#kon is thinking too hard and bart is thinking just the right amount. i love them

[vinelark]

bart thinks kon is maybe stupid for not realizing tim is robin, but kon just respects robin so much that subconsciously he can't allow himself to make that connection until robin tells him himself

yeah! also kon initially met tim (as a civilian) in a situation that made him perceive tim through a certain lens—tim was one of a few rich kids kidnapped for ransom, and at that point, if asked, kon probably wouldn’t be able to imagine robin getting successfully kidnapped by a non-supervillain. like he knows robin is human/not a meta (and understands what this means for robin specifically more and more as time goes on) but the bats still have this carefully cultivated vibe/reputation that masks their vulnerabilities. so when kon interacts with tim after that initial kidnapping, he’s already framed tim as someone normal/vulnerable in a way that he doesn’t see robin. also, he’s extrapolated his idea of tim as a rich kid who does rich kid things with his time (yacht parties, hiring whole actors, living in a penthouse, getting fostered by a gazillionaire) and not vigilante things with his time. like he thinks tim is weird and funny and intriguing and surprisingly kind but he also imagines tim hanging out in expensive boarding school libraries and fancy galas and stuff. and while he’s vein_guy_meme.jpg trying to respect robin’s privacy, when he does idly imagine robin as a civilian he still pictures rob on, like, a roof or in a cave or napping on top of the tower fridge or something. so it’s not like he’s Seeing It and then rationalizing his way out of realizing, but rather that he’s pre-rationalized both tim and robin in a way that already separates them in his mind.

tl;dr kon's a smart guy and could totally put it together with the right prompting, so the watsonian reason he hasn't is all of the above; the doylist reason is because i as the author am having fun and also want the reveal to drop at a certain moment.

meanwhile bart met tim without any of those preconceived notions, and caught on as soon as tim said names (robin's shorthand for "no names in the field") because bart was like, huh, that's a very robin thing to say, and also this guy is having a weird reaction to fear gas so now i'm thinking about gotham, and also we're on a roof, and also his hair looks kinda windblown and spiky, all of which reminds me of ohhhhh shit omg okay that's why robin wasn't answering his messages got it

[beeqisch]

top five fic recs 🌟

these arent in a specific order, just fics i like (so everyone else should like too) (jk)

also i only read timkon fics :(

1. dollar store robin - InkpotSprite

Tim bent over as his stomach cramped. His eyes watered and he couldn’t breathe as Jason loomed over him. God, he hadn’t laughed this hard in years. - Maybe dressing up in a Robin costume to fight his successor wasn't Jason's best idea.

funny thumbs up emoji thumbs up emoji

2. Pulling Pigtails - Diana_Raven

Detective Tim Drake and Detective Conner Kent have been at each other's throats professionally since they met, and finally decide to settle the matter with a bet--once and for-all. If Tim gets the most amount of collared felonies by the end of one year he gets Kon's infamous leather jacket, to do with whatever he wants (including burn it). If Kon wins, he gets to take Tim out on the worst date money doesn't buy, since Tim made his views on Kon's 'cheapest date possible' web search very clear. But the clock is running out, and they only have thirty three hours left.

(b99 au) i liked this one sm i started watching b99 (thank u Diana_Raven)

3. The Summer Tim Turned Pretty - Hayleythewriter

Tim is no longer the awkward Wayne brother. He's back from his freshman year of college, hotter than ever, and ready to spend another summer with the Kents at the Wayne Family Beach House. But will Conner Kent ever see him as more than his best friend's brother? au inspired by The Summer I Turned Pretty

hi i even made fanart of this one because i was like wow i like this a lot woah

4. sun-kissed - merils

Two truths and a lie: Kon, Bart, Cassie, and Tim have all piled into the Redbird to hit the beach for a day of summer fun in the sun! They're all gonna have a great time together. And Tim is not going to be distracted by Kon's tits the entire day. Yeah. That lie is hidden in there really well. Tim's sure of it. Right? ...Right?

I think about this one every single day

5. Everybody Talks - egg_thief

Bart snatches his phone back before Tim can finish reading all the comments on Kon’s post. And there had been a lot left unread. “I don’t understand…” Tim says, his brow scrunched in confusion. Bart shrugs, his hands fidgeting at his sides. “They’re all shipping you guys. It was the photo man- you guys are everywhere now.” Or: timkon band au, featuring falling in love, online rumors, and first kisses

BAND AU BAND AU BAND AU HELLO BAND AU

so yeaa these are my favs yayy ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᴗ ᵔ )

[butwhyduh]

I feel like some people totally miss out on Tim's better qualities. Like. He's SO supportive, to both strangers and friends. He's smart, but he only cares about learning when it's something he cares about. Hell, he even drops out when school doesn't work for him.

So, drop out Tim is probably big supportive of his al ghul girlfriend (his al ghulfriend, if you will) and how smart she is and that she's going to be well educated and be able to change the world from the inside.

"Have you met my girlfriend? She's the daughter of a near immortal head of an assassin group, so she's probably killed and knows how to. She can speak several languages fluently. She's working really hard on her college degree right now, but I hope you can meet her some time. Oh, she's also Damian's aunt, but we try to keep that part quiet. B punched one of the earth Green Lanterns' lights out when he commented on it."

As Cassie, Bart, and Kon just stare at him wide eyed and a little surprised by the info dump. It was probably a little surprising for the family too, but they probably took it in stride. Weird stuff just happens in the batfamily.

Oh my gosh yes 🥰 he’s such a supportive boyfriend. Every time she comes home with the weirdest plant or animal info Tim is like that my baby 😍.

“Tim, look! This bacterium eats plastic. Once we learn how it reacts to sea life, we might be able to put it in the ocean to help get rid of the huge amount of micro plastic in the ocean,” you said, showing him a test tube. “Isn’t it incredible??”

“Yeah, you are. I mean- it is! Amazing,” he said. You kinda melted a little at how sweet he was. “Poison Ivy spoke to me and wants to meet you. Again.”

“Aww, Ivy is so kind,” you cooed. “I’ll call her later.”

“Sure. You know she’s a supervillain, right?” Tim asked and you grabbed your jacket.

“Of course. So is my father. It’s Gotham. Your brother can be called a villain half the time,” you reminded him.

“That’s true… where are we going?” Tim asked.

“Your friend Connor invited us to eat at his tower,” you answered.

“He what??”

“He wants to meet me. You should have answered him when he called,” you said before kissing his cheek. “He is cooking his people’s food, he said.”

“Connor is cooking Kryptonian food? He’s cooking?” Tim asked as you climbed in his car. He had been asking questions on the way down.

“He said he’s making his people’s favorite food. Is pizza kryptonian? I thought it was Italian,” you answered.

“Oh he means Young Justice members, I think,” Tim answered with a laugh.

“Why didn’t you introduce me to your friends? Are you ashamed?” You asked.

“Absolutely! they’re-“ Tim said smiling while misunderstanding what you meant. Your face fell and you made a soft ‘oh’ under your breath.

“Wait! I meant they are shameful. Not you. Never you,” Tim said taking your hand. “I didn’t want to scare you away from them. You’re… amazing. I would never be ashamed of you. Plus, I was joking. I’m not ashamed of anyone. Just worried you won’t like them.”

“I’m sure I’ll love your friends,” you answered frankly. “You make good choices and have a good heart.”

3 young people stood outside of the building. One guy was waving his hand faster than humans should. The other was slightly floating off the ground. And the girl waved when the pair came closer. Tim helped you out of the car to meet them.

“Hey everybody. This is my girlfriend,” Tim said introducing you. “She’s smart and fun and cute and is going to save the world.”

“Aww Tim has a type,” Bart said. “World saving is his thing.”

“Nice to meet you,” Cassie said giving you a hug. “Hurt Tim and I’ll break all your bones,” she whispered in your ear before letting go.

“Simmer down Cassie,” the other guy said. “Call me Kon. Don’t go falling for me after eating the pizza I made,” he warned.

“Warning noted,” you smiled and Tim wrapped an arm around your waist as you walked in the house. “But I’m pretty devoted so I think I’ll be fine. I like the solar panels!”

Tim practically floated into the building.

“Kon can cook?…” Bart asked.

[loyalshipper]

May I introduce the Tumblr DC community to one of my two favorite Batfam AUs I have created. Bruce Wayne owns a hotel/museum near an ocean cliff and still has a chronic adoption problem but doesn’t fight crime. (If anyone writes this you can make it to where heroes still exist, the Batfam are the inly no capes)

WE still exists but it isn’t run by Bruce it is run by Lucius because back in the 60s Thomas and Martha bought the hotel and wanted that to be their legacy. They still die the same way but Bruce puts all his efforts into running and blossoming the hotel which was his parent’s dream project.

I’ll get back into the hotel in a minute I’m taking about the kids now

Dick is gotten a similar way, he visits the Cape with Haly’s Circus, his parents die because of faulty wiring sold to the circus by Zucco and Dick becomes an orphan. Bruce just so happened to use his one night off in a while to go see the circus. He keeps thinking about Dick and ends up adopting him. He helps Dick and the Circus bring Zucco to justice and sues the hell out of him and shuts down his business. (Adopted at 8))

Jason was found living in one of the shut down rooms of the hotel. Because his dad left and was in prison and his mom od. So Bruce treats him like a wild animal and starts to leave food out on a regular schedule until Jason gets comfortable with him and he adopts Jason. (five years younger than Dick)

Tim was the son of two wealthy archaeologists who were gone 11 out of the 12 months. Bruce met Tim because he liked to come into the museum and take pictures of the museum exhibits and hotel architecture and shoreline which he would develop and give copies to Bruce. So he opens his house to this little boy with a penchant for photography. Until one day Tim’e parents call Tim telling him that they are staying in Egypt permanently because the archeological dig is producing wonderous results and they’ll be hiring him an around the clock sitter. Only for Tim to wait three weeks and no one shows up. They went so far as to fire Ms. Mac but never hired a sitter for their son. So he goes to Bruce in tears and explains everything, because this is it-his parents finally did abandon him, and Bruce sues them for custody of Tim. (Three years younger than Jason, adopted at 7)

Damian was the result of a relationship Bruce had in college while studying hotel management and hospitality. Talia is the daughter of a hotel conglomerate owner who is currently trying to buy Bruce’s hotel so it can be torn down and Ra’s can built a new hyper expensive hotel in its place. Damian was sent to live with Bruce to try and get Bruce to have Damian inherit the hotel so Ra’s can get it and destroy it, but that backfired because instead Damian falls in love with the hotel and his new family (reluctantly) and wants to see the hotel and museum flourish, not tear down this historical piece of architecture to replace it with a soulless hotel only available to the wealthy elite. But something available to everyone that families vacation to because there is so much history and beauty in a thing that has stood for centuries. So Damian turns against Ra’s. Due not that while Damian and Tim do have a sibling rivalry it is not as vicious and cutting as it is in canon. They love each other they just don’t mesh well while in the same room. And yes, Damian still has his variety of pets (7 years younger than Tim)

Cass came to the hotel with her “father,” David Cain, who went to the Cape for business, and just ended up leaving and forgetting Cass at the hotel. He was still abusive and Cass had trouble speaking but he wasn’t “turn Cass into the world’s greatest assassin” abusive. After Bruce finds Cass, he sues Cain for parental custody and then ruins his life unrepentantly. (Couple of months older than Jason)

After Martha and Thomas died, Alfred took over managing the hotel while Bruce was still growing up and while he was getting his degrees, now he is the grandfather to Bruce’s many kids and helps to keep them running and cared for while they run and care for the hotel. He’s also the one that helps the new kids transfer into the life of running a hotel.

