#kori is so pretty her hair is so fun to color

[rillette]

too tired to draw so i colored some old sketches o7 

[cas-backwards-tie]

Chapter Seven: Uncharted Territory

Heiress of Gotham

Bruce Wayne x Daughter!Reader

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Summary: The day has finally arrived! Getting to know your newfound family and friends a little more on your special day, you try to forget everything that’s troubling you.

Words: 5.3k

Warnings: Cursing, Teasing, Sexual Inferences, Hurtful Comments, Reckless Driving(?)

A/N: Though it's been awhile, I still have my layout for the plot points I want to hit and make sure happen within the final few chapters of this part in the series. This chapter has been super fun for me to write though, and I'm excited for all the characters that are being introduced! It's been hard trying to fit all the info into the last four chapters which is why it's taken so long.

“Woah…” stunned into silence, your eyes trail up the giant woman before you.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Koriand’r.” Met with green eyes, you can’t help but stare in utter astonishment and amazement. Not only is she orange-skinned, but she has neon green eyes, super long flowing reddish hair, and is tall… but she’s also super toned. “Is… there something wrong?” She looks to Dick who stands beside her, a hand on the small of her back.

As Dick opens his mouth to speak on your behalf, you beat him to it. “Like the seed?” Though you'd attempted to make a joke on behalf of her name in an attempt to ease things, an awkwardness settles in the air before you speak again. “I-I just… haven’t met anyone like you before,” you mutter, still in a daze. With a shake of your head, you try to gather yourself. “You’re so tall… and pretty.”

A chuckle leaves her lips and her perplexed expression quickly turns into a smile. “Thank you,” she says your name and places a warm hand on your shoulder, “I believe I owe you a congratulations for surviving another revolution around the sun?”

“I-it’s 'Happy Birthday', Kori,” Dick reminds her, an amused and somewhat flustered look appearing on his face. A hand comes up to the back of his neck to rub at it. "Though, I suppose that's also not technically wrong," he mumbles to himself.

“Happy Birthday, then,” she repeats, eyes sincere as she returns your smile. After a moment she spots something behind you, as she suddenly squeals out an ‘ooh!’ before taking off. Both you and Dick watch as she examines and plays with a spiral straw within one of the colorful cups adorning a nearby table.

“Oh!” Dick calls your name again, tearing your attention away from the confusing sight you’d been observing. “These are my friends, Gar, and Rachel,” he introduces, patting them on the shoulders. “No Victor?”

“He… didn’t think this was the best place, you know, pool party—not to mention he got called off to Mogo with-“ Rachel whispers to Dick, though your attention is more drawn to their hair.

“It’s actually Garfield, but my friends call me Gar,” he extends a hand, to which you happily shake. “I hear it’s your birthday? How old are you turning?”

With a nod, you reply. “Sixteen.”

“Oh, boy! I remember those days,” Gar announces with a laugh, his arms stretching upward before one of them comes down to wrap around Rachel’s shoulder. “What a time.” Dick departs the conversation with a small wave in your direction as he walks toward Kori.

“Heh, yeah. Crazy… that’s for sure,” Rachel comments, her eyes only register you then when they turn from Gar onto you. They’re purple. “Happy Birthday! It’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Rachel. I hope it’s okay Dick invited us. We left your present on the present table. We weren’t really sure what you’d like-“

“-Had no clue, in fact!” Gar comments.

“-but we left a gift receipt in case you don’t. I know we just met, but Dick mentioned you guys didn’t get off on the best foot, and… I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.” Raven finishes. One of her hands wrapping itself around the elbow of her other arm.

“Yeah, Dick can totally be a--well--you know, a dick sometimes,” Gar jokes. “Seriously though. He means well, but it just takes time to get used to him.”

“Thank you so much. You… didn’t have to get me anything, but thank you… and it means a lot,” you respond, an appreciative smile on your lips as you place a friendly hand on her shoulder. “I love your guys’ hair by the way, super cool.”

“Hey, thanks!” Gar speaks, while Rachel simply smiles appreciatively.

————

Though your Father, Alfred, Jason, and Dick kept pestering you about your upcoming birthday for the weeks leading up to it, you can’t deny that the scene before you does anything but warm your heart.

The man you now know as ‘Uncle’ Clark—even if you don’t entirely feel quite comfortable enough to call him that yet—flips burgers on the grill making idle conversation with your Father. The usually prim and proper infamous Gothamite Playboy is nursing a beer in his hand, and for once, is actually dressed in what you’d classify as something fatherly. Sunglasses sit on the top of his quaffed hair, a playful blue short-sleeve button-up adorned with flamingoes screams the theme of today’s party.

You’d always wanted one as a kid, and while some had them at the local community ones, you never got the chance to. Now, with your own indoor and outdoors… a pool party was perfectly within the realm of grasp when Alfred asked what kind of party you’d wanted.

The butler had taken it upon himself to make the cucumber sandwiches that you’d discovered you actually enjoy this Independence Day when he’d made them. Much to the boy’s chagrin, you might add. Nevertheless, when you’d spotted them earlier in the kitchen, you’d given the older man a hug and smile, thanking him. Now he takes a break as he sits at the patio table in a high chair sipping at some fruity drink with a twisty straw, a little umbrella toothpick punctured into a piece of pineapple resting against the rim.

“So…. Which one’s him?” Your childhood best friend, Daisha asks. Quickly following her gaze, you see she’s onto the right group of people, at least. He’s there, all right. “If I didn’t know he was your brother, I would’ve guessed green shorts just based off type,” she verbally points out Damian with a chuckle and nudge to your side.

A scoff escapes you before you can prevent it. Hand flying to your chest, you make a face of disgust. “Eww… why you would say that-?!”

“Lemme guess- Superman shorts?” She teases, studying your reaction. “I was just kidding! Calm down. Geez!” You can't bear it, however, still disgusted even by the implication, you shake your head before finally gathering enough strength to shoot her dagger eyes. "Okay, so I'll take that as a 'no'. That leaves only one option left: orange shorts," she announces.

Lying on the pool float nearby, hands clasped across his stomach relaxedly, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, their blue orbs follow the same path that the girls' do. Listening on their conversation, Tim revels in the fact that it seems they haven't picked up on it, yet he's getting all the juicy information. "He's cute. Simple, but cute, I guess. It's his eyes, isn't it?" It's the way your friend, what was it... Daisha? He's pretty sure it was. Daisha says it in such a sure way that makes him almost burst out laughing. You refute it, but the way your cheeks darken a bit doesn't lie. He watches you splash her meekly before a little war ensues, sending you swimming away, finally calming once you're both sat in the little alcove by the random steps along the side.

Unfortunately, the both of you are out of earshot now. While he'd want to drop a foot into the water off the float and try to use it to get momentum to drift in that direction, it'd be too obvious. However, just as Tim decides he has to do so, Gar and Dick come splashing noisily in his direction quick. As they pass in their little show of bravado of 'who can swim to the other end there and back faster?' their strokes send a current of waves making his floatie rock and his body wobble as he grips onto the sides, eager not to fall in. After all, he's only just gotten warm. Luckily, however, it would seem someone really is looking out for him as momentum sends the floatie in the direction of the alcove.

"So where's your hot brother?" Daisha asks

“Ouch,” Tim comments, sucking in a breath between his teeth. He lowers his shades down the bridge of his nose, revealing bright blue eyes that stare down at the two of you. “I have to assume you don’t mean me, considering I’m right here,” he partially jokes, feigning hurt as he puts his hand over his bare pale chest. It’s only after an awkward moment of you two worrying you’d offended him that he laughs.

It’s contagious. Daisha laughs, meanwhile you can’t help but smile, eventually joining in. Even if your thoughts still course through the back of your mind. Had he heard your conversation? Would he tell? Would he even care? “It’s okay,” he speaks up again, breaking the silence. “I didn’t take it personally. Though I will say that whoever it is you do think is ‘the hot brother’ is can guarantee you isn’t worth it, sunshine,” he divulges with a scoff as he shakes his head, shades back up in their proper position.

“Oh,” Daisha quietly exclaims in surprise, scooting closer to the edge of the underwater ledge. “And what makes you say that?” She baits, knowing it’s a sort of tactic many can’t resist. Give someone room to vent, and eight times out of ten they’ll dish. As she leans closer, expectantly waiting with a mischievous smile upon her lips, you can’t help but perk up, somewhat interested in the prospect of hearing his opinion on the family and whatever secret sides you’ve yet to witness.

“You really want to know?” Tim baits her back, teasing her with a hint of teetering on the edge of juicy gossip. “Might tarnish your image of whoever it is,” he throws out there with a singsong voice, followed by a mock yawn for exaggeration.

“Well you can’t just say something like tha-” Daisha begins to argue, brows furrowing.

“I’d be curious to know,” you admit, voice waning in volume the longer you speak. Unsure whether indulging in gossiping behind the other brothers’ backs is a good idea in the long run. This garners his attention as he lowers his shades again to eye you, the only person who hadn’t chimed in until now. There’s a brief look of speculation before a smirk breaks across his face. Pushing the shades back so they’re resting atop his head, Tim returns his gaze forward as he looks across the yard.

“Well… say it’s Dick,” the boy proffers, “he and Kori are constantly on and off at best. That’s just a lot more drama than I’d want to deal with, personally, but if that’s your thing- be my guest.” Of course, you’re sure he isn’t actually advising Daisha to go off and start flirting with them considering your age gaps. You can’t deny the tidbits he’s only starting to divulge utterly capture your attention, however. “But if that’s not enough, he’s so… hot-headed. Either cool as a cucumber or a flaming douchewad”

“Honestly… I could see it,” Daisha comments with a tilt of her head as her eyes drift to the couple across the yard, talking on the patio with their other friends: Gar and Rachel.

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” you respond. “Well, the first part anyways.”

“And if it’s Damian?” Tim scoffs again, a sort of laugh having mixed with it. “Forget about it! The little devil only cares if you’re an animal, and has no sense of a filter.”

“And lastly, if it’s Jason… well… then actually he’s probably your best bet. I mean, he’s sensitive, smarter than he looks, and is a good cook. Though he’s also somewhat impatient, righteous, and then there’s definitely the way that he’s more of a lone wolf, so… if you can put with that then, I guess by all means.” Tim chuckles as he shrugs, curious as to Daisha’s thoughts. As the girl looks over the party’s guests, she looks back at Tim with a dumbfounded look. Everyone has their red flags, you suppose.

————

Opening the back door, you tug your towel a little tighter around yourself as you try to keep it from falling. The empty platter you’d been asked to bring in by Mister Kent makes balancing the tasks tedious. Really, you’d wanted any task to get your mind off things, and perhaps go inside for a moment alone.

“Are you kidding me? You’re really going to fight this?!” Jason shouts. Finally raising your eyes to the scene before you in the kitchen, the men stand circled on the other side of the room behind the island.

“What? Like it caused a huge problem? She-” Dick scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Like she has any friends! We were only trying to help,” Damian says. Hands settling on his hips, he tilts his head in triumph up at the group.

“Boys-” Bruce grits through his teeth. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Oh really?” Tim chimes in. “Because you were so thoughtful!”

“It’s her birthday,” Bruce adds on.

“Oh, like you were being thoughtful by inviting Clark and Diana,” Dick accuses Bruce, turning his attention on the older man. The slow movement of the empty platter in your hand onto the counter to your left catches his attention. Out of the corner of his eyes he spots you.

Bruce clears his throat and straightens his posture. “Actually, I-” he tries to clarify himself.

“Exactly! Took the words out of my mouth,” Tim comments pridefully as he turns his focus from Dick to Bruce.

“It’s not your party either! You don’t get a say,” Damian argues with Tim.

“Guys,” Dick calls, his eyes on you with a guilty look. His eyes linger on you.

“And you’re still arguing this,” Jason sighs.

Tim clears his throat, having spotted you along with Dick. Before the rest of the group catches on, Alfred comes in from the dining room directly to your right. “What’s wrong?” He asks you worriedly. The unexpected voice is what gauges everyone’s attention. As Alfred’s hand slips onto your shoulder as he looks down at your wet cheeks, he has a sympathetic look on her face. “What’s going on?” His kindness suddenly turns sour as he turns his attention onto the men before you.

“We-” Damian begins, but a pointed look from Alfred shuts him up. If anyone was going to give a valuable explanation of what truly aspired, it certainly wasn’t Damian.

“I was trying to point out how shitty it was that they all invited their friends when the party isn’t for them,” Jason elucidates with a cross of his arms over his chest.

“We just thought it might be nice for there to be more people,” Dick adds on, rebutting Jason’s point.

“Yeah, she only has one friend!” Damian chides exasperatedly.

Alfred puts his hand up, effectively shutting them all up from any further comments. “Well, quite frankly I am sorely disappointed in the lot of you. Each of you knew better and even if you had good intentions in mind, it is still Miss-” he says your name, “birthday, and yet you have all made her cry.”

With a shake of your head, you wipe the tears from your cheeks, no longer crying. “It’s okay! Really,” you protest, “I’m not crying because anyone invited anyone, I just…” head hanging a little, you sigh before facing Alfred again. “If there was anyone I really wanted here, it was my mom. I realized that… she’s not gonna be there for anymore of my birthdays. And she was always the one who was there.” Voice dwindling the longer you speak, you find yourself getting choked up again. So much so that you have to turn toward the door again, the bright and festive landscape just outside the screen a stark contrast to the dark shadow seemingly surrounding you.

You don’t know if the sudden quiet in the kitchen is appreciated or not compared to the fighting that’d been taking place just moments ago. Behind your back all the men give each other looks as no one truly knows what to do, how to make it better for you. Yet, the old man comes through once more. With a hesitant and gentle touch of his hand to your shoulder again, Alfred’s presence is known. Perhaps it’s the warmth in his touch that makes you feel somehow cared for, or the way he’d stuck up for you when you didn’t even know you needed someone to.

“May I offer you a tidbit I’ve been pondering on,” Alfred proposes quietly. While you don’t face him, you simply nod; wiggling your nose, you don’t want any of them to see this side of you, crying, nose starting to run. “I may not have known your mother, yet, from everything I’ve heard about her, I can surmise that… I believe she would be happy that you’re taken care of, and, that it looked like you were having fun today.”

He lets the sentiment linger in the air for a moment before ever so gently tugging on your shoulder, encouraging you to face him. “Would you say that’s at least a somewhat accurate assumption?” The old man questions, the inkling of a smile on his lips as he simultaneously looks you over. It’s hard to say, really, the thought hadn’t crossed your mind… yet, deep down you know he’s right. Lips curling in on themselves, you nod slowly.

“Yeah,” you quietly respond. “I just… didn’t think about her at all, until… now.” While you’d managed to quell the silent tears, the hard truth you hadn’t wanted to admit stirs something in your gut as your eyes begin to well up.

“Can I give you a hug?” Alfred asks, hand tacitly beckoning forth the men outside your peripheral vision. Tentatively you nod in response, which leads to the man enveloping you in his arms. Clearly he doesn’t care if your bathing suit or towel dampen him. The tears naturally fall, and you grieve the loss of your mother once again. Yet, somehow the burden is slightly lessened as you feel not one pair, but two, then three, then so many you’ve lost count begin to surround you. It’s somewhat suffocating, honestly, yet the knowledge that you’re not alone, and these people actually care for you is something that makes you feel exactly what he’d said: cared for.

When you finally all break off and head back outside, you find that falling back into the rhythm and excitement of the party is easy. Overall, it’d been a fun day! Seeing Lois Lane in a stunning one piece and gigantic sun hat was so unlike anything you’d ever seen before, not to mention that you’d gotten to play football with their son, Jon. Sure, maybe a part of it was to impress Billy with your skills, but you’d all had a blast! You’d also gotten to meet your Father’s closest friends. Getting to know Clark Kent better, he seems like a nice and fun guy. Diana Prince was definitely fun to talk to, her business in art restoration eliciting a lot of curious questions on your behalf. Then there was also the fact that she was just generally stunning and you wish you could know some of her beauty secrets.

Then there was Steph who showed up with another friend in tow: Connor. He was fun, offering for you to join them as they played a sort of makeshift Volleyball game in the pool. Surprisingly, your team of you, Connor, and Daisha won against Steph, Tim, and another friend who’d showed up later: Kara. You’d have thought she and Stephanie were practically twins if she hadn’t introduced herself. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stay long and you didn’t really get the chance to talk to her all that much, but her cheery personality definitely uplifted the energy of the party.

Next, you finally were introduced to your apparent cousin who’d come late: Helena, as your Father introduced. She definitely appeared bougie from the looks of her, though that’s something you actually were impressed by, silently wishing to one day embody such an aesthetic. Lastly, Billy’s brother ‘intruded’ for a few minutes as his family had come to pick him up, the brother named Freddy exuding a whirlwind of excitement as he raved about your family’s legacy. You couldn’t deny he was funny, and you had wished he’d showed up earlier.

Lying in bed that night, you run over the day’s events and can’t help but feel that it was a definite success as you remember the way everyone had gathered around you with the lights turned off on the patio as they sang Happy Birthday to you. The wish had taken a moment as you hadn’t known what to possibly wish for, yet ultimately it came to you. Everyone made you feel utterly whole, and as you’d taken the time to talk to your mom’s picture later, informing her of the day’s events, you can’t help but feel that maybe, just maybe you’re making progress. It’d been a good day. Heck, a great day. You’d even gotten a few moments to flirt with Billy when Daisha distracted the other two with her words and charms.

The others’ birthdays pass in quick succession. Alfred and Jason have a joint birthday, the party lively and filled with a nice dinner and board games to follow. You’d been surprised by your Father’s talent at charades, while Damian’s struggle at Scrabble was somewhat illuminating.

Next is Damian’s birthday, which is everything you’d expect of a teen turning fifteen. Filled with his close knit of friends, you all enjoyed a day of laser tag, cake, and putting up with the birthday boy’s behavior. It wasn’t awful, but it’d been interesting to see the boy attempt to truly enjoy himself. Weirdly it seemed as though it came second nature for him.

————

Knocking on the door, you’re quickly met by someone unexpected. Lips parting in shock, your eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Billy?” As the two of you stare at one another, it doesn’t take long for a bigger hand to wind up on the door, opening it wider.

“Aren’t you gonna invite her in?” Mister Kent asks with a chuckle. “Come on in,” he says your name. It elicits an appreciative smile, as you hadn’t thought he’d remembered, or that he cared, but apparently you were wrong. “You two know each other?” He asks, closing the door behind you as the two of you shuffle further inside.

“We’ve met,” Billy replies hesitantly, green eyes shifting over to meet yours. A sheepish smile sits on his lips.

“Briefly,” you add. “I just came by to pick up-“

“-Damian. Of course! No problem,” Mister Kent repeats your name, “we’re just setting the table. Do you want to help? The boys are out back, but we’re about to sit down and have dinner.” Upon this revelation, you’re confused as to why Billy’s here, nevertheless, you put on a gracious smile and nod your head.

“Sure!” You respond. Mister Kent shoves forks and knives in your hands, a stack of plates wedged in the crook of his arm.

“I’m assuming you’ll be joining us? Do you mind grabbing another set, Billy?” Mister Kent asks. “You showed up just in time!” With a smile in your direction, you feel a little embarrassed. Now you’re the one with a sheepish smile. Billy nods and heads into where you assume the kitchen is. As Mister Kent walks through the open doorway to the dining room, you find yourself feeling bad for having to turn them down.

“Alfred is actually making us something right now. I was just sent to pick up Damian, since I’m working on my driver’s license right now,” you reveal. With a thick swallow, you meet the man’s eyes with a saddened smile.

“Well, it’ll take at least an hour and a half to drive back, so what if you call up Alfred and tell him you’ll be late? No sense in him starting something when we’ve got plenty to share. Plus, I’m sure Jon would love to see you again.”

