#they have the color scheme for it too all they need is for Damian to release an eagle and snake at their wedding

[jasontoddsgaythoughts]

I love that Jaykyle is M/M (Mexican/Mexican)

[hopeless--light]

Dp x Dc Why do I hear boss music?

Drabble or ficlet? Who knows I thought of this and would like to write a short dp x dc

The Joker was walking around gleefully he had escaped Arkham yet again but he hadn't done anything yet. Tim was on strict watching duty to see if he can catch Joker in a scheme before he did anything. Everyone else was either off-world, Jason and Dick, or in the middle of busting a trafficking ring, Bruce and Damian. So the Joker was still a high enough priority to keep an eye on but they didn't have the men to spare to take him back.

Tim knew he was being extra stealthy he did not want to become the next Robin victim he had enough clown trauma thank you very much. But he still swore the maniac had turned towards him with a creepy ass smile he always wears. But after an hour of just mindless wandering in the dark, the Joker had yet to do anything. That was until he turned down an alley toward a kid wearing headphones.

Now who wore soundproof headphones while wandering a back alley in the Gotham? Tim could only assume a tourist on top of the kid was prime adoption bait with black hair and pretty glowing blue eyes. Wait glowing? Tim couldn't tell properly from his vantage point on the roof across the street but it really did look like his eyes were glowing blue. And the Joker had noticed too, Shit the Joker was after a defenseless pretty meta. It's just a plus he had black hair and blue eyes, Joker knew Batman had an adoption type.

Time watched in slow motion as the Joker smiled at him and then reached for the teen. The Joker ripped the soundproof headphones off and Tim was hauling ass only stumbling when he heard boss music?

Danny was the final boss.

It started off as a joke between Sam, Tucker, and him, he was the ghost king after all so that means he was technically the final boss. If this were a game he would be the final showdown for heroes to protect the world. Pariah Dark was literally his final boss and he took that mantle up.

So what did the trio do they made a playlist of all their final boss music whether it was video games or movies and played it anytime Danny was visiting them, as he was now in Gotham working on his college degree. But what Danny never would admit is he genuinely enjoyed that playlist and listened to it when he was trying to amp himself up for what future project he needed to work on. Like now he was wandering the streets trying to get inspiration on his final project for class while listening to some boss music to stir up adrenaline.

Sometimes he forgot he was in the most crime-ridden town and that technically he was a meta so color him surprised when he was amping himself up this Freakshow wannabe ripped his headphones off. Not cool. But the worst part was the cord coming off his phone blasting the music. Now he can get away with listening to boss music but he will forever cringe at what started playing when those headphones were yanked away.

Meglovania

[starwrighter]

What do the Batfam look like in your "Not a baby (yes you are)" fix?

Like specific descriptions & stuff?

I REALLY want to make fanart, but be accurate to your fic & your idea!

Maybe also a small description for Danny & some changes he might go through so I can also draw him?

I look forward to any response!

(I'll give you what leviathan appearances that're set in stone since Babs, Steph, and Cass still need a bit more thought.)

Bruce's species is closely related to the gargantuan leviathan meaning he's pretty big like so big he shouldn't be living in the crater. He mostly lives in the larger more open areas but really he should be living in the void. He's more long than wide like a snake with thick pitch black scales covering him like armor. He's one of the few leviathans with "hands" four clawed fingers on each of them. He keeps the head shape of the gargantuan leviathan's with six glowing white eyes. basically a huge freaking underwater snake with a mouth of razor sharp teeth.

Damian's a hybrid between Bruce and Talia (A ghost Leviathan) he's just big enough to wrap himself around Danny's base once but he's not done growing yet. Like Bruce he's long and snakelike but he lacks the visual scale armor all over his body. Only his forehead, chest and arms have the pitch black scales. His fingers are clawed extremely sharp but he's only got four on each hand. the rest of his body is semi transparent and pale like the ghost Leviathans. He's got what looks like blue, yellow and green stripes on him but those are really just organs and blood vessels you can vaguely see through his skin. He's got some short tattered fins that run along his the sides of his body which are dotted by a line of bioluminescent spots. His arms are kind of lanky like a cat that's not quite fully grown. He's got a similar head shape to Bruce but his jaw is slimmer, his teeth more crammed together as is a (inefficient) filter feeder.

Tim looks similar to a squid shark. He's one of the smallest of the batfam. He doesn't have any arms just two large dorsal fins on each side of his body and two long, thin electric blue tendrils below them that can clumsily grab things though he shocks everything he grabs. He lives in the deeper areas of the blood kelp forest so the top side of his body often has blood oil clinging to him to blend in. Like the squid shark he's got that freaky jaw and jets to propel him through the water.

Duke is based of the hover fish in color scheme his yellow body is covered in spots some of which are shaped like bats including a white spot on his main chest. He's got two blanket like fins at the sides of his body and his gills give off a metallic shine to attract prey. The chapter where we get a glimpse of Duke Danny describes him as snake-like but really he's thicker and more like a betafish in shape.

Dick shows some resemblance to an amp eel with his exoskeleton being like armor plating and his whole electric but that's where most of the similarities end. He's got javelin like fins and spindly arms that he uses for climbing they're can become electrified when he's stressed like the rest of his body. He's built to be extremely quick with a wide range of maneuverability but he's still too big for the shallows. He keeps his Nightwing color scheme of black and blue although the colors are more muted.

Jason obviously resembles the Reaper leviathan. He's got burn scars across his body and one of his fins has been torn in half. His head shape is almost indistinguishable from a regular reaper although he's got a few extra eyes two of which are dulled stained slightly green (dormant Kharaa) he's got a horn at the top of his head he uses to launch things at top speed (fish version of gun) He's bigger than any of the reapers and a deeper red in color it's only if you look at him long enough that you can realize his patterns are different.

As for Danny he's a little kid looking to be around the age of two or three. He's got fangs that inhibit his speech a bit giving him a bit of a lisp. His eyes are still blue but if he's in a darker area they glow a bioluminescent green along. His hair has patches of white and his ears are pointed.

(For now, only Tim has his humanoid form designed but I'll reblog when that changes)

[whydontyousaeso]

Tattooed into your brain (pt 1)

Damian preist x Reader

When you first moved to LA you didn’t really expect to wind up with a bunch of friends at a tattoo shop, you also didn’t expect to be wrapped up with a certain man at the tattoo shop either.

Type- fluff!

Warnings- none at the moment!

A/n- hiiiii so I’m actually so excited to be posting this rn. This is honestly more of an introduction than anything, but I promise part 2 will have more Damian/reader interactions! Love you guys and be on the lookout for more content soon!

As you walked the streets of LA, you took in the different senses that overwhelmed your brain. It was so loud and crowded, you weren’t used to it.

You scanned the stores around you, a particular tattoo shop catching your eyes. ‘JD Tattoos’ was the name of it, and it was a dark building with a black and purple color scheme. You had actually been looking to get a new tattoo recently, you just didn’t have the time to look around considering you just moved.

You made your way over to the building quickly, trying to get away as fast as you could from the crowd. When you stepped in you were greeted by the soft sound of rock music and leather everything.

At least they were consistent with the theme.

You looked around for a second, slowly making your way up to the desk. You heard some chattering in the back, but couldn’t tell if there were any workers actually working.

At least you weren’t able to until a young man rolled out into the lounge area, looking you up and down.

“Hey Rhea! There’s a client for you out here.”

“Yeah I’ll be there in a minute.”

You smiled awkwardly at the young man, nodding slightly to show thanks to him. It didn’t take but another thirty seconds for a tall dark haired female to come out.

Not only were they consistent with the theme, they looked the part too.

“Hi, uh, I’m new here and I’ve been looking for some tattoo artists and stuff.”

“Yeah? Have you ever got a tattoo before?”

“I actually have a couple-“

You pulled up your shirt to reveal the big rose on your side.

“I have this one, and I also have another one on my leg too. I really want a back one but I’m not really sure what to do yet.”

“Ohh yeah, well considering you’ve done this a couple times I don’t see where there would be any problems.”

She reached down and pulled out a huge binder, placing it on the counter for you to look through.

“Here are some of my works, look through them and see if any of them stand out to you. If not I’m sure we can get creative or pull something out of our ass.”

You smiled a bit, feeling more comfortable with her.

“What’s your name?”

“Y/n, and your Rhea?”

“Yeah, where did you move here from?”

“Oh, I’m from Washington. I just finished my masters and decided I needed a new place to live.”

“Pretty big jump huh?”

“Yeah, to be honest the only reason I’m here is because my friend has an extra room and is letting me stay.”

You stopped on a particular tattoo, it was a black and white skull with chains going through and around it.

“How much would this one be?”

“Depends on the size”

“How about 5 inches?”

“$200”

You took a second to think. Considering your last tattoo artist charged you more this isn’t a bad deal at all.

“When can you put me down?”

She smiled and pulled out another book. She was flipping through the pages when you heard the door open again. This time a tall man walked in, carrying a duffle bag and some food.

“Hey Damian, Finn wanted to talk to you in the back about something.”

You heard him sigh and set his stuff down at the front desk. Before you knew it he was gone.

“I can fit you in tomorrow at 10, think you could make it?”

“Yeah definitely, do you need a deposit?”

“Nah you can pay tomorrow, I don’t worry about it too much.”

You handed her the binder and smiled.

“Awesome. Thank you so much.”

“Of course, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The next day when you walked in the tattoo shop the same man that walked in while you were talking to Rhea was at the desk.

“Hey, I’m here for my 10 o’clock with Rhea?”

That got his attention

He looked up from his phone and smiled. “Yeah, Rhea is running a little late so she asked if I could prep you, you good with that?”

You nodded and gave a small verbal confirmation. You’ve had men work on you before so this wasn’t uncomfortable for you.

You followed him back to her room, watching his broad figure from behind.

“What’s your name again?”

You asked, breaking the silence.

“Damian, and you?”

“Y/N.”

You sat in the chair, awaiting instructions from Damian. Luckily you were wearing a crop top with a jacket over it, so all you needed to do was take off the jacket.

“This is going on your back right?”

“Yeah”

“Alright, where do you want it?”

You slipped off your jacket and turned away from him.

“Lower center please, I want to be able to work around it in the future”

You heard him hum in approval before sticking the stencil on your back. It almost caught you by surprise, the way his rough hands rubbed over the area. You would be lying if you said that you didn’t start heating up with the way he was touching your back.

You didn’t even know this man, why was he getting you so flustered?

“Do you want numbing cream?”

“Oh, no thank you, I’m good without it.”

You turned around and smiled at him, hoping that your face wasn’t too red from the sudden contact.

“Rhea said she will be here in about five minutes, you need anything else?”

You shook your head.

“Alright then, see you later”

You weren’t able to respond in time before he left. As you sat there feeling the stencil dry you questioned yourself.

Why the fuck was he so stuck in your head?

[synergysilhouette]

Changes I'd make to Tim Drake (Warning: may be controversial)

As my favorite Robin, I've needed to make this post for a long time. I know my opinions may not be agreed upon, but I hope my dedication is still appreciated, nonetheless.

He isn't dragged for his superhero goals--Any poor mistake that DC makes, they decide to pin it on him having poor judgement, which is really unfair. As many things that get ignored/retconned (even if they arguably shouldn't be, depending on the subject), it feels bizarre to drag Tim for things like his ill-fated "Drake" costume and era, especially when it was walked back on so quickly. On top of this, people seem to look down on him for genuinely enjoying being Robin. Robin wasn't always a "move on" position, per se; Dick had been Robin for consecutive decades before deciding he wanted something different, while Jason was murdered and became someone else as a reflection of this. Tim became Robin because he saw that Batman NEEDED him, and deduced Batman and the previous Robin's identities on his own. If he wants to do stop being Batman's partner (or sidekick, depending on perspective), it should be his own choice, not everyone else saying "this was a temp job and you're out."

He has his own unique color, costume, and maybe even codename--Even if he remains by Batman's side, Tim deserves to be distinct; his codename and color scheme are shared with all his brothers, and it doesn't do much for him. I'd definitely prefer a cowless take on his Savior costume (unsure about the codename; it feels a bit too on-the-nose, but it also feels like it represents his need to help others) or bring back his N52 Red Robin suit WITH the wings as well as making him the brother in purple, which goes well with the Batfamily's aesthetic as well as signifying his romance with Stephanie and friendship with Bunker.

He's going for a psyche major--I feel like this fits so well with his motivations. It's weird that the Batfamily doesn't put more stock in studying psychology outside of Harley (who rarely uses this skill, much to my chagrin). Tim wants what's best for everyone, and became a hero in order to help people. He isn't simply trying to stop problems, but prevent them and make Gotham a better place for everyone. While he can still go for a cyber-related degree (I don't remember his exact major), I'd prefer he also go for a degree that furthers his desire to understand and improve others, plus it's good to help him better understand himself as well. Definitely would've made this something he furthered in "Heroes in Crisis" (which I should make an post about another time).

He isn't bi--Hate me if you must. I'm a gay guy, and I just didn't vibe with this reveal. During the mid-2000s, it was stated by one of his artists that he and the writers kind of already saw Tim as bi, though DC never made this canon until 2021. As far as I know (as a 2010s comic person), it never seemed like DC was keen to lean into LGBT sexuality for Tim, and given that they've been treating him poorly post-N52, it feels like this was a random "let's find a way to make Tim as popular as his brothers" by making him stand out in a way that they didn't. I know this is a bold claim, but this is a feeling I've had for a while now, especially since his personal life now mainly revolves around Bernard (personal bias, but I'm usually not a fan of heroes dating non-heroes; I'd prefer him with Bunker--or Connor, if he's romantically into guys). And they haven't done him many favors since; DC infamously described him as the "always-online bisexual" in a now deleted tweet that embodies my concern that they're just defining him by his sexuality now, as well as a solo comic with horrendous art for most of the run. If Jason or Damian were depicted as bi (with the latter being the least controversial choice, imo, given his younger tenure in comics and romantic life not as fleshed out), I'm almost sure they'd be better handled, probably because they've been better handled as characters in recent years. Overall, I found Tim's retcon of sexuality unnecessary (yet we have bi characters such as Ghostmaker who were LGBT from the get-go and don't get nearly as much attention) and overall used as a metaphor for his "indecisiveness" at making decisions that DC forced onto him.

He still has a (biological) family and life--A big problem with writers and artists is that they sometimes have a problem with trying to make the 4 Robins identical in appearance and lives. Unlike Jason and Dick, Tim wasn't an orphan adopted by Bruce, not originally anyway. He had his own life and chose to be part of Bruce's world, and the need to make him an orphan with pretty much nothing going on in his civilian life was disrespectful (is he still an Olympic-level gymnast? Kinda love the idea that he takes time off for "me time" here and there and that's when Damian or another Batfam member jumps in). Let him have friends and family as Tim Drake, not just as Robin. Let Bruce be his dad without killing off his biological one. Let Tim have autonomy and individuality!

More A-list connections--This is being petty, but most of his friends are next-gen heroes with no major stuff going on for themselves, just like him. Surrounding yourself with important people can help you become important, too. I'm not telling friends to drop his friend groups (him and Conner have one of the best male homosocial relationships in comics and it sucks how they got overshadowed by Damian and Jon), but giving him more relationships with well-known characters could help his status. Plus maybe involve him in more teams outside of Teen Titans and the Batfamily; it's not good that he jumps between being an underrated member amongst iconic characters and a leader of underrated people. Just make sure he's not trading positions to become another hero's apprentice--there was once plans for him to be the next Blue Beetle as well as a temporary Nightwing, neither of which would be good for him, tbh. I have similar feelings for Starfire (we need more of her friendship and Superman; plus I'd love another underrated TT team led by Tim, perhaps with Ryand'r).