Barbara is the daughter of the Police Comissioner still who became friends with Dick and works, first part time at the museum/hotel and then full time. Same with Steph and Tim (1 year older than Dick)

Cullen and Harper work at the museum, Helena works at the hotel. Carrie does both. Duke is the newest acquisition. Only, his parents disappeared and no one has been able to find them yet. So Bruce currently had temporary custody of Duke who lives at the hotel with everyone. (Harper is a year older than Tim, Cullen is a year younger than Tim, Carrie is the same age as Jason, Duke is a few months younger than Tim)

Each person has different jobs. (Dick is concierge/check-in, Jason does guided history tours of the hotel/museum/grounds, Tim works in financials because he deals with the least amount of people, Helena, Carrie and Steph are both maids, Carrie also does janitorial stuff with Cullen, Barbara works hotel check-in with Dick, Barbara and Harper work cashier at the gift shop, Duke doesn’t have a job yet because he is still dealing with the disappearance of his parents, Damian does every job to see where he fits in best.

JARRO IS THE FAMILY PET STARFISH THAT TIM ADOPTED WHEN HE FIRST JOINED THE FAMILY AND RESCUED FROM BEING EATEN OFF THE BEACH

The hotel is still fully staffed with not-batkids, like grounds keepers and other hotel cleaners and janitors.

Location time!

I’m turning Gotham nicer and changing the geography of the city.

The hotel Museum rests about 200 yds from a cliff that overlooks a beach. There is a well maintained stair case put into the cliff for people to walk down, as well as a longer gravel path that follows the cliff edge down to the shoreline. It is frequented by seals, sea lions, and in the distance, dolphins and whales. The hotel it’s self has about 100 or so acres of land and a long drive but it is technically within walking distance to the city. And it’s a normal coastal town with a port and touristic areas. Kinda eerie at night when the fog rolls in but that’s part of the charm of the NorthEast.

Selina is just Bruce’s friend in this. She is Helena’s mother and Bruce was a surrogate for her. She decided she wanted a baby and Bruce offered to be a donor. So Selina had Helena and Bruce is part of her life but not as her dad, which was the agreement. Selina takes care of the stray animals on the grounds and favors the cats.

Clark is a reporter that was tasked to right an article on the hotel and it’s history, became good friends with Bruce and brings his family (Lois, Jon, Bizarro, Kon, Kara, Lena, Chris, Ma, Pa, and Lex) on vacation to it every year. Lex and Clark are divorced husbands that left on good terms and are friendly enough to coparent their son, Connor, who was made the same way as canon but less hush hush and illegally, Kara is Clark’s cousin and Lena is her fiancée, Lois is his wife, Jon and Bizarro are their two biological sons (Bizarro has autism), Chris is their foster son. Bizarro latches onto Jason in a way that he hasn’t before and always loves coming to the hotel, Jon and Chris are best friends with Damian, Connor and Tim are long distance dating.

Collin, Maya, and Maps are Damian’s best friends from school (Damian has a crush on Collin) and he’s trying to convince them to join the hotel staff like his siblings’ friends but they are a) too young and b) not interested.

Roy has all of his problems as in canon and gets help for it, so as a way to try and bring the family closer, Oliver and Dinah arrange a vacation to the hotel for them Roy and Lian. As a stepping stone kind of thing. Get away from daily stress. Roy is resistant at first until he and Jason hit it off and start talking and Jason talks sense into him and they strike up a friendship turned romance.

The Flashfam visit the museum diring a countrywide roadtrip and mad the stop because Bart is a history buff and wouldn’t stop talking about it the entire trip. He becomes fast friends with Tim and is the only person to ever get a Tim Wayne history tour. No matter what Kon tells you he is super salty about it. Wally and Dick were internet friends and used the roadtrip as a way to be able to meet up.

Thad is the obligatory complainer who doesn’t want to stay in a musty old hotel.

Ivy is the main grounds keeper and is in charge of the native wildlife sanctuary most of the land is used for, as well as taking care of the native plantlife and lives in town with her girlfriend, Harley. Harley helps the kids prank Bruce.

Harley is a children’s psychiatrist hired by Bruce to help the kids deal with their various traumas. Her coming to the hotel for sessions is how she and Ivy met.

They started dating between Dick and Jason and Dick talks up each of them to the other, but each individual kid that comes in think they’d be cute together (since they are both professional while working there isn’t immediate proof that they are dating. But they will flirt with each other if they see each other) and it’s basically a right if passage to try and convince their siblings to help them get together and then try and set them up on their own and find out the hard way that they’re already together. They love seeing all the different way the kids try and set them up. They tend to go along with it until either the kids realise or they take pity on them.

Their favorite was Damian’s where he set up an entire romantic dinner at the hotel restaurant and Dick managed to slyly convince him to set it on a certain day that turned out to be Harley and Ivy’s anniversary.

Alfred is the head chef for the hotel, making room service meals and the breakfast buffet line up. Jason will help him out if he isn’t busy with other things.

Victor Fries and his wife hold an ice cream social ever summer at the hotel with all the ice cream flavors they came up with over the last year.

Edward Nygma, famous escape room designer, is hired to make an escape room themed on the hotel and museum that is built on the grounds near the main building.

Another ritual that starts, begins with Tim, where the older siblings convince the newest one that the hotel is haunted and Jason takes them on a “haunted ghost tour” of the abandoned part of the hotel (the part that is too dilapidated and run down to remodel safely) while the others are stationed at different parts of the hotel and grounds to run whatever scenario to scare the new kid. The only one that hasn’t been done to is Cass because even after several years she still jumps a little too hard at loud noises. But one time Jason accident closed a door a little too harshly while Cass and Tim were doing something and it caused her to jump so hard she knocked over Tim and started crying. They were contemplating whether she was strong enough to do it or not and that cemented that she wasn’t.

Tim and Cass are nearly inseparable and are commonly referred to as the Wayne Twins. For Halloween they decided to go as each other.

[pricetagofficial]

Beautiful -KK

Summary: You find out you’re pregnant with Kon’s child. 

Pairing: Kon Kent x Reader

Word Count: 3496

Warnings: Language, FLUFF, birth, pregnancy related things, light-ish hints of the smut

Tag List: @kishony-the-geek @idkmanicantenglish @catxsnow

A/N: So this was a total bribe for Sara to do her work, and I did not expect it to get this long. I hope you all like it!

You stared at the tests that were laid out in front of you, all three of them had the same results. Positive. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. You and Kon had always been safe when it came to sex, it was something the two of you had talked about months ago. You racked your brain, trying to think up a way that it was possible when it struck you. You and Kon were safe, except…

That day replayed in your mind in slow motion, it was just a normal day for the two of you. Both of you were home for the day, you didn’t have work and there was no crisis going on that needed his attention so you spent it together doing whatever you wanted.

Kon had woken up early and made breakfast, even going as far as bringing it to you in bed as he bent to wake you with sweet, soft kisses as you held in your giggles. Sitting up in the bed, you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes.

He stood there with a tray in his hands and the goofiest smile on his face, “Morning Sunshine.”

You leaned up and pressed your lips to his once more, cupping his jaw with your hand while running your thumb over his skin. “Good morning handsome.” You replied, slowly pulling away from the kiss and glancing at the food in his hands.

“What’s all this for?” you asked, crossing your legs and looking up at him.

“It’s for the most beautiful person in the world.”

“If that’s for you, then why did you bring it here?” you grinned.

It was as if Kon mentally exploded at your words, his jaw dropped slightly and grinned as he set it aside. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” he asked, leaning over you as he took your chin and made you look up at him.

“As a matter of fact, I think I’m hilarious.”

Kon took your waist and pulled you closer towards him so your legs hung off the edge of the bed. “Why don’t I remind you how beautiful you are.” He grinned leaning down to capture your lips in a chaste kiss that left you wanting for more.

His hands gripped your bare thighs as his lips left yours way too quick for your liking and placed soft kisses down your jaw and throat, making you whimper under his touch. Your hand went to his hair, gripping it tightly between your fingers as you felt his hands move higher up your legs, bunching up the large shirt you wore in the process.

He could hear your heartbeat seeding up as his hands went higher up and it made him grin, knowing that he had that effect of you. You tightened the grip on his hair when you felt him drag his teeth against the skin on your neck, letting out a needy moan.

“Kon... fuck.” You muttered, leaning into him more wanting to feel him against you.

You felt him chuckle against the skin of your neck. “Don’t worry Sunshine, we will.”

It had been just a month and a half since that day and you were feeling weird for only the last week or so. You thought that you were sick at first but then you started to notice other things and took it upon yourself to grab tests and figure this out. Kon was currently out on a mission and wasn’t supposed to be back until the end of the week, and that gave you plenty of time to figure out how to tell him. Picking up the tests, you threw them into the trash and washed your hands.

The first thing you needed to do was make sure that you were actually pregnant and weren’t getting false positives, it happened way too often and you wanted to be sure of it.

By the end of the next day, you had your results and you were for sure pregnant with Kon’s child and it was nearly impossible to hide your excitement. The first thing you did was go to a store and buy various items and a gift bag. Kon was supposed to be back the next night and you were going to have it all planned out, down to the tee.

The gift bag rested on the table with curled ribbon tied onto it, while you sat there waiting for Kon to walk in the door. It was needless to say that you were nervous, the topic of kids had come up and you both wanted one but in the future. Seemed like life had other plans for you.

Hearing the doorknob turn, your head shot up and you rose to your feet as you fixed the bright blue dress you wore unable to keep the wide smile off your face. The door opened and in he walked, the look on his face was exhausted but quickly brightened up at the sight of you with dinner on the table and a gift bag set in the middle.

Dropping his back, he ran over and picked you up in his arms and swung you around making you squeal in delight. The second he set you down, his lips met yours in a passionate kiss. A week and a half away from you was way too long for him, Kon hated being away from you. You were his literal ray of sunshine that never ceased to brighten his day.

Your hands gripped the edges of his leather jacket, pulling him closer to you as you smiled against his lips. “I missed you.” You mumbled.

“I can tell Sunshine, but not as much as I missed you.” He grinned, and kept you close to him. “Dinner smells great. But what’s with the bag?”

You pulled out of his hold and held it out to him, “It’s a surprise. You can open it now or later whichever you want.”

Kon gave you a side glance as he took the bag and pulled the ribbon and tissue paper out of the bag, dropping it to the floor. Reaching in, he pulled out a small piece of cloth. It was blue, the same shade as your dress and his suit. Unfolding it, he saw that it was a onesie with the iconic ‘s’ on the front. He peeked over at you with a confused look on his face.

“Uh, Sunshine this looks to be a little too small for me.” He said.

“Conner Kent, just look at the rest of the stuff.” You scolded with a smile; you would have thought he picked up on it immediately but apparently not.

Setting the onesie aside, he pulled out an envelope that had his name on it. Setting the bag down, he opened the envelope and pulled out the card inside it. The front had the word ‘Surprise!’ on it, and when he opened it and saw what was inside his heart nearly stopped.

There, taped under your beautiful handwriting was a sonogram with a circle around what was going to be your future child.

You watched as Kon froze in his spot, looking at the onesie then back to the picture over and over as his brain tried to process it. “You’re pregnant?” he asked, looking at you finally.

