masterpost please no editing or concrit, gardening killed me.
“I am tired of maths,” Damian complained with a frankly adorable little pout.
Danny bopped him on the nose. “Then the sooner that you start, the sooner you can be done.”
Damian sighed dramatically, but he hopped down from Danny’s desk and moved over to his own (even if he dragged his feet about it). Despite his complaints, Damian was more than decent at Math for as young as he was. He was also a fair fit at the sciences that Danny had started him on. According to the other priests that taught Damian, he was doing excellent in all courses. Also according to them, it was clear that Damian’s true skill and passion was for his art class.
This thought was carefully not expressed to his mother or grandfather.
Danny had only ever seen the Demon Lord at a distance and in passing. Which for the best, in Danny's opinion, if he was going to manage to avoid killing the man. Even ignoring (as if Danny could) the way that the man treated Damian, this Demon Lord set of every one of Danny’s alarm bells. Whatever the Demon Lord was, he was an abomination.
Danny shoved the thoughts aside and focused on his unexpected job of teaching Damian. It was hardly hard, there was a structured system that was being followed for the sciences and math. Danny, in fact, found it… refreshing. It was good to remember what made up the underlying framework of the mortal world. It was grounding.
Lunch was brought to them and they paused in their examination of the hierarchy of life to eat. Danny made them finish the lesson after, much to Damian’s complaints, before they left to see to this ‘bird’.
“He does not see us?” Damian asked as he waved a hand in front of the child’s face.
Danny hummed and stepped forward. He stopped Damian from waving and moved his own hand, single finger up, slowly in front of the child’s face. The child did follow it, though too late and too slowly.
“You said he died?” Danny asked.
“Yes. Mother said he had been dead for half a year.”
“That is a very long time. He simply may not be all the way healed,” Danny said.
“You do not think that,” Damian pointed out.
It made Danny smile. “Oh?”
“Your eyes are showing.”
Danny laughed at that and pressed a kiss to the top of Damian’s head. “That is a good hypothesis.”
Damian pouted and crossed his arms. “This is not a lesson!”
“Ah, everything is a lesson, little one,” Danny said. “And you’re right, I don’t think that, not exactly. Coming back from death or even near death is not a normal thing. The long it has been, the harder it is to manage. It is very difficult to manage, no mater what…”
“Danny?”
“Sorry,” Danny said, putting on a smile. “What I mean by that, is that something very powerful brought him back, but even something powerful would have left a gap in what was gained. I believe that much of his… center has been left behind in death.”
Damian nodded, slowly, as if that was something normal to consider. “But you are a pit demon, so you are able to access the realm of death. You can go and find what is missing.”
“It’s not that simple, Dami. Death is a vast, endless space. His soul may be anywhere in it.”
“Gotham,” Damian said. “My father and his birds protect Gotham. It is an old city of great darkness but great hope… or that is what Mother says. His soul would want to go home. You have to be able to find it, right?”
“I… can look,” Danny said. He didn’t want to promise anything that he could not see through. He didn’t want to break a promise to Damian. “But if I go looking, I cannot also be here. No… I can… leave something here, but it will be more like this child is. I will not be here to protect either of you.”
With a sever frown, Damian looked from the child to Danny and back again. With a stubborn jut of his chin, Damian said, “Then I will protect us.”
It made Danny want to scoop Damian up in a hug, so he did so. “Tomorrow night then, I will start my search.”
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Note: all definitions are taken directly from Millon's writings, which are quite old, with only a few edits and rephrasings to make things more digestible to a modern audience.
📃 The Discouraged Borderline — Generally acts pliant, submissive, loyal, and humble. Feels vulnerable and in constant jeopardy. Feels hopeless, depressed, helpless, and powerless.
▐ has avoidant and dependent traits
📃 The Petulant Borderline — Negativistic, impatient, restless, as well as stubborn, defiant, sullen, pessimistic, and resentful. Easily feels slighted and is quickly disillusioned.
▐ has negativistic traits
📃 The Impulsive Borderline — Captivating, capricious, superficial, flighty, distractable, frenetic, and seductive. When fearing loss, the individual becomes agitated. Often gloomy, irritable, and potentially suicidal.