Mentally debating it, Mister Kent distracts you with another question. Multitasking, he starts putting down the plates and arranging the cups that were already on the table. “Also, if you only have your permit—forgive me,” he states your name, “-but how did you drive all the way here? Aren’t you supposed to have an adult with you to supervise?”

An awkward chuckle leaves your lips as your free hand comes up to rub at the back of your neck. “I did! Sort of… everyone else is away, so Alfred was the only one available and he was on FaceTime the whole time I was driving-“

“-so you were on the phone and driving the whole way here?! Absolutely not, I’ll-“

“-It was Alfred’s idea! Plus, he said he didn’t have time to pick up Damian and go with me for driving hours, so-“ You defend.

“-I still don’t see in any way how that’s a-“

“-Oh, hush now, Clark. She was obviously safe, and if anything were to happen then at least Alfred would be able to call someone, right?” A woman interrupts as she walks out from the kitchen holding a plate of corn cobs and a bowl of baked beans. Sliding around the big man, she places the items down on the table. Billy chuckles in the doorway of the kitchen as he watches the man capitulate to the woman’s defense.

“Right…” you slowly get out. Though it dawns on you who this is, now that you can see her face. “You’re Lois Lane! The reporter- the journalist from the Daily Planet!” It comes out before you can stop it, and you’re suddenly visibly in awe at the fact that you’re literally in the room with a celebrity.

“That, I am. I take it you’re a fan? I’m glad some kids are still into literature and current events in this day and age,” she responds, “lord knows so many kids are all about that tick talk now and all those different YouTube celebrities.” With a deep breath, she places her hands on the back of the chair at the head of their table.

“Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she says your name, “I’ve heard so little of you I was beginning to think you were just a story my boys made up! Please, sit. We’re just bringing out the rest of the food. Don’t let Clark guilt you into helping him like he did, Billy,” she chides. With a laugh she heads back into the kitchen, sneaking around her husband once more.

“I did not guilt him,” Clark defends, “did I guilt you into helping me, Billy?” The man looks over at the boy leaning against the doorway’s frame watching the whole scene pan out before him. Suddenly with the attention on him, he jumps into action, placing the final setting in the last seat open at the table.

“I wouldn’t say ‘guilt’… though I did only come in to use the bathroom,” Billy responds, chuckling at the end as he tries to play his words off as a joke. “I don’t mind helping though. I have to do this every Tuesday night at home anyways.”

“Why Tuesdays?” Clark questions, finally standing up to his full height again as he’s done straightening the plates and cups.

A goofy smile emerges on the boy’s lips as he shrugs. “I don’t know, cause every other day was taken, I guess? I mean, there are six of us, so there’s not a lot of other days to choose from when they’ve all already picked, you know?” He jokes.

Processing all this new information, you’re still stunned that Lois Lane knew your name, and heard about you from the men. While you’d probably wonder what they’d told her any other time, Billy’s words have you wishing he’d say more, curious to hear more about him. “You… have six siblings?”

“Don’t you have, like, five?” He retorts, looking down at you from where he stands by the opposite head of the table Lois had been at.

“Touché,” you reply, “though to be fair, I didn’t know I had any till a few months ago, and… really I’m only related to one of them.”

“I guess that’s cool. I mean, I’m not technically related to any of my siblings so there’s that,” Billy comments.

Lois pesters Clark to sit down, so he heads to the other end of the table to sit at the other head. She lies a plate full of veggies and another with buns and burgers on them upon the table. “Would you guys mind getting the boys? Then let me know what you’d all like to drink.” As she heads back into the kitchen, you look from the man to Billy, who nods for you to follow him.

Rounding the wall cutout between the dining room and living room, you walk past their couch, coffee table, and television to the sliding glass door. “So… you’re getting your license?” Billy asks.

“Trying to,” you joke. As you brush your hair behind your ears, you listen as the boy goes on about summer coming to an end.

“You’re gonna be a… Senior?” He questions, turning his green eyes on you as he comes to a stop only a few meters from the house.

“Yeah! And you?”

“Same. I honestly can’t believe it,” he admits with a shake of his head. As the two of you linger there, eyes meeting and averting each other, he eventually draws his attention to the laundry hung up on the clothesline a yard in front of you. “Jon! Damian! Dinner time,” he yells between cupped hands.

Soon enough you’re all sat around the table. A prayer ensues before you all dig in, passing dishes around the table in a manner you’re more accustomed to than dinner at home. “Do you have any plans for the fall?” Lois asks you, your name falling off her tongue easily.

With a swallow of the corn in your mouth, you nod your head. “Well, Alfred has really been pushing for me and Damian to do something after school, like sports or something,” you begin, everyone’s attention falling onto you with intent expectation. “And I thought maybe it’d be fun to try out for the cheerleading squad. The tryouts are next week, so, I’ve been trying to practice and get ready.”

“That’s amazing! I hope tryouts go well,” Lois compliments. “Are you trying out for anything Damian?”

An annoyed scoff slips past his lips as the boy has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. “No. I think not, though there are a few clubs that may have caught my intrigue. I doubt they’ll be up to standard but it’s worth scouting out the competition.”

“I’m joining Chess Club!” Jon adds.

“Well, these all sound like fruitful endeavors. What about you Billy?” Clark asks.

A thoughtful hum comes from the boy, even if he has his head downward on his plate, pushing the food around. “I’m not entirely sure yet.”

“Well, I know some sports stop taking people before the school year starts, and clubs fill up fast. So I’d check with the school to see what you can do! It’d definitely look good on your resume going forward,” Lois posits.

Continuing to indulge in idle conversation throughout dinner, soon enough it’s ended and of course Lois insists she can handle the dishes. Bidding the Kent family goodbye, Lois and Clark offer you a tight hug before stopping you at the door. “You’re welcome here anytime,” Clark states.

“We wanted you to know that. While we don’t know the entire circumstance of your situation, we wanted to let you know we’re here for you,” Lois expands.