Giving him a nod, the biggest smile grew on his face as he pulled you into a tight hug as he laughed. “I’m going to be a dad!” he cried and swung you around again before quickly putting you down.

“Shit, I didn’t hurt him doing that right?” he asked looking down at your still flat stomach then your eyes.

You giggled. “No, and how do you know it’s a him?”

“I just know, I have that sense.” He grinned and kissed you once more.

A couple weeks passed and you were starting to show, and it was getting hard to hide the fact that you were pregnant. You were almost into your second trimester and that was the time you and Kon had decided to tell his family along with yours and your friends.

The great thing about Kon’s family is that Clark, Lois and the others all accepted you with open arms the second they met you and were more than ecstatic to hear the news that you were expecting. Your parents however, they were not Kon’s biggest fans. It was the leather jacket and the haircut; they were worried that he would hurt you somewhere down the line.

You were their little girl, of course it was hard for them to swallow the fact that you were pregnant but they were happy none the less and even offered to help you with anything you might need financial wise.

Telling your friends was an adventure in itself, because Kon was part of the Titans you were friends with a lot of the members. When you told them, Cassie screamed in delight and ran over to hug you making the others laugh. Bart and Tim smiled and gave you both their congratulations, patting Kon on the back with a laugh.

But not everything went to plan, half way through your second trimester you were put on bed rest. Growing a super baby inside you was taking its toll on your body so you needed all the rest you could get. Of course, Kon never left your side doing anything you needed in a heartbeat. Even if it was to get up and go pee for the eighth time that night, he was up and carrying you there and back to make sure you were under the least amount of stress.

Rolling onto your side, you felt him wrap his arms around you and rested them on your now visible bump. He rubbed it softly with his thumb, as it lulled you to sleep. Peeking over Kon saw that you were out cold and smile.

He then leaned over and pressed a kiss to your bump. “I can’t wait to meet you Conner Junior, just know that mommy and daddy love you very much.” He smiled and held you close to him once more as fell asleep holding his world in his arms.

You were sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating a bowl of your favorite ice cream covered in hot sauce, tapping softly on your stomach one day when you felt it. You thought you were crazy, but you looked down and there it was. What seemed to be a little foot was pressing against your swollen belly and almost slid the bowl off of you.

“Kon! Quick get in here!” you called.

At the speed of light, he was at your side with a worried look on his face. “What is it Sunshine? Are you hurt?” he asked quickly as he knelt next to you.

You shook your head, instead you pointed down to your stomach. “Watch.” You grinned.

Kon sat there and watched as you started to tap the spot again softly, when he too saw it. The same little foot pressed against your belly and he grinned widely. “That’s so cool, but creepy as fuck.” He chuckled.

“Language Conner Kent, he can hear you.” You scolded.

“I know, I can kind of hear him too.” He smiled, placing a hand on your stomach and feeling the foot under his large hand. “I’ve been able to hear his heartbeat the whole time, it’s the coolest thing ever.” He explained.

You jolted forward as you felt a hard kick to your stomach with a laugh. “I think he likes the sound of your voice.” You smiled. Kon lit up and kissed your belly, resting his head on it carefully as he listened to the heartbeat of your unborn child.

“He’s going to be so spoiled.”

“We haven’t even picked out names.” You commented.

“I was thinking we could name him CJ, Connor Junior.” He grinned.

You rolled your eyes. “We are not naming our baby Connor Junior.” You laughed, running your fingers through his hair. Oddly enough though, the name had stuck and you both were calling your baby CJ even though you never found out the gender. Your baby had a habit of hiding themselves from the ultrasound so you could never get a clear picture to know for sure so you and Kon decided that you would just wait until the baby was born.

When your baby shower rolled around, Kon was kicked out of the house by Lois, your mother and even Cassie and Steph. All four of them promised to take care of you and told him to go out and have fun with Bart and Tim before the baby came. The party had gone off without a hitch, everything went smoothly and you sat down the entire time so you wouldn’t strain yourself or the baby.

The entire time, everyone was dying to try and feel your stomach to see if they could feel him move but it seemed that the only person little CJ moved for was Kon, and no one else.

You were now in your third trimester and you could not be more miserable. You were fat, bloated and had to pee every ten minutes. Deep down, you knew that Kon was probably as irritated as you were but he never showed it.

Truth be told, you both were scared to be parents. It was only weeks away by this point and the reality that you were going to have a baby was hitting you hard. Nothing was going to be the same after you gave birth, but you were still excited. But no one was more excited than Kon.

Every ten minutes, he asked you if you felt like the baby was coming. You knew this was how he was handling his nerves, but it was still kind of cute. He had been so supportive of you, making sure you stayed relaxed as he rubbed your shoulders, your back and even bathed with you just so you would relax with him. Seeing you so big and carrying his child no less, it was the coolest thing in the world to him. Whenever he talked to Tim, all he mentioned was you and the baby. You never would have thought that your boyfriend would get baby fever like this, but it was adorable.

When the day came, you were not ready. At all.

You had just gotten comfortable on the bed finally when you felt a little odd. You didn’t have to pee, yet you felt like you had just gone in your pants. Slowly you sat up and saw that you were sat in a puddle of fluid, and you went into shock.

The one day Kon went to the store, to find you those chili covered mango pops, was when your water broke. You took a deep breath and grabbed your phone dialing the first number on your list.

“Hey Sunshine, I just found those mango pops of yours. Is everything okay?”

“Uh, Kon I think my water just broke.” You muttered.

There was silence on the other end, it seemed that Kon was in shock but you had no idea. “Kon? Conner?” you asked.

There was a scuffle before you heard him speak again. “I am on my way, don’t move. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

You nodded and winced as you felt the first contraction, it hurt but there was nothing you could do about it. Sitting on the bed, you tried to reach for your shoes but they were just out of your reach. With a huff, you carefully slid down to the ground and grabbed them before pulling them onto your feet.

Kon ran in to see you struggling to get your shoes on, and ran over to help you. He picked you up with ease and carried you out to the car where the overnight bag was already waiting for you and he sped to the hospital.

You gripped his hand tightly as he drove, the contractions getting more and more painful. The good news was that you didn’t live far from the hospital, and was there in no time. Once he parked, Kon picked you up and carried you in.

The doctors saw you coming and had a chair ready to take you back to prep you for labor, and Kon never left your side and never let go of your hand. You were lying in the bed, holding his hand tightly, as another contraction passed. It was a good thing he was indestructible, or you would have broken his hand by this point.

When it came time to push, Kon held you in his arms muttering how good you were doing.

“Why don’t you push a mini you out of your fucking uterus as I sit there and tell you that you’re doing a good job.” You snapped, making him chuckle.

“You can get me back for this later, just keep pushing.”

“I’ll push you out a window Conner Kent!” you screamed, “I am never having sex with you again!”

He rolled his eyes, pressing a kiss to your temple as you gave one final push and heard the small cries of your baby fill the room after 9 hours of labor.

Exhausted and covered in sweat, you leaned back against the bed as Kon pressed a kiss to your lips. “You did so good Sunshine, you did it.” He said softly, cupping your cheek.

You raised your hand and flipped him off with a grin. “Fuck you Kent.” You chuckled as the both of you looked to see a nurse stand and hand you your baby.

“Congrats, it’s a girl.” The nurse smiled as you took your child in your arms.

She had the slightest tufts of black hair, that stuck off the top of her head as she curled into your embrace. It was then the tears left your eyes as you held your baby girl for the first time. Gently, you ran a thumb over her cheek and kissed the top of her tiny head before you looked at Kon.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Well, she is half you.” He smiled, looking down at the little baby.

“She is half you as well Kon, don’t forget.” You smiled.

“We still need a name for her, Connor Junior won’t exactly work.” He chuckled, running his fingers over the black hairs on the top of her head.

“What about Ella?” you asked.

Kon smiled and watched as your little girl cried softly. He took her from your arms and held her close to his chest, the baby quieting down as she heard his voice speak softly to her. “What do you think sweetheart, do you like Ella too?” he asked, bouncing her softly.

The baby let out small coos, as if she was agreeing with him. You could see from that moment, Kon would be wrapped around her tiny little finger ready to do anything for her. You watched as the nurse took little Ella and cleaned her up before placing a pink bow on her head and wrapping her tightly in a blanket.

You had gotten cleaned up as well and was watching Kon as he walked around holding your little girl tightly in his arms, to keep her safe from the world around you. He bounced her softly, as he talked to her muttering under his breath things that you didn’t hear.

A few days later, you and Kon were able to take your little girl home and it turned out she had the biggest blue eyes to match his. Kon just about melted when he saw them for the first time, gazing up at him with curiosity.

You had made dinner that night and went to go tell Kon that it was ready when you found him asleep on the couch with Ella on his chest out cold. Your heart melted at the sight, and took a picture before sending it to Clark and Lois.

Carefully, you walked over and kissed his cheek waking him from his slumber. He looked around and smiled as he saw your face looking down at him. “Well if it isn’t the light of my life.” He grinned.

You rolled your eyes and carefully picked up the little baby and set her in the travel crib. “Food is done, come eat.” You smiled, helping him off the couch. Once he was on his feet, Kon pulled you towards him and kissed you deeply.

“I love you (Y/N),” he smiled softly, looking down at you with the same eyes your daughter had.

You smiled back and leaned into him. “I love you too Connor.”

“Did you mean what you said when you told me you’re never sleeping with me again?” he asked, only to get punched in the arm.

“Keep it up and I will.” You grinned.

[awhitehead17]

100 ways to say I love you - TimKon edition:

Number 47: “Did you get my letter?” 

A/N: This is a No Capes AU where the boys work in the military and have a long distance relationship. 

Enjoy! :D 

Tim had been pretty absorbed in the story being shared when his phone started to ring to the point where he almost missed it. One of the older and more experienced officers is currently sharing one of his many stories of his time away on a mission and Tim was hanging onto every detail being shared. The shrill of the call breaks him out of the trance and Tim excuses himself from the group to go answer it.

When he reads the caller ID an instant smile takes over his face. Answering the call eagerly Tim places the phone up to his ear as he finds somewhere private to have this call.

“Hey,” he greets happily.

“Man, it’s so good to hear your voice.” The other responds sounding both pleased and relieved. “I honestly can’t remember the last time we spoke to one another, it’s been forever.”

Tim chuckles sadly, having the exact same feelings to the sentiment. It has been too long. “Oh I don’t know, it’s only been like 3 months since we last spoke.”

107 days to be exact. Not that Tim is counting.

“3 months too long in my opinion.”

A wistful smile crosses Tim’s face as he thinks about his partner on the other side of the line. It’s been three months since they last spoke to one another but it’s five since they last saw one another. They both knew being in a relationship would be difficult considering their jobs, but Tim hadn’t been prepared for the amount of time they would be away from one another.

Tim has a job in Intelligence within the Armed Forces while his boyfriend, Kon, works as an engineer for the Air Force. The two of them often get deployed to different bases all over the world, their paths crossing over once or twice if they were lucky. It’s a rare occasion where they’re both at home base in America at the same time. Being in a long distance relationship like they are just makes every meeting between them that much more important and sweeter.

“I assume you’re on land now, that’s how you’re able to contact me?”

“Yeah we docked not even an hour ago. As soon as we could get off the ship I did and called you. I miss you.”

Tim’s heart flutters at the admission. He longs to hold Kon in his arms again, to squeeze his boyfriend in a hug and to be hugged back. “I miss you too. Where are you based now?”

