#bruce is already a grandpa to all of damian's pets

[theaceofarrows]

Damian: [walks into Bruce's office with his hands behind his back]

Damian: Father, I would like to congratulate you. You are now a grandfather

Bruce: [seconds away from a heart attack] W- what?

Damian: [reveals the hamster he was holding behind his back] Meet Ferdinand

Bruce: [slumps against desk] Next time... please- please lead with that... I'm begging you

-

Jason: [hiding in the vents with a camera] He actually did it, the crazy little son of a bitch

#damian wayne #bruce wayne #jason todd #incorrect batfamily quotes #batfamily #batfam #batbros #batdad #bruce is already a grandpa to all of damian's pets #damian was double dared by jason to do it so he had to #honor demanded it #can you tell these two are my favorites??

[lily-drake]

Gifts

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

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

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

“That sounds amazing, Bluebell.”

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

“Do you want to see what I got you?”

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

“Yes please!”

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

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

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

________

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

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

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

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

________

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

“Good morning Blueberry.”

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

“Morning Pixie-pop.  Sleep well?”

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

Jason shrugged with a small smirk,

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

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

Dick said pridefully.

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

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

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

They looked at her and smirked.

“Only in your dreams Pix.”

“You’ll see,”

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

“Then you’ll have to agree with me!”

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

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

“This is amazing, thank you Pixie, I guess I do owe you an apology, this is amazing.”

She smiled up at him while gently petting the top of her new hamster's head as it laid on her lap.

“Told you!”

For Dick she had knitted him a collection of stuffed animals that he talked about from the circus.  Alfred had helped her find the material and helped her when she made a mistake or needed help on a particularly tricky part.  She thought she saw Dick’s eyes water for a second.  The next thing she knew she was being tightly hugged, but he left enough room to not squish her furry child.

“Thank you Blueberry, it’s amazing.”

“Of course it is, I made them!”

He chuckled as he pulled away and ruffled her already messed up hair.

She had made Daddy a picture book and had decorated it with black and yellow glitter, bats, and different birds.  Throughout the book were all of the pictures that she was able to get her hands on dated and labeled in order from oldest photo to most recent.  He had a soft smile as he looked through the book and when he finally looked back up to his slightly nervous daughter he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

“I think you won this year.”

“Nuh ah!  You gave me a hamster!  There’s no way I could have won!”

“Well, I think all the others would agree that you thought of and made some very amazing gifts.”

She turned to look at the others as they gave gentle nods and thumbs up.  Her cheeks felt really warm and she smiled at them all.

“Thank you.  Now Grandpa Alffie needs to open his presents!”

Alfred smiled at the small child and opened the gifts he had received from the others.  Marinette had made and embroidered a new handkerchief for him.  He seemed to like it as he immediately placed it in his pocket.  She was the victor of this year's Christmas gift exchange, but she still felt that Daddy beat her.

________

As years passed and her family grew so did the competition.  Sadly, it would be harder to her her family their most desired gifts as she had decided to study abroad in Paris that year, but she would be da*ed if she didn’t try her hardest.  She had gotten better with her skills for making things over the years, and so much had happened.  Jason had died and come back, that was the hardest time of her life.  They had new people adopted into the family, and she even had a little brother!  She was going to meet him this year when she went to visit for the winter break.  She would have the glasses with her at all times in case there was an attack so she could quickly come back here and take care of it.

When she arrived at the Gotham Airport and saw her large family standing and holding a sign as they looked for her she ran up to them as quickly as she could.

“Pixie!”

Jason called out, catching the small girl and twirling her around.  She laughed and when she was put down created the rest of her family just as happily.  When she finally came face to face with her little brother she held out her hand.  Her family said he was more formal and was very against physical touch that he did not agree to or initiate.  He eyed her hand suspiciously before shaking it and giving her a nod.

“Damian Al Ghul-Wayne.”

“Marinette Wayne.  It’s nice to finally meet you Damian.”

They both let go after a firm shake.  She already had a gift for him, and Kagami helped her find the perfect one.  It was a nice blade, the blade was completely black, but had a red tint to it and red gains that delicately ran through it.  The hilt was of fine golden metal and a strong leather grip.  She had made the sheath for the blade.  With strong leather and an inner layer of Kevlar so the sword would be protected.  She had carved in Arabic symbols to spell out “Son of Bat” and had sewn a few almost unnoticeable small robins along the bottom and top of the inky black material.

For Tim, she had gotten him the best coffee beans in all of Paris and she had made him new lounge clothes that identified with his hero persona of Red Robin that had many hidden pockets and two large to-go coffee cups, one on each sleeve.

For Jason she had made him a new leather Jacket with book quotes embroidered all over the inside of the inner material.  There were lots of different pockets, and a few tailor made to fit his guns.  She had put a few Jagged Stone concert tickets in one of the pockets too.

For Stephanie, she had made purple silk pajamas that had waffles all over it.  She had even made sure that there was a hood connected to the pj shirt.

For Cass, just like Jason had done for her, gotten tickets for The Nutcracker.  She had also gotten her ballerina shoes, the best one and most highly recommended ones from the Paris Ballet.

For Dick she had made him an elephant onesie.  Why you may ask, well because for her birthday he had given her a mouse one.  So was it spite for being called short, or was it her trying to match, nobody needs to know.

She had made Alfred a new apron with the words “Don’t try anything, I already know.”  Neatly sewed in cursive into it.

She had gotten Babs a new eskrima stick infused with a bit of her luck in it so no one would underestimate her in battle as she would always have luck on her side giving her the upper hand.  She may be disabled, but that doesn’t stop her from kicking butt.

Finally, her gift for her dad.  This one was hard, because she wasn’t around to know what had caught his eye this year, and her siblings refused to tell her.  It was fine though, because she would figure it out.  And she did, or at least she had tried.  She ended up making him a bee suit jacket with everybody’s names sewed into the inner lining, multiple pockets for convenience, and black bats that would only be shown in the right lighting.  She would win this year, she would!  Sadly, Dick had won last year, but she would regain her crown again this year!  She would be the best gift giver of her whole family!!!

Taglist:

@queenz-z @aespades @fandomsaremylifeline @stainedglassm @toodaloo-kangaroo @prettylittlebutterflie @trippingovermyfeet @liquid-luck-00 @unoriginalmess

#Maribat #BDMWM2021 #bio!dad bruce wayne #marinette dupain cheng #marinette wayne #sibling au #sibling timinette #sibling dickinette #sibling jasonette #sibling daminette #gift giving is serious #to give or be given #mlb x dc #mlb x batman #dc x mlb #day 7 #fluff #maribat

[ecoamerica]

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#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[lost-in-the-world-of-fandoms]

"Can I get a pet, B? " - Day 4 (Bonding)

Gonna add "Pets" into this too.

here we have a little Marinette, and she visits him over the summers. She and Damian are the same age roughly, they are 11.

@maribat-bdbwm

it's late, i know...and short

Short, sweet, and wholesome 😊

we will begin now, enjoy!

-----

Marinette skipped her way down to her father's office. Her father had been in his office all day long! And she was only here for 2 more months. Dick had left to go to work. Jay-jay was at the library. Timmy was at school. Dami was somewhere in the manor. Grandpa Alfie was out shopping for food.

She also wanted to ask her dad something very important.

She didn't bother knocking on the door. Her dad was writing on some paper about something.

He looked up. "Do you need something, Marinette?"

She nodded.

----

When Marinette came into his office he didn't really know what to say. He was still working on this 'emotions' thing. What he didn't expect her to ask for, is for a pet.

----

"Can I get a pet, B?"

Marinette really wanted a pet. It wasn't fair that Dami got a pet already.

She wanted either a hamster of a golden retriever.

----

Bruce cautiously (cautiously because he didn't want her to start a looong ramble) asked, "What type of pet?"

Marinette bounced up and down on her toes.

"I want a hamster or a fluffy puppy!!"

----

And that is how Marinette and Bruce ended up at an adoption place (shelter? Idk I've never had a pet ever).

Marinette dragged Bruce all over the store to look at different animals until she found exactly what she wanted. Bruce tried to input his ideas, but she was having none of that. She wanted to get a pet based on her own decisions.

In the end, they went home with a golden retriever puppy, who Marinette affectionately named Gemma. Marinette also got a hamster, though she didn't decide on the name yet.

----

At home, Damian was found, and he, Titus, and Ace played with Gemma, Marinette, and Bruce while the hamster watched from her cage.

---

Alfred, Dick, Jason, and Tim came home to Bruce asleep with Marinette and Damian on each arm sleeping. Basically cuddling each other. Gemma, Titus, and Ace were curled around the sleeping humans, and the hamster fell asleep on her running wheel.

Alfred took pictures for a scrapbook. Dick took pictures for his album of family photos. Tim took pictures to show that Damian was human. Jason will forever say he took pictures for blackmail, but his family knows he took pictures because it was sweet.