With the warm sentiment and full bellies, you’re off. Still somewhat giddy that you’d gotten a hug from Billy, you try to memorize the feeling. You’d also gotten one from Jon, too, which was nice, but… you can’t help the way you feel about Billy. While Damian had vaguely put up a fight against you driving, it was his only option of getting home, so he acquiesced. Nevertheless, you’re feeling hopeful for the beginning of the new school year!

~~~~~~~~

forever taglist: @ohdamnadam , @safarigirlsp , @jynzandtonic , @moonlightsolo , @penelopepine

hog taglist: @luvly-writer , @clairese1980 , @theroyalmanatee , @azazel-nyx , @nightrose-18 , @vanessa-boo , @ih4temy5elfs0b4d , @agent-nobody-knows , @scarlett13 , @hoeinthehouse , @huhhuhh , @maxinehufflepuffprincess , @no-lessthan3

[dairy-farmer]

hi! i love your fics and i always enjoy reading the asks so i thought i would send one of my own! another spin on dick grooming tim though this time he maybe doesn’t notice until he gets back with an old flame and realizes he’s been treating tim the same way he would a girlfriend

it starts with pet names. it’s a concept tim isn’t entirely familiar with. his mother and father didn’t even call him Tim, just Timothy and sometimes son when they were at parties. Dick calling Tim baby feels a little patronizing at first like maybe he’s making fun of tim for being so behind and so young but it quickly becomes clear that isn’t the case when the pet name is tacked onto the ends and beginnings of advice and… complements

“baby, hold your feet further apart next time” caked over the edge of a rooftop after grappling with a rouge

“good job, baby” accompanied by a hair ruffle when tim is the first to solve a riddle

and when tim starts responding to it, turning his head when dick calls out baby, other names start popping up

“that’s a nice color on you honey”

“sweetheart just one night patrolling with me i’m sure bruce won’t care”

“c’mon princess all i want is one hug”

when dick briefly gets back together with kori, tim has the surreal experience of turning whenever he talks to her. mistaking each of dicks endearments as calls for him. it’s humiliating at the same time that’s it’s confusing. tim had thought, he doesn’t know what he thought

when the couple parts ways at the end of the strange week dick goes back to calling tim all the sweet nicknames he had reserved for kori and then he starts touching tim in ways he hadn’t before.

helping tim out of his costume, pulling tim into his lap, running his fingers down tim’s neck and massaging his shoulders and sometimes when tim is in something loose enough, his tits

dick insists it’s normal, that he’s just got some extra love to give now that he doesn’t have anyone to cuddle at home but tim is it so sure. sometimes the touches make him feel stuff he hasn’t really felt before, like he needs to pee but not really, like he’s making a mess in his undies even though he’s not on his period

bruce doesn’t like to talk about that kind of stuff with tim so eventually he brings it up with dick, who calls him sweet names and pays attention to him and hangs out with him even when he’s calling someone else baby

dick says he’ll take a look and apparently looking also means touching to make sure nothing is wrong and it feels really good but dick says something might be wrong deeper inside him and that dick needs to put something bigger and longer in to make sure everything is okay and that feels even better, good enough that it’s hard to stay still and dick has to help him hold his arms still

he has to take a pill afterward because apparently there was something wrong with his cunny and dick needs to put a special cream inside him every now and then to make sure everything stays healthy down there but

“it’s alright baby”

because dick loves him and would do anything to make sure his baby’s pussy stays in tip top condition and doesn’t stop tim from being robin or hanging out with his big brother

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dick grooming tim is soooo good!!!!!! especially if he doesn't realize it initially!!!!!!

at first being affectionate with tim is easy and natural because tim is essentially the only bat dick can do that with. bruce is a brick wall and alfred is always trying to maintain this air of professionalism with them but tim? tim is so sweet and small and blushes so pretty when dick hugs him close and rubs their cheeks together while making loud kissing sounds on his puppy fat lined cheeks.

tim is happy to see him and eager to spend time with him and he doesn't punish dick with silences or ignoring his existence, doesn't grunt and reprimand him, he doesn't make dick feel angry and frustrated and like he just wants to grab him and shake him. tim makes him happy and feel good and he lets dick wrap him up tight and squeeze him tight and hug him close and no one ever lets dick do that just because.

no. no if dick wants affection, a hug or a kiss then he needs to be fucking them. barbara, kori, everyone. if dick just wanted a hug because he was having a bad day or to have someone to kiss and smell their nice, sweet, powdery scent there needed to be something more going on. they all did it. barbara got mad if he tried doing that and kori always pushed him away and dick just didn't understand.

but not tim. tim let him hug and kiss and hold him. he was so sweet, so innocent and untainted by all the bullshit drama that happened among adults, mentors, and old flames. dick remembered what it was like growing up with bruce. the way he'd resists affection sometimes even withold it because he knew how much dick craved it.

tim doesn't do that even when he's angry with dick. he'll just turn his head away, his sweet cheek red with anger while dick wrapped around him like an octopus and cooed apologies and asking if his sweet timmy will forgive him. a few wet kisses on his neck and tim will be giggling because he's ticklish.

dick doesn't really notice how he starts treating tim differently. he calls tim affectionate names because he just can't help it. his heart bursts with love whenever he sees tim and so the sweeties, honeys, beautiful, gorgeous, babies, sweethearts just drip out of his mouth and its not like its untrue.

tim is a pretty and gorgeous little thing. and dick loves watching him. the long curve of his neck, slender shoulders, little waist, small tits, and pretty pink little mouth. dick loves how tim leans into his affection and hands with such ease. he likes how with tim its not complicated and he doesn't need to act like he can read his mind to understand when he likes something.

when kori returns from space and something between them sparks up again dick realizes pretty quickly what had been happening.

when tim is over at dick's apartment and kori calls dick answers with a 'hey baby' or 'what's up beautiful' and tim's head will always perk up in the corner of his eye only to realize he wasn't talking to him.

and that....catches dick's attention. and he starts testing it. deliberately calling kori by more sweet endearments, even using ones he'd only used for tim so far. and tim always smiles so sweetly immediatly after dick says it before realizing it wasn't for him and then looking put out.

he and kori have only been together again for a week but he can't help his eyes that keep drifting back to tim, thinking of tim even when its just him and kori.

dick enjoys time with tim. likes how easy it is to be with him. much easier than it was with anyone else because tim was just as eager for his touch. kori doesn't want to immediatly jump into having sex again. she wants to take it slow, she wants them to get to know each other better again (how much more could they possibly need to learn about one another?). dick gets it, he does. kori wants something solid, more real. but the only reason dick was ever drawn back into relationships that kept failing was because of the promise of nice, hot sex within the first few days. and...well... he's not really willing to get dragged along for months, dating someone he already knows he'll barely ever get to see just at the possibility of MAYBE getting to have sex in a few months.

by the end of the week the interest has fizzled out and kori seems to have sensed it. they break up and dick is left with a body that has a lot of unrealised arousal because he'd been banking on that 'we're back together' fuck.

but even if he had been willing to put in the work some part of dick had still been permanently distracted by tim. his sweet baby who blushed so pretty when dick finally called him by nicknames dick often reserved for his girlfriends.

there's something...there. a pull that dick feels towards tim as he holds him, cuddling him while they watch a movie together. there's a knot in his gut but not the bad kind. it's one that makes him so aware of warm skin and soft breathing, and thumping pulses and the tight stroke of his hand while he jacked off and thought of his pretty baby timmy.

as soon as the after glow of an orgasm faded dick expected to feel horror and revulsion. tim was practically a baby. barely 13. he still played with dolls even though he pretended he didn't. dick should be disgusted. but all he feels is the aching desire in his gut for more.

tim is already used to his touch and dick knows it won't be harder to make the touches more...intimate.

tim is eager to please and bruce is so willing to dump tim on him. so tim starts spending more time at dick's apartment and dick starts spending more time at the manor to babysit tim when bruce and alfred are too busy because bruce has started taking on more out-of-state cases now that dick has 'temporarily' moved back to gotham.

dick is careful. he doesn't want to scare tim or startle him. he starts by kissing tim slightly longer and more meaningfully. he doesn't make a big show of the kisses, acting like they're supposed to be jokes. dick treats it like a genuine greeting. he even starts sprinkling in very short pecks to tim's lips. long cheek kisses that drag on make tim prefer the short lip kisses because tim is an impatient little thing.

dick starts carrying around chapstick. cherry chapstick. after a kiss he'll pull it out and tell tim his lips are a little chapped and that must mean the cold weather is coming soon. he holds tim's soft chin in one hand and delicately rubs the balm into tim's pink little lips, finishing off with another kiss, this one longer with a loud 'mwah!' at the end so tim doesn't feel uncertain about it. the kisses get slightly longer and each one ends with him telling tim 'perfect!' after finishing applying balm to his lips. dick starts doing that more often.

his hands stroke a little lower when he's cuddling tim, drifting into tender areas. dick gets tim used to the feel of his hand on his thigh. he acclimates tim to it while tim is busy and focused on things like eating, reading cases, or working on dick's motorcycle.

he keeps tim company and strokes a hand along tim's thigh, ghosting closer and closer to his inner thigh.

tim even asks why dick is around so often now because dick starts picking tim up from school and dick tells him its because now he's free to spend more time with his lovely timmy!

dick is strategic about his moves. because he has to be, he loves timmy!!! he doesn't want to freak him out and make him go running to bruce or someone!

the hardest part of it, for dick at least, is when he starts getting to see tim naked. after patrol he helps tim out of his sticky and sweaty uniform while cooing. sometimes he'll tug tim into his lap with words about massaging away that tension. but occasionally tim will want to take a shower and get to bed. dick starts joining him. offering to wash tim's back or lather up his hair with shampoo.

when tim says nothing about dick dragging a loofa along the sides of his puffy tits and between his thighs that's when dick starts getting braver. letting soapy bare hands wander, squeeze, and rub while under the guise of a massage.

tim enjoys them. dick knows he does. he feels tim get wet as he rubs at the top of his pretty pussy. as he grazes the lips. once he even soaps up his fingers and rubs between the lips while saying something about making sure his little hole and the area where he pees is clean.

but he's careful. too much too soon might blow it up in his face.

dick kisses tim's naked shoulders while helping him bathe and on the couch while stroking a gentle hand on his stomach before reaching between his legs and just...cupping it.

dick feels tim squirm, feels him take shaky breaths. tim might not understand but his body is being carefully brought to arousal.

dick knows he's succeeded when tim comes to him, quiet, nervous, and red and tells him he has a health issue that he needs help with and he feels to nervous going to bruce about it.

he tells dick about his cute little pussy and how it tingles and feels warm and...how it gets wet. but not like how it does on his period. no blood comes out but his underwear still gets all soaked and tim can hear it. he presses his thighs together and he can hear how wet it is and how it drips out of him.

dick is so turned on just listening to tim talk. he gets tim to lie back and assures him dick will check. dick gets greeted by a puffy, pulsing little cunt just begging to have something pressed inside.

dick bites the inside of his cheek to get a hold of himself.

he acts clinical. he gently spreads tim's lips open revealing tim's pink insides. his finger firmly slides in the wetness, pressing on tim's perineum, his lips, and finally his little button. dick presses against it, swirling it around and fondling it until tim is whimpering and dick can see his insides clenching around nothing.

tim is teary when he's let up and he tells dick that that's the feeling that keeps coming. that sometimes it gets so bad that..that it feels like he's going to pee!

he's sniffling and saying he doesn't want to pee his pants and he doesn't want bruce thinking he's a baby.

dick comforts him, sweetly telling him that it's okay and they'll fix it. that dick knows exactly what to do and timmy just needs some medicine but he just needs to promise to keep it secret and between them.

and tim readily agrees.

dick isn't reckless. despite being young and quite naive tim is developing. his pufffy tits and his little womb are maturing and so accidentally getting him pregnant while getting his rocks off is a very real risk.

so dick makes sure to get his ducks in a row. a hidden stash of morning after pills and a couple of tubes of spermicide do it.

dick doesn't like condoms. he never has. and tim seeing the spermicide in it's medical looking tube is enough to convince him that it's the special cream he needs.

like always, dick has tim sit in his lap. he has tim pull of his clothes and, used to being naked in front of dick, he does. carefully, dick unzips his jeans and pushes his cock out while tim's eyes focus on the gel getting getting squirted into a little applicator that dick will press into him.

"it's just like putting in a tampon, baby" dick assures him. "take a deep breath okay? if you're all tense it'll be harder."

tim shakily nods and dick feels some of the tension in tim lessen. to help him further along dick starts playing with his baby clit. tim's breath hitches and dick hums, kissing his shoulder and neck, distracting him while he presses the head of the applicator in and sinks it in as deep as it will go. eventually it won't go any further and dick knows that means the tip must have reached tim's cervix. he pushes down on the plunger and empties the gel into tim before removing the applicator and tossing it to the side.

"there we go!" dick praises tim, stroking his tummy and patting his thigh. "that wasn't so bad was it baby?"

dick gently cuddles tim, kissing him, showering him in love. he kisses tim's red cheeks while waiting the 15 minutes before he can fuck tim.

dick loves tim. he loves how tim accepts his affection and returns it. he loves how tim lets him touch him every which way.

but most of all, he loves how much blind faith tim has in him.

"you ready for the next part baby?"

dick does his best to keep the excitement out of his voice as tim nods.

dick has massaged tim before plenty of times. and he's commented on how tight tim is and how lucky he was to have dick who would take care of him.

dick presses the head of his cock in slowly, biting back his groan at the slide from how wet tim is.

tim's breath hitches at the stretch and dick just soothes him while trying to work his way in to the hilt. tim is trembling around him and dick has to keep his eyes from rolling back at the tight, clenching heat.

he keeps the pace slow, grinding more than thrusting as he 'massages' tim's little cunt. tim shivers in his arms, his fingers try drifting down to touch the 'massage stick' in him and dick grabs his wrist before he can, lightly scolding tim. he keeps tim's arms pinned to his sides as he rolls his hips and thrusts deep into tim, bouncing him on his cock and biting down on his lip to stop his moans.

when he finally cums he grips tim's hips and has him flush to his cock while closing his eyes and fucking hot spurts of cum into tim's clenching hole. tim is panting and red cheeked, shaking from his own release and making softly uncertain sounds because he doesn't know what the feeling that has gone through him is.

dick presses a soft kiss to his eyelashes to comfort him while he waits for his heart to slow down.

dick helps clean tim up like he always does and presses the pill to his sweet mouth.

dick is enjoying the pleasant swirl and afterglow of it all as he kisses tim's little mouth and says that he'll make sure that tim's pussy is taken care of before hurrying him to bed but not before reminding tim that if he felt the medicine leak out that he should just push it back in.

and tim, sweet darling that he is, promises to do just that.

[undertheknightwing]

I'm sure this is absolutely predictable of me but - your boy Gar and my girl Rach for "Send me a character" 💚🖤

The siblings of all time ✨️

Garf first 🐯

First impression

Oh baby boy. Such a sweetie pie 🥺 *watches Asylum* Whoa! This show is actually letting Gar have a character besides goofy sidekick?? This just got so much more interesting.

Impression now

So that was a fucking lie. Buttt.. if I wrote out my true impression of him now we'd be here all day so imagine I'm unfolding a comically long list of my Gar thoughts because there’s a lot. The less the show did with him, the more I got to over analyze and create from there.

Favorite moment

When he's left in the tower and just messes around for a few days. I re-watch it all the time. It's very relatable too, I get sad and unmotivated after a day without having people to talk to as well. Also that scene from s3 ep1 when he's talking to himself in his room, I love his silly facial expressions, and "nothing tops a Super" has been burned into my brain.

Idea for a story

Fic wise? You'll just have to wait and see 👀

Unpopular opinion

I don't think it's really unpopular but his hair is so bad. I wasn't a fan of it in s3 but s4 made it so much worse. I'm also not a huge fan of his suit but that's for "it looks cheap and plain compared to the other ones" reasons.. like the abs on it look like the kind you'd see on a Halloween costume. It's weird.

Favorite relationship

In canon.. I don't really know. Gar's character felt it went from "DickKory's son" level of importance to just "oh yeah that guy" throughout the seasons. Gar's relationships with the characters (besides Rachel) is pretty surface level imo, especially in seasons 3 - 4. But whatever Gar's relationship with the Red is seems cute. It changed it's realm color for him and looks to care about him a lot through what I saw in the episode. He's clearly the favorite child and I love that for him.

Favorite headcanon

I got one too many of those, but him being able to purr is always a great one, and acting cat-like at times. Empty box? That's his now. Left a cup on the island? It's pushed onto the floor. Nothing is safe. He might have left a dead bird somewhere as a gift too, who knows.

And just for fun have some songs that gives me his vibes: Shapeshifter by Brye, The Garden by The Crane Wives, and Wild Things by Alessia Cara

It's Rach time 🖤

this is more your territory so I'm sorry if it's a little lackluster 😅

First impression

Precious girl. So precious. Must be protected at all costs. I really like this take on her powers and character.

Impression now

Much like Gar, she got the short end of the stick in the show tbh. She went from being the most important to a side plot thing which sucks. She should have had much more to do in season 4 since they were dealing with her family.

Favorite moment

I like a lot of her scenes in season 1 the most. Her interacting with the Doom Patrol was cute.

Idea for a story

That's your thing lol but I never liked how they always kept her stories tied to Trigon somehow in any media so I would give her a more unique story about something else.

Favorite relationship

She and Kory were my favorite for a long time but I've warmed up to her and Dick's father-daughter relationship because of you. So I choose them 💙🖤

Favorite headcanon

She's an artist who prefers painting over the other arm forms and painted something special for all the Titans members.

And some songs for your duo: Protector by City Wolf or Calm Me Down by American Authors, they have season 1 vibes

Thank you Mundi! 🖤💚

[hintofelation99]

Batfam Favorite Outfits:

Dick:

A sleeveless crop top and joggers. Or a crop top with work out shorts. Or he’ll go topless with either pair of pants.

Basically either little clothing, or light, thin clothing. He’s pretty comfortable with showing skin. It’s one of the things he and Kori have in common.

He and Steph wear the brightest colors out of all the family members so usually they go shopping together.

Shopping with Steph has resulted in him having at least two rompers.

Babs

A nerdy t-shirt with a loose knit cardigan and high rise jeans.

She also usually wear zip up combat boots bc 1) they look cool and 2) fuck actually tying your shoes.

Babs always has a variety of glasses, right now her favorite are the rounded thick framed glasses with a turtle shell pattern.

Recently Steph got her into scrunchies and now Babs always has one.

Jason

A button up shirt with his favorite dark red sweater and gray pants, or nice jeans.

Honestly he wears they stereotypical lit nerd outfits.

He does really like being a bit dressier even in daily wear because it makes him feel more put together.

He usually carries a messenger bag with two books he’s currently reading, one of his all time favorite books, a notebook, some pens, first aid supplies, and a spare domino.

Tim

Tim has three favorite outfits for three different settings/frames of mind.

1) The CEO: a dark gray double breasted slim-fit suit with peak lapels. He usually wears this with a wine colored tie that Steph got him.

2) The Skater Kid: A t-shirt with ripped jeans, a bomber jacket (or flannel shirt), and vans. He’s always carrying his camera when he’s dressed like this and usually has his skateboard.

3) The Leave Me Alone Unless You Have Coffee: Hello Kitty PJ pants that Steph got him as a joke, one of Kon’s shirts, one of Dick or Jason’s hoodies, green lantern fluffy socks, and dinosaur slippers. His hair is always in a messy, half undone bun and he’s usually looking at a case file.

Cass

Slim high waisted double breasted dress pants, a collared, white, silk shirt, heels, and gold jewelry.

As she’s become more well known by the public Cass has developed a reputation as being extremely fashionable.

She and Dick have done several magazine covers together and are both known as fashion icons.

According to one article “Cassandra Wayne is the epitome of a modern woman. She effortlessly combines classic and contemporary to create jaw dropping looks that have fashionistas everywhere raving.”

Steph

Steph loves to wear yoga pants and Jason’s t-shirts. Bc of this Jason is constantly running out of t-shirts

She also loves rompers, like if she wants to look cute she goes for a romper. She loves them bc they bc she could kick someone’s ass in one without accidentally flashing people.

One thing Steph loves about being close with the Wayne’s is dressing up for galas. It’s not something she wants to do constantly but getting the chance to wear insanely fancy dresses every once in a while is super fun to her.

One time Bruce bought her a Cinderella style ball gown and she almost cried out of pure excitement. Then she punched Bruce and threatened to give him frosted tips in his sleep if he told anyone that she teared up.

Duke

Duke used to just be a t-shirt and jeans guy but as he and Jason have gotten closer he’s started to mimic his older brothers style.

Right now he like to wear a button up shirt with a cardigan and dark wash jeans.

His favorite cardigan is a yellow button up that Jason gave him.

He’s almost always wearing converse, they’re just his go to shoes.

Damian

Damian used to only wear dress pants and nice shirts (outside of training ofc) because Talia was strict and said his clothes should reflect his status.

But after becoming friends with Jon he started to loosen up and wear clothes that he actually wanted to wear.

Nowadays his favorite outfits consist of joggers, a plain v-neck, and a pair of Adidas.

Another outfit that he loves but will never admit to loving is a pair of joggers, Adidas, and the ‘High School Musical’ t-shirt that he stole from Jon.

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

For @abdefgijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

[snothing]

Request: Drabble in which Jake looks through some old stuff and finds a rather odd yet captivating item: a red tunic with a green scaly leotard, a black-yellow on its right side, a black domino mask, green gloves and finally green pixie boots. he decides to try the suit on

I want to apologize for how long this took! I’ve been so busy with school, and I made this way longer and convoluted than necessary. It’s definitely not a drabble anymore, and I added a lot of sibling banter, lol, I can’t resist. This was so much fun to make, I had so many ideas. Thank you so much for being patient, and I hope you enjoy! 

