Of Age – Toxicology 4/4
Damian Wayne x Daughter of Poison Ivy!Reader
He was an arrogant boy, struggling as he was pulled between the legacy of being born to kill and the promise that he could change for the better. She saw the world through the eyes of her fatalistic mother, but was forbidden to make sense of it on her own. They shouldn’t work together. But Gotham made their lives align despite all of that.
Word Count: 8,900+
PAST PART: Young Adult – Toxicology
Damian watched silently as Y/N led them through the streets of Gotham, extremely confident in her directions.
“How do you know where you’re going?” He finally asked.
“All three of us have trackers on us at all times, so we always know how to find each other.”
Damian thought about how Bruce was always tracking all of them. But that didn’t go the same way for him. So much of Bruce’s tactics were a one-way road. Never reciprocated, and rarely ever even communicated.
Y/N stopped walking for a second and faced him.
“Listen, I really don’t need your help.” She took in a shaky breath. “Go home, Damian.”
“No,” was all he said in return.
Y/N rolled her eyes and started walking again, increasing her speed.
“God, you’re so fucking stubborn,” she muttered under her breath.
But Damian easily heard it.
After 20 minutes, Y/N had stopped and was looking up at the building that sat across the intersection.
“Powers Tech,” she mumbled to herself.
“We’ll enter through the delivery entrance. I’ll be able to hack into the security system from there. We can take the freight elevator as soon as I have control,” Damian’s mind was already racing with any possible contingency plans they would need.
Y/N tried to stifle a laugh, but failed. The sound came bursting from her.
Damian glared.
“I’m sorry. Really,” she managed to push out in between laughs.
Without explaining further, she made a run for the side of the building that was hidden in a shadow that even Gotham’s street lights couldn’t reach.
“What the f– Y/N!” Damian hissed as he sprinted after her.
Just as he caught up to her, the ground started shaking slightly.
Damian looked down as he tried to keep his footing.
Suddenly, the concrete and pavement split open.
A giant vine the width of a bus emerged from the ground and with it, a giant flower hanging off the side.
Y/N hopped up.
And to Damian’s surprise, she turned back to look at him expectantly.
“Feel free to go take out security and hack whatever system,” she teased.
He glared at her, but then jumped up beside her.
As kids and teenagers, Damian had seen Y/N use her powers effortlessly. They seemed innocent and almost magical – despite them taking the lives of two men.
But this? This was something else entirely. Her powers were showing a merciless and powerful side that he had never seen before.
Damian looked up to see that the building was at least 40 floors. And Y/N planned on her vines taking them all the way up.
“Watch your footing,” was the only warning she gave before the flower, stem, and vines shot to life and grew alongside the skyscraper.
As soon as they reached the top of the building, Damian was quickly observing the inside of the floor through the glass.
Without hesitation, he threw a small adhesive explosive to the glass. They only had a moment to keep the element of surprise. And it would only take a few seconds for them to notice vines and a giant flower.
A moment before the explosion could go off, Damian rapidly covered Y/N with his body, protecting her from the impact. He expected her to push him away, but she tucked her head into his chest. He felt her jump slightly when the explosive went off, shattering glass.
They both lunged inside, landing perfectly.
When they looked around, they found both Harley and Ivy unconscious with their ankles tied and their hands bound behind their backs.
“No!” Y/N gasped, about to rush forward.
But Damian held his arm up, stopping her from going to them.
Nothing was ever this easy, especially a rescue mission.
“My, my. I honestly didn’t expect anyone to come save two criminals…”
A voice spoke as they walked out of the shadows.
“Arthur Brown?” Damian asked incredulously.
“I don’t care who the fuck he is,” Y/N growled, taking a step forward.
Arthur Brown was a failed celebrity. And his last gig had been hosting a new game show. Its ratings plummeted. And no on in Gotham took him seriously since, making him the laughing stock of the city. And he became an easy target for jokes and humiliation, especially on the internet.
But what role he played in all of this was difficult for Damian to wrap his mind around.
Arthur looked back, and studied him in return.
“Ahh. I know that face…” He hummed.
Arthur chuckled, “I thought ripping away Batman’s mind would distract you brats longer. But I guess that was too optimistic of me…”
Damian’s glare narrowed. Of course Bruce’s state was used as a distraction. It all made complete sense to him. What concerned Damian now was that one of Gotham’s new villains knew the true identity of Batman. And with that, he knew all of his family’s, as well.
“Enough talking,” Y/N growled. “Let my mothers go, and maybe I won’t kill you.” She tilted her head. “But even if I let you live, I can’t guarantee my mothers won’t.”
Damian never got nervous on missions. There was hardly ever any concern for his own life. But preparing to fight with Y/N by his side caused him anxiety. He didn’t want her anywhere near such dangers. It was making him jumpy and second guessing his plan of attack. If only he could’ve convinced Y/N to stay away.
“Mothers?” Arthur cooed as he took a step toward them.
Damian unsheathed his sword and took a half a step in front of Y/N.
He should just kill him now, save them some time. But this wasn’t the League anymore. This was Gotham. Different world. Different rules.
“What an interesting development. Explains you’re little flower power,” Arthur gestures to the deadly plants lingering outside the broken window. “It’s very cute, really.”
“You’re behind Powers Tech?” Damian ignore his games; he wanted answers.
“No, no, no, you silly boy. I was hired by Powers Tech. You see, they noticed a certain crazy bat was snooping around, trying to find secrets in places he shouldn’t be snooping.”
“Maybe because Powers Tech is corrupt and slowly destroying the environment,” Y/N snapped.
