your line of sight, took the opportunity to steer you away from Jason and out onto the dance floor without saying a word. Somewhere behind you, Damian protested even as drunk as he was, but you ignored him and quickly fell into a drunken rhythm with Roy in the sea of sweaty, hormonal bodies.

You were glad for the confidence boost the beer had given you because normally, you’d be running for the hills. The contact was intoxicating, even maybe more so than the alcohol currently thrumming across your warm skin.

Roy quickly took the lead, twirling you around while holding your back against his front as he trapped you with your intertwined hands. You released your hold on his grip to drag them lazily up your chest and under your chin, where he lightly nudged at the side of your face with his own

His breath was directly against your ear, cuasing you to stumble slightly into him. He ate this up with a ferocious intensity you weren’t used to being directed your way.

He brought his hands to your hips, where they gripped down as if to avoid the temptation of wandering elsewhere.

To reward him, you ground back into him but quickly doubted yourself. You found yourself faltering, even after you’d felt his sharp exhale against the gentle skin of your ear. You shifted your head slightly, bumping your nose against his own, which continued to hover lowly near the side of your face.

“Just like the motorcycle!” You turned around to face him before he could react, nearly brushing your lips against his own in the process. You couldn't help but giggle at the missed contact.

You took your close proximity and prime position of your chest against his own as an opportunity to throw your arms around his neck and draw him closer. You felt the music coursing through you as you swayed your hips against his front as you slowly sank down his body with your hands unlatching from behind his neck to trail down his front lightly as you went.

He snorted and pulled you up before your mouth could get any closer to his crotch before bringing you upright again to spin you into a twirl. He then dipped you down, where he held you for a moment.

“Yeah,” He drawled deeply, “just like it.” His voice was raspy like he’d been smoking. Based on the underlying scent that lingered beneath his suffocating cologne and his glowing verdancy against the reds of his eyes, it seemed like he very may well have been.

You squealed, clasping your hands together in sheer delight at the action while still in the dip. No one had ever danced with you, let alone dipped you like this. It left you in a whirlwind of butterflies and pure, confused arousal.

Roy brought you back up and pointed over to the corner with a smirk and spun you around so you could see Jason and Damian sitting hunched over with matching scowls. You waved, still within his grasp, leaving them to quickly sit up and correct themselves nonchalantly.

“Since neither of ‘em dance, should we should give ‘em a show, darlin’?” He joked in a horrible southern drawl.

You tipped a fake cowboy hat at him, “Sure, thing pardner.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “You’re funny,” He said your name as he placed his hands on your waist. He pulled you onto his knee, which was slightly bent to accommodate for your height difference. “Ever seen Dirty Dancing?”

You gasped drunkenly, “Of course, it’s iconic.” His eyes held a devilish glint you count place. “Why?”

“Come on, be my baby tonight. I already got you out of the corner and everything, princess.”

You stiffened in his grasp, stumbling to find an intelligent response, but he was already there, guiding your upper body to spur movement. You gave into willingly, still trapped in the hypnotizing gaze of his half-opened emerald eyes.

“Roy.” Is all you managed to gasp as you brought your arms back around his neck to begin grinding into his movements. You then proceeded to replicate as much as you could remember about the scene from the movie in your drunken state. Halfway through the song, you felt your dress riding up with each grind into his muscular thighs. You’d attempted to unwrap one arm from around him to pull it down before your bare ass could be exposed to the entire party, but Roy was already way ahead of you.

“I got you, princess,” He yelled over the thumping bass.

You inadvertently arched against his chest as he moved a hand tantalizingly slow down the side of your thigh. His sweaty, freckled hands pulled down at the offending fabric before sliding them back up just as slowly to rest again at your waist.

Your head was already spinning, but Roy's presence alone was making you dizzy.

“Thanks,” You responded breathlessly.

He pulled you back to him to wrap your arms back around his neck as he leaned your torso backward with his to do a sultry half dip. Meanwhile, your thighs remained interwoven with his own thick ones. It was just like the movie.

You snorted suddenly, finally reaching your limit and pushed him away just as the friction from his thigh was getting to be too good. You were feeling way too drunk and way too entranced by Roy’s body heat to be this close to him right now, especially when you were already confused by your feelings for, well, everyone around you, essentially.

“Alright, I think I’m all danced out. I’m gonna go join the grumps.”

Surprisingly, Roy smacked at your arm and motioned for you to lead the way.

