#Talia tells Bruce her mother is gone & for YEARS he thought she meant dead

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 245

Now Danny would openly admit, if only to himself, that he had a type when it came to relationships. If they were strong, if they were a threat to him, then chances were he would develop some sort of crush. It was how he had dated Sam and Valerie (And Johnny & Kitty) when he was a bit younger, and hell, Sam had technically succeeded in killing him, even if partly. 

Attraction towards smart people who could kill him was honestly par for the course for a Fenton or Nightingale anyway. 

And he’d also admit he enjoyed a bit of time travel, learning about times and culture long before his time, to the point that he could blend in in ancient times just as easily as the time he had been born in. That it was natural to mutter in a language lost to time. 

So color him surprise when another man perks up in the bar he had paused to get a drink in, vibrant green eyes gleaming in interest and responds in turn. And not just in the language, but able to keep up when he talks about things that once existed but haven’t been rediscovered yet. 

And one thing led to the other, and there might have been some assassins and some shenanigans that end with them both laughing together in an inn and then more and- Okay he has a type alright, and he’s ticking each box! How is that fair? 

[lily-drake]

Death

Death was nothing new in Marinette’s life.  In fact it played a large role.  Her friends and city had died a hundred times over.  Her brother.  Her funny, smart, loving, dramatic brother had died at the hands of a mad man.  She didn’t think it was wrong for her to use the horse miraculous to visit her brother's grave.  It was officially five years after all.  He would be 20, he would have loved to plan out her 16th birthday this year.  She sat down and read Pride and Prejudice out loud, only a few tears falling as she glanced at the grave every so often.  She had also brought a bouquet of white lilies, statices, red carnations, and white daisies.  Soft grass laid over the dirt, the sun gleamed above, and sometimes when she would lean against the grave it was almost like she could feel him.

Dark storm clouds began to cloud the sky, and she knew she would have to leave soon, though she didn’t want to.  Dad would be upset if he caught her, though considering how many weeds she had to remove from the grave and how abandoned it looked, she doubted anyone had visited any time soon.  Suddenly the rain began to pour down and it felt like the earth shook.  She felt a great imbalance, but where, and how?  She touched both of her ears and she could feel her miraculous still there, Tikki even poked her head out from her bag with a look of fear.  A shiver ran down Marinette’s spine as rain came pouring down soaking everything in sight.  She looked around, and she kept spinning searching for something, anything that could have caused or been affected by the imbalance.  She waited there for many minutes just waiting, when she felt the dirt beneath her feet begin to shift a little.  She quickly moved away and watched as the dirt slowly moved and shifted.  She felt sick, because the dirt moving was directly where Jason was lying in eternal rest.  This couldn’t be right, this must be some mistake!  Her brother had died, she had seen the body, it haunted her nightmares for so many nights.  He’s been gone for five years!  This can’t be possible without some type of wish.

The grass began to move and shift away, and a fleshy mud covered hand raised from the ground causing a scream to rip from her lungs.  Her body sprung into action before her mind caught up to her beginning to help dig up her brother's grave, and when she saw the jet black hair covered in dirt and mud she knew that it was him.  She heaved him out from the hole and stared in shocked horror as he just sat there staring at her.  His eyes were the same blue she remembered, but they were so clouded.  Fear, confusion, and nothing shown in his eyes, like he wasn’t even truly there.  This must be a dream, it has to be, no, a nightmare.  Her brother shouldn’t be back, he died, she saw his limp body in dad’s hands, even if Alfred and bluebird tried to stop her.  But the imbalance was real, she could tell, and he was affected by it.

Slowly she raised her hand and hesitantly placed a hand on his cheek.  He leaned into her hand, though his eyes were still clouded and void.  He may be alive, but he wasn’t fully…alive.  She tackled her older brother into a hug and began sobbing onto him, but just sat there, head leaning against hers.  Pressing her ear against his chest she could hear his gentle heartbeat, and just for a moment everything seemed like it would be ok.  Then she felt a sharp prick in her neck and the world faded to black.

________

Marinette awoke to darkness.  She tried to sit up and felt her hands held behind her back being held together by something cold and thick.  Memories flooded back into her mind and she snapped into awareness and looked around.  It was dark, though there was a small light coming from a window far above where she could not ever reach.  The walls seemed to be made of thick stones and there was a heavy iron door a few feet in front of her.  Jason wasn’t there though, he wasn’t in the room, she didn’t understand.  Suddenly the door opened and she looked up and saw her mother’s green eyes.  Her panic grew again, how did she get here, was she captured too?  She had visited her often in Paris.  She was very vague about her job, and she knew it was probably sketchy, but could it be bad enough to be captured?

“Marinette, My Darling.  I apologize for your treatment, I did not realize that you were part of this.”

Talia rushed towards her daughter and unlocked the chains.  She was pulled into a tight hug that Marinette quickly returned.  After a few moments she pulled away but held her shoulders gently.

“I must show you something, come.”

Talia quickly stood and helped her daughter to her feet and walked swiftly through the calls of Nanda Parabat.

“What is mom?”

Talia smiled at that, she had always loved when her daughter called her that.

“It’s a surprise, My Flower.”

A few more twists though hallways and they stopped in front of a thick wooden door.

“I want you to meet someone.”

The door was pushed open and there sat a small baby in a crip with dark black hair, tanned skin, and dark green eyes.  Marinette gasped and covered her mouth,

“Meet your brother, Damian.”

Marinette slowly walked over and stared at Damian through the top of the crib.  He silently watched and studied her without making a sound.

“He’s about 3 months old.”

Talia said, smiling happily as she watched her daughter run her fingers through Damian’s small tresses of hair.  With a snap of her finger one of her shadows stepped next to her.

“Bring Jason.”

And with that order they were gone returning a few minutes later with a boy who was alive physically, but was mentally gone.  She could fix that though, it would be the last resort if all else failed, but she could fix it.  Marinette looked up when she heard Jason’s footsteps and her bright smile fell slightly into a small sad one.

“Jay-Jay.”

She whispered softly as she took slow steps towards the boy.  She quickly ran and hugged him again.  He no longer smelled like mud and he wasn’t wearing his suit, and he was….he was alive again!  Tears fell down her cheeks, because she missed him so much.

________

Marinette stayed with her mom in what she learned was Nanda Parabat.  She trained with Jason, but he was catatonic, just going through the motions blankly.  It worried her, especially as she watched her mother grow more anxious.  She cared for her little brother, and wondered if her dad knew, or if he would even care.  She often looked at Paris news for when she needed to go for Akuma attacks, but if her host parents even realized she was gone.  They hadn’t, nor had any of her “friends” apparently as they hadn’t sent her a single thing from the weeks she’s been gone.

Marinette knew that Nada Parabat wasn’t a good place, knew that the people were bad, knew that her grandfather was the head of it.  He didn’t seem to care who she was, he just thought she was some nurse for Damian, and she was thankful for that.  She knew that the Lazarus Pits were here, what they did, how they were made, how her grandfather used them for selfish purposes.  She didn’t do anything though, she was mad at her father for sending her away, mad that he adopted a bee kid only a year after he sent her away, mad that he never talked to her, mad that Dick never fought for her or looked for her, mad that Jason was forced to wake up and climb his way out of his grave only to be practically brain dead, mad that her classmates believed lies over her, mad that her host parents believed them and treated her like dirt or an invisible object meant to seen and not heard, mad that Chat Noir would leave her during battles because she didn’t return his affections, and mad that no one cared that she was gone!  So she trained as hard as she could, made sure that she perfected everything her mother threw at her.  Took care of her family and made sure they knew how thankful she was for them and loved them.  Then when she finally got a text from someone it was insults for being a horrible person and hurting Lila when she hadn’t been there for weeks!

She threw her phone at the wall and the crack echoed around the room.  Her breathing was harsh and ragged and then the tears she had been holding back finally fell.  Sobs wracked her body as she bit her lip to keep silent.  She tried to take in deep shuddering breaths, but it was no use and the sobs came out.  Her knees felt weak and she crumpled to the ground.  The door burst open and she saw her mom there knife in hand looking around the room with swift deadly eyes.  When she didn’t see any visible threats she kneeled in front of her daughter and looked directly into her eyes.  Eyes a storming blue that flooded with tears and made her heart ache and her want to murder whoever made her precious daughter look so broken.

“My Flower, what’s wrong?”

“N-nobody cares ab-about me!  No one cares that I’m g-gone.  Everyb-body hates me, and I’m so tired of it!  I’ll n-never be enough for an-anybody and I’m t-trying so h-hard to do wh-what everyone needs or exp-ects me to be!”

Marinette stuttered out between sobs.  Talia glared at that and felt anger at Bruce.  She thought that he at least checked in with her every once in a while.  She had guessed wrong then.  She pulled her daughter into a hug and let her cry against her shoulder.

“Shh, shh.  It’s okay.  You are perfect the way you are Marinette.  You don’t have to prove anything to me.  You’re such a good sister, you train so hard, and you have so many amazing skills and talents.  You are enough, don’t let anyone say anything different.”

Marinette gripped onto her mom and they both just sat there in silence as Marinette finally just cried.  After who knows how long Marinette gently pushed away and looked her mom directly in the eyes with complete seriousness said,

“I want you to help me fake my death.  If everyone wants to pretend I’m gone or wants me to disappear, then fine.  I will.  I don’t want to be seen anymore.”

Talia stared at her daughter in shock for a moment then gave her a small smile.

“It will be done my dear, you will be free.”

“Thank you mom.”

Taglist:

@queenz-z @aespades @fandomsaremylifeline @stainedglassm @toodaloo-kangaroo @prettylittlebutterflie @trippingovermyfeet @liquid-luck-00 @unoriginalmess @buginetye @miraculouslydumb @laurcad123

[mxtantrights]

past lives | 10

a/n: final part!! AHHHHHHH stay tuned for the epilogue!!! And thank you guys so much for coming on this journey with me. I really appreciate it and YOU! <3

You awoke to the smell of cement and dry wall. It smelled so bad you could feel it in your throat. Your eyes cleared up to the spectacle in front of you. It was Ra's and Nyssa with their arms crossed.

“Is this some sick parent teacher conference?” you joked.

“No games. You failed to deliver the package.” he said.

“You mean your grandson? The one who left of his own volition?”

“Nonsense he is the heir to everything I have. He can’t leave.”

You looked over more to your former friend, “Nice to see you too Nyssa.”

“Why didn’t you stick to the plan?” she asked.

You look at Ra’s and he’s already staring you down. You don’t think he’s told her. It would have been best not to. Withholding information is his favorite skill anyways.

You’re about to say something when Ra’s comes over and backhands you. It makes you curl in the chair they’ve put you in. You weren’t surprised, that didn’t make it any less worse however. 

He really doesn’t want her to know.

“All you had to do was seek him out. You couldn’t even do it.” 

His smack- you hate to say it- brought up a thought to the front of your mind. 

“When did you know about my father?” you asked.

It’s in words that Nyssa isn’t able to pick up on. You know. He knows. It’s clear he doesn’t want her to know. Another hint at telling her might earn you worse than a slap.

“After you came out of the pit. I looked into your identity some more and did some research.” he said.

“Tell me,” you move your arms bound to the back of the chair, “Did you spawn Damian afterwards because of me?”

“No, you’re not the reason. I had already been watching him for some time. You were just a happy coincidence.” he answered.

Ra's folds his hands behind his back and moves around Nyssa, and then around you. In a circle. The predator and the prey. What was Nyssa this time around?

“You never reached out.” you said directly to her.

“You left.” she shot back.

“He wanted me gone.” you nodded to her father.

“It was a test you imbecile!” she shouted.

It made you flinch. You realized that maybe Nyssa wasn’t going to let bygones be bygones. And from her stand point she didn’t have to. You hurt her. 

Ra’s circles around you once more. His eyes never left Nyssa though. It gave you a sickening feeling. How everyone was his pawns. Specifically Talia and Nyssa. The women in that family needed serious counseling after being brought up by a man like that.

“If it was a test then why did he let me live? The moment I stepped out the door I should have been dead!” you shouted back.

She stayed silent. So you continued.

“He’s lying to you Nyssa.” you said.

“She’s right I lied to you. It wasn’t part of some test.”

Nyssa turned to her father in shock. You were sat wondering why he would give himself up so easily. What did he have to play here?

Whatever it was could wait. He was far enough now to not strike you again. You needed to let her know.

“He wanted me as a back up for Damian. My half-brother.” you said.

Nyssa turned back to you and when she did Ra's smacked her too. You winced for her, his hand print would probably be on your face in a few minutes. Just like old times.

He turned to you.

“You ruined my plan to bring my grandson back. Now he knows I’m here.” he said.

“He ran away for good reason. I’m glad he did. I would've never handed him over to you anyways.” you spoke.

“You didn’t have to hand him to me, you were just going to serve him to me on a platter.”

“No. Because I know you were tracking me through my phone, both of them. You think I didn’t notice how heavy that flash drive is? I know a cloning device when I hold one. And the burner phone? That was cheap work.” 

He began to laugh. It made you sit further back in your seat. Him laughing was never a good sign. And it never sounded right. All those years in the pit must’ve done something to his laugh, along with the rest of his mind.

Ra's al Ghul came face to face with you. He wasn’t a pleasant man to look at. His breath even more telling on how close to death he is. But you looked him in the eye anyways.

“And that’s why you’re here. The bargaining chip. He’ll come for you, because just as you care for him he cares for you.”

He lets up and in the background you saw Nyssa shift her arm really quickly. You don’t know what it was for. 

-

The family had gotten a hit on your location. It had been four hours since you were taken. Everyone decided to suit up and hit the streets for the first two hours. Redhood and Red Robin took downtown, Nightwing enlisted the help of GCPD to search Midtown and Batman and Robin took Uptown. With the league they couldn’t be too careful.

In the middle of searching is when they got a comms message from Alfred. Your phone had pinged off a tower in Crime Alley. As Bruce and Damian were closest they began to head over to that neighborhood. The rest of the boys and some footmen from the GCPD were on their way over.

Batman and Robin got there and Alfred was able to narrow down the closest tower that your phone pinged off of. 

In the bat mobile Damian remained quiet. He had kept mum about the real reason you were there with him when Gotham Academy had caught on fire. Bruce could tell it was something he wanted to speak about alone.

“So what's the real reason?” 

Damian let out a sigh, “This isn’t our first meeting. We’ve had a relationship since I was born. Back on the island.”

“With the league?”

“Yes. It was sad when we could no longer see each other, grandfather had offered an out. I never thought we would see each other again.”

Bruce stayed quiet for a moment. All that could be heard was the engine of the batmobile. 

“Did you know you were related?”

“I found that out the same day as Gotham Academy. We had a conversation later that night.”

“You snuck out?” 

