#Clark. Sighing because apparently today is a day where Bruce has decided to just Be Like This and resigning himself to letting it go

[bigskydreaming]

That last reblog has me now contemplating.

What if to mess with his shiny new little brother, but like....gently....when they first started hanging out Dick told Jason a couple of slight falsehoods as umm. A training exercise. That’s it. It was about helping Jason get up to speed with his information gathering skills and also his bullshit detection. So in the interest of being helpful and A Good Big Brother, Obviously....Dick sowed a few.....less-than-entirely-factual details about the more fantastical elements of their lives. The stuff that isn’t common or public knowledge to most of the DC Earth. And then he just.....waited to see how long it took Jason to realize Dick had fed him a handful of straight up lies when briefing him about All Things Superhero.

Look, it was for Science. That’s Dick’s story and he’s sticking to it.

Thus, for the first couple months of their new sibling relationship, Dick had Jason convinced that Atlanteans were actually aliens who landed here thousands of years ago, speedsters can run so fast they can travel back in time, and Superman once accidentally let out a burp so forceful it created a shockwave that shattered every glass in a quarter mile radius so whenever he starts to look....gassy....your best course of action is to hit the deck. Don’t even hesitate for a second, just dive to the ground and grab some floor until he’s got it back under control. And oh yeah, Diana has her Lasso of Truth, but Donna’s version of truth-related powers is that she can sense when people are up to no good....only, the way this manifests for her is she suddenly registers a distinct bad smell in her vicinity, alerting her that bullshit is afoot.

“You’re kidding,” Jason said flatly. “You expect me to believe that Donna can literally smell bullshit?”

Dick just raised an eyebrow. “Like that’s somehow less plausible than Gar being able to change into any kind of animal but only in shades of green? And oh yeah, speaking of green, Green Lanterns can do just about anything with their rings....except protect themselves from yellow paint? I don’t make the rules, Jace. The truth is sometimes superpowers aren’t super-glamorous and not everything related to magic or gods or other planets is as....sophisticated...as we presume. I mean, its not like these things exist just to match up to our expectations for them. Why should alien civilizations or the rules of magic be influenced by whether or not our society would find something weird or ridiculous?”

Jason chewed his lower lip contemplatively. He lacked an official bullshit detecting power himself, but he did have good instincts. Unfortunately for him, his shiny new big brother gave good Lying-to-your-face Face.

“Plus, if you really think about it, it does make a kind of sense,” Dick continued to explain helpfully. But only according to certain specific interpretations of ‘helpfully’ that actually mean ‘like a liar.’ “Our brains are constantly translating all kinds of input and stimuli into shapes or patterns we can actually process in a way that means something to us. So we can make use of that information. This is just the same thing. Donna’s power takes however many variables are involved in registering something as false or something she needs to be wary of...and just condenses it into a simple ‘red alert’ indicator that takes all that abstract, ephemeral data and makes it something actionable. Something she can actually do something with. Her power - or how her brain perceives it - just didn’t actually consult her or give her a choice of notification settings, because why would it?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Jason begrudgingly agreed, with a frown that suggested this particular ‘truth’ Offended his sensibilities.

“I mean, you can ask Donna to explain it herself if you want,” Dick said with a shrug. “Just a heads-up though....she’s not really a fan of how that power works either. Its not exactly a superpower anyone wants to be known for, and she’s heard allllll the jokes about it by now. Roy, Wally and I were perhaps....not the most sensitive when we were younger and she was honing that particular skillset? Though in our defense, I maintain that most of our jokes were hilarious. But anyway, just saying. If you wanna bring it up with her directly, go right ahead! Its definitely one of her favorite topics and Amazons are for sure known for how well they handle being self-conscious.”

And that’s the story of the three months Jason spent convinced that Atlanteans were from another planet, confusing the hell out of Garth with his occasional references to ‘your homeworld’ and his numerous questions about all the Atlantean Green Lanterns that he for some reason seemed convinced the Green Lantern Corps must obviously have a long history of.

And its also why Jason spent those same three months getting wide-eyed and nervous any time he noticed Donna’s nose so much as twitch when he was around. Which it did a lot more often than usual, thanks to how often Dick got horseradish to go with whatever he was having for lunch, knowing full well that Donna can not stand the smell of horseradish. (Dick’s actually not a fan either, and he hates how it tastes, but he’s not afraid to Suffer for the sake of Shenanigans. Its a fundamental part of the Robin experience and persona, after all.)

But it was the Donna thing that gave Dick away, ultimately. No matter how hard he tried to keep a lid on how entertaining he now found the sight of Donna’s occasional nose twitch...even a Batkid poker face can’t keep an empath and telepath from finding this a mystery worth untangling after the tenth time it happens.

(Not that Lilith or Raven are gonna apologize for prying any time soon. They had an obligation as his friends and teammates to investigate when he’s acting bizarre, y’see. What if its because he was brainwashed again? “We’re intrusive because we love,” Lilith insists with zero shame. Raven clarifies: “I was intrusive because she was already doing it so there seemed no point not to.” Lilith points out that this could also be construed as a sign of strong leadership potential. Dick glowers. Lilith waves a hand dismissively. “We can circle back to that later. That’s fine.”)

Anyway, the truth came out at last, Jason cites this as the Moral Justification for every single time and way he was a pain in the ass to Dick in the years to come, and Donna - who was Not Amused - gave a pointed sniff and called bullshit when Dick tried to claim this was an important Bonding Opportunity for he and Jason, wherein they became brothers ‘for real’ instead of just via Bruce. “There are intricate sibling rituals to be observed,” Dick insisted. “I did my research! We had so much time to make up for, I had to speedrun through my shenanigans to get us all caught up! Would I have done all this if I didn’t care?”

Every Titan in the room, familiar with the lengths he’d gone to when messing with Rogues and randos as Robin and thus distinctly unimpressed: Yes. Absolutely. One hundred percent.

Dick foraged on heroically. “Regardless! That’s not the case here, as all of this was clearly done in the name of brotherhood and bonding! We’ll laugh about this someday, you’ll see!”

Ten years later, after Jason’s returned as the Red Hood and reintegrated with the Batfamily to varying degrees, enough so that he accompanies Dick and the rest of the OG Titans on a mission where they’re ambushed, captured and trapped in a supervillain dungeon they’re now trying to escape...

Dick: Definitely kicking myself for not seeing that ambush coming. Where’s a bullshit-sniffing power when you really need it, huh?

Jason: Still not laughing yet.

Dick: Oh come on!

As far as the rest goes, Jason does get a kick out of the speedsters discovering that actually, they can run fast enough to travel through time. He’s like, despite your best efforts you accidentally got one right. And Dick’s all ‘was it an accident or did I actually know or have strong suspicions all along’....but Jason shuts that down. “Nope. Not giving you this one. Try it with someone else.”

However, that still left one last card in play, long after everyone - even Dick and Jason themselves - had all but forgotten about it.

See, every Batkid knows that the best lies contain elements of truth. And that’s why Dick only peppered in his fake trivia very, very sparingly amidst a massive info-dump of actually accurate and useful info he gave Jason about all that stuff, way back when.

So despite the handful of things Dick had told him that Jason eventually discovered to be untrue...the vast majority of it did check out.

Which means even once he did catch on to Dick’s game....that didn’t change his acceptance of the stuff that had turned out to be true or verified by others. But in the end, there was only one little fib that slipped under the radar. Because the scenario it was based on just never happened to come up until long after Jason had returned....and thus Jason never had reason to put much thought into actually questioning whether or not it was true. Not until long after he’d stopped scrutinizing stuff Dick had told him, in search of possible ‘traps.’

And THAT is the story of how Jason - on one of the rare occasions that he joined the Titans and Justice League for an all-hands-on-deck kinda teamup - just happened to be in the right wrong place at the right wrong time to notice Superman suddenly start to look queasy after trying some alien cuisine....

And without a second thought, Jason just instinctively dove for the floor. With this followed by Clark letting out an extremely normal-sounding burp and a sheepish apology.

Everyone else, staring at the infamous Red Hood ducking for cover because Clark had a moment of indigestion: umm. wut

Dick, staring wide-eyed at his brother and trying not to laugh: Oh shit. I totally forgot all about that.

Jason, almost conversationally, while climbing to his feet and stalking ominously towards his big bro: Hey can you believe that after all the shit we’ve been through and all the times we’ve fought over like...actual life and death stuff, THIS is the thing I’m actually gonna kill you for?

Dick, backing away, hands raised placatingly: Hey, c’mon now, Jace, we called a truce about all this ages ago, remember? It was a much younger, dumber me who did all that in the first place, y’know? You’re better than this!

Jason: I’m really not.

Dick: Well then can I just take this opportunity to mention again how sorry I am for any creative embellishments I might have once come up with, in the mistaken belief that I was honoring important traditions of brotherhood, and....

Jason: Hey, where’s Donna? Can anyone see if her nose is twitching?

Donna and the rest of the Titans, blatantly amused and offering no explanation to the very confused Justice League: Oh, bullshit absolutely detected. In the interests of Truth and Justice, you should totally proceed.

Dick, jabbing his finger at his teammates before dashing for the door: Betrayal! J’accuse!

Donna, shrugging: Sorry, Rob. Justice demands impartiality. Our hands are tied.

Jason, running out the door and down the hallway in pursuit of his fleeing brother: Yeah you better run! I’ve waited ten fucking years to get back at you for this shit. Where you going anyway, bro? I thought you wanted to laugh about this someday!

