#hands down the BEST hero identity tim has EVER had.

[gnomewithalaptop]

Y'know, it's so funny to me when people make out like Tim Drake would keep files on how to take down his friends when Tim has explicitly said he disagrees with Batman on this:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

Like, yes, during his Red Robin tenure he does make a Hit List full of contingency plans for known heroes. But if you go and read that, you'll notice that, while the Justice League and Damian may be on there, Tim's own friends are decidedly absent:

[Red Robin (2009) #14]

In fact, a lot of these heroes are people that have either (a) attacked Tim specifically, (b) have a track record that includes turning evil/getting mind controlled, or (c) are on the JLA (meaning Batman probably already had those files compiled and Tim just stole them).

So yeah: Tim's not down with contingency-planning for his friends. You know which one of the YJ crew DID agree with Batman though? My favorite blorbina Anita Fite, aka Empress:

[Young Justice (1998) #36]

But yeah, this contrast is honestly fascinating to me. Because while both Anita and Tim have been shown to be incredibly loyal individuals, this exchange really highlights the fact that, between the two of them, Anita is far more likely to engage in this kind of pragmatism when she thinks it's necessary to get the job done

The whole Our Worlds at War arc actually does a really good job of illustrating how both of them react to betrayal from within. It's not just the Batman Files conflict either -- I'm thinking specifically about the hallucination-based torture Granny Goodness put them through, which showed them their worst fears. Most of the team ended up having to watch their loved ones die, but what's super interesting to me is that we really only see Anita and Tim hallucinate that their loved ones blame them for their deaths:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

Like. It's not the same as a teammate turning evil at all. But it does give us a good idea of how they'd both react when faced with a friend or teammate doing harmful things, albeit on a smaller scale. Because where Tim kind of just accepts Superboy yelling at him and moves straight into bargaining for Kon's life, Anita actually flips the script, gets angry, and defends herself against her father:

[Young Justice (1998) #37]

(she actually gets so righteously pissed off that she manages to break out of the VR simulation Granny Goodness had her trapped in, but that's another point)

But yeah, it's super interesting, because by this point, both Anita and Tim have been set up to be very similar characters. They both can be a little bit obsessive, they both have some issues with boundaries and stalking (Tim with Nightwing and Batman, Anita with Cissie), and of the team, they're both portrayed as the "normal" members (Anita does technically have mind control powers but she barely ever uses them, and in a fight, she's basically just a very good, human-level fighter)

But at the end of the day, though Batman forces Robin to put on a cool front of objectivity, Tim (at least in his pre-grief-spiral era) ultimately wants to see the best in his team. When the people he cares about screw up, he wants to give them second chances. And when that trust gets broken, his first instinct is to try to use diplomacy, or, failing that, simply remove himself from the situation (as we see at the end of the Our Worlds at War arc when he quits the team)

Anita, on the other hand, while still incredibly loyal, does not hand out that loyalty unconditionally. We see this when she tries to keep her identity secret from the YJ squad, we see it when she gets pissed in Granny Goodness's hallucination when her father blames her for her mother's death, and we see it when she later blames Secret for her perceived role in Anita's father's death

Anita also happens to sit right smack dab in the middle of the YJ morality scale; while she's generally pretty chill and willing to abide by typical superhero codes of ethics (unlike Slobo and Secret), she's also been shown to bend those rules when she believes it's necessary (as seen here when she tortures and threatens to kill a man for trying to hurt Cissie). Ultimately, what this means is, between Tim and Anita, it's honestly Anita who'd probably be the most willing to put her personal qualms aside, buckle down, and go against her loved ones if it was the only reasonable option

Anyway. This is a really long-winded way of saying I think Gun Batman's biggest nemesis should be Empress

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 1

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader)Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 3631 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together. 

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

(21 years old)

'All right, team,' Y/N Prince addressed her small group of young heroes. 'Good work today. Now go hit the showers and enjoy a nice quiet night in. You've earned it.'

'So crash!' Bart cried with an energetic jump. If anyone were to guess how the team's week had been solely based on Bart's energy, they would've said it had been cruisy. Not that Y/N had led a covert task force over the past week into Bialya to take down meta-human trafficking outposts.

Y/N watched with pride as Bart and Jaime bantered on their way out, followed by Stephanie and Cassie chatting excitedly about something, all the while Tim and Cassie held hands quietly. It had surprised the team a little how, out of the blue, the two of them were dating. But if Wally's death had taught them all anything, it was that time was too precious to waste in their line of work. They'd been together ever since.

Two years, Y/N mentally noted, and suddenly the adrenaline she'd been running on for the past week died as the last of the team exited the entrance chamber of the Watchtower. Exhaustion weighed down on her spent body, but an extra weight now sat in heart. Has it really been that long already?

So much had changed in that time. Like how the Young Justice began working out of the Watchtower alongside the Justice League, having both the Hall of Justice and Mount Justice destroyed by the Reach and the Light respectively. M'gann and Connor were back together, having finally gotten over their differences and accepted their mistakes. Also, Kaldur had been offered a position in the Justice League following the retirement of his king, and so Kaldur took his place as the new Aquaman in the Justice League. M'gann was promoted to new team leader, with Connor and Y/N assisting her as senior members of the team.

Some things had remained the same, however. Like the team's energy and slight dysfunction that always made Y/N feel at home. They weren't perfect, but what family ever is?

Dick was still gone. So was Artemis. She'd, understandably, retired as Green Arrow's protégé immediately after Wally's death, assuming her undercover identity Tigress instead and going off on her own. Neither had stayed in touch with anyone on the team.

You're my best friend. Always have been, always will be...

'Yeah right,' Y/N mumbled bitterly as she made her way to the conference room. No doubt that'd be where M'gann and Connor were waiting for her to debrief the mission.

Upon entering the room with the long table, she was immediately embraced by M'gann. 'Welcome back,' she said, squeezing Y/N tighter. 'We're so glad you're okay.'

Y/N smiled softly as she embraced M'gann in return. 'You ever doubted me?'

'No,' Connor answered, 'but you can never be too cautious right?'

Y/N let go of M'gann to hug Connor as well. Since getting back together, Connor wasn't as emotionally suppressed as he'd initially been. It was nice seeing him this way, more happy and free. The same effect had happened to M'gann, who (only around the team and the Justice League) revealed her white martian self proudly instead of pretending to be something she wasn't.

'You're right,' Y/N said as she released him, then the three of them took a seat to discuss the mission.

The debrief didn't take long, there wasn't much to report on as all out-posts had been hit successfully, putting Queen Bee's meta-human trafficking at least a little behind.

'It's not much, but it's the best we could do with the little information we got,' Y/N admitted. 'I dislike Queen Bee and her minions as much as the next person, but I've got to give it to her, she knows how to keep things under wraps.'

M'gann reached across from where she sat and closed her hand over Y/N's. 'Y/N, the mission was a success,' M'gann insisted. 'And what's most important is that you brought everyone home. Alive.'

Y/N heard the underlying fear in her words, the memory she was thinking of as she spoke them. Y/N twisted her hand over to clasp M'gann's in return. 'I know,' she said softly. 'But I just... we haven't so much as put a dent into the underbelly of meta-human trafficking in the two years it's been running. Somedays... Somedays I just feel so useless.'

'I know, Y/N,' Connor reassured. 'But we've just got to trust that our hard work will pay off eventually. I know it doesn't seem like much now, but every mission counts. Don't be so hard on yourself.'

Y/N withdrew her hand at the comment, hastily standing up. 'Don't be hard on myself? My mother is Wonder Woman, is the Champion of Themyscira, a World War II hero, and had already saved the world once by my age now. My father was a fighter pilot in the Iran-Iraq war and died fighting for his country,' she said angrily. 'And what am I doing? Hiding under the protection of darkness, taking out small outposts that will just be rebuilt elsewhere just as quickly? How can I not be hard on myself?'

At M'gann's taken aback expression, Y/N felt slightly guilty for raising her voice. But they just didn't understand. All her life, she'd been training and fighting for her supposed "destiny". Surely this wasn't it.

'I'm sorry,' Y/N said, forcing herself to calm down. 'I just...'

'You don't have to a apologise,' M'gann interrupted, standing and walking over to Y/N to clasp their hands together. 'After all we've done together, I understand that what we do now doesn't seem like enough. But I can tell you were made for more.'

Y/N offered her a grateful smile and M'gann let their hands drop. 'I should go. Mother and I have patrol in Washington DC tonight.'

'Already?' M'gann asked, face dropping with disappointment. 'But you just got back. Surely she knows that.'

'Unfortunately, even in the country's capital, crime never sleeps. I'm just grateful it's nothing like Gotham,' Y/N said.

'I agree,' Connor said. 'Visited there once with-' He paused for a moment, eyes growing wary as he looked between Y/N and M'gann. But Y/N already knew what he was going to say and gave him a slight nod to continue anyway. 'With Dick. We did patrol once there together. To put it simply, they're all nutcases there.'

Y/N managed an amused half-smile. 'You're not wrong there,' she said, then made her way to the door. Before she reached the doorknob, M'gann called out.

'Maybe when you're free next, you can join us for dinner at home,' she offered, her eyes hopeful as she waited Y/N's answer.

'Yeah,' she eventually answered though it wasn't as enthusiastic as she should've been. 'Yeah, that'd be nice. I'll talk to you guys soon. Don't stay up here too late.'

It had to be close to 7pm in Washington DC at least, so there weren't many people still left in the Watchtower. Just those from the League and her team that were rostered for overnight supervision. Y/N made sure to greet each person she walked by on the way to the Zeta-tubes. But just as she was about to dial in her code to leave, a resounding voice made her pause.

'Wonderess,' Kaldur called. 'Not even a hello before you head off for another mission?'

Y/N smirked as she turned back around to face the new hero of Atlantis. 'I'm sorry, Aquaman,' she said in an exaggerated tone. 'Not all of us can sit around having team parties with our Justice League buddies.'

To anyone else, it would've been taken as an insult. But Kaldur saw her humour and smiled. 'Oh is that what this is about? You know the League do more than just chit chat.'

Y/N shook her head. 'I don't know. The mess you guys left behind in the conference room before I left tells another story.'

As Kaldur approached Y/N, the sarcastic banter dropped as they both embraced each other. Kaldur had grown into a fit, muscular man, and now stood a good head taller than Y/N. His uniform was more or less the same as it had always been, except now both his arms were covered from shoulder-to-finger in gold armour. He certainly was no longer just a young lad, but the man his predecessor saw he could become.

'It is good to see you, Y/N,' Kaldur said softly as he pulled away.

'And you, old friend,' Y/N replied, a genuine smile splitting her lips.

'I heard you went into Bialyan territory,' Kaldur continued. 'I am glad to see you and the rest of the team are unharmed.'

'Well, the team are no longer just children' Y/N said, 'but it was a simple enough mission too. Nothing too dangerous.'

Kaldur's brows furrowed together as he looked over Y/N. 'I sense you are not happy with something. Wasn't the mission successful as I have heard?'

Y/N let out a soft sigh. 'It's not that I'm not happy with the mission's success. Of course I'm happy we all got home okay. I just...' She didn't really feel like explaining herself again, but Kaldur nodded in understanding.

'You feel stuck,' he finished, to which Y/N nodded in confirmation. Kaldur turned so he could look to the giant windows of the Watchtower's entrance chamber. They framed Earth in a way that made it seem both ginormous and insignificant at the same time. 'The League is in a similar position, I am afraid to admit. Some days there is progress. Other days, it feels like I wait so much I am afraid I will freeze in one spot.'

'How do you combat that?' Y/N asked.

Kaldur turned back to Y/N, his face softened with a small smile. 'I train.'

'That's it?' Y/N asked, not quite believing her friend.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'Amongst other things, yes. I train, I go home, I see my family, I laugh with my friends. I do all these things to remind myself why I am here. Why I do what I do. It sounds to me like you need to remind yourself why you are here.'

'Because of the team,' she said without hesitation. He hadn't asked a question, but she felt she needed to justify herself. 'Because I can't just desert them, not when they're working so hard.'

'And yet you feel you are not doing enough,' Kaldur countered, his teal eyes gazing hard at her. 'Why?'

Y/N opened her mouth to answer but no answer came.

'Y/N,' Kaldur continued. 'Why do you feel the need to stay when you don't want to be there?'

'I do want to stay-'

'Don't lie to me, Y/N,' Kaldur interrupted.

Y/N swallowed thickly as she looked from Kaldur, to the conference room door where M'gann and Connor still were, and back to Kaldur. Seeing no escape from his fierce questioning, she caved.

'It's not that I don't want to stay,' she admitted quietly. 'I love the kids, I love the team. I'm just... so tired, Kaldur. Of doing the same thing week in and week out and getting nowhere. But if I leave, I don't want the team to think I'm abandoning them. Not like-'

Y/N bit her lip at the thought of him. No, she wouldn't leave. She just wouldn't.

Kaldur pressed his lips into a firm line. 'Dick needed to reforge his own path. He was grieving in his own way.'

'Well I was grieving, too,' Y/N countered, a sudden surge of anger flaring up inside her. How dare Kaldur defend Dick. 'And I had to get on with my life because the team needed me. We needed him, Kaldur. I needed him, and he just left.'

Y/N bowed her head to collect her thoughts and calm down. That's two friends she had yelled at for no reason. Before she could apologise though, Kaldur placed a hand on her shoulder, and she raised her head to find him looking directly into her eyes.

'I cannot say I am not also disappointed in our friend,' Kaldur admitted sadly. 'I did not expect him to become so closed off for so long. But you've helped rebuild this team from the grief and pain it experienced when Wally died. I think you've earned the right to decide where you go from here, Y/N, without feeling guilty or selfish if your wish is not to stay with the team. In my opinion, you were made for more than this.'

'That's funny,' Y/N said in a flat voice. 'You're the second person today to tell me that.'

'Maybe because it is true,' Kaldur said sincerely. 'You know you still have a place in the Justice League whenever you'd like to join us. I would be honoured and happy to fight alongside a warrior such as yourself again. It would be like old times.'

Y/N offered a grateful smile as she patted Kaldur's hand that still rested on her shoulder. 'Thanks Kaldur, but I'm not ready for that just yet. Besides, you don't need two Amazonians running the show. And let's be real, we would so be in charge of you boys.'

The two shared quiet laughter as Kaldur's hand retuned to his side. 'Very well, then. So what will your decision be, Wonderess?'

Y/N looked to the Earth and space beyond it once more. Her heart and head were tearing her in two. She truly loved being a part of the team, but something inside her agreed with M'gann and Kaldur. Surely she was meant for more. But what exactly that was, she had to go find out.

'I think you're right, Kaldur,' she finally said, turning back to face her friend. 'I think I need to remind myself why I am here in the first place. And that comes from knowing who I am to begin with.'

Kaldur's face pinched in slight confusion. 'I'm sorry, but I do not follow.'

Y/N didn't answer straight away. Instead, she turned to dial in her code to exit the Watchtower. 'B-00: Wonderess,' the computer announced as the Zeta-tube activated.

She then finally turned back to Kaldur. 'I need to know where I've been to then know where I will go,' she said. 'I need to go back to where it all started.'

'And where's that?' Kaldur asked.

'With my mother,' she answered, then spared him one last sweet smile. 'Tell M'gann and Connor and the team I'm sorry.'

Kaldur looked as if he wanted to say something, ask more questions. But Kaldur was always more insightful than the rest of their group. He didn't always need an explanation. He just somehow knew, and so Y/N was grateful when he accepted her words with a simple nod of his head.

'Be safe, dear friend,' he said in farewell. 'May destiny be kind to you, wherever it leads you.'

Y/N nodded her appreciation and entered the Zeta-tube. It was always a weird sensation travelling by Zeta-tube, like a million light pricks into every part of the body. Thankfully the trip was quick to the Zeta tube depot in Washington DC, with Y/N walking out of an abandoned janitor's closest in the post office down the road from her apartment.

She smiled and waved down to civilians as she flew over the busy streets, but she flew as fast as she could to the meeting point.

Her mother casually sat atop the Washington Monument as Y/N approached, floating just in front of her. 'I was starting to worry you had gotten caught in Bialya,' Diana joked as she stood to greet her daughter. 'Welcome home, my daughter.'

'Good to see you, Mother,' Y/N said, and the two briefly embraced.

'Now that you're here,' Diana said, prepping to take off for the usual patrol, 'why don't we get going.'

'Actually, Mother, there is something I wanted to talk to you about first,' Y/N interrupted.

Diana raised an eyebrow. 'Really? And what would that be?'