“I had to father. It was for good reason. We were able to put the pieces together. I said I would handle grandfather.” 

“Damian.”

“This has gone on for too long. It’s my fault. If something happens-”

“We’ll make it.”

Then he steps more on the gas.

- 

Your head lulled forward after the sixth blow he dealt you. It wasn’t like you earned it. He wanted to prove a point to Nyssa. That you were expendable to him. That in the grand scheme of things you didn’t matter.

“All that training, wasted! You can’t even get out of the restraints.” 

You swallowed the blood that was in your mouth, “What makes you think he’ll come for me?”

“We’re going to send a public ransom across all of Gotham. I figure a hundred thousand as the bounty will circulate enough to get to him. And then he’ll come and find you.”

“He’s just a child.”

“No he’s more than a child. He’s my grandson, the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul.”

“And what does she think about all this?” 

“Enough!” he shouted.

You were punched again. 

“I’ll get someone to send the ransom around.” Nyssa’s voice said.

You lifted your head up to look at her but her back was already turned to you. This however did earn you another punch, to the gut this time, by Ra’s. You let out a disgusting sound at the impact.

“Instead of a coincidence you’ve become an inconvenience. This time I won’t put you in the pit.” 

“Why would you ever put me in there in the first place, huh? I was a no one! You  didn’t know me or my mother. You just snatched my body and made me one of your foot soldiers.” you screamed through the incoming headache.

He did that mechanical laugh again and you wanted to spit at him. You never thought he was a good man. All the things he did. The things he told you to do. You can’t absolve all of the blame but he was an undeniable reason why you did those things.

Drop offs turned into stake outs. Stake outs into undercover. Undercover into sedation. With him the lines were blurred, because there was supposed to be nothing you wouldn’t do for him. But you chose Damian. Or, you chose Damian’s new life over his old one. And he didn't like that one bit.

The door bused open and in came Batman. You didn't think you'd live to see him up close. It’s true that while in Gotham you would probably see him once or twice. But this?

You watched as Ra's attacked him on sight. It was like the two were in sync. Batman hit, Ra’s dodged. A kick here, a swerve there. They seemed to be equals. You know you could never pull that off. Ra’s would have you flat out in under a minute.

When Batman should have swerved he didn’t. And Ra’s got the best of him with a punch. This gave way to a kick to the side and a head pull into the ground. You struggled to get out of your restraints. It wasn’t looking good for either of you.

Ra’s picked him up, and you watched in horror as he hurled him toward you. Batman collided with you so hard that he broke the chair you were in. It sent you back into one of the many crates in the room.

Batman groaned as you lifted him off of you. You slid over to the side on the floor. He was definitely not light. He knocked the only wind out of you that remained after Ra’s punishment.

No more chair meant your hands were free.

You pulled your arms around to the front. You could try to take him like this. Even though you could hear him laughing in the foreground. 

“Here.” 

You looked over at Batman. He was holding out one of his knives, shaped like a bat. You took it without passing a comment on it. You passed the blade over the restraints and made quick work of them.

On your feet, the laughter stops. You inched closer and closer to him.

“I didn’t snatch your body, your mother handed you over when she found out you were murdered. She asked me for this!” he said.

You stopped. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“When you died she went to a very dark place. With how dark she got it didn’t take long for her to find one of my associates and get in contact with me. She begged for you to be brought back. Her child!”

You ran into the attack. The words that came from his mouth just made you see red. He threw his fists but you ducked and weaved. After weaving you landed multiple blows on him. You grabbed him by the shoulders and brought your knee into him. 

He went down a bit, only for a few seconds, then got his bearings back. Ra’s spit out the blood from his mouth.

“You’ll leave here with no parents. And it’ll be at my behest.” 

In through the door comes Robin. A robin with a face too familiar to hide behind a mask. 

“Grandfather!” the little robin shouted.

That makes you look behind you. At Batman. Bruce Wayne.

Your father was Batman. Your father.

[choco-glow]

Day of the Dead (Robin)

April 27th.

The bed shifted, creaked as Bruce dragged himself up out of the comfort of his way too expensive (and totally worth it) mattress, followed reluctantly by an equally exhausted Selina. He insisted she use the bathroom first, taking that time to rub his face and scalp, forcing himself into an alertness that he didn’t feel…and Bruce ignored his constantly buzzing phone. He could hear Alfred puttering around in his own room down the hall, Damian’s near silent footsteps alongside his dog’s as the youngest Wayne limped down to let Titus out. Tim…Bruce sighed, knowing that Tim one of two places; passed out in the chair in front of the computer down in the cave, or passed out on the couch in the library, his laptop on the floor.

Either way, he was sleeping, most likely, and Bruce was going to take advantage of that.

“Hey.” He glanced up, and the smile on his lips was small, but real; she looked so good leaning against the doorway in nothing but her underwear and one of his old band tees, tousled hair sticking to her forehead from her shower, a sweet smile on her face, those familiar green-blue eyes always so dark in the morning. Bruce dragged himself upright to wrap her up in his arms, hugging her tight, and Selina melted against him, nuzzling his cheek. “Bruce…”

“Thank you for staying…” He murmured, gratitude thick in his voice, and she patted his bicep, popping up on her tiptoes to kiss his nose.

“Of course, sweetheart. Go wash up and get dressed, I’ll head down and help Alfred with breakfast?”

“Selina, you don’t have to…” She shook her head, chuckling, and he chuckled back, ignoring his impulse to just turn away and go brood. Brooding wouldn’t help today…

“I want to. I know what today is…and why it’s so hard.” He ducked his head, swallowing his next word, and she cupped his cheek. “Bruce. I mean it. Jason…” He lifted his head, blue eyes tired but crinkled from a weary smile.

“I miss him.”

“I do too. Go on. We’ll be waiting for you.” He nodded, and after a lingering kiss, despite Cat’s aversion to morning breath, Bruce let her go. The shower was hot enough to wash away some of the pain from his shoulder and upper back, and after washing up, he carefully redressed the bandage on his thigh, then pulled on a pair of old jeans and a tee shirt. It was Saturday, thankfully, so Bruce didn’t have to worry about a suit, and making his way down the stairs, he was glad to see visitors…especially these visitors.

Four years…four years, he’s been gone now. His heart twinged, but Bruce didn’t have to hold up a mask around Dick, who hugged him tight as soon as his first Robin saw him, nor around Barb, who he knelt to hug as well. Steph looked a little lost, a little nervous to be here, and Bruce hugged her too, whispering thanks to her as he’d done to the rest, and if Steph hugged his waist a little harder, her voice a little thick…well, Bruce wasn’t going to tell.

“Father, Alfred the cat is most worried about you.” Bruce paused as he set Steph back on her feet, turning to face Damian, who was holding his purring tuxedo cat and looking concerned…and Bruce couldn’t help the tiny, choked sob, because Damian looked so much like Jason at that age, his whole being focused on “comfort father”.

“So I see. May I hold him?” Damian nodded, and Bruce gently took the cat, smiling as Alfred bumped noses with him and settled on his shoulder, purring deeper still. “Thank you, Damian…”

“This is an auspicious day; we need all the comfort we can receive…” He murmured, and Bruce hugged his youngest tight, tears spilling over now…and Damian hugged him back, clinging to him tight.

“That’s…that’s true…c’mon everyone, we better get into the kitchen before Alfred the butler and Selina yell at us.” He murmured, and Dick chuckled while Barb smiled and took the lead. Damian pulled away from the hug, but not from Bruce, and they walked in hand in hand, taking comfort from one another. Jason’s photo, the last one taken two weeks before he died, was sitting on the counter, as always, with a candle lit…and the new addition of a tin can with the label meticulously soaked off, full of dandelions, and Bruce paused by it, lips twitching up in a fond smile.

“Master Bruce, I hope you don’t mind…I wanted…well…I remember Jason making those bouquets for us when he was a child…” Alfred murmured, and Bruce just pulled him into a hug, tears running hot down his cheeks now.

“I can’t think of a better thing…It’s perfect. Best bunch of flowers that’s ever entered this house.” They all shared a laugh at that, though Selina, Steph, and Damian looked a little confused, and it was Dick who explained, his voice warm and fond as he remembered all the times Jason would prowl the Wayne grounds, plucking dandelions and purple clovers, filling an old coffee can or tin can full to the brim and bringing them back to the house to share, his smile bright and happy.

“…At first, we offered him the flowers from the garden, and Jason just shook his head, looking scared, and said that he got in trouble for pulling those. No one cared about the wildflowers.”

“Oh, what a sweetheart…” Selina breathed, and Bruce and Alfred settled at the table at last, which prompted Dick to pass them the plate of pancakes and motion to fill up.

“He really was…c’mon, let’s eat, best way to remember our boy.”

“Here here! And whatever we do, avoid Buzzfeed today.” Barb raised her OJ in a toast, and Bruce closed his eyes with a sigh.

“God, I hate Buzzfeed…”

“Same here, old man. Same here.”

—-

Six months I’ve been back, and not a Bat to bother me. Jason settled in for a quiet Saturday morning, and ignored cable for a change; he knew what was going to be all over the news today, and he, for one, didn’t want to hear yet another poignant portrayal of his death. At least Bruce wouldn’t be out in public today; he’d learned that from running through the old news stories from the last few years, and frankly, Jason was grateful for it. It…meant that Bruce at least care enough to mourn him. Even if the goddamn Joker is still alive…

He sighed, and pushed away the anger he still felt at that fact, and pulled out his guns, then pulled up YouTube on his TV. He scrolled through his usual recommended list, feeling…restless and a little out of his element; it was the first death day he’d spent back in Gotham, and his normal goofy favorites just…weren’t going to cut it. Then he saw the one video he didn’t expect to see.

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Jason Todd, Wayne or Robin?

A grin split his face.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

—-

“Welcome to Buzzfeed Unsolved. I’m Ryan Bergera, and this is Shane Madej. Today, we are covering the mysterious deaths of two important people in the deadly metropolis that is Gotham City…or are we?”

“Wait, what?”

“Jason Todd Wayne, the adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, and the second Boy Wonder, Robin, both of whom disappeared the same day, April 27th…and have never been heard from again.”

“Ryan, you said it was one murder!”

“And therein lays our mystery, because the more you hear details of the case, the more you wonder if these two boys were really the same person.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh…I smell a conspiracy!”

“Shane, you smell lunch.”

“And a conspiracy! C’mon, out with details, gimme something, Bergera.”

“Hold your freakin’ horses, dude, lemme go over things…” Jason watched with unconcealed delight as he disassembled his pistol, cleaning each part as Ryan laid out the admittedly sparse facts of the case; of course, Jason knew the truth, but he was frankly somewhat impressed with the story that Bruce and Alfred had concocted. Of course, they couldn’t say the Joker beat him to death with a crowbar and blew up a building on him ( and even Bruce couldn’t have guessed that Talia al Ghul had stolen his corpse from the morgue, gave them an equally beaten dead kid to bury, and dumped his ass in the Lazarus Pit). But the story of Jason being killed as a hit out on the Wayne family was all too likely.

Batman had a lot of enemies.

Bruce Wayne had a lot more.

“No one was ever charged for Jason’s murder…here’s the last video of the press conference where Bruce explains things.”

“…Jesus, he’s barely keeping it together…I know he’s a billionaire, but he’s got a lot of heart…poor guy…”

“Yeah…I know we tend to fuck around on this channel, but…this kid died. Pretty badly, from what the evidence shows.”

“Man…so, you said there were theories, right?”

“Yeah, and they only get worse from here.”

“Well, we started the program with a dead kid; can’t get any worse than that.” Jason paused the video and just…stared at Bruce’s face, the tears on his cheeks, his exhausted appearance…and sighed a little.

“Sorry Dad…”

—-

“Theory number one: Dick Grayson killed Jason Todd out of jealousy. It was rumored that the brothers didn't get along and Dick and his father didn't have a good relationship when Jason came to the household.” Jason’s eyes narrowed at that one; whoever thought up that crock of shit had another thing coming. Sure, he and Dick had bickered like brothers, but at the end of the day, Dick was his brother from another mother. Even now, even with everything that had happened…Jason missed those hugs something fierce.

“I mean, that’s a pretty cut and dry one…”

“So it would seem…but if you look at the interviews, there’s nothing in Dick’s demeanor that shows any resentment or anger. And both Jason and Dick were orphaned at early ages and adopted by Bruce, so…”

“Yeah, I dunno. It’s cut and dry, but…at the same time, it doesn’t really make sense.”

“Especially given that Dick every year celebrates Jason’s birthday; I mean, killers can be weird, we know that from the last several seasons, but…I dunno. It doesn’t really fit.”

“Probably some asshole detective looking to close it up.”

“Probably…”

“On to number two!”

—-

“Bruce Wayne killed Jason Todd. This was, actually, the first big conspiracy theory to hit the web. Thankfully, it quickly died when people saw just how devastated Bruce was for months after his death, but apparently there are still some trolls on public forums who accuse Bruce Wayne of killing his son.”

“…That’s utter bullshit. Fuckers.”

“Right there with ya, buddy. Right there with ya. Onto three?”

“Please.”

—-

“Jason isn't dead, because of sightings of a homeless boy who wandered all around Crime Alley and looked exactly like Jason Todd. He was completely battered and bruised and suddenly disappeared after a year in the streets, likely due to a trafficking ring.” Jason raised an eyebrow at that, and turned his AK, Shane and Ryan’s incredulousness a comfort. He wasn’t sure why he was still watching this, but…it was kinda nice. Nice to have people be pissed off for his sake.

“Jesus Christ, Gotham, y’all are so dark.”

“May be why their superhero is Batman, dude.”

“STILL. Could this one have some merit, though, since he was an orphan?”

“This one is one of the strongest theories to date, because Jason was from a place called the Narrows, not far from Crime Alley, and according to Wayne Enterprises official documentation in their family museum, Jason had had issues with drugs and abuse, though to what extent, only the family knows. It’s a pretty ugly idea, but…it’s possible.”

“I think I’d rather be dead, Ryan, than go through that.”

“Same. Same…”

—

“Now. We move onto the disappearance of the second Robin, who vanished the same day that Jason Todd supposedly died. Possible theories of the disappearance of the second boy wonder—”

“Ryan. Ryan. Buddy. Champ. Are you implying, really, that Jason and Robin are the same kid?!”

“I’m just reading the script!”

“You wrote the script!”

“…I may be implying that they’re the same, yes.”

“I KNEW IT.”

“You don’t know shit.” Jason started laughing, and paused to get himself a fresh beer, ordering pizza while he was at it. Alright, this wasn’t so bad after all…

—

“He is hiding. Some say he hid from Batman, and some say Batman is hiding him from others. They don't know what, though. Some even say he quit the job.”

“Alright, I’ll bite, who’s ‘some’.”

