#she's totally messing with Damian's head here

[ravenfan1242]

Y'all @andthendk is new to TikTok and not that many people know she is there yet. If you guys love her art as much as I do, it would be so cool if you could give her a follow on TikTok (if you have an account of course). It would be great to see her get some signal boosting there. She's an amazing artist and she gives our fandom so much! Like this hilarious reel that I can't stop playing over and over again 😂

[thevoidstaredback]

Saturday's at Wayne Manor are family days. The whole weekend is reserved for the family to come and go as they please, but the biggest events are the Game Days on Saturday from 11:00 to 16:00 and Sunday Dinner at 18:00.

Every Saturday is a Game Day, but the third Saturday of each month is Competition Day. The kids all choose their favorite games, and everyone competes against each other. It's very rarely missed by anyone, but there have been times when someone has had to tap out for one reason or another. Alfred keeps track of who's missed how many days. Barbra keeps the tally of who's won what and how many times. At the end of the year, on December 31st, the scores are announced.

Sunday Dinners are sacred. No one ever misses a Sunday Dinner. The last person who did Jason is still getting subtle jabs and looks from everyone and that was a year ago and he had a very good reason, thank you very much! Everyone is always present for Sunday Dinner because everyone still has a room and the option to stay the night between the two days. Most usually take up the offer, but there have been extenuating circumstances that have pulled someone from the Manor.

No matter any of that because everyone is here and everyone is staying the night. That means everyone is patrolling Gotham tonight. Almost everyone. Batwoman has offered to take over Bludhaven for the night, so that's where she's gone.

Bruce plans to present his idea of messing with his coworkers when everyone gets back to the cave after patrol. All his kids know who they all are, having been trained by him, so there's no risk or accidental reveals on his part. In actuality, the kids thought of it like a game. They even had a folder for it on the Bat Computer and everything!

Yes, that night, after everyone returned to the Bat Cave, he would gather his Chaos Gremlins and invite them to mess with the Justice League with him. He'd also try and get Alfred in on it. Family bonding, and all that.

Though, making his kids sweat was its own form of amusement for him. It was 3:00 when everyone finally returned. They all ran their own routes, watched over by Oracle, and their own times, but everyone was always done no later than 3:00. It was a rule that the Gotham Rouges had yet to pick up on because Batman went back out until dawn more often than not.

Anyway, Bruce has been the first to get back and had put on an act of being upset. He usually kept his Batman persona with his suit, so he was rarely ever this stoic while he was Bruce Wayne. He hid his smirk as he sat at the head of the meeting table in the Cave, waiting for his children to change and sit with him. Duke normally was asleep by now, but he'd asked the boy to be there, letting him in on the harmless prank while they waited for his siblings and Stephanie to arrive.

Once everyone was seated, he waited a total of thirty seconds, meeting eyes with every one of his children, before he spoke. "I'm very disappointed."

Dick's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He'd known Bruce the longest - aside from Alfred - and had likely picked up on something the second he saw Bruce and Duke at the table. "At who?"

"The Justice League," It was amusing to watch the tension melt off of all of them when he shook his head, "We all know who all of them are, as well as everyone who trained under them, but they don't know who we are."

"Except Wonder Woman," Jason pointed out, "She figured me out when I came back."

Fair, Bruce supposed. Jason was always Diana's favorite. "I think they need some help," he said, "A push in the right direction, so to speak."

Stephanie had a smile on her face that promised mischief. "We're not telling them, right? 'Cause that'd be no fun."

"Course not!" Duke yawned, "B said we'd give them a hint."

"What did you have in mind, father?" Damian asked, stoic as always, but matching the gleam in Cass's eyes.

"We invite them to the Bat Cave," he said, "Show them around a bit. The only exits we tell them about, though, should be the Lane," How the ground vehicles get in and out. "-the Zeta Tubes," Obviously. "-and the elevator. But, we don't tell them what's upstairs."

Alfred seemed very amused from where he had taken his seat at the other end of the table.

"From there," Bruce continued, "We invite their civilian identities to the next Gala. Meet them. Hint about the Cave without actually saying anything. If I know Clark as well as I know I do, then he'll, at the very least, piece together that the Bat Cave is under Wayne Manor."

"And if we play it right?" Dick's grin was manic, "They won't connect who we are."

"Won't that be suspicious, though?" Tim spoke up for the first time, "They may not have put things together yet, but they aren't stupid. They're heroes. If we give them the pieces, they're gonna piece them together."

Damian was the one to answer him. "Batman and Bruce Wayne hate one another, though there is a grudging acknowledgement and respect."

"Give them the right pieces, with a few from the wrong puzzle, in the wrong order, we could totally have them fooled!" Jason explained.

The group shared looks between each other. Nothing needed to be said because the looks and movements said everything.

Alfred smiled and shook his head fondly. "You may plan this in the morning. For now, go to bed and get some sleep."

Part 1 Part 3

[spacedace]

Here have some snippets of the AU that’s taken over my brain (featuring Elle unintentionally dunking on both of Bruce’s identities, Clark realizing he passed his taste in partners on to his son, a bit of pre/unaware that they are dating Super Serious Chaos, and some blink-and-you-miss-it background Enemies to Lovers Dick/Dan)

---

“Sorry, who’s Bruce Wayne?”

The room when quiet. All heads turned to look at Elle at the end of the table. Bruce didn’t visibly react, but Clark could make out the subtle indication of disbelief that his old friend was feeling - that they all were feeling at the interpreter’s question. Elle, suddenly aware she had the full room’s attention, had the look of someone who realized they’d said something wrong, but didn’t know what.

“You’re kidding.” John said, “You know Bruce Wayne. Everyone knows Bruce Wayne.”

Elle blinked. “I don’t.” She glanced from face to face, “Is he like a big deal? Does he work here or something? I haven’t been around that long so I might have missed him.”

It took every bit of self control Clark had not to laugh. His voice still came out a bit strangled from the effort as he offered, “No he doesn’t work here.” If Bruce was the type to do so in uniform, he’d be kicking Clark under the table.

“You live in Gotham. You have to know Bruce Wayne.” Barry said, voice going a bit high with growing bewilderment. “Mega ba-jillionair. CEO of Wayne Tech? Richest man in Gotham - in the world? Has like a hundred kids?”

Their interpreter’s nose scrunched. “So he’s like…in one of those fundamentalist cults obsessed with having a bunch of kids or something?”

Bruce actually twitched at that. The sound of utter disgust in Elle’s voice at the concept, the complete and total lack of any kind of recognition she had for the single most famous non-crime or crime-fighting related person in the city that she lived in, she truly had no idea who they were talking about. Clark had to get a recording of the room’s security feed, Lois would love this. Oh, wait no, Bruce’s kids. Maybe if he was fast enough he could text Dick to get there ASAP so he could see it all in person before it was over.

“No! Nothing like that! He adopted them - well most of them.” Barry tried to explain, looking utterly lost as he turned from Elle to the rest of them and back again. “You’re messing with us right? This is like a joke?”

Elle shook her head, looking just as lost as Barry did. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Do you know Dick Grayson?”

“I know of an officer Grayson who is a dick. Total tool. He’s been making my brother’s Dan’s life miserable for like a year now. Pretty sure not who you’re talking about though.”

“Jason Todd.”

“The library goon?”

“Tim Drake.”

“Sounds like a Dark Wing Duck character.”

“Cassandra Cain.”

“Isn’t that the author that started out writing incest Harry Potter fanfic?”

“Duke Thomas?”

“What’s he a Duke of?”

Barry snapped his fingers, pointing emphatically at Elle with a look of victory on his masked face as he shouted, “Damian Wayne!”

Damian, who had at that moment just walked into the meeting room with Jon at his heels paused in his place just behind Elle. He did pretty well at hiding his surprise at Barry seemingly shouting his civilian name and pointing at him upon walking in. Though the tense line of his shoulders suggested that if Barry was actually revealing his secret identity without warning or permission, there would be blood.

Stella Nightingale, unaware of the almost-kinda identity reveal going on around her, tilted her head in confusion at the speedster. “I’m assuming he’s related to that Bruce Wayne guy?”

“They’re all related to Bruce Wayne.” John said with open amusement now. The Green Lantern had given up on the research entirely, watching the entire debacle with a growing smirk he kept casting towards Bruce. “That man’s face is plastered absolutely everywhere in the news. How do you not know who he is?”

“If Lois Lane hasn’t written about him he can’t be that important.” Elle said with a casual certainty of one speaking a core tenant of their beliefs. Clark’s opinion of the young woman - already quite high considering her ferocious loyalty and fondness to Jon - rose sharply.

“You’re read the Daily Planet?” Clark asked, warmth curling in his chest at the mention of his wife and her work.

“I read articles by Lois Lane.” Elle said promptly, “I tried reading some articles that Kent guy she partners with sometimes wrote on his own but I couldn’t get past his writing style. Dude sounds like he’s from outer space with his word choice sometimes.”

Bruce, looking far too pleased, gave a quiet and not terribly convincing cough as Clark tried to will his soul back into his body.

It was going to be a long day.

—

“You are at least aware of who Gotham’s vigilantes are, yes?” Damian asked with a raised brow behind his mask.

Elle shrugged, giving him a sly smile. “The relevant ones.”

Clark tried to hide his short laugh with a feigned cough. Elle at least was distracted enough with Jon and Damian’s attention to notice but Bruce was giving him a look over the tablet he was trying - and undoubtedly failing - to review files on.

Jon grinned eagerly from his spot beside Elle as he asked, “Aren’t they all relevant to you? You live in Gotham.”

“I live in Crime Alley.” Elle corrected, bumping his shoulder with hers. “We have different standards of relevancy there.”

“So what are the relevant ones then?” Clark asked, pointedly ignoring Bruce’s burning stare. They’d get back to the research. Eventually. Finding out if the Gothamite who had been spending all her free time with Phoenix and Flamebird for the past year and a half was as oblivious to her city’s heroes as she was its celebrities was too entertaining a notion to pass up.

“Phoenix, obviously.” She grinned cheekily at Damian across the table, ticking names off her fingers as she continued. “Red Hood. Spoiler. Uh…Orphan?” She trailed off, forehead scrunching in concentrated thought.

“That’s can’t be all the ones you know.” Jon gaped, eyes sparkling with amusement as he glanced over to were Bruce was seated, not five feet away before turning back to watch Elle try to rack her brain for any more Gotham vigilantes. Clark could see the moment that the words are taken as a challenge as Elle sat up and looked more determined.

“No, shut up, I know more. Uh…there’s the one, um Red Sparrow? It’s another bird one with red name, I’m pretty sure. And the one with the blue - fuck I should know his name. Nightjar? Wasn’t Nightingale I would have remembered that…shit, dude threw up on our couch once I should remember his name -“

“Nightwing threw up on your couch?”

“Nightwing! That’s the bitch! He got poisoned or something and Dan drug him to our place to patch him up since Doc Thompkins’ clinic was closed.”

Clark shared a look with Bruce and Damian. Dick had failed to mention that little event. Clark could see Bruce reaching for his wrist computer, undoubtedly typing out a message his eldest about what he’d just heard - possibly another to Alfred if he was feeling like pulling out the big guns.

At the other end of the table Elle ticked Nightwing off with a nod, even as Jon squawked that it shouldn’t count since he’d given her the name, “Then there’s…uh…oh! Harley Quinn!”

“Harley Quinn does not count.”

“She beat up a guy trying to mug me last week and got me a hot chocolate afterwards, she totally counts!”

“Someone tried to mug you?”

“Crime Alley, Nix, if someone doesn’t try to mug me while I’m out I get worried that I missed Hood calling in a Street Clear for something big.”

“We’re going to circle back on that later.” Jon said, sharing a pointed glance with Damian. It looked like young Miss Nightingale was going to be getting escorted to and from the Watchtower from now on.

Ah, Clark mused, falling head over heels for someone with no understanding of the concept of self-preservation and a stubborn determination to run straight into the heart of danger without a second thought. It brought back such fond memories. Of both Lois and Bruce. And Diana. And - Hmm. Kara might have been right. Clark might have a type.

Watching the three at the other end of the table and taking them in, Clark realized he might have passed his taste in partners on to his son. Well, at least he’ll be able to give Jon some advise on how to handle the heart attacks Damian and Elle will inevitably give him.

“Harley Quinn doesn’t count. You got any more?”

Elle rolled her eyes, muttering about Harley totally counts, before leaning back in her chair. “I think I’m out. I know there’s more but,” She gave a shrug, “I’m tapped out. Those are all the ones I can think of.”

It was, surprisingly, Bruce that spoke up at that declaration, a slant of amusement to his lips as he asked, “No one else comes to mind?”

Elle waved him off, attention turning to the mountain of alien script they needed her to translate for them. It was the reason she was even there rather than in her office trying to translate whatever incredibly dangerous magic tomb JL Dark had dropped off without accidentally summoning a demon or ending hte world in the process. J’onn was right, they really should give her a raise.“That’s all I got.” She said with a sigh, “Like I said, I know the relevant ones.”

“Hn.”

Twenty minutes of shared looks of amusement and suppressed laughter later Elle’s head shot up, a look of wide eyed embarrassment on her face. “Oh my god.”

“There it is.”

“About time Nightingale, I was starting to be concerned about your mental faculties.”

“Shut up, this so embarrassing!”

“Don’t sweat it kid, we all have our moments.”

“I can’t believe I forgot Signal.”

“What.”

---

Context of this snippet if anyone is interested:

This is actually the same AU as the Steph & Jason sibling bonding Anger Management snippet from a bit ago (I’m calling it my Ghosts in Gotham AU in scrivener so I guess that’s what I’ll call it here lol). This time focused on Elle and her misadventures as a Totally Normal Civilian (TM) working for the Justice League with her two besties Jon & Damian (none of them realize yet that they’ve been dating for months).

No idea when this is supposed to take place in terms of timeline with the other snippet, but kinda vibing the idea that while Steph & Jason are having a heart to heart on a rooftop over their shared background and Jason’s future as a dad, Elle is up in the Watchtower telling Bruce Wayne to his face that she has no idea who he is and forgetting Batman is a Gotham vigilante while he’s sitting at the same table as her.

Anyway, this AU has taken over my life. Expect more nonsense to come lol

[clockwayswrites]

Like Betta Fish Do- Part 3

Masterpost of ao3 link and all parts. wc: 1263

“Sorry for intruding on your haunt! Total accident. Please don’t disembowel me. Sorry again,” Dick read off the card that had been tucked into the gift basket. He glanced from the card, to the rest of the assembled batclan, and back to the card in confusion.

Of course Dick had insisted on coming with Jason to check over Crime Alley. Of course when they found the basket Dick had insisted on bringing it back to the Cave to be tested for poisons—

“They’re bathbombs, who’s going to fucking poison bathbombs.”

“We’ve seen weirder, Jaybird.”

—and so of course the whole family was there now.

Before Dick had even let them move the basket, he checked it out for basic booby traps. (To be fair, this was the first thing Jason did too.) Once the basked had been to the Cave, it was checked over, again, by various Bats. Then, Tim had taken all the contents to run a chemical analysis on the chocolate and bathbombs (seriously, who poisons bathbombs?). And finally, Bruce gave the all clear on examining the basket itself.

Dick had snagged the little card out of it’s little envelope before Jason could even make a grab for it and read off the message. “’Please don’t disembowel me’? What the fuck, Jason.”

Jason raised his hands up with a shrug. “Don’t ask me. Sure, ‘please don’t behead me’ I could get—” he ignored the slight flinch that caused from Tim and Bruce— “But pretty sure word has gotten around that killing isn’t really my sort of MO anymore.”

Thankfully the computer beeped before they could get into all that.

Again.

Tim read over the results before announcing, “Report came back clean on everything.”

“Huh.” Dick seemed actually surprised by that. Jason was feeling really fucking done with his family.

“Perhaps a chemical inside the bathbombs that will explode when exposed to water?” Damian suggested.

Really fucking done.

“We do all get how messed up it is that your brains go there, right?” Duke asked. (Duke might be Jason’s favorite at the moment.)

“Can’t be that,” Tim said, ignoring Duke’s comment about their mental stability with practiced ease. “I took a sample core all the way to the center. It really is just a basket with bathbombs and some chocolate.”

“Sweet,” Stephanie said as she made a lunge for the box of chocolates. Jason quickly pulled the basket and its contents out of reach.

“Back off, it’s my gift,” Jason said with a snarl that was only half for show. As much as he had calmed back down, he still felt tense— like there was a heavy weight in the center of his chest.

Damian gave him a wholly unimpressed look. “Why? Do you deserve it for, and I quote, not disemboweling someone?”

“I mean, I haven’t,” Jason said with a shrug as he grabbed his helmet; the gift basket was tucked securely under the other arm.

