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This Mask Of Cold Indifference (Hides A Childlike Joy)

Chapter 1: What A Formal Young Boy

Damian Wayne is an unusually formal child. It is an almost universally agreed upon opinion. He would know, he’s heard the way everyone talks about him when they think he’s not listening. He’s heard the other children at school call him cold, arrogant, and distant. He understands the snide remarks all those pompous socialites make when talking to him at galas. He sees the looks the Bat Clan share when he speaks, like every time he makes the unfortunate mistake of opening his mouth all they can hear is his league upbringing. Most believe his formal tongue is all he knows. His accent is impeccable, not particular to any one region, with an almost vintage propriety. Comparable to an old Hollywood actor. No one would ever guess English wasn’t his first language. He speaks with the fluency and accent of a well-bred native, in every language he knows. He’s not one to climb trees at the play ground, come home with knees covered in mud, or rip his clothing while playing at school. Damian doesn’t play. If you were to talk to anyone in Gotham, they would say Damian doesn’t do much of anything at all. None of them know about his passion for art, his love of animals, or even that he’s a vegetarian. If asked, Damian doesn’t think Wayne and co. could even tell you if he liked tea or coffee more. He prefers tea. He drinks coffee on occasion, but only for necessity.

If any of them where to look at him, really look at him, they would realise how wrong they are. He may live in a manor with some of the best detectives on the planet, but even they are blind to the reality of Damian. Their personal prejudices against the Al Ghul’s have blinded them to the humanity of the boy who they live with. When Damian first came to stay at the manor he immediately realised he was an outsider, the only child Bruce Wayne did not choose. A burden. Unwanted. They didn’t need him there, they where all very content without him, probably happier. This has left him completely uncomfortable, and in this discomfort he has firmly secured his formal mask in place. When around them he is left on the defensive, justifying his place in the house. House, not a home. Damian's home is not any one place, but a person. Maybe Damian’s attitude isn’t great… Fine he admits it, he's rather hostile, not particularly likeable, and has spent nearly an entire year keeping these people at arms length. You can’t just blame him though, they haven’t made any effort either. Damian would feel like he was betraying his home if he ever thought anything good of these people. He knows what they’ve done.

Damian Al Ghul mastered the art of the formal mask at a very early age. For fear of punishment, he quickly hid all child-like qualities he possessed. He was a prince, and anything less then perfection was unacceptable. He was raised in a strict hierarchal structure, and it became second nature to act above all the rest. It wasn’t something he really believed, in fact he was a rather insecure young boy. However the only reason he continued to slip into this well practiced persona was survival. Ra’s would have had him disposed of if he could not meet the standards set for him. He was currently in the difficult process of adapting the mask of Damian Al Ghul to become Damian Wayne, he had unfortunately come to understand that what was acceptable in Nanda Parbat was not acceptable in Gotham. Sadly no one could be bothered to explain the rules to him. So he was left trying to figure them out all on his own, and he wasn’t doing a very good job…

That's how he found himself here. Sat near the sparring mat watching Grayson and Drake. They refused to spar with him on account of the incident. He apparently nearly killed Drake when he first arrived. Damian didn’t see it that way, but none of them cared for his side of any story. So now he watches, after all he was sent here to learn. He sits in the shadows, learning moves he’ll practice to perfection when he’s alone, taking note of mistakes, mentally correcting stances. He tried telling Drake he had made a mistake that could have cost him his life in a real fight once, but Drake had called him a brat and walked off so Damian no longer wasted his breath. He’s pretty sure they haven’t even noticed him, they’re all surprisingly unobservant within the safety of the cave. Bruce is sat in front of the bat-computer doing some research on a case before patrol tonight. When looking at the evidence Damian had spotted something that could help, if they would listen to his advice but they won’t. So he’s keeping it to himself. Brown and Cain where whispering to each other in a corner while organising some tools before patrol. Damian could admire Cain the most out of all his ‘Fathers’ proteges, she was the only one who didn’t blame him for the circumstances of his birth. They had a quiet respect for each other, and while they weren’t close Cain was the only one who would still spar with him.

Then it’s time, and in sync Grayson, Drake, Brown, Cain, and Bruce all gathered ready for a quick debrief. It takes all of two minutes, and then they’re off. This is Damian's favourite time of day, when the others are gone and he is free to utilise the cave to it’s full potential. He trains, practices with his weapons, replicates some of Grayson’s flips from earlier. After that he moves on to the bat-computer and reads completed case files, he goes over old cold cases, and then he does some of his own research on the rogues. He’s gathering as much as he can, especially on the Joker. Anything to help his akhi.

In the entirety of the universe there is one person Damian is completely comfortable around. One person who got to see him as just him. His home. His ahki. Jason Todd. When it was just the two of them Damian could expose his childish traits without worrying about being beaten. Jason sees him, his joy, his sadness, his insecurity and he still loves him. Damian was very excited for Jason to make his return to Gotham. Maybe then he will finally not be alone.