“Paparazzi, conspiracy theorists, Alex Jones, etc…”

“Ah yes. The enlightened crowd.”

“Pftt…This is the weakest one, so we’ll go ahead and lay out the second theory while we’re at it. The second Robin died. After Robin stopped appearing with batman for an entire year, the same time Jason Todd died. This used to be a widely spread theory, until people realized maybe talking about the death of a boy in a terrorist attack for a conspiracy theory after his father broke down in public isn't the nicest thing to do.”

“And this is your theory.”

“This…is the strongest one I think, and the one that has the most emotional punch. But let’s be real; if the second Robin was indeed Jason Todd, then his Batman HAS to be Bruce Wayne. And c’mon. We’ve all seen the nightmare surrounding THAT theory.”

“Uh, yeah. No thanks, I do not ever need to write another “But the butts don’t match” article ever again in my life.” Jason snorted at that, cracking up laughing, and when he googled “The Butts don’t match”, he had to pause his boys because the ensuing hyena laugh had him flat on his back for ten minutes, absolutely losing his shit.

“Oh Christ, I love the internet…”

—-

“Next theory. He’s a kid, he took a break from vigilante-ing to do something else.”

“Now see, I like this one; that’s like, the most wholesome version. I hope this is the real one, but…”

“I know, man. I know.”

“Sigh.”

“Sigh.”

—-

“Almost there. Some people believe the second and the third Robin are the same, although many people disagree, considering witness reports that they looked very different, and the Robins were very distinctive in their fighting style and personalities.” Jason snorted at that, shoveling a slice of pizza into his gullet, and even the boys were looking a bit annoyed at that theory, Shane more than Ryan.

“Question.”

“Yes?”

“How the hell do they know about fighting styles?!”

“Gotham City Police.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense now.”

“Also, apparently Commissioner Gordon likes the third Robin more, which tells me they’re definitely not the same.”

“Yeah, if anyone other than Batman would know, he would. What’s next?”

“This one is kinda great, but also a bit outrageous.”

“Ooooh, juicy. Spill the beans, Bergera!”

—-

“Some even believe that the second Robin is now the infamous Red Hood. Gothamites have been known to try to stalk the dude but it's never successful, and supposedly, even the Batfam won’t bother him.”

“I mean, that’s a cool story, but how true is it?”

“Considering the guy wears a red freakin’ helmet with eyeholes and no mouth, who knows how true it is?”

“Still a nicer story than the butts. And hey, Red Hood is pretty chill, man, I think he’s probably the best thing to hit Gotham in years.”

“You’re a Hoodie!”

“The fuck is a ‘Hoodie?”

“Red Hood groupie.”

“Uh, hell no, I just think he’s cool.”

“Uh huh…Well, folks, that ties up our deep dive into the murder of Jason Todd, and the disappearance of the second Robin. To date, this case remains…Unsolved.” As the quiet music that ushered in the ending screen and credits, Jason sat back, working his second slice of pizza, and chuckled a little to himself. If only they knew…well. His people knew who he was; old man Falcone figured it out the second day Jason had been home. The Narrows had welcomed their boy back…And they weren’t gonna tell anyone. They didn’t trust Gothamites, they didn’t trust the Bats…which was why Jason had carved out his place here again, with gunfire and brutal justice. They trusted him.

He turned YouTube over to something mindless, and padded over to the window, feeling the sunshine, weak though it was, break through the clouds and warm his skin. Jason leaned against the familiar brick, and opened the window, letting in a rush of cool air, reminiscent of spring.

It was good to be home.

[i-am-ironic]

Daminette arranged mariage au part 7

**************************

Damian arrived right on time as usual, to pick Marinette up for dinner. In the car they went over the plan one last time.

"So the plan right now is just to tell your brothers that we are dating until the papers go through confirming you are Xander's father, right?" Marinette said watching the city fly by.

"It shouldn't take long." Damien replied, "Rich families tend to get things done faster then anyone else. Everything should be in order before the end of dinner."

"But what about when they start asking questions?"

"We avoid the questions until the paperwork goes through, then we can tell them the whole story." He Paused thinking back. "When I got back I didn't talk about what happened. I didn't tell anyone so they should be interested enough in the story to leave their questions till the end."

"This might not go well dames," Marinette started Fidgeting with her bracelet, "what if they don't like me? Or they think I'm helping your mother? Or what if-"

"No, mari." He said, his voice bringing her away from her anxious thoughts, "it will be fine. i promise. they will love you and once we explain, everything will be fine. We are here are you ready?"

She nodded and stepped out of the car. The manor was even more extravagant then she had imagined. She was going to need to come back to sckech just the doorway not to mention the rest of the house. Thinking about the architecture helped to calm her nerves.

"Here we go" she said stepping up to the door. It opened before dhe even had the chance to knock. Behind the door was an elderly man in a suite.

"Hello Ms my name is Alfred, I am the Wayne's butler and your name is?"

"Just call me marinette.”

“I must insist it wouldn't be proper to call you anything but your last name.” Alfred said.

“Just marinette for now but you will probably know my last name by the end of the night.” he looked at her curiously, why didn’t she want him to know her name yet?

“Very well ms marinette,” he said before turning to damian, “master damian your family is waiting for you in The sitting room.”

the two of them walked into the room and marinette was expecting a lot of things, but not this. damian just looked so done with his family. 

“Ahem.”he said drawing attention to himself.  “Marinette these are my brothers Dick is the one hanging from the chandelier” she waved at the familiar man. “Tim is the one drinking straight from the pot of coffee and Jason is the one throwing knifes at Dick. Oh and cass is the only normal one sitting on the couch.”

“Hey!” the boys all yelled in unison.

“Its a pleasure to see you again marinette.” bruse said before the boys could start arguing “I presume that our other guest will be here after dinner?”

“That is correct Mr Wayne.”

“Its Bruce as I have told you.”

marinette rooled her eyes smiling. She wasn't going to call him Bruce

“Hold on what other guest?” Jason said confused.

“Dinner is served.” alfrid said from the doorway as he lead the group out of the room.

“Damian wait!” Dick said reaching out for his little brother. Damian turned glancing at marinette who nodded.

“What do you want Grayson?” he siad eager to get back to marinette. 

“I don't think you should be seeing marinette you know how dangerous our 'job' is and-”

“She can take care of herself” he cut his brother off turning to follow were the rest of the group had gone. 

Dick grabbed Damian’s arm makeing him stay this was importent.“I'm sure she can but she has a 2 year old son who can't take care of himself and I don't think-”

“Richard.” that got his attention damian never called anyone by their first name.

“Yes?”

“Xander is my son.” that took a moment to Process before-

“WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS YOUR SON!”

without answering Damian walked out of the room. Dick folowed him into the dining room, where evryone looked at the two.

“Dick whats wrong? we heard yelling and you look like you saw a ghost.” Cass said conserned. 

“Its nothing,” Damian replied sharing a meningful look with marinette. “I'm sure Grayson is fine. so marinette do I need to take any of my brothers to the garden”

evryone looked shocked at the implicashons but marinette just giggled.

“No they have all been wonderful. besids you know i can handle your brothers.”she smiled. 

“Listen, marinette, if damian kidnapped you blink twice.” jason said in a sereous tone.

she gigaled again, “He didn't kidnap me besides we both know I can beat damian in a fight.”

“take that back! i have beaten you plenty of times before.” this made the boys and cass very intrested, if damian was defending himself he must have actualy tried to beat her, and falled.

“Dames I beat you 68% of the time.” interesting. 

“so you admit i have beaten you before!” he said triumfently.

“Yeah when I let you win.” damians mouth fell open in legitament showk. he looked over at his father, who nodded, before making a statment that would change this family forever.

“Marinette Anne dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne you take that back right this minute!”

the reactions were very mixed. Dick was shocked. not only did his baby brother have a child but it apered that he was marred. Jason didnt know what to think. he had begun to coneckt the dots, marinette had foud the father of her chiled, she then showed up with his brother and she had the same last name as him. $#*! Tim alerdy knew about all this from his reserch and cass decided to wait for an explanation.

“No.” marinette said scrunching up her noes playfully. "I refuse to take it back."

there was silence for a moment before Bruce spoke.

“Maybe we should continue this discussion in the sitting room”

“So would you like to explain why marinette has the same last name as you?” cass said once they reached the other room. 

“Not really but-”

“dames be nice, we knew we were going to explain when we came here tonight. I'll text luka.” 

.”Who's Luka?” Tim said, he hadn't read anythig about a ‘Luka’.

“Its a long story so let's start from the beginning,” marinette started.

“Three and a half years ago I was walking back to my family's house after hanging out at a friend's house. Before I got home I saw a man who needed help, so I went over to help. him i cant remember what he was doing but when I got there I felt a prick in the back of my neck. I pulled the dart out before I hit the ground. The next thing I knew I was in a room laying on a coute. the door was locked and I could hear yelling from someone else in the building. I could tell it was a man but I couldn't make out what he was saying. it wasn't in french I later found out he was speaking Arabic. After the yelling stopped i heard the door unlock and got ready to run but when the door opened a woman was standing there with two big men behind her. She walked in and because of the two men I couldn't run. She started speaking to me in french she said 'my name it Talia. I need you to put on this ceremonial dress.' To which I replied as any sane person would that I wasn't going to put on the dress and they needed to take me back home. She asked 'did you hear that man yelling a moment ago?' 'Yes?' I said though I wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. 'if you don't put it on and do what I say I will kill him.' So I put on the dress. They tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me before leading me out of the cell I was in. When they took the blindfold off I was kneeling at an alter. Talia began speaking in french so I could understand. She was saying things about the strongest bond known to man, and a queen for the future king. I didn't understand what she meant until I turned to see a boy my age bound and kneeling next to me. Thats when it hit me we were getting married. She made us drink something from a chalice before we were ushered into a different room. We were both untied and left alone. the door locked behind us. The only thing in the room was a bed. The boy introduced himself as damian and said that he wasn't sure why his mother made us get married but that he was going to get some answers. He looked pretty cute when he said that.”

Damian blushed at her compliment.  

“Anyway Talia's explanation was that damian was 16 and for the league that meant he was a man and had to get married. And I had the great honor to be the one he married. I, was pissed. She said that as such a powerful magic user i was worthy to marry the future king of the league of assassins. I was even more pissed. She had the audacity to say that getting married, AT 16, to someone you had never met was a good thing. That little-”

“Alright mari I'll take over.” Damian said resting a hand on her sholder. “Anyway she said that after a year of mari training with the league we could go back to our normal lifes until we turned 18, at which point if we didn't at least move in together they would kill one of us. best mom ever. After that we were left alone to talk. Every day we trained and talked and worked hard. Once a month they would move us to a different compound and give us a huge array of blood tests. We became good friends. it was us against everyone else. Since we were already married we decided to give this whole romantic thing a try. But after six months I was sent to meeting with Talia she said I was going home and knocked me out sending me back to you. I searched and searched but I couldn't find any sign of marinette. so I had to asume Talia killed her. I couldn't think about France without thinking about her so I blocked all news from France. I didn't say anything to anyone for a month. And evrey year for one day I couldn’t speak, the anniversary of the last day I saw her alive.”

“I wasn't dead incase you were wondering.” marinette said picking up where damian left off,” I was sent to the med bay. No one would tell me what was happening or were damian was until Talia came in and said damian had fulfilled his usefulness. she exsplaned The only reason i was there was because damian had spent to much time with his father and had gone soft. The league needed a new heir to the throne. They picked me to be the mother of that heir. I was stuck there for months. I knew they weren't going to let me go. After the baby was born they were going to kill me. One day something big happened, I don't know what but it was big enough no one was watching me. I escaped. I hiched rides to France and snuck across borders. When I finally got back i saw a doctor as soon as I could. I didn't know if the baby was ok. He was born when I was 17.” she turned to the door where a young man stood holdng a toddler who scrambled down and ran over to his parints. “Everyone I would like you to meet Xander Thomas dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne.”

“Damian you have a son.” cass said wide eyed.

“I'm aware” damian said handing the boy his phone with a game already opened up. 

“Xander is my nephew??????” Dick said staring at the boy like he had grown a secend head.

“Yes.” marinette said simply.” It took a year to defeat Paris' villain. After that I moved here to find damian and tell him about Xander.”

“Dang. So you know about Robin then?”

“Yep”

“Why didn't you say anything??? I've known you for over a year and you said nothing????” the betrayed jason said.

“I didn't want to explain anything until I could tell damian. i thought He should be the first to know about his son.”

“We have a break in at gatham museum.” alfered said over the intorcom

“We are not done with this conversation.” Bruce said. 

“Suite up!” called Tim.

“Marinette do you want to come?”

she smiled at her husband “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

************

I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written yay me. Pro tip if you see a centipede in your house DON'T TUCH IT it can and will sting you and it will hurt, my little brother just got stung by one. Anyway im glad so many of you like this story thanks for all the love! If you want to be tagged please let me know you can ether message me or reply to this. And if anyone can explain how to link things the pretty way with just "here" underlined that would be great. if you asked to be tagged and you weren't then ask again and ill put you on the list.

@thestressmademedoit

@abrx2002

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[heyitsani]

Never Be the Same

Omega!Dick Week Day 1: Breeding

Word Count: 1975

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Mention of miscarriage (not jay/dick) and Robincest (obviously)

Pairing: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd

Summary: Dick has been thinking about kids for the past couple of months and he's finally gathered the courage to approach Jason about it.

Notes: Here is my submission for the first day of Omega!Dick Week.  It was hard to pick which prompt for this day I wanted to go with, but this story came to me more easily than any of the other ideas so here we go.  

You can also read this on AO3 here

The breath he took came in long and left stuttered.  He had been planning for this conversation for weeks.  Weeks.  And yet he found himself still worried that he would be turned away.  Not completely, because his Alpha would never do that to him. But he wasn’t sure how receptive Jason would be to the current desire Dick had been fighting against for a few months now.  

It had been two years since he and Jason had bonded, five since the Alpha had come back from the dead with the desire of vengeance in his heart only to be stopped in his tracks by the older Omega.  It hadn’t been his plan to make Jason choose between him and the vengeance, he hadn’t even known it was Jason when he had first approached Red Hood as Nightwing.

But when the younger man had caught wind of his scent, the entire plan crumbled and the years Jason had spent hoping he could someday become the Alpha that Dick’s Omega wanted to bond with came flooding back.

And Dick had been knocked on his ass (literally and figuratively) once he figured out that the reason the hooded anti-hero smelled so much like home was because it was Jason.  

His Jason.

The kid who came back into his life with guns blazing as a man.  A man that ticked all the boxes Dick had been unable to tick off with any of the Alphas he had dated in the past.  Except for the “provide for me” box.  

But it hadn’t taken Jason long to prove that the somewhat unseemly underground he had built would do just that.  And much to Bruce’s dismay, Dick bared his neck to the young Alpha and accepted him as mate.

