#Alfred is just happy Bruce is socializing outside the family and work | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

more-cardigan-than-woman · 3 years

Text

No More Secrets. Part 7

Summary: You and ya Bestie move to Bludhaven looking for a fresh start. It is totally cool and you SO don’t have a crush on him.

Charcaters: F!Reader x Dick Grayson

Words: 2.2k

An: OMG! We made it, after much muchness of life getting in my way, I made it and now I'm done! yay!

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol, kissing, sex, Fluff!, SMUT!!!!!!!! NO MINORS! 18+ONLY

6 months! 6 months you had officially been an item with Dick, sharing a bed most nights. The convenience of already living together is not lost on either of you. He only slept separately from you when he came home from patrolling, careful not to wake you. On those nights he would sneak in a way that only few could, kneeling beside your bed before drawing a small heart on your hand. You dreaded the thought of waking up without him, constantly worrying if he had gotten home safe or if he was dead in a ditch somewhere. Waking up with the small heart on your hand gave you the reassurance that he had in fact made it home to you. After the night he had gone out drinking with Wally it was required, the frenzy you had gone into trying to find him nearly sending you to Arkham. Poor Alfred had to fly the batwing out to check on you and Dick had felt guilty for weeks. This was your small compromise, he still got to go out and you worried less.

The paparazzi's of fucking course had a field day. They had been all over you, since the first time you were spotted holding hands after the gala.

"GOTHAMS TWO MOST ELIGIBLE SINGLES. TOGETHER. HEARTS BROKEN ACROSS THE CITY."

With a picture of you both always accompanying them. The images were plastered across the TV, magazines and social media. Why did they have to be so fucking annoying?

You had to find another job after your co-workers finally figured out who you were, they wouldn’t shut up about it. Like all you were to them was a source of entertainment. Luckily you found a small archiving job. No one would recognize you in a dark basement surrounded by papers and dust and your one co-worker was an older woman. Gertrude was as sharp as a tact and didn’t give two fucks about who you were, only that you managed to do your work quietly and not bother her at all.

It only took them 2 months to figure out where you lived. Persistent fucks, it wasn’t enough that they only seemed to follow you around, but now they were staking out your home. You and Dick decided that you needed a new place. He said he only cared that it was central to the city and secure enough to keep you safe when he was gone. It took 3 weeks of searching before you found anything even remotely close to what you were looking for. Dick was happy that it was still in the middle of the city, even though it was in the warehouse district. No one would expect you to be living there. The downside being it was a tiny bit less safer than being in the middle of downtown. It blended well though, the outside of the building looked rundown, just another random warehouse. But inside it was beautiful and with a little help from Wally and Alfred you had the new security system installed within a day. It was state of the art recommended by the big bat himself, even passing Dicks scrutiny after about 100 attempts of him and Wally trying to break in.

xxx

It took a few more weeks, but after finally settling in you decided to have a housewarming. A very small, close friend and family only house-warming. The last thing you wanted was the press back on your heels. The first to arrive was your father. He greeted you warmly before grabbing a glass of whiskey and settling in front of the fire. Next came Bruce, seeming to emanate proud dad energy. He took a glass and joined your father in front of the fire. You wondered where Jason was, but knew better than to ask.

Making your way to the large kitchen you began to make bruschetta. Your friend Lizzie showed up when you were about halfway through to help. Not long after the super troopers (as you so lovingly named them arrived). Wally, Donna and Gar all gave Dick a big hug as they made their way to you, taking pieces of bruschetta marveling at how delicious it was. The night went off without a hitch. A few more of your friends arrived and as soon as the party started it seemed to end. Everyone said their goodbyes and left the two of you alone in your new home.

"That went better than I thought." You let out a deep sigh, leaning over the kitchen counter when you finished packing the dishwasher.

"Dick Grayson parties always go well." He smiled devilishly at you.

"What?" You saw him come around the counter, standing right behind you.

"You look delectable in this dress,” His hands sliding up the back of your legs, burying his face in the crook of your neck, “mmm you're so wet for me already."

"Dick, " you breathed as your hands slipped on the counter, his long fingers moving your panties to the side, gently caressing you before his fingers entered you. You let out a loud moan. His fingers knew just where to hit you, in minutes you were falling apart on the counter. Those sparkly blue eyes fixed on your face when he watched you. The coolness of the marble soothing your skin, that felt like it was on fire as you attempted to catch your breath.

You felt Dicks large hand encircling the back of your neck as he pushed your face into the counter. His hard cock slamming into you from behind, your hips crashed between him and the bench. His pace was unrelenting as he fucked into you, bruising surely to be forming on your body.

"Baby, your pussy is always so fucking amazing around me. So tight,” he trailed hot sloppy kisses down your throat, “Fuck, I love this pussy," You moaned his name when he grabbed your hands from the counter and drew them behind your back, pushing you down even harder, "Gorgeous" he growled, watching his cock slam into your tight wet heat. You were writhing, feeling him hit deeper and deeper within you every time he thrust in. You couldn't hold in the sounds of pleasure escaping your lips.

"Dick" you pleaded to him.

"I know baby, I know" he promised, using his grip on your neck to pull your body flush to his. His calloused thumb stroked along your jaw, seizing your lips in a passionate kiss.. The kiss was your undoing as you shattered under his touch. He held you as your bliss washed over you. The fluttering of your walls pushing him over the edge, spilling his hot seed inside of you. “Fuck, you looks so beautiful like this,” he whispered.

“Look even better with the dress off,” you winked at him, giggling when he began to tickle you. “Help me finish cleaning up?”

“Yeah, in a sec,” his hands holding onto you tightly, not quite ready to let you go yet.

****

On one very special evening Dick came home from his day job to you standing in the foyer of your new house. You were holding a sunflower, dressed in a new black dress you had bought to replace the old one he had ripped to shreds, weeks before. Your hair was pinned, a huge smile planted on your face as you jumped from foot to foot, twirling the flower in your hands.

“Get dressed, Pretty boy. I've got a surprise” You smiled, yanking him into your arms for a kiss.

“What's all this?”

“Can’t a woman surprise her lover?” you winked.

“Cheeky girl.” He slapped you on the ass as he passed you.

“Go get ready, Hurry up” waving your hands to usher him into the shower. He ran to the bathroom and practically jumped through the shower. Hurriedly drying his hair, running his fingers through it. He struted into your closet, wiggling his ass when he saw you watching. God, you were getting wet just watching him.

“Ok. I'm ready.” He jumped in front of you like a big puppy, shifting his feet underneath him.

“How do you look so stunning after only 30 minutes?” He could wear anything and still look amazing. But this suit. Wow. Perfect. Snug in exactly all the right places. “How could I be so lucky?” you mumbled to yourself.

“Pretty sure I’m the lucky one, beautiful.” he purred at you, reaching down to plant a soft kiss on your neck.

“We have to go…” you pulled away from him. Grabbing him by the sleeve and leading him down stairs. The limo was waiting for you, it looked so out of place in your new rundown neighbourhood. The shock on his face when he saw the look alikes you had hired for the evening was priceless.

“I thought this was a date? Is this the surprise? Are we actually gunna go fuck ourselves?"

“No, Well.. ” you considered.

“When you told me to go fuck myself, I didnt think you were serious, beautiful.”

“You shit, No,” You playfully slapped him in the shoulder, “This is the distraction. Meet Kelly and Jim. They're going to play us tonight while we escape.”

“You're a Genius. Although my idea does sound fun” He said as he kissed your neck.

“Would you stop,” you giggled, “They won’t do this for us again if you keep going”

“Oh really?” He looked at them, eyebrows raised and they started laughing.

Arriving at the restaurant you hid in the back corner while Kelly and Jim rushed inside, hoping that the paparazzi didn’t get too close to a glimpse of their faces.

“Good luck. Someone will be back to pick you up in 2 hours.” you whispered.

“Thank you for this.” you're pretty sure you saw Dick slip them $200 each.

“Where to, beautiful?” He asked, opening the champagne and pouring you both a glass.

“I told you it's a surprise”, taking a glass and sipping it. He moved his hand to your leg and began rubbing soft circles on your thighs. You spent most of the trip making out in the back of the limo. 30 minutes and a bottle of champagne later you arrived at the mystery destination.

“Put this on.” you said, handing him a blindfold.

“Kinky” he joked, laughing when you hit him in the shoulder.

“Come on. Please. For me.” you pouted at him.

“Anything for you. Gorgeous.” He sighed, pretending to act defeated. You got out in front of him, taking his hand as you guided him up the path. Opening the doors in front of you and spinning around you took in your surroundings. Double checking everything was perfect. Thank Fuck it was. Ok, here goes. Deep breath.

“Ok pretty boy, you can take it off now,” you tear the blindfold off his face. You watched his eyes in awe when he gazed upon the pool house. Fairy lights strung up in a criss cross across the patio, the ambience of the lights sparkling in the sky. Dozens upon dozens of roses scattered on the ground, candles lighting up the inside of the pool house. Dick’s head spinning to look behind him, he saw the lilies floating gently in the pool, the brass lanterns lighting up the garden. You noticed the small tears starting to stream from his face.

“This is beautiful,” his mouth opened in shock. He turned to see you on one knee,

clasping his hand you placed a soft kiss on it.

“Richard Grayson, bane of my existence and love of my life. You are kind, giving, smart and beautiful. Perfect in all the ways I need. You said once that you fell in love with me here. It seemed only right that this be where I asked you to marry me. It's about time someone makes an honest man out of you,” you were beaming, the love, amazement and a little bit of shock in his eyes letting you know this was the right thing to do, “Will you marry me?”

The shock on his face faded as he picked you up, kissing you into oblivion. When he put you down, he chuckled. “Well.. this is awkward,” reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a small black box, “I can't believe you beat me. You always were so impatient.” rolling his eyes at you and smiling. Taking your other hand in his and leaning his forehead on yours, those big blue eyes bore into yours like you were the centre of the universe.

“Y/N L/N. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. My life wouldn't be complete without you. I need you like I need the sun. I'll never have enough of you. Craving more every time. I can't believe we waited so long. Let's get married. Gorgeous.” Beaming wouldn't even begin to describe the joy on your face. You were way past elated. You jumped up to kiss him, your hunger for him growing inside you. He placed you back down on the ground. Opening the box, offering you the ring, delicately holding your hand he slid it on your finger. It was beautiful. A small round cut sapphire set in a floral halo of diamonds and It fit perfectly.

“It's beautiful,” you cried holding it up to watch it catch the light, “I love you so much Richard Grayson.”

“I love you,”. He quickly picked you up, throwing you over his shoulder, “Let's go beautiful. Still got that bed in here?”

The End.

#No More Secrets #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson my beloved #dick grayson x reader insert #dick grayson #dick grayson fanfic #nightwing x reader

69 notes · View notes

squishneedsahero · 3 years

Text

Ductape and Superglue

Awesomest of Them All 2.0

Part 13 of 13

Word Count: 1607

Batman x Batmom!Reader

You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.

This is a rewrite of my story Awesomest of Them All, I wanted to see how much I've improved over 3 years.

Bruce got a call, one that he had never gotten before even if he had always dreaded it. A phone call during a Wayne Enterprises meeting from someone demanding money and sending a picture of you tied to a chair. You had that normal fire in your eyes in the picture and it was obvious you weren't hurt but still no one wants their wife held hostage and threatened with a gun or worse.

Tim looks over Bruce's shoulder at the photo on the phone screen. His heart leaps to his throat and he pulls out his phone, already working on figuring out where it is you are located from the little he can see in the picture. He and Bruce were here in a meeting it would only make sense to call the GCPD and not run out the door to get you to safety. Tim knows Bruce though, always thinking everything through except for when it came to you. He would do anything in the world to keep you happy and safe.

Tim's hand coming to rest on Bruce's upper arm pulls him back to the reality that is that he cannot run out the door to your rescue. "You call Alfred, I'll call the GCPD," that's all he says and that's all it takes to set things in motion.

Two phone calls are made and those lead to two more made by Alfred and Damian who he had just picked up from school. Alfred calls Jason and Damian calls Dick, they are the only ones who get notified in the moment to go get you but it's enough.

Cass is on a date with Steph, they're the next to get a phone call from Tim, just informing them of the situation but making it clear that they are not needed at the scene. Stephanie protests this and tries to claim that you'd need Spoiler's help as well. You were as much of a mother to her and Cass as any of the boys even if only Cass was officially adopted. In the end the two girls go to the Mansion to wait with Alfred and coordinate things from the cave with Babs who is there upon their arrival.

Damian liked to think he still disliked you and could barely tolerate you. But even if he wouldn't admit it he was more scared on your behalf than he had ever thought he'd be. Despite him being horribly rude to you, you had never been anything but nice even if your nice included sarcastic comments to prove your point. You had helped him learn what a family was supposed to be like.

Jason gets a call from Alfred and he is changed and out the door of his apartment before the call is over. You were his Ma and he was your Jaybear, and he wouldn't be letting you get hurt. Alfred was the one person you had given his phone number too even though he had told you to keep it a secret, but in this moment he was glad you had.

This leaves Dick, who had gotten a call from Damian, telling him the situation and that he would be joining him at the warehouse. Dick was with Babs at the mansion so the two head to the cave where Barbara takes over in the computer while Dick changes and hurries out the door to go get you.

Things seem like they're going smooth when the three boys arrive one shortly after the other. Jason is already in and picking off the men in the surrounding area and getting you out of the chair when Dick and Dami burst in and start taking out more guys. You're safe and that's all that matters to any of them.

But then there's that singular gunshot and all three of their hearts skip a beat. Damian sees you slide the rest of the way into the next room but the other two just see the door swing closed behind you. None of them know where you had been hit and if you were okay on the other side of that door. But they can't walk away from the fight in the middle of it. Once all the men are down Jason takes off too you, not giving Damian or Dick the chance and leaving them to tie the guys up.

"Mama?" Jason asks, slipping into old habits in his fear.

"Hey Jaybear, I'm fine, it's just my leg," you comfort him quickly but let him take care of your leg for you. You'll have to go to the hospital as it's the only proper thing to do but he stops the bleeding and gives you a tight hug.

The other two boys come in and you smile and comfort them, telling them all how proud of them you are. This gets interrupted by police sirens outside. You quickly shoo them away and let Bruce know you're safe, knowing your husband would want to come after you himself at this point but you were fine. You needed to let the police take you to the hospital and make all of this look somewhat normal and not like a family problem.

You spend a few hours at the hospital, getting stitches and a brace since the bullet had ripped through your muscles, leaving your leg weak. When they let you go they push you out in a wheelchair and give you a pair of crutches.

Media personnel try to crowd you and get answers for their many questions. You shut them up with one of your classic, "I'm fine now leave me alone to be with my family or you will start your own newspaper to post stories about them and slowly put them out of business." It was a good threat that worked every time. If it didn't work then you just added in the idea of getting photos of their butts to add to the articles, titling it "the asses of Gotham"

You choose to spend the early evening watching movies on the couch with your family. Cass and Steph take their own chair to cuddle in, same with Dick and Babs. This leaves you to cuddle with Bruce and Tim and surprisingly Damian sits next to you, kicking Tim out of his normal spot meaning you had no choice but to sit in Bruce's lap so the boys can both sit next to you.

Alfred wished you well upon your arrival home, then returned to make dinner for all of you even if you tried to tell him to just order pizza. "No, miss Wayne, you were shot today and need a healthy meal," he responds much to your annoyance with him calling you miss, as though you were a child and your parent had called you by both your first and middle name.

All of you aren't far into the movie when you get interrupted by Jason entering the family room. You light up at the sight of him and before Bruce can stop you you're out of his lap and over Jason wrapping him in a hug. How you made it that far without falling due to torn ligaments no one knew but you were now in Jason's arms and he could keep you steady. You make him lean over so you can kiss his forehead before you make him come sit on the couch where you had been.

When he tries to object you give him that stern mom look and he obediently comes and sits next to you, and Damian on the opposite end of the couch from Bruce. Things definitely were tense between the two but you don't care, it's a start.

You finally have your whole family back under one roof for the moment. Your four boys, one girl and two unofficial girls. You loved every single one of them so much and were so glad that you were all together again. They all knew how much you loved them, and how you took time for each of them, the only reason Jason was getting extra attention was because he had been gone for so long.

It had hurt so very much when he had suddenly been taken from you. The pain of loosing a child wasn't anything you plus bear even if you had had too for years. You all share a nice dinner together then because you had all spent so much time together Bruce insisted that the city would be fine for the night with just the kids and that he needed to stay and make sure you were taken care of.

For the first time in a long time things were relatively peaceful for your family, even if you had a leg wound. You had them all together and would now be able to work with Jason and Bruce on their relationship and getting it back to a less tense father son relationship. Damian was finally truly giving you a chance. Dick was on good terms with Bruce, and he was happy with Babs, even talking about marriage in the future. Tim was helping Bruce run the company and he was brilliant at it, plus he seemed truly happy for the first time in his life as he had recently started officially dating Conner. This just left Steph and Cass who were about to graduate high school and were looking at apartments, planning to move in together despite almost already doing so since Stephanie always seemed to be at the manor. It wasn't a typical life but you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

The End... idk

#bruce wayne #bruce wayne x you #bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne x y/n #Batman #batman x you #batmom #batmom reader #batfam x batmom #batman x batmom #batman x batmom!reader #batfam #batfam x you #batfam x y/n #batfam x reader

247 notes · View notes

batfam-rewrites · 3 years

Text

Batfam During Quarantine: Happy Holiday’s

December 1

Duke: So, what weird traditions do you have for Christmas.

Stephanie: What makes you think we have weird traditions?

Duke: Please, at this point you all are so predictable, I can tell you all what you’re gunna to do on Christmas Day. Dick text everyone he knows that celebrates Christmas Merry Christmas,

Dick: Why shouldn’t I?

Duke: Jason is gunna bitch about all of his presents or tune us out or both, Tim is gunna sleep through most of it because he’ll be up all night wrapping presents, Steph will spend most of the day on social media, Barbara and Dick will get very cozy on the couch probably reading something, and Damian will wake everyone up by jumping on the bed screaming,

Barbara: Sounds about right!

Cassandra: What about us?

Duke: You guys are just about as new as I am to this family so I’m not to sure.

Harper: So there is some weird tradition?

Dick: Nothing too weird, just an advent calendar.

Tim: But with movies, so for example the first day could be Home Alone, the next day could be Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, then the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, then Home Alone 3...

Cassandra: I’m assuming Home Alone 4 is in there somewhere?

Stephanie: No, fuck that movie!

Cassandra: Damn, just assuming! Don’t get so judgmental.

Jason: The only movie that is consistently.....

Dick: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, don’t ruin the surprise, Jaybird!

Jason: Whatever, you’ll love the movie. It’s funny as hell.

Duke and Cassandra: Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool.

December 6

At a mall in Central City

Dick: *grabs a large stuffed animal unicorn and walks with Wally towards Jason, Victor, Roy, and Donna This is Fred.* He’s coming with us.

Donna: Dick, what is this?

Dick: You didn’t hear it from me but *whispers loudly* Fred is a secret agent. He’s here to save all unicorn kind.

Roy: *stiffles a laugh*

Wally: *laughs loudly*

Victor: Why do you need a unicorn? You’re not a child!

Dick: It’s for Dami. And Fred is a secret agent.

Roy: Uhh no he’s......

Dick: *throws Fred at Roy* Sneak attack!

Roy: Hey!

Donna: You don’t get the unicorn back until we get to the car!

Dick: No fair! *spots the pet store across the way* OOOOO, PUPPIES! *jumps on Jason’s back* Piggy back ride.

Jason: No! *throws Dick off his back*

Victor: Jason, what is up with Dick today?

Jason: No idea.

Dick and Wally: *starts hopping like a frog around the store*

December 10

Damian: HAPPY HANUKKAH, SUCKAS!!!

Bruce: Settle down Damian.

Damian: NEVER!!!!!

Bruce: Okay, we’ll see you guys soon, we’ll be at Kane Manor. Alfred is in charge.

Dick: Why not me! I’m responsible!

Bruce: No you’re not.

Dick: I am too!!!

Barbara: Really? What about last night?

——

Nightwing: Hey, Babs, check this out! *jumps off the roof of a building* YEAH I’M FREEEEEEEE! FREE FAAALLLLLIIIN’! fires his grappling hook across the street

——

Dick: So? That proves nothing!

Selina: *whispers to Damian* Get to the car.

Damian: *starts leaving*

Bruce: Goodbye everyone see you in eight days! *backs away slowly* ALFREDS IN CHARGE!!! *running to the garage*

December 13

Jason: *to Stephanie, Tim, Cassandra, Harper, and Cullen* Okay, everyone hold on!

Barbara: What’s going on?

Jason: We’re sledding down the stairs.

Barbara: Without me! Someone make room! Let’s go!

They sled down the stairs landing outside.

Dick: I’M GOING NEXT!!!!

December 15

Damian: Can I light the candle tonight?

Bruce: I don’t think that would be safe enough. Maybe next year.

Damian: You let me roam the streets of America’s hell hole dressed with a target on my chest, how would lighting a candle be MUCH WORSE THEN THAT?

Bruce: You can’t be trusted with fire! Last time I tried to let you light Dick’s birthday candles you set the table in fire!

