#No one is stopping me from colouring Damian however I want

[oifaaa]

I want to strangle Ian Wayne. Who tf thought that was a good idea??

Imagining making Damian Al ghul Wayne actually say the lines "I hate the name Damian I want to be called Ian" DC actually hired someone to write that in one of their preteen graphic novels

[sky-berrie]

Stitch - Damian

Summary: Another favorite trope - reader patches up a wound. Warning: mentions of blood. 

The window opened behind you and you felt a cool summer night breeze brush against your neck. You didn’t bother to give the intruder any attention because you knew that Damian was the only person who could disarm the alarm and crack lock mechanism with ease. You thought the whole system was overkill but it pleased Damian to have it installed so you didn’t complain.

“Hey, Damian,” you greeted him robotically with your gaze still transfixed to your laptop screen and your back to the window. You were watching the events of the latest episode of your favorite show unfold.

You heard Damian land in your room with a grunt. He was usually quite graceful, however you guessed that his ribs and hip were still sore from the last sparing session he had with his brothers and sisters. That family took everything to a whole other level.

You heard Damian shut the window after himself. The sound of the latch being secured came next. Then you heard electronic beeps as he reactivated the alarm. “You –” he let out a sharp exhale. “You took home economics, right?”

“Yeah,” you replied, nonchalantly with a mouthful of popcorn. You didn’t take your eyes off the screen, but you heard the sound of his heavy boots carry him across your room.

“Good,” he said. A shaky breath infiltrated his normally self-assured voice. “And you remember most of it?” The bed springs creaked under his weight.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Great,” he said. “What grade did you receive?” This wasn’t all that out of character for him. Damian was competitive in all aspects of his life. You wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to compare home economics grades just so he could vaunt his skills.

“I don’t know, Damian,” you said honestly. You turned up the volume, hoping that Damian would get the hint that you wanted to watch your show in peace and quiet. “I think it was a good mark.”

Damian let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Excellent.” His voice sounded less troubled than before.

“Jon did most of my assignments,” you admitted unapologetically.

Damian was quiet for a moment. “Okay, but you attended the classes, correct?”

You didn’t answer right away. You were too focused on the climax of the episode. “Oh my goodness,” you muttered under your breath to yourself as the plot twist unveiled. “Um,” you said, remembering that Damian had asked you something. “Yeah, yeah, more or less.”

“Do you remember how to sew?”

“Sort of,” you told him. You had sewn on a button once. It didn’t look great, but it definitely wasn’t going anywhere.

“Well enough,” he said. “I need you to suture a laceration.”

“What?” you choked out. He said it so nonchalantly that you weren’t sure if he was serious or not, because a sane person would not be so stoic. You whipped around to find Damian lying on your bed in his Robin uniform. It was soiled with a layer of black, like he had been charred. It was so dark that it masked the staining of his blood and you wouldn’t have known he was bleeding if it weren’t for the pool of red soaking through your white comforter. He was holding his side with his hands at an awkward angle.

You had seen him with cuts and bruises and even broken bones, but never with the life bleeding out of him. “Oh my goodness!” you shrieked as panic filled your lungs. Your face contorted into a horrified grimace as you tried to stifle an expression of disgust. The strong stench of metal made your stomach churn and your head woozy.

You immediately felt horrible for not paying attention to him sooner. “Damian, why didn’t you say something? Holy crap! What the hell happened? You need an ambulance!” You turned around to reach for your phone.

“No,” Damian choked out. “Secret… identity,” he said with his eyes squeezed shut.

“What about your brothers and sisters? Your dad? Alfred?”

“On their way. No time to wait. First aid kit,” he implored weakly.

You ran for the bathroom and tore into the cabinet to find the massive first aid kit that Damian insisted you store. You had opened it once or twice to grab a bandage for a paper cut but you never touched the majority of the contents. You didn’t even know what half of the kit was for. You guessed that you might find out today.

When you returned to your room, Damian was moving slowly to unbutton his uniform. You helped him with the rest, trying to do it quickly without jostling anything. You tried to ignore the squishy wetness of the uniform, but your hands came away covered in a layer of crimson blood. Beneath the outer coat, his white undershirt was seeping with blood. There was a large tear in the fabric and a bit of the raw wound peeked through.  

You didn’t have a fear of blood, really. You had no qualms about donating blood or seeing it on TV. This, however, was completely different. You were more terrified than you had ever been in your entire life. You had no idea what to do - everything you knew about CPR and standard first aid had inexplicably disappeared from your brain. Silent tears began to spill from your eyes as your breaths tore in and out of your throat, ragged and shallow.

“Y/N,” said Damian, firmly. Through your blurry, wet vision, you could see him straining to make eye contact with you. “Breathe. Everything is going to be fine. Just follow my instructions.”

Normally you trusted Damian, but this time his reassuring words didn’t have any kind of soothing effect on you. Your whole body was shaking now. You couldn’t find your voice. Instead, you shook your head.

“Yes, Y/N. It is going to be fine, but you must listen to me. Do you understand?”

You tried to take a deep breath, but an uncontrollable sob cut it short. If Damian could lie there halfway to death and still be composed, then you could at least pretend to be calm for his sake. You nodded your head this time, trying your best to even out your breathing. It was no use though. You couldn’t remember how to breathe.

“Thank you. Cut it,” he said, motioning to his undershirt.

You did as he ordered and cut a line right down the centre of his shirt. It was warm and wet and clung to his skin, so you peeled it off to reveal the full extent of a nasty looking wound. Even through your distorted, teary vision, you saw enough to know it was not good.

You felt faint at the sight of his insides. Or maybe it was your hyperventilating making you dizzy.  

“Breathe, Y/N. Breathe and then get the sterile solution to irrigate it.”

You returned with freshly washed hands, a pair of gloves and a jug of irrigation solution. Following his instructions, you squeezed the syringe and expelled the liquid over his wound. It ran down his side and carried even more blood into your comforter.

“Okay,” he breathed out. “There should be a small white packet with a curved need and thread and a pair of suture holders. They look like scissors but without the blades.”

Your trembling hands had a difficult time picking out the items. Once you collected the materials, you looked at Damian for further directions.

“It’s a bit deep so you’ll need to close the layer under the skin first. Can you see it?”

You shook your head. His side was a giant red mess. You couldn’t make out anything except for blood and jagged skin. It was nothing like the clean and clear-cut diagrams you’d seen in class. “This is crazy! I can’t do this,” you cried. People spent years studying and training to do procedures like this. Stitching up a body was not something that a person should wing, and definitely not on their best friend, lying in an unsterile room.

“You can,” he assured you. “Pretend like you’re sewing some fabric. Start with this layer here.” Damian pulled at his skin and pointed to the inside with a pair of suture forceps. You couldn’t help but turn away and shut your eyes as he prodded himself. “Y/N,” he called your attention back. “Make sure the needle goes in like this and comes out like this,” said Damian as he demonstrated.

You were shaking your head. “You are absolutely insane! Sewing fabric is nothing like sewing a wound! Can’t we just wait for your dad or someone?”

“No time,” he said.

“Please, Damian,” you begged. “Let me call EMS.”

“No,” he asserted with what little strength he had.

“Please! I…”

“No,” he repeated. You could tell his patience was wearing thin.

“I understand you have to protect your secret identity, but Damian, come on. There won’t be an identity to protect if you die.”

“Batman…Nightwing…” he said weakly.

“They’ll understand!” you argued with desperation.

“No,” he mumbled. He shook his head.

Without any thought, your next words came flooding out straight from your heart. “Damian, I love you and I don’t want you to die!” Oh. That came as a shock to you. You’d never said anything like that before. In fact, you’d never even had a thought like that, but you knew it was the truth. Your hands almost flew to cover your mouth in regret, but the blood dripping from your hands stopped you.

Damian didn’t seem to notice your confession, or if he did, he didn’t acknowledge it. Had you not been utterly distracted by the emergency before you, you might have run away with embarrassment from your sudden proclamation.

“Please try for me, okay?” His eyes were starting to close, but you could see him struggle to keep them open.

You searched his eyes, to see that his once vibrant green eyes had a dull, hazy colour to them. Seeming to find what you were looking for, you conceded. You swallowed a lump in your throat. “Okay.”

It was the worst experience of your life. Damian walked you through the process, but nothing could prepare you for the nauseating feeling of piercing his skin and pulling the nylon thread through the thickness of the tissue. Seeing the inside of his body made you want to vomit but his life was at stake, and you had to be brave for him. Besides, he was the one who should be worried, not you. Your technique was obviously non-existent and you were certain that you were hurting him a hell of a lot more than he was letting on. He hissed and groaned and you apologized profusely but he insisted that you continue.

“Thank you,” said Damian after you tied the last knot. His eyes were heavy and lidded and you could tell he was barely hanging on to consciousness. “Knew you could do it.”

You had no response. Now that the worst part was over, the adrenaline had left your system and you were in shock. His hand lolled out in an attempt to offer you comfort, or maybe to seek comfort for himself. You weren’t certain which is was, but nevertheless, you instinctively clasped his hand in yours.

Then he said something that caught you off guard. His voice was so faint that you barely heard him. “For the record, I love you, as well.”

You weren’t sure if he really meant it. Maybe he was delirious. He did lose a lot of blood. You pondered it for a moment and wondered if you should feel mortally embarrassed when he was fully lucid, but just then, a gentle squeeze on your hand told you that you didn’t have to worry.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

A Failed Betrothal (4)

Am I doing this right? I mostly do write this when I am between the state of sleep and awareness. Hope you enjoy this.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1) (Part 3)

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PART 4

Marinette came to a dungeon cell with two other prisoners. One of them was awake and he looked vaguely familiar. The other had an ugly red helmet that didn’t help with the headache she had.

“Do you know where we are?” She asked the handsome stranger with beautiful green eyes, her throat a little dry.

Wait. Handsome?

No bad Marinette. Don’t fall for fellow prisoners, no matter how cute he looks. Oh Kwamis, she was already screwed.

He still hadn’t replied. Maybe he didn’t understand French. She tried to ask again in another language before her enhanced hearing picked up the sound of footsteps. She faked unconsciousness. Later, she heard the iron door open. She looked through the tiniest slits of her eyes she could muster while the two held a staring/glaring match. Oh shit, that’s the fame Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s, head of the League of Shadows, and the boy she was glaring at had some resemblance to her, so he must be her son, Dennis? Daniel? Damon?

"Damian, I hope you know what you should do."

Ohh..Damian. Where had she heard that name before?

"To be forcefully married to that little girl. She is no one special. Why am I getting married to her?"

Ouch, that hurts. Well, Damian, just because I forgot your name does not mean you can call me a little girl. I can also kill you very easily and painfully.

“Well, Jason, you are awake. You can be the best man for the wedding.”

“No. I don’t know what game you are playing but you better release us. B is gonna find us and you will pay. Let the girl go. She is innocent in all of this.” Red Helmet, Jason, is officially not going on her hit list for his atrocious fashion choices. But that red monstrosity still needs to go.

"Ladybug may not seem like it but she possesses great power that my father converted for centuries. Speaking of, she should be awake by now."

Marinette felt her hair being yanked. A little pain was expected but the really sharp claws digging into her scalp was not. Making her cry and tear up.

”I am so sorry, kit.” Plagg whispered in the kwami language, loosening his claws.

"Tch, See, she is more pathetic than I thought. She is not powerful." Damian growled out.

Geez, thanks for the compliment, it’s not like you ever had a tiny cat dig its claws into your scalp out of surprise. (Damian once had a kitten thrown at his head and if he knew about Plagg, he would have been sympathetic.) Marinette started begging for mercy, hoping they would buy the helpless girl out of the suit that is ill-suited for the job she had been chosen for and had no idea on how to escape.

“Like I thought, weak. She is not deserving of the title of my wife.”

Oh kwamis, what did she ever do to have such a picky groom? The more he insults her, the less she wants to be married to him.

"Appearance can be deceiving. Despite her demeanor, she is the current wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and the Current Guardian. The old Guardian, the old fool had promised her in exchange for his protection."

Great, another reason to stop her mother from killing a senile old man.

"That doesn't mean I want to marry her. She is not worthy of an Al Ghul or a Wayne. Look at her, crying at the slightest feeling of pain."

So that’s where she heard it from. The boy was the son of the daughter of a guy who leads a secret order of assassins and a man that owns a multi-million business. How even did a billionaire meet an assassin, ends up in bed with her and lives? Something to think about for later. She quieted down her sobs, (beat that acting, Rossi) kept her voice low to hatch out a plan with Plagg in the kwami language while the mother-son duo bickered.

“Hey, Plagg before you go, you think I can do that thing, the one which your one of your past holders from Japan can do.”

“You have a lot of potential for destruction but you have not used the ring for a long time yet so I am not sure.”

“I will give it a go anyways. Nothing to lose after all. See you later, Plagg.” Marinette smiled, one that drove fear into the hearts of even the bravest of people. Plagg returned it, already loving the new Guardian before zipping out of the cell to do some scouting. Using the enhanced strength the French superheroine got from prolonged use of the Miraculous, she yanked the chains of the walls and wrapped them around Talia’s neck, cutting off her air supply.

The League of Assassins thought that they could kidnap her and get away with it. But they were no match for the daughter of Sabine Cheng, the deadly Blue Reaper. A high ranking member from the group of assassins and mercenaries called the Guild of Night, who had semi-retired. Kidnapping her was a bad move to make as it meant they had declared war on the Guild, despite the reason behind her abduction having a completely different intention.

She whispered as such to the older woman in her tight grip, making sure the League would know how much they had fucked up. After dropping the limp body, she took a deep breath and tried channeling some of her energy for what she was about to do.

Well, here goes nothing.

She breathed out on the shackles, turning it to rust.

Success!

She introduced herself as Lady and concentrated the energy from before into her hand, forming inky black orbs of destruction in order to free her fellow captives. She felt a little drained from doing magic out of the suit and tried not to show it. Plagg returned, informing her of where the Ra’s and the Pits were. She grinned at the thought of showing old Ra’s who the boss is and made sure he regretted ever messing with her. She explained about Plagg as vaguely as she can, no need to let anyone know about the miraculous than necessary. Sure her plan sounds insane but the boys don’t know who they were with.

She would worry about that curse after she got out of Nanda Parbat. Although she could probably find something in the grimoire to reverse it, she was still an amateur at magic so it was best to have a professional to take care of it. Marinette didn’t want to be with such an asshole, no matter how striking he looks in those regal robes.

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Picking off the League assassins, one by one was easy especially in her transformed state. She hadn’t appraised her suit properly but from what she had seen, it wasn’t like Chat Noir’s leather get-up. She was armoured in vital areas and her colour scheme was mainly black with green accents. There were vials that were probably poisons and pouches which she decided to look at later. She still had a long braid as a tail from her brief stint as Lady Noire and she wondered why her suit was different. While hiding in a niche she found, she called the bakery via the comm in one of her various pouches.

“Hello?”

“Papa, it’s me, Marinette. Do you know where Maman is?”

“She went out of Paris, talking about how this League must pay. I think she is meeting up with several of her old friends. Are you alright, my little blossom? I know you can take care of yourself but I worry.” The relief in Tom’s voice was palpable. However, she was right and the Guild was going to war against the League. Marinette was adored by nearly everyone in the Guild due to her strangely bubbly and cheery personality in the harsh and brutal lifestyle.

“I am fine, Papa. Did Maman use the Horse to leave? And how are my friends?” She knew they might be in a panic after her disappearance.

“I think she did. I didn’t see Kalki when I went to feed the kwamis. Your friends panicked when they found out you were kidnapped. But they are fine now, mostly worried about you. Took care of some akumas and senti monsters by themselves. I think your fencer friend, Kagami, knows more about the League than she lets on.” Of course, she does. Her mother was a member of the Guild before being blinded due to a mission. Kagami and her actually first met during a reunion party of sorts.

“Thank you, Papa. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and dialed the personal phone number her mother uses that only Marinette and her father knows about. She waited for the call to connect, trying to think of ways to stop her mother from storming into the League’s base of operation.

“Maman, it’s me. I know you want to attack the League right this minute. But I have a better plan. Can you get Tikki’s earrings from Alix? We can use them and the ring to destroy the Lazarus Pits. Make them really angry.” She peeked out of the niche she was hiding in. She had been there for a while and needed to move to gain some grounds.

“Where are you? And are you okay?” Panic and worry filled her usually composed mother’s voice.

“I am somewhere in Nanda Parbat and I am fine. I was nearly married off to Talia’s son but I am not now. I think.” Marinette replied. Better to rip that band-aid off before she showed up with her would-have-been-husband. She jumped out of the niche and looked

“Kalki, Full Gallop. Okay, we will talk about the ‘nearly married’ part later. What was this plan to destroy the Lazarus Pits?” Sabine thought she was already used to Marinette’s brand of craziness that was her normal but apparently, not.

“I am currently on my way there. Plagg said we need Tikki to get rid of them. Since the League pissed me off and by extension you and the rest of the Guild, I thought our first move against them is to destroy the Pits and a trail of bodies. By the way, can you get some cheese for Plagg?” Marinette ran through the halls, knocking out some poor sod with a whack on the head.

Silence. She thought Sabine had hung up when-

“Voyage. Alix, where are you? We need Tikki for one of Marinette’s insane plans. And Marinette, stay safe, sweety, I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

“Bye, Maman. See you there.”

Marinette turned another corner, the last one before the path that leads to the entrance where the Lazarus Pits were. She only managed to find it with Plagg’s voice in her head, whispering directions and Tikki’s luck. Unfortunately, the luck ran out because the entrance had a lot of guards who had spotted her.

Crap.

She hoped her mother would get here soon. Thankfully, being transformed gave her a boost and would help her to hold her ground for a while.

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Damian and Red Hood followed the trail of unconscious bodies and sounds of fights, trying to find Lady. Damian was impressed at the level of her skills to defeat many of the League’s assassins although he could probably do better. They relied on his memory to find the Lazarus Pits which was their best bet to finding her as she claimed to be able to destroy them. If Lady possessed such powers, they must find out whether she is a threat to the world or not. And also break the infernal curse they have.

