#the whole league jumps on a chance to hug Bruce

[briarmoon1015]

The league being sillies :))). Dc make them actual friends and not just coworkers I dare you

[yuliasever]

Day1: Pretend relationship turned real

The life of superheroes required the Robins to always be ready for anything. But neither the League of Assassins nor the school of Batman could prepare for what Tim and Damian heard that evening.

Vicki Vale has taken up her "who's behind the masks" investigation again and turned to her old friend Tam Fox for answers.

"Do Tim and Damian often disappear unexpectedly?" "Did she notice any strange behavior in them?" "Do they remind her of Red Robin and Robin?" "How many cups of coffee does Tim drink a day?"

Under a flurry of questions, the girl was confused and gave out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Lies for good or How to quit your job in 2 minutes" – this was exactly what the headline of the Gotham morning newspaper should have been. But no, the inscription read: "THE TWO HEIRS OF WAYNE INTERPRISERS ARE REALLY SECRET BELOVERS".

Apparently, the girl had not learned to lie since the last time, so now she was begging for forgiveness on her knees. Tim looked at her, but saw a pleased journalist running away with a piece of gold. His brain system had malfunctioned. In disbelief, he looked at Damian, but saw only the same horror in the green eyes - Tim wanted to cry and scream.

Tim counted to a hundred the next morning before entering the kitchen. The whole family has already learned about the "secret romance" from the newspapers and even managed to spread the news to the rest of the superhero community. Real gossipers.

So the chance to tell the truth quickly reached zero.

But what is surprising is how positively everyone reacted.

Steph was jumping for joy and hugging them. Cass joined her. The Duke chatted endless congratulations.

Dick was crying with happiness because they were only pretending to fight when they "really" were secretly dating.

Alfred wished them all the best and rushed off to prepare a festive dinner.

Bruce... He behaved like a loving and caring father. Putting his hands on their shoulders, he said that he approved of their relationship, and hugged. At some point, the guys were pleasantly embarrassed, but after a second they realized that now they definitely couldn’t get away from it.

From Barbara came SMS with congratulations, however, many decided to write that day. But Jason was a shit. The man found them in the library. As usual, they sat on opposite sides of the sofa, but Jason interpreted this in his own way. He told them not to act like they didn't do anything until he interrupted their idyll and they had to quickly sit down. Needless to say, the obvious is that Jason was immediately pushed out of the room with pillows and improvised items.

In the company it was no better. Everyone cried with happiness that the two heirs were together and there would be no duel for the inheritance. Employees hugged: they no longer have to listen to constant quarrels and bickering. In honor of the full-fledged merger of the company, a large-scale corporate event was organized. Tim and Damian felt very embarrassed that they were holding the entire Wayne Enterprises at bay.

Then their friends joined in. If Damian was still able to somehow calm John down (although he didn’t find out the truth), then Tim’s friends simply pushed him into a deserted place and staged a test in the style of “how sincere your feelings are”. It's funny, but he passed the test. When they said a bunch of bad things about their couple, Dami, who was not even going to react at first, suddenly showed his fangs: “You have no idea what we are having to go through! You should be ashamed to say that behind your friend's back!" Such an angry cat they clamped in a vise and approved for their boy.

Nobody knew the real reason, and they really had to play the role of couple. All their indecision to openly show affection was attributed by those around them to embarrassment, but how long the family of detectives woulld feed on this thought is a question.

So after the patrol, Nightwing and Spoiler casually started talking about a kiss goodnight. They were not afraid to speak loudly. There was nothing to do. Tim went up to the younger and kissed him on the forehead. Damian knew it was all for the sake of imagery, but the imprint of Tim's lips was so tangible that his cheeks burned. There were giggles to the side, and he shushed them. He didn't have to answer, but still he stood up on his toes and pecked the elder in the jaw, whispering "Good night."

Damian ran away, and Tim remained standing, covering the kiss with his palm. They laughed at him for a long time.

Sometimes Tim and Damian wanted to do a facepalm, but overall they did a pretty good job. Hugging or holding hands became something commonplace that they didn't pay as much attention to. After all, they were just pretending.

It all went too far when one day Tim was chatting cheerfully with Bernard. Dami just watched them indifferently with his usual expression, thinking about his own, but Jason took it differently. He approached Tim like some kind of bandit and kicked him in the ass, so that the guy flew off to a distant flower bed. Damian nearly spit out his drink, staring in shock at Todd, who just patted him on the shoulder and told him not to get upset about "that idiot." There were a lot of judgmental looks on Tim that evening.

Then Tim decided to make a formal apology. With a bouquet of roses, he got down on one knee and apologized so that the whole family could see.

“Why? We could have ended this right now,” Damian whispered as he leaned over to the elder, accepting the flowers.

“I’m sorry I don’t want everyone to think I’m an asshole,” it sounded quite logical, so Dami clicked his tongue loudly and “forgave his poor lover”, but then Stephanie ran up and pulled Damian disapprovingly, throwing his “dry broom”, as she put it, at Tim.

“But he apologized.” Damian was horrified at her grip on his shoulders.

Touched, Steph hugged the younger to her chest.

“Oh, innocent you, my flower. I see how much you love him, but such a scoundrel cannot be forgiven so easily. You have every right to be offended by him for the rest of your life.

Damian thought that was too long for a fake relationship. He chose acting to the maximum and put his hand on his heart.

“Still, I’ll give it a second chance.” Stephanie wiped away a tear, and the rest of the onlookers sniffled.

Tim was free, but the girl grabbed Damian and took him to her room to talk about all the secret deeds and shameful stories from Tim's past. Damian only had time to look at Tim in a silent plea before he was taken into the female well of knowledge about exes.

It's been three weeks since Tim and Damian have been in a relationship. And, to tell the truth, there were many pluses in the current situation. Surprisingly, they worked together and acted like a real team on patrols. The atmosphere at work became lighter and more pleasant, as if the employees threw off a heavy burden from their shoulders, although they were afraid of the thought that if their bosses disagreed, they would cause a whole earthquake.

On a second rigged family date, Tim and Damian ended up at an amusement park. Hide behind a family trip and then suddenly disappear - such an obvious plan to give the cute birds privacy came up with the great knights of Gotham. The guys did not even try to pretend that they were looking for them. They sat on a bench and watched people scurrying up and down the park. Everywhere the hubbub and fun.

"I'm sorry about Bernard. You would make a good couple," Damian said after a while.

"Never mind. He still moves to another city."

Damian nodded in understanding. While they were silent, he swirled the glass of his drink, and Tim, noticing his drooping gaze, put his hand on him, urging the boy to turn around.

"Hey, it's not your fault, you know?" Damian understood this, but he still had an unpleasant feeling. Tim nudged him with his shoulder and Damian snorted.

"I know."

“Then relax. We're at an amusement park, and we're on a date, too, so why don't we have some fun?“

Damian arched an eyebrow.

"Drake, are you asking me out on a date?"

“For you, Tim, my love,” the guy smiled, having fun with all his might, and Damian could not resist and rolled his eyes, but a blush appeared treacherously on his cheeks. “Moreover, everything has already been prepared for us “. Tim waved the tickets that their siblings had thoughtfully bought with Bruce's money.

“Where do you want to go first, beloved?”

Tim's eyes widened at the painfully familiar nickname, and he covered a trembling smile with his hand. If they haven't left their last competition yet, now Damian equalized.

“I think we need something to cheer up.“

“How's the roller coaster?“

“Yes! But first I have to win a toy for my boyfriend.“

“Roller coaster with Cat-Batman?“

Tim looked at him questioningly.

“They have a Cat-Batman?! We just have to get it!“

Tim took Damian's hand and dragged him to the nearest shooting range, where, of course, he knocked the toy out without even breaking a sweat.

“Would you like me to hold him while we ride?“

“No, this is my gift.“

Tim looked puffed up until Damian kissed the young man on the cheek.

“Thank you dear, I will take good care of our first Batman cat, although Damian himself could easily win a prize for himself. At the same time that Tim realized what had happened, he blushed. Damian quickly took his hand and led him to the next attraction, no less embarrassed.

And so ended the operation "Date of the Damitims", and all its participants rejoiced on their positions. And no one ever found out about the fake headline, because it's not fake anymore.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Batfam Reacting to S/O Turning into a Robin HC (Request)

So this entire thing happens because you and Bruce were fighting Circe who just had to throw a spell at a civilian

You jump in front of the spell and catch it, taking the blow

This means that on site, you turn into a Robin

Wtf

Bruce is big mad now since now he thinks that you could be a Robin for the rest of your life and that’s just not cool

The moment that the fight is over, he calls in everyone from the league

Z, Constantine, Dr. Fate, Zatara, Wonder Woman, the whole lot

Once they find out what happens there’s a worry but eventually they find that it’s going to be alright and you’ll change back within the next 72 hours or so

72 HOURS

Bruce just simply cannot wait that long

he doesn’t know what to do with a bird like

ALFRED

They make sure to not try and feed you anything that’s too disgusting that you wouldn’t normally eat

No worms

That would be gross

Bruce does find it kind of funny that you turn into a Robin and not something else

So happy it wasn’t a bat

You’d get mixed and lost with the rest of them in the cave and that would be weird

Plus there’s a high chance that you’d just fall from the ceiling

Once you finally detransform from the entire debacle, Bruce is very happy to have you back

Gets special charms from Z and Constantine that repel bad magic back onto the user

Ensures that something like this doesn’t happen again

Dick Grayson:

This man does not know what to do

It’s a run in with Witch Boy that causes this to happen

Z!!!!!!

That’s the first person that he calls

Wally is really the one that takes you back to him since Dick wasn’t on this mission but you and Wally were leading it

You jumped in front of one of the newer recruits and that’s how that happened

Does this entire experience count as a souvenir?

Like maybe he just takes a feather that you drop or something and like SOUVENIR OF THAT ONE TIME THAT Y/N TURNED INTO A ROBIN

After the initial freak out mode, he just thinks that it’s kind of funny that it was a Robin

Z said that the spell was the wrong spell (thankfully) and you’d only turn into something that you loved for a little while

RObin yOU TuRNeD InTO A RoBIn

And that makes Dick a blushing mess

Once you finally do turn back, he teases you

Your most important question is did you eat anything gross

The answer was no but still

Trust issues

he does mention what the spell was and that lead to some blushing

Jason Todd:

This was the last thing that he had planned

The absolute last thing

On a mission that involved some weird magic stuff, you just happened to get turned into a Robin

What the literal hell is happening now

The first instinct is to see that it’s really you

Once you understand that you’re a Robin, you’re just like, oh, so this is happening now

And that’s just how it is, you fly up onto his shoulder and just run with it

Just sitting there like it’s no one’s business cause it isn’t

If anyone asks why there’s a Robin following, it’s just what’s happening now

He is concerned that you don’t turn into a human again

So he does make sure to ask and this time, it needs a counter spell

Z is the one to do this since Jason isn’t keen on trusting Constantine

Doesn’t take super long to do this since Z is already very powerful

We Stan a powerful helpful queen

So Jason goes to one of her shows and sneaks back stage still in the Red Hood uniform and explains what happens

Z just goes ahead, sets you on the floor, and does the transformation

It was really easy, not to painful, but it was weird to just be laying on the floor and not able to fly

You’ll only miss that part

Jason doesn’t miss any of it and still jokes about the fact that you were a Robin

“Babe at least you didn’t blow up in your time being Robin.”

JASON PETER TODD

Tim Drake:

So you turn into a Robin on a mission with the team

He was on this mission and watched the entire thing go down

The funny part was that you could still talk since the magic was somewhat incomplete

There’s just this small voice “WHAT THE HELL!”

And then Tim knows that it’s definitely you

Tim was going to take you to one of the magic users in the league

but since Diana was right there when you got back, you stormed up flew up to her and just mouthed off

“DIANA LOOK AT ME! THAT ASSHOLE CIRCE TURNED ME INTO A ROBIN! THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ROBIN BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE ROBIN! WATCHA LOOKIN AT BATS! I’M NOT UP FOR ADOPTION!”

Tim just died laughing

Cause it really was funny that you were just a little tiny Robin and mouthing off at the most powerful heroes in the world

Recorded it 100%

When Diana takes you to Themyscira in order to get one of the Amazon’s to help, Tim obviously couldn’t come

So it’s about a three day long trip and during that period, Timmy is a mess

He needs to know what’s happening at all times to ensure that you’re alright

When you do finally get home, he tackles you into a hug and checks you up and down to make sure that there’s nothing still wrong

Very happy when he concludes that there’s nothing wrong anymore and you’re back to the regular Y/N

Damian Wayne:

His first instinct is to not let anyone touch you but him

He takes you everywhere and makes sure that you’re alright

You can’t talk but he’s helped birds before and has dated you for some time so he knows what no to do and what to do

That being said, he does want you back to normal ASAP

That means that he’ll call an emergency league meeting without Bruce’s approval

Although Bruce probably would have done the same thing since he really knows that Damian loves you and would make sure that you’re alright

That’s super important to him and the rest of the family since you are kind of family at this point

Damian insists that the magic users help turn you back very quickly

They call in Constantine since Z is off doing other things and he makes sure that he knows exactly what happens

Constantine has had some bad experiences with magic in the past and he wants to be sure that you’re not going to have anything really bad happen to you

Damian is the same way

Probably threatens John’s life if something goes wrong

Once you’re finally back, Damian also tackles you

Though Constantine has to hold him back at first since the shock of turning back and then having someone tackle you to the ground would be over whelming

But when he finally can, he does

Checks you over just like Tim and then doesn’t let you out of his sight for a week or so

It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, just not anyone else

He makes it a point that you’re too important to lose

Cuddles everywhere

Once he does step back and think about it though, he finds it kind of endearing that there are thousands of other things that you could’ve turned into but it was a Robin

It was sweet but didn’t need to last longer than it had to

Duke and Luke:

I’m putting these guys together since in my mind they’re pretty alike

Luke is the classical version of Duke and Duke is the Lofi/ alternative hip hop version of Luke

For these reasons they both have very similar reactions

And that would be to freak out

they take you to Bruce and get advice cause what is going on

They don’t have as much of a connection with the Robin deal since they weren’t ever technically Robin for Batman

Duke is a bit more of an arguable case but still

They do find it both suspicious and a bit comedic that it was a Robin out of anything else though

I have to say that they’re the most chill out of any of the Batfam when it comes to something like this since this kind of thing just happens a lot

Not turning into Robin, just weird outta pocket experiences

Like this is just another thing to add to the list of oh here we go again

Duke does think that you’re still really a pretty Robin

In the most non- weird way possible you’re just a pretty Robin

Luke doesn’t really pay attention to that and instead wants to get to the bottom of what happened so that it doesn’t happen again

They’re both really smart so they’ll figure it out but at different paces since one is more urgent than the other

Doesn’t mean that either care less though

Once you’re back they do make sure that extra diagnostics are run to make sure that nothing was effected and you’ll be okay long and short term

Once they’re satisfied it’ll all go back to being pretty normal

Sry this took so long, exams are running wild

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter 3: Happy Little Accidents (Identities)

Prev

AO3

@maribat-bdbwm

Marinette stared at the man in front of her, trying not to let her jaw drop. Sure she’d seen pictures of Bruce Wayne last night, Adrien made sure she was well educated on the man’s less than ideal fashion choices. But his choice of a sharp suit or his eyes that too closely matched hers weren’t why her jaw dropped. No, her jaw dropped because-

“Batman!” She says, in a wonderful moment of word association added to the man’s height and build. Mr. Wayne’s eyebrow quirks up and Marinette’s face instantly turns bright red as she hears the snickers of her classmates around her. Marinette immediately wishes that they would have left her and gone back to the bus without her, but no such luck. Instead they got to see her embarrass herself in front of her bio dad for the first time. Not that they knew that, but still. It was the principle of the thing. 

“I-” Mr. Wayne starts, but she cuts him off. 

“Oh, no, oh my god, I’m- no, I’m so, so sorry. I just, you’re- and you- and well yesterday, um, so I just, you seemed really familiar and I saw Batman yesterday so I said it and I shouldn't have and I'm so sorry I'm just freaking out cause my bi- ohhhhh….I mean-” Marinette rambles on, her blush darkening as she tries and fails to let out a coherent sentence in front of the man. She’s mercifully saved by the sharp blare of an akuma alert, the phones of every one of her classmates blaring at the same time. Mr. Wayne and the other employees in the lobby of Wayne Enterprises look confused, but Marinette is relieved. 

“What-” Mr. Wayne tries to ask, but is cut off yet again. 

“Oh well that’s not good gotta go call Paris-bye!” She yells, rushing away from the group and towards the bathrooms. She groans at the look Kaalki give her when she opens her purse. 

“That was a disaster.” They say simply with an unamused face. Marinette groans again. 

“Please don’t remind me. Tikki, spots on! Tikki, Kaalki, unify!” Marinette yells before calling a portal and falling into Paris, the awkward situation pushed to the back of her mind while she pours her focus into her Ladybug duties. 

---

Bruce Wayne was confused. And worried. But mostly confused. Or, the confusion overweighed the worry until he asked about the alarm on the French class’ phones. That’s when the worry began to take center stage. A supervillian? In Paris? For almost two years? Why was the League not informed? 

“Um, would you like to watch the battle, Monsieur Wayne?” A blonde boy asks, holding his phone out and rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. Bruce studies the boy for a moment and recognizes him as the one who hugged Miss Dupain Cheng the day prior. His daughter. Who is currently living in a city with a supervillain and no League intervention. Nodding, Bruce takes the phone and watches the battle, his horror growing. There was one hero, rushing around the scene, one of her pigtails singed and soot covering her face. What the hell kind of villain was this? And why did the hero look so small? Bruce flinches as the hero, Ladybug the comments called her, is thrown against a building roughly. He waits with baited breath until she stands back up, her face set in a grimace before she went on the offense with a vengenace. 

“Who is this villain? I’ve never heard of them?” Bruce asks Adrien, not bothering to look away from the fight. 

“I don’t know this one’s name, Akumas all have different names and powers.” Adrien replies. Bruce’ gaze snaps up to meet Adrien’s as his blood runs cold. All. As in, multiple. 

“How many villains?” He asks, thankful that his newly discovered daughter is currently in Gotham instead of Paris, a sentiment he never expected with the crime rates of his beloved city. 

“Oh, there’s only one villain. Hawkmoth. Akumas are just people who’ve had a bad day.” Adrien explains as if it’s a simple concept. 

“And what does that mean?” Bruce asks, feeling frustration creep into his neutral posture. 

“It means that what you’re seeing right now is a normal citizen who’s being controlled. Hawkmoth…. He has the power to control anyone who shows an extreme negative emotion. Heartbreak, anger, sadness, lonelines, anything negative can be used against you. We, Paris that is, don’t blame those who were akumatized. They can’t even remember what they did when they were under his control. It wouldn’t be fair to hold them accountable.” Adrien explains, and Bruce can’t help the feeling of complete and total helplessness that rushes over him. If he went to Paris, even with the intention of helping the hero in order to protect his daughter, he could become an even bigger obstacle. He could hurt her. He could hurt others. 

“Is that why the Justice League isn’t there?” Bruce asks, slightly amused at Adrien’s face rapidly changing from understanding to shocked. 

“I-um, probably? If you want more information, miraculousparis.org or the Ladyblog would be your best places for information.” Adrien offers. Bruce nods, mentally making a note to check out those sites later. 

“Very well. Thank you. I hope the rest of your trip to Gotham is enjoyable.” Bruce says, careful not to slip into a threatening tone. The boy hadn’t done anything to him, and while he might want to play the protective father, he knew it wasn’t his right. Not yet, anyways. Now he had a supervillain to destroy from behind the scenes. 

---

Opening a portal into her hotel room, Marinette sighs tiredly. The battle had been tiring, especially since she was on her own. Chat Noir had some kind of trip that he couldn’t get out of and had aplogized endlessly for it. She had reassured him that she could do it, but now… she knew she could do it but she really missed her partner. Letting both transformations drop, she sighs, relieved that the odd number of girls in their class allowed her to have her own room. Until a gasp filled her ears. She instantly shifts into a fighting position, shoulders tense as she stares at-

“Adrien?!” She yells in shock and confusion. What was he doing? In her hotel room? Without her? How did he even get a key? How was she supposed to explain this? Well, he did know the basics from his time as Aspik but-

“But you’re Multimouse!” Adrien yells before clapping his hand over his mouth, his cheeks instantly turning red. Marinette’s eyes widen. 

“How do you know about that?” She asks, panic rushing through her system. 

“Oh my god.” Adrien says, his eyes widening as he glances from Marinette to Tikki and back again. “Oh my god.”

“Please don’t tell anyone! I know you don’t owe me anything, but I just really don’t know if I can handle being the center of attention and then my family would be in danger and I know they wouldn’t approve because it’s dangerous and I-”

“THE TWO GIRLS I HAVE A CRUSH ON ARE THE SAME GIRL?” Adrien says, his eyes wide as he cuts off her rambling. 

“I- wait what?” Marinette sputters, completely shocked at this turn of events. 

