A/N: Just a note, everyone in the canon universe is older than their reverse counterparts except for Damian.
It was like looking into a funhouse mirror. The people across from them were undoubtedly themselves, but their shapes were all wrong. Richard and Jason were much too tall. Honestly, they all were, except for the young Damian, who appeared to be around eleven or twelve years old. It was wrong, and it set the older Damian on edge.
"Look! Look, Dami!" The younger Richard snapped Damian out of his thoughts. He was tugging on Damian's pants and pointing to the people across from them. "Jay and I are so big! And you're small! Don't I look cool? Look at my costume! It's soo cool!" Richard made to run across the room to get a closer look, but Damian grabbed him and shoved him behind his legs.
"Richard, stay." Richard pouted up at him but complied. He knew when to listen to Damian, even if the situation seemed safe enough.
The older Jason snorted, causing Damian to stiffen. There was something wrong with this Jason, something darker about him. The younger Jason seemed to realize the same thing and moved closer to Damian, eyeing his alternate self warily.
"So, uh…" Damian's eyes snapped toward the older Richard—Nightwing, he had introduced himself as—who chuckled nervously. "This is pretty interesting, huh? I've definitely never dealt with an alternate universe where our ages are reversed. You guys?" He turned to his companions. Some of them ignored him while others—mainly older Jason and younger Damian—glared. "I'll take that as a no."
"I, for one, am enjoying seeing a younger Timmy again." The older Stephanie grinned while the younger Stephanie laughed. Both Drakes frowned at their Stephanie.
The older Jason barked out a laugh, causing the younger Jason to jump. "Well, this has certainly been entertaining, but I think I'm gonna go now. I'll see you losers later."
"You're leaving?" Richard stepped forward, stopping when Damian put a hand on his shoulder. He was looking up Jason questioningly, confused. "Why?"
The older Jason—Damian was going to refer to him as Todd because he didn't deserve to be called by his first name, not like his brother—smirked at Richard, and Damian growled a warning. Todd ignored it. "Because, Richard, I don't like this family, no matter how much Dickiebird tries to force us to get along."
Richard opened his mouth to ask another question when Alfred walked into the Cave. "Master Jason, if you leave, you won't get to enjoy the roasted lamb I've prepared. Of course, there are vegetarian options for those that want it." He glanced at the two Damians.
Jason narrowed his eyes at Alfred. "Will there be rolls?"
"Of course, sir." Alfred clasped his hands behind his back, his face neutral. The mention of food got Richard excited, and he started tugging on Damian's hand. He was soon joined by Jason, who was just excited to eat.
"Come on, Dami! I'm starving! Let's go eat!" Damian allowed Richard and Jason to drag him.
"I would appreciate it if you would change into normal clothes first." Alfred spoke again, stopping the boys. "I took the liberty of putting clothes that should more or less fit each of you in your guest rooms."
Damian's Stephanie let out a laugh and grabbed Tim and Cass's hands, leading them to the elevator. Jason and Richard followed quickly behind, dragging Damian with them
"Thank you, Alfred!" Richard shouted. They all squeezed into the elevator and made their way up, leaving the other universe's Batfamily alone.
"This is going to be really weird." Tim noted, staring after their alternate selves.
"I think it's going to be fun." Dick grinned and bounded off towards the changing room. The others groaned but followed after him. They weren't going to leave Alfred waiting.
Dinner was about as awkward as everyone thought it would be. The younger Richard had insisted on nicknames so that people wouldn't get confused. His suggestions of 'Dami' and 'Timmy' were immediately shot down, but Jason was okay with 'Jay', Stephanie 'Steph', and Cassandra 'Cass'. Richard had decided to stick with 'Richard', knowing that Damian would never call him 'Dick'. The older Damian had decided that he would refer their alternate selves by their last names. He refused to use such ridiculous nicknames for his siblings. Dinner was mostly sat in silence with Richard and Grayson periodically trying to start a conversation, but it all fell apart when the younger Damian opened his mouth.
"What I don't understand is why Father would even take in the rest of you. He had me first, so he wouldn't need the rest of you."
A fork clattered on a plate, causing everyone's heads to snap toward the sound. Richard had dropped his fork, but he didn't seem to notice as he stared at the younger Damian, hurt clear on his face. His lip wobbled, and he was suddenly racing out of the room. Damian and his siblings stood.
"Timothy. Jason. Go after him."
"No!" Jason glared at Damian. "I got words for that brat! He can't just say that!"