“We’ve just arrived in South Africa somewhere. The ship needs to be restocked and among a variety of other things that need to happen. We’ll be back out on the water in a week or so, at least that’s what we’ve been told.”

Kon’s been on a naval ship for the last five months, that’s why Tim hasn’t seen or heard from him. The ship is serving as a base for planes in the Atlantic. Tim doesn’t know all the details but that’s the basis of it. Kon’s supposed to be working on the planes that come and go.

“And yourself? Where are you currently?”

“I’m still at base camp at home. I think I’m being deployed to the middle east soon, so that’ll be interesting.”

“Just be careful, especially in that region, I’ve heard that things are starting to flare up again. Over what I have no idea but something’s happening.”

“I’m always careful.”

“Sure you are Tim.” Kon comments sarcastically, though Tim could tell he’s grinning. That alone makes Tim smile back. “Anyway, did you get my letter?”

The question makes Tim snort. With his free hand Tim digs through his pockets and brings out a tightly folded bit of paper. He unfolds it and holds it up in front of him, his eyes wondering over the scruffy handwriting. Warmth blooms inside of Tim at the sight of it.

“I did yeah. A little old fashioned isn’t it?” Tim laughs lightly. His eyes wonder over the words he now knows off by heart after many hours of re-reading his lover’s words.

“Well, when I can’t use a phone to call text or email, a letter seemed like the right way to go. A lot of people actually do it. Only because once a month a plane from home arrives to drop items off before returning, it provides an opportunity.”

“It’s cute, and very thoughtful. I didn’t expect it so it made a nice surprise.” Tim comments. He certainly isn’t telling Kon about how the letter overwhelmed him (in a good way) and made him cry and he most definitely isn’t going to mention the tear stains on the paper either. It had made his day to hear, or read, his boyfriend’s words. Tim’s kept the letter on him everyday since, often re-reading it at night when the feeling of saudade is at its strongest.

“I wish I could see you…” Tim admits softly.

Kon’s quiet on the other side for a long time, the silence is dragged long enough to make Tim question if their connection has been cut. That’s not a problem though because Kon soon speaks up. “I know, I feel the exact same. I miss you so much there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about you. I don’t know when we’ll next see each other but we will, we can hold onto that.”

Tim feels tears building up in his eyes and he wipes them away with the back of his hand before they could fall. He takes a deep breath to try and compose himself. “Yeah definitely. I love my job, I do, but being away from you is hard, for such long periods of time too.”

“We’ve been apart longer before -”

“That was before we got together…”

“True but any time away from you doesn’t change my feelings towards you.”

“As mine about you.”

Tim hears Kon take a breath on the other side of the phone and he knows Kon is just as affected by their situation as he is.

“I’ve still got a few minutes to spare, so what have you been up to away from work? Have you heard from Bart at all?”

Tim answers Kon’s question about their mutual best friend with no problems. It’s a change of conversation away from the emotionally draining topics which Tim doesn’t mind. They’re able to talk for a long while until Kon gets called away. They say their goodbyes along with a promise to call again before Kon goes back out on the water and finally hang up.

Before returning to the group, Tim takes a moment to himself to in order to compose. Once he's ready he heads back and slots back down in his space. The others shoot him looks but he ignores them, pretending to be invested in the new story now being told rather than how his mind is thinking about nothing else other than his boyfriend on the other side of the world.

[black-streak]

Little Pistol - Millstone

Chapter 4

First Previous Next

This feels almost like I'm starting a new story and in a way I am. Tim's story. His side of this world in creating. That being said, for those who only got into DC and Batman and the Robins through the Maribat fandom, this actually gives a lot of background on Tim that isn't normally covered from what I've seen. Or at least, not in depth. Sure, I'm giving my own perspective on how canon events could of turned out, but all the way up to Damian taking up Robin is technically canon compliant.

That being said, here we go. (Song is Millstone by Brand New. All songs are featured on my Timinette Angst Playlist)

LP Taglist

@zalladane @moonlightstar64 @amayakans @elmokingkong @queen-in-a-flower-crown @karategirl119 @dreamykitty25 @danielslilangel @melicmusicmagic @xahriia @sassakitty @yin-390 @zotinha456 @indecisive-mess-named-me @heldtogetherbysafetypins @theatreandcomicfreak @alexandriamw @messymessyml

Permanent list

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~---~

Traveling downhill seemed so much easier than trekking up. In truth, it all depended on how you went. Slowly making your way on foot could end in braced, straining joints and burning calves from the effort of keeping balanced on steeper angles and rougher terrain. You could bike down faster, but you might miss everything that happens along the way or hit an edge and end up crashing to never see it through one way or another. Taken out of the race too soon. Running proved dangerous and much the same as a bike. One could always roll down the slope, but that leads to veering off course and coming up dizzy and disoriented. Falling was easy, but there was no control on how you went or how fast and many end up injured or lost by the time they hit the bottom.

Tim decided to mark his own path. He hadn't necessarily meant to find the bottom, it sort of found him to be honest, but nevertheless, he chose to make his way slowly down from the start. Twisting and winding carefully, every step deliberate and calculated until he stood where he is now, living in the brownstone with Jason Todd of all people. His would be murderer.

Funny how that worked.

It started early on, far sooner than most would guess, with his blackmailing his way into the mantle of Robin. Sure, it was ultimately Bruce's decision, but what else does one do with a kid with photographic evidence of your identity who saved your skin and insists on helping any way he can? Train him, send him around the world, and hone his skills under the nose of his parents, apparently.

Then his mother died and his father went into a coma. Bruce feared he'd fall to anger and vengeance, bringing up Jason as a reminder of what not to do.

It was interesting, the amount of times Jason was brought up as a form of warning. As a guidance for what not to be. It came to a point where he resented hearing the name, equated it to disappointment and idiocy. To brashness and brute strength. To death. His opinion of Jason was similar to that of a dumpster fire. Contained and expected, but needing to be put out before it could do any real damage to something actually important. 

That was in part due to being a child who'd grown up watching Dick fly in the Robin colors and seeing how his successor performed afterwards. In some ways, the magic of the Robin suit transferred with its new owner, still amazing Tim with its ability to make Gotham a little brighter, a little safer. But the disconnect between Robin and Jason was too strong for him to see them as the same person. He still thought of Dick as Robin, despite knowing he wasn't in that suit. Then Jason died and soon after he began his training, not really out of desire to BE Robin, but more for knowing someone had to do it. 

Then Bruce and in parts, Dick himself, kept reinforcing the story of Jason as something bad. As something to be avoided and better than. Jason was no longer a person at all in his mind. More of an urban legend told in bedtime stories to scare children into being good.  It only furthered the disconnect he felt between looking at the case with the old Robin suit and hearing the name Jason Todd.

It was a while afterwards that his next step down occured, with his return to no man's land, his rescue and finally, his father barring him from Robin and Stephanie taking up the title. He didn't mean to feel resentful, but it happened nonetheless. He fought so hard to be good enough, to hold the Robin title and be worthy of it only to have it ripped away by Jack Drake's form of blackmail. Oh, the irony of it being the same as his own from long before.

It took manipulation and carefully working from the other side, but soon he convinced his father of his need to be Robin. Of how Gotham needed him. And Jack let him. Too bad it led to him being killed.

He faked an uncle to avoid being completely under Bruce's thumb. Wanted a say in his own life and felt adoption wouldn't be the way to go about it. Didn't want to replace his dead dad so soon after losing him.

Things went faster after that. Stephanie died. Then Kon. He switched his colors in remembrance of his fallen friend. Became a little darker. Colder. Distant. Bart died. He fell further. Stephanie was alive. She let him think she was dead. Batman knew and felt no need to tell him. She lied to him. Bruce lied to him. Everyone he loved left him one way or another. Jason tried to kill him. More than once.

Surprisingly, almost dying at his hands was what began to help Tim see Jason as he truly was. A human being. He opened up the files on Jason and began his own research, no longer taking his mentors for their word. If Jason was alive, he needed to know who exactly he was up against. And he did, now. He knew who Jason was. A guy who'd been just a kid, taken off the streets and thrown into the nightlife of Gotham. A kid who loved his mother and did what he could to keep her alive. Who did what he needed to keep himself alive. Who loved school and maintained perfect grades and read classic literature. Jason Todd wasn't some punk who died because he was a brash idiot who got in over his head. No, he was just a boy who found out his birth mom was alive and went looking for her. Who died trying to protect the woman who birthed him, despite being the one who betrayed him. The Robin costume wasn't magical. Wasn't it's own living thing. The mantel was only as strong as the one who wore it and Jason had worn it well.

Funny how the resurrected version saw who filled the suit now and decided to try and kill him. Guess he couldn't really fault him for it, though. Talia threw Jason in the pits and practically siked him on Tim. If only she had kept Damian to herself. 

Tim took the child's attempt on his life to heart, despite the pardon to Jason for much the same. See the difference there was that Bruce didn't treat the two attempts the same. Both tried to kill Tim. But while Jason was condemned and seen as the enemy for it, Damian was barely punished. Sure, Bruce expressed anger and disappointment, but all and all, that was it. Quite frankly, Tim thought Jason was more justified and yet, he received the harsher treatment. 

The injustice and unfair treatment of the Robins was never more clear than in that moment.

The true fall of Tim, however, was after Bruce died, leaving the others as orphans to battle over the cowl.

He never wanted to hold the title of Batman, but Dick was so reluctant and then Jason started posing as Batman, so Tim took him up. Just to put an end to it. To make the madness stop for just a second.

And finally, finally, Dick took his rightful place. After the loss of his father and adopted father and so many friends and teammates, Tim was ready for a semblance of normal. He'd worked under Dick before and it'd gone so well, he knew this is what they needed. What the city needed. Something was finally going to be okay.

But then it really wasn't. Dick gave his position to Damian. To the kid who killed, who tried to kill him. To an ungrateful, insubordinate, murderous child who held no morals or standard for anything that wasn't an animal. Dick took the only thing Tim had left and gave it away to the person who hated him most.

Well. 

It should have come as no surprise that when Jason showed up, offering him refuge, a place to belong, a place at his side. He took it. 

He took it on his own terms.

Taking up the mask, not behind Jason, but at his side, as his partner, Tim took over the Brownstone building and created his perch. His and Red Hood's basis of operation. Dick thought Gotham needed a cruel, brutal, ruthless Robin? Fine. He'd give it one.

Sipping on his mug of hot chocolate and looking out into the night, he couldn't help the twinge of a frown that creeped onto his face. The downhill descent was a difficult one, yeah, but one way or another, he found his way to the bottom.

[miss-choco-chips]

The dangers of sugar coating

Dick tries to give his little brother nice things (and fucks up), Tim is paranoid (and too tired to think clearly), and Damian thinks they might actually be a good team (while they plot Santa Claus’ downfall).

(Beacuse @animemangasoul and I decided we’ve been too rough with Tim lately, so I tried to give him some batfamily fluff. Somewhere along the way I fucked up and ended with this. No edit, pure crack)

-----.------

-Before I tell you anything, you need to promise me you won’t get mad.

The Bruce of ten years ago, new to parenting and oblivious to its dangers, would have done his best to emulate any ‘How to be a good Dad- guide for new, utterly lost fathers’ book. Now, though, tired after raising Dick to semi-adulthood and still hurting over Jason’s… Jason, he knew better. Life had toughtened him up.

