#stephanie writes sometimes

[snezus-christ-risen]

Not me spontaneously remembering that there are B/99 bloopers of A/ndy S/amberg sneezing.

#it’s like seeing it for the first time all over again #sometimes it doesn’t always suck when weed destroys your memory #why is he such a cutie #now I just need stephanie to grace us with a real one #I want more b99 fic #ok I guess I’ll write it

[secretlystephaniebrown]

pondering names for a potential Macushla/Misericordia redux:

#Steph Speaks #writing stuff #don't @ me I know I should be writing other things #SOMETIMES RESEARCH HAS CONSEQUENCES OKAY #AND THE CONSEQUENCE IS FALLING IN LOVE WITH TALIA AL GHUL ALL OVER AGAIN #AND I SHOW LOVE BY MAKING PEOPLE INTERACT WITH STEPHANIE BROWN #polls

[batstorm93672]

What about a story where Damian gets sent to bording school because Bruce can't handle him anymore and sends him without telling anyone. When everyone wonders where Damian is Bruce tells them that he sent Damian to boarding school that's not even in America. No one knew what to do and they couldn't take him out so it went on for years and Damian CD ame back a completely different person and everyone even Bruce was sad that they missed so much of Damian's life and Damianw mad that he got sent away and didn't get to be normal.

Wow okay dude, this is a curveball. I make angst to hurt Damian based on what I know, this is a complete turnaround you're going for the throat. I like that let's get started.

.

"This will be good for you Damian"

"Yeah sending your blood son to a boarding school in a different continent is exactly what I need"

Bruce sighed and rubbed his temple "It's only for four years, I'll see you until then, hopefully they'll help you" Damian scowled and got in the car, crossing his arms and holding the bag full of clothes and other essential items (maybe a dagger or two)

.

A week through and Dick, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, Cass and Duke dropped by for an unprompted dinner and movie night.

"Hey B, where's Damian? I thought he'd be excited to see us, it's been a week"

Three minutes of silence, Tim looked at Bruce, he was... avoiding something about Damian. Narrowing his eyes slightly he stared at Bruce.

"Where is Damian? What are you hiding?"

They all looked up at Bruce with suspicious glances. Dick looked worried "He isn't hurt it he?! Why didn't you contact any of us?" "He isn't hurt Dick. I sent him to boarding school"

Everyone stopped eating, Bruce looked sheepishly away.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"BRUCE HE'S A KID WHAT THE ABSOLUTE SHIT!"

"He was out of line too many times"

Everyone sunk in their seats when the seething rage came off of Dick. "So you sent him, by himself, a child, a raised assassin, someone who has trouble with communication and in general social practices to a boarding school. Where?" "Europe" "YOU SENT HIM TO ANOTHER GOD DAMN CONTINENT BRUCE?! I KNEW YOU WEREN'T THE BEST DAD TO ME AT TIMES BUT YOU SERIOUSLY STOOPED THIS LOW?!" Dick slammed his hands on the table as he stood up "We're leaving. We have to get him back home"

The flight was swift yet the tension could not be more thick as Bruce was the culprit of it all.

"Excuse me, I'm Bruce Wayne. I sent my son here a week ago. I'd like to withdraw him from the program"

"I'm sorry sir, all applications include that the child has to stay throught the entire four years or else it will be a mark on any academic records if he were to drop out"

"Okay, thank you for your time"

Bruce walked back to the others who were sitting in the room over.

"What did she say?"

"He can't come back... he has to stay the full four years"

Jason perked up and slowly turned his head to Bruce "Four... years? You sent him to this thing for four damn years?! Is there any days where he can come back?" "No, travel won't work for students on holidays" "You... no. No I'm leaving"

.

.

.

.

Everyone waited at the airport, things were tense around Bruce and anything mentioning Damian. Finally after four years he was coming back.

Damian looked so much older and a bit taller, his hair was still the same but a bit longer. He was wearing a uniform close to his old school uniform.

"Damian!"

He looked over to them and blinked once then began walking over. Dick enveloped the fourteen year old in a tight embrace. "We missed you so much!" "Thanks, please unhand me Richard. I'd like to go home"

"Yeah let's go"

Damian wasn't exactly the same, he was more open to conversation on many topics which is a welcome sight, but whenever anyone mentioned on how they tried to get him back a week in or how upset they were when they heard Bruce did that he would get snappy and walk away. Titus was a guard dog for him, the poor canine didn't have his owner for four years, he was overprotective on Damian.

At the dinner table Bruce spoke to Damian after two days of finally settling in.

"Damian I-"

"Tt. Only took you two days to talk to me, did you make sure to prepare your speech throught those four years?"

A quiet mumbled "Oh shit" came from Duke as Bruce sighed "I deserved that. I wanted to say I'm sorry. I wasn't fair to you. I didn't try hard enough to connect with you and I regret it"

"I don't care. You were hoping they fixed me and I was alone with no family for four years. Why should I care for your pathetic apology?" "Damian-" "Don't try to save yourself and keep your pride here. I don't give a shit about any of that. I thought that maybe you would take me back before I even got to the airport that first day. Yet you didn't show, next I hear that it took you a week to tell anyone that I was sent to another continent? Not even to mention you took one of the few things that I enjoyed and felt a part of, being Robin"

"I get your angry-"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE PULL THAT HERO BULLSHIT ON ME! I SPENT FOUR YEARS WITHOUT MY FAMILY AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BE HAPPY? I WAS ALONE BRUCE! YOU LEFT YOUR OWN SON FAR AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T HANDLE ME?! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE SENT ME BACK TO MOTHER! INSTEAD I SPENT FOUR YEARS ALONE AND BARELY KNOWING ANYONE! NO ONE LIKED ME, CAUSE A ARAB BOY JUST DROPS IN AND ENDS UP GETTING TOP SCORES ENDING UP WITH ME BEING BULLIED FOR FOUR FUCKING YEARS! And you didn't even care... so why the hell should I care for your stupid apology that you use only because you were caught and called out by the others. I don't care what you have to say. I thought I could be normal with this family, even though I was a brat I thought I could still be appreciated for who I was. Yet you didn't like it, you never loved who I was and you sent me away to "get help" when all I wanted was a family who understood me. Who... even though I was difficult would still care as I did for them. But you don't care. I'm done. Richard, can I crash at your place?"