Never lose sight of who he is--The idea with Tim (at least from what I've absorbed) is that he's the most optimistic, maybe even naive, version of Dick, committed to wanting to help people and support them, and not one to brush them off of devalue them. He's got a heart, not just a brain, and I like to consider him one of the glue sticks that holds the family together. He doesn't need to be edgy or cool in the way that Damian and Jason are, nor should he be reduced to a sex object like Dick (which is another post entirely).

[soulmate-game]

I'd pay you to make a part 2 of Clark's reaction to Jon's pride flag coming out and overall chaos of all the new info revealed

No need for payment. I need an excuse to write dabbles anyway, it’s probably the best way for me to build back up to updating my longer stories.

—*—*—*—*—*

Clark had had a long day. Reporting was a fairly exhausting job, especially when he had to put up the façade of the clumsy and socially awkward country boy still. The amount of times he had to fumble his way around people blatantly trying to take advantage of him just because they thought they could...

Ready to just flop on the couch and relax for a little while, barring any last second crises, he pushed open the door.

And blinked once. Twice. Checked his phone— no, it was still August. Cautiously, he walked in the building absolutely bewildered at what he was seeing.

Rainbows. Everywhere. The normal tablecloth was replaced with one that was white with a rainbow-and-unicorn print. The napkin holder was covered in what looked like a rainbow-knitted mug warmer. There was a candelabra on the center of the table with three candles in suspiciously specific colors (pink, purple, and blue). The kitchen was covered in an equally suspicious color scheme of pink, yellow, and light blue. Even the aprons hung up on the walls, and— Clark pulled open a drawer. Yeah, they even got the oven mitts. The greens and blues of the “gay male” flag covered the living room from top to bottom— where did whoever did this even get those pillows from? To add embarrassment to confusion, there was a giant poster of the “butt’s match” theory up on one wall, but with the bisexual flag superimposed on it. The stairs had a thin rugs on the top of each step, each a different pride flag.

Morbid curiosity led him to open the restroom door, then slowly close it because it was covered in the bear-brotherhood tribe flag and colors.

Lois’ side of a bed was a giant Demi-sexual flag. And there, on his own side of the bed, was a blanket and pillow with a rainbow-colored SuperMan logo on a red background.

And Jon, who was laying across Clark’s side of the bed with rainbow colored heart glasses (with tinted lenses??? Why???) and an “I ❤️ robin” t-shirt.

Upon seeing his father, Jon rolled out of bed as effortlessly lazy as you please, shot finger guns at him, and said;

“I’m so gay I make you look straight.”

“Excuse me?” Clark wasn’t even offended, just so terribly confused. “I never said I was straight???”

“You never said you weren’t either, ya himbo,” Jon then pointed to his shirt. “I love Damian, we’ve been dating for a month already. I can, and do, smooch a Wayne better than you ever did and you have to live with that fact now.”

Clark opened his mouth, closed it, furrowed his brow. “You guys... have had dates at the house... while I was home, Jon. I could hear you guys make out, and trust me I wish I couldn’t. You didn’t think I knew?”

“Uhhhh—“

“Tell you what. If you do this exact same thing to Kon’s apartment and crash his date with Tim to tell him you’re gay, I’ll pretend to be shocked that you’re dating the guy you’ve been pining over for years. Deal?”

“Kon’s dating Tim? Since when?”

“...”

Meanwhile, at the Manor:

Damian and Marinette are reading in the library by themselves, when Damian flips a page and asks;

“How long do you think it’ll take Jon to remember his dad has super hearing and had definitely heard us getting together at the watchtower last month?”

“How long until he realizes Kon forgot to tell him that he’s also gay?”

“... We are way too mean to the himbos in our lives.”

Neither of them seemed the least bit bothered by that, sharing a mischievous smirk with one another before turning right back to their reading. Bruce had also been fully aware of this catastrophe, and had volunteered for watch duty at the tower to avoid the chaos.

[thebatfamilytherapist]

Dc maybe unpopular opinions:

Wonder Woman needs to stop being written by men.

Wonder Woman needs her villains to be from greek mythology

Actually Wonder Woman just needs more inspiration from Greek mythology in general

Hunters of Artemis = the Amazon’s. Change my mind. You can’t.

No live action batman (or bat family) suit will ever be accurate or practical. It’s either one or the other

All the robins are POC.

Superman’s struggles mainly deal with overpowered outside forces that are almost entirely made up.

Luthor should beat Superman without kryptonite once. Or come close to it. He’s smart, he can do it without his failsafe or public opinion. Like is that the most creative way you can kill him? Authors?

Cassandra Cain can beat anyone she wants in hand to hand but she puts up a “good fight” with the batfam since she wants to spend time with them

Everyone expects Dick to have the old timey phrases but It’s really Jason. 

Dick can’t say no to Damian. He’s the first brother he’s actually spent a lot of time with at the start of their robin career and he values it too much.

Dick can’t change his nickname. Not to Ric or Rick or Rich or a middle name or only using his last name. It doesn’t work. He is DICK. If you can’t find a good use of his name and want to change it, you shouldn’t be writing.

Tim using drake as his hero name was dumb. The nail in the coffin was the HORRIBLE COLOR SCHEME!

Bruce uses batman as a shield agains his trauma. Dick uses batman as a job he has to take for the good of people, even over his own wants and desires. Jason uses batman as a way to get away with stuff. Tim uses batman as a beacon or anchor for himself. Damian uses batman as if it is his right.

[fridayfirefly]

The Wedding Schemers

Read The Wedding Schemers on AO3

Masterlist

Written for Maribat March Day 23 - Enemies to Lovers

Damian Wayne was so annoying, Marinette wanted nothing more than to shoot him. Unfortunately, he was the only person who could help her. If they couldn't work together, everything would be ruined.

But Marinette was getting ahead of herself. To fully explain the situation, she needed to take it back five months. Back to the beginning. Back to the first day they met. It was April, the season of growth and opportunity. And rain. Lots of rain. Marinette normally wouldn't have a problem with rain. However, rain ruined outdoor weddings and as a professional wedding planner, it meant that she always had to have a backup plan.

Marinette had just finished up her biggest wedding yet. The wedding of Adrien Agreste and Chloé Agreste (neé Bourgeoise) went off without a hitch. It was perfect, the most praised wedding of the season. Which meant it brought in new customers. New rich customers.

Timothy Drake and Stephanie Brown hadn't been in attendance at the Agreste wedding, but they had seen pictures and had decided to hire Marinette as their wedding planner. Over the phone, the couple sounded lovely. They had already picked out potential color schemes, potential venues, and a date for the wedding: October 14th. Marinette figured it might be her easiest wedding yet. That is, until she met the bride and groom in person, and they brought along the best man.

Damian Wayne was intolerable. Every idea that Marinette brought up he instantly shot down. He was pickier then either Tim or Stephanie and they were the ones who were getting married in the first place. Marinette was so frustrated she wanted to quit the job. However, she knew that if she wanted to break into the high-profile wedding business, she couldn't have such a major blow to her reputation. So Marinette sucked it up and tried her best not to punch Damian. All Marinette had to do was survive one annoying groomsman, and her career would be set for life.

----------

It was a warm, breezy August morning when Marinette got the phone call. "Hello?" she said as she answered the unknown number, setting her mug of coffee down on her side table.

"Marinette?" Marinette recognized the voice as Stephanie Brown, slightly distorted by the sob that she let out half-way through the word.

"Stephanie, are you okay?"

"The wedding is off," Stephanie cried, barely able to get the words out. "Tim and I aren't getting married."

"What's wrong? I'm sure we can fix this." Marinette tried to reason with Stephanie but was hung up on before she could finish her sentence.

Marinette stared down at her phone, trying to puzzle through what she had just learned. It just didn't make sense. Stephanie, who seemed perfectly in love with Tim just days earlier, was now calling off the wedding. Obviously, there had been some unexpected developments since Marinette last spoke to the couple, but she couldn't imagine a fight that they couldn't work through. Marinette needed to get back in the loop, and she knew who she needed to call. With a long-suffering sigh, Marinette dialed Damian's number.

"Dupain-Cheng," Damian answered the phone with a clipped tone.

"Wayne. Any idea why Stephanie just called me to announce that the wedding is off?"

Damian sighed. "One of Tim's ex-girlfriends met up with him last night. I'm not certain what happened, but I'm certain that Rossi was involved."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Lila Rossi," Damian bit out the name, "Has had her sights on making my brother miserable since the day he broke up with her. She would love nothing more than to ruin his life."

Marinette took in a deep breath, then let it out. "It's clear to me that Tim and Stephanie are both perfect for each other. This is just a minor setback. Someone needs to get them back together. Are you going to help me, or am I on my own?"

"I will help," said Damian succinctly. "I will pick you up in twenty minutes so that we can formulate a plan."

Damian hung up the phone and Marinette was left wondering how in the world she got herself into this position. She now had to spend the day with the most intolerable man she knew, so that she could reunite his recently broken up friends, in order to save their marriage. Marinette sighed. "I might need another coffee."

----------

Damian pulled up to the curb in front of Marinette's house, driving some luxury brand that Marinette would never be able to afford. Marinette climbed into the passenger seat, turning to Damian with an expectant look. "Do we have a plan yet?"

"Not quite a plan, but I do have a handle on the situation as it is now," said Damian, "Tim is refusing to talk to Stephanie. Stephanie is refusing to talk to Tim. Neither will tell my why they've called off the wedding, but it's obvious that there is some degree of miscommunication going on."

Marinette started to do what she did best - formulate an action plan. "We have to get them to meet up and talk things out. I'll take Stephanie, you take Tim. We need to convince them to follow us to a neutral location and we'll have to come up with convincing lies. If either sees through our plan the whole thing is ruined. Then we'll need to find a place to have them meet. I'm thinking a restaurant. We need our location to be somewhere where neither of them would storm out from but it also has to be private enough for them to talk it out."

Damian nodded. "There are plenty of restaurants that would be suited for our needs. The real problem is convincing Tim and Stephanie to follow us."

"I already have an idea for Stephanie. I'm going to ask her if she wants to go to Clement Park and do one of the destroy-the-dress photoshoots. I image that she's upset enough right now to agree to something drastic and dramatic."

Damian looked surprised. "That's a good idea. You're less incompetent than I thought, Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette decided to take his words as a compliment. "Thanks. I am a wedding planner, after all. It's kind of my whole job to be good at plans involving weddings."

"This is more of a scheme than a plan."

"I'll be a wedding schemer for the day, then," joked Marinette. "Now, are there any good restaurants near Clement Park, or should I choose a different location?"

"I know a restaurant a block away from there. I’ll lure Tim there under the premise that we’ll be getting lunch."

Marinette nodded. "I'll try to get Stephanie to the restaurant at noon. I'll also try and make sure the dress stays intact for that long. I have a feeling that Stephanie will still need it after her lunch today."

"Thank you for assisting me. I do not say this often, because it is rarely true, but I do not think I would be able to accomplish this task without your help."

"No problem, Wayne."

----------

Stephanie jumped on the opportunity to destroy her wedding dress.

"I can't believe I ever agreed to marry him," fumed Stephanie as they drove to the park, wedding dress taking up the backseat of Marinette's car.

"What happened between you two?" asked Marinette. "You seemed perfectly happy when I saw you last week."

"He hooked up with one of his ex-girlfriends behind my back. Lila called me last night to confess to the affair, begging me to forgive her because she didn't even know that Tim had a fiancée when she slept with him. I didn't believe her at first, but then she sent me proof. The poor girl kept blaming herself. It wasn't her fault, the only person to blame was Tim."

"That's horrible." Marinette decided not to press the issue any further. She needed Stephanie to trust her.

As the car stopped at the red light, just a block away from the restaurant, Marinette turned to Stephanie. "I just had an idea. We should get some red wine to splash onto the dress."

Stephanie grinned. "Oh that would absolutely ruin it. I'm sure we can pick up a bottle in one of the restaurants down the street."

Marinette pulled the car up in front of the restaurant that Damian had chosen. "Why don't you come in with me, to help pick out the bottle. We can use half of it to destroy the dress and the other half to get drunk afterward."

"You're just full of good ideas today." Stephanie got out of the passenger seat and followed Marinette into the restaurant.

This was the most delicate part of the scheme. If Stephanie caught sight of Tim and Damian too early it would ruin everything. Marinette led Stephanie through the restaurant towards the back, where Tim and Damian sat, under the premise that they were looking for the sommelier.

"Oh no!" Stephanie looked furious as soon as she caught sight of the men, but it was too late. The only way for Stephanie to get away was to make a scene. Marinette grabbed Stephanie's wrist and pulled her over to the table. "Really, Tim?" hissed Stephanie.

"I wasn't involved with this," growled Tim, glaring at Damian.

Damian got out of his seat and pulled it out for Stephanie to sit down in. "I think the two of you need to talk this out. I have no idea what lies Lila Rossi spun to cause this, but her motives have been nefarious since the moment she stepped into Tim's life. Rossi is the untrustworthy one here, not either of you."

Stephanie sighed. "Fine. I'll give Tim twenty minutes to tell his side of the story. But then I'm leaving."

"Thank you," said Damian. He put his hand on Marinette's shoulder and led her away, giving Tim and Stephanie their privacy.

"Do you want to go check out Clement Park?" asked Marinette once they were outside the restaurant.

"Why would we do that?"

Marinette shrugged. "In case Stephanie doesn't forgive Tim, I need to find a good spot to pour wine onto the wedding dress," she teased.

Damian cringed. "That's a twenty-thousand dollar wedding dress. You were just going to let it get ruined?"

Marinette shook her head. "I would have never let Stephanie destroy it. Even if our scheme doesn't work out, I'm going to keep trying to get them back together. Tim and Stephanie love each other. This is just a minor setback."

A thoughtful look passed over Damian. "Thank you, Marinette, for your help today."

"No problem. I was happy to help."

"I suppose you would be. Having your clients cancel after five months of work would no doubt be a career setback."

Before Marinette could protest what he said, she heard a voice call out from behind them. "Marinette! Damian!" It was Stephanie, grinning ear to ear as she ran towards Marinette and Damian, hand in hand with Tim. "We're getting married!" exclaimed Stephanie as soon as she was within earshot of Marinette and Damian.

"That's great!" Marinette replied, feeling the weight of Tim and Stephanie's failing relationship lift off of her chest.

Stephanie looked a bit more nervous. "We're getting married today. This wedding prep - planning the rehearsal dinner menu and picking out flowers for the bouquet - has been driving me crazy. All I want is to get married to Tim."

An elopement was the opposite of what Marinette wanted. It would be a terrible career move, to have her clients get so sick of planning their wedding that they abandoned it entirely. And yet, she carriedfor Tim and Stephanie too much to see them suffer on her account. “You’re wedding dress is in the trunk of my car. You wanted to ceremony to take place in the gardens at Wayne Manor, and that can happen any time. How about six tonight?”

Stephanie let out a sigh of relief. "Marinette, you're the best. Tim, let’s get married.”

Tim nodded. “Let’s get married.”

----------

It was Marinette’s first time planning a wedding in five hours. It might have been stressful, except Stephanie assured Marinette that they didn't want big impressive decorations. And in a very unlikely turn of events, Damian showed up to help Marinette set up.

Marinette wasn't quite sure why Damian was there beside her, tying ribbons and flowers to the walls of the little gazebo on the grounds of Wayne Manor. She got her answer when Damian finally asked the question he had been holding in for hours. "Why didn't you convince them to go through with their original wedding plan? You've put countless hours into their wedding and now all of that work is for nothing."

That was the question of the hour. The response was easy. "If I was in it for the money, I would have chosen a completely different career. I decided to become a wedding planner because I wanted to make people the happiest they could be on their special day. For Tim and Stephanie, this is the happiest they could be on their wedding day - not a big blowout wedding, but a small personal ceremony. It took almost losing everything for them to realize this."

Damian looked guilty. "I'm sorry that I misjudged you, Dupain-Cheng."