I decided to deviate from my universe, while keeping some old things. Mar’i and Jake are still twins, and Mar’i can turn invisible.

"Go away, Jaki! This is my hiding spot!" Mar'i whispered-hissed at her brother. She glared at him through a jungle of coats and umbrellas in the armoire, her mouth in a tight frown.

"Oh, come on, Mar'i!" Jake cried. With a flair for the dramatic, he threw his hands up in the air. Of course, his annoying sister would take his favorite, top-secret hiding spot!

"Shhh!" she snapped, finger to her lips. Pink eyes flashed brightly at him. "Would you be quiet? Do you want Dad to find us?"

He pursed his lips and looked down the hall. Pretty soon, his dad would be done counting and be searching for them. Still, a great wrong had been committed in the eyes of Jake. "You took my hiding spot! Get out!" he seethed, just a decibel lower.

"Nuh-uh, it's not your hiding spot!" Mar'i shot back. "You don't own it!"

Jake smirked cockily and pointed a finger past her. "Uh, yeah, Mar'i, I do." 

A deep, unamused frown settled on Mar'i's face as she noticed— in bright cerulean blue crayon— the word "Jake" hastily scribbled on the panel. "That means nothing! You don't own everything you put your name on."

He silently raged. "How am I not surprised a heathen like you-"

"-Heathen?! I watched you squirt an entire can of Easy Cheese in your mouth!"

"That was a long time ago. I’m a different man now."

"It was last week!"

"As I said, a long time ago," he retorted drolly. "Anyway, as I was saying— only heathens don't respect the sacred rules of hide-and-seek!"

"You're so ridiculous," she sighed, exhausted. "You act like I broke the law."

"Well, you might as well have. I'm hurt, Mar'i, really I am. I never thought you'd betray me like this. My own flesh and blood— my wombmate--"

"Ew, don't call me that!"

He clasped his hands together. "I think the only way to solve this and mend our broken relationship is for you to leave and find a new hiding spot."

Mar'i stared blankly at him. Jake was her favorite person in the entire universe, but there were times where she wanted to slap him. "I'm not leaving, Jaki."

"By the love of X'hal, you can turn invisible!" he argued.

"So? Dad's using heat-sensing goggles this time."

"Mar'i!"

"Hey, babe," their father's voice filtered in from downstairs. They stilled, eyes wide and locked on each other. 

"Hello, my love. Are you looking for something?" they heard their mother ask him. 

"Oh you know, just for two half-human, half-alien eight-year-olds? Have you seen them? They're like yay-high, black hair with orange skin? Got glowing green eyes?"

"Oh," Kory chuckled. "I think I know the two. Say, are they dangerous?"

"Very. The little rascals will eat all your cereal and blame it on an innocent larva."

"My, they sound like quite the dastardly duo," she mused. "I believe I saw them go upstairs. Please, proceed with caution."

Dick let out a laugh. "Don't worry, babe. I think I'm well-equipped to handle them; Batman raised me after all."

Mar'i snapped back her attention to Jake, panicked. "Go away, Jaki!" she nearly growled. 

"But-" he tried to argue, but her hand shot out and closed the armoire door, effectively ending their discussion. 

Frantic, Jake looked around for a new hiding spot. Under his bed? No, there was a monster. Behind the house plants? Nope, too obvious. In the air vent? Nah, he'd get stuck again. Finally, his eyes found the inconspicuous attic door. 

He was like 90% sure it was haunted. Uncle Jay showed him and Mar'i a horror movie once, and he learned that attics were prime real estate for ghosts and couldn't be trusted. 

But...

It would probably be a great hiding spot. His dad wouldn't expect it. 

The creaking of the stairs interrupted his thoughts and effectively ended his inner turmoil. He dashed to the attic door and braved the darkroom. 

"Oh wow," he said, looking around. The room was cramped, littered with boxes and other knickknacks. Moonlight filtered in through the port window. "Okay, ghosts, listen. I don't mean to trespass or anything. I just need a place to hide from my dad, alright? So no possessing me, okay? I'll only be here for a couple of minutes."

Slowly, he made his way through the clutter, hoping to find a nice nook to squeeze in. A thick layer of dust coated everything in the room, and it was not long before he started hacking. It was then that his left foot hit a meddlesome snag in the carpet, causing him to plummet down on a pile of boxes. 

He let out a rather undignified squeak when his knee slammed into the ground. A flurry of Tamaranean curse words left his mouth; thank heavens, his mom was not around to hear him. "Stupid ghosts!" Jake spat. The crash was loud. His dad knew where he was now. "And stupid Mar'i for making me hide in this stupid, haunted attic!"

He went to glare at the confounding boxes, but he halted when he saw something interesting. His ire vanished, his head cocked slightly. He pulled himself up from the ground and went to analyze the contents of the fallen box closer, his hand alit with a low-energy starbolt.

Inside the unsuspecting box was a brightly colored uniform. Jake's eyes widened the size of saucers. Could this be? There was no way. But sure enough, he found the iconic scaly leotard and black domino mask. Yep, this was his father's old Robin uniform. 

He stared at the red tunic with the utmost reverence; his thumb traced the R. Jake was so absorbed in the costume he failed to notice his sister hovering over him. 

"Whatcha got there, Jaki?" she asked curiously, face inches from his.

He let out a squeal and jumped several feet in the air. He snarled, eyes ablaze in a blue fury. "Mar'i! Don't do that!"

She snickered, an eyebrow raised. "It's not my fault you're not observant."

"I was in stealth mode," he said defensively. He crossed his arms. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be hiding in my hiding spot?"

She shrugged. "Dad found me pretty quick, so I decided to come to bother you."

Jake was surprised. "Wait, do you mean he didn't hear me fall?"

"Nah, I told him you were being a cheater and hiding outside. Thankfully, you decided to be a klutz after he left," she informed him. She frowned when she noticed the betrayed look on his face. "What? I thought you'd be happy I saved you!"

"I think it's funny you pick and choose when to be a loyal sister."

She smiled. "Gotta keep you on your toes, Jaki. Now, what's that?"

Jake followed her pointed look at the costume. He showed her excitedly. "I think it's Dad's old Robin costume!"

Green eyes rounded. "What? No way!"

"Yes, way!" he dazzled. "Look at the insignia!"

"Whoa," she breathed. She fingered the black-yellow cape gingerly. Her head snapped up. "Come on, put it on!"

"W-what?" He gave her a bemused look. 

"I know you want to," she said wryly. She held up the tunic and pushed it towards her brother. "I bet you'd look just like dad."

"Yeah, but..." he trailed off. Honestly, he did not need much convincing. Jake had seen pictures of his dad in his early crimefighting days, but a thought stopped him. "I don't know, Mar'i..."

"Why not?"

"Well, Damian's Robin."

"And?"

"And I don't want to-- I don't know. I guess I don't want to send the wrong message," Jake answered. He sighed somberly. "Besides, it's not like I could ever be Robin anyway. I'm weird."

"What the heck?" Mar'i spluttered. "You think you can't be Robin because you have powers?"

"Robins don't have powers, Mar'i," he said, dejected. "They don't fly or shoot starbolts."

She snorted. She scooted closer to her twin, looking at him intently. "And? Anyone with a brave heart can be Robin, and as I can see, you have one."

"But-"

"No buts, Jaki," she cut him off. Mar'i was not going to allow her brother to put himself down. "I like you just the way you are. I think shooting starbolts and flying is super neat!"

"You're biased," he chuckled. Mar'i's words instantly made him feel better, though. 

Her mouth blossomed into a silly grin. "Well, yeah, duh. I know if I'm awesome, you have to be. Now, put it on!"

"Okay, but turn around. I need privacy!"

"Yay!" she piped before spinning around. Her arms and legs tingled with excitement.  

"Okay, I think I'm ready now," he told her, a bit apprehensive.

Mar'i whipped around, nearly knocking Jake down in the process. She almost burst out in awe when she saw him there, proudly donning their father's uniform. "Wow, Jaki! It looks so good on you!"

He flushed. His eyes, now concealed by a domino mask, peeked down at his body. It had been a bit awkward in some places; Jake did not care for his legs being so exposed, but otherwise, it fit like a glove. "Really?" he asked, swooshing his cape back and forth.

Her head bobbed up and down. "You look just like Dad when he was young!"

"What do you mean by that, Mar'i? I'm still young!" 

Jake and Mar'i were startled by the voice. They spun around in the direction of the attic door and spotted their dad: the first-ever Boy Wonder and best pancake-maker-this-side-of-the-galaxy-- Dick Grayson. 

"Dad!" the siblings exclaimed in perfect unison. 

Dick chuckled. "And what are you two glowsticks doing in the attic? I thought we were playing hide and-"

He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Jake. His eyes widened as they absorbed, his mouth agape.

Jake panicked, and shame surged through him. "I'm sorry, Dad!" he said hastily. "I-I was just hiding upstairs a-and I fell a-and I found your old costume!"

"Jake-"

"A-and I knew I shouldn't have, b-but Mar'i said I should-"

Jake paused when he felt his father's hand on his shoulders. He looked up and met his father's loving gaze. "Jake, calm down," Dick comforted. "It's okay."

Jake swallowed. "You're not mad?"

"No, of course not, son," he responded, genuine. 

"Doesn't he look cool, Dad?" Mar'i piped up, a goofy grin on her face. 

Dick smiled tenderly and moved his hand to caress Jake's face. He could not have predicted what seeing his son wear his old Robin uniform would do to him. His heart soared with love and pride. 

"Yes, Mar'i, he looks pretty cool," he agreed. 

Jake beamed and matched his sister's goofy grin. He thought his dad would be mad at him, but thankfully, he was the furthest from mad. 

"But don't think this means you can go out crimefighting," Dick added quickly.

"Aww, Dad!" Jake whined.

Dick wagged his finger at him. "Don't 'aww, Dad' me! You may have the look, but you're not old enough."

Jake pouted. "I'm not a baby anymore, Dad!"

"Aww, but you're still my baby.” He gave Jake a quick kiss to the temple. “Now, come on, you two. Mom made dinner, and I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees you."

"Did she burn the food again?" Mar'i grimaced. She loved her mother dearly, but she was not the most adept in the kitchen.

"Yeah, I don't know if I can eat burnt lasagna again, Dad."

"Now, now, glowsticks. Mom spent all day working on this meal!" Dick assured them. He escorted them out of the attic. "It's a dish from Tamaran. I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

Mar'i whispered to her brother, "I like when Mom cooks. We always get McDonald's afterward."

"Or food poisoning."

[jinxedpanda4life]

DamiRae Hospital AU?

  No I am not writing one, if I could write well I would though! So here are some HCs for a hospital AU.    If someone decides to write this then I’ll be your first reader. Also I am sort of basing things off of Grey’s Anatomy just a bit and my limited knowledge of the medical field.

- Starts of as 1st year residents, specialties may vary

- The “Titans” are residents and 1st years that show great promise, this doesn’t really play a role its just what people call them behind their backs

- Dr. Kori Anders is a OBGYN (women parts and birth) resident, a year or two away from finishing

- Dr. Richard “Dick” Grayson is is a surgery resident, trained by the hospital owner Bruce Wayne (who is a world renowned surgeon, has awards, etc), specifically general surgery

- Dr. Garfield Logan is pediatrician (kid doctor) res, bonds well with kids, but is considering going back to school to become a vet instead

- Dr. Jaime Reyes is an oncology (cancer doctor), having had cancer as a teen and is now forever trying to rid the world of it, works mostly with kids and teens

- Dr. Jonathan Kent is a physical therapist that works with pain management. Up beat guy and is always trying to brighten his patient’s lives.

- Dr. Damian Wayne is a surgical intern, blood thirsty little thing, hoping to become a neurosurgeon (brain, spine) (or cardiothoracic (heart, lungs) both are competitive)

- Dr. Raven Roth is an anesthesiologist (the drug person that knocks you out) and is starting her surgical internship (she wanted to do more than just help people get high essentially or whatever) has no current preference for any specific surgical field

- Add in characters:

-- Dr. Jason Todd, trauma surgeon (fits too well)

-- Dr. Timothy Drake diagnostician (medical detective basically) 

-- Dr. Donna Troy gynecologist

-- Terra Markov is a nurse (i don’t like Terra but nurses are the actual best)

- Story stuff:

- Damian and Raven meet as they are put under the guidance of the same resident

-Damian has an automatic dislike for Raven because she knows everyone already and is equally, if not much more, knowledgable about surgery, the OR, the ER, protocol, etc  He also thinks she is cold because she rarely shows emotion (pot kettle Damian)

- Raven can always be found in the medical archives researching old cases and studying new ones, Damian stumbles upon her when looking for an old cardiomegaly case (enlarged heart).

- Raven gets along with all of the past ‘Robins’ making her a go to intern

- Garfield can be seen whenever he is not needed trying to flirt with Nurse Markov and often goes to Raven to sulk 

- Damian and Raven are always early to pre-rounds and are typically the first ones there (usually early in the morning, getting there before 500)

- Jon bumps into Damian more often than not and they start becoming friends (Damian is reluctant at first and is still you know Damian about everything), Damian even recommends patients to him 

- Though Damian doesn’t want to really ‘hang out’ with anyone he reluctantly hangs out with the Titans, because of Jon and Dick

            - When in a large group when at a bar, club or whatever Damian tends to stay close to Raven because 1) they actually have things to talk about 2) she isn’t loud

- Raven & Damian are both assigned to a case that is frankly befuddling and have to start spending long nights and early mornings together to figure it out

- Over that period of time they learn things about each other:

-- Raven learns: 

Damian has a dog (Titus) and cat (Alfred) 

He is single (Kori told her) and lives in an apartment close to the hospital

He has lived in various countries

He is trained in multiple martial arts 

He prefers his tea with brown sugar and a slice of lemon 

His eyes are a true emerald color with a ring of gold and flecks scattered within 

He may hide it well but when Raven compliments him he becomes flustered

He speaks to himself in Arabic when he curses, trying to remember something, doesn’t want anyone to know what he is saying

He isn’t always an asshole

When he actually smiles a true and genuine smile, she has heart palpitations

-- Damian learns:

Raven has two tattoos (neither are a bird), a gang tat (she is saving up to get it removed), and a mantra in Azarathian; Azarath Metrion Zinthos

She immigrated from Azarath when she was around 8

Her notes are in Azarathian

She actually feels a lot of emotion and knows how to control them

If she is not reading about a current or past case she is reading any book or file she can get her hands on, he has caught her reading in multiple different languages; Azarathian, English, French, Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Mandarin, (could be more or less)

She lives alone and has a cat, Nevermore, and thanks to Dick he already knew she was single

She likes all tea, no matter how prepared, but prefers the sweetener to be honey

Her hair is black but shines purple, especially under the ER lights

Her eyes are a purple that at first glance look blue, like Elizabeth Taylor, he realizes though her eyes are galaxies on their own 

When she smiles the world actually stops moving, her eyes shine like stars and he never wants the world to start moving again

She always wears a necklace with a gold and ruby ring at all times (it was her mother’s wedding ring)

- When Damian starts having le feelings for Raven he considers actually seeking medical advice as this has never happened to him before

- Raven tries her best to contain her feelings when at work, going so far as one day a month staying home just to scream, cry and feel her feelings

- It does not help that new feelings towards Damian start popping up, especially since he starts bringing her tea and hanging out with her at work

- During the middle of their 2nd year of residency someone holds Raven hostage in the hospital to fix someone that person loves (this person had connections to Trigon and knew who Raven was)

- That was not a fun time for either Damian or Raven; Damian was outside the hospital pacing trying to figure something out with the other Titans trying to calm themselves and him down

- Shots are fired and when all is said and done, Raven gets shot in the abdomen and the hand (she was in ICU for a hot sec)

- Damian seemed to be there every time Raven woke up, he was always checking on her during rounds even though he wasn’t on her case

- Raven did have to have surgery on her hand and in her abdomen (idk where i’m not getting that specific), she hated being, in her words, coddled 

- Even though Raven was right handed (the one that got shot) she learned how to do everything, writing, eating, going to the bathroom, etc. (many of the other residents are impressed since she keeps working on it after her other hand heals)

- Raven’s room also becomes a space for other residents to destress and just vent about their day. She listens and gives advice, all without looking up from whatever she was doing. 

- During this time Raven becomes hooked on Pretty Pretty Pegasus

- Raven’s room is also full of cards, flowers, etc all from fellow staff and some from patients. When she leaves (she spends a couple weeks in thanks to multiple surgeries, recovery, and other minor injuries) all of the gifts litter her apartment, the cards end up in a box by her desk, she presses the flowers, and stuffed animals are donated to children’s shelter (she keeps some that she has grown attached to)

- During this time Damian is more of an ass than usual (people notice and tease him)

- Damian at some points keeps working without breaks/sleep for hours on end. Dick pulls him aside after noticing, scolds and forces him to sleep in one of the on call rooms. (He really wanted him to go home, but Damian wasn’t leaving)

- Once Raven was discharged Damian and Garfield help her back home (clothes + gifts + Raven w/a healing hand/other injuries = need help) the other Titans would have helped but were needed at the hospital

- Garfield leaves after dropping off Raven and Damian (and her stuff) as he is called in on a Peds case (could be fake, may not be) and Raven & Damian spend the rest of the time basically watching terrible movies. (with Nevermore sitting on both of them)

- That is the night Damian realizes that not only does he like Raven, but he like likes her. He starts devising plans on how to get her to date him. 

- All his plans basically are thrown out the window because of one reason or another (he kept overthinking it)(poor guy)

- It is not until their 3rd year of residency that Raven realizes her feelings towards Damian (Have I made it clear she likes him? I can’t remember...)

- She realizes her feelings when she has to crash at his place for a night (because he lives ridiculously close to the hospital, like how expensive is that??) and he tries to make sure that she is as comfortable as possible 

- She never realized how much he cared for her? Like she was always helping him out and there for him but she never realized he reciprocated that care? *Shocker*

- Raven becomes kind of a mess because of all her emotions that she is trying to bottle up. (all the corks are disintegrating and the jar is overflowing)

- Raven is during her Ortho rotation (bone surgeon people, they are cool, ik from experience) that she actually gets a good release for her emotions (setting peoples bones and drilling and hammering in pins is actually therapeutic) 

- Raven thinks that may be the specialty she chooses

- Damian saw her as a mess and could not fathom why she was said mess, he figured it was about a romantic interest after someone made an offhand comment about her love life and she became a blubbering mess (very un-Raven like)

- After all of well *motions with hands* that Raven asks why Damian doesn’t have a s/o or someone

- He says there is only person that he has been meaning to ask out (looks pointedly at Raven)

- All Raven says is “Go for it.”

And that is where my HCs end. Now if anyone who happens upon this post decides to write a Medical AU with any of these please tag me, tell me, message me. 

You do not have to give me credit, I just want to read it. 

This took me a couple of days to write up, so if it is disjointed I apologize. 

If anything needs to be corrected for any reason let me know!

 I hope this fuels some imaginations!

-I may post more HC AU things if they come to mind, we will have to see.

[ravensmind]

Happy RobRae week 2021! Here's my day 1 prompt fic. There will be an extended smuttier version coming soon. Might only do this prompt this year just due to things I have going on, but I'm still writing! Hope you enjoy this 😃.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13863436/1/Finals-and-a-First

~RavensMind~

RobRae week 2021 

Day 1: Gotham Academy AU

Finals and a First

Finals week. Two simple words that had the power to make anyone quake with anxiety and while he may do a good job of hiding it, Dick Grayson was no exception. Luckily for him, he had a solid group of friends who had each other’s backs. They mostly studied as a group when they were free, unless their class schedule or extracurricular activity demanded they improvise. Gotham Academy was not known for caring about its students' friendships or whether they had free time to study together or not. Dick was on the football team and they did not have practice that day, so he was free, but Victor, Kori, Garfield, and Tara were all at meets or practices or matches or just in class, only Rachel was able to study with him, and that presented a challenge. Dick was enamored with Rachel, infatuated with Rachel, could not stop thinking about Rachel, and she had no idea because he just could. Not. Tell. Her. 

Even though Rachel Roth, the quiet, reserved, sarcastic, smart, violet-haired girl was sitting only inches away from him at the same table in the library, he could not look at her, as he had some paranoid feeling that she knew exactly how he felt when he looked at her. Normally, he would play off of his other friends, but now they were alone. He hid in his textbook, pretending to be very interested in some words located near the spine of the book in some rose colored block of text. Out of frustration with his own inner turmoil, he picked up the noble they’d been assigned to read and chucked it into a nearby bookcase.

“Are you okay?” Rachel asked in a frustrated tone.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” Dick returned.

"You’re just not usually this quiet, is all,” she replied.

“Guess I’m just nervous,” he said.

“About our finals?” 

“Yeah,” he said, thanking the universe for that excuse.

“I didn’t think you got nervous over stuff like this, at least I don’t think I’ve seen it. Wait ‘till this gets out, the chill, cool captain of the football team is freaking over his final,” she teased.

“But you wouldn’t tell anyone, right?”

“No. Lucky you, I don’t think anyone would believe me.”

“That the only reason you wouldn’t say anything?”

“No, because I don’t know that I believe you either,” she replied, toying with a strand of her hair with one of her slim, almost pale fingers.

Dick chanced a look at her and was surprised to see a playful smirk on her face and a strange look in her violet eyes that he was not sure he had seen before. He tensed a little when he realized he had slipped up and looked at her. Did she know? Was he screwed? The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable and get on her bad side. She had enough trouble dealing with the gossip and judgmental teachers for her goth vibe and overall lack of shits to give attitude.

At one point, he heard Rachel had been summoned to the dean’s office for violating the dress code by wearing black knee highs over fishnets and foregoing the standard blue skirt for a black one. Her response was that technically she was in compliance, as there was no rule about a specific color skirt, or that she could not wear anything in addition to the socks on her legs, and she was a model student. Aside from snapping at a teacher or two, she was rarely in trouble, and he knew she had good grades. She still kept that style, even though more teachers voiced their disapproval, but they ultimately could not do anything without changing the dress code and it was not worth it. After he heard about what happened, Dick helped her out by changing the color tie and slacks he wore from blue to black, as his popularity would make her style choice far less controversial. He had mostly done it to help her, but he also liked being seen as more of a rebel. He stuck up for her when she was being picked on and she was always quick to shut down anyone who was bad-mouthing him.They had grown a bit closer as a result, though neither really acknowledged it to the other. 

He swallowed and considered what his options would be if she dug deeper. He hoped that he could talk his way out of whatever accusation she was about to make. He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat.

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

“Hmm. Well, you’ve never really stressed about tests before. When Gar complains, you calm him down and put together a plan to study, so I’m pretty sure you’re more level-headed,” she replied.