You shot him a confused glance considering he’d ditched you earlier to hang with the senior girls, but in your drunken state, all you could focus on was the electricity that still remained where he’d been touching you.

He ended up leading you over to where Jason and Damian were talking about a book you couldn’t focus on over the pounding of the bass, or, wait- was that your head? Ugh.

You brought a palm up to your head to stop the head rush, but it was pointless. Your brain felt like it was on a rollercoaster.

Jason called your name, “You should sit down.”

You nodded.

Sitting.

That sounded good.

Yes.

All the seats were taken, so without a second thought, you dropped clumsily into Jason’s lap. You only stopped to second guess yourself when you felt him stiffen underneath your touch.

Fuck it, you were too drunk to care.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and nestled into it no matter how much he protested. His cologne, mixed with his sweat from the night, quickly became your favorite scent. Definitely a step up from the overbearing shit from earlier.

“Mmm,” You mumbled into his slightly damp skin.

Damian seemed slightly more sober, while you seemed slightly more intoxicated than before you went dancing. You didn't see it, but Damian eyed you with an unreadable, hazy gaze.

“Careful, now, Jay,” Roy gestured to Jason’s beet-red face. “She’s my dancing partner.”

You lazily smiled at his wink before burying your head in the crook of Jason’s neck again.

Jason and Roy stuck around you and Damian a bit longer and thought you’d both been handling your alcohol well enough to leave the two of you on your own while, so they went to get refills. They came back to see you being lifted onto the ping pong table by the crowd to dance and quickly sprung into action. They glared at a sleeping Damian and were on you in an instant, pulling you down without hesitation before you could embarrass yourself.

Roy was quick to pull down your dress that had ridden up again at the same time Jason lifted you off the table. You used him as your primary support once you were on the ground again as you stumbled to regain your balance.

“But wait!” You tried to plead with them as you stumbled and slurred in their supportive grasp.

“Release my ping pong beer partner!” Damian, now awake, stumbled after the three of you toward the blocked-off service stairs in the kitchen.

“Close,” You snorted into Roy’s shoulder at Damian’s inability to grasp the name beer pong, “so close.”

“What’s going on here?”

Hey, you knew that sexy voice…

“Speedo!” You greeted the raven-haired man with a drunken grin, attempting to shake his hand. “You’re dressed this time.” Your head snapped up and down erratically as you took in his tight-fitting police academy uniform. “Still good, though. You look-” Roy swiftly covered your mouth with his hand while Jason attempted to cover you and Damian from his line of sight.

You hiccuped lightly, which Roy attempted to cough in order to cover the offending noise.

“She’s just messing around,” He reassured a skeptical Dick. “Right?” Jason said your name and turned around to give you a ‘don’t blow this’ type of look that, in your drunken state, you took to mean continue rambling about how hot his older brother was.

“Dick,” You snorted and forgot what you’d been about to say due to the obvious, funny nature of his name. “We’re just cool over here, just chillin’,” You leaned further onto Roy’s shoulder as your legs began to wobble due to the lack of Jason’s support on your other side. “Keeping it a scorching 100 over here, playaaa,” You shot a bemused Dick the ‘okay’ symbol with your hand and attempted to close your eyes as Damian had moments earlier.

“Alright,” He sounded extremely entertained.

That was good. Right?

“Guys, he believes us,” You tried to whisper, keyword tried, thinking you had it made, but Jason’s quick glare that met your own when your eyes finally reopened seemed to say otherwise.

“Do we need to pay the toll, or can the troll fuckin’,” Damian belched loudly, “Moooove.”

“I know Bruce sent you, but please don’t tell him about this.”

You peaked over at Jason to see him busy reasoning with Dick while you were more preoccupied with nuzzling your nose into Roy’s sticky neck. You were feeling very cuddly tonight for some reason.

“Princess, chill out with that,” He muttered quietly to you and you nodded up and down against the skin of his neck. “Can you keep it chill?” He asked under his breath, looking directly into your slitted eyes from the corner of his own.

“For sure,” You nodded seriously before turning to Dick to correct your previous statement. “Hey, Dick. Quick update.”

“No, no, no,” Jason attempted to shush you, but Dick mirthfully motioned for you to continue. “I’m listening.”

“Just wanted to let you know that now we’re actually keeping it a chill 100 over here,” You snorted and completely lost balance. “Playaaa!” Jason rushed to your side before you could fall in order to relieve Roy of some of your dead weight.