“Jason, we have to talk about this,” Bruce said in that tone of his; the one that implied Jason was making a stupid mistake. The one he always seemed to have—

Jason shook the thoughts away. He didn’t need to tempt the Pit today by doing down that path. He could feel that green tinged anger lurking on the edge of his mind already. He kept heading to his bike. If he got out of here, the temptation to pick a fight would go away. He knew that. He just had to make the choice to walk away from the fight. “Fuck no. Look. I’ll check my system and put up new cameras or some shit, okay?”

The footage on every camera he had up around the exterior of his apartment had either shown nothing at all or had glitched out into a fuzz of static. There had been someone at his door— a slight person, dark clothing— but that's as much detail as they could get. Which was, sure, concerning, but seemed like no harm no foul. (Not that the rest of the family agreed with that assessment.)

“I’ll bring over some better cameras in a few days and check through your system,” Tim said, already turning his attention to the task.

Jason didn’t want that.

He didn’t want anyone else messing with his system. But he was starting to understand that having his hands on the information of his family was Tim’s way of showing he cared. Jason hated it, but he understood it, so he’d allow it. He owed Tim more than a little acceptance. He owed Tim so much.

“Sure thing, Replacement.”

-----

Jason spent hours going over every inch of his place when he returned. None of the traps or markers had been triggered to show that anyone had actually come inside his space. The feeling he had experienced at dinner hadn’t come back. All that he felt was a slight unease and that was easy enough to dismiss as lingering feelings from earlier in the day. It wasn’t any worse than a Pit hangover.

Finally, satisfied that his place was secure, Jason sank down onto his couch with a huff of air.

The gift basket mocked him from where it sat on the coffee table. He’d dumped it there when he first came in, ignoring the odd present in favor of making sure that his place was safe. It would have been convenient for someone to break in and set up a trap while they were off dealing with the basket, but no one had. Now both him and the Pit were settled and the basket was still there.

Who the fuck gave bathbombs for not being disemboweled?

Leaning forward, arms resting on his knees, Jason plucked out the card. It was a simple thing, just a bit of cream cardstock in a little envelope. No logo or distinguishing features. The writing was a scrawled, half cursive— just this side of legible. Distinctive, but not any handwriting that Jason recognized. It wasn’t signed.

That would have been too easy.

That was the real issue of it all, wasn’t it? Who would leave a note like that for him? Jason Todd shouldn’t be getting a note like that. Red Hood, sure, he could understand getting such a message. He hated it a little, now that he was further away from the worst of the Pit Rage, but he got it. But him as Jason? Reclusive, miraculously returned son of Bruce Wayne? Jason shouldn’t have anyone afraid of him like that.

It spoke to someone knowing of his life as vigilante turned crime boss turned vigilante again, and that was dangerous. It was dangerous for him. It was dangerous for his family. It was dangerous for Crime Alley.

It was just another fucking thing he had to deal with. As if it wasn’t enough to having only recently, officially, returned to the living. There was also the work he was trying to do as Red Hood, the work he was trying to do for Crime Alley as Jason, and the effort of trying to spend more time with his family (preferably without stabbing anyone). Now he had this mystery too.

Maybe the bathbombs actually were a good gift and didn’t that idea make him scowl. When was the last time he’d actually taken some time to just relax? It had to be a while with the size that his ‘to read’ pile had grown to was any indication.

He could use one. They were just bathbombs.

He could run a warm bath, relax, crack open a book, eat some chocolate… and just try not to worry for a bit. Nothing was going to be solved tonight. Bruce had ordered him off patrol— which normally wouldn’t stop him, but Cass had given him big worried eyes too. There were no other pressing matters. His apartment was secure…

Fuck it. He grabbed the little basket and headed to the bathroom.

Time for some self care.

-----

AN: We'll likely get a Danny scene to cap chapter 2 off, but I though this was a nice little bundle to post! And my poor migraine is going to get even worse with the Artic front so wanted to get this posted~

Thank you all for such a lovely response on the other parts! This will be going up on ao3, but I want to get at least three chapters done first to get a little buffer. Everyone who asked should be in the tag list (as of yesterday), but if I missed you, or you want to be added, just let me know in the replies!

Stay delightful my darlings!

@fisticuffsatapplebees | @thegatorsgoose | @wolfeyedwitch | @lazy-bouqet | @confusedandghostly | @glomsk | @kailithiel | @bahfev | @d4ydr34min9 | @claudiashq | @someonebored0100 | @pastalavistamf | @samgirl98 | @angelheartgamer | @lehana37 | @spiteismymiddlename | @rosecinnamonbun | @demon-cat-goes-woof | @violet-catsarelife | @trickerdi | @avelnfear | @undead-essence | @basilf1res | @amillionandonefandoms | @stealingyourbones | @sarcastic-yami | @bun-fish | @aconitewolfsbane | @dontfightmecauseillcry | @omgnectarina

[incorrectbatfam]

Batfam’s Father’s Day plans

(also on Ao3)

"Morning, Bruce."

The way Stephanie says that instantly makes him look up. She traces her socked toe on the right angles of the tile, looking down. 

"Morning, Steph." Bruce puts his coffee down. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" She perks up in realization. "No, not at all. I actually just have something for you. I stopped by Walgreens on patrol last night 'cause I ran out of antiseptic, and I saw something that reminded me of you." 

She hands him a dark blue greeting card with a cartoon fruit bat and Comic Sans text reading: You drive me batty, but I love you.

"Get it? 'Cause it's a bat, and you're the Batman." She scratches the back of her neck. "Not trying to make it weird or anything, you're just a cool mentor and whatnot. But also, it's nice to have someone who you can mess around with. My old man was always talking business even when he was at home—you kinda do that too, but in a good way 'cause anything's better than being a D-list villain, y'know. Plus, unlike him, you're working on striking a balance. Sometimes you even have a sense of humor." She chuckles awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm going on a jog. Text me if you need anything." 

Before he processes her rambling, she grabs a granola bar and races out the door. He opens the card and out falls out a handful of purple confetti plus an ever-rare two-dollar bill. Smiling, he brushes the confetti up and puts it in his shirt pocket. 

Bruce checks his watch. Everyone else is already out, except for Cass. She was out late last night on that Clayface mission, but even she should be up by this time. He fixes her a bowl of cereal with the package instructions and brings it upstairs. 

"Cass?" He knocks. "Are you up yet? It's past 9:30."

He hears the duvet crunch like a candy wrapper as she shuffles around. A moment later, the door swings open as a messy-haired Cass yawns. 

"I'll leave this up here for you," he says, putting the bowl on the dresser. "Any big plans today?"

She shakes her head. "Write reports. And relax."

"Well, you deserve a break. Great job on the stakeout, Princess." He plants a quick kiss on her forehead. 

"Love," she says.

"Huh?"

"Favorite thing you do. Love."

He laughs softly. "I try. Now go get dressed."

The rest of the day goes by like any other. Despite it being Sunday, he still has a meeting scheduled with some Singaporean investors on their timezone. By eleven, he and some other executives are gathered around the long conference table as the video call drones on, and it's not until over an hour later that they're finally let out. Bruce loosens his tie and Tim does the same, sighing in relief and exhaustion. 

Bruce asks, "Did you have lunch yet?"

"Oh, I forgot that's a thing," Tim says, stretching. "Hey, remember that ice cream place on 32nd?"

"You want ice cream for lunch?"

"I'd break your no killing rule for their M&M cookie sundae, okay?" he says. "Besides, remember when you took my friends and I there even though we massively bombed our first off-world fight? I might still be a massive perfectionist but that made me get a little more comfortable with failing. Anyway, I thought it'd be cool to stroll down memory lane—and have junk food as a meal without Alfred knowing. Unless you're busy, which I totally get."

"Not at all," Bruce replies, putting an arm around Tim's shoulders. "Duke and Damian will be at the arcade all day and I don't have any urgent side business." 

And so, instead of calling Alfred for a ride, they journey through the Gotham subways with Tim's camera capturing the Grammy-worthy saga of a billionaire CEO battling a common turnstyle. They get a few side-glances in the sparse train car, but besides a teenager asking for Tim's autograph, the civilians leave them alone. Pretty soon, they're at a 1950s-themed ice cream parlor, where the waitress slides their orders down the long chromium bar. 

"Why do they call it a banana split?" Bruce asks, grabbing the cocoa powder shaker. 

Tim pauses mid-bite of his cookie. "...Because they split the banana in half?"

"Really?"

He moves the whipped cream aside to reveal the cut banana in Bruce's dish. 

"How would it sound if I said I never noticed that?"

He smirks. "That's why I'm the brains of this operation."

"Indeed you are." Bruce ruffles his hair. "Though this head of yours could use some shampoo." 

"Will saying I love you get me a free pass out of it?"

"No." He laughs. "But I love you too, son."

Alfred catches on to their little dessert escapade and picks them up from the parlor, though not without commenting on the strawberry stain on Bruce's jacket. As Tim plugs his music into the car, Bruce takes the time to listen to the voicemails he got during their lunch break. 

"Hiya Bruce," Clark's voice plays. "I hope today's going swell for you. I just want you to know that I'm glad I can call you my pard'ner." Bruce snickers at the country twang.

Next is Diana. "Bruce, I apologize if I must keep this brief since I have a curator's convention today. However, I wish to tell you that you are an invaluable teammate and even more remarkable friend."

"Hey Batman, I gave you a shoutout to the Central City press for your help taking down Weather Wizard," Barry says. "Also, thanks for letting me borrow your communicator. I can always count on you to be overprepared. Have a good one!"

"Bats, tell your kid to quit taking my yogurt from the fridge." Ah, good old Hal. "Also, today's all about guys like you, so... yeah. I admit, you could be worse." 

Finally, there's one from Zatanna. "Afternoon, Bruce! I'd tell you in person if I wasn't caught up in Kahndaq, but I hope today is extra special for you. I know how much the birds mean to you, and I know they're gonna treat you well."

(There's also one from Ollie, but he's just asking if he can use the communicator after Barry. In the background, Dinah is is clearly ordering food.) 

After dropping Tim and Alfred home and switching to a more discreet vehicle, Bruce makes his way to pick two of his other kids up from the arcade. 

"Did you guys have fun?" Bruce asks as they climb in.

"We decimated every game," Damian says, "and won you the finest specimen as a trophy."

He plops a five-foot Snorlax into the front seat and buckles the seatbelt.

"This is for me?" Bruce asks. 

"Tt, who else would it be for?"

"I didn't win as many tickets," Duke says, "but I also got you a spider ring and a Chinese finger trap." He puts them in the cupholder.

"Why are you giving me all your prizes?"

"Again, who else would we give them to?" Damian asks.

Duke says, "I think what he means is that you do a lot for us, so this is a thanks from us."

As silly as it might seem, Bruce is genuinely touched. 

Pre-patrol dinner is a quiet affair, with Kate stopping by because she apparently forgot to go grocery shopping. She takes a fingerling potato off his plate. 

"Um, you're welcome?" he says. 

"Bruce, we're family. It's what we do." She takes a bite. 

He takes a piece of asparagus from her. "I wish all of us were here, though. Too bad Dick and Jason have that Penguin stakeout. Hopefully they're being safe."

"Even if things go wrong, they were taught by the best. You should trust them more." Selina gets up and places a peck on his cheek before going to get a drink. 

"I do," he mumbles into his meal. "It's the world I don't trust." 

As he puts on his cowl, he asks Barbara for an update on the evening. So far, Duke is handling a carjacking, the girls are preoccupied with a strip mall hostage situation, Damian is patrolling Metropolis with Jon, and Kate is kicking off her shift with a car chase against Two-Face. Tim and Selina are staying back to catch up on some overdue reports, but other than that, the cave is quiet. 

"Before you go," Barbara says, "my dad was cleaning out the attic and found something you might like."

From her bag, she pulls out a blue mug that says: World's Okayest Dad.

"My brother got it for him a long time ago, but... you know. It's all yours now, if you want it." 

He takes it, running his thumb along the words. 

"It suits you," she says before turning back to relay something to Stephanie. 

The route laid out for him tonight gives him the perfect opportunity to swing by and check on two of his boys. He lands on the rooftop silently, where Nightwing and Red Hood have already set up camp. Evidently, they don't notice him as they keep going with their conversation.

"Did you get dropped on your head as a baby?" Jason asks. "Sour cream and Greek yogurt are not the same thing."

"They totally are, change my mind." Dick glances through his binoculars. "No sign of Cobblepot yet."

A moment goes by as Jason not-so-covertly steals some of his brother's patrol snacks. 

"So how'd family therapy go yesterday?" Jason asks. "Did the old bat finally show an emotion?"

"It was pretty insightful, at least on my part." Dick lowers his binoculars. "I think I realized where Bruce's persistence comes from. It's annoying as hell, but I think that's how he maintains hope. And who knows, maybe it's his love language."

Jason scoffs. 

"I'm serious," he says. "I know none of us are stellar at this family thing, but we care about each other. You can't deny that. We just gotta... refine how we express it." 

"Count me out."

"Jaybird."

"Codenames, Dickhead."

Dick snickers. "You love us, admit it. All of us."

Jason mutters a string of curses under his breath before saying, "If you tell him, I'm filling your mattress with sour cream."

Bruce smiles and leaps to the next building. 

At the end of the night, Bruce finds Alfred brewing tea in the kitchen and takes the kettle from him. 

"I got this," he says. "Why don't you go relax in the living room? I think they added your favorite detective movie to Netflix." 

"This is a pleasant surprise." Alfred raises an eyebrow. "What brought it on?"

"It's Father's Day, of course," he replies, pouring the cups of tea. "You know you've always been a second dad to me."

"You made that clear with last year's breakfast surprise," Alfred says. "Care to join me?"

"Always," Bruce says. "By the way, do the kids seem different to you today?"

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

tumblr.com/emdeerm insert-that-spiderman-meme

based on this prompt and the amazing fanfic "Wait I'm a Cartoon Over Here?!"

Ahem Damian flopped onto his bed, exhausted after having had to clean the bat litter once more, as per Alfred's instruction. However, that exhaustion was punctuated by an underlying satisfaction. Despite everything, he and Richard had succeeded. They made contact with Team Phantom (part of him felt dizzy and giddy at the notion, but he'd impale anyone who'd suggest it) and managed to keep Father and the others from combusting at the notion of their existence. Phantom had sworn up and down to never expose their identities, knowing just how important they are. ("You were my hero since I was 7, I'd rather eat Dash's underwear again than betray your trust!") If only he knew...

Speaking of whom, Damian clamped his hands of his ears as the girlish squealing in this room entered a fever pitch. He was starting to regret allowing Kent to enter the Manor while team Phantom were visiting.

"DANNY DANNY DANNY DANNY DANNY I'M SUCH A HUGE FAN OF YOU CAN YOU PLEASE SIGN THIS AND THIS AND THIS AND-" Damian could've sworn that's the spiel Jonathan had opened with about twenty minutes ago. Fenton, for his part, was doing his best to withstand the onslaught of super-powered pre-teen fandom.

He'd never be caught dead doing something so... debased. So petty and pointless as to gawk at a fictional character. He, the blood son of the Bat and his future successor.

"Come on Damian, aren't you excited too?" His heart rate spiked. Blast. How quickly could he break into Father's kryptonite vault...

"You sure you wanna mess him with right now? He really looks like he could kill you, and I read the issue where he tried to murder Tim."

Damian prickled, even felt a hint of shame knowing that Fenton knew just as much about him as he did, how shameful. No not shameful at all, why would he care about someone who probably wasn't even real. Damian moved to sit up and shot Jonathan the deadliest glare he could muster, an expression copy-pasted right off his Father's Batglare.

Jonathan, for his part, cowered behind Fenton. "You'd do well to keep remain silent, Kent, before I remind you that your life is as fragile as a dying rat." He all but spat out. However, instead of cowering further, Jonathan's lips curled into a devious expression.

Fenton's head bounced between the two. "Maybe this personal arc hasn't been published yet..." He muttered.

"Hey Danny..." Jonathan began, hesitantly. This could not be happening. Damian grabbed the nearest katana and lunged. However, his efforts were made fruitless as he passed through the duo like they weren't there. Dammit! "I know this is kind of embarassing, but we put in a lot of work and you're like my number two inspiration after my dad and we don't know how long you'll be here so., but you gotta keep this a total secret, like a total secret, you can't tell anyone."

Jonathan reached into his backpack. Damian swung his sword again. Anything, anything to prevent the inevitable. If this were allowed to happen, his life would be forfeit. Curse his hero this hero for being so overpowered. Where was the lipstick laser when you needed it? Or the fenton thermos? or the anti-creep stick, or anything?!