“Well I’ve had a crush on Ladybug for forever and then like a month ago, I was talking to Plagg about how mad it made me that people weren’t listening to you and how hurt you were by the whole high road advice which was, honestly, not my best moment. And somehow, I started ranting about how pretty your eyes are and how kind and amazing you are and so then Plagg told me that that’s a crush, and I thought he was wrong. Until I saw you the next day and realized that he was right but then I felt bad because I felt like I was betraying Ladybug by having a crush on you instead, but Ladybug is you. Which makes sense, now that I think about it and-” Adrien’s cut off by Marinette covering his mouth with her hand, desperate to get him to stop talking. 

“Plagg?” She asks, jumping back from him as the Kwami flies out from Adrien’s pocket. 

“Good job kid, you broke pigtails.” He says, gesturing at Marinette who suddenly felt like the human version of the windows error screen. Could this trip get any weirder?

Next

Tag List: @vixen-uchiha @liquid-luck-00 @stainedglassm @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks 

[baroquebucky]

hello!! how are you? i was wondering if i could request a little something with Bucky where the reader convinced him to go to the beach with them, and by the end of the day they confess to each other? i know it’s oddly specific, but i hope you can do it! thank you so so so much!🥺💓

a/n: i hope ur doing well !! sorry if this took a while ,, i hope you enjoy pls ignore any typos <3 also let’s just pretend like there’s a beach near the compound okay cool thank u (requests open !)

bucky finds out he only loves the beach because of you

masterlist

You narrowed your eyes, hoping to make Bucky crack under pressure.

“It’s just one day! Cmon it’ll be fun!” You protested, groaning as Bucky smirked as he licked his lips, turning away from you.

“i don’t like the beach” he stated simply, shrugging his shoulders and focusing on the tv infront of him.

“well too bad, it’s not even a whole day, just one afternoon please bucky” you pouted, putting on hand on his thigh and looking at him pleadingly.

Bucky felt his heart rate spike, you were so cute, he would do anything for you. But no, he hated the beach, the sand would get everywhere and it’s so hot.

“sorry y/n” Bucky shrugged and you sighed, getting up from the couch and heading to your room, wondering how to convince the super soldier to go.

The next day you were sat next to Sam, complaining about how Bucky wouldn’t go with you.

“i told him it would be so bad, i was gonna confess and everything i had it all planned out” you spoke, voice lowered so only sam could hear.

He was quiet for a few moments, coming up with a plan quickly, a smirk on his face as Bucky entered the living room.

“yeah I’ll go to the beach with you” Sam spoke, a charming smile on his face, Bucky turned to face the two of you.

You furrowed your brows but quickly caught on, a smile breaking onto your face. Throwing your arms around sam you squealed.

“yay! I’ll pack the sandwiches and fruits right now, i have my change of clothes packed already” you smiled, Bucky looking at you with doe eyes.

“oh hi buck” you grinned, moving past him.

“you’re uh- you going with Wilson?” Bucky spoke, clearing his throat and trying to hide his jealousy.

“yeah, you didn’t wanna go so i figured I’d go with someone else” you shrugged, eyeing him.

“wh- i never said no” Bucky protested, watching you fill the basket with some of his favorite fruits. “technically speaking i never actually rejected the offer” he continued.

You furrowed your eyebrows and stopped moving for a second.

“I guess you didn’t huh, but you said you hate the beach so” you trailed off, closing the basket and making eye contact with the super soldier.

“cant be that bad if I’m with you doll” he smirked and you blushed, clearing your throat and looking down at the basket.

“so you do wanna go to the beach” you stated, walking past him and setting the basket on the counter near the door, sitting back down on the couch near sam.

“yeah” Bucky spoke, turning to face you and you nodded. Sam fought the smile on his face, acting like he had to take a call, leaving only the two of you in the living room.

“okay well you should back some towels and stuff then” you stated and Bucky nodded, getting up and going to his room to get everything he needed.

Sam soon emerged from the hall, a smirk on his face as you broke out into a fit of giggles.

“Sam Wilson you genius” you grinned, hugging him.

“i know, i know, now you go have fun, for the love of god i hope he finally admits he liked you” he groaned, “tired of seeing him pining all the damn time.”

You took your bag and the basket and set them in the backseat of the car, making sure you had everything and waiting in the drivers seat, music playing from the speakers.

Bucky soon walked out, setting his bag in the backseat and hopping in the passengers seat.

“Sam said he had a netting come up so he couldn’t come” he turned to you and you nodded, turning the volume up a bit.

“guess you’re stuck with just me huh” you joked and Bucky smiled, looking out the window as you pulled away from the compound.

The drive was long, but with Bucky there to crack jokes you felt the time fly by. Singing songs he had learned from your playlists and humming along to some 40’s songs you had grown to love because of Bucky.

When you finally arrived, your stomach was growling, jumping out of the car and pulling Bucky along to a nice table near the shore, only a little bit away from the sand.

You both unpacked the food, handing each other your favorite fruits and some other snacks you packed.

“i don’t know what you do but these are so good” bucky smiled after finishing the sandwiched you had packed, giving him the rest of yours once you got full.

“i think we were just really hungry because that was the best one I’ve ever made” you spoke, drinking some water and resting your chin in your hand.

“I was thinking we can go for a swim and then change and then go for a walk while the sunsets” you spoke, watching as the super soldier put the glass containers back into the basket, carefully closing it because focusing his attention back to you.

“sounds great doll” he grinned, getting up with you to go put the basket back in the car.

“race you to the water” you giggled, taking off before you even finished your sentence, stretching your legs as far as they go to try and outrun him.

Bucky smiled as you ran, he waited a couple second knowing he could easily catch up. He closed the car door and sprinted after you, grabbing you by the waist and spinning you around right before you got to the water.

“that’s cheating! I would’ve beat you!” You laughed, squirming in his arms so he would set you down. Bucky smiled at you as you poured at him, arms crossed.

“i gave you a 5 second head start and you’re complaining?” He teased and you hugged, flailing your arms in the air.

“look at me I’m Bucky and i can run so fast” you mocked, lowering your voice to imitate him.

“I don’t even talk like that!” he argued, frowning as you mocked him.

“i don’t even talk like that” you giggled as he frowned, quickly swooping you off the ground and running into the water.

“wait i was joking!” You spoke, eyes widening as a wave crashed into both of you, soaking you to the bone and both of your hair dripping wet, clothes clinging to your bodies.

“i was joking!” Bucky replied, making his voice a higher pitch to mock you, a smirk on his lips as you looked at him in shock.

The two of you messed around in the water for a while, eventually getting out and heading to some showers to change before the sun began to set.

You two met back at the car, Bucky in a t shirt and some shorts and you in float shorts and a hawaii t shirt he absolutely despised.

“you brought that shirt? Really?” He groaned and you smiled at him.

“it’s the beach!” You beamed at him, his gaze softening as you smiled at him.

“only you could pull that off doll face” he smiled and you blushed, closing the car door and mumbling something to yourself.

The two of you talked softly as the sunset, smiling at each other’s comments and acredites while the waves hit the sand. You don’t know how far you had walked when you stopped, looking at the red and pinks of the sky, taking a deep breath and looking at Bucky.

“i have to tell you something” you spoke, wringing your hands together and looking at Bucky as he walked closer to you.

“what is it?” he replied, concern written on his face as he looked around for any danger.

“i just- okay well for a long time” you began, fumbling with your words and moving your hands, “okay well not long but kind of long” you rambled, looking at Bucky who was confused. You shook your head and continued.

“after a while of knowing you i was just- i like you, and not like a friend- yes like a friend but more as in like like you” you paused for a moment, “you know?” You stopped and looked him in the eyes.

Bucky could hear your heart rate over the sound of the waves and seagulls, he could hear how fast it was thumping. He could also hear his, a steady beating in his ears as his face flushed and smile broke onto his face.

You, the girl of his dreams, the girl he thought was out of his league liked him. You opened your mouth, about to start rambling but Bucky wasn’t going to give you the chance.

In one quick stride he cupped your face in his hands and pressed your lips together, kissing you deeply, a smile on your face as you gladly returned the kiss.

You both pulled away, lips pink and faces hot. Seconds passed and you were the first to speak up.

“so do you like me” you questioned, chewing on your bottom lip and Buckys mouth fell open.

“we just made out and you think there’s a chance i don’t like you?” He smirked as you fumbled over your words.

“i do like you doll, i want you to be mine, i want to hold you and kiss you and i want you by my side” bucky smiled, looking at you as you smiled, your heartbeat steady in his ears.

“will you be mine?” he asked and you nodded, throwing yourself onto him and he smiled, your legs wrapped around his waist. Bucky placed a soft kiss on your cheek as he set you down.

“so is that a yes” he teased and you rolled your eyes, letting out a groan.

“you know what i take it back” you joked, crossing your arms and walking away from him. Bucky smirked as you grabbed your wrist softly, pulling you to him and connecting your lips.

Your knees grew weak as he pulled away, biting your bottom lip softly.

“still take it back?” he teased and you swallowed your words, rolling your eyes and smiling at him.

Your fingers were laced the whole walk back to the car, smiling at each other and giggling at anything the other said.

Both of you were smitten and neither of you bothered to hide it, proudly telling sam the second you walked back into the compound, the rest of the team cheering for the two of you.

“about damn time” Sam smirked, patting Bucky on the shoulder and giving you a hug.

“Bruce you owe me $20” Nat smiled and the scientist laughed, protesting on how they never shook hands.

Amidst the chaos the two of you slipped away, heading to shower and change before meeting up in Buckys room to watch some movies.

“M happy i can call you mine doll” he mumbled, kissing the top of your head softly and you hummed in agreement.

“I’m glad i finally bagged the most attractive avenger” you grinned, loving the way he blushed at your comment. You moved closer to bucky, you head resting on his chest, the steady sound of his heartbeat lulling you to sleep as the movie played in the background.

Bucky smiled as your breathing steadied, heart growing as everything finally hit him. You were his. You were his and he was gonna do everything he could to give you the world.

[schoolastica]

Steve’s Boy

@peterparkerbingo​

First: “Steal your girl”. I tried to make a short but sweet story about teenage pining. Hope you all like.

Summary:  Every single thing about Steven Fucking Rogers pissed Tony Stark off. But the most hateful thing about him is his little boyfriend, Peter Parker.

Steve’s Boy

Every single thing about Steven Fucking Rogers pissed Tony Stark off. And look, Tony had tried really hard to befriend that guy at the beginning, alright? Tony was a Senior and came to the school at the start of the school year, and he didn’t like to tell people why was that (but it had something to do with him fucking the headmaster’s daughter).

 Anyways, Midtown High School would be just as any other school went, except Tony met Steven fucking Rogers and it made his blood boil. Steven Rogers was tall, well-built, straight-white perfect teeth and blonde hair was always well-groomed. Captain of the football team, responsible and kind, but the single most infuriating thing about Steven Rogers was his boyfriend Peter Parker.

 The most formidable creature Tony has ever seen. It’s not just about his appearance, Peter was pretty and nobody had a right to be so pretty, it was that he was smart, kind, responsible, funny and caring. He volunteered at an elderly house on weekends, brought cookies for everyone on Fridays and was a cheerleader.

 That wouldn’t be a problem except when he decided to walk around on the tight cheerios uniform, with that perky ass up and down the hallways. Or when it was a rainy day at the football fields and he jumped up Steven’s arm, wrapping his legs around the older boy and kissing him, that made Tony crazy. 

 So it wasn’t just the fact that Tony was lusting after a guy way out of his league that was messing with his head, cmon, it’s not the first time he did it. It was the fact that Steven fucking Rogers wanted to be Tony’s *friend*.

 Honest-to-God, Come-Hang-Around-My-Table-At-Lunch friend. It’s like that big lanky guy took one look at Tony’s sorry excuse for a boy and decided to adopt him. They ended up sharing their math period (Tony haven’t requested to change it yet and Steven wasn’t so bright after all) and as soon as Tony introduced himself for the class, he was overwhelmed by that Football Captain.

 Steven not only invited Tony for his lunch table, but he also introduced Tony to his crew: Bucky, Vision, Thor, Clint and Sam from the Football team, Nat, Pepper, Wanda, Carol and MJ, who apparently had different interests and then the guy’s pets: Bruce and Ned, two nerdy boys that had the shared attention of everyone. So now, if only to fuck Tony, even more, he was holding a bunch of very cool weird people that he ended up liking a lot close to his heart.

 What a mess.

And it wasn’t even like Steven and Peter were unhappy. They have been together since 6th grade, and everybody loved them, people knew they were #couplegoals and treated them like that. Peter would comb Steven’s hair and say:” You look very handsome today”, he would blow kisses to him during practice and knows his order at any place they went to.

 In the beginning, it pissed Tony off, now it was downgraded infuriating. To see them hugging and kissing, he felt so dirty whenever they talked cute in front of Tony. Once he asked Sam and Bucky if that ever bothered them, to which Sam said “It did at the start but Steve was so in love with that boy that having him pining was worse”

 Tony liked to lay in bed at night, sometimes doing things less than polite, but more often than not just trying to picture what Peter saw in Steve that he didn’t see in Tony. Sure, they were complete opposites, for everything Steven was kind, comprehensive and hard-working Tony was lazy, sarcastic and brute.

 It felt like the whole year has been hell for Tony, seeing his dream boy being cute and sexy for another guy.  He even tried dating sweet Pepper, but nothing made him forget Peter Parker. At the last party of the year, on the lake with every one of the school swimming and having fun. They dare to play Jessie’s Girl at a point. Ugh.

 Tony spent the whole day drinking and just slowly losing the sense of his face. When the sunset he saw Steve’s truck leaving, which was weird because he just passed Peter down next to the bathrooms. Tony goes back trying to look for the boy, using his cellphone flashlight in the dark. 

 When he sees Peter, he’s out in the back, curled in the fetal position under a tree. Crying. Tony can’t believe his luck, could that be his chance to get the boy of his dreams?

[danny-chase]

if you want, maybe you could do "severed artery" with Dick and have Roy (or one of the other Titans) take care of him? love your writing and I hope you're having a nice day!

AHH thank you so much! I hope you enjoy!

Severed Artery - read on AO3

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Titans (Comics), Nightwing (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Roy Harper & Dick Grayson Characters: Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Garth (DCU), Donna Troy (minor) Additional Tags: Can be read as pre-slash, POV Roy Harper, POV Dick Grayson, vomitting, Blood, Guns, Hospitals, Canon-Typical Violence, dick is a little shit, Roy is a Little Shit, Homophobia, Roy Harper Needs a Hug, Roy Harper gets/gives a hug, Dick Grayson Whump, Roy Harper emotional whump, Protective Roy Harper, Hurt Dick Grayson, Garth is the best, Titans as family, Confused Dick Grayson, Medical Inaccuracies Series: Part 6 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

Dick and Roy are little shits to each other, until the night takes a turn for the worse.

Full story under cut

“Aight, Donna, you ready to go?” Roy chirped, taking a second to look himself over in the mirror, running his fingers through his (surprisingly) soft hair (he’d be stealing Dick’s shampoo more often) – getting that perfect messy, but stylish look. He fired off finger guns at his reflection – he was killing it, somehow listening to Gar of people had worked out – he gave shockingly good fashion advice.

Feeling optimistic, he sauntered into the hall, only to be met with Donna’s confused expression.

“Roy, I’m going out with the girls tonight, I told you like four times.” She leaned against the wall, gesturing to Jesse and Toni, car keys dangling from her hand. Jesse stared at him, an eyebrow cocked judgmentally, as Toni smiled, offering a little wave. He waved back, watching Jesse’s expression morph into disapproval.

“Hey, I didn’t even do anything!” He complained, glaring at Jesse. She rolled her eyes, not deigning to verbally respond. Ice queen.

Reaching out, Donna patted his shoulder, waiting until he met her eyes. “I’m sorry, hun, but we’ve got tickets to a concert, could we go out next weekend?” She fluttered her eyelids slightly, sending chills up his spine. “Why don’t you take one of the boys with you?”

“Terrible company, but babe, have fun, I’ll figure something out.” He cupped her chin in his hand, leaning forward to peck a kiss to the top of her head, ignoring the fact she squatted down to make the moment work.

“Mm, thanks.” With that, the girls were off for the night, leaving him stranded in a deserted hallway.

Well. He could do what Donna suggested and take out one of the guys – he had the reservation, and Lian was already situated with the sitter. But which guy was the question… Wally was out with the league, Garth was visiting home, Vic was with Gar, and Grant had a date. Which left Dick – no - Dick was busy working – actually yes – he likely needed a break.

Actually – was he even here?

He started towards the central control room, poking a head in Dick’s room on the way and had to do a double take.

“You’re actually in <em>your room</em>?” Dick threw a pencil at him without looking up from his desk, child’s play to dodge – Dick speak for hmm, maybe something like ‘asshole’, but he took it as an invitation to enter. But if Dick was going to call him an asshole, he had expectations to live up to.

He took a standing leap, twisting and flopping across Dick’s immaculately made bed, sending blankets and pillows careening off the side. Dick ignored him, scribbling down some notes on a pad of paper. Roy waited for a few minutes, listening to the scratch of pen on paper. Quick and noisy – Dick was likely stressed – he was pushing down harder than normal; he gave it an eighty/twenty chance something was up.

Ripping paper proved him right, as Dick frustratedly crumpled up the page of notes, throwing them behind him, hitting the recycling bin with ease. Groaning, he dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his eyes.

“Showoff.” Dick startled, jumping out of his chair, Roy’s own reflexes were the only thing that saved him from taking a pen between the eyes.

“What the fuck, Richard?!” He yelled, yanking the little missile out of the air. A faint flush tinted the top of Dick’s ears.

“I forgot you were there.” The admission was almost too quiet to hear, but combined with the minute sign of embarrassment, it rang of truth. Roy could milk this, oh he totally could.

“What was that, why did you almost kill me?” If he played his cards right, he wouldn’t be dining alone tonight.

“I didn’t think you were…” Dick trailed off, glaring at him. “You heard what I said.” He retorted, catching on. Sucks to suck, Dickie – he was obviously tired if that spooked him – he was likely running on caffeine.

“Oh, you misunderstand.” Scooching off the edge of the bed, he hopped lightly onto the balls of his feet. “Why’d the batboy forget I was there, hmm?” He pulled a half-eaten energy bar off the desk, inspecting the wrapper. Dick casually rocked back in his chair.

“See, completely decaf, I told you I’d-” Roy yanked open a drawer, Dick darting to stop him. “This is my desk!” He slammed the drawer shut a moment too late – Roy had good eyes after all.

“Hmm, so how do you explain the-”

“Get out, I have stuff to do – aren’t you supposed to be on a date with-”

“-CAFFIENE PILLS IN YOUR DRAWER!” He shouted through Dick’s response, effectively shutting him up. There’d been an intervention years ago after too many days spent on one hour or less of sleep. “You know the deal.” Dick groaned as he ruffled his hair.

“I have to-”

“Eat, shower, and sleep. And I have reservations. For two. You’re coming with me.” Ah yes, a romantic dinner date with Dick Grayson. People would kill for this. Dick crossed his arms. Roy picked up his chair, staggering towards the door. Dick was going whether he liked it or not, a real meal (not protein shakes or energy bars) would do him good.

“No one’s even done this to me in like, a year.” He noted, gracefully leaping out of the seat. “Asshole.” Grumbling he lightly punching him in the arm before heading into his walk-in closet, stripping off his shirt as he went. Automatically, Roy scanned for any new injuries, his eyes lingering over a few of the old.

“Liar, Wally caught you two months ago. Besides, the restaurant is nice, Donna likes it and you two are basically the same person, so you’ll love it.” Dick scoffed, stepping out of view.

“Is that all I am to you? Your replacement for Donna?” He sounded mildly offended.

“Nah, you’re too ugly to replace her.” Dick hmphed. “And your personality sucks.” Roy added.

“Why the hell am I going with you?”

“It’s not like your night could get any worse.” Dinner was better than casework after all.

Dick’s head poked out the doorway, looking completely unamused. “Asshole.” He chirped a second time, ducking back away.

Roy sat across from him, speaking between mouthfuls of pasta, smacking his lips together. “So anyways this kid, Johnny is like, sitting next to Lian in class, and he keeps taking her crayons and won’t give them back.” Dick thought for a moment, watching Roy drum his fingers rhythmically on the table. “And the teacher is being ridiculous, she just believes Johnny over Lian. My Lian! Can you believe it?” He slammed his fork down, articulating the point.

<em>And you’re sure Lian gave you the whole story?</em> Was what Dick wondered, but he’d prefer not to die for questioning Lian’s integrity tonight. “Why don’t you mark her crayons with a sharpie and let the teacher know?” Roy’s fingers stopped.

“Huh, hadn’t thought of that.” He leaned back in his seat, distantly looking out the window. People trickled down the street, passing by the little café, kicking up crimson leaves from half empty trees. Streetlights flickered on; fairy lights crisscrossing the avenue, as the sun lazily sunk in the sky. It was a beautiful night – Roy was right, he did love it, the food was good – catching up with Roy was refreshing – and the location was stunning; as always, Roy always picked the perfect places for dates. Dick was past the point of being annoyed at the situation but was still determined to give Roy a hard time.

“Well, maybe if you thought about that instead of harassing me.” He leaned forward, resting his head on his hand, dramatically looking out the window – Babs was going to kill him for being late with his case reports. Again. Roy smirked as he rocked forward, reaching across the table to lay a hand on his forearm. He at least had the decency to look apologetic.