Red Hood was silent mostly. He made a few jabs about how kick ass his ‘bride’ was and how the current Robin should not let her get away. Damian tried really hard not to just maim his adopted brother and also ignore that little fluttering in his chest that happened every time they saw an unconscious assassin left behind by Lady. The sounds of fighting got louder as they got nearer to the entrance. They turned the final corner to see Lady fighting against the guards who outnumbered her. But she seemed to be doing fine against them. Mostly.

One had slipped through her defenses and nearly stabbed her in the back if it weren’t for Damian grabbing one of Red Hood’s guns and shooting a rubber bullet to the neck. He jumped into the fight, grabbing the fallen assassin’s sword and taking out the knife he got from his mother. Jason joined in too, not going to let the two teens have all the fun.

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“Thanks for the save, Al Ghul but I don’t know why you bothered when me being dead would solve your curse problem.” Lady said as the guards laid around them and they tried to catch their breath.

“It’s Wayne. I go by Wayne these days. Being an Al Ghul is not something I learned to be proud of. And as much as I don’t want this curse, your death is not worth that price.” he replied, “Although, I have to wonder why you would choose to die rather than live.”

She chuckled, “Okay, Wayne, to answer your question. Petty teenage drama makes death much more preferable. On top of that, I have responsibilities that I was practically forced into for doing one little act of kindness.” Her tone was joking but there was a touch of bitterness in it. It made Damian want to find out what caused it. Red Hood looked at her in concern. Lady went down the stairs, ignoring their reactions to her words. They followed her, not wanting to lose sight of her again.

The Lazarus Pits emitted a green glow that lit up the cave and cast strange shadows on the walls. At the edge of the glowing toxic green waters was a woman in dark blue clothing and strangely enough wearing sunglasses. Strapped to her sides were two Dao, ancient Chinese swords. She wore a vindictive expression on her face as she stood staring at the green lake, likely to kill anyone who gets in her way. Damian didn’t recognize the woman as part of the League but taking no chances, he got into a fighting stance and Hood did the same. Lady calmly approached the woman. He reached out to grab her to stop her suicidal nature when she shocked him by speaking to the blue-clad assassin in French,

“Hey, Maman, sorry I am late. I had a little trouble with the guards upstairs. You have Tikki?”

Lady’s mother rushed to hug her, “灵儿 (líng er), I am just glad you are alright. I knew you could handle yourself.”

How the hell did Lady’s mother get to the Lazarus Pits faster than them and snuck past several vigilant guards? Before Damian could question further, a red blur appeared and went to Lady’s face, hugging her cheek. It appeared to be the same size as Plagg but was red, looked like a bug and had a black dot on its forehead.

“Oh, Marinette, you are alright. I was so worried when your mother showed up, saying you were kidnapped and needed my earrings to escape.” Unlike Plagg’s nasally voice, her voice was sweet and shrill.

So, my bride’s name is Marinette. Such a unique name for an intriguing girl.

Wait what?

Wayne, stop thinking such ridiculous notions. That is probably the curse working. Resist against it. He will not be ensnared in the traps of such magic. He hoped that the curse will be reversed before he turns and act like those fools in Grayson’s idiotic shows or Todd’s ‘secret’ romance novels.

“I am fine now. See,” reassured Lady, “We actually need you and Plagg to reverse the Lazarus Pits to what it was before someone made the wish that resulted in them in the first place. Oh, I almost forgot. Plagg, claws in.”

Green light flashed, leaving Lady in her wedding robes (which actually flatter her body. Shit. Think of something else. Drake with a smug superior smile that needs to be wiped off his face. Grayson and his plans for ‘family bonding’) and Plagg to reappear.

“Cheese.” whined the cat-like kwami(?) to which the older woman held out a brown bag that smelled and made Plagg perk up in delight. He proceeded to open the bag, taking out a slice of stinky cheese, muttering about the greatness of camembert.

Todd cleared his throat and asked in English, “Umm...Pixie as much as your reunion is touching. Who’s the new lady?”

“Oh Right, sorry. Well, Red Hood, this is my mother, the Blue Reaper of the Guild of Night. Maman, this is Red Hood and the one next to him is my husband-to-be and Talia’s Spawn, Damian Wayne.”

Lady introduced them, also in English. Damian stilled in fear, recognizing the name. The Blue Reaper nearly became his mother-in-law. She was famous for her efficiency and ruthlessness. And gained her nickname from the blue clothing she often wore as she killed her targets. His eyes also widened at how his grandfather had gone a little too far now by kidnapping the Reaper’s daughter. There were other organizations that could possibly take down the League if it weren’t for the somewhat truce between Ra’s and the other leaders. The Guild was one of them and having the Lazarus Pits to revive their soldiers made the League a little more powerful. But if what the mother-daughter duo were planning succeeded, then the League was going to have one of its most deadly wars in its history and would probably never recover from.

“Tikki, Plagg, you guys ready?” asked Lady.

“Yes, Guardian.” They both replied and emitted a blinding red and green light which Damian shielded his eyes from. When it died down, the Lazarus Pits no longer glowed a toxic green and looked… like normal hot spring water.

“Oh. I wished I could see Ra’s face when he finds out.” Lady laughed. Plagg and Todd joined in.

“Pixie, I am beginning to like you.”

“Voyage. That being said, it’s time to go home, Marinette. Your father must be worried sick about us by now. I hope you boys can find your own way back.” A portal opened up, showing a cozy living room. Damian grabbed Lady’s wrist as she moved towards it.

“Wait, let us come with you. We need to contact someone to get rid of the curse on both of us. And we can also call our father to send us tickets for a ride home wherever you live.”

“Curse? Marinette, you never mentioned a curse in your call.” Blue Reaper said, raising her eyebrow.

“I will explain later. They can come with us and I am pretty sure Ra’s knows that we have escaped by now.” Lady grabbed the two brothers and dragged them through the portal.

She then threw herself onto the couch after releasing her hold on them and the two pocket gods went to comfort her after her ordeal. The Blue Reaper stood where the other portal was and fed a floating tiny gray horse, that must be the same species as Tikki or Plagg, some sugarcubes.

“You boys must be tired but the showers are upstairs and we might have some clothes your size. Dinner will be ready in an hour. You can stay the night if you want. Welcome to Paris.”

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(Part 5)

[themaribatpit]

Jasonette July Day 4: Game On

Written by: The Maribat Pit  @jasonette-july-event  Prompt: Game On Rated: T (for sexual references, mostly references to things that happened in the comics.  You have been warned.) “I can’t just go spilling my protégé’s secrets. I can barely send her out into the mean streets on her own.” she said with a coy show of innocence that she wasn’t even trying to make believable.

 “I’m not asking for her identity, all that concerns me is why you decided to take her in.” Batman explained.

 “She was in trouble, I was in the neighbourhood and I gave her a helping hand,” she explained. “That special claw of hers comes in handy, and besides we all know how you feel about magic users Bruce.” She wasn’t wrong about that.  Batman could never trust Constantine further than he could throw him. He could only bring himself to turn to Zatanna when he really needed her help.  Shazam was an exception, seeing as the limits of his magic were clear and simple enough to understand.  That didn’t make him any less formidable, but it didn’t make him quite as unpredictable.  He was, at the end of the day, a detective who was trained to think rationally and logically in order to get to the bottom of a situation.  Magic was the ultimate wild card, and the sooner he figured out this girl’s abilities, the better.  “You’ll be pleased to know she’s not a completely hopeless case, she’s been helpful but she doesn’t get quite the same thrill out of thievery.” Catwoman remarked, “but it’s been lovely having her around, and I’m not about to just hand her over to you”.

 “Then what would you have me do?” he asked, “I’m concerned your rivals might be a little less forgiving.”

 “Is that so? You don’t think she’s strong enough to save herself?”  Catwoman smiled, it was nice to know that he cared, just a little. “Besides, she’s already had years of experience under her belt, maybe you’re just jealous you didn’t find her first.” She taunted playfully. Goodness knows he was in no position to talk when it came to taking people under his wing.  “Tell you what, how about we have a friendly little wager?” Bruce saw her eyes light up at the thought, but he was undeniably curious about what she had in mind.

 “What do you propose?” he asked.

 “A fun little game, your boys against my little foundling. If any of them can take her down, then you can welcome her into your family with open arms” she explained.

 “How do I know she won’t just kill them?” Batman asked, it wouldn’t be the first time Bruce had to try and steer someone away from any homicidal tendencies.

 “She’s a lot of things, but let’s just say killing wasn’t really an option for her back in the day.” she explained, “She’ll fall in line with your ‘no killing’ rule quite nicely. Think about it, your sons versus my little girl.”  Her claws skated across Batman’s shoulders as he pondered this.

 “Anything else?” Batman asked, he had to know exactly what they were walking into.

 “Your boys can bring a second to their little duels, but only one.  No need to have the Titans ganging up on her.” she explained.  She left out the part about her protégé having other tricks up her sleeve.  With the power she had, they would be lucky to get a single scratch on her.

 “So be it then.” Bruce said, it would be an opportunity to see how this girl measured up against the boys he had trained. At that moment Catwoman decided it was game on.

 Marinette had just come home from her classes at Gotham University, and she was looking forward to a quiet night working on some designs that were due a few weeks.   A text message from Catwoman brought her plans to a grinding halt:

 “Mari dear, made a little wager with Batman.  You beat his four sons in a fight, and you get to stay with me.  If you lose however, he gets to take you under his wing (in every sense of the word).  They’ll be on the lookout for Lady Noire in the next few days, but I never said anything about only using her to win.”

 Marinette was really starting to regret being saved by Catwoman. That night, she was outnumbered by some muggers who thought she would be an easy target.  She was trying to find an opening, to make a break for it, maybe find somewhere to hide and transform if she really must.  Suddenly she heard a voice grab their attention, “I’ve always loved big strong men who aren’t afraid to show it with someone half their size.” she purred.  While they were distracted, Marinette decided to call on Plagg for some help.   She always loved how the Lady Noire suit made her movements feel lighter, plus the night vision and Cataclysm were useful too. Unfortunately for her, it meant that Catwoman saw her in action and decided to take an interest in her from that day forth.  Sure, she was a cunning thief and there was little that Marinette could do to stop her. At the same time, Marinette was a young woman in a city that was the polar opposite of what she knew in Paris. She couldn’t deny that there was something comforting about having someone in this city looking out for her. Especially since her parents were in Paris, and Master Fu was no longer around to help her.  She took the Miraculous with her to Gotham City, but none of the other wielders came with her.  She was still their guardian after all, but she had to be more careful about using them.  She wasn’t about to single handedly take on superpowered crime lords with their armies of henchmen. She had to be a lot more careful with her powers since other people could get hurt.  Besides, they already had a small group of vigilantes keeping the city safe, they didn’t need her.

 Marinette reread the text message over and over again.  she was about to see what these vigilantes were made of, though it was just as accurate to say it was the other way around.  She opened the box, carefully choosing which ones she could use in a fight.  She usually used Lady Noire when she was with Catwoman, but by the sound of it she was counting on her to use all of her tricks to win.

 Damian never fully understood his father’s attachment to Catwoman, but this was a challenge he could not refuse.  They were told to keep an eye out for this “Lady Noire” character while they were out on patrol.  Oracle had agreed to referee this ordeal, Damian was absolutely certain he was going to be the one to bring her in.  They were allowed to bring a second, but Damian didn’t think it would be necessary. From what they were told she was a smaller Catwoman, though they were told to exercise caution because of her destructive abilities.  The last person Damian had expected to find was a girl in a red and black body suit, who looked nothing like the girl with long hair and green eyes that Batman had described.  Still, there was something odd about the girl and Damian moved in closer to investigate.

 Catwoman had given Marinette a vague rundown of who her opponents were.  There was Nightwing, the eldest of the four boys and a trained acrobat. The second eldest was the infamous Red Hood, Marinette had heard rumours about him and she had no way of knowing if the Kwamis could guard her against someone who uses firearms.  The third was Red Robin, Catwoman advised using clever strategy if she was going to get the upper hand on this one.  Finally, there was the current Robin, the son of Batman and Talia Al Ghul, the youngest of the boys who was trained by assassins before Batman took him in.

 She took the Ladybug earrings with her, seeing as they were more versatile for the occasion.  In addition to the earrings, she wore the Longg’s choker around her neck.  Master Fu had often cautioned against using fusions, considering how draining they were on her body.  Her new mentor advised her to use every tool she could in her arsenal, because they certainly would.  On most nights she noticed a small, hooded figure passing through her neighbourhood from time to time. She decided to see which of these boys would be her first opponent.  

 While she was standing on that rooftop, she heard a few footsteps behind her.  It was raining but through the mist and the rain she could see a small, shadowy figure watching her closely.  It made sense, she was dressed in bright colours and standing on a rooftop in the pouring rain.  She practically had a sign on her head that said “come and get me”, which in some way was part of her plan.  The question was, whether or not her first opponent would take the bait.  “I know you’re there little one, so are you going to stay there or come over and say hello?” she asked, Marinette tried to sound cheerful but she ended up sounding silly instead.  She tried to hide the burning embarrassment she felt at how silly that sounded. The boy could probably sense it too, because she turned around and saw him narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously.

 He leapt from his perch and landed behind her with a thud and splatter of rain water.  He was no taller than Marinette and he wore a red and green outfit, with a black hooded cape and a green domino mask. The red and green outfit had a golden yellow “R” on his chest, and she also noticed a sword that was sheathed at his side.  Marinette had to suspect this boy was the youngest out of the boys, Robin.   The two of them stood in silence for a long moment, she figured that someone who was formerly trained by assassins would be a little more hostile.  Then again, he was probably expecting someone else entirely.  “Aren’t you a little young to be out patrolling by yourself, little one?” she asked, trying to make some kind of conversation with the boy. She wasn’t in any position to say anything about this, considering she had been protecting Paris since she was 13.

 “What’s it to you?” He scoffed, “we’re looking for someone named Lady Noire, and you clearly wanted to attract someone’s attention by standing on a rooftop in that costume”.

 “Robin, can you not be a brat for like, five minutes?” Red Robin groaned into his comm, but Damian didn’t listen.

 “You can either state your business or stop wasting my time” he snapped, as Marinette chuckled.

 “So, you’re planning on challenging Lady Noire.  Tell me, what do you really know about her?” she asked him.

 “Only that father and that woman have taken an interest in her, and I intend to prove to both of them that she is nothing special.” he growled, “so unless you know something about her, stay out of my way”.

 “You seem certain, for someone who has never once faced her” she said with a smile.

 “I was trained by the best, I will not lose to someone who is little more than a foundling.” he was reaching for his sword at that moment.  Red Robin and Nightwing rolled their eyes at that comment as they listened in. They knew they had all bested their youngest brother at some point or other, despite being “foundlings”.

 “It would have been easy too just to hide from you and your brothers, but I’m going to enjoy taking you down a peg.” She braced herself for her first fight of the challenge.   She really could have, but sadly she had very little patience for people who thought they were better than everyone else.

 “I won’t lose to you Lady Noire, or whoever you are”, he growled as he drew his sword and pointed it at her.

 “Tikki, Longg, unify!” she called out, and a flash of red and gold light stunned Robin for a moment. The red and black bodysuit now had gold accents and a symbol on her chest.  The symbol was a lighting bolt, a wave and a gust of wind all swirling together.

 “What did you do?!” Red Robin yelled into his comm, “I swear if she kills us all just because you couldn’t control yourself…”

 Robin looked up to see that she had a yo-yo in one hand and the other reached behind her to draw a sword.  

 “And by the way, it’s Dragon Bug to you”, she swung her yo-yo with one hand and Robin ducked to dodge it. After dodging it, he charged at Dragon Bug, katana in hand.  She blocked his attack with her sword before kicking him back with her foot.  Dragon Bug pulled back her yo-yo and charged at him with her sword, when he blocked her, he spun around and kicked her legs out from under her.  As Dragon Bug fell to the floor, she raised her sword and yelled “Water Dragon!”.  There was more than enough to create a barrier that pushed Robin back before he could strike again.  Robin was knocked back against the wall, and she took out her yo-yo to make an escape to the streets below.

 This Lady Noire, Dragon Bug, whoever she was, had insulted his honor.  To him, that just simply would not stand. His father said that he wanted her alive, but he could barely get a scratch on her.  He got up quickly and used his grappling hook to swing after her. She was waiting for him, with her hair blowing in the wind, and a smile that Damian wanted to wipe off her face. He charged at her once more, this time sliding on the floor at the last moment and hoping to take a swipe at her leg. Once again, she managed to turn and block his katana. The pair of them traded blow after blow after blow, but he could only land a few scratches on her.  Marinette could use Lightning Dragon and shock the boy, to bring this to a swift end.  However, with all the water that was around them, she might end up killing the boy instead. Before she could try anything else with that sword, he blocked it and sent it flying off to the side. Marinette watched as her sword flew out of her hands before clattering on the ground next to them.

 Marinette had to admit that this kid was good and that the fusion was starting to drain her a little. She had to act fast as she dodged another incoming strike. She leapt backwards to dodge it but the boy took out a grappling hook, he gave it a few good spins before flinging it forward and catching her foot.  He pulled the wire taut and sent her crashing to the ground, hard.  “You may have your tricks, Dragon Bug, but I have skill, I have training, and now I have defeated you.” he called out as he tugged at the wire, pulling her towards him.