Dick (offscreen): I regret nothing! It was all worth it! You should have seen your face!

Jason (offscreen): You couldn’t even see my face, idiot! I’m wearing my fucking helmet!

Dick (offscreen): Semantics! If something’s funny enough, you can sense what someone’s face probably looks like! If you know, you know!

Jason (offscreen): Oh yeah, go ahead and make up some more shit, Grayson, that’s definitely the right way to go here!

Batman, looking to the Titans and waving his hand at...whatever all that is offscreen: Explain.

Roy: Hey don’t look at us. You’re the one who made them brothers. This is on you.

Batman: What does that even mean.

Lilith: If you know, you know. Dick’s right about that much at least.

The Titans all nod like an actual, self-evident truth was just expressed. Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, and starts muttering under his breath.

“You need to encourage Dick to seek out and make like-minded friends, Alfred said. It’ll be good for him, he said. Its what he needs and definitely not the point everything starts to go downhill.”

Lilith picks it up loud and clear, because of course she does, and incidentally, the smug, obnoxious know-it-all teenage psychic who started hanging out with Dick when they were teenagers has absolutely nothing to do with Bruce’s profound dislike of telepaths, nooooo, that would be ridiculous and irrational, to bear a grudge against everyone with a particular skillset because one of your son’s childhood friends was a royal pain in the -

Lilith: Oh, that’s adorable. He thinks we’re the reason Dick’s so profoundly weird and inexplicable.

The Titans, in unison: LOL.

Roy: The self-deluding, it is strong in that family.

Bruce is suddenly extra glad he’s wearing a cowl that hides what is definitely not a pout but might be mistaken for one by the uninformed thus its better to just dodge that issue entirely. He crosses his arms and stares down the collection of his eldest son’s friends, whom he has been unfairly plagued by since most of them were pre-pubescent little demons. Literally no one has suffered like he has.

“I don’t like you,” he informs them officiously. Not sulkily. Officiously.

Several of them snort. There’s a couple giggles. An eye roll from Roy. An aborted response hastily turns into Wally coughing into his hand. Blatant dismissal from Victor, his attention clearly on whatever he’s browsing online. Three varying shades of raised eyebrows: unflappable bemusement from the sorceress, patronizing amusement from the psychic, naked incredulity from Donna. Garth gazing off into an empty corner which he has on very good authority is basically the Atlantean version of the middle finger.

“Yeah, no shit,” Roy drawls, apparently on behalf of the whole group.

Ugh, they’re just. The worst. Why couldn’t Clark have had a kid Dick’s age so he never had to go looking elsewhere for socialization? That’s it. Clearly this was all Clark’s fault. He can’t believe he never realized that before.

Dammit Clark.

[awhitehead17]

Batfam Alphabet: K - Kryptonian’s

Summary: After noticing how everyone is busy meeting up with someone who is either a Kryptonian or even a Kent that day, Dick notices how he’s the only one in the family that doesn’t have a Kryptonian partner.

Enjoy! :D

“C’mon Damian, let’s go! We’re going to be late!”

Dick pauses from where he’s walking through the foyer and looks up to find Tim shouting for their younger brother as he hurries down the stairs. When he reaches the bottom the teenager rushes to the door and throws it open and impatiently waits in the doorway as he checks his watch every few seconds.

Raising an eyebrow, Dick glances at the top of the stairs but doesn’t find any sign of Damian. He turns back to Tim. “What’s the rush?”

Tim blinks and stares at him for a moment like he’s just noticing Dick’s presence for the first time. With his eyes flicking to and fro Tim huffs in annoyance and taps his foot restlessly. “We’re meeting Conner and Jon at Amusement Mile but we’re running late because a certain someone can’t apparently keep track of the time!”

Dick frowns, suddenly feeling concerned for his brothers’ safety. “Is going there a wise idea?”

With a wave of his hand Tim dismisses his concern. “It’ll be fine. At the end of the day we’re all trained and it’s only a phone call away if anything does happen. Kon and Jon are there so if we do need an emergency evac we can get out of there quickly.”

Before Dick could respond a new voice joins the conversation.

“We have plenty of time Drake, don’t be so impatient.”

Both Dick and Tim look up to find Damian now descending down the stairs at a leisurely pace, obviously not in such a hurry as Tim is. Dick wonders if Damian is doing it purposely to annoy Tim or because they do have a lot of time to spare and Tim is just being overly-cautious.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a little early or even on time brat.” Tim snaps at him, glaring as Damian reaches the bottom of the staircase. “Now come on, we’re wasting time.”

Without even so much a goodbye Tim spins around and hurries out the door once Damian approaches. Damian tuts but follows behind Tim saying “Bye Grayson” as he passes Dick on the way out of the door.

It takes Dick a moment to react, his mind catching up with the fact that Damian and Tim are hanging out together, seemingly willingly with one other. He blinks and shouts after them, “don’t kill one another! Stay safe and remember to call if anything happens!”

Neither brother responds to him but Dick rationalises he’s done what he could, if something happens between them he is not to blame. Maybe he should message Conner to ask him to check in and to make sure they behave. The Kryptonian brothers get along unlike Tim and Damian so his caution is reasonable as them two together is certainly a questionable matter. In the end he decides against it, instead choosing to wait and see what the end result of the day looks like.

Eventually he shuts the front door and continues on his way with what he had been doing before the sudden distraction.

------

Dick’s route through the foyer is interrupted again not even an hour later, only this time because of the group of girls gathered there. Dick stops and stares at the scene unsure on how to proceed, should he make his way through them or go around them?

Steph, Cass, Barbara and even Kara are grouped together giggling about something. Seeing three of them together is rather normal but he is surprised to see Kara around.

Before Dick could decide on what action to take he’s spotted by Steph. The blonde waves enthusiastically at him. “Hey Dick! How are things? Don’t mind us we’re moving to the media room now.”

The other girls turn and face him. Cass and Kara give him a smile and a small wave in greeting while Barbara shoots him a bland look. He wouldn’t expect anything else from her.

As Dick is about to move he’s stopped short by Kara addressing him. She points up to the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “Dick, is it true that you used to often climb up there and hang from it?”

Dick glances up and his mind is suddenly ambushed with fond memories of when he was a kid and used to do acrobatics from said chandelier. Alfred used to give him hell for it, particularly after he accidently broke one when he got a bit too bold trying a new move.

He smiles and looks back at Kara nodding. “Yeah, that’s true. More often than you would think believe it or not. I did it less frequently as I got older though.”

Kara snorts with amusement. “I can totally see Jon doing something like that, rao, even Conner would try something like that.”

“Considering who they’re friends with, that doesn’t surprise me.” Steph comments laughing. “Well lets get to it! See you later Dick!”

Steph takes off down the corridor towards the media room with a bounce in her step. Kara sends him one more smile and follows her, Cass comes up to him and stands on her tip toes to place a kiss on his cheek before following them and finally Barbara sends him a wistful smile before trailing behind the girls, clearly also remembering what he used to be like back then.

Once they disappear from view it takes Dick a moment to move, his mind thinking about what just happened. He didn’t even realise they were friends with Kara. He doesn’t even know how they know each other, then again he doesn’t follow every move the girls make, they’ve probably had cases that have crossed over a time or two. Shaking his head he lets it go and continues on with his day.

----

When Dick bumps into Bruce in the kitchen later on that day he feels like there’s a pattern forming.

He’s sat at the kitchen island minding his own business as he eats his lunch and mindlessly going through Facebook, Alfred is pottering about also minding his own business, when Bruce rushes in looking a little frazzled.

Dick watches mollified as Bruce darts about the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards left right and centre clearly looking for something which he doesn’t find straight away. As soon as he came in, Alfred simply stood to the side and allowed Bruce to freely search the place patiently waiting for the inevitable to happen.

After searching every cupboard and draw available Bruce turns to Alfred and before the man could say anything Alfred simply holds out his hand revealing a travel mug. Bruce suddenly looks so relieved and gratefully takes the mug out of the butler’s hand with a breathless “thank you”.

“You are a saint Alfred, there’s no way I’m going to be able to cope today without this.” Bruce determines already taking a sip of the mug’s contents.

Dick blinks, completely lost to what’s happening, especially when all Alfred does is nod as he had been expecting that reaction the entire time.

“What is going on?” He blurts out without meaning too. The two men turn and face him, Alfred looking passive and Bruce looking surprised at his presence. Has Dick become invisible or something? That’s the same reaction Tim had that morning in the foyer.

“Oh, afternoon Dick, I completely missed you sat there.” Bruce says looking a little sheepish, a look that isn’t common on the man though Dick’s seen it more than enough times at this point in his life. “I have a meeting with Clark and the rest of the League members. I’m running a bit behind schedule but not enough to not grab my coffee before heading off. I won’t be back until late, don’t wait for me before going out tonight.”

With that statement Bruce leaves the kitchen with the travel mug clutched tightly in his hands. Dick shoots Alfred a surprised look but the elderly man has already turned around and continued with his task.

Sighing Dick turns his attention back on his half eaten lunch and goes back to scrolling through his Facebook newsfeed. Quickly getting bored of it, he places his phone down and strikes up a conversation with Alfred, the man appears more than happy to converse with him as he works.

After a while Alfred breaks their conversation, sending Dick an apologetic look. “I’m sorry Master Dick but I’m going to have to excuse myself. I have a scheduled phone call to make in a few moments.”