“Look, you know the deal.” Brushing his thumb against his skin placatingly, he waited until Dick met his eyes. “You’re working full time, and have your nightly duties, and you’re with us.” His voice dropped, his nostrils flaring in irritation. “It’s not like you’ll leave Bruce alone any time soon either. Dick.” His eyes crinkled around the edges – concern. “You’ve got to start taking care of yourself.” Dick rolled his eyes; he was doing fine.

“You’re working with Ollie, you have a daughter, and you’re working with us, look I had one breakdown-”

“More than one-”

“-Only one that wasn’t the result of external influences.” Fuck Brother Blood for the other ones. “We made the caffeine deal after,” he grimaced reflexively “I broke up with Kory but, Roy.” He clasped Roy’s hand with his other hand reassuringly. “I promise I’m doing better now.” Tilting his head to the side, he cracked his neck. “Plus, you only brought me along because Donna was busy, that’s not what the deal was for.”

“Okay, maybe that was shitty of me, but it’s nice seeing you without the tights.” Roy flashed a winning smile. “Not that I don’t like seeing you in them, the new stuff looks great.”

“Oh, so I don’t look great now?” He teased. He’d picked out his brightest shirt for the occasion – a polo patterned after bowling alley carpet paired with the tightest red jeans he could find, and of course, a pair of heels borrowed from Donna. A single giant hoop earring dangled off his left ear. If he was going out with Roy, he wanted people taking pictures. Payback. This would be in the news tomorrow.

“Babe,” Roy lifted up his hand, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “You look stunning.” He grinned goofily, seemingly happy to play along. Welp. If that’s how they were going to play it. He booped Roy’s nose, watching his pupils dilate. Dick recoiled in surprise – Roy wasn’t -

“Wait, you’re not actually-”

A scream cut him off, whirling around in his seat he saw a large man storming into the café brandishing a gun, his face red beet red and angry. He turned back, squeezing Roy’s hand, nodding towards the silverware.

“No-no one else move!” The guests around them stayed frozen in place. Three older ladies on their right, a family of four on their left (he guessed it was the young girl who screamed), and a couple across from them. The staff ducked behind the counter as people outside the restaurant scrambled away.

Dick raised his hands slowly. “I said no one move!” The gun pointed directly at him. Perfect.

“Okay, I won’t move.” He said steadily, watching sweat bead on the man’s head – he was nervous, his hands twitched uneasily on the gun – possibly his first time, and he kept muttering to himself. He watched Roy’s hand carefully creep towards silverware in his peripheral. “Do you want money? My father is rich.” Watching the man jitter about, he slowly stood up. Roy’s hand closed around the fork.

“Okay? You-you can get me money?” The man mused to himself, shifting his weight back and forth. He started lowering his gun, taking a step forward, he reached out his other hand. Dick took a few steps to the right, away from his chair, shifting attention away from Roy. “Okay the-”

*BANG* The world sped up around him, he rushed forward as the man fell-

*BANG* The man hadn’t even hit the ground – he was already dead – already-

“DICK-”

*BANG* Blood and brain matter poured out of the man’s head, someone was screaming, it didn’t need to-

*BANG*

“STOP!” Someone slammed into his side, and he hurtled to the ground. “HOLD YOUR FIRE!”

Roy’s face hovered above him. “Dick! You’re going to be fine.” His hands clamped napkins to his left shoulder, one on his front the other on his back – and shit – that was a lot of blood. “Hey, look at me.” Pain radiated out for the spot as Roy doubled the weight on the wound, blood seeping out past his fingers, waves pulsating in time to his heartbeat.

Cops burst in through the door, rushing to swarm the dead body. One glanced their way. “Oh shit, you hit the fa-”

“Fucking call an ambulance you dipshits!” Roy’s voice sounded farther away. “Slow your heart, fuck, do your Jedi weirdo bat tricks.” He hissed. Too late, sometimes, things happen too fast. “They hit an artery.” The blood wasn’t stopping, the napkin was soaked through, Dick felt himself slipping into shock. “Dick, stay awake!”

“Lo-ve y-ou.” He stumbled over the words as the world exploded – a million things happening at once – his thoughts scattering as black tinged his vision, overcoming everything.

Roy scrubbed his hands, pausing over the sink, watching the pink water rush down the drain, gurgling as it went. He rubbed a hand further, tackling the blood crusted over his elbow. He made a mistake of catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror –Dick’s blood was everywhere, coating his shirt, arms, pants, even some on his face. His stomach flipped, clenching tightly as he started to gag - fuck.

Throwing himself over the toilet, dinner rising back up in his throat, he threw up the seat. Shaking, he held himself over the porcelain toilet, fingertips staining it red, as he heaved. Soap bubbles dripped from his hands over the edge of the bowl, spattering on the ground.

Each drop spurred a recollection of the night’s events.

*Plop* The man was dead before he hit the grown, brain matter spattering the wall.

*Plop* A bullet whistled through the air, missing Dick by millimeters, lodging six inches next to the little girl’s head. He ran, screaming <em>“Dick!”</em>

*Plop* Blood sprayed out, a bullet ripping through Dick’s shoulder, as he kept moving towards the man.

*Plop* <em>“Stop!”</em> Tackling Dick out of the way, he screamed for them to stop, ripping napkins off a table and desperately trying to stop Dick’s life from slipping through his fingers.

He fell to his knees, a pit growing in his stomach spreading to his chest, rooting him to the spot. He curled his knees to his chest. Fuck. Dick had been shot before. But this? It was different. They weren’t in costume, they hadn’t been ready – the man hadn’t even shot anyone, only the bastard cops had.

<em>“Love you.”</em>

What kind of final words were those! He sat on the tile floor, banging his head into the side of the wall. Dick couldn’t die. Not because he forced him on some dumb dinner date! It wasn’t fucking fair!

His vision blurred, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the tears, unless he wanted blood in his eyes. Just – fuck. “FUCK!” His shout reverberated around the room. This was all his fault – he should have stayed home with Lian, guilt pooled in the bottom of his stomach. Why couldn’t he just leave well enough alone? Why’d he always have to have the last word? What was wrong with him!? Normal people didn’t antagonize each other like that!

The door creaked open. “Roy?” Garth called, the door squealing as it slowly opened. “Donna’s here too, are you ohhhhhhhhh-kay?” His jaw dropped, though he quickly recovered. Roy looked away, in a failed attempt to hide the tear tracks on his cheeks.

Garth stared at his hands. “That’s a lot of blood.” He muttered, his eyes darting around the room. “I mean, I brought you clean clothes.” He placed pair of sweats and a ratty t-shirt he’d stolen from Dick years ago on the counter. Roy’s eyes lingered on the shirt, no doubt the choice had been intentional.

The sound of rushing water cut through the silence, seeming to grow louder with each passing moment. Garth leaned back against the counter, hopping up next to the sink. “He’ll be fine.”

“Yep.” Dick was always fine. Always fine until he wasn’t.

“It’s not your fault.” Wrong.

“Debatable.” Garth frowned at the response but held his tongue. Instead, he let his head fall back against the mirror, staring up at the ceiling.

Softly, barely above a whisper, he continued. “I left you all alone for one day and this is how it ends up.” Roy bit his lip. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” Guilt bubbled in the bottom of his stomach, and annoyance overcame him; they’d had these conversations before.

“Are you kidding me? I know what you want me to say. It’s not your fault – of course not. But then you’ll say ah but it’s not my fault either.” Angrily throwing his arms in the air, he continued, his voice growing louder. “And no – Garth – actually it is my fault!” He could feel the blood rushing to his face. “I’m the one who made him go to the restaurant. I’m the one was too late getting him out of the line of fire!” His voice resounded around the cramped room. He banged his head against the wall again. “Look, I know what you’re trying to do and thanks. But no thanks.”

Nonchalantly shrugging, Garth gestured to the water. “Wallowing here won’t make you feel less guilty. Apologizing when he wakes up will help, and I’m sure you’d prefer to be clean when the time comes.”

“Garth? Could you just…” He trailed off; anger quickly overcome by a wave of guilt. Shut up? Leave? Stop? He wasn’t sure, but he was sure he didn’t deserve whatever pity Garth was feeling. A wet paper towel smacked him in the face.

“Kick you in the rear so you’ll get off your sorry ass and clean yourself up?” Hopping off the counter, Garth strode over, lifting Roy by the elbow. “That’s not my style. But I’ll help you get cleaned up.” He let himself be dragged towards the running water, facing himself in the mirror once more, though this time he focused on Garth.

Sometimes Dick could swear he was actually a time traveler. Or maybe had latent teleportation abilities. Realistically, he’d probably just blacked out from blood loss or a concussion, but eh, that option wasn’t as fun. Blinking, he found himself in a familiar setting; a hospital room in a private wing, at – a clock ticked to his left, looking up – it was 4:19am.

He waited a minute, watching the clock turn to 4:20 - nice.

What was he doing again? How long was he out?

He struggled for a moment before remembering that he went out with Roy at 6pm last night, so he was out for… god math was hard. Six to twelve is six hours plus four, uh, ten hours and twenty minutes. Right. As long as it was the same day, he was set.

“Shit.” He promptly realized he couldn’t move his left arm. A sling. UGH. “Son of a-” he cut himself off, realizing he wasn’t alone in the room, Donna was gently snoring in a nearby chair, a little throw blanket covering her. The patterns had fish people… there was a word for that… mer-somethings-maids, mermaids. Mermaids – Garth – Garth was here, that was his blanket.

Dick scanned the room, checking for signs of life. Someone’s bag was on the floor, but he didn’t feel like expending the brain power to figure out who’s. Alright. He steeled himself. Now was the perfect time for escape.

The room spun as he sat up, turning around and round again before his eyes. Hah. Count Vertigo was way worse than this. Yep, head empty, room spinning, this was fine. Swinging his legs over the bed, an alarm blared next to his head.

“Fuck!” He jumped out of his skin, springing to his feet, in a defensive position. Well. He thought he did. The room was tilting on its side, the high-pitched noise shattering his thoughts. Instinctively, he tried to run.

“Woah there, shorty.” He found himself held by strong arms, the world turning once more. The familiar scent of Roy’s aftershave overpowered his senses. Distantly he was aware of the alarm turning off, his legs hitting the back of the bed. Roy’s face swam into view as he was guided back onto the bed, now propped up by soft pillows. So much for escape…

He closed his eyes, waiting for the rush of dizziness to pass. “Roy?” Warm arms wrapped around his torso, snaking tenderly around the sling. “What?” He mumbled - not that he was complaining, as he nestled his chin on Roy’s shoulder. He sighed contentedly, pressing his face into Roy’s stiff neck, closing his eyes and basking in the warmth.

For some reason, the wheels in his brain began turning. Roy. Dinner. Gunshots. His eyes shot open. “Fuck did you get hit, are you okay?” He pulled back, scanning Roy for injuries.

“I’m fine.” Roy facepalmed.

“What?”

“You got shot and you’re asking if <em>I’m</em> okay?” Roy shook his head, exhaustion clear in his voice. Dick looked at his sling again.

“I got shot?” It was like a piece of a puzzle clicking into place. “I got shot…” Wasn’t he supposed to be somewhere else? “How the fuck am I supposed to explain this to my boss?”

Sighing, Roy took a seat on the edge of the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why are you like this?” Turning, he looked Dick in the eyes. “Don’t answer that actually. Look, I’m sorry I made you go out to dinner.”

“Why? It was nice.” The food was good. Sputtering, Roy searched for words.

“Well. Don’t say I never apologized.” A little bit of a blush crept up his neck.

His mind abruptly recalled something he’d heard Roy saying to Lian. “Apologies come with hugs.” Roy rolled his eyes but moved closer anyways.

“You don’t even know why I’m apologizing.” He mumbled, brushing Dick’s bangs to the side. Dick grinned as Roy pecked his forehead, sweeping him into a second embrace. Two hugs in one day – that was a pretty good day. Roy’s fingers stroked through his hair, as Dick leaned into his muscular side, the world spinning slightly, though he’d found a solid rock to lean on.

[sparkleofpizza]

The archer - Tim Drake x reader 5/?

Requested: no

Warnings: Death, blood, cursing, mentions of Arrow tv show

Taglist: @isthataladybag @the-fandom-ness @takoyakkun @caswinchester2000 @malfoys-demigod @n1ghtsh4d3-67

Summary: Y/n Queen will be living in the Wayne Manor for a while, and Dick Grayson decided to be the cupid between her and his little brother Tim Drake

Word count: 2.999

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 6 - Part 7

The wind was harsh against the skin on the cold autumn night, the trees's leaves kept making the same noise. The dirty floor was cold against your knees as you haplessly stared at the man in front of you. Your head was still dizzy from the car coming to an abrupt halt a few minutes ago, making you hit your head hard. There was a few drops of blood coming out from the cut on your forehead.

Oliver was yelling something, staring down the man in front of you with pure hatred and disgust in his face. He too had his hands tied, trying to brake free from the ropes around his wrists. Your brother took a glance at you, his face only hardening even more as he saw the fear in your eyes.

You stared at your mom, also on her knees in front of you. 

What was going on?

Before you could even process it fully, a sword ripped trough her chest, making her completely fall on the floor. You think you screamed, you couldn't really remember it. Oliver yelled something as you watched the blood pull around your knees and your mom's lifeless eyes stare down at you.

You adverted your gaze, watching Slade Wilson give you a sly smirk before disappearing in the shadows. 

You sat up abruptly on the bed, sweat dripping off your forehead as your chest rises and falls quickly in heavy breaths. Your hands were shaking.

"Pretty bird, hey..." Tim grabbed your hands, making you look at him "It's ok, it's ok. I'm here."

You allowed him to embrace you in his arms, caressing your hair softly and whispering sweet words in your ear. You gripped his shirt into your fists, letting a sob rack your body. You hated, hated, when you had nightmares about the night your mom was murdered right in front of you. You still remembered if vividly, how you couldn't properly sleep for weeks and that Roy would sit wit you awake playing video game with you, just trying to cheer you up, how Oliver closed himself up until Dinah pointed out to him that drifting away from you was doing no good to the both of you. 

"I'm s-sorry." you hiccuped, breaking free from the hug "Did I wake you up?"

"You don't have to apologize." Tim smiled at you, his eyes showing concern, his hands wiped away your tears "Do you want to talk about it?"

You looked away. Tim already had so much to deal with, and here you were disturbing his sleep and making him worry about you. There are other things to be worried about right now, such as the massacre at the Casino two nights ago, and lots of other cases to deal with. 

"Hey, don't give me this look." He pulled you even closer, you rested your head on the crock of his neck "You can talk to me about anything you want. You are not bothering me."

You sighted "I just had a nightmare about the night my mom died. I know its been years, but I still remember watching Slade..." your breath got caught up in tour throat 

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything else." he kissed your forehead "Do you want anything? Some tea or watch tv? Anything and we'll do it together."

You smiled against his neck. He truly was an incredible person. You shook your head, slipping your arms around his torso and inhaling his perfume.

You and Tim had been at his room watching a movie when you started falling asleep. You decided it wouldn't be a bad thing to sleep next to him again, so you just lied in his bed and allowed sleep to hug you. What you didn't expect was to have a nightmare and wake up the boy who so desperately needed to sleep. 

"Let's go back to sleep." you suggested, pulling away from him and ready to leave his bed when he grabbed your arm pulling you back, your back hitting the mattress as he hovered above you

"Where do you think you're going?" he frowned, staring down at you

You felt your cheeks heat up with how close your faces were, if you moved your head just a bit, you could kiss his lips.

"To my bedroom. I already woke you up, I don't want to risk it having another nightmare and waking you again."

"No. You're not sleeping alone after having had a nightmare." he shook his head "I don't care if you wake me up again, I know how bad nightmares can be. I want to be here for you."

His hands cradled your face, gently running his thumb over your bottom lip. You stared at him, waiting for his next move. Your heart beating like crazy inside your ribcage.

He leaned down a bit, lips just about to brush. Tim hesitated, was it ok to kiss you right now? He didn't want you to think he was taking advantage of your fragile state, but then your lips met him halfway there.

He hummed in contentment when your hands found his hair, letting your fingers massage his scalp. He angled your head so he could slip his tongue inside your mouth, tasting your toothpaste. The kiss was sweet and nice, everything you needed right now, and everything you've been expecting since the almost kiss at the batcave a few weeks ago. 

When you two pulled apart, you both had matching grins on your faces. 

"I'll stay." you said "I want to be here for you, too."

Tim smiled, pecking your lips two more times, before lying down beside you. He tugged at your waist, pulling you closer to his body. You curled yourself around him, enjoining his warmth and the safe feeling you got with his arms around you. 

Dick was blabbing about something you couldn't quiet comprehend. After having woken up almost at the time you should be up for class, you are pretty tired after three two hour lectures. You were sitting at the counter on the Wayne Manor kitchen, drinking some coffee and trying to keep up with what he was saying.

Tim seemed to understand him pretty well, he stayed up the whole night even after you had fallen asleep, just making sure you were alright. That was very sweet of him, but did too little not to make your heart ache knowing today his lack of sleep was because of you. Your boyfriend (or so you hoped to be boyfriend) was way better at going trough his day without sleeping properly, or sleeping at all. You, on the other hand, were feeling a bit cranky and you doubted that had only to do with the fact that you didn't sleep very well. 

At one of your lectures, you met this really stupid boy that didn't seem to know when to shut up. Also, he thought it was ok to catcall you, even after you told him you had a boyfriend and asked him to back off. That only infuriated you further, and being a Queen meant you were a public figure, hanging out with the Waynes only made you be even more on the spotlight, so you couldn't punch him and break his nose unless you wanted end up on the headlines of every gossip blog out there. 

You looked up from your third cup of coffee in time to see a man walk into the kitchen right beside Bruce. You'd know that face anywhere, even if it was a bit bruised.

"Oliver!" you exclaimed, jumping out of your sit and into your brother's arms "You're back! I thought you said you wouldn't be back until next week."

He chuckled, hugging you back.

"Well, the mission was cut short." he patted your back, you let go of him, inspecting him real close "I missed you, kiddo."

"Are you hurt? What was the mission about? And, I missed you too."

Oliver smiled down at you, but you weren't going to let him out with just a smile. You wanted to know what the mission was and why he didn't take you with him. 

"We'll talk later, in private." 

You nodded, watching him move around you to say hello to Dick and Tim. 

You looked over at your boyfriend-not-boyfriend and saw his wide eyes stare back at you. You had to bit back a smile, he was nervous to see your brother, even if they had met before. 

"Ah, Tim. It's good to see you again." Oliver said, patting him a bit harshly on the shoulder "I heard you and my sister have been getting along just fine."

Oh boy. Who ratted you out? You bet it was Jason who gossiped about it with Roy who snitched you out to your brother before you even got the chance to tell him yourself. When you see that man, he won't even a chance to think about the arrow flying his way.

"Hi, Oliver. It's nice to see you too." Tim smiled thought his distress "Yeah, me and y/n have been getting a long just fine, she's amazing, impossible not to like."

Your brother seemed satisfied with the answer, for now. You know he will come back once he hears more details coming from you. For now, just letting Tim know he knows was enough to say I am her big brother and I've got my eyes on you. At least, he didn't pull up an interesting scary fact about his archery like he did when you met Bart Allen - all the poor boy did was compliment your outfit.

You smiled at Tim once he glanced back at you, his shoulders seemed to relax. You resumed to your place beside him, quietly slipping your hand into his under the table, squeezing it to let him know it was alright and he did a good job at shooing your brother away from making more awkward questions.

"I have some League business to discuss with Bruce, but once we're done, we can go out for dinner." Oliver said, smoothing your hair and smiling at you 

"Sure. I'll see you soon." you smiled back at him

The two older man left the room, leaving you alone with the Wayne boys one more time.

"That was so adorable, you told Oliver about you and Tim!" Dick exclaimed, he placed his elbow on the table, leaning his face over his hand "So tell me, what is exactly going on between you two?"

You frowned "I haven't told Oliver anything yet, someone blabbed it out to him before I could."

Dick frowned back. 

"Ok. So you can practice by telling me." He smiled again

Tim shook his head, pulling you off your sit and dragging you out of the kitchen. 

"What is going on between us is none of your business, Dick." He called over his shoulder, dragging you up the stairs and into your room

He closed the door behind you, sitting on your bed and staring at you. You frowned, sitting beside him.

"What's going on?" you questioned him

Tim sighted, shifting in bed so he could look better at you. You eyed him apprehensive, not knowing what to expect from his sudden atitude. 

"I, uh." He stuttered a bit before taking a deep breath "I think I am falling in love with you. I really want to do this with you, us, I want us to be in a relationship."

You smiled at his words, leaning in until your lips touched in a sweet kiss. That was all you wanted to hear from him for a while now. You were glad his feelings were going in the same direction as yours. When you pulled apart, you were still smiling while he had his eyes closed, still amazed by the kiss.

"Yes, I want this too."

The Big Belly Burger smelled like fries and ice cream. You were sitting in a booth at the far end of the fast food restaurant with your brother right in front of you, and big burger, fries and milkshakes. You two were finally having some sibling quality time after he'd been away for two months straight. 