So he didn’t raise his eyes from his newspaper, and gave into the urge of sipping his coffee before humming under his breath. Not even the slightest show of acceptance over those terms.

If Dick was asking that, instead of hiding whatever this was or dealing with it himself, it meant the situation was either out of his control, bound to make its way to Bruce eventually, or both. 

Probably both.

-Come on, B, just promise you won’t get all passive aggressive bitch on me. I did it for the greater good...

Another hum.

However, Dick has spent the same amount of time learning under his guide than he had raising him, so the younger was bound to develop some of his own tactics.

-...and I did it because Tim obviously needed it, so…

Warning bells ringing in his mind, Bruce gave up and shoot Dick a look. He didn’t seem overly guilty, so whatever this was, it probably wasn’t irreversible. But he was also shifting his weight from one leg to the other nervously, so… there was a catch here.

-What did you do?

-You didn’t promise.

-I won’t take your allowance away, but I may yell. It depends on how convincingly you make your case -compromise, he had learned after many, many mistakes, was as good a plan as any. 

-Deal -then, quickly, like ripping off a bandaid:- I might have made Tim slightly more neurotic than he was. On accident.

The bells turned into firefighter’s sirens. 

-What did you do?

They have had the fifteen year old living in the mannor for a few weeks at most. They couldn't possibly have already broken him, right?

Right?

Dick winced, but sat down by Bruce’s left (the side closest to the dining room’s window), which meant this was the only issue, but a hard to explain one.

-You see… We were talking, bonding over childhood memories and stuff, and… you know how christmas is just around the corner, and I asked him about Santa. I mean, obviously he doesn’t believe in that now, but the thing is, he never did.

-He’s too smart for that -growled Bruce, impatiente to get to the point and figure out just how much damage control would he be doing.

-No, his parents were too shitty. They were never there on Christmas, so no gifts under the tree unless he put them there himself, and whenever that happened, it was because his parents sent them and he wrapped them himself. Also no surprises, because he was the one asking for specific stuff. And I got a little sad, because how can a kid never believe in Santa? Like, come on. It’s part of the concept of childhood innocence. So...

Bruce waited a few beats, but Dick didn’t follow up. See, this was the moment where his parenting books would suggest waiting until the kid was good and ready for sharing his thoughts. But, since this was his younger child at stake here, he couldn't allow himself the luxury of letting a single second go.

-And? -he prompted, as gently as he could, trying not to spook Dick into abandoning ship.

-And I sort of… convinced him that Santa was real. Like, a full out super powered meta whose purpose in life was to bring joy to all of us. I texted Barbara and she planted some old looking reports on the batcomputer about it, to give credibility to the lie. I even drew parallels with Batman being thought of as a myth outside of Gotham to support the ‘Santa is real, people just don’t believe in him’ thing. And, after some hours of convincing and with Babs’ help, he bought it. So now, if Tim approaches you about it, you better back me up, because otherwise you would be ruining the last vestige of innocence Tim might still keep. Downside, though, Tim is now holed up in his bedroom searching the deep web for any Santa related info he can get his nerdy little paws on.

Silence in the room. Dick blurted out a goodbye and jumped out of the window. Bruce didn’t get up to check if he had landed safely on the other side. He probably had. 

Tired, he looked down at his coffee. Black, just like he needed it now.

He should have stopped at zero children.

----.----

Cassie watched, with no small amount of unholy glee, as Tim thoroughly convinced both Kon and Bart of Santa’s existence. One a clone with little social understanding and the other from a very dark future, they were unsurprisingly easy to convince.

This was the kind of hilarious shit that made being in a superhero team worth it. All the life and death situations were balanced out by this kind of drama-like absurdity.

Even better was Tim’s completely fucked up perspective on the matter.

-So you��re saying Santa is not only real, but a deranged psychopath? Who’s probably both a pedofile and a mind controlling scumbag? -Kon tilted his head, both confused and esceptic.

Cassie did her utmost best to keep a straight face while nodding along, as if everything Tim had laid down in front of them made perfect sense. 

-I thought it was stupid, too. But Dick showed me evidence, old reports, both handwritten and digital, and I found footage of Santa sneaking into the Manor when he was still young, deeply buried in the Batcomputer mainframe.

-Couldn’t that video be, you know… made up? -Bart asked, frown unusual on him firmly in place.

-If it was anywhere else? Sure. But this is The Batcomputer we’re talking about. Why would Batman have that kind of thing there? It was too heavily protected to be placed there as decoy for anyone hacking, not like they could ever get over Oracle’s firewalls. Besides, what reason would Batman have to invent this? I’m fifteen, I don’t need the ‘Santa fantasy’. The only believable answer is that Santa is real and very dangerous, and some people have taken his name for capitalism’s sake and made a holiday out of that and some religious backing, to get more people roped up into it. The true mastermind is obviously hiding somewhere out there, and the Christmas propaganda is merely a means to get funding for his devious plots.

Both metas hummed thoughtfully, Superboy even crossing his arms as he examined the pile of photos and papers Tim had laid out in front of them. Bart was nodding, hand cupping his jaw. The looked dead serious.

Cassie wanted to excuse herself to use the toilet (lead lidden because this was Gotham, specifically Tim’s secret place, so of course it was super-proof) so she could laugh her ass off, but the temptation of seeing this trainwreck to its fiery end was too strong. 

It was taking up all of her amazonian training to keep her straight face, though. Diana would be so proud.

-I even searched the deep web for Santa related crimes, and looked up his name in disturbing forums. You wouldn't believe what some people, serial killers and rapists both, do using Christmas as a theme. I couldn't sort through it all, it was that sick.

Kon looked utterly disturbed- So what do we do now? Christmas is just around the corner!

Bart got up and started pacing back and forth- We need to hunt this dude down. Christmas is about goodness and family! We can’t let this, this… psychopath ruin it! Think about the children of the world!!

Oh god, this was getting even better.

-But how? The man sounds like a velocist of some kind, I mean, running and leaving gifts everywhere in the world in the span of a few hours? How are we even gonna catch him?

-Maybe if we dress up as Elves? -Cassie couldn't stop herself from suggesting, voice choked in her effort to be serious, but most likely interpreted by the boys as clogged up on rage- From what Tim wrote here -she raised a paper from the pile, hand shaking- it looks like they are his mind-controlled slaves. If he thinks we ran from his captivity, he might take us to the North Pole with him to brainwash us again… Oh, but I probably shouldn't dress up, so you know, I can be back up if he manages to catch you three…

-That’s a great idea! -Bart’s skinny arms wrapped themselves around her neck, and she took the chance to hide her face in his mane of hair, corners of her mouth twitching up.

-Should I also record it? -she asks, almost begging- In case people don’t believe us later, when we have to explain why we imprisoned Santa.

-Yes, I think that might be wise -Tim conceded, eyes scanning his papers again.

Thank the gods. That tape was going to be Cassie’s most precious treasure forever.

-I think he has a way of controlling people’s minds too. Like, parents and stuff. And then he makes them be the ones to give his children gifts in his name, as a way of gaining their trust. Sick fucker.

-So you think it’s a kinky thing for him?

-Kon, he literally categorizes kids as ‘good’ or ‘naughty’. 

-You are right, we need to stop this bastard.

Cassie loved her boys so, so much. She also owed Dick Grayson the biggest high five.

----.----

Red Hood was just lighting up a cigarette when he saw Red Robin making his way to his rooftop. Cursing, he dropped the entire thing and kicked it away. The brat knew Jason smoked, but Dick had been on his ass lately about being a good brother, and he still felt kinda bad about trying to kill the kid twice, so he was actually trying to set a good example. 

Besides, out of the two possible little brothers to take under his wing, he certainly drew the lucky ticket, because while Dickie had gotten stranded with the pompous brat, Jason had the all around good kid circling his radar more often than not. Like, Tim had broken him out of prison, a little after Jason had done his best to end his life; he couldn't get more forgiving and nice than that. It certainly beat making a murder League child let go of his katana on a nightly basis.

-I need your help.

He blinked. While they certainly had worked cases together in the past, they were always preluded by some kind of smalltalk,  little banter, at least a ‘hello’. Not this straight to the point bullshit.

He had the urge to take out his guns, to protect them both of any threat following Red Robin here. He refrained.

-What’s the matter, babybird? What’s wrong?

Tim looked almost frazzled. The cowl was hanging around his neck, just a domino preserving his identity, and his hair was a knotted mess. Disveleshed was too little a word for his state.

-We need to make a plan to catch Santa Claus before Christmas this year. His reign of terror must end. It’s still not too late.

Yeah, okay, he might need that cigarette after all, to hell with Dick’s bitching. Besides, how bad of a influence could that be, when this kid was obviously already on some kind of drugs? Like, Santa? Really?

-What… do you mean?

What followed was an hour long rant on the dangers of a super powered, evil version of the myth that Tim had somehow cooked up on his mind.

Was this real? The kid looked far too distraught for a joke.

-… Does Nightwing know about this? -whatever ‘this’ was- Bats?

Tim shook his hands frantically. Jason was legit getting worried.

-N was the one who told me about Santa -there, he knew this smelled like a Golden Boy trademark fuck up-, but he seems to be under his spell. Bruce as well. They tried to convince me he is some kind of good-hearted samaritan. Jason -he stated, breaking the no names during patrol rule, a show of just how deep into the rabbit hole he was- you wouldn't  believe what I found on the deepweb. Joker’s yearly special seems tame in comparison.

That, Jason could believe. But he was also fairly sure you could type about any word in the darkest side of the net, and find half a dozen kinky or deranged things that matched. Santa-temed crimes? More likely than anyone would believe. Real life Santa doing the deed? Not so much.

Tim had been too young when Dick lied to his face, most likely. And nowadays, the young vigilante was running on three hours of sleep on a good week. And it wasn’t even too far fetched to believe, on their line of business, specially when dealing with metas and supervillains day in and day out.

Still…

-Kid, I don’t know how to tell you this, but… Santa isn’t real -he told him, slowly, hands raised as if to touch his shoulders but not daring to actually make contact. Tim looked so manic he might actually nerve strike him.

The icy blue eyes were hidden under his mask, but Jason knew from the way he tensed that Tim was terrified.

-He got to you, too -he whispered, almost too softly for him to hear. Then, without giving Jason the chance to inquire further, he turned tail and disappeared into the night.

....

He really needed that cigarette.

----.----

When Drake told the family he was taking Damian under his wing for a case, everyone seemed so happy he couldn't just shoot the other man down. Besides, reluctant as he was to admit it, Red Robin was the superior detective in the entirety of the team, so there would be rewards for taking the blow to his pride and working with him.

He expected to be directed through some easy case, maybe a little puzzling but not too challenging. Or be sidelined while Drake worked through things, so he could learn by example.

This, though, this he hadn’t foresaw.

This case was way more serious.

-How come Father has allowed this depravancy to continue?! -exclaimed Damian, hands gripping the sheets of information tightly- This ‘Santa’s’ influence has been permitted to cement on too many people already! And it keeps growing!

-I know. Fuck, I know. But I can’t get anyone to help me. My team knows, but sadly we aren’t enough. Bruce and Dick don’t believe me, and neither does any other hero I contacted on the matter. It’s just like when B was missing in time; they either think I’m crazy, or try to sugarcoat things, like they would with a baby.

Damian snorted, disbelieving. Whatever his opinion might be on his predecessor, he at least knew to trust his insight in a case. Grandfather himself had recognized his genius on that field.