Dick stares, caught off guard by the reason. “What? Who with?” After he says it he realises how bad and how patronizing it sounds. He immediately winces and apologises.

Alfred merely looks amused at his behaviour, thankfully not taking any offense to it. “If you have to know Master Dick, I have a call with Mrs Martha Kent. We’re going to be comparing recipes and giving some recommendations.”

“Okay…”

Alfred leaves the kitchen then, leaving Dick all by himself in the room as his mind reels back over the last hour or so to what’s happened. Is everyone busy today or something?

Finally finishing his lunch, Dick clears his mess up and wanders out of the kitchen trying to decide what to do for the rest of the day.

-----

The next thing to happen which adds to the odd feeling he’s been having throughout the day is when he bumps into Selina in the corridor of the bedrooms wing. He’s heading towards his own room when he notices Selina strutting her way towards him.

His eyes widen as he takes in her outfit. She’s wearing a low cut black blouse paired off with tight leather pants and high heels. She’s wearing a golden necklace with matching bracelets on her wrists and her face done up with perfect looking make-up. The shadowing around her eyes make them stand out along with the boldness of her lipstick which helps define her facial features.

Dick stops in his tracks and watches as she approaches. When she’s close enough she stops and sends him a smile.

“Hot date?” Dick asks with a grin. He can’t help but be curious on why she’s dressed up like that. Bruce isn’t around and there’s no party that he’s aware of happening. Unless she plans on crashing the meeting Bruce happens to be in, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened…

Her smiles turns more devious, “Not quite birdie,” she drawls out. She places her hands on her hips and cocks them to one side. “I’m meeting with Lois Lane. There’s a certain… get together we’re attending and I tend to make a statement.”

Dick’s eyes widen in surprise, he hadn’t been expecting that. He knows that Selina and Lois know one another, he’s seen them interact with each other enough times at gala’s both Bruce and Clark have attended too but he didn’t know they were that close.

After a couple beats he sends her an easy smile. “Well, I’m certain you’re going to make a statement alright.”

“Thank you kitten,” she replies patting his cheek softly, “now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.” She saunters past him, continuing down the hallway clearly ready to kick some ass. Selina is the personification of the saying ‘looks can be deceiving’.

“Have fun!” Dick calls out to her retreating form.

As he enters his room Dick is struck by a thought that even Selina is busy that day. It’s really starting to appear that he's the only one without any plans or even someone to meet up with. It suddenly makes him feel lonely, it’s an irrational feeling but he couldn’t help feel it temporarily, maybe it’s jealously of his family all currently hanging out with someone or each other. It’ll soon pass when everyone is back home and skulking around looking for stuff to do out of boredom.

----

Half an hour later and Dick knows he's had enough. It seems like the last straw has been drawn and how the universe has decided to rub salt into the wound.

Dick’s not even out of his bedroom doorway before he’s stopping short at the sight of two beings walking past him. He blinks and looks down the hallway with furrowed eyebrows and seconds later it registers who he’s seeing.

“Jason?”

His brother stops in the middle of the hallway and turns around to face him. He looks surprised for a moment before his expression goes back to neutral. “Oh, hey Dick.”

“What are you doing?” He questions his brother, his gaze slipping to Jason’s companion. Bizarro stands next to Jason, his eyes drifting between the two of them as he watches them interact with a frown.

Jason jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “We’re heading out now as we’re about to meet Artemis.”

Dick runs a hand over his face taking in the new information. “How long has Bizarro been here?”

His brother sends him perplexed look. “Uh, like all day? Did you not know that?”

“No. No I didn’t.”

“Oh,” Jason shrugs, not bothered by his answer, “well whatever. As I said we’re heading out now, so see ya! Say bye bye, Bizarro.”

“Bye bye.” Bizarro calls out to him with a wave of his hand.

Dick half heartedly waves back as he watches them disappear down the hallway. Once they were gone Dick slips back into his room and shuts the door behind him, completely forgetting the original reason why he had been leaving in the first place.

He goes over to his bed and flops down on it with a heavy sigh. Jason, even Jason, is busy and has company. How is it only him who isn’t doing anything? Usually it’s the other way around, where he’s always trying to find time in his schedule to meet up with his friends, family or to have some time for himself.

Burying his face into his pillow he sighs dejectedly, feeling sorry for himself. Dick frowns, maybe that’s not the right term, would jealously be more accurate or maybe loneliness is better suited. Whatever the word is for what he’s feeling, he knows it’s pretty much unwarranted. He should be happy that all of his siblings and extended family are out being sociable, they all have hectic and unpredictable lives, taking any free time a person has to spend it with those they care about is worth it.

Dick shouldn’t be annoyed with his family because he’s the one currently holed up in his bedroom sulking because he doesn’t have anyone to be with. It’s not their fault.

Something else he notices is how everyone seems to have their own Kryptonian, or by extension a Kent.

There's Bruce and Clark, though Bruce will deny their friendship at every opportunity. Tim and Conner, who are best friends (maybe more, Dick’s not quite sure). Damian and Jon, as much as the former is reluctant to admit how much he cares for the younger. Steph, Cass, Barbara and Kara who are all apparently friends. Selina and Lois. Alfred and Mrs Kent. Jason and Bizarro.

He’s the only one without a Kryptonian partner. While he’s worked with Clark a few times and has connected with him, after all Clark’s the one who inspired him to become Nightwing, it’s not the same thing.

After spewing in his thoughts for a while, Dick comes to a conclusion that sleep sounds like the best option right now. If he sleeps then he’s not thinking, and as a bonus at the same time his body is resting and extra rest never hurts anyone.

He shifts on his mattress, getting into a more comfortable position to sleep in, and buries his head further into his pillow. Closing his eyes he tries to force his body into unconsciousness. His eyes snap open only seconds later when his phone pings from it’s place on his bedside table.

Stuck between being excited for a message and dreading it, Dick reaches out and grabs the device. Rolling over onto his back he lifts his phone up in front of his face and reads the notification. Seeing who the message is from, a wide grin stretches across Dick’s face and any dread he had been feeling instantly disappears. It seems like the universe has finally decided to side with him (or that it’s had enough of him moping) because it’s a message from his long time old friend Wally West.

‘Hey man it’s been waaaayyyyyy too long. Are you free to hang out any time soon – we need to catch up bro.’

Dick agrees with the message, it has been too long since they last saw one another. From what Dick heard last is how Wally’s been busy helping out in Central City, his relationship with Linda is progressing smoothly, he’s been helping to train his cousin and how he’s been away on a mission with Jay. Dick had thought Wally was still away, hence why he hadn’t contacted him but obviously he’s wrong about that.

Dick types out a reply to his friend, feeling eager and excited to meet up. ‘I’m free right now if you are. C’mon over to the Manor when you can?’

It takes a few moments for Wally to respond. ‘Absolutely. Though will Bats have my ass if I just show up?’

Dick snorts, of all the things to be concerned about… ‘No. You’re fine. B’s in a meeting.’

‘Okay! I’ll be there in a flash ;D’

It’s stupid but Dick couldn’t help chuckle at the poor joke. No doubts on how Wally’s picked up that behaviour from Barry.

Feeling jittery, Dick rolls off his bed and begins making his way downstairs so he could greet Wally by the door. He doesn’t know what they’ll do other than talk to catch up and possibly raid the kitchen at the same time. Dick doesn’t mind what they do, at least he finally has someone to hang out with!

Just as Dick reaches the bottom of the stairs in the foyer, the doorbell rings alerting him of Wally’s arrival. Dick grins as he approaches the door and it only gets wider when he opens it to reveal his best friend standing there on the front porch.

“Wal-man! How’s it going dude!” He exclaims stepping towards the speedster.

Wally’s gaze snaps to him and an identical grin appears on his face. “Dick, it’s so good to see you man!”

They come together and embrace tightly with a few firm pats on the back. They part after a few beats and then take a moment to observe one another. Dick is pleased to find Wally appearing the same as he did when he last saw him, looking happy and healthy.

“So…” Wally trails off when the silence gets drawn out for too long.

“So.” Dick repeats promptly. Getting himself together, he continues to grin and throws an arm around his friend’s shoulders, using that leverage he guides Wally into the house. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

Wally’s own arm wraps around Dick’s back as they pass through the foyer. “That we do. I can’t even remember when the last time I saw you was.”

With his free hand Dick waves the comment away. “Doesn’t matter, we’re here now. Shall we grab some food and go to my room? I would suggest the media room but the girls are currently inhabiting it, have been all day, alternatively we could go to the conservatory or even outside since it’s dry and warm.”

Wally hums for a moment before answering. “Food is a definite must, you know me – hey has Alfred cooked recently, any chance we could steal some leftovers? And your room sounds fine, at least there’ll be less chance of us being disturbed by one of your millions of siblings.”

Dick rolls his eyes at the comment though he carries on smiling, some days it really does feel like he has a million. Will Bruce ever learn the meaning of ‘no more’?

“I have no idea what Alfred has in the kitchen so we shall see when we get there.” Dick says smiling.

The two of them fall into an easy stream of chatter as they begin catching up with what’s going on in their lives.

As they chat Dick thinks to himself, why was he so bothered that his family members all have their own Kryptonian when he has his own speedster? A couple of them also have a speedster but not everyone so Dick can hold onto this, at least that’s what he’s rationalising to himself. Thinking back on it, Dick realises that it’s stupid, why should he be concerned about it at all? He's now with his best friend, that’s what matters and that’s exactly what he's going to focus on.