"Um... yeah, you can"

Damian nodded and glared at Bruce "Don't try to save yourself now, I don't want to see you again. Come on Titus. Pennyworth may you look after the others?"

"I shall Master Damian"

"At least someone in this Manor cares enough..."

Damian walked out and slammed the door, everyone else followed and didn't say a word.

#damian wayne #bruce wayne #dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #duke thomas #alfred pennyworth #tw bullying mention #this was fun to write #ask fic #anon #this is noncanon to my other fics that sometimes connect

[willowdied]

anyhow i took a nosedive into yellowjackets last night, finished and sudden have big emotions about steph's verse so i wrote a lil thing Whoops. this is for me mostly ( and anyone who wants a little more deep dive into steph’s yellowjackets verse ) so let me live and also if you’re interested enjoy!

she just has to get home. she just has to get home and then she'll see pete and then they can get the fuck out of town somewhere nicer, somewhat and then everything will be okay. it has been her nightly matra. she just has to survive till they are found- fuck even before the crash it had been the plan. kick ass at nationals and she'll get a scholarship- her grades won't matter- him and ruth and richie, all of them could be at duke. or harvard. or anywhere as long as it was the fuck out of here and steph could follow along at a less nice school and play for the team. she has never believed in anything, she had never held hope out for anything, but it had felt like for the first time in her life, things were begins to click and fall into place and soccer would have actually payed off - the best part, her dad would never know that she was doing everything he wished for her. fuck she even wanted to see grace chasity protesting the dance or acting like she was her best friend when in actuality, she had no best friends and was still trying to befriend ruth and richie, slowly but surely. she wanted to be home, as much as that stupid town and the stupid school wasn't home. not even her fine manor was home, pete was home. pete would continue to be her home. keep your grades up. get a scholarship ( because good or not, and fucked up as is, it would not matter- she's the mayor's kid, she was lucky, it would be nice ). get. the hell. away with pete and her new friends by her side- pete who right now is miles and miles away.

cold winter nights in the wilderness she would imagine what winter's would be like in a shared dorm, watching a tape curled under blankets, stealing the occasional kiss. falling asleep, limbs all tangled. all that sappy bullshit only to wake up alone- until she wasn't. all she had to do was roll to her side and reach out. it had come suddenly, it had come impulsively. there was part of her that felt bad on the occasion, but on one hand it felt like she might finally be doing something good and it felt like she might have been wanted, needed. and well maybe she needed the holding to too. it was hard not to think of him, to remember, to hold onto it because she knew lex has her ethan, lex has her life, but sometimes she could fall into thought that she could get by like this, and she clung to the pattern, to her, to the little whispers of hope that she did not believe for a second.

then they had the call, the hope to go home and that very worry, the what if's all came flooding back. what if he was waiting for her? what if he wasn’t there ? what if he was there but she did not recognize him- what would he do when he saw her? would he even recognize her? she look oh so completely different- she feels it. as she catches her reflection on the way home, it is a stranger who looks back. no. not a stranger... she feels like a monster, the exact thing she was scared of becoming- she's become something worse than her father-

---which is a funny thought because she had been so focused on her boyfriend ( her ex boyfriend? her lifeline. home, so close at hand; be him here or a phone call away - she did not know what she preferred ) , on a life that was this close she could taste it on her tongue again, the very minute home was in view and maybe in reach, she was on concrete, the team is getting out and looking around when suddenly she was being led away from the other survivors by two men in suits and a familiar red haired woman. no.... no no no not already- suddenly, stephanie lauter feels the exhaustion of everything hit her as her eyes fall back to the group, for lex, trying desperately to find them, or call out as she stumbles forward, one of the men pushing her forward a little to encourage her to keep moving. tessburgers voice, somehow is more shrill as she speaks. maybe it’s the time that made it sound worse, but steph thinks it instead must be the words that she says, not even to her but shared with one of the men.

“ - no. no don’t ask foolish questions. the ragged, dirty, messy look is good for the cameras. it’ll make her stand out, bring out the importance of being home and just what good it’ll do her and her f- “

oh.

she didn’t know why she did not imagine this in the rare times she imagined actually surviving to make it home- before the winter she would imagine what coming home would be. she imagined a hug so tight it had her falling off her balance. muffled promises, fingers clutching onto her, all the while she has to hide her face in a sweater vest to breathe him in and hide her tears, a hand clutching onto a suspenders strap over his shirt as the other clings to him. instead as steph looses her balance from the weight of her thoughts and worries a set of arms rest on her back to force her upright as all of the exhaustion of the past eighteen months strikes her all at once, the nausea of the price they paid to survive striking her.

in desperation she tries to look back again to where the team had been, trying to catch someone’s eyes, to try and hear someone else’s voice as her mind fills with static but instead the pace of the little ensemble is quickened causing steph to trip over her own feet, not hitting the ground solely because of the red head yanking her up. she’s scolding her, she’s saying something firm but steph can’t hear, unable to hear anything save for the sound of her own thundering heart. her eyes close the second she feels miss tessburger free her arm, and she breathes, just like she had read long before for pete, in for four, hold for seven, out for eight- repeat over and over again till the steps finally stop. exhaling, she opens her eyes at last, only to be greeted with the opening of a door, the sound of her father's voice as he was addressing the crowds, the mayor saying something about compensation, about making sure that the victims and families get money- but the man stops as though given a cue- turning to look at her with a whole dramatic glance and gasp, but steph is instead distracted by the flash of cameras, the roar of the crowd the moment she is given a little push into view-

not that she needs it. the realization of what her role is going to be is obviously clear, and it should have been long, long ago. she would be a puppet. a walking advertisement. a publicity stunt. a puppet. and that nausea and dizziness grew and grew, getting stronger as her father gave her the first hug that he had given her years, words quiet, but almost pounding in her head as though he was screaming -

