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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 2
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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 5030 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.
Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together. 
But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.
Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.
However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.
Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?
~~~
(6 Months Later)
Dick Grayson looked up at the Carr family home from his car, apprehensive to open the door just yet. It was a nice home, and from the research Dick did, a nice family lived there too.
His eyes trailed to the apartment situated above the garage, imagining the people who were inside. How were they going to react when he told them what he was there for? Scratch that, how were they going to react when they saw him?
'Should I go take a nap or are you going to man up and go inside at some point?' Oracle's sarcastic voice came through the car's bluetooth.
Dick clenched his hands around the steering wheel. Barbara - newly named Oracle - was right. It didn't matter what his friends were going to say. He needed their help, and he needed to man up.
Dick finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. 'I'll call you when I'm done,' he said, then ended the call before Barbara could sneak in another witty remark.
He made haste running up the Carr's driveway, then up the stairs to the apartment above the garage. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard laughter and lively chatter that made him pause. An overwhelming sense of guilt and shame and longing surged through him. Was he really going to break up the joy beyond the door? Once upon a time he would've been glad for a party, for a break from work and his vigilante duties.
His mind flashed back to that first party him and his friends had in Mount Justice. It was Wally's birthday and he had been lapping up all the attention, especially from M'gann, who had made him a cake and had in fact organised the whole party. This was before Wally realised him and Artemis were meant to be, same with Connor and M'gann.
But Y/N had known, had even pointed it out to Dick as they sat in the corner just the two of them, watching everything play out.
'They're all so thick,' Y/N said, taking a sip of her lemonade, trying to hide her knowing smile.
'How so?' Dick asked.
Y/N rolled her eyes. 'Can you not see?' She grabbed Dick's chin and guided him to look at Connor and M'gann interacting awkwardly but in a cute way, then Wally and Artemis "fighting", matching wit for wit with every snarky comment they threw at each other. 'Connor and M'gann are so into each other, and you could cut the emotional tension between Wally and Artemis it's so thick. They are all crushing hard.'
Dick watched the two couples interact a little longer and realised Y/N was right. 'Well would you look at that,' he said, turning back to Y/N. 'You're quite the observer, aren't you?'
Y/N chuckled. 'Dick, we've been best friends for three years now. If you're just figuring that out now, then you're just as thick as the rest of our friends.'
'Hey! I am not!'
'Are to.'
'Am. Not!'
'Are. To!'
The two fell into hysterical laughter, gripping onto one another so they didn't fall to the ground.
Y/N's smile came to him then, and the longing in his chest ached even more. She was more than likely beyond the door too, laughing and smiling without a care in the world. He suddenly had the thought that he couldn't go through with it. He couldn't possibly ask them - couldn't ask her - to help him. Not after what he'd done...
Before he could chicken out completely, he forced himself to knock lightly on the door.
'I'll get it,' M'gann's sweet voice called out to whoever she was with, and Dick prepared himself as he heard her walk to the door.
M'gann opened the door, and she was smiling, the remnants of laughter twinkling in her eyes. She was in her human form, but it had changed since the last time Dick saw her. Her ginger hair was now cropped just under her ears, and her features were sharper, more refined than that of a young adolescent. She wore a flattering white blouse and casual jeans, not bothering for shoes in her own home.
She was grown up. In just two years?
Her brown eyes locked with Dick's blue ones, and immediately her smile dropped as shock froze her face.
Dick offered her a small smile 'Hi, M'gann,' he said softly.
'Dick...' was all she could manage as she continued to look at him, eyes raking over him as if she were imagining things. 'What are you doing here?'
'Honey, who is it?'
Dick's guilt deepened at the sound of Connor's voice. The Superboy himself came to the door when M'gann didn't answer, and stopped in his tracks as soon as he laid eyes on Dick. But he didn't stay shocked for long.
Connor furrowed his eyebrows and stepped up behind M'gann, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. 'What are you doing here?' he asked icily, eyes solely focussed on Dick.
It hurt to see such distrust in his old friend's eyes, but Dick somewhat expected that. 'Nice to see you too, Connor,' he said, slipping into his casual, carefree persona easily. If there was one thing Dick was really good at, it was putting on a mask. 'I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd swing by. It's been a while.'
'Why don't you answer my question first before you start acting like nothing is wrong,' Connor suggested, his voice taking a deep threatening tone.