Y/N took a deep breath in before she spoke the words. But when she did, she had never been more sure. 'I want you to take me back to your home. To Themyscira.'

~~~

Since she was a little girl, Y/N had heard hundreds of stories from her mother about the homeland of the Amazons. How beautiful it was with its architecture, its nature, and the women who ruled the island. She'd always dreamed of someday going there, but her mother said it was impossible to find it.

Except she failed to mention that despite leaving the island and forgetting where it was located, Diana had been gifted a compass that would always lead her back home, but only if she used it. It would not work without Amazonian hands.

So after all the storytelling and all the dreaming, nothing came close to actually witnessing Themyscira in the flesh.

Y/N stood speechless on the beach, looking up at the steps that led up to the first level of the city that seemed to climb higher and higher towards the sky. It was something out of the Ancient Greek text books Diana used to make Y/N read as a child, but even more fantastical and wondrous.

It wasn't just the visuals, though. Since the Invisible Jet broke through the barrier that hid Themyscira, Y/N had felt a pull of sorts towards the island. Now that she stood on its soil, she felt a warm energy wash over her, strengthen her, pull her into its embrace as if to say, Welcome home at last.

An entourage of women in red leather slitted skirts, plated tops, and armour while holding spears followed behind a woman dressed in white and purple robes. Ebony hair billowed out behind her golden leaf crown, the grey strands in between looking more silver as they caught the midday sun.

Y/N knew immediately who she was. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Her grandmother.

As Hippolyta approached Y/N and Diana, she opened her arms to take her daughter's face into her hands. 'Diana,' she said, bringing her lips to her daughter's forehead in a simple kiss. 'Welcome home.'

'Thank you, Mother,' Diana said, and Y/N could tell by her mother's smile that she was joyous to be home. 'I'm sorry it took me so long.'

'Do not worry about that, child,' Hippolyta reassured. 'You are here now.'

She then looked over to Y/N, and for some reason Y/N straightened up, flattened out her Wonderess uniform, made sure her hair was tucked behind her headband. Y/N was briefly taken back to the time she (consciously) remembered meeting her grandparents on her father's side. All dressed up so as to make a good impression.

Y/N held her breath as Hippolyta walked slowly over to her, grey eyes scanning every inch of Y/N's figure in silence. When she'd done a cursory glance, she then stepped closer and took Y/N's face into her hands. Y/N was unable to look away from Hippolyta as the older woman caressed and poked and prodded at her features.

At last, Hippolyta stopped and her hands dropped to Y/N's shoulders. A kind, joyous smile graced the older woman's features. 'You have my daughter's eyes,' she said quietly, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'So kind and forthright. What is your name child?'

'Y/N Prince,' Y/N managed to get out once she caught her breath. 'Daughter of Steve Trevor...' Her gaze flickered to her mother, and the two shared a smile. '...and Diana Prince, Princess of Themyscira.'

Y/N looked back to see Hippolyta tearing up as realisation finally hit her. 'I have a granddaughter,' she said as she finally embraced Y/N completely, to which Y/N reciprocated and the entourage of Amazonians cheered and smashed their shields with their spears in celebration.

Hippolyta let go of Y/N to clasp one of her hands as she went to grab her daughter's hand. She then turned the three of them to face the crowd. 'My daughter and your champion, and my granddaughter have come home!'

More cheers erupted.

'Let us prepare a feast in their honour,' Hippolyta continued, and when the crowd began to disperse, she turned to Diana and Y/N to speak more quietly. 'I am sure you have both come here for a reason, and not just to say hello.'

'You are correct, Mother,' Diana said. 'It seems as though I have neglected our origins as Amazonians for too long and can no longer teach Y/N our ways.'

'I wish to learn who I am,' Y/N added. 'I wish to know where I come from, so that I may know where I must go next.'

'And how long do you believe that will take?' Hippolyta asked.

'As long as it takes,' Y/N answered, more certain than ever before. 'I don't care what I must do, Your Majesty. I will follow your guidance, as my mother once did.'

Hippolyta considered Y/N for a moment, then spared Diana an impressed smirk. 'Well, you taught her one thing, Diana.'

'What's that mother?' Diana asked.

'Your steadfast stubbornness.' Hippolyta looked back to Y/N. 'Very well, granddaughter. You will train among the other warriors. I just hope you know it won't be as easy as you might think.'

'Trust me,' Y/N replied, 'I'm hoping it isn't.'

Hippolyta's smile widened and her eyes sparkled with excitement. 'That attitude is already a good start. Come, we will talk of this later. First, let us celebrate this homecoming.'

That night Y/N ate and drank and danced among women like her, some older, some younger, some taller, some stronger. And she had never felt more at home, more recognised and celebrated. She'd had her doubts if she had made the right decision, but now she had no doubt.

She was where she belonged.

[meara-eldestofthemall]

Tim and Damian: A Tale of Two Robins

The latest issue of Batman (# 147) clearly underscores the differing ways Tim and Damian each approach the role of Robin. It's why DC has been able to get away with having two very different characters simultaneously wearing the mantle.

For Damian, Robin is fundementally a position of honor and a source of pride. It's an affirmation of his unique status as the biological child of Bruce Wayne. Damian wants to do good and he wants to be the best at it. There's nothing wrong with that per say. Many heroes are driven by the same inner need for validation. Being Robin is an honor to which Damian feels he has earned the right.

For Tim, Robin is foremost a calling or vocation. The Robin mantle is definitely an honor but it's not the primary driving force behind why he's in the cape. To him Robin is much more than just a kid who fights with Batman. Tim is heavily invested in in protecting the symbolism of what both Robin as well as Batman and Robin stand for. Please note that it's not Damian or Dick that tracks Bruce down in this issue even though they're both quite capable of doing that. It's Tim who goes after Bruce.

Tim being the one to step up to save Bruce from his own worst impulses is what he does. He's an Emotional Support Robin as much as he is a partner to Batman. From the very beginning Tim saw Robin as someone Batman needs to function properly.

To this day Tim still maintains that Robin's primary responsibility is not to be a sidekick but be someone who will save Batman from both external and internal threats when required. He's a vital balance, a counterweight to the shadows that Batman inhabits.

In many ways that idea is at the crux of the differences between Tim and Damian's approach to being Robin.

Damian initially saw the mantle of Robin as his birthright due to his being Bruce's biological son. Yes, it seems like a strange idea but let's cut the kid some slack. Damian was all of ten years old when he first met his father. He'd also been raised in a cult that all but worshipped the AL Ghul family. He was an arrogant little princeling because that's what he was raised to be.

Tim sees Robin as Batman's partner but not his subordinate. Sure, all the Robins started as "sidekicks" but Dick and Jason's Robins never had the kind of independence Tim's Robin enjoys. Remember that it was a lack of autonomy that drove Dick away from Bruce in the first place. Jason's Robin rarely, if ever, worked independently of Batman. Tim, on the other hand, started handling his own cases less than a year after debuting in the role. Tim doesn't see himself as an apprentice but as a full partner. What's more he throughly enjoys that aspect of being Robin.

People wonder why Tim hasn't created a new identity that's not linked to Batman. The short answer is that Tim feels that he's already doing that. Robin is an independent hero and has been for years. He's been more than capable of operating without a net since before Damian showed up. Tim isn't shy about that view point, either. When Bruce tries to push Tim's Robin in ways Tim doesn't like, the kid will tell Batman "no" then continue doing things on his own .

Damian, on the other hand, constantly chafes against how Bruce's Batman wants him to act as Robin. Just like his father Damian doesn't like to be wrong and that shared stubbornness causes the two of them endless arguments. Damian's earliest teachings within the League will forever be at odds with Bruce's demands of Robin. The clashing expectations cause an internal conflict that leaves him at war with both his father and himself. No wonder the poor kid has a short temper. Trying to be both Damian al Ghul and Damian Wayne has got to be exhausting.

It's a testament to Damian's strength of character that he's been able to overcome the indoctrination from the League as much as he has. It's never going to completely leave him, however, because the lessons engrained into Damian at such a young age formed the core of his personality. Working with Dick's Batman helped him to learn some empathy and the value of tempering his worst impulses. Unfortunately Damian is primarily working with Bruce not Dick.

Damian is also 13 years old who has been seeking his father's approval and respect since the day he met the man. Bruce, being the emotional disaster that he is, fails to recognize that most of the time. This is why Damian is so completely taken in by Zur pretending to be Bruce. For the first time Damian is getting both approval and positive attention for being more violent than is necessary. His dysfunctional childhood and his work as Robin are finally in harmony and Damian loves it. It's also why poor the poor kid is so crushed when he figures out what's going on.

Tim, meanwhile, has stepped into his role as Emotional Support Robin (whether that's a good or bad thing is a debate for another time). His ability to ground Batman is why he can have this conversation with Bruce:

Tim also has one other crucial advantage that Damian, Dick or Jason never had. Tim was Bruce's partner long before he became his son. He's able to slide back into that role at the drop of a hat.

Damian will always be the son of Batman first and Robin second. That father/son dynamic that Bruce isn't very good at will try and lock Damian into a subordinate position in a misguided attempt to keep his son safe. That kind of micromanaging is something Dami will only tolerate for so long. Leaving Robin to take up a mantle of his own creation is all but inevitable.

Tim and Damian may both be Robin to Bruce's Batman but their perceptions of who and what Robin should be is radically different. And as I said before, that's not a bad thing at all.

[tisajest]

Reverse Robins AU but the adoption order stays the same

Bruce had been Batman for around 2 decades when he witnessed the Graysons fall. He takes in little 8-year-old Dick Grayson and they become Batman & Robin a couple of months later.

Jason still tried to steal the Batmobile’s tires, but this time Dick is there with Bruce. And Dick immediately goes: friend?! Because who’s cooler than an older boy who has the audacity to steal your dad’s crime-fighting tires? Bruce doesn’t immediately take him in but he does adopt him soon after nonetheless. A year later, Batman gains a new sidekick partner.

Tim still puts together the Bats’ IDs by recognizing Robin’s quadruple somersault. He keeps this info to himself but his father’s death breaks something in him and he becomes reckless and directionless. He’s saved by one of the Bats, maybe little 11 year old Robin, and he just blurts out his name. He tells him how he was at the Graysons’ last show, how he and his parents were such huge fans. Bruce shows up but it’s too late, Dick’s already attached to his new big brother.

This teenager is obviously a threat, he knows their secret identities, but Bruce can see a bit of himself in the lost young man in front of him. He’s around the same age he was when he made the choice that changed his life forever. And having two young boys in his life, two young heroes, he can’t help but want to help Tim. It doesn’t hurt that the kid’s obviously smart and in good shape. A year later, Batman gains another partner.

Damian was never sent to Bruce, he stayed with the League. Eventually, he and Talia killed Ra’s. He becomes Talia’s right-hand but he doesn’t want it. He’s so disinterested in his own life and Talia, for all her flaws, loves her son. She tells him to leave, to “find himself or whatever it is young people do” and so Damian does. He leaves Nanda Parbat at ~18 and travels.

Damian has many skills, but he feels he’s best at killing people, so it doesn’t take long for him to take up contracts. Traveling’s fun and all but he grew restless. He does this for years, he makes a name for himself outside of being an Al’Ghul. And he’s visited Gotham, of course he has, but he doesn’t long for Bruce’s approval. He isn’t a child, he isn’t good person, and he isn’t a Wayne. Bruce means nothing to him, not really he doesn’t think Bruce would ever want him.

So, he keeps an ear out for news regarding the Bats. He visits Gotham every time he learns of a new child but he never allows himself to be noticed. One day, he hears whispers of the Wayne children being in Ethiopia of all places and he can’t help but seek them out. He gets there in time to put the Joker down permanently and prevent any lasting damage to any of them. They’re all taken by this mysterious savior to varying degrees (Tim’s the most cautious), but Dick is especially enthusiastic.

They manage to distract Damian long time enough for Bruce to get there. The long await meeting occurs and Damian decides fuck it, might as well let his father know about him. Bruce has more than enough children to fuss over and he’s an adult with his own life completely separate from Bruce, no need to make a big deal out of it. It is a big deal and Bruce is in shock and infuriated and heartbroken about his very much adult son being kept from him all this time.

As much as Bruce begs, Damian doesn’t go back to Gotham with them. Regardless, he keeps up his occasional visits and stays out of sight. Surprisingly, or maybe not, Dick is the first to find him out. And Dick, amazing human bean that he is, grows on Damian with time and interactions. He’s impressed by this child his father took in and he can’t help but want to teach him a few moves. Bruce wasn’t as oblivious to these meetings as he made himself seem, but he knows Damian isn’t interested in Bruce being his father. He’s hoping he can bridge this gap between them with Dick.

It works.

[msfcatlover]

Moonbeam Dick

I probably had too much fun with this one, but Dick's had so many iterations & costumes over the years, so much cool lore, and is one of the heroes we can actually track real-world influence on his designs! (Whoever came up with the idea to take the Doyalist reasoning of superhero costumes being based on circus performers & wrestlers, and retconning it into Dick's backstory to make the Robin costume based on the Flying Graysons' performance outfits: I see you, and I love you.) So this has been a wild, whirlwind trip through the real-world evolution of gymnastics outfits, acrobatic costuming, and comic history (paying special attention to the different costumes we've actually seen in the various flashbacks/retellings of Dick's origin over the years,) while getting way too many design ideas along the way.)

Now here's a hurdle, because Dick's not going to start with a past Moonbeam costume as his base and alter it to reflect himself. Dick Grayson is going to start with his acrobat costume, and alter it to become Moonbeam. So we're starting with a bodysuit. Skin-tight, full-sleeve, the type that loops around your middle finger to stay in place. Neckline like this fucking fantastic redesign by mabychan.

(Gods, every time I see this picture, I need to stop & stare for like... at least 3min.)

Next: the colors. Dick likes bright colors & high contrast; you barely need to glance at even one of his costumes to realize that. I, personally, really love the version where the Robin suit was a tribute to his family, but red & green really aren't "Moonbeam" colors. Fortunately, the Flying Grayson's costumes have also been shown as potential inspiration for Dick's Nightwing suit, which seems to me like a great way to keep that tidbit in without defaulting to the Robin colors! So the new color scheme is sky blue, dark blue, and white-gold (which would probably be either more silver or gold, depending on the artist.)

So the suit is predominantly light blue, with a larger the dark blue triangle like his Lost Carnival costume on the upper chest, the shoulder-points of which partially run down his upper arms. While some artists might have them go all the way to his elbows or even the finger-loops on his hands personally I don't see them going further than about halfway down Dick's biceps (at first), where the very tips of them disappear behind golden arm-bands which can be used to store gadgets. Matching bands around his thighs, too, though those are larger, for bigger pockets.

(While I am trying to evoke how some people draw the 90s Nightwing gold stripe as separate bands lower down the arm, it's probably easiest to imagine Steph's leg-bands to explain this. Also, the bands on this absolutely delightful bedazzled Nightwing by rinpin that I cannot get out of my head are a good reference for placement.)

The triangle also does a great job of framing Dick's Moonbeam symbol: a crescent moon that covers most of his upper chest, filling the triangle from side to side.

(It's another subtle tribute to his parents. Also, the green & gold "All-Star Batman and Robin" costumes are the best look the Flying Graysons have ever worn, don't @ me.)

Like with Cass, I actually found my inspiration for this when I realized what Dick would use to hide his identity: a "colombina" masquerade mask.

(These two specifically inspired me while I was doing research.)

The legs are dark blue, cut at an angle where they meet Dick's torso to evoke Tim's original Robin costume (and, to a lesser extent, the Earth 2 grown-up Robin costume) and make the bodysuit look even more like a classic leotard. Dark blue or black gloves underneath the finger-loops to protect Dick's hands & keep his fingerprints off of things. Black boots with a lighter hem on top (either the light blue or white-gold, I don't really care which) with the V top we see on the Earth-2 Robin's boots, echoing the triangle on his chest. The soles of the boot are light blue.

(The boots will, almost certainly, end up being drawn as just part of the leg, colored the same dark blue as the legs and just having a lighter stripe around his shins as well as the band around his thighs. This is not at all the intended design, but I've been looking at comic costumes for months now, and I know how details get fudged.)

So. That's the acrobat angle with enough details to make it at least passable as Moonbeam. I feel like it needs some more armor. Looking at what I've got so far, how about something like these gauntlets I used as a reference for Shadow!Steph and some simple pauldrons, both in white-gold?

Finally, while Dick's "utility belt" is more of a waist sash with hidden pockets inside, I keep going back & forth on whether or not to give him a scale-mail skirt for the extra protection & flair. It makes sense, but I worry it might be a bit much...

(Styled much like the one on the left, but closer in length to the one on the right. Color could be either light blue to extend the line of his torso & keep the colors balanced or white-gold to keep all the metallic bits consistent.)

This one has been, despite how much fun I had brainstorming, the biggest pain pinning anything down on. I'm so glad I'm done with it now.

[astronomoney]

Pairing: Tim Drake x nb!reader (it’s not super romance heavy but I might do a part two)

Prompts: n/a this is purely self indulgent

Summary: sometimes life gives you lemons and sometimes life tells you your best friend and the guy you hate are the same person, your not sure what’s worse

Warnings: n/a

A/n: is this canon compliant? no. does it make much sense? not really. do I like and did I have fun writing it? absolutely. read at your own risk Masterlist also this should be totally nb but if you see anything that’s gender solid please let me know so I can fix it

Word count: 2k it got to long but there’s plenty of material for a second part (wink wink nudge nudge)

Secrets Spilled

Rich people suck. More specifically, rich teenagers suck. You should know, you go to school with one. Tim Drake, the pride and joy of Gotham Academy and the adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Was he actually adopted? You didn’t remember but that didn’t matter. Mr. Wayne has a habit of picking up strays almost as bad as Batman and Tim Drake was lucky enough to end up under his umbrella of wealth.

You had 3 classes with Tim Drake. He was smart and most of the teachers liked him well enough, in fact most of the school liked him. You however hated him. Sure he was cute and he seemed nice enough and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it but something about him was just off. Like he had some big secret or something.

No one at school seemed to agree with you on that. They all thought he was a perfect angel so you stopped trying to convince them of your anti-drake agenda a long time ago. Thankfully you had one person in your life who always listened to your rants.

“He sounds like a douchebag,” Red Robin said, sitting cross legged on your bed with an ice pack against his lip. Through some minor computer shenanigans, aka illegal hacking (nothing to bad), you had met and become close friends with none other than Red Robin.

It was a mutually beneficial friendship. For him it was an apartment almost exactly halfway between safe houses so on nights like tonight when he was a little bloody and bruised he’d stop by and you’d help patch him up. For you it was a captivated audience for your late night rants.

“Oh he totally is! Thank you for that, no one ever agrees with me,” You rolled your eyes thinking about how many times you’d heard people gush about the billionaire brat. You sat down across from him and opened the first aid kit you’d just dug out from under your bed.

You were too busy rifling through the various bandages and ointments to notice your vigilante friend desperately trying to hide his smirk. “Yeah no problem,”

“He’s way smart too, which is super annoying.” You found the healing gel you were looking for. “I swear he’s hiding something, he must be like an alien or a robot or-” You looked up to see a laugh-suppressing-grin on the heros face, “Don’t laugh, I'm serious! This guy is a pain and just because he’s hot people let it slide!”

Red's face went completely serious and you could’ve sworn you saw his cheeks tint pink underneath his domino mask but then again his left side had a sizable cut on it so you really couldn’t tell. “You- you think he’s hot?”

“That is so not the point I'm trying to make!” You rolled your eyes and dabbed a bit of gel on the cut. “But yeah, his looks are like, his only redeeming quality.” Once you had laid a thin layer against the cut you used some butterfly bandages to hold it closed. It was exactly pretty but it would heal well, and the gel would make it nothing but a small scar in a week or so. “You know, you kinda look like him. Is that what you're hiding?” You used this opportunity to tap the bottom edge of the mask, resisting the urge to just take it off right then. “Rugged good looks and a billionaire smile.”

“Oh ha ha,” He retorted sarcastically, lightly moving your hand away from the fabric. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t dying to know his identity. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell you, it’s just that he’d heard you complain about his alter ego enough times to worry about your reaction, plus the whole ‘your-life-would-be-in-constant-danger-if-you-knew’ thing. Lately he’d found himself going out of his way to end up knocking on your window and he didn’t want what you had to change.

“You're no fun.” You huffed, hoping off the bed stashing the first-aid kit once again. You heard a small buzz and knew that Red had gotten an alert.

He stood up, and listen for a second. You could only guess he was getting instructions via earpiece. “Got it, I’m on my way.” He called over coms before turning back to you with an apologetic look.

You spoke before he could get an apology out. “Let me guess, some goon’s breaking open an ATM and everyone else is busy?”

“Pretty much yeah,” He ducked under your windowsill onto your fire escape. “Thanks for the help. I don’t know where I'd be without you.”

“Probably at that robbery already,” You gently shoved him the rest of the way through the window and bid him farewell. You watched him grapple off into the dim moonlight before getting back into your bed. Over the past few weeks you’d started staying up later just in case a certain someone happened by, this of course made that full 8 hours a little harder to come by. You didn’t really care though, a little less sleep for a little more time with him seemed like a fair trade.

The next morning finally came and you weren’t exactly pleased to hear the familiar beeping of your alarm clock. Still you forced yourself out of bed, pulled your uniform on and got your stuff together before heading out the door to another day at Gotham Academy.

You didn’t have any classes with Tim on Friday’s but you usually saw him passing you in the hall or at lunch. Today was different. One might even say he was avoiding you, but why. You saw a glimpse of him quickly heading away from you before second period, and at lunch you got a great view of the back of his head for about 30 seconds before he ducked out to go who knows where. Sure, you weren’t exactly friends but today it seemed he’d gone completely out of his way to make sure you didn’t see him. And it was pretty successful, at least until you literally collided with him.

School had let out and you had almost left the building before you remembered you’d left something behind, on your way back to your locker you turned a corner without caution and slammed into him at full force. It was a classic early 2000s movie scene, papers and books flying and strewn across the floor, both parties crouching down to collect up their scattered items and inevitably accidentally grabbing the wrong paper or two.

“Ah sorry, i’m so sorry I didn’t see-” That’s when you actually saw who it was you’d bumped into. “Tim?” You handed him the printed out english paper that definitely wasn’t yours.

“Sorry, I should have been watching where I was going.” He apologized as you both stood up and placed your papers in your respective books bags. Something about him was even more off then usual. He wouldn’t even meet your eyes, in fact he kept his gaze firmly to his left. Maybe he’d somehow heard you complain about him and now he wanted nothing to do with you. Maybe you’d messed it all up.

You were about to awkwardly say bye and shuffle off when a locker a little ways away from you slammed shut, startling you both and causing Tim to finally look to his right.

“Whoa what happened to your face?” You asked leaning in slightly to see the hefty gash that had been carefully held together with butterfly bandages. “That looks just like,” It clicked. “hOLY-”

“SHHH!” Tim acted fast, he clapped a hand over your mouth, effectively putting your mind shattering realization on silent and rushed the both of you into a thankfully unlocked maintenance closet nearby.

Suddenly a bajillion pieces were falling into place in your mind. Tim cursed. “God, if you know now what I think you know you’re gonna have a lot of questions. So I'm gonna move my hand but you have to be quiet about it. Ok?” He spoke softly and full of concern. After all, he may have just caused a massive overload in your brain. Your kind of enemy and your closest confidant were the same damn person, who knows what that could do to someone’s psyche.