" this is the best thing that you have ever and will ever do for our name. don't mess it up now. "

then he pulls back, with a feigned sniff or he probably was planning to but is stopped as stephanie lauter pulls out of the hug, she turns to the crowd, about to speak when another camera flashes in her eyes, it being enough to finally push her over the edge as the world tilts, as steph falls with it as the world goes dark

#( stephanie ~ yellowjackets ) #( stephanie ~ headcannons ) #sometimes i think about the fact that if he hadn't died in npmd; he probably would have done something like this #on a lesser scale ofc- a few weeks versus 18 months but you know. it's. her nightmare ( one of them ) and i had to write it down

[chryzuree]

see, okay. i think every author likes putting their characters through the horrors, but some of them rlly do genuinely put their characters Through The Horrors. stephanie is not one of these ppl.

#god forbid i don’t even rlly consider MYSELF one of those ppl!!!! #i actually consider myself to b pretty middle of the road w the drama and angst i enjoy writing #(though frequently i’ll read a book and think hmmm maybe i am a bit more of a sadist than i thought.) #(but i think that boils down to the stephanie issue aforementioned. plus authors are lame sometimes ://) #ANYWAY yeah stephanie will think she’s creating good drama but it’s rlly. not. also i don’t care for her charas sooooo #yeah this is including her ver of jacks. idk who that is but that’s not my fucking boyfriend #memorie.txt

[chryzure-archive]

”he was pain given form” unoriginal. boring. no imagery to it.

“a face well-suited for tragedy” YELLING SCREAMING CRYING I LOVE IT I LOVE YOU!!!!

#first one: stephanie abt jacks #second one: me abt azure #i don’t actually think i’m an amazing author or anything but like it’s not fucking passive voice at least #‘azure’s face was suited for tragedy’ is a bad sentence like???? #sometimes was and is are perfectly fine words but if i’m to buy into heartache idk. feels weird to keep it passive #memorie.txt #thoughts on writing…. but also azure is better than jacks 🖤 teehee

[dick-nightwing-grayson]

Damning facts about the Batfamily- Batcomputer version

Dick- Sometimes, when mad at Bruce, he just saves a ton of random photos onto the bat-computer desktop. Like hundreds of them. He will walk in and see Bruce moving all of the new files into a new folder one-by-one. Thinks it is hilarious because he doesn't understand why Bruce doesn't just highlight and move them all at once

Jason- has never used his own log-in, somehow has everyone's passwords and changes who he logs in under everytime. No one knows how he gets the passwords as they are updated weekly

Cass- her account is the administrator one. Bruce does not know.

Tim- writes his password on a sticky note under the keyboard

Stephanie- got a gamer chair for it with purple cat ears. Claimed they were bat ears and "on theme" to convince Bruce to keep it. He did

Duke- knows how Jason gets everyone's passwords, but is NOT willing to discuss

Damian- regularly changes the wallpaper to his latest pet to try and win affection to get more pets

Bruce- Gets so annoyed when Dick saves all of his files on the bat computer. Never says anything because he genuinely believes Dick doesn't know how to save files appropriately

Alfred- Unwilling to stop Dick from annoying Bruce with jpeg bombs because he also finds it hilarious

#damning facts about the batfam #dick grayson #jason todd #damian wayne #bruce wayne #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #duke thomas #alfred pennyworth #nightwing #batman #red hood #robin

[havendance]

Anyway, my proposal for a run on Detective Comics where I write a series of one-shot stories showcasing all of the various supporting cast Batman has accumulated with stories, including, but not limited to:

Batman invites Nightwing to Gotham to help him solve a murder. The murder is very straightforward and they dance around the real reason Bruce invited him, until at the end, he finally admits in a constipated Bruce way that it's the anniversary of him adopting Dick and he wanted to spend time with him.

Huntress and Robin (Tim Drake) team up to investigate Killer Croc. It turns out he's turning over a new leaf in the sewers near the Marina. Huntress is dubious, but Robin convinces her to give him a chance, though she says she'll be watching him. We re-canonize Joker: Last Laugh.

Damian and Duke team up to take on a street-racing operation--a mission that naturally requires them to do some high adrenaline racing together.

The Riddler gets on social media with a plot that involves lots of puzzles and clues all over Gotham. Oracle taps into old members of "We are Robin" to take it down.

Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) and Batman end up on the same missing persons case. With the pressure on to find the missing child, they snipe at each other as tensions rise. In the end, after saving the kid, Bruce sort of kind of apologizes in a Bruce way and expresses some measure of respect for her.

Jason teams up with Ghostmaker to take on, idk, one of the Clayfaces. Does Gotham still have one of those? I haven't read any comics ghostmaker's in yet, but from I've heard it sounds like they'd have an interesting dynamic. Jason gets flashbacks to digging his way out of his grave.

Luke Fox recruites Harper Row (She does engineering stuff right? I also need to read comics she has a significant role in.) They take some new tech for a joyride and go bother the Penguin.

Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and Azrael team up to take down Mad Hatter. He probably has some elaborate Alice in Wonderland theming going on that neither of them get. (I think neither of them should have read it.)

Batwoman and Catwoman team up to steal back some Kane family heirlooms, possibly from Jacob Kane (What's his and Kate's relationship looking like anyway?), possibly from someone else.

Gotham Girl and somebody. Me advancing my Cass & Claire agenda Possibly Oracle trying to rehabilitate her in that controlling yet well-intentioned way she has sometimes? Someday, I will get to being more up to date on what Claire's status quo in current comics is.