"Call me Marinette and I just might forgive you."

"Of course, Marinette. I suppose you may call me Damian, then."

"Thanks, Damian. Now can you pass me the pink ribbons? I want to pair them with the gypsophila and white roses."

As they worked together, slowly but surely turning the gazebo into the perfect wedding centerpiece, Damian kept up the conversation with Marinette. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other after this."

"You think?"

"I'm certain that Tim and Stephanie won't forget the help that you gave them.

Marinette shrugged. "It wasn't that big of a deal. Anyone would do what I did."

"Not just anyone. You're special, Marinette."

Marinette blushed. "I think you're pretty special too, Damian."

Her face got dangerously close to Damian's, and she could see the desire in his eyes. Marinette's eyes closed, and she sucked in a small breath of air, ready for what was about to happen.

In what had quickly become a trend for the day, Stephanie chose that moment to interrupt the intimate moment between Marinette and Damian. From across the lawn, she called out, "Quit flirting and finish up with the decorations! The ceremony is about to start and I need help putting my dress on!"

Marinette glanced over at Damian, face still pink with blush. "I've got to go, but I'll see you after the ceremony."

"Goodbye, Marinette."

Marinette fled the gazebo, wondering how in the world she had gone from dreading spending time with Damian to almost kissing him.

----------

The ceremony was beautiful, even if it was entirely under-planned. Tim's vows to Stephanie were only half-written, so he had to improvise. Stephanie's allergies were acting up from all of the pollen in the air. They ran out of napkins ten minutes into dinner. Still, Marinette knew that this was Tim and Stephanie's dream wedding.

"Marinette." Damian caught up to Marinette when she went into the house to get another bottle of wine for the reception.

"Damian. You wouldn't happen to know where the wine is kept?"

"We have a wine cellar."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Of course you do," she teased.

In the privacy of the wine cellar, Damian finally looked Marinette in the eyes. "I know that our relationship didn't have the best of beginnings, but I've realized now how wrong I was about you. I thought you took on Tim and Stephanie's wedding for the money. I didn't realize that you had grown to care about them as a couple."

"I misjudged you as well. I thought you were so difficult to work with because you didn't like me. I realize now that it was because you wanted the best for your family."

"How about we start over," suggested Damian.

"You've got yourself a deal." Marinette stuck out her hand. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, professional wedding planner."

"I'm Damian Wayne, the brother of the groom."

Marinette grinned. "I've heard that there's a dance floor outside. Maybe you'd like to show me it?"

"Would you give me the pleasure of dancing with you, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"Call me Marinette, and you've got yourself a deal." Marinette snagged the right bottle of wine and started making her way out of the cellar. "By the way, Damian, I had a fun time scheming with you today. Maybe we could come up with another scheme for tomorrow. One the involves actually eating at the fancy restaurant."

Damian smiled. "I like the way you think."

"I tend to have good ideas. It's in my job description."

@maribatmarch-2k21

[alyssadeliv]

The Forgotten One

First      Previous

Chapter 12

They were going to the zoo. Richard had decided that after two months of her living in the Manor it was time to have some family bonding time. It didn’t matter that most of her time in the last months was used to get to know her new extended family or get reacquainted with her old one. 

He was adamant that she needed the full Gothamite experience, so here they were on a Friday afternoon on a crowded metro, listening as the oldest one tried and explained how Metro’s worked to her. He was so happy, gesticulating and smiling, that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that she indeed knew how the metro worked, having lived in Paris for almost two full years.

After Damian, Richard was her favorite sibling, mostly because she had always seen him as a role model, as part of her training had been inspired by him and his trapeze maneuvers, but she did enjoy the warmth that she tended to feel when he was around. He was patient and had no problem explaining pop culture references to her. Not that she didn't enjoy spending time with her other siblings, it was just that Richard went out of his way to make her feel accepted.

Tim was a very busy person, and their interactions were reserved to 3 a.m. coffee hunts. He wasn’t bad, just closed off, and a little wary of her after his first experience with Damian. Not that she could blame him. But she was a bit closer to his girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, who would come to have dinner at the Manor every week. 

And there was Jason. She refused to address him as her brother, that would just be plain weird. After the initial shock of finding each other again had worn out, it had taken a few weeks for them to finally address the elephant in the room. She could tell that he had struggled with the news that she was Bruce’s biological daughter.

“Dick, maybe speed the lecture a bit so we can still get to the zoo before it closes.” Jason was leaning casually against a wall, finding this whole situation funny. He was wearing jeans and his red leather jacket, nothing special, but if she was honest he looked rather handsome. 

“It’s fine Jaybird, I was just wrapping it up!” He says with a smile, just in time for them to catch the next wagon. Because they spent at least 25 minutes listening to Richard’s lesson, the metro had emptied a bit so they were able to find seats. It was just the three of them, the others would meet them there, after being picked up by Alfred, Damian after school, and Timothy after a meeting. 

“So… I know Bruce said not to ask, but I’ve been dying to know…” Richard starts unsure, afraid to cross a line. They were lucky to score seats in the same section, she was seated with Jason by her side, with Richard in front of him facing them both. “But how exactly did you two meet, I mean it was obviously at… Tibet-'' He caught himself before he could out them as members of the League, you never knew who could be listening in their conversation, so better safe than sorry. “- but why do you know Jason, but Damian didn’t?” 

With a glance to the side, she was more than happy to allow Jason to explain that part. In the two months she lived at the Manor she saw how much they wanted to ask about their relationship, but kept their distance. Aside from Damian, they didn’t feel the need to inform the family about their past. 

“Well, Pixie Pop here was the one to train me for the duration of my time in the Temple. Kicked my ass more times than I can count.” He says with a smirk, while casually butting an arm on the back of her seat. “She taught me most of what I know”

“Most of it?” She was indignant, but the smile on her face betrayed her true emotions.

“To be fair B didn’t totally suck as a parent.” She knew that he and Father didn’t have the best relationship after he came back from his time at the League, but according to Damian, it used to be way worse, not that she would know. Richard seems content with their explanation and didn't demand more information, even if he desperately wanted to. He respects their boundaries, and that only makes her like him more.

When they got to the zoo, Damian and Timothy were already there, but surprisingly Stephanie had tagged along, so now she wasn’t the only female in the group anymore, not that she cared, but she liked her brother’s girlfriend so the surprise was appreciated. 

She had never been to the zoo before, just to see the attractions. The times she went to fight an Akuma did not count. It was a bit sad seeing all these animals stuck in a cage, and she could tell her brother felt the same. Damian always had a soft spot for animals, and would not tolerate if they were being mistreated. Not surprisingly, the Waynes made annual donations to the zoo to ensure that all the animals were well taken care of. When she first heard about that she was glad that Father cared about Damian’s interests enough to pay to support every zoo and animal shelter in the city. It helped ease her guilt for abandoning him for two years knowing that now she was not the only one who cared for him.

They spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the animals. And Dick was glad he chose to go to the zoo as a family bonding experience. When Damian first came into the family he had taken him there, after discovering that his younger brother absolutely adored animals and he was happy to see that Marianne liked it as well.  

Efficient as always, Alfred was already there waiting for them the minute they crossed the exit of the building. As she came to know, the men seemed to have a six sense when it came to all of them. Just by his aura, she could tell he wasn’t someone you wanted to cross, but she could see how much he loved each one of his grandchildren (because she could never kid herself to think of him any less than a Grandfather).

“I assume that today's activities were enjoyable.” The butler asks as he opens the back door of the limo for them. Richard enters first thanking the men.

“It was acceptable” Damian voices, as he too enters the vehicle.  

It was a bit of a ride, seeing that the Manor was almost outside of Gotham, but she didn’t mind. Seated between Richard and Damian she spent most of the journey chatting with everyone. But by the time they arrived at the house everyone was a bit tired, so dinner was a relatively small affair. But not uneventful, because as revenge for Bruce bailing on family day, the boys started sharing with her all the shenanigans of her father’s public persona, Brucie Wayne. It was amusing to see this new side to her father, always so reserved and serious. 

“If you are all finished sharing Master Bruce's embarrassing moments, I believe it is time for patrol.”  Alfred as always came to defuse the situation before it could implode. 

Because she spent most of the last two years fighting almost every single day, she decided that she needed some rest from her hero lifestyle. Even after her father asked if she would like to accompany them on patrols, she decided to turn it down for now. So while her family directed themselves to the cave, she made her way into her suite. 

It was a beautiful room. Although the color scheme wasn’t something she would have picked herself, it fit with the furniture rather nicely, and her artist side appreciated that. The room itself was simple, but the red colors and the dark wood made the room seem cozier than it was. With a double bed with a canopy, two bedside tables, a vanity with a mirror, and a wardrobe, it had everything she needed. Her Father had encouraged her to decorate her room the way she wanted, and she had been tempted to do so, but ultimately decided to wait until she settled into her role as a family member before she went and added more change to the mix. What she had been very close to doing was adding a desk so she could draw and design, but after she discovered that there was a big one in the library just a few doors from her room, she dismissed the idea.  

Quickly she showered and changed into something more comfortable than her street attire, before exiting the room and making her way into the library. It wasn’t as big as the one downstairs, but it had a big balcony that overlooked the gardens, so she liked to just sit in a shadow and sketch away. Damian had been kind enough to spare one of his unused sketchbooks and some pencils, knowing that she liked to draw just as much as he did. She leaned forward into the railing resting her arms and head, but still looking upwards.

The sun had already set, and she was glad that they were far enough away from the city that she could see some stars in the sky. Having lived in Paris, she had really missed all the stars she could see at night from her home on the League. One of her studies had been about the Astros, so she spent a lot of time as a kid contemplating the skies. 

“It’s going to rain soon” A voice comes from behind her. Without having to turn around she knew who it was. A smile appears on her face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for patrol?” She asks, straightening her body, but still not turning around. She could feel the person getting closer to her until she felt a presence at her side. 

“That’s the whole point. It's gonna rain.” He carries a hint of humor in his tone “And besides I prefer to keep you company, Pretty Girl. Besides, I believe Red Hood deserves one night off. The guy has been working hard.” He jokes.

With a smile she finally faces him. He had showered and changed, and without his red jacket, he looked so relaxed. It reminded her of their time in the League. Like that he looked so much like the angry boy she helped train. So young and while broken, so full of life and fight in him. He smirks at her but turns his face upwards to look at the night. 

“You always did love the stars.” He commented, not looking at her. “It’s sad that here you can't see them as much.” 

“It’s not that bad. In Paris, you couldn't see any. It was sad, but to be fair the whole city more than compensated for that. It’s beautiful there.” She recalled all the times she went on a midnight stroll around the city, just enjoying the architecture. “I could spend eternity drawing all the details in the buildings.” 

“Do you miss it?” He asks, looking at her. His tone is neutral, but by his body language, she can tell he’s anxious for her answer. She had always been good at reading him, and she was glad that their time apart had not changed that. 

“In a way…” 

She sighs.

“I liked the city, but I spent most of my time there fighting and training. Not much different from before. It was like everything changed but was still the same. To be completely honest… I miss our time at the League the most.” She confesses but hurriedly continues. “Don’t get me wrong, it was hard! But still… at the same time…”

“I get it.” He interrupts her. He has a small side smile, and the dimples on his face make her want to freeze this moment and draw him so she could eternalize him. Instead, she gets closer to him, seeking comfort in his presence at her side. He embraces her. Securing her in his arms, her body pressed against his, her head buried in his chest.

It was funny to think that the most capable woman to take care of herself he knew, chose to be vulnerable around him. It made him feel loved.

“I miss it too.” He whispered in her ear. She raises her head, just enough that she can see his face without removing herself from his arms. Staying like this reminds her of all the nights he used to sneak into her chambers. And they would talk and hold each other for hours. It felt like it was just yesterday the first time he got the better of her.

“Focus!” She yelled while landing a kick at his unprotected left side. “You are unbalanced- in three moves I could have you on the ground again” She punched him to his right, but he was able to block her and tried to deliver a punch of his own. His knuckles were bloodied, and he knew that in the morning his ribs would hurt. But at this moment he was high on adrenaline. She dodged. 

They were training for what felt like hours. But both were too stubborn to ask for the fight to end. 

But just as promised, in three more moves he was on the ground. He tried to get back on his feet to continue with the fight but was stopped by a foot on his torso.

“That’s enough.” She helps him to get on his feet. “You were great! You could have overpowered me so many times! I left you so many openings!” She laughs. This was routine for them. After a fight, Marianne was usually so pumped with adrenaline that she spoke at a mile per hour. “We really need to work on your tactics this week. Oh! You also need to improve your stance, you’ve been favoring your right side too much. I know your ribs hurt but you still need to protect your body as a whole.” She comments only stopping to take a large sip of water. “Well, I am spent.”

“You’re spent? I’m the one that has been eating dirt for the whole hour!” He complains indignantly. She tossed a water bottle in his direction, which he grabs and happily finishes in a single gulp.

“Just another reason you need to study more!” She grins. And turns to exit the room, and while walking to the door turns to him again. 

“See you in a bit” She winks. 

When they meet again they are in her room. She’s seated on the bed sketching some view, while Jason sits on the floor sharpening his knife. They chat casually for some time, but ultimately end speaking about their training session earlier. 

“That move would have totally worked!” He exclaims, knife long forgotten he now kneels facing her bed. 

“There’s where you are wrong, you need strength on your fist on both sides to push my torso, otherwise I would easily be able to doge only one. You need two punches at different sides in succession for you to distract your opponent!” She explains in a hurry. Her thoughts jumped around her head. 

“No way! If it’s strong enough, only one is needed!” He argues.

Worked up she threw her notebook to the side, forgotten. In a second she was up, signaling for him to do the same.

“There is no way. Stand there, pretend to be in stance.” She directs, and without a second thought, he complies. “Okay, so I come for your right side first, you are stronger there.” 

Her movements are slowed, as she demonstrates the move. “That’s going to distract you, and keep you focused on your stronger side, leaving your weaker one unprotected.” She shows him where he left an opening for her. “So all I need to do now is strike again, focusing more strength now. Either a punch or a kick would do the trick.” As she goes to demonstrate her point, he grabs the incoming slow punch and pulls her into his body. 

Unprepared she loses her balance, falling into his chest. In a second he secures her with his other arm, keeping her in his embrace. She feels her face burning with embarrassment. He caught her by surprise, and she felt ashamed.

“Hey that wasn't fai-” But he silences her, bringing his face closer to hers and giving her a heated kiss. It lasts for some time, but when they finally separate themselves he has a grin on his face.

“Just to be clear, I knew the move wouldn’t have worked. You just look cute when you're angry.” 

And before she can protest he shuts her up with another kiss.

So this is by far the biggest chapter! Hope ya’ll like it! We finally get the story behind Jason and Marianne. Let me know what you think!

Next

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[boldlyanxious]

None the Wiser

Masterlist

All fic masterlist

Bio-dad Bruce--first meeting

(Apparently telling myself I have to much going on to participate means nothing. I had an idea and it demanded to be written.)

It felt like such a simple assignment. Pretty basic genetics lesson for biology. Blood type was an easy thing to test in class. Their biology teacher had asked that they bring in the known blood types of their immediate family to help with understanding how it would work to pass on the genetic traits. Marinette had no siblings but she knew both her parents were O+.

They had finished with eye color during the last class and that was no concern for Marinette. Genetics could easily explain how the recessive blue eyes could come from the green and grey of her father and mother. But she had never known her blood type before. Just like with the eyes she should have received the recessive o from each of them making her blood type O.

She had already told her parents blood type but when she took the test it wasn't right. She told the teacher the expected answer when she was called upon for her test result and the teacher went on to explain how this was the most likely response with a 1 in 8 chance of having O- instead. Marinette didn't show anyone her test results. She was too confused. There was no way she could have gotten A blood type from her parents.

