What You Do To Me: Chapter 01

Chikorita-Trainer1

T

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman or anything else I might make references to.

Author's Note: I've had this story idea for a while. At first I wanted it to be oneshot, but it might be too long. Also, the way the story is going to go, it makes more sense to leave on cliffhangers.

Damian Wayne, Son of Batman, Heir to Ra's al Ghul, was not an average child. Highly educated, skilled, trained and indoctrinated, the boy was taught, from the very moment he opened his eyes, that his destiny was to rule the world.

Many things had happened to change that. He'd met his father, who taught him a better way. He'd befriended his brothers. He'd made friends of his own. He had even fallen in love and gotten himself a little boyfriend.

But no matter how many experiences Damian had, he was still a child. His brain, no matter how much information it contained, was still the brain of a ten-year-old. Still underdeveloped. Still immature. There were still things Damian Wayne had yet to learn.

Particularly, how his actions could affect other people.

Batman and Robin crouched atop a rooftop in the city, spying on an alley within one of Gotham's worst neighborhoods.

Eventually, an attempted mugging took place, and the Dynamic Duo swooped into action. The criminal, a young man, presumably in his mid-20s, fired three shots at Batman, before Robin flew in his face and kicked the weapon out of his hand.

Batman grabbed the gun and broke it, then tossed a Batarang at the thug, which sent an electric surge through his body, rendering him unconscious.

Robin stood by, waiting for praise, but it never came.

"Hmph!" he grunted under his breath. Feeling eager to prove himself, the young vigilante took off down the alley towards a woman's scream.

"ROBIN!" yelled Batman. But the Batman's son didn't listen. Batman fired a tether onto a fire escape in the alley, so that he could swing over his sidekick and land in front of him. "I SAID STOP!"

"There's someone in trouble!" Robin protested, trying to push past his father.

"YOU follow ME, or you don't go at all!" growled Batman. The two heroes then caught up with the next crime being committed, which appeared to be another mugging, this time at knife-point.

"HELP! HELP!" cried the woman.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" yelled Robin, leaping at the mugger. The man ducked, and as Robin landed on him, he stood up, flipping Robin off of him and sending him tumbling onto the asphalt. Batman, by this point, had already gotten the woman to safety, and was now ready to take down the criminal.

However, seeing that the man was only using a knife, the Batman did not anticipate him to pull out a gun.

"LOOK OUT!" cried Robin, leaping up and grabbing onto the back of the criminal's head. The man fell backwards, firing blindly into the night.

Before Batman could reach into his utility belt to grab a weapon, the man had escaped the young assassin's clutches, kicked him in the stomach, and taken off running.

Robin coughed, still hunched over on the ground.

"I told you to wait for me," growled Batman. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! Let's get him!" Before Robin could get up and take off after their quarry, Batman grabbed his wrist.

"Will you just LISTEN TO ME FOR A MINUTE?!" he yelled. "You have to stop barreling into these fights without my word! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"tt. So?" Robin retorted, referring to the fact that he had already died once.

"It's not funny, Robin," said Batman.

"Who's laughing?" growled the little assassin, wrenching himself free of his father's grip. "Are we going to catch that asshole or are we just going to stand around talking?"

"Depends. Are you going to wait for my signal, or are you going to rush in without thinking?"

Robin allowed his shoulders to drop, his body language conveying surrender.

"Let's go," said Batman.

"I'm getting really tired of this, Damian!" Bruce yelled, upon returning to the Batcave.

"So take a nap," Damian sneered.

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" roared Bruce. Damian flinched and turned around.

"Well, I don't see why you can't let me make decisions for myself once in a while! Why do I always have to do what you say?!"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE ROBIN! YOU'RE TEN! YOU'RE MY SON! YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS!"

"So it's a power trip? You just love being in charge?"

"Alright, that's it," huffed Bruce. Clearly, yelling at his child wasn't working. He knelt down to eye-level and his face softened. "Damian, when you run off into danger, I panic. I'm terrified that you're going to get killed. And just because I brought you back once doesn't mean I could do it again. And I think, after everything I've done for you, I'm entitled to a little respect. Do you understand?"

Damian sighed and looked away. Then he looked back. "Not really. I mean, I understand the respect part, but not the…"

"The what?"

"The panic part. You don't need to panic. I'll be fine."

"You don't KNOW that, Damian," Bruce said. "You can't predict the future any more than I can. The ONLY way I can ensure your safety is if you stand behind me, not in front."

"I'm sorry I pissed you off," Damian said, quite insincerely. "Can I go now? I have to call Colin."

Bruce wanted to lecture his son a bit more, but didn't want to keep him from the small window of time in which he had to talk to his boyfriend.

"Fine, go."

Since Damian and Colin had begun dating, Bruce Wayne had purchased, for the orphan, a cell-phone, with its own plan that he paid for, so that Colin and Damian could chat whenever they had time. Colin had to hide his phone from the nuns at St. Aden's, and could only talk with or text Damian after hours, or if he could slip away to the library or somewhere else private. But the redhead never missed a call, because he and Damian really cared for each other.