“Oh, get off your high horse, brat!” Arthur shot back. He cleared his throat and looked at Y/N as if she had been rude for interrupting him. “Anyways, I distracted him, laid out clues that would catch his attention. I slowly lured him exactly where I wanted him and then…”
“And then you poisoned him,” Damian finished.
“Yes, obviously.”
“And you gave them the same toxin,” Damian nodded to Ivy and Harley.
Arthur smiled. “Can’t fight for mother earth if you don’t even know your own name.”
That was Y/N’s tipping point.
And not even Damian could stop her attack.
With the wave of her arms, vines shot out from behind her, breaking nearly every window on the floor. While they had been talking, dozens of deadly vines had crawled their way up, waiting for their master to call them forth.
But just as they were about to reach her, Arthur pulled out a giant canister from his vest, pulled the pin, and tossed it in Y/N’s direction. A gas sprayed into Y/N’s face with the intention that it would kill any of Y/N’s deadly plants and weaken her.
She coughed as the gas filled her lungs, and the vines paused, as if waiting to see if their mother was harmed or not.
Arthur sneered with pride. He walked forward and lifted Y/N off the ground by the throat, forcing her to look at him.
But Y/N’s coughing slowly subsided, and then she gave him a wicked smile. “You really thought an anecdote from years ago would still be my weakness?”
Arthur’s sneer vanished.
Vines wrapped around his torso and ripped him back, causing him to drop his grip on Y/N’s throat.
She dropped to the ground and coughed as air returned to her lungs.
Damian rushed forward to make sure Y/N was alright and helped her to her feet.
Now Damian held his sword steady and placed his body protectively in front of her.
“Touch her again, and I’ll slice off your head,” he growled in warning.
Arthur cackled at the threat, but he was still clearly shook by Y/N’s unexpected strength.
“Oh, come on. You think I don’t know about Batman’s moral compass?” He smiled. “No killing. That’s the rule. For him and for all of his pathetic little sidekicks.”
Damian sneered. “I don’t work with Batman anymore.”
Arthur’s smile fell as he realized Damian wasn’t bluffing.
“And I plan on killing you,” Damian added darkly.
“Hmmm…” Arthur hummed and scratched his chin melodramatically. “Fire it is then.”
He pressed a button on his watch and mechanical torches lowered from the ceiling and fired at will. Flames shot out like dragon’s breath, threatening to kill them all.
In fear that Ivy and Harley would be burned alive, Y/N made a run to shield them from the flames.
Meanwhile, Damian lunged for Arthur with his sword drawn. He hadn’t been lying when he threatened to kill Arthur. He wasn’t Robin anymore. After living with his mother and the League for four years, his moral compass shifted slightly. Killing innocent people was wrong, and he still believe that. But some people…some people deserved to die.
However, Damian should’ve known that Arthur would have other tricks up his sleeve.
The man quickly pulled three metal orbs from his vest, tossing one in Damian’s direction and the other two in Y/N’s. And Arthur knew they wouldn’t be fast enough.
But Damian wasn’t worried about himself.
One of the few weaknesses Y/N and her mother had was fire. And no matter how powerful Y/N was, her abilities were useless against it.
“Y/N!” Damian cried out.
But there wasn’t enough time.
The blast threw Y/N back so hard that she nearly flew out the window. But not before her left leg hit the metal frame.
Damian swore his heart stopped when he saw Y/N disappear over the ledge.
Completely forgetting Arthur, Damian sprinted to the edge of the building.
By some miracle, Y/N was holding onto the ledge of the window from the floor below. The blast had been strong enough that it blew out that floor as well. And now it was on fire, as well as the top section of the whole building.
Damian saw blood dripping from Y/N’s hands as she held on to the sharp ledge that had once been glass windows. She couldn’t call to her plants when so much fire surrounded them. They would never make it past the heat alone.
“Y/N, don’t you let go,” Damian warned.
He pulled a grapple gun and shot the metal coiled rope to the other end of the building to stabilize him before flying off the edge himself, and swung gracefully to the floor below.
Without a second to spare, he pulled Y/N up as if she weighed nothing.
But her balance was all off and took Damian down to the floor with her, before she could get up and stand on her own two feet.
He didn’t seem to mind, too relieved that she hadn’t fallen to her death.
“My moms,” Y/N gasped.
But a second after she asked, a rattle and boom was clearly heard from above. It sounded as if a fight happening above them.
Y/N looked at Damian in confusion.
He smirked mischievously. “I may have called back up on the way over here…”
Y/N smiled back and shook her head. “Any way that fancy thingamajig can get us back up there?”
“Thingamajig?” Damian sounded insulted.
But he still grabbed Y/N, surprising her with the boldness, before shooting the gun back up over the ledge to the floor above them.
Y/N yelped as the device whipped their body into the air.
She was so used to being in control, always trusting her plants to keep her safe. But now she had to put her life into Damian’s hands, the boy who broke her heart and taught her to never expect anything from anyone – except her own family.
When they got to the new floor, Arthur was surrounded by Dick, Jason, and Tim. His hands were held high. And from his expression alone, they knew he didn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve. This was the end for him.
All he had left were words.
“You turn me in, and Gotham will know who all of you really are,” Arthur threatened.
Jason laughed. “I’m legally dead, motherfucker.”
But Dick and Tim were more nervous. They had people they loved – who would go down with them if their identities were exposed. Every crime lord in Gotham would be after them and anyone they ever cared about.
Damian’s attention was ripped away when he heard cry out in pain as Y/N tried to stand and make her way to Ivy and Harley.