However, just as Jonathan was about to retrieve the forbidden contraband, a fist flew out and blew him away. "Woah what is this?" Exclaimed one Danielle Phantom. It was at that moment that Damian knew, there was nothing more that could be done.

~~~~~

Danielle rifled through the pages of the comic book that Jon was about to pull out (which, btw, was amazing! Danny might be into Nightwing and Martian Manhunter, but she could not count the number of nights she'd dreamt of flying with the Super Sons. Basically she was never gonna wash that fist again anyway) and was shocked to find the contents. "Yo Danny, have you seen this??"

Her template/brother/cousin/dad (his status is in a weird gray area at the moment) leaned over, eyes widening too.

For within her hands was the latest issue of the celebrated fancomic, the Secret Adventures of Danny Phantom, which circulated around this universe's social media forums and the schoolyards of Metropolis and Gotham. Danielle flipped through pages upon pages of lovingly hand-drawn panels.

"I didn't know we were a comic, too! I've never looked that cool before." Danny said, nothing the cover art.

"I dont think this is official, i mean, whatever official canon means these days. Look, there's no logo from the channel our cartoon's on."

"I can't believe I have fans who know enough about me to make a fancomic." Danny groaned.

"Oh shut up, Danny. you don't see me getting any fanart." Dani teased, until she reached the beautiful two-page spread of her, Robin and Superboy swooping in to save Danny from the GiW. Special attention was placed by the artist on her hair, and the unnatural glow of her ghostly eyes. Overall it was a very flattering picture. the real Dani's jaw dropped.

Danny turned to the gaping Jon, and the limp Damian, both of whose faces were drained of colour, looking even more dead than himself on a cold day. Realisation dawned inside of him. "Wait, did you guys make this?"

His interoogation could not continue furhter before Dani squealed with excitement. She phased out of the bedroom door in an instant before anyone could react, yelling in excitement about this amazing fancomic that Damian and Jon had made, like it was fate... Her voice was followed by one Dick Grayon's comment on Damian's evolving artstyle, before more joined the chorus. As for Damian? He rolled for 60d6 psychic damage, took 300, and lost the wlil to live. Jon was not far behind.

[makethatelevenrings]

Chag Sameach // Jewish!Batmom!Reader & family

Requested? Yes!

Warnings: a lot of mentions of food, I know that can be difficult around the holiday season

Summary: A blended family of faith comes together to celebrate the holiday season through Damian’s eyes

A/N: I’m not Jewish so please let me know if I messed anything up!! Happy Hanukkah my lovelies :) Bruce is canonically Jewish, Dick and Duke are in my mind Jewish, Jason IMO was raised Catholic, Tim is totally raised atheist as is Cass, Alfred is Anglican, and Steph was raised culturally Christian. She’s just here for the sweets.

Everyone was acting differently.

Todd wasn’t arguing with Father and instead, Damian passed him earlier in the kitchen where the crime lord had a “Kiss the Cook” apron on and was bent over a tray on the counter, piping bag clutched tightly in hand. Perhaps he was poisoning Drake…

Pennyworth was flitting between the kitchen and the main living room, glittering tinsel in hand that trailed after him along the carpet. Drake was somewhere with Thomas, both of them looking intently at their phones and whispering between each other. Brown and Cassandra were outside, that much he knew, doing who knows what.

Damian found Richard in the main hall balancing a tray in both hands with a large smile on his face. He lit up when he saw Damian and gestured with his head to follow him. Thus, the culprit of everyone’s strangely amicable behavior was located.

You.

Father’s wife.

The woman who clearly wasn’t suited to be the matriarch of the Wayne name. Not like his mother. You were not a warrior. In fact, Damian believed you to be completely helpless. Yet Father seemed taken by you and one of the stipulations about living here was that Damian must respect you. Even Richard was firm in that rule.

You stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed and eyes narrowed as Father maneuvered a large pine tree into one of the corners of the room. You called out directions until Father stuck his head out from around the tree and leveled you with a stare Damian had seen him use on Ivy and Quinn. You merely smirked and raised your hands in a thumbs up. Father moved out from behind the tree and nodded at Damian before taking one of the trays from Grayson.

You turned and lit up at the sight of Damian. Despite his coldness towards you, you had never once been unkind. It grated on his nerves. Surely, you had some kind of ulterior motive as to your deceitful kindness. He was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“Damian, good afternoon!” you greeted. “You’re just in time. The sun sets in thirty minutes so we’ll light the chanukiah and then decorate the tree.”

You paused, a conflicted look passing over your face and then you sighed. “Oh, Damian, I’m sorry. I never thought to ask if you celebrate either.”

“Either?” He was confused by all the decorations and trinkets scattered around the room. It looked like a glitter bomb had gone off, but Pennyworth didn’t look too frazzled at the mess. It was then that he saw the kippah on Father and Richard’s heads.

“Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah,” you explained. “When Jason first joined us…”

You trailed off, pain glinting in your eyes at the thought of a young Todd compared to the man he was now. Father joined your side and laid a hand on your shoulder. You offered him a small, shy smile and whispered out a thanks.

“Your father, Dick, and I are all Jewish so we always celebrated Hanukkah. When Jason joined us, we figured it wasn’t fair that he and Alfred didn’t get to celebrate Christmas with others so we decided to combine the two. Hanukkahmas. Christmakkah. So, the first night of lighting the chanukiah, we also decorate the Christmas tree. It’s silly, but it’s our tradition.”

Richard swooped in then, laying a kiss on his adoptive mother’s cheek. He then ruffled Damian’s hair despite his best efforts to get away.

“Don’t worry, little D, we’ll celebrate Ramadan too for you.”

You nodded eagerly. “Yes! And if there’s any specific foods you like to break the fast, please let me know. We’d love to have you join us tonight, Damian.”

Based on the excited grin on Richard’s face, Damian couldn’t refuse. He sighed but relented, allowing Richard to put a red and white fluffy hat on his head. The brim slipped over his eyes and he shoved it back with a disgruntled huff, but you were grinning at the sight of the two boys' antics. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be a total disaster.

Damian was put to task stringing popcorn on a fishing line and fighting off the vultures known as his family as they swooped in to steal a few kernels here and there. Someone had dragged one of the larger tables usually used for galas into the room and platters of food appeared, filling up the surface until Damian could no longer see any wood.

“Hey, baby bird,” Brown greeted as she and Cassandra entered the room. Thomas trailed after the two, a kippah on his head too. Brown started to reach for one of the powdered desserts but you materialized out of seemingly thin air and swatted her hand away.

“Not until Bruce does the blessing, you little thief,” you warned, but there was no heat behind your words. Damian was always confused by the lack of punishment received for behavior here. At Nanda Parbat, misbehaving and denying orders was met with violence. Here, it was met with teasing words from you and a stern lecture if it was a serious discrepancy. You were weak, he thought, for not preparing them for the cruelties of this world like his grandfather had. 

“Alright, last thing for the table,” Todd announced as he entered the room with a large dutch oven cradled between two potholders. You clapped your hands in excitement and moved some dishes aside so he could set it down in the center. 

“This is brisket,” you explained to Damian, “but we have plenty of vegetarian options too. Hummus, noodle kugel, latkes…a lot of latkes. Christ on a bike, Jason, could you have made any more latkes? We also have sufganiyot, rugelach, kugel, sfenj, and some Christmas cookies already…and we’re having matzo ball soup on the eighth night. Vegetarian, of course.”

Todd sidled up next to you, his large frame towering over his adoptive mother. You rested a hand on his arm and squeezed, a silent thanks for assisting Alfred with all of the food. He dipped his chin in response and then hugged you. Damian watched as the older boy practically melted in your embrace, something he had never seen. Todd was always cold and harsh, holding himself in a way that meant he was on alert constantly.

“The sun has set,” Alfred announced. The rest of the family had piled into the room and they crowded around the silver chanukkiah that sat on one of the tables. Richard lit the middle candle as Bruce began to say the three blessings. You murmured the occasional Hebrew word in response to the prayer, but the family remained quiet as Bruce prayed and Dick lit the candle. Once the first candle was lit and Bruce ended the prayer, you clapped your hands together and shooed everyone towards the family.

“Eat, eat. Nosh a little. We’ll decorate the tree after presents.”

Damian was struck with panic for a second. Presents? Was he supposed to get anyone something? No one else appeared nervous. They were all focused on loading up their plates and scattering around the living room.

You didn’t head towards the food. Instead, Damian watched as you pulled a blanket off of a basket tucked next to the chair you usually sat in. The basket was overflowing with wrapped gifts and you picked a few out, depositing them in the lap of the respective person. Damian was surprised when you stopped in front of him and smiled, holding out a gift wrapped in paper that had animals printed all over it.

“Happy Hanukkah, Damian. I like to give everyone gifts for the eight nights. Something small. Don’t worry about getting us anything. It’s more of a thing I like to do.” Your words eased his stress. He cautiously tore at the paper and found a fresh sketchbook, pencils, and watercolors inside. You had already moved on to hand a gift to Alfred.

He ran his fingers along the smooth paper and smiled despite himself. Maybe you weren’t totally useless.

For seven more nights, the family gathered in the living room to play games, watch movies, and eat. Seriously, it was a shit ton of food. You flitted about the room all night, anxious to ensure everyone was enjoying themselves. The gifts you gave were perfect, but Damian would never admit that. In lieu of gelt, other than the chocolate coins that Drake and Richard were battling over currently, you had donated ten thousand dollars to a charity each person supported, including Damian’s favorite animal shelter in the city.

He didn’t understand it. He had been nothing but frigid to you since arriving at the Manor. Yet, you were still suffused with warmth that leaked out of you and showering him with kindness and gifts. So on the eighth night, while everyone else was focused on the epic dreidel battle between Cassandra and Todd, Damian slowly approached where you were seated on the couch, curled up against Father’s side.

“Hey, need something?” you asked. You were ready to spring off the couch and serve him, but Damian merely thrust a neatly wrapped box in your direction. Your lips parted in a soft, surprised gasp and you thanked him as you accepted the gift. Slowly and meticulously, you unwrapped the gift and opened the small box under the paper to find a beautiful handmade portrait of the whole family.

“Oh, Damian,” you whispered. “It’s amazing. This is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me.”

“Happy Hanukkah.”

You handed the box to Bruce and stood. “Is it alright if I hug you?”

He nodded stiffly, but relaxed minutely when your arms wrapped around him. Damian understood why Todd softened around you. How Father smiled and showed affection like it was second nature. Why Richard laughed freely and Thomas felt comfortable in the family and Brown gossiped to you about trivial things. He understood why Cassandra sought you out on the bad days and Drake curled up beside you when he needed to feel comforted and why Pennyworth took your orders without question.

You weren’t useless or helpless. Your strength, light, and warmth was the thing keeping the family together. Damian hugged you just a little tighter. Maybe he could ask you to accompany him to the animal shelter to oversee how the donations were being allocated. And then perhaps they could go to that one vegetarian restaurant Todd had told him about.

You weren’t his mother and he would always love his mother, but you were certainly a figure in his life that he didn’t mind being around.

[ledalasombra]

The Granddaughter - Chapter 4 - Little reveals

"Media? If he's famous, the paparazzi must have made a mess of the relationship," Tim commented as he took a sip of his coffee.

Alfred noticing the matter, called attention to the preselnce of the two at the door, causing the room to be silent.

"He was a model…" Marinette replied in a low tone when she noticed the silence and everyone's attention on her. "He gave up his career when his father disappeared."

"A pity the boy had to go through that. Adrien is a good boy, and he didn't deserve to lose his father so soon after finding his mother and no matter how bad his father was, the boy should try to keep the good memories…"

"Gabriel Agreste is probably the worst person I've ever met in my life Jagged." Marinette spoke calmly, taking a deep breath "I'm sorry to cut you off, but after I had to take Adrien to the hospital at least three times in less than a year because of the absurd diet his father made him follow and of the countless times he's come to my house hungry because he's gone more than 12 hours without a proper food, I refuse to hear anything good about him."

"Oh Mari I'm sorry. I know you don't like talking about him, it's totally my fault" Jagged tried to apologize but she just shook her head slightly.

"Water under the bridge Jagged, don't worry." She looked at Alfred who rubbed her hand lightly to assure her that everything was fine. "Excuse my rudeness, good night everyone! Mr. Wayne, Damian, it's nice to see you." She smiled slightly, cutting the subject short. "Jagged didn't inform me that we would be coming here today, as usual I'll just find out where I'm going when I get to the place."

"Hey, that's not true.." he spoke with his hand on his chest pretending to be offended

Penny smiled looking at her husband beside her "unfortunately she's right, she only found out when she got in the car. I didn't know you knew Mari"

"Oh! Penny, Jagged, let me introduce you to my grandfather Alfred Pennyworth. He is Julia's father" Marinette spoke with a wide smile and a lot of pride, looking at her grandfather, hugging him from the side. "He is simply the best person in my life. I certainly would not have survived the last 5 years without him."

Alfred returned the hug, lightly rubbing his granddaughter's head. It wasn't common to see him so openly show affection, not that the older one didn't show it in general, but he was very attached to etiquette in front of other people. "You're going to be fine" he spoke softly in her ear seeing her just nod positively. He lightly rubbed her head with his hand, turning his attention back to the couple.

"No way Alfie! How could that be? And I thought I was going to surprise him…."

"Mr. and Mrs. Stone, Mari is my only blood family and, after hearing all the stories possible from her about the interaction between you, I can only thank you for the care you both have taken with her." Alfred told the couple "actually the family didn't know about her existence until yesterday…"

"So let me introduce you to my friend of many years. Bruce Wayne this is my niece Marinette Dupain-Cheng aka Marie from Luck Charm, my fashion designer for the last four years…" Jagged spoke excitedly. Marinette smiled, greeting the older Wayne again.

"It's nice to see you. Jagged has been talking about you and your family for some time now and I can tell you it's nice to be able to put a face to every story. However, I must say I can't put you in most of the situations he described. "

"Should I care about what was said?" Bruce commented smiling and looking towards Jagged.

"Only if I decide to talk about them" Marinette completed looking at Bruce and smiling genuinely.

"Then I shouldn't worry about what Jagged and Alfred say about you. Let me introduce you to my children." He turned around pointing to the others in the room "This is my oldest, Richard Grayson-Wayne…" he said pointing to him.

"You can call me Dick, short for Richard… " Dick spoke cutting off what Bruce was saying. "You really look like Julia. Your mother was an amazing person from what I remember of her."

"Thank you. I don't remember her very well but Alfred always talk about her."

"This is my second oldest Jason Todd-Wayne" Bruce said.

"Oh… you were the guy from yesterday, who talked about the curves… of my motorcycle" Marinette spoke slowly, with a playful smile, which earned a few chuckles from around the room.

"It's a pleasure sunshine… " Jason replied laughing and shaking her hand.

"The one with the coffee is my second youngest Timothy Drake-Wayne" she smiled slightly greeting Tim from afar, where he looked at her a little scared.

"He is fine?" She spoke looking at Alfred and then Bruce

"You're Marie…" he said still on cloud nine "...and Alfred knew all this time?" Tim looked at the older man and only received a slight smile in return.

"It's not a secret of mine to tell master Tim" commented the butler….

Tim approached looking at Marinette in the eyes and then taking her hands. "Marry me?" She looked at him with wide eyes "You're the best designer I've ever seen in my entire life! You're smart, beautiful and Alfred's granddaughter…"

Marinette looked at him desperately hearing Jagged and Jason laugh behind her. She looked nervously at her grandfather who just shook his head. "Um… I don't think that's a good idea?"

"Master Tim, I suggest you sleep after dinner and I'll be clearing out all the coffee until you get a decent amount of sleep…."

Marinette frowned, looking at him sympathetically… "I'm sorry about that…" she said watching him walk away, looking at Bruce who pinched the bridge of his nose in a clear sign of tiredness.

"My youngest, Damian Wayne, who you met yesterday…" the young adult just nodded slightly towards her in greeting.

"It's a pleasure to see you Damian." she smiled slightly towards the boy.

"I'm going to finish setting the table for dinner. If you can all make your way to the dining room, everything will be ready in a few minutes." said the butler.

" Do you need some help?" Marinette asked, looking at her grandfather.

"Don't worry my dear, you are a guest." the older one responded by patting her hand, then moving away. The young woman just nodded, turning her attention to the other members of the room.

"Jagged mentioned yesterday that you moved to Gotham to study, correct? With so many universities in Europe and the region being so well recognized, why come to America?" Bruce asked, seeing the young woman take a seat next to Jagged.