"So... Are you going to tell me everything now?"

"You sure are curious." he laughed, shaking his head "I know this doesn't look like the place to have such a serious conversation, but I thought a scenario like this could be good for what I have to tell you."

You became wary of what he was going to tell you. What could've happened that was so bad? You sure had been trough a lot of bad situations since he became the Green Arrow, you were traumatized for most part because you were very young in some of the things that happened, but you did learn how to deal with it. This is just Oliver being a big brother.

"I am guessing you remember the whole Ninth Circle thing with Emiko and all." he started

You nodded your head, of course you remembered everything. That little shit you call sister tried to kill you all.

When Emiko first showed up you were delighted you had a sister, then you were a bit weirded out you had a sister, then you were sad your father had had an affair with this woman called Shado and proceeded to hid the fact that he had another kid. Emiko had to live trough a lot of shit just because your dad didn't have the guts to tell your mom and everyone else that he had another daughter. 

Shado hated your father for it, for turning his back you her and their daughter. She was part of this secret organization called the Ninth Circle and formed the perfect plan to kill you and your brother. She sent Emiko to infiltrated your lives and then kill you both, but fortunately, your sister was against her mother's ideas and forged Oliver's death for a while just to lure her out so you all could fight her. 

That all happened nearly a year and a half ago, ever since the Ninth Circle has been silent as hell. Of course, you were a bit suspicious as to why they haven't tried to retaliate yet, but you sure weren't going to complain having a bit of peace in your life, that's until the massacre at the Casino three nights ago.

"You were on a mission investigation them? Is that why you took Emiko and not me?" you questioned, assuming this is were the conversation was leading to

"Yes." Oliver nodded his head "Ever since finding out Malcom was involved with them as well, I assumed it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep a close eye on him, that led us to finding out some of the locations they have meetings. We've been following this lead for the past two months."”

You frowned "And you think they didn't realize it?"

"Well, yeah, that's were I got this black eye from. But we did manage to get some useful informations on them."

"Such as...?"

That's when his posture changed. Oliver suddenly wasn't telling you just a normal mission like he always does. It was something bigger, something more that you didn't know what to expect. 

"We got into their data base and found out the list of the members and former members of the organization."

You smiled "Oliver, that's great. Why are you sounding like it is so bad?"

He sighted "Because this is one of the names we found on the list."

He slid a paper towards you trough the table. It had a very long list of names, some of them were highlighted in pink, which made you realize it was people you knew. But then it struck to you, right by the end of the paper was a name you didn't think you'd ever read in a list like this.

Moira Queen.

Your throat was dry and it felt like the whole world stopped spinning for a few seconds before it all came crashing down into you.

Ok, maybe she was part of it before everything else. Maybe it was all Malcom's fault, they were friends before she died, maybe he persuaded her into associating herself with them. There was no way your mom would do that. 

You blabbed your thoughts out loud to your brother, hoping he would nod and you two could laugh awkwardly about it and then move on with the investigating as if that information meant nothing. 

"She's alive, Y/n."

Oh well, that was so much worse than reading her name on the list and your previous thoughts. 

"That's not possible! That's... That's impossible, Oliver!" you said in disbelief "I saw her die, I watched Slade rip her chest with his sword. There is no way that mom is alive."

"I know, I know this sounds absurd, but it is true." he kept his calm while you were freaking out "I saw her, Y/nn, I talked to her."

You shook your head, chocking on your breath as you swallowed your tears. 

"No, mom is not part of this. She had nothing to do with the Casino slaughter."

He didn't question you what you were talking about, he probably talked to Bruce about this earlier while they were discussing the League business.

"She is, unfortunately she is." he said in a soft tone "The whole League of Assassins stuff was her idea, she suggested to Malcom for you to be held as the prize and be taken to the League with him for training. She wants us by her side, even if Shado says no, we are her children. Mom wants us to be part of it."

You shook your head.

"You're not going to treat mom like a criminal."

"She is acting like one, Y/n."

You abruptly left the table. This was too much to take all at once.

"Don't you dare follow me." you hissed as you left the establishment 

You wanted to scream so badly. 

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage part 4

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

NEXT

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"Oh god! Oh god! I got to meet MDC! Can I get your authograph?" He was suddenly next to her, holding a copy of the her first album cover she made for Jagged.

"Sure." She signed it and handed it back. It read: 'Good luck TD, MDC'

Tim Fainted.

Marinette was befuddled. She never saw anyone react like that. Sure Adrien once asked her for an autograph, but this was new.

"Forgive Drake. He first got into what he calls 'music' when he saw the new glasses Jagged Stone wore in Paris." Damian said, looking almost bored with his brother's antics.

"Really?"

"You should have seen him. He also wanted to figure out MDC identity. After three nights he had nothing. We had to cut the cord from coffee machine in the batcave and force him to go to bed." Dick was laughing at the unconscious brother. Tim was often such a nerd that it was miracle he got Steph to date him. But then again, Demon Spawn just got married.

"Tt. As much as I love to embarrass Drake, it's less fun when he is unconscious and we have other matters to discuss."

"Agreed" Bruce nodded. "Do you know what will you tell your parents miss?"

"Not really... They don't know about this." She gestured around. "If they knew I got married, they would ground me for life. Maman and Papa can get a bit overprotective. Last time I brought a boy home Papa got akumatized and placed me in giant prison of thorns."

"Brr... And I thought that having to duel Tamaranian general to be able to marry Kor'i was bad." Dick chuckled.

"Suckers!" Jason shouted before taking a large swing of the whiskey. "I never had such problems."

"Maybe because you never dated anyone, Flappy Bird" Dick grinned maliciously.

"That's enough! I am trying to have a civilized conversation with my daughter-in-law! If you two idiots don't shut up, I will ground you and give you the Watchtower duty at least until christmas!" Bruce was slowly getting done with this bickering.

"Fine/He started it!" Dick/Jason shouted.

"I don't care. Get out if you wish to continue." Bruce cut them off before they got into another argument and turned to Marinette. "No friends that would cover for you? Or a partner?"

"No..." Every member of the batfam (bar the unconscious Tim) immediately noticed the darker note behind this. "My identity is... was the best kept secret in the world. There were exactly two humans who knew. Me and Master Fu. But he lost all his memories." She hummed for a moment. "Well, now I guess you know too. And the League of Assassins. And Order of the Guardians. Oh Tikki I am an awful Ladybug..."

"You are great Ladybug Marinette. The best one out there." The Kwami reassured her. "Nobody in Paris would do a better job!"

Marinette smiled and calmed down a bit. She was still shaking. Jason gave her one look and tried to handle her a glass of whiskey, but one glare from Damian was enough to make him back away from this idea.

"I have a better question." Dick joined the discussion after he was done with Jason. "What about you and Damian."

"Nobody asked you Grayson." Damian huffed. If it was up to him, he would delay this questioning session to next year. Or decade.

"But he did make a very good point Demon Spawn." Jason supported his older brother.

"I... I don't know. That woman, Talia, said that if we broke this marriage, there would be another war. Who was she?"

"Talia Al Ghul, my mother. She is the current leader of the League of Assassins" Damian explained.

Tim, who nobody noticed woke up, was now sitting back in the computer chair. His face was still pretty much pure bliss, but he was typing like a madman. "There must be some way out of this. It would be easier if we knew the specifics of the marriage contract."

"That's not how it works with the League Drake." Damian scowled. "It's not paperwork. When the ceremony is done, the two people are bound. There is no marriage certificate, there is no marriage license, it's the act that counts." His face was in usual frown.

"So basically the marriage is as well as nonexistent. That's good." Tim grinned, but seeing Damian's face he sensed there was more to it.

"No. That's bad. There is no such thing as divorce in the league, except for killing the spouse."

This caused Marinette to let out a fearful yelp and cuddle to Tikki. But at the same time, Bats noticed that she tensed and prepared to fight. Damian internally cursed himself. He did not want to scarry this girl.

"Don't worry, Miss. Nobody would even consider this." Bruce tried to calm her down.

"We wouldn't, but if the League consider that we are not upholding the marriage, they might go after her." Damian wanted to go and butcher the League. He could do it. Well, everyone but his mother. The young Wayne was unsure if he would be able to do it. For all her faults, he still cared about her.

"Let them try!" Tikki shouted in her squeaky voice. "I will get Plagg to cataclysm this pathetic base of their! Nobody messes with my Marinette!" She protectively flew in front of Marinette, ready to fight anyone who threatened her chosen.

"Maybe let's try to refrain from genocide yet?" Dick asked, half amused, half scared about this. While he was leaning toward believing the threat, the idea that someone so small and cute could take on the whole league was just too damn funny. He then looked at Damian and noticed that the boy had same kind of murderous look. Oh this is too good. He is actually falling for her. He grinned, but decided to at least now don't tease him.

"So there is no way that the two of you just stayed on different continents and acted like this never happened?" Tim asked with resignation.

"It is expected of us to stay together." Damian answered shortly. Marinette felt air leave her lungs like someone just punched her. Her whole life was shattered in the span of a week. What will she tell her parents? And what about school? "I am sorry, Du... Marinette." Damian was tempted to walk to her and comfort her, but he stopped himself. She needed space.

The rest of the Wayne family was stunned. Damian rarely referred to anyone by their first name, much less to strangers. Yet, he was acting very protective and even some dare to say affectionate toward this girl. Tim was starting to think someone did drug him, but rest just smiled. Demon Spawn finally got a crush, and on his wife of all people.

"Wait! There might be a way to deal with it." Tim suddenly brightened. "Or at least delay this."

"Just spit it, Replacement." Damian tried to frown, but he couldn't deny the hope. At the same time, there was this small tingle where his heart should be. He was happy that maybe Marinette would have a chance at normality, but at the same time he wanted to stay with her. To get to know her. Just what in hell is going on with me?

"First of all, rude." Tim started. "And secondly, we could file for her to get a formal underage marriage."

"And how exactly does it help?" Marinette asked.

"The state of Gotham allows underage marriage from the age of fourteen with court permission, provided the certain age-gap is retained. The procedure is very lengthy though."

"So how does it help Drake. I am very curious what is going in this few brain cells of your." Damian was getting impatient.

"The League should respect that you try to validate the marriage in the eyes of law. So until the court proceeding is finished, you two could stay separate and go about your lives. And with a bit of work, it could last for up to two years before the judge agreed."

"To even file for this, we would need a solid basis." Dick spoke before anyone got hope. Tim pressed some buttons on the keyboard and displayed the copy of the underage marriage act.

"One of the listed reasons is cultural specifications. And most people know that Damian was raised by his mother outside of the States. With a bit of work, I can draft a betrothal deal signed when he and Marinette were still babies."

"So basically we put this in court and then delay this into oblivion?" Jason grinned. "I like this."

"I am impressed Drake. For once you've actually proven to be useful." Damian commented.

"So I would be able to stay here in peace?" Marinette asked shyly.

"For some time, yes. The League should not go against you then, because it's not your fault you can't legally live with Damian yet." Bruce assured her.

"But what about vultures in the media?" Dick asked.

"Simple: classified proceeding. Public won't know anything is even in motion." Drake was getting more and more confident in this plan.

"I would be able to finish my school here." Marinette smiled.

"Yes, you would. I will make sure there will be no complications." Bruce smiled. "But there are two more problems that still needs to be dealt with. Hawkmoth and your parents."

"I will deal with talking with my parents on my own." Marinette reassured them. "But I don't don't know about Hawkmoth. He went silent after the last stunt, but it won't be over until I take away his miraculous."

"Drake will stay here and help you solve this case. He is the most level-headed in this room, so the risk of him falling under Akuma is the smallest." Bruce declared and others nodded.

"Thank you! thank you! thank you!" Ladybug jumped from the chair and hugged Tikki, then Bruce, then Tim.

"It's no problem Miss. I am sorry League ignored your plea for help. It's the least I could do."

"For your daughter-in-law you mean?" Jason grinned. Oh he would not let this die so easily. Demon Spawn would get it this time.

"Nobody asked you, Todd." Damian scowled.

"Please don't fight because of me. I think it's time for me to go face my parents."

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

Marinette arrived at her parent's bakery around 10 PM. The lights were still on. She stopped before walking in, taking one more breath to calm herself. She hated lying. She knew that there was no such thing as white lie, not really. Every lie hurt in some way, just not always instantly. She gathered all the courage she could muster and pushed the door, walking in.

"Maman! Papa! I am home!" She called them and there was instantly a commotion on the first floor. "Here we go Tikki. I hope my detention ends before I graduate..." She whispered to her Kwami and prepared to face her parents.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Her mother barged into the room. "You better explain yourself this instant!" This surprised the girl. She expected her mother to be angry, but also to show some worry. An alarm bell rang in her head. Something was not right.

"How could you?!" Her father was also angry. She could only hope Hawkmoth was still licking his wounds.

"What's going on? Maman? Papa?" She asked in confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us young lady! Alya told us how you decided to run away and try to join Audrey Bourgeois in America!" Her father shouted at her.

"What!? I never did such thing. My mandarin teacher, Master Fu, had an accident. He lost his memory and I was escorting him to the train station for him to meet his friend who would take care of him. You remember master Fu?" She received a nod and continued to bombard her parents with information. It was an advice from Damian. The more she babble the less time they have to actually think this over. "So I handed him over to his friend and they walked into train station, but then I realized I was still holding his luggage and I tried to chase after them. Then, I thought I saw them enter the train, so I followed them, but it turned out this was the wrong train and then it left the station and I was still inside. I panicked and looked for the conductor to sort this out, but he said that they couldn't stop. So I tried to find Master Fu, but he was not there and I immediately got out on the next train station, but I left my purse in the train so I didn't have a phone on me and I had to somehow figure out where I was and then I entered another train, because they said it was going to Paris, but it was misunderstanding and it was coming from Paris and I got even further away, but then I finally got out in some different city, still carrying only Master Fu's luggage and I had to somehow get back to Paris and it took me so long to actually get there and I am sorry that I didn't call but I didn't have any money to pay for a stationary phone and I lost my purse and it would be wrong to go through Master's luggage to get money so I had to sort this out with the train station officials and they helped me get here and I even managed to send the luggage through mail, but only now I got here..." She took a deep breath. Her heart was beating super fast and she was sweating a little bit. Anyone proficient in lies detection could tell this was all bullshit, but luckily her parents wanted to believe her. "What I wanted to say is... I am sorry I didn't call you. I guess I panicked a little."

They hugged her tightly, all three crying a little (her father much). Once they broke apart, she smiled. "Can I go to my room and get some sleep now?"

"Yes. Our little grown up girl." Marinette smiled and was about to run, but she heard her mother continue speaking. "But you are still grounded for two weeks."

"Mom!" She shouted, but smiled and went back to her room.

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[dukethomas]

Summary: Duke and Damian, over the years. 

Written for @duketectivecomics’ Duke Week! Day Four is Reverse Robin, though I modified it so it could be Reverse Batfam. Reverse Batkid? Still works.

-

Duke is nine. He’s Batman’s partner, Lark, and helping Batman punch the living daylights out of criminals helps him forget his parents’ grins and their laughter, and his laughter. (Bruce benches him whenever he’s working on a Joker case. Duke doesn’t complain.) It’s fun, and he’s good at it.

However, he’s heard enough about the League of Assassins, and he’s watched footage in training of Bruce fighting off a whole horde of Assassins (with a capital A) to know that these guys aren’t to be trifled with. And while Duke has spirit and guts and instinct and smarts, what he doesn’t have is the grace anyone in that footage has. He’s still training. He has a long way to go.

And he definitely can’t fight off an Assassin on his own. He’ll try, sure, but he has his limits.

So when he runs to open the door—he and Alfred have made a game out of it, because they kept running into each other whenever the doorbell rung. Whoever gets there first gets a fresh batch of cookies or tea made just for them by the loser—his eyes widen and his jaws drop when he sees Talia al Ghul.

And a boy, who’s taller than him, so Duke assumes he’s older. The boy sniffs and turns his nose up at Duke.

A few seconds too late, Duke settles into his fighting stance. His fists are up and he stares down Talia al Ghul and the boy, hoping something in his eyes would tell them to back down, something steely and indomitable, like all the books say.

Talia al Ghul chuckles. “Down, boy,” she says, her eyes glittering with mirth. “Neither of us intend to cause harm.”

“Speak for yourself,” the boy mutters, glancing at Duke, but Talia al Ghul doesn’t seem to hear it. The boy is unsettlingly quiet and still for someone who doesn’t even look that much older than Duke. He holds himself weirdly. It’s not unlike the entitled rich kid pose, but it’s also tense and lax at the same time.

Like how Bruce fights, Duke realizes. His mind is tense but his body is calm.

“Uh,” he says ever so eloquently. “Bruce! Alfred!”

Bruce shows up three minutes later, and the boy inhales sharply, but softly. Duke is already getting tired of the oxymorons.

“This,” Talia al Ghul says with a light flourish, “is your son. Damian al Ghul Wayne.”

I’m sorry, what?

Duke glances back at Bruce to see what he thinks, and Bruce’s eyebrows are tightly knit together. “You told me you lost the child,” he murmurs.

“I lied,” responds Talia al Ghul, a line of regret tracing her nonchalant tone. “My father’s wishes.”

And what happens after devolves into boring grown-up talk, so Duke stops paying attention. He keeps an eye on their respective body languages, in case this turns into a fight.

But he hates being by adults who are talking without him with nothing else to do, so he turns to the boy—Damian.

“Our names both start with a D,” he offers, smiling at Damian.

Damian doesn’t smile back. Instead, he scoffs, and says nothing else. What Duke has gathered is that Damian was raised with the League of Assassins, which means chances of him being an Assassin too are nearly one-hundred percent. But Talia al Ghul has years, decades, maybe centuries of training on Damian, and Damian can’t hide the worry in his eyes nearly as well. Plus, Duke’s good at reading people, Bruce says it’s a talent.

So he tries again to talk to Damian. “You’re coming to stay with us, right?” A small nod. Success! “I gotta show you all the good places to hide. It won’t hide us from Alfred, because Alfred knows all, but if you don’t want to listen to Bruce, well.” He gestures at Bruce and Talia al Ghul jabbering on about something adult-y.

“Tt,” is the only sound that comes from Damian, and it’s the third oxymoron so far. It’s simultaneously amused and disapproving, and that’s when Duke thinks he knows the problem.

Damian has a shadow cast over him, a long and dark one he can’t seem to shake.

Well, that’s fine. Duke has always clung to the light better than the shadows, he’ll just be Damian’s light as well as Batman’s.

-

Damian doesn’t warm up to Duke quickly, though not for lack of trying on Duke’s part. The older boy keeps brushing him away and getting all huffy, and downright rude. Once Duke sneaks up on Damian and he whips around with a blade pointed towards Duke’s head. Yeesh.

Duke eventually decides it’s easier to stay away. Do his Lark business, go to school, let Bruce deal with Damian.

And he thinks Damian resents him for that. Duke can see why—Bruce gets all stiff and cold with Damian, like he was in the first month of Duke living there, but he’s caught Damian lingering in the doorway of Duke’s bedroom watching Bruce hover around Duke more than once—but honestly? He’s just tired of it. And he wishes he could help, but clearly there’s something deeper there.

Still. Duke doesn’t dislike Damian. Damian’s just… rough around the edges. And sometimes those rough edges are deadly and sharp and Alfred tells him to stay away from knives in the kitchen (even though Duke’s fought off goons with knives before).

(And Duke’s used to rough edges, he thinks, shuddering as a boisterous laugh comes from the TV when he does his homework.)

“Hey, Batman?” he asks one night during a stakeout.

Bruce looks over to him, eyebrow clearly raised even if Duke can’t see it through the cowl.

Duke shines his flashlight into Bruce’s eyes, earning him a curse and a scowl. “When are you going to talk to Dami—um, D?”

“Put that down,” Bruce commands gently, pulling the flashlight away, but Duke just redirects it. “I’ve been talking to him.”

“Yeah, to tell him off! When are you going to treat him like your son, B? You treat me more like a son than him, and I’m not even—” He cuts himself off. “I’m not even your son.” Which shouldn’t feel like it’s gnawing at him inside to say, because it’s true. Doug Thomas is his dad and will always be, but…

He shakes his head. The focus is on Damian right now.

“Are you ever going to let him… y’know?” he blurts. He’s always finding Damian in the Cave (Batcave, Duke insists, but Bruce just ruffles his hair) wielding his sword. He has half a mind to ask Damian to train with him, because Duke knows if he wants to be better, he has to learn from the best. And Damian looks incredible when he practices. All fluid and graceful, like he learned how to fight before he could walk.

Bruce’s hand reaches towards Duke, then draws back. “We don’t use lethal methods, Lark.”

“Then teach him non-lethal methods.”

The answer seems clear as daylight to Duke, though evidently, not so much to Bruce. He hopes it helps anyways.

And then the thugs they’re on the lookout for walk into the warehouse with a confident swagger, and it’s showtime. By the time they’re done, Duke is grinning and bouncing, saying, “I just knocked that guy out, did you see that? That was so cool!”

Batman never loses his stony demeanor while in costume, but if the edges of Bruce’s mouth curve upwards on the Batmobile ride home, Duke knows to not tell anyone.