“Doesn’t mean I’m not nervous.”

“No, but I think it’s less likely that it’s about the exams. Now that I think about it… you kind of acted like this last time we hung out. Maybe it’s about one of us,” she thought aloud.

“Like I said, I’m nervous about finals. It’s, uhh, just been a lot for me this time. It’s our last year and I don’t want Bruce to be harder on me if I don’t measure up,” he said, injecting a little truth, desperately hoping it would help sell his lie.

“I suppose that’s fair, but I still don’t think it’s that.”

“Why’s it matter? It’s not like I’m hiding anything that would hurt people. I’m just stressed!”

“You’re hiding plenty, but that’s not the point. It matters,” she hesitated before continuing, “because I don’t like seeing you stressed. It’s like I can feel it and I want to help you. Something’s clearly eating at you and I hate seeing you try and bury it like it’s not there.”

He sighed and looked  down at his book. He stared down at the page as he felt the swelling of emotions that rose from his heart. He wanted to spill everything, but knew that it would not be fair to her, to dump everything at once and give her a massive choice to make about them. He cared about her and she clearly cared about him, so he thought he might be able to at least give her a hint or two. She was dealing with more than enough, she didn’t need his problems too.

“Okay...don’t laugh. It’s about a girl,” he said.

Rachel perked up and tilted her head. Dick swore her eyes lit up, but that may have just been a trick of the light as someone passed by the window near them, book in hand. 

“I’m not going to laugh! What’s making you so nervous? I seriously doubt you’d ever need to be stressing over a girl, plenty throw themselves at you, though I guess that could be tough too.”

“She’s different. I like her, but she’s never really said if she likes me or not. I hang out with her quite a bit and we have fun, or I think we do. I'm just not sure if I want to take a chance and mess up a good thing.”

“You’re being ridiculous.. Clearly she likes you enough to spend time with you, you should have had some kinda obvious sign by now. Some girls tease you or act a certain way around you, others might be more blunt, but you have to know at this point. Though, it would help if you said who she is,” she teased knowingly.

“Hah, yeah, it is a little silly,” he chuckled, “You wouldn’t tell her though?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m interested, I need to get ready for the big reveal, lots of pyro and speakers to set up,” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes, “No, of course not, idiot. You know you can trust me. Why the secrecy, though? Is it... Kori?”

She leaned forward with interest, almost teetering on the edge of her seat.

“No, uh, but you’re kinda close,” he said, anxiously shifting in his chair.

He watched as she went quiet and crossed her legs in her chair, sitting up a bit straighter as she considered the possible remaining options. He hoped she had thought of herself first.

“I admit, I could see why you’d like Tara, she’s pretty easy to talk to and knows what she likes, which isn’t common,” she said, tracing her bottom lip with her finger, “I think she can be a little insecure though, so you may want to keep that in mind.”

He wondered to himself if she was toying with him.

“It’s uhh, it’s not Tara, either,” he admitted, his cheeks turning red.

Rachel’s cheeks also reddened as her mouth formed a coy smile, and she went quiet. Her fingers played with the edge of a page in her textbook as she looked away from Dick toward the door before snapping back so her eyes met his.

“Oh. So, I think if you like her, you really should say something. I’m not sure if I know *exactly* how she feels, but I’d want to hear you say how much you like me. I’d like to know how I made you feel… if I was her,” she teased.

“Are you sure? I uhh, I’d hate if I came on to her too strongly, she’d shut me down and it would mess with the friendship she and I had,” he asked, undoing his tie and opening his school blazer a little. He was feeling very warm all of a sudden.

“I don’t think she would let that happen, Dick,” she replied, leaning closer to him, “You should probably tell me who she is...so I have a better idea.”

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, letting the moment last, enjoying the hopeful, expectant look on her face.

“Her name is Rachel,” he said, edging closer to her.

Dick felt his heart pounding in his chest and he swore his face was burning as they both got closer to each other, until his lips were inches from Rachel’s. Neither looked around to see who else in the library might be watching, and the idea that anyone else even existed was as distant as another planet. Her eyes closed as she pressed her lips to his and he eagerly kissed her back, hardly believing this was happening. Their heated kiss was interrupted by the sound of the librarian reprimanding a classmate of theirs at another table on the other side of a bookcase. Rachel smiled at him, biting her lip while she studied his face for a moment.

“That. Is what you get when you tell the truth,” she said.

[sailormoonsub]

So you've watched a lot of different shows through the patreon and kori donations

If it's not too time consuming I was wondering how you would summarize those shows in a sentence or two

Or maybe just do the most memorable ones?

Not a bad idea! Here’s a one-sentence summary and a one-sentence personal note on every show I’ve reviewed more than one episode of on this blog. TLDR I’ve pretty much enjoyed everything that appears on this blog, though for different reasons. Links to all my posts about these shows can be found here! 

This is turning out to be a rather long post so I’m going to throw the list under a Read More. 

ANIME

Sailor Moon: I feel compelled to list it here but, like, I think you know enough about Sailor Moon by now.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Group of high schoolers write and draw a romance manga while simultaneously living the most chaotic reversal of common romance tropes. SO happy this was recommended to me because I never would have picked it up on my own but it’s officially a new favorite!!!

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard: Gem expert and his assistant solve rock-related mysteries while engaging in homoromantic behavior. A lesser known franchise that I think deserves more love!

Snow White with the Red Hair: Herbologist in a medieval fantasy environment escapes her oppressive government and starts a new life in a neighboring kingdom where SHE makes decisions about her life. I’m not even that far into the series but I am OBSESSED with the premise and all the character dynamics are so genuine and honest in a way I can’t describe.

Penguindrum: Himari dies of Glamorous Victorian Illness but is resurrected by the Penguin God in exchange for a favor. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, although it is Ikuhara so it’s often confusing and abstract and all the characters need therapy.

Madoka: Being a magical girl is bad actually due to the amount of sacrifice involved. Reviewing this one is so effortless because there’s SO much material to talk about and it has such a well-established presence in the mainstream pop cultural consciousness.

My Next Life as a Villainess: Girl is reincarnated as the villain in an otome game and rewrites the script by being nice. I’ve compared it to the Good Place which is one of my favorite shows, and I cannot get enough of these characters, especially, of course, our angel queen, Catarina.

Cardcaptor Sakura (and Clear Card): Sakura has to capture all the cards. I LOVE the low stakes, slow pace, sweet and friendly vibe of this show, which might frustrate some people, but for me it’s the very definition of a comfort anime.

Zenonzard: Speaking of cards; apparently a witch created a card game to get revenge on humanity and now it’s the future where everything is neon, there’s humanoid robots all over the place, and card games are a gladiatorial sport. The visuals are amazing, the world is fascinating, and overall I’m impressed with an anime that’s based on an app.

Princess Tutu: Duck turns into a ballerina and uses unconditional kindness to save everyone from sad feelings, while ALSO working against the author who is writing her fairytale. I can’t describe how much an impact this show left on me!! A Big Fave!!

Revolutionary Girl Utena: High schoolers with swords fight each other for a shot at finding something eternal. If you read this blog, you already know I had a delightful time with this series.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!: Three girls use their skills to make a hand-drawn anime. I only reviewed the first two episodes, but I had watched it while it was airing. I love series that delve really deep into a niche subject, and this one tackles the animation process in a fun accessible way while ALSO having a wonderful trio of protagonists with wildly unique personalities.

Fruits Basket 2019: Professional Cinnamon Roll Tohru collects friends who can turn into the zodiac animals. From what I’ve seen, the characters and relationships are a huge strong point in this series. I want to give them all a hug. This fell by the wayside a little while ago but I would love to get back into it!

CARTOON

Gargoyles: They are gargoyles, who come to life at night. Never got into it as a kid, but certainly appreciate it now!

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Girl from futuristic underground city arrives on the surface to find out that animals have taken over and have developed arts and culture. It’s so refreshing to see a post apocalyptic world that’s NOT a dystopia! It’s not earth as we know it, but it’s still bright and colorful and full of art.

LIVE ACTION

PGSM: I don’t think I need to list a summary, but WATCH PGSM OH MY GOD. Sailor Moon but with soap opera levels of drama, a killer soundtrack, an incredible cast, puppets, and a really cool reimagining of the Silver Millennium mythos.

Tokusatsu Gagaga: Office lady tries to hide her obsession with tokusatsu shows and makes friends who have similar interests. I fell fast and hard for Gagaga; if you’re a nerd who has tried to function in a non-nerd environment, you WILL relate to this 7-part series!!

Russian Doll: Natasha Lyonne relives the same day over and over and has to make connections in her life. First introduced to me when it won a Patreon vote, and even though it was different from my usual content, I was enraptured by the dark comedy and surreal vibe. Thursday, what a concept.

Good Omens: An angel and a demon low-key turn their backs on Satan and God in order to prevent a war between heaven and hell. I can’t even think of an adjective that’s good enough to describe how well this miniseries was translated from the book. Legendary casting, satisfying plot twists, hilarious commentary on religion.

Cutie Honey The Live: Robot girl fights off an organization that turns people into living weapons through various wacky schemes. Over-the-top in all senses of the phrase. I love a show that’s extremely silly, but takes itself seriously.

Gokushufudo: Former yakuza member becomes a househusband. Only just started this series but man, with a premise like that, how can you NOT fall in love.

[purplesurveys]

1111

Something a little bit random and silly for my 1111th, just because.

survey by joybucket

List three things you love that start with each letter.

A: Art and most forms of it; anchovies, in most cases; and Angela.

B: Burgers, Beyoncé, and buffets.

E: Escargot, the name Eloise, and elephants.

F: FISH, Friends, and some folk indie.

S: Sleeping, signing off work at the end of my shift, and all kinds of seafood.

T: I’m obsessed with tteokbokki; trying out new food; and table tennis.

Q: I like the quiet time I occasionally give myself; quail eggs, especially in the form of kwek-kwek; and quattro formaggi pizza.

R: Rainbows, the rain, and riding planes.

O: Old movies, the ocean, and Okinawa milk tea.

List a phrase including an adjective, noun, and verb for each letter. Examples: "angry artist anticipating", "rude rascals running", "dirty dogs dancing", or "empty elephants eloping." Have fun!

A: Adorable animals appearing.

F: Fabulous fingers frolicking.

C; Chummy classmates cooking.

S: Suspicious self salivating.

R: Rambunctious raccoon running.

T: Tired turnip tumbling.

Q; Questioning quail quipping.

J: Joyful joggers jamming.

I: Inquisitive igloos imagining.

L: Luxurious lemonade luminescing.

Z: Zesty zebras zoning out.

E: Ethereal eagles embracing.

List three different occupations starting with each letter.

O: Orthodontist, oceanographer, opthalmologist.

E: Engineer, equestrienne, elementary school teacher.

F: Firefighter, flight attendant, farmer.

S: Scientist, singer, seamstress.

T: Talent agent, tricycle driver, tennis player.

I: Illustrator, inspector, IT technician.

E: Economist, editor, electrician.

L: Lawyer, librarian, lifeguard.

A: Accountant, actor, architect.

Y: Yoga instructor, youth pastor, yogurt maker?? if that counts, lol. Otherwise I got nothing else.

List three adjectives that begin with each letter.

A: Affable, abrupt, adequate.

B: Broken, blunt, bleary.

C: Crazy, clear, clingy.

D: Daunting, delirious, dark.

E: Existential, enraged, exemplary.

F: Fantastic, far-flung, flavorful.

G: Ghastly, gentle, gigantic.

H: Harrowing, healthy, hopeful.

I: Intelligent, identical, impervious.

J: Jovial, jaded, joyous.

List three nouns that being with each letter.

K: Kangaroo, keychain, kiwi.

L: Lemonade the album, lemon the fruit, and Liz Lemon.

M: Mall, maple syrup, and mop.

N: Nightingale, nest, napkin.

O: Ogre, olive, orange.

P: Piano, panini, and pizza.

Q: Queen, quill, quilt.

List three verbs that begin with each letter.

R: Running, raking, reliving.

S: Singing, sailing, surfing.

T: Tricking, tossing, teeming.

U: Understanding, urging, unwrapping.

V: Villifying, venerating, vaccinating - get vaccinated, folks.

W: Wandering, washing, wriggling.

X: I don’t know if there are any and I can’t bother to look it up.

Y: Yawning, yelling, yearning.

Z: Zipping, ziplining, zapping.

List three...

girl's names you love: Olivia, Mia, Emma.

boy’s names you love: Mason, Jacob, Lucas.

girl’s names you dislike: Karen, and our local versions of Karen, Marites and Marivic.

boy’s names you dislike: Chad, times three.

things you hate about summer things you hate about winter things you hate about spring things you hate about fall things you love about spring things you love about winter things you love about fall things you love about summer Crossing these out because my Southeast Asian ass can’t relate, but if you do decide to take this survey feel free to un-strikethrough them!

things you miss from your past: Having more freedom to make mistakes; not having to worry about the future; and friends I’ve since lost.

people who have really hurt you in the past: Gabie, my mom, Marielle.

names of people you have had crushes on: Gabie, Andi from 5th grade...and that’s it, really.

names of people you have gone on a date with: Only Gabie. And I guess maybe Mike? Since he asked me to go with him to his ball as his date.

places you've been and would love to go again: Sagada, Jeju, Bali.

places you want to visit before you die: Morocco, Spain, Thailand.

items on your bucket list: See Times Square, live in a condo, plan a solo trip.

health conditions you have: Scoliosis, lactose intolerance, and very possible depression.

health conditions you've had in the past but don't anymore: Dehydration, UTI, and some kind of weird low-platelet-count thing that was just that, and never diagnosed as anything.

things you are allergic to: Possibly some types of grass, and maybe face masks. Idk how to confirm it really; I just know my skin gets irritated around them sometimes.

youtube channels you love to watch: Good Mythical Morning; the KBS YouTube channel mainly for clips of Return of Superman and 2 Days 1 Night; and Binging With Babish.

favorite drinks: Water, coffee, Long Island Iced Tea.

favorite foods: Sushi, chicken wings, pizza.

favorite desserts: Cheesecake, MACARONS, cupcakes.

favorite holidays: The only one I care for and get super excited about is my birthday, if that counts. Christmas is fine, but I only get the excitement for it on the actual day itself.

favorite colors: Pastel pink, white, maroon.

people you would like to meet: Ysa and Bea, my teammates at work. I’ve met them only once before, and I wish we can be allowed to report to the workplace physically soon so that I get to see them more often and strengthen my relationship (both working and personal) with them. I’d also love to be able to chat and chill with Hayley Williams even for just 30 seconds.

people you want to meet in Heaven: I don’t believe in that, but I’d love to have met my great-grandfather on my maternal grandfather’s side. Also, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana.

good names for a dog or cat: Depends on their personality.

reasons why you get up each morning and keep on living: Because I’ve been able to see myself get better, and why stop all the progress?; because I’d want to be able see if the future will get better; and because I’m afraid of what will happen to/who will look out for my dogs if I’m suddenly gone.

For each name, think of three people you know with that name, and list their occupations.

Amanda: I only know one Amanda, and she’s a friend of my ex’s younger sister. She’s only in senior year of high school. I know an Amandine which is close enough I suppose?? and she’s a dentistry student.

Sarah: She’s a media contact and I’m constantly in touch with; she’s the editor-in-chief of a local magazine. I think she’s the only Sarah I know.

Ashley: Also a media contact. I’m not sure about her title, though.

Beth: @bionic-beth is a teacher! :) But I don’t know any Beths in real life, I think.

Katie: Well I know Kate, and I’ll sometimes playfully call her Katie. She works in a government agency and she’s one of their PR people. The HR person who recruited me to come work at my current employer is a Kate, but I have never and have no plans to call her Katie.

Matt: That’s too foreign-sounding a name where I live.

Emily: Don’t know any Emilys, either.

Chris: Media contacts. They run blogs or news sites of their own.

Mike/Michael: The one Mike I know is currently a med student. Not sure if he’s working on the side - I think he is, since I saw him post about a job update on his Facebook a few months ago; but I can no longer remember what he does, or if he’s still doing it.

Jessica: I went to high school with a girl named Jessica but I don’t follow her on social media, so I have no clue what she’s up to now.

Becca/Bekah: Rita’s sister is a Becca. I think she is currently a grad student.

For each name, think of three people you know, and list one adjective to describe each person. (Skip if you don't know anyone with that name.)

Laura

Michelle: Hilarious.

Victoria: Strong.

Tessa: Friendly.

John

Claire: Influential; motherly.

Briana/Brianna: Bitch.

Vanessa

Brittany/Britney, etc.

Allison/Allie/Ally, etc: Kind. 

Olivia

Jordan

Jo/Joe: Ambitious; pretty.

Corey/Kori

Sophie: Sweet; quiet.

Mitch/Mitchell: Tall.

Madison/Maddie/Maddi

Out of all the people you know or have met, list three...

redheads: Yeah, you’re not going to find them in most of Asia. West Asia and some parts of East Asia, probably, but definitely not for the rest.

tall people: Jo, Chesca, and Shaun.

people with really curly hair: I know Kleo has naturally curly hair from her Aeta roots, but it’s been straightened for a very long time now. I think Chesca also has curly hair, albeit slightly. There is also Liana.

sets of twins: My sister had two sets of twins in her high school batch, but I can no longer remember their names. I also had an English class with a pair of twins named Ardy and Thirdy.

of the cutest babies you've seen on social media: My workmate’s baby. My friend Jar has a super squishy niece/nephew pair of twins as well.

people you miss: Angela, Kate, my grandpa.

people with beautiful eyes: I can only think of my ex.

people with nice hair: God I have not been around people for so long, I can barely think of anyone for this.

people who are the same height as you: Aya, Hannah, Tina.

own one of the same clothing items as you: Angela since we went to the same high school and have several of the same school shirts; Laurice since we share a college org and we have our own trademark polo shirt; and my brother and I have our own pairs of Nike Cortez shoes.

make you laugh: Andi, Hans, and this girl I had a couple of history classes with, Rose.

List three celebrities who...

are the same height as you: Lady Gaga and AJ Lee are the only ones who are coming to mind. I wouldn’t call AJ a celebrity though.

have the same hair color as you: Mila Kunis, Kelly Rowland, Dita Von Teese.

look like you: Only based on comments I’ve gotten in the past and not because I necessarily claim these for myself, Lucy Hale, Anna Akana, and Kakie.

List three....

adjectives to describe you: Timid, stubborn, sensitive.

academic courses you enjoyed: Philippine social history, international relations, anthropology.

words you always forget how to spell: Rhythm, committee, accommodate.

things you wish you were better at: Singing, dancing, drawing.

things you are really good at: Writing, reading people, and knowing the best things to order at most restaurants hahahah.

jobs you'd like to have: Ideally, a lawyer or doctor. But realistically, I’d love to have a leadership position in the PR sphere.

jobs you've considered having: ^ Again, lawyer and doctor. Also a journalist or news anchor, back when I still thought I was passionate about journalism.

jobs you'd hate: Journalist, an LTO clerk, an assistant to an asshole celebrity.

things you miss: Being a student, many parts of the past, and deceased family members.

names your mom considered when naming you: Ariel, Kathleen, Katrina.

things people call you: Robyn, Byn, Bynbyn.

*Bonus*: what is your name? (first and middle)? I always feel like just sharing Robyn.

[fallinfor-youreyes]

Still Be Your Person

Dick explains New Year’s traditions to Kory. Ao3

Human traditions are weird, Kory decides. They celebrate odd things just because, throw parties and share presents and set off fireworks and hug and kiss and love and…

It’s weird. She doesn’t understand the significance of celebrating the start of a new calendar with streamers and champagne and the ball drop, no matter how many times Rachel and Gar have tried explaining it her. It’s weird, but also, so oddly endearing.

The world has technically been falling apart for ages, theirs especially, but they are all here, crowded on the top of titans tower, Dick’s computer set up with the local stations countdown special, and Kory doesn’t totally understand why they are doing this, but she’s happy.

Everyone is here and safe and maybe for tonight, all the bad guys will also be celebrating this frankly ridiculous tradition, and they can just enjoy this. Enjoy this moment and each other.

Human traditions are weird, she decides, but she doesn’t need to understand it. She doesn’t think she wants to, because then it might ruin the magic.

The kids are singing along to the song coming from the computer, and Kory’s so, so happy when she feels his fingers brushing against her back.

She knows it’s him, mainly because everyone else is in her line of sight, but even more so because this is how they communicate. Gentle, quiet touches, silent moments, words unspoken, a game shared between them of who will reach out first, who will break quickest.

She turns to Dick, eyes catching on how at ease he looks right now. He’s not looking at her, his gaze instead trained on the kids and everyone else on the rooftop, but he has a small smile on his lips, and this, Kory decides, make this odd tradition worth it. She takes a step closer to him so she can press her hip against his, grounding herself to him.

“So, we’re basically just happy because the earth has decided to keep spinning this year?” She asks, again, for like, the millionth time. Mainly just so she can talk to him. All other topics of conversation don’t feel right at this moment.

Dick’s smile grows. “It’s basically the earth’s birthday. So we throw her a party.”

“Hmm.” Kory swirls her drink and tries her best to not study the curve of his jaw in the moonlight. “And you drop a ball? And light fireworks?”

“We do those because they are fun.”

“And the whole everyone kisses each other thing?”

“Not everyone,” Dick says, and he finally turns to look at her, eyes alight, pressing his lips together to try and curb his smile. She loves that look. It’s one where he’s genuinely happy, but still trying to hide it because sometimes, he doesn’t think he deserves to be this happy.

He does. She wants to prove to him that he does.

“I need some help here, Grayson.” Kory moves a smidge closer to him, letting her free hand trail along the lines of his knuckles.

It turns his cheeks pink. She loves that she can do that with such a small move.

“People kiss their person. The one they want to start the new year with, who they want to spend the year with.” Dick shrugs. “Typically.”

Kory raises an eyebrow, and Dick shakes his head at her, dragging his bottom lip through his teeth.

“Sometimes, it’s just who ever is closest at the party. But that’s typically reserved for people who don’t have a person,” he says. His eyes scan her face, and Kory will not let him win this one. She will not break first.

“Oh, I see.”

“You do?”

“Hmm.” Kory sips her drink, and takes a step back. Dick’s face falls just enough for her to feel a little bad about teasing him. “Should we go gather the kids for the countdown?”

“Wait.” Dick’s hand shoots out and wraps around her waist, stopping her. Her heart might skip just a beat.

“I’m not going to kiss you just because you’re pretty and the closest person to me at the party, Dick.”

Which is a lie. She would kiss him if he asked. Even if was just for some earth tradition. Which he knows. Which makes this whole game they play even more ridiculous that earth holidays.