You nodded profusely, still unable to even conjure a sound. Slowly Tim lifted his hand away from your mouth and watched you closely. You didn’t say anything for a beat, you just stared back at him and then, “What the actual fuck! You’re him and he’s- which means- I mean all this time- and… what?!?”

“Umm yeah?” In all honesty this was going better than Tim had imagined it would. Whenever he’d envisioned you finding out it usually started with you cursing him out and ended with you never talking to him again, but now here he was. You hadn’t cursed him out exactly and you were kind of still talking to him so overall, better than expected. “I wanted to tell you ages ago I swear. I just know how you feel about… well me,” He gestured down to his civilian attire. “and I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

“All this time,” You were still definitely in shock. “All this time you were him and he was you! And you never told me! I talked about you to you! I called you hot!”

“Oh yeah, thanks by the way.” A shit eating grin had made its way onto his face and you were not pleased.

“Oh fuck off!” You sunk down to sit on a little step stool that happened to be in the closet. “I can’t believe I was so dumb. I mean how did I not see it sooner!”

Tim crouched down in front of you. “To be fair, we put a lot of effort into keeping our secrets.”

“We? Wait a second! If you’re Red Robin, that makes Batman-”

“Yup.”

“And Nightwing-”

“Oh yeah.”

“So Robin is-”

“A total pain in the ass. But yeah, it’s Damian.”

“Holy shit!”

Tim finally let himself laugh a bit at your reaction. You were smart and he knew that, there had been a few times over the past few weeks when he thought you might put it all together and he’d gone out of his way to cover it up. Including (but not limited to) a leaked story to the tabloids about a Tim-Drake-kidnapping-attempt that was thwarted by the one and only Red Robin.

While the tabloids weren’t the most believable sources it had planted a seed in your brain that Red Robin and Tim Drake were in the same place at the same time. Of course thanks to that cut on his cheek he wouldn’t need to lie to you anymore.

“Don’t laugh! I can’t believe I didn’t see this months ago. I mean your stupid mask doesn't even cover that much!” You exclaimed, throwing your arms in the air to emphasize your point.

Tim lightly grabbed your arms and brought them back down. “Ok ok, i’m serious but you seriously need to calm down.” He still had a massive grin on his face.

“I am calm!” You defended. “I mean considering. Wait, how did this start? Did you have to train long? When did you find out who Batman was? Is he really a Vampire?” You rattled off questions a mile a minute, finally the shock and slight annoyance had given way to pure curiosity.

Tim looked around the small maintenance room, contemplating a really bad idea. “I can’t explain anything else here, but if you want I can take you to the Batcave? I mean you’ve already guessed most of the secrets and even if I don't tell you the rest you’ll probably figure it out anyway.”

a/n: I broke 2k and couldn’t figure out a satisfying ending so I just called it here but if y’all show this one some love i’ll do a part too (guest appearances and everything)

taglist: @starship-argo @reveriecore @luvcoy @instabull @littlered-fangirl click here to be added :)

[lily-drake]

Twin!Sibling Tim and Marinette where Tim is digging into his parents old files one day and discovers he had a younger twin sibling that was given up cause she wasn't planned. Tim does what Tim does best starts tracking down where she was sent/adopted to and finds out she's in Paris. Marinette has always known she was adopted and doesn't even bat an eye when he shows up. Basically they bond over coffee/riddles/problem solving, and discover each other hero identities.

Siblings don’t shake hands, siblings gotta hug!

sorry this took so long!

Tim didn’t want to be at the manor.  He was tired, and it wasn’t because he hadn’t slept in like 4 days, no his tiredness was bone deep.  It has been a year now since he was proven right that Bruce was indeed alive.  He was right, but Dick never apologized, Damian was still trying to kill him, Jason was still doing his thing in Crime Alley, and as long as he stayed far away from there he would be fine.  Bruce, at least he had thanked him when Tim had pulled him out of the time stream.  But that wasn’t enough, because he never stopped Damian’s many attempts to kill him, he often let Jason, his also attempted murderer, into the manor whenever the guy wanted!  Dick had even threatened to send him to Arkham for even suggesting that Bruce was alive, and would you look at that, he is!  So no, he didn’t feel safe at the manor.  And yes, he was tired of doing so much for everyone and having to be trampled on and thrown away for someone or something new.

He didn’t know why he was at Drake Manor.  Honestly this place wasn’t any better, but he knew that no one would ever think to look here.  So he let the back of his mind take control and he wandered through old dusty rooms.  He was honestly surprised Bruce was still spending his money to keep this place.  He was wandering through his father’s old office and saw a filing cabinet.  Why not, Tim thought tiredly as he opened one of the drawers and he was met with files upon files.  Some mindless work would be good for him, it would keep his mind off of his horrible thoughts and the feelings he really didn’t need right now.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, just going through old documents, bills, reports, but it was fine.  Well it was fine until he stumbled upon a birth certificate that wasn’t his own.  It was a girl’s certificate, she was born the same day, of the same year, two minutes after him.  Tim sat there staring down at the piece of paper before his mind basically exploded and he was a flurry.  He was going through the metal cabinet drawers much faster.  He pulled out everything he could find on “Marinette”, and that’s when he stumbled upon a journal entry inside one of the envelope that held his —oh my gosh, he had a little sister, he wasn’t alone anymore; shut up, he’s not crying— apparent sister’s name on it.

19 July ####

Stupid child.  We didn’t know that this stupid girl was going to disrupt our plans!  We don’t need another heir, especially not a girl.  This might just set back our plans for Tim… unless we get rid of her.  Nobody has to know who she is, not even her if we put her up for adoption.  I’ll have to run it by Janet first, but I may have just found the answer to the problem.

Tim felt disgusted, how could his parents do something like this?!  Tim imagined what it would have been like to live with his apparent twin and thought how much better and warm it could have been.  Tim came to a decision, he was going to find her, he was going to meet her, he had to make sure that she was in a good home and that hi-er, their parents hadn’t just shipped her off to some random family that could be hurting her.  So that’s what he did.  After collecting all the information he could find and stuffing it into one of the manilla folders he ran back to the manor and to his room where his personal laptop sat on his desk.

_______

Marinette always knew she was adopted.  While she had many similarities to Sabine, she knew she couldn’t be her real mom.  She was different from them, and while she had learned so many things from them and she was so happy, she knew that she was missing something.  She had always felt some sort of loss, and it wasn’t their fault, but at the same time it might have been.  So when she saw a boy around her age with dark black hair and eyes so similar to hers she could just feel a connection.  It felt like something had just fallen into place and the world was finally beginning to be complete.  The two stared at each other for what felt like hours but was probably just a few minutes before he approached her.

“Umm..h-hey.  Um,”

He awkwardly cleared his throat before continuing.

“I’m Tim Drake, and I know this is going to sound weird…but I think I’m your twin brother.”

Marinette blinked a few times before a wide smile spread across her lips.

“It’s great to meet you Tim!  I’m Marinette, though I’m sure you already knew that.”

They both chuckled at that before the awkward silence surrounded them once more.

“Sooo….would you like some coffee?”

Marinette asked, noticing the tired posture that her —she had a brother, a twin no less, that’s so cool— brother’s exhausted posture.

“Wait, you're just going to take my word for it?!”

He asked incredulously.  Marinette rolled her eyes at that as she went behind the counter of the bakery and began a brew of her special all-nighter coffee.

“We have the same eyes, hair, and how dare you be a bad influence to me when I haven’t even met you!”

She joked, but he looked confused.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You look like you haven’t slept in a week, and I’ve been there, done that, and I know I’ll do it again.”

Tim didn’t have anything to say to that, because he was the older sibling, and he was a bad influence, even from an ocean away.  How could he fall into such a bad habit and let his sister think it was okay to do it too?!  A large cup of coffee was placed in front of his face breaking him out of his stupor.  He carefully took it and gave her an awkward smile.

“Thank you.”

He said sheepishly.  He slowly took a sip of the hot drink and his eyes widened with wonder and delight.

“Magical coffee goddess, I worship you.  This is the best coffee ever.  I’m so glad we’re related right now!”

Marinette giggled and played along tilting her chin the air in a ‘better-than-you’ sort of way,

“Of course you should worship me.  I am your sister and thus I obviously deserve all of the praise.”

They made eye contact and began laughing again.

“Follow me, mama and papa made some cookies upstairs.”

“Really?!”

Tim said with hope and pure joy.  Marinette could see the loneliness in his eyes, and she understood it.  They both carried a burden, maybe they had more similarities than they would ever truly know.

“So, do tell brother-o-mine, what are your hobbies?”

Marinette asked as she opened the apartment door that led to the main room.  He thought over for a bit as they settled on the barstools in front of the counter where the cookies sat in a pile atop a decorated plate.

“Well, I like photography, I do a lot of tech stuff, I solve cold cases, and solving riddles is fun.”

He said before nibbling shyly on a cookie, like nobody had ever really cared or asked what he liked to do.  Marinette was going to change this, he was family and he should be treated as such, which means she’s going to treat like he’s the most important person.  And considering their twins he is!

“Oh?  Ok then Tim-Tam,”

He made a confused face but didn’t say anything,

“I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?”

Tim's eyes widened before they sparkled with a bright happy gleam. He took another bit, a bigger one this time, of the cookie and swallowed before easily replying,

“An echo.”

Marinette nodded her head and held her hand up, he looked at it for a second confusedly before he realized what she was doing.  He quickly high fived her back and her bright smile made him so happy.  Was he doing this right, Damian had never given him a chance to be an older brother, he was even kicked out so he really didn’t know if he was doing anything right.  But she looked happy, and it seemed genuine, so maybe he was?

“Alright, my turn.”

He said, and after a bit of thought said,

“White bird, featherless. Flying out of paradise. Flying over sea and land. Dying in my hand. What is it?”

Marinette had never heard of this one, but she was determined to figure it out.  She took another cookie from the plate and began to eat it as she thought.

“Could you repeat it please?”

He smirked and did.  She would wipe that smirk off his face, she would not surrender!!!  After a few more minutes it hit her an she smiled brightly,

“A snowflake!”

Tim wanted to feel upset, he did, really!  But her smile was so bright and she looked so happy and prideful, he couldn’t help but smile too.  Marinette opened her mouth to ask him another riddle when her Akuma alert went off.  She glared at it before she sighed and stood up.

“I’ll be right back Tim, I just need to grab something in my room, okay?”

Tim hesitated a little but nodded silently and gripped his hands together.  Marinette wanted to scream, because of course he had abandonment issues.  She was going to kill whoever hurt her —she didn’t know who was older, she’d have to ask— brother in such a way.

“Tim, I promise that I will be back, and I’m not trying to get away from you.  I want to get to know you, I just need to take care of this, okay?”

Tim could feel tears stinging at the back of his eyes at her words.  How long had he been waiting for someone to say that to him?  That they weren’t going to run from him, that they would stay, that they actually would come back?

“Okay.”

He whispered not daring to meet her eyes for fear that she would see his weakness.  He could hear her feet on the stairs and the door close and then he waited anxiously for her to return.

It felt like hours that she had been gone, but when he checked his phone again it had been, half an hour.  He bit his lip in anticipation and came to a decision he would knock on her door and ask if she needed help with anything.  If she was working on some project it would be rude of him not to try to help her in some way.  So he carefully made his way up the stairs and knocked on the door.

“Marinette, do you need any help?”

There was no reply and it was silent in there.  It was too silent for someone to not be in there.  And he was a paranoid man, so could you blame him for opening the door, and when she wasn’t there looking around?  When he heard a thump come from the loft bed he quickly looked up and took a defensive stance only to see a lady in ladybug themed spandex and ladybug themed mask, and the suit was disappearing into magical pink sparkles, and his sister was staring at him instead of the ladybug girl, and oh, his sister was the ladybug girl.

“I’m the most terrible, horrible, absolute worst, influence to ever exist.  The worst big brother to ever exist.”

Tim groaned, burying his face in his hands.  Of course she was also a superhero.  When was anyone he called family not one?!  Marinette did not expect or understand his reaction.  How was he such a terrible influence, it’s not like he was a-unless he was.  So he was the older twin, question answered at least.

“What hero are you?”

She asked as she stared down at her brother from her bed.

“Red Robin, in Gotham.”

He groaned, face still covered.

“Well, want to meet the rest of the team?  We were planning to meet for ice cream soon.”

Tim looked at her eyes shining with emotion.

“Just like that?  You’re just going to accept it, except me so easily?”

Marinette hopped down and hugged her brother tightly and felt her heart ache as he practically melted into her touch.

“Of course!  You’re my brother, my family, and I’ll never leave my family behind, ever.”

They had both lost people important in their lives, both been betrayed in ways they weren’t able to talk about quite yet, but one day they would.

______

Tim had begun to zeta to Paris almost every other day to visit Marinette, and sometimes he would stay with her for weeks on end.  Tom and Sabine were such genuine and sweet people and he had never felt so loved then he did in her house or with her and her friends.  Chloe, Luka, Kagami, Adrien, and Juleka were some of the most genuine and protective people he had ever met.  He would often patrol with them, and when Adrien using his bo staff as a sword finally got to him, taught the kid how to use his precious child properly.  With his spare time he would help them track down Hawkmoth and help them narrow down the suspect list.

He had been gone from Gotham for almost a month now and all of them were just chilling in Chloe’s room.  Luka was strumming some soft melodies on his guitar, Juleka, Chloe, and Marinette were talking about designs, and Adrien and Kagami were talking about fencing techniques.  Tim looked up from his laptop, he had been doing WE work from here and attending meetings via video call, and picked up the camera he had brought with him from the table next to him.  He set his laptop aside and stood in a corner of a room getting the perfect angle to capture the serenity of the moment.  He stared down at the picture with a gentle smile and went back to his spot on the couch only for Marinette to lay down across his lap.

He smiled gently at his little sister.  She seemed to understand how touched staved he was, but knew how it was awkward for him to be touched or held for long periods of times.  So, she would often just lay in his lap and let him control the amount of touch that happened, he would often just run his fingers through her hair, and when the roles were reversed she would do the same for him.  He liked being able to fall asleep to her gentle touches.  They may have only officially met about 3 months ago, but it felt like they’d known each other their entire lives even though they were separated.  Suddenly his computer began to fuzz out and…he knew Oracle’s work when he saw it.  He sighed tiredly and leaned his head on the back of the couch as his brothers’ faces popped onto the screen along with Oracle herself.  He had been ignoring their texts and calls all week, he should have seen this coming.

“Tim!  We’ve been trying to get a hold of you for weeks!  We could really use your help right now!”

Tim grumbled tiredly under his breath as Marinette stared at the screen that held the faces of Dick, Damian, and Barbara.

“Tt.  We don’t need the pretender’s help, we’re just fine on our own.  In fact we’re better off without him completely.”

The small boy with green eyes said.  She glared at the screen and she could tell her friends were glaring as well.  Before Tim could do or say anything she snatched the laptop and made sure her face showed through the camera.

“What the-“

“Who are you?”

“Shut. Up.”

Marinette said darkly as she glared at the screen.  Damian went to open his mouth but she beat him to the punch.

“You will never, and I mean never call my brother that again.  And none of you have even noticed where he’s been!  None of you are worried about him?!  All you care about is what he can give you, what he can do for you, right?”

It was silent on the other end, everybody shocked at the words she was saying, specifically the “brother” part.

“I’ve dealt with people like you before.  Always wanting something, always asking, never caring about the person doing it.  You just expect it to be done even if they have other things they need or have to do.  And when it isn’t done you guilt or shame him, don’t you?!”

It was silent and she could tell she was right by the way two of them went pale, the other just crossed his arms and looked away definitely.

Her team was coming up to the camera and they made sure that the people saw their faces.

“Never call here again unless it’s for an apology or it’s the end of the world.  He's ours, and I’m going to make sure he’s protected from people like you.”

Then she shut the laptop.  Tim looked at his little sister and her, no, their friends with shock and utter joy.  He could feel warm tears begin to flow down his face and his family…yea, family were hugging him and reassuring him.  He loved it here, and he was so thankful he found his little sister.  He could share anything with her, and she never judged him, in fact she just up and helped him.  He made sure he did the same for her, and they often spent late nights working together and helping each other.

“Thank you Bean, and everyone.  Thank you.”

“We love you too Tim-Tam.  We'll always be here.  Because family don’t shake hands.”

“Family hugs.”

He finished.  It was a joke as after the first time they met before he left he held out his hand for a handshake, but instead she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.  Yea, he loved his family, and he was happy that they were always there for him.

Next

Taglist:

@aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246 @queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo @crazylittlemunchkin @seraphichana @miraculous-ninja @dorkus-minimus @mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777 @fidget-eep @sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1

[soulmate-game]

Curiosity Killed the Exorcist

“And then, see here? You have to be on the lookout for subtle signs like these. This indicates that he’s…” Marinette nodded as Tim continued explaining, pointing out various body language and other clues out on the Batcomputer. It had only been about six months since the Batfam collectively adopted the little ladybug into their menagerie of heroes, and started teaching her deductive habits and skills. She would not allow them anywhere near Paris on pain of death (some of them had already tried, and Bruce was still recovering from the bruise to his ego. The bruise on his ass from being teleported out of the city and onto the stone of the Batcave was gone, though) but she welcomed any help they could give from within Gotham’s city limits.

Usually, at least in the beginning, they did their mentorship at a distance over video call. But then Tim found out her identity, and Marinette made the excuse of wanting to meet with them in person to gauge their trustworthiness for herself and erase their memories of her identity if they failed her test— and, well, it all snowballed from there until she was teleporting to the Batcave every few days for detective lessons. She was practically a Bat herself, if not for her out of theme codename. And she found herself surprisingly comfortable with the thought of them being a… very eccentric extended family.

Tim was flipping to another saved video in the Batcomputer archives to show another example of his current lesson, when Tikki flew up to Marinette in a hurry. She was holding Kaalki’s glasses. The little kwami whispered something in Marinette’s ear, instantly making the teen blanch and force on the glasses.

“Sorry Timmy, gotta cut this short! I’ll come back tomorrow to make up for it! Okay? Okay! Awesome, you’re the best, bye!” She ignored all of Tim’s protests and rapid fire questions, instead opening up a portal and jumping through it as fast as humanly possible. The portal has barely disappeared before an all-too-familiar voice rose up from behind Tim.

“Maybe I’m still drunk, ‘cause I could’a sworn I just saw a portal closing in the damned Batcave, of all places,” the British-accented drawl was accompanied by the flick of a lighter and accompanying fizzle of a flame. Tim groaned, mentally making a note to ask how in the world Marinette had known that John “Annoying asshole” Constantine was showing up soon, and if he could be in on the warning next time. Bruce, cowl still off, walked over from where he had been sparring with Damian and crossed his arms. He had also heard Marinette’s hasty exit, and made a few mental notes of his own before focusing on the exorcist in front of him.

“What do you want, Constantine?” he grumbled. Any time the blond brit showed up, things only got far more complicated than he ever enjoyed. And he always gave Bruce a migraine, to boot.

“Two things actually, Batsy,” John held up to fingers as his free hand tucked his lighter away in his pocket. His unlit cigarette stayed in his mouth though, probably just for the familiar feel of it. “One; I’m gonna need you to tell me why there was a portal closing when I walked in, because I’ll be honest. The implications there are way more interesting than what I came here for in the first place.”

“None of your business. What’s the second thing?” Bruce immediately shot him down, but John was not one to be deterred. He never fucking was.

“But you hate magic! You make sure I know that all too bloody well every time I pay you a visit, so why the sudden change in heart? Huh?”

“Drop it, Constantine. What. Do you. Want?”

“Fine, fine. I need your help with…”

— * — * — * — * — *

A week later, Marinette was sitting with Jason and Damian in one of the manor’s sitting rooms, the three of them just minding their own business and silently enjoying one another’s presence. Even if two of them would never admit it. Jason was reading Jane Eyre for the millionth time, Damian was leaning against Titus on the ground as he sketched, and Marinette was embroidering a sunhat. Unfortunately for her, Alfred the Cat was currently asleep on her lap and thus holding her hostage.

Even as Tikki flew up to her ear in a panic and whispered, making Marinette prick herself with her needle. She hissed for a second but shrugged off the familiar pain, much more concerned with whatever news Tikki had given her. Damian and Jason were already on high alert from the second that a whispered curse had left her lips, and were staring straight at her and her kwami and Marinette frantically tried to find a way to get up without awakening the cat sleeping on her.

“Uh, what’s wrong?” Jason asked, feeling thoroughly confused and left out. On one hand, he knew that if they were in physical danger she would have moved Alfred the Cat without hesitation. On the other, he did not like the sheer amount of anxiety he could see her experiencing. Marinette’s frantic eyes shot over to him, pupils mere pinpricks and hands mouth agape as she tried to form some sort of plan.

“Uh— “

“Ah! You must be the fair maiden that the Bats are comfortable with using magic around them,” John goddamned Constantine threw the door to the sitting room open wide, making it bounce off of the wall and lightly smack back against his shoulder. He ignored it as he grinned at the three younger people in the room, waltzing in casual as anything. He wagged a finger at her playfully. “I’ve been awfully curious about you, ya know? Brucie boy knows a shit ton of magic users, but he never likes seein’ any of us do our thing. And to not only allow you to teleport without any apparent discomfort but to actively protect your identity from me? Now that’s a damn accomplishment and I really gotta applaud you for it,” he mockingly clapped his hands a few times. “So what’s your secret, huh? I won’t tattle.”

“No thanks. Kaalki, a little help?” Marinette carefully pushed Alfred the Cat off of her lap before diving into the portal that Kaalki whipped up for her, the entire process happening so fast that Constantine couldn’t even get out a proper “hey!” before she was gone and the portal closed. He just nodded, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.

“Ya know what? Fair. That’s fair.”

“Goddamn it, Constantine!” Jason threw up his hands in frustration. “Why the fuck do you have to scare away one of the only sane people in this family?”

“Part of my charm, little red riding hood.”

— * — * — * — * — *

“You know, I’ve been pretty damn nice not teleporting right over to you whenever you disappear. So why don’t you just tell me why you’re avoiding me now that we happen to be in the same room by complete accident, huh?” John asked from where he sat in one of Bruce’s lounge chairs sipping on a beer. Marinette mimed choking him, clearly fed up. He had been trying to have a conversation with her for the past three months, ever since that one time he caught the tail end of her portal closing in the Batcave. Three. Long. Months. And he hadn’t given up, because something about this little Parisian teenager intrigued him. She was sixteen, that much he had gathered from the Bats. But to be sixteen and not only in possession of the Horse miraculous but also clearly the Ladybugs, since he had seen Tikki more than once as well, now that was interesting.

Anybody being in the possession of more than one Miraculous was already cause enough to be keeping an eye on them, which was why he had been keeping an eye on the Paris situation and had pieced together on his own that the presence of Tikki meant that this little parisian teenager was none other than Ladybug herself. Now, that? That was a whole new level of concerning, especially since he knew firsthand that the old Grand Guardian was gone and passed his title down to— yeah, Ladybug.

