Chapter Text
The way he changed, because that’s what Colin felt like he was doing when his body became as big and beefed up as it was, felt the same as stretching his arms or legs out for too long. Not really painful, like stretching too far. It was more like he was holding his body in a way that made him feel tired the longer he did it, and it might hurt if he didn’t let go eventually. Now that Colin had let go and was kneeling on the bathroom floor, he felt it all over, in all parts of his body. He panted, sweat beading on his skin and dripping slowly down his back.
He was glad it was Damian who found him. It would’ve worked itself out if someone else did, but since it was Damian that meant maybe they could figure this out without the worry the grown ups would’ve had on their faces. Damian worried too of course, but it was different. Colin knew they were on the same level, being the same age and all. His worry was because it was coming from the same place as Colin’s.
Catching his breath, Colin explained. “Damian…something…something’s wrong…I don’t think the Bane Venom went away…”
Damian blinked, snapping out of his shock. Stepping all the way into the bathroom, he looked out long enough to give Titus the guard command before closing the door. Soon he was kneeling in front of him, holding Colin’s face in his warm hands. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?”
Colin shook his head.
“...how did this happen, Beloved?” Damian let go of his face to rub them up and down Colin’s arms. His ice blue looked him all over, which Colin might’ve blushed about another time.
“Well I…I was dreaming and I woke up. And my arms…my arms were big.”
He wasn’t having a nightmare. Colin’s dream had been fun, from what he could remember. The family was out on the streets, fighting bad guys. Colin was there too, swinging and punching and knocking them down one by one. It was great until his arms felt too heavy to move. Then he woke up in his bed, sweating and confused. Looking down, he saw his arms going from being as big as B’s to back to their normal size.
“I wasn’t sure what happened, if I was still dreaming or not. I sat up and looked at myself, but I was just me. That’s when I felt that spot on my back.” Lifting his hand, Colin touched his shoulder. “You know, where the tube was. It was itchy, so I tried to scratch it. But when I did…” Colin shivered, remembering. “It hurt so bad. ”
He’d barely even touched it! Mostly ‘cause it was hard to reach in the first place. Colin had to stretch to get his hand back there. The second he did it felt like he was stabbed by a big knife, with a bunch of little knives going down his back after it. He couldn’t help yelling, which scared Titus, who’d been sleeping by the door to Colin’s room. The poor dog came over to sniff at him when he got out of bed after the feeling stopped, checking to see if he was hurt. Colin gave him a few pets and a kiss on the nose to calm him down.
Colin told Damian all of this. “...then I came in here. I thought maybe I hurt myself in my sleep. So I took off my shirt and looked in the mirror at my back.” Colin pointed at the mirror, his arm not as tired as before.
Damian carefully moved around him, looking at the scar. “It seems alright now…may I…?”
Colin nodded. He felt his soulmate’s hands gently move up his back until they were on either side of the scar. Slowly, carefully, Damian brushed his fingertips against the spot. It itched again, making Colin wince, but didn’t really hurt. “Maybe it only hurts when I’m big, or I just turned back…”
“That would make sense…this is the spot where the Venom was consistently pumped into your system. But you aren’t receiving any now…” Colin let Damian gently pull him back against his chest, which got Colin off his knees. Damian held him around his shoulders, the side of his face resting on Colin’s hair. He didn’t have to see Damian’s face to know his brows were pulled together as he thought out loud. “Perhaps the combination of Venom and whatever healing serum he used caused an unintended effect…a dormant ability to grow in size and strength at will.”
“Yeah…” Colin agreed. That sounded right to him, as far as he knew.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
“The second time, when you found me, yeah. I just…I dunno. I thought about being that big, trying to remember how it felt. I thought maybe I could do it but I wasn’t sure.”
“Is that why you put on Grayson’s clothes?” Damian reached down to pull up the shorts Colin had seen hanging half in and half out of the laundry hamper. He made sure they were all the way on, and not showing any of Colin’s underwear on accident.
“Well…” Colin’s fingers traced a scar on Damian’s arm, his face feeling warm. “I figured if it worked I didn’t want to squish myself in my own clothes, or rip them.”
“Well thought. However…” Damian’s mouth spoke right in his ear. “I don’t want you wearing anyone’s clothes but mine.”