Kate: Shit Damian! I thought you were getting better.

Damian: I’M TRYING! NOW GIMME THE LIGHTER OR ELSE I’LL SLIT YOUR THROATS!

December 19

Tim: *walks in the back door* We got the tree!

Jason: *runs down the stairs* Lets see it!

Damian, Cassandra, Dick, and Barbara run down stairs to see the tree and stare at it.

Dick: Ummm.... Tim, Steph, did you guys think of how the tree would fit into our house?

Stephanie: Well you said to get a cheap one and we did! We got it for free!

Damian: And where did you get it? The woods?

Tim: How did you know?

Dick: Okay, we’ll find somewhere to place this one and get a new one to decorate tomorrow.

Tim and Stephanie: Okay.

Three squirrels jumps out of the tree.

Damian: SQUIRREL!!!

Dick: Don’t touch it!

Jason: Let it bite you!

Barbara: *elbows Jason in the side* Jason, shut up!

December 20

Bruce: Can someone hand over the Joker ornament?

Dick: *hands over the ornament*

Jason: That ornament is the bomb!

Everyone: Oh my god!

Jason: Look, I’m just saying I would definitely not break that one with a crowbar!

Dick: Shut up Jason!

Barbara: You’re not the only one to have been traumatized by the Joker, Jason!

Jason: Yeah, but I’m the only one the Joker killed.

Harper: Why do you even have ornaments of your villians, Bruce!

Stephanie: Oh, I got this one! Because the trophies in the Bat-cave aren’t enough!

Jason: *high fives Stephanie*

Bruce: It’s because I like to remember those who are not spending the holidays in the most ideal place.

Jason: So you are capable of emotion! I never knew!

Alfred: *hits Jason on the head*

Dick: Awww, this is a cute one *holds up an ornament of Bruce and Selina kissing in their costumes*

Selina: I’ll hang that one up! *reaches for it and places it on the tree* Do you remember that one Bruce?

Bruce: Yeah, that was when we first started working together. *both of them kiss*

Damian: I CAUGHT THE SQUIRRELS!!!

Dick: No!

Barbara: Put it outside!

Damian: I’m going to adopt it!

Alfred: No your not!

Bruce: Set it free!

Jason: *takes the squirrels and throws them outside*

Harper: Problem solved.

Damian: NOOOO! MY BABIES! *runs to the door*

Dick: *puts a hand on Damian’s shoulder* It’s for the best.

Christmas Eve

Jason: Yippee Ki Yay motherfuckers!

Harper: So we’re watching Die Hard?

Jason: Fuck yeah! And then The Ref!

Duke: Oh! That is a great movie!

Tim: Damn it! You all weren’t supposed to know the movie!

Harper: We still haven’t seen it! Sounds interesting!

Tim: Yeah but now the reaction is going to be underwhelming.

Dick: I don’t know. I’d probably just be whelmed.

Jason: NO! *jumps towards Dick and wrestles him* I...hate...your...use...of....those.....words.

Dick: Get off me!

Bruce: Jason! Get off of your brother!

Jason: Fuck you!

Alfred: *grabs Jason’s ear*

Jason: Ouchie! Alfred!!!

Alfred: I’ve frankly had enough of your swearing today Jason! Go to your room and don’t come down until it is time to grab your wrapping paper for the presents you bought!

Jason: *stomps towards his room* I’m fucking....

Alfred: STOP SWEARING OR ELSE I WILL WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT WITH SOAP! AND STOP STOMPING!! IF YOU’RE GOING TO ACT LIKE A CHILD THEN I’LL TREAT YOU LIKE ONE!!!

Bruce: Thank you, Alfred!

Alfred: Not a problem Master Bruce.

Later that night

Harper: Omg, this movie is hilarious!!!

Cullen: How have we never seen this before?

Damian: HOW DARE YOU SHELTER ME FROM WATCHING THIS! THIS IS THE GREATEST CHRISTMAS MOVIE I’VE SEEN!

Bruce: I am regretting not having Damian wait a year. Am I a bad parent?

Tim and Stephanie: Yes.

Cassandra: Hey Dick, when do we get to open presents?

Dick: I’m not saying it.

Cassandra: Babs?

Barbara: Nope!

Cassandra: Jason?

Jason: WHAT!

Cassandra: When are we going to open presents?

Dick: Jason, don’t do it!

Jason: Presents? Is that what you said? Presents? We'll open them when we get there. No, in fact, I'll save you the trouble. Your present is a giant fucking cannon. And you're gonna crawl in it. Then I'm gonna get 2 pounds of gunpowder and I'm gonna shoot you right out of Jersey! And then I'm gonna drive to Jersey, and pick up all the parts of your body and put them in a plastic bag. Then I'm gonna drive to my house with you in the bag and toss you into the fireplace. I'm gonna get my glass of whiskey and watch the Charlie Brown Special with your ashes burning IN MY FUCKING HOUSE! AGH!

Alfred: *runs in with a bar of soap and shoves it in Jason’s mouth* WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THAT MOUTH!!!!

Christmas Day

Damian: *jumps out of bed and runs to Bruce’s and Selina’s room* YOU GUYS DRESSED!

Selina: Ehhh....

Damian: *opens the door and jumps on the bed* COME ON IT’S TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS!!!!

Dick: *walking by* Damian, what do you think you’re doing?

Damian: PRESENTS!!!

Dick: *stares at Damian* Presents.

Damian: *locks eyes with Dick*

Dick: Presents! Babs, come here!

Barbara: *walks over* What’s up?

Dick: Presents.

Barbara: Presents!!

Dick: PRESENTS!!!!! *lifts up Damian and they run downstairs to look at their presents*

Jason: Can you basic bitches keep it down? I’m trying to sleep.

Damian: *grabs one of Jason’s presents* this feels like it won’t break! *throws the present at Jason’s door*

Jason: *catches the present and opens it* AWESOME! A BOOK OF H.P. LOVECRAFT’S STORIES!!!

Dick: How is Jason such a nerd?

Barbara: *shrugs her shoulders*

Tim: PRESENTS!!!! *runs down the stairs*

Stephanie: LET’S GO SUCKAS!!!!! *runs down the stairs*

Duke: *to Bruce* Is it always like this?

Bruce: *sipping coffee* I wish I can say no.

Harper: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! *runs into the fray* Where’s my presents ass-hats!

New Years Eve

Everyone: 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Happy New Year!

Dick: *kisses Barbara*

Stephanie: *kisses Tim*

Bruce: *kisses Selina*

Jason: *turns to look for some one* Oh, that’s right, I have no one.

Harper: *raises his glass of grape juice* Here’s to hopefully a better year!

Everyone: Cheers!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful holiday! this month. Sorry if there are any errors. Much like the last one this was a bit last minute! Let’s hope that 2021 will be a much better year than 2020!

46 notes · View notes

pjsblogs-dc · 4 years

Text

I hate this

Damian Wayne X Reader

Summary

Damian hates art show, but love you.

Warning

Death by embarrassment or fluff

Hard to say

~~~ Damian always hated art shows and charity parties that when with them. He would do everything in his power to skip or leave the party early. He hated the people, the clothes, and the popups attuite that came with the art shows but then he met you.

You were a young and naïve artist that just moved to Gotham, and just started working at an art center. He bumped into you as he was trying to sneak out, but quickly forget about it when he met your eyes and you quickly stumped out an apology.

You had the most beautiful eyes and an amazing smile.

The two of you just kept talking for the rest of the night about anything and everything. But the event was soon ending and for once Damian was disappointed that he had to leave.

“When will I see you again?” He asked as the two of you walked towards the parking lot. He didn’t want to stop talking to you, so he lied saying his car was in the parking lot just like you.

“Well,” you said pausing to think “the next art show is in a few weeks. I can text you the details.”

“Sounds great!” he said with a smile.

As you drove away he couldn’t believe that for once in his life he was excited to go the some stupid charity party. He couldn’t stop smiling even after he got into the limo that Alfred was driving.

“Your a little late, sir“ the butler said with a cocked eyebrow.

The younger Wayne was about to say something when he saw the time. He told Alfred he was going to sneak out at 11 pm, but it was 2 am. Not only was he three hours late but he also missed his patrol shift.

“I got a little tied up.“ Damian said defensibly.

“That is want Master Dick said all the time when hung out with members of the opposite sex at charity events.“ Alfred said as he drove away from the art show.

Damian wanted to say something back but thought better of it. He knew he was going to get an earful from the team when he got back home and didn’t want it to start now. Pulling out his phone to see if you had texted him information of the next show, he also looked at the roster of events the boys had to go to.

Long ago to save a head ache, Bruce came up with an assignment system for who has to go to what events, it was to keep the peace in the house and work around patrols schedules, but truth be told it was a tool that the boys where threatened with if they didn’t get along.

No one in the Wayne house like going to Charity events for the same reasons Damian didn’t like going but that was going to change.

~~~

No one at the Wayne house really noticed at first, that Damian was trying to get more charity events. Or that the shows were most with or hosted by Peterson Art Charity. None of them wanted to go so they were happy to listen to his poor excuse and give him the event. It wasn’t until Bruce called them all in did they see what was going on.

“What the hell you guys?“ Bruce said to the three Wayne boys, “Why is Damian going to all the events? I thought we had a deal.”

“We did,“ Dick said.

“Yea but Damian said something about need that day blah,blah, lame excuse.” Jason said dismissably, “All I know is that is instead of dealing with stuck up brats, I got to patrol and I beat up some bad guys.”

“Lol same,“ Tim said with a smile, ”I tried to give him all my days but he only want somedays. Hell he even offer to double up and do the later patrol shift so that I didn’t say anything.“

“He did the same thing for me to,“ Dick said.

“Is the little Demon ditching them and blaming it on us?“ Jason said “Because if that the case-“

“No, he isn’t.“ Bruce said, signing, “I just wanted to know why all I see in the social column is Damian and his alleged girlfriend, and not any of you and your alleged girlfriends.“

“You check the social column?“ Tim said with confusion, “Why would you do that to yourself?”

“To see what the hell you guys did this week to piss off the press.“

“I know what we can do!“ Dick said.

