A/N: I wanted to do something centered between Damian and Tim, since Jason had his individual experience already. I hope you all enjoy this; it was nice to update after so long :) Please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics.

"For the last time, Damian, no!" Drake said, his expression the definition of annoyance.

Damian crossed his arms, staring firmly at his brother. "This conversation is not over until I deem it, Drake! And you will agree with me or I'll take matters into my own hands."

From his spot on the couch, Drake sniffed, rolling his eyes. A blanket was wrapped around him, obscuring his body from the waist down. Behind his back pillows had been stuffed there, so he was able to sit up. Somehow Todd had convinced the stubborn boy that if he didn't come out of his room he would suffocate from the stale air. The blank walls and never changing surroundings were probably not helping his will to recover either. When Drake had finally agreed to come downstairs, Todd had brought him down himself.

Weeks had passed, but Drake still couldn't walk. Not to the standards that he wished at least; Damian had watched him take at least four steps before his legs gave out beneath him. The young Robin was becoming sick of watching him lie around and wallow in self-deprecation. It had gotten to the point where Drake didn't even try anymore, and Damian had had enough of it. Past was the moment of pity; it was time for Drake to move on. And if nobody else in his family was going to make him, well Damian would just have to be the one to do so.

"You have five seconds to get up, or so help me I will drag your motionless corpse across the floor myself!" Well, perhaps not his corpse, Damian considered. Killing his brother would defeat the entire purpose of this. And that would be too easy of a battle to win with Drake immobilized. That battle would be saved for another day.

Drake looked exasperated, and sounded it to. "Have you not been paying attention at all lately? I. Can't. Walk."

A moment of silence passed and then Damian let out a sigh. His brother was an absolute fool. "Remember that I benefit nothing from this. This is all on you."

And with that he grabbed Drake by his collar and yanked him off the couch. The blanket tangled around his legs and Drake hit the ground with a yelp. If that was his way of trying to discourage Damian, it didn't work. The current Robin grabbed the back of his brother's shirt by the collar and dragged him across the floor and out of the living room. All the while the older boy yelled angrily, "Damian! Let go of me you little brat!"

"If you want me to, then make me," Damian said simply and continued to drag his brother across the floor. From the corner of his eye he could see Drake flailing as much as he could, attempting to reach up and grab a hold of Damian's arm. But he couldn't, and there was no one home to stop the youngest boy from doing this, save for Pennyworth. The butler was nowhere to be seen, probably more out of choice than of coincidence.

He'd have to thank Pennyworth later for allowing him to do what he needed, but for now his focus was on the angst-driven teen in his grasp. He continued to scream as Damian walked through the manor with him, yelling obscenities that almost rivaled Jason's vocabulary. It was Damian's turn to roll his eyes as he shoved the door to the cave open, and then tossed the boy in. His yelling turned from angry to surprised, and Damian watched as he came to a rolling stop on one of the stairs. The teen peered down at the rest of the staircase with wide eyes, and then looked to Damian with a glare. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You will not walk because you think you can't," Damian said, walking casually down the stairs until he was only two above where Drake lay. "But it is not solely the fact that you are physically incapable. Most of it at this point is because you foolishly do not have the will to try."

"All I want is to be able to be independent again!" Drake shot back, forcing himself onto his elbows. "But I can't be!"

Damian sent him an icy glare that shut Drake up, surprisingly. His voice was just as cold, "Do you have any idea what would have happened to me if I told my mother that I couldn't do what she wanted me to? I would have been punished severely, yet you are allowed to lie around and pity your unfortunate soul. Get up, Drake! If you do not try, you will never succeed!"

"But what if—" Drake started, but Damian quickly cut him off.

"If you make a mistake? If you fall? That does not matter. There will be obstacles to overcome, but the fear of them cannot stop you." Damian shook his head, "I am embarrassed to have to live under the same roof as someone who has a desire but is too afraid to gain it."

Maybe it wouldn't matter to Drake that he was embarrassed, but something in his words must have struck a chord. Slowly, the older boy reached up and grabbed a hold of the railing and hauled himself into a standing position. He looked to Damian, and the younger boy walked down a few steps and turned to face his older brother. For a long moment Drake stood there, muscles shaking. Then he took a step, still holding onto the rail.