"Actually, it wasn't such a difficult decision. My grandfather lives here, I spent my whole life away from him, for me it was the most logical thing. My parents are great people, but I always missed him by my side." She paused as if thinking briefly about what to say, "Besides, Paris has become a city with a lot of memories that I'd like to leave in the past."

"Hawkmorth left a deep mark on everyone." Jagged completed by speaking seriously for the first time.

"But people are healing, that's what matters. Plus Gotham has one of the best universities in the world which will certainly help me a lot with Luck Charm."

"It must have been pretty hard living all that time under the pressure of not being able to release your feelings in a decent way" Dick commented sympathetically.

"Everyone did what they could to not get akumatized. And those who couldn't or didn't care... people just wished it wasn't so bad." She spoke with a faraway look

"And how it is?" Damian asked, causing her to turn her attention to him, not understanding the question. Dick looked at him scolding him "What's it like to be akumatized?" She looked him in the eyes, but before she even answered, Penny did.

"I don't think Mari is the best person to answer since she has never been akumatized" Penny commented, hugging the young woman from the side.

"There were some very close situations... in one of the most extreme cases he called the akuma back. Not being akumatized is probably the hardest thing to do, but I managed it and I believe meditation and my family at the time were what got me helped. I also talked to Alfred quite often. I think knowing how to address stress and feelings was what helped me the most." She commented with a tight smile.

"I believe it's best that we direct the conversation to the dining room." Alfred spoke completely cutting the subject. Everyone got up, following Alfred to the dining room, not being able to notice some exchanges of glances between the family.

Dinner passed with light conversation about Jagged's tour accompanied by delicious food served by Alfred. Jokes and puns were thrown in during dinner, setting a mild mood, very different from earlier in the evening, where the atmosphere was tense.

“Hey Alfie, dinner was wonderful. I already missed your food, there's no place that can do what you do…” commented Jagged excitedly “I'll invite myself to eat here whenever I'm in Gotham…”

"Jagged... you can't just invite yourself into people's homes..." Marinette commented, rubbing her forehead and shaking her head.

“Oh M, I already do that with Tom and Sabine. You know very well that this is true. Your parents and Alfred are the best…”

“I'm glad you enjoyed the food, Mr. Stone. I suggest you finish your conversation in the living room and I'll bring you all tea in a minute." the butler commented getting up, watching the others leave next. Marinette watched the others leave, gathering some plates to help her grandfather.

“Do you think you can come to lunch with me tomorrow? We really need to talk…” the young woman said gathering all the dishes and taking them calmly to a cart that was in the corner of the dining room.

"I'll be there. Did anything happen besides the pending conversation?” the older one replied looking at her intently, studying her reactions. She looked at him without answering and they were both silent for a few seconds.

“I need to have a breakdown before answering this question, but we can say that the night has not been very easy… The conversation with Adrien was difficult and all the questions today were not very helpful…”

"I'm going to make you some tea to help you relax… In the meantime, we'll talk and you can explain to me what's going on in that head of yours that's always full…" the eldest smiled lightly, heading towards the kitchen with his granddaughter right behind him.

–

"What possessed you to ask those kinds of questions Damian? I think it was clear that Parisians have a hard time with the whole Hawkmorth situation… We're not in an interrogation…" Dick spoke to the younger one when they both fell further behind when left the dining room.

"Tt. It's obvious to me that she knows something… The whole situation in Paris was very closely guarded, we don't have much information about what really happened these years…"

"Damian… Alfred asked that there be no involvement on our part. We all agreed not to delve into her life… "

"I, as an outsider of the situation, was trying to understand what went on in Paris. I wasn't looking at anything in her life… " the young man stopped to look the older one in the eye "I just think from the way she spoke and her reaction, she was involved..."

"Where is she? I didn't see her go by with the others…" Dick asked looking where they came from.

"She was talking to Alfred." Damian ended the conversation and walked back to the living room. He didn't intend to stay long, but he didn't want to be lectured by his father. Dick stopped for a few seconds, going back the way he did earlier and going to the kitchen, where he could hear part of their conversation.

___

"Adrien is trying to convince me to go back to London." She spoke as soon as they entered the kitchen. She was clearly uncomfortable with her conversation with her ex. "My presence wasn't doing him any good grandpa"

He sighed looking at his granddaughter "You need to worry a little about yourself too Mari. You need to be sure of what you want and what you need." He paused, reaching over and holding both of her hands. "Let's try to explain it piece by piece. Why do you think your presence hurts him?"

"He has nightmares seeing me… " she stopped talking closing her eyes “...during the last encounter everything got out of control and…"

"Calm down my love. Take your time…" he rubbed her hand lightly trying to be supportive.

"He thinks that because he couldn't protect me on the last day, because he saw me... he thinks that being by my side is putting me in danger. He pulled away and when he said it was better that we broke up, I ended up accepting it." she opened her eyes letting a tear fall. Marinette was going to continue but before she could say anything, she looked her grandfather in the eyes and stopped, pressing her lips together. "It's better if we talk when we're in a place where no one can hear us…"

"Hum…" the butler paused looking at her "we'll talk better tomorrow, ok?" She nodded.

"I'll understand your calmness about this whole situation as a vote of confidence but I don't like it…" He smiled slightly with the younger girl's sentence moving away. He put the water on to boil in the kettle, watching as she approached and stopped next to the marble cupboard in the center of the kitchen. He walked over to her, holding her hand "Do you trust me?"

"My life and more" she answered honestly and without hesitation.

"Then get that worry out of your head… " he said placing his index finger on her head. Marinette just pursed her lips, looking at him "Worry about what is necessary. I'll be by your side to solve what you need" Alfred caressed her face, seeing his granddaughter nod positively, leading them both to the door right away. As soon as he got to the door, both stopped and Alfred addressed the guy who was on his back playing with his cell phone "do you need anything Master Dick?"

….

Dick returned to the kitchen, stopping in the hallway when he heard the voices of Alfred and Marinette.

"He has nightmares seeing me... during the last encounter everything got out of control and…" 

 "Calm down my love. Take your time…"

"He thinks that because he couldn't protect me on the last day, because he saw me... he thinks that being by my side is putting me in danger. He pulled away and when he said it was better that we broke up, I ended up accepting it." Dick heard Marinette talking, noticing that they both stopped talking for a few moments. He was going to move, but stopped when he heard the young woman continue "It's better if we talk when we're in a place where no one can hear us…"

Dick was standing next to the kitchen for about 5 minutes and he was sure no one heard him coming, so how? He never understood how Alfred managed to sense his presence even when he didn't make a sound in the dark. Even after years he had come to simply accept that his grandfather just managed to be always present. Finding out that her granddaughter could do something similar was intriguing to say the least. Was it a family thing? Dick took the cell phone sending message in the group chat that has only his brothers.

Group Chat: The war zone

The First One

She certainly knows about what happened and from what I understand, so does Alfred.

It's scary how they manage to talk without saying anything...

I think it runs in the family, she knew I was down the hall in less than 5 minutes….

The Best One

I said she knew something. Pennyworth must explain to us later.

Richard was about to respond to the group when he heard Alfred speak behind him. He noticed that the cell phone started to be bombarded with a lot of messages, keeping it in his pants pocket.

"Do you need anything Master Dick?"

"Alfred! I came to get Marinette, she wasn't with the others…" he said smiling gallantly as he looked at the two. Marinette looked him up and down, taking a deep breath...

"And here I thought only Mr Wayne was like that…"

"Marinette…" Alfred spoke in a scolding tone.

"What? Seriously grandpa, Mr Wayne acted exactly the same yesterday… This family is very strange…" she said as she walked a little further ahead and Alfred shook his head negatively at the interaction.

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

Hello everyone... sorry for the delay but life is hectic... 

I'm still trying to finish editing the other chapters of "My not so normal little sister" and it's complicated... I won't even start with the others WIPs that are in my head and partially written. thank you for your patience, feedback and a thousand apologies if I forgot to tag someone. And again, english is not my first language, it's actually my fourth so I am so sorry for the grammar mistakes... the goal is always to improve

@fusser90  @night-ngale  @missmadwoman  @prettylittlebutterflie @babylovebug18 @its-maemain @iglowinggemma28 @the-church-grimm @kp-names @iamablinkmarvelarmy​ @starling218  @battybatbat  @atiredartistandacat @serasvictoria02 @read-fantasy-to-escape-reality @alice-hazelwood @maybeanalien0-0 @stella17luna  @sknerd101 @kathygene @waffleyunsure @nightfallsthings @taewinterbear95 @occulta-lacrimarum13  @kathygene  @tinybrie​  @kitsun369​  @iglowinggemma28​  @crazylittlemunchkin​  @nightfallsthings  @fangirlingfanatic​  @nightmarewasteland​   @laydeekrayzee  @the-ruler-of-death​ @sarcasticbambi

[quotidian-oblivion]

got any fic recs for a poor starving victorian girl?

Hi ghosty!! 'Course I do!

So i created a fic rec list over here before, but I'm happy to give more fic recs! I'll combine the ones I've posted individually and new ones under the cut

So obviously there's envysparkler's works. She is iconic. Every one of her fics are iconic.

And obvi @sardonic-sprite as well.

But there is one fic I will forever rec and it's Rebel Without a Claus by DangerBeckett. Really. It is in every one of my fic recs. It has me writing comments longer than a page long. It's still in progress and it's currently 10 chapters though. And updates are slow, but the highlight of my day when I get the email that it's been updated.

Now next we have...

One totally normal, completely inconspicuous Fererro Rocher Crack! It's by @foursixtwonineoh-pieces-of-lego and I love it, one of my comfort fics to read at 2am.

And another one by Evie is the ongoing Did you ever love somebody with a death wish? We all love evil Tim Drake AUs >:)

The Dragon's Keep(ing Us Sane) - Itslivybear Crack! And emotional fluff! It's about Tim, Bart, Cassie and Kon starting a band and no one recognizes them. There is also a BANGER song in this.

two against the world - carolinaa Hurt/comfort! Angst with a happy ending! TIM GETS A DOG IN THIS ONE!!! AND THEN THE TWO RUN AWAY FROM DRAKE MANOR!! THEN THEY GET ADOPTED BY THE BATS!!!

head in the clouds - Alienu Humor! Crack! *falls to the floor* It's so funny and so batfamily, I can't.

Little bird - Ididloveyou_once Hurt/Comfort! Whump! Seriously, the whump is so good in this Titans Tower AU

The Product of Procrastination - egg_thief Humor! Crack! I read it whenever I go through tough times and feel so weighed down, and it still makes me laugh. Tim's procrastination leads him to ask for help from his two older brothers on his English assignment.

A Touch of Midas - Ellegrine Humor! Fluff! Seriously- such good fluff. When I read that dragon metaphor, I nearly sobbed. But yeah, Tim messing with his brothers is peak.

Sprinkles - SunnyBlue Whump! Angst! Fluff! AND FOREHEAD TOUCHES! GHEFOUJDS Tim's almost dying and Damian does not intend to keep it that way.

The Thing™ - InkpotSprite Crack! Humor! AND ME SCREECHING OUT LOUD AND LITERALLY CACKLING OUT LOUD WITH LAUGHTER. OH GOSH, IT'S ANOTHER TITANS TOWER AU BUT IT'S SO HILARIOUS.

Okay, let's do some multichap fics

Green rings and red things - siren_of_the_ocean In this one, Tim becomes a Green Lantern and the storyline is so good, it had me entertained as I was reading it while I was sick.

Let's be Brothers - Honeybuttons Funny, twists, adorable friendships, adorable plots, I LOVE IT!! Tim is intent on getting Jason to be his brother and so he creates a whole plan to get him and Jason close enough to be friends then eventually brothers. Roy makes an amazing appearance and ooh... what's going on with Damian over there... hmm...

cards on the table - wesslan This... oh boy, this. *takes deep breath* I LOVE THE TROPES AND THE CHARACTERIZATION AND ITS SUCH AN ADVENTURE!! PERFECT BALANCE OF FLUFF (not fluff per se, but cute moments) AND ANGST!! Tim is a fortune teller who scams Gotham's elite society to make a living. But then the fortunes turn and he finds himself facing the whole family of Bats the Waynes who keep roping him into bonding sessions.

And those are the fics for today!! Thanks so much for the ask, Ghosty, I had fun reminiscing on the lovely lovely fics the lovely lovely writers have written.

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Sinner & Saint: Creed III” Chapter 2

Masterlist HERE.

"I wanna pick you up whenever you're down baby I'm gonna make you stop when you're in my town baby You make me pour some rum when you're not around I was lost, but now I am found If I know somethin', I know it sounds crazy It's gonna feel so good whenever I'm close to you Promising I'll do the things that you want me to Whenever you need some, you know I got some I hope you don't plan on making me run All you gotta do is call me up and I'll come"

Emmavie – "Tune"

Adonis Creed knew from jump that Damian Anderson coming back into his life was the universe's way of telling him that some debts had to be paid in full. It cost to be the boss and walking into his regular grub spot had him on a hook for his past.

The two men slid into a booth across from one another and his regular server greeted him right away with a sunny smile and an even sunnier disposition. Freda was an older woman who had worked at the neighborhood restaurant for over twenty years. She knew Donnie from when he first moved in with Mary Anne, Athena, and Apollo Jr.—A.J.

"The usual, Donnie?" Freda asked, not bothering to give him a menu.

Her thick salt and pepper hair sat stacked on her head in a pretty bun. If she dyed her hair, she could knock off a good ten years and fool people into thinking she was in her early thirties instead of the sexy mature catch she enjoyed being. Before he married Bianca, Donnie used to flirt with Freda all the time, until her husband, the owner of the spot, told him to back his young ass down. She still enjoyed the playful teasing he gave her about running off to Paris with him.

"Yeah. I only want egg whites for my omelet, though," he said.

"And what about you, young man? Can I start you off with something to drink first?"

Freda held a menu out to Damian.

"I'll have whatever he ordered," Damian said.

"You got it, hun," she said.

Freda stepped away from their table, writing nothing down. The two men stared at one another warily.

"Hope you brought a big appetite. She's gonna bring back a monster plate with sides," Donnie said.

Damian rubbed his stomach, then folded his hands on the top of the table. There was no sense beating around the bush with the man. Donnie cleared his throat and leaned forward.

"How long were you locked up?" Donnie said.

"Eighteen years, bruh. Just got out last week."

"Shit."

Donnie glanced down at his hands. He used to write to Damian. Tried to keep consistent. He even used his own allowance money to send him something. Purely out of guilt. He tried so hard to be Damian's friend and got them caught up in some mess that tore them apart. Damian kept Donnie streetwise and connected to the real world. Being dropped into an insanely wealthy family out of the blue at age ten had him acting like a real-life Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Damian was book smart and street smart, and Donnie wanted to maintain that balance, too. Mary Anne had him connecting with well-off Black families and celebrities that knew and loved his father. The difficulty of juggling where he fit wasn't helped by the animosity of his new older siblings. It took A.J. a few years to adjust to having a baby brother that came from some strange cocaine junkie who had a one-night stand with the boxing champion of the world. A.J. eventually accepted him as a past indiscretion in their father's life. They grew close.

Athena…

She never accepted him totally. Never forgave her father, even in death, for hurting their mother. Donnie was the constant reminder that her daddy wasn't perfect and embarrassed the family. Over the years, she treated him as Mary Anne's pet but pretended to be welcoming and warm for interviews or family gatherings when they were teenagers. He learned to ignore her discomfort and simmering disdain. They stayed cordial and created a sibling dynamic that eventually became a begrudging liking of each other for the sake of their love for Mary Anne as adults.

Freda brought them water and juice along with big plates. Donnie fingered his toast.

"Glad to have you back out," Donnie said.

"I know I've been away a long time, but I've kept myself in shape. I still got gas in the tank."

"Come by the gym."

"Thank you."

"You were one of the best."

"Still am," Damian said with a shy grin.

They ate some food in silence, and Donnie noticed how hungry Damian was. He licked his fingers constantly. Donnie pretended to get full fast and pushed his half stack of pancakes toward him.

"Finish this man. I hate wasting food. My eyes were bigger than my stomach today."

Damian nodded his thanks and attacked the stack. He slowed down when Freda brought them fresh glasses of water and orange juice. When they finished the meal, they stayed at the table and Donnie ordered them coffee to go.

They took a long drive around Venice Beach. Damian told him he liked to ride the bus there every day to get his mind clear. Donnie parked in a lot near the sand and they watched the waves roll in.

"I'm sorry I stopped writing you… sending money. Once I got to college and started down a business degree, Mary Anne… she kept me on a tight leash to do well and I—"

"Don't worry about it. The letters you sent me were enough to keep me motivated. But I still had money on my books."

"Must've been Mary Anne. She made me stop sending money online. Maybe she wanted me to focus on my life and she'd give you the funds instead."