Unfortunately, his dreams are less than pleasant.

It’s his parents again. When is it not? They’re pressed up against the glass, his mom has this crooked smirk, and she snarls at him. She bangs her fist on the glass and yells, “I’m going to kill you!”

Duke backs up, finding only a foot of space between the glass and the wall behind him. “Mom,” he croaks out, but she doesn’t hear. She never does. “Mom, it’s me, it’s Duke, your son.” His eyes burn and tears come spilling out.

The lights flicker once, twice, before zapping out completely, leaving him and his parents in darkness.

His mom cackles, and tells him, “I know. I know!” and she’s more aware than she’s been in months, and she barrels her head into the glass. It cracks, shards of glass flying around Duke.

A plea is on his lips as she lunges at him, and he jolts up, his shirt damp with sweat.

He’s in his bedroom at Wayne Manor, he dully realizes. He’s still shrouded with darkness, but his parents aren’t here. They had considered moving his parents on the grounds, but ultimately decided against it.

He lets himself pant, gripping his bedsheets. Would he be a bad son if he thinks that was a good decision?

Duke hears footsteps outside his door and freezes, his heart pounding in his ears. He squeezes his eyes shut.

Someone opens the door, and there’s a click—a familiar one, from the light switch. Duke cranes his neck to see Damian entering, the older boy awkward and groggy in his movements, but there.

Damian is still in the doorframe, his eyes roaming the room and looking anywhere but at Duke. Something gleams in his left pocket. “I heard… there were screams. Did you need something, Thomas?”

“Please,” Duke whispers, eyes wide and staring at the shadow behind Damian. “Can I have a hug?”

Damian pauses, steps back, then moves forward, making a beeline towards Duke. He envelops Duke into a hug, oddly detached and patting Duke on the back, but a hug nonetheless. Duke leans into the touch, feeling a tear roll down his face and onto Damian’s shirt. “Sorry,” he mumbles, his throat tight.

“It’s… alright,” Damian replies. “I was already awake. And I have other items of clothing.”

For some reason, that brings on the sobs into full-force, with Duke gasping for breath as he lets it all out. Damian is there, still patting Duke on the back until it becomes a rhythmic comfort.

Duke doesn’t know when he drifts off to sleep, but he wakes up with Damian’s shirt draped over him with his green blanket.

Sunshine slips in through the curtains, hastily pulled open, as sunshine blooms in Duke’s chest. He sprints downstairs, jumping and skipping stairs like he’s walking on air.

“Slow down, Master Duke!” Alfred reprimands, and Duke shrugs and does as Alfred says, but only a little bit.

He almost runs straight into Damian, but he stops himself just in time. He opens his mouth to thank Damian, but Damian furrows his eyebrows at Duke and says, “Did you talk to Father? He spoke to me about training,” and a tension has been lifted from Damian’s shoulders. He’s springier.

“I think?” Duke says, knocking his knuckles on his head trying to recall what else happened last night. “Yeah?”

Damian stares at him, his brown eyes meeting Duke’s own with a hint of something gleaming in the light. “Thank you,” he tells Duke honestly.

“No problem!” Duke chirps. And before he can take it back, he says, “That’s what brothers are for.”

(He doesn’t take it back when asked about it later. The term “brothers” feels right, even if they only started having amiable conversations last night. He doesn’t think about the implications.)

-

It’s six months of non-lethal training until Damian is deemed fit to go out into the field. Duke leans on Damian’s shoulder as the older boy sketches out a mannequin with armor. It’s when “Shadow” is written in neat cursive that Duke realizes it’s meant to be Damian’s suit.

He blinks, his eyes drooping.

He doesn’t have patrol tonight, or tomorrow for that matter, but he really needs to lay off the late-night patrols. And the late-night training. He doesn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of class.

“That looks cool,” he comments, taking in the design. It’s gray and black, a bat in the chest. Damian fills in the outline of a cowl, and—

“Hey, wait, is this just a mini Batman costume?”

Damian stiffens. Almost imperceptibly, but Duke is busy soaking up Damian’s warmth right now, so he notices.

Duke moves the desk lamp so he can see the drawing more clearly. “C’mon, Damian,” he says, “I know you can be more original than this.”

“Tt,” Damian responds, still tracing over the lines he’s already drawn. “It has already proven itself to be a suitable design; why bother?”

A curl falls in front of Duke’s eyes, and he blows it away. Huffs, puffs, and the whole shebang. “Because you’re not Bruce? I have my own suit. I chose the colors!” Yellow with black accents, because it’s always been a hopeful color for Duke, and that’s what he wants to inspire—hope. Also, it’s a lark color scheme, minus brown, because wearing brown? Yuck.

Yeah, sure, Lark has been described as a child flashlight several times, but Duke stands by his decision. Even now, thinking about his suit makes him smile.

Damian pauses for a while after that. His hand stills. “Are you suggesting Father isn’t someone I should aspire to be like?”

“Be like,” Duke points out. “Not be. Seriously. I think you would look really cool in green!”

A scoff comes from Damian at that. “I chose the name Shadow for a reason, I will not go out in bright colors and compromise stealth.”

Duke yawns and snuggles closer into Damian’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Dami. I’m just saying, you don’t have to be Batman.” His eyes close, and it’s a sweet relief. Damian doesn’t respond for a while, so Duke adds, voice soft, “I think Lark looks cooler than Batman, anyhow.”

He wakes up on Damian’s bed, the older boy and his sketch conspicuously missing. When Duke heads down to the Batcave for training, he sees a new paper pinned. He recognizes the swoopy thin lines of Damian’s art, but the design is totally new.

The suit is wicked cool, dark gray and all jagged edges where the Batman suit has smooth lines, and a little circle to the side of the chest with a Bat rather than one spread across the chest. It’s cloaked rather than caped, the hood concealing hair instead of a cowl. A black domino mask with white lenses covers the eyes. Golden accent lines run throughout the suit, and Duke wonders if people affiliated with the Bat can only really have one color scheme: black, gray, and yellow or gold.

He grins, looking at it, but turns at the quiet footfalls he’s been learning to recognize.

“Good morning!” he chirps at Damian, who’s rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes. Despite that, he’s already dressed, wearing a forest green sweater and black jeans.

Damian half-smiles and arches an eyebrow. “Do you still believe that Lark’s suit is the coolest?”

And c’mon, Duke has to defend his honor. He sticks his tongue out and blows a raspberry. “Always and forever.”

“Well then, it appears you have been misinformed,” Damian hums.

Damian’s suit is completed within the week, and Duke has to admit—it looks even cooler when it’s real. Lark’s is still the best, though.

-

Duke would be lying if he says he isn’t dumbfounded every time he gets to visit the Watchtower. It’s in outer freakin’ space, of course he’s impressed. His headquarters is a literal cave. Even with four years as Lark under his belt, his jaw still drops.

Batman’s here for a routine League meeting. Normally, he and Damian don’t come with, but another sidekick—Duke makes a face at the word, he prefers the term partners, but the media sticks with that—debuted the other day. He goes by Kid Flash, and he seems pretty cool. Duke’s looking forward to meeting him… if the Flashes ever showed up on time.

Which they do not. So Duke and Damian wait, along with some others—Aqualad, Teen Lantern, Red Arrow, and Crush this time around—with Hawkwoman as their babysitter of sorts. She’s not the most thrilled with this assignment, but Duke can’t blame her, it’s pretty boring.

Duke and Damian sit with each other by the wall. Superboy should have been here but he and Superman had civilian duties to take care of, so they sit in comfortable silence.

He gives up within two minutes. It’s just too long to wait while doing nothing. He stands up to have a look around the Watchtower, maybe he can even find that huge window that shows off the expanse of space. His English teacher will love the words he writes about it.

Something catches his eye, a dull silver in the edges of his vision. Duke heads towards it, and to his delight, Hawkwoman left her mace on a table. A grin splits his face and he reaches out to hold it.

“What are you doing?” Damian hisses from behind him, pulling his hands away from the mace. “Don’t touch that!”

“But Shadow!” Duke argues. “It’s right there! It’s not even harmful, I think! It’s made out of alien metal, right? That’s so baller, I have to feel it for myself.”

Damian sighs and puts his head in his gauntlet-covered hands. “Nth metal, Lark. It’s made of Nth metal, and is potentially very dangerous.”

Duke takes the spare moment of distraction to hold the Nth metal, and he grins up into the ceiling. A mistake, he realizes as industrial lights beam down at him, causing him to squint and glance down.

Damian moves forward to pull the mace out of his hands, except there’s a quality to him, a certain golden sheen, and Duke backs up. He blinks, and Damian hasn’t even moved, but then he does, again, in the exact same way as before.

Damian’s lenses widen. “Lark, let that go. Now!” he commands. “It has an effect on you. Your eyes are—”

Duke blinks a few more times, not hearing the rest of that. His vision is so much sharper now. It’s making him a little dizzy, but he doesn’t say that.

Instead, he does let go of the mace, and it clatters to the floor noisily.

“Shadow,” he blurts, lurching forward.

Damian catches him and pulls him up into an embrace. Duke may be twelve now, but he’s reminded of his dad’s hugs. Firm and protective. He leans into it. “Are you alright?” Damian whispers into Duke’s ear.

Duke’s vision swims with lights and colors and brightness. He buries his face into Damian’s chest, relishing the darkness. He nods.

Damian’s hand rests on Duke’s back. “We’ll… we’ll figure this out,” he promises.

-

Duke swallows down a glass of punch at the side of the room in the middle of a gala. It slides down his throat and sloshes around in his stomach uneasily.

He stares at Cass, quiet for a ten-year-old but the brightest person in the room. Everywhere she goes, by Bruce’s side or not, people flock to her and their gazes are drawn in her direction. She glides through the gala graceful as the moon, but with the attention she’s getting, you’d think she’s the sun.

The gala is being held in celebration of Bruce’s adoption of Cass. A darling princess for the Wayne lineage, says one newspaper. Bruce Wayne’s pity adoptee, sneers another.

And Duke can relate. Bruce and Alfred tried to hide it from him, but the tabloids didn’t have anything good to say about him either. But Duke’s mind lingers on the difference.

He shakes his head, staring at his deep brown eyes through the cerise lense of the punch. It’s silly. Of course Bruce wouldn’t adopt him; Duke has perfectly good parents already. It would make the paperwork easier should—when his parents get cured.

“Something’s wrong,” Damian observes, walking up behind Duke.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Duke replies, ignoring the way his chest twists at the words.

He can practically feel Damian raise his eyebrows. “You’re lying, and we both know it. Come with me, Duke.”

Duke follows without a retort, and Damian leads him to the balcony. The gentle moonlight and starlight welcomes him more than the harsher lights of the chandeliers inside ever have.

“Since when did you become the emotionally intuitive one?” Duke asks, crossing his arms over the railing.

Damian huffs. “I am still not aware of what’s going on with you. But I am… I’m your older brother. It’s my duty.”

Duke hums at that. The description resonates deep in his bones, a familiar comfort, and it had never felt wrong. More like puzzle pieces snapping together.

Brother often means they share a father. It just as often can mean they do not. And Duke didn’t think they did—did they?

“It’s not Cass’ fault,” he says, playing a mental game with the Gotham skyline. He always tries to find his old neighborhood, before he got taken in by Bruce. It helps him remember, so one day, he might come home and he wouldn’t have forgotten. “It’s my brain that’s being fucky.”

“Language,” Damian reprimands under his breath. He then speaks in a louder tone, now meant for Duke’s ears. “I didn’t think so. You were never the resentful type. I’m grateful for that.”

Duke throws his head back to laugh. Five years ago, Damian would rather stab him than talk about feelings like this. Duke wanted to train with Damian. Funny how things change. “No, it’s—it’s something else. Bruce adopted Cass. That’s what’s bothering me, I think.”

Damian tilts his head at Duke. “Would you prefer for Father,”—Baba, now, behind closed doors, but Duke wouldn’t pry—“to adopt you?”

“No. I don’t think so. Would I? I already have a dad.” Duke sucks in a breath. He’d gone to visit them last weekend. No improvements, as per usual. Not even lucid enough to give Duke death threats.

“Family isn’t bound by blood,” Damian reminds him softly. “I have a brother now, and a sister. Who’s to say you can’t have two fathers?”

Duke blinks rapidly. His finger brushes the corner of his eye and comes away wet. “And I’m not a bad son? I’m not abandoning my dad for Bruce?”

“Absolutely not.”

And just like that, a dam bursts. One tear rolls down Duke’s cheeks, then another, then several more. Despite this, hope settles into his chest with the cool touch of the moon and stars.

“Thank you, Dami,” Duke says, jumping into a hug with the taller boy (though Damian won’t remain that for long—Duke shot up rapidly in the last year or so, and he’s quickly approaching Damian’s height).

Damian returns the hug, his chin warm against Duke’s shoulder when he tells Duke, “Anytime.”

-

Damian is dead.

Duke’s breath hitches, with quiet little Cass by his side and Steph and Harper there for moral support. The funeral is closed casket—the cover story had been kidnappers and an explosion, and thus, no body to bury.

Duke had seen Damian’s body. He and Bruce were a moment too late. Duke is fast, faster than Bruce when desperate, but he had glimpsed a moment into the future and fell back, momentarily blinded by the explosion that hadn’t even happened yet.

Maybe if he hadn’t relied on his powers, maybe if he’d pushed past that to run, maybe if he arrived a minute or two earlier, Damian wouldn’t have—

Cass squeezes his hand. Duke squeezes back, numb to the core. He lets go and steps back, into the shade of a tree.

Damian’s funeral is held on a day where the sun glares, its heat searing into their skin. It’s not right. Nothing about this is right. Damian is—was—seventeen.

After the funeral, Duke writes a note to Bruce. He writes that he’s resigning as Lark. He can’t do this anymore, not when Lark’s partner is Shadow as well as Batman. His words tumble out without eloquence, and his tears smear the ink.

He flees.

And maybe he’s a coward. He can live with that. But Gotham—the city of rebirth, he liked to call it. The city of new beginnings. The city that had always seemed like stubbornness and perseverance and hope. It was Damian’s beginning, but it was also his end.

And Duke remembers why another name was given to Gotham.

(City of death. Death and rebirth is the whole phrase. He can’t ever forget that.)

It’s marred with the memory of them, of Damian, of his parents, of the kid that hoped and told himself if no one else would help, he would. Duke can’t stay here. No matter how much this feels like a betrayal to his family, to his father that believed Gotham would shine true, to his mother who came here to start a new life, to Damian whose smile was like Gotham’s sun, he can’t stay. He can’t. He can’t.

So what if Duke is a traitor? He doesn’t have many left to betray.

Instead, he seeks refuge in Blüdhaven, notorious for being the only city worse than Gotham. A simple city, one that held no pretenses of goodness, one that wouldn’t betray Duke.

Duke thought he was Damian’s light, but now that Damian’s gone, he knows better.

Damian was a light all on his own, and without him, Duke’s light shatters into tiny shards.

One morning not long after the funeral, Duke wakes up to find the sun assaulting his eyes, which is a rarer occurrence in Blüdhaven than in Gotham.

He shuts the blinds and cries in the quiet, shadowed room, his chest heaving with every sob, painfully aware that every gasped breath is a breath Damian will never get to take.

-

(The next two years seem to fly by. Duke becomes Blüdhaven’s Signal, and begins to take on the local gangs. He dismantles them from the inside out, with a focus he didn’t often have before.

He becomes an emancipated minor at barely fifteen, and he enrolls himself into a public high school. He used to have a 4.0 GPA. Now, with late nights spent fighting, and early mornings spent applying makeup over the bruises, his school performance dips.

A boy, small and skinny, appears on his doorstep. Duke recognizes him—it’s Timothy Drake, the next door neighbor who Duke would visit every once in a while, the boy with the emptiest house Duke has ever seen. “I know you used to be Lark,” Tim Drake tells him, “that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and that Damian used to be Shadow.”

Duke flinches and nearly slams the door in tiny Tim’s face right there and then. (Duke is only two years older, but sometimes it feels like it could be centuries in between them.)

“I need you to be Lark again. Batman has been uncontrolled, lately. Violent.”

“No,” Duke says firmly, crossing his arms. “I’m not—I won’t go back.” Which is a lie. He briefly went back to finalize the emancipation. He avoided Bruce’s eyes, then.

“He needs you!”

“He needs his son!” Duke retorts. “And he has—he has Batgirl and Black Bat and Bluebird. He doesn’t need me.”

Tim only looks at him with steely blue eyes, and something in them causes a pit to drop in Duke’s stomach. Oh god, why didn’t he keep up with Gotham news, did someone else…?

Duke holds onto the memory of texting Cass yesterday. She said she was staying at Steph’s and Harper’s place, which meant all three are safe. (Right? Right.)

“I’m sorry,” he tells Tim earnestly, “but I can’t do it. I’m not that guy anymore.” And then the door shuts, with a soft click. Duke waits by the door until he hears Tim’s footsteps fade.

Jon Kent visits. Duke lets him in, and soon enough, teen heroes stop by Duke’s apartment in droves. Duke was only ever a reserves Teen Titan, to be called upon if there was an emergency; Damian was the one who made friends within the Titans, while Duke’s friends remained squarely in Gotham. Still, Titans stop by to say their condolences or just laugh over the counter with cups of instant hot cocoa.

It helps relieve the ache of loneliness. Duke doesn’t realize how much he needs other people to thrive until he calls for a Teen Titans study session and notices with glowing warm pride that his grades are straight A’s once again.

And… Duke travels back to Gotham. Not to stay, the wounds are still too fresh, but he has a conversation with Bruce, the man that has almost been a father to him for years now, and he thinks it might not be so bad.

Tim is Shadow now. Tim had a choice between Lark and Shadow, and he chose what he knows best. Instead, Steph becomes Lark while Cass fills in Steph’s shoes as Batgirl.

It’s almost a heartwarming picture of a not-quite family.

And Duke wonders if, one day, Damian might be a happy memory to look back to.

Of course, that’s when Damian returns.)

-

“You let him replace me,” Damian snarls, his hands balled into fists.

Duke freezes in place, staring at the man under the red helmet. Damian’s eyes glint with green, a sharp green that terrifies where the brown used to comfort. A shadow covers nearly three quarters of Damian’s face, but the green still pierces.

“Dami,” he says, his voice cracking. “You—you’re—”

Alive, Duke doesn’t get to say before Damian lunges at him with a knife, his eyes gleaming with madness.

-

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“Hey, yeah, Dami, it’s Duke, Harper and I finally found this number, I just… I just want to let you know you’re welcome back in the family whenever. Bruce isn’t even—he’s not even that angry anymore. All we want is for you to come home. We miss you. Please. I’ll call again if you don’t respond in twenty-four hours.”

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“Duke again. What the fuck, Damian? I know you’re seeing this. I saw you on the news. Someone managed to record a video of you walking out of that warehouse—we were going to ambush them tomorrow night, but I guess the first one there can call dibs. Anyways, I saw you check your phone. You know I’m here. You didn’t even kill any of them this time. Please come home. Calling again in twenty-four hours if you don’t respond.”

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“Am I the only one who leaves you voicemails? Does anyone else know you have this number, like, at all? That’s not the point. The point is that we’re still waiting. And you can come back whenever you’re ready. I just… yeah. Yeah. I’ll talk to you again in twenty-four hours.”

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“You know, Cass scared the shit out of Bruce the other day? She’s opened up a lot since after you… uh. Well. Anyways, you should have seen his face, Dami, it was hilarious. Almost as good as that time we put glitter into the vents of the Batmobile. I’ll talk to you again, yeah? Yeah.

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“I’m not actually part of the family, did you know that? Became an emancipated minor a few months after you died. I don’t know why I keep trying—if you won’t come back for family, who says you’ll come back for me? ...Does this sound sudden to you? For context, Bruce and I screamed at each other for a half hour straight about… never mind. I’ll talk to you la—oh, what the hell, you know the drill.”

“You have reached Red Hood. Do not try to contact me again.”

“...Dami? I’m in a little bit of a hurry here, but—whoa! Holy shit. I was wondering if you’d want to come to my graduation ceremony in Bludhaven next week? It’s, uh—fuck!—it would mean a lot to me if you were able to make it. I’m salutatorian. So no speeches but I’ll still look cool. Motherbitcher on a stick, I—tell me if you’re gonna come, alri—AHHHHHHHHHHH! You fucker, that hurts, I—why do I feel… dizzy…?”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“Thomas, you imbecile, of course it beeps. You need to answer me and tell me where you are. I—I will try again.”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“Answer me, where are you? Did you get yourself in trouble? Stupid, idiotic Thomas, why are you calling me on patrol?”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“...Duke? I will come to your graduation ceremony. I would—I would love to see you again. Please be alright.”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“Duke! I’m on my way. Please be alright, please be alright. If you die, I will hunt you down and throw you in a Pit, and the Pits are not to be trifled with. There’s no telling what you’ll come back like. But I… hey, watch where you’re going!”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“I’ve talked with Father. Isn’t that what you wanted? This is a terrible way to go about it. He has a tracker on you and I’m headed to your coordinates. Please be alright. I’ll… see you when I see you.”