After that deduction, his interest in Marinette had swiftly switched from curiosity to fuck-I-need-to-know-what’s-going-on-here. Because no kid should have to deal with that kind of weight, and Constantine always looked out for kids when he could.

But right then, Marinette was glaring at him. She had been just coming over for a normal “family” dinner with the Waynes, which she attended from time to time. And apparently they had decided to have Constantine already over so that they could chaperone a meeting between them that would hopefully appease the stupid british magic user enough that he left them all alone again until the next time he needed help.

“Believe me when I say, you’d rather not know,” she replied sharply, glaring Dick. He was the one who had convinced her to come despite her recent close calls with Constantine in the past few days. He studiously avoided her gaze. “I just would rather not cross your path, and there’s no reason for us to interact. Why do you care, anyway?”

“You see, now that is an excellent question!” he chugged the last of his beer and gestured to her with the empty bottle. “Normally, I wouldn’t give a flying rat’s ass. But I’ve put two and two together, since I know who Tikki is,” he nodded to the red and black Kwami. “And maybe I just wanna keep an eye on the new Grand Guardian to make sure she’s doin’ alright. That’s an awful lot of magic and responsibility that you don’t deserve, but I’m not about to try to take it away. Keepin’ an eye on you is the next best thing.”

“Try again,” Marinette shot back, crossing her arms. “You were interested in me before you learned about me being Ladybug.”

“I’m nosy, what do you want me to say? I saw a portal in Batman’s man-cave, I get curious. Sue me.”

“Well. I have Bruce and everyone else already watching out for me, so you can leave me alone now. If I need your help, I’ll make sure to ask every other magic user first before contacting you.”

“Woah, now what’s all this venom for?”

“Uh, maybe we should go and actually eat dinner?” Dick tried to step in, hands up. Constantine had stood up from the chair he was in, which was usually a cue to change the subject as fast as possible. “Before Alfred has to come get us?”

“Maybe I’ll be less venomous if you let the subject drop and leave me alone!”

“Context would be nice, though.”

“Seriously guys, let’s go! Food!” Dick was once again ignored.

“Context is the last thing you need in this situation,” Marinette’s voice was suddenly soft, her arms dropping to her sides. “We’ve had this conversation so many times in so many now-deleted timelines. Just drop it this time.”

“If those timelines are now-deleted, then I obviously don’t remember what’s so bad about telling me why you’re acting like I’m some hated family member you’re avoiding!”

Silence.

Pure. Fucking. Silence. As they all watch with front row seats as Marinette flinches at the word ‘family’.

Pure silence as Constantine’s shoulders drop at the sight of her flinch, realization slapping itself on his face.

“No.”

“See? I fucking knew you would— that this would happen. This always happens, you always hate finding it out, but you’re so— so stubborn!” Marinette was blinking away tears, digging in her pockets and bringing out Kaalki’s glasses. “You’ll drop it now, at least. You always do.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean?” Constantine rubbed his forehead, still trying to sort through his amalgam of emotions. Marinette just shook her head, turning to Kaalki.

“Do you mind showing Monsieur Constantine the way out, Kaalki? I’ll grab you a load of sugar cubes afterward.”

“No, wait, hang on a second!”

A portal opened up under him, making John “Stubborn Idiot” Constantine drop ten feet down onto the hardwood, polished floor of his house. His bruised tailbone would take a while to heal, but his frazzled mind was by far the more concerning development. He staggered to his feet, reaching for the nearest bottle of tequila.

“Ugh, fuck my damn life.”

— * — * — * — * — *

“Marinette..?” Damian nudged the girl with his shoulder, frowning. It was after dinner that same day, and as much as he hated to admit it he had grown to actually like having her around. She was a good friend to have. And seeing her slumped back on one of their sofas, sketchbook covering her face and not a single rambling conversation to be had or heard? It was very concerning. She just made a groaning sound to answer him, prompting his frown to deepen. “Are you alright?”

“I just can’t believe that such a sweet, adorable thing like you is half made up of Constantine’s genes,” Jason mused bluntly from the opposite couch, where he tossed a rubber ball up and down out of boredom. “But now I see where you get all of your Disaster Bi-ness from.”

“Shut uuuuup,” She groaned, chucking her sketchbook at him. He caught it in midair, replacing his rubber ball with it and tossing it up and down in the air. “I’m just frustrated. This timeline is still perfectly stable, so I can’t erase it. And I can’t exactly ask ‘hey, can someone commit a horrid atrocity that makes this timeline split from the main one so that I can erase it and we can start over from four months ago?’ because that would be horribly irresponsible of me. But seriously, Jason. If you’re gonna ever commit, like, city-wise arson? I’d probably condone it right now if only so I have an excuse to use time travel to get out of this situation.”

“Not committing arson unless you give me a better reason for it, Pigtails.”

“Damn.”

“But are you okay?” Damian asked again, seeing as she had completely ignored him.

“I’m fine, Damian,” she finally sighed. “And I know how this is gonna go. He’s going to totally ignore me now, until we meet during some magical crisis and he only interacts with me when necessary. Then he pretends we never met, we have a private little one-sided whisper-argument about how he will never make a good father figure and I would be better off leaving him alone, blah blah blah. Avoidance is a coping mechanism I guess I inherited from him.”

“Guess it’s a good thing I’m trying to bite that in the bud then, eh?” Marinette startled out of her sitting position, seeing John stumble into the room…

Drunk off his ass. But apparently still at least mildly coherent.

“I agree with deleted-me’s, I’m not gonna be a dad. Not me,” he tripped, landing on his still-bruised ass and hissing in pain before continuing from the floor; “So if you’re looking for another Daddy dearest, that ain’t me.”

“See, I knew this is how you’d—”

“Let me finish,” he interrupted. “I don’t know how long the booze is gonna last and I need it’s courage here. ‘Kay? ‘Kay. Where was I? Right. But I know magic, ya know. The kind that doesn’t rely on little bobblehead gods to do. I got— like, a million books. Shit ton of books. At my place. Ya can read ‘em. My books. At my place. But I ain’t gonna parent, but I can lend ya books. Maybe give magic advice. Teach a little. Little bit. Didn’t think I’d have a child, but apparently I do and she’s the fuckin’ grand guardian and a damn hero, and I don’t know how the fuck I was able to help make someone like that. But whatever, it’s not like the world’s ever fuckin’ been easy on me,” He pulled out a sample-sized bottle of whiskey from one of the pockets on the inside of his trench coat and chugged it. After a brief wince and hiss at the burn, he kept rambling. “My door’s open, is what I’m tryin’ to say. No guarantee I’ll be in any state to talk to when you walk through it, but it’s open.”

Deciding to steadfastly ignore the tears streaming down her face, Marinette just swallowed thickly and nodded.

“I, uh. I think I can work with that.”

John barely made it to the nearby bin in time to vomit into it.

— * — * — * — * — *

I hate my imagination sometimes, guys. I started imagining a convo between Mari and Constantine at like 4am and it wouldn't leave me alone until I got it down. but by the time I wrote it, I kinda forgot like 60% of the original convo and just winged it. And this was born. I 100% blame @multifandomscribette because their Bio!dad John Constantine headcannons are amazing and even though this isn't in that universe, those headcannons are exactly what inspired this. So blame them, lol.

[paintball169]

Day 3 - Identities

Day1 - Day2 - Day3 - Day4

Marinette had been living with the waynes for over a month now. The reason? Tom and Sabine sent her away to her biological father. Apparently To Dupain was not her biological, but Bruce Wayne was.

Marinette had a sliver of hope, A really, really thin one. Which had faltered by the month.

Marinette had defeated Hawk Moth with Chat Noir. Apparently Plagg found the brooches along with two sleeping kwamis accidentally. At night when Gabriel and Natalie were asleep, He had stolen the miraculous. On the patrol that night, Chat had told her that the miraculous were right under their noses. He gave her the two brooches and told her that Plagg had found the brooches in his father’s study. He told her that Gabriel was Hawk moth and Natalie was Mayura. Then he de-transformed and handed her the ring saying that he wanted to continue his life as a civilian.

Later that week it was announced that Chat noir found out who Hawk Moth was and he had stolen the miraculous at night. He then said that Gabriel and Natalie were the Villians. He then revealed himself saying that he was innocent, and he had no idea that his father was Hawk moth. Marinette had thought that with Hawkmoth gone she could beat Lila, But no, it Backfired. That was the reason she was Shipped off. Like an object. She was replaced just like an object.

Her only wish was to die. But she had tried to do that multiple times. Someone always managed to save her. So no, that option was unavailable. She had thought that she would finally be able to die in Gotham by sucide, But no, Selina, Cassandra or Jason always managed to save her.

By now she had started to see the woman as a mother figure. The Waynes hated her. They didn’t even listen to her side of the story. Only Cass and Jason had seen that there was more to the story. Selina and Alfred too, of course. The waynes saw her with disgust. They laid out certain rules.

And of course she figured out they were Bat family. She may not be from Gotham, but she wasn’t certainly stupid. She had to admit, The Waynes were really good at hiding the Batfam thingy. But what gave them away? Misplaced Batarangs by Tim. Then Tikki had also found the cave. She wasn’t stupid, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne were good friends and certainly Batman and Superman. The people of Justice league stopped by often at the Manor too.

Speaking of the Justice League, They had given her an offer to join the League, but she declined. They had given her a satellite phone for emergencies to contact the league. They had praised her high and low. Batman was even Concerned for her when he found out her age range. Concerned! If they knew that Ladybug was their new sibling who was claimed to be a bully, she’d be declared a threat and her take Miraculous away.

Her routine was the same. Wake up. Eat breakfast in silence as she was being glared at. Study something. Do commissions while talking to her boyfriend, Luka and the others. Eat Lunch while being glared at. Study the Grimoire with Alfred. Sketch some designs while talking to Selina and Cass. Draw illustrations while Jason talks. Eat dinner in Silence. Stay up till 3 am doing commissions. Sleep.

Last week she had introduced Luka to Cass, Selina, Jason and Alfred. It went really well. Especially when Jason found out he was Jagged Stone’s son.

She was thinking how she could step up her game with the Waynes. In her thoughts she didn’t see Selina coming in.

“What are you thinking about Kitten ?” Selina asks, seeing the half sketched dress.

“Gah! Selina don’t scare me like that! Anyway I was thinking, ``What do I do to annoy the waynes?” Marinette asks the Master of scheming Cat-woman.

“Hmm, what about going to your true self? Being in headphones, ignoring them, Snide answers, and stuff like that?” Selina says thoughtfully.

“Selina, that's brilliant! You’re the best Mom!” Marinette says. She covers her mouth with her hand realizing what she said.

“Aww, Com’ere Kit. I love you.” Selina says softly.

“You’re not mad?” Marinette hesitantly asks.

“Of course not!” She says.

“You’ll be more of a mother than Sabine will ever be to me.” Marinette says with a small voice and hugs the older woman.

Then the Chaos was unleashed. Whenever the Waynes wanted to ask her something she’d ignore them and she always had her headphones on.

- - - - - - - -

“Marinette, tell me why did you hurt the poor girl?” Bruce asks in a stern voice. Of course Mari didn’t hear him because of the blaring music.

“Marinette, Why did you hurt the poor girl?” Bruce asks again, obviously annoyed.

“MARINETTE-” He was cut off from Alfred of course.

“If I may Master Bruce,” he says, earning a nod. He gently taps the girl’s shoulder. Marinette moves her hair away and removes her Airpod. The music is loud enough for everybody to hear.Meanwhile Bruce flushes in embarrassment. “Miss, Your father wants to ask you something.” Marinette nods. She turns to her Father.

“What?” She asks.

“I asked, Why did you hurt the poor girl marinette, around two months ago?” He asks, patience bearing thin.

“Oh? I didn’t know that I could make a clone of myself and Send one to the fencing class and the other to beat her up at the Seine?” She says in a bored tone. Jason and Cass, not being able to hold their laughter any longer, burst out laughing.

Later that night they checked her attendance, sure enough she was in the fencing class.

- - - - - -

One day Marinette got a call from the Justice league, Stating an emergency. She quickly transformed to Ladybug and Portalled to the Watchtower.

“Ladybug, welcome to the Watchtower,” Wonder Woman welcomed, standing at the head of a group of heroes. Interestingly enough, Batman and all of his brood were among them. Nightwing, Red Robin, Black Bat, and Robin and the others.

“Wonder Woman,” she greeted back. “What’s the problem?”

“Your former partner has been kidnapped.”

Ladybug’s face turned pale, but she took a deep breath instead of panicking. “What do we know?”

“Ra’s al Ghul has taken the former Chat Noir in an attempt to convince the Guardian of the Miraculous to turn over the jewels to him,” Batman reported.

Her face turned up into a snarl. “The League of Assassins,” she spat.

They were surprised that she knew Ra’s. But they hid it well.

“I take it you understand why we cannot allow the Miraculous to be surrendered to his control,” Batman continued.

Wonder Woman stepped in before Ladybug could reply. “Ladybug, we need you to tell us who the Guardian is so that we may protect them.”

Ladybug let out a cold laugh. Shivers ran down everyone’s spine. “Wonder Woman, you misunderstand. The Order of the Miraculous is all but dead. I’m all that’s left. You want the Grand Guardian of the Miraculous?” She spread her arms wide. “You’re looking at her. And Ra’s al Ghul can have them over my dead body. ”

The gathered heroes looked stunned. “Now where is Adrien?”

Red robin started, recovering first. “You’re not going alone.”

“You’re right,” Ladybug cut in. “I’m not. I’m gathering my team.”

“What Red Robin meant to say is that Batman and his assembled partners are going with you,” Wonder Woman soothed. “They have experience dealing with Ra’s and would be a great asset.”

“I’ll be back in ten minutes, at the most.” She said. Everyone nodded. She portalled away to gather her team.

Five minutes later a portal opened and stepped out Honey bee, Dragoness and Cobra in the Glory. The portal snapped shut when Ladybug entered.

“This is not enough! We’re dealing with Ra’s al Ghul and the league here!” Ladybug said. “We need her. She’s the last resort if we lose!” Dragoness exclaimed. The Justice league was confused. Who were they talking about?

“You’re right. Bee, you’re the only one who knows where she is. You’re her best friend. I can't find her in all of paris!” Ladybug asks, turning to Honey bee.

“You’re right, I do. It’ll be easy to find her. She’ll be in her room. She’s always Isolated, so don’t worry about getting caught.” Honey Bee answers.

“Isolation! I thought I told her to Socialize!” Ladybug exclaims.

“Yeah, but her family treats her like a pariah except some people. But Ladybug I don’t know if she’ll be able to fight.” Honey bee says.

“Rossi?”

“Rossi.”

“Now location please.” Ladybug says.

“Right. Wayne Manor, Gotham, New Jersey.” Honeybee whispers. Earning surprised looks from Ladybug and the Supers.

“Alright.” Ladybug portals away. This was all staged of course. She had recently found a spell to make a clone of herself.

“Why won't the hero be able to fight? She’s a hero!” Batman exclaims.

“Depression, you overgrown furry, Depression. She’s tried committing sucide several times. We saved her.” This earns many shocked looks.

Cue opening a portal. All of the Paris heroes Gasps. All in glory Multimouse is standing there.

When Honey Bee saw Multimouse, she gasped and enveloped her in a hug, muttering French endearments and saying how much she’d missed her. Dragoness stole Multimouse for a hug next before passing her on to Viperion who also received an extra peck on the lips in return, while Ladybug watched with a soft smile.

With Kaalki involved, it was child’s play to get into the assassin stronghold. Team Miraculous filled the gaps and worked seamlessly in their own right, simply a step away from Gotham’s Bats. They beat assassins on their own. The Bats just watched in awe.

It didn’t take them long to make their way to Ra’s.

The man wore a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he greeted him from his throne. A bruised and bloodied but otherwise intact Adrien was being restrained on the dias a few feet away.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Team Miraculous,” Ra’s mused, looking down the line. His eyes paused on Multimouse and his expression shifted to intense amusement. “And if it isn’t the latest in the Detective’s brood. I suppose heroics truly do run in the family after all.”

A number of shocked and confused gazes snapped to Multimouse, who simply stared at him down with cold eyes growling quietly.

“And yet she isn’t why we’re here,” Ladybug cut in coldly, shoving that problem in a box for later.

Ra’s shifted his oily attention to her. “Yes, I believe I requested the Guardian, young Bug.”

“And here I am,” Ladybug said simply. “But I will never cede the Miraculous to you.”

“Well, then I suppose the Blonde Cat dies.” The assassin near Adrien tried to kill him only to turn to orange smoke. Ra’s growls when he realizes he was tricked.

“Your reign is over. Your crimes won’t continue much longer. Tell me, just how long have you been using the Pits to keep yourself alive?”

“Goodbye, Ra’s al Ghul,” Ladybug intoned. “We’ll leave you to what remains of your empire.” She turned and motioned for the Fox to open the portal to the Watchtower. The Bats followed behind.

Adrien was at the fringes, attempting to escape a hero that was trying to get him to the Medbay for medical attention. He only had eyes for Multimouse.

“Marinette!” he called.

The Bats were shocked at both the name and the blatant outing of a secret identity.

Adrien broke free from his wounds. “Marinette, I’m so sorry,” he said brokenly.

It was quiet for a moment. “I take it they told you why I left, then,” Multimouse said, carefully devoid of emotion.

“I never thought-”

“Don’t, Adrien,” Queen Bee snapped.

Adrien gaped at his friend, shocked at the venom her words carried against him.

“But her Lies, they weren't hurting anyone!”

“How?” Multimouse snapped, her voice cracking. She took a deep breath. “How was it different? Because you told me I had to ‘take the high road?’ Because her lies would unravel themselves? Because she wasn’t hurting anyone? Bullshit, Adrien! They were hurting me!”

“She followed your advice at first,” Queen Bee said sharply. “She shouldn’t have, but you were her friend and she trusted you. By the time she realized that it had been a mistake, it was too late. Everyone else was in too deep and you did nothing . When Mari tried to tell everyone that they were being lied to, she was made to look like a liar. A bully.”

“Do you realize that the rest of us had people on watchlists?” Ryuko said bluntly. “People at risk of Akumatization that could bring the city to its knees. Aurore, because of Stormy Weather II. Ondine, because of Syren. But do you know who was on top?” She let the silence sit. “Marinette. Marinette was on top of that list. The only reason she was above Ladybug was because Marinette was drowning. But any time she tried to get through to the others, Lila hit back harder and you would ask Mari to back down. Because we don’t want to upset Lila, right? We don’t want her to become an akuma. Again.”

“My parents believed her, Adrien,” Multimouse said quietly. “They sent me away because I was ‘out of control’. I’m treated like a criminal where I am now! So I’m sorry, Adrien, but I can’t forgive you. You said you didn’t want to live with more lies, but then you stopped telling the truth when it threatened your ‘peace’. Even when that ‘peace’ might have ruined my life.” She took a deep, steadying breath. “But you know what they say, right? Never meet your heroes.” She turned and looked straight at Batman. “They’ll always just disappoint you.”

- - - - - - - -

The next week was tense at the Wayne manor. But eventually they apologised to marinette. She became close with them. She and her family then sent lawsuits to the Akuma class.

The saying is true then. “All’s well that ends well.”

@maribat-bdbwm

[mochegato]

Nannyette

Chapter 9 – A View From the Top

Chapter 1     Chapter 8 

Tim studied the pictures on her wall again while he waited for Marinette to change out of her stained shirt.  Specifically, he studied the picture of Marinette that looked like it was taken from the top of the Eifel Tower.  He studied the background of the photo.  Either it was a hell of a photo shop job or it was actually taken from the Eifel Tower, and taking into account the perspective and size of the objects in the background, it was taken at the top of the Tower. But there was no way she could have gotten up there, right?  So it must be photo shop.  Unless… He thought back to the photos she identified in his townhouse.

“Sorry I made us stop here.  I’m such a klutz,” Marinette groaned apologetically.  

“You aren’t even trying to hide it, are you?” Tim asked with an amused, teasing lilt to his voice.

Marinette furrowed her brow and gave him a confused shake of her head.  She followed his eye line to look at the pictures, specifically the picture Adrien had taken of her from the top of the Eifel Tower.  Marinette paled slightly and snapped her eyes back to Tim.  “Hide what exactly?” she asked carefully.

“This picture was taken from the top of the Eifel Tower, a place they do not allow civilians.  There was no way for you to get up there legally or even illegally.” He moved closer to her with each sentence, a love-struck grin on his face. Marinette subconsciously backed away as he moved forward.  “That’s why you were so quick to identify my pictures as outing me.  You had pictures that could out you.  You were one of the heroes, weren’t you?”  

He quirked his head to the side and studied her, trying to figure out which hero she was, still advancing on her, missing the sudden color change and tension in her frame.  “That’s how you knew so much about them and how their suits worked, why you’re such a good fighter, why you are so good at patching up wounds, how you knew how worried we would be about our identities.”  He looked up and saw a picture of her and Adrien together. “That’s what you and Adrien were talking about earlier with the ‘dealing with giant babies’.  I thought you were talking about annoying people but you meant a literal giant baby, an akuma you guys had to deal with because he’s a hero too.” Tim grinned proudly for having figured it out.

Marinette only stopped backing up when her back hit a wall.  She looked away to think about her options, a plausible excuse.  She may have found out about their identities, but she wasn’t ready for him to find out hers.  She carefully controlled her breathing.  If she started hyperventilating now, it would be a dead giveaway that he was right.  Tim had advanced to the point of almost touching her.  He put his arm up on the wall to lean against it, unintentionally boxing her in and making her feel claustrophobic.  

She looked back up timidly.  “Or… I was friends with a few of them, particularly Chat Noir.  I was the target for quite a few akumas and got to know them pretty well.  My balcony was along their patrol route and I gave them pastries whenever I could. Chat had a pretty bad home life and he liked to stop at my balcony to think and talk.  Plus we gave them pastries and treats when they stopped, so it was a popular spot.”

He looked at her skeptically searching for signs of duplicity, but everything she said seemed truthful.  At the very least, she believed what she was saying.  “And the picture?” he nodded to the picture of her from the Eifel Tower.

She looked over to the picture and got a nostalgic smile on her face.  “Chat took that.  He wanted to give me a view I’d never forget.”

Tim raised his eyebrows.  “Should I be jealous?  Do you have a different favorite hero?”

She chuckled lightly, thankful for the change in focus. “I grew up with Ladybug and Chat Noir and the rest.  They mean a lot to me.  My life has been saved so many times because of that team.”  She raised up her hand to run it along his neck and rest it on his shoulder.  “But lately another hero has caught my attention.”

He smiled at her seductively and rested his hands on her hips.  “Oh yeah?”

She nodded coyly, looking up at him through her eyelashes and running her finger down his chest.  “Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

“Maybe.  Do I get to find out their name?”

She hummed at him and pulled him down until his ear was a few centimeters away from her lips.  “Black Bat.”  

She grinned as he groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder.  “I want to be mad but I can’t blame you for that.  She’s everyone’s favorite.”

Marinette hummed again and lifted his head to look at her.  “Maybe, but not mine.”  Her previously teasing eyes were now filled with tender affection.  “I kind of have a thing for Red Robin, but I heard he has a girlfriend.”

Tim nodded as he moved to cup her face.  “He does.  I heard he absolutely adores her.  He thinks he might be falling in love with her.”

Marinette’s eyes sparkled and she grinned brilliantly. “Yeah?” Tim nodded again, unable to look away from her eyes.  Marinette’s smile grew impossibly wider and she wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him closer.  “Good. Because I heard she’s falling in love with him too.”

Tim’s smiled excitedly.  “Really?”  This time Marinette nodded, biting her lip shyly.  Tim surged forward to kiss her passionately, but before their lips met, her head snapped to the suddenly opened door and his lips landed on her cheek.

Adrien slammed the door behind him and made his way back toward his room, so focused on what he was thinking about he didn’t see them against the far wall.  “Okay Plagg, what do you think? ‘Bug, I’ve decided I’m going to ask Luz to marry me. So… I want to let the cat out of the bag.’  No, no, that isn’t good.  She won’t appreciate the, frankly perfect, pun.”  

A high pitched voice rose up from Adrien’s jacket. “That was terrible and a lazy effort.”

“What do you know?  You don’t like any puns unless they are about cheese.  Okay, how about “Marinette, Bugaboo, Bug, LB, best friend ever, sister, I’ve decided I want to spend the rest of my life with Luz and I don’t want to keep any secrets of mine from her.  So, I want to tell her about Paris and about me, who I was.  I won’t tell her about you.  I know how important it is that nobody knows who you are.’  Good right? ‘Oh, and you need to be my Best Man. Best Maid?  Best Person?’”