Just before Y/N had been knocked out the window, she had conjured up enough plants to protect her mothers from the explosions and fire. But those had been disintegrated by the flames before their Y/N could return to spare them.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Damian tried to stop her.
“I think…” Y/N hissed in pain. “I think my leg is broken.”
It made sense with the way she had been thrown out the window.
“And my shoulder feels off…” Y/N admitted without looking him in the eye.
“It’s dislocated,” Damian noted as if it were obvious. “And your femur is probably broken,” he studied after just a few seconds.
“Just…” she bit her lip, clearly trying to hide how much pain she was in. “Can you help me up?”
But before she was even done asking the question, Damian had carefully scooped her into his arms. Except he wasn’t walking her towards her moms.
“No! Wait!” Y/N begged.
She had to get to them. She had to make sure they were OK.
“They’ll be fine,” Damian answered. “We know what he did to them. We’ll replicate your anecdote.”
“No, Damian. I’m okay. Just let me… I need to be with them.”
But Damian ignored her and started walking toward the freight elevator.
“I’ll take care of them,” Jason was in front of them now, cutting off their path. “I promise,” he tried to assure Y/N when she still looked anxious.
Damian nodded in thanks, then moved around his brother.
When they reached the bottom, Y/N’s face had lost its color from how much pain she was enduring. On top of the broken leg and dislocated shoulder, both of her palms were still bleeding from holding onto the edge of building for dear life. There was even broken glass embedded in her skin.
“D-D-Damian,” Y/N whispered when they were finally outside.
He looked panicked when he glanced down at her face.
“Y/N, you’re about to pass out. But I need to do a closed reduction on your shoulder, otherwise it’ll be worse later on.”
She had no idea what he was trying to tell her.
But for some reason she nodded anyways.
“Alright. I’m…I’m sorry, but it will hurt,” Damian sounded as if he hated himself as he warned her of it.
Y/N nodded, but her eyes were fearful.
“Take a deep breath. Try to relax,” he coaxed her. “One, two,” and before three, he maneuvered her shoulder and shot it into the correct position.
Y/N let out a howl of pain and gulped for air, trying to catch her breath.
“Good girl,” Damian muttered, pushing some of her hair away from her face. “All done. I promise. Just rest now.”
He could tell from the daze in her eyes that she was about to pass out.
“How long have the two of them been like this?” Dick whispered.
“Few hours, I think.” Jason answered.
“They’ll be here any minute. And I doubt they’ll appreciate seeing their daughter unconscious in bed with her ex-boyfriend…”
Jason chuckled darkly. “Well…Why don’t you be the one to try to separate the demon spawn from mother nature, and see how that turns out for you?”
“No, thank you.”
Y/N was barely awake enough to register the words being spoken during the two men’s conversations.
But she was lucid enough to realize she was in a bed. But there was someone else sleeping next to her, too. They weren’t touching her, but she could feel their presence.
Before she could be sure of who it was, she feel back into her deep sleep.
Y/N woke up to the sounds of birds and leaves rustling in the wind. The trees were watching over her, making their presence known to assure her that she was not alone.
Y/N could tell that she wasn’t in the greenhouse. These sheets were far too nice. And she could hear the ticking of a grandfather clock from the other side of the room.
Her eyes blinked open.
She was at Wayne Manor. But more specifically, she was in Damian’s bedroom.
It was like a time capsule. Not a single thing had been changed about it. The bedroom was exactly the same as when she had snuck in that one night. Y/N swallowed as she thought about exactly what happened then.
“Are you hungry?”
Y/N jumped, not realizing she wasn’t alone.
When she turned, Damian was sitting in a fancy armchair that had been pulled next to the bed. His arms were crossed and his face serious.
“W-What?” She asked, clearly still waking up.
“You should eat. Pennyworth will make anything you want. And I mean anything.”
“Sorry.” She touched her head. “I just feel a bit…out of it.”
“That will be the meds.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Are you in any pain?” He asked her carefully.
“Umm…”
But before she could answer, someone slammed into the windows.
“For fuck sake,” Damian mumbled under his breath in annoyance.
He shot up to his feet and marched to the window.
“Damian!” Jon Kent tackled him to the ground.
“Seriously?” Damian growled as he managed to push Jon off of him and get back onto his feet.
The two young men had grown to be the exact same height of 6’3. Even though Damian was broader and looked more muscular, they both knew Jon was the strongest between them.
Jon’s attention shifted to Y/N. He flew forward so fast that his body disappeared from the human eye for a moment.
“You know I hate it when you do that,” Y/N groaned as her new headache hurt more from trying to keep her eyes on the superboy.
“Sorry, sorry.” Jon winced.
“Be careful,” Damian warned. “She’s still recovering.”
Jon’s gaze went across Y/N’s body. “Hardly. Looks like her leg is nearly healed.”
“Ugh,” she groaned again. “I hate it when you do that, too.”
“I only looked at your leg and shoulder!” Jon defended his innocence as he raised his hands. “I would never do anything else – my father would end me.”
“Jon, what are you doing here?” Damian asked.
“To check on Y/N, obviously. And to see you, you asshole.”
“Jonathan!” A voice yelled from the window.
And in slowly flew Superman.
“Fucking great,” Damian mumbled.
Any amusement Y/N managed to have – even with her headache – now dissolved at the sight of Clark Kent.
“Jonathan, I told you that you could only come if you let her rest.”
Despite being a grown man, Jon still looked like a scolded child as his father reminded him of their little deal.