Colin’s face almost exploded in heat. “Damian!” He pushed himself out of Damian’s arms to look at him, eyes wide. The smirk on that handsome face made him huff and smack his soulmate’s shoulder. “ You! Don’t be a weirdo. You know I’m yours.”
“I do. Just ensuring that you haven’t forgotten.” His thumb and pointer finger lifted Colin’s chin. “New form or not.”
“Goober…” Colin murmured, smile getting bigger without him trying. But after a second, his eyes looked away. “...this new form and all…maybe we should be worried. I don’t want my heart to get all funny again.”
Damian tilted his head, brushing Colin’s bangs away from his eyes. They were getting too long. “We can always have Pennyworth give you another examination. Just to be sure that you remain in good health.”
Opening his mouth, Colin was surprised that he almost said no. “Can we ask him…but not tell him I can change?”
“Why wouldn’t you want him to know?” Damian asked gently, his eyebrows pulling together.
Colin wasn’t sure himself. “It’s not Alfred that’s the problem. Or anybody else. I just…what if it can be fixed? What if they can stop me from changing?”
“...you want to keep it. To be able to change form.”
Biting his lip, Colin nodded. “Yeah.”
He could see the way Damian was thinking by the way he looked at Colin. No judgment, no fear. It was more like one of his Robin faces. Which wasn’t a bad thing, as far as Colin cared. It felt good in a way, to have Damian look at him. So serious, so intense.
Colin explained, “I think it happened when I punched Crane, but really fast. Jason told me that he got into the Arkham records. Crane’s nose broke in three places. He said that Roy said that I must’ve been really mad to pull that off with my twig arms.” Colin lifted his arm to look at it, holding it next to Damian’s. He could feel the muscles in his soulmate’s forearm when he set his hand on it. “Alfred was surprised my hand was okay when I told him what I did. He thinks my healing factor helped, and maybe it was that, but what if it wasn’t? What if I can do more?”
“Then I would be the first to celebrate with you about your new powers. But we mustn’t overlook the risks for the sake of the benefits. If this transformation hurts you, short term or long term, it may not be worth keeping. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Colin wanted to say it would be worth it, because he really, really didn’t want to lose it. But then he thought about what him being hurt did to Damian. He couldn’t put him through that again just for himself. “I guess you’re right.”
Damian held Colin’s face with both hands. Colin loves when he does that. “We’ll have Pennyworth check on you, but withhold the info on your new form unless he finds something is wrong.”
“Really? You mean it?” Colin couldn’t help bouncing a bit in place, which was harder to do because he was kneeling on the floor.
“Of course, Beloved. Clearly this means a great deal to you, therefore it means a great deal to me. And if you can keep this power without being hurt, we could spend time testing what you can do. Imagine if you can hold the form for long periods combined with the fighting techniques we teach you. That poor dummy won't survive you next time.”
Laughing, Colin pulled Damian closer by the waist. “I knew you’d get it. This could be so awesome! Thank you, Peaches!”
Colin didn’t realize what he’d said until he realized Damian’s face was slowly turning a deep red right in front of his eyes. Damian’s mouth opened and closed, his hands dropping to Colin’s shoulders. “P-P-Peaches?” Oh gosh, Damian was being totally cute right now.
“Sorry, that just slipped out.” Tilting his head, he looked closer at his soulmate. Damian looked away, his mouth pulling into a pout. That’s not what he usually does when Colin tries out a nickname. “Do you…like it?”
“ Tt. Don’t be absurd.” He took Colin’s hands off his waist and set them down on Colin’s knees. That left him free to cross his arms. “Why would I? Entirely besides the point, why would you even call me that in the first place?”
Blinking once, and then again, Colin’s mouth pulled into a smirk. “Well…” He walked two fingers up to Damian’s shoulder. “You’re sweet.” His hand ran through the side of Damian’s hair. “Fuzzy.” Then he tapped Damian’s chest. “Soft, but with a hard little pit in the center that I had to help take out.” His hand pulled Damian’s crossed arms until their foreheads touched. “And peaches are my favorite.” Teasing Damian was fun, but Colin stopped. “I won’t call you that if you don’t want me to, though.”