"Jason!" Damian growled. Jason stood his ground.
"Um, guys?" Tim stepped between them. "Dick's run off? We need to deal with that now."
Damian narrowed his eyes at Jason. Jason didn't move. "...Fine. Cassandra, you go with Timothy. Find him quickly."
Tim and Cass quickly ran out of the dining room, leaving the remaining three Bats to glare at the younger Damian. He simply stared back, raising his chin.
"You are the youngest, and have obviously not been with Batman long. I was once like you, so I will forgive some of your behavior, but do not ever speak that way again. They are my family, and as much as I loathe them sometimes, I have come to appreciate them. If you are as smart as I would hope you to be, you will as well."
"Yeah! Nobody gets to talk to us like that 'cept our Damian, and even he's not that mean! You got a lotta nerve to say that to us." Jason stuck his tongue out at the younger Damian. The older Damian would sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose, but now was not the time.
"You better apologize to our brother once we find him. It took us forever to get him to believe that we wanted him. Don't ruin it." Stephanie would have poked his chest for emphasis, but she had a feeling the younger Damian would attack her if she did. She strode out of the room, intending to catch up with Tim and Cass to find Dick. Damian and Jason threw one last glare at the younger Damian before following after her.
Everyone sat in silence for a moment before Jason let out a whistle. "You sure fucked up this time, Demon Brat."
"Shut up, Todd!" Damian snapped. He felt chided and embarrassed, not that he was going to admit it to everyone. He had thought that his older self would agree with him, but obviously that had not been the case. He wondered what the others had done to get him to change. The only one in his universe that had affected Damian's opinion had been Grayson. Even then, it obviously didn't go as deep as it did for his older self.
Dick sighed, watching as everything fell apart. He just wished that they could get through one night without an argument. It didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.
Tim and Cass found Dick hiding under his blanket in the guest room he had been given. The sobs they heard Dick emitting broke their hearts. They gently sat down on either side of him, and Cass rested a hand on what she thought was Dick's back. Dick flinched, breaking Cass's heart even more. Dick never flinched when she—or anyone else in their family—touched him. He encouraged them to do it, having grown up in a highly affectionate environment.
"Dick." Cass stated firmly. The sobs quieted, but the lump under the blanket still trembled.
"He was just being a big jerk. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Tim consoled Dick, trying to get him to come out from under the blanket. "We love you so much, Dick. And Damian loves us. I'm pretty sure he loves you the most, kid."
Dick peeked an eye out, peering at Tim suspiciously. "Nuh uh. Dami loves everyone equally."
Tim chuckled. "Believe that if you want, but I'm sure he loves you more. Why do you think you're the only one able to get away with calling him 'Dami'?"
Tim wasn't hurt by that fact. He and Damian had never really gotten along well, hence why Damian still called him Drake. The only reason he was calling him Timothy now was probably because he was going to call the other Tim 'Drake'. Besides, Dick had them all wrapped around his finger. He was probably the only one who could get Damian to come off his high horse.
Dick was silent for a moment. Slowly, he inched his way out of the blanket. He looked down, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "You really believe that?"
"I know it." Tim answered, pulling Dick into a hug. Cass wrapped her arms around the two, shushing Dick as he tried to apologize for leaving the room so rudely.
"No talk. Just hug."
That was how the other three found them. Stephanie and Jason grinned, shouting "Group hug!" and flinging themselves at the bed. Damian sighed but walked over to the bed when Dick pouted at him. He sat on the edge of the bed and was quickly pulled into the hug.
"Dami?" Damian looked at Dick. "You—You love me, right?"
Damian pursed his lips. He didn't like admissions of love—they made him uncomfortable—but Dick's face was quickly falling, so Damian decided to suck it up to put him at ease.
"Of course, Richard."
Dick smiled, snuggling up to Damian. "Good. Little you is mean, but that's just 'cause he's not used to family yet. I forgive him."
"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it." He probably wouldn't, but he wasn't going to tell Richard that. "I think it's time you go to bed now, Richard. We've had a long night."
"Aw!" Dick pouted. "Will you at least tell me a story?"
"What kind of story?" Damian asked, though he already had an idea.
"Tell me one about when you were Shadow! You and Batman musta had lotsa adventures!" Richard beamed up at him. Damian sighed but conceded.
"Alright, I'll tell you about the time Batman and I faced an idiot who called himself the Condiment King..."
A/N: Feel free to send me prompts or talk to me at browniesarethebest on tumblr!