“I don’t want to kiss you just because you’re standing next to me, Kory,” he says, trialing his other hand along her wrist. “I want to kiss you for lots of reasons.”

“Oh?”

“Too many to list in the last,” he pauses and glances over at the computer screen. “Last two minutes of the year, but I want to kiss you because I see you as my person. Because I want you to be my person.”

“Alien,” she interrupts, because her heart is beating incredibly too fast, and she needs to press the pause button for a second before she explodes.

Dick rolls his eyes, but his face cracks into a smile, a full, exquisite, happy smile, one he’s not even bothering to try and hide.

“Fine, you are my alien. My alien princess who I would very much like to celebrate this ridiculous earth tradition with.” He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, and her eyes almost flutter shut.

Their game is splitting at the seams, exploding into more than quiet touches and silent teasing, and she can feel her heart in her throat, and she thinks she might get it. This feeling bubbling under the surface of her skin and enveloping their small roof party might be why people on earth have weird celebrations and traditions and holidays, and she might just be falling a little in love with being here.

And maybe, just even a little bit with him.

“You make a very compelling argument.”

Dick bursts into laughter, and it might be one of the best sounds she’s ever heard.

The kids and everyone else are crowded around the computer now, counting down from 10, and Dick is already pulling her close.

“3…2…1!!!”

“Happy new year, Kory,” Dick whispers, just before his lips slide against hers and she knots her hands in his shirt so she can tug him closer.

Everyone is cheering around them, and she can see the bursts of color from the fireworks, even with her eyes closed, but Kory can barely hear them. Dick’s arm wraps around her waist and he pulls her closer, and she’s still a little fuzzy on the details of New Year’s traditions and resolutions and all, but if her new year is going to continue like this, she knows it will be a good one.

And maybe, she understands humans and their weird traditions just a little more.

[flyingkiki]

Stay

Hi, @ravenfan1242​. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. did i have fun writing this one. 

—

Seeing Raven at the Gotham City gala was a surprise. Granted, the gala was held at the national museum, so it might have held some level of interest for Raven. At first, Tim wasn’t sure it even was her, but the purple hair and eyes, and those deadly curves, were pretty much a giveaway.

Tim barely paid attention to the two businessmen talking to him. He hummed occasionally at the right places in the conversation but kept his blue eyes trained at the woman across the ballroom. As socialites, politicians, celebrities, and business leaders milled around the grand ballroom in their flashy dresses that would put any other MET Gala to shame, Raven was dressed in a flowing black sleeveless dress that dipped so dangerously low in her back. For a brief moment, Tim was entranced watching Raven’s back enticingly move as she slipped from one painting to the next.

Raven, for her part, seemed perfectly oblivious to the whole drama around her and instead kept her focus on the priceless art pieces hanging on the walls.

It had been a couple of years since Tim had seen Raven – maybe at Dick’s wedding? Most of the Titans had moved on with their lives, each taking on different paths in their superhero journeys. Garfield, Dick and Kory remained with the Titans, working to train young superheroes. Victor had been accepted by the Justice League. Raven, he heard, had moved out of the Titans and taken on a more civilian life. But he did hear Constantine and Zatana talk about her on occasion.

“So, I’m saying if we can just adjust our forecasting a little bit, we won’t have to worry about not reaching our targets,” one of the men droned on.

Tim paused from nursing his scotch when Raven turned on her heels and headed towards the bar. As she turned, he was 100% sure she glanced in his direction out of the corner of her eyes. A small smile played on her lips as he continued to watch her grab a champagne glass from the bar and make her way to another corner of the room.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” not bothering to wait for their replies, Tim left the small group and set to find Raven in the crowd.

He found her behind a woman dressed extravagantly in a gown that could only be described as a candelabra – it had glowing candles! As he maneuvered himself through the crowd, Tim looked up and caught purple eyes staring directly at him. It really was Raven.

“Careful,” he heard her soft voice over the ambient music in the ballroom. Her eyes held an amused twinkle as she watched him squeeze through a couple of more extravagantly dressed couples. “I saw one of those dresses leak water,”

Tim chuckled and briefly looked over his shoulder at the dress in question. The woman was dressed in something akin of a waterfall with water dripping down her train. “Ah. That must not be comfortable,”

Raven took a sip of her champagne and Tim felt like she was measuring him up with her deep purple stare. Tim tried to distract himself just a little bit, by stuffing his free hand into his pocket. He’s be lying if he didn’t say that Raven had always intimidated and intrigued him just a bit. Her presence when they were growing up always held a deeply mysterious note on her and it always had him staring at her on occasion, wondering what she was thinking.

“Rav-”

“Rachel,”

Tim blinked and stared at the purple haired woman. “Ah,”

Raven offered an amused smile. She extended her hand, briefly looked over to some curious women and men who watched Tim Drake talk to some random woman at the gala. “My name is Rachel Roth,”

Tim grinned. Of course. Hurriedly pulling out his hand from his pocket, his warm hand engulfed her small, soft hand. “Tim Drake,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you,” his lips quirked and he dropped his voice just a little. “Again,”

Raven offered him a soft smile. “How have you been?”

Tim shrugged dismissively. “So, so.” He said and pointed at the glass door leading to the balcony, motioning for her to follow. “It’s been pretty busy at work, Bruce has been unforgiving when it comes to dishing out work,”

Raven chuckled softly and followed him out onto the balcony. She walked up the stone railings briefly surveyed the cityscape they could  see from where they stood. “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one Bruce trusts to do the work,”

Tim grinned and stood next to her, folding his arms over the railing and turning to her. “Am I hearing a compliment?”

Raven glanced at him with a mildly amused expression. “Well, Damian is still a kid, Jason is doing god knows what where, and Dick has his family priorities,” she hummed. “You are the only one,”

Tim stared at Raven as she leaned in to him ever so slightly with a teasing look. He laughed loudly, and shook his head in amusement. People were so vastly wrong about Raven, he mused. She was full of surprises. “Hey!”

Raven wrinkled her nose when Tim nudged her shoulder with his teasingly. “Just saying as it is,”

Tim took a swig of the last of his scotch, his insides warming slightly – either from the alcohol or Raven’s light teasing. He turned to her, eyeing her curiously. “How have you been? It’s been a couple of years,”

She shrugged lightly and took a tiny sip of her champagne. “I’m about to graduate next week with a literature and history degree,”

Of course Raven had gone to University. That’s what she’d do – always thirsty for new knowledge. Tim was impressed. “Literature and History? Wow. Must be interesting,” he said.

Raven looked utterly pleased as she turned to him. “It is. I’d be lying if I’d say I didn’t have a lot of fun going over some Latin scripts and early civilization records,”

Tim smiled as he watched her lips. “We have a lot of old Latin books and some other antique books at the Wayne library if you ever want to see those,” he said, tilting his head in her direction.

Raven’s eyes widened just a little bit and she raised a teasing eyebrow at him. Leaning in just a tiny bit into his space, just a little so she could catch the scent of his musky aftershave. Sandalwood. “Isn’t it a little bit too early in the evening for you to invite me over with your library, Tim?” she teased softly, her voice holding an amused lilt to it.

Tim felt his insides warm again in a very familiar way. He blinked and felt just a tiny bit flustered but he also knew she was just lightly pulling his leg. Or was she? He refused to move out of the way as Raven leaned into his space teasingly. Two could play that game.

He sent a playful, sly smile and leaned into her space just a fraction of an inch. He met her amused stare with his own. “Never too early,”

Raven’s cheeks colored slightly and her stomach warmed not because of her champagne. She watched as Tim calmly leaned on the stone railing, long hair falling into his eyes which she admittedly wanted to brush away from his face. His lips quirked into a deeper amused smile and she had to look away, lightly flustered. She smiled and looked at him through the corner of her eye as she took the last sip of her champagne. “We’ll see,”

Tim chuckled an kept his close spot next to her, feeling more at ease with her. This side of Raven he liked. “I didn’t know you went to Gotham U,”

Raven shook her head. “Finishing at NYU,”

Tim grinned. “Always the smart one,” he paused and looked at her curiously. “So what brings you to Gotham? You didn’t come here just for the gala, right? Because, I know I’d rather be anywhere but here,”

To corner of her lips raised. “Bruce leave you all alone here?”

Tim shrugged. “Bruce left for Paris this morning for a business event and had me come here. I feel like he did it on purpose,” he said. He turned and looked down at her amused expression. Was she always this tiny? He tilted his head towards her again and offered a small smile. “Besides, I got pretty good company now, so coming here wasn’t so bad after all,”

“Really?” he could hear the amused tone in her voice. Her smile grew just a little bit.

“Really.”

“Well, I guess we’re lucky the ticket I bought yesterday from this guy outside the museum was legit. He looked very shifty,” Raven propped her chin on her hand as she looked thoughtfully at Tim.

Tim eyes widened with amusement. “You got your ticket yesterday? From some random guy off the street?”

Raven shrugged nonchalantly. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,”

Tim raised an eyebrow and watched Raven in the soft evening moonlight. Light spilled over her shoulders, giving her a soft glow as she looked at the cityscape in front of them. He was reminded again how beautiful Raven was. Tim swallowed at the thought. “Raven?” he gently prodded as a brief silence fell on them.

“My mother was from Gotham,”

Blue eyes widened and he leaned a little closer to Raven unconsciously. He didn’t know that. “Really?” his voice dropped a little lower. He eyed Raven curiously. “So you…”

Raven tilted her head in his direction and shot him brief glance. “I just honestly wanted to see what Gotham is like,”

“But you’ve been here before.”

Raven offered him a small smile. “Maybe I just wanted to see Gotham through regular eyes?” She said. “I’ve been going to some places my mother liked when she was growing up here. I wanted to see Gotham through her eyes,”

“That’s beautiful,” Tim stared at her, taking in her bittersweet smile. A slight breeze swept over them and he watched her short purple hair tickle her chin. He felt like he found more than her story beautiful.

Raven’s cheeks colored slightly and she looked at Tim. “The museum has been closed since I got here and I’m leaving tomorrow evening. Getting into the gala was the only way for me to see the museum,”

“Always the one with a smart plan,” Tim teased. He chuckled when Raven rolled her eyes at him. “How do you like Gotham?”

Raven looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to think of an answer. “I like it,” she replied. “It’s a really busy city but also a lot quieter than New York or Jump. There are so many things to discover in the city and everything seems to be surprisingly well curated. It’s a bit more mysterious with its secrets,”

Tim looked at her impressed.

He briefly looked at her lips and suddenly had a deep desire to be closer to her. He shifted closer, his elbow brushing up against hers. He leaned into her a bit more, he faintly smelled her soft perfume of vanilla and fruits. “So, uncover a few more secrets while you were here?” he asked.

Raven looked at him and felt herself warm again at the sight of his amused blue eyes. She felt the warm push of Tim’s emotions against her own. Glancing briefly at the amused smile on his lips, she stared into his blue eyes and shot him a rare smile. “Maybe.”

Tim smiled. Pushing himself away from the railing, he stood up straight and smoothly plucked Raven’s empty champagne glass out of her hands. He met her raised eyebrow with a smooth smile. “I know it’s not Gotham’s most important sight to see, but, would you want to leave this place and get some coffee?” He paused. “Or tea?”

Raven felt her face warm as she stared at Tim. She thought of her options and faintly wondered what would happen if she left the party with him. A small smile grew on her lips as her body warmed at the possibilities. She cocked her head a little and nodded. “Okay,”

Tim’s smile widened and they stepped away from the railing. “Let’s go.” His hand slipped to the small of her back, fingers fanning over the naked dip of her back. The touch sent tingles down his arm and he briefly glanced at her.

They weaved their way through the crowd. A few curious glances shot their way. Slipping out of the back entrance of the museum, they headed towards Tim’s car. Raven lightly teased him for not having a driver around (“How very un-Wayne of you.”) to which he laughed loudly while fishing for his car keys in his pocket. Raven decided he had a nice laugh.

“Any preference?” he asked while pulling on his seatbelt.

Raven settled into the passenger’s seat and shrugged. “Surprise me,”

Tim hummed thoughtfully and pulled out of the parking lot. The drive was mostly comfortably silent, with Raven just asking for the names of places they drove by.

They soon found themselves a little way out of the city center, at a small café with colorful tapestries and trinkets. The doorbell tinkled as they entered and they shared amused smiles when they earned curious stares for their full gala attire.

Raven slipped ahead of him, her hand briefly touching his elbow, and he watched as walked up to the display counter. Tim will admit that he fell back just a little bit, to admire Raven’s slow walk towards the counter in her gown. She looked absolutely stunning. He faintly wondered what he was doing with her now – and how an utterly boring evening gala turned into an evening of coffee with one of the Titan’s strongest heroes.

“Coffee, right?” Raven asked, when Tim stepped up next to her with his hands stuffed casually into his pantsuit pockets.

“Right,” he answered. He pointed at one of the Ethiopian brews and asked for a slice of cake for them to share. Raven got a cup of tea.

They shuffled their way into one of the empty corners of the café and settled next to each other. Raven looked around the café, before crossing her legs and allowing one of her hands to drop on the table while they waited for their drinks. “This is a nice place,”

Tim tried to not stare at her thigh that peeked out of the long slit of her gown as she crossed her legs. “They serve pretty good coffee,”

Raven titled her head. “Interesting turn of the night,”

Tim turned his body just a fraction of an inch closer to hers. He felt like there were a million and one ways to answer that statement, each one more dangerous than the other. He wondered if it was the right time to do so. “Better than at a stuffy gala,”

Raven smiled. “Better,”

Their orders arrived and they thanked the waitress. “Do you still see the others?” Tim asked after they each took a sip of their drinks.

“Once in a while. I saw Dick and Kory last month. And few months ago I helped them out with work,” Raven shrugged. “I stay in touch mostly with the old team. I barely know the new kids.”

Tim nodded. “So you graduate next week. And then?”

“Yeah. I might want to travel a bit and then look for a job. There are a couple of universities that offer some research posts that I’d like to try out,” Raven explained.

“Gotham University has a pretty solid history department,” Tim grinned.

Raven laughed. She propped her elbow on their table and placed her chin into her palm, sending him a teasing smile. “Are you trying to make me stay?”

Was he? He felt his insides flip again, silently amazed to see this side of a playful Raven. Perhaps he did want her to stay. She always did intrigue him. Chuckling, he fluidly leaned closer.  “Maybe?” He heard her inhale softly and his gaze briefly fell to her lips. He dropped his left arm behind her chair, trapping her between their table and his personal space. “Do you want to?”  

Raven would lie if she would say she didn’t want to. As she stared at Tim, with her emotions purring inside of her, she embraced the soft, now familiar push of his emotions. A sly smile slipped on her lips, and she stared into his eyes as she leaned away. “Maybe.”

There was a pregnant pause and they both stared at each other, knowing that they had slipped into something dangerous – but undeniably welcome.

Tim smiled, looking a little bit satisfied and he pulled out of her space. He pulled his arms back to him and picked up his coffee mug for a drink. “Good.”

They slipped into an easy conversation until they finished their drinks and polished off an excellent slice of cheesecake. Raven decided to call it a night once the barista started cleaning the display counter and they were the last customers in the café. Tim led them back outside, hand still easily sliding down to the small of her back, guiding her towards the door. Raven leaned into him slightly.

Once they settled back into his car and Tim pulled out of the driveway, he cast her curious glance. “Where are you staying?”

“At the Grand, down 5th avenue,”

“Okay,” Tim took a turn and they fell into a heavy silence. Tim glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. He wondered if he’d see Raven again.

The car stopped at an empty stoplight. Raven turned to him, feeling his emotions push against her. She smiled as he turned his head curiously. She titled her head, eyes dancing. “Do you think I could see the Wayne Library?”

Heat dropped into his stomach and Tim fully turned to her. His grip on his steering wheel tightened. Did she? He swallowed. “The Library?”

Raven laughed, leaned into his space just a little bit. “You said it had old Latin books. I’m curious.” Her purple eyes sparkled as the stoplight turned yellow.

A wide smile grew on Tim’s lips. “And it’s not too early in the evening now to invite you over?” he teased.

Raven rolled her eyes and she pulled away with a chuckle as a car behind them honked loudly. The stoplight had turned green for a while now. “No, it’s just the right time.”

Tim let out a soft laugh and quickly turned back to the road. “Okay,” he whispered, a smile on his lips as he took a turn towards Wayne Manor.

They were silent for the rest of the drive. When they arrived at the manor it was past midnight. Tim led her through the maze of hallways, silently wondering how the evening was turning out – and how it could potentially turn out. He gently took her elbow and guided her into the last room, pulling her into the giant library. He stepped away from her, mumbling he’d be right back, and turned to switch on the lights.

“Oh,” he heard Raven breathe as the library became alive with lights. He had left her in the middle of the library, standing right under the grand chandelier. She looked breathtaking, bathed in the soft yellow glow of the library in her gown. Tim had to stop and admire her – one of the many times that evening.    

“It’s beautiful.” Raven looked around her, taking in all the grand bookcases that lined the walls.

“Yeah,” Tim stared at her.

Raven paused and looked over her shoulder, catching Tim stare at her. Her heart beat against her chest. What was she doing? She smiled at him. “Where’s the Latin section?”

Tim blinked and blushed, slightly embarrassed for having been caught staring. “This way.” He led her to one of the bookcases in the other end of the library. As they walked, he smiled at her wonder. “I like spending time here when I visit the manor,”

“It’s amazing,” Raven whispered, her hands sliding over all the spines of books as they walked through the bookshelves.

“Here.” Announced Tim, making them both stop in the Latin section. He waved at the books at either side of them. “All Latin text,”

Raven smiled, stepped past him, her hand resting briefly on his bicep before touching some of the books in front of her. She pulled out one of the books and leaved through it curiously. She closed the book and pushed it back into its space on the shelf. She eyed other titles above her. She raised her hand, trying to reach one of the titles above her head. “Some of these are so hard to find.”

Tim chuckled at her excitement and watched her hand glow with her dark power and the book above them gently fell out of the self and into her waiting hands. He casually stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the bookshelf, watching her leaf through the book. “Enough to make you stay?”

She stopped leafing through the book in her hands, purple eyes wide and a soft blush slowly blossomed on her cheeks. She breathed in deeply, again taking in his familiar scent of sandalwood. She closed the book and allowed it to float back to its spot above them. She smiled. “Maybe.”

They both chuckled and felt the mood between them shift. Tim pushed himself away from the bookshelf and took a cautious step towards Raven. She smiled and turned back to some of the books in front of her, but allowed Tim to crowd her space.

“Raven?”

“Hmm?”

Purple eyes looked up at him, and he felt his insides warm. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, Tim threw caution into the wind and caved into the dangerous games they had been playing for a few hours now. His warm hand held her forearm, stopping her from pulling another book out of the bookshelf next to them.

“Tim?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Raven looked up at him, his hand practically burning into her forearm. She embraced his emotions as they spilled into hers and she allowed herself to step a little closer to him. Her emotions purred.

“Yes.”

Like the trained superhero he was, his movements were swift. A long sigh escaped his lips and Tim’s hand slipped up her naked arm and held her chin, and in one fluid motion, he dipped down and his lips found hers. They were soft and warm and he drank the soft sigh that escaped her lips at the contact.

Raven felt his emotions crash heavily into her own, and she sighed at the warm contact. Her hands slid up his strong arms, one curling tightly around his bicep for balance as his (or her) emotions sent her into a blind, dizzy spell. Her right hand curled into his long hair, pulling him closer. She moaned softy at the contact and felt herself being pushed into the bookshelf.

Tim felt her body arch into his and he pushed her into the bookshelf roughly as their kiss deepened. There was no getting out of this. He felt her warm body push against his own, pulling him closer and he let his right hand slide down her back slowly, relishing the feel of soft skin. He groaned softly when she opened her lips, giving him more access. He swiped his tongue against hers and he drank her moan greedily.

Tim cradled her head as their kisses deepened. He could feel Raven’s own emotions push against him – perhaps because she was an empath and he groaned as she whispered softly his name against her lips. Taking a step closer to her, he pushed himself further onto her and relished the feel of her body against his. His lips kissed the column of her neck and both his hands slid over her tiny waist and rested dangerously close to her ass. He felt her breathe heavily against his neck as she toyed his hair.

They both wanted this.

Tim straightened slightly, his hips pushing into her own and they both sighed softly at the contact. Tim kissed the underside of her jaw and pushed himself further closer to her. “Will you stay now?”

Raven let out a breathy chuckle and both of her hands slid down his back. She slipped them underneath his black coat jacket and teasingly dipped her fingers into the back of his pants.

“Yes.”

Tim grinned against her neck, his teeth grazing against her pulse which earned him a throaty moan. With one swift motion, he bent down and picked up her left leg and pulled it around his hips. Tim pressed himself into the new warm space between her legs and they both moaned at the delicious contact.

“Good.”

[collateralfiction]

OBJ Short

DREW

“Aye, three stacks, where you at, my love?”

With a little help from my coconut and avocado oil concoction, I carefully combed through my tresses and slicked my hair into a low ponytail at the back of my head. I was growing frustrated with having my natural hair out for so long that I was honestly contemplating siting through 5 hours of faux locs. And God knows I have zero patience to sit for an extended period of time, let alone have someone in my head at that. With Air Pods sticking in my ears, I could barely hear my best friend yelling at me from downstairs. Sliding back into my fluffy slippers, I stepped out of my room, looked over the staircase and down at her with a cheesy smile.

“Well don’t you look amazing. Jimmy Choo?”

“Absolutely and why are you not ready?” she sassed, placing her hand on her hips.

“Girl, it’s only All-Star weekend. This is not the Met Gala and the only reason I’m going is because you asked me to go. If I had my way, I would rather sit home and not get classified with a bunch of thirsty women trying to trap someone else’s man. Been through that and I’m past that,”