He didn't fall, and so he took another, and then stepped down onto the next stair. Damian watched, noticing how he heavily leaned against the rail, how his feet were slipping, but said nothing about it. Drake moved again and slipped, and his grip on the railing went slack. He fell to his knees with little more than a grunt of surprise. Seconds passed, and then he hesitantly raised his head to his brother. Damian told him, "What? Do you think I'm going to treat you like an infant? Get up."

Drake nodded and pulled himself up, beads of sweat starting to form on his face. While Damian was aware that this took immense effort, he wasn't letting his brother off easy. He watched him take a few more steps with the rail; make it down two more stairs. All the while Damian moved backwards, examining each movement that his brother made. He could tell when Drake became discouraged, when the weight of his body would cloud his mind. Damian cut through his distraction with a firm, "Focus, Drake."

The older boy kept going, and he looked down over the other side of the rail. It was a long way down, Damian knew, and that knowledge seemed to catch up with Drake. Not in the way that Damian had expected, for his brother let go of the rail and stood without using it for support. The younger boy masked his surprise and watched as Drake descended. The first few paces went well, but then when he went to step down he fell, lurching forwards. Damian simply held out a hand and Drake's chest fell into it, but the boy didn't flinch.

Drake looked at him with slight astonishment, and Damian said, "Do not think about falling. Focus on walking."

Maybe it was in that moment, while Drake was suspended in midair and being held up only by Damian's hand that he realized just what this was all about.

Damian gave his older brother a small shove backwards, and Drake grabbed the rail to keep from tumbling backwards. For a moment the two boys locked eyes, and then Drake let go of the railing once more and kept on moving. All the way down the long staircase they went, Damian catching his brother when he fell and offering only a few short and stern words. Eventually as they neared the bottom Drake didn't fall as much, and though he was exerting a ton of energy he didn't backtrack when a mistake was made. Damian was almost proud.

When they reached the bottom, Drake stopped and grabbed a hold of the rail and leaned against it. Damian moved further into the cave and went and stood beside the computer, crossing his arms. At first Drake just looked at him, and then his determination appeared in his eyes. Understanding that if he could make it down the stairs, then he could walk on the smooth and flat floor seemed to pass over him. He let go of the rail and took a step forwards, and then very slowly began to walk towards the computer. Damian watched, keeping his expression blank.

Drake swayed but kept on going, stumbling once or twice. Then when the steps became smoother he quickened his pace. Before either of the boys knew it, Drake had made it to the computer, and then promptly collapsed into the chair. It spun around once he did, and the boy sat there catching his breath. Damian finally let his mask drop. "I see that logic has finally made its way through your thick skull."

"When your brother throws you down a staircase, it kind of hints that you need to man up," Drake admitted, and smiled sheepishly.

"I take pride in getting my point across," Damian said, stopping the chair from spinning with his foot. "I've succeeded again, not surprisingly."

"Yeah yeah I know," Drake said, "you were right and I was wrong. Thanks for being right."

The gratefulness was genuine, something that Damian had slowly gotten used to over the time that Drake had been ill. This experience had proven to him that showing gratitude didn't always have to be sarcastic; they actually could be honest with one another. But no matter what Drake was still an idiot, and Damian was still his little brat of a brother. He'd become completely fine with that.

Damian smirked, "Perhaps in the future we will graduate from staircases to bigger feats. I'll throw you from rooftops instead."

"At least wait until I'm back in costume," Drake bargained. "Considering my current state, there would be no surviving that."

"Let me say something that is totally Grayson-worthy," Damian said, "If you can believe it, you can achieve it."

Damian promptly pretended to gag, and Drake laughed. Then Damian joined in, and their rare laughter filled the cave. It must have been so strange of a sound that it drew Pennyworth to the cave, as he appeared in the doorway only a minute later. Damian looked up and saw the butler's expression; one of amazement. "Is everything alright, Master Damian?"

"As alright as Gotham usually is, Pennyworth," Damian replied as their laughter faded out.

"Indeed so," the butler agreed, and then looked to Drake, "Master Timothy, how did you get down there?"

The grin was so wide Damian thought that it would break his brother's face. "I walked, Alfred."

There was no denying how Pennyworth's face brightened at the report. "Wonderful! Tonight we should celebrate."

Damian snorted, "Yes, the toddler has taken his first steps again. Let us all lose our heads over it."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Damian," his brother said. And then their characteristic sarcasm returned as he added, "Throw me down the stairs more often why don't you."

Damian smirked, "I may just take up that offer, Drake."