“I alright don’t like this,“ Bruce said putting is head in his hands.

~~~~

Damian hated ever minute of the social part he had to do before he saw you. Smile and nodded to the racist old lady opinion on the world. Pretend to listen to some old guy talk about the stock market. Dance with the girls that only wanted his money. But when he saw you the world stopped, and it didn’t matter that he had a stupid suit or painful shoes, what matter was the time you to spent together.

He didn’t what you dragged into the fire storm that is the social gossip world because the two of you where seen outside of the charity events. And if someone snapped a picture of them together he always placed and anonymous phone call the next day saying he saw Damian kissing some high society girl which broke the news for the next week or two.

You didn’t seem to mind. You were so focused on your art that you couldn’t really met expect for at events. Plus you really didn’t watch or read the news so you didn’t know that the guy you where hanging out with was a Wayne. You were just happy to see him at all your shows or events, and always like the fact you had someone to talk to that wasn’t someone from work or a snooty art person saying that your art was bad.

The two of you had just saw each other when the door to the event swung out, showing something Damian hated more than a stupid art show.

A stupid art show with his family.

All of his brothers and sisters was here dress to the nines in gowns and suit, but his father stole the show with Selina Kyle on his arm and in a kickass suit. Everyone is the room was taken aback by their sudden appears and marveled at how good they look, but Damian almost shit himself.

He didn’t need to be super close to his father to see the look in his eyes.

It was his Batman eyes, meaning he was on a mission, and Damian didn’t need to think super hard why he or his family was here.

“I can’t believe the Waynes are here,“ a small voice said causing Damian to almost lose it.

That voice was you.

You looked amazing and he almost got lost in you smile, but he mental smacked himself. He need a plan and quick otherwise he was going to get embarrassed in front of you and he didn’t want that.

“Did you do all you socially thingys for work?“ you asked.

“Yep,“ Damian said turning his back to his family. Hoping the wouldn’t see him.

“Come on then!“ you said with a smile, and grabbed his hand causing him to blush. “I have something to show you.“

Damian forgot about his family and let you drag him away from the main hallway and into a small side room. He knew where he was going before you even took him there.

All the famous artist where in the main hall and all the lesser know was in side rooms. He was getting taken to a side room with your art. You were talking ecstatically about your art.

Apparently some anonymous person had bought all your art before the show even started. Damian smiled to himself, proud that he had caused you such glee.

“But that doesn’t matter“ you kept rambling on as the two of you stop in front of a piece of art. “What do you think?“

It was a beautiful piece of a man and a woman under a lamp light in the middle of a city. The two of them where holding hands and kissing, and Damian was at a lost for words.

“I don’t know what to say,“ he whispered.

“How about thank you?“ you said shyly.

Damian turned to you in confusion. You were blushing and not looking at him.

“What do you mean?“

“Well . . .I. . .umm.. ..aaa made it for you.“ you quickly whispered still not looking at him.

Damian reach out and lightly turned you face towards him.

“Say that again, my love.“

Now you were a bright shade of red and still not meeting his eyes but you said it again, but this time a little louder.

“I made it for you.“

“You didn’t have to.“ Damian said matching your voice level.

“Well you always say you want a piece but whenever I have a show all the art is sold before you ever get one, so I told the studio that all of them but this one is for sale because it saw going to go to you.“ You spoke so fast and all at once. Damian that it was cute when you got all fluster but he knew that if he didn’t stop you would have keep rambling until you ran out of breath. Damian politely cut you cut by putting one finger on your lips.

“It beautiful and I love it Y/N, but I have a confession to make.“

“You do?“ you said looking up at his with your mesmerizing (eye color) eyes. Damian got lost for a second but tried to quickly recovered.

“I. . .umm.. .aa. . .“

“What is it?“ you looked worried but before Damian could say something, someone else chimed in.

“Yea, Damian,“ a voice said “What is it?“

Never had Damian been filled with more rage then at that second.

The two of you looked up to see Dick, Jason, and Tim lending in on the door way. They had a smug ass look at Damian wanted to punch right off their face.

“Get the hell out of here“ Damian said through gritted teeth, shooting dagger at his brothers.

“Well that would be rude!“ Dick said as he and his brother walked over toward you. “We haven’t even introduced our selves.“

Dick forced himself between the two of you to “shake your hand” but Damian knew it was to piss him off.

“I’m Dick, Damian’s older brother, other there is his other brother Jason,“

Jason waved.

“and his other other brother Tim.“

“Pleasure.“ Tim said taking you hand and kissing it.

You give Damian a weird look.

“You’re related to the Wayne Men.“

“Oh he didn’t tell you that.“ Jason said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around Damian’s neck. “That doesn’t sound like our little Damian.”

“Not at all!“ Tim said with crooked smile.

Damian wanted to kill them all but Dick opened his mouth.

“Well I know something that our little Damian would do!“ Dick said with a smile “He would have told you that he keeps buying all of your art and hanging it in his apartment.“

“When did you go to my apartment!“ Damian snapped.

“On the way over!“ Tim said in a manner of fact voice, and he turned back to you, “And may I say what beautiful pieces they are. I wish Damian would let the world see them.“

“I am going to kill the three of you.“ Damian growled.

“Now, now, Damian!“ Jason said “Didn’t I teach you better than to plan a murder out loud.“

Damian was so beyond done with his brothers bullshit and was about to cruse them out when he saw you straighten up and someone clear their voice.

“Evening, sons“ Bruce said, causing the older boys to jump apart.

Bruce was by himself with a glass of champagne. On the outside he looked like to cool, laid back playboy the media saw but Damian could tell by way he was standing that he was in a mood.

“Hi, Bruce,“ they all said, expect Damian.

“Father.” he said curtly.

“Damian,” Bruce said looking at his son with a cocked eyebrow. “You know we were all going to this party tonight, right? You didn’t need to drive yourself down here tonight, we were waiting for you at your apartment for an hour.”

No, he didn’t know that, but he knew that Bruce was lying about that last part. They had search his apartment not doubt and figured out where he was and decided to make a scene.

“I’m so sorry, Father,“ Damian said matching his fathers gaze. “I didn’t know.“

Bruce signed and looked at his older sons. They were trying their hardest not to do anything draw attention, but they were doing a bad job. They were shooting knowing looks and giggling.

“Got out of here and stop annoying you brother.“ Bruce said putting his face in his hand. The three of them ran out laughing like school boys, leaving Bruce with and annoyed looked.

He turned towards you and took your hand.

“I don’t believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Bruce Wayne, I’m Damian’s father.“ Bruce said and kissed you hand.

You just stood and started at him, speechless. It took a minute before you spoke, and when you did Damian wanted to die.

“I see,“ you said in a high breathless voice, causing Bruce to raise an eyebrow.

There was another awkward pause before you realized you were supposed to say your name, but instead you rambled.

“Oh, yes... umm... I’m so sorry, I was thinking. It just kind of happened all at once. I am still trying to understand what exactly is-”

Damian moved quietly next to you and grabbed your hand, and spoke for you.

“Y/N,” Damian said in a confident voice meant to tell his father to back down and to help calm you down. “They are a pretty amazing artist, and the person I love.“

Bruce looked at you and then to his son and gave a soft smile.

“Well, it is nice to have finally have met you, Y/N,“ Bruce said “I hope to see you at the manor sometime soon.“

75 notes · View notes

blancheludis · 3 years

Link

@whumptober2021 Day 5: Misunderstandings

Fandom: DCU, Batman, Superman Characters: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Tags: Misunderstandings, Unhealthy Relationship, Miscommunication, Open Ending Words: 4.404

Summary: “I bought the bank,” Bruce says, his face unreadable as ever, but he looks like he is waiting for something.

Clark stands with his parents’ farm in his back, the farm that now belongs to Bruce, and he understands, loud and clear. I bought you.

So, with his mother’s home and well-being on the line, he has little choice but to follow when Bruce beckons.

---

“I bought the bank,” Bruce says, his hands hidden in his trouser pockets, completely casual.

His face is unreadable as ever but Clark knows that face by now, knows that Bruce never does anything without reason.

So, what Clark hears, loud and unmistakeably, is, I bought you.

He swallows, his mouth dry, searching for the right thing to say but coming up empty. The distance between them stretches, growing larger with every passing, silent second.

Then Bruce frowns, causing ice to spread inside Clark’s chest. Bruce bought him. That means he is not just holding Clark’s life in his hands but also that of his mother. He understands that the farm is safe for now, the house will remain standing – now the ball is in Clark’s corner to keep it that way.

“Thank you,” Clark says, far too late, but he somehow manages to sound calm, not as brittle as he feels, blindsided by this sudden change of his fate.

The frown vanishes from Bruce’s face but that only makes the icy grip around Clark’s insides tighten. He had not thought Bruce capable of this, trying to control him and demanding him to be happy about it, too.

“You didn’t have to,” Clark adds cautiously. Bruce could have just asked if he wanted Clark, did not have to go to the trouble of holding his home and family hostage.

“Nonsense,” Bruce says, dismissing in a way that seems to come so easily to him. It has Clark gritting his teeth, even while he keeps his face friendly – a very thin façade.

Here they are, regularly saving the world together, but they are apparently still not equals. Clark pointedly does not look at the house behind him, at the fading colours and the cracks in the porch, at the corner where the roof threatens to give in during the next storm. He did not grow up with money to spare but they were never poor, not in any way that matters. There was always warmth to be found in their house, always love.

Rather uncharitably, Clark thinks that is where they differ. Not because Clark is an alien with super strength and super speed, while Bruce is human. No, Clark is rich in terms of love. He knows where he comes from and where he belongs. Bruce, on the other hand, is lost, building relentlessly to hide the fact that there is no ground to build on.

“I’d invite you in,” Clark says, although he really, really would not. Whatever game Bruce is playing, he will not do it in front of his mother. “But I should tell my mom first.”

Bruce straightens even while his brow creases again just a bit, enough to make Clark wonder what the price for disappointing Bruce will be. Whether they will lose the house immediately or if he will dismantle Clark’s life in a different way first.

“I’ll come to the Manor once I’m done,” Clark offers quickly and takes a step towards Bruce, hoping he is not placating him too obviously. Bruce likes subtlety, after all.

They have known each other for a while now, fought next to each other, and yet he has no idea how to please Bruce, what is expected of him here.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bruce says, still as unreadable, but he looks slightly less tense.

Clark smiles. It is a real thing if borne of relief instead of happiness. He is glad to take this to the Manor. It is already such an empty place, grief permeating its shadows. Clark will not feel bad about adding his own to it.

“Give my best to your mother,” Bruce says as he is already turning away, off-handed like there is nothing to it, just a social nicety.

Clark’s smile freezes. He stares at Bruce’s back. Later, he will think that he should not have been surprised. Batman is built to be a threat, his every move and word meant to subdue and intimidate. But Bruce is subtler than that, underhanded. Hiding his threats beneath well-wishes that, under any other circumstances would have been innocuous, is right up Bruce’s alley, although it hits Clark like a sucker punch.

He hears the warning loud and clear. I bought you and I expect you to fall in line. Or else.

Clark loves his home but he loves his mother more. “I will,” he says and means it. There is no other choice anyway.

---

Clark thinks briefly about contacting Diana. Perhaps she would have some insight into what Bruce expects. Although, if he is honest with himself, Clark knows. He noticed Bruce’s stares, slowly morphing from distrust to respect to something he thought was welcoming but might have been simple want instead.

He could have asked. Ignoring their bumpy beginnings, Clark liked working with Bruce. They could have built something. But perhaps that is not what Bruce is interested in. He likes control, that much is clear, and maybe he sensed that Clark does not want to be on the receiving end of that. That could be the game and Bruce will tire of it quickly. Somehow, Clark knows that will not be the case.

He is stalling. After talking to his mother, he went to his old room, her relief leaving a bittersweet aftertaste. There is so much to do, but he guesses Bruce’s patience will run out if Clark starts retiling the roof instead of doing as he is told.

No, he decides, he cannot tell Diana. She does not do subtle and Clark cannot afford force. He will give himself half an hour and then he will do what must be done. That is what heroes do, after all, even if he has never felt less like one.

Later, Alfred opens the door for him, smiling with a warmth that Clark does not understand. “Mr. Kent, what a pleasure to see you here.”

Clark nods in greeting, tries to pull up his lips and fails miserably. “I guess Bruce is waiting for me?”

He is and he is not, looking surprised when Clark enters his office. “I didn’t expect you so soon.” Clark was not exactly given a schedule, but he prefers to be early rather than late. “Come, we need to go over some things.”

Privately, Clark expects rules on how this new life of his will run. Instead, it is business as usual, talking about the League. He barely hears a word Bruce is saying but makes sure to nod in the appropriate places.

He stays for dinner – Bruce does not say he can leave – and while he knows that Alfred is an excellent cook, everything tastes like ash.

---

The first time they kiss, Bruce holds him like he is afraid Clark will disintegrate in his arms. Only when Clark pushes forward, acting eager to drown out the churning of his stomach, does the tension bleed out of Bruce’s muscles. If things were different, Clark could even enjoy this. He had thought about it, even, about Bruce. But either Bruce never looked at him the same way or he just likes to make sure his lovers cannot leave on their own terms.

All the following times, Bruce kisses like a drowning man, desperate for the air in Clark’s lungs even knowing that it is poisoned.

None of it makes sense. Clark is here to stay until he is dismissed. He will not refuse any of Bruce’s whims. And yet it feels as if it is Bruce who is waiting for the second shoe to drop, as if Clark will one day decide his mother’s home and well-being are not important for him anymore and leave.

It does not give Clark a sense of power. Instead, he just wonders when their time is finally running out, afraid of what the fallout will be.

---

“Where were you all our lives?” Jason asks one night when they are waiting for Bruce so they can eat dinner. “B is like a new person since you decided to give his sorry ass a chance.”

Clark did no such thing, but that is better kept between him and Bruce, so he shrugs. “Waiting for the right opportunity, I guess.” Bruce certainly did, and Clark did not have much choice but to follow.

He does not have much contact with Bruce’s family, but they treat him like he is one of them. Somehow, Clark thinks, this would be easier if they did not, if at least someone would acknowledge that he is nothing but a stranger, one of Bruce’s few indulgences, just one wrong step away from being dropped and put outside with the trash.

“Well, I wouldn’t have minded having you around when I was still living here.” Jason’s grin looks real, not even a hint of sharpness beneath it, although nobody in this family could ever be described as soft. “Much fewer shouting matches.”

You should have bought your father a whore much sooner, Clark thinks but immediately scolds himself for it. Neither the children nor Alfred seem to know the reason for this arrangement. And Bruce treats him kindly, almost as if this were real.

And Clark does not only come here to warm Bruce’s bed. If he did not know any better, he would even say that Bruce values his company.

“Although your taste is questionable,” Jason continues, apparently not bothered by Clark’s silence. “You could do much better.”

And that is the thing, because in the situation he is in, Clark cannot do anything but acquiesce. He is getting a better version of Bruce than he expected, making it not hard to play along. But this, right here, is the best Clark can do while his mother’s fate is lying in Bruce’s hands.

“He’s your father,” Clark chides quietly, because what else is there to do?

Also, if he ignores the way it happened, he has little to complain about. Bruce is polite and giving and constantly concerned with Clark’s well-being. He does not think it is a façade. Not beyond the obvious.

But if it is not a façade and it is not real either, he has no idea what else it could be. Clark hates being lost. It makes him feel like he is in freefall and, for once, unable to fly. He is not naïve enough to think somebody would catch him either.

---

Clark expects kinks and pain and being uncomfortable the entire time, but Bruce is a generous lover. He never asks Clark to stay and yet always seems to be so glad when he does, almost like Clark is doing him a favour instead of not making a fuss about his duties.

None of it makes sense. Less so with every passing day.

Even with a handful of adopted children, Bruce is still regularly crowned most eligible bachelor. People are throwing themselves at him left and right. Some of them must be in it for more than just Bruce’s looks or money. There must even be someone who already knows about Batman. Someone who does not have to be coerced.

With a bit more time, Clark thinks he could have been that. Sometimes, when he lies awake in Bruce’s arms, warm and safe and satisfied, he resents that he was not given that time.

---

“Why don’t you invite your friend over to dinner?” his mother asks.

The roof has finally been retiled and Clark is thinking about repainting the living room. The question rips him out of his musings like someone dunked his head in ice water.

“My friend?” he asks, although he knows exactly who she is talking about.

Bruce is many things. His colleague and co-conspirator and lover. But they have never been given the chance to become friends.

“The one who helped with the farm,” his mother says, frowning at him. She knows exactly that he is stalling, just not why. And Clark will do everything in his power to make sure she never finds out. “I know you felt like we should have managed on our own, but who knows where we’d be without him.”

Without the farm, probably, but that does not necessarily mean they would be worse off.

“Bruce,” Clark says flatly as if he only just remembered the name. As if all of his thoughts do not circle around Bruce all the time these days – as if he does not sometimes think that is not only a bad thing.

“Exactly.” She smiles, honest and grateful and all the things she would not be if he were honest with her. “You never bring him here.”

Clark is sure his world would implode if he did. “He’s busy,” he dismisses, trying for a casual tone and failing. At least his mother might think he is merely nervous about bringing a partner home to meet her. And he is, just for all the wrong reasons. He is terrified of her liking Bruce.

“Well, you’re seeing each other all the time,” she keeps digging, knowing she always gets what she wants sooner or later. Not this time, though. “Surely it won’t be too hard to invite him sometime.”

“Mom –”

“Clark,” she says in the same tone she used when he smuggled frogs into the house as a boy. “I haven’t properly thanked him yet.”

What is there to thank Bruce for? Clark is paying their debt every day. It might not feel this way most of the time, but he is still acutely aware of the truth.

“I’ll tell him,” Clark lies. “But you shouldn’t get your hopes up. I can barely get him to sit down for dinner when he’s just a few doors down from his office.”

The very idea makes him sick, thinking about Bruce sitting at their dinner table, looking at their family pictures on the walls, sliding neatly into a spot where he does not belong. Bruce is a charmer, he would steal his mother’s affection within moments of coming into the door. And that cannot happen. Clark’s heart is not made to be broken in that way. His mother wants to see him happy, he knows, and it is too much to lie to her about that.

---

“Why didn’t you just ask?” Clark does not mean to say that out loud, but he has been thinking it often during quiet hours.

Because whatever this is, Bruce does not seem to want to rule him. He is content with them just being together and yet he lets that executioner’s axe hover over Clark’s neck.

“Ask what?” Bruce blinks at him, growing more awake. They are lying in bed together, worn out and sleepy and Clark has already decided not to go home tonight, which has too little to do with what Bruce is expecting of him and too much with how comfortable he is, here at Bruce’s side.

It would be easy to bow out, feed Bruce something inconsequential. But Clark is tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Why didn’t you just ask me to go out? Why did you have to buy me?” He has never said the word out loud and he stumbles over it.

Confusion burrows Bruce’s brow as he stares. He has gone very, very still. “Buy you?”

Clark clicks his tongue, remembering why they never talked about it. It is too cumbersome to hash out the details. “Me. The bank. Same difference.”

Understanding dawns on Bruce’s face, giving way to something far greater, far darker. Clark does not get a chance to interpret it properly because Bruce all but pushes him away, scrambling out of the bed and to his feet. He is naked but stands in a fighting position like it is second nature to him no matter what he wears.

“I didn’t buy you.” The offence in his tone is undermined by growing confusion. It sounds very believable.

“You went to quite some length to gain control over my life. I’d say that counts as buying.” Before him, Bruce’s expression grows brittle but Clark presses on. This has been weighing on his soul for way too long. “I didn’t expect you to threaten my mother, but I guess that’s all part of the game.” The words taste bitter on his tongue, still tinged with fear of the possible repercussions. “Only, you’re not even doing anything you couldn’t have gotten if you’d just asked.”

No underhanded humiliations. No kinks where superhuman regeneration abilities come in handy. No secret grievances to pay for. It almost felt real, a relationship like any other, if not for the way it started.

“You think I bought you.” Bruce sounds old, his voice is rougher than usual, almost pained. He is leaning away from Clark, even while his feet remain steady on the ground.

Clark frowns. “You did.” As much as he could be bought, chained not by strength but by concern for what he holds dear.

“And then -” Bruce clears his throat when his voice breaks. “You came into my bed because you thought I’d what?”

“Take the farm. Put my mother on the street.” Clark knows this and yet his voice lilts up, turning his words into a question.

Bruce closes his eyes, his face so raw and open as Clark has never seen it before. It looks like he is in pain, sudden and suffocating. A weight sits heavily in Clark’s stomach as he wonders, just maybe, if he got it all wrong.

“I bought the bank,” Bruce says, voice so low that Clark has to strain to hear him. “And then I forgave your mother’s loan the very moment I could. I have nothing in hand to harm you or your family.”

That is not true, a voice in Clark’s head says but even at that moment he knows it is uncharitable. Bruce would not – but –

“You’re not –”

He is cut off as Bruce starts laughing. It is a sharp-edged thing, clawing its way up from some terrible place, fed by self-loathing and doubt. “You thought I was blackmailing you into having a relationship with me? And you just agreed?”

Bruce does not mock him, the incredulity is clearly pointed at himself, drawing blood with a certainty that speaks of life-long practice. And yet, Clark feels offended. He might not be human, but he is not above emotions, above fear.

“What was I supposed to do?” Clark asks, watching as Bruce’s expression falls further, deep lines opening up where Bruce usually hides everything beneath a clear canvas.

“You’re Superman. You’re a reporter,” he says as if the latter somehow weighs more. “You know my identity, so even if you didn’t want to kill me you could have stopped me any time.” He puts out the idea of being killed as if there is nothing to it. “And you’d have been right to ruin my life because all I’ve apparently done is ruin yours.”

This is not how Clark imagined this conversation to go. He expected to be shut down immediately, to be pushed back into silence. But this? “You didn’t ruin –” he tries to say because, if anything, it seems they ruined each other.

“I raped you,” Bruce snaps, effectively cutting through Clark’s line of thoughts. “For months.”

For a long moment, all Clark can do is stare, the words sitting incomprehensible between them. His chest is hollow and yet something in there seems adamant to drag him down.

“No, Bruce. You didn’t,” he then says, his voice rough. “You never hurt me.” There was never any violence between them, no bruises, no humiliation. He never even had to hide a hickey. And yet, Bruce says the word rape with such certainty, such loathing, his judgement already made.

“You didn’t think you could say no. What else do you think that is but rape?” Bruce turns around abruptly, pressing one hand against his mouth. He looks small, like the tension in the air would be enough to smother him.

Clark knows he should say something, clear this up, but he does not know how. He is watching Bruce fall apart in front of him but all he can do is stare.

Then Bruce buries his face in his hands. “I can’t stop being Batman. I’ll do whatever else you want, but I can’t give up that. Gotham needs –” he cuts himself off, shrinks, impossibly, even further into himself. “If you insist, I’ll find someone to take over, but I’ll need some time. I’ll – you won’t have to see me ever again.”

Something is happening here, way too fast for Clark to follow. Bruce bought him, only – he did not? Because being acquainted with a billionaire apparently means that banks get bought just to help each other out.

He was so sure, though. The expectation for something lingered in Bruce’s eyes that day, and he never protested when Clark gave himself over.

“Bruce.” Clark’s mind is spinning too much to make sense of what is happening, but he cannot watch this, cannot watch Bruce damage himself beyond repair. And for what – an apology? Batman has nothing to do with this. “You forgave the loan?”

That is the easiest thing to reach for. Because Bruce did not rape him, did not harm him at all. That first night, Clark might not have come to him voluntarily, but he came willingly. He knew what he was getting into – or he thought he knew – and he still went. And it never mattered that Clark thought he could not refuse because nothing bad ever happened. A few scheduling conflicts, a few fake smiles when he was not in a good mood. But – it was a misunderstanding? Bruce never set out to control him?

Bruce is still turned away, likely as unable to look at Clark as Clark is to look away. “Of course,” he says, raw and honest.

“It’s not –” Clark breathes, then clarifies, “You don’t have to do anything. I definitely don’t want you to stop being Batman. We – I just misunderstood. But nothing happened.”

Months of uncertainty happened. Months of waiting for the punchline. Months of trying to figure out Bruce’s game only to learn that there has never been one.

“Nothing happened?” Bruce whips his head around. His eyes are wide, filled with some grief that Clark cannot even begin to decipher. “If that’s what you think then I’ll definitely make sure you won’t have to see me again.”

For some reason, that last thing stings more than the realization that all of Clark’s fears have been for nothing.

“I’m not a child, Bruce. Don’t treat me like one,” he snaps, not stopping when Bruce flinches away from him. “I might have thought that I didn’t have a choice, but you never did anything I would have said no to.”

A small voice in the back of Clark’s head asks him whether that matters. He would not have said no, not for anything as long as he thought his mother’s happiness was on the line. He pushes that thought down, unable to fully comprehend it, much less deal with it right now.

“Apart from demanding your presence and presuming your consent? I trapped you in a relationship you didn’t want.” Bruce sneers at himself, then deflates. He looks old, suddenly, hollowed out. “God, you must hate me.”

Does he? Clark wonders, even while he already says, “I don’t, aren’t you listening?” It is a painful dichotomy, this sudden anger and the stubborn incomprehension warring in his mind. “If you had asked me before you bought the bank, I would have gladly gone out with you.”

“But I didn’t ask.”

Clark has no argument for that, and while he still searches for one anyway, a sudden wall builds itself up between them.

Bruce’s composure is shattered but he still visibly draws the pieces together. Neither of them has yet reached for any clothes but he still stands as if in full armour. “You have my deepest apologies, Clark,” he says, too formal, too withdrawn, even if Clark does not doubt his sincerity. He has seen the ruin lying beneath Bruce’s mask, after all. “I know that’s not enough, but I promise you will never have to deal with me again. But, whatever you need from me, now or in the future, you will have it.”

What Clark needs is - “Bruce, stop.”

But Bruce does not listen, of course not. His eyes travel over Clark’s face as if to memorize his features and then he turns around, never looking back as he storms out of the room. Out of Clark’s life.

“Bruce.” No answer.

Clark should follow him. Bruce still has to find clothes and he does not have any super speed to aid in his flight. It would be easy and this conversation is not done. And yet, Clark finds himself remaining right where he is. In Bruce’s bed, naked but for the blanket pooling around his waist.

A misunderstanding, he thinks. Relief blossoms in his stomach but it sits there heavily, not quite releasing him. He cannot let Bruce go, not forever, but his mind is not his own right now. His skin still burns where Bruce kissed him just an hour ago and his muscles ache deeply. Soon there will not be any visible traces of their time together left and – Clark needs that. He needs to be his own person for a while.

Slowly, he gets up and puts on his clothes. He will leave town and visit his mother for a while. The living room still needs to be repainted and he is desperate to do something that makes sense.

Later, once he feels at home in his own skin again, he will go to Bruce. He can imagine the maelstrom of thoughts Bruce must battle right now. Guilt and shame and self-deprecation. Knowing him, he will not get out of this on his own but just do his best to bury it, ignoring the way it eats away at the very foundation of his being. Clark cannot let that happen, not when they have both contributed to their misery. He knows Bruce is a good person, knows he never communicates clearly. And yet he assumed the worst and gave in to it.

The living room, first, Clark thinks as he steps out into the sun, feeling its warmth as he has not done in weeks, even if his legs are not quite steady. And then the rest of their lives.

#whumptober2021 #no.5 #misunderstandings #dcu #fanfiction #consent issues #clark kent #bruce wayne #unhealthy relationship #miscommunication #talking helps #my writing #ao3

3 notes · View notes

watchtower-feed · 4 years

Text

Living with Tim Drake

Notes: I got request for Damian and SO moving in together (which I will get to some day). But then I kept thinking about Tim and how I haven’t shown him much love lately. So I wanted to do a little character study of him. Words: 1,818

You didn’t expect a message so quickly. After all, you just posted the ad for a roommate an hour ago. You texted back saying you’re free to talk and your phone buzzes in your hand. You quickly answer, bracing yourself for what kind of freak is in need of a place to stay so urgently.

“Hello. This is Tim. I’m a college graduate and currently doing an internship at Wayne. Your place is really close by so it’s perfect for my commute.”

Wayne is a little more than 5 kilometers away from your place. Definitely a length you wouldn’t like to walk on a daily basis. Especially since your neighborhood isn’t the best. But hey, it still beats Crime Alley and Arkham, right?

“Hi, Tim. This is Y/N. But you obviously already know that. So I’m going to do a quick background check before I send you my address. I mean, you understand, right?”

“Oh, definitely,” he answers right away but you could almost hear his nerves. He goes quiet for a bit and then you hear a notification that someone just sent you a message. “I don’t really have any social media accounts or anything--” You’re suspicious already. “But I am in the Gotham Gazette a lot.”

“What?” you instinctively say. Not thinking. Ignoring the image of the screenshot he sent you. “What did you say your last name was?” You’re already flipping open your laptop and opening the Gazette website.

“Drake. Wayne. I’m Timothy Drake-Wayne.”

When he shows up at your door with a single duffle bag that wouldn’t even fit all of your pants, you greet him with a raised brow. “You know, I really thought this was going to be some sort of practical joke but you are him.”

He laughs nervously, “Yeah… Living with that nightmare every day.”

You stare him from inside your apartment before you laugh and let him in. You lounge over the kitchen counter and offer him some coffee. His eyes instantly brighten up at the caffeine rush.

“This is really good.”

“Yeah? I work at a cafe nearby and it turns out I like making coffee.”

He looks at your set up behind him, a small commercial espresso machine with an extract bar with two spouts and a steam nozzle to warm up the milk, and a coffee grinder filled to the brim with whole coffee beans.

He looks back at you quickly. “Please let me live here,” he blurts out with full conviction. It stuns you and then you laugh. “I’ll pay double your asking price.”

You stop laughing then. “Deal.”

Tim settles in quickly in your apartment since he doesn’t have too many things. A week’s worth of clothes, his laptop, two pairs of shoes, and some toiletries.

You had a roommate before him but she just disappeared half a year ago. You called her family and it turns out that she ran off with a lover. You thought she would be back in a month’s time but 6 months have gone by and her advance payments are about to run out.

Needless to say, Timothy Drake-Wayne is now sleeping in a pastel purple bedroom littered with motivation posters and 30-Day challenge workouts.

“You can take them down, you know.”

Tim shrugs, “I kind of like them. They help me get up in the morning.”

You roll your eyes.“Yeah sure.” Tim is not a morning person. He only thinks he is. He’ll wake up past noon. Then when you get home, he’ll greet you good morning even when it’s dark outside.

“Is that a cut?”

Without thinking about it, your hand reaches out to brush back his bangs and look at what is actually a gash on his forehead. “Tim, it’s still bleeding. Wash it!!”

Before he could reply, you go to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit. You start fussing over the antiseptic, cotton, and gauze while he’s just staring at you. “Tim, wash it under the sink,” you repeat.

A little dazed, Tim finally gets up and goes to the sink. You wait for him to finish, with a towel ready to dry his face. As soon as he’s done, you start dabbing the antiseptic on his forehead.

“Hey. That doesn’t hurt.”

You make a grim face, a look of disgust really. “Is that why you didn’t treat it? Because you’re afraid it’ll hurt.”

He laughs, “No no. It’s just-- Usually when Alfred does this, it stings.”

There are so many things you want to say to that. Who’s Alfred? Why don’t you tend to your own wounds? What happened? But instead, you say, “Do you often get into fights at Wayne or something? I always thought the people there are either frail-bodied nerds or millionaires too afraid to mess up their cuticles.”

Tim laughs a little louder, “Why does it have to be at Wayne? I could have gotten this while saving children from a human trafficking ring down by the docks.” He raises an eyebrow at you.

You narrow your eyes, unamused, “What a coincidence. After work, I just put the Joker back in Arkham Asylum.”

He shakes his laughter, making it harder for you to put the gauze on. So you grab his chin to keep him steady and then expertly placed it on his gash with one hand. His eyes follow your hands, making him appear cross-eyed and you almost laugh. Then his eyes widen.

“Wait a minute. Did you just get off work? It’s almost 6? PM?”

You roll your eyes but you don’t really meddle with his sleeping schedule. He usually leaves the apartment when the sun is coming down and you never hear him come in. But you just assume his internship at Wayne is at night.

You wonder if he gets paid for it because he comes in 7 days a week, every night and sometimes even in the afternoon (or god forbid in the morning). But he doesn’t really need the money so maybe it’s a family obligation thing?

Sometimes though, like once or twice a month, he gets a day off. He’ll sit with you on the couch while you drink the mochas you made and binge-watch NCIS.

“You know…” you say one day, hugging your mug to yourself. “You never did tell me why you chose to live here.”

“I did, didn’t I? It’s close to Wayne--”

“Bullshit,” you call out. “I get that you bike to work so it’s an easy commute but you own part of Wayne. I know you can get a driver to get you there or work from home or not work at all if you wanted to.”

Tim looks at you for a moment before he goes quiet. He’s staring into his mug and lightly shaking it to watch the liquid move around inside.

You suddenly want to slap yourself, “I’m sorry. It’s not my place to know--”

“No, it’s okay,” he says, smiling. He places the mug on the coffee table. He grabs the remote to lower the volume down and then hunches with his elbows resting on his knees as he stares at the screen.

“It was just good timing when I saw your post. It was getting a little crowded at the manor.”

You keep looking at him and wonder if you should stop him. This almost looks painful for him but Tim keeps going.

“When I first got there, I was the only one there. Dick has his own place. Jason was--” he shrugs, “It was just me, Bruce, and Alfred.” Alfred, you now know, was actually their butler, but Tim talks about him more like a parent, to both him and Bruce Wayne.

“It was great. Mostly quiet. Peaceful. And then like a hurricane, all of them just came, one by one. Dick, Jason, and then Damian. It was a nightmare. We were at each other’s throat. Literally!” he’s staring wide-eyed at you, half-hoping you’ll know he’s telling you the truth. “And I couldn’t get a single good night’s sleep. I just-- I needed my own place. Away from them.”

Tim releases this long sigh, one that feels like he’s been keeping for a while. “When it was just me, Bruce, and Alfred, I never noticed it because I was too self-absorbed-- about the adoption and the--” he looks at you like a deer caught in the headlights then coughs and continues, “I didn’t notice that they weren’t as happy as I was. That they were in silent mourning.”

“So when my brothers were at the manor, Bruce and Alfred-- They were shocked but I’ve never seen them look happier. It was so small, almost barely a hint of a smile. And I just--” He sighs again, this time leaning back to rest his head against the couch. “So I feel a little guilty about leaving.”

You wait in case Tim had more things to get off his chest. This is the first you’ve heard him talk in broken sentences. He’s usually a lot more composed that his sentences are always grammatically correct, full-structured, and well-phrased. Like listening to an essay.

When he doesn’t say anything more, you ask, “Do you regret leaving?”

Tim Drake stares at the ceiling. He visits the manor every now and then but not much has changed. They’re still fighting a lot, with less intent to kill, but still enough to seriously maim. But really he misses seeing Alfred every day, helping him in the garden and eating his home cooking.

And Bruce. He wonders if Bruce is doing fine. If he’s happy Jason is back or proud to finally have his own son fighting side by side with him. He hopes Bruce’s is a little upset he left. He wishes he’d mourn for him a little like he did with Dick and Jason.

But is he happy? Tim was feeling overwhelmed by the past that his brothers brought back with them. So much pain, regrets, and hatred. He never knew families could be so complicated. One minute they wanted to murder each other and the next they’re risking their own lives to save you. ‘Do I regret it?’ he wonders. ‘Do I regret doing what Dick and Jason have done, leaving the nest-- the cave and the Titans-- to find my own way of life? My own path?’

‘Not one bit.‘

Then he turns to you with every intention of saying just that. He looks at you while you hold your white Superman mug in your hand, your lips hovering over the rim and the steam rises up to your face. He watches the light smoke dance as your breath goes in and out.

Your eyes are staring at him with your hair hanging down, framing your face. He watches your cheeks slowly go red and your eyes widen. You look away, missing the same shade of red covering Tim’s cheeks.

“Crap.”

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

#DC fanfiction #DC imagines #DC reader insert #Tim Drake #Tim Drake fanfiction #Tim Drake imagine #Tim Drake x reader #Timothy Drake #Timothy Drake fanfiction #Timothy Drake imagine #Timothy Drake x reader #watchtower-feed #acropen #lexyartem

203 notes · View notes

bisexualsforprompto · 4 years

Text

Miraculous: Reborn Chapter Five

Omg it’s been so fricking long I’m sorry

AO3

First Previous Next