[redhoodssweetheart]

Star-Crossed Lovers Part Two

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Requested: Yes @sarcasmismyfirstlove​

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings: Swearing, angst, Reader has an assumed name in this (she is not named, but she goes by Sophia Turner since she is in hiding)

Description:  Y/N now lives in Metropolis, she likes her life, but she misses the one she lost.  Jason has spent eight months trying to find her, but to no avail.  Maybe they truly weren’t meant to be.

A/N: I originally wasn’t going to post this part so soon.  But I got inspired today and couldn’t stop writing it.  I hope y’all enjoy.  And please pretend that’s not a notebook for school okay.  I’m too lazy to go looking for something new right now. 

Her window was open letting in a nice spring breeze.  Dinner was cooking in the oven and she was reading over the events from that day.  It had been eight months since Y/N had hopped off the bus at the Metropolis station and entered the motel she would be staying at for the next few days. That was when she had found a quaint apartment that would do until she got on her feet.

Her phone buzzed and she looked over at it.

Clark: I need a favor, Sophie.

Sophie.  The name she had assumed when she moved to Metropolis.  Her full name was Sophia Turner.  Sionis was more than likely dead, but Y/N wasn’t taking any chances.  She hadn’t stopped looking over her shoulder since that night, and sometimes she would dream that he had found her. 

In her dreams sometimes he was torturing her, but sometimes it was Red sitting in that chair.  He was begging her to do something while Sionis laughed sadistically and said, “My little puppet ain’t gonna do shit, Red.  She used you.”

“No!”  Y/N would cry when she registered the betrayal on Red’s face.  

She would sit up straight in her bed and gasp before the dream went any further.  Most of the time she would look at the clock and see it was still in the early hours of the morning.  

Now she was staring at the text from Clark and sighed.

Sophia:  I’m listening, but you’ll owe me, Kent.

Clark was a good guy.  A little flighty at times, but that was part of his charm.  He was the one that had taken the risk on her when she had gone to the Daily Planet trying to get a job.  He never abused that either.  He was a genuinely good guy, something that had unnerved Y/N at first, but now she was grateful for it.

Clark:  I’m supposed to be meeting with Lex Luthor tomorrow to ask him about the Superboy project, but I’m needed elsewhere.  Sort of a family emergency.  Do you think you can cover for me with Lex?

Lex was Metropolis’s biggest asshole.  And she could eat him for breakfast.

Sophia: Sure thing.  Need me to water your plants while you’re away?

Clark:  Please?  I’ll leave the key to my place in my top desk drawer, just pick it up tomorrow when you come in.  You’re a lifesaver, Sophie. 

A lifesaver….  Sure.

Jason came home to the manor at least once a week for a good home cooked meal and so he wouldn’t be alone at the safehouse.  He hadn't returned to the one that he and Y/N had always frequented.  He couldn’t, she was still haunting the place.  Tonight however when he entered the manor he heard Dick and Tim arguing.

“You need to tell him,” Dick hissed.  “He deserves to know the truth.”

“No, I made a promise to her that I wouldn’t,” Tim spat back.  “Plus I haven’t even found Sionis yet.  How would it look if Red Hood showed up in a city other than Gotham?  Sionis knows about them, and Y/N would be compromised.”

Jason’s breath hitched at the sound of her name.  Tim knew?  Tim knew and hadn’t told Jason anything.

He threw open the door so hard that it let a dent in the wall, Dick cringed knowing that Alfred was going to be mad at that.  Tim looked coolly at Jason, unbothered by the display.  “Where is she, Replacement?”

“Who?”  

Jason was starting to see red.  “You know damn well who.  Y/N.  Where is she?  What the fuck did you do?”

Dick came over to Jason and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but it was roughly tossed off by Jason, “Jay--”

“Don’t,” he snapped, his gaze going to Dick.  “Don’t you dare.  Tim knows something and I want to know what it is.”

Bruce entered the kitchen, having heard the raucous that his boys were causing.  “Tim, Dick, I need a moment alone with Jason.”  They nodded and swiftly made their exit.  Bruce leaned against the counter, “Y/N’s story about how she came to work with Sionis was true.”  Jason looked at Bruce confused.  “Except I met her a month before she met you.”

“What?”  Jason’s tone relayed the shock he felt.

Bruce closed his eyes, “She got mixed up with the wrong people because of her boyfriend and after Sionis killed him he kidnapped her and forced her to take on the role as a bodyguard.  Commissioner Gordon came to me with a note from an anonymous source from someone in Sionis’s organization telling him to send the Bat to a certain location.  I met with Y/N and she told me that she wanted out, that she didn’t want to be payment for her ex’s misdeeds.  She fed me information and in exchange I promised to set her free.”

“So you knew that she was going to fake her death this entire time?!”  Jason’s anger was returning.  He had spent the last eight months agonizing over where she could be, turning over every stone only to come up with a dead end.  And this entire time Bruce had known it was a ploy all along.

“Yes, but  didn’t know the two of you had been involved.  She never disclosed that to me, and I didn’t expect her to tell me things she did in her free time.”  Bruce looked regretful, “Jason, I think you were the only normal relationship in her life and I think you brought her some semblance of happiness.”

“Apparently not enough to tell me the plan,” he said bitterly.

Bruce pulled something from his pocket and passed it over to Jason, “It’s from her.  I don’t know where it came from, but if I had to guess I wouldn’t be able to figure it out either.  I haven’t read it, but maybe she will answer some of your questions.”  With that, Bruce took his leave.

Dear Red,

By now you probably know that I’m not dead.  Maybe you even know that I met with Batman a month before I ever even met with you.  That was purely coincidental.  I didn’t plan on things progressing like they did between us.  It made my job a whole hell of a lot more complicated that it needed to be.  And for what it’s worth I’m sorry for how it all went down, but Red, I hope you understand that I couldn’t tell you.  That was just not an option.

I’m somewhere safe for now.  I have been for awhile, just blending in and living my life to the fullest that I can.  I hope you’re doing well too and not getting too many bullet wounds.  Who’s going to patch you up now that I’m not there :p

He chuckled at the little hand drawn face.

I do miss you, Red.  Our banter.  Your kisses.  How you made me feel normal for a few hours a night.  Even with the mask on I could still pretend we were just two average people living our lives.

We were dealt a shitty hand, and as I told you that night we truly are just star-crossed lovers.  I’ll see you in the next life, Red.  Maybe that one will be kinder to us, and maybe I can finally see what color your eyes are.  Can I tell you what color I think they are?  Blue, I always imagined you had the prettiest shade of blue eyes.  Like the sky on a summer day.  Cloudless and beautiful.

I need to cut this short before I start crying on the page.  Take care of yourself, Red.  I’ll be waiting for you at the River Styx or maybe you’ll be waiting for me.  And I’ll finally know your real name and what color your eyes truly are.

Goodbye, Red.

Y/N

Jason stared at your name signed at the bottom for the longest time and finally when he tore his eyes away from it, he neatly folded it and put it back in the envelope.  He then headed up to his room and stored the letter in one of his drawers, not wanting anyone to disturb it.

The Daily Planet was bustling when Y/N arrived to work the following morning.  Clark - who was usually in before her - was nowhere to be seen.  She hadn’t expected to see him, but it was still weird.  

Wandering over to his desk she found the key like he had promised and stuck it in her pocket before heading to her own desk and preparing for the meeting with Lex.  Lois stopped by her desk to say good morning and chit chat for a few minutes before going to work on her own assignments.  Around ten thirty Y/N headed out to LexCorp.

“Mr. Kent was supposed to be interviewing Mr. Luthor,” the receptionist said.

Y/N kept the forced smile on her face, “Yes, that’s true, but Mr. Kent unfortunately had an emergency that has taken him out of the city and he asked me to fill in.”  She showed the receptionist her credentials.  “I am more than qualified to handle the interview today.”

“It’s fine Lacy,” a new voice added and Y/N turned to see Lex standing there with a smile on his face.  “I was alerted of the change last night, Mr. Kent was nice enough to email me and let me know.  Miss Turner, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, Mr. Luthor,” she responded.  As she made to leave the receptionist area she shot a scathing look at the girl behind the desk who was frowning.  She probably thought Y/N was some groupie waiting to throw herself at Lex.

As if.

The two of them made it into Lex’s office and he offered her something to drink.  “Water, coffee, tea?  Just say the word and I can have it here for you immediately.”

“No thank you, I’m quite all right,” the quicker that she could get this interview over the better.  She got her recorder set up and looked to Lex, “Clark informed me that he was going to be talking to you about the Superboy project, is that correct?”

“Yes it is, everyone has been dying to know more about the program,” he responded.  “The world needed a Superman, as I’m sure you’re aware Superman was thought to be dead there for a good while.”

Y/N had known that, although she had been in Gotham at the time more concerned with her own welfare than that of a superhero that had supposedly died.  “I am, so you decided to respond and give Metropolis hope then?  That is what Superman represents, is it not?”

There was a shift in Lex’s smile that Y/N picked up on, but she wasn’t going to push him on it.  He apparently had a dislike of Superman, but if he didn’t like him then why create a clone?  “Yes it is, and yes I wanted to give this city some hope that everything was going to be okay.  That LexCorp would make sure that while the big, bad Superman was away I would be the one to look after us.”

