[Damian nods, accepting the praise without refuting it (which most people would get) or making more of it than it is (which Bruce might have gotten, once upon a time), but his chin does lift up a fraction of an inch, positive feedback from Father settling around him comfortably, soothing away a tiny piece of all the things that grate inside, always will.]

[Then the comparison comes, and Damian tilts his head slightly, trying to figure out what it means.]

[Thomas Wayne.]

[... as soon as he thinks the name, however, Damian's lips thin. When he thinks of that name, he can't help thinking of Hurt. Of the bullet he put in the back of Dick's skull. Of the damage he'd wrought around Gotham.]

[He knows that is not whom Father is comparing him to. From all he's learned, he knows that is one of the highest compliments Bruce might actually pay somebody of his blood.]

[So he keeps most of his reaction back. There is no flash of anger in his eyes, there is no looking down, because Hurt had wanted him. Just a slightly deeper breath, and turning his thought to something else.]


Becoming a medic was suggested as an alternative to what I do now.

[Harmless in public, and also true - Kyle did suggest that. Damian lets his shoulders rise, slightly, and then drop and settle.]

I think it would remind me of Mother too much.