#Bruce not understanding emotions

[dcxdpdabbles]

Freelance Inventor Part 2

Dedicated to @jimmysorsprinkles Thank you for enjoying my random dabbles. I saw that you wanted more Dads, Danny/Bruce, who are unknowingly co-parenting, so here it is! (set during the first prompt through the years of Danny just being a dad whenever he's home)

"I just don't know what to do," Bruce admits, watching Dick stomp about in tiny angry circles, muttering in his native tongue under his breath. He's been out there for about a half hour, doing laps in the yard. Danny knows he deliberately chose to do so under the window leading to Bruce's office.

The kid definitely wanted his guardian to know he was mad at him .

It was the fact Dick was unconsciously hunching his shoulders, curling his fist, and even raising his knee slightly higher than he needed for his stomps that were a nod to Bruce whenever the man was upset.

It seemed like Dick had picked up habits from Bruce during his short time here. If anything, Danny thought it rather cute if it weren't for the fact Dick was so upset.

"What happened?" He asked, standing beside Bruce, overlooking the pre-teen throwing a fit.

Bruce's frown is sharp and hinted with just the edge of uncertainty that anyone who didn't know him well would have dismissed. "He was being reckless in one of our extreme sports, and when I rightfully scolded him for it, he took it as me not trusting him."

Danny tilts his head, considering. It's been over three years since he became acquainted with the Waynes, and in that time- between his travels, his inventing, and his general desire to learn all he could in any way he could- he noticed that Dick was very quick to anger as a defensive mechanism.

This clashed horribly with Bruce's own mechanism- which was shutting down or at least emotionally wise. While Dick sneered and raged against the world, Bruce tried his best to forget he was human and detached himself from the situation.

Which wouldn't be so bad if it didn't feed into Dick's insecurities or Bruce's anxiety when they both reacted to adverse situations.

He has spoken to Jazz about it, and his sister has given him some advice that has helped him smooth things over with the young boy. Empathizing and paraphrasing the boy's issues was a big step in letting him feel heard and his feelings acknowledged.

For Bruce, he treated him like a ghost who had never seen a human. Plenty of ghosts were never human, were born in the ghost zone, or had been there for so long that they had forgotten what humans were like. Danny took time to explain why someone reacted the way they did- at least, why he thought so- and never made Bruce feel less for needing the help.

It was fun, in a way, to see Bruce's eyes lighten up with understanding and get him to talk about his rooted issues, but having to do so on carefully balanced tones and word choice. Phantom had so much practice de-escalating ghosts that it was a walk in the park with Bruce.

"I'll talk to him," Danny promised, leaning over to rest his hand on Bruce's shoulder and not batting an eye when the taller man landed down to rest his forehead on Danny's shoulder.

Where Bruce couldn't say in words, he yelled in his actions. It reminded him a bit of Wulf.

Bruce took a deep breath before nodding. "Thank you."

Danny hummed, reaching up to pet Bruce's hair like he would soothe Wulf, on days the werewolf would twitch too much at the door slamming, and suddenly his friend was mentally back in Walker's prison. "No problem. But, I will also be speaking to you later, and you are going to listen to Dick's side of the story without interrupting at dinner."

"Yes, Danny"

Alfred threw him an approving smile as he marched outside to meet Dick's rage-filled eyes and nervous hand twitching. He could catch the ending bits of whatever rant the boy was muttering.

"You're right. Bruce is an idiot sometimes." He starts grinning as the boy's eyes narrow further.

"You don't speak Romani."

"I may not understand what you're saying, but trust me, I feel it." Danny chirps, watching Dick's shoulder relax a little. " What did he do this time?"

"You won't even believe it!" Dick snaps, and then he's off, Danny keeping pace with him step by step as the boy works himself into another frenzy.

Later that night, Dick explained that he hated how Bruce made him feel so belittled and unimportant, his voice tight with a itch to fight, and Bruce carefully- with significant prompting from Danny- explained how he didn't mean it that way. He was only worried that he was about to watch Dick die in front of him, and he couldn't live through losing his family again.

Dick looked shocked to be considered family, and Danny swore he helped the boy sneak into Bruce's office, which so happened to have the adoption papers Bruce was hiding. Alfred gave him a large sample of pudding for dessert.

______________________________________________

"Hey, kid," Danny whispered, watching Jason tense up momentarily. It's not overly noticeable, but Danny has grown used to seeing little ghost blobs show emotions by how they twisted and twirled over the years, so he could tell what the slight tightening of the fingers around the book meant.

Anxious.