She knew there were pictures of her mother pregnant with her. Her dad was in the room when she was born and they had been married for 6 years before her mother was pregnant. She didn't want to think that her mother had cheated but there were not many other options. Her parents always seemed so in love, Marinette didn't want to ask them how it was possible.

She was quiet the rest of the week until she came up with a plan. She would simply take a DNA ancestry test and that would make everything make sense. It was probably a faulty blood type test and she was interested in the results she would get anyway. So, that weekend she got everything together and sent off for answers.

---

Tim wasn't paying much attention to the alert from his phone because he was just waiting for his coffee order. He looked down and read it. Then he read it again before he ran out of the shop without the coffee. He headed directly back to Wayne Enterprises to tell Bruce in person what he had learned.

Bruce was not happy to be pulled from his meeting by his son. He seemed to have an issue with a small French subsidiary company that did medical and genetic testing. Tim was talking too fast and he couldn't quite make sense of any of it. His head was already filled with the stock prices and percentages being discussed at the quarterly report meeting he had just left. He wasn't switching gears quickly enough for the science Tim was explaining.

"Are you even listening to me?" Tim asked frustrated "How would you even end up with another child in France?"

"Wait, what? I don't have any children in France." Bruce responded.

"The test was flagged in the system as a match for you. But that isn't all. She appears to be a match with Damian's DNA." Tim said.

"I have a daughter with Talia? I really don't think that is possible."

"It appears that way. I haven't looked into anything on her yet."

"I need to pack a bag."

"You don't think that is a little premature? She could have been trained to kill you."

"We will still do background on her. But if I have another child, I want to meet her."

---

Marinette was frantically gathering things she needed while holding her phone to her ear, talking to Nino. She grabbed her bag, a hanging garment bag and a stack of bakery boxes. She looked over and glared at her bag with the decorations before setting down the boxes and reaching for the straps of the bag.

"Argh, this isn't working right. I need more hands."

"You are trying to carry too much. I knew you would do that. It's why I planned ahead and got you a ride." Nino's voice came through the receiver after he finished laughing at her.

"The hotel is not far away. Who would give me a ride?"

"My buddy Adrien. He should be arriving any minute."

Marinette looked up as the bells on the door chimed. Adrien walked in followed by 2 men in business suits that Marinette couldn't help but admire. She jumped at him with a fierce hug, forgetting all about her phone call. Her phone flew off her shoulder right at the older of the 2 businessmen. His blue eyes danced with amusement at her shocked expression as he caught it easily.

"Oh wow. Thank you so much. I'm sorry for throwing it at you. That was so cool." Her excited voice stilled as she realized she was still against Adrien, having frozen in their hug. She pushed away and reached for her phone.

"Thank you again." She turned back to Adrien. "And thank you for the ride. I have so many things to carry."

Nino's voice came through the phone, "what is happening?"

"Oh, sorry Nino. I kinda threw you away when I saw Adrien."

"Don't I mean anything to you? What about our love?"

"I couldn't help myself. When I saw him with the sun shining in his gorgeous golden locks it was all I could think about."

Adrien raised his eye brow at her but she waved him off with her hand and gave a conspiratorial wink.

"You've gutted me." Nino said.

"I'll set you up with my best girl. She is 16 and I know you have a thing for older women."

"Well I can't have you, baby. I guess I'll meet her."

"Ugh. Too far Nino. Don't ever call me baby again. Even as a joke."

"But you are baby."

I'm hanging up now."

"Don't forget your shoes."

"My shoes!" Marinette ran off, shoving her garment bag and her phone into Adrien's hands, she rushed back to her living room to get her shoes to go with her party dress.

---

Bruce and Tim hadn't been sure that they would see the girl when visiting the patisserie owned by her parents. But when they entered the establishment they quickly recognised the girl buzzing around as the same one they had researched after learning she shared Bruce's DNA. When he met her eyes, in the moment he handed her phone back to her, there was no mistaking that she got his eyes.

They took just enough time deciding what to try so they were able to see her as she went in and out several times collecting all she needed from what they gathered was her best friend's birthday party. She kissed her parents on the cheek and promised to see them tomorrow before she zipped back out the door the last time.

As the men walked back to their hotel they talked about how they should proceed. None in the family seemed to recognize them and they weren't sure how she came to be with them even though she was Bruce and Talia's biological child. When they arrived back at their hotel they were surprised to see the same girl unloading all the things she had packed and giving direction to the others gathered with a confidence she hadn't seemed to possess before.

All those working for her were occupied setting up decorations, sounds equipment, or tables for gifts and treats as she guided the bodyguard of her friend from the bakery in how to carry the massive cake and where to place it. When he finished and was heading out she offered him a small package from the bakery when she thanked him for all his help. Then she was off setting up for her friend's arrival.

It was odd for Bruce to realize he was feeling proud watching her. Then he had to pull himself back when he realized he was watching her. Actually it was Tim who pulled him away so he wouldn't be noticed watching a teenage girl he had never really met. They headed back to the rooms they rented. They both entered Tim's room where his computer was still working on finding information on the couple and their daughter.

---

Marinette was feeling very antsy. She had set up the perfect surprise party with Marlene Cesaire for Alya's 16th birthday. Mostly successful because it wasn't a surprise. Alya was dropping off the twins with her mother at the end of Marlene's shift in the hotel kitchen before she headed to Marinette's house for a small party in the bakery and a sleepover.

Alya had no idea how big her party was going to be. Since the hotel wasn't full and the ballroom hadn't been booked, the mayor allowed his chef to book two rooms and the ballroom and just pay for the staff to clean it rather than the typical rate. He was even allowing the teenagers to stay unaccompanied so long as they didn't destroy the room or disturb other guests (too much).

Marinette had made her a special dress with a matching hero mask and told everyone to dress as a hero or wear a mask. Kitty Section would be playing for a bit and they had a bunch of party games and songs to dance or sing to so Alya could choose the activities. Most of the people coming would be staying in one of the 2 connected hotel rooms so that party could go really late.

She got Nathanael and Marc to sit nearby and watch to warn her when Alya was close. They weren't super close to Alya so it wouldn't raise suspicion if she saw them, she would probably just stop to greet them but let them keep working. That would give them the perfect opportunity to call ahead to make sure everything was ready for her arrival.

Marinette was already regretting inviting Lila. She was not only actively not helping but she was getting in the way of everyone who was helping. She had to explain how it would have been better if the tables had been moved or if the color scheme was different. She thought hotel parties were tacky and the way her last party was was so much better because she only included her closest celebrity friends. But also the party was actually her idea and she was letting Marinette help out and take the credit so she wouldn't feel left out.

---

"I think I found something." Tim said.

Bruce walked over to look at the screen. Tim showed him Sabine's medical records from 16-18 years ago. She and Tom had been seen by a fertility specialist originally almost 18 years ago. A series of appointments after that escalated to several visits at a facility that specialized in in vitro fertilization. As far as they could tell the couple had set it up to have a genetic child but with assistance but the company had logged 2 security issues during the same month they visited. The company kept it quiet because they could find nothing out of place after the breech. One new employee worked there during that time for only 2 months: Nyssa Raatko.

"I don't know what to do'" Bruce paused. "Tell them. I definitely need to tell them."

Bruce has mostly been talking to himself while Tim was in the other room distracted. Tim heard the door latch closed after Bruce left and he had to think about what he had heard while he wasn't paying attention in order to put together why Bruce had left.

"Oh, that is a terrible idea," he said. He worked on getting his key, wallet and phone into his pockets while he slipped his shoes back on. He followed after Bruce planning to catch up with him. He walked a block in the wrong direction before he realized his mistake and back tracked to get back to the patisserie.

---

"Okay, I got the call. Alya will be here in about 1 minute. Places everyone." Marinette called out.

Everyone waited and suddenly the ballroom doors burst open. Etta and Ella had been very excited to be told it was their one chance to run away from Alya and into the ballroom. They usually were scolded for going in there. It was of limits because it might be used for an event and no one wanted them to mess things up.

Alya chased them into the room and shrieked when everyone jumped out and yelled:

"Surprise!"

"Oh, this looks awesome. How did you do all this? There is no way we can afford this." Alya said.

"Honestly, Marinette did most of it." Marlene said. "She cleared it with me and Mayor Bourgeois. I think she had a back up plan but the ballroom and the 2 guest rooms are yours because they didn't sell. He let me just pay the cost for the hotel so long as nothing is destroyed and you don't run off guests."

"Girl, this is amazing!"

"I brought you a dress to wear. I told everyone it was hero classy so there is a mask to match."

Alya pulled her into a hug and then dragged her off to change into the new dress.

---

"Welcome back. We are closed but we will still offer anything we still have available." Tom said.

"I enjoyed what I had here, but that isn't why I came. I need to talk to you about your daughter." Bruce said.

"Marinette? What happened? Is she okay?" Sabine's mind went to all the things that could have gone wrong in the last hour as she looked around for her phone.

"Nothing has happened to her, but she recently sent off for DNA and ancestry results to a company I own."

"We don't know anything about that. Was she supposed to get a parent signature because of her age?" Sabine asked.

"No. It was flagged because her DNA is a match to mine. Also a full match to my biological son. She shares the same mother as him."

The room was silent for several beats before both of them denied that what he said could be possible. He let them continue for a moment before sharing what he had learned. He explained that his genetic material had been stolen by Damian's mother and from there he believed it had been stolen by her sister for an unknown purpose. He told them he found a record of her working at the fertility clinic they had used and the company had noted a couple security breeches during that time. He continued by suggesting she had probably chosen them based on a similar ethnic makeup to himself and the mother.

They listened with increasing agitation. The man before then appeared to be very well off and he mentioned that he owned the company as more of an afterthought. They suspected he had quite a bit more money than them and he said he had custody of the other child he mentioned. They shared a look and thought they might be having the same thought that this man intended to take their child away from them. They weren't sure who legally had the right to a child in such cases. But they had heard of custody issues with couples who needed to use donors during in vitro fertilization. They had been relieved that they were able to get pregnant without using a donor. They all turned as the door opened and Marinette burst in obviously angry.

"Hold me back from that little Italian witch. I am going to rip her weird pseudo pig tails off her head and thrash her with them. Then I'll cram them down her throat so she can never lie again."

All eyes turned to Marinette as she came into the room. Based on her appearance she was probably heading up to her bedroom to change her dress. The bodice of her dress was smeared with icing after Lila 'accidentally' tripped into Marinette. Marinette then accidentally dropped her so she fell but that didn't save her dress.

Marinette looked at her parents as she felt the tension in the room. Her parents had moved to place themselves between her and the stranger in their living room. Marinette looked around but no one spoke. She didn't know how to read the unusual look on the man's face but her parents looked like something between scared and angry.

"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked.

"I was just heading out," the man said. He reached a hand out, smiling. "I'm Bruce."

"Marinette," she responded while shaking his hand. She looked back at her parents and now she couldn't tell what their expressions meant as Bruce walked out.

Next

[anothertimdrakestan]

Marrying Each Batboy HC! (insanely soft and fluffy)

req: "Hi!! I hope you’re having an amazing day! I love your account // it’s literally platinum. I was wondering if you could do maybe do a planning your wedding with the batboys/YJ boys too of you’re up for it?? Thank you! 💕"

i'm always up for it! thank you for the wonderful compliment i'm honored 🥰🥰🥰! I shortened this to just the batboys because i went off and realized i didn't want this post to be like a million words so i'm calling this part one! part two with yj boys will be up in a couple hours or so! i hope you enjoy!

CHECK PT 2 WITH YOUNG JUSTICE BOYS!

Dick Grayson

- tell me dick doesn't follow you around like an excited puppy showing you millions of choices for your wedding

- he's convinced he can bake the wedding cake but after THREE different tries it's a definite no unless it's a cereal cake but that's honestly still too risky

- everyone knew dick was going to marry you

- partially because he'd been telling everyone since your started dating, some people genuinely thought your name was Y/N Grayson because your loving boyfriend/fiancé only used that name

- the only downside to marrying dick is the invitations

- this man has led/worked with/trained almost a hundred heroes then add that to all his random friends he makes while in adventures PLUS all his coworkers PLUS all their s/o PLUS all your friends and family

- because you're marrying dick, damian takes it upon himself to perfect everything for you but only you know this

- lil dami shows you his sketches of bouquets, hair styles, wedding center pieces, and small swatches of color schemes he knows you'll love

- nothing makes dick happier than his little bro wanting to make your day perfect, he loves watching you and damian excitedly sketch designs and will do everything to make your dreams come true

- dick's biggest thing he wants is a first dance with you, he will convince you to take ballroom classes to shine on the dance floor and he looks forward to whispering in your ear while holding his wife to his chest for the first time, swaying you to your favorite song

- dick has dreamt of marrying you since the day he met you, his excitement is unmatched and heart warming, every night he'll tell you how he can't wait to marry you, and you know that if you're marrying your lover boy nothing else matters because it'll be perfect.

Jason Todd

- jason won't want to wait to marry you

- after the proposal, during which he cried like a baby, he's ready to marry you the next day against his families wishes

- they want to watch The Red Hood settle down with the person that makes him good, Dick threatens to abduct you if you try to elope without him

- this causes for a quick venue pay out by Wayne Ent. and simplistic decorations and a small gathering

- you invite close family and friends and jason begrudgingly invites his entire family

- you get jason to agree to wait a month or so to get married on the grounds that there will be an open bar and buffet for his dining pleasure

- originally he tried to feign annoyance but as the days went on he slowly crept into the planning, pointing out how beautiful red roses look in bouquets and that he actually didn't mind the lace table covers paired with the satin napkins and silvery tableware

- jason's family each plan to give hilarious toasts to the newly weds to jason's disgust but secret excitement

- jay will demand a honey moon, but he won't tell you or his family where it is

- you'll take the time during the honey moon to give your vows in private, making soft promises and loving remarks between just the two of you, because your love is the reason for the union of your lives, and the promises you make are so personal and loving they seem better to be made in private with the love of your life

Tim Drake

- before any wedding planning tim would take either your best friends or family out and ask for permission to marry you, not because you're property to held but because he wants to prove to your loved ones that he'd do anything for you, and he knows that their approval is everything to you

- your best friend would totally pull his leg and be like "hmm i don't know i thought you and y/n were just friends?!" and tim would almost pass out until "UM DUH IM KIDDING THEYRE TOTALLY HEAD OVER HEELS FOR YOU TIM HAHA OF COURSE YOU CAN MARRY THEM!"

- tim would want a destination wedding, somewhere beautifully foresty and green, surrounded by the cleanest air and the best views

- he likes the idea of marrying outside of Gotham because you remind him he's more than just a ceo or hero, you show him the beauty of life and he'll want to portray that through the venue itself

- he might struggle with the anxiety of wanting to impress everyone who's coming or question if the wedding is cool enough

- reminding him it's just you and him, surrounded by your loved ones, the people who never expect perfection and love each of you for you!

- he takes the "to be married can't see other" saying very seriously, refusing to tell you about his suit other than the color and almost fainting if he sees anything that looks like a white dress or fancy suit anywhere near him for fear it's yours

- if you'll let him, he'll hire a wedding planner to take the pressure off your shoulders

- he'll send you on cute day trips to get massages, manicures, facials, or other fun activities in the days leading up to the wedding to pamper you

- tim would want to take pictures at the wedding, he's often busy with heroism or work trips so he wants the best day of his life memorialized by the best photographer money can buy so he can have the photos forever to remind him that he won the only game that truly matters, and if everything seems bad he'll always have you

Damian Wayne

- damian might not have understood the concept of weddings for a while, if he knew he loved you why did there have to be a big party to secure it?