▐ has histrionic or antisocial traits
📃 The Self-Destructive Borderline — Inward-turning, self-punishing, and angry. Abilities to conform and integrate have deteriorated. Increasingly high-strung and moody.
masterpost no editing or concrit please, tis a bad body day
“Danny! Danny,” Damian called he skittered into Danny’s classroom.
Danny was human more than not those days, sustained by the close proximity to ‘the pit’. It was effort, more than was perhaps wise to expend, but it was worth it to watch over Damian. It was worth it to see these rare moments of Damian acting like the child he was.
“Yes, Damian?” Danny asked. He didn’t try to hide his amusement as he turned to look at the little lord.
“Danny,” Damian said again before gulping in a huge breath. “There is another child here!”
Danny blinked. There were, maybe, a few extra eyes who also blinked. Danny might be much better at being human these days, but that was positively shocking news. “A what?”
“Another child! He is older than me,” Damian said, now hesitating. “I don’t… I don’t know how to tell how much older? Three times as old?”
“Well, we can see about that. I think that I still remember how to tell,” Danny said. “A child. How odd.”
“Mother brought him home,” Damian explained as he scrambled up onto Danny’s desk. “She says that he is one of Father’s birds.”
“His birds?” Danny repeated.
Damian nodded. “I am the son of the Bat. He is a mighty warrior. He trains these birds under him. That is why I am not allowed to go yet, because I must be skilled enough to fight these birds for my place.”
“Damian, you should not have to fight to have your father’s acceptance,” Danny said, gently.
Damian just shrugged. “If the Bird is here, then I may not have to and maybe Mother will let me go sooner.”
Danny took a breath and let it out slowly. It wasn’t Damian’s fault that he didn’t understand. Danny would keep being there for Damian and insisting that he was unconditionally loved. “Is your mother not sending this bird back?”
“He’s broken,” Damian said. “Mother wants to see if he’ll heal or if he should just be dis… discarded.”
Danny breathed in and out again. “And what does your Father think?”
“Mother says he thinks this bird is dead. The bird was dead,” Damian said, “but he’s back now. But he’s broken. Maybe some of him got left being dead? Mother says that he doesn’t see the world around him.”
“Well, I will have to check,” Danny said. It might mean going back to the realm, which he hadn’t visited in… a long time, but Danny wasn’t going to let a child be discarded. “Do you know his name?”
“Maybe? They are all the bird called a robin.”
“Robin. Shall we go check on him now? Is he alone?”
“No. Mother is seeing him to the doctor and the priests.”
“After lunch then,” Danny said, “and we will do your morning lessons for now.”
“I am tired of maths,” Damian complained with a frankly adorable little pout.
Danny bopped him on the nose. “Then the sooner that you start, the sooner you can be done.”
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masterpost what tense is this fic in? no damn clue. no editing please, weather is KOing me hard
And Danny tried. For Damian he worked to find a balance between ghost and human, floating but being present. He gathered together the pieces of himself and stuffed them into a skin. And it was ugly and messy but it was good enough.
It had to be.
“Lord Damian, it is time for your next lesson.”
The teacher training Damian paused, fist inches from Damian’s face. His gaze scanned over the priest robes before he slowly pulled his fist back. His other hand released Damian’s shirt, letting the boy fall to the ground with a puff of sand and dust.
“You are dismissed.”
The teacher’s sneer was barely contained as he bowed and then stalked away.
“Lord Damian, with me.”
“Yes, Brother,” Damian answered as he picked himself off the ground. His blood was a bright smear on the training ground floor. The small child followed silently behind through the halls and into an empty room.
As soon as the door closed, the Danny fell to his knees at Damian’s feet. Gently he brushed the blood from Damian’s cheek. “That one I am killing.”
“He is training me.”
“He is taking joy in hurting you,” Danny hissed. His rage pulled at the human visage that he wore. He could feel his teeth sharpening, his mouth widening, his eyes burning. Eyes. So many eyes. They watched Damian. Watched him be beaten and belittled and hurt. They watched him bleed. “That is not training. He is not a teacher. He is a sadist, and he will not lay his hands on you again!”
Damian’s shoulders curled as he hunched slightly in on himself.
Danny tried to shove the otherness back under his skin so quickly that it hurt. “You have done nothing wrong, little brave one. And I know there are things here that harm you and that I cannot stop, by your own request. But if you must learn to fight than you will learn, not be beaten needlessly. You do not deserve that.”
“…what if I do?” Damian asked in a whisper.