It would be understandable if Jason had been present for another one of Dick's and Bruce's explosive arguments. He came from a household that had an older male figure beat him whenever Willis got in a mood, so while he knew that Bruce or Dick would never hit him, Jason still tried to make himself scarce.

Jazz was the one to point out Jason's usage of escapism in the form of books to comfort himself, and so Danny took whatever time he could manage to read the same books as Jason while on his travels.

"What?" The boy grunted, voice soft but weary.

Danny sits across from him, making sure to stay in Jason's eyesight at all times. He had realized in only his second visit after meeting Jason that the boy did not like having someone too close in his space.

He grew up on the streets where being weary of older men kept him alive- Danny would never fault him for what he had to do to survive.

Unlike Dick, who was always down to talk about why he was upset if only to rant, Jason preferred to have a distraction. So he offers him a smile that he hopes projects You're safe with me and pulls out a book from his bag.

Jason's eyes light up at the cover. "I had some theories on Mr. Darcy being in love with Mr.Bingley before he met Elizabeth, and Bruce won't agree with me. Help me find citations as proof?"

"It's so obvious that he was, how can the old man not see that!" Jason snorts, tilting his head in a cute habit that he picked up from Dick. He really looks up to his big brother no matter how tense things can get.

Danny is glad he's gotten Dick to explain to Jason that he didn't hate him, but he was going through a lot, and Jason as a street kid, understood on some level.

"The old just hate listening to other people's suggestions even when we're right!." Jason leans over to read the book Danny places between them, considering Jane Austin's work while Danny files away the real reason he's upset with Bruce.

Later, after Jason and he present a bemused Bruce with a report on why Mr.Darcy is bi and had feelings for his best friend before meeting his wife, he tells Bruce to explain why he didn't consider Jason's suggestion in their extreme sport.

Jason goes to bed that night with a better answer than "because I said so," and Danny forces Bruce to go up to his room and re-read Pride and Prejudice to connect with his youngest.

Alfred offers them extra blankets and pillows since the two get so caught up reading to each other that Danny just decides sleeping in Bruce's bed is easier than walking down two wings to the guest rooms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm not going to bed," Tim snapped when Danny knocked on his door. His fingers are flying over the keyboard of his computer, his little face glowing from the computer screen, and Danny is almost reminded of himself whenever he gets caught up in his work.

It may worry Bruce and Alfred, but Danny is a Fenton. He knows what it's like to have his brain run over time and sacrifice sleep or meals to get his ideas into the world.

His mother is the same, his father is the same, his sister is the same, and even Danny's clone is the same. It's fitting that the little boy he caught following Batmam around with a camera is the same since he all but forced Bruce to adopt him.

He hadn't meant to.

He had been testing an air purifier when he returned to Gotham since Bruce and the kids were out of state, and his ghost hearing picked up the sound of a camera click.

Imagine his surprise that when he turned to the roof opposite him, he found the tiny little face of an eleven-year-old staring back, holding a camera, and Batman swinging away in the distance. Danny became attached to Tim that night, even after he chased the boy down to ask if he was safe.

He did not like the implications of his parents always "working" while Tim ran amok in Gotham.

It took almost two weeks of following Tim around Gotham to help him with his photos before the boy allowed him to take him to Wayne Manor. It took three more before Bruce realized that Danny wouldn't allow Tim's parents to win him back, and together, they took the Drakes to court.

Danny has never been more grateful that Bruce was loaded with money and that his inventions gained him contacts in high places that wouldn't mind taking the Drakes down.

Tim was a lot like Bruce- where he shut down- but he needed people to be around him more. Sometimes just sitting in the same room- where Tim could glance up and see him- was enough for the boy to be at ease.

This was great for Bruce, who thought he didn't need to do much to make Tim happy- until Danny reminded him that Tim was a poor boy who was gutted for any form of parental approval.

He had to almost punch Bruce after overhearing him tell Tim he was proud of him, but there was room for improvement. Bruce meant it as helpful, constructive criticism, but Tim- whose parents all but drilled how useless he was- only heard criticism.

Only heard, he was not enough.

So now Tim was going, who knew how many hours without sleep, trying to fix whatever issue he thought he had caused. How a fourteen-year-old could have caused issues at his adoptive dad's multimillion-dollar company was beyond Danny, but it meant a lot to Tim, so he didn't need to understand it.

He just needed to respect it.

"Don't want you to," Danny grunts, throwing himself on Tim's queen-sized bed. "I just wanted to know if I could crash here. Bruce pissed me off."

Tim's fingers pause. "What did he do?"