“We came as soon as we heard about Bruce,” Clark tried to explain to Damian.
“Yeah. Well, he’s fine,” Damian answered harshly. Then he nudged his head in Y/N’s direction. “Thanks to Y/N. She saved his life.”
But when Clark glanced at her, she wouldn’t even meet his gaze.
“We’ll let you two get some rest,” Clark told him as he grabbed his son’s shoulders and guided him out of the bedroom to go find Bruce.
“So,” Damian cleared his throat as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?” He repeated his original question that interrupted by the Kryptonians.
“Fine,” Y/N lied. “What happened?”
“You passed out. I brought you here. You’ve been sleeping for a few days."
Y/N opened her mouth to ask a million follow-up questions.
“Ivy and Harley are fine. Tim replicated your anecdote, and administered it to them – as well as Bruce. The two of them stopped by to check on you yesterday. You were still sleeping.”
Y/N let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you…for helping them.”
“We owed you,” Damian shrugged.
She narrowed her eyes. “And that’s the only reason why you did it? Because you owed me?”
The challenge was obvious.
“You really need to eat something,” Damian changed the subject. “What are you craving?”
“It really doesn’t matter.” Y/N started to get up from the bed. “Actually, I think I need some sunlight more than anything else.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Damian felt like an idiot for not thinking of that first.
He went to scoop her into his arms.
“Damian,” Y/N stopped him. “I can walk.”
“Right…” He immediately stepped away to give her space. But it was so clearly hard for him to do so.
He stood close to her and watched anxiously with his hands at the ready, prepared to catch Y/N if she so much as stumbled slightly.
Damian led them to the lawn chairs that sat on the edge of the manor’s outdoor swimming pool. Thankfully the sun was shining bright.
Y/N carefully laid down in the chair and closed her eyes as she soaked up the rays like a plant. Her and Jon were alike in that way.
With her eyes closed, Damian took his chance to study her. He was standing awkwardly next to her chair, not sure if he should sit in the one next to her or leave her alone completely.
“I’m sorry about Arthur,” Y/N said out of nowhere. “He’s going to expose all of your identities. What will your family do?”
“Cluemaster.”
“What?” She squinted up at him in confusion.
“Apparently, he goes by Cluemaster. Or at least…he did.”
Y/N sat up. “What do you mean?”
“He was killed yesterday,” Damian noted.
Y/N’s face dropped. Had it been her mothers?
“He was being transported to Arkham by GPD. Their armored car was knocked over by an explosion from the sewer beneath. Arthur was ripped to shreds – they only found his severed head. However, the drivers and guards were barely bruised from the attack.”
Y/N slowly smiled up at Damian. “I thought by now you would realize that there’s perks in being friends with criminals…”
Damian tried not to smile, but Y/N still caught his amusement.
“So you’re all safe?” She asked seriously.
Damian nodded.
“How’s your father?” She asked slowly.
He was surprised she pushed herself to ask the question.
“Your anecdote worked. He remembers everything.”
“Of course it worked,” Y/N commented with a cheeky smirk.
Damian didn’t bother trying to hide his smile this time.
And just like that, things felt normal between them, like they’d gone back in time to when they were teenagers.
But Y/N wasn’t prepared of that.
She quickly sat up – too quickly. “I should probably get back to the park.”
“Not before you eat something,” Damian warned.
Y/N rolled her eyes. “I did just eat,” she countered, posting to the sun.
“Please,” his voice had gone so soft.
And it caught her off guard.
“F-Fine.”
When they got to the kitchen, it was loud with energy. All of Damian’s brothers were there, as well as Clark, Jon, and Bruce.
They all got a bit quiet when they noticed Y/N walk in.
Y/N had dreamed of an interaction like this when she was younger: all of Damian’s family in one room, him introducing her, all of them welcoming her to the family.
But that never happened.
Now it seemed off. She felt like an imposter, almost unwelcome.
To her surprise, Alfred stepped forward out of nowhere.
“Ms. Y/N, I wished to thank you for helping my family. If it were not for you, who knows what would have become of Master Wayne.”
Everyone was watching the interaction, making Y/N feel even more uncomfortable.
“Y-Y-You’re welcome,” she finally managed to respond.
Alfred leaned in closer. Apparently he had no issue with the whole family closely watching their conversation.
“And I must say,” he almost whispered to her, “it is such a pleasure to meet you after all these years. I hoped this day would come.”
Y/N gave him the warmest smile. “I-I wanted to meet you so badly,” she admitted ever so quietly. The only people that could’ve caught it were Jon and Clark.
Alfred winked at her, before quickly turning to face the rest of the group.
“Now you heathens shall get out of the way and make room for Ms. Y/N,” Alfred warned the men. “She hasn’t had a proper meal in days.”
Y/N sat in nervous silence as Alfred ushered her into a seat and gave her a plate so full of every possible breakfast food that she was sure it could’ve fed the entire room.
Damian sat next to Y/N, purposely blocking everyone else’s view of her by doing so.
“Ignore them,” he muttered to her.
“Kind of hard,” she mumbled before taking a bite. “Can’t remember the last time I was in a room with this many men…”
Actually, she did. It was the night that Jason found her right as she killed that man out of sheer survival. To this day, Y/N believes it was completely her fault. After all, it was her pheromones that caused the man to turn sex crazed.
It was as if Damian could read her find as he studied her facial expressions. He knew that she was now thinking of that night too, lost in the past.
He also noticed that none of the men seemed effected by Y/N’s presence or her pheromones. That was expected to a degree from Jon and his father. But the rest of them should be feeling at least a little something.