------

Taglist:

@maribat-bdbwm , @prongs-flowers , @jayjayspixiepop ,

@queenz-z , @astrynyx , @liquid-luck-00 , @laurcad123 ,

@jumpingjoy82 , @nightlychaotic , @toodaloo-kangaroo ,

@iloontjeboontje

[genderfcker]

list of batfam arcs that dc should steal from me because we don’t want bad writing we want satisfying character arcs: 

(the list currently includes dick, jason, tim, and damian, but i plan on adding more batfam members once i learn more about them!!)

dick

out of all of the arc ideas i have, i like this one the best

the ric grayson arc is ignored

instead, you get dick deciding he wants to be a dad!

him doing it solo or with another person is optional, as well as if the kid is biologically his or adopted

but for the sake of this post, let’s say he’s adopting

benefits of dick going through the adoption process is that he can bond with bruce over when bruce adopted him

and ask for help with the process

the arc would be interspersed with flashbacks to when dick was first adopted

also it’s lowkey a bruce arc to because he gets to be a grandpa

and alfred gets to be a great grandpa

just imagine dick grayson as a super soft and good dad and you can get why i want this so badly

jason

jason’s arc is realizing he kind of missed out on the fun sibling stuff

considering how his first meeting with tim went

so jason decides he’s going to be more present of a sibling to his brothers

but he’s trying to balance his personality with what he knows big bros are supposed to be like - aka how dick acted as a big bro

hilarity ensues as tim and damian are really confused by jason suddenly being kind of nice to them

and there’s at least one frantic phone call to dick while dick is off doing nightwing stuff because jason thinks he done goofed with something

flashbacks of jason hanging out with dick pre-death/pit are going to be a thing throughout the arc

i just want the batbros to treat each other like bros is that too much to ask for

tim

tim gets therapy

not just a one time thing

but like he consistently goes to therapy

on top of all of his other vigilante stuff

he finally gets to process everything that’s happened to him over his time as vigilante

and just over the course of his life in general

and he learns some better coping mechanisms than shutting himself away

also tim starts treating his body better

in summary: i’m worried about tim and his mental/physical health, and dc should be too

(also, in case anyone asks: his whole decision to rename himself drake is completely ignored, OR he decides after all of his self-reflection that he’s better being red robin)

(or another vigilante name)

damian

with all of the other characters it’s kind of too late to give them a semi-normal childhood

but damian is still a kid so this works

damian’s arc? going to school

and staying at school

it isn’t necessarily an arc about damian getting friends - he already has them - but he gets to have friends outside of all of his vigilante stuff

he gets to deal with clubs, meeting new people, and also can have the (not so fun) task of trying to balance homework with being a vigilante

there can even be a fun field trip or two!

look i know he has a gritty and dark background but pls dc i’m begging you let this poor child have a break

also another thing related to this arc - he has to do community service to get into the national honors society or something like it, and his choice of community service is an animal shelter

and he gets really attached to the animals there

and his biggest argument with bruce in this entire arc is him wanting to adopt like half of the animals but bruce argues they cant take care of them on top of all of the animals they have

(damian still gets another pet or two out of this)

#batfam #dc comics #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #robin #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth

[awhitehead17]

Hmm... There was a Grandfather day few days ago, so maybe, for the prompt, batkids planning a surprise for Alfred and making Bruce distract their grandpa so thay could prepare the surprise?

This was a fun one to write! Thanks for the prompt and I hope you enjoy it! :D 

“Right, what ideas have we got so far?”

The silence that follows the question stretches on for far longer than it really should have. When it became clear that no one was going to speak up, Dick sighs and rubs a hand over his face before giving those gathered a pointed look.

“Well we need to come up with something!”

Five blank expressions stare back at him which makes him sigh again. There’s six of them all together and yet they still can’t come up with a decent idea on what kind of surprise they could give Alfred for Grandfather’s Day this year.

It’s not a usual day they celebrate but after everything that the elderly butler has done for them, he deserves some loving and care for once. They’d all be dead twice over if it weren’t for that man. Well, for Jason maybe three times at this point.

Dick and his siblings have decided that they would give Alfred a pleasant surprise in a way to show their gratitude, however no one can seem to come up with a decent idea on what they could do.

To his right Jason opens his mouth to speak up but Dick cuts him off before he could even voice anything. “We are not giving Alfred weapons as a present!” Jason instantly shuts his mouth and slumps back in his chair wearing a defeated pout.

Adjacent to Jason, on the left side of the table, Tim suddenly perks up and Dick cuts him off with a glare. “Alfred has no use for a state-of-the-art laptop. He’s often expressed his dislike for that kind of technology, we’re not getting him a laptop.” Tim opens his mouth a second time and Dick continues before the teen could say anything. “Not even if you make it yourself.”

Just as Jason had, Tim slumps back in his seat sulking. With little hope left, Dick looks over at the other three bodies sat at the table, wondering what kind of ideas they’ll stir up.

Steph wasn’t even paying attention, she’s busily typing away on her phone while twirling her hair around a finger. Cass happened to be staring at him, blinking slowly but otherwise not moving. He has no idea what she’s thinking. Finally Damian looks constipated, he’s staring ahead with his hands clasped in front of him thinking really hard about something. Dick hopes he’s not imaging what kind of kill or even pet Alfred would appreciate the most.

“Look Bruce has already agreed to help out with whatever we can come up with so financially there’s no problem. However we don’t have an idea yet!”

Silence continues throughout the room and Dick stands at the head of the table looking over his siblings impatiently waiting for someone to suggest something. Just as he’s about to give up and walk out of the room Damian pipes up from his seat.

“I may have a suitable surprise we can gift Pennyworth with.”

In that moment Dick couldn’t help but see how innocent Damian looks, just like any other pre-teen does with the last of his baby fat that’s yet to be shed and the self confidence that’s building up. But then he blinks and remembers that Damian is no ordinary pre-teen.

“Does it involve killing?”

Damian scowls as if the idea is preposterous. “No.”

Well one could never be too sure with that kid. “Any animals?”

“No.”

“Very well, please share your idea…”

It was the following weekend they decided to set up the surprise for Alfred. When it was actual Grandfather’s day they happened to be busy with a giant gang war across Gotham so it had to be delayed. Nonetheless they’ve managed to finally pull it together and set it up.

Damian’s idea had in fact been a fantastic one. Something they could all chip into and share ideas and how they could go about preparing it. Once they had it put together they shared the plan with Bruce who immediately agreed.

That Saturday Dick walks alongside Alfred and Bruce down the corridors of Wayne Manor heading towards the library. Dick had a feeling Alfred is suspicious and is aware something is happening but doesn’t know what it is. Dick and Bruce keep him distracted as much as they could as they walk by discussing random things, it reminds him of the time when he had been a child and it had just been them three at the very beginning.

They eventually get to the library where the doors are closed and Dick stops them just before they enter. He turns to Alfred trying his best to suppress a smile. “Alfred, the man of many talents and loving carer to many. We wanted to do something special for you to try and show how much we appreciate everything you do for us. Of course what we produce can’t even begin to replicate how special you are but we hope you enjoy it anyway. So surprise.”

Before Alfred could speak up Dick and Bruce swing the library doors open and suddenly there was a loud chorus of ‘Surprise!’.

Dick watches as Alfred takes in the scene. All of his siblings were surrounding the main table which had a large spread over the top of it. Scones, sandwiches, spreads, cakes, biscuits, tea, coffee and hot chocolate cover the table on a beautiful tablecloth and some special plate and silver ware.

They’ve done their best to replicate a British “Afternoon Tea”.

There were some old tunes playing in the background from an old record played that Alfred adores and they had the fire going which gave the room a warm comfort to it.

After a moment Dick checks in with Alfred, finding that the old butler hasn’t said anything yet. “Alfred you okay? Is this okay?”

Alfred brings a hand up to his mouth in a rare action of the man being shocked. “I don’t know what to say.” He says after a moment. Dick’s heart then skips a beat when Alfred wipes at his eyes, now clearly getting emotional over the scene. He quickly moves in and wraps Alfred up in a hug.

“Don’t cry Alfie! We just wanted to surprise you!”

Alfred takes in a deep breath and Dick lets him go. “Oh my boy these are certainly happy tears. I have to admit I knew something was going on but I wouldn’t have predicted this! It looks wonderful. I’m speechless.”

“Well that’s certainly a first.” Bruce teases lightly. He then nudges Alfred forwards. “Enjoy the afternoon Alfred, the kids have all worked hard on creating this.”

Dick watches as Alfred moves into the library and as he is immediately swamped by his siblings all chatting to him and pointing out various of items on the table. A hand landing on his shoulder gets his attention and he finds Bruce smirking at him. “I’m proud of you all, for putting this together for Alfred.”

Dick smiles back feeling pride course through him. “Alfred deserves it. Though what’s the chances this is going to end in blood shed? The unity between them all isn’t going to last.”

Bruce rolls his eyes and runs a rough hand through his hair, making him squawk in protest. “Better enjoy it while it lasts then.”

Bruce then moves into the library and Dick follows closely behind. He slides into the scene easily and watches as Alfred takes it all in stride. He’s glad they’ve been able to put this together for him because he certainly deserves all the love and appreciation he can get.

#prompt #batfamily #dick grayson #Alfred Pennyworth #bruce wayne #Tim Drake #Jason Todd #Stephanie Brown #cassandra cain #hope you like it! #This was fun to write #fanfiction #fluff #humour #surprise #grandfather's day #kinda

[mischiefandspirits]

Bloodlines (2 of 3)

After receiving a vague warning from his mother about his cousin and Richard, Damian goes looking for his runaway ward.

Part of Batkid and Robin

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

“Someone’s in the house.”

Damian paused, one foot out the door of the car. He turned to Jon to study him.

If it was a Bat, Jon wouldn’t have said anything so he could see how long it took Damian to notice. If it was Kon or Lara, he’d already be telling them off for breaking into their house. No one else in his family would have broken in and neither would most of their friends. If Jon didn’t recognize the person or considered the person a threat, he’d be worried. For most anyone else, he’d be annoyed.

He wasn’t worried or annoyed though, which only left one person.

“Stay here,” Damian sighed and got out.

Jon grunted, still staring at the house with enough fury that Damian was surprised his heat vision hadn’t activated.

Once inside, Damian dropped his keys into a dish on the entryway table then hung his jacket on the coat rack. “You know Jonathan doesn’t like it when you show up unannounced.”