But now, two years after that night, Dick was restless and craving something only Jason could give him.

He wanted pups.

He wanted to fill the penthouse Bruce had given them as a bond present with the sound of childish laughter and tiny feet running up and down the halls.  And he had come down to Jason’s office in the building that he owned as Red Hood in hopes of convincing his mate that it was something they could start to try for when his next heat hit in a few weeks.

“Mr. Grayson!”  The surprised shout of the receptionist wasn’t too surprising for Dick.  Usually, he called ahead to warn her he was coming so she could warn Jason.  Today he hadn’t wanted Jason to be prepared.  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were coming by today!  He’s in a meeting.”

“That’s all right, Shelia,” he told the young omega.  He paused in front of her desk and smiled down at her.  Dick had always liked her, had in fact been the one who told Jason to bring her into the fold.  She had been abandoned by her alpha when she had miscarried their pup and Dick had come across her as Nightwing and had been invested in her ever since.  They had kept her in the dark and she simply thought she was working for Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne’s returned-from-the-dead son. “Is he having it in his office?” She shook her head and he sighed in relief.  “I’ll wait for him there.  Will you just have someone tell him that I’m here?  But it’s not a rush.”

“Of course, Mr. Grayson. Should I have anything sent to you?”

“My usual tea would be perfect.  Thank you.” The woman nodded and picked up the phone, dialing one of Jason’s assistants undoubtedly.  But he didn’t bother waiting to find out for sure. Instead, he slipped through to the elevator that would take him to the top floor where Jason kept his professional office.  He knew that if Jason was in a meeting but not in his office, then he was probably in the basement and it was not something Dick wanted knowing the details of.

The ride up was short and the instant he stepped out of the elevator onto the plush carpet of the lobby of Jason’s office, he was greeted with another familiar face.  A beta, Travis, who worked as one of the office assistants to Jason.  Someone who didn’t get involved in the seedy parts of the business, but who knew about them all the same, unlike Sheila.

“Mr. Grayson-Todd.” He also knew of his and Jason’s very secret marriage.  Something not even Bruce had been privy to until very recently.

“Travis,” Dick greeted, taking the cup of tea that was presented to him.  “I’m just going to wait in his office.  He had no idea I was coming by and it is not an emergency. But it will most likely be lengthy so make sure he doesn’t pause the meeting he’s in.  Just have him finish and then come see me.”

“Understood.  I’ll call down to Jake now.”  Dick patted the young man’s shoulder before slipping into Jason’s office and shutting the door behind him.  He glanced around, not at all surprised to find it neat and organized, that was just Jason.  

He was incredibly pleased to see the pillows Dick had left there a few weeks ago, sitting on the bay window seat that Dick had told him he should have installed.  He had said it under the guise of using it to share a meal together, but Dick really just enjoyed the view.  

So that was where he made himself comfortable.  Kicking off the black Kenneth Cole dress shoes he had paired with his black slacks and deep blue button down, he sat with his feet tucked underneath him. Leaning into the pile of pillows, he held the warm mug of tea in both his hands and looked out at the city below. Losing himself in the cars passing and the people walking by.

“Mate.”  The word broke through his musings, pulling sapphire eyes to turquoise.  The smile that pulled across Dick’s lips was easy and lazy, the sun soaking through the window providing comfort and relaxing the nerves that he had been dealing with all morning.  Putting the nearly empty mug onto the window ledge, he held out his hand for Jason to take as he got closer.  

But Jason didn’t stop there. No.  Instead, he sat across from Dick and pulled his Omega into his lap, burying his face into the side of his neck where his scent glands were.  Dick slipped a hand into Jason’s hair and the other around his broad shoulders in response.

“You smell…worried?”

“Nervous.”

Lifting his head, Jason looked up at Dick and frowned.  “What do you have to be nervous about?”  Looking down at Jason, Dick took in his features as he smiled down at him, not bothering to answer right away.  Now that he was there in Jason’s arms, he wasn’t nervous at all.  Jason was just smelling the lingering scent from earlier at this point.  “What? Dickie, what is going on?”

“I want you to pup me.” Dick chuckled when Jason choked on nothing.  Placing both his hands on Jason’s cheeks, he pressed his mouth to his Alpha’s.  

“Wait, Dick.  You’re not in heat.”

“Hmm,” Dick hummed, kissing the corner of Jason’s mouth before moving down his jaw to his neck. He scraped his teeth against the scent glands there, forcing a moan from his mate.

“Not that I’m complaining about this current course of actions, but can I have your attention for a moment?”  Sighing softly, Dick pulled back and let his hands slips down and around Jason’s neck. His fingers laced together behind his neck and Dick smiled at Jason.  “What brought this on?  You’re not scheduled to heat for a few weeks.”

“True,” Dick confirmed. “But I wanted to discuss it in advance. Before I need to have Leslie put in the script for suppressants.  And I wanted time to convince you if you ended up being opposed to the idea.”

“And did you think that was likely?”  Shrugging a shoulder, Dick didn’t say anything.  “When have I ever given you anything less than what you have asked for?”

“A fancy espresso machine is different than a pup,” Dick pointed out.

“But both just as complicated to maintain.”  With a roll of his eyes, Dick dropped his head to Jason’s shoulder.  “What?  Guess I should work on my dad jokes.”

“Is that what that….wait, are you saying yes?”  Jason laughed and brushed Dick’s bangs off his forehead when he lifted his head from Jason’s shoulder.

“I’ve been ready since the day I gave you this.”  Dick felt Jason’s thumb brushing the mating bite just below his shirt collar.  “I’ve just been waiting for you to be ready.” Dick considered him for a moment, taking in his words with a frown.  “What?”

“You never said.”

“No, but I knew you weren’t there yet.  I don’t view life in the same way everyone else in our family does.  Death and coming back from it, it changed the important things,” he elaborated.  “When Talia was training me, all I wanted was vengeance.  I couldn’t think of anything beyond that.  Not just because of the Pit Madness, but because I didn’t remember what life was like before.  Talia managed to distort all of that.”

Dick knew that.  Jason had confessed how Damian’s mother had managed to bring out the worst side of Jason.  The side that he still struggled to keep under some kind of control to this very day.  The side that always left Bruce wondering if it was a good idea to welcome his once-dead son back into the family.  Not because he didn’t love him, but because he no longer followed the strict rules that Bruce himself had to follow for his own sanity.  But Jason had proven he could be what Batman could not be.  That he could get his hands dirty when the others couldn’t.

“But that day I came across you again, I snapped out of it.  None of it mattered.  All that mattered was you and what I had to do to prove that I could be what you wanted. But snapping out of that haze also meant I realized just how quickly life is snatched from us in this line of work.” Leaning into the hand that pressed to one of his cheeks, Dick kept his eyes on Jason’s as he confessed.  “I would have pupped you the night we bonded because I knew that there could be a chance that the next day I would be gone and I wanted you to have a part of me for as long as possible.”

“Jay…”  Dick didn’t know what to say.  He didn’t understand that side of death.  He had only ever been on the surviving side of it.  He had buried too many of his family members only to have them come back to life.  The idea of having to bury Jason again made him dizzy with fear.

“Shh, Mate,” Jason comforted, leaning up to press his lips to Dick’s for a moment.  Just a press of lips to another, simple and yet heavy with meaning.  And Dick instinctively sank into that comfort.  He let his omega take the lead and relax into his alpha.   This was easy, giving this control over to Jason. He had never given Dick cause to regret accepting his courting, unlike alphas in his past.  Giving in had been as easy as breathing.

Two puzzle pieces easily falling in together.

“I would give you anything and everything you wanted.  This is no exception.”  The words were spoken a hair’s breadth away from the lips his had just been pressed against.  “Especially since I, too, want this.”

“Good,” Dick pulled back enough to look down into Jason’s eyes again and smiled brightly.  “I’ll tell Leslie to skip the prescription this time around.”

“Good.”

[dato-potato]

The Lost Son pt. 7

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Eight

——————————

Damian groaned as he moved to sit up, feeling pain in every part of his body.

“Don’t move too quickly, wouldn’t want to make things worse,” a gentle voice spoke next to him. Carefully, Damian opened his eyes, a familiar smiling butler sitting next to the bed Damian was laying in.

“Where…?” He trailed off, his voice hoarse from sleep.

Mr. Pennyworth smiled as he fixed the blanket around Damian. “You’re in the manor. Master Bruce brought you back in bad shape last night so I fixed you up some, though you still have a concussion. Again.”

Damian glanced over the smiling man at his words, he wouldn’t have expected such sarcastic words from him. “Well, I suppose some food would do you good,” he said and stood from the chair, leaving Damian alone in the room.

He looked around and it looked just about exactly what you’d expect from a rich person’s guest room, lavish furniture and what looked like a stupidly spacious bathroom from where Damian sat on the bed. He sighed and leaned back into the pillows, uncomfortable with how expensive everything felt. He really needed to stop getting himself into these situations.

There was a soft tap on the door, bringing Damian out of his thoughts. “Come in,” Damian called, expecting Mr. Pennyworth.

Bruce Wayne entered, “Glad to see you’re awake.”

Damian wasn’t sure what to say so he just nodded.

“I had Alfred call Janet last night,” Bruce Wayne spoke cautiously.

Damian chuckled lightly, “You didn’t want to call yourself?” He taunted. “You afraid of Janet?”

Bruce Wayne raised an amused eyebrow, “Shouldn’t I be?”

Damian paused for a moment. “Yes, you definitely should be,” he said thinking of Janet and how furious she was going to be.

“I’d like to have a talk with you, if you’re feeling well enough,” Bruce Wayne told Damian, back to a more serious tone.

He nodded, “Yes, perhaps after food?” He sent an awkward smile to Bruce Wayne as he nodded. Damian wanted to delay the inevitable for as long as he could, even if it was only the time it took him to eat his meal. Bruce Wayne left the room and only a few minutes later, Mr. Pennyworth entered with a covered tray.

After eating and changing into non-bloodied clothes, Damian was led down a hidden staircase to the cave. “You sure I shouldn’t be blindfolded?” He asked Mr. Pennyworth who scoffed at the question.

“I hardly think it matters. You are a young master of this manor, you’ll find out sooner or later.”

Damian smiled awkwardly again. His mind was still quite fuzzy from the fight, he wasn’t sure what to think of suddenly being a part of the Wayne family. Did he have to change his name? Did he have to call Bruce Wayne father ? God, he hoped not.

“Damian,” Bruce greeted, his voice echoing in the cave. Damian glanced around, not seeing anyone else. He hadn’t seen anyone since he’d woken up. “I sent them off on a mission,” Bruce explained as if he could tell Damian was looking for the others.

Damian limped slightly over to Bruce who motioned to the chair. He declined to sit in the chair, instead, he leaned on a nearby table.

“I wanted to ask you some questions,” Bruce spoke, all business. “I was wondering if you happened to recognize those,” he pointed at the table behind Damian.

Damian turned, looking over the bo staff and a throwing knife, still bloodied from being lodged in his right thigh. It wasn’t hard to recognize them, he had spent more than enough time with them from his childhood. Damian's throat seized as he looked over the weapons. He glanced back at Bruce Wayne who looked back at him expectantly.

He clearly had already had dealings with the League and he would know they wouldn’t target some random kid, even if they knew he was Bruce Wayne’s son. Not without a reason. That brought up another excellent question, why were they after Damian? Sure, he was the grandson of the Demon’s Head but why were they monitoring him? Why attack him? His mother and grandfather were gone, it didn’t make any sense. Damian recalled a few weeks before when he started to feel the eyes on him. Had that been when it started or had it been even longer?

Wait . His heart stopped as a thought came to him. Could it be possible that Talia survived? It couldn’t be, right?

Damian’s semi-peaceful, semi-normal life was slipping through his fingers like sand as he stared down at the throwing knife he now held in his hand. When did he pick it up? He took deep breaths to try and calm himself but the more clearly he thought, the more he was sure that Talia was back. How, he wasn’t sure but she was back and she was most likely after him. He didn’t want to go back, he left once already, and it hadn’t even been his decision, the chances of him getting out again were slim to none.

He wouldn’t go back, he didn’t want to. Why should he? He did what Talia wanted the first five years of his life, he couldn’t go back to doing what he had been forced to do. She had plenty of his DNA to make another him who would do what she wanted. The thought made Damian shudder.

“No,” he breathed. Without thinking, he threw the knife, watching it fall into the depths of the cave. He turned back around, grabbing the staff to do the same but Bruce Wayne caught the staff before he did.

“Damian,” the voice was enough to bring him back, controlling his breathing, slowing his thoughts.

“She’s here.”

Bruce Wayne looked confused as he moved into a less defensive position. “Who?”

“My mother,” Damian spat. It wasn’t fair, he’d tried so hard to be normal, but how could he ever expect to be normal when his mother is an al Ghul and his father is Batman . It was an awful lie, that he could have a peaceful life. Damian felt so small, curling in on himself as his mind fell into a frenzy.

Bruce Wayne’s face fell, and Damian saw it. It was only for a second, but when he looked at Damian, he saw it. “ Talia ?”

Damian looked away, his heart beating out of his chest. He knew. It was over. He knew what kind of monster he’d been raised as. Janet accepted him but she didn’t truly understand, Bruce Wayne clearly did. “I should’ve known,” Bruce Wayne muttered.

Damian whipped his head towards the man, seething. As if it was Damian’s fault that his mother was Talia. “Yes,” he hissed, “You should’ve, you’re the one who had relations with her. This wasn’t my choice, I didn’t ask to be her son. I was forced into the role with no way out. And now, I have a life, an arguably good, peaceful one.” He spat, narrowing his eyes at his supposed father, “No thanks to you.”

He turned to leave, not wanting to hear what Bruce Wayne had to say but the pain in his head spiked and Damian faltered. When his vision cleared, he looked up to see that Bruce Wayne had caught him. He shook him off, still glaring at the man and limped up the stairs back to the manor. Grabbing what he could, he left the manor.

——————————

“Well, he certainly has his mother’s eyes,” Alfred said.

Bruce sighed and sat down in the chair he had offered to Damian. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Alfred stared at him incredulously. “Raise the boy,” he told Bruce, the answer obvious to him.

“He was raised by Talia, how am I supposed to--”

“He was raised by Janet ,” Alfred corrected.

Bruce stopped for a moment, realizing what he was saying. “Yes, that’s right.”

“Exactly. The boy is nothing like his mother. Despite her best efforts, no doubt.”

Bruce nodded. Alfred was right, as usual. Bruce jumped too quickly, not thinking about the fact that he most likely hasn’t even seen his mother in nearly eight years.

——————————

There was a knock on the door and Janet rushed to open the door. A rain-soaked Damian stood outside, a sheepish smile on his face. Janet noted the thin clothes he wore and ushered him inside. She waited until he was dry and had a blanket wrapped around him before she started asking him questions.

