#and like i don't think he stopped being robin until like 2/3/4? months into the school year?? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

girlindelusionn · 2 years

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oh my god HELLO i just logged back into tumblr and i screamed when i saw the two chapters you posted 😭 THEY ARE SERIOUSLY everything i could’ve dreamt of and more holy shit u are now my fave person in the world. also yes dw i did mean lover by taylor PLS. u have seriously made me the happiest person on the planet and i will be reading all 10k+ words. ily never stop writing

HI LOVE IM SO GLAD YOU'RE LIKING THIS 😭 you're officially my fave person in the world too, ily and thank u for such sweet words!!

here's chapter three <3

i want them all, robin x you (part 3!)

"We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call"

part 2! part 4!

You leave the living room to go find more ice and smile like an idiot when you see her cleaning a couple of cups on the sink. Seeing her exist so naturally in your own house still made you unreasonably happy.

She was always beautiful, but tonight it was almost too much. Happiness did that for her. And, against all odds, she had been wrong all those times before. People, or a few of them, weren't that bad. Having friends was not a time bomb, a catastrofe waiting to happen, an eternal countdown. It was pretty cool. And it made her happy. So happy.

This year had been absolutely insane. It was exhausting to even think about it. But along the chaos, hatred and tragedy you two had grown closer to people you'd never in the world would’ve thought. I mean, fucking Steve Harrington was in your house right now! And you were okay with it! You were more than okay. You –and don't you ever tell him– kinda liked him..? Sophomore you is probably calling you a traitor in every language possible, how could you like that idiot?

Honestly, it had been just as surprising as it sounds. It’s not like you planned it.

But Robin and you desperately needed jobs during the summer –cause again, the running away thing– and the mall had recently opened so that was the most obvious choice. Besides, it meant spending all that time together without thinking excuses for your parents, and for two hormonal teenagers who had started dating just a couple months before, it was the best news in the world. Until you found out who was the third person that was gonna be working there. No joke, you almost quit on the spot. Not Steve! Literally anyone but Steve. And you knew Robin felt the same, even though she assured you pretty much every day that Tammy Thompson was not someone she thought about anymore.

But he was pretty chill now that he was out of Hawkins High. Which only proved your theory, school was a monster. He was great with kids, (he had a lot of kid friends, that was kinda weird) he knew how to handle customers (unless it was pretty girls) and he would always cover your shift if you needed to. He was also falling for your girlfriend, which wasn’t great but it was a bit amusing. Overall, he was a good guy.

But you liking Steve was only the beginning of the crazy things that happened during the summer. First there was the code, then the fucking elevator, then the russians (how could you forget the russians?) and then the magic kid and the giant monster.

So it was safe to say, summer had been wild.

Autumn had flown by after all that mess, and senior year had been good so far. Nobody tells you how exciting school can be when you have someone to secretly make out with in the bathroom. Your relationship was as good as it's ever been, keeping secrets was basically second nature for both of you. As sad as that might sound.

Good thing is, your mom and dad had decided to take a vacation for the holidays. Three. Entire. Weeks. Of an empty house and a possibility for you two of, inside these four walls, having a normal life. She had packed a bag and told her parents you were going to yet another break up and were in the urgent need of a “girls week”. Sometimes, like two percent of the time, being gay ruled.

You had spent these weeks cooking, reading, singing and wearing down every vinyl on your collection. Doing all those things you normally wouldn't. And it has been the best time of your life. Every time it got clearer and clearer that Robin was who you wanted to spend your life with. Even if that was something you would never confess to her right now. Even if legally that couldn’t even happen.

“You’re staring” she says. You just snort and hug her from behind. Struggling to get to her shoulder.

“Who gave you the right to be this tall, huh? Who do you think you are?” she laughs at your tease, pretending she can't hear what you're saying from so far above. With that she earns a light punch to her side.

“Ow!”

“You deserved it” you say with a smile that gets quickly attacked by her kiss. Surprised, you look at her with your eyebrows up. “What was that?”

“Oh, it's just something called kissing…” she jokes “I can give lessons anytime soon if you want. Ow!” another punch to the side.

“I mean– we have guests in the house”

“So what? They’re over there and it wouldn’t be so bad either if they found out, right?” your face shows confusion but you keep your smile. “Why are you looking at me that way? If you don’t want them to find out, I won’t tell them or do anything in front of them. At least not on purpose, but you know how hard it is for me to actually shut up! I mean the other day Steve heard me say goodbye to you over the phone and I had to tell him my grandma calls me babygirl and–- “

You kiss her again just to shut her up. A very recurrent situation in your relationship.

“I don’t care, Rob. But I thought you did…” you hug her a little tighter and you feel her relax in your arms.

“I mean, it’s not like I want the entire school to know about it… But maybe just Steve?”

“You wanna tell Steve?” you ask once again just to make sure she’s really okay with it.

“Yeah”

“Alright, then we’ll tell him.” you smile and she follows right after “We wait until Nancy and Jonathan are gone?” she nods and you let her continue with the dishes. The music sounds muffled from here, but you can hear laughter above it.

“So, just for the sake of the tradition…” you ask, sitting above the counter, next to her. “Where are you thinking of running away this year?”

She smiles to herself and thinks for a minute before answering, gaze never leaving the cups.

“Honestly… nowhere.”

You gasp, jokingly. “Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?”

She laughs a bit, but she’s serious when she says:

“What have you done to me? You made Hawkins a livable place!”

That thought, the fact that she didn’t care about where she was physically as long as she had you, made you melt with love. She was the sweetest person and you loved her so much it hurt. So, naturally, before leaving the kitchen with the ice in hand you have to steal one more kiss from her. You had planned a simple, quick kiss, but your girlfriend decided to grab your face and deepened it. You had cero (0) complaints, of course, but when you hear Jonathan’s steps in the hallway you barely have time to pull away.

“Guys? Steve just landed on the sacred stair and he might have to go back all the way to the start!” he explains as he enters the kitchen. You both hope he wont realize the faint traices of sexual tension left on the air. Or how you two are a liiitle closer than usual “Hurry up!”

You grab the ice and follow him out of the kitchen, not before shooting Robin a grin.

The other two were still in the living room playing some kind of game Dustin had invented. It made absolutely no sense, but Steve had promised to learn the rules and play with him. Robin had landed in some kind of pit so she had lost fifteen turns. Jonathan was a little ahead of you, but he had terrible luck with the dice. You were doing pretty good, but had drawn a curse card at the beginning of the game, which made it impossible for you to advance more than five steps at a time. And Nancy and Steve were currently fighting for the win. Nancy, who had landed on the “silence cave” and could not talk for the next two turns, was four steps behind him, but now Steve had landed on the “Sacred Stair”.

“So now if you get anything but a three you're doomed?” you ask, incredulously, as soon as you sit back on the table.

Nancy nods, Jonathan checks the handwritten manual for the fifth time, and you can’t help but laugh at Steve’s worried face.

“C’mon, Steve. You can do this.” he cheers himself up. You hear Robin scream “WAIT FOR ME” from the kitchen. A couple seconds later she's back at her spot next to you.

“Give me a three, a three, a three…” he throws the little dice a little too hard, it rolls and rolls and falls under the table. “NOBODY MOVE” All of you four find it hilarious how seriously he was taking this game.

“ITS A FIVE” informs your girlfriend with a smile on her face.

“NO WAY”

“YOU LOST!” joyfully screams Nancy, who was also taking this more seriously than she should.

“WHERE IS IT?”

“Now you have to go back to the book of secrets, babe” laughs her boyfriend.

“ITS A FUCKING FIVE. OH, C'MON!” he laments “After all the time that I spent trying to get the fives for the Philosopher Monster!”

And for a second everyone is happy –except for Steve, obviously– and for the first time in your life you are certain you have found your people.

The rest of the night practically flies by and when you all notice it’s ten thirty. Jonathan and Nancy had promised to be home by eleven, to celebrate with their families, so they say goodbye and thank you for the invitation. Nancy doesn’t lose the opportunity to make fun of Steve one more time before leaving.

“Let’s do this again sometime!” says Jonathan, kind as always.

“Yes! Can’t wait to beat you again, Steve!”

“Oh, shut up”

After a little more bickering the couple is gone and Steve stands by the door awkwardly. You know the problem, he didn’t have any family to spend the night with and he was also too embarrassed to tell you both, which was ridiculous.

“Well… I should get going too…”

“Steve, dingus, you can stay over '' clarifies Robin. His face lights up a bit, but he’s still a bit unsure.

“You’re sure?” he asks you, the owner of the house.

“Of course, Harrington.” You smile and he gives you a hug that catches you off guard. He even takes advantage of the height difference too and lifts you a little off the ground. You laugh and hit him on the back of the head, jokingly. “Put me down, idiot!” he does so and thanks you once more “Now, when you had the genius idea of knocking the board off the table–“

“Nancy’s fault!”

“… you also knocked the little carrots, I want them out of my floor by the time I’m done with dishes. Robin you’re in swapping duty, or the spilled soda it's gonna end up sticking to the floor”

“Yes, ma’am!” They both say. Posing as soldiers, with hands on their foreheads. You roll your eyes, and make your way to the kitchen.

After a while of tedious cleaning, —those damn carrots had flown everywhere— you take downstairs the couple of mattresses you kept for visitors and make a big bed in the middle of the living room. Steve’s early Christmas gift for Robin and you, a Queen record, was playing softly in the background and the clock on the wall marked fifteen minutes till midnight.

Steve’s in the bathroom but Robin and you are already in bed. She’s nervous, you can tell. She’s slightly trembling and fidgeting with her hands. It isn’t really the first time you both do this, but it’s as terrifying as the last time:

You two walk the distance between your math class and Mr Hauser’s classroom as you damn this fucking school for being so closed minded. All you wanna do right now is hold her shaking hand.

“We don't have to do this, you know?”

“But I want to.” She reminds you. You’re unsure “I really do. I'm just a bit nervous.”

“Are you sure this is gonna be fine? Maybe we could start with someone safer?” you offer when you face the door. Robin shakes her head no.

“Trust me, there’s no one safer than Mr Hauser.” you’re still not a hundred percent convinced, but she looks sure of her words and you would trust her with your life, so you knock on the door.

You both enter after you hear his “come in!”. He looks surprised to see you.

“Robin! Y/N! How nice to see you both” he greets.

“Hi” says Robin, who’s getting more and more nervous every second that passes.

“Hi, Mr Hauser.”

You occupy the first two seats as you chat about your winter break. Well, you and Mr Hauser, Robin is weirdly quiet because of the nerves. You try to help by holding her hand under the table.

“All the way to California?” the teacher is telling you about the winter break he spent visiting his family “That must have been nice"

“Yes! Great weather. And I even managed to find a copy of–”

“SO WE'RE DATING” says Robin out of the blue. You look at her astonished. “Y/N and I, we’re kinda– not kinda, we’re dating.” she explains. Her face is the same shade of red as her converse.

“Oh…” he says with a confused smile. You hold your breath, you know how much Mr Hauser means to her and not having his support would be devastating for Robin. “That’s great! I’m happy for you both"

You continue with the conversation, Robin actually participating this time. You even get to tell him all about your traveling plans. You also find out Mr Hauser was already aware of Operation Croissant, apparently Robin told him all about it, and he confesses he pretty much knew there was something going on between you two.