"Hi," said Damian, sitting on his bed, petting Titus.

"Hey," Colin said softly. "What's up?"

"Just got back from patrol. You?"

"I'm in my room. It's cold in here." Damian immediately imagined being able to snuggle with Colin in his bed, to keep him warm.

"Damn," Damian didn't know what else he could say. "Uh, what'd you do today?"

"Class, chores, homework," said Colin. "How was patrol?"

"Lame," Damian complained. "A mugger got away because my dad wouldn't let me go after him."

"Why not?"

"Who knows? Thinks I might die or something," Damian grumbled.

"Well, you're lucky he cares about you," said Colin. Damian rolled his eyes. "If I were there, I wouldn't let anything happen to you, either." Damian smiled.

"You wouldn't have the chance. I'd be too busy protecting you."

"Heh heh heh," Colin giggled. "So, think we can hang out soon?"

"Yeah. What about this weekend?" asked Damian.

"I'll ask. My grades have been good lately, so they'll probably let me stay out longer. Maybe I could even sleep over."

Damian's smile widened tremendously when he heard this.

"That'd be so fun!" he said.

"OK, I should go. But I miss you."

"Miss you, too," said Damian. "Love you."

"Love you, too," whispered Colin. And the call was ended.

That weekend, the sleepover had been arranged, and Alfred picked Colin up from the orphanage and brought him to Wayne Manor. The old man had to conceal his adoration of the two tiny boyfriends' affection for one another; the way Colin ran into Damian's arms upon entering the house, the way Damian stroked his fingers through the red-head's hair during the hug.

Pretty soon, Titus came up to Colin, sniffing him excitedly.

"Hey, Titus!" Colin said cheerfully. "He remembers me."

"Of course he does," said Damian. "And you'd better get used to him, 'cause Colin's sleeping over tonight," Damian said to his dog.

"That's right! We can stay up all night! Watch movies and stuff!" Colin said, speaking childishly to the dog and rubbing head. "Hee hee hee! You're such a good boy!"

Suddenly, Titus sneezed.

"FWWWFFCHHH!" went the Great Dane.

"Ah!" shrieked Colin. Then he burst out giggling. "What was that?! Ha ha ha h ha ha!"

"Titus, no sneezing on my boyfriend," Damian pretend-scolded the dog.

"Yeah, I'm going to need to wash my hands," Colin said, between fits of laughter.

"Come on upstairs," said Damian.

"I just realized, I've never been in the bathroom in your house," said Colin. "Not this one, I mean." The two boys were in the bathroom just off of Damian's room. It was large, grand, and even furnished. "OK, why is there a fancy chair in the corner? Is someone going to come in and like, watch you take a bath?"

"I don't know," chuckled Damian. "Not like at the orphanage, is it?" Damian boasted, as Colin got up on the step-stool to reach the sink.

"Nah. We don't even have faucets. We have this weird sink that like, you push a button, and like three little streams of water shoot out for about ten seconds, then it goes off automatically."

"That's probably so they can ensure that no one forgets to turn it off, so as not to waste water."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just saying," said Colin, stepping down and drying his hands. "OK, what do you want to-"

He was cut off as Damian kissed him.

"You always do that!" he giggled.

"So?"

"Nothing," said Colin, leaning in to kiss Damian again. "But let's not do this in the bathroom."

"OK," Damian agreed, taking Colin's newly-washed hand and leading him back into his bedroom. The couple sat down on Damian's tiny bed, and resumed kissing.

He's so mean sometimes, but he's so sweet to me, thought Colin.

He's the best thing that ever happened to me, thought Damian.

When they pulled apart, Damian started threading his fingers through Colin's wispy hair, tucking strands of it back behind his ears. Colin just sighed and touched his nose to Damian's.

"How do you do it?" Damian whispered.

"Do what?"

"Make me forget everything that's bothering me," Damian answered. "When I'm with you, everything that's on my mind just dissolves. I'm not worried about crime, I'm not angry at my father, I'm not even mildly annoyed by my brothers' existence."

"I don't know," Colin blushed. "But when I'm with you, everything in my life just seems perfect."

"I love you," Damian sighed, reaching his arms around Colin and holding him tight.

"I love you, too," said Colin, resting his head on Damian's shoulder, enjoying the hug.

That night, after dinner, Batman, Robin and Abuse went out on patrol. Abuse did notice that Robin was particularly impulsive and reckless, and rude to Batman, but he didn't say anything. Having been raised by nuns in a Catholic orphanage, Colin was taught pretty strict principles, and especially respecting one's elders.

Being a child in Gotham, of course, he also knew that not all adults deserved respect, so he wasn't shocked when Robin belittled and taunted criminals. He still did feel that he was out-of-line with his father. But he chose to keep it to himself.

When they got back to the mansion, they had dinner, and then Alfred rolled out their sleeping bags in the living room, in front of the widescreen TV.

"Your sleeping quarters have been arranged, young sirs," he said, gesturing to the living room. "Shall I prepare some popcorn?"

"Uh, you want popcorn?" Damian asked.

"No thanks," said Colin.