"He tried to tell me how to handle my inventions' payment. I'm a freelancer! I know how to do that." Danny complains while twisting under the covers. Tim slowly turns around to look at him, but he acts like he doesn't notice. "I know he'll try to talk to me in the guest rooms, but he won't find me here. I just don't want to listen to another "I can do it better" lecture."

After a moment's pause, Tim admits. "He did the same to me and my team."

He means Cassie, Bart, and Conner. The little team of photography buddies Bruce introduced Tim back when they started homeschooling him. Dani suggested pulling Tim out of school is one of the best advice his clone ever gave him.

Tim took the pictures, Cassie and Conner modeled, and Bart made the clothes. Their work was slowly gaining traction online, and Tim seemed to glow whenever the Team was mentioned.

"Course he did." Danny sigh. He leans back into the pillow. "Know why he did it, too. Bruce doesn't want me to be taken advantage of, but it's hard not to hear him think I can't keep up, especially when my family is doing the same thing."

"Yeah," Tim's voice is soft. "It's frustrating that all your hard work is overshadowed or that everything you've done so far doesn't prove that you know you can."

Bingo. Danny discovered Tim's issue; now he just needs to bring it home.

"I know I'm great at what I do. You said so yourself- my past proves I am crazy good at work. I leave other people breathless in awe all the time. I can adapt and overcome so much faster than others. Bruce can see that, but he forgets to praise it." Danny huffs like he's trying not to be forgiving, and it causes a smile to unwillingly appear on Tim's face.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow but today I'm being petty and hiding. Thanks for letting me sleep here"

"You're welcome, Danny." Tim goes back to his typing, but only after a minute or two of Danny asking if he can turn off the light does the boy save his work and shut his computer down.

The room is plunged into darkness but Danny doesn't need the light to see how Tim sinks into his mattress. Tim is smart- crazy smart that every part of him that's Fenton crows with pride- and he can easily see through Danny.

"Thank you Danny" He doesn't say what for but he doesn't need to.

Danny reaches over, grabs the blankets, and makes sure they cover the small shoulder, tucking Tim in properly. "Any time kid"

The next morning, Bruce wakes them up with a powerpoint of all the things he thought were impressive about Tim and his team's last photo session. A powerpoint for Pete's sake.

But it makes Tim smile so much that Danny lets it slide. At least he listened when Danny chewed him out for forgetting to praise Tim.

Alfred offers Danny some of his private tea jars, which according to Dick, means Danny is in for life as Tim, Jason, and Bruce go over the PowerPoint again. Jason has begone to heal for his bitch of a mother's betrayal a few months ago.

Thankfully, Danny was in the area when he called and reminded the lady why she should not mess with Bruce's kids. Dani paying her a visit in her jail cell was just the Fentons' sending their regards.

(His dad gave Dani the ani-creep stick, and his mom hacked the cameras to loop. Jazz just watched hours of her to realize what made the woman scream and cry before sending the clone on her way. It was a good family bonding moment)

No one believed the woman claiming to be haunted that her son was Robin. Honestly, where on earth she got that idea Danny would never know.

His Jason, the sweet school-loving boy who graduated as valedictorian, running around punching criminals? Honestly, what was she going to claim next?

Bruce being Batman?!

Please.

[shadebloopnik]

There's just something about Floyd being unhinged in fics that just gets me.

Like yes he gets portrayed as a sweet frail uwu boi most of the time, which is also niceee and all, and would also suit his sensitive title. But then there are fics where Floyd is absolutely off the rails at times; where Floyd is nearing losing his voice being the loudest in a shouting match, where Floyd nearly bites someone's head off in anger, where Floyd tries to sneak out of his room multiple times even when his body still very much recovering from greeting his grandma, where Floyd wrestles with his brother on the floor because he's about to do impulsive sht for the people he cares about, fics where Floyd absolutely LOSES HIS SHIT

And the best part is that none of it is out of character for him at all. In fact, it'd cement his title as the sensitive one even more. Being sensitive isn't just about sad and mopey. Sometimes its about being nuts, and paranoid, and being impulsive when your loved ones are in danger and being so so angry that you'd yell and cry from the frustration. Not that he's always feral and wild- because he's def the one to mediate most of the time, but in situations where his loved ones are in danger, I just love when he's unapologetically emotional in every aspect about it, when he's sobbing and yelling without abandon.

There's something about Floyd in fics letting his emotions speak in such a powerful, feral way that gets me.

[endlesspaint]

"NO-! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND!"

"WELL HOW CAN I--"

"GUYS!"