 “That may be true, but there’s something you should know…” she groaned as she propped herself up on her elbows, he stopped for a moment as he waited for her to tell him exactly what that was. Marinette reached for her yo-yo, she needed to finish this and safe her strength, “…you’re not the only one who’s had training.” she told him. Dragon Bug quickly spun her yo-yo and swung it at Robin, this time wrapping the wire around him and pulling the string tight.  He tried to free himself using his katana, while Dragon Bug unwrapped the wire around her foot.  As she stood up she said, “another one of my ‘magic tricks’” as she ran to retrieve her own sword.  She sheathed the sword and looked back to find a hog-tied Robin, desperately trying to cut the cord and free himself.  She wanted to enjoy this moment for just a little longer, there was always something so satisfying in moments like these.  She took a moment to send a quick message to Catwoman:

 “Dragon Bug: 1, Robin: 0” before sending her a selfie, with Robin tied up in the background.

 She glanced back at Robin who was now just scowling at her.  “You fought valiantly little one, but sadly you are not my only opponent” she told him as she unwound the string around him. When she had her yo-yo back, she flung it towards a street lamp and swung forward, lifting her up off the ground. There was one thing Damian was certain of, there was no way his brothers were going to let him live this down. With a good tug of her yo-yo, freed Damian, spinning him around in the process.

 Meanwhile, Jason and Roy were on a road trip back to Gotham, the two of them had just taken care of a Drug Lord in Starling City.  Jason’s phone buzzed with some news from Dick, something about how they had all been embroiled in a bet to take down Selina’s new protégé.  If any of them win, she has to join the Bat family, and if they all lose then she keeps working with Selina.  He could not bring himself to care, it was 50/50 on whether or not this girl was tolerable or if she was going to annoy him like the rest. Roy glanced over at him before turning his attention back to the road, “you look like you’re desperately searching for a fuck to give” he commented.

 “Just some dumb bet Bruce made,” Jason shut off his phone before reclining back in his chair.

 “That’s not like Bruce, usually making dumb bets was something you guys did” Roy wracked his brain trying to imagine the stoic and serious Batman making a dumb bet.

 “Something about Catwoman and her little sidekick.” he drawled, “If Dick, Me, Replacement or Demon Spawn take her down, she becomes Batman’s little sidekick.  Like he doesn’t have enough of those running around”.

 “Ah, I’m guessing you don’t want to fight her when we make it back to Gotham City?” Roy asked, “wouldn’t it be hilarious if you taught her how to win against your brothers?”

 Jason gave a half-hearted chuckle, moments later his phone buzzed with more messages.  He was really looking forward to this little power nap, but he checked to make sure no one desperately needed his help.

 He sees the picture that she took with Damian tied up in the background.  Babs, Steph and Cass had watched the whole thing, with popcorn. While Tim had made that photo the new wallpaper on the Belfry’s computer.

 “Well, says here she literally wiped the floor with Demon Spawn, before swinging away on a yo-yo.” he said and they both laughed “now I’m just mad I won’t get to buy the girl a few drinks”.

 “I mean either way, I’m sure you’ll get your chance if you’re both in Gotham City.  I’m just sad that I’ll have to be your third wheel.” Roy said wistfully.

 “Roy, I had to listen to you and Kory in the next room,” Jason recalled, “you have no room to complain about third wheeling.”

 “Awh was little Jaybird jealous?” Roy joked.

 “Hey you’re the one who assumed that we banged in the first place,” he said “all I said was I was with her, and you decided to interpret that however you wanted”.

 “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because she ran off to Miami to work through some things, and we’re just over here thinking about the good old days,” Roy said.  The two of them continued to drive in silence and Jason leaned back, trying to get some sleep before facing whatever chaos was waiting to greet them in Gotham City.

  Tim has researched all he could on this mysterious Lady Noire, yet there are several reported sightings of different vigilantes all with the same height and build. Lady Noire, Ladybug, Dragon bug. Tim compiled all known sightings onto his corkboard to get a clear picture of who this person is.

The fight between Dragon Bug and Damian provided him with crucial information on how he could counter Dragon Bug. Tim then donned his Red Robin costume and began patrol of Gotham City. Gliding across he spotted an usual sight, a costumed person standing on a rooftop. It had to be the one Batman told him about, the person he was to fight because of the bet.

Tim landed on a nearby rooftop to reconfirm the target. "Same height and build, but this costume is different." Tim sighed, he had noticed that each costume had its own power and abilities, and made detailed notes on each. Codename: Polka-dot had the power to summon an unknown household object. Codename: Catwoman II used an indestructible staff and the power of disintegration, Codename: Drake used a sword and came with the power of hydrokinesis.

However, he had no intel regarding this new costume. He decided to press his luck and use stealth to take her down. He leaped off the roof and began gliding towards her with a kick.

To his surprise, his target shrank at the last second, he glided through and smashed into a skylight, landing inside an abandoned building.

Multimouse followed suit and jumped in through the broken skylight. Landing right at the centre of the room, she simply stood there arms akimbo looking at him. Red Robin threw a smoke bomb, grappling to the rafters. Multimouse did not pursue, no sense of panic she simply walked to a wooden crate and sat on it.

Red Robin, took the opportunity to launch himself off and glided towards Multimouse with a kick. He was shocked to see her suddenly turn around as if she knew he was there the entire time, with perfect timing she grabbed and judo flipped Red Robin through the wooden crate. Wiping her hands in a dramatic manner, Multimouse walked to the centre of the room and crossed her arms. Red Robin crushed a smoke bomb with his hand, obscuring the area and diving towards an underground vent.

He began to wonder how she was able to counter him so effectively. "The power of foresight? 360 degrees x-ray vision? No it can't be." Red Robin thought to himself. While crawling in the vents to a position behind Multimouse, he berated himself for pressing his luck without any information on Multimouse. He peeked his head out of the vent, Multimouse had not moved, she continued to stare at Red Robin's previous location. Taking another chance, Red Robin jumped out of the underground vent ready for a takedown.

Again as if she was a clairvoyant she countered him perfectly, spinning on the spot and delivering a crushing kick to Red Robin’s midsection. Sending him flying across the room, he took out his staff and slowly got up, using the staff as if it was a cane. He stood on shaky legs, in disbelief.

He then begins to notice something unusual hanging on the hem of his cape. His eyes widen as he takes a closer look. A miniature clone of Multimouse was hanging on, his eyes snapped up to the rafters and then the vents. There were several miniature clones all over the building, all about the size of a small insect.

Red Robin's jaw dropped as he had this epiphany. Seeing her cue, Multimouse shrank down and spawned a horde of miniature clones. Millions of clones rush towards Red Robin, he begins swinging his staff, stomping on any clones on the ground, flailing his arms like a madman. The horde bellows a collective “Surrender,” Red Robins defiantly continues to fight.

Soon the swarm begins to cover Red Robin all the way up to his neck, his body unable to move. The Multimouse arms pulls off the cowl and begins pulling all of Red Robin’s hair. Red Robin, facing the agony of Multimouse waxing his head. “Ok, ok I give up.” he cried. As he finished his plea, the swarm dissipated and reforms to the singular human sized Multimouse. Red Robin is then left kneeling and staring at the strands of his own hair left on the floor.

Multimouse, seizing the opportunity to obtain a trophy of her efforts, takes a selfie with a poor, disheveled Red Robin in the background.

  Marinette was really starting to feel the effects of using different Miraculous for two nights straight. Dragon Bug was draining enough, but she had to use Multimouse to take on Red Robin.  That left Nightwing and The Red Hood, and she was starting to wonder what was the point of this game.  She felt like she was just fighting to win, fighting so that the person who took care of her when she first arrived in Gotham could prove a point.  If she won, then she would stay under Catwoman’s protection, and the Miraculous would be protected with her.  Though she was lucky that the Miraculous themselves didn’t look valuable enough to pique her interest.  If she lost to one of them, she would be under Batman’s protection instead.  She would become a part of the group of vigilantes who operate in the city, and she didn’t know how she felt about that either. How would she feel about seemingly being the only magic user among them?  How would he feel about her being a magic user?  She hadn’t even met the guy, all she knew was that he took an interest in her dealings with Catwoman.  Maybe she would encounter the Red Hood and he would make the choice for her by putting her out of her misery.  She decided to settle this fight once and for all as Ladybug, maybe then someone would give her some answers.  

 She got a text message from Catwoman, telling her to meet her on a rooftop that had gargoyles glaring down at the streets below.  Maybe she had information on where her next fight would be, she didn’t say.  By the time she got there, she saw two people eating fast food next to the gargoyles.  The first was a redhead in red armor, and the second was…

 “Get your own brooding spot, this one’s taken!” He yelled. Marinette looked up to see the other guy had a red domino mask, and in addition to being dressed in Kevlar and leather, had a red bat symbol on his chest.

 Marinette spun her yo-yo, getting ready for a fight. The redhead continued eating, while his dark-haired companion gave her a swift once over.

 “So, you’re the girl who took down Robin and Red Robin?” he asked, as if struggling to believe it.  

 “And you are?” she asked, when he put on the red helmet that was in his hand, it suddenly became clear.

 “So, looking for me?” he asked, “Or are you on your way to fight the original boy wonder?”

 “Honestly, I’ll take my chances with you.” Marinette said as she launched her yo-yo at his companion and wrapped the cord around him.

 “Wait, wait, wait why me?” the redhead cried,  then she threw him and sent him crashing into the Red Hood.  The pair of them slammed into a nearby wall before she released the redhead.  She unwound the cord and was getting ready to strike again.

 Underneath the sprawled out pile of bodies, Red Hood grunted “Arsenal, get your ass off of my face or else…” Arsenal got up before he could finish his threat and they both stood up.

 “So who checked ‘Fights with Toys’ off their bingo card?” Arsenal joked.

 “Is that the best you can do?” Red Hood taunted. He came at her with a knife in hand, when she leapt in the air and wrapped her yo-yo cord around his arm.  She launched herself at him, landing an aerial kick on his helmet. Red Hood grabbed her by the foot and flipped her over, sending her crashing to the ground.

“If you came here to fight me that’s one thing, not many people get to say they took on someone with a yo-yo and lived, unless you’re Toyman.” he said, as he lifted her up off the ground.  “If you think this is what it takes to face Nightwing, then you have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

 Ladybug took a few steps back after he helped her get to her feet, “so are you going to fight me instead?”

 “Pixie, take it from me, it’s really not all it’s cracked up to be.  As fun as it’s been watching you kick my brother’s asses, they are nothing compared to Nightwing.” he explained as he took off his helmet and set it down next to him.

 “What do you know about Nightwing?” she asked, still understandably guarded about the situation.

 “Oh what don’t I know, he’s basically Batman’s heir.” he told her “I’m just one of the spares, and that’s on a good day when I managed to not die.”

 Dick had made it clear days ago that he wasn’t going to fight her, he already put his foot down at how silly this whole thing was.  Jason, however, decided to have a little fun. “Honestly, you might as well just walk right into the batcave and challenge Batman yourself.” he told her, “I mean you won’t die, that’s kinda his whole deal, but you’ll be eating through a straw for the rest of your life.”

Jason, enjoying the anxiety bubble in the young woman, and he decided to crank it up to eleven.

“Nightwing is equal if not better than Batman in every way, he once took up the mantle of Batman when he was injured. Not only that, he broke Bane’s back.  He lifted a 7ft tall 500lb big guy, snapped his spine over his knee as if it was nothing.”  Jason moves his arms, mimicking the motion of breaking something over his knee. Ladybug began to sweat even more, struggling to imagine the powerhouse of a man to even accomplish such a feat.

Jason’s grin widens, “not only that, he fought a giant mutated bat the size of a man. He wrestled Man-Bat, putting him in a full nelson and smashing its face into solid concrete” Ladybug cringes at the thought of feeling the full force of having your face slammed into concrete. Jason gets ready for the coup de grace. “In fact, when he was 10 years old, he watched his parents get murdered by mobster Tony Zucco in front of his own eyes. After being taken under Batman’s wing, he went out for revenge. He chased after Tony for hours and cornered him in Crime Alley.

Tony died that night when Nightwent went after him, the official cause was a heart attack.”

Jason stops talking to look around him, as if he was paranoid and there were eyes all around him. He walks up to Ladybug and whispers to her ear “but between you and me, it wasn’t.”

 He turns to Roy, “but if she’s gonna try and take him on after all that, then we might as well pull up some chairs and watch.” he said, giving Roy a knowing look.

 “Oh yeah, I mean he’s no match for a cute girl and her yo-yo.” Roy joked.

 “Come on, he’s probably waiting on top of the Iceberg Lounge, and he doesn’t like to be kept waiting” he declared, Ladybug followed as the three of them made their way to the Iceberg Lounge. She felt her legs shaking, but it’s fine, she would at least live to tell the tale...right?

Nightwing stood on the roof of the Iceberg Lounge, carefully watching the whereabouts of the people going in and out of the area.  He heard footsteps and looked up to see three figures landing on the rooftop in front of him. He looked up to see Red Hood, Arsenal and a short girl who looked to be in her late teens, maybe early 20s.  He looked between them, then back at the girl who was spinning a red yo-yo with black polka dots.

Nightwing waved to them, figuring she would be the short girl mentioned in the bet between Batman and Catwoman. As he noticed the three, the short girl visibly frightened as he walked towards them.

 Nightwing sighed “what did you tell her?” he asked, he had better things to than get involved in Batman’s dumb little bet.  The outcome would have been someone joining the Bat family by force, even he had put his foot down by that point.  

 “I mean, nothing that wasn’t true.” Red Hood told him, “she might as well know who she’s dealing with.”

 “Right, and you probably told her you are just a soft teddy bear compared to me.” Nightwing remarked sarcastically, “was it to keep her from beating the stuffing out of you?”. At that point Ladybug was visibly confused, so Nightwing looked over at her “so how did you get dragged into this? Got sick of having to share a litter box?”

 Ladybug eyes Nightwing cautiously, thinking his joking mannerisms are an elaborate ruse to lower her guard. “What, don’t tell my Catwoman’s got your tongue?” Nightwing jokes with a large grin. Ladybug begins to slowly walk back, confused at how expectations did not match reality.

Nightwing points his thumb at Ladybug and talks to Red Hood, “Alright what did you tell her about me?” Red Hood raises his arms innocently “Like I said, nothing that wasn’t true.”

Nightwing raises his eyebrow at Red Hood and crosses his arms. “Alright I told her how you took down Bane and Man-Bat by yourself” Red Hood admits. “And?” Nightwing begins tapping his foot. “I may have, insinuated that you may or may not have had something to do with Tony Zucco's heart attack”

Nightwing facepalms, “well so much for first impressions, let's start over shall we?”

 Nightwing reaches his hand out to Ladybug, “Name’s Richard but everyone calls me Dick”

Marinette tentatively reaches out to shake his hand, “I know you aren’t enthusiastic about this bet, neither am I. I don’t want to knock your spots off, so how about I lie on the ground, you take a picture for Catwoman and you fly off into the sunset”

 “Where would I go?” she asked,

 “She could come with us.” Red Hood suggested, “nothing would annoy Batman more.”

 “Right, and next she’ll start asking me if I actually hypnotize people with my ass.” Nightwing said as he raised an eyebrow at him.  “Think Catwoman would let you take her?”

 “We already asked, someone has to look after this pipsqueak while she’s doing what she does best, alone”, Red Hood explained.

 Ladybug felt herself calming down a lot more at that moment.  She came to this city not really knowing anyone, feeling like there was no one else looking out for her.  Now, for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was going to be in good hands.

 Bonus 1:

Roy: So, should we call ourselves “Red Arse Bug” or “Lady Red Arse”?

Jason: Do you want me to throw you off this roof?

 Bonus 2:

Ladybug: So you all had to wear red, yellow and green?

Red Hood: Yup.

Ladybug: What was it like?

Red Hood: I did my time in the pixie boots, Pixie.  Doesn’t mean I like to talk about it.

[yannowhatigiveup]

My One And Only - Chapter 18

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Hey! Welcome back to another chapter of MOaO! I won’t be able to update this as much as I want to (I’m not really updating it as fast as I won’t to right now but I’m trying) as exams are coming up as well as other various things. (I just realized that I haven’t said this earlier I’m so sorry, Ramadan Kareem to those who celebrate it!) Also, thank you so much for 128 followers!

"...I believe I found a way to subdue Hawkmoth"

————————————————————

Her eyes repeatedly scanned the page, making sure she was reading it correctly.

"It won't defeat Hawkmoth" Damian carefully pointed out, not wanting to diminish her excitement. "But it'll be able to stop him for some time, a month or two at most"

"Do you know what this means?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "We'll be able to have some peace of mind! We'll be able to prepare ourselves! The whole of Paris! Who know, maybe we'll be able to get some clues on his identity as well as Mayura's as well!"

By the end, Marinette was spinning around the room, her slight giggles of happiness appeared here and there. Damian chuckled at her delight, seeing her happy was probably one of his most favourite sites in the world, that and seeing her flustered.

"I understand that you're excited but what do these cryptic messages mean, 'a tear of joy'? Did I translate that correctly"

She giggled at his confusion. "No that's one of the ingredients for the power up. Speaking of ingredients, I need to get some" Her bluebell eyes quickly scanned over the tablet again before she speed walked out of the hotel with Damian on her arm. "We're going to Master Fu's old place, he still has some ingredients we could use"

The two walked in silence, there was a topic that they needed to discuss, the end of the week was approaching fast.

"Maybe in the small time of peace, I can get Father and my brothers to help"

The bluenette chuckled slightly but not out of amusement. "I almost forgot, you'll be leaving in a few days" her gaze fell to the ground before she looked up at her boyfriend, solemnly. "It's gonna be a lot different, huh?"

He squeezed her hand gently with a comforting smile on his face. "It will be but I'm sure we'll handle it"

The couple grabbed the necessary ingredients and made their way back to the hotel. They dropped them off at the hotel room before making their way upper to the restaurant to get some food. Their dinner was quickly interrupted by a rockstar coming to congratulate his niece.