'Connor, please,' M'gann said, seemingly getting over her initial shock. She placed her left hand over Connor's on her shoulder, and that's when Dick saw the shiny diamond ring on her finger. 'He's our friend.'
Dick didn't think his guilt could worsen at those three words.
M'gann opened the door wider and offered him a small smile. 'Come in, Dick. We'd love for you to join us.'
Dick flashed her a grateful smile. 'Thanks,' he said as he ducked through the doorway. He then looked from M'gann to Connor and back again. 'Congratulations, by the way.'
M'gann looked confused for a moment, then a joyful twinkle flashed in her eyes as she looked to her ring, a soft smile gracing her features. 'Thank you, Dick,' she said. 'That's what we're actually celebrating. Come on, there is food and drinks this way.'
M'gann walked back towards the party, but Connor and Dick remained in the entrance, staring at one another.
Dick took Connor in. Because of his clone genetics, Connor never actually aged. Not physically anyways. He'd changed ever so slightly from when Dick first broke him out of Cadmus, only growing a centimetre or two every year or so. His muscles had toned more having entered his theoretical twenties, and but his face still held onto those baby features he'd had since being replicated as a teenaged Superman.
Dick sized himself up against Connor and shockingly found that, for the first time, they were looking at each other eye to eye.
Connor seemed to scan Dick, too, coming to the same conclusion that Dick had changed too since they last saw each other. Dick waited for Connor to say something, but when Connor was done he gave Dick a stone cold grimace then turned to follow M'gann.
'What a warm reunion,' Dick mumbled under breath as he followed Connor down the hallway.
The hallway opened into an open-floor plan that held the kitchen, the dinning room and the lounge. Dick expected a few more people to be waiting for them, but he only spotted Kaldur lounging on the couch, drink in hand. Being the vigilant person he was, Kaldur immediately recognised Dick and placed his drink on the coffee table as he stood up.
'Dick,' he said, teal eyes wide with surprise.
'Hey, Kaldur,' Dick greeted awkwardly, ready for the same cold treatment as Connor.
Instead, Kaldur's face broke into a warm smile as he manoeuvred around the furniture to make his way to Dick. 'Old friend,' he said as he embraced Dick. 'It has been too long.'
'It sure has, buddy,' Dick responded, returning his friend's embrace.
Kaldur released him, but kept his hand on Dick's shoulder as he scanned over him. 'Look at you! You seem to be healthy and strong.'
It was true. Dick had noticed he'd muscled up a little more since leaving the team, though still keeping towards the leaner side of muscular. He certainly wasn't has bulk as Connor, or Kaldur for that fact, who Dick noted also had more muscles and toned features. Kaldur certainly filled out the black button-up he wore. But, as it was with Connor, Dick was happy to see him looking directly in Kaldur's eyes as they spoke, not from slightly below as it had been since they were children.
'Thanks man,' Dick said. 'Been working out. I see you've been doing the same, Aquaman.'
'My King left some large shoes to fill,' Kladur admitted humbly. 'But thank you.'
'So you know of Kaldur's promotion, but couldn't contact him to say congrats when it happened?' Connor interjected from his place in the kitchen.
M'gann scolded him as she placed some plates on the dining table, but the mood had already changed to tense and quiet.
'Connor's right,' Dick admitted, addressing his three friends. 'I'm sorry. These past two years... I should've stayed in contact. I wanted to. But every time I went to, I convinced myself that you didn't want to hear from me. That it would be better to leave you all be while I try to figure out myself again.'
'Oh Dick,' M'gann started, walking around the table to pull him into a hug. 'Of course we wanted to hear from you. You're our friend and we missed you. But we understand that after Wally died, you had to take a break from everything.'
M'gann pulled away and then pointed an accusatory finger at him, looking extremely cross with him. 'But if you ever do anything like that again, I swear I will hunt you down and kick your sorry ass into another universe. Understood?'
Dick nodded vigorously. 'U-Understood.'
M'gann's sweet demeanour returned and she walked back to the table to continue setting it. The three men looked at her quietly as she went about her work, until Dick turned to Connor and said, 'Your fiancée is scary.'
Dick expected another glare from the Superboy, but he was gladly surprised when the dark-haired boy nodded in agreement, face slightly pale. 'You got that right.' He then shook himself out of his frozen state of fear to help his fiancée dish out their meal.