“But you have learned to reverse your powers,” Damian noted.
Y/N shrugged, but nodded.
“Why?” He wished to know.
“I want to be left alone. I was sick of accidentally slipping up. It made me feel…” Y/N hesitated and her gaze flickered up to Damian’s. He gave her an encouraging look, hoping she would finish. “It made me feel unsafe…and…and scared all the time.”
Damian nodded slowly. He would never have any idea what it felt like to have the powers she did. So all he could do was listen and show his support.
“I guess all women wish they could turn if off,” Y/N laughed lightly. “End the harassment, the stalking, the groping. If women had the choice to make it all go away like I did, they would take it.”
Before Damian could respond, Bruce was clearing his throat behind him.
Y/N sunk into herself at the sight of him.
Never in her life had she been this close to Damian’s father.
All those years, she had dreamed of Bruce accepting her and their relationship. Now? Now she never wanted to breathe the same air as him.
“Damian, could I have a moment alone with Y/N?” Bruce shocked both of them by asking.
But Damian only glared at his father and showed no signs of moving. “Anything you wish to say to her, you can say to me, as well.”
Bruce didn’t appreciate the attitude, but he had fully expected it. What authority did he have over his son anymore? Damian was almost 23 years old now. He was a young man, not a child living underneath his roof and rules.
“Damian,” Y/N tried mutter subtly.
She didn’t want to talk to Bruce. But she knew that if she didn’t step between the father and son, it would only cause more tension and perhaps even a fight. And that would make everything even more uncomfortable.
“It’s fine,” Y/N whispered to Damian, hoping her request would make him stand down.
Without looking at her, Damian scraped his chair back and left the room with the rest of them, sending one final glare at Bruce’s back before disappearing.
Instead of taking Damian’s empty seat next to Y/N, Bruce grabbed the one across from her, giving them more space between each other.
Y/N refused to cower under his gaze, meeting it confidently and trying to prove that she wasn’t scared of him.
“I wanted to thank you for saving my life,” Bruce confessed.
Y/N didn’t respond. Because he should be thanking her.
“But more importantly, I owe you an apology. The night your mother was arrested, I thought I was protecting my son. At the time, I never could have imagined the sequence of events that would follow because of it.”
Y/N’s heart was threatening to beat out of her chest as she listened.
This was not at all what she had been expecting.
“I lost Damian’s trust – and then I lost him all together. But I quickly learned what became of your life, how I inherently made you an orphan. Hurting you and Damian was never my intention.”
“What was your intention then?” Y/N shot back.
Bruce thought a moment before responding with, “To keep Gotham safe.”
“And was Gotham any safer when my moms were behind bars?”
But they both already knew the answer was no.
Bruce cleared his throat, hoping to move past the question.
“I was apprehended by Cluemaster because I was digging into Powers Tech, to prove what your mother was trying to all those years ago.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that right before he tried to kill all of us,” Y/N muttered harshly
Bruce slowly slide a manila folder across the table to her.
“What’s this?”
He gave her a subtle smirk. “This is all the evidence that proves Powers Tech has been responsible for severe damage to the environment through it’s practices and business. Every law they’ve broken. Every corrupt politician that looked the other way to get a check. It’s all there. And it will be all over national news tomorrow.”
“So why are you giving it to me?” She asked.
“It’s a copy – for you and your mother.”
“What are you looking for?” Y/N challenged. “Forgiveness?”
“I don’t believe I deserve it. But, yes, that was my intention.”
She only stared at him.
Bruce Wayne was such a complicated man. But one thing was clear: he regretted his actions all those years ago. And he learned the true destruction that came from them. Bruce didn’t just lose his son, he was the cause of so much heartbreak.
Y/N stalled and looked down at the files. Her voice shook as she whispered, “Was I really so terrible for your son? A girl who you never even bothered to meet or get to know?”
But Bruce didn’t know what to say. Because at the time, he did think she was no good for Damian. But that was all based on where she came from, who raised her. And the fact that she was a meta human – and those were not to be trusted.
“I think I’d like to leave now,” Y/N blurted out as she quickly stood up.
As did Bruce, a gentlemanly gesture that had been ingrained in him as a young boy. “I’ll have Alfred or Damian drive you.”
“No. Jon can fly me back. He’s probably eavesdropping on this conversation anyway.”
Right on cue, Jon appeared in the doorway to wait for her. At least he had the decency to look guilty about listening in, and gave Bruce an apologetic wince.
“Y/N,” Bruce called out before Jon could help her flee.
She turned to him.
“What I did that night… none of it was Damian’s fault. He lied to me for years, all to protect you. And he would’ve done everything in his power to stop me had he known what I was planning. You should know that.”
Y/N could only nod, her brain overwhelmed with such information. It made it harder to process, hearing it from Batman himself.
“Ready to go?” Jon asked carefully, knowing she was in a fragile state.
“Yeah. Please.” She almost gasped.
THREE DAYS LATER...
Y/N was packing all her stuff back into the small duffle she had returned to Gotham with.
Ivy sat on her bed, watching her daughter.
“Want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Y/N sighed.
Ivy smiled and shook her head. “You and I both know that is a load of bullshit.”
Y/N groaned and her hands chucked the clothes down with a huff. “I fucked up. I blamed him for everything, mom! If I had just listened, if I had just trusted that he had nothing to do with it…”
“You were scared, Y/N. It’s hard to listen to logic when you’re faced with fear.”
Y/N didn’t respond.
“So that’s it?” Ivy asked.