"Nettie! You're rock'n'roll! Your song is a huge hit!" Jagged exclaimed once he reached the table, he only seemed to register there was another person there once he sat down. His moderate cyan eyes widened in recognition when his gaze landed on the green-eyed boy. "You must be Damian, you look just like you're old man Brucie"

Damian shook his hand when the rockstar had offered it. "I am, Mr Stone"

"Uncle Jagged-"

"You break my niece's heart, I'll send Fang to eat you"

"Uncle Jagged!-"

"And I will gladly let you"

"I approve of your relationship, I just wanted to give the shovel talk since it sounded fun"

Marinette gaped at the two males on her table. "Dami, don't encourage him! I've already got Gami waiting to spar with you"

"Ah yes, my son's girlfriend is just as scary as Penny" Jagged visibly shuddered in good nature.

"Wait, Luka and Gami got together? Without telling me?!" The bluenette huffed, offended. "And to think I'm his honorary cousin"

Jagged chortled at her reaction while Damian had a faint smile playing on his lips. The rockstar decided to take his leave shortly after that, not wanting to draw some unwanted attention. He did manage to leave a pair of blushing teens as he told them to "Use protection!" before departing. Marinette was utterly embarrassed while Damian was flustered. Once dinner was finished, the couple went back to Damian's hotel room to discuss what they were going to do next.

Doing his best to help, Damian passed the ingredients to his girlfriend who then mixed up said ingredients in a pot.

"Can you get the Tear of Joy, Dami?"

The green-eyed boy looked through the ingredients until he found the slim bottle with a minuscule amount of clear liquid. He eyed the water as it squished in the bottle, it seemed so ordinary despite the great magic it could create. Damian could almost see the water taunting him with its mystic properties, he could just about feel it as he brought the bottle closer to the cauldron.

"This is it, correct?" The ravenette showed the blue-eyed girl the bottle in his hand

Her eyes lit up when presented with the vial. "Yes, that's it" As she removed the cork that was sealing the bottle shut, Damian asked a question that was lingering in the back of his mind.

"What exactly is the tear of joy?"

Marinette turned to smile at him. "It's a tear of joy"

"So a tear caused by laughter?"

"Precisely" She looked up at the ceiling wistfully. "I remember, when Syren attacked, Master Fu was trying to decode what a 'tear of joy' was. It took some time but we managed to figure it out in the end" She sighed. "It's great that we managed to find out about 'power-ups' but if we found out about them sooner, maybe more people would've been saved."

He put his hands comfortably on her shoulders. "What did Syren do exactly?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. That wasn't the reaction that Damian was expecting, whatever had happened with this Akuma must have been bad to induce this response.

The bluenette sighed and looked at the green-eyed boy straight into his emerald eyes. "Syren was one of the most dangerous Akumas we've ever had to deal with. She flooded all of Paris with her tears, only a few hundred people managed to reach the rooftops in time"

A breath quickly sucked in through his lips, the scene itself sounded horrible, imagining it even more so, having to actually see it must have been... traumatic.

"But Ondine is doing much better with Kim. And it's all in the past, we've learnt how to deal with the memories!" Her smile hurt to look at. His girlfriend had to deal with so much and she couldn't even express her negativity without fear of becoming an akuma. Damian placed a kiss on her head as she finally got the lid off of the bottle.

Both teens watched in anticipation as the droplet rolled down to the bottle's lip, teetering over the edge. It fell in. The concoction then shimmered a silvery blue. Grabbing a bottle, Marinette poured some of the liquid inside it, looked at the bottle and hummed in satisfaction. She quickly put all the equipment used back in a box and cleaned up any mess made. Once she was finished, she turned to the boy standing over her.

"I'll bring these back to Master Fu's old apartment then I'll drop this bottle off at my house, you can tell Tikki and Plagg that they can come out now"

The contents of the box shifted to one side, Damian helped steady both the bluenette and the box before going to the kwamis. Once the kwamis where comfortably with their owners, Tikki in Marinette's purse and Plagg in Damian's hoodie pocket, they made their way to the apartment. It still technically belonged to Master Fu, he rest hadn't rented it out so they were free to roam around. After putting the equipment away, the couple strolled to Marinette's house hand in hand. The bluenette went up to her balcony, with Damian close behind, and hid the bottle under her pink-striped deck chair, away from the sunlight.

"It needs to 'mature' in the moonlight, I guess. So when the moon is out, I'll take the bottle out" Marinette gestured for Damian to follow her as she went back down to the bakery portion of her house. "I'll give you some Camembert with the power ups infused. But I'll have to make it first!"

She hummed as she went upside to retrieve other substances that Master Fu had taught her to create. In the moment she was gone, Plagg appeared.

"I hate transforming!" The black kwami whined, settling in the boy's hair.

"What's so bad about it?" Damian raised an eyebrow at Plagg's outburst.

"It ruins the beautiful taste of Camembert, and it tastes weird"

"Quit your whining Plagg" Tikki's squeaky, but still relatively scary, voice rang out as both she and her owner returned.

"But Sugarcube-"

"No 'but's Stinky Sock!"

Damian watched with quiet amusement while Marinette giggled, handing him a wheel of Camembert.

"The cheese is cut up in different slices, each representing a different power up. I'll explain which is which on the way back to the hotel"

Damian put the wheel in his pocket before taking the bluenette's hand. "I look forward to it"

~~~

Each power up was simple enough, they all had a different colour corresponding with it's ability, making it easier to memorize. The couple walked by a dark alley as Damian check the time. Passing his phone to the bluenette next to him, Marinette took one glance at the time before dragging the two of them into said dark alley. It was time for patrol. Once both were done transforming, Noir and Ladybug made their to the assigned rooftop. When landing, Noir took his staff and looked through the help guide to get a better idea of what weapon he was working with. Spinning the staff with his hands, he separated the staff into two separate batons. He hummed in contentment.

"Grayson never gave me his escrima sticks for missions. I suppose this is good training if I ever want to use them"

The two rods snapped back together with a satisfying snap. Continuing to look through the articles on his now full staff, Noir didn't even notice when Ladybug moved to stand behind him. In one swift motion, the spotted heroine pulled down the black hood that was shielding the black cat-themed hero's face.

"La-"

Her covered fingers stroked his black cat ears, she giggled as his cheeks flushed. The feeling itself was unusual to the green-eyed hero, he had never felt anything remotely similar before but he wouldn't say he didn't enjoy it. It was just... unexpected. The spotted heroine, however, quite liked making the stoic Noir flustered. His ears felt so much like a real cat's that Ladybug was nearly taken aback, she got used to it after her shock, though. Noir found himself leaning into her touch but looking at everything but her in embarrassment.

Had his ears not been occupied he probably would've heard the two other heroes arriving, he only knew they were here as he saw them in his peripheral vision, rolling his eyes as he noticed them snickering.

'Angel, Rena and Chien are here'

Ladybug's head snapped in the direction of the two other heroes, one of her hands left his head as she she greeted the fox and the dog.

"Hello Rena Rouge, Chien" Ladybug greeted them casually, something Noir knew he couldn't do at that moment.

"Hello to you too LB! Hey Noir, did the bug find a way to tame you?

He mumbled a reply.

Ladybug giggled before turning to properly address the other heroes. "I've been thinking of adding three more members. I know it's a lot since you, Rena, have only just been announced as a permanent user and you, Chien, have basically just joined. But Noir and I found something that will require their help. I have a hunch that Hawkmoth might try something like Guerrier but with the same level as Syren"

The fox-themed hero nodded. "You need all the help you can get. So who do you have in mind?"

"A Snake, a Bee and a Dragon" The spotted heroine answered with no hesitation. "We'll need a snake as it is... intuitive"

Upon registering the description, Chien chuckled. "Isn't that the point?"

"Perhaps" Ladybug hummed with a smile on her face. "A dragon can control elements, a strong power would be useful. The bee miraculous's power is immobilization-"

"Paralysis can be very beneficial when trying to stop an akuma" Noir provided his input.

"Yes. So what do you think?" The spotted heroine looked between the three heroes standing on the rooftop with her. Noir hummed approval while Chien gave her a thumbs up.

"You always have the best ideas, Bug!" Rena voiced out her agreement, Ladybug let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding.

"Then I'll go get them now shall I? We gotta teach them as fast as we can" The blue-eyed heroine took the yo-yo from her hip, spinning it with a flick of her wrist. "I'll send them here and then you show them the ropes"

"Aye aye Captain!" Chien saluted and Rena followed suit, only after a quick laugh. Noir rolled his eyes in good nature while pulling his hood back up, flicking his cat ears before doing so.

Hurling her yo-yo at a nearby building, Ladybug hissed through the air, her yo-yo latching onto another building as she neared the previous. Soon enough, she landed gracefully in a quiet area where two familiar figures were strolling hand in hand.

"Ladybug?" A boy with dyed hair questioned, a bluenette with short hair and almond eyes next to him.

She nodded before pulling out two miraculous from her yo-yo with, presumably, unlimited storage. "Luka Couffaine, Kagami Tsurugi, these are the miraculous of the Snake and the miraculous of the Dragon. They grant you the powers of Intuition and Perfection. You will use these miraculouses for the greater good, can I trust you?"

Luka and Kagami shared a knowing look then turned to the heroine in front of them.

"You can count on use Ladybug"

"We're honored to be chosen to fight by your side, my Ladybug"

She gave them the miraculous and watched as they both transformed into Viperion and Ryuko. "The others are waiting at this location." She showed them a map on her yo-yo. "I'll meet you there once I finish with a task a have to do." She hissed through the air once more, thanks to her yo-yo, and landed on a rooftop that was very familiar now. There stood a blonde, leaning on the banister.

"Ladybug?" Chloe's confused voice rang out.

"Hello Chloe Bourgeois" Ladybug took something from her yo-yo. "This is the Bee miraculous, it grants the power to immobilise your opponents. Should you choose to help us-"

"I can't"

"Pardon?"

"I said I can't" The blonde looked solemnly at the heroine. "I've been an utterly horrible person, I don't deserve to be a hero. Especially after... Queen Bee"

"People can change Chloe" Ladybug put a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "As long as they are given the chance to. Do you want to take this chancep?"

Chloe stared at the miraculous before looking at the heroine with a determined expression.

"I won't let you down, Ladybug"

~~~

Ladybug soon returned with a bee-themed heroine, named Honey Bee, by her side. After a brief reintroduction, the patrol began. Rena Rouge took the west side with Honey Bee and Viperion, Chien and Ladybug took the East while Ryuko and Noir took the North, they had already checked the South. Most of the patrol was done in silence, other than the odd 'nothing wrong here'. Ryuko had been the one to start a conversation

"You're the new wielder of black cat miraculous, correct?" The dragon user questioned Noir. He recognised it as the beginning of an interrogation.

"It certainly seems that way" Ryuko hummed.

"You fancy Ladybug, don't you" The question obviously took him aback. "Do you consider yourself... worthy?

The cat-themed hero didn't hesitate. "No"

He saw her raise her eyebrows.

"Ladybug is too virtuous for this world, there's not a soul in this entire universe worthy of her affection"

The dragon hummed in satisfaction. "You remind me of the boyfriend of one of my friends. Though I have yet to be convinced that he should date said friend, you have proved yourself worthy of Ladybug. I approve of your relationship even though it isn't my place to make such a decision"

"I am pleased" Despite the fact that he is a leader in this team, he's content with the fact he has the great dragon user's approval as she is the most intimidating of the team, other than Ladybug herself.

"Also don't mess this up, Ladybug is a Queen " Ryuko casually pointed out.

"Glad I am not the only one that thinks so"

"How can you not? Have you seen her?!"

"She's a goddess"

"You have my approval again"

~~~

Noir and Ryuko were first to arrive as they had finished their patrol early, the rest of the team weren't too far behind, however.

"Alright" Ladybug began once everyone returned. "Honey Bee, Viperion, Ryuko, it'll be best if you memorize all of Paris. That way, when there's trouble, you'll know your way around."

"I found that an aerial view is the fastest way to know the city like the back of your hand!" Rena Rouge pointed out.

"That's also the way I did it!" Chien chimed in,

"Yep! If you don't mind, there's something I'd like to discuss with both Rena Rouge and Chien. Noir, will you join us?" The spotted heroine turned to the heroes named.

"I ought to" He replied flatly.

"Alright then, follow me!" Ladybug hissed through the air followed by Noir with his staff and Rena and Chien with their enhanced abilities. Soon they landed in an alley. "I know you already know this, Rena, but I think it's fair if Chien knows too"

"Fair that I know what?" His gaze moved between the two heroines before landing on the black cat hero, silently begging for answers, to which Noir returned with an unconvincing shrug.

"That you know this. Tikki, spots off!" A blinding red light filled the narrow corner they were in, Rena shut one of her eyes while Chien shut both, Noir was shielded from the light thanks to his hoodie. Then, a certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood where the spotted heroine once was.

"Wh- Bu- How-" Chien spluttered as his brain combusted with all the information that was flowing through it at once. Marinette giggled at his confusion, Rena full on laughed, clutching her stomach while Noir merely smirked. "But, but I saw you standing next to Ladybug! Wait no, yourself? My brain is melting! Wait, you two knew?!" The dog-themed hero screeched.

"She's my best friend" Rena shrugged with an innocent expression, her transformation dropped. Chien stared in shock.

"She's my girlfriend" Noir mimicked Rena Rounge's shrug while letting his transformation fall too, leaving Chien the only one transformed.

"Okay THAT makes sense, you're both deathly attr- Wait, did you say best fRIEND?!" Chien shrieked and detransformed.

"ADRIEN?!" Alya exclaimed, Marinette and Damian watched in amusement.

"As entertaining as this is-" The green-eyed boy cut in before the pair would attract unwanted attention. "-Marinette needs to explain the reason why she revealed her identity to you"

The bluenette nodded. "You see early today, at school, I had this 'miraculous burn' I guess you could say from Guerrier's attack. Thanks to Alya I'm feeling better but that resulted in getting my identity revealed. So to avoid anymore incidents like that, I also told you Adrien. I can't tell the rest of the team yet as I don't want them to go all protective over me, you'll three will have enough overprotectiveness"

"Not wrong there, girl" Alya said without shame.

"I know I have to tell them my true identity at some point but right now it's better just to have you three know."

"We understand" Alya and Adrien said in unison.

"Great, now let's go back to the others so we can tell them patrol is over"

~~~

It was sunset, the orange cotton clouds contrasted beautifully with the darkening blue sky. A cool wind blew through the air, cold enough to make one shiver but not enough to catch a cold. Walking hand in hand, a couple made their way to Le Grand Paris. The bluenette looked up to the noirette next to her, leaning onto his arm covered by the Robin-themed hoodie and smiling while doing so, she closed her eyes to savor the moment.

"Angel?" Damian brushed the stray hairs on her face as she pulled away to look at him properly.

"You know, I'm really going to miss this" Marinette raised their conjoined hands as they approached the hotel doors.

He hummed and in response, put his arm around her waist to pull her closer while going through the elevator doors. "I am too"

They soon reached the hotel room, the kwamis roaming around for food once they got inside. Food in hand, Tikki and Plagg sat of the coffee table, leaning on one another as Damian turned on the screen to watch a movie. Once he was comfortably seated, Marinette joined him, snuggling into his side. He brushed his fingers through her silky midnight hair. He was going to miss this, deeply. What would life be like going back, without the beautiful bluenette physically next to him?

'I do not want to find out'

———

Provisional Cessation, It was created for the purpose of temporarily stopping a miraculous from being used if any harm were to come to the user. It would also deem it unusable for a certain period of time if the miraculous were ever come into the wrong hands. The reason Master Fu didn't tell Marinette this information was because the last time a user tried this power up, they were put into a magical induced coma, it was too risky.

———

Taglist:@little-bluestar,@miracleofadisaster,@frieddonutsweets,@jjmjjktth,@genderfluidmoma,@starlit-dreaming,@icerosecrystal,@lolieg,@kashlyn,@mochegato,@eggadoodle,@walkingthroughonautopilot,@toodaloo-kangaroo,@lady-bee-fechin,@weebjai1

[catxsnow]

FIFTH TRY IS THE CHARM

Request: You my lovely are an incredible writer!! If you have the time, can I please request a Bruce Wayne x reader (who knows about his identity) where Bruce tries to propose throughout the day but keeps getting interrupted by Bat-emergencies and eventually the proposal just ends up being somewhere totally random like in the bat-mobile? Thank you x1000 in advance!! Can't wait to read more of your stuff!

Warning: fluff

A/N: I’m tired of being stuck at home 

Word count: 2.7k

Bruce Wayne wasn't necessarily the most romantic man.

For the media, he exuded romance, but in real life that often wasn't the case. Bruce was busy man between running Wayne Enterprises and his life as Batman. He had an insane family to take care of and had his own part in the Justice League. Bruce didn't have time to be romantic, even when it came to you.

You had been with him since Tim Drake had come into his life. You helped him raise his kids and even his own blood son. You knew Bruce better than anyone. For years you were his partner in life, his lover. He had dropped the playboy facade and became head over heels in love with you.

Throughout the years, he showed that he could be romantic. On times that Gotham was quite and he could trust Dick to take care of the city, he would take you half way across the world to sit on a beach and drink pina coladas all day. Sunset walks on the beach and surprise breakfast in bed. Bruce knew he could be romantic, and most times he wished he showed it off more often.

You deserved every ounce of cheesy romance in the world, and he hated that he couldn't give it to you.

So, Bruce did everything he could. He took you to the most lavish, expensive restaurants that he could find in Gotham just to see you all dressed up. When Gala's approached, he would buy you the most beautiful outfit that would outshine everyone. He spoiled you with riches without knowing that all you cared for was his company.

Bruce wanted to make things right by you, and the best way that he could do that, was to ask for your hand in marriage. Bruce loved you, he wanted the whole world to know that he loved you.

He had the perfect plan in his head. Take you for some spontaneous vacation on a hot desolate beach and ask you just as the sun turned the sea magnificent colours of purple and pink. You hadn't even made it half way across the country when he was called back for important bat business.

As disappointed as you were, you had never seen Bruce so distraught to be called back to a mission. Without thinking much of it, you let his odd behaviour slide thinking that he just wanted to treat you. In many ways, he had made it up to you that night - but not in the way that he had originally intended.

