Chapter Text
Damian grumbled as the Bentley passed beneath the overly-rustic sign made of real, authentic logs announcing their welcome to Pine State Summer Camp and Outdoor Resort. Alfred quietly continued to insist that Master Bruce did not hate him, and in fact was forcing him to attend this plebian American tradition for his own good, to better understand the experiences of his sixteen-year-old peers.
Damian did not hide his snort of derision as Alfred parked the car and got out to open the car door for him. Damian grabbed his backpack, which he had not been permitted to stock with weapons. After a thorough search by both Father and Alfred, he’d only been able to keep a simple folding camping knife, which was more a tool than weapon, though he could of course make do with it.
“Oh look, it appears as if a game has already begun,” Alfred said, pointing off to a baseball field to the left of a large, ancient building covered in cedar shingles. Damian wrinkled his nose. He despised baseball. He preferred sports that were competitive, with which he could show his physical and mental prowess, to sports where you had to depend upon other idiots to do their jobs if you had any hope of winning.
After Alfred had spoken to the front clerk, Damian was dumped in a large room with several other kids his age. It smelled musty. It was old. The walls were made of dark cedar, the floor was oak. It creaked whenever anyone shifted their weight.
“All right, campers!” he heard voice cry from the side, as a screen door opened and a man in his mid-twenties walked through, clapping his hands obnoxiously. “Everybody sit on the floor in a big ol’ circle, and I’ll get started explaining the rules to ya! For the next eight weeks, you’re gonna need to know ’em!”
Damian muttered murderous intent under his breath at Father for making him endure this. Rather than listen to the abhorrent voice of the camp leader, Damian began to study his peers. Father had seen to it that Damian should attend an all-gender camp, and so there were Alphas and Omegas, boys and girls, of every variety and combination possible. At sixteen, some were pre-presented, and some were post. The post-presented Alphas were easy to pick out from their stench. Damian wrinkled his nose at it. He knew he would be among them soon enough; but for now, he found it offensive.
The post-omegas smelled no better to him. Their scents were so sickly sweet it almost turned his stomach. Apparently, once he presented, he would find them irresistible. He could see that happening already; most of the post-presented Alphas were eyeing the post-presented omegas more than they were listening to the camp counselor. Some of them were outright staring. One actually licked her lips. Damian sighed. He would not become so boorish.
The pre-presented kids were slightly more tolerable. At least their scents were muted and softer. It was still easy for anyone to tell how someone would present; jaw shape and facial features gave some hints, as well as muscle definition and general physical demeanor. Such traits had slowly become more prominent as a person approached presentation, and then would blossom quickly after their first heat or rut.
After the counselor’s irritating explanation of the rules, they were told to sign up for activities. At least some of these options were palatable. Damian signed up for archery, horseback riding, swimming and canoeing, as well as every nature-oriented activity he could find, in order to avoid as many organized sports as possible. He did not feel like being sociable. If Father wanted him to attend this camp then he would attend it; he would do the required activities so he could say in good faith that he’d followed Father’s wishes.
At least it wasn’t a sleep-away camp. At least he could escape to his own bed, and his own room, each night. Yes, the hour-long drive to the camp in the morning and then back in the evening was exhausting, but it was worth the price to be able to leave this place each day.
“How was camp?” Alfred asked after the first day.
“I have heard Todd compare Father’s training to hell itself, and before now, I laughed at him. Now I have begrudging camaraderie with him on this matter.”
Alfred had only chuckled.
The archery range was disappointing, to say the least. He hadn’t expected quality bows; nothing used communally could have any sort of care taken with it. But for anyone to be able to aim with these monstrosities was impossible. He did his best, however, which was still leagues better than everyone else on the range, and, annoyingly, attracted him some attention. The other Alphas, both presented and not, eyed him with jealousy, while behind him he heard a bunch of Omegas giggling. The only person who wasn’t an incessant nuisance was a singular pre-presented Alpha with black hair, who looked like he’d rather be literally anywhere else, including drowning at the bottom of the lake. Damian could relate.