'Give him time,' Kaldur said quietly to Dick. 'You know how Connor can be with expressing his emotions.'
'Well, he's not as emotionally constipated as he once was, I'll give him that,' Dick said. 'Unfortunately, I don't think I have time.'
'What do you mean?' Kaldur asked.
Dick went to explain but quickly decided against it. Kaldur was in the Justice League now. Dick couldn't really explain what he was planning to do. Not yet, anyway.
'Forget I said anything,' Dick said instead, flashing his charming smile and wrapping an arm around his old friend's shoulders. 'For now, why don't you tell me everything I've missed. How is it being Atlantis' new champion, first starters...'
For the next hour, it was like old times. The four of them ate and laughed and swapped stories about what Dick had missed in the last two years. They recalled some of the good times they all shared when they were on the team, and Dick convinced himself for a brief moment that they could all stay like this. Happy, carefree, young.
But Dick had come to Connor and M'gann for a reason.
Once they'd had enough of dessert, Connor offered to wash up and Dick saw his chance.
'I'll help wipe up,' Dick offered, taking his and Kaldur's plates to the sink while Connor filled the sink with soap and water. Dick waited until M'gann and Kaldur were in deep conversation over on the couch that Dick decided to broach his intended subject. 'So, how is the team going?'
'The team is doing okay,' Connor answered flatly, never lifting his eyes from his work with the plates in the sink. 'I just try to help M'gann as best as I can. We're down a few numbers since your old man decided to take half of the Justice League and our team with him in his little stunt.'
Dick winced. He recalled getting the call from Tim about it about five months ago. It had been an orchestrated walk out from over half the Justice League and their protégés, all of them wanting to go back to their vigilante ways as the League and the team had become somewhat irrelevant. Those that remained never saw it coming.
'I'm sorry about that,' he apologised, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Just felt appropriate.
Connor looked at him briefly, hands pausing in the sink as he did, and then released a sigh of defeat. 'Don't be sorry, Dick. It's not like you had anything to do with it.'
'No,' Dick agreed, 'but I should've been there at least. I should've reached out to see if you were okay. We started this team together, I shouldn't have just left it all to you.'
'Well, I know the rest of the team would really appreciate it if you came back now,' Connor said, his tone hopeful. 'That is, if you're ready to come back.'
Dick's heart lurched at the thought of going back to the team, both with want and terror. He liked Barbara, he really did. But, if he were being honest, he'd missed being a part of something bigger than himself and his own agendas.
'Connor,' Dick started softly, looking to see M'gann and Kaldur still locked in deep conversation before continuing, 'I would love to come back. Please know that. But you should know I haven't just been idly moving about the place the last two years. I've been conducting undercover missions of my own with Barbara in relation to the meta-human trafficking crisis.'
Connor's eyes widened and Dick saw he was about to raise his voice so leaned in close and hurriedly whispered, 'Keep your voice down, please.'
Connor took a second to register what Dick had said before whispering harshly, 'What do you mean you've been working on your own? You should've come to us if you were getting involved.'
'First of all, I just said I had Barbara helping me, and secondly because the team and the Justice League are full of public figures now. The missions wouldn't work if they got involved. But I've actually come here to ask you for your help on a mission, Connor.'
'Me?! Why would I-'
'Let me explain. First of all, it'll be you, me, Artemis-'
'You've pulled Artemis into this too?! Where the hell has she been, anyway?'
'Would you stop interrupting me for one second?' Dick hissed, wiping up a plate or two before returning to the conversation. 'As I was saying, from our intel, Markovia's Princess Tara has been found dead. Killed by a meta human supposedly, and I have a sneaky suspicion someone has been testing on people with the meta gene, turning them into extreme versions of their meta abilities. I need your help to find out who. As I said before, I've convinced Artemis to help already, and I was looking to you, Jefferson, and Y/N to make up the rest of the team.'
Dick looked around the room, looking at how empty the couches were around M'gann and Kaldur and sudden thought struck him. 'Speaking of which, where is Y/N?' he asked. 'I would've thought she'd be here celebrating the good news.'
He'd forgotten to keep quiet that time, and so Kaldur and M'gann looked at him alongside Connor, all looking as if Dick had sprouted three heads.
'What?' Dick asked, patting around his face. 'Do I have sauce on my face?'
'You don't know?' M'gann asked, sounding almost on the brink of tears.