“Dick, seriously. I’ll pay you,” Jason had resorted to bartering with the older man, who appeared extremely amused.

He waved his hands in front of him dismissively. “As long as no one gets hurt, we’re all good here.”

“Seriously?” Jason and Roy exclaimed in unison.

Dick nodded, “I just happened to look at the cameras, but I don’t think Bruce has, so it should be all good on that front.” Jason nodded animatedly. Dick looked to Damian, who was attempting to fight both Jason and Dick off at the same time, then over to you, who was slowly falling asleep in Jason and Roy’s arms. “Kids gotta have fun at some point. Besides, I have a date to get back to, but you really should shut this down before Bruce decides to check in for himself,” He finally moved, allowing you guys to pass up the stairs.

“Think you could help me out with that, Officer Grayson?” Jason asked as he looked back to the raging party that showed no signs of slowing any time soon.

Dick grinned wickedly, tipping his police cap, “With pleasure.”

•

You woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a rude awakening that splattered all over Damian’s toilet.

“Ughhhh.”

Damian sighed from behind you, coming over to hold your hair throughout the ordeal. He only slightly made fun of you for missing the bowl, but, for the most part, ended up comforting you. He rubbed at your back as you dry heaved and only left to get you some water and a new toothbrush.

“What happened to my one from earlier?” You asked as he handed you the new one.

“You said my bathtub was dirty and started cleaning it with it.” His eyes were too jocular for it being five in the morning.

You wrinkled your nose, “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Ew,” You said still grossed out.

“Yeah.”

You both laughed before noticing that you were still in your party dress. Without thinking, you took it off under the false pretense that you had shorts and a bra on underneath but quickly and all too late, remembered you’d foregone them.

Damian’s eyes widen and you were quick to cover yourself up, not that it stopped the er, rising problem Damian had acquired at the sight. Bruce’s words from a few days ago forcibly sprang to mind as your heart confusedly raced at the thought of what lay beneath. ‘Be careful.’

Damian, without another word, turned around to give you some privacy.

“Sorry, I forgot.” You said, feeling completely embarrassed as you searched around single-handedly for your sleep shirt but remembered all you had were the ones from the previous night. “Do you have something I could wear?”

He looked over at you, “No.”

You'd already realized earlier that nothing he had would fit your frame and sighed.

“Look away.”

He obliged again easily as you looked around for a loose blanket or clothes but ultimately found nothing.

“This never happened,” He whispered your first name, catching you off guard in your search for clothes.

“Okay.” You nodded in the darkness, not knowing what else to say.

Your face felt warm when Damian patted the spot next to him on his bed and you obliged, curling into his chest where you felt the remnants of his arousal. You controlled yourself in your still slightly buzzed state and instead focused on steadying your breathing.

Titus whimpered lightly from where his heavy form had been forced to the edge of the bed, but, eventually, he was able to find a comfortable position.

Your pounding head and arousal eventually quelled and you were able to finally drift off, though the heat remained on your cheeks longer after you both fell back asleep.

•

You awoke again with a start as Damian’s door was thrown open by Jason, who looked like an absolute zombie. He hadn’t seemed to notice you yet because he avoided the air mattress that was deceivingly fluffed up by the bedding. At first glance, the pillows hidden beneath the blankets appeared to be your sleeping form.

Titus barked, jumping up from the bed to run past Jason. The Great Dane disappeared down the hallway in a rush, most likely in search of breakfast.

“Wake up, you annoying little fuck,” Jason smacked a hard fist down on Damian’s side that was curled around you. “We got busted.”

“Todd!” Damian growled with enough venom to have you hastily escaping from his arms.

Jason’s eyes blew open at the sight of you naked in Damian’s bed and backed away instantly. “Woah, you guys know I was just joking about the fucking part yesterday.”

Damian wore a satisfied smirk that you quickly smacked at with a pillow.

“Nothing happened. Now both of you look away,” You clutched at your chest, realizing you had just exposed it to both Jason and Damian.

You rubbed at your pounding temple as you remembered the fact that you had no clean clothes with you and none of Damian’s would fit. So, did that leave you to wear this blanket around until you got home? God, you hoped not.

Damian sensed your problem with ease, “Todd. Fetch her some clothes.”

“Why the fuck do I have to do it?” But he started looking around on the floor anyway like the gentleman he was.

