Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/13841157. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Batman_-_All_Media_Types Relationship: Damina_Wayne/Original_Character, Damian_Wayne_&_Dick_Grayson, Bruce_Wayne &_Damian_Wayne, Bruce_Wayne_&_Dick_Grayson Character: Damian_Wayne, Dick_Grayson, Bruce_Wayne, Batman Additional Tags: Molestation, Kidnapping, Bondage, Hurt/Comfort, kind_of, Protective_Dick Grayson, Big_Brother_Dick_Grayson, Family_Angst, Family_Feels, at_the end, Canon-Typical_Violence, Grinding, Dick_Grayson_is_Nightwing, Damian Wayne_is_Robin, Bruce_Wayne_is_Batman, Dick_and_Bruce_basically_have_a pissing_contest_over_Damian Series: Part 1 of Bat-Family_Matters Stats: Published: 2018-03-01 Words: 4117 ****** Murder Or Self-Defence? ****** by Kezi0629 Summary Everyone knows Bruce is against killing, but what if there was no choice? Damian finds himself in a sticky situation and is forced to take extreme measures in self preservation. Dick agrees with Damian's actions, but Bruce is not so sure. Will the trio work it out? Notes See the end of the work for notes Bruce Wayne was not an easy man to love. In fact, it was nearly impossible, but his eldest son tried his best. It didn’t always turn out well. Dick Grayson was more than willing to give more than his father figure would return to him, but sometimes the bat takes more than he has to offer. That’s where things get complicated. The first big blow out between the two was when Dick was in College. He began spending less time focused on being Robin and more time focused on his own ambitions. Pulling away was a natural progression that most young adults go through, however, Bruce deemed this unexceptable behavior for his Robin. This sparked a huge argument that ended with Dick being fired. Dick came back a few times throughout the years to check up on his new brothers and make sure his former city wasn’t dragged into ruins, but he never stayed long due to either being unneeded or fighting with Bruce. He made Bludhaven his new city; the city he vowed to protect the way his mentor had vowed to protect Gotham. This all Changed when he learned of Bruce’s biological son. He wanted to see how alike they were. If they had the same hair, eyes, nose. When he met the boy, he was both satisfied and saddened by the only difference he could pick out: Bruce had seen, at a young age, the darkness and depravity of humankind, Damian was the darkness. The boy was a strange mix of the looks of the young and happy kid seen in old pictures of Bruce, and the dark scowl and weathered persona he wears today. The boy was rather scrawny due to the fact that he hadn’t even hit puberty yet, but there was no doubt in Dick’s mind this kid could handle himself. Dick knew the moment they met that this kid would need him, even if it was just to keep him from killing his own father in a fit of mutual stubbornness and rage. There was a line Bruce would never cross, and he wasn’t so sure Damian shared that same boundary—and neither was Bruce. He stayed at the manor with the pair and tried to simulate a relatively normal life. Both he and Bruce felt it was important that Damian learn how to be a normal kid and learn the morals and conventions of his new society. Of course, above all else was the no killing rule. The new addition was not to thrilled with this regulation, feeling it was a weakness that was easy to exploit, but he conceded eventually. They worked well as a team of 3; Robin was an exceptional fighter for his age and fared quite well in Gotham’s environment. But, in batfam tradition, things just had to go terribly wrong. ********************** Damian was waiting outside of his school for Dick to pick him up as hoards of students crowded around him. He was used to the sensation of people coming at him from all sides in this situation so he thought nothing of it when a man came up behind him. By the time Damian realized what was happening, the man had a hand over his mouth and a syringe plunged into his neck. He began to lose his balance, prompting the man to pick him up and carry him off the premises as if he were a sleeping child. The next thing he knew, Damian was locked up in a windowless room. It was dimly lit and reeked of beer, musk, and rotting garbage. It made his eyes water, and when he pulled at his hand to brush the tears away he noticed he was chained to a pipe extending from the wall furthest from the only exit. He attempted to search his body for hidden weapons before remembering he was taken from school and had nothing on him. He inspected his body to be sure he was wearing the same clothes he was before he was knocked out, luckily, he was. Then, he approximated how long he must have been missing for, using his body