They were on Drake’s perch, his center of operations outside of Batman’s influence. He would never admit it out loud, but if Damian ever needed his own batcave, it would be just like this one. 

Now, the long table in front of him was completely covered in information, case reports, photos taken from live footage, deepweb forums’ conversations, history books…

-And you say this… monster, targets children?

-I mean, he brainwashes the parents too, but that seems like a plot to both increase his economic funds and to gain the children’s trust.

-How are you so sure they are his objective?

-The parents tell their children Santa is ‘always observing them’, and ask if they ‘have been good’ that year. If they aren’t perceived as obedient, Santa leaves them coal, which incentives them to do their best to change that by next year’s christmas. 

-Maybe the coal and gifts have mind control devices, or some magic?

-My thoughts exactly.

Damian frowns even deeper. He’s glad Drake is taking his detective training seriously, but if father himself is being deceived, he wonders what can the two of them (plus Drake’s team) do.

-What about Todd? Red Hood is proclaimed as Saint Protector of Children in Crime Alley, after all. He certainly has opinions about this ‘Santa’ person. 

Timothy shakes his head- He got Jason too. I suspect he’s been under his control ever since he was a child at the manor. 

-So, we are alone in this.

-Essentially, yes. Thankfully, not everyone celebrates christmas. Some religions flat out forbid it, so we won’t have as much ground to cover when we lay out a trap. We could choose a close by location and plan around it. 

He nods, back straight with purpose. He -and Drake, he supposes- would be freeing Father and Grayson, along with the rest of the victims, from this madman’s control. Maybe even Todd, if he has the time.

-I’m with you on this endeavor, Drake.

-Good. Remember we need to act natural in front of the family. If Santa catches wind of what we’re doing, he might focus his efforts in getting to us. 

Damian wants to say to let him come, he would show him why it's a bad idea to mess with his family. But Drake is, admittedly, the superior detective, and it seems he’s been working on this for a long time now. Damian will defer to his judgement this one time.

Drake’s superior knowledge and Damian’s unrivaled training might be what’s needed to orchestrate this ‘Santa’s’ downfall.

They will be a good team, he thinks.

[demiwonder-a]

without them, the world grows dark around you. // koncassie

WHO: Conner Kent & Cassie Sandsmark, with Superboy Prime.

LOCATION: Near Titans Tower.

WORDS: 1969 words.

GENERAL NOTES: A flashback to Kon’s fight with Superboy Prime that lead to him dying right beneath Cassie’s fingers.

WARNINGS: Death, blood, injuries, violence. A whole lot of sadness. 

KON:

It had come out of nowhere. Nothing and then suddenly a blinding flash of light and a sharp pain in his side that propelled him through a solid brick wall and into a small office building where he skidded to an unforgiving stop. His hand pressed against his ribs and he winced as his hand came away bloody, the skin around the burn tender. He furrowed his brows as he brought his fingers up to his eye line, his thumb rubbing the sticky red liquid between his fingers. 

He had never seen himself bleed before. Not outside of one of Cadmus’ labs. 

Kon pushed himself to his knees and took a deep breath that was cut short by a blur of red and blue that pounded into him, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and tossing him easily into the air, through the multiple levels and into the sky. 

Kon caught himself in the air, just in time to see the building below him collapse with a powerful crash as he hovered above it, his eyes wide in horror. For a second it looked like it had been Kal grabbing him, but that couldn’t be true. His eyes darted around the scene below him, trying to locate the team but once again he was grabbed and brought face to face with his attacker. 

“Kal?” He asked, his head tilting in confusion.

CASSIE:

Cassie had a feeling, an extremely bad one. It sat in her chest and stirred up an immense anxiety despite the fight and chaos going on. She was tired, so tired, but she couldn't be. She had to keep moving, keep going. It was the right thing to do, to put the exhaustion and the aching pain to the side, to be a hero. Though nothing would have prepared her for this, for the heart shaking moment she saw Kon thrown through the air and a flash of red and blue, crashing through a building. "No!" She yelled, shooting up into the air and darting through the debris that came down to the ground in a violent eruption of chaos. 

The man's hands grabbed at Kon's jacket, yanking him entirely too close. "You're not the real Superboy, Conner Kent. Your world, you are finished. I will be the real Superboy once again. Me, not you." A lasso was thrown around him, tugged tight and immediate sparks shot out, causing this other version of Kal to scream out in pain, eyes flaring. Letting go of Kon, he whipped around, hand wrapping around the electrified lasso and tugging hard. Cassie yelped and jerked forward, his forehead banging against hers in a hard headbutt, sending her flying back through the air. 

Turning back around once yanking the lasso off him and throwing it back down towards the earth, he snarled at Kon and fist flying out against Kon's face. "This is over." Hands gripping the lapels of Kon's jacket he collided with the other Superboy and sent them flying straight into another building in an instant.

KON:

Kon shook his head, a distinct pounding emanating from the base of his skull and his thoughts fuzzy even as the man, one claiming to be superboy, spat the harsh words in his face. He could briefly see the glow of Cassie’s lasso and his first thought, his only thought, was getting her away from this man who had made him bleed. Neither of them were invulnerable but Bart had joked once that Kon was their tank. That he could take punch after punch and keep on going but as the man’s fist connected with his jaw and then with his nose with a sickening crunch each he could only let out a strangled laugh. 

There was blood falling into his eyes, one of which was already swelling shut, and it was becoming harder and harder to breath with each passing moment but seeing this man, this superboy imposter slam his forehead against Cassie’s caused Kon’s carefully maintained rage to boil over and as the man grabbed at his jacket Kon took the opportunity to spit a mix of blood and saliva into the man’s face before he was once again slammed into a building. 

This time, however, he fought. He grabbed at the man’s armor, trading blows with him as the building threatened to collapse around them. 

“You come to my Earth,” he growled, his eyes glowing before they erupted in steady beams, “You threaten my friends,” he slammed forward, pinning the man under him as he continued to hammed down on him, “You call yourself by my name, and you hurt my girl.” 

They flew apart and then back together, grappling for a bit before one would overpower the other only for the other to come back twice as strong, the building’s central pillars being pulverized one by one in the chaos. Kon couldn’t think about that now, not when this man was threatening his home. He had to protect the team, had to protect Cassie, and the only way to do that was for him to finish this. Now.

The man was getting tired, he could see it in the way his breathing had before labored as they fought, in the blood that streamed steadily out of the cut on his lip and his bicep but kon was tired too. More tired than he had ever felt before but he grabbed the other superboy and flew through the tower and into the stratosphere. 

The air was so peaceful here, thin and cold, and peaceful. He came up here when he needed to think. When he needed to be alone with his thoughts. 

He closed his eyes and thought of Cassie. Of her kindness. Her smile.

Then pulled the man into a hug, his arms locking around him before they plummeted back to earth. 

The resulting boom was almost deafening, and the impact left them both in a deep crater, the burning remnants of the building falling around them as they lay side by side, both bloody and bruised, their only difference being the shallow rise and fall of Kon’s chest as he looked up at the clear blue sky and the blinding sun beyond it.

CASSIE:

Cassie went crashing back down to the Earth, spitting out blood and wheezing in pain from the hard collision to the ground. Her head spun and she absently could see her lasso hitting the ground not too far away as well. Everything ached, but she had to keep going, would keep going. Taking a deep breath, she rolled carefully onto her knees and let out a slight yelp as her body screamed in protest. Gritting her teeth and wiping at her face, smearing the blood across her skin, she stood. Cassie moved forward, grabbing her lasso back off the ground, surveying the immense amount of damage. The bad feeling that clawed at her chest and every bone in her body only increased tenfold the moment she heard a crash. 

Cassie's eyes went to the sky, heart dropping right down to her feet to see Kon and this Kal lookalike collide once more, flying straight into another building, fists flying and hitting against one another. She flinched, unable to do anything but stare in utter dread at the fight that was occurring. Blood fell into her eyes from the gash across her forehead, hastily wiping it away as the pair flew up up up into the sky only to come plummeting back down like a fallen meteor from space.

There was...screaming? Who was screaming? 

Oh. It was her. Cassie was the one who was screaming, heart frozen in utter fear. The deafening boom of the hit to the ground was enough to throw the girl back once more. The dust stung her eyes, all air knocked from her body. It was quiet. So very quiet. Cassie hated it. 

Cassie has never gotten to feet as fast as she did in that moment, scrambling despite every protest in her body for her to stay down. Digging through debris to get to Conner, to make sure he was okay. She was on her knees beside the broken boy she loved, her heart in shambles, broken with each labored, weak breath he took. "Kon! Conner, you're okay. You're okay, hi. I'm here."

She whispered weakly, hand cradling his cheek as she felt the tears streaking down her face, through the dirt and blood that caked her cheeks. Cassie felt like she could barely breathe. It was too much. The sob ripped its way from her throat without a second thought. "Just hang in there, you're going to be okay! You did great, Kon. You saved everyone. You saved the world, yeah?" Cassie choked out, leaning her forehead against his and other hand grasping gingerly at his bicep.

KON:

His vision was getting hazy and the world seemed to be spinning around him as he fought to keep his eyes open. His eyelids felt so heavy and he felt so cold that he had begun to shiver almost violently. 

Vaguely he knew it was because he was losing too much blood far too quickly but all he could focus in on was the sound of Cassie’s weak whisper and the feeling of her palm against his cheek. 

He guessed that if he was going to die this was a pretty good way to go. 

“Oh. Hi Cass.” he whispered, his voice cracking around the syllables before he gave a faint smile. “Yeah. Pretty cool huh?” 

He wheezed, too weak to do more than lull his head the side to look at her. He wanted to reach up and wipe away her tears, to comfort her, assure her that everything would be okay but he knew somewhere deep inside of him that it wouldn’t be. But she was alive and that was all that mattered to him. 

“Hey, Cass. Can I tell you something?” He tried to swallow around the lump in his throat but only found himself tasting the metallic tang of his own blood as it dripped past his lips. “I love you, you know. I always have.” 

He took another deep breath, his eyes wandering up once again toward the sky where the light seemed to be expanding outward, filling the blue sky with an unimaginably bright light before he resigned himself to oblivion.

CASSIE:

“Yeah, really cool." Cassie reassured Kon with a weak smile, unable to stop the tears that were steadily dripping down her cheeks. Her chest ached, a scream lodged in her throat that wanted out. "Of course, Kon. You can tell me anything." She whispered, bottom lip trembling and her throat incredibly tight, making practically impossible to speak in anything more than a whisper. I love you. A sob wracked her entire body, Cassie shutting her eyes tightly. "Me too. For as long as I can remember, it's been you. I love you more than anything, Kon-El." Cassie whispered, sucking in a sharp breath. 

Then silence.

The grief swallowed Cassie like a dark cloud violently and deeply, it overwhelming her in the worst way possible. Her sobs sounded entirely too much like devastated screaming. "Kon? Conner! Wake up, please. No, no, no!" She sobbed loudly, something in her snapping. "No." Hands resting on the Superboy's chest and head falling to the tattered uniform covered skin, curling her fingers up into the ripped fabric. "Please don't leave me, Kon." Cassie sobbed brokenly against him, the man she loved with. She never even got to tell him properly. Tell him how he was the reason her heart raced. Tell him that he made her want to be a better person, how he could smile and her entire day would be brighter. How she only ever wanted Conner. 