“No, I meant your clothes, you annoying fat fuck,” Damian gave a devilish grin as he spat Jason’s earlier insult back at him. “Nothing I have will fit.”

He looked at you and shrugged, coming back with red cotton gym shorts and a soft, white short sleeve v-neck before leaving without a word. Damian quickly followed after him, giving you the chance to change.

It’s only after you looked in Damian’s mirror that you noticed the shirt was somewhat see-through due to its lightweight nature and color. Better than something dirty, though, you thought with a shrug and scoured around the floor for your things to pack back up into your bag.

Once you’d collected everything, you scurried downstairs to where Jason and Damian were already at each other’s throats.

“Woah, what happened? I only took two minutes.” You went to break them apart, but Bruce beat you to it. You startled away from the older man to let him handle it.

To your surprise and amusement, you noticed Roy still lingering about, though he was too busy groaning and hiding from the light to acknowledge you or the tense situation.

“BOYS!” Bruce’s demanding voice echoed throughout the manor with a reverberating force.

Roy winced and smacked his hands over his ears, no doubt still feeling the lingering effects of last night as much as you were.

Boys? Well, that didn’t include you!

You attempted to sneak forward toward the front door with your bag in tow before anyone could notice, but you were quickly spotted and reprimanded.

“You. Stay.”

You winced, shamefully retreating back to where the boys were lined up, including Roy, with your tail between your legs. After the conversation you'd had in his office, you knew you’d betrayed his trust.

“Why does she need to be here for this?” Jason complained. “The whole thing was my idea anyway. This is between you and me, Bruce.”

He glanced down at your outfit with a barely quirked brow, “She’s here because she’s family. As much as Roy and Stephanie are, at least.”

Family?

Bruce Wayne was calling you family?

You'd never even heard your parents say the word.

You gleamed inwardly at the acceptance, but it was soured by the fact that you’d already gone and let him down. The first chance you got at an actual family and you’d fucked it up.

Maybe that’s why your parents never hung around.

Whether it was the remnants of the alcohol, the weight of the past few days, or even just the disappointed look in Bruce’s eye, you couldn’t help the sniffles that trickled from you. They started off slow, then erupted all at once. Heavy tears soon poured from your eyes, cascading down your quivering lips before splattering against the ruined carpet below.

You’d never been reprimanded before, only ever having been ignored. This being so, you had no idea what to say other than ‘sorry’ over and over again until Bruce finally put a hand on your shoulder just as he had previously. It was meant to comfort, but you still shrunk away from his touch.

"It's okay," He sensed your hesitancy and withdrew his hand immediately. “Hey, it’s not that serious,” He switched up his tone to be more jovial, Do you know how many parties I threw here back in the day?” You shook your head ‘no’ and he sighed, seeming to think back on all the trouble he’d got into. “Well, it was a lot.” Your tear-stained eyes met his sincere blue ones.

“Okay,” You pouted, wiping at your cheeks.

He couldn't help but laugh a bit at your lackluster response. "Alright," Bruce’s eyebrows creased together as he pondered a fitting punishment. “Just get this cleaned up. Alfred's on vacation for the next two days,” He glanced pointedly at the four of you before walking off, leaving you all to the piles of empty cups and trash.

Jason was on you in an instant.

“Fucking crybaby,” Jason teased you. You quickly wiped at the remaining tears on your face with vigor as if it would somehow hide what they’d already bore witness to.

“Please,” Damian was quick to come to your defense. “You’re lucky she spouted so many tears. Father went easy on us,” Damian pointed out what you’d all been thinking.

Jason instantly quieted without further insults, realizing it was true. He gave you one last unreadable look before silently going back to picking up the copious amounts of red solo cups that littered the floor.

Roy sidled up behind you, tapping you on the opposite shoulder of where he was and flicked your nose when you finally turned the other way.

“I think I know whose clothes those are. And I can see why he gave them to you,” You attempted to whack your broom at him in retaliation, but he just laughed and slid out of the way. “You dancin’ with Jay over there now?” He wiggled his brows as he easily dodged another one of your broom attacks.

Even Damian couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of your chest, which was tenting salaciously against the thin fabric.

“Whatever. My head hurts too much to deal with your shit right now, Roy.”

He left you alone with a knowing smile that you ignored in favor of starting to clean.

You knew this break from reality would have to come crashing back down on you sooner rather than later. You also knew that this meant that you’d eventually have to face your sketchy apartment. All this being said, you knew you'd be able to take anything on with your newfound system of support.