“I…don’t…mind…” Damian admitted slowly, biting his lip. “But perhaps only when it is just you and I.”
“You got it…Peaches.”
Damian might have said something back, but right before he could there was a knock on the door. They both froze, kneeling on the floor, Colin half undressed and Damian’s face still as red as a rose. This…did not look great for them.
“Um…who is it?” Colin asked. Damian gave him a silent look, waving his hand at the door. Shrugging, Colin mouthed an apology.
“It’s me, Colin.” Dick spoke from behind the door. “Do you know where Damian is? I wanted to talk to him and he’s not in his room.”
“Oh.” Widening his eyes at Damian, he watched the other shake his head. “No, I don’t. Are he and B back yet?”
“Yeah, I just talked to Bruce. Say, what are you doing up? It’s pretty late, isn’t it?”
What was he supposed to say?! Waving his hands in the air frantically, his voice squeaked, “Do you want a number or something?!”
“Okay, my bad! Sorry.” Dick sounded embarrassed that he asked. “Still, you should get to bed soon, kiddo.”
“I will, I will!” Standing up, Colin reached over to the toilet and flushed it. He saw Damian look at the cabinet under the sink before his soulmate held up a finger to his lips. Nodding, Colin hurried over to the sink and turned it on. “I’m almost done!” While Damian quickly fit himself inside and closed the doors, Colin took off the shorts he borrowed and threw on his own pajamas that he left folded on the counter. Then he washed his hands for real and turned off the water when he finished.
Making sure everything was where it was supposed to be, Colin opened the door and pouted up at Dick on purpose. Until he saw his face.
Dick looked…not great. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the way he was standing wasn’t as happy as normal. Colin wasn’t sure how to explain it. Even when Dick wasn’t walking he never really stood still. He was either stretching a bit, or shifting side to side, or looking around. Now he was slumped a bit, not moving more than he had to, even as he put on a smile for Colin’s sake.
“You looked tired…” Colin said, reaching out for the man’s hand without thinking about it.
“I am.” Dick squeezed his hand softly. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. Case stuff.”
“Well, maybe I could help?” He wasn’t even close to being ready to do anything like that, B hadn’t even cleared him to start training again yet.
He let Dick pull him into a quick hug, feeling the man bend to nuzzle into his hair. “You’re the best, Col. But I’ve got to work on this one myself.”
“Darn.” Colin pulled away. “Next time then. I call dibs on helping.”
Dick laughed, looking a bit more like his usual self. “You’re a good kid. Now go to bed before Alfred finds out. I’ll turn in soon, too.”
Colin tried not to look back as Dick gently pushed him away from the bathroom door and closed it behind him. Damian was still in there…
-----
When did the space beneath the bathroom sink get so cramped? The last time Damian had fit himself down here was when he’d taken it upon himself to keep a surveillance on Pennyworth, and then he’d had enough room to turn over comfortably. He’d lived in the manor for a few weeks, and Father had left him with the butler while he and Drake had gone into the city, with strict orders not to leave the grounds. Despite Mother’s praises, Damian thought he ought to observe Pennyworth’s character for himself. So he’d shadowed the man the whole day, fitting into any hiding place he could as Damian watched him complete that day’s chores.
Around lunchtime Pennyworth had paused, setting aside his cleaning supplies and, without looking at Damian’s hiding spot, asked, “Would you care for something to eat, Master Damian?”
Caught off guard, he pulled himself out from beneath the table he’d hidden under. “How did you know I was here?” Damian had been sure to use his full League training, not wanting to underestimate the man.
Raising an eyebrow, Pennyworth replied, “I raised the boy who would become the man that is your father. One would think I’d have picked up a few skills of my own after all of these years, wouldn’t we?” Damian never doubted him again, about his skill or cooking, because that day he had falafel for lunch and they were as close to authentic as any he’d had overseas.
Now though as he hid beneath the sink, waiting for Grayson to do whatever he came here to do, he found himself wincing as pipes dug into his side and a bottle of cleaner dug into his shoulder. Next time he would hide in the hamper, foul smelling clothes or not.