She'd never get the chance now. It was gone forever.

[renaroo]

Promises (5/30)

Disclaimer: Batman and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics. Warnings: One Year Later/Evil Cass allusions Rating: T Synopsis: For an entire year after the Crisis which threatened to wipe everything they knew and loved off the Earth, after so many hardships and loved ones lost, Cass and Tim find themselves battling on different sides of the globe not only for the fate of what’s left of the world, but for the sake of once again feeling purpose. [A One Year Later fixer upper]

A/N: WOW. Super long time, no updates. But, hey, I’m back in the swing of things and I’m here to make up for it with a giant chapter of feelings~

Special thanks to @secretlystephaniebrown for being just a fantastically supportive friend and for giving long ago feedback on this sucker before the hiatus <3

A Grave Awakening

Everyone in Titans Tower had, in some form or fashion, personalized their rooms. Their preferences and needs were all met in every way possible. Which made it somewhat more of a curiosity how the unpowered among them would decorate.

From what Starfire and Cyborg had said to him, Tim had taken the same approach to dressing up his room and locker the way the Robins before him had. Plain and boring.

His colors matched his uniform, and there was a photograph from his, Cassie, Bart, and Kon’s first day at the tower. 

There was some training equipment, a punching bag and the like. 

And endless supply of batarangs should he choose to open any of the doors of his dressers as well as a lot of other equipment. 

A computer desk, a gaming chair that only really got use when Bart invaded some of his personal space. 

Bland was perhaps a word Tim found more apt for his tastes than boring. And that was not any unplanned thing. Tim had known from the start exactly what he was doing. 

Not leaving a mark.

Tim’s grandest fear for years was the belittlement and degradation of the Robin name. That somehow his very use of it, his role, would take from the people that came before or after him. He had been trained endlessly to follow their steps, but also to not step out of line.

The impression he was responsible for making within the hero community went almost without saying: he was the new Robin. Not the Robin. Not that one. Not...

Throughout the entire room there was only one break from the Spartan bareness that Tim had taken up, and that was a ridiculous, oversized clock that hung across the room from his bed that was a gaudy Gotham souvenir in the shape of the projecting Bat Signal in the Gotham night. 

It was black and yellow, but the most annoying part about it was the thick outline toward the edges -- a bright white strip that, at night, had the audacity to glow in the dark. 

It was hideous and annoying. 

Tim had never once touched it to so much as take it down let alone set it. After all, it had been a long standing challenge between him and Kon. 

Kon had gotten it as a gag. Kon had hung it in Tim’s room without permission. Kon had refused to take it down despite Tim demanding he do so. 

When Tim looked at that gaudy, awful clock, he thought of his best friend. He thought of the one person who had trusted him -- and only him -- like no one else in the world. He thought about the only person who knew his identity in the Tower, who knew he had Enya CDs in his collection, that he would defend Stephanie’s right to be Robin even against his former teammates. 

He looked at that clock and it was suddenly all horrifically apparent to Tim that in the grand scheme of things, he truly had lost. 

And it didn’t matter what the world threw his way from that moment forward, he was not going to feel more terrible than he did in that exact moment. 

Tim set on the edge of his bed, staring at the awful clock on the opposite wall when he heard the hesitant knock on the door of his room. He turned just enough to see that it was Bart, looking particularly out of place not bursting in and taking charge of the room as per his usual manners. 

“Hey, uh...” Bart stumbled on his own words, bringing a hand to his mouth and chewing on a finger nervously before trying again. “We... I think almost everyone who’s coming is... come. So... They’re outside right now.”

Looking at Bart, Tim attempted to muster some sense of feeling, some words of comfort. After all, he was fairly sure that Bart had never lost someone on this magnitude before. Not since Max Mercury and...

Still, Tim couldn’t stop the dumfounded staring at Bart. 

“I was sent to get you and Cassie,” Bart spat out at last. “So we can... Start. And things.”

Tim looked back down to his lap and folded his hands together. The rub of the leather against itself gave a satisfying crackling. It felt like that should’ve been more than answer enough for Bart or anyone else. 

But Bart was still waiting expectantly at the door. 

“Tim... I don’t know what to do,” he finally said. “It’s not fair that we’re asking you... asking you to...” He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head. Tim could already see the tracks of tears working their way down his cheeks. “I can’t ask it of Cassie -- no one could be that cruel to her. But, Tim... Tim. I... I know you’ve been to too many funerals lately. That I should be the one of us to go up and-and... but I can’t. I can’t stop crying every time I think about it. I’d run away, right off the stage.”

“No, Bart, you can’t do it,” Tim said lowly. “We’d never ask you to... This is hard for anyone. And you don’t want to. And we’d never tell you to do something you can’t do.”

“But you’ve--”

“I don’t have any tears left, Bart,” Tim said simply, drawing the speedster’s gaze entirely. Tim let out a dry laugh. “I don’t. I can’t... I have to do this because Kon deserves it. Just like Stephanie and my dad deserved it. But I didn’t have tears left for them either. The kids who died in my school deserved it. Orpheus deserved it. Not to mention all the heroes who died in the Crisis. Everyone deserves it, but I’ve only been asked to speak for one and... I have to make it count for all of them... because I don’t cry for them anymore. I have to make this one moment count.”

Once the word vomit was clear from his system, Tim looked back toward Bart, maybe looking for some reassurance or perhaps just acknowledgement that such feelings weren’t the epitome of selfishness in the face of the people who had truly lost everything. 

What he received instead was a stare of mounting horror from his childhood friend.

“Dude,” Bart whispered, breathless and lost in a way he never was from running. “Robin... you need... I’m so sorry.”

Genuinely surprised by the statement, Tim turned more toward the Kid Flash. “What do you mean? What are you sorry about?”

For once, Bart’s mouth didn’t seem to be working in his favor. After a few aborted instances of trying to get words out, he then turned and took off like a speeding bullet, as if to get as far away from Tim as possible.

Which... was fair. Tim wasn’t sure if he was the most consoling force in the world. At least not anymore. 

It wasn’t fair for him to not be supportive, to not be there for his closest friends at the time where they needed him most. But Tim couldn’t force himself to be better yet. 

Tim sat on the edge of his bed for a little longer, waiting for it to be time for him to out and lead everyone else in the one thing he couldn’t yet afford for himself: healing.

By the time Tim made his way down to the ground floor, the sun was setting and it was clear to see that Bart had not been exaggerating about everyone being there -- Titans then and past. 

He still found himself hesitant to step forward, because the statue before them was daunting, casting the kind of shadow in the golden sunset that nearly seemed as long as the one that Kon himself cast over them at that moment. 

Tim knew every Titan was there, but it still caught him off guard when Dick approached him, arm still in a cast, limp still obvious. He wasn’t in his Nightwing suit, though he wore the mask over his eyes. 

He had to have had Roy or someone else sneak him out of the Manor after all he had been through. There was no way Bruce or Alfred had let Dick out of their sights long enough for him to pull such a stunt alone. 

Dick approached Tim without any of the reluctance or hesitation that seemed to keep paralyzing Tim with every step. And despite his mask, it was clear that he was in the throes of concern for Tim. 

The intensity of it made him uncomfortable. 

“Tim,” Dick said softly. “Kory told me you had wanted to eulogize and... This year... This year has been too much on you. I was the one who asked Conner to help me during the Crisis, and as a Founding Titan... well I think it would be proper for me to do this.”

A flare of emotion that had been escaping Tim nearly all day came up in his chest and he narrowed his eyes. “I’m not a fragile doll, Dick,” he said lowly. 

“We know that, Tim,” Dick said. 

And it was that we that was suddenly very telling.

Perhaps Bruce did know about Dick escaping the Manor after all.

“If I don’t do this today, I’m never going to forgive myself, Dick. And that’s the truth. And if I don’t do it because of you, then I’m probably not going to forgive you for it either,” Tim announced with what he hoped was just the right amount of gravitas. 

For all the gravity, though, Dick seemed more saddened than anything. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Dick said. “Just know... I’m here for you.”

“Yeah...” Tim said, heading toward the other Titans. “Seems like everyone is.”

If Dick had more of a reaction to that statement, Tim didn’t turn back to see it. He was a man on a mission by that point. 

Fortunately no one else tried to stop him as he got in front of everyone and cleared his throat. 

"I... What I need to do is say something,” Tim said, already flummoxing. But as the eyes of all the Titans turned toward him, he built his resolve and continued. “About Superboy... about Kon. Because...” There were phrases like he deserved it and he would’ve wanted on the tip of Tim’s tongue. But none of them were true. Not entirely. 

But everyone was still looking to him, so Tim dug deeper, found words that felt hardened into his bones, felt larger than Kon, larger than his feelings toward everyone else lost as well. 

“He’s... gone now,” Tim said, brows furrowing as if the gravity of that fact was still new and surprising to him. “He was my best friend. Sometimes my big brother. Sometimes my little brother.” He paused, caught his breath, made an effort to not meet any eyes but also to not look away. There was a blur of a crowd before him and he couldn’t see anyone. Which was good. Because he could feel the tears welling up despite the fact that he didn’t think there were more of them in him. “We did some stupid things together... We talked about girls. We talked about cars. And... when my dad died... when Spoiler died... even when I really didn’t want to... we talked about that, too.”

Tilting his chin up, Tim caught his breath again. It was so damn hard to say, but he couldn’t stop himself anymore. 

His audience, despite Tim, was seemingly captivated. Caught in awe.

“I don’t know who to talk to now about that stuff. I guess there’s always Batman and Superman... I mean, in times of Crisis that’s what you’re supposed to do, right?” Tim went on. “Look to your heroes...” 

H reached up and roughly rubbed away the tears that escaped his mask, took another sharp breath. He could finally see who was around him at that point. The original Titans, or what stood of them by that point. The new Teen Titans and Titans alike. The Titans before his own, and then... him, Cassie, Bart... The members of Young Justice wearing clothes they’d long abandoned so as to pay respects. 

Uniforms of every color. 

“When we lose one of our own, we never know quite what to do,” Tim continued. “Because... we are the heroes. It doesn’t matter if we’re still seen as kids, if we’re still seen as young and maybe a little impatient. Because we’re the Titans. And in this time of Crisis, the world looked to all of us. We answered.” He looked up to Kon’s likeness in the statue, a crushing weight continuing to settle in his chest. “Kon answered. Because Superboy was a hero. And the whole world got to see that he deserved to be called it.”

Cassie burst into tears, tucked between Koriand’r and Bart, Tim knew she would be held up, even if he didn’t know if she’d be okay. So he finished up.

“They say that people live on… That you don’t forget them if you talk about them,” Tim said softly. “So let’s never stop reminding people what Superboy did for them.”

By the time Tim was stepping down from the front of the crowd, he felt it. The emotions that had been chiseled into his bones, gnawing from the inside out through the aches and pains of tiredness. He felt what had been missing since the night he found his father dead and his classmates murdered and his girlfriend tortured.

Tim felt the tears come and he kept them back long enough to walk away from the crowd, numb to the words Cyborg was currently giving, numb to everything but the tears that were managing to get past his mask and no doubt loosen the adhesive.

The only thing he could feel once his vision blurred was how strong Dick’s grip was when he caught Tim’s shoulders with his one good arm and pulled him back against his chest.

Nose bending against Dick’s chest, Tim didn’t care as he leaned in further until his forehead and chin were pressed into the fabric of Dick’s shirt and his head tucked under his mentor, friend, and brother’s chin. He didn’t care who saw, though he doubted anyone was paying attention as the ceremony continued on.