“With your alien’s powers, I never should have made it inside without his knowledge.”

He came into the living room to see his mother sitting in an armchair, a pair of teacups waiting on the table next to her. “I asked you not to call him that. And it’s about being polite, Mother.”

She hummed and grabbed her cup. She tilted her head towards the chair next to her as she said, “He is never going to approve of me and I am never going to approve of him. This is something I have come to terms with so I wish you would as well.”

He ignored the invitation, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway. “You only don’t approve because he doesn’t have any more interest in providing me -- and therefore you -- with an heir than I have in obtaining one so he won’t help you convince me to allow your scientists our DNA. You should just come to terms with the fact you’ll never have a grandkid.”

“But I already have one,” she said into her drink.

“What are you talking about?” he growled, marching into the room to loom over her. “What did you do?”

“Calm down, my Baby Bird, I haven’t done anything. You know I wouldn’t do that without your permission.”

“After what you did to Jason, how can I be sure?”

She sighed and placed her drink back on the dish. “This isn’t what I came here to talk to you about and, unfortunately, I don’t have time to debate with you as I have to cull another uprising of the Council of Demons. When was the last time you spoke to Richard?”

Damian frowned at the change in subject. “Why do you care?”

“The Demon’s Followers are gathering.”

“Have they joined forces with the Council?” That didn’t make sense. Mara was all about gathering power for herself and she wasn’t foolish enough to think she could use them for her own gain then betray them without facing serious consequences. “And what does this have to do with Richard?”

“So you really haven’t been paying attention to the boy’s antics.”

Damian bristled. He’d been watching as closely as was possible without risking Richard discovering the invasion of privacy, something he knew would surely drive the boy away forever. “I ask again, why do you care?”

His mother stood, brushing nonexistent wrinkles from her pants. “I suggest you look into what the boy has been up to. Perhaps ask your pet, I know he’s been hounding Richard.”

Damian opened his mouth to argue, but his mother just pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before slipping into the hall. “And tell your cousin that should my grandson face significant harm, the League will wipe her little organization from existence.”

“Mother!” He followed her into the hall, but she was already gone. He didn’t bother to give chase, knowing she wouldn’t tell him any more than she already had.

“What was that all about?” Jon asked, coming through the front door.

“I’m not sure.”

Oh, he could certainly put the pieces together.

Mara was up to something, something that could put Richard in danger, but what could she be up to that would put her on the Teen Titans’ radar? His team was efficient, but they didn’t handle the type of secretive things the League of Shadows or Outsiders dealt with. The kind of things the Demon’s Followers dealt in.

There was also his mother’s descriptor for Richard. Saying that his mother wasn’t fond of his family was an understatement. She absolutely loathed Tim and Duke, more than even Damian had during those first few months after he’d been brought back to life, and the Council’s interest in Tim had only aggravated her feelings for him. She was more neutral about Cass and Jason, but she saw his sister as a stand-in child that his father should have rid himself of when his true child arrived and she saw Jason as his and his father’s pet street trash. For her to not only claim his ward as her grandson, but to also place him under her protection was… out of character. They had never spoken about Richard before, what with her going dark due to the Council’s actions during his father’s absence followed by his feelings towards Jason’s death and resurrection, but Damian had assumed she’d feel no different for him than Jason given his circus heritage.

“Are you going to go talk to Richie?”

Damian shot his partner a look.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re giving him space. It’s been over a year, though, D. I think that’s enough space.”

“He has to come to me. If I force myself into his life -”

“He’ll resent you,” Jon finished. “Okay, but he’s got that Bat stubbornness you’ve all somehow managed to inherit from Bruce despite the fact most of you aren’t actually related to him. Richie’s not going to make the first move. So if neither of you reaches out…”

“I don’t have time for this,” Damian muttered, heading for the door to the basement. “I need to figure out what Mara is up to and if the Teen Titans can handle it on their own.”

“Bats,” Jon huffed and followed him down. He stayed on the stairs, though, as Damian opened the secret door that led down to the Perch. “Do you want any help?”

Damian paused. “… Not at this time. Somerset will need your focus while I’m distracted. If anything changes, I will let you know.”

“Alright.” Jon drifted up behind him to wrap his arms around Damian’s waist. “Just know I’m here if you need anything. And be careful.”

“I will.” He leaned back into his partner for a moment before pulling away.

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

Red Hood was watching a factory burn when Flamebird found him. The teen had a gun pointed at his head before he could even speak. “Come for the fireworks, Boss-Bird.”

“I don’t want to fight. I need to talk to you. It’s about Robin,” Flamebird said, holding up his hands. He quickly ducked to the side when Red Hood shot at him.

“Yeah, no, you lost your chance to talk about him when you let Bitch-man kick him out.”

“That’s not what happened,” Flamebird said and threw a feather, lodging it in the gun’s barrel. “And it’s not the point. Mother came asking after him.”

That made Red Hood’s anger spike into fury, but at least he paused his attack. “She has even less of a right to talk about Red Bird.”

“Agreed, but I’m not about to ignore a warning about Robin’s safety, no matter who it came from.”

“So now you care?”

Flamebird sighed. “Hood, please, can we at least agree to put this aside for Robin’s sake?”

Hood threw the plugged gun at him. “You’ve got ninety seconds. This better be good.”

“Have you heard of the Demon’s Followers?” Flamebird asked as he grabbed the gun and slowly approached his brother.

“No. They related to your dear grandpa's cult?”

“Sort of. Like the Council, the Followers were a faction of the League that left when Mother took power. Instead of worshiping Ra’s, though, they follow my cousin.”

“You have a cousin?”

“Mara al Ghul, the daughter of one of Mother’s elder brothers. She resents me for leaving the League. She came after me when I was just forming the League of Shadows, but we took her down. The Followers have mostly operated as an organized band of mercenaries since, though Mara’s always looking for a way to gain power or spite me.”

“And you didn’t tell us about this because…?”

“I told Father, and I’m sure Barbara knows, but Mara shares Mother’s opinion of you all -”

“Meaning she thinks we’re trash.”

“- so there was never any reason to involve you.”

“Right,” Red Hood snipped. “And why does this matter?”

“Mother insinuated the Teen Titans have gotten or will get involved with the Followers, specifically with Mara putting Robin in harm’s way. When I asked for more information she acted surprised that I wasn’t already aware and suggested I speak to you. I looked into it and found evidence of the Followers in California, but nothing focused on Jump or the Teen Titans. So here I am.”

Red Hood crossed his arms and turned to leave. “Well, I haven’t heard about any Mara or her Followers so you’re out of luck. I’ll let Red Bird know to keep an eye out, though.”

Flamebird nodded, knowing he wouldn’t get any more out of his wayward brother. “Let him know she might use an alias as well. She has used Maria, Miranda, and Mariam for given names and Raatko, Tate, and Šabaḥ for surnames.”

“Sh-Shabac?” Red Hood said, looking over his shoulder.

“Šabaḥ,” Flamebird repeated slowly. “It means ghost in Arabic. She chose it to pay homage to her father, who went by White Ghost.”

Red Hood stared at him for a moment then pulled a communicator out of one of the pockets on his belt. “Shit, shit, shit!”

“What?”

“Shut up!” He brought one of his hands to his helmet and the red color leached away until only an X remained, the drain revealing a white skull on black. Similarly, glowing red X’s appeared on the back of his gloves and across his chest.

Red X flipped open the communicator and pressed a button on the side.

“What’s going on?”

“I swear, if they lost him again…” Red X muttered as the communicator rang.

“X -”

“Who is this?” a voice said from the communicator and Flamebird looked over to see Nightstar’s face staring back.

“Take a guess, Princess. Where’s Red Bird? And if you tell me you lost him to that stalker bitch again, I’m going to wreak bloody vengeance on the lot of you.”

Nightstar scowled, but was knocked out of view before she could say anything by Impulse. “What stalker? Do you know something about Robin’s disappearance? Howdidyoucallus? WhydoyouhaveaT-Comm?”

“Bloody. Vengeance,” Red X growled and Flamebird grabbed the communicator before he could destroy it.

Impulse gasped as he came into view, but he ignored her. “What do you mean Robin disappeared?”

“I, uh…” Impulse glanced between him and someone offscreen. She mouthed, Help!

The screen’s view expanded to show the rest of Robin’s team.

Virus was vibrating, the edges of their body going to static. Nightstar was glaring up at him, eyes glowing. Impulse was still gaping and Wonder Girl looked startled as well, but was working to hide it as she stepped forward.

“Flamebird, this is unexpected. What are you doing with Red X?”

“We’re looking for my baby brother!” Red X growled.

“X, calm down,” Flambird said and the boy flipped him off. “What can you tell me about Robin’s disappearance?”

“Why do you care?” Nightstar asked, eyes narrowing further.

Flamebird breathed out through his nose as Red X snorted. “Knew I liked you, Princess. I’ll make your death quick.”

“I received information about a dangerous group of mercenaries in your area. There may be a connection. What happened?”

Virus leaned towards Impulse and whispered, “Are the Teen Titans going to work with the Flamebird?”

“I think so. This is so cool! Do you think Batgirl will be there?”

“Or Nightwing!?”

“We can hear you, dorks,” Red X huffed and the two flinched, Virus ducking behind Nightstar and Impulse blushing. “Just tell us what happened to Robin!”

Wonder Girl cleared her throat. “Well, last night Impulse and Robin were on a date at the boardwalk.”

Flamebird blinked.

Red X snorted. “What? Didn’t know your kid had a girlfriend?”

“His kid?” Impulse squeaked.