A handful of representatives from Gotham's various crime families get together in the backroom of a bar somewhere. They play poker and exchange stories of being busted by the various bat-affiliated vigilantes in which they are very scary and almost inhuman. It ends with Batgirl (Cass) busting in and beating them up.

Helena Bertinelli takes a gig as a substitute teacher at Gotham Academy. She teams up with Maps & other supporting cast when Mr Freeze takes the school hostage while trying to escape the police.

#batman #dc #thoughts and other ideas welcome #the cooler gotham antihero #ugh I guess I'll tag everyone: #bruce wayne #helena bertinelli #tim drake #damian wayne #carthago delenda est #duke thomas #barbara gordon #stephanie brown #jason todd #ghostmaker #luke fox #harper row #cassandra cain #jean paul valley #dennis o'neil's poor little meow meow #<- new jpv tag #kate kane #selina kyle #claire clover #bats + birds + affiliated #dick grayson #last of the flying graysons

[yourmidnightlover]

getting it over with - ch 1

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: after relentless teasing and being the butt of too many jokes, you ask bucky to help you become more experienced in… a particular area of your life

warning: precious bucky, virgin shaming?, virgin reader, slight male!oc x reader, sexual harrassment, illuding to sex, talk of sex

w/c: 2.5k

a/n: i am working on part 2 in my other series, timeless. i've been debating two different ways i could take it and it's been an internal battle trying to figure that out. that being said, i can't help myself and started writing this and so here it is! this will likely be a simple mini series with smut in the later parts, probably the next one tbh. anywho... enjoy!

another night with the girls, and yet another night of beng singled out and ridiculed over a miniscule part of your life. 

you were a well accomplished woman and yet all of your hard work has consistently been overlooked in nearly every conversation because of your extracurricular activities. or, well, more like your lack of extracurricular activities. 

you had been working with the avengers for five years now as their pr manager, living there for a little over three after finding it was easier to represent and present the team in a brighter light when you knew more about them. it was after you moved in that you got much closer to james ‘bucky’ barnes, who you’ve coined the nickname of ‘jamie’ for. your friends also began to question why you hadn’t, in their terms, “banged,” one of the avengers you happened to live with.

truth be told, you did enjoy spending time with them, especially bucky. but, that would be crossing a line. you were practically employed by them. well, technically you were employed by tony, but that didn’t change the fact that they were your clients. it was just particularly easy to find the good in the people who constantly saved the world. well, that, and you were supposed to make them look good anyway. 

the most difficult one to paint in the golden light was definitely bucky. you were great at getting the media to lean into his humanity and reminding them of how he had been tortured into what he became. you’ve imagined him to the public as “sargeant bucky barnes,” giving him back the title he earned rather than the name he was branded. he was still wary of venturing into the eye of the public, but everytime he did there were less people yelling at him and more people giving pitying looks and whispers. sure, he would rather not be recognized at all, but whispering was a hell of a long way from harassment. 

bucky was grateful for everything you’d done for him. truth be told, you were grateful for everything they had done for you anyway. hell they had repeatedly saved all of humanity, helping their reputation was the least you could do for them. 

but regardless of how well of a job you’ve done making the avengers’ reputation way lighter, somehow the only thing your old friends could talk about is how you’re somehow still a virgin.

“god, i can’t believe you’re still a virgin sometimes. especially being surrounded by hunks like him,” stephanie spoke up as she flipped her bleached hair behind her shoulder. “i would’ve tried my luck long before i cleared their name, girl. i mean, that sergeant guy has the prettiest blue eyes, and have you never wondered what he could do with that metal hand of his?” 

you rolled your eyes, “he’s more than a pretty face, steph. he’s actually really sweet, too. his humor’s a bit old, kinda like a grandpa.”

“well, if he’s a grandpa then i’d gladly be his sugar baby,” she squeaked as she sipped on her vodka cranberry. 

“can we not talk about him like that?” your face furrowed in embarrassment and you only hoped that she would take your blushing as remnants of the alcohol running through your body.

“why?” she scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “do you want him or something?” she paused, seeingly waiting for your response. clearly, your silence was answer enough. “oh my god you like him, don’t you?” 

“no, no, it’s not like that,” you shook your head as you downed the rest of your drink. “i just spend a lot of time with him because of the job, y’know?” 

“why don’t you just get him to pop your precious cherry?” she ventured as she stood from her stool. 

boy, had you wished for that. mostly in your wildest dreams, but part of you hoped it could maybe happen. but then, you would wake up and were reminded of your place in the world. besides, jamie was over 100 years old. there’s no way he’d want someone who didn’t know what they were doing in the bedroom. 

“or,” steph interrupted your thoughts. “we can get out there and find you a different guy to pop your cherry,” she finished with a wink as she grabbed your hands, pulling you from your seat and to the dance floor. 

you managed to sneak a glance at the clock before the crowd surrounding you made it more difficult, reading the time being 11 pm. you told the guys you’d be back before 1, so that gave you enough time to please stephanie and then politely excuse yourself. 

surprisingly, you had begun to enjoy yourself. the music wasn’t so bad with the surge of confidence the alcohol running through your veins gave you. after a few too many drinks, you were in your own world. finally unbothered by the nagging thoughts of your friends and the weight of your job on your shoulders. 

you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder before turning to see a sweet smile. he had big, brown eyes and shaggy hair, broad shoulders, none that compared to the men you lived with, but they were nice nonetheless. 

“hi,” he said even sweeter than his smile, keeping his hands to himself politely. “i-i’m noah.”

“well, hello, noah,” you smiled as you stepped closer to him, uncharacteristically throwing your arms around his neck as you continued to sway to the music. “y/n.”

“i-uh-you-you’re gorgeous,” he stuttered as his hands modestly found your waist.