“So?” Janet asked, sitting beside Damian.

He shrugged lazily, “I found out about Bruce Wayne.” It was enough for her to understand what he meant. Damian chuckled dryly, “I kinda went off the rails.”

Janet scoffed, “That seems to be an understatement.” She hadn’t missed the bandages covering his body or the limp as he entered the house. “What exactly happened?”

Damian took a deep breath. Janet should know if his mother was really back. “I think my mother is back, and I don’t think she’s as dead as we thought.”

Janet paused beside Damian. “Oh,” was all she could manage.

Damian looked up at Janet carefully. “I think they’ll be after me,” he said, hoping that she’d understand what he was trying to say.

She sighed and stood up, “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to be prepared.”

Damian wanted to believe that being prepared would be enough but he couldn’t put Janet and the kids at risk because he didn’t want to leave his home. He’d figure something out. Probably. “It’s not that easy,” he told her, shaking his head.

“I’m sure there’s something we can do,” she said as she began to pace the room.

Damian just watched her. He didn’t want to leave, but it was the best solution to keep them all safe. And he would, he would do whatever it took to keep them safe. How could he convince Janet? Could he even convince her?

He decided he would not be able to, not while she was still ranting about all the security measures they could take that Damian knew would be useless when faced with his mother. It did make him feel good that Janet was so willing to fight for him even if she knew exactly nothing about what she was getting herself into.

Damian hadn’t noticed Janet had stopped pacing and was watching him. “You’re not staying, are you?”

He wanted to tell her he wasn’t going anywhere but the words died in his throat. He couldn’t lie to her like that. He couldn’t stay, not if he wanted to keep his family out of this mess. Janet’s face fell as the silence from Damian dragged on. She sat down next to him, “What are you planning?”

Damian sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he hadn’t thought too much about it, but there was one place he knew would be relatively safe, provided they would take him in after learning who his mother is. “I’ll probably go to the Wayne’s and stay there until it’s dealt with.”

Janet nodded solemnly, obviously not happy about his decision but not wanting to say it out loud.

“You’re gonna leave?”

Both Janet and Damian whipped around to see Aurora and Benji, one of the younger kids, standing in the doorway. Damian got up and scooped them both up in his arms. “Not for a long time, just for a little while,” he tried to sound sure that it wouldn’t be that long but in reality, he had no idea.

Aurora and Benji both had tears in their eyes. “Dami, stay,”  Benji said softly, clutching Damian’s shirt in his small hand. Damian wanted to, he really did, but he couldn’t risk it.

He carried them back up the stairs, telling them he wasn’t leaving yet, and promising he wouldn’t be one that long. As he tucked Aurora in she pouted up at him. “Please don’t go, Dami.”

His heart broke looking down at her but he convinced himself it was in their best interest. He just needed to keep telling himself that. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, “Goodnight, Rory.”

He didn’t miss the tears that slipped from her eyes as he left the room.

The next morning, after all the kids were sent off to school, Damian packed up a bag with clothes and any other necessities he’d need while he was away from home. As he went about his room, grabbing things here and there, Janet stood, watching from the doorway.

“Are you sure?”

Damian stopped packing, “Am I sure what?”

Janet pushed herself off of the doorframe. “Are you sure this is the only way?”

Damian sat on his bed and looked up at Janet. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days, her eyes red-rimmed. Damian tried not to think too hard about it and he steeled himself. “I have to. I can’t risk you guys getting hurt. I won’t.” He thought for a moment, shaking his head and looking away from Janet’s gaze. “Certainly not just because I didn’t want to leave.”

Janet stood still, eyes scrutinizing the boy in front of her. She let out a sharp breath, “You’ve grown, so much.” Damian nodded and Janet came over to the bed, pulling the boy up to her and hugging him tightly. “Stay safe, and come back soon.”

Damian nodded again, not trusting his voice.

It was a few hours later that Damian was on the bus once again, headed for the manor. He didn’t want to have to deal with Bruce Wayne’s obvious displeasure that Damian was Talia’s son but it was the best and fastest way to deal with the situation.

——————————

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to run that by me again, B, I thought you just said that Damian is yours and Talia’s son.”

Bruce looked to his now second youngest son, exasperated. “Yes, Tim. Damian is my biological son.”

“When did that happen?” Dick asked.

Bruce shook his head, “It’s hazy but I think Talia drugged me.”

The two boys took that in quietly. It was quite a shock hearing that the boy from the orphanage was Bruce’s biological son but they couldn’t imagine how it was for Bruce.

Alfred came into the sitting room, “Master Damian is back, sir.”

They all stood up and followed Alfred to the foyer where Damian was taking his jacket off. When he saw Bruce, he cast his gaze away, unsure. “I believe it would be best for me to remain here until this situation is dealt with.”

Bruce nodded, “Right.”

The silence that fell over them was tense and awkward, no one feeling brave enough to break it.

“I’ll show you to your room, Master Damian.”

The three remaining watched Damian and Alfred ascend the stairs.

“Oh my gosh, that was awful, what did you do to the boy, B?” Dick asked, sighing dramatically when they were out of earshot.

Bruce shot Dick an indignant look, “I didn’t do anything, he up and left after he told me who his mother was.”

Dick looked less than convinced that was all but he dropped the subject.

——————————

Damian followed Mr. Pennyworth to the room he had been in the day before.

“Lunch will be ready at noon,” Mr. Pennyworth told him.

Damian sat on the bed, “Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Mr. Pennyworth smiled kindly at him, “Please, Alfred is fine.”

Damian nodded and Alfred left the room. Opening his bag, Damian fished out his phone, sending a quick text to Janet as per their agreement to let Damian go to the Wayne’s. He looked around the room, he still had a few hours before lunch, what was he to do until then?

Leaving his room, Damian decided he’d take a look around the manor. He found a few decorated bedrooms, sitting rooms, bathrooms, and a guest room until he made it to more stairs. Up those stairs, he found mostly closed doors, but one open door. Inside that room, he found floor to ceiling shelves filled with books. He moved to the closest shelf, browsing the books until he found one he thought interesting.

Damian settled into a particularly large chair and opened his book. It wasn’t for another couple of hours until he was interrupted.

“Hey, Squirt.”

Damian whipped around to see a large man leaning against the shelves. He narrowed his eyes at the man, getting ready to take on a defensive position. “Who are you?”

The man chuckled, stepping further into the room. “Do you not recognize me without the stache?”

Damian examined the man’s face, relaxing slightly when he realized it was the fake moustached driver. “The driver, though I still don’t know your name.”

The man held out his hand and grinned down at Damian. “Jason Todd. Nice to meet you formally.”

Damian paused, he knew that name. “The dead one?”

Jason laughed softly at that, “Yeah, that’d be me.” At Damian’s cautious but curious face, Jason smiled gently, “It’s a bit of a long story.”

Damian got up and shook his hand. “Good to meet you too,” he said, though he wasn’t fully convinced of that.

“Anyway, Alfred said it’s nearly time for lunch and the old man wanted everyone there.”

Damian nodded before setting the book on a table for later.

Lunch was an awkward affair, Bruce Wayne kept asking Damian questions about things he’d really rather not talk about but the man didn’t seem to get the message until Richard hijacked the conversation.

“So how’s your sister from last time doing?” Richard asked pleasantly.

Damian smiled sadly at the thought of the kids. “Aurora is doing well, she’s always been quite strong.” He thought of Aurora and her watery eyes as he left her room the night before, and then how she’d ignored him that morning before school.

Richard nodded, “That’s good, and I’m sure she’d grow up well with an older brother like you,” he said with a smile.

Bruce Wayne didn’t speak again, leaving the boys to talk leisurely, until he had finished his meal. “Damian, I’d like to speak to you after you’re finished if that’s all right.”

Damian nodded silently, not really wanting to but knowing it wouldn’t be easy getting out of that conversation. Although, perhaps he could fake an illness? No, that’s too childish , Damian sighed and pushed the rest of his meal around on his plate, suddenly having no appetite.

Finally, Damian pushed his plate away and got up to follow Bruce Wayne. Damian found the man in his study, the door next to the library. He knocked on the open door, Bruce Wayne calling for him to come in. Damian sat awkwardly in the chair on the other side of the desk, feeling like a child who was getting scolded for something.

Before Bruce Wayne could speak, Damian sat forward. “I understand if you’d like me to leave but if you could allow me to stay until this situation is dealt with, I would be incredibly grateful,” he ground out, he fully expected Bruce Wayne to kick him out. Who would want Damian near their family when he was so dangerous?

“Hold on, what are you talking about?” Bruce Wayne asked him.

“Well, I understand you may not want me around your family--”

“Damian,” Bruce Wayne’s tone was sharp, “You are family.”

Damian didn’t believe that, that’s certainly not what he got from the previous day. “Despite what you may think, you are my son. I’m sorry I didn’t know about you until now, if I had…” Bruce Wayne’s face was contrite. “If I had known, I would’ve stopped at nothing to get you back.”

Damian was more than taken aback by Bruce Wayne’s words, he hadn’t been anticipating it all. “So, it’s ok for me to stay here? For a little while?” Damian asked slowly.

Bruce Wayne nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yes, of course, you can stay for as long as you want, this is your home now too.” Damian didn’t know how to feel about that but he supposed it was better than being kicked out to deal with his mother on his own.

Damian asked Alfred if he could take his dinner in his room and with a lot of persuading, Alfred begrudgingly allowed it. Damian just needed some time to process and settle in. He headed back to the library, picking his book back up and getting comfortable in the chair again.

——————————

In the morning, Damian was surprised to find the manor largely empty, save for Alfred who brought Damian tea to the library where he had been spending most of his time.

“Where is everyone?” Damian asked as he sipped his tea.

“Master Bruce left for work and everyone else either went back to their respective homes or had other plans for today,” Alfred informed him. Damian hummed in acknowledgement. “Call for me if you need anything more, Master Damian.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

Alfred left Damian to his book.

——————————

There was a knock on the door and Janet rushed to get it, hoping it might be Damian back, even if it was just to grab something he forgot. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a tall, thin woman with long brown hair and familiar deep green eyes.

“I’m here to pick up my son.”

——————————

wow, two chapters out so close together haha sorry this one is kinda short

[solarcelest]

“This isn’t what I wanted” Tim & Sad Damian with some hurt comfort :)))

This takes place post Batman: Bad BloodDamian’s breaths are sharp and rushed as he throws another punch. The impact sends a dull pain down his trembling fist and into his wrist, the old injury flaring slightly at the jostling. The feeling is a familiar one to Damian, as it has been since the boy was four. He punches again.

Not five minutes ago he had been standing tall and strong, just as his mother had once taught him. He wouldn’t allow the intimidating presence of his angry father to weaken his confidence. Damian had done what he had thought was the right thing to do, he had truly tried. Just like he had been trying to appeal to his father since his mother had left him to the man.

His father was just so much different than his mother. The two wanted completely different things, believed different beliefs. Yet they had one thing in common, the way they looked at their son. How they sent Damian glares of disapproval, silent stared of disappointment, sad smiles full of regret.

Now his mother was dead, food to the inhabitants of Gotham harbor. His father was injured, people had been hurt and scared, his parents had fought, all because of him. His father had pointed a gun to his own sons head, and at Damian’s mother’s own commands.

He punched the bag harder, chain trembling and quivering as the bag shook from the force.

This is what he understood, this anger, this brute strength that his emotions produced. It was all so much easier to navigate than the prickling he had felt behind his eyes when his father had been yelling at him. That had been a feeling almost foreign to him. It had scared him, crying, his mother forbade it, his father must have the same views. The man must never see Damian shed a tear, that would be weakness, that would be unacceptable.

He sent a kick before throwing another fist, wincing slightly as the dull ache in his wrist became sharper. If mother had only allowed him to receive proper medical attention after he had injured it- no. He had deserved the treatments he had been given, it was his mistake to allow himself to stumble and be injured.

He roared. He had won that fight. He had followed her rules, done what had been asked, followed through with all his training, completing all his missions. Then what? Yes, he got what he had asked for, he had met his father. He had met his father and all the imposters the man insisted on keeping around. All of whom the man loved and trusted so much more than Damian, than his own flesh and blood. ‘Because he had not wanted me. Because he had not been aware of my existence.’ Damian thought to himself.

He moved to hit the bag again, preparing for the impact and the ache it was sure to bring once more but instead, he collapsed. His knees hit the training mats below him as they buckled, his head fell into his hands. He wanted to scream, fight, hit something. He wanted to steal his katana back from his fathers punishing possession and slash everything that dared to exist, to pieces. He wanted to, he swore it. He promised he hadn’t willed the tears that poured from his eyes and dribbled down his cheeks. Or the sobs that escaped his throat.

He clenched his fists, ignoring the ache of his wrist and squeezed until he could feel his fingernails begin to break the skin on his palm. It had worked before it would work again, the pain should clear his thoughts, allow him to think, to breath, to stop crying before someone saw.

It did not.

His throat was tight and thick, he gasped for air as he screamed. It needed to stop, it all needed to stop. The crying, the yelling, the disappointed looks from his parents. He didn’t want to feel the constant ache of his many old injured for a day longer. He wished he was able to sleep through the night without a nightmare startling him awake, or that he was allowed seek someone out when they did.

He didn’t want to have just met his father, to know nothing about the man that he shared blood with. He didn’t want to watch others work alongside his father, people who had seen the man as a father for far longer than Damian had even known his true civilian name.

There were soft footsteps behind him and he stilled. He had been naive, a fool for letting himself be so loud, for allowing himself to cry at all. He waited, a blow to the back perhaps or a demand to stand and fight, to leave until he had regathered himself if he was lucky.

There was nothing but silence.

“Do it.” Damian demanded. “Just do it, already!” He shouted, whipping around to face whoever was there. Drake, of all the people possible, stood there. Back from his little trip at new s of the recent events. His eyes were a little wider than normal, his lips slightly parted at the sight, gaping like a fish as he looked for something to say.   

“What?” Was all he managed, pathetic. Damian rose to his feet.

“Just leave, Drake.” He said. “You are not wanted here.” There was a moment before the response, like this imposter in front of him was considering the offer.

“Dam-no, no. I can’t just pretend that didn’t happen.” The older boy said, taking a step onto the mats, closer to Damian. In return, the younger of the two took a step back. Drake’s eyes widened slightly further, calculating. “What happened?” He asked.

“Nothing. Leave, now.” Damian demanded, not realizing how he cradled his wrist gently to his chest, it pulsing with a phantom pain.

“I already told you, I’m not going to leave until you tell me what’s wrong.” Drake persisted, grating further on Damian’s nerves.