“There’s nothing to do, mom.” She went back to packing. “Yeah, none of it is a secret now. But we’re not kids anymore. Everything…Everything’s changed. And I can’t live in the past. I just have to move on.”
“Do you love still him?”
Ivy’s question made Y/N freeze.
Did it even matter if she did? And if she did, how pathetic to hold on to it after all this time?
Harley knocked on the doorway of Y/N’s bedroom.
“Someone’s here to see you,” she told them with a knowing smirk on her lips.
Damian stepped into view, towering over Harley from behind.
“Come on, Harley. Let’s get started on dinner,” Ivy told her partner, practically having to drag her out of the room.
“Hey,” Y/N blurted out quietly.
Damian gave her a sad smile. “Hello.”
She noticed he had a duffle bag over his shoulders.
And then he took in her half filled bag on her bed.
“Going back to Metropolis?” He asked.
“Yeah, I have finals in a week and then graduation.” She nodded towards his bag. “And you? Where are you off to?”
“Back to the League.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You’re not…You’re not staying in Gotham?”
“I told Dick I would help him find Bruce, and then I was gone.”
“Oh.”
She didn’t know what else to say to that, so she changed the subject. “Thank you for going with me that night. If it weren’t for you, we’d probably all be dead.”
“No, it wasn’t me. You would have found a way,” Damian disagreed. “You’ve always been stronger than you believe.”
Y/N seemed taken aback by his comment.
But Damian wasn’t done. “You always thought you were the one with the darkness. You were convinced the power you couldn’t control was the danger.” He shook his head. “But I always knew it was me. I knew I would be the one to ruin everything, to hurt you.”
“No–” Y/N gasped and was about to try and argue.
But Damian wouldn’t let her. “No, listen to me, Y/N.” He stepped further into the room. “You deserve to live the life you want, whether that’s in Gotham or Metropolis – anywhere. I should’ve never been your only window to the outside world.”
Y/N’s eyes filled with tears at his confession.
Is that really how Damian saw himself when it came to her?
“I just came here to thank you for helping my family. And to…say goodbye.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Y/N mumbled.
“Yes, I do.” Damian awkwardly cleared his throat. “Bruce told me what he said to you.”
“Did he apologize to you, too?”
Damian nodded and chuckled. “According to Dick, he’s been trying to find a way to do so for four years.”
His phone chimed from his back pocket. “That’ll be Dick, he’s waiting at the chopper.”
Y/N didn’t know what to say or even what to do.
A hug felt wrong. But doing nothing felt even worse.
Damian seemed to being going through the same turmoil.
“Goodbye, Y/N.” He finally said, opting to just slowly walk backwards.
“Bye, Damian.” Y/N whispered back.
It felt like their last goodbye.
Damian turned and walked out before his body decided to have a mind of its own.
Y/N watched him disappear with tears in her eyes.
Just a moment later, she walked into the kitchen where her moms were – not knowing what the hell else to do with herself.
Ivy and Harley watched their daughter as she was completely dazed.
Ivy gave Y/N a sympathetic look. “Honey, I think that boy still loves you, too.”
“I never said I still loved him,” Y/N tried to argue.
Harley gave her a disapproving look. “Sunflower, what’s the point in still lying and torturin’ yourself? Ya deserve to be happy.”
Y/N waited for Ivy to be on her side. But it was clear she only agreed with Harley.
“Fuck,” Y/N gasped before she sprinted out of the greenhouse.
Damian was still walking to the helicopter when she spotted him.
The blades had just started up.
“Damian!” Y/N screamed, hoping he could hear her over the roar of the machine.
By some miracle, he did and turned around with his brow furrowed in surprise.
Y/N sprinted even faster.
Damian caught her in his arms and realized she was crying.
“I don’t want you to go. I don’t want you go,” Y/N repeated as she cried into his shoulder.
Her legs were wrapped around his waist as one of his hands held the back of her head and the other kept her hips secure.
“Shhh,” he tried to comfort her. “It’s alright. It’s OK.”
“Please stay. I can’t lose you again. I-I-I never should’ve pushed you away that night. I’m s-so sorry.”
Damian gently pulled her head back so he could look at her.
“You’re asking me to stay?” He breathed.
To Damian, this all felt like a dream. He couldn’t believe it was real.
“Yes. I want you to stay,” she whispered to him.
He wiped her tears away with one hand.
“I love you. Do you understand?” He replied.
She nodded.
“I never stopped,” he added.
Y/N couldn’t control herself any longer, and her lips crashed against his.
“I never stopped either,” she breathed when they finally pulled apart.
“I left Gotham because it was impossible to stay here without you by my side,” Damian confessed with a shaky voice.
“I know,” she whispered. “So stay. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Damian answered with another kiss.
3 WEEKS LATER…
Y/N had graduated that day. And after, Damian treated her and her moms to a fancy, congratulatory dinner in Metropolis. Then Harley insisted on barhopping. Which was really just Harley and Ivy getting so drunk that Damian and Y/N had to call them a cab and make sure it got them to their hotel safely.
Now Y/N and Damian sat on the love seat she had on the rooftop of her apartment.
He was so large that both of them barely fit on the thing. Damian had to pull her into his lap to make it work.
“I still can’t get over how much you’ve grown,” Y/N giggled as she eyed his broad shoulders and height. “But I have a feeling that little boy I first met all those years ago is still in there somewhere.”
He blushed and gave her a shy smile. “And what about you, beloved? I didn’t think it was possible for you to grow more beautiful.”
Y/N’s eyes filled with tears and she laughed lightly. “Say it again.”
“You are beautiful.”