Y/N hummed, “Mr. Luthor, how long have you been working on this project?  This doesn’t seem like an overnight solution and you seemed to unveil it fairly quickly?”

“Are you trying to insinuate something, Miss Turner?”  Lex’s eyes narrowed.

Y/N’s smile turned predatory, “No sir, just merely asking some questions.  I wondered how something as complex as replicating Superman’s powers took place so quickly.  And how?  How did you replicate Superman’s powers?”

“I had some of Superman’s DNA on hand, a gift from the Man of Steel himself,” Lex replied coolly.  

Hardly, Y/N thought.  She knew how these heroes worked, their identities were pivotal in maintaining some semblance of a normal life outside of hero hours.  There was no way that Lex had legally obtained that DNA sample he claimed to have gotten from Superman.  “It sounds like you and Superman are close, would you say that the two of you are friends?”

“Oh yes,” Lex matched her smile as if trying to intimidate her.  What he didn’t know is she had been around some of the worst Gotham had to offer and he didn’t frighten her in the slightest.  “We were very close.”

“You must have been crushed when everyone thought that he had died.”  She saw through his smile and the lies.  Superman and Lex weren’t close, but he wasn’t going to say that in something that would be printed in the Daily Planet.

“I was, it was like losing an old friend,” Lex rested a hand over his chest for dramatic effect.

Before she could ask her next question they heard someone saying, “Sir, sir you can’t go in there.”

The door to Lex’s office opened and revealed Bruce Wayne.  Y/N had never had the pleasure of meeting him when she had lived in Gotham.  She hadn’t run in those circles, but she would know the billionaire anywhere.  “Lex, we need to speak now.”  His gaze landed on her and she froze.  For the first time in a while she felt exposed under the intense look he was giving her.

“Could it wait, Bruce,” Lex forced out.  “I am in a meeting with the lovely Miss Sophia Turner here.”  

Y/N turned to Lex, still feeling the weight of Bruce’s stair on her back as she did so, “It’s all right, Mr. Luthor.  You seem to have some important business to attend to right now.  Thank you for your time.  The article should be out by Friday if all goes well.  Email me with any other information you can disclose about the Superboy project that would be pertinent for the article.  Have a nice day,” then she fled as quickly as she could.

Bruce watched Y/N flee the office.  Sophia Turner, huh?  He wasn’t surprised to find her living under an assumed name.  He looked to Lex who was glaring at him, “Did I interrupt something?”

Lex’s eyes narrowed, “You damn well know you did.  Now what do you want?”

“You have a leak,” Bruce said, causing Lex’s face to pale.

Y/N made it back to her desk without any other blasts from her past and she began to go over the information she had from her interview and checked her email to see that Lex’s assistant had sent over any other relevant information she would need to type up the remaining gaps.  

A few hours later she was closing up shop and heading to Clark’s to make sure his plants didn’t die.  As she moved down the sidewalk her mind drifted to thoughts of Red Hood, wondering what he was up to and if he were okay.  She also wondered if he had gotten her letter yet or if maybe he had thrown it out the moment he knew that it was from her.

She wouldn’t blame him if he had.

As she continued down the street she accidentally bumped into someone.  She stumbled for a moment and looked up as she said, “Sorry.”  When her eyes met his, she was shocked to find the prettiest blue she had ever seen.

He smiled at her, “It’s all right.  Have a good evening.”  Then he was sidestepping her and going about his business.  She watched him go, wondering why he seemed so familiar to her.

And those eyes.

Like the sky on a summer day.  Cloudless and beautiful.

[dramatic-squirrel]

Damianette December Day 3- Legends

I’m not entirely happy with this, it’s more Maribat in generally, rather than focusing on Damianette but... it’s all i’ve got today.

@daminette-december2019-2020

It was a normal afternoon that the two were hanging out together in the living room at Wayne Manor. They weren’t talking at first. He sat on the couch reading a book, she was on the floor leaning against his legs as she sketched her most recent design. There was no reason to mention it but,  out of nowhere, Damian had brought up the topic of Paris’ superheroes.

“Marinette?” she hummed to acknowledge that she had heard him. “What exactly do you know about the Parisian superheroes?” It startled her a little that he suddenly asked, even Tikki made a small squeak of surprise, luckily he didn’t hear that.

“Um, not much I guess. About as much as any other Parisian does, maybe a bit more since Alya always tells me about her theories on them.”

“Theories?”

Why did she mention the theories, that was worse! What should she say? What would be innocuous enough that it wouldn’t place suspicion on her? Burying her head into her sketchbook and continuing her drawing she finally answered him. “Uh, yeah, like Alya had this theory about how Ladybug is thousands of years old since there was evidence of her in some hieroglyphics she found at the Louvre.” This way if he thought that she was ancient, he would never connect her with her superhero persona.

He pondered that information for a bit. Originally he had asked about the superheroes because he was curious about whether they were doing a good job at protecting Paris, and consequently keeping Marinette safe. Now, he simply became more curious. He only knew of a handful of people who managed to have such an incredible life span. “Did Alya find any other places where Ladybug lived in the past or what identities she took?” If the hero was in any way connected to the Lazarus pits he wanted to know in advance.

Marinette was hesitant to reveal too much information but, there was evidence of the past holders out there so sticking to the truth as much as possible would be less suspicious if he found out she was lying later on. “Apparently she’s been all over the world. Alya suspects that Jeanne d ’arc and Ladybug are the same person. And she found an artifact linking Hercules to the same type of artifact that Ladybug and Chat Noir use, so Alya thought that Hippolyta might have also been one of Ladybug’s past identities.”

Now that was surprising information to him. Knowing Wonder Woman, the daughter of Hippolyta, he knew that she couldn’t be Ladybug because she was always on Themyscira. The most likely scenario was that Marinette’s friend was just wrong about her theory that Hippolyta was Ladybug but, there was always the possibility that Ladybug was just a mantle passed down, which would account for the long history and her appearances all over the world.

Regardless, there was too little information to actually determine anything so he decided to let the matter rest, at least, until he had a chance to talk to his father and Wonder Woman. He went back to reading, and she went back to sketching. Until the unthinkable happened.

Only a few moments later and Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Diana Prince walked in through the doorway discussing something. The moment they noticed Marinette, they stopped talking, indicating it was League business. 

The next thing that happened was Diana walking forward, with the same confidence she always had and leaning over to shake Marinette’s hand. 

Marinette just looked at her confused, hesitatingly reaching her hand out to shake the stranger’s hand. “Hello?”

“Hello, young Ladybug. It’s wonderful to meet my honorary younger sister.” Not a single person in the room quite understood what was going on for the first couple of minutes. After all of the surprises that already hit Marinette today, she just couldn’t react.  Bruce and Clark were simply unaware of everything that was going on, only Bruce vaguely remembering something about Paris’ situation and sighing at the forces of the universe that lead Damian to date a superhero without even knowing.

And Damian, well, like Marinette, he didn’t quite know how to react. Before he could figure it out, Diana continued to talk to Marinette. “My mother would love to meet the successor to her position. Next time you are available we shall visit Themyscira together.”

It wasn’t a question, but Marinette answered like it was one. Jumping up in excitement, she voiced her disbelief. “Really!? Tikki would love that! And to be able to meet someone who knows more about my powers than I do would help me so much.” It wasn’t until after she finished talking that she realized that she had just confirmed that she was in fact Ladybug. “Uh, I mean. What are you talking about? Me as Ladybug, that’s ridiculous.” 

Diana put a hand on her shoulder calming the young heroine down. “There is no need to keep it a secret here Ladybug. We all share the same position as responsibilities” And so, Diana revealed another surprise to Marinette, apparently she had been dating a superhero without knowing it. Looking at Damian she put two and two together.

“Considering you live in Gotham, I’m guessing your one of the Robins?”

Damian finally managed to react at last. “Yes… the current Robin actually” he appeared sheepish after confirming that he was technically lying to her about the matter the entire time.

“Well… I’m sorry for keeping my identity a secret from you” she apologized. “Seeing as how you’re in the same position, I’m guessing you understand why but, I still came as a shock right?”

Damian just smiled at her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her next to him on the couch. “No need for an apology, Angel. At the rate we were going neither of us would have told the truth until we were married already. This just means we found out earlier, right?”

“Married? That’s some strong implication, Damian. I hope you live up to it.” The two of them became absorbed into their own world ignoring the three adults near the doorway. 

Clark patted Bruce’s back in sympathy. “At least you won’t have to sneak around anymore, Bruce.”

The exhaustion was rolling off of Bruce in waves. “I was hoping that at least one of my kids would date someone more normal to balance out all of the crazy in the house. Now I’m going to have to deal with Dick teaching her acrobatics with the foyer’s chandelier, Jason teaching her how to shoot a gun, and Stephanie showing her how to hotwire the batmobile.”

The trio looked back at the couple ignoring everything else in the room. “Your son has found a wonderful lady,” Diana congratulated. “Ladybugs are special, they are lucky and are connected to a long history of legends. She will bring much luck to your family.”