- whay gets him hooked on the idea is the decor, he loves getting to sift through design ideas and concepts making the most extravagant designs for the two of you

- he also would take special time on your ring, he'd spend months drafting and finalizing a ring created by him, a design that no one else in the world would ever have but his beloved

- the ring would be delicate and expertly designed, he'd include little ridges to fidget with because he knows you like to toy with your jewelry so he'd try to make the ring beautiful from all angles, he'd engrave the inside of the ring with a saying personal to just the two of you so that you knew his love was sitting right on your finger

- dami might get stressed before the wedding, the night before instead of sleeping separately with his bachelor party he'll sneak into your bedroom and you'd both spend the night talking about your future and how nervous but excited you were

- that night was your vows, it was private and soft and loving, it was perfect. there was no need to try to perfect a speech in front of thousands when you gave damian your promises the night before the wedding, held tightly in his arms while he swore the same

- that's a common theme for your relationship, damian comes to you when he's scared or nervous, he trusts you infinitely and rushes to your embrace when he thinks no else cares for him

- the day of the wedding you and damian will do a first look, there are beautiful pictures of damian's watery eyes meeting yours as he admires how perfect you look

- embracing him as he tells you all his vows still stand forever and always, then parting ways only to be married in a few hours, it all felt beyond perfect, your forever and always.

[night-fallz]

It's getting better . . . right?

A small dive into how Damian’s life at school is.

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

Ao3 // Wattpad

previous II next

I'm confused (Part 2)

As Damian stepped onto the school grounds, he couldn’t help but feel a small amount of relief.

It was like school was the only place where nothing changed. Everyone treated him the same way they’ve always treated him before.

Even though Damian chose to listen to his heart, he still struggled to accept the fact that people cared for him.

The school was the only place of normalcy he had left.

Suddenly, Damian felt someone push him against a brick wall, driving him down on his knees.

He embraced the pain that he was feeling.

You wanted this.

You deserve this.

His face was forced upwards, causing his eyes to meet his tormentors.

Damian immediately noticed the face of the guy who pushed him.

Max Thornwell.

The guy was Damian’s age, 15 years old, yet he towered over Damian with a few inches.

The guy was adequate-looking. There was nothing special about him, blonde hair, brown eyes, and lean-ish build. But, the guy walked with the confidence of Superman. Like he ruled the school and no one could take the throne away from him.

Damian hated him but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to make the situation worse.

If he did, he would get in trouble again. And his father would send him the disappointed look that made Damian feel worthless. Then someone would make a comment about how he isn’t fit to be Robin anymore.

Damian needed to be Robin.

The feeling of freedom he felt when he put on the costume made him smile with glee.

If Damian believed in Greek mythology, Robin would be the string of his life. Take Robin away from him and he would be gone. Like a turtle retreating in his shell.

Without Robin, Damian would be a nobody with a family of somebodies.

He would be the shadow that no one notices. The one that everyone forgets. They would only realize he was there when they needed something. Or when they had a comment to make that’ll chip away the small amount of confidence he had left.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, Wayne.” Max’s voice snarled, “Don’t tell me that you’re a pussy as well.” A cruel smirk settled in the blonde’s face as he heard the laughter of his peers echoing around him.

He kicked Damian in the stomach, causing the boy to wheeze in pain in front of the unexpected attack.

The laughter only got louder.

Tears began to form in his eyes but he refused to let them fall.

He would not cry in front of them.

Max leaned in, whispering in Damian’s ear so only he could hear what the boy was saying. “Don’t you think it’s sad that no one is defending you? Never forget the fact that no one likes you. The fact that one loves you.” he roughly shoved Damian’s shoulder, “Remember your place.”

Damian gritted his teeth. His body ached all over and it was like the headache he got a week ago came back.

He forced himself to reach for his backpack, only for someone to grab it right before his hand could even touch it.

His green eyes met cold blue ones.

Michelle Chuxtre.

Damian didn’t know much about her. But he heard many people comment about how “hot” or how “fine” she is. He guessed that she was one of those popular kids, meaning that she was probably there to have her fun at tormenting Damian.

As Damian stared at her, he understood how people could call her pretty. Her features would fit the beauty standard— blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and a slim figure- but the mocking smirk she wore on her face made Damian feel uneasy.

It didn’t help that her eyes seemed to glint maliciously as she studied him.

She quickly glanced at the dirty backpack she was holding and her smirk only grew wider. “What are you hiding here?” she sarcastically asked, unzipping his backpack.

Damian winced, seeing all of his supplies fall on the ground.

She looked pleased with his reaction, stepping towards him, her shoe landing on one of his notebooks. “You understand why I had to do that right?” her voice was sympathetic as if she was actually sorry for her actions. “I just had to make sure you weren’t going to bomb the school or anything.”

Damian understood the implications of her sentence. She made it obvious enough so that the people around him understood it too.

Once Michelle left, the people around him soon followed. Their entertainment was done for the morning.

Even though Damian admitted that he was relieved at the fact that everything at school stayed the same, he couldn’t help but want to let a few tears fall.

You wanted this, he reminded himself, this is your fault.

As Damian struggled to get up, he noticed someone holding their hand out to him. He studied that hand for a few seconds before realizing that she wanted to help him up.

It’s probably a trick, his head supplied, she’ll probably push you back down.

Damian assumed that his head was right, so he accepted her hand wanting to get everything over with so that he could get to his classes. The girl pulled him up, kneeling and picking up the dropped objects from the ground.

He looked at her with confusion, “What are you doing?”

“Helping you.”

His voice faltered, “But why?”

She froze and turned to him.

It was the first time that Damian saw her face properly. She was new. The girl was no doubt Filipino. She had the trademark dark brown hair that glowed in the sun. Though, he could see that she had blonde highlights as well. Her eyes were the same as her hair. At first glance, you would believe that they were black yet in the sun, they were a beautiful golden color. She also had the same tone of skin as him.

Judging by the uniform she was wearing, she was going to be attending school with him. Meaning that they would be the only two people that weren’t white in the building.

“Because you needed help.” the girl firmly said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he winced in pain as he tried to walk, “I’m used to it.”

I asked for it.

“That’s not something you should get used to,” she firmly said, handing him the dirty backpack.

“Thank you.” He muttered softly.

“You’re welcome.” The dark-haired girl gave him a bright smile, “I’m Auda. Auda Arison.”

He returned it with a hesitant smile, “I’m Damian.” he repeated her gesture. “Damian Wayne.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Damian.” she looked around, realizing that there wasn’t another person in sight. “Since there’s no one else here, can you show me where the office is?”

Damian only nodded, walking forward as he gestured for the Filipino to follow him.

As they walked in, eyes seemed to follow them. Damian ignored them, used to people watching and silently critiquing his every move.

His eyes glanced at the girl walking beside him and she seemed deep in thought. She probably wasn’t aware of the eyes watching her.

They walked to the office in comfortable silence.

“Thank you”. she said when they arrived at the front.

“You’re welcome.” With those final words, he walked away, not bothering to give the girl a second glance.

—

Lunch was Damian’s least favorite part of the school day. He had no friends, so he had no one to sit with

And there was always a chance that someone would accidentally spill their food and beverage over him.

Damian wondered how his family would react if they found out what the kids in the school were doing.

Would they care?

Damian likes to think so.

But, his brain told him, they probably don’t.

Why can’t you just shut up for once? His heart complained.

Because you guys are acting stupid. It insisted. They don’t care. And they don’t!

Yes, they do!

No, they don’t.

Yes, they do!

No-

Yes!

His brain sighed, They only act as they care. It’s probably another scheme for them to humiliate and hurt you.

You’re wrong. His heart argued.

I hope so. His head resigned, I really do.

Damian’s back slumped against the wall, unable to focus on the book he was reading.

Did he make the wrong choice when he gave his brothers a chance?

Hopefully not.

He liked hanging out with them. He liked how they included him in things. And he liked how they don’t only talk to each other, so he could get insulted.

Damian felt someone grab the book from his hand.

What the-

Laughter echoed around the room as he felt water drip into his shirt. He shot up from his chair, trying to figure out what just happened.

His eyes analyzed the room. The librarian was gone and a crowd of 6 people was crowding him.

He notices that Max was holding his book, flipping through the pages before throwing it to one of his friends.

“Are you planning on bombing the school or something?” Max taunted him.

Damian rolled his eyes, “No. That book was just in Arabic” he couldn’t help but spit it out.

Max only smirked, “So the little terrorist finally started to talk.”

Damian tried not to flinch.

No fights. He reminded himself. Father will take Robin away.

Damian took a step back, hoping that Max would see it as him giving up.

It worked.

The boy’s face stretched into a victorious grin. “For a Wayne, you sure are pathetic.”

Someone held Damian’s arms so that he couldn’t run as Max walked slowly forward.

Like a predator stalking his prey.

Damian didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just break away from his peer’s grip. But if he stayed, he would be left at Max’s mercy.

He scared Damian in a way that no villain ever could.

When Damian fought a criminal, he usually knew what the outcome would be. He would either live or he would die.

And he was fine with that.

But socializing?

It wasn’t his territory.

Damian was created to be a perfect clone of Batman. He was raised to be a warrior. He was raised to fight.

To kill.

Damian didn’t know how to interact with people properly. He only somewhat understands social cues when it comes to manipulation. But when he opens his mouth, he would have no filter.

And why should he?

That’s how he was raised.

And he was trying so hard to change.

In galas, he could put on the act that people wanted to see.

He would be Damian Wayne, the adorable, intelligent, charming, heartthrob son of Bruce Wayne.

He would play it nice, entertain the ones older than him with his vibrant eyes and appealing smiles. Ignoring how they seemed to eye his skin with distaste.

He would pretend that he didn’t hear whispers of how he would be the perfect Wayne if it wasn’t for his skin color.

He would pretend that it didn’t hurt because they didn’t say it right to his face.

But at school?

People didn’t try to hide what they thought of it.

They acted like everything they did to him was justified.

It didn’t help that Damian never tried to fit in with them. He distanced himself, speaking coldly to anyone that approached him.

The students began to dislike him pretty quickly. In their eyes, Damian should’ve felt lucky that they had even given him a chance.

In Damian’s eyes, they were racist. It wasn't that hard to tell. Everyone at the school was white— teachers, students, janitors— you name it. And from how they treated Damian on his first few days, they also had a white-savior mentality.

Growing up, Damian was taught the stereotypes people had regarding their race.

It wasn’t pretty.

Damian remembered staying up late in the small space he called home, wondering how people could assume such horrible things towards a group of people because of another man’s crime.

It wasn’t fair.

But even at his young age, Damian knew that nothing in life was fair.

And he accepted that.

So Damian stayed, pretending that he couldn’t break out of his peer’s grip. Max’s brown eyes met him maliciously.

He held his hand out and someone handed him Damian’s book.

“How much do you like this book?”

Damian refused to answer.

“Answer me, brat.”

“That book does not hold any value to me.” Damian spat out.

“I don’t believe you.”

Couldn’t he just get it over with?

Max glared at Damian, unsatisfied with his reaction. He threw the book on the ground as he stormed out, his goons quickly following.

Damian let out a sigh of relief as soon as they were out of sight. He picked up his book, inspecting it carefully.

He needed to make sure that the book was unharmed. It was the one thing that his mom had given him before she quickly tossed Damian away like trash.

Stupid. He scolded himself, you should’ve known better than to bring a prized possession to school.

The bell rang and he quickly hid the book in his backpack, not noticing how a girl pocketed her phone with narrowed eyes.

—

Damian would like to say that no one else bothered him for the rest of the day. But that would be a lie.

His lockers were filled with more sickening messages and everywhere he went, glares and whispers seemed to follow him.

He just wanted to go home.

He wanted to be Robin.

No, he needed to be Robin.

He just wanted to get away from the school.

He didn’t think that he bothered anyone today. All he did was defend himself against Max.

Was that so bad?

Everything we do seems to be bad. His heart couldn't help but whisper.

His brain didn’t argue.

[artxyra]

I'm not entirely sure that your taking requests (I'm only 68% sure) but if you are can you try doing a daminette fiction based on the song Karma (cover by CMKC) with some class salt? (Maybe even some sibling jasonette or some daminette (or maybe even both...?😏) if you can) Btw I love your writing! 💜 (And before I forget thx for doing my requests, the previous ones and hopefully future ones 💜)

Note: This fics original idea had Marinette being akumatized into KARMA, yeah that didn’t happen when I was writing this one. 

I've lost my mind The skies are crashing around me I'm left behind Smoke obscures all that I can see

“Oh, look, honey, our daughter made her first dress. Get the camera.”

A doll sits on the windowsill overlooking the growing garden on the deck. The doll has blue straw-like hair, bright blue color buttons for eyes, and a black stitched smile.

“Get out! You’re nothing but a pest. How could I care for such a child when you couldn’t do the one thing you brought into this world for.”  

The doll no longer sits on the windowsill, but now lays on in wastebasket. No longer did the doll possess the bright stitch smile. Instead, the face lays bare without a stitch in sight.

“Hey, what are you doing out here all alone? What’s your name?”

“K-ka-karma…”

A small blue jay flutters its wings.  

“I’m Jason. I’ll protect you for now on.”

The blue jay chirps.

A bullet sounds off. A small pull of blood surrounds the bird.

“No!” A thunderous boom goes off in the distance. Multiple sirens join the assembly of loud music. A young pre-teen holds the girl close to his chest, blood oozing out of her chest. A hand touches his shoulder. He shakes it off. Never letting go of her.

Beep…Beep…the heart monitor comes to life slowly. Waiting for the young child to test its system. There is no movement. Then there is silence.   

A dark-haired, blue eye teen, stares into the mirror. Her eyes showing no emotions as her body is littered with markings ranging from cuts to words meant to demean a person.

“Marinette! How could you take credit for Lila’s design?”

The mirror cracks slightly.

 “You have to be an example, Marinette. Your peers look up to you.”

Another crack.

“Marinette how you be mean to that poor girl at your school?”

Another crack.

“I thought you were our everyday Ladybug.”

The mirror shatters. All that is left is darkness.

Marinette stares frozen in place. The gloss in her eyes fading away as the glass falls to the ground, blood in her hand as fragments of glass pierce her skin.

She gasps unsure what to do. Her hands never close as she stares at them with fear. The blood continues to ooze out. The room does dark. A thump.

Her frail arms wrap around her legs tightly. She doesn’t move.

When she comes to, it's by the rushing sound of running water. A waterfall, maybe. She looks up and all she can see is white.

“Why did you do it?” A voice pulls her away from the water. Quickly, she turns around but is halted by a pain aching feeling shooting through her body. She lets out a cry.

“I’m I dead?” Her voice was hoarse, she couldn’t even whisper.

“No,” The voice chuckles. The knobs squeal to life. The water stops following, no longer hitting her in the face. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

Her mouth opens but no words come out. She begins to breathe heavily like there was no air entering her lungs.

“How could you push Lila down the stairs? Here’s a taste to what Lila felt.”  One moment she was standing top of the stairs getting ready to leave, the next she at the bottom of the platform. Everything was hurting. Then darkness.

Marinette eyes flutter open, there the no hard tile beneath her like earlier but now cotton sheets and a blanket. She could feel her body move, one toe wiggle, two taps against her fingers.

“Jason,” She sits up pulling the blanket closer to her chest. There is no one there.

A wave of sadness washes over her. A glossy shine covers her bluebell eyes.

“Hey, hey, I’m here, Pixie.” The voice was comforting. She curls into herself. His arms wrap around her and pull her close. Whatever happened to her should have never happened.

He looks down, a soft snore escapes her lips. A smile appears on his lips. At least she safe and with him. No longer in that toxic environment.

A phone vibrates. It’s Marinette’s.

Jason unlocks the phone to see a series of messages. None of which are good. The hand holding the phone shakes. He tightens his grip. Slowly the screen begins to crack.

“You’re safe now.” He whispers into her ear. “Your big brother is here to protect you.” The remaining source of light turns off. He stays next to her.

“We are meant for each other M’lady. To halves on the same coin. You belong to me and no one else can have you.” Green eyes haunt her dreams. The cold feeling returns with growing darkness that was all too familiar.