“No. No, not that part. What you called me.”
Damian’s brow wrinkled for a second before realization hit. “Beloved.”
A tear single down Y/N’s cheek. It had been so long since he’d called her that. She had almost forgotten that it used to be his name for her. It was never spoken in the company of others, and that only made it more special to Y/N.
“Thank you for tonight. It really meant a lot to me that you came,” she told him.
“I never would have missed it.” Then he pulled something out of his pocket. “Speaking of, I have your graduation present.”
“Damian, don’t be ridiculous…”
But he ignored her and handed Y/N a small wooden box.
“I can’t exactly get you flowers on such occasions, so I had to be creative.”
Y/N eyed him suspiciously, but opened it.
Inside was a gold and sterling silver necklace in the shape of a flower. But not just any flower.
Y/N breathed, “It’s a…”
“Edelweiss,” Damian finished for her.
To many, it wasn’t a popular or even a known flower. But Y/N had always said they reminded her of Damian.
“Help me put it on,” she requested softly.
Damian didn’t hesitated.
“Now, I’ll have a piece of you with me all the time,” Y/N murmured as she looked down and played with the necklace.
Damian kissed her shoulder in agreement.
“I saw all those offer emails in your inbox earlier,” he changed the subject.
Y/N rolled her eyes. “Snooping, are we?”
Damian ignored the accusation. He was Batman’s son, after all.
“Are you going to accept any of them…?”
“Well, I do have to get a job,” she laughed.
“Not necessarily.”
Y/N hesitated before letting out a loud laugh, “Are you trying say you’ll be my sugar daddy, Damian Wayne?”
“Tt. You know my father is a billionaire. Which means I am also a billionaire. If you did not want to work, you wouldn’t need to.” Then he grinned softly. “But I know you would never do that – even if I insisted. You’re too passionate about your work.”
Y/N laughed. “I have no intention of becoming a Real Housewife of Gotham.”
“A what?”
That made Y/N laugh harder. “I really need to force you to watch reality tv with me.”
Damian grimaced in absolute disgust. He barely watched any television at all. Y/N was lucky if she got him to watch a movie with her.
“There’s a couple labs in Gotham,” Y/N hummed. “And one of those was Wayne Enterprises.”
“My family had nothing to do with that, by the way,” Damian quickly interjected.
“Really?”
“I already asked my father about it. He was just as surprised by the news. I knew you would think you hadn’t earned your way, so I asked him myself.”
Y/N gave him a shy smile. Damian still knew her so well, and expected her to accuse him of using nepotism in her favor.
“It doesn’t have to be Gotham,” he suddenly told her.
“What?”
“You don’t have to choose something in Gotham. It can be anywhere.”
“But your family…” Y/N muttered.
Damian pulled her tighter to him and pressed his forehead against hers. “I stayed for you – not them. Therefore, I will go wherever you go. Gotham or Metropolis or anywhere in the world, I will stay by your side.”
“But would you be mad if we returned to Gotham?” She asked carefully.
Things were still complicated with Damian and his family. It was clear he still hadn’t fully forgiven Bruce. But he was at least acknowledging his presence. Damian wasn’t even staying at the manor, mostly living with Y/N at the greenhouse or crashing at one of his brother’s safe houses. He knew staying at the manor would make Bruce happy, and Damian was too petty to allow his father that joy.
“No, I would not be mad. Never at you.”
She kissed him and pulled back a little.
“What will you do?” Y/N urged. “Take back the Robin mantle?”
“No. Robin is tied to Batman – a sidekick and child. That is not who I am anymore.”
“So who will you be?” She knew he was probably getting irritated by her pushing him to answer such questions.
Damian playfully glared at her, knowing what she was doing. “Am I allowed to say I don’t know quite yet?”
Y/N giggled. “Yes, I’ll allow it.”
Damian pulled her hips closer to his. “Right now, my only concern is you.”
Y/N wasn’t stupid: she knew where this was heading. She could sense his desire through his pheromones.
“I…I haven’t…umm…” She awkwardly cleared her throat. “It’s been awhile.”
Her confession surprised Damian a bit. He knew Y/N was subtle telling him that she hadn’t slept with anyone else since him. But before she made a replant for her powers, Damian could only imagine that the boys at school were probably obsessed with Y/N. He was realizing how much she chose to really isolate herself from any possible human connection.
“It’s the same for me,” Damian shared, too.
“Really?” Y/N asked with obvious surprise. “You weren’t messin’ around with any ninjas back at the League?”
“Ninjas?” Damian scoffed with narrowed eyes. “No. I could hardly stand any of them. And they didn’t want what I did.”
“And what was that?” Y/N challenged, genuinely curious.
“To be seen and understood. To be loved. If you don’t have that, what is the point of anything else?”
“Well, Damian Wayne, I’ve always seen you,” Y/N whispered playfully.
But he remained serious. “I know. And that’s why it’s only ever been you, Y/N.”
Y/N carefully moved off of Damian’s lap and he immediately hated the separation.
But then she silently grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her, leading them to her bedroom.
ONE YEAR LATER…
“Where are you taking me?” Y/N giggled
She leaned into Damian and laid her head on his shoulders as he drove.
“I told you, it’s a surprise,” Damian smirked.
“It’s not fair,” Y/N whined. “Every time I try to surprise you, you always figured it out! You and your detective-ness…”
Damian smiled and kissed her forehead. “Next time I promise to pretend to be surprised.”
“No, that’ll just make me feel worse,” she huffed.