~~~~~~~~~

What their history teacher neglected to tell them was that the assignment assigned the day prior was going to be unbelievably difficult. They only had one day to work on it, and they had barely made any headway in study hall.

Damian huffed to himself as he watched Mari stare intently at a book.

I could’ve done this much quicker without her. He brooded to himself, although deep down he knew that was probably a lie. Mari had worked much faster than he expected.

“Aha!” She smiled, pointing victoriously to a passage in her book. Her eyes lit up, and if possible her smile made her eyes look more blue. Damian finally noticed her freckles too.

He felt a smirk tug at his lips by how excited she got a small triumph. Not unlike Jon, he noted. Ugh another Jon.

But maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, he decided when he saw her tongue stick out slightly from her focus as she wrote into her notebook.

“Okay!” She exclaimed, snapping her notebook shut, “Done with the research! Now off to the project part.” She let out a small groan, “Any ideas?”

Damian held his sketchbook closely to his chest, not ready to let her see it. “Perhaps we can devise a poem and be done with it all.”

Mari pouted, then she smiled smugly, “Wanna take the easy way out, huh Damian?” She jibed.

“W-what?! No!” Damian spluttered, how insulting how dare she-

Oh...Damian realized as she saw her hold back a chuckle. She was joking.

Well two could play at that game.

“Very well, what do you suppose we do oh great Dupain?”

“Well...if you’re not opposed...maybe we could meet up later to work? We don’t have a lot of time now, but I can probably explain my idea.”

Damian hesitated, he didn’t want to bring this girl back to the manor. Solely because he wasn’t sure he could trust her, certainly not because he didn’t want her to judge him for being a Wayne.

“We can meet up at a nearby coffee shop once school is over. I’ll inform father. What’s your idea?” Damian asked as he pulled out his phone.

“Well...I’m an amateur designer.” Mari said, looking slightly flustered, “And I thought since the project is an extension of what we’ve learned maybe I could design some period appropriate clothes? Just a sketch of course, I doubt I’d have time to actually make something seeing as its due tomorrow but-“

“May I see what you have?” Damian interrupted.

Mari nodded slightly before pulling out a black book, not unlike his own sketchbook. She handed it to him and immediately looked away, embarrassed by her own work.

Damian flipped through the pages, “These are more than adequate Dupain.”

Mari blushed at the praise. Damian considered showing her his own drawings, but...considering he would seldom show his family or even Jon his sketches he was not inclined to show his to a girl he’d known for not even a full day. He handed the book back to her just as the bell rang.

“I’ll meet you outside of the main entrance when school ends. Goodbye Dupain.” Damian said hiking up his book bag and heading off to his next class.

Of course she was in his next class.

And the one after that too. She was even in his last period, which meant Mari Dupain was in All. Of. His. Classes.

He understood, she was gifted academically and so was he, so they would share classes. Plus, the private school was relatively small in the number of students who attended, but still there was no other person Damian shared all his classes with.

Suffice to say, if he hadn’t tolerated Mari before he’d need to now considering the new circumstances. Just as the final bell rang, instead of meeting Marinette outside he walked to her desk and silently waited for her to gather her things.

“I’m ready!” She beamed, zipping up her backpack.

Damian eyed her, small and frail at first analysis. Her backpack had accumulated lots of books because she had transferred so late in the year.

“Would you like me to carry something?”

“No! I’ll manage! Thanks for asking though-“

“Ice Prince Charming.” A girl snickered on her way out to her friend. Damian glared at them both. Then without another word he walked with Mari out of the building.

“Why do they call you that?” Mari asked as she walked with Damian through the halls to the exit.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Damian stated harshly before seeing her deflated expression and softening, “But it’s because I’m a black sheep here I suppose. I don’t play by their rules— that is, date, socialize, be on the football team, etcetera.”

“Huh, you seem normal to me.” Mari said, of course, unbeknownst to Damian she was leaving out the part where she hadn’t been with another human that wasn’t her parents, a villain, or Chat Noir for six years.

Damian side-eyed her, not sure how to respond. He realized quickly that she expected no response. It seemed her conversations were organic and raw, rather than ones in which the other person already knew what the next was going to say and planned for it. She wasn’t bothered by the silence that they walked in, which was odd, considering that she was a teenager most of which talked just to hear themselves talk.

Reaching the school’s exit, Damian pushed open the door for her.

“Thanks!” She chirped.

“Damian!” Jon called from across the courtyard, slowly registering Mari’s presence, “Oh, hi Mari!”

“Hi Jon!” Mari waved while Jon dashed over.

“So...what are you two doing now?” Jon asked, a glint in his eye as he smirked at Damian.

“If you must know, we’re heading to the local coffee shop to finish a project.”

“Ooooh!” Jon exclaimed. Damian knew what he was going to ask next before the boy even asked it.

“And no, you cannot come with us.”

“Bummer. Oh well, I have to go back to my parents’ house anyway, but I’ll still see you later for...ya know?”

Damian sighed, great cover Kent, “Yes.” He gritted his teeth and led Mari away.

“Here.” He said, pulling out a spare helmet from his bag. “I’m assuming you’re not afraid of riding a motorcycle.”

Mari brightened, “Yeah! My Nonna and I rode all the time before I di- before she died.” Marinette sighed internally for her quick recovery, even if she kind of had to lie about her grandmother being dead.

“My condolences.” Damian said as he cleared his throat. Marinette could tell it was sincere which made her feel a lot worse…

Damian got onto the motorcycle and made sure to get close enough to the handlebars so that Mari would have enough space. He was really hoping she wasn’t stupid enough to hang her arms around his shoulders.

As she got on, he realized she was very proficient at being a passenger. She got on quickly and placed her hands on the tank to stabilize herself. Mari’s helmet was already on, so Damian started off.

He started driving slightly slower than normal, just because he wasn’t sure how comfortable she was riding a quick pace. That could mess both of them up if she wasn’t ready.

It wasn’t a big deal anyway, as it turned out, the coffee shop was less than a mile away from campus and they arrived quickly.

Damian hopped off the motorcycle and extended his hand. Mari took it daintily as he pulled her off the vehicle. She dismounted easily as well. She handed his helmet back to him and they walked inside.

“Alfred, I found something interesting.” Bruce said as he pulled up a document on his computer.

Alfred looked over the document once and sighed, nothing really new, “You can deal with that later Master Bruce. There’s another matter that requires your attention.”

“Oh?” Bruce asked, raising and eyebrow, but not taking his eyes off the screen.

“Remember when Master Damian said earlier that he was going to work on a project? Well, it seems it was a partner project and pictures of him and his school partner are all over social media.” Alfred typed into the Batcave’s computer and pulled up Twitter, the most trending post was a picture of Damian helping a girl his age off his motorcycle in front of the coffee shop and the caption read, “Does the youngest Wayne have a date?!?!?!”

Bruce sighed, “Just tabloid gossip, nothing new.” He eyed the picture again, “Though maybe I should look into this girl…”

He scanned the picture in quickly and had the results he was looking for within minutes, “Mari Dupain. Moved from Paris, France to Gotham not too long ago.”

Alfred rubbed his temples, “Dupain...as in-“

“Yes.”

“How will you tell the young master?”

“He’ll...understand.” Bruce sighed, “Maybe not right away, but he will eventually.”

Alfred looked at him disapprovingly.