“Hey! This is Duke, I can’t get to the phone right now, but don’t worry, I’m sure I’m fine. If it’s urgent, though, leave a message after the beep! ...Wait, does it beep?”

“Duke Thomas, you are a colossal dumbass. But I wanted to talk to you. Doctor Thompkins is checking you over, I’m trying to avoid Father and my replacement. I… I hope you’ll be alright. You’ve paled and you’ve lost a lot of blood, but Doctor Thompkins believes you’re salvageable. You’ll be okay.

“I didn’t get to finish my message, one of the earlier ones, I just realized. If you don’t make it out of this… I will hunt down an unused Pit for you, no matter the risks. Don’t you dare say you’re not part of this family, because that isn’t true in the slightest. You are my brother. I’ve been neglecting my duties as the elder brother. I—I promise to remedy that when you awake.

“Please be alright.”

-

“I got my phone back,” Duke says to Damian. Damian’s eyes are closed, as if he fell asleep, but his shoulders are tense.

Damian’s eyes flutter open. The green pierces through Duke’s chest, they’re nothing like what he remembers. He knows all too well he can scarcely remember his mother’s real laugh anymore. What if one day he forgets Damian’s brown eyes as well?

“I heard your message. Would you really…?”

Damian crosses his arms. “I meant every word.”

Duke grins, holding out his arms. “Hug?”

Damian accepts, gently embracing Duke. “Moron.”

A tear runs down Duke’s face, but it’s warm and filled with hope for the future. Their future. “That’s what brothers are for.”

-

“Tt,” Damian says, his voice modulated coming from underneath the helmet. “You seem to be doing alright with everyone living in the Manor. I am not needed.”

Duke frowns and revs his motorcycle. Damian lost his in the warehouse explosion, so Duke’s giving him a ride to the Batmobile. They’ll steal it, just like when they were kids. “You can’t hoist the oldest child responsibilities onto me, that’s not how this works. We share it, remember? Also, we all miss you. Lark,”—now Tim, after Damian made the attempt on his life, but Duke’s positive that Tim is inventing his own mantle now—“would be a little testy about it, but he really admired you, y’know. That’s why he took your name and not mine.”

They enter the Narrows, the grimy apartments and alleyways familiar, but they really have gotten better in the past decade or so. Duke still has an apartment in Blüdhaven, but he’s been going back and forth between both cities pretty frequently.

Gotham is his home. He can’t stay away long.

“I still haven’t properly apologized—” Damian cuts himself off. Duke turns towards where the Batmobile is parked, squinting to see what’s captured Damian’s attention.

A small boy, who couldn’t be more than thirteen, drops a huge Batmobile tire and runs.

Damian chases after him, with Duke close behind. “You gotta admit,” he says to Damian with a grin, “the kid’s got guts. Jacking tires from the Batmobile?”

They slow down as they find the kid, and share a look. The kid may have guts, but to even try must mean he’s desperate.

“Hey!” Duke calls, his bright as hell Signal outfit probably more inviting than Damian’s whole shtick, especially with the sword sheathed at Damian’s side. He turns on a little penlight attached to his keyring. “Hey, we don’t want to hurt you. How about we go out to eat?”

-

“Hey, Dickhead!” Jason yells up at the ceiling. Duke cranes his neck to see, and… yeah, Dick’s on the chandelier again. It shakes, the light scattering and dancing across the room.

Damian is sitting at the table, sipping at his jasmine tea. “Jason,” he sharply reprimands.

Jason’s tiny nose scrunches up. “Sorry, Mom.”

Without missing a beat, Damian asks in a tone quiet enough for only Duke to hear, “Do you ever miss when it was only us two?”

“Always,” Duke responds. “But I wouldn’t give up any of… this family for the world.”

And maybe they’re a little broken, but they’re trying to rebuild. Duke isn’t Damian’s light anymore, nor is Damian a shadow, or another light, or anything his younger self's mind could have dreamed of. They’re people. Living, breathing people who try their best, and it’s more of a partnered relationship than anything.

They help each other. They stick by each other’s sides and they learn, and they grow, and they find that they’re more alike than they think.

Maybe they’re not alright. But that’s alright. They’re trying.

“Besides,” Duke says after a brief pause, “it wasn’t nearly as funny when it was only me driving you up a wall.”

Damian snorts at that and elbows him.

And everything seems right in the world.

Also read and comment on AO3!

[nobodyfamousposts]

Miraculous Ladybug/DC - Adoption AU

There seems to be a lot of Miraculous/DC crossover ideas, often with Adrien and/or Marinette getting adopted into the Batfamily.

Here is my take:

So it turns out that apparently Gabriel had family he tries to avoid and altogether pretends don’t exist. 

And it turns out the family in question he’s particularly wanting to keep out of his life and away from his family is Harley Quinn.

To be fair, they weren’t close to begin with. Then there was the whole thing with Joker and her stint as a villain. After that, Gabriel cut off all contact and moved to Paris.

Harley gets why. She doesn’t like it, but she gets it. She’s made mistakes and is trying to do better. She understands if Gabriel isn’t feeling all that forgiving or willing to reconnect. And she is fine with that, really.

What she is NOT fine with is discovering Mr. No-fun lost his wife in mysterious circumstances and has responded by not only isolating himself, but his son as well. His son who is a genuinely sweet and wonderful kid, and deserves so much better than being kept trapped in a quiet and lonely old mansion every day.

So she does what any good aunt would do if they’re a psychologist who used to be an underling and abuse victim for a psychotic clown whom she’s recently escaped from, found herself a girlfriend, and is past the point of having kids of her own.

She steals Adrien.

Well, from the mansion at least. Only from there. Not wanting to take him away from what little social life he’s managed to make so far despite Gabriel’s best efforts, Harley has them all stay in Paris. She even buys a nice house in a good district with money that was totally not stolen from Gabriel on her way out *coughcough*. Once set up in the new home, she proceeds to take Adrien there where she can dote on him like proper family and give him some of that affection he’s been so desperate for.

The wax figure of Adrien has been left in his place in the mansion.

Gabriel has yet to notice.

As has anyone else. (They’ve had at least 3 photoshoots so far with just the wax figure.)

Ivy finds the whole thing questionable but comes to see that Adrien is a sweet boy with a desire to do good even if he doesn’t necessarily know how or the best way to do so. She decides she can “raise him right” and mold him into a proper young man who uses his resources to help the environment. So she starts having him do gardening with her.

Adrien is...actually okay with this whole setup. Plus he went from no mom to TWO moms! Who spend time with him! And are involved in his life! And let him see his friends! And he actually gets to leave the house without a bodyguard tailing his every move—which turns out to be because Ivy is able to use her plants to keep an eye on him in a much less obtrusive manner, but eh...details. He’s essentially not-so-reluctantly kidnapped. He COULD escape at any point. He’s Chat Noir after all. But even if he wasn’t, it wasn’t like Ivy and Harley were going out of their way to keep him locked up or anything. The worst they did was give him a curfew—which when comparing a few hours of free time with an expectation to return by a set time vs a set schedule with only one hour of free time maybe worked in somewhere, was hardly something he was going to fight.

The fact is that he’s doing well under their care. Harley shares his sense of humor. Pamela nurtures his creativity. He gets support and encouragement to be more assertive. They actually WANT to talk to him and hear about his day. They WANT to be affectionate with him and have dinners together. And he just soaks up their attention and affection like a sponge and responds in kind.

Under their care, Adrien changes a bit. He speaks out more and makes it known when he’s unhappy or uncomfortable with something. He does not let people just touch him when he’s uncomfortable. If anything, he’s doing more touching and initiating conversations without fear of appearances. Nino gets bro hugs. Kim gets bro hugs. All the guys in class get bro hugs. Marinette also gets bro hugs—though he doesn’t hug her for too long since she seems to overheat easily.

Adrien is really enjoying this.

Even better, his moms somehow get jobs in the area.

Pamela either becomes a biology teacher at the school or opens a nursery. If she does open a nursery, Marinette becomes a regular customer on principle. She and Ivy bond. They trade gardening tips. Marinette is surprisingly helpful in keeping pests away from her plants for reasons Ivy doesn’t quite know. All around, Paris suddenly starts becoming a bit more green…and without the eco-terrorism. It helps that Adrien’s social media starts featuring him planting trees and taking care of plants, which is encouraging other people to follow suit.

Harleen becomes a school counselor. At Adrien’s school. Where she takes full advantage of the opportunity to embarrass him in full “overly affectionate mom” mode. Adrien is too happy to be embarrassed. Anyone who actually ends up laughing at him comes to regret it when Harley picks apart their psychological issues.

The new moms evaluate his friends.

Nino passes. Flat out. He got akumatized trying to throw their boy a birthday party? He also arranged an impromptu house party for Adrien the one chance he got? YES. THIS is someone he needs in his life!

Alya gives them concern given her Lois Lane levels of getting into trouble mixed with sheer lack of self preservation. Her tendency to jump into matters and reveal things or trust things without thinking also has them concerned.

Chloe has potential, but needs a good few months of therapy as far as they’re concerned.

Lila is banned from coming within ten feet of Adrien. It would have been fifty, but Adrien refused to take a killer plant that big and risk anyone thinking it’s an akuma.

Marinette passes after they have a sit down talk with her to get to know her better. Harley notes her anxiety issues and helps her to be able to avoid panicking. Ivy likes Marinette’s energy, and her garden is impressive. She gives her approval of Marinette courting their son.

Marinette: Wait—what?

And because they’re actually good moms, they figure out fairly quickly that their new son is the leather-suited catboy running around protecting Paris.

Harley: HOW DO PEOPLE NOT KNOW THIS?!

Adrien: Magic?

They have a bit of difficulty for the next few fights with the rather overprotective mothers trying to interfere in akuma fights, causing more confusion than anything until Adrien asks them to stop. They don’t, of course, but they at least let him try to handle things.

All in all, they make for a nice little family.

But there’s only so much two moms can do. And with Gabriel pretty much not involved, they’re limited in options. So after a while, they decide that Adrien needs a good father figure.

Adrien: But I have a father...

Harley: I said a GOOD father figure.

But who to choose?

Bats? “Oh god, no! Why would you inflict that level of broodiness in our child?”

Joker? “Sure! The best way to teach him important life skills is to have someone to test them on as an example. Like the best weak points! And the effects of blood loss! And how to hide a body!” “We could just use Gabriel for that and save on travel time!”

Superman? “The world isn’t ready.”

They finally come to a decision.

Which is how Nightwing finds himself tied up and dragged off to Paris to be made part of this weird little makeshift family.

Pamela: Why him?

Harley: He got the killer Robin from ‘murdery’ to some semblance of being an actual semi-healthy child with only some violent tendencies. He’d make a good father figure!

Pamela: But wasn’t that an alternate timeline—

Harley: A GOOD father figure.

Pamela: ...fine.

Nightwing: Wait—what?

Naturally, he’s confused. He tries to contact Batman to let him know what’s going on and what Ivy and Harley are up to because they’re in Paris for some odd reason and they have a kid he’s pretty sure isn’t theirs. Batman, on the other hand, is more concerned with all the crazy magic shenanigans in Paris that the League somehow doesn't know about and can’t get any accurate information on. So he pretty much tells Nightwing to stay with them since he’s already there and they have room for him anyway so it’ll be easier.

Nightwing: I'm telling you, they've captured me, dragged me off to Paris, and they have this little house with a kid—

Batman: Good, then you have a place to stay while you investigate the anomalies in Paris.

Nightwing: Bruce, I don't think you're hearing me...

Adrien: (Just pats him on the arm sympathetically)

Harley: (Hugs Nightwing) Looks like we've got Batdaddy's approval! You're part of the family now!

Nightwing: I will do whatever you want. Just don't call him that again.

To be fair, it is Batman, so he probably knows Harley and Ivy aren’t an issue at this point, but still!

…At least he gets his own room…

Nightwing isn’t sure what to think. On the one hand, he knows he shouldn’t be encouraging this. On the other hand, Harley and Ivy aren’t actually doing anything bad. And if anything, taking care of the kid has been good for them. Plus the kid seems happy with them, at least. It’s...weird, certainly, but he goes along with it. (Read: He folds to the kitten eyes.)

Then he finds out said kid is a superhero in a city regularly attacked by a supervillain who transforms and controls people by manipulating their emotions—which the League somehow has not been aware of despite it happening in PARIS.

Needless to say, he isn’t pleased.

I'm just imaging Dick Grayson interacting with other adult figures in Paris. And really, just Dick's response to everything in Paris and how things are being handled.

"So...you're telling me no one has tried to track down where the magic butterflies are coming from?"

"Um..."

"The governmental body hasn't initiated any policies to try to prevent akumas?"

"Well..."

"Set up an alert and evacuation system so people know where to go or not go?"

“…”

“Do I want to know what you people actually do in case of an emergency?”

“Probably not.”

Much like Ivy and Harley, he gets a day job to help out. There are two potential options for him.

He becomes a teacher at the school and takes over running gym class, which he uses to keep the kids in shape, teach them self defense, and help them work out some of their tension and emotions through physical activities and a good listening ear. His interactions with the kids would be something to see. Even better for his interactions with Damocles and Bustier. Because no, the events of the Ladybug episode would NOT have happened if he was there.

Lila: (Sobs) Ow! Ow! The pain! How could Marinette do this to me?

Dick: I’m not seeing any injuries.

Lila: I don’t bruise easily. They just haven’t appeared yet.

Dick: Even so, there are no abrasions. No swelling. No indications of a broken bone or sprain. Not even any marks to show where you fell.

Lila: It’s internal!

Dick: Then you need to go to a hospital to be checked out and have the extent of your injuries noted.

Lila: I wouldn’t go that far—

Dick: And your mother will be contacted and told to meet us there.

Lila: Well—

Dick: And of course we’ll be holding off on any punishment until we have a list of your injuries and a thorough investigation is completed.

Lila: But—

Dick: And just to keep you safe, I’ll be staying with you the whole time. We wouldn’t want anymore “accidents”.

Lila: ….Dammit.

OR

He joins the police force. Just for shenanigans in his interactions with Roger. Maybe helping the force to be more effective so they can actually HELP during akuma fights instead of simply serving as a temporary distraction.

Either way, he’s a positive role model for Adrien. The three of them working together help Adrien to maintain a positive and altogether healthier state. They give him more jokes and puns to work with—because that has long since been Nightwing’s area of expertise. They give him advice in wooing his lady love. They address the “just a friend” issue. They teach him self defense and helpful fighting techniques. They curb the “self-sacrificing” tendency he’s developed. They encourage him in his goals and self discovery now that he has the freedom to actually try.

Despite the weirdness of the situation, Adrien is actually happier than he has been in a long while.

Which is made ever more clear at a particular moment when he’s leaving for school one morning.

“Bye, Mom! Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”

Harley sniffles and wipes a tear with a tissue she pulled out of her sleeve. “It feels like just yesterday that I stole him away from the mansion.”

“Then what does that make your kidnapping me?” Dick asked, sardonically. “This morning?”

“Don’t act like you’re not proud.” Ivy snarked.

Oh, he was. Immensely so. But of course he wasn’t going to admit it and give them the satisfaction.

[dilfdoctordoom]

Star sapphire Bette Kane AU???!!

Yes!!!! It’s been on my mind for a while now & I really, really wanna write it ‘cause I think it could be fun. I don’t really. Have a plot. But I do know some of the things I want to happen! I’ve got the love interest down, at least. Not quite who I’d expected it to be, but, like, I’m a sucker for characters that nobody knows anything about.

And it ended up way longer than I first thought, so I’m gonna be putting it under the cut.

Bette has always had a connection to love, this is just an objective fact. Everyone she meets, every team she joins, she always tries to care about them, no matter what

But all the teams she’s on (Titans West & LA) have dissolved, everyone going their separate ways. She still talks to them but she feels kinda disconnected. There’s this overwhelming belief that she’s the second choice, that none of them genuinely care about her, that’s been instilled in her since she was Bat-Girl

So she leaves LA behind her, tries to forget the ghosts of all her dead friends, and moves back to Gotham. It’s home, even if she keeps trying to escape it, because a part of her will always be that little kid in a homemade mask, trying to impress her aunt, her cousin, the entire world to a lonely kid

And she finds that her older cousin Kate is back in Gotham too. They used to be close when they were younger, with Kate acting as a big sister to her at times, but since her teens, they haven’t talked all that much

Bette still wants that connection though. She loves her cousin (she loves all her family, even when that feeling isn’t returned) and since they’re both here, why shouldn’t they spend time together?

Kate always seems to blow her off and never gives a reasonable explanation. It gets to the point where Bette thinks that maybe Kate doesn’t want to spend any time with her, that maybe she’s the second choice once moe

Then she sees Batwoman

Then she knows

This is Bette Kane. She was a child when she discovered the original Bat-Woman’s identity and now she’s an adult, years of training and detective work under her belt, and she doesn’t even need that. She’d recognize Kate Kane anywhere

She’s been meaning to get back into the game anyway. She’d promised herself after LA she wouldn’t but after only a month back in Gotham, she feels that itch. She wants to be jumping from building to building, wants the adrenaline rush that only comes with freefalling off a rooftop. There are many things that Bette Kane loves and being a superhero is definitely one of them

She works as Flamebird alongside Kate and for the chance to spend time with her family, she pretends that Batwoman’s dismissal of her doesn’t bother her. She fixes on a smile and she goes along with the entire Plebe thing, even though she’s been doing this longer, even though she’s a fully capable hero in her own right

She’d take all the little comments, all the judgement in the world, to spend time with somebody she cares about

And in this world, like in so many others, Bette pushes herself until she breaks. Harsh words from her cousin, from somebody she adores, and she goes out into the field an emotional wreck. She should know better at this point but there’s an anger boiling under her skin and she needs some sort of release

She goes out on patrol and she comes across the Hook

She’s angry and she’s desperate to prove herself and that is never a good mix

She’s not so angry anymore when Hook leaves her bleeding out in the streets

She’s not angry at all

She just wants to apologize. She doesn’t think she’s going to make it (blood, there’s so much blood, there shouldn’t be this much blood) and she wants to tell Kate, Bruce, Kathy, Dick, Gar, everyone she’s ever tried to impress, that she’s sorry for being a disappointment

She wants to tell them that she loves them all, so so much. She wants them to know that there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for them

She doesn’t get a chance

But instead of the DEO coming across her almost dead body and using her a bargaining chip, instead of becoming a pawn in a game that nobody told her about, there’s violet light

There’s a voice, soft and kind, and it offers her an escape. It’s a ring and it asks her to accept it, to join its fight, and she says yes. How could she not?

The world fades out in a violet hue and when Bette opens her eyes, she’s no longer on Earth

Zamaron is so different to everything she’s known, the Star Sapphires a whole new ball game, but this is Bette

This is the girl that saved Batman when she was just a kid

This is the girl that was told to quit by her hero and refused

This is the girl that would do anything to spend time with the people she loves

She takes it all in stride. She’s been friends with aliens before, known an interdimensional imp. She can handle this

It helps that Carol Ferris takes her under her wing for training

Carol is everything that her previous trainers were not; kind, helpful, compassionate, caring. There’s no snapping at her if she gets something wrong, no refusal to acknowledge her skills. There’s a certain amount of respect and Bette has never been treated with that

She still doesn’t tell Carol much about her life on Earth. She doesn’t mention being the original Bat-Girl (doesn’t want to hear the overly familiar ‘but wasn’t she a redhead?’), doesn’t mention Kate or Bruce or Dick or the Titans

Out here, in the depths of space, with a ring powered by the love in her heart, she’s allowed to be Bette Kane. There are no expectations, no writing her off because of a dumb mistake in her youth. There’s just Bette, the power of love, and the growing feeling that maybe she can be accepted

And you have to remember, Bette isn’t like Dick. She doesn’t work with the Justice League and she doesn’t know much about the Lanterns outside of vague allusions from Bruce

When she meets Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner, she finds that she likes them. Really, really likes them. Guy isn’t the asshole that Bruce made him out to be and Kyle ━━

Kyle is the exact kind of person that Bette always ends up befriending. It certainly helps that Carol enlists him to help Bette control her abilities

(Because here’s the thing about the furthest ends of the emotional spectrum ━━ they’re dangerous. Rage can rip your mind apart, can change you as a person, can blot out any form of logic. And love, love is so powerful, so overwhelming, and Bette is so full of it. Control sometimes slips away from her and it’s always a battle to keep her head on straight)

So. She’s away from Earth, away from her family, and that should be scary. That should terrify her

But it’s so hard to be afraid when she’s surrounded by people that support her, that lift her up instead of knocking her down

And she knows that Kate and Bruce have only ever had good intentions. She knows that they were just looking out for her, but she’s starting to think that maybe they did more damage than good

On Earth, she was always, always thought of as the dumb kid, the airhead with a crush on Robin

Here, though, on Zamaron, she’s just the latest in a long line of Star Sapphires. She’s known for a mean right hook, the copious amount of sparkles added to her suit and her ability to befriend everything and everyone she comes across

Bette’s a likeable person. This is a fact; look at the teams she’s been on, look at the number of people she’s managed to work with

Bette’s also a lonely person. She puts her whole self forward and she’s never been treated in kind. She’s everybody’s second choice, the cast-offs, the stand-in until they can get someone better

(Maybe that’s not true. Maybe, maybe Bette doesn’t see it, the way Garfield brightens up when she arrives, the way Hank’s anger disappears because she’s making him laugh, the way Kate hugs her like she’s something important)

(But maybe, maybe the years have gone by and nobody has ever said those three little words to her. Maybe she’s spent her life without hearing anyone say ‘I love you’)

(And maybe that affects a person)

With Carol, with the Star Sapphires, with the Green Lanterns she’s slowly starting to befriend, it doesn’t feel like that. She’s not anyone’s consolation prize ━━ she’s a respected member of a powerful force of love

Can you imagine what that’s like? Going from your lowest point, bleeding out with the belief that you’re a failure to everybody you’ve ever loved, to a hero of the cosmos, with violet light sparking off you at every second? Can you imagine the thrill of it?