“You do not,” Danny insisted. “I know this because no child deserves to be beaten. And more than that, you are my child, my friend. And I know that you very much do not deserve it. He will not hurt you any longer.”
Damian shifted on his feet and glanced back at Danny. Danny took the moment to scoop up Damian and take him over to the desk. He set Damian down carefully.
“You cannot get caught by grandfather,” Damian said firmly.
“I will not,” Danny promised. He cupped a hand and let it fill with ectoplasm. With a gentle touch, he used the inner robe to dab the ectoplasm on one of Damian’s wounds.
Damian tried to get a good look while at the same time holding still. “That looks like Lazarus water.”
“Lazarus water?”
“What is in the pool where we met.”
Danny hummed. “It is and it isn’t. What is in that pit diverged long ago. If one goes back to the source from Lazarus water, one of the things that they would come to is this.”
“…and it heals?”
“Not for everyone. But you are special.”
“People say that,” Damian said, sounding sad. “I never like what being special means.”
“I’m sorry. It can be hard, I know,” Danny said. “What I mean with this, about being special, is that you have been around the Lazarus water long enough, that this can work on you. It’s about exposure.”
“Oh.” Damian gave a little nod like he understood.
It made Danny smile. “Where were we in our lesson?”
“You were telling me about the printing press.”
Danny blinked. “Really? How did we get on that topic?”
“I am unsure.”
“What are you supposed to be doing?”
“My English letters,” Damian said.
That actually made sense. “Oh, I was probably talking about cases. Did I tell you about upper case and lower case?”
“Yes.”
“Well then consider that topic done for now! And you wounds are dealt with,” Danny said. He let the ectoplasm absorb back into him. “Do you need any help with your letters?”
“No,” Damian said with a little jut of his chin. “Though… maybe you would look over them after.”
“I would be happy to,” Danny said. He went to pull out the stack of papers that was Damian’s work and made sure the pencil was sharp. Damian was, of course, the only child in League, so he was alone for his lessons. Danny tried to be Damian’s teacher for the academic lessons as often as possible. The other lessons he couldn’t manage yet.
“You are not very good at this,” Damian said as he practiced his letters.
“Not very good at what?” Danny asked from the desk that he lounged at.
“Being human.”
“Oh.” Danny blinked. And breathed. He had forgotten to breathe again. “I was, once.”
Damian glanced up from his work, the lines of P’s and Q's forgotten. “What happened?”
“What happened? They came and they took everything from me,” Danny hissed with too many mouths.
“You have extra eyes, floating around,” Damian said with no concern at all, and motioned to the art around Danny with the tip of his pencil. He paused, pencil hovering over the paper. “I' am sorry, that they did that.”
Danny closed his eyes, all of them, and breathed. He stuffed the bits and body back into himself. He let the breath out. “Thank you, Dami. I am… learning to move forward.”
masterpost I think this is all new? no editing please
And it is work, almost surprisingly so. Danny hadn’t thought it would be so hard to just be what he used to be. He’s human. Or… he used to be human. He’s not anymore, is he? But there has to be a scrap of humanity left somewhere in him. Or a memory that he can pull on. He’s lost time, so much time, but he can’t have lost it all… could he?
He can’t have.
He’s still… he’s still…
“Danny! Danny! Please.”
His little one! Danny rushes towards the surface. His little one sounds so scared. The green breaks and it’s like he’s breathing again—existing again.
“Dami—”
Dami lunges forward. His tiny arms wrap around Danny’s neck. Danny lets himself be tugged up further out of the water.
“You were gone! For days and days I came but did not see you! You left me!”
“Never.”
“You left me alone!”
“I’m sorry.” Danny shifts. He pushes himself up to sit on the edge of the pool as pulls Damian into a tight hug. “I am so sorry, Dami, that I was away for awhile, but I will never leave you, not forever. I’ll always come back.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” Danny swore without hesitation. “You called and I came, right? I was just… I am not whole, Dami, and there are times when… all my parts have a little trouble coming together. But when I heard you everything snapped back into place.”
“It did?”
“It did,” Danny assured Damian. He ran his claws through Damian’s hair. Claws, that wasn’t right. He needed… Danny closed his many eyes and breathed. He rand his hand through Damian’s hair. “You’re very special to me, which is why I’ll always come back. I won’t leave you alone.”