"A good woman."

"Yeah, she is."

Damian dug into his jean pocket and pulled out a letter. Donnie took it and read all the words.

"This still stands, man," Donnie said.

Damian smiled.

"All I need is for you to open the door. I can do the rest on my own."

"I'll hook you up with free membership to the gym… and a trainer."

"I'm looking for a job. Might take some time. Still figuring out things being free. Everything moves so fast on the outside. Most days I feel like I was frozen in time and can't catch up. I stood in a coffee shop on my first day out and watched people pay for coffee and donuts by tapping their phones on the register. For a minute, I thought everything was cashless, and I was freaking out. Technology just went warp speed. Things are loud all around me and it feels like a billion people live in L.A. now. I feel far behind… like I'm in a whole different dimension than everyone else."

"Take your time. I'll see what I can do to help you find employment. Where do you stay?"

"A transitional house downtown. I have to stay there for another month and then I can look for my own place. L.A. is so fucking expensive. I'll probably stay on the East side."

Donnie kept his eyes on the water.

"I don't know if I can ever thank you enough for what you did," Donnie said.

"Mary Anne helped make sure I could be up for parole with that lawyer she got me. Right now, everything is on me. Letting me use the gym, getting me a trainer and stuff… you've done your part. You kept your word. That means a lot. Real talk… everyone else who I thought was on my side bailed, man. Family. Old homies. You're the only person who didn't turn me away or ignore me. I was lucky your sister found me out on the street. I owe her."

"Nah, man. Athena's wrapped a little too tight. Best to leave her alone. This is probably her one good deed for the year."

"She seemed cool. Didn't kick me away like a stray dog."

Donnie checked the time in his car.

"Can I give you a ride back to your spot? I have to pick up my daughter soon."

"Yeah, that's cool. Thanks."

Donnie typed in the location of the halfway house on his cell and drove Damian onto a crowded freeway.

"Damn, this shit is packed," Damian said.

As far as the eye could see, there was only the scarlet red of rear car lights in the stop and stop yet again traffic. It took forever to get downtown. The transitional housing complex was lodged between an auto shop and a church in a seedy area.

"Come through to Delphi tomorrow at ten. I'll show you around, hook you up and we can talk more," Donnie said.

He held up his hand, and they clasped palms.

"I'll be there," Damian said.

Donnie watched him leave his car and grab the black bag he had toted from the back. Once Damian was gone from his sight, he headed out to pick up his daughter Amara from her private school in Los Feliz. He tapped his cell and Bianca's voice filled the car.

"Hey," Bianca said.

"On my way to pick up Ladybug. Do I need to bring anything home from the store?"

"No, I have a lasagna ready for the oven when you two make it back."

"Ok, cool."

"What's up?"

"Whatchu mean?"

"You sound funny. Did Tony bug you about doing the exhibition again?"

"Nah. I ran into an old friend today. He just got out of prison."

"Who is this?"

"I'll tell you about it later. Seeing him made me remember some old times. Haven't seen him in almost eighteen years."

"Mary Anne left a message for you on the landline. She wants you to call her when you get in, and please… tell me you cleared your schedule to come to the Hollywood Bowl on Friday."

"I did. Rearranged my day just for you."

"A.J. is coming down from Seattle with Janice. I haven't heard from Athena yet."

"If A.J. is flying in, she'll go with us. Ma is bringing her new gentleman friend, too."

"Ooh, she's doing the whole meet the family in a public place routine," Bianca teased.

"She likes him and he makes her smile. I like that. She's been alone a long time and I'm glad she feels comfortable enough to venture out with companionship."

"Me too."

"See ya soon."

Donnie hung up and parked near Amara's school. He scrolled work emails from his agent and thrummed his fingers on the open windowsill of his SUV. Damian stayed on his mind until his favorite little munchkin bounced into view, swinging her book bag and using ASL with fellow deaf classmates. She sprinted to the car when she saw he was driving their SUV instead of Bianca.

"I didn't know you were coming to get me!" Amara's hands signed.

She hugged Donnie tight across the console.

He stared at his daughter and moved his hands and fingers with fluid ease.

"I came back from New York early and wanted to surprise you, Ladybug."

Amara hugged him again, then buckled up. Donnie turned up his music, and the bass rattled the SUV. Amara wiggled in her seat and rested her left hand on the console, the vibrations traveling up her arm and through her body.

His daughter was growing like a beanstalk. Slender in body with a slender face and features, she was the apple of his eye. He had followed Rocky's advice and treated his daughter as the blessing she was always going to be. There was no feeling sorry for her being deaf. Amara lived a full and busy life, learning to box at the Delphi under his supervision, while also learning to write poetry from Bianca. Spoiled rotten and loved beyond the stars, she made Donnie and Bianca's life complete.

They stopped off for ice cream and while they waited for their order, their fingers chatted together. Amara could read lips too, and he loved the way she huffed with excitement when she wanted to communicate about her busy day. After stuffing their mouths with Rocky Road and Butter Pecan Toffee sundaes, they drove to their new walled and gated residence in the hills above Los Feliz. Their two-story Spanish-style home was a terraced lot of 1.5 acres with a lagoon pool and spectacular city views.

"Finally made it," Bianca called, and signed to them from the kitchen.

Amara grinned.

"Went for ice cream," Amara signed.

"Didn't bring me any back?" Bianca teased. "Go change your clothes."

Amara dashed out of the kitchen and Donnie wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Smells good in here," he said, looking around.

"Made fresh garlic bread," she said.

Donnie kissed her cheek and ambled over to his home office. There were ten messages on his office phone. He ignored them. Bianca brought him a glass of red wine and he wandered out to the backyard to watch the sun go down.

As the color of the sky shifted and evening settled across the horizon, Donnie forgot about the world outside of his home.

Athena Creed held her cell against her stomach and stared at the number on her screen. She vacillated between putting the phone away and tapping the button on the screen several times. Staring out of her luxury penthouse view overlooking South Figueroa, downtown L.A. looked hectic down below. The night always brought it to life with a sultry glamour that had people returning to that part of Los Angeles in droves.

Damian had been on her mind all day.

Observing him plead his case to her mother earlier made her curious. She left the Creed family mansion early so that she could glimpse him close up. His body looked bulky under the jacket and sweatshirt he wore, with dark jeans snug on his gorgeous ass. With a face chiseled to rival the masculine splendor of an Italian sculpture she once saw in Firenze, it struck Athena with how beautiful and gentle Damian seemed. She was the one who had gone to the family emergency safe hidden in a secret room and taken a thousand dollars cash for him to have. She sealed it in an unmarked envelope and passed it off to the private guard to give to Damian. Mary Anne kept her cheeks puffed out and her lips twisted with disgust as she studied Damian's image on the security screen on her cell.

"Adonis has achieved the perfect life, and that hoodlum suddenly shows up," Mary Anne spat as she stomped into her tea room.

Athena hustled herself out quickly. She had a yoga class to attend and a bottle of Chablis waiting for her at home.

But then she saw Damian's face and grew curious. Backed her car up and everything when she glimpsed him walking in her rearview mirror. What she witnessed in him wasn't self-pity or the gloomy energy of a downtrodden man. Firm determination sat etched across his full features.

She tapped the phone.

It rang five times, and she nearly hung up when Damian picked up.

"Hello?"

"Damian?"

"Yeah."

"It's Athena."

The long pause on his end made her think he hung up.

"Damian?"

"I'm here."

"Were you busy?"

"Nah. I was sitting here reading."

Athena walked to her kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.

"What are you reading?"

"The Forty-Eight Laws of Power."

Athena guffawed.

"Are you really reading that trash book?"

"It was in the book library here."

"Hotep central. That shit is full of contradictions and bullshit cut-and-paste cult maxims that have been used to dupe niggas for years."

"I don't know. It seems good so far."

"You enjoy reading?"

"Yeah. Always have."

"What's the best book you ever read?"

"You called me to talk about books?"

His voice was pleasant.

"I called to see how your reunion went with Adonis."

"It went okay. He's going to meet with me at Delphi tomorrow and hook me up with a trainer."

"How did you feel about seeing him again?"

"Why did you ask for my number?"

Athena stopped her wine glass from reaching her lips.

"I was curious," she said.

"Curious about what?"

"What do you really want with Adonis? He forgot about you after all these years. You expect him to fix your life?"

"No. I can do that on my own."

"How?"

"Getting back into the ring."

"I looked you up," Athena said, moving back into her living room that perched high above the downtown landscape.

Damien kept quiet on his end.

"Still there?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"You were on your way to the Olympics again. Already won a gold Junior Olympics title. Sports agents predicted you would be the next great professional champion. What happened? Why did you throw that all away?"

"I met your brother."

Athena closed her eyes and gripped her phone tight. Fucking Adonis. Whenever he showed up, people's lives changed for the worse.

"What's your favorite book?" he asked.

"Thich Nhat Hanh's 'Peace is Every Step'," she said.

"What's that about?"

"He's a Vietnamese monk. I once did a silent meditation walk with him in San Diego. He teaches we can use the hard things in life that antagonize us and turn them into something positive that connects us to mindfulness."

"I'll have to look for that one in the library."

"I'll let you borrow my copy. It helped me a lot over the years."

"You into all that new age stuff?"

"Thich Nhat Hanh is not new age. He teaches old wisdom. So does Malidoma Somé, Sonbonfu Somé—"

"Slow down, let me write this down—"

"I told you. I can loan you these books."

"You only dig into spiritual stuff?" he said.

"It keeps me focused on my work."

"What do you do?"

Athena grinned. For some strange reason, talking to him over the phone was like talking to a blind date.

"I work for a sports marketing agency. We represent elite athletes, sports teams, and sporting events."

"You like doing that?"

"I love it."

"I have to do some leg reps before it gets late. Can I call you back tomorrow?" he said.

"Sure. I want to hear all the gory details about your day with my brother."

"Wasn't nothing out of the ordinary. We had brunch, and he dropped me off. I'll see him tomorrow at ten and then I can move on with my life."

Athena took a sip of wine. His voice was confident.

"You two didn't talk about what happened in the past?"

"Not in detail. He feels bad and wants to help me. That's it. Can I still call you?"

She grinned.

"Yeah. Call me. I'll be running errands tomorrow. Leave a message if I don't pick up."

"I'll do that."

"Goodnight, Damian."

She hung up first and cradled the phone against her chest. After a few minutes, she checked her schedule on a phone app and rearranged a few appointments. Swiping her fingers across the screen, she highlighted the Delphi Boxing Academy. Ten a.m. on the dot.

Chapter 3 HERE.

Tag List:

@unfriendlyblkhotti3​

[silly-thinkings]

The cursed Stone! Part 6!!!

First I would like to apologize for taking such a long time to write. I had this written but I'm feeling ehh about it. Please let me know how you guys feel! Likes and reblogs are appreciated. The story is almost done btw. Maybe like 2-3 chapters

As you wandered down the mighty halls of the manor. You noticed a soft blue light come from the bottom of the room. You pout as it’s 3 in the morning. And the only person who could be up this late was Tim. 

You knock at the door once, then twice. 

“Come in” 

You opened the door to see cans of Red Bull and water litter the floor. A surprisingly clean bed, and  your teenager glued to the screen typing code after code. 

“Tim. When was the last time you did anything other then your nightly work.”

Tim turned his head to face you. You immediately noticed the unhealthy bags and red eyes. Even his face seemed droopy “I completed next weeks assignments for school.”

You let out a sigh before tip toeing your way to him. Avoiding the mess that was his room. You finally stand by his side and look at the case he’s working on. 

“This the riddler?”

He too looks at the screen “yup”

“Bruce is out right now working on the case?”

“Yea”

“So if he’s working on it. Then why aren’t you resting honey.”

“I have to help him. He can’t do this alone.”

Tim could barely keep his head up. You closed the laptop which made him perk up “w-wait! I’m not done.”

“You are to spend this weekend resting. Two days off.”

“W-what. But Y/N”

“No buts.” You place a hand on his forhead, then his cheek “besides you’re heating up.” 

Tim was about to respond but he let out a sigh instead. She was totally right. He was tired, but he didn’t wanna fail Bruce. 

“Don’t worry baby. You’re not going to fail him.” 

Tim looked to you in shock. 

“I can tell that’s what you’re thinking. You seem to forget that Bruce has been in the game for a long time now. I’m sure he’s got this particular case covered.” 

Tim stood. Out of nowhere he gave you a tight hug. Stunned you hugged him back. Gently rubbing circles along his back as he rested his head on your shoulder “thanks mom.”

Mom. This is the first time he’s called you mom. You felt butterflies fill your stomach. You opened your mouth to say something, but a light snore cut you off. “Good thing the bed is next to you.” *** *** ***Jason awoke with the most grueling of headaches. “Shit. shit shit shit. TIM! Timothy Drake show yourself right now!” Jason rushed out of the room and into the halls. He banged on the doors like a mad man “Tim! Open the door” A groggy Tim appeared, clearly annoyed “Why are you here?Did you come to tell me you’re a better Robin?” Jason shook his head. “How are you feeling? Is your head ok? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Tim furrowed his brows before closing the door on Jason. 

“Dude come on! You need to help out with mom. You have too please. We lost Dick, I really hope we didn’t loose you too, my memories are leaving me. Please Tim you gotta remember Ma. you have to remember Y/N!”

Jason pressed his head on the door. Tonight he’ll be the one to suffer whatever this universe will through at him. Then Damian will be alone. Or worse, they’ll never get their mom back.

Tim opened the door causing Jason to stumble in “who are you talking about.”

Jason looked into Tim’s eyes. “Ok this sounds crazy. But you have to believe me. Damian used a powerful rock and accidentally changed our lives. We have a mom Tim, and she’s in trouble. We all are.” There was a long silence that filled the air. Tim crossed his arms unamused “So, if what you’re saying is true. Whats the next move? Does Bruce know about this?”

Jason jumped in his feet “yea, they’ve already went on a date but Damian-“

“Todd. this is ridiculous, its just us now. We have to move up the plans.” Damian stood by the door.

Jason noticed the bags under his eyes. Damian was one to care for himself greatly. To make sure he was in peak condition so he can perform better. But now, the kid actually looks his age.  Jason let out a sigh before he looked back at Tim “You patrolling tonight?” “Yea, someone's gotta cover for Damian since he’s clearly out of it. I also need to turn in a 12-page police report to Gorden” “Great. Bruce is investigating this club. Mom works there.” 

“You know I’m just entertaining this hypothetical right? I don’t actually think this is-”

“thanks for the help Timbo! See you soon” With that, Jason gently placed his hands on Damians shoulders and walked away. Damian was annoyed. Atleast that what he felt, they're running out of time. Maybe Anxiouse is the right word. He’s lost the second half of the stone to Jamie and has no idea where they live to retrieve the item. 

“Jason… are you next? I do not feel any different” Damian asked as they both walked into the kitchen. Jason shrugged his shoulders as he made his way over to the fridge. “Yea… Its like a worm deleting things in my brain. But dont worry. I’ve got moms address from Bruce. We go there, say sorry, and hope the stone is with the kid.” ~~~~ “No. its not here either boss” You woke up to the sound of rattling and crashing. Men in black ransacked your home. You attempt to reach under your bed but find you hands bound behind your back. It finally dawned on you that you were tied. 

“Boss! She’s awake.”

As the two men continued to rummage though your stuff a third man entered your room “I caught you missy~ Maxwell will be gettin rid of you.” 

You remembered this man. It was the guy who threatened your son about a day ago.You attempt to sit up but to no avail. You wanted to shout and scream but the damn duck tape that was glued to your lips didn’t help.

“You know. For someone who’s Maxwells right hand, you do loose a lot of files.” 

He watched amused as your brows furrow in confusion. That’s when he pulls out the VIP list and a flash drive “does the boss know you’ve got this here.” 

You were annoyed, but your annoyance turned into terror when you finally realized the lack of you son’s presences. You attempt to move around again which caused the men in the room to laugh. 

“Seems like you’ve got something to say sweetheart. Go on.” He walks to you and rips the tape from your lips. the sudden pain disorients you just a tad before glaring at your captor “what is your name?”

He smiled “Eddy.”

“Well Eddy. I suggest you tell me where my son before I rip you a new one.”

Eddy laughs before leaning in. His face inches from yours “you are full of spice. No wonder the boss likes you.” 

Eddy does a circular hand motion causing one of his men to Leave the room. When he returned your eyes widened in horror at the state of your son. Jamie had duck tape over his mouth aswell. His hands and ankles bound by zipties. His blond hair messy along his with his broken glasses. Finally a deep cut on his cheek with a black eye sent you over the eged.

In a blind rage you slam your head onto his nose. Eddy stumbled back shocked that you’d pull a move like that given the circumstances. “No. No no no Y/N. That’s not what we’re going to do. You’ll be punished for that.” As a response he walked over the Jamie and grabbed the back of his neck, hoisting him up before throwing him towards you. Jamie tumbled like a rag doll to the foot of the bed. He groaned in pain as he shimmied closer to you. “Fuck with me. And the kid gets it. understood?”