Tim gaped at him and whipped his head back to Marinette whose eyes were clamped shut and her face scrunched up in frustration.  “I’m supposed to be lucky,” she groaned out quietly and lightly banged her head against the wall behind her.  She took a deep breath and gave Tim an apologetic grimace before turning to address Adrien.  “Plagg is right, that was a lazy effort, but I understand you were distracted. Wait until she says yes before you tell her and maybe not in the same night.  Give her time to celebrate the engagement before you drop a big bomb on her. She’ll love it,” she rushed to assure him, “but it’s still a lot, so not at the same time.”

Adrien jerked back, whipping his head around to see her and Tim, almost falling but catching himself at the last minute.  His face immediately paled as he mentally went through everything he had just admitted to.  “Hey Bu… uh… Marinette.”  He stuttered awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.  “I thought… so you didn’t go to his place then?”

“Nope,” she said popping the p.

“I thought you were going to his place.”

“I had to change my clothes.”

“How much…” he couldn’t even finish the question.

Marinette sighed and moved away from Tim wrapping her arms around herself as she did.  “Enough.”

Adrien let out a guilty sigh, “Sorry Bug.  I didn’t… I should have checked my surroundings.  I really… I’m sorry.”

Marinette gave him a halfhearted smile.  “It’s okay.  He had actually just asked a few minutes before you came in anyway, so I wasn’t going to be able to hide it for much longer.”

Adrien looked between the two of them surprised Tim picked up on it so quickly when none of their friends or family had been able to after years.  “Right. Okay.  Well I’ll just… um… go then.  Good to see you again, Tim.” He waved to Tim before he remembered the awkward situation he had just created and stiffly retracted his hand before quickly retreating out of the apartment.

Marinette moved to lean against the back of the couch. She didn’t think she would be able to stand on her own for this conversation.  “I’m sorry,” she spoke quietly to the floor.  “I… I didn’t lie.  None of what I said was a lie.  Chat did stop by a lot before either of us knew each other’s identity and that picture was… I had a particularly rough day.  Chat didn’t know why but it was a lot of things piling up on me both as a civilian and a hero and a… um…” she furrowed her brow as she spoke.  She wanted to finish that sentence but she couldn’t.  As much as she cared about Tim, she couldn’t risk telling him more than he already knew. “Anyway, Chat didn’t know why exactly it was such a rough day for me but he took me up to the top of the Tower to get me to smile.”

She could hear Tim approaching her slowly, but she wasn’t ready to look in his eyes yet.  She wasn’t ready for the betrayal in his eyes she was sure would be there. “We didn’t even know each other’s identity until after we had defeated Hawkmoth, the first one.”  She looked to the side, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.  “And what I said about the powers, how much danger there is, how much power is involved, that was all true.  I can’t tell someone I just met, no matter how I feel about him.  I’m sorry, I just can’t.  There is too much at stake.”  The tears were falling faster now. ��She knew she was going to lose him over this.  He had shared his identity with her and she had basically lied about hers even when he directly asked.  He was going to think she didn’t trust him or she was just using him.

She startled when she felt arms wrap around her and pull her into a welcoming chest.  “Shhh. It’s okay.  I understand.  It’s okay. I’m not mad or disappointed,” he reassured her, rubbing comforting circles on her back and kissing her temple.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes to verify his words.  His eyes held nothing but honesty and concern for her.  She lamented the loss of his hands around her waist until she felt his hands on her face, wiping away her tears.  “Do you know how paranoid Batman is about identities?  He passed that onto me.  I had friends in the superhero community for years before I told them who I was.  We saved each other’s lives more times than I could count.  I trusted them absolutely, but didn’t tell them my identity.  If you hadn’t found out our identities on your own, I probably wouldn’t have told you for a long time and there was a lot less at stake for me than there is for you.”

He cupped her face again and laid a chaste kiss on her lips.  “I understand.  We just started dating.  I don’t expect you to spill all your secrets right away.  It’s okay.”  He pulled her into his chest again to wrap her in his reassuring embrace and rest his forehead on hers.  “And I meant what I said, I’m falling in love with you.  Nothing about what just happened changes that, other than to maybe make me even more impressed.  And make no mistake, tonight I’m going to scour the internet to find videos of my kickass girlfriend in action so I can feel even more unworthy.”

Marinette gave him a grateful smile.  “Thank you,” she whispered barely loudly enough to hear even in the silent apartment.

“The worst part about this is that I don’t get to gush about my superhero girlfriend and lord it over the others.  I’m just going to have to know internally you are definitely too good for me,” he sighed out in mock exasperation.  

Marinette giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know what you mean.  I can’t gush to Adrien about the amazing job my boyfriend did taking down the cartel the other day or the jaw dropping moves he did in the fight.”  She sighed pitifully.  “I’m just going to have to stick to gushing about the qualities he shows in his civilian identity; being brilliant, kind, funny, sexy, sweet, compassionate, dedicated, loyal…”  

She would have continued listing off more of his outstanding characteristics but Tim stopped her mouth with a passionate, hungry kiss.  He pulled away breathlessly to look her in the eyes.  “I think I was wrong, I’m not falling in love with you.  I’m already there.  I love you.”

Marinette beamed at him and cupped his face, gazing at him adoringly.  “I love you too.”

“But,” he looked down in mock disappointment, “maybe some form of punishment might be in order.”  Her face fell and she looked at him confused.  He looked back up with a devilish grin.  “I’m just not certain if it is more of a snuggles level infraction or cuddles level.”

Her expression morphed to a sultry look.  She pulled his face closer to hers again. “This might be severe enough to level up.  I was thinking it might be a watching Knives Out level transgression.”  

“Ooohhh, that seems harsh, but if you think that’s justified…”  He closed the gap to pull her into a searing, passionate kiss, which was quickly followed by many, many more.

 The End

Tags:

@timari-month-event  @ichigorose @stainedglassm @better-toast @theymakeupfairies @trippingovermyfeet @demonicbusiness @maskedpainter @ladybug-182 @a4-machete

[deathwishy]

×Childhood Friends×

Marinette never forgot the boy with steel eyes and silver tongue.

They met when she was ten. Her parents were hired to do the catering at a party, one to celebrate the opening of the Parisian branch of Wayne Enterprises. Of course the Drakes would be there. They too were planning to expand Drake Industries to Europe, and while it would have been best to be the first ones in Paris, it could still be beneficial.

Tim was twelve at the time, and already knew who Batman was. His parents left him alone most of the time so he had plenty of opportunities to analyze and admire the vigilantes at night. The days were filled with tutors coming and going, a nosy nanny and tons of homework to be done. Thankfully, Batman didn't usually come out in the light of day. He didn't actively try to figure out their identities most of the time, but when he saw the first Robin executing a complicated maneuver, that could be done by only a handful of people, the pieces fell into place. But he kept quiet. He erased every piece of evidence he collected, paper and online data, anything that could lead someone else to the same conclusion.

Marinette was sitting with her parents in the kitchen, sometimes helping her papa with arranging sweets on plates or bringing them to the guests. She liked helping her parents when she could.

Marinette met Tim in the garden of the hotel. He excused himself from his parents to go take photos of the Eiffel Tower, that was close to where the party was. Marinette got out to take a breath of fresh air, the kitchen was hot and her parents didn't need help at the moment.

She noticed him sitting on a bench, looking at his camera.

"<Good evening!>" She greeted him in French.

He was startled, almost dropping his camera.

"<I'm so sorry! I thought you heard me coming.>"

It took a few seconds for Tim to adjust his eyes from the light of the camera display to the darkness of the garden. There was a girl, of mixed descent, in a simple bubblegum pink dress. Her hair was as midnight black, long and tied in pigtails. He gave her a little smile.

"<Not a problem. I was just setting my camera, it needs to be adjusted to capture the lights of the tower better.>" He tried to hide his American accent, but he knew she still caught it.

"You're American, yes? If you'd like, I can speak English too. Mama said it's good to know something else other than French. I would like to practice as well."

Her English was good. Riddled with a thick French accent but still understandable. He nodded and patted the bench, signaling that she could stay too. She sat down with a bright smile. She extended her hand.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Timothy Drake. But you can call me Tim."

And so they met. They shared their art interests, his love for photography, her love for drawing. She mentioned her growing interest in fashion and he shared his love for IT. They were so different yet so alike. She was form a middle class family of bakers, that loved her with all they had, he was from a rich family, had all he could have ever wanted, except for the love of his parents. But he didn't mention that.

She was entranced by his fervor when talking about his local heroes, or vigilantes, as he called them, and found that she could listen to him all night. He found that he could talk to her just as long, easily, as he could never before. He was happy to bring that sparkle of interest in her eyes.

But the bubble of happiness was soon burst by one Janet Drake.

Tim knew he was in trouble. Others couldn't see the fire behind her gray eyes, only Tim could. He shot up from the bench, startling Marinette in the process.

"Timothy. We have to go." Marinette shivered under her cold gaze, even if it wasn't directed to her. But what mother could look at her own son like that?

"Good evening, Madame." Marinette tried, but soon stepped back, almost cowering under the woman's gaze. Even if it was only for a second.

"Now."

She made one motion with her head, turning on her heels, and heading back into the building. Tim only waved and soon disappeared with his mother. Marinette didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. But she felt like it wasn't the last time she would see Timothy Drake.

                                                        ...

The next time they met, he was Robin. She was Ladybug. She was thirteen, he was fifteen. They didn't know who each other was. Being in Paris brought a longing in Tim's heart for a lost friend, but he knew he couldn't search for the pigtailed girl. Marinette felt her heart ache, missing the American boy she once befriended.

Batman came to Paris shortly after Stoneheart. After speaking to Diana, she granted her passage into Paris along with Robin and Batman to try assess the situation and develop a battle plan.

They set the meeting in the outskirts of Paris, in a abandoned building to try and hide the presence of the Justice League and keep their involvement a secret. They didn't need Hawkmoth on watch 24/7 after an angry superhero he could akumatize.

Ladybug swung through a broken window, Chat Noir jumping through moments after. They both landed at the same time, in front of the American heroes.

"Ladybug, Black Cat, it's an honor to meet the new wielders." Wonder Woman greeted with a slight bow. Robin followed suit, even if a little wobbly. Batman only bowed his head.

"There is no need for that," Ladybug blushed, bowing in return. "We haven't done any heroic feats worthy of such respect yet."

"Being chosen is always a reason to pride with, Ladybug. And the defeat of Stoneheart is quite remarkable for someone as young as yourself."

Batman frowned. Just how young were they?

"My lady is always modest. She doesn't believe me when I say she's incredible."

Ladybug rolls her eyes and punches Chat, making him giggle. Robin was eyeing him, scrutinizing every aspect. He had an extensible staff, like his, but obviously magic. His fighting style would match the Bats better, and Ladybug's yo-yo was very much like Wonder Woman's lasso. They already knew she would go to Themiscyra to train with Hippolyta but a bit of the Bats teachings would not hurt.

"As you know, miraculous magic protects our identities. It's the same thing for Hawkmoth. It will be hard to find and figure him out, unless we have irrefutable evidence." Ladybug began, opening her yo-yo.

"What we know so far is that he wants our miraculous, the Ladybug and the Black Cat. Our Kwami said that by merging the two, the wielder is granted a potentially reality altering wish. Unfortunately for now, that's all the information we have on him. It's going to take some time."

Through all her explanation, Batman was already thinking. They couldn't stay in Paris, even if the chance was small, they could be akumatized, that wasn't a viable option. Even an akumatized Robin would be a major problem. He had two years of training, the new heroes had almost none. He could see that Chat Noir had some, maybe fencing or swordplay by his posture and slight gestures. The girl maybe had some light self defense training. Maybe gymnastics recently.

"Ladybug shall come at times to Themiscyra to train with the Amazons, Chat Noir, you will go with the Bat."

Chat Noir began fidgeting.

"Um, my home life doesn't allow me to introduce intense training into my schedule. The best I can do is go out at night. My d... My parents don't know about this and with my obligations I can't just leave."

Robin, no, Tim knew as soon as Chat Noir opened his mouth. In that moment, he could see himself in the leather clad superhero. The controlling parents that had such high expectations of him, the suppressing nature that made him not even dare question their word. He was going to say that his dad doesn't know about it. So either his mother knows, which is unlikely, or he only has his father.

Tim was almost sure that Bruce came to the same conclusion. It would have been harder for someone that didn't personally know but he was the world's greatest detective for a reason. Batman nodded.

"Actually it is best if we do it at night. Maybe there will be less of a chance for someone to get akumatized. But not much, you still need sleep."

Chat Noir nodded vigorously, now smiling.

After going over some details regarding the training, the two teams went on their ways.

Chat Noir, happy that someone understood and actually made a compromise that worked for him too.

Ladybug, with a heavy heart, thinking about the battles ahead. And maybe about a certain boy.

Batman and Wonder Woman, both trying to not burn down every building in Paris in search of Hawkmoth.

Robin, with sorrow in his heart, for the boy that is like he once was, for the girl that was so close yet so far, for two kids that had to fight the battles of adults.

                                                         ...

This time, they met as Robin and Marinette.

It was in the same year, only a few months later. Robin was perched on a rooftop, waiting for Batman to finish the training session with Chat Noir. They had to zeta tube back to Gotham that night to go on patrol with the rest. There was an unusual rise in criminal activity and they needed all hands on deck.

"Mister Robin, sir!" there was an almost whisper from a balcony on the building next to the one he was sitting in. One on top of a bakery. There was someone there. They looked around and then signaled with their hand to come over.

There was a girl there, one that he recognized almost immediately. She didn't have the same long hair, but it was still tied in pigtails. She was taller and her voice changed a bit but he knew it was her. The girl from the garden, Marinette. He leveled his breath and jumped the narrow gap between the buildings on her balcony, on a shadowed portion.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, checking out the surroundings at the same time.

"No, sir, I just wanted to give you something." She reached to the table and pulled up two boxes. They looked like pastry boxes.

"I don't think people are supposed to know about you being here but I saw you a few times already. I don't know if anyone else did, I didn't ask around and haven't heard anything, but I wanted to thank you for helping Ladybug and Chat Noir, assuming that's what you're doing, so I made some pastries as a 'Thank you'. And, ah, again, thank you. I know that maybe things in Gotham can get pretty hectic and you are coming here too so, ah, I thought these can help, even if a little bit."

Robin listened through her rambling. She got flustered and started fidgeting midway through so he took the boxes from her hands when she stopped to breathe.

"Thank you, that is very considerate. We prefer to not make our involvement in Paris known so it would be appreciated if you still kept quiet."

She nods, smiling, then adds. "I sometimes leave some out here for our heroes too. Feel free to pass by anytime."

He gives her a little smile, then cups his ear when his com comes to life.

'Robin, rendezvous point. I'll be there in 5.'

"I have to go now. It was nice meeting you."

She takes a step back, he pulls out his grappling gun, boxes secured at his chest, and with small waves, he leaves the balcony.

                                                            ...

When they came across each other again, it was a year later. He was Timothy Drake. She was Ladybug.

He started working at Wayne Enterprises with his father. The parisian branch had some odd numbers so they came to Paris as Tim and Bruce to investigate, but didn't go out as Batman and Robin. Unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, they didn't have magic to protect their identities. Unless there was an emergency, they would lay low.

Then there was an akuma attack.

They were walking to the hotel when Dark Cupid attacked them. He only shot Bruce. Ladybug took him out of his way when he froze in place, shocked by his father's sudden hatred.

"Are you alright?" The heroine asked him when she saw that he didn't move. He was still thinking. "Don't listen what he said. Dark Cupid's power is to transform love into hate. There was nothing real about those words, trust me." She pulled him into a hug when she saw tears rolling on his cheeks. He embraced her back, for a few seconds, the pulled away.

"Go and kick his ass."

She grinned, made a salute, then threw her yo-yo, going full speed towards the akuma.

She swung with a new vigor, recognizing her old friend. She was happy to see him again, even if only for a little bit.

Even though he knows that Bruce didn't mean what he said, it still stung a bit. He didn't remember what he said or did after the cure was cast and Tim didn't want to tell him. But Bruce still knew that is hurt him.

                                                          ...

When Hawkmoth was finally defeated she was 18. She decided to join Batman in Gotham. The balance had to be restored in the city that drowned in chaos and destruction. A year later, at the beginning of her first year of university, they met again.

It was in a nice coffee shop, not far away from the campus. She waited in line with Adrien, who was rambling about a blue eyed boy he met when he was in Metropolis with Chloe for an interview with Lois Lane.

The bell at the door rings and sort of by instinct she looks over. Two boys enter. Both black haired, one with blue eyes, one with green.

When they make eye contact, she knows that he recognized her too. She smiles and waves. He does too, now coming towards her. Adrien leans towards her, whispering. The other green eyed boy does the same to his brother.

"Who is he?"

"Who is she?"

They both smile, eyes locked on each other.

"A childhood friend."

Some fluff, some angst, a lil' bit of everything. I'm not good at writing outright romance but I'm a sucker for friends to lovers. And Adrien sugar is my jam. He is a smoll cinnamon roll that needs to be protected.

Do comment, constructive criticism is always welcome.

@timari-month-event

[river-bottom-nightmare]

“Humor me for a little bit,” Kon said, and he had no idea how his words came out of his mouth so composed, because he was most certainly stumbling over them in his brain. “Say, say for a moment, you’re actually pretty.”

Robin looked away, and for a minute Kon was gripped with panic because those eyes were hidden again, but Kon had only just seen them for the first time and there was no way he could ever stop looking at them. Then, Robin let out a suppressed sound, quiet and real, unlike any laugh he’d ever heard before, and Kon decided he liked the laugh better anyway. Robin turned back to him, those blue eyes sparking, and Kon realized he’d have a difficult time telling which one of the two he liked better.

Robin raised an eyebrow at him, and that smirk hadn’t changed one bit. “You sound surprised.” He gestured around them, to the moon reflecting off the rippling water, to the little wildflowers studding the ground. “Is the lake doing me any favours?” He asked dryly.

“Uh, if anything, you’re doing the lake favours.” Kon knew Robin would laugh at his expense for that, but watching his shoulders shake as he tried to muffle his giggles was worth the other hero making fun of him a thousand times over. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was lying. Moonlight washed over Robin’s face — all of his face — and rippling over long eyelashes Kon had never seen and sharp cheekbones Kon wanted to trace and a chapped, bitten mouth Kon wanted taste.

Robin’s teasing expression was still firmly in place, but his tone was a touch softer when he said, “I thought you didn’t know how to talk to girls? Or, at least, that’s what Cassie said.”

“Well, you’re not a girl,” Kon pointed out, then backpedaled hastily. “I mean, I think...?”

And oh, Robin was going to give him hell for this later. For now, he seemed to settle for stepping closer, footsteps soft but audible, crossing his arms over his chest and suddenly it was just another one of their verbal matches, the kind they’ve had a thousand times over. “Oh? What am I then? A tree?”

“Well you’re certainly skinny enough,” Kon said. “But not that tall. Hm, maybe a tree stump? A tree branch?”

Robin’s playful smirk turning into a playful glare, and he stepped close to swat Kon on the arm, but Kon reeled the other boy in, hands hooking around hips. And just like they’d done a thousand times before, lifting Robin off the ground for a flight, catching Robin falling through the air, pulling Robin away from a villain, the other boy looped his arms around Kon’s neck. 

“I wasn’t lying,” Kon’s voice was soft, his eyes drinking in every part of Robin’s face. He lifted a hand to rest at the boy’s cheek, tracing the cheekbone gently. “Pretty,” he murmured. 

Those ethereal features twisted in displeasure, and Robin’s lips fell into a frown. “But am I only pretty because you can see all of me, now?”

And that? That was a worry best swept away quickly. “No,” Kon said, no hesitation. “You were always pretty. Except for the times you were badass. And the times you were tired and sleep deprived, you just turned into cute.”

Robin wrinkled his nose, and in a tone Kon knew extremely well, protested “I’m not cute!”

But then Kon leaned down and kissed Robin, sweeter and softer than he’d ever imagined, but since when has Robin ever been what Kon expected. The look of breathless shock and a hint of awe could not be described as anything other than adorable, so Kon whispered against Robin’s lips, “Liar.”

where are they? what’s going on? is tim revealing his identity? [hand wavey motions] who knows.

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @elles-shitposts-personified @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @astroherogirl @yesboopityboop @dangerduckjpeg

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 13

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Trapped~

This is gonna be fun!

Ao3

First < Previous > Next

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“Adrien I can't go down for breakfast,” Marinette hides under the blankets.

“Yes you can,” Adrien gives up tugging on the blankets and jumps on top of her.

“But Damian-” Marinette groans partly at his weight on top of her.

“Has no idea your Ladybug and moreover doesn't know your soulmate is Robin, and it doesn't mean you can’t like him so get up and come to breakfast,”

“Stop being reasonable and helpful,” Marinette pushes him off, getting up herself.

“I’ll try my best, now come on let's go,” Marinette sulks as she follows him downstairs, basically having to be pushed into the dining room.

“Is something wrong Marinette?” Dick asks, by now Marinette has labeled him the only one in the family not in denial that feelings exist.

“She’s just tired,” Adrien says for her when she can’t bring herself to answer, still sulking as she takes a seat, “Say I was looking around, why is there an entire circus set up in the gym?”

“Oh, I used to be an acrobat,” That interesting little revelation is cut short by an all too familiar feeling.

“Really? That's so-”

“Hey, Adrien I just remembered the thing we had to do today,”

“The thing?” Marinette gives him a sharp look and his face lights up with realization, “Oh right! The thing, can’t go forgetting the thing, bye!”

 ---

 “Sooo that was suspicious,” Dick muses as the two practically sprint out of the room.

“Put your masks on, we’re following them,” Bruce orders, they haven’t yet forgotten she’s the daughter of an assassin.

They head down the cave to gear up, following the tracking device on Marinette’s bike. However, when they reach it the bike is unattended and the two aren’t anywhere in sight. They hear a commotion nearby moving to check it out.

“It’s another Akuma attack,” Dick reports Ladybug and Chat Noir already on the scene.

“Oh my god,” Tim gasps, “Marinette's Hawkmoth!”

“Hawkmoths a man,” Red Hood deadpans, they would just ignore it if Tim’s sleep-deprived revelations weren’t right more often than not.

“Fine then she’s Mayura,” Tim waves them off, “Adrien’s hawkmoth,”

“What are you talking about?” Robin snaps, watching the battle below, anyone the Akuma hit’s disappearing.

“They leave and then there's an Akuma attack, they showed up just as Ladybug and Chat Noir did to stop Hawkmoth,” Tim rambles, “It’s all highly suspicious,”

“I’ve looked through the files, neither have been akumatized,” Batman adds, evidence stacking, “And their class was an Akuma hot spot,”

“Oh my god,” Dicks realization mirrors Tim’s, “Marinette's hawkmoth,”

“Again, Marinette would be Mayura,” Tim corrects.

“We need to tell Ladybug about this,” Robin decides dropping down onto the street.

“Hey, Robin here to help? Could you go around their left it’s a blind spot and we need to grab- are you listening?” Ladybug turns to him, simultaneously deflecting a blast lucky charm in one hand.

“Ladybug there's something I need to tell you,” Robin hesitates Marinette truly didn’t seem like the type but Ladybug has been fighting Hawkmoth for years if there's even a slight chance Marinette is Hawkmoth Ladybug has to know.

“If this is about yesterday now’s not really the time,” Ladybug says with a cold fed up tone that honestly takes Damian off guard, “It didn’t mean anything,”

“It’s no- what do you mean didn’t mean anything,” Robin gets sidetracked from his point, dodging a blast getting further from Ladybug.

“Soul mates they aren’t romantic or even involved so it doesn't mean anything,” She dodges another blast, Chat Noir getting thrown around somewhere, “I really need you to go around their left,”

“But they are real,” Damian clings to that fact and stays by her side. “And you are my soul mate,”