Grayson had gone strangely quiet…was he alright? He’d heard Colin mention that the man looked tired. After Crane had been sent back to Arkham, Grayson poured himself back into the cases he’d put on hold during the time Colin was missing, barely sparing time for them. Or rather…barely sparing time for Damian. He wasn’t jealous of Colin, really. It was good to see two of his favorite people bond, and he trusted Grayson. Still…
A strange rustling sound by the cabinet doors pulled him from his thoughts. Grayson’s voice speaking low caused him to freeze. “I know you’re in there, Damian.”
Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Trying to push on the doors, he realized they were stuck. Given what the man had available, Damian had to assume he’d taken a towel or something and wrapped them around the handles, holding it tight and effectively locking him in. “Grayson let me out! This isn’t funny!”
“Oh yeah? Maybe I will if you give me a good explanation on what you were doing down there while Colin was in here? Hm?”
Dropping his forehead down heavily against the bottom of the cabinet, Damian muttered in Arabic. Something that was about the same as an American saying, “For the love of god.” or about as close to it. “It isn’t what you think!”
“Then if I texted Bruce right now and told him where I found you, what would he say?” And he could too, he’d only need one hand to keep the doors closed. “I know you’re growing up and all, but spying on your soulmate? ”
Face heating up for a second time, Damian shoved himself against the doors. “I was not spying on Colin! How could you accuse me of that?! He knew I was here!”
“Uh-huh, sure.” The man said nothing else, but Damian didn’t miss the tapping sounds of typing coming from his phone.
“Wait, don’t tell Father! I swear Colin knew! But he doesn’t want anyone to know–!” He managed to cut himself off from revealing Colin’s secret, but only just.
The tapping stopped. “What doesn’t Colin want anyone to know?” Grayson asked slowly.
Think Wayne, think! Taking a calming breath, the answer came to him. “The scar. From the tube distributing the Venom. It’s still there. Colin asked me to look at it. He was worried it wouldn’t fade, unlike the wound on his head that Crane stitched. He feels self conscious about it, and he doesn’t want just anyone to see it. We weren’t expecting you and we panicked. That’s all.” Grayson was silent. “I swear!” Colin had asked him to look at it tonight, and days before he mentioned that he was uncomfortable about the scar. It was the truth in a different order.
Damian waited, wondering if Grayson was convinced. The sound of the towel slipping off the handles made him breathe easier. The first Robin opened the drawers, squatting in front of them and looking down at Damian with an expression he couldn’t quite name.
“Admittedly,” Damian pulled himself out from under the sink, wincing a bit as his cramped limbs finally got room to move again, “this certainly looks questionable, it’s true.”
The attempt at humor didn’t seem to land, as Grayson only rubbed his forehead. “You didn’t have to hide. I would’ve understood if you two had told me.”
“...based on your recent reactions to far less suggestive interactions between us, you understand how we ended up in this situation, don’t you?”
“...okay, I guess that’s fair.” Grayson stood, offering his hand to help Damian up. “Maybe next time, climb out the window or something?” He smirked and pointed at the window with his thumb.
“You really are tired. Usually you discourage me from doing that.” Now that he could look at the man properly, he recognized the signs of a case going poorly. “Which case is it? That is what you wanted to speak about, isn’t it?”
Grayson sighed. “Zsasz. I’ve been getting tips on where he’s been hiding. Too many tips, too far apart in location.”
“He’s trying to throw you off, reducing your chance of finding him.”
“Which means he’s already got a new set up somewhere. Yeah…now I’m at the point where I have to wait for new victims.”
Heart hurting for his brother, Damian gave in to the urge to hug the man. “I’m sorry, Grayson.”
“I don’t regret it. Saving Colin needed all the hands we could get.” Folding his hands together behind Damian’s back, Grayson made a token effort to smile. “I don’t want you focusing on that when you’ve got your own cases. Actually, I wanted to ask you if you and Colin wanted to go out for the day tomorrow like I promised? We can hit the aquarium, the bookstore, and the pawn shop. What do you think?”
“I think that after that you’ll be heading back to Blüdhaven, and you feel guilty because you won’t be back for a while.” Damian held his brother tighter, forehead now resting on his sternum. “You always do things like this when you feel guilty.”