Damian considers the truest version of himself to be Damian Todd. A boy who exists in the solitude of his mind, in quiet whispers between brothers, and he would soon exist during long nights around Gotham. Jason has a plan, one to help change and shape the city he holds so dear. However Talia had insisted this plan be put on the back burner until Damian had proven capable of being in Gotham on his own. One year in, Damian may feel like he’s failed, but Talia apparently believes he’s doing well. Although, she really has been pushing for Damian to usurp Drake and become Robin. Damian has decided to wait until he has his loyal brother by his side again, he refuses to fight without the possibility of backup he can trust. Jason had also made him swear not to don the traffic light costume. They may discuss it again when the Joker is dead, but until then he would refrain from putting his big brother back in the grave through stress alone.

All things considered Damian isn’t sure he really wants to be Robin. He doesn’t enjoy the idea of being replaced eventually, and it feels wrong to want to be Bruce’s side kick. Maybe in an alternate universe Damian would look up to the man, but Damian had grown up with Jason’s stories of Batman’s failures. When it’s just the two of them, they only refer to Bruce as Damian’s sperm donor or the old man. It was all Jason’s idea, but Damian had to agree with him. He believed his mother to be clouded by her affections for the man. Love can make even the smartest people incredibly dumb. Before Damian had been sent off, he and Jason spent hours planning. They had everything prepared for Jason’s return. As well as his new moniker. Red Hood. The crime lord who will take over all of crime alley. Damian had even designed his new costume. Since arriving in Gotham, Damian had found himself dreaming up his own mask. Red Hood’s Robin, not Batman’s.

Redbird, the name paid homage to both his batman genetics and his undying loyalty to his brother. He had debated using Red Robin, but he didn’t want his own identity considered some knock off for Robin. Redbird hinted at it just enough he could get away with denying the connection to non-gothamites, but just enough to irk batman and company. His costume primarily black, with some red and gold accents. He’d even managed to slowly build one. It took months of careful, cautious, well thought out night rendezvous in the cave. He didn’t want anyone to notice that he was using cave resources to make a costume. He already had all the weapons he would use, he brought them with him and kept them well hidden. His beloved katanas are a given, they are his favourite weapons. He would also carry several knives in many places, some throwing stars, and a small hand gun. After Jasons influence Damian had come to appreciate guns a great deal, he only had two of his own, but they were well cared for. He had decided if he was to ever carry one of them on a regular basis it would be his sleek black handgun. He also has a vintage pistol, but it’s more decorative then useful. A gift from Jason before he left Nanda Parbat.

The costume he made was his pride and joy. It has a skin tight black armoured body suit, that goes from neck to toe, a league style black tunic, some grey cargo shorts(Jason loves them, and begrudgingly Damian has to admit they’re useful) that tuck into a pair of combat boots. Damian sadly had to let go of his precious league cape, it wouldn’t be the most practical for fighting goons in Gotham. He had read some of the horror stories while scrolling through mission reports and decided against one. He instead opted for a dark maroon leather jacket, to match Jason’s brown one. With an attached cloth hood, he refuses to give up his hood. As a child Damian saw no need for masks, but he was supposed to stay on the Bats good side, and fighting alongside a crime lord wouldn’t help him with the challenge that was turning out to be. So he opted for a black domino, and a black face mask, that was covered in gold detailing.

He had a plan to convince Jason that it was a good idea. He really doesn’t want his brother out alone with the joker running wild still. If it was up to Damian, he would have killed the Joker when he first arrived in Gotham. The only issue was Jason wanted Batman to do it, he still held hope for the mans competence deep down. Damian secretly doesn’t believe he’ll do it. His father is a coward, he doesn’t have the guts to do whats necessary. When he inevitably fails, Damian has a plan of his own to deal with the clown. His brother will be avenged.

A buzz brings Damian out of his head. He reaches for his latest WE model phone, but sees nothing. Odd. Then with a start he realises its his burner phone. The one he uses to contact the league, his mother, and mostly Jason. He’s quick to pull out the flip phone, and go to check the messages. It’s Jason. They message frequently, not enjoying the distance between them. Their only supposed to check in every few days, but most of the time their up at all hours messaging. Damian complains about school, the Waynes, the galas and Jason updates him on league happenings and missions he’s going on.

Street Rat

See you soon, dami.

Damian’s eyes light up. His brothers coming home.

#This Mask Of Cold Indifference (Hides A Childlike Joy)#damian wayne #jason todd #damian and jason #damian al ghul #talia al ghul #damian wayne centric #Damian Wayne is not robin #jason todd is red hood #Jason and Damian met in the league of assassins #league of assassins #league of shadows #batman fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #cross posted on ao3

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