“Well yes but-”

“Ladybug!” Chat calls, tangled up in washing lines with the Akuma advancing.

“In a minute!” She shouts, fully turning towards Robin now.

“Ok I’ll just hang out then,” Chat swings gently in the wind.

“Really the only way a soul mate affects you is if they die,” Damian's stomach churns, “And still even when that happens the effects are minimal if there is little connection, so we should probably just leave each other alone,”

Robin is frozen as Ladybug moves too late to save Chat from the blast, when the light is gone he has disappeared.

“What are you- I’m not going to just ignore this!” He snaps, Ladybug comes back glaring at him.

“Well I am, I have worked too long and too hard trying to beat Hawkmoth to risk it all for someone I don’t even know wearing a mask,” Ladybug is glowering at him, glowing red eyes brutally honest and true, “I’ve put everything else in my life aside to defeat Hawkmoth, don't think I have a problem putting you aside too,”

“You can’t just- I know who Hawkmoth is!” Robin shouts as she goes to leave, sure she won't come back to him if she leaves.

“What?!” It’s then the rest of his family come to join them, Nightwing pulling Ladybug out of the way of another blast, “Who?!”

“Marinette Dupain-cheng,”

“WHAT?!”

“Again Marinette would be-” Tim doesn't get to finish as they all get hit by a blast.

Light envelopes them all, there is no pain which is either a good sign or a very bad sign. When Robin opens his eyes they are all standing in a stark white container of sorts. Chat Noir is there giving him a wave as they all regain their bearings.

“Why? Why would you think Marinette is Hawkmoth?” Ladybug asks, Chat Noir bursts out laughing for some reason.

“Actually we think she’s Mayura,” Tim supplies, “Adrien Agreste is Hawkmoth,”

“What?!” Chat Noir stands up, enough room for them all to face each other.

“Marinette isn’t Hawkmoth,” Ladybug pinches the bridge of her nose still holding a lucky charm going to waste.

“She’s- I give up,” Tim throws his hands up turning towards the wall in search of a way to get out.

“How do you know!?” Damian snaps, anger and betrayal still clawing at his insides.

“I just do!” Ladybug yells back volume increasing, Chat Noir tries to get her attention but no one is getting through to either of them.

“You trust her more than me?” Damian isn’t sure why he says it, just that he’s angry enough he doesn't care.

“Uh yeah, substantially more,” Ladybug crosses her arms a smug smile on her face, Robin bristles ready to change that.

“She ran away to Gotham as Hawkmoth arrived, she’s never been akumatized even after her class was specifically targeted! Shes the daughter of an infamous assassin!” Robins practically screaming at this point, everyone giving them as much space as possible, “How can she not be Hawkmoth!”

“She’s just not!” Ladybugs earrings beep, Chat now desperately trying to get her attention.

“If she’s not Hawkmoth that means-” Damian cuts himself off reframing all the evidence, conversations rushing back to him all at once, “Marinette?”

“No,” The earring beeps for the last time, transformation falling to reveal Marinette, “Wow great timing Tikki,”

“I’m sorry,” A little red bug thing lands in Marinette's open hands, the lucky charm is gone now.

“Don't be, more importantly,” Marinette turns to Damian glaring something fierce, “How do you know who I am?”

“You’re… Ladybug?” Robin says quietly still trying to process… everything.

“Does that mean Chat Noir’s Adrien?” Dick interrupts.

Damian's still playing catch up. Marinette's Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette. Ladybug who protects Gotham. Marinette who left her family to be Ladybug. Ladybug who he had been talking to every night. Marinette who he spent every day with.

“How do you know that!?” Chat Noir, no, Adrien shouts.

“That's strictly-” Ladybug always seemed so strong with the mask Robin figured she was someone amazing outside of it. And he was right. Marinette was kind and smart, gave her all to a pet store branch Damian would have otherwise made someone else's responsibility. She left her family, never telling anyone she was Ladybug. It would have been so hard. And now she had been forced to reveal her identity to them, it wasn't fair she deserved… “ROBIN!”

Damian snapped back to reality, in one hand he had his domino mask and his face was bare. On one side was his father looking furious and the other side was…. Marinettte.

“Damian?” Marinette asks, they stare at each other until Marinette lets out a small giggle, Damian huffs in amusement too.

“Why would you ever-”

“Mr Wayne?” Marinette cuts off Batman's rant, her revelation not really helping things.

“You have compromised everyone’s identity,” Batman growls from his look Damian realizes he really messed up.

“She revealed hers,” He tries to defend, "And many heroes already know,"

“You can’t-”

“How about we save this until after we escape?” Marinette cuts in transforming back to Ladybug, so clearly the same person now just with different eyes and hair, “Adrien?”

Chat Noir uses his cataclysm to escape the container, it breaking their little piece of reality and sending them back in a flash of light. He has to run off before his transformation falls leaving the rest to the tense bat fam to help Ladybug out. It was easy to defeat the Akuma from there. Although they may have been stalling somewhat. No one particularly wanting to face Batman's wrath. Hawkmoth was preferable.

--------

No taglist :P

[allthebooksandcrannies]

Life With You Makes Perfect Sense (You're My Best Friend)

TimKon Fanfic

Read on AO3 or Read my other works here

For context: this takes place during the time when Stephanie Brown was Robin after Tim's dad figured out his identity and made him retire. In the comics, Conner finds this out by coming to Gotham to look for Tim when he fails to show up at Titan's Tower and bumping into Robin Steph. Batman refuses to give Conner Tim's address but tells him that he has all the same skills Superman has to find him himself. Conner tracks down Tim's voice and confronts him in his bedroom. In the comics, he ends up leaving and doesn't appear to hear from Tim again until he comes back to the Robin role. This fic takes place as a sort of "what-if" to fill in that missing time.

I took the dialogue in italics from the first and last scenes directly from my copy of the TPB Teen Titans: Beast Boys & Girls (2005), though the body language that goes with the dialogue and everything else in the fic is mine.

Title comes from Tim McGraw's "My Best Friend"

Tim woke up clinging to the whisps of a dream that fled from the screeching of his alarm. As he blinked himself back to consciousness, he grasped vainly for the subject of the dream and was left feeling inexplicably wistful.

His fumbling fingers managed to silence the alarm, but there was still the unfortunate matter of having to heave himself out of bed, his limbs feeling heavier and more uncooperative than they had in weeks. Apparently, all the extra sleep he’d been getting since he retired still wasn’t enough to make Monday mornings suck any less.

He pushed away the traitorous voice in the back of his head that suggested that maybe his exhaustion had something to do with his conversation with Conner the other night.

Conner had shown up unannounced and asking questions Tim hadn’t expected to have to answer again. “Why didn’t you show at the tower yesterday? And what’s with this new Robin? The girl?”

“Last week…” Tim paused, trying to decide how best to make Conner understand. “My dad found my costume. He found out I was Robin, and he went a little—” Tim paused, unsure, “—overboard. I’ve been wanting to tell him for months anyway.”

Conner turned his head towards where he could hear Jack moving around, easily locking onto his vitals. “He seems totally relaxed now. His heart rate is normal and—”

Tim glanced back at Conner nervously, but still refused to look at him head on. “I quit.”

“You what?” Conner exclaimed.

“I’m not Robin anymore. I gave it up.”

“Why?” Conner couldn’t wrap his mind around what he was hearing.

Tim tried to explain, needing Conner to understand. His approval felt vital in that moment. “I never liked living two lives. I never planned on doing it for this long. And I never wanted to lie to my dad. Now I don’t have to anymore.”

Conner shook his head in denial. “Come on. You can’t do this to the Titans. That girl isn’t… She’s not Robin.”

Tim wanted to stop thinking about that night, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t. The look on Conner’s face when Tim told him he wasn’t coming back to the Titans, how Conner refused to meet Tim’s eyes when he talked about how much he and the other Titans needed Tim, not just Robin. All of it. After all, what right did Conner have to come in and tell Tim how to live his life? Conner was born into this, he didn’t have a Before to compare the hero life to. He didn’t understand what it was like to be torn between two halves of himself.

At that thought, Tim paused about halfway through pulling on a shirt, and immediately felt guilty for even thinking it. Conner had just found out he was half Lex Luthor after all. He was probably the only person Tim knew who would understand exactly how Tim felt being stuck between his Dad and Bruce since the truth came out.

Tim pulled the shirt on the rest of the way with a mental sigh. He wasn’t really mad at Conner. Things had changed really quickly, and the other boy had made a lot of good points. As he ran through the rest of his morning routine, Tim’s mind continued its highlight reel.

“Let it go.”

“You’re my best friend, Tim. How can I? The Titans aren’t the Titans without Robin. They just aren’t.”

“Just because I’m not wearing a cape doesn’t mean we can’t hang.”

For the first time since Tim had explained his motivation, Conner finally met his eyes again. The resignation there made Tim’s throat tighten. “It won’t be the same. I’ve heard that from too many friends. Friends I never talk to anymore.”

And Conner wasn’t wrong. When was the last time he had talked to Cissie? Sure, he still got the occasional update on what she was up to from Cassie on Titans weekends, but that wasn’t the same. It was so easy to lose touch with people who left the hero game. Hell, he hadn’t even spoken to Dick since he quit, and they had supposedly been brothers.

Conner had every right to be worried. But what else was he supposed to do? There was nothing else he could have done to protect everyone’s identities, and it wasn’t like his Dad was about to let him go to group hangouts with a bunch of superteens.

Tim mulled it over as he mechanically choked down a bowl of cereal. His dad had been pretty adamant about the no contact thing, and Tim was trying to be the respectful son his dad deserved. But Conner wasn’t something Tim was willing to sacrifice for his new mission. Besides, what was the harm in just staying touch, it’s not like he was putting himself in danger.

Still, it was probably better safe than sorry. If he got his hands on a computer at school, it wouldn’t be hard to track down the Kents’ phone number. Then it was just a matter of waiting for Dad and Dana to be out long enough for him to have sole access to the landline.

Yeah, Tim thought as he threw his bowl and the sink and headed out to catch his bus, that would work. It would be enough. It had to. Tim just wished he didn’t feel like he was betraying his dad all over again.

-0-

If anyone could read his mind right now, they would be impressed by the amount of self-restraint Conner was exercising to control his strength as well as he was despite how frustrated he was. Unfortunately, poor Lottie the Cow could not read his mind, and, unlike Krypto, she wasn’t hiding any secret Kryptonian powers of her own.

After the third time he used just a tad too much pressure in his attempts to milk her and she shied away from him yet again, he had to concede defeat. As he swapped out with Pa (who was all too willing to pass off the stall mucking), Conner let himself feel the indignation he hadn’t been able to get out of his head since he spoke to Tim.

It just wasn’t right! Anyone with eyes could see how much Tim loved being Robin. Conner knew how much pride he took in being able to hold his own against some of the most powerful people on the planet. How Tim’s heartrate still sped up with excitement every time he swung off a building or when he flew with Conner.

His dad wanted him to be normal so bad? What was more normal than a teen managing to sneak out without their guardian knowing or taking their dad’s car out for a joyride with their friends. So what if the car was a Batmobile or if the adult he was sneaking past was a Tamaranean princess?

And the worst part was that he wasn’t even mad at Tim, not really. Sure, he had been pissed in the moment, but mostly he was just hurt. They had all finally gotten back to normal, and now Tim was leavingagain. It just wasn’t fair. Conner just wanted his best friend back, but every time they got over one hurdle another one showed up. And this was something Conner couldn’t punch.

“If you shovel any harder, you’re going to snap the end off again.”

Conner whirled around, barely managing not to break the poor tool in his surprise. Martha just raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, a full basket of chicken eggs resting on her hip. “You want to tell me what’s eating you?”

Conner didn’t meet her eyes, just grabbed the now full bucket of manure to take it to the compost. “It’s nothing, Aunt Martha.”

Her brow wrinkled in concern, which was not what Conner had wanted at all. She took another moment, clearly choosing her words carefully. “Well… I know you don’t owe me your thoughts son, and I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to do what you and Clark do.” She started walking alongside Conner before continuing. “But I have raised one Kryptonian and I can listen with the best of them. So, if you need to get something off your chest…”

Dumping the bucket into the compost, Conner almost refused out of habit. Instead, he hesitated, casting his eyes to the side as he grasped for an answer. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. “It’s kinda a long story…” the note of disappointment in his voice seemed to surprise both of them. Martha didn’t miss a step as she steered them back towards the house. She too glanced at the rising sun and then sent Conner an appraising look. “hmmm… School is important. It would be a shame if you had woken up ill this morning and couldn’t attend.”

Conner felt himself gaping like a fish as he followed her inside.

-0-

Tim was pretending not to notice Dana hovering when the doorbell rang.

And wasn’t that a fun situation. Tim wasn’t quite sure how much Dana knew. He knew his dad hadn’t told her about Robin, as per the arrangement. But he wasn’t sure what story she’d been given instead, or, more likely, if she’d just been left to draw her own conclusions.

Regardless, she clearly knew Tim had been hiding something because she had been acting strangely ever since. Making excuses to keep him in view, asking much more probing questions about his day and who he was spending it with, checking out parenting books on “troubled teens.”

She hadn’t said anything to Tim about whatever it was she thought was going on, but she had always been over-protective of Tim. Sure it could occasionally cross over into infantilizing, but, after a lifetime of people only worrying about Tim’s wellbeing when it affected them, it was kinda nice to have a parent care so openly.

Still, this was starting to get ridiculous. It wasn’t like he was running a drug empire from the kitchen table, and writing an English essay while someone keeps sneaking glances at you while cleaning the stovetop wasn’t exactly easy.

So, the doorbell was a welcome distraction.

While Dana rose to answer the door, Tim tried to focus back on his paper, as if he could make it write itself with the force of his glare. However, there was no amount of effort that would ever keep him from recognizing that voice.

He was at the door before he even realized he’d made the decision.

“—don’t know why he didn’t mention it, ma’am, we made these plans last week.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m really comfortable with letting you boys go without clearing it with Jack fir—"

Tim peeked around Dana’s shoulder to see Conner Kent, glasses and all, staring up at his stepmom with an almost comically earnest expression. “Dana?”

She glanced back at Tim, not letting go of the half-open door. “Your friend—”

“Conner,” the boy in question supplied helpfully.

“Right,” she said with a forced smile, “Your friend, Conner, was just telling me that you two made plans to get together to study tonight? Tim, honey, you know your Dad wants you to let him know before you make plans to go out with people we don’t know.”

Tim did know. It was one of many new rules that his dad had decided to implement after he found his Robin gear. The restrictions chafed, but, as his dad pointed out, he definitely deserved the lack of trust at this point.

But when he caught the cocky “play along” grin over Dana’s shoulder, Tim stomach filled with warmth at the familiarity. He quickly schooled his expression into an appropriately sheepish smile. “Sorry Dana, I guess it just slipped my mind.”

Dana softened, her grip on the door slackening just a tad.

“If it helps, Mrs. Drake,” Conner broke in, “we can just study here.”

Tim wondered if Conner had learned the earnest and polite young man routine from watching Clark or if it was just natural talent. Either way it was enough for Dana, leading her to relax and open the door completely.

“Oh, that would be perfect! Tim, honey, why don’t you get you and your friend set up at the table? Will you be staying for dinner, Conner? We’re having Chinese tonight, and it’d be no problem to order an extra serving.”

“That would be great, Mrs. Drake!”

Dana headed back towards the kitchen, presumably looking for the takeout menus, leaving Tim and Conner in awkward silence. Tim decided to break the tension first.

“I’m sorry, Conner, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I know you were just trying to help.”

“Wait, that’s supposed to be my line! I’m sorry, Tim. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I didn’t think you could make your own decisions.”

“So, still friends?”

“Please! You didn’t think I’d come all the way to Gotham to ditch you now, did you?”

“Why did you come? If that was it, why not just come in the window?”

Conner shifted his weight, hand tightening minutely around the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Well, I was talking to Ma earlier, and she helped me realize that even if Robin can’t hang out with Superboy, that doesn’t mean Conner Kent can’t spend time with Tim Drake.” He looked up from his shoes, his blue eyes putting the Gotham sky to shame. “That is… if it’s okay with you?”

If you had asked Conner, Tim’s answering grin could have lit up even the darkest Gotham alley.

-0-

Fifteen minutes later found Tim and Conner side by side at the kitchen table, various homework from various subjects strewn out about. Leaning over under the guise of checking Conner’s math, Tim murmured under his breath for only Conner to hear: “So Conner Kent wears flannel now?”

Conner snorted. “I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing they sell in Smallville,” he whispered back. “Why? You a fan?”

“To be honest… I miss the leather,” he replied thoughtlessly.

“Is that so?” Tim realized what he’d said out loud a moment too late. “I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind,” he smirked.

“Oh, shut up,” Tim replied with a little shove that did absolutely nothing but prompt Conner to break out into full body laughter so loud it drew Dana in from the living room to see what was going on.

When she found a blushing Tim whispering back furiously and sending her embarrassed looks, she let out a chuckle of her own before leaving them to it. She had a good feeling about this kid.

-0

It quickly became routine for Conner to come by after school to do homework a few days a week. Tim had worried that it might have been getting Conner in trouble, but Conner had assured him that he had worked things out with ‘Ma so that he still got all his chores done in spite of the extra hours he was putting in Gotham. And as for Batman, well, if he didn’t want him coming to Gotham to see Tim, he shouldn’t have told him how to find him.

And at least he wasn’t dangling the latest Robin in mid-air anymore.

Whether by fate or weird coincidence, however, he still hadn’t managed to run into Jack Drake while he was monopolizing his son’s time yet. The first night Conner stayed for dinner had ended with them all waiting for half an hour after the food arrived before Jack remembered to call and let Dana know he would be working late. It wasn’t the last time either. And the nights he did come home for dinner were the nights where Conner had already planned to head home early to have dinner with his own family.

Not to say Conner minded. He had some thoughtsabout Jack Drake and the way he treated his son. It was probably better for everyone that Conner spent as little time with the man as possible.

But there was only so long that could last, especially since Tim was practically dying to get out of the house for more than just school or Jack’s father-son excursions.

Unfortunately, as time went on Jack had only gotten more paranoid about where Tim was going and what he was doing, not less. Lately, Tim was practically on lockdown since it was such a pain to get permission to go anywhere without his dad or Dana. The last time he had gone out to the diner with Bernard and Darla his Dad had “just happened” to stop by for a to-go coffee. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he had been making sure Tim really was where he said he was.

His only saving grace was Dana. While she still enforced his dad’s rules (apparently not wanting to undermine his parenting), Tim had overheard her arguing on his behalf with his dad on multiple occasions, insisting that Tim was a good kid who had earned a little bit of freedom. Granted, these conversations rarely accomplished much besides getting Jack to dismiss her concerns as a lack of understanding due to not having children of her own. Still, Tim appreciated the support. Particularly since Dana had clearly decided that she liked Conner and essentially left them to their own devices while they were “studying.”

Now in addition to actually doing their homework, they were able to spend time talking about the rest of their lives, especially the normal civilian stuff they never seemed to have time for during Titans weekends. Everything from friendships, to TV shows, to their relationships with their parents was fair game. Tim had felt like he knew Conner before, but this was a whole new level. And the more he learned, the more he wanted to know.

And that’s why he had recruited Dana.

It hadn’t been hard. For once in his life, being completely honest with an authority figure about what he wanted was enough. It probably shouldn’t have felt as weird as it did.

Dana had given him a strange look when he mentioned he wanted to hang out with Conner outside of studying, but she had agreed that she didn’t see a problem with it. After all, if his father was alright with him spending time with Bernard (who Dana knew firsthand was not exactly the best of influences) then surely he would be okay with Tim spending more time with “a nice young man” like Conner. He just needed to meet him first.

It would be fine. Probably.

And that was how the two of them had ended up setting the dining table while Dana put the finishing touches on what she assured Tim was Jack’s favorite meal.

“Dude, you’ve got to take a breath,” Conner whispered as he reached around Tim. “I’ve heard your heart beat slower going up against literal mercenaries.”

Tim snorted. “I’ll take Deathstroke over this any day.”

“Hey now,” he shot back with a scandalized hand to his chest, “I’ll have you know I am delightful company!”

Tim’s futile attempts at a mock glare were interrupted when he could no longer hold back the urge to giggle at the absurdity of the situation. He could go up against the worst the world had to offer without thinking twice, but the idea of his dad and his best friend in the same room had him on the verge of a panic attack.

He shot Conner a grateful smile. “I just really need this to go well.”

Conner slung a careless arm around Tim’s shoulder but spoke with a level of seriousness he rarely let people see. “And it will, I promise. We make a good team, remember? We can handle this.”

Tim nodded and drew in some deep breaths to calm his racing pulse. Conner didn’t say anything else, just let him take the minute he needed. Just as Tim had gotten a hold of himself and was about to gently shrug off Conner’s arm, Conner pulled away of his own accord with a parting squeeze of Tim’s shoulder.

“He’s here,” he explained, gesturing to the front door with his chin as he finished off the last place setting.

Sure enough, a moment later Tim heard the telltale click of a key in a lock. There was a very slight possibility that his breathing may have quickened again just a bit if the bemused look Conner sent him was any indication.

Tim most definitely did not stick his tongue out at his friend before heading to the entryway to take his dad’s coat.

Conner and his snicker followed a beat behind Tim. When Jack’s gaze finally landed on Conner, Conner felt his spine straighten involuntarily. Jack didn’t say anything at first, and in the stretching silence Conner felt himself trying to channel every bit of the big blue boy scout he had in him.

Jack’s eyes cast over every bit of Conner’s appearance, from his glasses to his button up to his clean but scuffed sneakers. Conner was uncomfortably reminded of being a literal lab specimen under observation.

Suddenly, Jack’s expression morphed into a charming smile Conner didn’t trust for an instant. He stuck out a hand, and Conner was so caught off guard by the sudden transition that he almost forgot to shake it.

“You must be Tim’s friend. Carter, right?”

“Er—”

“It’s Conner, Dad.”

Jack waved Tim’s correction away. “Right, right, Conner then.” He started walking off to the living room, clearly expecting them to follow. “Dana tells me that you’ve been coming over to study quite a bit lately. I hope your grades have seen a better uptick than Tim’s have.”

Conner sent a questioning glance Tim’s way but didn’t get a response other than the visible tension in the other boy’s jaw.

“Not really sure what the point of a study group is if it doesn’t actually raise your grades any,” Jack continued.

Assuming that the biting comment was rhetorical and feeling supremely awkward, Conner didn’t respond right away. But as the three of them each pulled up a chair, Jack’s impatient expression clued Conner in on the fact that he was actually supposed to answer.

“Er…yes sir. I’ve been really lucky to have Tim’s help getting caught up.”

Jack was saved from responding beyond a noncommittal hmm by Dana’s arrival with the food. As she placed the casserole dish of what looked like enchiladas on the table, Dana gave them all a forced smile.

“And it’s been so nice getting to know one of Tim’s friends, Conner.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Drake.”

“So how did you and Tim start hanging out?” Jack questioned absently.

They had prepped for this question. Conner used the opportunity to launch into an overdramatic retelling of a group project they had worked on together and how they realized that they worked well together. Like all the best lies, it included just enough details not to be suspicious while still having a kernel of truth.

His story succeeded in breaking the ice enough to get conversation started, and Conner felt himself relaxing. He had meant what he said to Tim earlier, but he didn’t exactly meet that many new civilians. But Tim had prepared him well, and this wasn’t his first undercover op. He skillfully navigated around dangerous truths and gave the performance of his life as the perfect All-American teen.