“Okay, you’re right.” Bruce muttered, “I'll talk to him about it when he gets home...I hope he’s not too attached to that girl...he’s not going to be happy.”

~~~~~~~

Tags:

@persephonebutkore

@northernbluetongue

@vixen-uchiha

@caffeinetheory

@18-fandoms-unite-08

@nillajinx

@krispydefendorpolice

@magic-miraculous

@violatiger8

@bluerosette23

@theyellowfeverexperience

@virgil-is-a-cutie

@ladysblackcat

@naoryllis

@weird-pale-blonde-person

@chrismarium

@goblinwhoships

@oodle-nooodle

@xgxmxtx

@draco-kasai

@miraculous-simmer7

@unknownvsworld

@bamagirl

@corabeth11

@elijahcoser

@crazylittlemunchkin

@mlbchaosqueen

#maribat #damianette #daminette #soulmate injury au

203 notes · View notes

tired-college-student-writing · 5 years

Text

#WayneAngel: Chapter 2

The Maribat AU by @ozmav and @maribat-archive is all I can think about atm, so enjoy more of this

Summary- After Grayson posts a video on the wrong twitter, Damian feels like he should lose his social media privileges, and possibly his hand.

Part 1

Part 2 (HERE)

Part 3

______________________________________________________________________

Wayne’s Angel @FashionableInGotham

Thanks for outing my relationship, Dick, now I owe Tim money.

Marinette paused realizing that no one was going to believe the lone tweet, even as she hit send on the first post of her new twitter account. There were probably a hundred fake accounts popping up already in light of the news. Thousands of theories on her were already flying around the net.

She probably had a zillion texts from her classmates about the video, but she had taken one look at the group chat and missed calls she had gotten from Alya and turned her phone onto do not disturb. She’d check for texts from her actual friends later.

She sighed and stuck her head outside, and was only mildly surprised seeing the two middle Wayne boys stilling sitting on the patio.

“You guys are still out here?” She asked, only for Jason to flip her off and Tim just bleary lifted his head up, having been taking a nap in the sun like a cat.

“Easy boy,” She soothed Jason, “I’ve just come to tell you the kitchen is no longer off-limits, and that Damian is attempting to murder Dick.”

“What did Dickie do?”

Instead of answering Jason’s question she held up a blue bill between two fingers, “Oh I also owe Tim this,”

She watched Tim pause mid-yawn and eyes flash to her before his eyes grow large and he cracked up laughing.

Jason slipped into a cheeky smirk, “No…”

“Oh yes,” Marinette sighed, “Dick accidentally uploaded the video he took earlier to his public twitter, instead of his private one. #WayneAngel and #MariDami are both trending right now.”

“The demon spawn might actually succeed in killing him this time,” Tim gasped out, snatching the bill from her.

“Not on Alfred’s birthday, he won’t,” She giggled back before holding up her phone, “Either way, mind helping me enter the celebrity Twitter scene? I feel there’s going to be lots of clean up involved, but I figured the sooner I’m officially introduced the better, but I need someone to confirm I’m me on there.”

Tim pulled out his phone, “One introduction tweet coming right up.”

Tim Drake Offical @TJDrake

Thanks, @AFlyingGrayson for fucking up and winning me the bet with on who would out The Demon spawn’s relationship!

Anyways, Just wanted to introduce @FashionableInGotham as my actual favorite sibling and the Demon spawn’s real, flesh and blood, girlfriend, Marinette.

With the tweet was a picture that Tim had snapped of the three of them chilling on the porch, Marinette perched on the armrest of Tim’s chair as the boy waved the banknote in front of the lens, Jason smirking as he gave the young girl bunny ears.

It’s a very endearing picture, in her opinion and was ranking in retweets in a heartbeat. Her follower count was climbing from the seven Waynes. Marinette wasn’t going to ask how Tim managed to hack twitter to make the missing Waynes follow her, she really didn’t want to know.

Plausible Deniability and all that.

The tweet was followed quickly by one from Jason.

Jason Todd Lives @BestTodd

Yes the brat has a girlfriend

Yes I lost the bet on if he’d follow in Bruce’s footsteps

Yes that’s my real reaction to her picking me up

Yes she’s is that adorable irl, Proof vvv

Yes @FashionableInGotham is my unofficial baby sister and I will fuck up anyone that upsets her

The picture he attached as proof of her being adorable was of her working on a piece, her tongue sticking out between her teeth as she concentrated. The reds and purple laying in pieces around her as she snipped and sewed them together. Behind her, you could barely make out Tim and Damian arguing on her chaise.

There was a sudden bang as the patio door was hung open and Dick tumbled through, phone in hand, with Damian still following him, but the knife had been replaced with his sword.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were introducing Marinette on twitter!” The eldest whined as he continued to dodge Damian’s strikes. Damian stilled, turning to his other brothers.

“You what!”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Easy Damian. It was my idea. Get a good image out there before people have too much time to theorize about how I wormed my way into the elusive Waynes.”

Tim just snorted, “Ah yes, Marinette the masterful gold digger who had no idea she was dating the Damian Wayne for the first two months of their relationship.”

The other boys laughed as Marinette’s face turned bright red.

“You promised not to bring that up again,” SHe whined as her boyfriend came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her.

“You know you love us, Angel,” He mumbled as he pressed a kiss into her hair, pointily ignoring the fake gagging from Jason and Tim.

“Sooooo” Dick drawled, bringing everyone attention to him, “We have about an hour we need to start dinner, and two before he and B get back. Who’s up for a little twitter QnA?”

_______________________________________________________________________

The group chat was too hectic to keep up with anymore, no one was sure what was happening, until Chloe texted each of them individually and offered up a conference room at her family’s hotel for them to gather and go over what was happening.

She was a little surprised that they all agreed, especially Lila. The gig was up, there wasn’t a way for her to convincingly spin this turn of events, not when the Wayne’s were already rushing to social media to defend the girl after the video accidentally went up, introducing her under a brand new twitter.

If anyone saw that the blonde was already following said twitter, she’d claim it was to keep up with any drama that unfolded from little miss no one dating a Wayne.

After all, she had an image to keep up, she couldn’t just...

“Chloe?”

Her head snapped up to see Adrian standing in the doorway.

“How on earth did you get here so fast?” She asked with a raised brow.

He glanced away, rubbing the back of his neck, “I... might of snuck out...”

She laughed, “Knew school would be good for you.”

He grinned sliding into the seat next to her, making her relax.

Their relationship had been rocky for a while, but after Queen Bee made her official debut, they were working through it. She couldn’t deny the fact that his eyes glowed as she tried her best to be a better person made everything easier

“So have you abandoned your ridiculous high road principle?” She questioned, watching him flinch slightly.

“You know I didn’t...”

“Yeah, Yeah,” She sighed waving her hand, knowing it was still a sore spot to him that Marinette had taken the advice so poorly before Chloe stepped up and explained what he had meant.

Keep your head down, don’t draw attention to yourself. Messages that had been instilled into Adrian for years, both to keep out of the media spotlight and, after his mother disappeared, to stay at of his father's way. Lies had never been an issue to him since rumors were always flying around the model and the people he worked with, so while it took him a while to see that the lies that Lila told were different than those written in the gossip columns and were actually doing harm.

Let’s just say the boy was still beating himself up for that, even if Marinette forgave him. Sadly it was too late to have Adrian come forward on his own to out Lila without it looking like Marinette had just gotten him under her thumb so they had been waiting for their chance.

Chloe was glad to say that that day had finally come.

“Did you know Damian was the boy Mari talked about?” He asked quietly.

“No,” She sighed, “Luka and Kagami had no idea either, you’d know this if you bothered looking at your phone.”

He shrugged, leaning over her shoulder, “I left it at home, Dad tracked me last time I snuck out with it.”

She huffed a laugh handing over the phone so he could see the... colorful texts from the pair.

“I didn’t know Kagami knew any swears in French,” He confessed after scrolling through the group chat.

“My money’s on her learning them from Ms. Couffaine,” Chloe offered lazily, “That woman swears like a sailor.”

“She lives on a boat,” Adrian counters, “I think that qualifies her as a sailor.”

“Whatever,”

They lapsed into silence as Adrian clicked over to the entire group chat to see if he could make any sense out of it now that the flow of incoming texts has trickled off.

“Are you okay?” She suddenly asks making him arch a brow, gazing up from the phone.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your lady is in love with someone else.”

Adrian smiled softly.

“I accepted that awhile ago Chlo,” He reminded her, back to the day they were all too close when time ran out, when the five of them could no longer hide, “I’m very happy to be her best friend, plus I’ve been thinking that I might look what the cat can drag-in”

She groaned, whacking him, “You’re ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”

“Like you weren’t wondering if you’d be a good snake charmer.”

She squeaked, swatting him again harder as he fell off his chair with laughter.

“I told you that in confidence, not so you can make stupid puns!”

“Oh come on Chloe, don’t throw a hissssy hit,”

“I’m a bee, so buzz off!”

They stared at each other before breaking down into giggles.

“I hate you,” She whines through the pearls of laughter.

“No you don’t,” He waggled his eyebrow making her laugh harder.

Knowing he won he glanced back at her phone only for his smile to twist into a wicked grin.

“Tone down the Chat in that grin or people will put it together,” She warned, poking his cheek.

“Marinette and the Wayne boys just said they’re doing a QnA under #Daminette.”

Chloe blinked a few times before her smile twisted to match his, “There’s a projector in here and we have about five minutes until anyone else gets here.”

“I’ll grab your laptop and make sure Plagg and Pollen come down from your room,” Adrian said, climbing to his feet.

“I’ll call Luka and Kagami and ask them to be prepared, and then get Jean to get refreshments and inform Jagged Stone of what’s happening,” She assigned to herself before he nodded and took off.

Operation Dethrone Lila was officially underway.

About fucking time

_______________________________________________________________________

Taglist: @kceedraws @northernbluetongue @starry-bi-sky @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @lexysama @vincentvangoose

#miraculous ladybug #batman #maridami #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne #Tim drake #dick grayson #jason todd #Damianette #chloe bourgeois #adrian agreste #lila rossi #lila gets exposed

1K notes · View notes

queerbutstillhere · 4 years

Note

Hiya!! Wow u still doing amazing prompts? How about a soulmate AU for Jondami? Where Kyptonians feel a "click" once they meet their soulmate and that even if they date someone else they can feel as much love that the feel for their mate.

(Hi! Sorry it took this long! I hope you get to see this! And I hope it is good!)

When he was young, his dad explained it to him. Told him how they, as Kryptonian's would often have "soulmates". Said he wasn't sure if Jon would experience this, since he was only half kryptonian, but it was best to just be prepared.

He explained how there was this click. Why everything seemed off and disfunctional, how it felt like everything was just shifted to the left a bit. Why Jon felt odd, like the world was buzzing at such a low decible that he could just barely hear it. And he told Jon that this may stop one day, or he would just stop noticing it.

It was this way because of their soulmates. And once he met his soulmate, things would just click. Everything would be normal and right again. He would feel the shift. So he needed to pay attention if that happened, watch who he had been with. Clark explained that he could still fall in love with people other then his soulmate, Clark had done it so many times before he met Lois, but it would never quite be as perfect as it would be with his soulmate.

Jon took this very seriously, and from that day as a young child, to an eleven year old when he felt it, he paid great attention to all his interactions.

And then he met Robin.

And his world shifted back into focus.

His meeting with Robin hadn't been fantastic, they had tried to kill each other, multiple times. But Jon couldn't ignore the fact that the first time he touched Robin, he physically felt this snap inside him. A Click. In fact it startled him so much that Robin got the upperhand and would have seriously hurt Jon, had Bruce not stepped in right at that moment.

Jon had been shaken up for days after, and refused to tell his parents why. So they chose to believe Robin had done something to their precious child. And they were furious. But he needed to tell someone, and when his older (yet younger?) brother popped in for his monthly visit, he managed to drag Kon outside.

"Hey, kiddo, what's wrong? You're looking a little green. Been exposed to any kryptonite recently?"

Jon shook his head. He did feel a little sick. They were sat on the roof of the barn, staring out over the cow pastures.

"Jon?" Conner asked, joking tone dropped, now just concerned. "Are you okay? What's wrong? Do you need to go to a doctor? I can take you to dad if you don't want Clark and Lois to know?"

"No! I'm not... I'm not sick. And why is Lex a better option then Dad?!"

"He does care what I do? Also I thought you liked Lex."

Jon didn't respond, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Kon, did dad explain the soulmates thing to you?"

"Sure did. Why- oh my God, did you? Who is it?! Did you tell them?!"

"Shh!" Jon hissed, glaring at his brother.

Kon immediately sobered, reaching out to wrap an arm around Jon.

"Who is it, Jon? What's the matter?"

"It's... Robin."

Conner blinked at him a few times in confusion.

"The... The demon spawn? Tim's little brother?"

Jon nodded a couple times, pushing his face into his knees.

"... Wow. Okay. That's. Yikes. Didn't he try to kill you?"

Another nod.

Kon gently rubbed his back. "Well. It's okay, Jon. You don't... You're only eleven, you don't have to do anything about it. Maybe- maybe it's best not to tell anyone else? Clark and Lois might-" Kon cut off with a small sigh.

Jon just groaned and pressed his face harder against his legs.

"It's okay," was Kon's comforting mantra as he hugged his small brother for a moment.

And it was.

In the end, Jon practically forgot about it. He grew up, was Damian's partner, became his best friend, hung out with him all through highschool. He almost forgot about the soulmate thing. Except sometimes he'd notice how much sharper his world was when he was with Damian, or how much happier he was around him.

But he fell in love in highschool, had his heart dramatically broken when his girlfriend cheated on him, even spent a whole evening bemoaning his sad life to Damian as they ate vegan ice cream on the roof of the barn, wrapped in fluffy blankets.

He thought he maybe fell for Damian, his senior year of highschool, but Damian was off, traveling abroad, so it was easy to forget, and then he spent his summer after working and barely saw him. And then Jon was off to college, barely saw any of his friends, let alone his best friend who lived in another country at this point, stopped superheroing, just focused solely on college.

It wasn't until his senior year of college that he realized his world had fallen back into disarray, that things were off again.

It wasn't until senior year that he remembered Damian was his soulmate.

He sent Damian a simple text.

-Hey, next time you're in the states, we should hang out. I know it's been a while, but I'd love to catch up!

Two days later, he got a response.

~Hello! Sorry for not responding sooner. I am currently in Gotham, actually, would you like to meet up this weekend?

Well that was easier than anticipated.

-Yeah! Sure, I can come down there if you want? Does Sunday work?

~Yes. You can come for lunch if you wish. It shall be at noon.

-I'll be there :)

So Sunday Jon showered and flew to Gotham, wearing fairly nice clothes. As nice as it got for a college student with an unpaid internship. Okay so it was pretty nice clothes BECAUSE of his internship. He didn't fly much these days, but it wasn't like he forgot how to. He just headed to Gotham and plopped himself on the front step of the manor, taking a moment to sort himself, straighten out the wildly tangled hair, smooth down his burgandy sweater and fix the cuffs of the button down he had on underneath it. And then he rang the doorbell.

It was only a brief wait, and then the door swung open to reveal one of many black haired blue eyed brothers of Damian's. Jon's memory immediately kicked in and reminded him the buff one with the white streak was Jason.

"Hi, Jason!" He said with a grin.

Jason, who had scruff and bags under his eyes and smelled like cigarettes, grunted.

"Welcome back, kid. It's been a while since you've been around."

Jon smiled and shrugged. "Well, I've been busy with school and all that."

Jason shrugged in return and opened the door, letting Jon in

"Do I still need to take my shoes off?" Jon asked, pointing at the pile by the door.

Jason looked at it, then at Jon. "To save the old man's back, we'll say yes. I don't even know anymore."

Jon raised an eyebrow and took off his dress shoes, following Jason further into the house.

"I think Damian's in the kitchen with Alfie."

"Okay. Thanks Jason!"

"Uh-huh."

Jon headed into the kitchen and did indeed find Damian, sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he helped Alfred cook. He looked up as he heard the door open, and his eyes widened slightly. Jon felt the same thing happen to him. Because man had Damian grown up. Of course Jon had seen his social media and seen this, but it was completely different to see him in real life, just a few feet away. He was wearing a green sweater, and black slacks, black dress socks on his feet. His olive skin was dark, darker then Damian had ever been while living in Gotham. His black hair was short on the sides and back, and still the same long, fluffy top.

"Jonathan, hello!" Alfred said cheerfully, the elderly man smiled at him.

"Hey, Alfred."

Damian seemed to snap out of his daze, glancing down at the food he was stirring then back up to Jon.

"Hello," he said with a smile. He set down his spoon and washed his hands quickly.

"Hi."

Damian stepped closer. "Has it been too long to get a hug?"

Jon chuckled and stepped into him, wrapping his arms around Damian and hugging him tightly. Damian's arms slipped around his waist and returned it, his chin on Jon's shoulder.

And there it was again. The click. The settling of his universe. The reminder that things were okay and good and right.

"It's good to see you," Damian murmured gently, his eyes closed.

Jon hummed gently. "Yeah. It's been a while."

He didn't want to let go. He felt safe hugging Damian. He felt warm and happy.

Damian started to pull back so he let go and watched Damian head back and return to stirring his food.

"So watcha cooking?"

"Sauteing asparagus, lunch is almost ready. Grandfather, could you go get the others and then get them seated in the dining room?"

"Sure, my boy," Alfred said with a smile and then headed out, walking a little slower then Jon last remembered.

Damian watched him leave, eyes full of concern. Jon was too busy reeling in the fact that his ears weren't buzzing anymore and that things didn't feel slightly blurry.

"He's not moving as good as he used too," Damian commented softly, and then shook his head a bit.

"Anyway. How are you? How is college?" Damian asked, smiling.

"College is good. Was good. I'm almost done now. I've got an internship at an architectural firm."

"Oh. Nice. You were going for interior design, right? Or was it architecture?"

"Architecture."

"That makes sense...."

Jon chuckled, looking around the kitchen which was still the same.

"So you finally gave up on the glasses?"

"What? Oh yeah. I don't do a lot of superboy stuff anymore so no one really recognized me as him... I plan to change my uniform and add a mask here soon though."

"That's smart."

"Do you, um? Do you still do vigilante stuff?"

"Oh, in Europe? Some, but you'd be surprised at the lack of supervillains over there. But yes, I do some over there."

Jon nodded. "That makes sense."

"Can you grab that pan for me?" Damian pointed at a casserole dish.

"Sure!"

Jon grabbed it and followed him out to the dining room. The rest of the family was there, getting seated, fussing over Alfred. Jon ended up following Damian back into the kitchen and helped him carry out a few more dishes that all looked expertly cooked and foreign. And then they sat down and ate. Dinner was great, the Wayne family had fun catching up with Jon. And then after, Jon and Damian went for a walk around the Manor, enjoying the nice spring weather.

Jon knew he needed to tell Damian but he didn't know how. They just walked and lightly chatted and caught up. Finally they reached the gardens and Jon reached out grabbed Damian's hand, pulling him to sit on a bench.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay? What's wrong?" Damian asked, concern filling his face.

Damian showed emotions so much more freely know. Jon had known him for over 10 years now, so this was kinda surprising.

"There's this. . . " He sighed.

Then he stood and started pacing.

"Kryptonian's have this thing. . . They have soulmates," he started explaining, not looking at Damian. "We can feel when we meet our soulmates, it's like this click when we first touch them and-"

"Oh," Damian said. "Interesting. Is there any changes after?"

"After? After the click? Yeah, before, things feel off and for me there's like this buzzing noise. After things just felt more clear and like the world is more focused."

"Interesting."

"Damian. Damian there's a reason I'm telling you this," Jon said, turning to him.

"Why-"

"Because the first time I touched you thirteen years ago, I felt that click."

Damian blinked.

"And when I hugged you again today, I felt the click again."

"Oh," Damian said softly.

"Yeah.... I'm sorry for throwing this on you, but I had to tell you. And we can still fall in love, outside of our soulmate, but things will always feel off."

Damian wasn't responding, just nodding slightly. Jon went silent, crossing his muscular arms and watching him cautiously.

"Well."

Jon sighed. "I'm sorry. Should I go? I should go. I'll let you think about it-"

"Jon, wait!" Damian exclaimed, standing.

Jon had already been flying, so he stopped, blinking.

"Thank you, for telling me. And especially thank you for not telling me earlier, when we were younger. I would not have known how to take it and I undoubtedly would have run away from you."

Jon smiled softly, touching back down to the ground.

"And I'm sorry, for being a horrible friend back then."

"It's okay, Damian. You weren't as bad as you seem to think."

Damian just shook his head slightly. He stepped forwards and hugged Jon again.

"Give me a little time to process this, okay? I'm not going to run away."

"Okay."

Jon smiled to himself as he hugged Damian for a minute, as he felt that warmth and safety.

And then he stepped back. "It was good to see you, Damian."

"You too, Jon."

They waved to each other and then Jon took off up into the air, heading back home.

A few days later he got another text from Damian.

~ I think I'm going to be in the states for a while.

- Yeah? That's cool! I'm sure your family will be happy to hear that.

~ yes. They were.

~ Would you like to get dinner sometime? So we can talk.

- That would be amazing.

~ Thursday?

- Sure, around seven? I can come down there if we push it to 7:30.

~ No, I'll come to you, so seven is fine. Send me your address and I'll pick you up. Dress nicely, business casual.

- Okay, I'll see you then :)

Three weeks later, they were dating.

Send me prompts!

#damian wayne #jon kent #damijon fics #damijon #damianxjon #soulmate #soulmate au #soulmates #prompt ask #prompt #give me prompts and shiz #writing prompt #ask me #send me asks #ask me anything #thanks for the ask!#queerbutstillhere #queerbutstillhere writes

113 notes · View notes

incoherentbabblings · 4 years

Text

An Endless Hope (2/9)

After a horrendous blizzard falls over Gotham, Tim undergoes a sharp change in character before disappearing. Upon discovering what has become of him, Stephanie sets off on a solo journey in a magic realm to bring him home, meeting some faces which seems awfully familiar along the way.

Archive Of Our Own Link Click Click!

“Our tires have gone. Cracked and popped.” Red Robin reported, switching the interior car lights on, as Stephanie pulled out a small laptop tablet, switching to checking satellite views of the city. Tim peered at his dashboard, noting, “GPS says we’re down by Stagg Enterprises and the Trigate bridge but honestly… it’s reached whiteout. We can get out and –”

“No.” Batman interrupted. “Stay put. If your tires have frozen up it’s too cold for our suits for any trek across the city. I’m not far in my car. Signal, Robin, what did you find?”

“Mr. Freeze is a dead end.” Duke said over the commlink. “He made the valid point of this not doing much for his research. He was worried about the power outage.”

Red Robin and Batgirl, sat in Tim’s redbird car, watched the snow fly around them, heating blasting out hot air to keep the car and them from freezing. Tim peered out the windscreen, whiteout leaving them blind to the world. They could leave, but it was approaching minus thirty. Their regular suits were good… but not that good. For the moment, they were stranded, waiting for Bruce and his tank of a Batmobile to come to the rescue.

“It’s bizarre.” Batgirl said, scrolling through data. “Weather doesn’t work like this. The storm is just over Gotham. That’s not…that’s not physically possible. Blizzards are usually hundreds of miles wide. Not thirty and constricted to a bay. It came out of nowhere. There’s no way the air could grow cold that fast to freeze all that water naturally. And the wind is at eighty miles per hour. Normally it’s around forty.”