You’re having a really good time, but after a while you need to go. Today you had a geography test and you needed every second possible to study so you say goodbye to her and the teacher and make your way to the library. As soon as you leave Robin turns back to see Mr Hauser, who’s looking at her with a grin, waiting for her to talk.

“I know that you feel like I'm rushing into this, and it's probably a bad idea to make all these plans when we’re so young and delusional but—” she starts to ramble.

“Robin…"

“No, no, I know what you’re gonna say. ‘That’s just me being really in love for the first time’ but honestly it feels like i'm never gonna love anybody but her. Which I know sounds ridiculous cause we’re only seventeen and we have all our lives ahead of us an–”

“I was going to say that you look genuinely happy for the first time, Robin.” he explains with a small smile.

“Oh…” she breathes “I am. I really am.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say.”

So the whole telling Mr Hauser had gone well, and chances were telling Steve would go just as good. But it still felt awfully scary.

“STEVE, CAN YOU HURRY UP, DUDE?” Robin yells at him. She just wants to let it out.

“IM IN THE BATHROOM” he complains.

“AND WHAT’S TAKING YOU SO LON—?”

“WE DON’T WANT DETAILS. I REPEAT, WE DO NOT WANT DETAILS” you look at her with an ‘are you insane?’ look. Robin shrugs and you sight. “Rob, it’s gonna be okay, dummy. It’s just Steve.”

She looks at you and you know she’s really trying to believe you, but it's just not that simple.

“I know, I know. It 's just… too much, sometimes.” She shows her trembling hands and this time you do kiss her, taking advantage of the fact Steve’s still in the bathroom. Starting to realize this might be the last time hiding kisses. At least from him.

That sounded wonderful. So wonderful you kiss her even fondly. She accepts it, running her hand through your hair.

“WHAT?”

Oh, fuck.

You drift apart from your girlfriend, who is still too shocked to even speak. She has the same guilty smile as you do. Like two kids caught red handed.

“…WHEN? W— WHAT?”

You might have broken Steve.

“YOU TWO ARE…” he starts to guess.

“Dating, yeah.” You explain. But that doesn’t erase his frown and confused gaze.

“For how long?” He says after a few seconds of silence.

You turn to Robin with a knowing look. “…a while”

“FOR HOW LONG Y/LN?” He’s not mad, just surprised. How could he have missed this completely?

“Nine months.” you reply.

“WHAT? SO YOU WERE ALREADY DATING WHEN I MET YOU?”

“Technically–” finally speaks Robin “ …yes. But only for a few weeks.”

“Wait, and all that time I…”

“Wanted to bang my girlfriend?” You complete his sentence “Yes, that was funny. But I don’t blame you, though, look at her.”

“Oh, shut up” complains Robin, rolling her eyes at you. You respond by sticking your tongue out. She tries to hide her smile, but, as always, fails miserably.

You’re about to make fun of her yet again, but remember Steve’s still sitting in front of you. He’s wearing one of your giant t-shirts, those he's been trying to steal for the longest time, you make a mental note to make sure he actually gives it back before leaving tomorrow morning. He’s still processing, you think, but just to make sure Robin asks:

“Are you… Are you okay with it?” there’s worry in her voice and that makes him snap out of his thoughts.

“Of course!” he assures and you feel her breathe again. It physically hurts to see her that anxious. She didn’t deserve a single bad thing. Ever. “I mean it’s a lot. And I feel like an idiot for not noticing–”

“Oh, that’s old news, Steve.” Robin chuckles, he doesn't find it as funny.

“Well I was gonna talk about how you two are actually a match made in heaven and how I'm so happy for you guys, but whatever...”

“Dear God, you’re such a drama queen.”

“Come over here, you dingus.”

You three hug and when you drift apart Robin’s smile could light up the room. You have never seen her smiling so big. It takes you every bit of self control to not kiss her right there on the spot.

Then you remember. You can! You can kiss her right here right now! In front of someone!

So you do.

“Gross!” Jokes Steve. Earning not one but two punches, one in each shoulder.

#wlw #stranger things #robin buckley #robin buckley x you #dating robin buckley #robin buckley x female reader #lgbt #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #nancy and jonathan

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sohotthateveryonedied · 3 years

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Hiii!! I really love your tumblr posts and I'm pretty new to the Batfam (meaning I have only read fics and textposts about them, no comics) and I wanted to ask about the year Bruce/Batman gets "lost in time". I know general things of what the kids have been doing–Dick became batman and fired Tim from robin, giving it to Damian, everyone thinking Tim was crazy for believing Bruce was alive, (don't really know what Jason was up to though, was he still murderous towards Tim? Does the pit still affect him? Also I have no idea about Cass and Duke, were they introduced at this point??) Anyways, my real question was why was Bruce lost in time, what villain put him there? And how did he get out? And how long was he "dead"? Was Bruce in another reality or like just asleep the whole time? Oh! And how soon did this happen after Damian got introduced to the family–a couple months?

I'm so sorry this is so long, but I hope you answer and thank you!!

(I’m going to try and cover all my bases here by going into how exactly Bruce “died,” what went down during the Battle For the Cowl, what the Batkids did while Bruce was gone, and how Bruce came back. Hopefully it all makes sense?? We’ll see how it goes lmao.)

Part 1 - What Happened to Bruce:

So there was this event called Final Crisis (which I won’t go completely into since it would make this post a million times longer than it already is), but the bottom line is that Darkseid wants to overthrow reality and release his Anti-Life Equation, which would overthrow the whole planet and turn everyone into slaves. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the storyline, here’s a Reddit thread that explains it WAY better than I could.)

What I CAN tell you is that during his final confrontation with Darkseid, Bruce is hit by an Omega Beam and turned into a burnt chicken nugget killed. Poor guy.

Final Crisis #6

Clark and Diana bring the body back to the Batcave and break the news to the Batfamily. Batman #687 covers a good portion of the aftermath such as Bruce’s funeral, the Batfamily grieving, and Dick coming to terms with his new responsibility of becoming Batman.

Batman #687

Part 2 - Battle For the Cowl:

Musical chairs time, fellas! After word gets out that Batman is gone, Gotham erupts into chaos. Dick doesn’t want to take over the mantle, Tim needs Dick to take over the mantle, and Jason says “fuck it” and takes over the mantle himself because somebody around here has to. He becomes this murderous psychopathic Batman and starts taking out criminals with deadly force because someone’s gotta do the job, so it might as well be him.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #1

(Okay honestly, this series had some pretty bad characterization overall, which sucks since it’s such an important storyline. Jason is portrayed as this violent psychopath, which...okay, he was kind of insane after the Pit and all, but not to this degree. Personally, I choose to owe the bad characterization to Bruce’s death because as much as Jason resents Bruce for all he’s done, he does still love him and losing him would be devastating, which would exacerbate his already fragile mental health. As for Damian, this happens roughly three years after his first appearance, so we can assume it’s been a few months since he first joined the family. He’s still relatively new at this point, so nobody knows how to write him yet. He ends up being depicted as if his main two personality traits are Bratty and Assassin-Child and that’s it. It’s all just a mess.)

Anyway, Tim tells Dick to become Batman and stop Jason’s reign of terror. Dick says no, so Tim follows Jason’s lead by saying “fuck it” and putting on the cowl himself. He goes to confront Jason, which ends in Jason beating the crap out of him (again) and leaving him for dead after Tim declines his offer to become Jason’s Robin. Dick goes to save Tim and ends up fighting Jason.

Battle For the Cowl #3

Dick wins, Jason disappears, Tim is fine, and Dick finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes Batman.

Part 3 - What Happens to Each Batkid While Bruce is “Dead”?:

Dick:

As I said, Dick becomes the new Batman a month after Bruce’s death. He’s got big shoes to fill, and it takes some time for him to get used to his new role. He and Damian end up flipping around the classic Batman and Robin dynamic, with Batman now as the fun counterpart to Robin’s edginess. Dick, Damian, and Alfred relocate to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building, operating out of a secret Bat-Bunker in the basement.

Batman #688

Jason:

After Battle For the Cowl, Jason is still batshit insane and determined to make Dick’s already stressful life even harder by becoming a supervillain with an ugly costume and an even uglier hairstyle. (I know it’s just because the artist sucked, but still. Jason is horrifying to look at during this time.) He mostly just gets on Dick’s nerves by running around Gotham with his new sidekick Scarlet and killing criminals as Batman and Robin wannabes. Eventually, Dick has Jason committed to Arkham Asylum and he hangs out there until Bruce returns.

Batman and Robin (2009) #5

Tim:

Tim...doesn’t do great after Bruce’s death, mentally. Dick makes Damian Robin, his reasoning being that Robin is more of a sidekick and he sees Tim as his equal. By making Damian Robin, Dick hopes that it will give him the stability he needs to keep him from straying back toward the “bad” side. (It’s the right move ultimately, although his execution was pretty messed up since he didn’t discuss it with Tim beforehand, but he’s allowed to make mistakes. Dick’s father just died and now he’s in charge of picking up the pieces of their broken family. It’s a lot to handle.)

Long story short, Tim has a breakdown, realizes that Bruce is alive, dons the Red Robin identity, and cuts ties with his family to travel the world in search of proof. It’s a rough time.

Red Robin #1

Damian:

Our little guy becomes Robin! So proud of him! As I explained earlier, Dick makes Damian his Robin with the assumption that it will keep him out of trouble, and he’s right on that account. He mentors Damian, teaching him how to channel his violent instincts into something productive, and it works! Slowly but surely, Damian makes the transition from bratty assassin to actual hero!

Batman and Robin (2009) #22

Cass:

Duke sadly was not introduced at this point in time, so he missed out on all the pandemonium. Cass, however, has been Batgirl for years by now, but she got kind of pushed aside by the writers after Bruce’s death. Bruce disappears shortly after adopting Cass, but once he was “dead,” the writers sort of moved Cass around for a while, not quite knowing what to do with her. First she was with the Outsiders. Then they got disbanded and Cass tried forming a new network of heroes to take over for Batman if needed. Then she helped out in said network during Battle for the Cowl, taking care of a newly ravaged Gotham. Then Cass gave the Batgirl mantle to Stephanie Brown after she became disillusioned with the role, thanks to the loss of her father and mentor. Then Cass picked up and moved to Hong Kong to “follow Bruce’s plans” by continuing whatever work he had set up for her there. It was all very vague and confusing, and Cass more or less got swept under the rug during this time. Thanks, writers.

Batgirl (2009) #1

Part 4 - How Bruce Came Back:

When the Blackest Night storyline happens, the Justice League realizes that the corpse buried under Bruce’s grave is apparently not the real one and that he’s actually alive out there somewhere! How wild is that! This is further proven by Dick after he places Bruce’s body in a Lazarus Pit to revive, which has the same result because it’s very clearly Not Bruce and they should have listened to Tim from the start.