“Just leave.��� He tried again. He had not expected Drake to as what was wrong, in fact, he didn;t believe anyone had ever asked him that before. It was new, it was new and confusing. “P-please.” He found himself begging, it was humiliating. It was as if he was asking for more punishment.

“No, Dames.” Tim said, taking another step forward, once again, Damian took one back. The older stopped in realization, and lowered himself to sit on the mat. “Bruce told me what happened, I’m sorry.” The boy tried.

“Don’t say that!” Damian shouted, blood boiling at the simple apology. “You say that like it’s your fault! It’s not!” No matter how much Damian wished it were. “It’s mine. I made them fight, and disappointed mother and ruined father’s plans and- and…”

“Hey, kid. Don’t say that, okay? Talia was sick, she needed help.” Tim said. “This was all of her fault, okay? No one else’s, especially not yours.” Damian sat on the mats as well, a good ten feet from Drake.

“This isn’t what I wanted.” He mumbled.

“ What do you mean?” Drake asked, because of course he had to have heard. Damian sighed, the last of walls falling down, there wasn’t much more damage that could be done, he reasoned.

“Mother she… she told me stories of father when I was younger. She told me that I would be allowed to meet him when I bested her in battle.” His voice was quiet, but unwavering. “She allowed me a chance every year on my birthday, and every year I lost.”

“Until this year, on your tenth birthday.” Tim realized, Damian nodded.

“I thought she was going to introduce me to him, take me to him and train me by his side.” There was a slight quiver to his tone once more.

“You thought she was going to stay.” Tim added. The younger boy nodded in confirmation.

“I believe we were going to be a family, like we are meant to be. I was naive. I should have known she had more important matters to tend to.”

“Can I say something?” Tim asked, looking straight into Damian’s eyes. He continued when he saw the boys nod. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but I think it better this way.”

“You think it’s better my mother’s dead?” Damian snapped.

“No, I just think it’s better she’s not here.” Tim amended. “Look, none of us know what kind of life you had with the league, and no one’s going to ask until your ready, but I think it’s to safe to say it wasn’t a very kind one. You’re better off here, Damian.” He finished.

“Do you think father wants me to stay?” Damian asked, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion over the bone of his wrist.

“No doubt about that, kid. He just needs some time to recover, that’s all.” Tim’s eyes followed Damian’s hand. “Did you hurt your wrist in the fight?” He asked, nodding to where Damian was unconsciously cradling it.

“No.” He said quickly. “I am fine.”

“It’s okay to say your hurt here, just for future reference.” Tim said, rising from the mats. “Do you mind if I wrap it anyway?” He asked. “Just for my own peace of mind.” Damian rose to his feet as well, wrist still held protectively close to his chest.

“You will not tell Father about this?” He asked, the phantom pain was almost completely gone.

“Not a chance.” Tim promised.

“Then I do not mind at all.” Damian said, fighting a smile as he followed the older boy to the med bay.

[g-on-ef]

Dusk till Dawn

A/n: Guess who's birthday it is ??? This girl's !!!!! and in celebration of my birthday I am going to update all my stories this week ^^ starting with my favorite Dusk till Dawn hope you guys enjoy this chapter ^^

Chapter 1 

Chapter 2

Chapter 3: Rejected?

“I would kindly as you too not do it,”

Nine little words that have been floating through Damian’s head since he left the café, after Jon headed for the break room Damian wanted to run after him and ask him what he meant by that but before he could Kon, Jon’s older brother stopped him and told him that it would be best if he left him alone and kindly asked him to leave.

He didn’t want to leave if anything he wanted to fine Jon and talk to him but the look on the older boy’s face told him he should leave now unless he wanted trouble and if he were honest the last thing he wanted was for the paparazzi to find his hiding spot and give Kara as well as himself trouble.

His father made it clear that he wanted no trouble, no PR nightmares, no bad press from the media at all. With the wedding coming up soon his father was doing everything and anything to make sure nothing soiled the Wayne name.

Which is why Grayson was forced to stay away from Wally and spent as much time as he could with Gordon while Todd wasn’t allowed to be seen anywhere near Star City since people were already hinting he and Roy may or may not have something going on between them.

It bothered Damian to no end that he, Todd, Drake, and Grayson had to hide their sexualities from the world, but his father and Selina made it clear that everyone had to know or at least believe that the Wayne brothers were as straight as a pole. Which was stupid if you ask him.

One look at Grayson and you would no he was anything but straight. Rubbing his forehead, he entered the Mansion and was annoyed to find Melody and Selina sitting in the living room talking about Allah knows what.

“Should’ve gone to the park,”

Maybe if he was quiet enough he could sneak pass them and into his room so that he won’t have to deal with either one of them.  

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance to walk by undetected, Selina caught Damian trying to sneak pass them.

“Damian,”

Damian cursed himself for not moving fast enough, turning around he saw Selina walking over to him, it took everything in him not to run the other way or yell at her and call her every horrible word he knew, and since he knew almost ten different languages he knew plenty of horrible names he could call Selina.

“What,” he asked rudely, Selina ignored his rudeness and instead continue speaking to him as if his hatred for her didn’t mattered.

“As you know, tomorrow is Gotham Fashion Week,”

“Yeah, I already know that,” he grumbled.

“Which is why you and Melody must be seen everywhere and anywhere as much as possible, it is important that nothing, and I mean nothing ruins the Wayne name before the wedding. Everything has to be perfect or as perfect as we can get it with you and your brothers,”

Damian just rolled his eyes and stopped himself from saying the first thing that came to his mind and that was telling Selina to shut up and not worry about his brothers or him since neither one of them had control over what the paparazzi say her and his father however...still Damian chose to say something that wouldn’t cause an argument which would result in his father punishing him,

“I already know this Selina, now, can I please go to my room there are somethings that I need to do,” she looked at him for a moment before dismissing him with the wave of her hand.

Damian rolled his eyes before he headed for his room. He’s twenty years old and yet Selina treats him like his sixteen or worse five.

Still, he had no time to worry about Selina and her stunts right now he had other things to think about. Once he entered his room he turned on his computer and waited for the monitor to finish loading. Once it was completed he began his search.

“It’s not stalking, I just want to know more about him,” one thing that his mother always drilled in his head was this, knowledge is a powerful weapon and the only thing that can make brute force fall to its knees.

He needed, wanted, had to know everything he could about this boy. From what he gathered is he is Kara’s nephew so assuming if she’s either related to Jon’s father or mother he should probably start with Kara first and work his way from there.

Looking through Kara’s social media he found some photos of Jon lucky for him she tagged him in them. Smiling to himself he clicked on Jon’s username on his Instagram and cursed out loud.

“Fucking hell! Why did you have to have it in private?”

Looking at Jon’s IG he saw that it was private and the only thing on it was a picture of him smiling, his arm around a girl with orange hair and freckles on her cheeks. She was cute, she was more than cute she was beautiful and her and Jon…they looked good together, maybe that’s why Jon asked him not to flirt with him, maybe Jon was already dating this girl and he didn’t want to cheat on her, Damian felt a little bad for flirting with someone who was taken.

Despite all those cheating rumors, Damian hated cheating, despise to the point where if he saw anyone doing it he would do everything in his power to ruin them, maybe that’s why he hated Selina. Oh, who was he kidding it was exactly why he hated both Selina and his dad.

Taking a deep breath Damian rubbed his temples, he did not need to think about his dad or Selina; right now, what he needed to do was go back to Kara’s café and apologize to Jon for even trying to flirt with him.

Sure, he didn’t know he was taken but he still felt bad for even thinking of asking the boy out. Taking a deep breath, he turned off his computer grabbed his keys and headed back for the café, if he explained his reasons maybe the boy would forgive him and hopefully they could be friends. Maybe not friends since the only thing that he will be thinking about is having the blue-eyed angel beneath him, or above him whichever works well for him.

“No, stop Damian bad thoughts very, very bad thoughts,”

Leaving the room, he went through the back door of the mansion to go see Jon, no way in hell did he want to see either one of those money grabbers at the moment.

“Damian,”

Damian stopped dead in his tracks. Cursing everything he knew he turned around as his father stepped closer to him.

Most people say he looks like his dad but then again, if anyone saw his mother they would surly change their opinions and say he was an exact replica of his mother.

Bruce Wayne was a good man, sometimes when he wasn’t trying to control of his sons lives, of course his status of playboy billionaire did back fire even if it was just a ploy that he for some reason wanted the world to believe he was.

Because of his sleeping around resulted in four children being born out of wedlock. Dick Grayson was an accident that happened when his father was only 18, Bruce met a woman who was traveling with the circus a one-night stand resulted in his older half-brother.

Unfortunately, Grayson’s mom died in a horrible accident when Grayson was only eight.

Todd’s mother was a prostitute and didn’t want her son to do anything with Bruce Wayne, sadly for her she had no choice but let him in Bruce’s life, when it was discovered that Todd was his second son, Bruce filed for custody and won, because of her addictions as well as her profession she was seen as an unfit mother despite her doing her very best to make sure that Todd had a happy childhood, still, the court didn’t care if the child was happy they only cared about the money and Bruce’s lawyers paid them a lot of it.

Drake’s mom wasn’t anything special, she just slept with him, had the kid, dropped him off at Wayne Manor and left. No one knows where she went or who she really was since Bruce found out that everything about her was a lie and vanished into thin air.

The final woman his father had a child with was Talia Al Ghul. A beautiful woman who was once an actress, then model, then a fashion designer. She was a successful woman whose career ended before it began but that was something Damian did not like to think about if he did he would feel more anger towards his father and that harlot.

“Yes, father?”

“Where are you heading off to?”

No way in hell was he telling him where he was going, the only people who knew of the café where his brothers and all four of them sworn to secrecy and never tell Bruce about it. It was their go to place to be whenever they needed to escape the craziness that is their life.

“I was going to the park,”

Bruce looked at him before saying,

“Well, your stroll to the park can wait you and I are needed somewhere,”

“Where?”

“We need to go with Selina and do some wedding shopping, I also need you to be seen with Melody as much as possible,”

“We’re going to town so that the paparazzi can see me walking with the beard?”

His father glared at him,

“Melody is your friend and I already promised Dick after your break-up with Kitty you’ll be taking a break from bearding,”

Damian rolled his eyes, both he and his father knew he only said that bullshit to Dick so that he will get off his back about Damian and the unnecessary bearding.

“Then why does Melody have to come? More importantly why don’t you and Selina go off by yourselves and let me head over to Maya’s instead?”

“I already told you Damian, the wedding is all Gotham and the world is talking about and everyone knows about your relationship with Selina and how you don’t get along with her-“

“Not my fault,”

“Damian,” his father turned into a disapproval tone one that made him roll his eyes.

“I already told your brothers and you from the beginning that I do not want anything to ruin this wedding and the public needs to know that you and Selina are getting along,”

“You mean they need to see me getting along with her and they need to see me dating a girl so no one assumes I’m anything but straight right?”

Bruce stared at his son while Damian glared at him,

“Of course the public also needs to see me as a cheater, a liar, and someone who breaks their precious blond princess, they also need to see me as white as possible so that my music could sell faster, of course that doesn’t stop them from calling me every horrible name in the book because my mother is Talia Al Ghul, but of course they already saw me as a horrible person when I punched a guy for calling me and Maya horrible names and instead of helping me you allow the story to spin to see me as the bad guy and Kitty as my ‘savior’,”

Damian glared at his father as he continued with his speech, he wasn’t sure why he was lashing out at his father, but he felt great about to do it,

“You and Selina say you don’t want any PR nightmares or for the Wayne family name to be soil but don’t you think it’s already too late since both you and Selina were the ones who allowed The Word, and every other source of media to talk shit about me, hell you guys were the ones who decided to give me the playboy image, but now with this stupid wedding coming you want me to be well behave young man? Fuck that,”

Bruce’s face was bright red as Damian threw every horrible thing the media has said about him back at him and while he didn’t want to admit everything he said was true he couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for putting Damian through all of the crap he’s endured and instead of helping him he made it worse.

Before Bruce could even form a retort the door from the back open and in came Maya.

“Hello Wayne family!”

Maya was a beautiful woman and Damian’s best friend; the girl wasn’t afraid to speak her mind or tell the world that she was a proud lesbian. It swelled Damian’s heart with joy that his best friend was free and able to be herself, she was an amazing person and deserve to be happy. Like Damian, Maya was a singer as well as an actress and she was amazing in both. Her voice was incredible and was able to go through different styles of music, she even won a Grammy for her album.

“Maya, what brings you here?” Bruce asked confused as to why she was hear.

Maya smiled brightly at him before she hooked her arm around Damian’s and lead against his shoulder.

“The answer to that is simple, Damian and I made plans for lunch and I decided to swing by early so that we can head over to our favorite diner since it’s always pack during lunch time,”

“I see,”

“Welp, if you need us you know where we’ll be,”

She then pulled Damian out the door before Bruce could say or do anything, once the two were out the door they looked at each other before sprinting to her car. Knowing Bruce, he’ll come out the door and order them to stop whatever it is they are doing and force them to go with him and Selina to go wherever it is they were going.

Once they reached her car, they both got in and drove off.

“Where to bro?”

“Kara’s café, I need to see someone,”

“You, need to see someone at Kara’s café?”

Maya knew about the café, she was one of the few Damian trusted to know about the place, not only did she know but she was also a frequent customer, the two loved the place and always enjoyed going there together whenever they could.

“Yes,”

“And who is this someone?”

“Some guy I met,”

“Oooh, Damian Wayne met some guy and he wants to see him?”

“Yes, but it’s not like that,” he quickly said before she could form an idea that he did not want to hear.

“You sure?” she asked giving him a smirk.

“Positive, I just need to talk to him and apologize,”

“For what?”

Damian’s became a bright red color before he said,

“Flirting with him when he has a girlfriend,”

Maya looked at her friend, if there was one thing she knew about her friend in shock.

“Did he tell you? More importantly did you know?”

“No, and no,”

“Then how do you know he has a girlfriend?”

“Because I was going through Kara’s Instagram and found his Instagram and in his profile pic was of him and cute red head hugging each other and smiling with one another,”

“And that made you think he had a girlfriend?”

“Yes,”

“You know, that might just mean they are friends, right? I mean you and I cuddle all the time and we’re still friends,”

Damian thought about her words, of course she might have a point, the two might be friends but then again…

“I don’t think they are friends,”

“What makes you say that,”

“Well, when I was at Kara’s café earlier today I saw him and flirted with him and he looked uncomfortable, so I think she might be his girlfriend,”

“Ahh, okay so maybe he is taken,”

“Yeah so I need to apologize to him,”

“Question,” Maya asked as she pulled into the parking lot of the café.

“What’s that?”

“How are you gonna tell him that you know he has a girlfriend without sounding like a stalker?”