Horseback riding was more agreeable. Most of the horses were older, probably retired from other activities, but some were in good health and Damian found a black mare that he quite enjoyed the temperament of. She was bold, and fought him now and then, forcing him to keep his attention to guide her along the trail rather than stop and munch on berries. On the first day, he was required to stay with the group, which was annoying, but once the counselors saw his proficiency with horses, he was permitted to ride the equine trails alone during riding hour. It was peaceful.
The next day was swimming. That activity was an embarrassment to the human race. It consisted of Alphas doing the most idiotic tricks imaginable, with the Omegas giggling and batting their eyelashes, showing off their bodies in skimpy swimwear and laying in suggestive positions on towels on the shore. Damian had no interest in them. He was told he’d start to find them interesting any minute- in fact he was certain part of the reason Father had sent him here was so he could meet Omegas whom ne normally wouldn’t interact with, to see if one sparked his fancy. But no. He kept a far distance from them all, instead choosing to swim laps around the outer portion of the roped-off swimming area, getting in his cardio.
Part of the loop gave him a view of the shore that no one else could see. Beyond a large bolder, sitting by himself on the shore, was that lone Alpha with the unkempt black hair. He was leaning back on his elbows, staring up at the sky, watching nothing. Or perhaps the clouds. It was clear he was a daydreamer, or at least just liked the peace and quiet, and Damian again found himself relating.
The next day was torrential rain. All outdoor activities were cancelled. Indoor activity choices were poor: basketball or arts-and-crafts. Damian chose the crafts, in the desperate hope that he’d be permitted to simply sit in the corner and sketch, rather than have to paste sparkles onto birdhouses that no avian creature would ever choose to inhabit. Thankfully, his wish had been granted. He’d been given a lined notebook and a pencil. It would do.
Tables had been set up on one half of the large room, while the other was used as a basketball court. Most of the Alphas had chosen that activity, and most of the Omegas were watching them, rather than concentrating on their ‘crafts’. The Alphas all elbowed each other roughly and pushed and shoved, getting the whistle blown at them repeatedly for fouls. The Omegas sighed dreamily. Damian tuned it out.
He pulled out his sketchbook and started drawing things he saw in the room; a spider, a mouse, a birds’ nest. He finished his sketch of the rafters, which were the only interesting architectural point in this place, and started looking about for something else for inspiration. His eyes landed on the quiet Alpha, who was seated at the end of one of the craft tables with his tongue sticking out, concentrating as hard as he could on gluing those popsicle sticks. Damian found the expression endearing for some reason, and so he began to sketch it, learning the curves of his face, the expression of his eyes, the tilt of his forehead. His black hair was delightfully unruly, and flopped whenever he tilted his head. Normally, when Damian sketched a subject, he demanded that they remain as still as possible so that he could capture each detail accurately. But in this case, he found himself inexplicably intrigued whenever the Alpha moved. Even the tiniest sigh or tip of his head presented to Damian an entirely new canvas, flipping through the notebook filling page after page. He was, somehow, the most captivating thing Damian had ever drawn.
“Ow!”
Damian’s eyes grew wide as a basketball clocked his subject in the back of the head, making his hair fly in every direction. He turned around with a glare and flew to his feet, and Damian fully expected an Alphan snarl and an aggressive display to follow. But instead, his subject’s eyes scanned the room, jumping from Alpha to Alpha in quick succession, as if assessing for threat.
Damian recognized the expression immediately. It was the behavior of one used to combat. One raised in an environment of constant physical altercation. As the owners of the stray ball approached him, they all postured, their eyes darting to the giggling Omegas sitting at the craft tables.
“Can we have our ball back, Omega?I” the one with broad shoulders and blonde hair derided as he and his partner came over. The ball had bounced underneath Damian’s subject’s table, and the only way for anyone to get it would be to crawl beneath.