Batman and Robin (2009) #9

Anyway, what actually happened is that the Omega Beams that Darkseid shot at Bruce didn’t kill him, but rather blasted him back through time to the prehistoric era with his memories wiped. The Omega Energy inside of Bruce ends up catapulting him through various time periods, which is all part of Darkseid’s plan. With each time-hop, Bruce builds up more Omega Energy in his body which, when he gets back to his original time period, will be unleashed and destroy everything.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

It’s been a little under two years since Final Crisis, though in-universe it’s uncertain exactly how long Bruce has been “dead.” We can assume it’s been a year, give or take. The way he comes back is too scientific and complicated for me to understand, so uhhhh the bottom line is that Tim and a few Leaguers save Bruce at the Vanishing Point and the day is saved! Hooray!

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

(If you want to read about how it actually goes down, then I seriously recommend reading Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It’s only six issues, so it’s a quick read and it explains the situation far better than I ever could.)

Bruce eventually reunites with his family after spying on them for a period of time as Insider to see what has changed in his absence:

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

After that, things quickly settle back into their new normal. Dick and Damian stay on as Batman and Robin. Bruce goes back to being Batman as well, with him handling Batman Incorporated business and Dick continuing as Gotham’s defender. Tim keeps the Red Robin outfit, Steph stays on as Batgirl, and Cass becomes Black Bat. Jason stays in Arkham for a while before filing an appeal to be moved to a regular prison. He kills 82 inmates in less than a week and gets transferred back to Arkham, which he promptly escapes from. It’s a ride, I tell ya.

Aaaaand that’s about it! I hope this answered all of your questions!

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we-dragons · 3 years

Text

I'm from a different dimension actually Chapter 8 Damian x reader

The school is shut down for a week ironically because of an attack by The Joker and Two-Face, that Robin and his team took down. The teachers sent out a notice with homework attached and told us to stay inside. Nightmare came back somewhere in the morning I couldn't tell the time because I apparently fell asleep along with Boy Wonder before the end of season 1 of The Highlander. I gently placed him down on the couch, gotten dressed, and made some breakfast, I only had eggs so I made some scrambled and put them on a plate for him and me. Nightmare got the last of the bacon. I put a plate over Robins while I ate mine sitting at the small table in the kitchen going over my homework. Sadly I finished my homework before my eggs and they have gone cold. I silently morn my eggs eating the cold carcass. "You stare any harder at that screen and you might break it." I jump, my head shoots upwards and I sigh, but then my eyes drop on my cat. My jaw drops the furball is purring in the arms of a masked stranger who is petting his head. Robin was petting my cat holding him like a baby and the demon is purring. Robin still had his eyes, and limbs not even a bite mark was seen on his skin.

"You traitor, you barely know him." I playful scold the feline, he meows nuzzling his face in Robin's chest.

"Your monster seems friendly."

"Nightmare looks like he's been introduced to catnip."

"Just a few scratches here and there." He smirks taking a seat next to me."Thank you for breakfast."

"Mhm." I turn back to the screen, "Will you be going back today Robin?"

"I might."

"Hmm." I finish the last problem for today closing the device, "Well I have to go to work, your welcome to stay if you want." I smooth out my clothes tossing one last look at the melting ball of fur. I quirk an eyebrow but move out to the door. I stop Halfway through the doorway and look back putting on my meanest face. "If you break a single window in my home I will find where ever you are and break you. Bye Nightmare, love you, I'll be back in a few hours."

_____________________________________________________________

"Nightmare! I'm back!" my keys skitter across the floor but no black fur is seen. He's still in the arms of Robin though it's not Robin, Green eyes. My stomach sinks and my mouth goes dry. "Damian?" His is just as much shock as me, he puts down Nightmare and rushes to me the door slams behind me. And I'm being dragged then forced to sit, his hands grip my shoulders. "Your early, why did you arrive early, you not supposed to be back for another half hour." I hardly heard him, I scold myself now realizing the obvious. Why else would Nightmare feel comfortable around him he had been here before multiple times noticed how I treated Damian and that's why he was a purring mess in his arms. I said be nice to him when he was over not Robin, but of course, they smell the same Nightmare associated with both people. I should have spotted it sooner, the voice, the height, the tone of his speech. Dear God, I can mom telling how oblivious, like she did when she won Clue. It was right there, he asked the right question and baited me for answers. I don't know why this is a shock to me. Now that I think of it I have to stop myself from laughing

"What the hell," my voice quivers. "Damian, Damian Wayne. You help Gotham." I start snickering, pulling my hand over my face. I throw my head back laughing then fall over to the side. "Nightmare you knew didn't you! Haha, that's why you were you were melting like butter."

"Your laughing!"

"Did you assume I wouldn't!" I wheeze, my breath nearly coming out to form words. "I can imagine you fighting, but saving people that's something else entirely."

"Do you think so little of me?" He sounds disappointed.

"I don't mean it to offend you but what else can I say. I didn't expect this." I sit up, clearing my throat and looking him dead in the eye. "Can I just call you Damian now, or do I still have to you different names."

"Why aren't you more surprised?"I Smile sadly.

"I thought you would have read up on me, do you know who killed my parents that day at home." He stiffens, he opens his mouth but continues. "My Father's sister, my aunt, killed them both during dinner. All because my mother wouldn't let her see those journals you asked about. After that it many people took off their masks."

"That's all it took?"

"What should it take, she killed her own brother because she didn't get confidential knowledge. To be honest, I don't really care anymore."

"You need professional help." I shrug.

"Probably, but getting sessions is expensive and I don't enjoy answering "and how are you feeling?" questions. I had enough of that already from everyone else."

"Where's your brother, Emil?" I feel myself frown.

"He's with someone I trust, I can't tell you who, sorry."

"The file says you died, you also made a miraculous recovery, recovery from what?"

"I prefer not to answer that question, It's rather personal." I don't want to explain that either, I know the doctor was shocked to see me come back. They had to call the professor to have him take me and my brother. After that this entire fiasco.

"You know I'll find out either way."

"Listen, I don't know how I made it, I was tortured by my she who will not be named and left for dead. I prayed for anyone and everyone who would hear me, someone did, the police found me and I was rushed to the hospital. I decided to take a nap, and I woke up to the sound of Emil crying. He cried, even more, when I woke up, screaming even, the good doctor nearly fainted. I was plugged into wires of all sorts, and my uncle was holding a plug, I assume he pulled, tackled me. My body lit up in pain and felt like I was run over, the next I am separated from my family and rushed into a place where they check on me every three months. At least I got to choose the place, they pay for the school, and I cover everything else." I give in, it feels nice to tell someone, something even if it's not the whole truth. But it seems to shut him up. "Please don't go looking for Emil, they haven't caught my aunt yet. I don't know if she's looking for them next, I would prefer not to stand over another grave knowing she got them too." I stare at him gauging his reaction, his face is still stone, unmoving in the uncomfortable silence. I pick up Nightmare, who has been rubbing against my leg for a bit, and scratch his head as he wants.

"Fine, I won't push further but I have terms."

"Really?" What would he need terms for?

"1, you don't reveal my identity to anyone. 2, you will not acknowledge that you know my family’s identities. 3, I come whenever I like as Robin or as Damian. 4, I add terms whenever I please."

"Why would I agree to any of that? I'm the one who has your identity." He smiles.

"Because I will tell Batman this information, and he doesn't talk as kindly to people hiding something. You obviously still are, but for now, I'll let it slide I'm sure by now you've decided to watch the news, so you know what he does." I gulp, I did see his more recent victim and he looked traumatized.

"Alright fine, but I binge so if you fall asleep tough luck, I'm not going back."

"Fine," he reaches back and pulls out his mask which he puts back on, walking out to the kitchen. "I back in a bit, pull out your couch bed while I'm gone. I will be staying here a while." I get up after him.

"Hey, that offer is for when I thought you were some homeless bums who fights crime, gets money from villain's wallets. You have a perfectly good bed at home!" He turns back one foot on the railing and a grappling hook in hand. "Term 6, I will stay as long as I like." he jumps off like before, not giving me a chance to speak.

"Bastard! I need my alone time!" He's gone I don't even know if he heard me. I grumble pulling out the spare sheets and blankets to set up the bed. "He better be paying rent, smug rich kid."

"Meow." Nightmare looks over at the window Robin left of.

"Yes, he's coming back."

"Meow"

"No, I'm not going tell him, not until I have to."

"Merrow"

"Shut up." I kick the side of the couch holding the two large cushions that lay on it, the bed springs out and makes a satisfying thud on the floor. "Go and see if the data has finished downloading, then put it back in the box I'll make you something in a how you feel about tuna our downstairs grandparents gave me a can."

_____________________________________________________________

The sheets are made, the cat is fed and now I am going over how I was going to cover for another person. How much would he eat, can he survive on pastries, ramen, and eggs. How long was he staying, would his family come asking about him seeing as he was here before. At both times, when he broke my window, and when they came for coffee.

"Hey, open the door." The voice is cold but still recognizable. I get up slowly taking my time getting there along with opening the door. He hurries in, dressed in some normal-ish clothes that still look expensive, but he still dressed like he came out of a photo shoot. He not only has a suitcase but some grocery bags, I frown at those. He seems to notice because he forgets his suitcase and charges into the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Y/N I am not eating ramen and eggs for god knows how long. I will cook a decent meal and you will have something healthy."

"How did you know I only had eggs and ramen?"

"I went through your fridge," He places a bag of tomatoes in the bottom drawer where I see green onions and various other veggies.

"I make stir-fry once a month, you have bought enough greens and reds to make that for two weeks. I don't even have rice."

"You don't like it when people spend money on you, do you?"

"I don't need other people's money," He opens his mouth, but I stop him raising a finger cutting him off. "And before you mention Molly, she remains the exception. Not that me telling her not to stops her."

"And why is that." He stops putting the food in the fridge.

"Because I've been friends with her longer," I look back at his bags and frown. "How long do you plan on staying again."

"For as long as I please."

"Won't they come looking for you? Your family I mean, the Detective stops by almost every day."

"Grayson won't be a problem, I left them a trail that leads to several other places." He stuffs the last of the food in the fridge, getting up and looking out the balcony window. "Should take a long while." I can hear the smugness in his voice.

"Your happy you tricked your brothers aren't you." He turns around forcing himself to frown but the corners of his lips twitch.

"Ho, you're a bastard Wayne."

"You're really gonna curse me?"

"You didn't tell me I couldn't Damian." I grab my computer and open Hulu putting on Star Trek; Next-generation where I left off. "Hope you enjoy space adventure, because I'm not starting this over its seven seasons and 4 movies. I'm halfway through season 3, if you want context just ask." I glance up signaling that I am waiting for a response, he leans on the wall in front of my kitchen. I can't read his face, but his face of neutral displeasure wasn't much better. "So, your done feeling good about yourself, or is there something else you need."

"It's been something I've been wondering for a while now, those iridescent pieces you fed me."

"Part of my mother's work." Not a complete lie,

"Was that what those missing journals about?"

"No." More of a lie but not wrong. He groans anyway, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Man, you really like to cut in deep and waste time. Just come here and watch some Star Trek with me I need someone else to groan in pain about Counselor Troy's and Will Riker's on and off slow burn romance." Begrudgingly he walks over plopping down next to me.