Damian’s eyes widen in fear, he…hadn’t thought of that…  

[dreadhaus-literature]

{January Collection} #19

Change

This isn’t about being a kid, a teen, this is about finally being good enough.

“Damian’s grounded.”

Monica paused, one high heel through the door’s threshold, but her upper half turned back toward her husband, both brows lifted in a question she knew she’d have to physically ask to have answered. Wayne Manor was relatively silent around them, tucking the couple into the comfortable safety of reinforced, highly secured walls so that they could focus not on Gotham and all it’s constant problems, but the problems that found their way inside the home. It wasn’t easy being married to Bruce Wayne but Monica was a woman who could handle anything, and it was her ability to handle even the most daunting of changes that Bruce was eternally grateful for. He knew he wasn’t an easy man to get along with, much less be married to, but he’d met his match in his wife and that she put up with him year after year he would never be able to repay, not for every plentiful dime in the Wayne family fortune. The most recent change in their routine came in the form of Bruce’s long-lost son, Damian, and Bruce had been certain this would be the thing that would make Monica try to leave--he wouldn’t have blamed her.

He wouldn’t have let her go, but he also wouldn’t have blamed her.

In Bruce’s defense, he hadn’t known Damian existed, but one day he woke up an adoptive father and that night he went to sleep the biological father of a teenage son. It was Bruce’s unfathomable good luck that he’d gone to sleep that night with Monica still in his arms (somewhat by force, because Bruce couldn’t sleep without her anymore, even if she was angry with him) and in the dead of night he’d apologized to her. For a little while he thought she might be ignoring him, or perhaps asleep, but she’d turned over to face him.

“I’m not angry with you. It was before we were married. What, am I going to turn away your actual son? I’ve already adopted the others with you.”

Bruce didn’t know what he’d done, in this life or a past one, to deserve Monica but he never stopped being grateful for her. She took Damian in easier strides than he did, and Damian didn’t make it easy for them. He was young but he carried arrogance like a man Bruce’s age; he was ruthlessly intelligent and unforgivably honest. Bruce was having to undo years and years of Talia Al Ghul’s influence but the more he knuckled down, the more he tried to meet Talia’s heavy hand with his own, the more Damian resisted. Night after night, Bruce kept at the training and while he did see some changes in his son, it wasn’t fast enough to suit him and there were still some things Damian believed he knew best about--and that included Monica. Bruce counted all his lucky stars that Damian seemed to take to Monica the same way the other Wayne children had; he didn’t know what it was about his wife that seemed to bring out the best in others but Damian didn’t sneer at her. He didn’t belittle or chide her like he did...everyone else. He listened when she spoke and he minded what she said. Bruce was grateful but didn’t understand why, at least not at first, until a conversation with Alfred clued him in.

“Your best and dearest friend was your mother, Master Wayne. A boy, no matter his age or upbringing, always needs his mother.”

Damian had a biological mother, same as he had a biological father, but he didn’t have a Mom. Talia had not carried their son as a mother carries her child and thus, the attachment was never there. The more Bruce sat and thought on this, the more he realized his son didn’t form emotional bonds with others because he didn’t know how. From the moment he’d been brought into the world he’d missed a vital first bond with his parents--Talia’s interest had been in a weapon, and Bruce was unknowingly absent. How could Bruce blame his son for the way he treated others when he didn’t know any better? One can be taught to kill, one can be taught to spare the blade and save a life, and one can be taught to love--but that was not Bruce’s area of expertise. Monica would likely argue it wasn’t hers, either, but Bruce knew that was her inability to see herself for what she was. All the other Wayne children adored her, called her Mom, text her first with good news and called her for lunch dates and shopping trips. Bruce was the head of the Wayne family, certainly, but Monica was the heart, and he was silently relying on his wife to fix the most broken member of their constantly-growing family.

“Why is he grounded?” Monica turned fully, resting against the door frame. “Again,” she added for emphasis. “This is the fourth time in two weeks.”

“He doesn’t listen,” Bruce answered easily. “I told him, any unexcused absences from class and he’ll be punished for it.”

“Why did he skip class?”

“He said he’d already finished the entire class syllabus.”

Monica lifted one sculpted brow. “And did he?”

Bruce met her gaze over the rim of his coffee mug. “Yes.”

Monica gave Bruce a look, and it was one he met easily with his own. She shifted on her high heels, sighing softly. “You know he gets bored in class, Bruce.”

“He has to attend. He knows finishing work early doesn’t exempt him from attending class.”

“Would you show up to a fight when all the assailants were already on the ground?” Monica countered.

“If my presence was required, yes.”

This type of conversation was not unusual between the couple, but there were always lines that were clear and never crossed. Bruce never claimed Damian as his son only; he made it clear from the moment Damian arrived in their lives that Damian was their son and he wanted Monica to be apart of his life, his raising and upbringing. These back and forths were not arguments but rather commonplace discussions on parenting, and they’d had the same conversations (albeit over different topics) about the other children when necessary. Bruce valued Monica’s opinion and even if he countered her points with his own, she was the only one he actually listened to--and that included the others at the League. Monica stood alone when it came to actually influencing Bruce.

“Did you at least tell him you were proud of him for finishing a class’s entire syllabus in the first week of class?” Monica ventured quietly, and while Bruce didn’t change expression, his silence spoke volumes. She caught his gaze again. “We’ve talked about this. You can’t just punish. You have to encourage.”

“Positive reinforcement,” Bruce nodded, once. “I remember. It was just...easier with the others. I feel like Damian takes it as an all-clear anytime I praise him on one thing.”

“You do the same thing,” Monica quipped dryly.

“I do not.”

“Yeah, you definitely do.” Monica closed the distance between them, pressing a kiss to the top of Bruce’s head. “It’s nice you finally get a taste of your own medicine.”

Bruce stayed still to enjoy the affection, his entire frame shifting to be closer to Monica’s, even for the brief interaction. “I think Damian coming here was more for you than for me.”

“I’m sure Talia didn’t intend it that way, but it definitely works out in my favor.” Monica gave Bruce’s broad shoulder a pat. “I’m going to go talk to Damian. Undo some of your damage.”

“Don’t rub it in.” Bruce rumbled. “And do not unground him.”

Monica didn’t even turn. “Stick to your guns, Batman. I’ll stick to mine.”

Damian Wayne heard his mother coming down the hall and bit back a sigh--not because he wasn’t happy to see her. Truth was, he got a curious flip in his tummy anytime she approached or even looked his way--no, this was because he didn’t want to have to explain to her what he’d done wrong, again. He hadn’t been raised with shame and thus he didn’t have a natural defense against the new sentiment now that he felt it. He hadn’t cared with Talia was disappointed in him during his training years, and he didn’t care when Bruce was disappointed in him...much...but Monica stood alone when it came to Damian disappointing her. He didn’t like the way it reflected in her beautiful green eyes--eyes that matched his, something he was openly vain about. Damian had darker skin than his father and he had green eyes; no one would ever look at Monica and think he was not her son. Nearly from the moment he’d met her it was something Damian had latched onto, first unknowingly, now deliberately. She’d seemed taken aback from the moment he began calling her Mother, and Damian smirked to himself, wondering how she’d react if she found out the moment he started calling her Mother, he stopped referring to Talia that way. Mother was an esteemed title, it carried weight and it meant something--like Batman, like Robin--and only a woman worthy should have it. Damian knew instinctively Monica was worthy and she’d never let him down.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.” Damian turned to face his bedroom door, watching it open. He had to fight a natural reaction to smile when he saw Monica; another first, and one he didn’t need to dissect too deeply to understand. It was simple; he was always happy to see her.

“Damian,” Monica smiled, pushing the door closed with one petite hand. “Hi, sweetheart.”

Damian pushed himself to a sitting position, resting against his headboard. “Hello, Mother. Father rat me out?”

“Something like that.” Monica had to fight to keep the laughter out of her voice; Damian was always straight for the throat. “You know he expects you to go to class.”

“Tt.” Damian’s act of sucking his teeth was always audible and always meant to express displeasure. It got the point across, certainly. “Father expects too much for too little in return.”

Monica crossed the expanse of Damian’s lavish bedroom to sink onto his bed near his socked feet. She gave him a smile, one he couldn’t resist looking at. “Your Father does a lot for you, Damian. He expects a lot, yes, but I think he gives in almost equal proportion.”

“Almost,” Damian latched onto the operative word with both fists. “But it isn’t even. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to stand in his shadow and have to try and measure up.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Monica surprised Damian with the admission in that soft, alluring voice and he caught her gaze and sat, riveted. “I’ve told him plenty of times before that he casts a wide shadow and it isn’t just because of that ridiculous cape.”

Damian’s lips twitched, tilting upward in a smirk. Encouraged, Monica reached up, cupping his cheek, feathering her thumb over the crest of his cheekbone.

“You skipped class, yes, and we’ve both asked you not to do that. He was right to punish you for that.” Monica’s heart turned over as Damian turned his face toward her hand as if to hide from her censure; his pout returned. But Monica wasn’t done, and she tipped his face up to meet hers. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t proud of you, Damian. You only skipped class because you already finished the syllabus. There are students who don’t finish the syllabus attending class every single day.” Damian’s eyes searched Monica’s face openly; she could see him sizing her up, weighing each word like gold to test it’s purity. He wanted to know if she was being truthful; she only smiled in response. “We are proud of you, Damian. I’m sorry if we don’t always show it, don’t always tell you, but we see you trying. That counts.”

Damian didn’t know what to say, and he always knew what to say. This was uncharted territory for the young Wayne son. He had been trained from infancy for situations that most adults will never encounter, and nightly he’s out on the streets of Gotham, making a difference as Robin both as a duo with Superboy and as a Teen Titan. Damian could make decisions as Robin, he could make decisions as the leader of the Titans, because that was what he’d been trained to do. There was no training on how to be a good son, on how to react to a real Mother’s love and affection. Monica’s hand was like silk against his face and he never wanted her hand to move--what sort of training was there for what it was to be in love? Damian didn’t allow many beneath that tough exterior and Monica was the only one who could get away with such soft displays of affection with the brash young man, but that was because she was the only one he wanted these displays from. Yes, he made changes to suit Bruce, to please his Father and make him proud--initially, selfishly, it had solely been about the Wayne name and what all he stood to inherit as the only blood son of Batman, but with Monica’s loving hand it had shaped into something else. Bruce was his Father and he wanted his Father to be proud of him. He only understood that desire because Monica’s pride in him as his Mother was what drove him every single night as Robin. The more good he did, the more newspaper headlines picked up his accomplishments, the more Monica would turn a shining smile onto him over breakfast the next morning. Damian didn’t understand what Monica had done, but from an outsider looking in, she was the sunlight on a stunted plant that was kept too long in a windowless room. He was desperate for anything he could get from her.

Monica hadn’t expected Damian to say anything; he just wasn’t a touchy-feely kid, but she hadn’t realized just how much like Bruce he was. Her smile didn’t drop but she did lower her hand, only for Damian to snatch it up in his own immediately.

“Don’t go.” It came out a command because Damian was a knife blade, used to getting his way and he knew how to get it--but a Mother always knows. A Mother could hear the child behind the command, the small, desperate note buried in the tenor mimic of Bruce’s baritone.

“I won’t.” Monica laced her fingers through Damian’s and only then did his posture relax. He made no move to shift off the headboard, his gaze brooding and off to the side, but he was clinging to her hand to the point of pain. “...What’s wrong, Damian?”

Damian sucked his teeth but said nothing. He didn’t want to admit to the weakness that was his soft spot for the only real Mother he’s always known--not because he didn’t trust her, but because if he spoke aloud she was the softest part about him, someone could hear it. Damian had been raised to never trust his surroundings and even in his own home he didn’t trust the walls not to have ears. He couldn’t lose Monica, his beloved Mother, and if he admitted aloud she was everything he was scared to death of losing...then someone might hear and he just might. But even that, he could deal with. If something happened to her and he lost his Mother at the hands of some super-villain he would never recover, but he could live with knowing it wasn’t something he did. If he drove her away by being a bad son? That, he couldn’t live with, and with the newfound feelings of shame and guilt came anxiety and worrying that a Mother’s love is conditional. After all, Talia’s was. She’d made that abundantly clear when she showed up at his school and chided him for becoming “soft”, and her pride in him was a light switch that depended on the deeds he did in the dark. Damian knew Monica was a better woman than that, she was a better Mother in just the short time they’d gotten to know one another than his biological mother had been his entire life, but what if he screwed that up? He was still learning how to be a Wayne son, how to be a normal boy. Could he ask Monica to be patient with him? He could pretend he expected it, sure, but that bravado was a mask to the anxiety that at times woke him in a cold sweat that she’d tell Bruce she couldn’t deal with him anymore. He did not know what he would do if that day ever came.

Damian may not have physically answered Monica, but she didn’t need words to know something was wrong, and she didn’t need words to know exactly what. It was enough for her to read his defeated body language, the stiff way he sat trying to be closed off as if he didn’t believe she would stay, yet he clung to her hand to try and ensure she did. Monica was nothing if she wasn’t insightful; after all, that was how she’d survived years of being married to Bruce Wayne, who was notoriously closed off and difficult to read. Why would his son be any different? Monica shifted in her seat and felt Damian’s fingers tighten around hers but she wasn’t intending to let his hand go. She was sitting comfortably on the side of his bed, her posture open to him, and slowly his responded. It started with the uncurling of his legs, then the bend of that spine, until Damian’s head was in her lap, their joined hands resting on her thigh against his forehead. Her other hand buried in the thick strands of his black hair, stroking lightly, lovingly, and he stared moodily at the wall because he didn’t know what to do with what he was feeling.

If he ever lost his Mother, Damian would lose everything.

“This can’t be easy for you,” Monica spoke up softly, a compliment to the comfortable silence between Mother and son. “All this change.”

“Father says I can do anything if I really want to.” Damian answered effortlessly, parroting Bruce’s words, unaware the proud way which he did so--but Monica heard it all the same. “I can do this.”

“Yes, you can,” Monica reassured, her nails stroking his hair back from his forehead, her touch sending a shiver of pleasure down his spine. “But you don’t have to wait until you’ve completely changed to consider yourself part of the family. You’re still our son.”

“Even if I was Damian Al Ghul?”

Monica’s fingers didn’t miss a beat in their comforting touch, even at the way Damian spat that name out of his mouth as if it burned his tongue. “Even if you were Damian Al Ghul.”

“What’s in this for you?” Damian lifted his gaze to Monica’s  those eyes once again searching. “Talia doesn’t care how I feel, only that I do what I’m supposed to do. Sometimes I think Father is the same way. Why do you care?”

Monica didn’t speak right away but she knew not to look away from Damian’s eyes. He was a wounded boy who would take the shifting of her gaze to mean dishonesty, as he was out at sea and needing something stable, sturdy to hold onto. Her love, she was realizing, was that foundation. He wanted it, desperately, but he was afraid to trust in it. She couldn’t blame him for that; he hadn’t ever had it before.