[drawingsanddrabbles]

Two Bros, Sitting in the Candlelight

Happy timkon week! So today was free day and I can’t make desicions to save my life, so I had @timdrakeothy help me pick prompts. So today’s prompts were picked from the extra prompts on @timkonweek2019‘s page: Wingfic and Romantic Dinner

ao3

betaed by @breadmould/Tanya on discord (sorry if you have a tumblr and I didn’t link it it wasn’t in your discord description)

~~~

To say Tim was uncomfortable would be an understatement. However, it was really unfortunate that he was, because Jordan was a really nice girl. She was pretty and sweet and funny. 

But Tim was moulting, and he couldn't stand the itch anymore. 

"'Scuse me, Jordan. I'll be right back, just need to powder my nose." He said and hurried to the bathroom. 

Tim made it to the bathroom but unfortunately wasn't able to lock the door. People, there were people everywhere. People who were rich and therefore, knew who he was and God that itching on his back hurt, he wanted to just rub his back up and down on one of the fancily textured walls until his old feathers came out. But he couldn't. He had Tim Drake's reputation to consider. 

He'd planned this date with Jordan before he'd been in a battle with Klarion where the asshole had cursed him to grow wings. He'd already cancelled on Jordan more than once due to hero things, so he hadn't cancelled this date. He'd figured that the wings wouldn't be seen and it was a first date anyway, no way Tim's shirt would be coming off. Also, if he'd cancelled Jordan might have thought that Tim wasn't interested, and that wasn't even remotely true. 

It was hard enough to find someone to date who actually seemed to like him, much less someone who could distract the media. And ever since Tam and Steph had started dating Tim hadn't had anyone for the rumor mill to latch onto. Jordan didn't mind any of that. 

Pretty, funny, smart, and she wasn't scared of the media. Really, what else could a guy want? Well, besides a superhero, but frankly those were hard to find. 

So Jordan didn't know about his latest magic mishap, which was all good and well and wouldn't have been a problem had Tim not fought Klarion during moulting season. 

At least it wasn't mating season. That would have been a nightmare. 

Tim dashed into a stall and unbuttoned his shirt as quickly as he could, trying to reach down to his wings, which flexed when his back muscles did.

No, no, no… come on…. He couldn't reach. 

He couldn't rub his back against the stall, there were people here. He couldn't find anything to help him reach, and last time he had scratched his back with a batarang it had… ended badly. 

He pulled out his phone. Dick was in Bludhaven and wouldn't be able to get to Metropolis in time, Cass, Bruce, and Damian weren’t even in the country. Duke couldn't get here from Gotham either. 

Steph and Tam, however, were both in Metropolis with Tim on the W/E business he was, but might have been busy doing…. what they do together. 

Steph, help

Im moulting

Steph

Steph this isnt funny

Steph answer please

Steph clearly still hadn't seen his text. He waited a full minute. 

Time for the cavalry. Bart had taken a trip to the future with Wally, which meant: Conner. Tim just hoped that Conner wasn't busy.

Conner help

The response was almost instant. What's up dude?

Im moulting

You're… what?

Dude i just need ur help

Tim's phone started ringing and Tim cut the call. 

Im on a date and i need a way out, one that doesnt make me look like a jerk. Eduardos, Peach and Devon

Now please

The itching was becoming unbearable. He'd make it up to Jordan, he would. 

He heard a boom and someone outside his stall said: "Must be Superman, I hope everything's alright."

Where are you?

Bathroom. 

Come out, ive got an excuse

Eduardo's was a high class establishment. Mainly for business deals, rich people, and romantic dinners. Candles lit the tables, flowers decorated as centerpieces. It was one of those restaurants where any talking was done in hushed voices simply because no one wanted to break the illusion. 

Jordan looked beautiful. Tim felt even more guilty as he sat back down. "So," Tim said when he returned, "you were saying about your major?"

"Right!" Jordan hummed. She opened her mouth to continue her story about how she chose Metropolis University for her biotech degree when Ivy was a more prestigious school when there was a commotion outside the restaurant. 

"What on earth…?" Jordan asked as Tim turned his head to the entrance as he saw Kon push his way through the waiters and ushers shouting Tim's name. 

"Mr Drake-Wayne! Mr. Drake-Wayne, Simmons will be so glad I found you! I know you said you didn't want to be disturbed-" Conner ran up to him, fake-panting. He'd decided to dress up for the occasion it seemed, a loose tie over a button down shirt and slacks that he no doubt stole from Clark's closet. His large glasses were askew on his face. Tim raised a hand to stop the security that was called to escort Kon out. "There's been an issue, you know, with the-" He shot a suspicious look at Jordan and lowered his voice, "-project. I know you want to finish your date but this is… you know." 

Tim held in a laugh at how Kon's eyes were sparkling. He was clearly enjoying this too much. "Of course, I'll come right away. Jordan, I sincerely apologize but-"

"No, it's alright Tim. We'll reschedule, I understand."

Tim patting himself for a pen and Kon produced one from somewhere along with a sticky note. "Order whatever you want, I'll pay-"

"Um, Mr. Wayne sir, we don't take… IOUs…" the Matre ‘D said but Tim shoved it into his hand. "My phone number is on there too, I'll pay for whatever her bill is. Excuse me-" 

"Sir-!" The Matre ‘D tried to say but Tim was already rushing out of the restaurant with Kon, apologizing to Jordan as he did. 

As soon as they made it out of Eduardo's, Kon was giggling. They turned the corner into an alley and Tim slipped off his jacket. "Thank you." He laid his back against the brick and began scratching it against there, not caring what dirt that got on his stupid expensive shirt, sighing as he felt the old feathers begin to losen. He shot an accusing glance at Kon who was grinning stupidly. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Kon was clearly amused. "Moulting, huh?"

"Apparently." Tim grit out as he tried to rub his back a little harder, trying to knock loose some of the feathers. One was sticking him painfully just on the underside of his wings. 

"Here," Kon immediately pulled Tim into his arms and took off. Tim didn't hear the boom when they reached high enough in the air but he was sure there was one. 

Tim yelped as Kon's TTK pressed against his wings uncomfortably, but within less than a minute they were in Lois and Clark's apartment. 

Tim wanted to ask Kon how living with them and Jon was going but he was more distracted by his wings. As soon as Tim touched ground, he ripped off his shirt, buttons flying. Tim looked around for some type of back scratcher or something when he felt Kon's TTK begin ruffling through his feathers, scratching like nails on his skin but soft through the pinfeathers. 

Jon's mouth dropped open. "Tim has wings!" He shouted, jumping up from the couch as Tim sagged slightly under the TTK. That felt good. 

"Mm, a little to the right-yeah right there." He hummed, going a little weak at the knees because of the relief.

Tim stretched his wings, shaking them slightly and old feathers fell to the floor. Jon gasped as he bent down to pick them up. 

"Wow! What happened?" He asked. 

"Thanks for now, Kon." Tim said, pushing himself out of Conner's grasp. 

"Tim's cursed for-" he turned to Tim, "how long?"

"A month." Tim grumbled. 

"To have wings. But why are you… shedding?"

"Moulting. Birds do it to grow in new feathers and get rid of old ones." Tim corrected. "And according to the ornithologist I went to-" 

"Bird scientist." Kon whispered to Jon who nodded sagely. 

"-this month is moulting time for North American robins."

"Don't robins have red feathers though?" Jon asked, twirling one of Tim's between his fingers. 

"Adults and only during mating season. Most of the rest of the year they're spotted." Tim said. "God, I'm starving, you guys have anything to eat?"

"We were just about to order pizza when you texted." Kon said, closing the window behind him.  Tim folded his shirt in his hands and bent down to pick up the rest of his feathers from the floor. "Lois and Clark are in Hub this weekend."

"Can you fly?" Jon asked, skipping behind Tim as he went to go sit on the couch. "Do you have any other bird characteristics? If I pull out one of your feathers does it hurt like when you pull out a nose hair or when you break a bone? Not that I would know because I've never broken a bone but Damian says it hurts so-"

"Hey Squirt! What do you want on your pizza? Tim's treat!"

Tim raised an eyebrow at Kon, who sat in the kitchen, leaning against a countertop. The phone against his ear. "Pepperoni and barbeque chicken!" Jon chirped beside Tim.

"My treat?"

"Well, I did just save you in a rather spectacular display of acting, if I do say so myself. I say I deserve payment for my performance. Be lucky I only demand pizza."

"And ice cream!" Jon added. 

"And ice cream."

Tim rolled his eyes and dug out his wallet. "Fine. But we get Hawaiian."

Kon glared at him and was probably about to say something about it when the pizza place picked up. "-Yes hello, I'd like to order two large pizzas…One double cheese with mushrooms and the other pepperoni and barbeque chicken." Tim walked over to give Kon his credit card. "Yes, I'm sure I don't want anything else-" Tim punched his arm and Kon laughed, floating out of his reach. "Yes, I've got the credit card right here- Ow! Fine. Three large pizzas, make the third Hawaiian, you freak." The last bit was directed at Tim who made a rude gesture at him and Kon laughed again. 

~~~

Jon fell asleep around ten, ice cream sundae half eaten. He snored, face lying on Kon's thigh. Kon's fingers scratched through Tim's feathers as they watched Wendy. Kon had been slowly introducing it to Jon, well the more PG13 aspects, and Jon was just as obsessed as his older brother. 

"Right there." Tim said, and Kon's TTK dug into his wings, pulling out the old feather. Kon put it in the small pile accumulating on the table. "Jeez, how much can you shed?"

"Moult." Tim corrected. "And apparently moulting season is about five weeks for robins. I'll have a little bit every day or so."

"I guess that means no more dates with… what's her name?"