"Your tastes in tv are odd."

"You have no idea, my tastes in something go everywhere, after this and Highlander I have several old cartoons next. First, I might have to gather what you know about the Quack pack, Goof troop, Ducktales, and all that pizazz. Though I have a feeling that you would like Darkwing Duck more, or it could possibly be too relatable." He gives me a look.

"How could I relate to a duck?"

"We are a long way from that now, at the moment we must bear witness to Captain Picard and his adventures commanding the USS Enterprise."

"Has anyone told you how unbelievably weird you are?"

"Sir, you have entered my life for what looks to be the long run. You will experience the kind of weirdness only Molly has ever seen. But now that you are basically my roommate you might see more." I pat his shoulder. "So, buckle up, because this is now you've got a seat on this roller-coaster, and you can't get off till the car reaches a complete stop. Now can we please get back to the show I want to see some cosmic action?"

_____________________________________________________________

"Was that a statement or a question?"

"He can achieve the perception of feeling with a chip that goes into his hyper-advanced brain, lets his brother take it but can't make his own."

"I lent you my computer to catch up to where I left off for one night and that's what you're hung upon."

"Yes," his eyes look serious while he shoves some oatmeal in his mouth. "You are the one who can't stand the slow burn."

"Touche."

Before we got to the last season, Damian had asked he could see the rest of the show before the finally. I didn't expect that he would binge because it was a weekend, he even made extensive notes on character weakness. He still went out on patrol every night but came back with no one tailing him. That's what he says at least. He looks tired, with bags under his eyes and just lacking energy altogether.

"While I'm at work please go to sleep, you look like you fought an energy vampire and lost."

"I wouldn’t have lost to a vampire, they’re not that hard to kill.”

“But they drink blood they need to get close; energy vampires are more psychic they don’t even have to be a real monster.” He stops eating/

“How so?”

“They could be emotionally, physically, and mentally draining people. You know like Deity Skimmer, the girl in our science class. You can’t kill the energy-sucking vibes she gives off, can you.” He snorts behind his hand.” I mean it, even creatures of the night need sleep.” I drop my dishes off in the sink. I walk off to the door putting on my boots, I hear the chair slide and I feel his judging eyes digging holes in the back of my skull.

“Once again your conditions said nothing about teasing you, suck it up.” He scoffs. “I’ll be back around 5, don’t break any more windows while I’m gone.” I close the door before I hear any remarks once more about the incident. Though I laugh to myself, I straighten out my outfit and head down to the wonderful smells of the coffee shop. I walk slowly down the stairs looking out to the crowd that had been seated in the lounge. My managers were out by the couches talking to one of the regulars. Pull me behind the counter and relieve my coworker Meg, she looks exhausted and excuses herself. She takes what I assume is her coffee and puts away her apron and rushes out the door. I finish out what she didn’t clean and wait for anyone to come up to the counter. *Ring* though it is loud I hear the bell for the door ring.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment, I need to clean the nozzle here.”

“That’s fine, I can wait.” I flinch but catch myself, so it looks like I flicked something. I turn around with the best smile I can pull off. The sleep-deprived brother of Damian, peers at me from under his hair a frown tugging on his face.

“Oh hey! You came here with detective Grayson last time. Is there anything you would like?”

“Coffee.”

“Any particular kind?”

“Anything that will keep me from sleeping on this counter.” He knocks on the surface twice.

“I Can recommend our D&D potion bottle, it’s a personal favorite of the owners.”

“Why not, how much?” He fumbles around for his pockets, I stop him.

“How about, I make get it for you, and then you pay.” He brings his hands back on the counter and nods.

“I will only be a few minutes, please make yourself comfortable.” I pull out the ingredients for our powerful concoction, the pho fried ice cream, a large potion bottle with a straw, and 20-sided dice. I place the potion bottle in front of him and the ice cream but hand him the dice. He stares at the shiny plastic unmoving.

“I would roll that.” He does what I say and lands on a nine. “Well, sir after this one you can either have another potion or chose two desserts of any kind from our display or menu.” He takes a sip from the straw rather slow; his eyes perk up a bit.

“How Much did you say this was?”

“Oh! That will be $9.23?” He pulls out the exact amount, and I put it away in the register, placing it in the compartment marked D&D.

“And I would like another one of these to go.”

“Sure, would you like it now or before you go?”

“Well now should be nice, I’m leaving in just a bit.” I pull out a cup that is relatively the same size as the potion bottle. I go to give him his cup and notice that he finished the bottle and ice cream. Confusion hits me, but I don’t stare too long to turn to clean the mess. “Have you seen Damian at all?” And there it was.

“No, not since the Gala? Did something happen?”

“There was a…disagreement so he ran out, but if you see him,” He handed me a piece of paper with a string of numbers and an email. “Tell me. That is my number and email.” He does not say anymore and walks out the door, the bell signaling his departure.

_____________________________________________________________

When I got back, I told Damian what happened, he isn’t pleased and is currently pacing the floor.

“My guess is that he knows.” I sigh over my tea and stare sadly at the replaced window.

“No doubt.”

“You know I was rather hoping not to be having another visit from the Batman. What will happen when they find out that I know about the caped crusader thing.”

“He’ll either force into secrecy, turn you into a child crusader, or confine you to the manor.”

“So in other words no privacy.”

“None.”

“As lovely as that would be you told me this was temporary, so why can’t you go back?”

“At the Gala I was supposed to keep you entertained at the table so that we could trap you into to talking about those journals.” I knew it.

“So, you lied to me.” I look at him, faking shock and betrayal.

“It was for the sake of the investigation; I didn’t think that I would end up-.” He examines my expression and face palms. “What’s wrong with you.”

“I like to call it “I laugh in the face of danger” Syndrome, in a moment of despair I crave comedy.”

“You're worse than Grayson.”

“I like him, so I’ll let this one slide.” I sip the warm liquid feeling soothed at the pumpkin spice. “What are you going to do now?” Nightmare jumps on the table noticing my concern and waiting for his answer from me. He walks to the corner where he put his bag then went to the closet pulling out my suitcase. He then grabs his outfit Robin outfit from the coat rack and his other materials. “Get packed, we’re leaving. I’ll grab Nightmare’s things gab whatever you need. And I mean need, don’t pick it up unless it’s necessary.”

“What? I can’t just leave, what about my job? School?!” He Pulls out my backpack and puts some food in it. “Damian!”

“Just trust me, I’ll take care of it! I don’t want you tangled up in my family’s nonsense.” He looks at me something odd swirling in his eyes. “Please.”

“Fine,” I grab my suitcase and pack my box and my compiece which hasn’t gotten back to me on its progress. I throw a few sets of clothes. I open the box to make sure the journals, the scales, and everything else, then I hide it under the clothing and my laptop in the front pocket. I thank myself for making sure to get a suitcase that has a double use as a backpack. In the living room, Damian is all packed the bag is strapped across his chest and he’s holding Nightmare.

“Let’s go.” He hands me Nightmare and pulls me to the balcony. He pulls out and belts with a ring pultruded out on one side swiftly put it around me connecting the loop to his belt. “Hold on tight, and don’t let go till I tell you.” I Sling an arm around him and grip on to Nightmare, he doesn’t hesitate and shoots across the balcony with his grappling gun. I screw my eyes shut. And wait to stop, my heart beats wildly in my chest Nightmare begins purring maybe in hopes to soothe me. I feel something wrong, but it would mean I was away from the Crows. I’m running again, even if it’s not me who chose this it still feels wrong. Because in the direction he’s going it seems that we were leaving Gotham. And for some reason, I feel like it would be a while before I returned.

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baticorngirl · 2 years

Text

Title: "And They All Lived Happily Ever After"

(Dedicated to @mac-attack5)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Fandom: Batman/DC

Warning(s): Graphic Depictions of Violence

Relationship(s): Ra's al Ghul & Talia al Ghul, Talia al Ghul & Melisande, (Heavily Mentioned) Ra's al Ghul/Sora,

Characters: Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Melisande (Talia's mother),

Summary:

When she was small, Talia al Ghul's favorite bedtime story used to be her father's own origin story. It had excitement, twists, revenge, and a moral that Ra's urged her to follow constantly, but that was not the reason she liked it. She liked it because of the beginning. The part where her father was kind, anti-murder, anti-death, and pro-humanity. Perhaps it was a guilty pleasure of hers, to imagine that time. Her father would be very upset to think of her enjoying these thoughts, she knew. Perhaps rightfully. Perhaps she needed to learn better with maturity, or needed to stop being so naive.

Or perhaps, those thoughts were the most beautiful thing she had.

Chapter 1 of 6

Author's note:

First of all, my dear readers, if you don't want heavy spoilers for Birth of the Demon, this fic is not for you. It's mostly based off of that version of Ra's' origin (with some additions from The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul too ofc), so almost the entire thing's gonna end up spoiled if you haven't read it already.

Second of all, if you are one of the rare people that has some huge problem with frequent updates, this fic is also not for you. It shall be updating twice a day, for reasons I will explain in a moment. All six chapters have already been fully written and edited, so, going along with that, this fic is labelled with the characters/relationships of the full story. (Specifically, Melisande will not show up until next chapter, and there is no Graphic Depictions of Violence yet.)

Third of all, this fic has a little backstory in itself that I would like to speak of. Basically, here's what happened:

Last month, I was just casually messaging @mac-attack5 (the person this fic is dedicated to) on discord, and we ended up talking about the headcanon that this fic's idea surrounds. The ideas for it got very angsty very fast, though, so...

Anyway, I took that as a challenge, so here we are. I have written a 6-chapter fic, which will end up totaling to 44k words when finished, to make my friend cry. I shall keep you guys updated on whether or not she does cry. If they don't, then... LOOK I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO, OKAY????

That being said, this chapter is probably the least angsty out of all of them, so I don't expect any tears for the moment.

But, as a matter of fact, that's actually not the entire backstory. The reason it shall get updated so quickly is because I must get it out before the 25th. Why, might you ask? Because that's when the next Robin issue comes out, and this fic ALSO serves as a little goodbye to Ra's' wonderful old backstory, since I am 100% sure Robin is going to ruin it. The preview doesn't look like the worst thing in the world, but A) I wrote this fic before it and B) it's still seems like they're gonna push away the importance of Ra's' uncle for his mother, that Ra's will probably treat Damian worse than he would at this point realistically, etc. and just in general I don't trust DC writers lol so I gotta stay pessimistic so I'll at least get proven right if it's bad.

Okay, that should be it. Enjoy!

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

It was almost 8:00 at night.

Talia's voice was high-pitched, squealing. She plopped down onto her bed, bouncing with energy. Her feet kicked in the air, even as her bottom began to settle down on the firm mattress. Her squealing didn't even pause, though, as she began to chant out fumbled incomplete sentences about beds and stories and sleep. She looked at the bedroom's door, watching as her father calmly followed her in, over 10 feet behind her.

She spun herself to face him, staring up with her beady 4-year-old eyes. Talia pushed herself up from sitting again, flinging her stubby arms out from the bed impatiently. With another weary step, Ra's came into her reach. She grabbed his hand and rushed him closer, until he began to pull a chair over and sit next to her bed, ready to begin. Another squeal of excitement echoed out of the little girl's mouth.