as a clock. He figured since he was hungry but not starving it was around 6:00-10:00 pm. Sadly, Those were the only data points he had to go on, so he was stuck with a vague answer as to when Batman and Nightwing would figure out where he was. Sadly, they didn’t make it before them man returned. “Hey there, buddy. Looks like your awake.” “Bite me,” Damian snarled. “Ooh, your feisty; I like you. Let’s have a little fun.” The man grabbed zip ties from a bag on the table across from where Damian was tied up. When the man grabbed one of his legs he swung the other around to kick him on the side of the head. Then man swayed with shock and dizziness but did not cease his efforts. He succeeded in pining both of his legs down and tied them to the floor by looping zip ties through slits in the carpet. With the specialized equipment and modifications to the environment, not to mention the relative ease he had capturing and holding Damian, it was apparent this wasn’t his first rodeo. He had definitely done this countless times before. He climbed on top of his captive, straddling Damian’s thighs. He began grinding on him, rubbing his rock hard member against the boy’s own genitalia, causing the boy to squirm with discomfort. He wiggled and writhed underneath the man as much as he could, unfortunately, it only added to he man’s pleasure. It wasn’t long before the man was releasing white, hot cum that soaked through both of their pants. After his first orgasm he was hungry for more. He snipped off the zip ties and undid the chains, hoping to the further the struggle. That was his first mistake. Damian head butted the man as soon as his limbs were free. He used the confusion to flip him over and land a few punches. The man just groggily smiled with blood dripping down his chin; it was like this guy thrived off of every act of defience. Eventually, the man grew tired of this and wanted his control back. He pushed Damian onto his back and sat up in front of him. The man pulled Damian’s legs until the boy’s butt was up against his crotch. Damian wrapped his legs around the man’s torso and used his abs to pull himself into an upright position. He grabbed a screwdriver he knew was in the area based on his observations of the room and plunged the sharp tip into his side, careful not to hit anything too important. The man hissed in pain. “Fuck, you’re hot.” He eyed Damian with intense desire. “You’re sick minded scum that prays on children.” Damian quipped. “Give me your keys; I will be taking my leave.” “Uh uh, baby. We can either have some more fun, or—I can kill you.” The man pulled Damian closer and wrapped his arms around the small boy’s back. “No, and you can try.” Damian smirked, easily breaking the hold. They both stood up. The man lunged toward Damian, prompting Damian to jump to the side. The man realized his captive was gone and turned to find him behind him waiting to stab him in a slightly more vital spot. The man cried out in pain. “I’m warning you. Stop this now and let me go,” Damian said sternly. “No,” was all the man had to say between gasps for air and grunts of pain. They tumbled to the filthy floor, fighting for dominance. The rolled over again and again attempting to pin each other down. Damian was beginning to exhaust himself while the man was barely breaking a sweat. It was obvious Damian couldn’t hold out for much longer, so he had to do something fast. Damian flipped him around one last time and gave him a few successive punches to daze him enough for the boy to muster enough force to drive the screwdriver into his heart. He stood up, panting from his efforts and turning his head in disgust from the raging boner the man was sporting up until his final breath. As the man’s blood ceased to flow, his member grew limp underneath the fabric of jeans. Damian bent down and searched his pockets for anything useful. He stood back up with a silver key he assumed was for this room and the man’s cell phone. First, he called the batcave. The phone rang till voicemail picked up. Damian expected this being that he was calling from a strange number. He called again with the same results. He decided calling a third time wasn’t going to get him anywhere, so he called the police instead. When they arrived he gave detailed answers to all of their questions. They stripped him of his blood, sweat, and semen soaked clothes and gave him a blanket to cover up with. Despite his protests that he was fine, the officers insisted on him getting checked out by the paramedics. It was around this time that a disheveled Dick showed up and pushed everyone out of his path to his little brother. He wrapped his arms around the boy. “Dami, you ok?” “Yes, Grayson; I’m fine,” Damian responded. “I was so worried. We