She wakes up screaming. Tears rolling down her cheeks. There was no stopping the waterfall.

Jason runs into the room cursing himself. He knew he should have left but his family needed him for a mission life or death.

“You’re okay, Pixie, no one but you and I are here.” She continues to cry into his chest. He doesn’t mind the dampness he welcomes it. “It was a bad dream, Mari. A really bad dream.” His free hand caresses her hair, calming her down slowly.

“Todd what is the meaning of this.” His little brother asks over the phone. Jason watches as Marinette takes small bits of her food before swirling the remains in her bowl before repeating the process.

“It sounds like you miss me, Demon Spawn.” Jason jokes back, half into the conversation. He keeps his attention on Marinette. “Hold on.” He hangs up before Damian could retort. Marinette had pushed her bowl away from her and picks up the spoon. She looks at her reflection.

“Why would Adrien even spare you a glance. You are ugly, dull, nothing you would do would ever get his attention.”

“Argh.” Something snaps. It was the spoon. Breathing heavily, Marinette staggeringly gets out of her chair.

Jason helps her to the floor. He could see that she wasn’t going to make it far in her current condition.

“Am I not pretty enough.” Jason barely caught her words. He must burry any of the anger he has for those idiots for the sake of his sister.

“You’re magnificent, Pixie. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” He replies. His phone continues to ring with the familiar ringtone, He ignores it.

“Thank you, Jay-Jay.” Marinette closes her eyes. The ringtone lures her to sleep.

“You’ll never be a real designer, Marinette. One word from him and Gabriel will have you blacklisted from the industry before you even put your name out there.”

“I like to see you try.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, an aspiring fashion designer, has been blacklisted on the bases of copying designers for her work.”

“I told you, Dupain-Cheng, you should have back off when you had the chance.”

Marinette curls into herself as the memories flood back into her mind. She’s alone. The old TV flickers in the darkness. The channel continues to change as the voices, tone, and display changes with each click of a button.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” She murmurs to no one. Her grip tightens around the blanket.

“What the fuck, Todd? You’ve been gone for days on end and being all secretive.”

“I didn’t think you care about my well-being, Demon. I have a life outside of this shithole.” Jason says as he cleans the barrels of his guns. His younger brother growls. He could only raise an eyebrow.

“I will find out what you’re hiding Todd.”

“Good luck with that.”

Jason picks up his guns and disappears within the shadows of the Batcave.

“Pixie,” The door creaks open. A little bit of light enters the room. Marinette is sleeping on the couch, the blankets cocooning her. Everything seems fine.

“So, she’s what you’ve been hiding.”

“What the fuck?” A gun cocks.  

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, my sister in everything but blood.”

“Hmph…why is she here?”

Jason sets his gun down and shuts the door. He turns to Damian; the teen genuinely was curious.

“She needs helps and I’m the only one who can help her. Gina tried but the mental and physical abuse became too much to manage. So, for her protection, Gina sent her to me.” Popping the cork off the bottle, Jason pours himself a drink.

“Does father know?”

“If he did, she would have been adopted in the family by now.” Jason pours himself another glass. Damian scoffs at the out his brother is drinking.

“Ladybug is hereby declared an enemy of Paris.”

“Tikki, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  

“What do you mean you’re no longer going to be Ladybug? You’re a true creation soul. A true holder of the ladybug miraculous.”

“Find someone else to do it, Master. You heard the Mayor, I’m an enemy of Paris, no better than Hawkmoth and Mayura.” She hands him the ladybug miraculous. Her red eyes close at the thought of losing her best friend.

Marinette wakes up sweating, her hand immediately reaching for her ears. Nothing. She sighs and curls back up.

“She’s been through a lot Damian, whatever scheme you have in mind leave it be and forget about it.”

Swinging her legs over the bed, Marinette sneaks over to the door. The door opens just enough for her to rest her hand against the doorframe.

“Jay-Jay…” Her voice was a whisper again.

Jason pushes the bottle and glass to the side. He’s by her side examining her. She wasn’t hurt.

“Pixie, you should be sleeping.”

“I had another nightmare.” She tells him. “Who’s your friend?”

Damian shuffles in place. She’s so tiny compare to any of his sisters like the wind could just blow her over without even trying.

“I’m Damian.” He tells her.

Marinette gives him a curt nod. Her eyes lock onto his. They’re green. She could feel her chest tightening. No air could get in or out. The glossy look returns in her eye turn.

Sobbing Marinette screams out, “Je vais le faire, Chat Noir. Je vais le faire, arrête!” She slides the down the doorway.

“Shit,” Jason runs over to Marinette. She blocks her view of Damian. Her lock on the green eyes soon fades to blue. Jason’s eyes. She tightly wraps her arms around his neck. Jason rubs her back. Turning to Damian all while keeping him out of Marinette’s sight, he tells his brother, “We’ll finish this later. Your eye color triggered a memory. And Damian, do not tell anyone about her.”

Damian is frozen in place. So much had happened in the last ten or so minutes. He had met the most beautiful girl he has ever seen and then she has a panic attack, something clearly triggered by previous trauma.

“Okay, I won’t tell.” The youngest Wayne agrees but not without weighing the pros and cons. He left the small rundown apartment with more questions than answers.

Jason turns his attention back to Marinette, who’s sobs turn into sniffles. “He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t hurt you anymore, Pixie.” Marinette buries her head into Jason’s chest. She takes a deep breath. She can only hope.

Now you've used up all your luck It's time to get what you deserve I'm holding out for KARMA I'm holding out to watch you burn

Years past before Marinette was completely healed. Gina would visit from time to time making sure that her granddaughter was okay. She was ecstatic to find that Marinette was healing even if it was a slow process.

“Are you ready?” Marinette turns to Damian; his green eyes hold so much love and care for her than the green eyes she had grown to hate. Nodding, she takes his hand.

Beyond the doors, a series of lights flashes along with shouts. Reporters are in a frenzy trying to get the latest scoop on the Wayne heir’s beloved. Never once had she made a public appearance.

“Yes, thank you all for coming and showing my family your support. Today marks a very special achievement, my young son proposed to his girlfriend just a couple of days ago much to my second oldest dismay.”

Jason disrupts Bruce’s speech by shouting, “Hey” from his location next to Roy.

“Please welcome my son and his fiancée, Marinette Karma Todd.” Bruce steps away from the podium. The doors behind him open to show Marinette holding hands with Damian. She grips his hand tightly as Damian gives her a reassuring smile.

In Paris, several people are thrown in for a loop. Several lawsuits were issued. Collège Françoise Dupont, the school board was not happy at the treatment of one their student, a student that would grow to become one of the most powerful women out there.

Adrien Agreste, who was outed as Chat Noir, received a sexual harassment charge and a restraining order. The Wayne’s were out for blood and wanted to add attempted rape charge and compensation for all the trauma he had caused Marinette.

Lila Rossi, who managed to keep a tight grip on her classmates was finally exposed. Apparently, her latest lie was about being the mysterious Damian Wayne’s girlfriend. That backfired. She was then hit a cease and desist order along with a restraining order. Marinette had won the war.

Alya, who never learned to check her sources, lost any and every opportunity in her field. She even lost her job because she published a story about her best friend being the Wayne heir’s girlfriend. Thankfully, for the business, that article was only hosted in Paris, but the damage was already done.

Marinette never sent anything to her adopted parents. They didn’t deserve her. She was their servant, someone to help with the bakery. Though they were better than her birth parents, she couldn’t find it in her to ruin their lives. Gina became her legal guardian and that was that.

“I’m so glad that I meet you,” Damian says to her, placing a kiss on her hand. Marinette giggles and pulls Damian in for an embrace.

“I’m the lucky one. You would have thought this would be my future.” Marinette gestures to their growing empire. It was small but with Wayne Enterprise and Damian’s Veterinarian business, they were doing quite fine.

“Can I offer you a dance, Angel?”

“I would love that.”

No music plays just the beat of their hearts as one.

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[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Still a Little Bit Yours (Part 1) - fic

Characters: Jon Kent, Damian Wayne, bit of Tim Drake and Maya Ducard Pairing: jondami Summary: Damian broke up with him, out of the blue. It didn’t make any sense. But, as it turns out, there’s a reason why it didn’t. A/N: Damian and Jon are in their mid-twenties and no longer go by Robin or Superboy (but not really Batman or Superman either, Tim’s last line is kind of a joke.) Title, and maybe vibe of this part, is based on ‘A Little Bit Yours’ by JP Saxe.

Part One | Part Two

~~

The phone almost slipped from his fingers.

Damian…did Damian just say what he thought he said?

“…What?” He whispered near breathlessly. “W-what did you just say?”

“I said I think we should see other people.” Damian replied calmly. “It would be for the betterment of both of us.”

“Since when?” Jon snapped, anger flaring immediately, but instantly morphing into confusion and sadness. His heart breaking by the second.

They’d been together for three years. Secretly pined after each other for the two years prior to that. Had recently talked about moving in together. Had been happy.

Jon was so, so sure they’d been happy.

“Since…recently.” Damian hummed blankly. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

“And the thought of doing this in person didn’t occur to you in your fucking contemplation?” Jon snapped. “Christ, Damian, we were just talking about getting an apartment!”

“I’m sorry if I hurt you. I know this isn’t what you want.” There was a hint of regret in Damian’s voice, but not enough for Jon’s liking, so it only fueled his growing anger further. “I…I don’t know what else to say.”

“Oh, really? Three fucking years and this is all you have to say?” Jon hissed. “I know you’re emotionally constipated, Damian, but…god. This is low. Even for you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not!” Jon shouted. A store clerk nearby glanced at him. And that was right, he was in the grocery store. He’d…forgotten. Forgotten the whole world existed, forgot it was collapsing around him by the second, as Damian hummed those words. “Because if you were sorry, you wouldn’t have fucking done it this way in the first place!”

He heard a mother a few aisles down murmur to her children to not use language like that. That people who talked like that were pathetic.

“I…I don’t know what your game here is, Damian.” He whispered harshly.

“It’s not a game.” Damian promised. “I respect you too much to play games with you. I’m just trying to be honest.”

“But you don’t love me enough to break up with me in person, apparently.” Jon countered. He closed his eyes, wouldn’t allow the tears to fall. “I…Damian, I’m going to hang up on you right now. I…I don’t want to say something I might regret.”

“That’s fine.” Damian promised. Then again: “I’m sorry, Beloved.”

Jon scoffed and pulled the phone away from his ear. He hit the call end button so hard the screen cracked under his touch.

…Great.

He stood there a moment, trying to take deep, even breaths. But it wasn’t working real well. Each breath was trembling, and it’s like his lungs suddenly didn’t work, couldn’t hold any air.

Did he do something wrong? Did he say something? They’d fought before, all couples do. They were getting better at communication, Damian was coming out of that emotional shell the League of Assassins put him in.

They’d kissed yesterday. Jon had held him in his arms, had kissed his nose and told him how beautiful his smile was. Damian had laughed and held Jon’s face, stroking his thumb along his cheek.

And now…now they were here?

“…Honey?” Jon jumped as a hand gently touched his elbow. He spun to find an old woman in an apron matching the store’s color scheme glancing up at him. “Are you okay?”

The world around him came whooshing back. He was in the middle of the grocery store. He…he was sobbing in the middle of the grocery store. Fat, ugly tears rolling down his face as he practically crushed his phone in his hand.

“Do you need me to call someone?” The woman whispered.

“No, I…” He gently placed his shopping basket – half full of this week’s groceries – on the floor and backed away. He clumsily ran his nose along his sleeve, a trail of snot left in his wake. “I’m alright. I’m…I’m sorry.”

He turned and barely stopped himself from flying out of the store.

~~

Jon laid in bed for two days, exhausting himself racking his brain, trying to figure out what happened, what changed, what he did.

He texted Damian, almost exactly twenty-four hours after the fateful call, but the other never answered. Never answered any text Jon sent. Or any call that he drunkenly made after that. Didn’t even give him the knowledge of being left on read.

He cried a few times, threw things a few other times.

None of this made any sense.

He thought about going over to Gotham. Walking up to the manor and banging on the door until someone answered. Thought about staging a protest until Damian agreed to see him, if the door answerer wasn’t said boyfriend.

…Ex-boyfriend.

Tears welled up in his eyes every time he thought of the term.

Ex. Boyfriend.

Jon closed his eyes, buried his face in his pillow. Honestly, he thought they were going to get married. He thought they were going to be together forever. He wasn’t ready to plan a life without Damian, not yet. They were supposed to grow old together, die minutes apart like in the movies. Holding hands until the end.

He didn’t lose Damian to death, like he always thought he would. He didn’t lose Damian to space or assassins or even to grief in the potential loss of Bruce or Dick. He lost Damian because Damian…simply didn’t want him anymore.

God. They weren’t supposed to break up after three years. They weren’t supposed to part ways in their twenties. They weren’t supposed to end things for no reason.

He thought he’d gotten pretty good at reading Damian. His ticks, his quirks. What upset him, what didn’t. He thought he was an expert. The world’s leading expert in Damian Wayne.

Apparently he was fooling himself.

He sighed, pressed his face further into the fabric of his pillow. Tried to ignore the memories threatening to overflow. Of he and Damian in this bed. Kissing, cuddling, lazing. Of Jon promising Damian the whole world, and Damian countering with the whole universe instead.

He wondered if he should call Kathy. Or Maya. Hell, one of Damian’s siblings. See if Damian had talked to them, if they had seen any signs. If they knew of anything going on.

He just burrowed under his covers, and kept his eyes closed.

~~

In the end, he didn’t tell anyone about the breakup. Not even his parents. There were intergalactic wars starting and government coups commencing – they had more important things to worry about than their youngest’s love life. And judging by the fact he hadn’t heard from any of the Bats, he had a feeling Damian didn’t mention it to his family either.

Just as well. They were adults. They could handle this as just that. Adults.

So he wallowed in self-pity for a few days, but eventually forced himself up. Took a deep breath, dried his own eyes and distracted himself with continuing his life. Focused on his job, on heroing. The world kept turning, even if he and Damian weren’t together.

His heart hurt less as the days passed on. Not by much, his heart was still utterly shattered after all, but it didn’t hurt as much to inhale. Didn’t hurt as much to smile. Didn’t hurt as much to get a text or a call and it not be Damian.

Damian never answered when Jon tried to contact him. The first few days were understandable, but now the texts were housekeeping. Do you want your shirt back? I think you left Alfred’s cat treats here. I have a box of your stuff and your apartment key, if you’re in town soon, you can stop by and get it.

And still, like always, nothing. Damian was always stubborn, but now he was just being downright rude. It’d been almost a month now! Surely if someone as emotional as Jon could somewhat start to get over it, someone as stoic as Damian had probably completely forgotten about it by now!

He huffed as he watched a couple walk by the park bench he was sitting on, taking the momentary surge of frustration-induced courage to hit the call button on his (recently fixed) phone and hold it up to his ear.

They wouldn’t have to talk. This was just tying up the loose ends. Getting rid of the sentimental things. Getting rid of things that didn’t belong to him. That was all. That was all.

But the line didn’t even ring. It went straight to voicemail. And the frustration turned to hurt. Did…did Damian change his number? No, impossible. It still went to Damian’s voicemail, his phone was just off.

But Damian never turned his phone off. No hero did, and especially no one in the Wayne family. They were always on call, even when they shouldn’t be.

So, for Damian’s phone to be off…was he avoiding someone? Avoiding Jon?

He lowered his phone to his lap and stared at it. He was one of those people who put emojis in people’s contact names. Damian’s name was surrounded by the pink, growing heart, and the cat emoji that looked like Alfred.

He didn’t have the strength to take those away. Not yet.

He swallowed the lump in his throat that he didn’t realize was there, and put his phone back in his pocket.