The second try involved taking you to your favourite restaurant in the city. It stood high off the ground and overlooked the Gotham. It was the few times that you understood why Bruce leaped from buildings to building, the view was amazing. He never understood why you liked that place so much until you told him.

Bruce sat across from you in the dim lit restaurant. One hand in his lap with a ring between his fingers and the other clasped with yours. A smile lit up his face like none you had ever seen before. He seemed happier than usual, and you couldn't figure out why. Nonetheless, you took full advantage of it.

If Bruce was happy, you were happy.

It didn't last long. Just as Bruce was about to speak, to finally ask you to marry him, your gaze overlooked the cloudy night sky. The infamous bat-signal shone bright. You sighed, aware of what this meant for him. Bruce squeezed your hand, wishing that he didn't have to go. This was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Stay safe, I love you," you kissed him before he rushed off. As much as you were used to him leaving you like this, it still hurt every time. It wasn't fair that the city always needed him, they didn't deserve him. Yet, he still came, because that was the type of man that he was. Bruce was Gotham's savior, just as he was yours.

But like every savior, when duty calls, they must attend.

It was hard sitting on the sidelines so many times when Bruce put his life in danger. You hated seeing him come home at night with new cuts and bruises. When particularly bad nights occurred and he came home broken and destroyed. It was impossible seeing the man you loved hurt all the time, and yet you dealt with it every day.

So, just as many of your dates went, you left to go home while Bruce was risking his life once again. You didn't know when he would return, or what shape he would be in when he did. However, as long as he came home, that was all that mattered.

Just as you expected, Alfred was down in the cave, monitoring all of Bruce's moves. You stood behind him, watching the heart monitor like your life depended on it. There was constant fear that one day it would stop. You hoped that day never to come.

><

After several days of Bruce trying to recuperate from yet another failed attempt to ask you to marry him, he devised a new plan. Although it wasn't as romantic as he wanted it to be, within the comfort of your own home would surely lead him to be able to finally ask you.

Bruce knew that one of your favourite times with him was when he was willing to stay those few extra minutes longer in bed with you in the mornings. You loved when he let loose and was allow himself to enjoy you cuddled into his side. Those few minutes never seemed like much, but he knew that they were so important to you.

He had thought about it the night before. A night filled with an extensive time to make you happy and feeling good. Bruce slept with the ring safely tucked away in his nightstand drawer and a smile on his face. The next day, he was going to ask you to marry him, finally.

You and Bruce laid naked in his sheets. Your leg was cast over his as he leaned up against the headboard. Absentmindedly, you traced the scars along his chest. Bruce could see why you liked these moments the most, it was the time that you truly felt like a normal couple rather than someone who saved the world every other week.

"Damian and I had a really nice time the other day," You told him. "He was telling me how he never baked cookies and so we decided to make them. It was nice, seeing him so mundane like that. I think he finally felt like a normal kid for just a little while."

That was another thing Bruce loved about you. You loved his kids. Damian might not have been your own, but you sure as hell treated him as if he was, just like you had everyone else. Even Dick and Jason, who you had no part in raising were always happy to see you. That was so important to him.

You hadn't noticed Bruce reach over to his bedside table until the phone on it began ringing. Bruce's hand dropped against his bed and a loud sigh escaped his lips. Of course, something had to ruin it again. Reluctantly, he picked up his cell and answered whoever was at the other end of the line.

"It's Dick," Bruce announced as he set his phone down on the table. The hand that wasn't resting on your waist dragged down his face. If Dick didn't sound so urgent over the phone, he wouldn't have even considered leaving you. However, when his son was in trouble, he knew h "I've got to go."

"It's okay, my love," You assured him, honestly. Bruce leaned down to kiss you, he was filled with longing to stay with you. As your hand cupped his face, he knew that if he kissed you any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave. Your touch was intoxicating, and he could never get enough of it. "Even if our moments together are brief, they make up for every second apart."

"You deserve better," Bruce sighed. Getting called away so many times like this just reminded him how little you truly got to be with him. It made him wonder if this was a sign that he shouldn't ask for your utter dedication. Maybe you did deserve better than him, you deserved someone that would be there for you at every turn.

The harsh realization struck him hard, but just as always, you were there to change his mind. You were the one who constantly reminded him of the bright side of thing when he struggled the most.

"I deserve better than a man who's willing to give his life to protect the world? Not many people would be willing to do what you do, Bruce," you sat up straighter in your bed so you were eye level with him. "If anything, It's me who doesn't deserve you. I told you before, I know what I signed up for. Sometimes you have to leave, and sometimes you get to stay."

"I love you," Bruce felt himself melt. It was one of those rare times that he forgot about the Bat, the heavy weight of his company. It was you, and only you that was in his heart and mind. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

"As long as you come back."

><

Bruce was getting beyond frustrated. He had attempted once more, this time ending in the same result of being called into the line of duty before popping the question. That time had been when you had taken over the kitchen for the night to make dinner for your family that still lived in the Manor.

Bruce had found you, music playing softly in the background. He scared the ever living hell out of you as he silently wrapped his arms around your waist. As soon as you realized it was him, you leaned into his body and the kisses he was leaving on your bare neck. He pulled you into a dance, swaying around the large kitchen space.

As the song ended, Bruce toyed with the ring in his pocket once more, ready to ask again. Just as he was about to pull it out, Alfred had made a presence and informed him that he was needed once more. With a disappointed sigh and a chaste kiss, Bruce was off once more.

He didn't know if he could handle a fifth time of getting interrupted.

It seemed like the next seventy-two hours that followed you had been constantly apart. He barely got the chance to kiss you, much less ask if you wanted to spend the rest of your life with him. Bruce hated this wait, if it was acceptable to send it over text, he would have at this point.

He told himself, the next time he saw you for longer than ten minutes, he was going to ask. No matter where you were or what either of you looked like. Bruce was at his turning point, he needed to propose. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket and he couldn't stand it any longer.

You waited in the Batcave patiently for Bruce to get back. Damian was in Metropolis with Jon and you had told Alfred to take the night off. You could handle being the man in the chair for one night - and if anything went wrong he wasn't too far away. Since it was just the two of you, Bruce seemed to be a little more chatty than he normal was.

He would say how beautiful you looked sitting there, watching over him - even though he couldn't see you. His flirty side came out and you couldn't help but reminisce about the time that you had first met him. Bruce had made you swoon with his words, and it seemed that after all these years he still had the same effect.

Thankfully, the night had been quiet and Bruce didn't run into much trouble. That meant two things that you were happy about: he wouldn't come home with any deadly wounds and he would get to come back to you early. Bruce seemed eager to get back to you as well - you assumed it was just to get you in bed.

It didn't take long for the batmobile to pull up to a stop. Bruce leaped out with ease and pulled his cowl down. He felt as if he wasted this moment that he would never get another. Every opportunity had been taken from him and if there was one thing to know about Bruce Wayne, he always got what he wanted.

He approached the chair that you were stationed at, surprised that you hadn't made a move since his appearance. Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Your arms were crossed on the computer and your head rested on them. Eyes sealed shut and heavy breaths passing your lips. You had fallen asleep.

Bruce nearly wanted to curse at the irony. As soon as you both had a moment alone, you had fallen asleep - ruining his chance once more. With a sigh, Bruce peeled of his Bat suit and carefully picked you up from the chair. Your head lulled against his chest and your knees tucked over his arms.

You stirred the second he took a step. Bruce paused, waiting to see if you were going to fall back asleep or wake up fully. It seemed to be the latter as your eyes popped open and met with his blues. A smile spread on your lips - you hand't meant to fall asleep but you were pleased by the way you had awoken.

"Hey, baby," Your voice was a little slurred from still waking up. You snuggled into his chest for a brief moment before requesting to be put down. Bruce careful did as he was told, gentle after a night of aggression. "Good night?"

"Better now that I'm with you," Bruce assured. You stretched your arms out and cracked your neck. Although you weren't sitting there for very long, it had made you stiff. Your eyes sealed shut with a big yawn - sleep still wanted to take you.

However, when you opened your eyes, you were no longer looking at Bruce's chest. He was knelt down on the ground, but that wasn't what caught your attention - it was the big, beautiful ring that was between his two fingers.

"Bruce!" You gasped. This didn't seem like the time, or place for him to be asking you to marry him. However, you didn't know about his struggles to get there, or that he felt as if he was running out of time. This moment, although not perfect, was exactly what he needed.

"(Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me?" Bruce asked. A massive grin spread across your face. You could feel your eyes burning with tears at the sheer joy that coursed through you. Marrying Bruce was always something you wanted, and now, you were going to get it. You were going to be his, now and forever.

"Yes!" You excitedly agreed. Bruce slipped the diamond on your ring finger. Without hesitating, he brought you into a kiss. His hands slipped down your sides until they grasped the bottom of your thighs. Bruce hoisted you up so your legs were tightly wrapped around his waist without even breaking the kiss.

Your fingers glided through his hair, tugging at the roots as he squeezed your butt. The distance from the cave to his bed seemed far too large. Bruce needed you, he needed to kiss every inch of your skin and devour you. This love that he had, it amplified the second that you said yes to marrying him.

Bruce might not have been the most romantic, but he sure as hell was going to try his hardest for the rest of his life with you.

[salty-fang]

Flowers

@daminette-december2019-2020

Marinette loved flowers. Everyone dear to her knew that. Obviously, she couldn’t always get flowers but if you needed a gift for her, flowers were the clear option.

Damian knew this, so every year, he’d buy her flowers and a gift on top. It’d always be a practical one like a roll of fabric or a jacket and mittens because of how easily she got sick. Her response always made his day, whether she’d try and return it to him, which he would never allow. Or, she would turn into a tomato on the spot. It was assuring yet amusing to say the least when he would check their commemorative photos and she would always have an exhausted yet flustered expression. No matter how much she whined, those were his favourite photos.

Damian had always been creative with the flowers he got. They had lovely scents, complemented her outfits or their colour signified something. Usually, he had gotten roses, Marinette’s favourite by far, that were yellow with petals that were tinged red. They always meant ‘we’re friends but I think I’m falling in love with you.’ That translated in Damian speak was, ‘you’re a reliable acquaintance but now you’re more tolerable’. If Marinette ever noticed his love, she didn’t comment. However, she was oblivious. Much like he was to his own feelings.

Damian knew when love was unrequited. At least, he thought he did. Marinette’s infatuation with Adrien had never been healthy yet she never realised. Even when it broke her heart to see Adrien fawn over other people of the human species, she’d still chase after him. Literally. And it was always up to him to pick up the pieces. Damian did it, knowing it would scar his heart deeper than each wound ran and yet, he was willing to endure the pain if it meant she was happy and smiling.

That had fuelled his competitive nature with Adrien. You see, Damian and Adrien were bitter rivals. They didn’t like each other; hell, Damian had destroyed him in an exhibition match when he first arrived. The day was still clear in his mind. Marinette had sided with Adrien and whilst he couldn’t pretend that that didn’t hurt, he fought with such fervour, such ferocity, that he forgot the pain. Momentarily. For days, he ignored Marinette. He let his phone go to voicemail, didn’t read her texts, brushed past her at school. He couldn’t speak to her. He couldn’t look at her and he knew he was being selfish but he needed some time.

It didn’t help his heart when he saw her face- tears in her eyes and a face like a lost puppy.

Although, he knew Adrien would deal with it. And deal with it he did. It shouldn’t have hurt to see Marinette in his arms, her eyes tinged red and her cheeks rouge. It really shouldn’t have. After all, everyone knew that Marinette was in love with Adrien. So, he really should have expected when they had their first kiss.

Or when they went on their first date.

Or when Marinette forgot about him. Forgot was a harsh verb but in the last two months, he’d only seen her twice. She had been too preoccupied with Adrien to notice her relationship with him was falling apart. The late 3am conversations stopped abruptly. There were no more flowers or elaborate gifts. He stuck to the bare minimum because he wanted -no- he needed to be selfish.

He needed time away from them. From her. It wasn’t as if he didn’t feel happy for her, that was far from what had happened but... was it selfish to love knowing it would never be returned? It was futile pondering over the ‘what ifs' but it was nice to let his mind wander. Longing never eased his predicament but it was a temporary relief.

One where he didn’t have to lock eyes with them and pretend that his shoes were more interesting. One where he wouldn’t have to walk in the opposite direction or take a longer route to avoid them. Or where he didn’t see the piteous glances and snide glares directed at him.

He wanted to feel content. Joyous that Marinette found someone that made her happy.

Which was why he needed to go back. Back to where everything made sense. Back to Gotham. He wasn’t important here anyway. Marinette wouldn’t miss him.

That was the first lie he told himself.

Hands stuffed in pockets and head low, he walked to school, knowing it would be the last time he would see it. He had been hoping to avoid anyone he knew but alas, the goddess of luck was against him. He could see Marinette sprinting towards him and as tempted as he was to run away, it just wasn’t worth the effort. Especially not today. So instead, he pulled himself farther into his hoodie, obscuring his face. His attempt to blend into the background had been foiled by the meddling girl that was Marinette. And that annoyed him.

This was the second lie he told himself.

Marinette had stuck to him like glue. The entire day, she was at his side. And the reason was bluntly obvious as to why that was. Adrien had been busy. Marinette wouldn’t tell anyone where he’d gone but it was pretty clear that he wasn’t at school. Damian was happy to have Marinette back but he would have preferred it under different circumstances. He didn’t want to act as an Adrien 2.0. He wanted Marinette to hang out with him because she wanted to see him. Not because her boyfriend wasn’t in.

Her actions had soured his mood and yet his heart ached for her. Today had probably meant nothing to her but it meant the world to him. It was an amazing way to go back home, carrying sweet memories of your best friend with you. The flight had been booked for tomorrow in the afternoon, giving him loads of time to pour his feelings into a letter for her. He needed the closure from his first love. Sure, he’d dated around, trying to find anything strong enough to drown his feelings. But they were never enough. Nothing ever was when she was around.

Which is why he had ordered a large bouquet of yellow roses. Yellow roses tinged red at the tips of the petals. If he was going to write her a letter, he needed to go back. Back to when he first fell. Fell completely in love.

The letter had come out better than he had expected. Short and precise yet he was oddly satisfied with how it turned out. The hardest part was how to get everything to Marinette without her responding. He already knew what her response would be. And he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want his heart to shatter. Not when it was already so broken. He knew that the best time to give it to her would be when she was asleep or working in the bakery which is why he went in the afternoon.

He loaded his luggage into a taxi-something so common that he would never have done before. Taking several deep breaths, he waited, watching his hand shake as he yanked open the door.

“Hey, Mrs Cheng.”

“Damian, what a lovely surprise. You must be here for Marinette?” A solemn nod was all the answer she needed. “Make your way upstairs. And call me Sabine.”

“Will do next time, Mrs Cheng.” He ran up the stairs, a small grin on his face as he knocked on her trapdoor. Giving it a few seconds, he knocked again before entering.

“I’ll just go.” He muttered, leaving the letter and bouquet on the stairwell. He turned on his heel, eyes shining as he tried desperately to compose himself. That was what Marinette had meant when she said that Adrien was “busy". They were too busy making out to notice his presence. Once again. He should have been used to it.

So, why did he feel like shit when he heard Marinette call after him? Or when he hopped into the taxi, knowing that she couldn’t catch up to him? Why did he feel like he was wrong? Like he was too clingy? He pushed her away. He grew too dependent on her being in his life. She could do whatever she wanted. She didn’t belong to him or anyone for that matter. If she was happy with Adrien, so be it.

It was his fault for being too slow.

Hisfaulthisfaulthisfaulthisfault.

The taxi was booked for the next two hours which gave him enough time to come to terms with everything. He’d finally see his family; he’d get to hold Titus and play with Alfred and feed Batcow. He’d be back on patrol for his vigilante duties and he would do a kick ass job at it. And there would be no more feelings. No more overwhelming emotions that had to be kept bottled up. No more feeling alone surrounded by people who didn’t understand him. But most of all, no more Marinette. And it hurt to think like that.

Marinette was relentless. That much he knew. So, he was expecting her to try and find him. Which is why he booked the flight at the most obscure airport. He locked eyes with her, seeing her dart towards him, letter in hand. She had still found him and as he watched her run, he felt his chest constrict. And not in the good way. Functioning purely on adrenaline, he ran, pushing her out of the way of the approaching car. He heard the desperate squeal of the tyres. The sound of the sirens.

Yet, the thing that was clearest to him was the guttural scream that ripped through Marinette’s throat.

And in that moment, he wanted to hold her hand, stroke her head, whisper comforting words to her. Anything that would help ease her sorrow. But all he could offer her was his shaking hand as he rubbed his finger against her knuckles.

“I want,” he coughed, spitting out the thick substance onto the ground. “I want you to forget about me. I’ll only cause you pain.”

That was his third and final lie before he was wheeled off into the back of an ambulance.

It took four hours for him to be pronounced dead.

It took a month for his funeral to happen.

It took a year for Marinette to stop blaming herself for his death.

It took her 70 years to forget about him.

Everyone dear to Marinette knew she hated flowers. The only ones she loved where the ones that Damian had given to her. And with her they remained, still upright as if someone had been trying to tell her that they were there.

There with her until she too died.

[lulaypp]

Snow Turned Avalanche And Maybe Something Worse - Alternate Chapter 3

-

Read The Full Fanfiction

A/N: This was my original idea for the chapter three that I scraped due to story flow. But i liked it a lot and it has Damian so I am throwing it here. Have fun <3

Oh. And I have a small bit where Damian calls Jason 'Bhai'. If I'm not mistaken, it is brother in urdu and I have a headcanon that that is what Damian calls Jason. Sorry if that causes any confusion or inconvinience.