Talia swiftly toppled into a lying position, plopping her head down onto the fluffy pillows. Her body shifted over to point towards Ra's, still staring at him with big eyes. He eyed her back, rolling his eyes, but only a moment and an exasperated sigh later, simply patted her head affectionately. She giggled.

"Alright then, my child," Ra's leaned over to her, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. His fingers pressed together. "Any specific kind of story you'd like to hear this time?" He titled his head, letting his back hunch over while still cracking his neck back to see Talia's bright eyes.

Talia tugged her blankets over her shoulders, snuggling into them, "Any story," She whispered, a grin growing on her face. She fidgeted under the covers, kicking her legs around with a persistent childish energy. Her head rocked backwards, "Any exciting story,"

"Okay," Ra's paused, patting Talia's blankets down on her nonchalantly. He glanced to the left, letting his pupil drift to the top corner of his eye. Simultaneously, he bit the inside of his mouth and lowered his eyebrows, lost in thought as he considered his storytime options. After a minute, he slowly began to nod to himself, but before he could even start to open his mouth again, Talia opened her own and spoke rapidly.

"Story!" She squeaked, "Come on! Please! Tell me a story!" She parsed every sentence oddly, letting everything be short and concise, unlike Ra's' thinking time. Her head popped up from the pillow. There really was no end to her energy, apparently.

Ra's nudged her head back down, "Yes, yes, I will. Patience, Talia. Patience." Despite his insistence, he put his hand up to his chin, rubbing it with thought. It took much too long of this dreary silence before he fully decided and finally gave Talia the entertainment she had been bugging him for.

Fortunately, though, he did eventually open his eyes wide in realization, "I… I have one. It's… exciting, I believe. With a great moral of the story, too. A very important one." His voice deepened, "I want you to learn it and remember it well, Talia. I want you to focus on it more than the story itself." His mouth fell into a flat frown, running creases down the sides of his nose.

"Okay," Talia's chin bounced in a small nod, pushing the blankets downwards slightly. "I'll try to remember it,"

Ra's' eyebrows sharpened, casting shadows over his eyes, "You must remember it, not just try," He criticized, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. His arms crossed, "You must follow it, most importantly. Listen carefully. Don't make any immature jokes at the expense of such a story… or any jokes at all, really. Unlike most basic fairy tales, this story isn't even partially an overdone fib… it's just the reality of what happens -What did happen, as a matter of fact- when a person spends their life making this mistake. It's for your own good tha–"

"I'll do all that," Talia's chin bounced again, pushing the blanket just the tiniest bit further. With the way her feet rubbed together rapidly, it had become more than clear how bored she was. "Just start!"

"God, you're a lost cause," Ra's spit out under his breath, "When I say you need to remember this, I mean you, specifically. I've seen you, the way you speak about my job. The way you speak about me, the way you speak about this league, the way you speak about our sacrifices in general– It could be worse, but it's flawed. You haven't fully grasped this concept, even with my constant teachings." He glared.

"I...understand," Talia's chin bounced in yet another nod, but slower. She rolled flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling as her blank expression quickly proved her claim as a lie. But after a moment, she just shrugged and turned back towards him, smiling again. "But Father, come on! You told me there was excitement!"

Ra's' shoulders rose, and his breath became much louder. He huffed at Talia's disregard for the 'important moral', pressing his teeth against each other sternly. His neck leaned over, sighing again as he rested his head on his propped-up hand. Talia blinked, confused yet again by his behavior.

Ra's pushed his hand up, flinging away a short strand of hair, "Fine, fine, I'll just let you figure out all this when I'm telling it if you lack such patience," His expression gradually softened the more he glanced at Talia's adorable face. "Hopefully I am not acting foolish to trust you with such an important story at this ignorant age of yours. Just don't go around telling everyone you see and…"

"I won't!" Talia instantly swore, nodding furiously. Her eyes lit up, only now realizing that this importance made the story even more of an excitement. "I promise, Father!"

"Good," Ra's nodded in return. He took a deep suck of air into his mouth and lightly coughed, clearing his throat to prepare. Talia pressed her eyes closed in a sleepy gesture. Ra's' mouth flipped open, and his tongue twirled into a familiar pattern, "Once upon a time, in a faraway land… there was physician."

His backstory. His origin. Everything that made him who he was today, tucked in that little story. He didn't tell many people it, and frankly tried to hide it most of the time. Burying the past out of shame, grief, anger, or some twisted mix of the three was not something he was innocent of. No, not in the slightest. But history repeats itself, they say, and he could feel Talia going down that route. Even in her smile. She was still such a young child that surely it meant nothing, he would assure himself, but every action hinted. The hints built up, almost like a subtle taunt.

"Blood is gross," She had stated one day. So confident, so adamant. Her hips swung as she marched in there and made her statement. "Human corpses are gross."

Ra's had cocked his head back, "Why? Humans deserve it with the way they've treated their own habitat. It's revenge, if you put it harshly, or in truth, hardly more than a natural consequence." He turned his back on her again, shrugging. "Unless you knew the person on a deeper level, they should be sparking only joy in an intelligent witness."

"But that person was alive and then they're not," Talia argued, "That's gross and bad, because now the person has to get to a Lazarus Pit to go back to living their life. That doesn't seem good."

"As I just said, even if it's bad for that individual, it was deserved and, in most cases, a necessary punishment." Ra's shifted through a stack of books, which had laid neatly on the table in front of him, His voice had substantially increased in volume, turning harsher in tone. "If humanity doesn't benefit, that is positive, not negative."

"But–"

"But you have not been paying any attention to the lessons, have you?" Ra's accused. He spun on his heel, finally fully turning to face her. He took a few steps towards her, only to waiver of the path to grab a globe off of a nearby shelf. With a soft plop, Talia felt him place the globe in between her arms. She stared down at it curiously. Ra's kneeled down next to her, staring as well.

Ra's picked up a single finger, giving the globe a gentle spin. He placed the finger down on where it landed on, tracing it against the smooth surface. With a hint of hesitance, Talia put her finger down next to his. There were words written there, which Ra's was currently reading silently. Talia was still learning to read, though, so she simply mouthed to herself the few parts she could make out. The words were not a country's name, though, as this was not a normal globe. It was a kind of key, connecting symbols to words and descriptions. Each symbol was scattered over the map. The climate, the plants and the animals of each environment, carefully shown. Like a very specific map would, but in a spherical form.

The countries weren't even labeled, as a matter of fact. There was another globe, usually laying under a thin layer of dust next to this one, that could give Ra's his information on that if he had forgotten. But this one was not to remember labels or names, as almost every single one of those borders were man-made. Fake, ruled to exist through the minds of one species. The only names that were labeled were the continental plates. It was all that mattered to Ra's, when he looked at this globe, and all he wished to teach his daughter, at least in this moment.

"This is what the world looks like now," He explained, "Gorgeous oceans, gorgeous trees. Just a gorgeous planet, wouldn't you say? Absolutely beautiful, with all its thriving life of all kinds of animals. A miracle creation. Our miracle creation." He pressed his palm against it, rubbing the globe as he quickly pointed to different areas. Teaching Talia through gestures, he gave a tap to the key, as well.

Talia smiled, "Yes," Her eyes opened wide with wonder.

"But it's a privilege to live here, isn't it? Something we should appreciate?" He remarked. Taking his hands and eyes off the globe, he stretched his legs upwards until he stood tall over Talia. Talia's eyes followed upwards, nodding. "Well, the humans aren't appreciating it, so we must cut back on them, as it is the only effective way to save our planet. We must get rid of 9/10th of them as if they are litter –which, with the way they scatter litter around aimlessly, they have proved to quite literally be– but your many lessons, if you were paying any attention at all, should have explained all this to you in solid detail."

Talia glanced down at her shoes, fidgeting, "I know," She pulled the globe up to her chest, hugging her arms around it securely. She tapped against it's hollow ball for a moment before looking back up at her father. "They need to be punished, it's about the protection, I know…. But it just seems like a lot of death. People look sad when they die. It makes me sad."

"If you want to hold your full potential as an assassin, we'll need to work through that," Ra's stuck his index finger in the air, making a mental note of the problem. He paused for a moment, only to then stride over to his table of books and go back to sorting through them. Talia, still in his peripheral vision, pouted. "For the time being, since you're still so far away from becoming one, just always keep in mind what I taught you. Stating the wrong opinions, such as corpses being bad, is only going to manipulate you into believing them more. We don't wish for that to happen, do we?" Ra's called over to her.

"No, we don't," Talia nodded,

"So then keep your naive opinions to yourself until you have matured," Ra's advised, flipping one of the books open with a small swack. Talia nodded again, still frowning. When she left the room, her eyes glanced only to the floor. Her hips did not swing, but rather drooped. Ra's wasn't paying attention, though.

Despite all the nodding Talia had pleased him with, that was far from the last time Talia said such traitorous statements. The only difference was, they were usually said to someone else. Of course, word still trailed back to her father regardless, and although he kept quiet, this behavior worried him to the fullest extent.

It reminded him of his young self so, so very much. The same young man that betrayed his wise uncle's mildly-murderous nomads, and the same one who saved an evil person's life only for it to result in a much kinder person's death. He had to teach her better. So, without an ounce more of a hesitance, he illustrated the story's setting with his words, letting a large city in the middle of a golden desert seep into her sleepy imagination. Then describing Sora, and himself, so much younger, just before beginning to paint out the royalty of that city.

"The Sultan had one son named Runce. That son was very muscular but very ugl–" He bit his tongue only a moment before slipping out such a petty word. He could insult Runce once any spoilers were out of the question, at the end of the story. "His son was muscular and skilled in horse-riding, along with many other catches such as simply being royalty in itself, but he had no respect at all. He was not just rude, but blatantly awful to those around him…."

Ra's went back to explaining the story in a matter-of-fact tone, describing the incidents and flaws Runce obviously possessed and showed constantly. Then, he quickly switched to a slightly different topic, deciding to go to the Lazarus pit creation and, right before that, his attempts to save an old woman's (Huwe's mother, to be specific) life.

"I know this may surprise you, Talia," He quietly remarked. A sadness lay in his voice, low and gravelly, "But back when I failed to save that old woman's life, I was displeased by seeing a human being die. Overdramatic, really. I went on and on about death taking away loved ones and the despair of it all… death, how terrible, I thought. Death, a fate worse than anyone deserves…."

Talia's eyes popped open with curiosity. She scooched up horizontally more, still laying down but with her head positioned so it was propped up against her pillowed. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were widened, "But that's crazy. I mean, not what you used to say, but…. You couldn't have been like that. I know you. That's not you!" She laughed, but there was a hint of hesitance in her voice, mixed with another hint of something quite the opposite– intrigue.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Ra's' eyebrows rose, glancing up to make brief eye contact with her. Not one hint of laughter lay in his expression, though. It chilled Talia, just the slightest bit. "Calm down, I told you, no jokes. But yes, I see what you mean… it's ridiculous to think I could've acted so willfully ignorant of all the horrid people in the world. So naive to the horror of humanity as a whole, truly. But, unfortunately… Well, of course I would not lie to you, Daughter." He flung his head over to face the ground again.