"Guys! we should stop-- we're too emotional right now and we might say something hurtful--"

"I don't know Floyd-- maybe we shouldn't stop. Y'know what--"

"Im going to be honest with you John--"

"It's SO hard, being your brother"

"And that's the cold hard truth."

[sinnbaddie]

People love to say Jason is “Dick with anger issues” like Dick isn’t literally “Dick with anger issues” himself

[ruefanofall]

No thoughts just thinking about How a good well written Bruce is genuinely loving and While flawed, a kind mentor to the Robins and Other Bat clan heroes.

Thinking about how Had Writers actually Understood Bruce Wayne and What makes The Batman, Bruce would be a caring hero. A kind soul. The Batman is Kind. He's optimistic he brings Hope to Gotham. That's what he's SUPPOSED To do.

Bruce Wayne should be a good parent he Should be a Well meaning man because That's his CHARACTER. Unfortunately Men Suck ass at understanding complex characters who are vulnerable. Nobody actually gets The Batman and now we have to deal with "Oh Batman Treats the Robins horribly" or reducing him to JUST Punching Bad guys I'm VENGEANCE and Nothing else which is. Not what he's supposed to be.

This is all Frank Miller's fault I just know it.

[roobylavender]

i really do feel like one of my biggest divides with bruce or bat fandom at large is simply not ascribing to the notion that bruce doesn’t invest in permanent romance bc of his own principles like historically this could not be farther from the truth my friends. and i personally really do think what makes bruce way more interesting as a character is that even though he is devoted to his cause there are times where he falters and wants to lay down and rest and give in to a beloved bc he is so, so tired. i don’t know what we really gain from acting like bruce cruises on autopilot willingly. that may be how it was very initially bc it was easier for him to do so without many attachments but once people entered his life and he came to love them dearly i think it was more of a resignation than an outright willingness. like there will always be bruce’s principles at the root of everything and he will always do good when push comes to shove but the point is sometimes people do have to push him to care again bc the burden is exhausting to bear. i don’t think it means anything less of his core idealism to say he is by now resigned to his fate. if anything it humanizes him more and if we want to be really radical it provides the perfect avenue for bruce to explore why vigilantism is ultimately non-viable in the long term and how there may be other avenues along which he can explore idealism that would not be so sacrificial of his own self

[redlightofdawn]

you know what the entitled "Clark never did anything wrong in regards to Kon and owes him nothing" troll that showed up in my comment section made me want?

Superman is being an asshole and refusing to talk or acknowledge Kon. Tim and the rest of the titans/young justice decide enough is enough and that they are taking this to court. They didn't want to do this but Clark literally sticking his fingers in his ears and singing to himself last week when he ran into Kon did it.

They sue Superman for paternity. And you know Tim is a vindictive bitch, so they are also asking for retroactive financial compensation bc fuck you.

It gets out that Superman is a shit dad, and abandoned his obviously heroic son, and. People. Are. Pissed.

and he didnt even pay child support? how did this child get by?

Bart may let slip during an interview that Kon lived out on a beach for a while, then hopped around between JL headquarters before finally being taken in by someone.

People are sharpening their pitchforks.

And meanwhile Clark is crying his woes at Bruce, who is patting his back while wearing a completely blank expression and not saying anything.

Until Clark asks Bruce - he wouldn't do this otherwise, you see, but it is a serious matter - couldn't he maybe talk to Tim? Convince him to stop? At this point most of the hero community seems to be involved in it, but Clark knows where it started, as well as Bruce also must.

And then, finally, Bruce clears his throat, and speaks, "But Clark," Bruce says, while Clark begins to gape in horror, because he recognizes Brucie's sorry-not-sorry-actually-die voice, "who do you think suggested the idea in the first place?"

Boom. Obliterated.

[bluegarners]

bruce and dick got some emotional incest going on

hmmm not sure i quite agree anon! i can see where that might be the case, as even i tend to harp on those co-dependency these two display sometimes, but i don't think emotional incest is what is going on there. for those that do not know what this term means, emotional incest is when a parent or primary caregiver begins to rely on their child like they would a partner for their emotional needs. it does not involve any sexual or physical intimacy, as that would be sexual abuse. while i do think what bruce and dick shared was something close to toxic, it was also how they in general functioned? idk that doesn't make sense. i'll put it like this- bruce never thought to rely on dick for emotional needs. in fact, i would argue he tried not to rely on anyone for his emotional well being, and this is what causes most of the divides and troubles in his life. however, dick being a naturally perceptive person, recognized how closed off bruce is/was, and took it upon himself to try and get bruce to open up more and be emotionally present instead of constantly shutting down and shoving people away. the whole "child of an alcoholic" sums it up neatly, imo, bc bruce never intentionally relied on or even asked for dick to help solve his problems. a lot of the bumps in their relationship came from the fact that he felt dick was getting too close or wanted to help bruce too much, which not only frightened bruce but i think also made him aware of how much he couldn't do without the help of dick pointing things out to him