“Flamebird is Robin’s father?” Virus asked.

Wonder Girl looked at her team, uncertain, and Nightstar sighed.

“Short answer: No, he isn’t. It’s complicated and not important right now,” she said with finality. “Robin and Impulse were at the boardwalk. They got separated in the mirror maze and no one’s seen him since. We searched the entire area, but couldn’t find any evidence of where he could have gone.”

“Virus scanned the maze,” Virus said. “Impulse was worried Robin’s disappearance was the work of Mirror Master or Reflek, but Virus didn't find any energy anomalies, not even any that would suggest teleportation. Robin just vanished.”

“You didn’t even find evidence of a fight?” Flamebird asked and the teens shook their heads. “Have you faced anyone recently who could have taken out Robin without leaving evidence?”

Wonder Girl shook her head. “We’ve considered that, but there aren’t many of our villains that could who aren’t locked up right now. The only one we considered was, well,” she gestured vaguely, “X. But Nightstar said she had evidence he wasn’t in Jump City at the time.”

Flamebird nodded, well aware that his youngest brother had been taking down a warehouse of drug dealers in Gotham the night before.

“Did you consider White when you went through your list?” Red X asked pointedly.

The teens shared a look.

“White hasn’t bothered any of us since she came back to life,” Impulse said.

“Maybe because she’s been reconnecting with all her minions,” he snorted. “I thought Red Bird said he was trying to track her progress.”

The teens looked uncomfortable.

“Which none of you knew because you all get mad when he investigates her. Of course.”

Nightstar crossed her arms. “He’s obsessed. We -”

“News flash, your teammate is a Bat. Any of your relatives who’ve worked with one of us could tell you that obsession and Paranoia come with the gig. And that’s, you know, ignoring the fact that that psycho is stalking him.”

“Stalking?” Flamebird asked.

“You better hope he’s fine when I rescue him or I'll raze that tower to the ground,” Red X said then snapped the communicator closed.

“What’s going on? Who’s White?” Flamebird asked as Red X grabbed the communicator and shoved it into his belt.

The boy stared him down for a moment then groaned and switched his suit back to Red Hood. “Follow me.”

His brother led him to a dilapidated apartment building. As he perched on a ledge to open a window, he muttered, “I’ll have to burn this safehouse now.”

The apartment was sparsely furnished, just a small card table with two folding chairs on either side and a couch in front of a book-covered coffee table. It was tidy, though. The books on the table were in neat, organized stacks. The kitchen counters were wiped clean and the only dishes that were out were the ones drying on the rack. The mattress that could be seen through the half-open bedroom door was also made to Alfred’s exacting standards despite its lack of frame or box spring.

Red Hood stomped across the living room to a closet door, opening it with a keycode to reveal weapons and ammunition arranged on shelves. He grabbed a tablet off a lower shelf and pulled up a file.

“She’s called the White Woman,” he said, opening an image for Flamebird to see.

The woman was covered from head to toe in a white suit styled after a Komon. The skirt only went halfway down her knees, though, revealing grey leggings that matched the obi around her waist and the hood that hid her hair and neck by connecting the suit to her hannya mask. Like the suit, the mask was primarily white, just with silver teeth, horns, and eyes. She also wore silver boots and gloves along with a matching utility belt over the obi that was designed to look like an obijime. A sword was strapped to her back, though he couldn’t see what kind from the angle.

“She started setting up shop in Jump City around a year ago. Her motivations weren’t very clear at first. Her lackeys stole and she set other villains loose on the city, but there didn’t really seem to be any goal in mind.”

“But she did have a goal.”

Red Hood nodded. “Dick realized she’d been testing the Titans, toying with them. He thought she was planning something for them, like trying to figure out how to take them down so she could take over. He… miscalculated.” He closed the picture and opened a new one from the file. “She was only after one of them.”

The image appeared to have been captured by a security camera. Richard was clearly the focal point, but he wasn’t Robin. The suit he was wearing almost seemed to be mocking the Robin suit. The tunic was still red, but a darker blood-like color that had also replaced the green on his boots and gloves. His belt, cape lining, and tunic’s trim were a dull silver instead of bright yellow and his sleeves, pants, and cape had inverted from black to stark white. His domino mask has similarly flipped colors, going from a black mask with white lenses to a white mask with black lenses. The R logo on his chest was replaced by a silver and black bird’s claw.

“Don’t know a lot of what went down since Red Bird did a hell of a job burying everything, but Robin went renegade for a week or two and started working with White. I thought he had just been undercover, but one of the few things Dick would tell me about his renegade act was that he wasn’t doing it by choice. She forced him to become her apprentice somehow, the creepy bitch. She’s obsessed with him, and would probably still be after him if she hadn’t died about six months back after one of her schemes backfired on her.”

Flamebird frowned as he switched the picture back to White.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where Talia is,” Nyssa had said when Damian had contacted her after he’d found out about Red Hood. “She cut contact with me two weeks ago. Apparently, she objected to my use of the pits. If only you had called earlier so I could have called out the hypocrisy. Healing my niece is a far better use of the pits than fixing your pet.”

At the time, Damian had been so focused on arguing that Jason wasn’t a pet, he hadn’t questioned why Mara had needed to be healed in the pit. Especially one of Nyssa’s, which rarely saw use as his aunt was far warier of the effects of the pits than his mother or grandfather.

“Mara’s the White Woman,” Flamebird said, eyes tracing her mask. It reminded him of the Oni mask she’d worn thirteen years earlier, when she’d first attacked his team. “But why would she suddenly target Jump City?”

“Specifically Dick,” Red Hood corrected. “And beats me. Like we established, none of you al Ghuls give a crap about us.”

Flamebird opened his mouth, to argue that he did care. He cared about his Robin and he cared about his Batkid, no matter what either boy might think.

Then he froze.

“Grandson.”

“What?”

“When she came to warn me, Mother called Richard her grandson,” Flamebird said, turning towards the window. “I don’t know why she’d claim him as family, let alone acknowledging him as my heir, but if she was willing to overlook our lack of blood relation -”

“White could too,” Red Hood finished, tossing the tablet back into the closet and slamming the door closed. It locked automatically as the anti-hero raced after his elder brother. “She’s been targeting Dick to get at you, and you didn’t. Even. Notice!”

“I need to find Robin.” Flamebird pulled out his grapple gun, but Red Hood grabbed his arm before he could fire.

“I’ll find him. You’ve done enough.”

“I have a list of places where Mara might be.”

“And I have a list of places where White might be.”

Flamebird pulled his arm away, but turned to the boy. “Then we can compare our lists and narrow it down.”

“Not happening,” Red Hood growled.

“Ho-Jason,” Flamebird said, setting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “This is about Richard, remember. Our focus right now should be locating him as fast as possible. You can be as mad at me as you want later.”

Red Hood slapped the hand away. “I’m going to shoot you in the kneecaps when this is over.”

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

For clarification:

League of Assassins: The normal LoA in the comics, ran by Talia (with Nyssa as an advisor when they aren't fighting)

League of Shadows: Dami's team (Flamebird, Nightwing, Abuse, Beacon, Flyway, Nobody, Quick)

Council of Demons: A cult that worships Ra's and seeks to bring him back to life

Demon's Followers: Mara's criminal organization

#damian wayne #Jason Todd #red x #red hood #mara al ghul #fanfiction #batkid and robin

[anjuschiffer]

A Day in the Life of a Todd

More self-indulging writing... a follow up to A Parent’s Misadventures

Enjoy :D

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P. Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak

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AO3

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“Hey Olwin.” Bridgette started, carefully approaching the boy. It’s been a solid month since the incident, the tension between the two five year olds cooling down.

“What do you want, Bridge?” Olwin said, Bridgette frowning at the name.

“Well, I was going to invite over to my house, but-”

“Your house?” Olwin repeated, once overhearing their classmates say that no one knew where she lived. No one was ever invited over. 

If he accepted this offer, he’d be the first and he’d know where she lives!

“Yup.” Bridgette said, popping the ‘p. 

By inviting him over, Bridgette hoped to become friends with him, seeing that they got off at the wrong foot… or at least that’s how her Maman put it. But putting Maman’s advice aside, she did want to be friends with him from the start. After all, he did have a dog! Dogs are the best!

“I guess I can come over.”

“You’re going to love it!” Bridgette said with a toothy grin, going back to play with the other girls in her class, bouncing with glee as she counted the hours until she could tell her mother the news.

----

“Please behave yourself Olwin.” His mother said, eyeing the black car in which Bridgette was bouncing in, a giant grin on her face. “Please.”

She did not, did not, want a repeat of what happened a month ago.

Hearing her little boy get punched by a girl was not what she wanted to be called for during the middle of a board meeting. Luckily her boss understood, Mr.Drake-Wayne giving her the rest of the day off to deal with the situation. 

“I will Mother.” Olwin reassured, letting himself get fuzzed over by his mother, blushing when he watched Bridgette’s mother giggle.

“I’ll promise to bring him back safely Ms. Roswald.” Marinette said with a reassuring smile. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Olwin bid his mother goodbye, walking stiffly to the car, watching Bridgette squeal and move from the window, noticing another boy in the backseat when he opened the door.

“And who’s that?” Olwin asked, pointing to the other boy, getting into the car and closing the door behind him. He watched as Bridgette hugged the other boy, the boy letting out a squeak.

“He’s my best friend Evan!” Bridgette said, squeezing Evan even more. Evan whispered a ‘hi’ before Bridgette continued to talk. “I can’t wait to get home!” Turning to her mother, Bridgette let out an even bigger smile. “Maman, is it true Grandpa Bruce and Mama Selina are going to be home?”