And flying! Bette has always been an adrenaline junkie, hasn’t bothered to keep it a secret, and this, soaring through the stars, is a high like no other. It’s pure joy and it’s all hers, not the product of someone else, not some false happiness designed to appease the people around her

Bette’s a nice person

A too nice person, some would say

And maybe Carol gets her first glimpse of this when, in a fight against the Sinestro Corp, Bette gets taken, prisoner

She’s a terrible choice, to be honest. Anyone, Yrra, Carol herself, would have been better

Because Bette knows how to make people like her

It’s a talent, really. One that’s been honed since she was a kid desperate for approval and one that might be a little out of practice (because with the ring on her finger, she never needs to pretend to be something she’s not), but it’s always there

You can’t spend years twisting and turning into a different person to please whoever you’re around for such a skill to go away

So Carol gets to see this, and the kindness, and that ability to make friends with anyone, when the rescue mission gets called off

Called off because Bette makes it back to Zamaron, offering Lyssa Drak a kiss on the cheek in thanks

Called off because fear doesn’t do much against a girl shaped by it. Because the machinations of the Sinestro Corp has nothing on the terror induced by the gaps in her memory, the razor-sharp smile she sees in her nightmares, the feeling she got on the edge of death

Called off because once Bette Kane sees somebody she thinks is attractive, she can’t stop herself from flirting

Called off because Bette is used to being friends with villains. Because Bette has forgiven everything Hank Hall has ever done, has rolled her eyes and told Tara Markov that her past doesn’t have to define her. Because she forgives, coming from a place of unending love

That’s not to say that things go perfectly all the time

She gets hurt. Sometimes it’s physically, when a threat is a little too much for to take, even with her training, even with her ring. She’s only human, after all, and humans falter all the time

And sometimes, it’s emotionally. She gets hurt when she goes to Thanagar and sees the face of one of her oldest friends, when she’s struck with the memories of his funeral

She gets hurt when she has to fight Charley Parker

She gets hurt when she feels the love radiating off them both regardless of what side they’re on

She cries for the first time in a long time on that day and she tries to hide on some desolate planet, away from Carol and her kindness, Guy and the way he always understands, Kyle and his calming presence. She wants to feel the hurt, feels like she deserves it (because she failed him, didn’t she? She didn’t look into his death and now one of her closest friends has become one of her greatest enemies)

She wants to be alone to punish herself and maybe if she was still on Earth, if she was with the Bats, that would be allowed. They are, after all, the masters of brooding on their lonesome

But she’s not on Earth. She’s in space, she’s surrounded by people that care about her and all their numerous friends

It’s Hal Jordan that finds her and she thinks there’s something funny about that. Something that would drive Bruce insane and she can’t help the choked back sobs when she thinks of him and his disapproving looks, his petty demands designed to stop her from being a hero, his funeral and the darkness that descended after it

There are plenty of people that know about regret, about feeling like you’ve let down the people closest to you, and the man that launched himself into the sun looking for redemption, who made his time as the spirit of vengeance offering second chances, is one of them

Her life as a Star Sapphire so far from perfect, but it’s better than the one she had on Earth for one simple reason ━━ she’s no longer defined by her past

Or by her future

She hasn’t told them that she was a hero. She knows that Carol suspects (she was, after all, the one that treated Bette’s wounds when she first arrived, the one that saw the Flamebird suit), but she doesn’t know about Bat-Girl. She doesn’t know how to tell any of them about her past

She doesn’t think she can tell them about her future. It looms over her, as it’s always done, this impossible reality where she will die, where she dons a Batwoman costume of her own

She used to want that, to be Batwoman, but the years have gone by and the mantle seems drenched in red. It’s not for Kate, not for the woman that deserves to be Batwoman. No, it’s soaked in blood for the girl that didn’t notice the holes in her aunt’s story

(Or maybe she did. Maybe somebody made her forget)

She’s never wanted to die, but now, when it seems like the universe is finally on her side, the idea is terrifying. She’d accepted it before, on some level, let herself run headfirst into danger because she doesn’t die yet, the future version of her said so, there’s still so much to do before the green of the Lazarus Pits takes her over

That acceptance has been gone for a while

She laughs with fellow Star Sapphires, gets drinks with Guy Gardner, goes flying among the stars with Hal Jordan when it all gets too much. She talks strategy with John Stewart, those years under a master manipulator finally paying off, she rests with Kyle Rayner while he sketches. She spars with Yrra Cynril, feels the rush of adrenaline that comes with the knowledge that this woman could kill her, and she talks about make-up and fashion with Arisia Rrab. She sneaks away somedays for a secret meet-up with a woman that’s supposed to be her enemy, indulges in the destructive nature of Lyssa Drak for just a moment, lets herself be consumed in soft kisses and whispered threats

And in all of those moments, the need to live is a thrumming, living beast within her

She knows she has to go back to Earth at some point, has to face her future head-on, but she doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to die by an old friend’s hand

She doesn’t want to watch Duela Dent kill her. She doesn’t think that even a Lazarus Pit could really bring her back from that

Bette is afraid. She’s not a Green Lantern; she’s not supposed to be fearless

And really, it’s not her death that she dreads. It’s what comes after it. It’s the glow of a pit, the hollow smiles her future self gave. It’s the emptiness of her eyes

It’s the missing ring on her ring

(She thinks that might explain why her future self seemed to be missing something)

She doesn’t have the words to tell anyone this, though. She’s been taught to keep her fears to herself, lest they ben used against her, and besides

How do you tell the people that you love care about that you’re destined to die?

Bette Kane believes in destiny. She has two friends granted powers by the Lords of Order and Chaos, has seen twisted paths all lead to one final destination. She knows that she’s going to die, going to be thrown in a Lazarus Pit, going to fight against her family

(Her old one, at least. Future Bette never mentioned her new family and she hopes (she prays) that it’s because they’re safe, just far away from Earth)

She’s still Bette Kane, though, and a Bette Kane that’s spent so much time with Green Lanterns, with the champion of love. She learns about stubbornness in the face of an immense threat. She learns about survival through sheer willpower, through the endless power of love

She thinks she might be able to manage it

Bette Kane has always had a connection to love. Her ring works off of it, feeding off and into it, an endless loop that lets her soar among the stars

She’s seen love accomplish the impossible

She doesn’t see why she can’t just use love to stop that future

So she avoids Earth, the place she’s destined to die

It’s not that hard, not like she has to go there often

It’s not like anyone would want her back, anyways. She remembers her final conversation with Kate, remembers all of the times Bruce told her to give it up. She remembers her friends splintered and going their separate ways. She remembers slipping away for a year in between Bat-Girl and Flamebird and remembers nobody even noticing

What reason does she have to think that’s changed?

Which helps her decision to avoid Earth

And she does avoid it. It’s not hard, with all the different aspects of the emotional spectrum breaking out into fights, the Rann/Thanagar tensions, the million and one issues running through the universe

It’s easy to pretend that she isn’t even avoiding it

Until Carol needs her help

Until Carol asks for her help

Until somebody that she loves needs her

Okay, that’s all I have so far... it’s a work in progress. There’s still, like, what’s going on Earthside to work on.

But yeah!!!! This is the BS my brain has been focused on. It makes no sense, it’s bad & I love it.

[queerbutstillhere]

Hi, honey!! I'm back on Tumblr hohoiii 😆 If you still accept prompts can I ask you for: Damian and Jonno's children (a boy and a girl, God knows why😶) are sent to the past and met their daddys who are recently dating. ((Please, make it extremely awkward, some Batfam too)) tysm😙

(Once again, thank ya for giving me a chance to work with these kiddos! I hope you like this!!)

The portal dumped them out in the middle of the air. Because of course it did.

The two screaming kid vigilantes grabbed at each other as they plumpted through the air. Zaina willed her fluctuating powers to kick in, and sure enough, the adrenaline caused the surge and she snatched her brother out of the air, slowing their fall.

"Oof! You're heavy!" She exclaimed, scowling down at him.

"I am not!" The younger teen, built like a rugby player, said with a scowl.

"Yes you are!"

She looked around, flying to the nearby roof and touching down on it, she "gently" dropped her brother to the graveled roof of the tall building.

"Where are we?" Malik asked, popping up and looking around.

"Ummm."

He was already activating his lenses, which were glowing blue now. He looked around, turning a full circle.

"I think we're in Gotham," Zaina asked, walking to the edge and looking down.

"Really? Did he just teleport us away."

"... No, look."

Zaina pointed across the street to billboard on the side of a building, one that had Bruce Wayne, and something about Wayne Industries.

"Oh my God," Malik exclaimed. "Sis. I think we were sent back in time."

Zaina and Malik Wayne-Kent were the children of Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, they had been adopted at 5 and 3, respectively, and had lived with their parents for thirteen years now. Both were born Arabic, but had met Jon during a crisis in their Homeland, their mother having been killed in it, and Jon took very quick steps to make sure the kids were okay, and not long after, he and Damian decided to adopt them.

Zaina was eighteen now, and yet still shorter then her brother. She was only 5'5", and fairly muscular from having done gymnastics almost her whole life. Her black hair was cut short in a shoulder length bob, and she had darker skin like her father. She had, a few months ago, been exposed to platinum kryptonite, and had thus gained the powers of Superman. Only they were still on the fritz. It made her wince to remember the weeks when her hearing was changing, and when her eyes evolved. The good news was she didn't need glasses. Her father had wanted to take them away, but Zaina had begged and begged and made full persuasive essays and finally convinced him to allow her a trial period.

Malik was only sixteen and but he was tall, and broad in the shoulders. He played lacrosse and worked out and ran and all those things, and yes, he was in a rugby league. He was already a hottie at sixteen, and Zaina could not count the amount of girls she had chased away from her brother. His dark hair, more brown then black, was kept short, shaved on the sides and just a little bit of fluff on top. He had no powers, just his wicked sharp intellect and skills with technology.

They had both become teen vigilantes a few years back, having adopted adaptations of some of the previous heroes in their family line. Zaina had become Robin, with a bit of a twist on the uniform, it was more solid black, with splashed of color here and there, her boots, her belt, her cape, her gloves. So on. Soon she probably would switch to a Super title when her powers fully developed. Malik had made his own name, Batboy, until he felt he had earned the Batman title from his father. His costume was a lot like the Black Bat costume, and his cowl didn't completely cover his head, just came up his neck and around his eyes, his hair sticking out the top, and the classic bat ears poking up from the sides.

Their parents had both stepped down from their vigilante rolls for the most part while they were raising the kids, but when the siblings had started sneaking out, they decided to pick the rolls back up so they could properly train them, and watch their backs until they were ready to go out. It's doubtful they ever thought this would happen.....

Their game plan was simple. Find Batman or one of their uncles. Explain. Get taken back to the batcave, and then to the Watchtower so Waverider or someone can send them back to their time.

They split up after Malik resynced their comms, going to opposite ends of the town. Zaina was flying, scanning the streets, listening for the sounds of her family. And then, as it tends to do, her powers just gave out. She screamed as she started falling, scrambling for her grapple gun, which Malik wisely made her keep. And then she landed on something with a small thunk.

"Hey there, you better slow down a bit, shouldn't jump without a grapple in hand."

She recognized that voice. It was a bit younger, a bit more innocent and lively, but she recognized it all the same. She twisted in her savior's arms, looking up at Superboy.

"Pops!" She exclaimed joyfully, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

She probably shouldn't have done that.

Jon chuckled nervously, keeping his hold on her.

"I think you have me mistaken for someone else..."

"Oh. . . No. It's a long story, we need to find ba- Robin, or errrrr....." She paused, considering how she should do this. "What year is it?"

"2019?"

"Okay. We need to find Robin."

".... Who are you?"

"I'm also Robin, but from the future."

Malik had similar luck. He had been poking around the narrows, secretly hoping to find Red Hood, when the screaming hit him. His sensors started going crazy seconds before he could hear it, and then he took off, running through the streets and weaving between cars and signs to reach the source.

He burst around the corner and found a full on gang street fight going down, a couple kids stuck in the middle.

"Hey!" He yelled, his voice projected slightly by his tech.

A couple people paused and turned to him. He grabbed his Bo staff, fully expanding it and hitting a button to send electrical currents through it.

"Back away from the kids."

One of them scoffed, stepping forwards.

"It's one of them batkids. Soak 'em, boys."

Malik easily knocked out the first two, flipping off the third to get back out of range of their bats and knuckles.

"Oh ho! He thinks he's hot shit!"

More thugs rushed at him, but Malik was used to this, he easily beat them all down. Until one got behind him, arms wrapping around his upper arms and squeezing. Another grabbed his Bo at the insulated section, preventing him from hitting anyone.

Then there was a thump and the person behind him let go. Malik reared forwards, headbutting the person in front of him. He judo flipped them quickly before turning back to find the kids. They were huddled against the wall. He took a running start and flipped over some thugs, ducking past others until he was at the kids. There were three total, two younger ones, and a teen, not much younger then him.

"Hi," he said with a smile, smacking another thug with his bo. "I'm going to get you children out of here okay?"

They nodded rapidly. Malik considered his options and then looked at the oldest.

"I need you to carry the smaller one."

She nodded, quickly getting him on her back piggyback style. Malik picked up the other kid the same way. Then he produced his grapple and aimed for the roof. Once it was hooked, he put away his baton, and grabbed the girl with his free arm. They quickly were yanked up and swung over the crowd of gang members to the end of the Street, where it was clear and safe. His shoulder complained greatly, but it was fine.

When he landed, set down the kids and turned around, everyone was gone. Except a vigilante. Robin. His baba.

He recognized his father instantly, having seen enough pictures to know, even with the significant difference.

"Oh thank God."

Robin eyed him warily.

"Who are you."

"I think we best wait for-"

His sensors beeped in annoyance at the detection of two Kryptonian's. He turned and found his sister and a much younger version of his pops landing, Zaina on Jon's back.

"Sis! Are you okay?!" He exclaimed, ditching Damian to run to her. She jumped off and ran over, meeting him and grabbing his face, scanning him over.

"I'm fine! I heard all the fighting!"

"I'm okay, did your powers give out again?"

"Yes! I was up four stories and they dropped and-"

"I told you not to get that high!" Malik protested.

"Hey! Don't lecture me!" Zaina glanced to the side and froze. "You found Baba?"

"Yeah."

"Are we going to tell them?"

"What else do you have in mind?"

"Doesn't that break time travel rules?"

Malik gave his sister an annoyed face.

"No- God, that's not- no, Z, no."

"Excuse me. We have questions," Jon said, stepping up.

"Police are almost here," Malik shot back, the lenses of his mask slightly blue. "We'll talk after."

After they cleared things up with the police, they headed to the batcave, and Malik immediately felt more relaxed in the familiar, yet older interior. He didn't hesitate to pull his mask off, looking around, noting the differences.

"Robin what is this?"

He glanced over to see Batman and immediately went still.

Bruce had died with they were young, they had barely gotten to know him, and Malik especially had very few memories of him... Zaina, on the other hand, gave a sob like noise and smacked her hand over her mouth. Everyone looked at her, confused.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, composing herself. She too reached up and took her mask off.

"You would like an explanation?" Malik questioned, even as he tapped at the screen attached into his glove.

"We would," Damian responded, eyeing him warily.

"I'm Malik Wayne-Kent, this is my sister, Zaina Wayne-Kent, and we're from the future."

Silence hung over the cave after his words and Damian looked thoroughly shocked.

"I'm sorry," Jon said, speaking up. "Did you say, Wayne-Kent?"

"Yes."

Damian opened his mouth, shut it once, and then spoke. "Please tell me you are Drake's children?"

"Afraid not," Zaina said with a head shake. "You're our baba."

There was another several beats of silence, and then Bruce seemed to put two and two together.

"And your other parent is..... Jon?"

Malik nodded. "Pops."

"Which makes me your grandfather."

Another nod from Zaina.

"You're kidding me. If you're joking right now I'll-" Damian clenched his jaw and looked up at Jon.

"Wait, are you two.... What half of 2019 is this?" Malik asked. "Have you not started dating yet?"

Bruce opened his mouth, looking at his son, and then back at his future grandchildren.

"Oh, dear," Zaina said softly, leaning into her brother. "I don't think they have."

"Oops."

"Wait so you're telling me we get married?!" Jon exclaimed, shocked.

"Uh, well in our timeline you do. When we got spit out here, we created a separate time line from ours."

"And. She . . . She has powers," Jon said, pointing at Zaina.

"I was given them by Platinum kryptonite," Zaina explained. "You wanted to take them away, baba, but I managed to convince you otherwise."

"Sounds like something you'd do," Jon said, nudging Damian.

"Shush, Jon, this is important. We have to get them back to their timeline before we change anything else accidentally."

Bruce was sitting there in silence and then he looked to his son.

"Damian. Are you two dating?"

Damian winced slightly. "Just a few weeks ago...."

"... Okay. I'm going to go prep the jet. We'll head to the watchtower."

The four watched him walk away. Then Zaina looked at Damian.

"It's really odd seeing you guys do young," she said, smiling lightly.

"I imagine so... We really let you two be vigilantes?"

"You didn't really have a choice. I hacked into the cave and then we snuck out every night until you decided to just train us."

Damian and Jon didn't quite know what to do with their children, just kinda awkwardly looked at them.

Malik finally turned and walked away, over to the dino. "Man, this thing is so old."

"Okay, you young pup," Zaina said with a laugh, following after.

"So whose all what in this time line?" Zaina asked, looking over to Damian and Jon, who were whispering softly.

"Pardon?" Damian asked in a cold tone she wasn't used too.

"Uncle Dickie, he's.... Nightwing?"

Jon nodded, his arm was around Damian now.

"Dick's Nightwing, Jason is Red Hood. Cass is Black Bat, Barbara is Batgirl slash Oracle, Steph is Spoiler, and Tim is .... Drake," their pops explained. "Obviously we're Superboy and Robin, and Bruce is Batman."

"Bruce is dead in your timeline isn't he?" Damian asked, walking away from Jon and torwards them.

They exchanged a look, and then Malik nodded.

"There was an accident.... No one could stop it. I'm sorry," he said softly.

Damian shook his head, gently hugging Malik.

"No. I'm sorry. How old were you?"

"I was only five, Zaina was eight."

"I remember him more then Malik," Zaina offered, looking sad now.

Malik, hugging his baba back, looked up to Jon, who looked contemplative.

"But, again, we accidentally changed your time line, so that may not happen. Just like you two may not get married, and you may not adopt us."

"... As far as I'm concerned those seem like fixed points in time," Jon said.

Damian sighed and pulled back, giving Jon a look, and then he hugged Zaina.

"Who am I? In your time?"

"First and foremost your our dad," she answered. "But you're also a businessman and Batman. Once Malik is old enough, you're going to give him Batman."

Damian nodded as he considered this, but went silent, stepping back to stand next to Jon.

They had a very awkward flight to the Watchtower, Zaina and Jon quietly chatting about their powers, and what Zaina had developed so far. Malik sat next to Damian, silently working on his tech, as always. He was obsessive about keeping it updated, always changing the programing. Some of his features didn't work due to the lack of connection to the Wayne Satellites of the future, but enough of them did that he could still preform scans, bouncing off nearby cell phone towers.

"What's that?" Damian asked, watching him tap at the screen on his forearm.

"It's my control panel."

"For what?"

"My OTL."

"What."

"It's. . . Optical lenses in my mask, look."

Malik held it up, flicked on the blue lenses and then turned, looking at Zaina. On his screen, a digital display of a file popped up.

"I can also do this."

He triple tapped it and it was projected up into a hologram.

"Oh."

Zaina leaned forwards, arms on her brothers shoulders. "Malik's a genius. He programs all his tech himself. Even uncle Tim and Aunt Babs can't keep up with him."

Malik flushed, looking down. "I just like programming."

"You'd never guess it, from his public appearance, but he'd a major nerd. Jock Nerd type."

"Okay Prep Jock, shut your mouth."

Zaina giggled.

"So, what are you two's vigilante names?" Bruce asked from the cockpit.

"I'm Robin," Zaina answered, looking up to her grandfather. "But pops and I have agreed once my powers and are more consistent, I'm going to take up another name, Supergirl or something."

"And I'm Batboy, for now."

Bruce nodded slightly.

"I know you guys have a lot of questions, but I am afraid we won't be able to answer some of them," Malik said. "There's somethings I don't dare mess with, timeline wise."

"We understand," Bruce answered. "this isn't our first time messing with time travel."

The rest of the flight was awkward silence. They got to the watchtower and confused everyone they talked to.