“I’m not stopping you from getting it,” Damian’s subject said. “It’s all yours.”
Damian’s subject stepped aside and gestured. Now the blonde Alpha had a choice. Get down on the ground and crawl under the table, or try to force Damian’s subject to do it. It was a typical Alphan dominance display. The type that made Damian wrinkle his nose in disgust.
“Since you knocked it under there, you can get it for me, Danny.” the blonde spat. It was an insult for one Alpha to call another by their first name in a confrontational setting. Akin to calling Danny Omega, as he had earlier.
“I literally don’t care about your ball, Dash,” Danny said. “You can do whatever you want with it.”
Danny turned to walk away. Dash then eyed his craft project, and moved to crush it with his fist. The Omega with a red beret who’d been sitting next to Danny cried out, his eyes going wide.
“No! My birdhouse!” he said.
Danny’s reflexes were instant. He spun, kept his balance perfectly, threw out his arm to grab Dash’s wrist, and had it bent behind his back in a tight hold all in under a second. Dash snarled, writhed, and tried to brute-force his way out of the hold, while the other Alpha he’d been playing with started to laugh.
“Shut up Sanchez, or I’ll kick your ass next!” Dash cried at her. She only laughed harder, flipping her long black hair as she snorted.
“I’ll let you go, if you promise not to hurt Tucker’s birdhouse,” Danny said, his voice low and threatening, but absent the Alpha growl that Damian expected to hear.
“I’ll smash whatever I want, you, you…”
Tucker reached out and grabbed his birdhouse, cradling it to his chest. Danny’s eyes darted over to him, and Damian recognized that look instantly, too. Protection. The two of them must have been a couple, which explained a lot of Danny’s behavior, actually. Damian didn’t see any matemark on either of them, but if they were dating and preparing to bond, then that alone would make Danny more docile, as he’d no longer feel the need to compete for the attention of Omegas.
Damian found himself feeling a little disappointed. He couldn’t explain why.
“Ow ow ow ow, let me go!” Dash cried.
“Not until you promise,” Danny said. His voice was calm. His entire demeanor was calm.
That was because Dash was absolutely no threat to him. No one here was. He knew how to fight. How to really fight. Did so on a regular basis, against enemies that would truly try to kill him. Damian recognized the look instantly.
“Tucker! Baby!” a female voice cried. From across the basketball courts an Alpha girl with black hair (and also wearing black from head to toe), ran towards him. She pulled Tucker into her arms and he melted into them, burying his face against her shoulder. The way she locked eyes with Danny, Damian knew instantly that they were very close friends. She mouthed “thank you” at him, and then turned her body to protect her Omega from the now non-existent threat, and gently led him towards another table, to begin fussing over him.
Then Danny let Dash go.
Dash turned with a snarl and lunged. Danny merely stepped aside, and allowed Dash to crash forward into the wall. Damian had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. The difference in their skillset was immeasurable. Dash might have appeared to have more muscular strength, but he was unskilled with it. He had no idea how to cause harm with his hands.
Danny knew exactly what he was doing. He could knock Dash unconscious in three seconds, if he chose. He could kill him, should he decide. This was not a fight to him. It was an annoyance.
Danny kicked out his leg and with a single sweep, had Dash on the ground.
“While you’re down there, I suggest you get your ball,” he said. Dash shouted a string of curses at him, while Sanchez continued to laugh. Danny then turned and left, walking towards Tucker and his Alpha girlfriend, and sat beside them in a manner that said to Dash “Do not fuck with me.”
Dash cursed to himself several times as he retrieved his ball, throwing it at Sanchez’s head with derision. She laughed as she caught it, and only then did the counselor come over and ask if anything was going on.