“I’ll kill you. I’m going TO KILL YOU!” You shouted. You were pretty sure you had scars on your wrists with how much you pulled and tugged at your restraints. How long were you out? What did they do to Jamie? What did he tell them?”

“No. No you won’t. Here’s the deal Y/N. Personally i don’t think you deserve the right hand position. Your nothing more than a caged bird that’s going to be sold off tomorrow anyway.” Eddy growled that last bit under his breath before making his way behind you “I’m going to cut these zip ties. I really hope you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t want the kid dying.”

Deep breaths. That’s all you can do in this situation. You look at the clock on your nightstand and suck your teeth. It’s 12 in the afternoon. All this is happening in broad daylight and you were more furious with yourself then the men in your home. These memories, these visions of a time that never was with Bruce and his family greatly distracted you from your current situation. Your current family that needs you.

You felt your hands go free, then your legs. You slightly massaged your wrist as eddy walks back to the front. “What the hell do you want?” You say as you slowly leave the bed and onto the floor where Jamie laid. You cradled him as a very poor attempt to comfort him given the situation. Removing his bindings as slowly as you could not to hurt him anymore.

“I want you gone. But Im not that stupid to wish in the impossible. I know you’re up to something Y/N. The boss has been very stressed lately with the bat on his tail. I find the VIP list and a flash drive of even more information in your home. You must be up to something.”

You can hear Eddy speak, but most of your focus fell on Jamie. His breathing was ragged, eyes closed as he slightly shook in your arms. He himself slowly removed the tape before wrapping his arms around your waist. He looked like a toddler with how he was seated on your lap. 

“you’re such an idiot.” You shake your head. Jamie was probably the one who brought back the information. Maybe to find more stuff for Batman. 

“Excuse me?” Eddy just about had it with you. 

You looked at him in the eye “I took it home with me cause Batman was snooping around! Check the cameras. Had I not taken this he would have turned all your sorry asses in.”

Eddy sucked his teeth “Bullshit and you know it. I know you’re involved! So heres the deal, You come with us now and ill leave him be. Or I beat this kid till you come to your senses.” “You’ve got some fucking nerve…”

Keep your mouth shut and the kid goes free. Easy trade.” Eddy stood tall as he looked down at the two. “I expect you there in 3 hours. Leave the boy here.”

“Get out!. NOW!”

Eddy nodded his head before leaving with the men he brought in. as soon as they were alone Jamie spoke.

“Ma… mom I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I wasn’t strong enough.” He whispered. Jamie felt guilty, incredibly guilty for Jeopardizing the mission. 

You frantically shook your head “no, no baby no it’s not your fault.” You brought him close as you rocked back and forth in the floor “I should of been the one to protect you. I should of noticed I had a target on my back, but I was too distracted.”

Jamie shook his head. He wanted to say more but he was tired. They men raided his home two hours ago. Jamie tried to be cool, like his mom, like Batman. But in the end he got beaten black and blue. Used as a hostage against his own mother. Jamie Will remember that name. Eddy Will regret the day he crossed paths with him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~Later that night~

Jamie held onto a pack of frozen peas in his eye. He looked out the window, the cool night air dancing along his face. He hasn’t cleaned the house let alone leave his room. He remembered your last words to him before you were taken away. “Stay hidden. Don’t open the door for anyone. And keep your phone on you at all times”  They were rules a regular teen like him can follow, but tonight he had other plans. If today was any indication then he can most definitely change the future. He will live through Tomorrow without the help of any vigilantes. Jamie heard his phone chime snapping him out of his thoughts. It was you calling, Jamie took a deep breath before answering. “Hey hun. Calling to check in on you. You ok? Jamie gripped the phone slightly “Im fine. I should be asking you that question mom. Have you eaten? Are you alone? Did they hurt you?” There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “Im doing alright. Glad to hear your voice. Gotta go, love ya” Jamie looked down at the phone as the call ended. He can't wait on Batman, Nightwing, the Robins to save them. If He wants to save his mother he’ll have to do it himself. Jamie left the comforts of his room with the watch he’s been working on. The blond double-tapped the screen allowing the nanotech to completely coat his body “Sweet.” He then went deep into his closet and pulled out a heavy military-style backpack and left the apartment with one thing in mind. He will be the one to save them from this mess. ~~~ Jamie gently placed the book bag down and pulled out some binoculars. He watched as the same men who raided his home begin loading up boxes of things onto a yacht. Determined to not let his fate come to pass he pulled out the pieces of his mother’s sniper. When it was fully built he lay on the floor, one eye on the scope, and waited. 

***

Redhood hid behind boxes ready to strike the guards that were loading up an unconscious person to the boat. Even though Batman told him not to interfere with his mission. Redhood needed to get information for Damian.

“Gotta grab one more thing. Then we can-“

The man couldn’t finish his sentence. His lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. The other man became frantic. He tried to run but he too followed his partner in death. One more goon is shot on the side but fell in the ocean. Redhood slowly rose from his hiding spot and walked towards the corps. He analyzed the bullet wound and looked up from the direction he assumed the shot was taken from. 

His head throbbed in pain “shit.  I can’t take this anymore.”

Jason looked up at a nearby construction site and noticed a small glint. He tapped his earpiece. 

“Hey T. I’m going to check something out.”

Tim Looked at the monitor’s to see Bruce zooming pass the city. He couldn’t work on the club case tonight due to the riddler. And Damian still didn’t feel comfortable going out as Robin.

 “where are you going? You’re suppose to be scouting.” Tim hacked into security cameras to see the area Redhood was in.

“Well, a sloppy sniper just killed three guys. And I don’t want to be the fourth. Not in the mood to die again.”

“Redhood wai-“

Jason turned off his communications and headed towards the building. 

**

Jamie’s hands shook. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he gently placed the sniper down. He looked at his trembling hands. 

“Why am I like this. It’s me or them.” 

He hugged himself as he knelt on the floor. “I will not die. They asked for it. They shouldn’t have beaten me up. ”

“Huh. So it was your first kill.”

Jamie’s head whipped around “R-read hood” 

The teen pulled out a hand gun. “Don’t get in my damn way. You don’t understand the situation.”

“Oh yea? Try me.” 

In a flash, Redhood closed the space between them and kicked the gun out from his hand. He then pinned the boy to the ground. His arm pinned behind his back. Jason pinned his head to the floor“why would you do that. You could have jeopardized the whole plan ”

“Idiot. If we kill them now. Then the job would be done sooner!” 

Jaime felt tears sting his eyes. “you don’t know what’s it’s like. Every night it’s the same dream” hot tears seeped from his eyes “I die tomorrow. I don’t want to leave my mother alone! In the hands of these monsters. I don’t want to die!”

Jason frowned behind the mask. He finally let go of the boy who just layed there defeated 

“I don’t care how selfish it sounds. Even though I know That Damian brat had something to do me coming back. But I… I don’t want to leave her. Not like that.”

Redhood sat down next to Jamie “I know what you’re going through kid”

“Bullshit.”

Jason chuckled “wanna know how I kicked the bucket?”

Jamie weakly sat up and hugged his knees listening intently.

“Joker killed me. My biological mother betrayed me. Then I got beat up with a crowbar.” 

“how did you come back?”

“the lazarus pit…  my brothers uncle felt bad so he just… brought me back I guess. That was hell…”

Redhood felt his head throb. He let out a sigh “fuck it.”

Jamie’s eyes widened as he watched the vigilante remove his mask. 

“I knew it.” He then smiled “I fucking knew it! HA. Wait till I tell mom.”

“Don’t think there will be time for that kid. I’m… no we’re running out of time.” Jason looked up to the sky as he told the boy everything. How Damian accidentally wishing for Y/N to not be a Wayne. To explaining why they’ve been to weird around her. 

“Listen. You got every right and reason to not fuck around with Damian. But I’ve never seen the kid so out of it. He made a mistake, not the first time.” Jason looked over to Jamie who laid down on the ground. His body stretched as he too turned his head to face Jason “Hell kid. You’re adopted. Have you ever just lost your cool and reminded mom that you aren’t blood related.”

Jamie looked back to the sky. In fact, he can recall a time wherein he’d been a brat towards Y/N. He placed a hand on his face and let out a sigh “guess I’ll have to die huh.” 

“Nah.” Jason sucked in his breath and a sharp pain ebbed his mind. He tried his best to stand only to stumble slightly before getting his footing “if I can come back, so can you. Head back home, I’ll clean up the mess here as best as I can. And stay low, don’t speak when spoken too. You died in that building right? so don’t go in until Bruce and Damian are done. Understood?” 

Jamie watched as Jason put his mask back on before grappling away with the weapon. The teen stood and looked back into the city. A newfound determination filled his heart. He was ready to live.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

What do you think the batfam would be like at a wedding?

Ari Note: Here's all my current head cannons!

Dick- Total Ham. Toasts. Alcohol. Loves both the electric slide and Solja Boy unironically. Will do them. 100% requests the song Call me Maybe twice

Jason- At his wedding? A mess. A nervous wreck. At anyone else's wedding? He's there for the ceremony and gone. Unless the reception food is good.

Tim- Talks about divorce rates. Almost dies if there's anything nut based in the cake. Either leaves early or falls asleep is left unattended.

Damian- Bored. Bored and needs to be bribed to even go.

Stephanie- Unofficial videographer. Harmless pranks. Always down if there's an open bar.

Cass- Confused. But happy people she likes are happy. And there's cake so it's a good day.

Duke- Literal saint. Will dance with your grandma and help you get back at your S/O for smashing cake in your face.

Bruce- At his kids' weddings? Emotional and tries to hide it badly. At a friend's wedding? Generous. At a society wedding? Best behavior. Too busy trying to corral his legion of semi-feral children to enjoy much of the day.

Alfred- Does not understand why DIY wedding decor is a thing. Will Judge you if you serve BBQ unless it's exceptional. Mostly bored. But will drink a Manhattan if they're available at the bar- if only to deal with the kids.

[raineydays411]

My Father's daughter pt 3

Tony Stark x daughter!reader

Summary: Back at the Tower, Y/n has a talk with Pepper.

a/n: ohhh another part finished!! some new characters will be revealed next part and i’m so great full for @social-media-imagines-by-me fir helping me create them💕💕

You were furious.

You stormed into your room and slammed the door, finding satisfaction in the loud bang it produced. You then ripped through your drawers and closet, pulling on some work out clothes and some gloves. You then marched out of the room, slamming the door again, startling Sam and Bucky who happened to be passing by.

"Geez kid, slam it a little harder I don't think it fell off the hinges yet." Sam jokes, but you were in no joking mood so you swirled around with fire in your eyes.

"You okay doll?" Bucky softly asks, pushing a frightened Sam to the side. You sigh, knowing it's not fair to take out your anger on them.

"Sorry Sam, it's just...my biological mom is here and wants me to move in with her."

"Oh..." Bucky says, not good with things like this, " Do you want me to like...kill her or..."

"NO" You laugh, " It's just I haven't seen her in nine years and she has the audacity to come up here like it's nothing?!"

Your anger returns, " She thinks that just because she pushed me out of her vagina"

The two men cringe at the words

"That she can just claim me? That's not how it works!" You shout, " And, she brought her fucking husband. The man she left us for! Who does that?!"

Bucky looks at Sam, mentally asking him what they should do. Sam just rolls his eyes and turns back to you.

"Come on kid, it looks like you wanna punch something."

and with that he lead you to the training room where Steve was training with Peter.

"Come on queens, you gotta stay on your feet" Steve k=jokes as he, again, trips Peter.

"Mr. Rogers, do you think we should take a break?" Peter pants.

You stride pass them, not bothering to say hi. They look at Sam and Bucky for an explanation and just get a shake of the head.

"Hey Y/n that's my punching" Steve started to say when he saw you throw a hard punch to the bag, "Nevermind..."

You ignore the group behind you, opting to pummel the poor punching bag in front of you.

Your mind flashes back to your mother and her words.

"A girl needs her mother"

*punch*

"Oh petal I wanted to call"

*punch* *punch*

"Come to Gotham. Meet your siblings!"

*BANG*

You look down to see the punching bag flew off the hook and is spilling sand on the floor. You were confused, as you knew you weren't strong enough to do that, not even when you were angry.

"Wow, I guess Cap didn't secure that hook again."

You jump, not expecting someone to be there, as you heard Sam, Bucky, Steve, and Peter leave. You turn to see Pepper there looking at the bag in surprise. You sigh, stepping away from the mess and taking off your gloves. You make your way to the bench and take a swig of water.

"Did you need something Pep?" You ask, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, i was just wondering if my kid was okay. But given the fact that you punched that bag like it would restore your honor.."

You knew you shouldn't have showed her Avatar.

"I'm assuming your not." She finishes.

You give her a half smile, looking down at your hands.

"Y/n" She says, " Talk to me."

You finally speak, "Why now?"

Pepper frowns, understanding that small phrase, ' I don't know."

"She's not my mother." You state, " She...she might have been once but now?"

Pepper nods," I love you."

You smile, the words reassuring you, " I love you too Pep."

"Come on, your messing up your manicure." She says with a smile, standing and extending a hand towards you. You feel your demnor soften and your mood lighten. Pepper always managed to make you feel better.

"Yeah okay..thanks." You say, taking her hand and letting her pull you from the bench, " Are you hungry? Cause I am>"

"Y/n we just ate!"

"Like an hour ago"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Days went by and you hadn't heard a peep from Christine. It was like she went off to lick her wounds and just decided not to reach out again.

Which didn't bother you one bit.

But apparently the universe wanted to fuck with you because when you came home from a day out with Peter, there was your mother, Bruce Wayne, and all six million of her fucking kids sitting on the couch.

"What the fuck?" You say causing the attention to turn to you.

"Language" Peter says, You smile softly at him before then turning to glare at Tony.

"Don't look at me, it was your moth-uh Peppers idea." Tony stumbled, looking rather uncomfortable sharing a drink with the man that his...wife? girlfriend?... whatever she was left him for.

"Pep what?" You asking, softening your glare because you'd be damned if you disrespected her.

"I just think it'd be best if we clear the air and get everything out on the table." Pepper said in that tone she uses when she's dealing with difficult people or the press. You called it her CEO tone.

"Now, go take your bags upstairs and wash up. And I'll pretend that you aren't an hour late"

"It was Peter's idea..." You mumbled and walking to the stairs that lead to the bed rooms.

"It was not!" Peter shouts following you to the rooms to help with the bags.

Christine watched as her daughter walked out of the room, playfully arguing with Peter. It was as if she were a whole different person, carefree and playful. Totally different from when she was glaring and stiff when talking to her. It broke her heart hearing Tony refer to Pepper as her Mother rather than Christine. But what did she expect?

Damian scoffed catching her attention, "Mother I do not see why you've dragged us here, that girl didn't even acknowledge us."

"Damian, enough" Bruce said, not looking away from his awkward conversation with Tony.

"Gee if only I could do that with our kids." Tony mutters into his drink.

"Does Y/n argue often?" Bruce asks trying to engage in conversation.

Tony laughs before fondly speaking, " Sort of. She isn't the type to back down when she thinks something is right. There was this one time I caught her arguing with one of my business partners about his "condescending tone and misogynistic attitude"."

""And did she apologize after?"

"Hell no. She glared at me and told me apologizing just for his ego would be demeaning her experiences as a woman. Although to be fair he was an asshole."

Bruce chuckles, " She sounds like a well rounded young woman. How old was she then?"

"Ah about 10, it was funny seeing this little girl argue in a Justin Bieber shirt argue about the patriarchy with a full grown man."

Bruce and Tony shared a laugh, picturing the scene.

"You must be very proud of her." Bruce mentions after they quieted down. Tony let a small smile escape.

" I am. She's had a rough life, and I..." Tony trails off, " She means everything to me. Without her...I don't think I'd be the same person I am today."

And with that, Tony downed his drink and stood, " Want another?"

Bruce smiled and accepted, watching Tony leave. He can tell that the man was close to his daughter. A bond that formed due to a loss, they both grew from it and grew closer. He understood, thinking about his own children.

Pepper and Christine were having a somewhat similar conversation, although it was a little more tense.

"So...Pepper-"

"Virginia." Pepper said, cutting her off.

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Virginia. Pepper is a nickname my family calls me."

"Oh. Okay, Virginia, how long have you known Y/n and Tony?"

"Oh about nine or so years. I was promoted to assistant when I saw how much of a mess Tony was." Pepper said casually.

Dick and Jason tensed, overhearing the tense conversation between the two mothers. But before Dick could interrupt Jason sat him back down.

"I wanna see what happens."

Christine continued, " And when did you become a..more permanent around the house?"

"When I saw that Y/n the one taking care of Tony." Pepper said in a serious tone, "She was the one making sure he didn't choke on his vomit and eating cereal as his flings walked out the room. Then he got kidnapped...and y/n was alone. So I made sure she’d never be alone again.”

