We Band of Brothers
by TwinEnigma
Warnings: none
Lasting Impression
It's the height of weird.
Damian Wayne is not nice. He's a hardass. He fires stealth compliments under the cover of insults. He pushes constantly, never giving even an inch until Terry gets back up and gets the job done.
And then there are moments like these, where Damian turns around and does something that completely throws Terry off kilter.
It's like he knows exactly when Terry's two seconds away from tossing in the towel completely because he can't be like the Batman of legend or about to explode with frustration at the lack of trust in his skills or when it's one of those days where Terry's past eats at his very soul. Then Damian smiles and suddenly there's this hand there to pick him up or on his shoulder, achingly genuine words of encouragement and assured trust filling the holes.
It's strange, because it's not like him at all. It's like someone else is there, a presence that lightens the very air, and it has somehow dyed Damian in its colors in ways that only show at times like these.
When Terry asks, Damian laughs and says, "A little bird once told me."
Then things go back to normal, until the next time Damian slips on patrol or in training and this ghost of someone rises to the surface to fly. And when it does, Terry believes that maybe he really does belong here with all those who have come before him. His past doesn't matter, not to this man whom he has come to adopt as brother or the legacy he has come to call his own inheritance, a legacy born not of blood ties but of honor and duty.
He is a Bat, like his brothers before him. For Gotham, he will bleed.
"I'll catch you," Damian promises, a sincere echo of someone Terry has never met, someone who he thinks must once have given Damian the same chance.
Terry knows he will.
It's nice. Nice, but weird. It's not Damian. Damian's not nice. But someone had been, someone important, and it must have rubbed off on him. It's the only explanation that makes sense, slag it.
And then the shift comes, like a shiver of a cowl or a mask settling back into place and the big brother persona disappears behind the pushy, demanding hardass. "Enough sentimental nonsense! Now, move it, McGinnis! They're not going to wait for you to finish your pizza!"
Terry rolls his eyes as things go back to normal.