Maybe he should have felt guilty about lying to these people who had opened their home to him. Clark probably would have had something to say about it. After all, on paper Jack had every right to be upset. His son had literally been throwing himself in front of bullets for strangers for years behind his back. Not only that, but he’d been doing it alongside another adult he had trusted to have his son’s best interests at heart. Surely any good parent would have been just as upset, right?

But Conner was very aware that Jack Drake was not the parent he believed himself to be.

Good parents didn’t ship their kid off to boarding schools from the minute he was old enough to attend, and then never show up for the few weeks their kid is home.

Good parents don’t look at everything that makes you you and try to sand it away so that you’ll fit some perfect ideal they have in their head of what you should be.

Good parents don’t look at the emotional scars and bruises they’ve given to their child and tell them that its their own fault for making them do this, for not being enough or for being too much.

Jack Drake may not have laid a hand on his son, but he’d still done plenty of damage, and Conner was forced to watch Tim thank him for it.

So, no. Conner didn’t feel an ounce of guilt for lying to the man who constantly left his favorite person more confused and conflicted than any mystery Batman had ever handed to him.

Tim may not realize that he deserved better yet, but that was alright. Conner would flatter and charm and play meek and responsible without feeling a single thing if it made Tim’s life easier.

As the conversation shifted to what was new with Dana’s sister and her kids, Conner met Tim’s eyes again. Tim subtly tipped his glass approvingly toward Conner, and Conner sent back an answering wink.

Well, he corrected internally, maybe he’d feel one thing after all.

-0

Gotham wasn’t exactly known for its tourist attractions. It was kind of a risky financial decision to try to open anything that encouraged a lot of people to congregate in a city where crowds drew Rogues like killer moths to a flamethrower. And that went double for anything that could be construed as children’s entertainment.

Luckily, Gothamites were both stubborn and spiteful, so there were a few places, like the traveling carnival currently set up near the harbor, that popped up every now and then with that brilliant fuck you energy that so clearly defined the city.

After last week’s dinner got off to its admittedly awkward start, Conner had hit his stride. Seamlessly switching between the perfect “aw shucks, me?” smile when asked a question about himself and then an earnest “tell me more about…” to turn the conversation back to Jack’s interests, Conner would have earned even the Batman’s reluctant approval.

By the end of the night, Jack was riding the high of getting to speak about himself to a willing audience for so long. It was all too easy to get Jack’s permission for Tim to hang out with Conner outside the house… as long as he still made sure to call and check in on the hour, of course.

Tim hadn’t hesitated to get them tickets for the second night the carnival was in town (not wanting to tempt a Rogue’s attack on the first), and the night had finally arrived.

Now, sharing a seat on the ferris wheel with the other teen, Tim couldn’t understand why he’d been so worried. He’d always been the first to insist that there was so much more to Conner than people gave him credit for.

Tim found himself glancing at Conner out of the corner of his eye. Luckily, the other boy was too busy leaning over the railing to watch the sun set behind the city skyline.

Most people looked at Superboy and saw a brash, arrogant, and (if he was lucky) comical teenager. They dismissed him as the brawn to other Titans’ brains. They couldn’t understand how he could be so different from Superman.

Tim knew better than that. Sure, he could be all those things, but what teenager wasn’t? Especially considering all the shit the authority figures in his life had put him through. And yeah, he was funny too.

But Conner was also a damn good friend. He was loyal and brave and empathetic and fiercely protective of the people who had earned his respect. He paid attention to people, and he cared so deeply, even though he tried to cover it up with nonchalance and a confident façade. He might be bulletproof, but Tim would protect that vulnerability he saw until the day he died.

“Alright. Where’d you go?”

Pulled back into the moment rather suddenly, Tim was startled, but he didn’t have to worry about coming up with a suitably mysterious response here. “What?”

Conner snorted and raised one hand to slide his sunglasses just far enough down the bridge of his nose that he could meet Tim’s eyes.

“You’re looking at me weird. What’s up?”

As Tim tried to decide how to answer in a way that wasn’t completely cheesy, the ferris wheel paused again, this time with the two of them at the very top.

“I just—I’m just really glad you’re here. Thanks for coming to Gotham.” He didn’t just mean today either. He meant all of it. The first time he came to find out why Robin wasn’t at the tower, the time he showed up at Tim’s door even what would have chased anyone else away, and every other time they had hung out since.

He didn’t have to specify that though. The blinding smile that broke out over Conner’s face made it clear the message was received.

Conner took a moment, trying to school his expression into something a little smoother, but it was a lost cause. Eventually he just settled for clearing his throat. “You don’t have to thank me, Tim. There’s no place I’d rather be. Besides,” he continued as he casually threw an arm across the back of Tim’s seat, “everyone knows Gotham has the best sunsets.”

His heart pounding, Tim took a deep breath and let himself sink into Conner’s side. For a second, Conner stiffened and Tim worried that he’d made a horrible mistake, that he’d ruined everything.

It was only when he felt the comforting weight of Conner’s arm move from the seat to wrap around Tim’s shoulders, pulling him closer, that Tim let himself believe that this could be okay. They could have this.

The leather of Conner’s jacket was cool against the side of Tim’s face. The sky was a brilliant mess of golds and reds and purples. And Tim was with the person who made him feel safer and more himself than anyone else on the planet.

“Yeah, I suppose we do, don’t we?”

-0

That evening, Tim sat down on his bed, pulling his camera out of his bag. He was looking forward to developing them. Maybe he’d give Conner a few of the shots if they were any good.

knock knock

Tim looked up to see Dana leaning up against the doorframe she had knocked on.

“Hey, Honey. Did y’all have a good time?”

Tim couldn’t have held back the smile if he’d tried. “Oh yeah, it was awesome!”

Dana smiled back just as warmly. “Oh, I’m so glad!” Tim believed her. That was the best thing about Dana, she was one of the most genuine people he knew, and for some reason Tim couldn’t fathom, she had always seemed to care so much about Tim.

“Do you mind if I come in, sweetheart? There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about…”

-0

“I swear to god I used to be good at keeping secrets,” Tim groaned as he allowed his head to thunk dramatically against the diner table.

Conner didn’t look up from his menu, but he did use his TTK to save their waters from tipping over. “Sure you were,” he deadpanned.

“I was literally trained in deception and resistance to interrogation by one of the best detectives in the world.”

“Yup.”

“She still doesn’t know I was Robin. Neither of them have made the very obvious connections between you and a certain Boy of Steel for some reason.

“It’s the glasses.”

“It is not the glasses.”

“It is,” he said. “Conner Kent wears glasses, and Superboy doesn’t. Therefore, obviously different people.” His forehead crinkled. “Do you think a sweet potato milkshake would be any good?”

“It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten.” Tim squinted back up suspiciously from where he was still sprawled on the table. “Also, I feel like you are not being nearly sympathetic enough to my plight.”

Conner finally gave up the pretense of looking at the menu and dropped his chin to rest on his hands on the tabletop, so his face was only a few inches from Tim’s long-suffering expression.

Unfortunately for Tim’s dignity, Conner’s crooked grin was infectious. “How long did it take her to figure it out?”

“Ugh, she apparently she knew the minute she saw me, but at least she promised not to tell Dad.”

Conner snickered.

“Don’t laugh! She tried to give me the talk, Conner!”

That just sent Conner into full-body cackles. Tim watched him throw his head back and couldn’t help but feel proud. He did that. But he wasn’t done pouting yet either. It was the principle of the thing, after all.

“Sorry—” Conner gasped, “Sorry babe!” He leaned forward to place a kiss to Tim’s forehead, reveling in the way his boyfriend blushed so immediately. “You can hide just about anything else, sure, but you’ve got absolutely no poker face when you’re happy.”

Tim grumbled good naturedly like the absolute gremlin he was before finally deciding to sit up when a rather unimpressed waitress stopped by to take their order.

When she walked off, Conner turned back to Tim, casually taking one of Tim’s hands in his as though they weren’t both still completely in awe of this new development.

“So…” Conner started. “You were supposed to get together with your Wizards & Warlocks friends over the weekend, right? How’d that go?”

Tim’s eyes lit up as he started telling Conner about the most recent developments to their current campaign. Conner did his best to make sense of all of the characters and jargon he had no reference for, since it clearly meant a lot to Tim. Though that was made a little trickier by how much fun he was having just watching Tim.

He rarely got to see him so animated, due to the expectations constantly heaped on Robin and Tim Drake alike. When talking about something he enjoyed, however, Tim came alive. So, Conner listened, asking real questions that sparked off another tangent every time he started running out of steam.

Conner wondered if Tim’s eyes had always sparkled that much when they were hidden behind a mask. He didn’t think so, but either way he was just grateful Tim trusted him enough to let him see.

-0

“So then Ives—oh, Dana, can you pass the bread? thanks—Ives ended up rolling a Nat 20 on persuasion, which completely messed with my pla—”

“Alright, alright, I’m about tapped out on Witches & Wizards—” Jack interrupted, his hands raised in a timeout gesture.

“Jack!” Dana admonished.

“It’s actually Wizards & Warlocks, Dad.”

“Whatever it’s called! There’s only so much of this I can hear before my brain rots.”

Tim forced an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Dad.”

Jack waved away the apology with his buttered roll. “Forget about it. Hey, how’s your school’s basketball team this year? I was thinking we would go to the game this Friday, just the two of us.”

“Oh,” Tim said, “I don’t really know. Umm… what time is the game? Because I already made plans to go see a movie with Conner on Friday before he has to go away for the weekend for some family stuff.”

Jack frowned and Tim found himself straightening up involuntarily. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with that Conner kid. What’s up with that?” he asked accusatorily.

Wary of stumbling into a trap he couldn’t see, Tim tried to feign a casualness he didn’t feel. “I don’t know, I guess I just realized we have a lot in common, but I hang out with a lot of people. Why do you ask?”

This apparently wasn’t enough for Jack because he didn’t let it go, even putting his fork down so he could make sure his full attention was on Tim. “You don’t though! You almost never talk about Bernard anymore, or that Darla girl! The wizards thing was weird enough, but now if it’s not that then it’s Conner this or Conner that! If you’re not careful, you’re gonna give people the wrong idea about the two of you.”

The tightening in Tim’s throat would have been painful if it weren’t for the numbness he felt sinking into his bones.

“And now you’re suddenly too good to hang out with your dad anymore? I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m concerned about the person you’re becoming lately.”

“No! No, Dad it’s not like that—”

Tim looked at a wide-eyed Dana desperately for help. Ever ready to defend Tim when he needed, Dana didn’t disappoint.

“Oh, Jack, honey,” she laughed a little too loudly, “leave the poor boy be. He’s a good kid, and it’s healthy for a teenage boy to want to spend more time with his friends! I don’t see the harm in it. Honestly, shouldn’t we be proud of him for honoring his commitments?”

Jack’s glare was as hard as steel and just as cold. “Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be proud of. I think I know how to parent my son.”

Dana broke eye-contact first, and Jack seemed to be the only one immune to the rising tension. Eventually he paused his meal consideringly. “Though I suppose you do have a point, Dana. Tim and I will just have to go to the next game, hmm?”

Grateful for the out, Tim nodded quickly. “Sounds great, Dad.”

-0

Tim had been looking forward to seeing this movie since he’d seen the first preview, but he hadn’t been paying attention at all for the last ten minutes. Oh well, he could come back and watch it again later, maybe with the guys in his W&W group.

In the meantime, it was definitely worth the sacrifice. Kissing Conner in the back row of the theatre, Tim had never felt more like a normal teenager in his life. This might be just as fun as running over rooftops.

-0

Conner swung Tim’s hand back and forth between them as they walked, feeling a bit like a little kid. Most people probably would have been on edge walking through the streets of Gotham right after sunset, but most people weren’t literally bulletproof.

As it was, Conner would have been content to stay out there all night if it meant he got to keep holding Tim’s hand while he chattered about the photos he had taken on their last outing to the botanical gardens and how they had turned out. Conner had learned more about camera lenses in the last ten minutes than he had in his life, and he was loving it.

Unfortunately, the Titans would be expecting him in an hour or so, and Tim’s dad would probably take exception to his son being out all night under mysterious circumstances. So, it was with a heavy sigh that Conner finally arrived at the Drake’s brownstone.

The boys came to a stop before reaching the front steps, neither ready for the night to end. Conner leaned forward to press his forehead to rest against Tim’s.

“You know,” he whispered, “I know I said I wanted Robin to come back to the Titans —and don’t get me wrong, I would still love that— but I’m also kinda loving having you all to myself.”

Tim chuckled and when that laugh turned into a crooked grin that made Conner’s stomach flutter, he couldn’t resist kissing it back off.

WHAM

Tim and Conner jumped apart as the door to the brownstone slammed open. Jack glared down at them.

“Tim. Get in this house, right now.” When Tim hesitated to move, Jack’s tone only grew even more demanding. “I said get in this house Timothy Jackson Drake.”

The sound of his full name seemed to spark Tim back to life, as he scrambled back towards the house. Conner gently caught one of Tim’s hands just before he was out of reach, and the other boy looked at him like a started deer.

“Do you want me to…” Conner trailed off with a meaningful hand wave at the side of his head. Do you want me to listen in, he was asking.

Tim thought about it for a second before shaking his head. “But maybe don’t go far?”

Conner nodded decisively before meeting Jack’s hateful gaze defiantly for just a moment. He shoved his fists into his jacket pockets before storming off to the corner. As soon as he was out of view, however, he took advantage of Gotham’s perpetual lighting problem to fly up to the roof of the house next to Tim’s, ready to be there the minute Tim needed him.

He settled in to wait, trying to focus on anything but the shouting coming from the Drake residence.

It was probably took longer than it should have for Conner to realize he wasn’t alone, but, hey, he was distracted. Sue him.

“You can come out. I can hear your heartbeat.”

Black Bat unfurled from where she had blended perfectly into the shadows cast by the air-conditioning unit.

“What are you doing here?” Conner asked.

Cass joined him in sitting on the edge of the roof to watch the brownstone. “A while ago…there was a killer…hunting the last robin. I still check in.”

“Every night?”

“No…but most nights.”

Conner considered that for a moment. “So, I’m guessing you saw…?”

“Yes.” Conner thought he could detect a playful edge to her voice. “You are not very subtle.” Okay, no, he was definitely being teased.

trying to play along, he bumped her shoulder with his own. “Well, we can’t all be bat-level sneaky. The universe couldn’t take it. Some of us have to be showy enough to balance the rest of you out.”

Cass hummed consideringly. “That’s fine. Batman will… train it out of you.”

Conner let himself fall back dramatically in mock horror, and Cass giggled. The sound did not match the mask at all, but somehow the juxtaposition seemed fitting for a member of the bat family.

“It’s how he shows his love, promise.”

Conner smiled, the tension of the moment briefly eclipsed by the mental image of the Batman trying to mother-hen a super. Clark would never let him live it down.

Suddenly, movement drew his eye, and Conner saw Tim. Ready to hear the verdict, Conner rose to fly back down.

“Thanks,” he turned to say, only to find himself met with an empty roof.

Bats, man.

-0

Tim followed Jack into the house, his heart pounding so hard Clark could probably hear it in Metropolis. His lips and fingers felt weirdly tingly before going slightly numb. His brain was going a million miles an hour but his body just felt slightly distant.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all. He wasn’t ready for this, it was supposed to be on his terms. But it was happening and it was happening now.

Jack stormed into the living room where Dana was half-risen in concern. She froze at the thunderous expression on his face as Jack being to pace the room like a caged lion. Meanwhile, Tim was a stone statue standing just in the room’s entrance. He felt a little bit like one of the artifacts his parents had brought back as souvenirs from their travels, just another relic meant to show off to friends that just ended up cluttering an empty house. And were Tim’s ears ringing?

“What the fuck did I just see, Tim?!” Jack burst out.

“Dad, I—”

“Don’t you fucking dare try to talk yourself out of this. Do you think I’m some kind of idiot?!”

“No! Of cour—”

“Jack, honey, whatever this is about, maybe we—”

Dana’s attempts to calm Jack only seemed to enrage him more, and she was cut off by the CRASH that came from Jack pitching one of her vases across the room. She froze, her eyes darting between Tim and Jack.

“Do you want to tell her what you’ve been doing behind our backs, Tim, or should I?”

“I—Conner and I--We” Tim sputtered unintelligibly, but Dana got the gist. She closed her eyes for a moment too long in sympathy, and Jack’s fury turned on her in an instant.

“You knew? You knew what was happening, and you didn’t put a stop to it?”

“Jack! There’s nothing wro…”

Her voice trailed off as Jack stalked closer and closer to her chair until he towered over her. She shrunk down. Jack leaned down over her and braced himself on the arms of the chair, effectively trapping his wife.

“Do you even care about what this could do to us?” His voice had gone low and picked up a dangerous quality that reminded Tim of the way Batman spoke to criminals he interrogated. But Tim had never been afraid of Batman.

He went on, his head tilted mockingly. “Or, are you just too stupid and selfish to realize how this reflects back on me?”

And, as he watched Dana start to shake, something in Tim snapped.

He was across the room in an instant, wrenching Jack’s arm behind his back so that he was forced to step back and turn around to keep it from breaking. The second Jack let go of Dana’s chair, Tim shoved him stumbling in the opposite direction.

“Leave her alone.”

Jack spun back around. “Did you just shove me?” he asked in pure outrage.

Tim’s chin raised defiantly. “I told you I could, didn’t I?”

At the reminder of the night Jack found out about Robin, Jack’s face twisted back into something ugly.

“So what?! I risk my life to save you from those freaks the first time, and this is the thanks I get? How the hell is anyone supposed to take me seriously when my son is—”

“I didn’t ASK you to save me, Dad!” Tim shouted. Years and years of bottling his resentment and frustration had led to an inevitable explosion, and Tim didn’t care who got burned. “I loved being Robin, I loved getting to help people, and getting to show what I can do. I worked so hard to earn Robin, and I gave it up to make you happy and I still can’t do anything right for you. I am so sick of pretending to be someone I’m not in the hopes that maybe someday it’ll finally be enough for you.”

“Tim—”

“No! It’s my turn now!” Tim’s words were acid. If he didn’t get them out now, they would burn him from the inside out. “I will never be the perfect kid you and Mom thought you deserved. I get that now. But I am enough. Bruce thinks so. Dick thinks so. And Conner thinks so too. I am more me with him than I am with anyone else. You already took Robin from me. I won’t let you take this from me too.”

Jack puffed up in rage. Seemingly having forgotten his lesson, he stormed into Tim’s space. Tim took a few steps back on instinct before he came back to himself and planted his feet, forcing Jack to stop to avoid a collision. Their faces were only a few inches apart as they glared at each other.

Tim realized he was almost as tall as his father.

Stubbornly trying to regain the control he could feel slipping through his fingers like water, Jack summoned every bit of authority he had in his body into his tone. “You aren’t seeing him again. This never happens again. Do I make myself clear?”

It was a good effort, but Tim had fought the Justice League. He regularly stared down the worst Gotham had to offer and said not here, not today. There was a lot he was willing to do to keep the peace. But Tim was fed up, and this was one thing he refusedto compromise on.

“No.”

There was nothing as immovable as a Bat who had made up their mind.

Maybe Jack finally recognized that because, for just a moment, Tim thought he saw something like sadness in his father’s eyes before they hardened like steel.

“Then get out.”

Tim blinked, his confusion enough to break through the bubble of anger that had been clouding out all else. “What?”

“I said get out of my house. And don’t come back.”

“Dad—”

“I don’t know who you are anymore. But you aren’t my son. I guess Batman ended up killing him after all.”

Tim’s eyes widened. He wasn’t sure whether it was the grief or betrayal that cut worse, but he kinda wished the numbness would come back. He drew in a deep breath, pulling what was left of his anger around him like a shield. Or maybe a cloak.

He spun around on his heel and marched back toward the front door.

The movement seemed to break the trance of confused horror that had held Dana like a vice as she watched the argument unfold like a demented tennis match.

“Tim!” she called after him. She reached out vainly as if that would be enough to close the distance that had opened up between them like a chasm. “Tim, sweetheart!”

Tim couldn’t turn around, but that didn’t make Dana’s heartbroken tone any less painful to hear.

He didn’t stop once he was out of the door until he was halfway down the street. And then, it was only because Conner landed right in front of him.

“Hey, what happened?”

Tim couldn’t answer. He couldn’t make eye contact right now either. But Conner didn’t press him.

“Okay,” he reassured, “that’s okay.” He raised one hand for Tim to take if he wanted. “Can I give you a lift then?”

Tim took the hand.

-0

Tim directed Conner to touch down at the Manor’s front door, not wanting to risk the possibility of Bruce having changed the security codes by now. Even still, he was certain they had tripped some sort of alarm when they flew over the property.

He was proven correct when Alfred pulled open the door before he’d had the chance to knock. If he noticed that Tim still hadn’t let go of Conner’s hand, the butler didn’t say anything.

“Master Timothy! What an excellent surprise!”

Despite everything, Tim found his mouth pulling into a fond smile at the old man. “Hi Alfred. Is Bruce home? I need to talk to him.”

“Right this way, sir!” Alfred said, already pulling the door open, and Conner allowed himself to be pulled along with nothing but a supportive hand squeeze.

Tim felt his heart pounding as he followed Alfred towards what he quickly realized was Bruce’s study. Suddenly unable to bear the silence anymore, Tim burst out: “Alfred, have you met Conner?”

Alfred’s face twitched into what only the bats would recognize as the butler suppressing a fond smile of his own. “I have not, sir. Though I must admit I had guessed.” Addressing Conner directly this time, Alfred continued, “My name is Alfred Pennyworth. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Kent.”

“Oh, uh…” Conner stammered before Martha Kent’s training kicked in. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Alfred hmmd approvingly but left it there. Luckily, Tim was saved from further attempts at small talk by their arrival at the study doors. Alfred bid them goodbye before slipping away with a subtlety Conner had only thought attainable by bats.

Tim drew in a deep breath before knocking hesitatingly on the ornate doors. The “come in!’ came barely a moment later, and Tim pushed them open with the resignation of a convict approaching the gallows.

On any other day, Conner would have been looking around at anything and everything in the office appreciatively. But today he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Tim who had gone ramrod straight, his own gaze locked onto the man standing up from his desk at the other end of the room.

Bruce Wayne rose from his desk, in that moment somehow managing to look twice as intimidating in a tailored suit as he ever did as Batman. His eyes roved over both boys, taking in everything from their still intertwined hands to Conner’s civilian garb to the way Tim looked like he might be on the verge of passing out. His face was inscrutable the whole time.

Eventually, Bruce’s gaze met Conner’s own defiant glare. “So…” he drawled in perfect deadpan, “are the glasses genetic, or is the entire caped community conspiring to drive me prematurely gray.”

Tim let out a sudden laugh so strangled Conner was mildly concerned he was choking. Conner could empathize.

Apparently amused by their reaction, the Batman smirked,and Conner’s soul left his body for a moment.

When it became clear that they weren’t going to say anything on their own, Bruce continued. “Well, Conner, something tells me that Tim and I need to have a conversation. Will you be joining us, or do you have somewhere to be,” he asked mildly.

Conner gave Tim a sideways glance, under no delusions about who’s comfort Bruce was really concerned with here. Tim squeezed Conner’s hand one more time before finally letting go, and Conner took that as the dismissal it was.

“Actually, sir, I think better head to San Francisco before Victor starts to wonder where I am.”

Bruce nodded turned his attention to Tim. Conner made sure to supportively squeeze Tim’s shoulder back on his way out. He tried to ignore the part of himself that made him feel like he was abandoning Tim to the lions.

-0

Once Conner had pulled the door shut behind him, Bruce let go of the bit of Batman that had made its appearance the minute the proximity alarms had let him know that someone had flown over the property boundaries.

“Tim.”

Tim still wasn’t making eye contact, his gaze getting no closer than Bruce’s mouth. Bruce resisted the instinct to drop into the Batman voice. While it would be a sure-fire way to get Tim to look at him, it also would do nothing to actually make the kid more comfortable. Tim would assume that it meant he’d done something wrong, and that would just make everything ten times worse.