looked everywhere for you.” Dick pulled Damian’s stiff body in tighter. “Is Father aware that I’m alright?” Damian asked. “Yeah, I messaged him that I got a call from the police and that I was on my way to get you.” Dick answered. “Put these on.” He finally detached from Damian to give him some clothes. Damian obeyed, slipping on the white t-shirt and grey joggers Dick brought him from underneath the blanket’s protection. He finally stood up, discarding the blanket and inadvertently opening himself up for Dick to scoop him up to carry him away. Knowing it wouldn’t be wise to make a seen in front of these people under these circumstances, he laid his head on Dick’s shoulder and pretended he was tired. Dick walked over to what looked like the leading officer on the case and asked if there was anything else they needed them for using cop lingo that was difficult for Damian to follow. The officer allowed Dick to read over the report to get the details of what happened. He teared up a bit and rubbed circles into the small of Damian’s back. Damian didn’t mind the sensation of his brother’s contact; he felt it was comforting. Dick got the understanding that they were free to go and carried his brother off to the car and secured him in. All that pretend tiredness had taken its toll on Damian, and as soon as the car started moving, he was fast asleep in the backseat. ************************ (Flashback) There was a persistent buzzing in Dick’s pocket as he frantically searches the school grounds, for the millionth time, for any clues as to Damian’s whereabouts. He picked up the phone as gave a very annoyed, “Hello!” “Sorry if this is a bad time. I’m with Gotham police and we have a Damian Wayne in our custody and…” The officer was cut off mid sentence. “You found Damian!” Dick exclaimed with relief. “Yes, Damian Wayne was a victim of kidnapping and sexual assault.” “Oh my god, is he ok?” Dick asked. “Can I talk to him?” “He’s being examined by the paramedics on the scene. It would be helpful if you would bring a change of clothes to give him at the address I will send you via text message after this call ends. You will be able to see and talk to him when you arrive,” the officer explained. “Ok.” Dick hung up the phone without a goodbye and waited for the message to pop up. ************************* (Present) Once Dick pulled the car into the driveway, he pulled out his phone and messaged Bruce. Dick: Dami fell asleep in the car. I’ll tell you the details after I put him to bed. Bruce: Ok. Dick opened the car door as quietly as he could and carefully undid the boy’s seatbelt. He picked him up and held his brother’s chest against his, putting his hand underneath the boy’s butt to keep him from sliding when he let go with one of his hands. Damian’s face was nuzzled into Dick’s neck and his arms were draped over Dick’s shoulders. Dick carried him up to Damian’s room and tucked him in bed. He placed a kiss on his forehead, cultivating a stir from Damian. Dick closed the blinds and shut to door quietly as he left the room. Dick made his way down to the batcave where he found Bruce doing inventory on the gear he was using earlier. “Hey, B.” Dick greeted. “You owe me an explanation.” Bruce bypassed all pleasantries and cut right to the chase. “I got a call from the police department while I was sweeping the school, and the officer informed me that Damian was with them, and that he has been a victim of the child rapist/murderer called The Collector.” Dick paused before starting again. “There were 6 other victims before Dames, each of them went missing with an object that was not recovered with their—bodies.” “Did they apprehend him?” Bruce asked unphased by the harsh language Dick used. “Well...yes and no.” Dick’s gaze found the floor. “Damian killed him with a screwdriver.” “He did what!?” Bruce raised his voice. “You heard me,” Dick said sternly, straightening his posture to challenge the man who dares speak to him that way. Dick was the nicest, sweetest, kindest man in the whole wide world until you were the opposite to him or someone he cares about. Bruce, the expert in ruffling Dick’s feathers, did both with one sentence. “I need to speak with him,” Bruce grumbled and began to walk off. “No, you need to let him sleep.” Dick pulled at Bruce’s arm. Bruce shrugged him off and glared like he was trying to bore holes into his skull. “The bat-stare doesn’t scare me.” Dock folded his arms and glared back. “Damian knows better than to kill,” Bruce argued. “He didn’t have a choice!” Dick was growing increasingly irritated. “There is always a choice!” Bruce shouted. “Yeah, you’re right; he could have chosen to let that creep continue to molest him, then rape him, and pray to god we get to him before he gets