Warnings for: Non-Graphic Referenced Torture, Light Mentions of Injuries and Bits of Flashbacks

--

There was something wrapped around his left hand and rubbing against his knuckles. It was a comforting, even if a bit odd, sensation to wake up to, the lulling strokes almost pulling him back under. However, a hissing sound and constant beeping didn't allow it. They were loud. And with it came the pain from seemingly everywhere. His chest most prominently, as it twinge with every breath, and his head and leg tied at second.

"Jason? Are you awake?" Deep. Warm. Bruce.

Turning to his left, Jason peeled open his eyes slightly to see the blurry figure of his father beside him.

"How are you feeling, lad?"

Horrible, he wanted to reply. But it came out weak and incoherent around the mask still covering his mouth, so he merely shook his head, fumbling to hold the fingers around his. The world around him cleared slightly and he could see the Cave's med bay around them.

"I'm sorry. We couldn't figure out what works for you. Your body seemed to override any painkillers we tried."

"'s fine..." he forced out. "Used to it."

A knit of a frown creased his father's brows. "...What do you mean?" He sounded hesitant, concerned.

Jason couldn't find the energy to shrug. "Pain... Used to it. 'nerally sleep i' off... Works fine..."

Bruce's lips were pressed in a firm line before a the man sighed. "Why didn't you call for back up?" Jason's confusion must have shown as he added, "When you tackled Avalanche's gang alone last week. You only used the beacon." 'Which are meant for emergencies'

It all flashed through his mind. Jumping into a dark factory. Trying to collect any information he could find on the gang. Finding out that it was actually a trap. Attempting to take down as many henchmen as possible while trying to escape. Something swinging repeatedly into his head. Waking up to total darkness. The crowbar. The knife. The stun gun. The water.

Jason closed his eyes against the tiding memories, the hand around his squeezing when the heart monitor echoed his racing heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a breath, the sound loud around the mask supplying him with oxygen.

He distantly heard Bruce talking, half-yelling, over the screeching of the crowbar and the constant splash of water.

Despite the sharp pain searing his chest, he forcefully slowed down and evened out his breathing, counting seconds in his head, until he could feel something gently running through his hair and the voice grew clearer. He suddenly felt drained as he opened his eyes again to meet Bruce's.

"You're back with me, Jaylad?"

Moving felt like too much work but he slowly nodded, lingering panic still fluttering in his chest, evident by the brisked-paced beeps of the heart monitor. The throb in his leg felt more prominent than before, the memory of the crowbar smashing into it echoing throughout the probably-broken bone.

Remembering Bruce question, he did his best to say, "Ambushed. Didn't have time," but it came out muffled and weak.

But Bruce seemed to have understood, a slight relief settling in his eyes. "But you know that we would come to help if you call us, right?"

Jason hesitated. He... knew. Rationally. He rationally knew that his family would and he even had past experiences to back it up. But a haunting, looming shadow would always hiss and whisper that they might not. Maybe this one time they decided to just abandon him. To leave him behind. He also knew why Bruce was asking him that. "You came," he had said in his momentary moment of weakness, his mind still scattered and vulnerable. And scared.

He nodded again, resisting the urge to shift slightly in an attempt to press harder against the hand in his hair.

"Know that," Bruce reaffirmed. "We would always try our best. We had tried to locate you as soon as Cass arrived at the factory and told us that you were missing. And you we couldn't find you for four hours, Jay."

The world grew fuzzy but Jason clamp it all down. He had assumed that it had been some hours, but actually knowing, getting a confirmation, that he was caught for that long...

"We were so worried. And by the time we managed to get you here, you weren't breathing. I nearly lost you." Again.

Ignoring the pain in his wrist, Jason moved his hand to hold Bruce's, hoping to assure his father. To tell his dad that he was still here, that his dad hadn't lost him again.

He whined softly when Bruce's fingers disappeared from his hair and saw that the man was looking at the other side of the room.

"Is he awake?" a quiet, young voice suddenly asked hesitantly. Damian?

"He is," Bruce replied. "Come here."

Jason did the tedious work of turning to the right and sure enough, there was his youngest brother, settling himself between the bed and a chair. He didn't try speaking, knowing that sounds didn't seem to come out as he wanted them to and he didn't want to make Damian felt like he was weaker than he actually was. So he mouthed a silent "Hey, Baby Bat."

The perpetual scowl lessen slightly and Damian spoke with a nod, "Todd." For a moment, he fidgets ever so slightly, a mist of hesitance and uncertainty crossing over his eyes. "...You seem better." Are you alright?

Jason gave a slight nod. He... would be alright. A lot pained maybe, but he had worst, he'll live. Damian didn't seem to believe him and he honestly would have rolled his eyes if his energy wasn't so sparse right now.

Damian's eyes flickered up, to Bruce probably, before going back down to him, still uncertain.

Jason remembered then that Damian had been there with Bruce and Cass when he was saved. And if Jason had... apparently stopped breathing on the way back... that meant Damian was there...

He internally cursed. No wonder the kid was acting this way. Damian had to see his elder brother nearly die. Despite knowing that he has no control over the situation, Jason felt a sinking sense of guilt. The kid had seen enough deaths and near-deaths situations in his life.

Dick once told Jason that, whenever Damian gets worried over someone, he gets comfort from being able to take care and cuddle with said person and stay with them. Jason had found that funny because it sounded like a fusion of Bruce and Dick. Right now he was just happy that Dick liked to share random sibling facts.

He twitched his right hand to pat on the matress.

Damian seemed momentarily confused, but years spent around Dick had probably familiarised him with the silent gesture, as he frowned. "You're hurt." I'll hurt you even more if I do that.

This time Jason did rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, you won't," he mouthed.

"But I don't need..."

"I want to," he retorted, even though he honestly didn't but there wasn't any harm in both, the lie and a cuddle. "Please?"

Damian glanced up to their father again, probably to make sure that Jason wouldn't die just because of a mere cuddle (and everyone said that he was always being dramatic) before he shuffled closer and onto the bed. Once he had pressed close, Jason moved his head to press against Damian's, who, much to Jason's delight, gingerly started to card his fingers through his hair.

Just when he felt his eyes getting heavier, the weight around his left hand disappeared and he couldn't stop the whine from leaving as he saw Bruce getting up.

"Get some rest, Jay." Bruce seemed to hesitate for a moment before pressing a kiss into Jason's hair.

"Don't go," Jason tried to say.

"I'm sorry, lad. I need to go and check on your siblings, alright? I'll be back as soon as I can."

He could only watch and Bruce left the room before the body pressed against him shifted to sit up slightly, one hand still stroking his bangs. "Father's right, Todd. You need to rest if you were to get better."

He turned his tired eyes to meet the greens. "Brat."

Damian's mouth quirked up ever so slightly but a scowl was pressed against it. Before a glitter of mischief sparkled in his eyes. "You're like a cat."

Raising an eyebrow was exhausting, but Jason did it anyway.

"You like it when someone strokes your hair, you can be dramatic, your hair have two colours, and you are always causing trouble or throwing yourself into one."

He would have scoffed if he had the energy to. He felt himself more of a hyena most of the time; scavangers, said to be horrendous whether or not they are; and tried to tell Damian so.

"Hyenas are rather close to cats. And striped hyenas do share a lot of similarities with cats, behaviour-wise. So you can be a striped hyena, it would go with your hair. And how people always think that you are a heartless lunatic."

Jason listened to his youngest brother talk; about hyenas and the few different kinds, how they are always labelled as canine by the public despite the fact that they are not, the simmilarities they have with cats and Jason; until he eventually his eyes closed.

"Rest well, bhai." I'm glad to know that you are alright.

[zielleromanova]

03| Gotham Academy

-Three days Later-

Cora E. | Gotham City | 1:00 p.m.

The rain was softly hitting the glass windows of the limousine, making soft tapping sounds. I watched as the buildings rolled by as I listened to some Taylor Swift songs on my cellphone.

It's been three days since that talk with my father, and I just flew here to Gotham City about an hour ago with Charles as my escort. I was going to study at Gotham Academy for the rest of my Senior High School years. My father believed it would do me well to stay away from New York for now. To 'heal the emotional wound'. Whatever. I just wanted away from my real life right now, at least until my mom's death hurt less.

I chuckled to myself at the thought, thinking it funny at how I behave at times. Weak.

"Are you quite alright over there, Miss Cora?" Charles asked me from the driver's seat. I must've looked strange chuckling to myself alone in the backseat.

I looked up at his eyes through the rear-view mirror before smiling warmly at him. "Yes Charles, I'm fine. Just remembered something. Thank you for asking, though."

He nodded curtly before taking his eyes back on the road. "We are almost there at Gotham Academy." He said, his voice laced with a heavy English accent.

"Thank you," I say quietly, before closing my eyes and leaning my head against the headrest. My earphones were still in my ears, playing soft music.

I focused my attention on the music in my ears, beginning to feel calm and relaxed. I enjoyed the feeling of the slight bumps in the road, as it slowly lulled me to become half-asleep, half-awake.

I didn't notice how fast each minute passed by, nor did I notice how many songs finished playing on my phone, but I did notice when Charles suddenly stopped the car.

Noticing the sudden stop in the car's motion, I moved my head up and opened my eyes. Looking around, I noticed that we were no longer on the dull, dark streets of Gotham. Instead, we were in the parking lot of a wide, tall building. Its outside walls were the colour of clouds on a good, sunny day. Its windows were a dark shade of blue, like the middle of the sea, and reflected the buildings surrounding it. They were also quite large, if I do say so myself.

The doors to the school were great in width and height. They had iron handles and were also one-way-looking glass.

"We're here, Miss Coralynn," Charles said as he stepped out of the limousine and walked towards my car door. He gently pulled the door open and waited for me to step out. I gather my small bag and my suitcase as I stepped out of the car. Charles tried to take my suitcase from me, but I softly pushed his hand away. He's done more than enough just by making sure I got here to Gotham Academy safely.

Charles and I silently walked into the building and headed towards the receptionist. She was pretty, with light blonde hair and bluebell eyes.

"Everhart, Coralynn," I said to her, and she immediately looked at her computer. I glanced around as she was looking for my name on her screen.

Gotham Academy was quite a prestigious high school. The students here come from well-off families. The receptionist then spoke up.

"Ah! Miss Everhart of Hart Industries!" she exclaimed, smiling. I just nodded politely. "Your dormitory is on the topmost floor of the building. Come along please. I'll show you the way."

Looking back at Charles who was behind me, I pucked up the handle of my suitcase and dragged it towards the elevator. It wasn't difficult. It had wheels anyway.

In the elevator, Charles and I stood behind the receptionist as she pressed the button with the number 31 written on it. We all stood in silence as we waited for the elevator to take us to our destination.

Once we reached our destination, the lady led us through a short, wide hallway. There were two Mahogany doors opposite of each other. If you walked past them, it would lead to a spacious balcony overlooking all of Gotham City. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

"Two doors, huh?" I absentmindedly asked the blonde lady in front of me. She looked at me and smile gently.

"Yes," she replied. "Your room is the door to the right. However, you will have a neighbour. Damian Wayne."

Wayne. The name sounded so familiar. It rings a bell in my head. I believe I heard my father, even my mother, mention that name. Then it hit me.

"A prince of Gotham? Wayne Enterprises? Son of billionaire Bruce Wayne?" Questions shot out of my mouth like a shotgun. I wasn't at all pleased with having to share the same floor with a rich boy from Gotham. He's probably another one of those jerks.

The receptionist laughed light-heartedly at my questions. "Yes, that one."

"I see..." I murmured. "Anyway, thank you for taking us here. I'll be fine now."

The lady nodded, smiling again with her pearly white teeth. "I'll see you around d then, Miss Everhart. If you ever need me, my name is Kara."

With that last statement, she placed my room keys in my hands and left. Charles and I looked at each other before opening the door to my new residence. The room was spectacular.

It was very big, and had a pretty staircase leading to a cozy mezzanine. The living room had a plush beige sofa in it, along with a glass coffee table. There was a 32-inch television in front of the sofa.

In another part of the room, there was a kitchen. It was complete with a cooking range, an oven, and a kitchen island. It also had a small fridge, enough to contain a weekly supply for just one person.

Going up the staircase, I went to the mezzanine while Charles carried my suitcase. The entire mezzanine was dedicated to being a bedroom, and it was definitely cozy. It had a large fake fur rug surrounding the floor area around the bed. The bed itself was plush and looked like it jumped out of a Disney princess's bedroom.

Not bad...

"I assume you'll be fine here for the rest of your stay?" Charles suddenly asked from behind me. I spun around to face him and saw him setting down my suitcase in the floor.

"Yes," I said softly. He nodded and proceeded to walk to the staircase.

"Well then, I'll be on my way, miss. Have fun." Charles said as he walked away.

"Thank you, Charles. For everything."

"It has been a pleasure, darling." He says in a fatherly tone. Before he could leave, I rushed up to him and embraced him tightly.

"I'll see you soon, Charles."

"I could say the same, Miss Cora."

It wasn't long before I heard fading footsteps and the door clicking shut a few seconds after he walked down the stairs. Sighing loudly, I decided to get familiar with my room, before I would get familiar with the building.

Well, this is my new life now...

[goldandbluesmiles]

A more silent love language

Summary: Dick has always like sparkly things.

Ao3

Part of my batfam flufftober2020

Bruce had decided that Dick needed some winter clothing.

Why that was necessary, Dick did not understand but here they were, in some relatively high-end shop.

"You should have let Alfred bring me,"

"What do you mean?" said Bruce with mock hurt, "Are you not having fun bonding with your brother/father figure? I am so hurt!"

"Oh shut it," muttered Dick

Bruce laughed, "Come on Kiddo. We already got a lot of stuff. Just a couple of sweaters and long sleeve shirts are left. It's your first winter here. We probably won't have to do shopping like this from now on,"

"Fine," muttered Dick, thumbing through a stack of shirts, "I'll look,"

"Great," said Bruce, "We can split up and meet at...that couch? I think, over there in about fifteen minutes,"

Dick looked to where Bruce was pointing and snorted. The weird-looking, probably really expensive, lump barely resembled any piece of furniture, much less a couch.

"Alright," said Dick

Bruce smiled and started toward the other side of the shop. Dick went back to looking through the shirts and even chose a couple. He was about to make his way to the couch when something shimmery and silver caught his eye.

It was a set of a hat, scarf and gloves made of wool-like material that was silver and sparkly. He touched it and noticed it was soft to the touch.

Dick had been used to wearing sparkly things back at the circus but ever since he had come to Gotham, he had been expected to wear boring colours, fit for a young boy, according to literally everyone in Gotham.

He wondered if Bruce would-

"Chum?" Dick almost jumped in the air and carefully pulled his hand back.

"Oh, hey Bruce," he squeaked out

Bruce smiled, "Sorry, Chum. Didn't mean to startle you. I just got worried. Something caught your eye?"

Dick resisted the urge to look at the clothing items again. He already had all those things anyway.

"Nah, just looking around," said Dick

Bruce didn't look like he believed but nodded anyway.

"Alright, Kiddo," said Bruce, "Why don't we try these on and then go to checkout,"

"Okay,"

xxx

Once in awhile, Alfred would take out the photo albums, sort them again and add new ones.

This time he had been ambushed by his grandchildren as he was finishing and he had left them to flip through the pictures.

They were still going through Dick's childhood pictures when Jason stopped at little Dick standing in the snow, wearing a shimmery set of gloves, scarf and hats.

"Sparkly shit, huh?" said Jason, "You always liked it,"

Dick grinned, "Yeah, that was a breaking moment for me and Bruce, you know,"

"How so?" asked Damian

"Well, I had been at the manor for like five months and while I was pretty comfortable, I still had some reservations some things. One of them was whether or not Bruce would be completely okay with the style I had at Haly's, every bold and loud. Not that he even said anything but everyone at in Gotham, especially in high society wore proper muted colours if they were guys and I was fine. And then I saw that set and I kinda really liked it. Bruce was with me that day and I guess he noticed me staring at it,"

"And he told you you could buy it?" asked Tim

"Umm," said Dick, "Not exactly,"

"Meaning?" asked Cass

"Well..."

Once they got home, Bruce handed Dick the shopping bags and told him to put the stuff away.

"And then we'll get some popcorns and watch a movie, okay?"

"Okay!"

Dick took the bags and practically ran up the stairs. he started to take the stuff out and put it in the right places. When he to the end he noticed something shimmery at the bottom.

The sparkly set.

Bruce must have grabbed it when Dick had been trying on clothes.

Smiling, Dick ran all the way down to Bruce and practically tackled him in a hug.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!"

Bruce laughed, "You're welcome, Chum,"

"He just bought it and put it in the bag?" asked Duke

"Yup," said Dick, "That's B for you. Bad with words, better with actions. He did delve into his vast vocabulary and tell me that I could wear whatever I wanted. I know, it might not seem like a big deal, but it kinda felt like he was telling me I could express myself however I wanted,"

"Yeah, he's good like that," said Dick

"Wait," said Damian, "Is that why he keeps buying me whatever art supply I glance at?"

"And all the books and stuff on photography?"

"He got me history stuff," said Duke

"Dance lessons," said Cass, "All of them,"

"I thought he was just passionate about books too," said Jason, "But yeah, that's B's love language,"

"Yup," said Dick, "The best thing to do is take it and you know, just use it in front of him. Makes him happy,"

"Huh," said Duke

Just them they heard footsteps and Bruce joined then in the den.

"Hey, guys," said Bruce, "Going through the albums?"

"Yup," answered Dick, "Join us,"

Bruce smiled and sat down, scanning the pictures as Jason flipped through them.

"Oh hey, Bruce," said Duke, "I loved the historical map you got me for my room. I put it up if you wanna see it later,"

Bruce's answering smile could have lit up Gotham's darkest goddamn night.

"I would love to, Kiddo,"

[northoftheroad]

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Thanks for the mission, @hood-ex​, it was rather fun to go through ;-) 

Batman Plays a Lone Hand - Coming home from school on Fridays was perhaps Dick Grayson’s favourite time of the week. Because Friday meant that he had two nights of patrolling as Robin in front of him. 