Instead, Bruce fought to keep his tone as even and gentle as possible. “How about we sit down,” he asked with a gesture toward the twin armchairs by the fire.

Tim nodded stiffly but still wouldn’t speak. Bruce held in his sigh. Just as he reached his own chair, there was another knock on the door, and Alfred pushed his way in without waiting for a response.

“Forgive me for interrupting, Master Bruce, but I thought some soothing tea might be helpful.”

Bruce smiled at the older man. “Thank you, Alfred. That would be great.”

Alfred nodded and brought his tray over to the side table before pouring each of them a cup. As he turned to leave, Tim’s quiet “thanks” was almost inaudible, but Alfred caught it anyway.

“You are most welcome, young man” he replied, making sure to send Bruce a pointed don’t screw this up glance on his way out.

Bruce settled down into the chair next to Tim, their knees almost close enough to touch. Tim’s hands were wrapped so tightly around his teacup that Bruce worried he might shatter it, but he didn’t take so much as a sip.

“Tim. Can you tell me what’s going on, son?”

Tim finally looked up from his cup again, his gaze settling on Bruce’s mouth again.

“I’m not really sure where to start.”

Okay, Bruce could work with that. “Does your Dad know where you are right now?”

Tim snorted humorlessly. “I really don’t think he gives a shit where I am or what I do at this point. He—” Tim broke off to clear his throat before trying again. “He kicked me out.”

There was pure defeat in Tim’s voice, as if he’d always known it was a matter of time, but he still managed to be disappointed anyway. That more than anything filled Bruce with a level of rage rare even for him while simultaneously breaking his heart.

Not trusting himself to speak at first, Bruce instead gently pulled the poor teacup out of Tim’s grasp and took his hands in his own. Tim’s fingers were trembling.

“Because he found out about you and Conner?” he clarified softly, not wanting to risk a faulty assumption when everything was so fragile.

Tim nodded again anyway. “We fought about some other stuff too, but… yeah, it was mostly about that. He saw us together, and—”

Again, Bruce really wanted to shake Jack Drake senseless. It was bad enough he always seemed to take this wonderful kid for granted, but to see a father intentionally hurt his child over something so inconsequential? It was unforgiveable.

“I’m so sorry, Tim. I know how much you wanted this to work out.”

Tim’s eyes filled with tears, and Bruce was pulling him against his chest even before he consciously recognized what he was seeing. As his son fell apart in his arms, Bruce found tears coming to his own eyes as well.

It had always been obvious how desperate Tim was for his father’s affection and approval after being starved for it for so many years. This was the final deathblow to the hope that one day it would be enough.

So, Bruce held his son, running his fingers through his hair. Eventually, Tim had cried himself out and pulled away, his embarrassment clear on his face. Bruce pulled a clean handkerchief (courtesy of Alfred, of course) from his pocket and handed it to a grateful Tim. Once he had pulled himself together, Tim looked back at Bruce, finally meeting his eyes.

“Does this…Does this mean I can come back to the Manor?”

“Oh, chum…” Bruce reached out to cradle one side of Tim’s face in his hand, his thumb reaching out to brush away another rogue tear. “I promise, you will always have a place in my home. Got it?”

“But what about Stephanie? You already have a Robin…”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Well, first of all, your place in this family is not contingent on whether you’re wearing a mask or not. And I’m so sorry if I’ve made you think otherwise. You are just as welcome here if you never put a mask on again as you would be if you went out tomorrow.

And secondly,” here he grimaced, “I may or may not have fired her for putting herself in danger after I told her to stay put. So… Robin’s yours if you still want it.”

“And you’re really okay with me dating a guy?”

Bruce chuckled. “Tim, I’ve taken in three boys by now. You think I never considered the possibility that at least one of you might bring home a boy someday? Granted, I would have put money on Dick being the first, but the point still stands. It makes absolutely no difference to me if you’re gay, buddy.”

“Umm… I think I’m bi actually.”

“Alright then, but my point still stands. I trust your judgment, and I don’t care who you date, as long as they make you happy.”

Tim gave a watery smile. “Thanks, Bruce.”

“Anytime, kiddo.” Then fully out of emotion points, Bruce cleared his suddenly tight throat. “Now, mind coming with me to the cave?”

Confused, Tim cocked his head, but rose accommodatingly. “Sure, what do you need?”

Bruce shook his head as he spun the clock hands and opened the secret passage. “It’s not what I need, but what you need.” He beckoned Tim to follow him down the steps, which he did obligingly. “I need to grab some more Kryptonite.”

“Bruce!” Tim squawked in shock and indignation. His brain immediately went into panic mode, thinking about all the ways Bruce trying to shovel-talk Conner might go horribly wrong, or at least be horribly embarrassing.

Bruce turned back, completely baffled by how adamant and unexpected the refusal was. “Tim,” he started. And oh no, that was his I don’t know why you’re arguing with this perfectly reasonable request voice that always managed to piss Dick off.

“If the two of you are going to be spending time together in Gotham as civilians, you need to be prepared in case the two of you get caught up in one a Rogue attack.” He turned back around and continued on over to the vault where he kept the Kryptonite. “Oh, and don’t let me forget to give him one of these new rebreathers I’ve been working on next time he comes over. The last thing Gotham needs is a Kryptonian getting dosed with Fear Toxin or Joker Gas.”

Kryptonite in hand, Bruce spun and nearly walked into a frozen Tim who was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression. “What?” he asked, the smallest bit of defensiveness bleeding into his voice.

Tim’s voice turned slightly skeptical. “And that’s the only thing you want the Kryptonite for?”

Now it was Bruce’s turn to be confused. “Yes???” he asked, mind whirling to figure out what he was missing.

Tim realized he had definitely misread where this was going and felt torn between laughing at Bruce’s complete confusion and the urge to hug him.

He decided to go with the second one, and if Bruce still had no idea what was going on when he hugged Tim back, well, that just made it better.

-0

Conner was happy enough to take the call that saved him from having to help seed the backfield. He was twice as happy to hear it was from Tim, who he hadn’t heard from since Conner left him at Wayne Manor three days ago.

“Tim?”

“Conner…”

“Tim, is that…you?”

“It’s me.”

“What’s up? What’s going on? I hear gunshots.”

“Tell the Titans not to give up my room. Tell them I’m back.”

Conner grinned. “I knew it.”

[dandelionflower]

Felinette Month Day 27

In between

Alya stared, blank-faced at the pair in front of her.

Marinette and Adrien had always had chemistry, but this was unbearable. They were just standing at the doorway of the classroom, each one offering to let the other go in first.

“You go ahead.”

“No, you, I insist.”

“Please, just-“

“Excuse me.” Felix walked in between the two without a second thought or a third word. He headed to his desk and sat down, flipping open a book and reading diligently.

Felix Culpa. The destroyer of her OTP. He was terrible, almost always introducing himself at the worst moment, never seeming to purposely do anything, but it always ruined whatever was happening between the other two.

Marinette seemed to hate him just as much, always tracking him with her eyes whenever he entered the room. Adrien was his usual oblivious self, giving Felix a grin whenever he saw him. He seemed to be making more of an effort to connect with Felix, since he and Marinette started their awkwardness. Weird.

Still, Alya was certain something had changed since last week. Marinette and Adrien had somehow become closer and more awkward simultaneously, but she expected that the two would be dating within the week.

Speaking of, the two walked in together, whispering and shooting furtive glances at the back of the room, where Felix sat. Clearly they had noticed his tendency to ruin their moments.

They slid into the front desk, Marinette shooting Alya an apologetic glance that she waved off with a knowing smile. If the lovebirds wanted to spend more time with each other, who was she to stop them?

—

Felix was avoiding her. She just knew it.

Ever since Team Builder, she and her two partners had been out of it. She and Adrien were getting to know each other anew, but Felix seemed insistent on never looking at them directly again.

Team Builder was the coach of a failing baseball team. She wanted the all teams to be honest with each other and share deep secrets to become a closer team. Her first target was her baseball team.

Her second was the group of three heroes.

After working through the trust-building obstacle course with ease, they reached the truth telling stage.

Some of the questions weren’t so bad, even things they’d talked about before.

“What is your greatest fear?”

“Who on the team do you trust most?”

“What is your greatest pet peeve?”

Easy answers, with little opportunity to hurt anyone, even the question about trust. Both of the boys said they trusted her most, and she begrudgingly revealed that she trusted Chat Noir more. Apidae faux pouted for a moment, but admitted that he expected that would be the case.

It was around “who is your crush?” that things started going downhill.

Chat Noir opened his mouth, probably to proclaim his “undying adoration” for her yet again, but choked.

“What’s wrong?” She had teased. “Cat got your tongue?”

“My L- M- Mi. Kagami Tsurugi.” The words sounded normal, albeit strangled, but his face showed that he did not intend for them to come out.

Apidae was next. He stepped forward, breathed in deep, and said without a waver in his tone.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

She didn’t say a word. She couldn’t. What could she say?

On her turn, she walked up, ready to spill her guts on her crush on Adrien, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“A- Adri- Apidae.” No. That wasn’t it. What was happening? Was this how Chat Noir felt?

Apidae coughed as the doors opened to the next level. Neither of them looked at each other as Chat Noir bounded ahead of them to what looked like the final stage.

“Welcome! You have proven yourselves to be a secure and trusting team. With this final push you will become the perfect team!”

Apidae snorted. “What? No, let me guess. You’re going to take our miraculouses and force us to reveal our identities to each other, so our final walls are down.”

“You’re close!” She waved her hand and chains appeared on their wrists. “I’m not giving Hawkmoth anything until he proves he can be a team player with his blue belle. But I’m also not giving you the chance to fight me until you prove yourselves. So here’s your final question; what is your true identity?”

Chat Noir grunted, shifting against the chains. “I’m not saying a- Adrien Agreste.”

“Chat! You’re Adrien? All this tim- Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Apidae made a startled sound. “We don’t have time for this. We need to stop her. Now.”

“How aren’t you saying it?” Ladybug glanced at him as Chat- Adrien used his cataclysm to destroy their chains.

“I’m not using the initial sound in my name.” He said simply, though it was clear that he was struggling with his words.

It was a difficult fight, with Apidae unable to communicate to the best of his ability, Chat and Marinette awkward and embarrassed, and Team Builders ability to manipulate their environment.

Apidae tried to use his venom, but it was blocked, and they were left with less than five minutes before she would be fighting alone.

And soon she was. Chat Noir detransformed to reveal Adrien, who, while athletic, did not have miraculous armor to protect him from the blow. He was knocked prone against a wall, and stayed crumpled there.

A minute later, Apidae detransformed too, revealing the crush she didn’t even know she had until then to be Felix Culpa. Felix still stood, weaving around every attack, using one of the still-intact chains to hold her.

“Ladybug. Lucky Charm. Now.” He struggled for hold her, only barely containing Team Builder.

“Right. Lucky Charm!” She threw her yo-yo and was met with a baseball bat. She knew what had to be done. She gave Felix a look and he nodded.

Team Builder broke free of his hold and knocked him aside, not hard enough to knock him unconscious.

Marinette distracted her by asking about her batting form as he got back up and crept behind her.

Like a well-oiled machine, she tossed the baseball bat to him as he leapt up, he caught it and swung it into Team Builder’s head, just barely fracturing her helmet. A fracture was all that was needed for the akuma to crawl out and get purified.

She tossed her miraculous cure, and waved for Felix and Adrien to scramble away as she knelt by the dazed coach.

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

“Yes, I think so, but I can’t remember anything.” She looked up at her with horrified eyes. “Was I akumatized?”

“I’m afraid so, but you didn’t do much harm.” Her miraculous beeped and she waved a goodbye before swinging away, catching Felix’s eye as she left.

They hadn’t talked since then. She and Adrien had taken every opportunity to talk to him and he made every excuse not to.

“Enough is enough.” She hissed at Adrien, during quiet reading time. “We need to talk to him now.”

“So you two can talk about your crush?” He teased with a grin.

“Not just that!” She felt her ears turning red.

“But mostly that.” He gave her a kind look. “Just let me handle it. You go stand by your locker after class.”

“Okay.” The rest of the class was spent on trivial topics, jokes, and planning fo make it easier to slip away during akuma fights.

She left to go to her locker after class, Adrien shooting her a wink as he walked purposefully towards Felix.

A few minutes later and she was at her locker, in the crowded room, staring at the doors waiting for Felix (and Adrien too, of course).

Suddenly, the doors slammed open to reveal Adrien, carrying a struggling Felix over his shoulder.

“Adrien, I swear to-“

“Yeah, yeah. We need to have a conversation, and you have to deal with it.” He commented with an east smile.

He set Felix down in front of her, restraining him in a hug.

“I do want to talk, but in front of so many people?” She glanced at Adrien, then the room.

It was deserted. In the few minutes she had been distracted, Alya has shuttled everyone out of the room, shooting her a wink and a thumbs up before exiting herself.

“Never mind then.”

“Sir please.” A squeak came from Felix’s bag. “I’d like to see Tikki and Plagg. Just for a moment?” An adorable yellow head gave him puppy-dog eyes.

“Fine.” She squealed and flew out, hugging his cheek and dive bombing Adrien’s bag. “But I want it clear that I’m doing this for Pollen.”

“Noted.” Adrien cautiously released Felix.

“So, what needs to be said? I feel that there’s nothing to be resolved.”

“I beg to differ.” Marinette took a step forwards, fully aware of how close her face was to his. “I think we have quite a lot to talk about. Like your crush on me.”

“You mean our mutual crush on each other.” His eyes bore into hers and she stepped back, rubbing her neck.

“Y-yeah. So...”

Adrien waved his hand. “I’m gonna step out and let you two handle this.”

Once he was gone, Marinette sat down, putting her head in her hands.

“I have a crush on you. You had a crush on me.” She murmured. “What else for you want me to say?”

“Well, ‘yes’ would be a nice start.” His feet shifted.

“Huh?” She peered up at him. His face was absolutely crimson.

He coughed a pulled out a crumbled sheet of paper. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” he glanced at her, “when I first saw you, I thought you were immature, and preppy.

Then I actually had a conversation with you and I was proven exactly right.”

She made a little sound of dissent.

“But accompanying your immaturity and preppiness, was a deep compassion, and an impeccable fashion sense. I fell for you and kept falling with every day I spent in your presence. So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you go on a date with me?”

She stared at him.

“This is why I made the request that you say yes.” He whispered.

“Oh!” She straightened. “Right.”

“So...”

“Of course.” She beamed and lunged for him, hugging him as tight as she could.

“Finally!” Adrien shouted from the hallway.

“Finally.” Felix whispered into her hair.

@felinettenovember

[boldlyanxious]

None the Wiser 9

Masterlist

All fic masterlist

Biodad Bruce Prompts:

-dating/love

-pets

-identities

-truths/lies (if you squint but that part will continue)

Marinette was waving bye to her friends before heading home. Alya was following her peppering her with questions about what she thought of Noah and what exactly he said to her. She almost pulled Marinette down holding onto her arm begging for details.

"Oh why do you do this to me? Lycée is wasted on you. I should be single and ready to mingle with all these cute new boys," Alya let out an exasperated groan.

Marinette lifted her hand and waved. "Hey Nino."

Alya turned around frantically looking for her boyfriend. When she didn't see him she turned back and slapped Marinette's arm when she saw she was laughing at her.

"You devil brat! I almost had a heart attack."

"Serves you right. Mooning over the new boys when you already have one who adores you."

"Doesn't seem like I would have a chance anyway. None of them look my way when you are standing near."

"That's not true. You're exaggerating."

"Noah just about knocked Max over in the hall the first time he saw you. You didn't notice because You were watching Adrien."

"That never happened."

"No, it did. I thought him and Kim were going to get into a fight but Kim saw where he was looking and laughed it off."

"Also that is definitely one boy, not every boy."

"He is not the only one. Pretty sure Luka is still pining after you. At least 3 other boys that went to different collèges and then of course Adrien."

"Another blatant fabrication. Adrien only sees me as a friend. You can't even say stuff like that. I need to move past that."

"You have been really distracted lately. You've missed a lot. He always smiled more brightly when you were around but now he watches you a lot."

"Stop Alya. He wouldn't want to date me."

"If you say so. But I think sleeping with his arms around you made him reconsider."

"It wasn't like that. Besides I have had a lot on my mind. I don't know that running off to find love right now is the best idea. It's all so confusing."

Their discussion of Marinette's dating life was interrupted when Damian walked up to them and addressed Marinette.

"You need to come with me."

"She isn't going anywhere with you. You've been an entitled jerk to her at every opportunity." Alya said with a glare.

"What do you need?" Marinette said.

"We can do it here but it might be easier if we were seated."

He gestured to some benches nearby and the girls sat. He tapped at his phone briefly and they saw the excited face of Tim who Damian barely acknowledged before turning back to Marinette.

"I am told that you may be visiting our home soon," he stated.

"That has been discussed and I am interested in the idea," Marinette said.

"I also heard you have always wanted a pet but that is complicated by your residence being attached to the patisserie," he continued.

"This is also true."

He addressed his phone, "Can you show her what you found?"

The 3 looked at the phone where they could see Tim turn it around they saw a ceiling and then a floor that looked like a store before it focused on a shopping cart as Tim talked about each thing he focused on.

"Okay this looks like it is the best enclosure it connects to a series of tunnels and a little cubby as a sleeping area. This wheel for exercise the water bottle, dish, food, and bedding material. All that is left is to choose one."

He focused his phone on the enclosures at what she had determined was a pet store. Marinette could see the variety of hamsters available.

"You are getting a hamster?" Marinette asked.

"You are getting a hamster," Damian clarified. "You just have to pick one."

Marinette was stunned with this gesture from Damian but she didn't have time to consider as Tim went through showing them each hamster that was available. Marinette oohed and ahhed at all of them but then she gasped at the smallest one she had seen.

"Oh it's so little and cute!"

Tim reached in and picked it up and it was even smaller than it had looked because there was another matching one huddled together with it. They both squirmed and struggled to get back to each other.

"Oh not that one," Marinette said. "They are together. They need each other."

"Get them both, Drake." Damian said.

"I'm already on it," he replied.

"No, that is too much. You don't need to do that." Marinette said.

"Nope. They need each other and I'm already doing it." Tim said.

"That is settled. I will have him send a picture when it is set up. When I am home I will give you updates as well as pictures and videos regularly."

Marinette's mouth was slightly ajar at his sudden change in attitude. He didn't wait for her to figure out her feelings, he pushed a card into her hands.

"This is my personal contact information. Use whichever you feel the most confident with and I will send the information that way. Good day."

When he finished speaking he walked off without waiting for a response. Marinette and Alya just stared as he walked away.

"Did that really just happen?" asked Marinette.

Alya just nodded before she too said her goodbyes and went home.

---

It was a little over 2 months from when they originally met the Justice League. Ladybug and Chat Noir had discussed it several times and then again with the Justice League members they had been working with. Today was when they decided to meet at a more private place for their reveal. Batman and Wonder Woman were not really involved. They were just there before to set up the meeting with the team but Hawkmoth wasn't considered to be at their level.

The decision of the miraculous users was that they would reveal to the 4 members they had gotten to know but that no one beyond that would know. They were already uncomfortable with the idea of a reveal and they wanted to control the information themselves. Well, Chat Noir was excited about the reveal. Ladybug was terrified what the reaction of her partner would be. She didn't worry about the Justice League group. She thought it was unlikely that they had ever met but Chat had met her as Marinette to rescue her, when he was disappointed with Ladybug not showing up, and then when she claimed to be in love with him.

The building was a gym under construction so no one would see them. When Ladybug entered she saw that Superboy and Robin were already there and talking. She gave a little wave as she approached them. She had grown to like the pair of them very well over the weeks they had worked together. Superboy was very friendly and Robin was very focused.

She looked over at the other side of the building at a new sound to see Wonder Girl walking up with Chat Noir. Based on their conversation they had just met outside while they were walking up. Greetings were exchanged and Marinette started to ask if anything knew about Kid Flash but as she started she saw his blur zip around the space several times before he joined them half a second later. He handed a flower to Ladybug with a flourish causing Chat Noir to glare at him.

Even though the Justice League members had acted as heroes longer Ladybug still took charge. It was her city and they had the experience with the problems there. They didn't like it at first but her no nonsense focus on the mission without being too uptight when they were patrolling together had made her accepted by all.

She took a deep breath. She was the only one very nervous. The others already knew the identities of their teammates. They had spent the last few weeks explaining situations where it had been useful. She thought they were probably skipping over times when it had not been a good idea. She had been talking with Superboy one night and he had almost let a story slip but he stopped himself.

She looked over at Chat. Maybe he was nervous too. But she could still see excitement in his eyes. She just hoped she would be enough. Their relationship wasn't like the others. He knew her civilian identity and they had worked together for 2 years. Ladybug took a breath and cleared her throat. Conversation stopped and she had their full attention when she spoke.

"Before we do this I want to remind everyone how important it is that the information not go beyond those in this room. It is the choice of each person to decide who knows their identity. If anyone disagrees with that they should say so now."

No one spoke but there were nods of agreement.

"Okay, then on three?"

She paused before slowly counting to 3. She closed her eyes as she detransformed and took a breath before she looked up. She looked first to see the fading green light on Chat Noir to meet the green eyes of Adrien Agreste. She was sure his shock was mirrored in her own. They both opened their mouths to speak but turned at another voice.

"Marinette?"

She turned to see Damian in Robin's uniform. Kid Flash and Superboy she had met at the fashion show but she couldn't remember their names. She had been too nervous to retain anything. She didn't think she had ever met Wonder Girl as a civilian. Surprisingly she was the only one. No one spoke for a moment. Adrien had that look on his face that Chat Noir would get sometimes when he looked at Ladybug. Marinette didn't think she could deal with this. Until one of the others opened his mouth and proved it.

"Isn't that your sister?" Jon said.

"Bruce is going to flip out," Wally added.

"You can't tell him!" Marinette screeched. "You can't tell anyone, especially not him."

"Marinette, what does he mean? I've met your parents. You don't have a brother." Adrien said.

"I-uh. It's complicated." Marinette said. "Actually I can't deal with this. It's just--"

She trailed off as she took several steps back before calling for her transformation and running out. She didn't see the fallout from her escape. They all argued over whether they should go after her and who should go. Cassie called for them to be quiet. She said she would be the one to go after Ladybug. Since she didn't know her it would be easier to calm her.

Wonder Girl flew off after Ladybug. She wasn't hiding but when she saw Wonder Girl headed towards her on the Eiffel Tower she stood up as if preparing to leave.

"Wait," Wonder Girl called out.

Ladybug paused as she landed and turned back towards her.

"Are they all upset with me?" she asked.

"I think it's mostly worried. You have a lot of secrets."

"I don't even like secrets. It feels like lying. I hate lies. A temporary secret like a surprise is one thing but sometimes I feel like my whole life is a lie."

Ladybug sat back down with her legs dangling as she had been before, Wonder Girl sat next to her. They sat there for awhile, saying nothing. Eventually Ladybug started speaking. She started back at the beginning when she first met Tikki and how she didn't even think she would be a good hero and tried to give the powers away. Once she started she couldn't stop. All her years of secrets and fears poured out. Wonder Girl sat there stunned realizing that not only had she not had anyone to talk to who knew but she also was at risk of becoming akumatized and endangering the entire city or even the world. She considered the spotted hero before she gave her first response that wasn't an encouragement to continue talking.

"You need to tell your parents."

Next

**I will probably not use and additional prompts for this. I have a few prompts that will be separate but connected but don't fit chronologically (only one posted so far). But I will keep writing without prompts.

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