“I know how you feel about it, mama. But honestly, we’re just going for a good time and to network like usual. Stop acting ugly,” Kory laughed.

“You know I would rather stay in and catch up on The Walking Dead but fine. My outfit is already picked out too. I just need to throw it on. Being natural is so time consuming,” I complained as I watched her take her time up my spiral staircase.

“But it seems like you had more than enough time to do that face of yours,” she laughed, hugging me tightly. It was always Drew and Kory or Kory and Drew. If you see one, you would see either one of us not too far behind. That’s just how it went. I would say I was a social butterfly but when I find people I click with, I tend to stick with them and have reservations on wanting to make new friends.

“Oh girl, you know I love a good beat. I didn’t do anything too crazy. Just foundation, highlight, eyebrows, eyelash and lips,”

“So again, a full beat,” she laughed, pushing me into the bedroom.

“Oh, bitch. Call us an Uber or something,” I said as I dropped my robe and quickly ran into my walk-in closet to pick up the outfit of the day. Since it was only a simple basketball game that would be filled with multiple press outlets, celebrities and spectators, I still had to look my best. I wore a bright two-piece neon green sweater skirt set, and paired it with my favorite Versace sandals- if you must know the name, they’re called the Triple Strap Platform High-Heel Sandals. The heels in itself is perfect for me because with my little above average height and toned legs, it’ll just bring out even further my Goddess like features. Not to bring all the attention on me, I grabbed one of my favorite fringed black jean jackets to seal in the look. I normally carried a bag with me, but I figure a Fendi fanny pack to sling across my body would be so much easier.

“No Uber. We got car service and it’s downstairs waiting,” she said as she leaned against the doorway. “Woah, mama. You look damn hot. You’re sure to get someone’s attention tonight. Use the Burberry Her scent. It’s so refreshing,” she suggested.

“Thank you, babe. I’m pretty much done. We can go before I find something else I need to do,” I smiled.

“Wait, we have got to take some photos first. Because you know after this, we’re going to the afterparty,” she expressed, walking into the connected bathroom. When I moved into this house almost five years ago, everything that I had in here was crafted to what I wanted specifically. Everything had to be of my standards and whether that was me ripping everything out and starting from the ground up, so be it. My bathroom had one of the largest mirrors in the house, spanning from the floor to the ceiling as soon as you walked in. That’s where most of my photos were taken as people have noticed a certain pattern on Instagram.

“Smile, bitch,” Kory said, immediately smizing like the professional model she is.

I turned to the side to show the profile of my body and the shoes, smiling seductively in the picture. We took turns taking solo pictures of one another until we both sought out at least three good pictures we both could put on IG. Soon after, we both dashed out of the house and into the waiting car.

The ride to the Staples Center was nothing short of traffic and corny jokes shared between Kory and I. We couldn’t help but laugh at all the Instagram models suddenly making an appearance at a sports’ filled event. I could understand if they were going to support their love ones or something else in between. But to just be here for clout and attention is lame. At least pretend like you keep up with the festivities.

As we entered the world-renowned arena, we were escorted promptly to our seats to make it in time for the National Anthem. But Kory and I couldn’t help but say hi to many of the familiar faces we passed. I preferred to be seated in the skybox up top, but this was the All-Star game. It was only right that we sit courtside and by Gabrielle Union, DJ Khaled and Ludacris. Kory had someone grab us some refreshments while we settled in comfortably and I couldn’t help but to take out my phone and do a photo-op with Mrs. Wade. The arena begun to darken with the announcement of the National Anthem beginning. As much shit this country has put people of color through, I didn’t feel the need to stand. But if the players were going to stand tall and hold their head’s high, that was the least I could do. So, we stood and laughed.

Fergie was chosen to sing the National Anthem. Aside from being a part of the Black Eyed Peas, and a few hits of her own, I wasn’t the first one to be eager to put her music on. But hey, this meant more publicity to her and probably a great marketing tool. I didn’t understand the need to change up the format of the song, but Fergie’s slow and jazzy rendition missed the target. “What in the world?” I muttered, stifling back laughter. Kory’s snickers and slick comments had me and Gabby ready to throw the towel in and walk out of the arena. After taking a look at Draymond’s face, I knew from that moment on I could no longer hold it in. It even progressively grew worse when she yelled “Let’s play some basketball!”

The chatter continued around Fergie’s interesting remix of a song before the game begun to really start. I was actually happy that Kory convinced me to come out tonight because it made me realize how lax and chill the All Star games are when they’re competing in the name of charity and having fun. By the time halftime came around, Team Stephen was ahead by two points and it was still a close game. Pharell, N.E.R.D and Migos led the halftime show performance which gave me enough opportunity to get up and walk around. Kevin Hart and Drake were on the opposite sides of the court and I made it my business to harass the two men who call themselves my big brothers before making a quick beeline to the bathroom.

“Ass check,” Kory said. I laughed as I turned around so she could take a look. The things she would say would be so out of pocket and random, but I swear she’s the only person I know who could get away with it. “Great so when Mr. Blonde Curls comes over here for a sneak peek, everything will look proper,” she smiled.

“Who?” I questioned, sliding my glasses atop my head.

“Odell Beckham Jr. He is so damn fine. But I know he doesn’t like black girls but the way he’s looking at you, would make me eat my words all over again,”

“Girl, you just said a mouthful that will have to be addressed later,” I said, shaking my head as I turned my head to follow the direction of her eyes before our eyes both locked together and my words got caught in my throat. It was him. I quickly turned around and grabbed her hand to move her back to our seats. “I think he was looking at someone else. Come on, let’s go sit before it starts back up again,” Out of curiosity, I turned my head around to see if he was still staring at me and to my surprise he was.

I hadn’t seen this man since LSU days, how does he still recognize me?

ODELL

“They ain’t never gone invite my black ass up here; we cutting up way too much,” Ben laughed, taking another sip of the Henny and coke mix. You couldn’t really take Ben anywhere but what would be a party without Ben? It was impossible. He was needed whether you liked him or not. I couldn’t miss the 2018 All Star Basketball game even if I wanted to. The stars were aligned for me to attend. I was in L.A. to see my pops and brother, have a few meetings lined up with Nike and hey, the All Star weekend just happened to fall in my lap. Right time and place. I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. And, I had my right hand man Ben. Perfect. “You’re making fun of the back of this nigga head. He finna spin that camera on your ass and show them what they don’t really want to see,” he said as he continued to blabber on and on.

“Don’t be upset because Dave Chapelle ain’t laugh at your corny ass joke,” I snickered. “Or the fact that the bets these kids have been making thus far, you’re losing in all of them. That’s crazy, broskie,” I said.

“You know what? That just sounds like words from a true hater. My new mixtape gone have you as the very first athlete that gets dissed, can’t wait,”

“Don’t matter to me long as I can still dress,” I said, shoving his arm. He was always trying to come for my dome and by now, I was used to all of his antics.

“Ain’t no one worried about you and that damn Supreme satchel my nigga sold you on,” he said, kissing his teeth.

“Man, I’m tired of this. Keep my seat warm,” I said as I stretched a little and grabbed my empty cup of beer. The arena had plenty of employees but not for a tiny second would any of them leave our section alone just to make sure we were satisfied and had everything we needed. I’m sure they were excited to see big stars and this is probably not the first time, but I would get tired quick waiting hand and feet on us celebrities. Absolutely not.

The halftime show was underway which put everyone else’s attention on the performer, my eyes were locked on someone else. She passed me on the way to her seat and I couldn’t place a name to the face, but I knew her. Her laugh was the same as I remembered it; so vivid. But where did I know her from? I had to distract myself with things around me or else I’d be staring at her the whole time, trying to figure it out. And knowing Ben so well, he’d pick up the pieces. I was tempted to walk over there and say something but how do you introduce yourself to a stranger without it being strange? You don’t. I posed for a few photo-ops before finding myself a bathroom, grabbing some snacks and making my way back out just in time for the start of the third quarter.

I wasn’t too interested in the game after my mind was warped with trying to figure out how did I know her. After another hour and a half of the game, team Lebron came out with the win. It was a close game and it was no brainer that Lebron James was walking away with the MVP award and title for the night. He scored 29 points, had 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Tell me he wasn’t dedicated.

The floor was mixed with a bunch of people; reporters, players, celebrities, you name it. I lost her in the crowd of people, and it wasn’t helping that Ben was trying to build the courage to talk to Beyoncé, knowing damn well he was the last thing on her mind. “Yo, bro, we finna head over to the afterparty,” I wasn’t too interested in going out myself but after convincing myself that a night out wouldn’t do me any harm, I agreed to go. Besides that, I couldn’t let my boy have all the fun.

___

She was there again.

Cabaret was a popular club in New York and had recently opened up a spot in Los Angeles. It had only been opened for a month thus far but the way the lines were wrapped around the block, and the fact that the club itself was at its capacity just showed you how well thought out and lucrative it is to open a club of this magnitude. I nodded my head to the beat of the music as I followed behind the security team to Snoop’s VIP area. All I saw were girls, girls and more girls, big ass bottles of champagne and a thick cloud of smoke. But sitting behind in the corner was the same woman I saw earlier at the game, with her friend I’m assuming, talking to Lonzo Ball. What are the odds? Everyone must know everyone in Hollywood.

“What are you staring at so damn hard?” Ben asked, after grabbing a glass of champagne from one of the waitresses and handing it to me.

“Her,” I mumbled. “She looks familiar, but I don’t know where from,”

“You fucked her?” he said, stepping in front of my view.

“I gotta fuck everyone to say they look familiar?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

“You fucked-“

“Okay, happenstance which doesn’t really count. Move outta my way real quick,” I said.

“Aye, you want me to help? I could be the wingman, ice breaker, whatever your stiff ass needs,” he chuckled, throwing his hands up. I chuckled, shaking my head as I passed him by and went towards the direction of the lady in question. I stopped midway when I realized I didn’t really have a game plan and the fact that she was surrounded by people only really meant that this wasn’t the moment to approach her. Let me fall back.

“Beckham! Brody, what’s happening, boy? I haven’t seen you in weeks,” I turned around and smiled, bringing Drake into a brotherly hug. Out of all those that put on a show in this industry, Drake was really a stand-up dude and even a few months back, I was crashing at his place till I was well adjusted. I could never repay him for that.

“Ah man, Champagne Papi, what it do, man? I’m out here with Ben crazy ass, just getting in some fun in the sun,”

“Or stirring up some trouble. Aye, listen. I’m about to head on out but I’m having a little get together at my crib in Calabasas. Come through, I’ll send you the details,” he said as he patted my shoulder. “Bring Ben too. He’s good times.”

“This nigga finna be hype as shit. Will do, brody,” I said, giving him one last dap before I parted ways and greeted Snoop. I wasn’t that big of a drinker to begin with, but no one would know it by how hype and energize I was by just music alone. It was sort of like a painkiller for me. Just the beat alone could put me in a great mood no matter what the situation was. The club itself didn’t look like it dying down anytime soon and maybe an hour or two into the party, I had lost Ben in the crowd of people. With a dead cellphone and cloud of smoke hanging around me, there was no way possible I would be able to locate him. So, I sat on the couch, hoping he would notice his friend with the blonde curls wasn’t dancing any longer.

“I’ll be right back, Kory. I promise. I just need to get some fresh air,”

“Drew, I am not letting you leave by yourself. I’ll come,” My ears perked up at that revelation as I turned my head to the left to listen. They were there the whole night and in their own zone with conversation. We locked eyes a couple of times, but they were quickly cut short by either her friend, Kory, blocking my view or some random girl trying her best to persuade and talk to me.

Her name is Drew.

Drew Jordan.

DJ.

We went to Louisiana State University together.

That’s exactly how I knew her; a short flame that quickly fizzled as soon as I made it pro. I got up and grabbed my bottle of water and followed behind her slowly, watching her every movement. She still looked the same as before and I just didn’t know how I could forget a face like hers or a smile as radiating as hers could be. All of a sudden it felt like reality was sinking in. “Drew?” I called out as soon as I stepped outside. She stood off to the side drinking from a bottle of Sprite. I had watched her for five minutes before deciding to call her name. She turned around slowly and her eyes widened upon seeing me. “I probably caught you off guard, I ain’t mean to do that… I just been staring at you since the game and… I probably sound like a straight up creep,” I laughed, walking towards her. “Do you remember me?”

“Doesn’t matter if I remember you, everyone knows you,” she smirked. “But, how could I forget? How are you, Odell?”

“I’m doing great.. I can’t complain. I love how you say my name like we don’t got history, girl,” I teased, taking a step closer towards her.

She chuckled slightly and twisted the cap back onto her soda bottle and looked at me. “Well, if I do say so myself, I do recall once upon a time someone denying my phone calls so…” she trailed off.

“That wasn’t intentional, baby. I mean- Drew,” I said, tucking my bottom lip into my mouth to prevent me from saying anything else but I think it only had the opposite effect as the words already came out of my mouth.

“Calm down, Odell. It’s an Orleans thing, I get it,” she laughed. “I also understand that your career took off so damn quick, so I’m not surprised we lost touch. It happens in life,” she shrugged. I could tell she was cold by the way she tried to grip her jacket closer. It was corny but I was thinking I should offer up my jacket for an added layer of heat.

“Do you want my jacket? I think trying to look cute caught up to yo stubborn ass,” I teased, already shrugging my jacket off and placing it around her shoulders.

“Now you know I have a jacket of my own and now you’re going to get sick,” She said.

“That’s fine, that just means you gotta come to the crib and take care of me,” I winked.

“You haven’t changed at all,” she snickered. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t be too thrilled to see another woman’s face all in her man’s space,”

“Most likely not but you’re not just another woman. You’re a pretty woman that I got history with and I don’t have a girlfriend so it works out even better,” I smiled.

“Oooh, lucky me. Maybe I’ll finally get a text back from you,” she laughed, the dimples in her smile making my stomach flutter upside down.

“Nah, you ain’t never gonna let that go. Are you?” The quick shake to the head was all the confirmation I needed. “How about this, I take you out tomorrow from brunch or something along the lines of that and we just catch up completely. No bullshit, just like LSU days,” Her lips twisted to the side as she tapped her finger on her chin a few times in contemplation. From what I remember of Drew, she has always been stubborn but that’s what attracted me to her instantly. She had a good head on her shoulder and what could be looked at as arrogance was actually her just being confident which is one thing we had in common from the jump.

She was fiery, passionate and a damn bad ass athlete. Not to mention I thought she was so beautiful and still do, to this day. She was naturally a tom boy; she dressed in nothing but Nike tracksuits and Jordan’s. But she made it work because she always had her hair done up, nails on like Flo Jo and would do her make up every now and then. Then when she really wanted to show out, she would completely dress up and would wear the tightest possible dresses ever. And of course, that would piss me off because of all the attention she would get from guys. If it wasn’t from me and me only, I didn’t want her receiving anyone else’s attention.

We fit together like puzzle pieces.

“It’s a deal, but only on the ground that I get to choose the location,” she smirked.

“You know I like to take control. Let me pick it and you pay,” I countered.

Her laughter radiated and became louder as she bent down a little. “Fuck all the way off!” she continued to laugh. “You still owe me for running me dry from my Tiger card. I swear you was only my friend for the food,” she recalled.

“Nah, you know better than that. But the 5 dining hall was the spot. You know damn well I couldn’t resist them omelets,” I laughed.

“No, you’re absolutely right. Well worth it,” she smiled. “Well, I guess this is the part where I assume we exchange information again?”

“I follow you on Instagram already,” I admitted.

“Since when?” she questioned.

“Today. After the basketball game, actually. I had to make a completely new account once I hit the pros and your old handle no longer worked so I had to do a little extra work to get your current handle,”

“Boy, bye. What extra work? You still just as dramatic as ever,” she waved off. “I guess I can do a quick follow back,” she teased.

“And while you’re at it, maybe slide me your number too,” I said, reaching for my phone, only to remember that it was dead. “Shit, or maybe you put my number in and just text me. My phone is dead,”

“Ah, making me do the work. If I text and don’t receive a text back, you’re going on the blogs, Beckham,” she said, pointing her nails in my chest.

“Deal, baby girl,” I smiled.

[melyaliz]

@starkwinx​: The fandom you want: dc/batfamily

What you look like: middle-length brown hair, brown eyes, pale and medium height 

A few Personality traits: ambivert, talkative (but it mostly gibberish), kind, im not afraid of talking to other people, but i am afraid of talking to a large group of people i don’t know, insecure and highly sentimental

Fun Fact: i can’t stand still, so when theres nothing happening i tend to do little dances, sing or talk by myself; i >love< drama (as in movies and books) and i just cry real easy if anything remotely emotional happens in the plot

i can also lick my nose and elbow lol

Name Sabrina 

Become an OC!

All Masterlists @melyalizarchive​

Connect with me! AO3 / Instagram / Pinterest

DONATE

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

Title: Starstruck: The side we Hide 

Fandom: DC / Titans 

Pairing: Dick Grayson x OC 

Facecast: Lily Collins 

Genres: Teen Drama

Story Style: The start of a series. 

Summary: You were a pop icon that had started receiving death threats from fans. Dick Grayson was asked to protect. But the longer they stayed the more Dick Grayson wasn’t sure that this was the only thing going on. 

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

Some flash of light mystery. Sounds, colors, beautiful. 

Something pretty about music and light dancing around

…. And the song slowly dies for a moment a still across the crowd. 

And then an explosion of excitement from the crowd.

An explosion 

Sebrina falls to the ground, her drummer helps her off the stage  

Dick is asked by the police to help her while she’s on tour in Detroit 

when he mentions it to the police Garfield says he knows her from his acting days 

She’s a huge star especially among troubled teens 

He comes to meet her

Sebrina not super into it but her agent is 

Dick feels like something is off about her. She’s kind of secretive.  

He goes to a club she’s promoting 

They start hanging out and she flirts with him a little. 

The party is super busy and he helps her get away from some paparazzi

He notices while they are running away that Sebrina her hands twitch 

Her fans help them get away too.  

She tells him she loves her fans “They are like family” 

They talk about secret lives. 

Sebrina mentions that she is like two different people 

“I’m Sebrina the normal girl and I’m Ariana the popstar.” 

They talk about hiding who you really are. “Is anyone really always themselves or just parts of themselves?” 

Mystory of who is trying to hurt her 

She comes home to a cutup doll that says “Come back to me my shining star” 

Sebrina really is shaken and Dick asking “Do you know anything about this?” 

She cuts him off saying no 

Dick talks to his team about this case 

Kory mentions how he seems to care about 

Dick kind of denying it.

Dick goes to her first show and is swept away by the magic of it all 

She was glowing, he had to blink twice, but there is was. As if an angelic glow was around her swirling with the music. Probably some lighting effect but, it was beautiful. She was beautiful.

He gets a call late at night

Someone left a package with broken lights and a book “Good Night Moon” 

Sebrina is crying and Dick realizes she knows something 

“Do you remember how I said everyone has a secret side? My birth dad left my mom when I was a little girl. Apparently a few months later he was arrested for trying to break into a woman’s house. He was in and out of prison. But I never thought it mattered until… I became famous.” 

Dick asks his friends to help him watch her.

She gets to meet the Titans “How do you know the titans?” “Well one of them knows you.” 

Her and Garfield reconnect and  spend some time talking about that 

“Thanks, guys I feel so much safer now.” 

Dick stops her before she goes on stage 

“You are going to be fine”

“I know because you will be there” she kisses him then runs onto stage. 

Her father attacks the stage. 

He’s a meta who can blow things up. 

Dick saves her but as he does she also helps him by using her own powers.

She can control light 

They fight her father

All the lights go out and they are running around the dark venue. 

Her father gets away and she asks Dick if he will hate her now because she lied about her powers.

“How could I ever hate you? You made me Starstruck.”

They kiss under the night sky 

Next day she comes to the Titan's place to talk to Dick

“I’m going to continue my tour but maybe we can meet up boy wonder?” 

“I would like that”

As Sebrina drives away she knows he won’t. The men in her life can never wait around for her. Don’t like sharing her with her work. 

He comes to her next show 

“Turns out I'm your biggest fan” 

--- Future stories include: 

Her meeting the bat family and the high jinks 

Dick juggling being a hero with a famous girlfriend 

Some fun stuff of them going to galas and stuff. 

Her helping the titans with her powers 

Them taking down her father.

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Tagging: @royslittleharper  @the-shadow-of-atlantis @coffee-randomness @smolwithpurpletols @xx3fsxx

[olboypacman]

Caught

Fresh out of a reconnaissance mission, tensions reach a fevered pitch between Starfire and her partner. Who's his partner you ask? None other than Jaycee Todd, a.k.a Red X. RedxStar, Rule 63. Request by ObeliskX. Some suggestive themes.

****

What in X’Hal’s name hell was Nightwing thinking!? Thinks Starfire. Pairing me off with that zarbnarf!

“All things considered, you do clean-up pretty nice, Kory.” Said Starfire’s partner, complementing his look for the night. He’s wearing a fitted suit; navy-blue pants and suit jacket with a white dress shirt. On his feet are polished dress shoes. His usual orange-tan skin concealed by a holo ring.

Starfire looks to her companion, that stupid, alluring, condescending smirk on her face as she follows him down the dimly pathways of Jump City’s waterfront.

She’s dressed in a black cocktail dress, the length of which is about one quarter the way to her knees. Her toned, shapely, cream colored legs on display for any who cares to look in her direction. Her look is completed by black high heeled platforms, the design of them making it look like she has a collection of straps on her feet.

She flips her shoulder length black hair, her blue eyes hidden behind a pair of black framed glasses. “You can’t stay mad forever, Kory.”

Red-X A.K.A, Jaycee Todd.