Shortly after that, the rain let up. Damian spent the rest of the day riding, trying to clear his head, using the meditative repetitive gait of the horse beneath him to help him focus. Damian couldn’t explain why his thoughts were filled with nothing but Danny for the entirety of his ride. But they were, and he found that he didn’t mind it. He rather enjoyed thinking about him. His unconventional social behaviors were intriguing. Danny was an Alpha- but he didn’t act like one. He could fight; he was more than capable, he was in fact an expert. Like Damian was. But he didn’t enjoy it, the way Damian did, nor the way other Alphas did. He avoided all Alphan confrontations and only engaged when forced into it.
He also didn’t seem interested in Omegas whatsoever.
The idea that Danny might be queer, and might be interested in other Alphas, briefly crossed Damian’s mind. But that didn’t seem right, either. Damian knew that he wasn’t queer himself. He had no interest in other Alphas. He barely had interest in Omegas. But Danny was interesting to him. In ways no other person had ever been, before.
Maybe it was just all muddled because they were pre-presented. Maybe once he went through his first rut, this would all make sense.
When it came time to be picked up, he was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn’t even notice it wasn’t Alfred in the driver’s seat. Also he’d been careless, and hadn’t zipped up his backpack all the way. When he tossed his bag down, a bit of his impromptu sketchbook peeked out of the top.
“I was gonna ask how you spent the day, with all that rain.”
Richard reached into his bag and pulled out the sketchbook before Damian had any chance at all to stop him.
“Richard, that is private!” he cried, trying to wrestle it away. If he’d said that to Alfred, he would have immediately put it back. Actually, Alfred would never have pried.
But Richard was the exact opposite. The moment Damian insisted he not look, he looked even more thoroughly.
“Architectural study of the building’s interior, very nice,” Richard said, while driving. He pulled the car through the main gate and out onto the winding country road. “Aww, of course you found animals to draw. Spider, mouse, birds’ nest… whoa, what’s this?” Richard said, as he flipped to the first page of Danny.
Damian’s heart sank in terror. His cheeks flushed red without his consent.
“Did you draw your camp mates? This is really good. This is… oh. You drew the same kid again. And again. And again.”
Richard’s tone changed from interested to mirthful, and Damian buried himself in the seat as deeply as he could, hiding his head inside his hood.
“Oh, Damian, your artistic expression of this kid is phenomenal. You must have stared at him for hours.”
“Did not.”
It was the least eloquent phrase he’d ever said in his life.
“Awww, you’ve got a crush!” Richard said.
“DO NOT TELL FATHER!”
“Okay, okay, I won’t, I won’t,” Richard said. “Here, I won’t look anymore.”
Damian grabbed the sketchbook and jammed it back into his bag, zipping it up tight.
For a few moments, Richard mercifully said nothing, and they rode along in silence. And then,
“You know, it’s okay if you like other Alphas.”
Damian glared even harder, if that was possible, and turned his head further away from Richard.
“There’s nothing wrong with…” Dick began.
“I know there’s nothing wrong with it!” Damian screamed. He was aware his voice was an unacceptable volume. He did not care. “That isn’t the problem!”
“So what’s the problem?” Richard asked, in his damnable genuine and caring way, the way he always was that brought Damian’s guard down when he wanted to keep it up.
“I don’t…know,” Damian said. “I just need to think about it, okay?”
“Okay.”
Damian turned to Richard with surprise.
“Okay?”
Dick nodded, and glanced at Damian for a moment, before turning his eyes back onto the road.
“Okay. I won’t bug you about it. Let you figure it out on your own. Just know that… if you do want to talk about it, you can come to me, alright? And I won’t tell Bruce. And I won’t freak out. I’ll just listen.”
Damian nodded with appreciation. Richard was always good to him, even if sometimes he was also a pain in the ass.
Once the conversation ceased, Damian’s mind immediately wandered back to Danny. For the first time since he’d started this whole unbearable summer camp ordeal, he found himself eager to get back to Pine State.