“you really think so?” you said teasingly before leaning up to his ear. “i think you are super cute, yourself.” 

at this point, you had nearly forgotten all about stephanie’s presence at all. maybe she had already left with another guy, herself? who knows. right now, all you knew was that you didn’t know brown eyes could be so pretty. mayb you didn’t want to wait anymore. maybe you didn’t want to be the old virgin in your friend group anymore. maybe noah could change that.

“you’re unreal,” he chuckled as he continued to sway with you for the next song until you began to kiss on his neck. 

“you taste so sweet,” you commented in his ear before kissing right below it. he pulled back, giving you a sweet smile before connecting your lips together. 

“you taste sweeter, believe me,” he huffed out a breath as you reconnected your lips with his. 

“i think i want you, noah,” you whispered against his lips so softly he wasn’t sure he even heard you. “pretty please?” 

“ye-yea, sure,” he guided you out of the bar, you needing nearly all of his support to even walk out of the threshold of the door. 

“think ‘m sleepy, noah,” you mumbled against his neck as the cold air hit your face, as if it had began to sober you up.

“you just said you wanted me…?” he perplexed as he pulled you aside into the ally to gather yourself. 

“‘m sorry, noah,” you shrugged as the cold air hit you again. “‘s cold outside, can i go back in?” you turned to walk back inside when he grabbed your arm, probably a bit more harsh than he intended to. 

“what the fuck?” he sounded disappointed. “i complimented you, i let you make the first move, and now you just wanna back out?” he pulled you closer to his body. “what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“i-i dunno, i just got confused i think?” you stumbled as you tried to back away once more. “it’s too cold out here, noah.” 

“maybe this’ll warm you up,” he grabbed your pliable face and brought you back in for a kiss before you tried to push him away again.

“y/n?” you heard a raspy voice call out. “what the fuck?” you turned to see your jamie confused.

“jamie!” you tred to wiggle out of noah’s grasp once more, a disgruntled look on your face as you did so. “jamie…” you were now limply wrestling out of noah’s grasp as he scoffed at the situation in front of him. 

“what?” he said in disbelief. “you wanna lead me on and leave with this guy?”

“noah-”

“i think you need to back of the lady, alright, man?” bucky spoke up as he stepped closer towards you. “she’s clearly a bit drunk, just let me take her home and we’ll be on our way. no harm, right?” he tried to reason with the douchebag. 

“no harm?” he grasped your arm tighter before he continued, making you wince slightly. “so this bitch is able to fucking lead me on and then leave me high and dry and there’s ‘no harm’?”

“okay, i’ve tried to be nice about this,” without a second of hesitation, he had noah’s arms behind his back, not enough to seriously injure him, but just enough to harm him enough to not tempt him to do any more harm. “you will apologize to miss y/n for talking to her the way you did, you will walk away, and you won’t do anything like that to any woman in the near future, understood?” noah nodded. “am i understood?!” 

“yes, yes!” bucky nudged him further in your direction as you were leaning your back against the brick wall for stability. “i’m sorry, y/n.”

“for…?” bucky taunted.

“i’m sorry for talking to you the way i did.”

“good boy,” bucky teased as he released the man, letting him run away and not sparing him another glance before he made his way closer to you. 

“‘m sorry, jamie,” you stumbled forward and threw your arms around him. you had never been so openly affectionate, especially with bucky since you knew his aversions. since you were so drunk, you simply didn’t register the unspoken boundaries you had unintentionally set in place for yourself. “didn’t wanna make him mad. jus’ changed my mind s’all,” you buried your face in his neck. 

“you have a right to change your mind, doll,” he soothed as he gently rubbed your back, leading you to steve’s car he borrowed. 

“y/n?” you snapped your head to look at bucky as he spoke. “i don’t want you to be so late again, doll. it’s almost 2 am. had me worried sick about ya,” his hand danced on your knee, you assumed to comfort you after the events of the night.

“i didn’t know,” you shook your head. “i swear, i just lost track of time. s’not like me to do this. i just got so mad and wanted to get it over with, y’know?”

“get what over with?”

“you won’t laugh at me?” you grabbed his hand that was resting on your knee and turned in your seat to face your body towards him. “never, doll,” he chuckled at your serious tone.

“i’m tired of bein’ a virgin,” you said with a sense of disappointment. “don’ want people makin’ fun of me anymore.”

“that’s nothing to be embarrassed about, doll,” he shook his head as he put the car in park before running to your side of the car and helping you out. “some people want to save that moment, i get it.”

“no,” you groaned as you leaned into him. “i don’t wanna save it. i was just scared at first, and then i didn’t want to, and now it’s too late because nobody wants to be with a virgin.”

“that’s not true, y/n,” he shook his ehad as he pressed your shared floor on the elevator. 

“would you wanna have sex with me?” you wondered aloud as bucky began coughing loudly. “don’t be mean,” you huffed and crossed your arms, figuring he was trying to hide his laugh. “steph said i should get you to ‘pop my cherry’ but i knew you would’t wan-”

“hey, that’s not what i meant,” he stopped your train of thought. 

“so you do wanna ‘pop my cherry’?” you awed at the man as the elevator doors opened. 

“i wan’ you to stop referencing it as ‘popping your cherry’,” he grimaced as he said it himself. 

“you wanna have sex with me? bang? do the deed? take my virginity? make love?”

“stop it,” he groaned as you giggled, leaning into his chest even more. “i wanna have this conversation when your sober, if you even remember it.”

“i’ll remember, my sweet jamie,” you held onto his arm as he walked you to your room, helping you get into bed before going into your bathroom and returning with your bin of skincare. “this is why you’re my sweet jamie,” if you didn’t know any better you’d think he was blushing. 

he began using your makeup wipes to remove the remnants of makeup that had survived the night, followed by micellar water to remove the excess remover from your face. you knew he had seen you do your skincare routine after having so many late movie nights with one another, but it was still flattering that he had remembered it all so well. he finished applying your toners, serums, and finally your moisturizer with gentle hands, his metal one providing a nice cold surface that woke your skin up a bit more. it wasn’t until you reached up to grab his flesh hand that he noticed the bruises lacing your arms. 