“If what your uncle told me is correct information, then yes, Grandpa Bruce is going to be there as well as Mama Selina.” Bridgette let out a deafening squeal as the car pulled out of the driveway, going onto an hour long talk about her grandparents and family. Olwin absorbed each word, staring at her wide-eyed as she talked about her family.

From what he could tell, her mother was the only child in her family, raised in France by her parents. Her Grandmere was of chinese descent while her Grandpere was born in Paris. So that explained why Bridgette spoke French and partially understood Madarin. But Bridgette’s dad… he had six other siblings? Or was it seven? And they all apparently got together well? 

Hell, Olwin didn’t get along with his older sister, imagine five other siblings of all different ages!

“We’re here kids.” Marinette said as she pulled up to the gates of what Olwin could describe as a very big castle. This is where Bridgette lived?! 

He simply watched in awe as the car made its way to the main entrance, realising that even when he looked directly up, he couldn’t capture the entire height of the structure.

“Now remember Bridgette,” Marinette started, helping the children out of the car. “I don’t want you guys playing fetch in the manor. I don’t want a repeat of what happened last time

“I didn’t even start it.” Bridgette defended. “Uncle Damian did.”

“Bridgette.”

“But he did!”

“You have a dog?” Olwin decided to ask, regretting it when he saw Bridgette light up like a Christmas tree.

“Not one! I have-” Bridgette was cut off when the group heard multiple dogs bark, Olwin deciding to hide behind Marinette at that moment, realizing Evan didn’t do the same thing.

Soon, a pack of giant dogs came running towards the two, Olwin wondering why she wasn’t hiding for dear life.

“Bunny! Rosey! Donut! Gerald! Titania! Pegasus! Bernie!” She exclaimed, opening her arms to embrace the pack, giggling as they all licked her, falling onto the ground, dragging Evan down with her. She was then picked up with a tanned man, whose green eyes felt like they can see right through you. “Uncle Damian!”

“Cathy. It’s been a while.” Damian said, placing her over his shoulders. Cathy? Didn’t he know the name of his own niece?

“It’s only been a week!” Bridgette giggled, watching as her pack tried to pull her back down. Wait, she was Cathy? Must be her middle name then.

“Ti-tania. Down.” Damian grunted, feeling the pressure all the dogs were putting on him, but mainly Titania the Great Dane’s. “Marinette, it’s been a while.”

“It’s good to be home.” She said, smiling at him. It was then that Damian noticed the child hiding behind her. 

“I see that it runs in the family.” Damian said, walking up to Marinette to get a closer look at the child. He chuckled when he saw a pout form on her face.

Evan. He had already met Evan. The small child still had his short brown hair, having grown a few inches since the last time they’ve met. His own hazel eyes studied him as well, getting distracted by the dogs licking his face. But the other child… he was new...

“I thought that was your thing. Yours and Jon, that is.” Marinette teased, smirking when she heard him grumble something under his breath.

“I guess it’s only genetic.” Damian played along, gesturing to the new kid. “So who’s the other blue-eyed child belong to?”

“Damian, this is Bridgette’s classmate.”

“He’s a friend Maman.” She corrected.

“I see.” Damian spoke, putting Bridgette down, the pack quickly going back to surrounding the poor child. “Bunny. Rosey. Donut. Gerald. Titania. Pegasus. Bernie. Sit.” On command, the seven dogs sat, their tails still wagging with glee.

“They were just happy to see me.” Bridgette pouted, petting each dog’s head. Damian ruffled her hair before crouching to get a better look at the new child.

“So what’s your name?” Damian asked, enjoying the fact that Olwin squirmed under his gaze.

“Olwin, sir. Olwin Benedict.”

“Olwin.” Damian tested, looking over his shoulder before looking at Olwin. “Do you like dogs?”

“I do. I also have one at home.”

“What breed?”

“A Border Collie.”

“Name?”

“Cole.”

“I see.” Damian got up and walked away, standing a few meters away from the group. “Hope you enjoy your stay.” With that, he left, leaving the group by themselves.

“Well then, let’s go inside, unless the three of you prefer to stay outside.”

“Outside!” Bridgette proclaimed. “Bunny, Rosey, Donut, Gerald, Titania, Pegasus and Bernie need to play before we go inside!”

“Alright! But if anything happens, just shout okay?”

“Okay!” Bridgette said, turning to her two friends. “Come one guys! Let’s play fetch with them!” With that, she ran towards the side of the house, four of the dogs running after her. Two remained by Evan to receive more cuddles while one of them, a doberman, stayed to look at Olwin with round eyes.

Olwin stiffened when the dog circled around him, nudging him at his back and hands before sitting in front of him, letting out a huff.

“Bunny thinks you're a good person for Bridgette.” Evan spoke up, patting the two dogs beside him - a Great Dane and Pitbull. “If Bunny approves of you, then Donut and Titania here will accept you, as well as the rest of the pack.”

“I-Is that so?” Olwin said, watching Bunny’s ears perk up, her tail wagging when Bridgette came back into view.”

“Come on! I already have the dog toys out!”

“Coming!” The two boys shouted, watching Bunny, Donut and Titania run to their owner.

As Olwin ran to his classmate, he wondered what other things awaited him that day.

-----

“So how was your playdate with Bridgette?” Olwin’s mother asked as she tucked him into bed. Olwin simply processed the question as he recalled what he did at Bridgette’s weekend home.

Oh god. Where should he start?

The fact that Bridgette lived in a mansion? The Wayne Manor his parents praised to no end, the manor in which his parents’ boss lived? As in, Mr.Drake himself?

The fact that she had seven large dogs named Bunny, Rosey, Donut, Gerald, Titania, Pegasus and Bernie? The fact that they were a Doberman, Rottweiler, Pitbull, German Shepherd, Great Dane, Boxer and St.Bernard respectively?

The fact that her family were a chaotic mess?

That her Uncle Richard greeted the children from the chandelier of the main hall, jumping off of it and landing without a single injury? (He claimed to be playing hide-n-seek with his own child, Olwin wondering why he would hide there of all places. A kid wouldn’t even think of searching up there. Sure think about hiding there, but never search there themselves.)

That playing hide-n-seek with her Aunt Babs was futile, the woman knowing where the three hid together despite not moving an inch from her spot? (Yes, she was in a wheelchair, but that’s what made it even more terrifying.) It was worse when Aunt Cass joined in and scared the soul out of Olwin, wondering why Evan and Bridgette weren’t terrified for a single second.

Lunch was normal, taking away the large assortment of food and almost-food fight that occurred. Or rather, it turned for the wrong. 

Uncle Richard and his wife had asked Bridgette if she was planning on going to Paris during summer vacation. When Bridgette had asked her father to stay with Grandpa Bruce, a fight broke among the family as to who was going to take Bridgette first, all of them agreeing that Bruce was going to bore her to death.

Said man was not happy to hear that, Mama Selina smiling at his dilemma.

Aunt Babs had called dibs, stating she had promised the girl to teach her coding when Uncle Richard exclaimed that Bridgette would get bored and would have fun at his place with his daughter, her cousin. (Olwin met the older cousin, Mari, a girl Olwin couldn’t quite understand due to having the same bubbly personality as her mother, Aunt Kori.)

Aunt Cass spoke how Bridgette should come over to her home, promising her to teach her some new tricks. (“Cass,” her father spoke, bringing his hands together. “I can only handle one of you. Please don’t turn my daughter into another you.” “Deal with it.”)

The bickering went on and somehow led to Uncle Tim joining in and Uncle Damian having to start a fight among the siblings. 

Food flung across the dining hall, Bridgette’s mother and the aunts having to pull the children away from the eye of the storm, Mama Selina joining them for tea in the kitchen. 

At one point they heard gunshots, causing everyone to run to the scene of the crime where Grandpa Bruce also held something resembling a firearm. 

That’s where Olwin learned that her aunt and cousin could float and had actual super powers. 

The two separated the men from killing each other, the two husbands getting scolded by their wives while another aunt came in and started to scold Uncle Damian and Uncle Tim. Olwin had heard Bridgette call her Aunt Steph.

It was then that the group decided to settle who should take care of Bridgette over the summer with a sword fight, which ended in Uncle Damian winning. 

The man grinned as he pinned Bridgette’s father under his foot, putting his sword away as he was crowned winner. 

Olwin would’ve never challenged the man, but Bridgette sure did and almost won, still smiling as she was lifted back to her two feet. 

What kind of family was this?!

Oh! How could Olwin forget about the intruder that snuck into the manor?

When the family realized that the pack of dogs started to surround them, the siblings all got their guards up, telling Bridgette’s mother and grandparents to watch over them as they scattered from the dining hall, each running into different directions. 

Olwin clung onto Marinette’s sleeve, hearing reassuring whispers, looking over to see how Evan and Bridgette were handling it. Evan was quietly sitting by Mama Selina, enjoying a story she told him while Bridgette stared at the kitchen doors. 

With a single look to her mother, she let out a whistle, her dogs lining up in front of her. 

She crouched down and whispered something to them, Olwin watching as the dogs let out a ‘woof’ in agreement and also scattered. 

Turns out that Bridgette had sent them to find each family that ran off, each returning with one member and an extra. 

Turns out that the intruder wasn’t an intruder, but the husband of Uncle Damian who had forgotten his keys. (Uncle Jon, he remembered Bridgette squealing with glee when she saw him.) Also, why was his shirt sleeves ripped to shreds while he remained unharmed?

The family started to scold the poor man, Bridgette’s mother quickly changing the subject to dessert. 

A homemade opera cake - A Dupain-Cheng delicacy, as Uncle Tim and Uncle Damian said in unison, both pushing to get the largest slice. 