“The Flash has a weather themed villain.” Robin supplied.

“I checked.” Cassandra’s quiet voice, barely audible over the storm she was standing in, came over the speakers. The screaming wind cut off when she got inside, the door of wherever she was slamming shut. “He’s in Iron Heights. It’s not him.”

Stephanie continued to look through local news, in and outside of the city, desperate for someone over social media to have spotted something manmade about the phenomena. Tim jolted next to her violently, hands flailing over the steering wheel.

“Someone walk over your grave?”

“What?”

Stephanie put down the tablet and leaned over, staring at the white surrounding them. “Or did you see something?”

“You’d think I was crazy.”

“I’ve learned not to doubt gut instincts, Red Robin. They’re there for a reason. Especially yours.” Unable to spot anything but white, she looked back at him. Like her, his cowl was down, his nose red, skin very white. He looked frightened and instantly Stephanie became alarmed. “What is it? Did you see something?”

She whirled back around, hair falling around her shoulders and back. It really was too long at this point, but Tim reached up and tangled his fingers into it. Something to hold onto. He tried not to tug on her too hard.

“I just think someone’s watching us... me.”

“What? Who? Bad guy?”

“I think I’m seeing things.”

Stephanie hummed, slowly retreating into her seat.

“I’ll bop ‘em if they hurt you.”

Colour returned to Tim’s cheeks, and he smiled. “I know.”

The sound of roaring engines became audible over the car’s heating, and a little too close for comfort, the black Batmobile emerged, parking directly in front.

“Get in you two. I can’t drag the car with your tires gone. Lock it down, Red Robin. When the storm lessens, we’ll retrieve it.”

“Go ahead Batgirl. Locking it down will take a second.”

“’Kay.” She kicked her way out, fighting against the wind. Her cape, weighted so it wouldn’t fly up and around her face in such conditions, billowed out behind her, but her hair flew up and around her face. It made her stumble a little ungraciously as she felt her way around the car, opening the door enough to slide in the back.

“Jesus.” She breathed. Batman was looking over his shoulder, checking she was unharmed.

“I told you to cut your hair.”

“Yeah, yeah. I braided it but the wind…”

Bruce grunted. “We can’t do anything. We give it two more hours to show signs of passing. If not –”

“Call in the League?”

Batman’s face indicated he was not happy with the idea, but it was still the best solution. They were trained for street level crime, not climate change.

Tim tumbled in a moment later, shaking from the cold, slapping the ice and snow that had collected on his costume. Reaching across, Stephanie took off her gloves and placed her warm fingers on his cheeks, hissing at the cold. Tim sighed and closed his eyes, shivering.

“Where’s the others?” Stephanie asked, watching Tim’s shudders lessen as he warmed up again.

Bruce set off, heading back to Bristol.

“In the city tunnels. A lot of people are taking shelter there. They’ll be heading back now. We just have to wait it out for now.”

Stephanie did not miss the loathing in his tone at such an inaction.

“We can’t do anything for the time being.” Tim stated. “But when it passes –”

“If it passes.” Batman grumbled.

“–Then we’ll work overtime to help with recovery.”

Stephanie nodded emphatically in agreement.

“It’s not good enough.” Bruce muttered.

Stephanie went to remove her hands from Tim but to her shock he actually reached up and snatched her wrists, pulling her back. Damn, he really was cold. Usually he wasn’t that grabby.

“Sometimes ‘not good enough’ is all we can do.” Tim bit back.

Holding her breath, noting the tension in the car rising with the steady hot air being blasted, Stephanie pinched Tim’s nose, desperate to break the potential argument. Tim looked at her, a little outraged. Stephanie ignored him, speaking to Batman,

“Whoever did this – if it is a who – we’ll hold them to account.”

It really wasn’t good enough, and Bruce did not respond. The drive back was odd, Bruce relying on technology to navigate through the city. As soon as they cleared the bridge however, visibility resumed. It was a blizzard – a bad one – but nothing compared to what seemed to be only growing in intensity over the three main islands of Gotham.

When they arrived back at the cave, Stephanie asked Alfred to take a look at Tim, worried about his body temperature. She snuggled up to him, arms wrapped around his waist, cheek to cheek, as she tried to erase his shivering.

“Honey, why are you so cold? We weren’t exposed long.”

“Just feel cold. Like in my bones.”

She rubbed his back, trying to friction up some heat.

“Cuddle away then.”

“You’re like a furnace. It’s nice.” He sighed.

Alfred came over, took one look at Tim and shrugged off any major concern.

“Just a chill.” He confirmed after taking Tim’s temperature. “Take a warm – not hot – shower.”

“Sure Alfred.”

He went to walk off, hand around Stephanie’s, but she dug her feet in.

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m gonna wait for the others to come back safe.”

Tim blinked, then looked down at his grip. She wasn’t showing it, but with a dropping sensation in his stomach, he realised how tightly he was squeezing her. Mechanically, finger by finger, he let go.

“Yeah. Sorry. I’ll be a little bit.”

She smiled, worry leaking through, and he dashed off. She flexed her wrist, hissing a little at its stiffness. Tim was just spooked by the weather, she told herself. Nothing more.

The others returned soon enough, following the city sewer systems back to the cave entrance. Tim eventually came back too, in warmer clothes, dry hair and a calmer disposition, and everyone sat by the computer, and waited.

*****

“How certain are you of this lead?” Tim asked three mornings later.

Bruce ran a hand across his face. It had been a long three days, Wayne Enterprises was going to be funding quite a number of building sites and repairs to basic utilities over the coming weeks, but for now, the weather had calmed enough for people to emerge from the lockdown. The streets were now filled with people enjoying the snow, to which Tim couldn’t blame them. There was something beautiful about freshly fallen snow and a horizon which blurred the line between sky and ground.

“Not very,” Bruce admitted, approaching the piano. “Hence why I’m only taking Robin with me.”

Damian’s little chest puffed out – proud to be the chosen one to accompany his father. Bruce looked at Stephanie, Tim, Duke and Cassandra as he spoke, deliberately holding their gaze to convey the importance he held their task.

“You four are remaining in Gotham. I’m trusting you to look after it until we get back. There shouldn’t be any major operations. The river is frozen, and many roads are blocked still with up to six feet of snow. But still, do what you can.”

“Be safe.” Cassandra urged.

Stephanie gave a tiny wave to Damian, who’s hand twitched to return the goodbye, but thought better of it, and he tutted and turned to follow.

Uncomfortable silence filled the house as the clock closed behind the two, leaving the four remaining members of the family stood awkwardly.

“Now what?” Steph asked, pushing back the heavy curtains to peer outside. “College is cancelled, no schools, no work… At least the snow has stopped. Should we monitor for problems or take a break… just for an afternoon.”

She looked back to smile at Duke, Cass and Tim, tilting her jaw outside. Cassandra clapped her hands in joy. “I saw on the tv people playing in the snow. I never have before.”

Duke gave an encouraging noise. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Snowball fight.”

Tim looked reluctant, until Stephanie elbowed him in the gut and agreed with Duke, saying, “Yeah. Sounds good. Need a bit of levity right now, huh?”

She raised her eyebrows, and Tim got the message.

“Oh! Yes. Sounds good!”

His tone was forcibly cheery, but he would warm up to the idea when actually outside, Stephanie thought.

Alfred, with the hearing of a bat, poked his head around a door frame. “Please wrap up warm, and shower when you are finished to bring your body temperature back up.”

“Can we have coco, Alfred?” Cassandra pled, eyes big as dinner plates.

“Yes, sounds a lovely idea. Try to get some joy from the terrible weather please, all of you.”

Cassandra burst off to get wrapped up, the other three trailing behind.

Stephanie laughed at Cassandra’s exuberance, trying to get her shoes on quicker. The Manor, built on the hill in the way it was, meant that the five feet of snowfall hadn’t reached the back door and steps. It did mean though, after some shoving by Cassandra, the door heaved open. She ran out, throwing herself down the stairs and onto a hug pile of freshly laid snow. She faceplanted with a shriek of joy, quickly creating snow angels. Stephanie trotted after her, calling,

“Cassie, have you ever made a snowman before?”

“No!”

“Me either. Help me?”

Tim watched for a little while as the girls – for a lack of a better term – frolicked in the white snow. Cassandra stood out more against the white, dressed from head to toe in black, Stephanie in that blinding white, purple and green jacket blended in a little more with the landscape. He was quite content to just sit on the salted steps and watch, but a solid smack to the back of his neck, snow and ice sneaking down his collar, made him squeal.

Duke laughed, “Bad form, dude! Gotta keep your eyes peeled!”

“Jesus!” Tim choked out, reflexively grabbing a pile of snow and flinging it back weakly. A snowball fight ensued.

Alfred watched the four from the kitchen window, more than a little delighted at the childish screams of joy that made their way across the Estate. At least some people were finding joy in such miserable weather. As an adult, snow only meant pain.

Transport difficulties, concerns about plumbing and electricity, would the roof cope? What if there’s flooding? Need to clear the sidewalks and drives and roads. Is there enough food to keep us going long enough for the storm to pass?

So many worries.

For children, it only meant wrapping up warmer, maybe missing a week of school, and games outside.

Never mind, let them enjoy it for a little while longer.

Alfred noted that flurries of snow had begun to fall, though immediately he could tell they snow was larger and slower falling than the other night. Still, the four had been outside for a couple of hours by this point, perhaps it was time for them to come in.

He moved away from the stove, turning off the heat on the milk, and making his way to the door to call them back in to warm up.

He managed to get the door open only to be met with a violent shriek from Tim, his body falling to the floor and curling up in a ball.

Instantly the frivolity stopped, and Stephanie burst across the snow. She wrapped around him, pushing his hand away from his eye. Cassandra and Duke hovered around, nervous and unsure.

“It wasn’t me.” Duke begged, “He was looking up, I didn’t throw anything at him.”

Stephanie cooed, trying to see the damage.

“What happened? Is it your eye? Did something get in your eye?”

“Get him inside so we can take a better look,” Alfred urged. “I worry the weather is only going to deteriorate.”

Alfred quickly put on the fire in one of the sitting areas and sat Tim down on the rug. He still had the heel of his palm pressed to his left eye socket. Cassandra and Duke continued to hover, nervous at the damage. Stephanie came through from the kitchen with a cold compact in case there was any swelling. She knelt in front of Tim.

“Can I see?”

Tim gave her a suspicious look, which she didn’t understand. Reaching him, she went to peel his hand away, and he flinched back. Her outreached hand froze in mid-air.

“Does it really hurt?” She asked. “Do we need to get to the hospital somehow?”

“No. I don’t want you touching me.”

She shook her head, reaching for him again. She tried to gently tease, “We can’t fix it if we can’t see what’s wrong. It’ll just take a second.”

Stephanie pushed back his hair from his forehead, as she always did to comfort him. She heard Cassandra gasp before she realised what happened, but Tim recoiled at the touch and – even worse – slapped her hand away from his face.

“I mean it. Don’t.”

It had been a while since he had directed such a sharp rebuke towards her. Her palm stung with the force he had smacked her with. Immediately, she entered a panic.

“You… Okay. I won’t. Sorry. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

His sneering look did not fade, and it made Stephanie get up off the floor. She passed the cold press to Alfred, who Tim, still looking supremely uncomfortable, allowed to examine the damage.

She left the room and the manor, sitting on the steps to try and calm down. Weird how one sharp word could make her feel like she was five years old again. The falling snow muffled the sounds of the Estate, and everything was eerily quiet, save the sound of her panicked breathing.

Immediately Cassandra came out and joined her, wrapping her up in a hug.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him.” Stephanie whined.

“I know.”

Stephanie leaned down, forehead resting on Cassandra’s bony arms. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise to me. He’ll feel bad later, and you can talk it out.”

Stephanie nodded, knowing Cassandra was right. In the meantime, she flexed her hand, the one Tim had hit so sharply.

“He’s yelled at me before…”

“But never looked at you like that?”

“No.” Stephanie’s lip quivered. “I’m overthinking it.”

“You aren’t yourself when you’re in pain.”

Stephanie nodded fervently and frantically. “Right, right.”

They sat still for a while, listening to the silence. Then the door opened once more. It was Tim. Immediately Stephanie was on her feet. His eye looked fine, not even bloodshot or swollen.

“Are you okay?” She asked. He looked at her, suspicion gone but now a little bored and pouty.

“Fine. Listen, can we go home now?”

“Home?”

“To the apartment.” Tim shuffled in place, looking disgruntled. “I’d drive myself but Alfred won’t let me. My eye is fine.”

Confused, but deciding to not make a scene until they were alone, Stephanie nodded. “I’ll have to go slow. I don’t know how much of the roads have been cleared.

“Whatever.” He murmured, looking distracted.

Cassandra gave Stephanie a look which was a little unreadable. Stephanie gave her thanks to Alfred, and waved goodbye to Duke.

The drive back was painful in every possible way. Stephanie’s little purple car was sturdy, but she still went much slower than normal. Tim curled up in his seat next to her, head pressed to his knees. She could see that with one hand he was aggressively clawing at the centre of his chest, near his heart. Neither spoke for the duration of the drive.

When they got parked up, he slowly and stiffly got up and out. Stephanie grabbed her phone and messaged Duke that they had survived the journey.

She arrived in the apartment after Tim, finding him looking around the space with his lip curled. He didn’t look impressed with the place, as if it wasn’t his own home that he had decorated and lived in.

She sat her bag down by the door, and walked over to him.

“Sweetie, are you sure you’re okay? I hurt you earlier.”

“No. You didn’t.” He said, moving through to the kitchen. Whatever he was looking for wasn’t to be found, and he migrated upstairs to their bedroom. She followed, anxious about leaving him alone.

“Can I see your eye? I’d feel better taking a look myself.”

He sighed like she had asked the world of him and plopped himself at the foot of their bed.

“Hurry up, then.”

She approached him like she would a rabid dog, turning on the overhead light so she could properly see. Gently, she rested her fingertips on his cheek and brow bone.

Like he said, there was nothing amiss.

“What happened?” She breathed. “If nothing hurt you –”

“You’re really warm.” He interrupted. His disinterested look became hungry, and Stephanie dropped her hands, only for Tim to catch her wrists. His fingers were frozen, which should not have been the case after a car ride where the heating had been keeping them toasty. Stephanie felt a lump of ice form in her gut.

“Tim, stop it. What’s going on?”

“Cold.” He murmured. He squeezed her wrists tighter, tight enough to make her twist out of his grip in fear. Immediately he stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into to her. Stephanie became stiff, listening to him licking his lips and mutter, “You’re warm. Hot. Need…”

Backing off just enough to look her in the eye, his expression twitched, and naked panic appeared for just a moment. Trying to maintain a poker face, Stephanie released herself from his grip, unnerved. Removed from her warmth his apathy returned, and the tenseness in his posture fled.

Confused, Stephanie massaged her wrists, and tried to buy herself some time.

“Go take a nap and warm up. Okay? Just… Just go take a nap.”

He smiled at her, but not warmly. It was mocking. “Yes, mother.”

The feeling of dread only rose and spread. She felt like there was a permanent clump in her throat. Finding there was nothing she could say that wouldn’t result in an argument, she just turned and left, leaving Tim’s sardonic smirk behind.

He had never made her uncomfortable before. Never. He had been angry with her. He had argued with her. He had yelled at her, belittled her, and once or twice in moments they never spoke about, he had been physically violent with her (the unspoken excuse was, both times, he didn’t actually know it was her… as if that made it acceptable). But never had she been made to feel unsafe. Tim was predictable in his moods. Whatever was going on frightened her. She shouldn’t have come back alone with him.

Maybe she could message Cass or Duke…they could get here in around an hour and…

While her mind raced, she resolved to make some comfort food for dinner. She opened the fridge, finding casserole beef that would be out of date in two days, an onion, a carrot, and three potatoes.

“Good enough.” She muttered and set to work.

Two hours later, as the stew continued to cook slowly in the oven and she was washing the dishes, Tim came downstairs quietly. He made his way over to Stephanie, finding it a little amusing how she tensed up when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Stephanie managed to not gasp out loud when he pulled her long hair out of the way and pressed kisses to her neck, but she couldn’t help the involuntary goosebumps and risen fine hairs. He was frigid.

“How are you feeling?” Stephanie asked.

“Had a nap.” He rested his sharp chin on her shoulder. “I made you worry, didn’t I?”

She said nothing at his patronising tone, not sure what to say. Yes, and you still are. What the hell is wrong with you right now? But no, she was trying to be good and not respond and set off an argument.

“My eye’s fine.” He continued.

“That’s good.” She said, slowly leaning back so she could take off the rubber gloves. The moment she did, one of his hands snaked down to intertwine with her own. That did make her gasp, and flinch, but his grip on her waist tightened.

“What are you making?”

“Some stew to warm you up.” She replied, voice aggressively chipper.

Tim looked over to the oven, unimpressed.

“It stinks.”

Somehow that was the breaking point for Steph, who threw her arms back and moved away.

“What is your problem, huh?”

He looked back, almost gleeful. “You’re upset.”

“No shit I’m upset! Something’s wrong! You got something in your eye that made you fall to the ground in pain and now it’s nothing? You are physically cold as ice and you’re just being a pain and mean and childish and –”

“Childish. Childish?” He looked to the side as if he had a bright idea and moved away, back into the living room. “I thought you wanted that.”

“God, Tim, what are you blathering on abo—”

She cut herself off as he stood next to the windowsill with the flowers. It had been a couple of weeks since they had brought them home, and they were doing well, even with the general lack of sunlight. Tim stared at them like they were weeds, with nothing notable or pleasant about them, then he smiled maniacally.

With a carelessness comparable to a toddler throwing a tantrum, Tim pulled his red roses off the windowsill, the pot crashing and soil flying everywhere. Stephanie couldn’t help it, she screamed, stuck in place by the kitchen.

“Tim, no! No! Why would you… No don’t! Please don’t!”

His hand was hovering over her lilac flowers. His awful smile froze, then fell away, leaving an equally awful emptiness. His hand trembled, and his fingers instead stroked the petals. Stephanie twitched, half ready to body slam him if he threw her plant on the ground.

His hand fell away, and Stephanie – shamefully – began to cry. He had left her roses alone but wrecked his own.

“Why would you do that?”

He looked at her like she was stupid for not getting the joke. “They’re so ugly. And I thought it would be funny. Your face.”

“Funny?” She sniffed, eyesight blurry and nose running. She couldn’t bear how bored he sounded, how mean he was being.

“When you get all angry and hot.”

“Tim! You don’t do that to someone you care about!”

“Care about you? Do I?” He blinked, uncomprehending. He had gotten distracted again and was looking out the window at the snow.

She shrieked, feeling like she was talking to a brick wall or an uncaring five-year-old. She rushed over to his wrecked plant, trying to pack the soil together as best she could. Tim watched her for a moment, then kicked the spilt soil and plant. Stephanie flinched away, staring at the scattered dirt. Intentionally or not, he’d hit her hands that were trying to salvage the situation. It was such an unnecessarily spiteful and painful thing to do, that finally she’d had enough. Stephanie got up, and shoved Tim.

“Stop it.”

He didn’t look satisfied with her reaction anymore, and asked, “Do you want me to leave?”

“I want you to stop being so fucking cruel.”

It was like her words were literally going in one ear and out the other. It was like he wasn’t even talking to her, rather he was talking at her. Or he was talking to someone (something) else. “I’ll go then. I’ll go. I’m bored.”

She watched, mystified, as he put his shoes back on. He looked at her once and tilted his head like a confused dog, then moved back towards her. Still crying, she choked out,

“What are you –”

He kissed her, once, desperately. She flinched away, feeling violated for the first time in years. It seemed he was not happy with the kiss either. He looked off to the side, sucking on his tongue, musing the flavour. He shook his head once.

“No good.”

Stephanie stared, heartbroken. Tim just shrugged, like the entire thing was nothing more than a mild conversation about the weather. Grabbing her car keys. He opened the front door, giving a half-hearted farewell. And then he was gone. No coat, no gloves, no scarf. The snow flurries had picked up once more, as had the wind. He was going to very quickly freeze out in the open dressed like that. Even if he did have the car, getting stranded was a real possibility in the storm.

Hating him, but also petrified, Stephanie resolved to drag him back inside. She’d make him sit down, shove the stew she’d made down his stupid throat, then call Batman. She didn’t care what he and Robin were doing at the South Pole, something had gone very wrong back home.

Stephanie grabbed the apartment keys and grabbed her own shoes, running after him. The lights flickered, a power surge apparently occurring due to the storm, and she tripped over their pile of shoes at the front door and she tugged it open.

“You dick!” She screeched to the howling wind. No sign of Tim though, or her car. She jolted, confused at how he could have pulled out of sight that quickly. Already the tire tracks were covered in a fresh layer of snow. Her confusion quickly returned to anger.

Fuck him, she thought spitefully, slamming the door shut and going back inside. Getting back down to see what of his roses had survived his abuse. She cleared space in her own box, hoping that they would take in their temporary home.

She then went to call him, for once being the first to crack after an argument of theirs, only to realise before she clicked his face that his phone was still in his jacket that was hung on the rack.

He really had left the house with nothing on him but the clothes on his back.

She didn’t know what to do. She’d been an idiot during their time at the Manor and had left behind her suit, leaving her stuck inside with nothing warm or secure enough to go hunting for her purple car. As several hours passed, the more her anger made way for pure grief.

That wasn’t Tim. Never in a million years would he be that cruel. Angry yes, spiteful sometimes, but not callous. And he did care about her. She knew that for a fact. More than she believed almost anything else. Even when their relationship was at its worst, he had said, word for word, that he still loved her.

He wouldn’t make fun of her until she cried, he wouldn’t hit and kick her, he wouldn’t wreck a present that he knew was important to her, he wouldn’t be such a self-absorbed brat.

The wind screamed outside, and Stephanie blinked.

Freak storm. Tim’s adverse reaction. The pain in his eye and drastic mood swing.

The whole thing stank of something unnatural.

It was next to nothing to go off, but she had to try and see where that line of thought would lead. First things first though, she needed Tim to come home.

But he didn’t.

Panicking wouldn’t do any good. Tim could look after himself. Even in a storm like last night. Her little car was given to her by Bruce. It was as sturdy as a tank. He would be fine.

But still. Stephanie panicked and did not sleep that night. Instead she sat in the living room, drinking mug of tea after mug of tea, watching her roses and the snow blowing outside through the window. Occasionally she’d burst into tears, not sure what to do or what to say. She could brave the storm, maybe? But Tim didn’t have a key. What if he came home and couldn’t get in? What if he found a phone and called her, would she go to him then? What if, what if, what if?

Stephanie wondered briefly who people coped not knowing where their loved ones were before mobiles became extensions of their arms.

Maybe he’d just left Gotham, gone out of the city and away from the storm. It was minus twenty that night, again unbearably cold. Stephanie sat still, grief stricken, and waited for Tim to come home.

He never did.

Come the morning, she started her hunt, looking at the CCTV footage of Park Row and the neighbouring streets and businesses, but found nothing. The footage blinked, showing Tim exiting the apartment, then he and the car was gone, and it was Stephanie poking her head out to yell.