He’ll just ship Damian his shit, then.

~~

He shouldn’t have. He really shouldn’t have. It’d make him the crazy ex. The ones Taylor Swift wrote songs about.

But at least once a day, he found himself listening. Tapping into his powers and listening for Damian’s heartbeat.

He didn’t do it often while they were together. Mostly because while together they were almost always together. Physically. So he could just reach out and hold Damian’s wrist. Put his ear to Damian’s chest. Watch the pulse as it beat along Damian’s neck.

It was a coping mechanism back then, used to calm himself. When the world got too much. When his day was bad. He could just focus on Damian’s heartbeat in any form. Drown the rest of the noise out.

Damian’s heartbeat now sounded far away, but Jon didn’t feel like pinpointing how far. It was slow and even, and that almost made him angry. Damian was calm. Damian was relaxed. Probably sitting at his easel drawing without a care in the world, while here Jon was listening for him like some kind of fucking lost puppy.

Every time he listened, it was slow and steady.

Stupid Damian, he’d think as he tuned his powers back out, furiously go back to whatever he was doing. Stupid relationships.

Relationships were overrated. Damian was overrated.

~~

“He what?!”

Maya’s shriek had Jon pulling the phone away from his ear with an amused grimace. He laughed as he switched the audio to be on speaker, and absently opened an app on his phone.

(A…dating app.)

“You didn’t know?” Jon hummed. His friend had called to ask some questions on a man she was tracking, someone who rumours said was from another planet. Kathy hadn’t known of the solar system, so she was trying the next best alien. As they talked, something about a crime scene came up, and she asked if Damian could help, if Jon could give him the phone. He had to break the news. “I thought you guys talked like…every day.”

“No way.” Maya scoffed. “Once a month, if that.” Jon could hear the frown in her voice. “And we did talk about a month ago. Maybe a bit longer. He didn’t say anything. In fact, he told me you guys were going to move in together, that he wanted me to plan a trip back to the States for a housewarming party.”

“Well…life comes at you fast, I guess.” Jon chuckled bitterly, remembering that call. He was in the room for that call, dozing in Damian’s arms, half listening to their conversation. He sneered at the choices the app was giving him. None of them were very attractive. “Because about a month ago was when he called it off.”

“Huh.” Maya mumbled. “I’m so sorry, Jon. If I’d had known that’s what he was planning, I would have beat the shit out of him. You were the best thing to ever happen to him, for gods’ sake! What the hell did he willingly throw it all away for?!”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Jon shrugged. This potential match wore a shirt that said Joker’s Biggest Fan on it, and Jon cringed instantly. “He didn’t give a reason. Just said that it was for the betterment of both of us, and that he was sorry.”

“Fucking turd.” Maya sighed. “I’ll call him here in the next few days, and see if he’ll tell me anything.”

“Good luck.” Jon drawled. “He hasn’t answered a single text or phone call since he broke things off. And I don’t know if that’s to just me or everyone.”

“You ask one of his brothers? Which one’s friends with your brother again? Jason?”

“Tim.” Jon corrected. He hesitated on this potential match option. Just stared. It was a woman. Dark hair, tan skin, standing in a desert. She was beautiful. And she reminded him of Damian. “And I haven’t seen or talked to any of them either. No cases have taken me out to Gotham lately.”

The next match had sharp eyes, ones that said they were smarter than everyone else. Cocky. That was like Damian too.

“Eh, they’d probably cover for him anyway. They’re all a bunch of freaks like that.” She grumbled. “Are you…doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” Jon lied, and he knew Maya heard right through it. “Time heals all wounds and all that. Better every day.”

“Oh, Jon…” Maya sighed sympathetically. Jon didn’t even have it in him to be embarrassed at her pity. Not when the next person on the app was standing on a rooftop, flag tied to his neck, blowing gloriously behind him. Looking far too much like every hero persona Damian’s ever been. “Hey – I’ll be back in the States soon. And I promise, I’ll make my first stop coming to see you so we can get drunk and stuff ourselves with pizza and scream about what an asshole Damian is. Okay?”

The next match was posed in the photo in a fencing match. Damian. The next surrounded by Great Danes. Damian. The next playing a violin. Damian. The next wearing a Batman costume at a Halloween party.

Damian.

Damian. Damian. Damian.

He sighed and closed the app. Stupid.

“Yeah. That sounds like exactly what I need, Maya.”

“Great. It’s a date.” She paused a moment. “Love you, dude.”

Jon hesitated, because he hadn’t said those words since Damian. Hadn’t thought them. Hadn’t wanted to think them, not for anyone. Not for family, not for friends. Not for a single person in his life. Still left in his life.

“Love you too, Maya.”

~~

Jon wasn’t a dreamer. He didn’t know if it was his Kryptonian side, or just how he was, but he didn’t dream often. And if he did, if he remembered them, it was only flashes. Only later moments of déjà vu. Never full sequences. Never lucid.

But…this.

They were in Kansas, out in one of Pa’s fields, lying among the wheat. Damian was flat against the ground as Jon laid over him, kissing him as hard and deeply as he could. They both had their arms around the other, grips tight and unyielding. Like if one of them let go, the whole world would disappear.

He doesn’t know why, but it was a noise Damian made. A quiet moan, and his fingers digging desperately into Jon’s shoulders that snapped him out of it. Made him realize.

This wasn’t real.

He began to lean back, pulled his arms from Damian’s shoulders to steady himself. Damian shifted too, but only to hold Jon’s face, to try and chase his lips.

“No, I…” Jon stuttered, his body wanting to do just that. Dive back in and devour Damian whole. But his mind didn’t let him, forced him to continue back until he was on his knees. “We can’t.”

He got to his feet and backed up a step, half turning away. Couldn’t bear the sight of Damian lying in the dirt, shirt half open and hair disheveled, chest heaving from arousal and exertion. “…Jonathan?”

“You’re not real.” Jon almost whined, running his fingers through his hair.

“Is that so?” Damian scoffed. “Since when?”

“Since I know we haven’t been back to Kansas in like a year.” Jon sighed, turning back. “Since I just remembered you broke up with me.”

“Absurd.” Damian laughed. Jon glared down at him, watched as Damian stood, and wiped the dust from his butt. “I would never do such a thing.”

“Well…you did!” Jon spat. “And over the phone! Not even in person!”

“You’re not listening to me.” Damian scolded. He raised his sharp gaze. “I would never do such a thing.”

“…What?” Jon whispered incredulously. “I just…I just told you that you did! And I…” He snorted, shook his head. “You’re not even real. Why the hell am I even trying to argue with you?”

“Because despite what you tell those around you, you miss me.” Damian sauntered over to him with a smirk, and poked at his temple. “Now I need you to use that big brain of yours and focus on what I’m saying. What it means.”

Jon looked down sadly. Gently reached up to take Damian’s hand in his, and turned so he could kiss his palm, could hide his face against Damian’s hand.

Damian just smiled warmly, stepped closer into Jon’s space. Cupped his other hand around the side of Jon’s throat. “Please just remember.” He begged softly. “I would never do such a thing. Never.” He leaned up on his toes, and pressed their foreheads together. “Not to you, Beloved.”

Jon leaned into the gesture, and parted his lips to kiss Damian again.

But then he woke up.

He woke up in the dead of night, with tears streaming down his face, and the memory of the dream burning against his skull.

I would never do such a thing.

“But you did, Damian.” Jon sobbed, clutching his pillow, curling his knees to his chest. Because it felt like his heart was going to tumble out, all the pieces that it had shattered into were going to come spilling out onto his sheets. “You did.”

He didn’t go back to sleep.

~~

Jon let out a low growl as he stomped out of the café. That was a bust. That was a huge fucking waste of his time.

But that’s what he got for trying to jump back into the dating pool.

The girl seemed nice enough in their limited texting interaction. She was cute and not purposefully looked nothing like Damian. She was bubbly and loud, and also not purposefully acted nothing like Damian either.

(Totally not purposefully. Totally.)

But he’d just spent the last hour listening to her rant about conspiracy theories that were already disproven one hundred times over, and rave about how Lex Luthor was the best and coolest and smartest person to ever exist, because he was rich and going to get them all to Mars. She never stopped to let Jon talk. Never stopped to take a breath for herself either.

Needless to say, there’d be no second date. He’d frankly excused himself with a lie to get out of this one early.

(And she’d already texted him about how great of a time she had, and she couldn’t wait to see him again, despite still sitting in the restaurant ten feet behind him.

Jon didn’t like to ghost people – not like certain ex-boyfriends of his – but this one…he couldn’t wait to.)

So it must have been fate that he chose that moment to leave. Not a few minutes before, or decided to suffer through the rest of his rendezvous. Because as soon as he walked out of the café, he spotted one Tim Drake coming out of the building across the street.

Funnily enough, Tim spotted him at almost the exact same moment. Except instead of waving or smiling like Tim normally would, his face visibly paled and his eyes widened, like Jon was the last person on Earth he wanted to see.

Jon frowned when he saw Tim glance around, like he was looking for an escape route. “Tim!” He called before the other could do just that, glancing up and down the street before jogging quickly towards him. “Hey, wait up!”

Tim took a step backwards, like he was going to try to bolt, but in the end stayed where he was, waited for Jon to reach him. Quickly pulled his phone out and scanned the screen before pocketing it again. “Hey Jon…what, uh. What’s going on? How are you?”

“Oh…been better. But trying to stay positive.” Jon laughed knowingly. Tim didn’t react. “How’s the family?”

“Good. Busy.” Tim shrugged. “Lots of, uh…stuff to do. You know how it is.”

Jon nodded, and the two fell into an awkward silence. Tim pulled his phone out again, but quickly threw it back in his pocket.

“How’s…” And Jon didn’t want to ask, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious. Wasn’t desperate to actually know, instead of guessing and assuming. “How’s Damian?”

But to Jon’s the surprise, at the sound of Damian’s name, Tim seemed to practically deflate. He threw his hands across his face, began shaking his head. “God, Jon, I’m so sorry. I know we should have called, or kept you in the loop or something. But we didn’t want you to become a target too or get hurt, or…”

“What?” Jon cut off, gut suddenly dropping. “What are you talking about?”

Tim peeked between his fingers, eyes narrowed. “…What are you talking about?”

“I…I haven’t talked to Damian since he broke up with me.” Jon murmured. Tim’s eyes instantly widened even more in surprise. “I just…wanted to know if he was doing okay?”

“Damian broke up with you?” Tim whispered. “When?”

“Um, I don’t know a month or so ago?” Jon shrugged. “Why? Tim, what’s going on?”

“How did he break up with you?” Tim demanded, suddenly all but lunging at Jon. His eyes darted between Jon’s desperately. “Was it in person?”

“No, it was over the phone.”

“What day?” Tim asked, almost giddy now. “What day did he break up with you, exactly? What day did you get that call?”

“Uh…” Jon pulled out his phone, and went to the call feature. He scanned the list until he found the one he was looking for. The one that ruined his whole life. “The seventh.”

“What time?”

“Like three or four in the afternoon?” Jon huffed. “Tim, why is this relevant? What happened?”

“Have you talked to him since then?” Tim continued, undeterred. “In any way? Text? Call? Carrier pigeon?”

“What? No! I…I tried calling him a few times, to return his stuff and all that, but he never answered.” Tim suddenly backed away from him, running both hands through his hair, like a case was just blown wide open. For the third time, Jon asked: “Tim, what the hell is going on?”

Tim hesitated for a moment, then looked Jon dead in the eyes. “Damian’s been missing for a month.” He said plainly. “He disappeared on the morning of the seventh.”

And just like that day on the phone, it felt like the world was being swallowed into a black hole beneath him. That the universe was disappearing around him, that it wasn’t real.

He could barely breath. “…What?”

“He, Duke and Cass were on a case in France. Without warning all three of them went radio silent. When we got there, we only found Duke and Cass half dead in a vineyard. They said they were attacked by a…a shapeshifter or something, lured them in by transforming into members of the Justice League. That they saw the shapeshifter and their crew dragging Damian away, but they didn’t see where to, or even what direction.”

Jon’s head was spinning.

“We’ve been looking for him day and night ever since. And when you didn’t come looking for him…” Tim winced. “We assumed he’d told you that he would be away on a mission, potentially for a long time. So your absence didn’t concern us. In fact, like I said, we were grateful. We didn’t want you getting wrapped up in this too, and potentially hurt.”

Jon was barely listening anymore, too wrapped up in what he’d just been told. That Damian had been missing since that day. That the reason Damian’s heartbeat sounded so far away was because he was, he was somewhere in Europe. That he wasn’t answering his phone because he was being held captive.

…That it wasn’t Damian on that call.

I would never do such a thing. Never. Not to you.

“…Beloved.” He murmured. Tim instantly stopped in his ramblings.

“…What?” Tim asked.

“On the call, when he broke up with me. First, he never gave a reason, which I thought was crazy. I guess…I guess it makes sense now.” Jon said thoughtfully. “But before we hung up. He said ‘I’m sorry, Beloved.’”

“…So?”

“That’s what Damian had me as in his phone. Not my name.” Jon explained. “Why would he still call me Beloved if he was breaking up with me?”

“…He would have said your name.” Tim said, the truth dawning on him. “The kidnapper wouldn’t know that. They wouldn’t know your name. So they called you what you were listed as.”

“And recognized that I was someone important to him.” Jon finished. “But…why? Why call me just to…break up with me? Why call me at all?”

“I don’t know. We can think about it later.” Tim was instantly back in detective mode, holding out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“Because we can track where that phone call came from.” Tim wiggled his fingers impatiently. With his other hand, he pulled out his own phone, typing furiously with his thumb. Jon realized that’s why he was checking it so much, that’s why he was in Metropolis at all. He was looking for clues for Damian, anywhere he could. “And that might take us to where this bastard took my brother.”

“...Need a ride to the Batcave?” Jon asked with a sheepish smile. “…The sooner we get there, the sooner we can track this fucker and find Damian.”

Tim pursed his lips in thought, clearly not thrilled at the idea of including Jon, not after they all tried so hard to keep him detached, but eventually returned the grin.

“Get us in the air, Superman.”

[soulmate-game]

Well that happened.

B!dbwm 2020

Day 6: Meeting the Justice League

Marinette paced in her bedroom in Wayne Manor, running her hands through her hair as Damian laid on her bed and played animal crossing while completely ignoring her freakout. 

“Dami, how did I get myself into this mess?!” she asked, frantically pulling at her pigtails. Her brother snorted, rolling his eyes unsympathetically. 

“You never use your brain until after you’ve already made important decisions,” he responded ruthlessly. “All of your mental capacity goes towards planning out completely inane things like birthday parties and actually caring about what our even more idiotic class thinks about you, so when you actually need it you don’t have any intelligence left to spare.” 

Marinette turned her eyes on him, the blue lightening to an icy color in her panicked annoyance as she glared at him. “Gee, thanks. I can always trust my darling brother to have my back,” she said sarcastically, to which Damian only smirked. 

“When it matters? Of course. But in this case, watching the fallout will be entertaining and not at all dangerous to your physical safety.” 

Damian and Marinette had been sent to live in Paris a few years back, about a year after Damian had come back to life. Marinette had been far too attached to the twin she had thought she had lost for good, and had nearly driven him crazy with how overprotective she had gotten. Right alongside that, Damian had started to become even more stifled by Bruce’s own protectiveness and distrust of him, so he quit being Robin and they were sent to PAris to try and “recover” from their “trauma” somewhere “safe and peaceful, under the jurisdiction of the JLE.” 

Yeah, that was a great idea. Up until they found out the hard way that the JLE had up and abandoned the Paris headquarters and taken up unofficial residence in England somewhere. And then Hawkmoth showed up. And of course, of fucking course, an old chinese man from the pacifistic organization that acted as a direct foil to the League where they grew up somehow decided that they, out of everyone in Paris, were the best people he could find to wield the power of tiny gods to save the city. 