There’s been an influx drugs coming from the docks recently. Nightwing being the natural detective she is, had started to build a case against the supposed traffickers. Her most recent activity in this case had been surveillance. For that she needed a few teammates. Unfortunately, this drug case had basically been the only thing worth the Titans time outside of a few robberies here and there. As a result of that, Cyborg, Beast Girl and Raven were indisposed, training a rookie Titans team in the south. And Nightwing herself was chasing another lead tonight. She needed at least two other people for this mission.

Fortunately, Starfire and Jaycee had been talking recently (Jay had highjacked the frequencies of the Titan communicators), much to Nightwing’s chagrin.

They’d often talk about mundane things, gossip about who they don’t like in the hero community, and flirt.

Well, Jay would flirt anyway.

Kory wasn’t exactly sure who to feel.

Though, if Kory were to be honest with himself, he would admit he didn’t mind the flirting.

He saw his ex-girlfriend’s desperation and recommended Jay for this assignment.

Never mind the part about her being Red X, a criminal.

“Reformed criminal. The criminal part being alleged, of course. Not that you could ever prove anything, Chuckles. I perform security consultations these days. Some clients maybe of the unsavory sort, but their checks usually clear, so whatever.” She had corrected.

It wasn’t difficult to convince her either.

A hefty retainer, a tall, red-haired hottie on her arm and a chance to screw with Rachel Grayson is always good fun.

Their actual mission was to ID a few members of this supposed cartel. The intel that Rachel had gathered had stated there was an upper-echelon club on the waterfront that high-ranking members of that drug outfit had frequented. Kory was to be back-up in case something happened, and Jay was supposed to snap pictures of the members of this supposed cartel through a camera built into a pair of glasses.

Simple.

They could’ve achieved the same thing using Raven’s abilities much more discreetly had he been available.

That way, the grief of dealing with Jaycee could’ve been saved.

Even the city police could’ve done this in Kory’s estimation.

The Jump police department had gotten complacent due to the Titans handling most major crimes these days. Hell, a criminal would have to be really good or really stupid to think they can set up shop in this town, considering the team of heroes that acted as it’s guardians.

And considering all Jay had to do was bat her eyelashes at a few of the supposed lieutenants in this operation, Kory's betting on the latter.

And a chat few times a genuine smile had found its way onto Jay’s face.

It was most stunning, thought Starfire.

Jay rounds in front of him walking backwards, “Listen! I know you’re upset, but at least you can stop ignoring me.”

Kory grimaces, practically snarling at the dark-haired woman in front of him. He stops, the young woman following suit. “You complained to security, multiple times, that, and I quote, ‘some long-haired creep is following me around.’ How should I feel right now, Jay?”

She steps closer to him playing with the buttons of his shirt. “You should feel good. We’ve completed the mission. And you’re going home with a beautiful girl.”

Star responds by slapping the young woman’s hands away from his chest, as they continue toward the parking spaces.

“Fine!” Yells Jay, “I apologized, but if that’s not good enough for you, screw it you jackass! Excuse me for trying to have fun.” She finished with fire in her eyes.

“By having me kicked of the club! What if something happened and you needed my help!” Said Starfire, almost screaming at her.

“Aww, so you care about lil’ ol’ me?” Said Jay, batting her eye lids playfully at the Tamaranean.

He sighs, pitifully, as they stop in front of their vehicle. “X’Hal, why have you punished me with by being acquainted with the most frustrating women.” Said Star.

“Oh, I’m frustrating?”

“Yes, you and your sister.”

“Well it’s better than being a naive boy scout.”

“Clorbag.”

Jay scoffs at him, grabs him by his shirt and pulls him into a kiss.

He responds wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

They break their lip lock, resting their foreheads against each other. Kory sighs once more, “To answer your question, I do.”

“I knew it,” Said Jay, her genuine smile spreading across her face. “Took you long enough to realize it, cutie.”

A blush spread across his face, “Well, what about you? How do you feel about me?” He asked sheepishly.

She laughs, still being held closely to him, “I know you’re on the naïve side, Kory. But you can’t possibly be this dense! This mission? This dress? The flirting? That kiss?”

A silence sits between the two for a few moments.

Jaycee piteously shakes her head.

Starfire finally gets a clue and asks, “So, what now?”

“Same thing you and Rachel did when you confessed to each other.”

“How did you- Never mind, but here, on the pier. What if someone see us?”

“You hero types are so stuffy.” Muttered Jay. “Is this our car?” She asked, pointing at a black SUV.

Kory nods in the affirmative.

“Great!” She gives the Tamaranean a shove, his back hitting the front of the vehicle.

He lets out an “oof” on impact. But before he can catch his breath, Jay’s on him taking it in a kiss, pulling him down by his neck.

He responds by closing his arm around her form

Jay is soft and almost wispy in his arms, her kisses igniting a growing warmth in his chest.

Her hands snake their way up into his hair as she turns her head deepening the kiss.

His hands start to creep down her body, finding the bottom of her dress. He starts to hike it up…

“OK, break it up you two,” ordered a JCPD officer, flashing his light on the two.

They’d been so caught up in each they didn’t realize they’ve attracted an audience of about a dozen or so.

Apparently late Saturday nights on the pier are when the exhibitionists come out, but they can’t really complain considering they chose to ignore the nice roomy backseat in the vehicle they were situated on.

Oh, well.

They both start to get themselves in order, straightening their hair, smoothing out wrinkles on their clothes and pull articles of clothing back into place.

There are murmurs of, “Isn’t that Jaycee Todd?” “Who’s that red head she’s with?”, along with mentions of Brianna Wayne and Rachel Grayson.

“What seems to be the problem officer?” Asked Jay, as finished pulling herself together.

The officer scratches his head, obviously embarrassed at the situation, “The manager of bar down the way called about a young lady leaving with a strange man fitting you guy’s description. Said something about the man having multiple run-ins with security. Looks like they might’ve been mistaken. Carry on. After you two make it home of course.”

The officer’s goes on his way.

“Rachel’s going to kill us.” Said Kory, noticing all the phones pointed at them.

“I’ll take care of her, don’t you worry, cutie,” she responded as grabbed his hand.

****

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“I’m going to kill him,” muttered an irate Nightwing as she banged on Kory’s door.

The door hisses open.

Just as Rachel is about to explode on Kory, she takes in the sight of her sister in what Rachel surmises to be Kory’s dress shirt from last night, her hair disheveled, and love bites up and down her neck.

“Grayson,” said Jay, “what the actual fuck!? It is way too early to be banging on doors. Some of us had long night.”

Blinking behind the lenses of her mask, she regains her briefly forgone rage. “Oh, I bet you did,” Rachel yelled back at her, as she shoved a tablet in her face.

“What’s this?” Said Jaycee. She takes in what’s on screen of the tablet.

It’s a story on the Jump City Gazette’s website, the subject being a budding romance between Jaycee Todd and an as of the article’s publishing a young man who’s yet to be id’d by the newspaper.

The picture is of Kory with a nervous smile on his face huddling Jay into the passenger seat of a black SUV with the biggest smile on her face as she waives at the camera.

“Oh that, fun mission.” said Jay, nonchalantly, smile forming on her lips.

“That’s all you have to say?”

“What? I did the job what you paid me for, like the professional I am. Plus I’m in whirlwind romance with a cute, interesting and formerly single guy.” She then produces the glasses used in last night’s mission and hands them to Nightwing, “You’re welcome by the way.”

“You know what, forget it.” Said Rachel. She starts to walk away, but then stops herself. “Listen, I thank you for what you did for me last night, but what game are you playing with Kory? Tamaraneans don’t love lightly, you know.”

“It’s no game, and I’m aware of what I’m getting into. It’s like I said, he’s good looking and fascinating guy, and as far as love. I think it might be too soon to say all that.”

“Despite how things have been since we parted last year, he’s still a very dear friend. I’m just looking out for him.”

“Yeah sis, message received. Our boy’s in good hands. Sleeps like a rock though,” she said looking back to Kory’s resting form, fondly. “A tall, attentive, well endowed-“

“Jesus Jay!” Yelled Nightwing.

“What, don’t act like you don’t know!”

“Fine, fine whatever. I’ll leave you two to, whatever you were about to do. Thank God Vickie soundproofed all the rooms. She muttered as she walked away.

Jaycee leaves the threshold, letting the door hiss shut as she walks back to bed.

She takes her spot next to Kory, lying her head on his chest.

His arms tighten around body.

She sighs in contentment.

“Weren’t to loud, were we.” She asked him.

“Compared to lasted night, you were like the kitten walking on cotton,” He responded.

****

Read this and more @https://www.fanfiction.net/~olboypacman

[bluerene]

Vogue [robstar]

I know, I know, I’m working on posting River, part five tonight, but @dar-draws mentioned a modeling headcanon the other day that I could not stop thinking about soooooo here’s an unexpected fic to start off your day!

Warning: It’s not totally NSFW, but we have a near-naked Dick Grayson and a very flirty Starfire. Also, excessive cheesiness. It was late when I finished it and early when I edited it, so I have no idea whether or not this product is any good. 

As always, feel free to share your thoughts with me! 

The offers for modeling came pouring in not long after Kori Anders had made her first appearance at a Wayne Charity Gala. Dick supposed it was inevitable. After all, they’d designed an alter ego so she could play a role in his second life. And with the entrance she had made that evening, he was surprised people hadn’t been shoving contracts in her face the moment she’d stepped off the stairs.

“Oooh, Richard, I do not feel well,” Kori said nervously, playing with her evening gloves, “perhaps it would be best if we do this at a later date.” He touched her chin gently and kissed her forehead, “you have nothing to worry about, Star. You look beautiful. Just keep your head up and your feet on the ground. Dad and I can take care of the vultures.” “I do not wish to embarrass you,” she replied unhappily. “You never could,” Dick said, “and he doesn’t think so either. He’s glad you’re here.” “I am glad he has done the coming around.” “We both knew he would have to eventually,” he said with a grin, sliding his hand into hers, “be it now or ten years in the future when you’re pregnant with my kid.” Kori giggled, raising an eyebrow, “ten years, Mr. Grayson? We are waiting that long for children? Is it not a crime to deprive the world of our beautiful offspring?” “Ten years, eight years, two years, it’s all the same to me. As long as I have you.” “And I, you.”

She had pushed open the door and linked her arm with his, raising her head as they descended the polished marble staircase. Her grip tightened when the hall fell quiet, the silence broken only by hushed voices and clicking cameras.

But she did well. She always did well, as Starfire with the people of Jump, and as Kori with the press of Gotham. Courteous, diplomatic, and charming. She carried a sort of regality in her posture, something the other partygoers couldn’t help but notice. Dick and Kori were splashed in color on the front page of the paper the next day. And the rest was history. She was happy to enter an agreement with a designer based in Gotham. It was a two-hour commute from their apartment in Blüdhaven, but Bruce had already promised her a room at Wayne Manor, and full access to their teleporter. He was making a great effort, she noticed, to connect with her. That was nice to see.

The first few weeks were difficult. Photoshoots were fun but draining, and Kori quickly realized they were typically hostile environments. Photographers poked and prodded her, raising her arms and straightening her back, posing her as if she were an object. They spoke hurriedly, in exasperated tones, pulling faces whenever she failed to hide her inexperience. It was frustrating for her, and worse, she felt more out of place than ever.

The first rehearsal for the Spring Collection Fashion Show was the most difficult one she’d been through. She came home far later than she’d planned (though earlier than the director had liked), worked to the brink of exhaustion. She tossed her keys on the counter and headed straight for the bedroom, shrugging her coat off and hanging it on the back of the door.

She removed her holo-rings first, collapsing on the bed immediately after. She groaned loudly, blinking away the tears that had pooled in her eyes.

Her boyfriend poked his head out of their bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

“Hey, you’re home early. I thought you’d come to cuddle after midnight.”

Starfire kicked off her heels.

“They requested I stay longer but I did not wish to,” she said, sniffling.

Dick’s eyes narrowed in concern.

“Is everything okay?”

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze.

“Richard, would you think little of me if I were to leave the industry of modeling?”

“No, but I’d be worried. What’s wrong, Star? I thought you were enjoying the shoots.”

Starfire sighed.

“It has not come as easily to me as I expected it would. It is most...invasive. And challenging. And I do not think the other models like me very much.”

He set down his toothbrush and joined her on the bed, gesturing for her to curl up beside him.

“That’s probably because you’re a thousand times prettier than any of them.”

“The photographers do not think so,” she mumbled.

“Then they’re blind and stupid,” Dick said cheerfully, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “you’re still learning. You’ll figure it out. And when you do, you’ll look back on this conversation and realize how silly it is.”

“I am tired,” she said feebly, “help me get ready to sleep.”

“Lazy. But fine, I’m always good with naked Starfire.”

“Pajamas, please.”

“My choice?”

“I do not wish to rise from this spot, so I will trust you with that.”

“Sweet.”

Dick scooted off the bed and crossed the room to her dresser, pulling open the top drawer to find his favorite items.

“Thong and nightie? Please?”

Starfire raised her arm, wiggling her fingers, “you may give them to me.”

He grinned and tossed them into her hand, “did I mention how much I love you?”

“It does not hurt to hear it more often. Unzip my dress, please.”

She sat up on her knees and pulled her hair over her shoulder, turning her back to him.

“I do not know what to do anymore,” she said miserably.

“Y’know, Star,” Dick said slowly, dragging the zipper down her spine, “I could give you a couple of pointers. I’ve done a few photoshoots in my time.”

Starfire shrugged off the dress and reached for the clasp of her bra, unhooking it and slipping it off.

“Truly?” She asked, glancing over her shoulder to look at him.

He passed her the lavender nightie he had chosen, not bothering to hide his smirk, “if you want.”

“Will you teach me right now?”

“What? I mean, sure, I can, but - “

“You may remove your shirt”

“Uh, come again?”

“Well,” Starfire began, a devious smile crossing her face, “you have said you will give me the tips for modeling. And I feel as though attire similar to what I wear will help me understand the posing much better. So if you would be so kind as to remove your clothing, we could commence with the practice.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Dick protested.

“But it is what you said,” she replied gleefully, rolling onto her stomach. She propped herself up on her elbows, kicking her legs in the air, “and it would improve my mood greatly if you would follow through with what you said.”

He muttered something inaudible under his breath, but relented, raising his shirt over his head and tossing it on the bed.

“You’re a pervert, princess.”

“And you are beautiful to admire, my prince,” she cooed, tracing the contours of his stomach with her eyes.

“As long as you’re the one doing the admiring.”

“Always,” Starfire purred.

Dick, now clad only in boxers, placed his hands on his hips and pouted, “is this naked enough for you?”

“For the moment. You may proceed with the modeling.”

“Ha! I already am,” he puffed out his chest and straightened his back, turning his cheek in a way that defined the line of his jaw, “this is a pretty standard pose. Hands near your waist, lips pursed, chin jutting out so your neck looks longer.”

Starfire tilted her head.

“But you look so unnatural. Humans do not stand this way.”

“The whole point of modeling is to express a concept in a way that enhances the idea rather than the person,” he explained, hooking his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers and leaning against her dresser, “like this. Underwear ads for men like to emphasize the attractiveness of their brand. So guys clench their abs and arms, thrust their hips out like this - Star, are you even listening to me?”

“Hmmm? Oh yes!”

“No you aren’t,” Dick rolled his eyes, “you’re all flustered.”

“Do the thrust again.”

“Babe, how am I supposed to help you model if you keep eyeing me like this - “

“Thrust. Once more, please. I promise I will pay very close attention to your technique.”

“Sure you will,” he said disbelievingly, “anyways, whatever piece you’re modeling needs to be emphasized by your body. So for underwear, your stomach, thighs, and arms are the points of focus. Clothing depends on the style, but you can almost always guarantee longer limbs by arching your back or craning your neck.”

Starfire pushed herself onto her knees and turned her neck, pulling her hands up into her hair. She leaned back, exposing the flat of her belly at the hem of her nightie, and bending her arms so the soft lines of muscle became more apparent.

“Like this?”

Dick grinned, running his gaze over her body, “lookin’ pretty good.”

Starfire giggled, letting her hands drop to her knees, “I thank you. Do you have more of the tricks for me?”

“Of course, but we couldn’t get through them all in one night. Guess we’ll have to do this again sometime.”

“Richard Grayson,” she said, crossing her arms, “if I did not know better, I would think you are enjoying being my model.”

“I just like the attention. And helping you. Besides, we have way too much to cover. There are all sorts of modeling, and I think it’ll be easier for me to demonstrate if I have an assistant.”

“I shall fetch Silkie right away.”

Dick frowned, “aw, come on, now I’m thinking of modeling naked with Silkie as an accessory, why’d you have to do that?”

“You were acting far too cheeky for your own good,” Starfire said airily, flopping back on onto the bed. She scooched backward until she was pressed against the headboard and retrieved her phone from the nightstand.

“What are you doing?”

“I am taking pictures so that I can practice these poses on my own.”

Dick eyed her suspiciously.

“Is this going to be one of those things where half the girls in the network see it and I end up getting teased for a month by the guys?”

“Oh, these are for my eyes only, my love. Please, do the working of it.”

“You’re awfully cheery for someone who had a bad day,” he noted, smiling as he flexed his biceps.

Starfire took a photo and smiled at the screen, “And you are truly the greatest boyfriend in the world to work as hard as you do to make me happy. Oooh, I do admire that pose.”

Dick smoldered at her from over his shoulder, curving his back inwards and pulling his arms back, revealing tense lines of muscles along his body.

“I know you do, it’s the ass,” he said smugly.

He continued to shift between different positions, explaining each one and its intention as he did. Starfire, for all her teasing, did feel as though her understanding of them had improved, mimicking some of the easier ones to get his input. She learned that the more contorted your body was, the more unique it would make certain styles appear to be. Cameras sought mystery and so she needed to stare with half-lidded eyes, lips pursed as if there was something she disapproved of but the viewer would never know for sure.

When she started to tire, he asked her if they could try one more thing before they slept.

“Runways are harder. The walk is definitely something you’ll need, and I can’t really teach you the exact technique without heels, but you need to stand straight, arch your back, and take long strides. Try not to look too interested, but if the designer wants something specific, go with their vision.”

“You mean I must make the royal face?”

“The one you wear at my Dad’s parties? Definitely.”

“If I were to find heels for you to walk in - “

“Nope.”

“But - “

“I can teach you in other ways, babe. Besides, you’re the one on the runway, not me.”

Dick climbed onto the bed, placing his arms on either side of her.

“I am not tired.”

“You are, and you should be. You have another rehearsal tomorrow,” he whispered, kissing her nose.

She pouted, “and if I do not go?”

“It’s your choice,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “but we did spend an hour and a half practicing, and you made me do allllll of those poses.”

“You did not mind it,” Starfire muttered.

“Give it a try, Star. Things’ll get better. Just remember what I said.”

“Mmmmm.”

He kissed her gently, moving off of her and sliding under the covers of their bed.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you up so we can shower before you head out.”

She wrapped her arms around his chest, snuggling into his back, “I love you, Richard.”

“Love you too, Starfire.”

The lessons continued for weeks, growing more serious as they neared the presentation of the Spring Collection. Dick moved furniture around in their living room, setting out outfits for her to ‘model’ (though most of it was just lingerie he happened to like, paired with sexy stilettos). He threw together a playlist and blasted it from the kitchen, walking their makeshift runway and instructing her to follow suit.

She was a fast learner. There was an obvious improvement at work, particularly in the way she was treated by the photographers, who were backing off and giving her space to try to the concept on her own. The other models had softened slightly, occasionally extending invitations to lunch or drinks after work.

When the Spring Collection launch show finally came around, it was no surprise to Dick that she blew the audience away.

She looked beautiful.

She had always been beautiful, of course, but there, under the bright lights, he was really at a loss for words.

Long legs. Looooooong golden legs, shiny, smooth, soft, miles of silky skin. He wanted to touch and taste, claim and reclaim.

She smoldered at him. Her eyes made contact with his and she pouted her lips. She was fiery, sparkly, fierce.  Her hair twisted and burned and defied gravity, flowing out behind her.

“Fucking hot,” Dick mumbled, letting out a loud whoop as she executed a flawless turn.

That dress. He hoped she would keep it forever. It was...glorious. She was wearing a dark purple wrap-around bra and a matching pair of high-waisted panties under a long, sheer, lavender dress that tied at the waist and fluttered open to reveal those long, gorgeous legs.

It was barely clothing. Barely there, barely acceptable for public wear, but God, he hoped she would keep it and wear it for him.

She glided down the runway like she was born to model.

The crowd adored her, cheering during her walks, screaming madly when she graced the stage for the final time.

Bruce threw together a small party to celebrate her success, though Dick knew it was really because he was impressed with how hard she had worked to give Kori Anders a name. It meant she cared enough to see a relationship in the harsher public eye all the way through. That was something his father could respect.

“You were amazing tonight,” he told her while she changed for bed, “Dad thought so too. Everybody did.”

“If I was, it is all thanks to you.”

“I know,” he replied, grinning wide, “you owe me a private modeling session right?”

“Several, though I am certain you know every night seems to be a ‘private modeling session’, correct?”

He shook his head, “no, that’s for work. I was helping you and we’d get carried away, I mean a real, music-and-lights, private, modeling session.”

Starfire smacked his arm lightly, “you are incorrigible.”

“You love me. Will you do it?”

“Right now?”

“I don’t see anyone else in this bedroom.”

She sighed and ran her fingers along the straps of her silk chemise, “I am tired.”

“Come oooooon, baby, please. Here - you love this song.”

He cupped his hands over his mouth and hummed - rather off-key, she noted through her laughter - “Vogue” by Madonna.

“This is terrible!” she cried out, posing anyways.

“Keep going.”

And she did, bending her legs and raising her arms and arching her back while Dick sang her favorite songs until she finally dissolved into giggles and climbed onto his lap.

“Thank you for everything,” Starfire said, pressing her lips to his, “you did not need to do all this.”

“Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my girlfriend navigate her new job blindly?”

“The normal kind. You always seem to do more than you need to, Richard.”

“I love you, Star. It’s important to me that you know it.”

She kissed him again, “I do. I love you too. Would you model for me again if I asked?”

“I don’t think you need the help anymore, but sure?”

“Oh, it is not to help me with my own modeling,” Starfire said wickedly, burying her hand in his hair, “it is for something else.”

Dick grinned, settling his hands on her waist, “oh, that? Yeah, definitely. Always. Anytime.”

“Stop talking and do the making out now please.”

“My pleasure.”