Unpleasant Revelations - DPxDC Ficlet Idea for the Stillborn Au
"Have you met my youngest, Damian, Mr. Masters?"
Its only from twenty years of long, hard experience and practice that Vlad doesn't increase the room temperature from 'borderline uncomfortably cool' to 'unbearably hot' the moment Bruce Wayne pulls his youngest and "only" biological son out in front of him.
He puts only in quotations because twelve year old Damian Wayne looks scarily, uncannily like one Daniel Brown. Jack and Maddie's foster son, second victim of their foolishness, and only other halfa in existence. Second only to him.
It's nauseating how similar they look. From the scowl and terrible glare on the young boy's face, to his brown skin -- which was only a few shades lighter than Daniel's, the shape of his nose, and even the strange winged edge of his eyebrow. Something that Vlad has long since come to find endearing on the child he considered a son of his own. The only difference was that Damian had dark, sharp green eyes.
Daniel's eyes were blue. The same glacier shade as his father's, who stood behind Damian with a proud, oafish smile on his visage.
It was infuriating how similar they look. Vlad might not have rapidly swung the room temperature from one extreme to the other, but he can't stop himself from letting the fury burning within his core from slipping out and raising the temperature up a few degrees.
Because it really only meant one thing.
Damian Wayne and Daniel Brown were related.
Damian Wayne and Daniel Brown were brothers.
Standing in front of him, it was clear as day. He can already picture a phantom image of Daniel standing beside Damian, the same scowl written on his face, the same glare carved into his eyes. The only difference being the dark, exhausted circles beneath them that seemed to be permanently painted onto his skin. The only thing missing being the permanent loneliness and vigilance permeating his being like a scar.
This, if revealed, would be enough to ruin Bruce Wayne's reputation. Or, at the very least, darken it quite a bit. The great philanthropist Bruce Wayne with another secret blood child? One related to his youngest? One that had been put into foster care? Seemingly thrown away?
It would be a firestorm.
One that Vlad is not keen on starting.
It would ruin Bruce Wayne's reputation, yes. But it would hurt Daniel in the process -- the harassment he would face alone might just be enough to break that fragile child completely. That was just not something he could allow. Or, even worse, bring him into his biological father's care and custody -- something Vlad was even less willing to allow.
It's not out of kindness to Wayne that Vlad will keep mum about this.
His grip on his champagne flute tightens, just a bit. He's still aware enough of the world around him to not let it shatter in his hands. His plastered, pleasant smile tightens around the corners, and he forces his focus to slide from Damian to Wayne.
"The resemblance is uncanny, Mister Wayne." He says, slanting his smile to the side slyly. Although he's not talking about the resemblance between Wayne and his son. Rage simmers beneath his skin, burning coal and embers in the core of his chest, nestled between his lungs, as he meets the man's eyes.
Wayne swaggles his head proudly, his ditzy smile widening as he squeezes his son's shoulder affectionately. Bastard, Vlad wants to spit.
He breathes in through his nose, and exhales out through his mouth. The champagne in his hand cools, and stops its unusual bubbling.
The Damian boy scoffs under his breath, his mouth still coiled upward into a scowl. With the revelation of his blood relation to Daniel evident, Vlad's not sure if he should find it endearing or not.
He is not Daniel, so he decides that it's just simply irritating. He decides to ignore it.
"And you said he was your only biological son?" He asks, voice lilting and head tilting. He knows its a suspicious question at worst, insulting at best. But considering Wayne's past proclivities, he can hardly call it an unexpected question.
Damian puffs in great offense, face twisting angrily. It reminds him of Daniel when Vlad insisted that he was wrong about something or other, and for a moment his heart swells, fond.
But this is not his child, and so the feeling quickly crashes and burns, simmering back into rage. This was not Daniel -- this was his replacement. A replacement that Wayne was free to keep.
Wayne chuckles, idiotically, as if he'd said some funny joke. Vlad's other hand, the one gripping his cane -- something he's required ever since he was dispatched from the hospital all those lonely years ago -- tightens instead. He grinds his teeth -- him and Jack Fenton would get along like a house on fire, he hates it.
"I can understand why you'd ask that, Mister Masters," Wayne says, squeezing Damian's shoulder again, "but yes, Damian is my only biological son. Although that doesn't mean I don't love my other children any less."
Bastard.
For all his posturing and flouncing about caring for his city and his children, Vlad never would have thought the Prince of Gotham capable of abandoning one of them.
But, well.
They all have their dark secrets.
And what one man throws away, another man picks up. If Bruce Wayne didn't want the treasure child that was Daniel Brown, then Vlad Masters was more than happy to take him instead.
"I see."
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I always fantasize about sukuna chasing you in the middle of the forest but, I don't even think he would run after you. it's just you, running away from him as the darkness of the big trees engulfs you and sukuna walking leisurely behind you.
The scene feels like something out of a nightmare, almost as if you're watching the scene through a blurry, time-distorted antique camera. The atmosphere is dense, suffocating, with the humidity of the forest clinging to your skin as you flee without direction, guided only by desperation. Sukuna doesn't run because he doesn't need to. He enjoys the game, reveling in your panic, every step you take amuses him, every time you stumble, every anxious gasp that escapes your lips. A lamb trapped in his territory, and he has all the time in the world to hunt you his way.
The forest becomes a living trap, trees rustle in your wake, branches seem to try to catch you, sounds stalk you from every direction. The darkness is almost tangible, enveloping you in its suffocating embrace as you try not to think about those crimson eyes you feel fixed on your back, calmly following you from the shadows. Sukuna's deep purr vibrates in the air, moving closer and further away in a sadistic dance, playing with your senses.
Just when you think you've managed to lose him, when the sound fades, you find a small respite as you lean against a thick, gnarled tree. Your breathing is in chaos, mixed with the racing sound of your heart beating frantically in your ears. It is at that moment that the air changes, becomes thicker, warmer. The ground beneath your feet vibrates slightly, as if something powerful is moving just below you.
The warm breath brushing the back of your neck freezes your every muscle, and terror grips your body. Before you can process it, a low, twisted laugh echoes behind you, ruffling every hair on your body. Crows caw and fly in every direction, shattering the silence of the forest as those scarlet eyes appear again in the darkness. This time, they are right above you, shining with a predatory intensity that takes your breath away.
The tree "breathes" behind you, his body taking shape in the shadows. His figure, towering over you like a beast, watches you with four pairs of eyes that blink in sync, each one reflecting the despair on your face. His grin is wide, grotesque, a flash of sharp teeth telling you that you have nowhere to run anymore. The sound of his laughter rises from deep in his stomach, mocking your panic, as he extends a hand toward you, ready to claim what is his.
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