It was like he had shut the front door behind him and vanished. Or it would have been, if not for the fact that that blip of a power surge had happened at an awfully convenient time.

She messaged Cass and Duke, who confirmed that he did not return to the manor. A quiet enquiry to the Titans showed he had not made his way West either. The storm over Gotham that night was almost as bad as the first. He would have died if he did not find shelter.

The stink of the unnatural grew.

Her grief turned to panic, and two more awful days passed. The three of them took to frantic searching across the city, but a fresh layer snow made tracking her car difficult. Even worse, the GPS system installed by Bruce on her car (a safety precaution to now where she was at any given moment) wasn’t working. It hadn’t since Stephanie and Tim had arrived at the apartment.

Duke checked the different homes the Drake’s had owned just in case he had holed himself up there. The townhouse, the mansion in Bristol, but nothing. Cassandra and Stephanie had checked every safe house in Gotham, but no luck.

Duke wanted to inform Batman. Whatever lead Bruce was chasing, this was doubly important. One of his children had gone missing. Cassandra disputed Duke. Bruce had an entire city to worry about, adding Tim’s disappearance would not make him more urgent. If anything, it would make him sloppier. Nothing made Bruce more irrational than his family in danger. Let him tackle the issue with a clear head. The three of them in Gotham could find Tim.

But three days later, they hadn’t.

So Cassandra conceded, and the awful call to Bruce was made. Stephanie did not speak to him, but judging by Cass’ face after the conversation ended, it had not gone well. She relayed the information that his own search had been a dead end and would be home before the evening came round.

This served to make an anxious bubbling a permanent fixture in Stephanie’s gut. Surely if Bruce was coming home, the problem would be resolved?

A problem she had allowed to happen. Letting Tim just waltz out into a blizzard great job Steph.

No-one blamed Stephanie, though she certainly blamed herself. Tim’s roses were not taking to their shared space with Stephanie’s, and it felt like a miserable metaphor of how their relationship was seemingly incompatible.

What the actual hell had happened?

Staring at the roses, and hating herself a little, she decided to go speak to one of the few people in Gotham who maybe would have a clue about what was happening to the natural world.

Poison Ivy had a connection to the Green, whatever that was. It was a shot in the dark, but maybe Pamela would have heard something through the literal grapevine about what was causing the horrendous weather. From there, maybe Stephanie could chase a lead to Tim, and bring him home.

Alive. Preferably.

#dc #tim drake #stephanie brown #timsteph #my fic tag

8 notes · View notes

edyacouky · 4 years

Text

Diamonds are Hood best friends

Here just a silly thing I wrote. I hope you will like it.

Have a nice day everybody :D

Can be read on AO3

~*~

Jason is stressed in his kitchen. He has so much to do and so little of time. He should have refuse. Why did he accept do it is beyond him.

“What are you making? Roy asks him when he comes search for glass of water

-A mess. Jason groans. And don’t come near the food with your dirty hand.

-You were used to love my dirty hand. Roy dramatically gasps. What happen to us?”

But Jason doesn’t even smile. He keeps cooking like the food is some kind of annoying opponent who have to purpose to destroy his life.

“This bad. Roy said more seriously now. You know we can always cancel it. We could say we have an emergency while the true is it would you and me on our couch eating fast food and watching a movie.

-It’s not like we could cancel it forever. So do that now to get rid of it.

-It’s just a family dinner, Jaybird. Not the end of the word.

-It’s our family dinner. I am sure something will go wrong. I will bungle the dish. Or Bruce and Oliver will yell at each other. Or they will be yelling at us.

-Like hell I will let them do that at our home.”

Roy sight when Jason still frowns with worry eyes. Of course, Roy saw that this last day Jason was shaken by having the Batfamily and the Arrowfamily in the same time at their home. Hell, Jason was shaken since their relationship was known by their family.

It is not like they were hiding it, or Roy doesn’t think it was something they did, but their “good” relationship with members of their family was still new.

Honestly without the cameraman who not only stole the moment Arsenal kissed an injury Red Hood after a battle, but also decide to share it on social network, they will have keep that for them.

“You should have deny or not answer their call. Jason said with despair

-It’s that so bad that they know about us.

-I don’t know. Things were just so perfect before they knew, you know?

-Are you afraid that they will not approve.

-Maybe.

-Would that change anything if they didn’t approve?

-I don’t know. Jason confesses with guilt. You know how I can get because of them.

-I know. Roy admits. As much as you should know you can’t get rid of me.”

Roy keeps his reassuring smile while he catch Jason’s belt to making him come closer to him. He enlaces Jason, putting his hands on his lower back.

“I will never let you let me leave. I promise I'm not lying. Go ahead ask anybody who has seen me trying. I'm not going, if it seems like I did I'm probably waiting outside. Roy starts to song while kissing Jason neck

-I always thought that this song was about a dangerous stalker.

-But the melody is nice.”

Jason doesn’t contradict him and finally start to smile. Roy puts on of his hand on Jason’s cheek, his thumb caressing his cheekbone.

Tenderly, slowly, they kiss. Jason relax in his lover’s arms and trust him when he said that he will never let Jason waste what they have because of some of his insecurity. They know each other to well to not know how deal with each other bullshit.

“Did you put grease everywhere on my face?

-Maybe.

-Jeez Roy. I tell you not put your dirty hand anywhere from the food.

-Oh, Jaybird, I know that I eat you out a lot but you’re still a human being.

-God you’re the worst.” Jason laughs

~*~

“It’s really ok we all come? Oliver asks again to Dinah when they get in the MPV

-Again. Dinah sight while she secure little Robert. Jason said it was only fair since there will be seven members of his family.

-How much are we going to be?

-Again. Dinah and all the children said

-We are seven, they are seven, plus Roy and Jason, we will be sixteen. Dinah answer

-Ok. Ok. I understand I should still be quiet. It’s just I can’t believe they have the room to do a dinner for sixteen. And did Roy said that Jason cook the dinner tonight?

-Yes, he did. Cynthia sings song. Roy gives me cupcake made by Jason once. They were delicious.

-Sound like a lot of work for one person.

-Not everyone have a multibillion dollar to buy an army of domestic so they can be lazy. Connor Hawke jokes

-Well, Roy and Jason aren’t poor. Dinah defend. Even if you only count clean money, Roy gains more than enough with his inventions.

-Ah! So they could have used a caterer.

-Don’t start say thing like that. Dinah warns him. They will think you judge them. Connor Lance-Queen, stop immediately to bother Olivia.

-And don’t start to scream, young man. Or you will see what your mother will do.” Oliver adds severely

Dinah gives him an unimpressive look before she only sighs.

~*~

“Why do I have to come?

-Damian. Bruce said

-What? You accepted this invitation without ask us if we agree.

-Not untrue. Tim whispers gaining a punch in his chest from Cassandra

-Be nice, Little D. Dick request him. It’s the first time that Littlewing invite us for a family dinner. It would be nice if it wasn’t the last too.

-Why? Cite one of our family dinner who end well. Damian reclaims

-Oh! N°726. That’s their apartment! Dick exclaims, ignoring Damian’s last remark

-Why didn’t he answer the question? Duke asks. What should I expect from this?

-Everything will be fine. Bruce said going to open the door but Alfred stops him

-I raise you better than that Master Bruce.” He scolds him while knocking on the door

They wait a few seconds where Bruce’s children make fun of his bad manner, before Jason opens them.

“Hi, glad you could make it.” Jason said to them by automatism

Not that he wasn’t really happy to have them in his home, but he becomes nervous again. Roy’s family was already there and for the moment everything was fine.

But when life doesn’t fuck up with Jason?

“Master Jason, you look really elegant. Alfred compliments him

-Thank you, Alfie. You’re awesome as ever.”

As stupid as he may sound, his family realizes only now how important this dinner was for Jason. He seems really nervous and not only he did a big effort in his outfit, but when they enters the apartment they see that he put a lot of work on the decoration and the dishes.

“Hey guys and girl! Roy smiles at them. Good to see you.

-Good to see you to Roy. Dick answers hugging him

-Gladly to be there. Damian even said after a pointy look from Cassandra.

-Well, come have a seat. We have just started the aperitif. Do you want drink something?”

They sit at the table, only place in their apartment where everyone can seat, and start eating, drinking and talking.

At first everyone acts like they tread on thin ice, they didn’t know what to say to prevent any conflict. Eventually, the younger ones were more at the ease and help the adult to relax.

“I am just saying that calling your cave Arrow cave is totally plagiarism of the Batcave.

-This is my cave. I’m Green Arrow. How do you want me to call it?

-Quiver. Cassandra said

-Oh! This is an awesome idea!

-Not mine. Harley’s.

-Not sure if I should be comfortable that you talk about me with your psychopath villain.

-She needs to be heard.”

Seeing Jason relaxed laughing with the other, Roy smiles tenderly at him and put his hand on Jason’s knee. Jason doesn’t even hesitate when he see Roy’s gaze and kiss him lovingly.

“Love you.

-Love you too.”

It was past midnight. The younger ones are asleep in the couple’s bedroom, or in Damian case sprawl on the couch. They had finish to eat an hour ago and they all compliment Jason for his cooking making him ferociously blush. After that, nobody acted like they will leave soon, so they drink coffee and tea.

“Oh! Before I forget.” Roy suddenly exclaim going out of the table

He comes back one minute later, with some money.

“Here.

-Thanks. But you give me too much. Jason said after he counts the bills.

Roy shrugs and kisses Jason’s neck.

“Buy you a book.”

Jason tenses when he heard a giggle.

“What?

-Nothing. Oliver tries to defend himself. Just funny to see that is my son the sugar daddy in this relationship.

Almost everyone in the table choke on their drink before they laugh.

“What the hell Ollie? Bruce said shocked

-What? That’s true.

-Fuck no. I am not a lubricious old man.

-Yet.

-And he doesn’t support me. I have money, thank you.

-Why did he give you some then? Ollie jokes

-I just lost my debit card. He advances me until my new one arrives.

-It’s not that stupid what Ollie said.

-Oh. And how so Dickhead?

-Well my darling Littlewing, you’re younger than Roy to begin.

-You’re the one who do the cooking and the cleaning.

-Yeah I should help you more with that.

-No thanks. I see how you tidy up your workshop; I don’t want that in the rest of the apartment.

-And at the last event you go together the entire people magazine was saying “Who is the mysterious trophy husband Roy Harper has found?”

-Well he is still legally dead. If he was still officially a Wayne and we go to a gala, I’m sure I will be the trophy husband.

-Not sure. Jason knows how to dress better than you Roy. I am sure he will still be the trophy husband.

-Father! Damian exclaims from the couch. It may be just Todd, but will you really let them talk about one of us like that?

-I love you too Demon Brat.

-I knew you care. Dick coos before trying to hug Damian

-No! Grayson! Don’t come closer!

-Well my mother used to say to never underestimate a trophy wife. Because they could easily have the world at their feet. Bruce said ignoring the mess his two sons are making in the living room

-I thought that your parents had the same age.

-My father was younger by one year and half. But my mom worked frequently with trophy wife for charity event.”

They start to talk about other things when a knock interrupt them. Everybody tense, slowly Jason goes to the door and look at the peephole.

“It’s one of our neighbors. Hi, sir. What can I do for you? Jason asks him after open the door

-Hi. Look, you’re good neighbor and normally I would have pas that but, I have to just come back from work and I have to go visit my family in another state today. Just, I really need to sleep so can you lower the sound.

-Of course. Jason looks at Dick and Damian stop during their wrestling. We will let you sleep. Sorry for that.

-Thank, good night.

-Good night to you too.

-Well seems like it’s time to go. Dinah said

-You’re sure?

-Yeah, it’s late. The kids are already asleep.

-We will go too. Bruce said

-Sure?

-Yeah. Thank for the invitation.”

They all said good bye at the door.

They kiss and promise to do that again soon. With Olivia in his arms, Oliver hugs first Roy then Jason.

“Thank to have invited us tonight.

-You’re welcome.

-And thanks for the dinner. He said hugging Jason. It must have taken a lot of work to prepare that meal for sixteen.

-That’s fine.” Jason answer a little startled by the demonstration of affection

Bruce is the last to leave their apartment.

“Sorry we bother your neighbor.

-Don’t worry about that. I’m surprised it’s happen only now.

-Take care of you.

-That’s work for you too.”

They both smile and for a moment, Jason think that Bruce may hugs him but he just go with the rest of the family.

“Well everything was great. Roy said starting cleaning the table. We worry for nothing.

-I was sure that Oliver and Bruce will make a scene. Jason adds helping Roy

-And when Ollie start saying I was your sugar daddy, Roy laughs, I prayed that Bruce doesn’t beat me.

-They’re completely crazy.

-And you and I make all this crazy people one and only one family.

-Have mercy on us.”

~*~

Some day later, Jason is taking his breakfast with Tim.

“Sound like RedArse isn’t trendy anymore. Jason said looking at the news on his phone. SuperRobin stole us the show.”

One video of Kon kissing passionately Tim on the top of a Gotham’s building was everywhere on social network.

“Shut up. Bruce already lectures about not being attentive and unprofessional.

-Please, tell me you ask him if it was professional to sleep with a burglar he is supposed to arrest.

-No. Tim laughs. But if you do, film his reaction.

-Promise. Jason said before go search for salt

-While you’re at it. Can you get me some blueberry? They must be in my fridge.”

Jason goes in the kitchen; if he found the salt easily he can’t say the same for the blueberry.

“Are you sure you have blueberry?

-Maybe I put it in one of my closet.

-Nope. No blueberry in sight. Jason confirms after open up twice each closet

-I must have forgotten to buy it. Thank anyway.”

Jason sit down and stop what he wanted to do because something looks wrong with his phone.

“Did you touch my phone?

-Yes, Tim admits after a pause, we take beat which kind of Roy’s photo you have as wallpaper.

-What do you mean which kind?

-You know. Kind Roy asleep, kind both of you kissing, kind sexy Roy or kind embarrassing for Roy.

-Well sorry to disappointed you.

-Yeah I didn’t expect a dog. You don’t have one, do you?

-It’s an old picture of the dog I had when I was a kid. Some weeks ago, Bruce found some of my family old photo on squat of junkies.

-Your dog was cute. What were they name?”

~*~

Jason’s day was pretty exhausting so he is happy when he found Roy sit on the couch. He fall on the couch, put his head on Roy’s knee.

“Hard day.

-Awful. This child trafficker I had to catch decides to make me run after him.

-He didn’t dare.

-He’s an asshole. I make sure that everyone at the jail will know what he did to children.

-You didn’t kill him?

-No, he has some information that could be useful to save more kids and anyways Bruce is on this case too.

-Well I hope this could make you feel better.”

Only now, Jason see the little box with a golden ribbon on the table.

“What is it?

-Well it is for you so open up.

-If I’m not a lucky boy.”

In the little box, there are diamond cufflinks. Usually Jason think that diamond jewelries are too flashy but the one Roy choose are discreet. And Roy looks at him so hopefully that even if he didn’t like it, he couldn’t tell him that.

“That’s beautiful.

-You love it?

-Yeah. Thank you.

-Since there is this gala where we have to go, I though cufflinks was a good idea.

-That’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

Jason kisses him deeply sitting in his lap.

“And I think I should make you a lucky boy too.

-No need. If you’re too tired, I can understand.

-I am in good shape.”

Jason takes Roy’s shirt away before kisses him languorously.

~*~

“That’s new? Selina asks him at the gala looking interested by Jason’s cufflinks

-Yes. And gift from Roy so if you can let me leave with them I will appreciate it.

-Everything to make you happy kitten.”

Jason doesn’t like Selina’s smile but as she say she doesn’t stole him so maybe it was something else.

~*~

Jason is with the Bird of Prey. He needs their help on a case and they are kind enough to at least listen to what he has to say.

“Sound reasonable. Barbara admits

-I’m a reasonable man.

-I want you to promise you will not using anything I will give you for kill someone.”

Jason sight loudly. Honestly this kind of rich guy he was after for the corruption case was the kind he prefers dead. But if he successes make them lost all their fortune that will be enough.

“I promise.

-Good, give me your phone, I will transfer you all the data we have in this case.

-And we will tell you if we see something during patrol. Helena adds. But only if you don’t hide anything.

-I’m not B. If I say I want work with you, it means I will work with you and not using you while keeping secrets. I’m sure Babs already takes all the info I had on my phone, and we will stay in contact.

-I’m done with your phone. Barbara said and gives it him back

-Thanks.

-No, thanks to you.”

Jason shivers unexpectedly. He has a weird feeling suddenly. But the girls are nice and he will not accuse them of something just because a draught make him feels weird.

~*~

Some hours later, he meets Roy at the dinner they both like. They couldn’t see each other for the next days because of their jobs so they decide have a date. So the separation will be less difficult.

“How was your day? Jason asks him after kissing him quickly and takes place at the table.

-Better now that I see you.

-What will you do without me?

-I will get to know an old friend again. Roy jokes shaking his right hand

-Jeez, why did I love you again? Jason laughs after he kicks Roy under the table

-Well, I hope this could help you regain your memory.” Roy said putting a box out of his vest once their order taking by the waiter

Again, Jason thinks surprised. But he is touched by the gesture.

“I have nothing for you. Jason admits embarrassed

-That’s not a problem. It’s a gift as much for you than for me.”

Jason looks at him suspiciously. The little grin Roy had makes him suspect the worst, but they are on a public space, with some kids around, Roy wouldn’t dare offer him something to …suggestive, right?

Cautiously, Jason opens the box and found what seem to be two diamonds earrings.

“Oh, I’m just pierced at the right ear. Jason said confused

-You have an ear pierced? Roy asks amazed

-I was fourteen years old. It was after a fight with Bruce. It was stupid. Jason feels the obligation to defend himself

-Sound like a conversation for another day. Roy said feeling his partner’s embarrassment. Anyway, that aren’t earrings, but yes, that are piercing.

-Ah … Ah! Jason exclaims touching his chest when he understand that they are for his nipples. Do you mind if I go quickly in the bathroom to wear my gift.

-Do you think you could send me a photo? I’m not sure I could wait till we get home.

-Deal.”

They wanted to kiss rapidly but that seems like they can get enough of each other.

“I should go before we’re not PG anymore.” Jason said before leaving in a hurry

Roy sights looking dreamily at Jason while he walks away.

He thanks the waiter when he comes back with their orders, maybe not as much as he thanks the entity who brings Jason and him together. He really doesn’t understand how he gets so lucky.

His phone beeps and he sees the picture send by Jason.

Obviously, he was on the toilet. He holds his shirt so not only his chest was visibly but also his gorgeous abs. Roy is almost certain that Jason put down a little his jean too. Roy could swear he fell a little more in love because of the way the four little diamonds shine as much as the mischievous gaze he had. And not only, Jason’s grin promises an unforgettable night, but he also gently bites his lower lips exactly how Roy likes.

“Must be the first time I can’t wait to say good bye ;)” Jason wrote as commentary and Roy could only agree.

~*~

Months later, despite how terrible their mission could have ended, Roy and Jason is together asleep in their bed. Neither of them want to moves and they both cry and moan like babies when a ring wakes them up.

“Jay. Roy groans. That your phone …

-Fuck. Who is the asshole calling me this earlier?

-It is two p.m. Master Jason. Alfred answer hearing the question Jason asks

-Sorry Alfie. But with all my respect we go to bed at six a.m.

-I prefer that it’s that. We were supposed to see each other today. Did you forget?

-Fuck. I totally did. Jason admits. Let me one hour and I come.

-No need to. I just wanted be sure that you were alright.

-But I want eat your delicious pie. One hour. I’m coming.

-Very well. See you soon.

-See you soon.

-You abandon me. Roy jokes half asleep

-For Alfred’s cooking, I will leave you without a hesitation.

-I should be angry but I could sell you too for his cooking. Bring me a piece.

-If I don’t eat all.”

Jason kisses Roy’s forehead before he fell asleep again. Jason goes take a quickly shower, drinks some coffee and wears clean clothes. Then he drives his motorcycle to the coffee shop he have to meet Alfred.

“Sorry to be late. Jason said sitting

-Next time send me a message, if you can’t come.

-I’m here, right? I could came.”

Alfred say nothing to that. He doesn’t need to, just his unimpressed look at Jason tells him enough.

“Promise, next time I will text you.

-Thank you.”

They order their drinks and talk a little about everything. How life is at the Manor, about books they had read or some TV show they had watch.

Suddenly, Alfred takes Jason’s wrist looking curiously at the watch Jason wears. Simple watch with some diamonds around the dial.

“Gift from Mister Roy? Alfred asks

-Yeah. Jason smiles. I don’t how but he always finds some flashy gifts that are in my taste anyway.

-It was for a particular reason?

-No. I don’t think so.

-Did he buy it to you the same day where you help Miss Stephanie with her homework?

-I don’t remember. Yeah, I think he did. Why? Fuck! Do you

think I forget an anniversary or something like that? Jason starts to panic

-I think you should ask to Mister Roy why he buys you this gifts.”

Jason doesn’t understand this little smile Alfred have on his face. One second before he sounded like he was upset, though.

But despite what Alfred like to think, Jason knows him as much as Alfred know him. So he doesn’t try to force Alfred to tell him what’s happening in his brain exactly.

~*~

Jason wanted to listen to Alfred’s advice but life happen and he didn’t have time to talk about that with Roy.

Until one day where things go crazy.

Jason is cooking the dinner. Something simple and easy to do because he spend all the day with Selina, doing shopping and watching some telenovela, and he is tired.

Roy enters in their apartment, kisses him in the neck.

“Hi Jaybird. Roy said with a smile

-Hi yourself. Jason answers kissing him

-Hope it was you wanted. You were pretty specific this time.”

Jason frowns, don’t understand what Roy mean. He takes the large box Roy gives him. Curiously, with apprehension.

He almost choke when he sees what is inside.

“What’s the fuck, Roy? This is too much!” Jason can’t help himself and exclaims

There is a kind of Napoleon Diamond Necklace. But with more diamonds than the original who can cover easily Jason’s neck and shoulder. The worst is all the diamonds are real.

Jason can’t accept that. Even if it was a copy, it’s not Jason’s taste. But mostly it must cost a little fortune to Roy. How in hell did he thought it will be a good idea to offer him this?

“Really? I was afraid it would be not enough.

-Not … What the hell Roy? Why did you buy me this?

-Because you asking me. Roy answers perplexed

-Asking you? No!

-Well yes. I still has your text.

-My text?

-Jaybird, your dish burn.

-Shit!”

Jason give back the box to Roy so he can save what he’s cooking. Roy frowning sit in the kitchen, put the box on the table and search Jason’s message.

When the dish were save, Jason sit down next to Roy and look at his phone too.

“I didn’t send you a text. Jason confirm

-Look by yourself.” Roy retort showing the text

“Hi, my archer. Can you buy me the most fabulous Napoleon Diamond Necklace you can find? I will make sure it is worth it *winks*”

“What the …?”

It was his number. No doubt for that.

“I didn’t send you this text. Jason say again then he remember his conversation with Alfred. Wait. Did you receive a text like that every time you buy me a jewelry? Did you received a text tell you to buy me nipple piercing?

-Well no. Roy answer started by Jason’s hysteria. That’s the first time you were explicit about what you want.

-It wasn’t me!

-Ok. So who it was?

-Show me the date and hour you received this texts.”

Quickly, they realize that Tim send Roy a text for the cufflinks, Barbara for the piercings, Stephanie for the watch and Selina for the necklace. Every time they send to Roy a message telling something like Jason was feeling sad and diamonds could help him feel better and he will make sure to show to Roy how grateful he was.

“I’m going to kill them. Jason groans while Roy laugh

-Why? This is funny.

-No it’s not! I’m sure it’s because of Oliver’s stupid remark! How much money did you waste because of them?

-It’s not wasted. If I recall correctly you make it worthy I buy you this.

-Fuck! I’m really the trophy husband here. Jason groans embarrassed. I will give you back all the jewelries, so you can be refund.

-Why? No. Except for the necklace you like them, right?