“god,” he sighed as he looked down at his lap. “i’m so sorry i was too late, doll.”

“you weren’t too late,” you shook your head at his negativity. “you were perfectly on time. you saved me. i don’t-i don’t know what would’ve happened had you not shown up. i-”

“i don’t wanna think about what could’ve happened, please,” he shook his head as he held onto your bruised wrist softly, tenderly rubbing his cool metal hand over the damaged skin before pressing a kiss to it. 

“will you stay with me tonight?” you asked softly, as if you were scared he would say no. as if he would ever tell you no. 

“only if you’re sure,” you nodded eagerly with a grin before he crawled into bed with you. 

bucky’s arms wrapped around your waist as you laid on his chest, breathing in his scent as his soothing heartbeat calmed you down after the nights antics. 

“i’ll remember tomorrow, jamie.”

CHAPTER 2

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes smut #bucky x reader #marvel #james bucky barnes #sargeant barnes #sargeant bucky barnes #bucky barnes angst #james bucky buchanan barnes #james barnes #sargeant james barnes #james buchanan barnes

[bruciemilf]

LOOK I AM IN FACT GONNA THROW HANDS WITH MY BRAIN FOR GIVING ME THIS IDEA WHEN IT REFUSES TO WORD - BUT BASICALLY???

YouTuber batkids, right? Batkids who want to connect, in some way, with the world they're protecting, - at least Dick, who started the whole fire, actually.

He has YouTube tutorials giving out gymnastics tips, stretching cheat codes, balancing a healthy routine with the occasional work out routine that's friendly for all body types and also talks about mental health

Tim happened to walk in on him telling the camera about someone named " Kori" who seems to be " out of this world" , and Tim is like OH COOL??? I WANNA DO THIS, TOO??? That event signed the birth of Wayne Enterprises prank compilations

I can see Jason bringing some limelight to BookTube again; He also gives out AMAZING writing tips, routines, provides college level advice and lessons for free, and he also has series where he's discussing literature tropes he's tired of/hates " Stop trying to fix him, youre not Dr. Frankenstein "

His most popular video is titled " Women In Literature: Are They Better Than Men? (SPOILER! They've always been.) " But he also bakes with Alfred a whole lot, as well as doing make-up and mystery videos with Tim

" Hold on, fuck, I ALWAYS mess up the eyeliner-" Bruce, a well known and lusted after cryptid on his kid's channels, simply pulls out a knife and does perfect wings before walking away

Bruce for the mom that brings kids fruits and doesn't know what the hell a vlog or stream is!!!

Jason games sometimes, mostly when he's on Duke and Steph's channel, and I physically NEED for Bruce to walk in, oversized superman sweater on, holding a plate of berries and oranges and he's like, " Jay, you have to eat your fruits-"

" I don't LIKE fruits"

" well, Tim's gonna be devasted, but you still NEED to"

Just Duke and Stephanie trying not to laugh while their big brother almost breaks his neck trying to run away from Bruce when the man wants to kiss his cheek

Damian can be seen causing mischief in the background of every video, regardless who's channel he's on, and the internet loves him as much as Bruce;

Stephanie has a " dami's zoo" series where she shows that little menace animal movies and he just roasts the absolute red jelly out of the producers; " The number of people who deserve oxygen lowers by the day"

#bruce wayne #batman #dc #dc comics #jason todd #dick grayson #duke thomas #damian wayne #batfamily #batdad #batkids #batfam #fluff #soft bruce wayne #writing prompt #btw you guys can like. take every writing thing of mine and go wild with it if you want lol id be delighted

[kimberly-spirits13]

I wanted a batboys headcanon, a reader brother who is an Android, like Marvel's Vision, what would it be like for them to have a brother who is a robot? Pleaseee me notice

Hellooooo thanks for the requests 😂 I’m in AP Exam season so I’m not on here too much rn but here’s my two cents on the matter

okay so if batbro is like Vision, there’s some sort of power source that is VERY visible and easy to access

They are all super protective of you in that sense since they don’t want you getting hurt *rip vision* *you were ✨almost✨ indestructible*

Bruce or Tim would probably make some sort of mask or armor to protect the energy source

When you were younger or first introduced into the batfam, they’re always running diagnostics and computer programs to see what’s up with you so get used to it

Jason had a can of WD-40 that he threatens you with sometimes to be funny

Bruce is always concerned that you’ll get programmed or hacked by a villain and they’ll have to have some sort of terrible contingency plan

Dick is mostly just trying to help you incorporate into society normally

It helps if you can disguise the robot/ cyborg part but he’s always making sure your social life is an A+

Damian wants to push your limits and see how far you can train and fight

It takes him a while to not see you as a computer tbh but he comes around after you save his butt a few times

Duke models his armor off of your systems and Luke is typically trying to incorporate little pieces of it into Wayne Tech

Stephanie is the type to write on you with expo markers if you have a metal armor body or something

Cass doesn’t treat you as if you weren’t human but treats you like everyone else so she’s super awesome to be around

Babs has definitely sat down with you to go through diagnostics if you’re cool with it and she’s the best for that since she’s not testing you like a machine but trying to understand how you can best live

You’re often called in for League problems and the entire batfam worries about it since there protective

Alfred doesn’t bat an eye and anything since he’s used to everything by now

Is of course, very kind and understanding of anything you need or are going through

#dc x reader #dc comics #dc characters #batfam x reader #batboys x reader #batfam #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #damian wayne x reader #damian wayne #batfam x you #batfam x male reader

[halfagone]

Cassandra Cain and Communication

I've been noticing an interesting trend in DPxDC fanfics lately where people write Cass like she's psychic, or in simpler terms: she can read someone and in an instant know how to help them. And while I can definitely see the merits of this kind of approach, there are a lot of things to keep in mind.