The evening ended with the family leaving one by one, Evan being dropped off to his home by Mama Selina while Olwin was dropped off by Bridgette’s mother. 

He felt sad to leave without bidding Bridgette goodbye, but he also knew it wasn’t a good idea to wake up Bridgette for such a thing. 

Also, the fact that her dogs were surrounding her didn’t make him rethink his decision. 

“Olwin, did something happen over at Bridgette’s home? Oh god! Do I-”

“It was fun.” Olwin said, his mother realizing the smile he had on his face, calming her down. “It was amazing! I can’t wait to go back!”

And he really meant it. 

He couldn't believe he had such an amazing friend!

#maribat #bridgette todd #bridgette just wants to make friends #oc: olwin roswald #oc: evan johnson #bridgette is also an oc... #anju writes

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Whole (Part 2) - brood au

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Dick Grayson, all the kiddos Pairing: implied/past/future superbat Summary: Despite his kids’ claim, Clark didn’t make all these photo albums just for himself. A/N: Equally as bad as the first part I guess. Conner is also in this album, I just didn’t mention any specific ones. Jon’s gonna take over this reunion at one point. And despite his ridiculousness, Bruce absolutely loves him already. The ending is probably a little too figurative, but it’s basically Clark thinking ‘oh man, I want to spend all this alone time with Bruce.’ but then also: ‘God I fucking love these kids so much, and I love these little moments of spending time with just them just as much as I want to spend time with Bruce.’

Part 1.

Other Brood AU things.

~~

It was like herding sheep, getting everyone back inside. The kids could barely let go of Bruce, and Dick was already off, chatting Bruce’s ear off before he could properly climb the porch steps.

They piled into the living room, Lois motioning to the sofa, offering it to Bruce. Bruce nodded silently and took it. His children began to swarm around him, Cass and Tim on one side, Damian tight to the other. Jason was going to sit next to him, but Jon beat him to the spot, curling his legs up and leaning against Damian like a scared puppy. Jason just snorted, ruffled Jon’s hair, and sat on the arm of the couch next to him.

Lois took the other chair, Conner mimicking Jason’s position on its arm. Dick and Clark remained standing.

“Do you want any photo albums, Bruce?” Lois asked, trying to cover a laugh. “Clark loves to document. Especially milestones.”

“I think there’s a whole album for each of us about losing our teeth.” Jason added quietly, smirking. Clark returned the grin.

“I just…wanted to make sure Bruce didn’t miss anything.” Clark mumbled sheepishly.

“For Jon and Conner too?” Dick teased.

“…Well, Batman does like to be informed.” Clark laughed. “…I do have some, if you want, though.”

“…Sure.” Bruce hummed. “I’d love to see some.”

Clark nodded, swallowed the lump in his throat, and silently moved up the stairs towards his bedroom. Heard Dick take over the conversation, asking Bruce about his ride here, what city he came from, if he’d seen Alfred yet.

So far, so good.

But still, ever the dad, he worried, even his small distance away. Were Bruce’s kids coping okay? Was this too much? Should he have reintroduced them one by one? And what about his own children? Conner isn’t feeling left out, is he? And Jon? Just…Jon?

As he reached under the bed for the box, he thought about maybe worst of all – his own heart. It was thrown back into the emotions of ten years ago. And he realized, more than his worry for the kids, more than his worry about how today would go, he was worried about the realization that had been smacking him in the face every second since he’d set eyes on Bruce getting out of that car.

He was still in love.

Hell, he was still head over heels. And now really wasn’t the time to be focusing on that, was it?

It needed to be about the kids. He needed to focus on the kids.

He sighed and shook his head, grabbing as many photo albums as he could carry. Made sure they were all about Bruce’s kids, though brought one down for Jon and Conner each, in case Bruce wanted to see them. Would look at them himself, if not.

He hadn’t just made these things for Bruce after all. He wanted to relive his own kids’ lives too.

Things were still calm when he went downstairs. Dick was still in charge of the conversation, still rattling on. Bruce was listening intently, matching soft smiles on both his and Lois’s faces. Jon was still as close to Damian as possible, but Jason had somehow convinced him to now lean back, against his knee. His eyes were darting between Dick and Bruce, and he was still clearly on edge, though the fact that Damian was letting him hold his hand seemed to be helping.

Dick just kept talking, even as they became aware of Clark’s return. Clark didn’t interrupt him, just carefully set the stack of books on the coffee table, handing Bruce the one on top – the one his mother Martha had made, when they all believed this custody agreement was temporary. Before Conner and Jon, for the most part.

The book was ragged and old-looking. Not because of Clark’s frequent looks through it, but because of the kids themselves. Damian looked at it a lot, when he was missing his father, or his older siblings as they went off into the real world. Jason looked at it when he was starting to feel like he didn’t belong. Cass liked to go through it with Jon, who found such a simple joy in seeing his family before he existed.

“Ho, boy.” Dick commented, as Bruce took the volume, staring almost nervously at the front cover – a picture of Clark sleeping on the floor surrounded by all five of Bruce’s kids, then babies and barely above his hip. “Good luck, Bruce.”

Bruce smiled and opened the front cover almost eagerly. Tim and Damian immediately leaned over his arms to look themselves.

Jason snorted in amusement.

The first page, and the few after, as Bruce learned, was the kids’ first day on the farm. Or rather, their first day with Grandma Martha. She was in each picture, holding Damian, wiping Jason’s face, carrying Cassandra on her back, holding Tim on her hip between her and her husband. Dozing with Dick on the sofa, and then dancing with him in front of the barn right below that.

The next page was groupings. Tim on Dick’s back. Jason holding Damian, the two with matching pouting faces. Cassandra and Damian both napping on Clark’s lap. Dick and the dog, Tim sitting on a cow, Dick climbing the barn rafters, Damian petting a horse from Grandpa Jonathan’s arms.

There was one of Dick holding Damian, squishing their noses together. But in the background, almost too blurry to be seen, was Jason. He was crying, hands balled into tight fists, held at the corner of his eyes. Clark was kneeling in front of him. Trying to calm him down, soothe him any way he could.

Bruce silently wondered why he was crying. If anyone would remember.

Though if he were honest with himself, he already knew.

“What was it like?” Bruce found himself asking. “Growing up here?”

“Quiet. Good. Nice.” Dick answered. Despite being asked to the room it was most likely aimed at him. “Different from Gotham for sure.”

“Clark actually made us do stuff.” Jason grumbled, but it was almost fond. “I spent the first year here asking why we couldn’t call Alfred to milk the cows.”

“You tried to teach Damian ‘Where’s Alfred?’ as one of his first sentences when you were mad at me.” Clark reminded, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face too. “Right behind ‘Clark is stupid.’”

“To be fair, you were being stupid.” Jason countered, pointing thoughtfully at Clark. “So, I mean, it’s not like I was trying to teach the kid how to lie.”

“Still just as bad.” Clark laughed. “I’m glad Damian decided to find his life influencers elsewhere.”

“He didn’t, quite.” Dick added. “He’s totally the one who taught Damian how to swear.”

“Jon too, apparently.” Lois chimed in pointedly. Both Jason and Clark looked at her, and she shrugged. “He had a…slip-up, a few weeks ago. And immediately claimed ‘Jason says it all the time!’ as little brothers do.”

Jason glanced down at the boy leaning against him. Jon smiled nervously, then tried to hide against Damian, even as Jason wrapped his arms around him and began to mess up his hair once more.

“I didn’t know what else to do!” Jon whined, pulling against Damian’s sleeve to save him. Damian ignored him, still looking into the photo album. “I didn’t want to lie!”

“No, you wanted to save your own little butt.” Jason cackled teasingly. He released Jon slightly, then looked back to Lois and Clark. “But see? Never taught either of them how to lie.”

“And we’re very proud.” Lois laughed. Clark smiled too, but kept his eyes on Bruce. Did it bother him, the easy relationships his kids had with not only him, but Lois? If it did, he didn’t give anything away, just quietly listening, quietly smiling, while turning pages in the book.

Damian suddenly lashed out, pointing at a picture. “That was when I started getting my teeth.” He explained.

“Oh yeah?” Bruce grinned instantly. Glanced at him, then pointed to a handwritten scribble beneath it. “And what’s this note down here about?”

“For which album the rest our dental milestones are in.” Tim smirked. Bruce looked at him now. “We’re serious, Bruce – Clark documented everything.”

“I’m glad.” Bruce laughed, then raised his gaze, absolute mirth in his eyes. “I just hope he was as thorough in his journalism.”

“Well, I still have a job, so I hope so.” Clark joked.

“Clark taught all of us to be that thorough, in everything we do.” Dick hummed. “Taught us even to be detectives just like you, Bruce.”

Bruce’s smile faded a little. “I…heard.” He muttered. Glanced up at his oldest. “…Nightwing, huh?”

“Can’t be Robin forever.” Dick countered. “And Clark isn’t the only hero dad who inspired us, B.”

“I’m Robin now.” Damian quipped.

“Will be, eventually.” Jason added quickly, even as Tim opened his mouth indignantly. “Timbo is now. And Conner is Superboy. You and Jon are still too young, squirt.”

Bruce glanced at Clark for clarification. “I benched Dick after you left them with me, for safety. But then when it was clear you weren’t coming back…well, you know as well as I do how hard it is to keep Dick in one place. And once they saw big brother doing it…”

“Not to mention when Conner came along with his own abilities.” Lois hummed. “But don’t worry, Bruce.  Robin always went out with Superman.”

“Still does.” Clark said sternly. “And on the rare chances he doesn’t…I listen.”