“That easy to read, huh?” Grayson’s hand carded through his hair gently. “You know me, Lil D. I never stay in one place for too long. Besides, it’s not personal. This case is–”
“Important.” Damian finished for him. “I know.” Letting go, he stepped back. “You can tell Colin in the morning. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”
He was used to hiding resentment from the grown ups, as Colin would call them. But he hadn’t felt any in what felt like such a long time. It was true though, Grayson had a bit of a nomadic spirit, perhaps from his childhood in the circus. It seemed he came and went with the changing of the winds. When Father was missing Grayson stayed with him here at the manor, but since his return the first Robin had taken flight at the first chance he had, returning it seemed on a whim. It was foolish to feel resentful, because as he said, it wasn’t personal.
“Hey…” Grayson’s hand cupped his chin. “You know I love you.”
Damian looked into his first Batman’s eyes, seeing the plea for understanding there. “I love you, too.” Gently, he pushed Grayson’s hand away. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Stepping out of the bathroom, he closed the door behind him.
His eyes moved down to Titus, who had rolled onto his side and fallen asleep, deep snores filling the hall. “Some guide dog you are.” Damian muttered to the sleeping animal in Arabic, tempted to nudge him awake with his foot. Instead he retreated to his room.
-----
Tim was laying across the sofa in the media room, one bent knee against the back of the couch. His wireless earbuds had the playlist he, Kon, Bart, and Cassie made playing as he scrolled idly through his phone. He’d finished his work for W.E. days ago, with no more expected for a while since Bruce had made him cap it at a reasonable level. Bruce asked him for that once he came back from his trip. Now he had nothing to do during the day. There was the game he stopped playing when Kon died, but he didn’t have the heart to pick it back up yet. At least he could look at it without it feeling like a betrayal to his soulmate’s memory. That was progress.
Opening his messages, his eyes drifted to the chat he had with Kon. It had become his personal venting place at some point, but it started as a way to keep Kon up to date on what was going on with him. They did that after becoming soulmates, because Kon promised not to listen with his super hearing unless it was an emergency and he couldn’t help what got through to him. They’d send each other walls of text, and Tim liked reading them before bed. After Kon was gone…it was easier to keep doing it than to stop, easier to pretend Kon didn’t have a minute to stop and look than to think about how he’d never answer. Kon’s phone was off, sitting in his room at the Kent house, where Tim saw it on his visit. Apparently Clark kept covering the bill, so Tim wouldn’t have to stop.
His hand lowered to his leg, Tim sighing. Finding that out had been what sent him to the Lazarus Pit. It was hard to realize that he couldn’t let the lie in his head keep living. Kon didn’t have his phone, because Kon was gone. And nothing Tim could do would change that. It was sad, painful, but it was true.
Thumb hovering over the screen, Tim opened the family chat instead. The recent deluge of pics from Dick were mostly blue, from when he took the boys out for the day yesterday. Colin loved the aquarium, from the beaming smile on his face in each picture. Tim messaged Dick in their private chat asking if Colin was okay with all the pictures, because according to Dick, Colin had been bothered when he took a pic of him and Damian on their first day home. Dick had sent dozens of smiling emojis, happily telling him that it was Colin’s idea. That was so awesome, for both Colin and Dick.
Tapping on one of Damian and Colin posing together in front of a tank of tropical fish, Tim looked at Damian’s face. The younger Robin was looking at his soulmate with so much softness. It was sweet. As Tim flipped through all the photos from that day, he noticed that Damian was either looking at Colin or at the various fish. Never at the camera. It was the same in the bookstore, and at the pawn shop. Even at the diner, where it was a picture of the three of them. Damian never looked Dick’s way.
Damn. Damian wasn’t happy with the oldest Robin. There was no way Dick didn’t notice, but there was also no way that he brought it up and ruined the day. Now Dick was back on his turf, and not here trying to make it better. Which was so like him, unfortunately…
“I’m not upset, Colin.”
Tim glanced up without moving his head. Colin was guiding Damian into the media room by the hand, a worried little frown pushing out his bottom lip. They noticed him on the couch, Colin waving lightly and Damian nodding once. Tim subtly tapped an earbud while fixing his hair, turning off the sound block.
“I don’t think he can hear us.” Colin said once Tim’s eyes went back to his screen. “And you are too upset, Peaches.”
