fic: A Kiss for the Winner
Title: A Kiss for the Winner
Author: darthbatgirl
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Characters: Damian, Roy/Tim, one sided Damian/Tim
Summary: Tim and Damian have a talk
Word Count: 1436
Warning: angst, future fic (Damian is 16)
A/N: written for my hurt/comfort bingo card, using the prompt embarrassment.
Damian stretched out on the grass and watched Tim practice with his bow. With eyes half close, Damian carefully watched every move Tim made, committing to memory every roll of the shoulder, every twitch of his fingers - every grimace as his arrows went left of the target.
“You're dropping your shoulder when you release,” he offered from his spot on the grass.
“What?” Tim asked as he looked over his shoulder.
Damian shook his head and stood up and walked up behind Tim. “You are dropping your shoulder,” He said as he manhandled Tim into the right position. Even though Damian was only sixteen, he easily matched twenty-something Tim's height, and was in fact two inches taller than the older Robin. He peered over Tim's shoulder, shifting his stance until Damian was satisfied.
“There. Keep that position and you will hit the bullseye.” Damian said nodding with satisfaction.
Tim nodded as he notched a new arrow and let it loose smiling as it hit dead center. “Thanks Damie,” Tim's eyes bright.
Damian nodded slightly, wrinkling his nose at the nickname he was less than thrilled with, but said nothing since it was Tim's nickname for him, and Damian had made certain that the others knew only Tim was allowed to call him that. “I'm surprised Harper had not corrected that problem. It was easy enough to spot.”
“Hmm, I think Roy get a little “distracted” when he helps me with my archery,” Tim said, a goofy little half smile on his face he only had when talking about the archer.
“Or perhaps I am just a better archer,” Damian said, a superior expression on his face.
Tm chuckled softly “Don't say that around any of the Arrows Damie. You'll find yourself on the archery range for an entire afternoon.”
“But I am better,” Damian said as he stepped back into Tim's personal space and wrapped his hand around the one that Tim was holding the bow with, trying hard not to show how much he was enjoying the feel of Tim's skin against his own. “I can show you. I'll get three arrows in the bullseye - while blindfolded.”
“Blindfolded?” Tim repeated raising his eyebrow, giving a half smile.”You're getting cocky enough to be an Arrow.”
Damian's eyes lit up with a look of want and added as he took the bow from Tim's hand. “And if I do get all three in the bullseye I get to kiss you.”
“A kiss . . . . Damian.”
“I'll take that bet,” a voice said from the trees behind them. They both spun around to see Roy walking up behind them Roy smiled brightly at Tim as he squeezed his shoulder in greeting, giving Damian a challenging look. “So how about it short stuff? Blindfolds, three arrows and the winner gets to kiss Tim?”
Damian didn't bother hiding his glare. “I accept.”
* * * * * *
Damian sat cross legged on the mats in the Cave. His breath was controlled as he breathed in and out. With each breath out he strove to drive out the anger and embarrassment he felt. Harper had won the archery match. When Damian had yanked the blindfold from his eyes two out of three of his arrows was in the bullseye, the third was embedded in the circle outside of it. Harper had of course gotten all three of his arrows in his bullseye.
The last thing Damian remembered seeing is Harper's smirk, before spinning on his heel and turning back to the house.
He disgraced himself in front of Tim. Instead of impressing Tim with his skill, he had only reinforced the image of how much of a child he was to Tim. Once again he had failed to win Tim's heart.
“Damian?”
Damian's back stiffened as he heard Tim's footsteps behind him
“Damian? Are you okay?” Tim asked softly as he folded his legs underneath him and sat next his younger brother.
A look of worry was on Tim's face, he raised his hand to give some comfort when Damian's hand snaked out and grabbed him by the wrist in a vice like grip. “Don't.”
“Are you okay?” Tim asked softly without pulling out of Damian's grasp.
“I don't need your pity,” Damian said as he let go and got up to start working on the punching bag.
“I'm not here to pity you Damian, I care about you.”
Damian paused a moment before landing a blow, but didn't respond.
“Please Damian,” Tim said softly as he got up to follow him, “We need to talk about this. About how you feel about me.”
“No we don't,” Damian snaps as he punches the bag.
“Why not?”
“You are with him. There is nothing else to talk about.” Damian snarled
“And you don't like that.”
“My opinion is unimportant.” Damian whispered.
Tim looked at him sadly, “ I disagree. I think what you feel and think is very important.”
Damian snorted and glared at Tim. “You just don't love me.”
“I do love you. I'm just not in love with you Damie.” Tim said stepping up behind him laying a hand on Damian's shoulder.
“Don't call me that!” Damian yelled as he shoved Tim. For a moment Damian just glared at Tim. “It can't be the matter of age. You weren't much older than me when you consummated your 'relationship' with him.”
“I was a little older . . “ Tim tried.
“But not by much. You wooed him, you sought him out, and you won his heart. The same can happen for me,” Damian said, a hint of steel to his voice.
“To be fair, Roy did a lot of his own wooing,” Tim said lightly, “Also there is a difference I think you're overlooking here . . . I still love Roy. I'm not going to just to walk away from him. Not even for you.”
“Don't talk to me as if I was some addled minded child!” Damian screamed.
Tim grabbed Damian's arm and pulled him into a hug. “I'm sorry.”
Almost against his will, Damian melted into the hug, he could hear all the things that Tim was sorry for. He was sorry for the pain Damian was feeling, he was sorry someone he cared about was going through the same thing he felt at that age, and maybe Tim was even sorry for the fact he couldn't love Damian in the way the boy wanted. “He doesn't love you. He can't love you . . .not the way I do.”
“He does though,” Tim whispered into Damian's hair. “Sometimes I don't understand why, but he does.”
“I would treat you better. You would be a prince,” Damian said into Tim's shoulder.
“I don't want to be a prince,” Tim said with a hint of a smile to his voice. “I just want to be Tim and that's all Roy's ever asked of me.”
Damian just grasped Tim harder, as if holding him tighter would change Tim's heart.
“One day you will find someone,” Tim said matching Damian's hug. “Someone who will love you and think that you hung the moon.”
“They won't be you.”
“They'll be better than me.” Tim whispered.
“That's not possible,” Damian said shaking his head.
Tim pushed Damian back far enough to see him, brushing back Damian's bangs and tilted his face up. “One day you will find someone that makes you forget all about me. I promise.” He kissed Damian once on the forehead and let Damian go.
Damian sighed as he watched Tim leave. For a moment he just stood there, letting the cave's cold creep into him. Tim was wrong, he knew it. There would be no one to take the place that Tim held in his heart, he would not allow it. One day they would be together - he was certain of it.
He turned back once more to the punching bag, in his mind's eye he saw Roy Harper's smirking visage and with a savage yell he lashed out at the bag. Damian would endure. He would weather the embarrassment and the unspoken jokes he knew the others made. He would rise above it all and one day claim Tim's heart for his own.
He was certain of it.