"I never said any of that," Talia mumbled, "I just said you're different now. You're the one hating on your old self, not me."

A single eyebrow rose on Ra's' face, "Oh, I'm just saying what we are all made aware of in the League of Assassins, Talia. It's so obvious, and I do hope you're not ignoring the facts." He stated, sounding almost apathetic with such a lack of tone. "Just promise me, Talia… when you grow older, you won't act as naive as me, will you?"

"Umm…." Talia wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her shoulders uncertainly. Ra's pushed his head forward, gesturing for her to go on. She glanced around the room, back and forth and back and forth. "I won't act naive." Talia stated monotonously.

"Good," Ra's swallowed down a load of phlegm before continuing his story, "As I was saying, when that old woman died, I spoke about all my views of death….. The pains of death, how brutal was the enemy of humanity. How brutal was my enemy, I would describe it as. Everyone used to describe the words I spoke as prattle… well, most of it, and frankly they had a point. I was lost in this wondrous world where I could be anything I wanted. Where the world could be anything I thought it was. I was an adult, -albeit a young one- but an adult, most certainly… yet I acted like no more than a child. Not like you, Talia, My Dear, though. I've taught you better than that. I acted like a particularly immature, sheltered child…."

"Wait, Father…." Talia paused, eyes widening even more than before. "Does that mean you didn't kill people?" Her young voice squeaked again.

"Yes, clearly, but… just let me continue." He picked up his hand, pushing air around as he quickly waved away the question. Talia looked to the side, considering this answer even as Ra's changed the subject. "Huwe tried to kill me, as he had previously threatened to, and I was about to let him, when–"

"Why would you let him kill you?" Talia blurted out. Her nose scrunched up, looking almost disgusting by the idea.

Ra's sighed, loudly, as her expression faded. He put a hand up to his forehead, facepalming in annoyance.

"You do need to stop questioning every little detail of the story, Talia." He let out another sigh, pushing Talia down onto her bed. With a gentle plop, he pushed her blankets back over her. "I almost let him kill me…. Well, out of curiosity, if I remember correctly. It was a long time ago, it's… hard to remember. But I loved to learn. I suppose the afterlife is something we have learned very little about, isn't it? Not that it matters much. Death is something you inflict on the wrong, on your enemies… not yourself. Immortality is the goal. Immortality is always the goal, and I've nearly achieved it now, but then I hadn't. Frankly, none of this matters, though…. At some point I'll die permanently, and then I'll learn more of that, but even then won't be able to inform the living. There was no reason not to wait, so yet again, this is just proof of how foolish I used to act. Sure, I discovered germs and invented the Lazarus Pit at that time, but when it came to basic common sense, such as self-preservation skills and any matter of awareness, I was horribly lacking ..."

Talia glanced away from Ra's, "Al…right," Her nose was still a bit scrunched up, but the muscles were beginning to relax. "I guess you were just stupid….. Or really easy-going. Even with getting killed." She squeezed a corner of the blanket between her fingers.

"Yes, yes… something along those lines. I will say that I simply wasn't against the idea of dying, not in the slightest bit for it. That would be a completely different situation." Ra's explained, making a small, loose, hand gesture in the air with one of his hands. With that same hand, he waved this question away using the same gesture as he did to the last one. "Now, if you'll care to stop interrupting me, I do need to continue my story."

Talia flopped to her side, specifically the one facing directly away from her father. She made a small squeak of acknowledgement, but then stayed quiet to let her father speak as he had instructed. He went on and on for around a couple minutes, pulling Talia's imagination through the story. The entire time, she hardly stirred. Her ears perked up at some parts, of course, as proof she was fully listening, but her mouth certainly didn't pop open to shout out some curious queries. Ra's seemed pleased by this, in a quiet kind of way. His shoulders were loose and relaxed, at ease as he spoke.

Eventually, his shoulders did start to hunch, though. Not through anger or annoyance, especially not at his currently well-behaved daughter, but a tingling of stress and sadness in his mind. He had just resurrected Runce in the story. Runce was alive, now, and he had already gotten past his young self's original reaction. There was only one thing left to happen. It made him twitch, then pushed that twitch into a shudder. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a breath before he spoke the next part.

"Well, Talia," He commented, drifting out of the story's plots for a moment. "The next part has excitement, I'll tell you that much. It's climactic, at least. Something happens. But… well, you'll have to wait until later for the positive excitement, for right now is… the consequence." His volume abruptly lowered, reaching almost a reluctant whisper.

Talia turned back to him, eyes wide open,"Don't spoil the next part, just tell! Does Runce say sorry about his actions after you saved him, or does he still act mean, or ..." Talia's excitement quickly lessened as she noticed her father's stern and saddened expression sharpening down on her. Biting her lip, she frowned. "Oh…. um, just go ahead," Her voice wavered, unsure what to make of her father's body language.

"The Lazarus Pit madness is what happened, Talia," Ra's made eye contact with Talia through a piercing gaze. His entire body froze, suddenly even more exhausted than before. "That cruel man… that cruel human is what happened. I don't blame the Lazarus Pit, truthfully, because I doubt it was what made his desire to act so brutal. It simply gave him the guts to go for it. It simply made him turn far enough, a turn that he likely would've made on his own regardless of the insanity… if it wasn't for the mortal illness that I cured. What happened was that he acted so horribly, naturally, human."

"But–" Talia muttered, "But what did he do?"

"He grabbed Sora," Ra's stated softly, "He did it all the time, but much more violently on this occasion. Now, I have no issue with violence, at least presently, but not against Sora. Not against someone who deserved only the gentlest of grabs. But, well…as much as I tried to stop him and save her, he…. strangled her to death." His eyes closed half-way, looking around as he considered the statement. At this point, he didn't quite look sad, but rather, emotionless. Every ounce of expression seemed to be whisked away in his far-off gaze.

Talia's mouth gaped open, "Oh," She pulled up her blankets, shuddering slightly herself. She had been told it would be an exciting story, not a true story of murder. Her lips quivered, forming a shaky pout. Her eyebrows tensed. She was so small, just half the size of her father, and her mind so fragile. But just as she was about to get even more upset, or even let out a tear at the terrifying tale, a glimpse of hope sparkled in her eyes. Still a bit shaky, her lips curled up. "Oh, I know! You'll just put her in the pit! It's already right there and prepared!"

"I tried to," To Talia's dismay, Ra's' frown only deepened.

"Did it– Did it not work?" Talia asked, "Did Sora… go crazy as well? Show her human inside?"

"Of course not, Sora was wonderful!" Ra's yelled, but his tone went straight back to normal only a moment after. "Regardless, I didn't even get that far to find out what would've happened…. Because I got strung along to the sultan's dungeons. For the crime of slaughtering an innocent woman… the one his son had committed. There were multiple witnesses, but no one stood up for me. Not one of those people cared about Sora's suffering, and they certainly didn't care about my wrongful suffering, either. No one was on our side." His head drooped down as his eyes sharpened with anger.

Talia's lips went back to their shaky quivering. Her throat felt itchy, wanting to say something while also wanting to close up and keep quiet forever at the same time. She didn't have anything to say, exactly, at least that she wanted her father to hear. Her body twisted around, burying her face up against her pillow.

Her father's gaze softened, seeming weak for half a second. His entire body slouched, dreary and outdone deep inside. Talia's eyebrows furrowed at the behavior, so different from his usual confidence and rage. His eyelids dropped to the point of almost looking closed all the way. Except then the anger came back, along with a sense of confidence, and he nodded to himself. Suddenly certain. Suddenly normal.

"A perfect example of humanity being cruel, as a whole, together," Ra's remarked, raising his eyebrows calmly. "It surprised me, back then. Now it does not, seeing the much, much, worse ways they torture the planet they were invited on to. But I don't want it to ever surprise you, My Love." He patted her head for the second time, letting every inch of mental strain Sora's death had brung up drift away.

Talia rolled flat on to her back again, only to then throw the blanket over her entire face. "That's… scary," She quietly whimpered underneath, proving herself to, despite all the desensitization, still truly be such a small child. Her back was against the headboard, with her knees shoved up to her chest, very much awake.

"Oh, you're just a little shocked. Next time, it'll come smoothly, and I'll move over this depressing part in a quicker manner. I understand you're young, but this basic story will only benefit you, I promise." Ra's arms made a loose shrugging gesture. "Speaking of which, I'll move on now. This isn't the worst of it, but I'll move fast through that if you're really so sensitive to it. At the end things will get much happier with the excitement. Satisfying, even. So very satisfying." He then let his arms drop down onto his lap, folding his hands together neatly, with the fingers securely intertwined. As he spoke, a smile abruptly took over his mouth. Unlike most smiles, though, his eyes did not squint upwards with joy, but rather stayed eerily emotionless. Angry, even. Talia's head bobbled in a nod from under the covers.

As he explained the torture and imprisonment, Talia still did not relax from her scared pose. A few whimpers even escaped, almost silent but still there. It was only when he reached Huwe's rescue that she calmed down a bit, but even then, it took until right before Runce's death for her to have finally finished gradually shifting back into a lying position.

"...So, the wrongly-done Lazarus Pit burned his ugly flesh off until all that was left was a skeleton," The same eerie smile Ra's had presented before was here again, even stronger in expression. His back had straightened, just as his arms had crossed, both showing pure confidence in his stance.

Talia was actually smiling, too, now. "I bet his corpse wasn't gross," She said. "I bet it was nice and good, just like you've been saying." Ra's' confidence only grew from this sudden agreement.

"Of course it was," Ra's nodded boldly, his chin bouncing high in approval. "I already promised you this would be righteous-feeling. See? Humans deserve all this death. It's a wondrous thing, as a matter of fact, and it's progress to see you addressing it all on your own."

"Maybe," Talia replied, tilting her head. Ra's' eyes squinted for a moment, unsure what to make of the short answer.

Despite it, he went on with his story. All about fighting together with Huwe and his uncle, defeating and slaughtering all the warriors. Talia's smile certainly faded at those parts, but she stayed calm, at least relative to before. She even closed her eyes in an effort to start falling asleep, and although her happiness had pretty much all gone away, she was content enough. Or, at the very least, apathetic.

Until Ra's reached the part where the group came back to the big city, that was. Until Ra's stated bloody descriptions of every single human being's death that lived there. Talia's head darted up from the pillow, pouting yet again. Pouting more than the part where Sora died, even. Her stubby, frail arms wrapped around herself, and her eyebrows tilted downwards with a burst of anger in her gaze. Ra's' eyes widened at the sudden reaction, expecting if anything, her to react the same as with Runce's death. He sighed.

"Why would you kill those people?" Talia exclaimed, "That's so random! They didn't kill Sora, Runce did, and you already dealt with him. Why– why would you–?" The words stumbled out of her frowning mouth in a frantic load of concern. She bounced up and down on her mattress, but not with excitement this time. Anxious was the only way she could describe the movements now.