Sure, he was right, but Damian chewed him a new asshole as soon they met for trusting complete unvetted strangers with the gods of creation and destruction. 

And now Marinette had finally managed to leak to Tim, who then spread the calculated slip of information to Bruce, that Paris had had a supervillain for the past few years and the JLE had been neglecting their jobs. Which turned into Batman setting up a meeting with Ladybug and Chat Noir (Damian had tried to tell everyone his name was Chance Noir, Dark Luck, NOT ‘chat noir,’ since the last thing he needed was to be associated with Selina in any way. Nobody listened, and now he was stuck with being called Chat Noir). They had a lovely discussion about all the shit Hawkmoth did, their lack of resources, and the lack of assistance/straight up refusal to believe their word that came from the JLE. 

Which led to Batman inviting Ladybug to meet the Justice League to debrief on the Paris situation. Damian had been invited as Chat Noir, but had taken the smart path and opted out. Now Marinette had to not only go to the Justice League as Ladybug, but also as Batman's daughter Hummingbird, who was being brought in for consultation along with Damian as Robin. 

“I’m gonna die again,” Marinette continued her catastrophizing, Tikki and Plagg sharing a glance at once another from their spot on her writing desk. “I’m gonna die of total embarrassment. Don’t bother resurrecting me Dami, I’m just gonna die all over again once Dad finds out who we are and kills me.” 

Damian snorted. “Hah. Father killing anything, good one,” he snarked back blandly. “You’ll be fine. Remember, you’re the planner and I’m the one with actual skill. You have the strangest ability when it comes to getting out of situations like these by the skin of your teeth,” Damian grinned at something on the screen of his Switch before continuing. “You’ll be fine. And if you sell me out, I’ll bury you myself.” 

Marinette stuck her tongue out at him. Neither of them wanted their dad to find out that they were LAdybug and Chat noir, especially since they had already explained to him the basics of the source of their powers. They were both certain that Bruce would completely ignore how well they had been handling the situation on their own for almost five years and jump straight to the “my murderous children should not be left with the powers of destruction and creation at their fingertips,” line of thought. Bruce had never trusted them alone before, why now? 

“At least help me, shaqiq?” Marinette asked, walking over and plopping onto the ground next to her bed, so she could look straight into her twin’s bright green eyes. At first, he refused to even look at her, completely unmoved. Marinette hummed mischievously, a habit that was the source of her Gotham codename. “If I go down, I’m taking you with me.” 

Damian finally huffed, scowling. “Fine.” 

He knew better than to doubt her. Marinette always got her way when she decided she was wronged and needed to even the score for something. Always. 

—* — * — * — * — *

Hummingbird. The smallest Bat, by far, and the fastest when it came to natural speed. Hard to spot, with the sole giveaway that a short playful hum could be heard if she thought she had her prey cornered. She was hardly ever wrong. 

She had also been temporarily retired as she and Robin moved to some undisclosed location to get away from the vigilante life for a while. Or so Batman said. And for the most part, aside from the occasional League gathering here or glimpse that they got of the two’s civilian personas if someone visited the manor while they were there, Robin and Hummingbird stayed retired. Heroes who knew them wondered if Robin had finally given up and settled down somehow, if he was even capable of it. And they all speculated that Hummingbird was so scarred from Robin’s death that she wouldn't ever be able to leave his side again, retired or not. 

 Seeing Hummingbird in her navy blue and black uniform, almost identical to her brother’s but for the thick navy blue scarf that covered her neck and lower face, everyone in the Justice League who knew her thought they were right. She stood there, older and only a little taller, never leaving Robin’s side as they traded secretive glances and hand signals only they understood. They didn’t make any attempt to stray from one another’s side. 

But Jon Kent, superboy and Damian’s oldest friend, was of a different mind. He had been by Marinette’s side after Damian died, and by both of theirs when he was brought back. This was not the same terrified dependence he had seen back then. His eyes narrowed. 

The twins were scheming, and nobody else would notice until it was too late. 

Quicker than they could blink, he was by their side with his trademark smile. “Hey guys! Long time no see!” 

They gave the half-kryptonian identical deadpan expressions, sighing in tandem. “You facetimed us last night. And you flew to Paris to visit us last week,” Damian pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “Despite us expressly telling you not to.” 

Jon shrugged. “If I listened to everything you two said all the time, we’d never have any fun. So, excited to meet this Ladybug girl? Dad says that your dad won’t tell him anything about her until she shows up.” 

Hummingbird and Robin traded looks before Marinette answered. “Not really. We see Ladybug in action in Paris all the time—”

“She even saved Marinette from an Akuma who was obsessed with wanting to date her,” Damian interrupted with an insufferable grin. Marinette elbowed him hard, making her brother wince before chuckling at her red face. 

“I could have saved myself just fine! It’s not my fault we have to lay low, or we might get kicked out of Paris for being past vigilantes!” Marinette argued, voice high as she protested how helpless Damian had made her sound. She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. Damian’s grin widened into a predatory smirk that showed off teeth.

“Oh? What about that one time that Tsurugi got akumatized, and Chat Noir had to save you because she wanted to duel you for the right to date me and you were cornered?” 

Marinette growled, throwing up her hands in frustration before smacking Damian’s shoulder angrily. He only laughed at her. “I’m leaving! Come find me when Ladybug finishes explaining the things we already know!” with that, a fuming and embarrassed Hummingbird stormed out of the room. 

“Huh,” Flash remarked, leaning against the wall. “She looks a lot better than the last time I saw her. And she actually left your immediate vicinity. Willingly,” he remarked to Robin, who glared at the speedster. 

“It’s been almost six years. If you think my sister is weak enough to be that thoroughly encumbered by the past for so long, you are greatly underestimating her,” he looked around to see almost all of the gathered League members staring at him. He grit his teeth and looked over at his father. “When is this woman going to arrive, anyway? You’d think she would actually be on time.” 

Just then, a portal opened in the middle of the room and Ladybug walked through. Quickly shedding the brown costume that allowed her to teleport in, she was left in just her black and red-spotted combat suit. Seeing as they finally found out how to alter the costumes the Kwami gave them, Ladybug’s hair now sat in a braided bun on the crown of her head and her costume was made to look more like Nightwing’s with the ladybug symbol on her upper chest and between her shoulder blades on her back, with black gloves that reached up to her elbows and black knee-high boots with red stripes up the sides. 

The brightly colored heroine smiled, seeming to light up the room with cheer that nearly put Jon to shame (it took her awhile to perfect that particular smile. She actually based it off Jon himself, and Damian was impressed by how accurate she had been able to make it over time. Not that he would say as much out loud). 

That was when Diana started choking on thin air, and Damian and Marinette both realized that they had overlooked something rather major. 

Hippolyta had been a Ladybug. Diana had met Tikki. Diana knew how to see past Tikki’s glamour. 

At first, Ladybug tried to play it off. Maybe Diana would catch on and help her out. So she walked over, holding her hand out for Wonderwoman to shake and putting on another wide smile for good measure. 

“Oh my Kwamii! It is so good to finally meet you, Wonderwoman, Tikki told me so much about you and your mother! Would you like to talk later—”

“Marinette Wayne, how in Zeus’ name did you become the new Ladybug?” Wonderwoman instantly yelled, making Marinette wilt. Damian tried backing away slowly, only for Diana’s eyes to then shoot over to him and narrow dangerously. “And you! I knew I felt something weird, but now I can pinpoint it. You are wielding the Black Cat! One of you explain what is going on. Now.” 

Ladybug and Robin instantly looked away, getting ready to make a quick escape right as their father walked up behind Robin, putting a firm hand on his shoulders. As always when Batman smiled, it sent a shiver down everyone’s spine. Marinette gulped a little. 

“I agree. Marinette, I forgot to tell you that we changed the locations of the League security cameras last night,” shit they were so busted. Bruce must have suspected them of something from the very beginning, stupid world’s greatest detective instincts— “But now that we have confirmed that my suspicions were correct, we can save that discussion for later. First, let’s debrief on the Paris situation like we agreed. Then, you two will explain why you decided not to tell me while you help each other clean the entire Batcave tonight.” 

Damian didn’t open his hand for the entire meeting. He and Marinette made eye contact as soon as everyone sat down for a suddenly very uneasy debrief, silently agreeing that they would not let their father take away their Miraculous. They finally had names and reputations of their own, away from the Batclan and their father’s influence. They had learned more about themselves and what they were capable of in those past years as Miraculous wielders than in all the years of the rest of their lives combined. They wouldn’t give it up, not even for Bruce’s approval. 

But when they got back to the Manor and began cleaning up the batcave as they had been ordered, they were surprised when Bruce made no mention of taking their jewelry back at all. And he stayed up with them, silently reviewing things on the Batcomputer as they cleaned. It could almost be considered family bonding. 

By the time the twins were done cleaning the sun was about to rise, and finally their father spoke up for the first time since they had begun their punishment chore. 

“I watched days worth of your Paris battles before going out to meet Ladybug and Chat Noir in person,” he said without ever turning around from his spot at the computer. “I was impressed. I still am. The teamwork was flawless, and the Parisian heroes never used deadly force. They even did their best to provide emotional support to the victims who were akumatized. I thought for sure at least one of you two would have been victims yourself, with all that you’ve been through. Anything can be a trigger for you, anything can make you vulnerable to Hawkmoth,” Bruce paused to take a sip of coffee. He didn’t have to look at his children’s reflections in the face of the Batcomputer to know they were drinking in every word he said. He did anyway, allowing a small smile that they couldn’t see to form on his lips. 

“I scoured through every akuma attack one by one, trying to find the one where one or both of you were the ones possessed. But I only found more reasons to be impressed by the heroes instead. By the time I was done looking through every scrap of video I could find, I had a feeling I knew who you were. Hearing your voices in person cemented it further, but I wanted video proof. So, knowing that Marinette would have forgotten about agreeing to accompany me to a JL meeting, I asked Ladybug to debrief us.” 

“You had us from the start,” Marinette sighed, shoulders slumping. But Damian said nothing, eyes wide as he picked up on the nuances of what Bruce was saying that Marinette was too tired to catch on to. 

“I’m proud of you two.” 

Then, even Marinette froze. The twins had identical expressions of shock on their faces, and Bruce finally turned around to look at them properly. For a long while, the three of them only made silent eye contact as dozens of emotions flew through the air silently, but understood. Then Damian and Marinette straightened up just and silently. Damian nodded to his father, Marinette gave him a vulnerable little smile, and then they both backed out and went to head to sleep. 

And once they were gone, Bruce sighed in content. Seems his meet-the-Justice-League plan worked out perfectly. He had finally managed to say something right to his two most troublesome children, for the first time. He leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the dark bat-infested cave ceiling as one more tiny grin played on his face, a little melancholy this time. 

Guess they never needed him to help them find their inner hero, after all. They had become even better at the whole hero thing than he was, and all on their own. Bruce closed his eyes, not noticing when Alfred draped a blanket over his body and left the Cave with a soft chuckle. 

--*--*--*--*--*

This sucked, but I wanted to give you guys something. So. here you go I guess? 

[ectonurites]

for the character headcanons ask, tim or steph

i ended up doing both LMAO

so for Tim:


A (realistic headcanon): i will stand by this being realistic but TIM CONTINUING TO SKATEBOARD! like okay yes in canon he only used redboard like twice, and once he had his car back he didn’t really rely on it, but he put the time into learning how to and really enjoyed it! i think it would be fun to see him do it more and like i think steph could also skate with him (altho honestly she has more roller skate energy to me but they could still hang out at a skatepark together) i also have this idea for a fic im at some point going to write of Damian finding redboard and Tim being like ‘oh i can show u how to use that-‘ and him being like ‘NO i will do it on my own’ but eventually it becomes a whole bonding thing for them

B (hilarious): other people joke about this a lot but Tim skateboarding around Wayne Enterprises will NEVER cease to amuse me. just the general chaos of a seventeen year old in a power position like that. I think like Lucius and Tam would keep record of stupid shit he does (skateboarding in the office, Interesting fashion choices, the mountain of mugs and takeout containers that build on his desk, his use of glitter gel pens on official documents, threats to pull a seto kaiba and make WE’s primary goals be trading card related, etc) and make a lil scrapbook to give him on his 21st birthday or something when he’s like Slightly More of an adult

C (heart-crushing): Young Justice being Tim’s first friends he can feel real around that he doesn’t think are going to just be temporary. like... i’ve done a lot of rambling about Tim and again we know he’s a kid who grew up going from boarding school to boarding school, he could make friends easily enough but they were very... fleeting. they weren’t meant to last and he went into it knowing that. even though at the start of the group he couldn’t tell them everything, I feel like Young Justice were just the people he eventually was able to be himself the most around, since he didn’t need to hide being Robin. (again him needing to hide being Tim for a while definitely created some distance, but it was very different than hiding the whole hero life from people he knew at home and at school) and then ya know the core four group moving onto the titans together further solidifying this sense of ‘we are a group who can get through stuff together’... until it all falls the fuck apart after Kon dies. and Tim & Cassie have their weird bad coping things. and Bart dies. i think for Tim it would just be so crushing to have the first group he was able to consider being more permanent fall apart like that (not to mention his dad and steph dying around the same time on top of it- being two of the other types of relationships [familial and a romantic partner] that had more permanence to him) and even when people come back and bonds heal, that sense of stability would just forever be shattered, he lost them once and knows that it could happen again and that fear would always be there in the back of his mind

D (canon is a coward and won’t): that he is bisexual LMAO

aaand now Steph

A (realistic headcanon): alright this is kinda canon related but okay. we have seen MULTIPLE alternate versions of Steph with really short hair (future state, that time she imagined herself as nightwing, earth-3) so i really feel like by current-ish canon she’s already thinking about chopping her hair off, like it’s one of those ideas that just every now and then she’ll see someone with super short hair and be like oh... i want that... but never really go through with it (like she’s had some kinda short looks preboot but i think the shortest was like a bob. im talking pixie cut here) and like im imagining maybe after some mission her hair gets caught on something or even burned or idk and she just says fuck it and her, Cass and Tim get back to one of their apartments/a safehouse after patrol and cut her hair in the bathroom at like 4am (yes im aware i place many situations in the middle of the night in the bathroom with friends... [like that timkon fic i wrote a bit ago] its just such a special setting okay) like Cass with the scissors Tim’s holding up a reference pic Steph found on pinterest. it looks great once it’s done

B (hilarious): the eggplant vs purple thing. i think that now in this post death metal world of dc, where everyone’s remembering things from before the reboot, steph should have a small mental breakdown about how she betrayed her old self by rallying behind the color purple (‘enemy of crime and people who hate purple!’) vs how she used to be so insistent her color scheme was eggplant (‘its eggplant. purple would look stupid’). everyone else is having their brains break because of like conflicting memories of their traumas (and she’s got that goin on too, dont get me wrong, she’ll get to freaking out about that later) but steph is just sitting there staring at a color wheel trying not to cry

C (heart-crushing): i’ve seen some fics explore this a little but i think she’d end up doing a lot of thinking about her baby that she gave up for adoption. like that was something she experienced so young and i feel that would just always be a lurking thought in her mind, where is the baby? is she happy? gotham’s a dangerous city, there’s a lot to be afraid about there. Not that she wouldn’t already because she is just a caring big sister type of person, but I think Steph looking out for all the kids in Gotham (especially once she’s batgirl) in some small part could tie back to wanting to make sure her kid is safe out there wherever she ended up. (additionally since she had a rough upbringing with her whole dad situation she just especially is protective over kids anyways. Sometimes I think she might get kinda insecure about it… maybe even question herself about why she’s saving people, is it because she genuinely cares or is it something more selfish? it’s definitely a self doubt i could see manifesting)

D (canon is a coward and won’t) not to be repetitive but also that she is bi i will stand by this