“I care for the same reason you do,” she finally answered, slowly, deliberately. “You want a Mother, I want a son.”

Damian sat in silence, absorbing her answer. Could it really be that simple? Was it that easy? Monica kept his gaze and he felt himself lost in her eyes until he blinked and forced his away, but he knew she saw the love that burned there. The desperate need for exactly what she’d said. A Mother. A Mother who loved him unconditionally, as mother’s should, and not because he’d completed an assignment or done something to earn her love. Damian had Monica’s love simply because he was Damian.

Damian had her love because he was her son, and he hadn’t needed to change for that. He never would.

[batfam-imagines]

Face the Music - Part 4

Waking up tied to a chair, with the people you once called family standing around you is not the way you had wanted this assignment to go.

“Good, you’re awake”

“Fuck off, Bruce. So this is what you’ve resorted to? Drugging your own daughter and tying her to a chair?”

Damian steps forward, sometimes you think his face has frozen permanently into a sneer, “Do not talk to father that way, harlot. I told him that we should have killed you on the docks, left a message for the League”

You grin, “Oh you’ve left a message! Mother already knows that you’ve turned this into a hostage situation. She’s on her way!!”

Your twin scoffs, “Do you really think that you’re that important?”

“I am to her. I may have been ignored and treated like a no-body while I was here, but at the League I have a purpose”

Conner looks hurt by your words, “You mattered to me, Y/N”

“I mattered to you?! Is that why you didn’t come to visit me like you promised?!? Is that why I never once heard from you in SIX YEARS!?!?!? How much could I have mattered to you, Kon, if you couldn’t even put in the effort to figure out where I had disappeared to?!” You let out a soft chuckle, “You know I kept an eye on you while I was training. I mean, who did you think was the one to check on Martha and take care of the farm when you and Clark were busy, the one to cover you in the middle of a battle, the one to leave you letters? Did you think all those things just happened?”

His eyes widen, mouth dropping open in shock, “I – I …”

“I loved you, Conner. You were my best friend, my only friend really, and I loved you with everything I had.” You let out a self-deprecating chuckle, “I guess it’s a good thing you broke my heart. When you’re an empty shell, nothing can hurt you anymore”

“Y/N …”

“I’d like to go to sleep now, Bruce. If you wouldn’t mind that is, I mean if you have a schedule you have to keep, be my guest. But you won’t be getting anything else from me tonight”

Your father pushes a button, and the uncomfortable chair stretches into a steel slab. “I’ll get you a blanket, but you’re staying here tonight”

“I’ve slept on worse”

--

You manage to sleep on and off until about 2 AM, that’s when your twin brother decides to pay you a visit.

“I hate you”

“Save it for someone who cares, brat”

Damian snarls, “You’ve been nothing but a burden all your life. When will you finally just leave us alone?”

Twisting your wrists nervously, you try and shift as far away from Damian as you can, “I tried to leave, father wouldn’t let me. Unlock the cuffs, Dami. Let me go, I’ll leave and never return to Gotham, you’ll never see me again”

“I could do that, yes. Or I could just kill you now. It would be so easy ...” He picks up your own dagger, permanently infused with a poison that will leave the body writhing in agony until death, “I could do what was meant to be done all those years ago …”

“It would not be honorable to kill me while I am unarmed!!”

Damian smirks, “I care not about honor, sister, just your death” The dagger rises, poised over your abdomen. Damian intends to make you live a while, in complete agony, until either the pain or the blood loss kills you.

“Damian”

Your brother freezes, knife still poised over you. “Mother?”

Talia al Ghul steps out of the shadows, several other League members behind her, “Damian, my son, I would suggest putting down the dagger. I would hate to hurt you”

“You would choose her over me?!?!”

“Y/N is my daughter, she is also Heiress of the Demon, she also has a Kryptonian who would seek revenge for her death. Do you want to risk that, my son?”

Damian snarls, but tosses the knife to the side, and presses the locking mechanism to release you from the table. Jax, one of your personal guards when at the Compound, steps forward, handing you the discarded knife, “Thank you”

Talia slowly steps forward, checking you for injuries, before pressing her forehead against yours, “Did they hurt you?”

“No, I was drugged, but not injured”

“Good” She turns and reaches out for your brother, drawing him into a brief hug, “While I have missed you a great deal, my son, I am disappointed in your actions. Trying to kill your sister while she cannot defend herself. Has your father taught you nothing of honor?”

“I’m sorry, mother”

Talia sniffs, unimpressed, “Bring out the others, it is past time to have a ‘family meeting’. I am quite tired of my beloved’s antics” Several League members step forward, guiding your father and brothers forward. “Where is the Kryptonian?”

“We had to use kryptonite to subdue him, mistress”

Four League members are carrying Conner, who’s covered in sweat, and limp. Shocked, you quickly bark out orders, “Put him on the table, and get that away from him!” Once he’s on the table, you gently brush the hair off his forehead, “If he’s hurt, I’ll kill you all. Understand?”

“Yes, mistress”

Slowly Kon’s eyes clear, a dopey smile splits his face when he sees your face hovering over his, “Y/N …”

“Are you alright?”

He slowly sits up, “A little dizzy, but I’m fine” Finally taking in the various assassins surrounding everyone, he glances back at you, “Um … what’s going on?”

“It’s time to sit down and talk about the treatment of my children. And you, Mr. Kent, my daughter seems quite infatuated with you, skipping lessons to see you, traveling across the world to leave notes and ensure your safety. I’d like to know your intentions toward her”

“We – we spent a lot of time together before she left. She was my best friend, and … and I thought I loved her, was gonna ask her on a date, but she was already gone by the time I got the courage to go to her”

Talia hums softly, “And you never searched for her? You obviously didn’t care enough about Y/N to find her, to fight for her”

“Bruce told me she was dead!! And I did search! For the first two years she was gone I searched! Eventually Bruce told me that she committed suicide! We had a funeral! It was Y/N’s body in that box!!” Kon looks shaken when he turns tortured blue eyes to you, “When I first saw you in the warehouse I didn’t believe it. I took the injection and used it on you because I thought you were some kind of clone, and I – I was so angry that the League would do that to you. But – but even if you were a clone I still couldn’t hurt you, not really”

Tears slowly drip down Conner’s face, he … he looks so much older now. No longer the teenager you left behind, but a man who thought he buried you, “I’m sorry, Kon. I didn’t know they told you I was dead, I would have left some kind of clue if I did” You pull Conner into a tight hug, letting him cling to you as he trembles.

Talia turns, facing your father, “Really, Beloved? You had a funeral for our daughter and didn’t even invite me?”

Jax takes great pleasure in ripping the gag off Bruce’s face to let him speak. “I didn’t know what to tell the press, it made the most sense …”

“That is where you are wrong, Beloved. What would have made sense was to tell the media that Y/N was away visiting her mother, and was traveling the world. Instead you claim that she is dead, completely stop trying to see her after only one failed attempt, and you continue your lives like Y/N never existed. Does that sum up what you did?”

“Mother …”

“Quiet, Damian. I haven’t even begun to speak of what you did. You would belittle her, claim that she was useless, and a burden, claim that I made a mistake in letting her live. You were wrong on all accounts. I never intended to kill my daughter, Ra’s had made plans to kill her, but once he was dead those plans were changed. I always saw the potential in your sister, but I was not allowed to act on it until I became the Demon Head” Talia’s lip lifts in a sneer, “She has done more for the League than you ever could have done, Damian, and what do you do? You try to kill her while she is tied down, and defenseless”

“You all claimed that I was brainwashed by the League. Did you ever think that I enjoy being a part of the organization? That, because they treat me like a human being and not some annoying pet, that I am loyal to them? You all rejected me as your family, would only claim me when it was convenient for you, but they … they truly saw me for who I was. Was it really so shocking to see me happy that you thought I was brainwashed?”

“Y/N …”

“No, Bruce. You were never a father to me, and Damian you were never a brother. Jason, Dick, and Tim were never around enough to know what was really going on, or to get to know me. I have friends, family, a purpose at the League, and that is where I intend to stay.”

Your mother runs her fingers through Bruce’s hair, fisting it and forcing him to look in her eyes, “I will leave my son with you because you have already turned him against me. Y/N will be coming back to the Compound with me, to continue her training. I will permit you to send letters to her, if any of you so desire” Releasing Bruce, she turns to face Conner, “You now have a choice. You can stay here, perhaps send Y/N letters if you remember her, or you can come with us. I will not force you to join the League, as you are not an Assassin, however you will be in an alliance with us. You will live at the Compound, and have the freedom to come and go as you please.” Talia steps toward you, slowly melting into the dark shadows that fill the cave, “I will give you one week to decide, Connor Kent. I suggest you choose wisely.”

With another gesture the rest of the League members begin to disappear, one by one slipping into the darkness, until no one is left but four tied up vigilantes, and one Kryptonian. Kon has a choice to make, now the true question is, will his decision be the right one?

WHAT WILL HIS DECISION BE?!?!?!?!!??!

[yoichooseno]

Jason. Damian, and Death AU

Damian was quite small when Jason died. He didn't know the older boy very well, given that the two boys only common circle was the home that they shared and the people they considered family. Otherwise, Damian was a fussy toddler who enjoyed watching others and Jason was a rambunctious vigilante in training. To Jason, Bruce was a mentor and a father figure. Someone who found him on the streets and promised something better for him. Not only had he promised, but he delivered. Although, Jason would have considered a roof and some food better than his cardboard box on the streets. Bruce instead gave him a home, warms meals, clothes, an older brother (followed by two younger brothers) and the opportunity to be something great. To help people in need. To make a difference for the people Jason left behind on the streets. To Jason, Damian was new. He wasn't sure how to feel about Damian, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little jealous of the blood son. Damian was a small child that Jason made silly faces at. Damian was the small child who hung off Bruce's neck. Jason didn't have much time to get to know Damian before he died. To Damian, Bruce was the father he didn't know he had. Talia showed up on the front step, baby Damian cradled in her arms, his itty bitty hands holding onto her hair. Bruce opened the door, Talia announced this was his son, handed him over, and disappeared into the night. Dick, Jason, and Tim were all huddled behind Bruce, watching in confusion and astonishment. But Damian didn't notice, nor did he care. He was absolutely fascinated by his fathers face. Tiny baby Damian was enthralled. The infant in Bruce's arms recognized him instantly, without ever having met him. It was like magic. To Damian, Jason was something of an oddity. He often came thundering into the room, eyes ablaze with adrenaline and excitement. He was loud, he was rambunctious, and he was emotional. But he made funny faces, and he sang songs, and read stories, when he had the time. Damian was actually quite fond of him. When Jason died, his first thoughts were to his mother. How he wished he had been there for her more before her death. How he lived and breathed to make her proud. How he hoped she wouldn't be disappointed at how early- how cruelly early- he was dying. How at least he might see her soon. Then he thought of Bruce. He thought of all of their precious father-son moments. How he wasn't here now, nor when the Joker was pressing down on Jason's life force with all of his weight and that of the crow bar. How he hoped he had made Bruce proud, as that had been his biggest dream in this new life that Bruce had given him. How he hoped Bruce would come soon, because he needed his father to hold him as he died. Then he thought to his siblings. He thought of how Dick had loved and raised him alongside Bruce and Alfred. He thought of how Dick would ruffle his hair and beam when Jason mastered something. He thought of Dick's warm hands holding his on patrol. He thought of Dick's boyish smile and wild acrobatics. He thought of Tim and how he idolized him. He thought of all the times he carried Tim to bed after discovering him asleep and drooling on the keyboard. He thought of how badly Tim wanted his shot at being Robin, and grimaced past the pain at how quickly Tim would likely get his shot. He hated that he wouldn't be there for Tim the way Dick had been for him. He knew that Tim would weep and scream about how this wasn't what he meant when he said he wanted to get the opportunity to be Robin. That it wasn't worth it if it meant Jason had to die first. And finally, Jason thought about little Damian. He regretted not getting to spend more time with him. Would they tell him that he had died, or would they think him too young and instead tell him that Jason, still alive and breathing, had gone off in search of something else? Tiny little Damian. He took after Bruce so much more than he could possibly know. He was tough. He was kind and observant. He rarely smiled, even when he was ecstatic. Jason had intended to come full circle, focusing on his mother's face as he took his last breath. But death snuck up on him, as death so often does, and Jason died thinking of tiny Damian's brilliant, toothy smile. When Jason died, Damian was too young to understand the permanence of death. He expected Jason to come thundering into the room, black hair in a tangle, eyes bright with excitement, cheeses feverish with adrenaline, as he often had before. When Jason never did come crashing in, the expectancy gradually faded from the forethought of Damian's mind, instead settling in the very back, waiting. When Damian saw the strange man astride the glossy back motorcycle frozen on the screen in the bat cave, Damian was left breathless. The expectation reared its ugly head. How was Damian supposed to tell his father that the strange man on the screen trudged up faded memories of the dead brother he barely knew? How was little Damian supposed to explain that the red-helmeted man, who's face Damian had never even seen, held a burning connection to the dead Robin in his heart? He couldn't. So he didn't. Damian kept quiet. When Bruce stripped the audio recording of the Red Hood yelling out to Bruce- not batman- Damian's heart pounded. He wasn't sure what this meant to his father, who was paralyzed at the desk, or to Alfred, who was staring with wide eyes at the same frozen image that had sucked the breath from Damian's lungs a week earlier. All Damian knew was that that voice shredded something deeply rooted in Damian's mind- that his brother was dead. More than ever, that expectation of Jason to come racing in was fighting to get past Damian's ribs. When Bruce came with a sweaty, exhausted Jason, Damian surprised everyone by launching into his arms. Everyone was staring. Damian had barely known Jason, surely couldn't have remembered him. And yet, he was the first to recognize him upon his return. Jason, possibly the most shocked of all, snaked his arms around Damian and pulled him up. Damian locked his legs around Jason's waist and the two brother held each other tightly. Neither ever wanted to let go. The years between Jason's return and Damian's death were a blur. They held each other close at heart, but neither expected to have to say goodbye once again. They took the years for granted as they had silently promised they never would. But when Damian died, his first thought was not to his mother, who had left him, or to his father, who had raised him. It was not to Alfred, his grandfather, to Dick, his eldest brother, or to Tim, the Red Robin who trained the baby bird. It was to Jason. The brother who died. The Robin who set the bar for both Tim and Damian. He wondered what Jason thought of as he died- he'd never thought to ask. Never noticed how Jason savoured his smiles- and he wondered if he would be as lucky as Jason. Would he come back? Or would this be the true, the definite end for him? He only hoped he could make Jason proud. He hoped he could be as brave as Jason had been in his last moments. Damian died thinking of his dying brother.