“One of the downsides of having Superman as a dad.” Tim sighed dramatically. “He can hear me anywhere in the world.”

“But we can’t complain too much.” Dick smiled. He suddenly glanced protectively up at Jason, and Jason instantly looked down at Damian and Jon, fussing with their shirts. “Some of us would be dead if it wasn’t for that.”

Bruce didn’t ask. Just made a mental note to ask Clark later, when they were alone. If they were alone. Just another question to the list of a million.

Still, he could sense this taking a dark turn, so returned to his original query. “Isn’t Nightwing a Kryptonian legend, though?”

Dick snorted. “I’m not old enough to be Batman yet!”

“Damian went as Batman for Halloween a few years ago.” Cassandra added quietly.

“I was five! That’s more than a few years ago!” Damian argued haughtily. “Besides, Tim went as Batman for Halloween once too.”

“You all did.” Clark smiled. “At some point. Except maybe Dick. He just chaperoned your trick-or-treating and stole all your candy as payment.”

Bruce pointed to a page, a laugh bubbling out of his throat. “I can see that, here.”

“That’s a perk of being a big brother.” Dick grinned, waving it off. He glanced back at Bruce, who was turning another page in the book. “Whatcha got now, B?”

Bruce had a small smile on his face. Emotion in his face and a near-tears mist in his eyes.

“If I’m correct,” Bruce tilted his head. Damian and Tim looked up at him, even as he glanced over at Jon. “The birth of your youngest.”

Jon’s face exploded in a blush, even as Jason dragged him back against his leg and kissed his hair.

“Oh boy, what a day.” Lois chuckled, fanning herself in memory. “Dick snuck into the delivery room when he heard crying.”

“I see that, too.” Bruce laughed, pointing to another photo. “Hopefully he let the two of you hold Jon first.”

“Barely.” Clark snorted. “He also left the other kids in the waiting room alone. Damian ended up in the nursery screaming because thought the nurses stole his little brother, as he wasn’t there yet.”

“Oh my god.” Bruce kept laughing. The chuckles grew louder and louder, and Bruce eventually had to cover his face, the amused tears slowly starting to leak out. “I am…so sorry.”

“It was…something else.” Lois admitted fondly. “Wouldn’t want it any other way, though.”

And even when Bruce lowered his hand, Clark could see the tears still flowing. Still amused, still happy, but…quickly turning into something else. A sorrow of being left behind. A sorrow of missing out. A sorrow the kids definitely didn’t need to see, not right now.

Bruce always kept his emotions hidden. Was always pretty good at controlling them. But it was no surprise that his threshold here, today, might’ve been a little thin.  That he might’ve reached emotional exhaustion a little quicker than normal.

Clark silently tapped Lois’s shoulder, and waved a lowered hand at Dick. He got the memo.

“Bruce, are you staying the night? You’re going to need a room to stay in.” Dick asked, already pushing off against the wall he’d been leaning against. “Damian, Jon, Jay. With me. We gotta get the rooms set up.”

Damian groaned, and kicked his feet in a small tantrum as he reluctantly left his father’s side at the request of his brother. Jon followed sheepishly after.

“And I’m no housewife – I’m going to need help in the kitchen getting all the food out and set up. I’m sure you’re starving, Bruce.” Lois stood. “So the last three of you, with me.”

Conner scoffed in amusement as he disappeared into the kitchen first. Tim and Cassandra followed silently behind. Lois winked at Clark as she took up the rear.

Bruce kept looking at the book, flipping through the last few pages, smiling every so often, even though he continued to cry. When he reached the back cover, he sighed, staring at it as he ran his hand down it. “…Thanks, Clark.”

“I know how you are about emotions. I know how that’s not the first thing you want your kids to see.”

“I mean.” Bruce started, looking up. His eyes were still pouring those silent tears. “…For everything.”

Clark smiled, heart fluttering, just a little. “We can talk about all that later. For now, this is probably the only moment they’ll be separated so you might want to make it count.”

Bruce smiled, running his fingers along the edge of his eyes. “Yeah, I will. I just.” Another sigh. “Can you give me a minute?”

“Whatever you need. I’ll go help them in the kitchen.” Clark nodded, backing up a little. “And Lois and Dick understand, so, you know. If you need more time or whatever, just let them know, and they’ll help you out.”

“…You turned him into an outstanding young man.” Bruce smiled weakly, leaning forward to put the photo album on the table. “All of them, really.”

“No, you did, Bruce.” Clark promised. “I just tried to clean up the rough edges.”

He left it at that, spinning away into the kitchen. He kept his eye on him, though, and his ear. Kept peeking into the living room when he felt he needed to, listened to his heartbeat when he didn’t. After he had cleared his face of tears, Bruce had picked up another photo album. And another, and after that – another.

And suddenly, Clark had a vision. He couldn’t wait until everything died down. Until the kids went to bed, or went out or just left them in peace. So he could go sit on the couch with Bruce, and go through those albums together. Talk about the things the kids wouldn’t want to, like why Dick looked at Jason when talking about almost dying, or what Bruce was actually doing during those ten years.

He couldn’t wait.

But then – Damian and Jon came stumbling down the stairs. Jon flopped onto the sofa on Bruce’s right, and Damian retook his perch on Bruce’s left. Bruce smiled, and answered all of the questions thrown his way, laughing when Jon admitted they snuck away from the older two. Let Damian take control of the book he was looking at, watching fondly as he flipped the pages to the ones he wanted.

Just a dad and two of his boys.

(In your dreams, Clark.)

He smiled as he turned back into the kitchen, and continued to help Cassandra and Conner set the table. Just a dad and two of his kids too.

(Because sometimes dreams do come true, right?)

…Maybe he could wait a little while longer after all.

#superbat #clark kent #bruce wayne #Lois Lane #dick grayson #brood au

[dccomics-imagines]

oh my god. IM IN LOVE WITH YOUR TERRIBLE TWO HEADCANONS DJDJDJJDDKDB please write more! I'm already deprived !!

(SHIT I ACCIDENTALLY EXITED OUT WHILE TYPING FML)Okay okay so might in all reality write a fic for this? Idk man, but for now head canons galore

Alfred:

YEP AFTER YEARS AND YEARS I FINALLY MAKE ONE FOR HIM

Our beloved butler.

God you’re like a tiny Bruce.

He’s always there for you 24/7

When you’re about to do something bad somehow he stops you just before it happens.

Dude it’s like he can read your mind.

Nah, he just knows all the tricks(have you seen the amount of kids that come into the manor??)

Every time Bruce is having a heart attack cause he can’t find you, Alfred is the go to.

He just knows everything.

“Alfred have you seen-”

“They’re with Master Dick, he quote on quote ‘stole’ them to take them to a carnival”

As i said, he’s the one to put his foot down with things.

I mean, he won’t yell at you heavens no but he will scold you.

He makes sure you eat proper meals and only offers the healthiest snacks.

He also remembers what veggies you like or dislike as well.

Okay so one time for his birthday the boys bought a mug that said “World’s Best Grandpa” and they gave it to you and you waddled up to Alfred to give it to him and it was the cutest thing this man has ever seen.

“My, this is…this is lovely! I…thank you all”

He kisses your forehead and hugs you.

And all the boys as well.

Bruce:

Okay so he once caught you on his desk with his cowl on and you were crossing your arms trying to look scary and it was adorable.

“I’m…Batman!”

Cue the “aw’s” from all of the batfam.

One time you lost your favorite stuffed animal and Bruce literally gathered up the whole Justice league just to find that thing.

Let’s just say you were more interested in Wonder Woman than the stuffed animal she held.

Diana adored you from that moment.

“A baby!! Glorious day! She is ever so precious!”

So you just reach your tiny arms out for her and she picks you up.

Diana tucked you into bed that night too.

Not many kids can say that Wonder Woman is basically their aunt lol.

Bruce makes sure to keep you out of harms way

If at any point you want to join the vigilante career he will decline.

He will not let you not over his dead body. You’d have to sneak your way past all of the batfam to be a vigilante

Of course, you have the stubbornness of your father, so they reluctantly let you do what you want.

Remember that time they said he trained Tim harder than any Robin he ever had?

Well let’s just say, he trained you harder.

He did not want you getting hurt out there.

Thankfully, you are only two right now.

He doesn’t have to worry about that just yet.

He more worried for when you hit your teens

Dick:

Rainy days are best with him.

He’ll take you out to splash in muddy puddles a lot.

Much to Alfred’s dismay.

Okay so, I feel like maybe all toddlers are afraid of thunder at some point(maybe that just my siblings-)

So whenever it starts thundering, he makes sure to hugs you and pet your hair as you cry out your fear.

Soon enough, you fall asleep through the storm.

Jason:

Reads books to you a lot.

Whenever you read books and you need help with a word he helps you.

Seriously, he will even act out what the word means.

He’s seriously up to play the bad guy in any of your little fantasies.

“Jason! Dragon!”

“Hmnm?Oh oh Alright gotcha”

Tim:

I feel like he’s really good at multitasking so he’d be able to work while teaching you.

“One~ Jason behind you.”

“Two!”

“Uh huh good, what comes next? Dick turn the corner and there should be three armed thugs.”

“Four!”

“Good, wait no that’s wrong. No I’m not talking to you Demon Spawn. I’m talking to our sister”

“Hi Dami! Hi!”

“…___ says hi. Also I’d advise you to watch your step”

Damian:

"Don’t touch my sister Kent."

“Damian we were only-”

“She’s my sister only i should be allowed to converse with her”

Cue eyeroll.

(oMG WHAT IF WAIT NOPE We’ll save that for the next headcanon idea-)

Sometimes he just takes you for walks around Gotham when he’s bored.