"Where's Waverider?" Bruce asked J'onn, who was on duty at that moment.

"He has not been around for several-"

There was a burst of sparks and then suddenly Waverider appeared in front of them. He gave Malik and Zaina a startled look. They waved.

"You two are much bigger," he remarked.

"Well, that's what happens when you aren't hoping around the time stream," Zaina said with a grin.

"Your father's are probably waiting for you," he said, walking over to them. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Zaina backed away, and then spun to Bruce. "I know you don't know me. But... Can I just give you a hug?"

Bruce chuckled and nodded, opening his arms. "Come here."

She ran over, crashing into his body, hugging him tightly. Bruce gently hugged her, rubbing her back.

"It's okay, I don't know what happens, but I understand," Bruce said softly, kissing her head.

"I love you, grandpa," she murmured softly.

"And I can not wait to meet you again, little one."

Zaina pulled away, reaching up and adjusting her mask. Bruce looked to Malik and held open his arms. Malik immediately gave in and ran over, hugging him. They exchanged no words, just hugged. And then Malik stepped back, and Waverider grabbed onto both of them.

"Goodbye, and thank you," Zaina said to the younger versions of their fathers.

"Bye! Be safe!" Jon said with a grin.

And then they were gone.

They appeared back in their time, right in front of their fathers at the batcave. Damian jolted slightly, and then raised an eyebrow.

"Waverider?"

"Hey, Damian. Jon."

"What's up?" Jon asked, setting down his cup of tea.

"Oh, not much, found your kids in 2019. Figured you might like them back."

"Indeed we would."

"Well, see you around."

Waverider disappeared again. Malik sighed and pulled off his mask, walking forwards and hugging his baba.

"It's been a weird day, and I'm ready for bed. Good night baba, good night pops. I love you," Malik said, heading towards the locker room.

"Love you too, kiddo," Jon called after him.

They looked at Zaina. "So what happened?"

"I'll explain over some hot cocoa and smores."

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Truth in Blood

Summary: On the night of her 17th birthday Annabella finds out two people closest to her have been keeping a very important secret. Now she must figure out just how much this secret will effect her.

Tagging: @lizartgurl @melyaliz @coffee-randomness @gobydana @keanureevesislesbian @speedypan

A/N Faith, Jen, and Gigi belong to @melyaliz

Part 1

Hearing her alarm go off Annabella groaned feeling around the nightstand before finally silencing it. Stretching she grabbed her phone and scrolled through the messages everyone had sent, most of them wishing her happy birthday. Megan and Kaldur both reminded her that she didn’t have to come on any missions today. Yawning she stretched one last time before getting ready for the day.

Walking down the steps she could smell the breakfast Alfred was cooking and walked faster. Stepping into the kitchen she smiled as she saw everyone gathered around the large table.

“Happy birthday!” Her family cheered.

Bruce was at the head of the table, Dick was to his left followed by Tim. Stephanie was next to him pilling waffled with Cassandra looking at her amused. Barbara was on the other side of the table along with Jen and Faith, Annabella's cousins. Annabella smiled as she walked around the table saying good morning to everyone before grabbing her plate and stacking it with all her favorite food.

“So what are you going to do today?” Bruce asked as he sipped his coffee.

“I gotta go to work real quick to make sure everything's going good, besides I already know the team is throwing a surprise party for me at the watchtower, ” Annabella said as she sipped her own cup of coffee.

“Aw man.” Faith pouted. “I was supposed to keep you distracted today so you wouldn’t find out.”

“It’s okay Fe we can still hang out.” Annabella laughed.

“Well, you should at least open presents before you go to work.” Said, Dick, as he handed her a disc.

“What’s this?” She asked staring at it curiously.

“It’s a slideshow I made it with the help of Alfred.”

“Aw.” Annabella looked up at the butler who had finally taken a seat. “Thanks you guys.”

“Our turn.” Said Jen as she handed Annabella a small blue box.

Annabella gasped as she opened it. “Is it?”

“Yeah.” Jen smiled softly.

Annabella pulled out a thin silver chain that held a thick silver heart with one side covered with tiny diamonds.

“Dad bought that when mom was pregnant with Faith. Told her how she was his whole world. I remember you admiring it a lot growing up. I found it when I was clearing up boxes the other day.

“Are you sure you don’t want to keep this?”

“Mom would have wanted you to have it. And we have more than enough to remind us of mom and dad.” Said Faith.

Annabella smiled as she put the necklace on. The rest crowded around her in hopes that their present would beat out Jens. Annabella received an alpaca themed stationery set from Stephanie that she was definitely going to take to work. A customized laptop from Barbara to help with the nightlife. A customized smartwatch from Tim. And a beautiful intricate knife from Cass.

“Thanks, guys these are all amazing.”

“You still got one left.” Said, Bruce, as he handed her a small box.

Annabella opened the box only to stare at it confused.

“Car keys? But I already have a car.”

“You mean that tiny Volkswagen that I swear is going to break down on you soon.”

“I hey I love that buggy.” Annabella pouted causing Bruce to chuckle.

“Well, this car is actually a double gift Vic wanted to give it to you before he passed away. But he said it needed fixing. So I’ve been working on it in my free time.”

Annabella stared at the keys in shock it was Vic's car. The one she had spent hours admiring almost as much as the batmobile. Taking out the keys she ran out to the garage and smiled at the sight. There it was parked with a giant blue bow on the hood.

“Get in loser,” Annabella said to Faith as she got into her car. “I’ll see you guys at the party.

“Whoo.” Faith cheered as she got onto the car.

“Do you really have to go into work?” Faith asked as she saw the giant dome building.

“Yeah, Olivia just needs to make sure I’m caught up with what’s going on. It’ll take an hour. You can play with the kittens in the meantime.”

“Fine but this is cutting into our indoor trampoline time.” Faith huffed.

“You know your job was to distract me for the party not tiring me out.”

“What’s the difference?”

Annabella simply shook her head as she parked the car and got out.

“Happy birthday,” Olivia said as soon as the meeting was over hugging Annabella tightly.

“Thank you.” Annabella smiled as she hugged her back.

“I got you something.” Said, Olivia, as she dug into her bag.

“Liv no you didn’t have to get me anything.” Annabella smiled as she saw the square shaped gift. Opening the gift she gasped.

“I remember this day.” Annabella smiled at the framed picture of her with Olivia and Olivia's mother. “Your mother planned an animal education weekend.”

“And you wanted to free all the monkeys from the zoo.” Olivia laughed.

“In my defense, they were very believable.” Annabella smiled at the picture. “I miss her.”

“Me too. She would have been proud of you.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”

“Thank you.” Annabella pulled Olivia into another hug.

“Miss Wayne?” They heard through the intercom.

“Yes, Brenda?”

“There is a Miss Kane here to see you.”

“Oh, I’ll be right there. Can you tell my cousin to get to the front desk please.”

“Of course Miss Wayne.”

“I gotta go my cousin has a day of fun planned.”

“Good luck.” Olivia laughed as she gathered her things.

“Aunty Kate.” Annabella squealed as she ran up to her aunt and tackled her into a hug.”

“Hey, little batty.” Kate smiled as she hugged her back. “Sorry I didn’t make it to breakfast I was busy.”

“I can tell.” Annabella wrinkled her nose. “You had Maggie over, you seeing her again?”

“Okay I didn’t come to get interrogated I came to drop off your present.”

Kate grabbed the box from the front desk and held it so Annabella could open it.

“Oh wow.” Annabella’s jaw dropped as she took out a black spaghetti strapped v-neck sequin dress. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll see you tonight okay.” Kate kissed her cheek as she left.

“Oh man.” Faith frowned as she saw Annabella put the dress back in the box. “Gigi was going to take you shopping for a birthday outfit.”

“Don’t worry we can still go. I’m sure Gigi will still find an excuse to buy something.” Annabella smiled. “So what's first on your list.”

“Well, we can't go to the trampoline place. But we’re right on time to go bungee jumping off the Gotham Bridge.” Faith smiled brightly.

Annabella rubbed her neck as they made their way to the mall. Faith's last activity had left her a bit sore, she just hoped she could survive till the party.

“Happy birthday!” Gigi squealed as she tackled Annabella. “Faith showed me the dress but you still need accessories and makeup.”

Annabella barely had a chance to speak before she was dragged away. Two hours later they were back at the manor with Gigi putting the final touches on her makeup. Annabella had her dress on along with a leather jacket they had found to go with it and a new pair of black ankle boots Annabella heard her phone buzz from its place on the vanity and carefully reached for it.

Kaldur: Can you please report to the watchtower?

Annabella: I will be there in 5 minutes.

The three of them made their way to the batcave and used the zetatube there to get to the watchtower. However no one was there suddenly she felt Gigi wrap her hands around her eyes, quite literally.

“Is this really necessary?” Annabella asked as Faith took her hand and led her.

“At least try to act surprised.” Said Faith.

Annabella hardly needed to act however as the sight that greeted her made her let out a small gasp. The trees from the wooded area were covered in soft twinkling lights. Tables were spread out with her favorite flowers arranged delicately in the center. There was a dance stage set up that flashed soft blue lights.

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted causing Annabella to smile as the music began playing and people started to make her way up to her.

“I hope you are enjoying the party.” Someone spoke behind her.

“Kaldur!” She squealed as she quickly turned around and hugged him making her cousin Jen smile knowingly. “I heard the news congrats on getting into the Justice League.”

“Thank you.” Kaldur softly blushed. “I am honestly having trouble coming to terms with it. I do not feel I am worthy to be on the League.”

“Kaldur if anyone deserves to be on the League it's you. Especially after everything you have done.”

Kaldur bowed his head a smile spreading on his lips.

“So I feel like I should be thanking you for this party.”

“I really shouldn't take all of the credit. Gigi was the one who pushed me to plan it.” Annabella laughed at the mention of the redhead.

“That does not surprise me. Though next time maybe don't use my cousin to distract me, any longer and I think I might have been celebrating my birthday from the hospital.”

“My apologies I hope you did not suffer too much.” Kaldur softly winced.

“Oh know it was fun we just went bungee jumping, roller derby, silk dancing. You know the usual.” Annabella smiled as Kaldur laughed, it had been a long time since she's heard him laugh.

“I will make sure to recruit your other cousin next time.”

“Thank you. Listen I need to say hi to a few more people but save me a dance?”

“Of course.” Kaldur smiled as he nodded.

Annabella turned to leave, from the other side of the dance floor Gigi frowned.

“I don't understand they should be dancing by now.” She said to Faith who simply shrugged in response.

Carefully Gigi made her way to the DJ set and scrolled through the playlist. When Annabella's favorite song began to play Gigi saw her squeal and make her way back to Kaldur. Nodding at her handy work Gigi made her way back to her friends and watched from afar.

“I’m going to cash in my dance now,” Annabella said as she took Kaldurs hand.

“I am unfamiliar with this type of dance,” Kaldur said as they got into position, Stand by Me by Prince Royce was playing and Annabella beamed at him.

“It’s simple just follow my lead.” Annabella smiled as she began instructing him.

“You know I think this is the first time we’ve ever dance together,” Annabella said when the song changed and they were still dancing.

Kaldur thought back to their time at the cave. He remembered the small dance parties they use to have back at the cave but couldn’t recall if he ever danced with her alone.

“I think your right.”

Annabella couldn’t help herself as she smiled at him and rested her head on his chest. She was pretty sure she heard someone squeal but chose to ignore it.

“How about we save bringing up the presents for later ” Annabella suggested as she saw the massive pile in the batcave.

“Good call,” Tim said as he tried to stifle a yawn.

“Goodnight everyone.” Annabella waved as she made her way upstairs to her room.

Sighing she slipped out of her ankle boots and shrugged off her jacket. Tossing her phone on the bed she stretched and turned to make her way to her bathroom. However, she spotted something glowing out of the corner of her eye. Slowly walking to her dresser she stared curiously at an old wooden box with a symbol carved into it.

“When the time is right my little dragonfly this will give you the answers you seek.” Her grandmother, Teresa, said as she pushed the small box into Annabella's hands.

She’s had this box for four years and nothing had ever happened at least not until now. The symbol on the box kept blinking but when Annabella went to touch it she hissed at the sting she felt and saw a bit of blood at the tip of her finger. Quickly sticking it into her mouth to ease the pain a sudden flash of light consumed her and suddenly she was falling and her whole world went dark.

Special Thanks to @gobydana @melyaliz for helping me figure out birthday presents

[iamchrissi]

Long Nights

For the Batfam Week 2018; prompt; Family Night

Tim has had a long day at work, and now only wants to prepare for patrol. His siblings have other plans.

Also on Ao3

It's late evening when Tim finally gets out of the office. A planned cooperation with Queen Consolidated might make a lot of sense when discussed in terms of the Justice League, but selling the whole thing to the highly intelligent Wayne Industries analysts had been a completely different thing.

He has to shake himself awake a few times on the ride to his apartment. Thank god Bruce gave him the self driving car a few months back. Better to allow himself a bit of tiredness now, and then later be awake for patrol than the other way around.

He can get coffee at home.

Finally, he arrives at the apartment. He feels slightly more awake than he was in the car, which is good. Looking on his watch, he has at least half an hour to write some of the reports for tomorrow before he has to show up for patrol.

Caught up in thoughts about the business cooperation with Queen Consolidated, he opens his door and nods at Jason and Damian on his couch while walking towards his kitchen.

Then he stops. Blinks. Turns back. Jason and Damian are sitting on his couch. What are Jason and Damian doing in his apartment, sitting on his couch?

“You know, we had this whole thing planned with singing and candles and everything, but you are like, way too late.” Jason says, sounding kind of annoyed. Which... what is going on? What would anyone be singing for, and since when do they do candles? They only do candles for Christmas or birthdays? Did he miss someone's birthday?

“Happy Birthday, Tim!” Suddenly, Dick is hugging him. Tim blinks, tries to remember the date. Right. It's his birthday. How in the world did he manage to forget about that?

“Did you seriously forget your own birthday?” Jason asks, sounding both fondly amused and completely unbelieving. Which Tim thinks is unfair. At least he actually has a day job.

“You are like, way to stressed.” Steph says from his right, and then she makes grabby motions with her hand until Dick lets Tim go. Then she goes and hugs him herself. “Happy Birthday.” She says.

Then he's handed over to Jason, who hugs surprisingly nice. Then it's Cass, who smiles softly. Then Damian's standing in front of him, shoving his hand forward. For a moment, Tim has no idea what that's supposed to be about, then he gets it and shakes the hand.

Then he's herded to the couch. There's a cake there, a nice one, and lots of finger food. Tim doesn't actually know when he last ate. This morning? He knows he was too busy to go for lunch, but he's sure he had at least a protein bar for breakfast. Or was that yesterday?

“Not that I don't appreciate this, but... we have to go on patrol in like, half an hour, right?” Tim says, and is greeted with various annoyed and horrified looks.

“It's your birthday, Tim! We're not going on patrol. We'll stay right here and celebrate!” Dick says, slinging his arm over Tim's shoulder. Tim should move away, he thinks, if he wants to have any chance at winning this argument, but... he's not sure if he wants to win, really. And Dick is comfortable, and safe, so...

“But the city, who will protect it?” Tim asks, because while a night with his siblings sounds kind of amazing, he's also very aware that as the vigilantes of Gotham they have certain duties. He doesn't think he could live with himself if someone got hurt just because he decided to celebrate with his siblings instead of being out there helping people.

“Kate is back in town, and she brought Dinah and Helena. Selina's helping them. Anyone who tries anything while they're on the streets is going to regret it.” Jason says, and... okay, that's good planning. Between Batwoman, Black Canary, Huntress and Catwoman, the city should indeed be safe.

“Now, what do you think of a movie?” Steph asks, holding three DVD's in his face. Mulan, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone, and the Incredibles. Children's movies, but good children's movies. Really good ones.

“What do you guys want to watch?” He asks, and is answered with shaking heads.

“It is your birthday, Drake. It only makes sense for you to choose the movie.” Damian says, in a tone that might actually be interpreted as friendly. Which means that Dick took him aside to make him play nice for tonight. Which... is really nice of Dick.

Steph is still holding the dvd's in Tim's face, so he jut points at one without looking. They're all good choices anyway, and he won't have too think too much.

“The Incredibles. Nice!” Dick says, sounding excited. Tim knows for a fact that Dick has seen the movie at least ten times already, but it is a good movie. And knowing Dick, he might just be excited that they're all in one room, agreeing to watch a movie together.

“There'll be presents tomorrow, when Kate and Selina can be there too.” Jason tells him, and Tim wonders what more his siblings have planned. Then he thinks over Jason's statement again.

“I have meetings tomorrow. Like, a lot of meetings.” He says, slightly regretfully. Work is important, and he likes his work, but if his siblings already put this much effort in organizing a nice birthday for him, he thinks he should appreciate that.

“No you don't.” Steph snorts. “We called your office, and your nice secretary cancelled all your appointments. She absolutely agreed with us when we said that you need a a day off. In fact, she made us promise to make you sleep for at least six hours.”

That... does sound like something Janice would say. Tim's secretary is a very nice woman, a single mother of two, and she's always worried about Tim. It's nice, but also sometimes kind of unhelpful, because he can't exactly tell her that he's too busy with top secret vigilante activities instead of sleeping.

“Are we going to start the movie or what?” Jason asks, sitting down on the couch next to Tim and reaching for the chocolate. Cass sits down in the limited space right between them, putting her head on Tim's shoulder and her feet in Jason's lap. Neither of them complains.

Damian and Steph fight over a spot for a moment, before Dick rolls his eyes and sits down on the contested spot. Steph finds herself at Tim's side, and Damian sits down on the floor in front of Dick.

Tim looks at them all, sitting together, peacefully spending time together, not going on patrol just because it's his birthday and they want to do something nice for him. It feels... wonderful, in ways he can't even properly put in words. It feels safe, too. He dozes of before Mr. Incredible's first mission.

Some time later, he wakes up. At first, he's not sure what woke him, He did not have a nightmare or anything like that, probably because his siblings are still there, sleeping on their places on the couch. At some point, Damian has moved from the floor onto Dick's lap, but everyone else is exactly where they were before Tim fell asleep.

The movie is over, too, and some of the finger food has been eaten, but nobody touched the cake. It takes Tim a moment to realize that they're waiting for him to start eating it. That's... kind of really nice of them. He smiles.

Then he hears someone entering the room. He wants to jump up, but a warm, firm hand on his shoulder stops him.

“It's just me.” Bruce whispers, running his hand through Tim's hair. “Happy Birthday.”

For a moment, Tim can't breathe, because having his siblings organize a little something for his birthday is awesome enough, but Bruce actually showing up... that's... his parents never showed up for his birthday. They never acknowledged it, not really. But now he has siblings who plan for his birthday, and Bruce who must have cut patrol short to come.

Which is all kinds of amazing, and Tim feels like he should acknowledge that more than he does, but his eyes are falling shut again.. Apparently he is really that tired.

“Sleep, Tim.” Bruce whisper, kissing him on the forehead. “I'll still be there in the morning. We'll have the entire day, just the family.”

Tim believes him. He falls asleep with a smile on his lips.

[ashleyinwondrland]

I have many thoughts on Justice League

Diana is a goddess and everything that is good in the world, and I need her jacket (and I don’t even usually wear brown clothes) however there were a lot more sexualize shots of her in this which bothered me and I blame more on J0ss than anyone else like when she did the jump off the plane or whatever and her skirt came up and you saw an entire ass cheek, then plenty of ass shots while she wore those leather pants

But her smile is still literally sunshine and she became such a good mom especially to Cyborg, their scenes were some of my favorite parts

Cyborg is amazing and why are they not fast tracking his movie? The amount of depth that movie would have and how amazing it could be has no limits ! As much as I adore Ezra Miller I would rather a Cyborg movie with the flash than vice versa !

Aquaman’s hair is totally unfair and the perfect ombré ! He is awesome and badass!

Bruce is a confirmed bisexual that just needs a hug and really needs to stop trying to fight god like heroes! That’s not how you make friends!

I wish they had mentioned Lois wearing the engagement once Clark came back, like he got the chance to properly propose ! I don’t know how I feel about Lois quitting the paper then coming back and only being able to do fluff because it still hurts...like I get the mourning but the world needs Lois Lane as much as Superman!

I actually like the fight between Superman and Wonder Woman, because it showed how powerful Superman can be when he doesn’t hold back...at least that’s what I’m telling myself

My fiancé didn’t like how easily Superman was beating Wonder Woman but she wasn’t fighting at her fullest, she didn’t want to hurt him! Now if we really had a Wonder Woman Superman fight were they are both in it to kill, full power, it would be so different!

Funniest/Favorite moments:

Dianna and Bruce fighting and Barry saying ‘if she kills you we will cover for her’

The lasso of truth around Aquaman was amazing and I wish it had gone on forever !

Victor and Barry digging up Superman and it being so awkward, I need more of their friendship

Barry’s face when he sees that Superman can move just as fast through the speed force

Victor saying I like living got me choked up

The all around awkwardness of Barry Allen and how much I related to him

Cyborg saying “Boo-Yah” made my whole life

I have so much more but now I’m playing injustice so I can’t focus and type lol

But I would love to discuss things