“Let’s get you home,” Dick whispered, rubbing circles into Tim’s back, still pressing him close. “I’m so sorry, Tim.”

Nodding along, Tim had little to say back. Just questions.

Questions like why was Dick sorry when there were those more responsible? And what was home anymore when he was fatherless and motherless and friendless and there was no Blüdhaven and—

He meant the Cave. The Cave was his home.

And there was something, even if Tim could only think of it peripherally, inherently wrong with that sentiment.

When they reached Gotham’s harbor it was well past sunrise. And, for reasons Tim refused to reflect on, he felt some tremendous relief at the realization. Not because it meant that he could finally stop flying the Batwing or because he would be able to lock himself in the guest bedroom that had been his officially for a week and unofficially for years.

There was something heavier there. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on until they dipped into the cloudy Gotham waters and finally entered the tunnels that took them to the Batcave far, far into Bristol.

He finally was able to put a finger to the emotions he felt when they came in for a landing and, against all expectations, Bruce was actually still awake and in the cave working. Still there. Still being Bruce.

And when that realization crept into Tim’s mind, the horrible truth set in.

Tim’s best friend was dead. But the man who made Brother Eye was as good as the father that Tim had lost only a few months before.

After realizing his own emotions, a nauseousness overcame Tim and he leaned forward, setting his forehead against the steering wheel of the Batwing. His eyes were wide, though hidden behind the loosened domino mask.

He felt sick. He felt wrong. He felt so goddamn ungrateful.

“Come on, buddy,” Dick’s always soothing voice called before Tim could feel the strong grip of Dick’s hand on his shoulder, shaking him once again. Always there to be a guiding light — that was Dick Grayson in a nutshell. “I know you have to be tired, but I’m not about to let you sleep in the Batwing. Not when there’s a warm bed and Alfred’s tea waiting on you just upstairs.”

Which meant walking past Bruce. Which meant walking past the man who built the construct that would eventually lead to almost losing Dick, to actually losing Kon.

The man he had looked up to his entire life. The man who took Tm under his wing. The man he loved like a father when he didn’t know what a father’s love felt like. The man who believed in him the way almost no one in the world could.

The man who had not so much as turned from the Batcomputer since their landing. The man who had not gone to the Metropolis statue ceremony. The man who had kept Tim out of the loop until Jack Drake was making his last phone call. The man who kept Stephanie Brown’s death a secret until Tim’s usefulness as Robin was realized during the Gang War.

The Batman, and all the complicated feelings that Tim had never addressed because how could he?

“Tim, I’ll carry you if you don’t walk. Just watch me,” Dick teased.

Without further prompting, Tim got to his feet and looked up at Dick.

Dick had already taken his mask off and his own exhaustion was clear in his face. Some sweat had accumulated just below his hairline, and strands of his hair had gotten caught in it, highlighting the obvious fact that Dick could use a decent haircut. He was sweating and weary from pain but he somehow managed to exude sympathy even before he reached forward and pulled Tim into another one armed hug.

“I’m so sorry, Timmy,” Dick repeated.

But Dick wasn’t the one that Tim wanted to be sorry.

They walked out of the Batwing together and both stopped close to the computer dock where Bruce sat. When he still didn’t turn around, Tim scowled and headed toward the lockers so he could change into the pajamas he could always count on Alfred leaving there.

Almost predictably, Dick went to Bruce to force the matter. It was what the original Boy Wonder was best at, after all.

“I see a lot of missed calls stacking up on the third monitor,” Dick declared as Tim ripped off what remained of his mask adhesive and began to yank at his boots and gauntlets. “They all look familiar, but you can never tell with how smart collect calls are getting these days. You ever asked one if they’re a robot? They get all offended, but they can’t say they’re not robots. It’s weird.”

There was a pause of silence where Tim was certain that Bruce was not going to bother answering. So much so, that as he unclasped his cape, Tim was almost startled by hearing Bruce’s gruff voice answer.

“They’re from the Justice League. Various members. Mostly founders,” Bruce replied.

“Do they need more help for the relief efforts?” Dick asked.

Tim pulled up his pajama pants and tightened the strings.

“They don’t want things to be messy, so my resignation would be preferable,” Bruce answered. “Diana has already tenured hers, setting the example. No one was going to ask her for it. Not even me. But she did it, and now it is the seemly thing for members of the League who are in violation of the Charter to do.”

“Booster Gold doing commercial endorsements isn’t in violation of the Charter?” Dick asked dryly.

“Booster Gold did not almost destroy time and space or invaded privacy on an international scale,” Bruce responded. “Worst of all… Brother Eye never once helped me to prevent the unpreventable.”

“It was the wrong way to go, but they can’t have a Justice League without a Batman,” Dick urged. “If you don’t resign and it’s put to a vote, who on the current roster would stand with you?”

Tim closed his locker door quietly and looked back toward the dock, wondering if the list in his mind was close to Bruce’s.

“No one,” Bruce answered coldly.

He was wrong. Tim’s reserve status as established by the same clause that had allowed Dick as Robin and Jason after him to work on League cases would have made Tim eligible for voting privileges.

Tim would still defend him. Even in his angriest, his saddest, his loneliest.

Because Bruce was still Batman.

“No one would,” Bruce repeated.

Without saying goodnight or acknowledging either in the cave at all, Tim started on his way upstairs. He needed rest almost as much as he needed closure, and his near sycophant nature on the matter was making him nauseated all over again.

Neither Dick nor Bruce seemed to notice his departure.

It was still debatable if Bruce had realized he was there at all.

Heading upstairs, the exhaustion hit Tim like a Ferrari at one-sixty, and even the mental image of such a thing felt appealing compared to the truly rotten guilt that was eating away at him from the inside out.

He had no plans other than to reach his room and collapse into his bed.

But, of course, there was always something unexpected along the way.

The guest room Tim had made his own was merely one of several in the wing of Wayne Manor. Dick’s old room was a bit further down, close to the Master where Bruce of course slept. Tim had been offered Dick’s room before, but considering the trauma of Blüdhaven and everything with it that Dick had undergone, no one had to even ask Tim to move further down the hall. He did it the moment he saw Bruce and Alfred drag Dick home from the Gang War.

There was also Jason’s room. A room that had never been a topic for discussion in all the years Tim had had access to the Manor. And it remained even more so recently.

What Tim wasn’t used to, even if in the back of his mind he was always aware of it, was the guest room that was reserved for one person who never utilized it.

And he was certainly not expecting to see her sitting in the middle of the room’s floor with the door wide open.

“Cass?” Tim called out, stopping in the hall.

Cassandra was sitting in the floor with her back to him, though much like the brief time they had lived together in Blüdhaven, it wasn’t much more than a loose tank top and leggings. Her body was folded over, hugging her knees, chin resting until she heard Tim call out.

Of course he hadn’t surprised her or snuck up on her, but she apparently had been anticipating that Tim walk on by. Because when Cassandra turned to face Tim, tears were fully falling from her cheeks.

“Cassandra,” he muttered again, taking a subconscious step into the room. “How long have you… What’s going on—“

“Didn’t go,” she told him.

“Didn’t go?” Tim repeated in confusion.

“To see him,” Cass said lowly. “To say goodbye.”

Then he remembered — of course. Kon had been the first boy outside of Gotham that Cass truly got to know, the first other hero to get to know her. He was a friend to her, too.

And Tim hadn’t even thought of what Cass had lost recently.

“I know you’re not a Titan, but… If you had told me you wanted to go, Dick and I would’ve taken you,” Tim assured her, getting down to his knees to be more on Cassandra’s level. “I would’ve taken you. I know he was… he was your friend and mine and…”

Cassandra shook her head once, but meaningfully. It was more than enough to let Tim trail off without pressing further.

“I’m… not the same person,” Cass said almost quietly, tears still falling. “I’ve… I’ve volved, Tim.”

“Solved?” Tim asked, still confused, before hesitating as he saw her shoulder, his eyes adjusting to the room.

Cass had never been particularly shy about her body, to what was usually Tim’s dismay, but because of that he had seen her collection of scars. None stuck out more vividly in his head than the exit wound on her shoulder that he had seen up close and personal before. It was large — having grown with age since her father had shot her when she was still so young. And seeing it, remembering it, had always managed to bring Tim’s blood to a boil.

But, right then, at that moment, it wasn’t there.

None of them were.

“Your scars…” Tim said out loud, astonished before looking to Cassandra’s face, searching for an answer. “They’re gone.”

Her tears kept falling but her expression didn’t change. “I’m not the same,” Cass said. “Lazarus… I’m not the same. Please. Please, Tim. Don’t… Don’t tell Batman.”

Tim stared at her, processing everything. His brain was still a foggy mess of emotions and repressions and all the more. But for that moment, clarity hit him.

He was good at being able to shove his feelings aside to put someone else’s first. Most of the time. This time.

With a little hesitation, Tim grabbed Cass’ shoulders with the same strength that Dick had done with him for most of the day. It was enough to put her full attention on him. “I won’t. I’m here for you,” he assured her.

Dick probably would have ended it with a hug, but Tim wasn’t there yet. He couldn’t give out those with the same meaning. But Cass seemed to be in tune, as she reached up and put her hands over his to squeeze them back. And they both let the tears come.

By the time he woke up in the morning, Tim wasn’t sure who was responsible for putting the blankets over him and Cass as they had passed out on the floor of her room.

[redxbird-blog]

Tim n bart!

ULTIMATE SHIP MEME!

Send in two (or more) names and I’ll fill all this out about the ship!

General:

Rate the Ship -  Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - I don’t see them lasting tbh like maybe a year tops. However, it isn’t a fiery breakup, things change and they eventually just decide to be friends. After the awkward period passes, they’re best friends and probably act as each others wingman 

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - Fast and hard

How was their first kiss? - It was slow and lasted a long time, it was out of the blue as well

Wedding:

Who proposed? - If they did get married, Tim would propose

Who is the best man/men? - Kon is Bart’s and Dick is Tim’s 

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? -n/a

Who did the most planning? - Tim plans most of it while Bart is the dreamer

Who stressed the most? - Tim

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big. (Bart insists)

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Bart is too nice to not let someone come lmao

Sex:

Who is on top? - Tim

Who is the one to instigate things? - Bart

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off | 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head

How long do they normally last? - Long enough

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms? - Yes

How rough are they in bed? -Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it.

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - None, Bart considers this but ultimately decides against it because he doesn’t think he can handle the dysphoria 

How many children will they adopt? - Three

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Bart, this is the only time Tim is faster than Bart and somehow he is always gone when the diapers need to be changed. Batman taught him well

Who is the stricter parent? - Tim

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Tim

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Bart

Who is the more loved parent? - Bart probably because he isn’t so tough love

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings? Both

Who cried the most at graduation? - Tim

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Tim

Cooking:

Who does the most cooking? - Bart

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Tim

Who does the grocery shopping? - Bart

How often do they bake desserts? - Every now and then

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Meat probably

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Tim

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Tim

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidently while cooking? - TI M

Chores:

Who cleans the room? - Both of them are messy and it’s bad

Who is really against chores? - Bart

Who cleans up after the pets? - Bart

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Tim

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Tim

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Bart

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Tim

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Tim

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - Bart loves to decorate, so often

What are their goals for the relationship? - To be safe and happy

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Tim

Who plays the most pranks? - Bart