He loves to take you to petting zoos too.

Teaches you a lot about the animals there.

Also tries to teach you how to properly kill a human but we won’t go there-

[lydiastormborn]

title: spaces in between

characters: damian & jason

summary: there’s an unexpected rooftop talk about resurrection, morally questionable families and not-bonding based on a threat to life

a/n: pre-new 52 setting, first in a series of one-shots about al ghuls’ impact on batkids’ lives

[on ao3]

Damian is crouched on a rooftop of a warehouse near the docks when he hears someone land behind him. He tenses for a moment; hard, heavy footsteps make him think of Father, but Batman would be silent, regardless of whether he’s angry or not, so that’s not him. Therefore, he’s almost not surprised to see the Red Hood crouch down on Damian’s right, leaving a reasonable distance between them.

“Little demon brat birds shouldn’t be out by themselves at night,” he says, his voice just on the edge of mocking and annoyed, “especially when they’re benched.”

Damian tts at him. “I do not know what you are talking about, Hood.”

“Come on, kid,” Jason scoffs. “No way in hell your ribs are fully healed after what happened on Kane Bridge last week.” And Damian’s first instinct is to touch his ribs and make sure the bandages are still in place because it’s true, but he controls the impulse. “I can actually relate if you were going crazy doing nothing at the Manor, but still. Not your brightest idea.”

Damian glares at him, hopes it’s still pronounced regardless of his domino. “What is it to you? Why are you here?”

Hood shrugs. “Like the view,” he says, gesturing to the shady, run-down warehouses, dirty river and thick smog hanging in the air.

As irritated as he is with the man’s unexpected appearance, Damian decides to ignore him in favor of continuing to observe the docks for a few minutes more. If nothing happens, he supposes he’ll have to do with stopping some petty muggings.

A moment later, he’s startled by a faint, mechanical hiss and he glances to the side to find Jason taking off his helmet and putting it on the ground next to himself.

“You’ll have to forgive me, brat,” he says, not sounding particularly sorry, and lights up a cigarette.

Damian doesn’t grace him with an answer, but he does watch Jason from the corner of his eye; seemingly, he’s at ease, almost relaxed as he exhales the smoke, shaking off the ash from the tip of the cigarette and staring into the distance. He isn’t wearing his red domino tonight and his hair is sort of a mess, black curls mussed up by the helmet. Damian, however, finds his eye drifting to the shock of white falling in front of Jason’s forehead. He rarely sees the other man without the helmet -- actually, rarely sees him at all since he doesn’t actively antagonize them that often these days -- so he still finds that particular detail… unnerving.

“Does it remind you of him?” Jason asks suddenly, his voice calm, quiet. Damian clicks his tongue at him to mask his uneasiness.

“What?”

“You’ve been trying and failing to stare subtly, so figured I’d ask,” Jason explains and tugs at his white streak briefly. “This. It reminds you of good old Ra’s, doesn’t it?”

There’s something strange in Jason’s voice, perhaps a bit of self-deprecating black humour, but Damian doesn’t really want to dwell on it right now; instead, he does his best not to stiffen visibly at the mention of his Grandfather. It’s been so long, it shouldn’t matter anymore.

“Frankly, Todd, save for that perhaps, you do not remind me of him at all,” Damian tells him flatly after a moment, when he’s sure nothing in his voice will give him away.

Jason snorts at that, taking another long drag from his cigarette. “Good, I don’t know about you, but I take it as a compliment.”

And perhaps it’d have been the end of this not-quite conversation, as Jason doesn’t seem particularly interested in pursuing it, but Damian, to his own surprise, asks, “Why don't you dye it?”

Now it’s Jason’s turn to be thrown off balance. “Huh?”

“If it does remind you of my Grandfather and it makes you… uncomfortable, why not cover it up?”

Jason looks at him for a long moment, his teal eyes watchful and guarded. He lets the rest of his cigarette burn before stubbing it out. Then, he’s shaking his head. “That’s not what you want to ask,” he says.

And that’s -- yes, that’s true. As loath as he is to admit it to himself, Damian supposes there are some things he’d like to ask Jason about. He has wanted to since they found out about the circumstances regarding his resurrection and restoration, although his curiosity is probably based on less personal and more selfish grounds than Father’s or Grayson’s.

Then again, perhaps it gives him the advantage of actually being able to ask and listen.

“Do you keep it as a reminder?” Damian asks then, almost hesitantly.

Jason taps his index finger against his knee once, twice. “Yes and no,” he says. Damian doesn’t expect him to elaborate -- at best, they’re not enemies anymore, definitely not friends. But after a long moment, he continues, “Taking a dip in Lazarus Pit, on the top of that, while your crazy grandpa was there, is not something I can forget about, even though I don’t really remember it. Not in the way most people would, anyway,” he adds, perhaps sensing Damian’s questioning look. “It’s like… Ah, hell, it was like things painfully coming into focus after being blurred for long. It was sharp and electric, not in a good way. Burning, drowning, suffocating, you name it. I felt… swallowed.” He sighs, runs a hand through his hair. “You’ve been around these things for a long time. You know how many things serve as reminders.”

“Acids,” Damian says, without having to think about it twice. “Fumes.”

Jason nods. “Yeah, those,” he agrees and chuckles humorlessly. “Sometimes all it takes is rain combined with faint, chemical smell in the air. It’s enough to make my skin itch and make me want to throw up.”

Damian wonders why Jason is telling him all that, sharing such vulnerable information, exposing himself -- but, with a jolt, he realizes that it doesn’t change the way he perceives Jason. Somehow, it doesn’t make him look weak in Damian’s eyes.

This realization is both annoying and calming.

“Do you regret that Mother used the Pit to restore you?” he asks, words out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

“Ha,” Jason breathes out, but his shoulders tense. “It was either that or me being there without really being here for unforeseeable future, as far as Talia’s resources stood.”

“That’s not an answer,” Damian points out, stubborn to the core.

“Because it’s a loaded question.” Jason makes a move as if he wants to light another cigarette, but doesn’t go through with it in the end. “Do I regret coming back? Sometimes. Do I blame Talia for seeing a chance and taking it? No. Do I wish it all could have happened in a different way? Sure.”

“Mother did what she thought was best,” Damian says, his voice speaking of conviction he doesn’t feel, hasn’t really felt when it came to Mother for some time now.

Jason barks a laugh at that. “Oh, I don’t doubt that, I’m just not sure whose well-being she had in mind.” He cuts himself off abruptly and sighs again. “Look, kid. As far as things go, I don’t really care for Talia’s reasons to find me, take care of me. It was probably to get back into Bruce’s good graces and when it became obvious that wouldn’t work, she decided to indulge my quest, but keep me at bay.”

“She used you,” Damian states simply.

“Yes. And I made use of the resources she presented me with.” Jason shrugs and Damian’s eye drifts to a holder in which he thinks Jason keeps his flame dagger. “We aren’t on particularly great terms now, but she was there for me when no one else had and it’s something that matters to me.”

Damian is silent for a moment before he speaks again. “When I must had been around eight year old, I was spending most of my time with various teachers. Mother seemed especially busy at that time, Grandfather went as far as to mention she’s been neglecting her part in my education because…” he trails off, suddenly unsure.

“It’s okay, you can say it,” Jason tells him.

“Because her pet project had been taking up a lot of time.”

“Figures,” Jason sneers, but there’s no real bite in it. “I guess I was already your grandpa’s least favorite.”

“I asked once, but Mother refused to specify what was her… project about. Just said it’s someone. I suppose this was the closest I have come to finding out about your existence,” Damian adds.

“Well, to be fair, I had no idea about you being in the picture, either,” Jason says. “Your mom can be really tight-lipped when she wants to, can’t she?”

Damian can’t quite help his hackles rising at that. “She must have had a reason--”

“Jeez, chill, kid,” Jason cuts him off. “Talia does whatever the hell she wants and we both know it. But she must have had a reason to reach out to me and ask to help you.”

That gets Damian’s attention. “She contacted you?” he asks, quashing hurt and jealousy he shouldn’t be feeling. He hasn’t heard from her in months, which is probably a good thing overall, but.

“Yeah, I was surprised, too,” Jason admits. “But I guess I do owe her at least this one time more, so here I am.”

Finally, the second part of the man’s statement registers. “Why would I need your help?” Damian spits out, disbelieving. Jason snorts.

“Here, I was starting to worry you do have a heart after all,” he comments flippantly. “And to answer your question, Ra’s is apparently starting to go off the rails again. I mean, it’s been awhile since he last sent ninjas after your or tried to steal your body, hasn’t it? Or Replacement’s, for that matter.” Jason tilts his head to the side, looking away from Damian for a moment. “That was a really fucked up thing if you ask me, by the way.”

“So you are saying that he sent ninjas after me,” Damian states, still calm. Ninjas, he thinks he can handle, even in his currently injured state, but deciding to sneak out tonight does seem like a rather bad idea now.

Jason picks up his helmet and calls, “Duck, Robin.”

And, to his own bewilderment, Damian obeys -- which is sort of a good thing, as a bolt of something like lightning rips through the air where his upper body just was. He rolls over the rooftop, ignoring the pain in his ribs, and kneels closer to Jason’s side, who is in full Red Hood getup again.

“Even better,” Jason says, gesturing to three figures looming on a rooftop across from theirs. “He sent magical ninjas. I hope you’re on good terms with Zatanna or some other magic folks, kid, because we could use that kind of help like, right now.”

Damian groans internally as he makes a break for the edge of the roof, Jason keeping up with his pace easily. It looks like they’re in for a long night.

#damian wayne #jason todd #batfamily #my fics #series: under starless skies #dc