"Do you really believe simple murder to be enough when they murdered my true love and tortured me almost to death?" Ra's questioned, his voice getting louder with a hint of frustration. "Stay calm, Talia. It was all in my grand plan to take away their power, and even erase what they had used their power for in the past. It was the ultimate revenge, truthfully. It should be satisfying, if you consider it on a deeper level."

"But–" Talia doubted, "But those people didn't do anything! How would that help? I don't get it." Her voice squeaked again as she got more nervous.

"It's not about the individuals," Ra's explained. He blinked slowly, as his voice gradually faded into a single tone. "It is about the full picture. It's about what all this will result in, and that was revenge in this situation. It's the same with my world-domination plans. You focus too much on the human corpses in it… when you could look at the bloodless animals saved." A soft smile covered his face.

"But–" Talia doubted for the second time, "But that doesn't make… But those people…. But what if you or me were one of them? They weren't any worse than us. We could've died. That's… That's scary, too!" She whined.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Talia. I achieved my means and there's no going back so we'll just have to assume it was worth it." Ra's tightened in his arm-crossing, turning from confident to angry and stern. "Although, well.. I will admit I didn't feel too good after it. I admit Sora was still gone in my heart, and I admit my actions did nothing to save me from that. But I also happened to become sick right then, so for all I know, it was just an effect from that. An arbitrary mix of emotions from a burst of weakness." Ra's shrugged it off.

"Those people probably felt really scared," Talia stated. Some small wrinkles puffed in her primarily-smooth forehead at the concern. "Those feelings they felt when you were killing them probably weren't very… very… arbi– arbitr…." Her mouth made a funny face as she attempted to repeat Ra's' complex wording.

A much louder sigh poured from Ra's' lungs, "Ah, Children. Always so naive. Always so sensitive to these matters." He didn't even bother to argue with her. Instead, Ra's rolled his neck around, glancing to the floor with a sense of subtle anger at the child.

Silence took over the air for a good minute or so. Talia was still sitting straight up in her bed, looking directly at her father unpleasantly. Meanwhile, Ra's did not return the looks, as he still rolled his neck around to glance at the most spontaneous things around the room. He ignored her out of his annoyance. After another second, Talia just wiped her eyes of any welled-up tears and plopped back down sadly. Ra's took this as a cue to continue with his story.

The last few details were mostly adding on to the part that Talia didn't like, so she made sure to position herself to be as far away from Ra's as possible. A puffed up piece of blanket blocked him away from her. From where she couldn't see her, Talia's eyes were angry in expression. But also sad… quite sad.

"That's how I became who I am today," Ra's finished. Talia breathed a sigh of relief at the end, exhaling out quite audibly. Ra's didn't respond, though, but simply pushed the blanket wall down and gently patted her back. "Are you still awake under there, my love?" He smiled at her.

"Yes…" Talia replied, slowly beginning to turn around to face him. Her face still displayed visible distress.

"Then how do you feel about the story?" Ra's asked. A single eyebrow rose in genuine intrigue. He leaned in, making eye contact from only a foot away. Talia rocked her head back and forth, swishing her mouth about uncertainly. Ra's' eyebrow rose again. "What did you take from it?"

"Well… I liked the beginning part," She mumbled. Her mood quickly changed, letting a small smile take over her. That smile only grew as she spoke once more. "I liked hearing about when you thought killing was bad… And I liked hearing about Sora and how you loved her. I liked hearing about the part where you thought corpses were gross."

Ra's' eyebrows quickly furrowed in concern and barely-hidden disappointment, "Because you learned from it, I assume? Because it was interesting to learn how such actions backfired?" He lifted his chin upwards slightly. Under his breath, his mouth quietly muttered out a whisper. "That's not a part you're meant to like."

"Probably," Talia shrugged, biting down on one side of her lip innocently. "Or maybe it was just interesting to learn about your past in general. Your old opinions and stuff." She glanced downwards, narrowly avoiding Ra's' eye contact. Her blanket was in a twisted mess over her now, and she nonchalantly began to fix it. Ra's waited to answer.

"I… guess that makes sense," Ra's agreed, but his judgemental side-glance proved otherwise. For around half a minute this time, Ra's and Talia stayed silent. Talia spent the entire time kicking around her bed sheets until they worked well, not even bothering to give a look back at her father. Ra's calmly sucked his lips in thoughtfully. "Any other thoughts you acquired about it?" It took a moment of confusion on Talia's face before she understood her father's formal word choice this time, but she eventually got it.

"Well," She began, "I liked it when you killed Runce,"

Ra's went back to peacefully smiling, "Any specific reason for that? Because he deserved it, I assume? Because humans deserve it? Because Sora deserved all the vengeance in the world for the unjust he put her through?" He stuck his chin even further outwards towards Talia as he encouraged her forward, subtly anticipating a good response.

"Yes," Talia said. She turned from her blankets to her pillows, throwing one up in the air enthusiastically to puff it up. Apparently, she'd done it harder than she realized, as it nearly flew right on to the floor, if it hadn't been for her father catching and handing it back to her. She positioned the pillow down and then got comfortable on top of it. But right as she rolled herself down on to it, a couple quiet sentences seeped out of her mouth. "But honestly, I also just… liked it when you killed someone to help her. When you killed out of love, instead of… you know. I don't see you do that much anymore."

Ra's' brow scrunched up in confusion, "On the contrary, that's certainly not something I quit after that. I've killed for my loved ones plenty of times. Loved ones of all kinds, even, as sometimes even people as far as allies will get a simple vengeance if they're murdered offensively enough." Not even looking down to do it, he grabbed Talia's blanket and gently wrapped it over her arms to tuck her in.

"But that's just if it offends you, isn't it?" Talia clarified, pushing herself down even deeper into the sheets to get fully cozy. "I meant when you kill that person because they're bad. Simply because they hurt the person, and you love them. When you explained it, it sounded like that's what happened with Runce."

"Of course it was," Ra's nodded. He was now standing up from his seat, stretching his legs out as he walked careless circles around his chair. "He brought harm to me as well, but at that moment, of course I had Sora on my mind. It was for her, not myself, I promise you. But even those kinds I haven't stopped doing. Just consider our entire plans to save the earth with the cutting down of the human population." He broke out from the circle to make his way to a blank wall in Talia's bedroom.

On the wall, he traced out a circle with his fingers. His head leaned against the wall as well, gazing directly out at the large circle he was mentally marking out. It was no more than a gesture, of course, but he repeated the gesture several times, as if it could somehow drill his points into Talia's head even deeper through it. Meanwhile, Talia's head had perked up to watch Ra's' movements, messing up her blankets slightly again.

"We're protecting the Earth, Talia," Ra's verbally established, making a tap on the wall with the same tracing finger. He briefly glanced back at her to make sure she was watching. "We're protecting it because we love it, and because we cherish it more than the rest. Is that not out of love?... Besides, consider the animals this organization has saved. Every single one lies so close to my heart, and I wish to get rid of humans to make room for more. Is that not out of love?" He pressed his palm against the wall, pushing against it to twirl himself around until his back was pushed against it. His arms pulled in, folding over one another behind his back.

Talia nodded, but while moving her head in a way that almost also made her shake her head, too. Her eyes began to fall closed, looking at Ra's and showing brief confusion while also being quite obviously much too tired to fully react.

Ra's walked back over to her, pushing her straight back down onto her back and tucking her in yet again. She didn't resist at all, just sitting there as the sleepiness took over. Ra's took a deep breath, letting his expression soften at the sight of Talia fall asleep. He patted her small, child-sized head.

Talia's imagination took over from this point. At first, her father's last words about murder and love crept into her mind, but the word 'love' stuck. It was such a beautiful word. In the League of Assassins, hardly anyone spoke about it, or used it to its full potential. So, Talia thought of love without murder, and the words of death taking away love, quoted from Ra's so long ago, filled her head. It was such an intriguing idea. It was an idea that for once, she wanted to believe in.

Eventually, her mind mashed all her scattered sleepy thoughts into a dreamland world standing in front of her. It was a beautiful world, with bright, shining, affection that she held onto and dreamt off all night long. It was a more beautiful world than she was surrounded by. There was no blood. No blood at all. Talia had already seen so much blood, even at 4 years old, that it was a simple relief to not see that disgusting death for a moment.

Ra's would not have liked her enjoying this dream. He wouldn't have enjoyed this dream. He would've called it naive. He would've called it too good, to the point of fraud. But in that moment, it didn't matter. Because that story had opened up a concept in her that she liked a lot– her father, despite his current bloodlust and obsessions with ends over means, was not always murderous.

As she was drifting out of consciousness, though, her ears had picked up one last goodnight from Ra's.

"You, yourself, are very much included in the loved ones I'd kill for, Daughter," He had reminded her, "And for you, I would kill a thousand times over. No one is allowed to hurt you, Talia, I'll make sure of it."

Even in her sleep, Talia had made a small nod back to him. Ra's leaned over, kissing the top of her head lightly. A few pit-patters echoed on the floors as he made his way to the light switch. Ra's flicked it off and took one last look at Talia, grinning.

"Not even a single punch,"

Meanwhile Talia, half-asleep but blissful, had believed those words with all of her heart.

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

Ending notes:

Reblogs, replies/comments, or even just likes are greatly appreciated <3

Also, I know some people are gonna be thinking "Ra's is acting way too nice" but just be patient because there's a point to it, and besides, back in his early years, Ra's WAS supposed to love Talia, and he did show his affection from time to time, so it might just be you reading too many modern comics where Ra's is worse than he used to be that's making you think it's more OOC than it is.

#talia al ghul #ras al ghul #league of assassins #batman #dc #batman fanfic #batman fic #batman fan fiction #dc fic #dc fanfic #dc fan fiction #al ghul family #batman: birth of the demon #tw mentions of death #tw mentions of torture #tw mentions of killing #baticorn writes

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nightwingfangirl · 3 years

Text

So, I'm going to try writing one of my actual stories here. It will be updated after this as separate parts, so look out for it. You can also find it on Wattpad, A03 and Fanfiction.net

Bloodlines

Dick Grayson, it turns out, was adopted by the Graysons as a baby. That leaves a few questions; Who are his real parents? And how will he react when he discovers their identities?

*I own nothing but the plot! All images used are not mine. *

Part 1

Bruce Wayne stared at his computer screen, scanning the document before him for any sign of it being fake. For all his effort, he couldn't see any.

He had begun his search into Dick's background due to the many remarks made by guests and friends at Dick's likeness to both himself and his father, Thomas Wayne. He himself had noticed a few things, but had waved them off as coincidences. There was no way that he and Dick were blood relatives, although he had adopted the 15 year old recently, 7 years after taking him in.

Still, he had been curious, so he looked up Dick's records and, most importantly, his birth certificate.

As it turns out, Dick's parents weren't actually the Graysons. He had been adopted on the day he was born by the pair. His real birth certificate read that his birth mother's name was Enlisa Kley. He had been born in France, as expected and his father was listed as "Unknown", but, judging by his real mother's unscrambled name and the time of his birth, Bruce had some suspicions as to who it could be. He just needed to run some tests first.

…::-::...

The results came back positive, just as Bruce had expected. The only problem was telling Dick, but he needed to speak to Dick’s biological mother first.

…::-::...

“Selina,” Bruce said, as she entered her apartment that night.