to the murder part.” Dick was historical at this point. Tears flowed freely down his face as he stared at Bruce with anger. “Robin should have been able to avoid it in the first place.” Bruce was grasping at straws. “Well, he wasn’t Robin. He was just Damian. Just a kid.” Dick was at the end of his rope; if this didn’t convince Bruce to drop the subject then things will get ugly. Bruce pinched his nose with frustration. “I gotta think.” “Yeah, you think, And when you realize no one is gonna be what you want, not even your son, then you know where to find us.” With that being said, Dick walked away, wiping tears from his cheeks. ******************** Dick quietly slipped into Damian’s room and began packing a backpack for him. He shined the flashlight on his phone toward the closet but some reflected onto Damian’s bed, rousing the boy from his sleep. “Dick?” Damian asked groggily. “Sorry for waking you, Dames. I’m taking you to Bludhaven with me, and I was just going to pack some things so we could leave right away.” Dick continued stuffing the bag with clothes. “He’s upset with me, Isn’t he?” Damian didn’t need to ask to know the reason for their little excursion. “I wouldn’t be too upset about it: the old bat never changes,” Dick sighed as he zipped up the backpack. “Do you want to go now or get some more sleep first?” “You seem to be in a rush, so now is fine.” Damian climbed out of bed. “Although, I’m rather hungry. Can I eat first?” “Sure, I’ll make you some oatmeal, then go pack my stuff,” Dick responded to his question. When Damian was contently eating, Dick slipped upstairs to grab his things in preparation for their departure. Damian felt a little awkward all alone in the dimly lit kitchen. He felt out of place all of the sudden. The feeling could only stem from the lack of approval his father had of his actions, but no matter how many times he ran the scenario over in his head, he couldn’t think of a better outcome without him avoiding capture in the first place. He did admit to himself it was rather foolish to let his guard down in Gotham, even at an elementary school surrounded by hoards of people. Sometime during his inner monologue, Bruce had walked into the kitchen, looking for a drink. Damian’s head shot around to look with wide eyes at his father. “Guess two people have managed to sneak up on you today.” Bruce poured himself a bourbon on the rocks. “Neither of you snuck up on me; I knew each of you were there. I just didn’t perceive either of you as a threat,” Damian explained. “It is not unusual for you to walk into the same room as me, so while my mind was otherwise occupied, you slipped in without me processing the new social norm of it being awkward. At the school, many strange men invade my personal space; Dick has gotten more than one call, complaining that I tackled some innocent parent for getting to close. I felt him behind me, but ignored it thinking it was just another parent thinking I’m their kid. I felt his hand reach towards me thinking he was just going to tap my shoulder; I was prepared to turn around and reveal I wasn’t his, so he would move on. I was wrong, and I admit that; I always have trouble finding middle ground. I went from one extreme to another, and that was a mistake.” Damian took another bite, signifying he was done with his story. “Yes, it was a mistake.” Bruce sipped his drink. “I’m sorry I angered you with my foolishness,” Damian gave the most sincere apology he had ever given. It wasn’t very sappy or very nice for that matter, but he meant it. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Dick entered the conversation. “I must have misheard you, Bruce, I thought you said thinking not drinking.” “The later makes the former less tiresome.” Bruce took another sip. “Must we continue to fight? I have already admitted my fault and apologized,” Damian pleaded. “Can’t this be over?” “No, it can’t be over because he still hasn’t changed. He’s probably mulling over weather or not he’s going to replace you as we speak!” Dick yelled. “Richard!” Bruce growled. “You threw me away and gave my name to someone else—my name. It wasn’t yours to give, but you did it anyway. My mother called me by that name, and I chose it to remind myself of why I got into this in the first place. I didn’t say anything when Jason came along because I thought it would remind you as well. Robins aren’t there because you need them; they are there because they need you.” Tears drenched Dick’s face like a waterfall. Bruce’s demeanor softened, he couldn’t bare to hear his first son cry with such pain and anger, especially not directed toward him. He moved across the kitchen to where the young man was standing on order to embrace him. He held the sobbing figure in his