Okay so this is just a concept and ANYONE is free to use this, just please credit me and link me so I may enjoy your talent!
I’ve seen Maribat fics where Mari leaves Paris of her own volition with the support of family, I’ve seen fics where Damien is stationed in Paris for the Titans or just for Batfam, I’ve seen fics where Mari needs to escape because of a corrupted Chat Noir.
But I’ve not yet seen a fic where Damien runs away.
I admit, I know more about Dick/Tim due to the animated series from the 90s/00s, than I do about Jason or Damien, but from what I’ve seen of the animated films, Damien has a very hard time being integrated into Bruce’s life and both side attempting at gaining an understanding of the other. This was mostly inspired by this clip, and my heart aches for this pompous little asshole because he’s ten and raised by assassins and he is/can be good but Bruce-and by extension Dick- can’t see it past Damien’s natural shield.
And all I can think of is Damien, either 10/11 and just feeling irritated because he’s constantly on edge with his ‘family’. Even if he always proudly claims he’s the heir, the blood son, he can tell from interactions around himself that it holds little weight in his argument. He can see it in the way Dick and Bruce act, how Tim and Bruce act, and even Alfred and Bruce. All are strong, familial bonds between father and son, and yet he cannot sense he forms one with his own father.
Well then, what use does he have for remaining there? His mother is gone, his father isn’t exactly warm and welcoming, and his ‘brothers’ know him as hostile and the Demon’s Heir. The only bounds he forms are with animals, so why bother remaining?
So he leaves. Possibly with Titus, possibly with Alfred the Cat, but he leaves. He is the grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul, he can survive out in the world. He is not so weak as to require anyone to care for him.
Except he does. Who knows what happens, but soon Damien is ragged but stubborn, refusing to be weak and focusing on protecting himself and his dog and or his cat from the dangers around.
Perhaps Master Fu finds him, recognizes his potential, and takes him under his wing, unmoved when emotions fly heavy from the child and helping Damien to calm himself. Perhaps Marianne finds him, takes a fiery child that reminds her of a friend she and Fu once had, helping the boy to center his anger through activities, ensuring he grows and becomes more than just those titles people gave him, he doesn’t need to be given titles, he will make and take his own.
Or perhaps Tom finds them during a distant delivery, when Damien passes out in the rain in some alley way with only his animal(s) to guard him; of course, the big man helps the poor child off of the street-even going against their policy against of no pets because come on, they guarded their owner!-before taking him back to the bakery. Of course, all three help Damien from his wounds, ignoring his growls and orders to go away, though he’s too weak to truly fight them off, and they soon have him sleeping in a small guest room that was usually the office to calculate their expenses. Maybe Marinette’s Ladybug already, maybe not, but she is 14 so she’s not too much older than him.
In any case, I think it would be a unique concept to have Damien be the one to run away from his familial environment and arrive in Paris(or London if we go with Marianne) to find his own version of family.