emotional incest isn't quite the right term to describe them, imo, and i think when you get into a space where ppl are constantly talking about it and implying that sort of thing, it's easy to be convinced that that is what they have. it's important, however, to also look at how bruce and dick are doing currently/in the past current canon/past the batman and robin dynamic. one of the long-term affects of being in an emotionally incestuous relationship is being unable to set boundaries or even recognize what a normal relationship with others is like, and with the added context of this being a superhero/vigilante world, i would argue that they are both doing just fine without each other. obviously we have to account for the sheer number of times they've been in life or death situations and whatnot, but i think dick functions quite well on his own and with the others in his life, and bruce does, too. both are mentally ill, i think, but they are also coping pretty well imo

[bonebrokebuddy]

If I’m not able to pull up the DSM-5 and check off at least half of the criteria for autism when reading a Batman run, then I believe the author fundamentally misunderstands Batman’s character.

It’s not that I’m saying Bruce should be autistic. What I am saying is that if Bruce is not at least neurodivergent-coded then he ultimately loses nearly all of his most defining habits and personality traits. Expecially the ones that are shown through interacting with other characters & internal dialogue.

[benbamboozled]

Why the hell would anyone give Dick Grayson an amnesia arc when Jason Todd is RIGHT THERE?

You amnesia that guy right back to just before he died so I can wallow in angst goddamnit!

You give me Amnesiac!Robin!Jason Todd bonding with the family and yet he knows that there’s something BIG everyone is keeping from him! (And does it have to do with the weird empty spot in the Batcave where it seems like something significant—maybe case shaped, perhaps—was resting until only recently???)

You give me that kid doing detective work to figure out the mystery of What The Hell Is Going On With Everyone And What Does It Have To Do With Him, and you have him confronting Bruce with the fact that he had to find out about it all by himself because Bruce wanted to protect him in a fight that mirrors the situation that led to Jason’s death in the first place!

You have him running off alone, his memories slowly trickling back, scared of “dying” AGAIN and losing himself to the person he has become!

You have him dramatically appearing to save the day, freeing Batfam members from a death trap situation involving a villain or plot that he had previously been tracking before he got amnesia!

THEN to wrap it up YOU GIVE ME JASON TODD REMEMBERING WHAT WENT DOWN WHEN HE HAD AMNESIA AND SEEING THAT AS A LITTLE BIT OF A SECOND CHANCE FOR THE PERSON HE COULD HAVE BEEN WITH THE BATFAM IF HE HADN’T DIED.

Like???? Come on, DC! So much you can do here.

[batmanfruitloops]

I'm on my worm lunch break, so you'll have to forgive me ranting about something I find unreasonably funny for now;

In this au, Bruce isn't openly a bisexual at first. Not because he's concerned about people knowing, but because he would never think to clarify it.

Bruce has never actually dated anyone, nor has he felt the desire to take the time out of his schedule to look for someone to share romantic affection with. To be clear, he's still a lonely mess, but he knows that, but that's exactly why he doesn't want to voluntarily put that stress onto someone else.

Even in many of the movies and comic books, Bruce is shown to crave a proper relationship, yet never feels that he can share who he truly is with them.

That problem doesn't exist (feeling the need to hide his true identity) in this au given that Bruce works with John.

All that to reach my dumb little point,

When the Gothamites find out that Bruce is dating a man, I feel like there would be an outburst of men who would have also tried dating Bruce when he was still single.

I know this probably isn't funny to anyone else, my humor is a mess, but I still wanted to share.

- Sarsee

[chippedlead]

You can see the point that I lost steam

[actualhumansunshine]

Niall Horan for Rolling Stone UK

[secretlythatsme]

i feel like i see so many vivisection and de-aged danny fics in the dc x dp fandom but surprisingly i've never seen the two concepts mixed? i'm sure someone's had to have done that before but idk i thought i'd see more of it. that's like Prime batpham angst

[aroacerobinjason]

ah yes. this totally explains talia's atrocious characterization and bruce comparing jason to his parents' murderer

[hasmephydoneanythingwrong]

Cain: seriously, why you hate me so much??

Brucerker:

Cain: that is not an answer!!