It took literally every ounce of Tim’s training and strength not to react. PEACHES??? No. It couldn’t be. Was this Colin’s cutesy nickname for Damian?! Pulling up the chat with Cass, he swiped along his keyboard instead of typing. ‘Did you hear about Damian’s new nickname?’
She sent back a thinking emoji with its hand on its chin. ‘Hint?’
Tim answered with a gif of a bowl of fruit. He watched three dots appear and disappear for a minute as Colin pulled Damian onto the same armchair as him, the two practically pressed together even though there was a little bit of room for space. No wonder Dick wondered about them, even though there were clearly innocent intentions to everything they did.
Finally Cass texted back. A peach emoji with a question mark after it. Tim answered with a gif of a clapping audience. That got him a response of ten emojis with heart eyes.
Colin propped his chin on Damian’s shoulder. “I thought we were telling each other stuff now?”
“I’m sorry, Beloved. I don’t mean to, but…it simply isn’t something to be concerned about. I miss Grayson, but nothing can be done about it.” Damian slumped in the chair, tilting his head back. “ He certainly doesn’t care.”
“Are you saying that just cause you’re all Damian-y today?” Colin slipped his arms around Damian’s shoulders, a light teasing smile on his lips.
“I believe as an American citizen that I have the right to plead the fifth.”
In response, Colin blew a raspberry against the side of his face. In the blink of an eye Damian had the red head pushed against the arm of the chair, pulling squealing peals of laughter from him by tickling his ribs. Poor kid was nearly falling out of the chair because he was wiggling so much trying to get away.
Tim made a fake vomiting sound, smirking when that got Damian to stop and narrow his eyes at him. “Get two separate rooms.” he called across to them.
“Were you listening to us, Drake?” Damian moved back so Colin could sit up, still giggling.
Feigning innocence, Tim pulled the earbud still playing music from his ear. “What?”
“Tt.” Damian slumped again. At Colin’s pout, he said, “Leave me to brood, Beloved. Sometimes a man simply needs to be with his feelings.”
Colin hesitated, but leaned forward to leave a light peck on Damian’s temple. “Okay, if it’ll make you feel better. But don’t take too long, I miss your smile.” He lightly pinched the side of Damian’s mouth before slipping off the armchair. “Tim, do you think B will let me start training again soon?” He came over and threw himself on the couch next to Tim’s legs. “I don’t want to sit around anymore. I’m restless.”
“Oh yeah?” An idea coming to him, Tim turned off his phone’s screen. “Actually, I think I have a way we can find out. You got a good pair of shoes?”
Within thirty minutes Tim and Colin were out on the verandah, dressed in light clothes perfect for jogging. Colin had to borrow an old pair of Jason’s sneakers, but otherwise looked eager and ready to go. The kid had enough patience to let Alfred fuss over him a bit, making sure the smart watch on his wrist was secure.
“Please know there is no shame in needing to take a break, Master Colin. If you must, you can sit yourself down wherever you are. We don’t want you to push yourself too hard if it’s simply too soon.”
“I know, Alfred.” Colin replied, kind but firm.
“He’s got to get out of the nest sometime, Alfred.” Tim tapped his phone screen, attached to a holster on his arm. It opened to the app with the heart monitor. “I’ll watch Colin’s vitals as we go. I know how to train others.”
With a sigh and a smile, Alfred smoothed Colin’s hair before stepping back. “You’re right, Master Tim. I’ll let the two of you be. If I’m needed, I’ll be right inside the kitchen.”
They wished Alfred goodbye before turning to each other. “Let’s start with some stretches.” Tim guided Colin through them. First touching toes, then pulling their feet up to their butts, then lightly twisting their torsos. Colin took to it all very well, following instructions with no whining or complaints. What a difference to the new Titan recruits.
After stretching their arms up over their heads, Colin beamed up at him. “This feels great after sitting around for weeks.”
“I bet. Okay.” Tim looked Colin up and down. “Checklist time. Shoes tied?”
“Shoes tied!” Colin held out a foot to show him.
“Clothes comfy?”
“Clothes comfy!” Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, Colin flopped it back and forth.
“Water bottle ready?”
The carrying pouch hanging across Colin’s chest with his new water bottle was tapped. “Water bottle ready!”