Not much later, Damian pulled the car into parking lot for Cloyster Woods, a giant forest that was on the outskirts of Gotham. It thankfully didn’t have the same issue as Robinson Park when it came to criminals trying to make it their home.
“Moms told me about this place before, but I’ve never been,” Y/N said with awe in her eyes.
“I know,” Damian answered as he got out.
Y/N was so zoned out, taking it all in, that he actually got to her door before she could open it and offered her a hand out.
“We going on a hike?” Y/N giggled.
She hadn’t exactly dressed for one.
“Not exactly.”
Damian grabbed her hand and started leading her through the woods.
It was starting to get a bit dark, which was not the time to be stuck in the middle of the woods. But Y/N trusted Damian. Plus, this was where she most powerful, so there really was nothing for them to fear.
They had been walking for nearly 30 minutes and the woods were getting thicker.
But Y/N swore she saw a glowing in the distance. Was it a bonfire?
“Are we about to join a cult?” Y/N teased.
“You wish,” Damian grumbled.
She’d forced too many docu-series on Damian for him to take her comment as a joke.
“Everyone thinks they wouldn’t fall for a cult. But the psychology proves otherwise. You know this, Damian!”
“Please do not start,” he begged.
“League of Shadows is a cult when you really think about it…”
Damian stopped talking and grabbed Y/N’s face and brushed his lips against hers, starting a slow and very passionate kiss.
That shut her up.
“Now…can I show you why I brought you out there?” He asked, still gripping her face gently.
Y/N smiled sheepishly, but nodded.
They made it through a thick link of trees.
Y/N stopped in her tracks.
“Damian?” She whispered. But there were a million other questions in his name.
Before them stood a newly built treehouse in the middle of Cloyster Woods.
There were fairy lights around the porch underneath and more that moved in the trees along the path that led to the front door.
“It’s ours,” Damian told her.
Y/N managed to rip her gaze away from the house to see if Damian was messing with her.
“W-What?” It was all she could manage to say.
“I had it built.
“How?”
“These woods have been in the Wayne family for centuries. Bruce has just always kept it open to the public.”
“I…I don’t know what to say, Damian.”
He smiled, finding her shock and awe rather adorable. “How about I show you the inside, and then you can tell me if you like it or not?”
All she could do was nod.
Damian grabbed her hand again, interlacing their fingers, and led her to the house.
The inside was small and quant. But it was one of the coziest homes Y/N had ever been inside – and her family were the masters of coziness.
Damian was one for elegance. And even though it was a small treehouse, his influence and design was seen in every inch of it.
“I know it’s rather small, but–”
“No,” Y/N cut him off before he could make excuses. “It’s perfect.”
Damian looked relieved. “The less space we have, the less likely my family will try to crash. Even all the way out here, we’re not safe from their invasions.”
She chuckled.
“How long were you working on this?” Y/N whispered as she walked around.
“Since we moved back to Gotham,” he admitted.
In the past year, Damian had finally agreed to move into one of Bruce’s many penthouses around Gotham. Y/N hadn’t officially moved in with him, still keeping most of her belongings at the greenhouse. But she was at Damian’s place nearly every day. And it made commuting to work easier.
Y/N’s heart got warmer with every room and detail Damian showed her.
She was stunned into absolute silence, a rarity for her.
But Damian was worried she wasn’t actually processing what all this meant.
“Y/N,” he whispered gently as he gripped her chin, “This is our home.”
“Really?” Her eyes welled with tears.
Damian laughed lightly at her shock. He couldn’t help it. “Yes, beloved.”
“How will you run patrols?” She blurted out.
Damian hadn’t returned to Gotham as Robin. But he had no choice but to continue the mission of saving the city from itself. He was a shadow, no name or costume. Just a black uniform with no face attached to it, watching over the innocent.
His family didn’t pressure him to commit to an official return to their vigilante team. But Damian worked patrols with them as if everything had returned to normal.
Damian smirked at Y/N’s concern and pointed out one of the windows. There sat a jet, hidden in a circle of trees, but just visible from that one specific window in the house.
“When I was younger, I used to dream of us living in the manor together. I guess it was somewhat of a fantasy,” Damian confessed. “But I wanted a place that only belonged to us, a place where you would feel the most at home.”
“Thank you,” Y/N whispered before wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder.
“I know father hopes that I will manage the manor once he is gone,” Damian spoke into her hair.
“Well, that stubborn old bastard ain’t dying anytime soon,” Y/N laughed.
“Come,” Damian pulled away slightly but kept his arm over her shoulders. “There’s more I want to show you.”
“More!?” Y/N practically screeched.
Any more at this point, she was going to die of shock.
But Damian hadn’t just built a house. He had also built a small greenhouse on the property, just waiting for Y/N to work her magic on it.
“And here is where you could start your garden, not that you can’t have one wherever you please,” Damian noted as he pointed to a marked off area next to the greenhouse.
To add even more, just half a mile away, there was a rather large lake. And Damian had built a dock and pier for them, with chairs and a bonfire pit ready to go.
Eventually Damian brought them back to the house, worried that he was starting to overwhelm his girlfriend.
After all, Y/N had grown quiet.
But she turned and placed her hands on his chest. Her eyes were shiny with tears that she was barely keeping from falling.
“You really have no plans of getting rid of me any time soon, huh?”
“No, beloved,” Damian smiled. “You have me forever.”
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I have had a terrible week, and an even more terrible day. Please write something nice. I really need it 😔
As for the ending of this series, thank you for everyone who encouraged me and wrote lovely reviews and messages to me. You are who I write for and why I am able to conintue to do so. Thank you thank you thank you.