Careful What You Wish For – It wasn’t a dark and stormy night – which was a shame, because weather like that would have complemented Batman’s mood perfectly.

Biggles Flies South-South-East - ”I say, whatever can they imagine they’ll find out in this perishing jungle? It’s nothing but a lot of trees. I mean to say, if you want to dig up archaeological stuff, you might as well start where there are some ruins to give you a clue where to look, what?”

Not Worth the Effort - Rainwater puddles glistening in the cold light from the surrounding buildings. That was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. In the clear water, there were wisps of darkness – coloured by blood. His blood.

Draw the Shutter Fire - ”Father. Can’t we get into that place some other way? I do not wish to parade myself in front of a herd of imbecile photographers.”

The Less Polite Batman - ”Commissioner.”

”Gah! ...Damn it, Batman, I thought you were supposed to be the polite one.”

Two Parts of a Whole - ”Why do I have to go to bed already, Bruce? I’m not tired at all!”

Have you been talking to your grandfather? - ”Father. Did you see this article in Gotham Gazette? A scientist has tried to calculate the carbon footprint of the Batman.”

Feet on the ground - ”Robin. Come down here where I can see you.”

A short prequel to Biggles in the Terai - ”So, let me get this straight, Biggles. The Air Commodore wants me to be temporarily posted to the Indian Security Police? To help them put a stop to a contraband racket?”

Where did Bruce hide the corpses? - ”Hey, replacement! Don’t you ever wonder where Bruce hid the corpses of the workers who made the Batcave?”

Don’t you miss it? - ”What’s all the commotion, Alfred?”

”Your younger ones, sir.”

”…?”

Praise for the playboy image - "Father. What is this!?"

What do they see? - ”Dick?”

”Hm?”

”You’re awfully quiet, for being you.”

”Mh.”

A disgrace - "Father."

"Yes, Damian?"

"Have you seen the flat Grayson has moved into in Blüdhaven? It is a disgrace!”

Pigs Can Fly - ”The Empress of Blandings has disappeared,” declared Gaskin, sitting down on a chair in Biggles’ office.

Well, unless you knew that eleven of these are in fact short stories written only in dialogue, you might be tempted to believe that I liked to start with someone speaking. 

My personal favourite, however, is: It wasn’t a dark and stormy night – which was a shame, because weather like that would have complemented Batman’s mood perfectly.

I don’t know if I know anyone who writes fan fiction and is still on Tumblr and who haven’t got this already…? 

@ckbookish? @browniesarethebest? @cdelphiki?

[18-fandoms-unite-08]

I didn't know I needed you until you needed me pt. 2

Pt. 1 ~ Pt. 2 ~ Pt. 3 ~ Pt. 4 ~ Pt. 5 ~ Pt. 6

Enjoy!!

~~

He was worried for his son. Ever since Damian woke up from his three month coma, he was spending every minute of his living breathing time that he could spare in the batcave. What he was doing, his son had told no one.

All anyone knew was Damian had turned into a completely different person after he woke up.

The weird thing was, any injury he had at the time couldn't have caused that long of a coma.

So what had actually caused it?

~

Fingers twitching.

Trying to move.

Why can't she move them? She thought, panicking.

Just then, her eyelids open. Where was she?

She whipped around. Looking at her surroundings. Except, there was nothing to look at besides endless black colours and glittering stars.

Suddenly, she realized she was... floating?

A sudden burst of pain errupted near her heart.

Was she dead?

A voice whispered, soft but seemingly coming from all around her.

Stay

Stay

Stay

Then it changed to,

Don't leave me

Don't leave me

Don't leave me

Then,

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

I'm sorry

A sudden realisation had hit her. She was alive, yet not. She was in the in-between place. The Astral Dimension.

Her soulmate was tethering her soul to his body. The sole reason she was alive. But how?

Only soulmates with extremely strong bonds could do that. For if it was not possible, the death of one half of the soulmates with strong bonds would cause the death of the other.

But her soulmate had avoided her. They hadn't wanted her. They hadn't been there when she needed them the most.

And now all she could think of was,

She had wanted to die.

~

Damian was tired. Physically and emotionally. He blames himself for everything that happened.

His soulmate willingly taking a fatal hit, willingly wanting to die. No one should have those dark thoughts. No one deserved to think like that. Especially her.

She of all people did not deserve to die. So when Damian went under, he focused on their bond and pulled.

Stopping her soul in the Astral dimension.

He vowed to himself he would fix everything. He would pick of the pieces and he would fix them as best he could.

The problem was however, he couldn't find his soulmates body. It seemingly just, dissapeared from Any records.

According to his research, Marinette had never been admitted into any medical facility.

So where was she?

He only hoped that she was somewhere safe.

~

Meanwhile in Tibet, a young woman in her late teens was being tended to her wounds. Presumed dead to the world.

~~

Heyy, sorry this took so long. I was thinking about either making this only a duology or more. Also, part 3 is gonna be up maybe either in a day or two.

{TAG LIST}

@goblinwhoships @beaversuenightly @thethirdwheelfriend @kris-pines04 @dur55 @weird-pale-blonde-person @caffeinetheory @zalladane @officiallyathiana @maribat-shenanigans @drarryismylife101 @myhoroscopeisdeath @dast218 @ask-sakura-haruno-blossom-queen @thesunanditsangel @draco-kasai @xgxmxtx @magic-miraculous @starwindmaden

Anyways, if u guys wanna be tagged, the list is still open!

Sorry if I missed anyone!!

---

All my fics are under the tag #18fandomsfics

[eak8753]

May 11: Royalty/aristocracy/feudal AU

Damian Wayne was the heir to more than just one crown. His Father, Bruce Wayne, was the king of Gotham. While his Mother, Talia Al Guhl, was a princess of Assassins. From a young age he was to rule over the Assassins, then everything came crashing down when he turned ten. His Mother and Grandfather had been killed, and he was sent to live with his Father. At first it had been difficult to adjust to life in Gotham. No one, not his Father or adoptive brothers, seemed to realize that he had grown up on the outside his entire life. Had seen and done things most of them couldn’t comprehend. Eventually this led to him leaving in the middle of the night.

Now his Father had known where he had gone, but realized that he would come to him in his own time. Now, with his eighteenth birthday approaching soon it was his time to take over the crown. Despite having three older brothers the burden of becoming king fell on the young man's shoulders. While his brothers were able to refuse the crown, and did so quite quickly seeing what it had done to their Father, he wasn’t able to refuse as it was his birthright. He didn't want to be king, not after he had lived as a civilian.

“Damian'' was the first thing he heard that day “Damian Wayne, you open up this door immediately” he heard banging on the door. He looked around at his surroundings, not remembering a thing that happened the previous night. He looked over to the other side of his bed only to find a naked woman laying next to him. Looking at himself he realized that he too was undressed. It didn't take a detective to figure out what had happened. He had a pounding headache and the banging on his door didn’t help, so he just laid back in bed, pulling the covers over his head to block out the sunlight.

The next thing he knew the covers were ripped from his face, revealing his body from the waist up. What greeted him were two dazzling amethyst orbs looking down at him. He scoffed and turned around. “Go away demon” Raven, the young girl he had directed the comment towards, chuckled softly. At the sound he sat up to look at her. He loved hearing her laugh, it was light and breathy. “Come on damian, in a few days you’re gonna be the king while I'm gonna be at the bar drinking away the heartbreak of never being able to see you again” the violet haired girl said with so much seriousness in her voice that he almost believed her, but he knew better. So instead of responding to her he fell back into bed with a thud, waking the women in his bed up. She sat up using the blankets to cover herself, looking up at Raven. Slowly Raven had turned her head towards the future king, raising her brow. “You didn’t kick her out? That's a first” all the response she got in return was a glare.

Sometimes he wondered how they had ever become friends, of course he knew the answer to that. Just like him she had left her family, who lived in The Undergrounds, for a different and more understanding life. The Undergrounds was a few kingdoms away. No one knew anything about them -except that their future ruler had disappeared a while ago- and very few people were actually allowed to leave. From what he knew Raven had left illegal. Of course when he first met her he didn’t like this. However, as time went on he realized that unlike him, who left his home because he felt misunderstood, she did it to escape an abusive household. She told him that the king of The Undergrounds was an evil dictator.

The lady narrowed her eyes at Raven and looked at him with a pout and started batting her lashes. “Oh Damian, shouldn’t you kick this wrench out-“ she said looking at Raven “-so we can continue where we left off?” she started to touch his chest and was leaning in for a kiss when he had stopped her. He never understood women like her who thought that they meant more to him then a meaningless fling. As cruel as it sounded, he would only hook-up with someone when he was shit-faced drunk, and he always felt guilty about it afterwards since he knew that it was just driving a wedge between the one person he’d actual pursue a relationship with. He got out of bed, making sure he kept the blankets to his waist. He asked the lady to leave and after a couple minutes of her throwing a tantrum she finally did. “Well as fun as that was to watch” Raven started up. “Hurry up and get dressed” she told him, walking into his kitchen so she could make some tea.

-

He was eighteen, he had been for awhile now, and was forced to live with his Father again. He wasn’t allowed to leave the castle and if he was, then he had two guards by his side at all times. He wasn’t allowed to go out and do frivolous things, which meant he wasn’t allowed to visit Raven. His coronation was in a couple of weeks and he had somehow managed to get his Father to agree to let him bring a plus one. He assumed his father meant for him to bring a princess, or a person of royal blood at least. But he decided that his time would be spent better with a friend. So he had bribed his guards, which was surprisingly easy to do, and they let him go do anything he wanted, still being by his side of course.

He had walked into a bar that he came to be fairly familiar with. Knowing Raven was here, his eyes scanned the room. She was being hit on by some guy, she didn’t seem very comfortable though. He wanted to march up to him and tell him to back off but apparently he didn’t have to. The guards had yelled for everyone to leave or they would be punished, and he was the first one out the door. While everyone was rushing to leave, including the bartender, she was looking at him. Taking her sweet time to finish her drink. By the time she was done there were only a couple of people left in the bar, all of them gathering their things to leave. After putting her glass down she looked at him one more time before grabbing her jacket off of a stool. “Stay” Damian's voice broke the silence. She looked up at him for a moment before she sat at a table, motioning for him to do the same.

“So…how have you been?” He asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Six months Damian. I haven’t seen you in six months and you wanna know how I'm doing?” She said with a face of disbelief. “Look Raven, I know that you’re mad at me but I have a favour to ask” he said looking at her sheepishly. “If you ask me to dress up as a jester I'm going to punch you” she told him with a raised brow. “You know I'm your future king, correct” “you know I don’t care” he glared at her, knowing that she wasn’t afraid of him.

“I need a date for my coronation ball on Friday” he said, not being able to look her in the eye as he did it. “If you want me to hook you up with one of my friends then you’re out of luck” was it bad that he was relieved? Seeing as the one he wanted to go with was sitting across from him. “Besides, shouldn’t you be taking a princess?” She questioned. “Well that is what father expecs, but I'd much rather go with someone I am comfortable with” he informed her, resting his hands above hers. “I was wondering if you would accompany me?” He asked, looking her straight in the eyes knowing that would make her more likely to agree. “I have work” she said, retracting her hands from his. He looked disappointed for a moment until he remembered the second reason he had came.

“About that, I was wondering if you would like to be my general?” The shock in her eyes had told him that she didn’t expect that at all, which surprised him considering he had always joked about her being his general when he was king. “What about Clark?” She asked, knowing that the formal general hadn’t died. “He retired, something about wanting more time to spend with his family” taking her hands again he continued. “Raven, you’re one of the strongest people I know with a brilliant mind to match. You’re the only person I trust with such an important task, so either you accept the job or we don’t have a general. You wouldn’t want that now would you” he teased.

She was quiet for a moment, making Damian think she was going to turn him down until she met his gaze, and shook her head up and down. “Good” he smirked. “That means you can accompany me to the ball after all, since the general's attendance is mandatory” he said leaning back in his chair. “You sneaky bastard” she told him, but the smile on her face said all he needed to know; yes.

-

Raven was so out of her element she was considering from resigning. Sure it had only been a couple of days of being Gotham's general but god she couldn’t attend anymore of these. As soon the ceremony was over Damian had taken her to meet his Father. At first he was disappointed in him for being with a peasant. That was until she opened her mouth. Everyone in the kingdom feared Bruce, and although she was afraid that he may throw her in the dungeon -as he had a no-killing policy- she decided to speak her mind clearly. He was surprised, and he was never surprised. When he found out that she had become the new general he couldn’t help but feel pride for his son, having chosen such a brilliant young woman. of course he couldn’t tell her any of this, so instead he dragged Damian away to meet some of the other leaders.

So here she was, awkwardly standing in a corner. She could feel the stares from some of the guests. Whether that was because no one knew her or for her attire she did not know. She had on a black floor length dress with red undertones. It was off the shoulders, the top portion being two long pieces of fabric crossecting each other. Her hair was curled with one side pinned behind her ear. A simple red gem on a silver chain was around her neck with small matching studs in her ears to match. As she took a sip of her drink a girl in a scarlet coloured ballroom gown, followed by two other girls; one in light blue and the other in light pink.

“Hello there, I'm princess Emiko of Star Kingdom” said the girl in the red gown, “and this is princess Kara of National-“ she said pointing to the one in blue “-and this is princess Dawn of Central Kingdom” she pointed to the one in pink. Turning back to face Raven she asked “and you are?” With a wide smile on her lips. “Raven,” she said as she took another sip of her champagne. The young girl's face fell for a moment, realizing that the girl in front of her wasn’t a princess, or had a title. Then her eyes brightened up as she looked at the purple haired girl. “Have you met him?” at her inquiry Raven raised an eyebrow. “The king!” the princess answered the other girl's silent question. “He’s so handsome,” the one in pink said. “No matter, you know if any of us have a chance it would be Emiko” at Raven’s confused face Emiko spoke. “King Oliver-“ the ruler of Star Kingdom “-is close friends with Damian's father” the girl clarified.

“Oh my god, he’s coming over here” the one in blue spoke. as he approached Raven stiffened, quickly finishing her drink. “Princesses” he nodded at them, taking and kissing each of the young princess's hands. turning to Raven he grinned. “General” he said slowly, his smile growing ten folds. “General? I didn’t know you were…” the young princess in front of Raven trailed off. “Oh yes, Raven here is the new General of Gotham, and-“ he let his eyes roam over her form as he stood beside her “-my date” he said putting an arm around the young woman. At this the princesses eyes widen, not understanding how a king could be with someone of non-royal blood, whether she was a general or not.

“I'm not your date” she deadpanned, shrugging his hands off her shoulders. “I'm only here because it’s mandatory,” she said, turning to face him. At that his smile fell, his face turning into something like guilt. “Yeah, about that…” he trailed off, chuckling a bit. Her eyes widened in shock “You mean I don’t have to be here” shaking his head he averted his gaze. “Well then” he heard her speak up. “I'm out of here” she said, walking forward. Forgetting about the princesses, he ran forward. Stepping in front of her, trying to convince her to stay.

“Look, I don't like being here as much as you do,” he sighed, hoping she wouldn’t be too mad that he tricked her. “Your presence is required. Plus you don’t have to walk around in heels all night” she really hated her choice of footwear that evening.

“Raven?” Damian heard a voice from behind him ask. He turned around to see prince Zilevo of The Undergrounds.Damian concluded that he had just arrived, since he still had a present in his grasp and hadn’t bothered to take his coat off. “You’re alive” he exclaimed with a clear amount of anger in his voice. “We had search parties out for months looking for you. Father even debated going out himself” at this Raven scoffed, clearly not believing him. “He’ll be thrilled to find out that you’re not dead. Then you can take your rightful place as the ruler of The Undergrounds” he informed the young girl, with jealousy clear in his voice. Unlike other kingdoms in which the oldest son inherited the crown, The Undergrounds new ruler would be whichever child was strongest.

“Prince Zilevo, I’m afraid you’re mistaken” Damian said, intervening. Ignoring him, Zilevo looked to Raven, questions in his eyes. “So you aren’t Raven?” he asked, raising a brow at her. “No, she is-“ Damian answered for her “-but she’s not a princess…” he trailed off connecting the dots. It explained a lot, like why she was so against prince Zilevo and his family, how the princess of The Undergrounds had gone missing around the same time Raven told him she left. “You are, aren’t you? Their future ruler” he asked in a cold tone, not facing her. He was upset, but not because she had lied to him. When they had first met he made advances towards her. Although he was alway thoroughly ignored, he didn’t lose hope, as he could take anyone he wanted to bed. Along the way he started to develop real feelings toward the purple eyed girl. He once asked why she didn’t want to sleep with him, seeing how people basically throw themselves at him. She had said it was pointless since he had to marry a royal. It was a logical rebuttal. However, it didn’t stop him from continuing to flirt with the young girl.

She nodded, even though he couldn’t see it. Looking at her brother she scoffed again. “I don't want the crown, you can have it” “you know that’s not how it works” the prince stepped forward standing beside Damian. “Father will only give the crown to you, Gutizia already tried to take it after you left” he said referring to another one of their brothers. Despite all of them being the king’s offspring, each had a different mother. While Raven's brothers' mothers were people with money and power, her mother, Arella, had been a peasant who met the king by chance. In her early life Raven lived with her mother, it was a quiet and simply life. That was until her mother was killed after Raven had visited her Father for the first time, exclaiming she was his child. Before her death, Arella had confirmed this, then she was hung for “treason” as the king put it. After this her father had forced her to train, realizing that having a royal-peasant hybrid rule the Grounds would help open the demons -people who lived in the undergrounds were called- minds.

“Well I'm not going back” she said, crossing her arms. “He thought you were dead, we all did” her brother said, raising his voice slightly at her. “Well make sure the bastard still believes that'' she said before walking away, going on to one of the many balconies. She was furious that she was found out. She also knew that Zilevo couldn’t keep his mouth shut and she’d be forced to leave Gotham and rule over that revolting kingdom, or witness a war break out. She also wanted to talk to Damian and explain. She knew that he was upset and would have a bunch of questions. As she was debating going back she heard the door for the balcony open. Standing there was none other than the new king of gotham.