“Good man.” Nodding, Tim pointed to their right. “We’re going to do one lap around the manor and come back to this spot. This is a jog, not a sprint. Keep it steady, make sure you’re breathing regularly. Don’t worry about keeping up with me, I’ll be pacing you to see how you do. Got it?”
Colin saluted, grin wider. “Sir, yes sir!”
“On your mark.” Colin blinked and quickly faced the direction they were going. “Get set.” The boy put one foot behind him, balancing. “Go!”
They made good time, once Tim corrected a few of Colin’s running habits. Before they knew it, the lil red head had his feet moving under him in a way that minimized the amount of energy he would need to get it done, and his breathing was steady and smooth. It wasn’t perfect yet, but he’d get there. Colin was a good learner, any trainer would be lucky to have him as a pupil.
Once they were back on the verandah, Tim told Colin to take a drink of water while he checked his phone. Heart rate good, breathing good, Colin wasn’t nearly as wiped out as Tim thought he would be. The path around the manor was about a track field length and a half. Not bad at all. “Hey, you’re doing pretty good, kid!”
Grinning, Colin said, “Is that all we’re doing? I thought this would be hard.”
“Oh-ho! Big talk, little man. Okay, let’s crank it up a notch.” Tim pointed to one of the natural paths leading into the hundreds of acres of woods around Wayne Manor before leading Colin over to it. “You can run good. That’s a start. But up on the rooftops is a different beast. Some higher or lower, things you’ll have to run around or jump over. How to do that, and shave a few seconds off your time, can be the difference between a criminal getting away or getting caught. Damian’s brought you through the woods before, right? Then you know the paths aren’t perfectly flat or easy to walk. Let’s see how you do with that challenge.”
Colin looked beyond excited. “So it’s like parkour?!” Was that a sparkle in his eyes?
Memories of Tim’s high school friend Bernard jumping off of the bleachers or the stairs and falling into barrel rolls while yelling “PARKOUR!” came to mind. Along with each fail that the blonde had laughed off like it was nothing, no matter how big of a blunder it was. He should call Bernard up sometime. The thought made him smile. “Sure, something like that. Think you can handle it?”
“I so totally can!”
About fifteen minutes later Tim was sitting next to the redhead on a flat rock that made an almost natural seat. Colin was sprawled out on his back, panting and sweating. Tim sipped his water, having hardly broken a sweat himself. Colin’s vitals were still in the good range, which is why he felt okay with teasing him. “You so totally can, huh?”
“Oh. Be. Quiet.” Colin panted. “I. Still. Did it.” He took a long, deep breath. “Even if it sucked!”
That was true. Colin had a bit of a hard time managing between keeping his eyes on following Tim, and being careful with his feet, but it hardly slowed him down. Even the two times he tripped didn’t end in anything worse than a scraped knee, which was already almost as good as new thanks to the boy’s healing factor. For his first time it wasn’t too bad.
“Well you can take it easy for now. We’ll walk back to the manor after you catch your breath. Bruce will like these results. Maybe he’ll make a new training plan tonight.”
“Really?” Colin sat up, the eager shine in his eyes still present. “That’d be so cool. I’ve missed training.”
They lapsed into easy silence after that, enjoying the breeze and the quiet sound of birdsong. Tim didn’t know every bird in the forest the way Damian did, but he pointed out a few that landed nearby before they flew off again. The next time he did his running Tim planned to come out here instead of using the treadmill down in the Cave. There was something nice about getting out in nature.
“Tim? Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. What’s up?” Picking up his water bottle, Tim lifted it toward his lips.
Colin looked a little unsure. “Do you know anything about the League of Assassins?”
The water bottle stopped just in front of his mouth. Visions of days and nights spent infiltrating the League flashed through Tim’s mind. The training he’d done, the whispers of discord he shared with other members, Ra’s al Ghul’s direct attention. Watching one of their hideouts burn to the ground while those forced to join fled for their freedom. The numbness in his head and heart as he did all of it, missing and wishing to talk to the one person who could talk him out of the crazy mission he set himself on, not knowing if he would survive it.
Lowering the water bottle. Tim met Colin’s curious green eyes. “What do you want to know?”