"Jordan." Tim mumbled relaxing as the TTK spread out over his shoulders, massaging them some. "Yeah, I guess not. It's really unfortunate. I really liked this one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and Eduardo's is like, a three week wait. Even for Waynes." Tim said as he ripped off the crust of his pizza. Kon took it from him and munched on it as Tim ate the rest of it.

"Aw, are you sad because you didn't get a candlelit dinner?" Kon teased.

Tim rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, it's not like I get to relax like that often." 

"Ew!" Kon jumped and glanced down at Jon who was drooling onto his pants. Kon poked him hard. "Okay, Jonno. Time for bed." 

"No…" Jon whined as his eyes blinked open. "I'm awake! I'm awake!."

"Nope. Come on, I already let you stay up an hour later than Lois does. Brush your teeth and get under the covers. I'm gonna come check in a moment."

Jon whined about it but he sulked off to the bathroom anyway. Kon paused the TV and began cleaning up. 

"Hey you want to stay the night? Lois and Clark won't mind." Kon asked as he shoved the empty pizza boxes in the garbage. 

"Yeah, I think so," Tim said, toying with his phone. 

"What were you even going to do with Jody-?" 

"Jordan."

"-Like, you've got wings, dude." 

"I wasn't planning on taking off my shirt, dude." Tim said, placing lids back on their containers of half melted ice cream. "It was the first date."

Kon snorted. "Sure you weren't."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Is a nice dinner and a goodnight kiss not enough for you?"

"Sure, but only if I get a walk in the park with it."

Tim stood and walked into the kitchen, tubs of ice cream in each hand. He put them in the freezer. "You're such an ass."

"And you're such a romantic."

"So?" Tim asked. He leaned against the fridge as he watched Kon wrap the stray pieces of pizza in tin foil and put them away for leftovers. "What's wrong with that? I never get anything nice and fairy-tale-like in my real life."

"Being cursed with magic wings isn't fairy-tale-like enough for you?" 

Tim rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant. Sometimes it’s just nice to be pampered, you know?"

Kon made a face that Tim couldn't read and shook his head. "I'm going to check on Jon. You can borrow my pajamas. You know where they are. Feel free to shower and stuff if you want."

Tim decided to take a shower. The day had been long, and his feathers felt a little grimy. After a thorough shower and a dry towel (a clump of pin-feathers stuck to the towel as he dried his back, but that seemed to be all of the moulting he had left for the day), he borrowed a pair of Kon’s pajama pants, deciding not to wear a shirt because of the wings and headed back out into the living room. 

Kon had a stupid smile on his face. Tim frowned. “What...?” He asked suspiciously. 

“I have a surprise for you.” 

Tim raised an eyebrow. Kon held out a hand. Tim laughed at him but took it, and Kon flew back out the window and up to the roof. And yeah, the cheesiness made Tim laugh but nothing could have possibly prepared him for what he saw on the roof. 

Small electric tea-lights speckled the roof, surrounding a blanket on which soder-floats in wine glasses had been settled. 

“What…?” Tim was giggling uncontrollably now. “What is this?”

“Well, you said that you missed having candlelit dinners and relaxing and stuff. I figured, well we already ate dinner but there’s always room for ice cream. And we didn’t have any candles but Clark and Lois had-”

“Oh, Conner you’re such a dork.” Tim laughed, clutching his belly. 

Kon grinned at him. “So you like it?”

Tim fell onto the blanket. He looked up at the sky and then rolled over, careful not to upset his drink. “Conner, this is the nicest but dorkiest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Kon sat next to him, petting his pinfeathers gently. Tim raised an eyebrow at him. “They’re so soft.” Kon said defensively. 

Tim snorted. “I think I’m done shedding-”

“Moulting.” Kon corrected with an easy smile. 

“-yes, for today. Thank you for everything you did for me tonight.”

“Of course.” Kon said softly. “It’s what bros do. Plus it was fun.”

“Yeah, I guess it was, in a way.” Tim shrugged, sitting up. He and Kon were so close. The electric candlelight flickered shadows across Kon’s face. And maybe it was how late it was, or that Tim was missing out on his date with Jordan, but he bent over and pressed his lips to Kon’s. 

And Kon didn’t kiss back. Tim pulled away, startled and flushed. He’d thought-Had he read Kon wrong? Had-?

“Candlelit dinner and a goodnight kiss, huh?” Conner breathed. 

Tim blinked. 

“Your version of a first date sucks.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I'd much rather another kiss than a walk in the park,” Kon pulled Tim closer, “but your shirt’s already off, so really, who's version does that make this?” Kon waggled his eyebrows.

Tim rolled his eyes and pushed Kon away, pelting an electric candle at him. He held in a laugh as he said back: “You’re such an ass,” and in return, Kon kissed him again.

[fyeahwonderbat]

In the Middle of a Broken Constellation - PT. 7

Pairing: WonderBat (Wonder Woman x Batman) Rating: T / 14A Universe: N/A - Reader’s Choice Previous Chapter: <- Chapter 6

The buzz in the lobby of Wayne Tower was chaotic the moment Bruce led Diana off of the elevator and towards the main entrance. Guests were paralyzed, employees were trying to busy themselves so as to appear worthy of being in his presence, and it gave her the impression that his arrival was like that of a foreboding thunder cloud, as if they had all been struck by a single bolt of lightning once he had appeared before them. A storm of his own design, he walked tall and made sure to put more weight into his heels when they reached the intricate tile design in the center of the marble floor.

Yet, in contrast to this moment entirely, his own energy moments ago was similar to that of his staff when they were alone in the elevator.

Diana knew that he must have felt he overshared when discussing the absence of his parents from his life, despite the conflicting report he had given her to what she had always believed to be the truth. In an effort to appear confident once more he had silenced himself to present her with a mysterious front, however, it was clear that he was regretful of the way with which he had portrayed such a personal matter. Bruce couldn't have known that he had confided in her a handful of times in the past, and seeing him shut her out when they were alone as they traveled down to the ground floor gave her the genuine feeling of her stomach plummeting inside.

But the sharp turn he performed when he was inches from the revolving doors in the lobby drew her out of such melancholy though, as he offered her his hand. In the blink of an eye, they were meant to forget the end of their conversation and return to a much more socially acceptable state of a potential boss' boss and a new hire. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Prince. I hope Lucius makes the right choice."

Taking her victories where she could find them in times like these, those words really wound up the crank she had in her back, pulling her shoulders back and returning the gesture with ease. "I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Wayne. I'll be sure to let you know what he's decided by tomorrow morning-"

She allowed for a beat to pass between them, just to watch his brows attempt to pinch together over his nose, wondering what she meant by her words. "-when I stop by your office to say hello, before heading to my own."

Both of their grins must have seemed so cheeky, as she realized that they mirrored one another with how quickly they smiled. "I'll be on the lookout for you then. I get the feeling you aren't one to disappoint."

"No, but I am the type that makes you wait and see what it is you'll be getting." And with one last strong-armed shake, she let Bruce go for the moment - as regretful as she was to do so now that she finally had him so close - and exited the tower with her head held high. Once she stepped onto the sidewalk, Diana took a deep breath to reward herself for the strong performance she had put on in her meeting. The sun still hadn't made its way into Gotham, but it hovered behind the weakest cloud coverage she had seen over the city thus far, and she saw that as a wonderful omen.

"Well who would have thought," a voice she knew all too well stole her away from her moment of peace, and Diana turned her head so fast to the right that she could have given herself whiplash. "I would have found you exactly where I left you."

Diana had to force herself to swallow the name she typically called her friend, as they were in public. And, she thought to herself as a sidebar, she would most likely need to get in the habit of referring to him by the name that others did on Earth. "Clark!"

Dressed in the same suit as he was the day before, only with a slight shadow along his jaw, Superman stood before her in his civilian disguise and looked completely worn. "Sorry I was gone so long. I should have contacted you or Victor, but I got really swept up with Vicki."

"You were with her ever since you ran off yesterday?" Diana couldn't hide her surprise as she gawked at what he was saying. Never mind his job, she couldn't help but wonder how Lois would have felt about that.

But to match her shock with his own, Clark pointed at the building behind her and rightfully asked, "Were you just walking out of Wayne Tower?"

They stared one another down, as if a mutual understanding passed between them, letting the other know that they both had to do some outlandish things to get the information they required, and Diana knew she had no right to judge anyone considering the lengths she was going to for this. Sighing, she decide that if they all had time off today, she knew where they'd be catching up. "Why don't we talk somewhere more private?"

"Or we could go to a diner, have a cup of coffee? I could really use one right about now." Said the man who had all of the powers in the universe. Maybe Gotham's constantly cloudy coverage wasn't providing him with the energy he actually needed, she couldn't help but wonder.

As they walked, Diana led him towards the city parking lot that was across the street. "I'll order some food up to the apartment. How does that sound?"

"Apartment? Whose?"

"Well," she hummed as she clicked the automatic start for her Mercedes, listening to his roar to a start as they stepped beyond the chain link fence and into the lot. "Let's just say there's a lot you need to be caught up on."

Jason unlocked the door to room 15J and swung it open by holding onto the top of it. "Welcome to best apartment in Gotham's East End!" cheered the young man who was behaving much more like a realtor than anything else. Diana watched his playful persona fade ever so slightly when he saw who she brought with her. "Oh hey! Welcome back. I thought you were dead."