Christine heart sank. She knew about the whole kidnapping thing. Why she didn't step in, she doesn't know. It's just another thing she regrets to this day.

Before Pepper could continue, she heard two sets of footsteps and voices

"All I'm saying is, if he looks at me funny, I'm fighting him and that's that."

"Yeah maybe not the best impression on..." Peter cuts off when they reach the living room. Eyes again on the two of you.

"Let's get this over with." You muttered, saying bye to Peter and making way over to the couch to sit next to Pepper.

"Y/n!" Christine says happily, " I'm glad you're here. We brought you something!"

She pulls out a box and she carefully hands it over to you.

You look at it suspiciously before getting a nudge from Pepper.

"Thank you." You grit out. Earning a glare from Damian and Cassandra.

You open the box to see...cupcakes.

"They're the peanut butter strawberry cupcakes you used to like. Remember? I used to bring them when I came to see you." Christine says, trying to bring up good memories.

You frown and close the box, " I'm allergic to strawberries."

Lie.

Pepper casts a glance towards you, "They look lovely, let me take them into the kitchen, I'll check on dinner."

And with that she takes the box and leaves into the kitchen. Leaving you and Tony alone.

"So...Stark" Damian started fixing his gaze on you.

"Yes, Wayne?" You said, matching his energy.

"What exactly is it you want from my mother?" He asks, earning a groan from his older brothers.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if she left me alone." You say with a straight face.

Christine frowns but before she says something Damian speaks up again.

"Tt, all this drama for the likes of you? It's honestly disappointing" He drawls, trying to get under your skin.

"Damian!" Christine scolded.

"Well, I apologize for not meeting your standards. I'd try harder if I cared what a toddler thought of me."

Jason let out a surprised chuckle while the rest of the family looked on in shock. Tony just rolled his eyes.

"I do not understand why Mother insists on rekindling her relationship with you. You obviously weren't worth the effort the first time around." He spits, causing the rest of the family to gasp.

You however, just laugh, " When you figure it out, let me know. It's probably the same reason she puts up with you."

Damian glares, about to start in again when Jason cuts him off " Shut up Demon. She got you man."

"Tt"

"I'm Jason, and anyone who can out that brat in check is good in my book." He says sending you a smirk.

You smile back, " I'm friends with Loki and Wade Wilson, I'm hardly affected by anything anymore." Your dad rolls his eyes again, he’s not exactly enthusiastic about your choice in friends.

You like this one. Probably the one you're gonna be able to stand in this family.

"Don't hog her Jason!" Dick shouts pushing him away before turning to smile at you, " Hi! I'm-"

"Dick Grayson. I know, you spilled your champagne on my dress a few years ago at a New Years gala." You say, still a little bitter about it.

"Oh. heh, right, sorry about that. Again." He says sheepishly.

You turn to Cassandra, " You're Cassandra. You and your friend cornered me in the bathroom."

Cassandra scowls and looks away.

Then you turned to Tim, " And you need to learn how to secure your fire walls better."

Tim looked at you confused, "Um excuse me?"

You smirked, " Just a suggestion. I assume you don't want people to know about your...bats in the attic?"

The whole family froze.

You knew? There was no way.

"Kid, are you hacking again?" Tony said exasperatedly, " You promised you'd stop after the last time."

"Hey it's not my fault Shuri didn't think about changing her password." You say defensively, “ and it’s not like you were complaining when you had me hack into SHEILDS databases”

“What was that!?” Pepper shouts from the kitchen.

“Heheh, nothing dear.” Tony shouts back then in a hushed voice scolds you, “ I gave you fifty bucks to keep that a secret.”

“I didn’t say what you had me retrieve.” You said smugly leaning back in your chair.

Bruce didn’t know how to feel.

On one hand, this teen that objectively hates his family, knows their biggest secret. She can singlehandedly destroy their family and expose them. And she has the means to.

But on the other, she’s a perfect fit for their family. She gets along with Jason, doesn’t let Damian get under her skin, and from the looks of it can definitely take care of herself. Only thing is, again, she hates his wife and by association, his family.

“I’m sorry, hacking? You know that’s illegal right?” Tim asks, still in shock that you got past his security systems.

You turn to him and in a bored tone replied , “Yeah? and?”

Tim stuttered for a bit before going quiet with a blush. It was adorable really.

You had to hold back a laugh, it was fun getting this stuffy family all riled up. Especially when you can see the disapproval in Christines face.

“Tony, you let our daughter participate in illegal activities??” Christine asks with a raised brow.

The table goes silent at the tone of her voice. Knowing that when she uses it someone is really in trouble.

But you roll your eyes because how are you supposed to know what that tone means?

“I let my daughter express herself in a ...healthy way. She knows her limits.” Tony replies cooly, taking a drink and looking back into the kitchen wondering where Pepper went.

”Obviously not. Tony she has no regard for the laws at all! You think i didn’t see the headlines last year?!”

Ah yes, last year you had a slight scandal where you may have punched a pap for trying to get a picture up your skirt but who wouldn’t?!

“ And you let her hang around criminals and terrorists?!”

You scoff, “ Oh please everyone in the Avengers was a criminal or terrorist at least once.”

“Not helping kid.” Tony says, “Christine, you and your family have no right to come into my home and judge my family. I’ve been civil. Hell maybe a little too much. Mainly because if I wasn’t, my wife—err Fiancée, would kill me.”

You snicker, earning a few glares.

“Look the point is, don’t tell me how to raise my daughter. Especially because I was doing it all alone.” Tony finishes with a sigh.

The table goes silent. You were getting tired of all the tense silences today.

“ Look.” You turn to Christine, “ I get that you probably feel guilty or something because you ditched me. And I appreciate that or whatever.”

You were not good at this.

“ But I don’t wanna live with you.”

Christine looks down sadly, “ Y/n I just...I just want to get to know you again. You’re my baby.”

Before you could answer you heard a crash come from the kitchen and smoke fill the rooms.

“ Pepper?!” You cough, “ Dad what’s happening?!”

“ I don’t know. Stay here” He says summoning his suit.

“FRIDAY?!” You shout, but not hearing the AI.

The Wayne’s all looked at each other in panic. They didn’t bring their suits, thinking it was just a dinner.

You turn to them and shout “ Come with me, and stay low!”

You start to lead them to the stair case, knowing that the rooms were relatively safe.

“Come on!” you yell when they don’t follow you.

Christine stands from her seat and makes to follow you before being stopped by Damian.

“Mother we cannot..”

“Damian, I’ve had about enough of you. Let’s go.” She says sternly and follows you. The rest of the family following behind as Bruce nudges Damian.

“ Come on son.”

“Father we don’t know where she’s leading us.” Damian says stubbornly.

“There’s nothing we can do right now.” he coughs.

The sounds of punching and the blasts come from the kitchen.

“Let’s go.”

They finally join the rest of the family. You have them crouched in the hallway.

“ This is James’ room. Dad had it modified just incase he was ever triggered into the Winter Solider again. No ones getting through this door when it’s locked.”

You usher them in.

“Come on Y/n” Christine says reaching a hand out to you.

You smirk, “ What? and miss all the action?”

You close the door and lock it before leaving. Laughing at their surprised faces.

The room is silent.

“ She’s awesome!” Jason says with a laugh.

[nitewrighter]

Headcanons for Robin/Nightwing and Starfire’s future in the animated series?

>If we're assuming they got together after "Trouble In Tokyo" I imagine they'd be together for about... two to three years. During this time Robin finally has the confidence to put on the mantle of Nightwing and move away from being Robin, but also something's still off.

>Like the thing about 03 Robin/Nightwing, at least in my interpretation, is that he's going to continue to be a hot-headed over-competitive asshole consumed by their hero work until Starfire's like, "Okay but do you actually see yourself having a life outside of this. Do you see yourself as a whole person outside of this." And Robin doesn't actually have an answer for that. So... she dumps him. She loves him, and she knows he loves her, but like... she also knows that the Dick she knows now will just keep throwing himself at a wall until he falls apart if it means getting the mission done, and she knows that's not healthy for either of them. She knows she's not helping him get past that.

>So Starfire goes into space for a time to get some perspective--and it hurts, but like... also Earth is a planet she got really attached to because she essentially crashed onto it after a series of really traumatic events, so she kind of needs to see how big the universe is because she let her world get so small so fast. She loves her friends, but she also needs to see what's out there, you know? So she goes among the stars, nearly gets recruited into the Star Sapphire corps, helps Razer find Aya (because goddammit I need closure there), has long philosophical sessions with The Android, hangs out with the Wonder Twins, kicks some Apokolips butt, hooks up with a Thanagarian hottie, gets fuckin' blasted with Lobo, gets in a bar fight with Lobo, has a long weird bonding session with Lobo, and drunkenly cries to Space Cabbie about how much she misses the Titans (and Dick) while Lobo's like, "You don't NEED them, you are a strong, beautiful, independent Tamaranean!" Helps Lobo patch things up with his own daughter, does her best to patch things up with Blackfire (Things are still really awkward between them but there are fewer coups involved, at least.) Does a whole bunch of humanitarian (tamaranean-tarian?) work on Tamaran, and honestly just kind of gets a great sense of like, "Okay, you know... I actually feel like a whole person now." Like she's seen enough of the universe that like... she doesn't feel like a fish out of water back on earth. But ultimately... she misses earth, and she misses her friends, and that's her home, so she returns. It's been like... 3 years, but she finally feels comfortable saying that's her home.

>Now in that three years, Dick's been going through it, too, but this is not a "Getting Your Groove Back In Space" situation. He's doing a lot of work in Blüdhaven. He has a kind of intense relationship with Barbara Gordon. Like the whole thing there was that Babs was hardcore a childhood crush for him, so it's like, "Yeah! This is what I've actually wanted the whole time! Guess I just have a thing for redheads!" But... nah. It's... not quite like that. Like Babs thinks he's cute but it's also like Dick represents her trying to get emotional fulfillment out of the whole cape life and everything's all tangled up in them trying to prove themselves to Bruce and why the fuck are they still trying to prove themselves to Bruce?! It's that situation where you think it's what you want and you convinced yourself its what you want for so long that you don't want to admit how hollow it feels when you finally have it... Dick's still willing to try for it, but Babs was always the brains between them and she breaks it off.... then she gets paralyzed and that fucks both of them up and Dick is like, "Hey let me be here for you" but she pushes him away. She's done. (Don't worry give her like a year and a half and she'll be kicking ass as Oracle--it'll all work out.)

>So Dick is like, "Fine. I can give up the cape life too. All it's ever done is fuck me up anyway." So he does. But it's not like he can sit around and do nothing. And that's where all of the fucking "Spyral" shit starts. Spyral sucks. He feels like a goddamn idiot with Spyral. But then everything starts funneling back toward Gotham again and uh oh it turns out Gotham has gone to shit--like way more to shit than usual. And that's when Damian pops up in Dick's life like "Bruce disappeared. You have to be Batman now. Also you suck and you'll never be Batman. Now put on the cowl. Fuck you." And Dick is like, "Wow. I cannot stress how much this is the last thing I want." And just to rub his nose in it further Tim Drake is just absolutely vibing as Red Robin so it's like, "Huh I guess all your Robin hangups were a you problem." But... somehow chasing Damian's freaky little sword-wielding-ass around and getting the shit kicked out of him by Jason and then kicking the shit out of Jason helps him work through a bunch of stuff? Like it's ugly. It's an ugly situation from all angles. But it's also Dick confronting literally everything that fucked him up about being Robin, while also trying to steer Damian to a healthier mindset as the new Robin.

>Eventually Bruce returns from the Phantom Zone or whatever, takes up the mantle of Batman again like, "Oh god I'm so sorry I never meant to put that on you and I realize I put a lot of shit on you" and Dick comes out of it finally being able to say, "I'm never going to be Batman. But if I'm going to be a symbol, and I know I want to be a symbol, I'm Nightwing." And Bruce is like, "Hey, that's great. So like... this is totally optional... but the league is putting together a kind of junior team. It's gonna be run a lot more cleanly that the first iteration of the Titans, but we can't be babysitting them the whole time... what do you say." And honestly being a mentor has like... really grown on Dick, so he's like, "yeah totally." And Hal fucking Jordan cuts in like, "Great! You'll be co-leading with Kory!" and Dick's like "What."

>Oh my god working as co-leaders is so fucking awkward. Like basically each sees the other like, "Oh fuck. They've gotten so much hotter and they seem so much more mature and together and I've just been a hot mess for the past three years." But then they start catching up more and more, and they start talking about their adventures, and god, they are such good co-mentors to the new Titans. They become really good friends and that whole guardedness about not wanting to hurt each other actually lets them develop a really deep and respectful non-romantic relationship. But also there's still that "Oh no they're hot" tension going on.

>To their credit it takes about like... a year and a half for them to finally hook up again, and then shit gets gross. They're just making out all the time, having cutesy little inside jokes during briefings, walking around the tower with shit-eating grins, it's unbearable. But also good for them. They are absolutely the team Mom and Dad and their shit is together.

>Eventually they get married and have Mar'i and they keep showing goddamn baby pictures to the league and the Titans when no one asked. The End. :)

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (4)

I am sorry for not posting in a while. School is a total bitch. Here is part 4 of a fic that is not a fic.

[Masterlist]

(Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)

-------

Tall Marinette.(I admit I might be projecting a little here.)

One day, she took out something from someplace high and the whole family realized that ‘holy shit when did you get so tall?’

Bonus if Jason comes back from a long mission and had a wtf moment because she was wearing 6-inch-heels and met his eyes with them on.

“Pixie?!”

------

You know how Bruce has the identity of Matches Malone to infiltrate the Gotham Underground.

While Jason does the drug deals more street crime stuff, Maria uses an excuse of being the representative for Red Hood excuse to mingle with the rich people who does crime on the side (Penguin), she uses it to go to black market auctions and buy some of the lost miraculouses which got into the hands of black market dealers.

Jason knows about it and acts as her ‘bodyguard’ anytime he can or sends one of his henchmen to be one with a death threat if she gets a single scratch on her.

Bruce is unaware of this. Or is he?

------

Mari helps with running WE since she is a little less busy with the vigilante side of things.

It started with Tim panicking about deadlines and Mari offering to help, to Bruce and Tim bullying the board to have her as co-CEO.

She has to be that and head of Afterlife. So she is very busy. Doesn’t know about what comes next….

------

Somehow the class comes to Gotham for a trip. It has been 3 years since her death.

Mari has changed her appearance since the day she left Paris. She has highlights in her hair after a ‘sibling bonding day’ with Jason. Her hair is kept short for convenience and not in pigtails. Along with her tall height and more confident aura, she is almost unrecognizable.

She rides a motorcycle too.

The class waits in the lobby for the tour and in walks this badass woman with aviator sunglasses, leather jacket and designer clothes which was all MT brand, making a lot of people swoon.

She takes off her glasses and walks past the class. Checking stuff on her phone and sipping coffee in her other hand.

She seems familiar but they couldn’t figure out why. (All except Chloe, Alix and Felix who are snickering in the background.)

Lila sees her and comments on how she must be a criminal with the way she dresses. (Lila internally freaks out because were her eyes messing with her? Because she looked a little like Marinette. Also jealous of the new arrival for stealing all the attention.) Alya takes the bait and calls security to ‘arrest’ her.

They just laugh. The class doesn’t understand, speaking in confused French.

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

“I am Maria Todd-Wayne, also known as designer MT. CEO of Afterlife and co-CEO of the very company you are in. I am allowed in here. Don’t judge a book by its cover.” she said in perfect French.

“But Lila told us you can’t speak French.”

“Who?”

“Lila Rossi, your friend. She told us that you and MT were dating.”

“Me dating myself. Okay I love myself because self-love is a thing but that is a whole other level. MT are my initials. Anyone who has a brain could have figured that out or at the very least do a Google search. I am not sure where your friend got that notion.”

“Hey, Bean, come on. We have a long day ahead of us.” Tim reminded her.

“Goodbye but cease the rumours or you would be escorted off the premises.”

As they rode up the elevator, “Tim, why are they here?”

“They are the lucky winners of the Wayne Enterprise Young Prodigies Contest. Why, Maria?”

“Lucky, huh.” She muttered under her breath. She might as well tell him. They are the Bats and they will find out anyway. “They are from my old class, the one you know…”

“Oh. Want me to send them back? I can do that if they are making you uncomfortable.”

“Nah. Too much to deal with. And it is unfair to send them back over a petty grudge. Besides, I could have some fun.”

“Anything that Bruce and I should be worried about?”

“I swear no killing. Just because Jason came back from the dead, hell-bent on killing. Doesn’t mean I am too.”

“Cool, just don’t do any property damage or traumatize our employees.”