“I'm sorry” she started immediately, not giving him a chance to speak. “Despite what you may think, I didn't like lying to you. Everything else I said about my family was true -the abuse, the crimes, the greed and anger- it was all real. I couldn't go back and telling anyone, even you, made my chances of getting caught significantly higher” she pleaded with him, trying to make him understand her reasoning. “You know,” he said, coming to stand beside her. “By law if you marry a king before you inherit your kingdom then you have no obligation to them” he said looking at her, bringing his hand to rest on her cheek. She leaned into the touch a bit, glad that he wasn’t mad. Taking his hand off and placing it on the railing, he looked out to the midnight sky.

“If that was your lame attempt at asking me to marry you. Then no” she told him after a moment of silence. He turned to face her, giving her a small sad smile. “But, if that was your lame attempt at asking me on a date…then I wouldn’t oppose” she said the last bit so quietly he almost thought he dreamt it, but the smile on his face and the twitch of her hands assured him he hadn’t. He couldn’t help the smile that crept itself onto his face as he spun her around while they embraced.

[peterxwade24]

BWYD Chapter 6

Dick is a Great Big Brother and Bruce needs to Figure His Ish Out

Usually when her family went out on patrol, Uncle Clark would come over and spend the night with her however, tonight, Uncle Clark didn’t show.

Ten-year-old Marinette was scaling the kitchen counters trying to reach a bowl that was placed on a high shelf when she was startled.

“What are you doing?” Jason shouted from the doorway before he ran through the kitchen to catch his sister.

Marinette looked up at her brother, but she didn’t see her brother. All she saw was the red hair and she was back in France. She was back in France and she had just climbed back into her bedroom after seeing the two people who had tried to hurt her family brought to justice. She let out a scream and scrambled out of his arms, falling to the ground and scrambling away.

“Woah, woah. Pixie Pop, what’s wrong?” Jason asked, taking a step towards his sister before he realized what was spooking her. “Hey, hey. Pixie Pop. It’s just me, just Jay-Jay. I know it’s weird but I promise it’ll be gone soon.”

Marinette’s eyes never left Jason’s hair and as much as Jason wanted to reach her to comfort her, she was back in Paris. She was back in Paris and she was seven-years-old, there were two people threatening her parents and she remembered that red hair. “Cheveux roux. Ils avaient les cheveux roux.”

“Pixie Pop. Hey, I know they had red hair,” Jason looked around the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, putting it on his head. “Look! No red hair!”

Marinette giggled and got off the floor. “What are you doing at home?”

Jason scooped up Marinette before he tapped the bowl on his head. “Wrong colour hair. B made the executive decision to bench me until my hair is the right colour.” He looked around the kitchen before his eyes landed on the counter where he found his sister. “You want to help me make some snacks and then go watch a movie?”

    ---

Jason, with a ratty baseball cap on his head, sat on one of the couches in the media room with Marinette in his lap, absentmindedly petting his sister’s hair. They were watching “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” and Jason made sure to cover his sister’s eyes anytime something scary happened. Jason turned to look over the back of the couch when he heard the squeak of Duke’s sneakers on the hardwood floors of the hallway.

Duke poked his head into the media room, his eyes scanning the screen before a smile spread across his face. “Milo is a great protagonist and Kida is a goddess who I would let d-”

Jason flung a pillow at their brother moments after his eyes widened. “Little ears!” He clapped his hands over Marinette’s ears, drawing a whine from their sister, before glaring at Duke. “Come sit down. We’re watching movies because Pixie Pop was scared.”

Duke hopped over the back of the couch, bringing the pillow with him, and settled against Jason’s side, pulling Marinette into his lap. “Why this movie?”

Jason rolled his eyes and passed Marinette a brownie. “Pixie Pop wanted to watch it. After this we’re watching the entire “The Lion King” series.”

Duke nodded. “We’re gunna need more snacks then.”

    ---

Bruce walked passed the media room and paused when he heard the sound of popcorn being thrown at the screen. He opened the door and was about to comment when he realized what they were watching.

“Boo!” Cried Tim, his voice unusually gruff.

“Bring back the baby!” Duke called, his usually sunny outlook on life harshened from the movie.

“He’s not the real king!” Jason shouted, sounding like a petulant child.

“He would totally eat them if this wasn’t Disney, right?” Damian whispered to Dick, not understanding what was going on.

“Shh!” Dick turned to Damian with a disappointed expression.

“Stop! Timon and Pumbaa did not raise a lion for you to discredit them!” Marinette cried, throwing popcorn at her brothers who wouldn’t stop talking.

Bruce walked into the room and raised an eyebrow at his kids. “What’re you doing?”

Dick looked at their father before shrugging. “Sibling movie night. You’re not invited. Go spend the night with Selina or Clark.”

Alfred appeared behind Bruce’s looming figure. “I have brought the ice cream.”

“Grampa Alfie!” Bruce’s youngest popped up, her face covered in chocolate and her shirt which was actually one of Jason’s shirts was covered in crumbs. The smile on her face faltered when she saw Bruce and plopped back down onto the couch beside her brothers. She still didn’t know if Bruce accepted her new position as Ladybug. And until she knew, she would continue to be hesitant around him. She would continue to not know what to do around him or how to act. Bruce may have taken her in but he may not want her any longer. And that fact scared her.

Alfred easily swept passed his son to join his grandchildren in the media room, a bag of ice cream swinging at his side. He passed out the ice cream before settling into a plush armchair to enjoy his own ice cream.

“So I’m not invited but Alfred is?” Bruce’s voice held an accusatory tone, which earned him glares from his four oldest children. The girls banded together and distracted the two youngest.

“Alfred is invited because Tiny Bat invited him.” Dick responded, his tone was full of brotherly concern. “Because Jaybird’s hair reminded Tiny Bat of Paris and someone forgot to tell Tiny Bat that Jaybird’s wings were clipped until his hair is the right colour.”

Bruce looked at his eldest son, and nodded before he turned around and left the media room, pulling out his phone to call his brother.

Marinette moved across her brothers to sit on Dick’s lap and hold Damian’s hand. She settled against Dick’s chest and smiled at her brothers. She was grateful to have all of them in her life even if they were mean most of the time and they did make her run away not too long ago and wouldn’t ask for it any other way.

@dast218

[palettepainter]

DO NOT REPOST/EDIT/COPY/TRACE MY ART OR OC'S!!! AKA something not MHA related NOTE: So I go into a bit of a headcannon-ish thing which explains more about Life, in it I mention Satan (Damian's dad from Zoophobia) and how in my NGAU he became the devil. Most of my audience is very mature and leave nice comments on my work, but since this kinda dabbles into religion I guess - with it involving the devil and god - some people may get irked about this. So I'm just stating here: this is JUST FOR MY NGAU. I do not mean to offend anyone's religion! Just putting this here cuz I'm worried I'll upset some people, remember - this story is just for my NGAU I've wanted to redesign my Goddess of Life OC for a while now, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this but Life's hair and fur coat change in time with the seasons - originally I was going to have her hair/mane change colour with the rising and setting of the sun, but I changed it to the seasons instead because I thought that better fitted with her powers.  To anyone new The Goddess of Life in my NGAU is second in power under God - in my NGAU Satan (Damian's dad from Zoophobia) was supposed to be God's sort of prodigy, he would be given the power to give life as he wished and carrying on alongside God, however Damian's father used this power for greedy intentions, using it to manipulate people. He's casted down to hell where he rules along side his wife and his mischievous son Damian. Life was created as a replacement for Satan, and she turned out with much more kinder and purer intentions and goals. I based Life around a kirin/deer creature - IDK why but I've always imagined Life being personified as a deer if it where to have an animal form. Life has the ability to give Life, she can also greatly weaken the life within someone or something but she doesn't have the power to kill anything. When she walks she leaves flowers behind her, she is also said to have great healing powers. When she uses her magic the patterns of her antlers glow, depending on what season it is they will glow different colours. For spring they glow a light green, summer they glow yellow, autumn they glow orange and for winter they glow blue. Her mane flows due to her magic, if by some great force her powers where to be taken away from her her mane would stop flowing and simply look like normal hair, and the spirals on her horns would become a dark brown  The Goddess of Life also can not labour her own children, she can give life to others but cannot have it for herself - this is something she's quite distraught about. She has a tone of doves, like Reaper's crows the doves act as her eyes and ears within Safe Haven. Despite her being a god and one of the most powerful members of Heaven's council she's pretty goofy and silly, would totally be down to play games with children rather then sit in a meeting Goddess of Life/Reaper - me

[avis-writeshq]

Damian Wayne x Reader: One Kiss is All It Takes

Requested: Nope

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Fem!Reader

Summary: One kiss is all it takes to throw you head over heels with Damian Wayne. But when you’re in love with a very reckless boy who just so happens to be Robin himself, what are you to do?

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, VERY MINIMAL NSFW (just a steamy make-out scene), mention of underage drinking, and trash writing

Other: Damian and Reader are 17.

Word count: 1,845                                                                                            

 Things you probably wanna know, for all you ‘x reader’ illiterates:

(Y/N): Your Name

(H/C): Hair Colour / Color

(E/C): Eye Colour / Color

(N/N): Nickname

 ***

It was a mistake. You knew that. You never should have gone to that stupid party. It was all a mistake. Sure, you promised your friend that you would go. You may have promised her to go to that house party, but you didn’t specify how long. You could have gone in for a minute before leaving undetected. She would get wasted in the first 30 seconds after all. You could have hung by the food and drinks section and be the antisocial nerd you were. You should have done anything – anything – to not be in this situation. You should not be against the wall, the school’s bad boy against you.

 Damian’s lips were slanted against yours, pressing against them carefully, as if you were a porcelain doll ready to break. His hands were either side of your head, his fingers digging into the red brick walls. His shirt was balled in your fists, desperately wishing to be closer.

 It was a mistake. You knew that. He knew that, most of all.

 He pulled away slowly; brilliant green eyes bore into your (E/C) hues. Flushing a scarlet, you let go of his shirt. But he didn’t let you go.

 “How was that, Beloved?”

 4 words. That was all it took for your insides to melt and your heart to pick up its pace. You opened and closed your mouth, gaping at him as if you were a fish out of water. This was a mistake, a mistake you made perfectly sober.

 ***

 Two weeks. Damian didn’t talk to you for two weeks and it was driving you insane. You didn’t do anything but kiss, sure, but he was Bruce Wayne’s son. Surely he would fall into the same trap as his father. Bringing a girl so close, so close, and then leave without warning, leaving them wanting more. And you were disappointed to say that his tricks worked on you. You couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. You were pathetic. He left you wanting more than a kiss, and that scared you the most.

 But you didn’t know. After all, how could you? How could you possibly know about his alter-ego, the mischievous crime-fighting vigilante? And Damian was careful. He made sure you didn’t know. He made sure you weren’t put into any danger. And if that meant going on an undercover mission for a few weeks to clear his head, so be it. But even though he had 2 weeks to do anything but think of you, all he did was think of you. The complete opposite of his intentions.

 His family knew of his infatuation. Of course, they did, Damian was their little brother. Tim was a genius, able to hack into any electrical appliance. Dick was a fully trained policeman. Jason was a gun enthusiast who was more observant than he should be. And Bruce was Batman, the feared vigilante whose name struck fear into every villain in Gotham. How could they not know?

 It was the little things at first. The way he would drift into a subconscious faze when he was training because he was thinking of you. Or the way how he would stare a few seconds too long at your social media account. How he would search up every definition of your name.

 Damian Wayne has fallen head over heels for a girl he barely even knew. He fell for a girl he kissed at a house party because he found it way too damn irresistible to not kiss you after the way you chewed your bottom lip. But there is no way you would forgive him after he went AWOL weeks later.

 So, when he returned to school the following month, he made sure to pull you into an empty classroom during your lunch break.

 “What the-” You stopped short when you realised who you pulled you in. “Damian?”

 “I would like to apologise.”

 “Of course you should apologise!” You slapped his chest angrily, pushing him away from you. He didn’t fight back. “You go off and kiss me and then you leave! No note, no text, no freaking call?! Do you know how much that hurt?”

 A tear fell down your cheek, warm against your skin. You forced yourself to look Damian in the eye, his usual cocky and mischievous hues filled with guilt. “(Y/N)-”

 “Let me finish! You can’t just kiss me like that-”

 “Like what?”

 You flush, glaring at him. Well, trying to, anyway. You licked your bottom lip, suddenly needing a glass of water. In two strides, Damian’s face was centimetres away from yours, his minty breath fanning your face. His stare was holding, staring deep into your eyes.

 “How do I kiss you, Beloved?”

 “I-” The words were caught in your throat and you tried desperately to gather your thoughts.

 “Maybe you need reminding.”

 You subconsciously licked your lips again and you knew he was growing weak. You looked up through your eyelashes, smiling innocently at him. “Is something wrong?”

 “Fuck it.” His lips were on yours once again, his arms tightening around your waist. Your hands were on his chest when he pulled back, his forehead against yours. “Don’t do that.”

 “Do what?”

 “You know what.”

 You didn’t respond, instead pressing your lips to his desperately, clinging on to him as if he was your life source. And he was.

 ***

 It was a mistake. You knew that. People were curious. You of all people should know. 3 months of keeping your relationship with Damian a secret, people were bound to find out. Damian said that he didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable with all the paparazzi and you were truly grateful.  Yeah, well, people were going to find out eventually.

 Damian Wayne: Out with another fling?

 Damian Wayne is taking on his father’s step – and not just the company

 Damian Wayne has a girlfriend?

 The headlines made the papers and you were not amused. You marched your way to Wayne Manor, using your spare key to enter the mansion. Alfred instantly came to your side, asking if you needed any assistance.

 “Where’s Damian?”

 “He’s not home, Miss (L/N).”

 You weren’t satisfied. “Where is he?”

 Alfred frowned. If he told you, he was sure you would go to the designated spot and search for him. You were persistent like that. “I’m not sure, young miss.”

 “Then where are the others?”

 “Not home as well, miss.”

 You let out a disgruntled groan, eyebrows knitting together as you clenched the newspaper in your fist. Of course, he wasn’t home. Whipping your phone out, you decided to give him a call.

 ***

Halfway across Gotham city, in the middle of fighting Killer Croc, Damian’s phone rang.

 ‘If you wanna be my lover~’ the boy froze. Did you change his ringtone again?! However, now was not the time to answer a call.

 “Robin, pay attention,” he heard his father call out.

 “Apologies, Batman.”

 Before a minute passed, his phone rang again. ‘You gotta get with my friends~’

 “Oh god dammit!” Giving up on his dignity, he answered the call.

 “Damian, where are you?”

 “Uh…” He let out a grunt, ducking under a pipe that was thrown at his face. “Nowhere!”

 “Sure…” he could hear how sceptic you were from through the phone. “Have you seen the papers?!”

 “Papers?” He responded weekly, groaning when the police came with reinforcements. And guns. “Beloved, I really have to get going-”

 He barely finished his sentence when the police began to open fire, missing his leg by inches (or millimetres). “Damian, are those gunshots?!”

 “It’s from a game!” He blurted, sweat falling down his brow.

 “No way, Bruce has good speakers, but not that good. Where are you?! Did you rob a bank or something?!”

 “No, but I think you robbed my heart.” Damn, was he turning into Grayson? “Beloved, can I call you back?”

 “Oh, sure, call me back when you finished fighting Killer Croc, you do that.” With a final huff, you ended the call.

 Damian did not need this stress right now. Besides, how on earth did you know that he was fighting Killer Croc? Now was not the time to be impressed. He focused on the fight, reminding himself that after this was over and done with, he could finally go back home and explain everything to you. Or rather, maybe he didn’t have to go back home to talk to you.

 The sound of a policeman yelling split his focus and he narrowly missed being shot in the gut.

 “What the hell are you doing, lady?! Do you not see the abnormally large crocodile that we’re fighting here?!”

 “What the hell are you doing?!” the girl demanded, her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you just leave the crime fighting to Robin and Batman? You’re only causing more problems for yourself as well as creating more casualties. You’re making Killer Croc more freaked out.”

 “Hey, Damian, is that your girlfriend?” He heard Dick ask through his intercom. The man had been injured previously while fighting Poison Ivy the week before and was still in recovery in the Bat cave.

 Robin groaned, “You can hear her arguing with the policeman?”

 “No, I’m watching her through the city’s security cameras. She is quite the feisty one,” he chuckled. “Better get her out of here before she loses an arm or 2.”

 “Relax, they are evacuating her out now. She’s trying to find me, that is all.”

 A few hours later, after Killer Croc was knocked out and taken away, Damian hid in an alley to change. He had just pulled a sweater over his head when he heard someone clear their throat. “So, you really were fighting Killer Croc, huh?”

 He sighed, spinning around on his heel, only to find you standing behind him. “How long have you been standing there?”

 “Long enough to see all you battle scars.” You glared at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

 Damian rolled his eyes, leaning against the brick walls of the alley. “Tell you that I was doing this?”

 “I would have understood, you know.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, suddenly insecure. “The more you sneak around, the more I assume… things.”

 “Assume what?” he challenged, looking at you.

 You shrug, sighing. “There are rumours that go around. In the papers, at school, on social media… things about me that I don’t need to hear. People say things that are so dumb and rash. They act as if they own the world, you know?” You bit your lip, letting out a groan.

 “Hey, if I didn’t like you, would we be having this conversation right now?” Damian’s emerald green eyes bore into yours as if they were intense stars that burned in the sky. “If I didn’t like you, would I have kissed you and done something so irresponsible?”

 You chuckle, “I guess not. But people have feelings and insecurities, Dami. You can’t just leave me hanging. No more secrets, okay?”

 He nodded, taking a few steps towards you and taking your hands. “No more secrets. I solemnly swear.”

~

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