I cannot stress enough how isolated Cass' childhood was. When it's said that David Cain trained her only in the language of killing, it is not an exaggeration. In many early renditions of her character, Cass cannot speak at all, and if she can, only in short, brief sentences. Cass goes the first seventeen years of her life not knowing how to read.

That is a canonical plot point too. We see Barbara teaching Cass to read in Batman Volume 1 #567:

Based on the context surrounding this scene, this is a regular occurrence between the pair. Cass has also sought out Stephanie before to read something for her (Batgirl Volume 1 #20). If you're curious about more analysis surrounding this particular subject, this post has some interesting points and shows the gradual shift in how DC handled her character.

But this is early into her time with the Batfamily. What about later on, when she's more assimilated to the Waynes and her fellow vigilantes?

Well, you don't even have to be a hardcore comic fan to see how she continues to struggle with expression and communication. In Wayne Family Adventures, episodes 32 and 33, we see how Cass' ability to read body language has also hurt her and her relationship with the people around her.

She doesn't mean to hurt Stephanie's feelings in these episodes, but the damage is real and it happened. Cass means well, ultimately, but she still doesn't know how or when to address these problems. She sees that Steph is hurting and wants to help; those are all admirable qualities! But in the end, she only pushes Stephanie further away, and is left feeling guilty and carrying self-loathing in the wake.

Here is also a reminder: Cass killed her first man at the age of 8 years old, and consequently ran away from her father when she realized killing was wrong. She did not know what he felt was fear. She did not know the definition of fear, nor the word for it. She just saw the expression on his face as he died, and realized that something was wrong, and ran away.

Cass doesn't arrive to Gotham until she's 17 years old, around the No Man's Land era, if I remember correctly. She is on the run for 9 years in this time, and sadly, she did not pick up many- if any- language or communication skills during this period. This isn't a fault on her character either, when she likely had to keep moving and didn't have time to connect with anyone like she did with Barbara, who could teach her how to speak and read.

But at the end of the day, it makes sense that Cass doesn't know how to socialize. Think of a real life example: some kids who grow up homeschooled struggle to make connections once they reach adulthood and start looking for a job. They've never had to make small talk, or address strangers face-to-face, so they don't know how to interact with people. Cass' situation is a more extreme version of this scenario, but with blood, brutal training, and child abuse involved.

At her core, Cass is a good person. And she will continue to be that good person. But she doesn't always have the answers. Nobody does! She'll continue to help people to the best of her abilities, but sometimes those abilities can be limited.

Cass is not a perfect person. When Bruce was lost in the timeline, and the remaining Batfamily members started to splinter and fall apart in the wake, Cass didn't remain in Gotham to help with the rising violence with Batman's absence. Instead, when her family needed her most, she went to Hong Kong, because she didn't want to be there without Bruce. She did briefly meet Tim in Paris, when she had saved him from the Daughters of Acheron, but she still doesn't accompany Tim, nor does she return to Gotham even after finding out the city is extremely understaffed.

Cass is well-meaning, but she is not faultless. We might not like to acknowledge the flaws of our favorite characters, but those flaws are a part of them! Just like how Bruce consistently fails to express himself is a part of his. Or how Dick tries to pretend that everything is fine so he doesn't have to address his own problems. Or how Jason can be inconsistent with his motivations and people get hurt as a result. Or how Tim keeps too many secrets and pushes people away, ruining multiple relationships in turn.

I could go on and on, but all these characters are more than just their flaws. The same thing with Cass.

So don't be afraid to show a Cass that doesn't know how to fix things. Don't be afraid to show a Cass that doesn't know what to do, but just tries her best. It's one of her most admirable qualities: always trying no matter what.

#dpxdc #cassandra cain #character analysis #with yours truly :D #look cass is my girl okay #i can and WILL talk nonstop about her

[bats-and-birds-24]

So, I know that a lot of people have their favorites in the batfamily and that's perfectly fine. But the problem with this is that they frequently act like their favorite character is flawless and gets used and abused by the rest of the family.

This is where it gets grating because all of the batfamily members have fucked up in some way and hurt each other yes even Cassandra, Tim, Stephanie, Dick, and Alfred.

This is particularly a problem with Jason and Tim fans I've noticed because those two are my favorites as well.

Whenever people talk about Tim as being neglected by the batfamily and being overlooked and overworked, I just don't agree with them.

This goes for Jason to an even greater degree as his fans have a way of demonizing everyone else in the batfamily aside from Cass and Alfred and write him as someone who's completely justified. Which is not true, because Jason's repeatedly acted terribly to people and has been called out for it.

Batman isn't a good parent but he's not a bad one either. He cares for his children deeply, but has severe problems communicating this affection to them along with his single minded drive for justice stemming from his own trauma.

Fanon frequently flanderizes these characters to a point where they're a parody of themselves. As bad as Canon can be sometimes, Fanon can be even worse.

My biggest gripe has to be that in simplifying these complex characters, we end up both demonizing people with trauma and somehow at the same time making it so that their trauma justifies every bad thing that they've done.