“I might need you to erase some footage later and tell Bruce about this.”

“Some brownies, my favourite coffee cake, the ‘special’ brew and you have yourself a deal.”

-----

So basically she just showed up around where the class was ‘by coincidence’.

Talk to a few people and take them out of earshot of the rest of the class.

End the conversation by saying a few things only they and her would know. Insides jokes and secrets. (I pick her old childhood friends like, Nino, Kim and maybe Sabrina)

Uses Trixx to turn into a walking dead version of her 15-year old self and disappears as they freak out about how she knew that secret/story.

Freaks them out further by appearing again in front of the whole class and pretending not to know their previous conversation.

Mari manages to get Lila alone.

I should also say that Lila thought that her curse was making her see MT as Marinette.

It terrifies Lila when she finds out that MT is actually Marinette, not dead but alive after all this time and apparently living the high life she wanted. This fact made the Italian swell up with jealousy.

“I hope you are not lying about me again, Lila Rossi. Like you always do.”

“What do you want with me? I swear I didn’t say anything else about you.”

“Aw, Lila. Don’t recognize me?”

Maria flickers and Ladybug is in her place and later, the Marinette that appeared in her bedroom and back to normal.

“You! How? Why are you here? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“Why not? I mean you did take away nearly all my friends, my parents and made my life a living hell. If you think about it, I am just repaying you the same favor. How are the others? Treating you well?”

“What did you do to me, you bitch?”

“I just put a curse on you. The ghosts of your past will haunt you until you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop Lying, Liar. They all feed and grow in power from your lies. I wonder what would happen in a few years if you kept this up.”

“You think you can get away with this. This is war and I have already beaten you once.”

“Oh Rossi. This isn’t a war. It’s a death sentence.” With that she disappears.

Lila tries to tell her class that MT is actually Marinette. She is met with crazy looks. Some of them look like they want to believe her but don't because they don’t want to look crazy too.

Oh. Adrien wasn’t on the trip because his mother didn’t want him to go to the crime capital of America although the crime rate has gone down a little due to Hellbat curing some of the city’s bad energy..

Right after Lila told the class about MT, Scarecrow came to steal some Wayne tech and the class got caught in the crossfire. So later, it was brushed off as Lila seeing things due to the fear toxins.

-----

Joker made the mistake of kidnapping her. Once was enough to never try that again.

(It involved the use of nearly all of the Miraculouses, old and new. He was thoroughly humiliated at the end of it and his picture by the time Hellbat was done with him was on the Batfam’s Christmas Card. Like I said she doesn’t kill but making them beg for death was okay.)

It coincided with Jason’s Birthday and the video of the incident was ‘the best birthday present ever.’ The uncensored version was watched at the next undead siblings bonding day. Damian included.

After hearing a few rumours about what happened, most criminals were glad for Hellbat’s rare appearances. (which happens once a month and during really busy time of the year)

There was a time where Penguin was carrying out one of their plans and when Hellbat showed up, all of their thugs surrendered instantly. (No Batman did not pout at the fact that this French girl was more imitating than him.)

Scarecrow used his newest batch of fear toxin on her during the first year after she died.

He was astounded to see her still standing and she later proceeded to beat the crap out of him while being under the toxin’s influences.

He has tried to stay out of her way since then.

She saw Scarecrow as Hawkmoth and said a lot of things in French which scared everyone because she said it with so much hate, anger and in a very menacing tone that everyone is like ‘I am not touching this.’

It took Red Hood and Nightwing to restrain her from further beating Scarecrow up.

He was one of the people who sympathised with the Joker after the Incident.

The next was Riddler being so arrogant in his plans and managed to get Hellbat and Spoiler into a death trap.

“You know I have a few regrets in life. And my final one is that I got captured and am now going to get killed by a walking fashion disaster.”

“Hey! I made this myself. I will have, you know.”

“You have a brilliant mind but no sense of fashion at all. When I get out of here, I am going to burn that thing with you in it, for your crimes against fashion.”

“What is wrong with it?”

Cue a lot of roasting of Riddler’s costume and Spoiler adding more fuel to the fire.

They manage to escape while Riddler is crying on the floor, having an existential crisis.

The thing was no one knows why Riddler was silent the entire week after encountering Hellbat and crying when anyone mentions it.

They now think Hellbat is the scariest one in the Batfamily, second to Batman and tied with Black Bat/Orphan.

The few who find out what really happened in the warehouse that night. Blackmail material on the Riddler.

Three ( four if you count Penguin) of Gotham’s biggest villains of the Rogues Gallery scared of Bats’ newest addition. Hellbat was not someone they wanted to mess with.

---------

Magic crisis stuff. Like a world ending event thing. Dr. Fate says they need the Miraculous jewels but the last mention of them had been in Paris a few years ago and had vanished since then.

Costantine looked at Batman. “You know who you have to call.”

Batman calls Hellbat. Who hasn’t been introduced yet to the JL.

“Ah. Bats. Not that I question your authority or anything but how can your newest ‘ward’ help us?”

She takes off her helmet and reveals her face and more importantly, her earrings.

Tikki comes out of her hiding place.

“I am the current Guardian of the Miracle Box and wielder of the Ladybug miraculous during Hawkmoth’s reign in Paris a few years ago. Any other Questions?”

“Oh great Guardian. Tikki. It is an honour to meet you.”-Wonder Woman, who else.

“You too, Princess Diana. Pass on my regards to your mother.”-Tikki

A huge face-off and the big evil is defeated.

WW asks abt HM and gives a horrified face at the end of her story. Nearly everyone who eavesdropped on the conversation was.

"Forgive me, Guardian for not aiding you in your hour of need.”

“It’s okay. I understand that there are other crises, world-ending ones that JL have to take care of. I am better now. Mostly.”

“I doubt it with those revenge schemes I found lying around. But she is getting there with her therapist.”-Batman

“I hate you, Dad.”

“Did you just call him Dad?”

“No….”

“Do you see me as a father figure?”

“I see you as a nuisance with how nosy you are with my personal business. So you are more of a bother figure.”

“I see you as part of the family too, Daughter.” (Got that reference anyone?)

“Jason was the one who adopted me.”

“Legally you are adopted by me.”

Maria with Pikachu surprised face because nobody told her that. “My life is a lie.”

-------

(Part 5)

[lily-drake]

Gifts

Any holiday or day where gifts were given was taken with utmost seriousness in the Wayne household.  Or in other words, it was a competition to one up each other’s gifts.  It all started when Jason came to the house and Dick had come back to visit for the holidays.  Marinette hadn’t really understood what was happening when she happily opened Dick’s present, which was a new knitting kit with so many different materials.  She ran over to him and hugged him tightly as Alfred took photos.  Dick had glanced over at Jason and smirked at him, but Jay-Jay only rolled his eyes with his arms crossed.  She still hadn’t opened his after all, and he was around her more now than Dick was, which meant he had a higher advantage of knowing her new interests and endeavors.  So he watched as she pulled out a thick book of fashion design and her own embroidery set.  Her eyes practically glowed as stared at the set.  Jason hadn’t even seen her move because next thing he knew strong arms were wrapped around him.  The 7-year-old had definitely been taught by Dick on how to hug people.

Bruce gazed lovingly at his children, but he knew about their competition, and he would not be outdone by his sons.

“Daddy, Daddy, look what Birdy and Jay-Jay gave me!  They’re so nice!  Feel the material Birdy got me, I can make so many things now!”

“That sounds amazing, Bluebell.”

Marinette smiled brightly as she showed Bruce the gifts that she got.

“Do you want to see what I got you?”

He asked amusedly.  Marinette began to hop on her toes in excitement, because daddy’s always had the best gifts!

“Yes please!”

Bruce smiled and pointed out a small, thin, rectangular box under the tree.  She leaped over to it and when she opened it her mouth dropped open and she squealed.

“You got me tickets to Sophie Theallet’s fashion show?!”

She was jumping with joy as she stared at the five tickets in her hand.  Bruce looked over at and smirked at the boys.  He won, again.  They groaned and sulked in annoyance.  Why did he always win?

________

Marinette was 9 when she finally figured out what her family was doing, and she knew that she would be the one to give the absolute best gifts to her family!  Her family deserved something super special, so she went to work.  Her Birdy was part of the circus and they had a lot of equipment he often used.  But what could she do that would be super special and make her win the competition?  Then it hit her, she knew exactly what she would do!  She would need to ask Alfred for help, but it would be worth it!

Next was Jay-Jay.  She didn’t know much about his past as he always told her that she had to wait till she was older, but she knew about him now.  Jay-Jay loved to read and would often read to her, he really liked hoodies and comfy things, and he liked to bake with Alfred and her.  So maybe…….yea!  She would do that, it shouldn’t be that hard to do.

Daddy always got her such nice gifts, how could she ever beat him?  There had to be something she could do to outdo him.  He was Batman, he worked with the Justice League, he loved all of them, and sometimes if he finished his work early would watch movies with them!  But he was always so good and knew exactly what to get.  She would try though, she had an idea and she hoped it would work.

Alfred, he deserved the best gift because of everything he did for them!  She already knew the perfect gift for her grandpa Alffie!

________

Christmas arrived and she stared out the window as the snowflakes fell onto the covered yard.  Maybe they could go sledding today, that would be so much fun!  She was so transfixed in the snow, and thinking of how pretty a dress would be with the same color and different designs, that she hadn’t noticed her brothers sneaking up on her.  A squeal left her lips as she was lifted into the air and twirled around wrapped in the warm embrace of her Birdy.  She giggled as he spun and squeaked as she was gently thrown into the air, only to land on the couch.

“Good morning Blueberry.”

Dick chirped happily.  She giggled again and leaned into Jay-Jay’s hand as he ruffled her hair.

“Morning Pixie-pop.  Sleep well?”

“Morning Birdy and Jay-Jay.  I slept great, thank you.  Did either of you?”

Jason shrugged with a small smirk,

“I slept fine, though I wouldn’t have minded sleeping a little longer.  You missed Dick’s hallway caroling this morning.”

“I sounded amazing, thank you very much.  And I was too excited to fully sleep.  I’m going to win this year.”

Dick said pridefully.

“No way, I’m totally going to beat you.”

Jason deffied puffing out his chest slightly.  Marinette giggled and called out,

“No, I’m going to beat all of you!  I will be the champion gift giver this year.”

They looked at her and smirked.

“Only in your dreams Pix.”

“You’ll see,”

She replied, crossing her arms and lifting her nose in the air like she had seen some of the people at the galas do.

“Then you’ll have to agree with me!”

They all gave each other sceptical looks before laughing and continued to talk until daddy came down.  When he finally did, the competition commenced.  The first person to open presents was her, obviously, as she was the youngest.  Dick had given her a really nice and fancy art kit, and she loved it!  Jay-Jay had given her tickets and backstage passes to the theater for The Nutcracker, she had been wanting to see it for a while now.  Alfred had told her that he would teach her how to make a super secret recipe, and she would be able to help him with dinner today too!  Daddy, he was too clever, too cunning.  He had given her a pet hamster, and it was beautiful!  She couldn’t beat him now, her gift was nothing compared to-to this!  She tries though, and maybe she could win second?  Yea, she would be ok with second, if she got this adorable baby creature.  She couldn’t even be mad or disappointed, because look at its cute little feet and adorable eyes!

Next was Jay-Jay.  The others had given him some really nice things, but she felt that hers was the best!  So when he opened it and his eyes shined, she knew she made the right thing!  It had taken her hours to find it, and she had to ask Dad if she could get it since she wasn’t allowed to use the card without permission.  It was one of the first books of Pride and Prejudice ever published, she even got him a fancy ink and quill set so he could better embrace his Harry Potter nerdom.

“This is amazing, thank you Pixie, I guess I do owe you an apology, this is amazing.”

She smiled up at him while gently petting the top of her new hamster's head as it laid on her lap.

“Told you!”

For Dick she had knitted him a collection of stuffed animals that he talked about from the circus.  Alfred had helped her find the material and helped her when she made a mistake or needed help on a particularly tricky part.  She thought she saw Dick’s eyes water for a second.  The next thing she knew she was being tightly hugged, but he left enough room to not squish her furry child.

“Thank you Blueberry, it’s amazing.”

“Of course it is, I made them!”

He chuckled as he pulled away and ruffled her already messed up hair.

She had made Daddy a picture book and had decorated it with black and yellow glitter, bats, and different birds.  Throughout the book were all of the pictures that she was able to get her hands on dated and labeled in order from oldest photo to most recent.  He had a soft smile as he looked through the book and when he finally looked back up to his slightly nervous daughter he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

“I think you won this year.”

“Nuh ah!  You gave me a hamster!  There’s no way I could have won!”

“Well, I think all the others would agree that you thought of and made some very amazing gifts.”

She turned to look at the others as they gave gentle nods and thumbs up.  Her cheeks felt really warm and she smiled at them all.

“Thank you.  Now Grandpa Alffie needs to open his presents!”

Alfred smiled at the small child and opened the gifts he had received from the others.  Marinette had made and embroidered a new handkerchief for him.  He seemed to like it as he immediately placed it in his pocket.  She was the victor of this year's Christmas gift exchange, but she still felt that Daddy beat her.

________

As years passed and her family grew so did the competition.  Sadly, it would be harder to her her family their most desired gifts as she had decided to study abroad in Paris that year, but she would be da*ed if she didn’t try her hardest.  She had gotten better with her skills for making things over the years, and so much had happened.  Jason had died and come back, that was the hardest time of her life.  They had new people adopted into the family, and she even had a little brother!  She was going to meet him this year when she went to visit for the winter break.  She would have the glasses with her at all times in case there was an attack so she could quickly come back here and take care of it.

When she arrived at the Gotham Airport and saw her large family standing and holding a sign as they looked for her she ran up to them as quickly as she could.

“Pixie!”

Jason called out, catching the small girl and twirling her around.  She laughed and when she was put down created the rest of her family just as happily.  When she finally came face to face with her little brother she held out her hand.  Her family said he was more formal and was very against physical touch that he did not agree to or initiate.  He eyed her hand suspiciously before shaking it and giving her a nod.

“Damian Al Ghul-Wayne.”

“Marinette Wayne.  It’s nice to finally meet you Damian.”

They both let go after a firm shake.  She already had a gift for him, and Kagami helped her find the perfect one.  It was a nice blade, the blade was completely black, but had a red tint to it and red gains that delicately ran through it.  The hilt was of fine golden metal and a strong leather grip.  She had made the sheath for the blade.  With strong leather and an inner layer of Kevlar so the sword would be protected.  She had carved in Arabic symbols to spell out “Son of Bat” and had sewn a few almost unnoticeable small robins along the bottom and top of the inky black material.

For Tim, she had gotten him the best coffee beans in all of Paris and she had made him new lounge clothes that identified with his hero persona of Red Robin that had many hidden pockets and two large to-go coffee cups, one on each sleeve.

For Jason she had made him a new leather Jacket with book quotes embroidered all over the inside of the inner material.  There were lots of different pockets, and a few tailor made to fit his guns.  She had put a few Jagged Stone concert tickets in one of the pockets too.

For Stephanie, she had made purple silk pajamas that had waffles all over it.  She had even made sure that there was a hood connected to the pj shirt.

For Cass, just like Jason had done for her, gotten tickets for The Nutcracker.  She had also gotten her ballerina shoes, the best one and most highly recommended ones from the Paris Ballet.

For Dick she had made him an elephant onesie.  Why you may ask, well because for her birthday he had given her a mouse one.  So was it spite for being called short, or was it her trying to match, nobody needs to know.

She had made Alfred a new apron with the words “Don’t try anything, I already know.”  Neatly sewed in cursive into it.

She had gotten Babs a new eskrima stick infused with a bit of her luck in it so no one would underestimate her in battle as she would always have luck on her side giving her the upper hand.  She may be disabled, but that doesn’t stop her from kicking butt.

Finally, her gift for her dad.  This one was hard, because she wasn’t around to know what had caught his eye this year, and her siblings refused to tell her.  It was fine though, because she would figure it out.  And she did, or at least she had tried.  She ended up making him a bee suit jacket with everybody’s names sewed into the inner lining, multiple pockets for convenience, and black bats that would only be shown in the right lighting.  She would win this year, she would!  Sadly, Dick had won last year, but she would regain her crown again this year!  She would be the best gift giver of her whole family!!!

Taglist:

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