arms, attempting to soothe him with soft strokes of the younger males hair. Bruce softly shushed him in an attempt to calm the loud cries and whimpers. Eventually, the efforts paid off as Dick quieted down and stopped crying completely. For a great deal of time after, Dick stayed in Bruce’s arms, shaking uncontrollably. He was exhausted and weak from his powerful sobs. His legs felt like jelly, and his eyes stung with irritation. He leaned into the older man for support and was happily accommodated by said man. He didn’t know how long those feelings dwelled inside of him but he was glad to have the weight lifted off his chest. Damian had moved closer, but did nothing to interrupt the episode. He just stood in silent support, letting his father comfort the distraught Dick. He figured if it were just Bruce there would be a better chance of fixing Dick’s heartache rather than just soothing it. “I’m sorry,” Bruce apologized. “When you started canceling patrols and spending less time at the manor, I started feeling lonely, and I was angry at you because you made me feel that way. It felt like you were abandoning me.” “I would never abandon you; you’re my family.” Dicks eyes met Bruce’s as he scoffed at the notion. “Well, no one said I was emotionally mature,” Bruce joked to lighten the mood. “I consider myself lucky to know you even have emotions,” Dick teased. “That May be our problem,” Bruce realizes. “Are we going to Bludhaven or what?” Damian interjected. “No, we aren’t going anywhere,” Dick answered. “Great.” Damian began to walk away. “Not so fast. We still need to talk; you fell asleep so fast I didn’t have a chance to go over some things with you.” Dick grabbed Damian by the shirt collar, pulling him back into the conversation. “What do you want to talk about?” Damian asked hesitantly, nervous of what was to come. Damian preferred to leave things unsaid. “First, I wanted to make sure you were ok. Any injuries pop up now that you’ve had time to relax?” Dick started. “Are you feeling ok emotionally; do you want to talk?” “Whatever drug he gave me did a number on my head, yes, and no,” Damian answered each of the questions in the order Dick asked them. “Want some ibuprofen?” Dick asked. “The paramedics told me I shouldn’t take anything for 24 hours,” Damian recalled. “They also said to drink a lot of water.” “‘Kay, there is one more thing I wanted to discuss with you.” Dick walked over to the fridge to get Damian a bottle of water. “What is it?” Damian asked, accepting the water bottle when Dick offered it. “I’m gonna keep you home for a while, and when I do send you back to school you’ll have new arrangements for being picked up. I don’t want you waiting in the courtyard anymore.” Dick looked at Damian with worry and seriousness. “You don’t have to change the routine. I…” Damian began to speak, but was cut off. “I think that’s a good idea, Damian,” Bruce chimed in. Damian glared at his father. “Look, Dami, I just wanna work on the personal space issue,” Dick explained. “It’s a social and cultural thing , and those trip you up sometimes; I just wanna make sure you got it down.” “I’ll be fine, Grayson,” Damian insisted. “Damian, when I realized you were missing that was the scariest moment of my life. I must have searched that school 10 times and found absolutely nothing; I started to feel like we would never find you. I never want to feel that way again. Please, just to make me feel better.” Dick pleaded. “Ok.” Damian rolled his eyes, but conceded any way. “Good, you should go back to bed.” Dick suggested. “Not tired.” Damian responded. “What do you mean? You didn’t even sleep an hour!” Dick exclaimed. “Plus the approximate 4 hours I was unconscious earlier,” Damian added. “It’s still not a whole lot of sleep,” Dick looked at Damian with worried eyes again. “It about what I usually get,” Damian mentioned. “ I generally sleep for an hour or two then read till I fall back asleep for another hour or two.” “How long has this been going on?” Dick asked. “Since I moved here,” Damian answered. “Jesus, how do you function?” Dick asked rhetorically. Damian shrugged in response. “You should go to the doctor. B, can you make an appointment?” Dick stroked the boy’s hair. “Yeah, is tomorrow ok?” Bruce asked. Dick nodded in agreement. “I don’t need to go to the doctor!” Damian insisted, eyes wide with terror. “Then prove it to me by sleeping till morning,” Dick taunted. “No problem.” Dick smirked. “Don’t get to cocky; I’ll be right next to you,” Dick quipped as he corralled Damian towards the stairs. “Dammit!” Damian groaned in frustration. End Notes That bit at the end is like the transition to the next part of the series: Damian goes the doctor! Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!