"Because I went to talk to someone?" Clark wondered, sounding surprised that Jason would make such a leap in logic.

Diana, despite being amused by the conversation, made sure to question him with an arched brow. "Can I enter my apartment now, please?"

For the first time since she met him, Jason not only obeyed, but he did so without a word. Now that her doorway was empty, Diana stepped inside and looked at the apartment that she had blindly purchased through the 'reigning Batman's' eyes in the middle of the night. The first thing she noticed was the brick walls, which nearly sent her into a tizzy. "Jason!"

"What!?" Was his panicked response as he stayed against the door he was so fond of holding onto.

"You didn't tell me the walls were exposed brick!"

"What's wrong with that?" To her surprise, Clark got the question out before Jason did.

It was all she could do to keep her voice down. "This is an older building, isn't it? How old?"

Quick to defend himself, her unofficial realtor seemed to take offense to her question and put one hand on his hip while the other motioned to the small entryway they were all crammed in. "It was torn down and rebuilt by Bruce, like, twenty years ago. He made sure everything was up to code while making sure it still had that old Gotham charm."

"Why is that an issue, Diana?" Came the innate curiosity of Clark Kent.

"Because these types of surfaces aren't energy efficient and can create mold very easily. If there is brick sealant on them, it's not as much of an issue. An accent wall is fine, but an entire apartment?" After having moved from many places in her immortal lifetime, Diana had learned many things about being a homeowner, and what she needed to be careful of when sacrificing sensibility for aesthetic.

As the door slammed closed behind them, Jason grumbled. "Gee, tell us how you really feel," Her vibrant eyes met his instantly, but he wouldn't take anymore of her critiques. "It's not the whole apartment, all right? This hallway has it, the backsplash in the kitchen and the fireplace are brick, and the two bedrooms each have an accent wall. Otherwise, it's fine."

Trying to diffuse the tension in his country boy way, Clark muttered with honest excitement. "Ooh, a fireplace."

Hearing that little attempt of his to find the silver lining made Diana feel like a bit of a tyrant, and she knew she had to reign herself in. Moving from her old apartment to Gotham suddenly was costing her so much money, and she'd no doubt have to downsize her belongings. Everything in her civilian life was happening so fast when she was usually so much more orderly about switching locations, finding new lifestyles and reinventing herself.

It wasn't a reinvention this time, she knew.

It was a more like a sting operation.

"Is this a walk-in closet, in the front hall?" Diana wondered aloud as she opened the door. Indeed, there was enough room to store all of her coats, at the very least, given how far back the bars went. Considering the square footage of the place, the storage she had discovered already was an instant point in Jason's favour.

Taking on his apparent side job with great pride, he even decided to point out another great aspect. "If you notice, the hardwood flows throughout the entire place, from the closet to the living room to the bedrooms."

"Perfect," Diana praised his attention to detail more than the flooring as they finally decided to enter the apartment itself. Immediately to their right was a very long living space, with that highly revered fireplace on the wall closest to her. It would have been a feat to not be impressed by the size of such a lounge area, given that there were supposedly two bedrooms as well. In fact, the room that was cutting off the possibility of an open concept made her wonder. "Is this the first bedroom here?"

Jason smiled wider than she anticipated. "Yup. It's a bit of an awkward spot since it's between the kitchen and the living room, but I think it's so the bathroom and kitchen can be closer, since they both need plumbing?" The more he went on, the more it sounded like he was trying to answer a teacher's question in a classroom and lost his train of thought.

Diana noticed that as well, considering she could see the fridge sticking out of the kitchen from her stance in the hall. Peeking in, it was somewhat cramped, but there was a dishwasher staring her down from the other end of the room and she was incredibly grateful to know that she'd have one here.

The bathroom was tiled with a large enough bath, and the linen closet sat right outside the door for convenience, which Diana appreciated as well. But again, she was enamoured with the two closets that sat across from the bathroom, as it allowed for even more places to store her collectibles, the treasures she had found throughout her time of traveling the world, and it meant she wouldn't need to place them in some sort of safety deposit box at a bank in the city.

Then, they reached the master bedroom and Diana felt all of her worries melt away. She could make anything work in her favour when it came to living spaces, so long as it didn't cost her an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, the size of her own little oasis - her private quarters where she could shed her persona and just be herself - was surprisingly generous. Purchasing the place as quickly as she had made her worry about the faith she had blindly put in Jason.

Quickly, she had realized that he was more than deserving of her trust and admiration.

When she turned to face Clark and Jason, she realized they had stood in the hallway and were anxiously awaiting her verdict, unable to move while she had wandered throughout the apartment. Giggling to herself, she called to her realtor. "Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"I love it." "I knew you would!" So he said, but the exhaustion in his tone hinted that he might have been lying. Making her way back over to the other two, she noticed that even Clark was much more relieved. Until he was punched on the shoulder, that is. "And now, I have a handy muscle man to help me move in everything tomorrow."

The wording of his observation was rather odd to Diana. "You're going to take care of the moving trucks? You don't have to do that."

"Well, it's the least I can do for you since you put your name on the lease." Again, the way he was carrying on with the conversation felt as though he had a different perception if what was to come than she did.

Now, it was Clark's turn to take Diana's side as he crossed his arms and removed himself from Jason's side. With a furrowed brow a straight lined lip, he chose to get straight to the point. "What aren't you telling her, Jason?"

A gloved hand ran through black hair, highlight the white stripe that resided over his forehead. It was impossible to appear calm while exhibiting such nervous behaviour, but having only known him for a bit more than a day now, Diana wasn't surprise that he'd attempt it. "It's not that I am not telling her something, it's that I was hoping that I could make a deal with her and crash in the second bedroom." To emphasize his point, he presented exhibit A of his argument by motioning to the very bedroom he was hoping to live in for the foreseeable future.

Though it wasn't an inconvenience, Diana was definitely disappointed to be finding out about his intentions this way. "Why didn't you just ask me last night, when you were helping me comb through listings? You were so adamant I had to have a second room for an office, but now it leads me to believe you tricked me into this location."

Her disillusionment didn't reach Jason, or rather, he wouldn't let it impact his attempt at convincing her to let him move in. "I'm not trying to take over the room! I'll sleep on a futon, and I'll fold it up into a couch before I leave in the morning. I just can't stay at the manor with Alfred the way he is, so I don't have anywhere to stay in Gotham now. But I'll work off my debt to you, I promise."

His face had sifted through many emotions as he proclaimed his thought process to her, and Diana knew he wasn't truly trying to lie to her. In all honesty, she could afford a place this size on her own quite easily and didn't need a second income of any kind, so it wasn't off putting to have Jason stay as a guest. Based on the way he had gone about things, it was clear to her that he didn't feel as though she would have accepted his suggestion of living together if he asked her outright and that must have stemmed to the way he had been treated in the past. He had projected rejection onto her and hoped to have gratitude motivate her decision.

When, really, she knew how to handle this predicament with simply her heart.

"Jason," Diana began with her signature tone, lightly stern, completely genuine. "I would never turn you away from staying with me. You can have the second bedroom, but make sure you're more straightforward with me in the future. Is that clear?"

Never before had she been able to truly study his face so precisely, as the way he gaped at her allowed her to take in of the smaller features of his face. So overcome by her generosity, he couldn't front the defensive guard he was so proud of. So stunned was he, that she didn't even anticipate a notion of gratitude. It meant the world to her that someone like Jason trusted her enough to want to stay with her, to share a place with her and be in each other's space for more than just what their joint 'mission' might call for.

She knew Jason would abide by her one rule, which is why she didn't mind in the slightest when Clark looked towards her and decided to move beyond the conversation at hand. "I'm glad your apartment is to your liking, Diana. But I do have to make it to the Daily Planet at least at some point today, so would it be all right if we discuss what I learned from Vicki?"

"Actually, I think we'd like to know what she said too."

There was a new voice in the conversation, distinctively male, and he referred to more than one entity suddenly entering not only their discussion, but the apartment too. The intrusion echoed, which made it clear that whomever had decided to drop by hadn't used the front door, like a typical guest would have.

Together, Diana, Clark and Jason rushed towards the living room to greet the intruders with their fists at the ready. It would be a tumultuous moving day if she add a battle in her living room to her to do list, but as she rounded the corner, she recognized the latex costume of a certain Gothamite she had met before.

"Huntress?" It wasn't as though they had planned to meet again anytime soon, but for her to be standing in her newly purchased apartment was rather startling.

Especially when she brought company with her that she had yet to introduce.

"Dick!?" Jason exclaimed with a tone of astonishment, leading Diana to believe that he wasn't cursing at the young man standing by her window. The only thing she was certain of, was that she had the most batty housewarming party on her hands, pun intended.

((What!? They are gonna be roomies!? I think this is such a cute idea, and it was thanks to my conversation with saultnpeppah last night that made that happen, so thank you for your wise words and patience! I know LOTSLover and I adore the show Fixer Upper, so I wanted to try and paint a vivid picture of what Diana had gotten herself into by purchasing this place in Gotham's East End. I hope it was okay!

Also, I made Jason respond to Diana's offer to stay in a way that was similar to this one moment from the original Titans run, where Donna asked him his opinion as Robin and he was shocked because no one ever asked him that before. I wanted to draw upon that version of him for that scene, because I think that little boy is still inside of Red Hood, you know? I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as he enjoyed being invited to stay, and you'll stick around for the next chapter! ~ Maiden))