#batfamily #batfam #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #batman #bruce wayne #batkids #batsiblings #batboys

[punkeropercyjackson]

Please tell me how Duke,Cass and Stephanie getting nonstop left out of Batfam content isn't because of antiblackness,racialized misogyny and a mix of gender essentialism,classism and ableism.When none of you can shut the fuck up about how 'black haired and blue eyed male is the only requirement for a Batkid!' and go as far as to include 'pale/fair skinned' sometimes when Damian and Dick are brownskin in multiple versions because of being brown in heritage and Damian and Jason have green eyes half the time and by saying 'lighteyed' when it comes to Batboys,that would be problematic but it'd at least include Duke since he's gold eyed due to Gnonom and you probably don't even know who that is since you actively refuse to meet Duke even though he's easiest Batkid to read for BECAUSE he's got so little content and Cass and Stephanie also have a small amount of material compared to the other boys

When Cass is chosen over Duke for Jason by all of you even though she hates him and she chooses Stephanie again and again against everyone's wishes and Duke canonically WANTS to be chosen for fucking once and Jason DID choose him and is the only other Batboy who called him a Robin directly outside of Robin War and Stephanie's dying wish was be 'a real Robin' and Cass' character creation purpose is to defy the idea that asian women exist only for white men and go against other asian girl stereotypes,INCLUDING being purely soft and feminine by making her a rough and tough butch who hates cis men.When you say 'Fuck canon,fanon is better!' to justify your millions of rewrites to erase Tim's Robin being a romani man and his Batgirl a half chinese girl and Jason's Robin and Batgirl being a black autistic boy and his Batgirl a bpdtistic male explotation victim and your crossovers of characters who have the perfect parents or at least caretakers in canon but suddenly,canon is your gospel when it comes to the bigotry in it's writing i.e how 'The core Batkids' came to be

And the fact is,that's like the only Batkids combo that DOSEN'T make sense!The Dead Robins Club is a no brainer but there's also the 90s Batkids trinity,the Shakespearen Robins(Jason,Stephanie and Duke),The Troubled Batkids(Tim,Stephanie,Cass and Duke),Batman!Cass Batwoman!Stephanie Robin!Maps and Trans Batgirl!Damian and the ONLY CANON Nightwing Robin and Batgirl trio we've ever gotten in Dick Tim and Cass??????You have some of the best dynamics of all time possible but nah,you'd rather pass it over for infantalizing a grown ass disabled moc into your pathetic lil pretty obsessed manchild,turning thee dead sidekick into a convuluted mess more than canon ever has and that's saying BIG words,cringeifying someone who just has the personality of an ordinary of 17 year old boy and is therefore inherently lovable into the arranged marriage lovechild of a dark romance guy and a pick me quotev girl and dehumanize a cute and sweet lil brown boy who's got that trauma already to turn him into an animal in human mold in the same breath you bash him healing enough to get a gf through trauma bonding and being kiddy together in favor of your groody ass lil age gap fantasy-Actually,that applies to ALL OF THEM

Kory,Rose and STEPHANIE are infinitely better written love interests for Dick,Jason and Tim than any older man you want them to get with,Tim most of all because he's not even a man,he's a boy.Cass and Stephanie are adults and have been for a long time in multiple incarnations so why not make Stephcass smut instead?Why not 'Duke joins the Batfam early/Jason takes Duke into The Outlaws after he has a fight with Bruce that scared him/Sleep Deprived Duke Thomas/Chaotic Duke Thomas/Duke Thomas deserves better/Trans Duke Thomas/Autistic Duke Thomas?,all of which are infinitely more implicable to Duke than they are to Tim and so is 'Token Normal Tim Drake'?When you make this content or you support it,you're saying something.You're saying you don't care about representation and perfer stereotyping and abusive dynamics because you believe they're inherently more interesting

Before you judge this post,consider the following:Which one of us has read enough comics and watched enough adaptions to know all this?Which one of us has more of a right to call themself a Batfam and Batkids fan?Which one of us is constantly gatekeeping Duke,Cass and Stephanie from their own story and pulling the 'No,YOU!!!!' card?It's absolutely pathetic how desperate the grip Batfanon has taken is and even more so that y'all refuse to move on from it like i did.It's not gonna kill you,you pissbabies.And just curious,how long was the last Batfam-centric post you rb'd?Longer than this,right?

#the batkids #batfam #duke thomas #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #dick grayson #damian wayne #jason todd #tim drake #duke is a robin #duke is a batboy #cass is a batkid #pro stephanie brown #maps mizoguchi #nika dc #daminika #dickkory #jayrose #timsteph #stephcass #t4t stephcass #jon kent #anti slade wilson #batfanon slander #afrolatino jason supremacy #blasian stephanie brown #trans 4 trans and autistic 4 autistic found family realness #💌 #summerposting #roy harper

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

God. Now I want to write a fic where Bruce actually is the gas station manager who puts his ten-year-old son on the register regularly.

it's literally such a funny premise... Stephanie doesn't even work there she just keeps showing up to flirt with Tim but she knows the gig so well that sometimes Bruce walks in and she's on register... Dick swears he isn't working there any more but Bruce calls him whenever there's an emergency (one of the freezers is broken) and he shows up with a toolbox within 15 minutes grumbling about it... there's a framed photo of Jason on the back wall that says In Loving Memory and he always leans up against it while he's drinking a slurpee (he still died and came back to life in this universe)... Bruce had to take a medical leave for like a week one time but he left Jean Paul in charge and he went mad with gas station power so they had a fistfight in the parking lot when Bruce got back....

[incorrectbatfam]

Batfam’s Father’s Day plans

(also on Ao3)

"Morning, Bruce."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Love," she says.

"Huh?"

"Favorite thing you do. Love."

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

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

Bruce asks, "Did you have lunch yet?"

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

"You want ice cream for lunch?"

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

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

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

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

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

"Really?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"This is for me?" Bruce asks. 

"Tt, who else would it be for?"

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

"Why are you giving me all your prizes?"

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

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

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

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

"Um, you're welcome?" he says. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He takes it, running his thumb along the words. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jason scoffs. 

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

"Count me out."

"Jaybird."

"Codenames, Dickhead."

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

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

Bruce smiles and leaps to the next building. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

#father's day #bruce wayne #batman #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #damian wayne #duke thomas #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #barbara gordon #kate kane #alfred pennyworth #selina kyle #batfamily #batfam #batbros #batboys #batgirls #batkids #batsiblings #batman family #justice league #dc comics #dc fanfic #ficlet #ask #anonymous #long post #fanfiction