Selina jumped slightly in surprise, “Bruce, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?”

“16 June 2004? Does that ring a bell?”

Catwoman’s eyes widened, “What about it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t keep him.”

“So you gave him up for adoption?”

“Not exactly. I met the Graysons at the hospital. Mary had just suffered a miscarriage and lost her child. I had just had a child that I couldn’t keep, so I let them adopt him.”

“But you still didn’t think to tell me? Even after I took him in myself.”

“It was too late by then.”

“Don’t you think it’s too late now?”

There was a pause in their conversation.

“Are you going to tell him?”

“We can’t not tell him. He has to know. It’s only fair. I’m certain that he won’t like it at first, but he will accept it eventually.”

Selina sighed, “Alright, when are we going to do it?”

“Now.”

Part 2:

“Master Dick, Master Bruce wishes to see you in his study.”

Dick looked up from his algebra homework as Alfred spoke.

“Alright, Alfred. I’ll come now.”

The immortal butler gave a slight nod before vacating the doorway. Dick finished off his equation before heading to the study.

He entered through the open doorway, and was surprised to find Selina Kyle there as well.

“Alfred said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Bruce said, vaguely, “I have something important to tell you, that I’m not sure you’ll like.”

Dick stiffened slightly. What was Bruce talking about? What wouldn't he like? And what did Catwoman have to do with it?

“I was looking into your background,” Bruce explained, “and I found out that the Graysons weren’t actually your parents. You were adopted by them as a baby.”

Dick’s blood ran cold. The Graysons weren’t his parents? He was adopted? But then…

“Who - who are my real parents then?”

Bruce took a deep breath, and told him.

Dick’s eyes widened with every word in both surprise and shock. Bruce was his father. Selina was his mother. The Graysons weren’t his parents. He hadn’t watched his parents die. His whole life was a lie.

Bruce finally stopped talking and waited for Dick’s reaction.

Dick didn’t speak, couldn’t speak. He stood in shock, slowly shaking his head in denial. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Bruce to be his father, he just couldn’t believe it.

He slowly backed out of the study, which neither Bruce nor Selina noticed until it was too late.

Dick bolted.

He ran from the study, flew out the doors, and away from the manor. Grasping his cellphone in his hands shakily, he dialed a very familiar number as the tears began to stream down his face.

“Hello?”

“Babs?”

“Dick? Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“W-would your dad mind if I come to stay the night?”

“I’ll ask him, hang on.”

Barbara could be heard talking to her dad in the background.

She soon came back to the phone.

“He says that’s fine. But what’s wrong?”

“I- I’ll tell you when I get there, thanks Babs.”

…::-::...

“So, Dick,” Barbara said as they sat down on her bed, “What caused you to leave the manor in such a rush? And what’s got you so upset?”

Dick explained everything to her. She did, of course, know about Bruce, Dick and Selina’s secrets. She was a vigilante herself.

When Dick had finished, she lay back on her bed and sighed deeply.

“I see,” she said, “Why you were so upset.”

…::-::...

Meanwhile, back at the manor, Batman and Catwoman were suiting up to go and look for their son. They had been unable to find him on the manor’s grounds, and even though they knew that he was well trained, they were worried for his safety. It was late at night, at a time when Gotham rogues were usually about. He did, luckily, have his belt with him, as he had been told to have it on him at all times, so he wasn’t completely weaponless.

The pair climbed into the Batmobile and drove out into the night.

Part 3:

Bruce wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of looking there before. Of course that’s where Dick would go.

Barbara’s house.

Barbara had been Dick’s closest friend since they’d met when they were eight years old. The pair had been inseparable ever since.So, naturally, that’s where Dick would go if he was feeling vulnerable.

It was Bruce Wayne who rang the Gordons’ doorbell, not Batman. Commissioner Gordon answered and seemed to not be surprised by the billionaire’s appearance.

“He’s in Barbara’s room,” he simply said.

Bruce went and stood outside the closed door, listening to the sounds from inside. It seemed as though the teens were playing cards, as faint cries of frustration and intermittent laughter could be heard. Taking a deep breath and feeling bad about interrupting their game, Bruce opened the door

…::-::...

Barbara looked up as the door opened, not at all surprised to see Bruce there. Both she and Dick knew that it would only be a matter of time before he thought of looking there. He was the Batman after all.

As Barbara looked at him, and now knowing his connection to Dick, she began to see the similarities between them. She wondered why she hadn’t noticed it before, although she supposed she hadn’t really had a reason to think about it.

Dick also looked up at Bruce’s entrance, and Bruce noticed that he wasn’t as tense or hesitant as the night before, more worried or scared. Bruce could understand that. It wasn’t everyone who had their whole life turned upside down like that.

…::-::..

Dick couldn’t help himself. When he saw Bruce in the doorway, he smiled. It was good to know that Bruce was his father.

Part 4:

It was about a year later, a few months after Jason had been adopted, that the thing that became known as "The Argument" happened.

The end result was Dick quitting as Robin, storming out of the cave, packing up his things and leaving the Manor while Jason could do nothing but watch helplessly.

He and Dick had become close in the few months since they'd met, and he did, at least, have the decency to say goodbye, but Jason was going to miss his big brother.

…::-::...

It was about half an hour after Dick had left the Manor that Barbara got a knock on her front door.

She had only recently got back from her own patrol, and was slightly surprised to see Dick there.

"I just came to say goodbye," Dick explained solemnly, "I'm leaving for a while, I don't know where to, but Bruce doesn't want me anymore."

"What? Dick, why?"

"You know things have been pretty tense between the two of us for a while now, and tonight was the final straw. We both lost it and ended up shouting at each other, and then he tried to fire me, so I quit before he could, packed my things, said goodbye to Jay and Alfred before coming here"

"Oh, Dick," Babs sighed, wrapping him in a hug, "I understand, but, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Babs. I promise I'll keep in touch, okay?"

…::-::...

After Dick said his, very emotional, goodbye to Barbara, he wandered the Gotham streets until he got to a particular apartment building.

Leaving his bags in a very well hidden alcove, he scaled the side until he got to a certain balcony and climbed inside.

He found Selina on her sofa watching television. She looked up at his entrance.

"Dick! What are you doing here so late?"

Dick sighed and explained to her the same story he had told Barbara previously. His mother looked just as upset.

"I understand why you're going," she said sadly, "Bruce shouldn't have spoken to you like that. And, don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for Jason."

"Thanks, S," he said, "I'll keep in touch, okay."

"Alright, kitten," she replied.

Before exiting the way he had come, Dick gave her a two-fingered salute before climbing down over the balcony. Selina simply shook her head at her son's antics.

…::-::...

It was about 3 months later that both women realized where Dick had gone. He had messaged the pair simply with a "Watch the news tonight - N" and they had no idea what "N" stood for, but it soon became clear.

They did as he'd asked, finding nothing of interest until a report on a new vigilante in Bludhaven known as Nightwing. Both women smirked. That was definitely Dick.

Part 5:

3 years later, a 19 year old Dick Grayson sat on his sofa in his Bludhaven apartment watching the news. He had it turned to a Gotham channel, feeling nostalgic for the city he had grown up in. It was then that he heard of the tragedy.

"It has been confirmed," the news woman said, "that the second adopted son of Bruce Wayne has been killed."

Dick swore his heart stopped beating.

"The 16 year old was kidnapped by the Joker while on an overseas trip, and was beaten before the warehouse he was being held in blew up. Bruce Wayne, who had been unable to get there in time, is heartbroken over this tragic loss. Our condolences to the family."

Dick switched off the TV. It couldn't be true. Jason couldn't be dead. Not him. Not Dick's little brother. He had to see for himself. He had been away for too long.

…::-::...

There was a loud knocking on her apartment door that woke Barbara up. She checked the time wearily. Who would it be at 04:20 in the morning?

Putting on a top and slippers, she lumbered to and opened the door. She nearly had the fright of her life when a 19 year old Dick Grayson stood worriedly on her doorstep.

"Babs," he said urgently, "Please tell me it isn't true, that Jason isn't…"

"Oh, Dick," Babs cried, all signs of tiredness fading instantly, "I'm sorry, but…"

Dick, realizing what that meant, grasped her tightly in his arms as the both of them cried, cried for the loss of their little brother.

…::-::...

The next morning, Dick awoke bleary-eyed on Barbara's sofa. It took him a moment to realise where he was and why, and, as soon as he did, a huge wave of sadness overcame him.

He got up, changed into a clean set of clothes from the suitcase he had brought with him, and went to check on Barbara.

Seeing that she was still asleep, he decided to let her be as she needed the rest.

Leaving a note beside her bed, he left the apartment quietly, locking the door behind him.

…::-::...

Climbing back into his car, he drove in the direction of the apartment he had last visited three years previously.

Deciding that, while he was there, he might as well make his presence in Gotham a surprise, he left his things in the car and scaled the side of the building once again, climbing over the balcony to enter the apartment.

Selina, this time, was not seated on the sofa, but rather preparing herself some breakfast in the kitchen. She got quite a shock when Dick suddenly appeared in the doorway, probably because she didn't recognise him at first.

Seeing him there again, she was stunned at how much he really did look like Bruce; with the same raven hair and bright blue eyes.

"Dick," she said, walking immediately forwards and embracing her son in a hug, "What are you doing here? When did you get back?"

"I got here last night," he replied, "drove from Bludhaven immediately after I heard about Jason. Spent the night on Babs' sofa, and here we are now."

"He was only 16," Selina uttered, quietly, "far too young to die."

"We all know what we're getting into when we start," Dick agreed, "We just don't really believe it's going to happen."

…::-::...

Dick and Selina spent a good portion of that morning catching up, Dick explaining about his job as a Bludhaven police detective. She listened with interest, but they both knew that it was just an excuse not to talk about Jason.

Soon, Dick said that he needed to leave, knowing that if he was going to talk to Bruce again, it would be better if it was sooner rather than later.

…::-::...

It felt strange, Dick thought, driving up to the familiar iron gates after three years.

He drove up the drive, got out of the car, and stood for a moment before the large mahogany doors, taking a second to build up his courage before knocking.

The doors were opened almost immediately by Alfred, who took one look at the man on the doorstep and gave him a small smile.

"Master Dick," he said, "Welcome back."

Part 6:

"Master Bruce is in his study, with Master Tim," Alfred informed

"Okay, thanks, Alfie."

Tim, Dick knew, was Bruce's latest adopted son, his youngest brother.

Dick walked reluctantly up the stairs to where he knew the study was situated. Knocking briefly on the door, he opened it and went inside.

Both occupants looked up at his entrance, one of surprise and the younger of confusion. Bruce and Tim.

"Dick?" Bruce uttered, "You're back."

"I'm sorry I stayed away for so long."

"It's my fault."

"Not entirely."

"Truce then?"

"Truce."

Apparently, I have almost reached the maximum length, so the rest will be a separate post. I have, however, only written up to part 7, so the parts after that will follow on separately.

Please let me know what you think 😊

#dick grayson #bruce wayne #selina kyle #robin #batman #catwoman #wattpad #barbara gordon #batgirl #dickbabs #dibs #graybat

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