"Very well, sirs. Enjoy the rest of your evening," said Alfred. And then he went upstairs to go to bed.

"What do you want to watch?" asked Damian.

"I don't know. I picked last time. You pick," said Colin, unzipping his sleeping bag and getting in.

"Have you ever seen…?" Damian was about to suggest Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but he thought better of it, knowing that Colin probably wouldn't understand or care for it. "Uh, you know what? Let's just cruise Netflix until we see something interesting."

"OK," said Colin. Damian sat down beside him, remote control in his right hand, Colin's hand in his left.

The boys scoured their options, finally landing on the original, animated 101 Dalmatians. Colin was more drawn to kids' movies than Damian was, but Damian did love animals, so he enjoyed the film. It wasn't long before the barking on the screen caught Titus's ear and he sauntered into the living room to investigate.

"Heh, he hears the barking," giggled Colin.

"Titus, down! DOWN!" ordered Damian, slapping the Great Dane's rear from his sitting position on the floor. (It was even worse than having the Dalmatian puppy Lucky standing up in front of the screen.) The dog finally sat, and then slid into a lying-down position in between the two boys. Damian grumbled that now he couldn't reach Colin quite as easily, but the redhead just grinned and continued petting the large dog.

After the movie ended, the boys extracted themselves from their sleeping bags in order to go brush their teeth. When the returned, Titus had sprawled out over both boys' sleeping bags, and the two kids just burst out laughing at the sight.

"Titus, come on, get up. Move over," said Damian, kneeling down and trying to roll the enormous canine over. Titus only grunted.

"Titus, move, boy!" Colin encouraged, yanking on Titus's collar. Titus finally squirmed away a bit, and then finally stood up and found another part of the floor to lie down on.

"Good boy," said Damian, straightening the sleeping bags out again and curling up inside his.

"Thanks for having me over, Damian," said Colin. "I've never had a sleepover before."

"Me, neither," said Damian, rolling over to face his boyfriend. He reached out and touched Colin's face, bringing him closer for a kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," whispered Colin.

The next morning, the two boys awoke to the sun pouring in the living room window. Alfred served them waffles and pancakes, fruit and toast. Colin had never eaten so well in his life. Neither had Titus, as the boys were constantly tossing him scraps and tidbits.

"I believe Master Titus has had more than his fill, boys," said Alfred. "Perhaps you two ought to take him for a walk to burn off the calories."

"Good idea, Pennyworth," said Damian. "Come on, Colin. Let's get dressed."

"Where are we going to walk him?" asked Colin, as he tied his shoes.

"We'll just take him out in the back yard and throw the ball for him," said Damian.

"Does he fetch?"

"Yeah, he brings it back. He just doesn't let go of it," Damian explained. "But I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting him to relinquish it."

"Yeah," Colin agreed. "OK, Titus! You ready to go out?" Titus let out an excited squeal and began to wiggle his body in anticipation at the back door.

"We'll be back in half and hour, Pennyworth," Damian called.

"Do you have the ball?" asked Colin. Damian had it tucked in his coat pocket, and he nodded.

"GO LONG!" cried Colin, chucking the tennis ball as far as he could throw it. Without using his Venom-induced powers, it wasn't very far. But he didn't feel like showing off.

"Good boy, Titus! Good boy! Bring it here! Come on! Come on! Good boy!" Damian cheered as the enormous dog bounded after the ball, overshot it, turned around (while tearing up some of the lawn) and picked it up. Titus happily bounced back and bent his head down.

"OK, drop it!" ordered Colin, reaching for the ball that was still clenched in the dog's mouth. "Drop it!" But Titus refused.

"Just do it, Colin. Nobody's around," said Damian. So Colin harnessed the Venom that coursed through his veins, and concentrated on enlarging his right arm, so as to muster enough strength to wrench the tennis ball free from the jaws of the Great Dane.

"Drop it! OH! Good boy!" he said, when he finally got it away from him.

"Throw it again. But don't shrink down! I want to see how far it'll go if you throw it as Abuse," said Damian.

"UNHH!" grunted Colin, throwing the ball far into the distance. Titus ran off after it, but just as he became a dot on the horizon, he stopped, looked around, and then lost interest.

"Crap. I think it's lost," said Damian.

"Sorry," said Colin.

"Don't sweat it. We have tons of balls," said Damian. "TITUS! COME HERE! IT'S TIME TO GO IN!"

"He hasn't even pooped or peed yet, Damian!" Colin protested. "Let him wander around a little more."

"tt. Whatever," said Damian. Colin held out his hand and Damian took it, and the two boyfriends wandered around the yard a little bit more.

After about ten more minutes, Titus came around, and they all went inside.

By noon, it was time to take Colin back to St. Aden's, so the boys said their goodbyes and that was that.

All was well in Damian Wayne's world. That is, until that night before patrol.

"Huh. Titus hasn't eaten his dinner, yet," Damian pointed out, noticing a full bowl of dog food in the cave.

"Yeah, he usually wolfs it down," said Bruce. "Well, I'm sure it'll be gone by the time we get back."

END OF CHAPTER 01
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