-Yeah but I don’t like that you waste your money because of a stupid joke.

-It’s not a waste.

-Give back at least the necklace. How much did it cost you?

-Nope and it’s rude to ask how much a gift cost.

-Roy, I’m serious.

-Me too. Look, can I at least see you wearing it? Before you throw it in some deep closet.”

Jason suspiciously at Roy before he realizes.

“It’s make you horny that I’m your trophy husband, isn’t it?

-I’m weak man. Roy admits with a smile. It’s just … it’s been a while since you didn’t wear the nightie you buy for Valentine Day. Could be the occasion.

-I’m starting to think that you knew it was a joke.

-I swear I’m an innocent victim here. Doesn’t mean I should take an opportunity when I saw one.

-You’re the worst. Jason smiles amused

-It’s that a no?

-It’s that a yes. But I’m still killing them.

-Don’t be such killing joke, Jaybird. Roy kisses him passionately. Fuck them.

-I was thinking you will fuck me.

-Yeah that too.”

They laugh and make sure that this joke make at their expense become their best night.

Tomorrow, Jason will find a way to avenge Roy and his self-esteem.

#dc comics #jayroy #jason todd #roy harper #my fic

20 notes · View notes

dibs4ever · 4 years

Text

Playground flirtation

Dick is at the playground with his and Barbara’s son when a woman begins to flirt with him

“I scad Daddy!” The blue eyed toddler trembled from the top of the highest slide at the park. His winter coat making his already pudgy little arms stick out away from his small body.

His father was smiling up at him from the bottom of the slide “Awe my Chavo, it’s okay. I’m here to catch you” Dick held his hands out to demonstrate

The 20 month old shook his head holding a gloved hand to his face “Dada come with me”

Their blue eyes met and Dick sighed standing up “Alright I’m coming” he pulled his hat off, slipping it into his coat pocket and walked around the playground structure. He jumped then pulled himself up and over the railing to where his son was. Nathan smiled when Dick landed beside him. Then the toddler began tugging off his own beanie.

Dick shook his head pulling it back on him “Mommy will not be happy if she sees you with no hat on.” Dick adjusted his sons hat and shrugged “Besides Grandfather Alfred knitted it especially or you” he booped the boys nose causing him to giggle .

He scooped his son up setting him in his lap before shuffling to the slide, together they went down the mettle plate. Nathan giggling the whole way down with his arms up

Dick smiled when they reached the bottom “See was that so bad?” He stood holding his son on his hip

Nathan shook his head “I do it with Daddy!” He said proudly

Dick chuckled “Yeah, you did baby” he pushed his sons head to him and cuddled him close. “I love you” he kissed the toddlers temple

“Where Mama?” The boy asked lifting his head

Barbara was doing some case work today with Bruce, but said she’d come by if she got a chance, obviously he wasn’t going to tell a baby that.

“She’s shopping with Aunt Dinah.” He told him

Nathan clapped his hands “With Daddy?”

Dick grinned “That’s right you get to spend the morning with Daddy.”

He tossed his son up in the air and caught him causing the baby to let out an adorable giggle. “Wanna do a handstand on daddy?” Dick ginned

Nathan nodded , Dick flipped the boy upside down and the toddler placed his hands on Dick’s shoulders. Dick held onto him for support, his son smiling widely at his abilities.

“Introducing the amazing Flying Baby Grayson!” Dick said in his best ringmaster impersonation as he let go of his son, the boy falling forward into Dick’s arms where he caught him, tossed him back up into the air then caught him again before hugging him tightly. Both Father and son falling into a fit of laughter

A tall woman with short curly brown hair around Dick’s age approached them. “I’ve been watching you two and just had to come tell you, you’re great with him” she gestured.

Dick smiled “Thanks. We have fun together right buddy?” He tickled the babies tummy

“Nephew?” She asked

Dick shook his head “No he’s my son.” He explained

She laughed “I I should’ve figured, he’s adorable. Just like you”

“Thanks” Dick nodded wrestling with his son who was squirming, he gave in and set him on the ground

“Nancy” the woman held a hand out

Dick set his son down to shake her hand “Dick and that’s Nathan “ he pointed

The woman looked down at Nathan who was staring up at her confused “Awe do you want me to hold you?” She cooed scooping up Nathan before anything else could be done. The toddler instantly began to scream throwing himself backwards, causing her to nearly drop him on the concrete.

Dick quickly took him from the woman before she lost her hold on him

“Kids strong.” She sighed

Dick nodded, stroking Nathan’s dark locks as the boy buried his head into Dick’s chest refusing to look at the woman “I should have warned you, he’s particular about who holds him. Especially woman. He’s very attached to his mother” she explained setting his son back down

Nancy shook her head shamefully “Figures, peop-“ she was cut off when Nathan ran of

“Mama!!!!” He shouted running

“Excuse me” Dick held a finger up chasing after his son.

Swiftly scooping him up as he began slipping on the icy sidewalk

“Careful my boy, it’s slippery “ he fixed the boys boots and walked with him till they met Barbara halfway

“There’s my favorite boy.” She grinned

Dick smiled “Yup here I am!”

She shook her head “Not talking to you” she smiled taking the boy for Dick’s arms and kissing him. Then looked at Dick “Awe don’t pout” she went to kiss him when.....

“No MY Mama!” Nathan waved an arm in front of Dick. He chuckled ”Fine my little possessive child. I'm going to run to the restroom. I'll meet you on the playground ” Dick pointed

Barbara nodded and watched him walk towards the stalls before turning and carrying their son to the the playground

”Well hello little Nathan welcome back.” Nancy spoke

Nathan clung onto his mother tighter ”I’m sorry, do I know you?” Barbara asked

The woman shook her head “No I was talking to him and his father just as you arrived” she explained

Barbara nodded

“You’re a lucky woman” Nancy nodded toward the baby cuddled in Barbara’s arms

Barbara smiled and placed a hand on her sons head “Thanks. Do you have a kiddo here? My son is very social”

The woman shook her head “Not at the moment I’m waiting for my ex husband to get here with them”

Barbara nodded “I’m sure that’s not easy...can’t speak from experience but I know people from split families”

Nancy tilted her head “What do you mean experience? You got lucky one time and get to raise a baby with a gorgeous man”

Barbara paused......”Hold on.....lucky one Time. This lady thinks Dick and I just had a one night stand and I got pregnant” she thought

Barbara let out a sigh, Dick was the one who insisted that they take their son to parks a playgrounds outside of Gotham and Bludhaven...he wasn’t necessarily wrong. The last time they were at the Gotham park there were gangs fighting and the Bludhaven Park Nathan almost picked up a used needle. But going to other city’s further away meant people who didn’t know them as well.

Barbara shook her head “Oh no his father and I are together”

The lady laughed “Yeah right, look at you...then look at him. It doesn’t match. Stop lying, the way I see it you two probably hooked up at a bar when he was drunk. You got pregnant and now he’s stuck with you for the rest of his life.”

Barbara bit her lip, she swore if she wasn’t holding her son right now she’d be ripping this lady a new one

“He’s my husband” Barbara went to hold her hand up but remembered she had taken her ring off during Batgirl duty last night. She set Nathan down and allowed him to go play on a nearby toy.

Nancy laughed “Okay sure, now you are really telling tales. Now why don’t you run along with your little prize and let me show your sexy baby daddy what it’s like to be with a real woman.” She bowed her eyes

Just then Dick walked up beside Barbara ”Hey, I see you met Nancy” Dick waved his hand

Barbara nodded, placing a hand on the back of his neck out of view to Nancy she began running her fingers through his hair the way he liked.

He turned to look at her and she looked at him. Hoping their silent communication was good enough for him to pick up on at least getting the message

”This girl is being a bitch to me and wants to hook up with you”

Apparently he did because Dick grabbed her and pulled her close giving her a hard but closed mouthed kiss on the lips. He pulled away both of them smiling .

“I better, go check on Nate” Barbara grinned

Dick nodded watching her go “Sorry you had to see that-our son is very possessive over her and wouldn’t let me kiss her when she first got here.” He told Nancy who now had her arms crossed

She nodded “I see, so what? Is she like your hook up buddy?”

Dick shook his head “Oh no she’s my wife, my smart, amazing, talented, wise,organized, quick thinking, beautiful wife” he sigh blissfully

Nancy began to turn

“Where are you going?” Dick asked

Nancy rolled her eyes “There isn’t anything else for us to talk about” she grumbled before stomping off

Dick cackled then walked over to Barbara and Nathan.

She was at the bottom of the slide he had been at previously once again trying to encourage their son to go down by himself. Surprisingly he did it, smiling the whole way down. Barbara caught him, hugging him and spinning

“Hey you did it!” Dick smiled kissing his sons temple “You wouldn’t do it for me, are you being dangerous and showing off for mommy?”

Nathan smiled nodding his head

Dick turned to Barbara “I love you” he pecked her lips before their son could protest

“And I love you” Barbara smiled doing the same.

38 notes · View notes

solaneceae · 4 years

Text

MY HUMAN!EGOS AU

i got a surge of inspiration and started creating my own versions of the egos! its still a work in progress but i love them to bits and im really excited to share them

JACKIE

grew up in an abusive household, emotional and sometimes physical abuse

parents screamed at each other all the fucking time, father was an alcoholic

Left home as soon as he was able to live by himself (16)

he’s 22 now

poor

trans boi, on T, wears a binder cuz he can’t afford top surgery

lives in an apartment with two roommates: Max, a philipino sound designer and independent musician (they/them) and their girlfriend Nilanjana (Nana), a buff training coach from indian descent

Jackie is in a queerplatonic relationship with them: they cuddle and kiss on the forehead during movie nights and all that cute shit

he has a part-time day job to pay the rent and bills: he gives self-defense lessons

he drinks his respect women juice

vigilante at night. gets hurt a lot. his roommates think he fights in an illegal fight club for extra cash and are worried about him

wants to save people and spread positivity wherever he goes

but he has the wrong way to go about it

basically he does the PMA thing wrong and thinks any kind of negativity is bad and tries to force himself to be happy all the time.

not healthy, someone help this poor boi

anger issues, undiagnosed ptsd and ADHD

antsy boi! stimmy boi! He’s always bouncing on his feet or humming a tune or fiddling with his hair

aromantic asexual

pure of heart, dumb of ass. seriously, he’s such a dumb, but he does have street smarts

vitiligo!!

light blue eyes, dyes his brown hair lime green

extrovert, loves people

the kind of guy to record himself doing parkour and post it on tiktok

team hot cocoa

for the love of god please don’t give him coffee, he’s enough of a jitterbug already

wants a dog. prolly needs an emotional support one.

plays the drums. Fished a beat-up set somewhere, would like a proper one

fights with his fists and a wooden staff

no special powers, just self-taught fighting skills, natural flexibility and talent at acrobatics and rigorous training

MARVIN

he was born with green cat eyes, the physical representation of his extremely potent magic. parents were freaked out, and basically hid him away

had no control over his powers as a baby, would wreak havoc around him. think Mob from Mob Psycho 100

the upper side of his face was badly burned when he lost control of his powers as a toddler, so he wears masks to hide the scars. the cat one is just the one he wears most often

“hey, nice mask!” “it’s a prosthetic.” “...oh.” (it’s not that bad really, he’s just really self-conscious about it)

he was homeschooled his whole life and generally wasn’t allowed to go out much, so his social life/skills are nonexistent

his parents are famous fashion designers

they’re super rich and travel the world and send him a ridiculous amount of money every month

they say it’s for work but the real reason is that they couldn’t deal with having a “freak” as a son but couldn’t abandon him without getting bad PR

so instead they just took their distance and left him to live in a big-ass mansion by himself as soon as he was old enough (10 years old)

they dont really care what he does. last time they called him was when he was 13

last time they sent him a birthday card was when he was 18

now he’s 24

(and at this point he makes me think of bruce wayne lmao. he needs an alfred)

since he has money and home, he doesn’t need a job, so he just stays cooped up in the property and almost never leaves, he orders his food and groceries to be delivered to him

he’s basically a hermit at this point. and a huge nerd

he tries to use his natural magic as little as possible, (hello trauma my old friend) so he still has flimsy control over it

instead he dabbles into wicca and the occult to do stuff

A bookworm, quite serious, dresses like a hipster art school student. he wears SAROUEL PANTS.

glasses!! Big round rimless glasses!! soft!!!!

long brown hair, messy bun, dyes the tips dark green and purple

disaster gay

“sleep? what’s that? i only know coffee”

has three cats he rescued himself: Spades, Jasper and Poppy

has a huge greenhouse linked to the main building. he likes gardening a lot, whether it’s for his craft, for cooking or just because he likes seeing plants flourish

HOW THEY BOTH MET / IDEAS AND SHIT

Jackie tried to take on a whole ass drug ring and bit more than he could chew at the time so he got beat up pretty bad. He managed to escape with his trusty grappling hook and swung around a bit before crashing through the glass ceiling of the greenhouse while Marv was tending to his plants, in the early morning.

Long story short Marv is in a panic because a complete stranger (also the only human being he’s interacted with in months) just flopped in front of him and is probably dying and he wants to call an ambulance.

jackie: *beaten black and blue and coughing up blood* jackie: oh hey how’s it goin’ marv: *distressed nerd noises* marv: oh my god who the fuck are you but also are you dying in my house im calling an ambulance- jackie: uh yeah no please dont im kinda doing illegal stuff also i cant afford it marv: marv: wh-

also what if marv calls the family’s doctor since jackie won’t go to a hospital, and it’s fucking Schneep henrik: what the fuck did you do this time marv: it wasn’t me! jackie: your family doctor scares me marv: that’s why they hired him

maybe after that jackie keeps coming to see marv and marv is like “ugh you again-” and he always come to marv whenever he gets hurt, to get patched up by schneep. he broke the ceiling two more times basically they become “hey ron hey billy” vine, its just a habit at this point.

Marv is a rich boi that doesn’t know anything about life. at this point i realize he’s like a mix of Elsa and Rapunzel, and Jackie is kinda Flynn xD Jackie just… aggressively becomes Marv’s friend despite the magic man’s reluctance, and shows him the world. love me some smart grumpy nerd/dumb happy jock friendship

jackie: im your friend now marv: wh- jackie: *drags him outside* LETS GO CLIMB A BUILDING TOGETHER-

Marvin but he’s never been in a grocery store in his entire life because he just orders super expensive pre-made meals to his house or cooks his own veggies, and he’s just amazed at the first one they go to

like “wHAT, IT’S A ROW OF FREEZERS! Remind me to install one of these at my place!”

and Jackie, who just came here for bread and milk, looks at him fondly but also is very concerned. Also he doesnt question marv’s masks, he just thinks they look cool

@tabbynerdicat it’s my bois! @lilakennedy because i know you like those two, and your love for them motivated me to develop them first

#caori's stuff #jacksepticeye #jse #jse egos #jacksepticeye egos #jackieboy man #jbm #marvin the magnificent #jse au #human!egos AU

27 notes · View notes

northoftheroad · 5 years

Text

The Wayne family

Sometimes, when I read Batman fanfiction, I wonder whether the writer has been reading the same comic books as I have. Because they paint a picture of a big, happy Wayne family where the kids are very close and sometimes the whole bunch even live together.

Now, I do know the difference between canon and fanfic. And I get that wishful thinking and selective reading plays a big part. But still, I'm curious where these conceptions come from.

Just to be clear. I do think of Bruces adopted/foster children as a family because they have a common father(figure). But they have not grown up together. It depends on what DC continuity you're playing with, of course, but most of them are in their teens when Bruce Wayne comes into their lives and they can’t have lived more than a few years with him. Several of them have not lived together. So even if I let my imagination run amok, I can't see them living at the Manor together as a tight-knit family, and I don't think all of them know each other very well.

Batman and Robin vol 2 # 10. By Peter Tomasi, art Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray.

Dick Grayson had moved out (or been kicked out, depending on what version you go with) when Jason Todd came along (and Bruce suffered from empty nest syndrome). Jason was dead when Tim Drake came into the picture, and Tim lived with his parents or boarding school in the beginning. Even if Dick kept in pretty close contact with Tim, he had a permanent home elsewhere.

Batman: Gotham Knights # 45. By Scott Beatty, art Roger Robinson and John Floyd.

I admit I haven't read a lot with Cassandra Cain. As far as I understand, after Flashpoint she has never lived in the Manor. Before Flashpoint, she was adopted, but I don’t believe she lived long in the Manor, and the only other Wayne adoptee she can have shared the home with is Tim.

Edit: At least, Bruce probably did have time to adopt Cass, even though he promised to do it in Batman: Redemption Road (2008), just before the story arc Batman RIP where he, presumedly, died. They certainly did not live together as a family for long.

Batgirl: Redemption Road # 6. By Adam Beechen, art Jim Calafiore and Jack Purcell.

I’m sure there are cute panels of Tim and Cass out there, but I’m picking some from comics I know of.

Batgirl # 50. By Dylan Horrocks, art Rick Leonardi and Jesse Delperdang.

Batman: Family # 7. By John Francis Moore, art Steve Lieber and Stefano Gaudiano.

Tim was an older teenager when Damian al Ghul/Wayne dropped into the house and immediately tried to get rid of Tim the hard way, and I don’t think they spent a long time under the same roof until Bruce "died", and soon after Tim left (at least partially).

Batman # 657. By Grant Morrison, art Andy Kubert and Jesse Delperdang.

Dick moved in with Damian and raised him (for about a year). When Bruce first came back he travelled with Batman Inc, and Dick and Damian continued to live together. There were times when you could find Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian and Alfred in the Manor at the same time, but not living permanently together.

Batman & Robin vol 1 # 20. By Peter J. Tomasi, art Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray.

Now, Flashpoint, New 52 and Rebirth makes it even more impossible to puzzle together a credible timeline for everything Bruce Wayne is supposed to have done and everyone's relationship with each other. We’ll end up with Jason being Robin for about a month... But, anyway...

At the start of New 52, Dick has gone back to Nightwing and moved into his own flat in Gotham. He’ll continue to move around in different cities so he’s clearly not living with any other Wayne. By then, Cassandra is retconned out of the family and I haven’t seen any sign that Jason lives at the Manor with Bruce and Damian (and I don’t know about Tim either).

Fast forward into Rebirth, and Duke Thomas stayed and trained with Bruce for a while. If any of the other kids lived there at the same time is anybody's guess, but you can see the whole Bat-family (including, for instance, Stephanie Brown and Luke Fox) share a happy meal in the Manor, so at least they socialize from time to time. I’ve read somewhere that Duke since has moved in with relatives.

In canon right now, as far as I can make out, the only one who (at least sometimes and varying between the books) lives with Bruce and Alfred in the Manor is Damian.

Another fanon exaggeration on the opposite part of the scale, in my opinion, is the penchant for portraying Dick and Jason's relationship as extremely bad from the start.

There are three different versions of how they met before Flashpoint. The first time, when Jason was a circus-boy Dick clone, Dick originally wanted to take him in, but Bruce stepped in instead (DC needed a new Robin for Batman, after all). The second time, Bruce had fired Dick from Robin because he was shot by the Joker and then promptly picked up Jason, after Dick had left. The third time (Nightwing Year One), Bruce fired Dick and kicked him out (I tend to ignore this version mostly, to be honest, because Bruce is ridiculously much of an ass here) and then, as you know, took in Jason.

And it's not that Dick loves Jason straight away, or the fact Bruce took in a new Robin by the blink of an eye, in the two later versions. But he still gives Jason his old Robin suit and his phone number in version two and in version three, they part on decent terms, and Dick tells Bruce (by recording) that he could have done worse.

After that, they hardly meet before Jason is killed because Dick is working with the Titans and doesn't live in Gotham. Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Jason helped the New Teen Titans a few issues (Dick was busy getting in the hands of Brother Blood and being brainwashed, at the time) in New Teen Titans vol 2 # 20–31. And there is a snapshot of Dick and Jason hanging out as civilians in Nightwing vol 2 issue 63. That's about it.

Nightwing vol 2 # 63. By Chuck Dixon, art Trevor McCarthy and Karl Kesel.

Then, of course, Jason came back from the dead slightly unhinged (2005). I don't know the whole picture of meetings or confrontations between the Bat-kids between Jason's comeback and Flashpoint (2011). I do know he dressed up as Nightwing and killed people in Nightwing vol 2 # 118–122. When Jason was abducted, Dick struggled a bit with the question "Is it ethical for me to save someone who's a danger to society?" before he went to save Jason. In the end, Jason sends a telegram where he says "Thanks for coming for me, brother. I know we don't agree on much. I just wanted to believe we could be family again." Tim and Dick also had a confrontation with Jason in Teen Titans (2003) # 47, and Dick and Jason had a not very amicable meeting in the Outsiders v 3 # 44.

Nightwing vol 2 # 118 –122. By Bruce Jones, art Joe Dodd, Paco Diaz, BIT and Nathan Massengill.

And then we have Battle for the Cowl, where Jason shot Damian, left Tim for dead and tried to kill Dick after he had refused to become Robin to Jason's Batman. (I guess there are Jason fans out there who think that Dick was not justified to put Jason in jail after that. Obviously, I'm not one of them, but if anyone dislikes these years in canon and decides to ignore it to the best if their ability, who am I to judge?)

So, the Wayne boys definitely had a partly antagonistic, partly close, partly distant relationship. After Flashpoint, I think it has in been portrayed as better. At least, I haven't seen them try to kill each other... Tim calls Damian "gremlin", Jason is Damian's secret mentor (or so I've seen somewhere), they sometimes meet on the rooftops and work together. On the other hand, the previously close relationship between Dick and Tim seems pretty much forgotten. (Let's hope they start remembering that soon again.)

Detective Comics # 975. By James Tynion IV, art Raul Fernandez and Alvaro Martinez.

Somewhere in Batman and Robin Eternal, Jason says that Tim is the only of the other Robins that he likes. (I honestly don't know where that came from, I never noticed them seeing eye to eye before. Still, it's not like I've read every Bat comic ever printed. But then, I rather believe the same goes for a number of DC writers... Edit: I’ve been informed that it’s probably from a flashback in an issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws.) In RH and the outlaws annual 1 (I think that’s the only issue of that series I’ve read, to be honest), Jason narrates that there was a time when he would have killed Dick on sight. "Not my proudest moment. We've made up since then." They have a complicated relationship, but they are still somehow clearly brothers, and Jason thinks back to when he saw the Flying Graysons perform and how Dick was a hero to him then (another retcon after Flashpoint). As far as I know, it's the only post-Flashpoint retelling of how Jason and Dick met, and the story is that Alfred puts Jason in Dick's room so he wouldn't have to clean a new one. Dick is not happy to find someone in his bed when he comes home to visit. They fight. Honestly, I can't imagine Alfred doing that, so that's one version of the canon I’m happy to overlook...

On the other hand, we have Jason and Dick hanging out on the rooftops in Blüdhaven in Nightwing vol 4 # 15, and Dick, Jason and Damian certainly bicker like siblings (together with Duke) in Batman vol 3 # 16 and # 33.

Nightwing vol 4 # 15. By Tim Seeley, art Minkyu Jung.

Batman vol 3 # 16. By Tom King, art David Finch.

On the whole, I think the only thing you can be sure of about the relationships between the Wayne family members these days is that it varies quite a bit between titles and writers and has had its ups and downs over the years. But that they have never lived together as one big, happy family.

Of course, all this is based on the comic books I’ve read, and there might very well be stories out there that paint a different picture. But on the whole, I’m pretty confident that this panel is about as close to a happy family gathering we’ve seen. And then it’s not only the Waynes but the Bat family.

Batman and the Signal. By Scott Snyder and Tony Patrick, art Cully Hamner.

#Batman #Robin #Nightwing #Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Damian Wayne #Cassandra Cain

223 notes · View notes