That's when Dick realised something was majorly wrong, and his gut twisted with fear. 'Know what? Where's Y/N?'
'Y/N, she...' Kaldur started, then took a deep breath before continuing, 'Y/N left the team, Dick.'
'What?' Dick said, almost dropping the plate he held. 'What do you mean she left?'
'She left about six months ago,' Connor answered, washing up the last plate and emptying the sink. 'Before everyone else left. She felt like she wasn't doing enough with us anymore, so she just... left.'
'I've sent her plenty of messages,' M'gann said, 'but she hasn't answered any of them. And I can't sense her at all in the country. Even the Watchtower couldn't find her.'
Dick couldn't believe this. Y/N was gone? 'So Wonder Woman doesn't even know where she is?'
'Wonder Woman has been busy running the Justice League since Batman resigned,' Kaldur answered. 'Even if she did know where her daughter was, I don't think she'd like us to know, and I would have to agree.'
'Why?' Dick asked, suddenly very angry at Kaldur for not being as concerned as he was about Y/N. 'Do you know where she is?'
Kaldur shook his head. 'Regrettably, no. But when we last spoke, she sounded like she didn't want to be found. That she would come back to us when she was ready. I think we should respect that.'
Dick shook his head in disbelief. 'No, that's not like Y/N. She wouldn't just leave anywhere without telling anyone.'
'What, you mean like you?' Connor asked, and that cold stare was back.
'I mean she is loyal and empathetic. Surely she would know how her absence would affect the team,' Dick continued, ignoring the personal dig.
'She was loyal, Dick,' Connor countered. 'She was loyal, and stuck around with M'gann, Kaldur and I until the team got back on its feet. She held the team together when we were on the brink of falling apart. But you wouldn't know that because you weren't here.'
Dick wanted to argue but found that he couldn't. What he had thought was the best for the team turned out to be the complete opposite. He could sense it now; his relationships with his oldest friends were no longer as they were.
'You were gone for two years,' Connor continued. 'You'd be surprised as to how much a person can change in that time.'
The day Dick left flashed in his mind, and he recalled the pain in Y/N's eyes when he left her behind. He remembered how she'd held it together, but he knew she would probably cry about it later because she'd done it some many times before, always going to him to cry on his shoulder.
But he wasn't there that time. He'd left her all alone to dry her tears.
You're my best friend. Always have been. Always will be...
Dick looked to his friends again, but they could barely meet his eyes. Kaldur was disappointed, Connor was angry, and M'gann was just sad. An apology bubbled up in Dick's throat, but he didn't think it was sufficient enough for what he had done to them.
'I have to find her, then,' Dick said into the quiet room, and finally they all looked to him.
'Did you not just hear Kaldur?' Connor asked. 'We should leave her alone like she wants.'
'We don't necessarily know that,' Dick countered. 'Besides, this isn't about bringing her back. This is about me making things right with her.'
'But what if Kaldur is right?' M'gann argued. 'What if she doesn't want to be found. Maybe the right thing to do is leave her alone?'
Dick shook his head. 'She's my best friend, M'gann. I can't accept that she wouldn't want to see us ever again.'
'Maybe she doesn't want to see you, have you considered that?' Kaldur asked, his voice taking on a protective demeanour. 'The bottom line is, Dick, that you left her behind without a second thought. And she respected that, even if it killed her inside knowing that you would rather abandon her - abandon us - than face the pain of losing Wally together. She missed you every single day, and yet she still fought and trained and guided the team without faltering. And now, when she finally finds the courage to do what's best for her for once, you want to shame her for it?'
Anger surged through Dick, fiery and hot. 'I am not shaming her for anything. Do you not think I didn't think of you all every single day?'
'If you did, you didn't do anything about it, did you?' Connor mumbled, but Dick heard him just fine.
'Look, if you guys don't want to help me find her, fine,' Dick said, looking at all three friends pointedly. 'But I will find her. Because she needs to know that she was right. That I was wrong to leave and I am a terrible best friend.'
His expression softened as he looked down at his hands, imagining how long ago him and Y/N would link their pinkies. How simple friendships were back then.
'If she never comes back,' he continued, quieter this time, 'then I won't blame her. But best friends don't give up on each other.'
It was quiet for what felt like an eternity. Until Kaldur walked up to Dick and grabbed his shoulder comfortingly.
'You may be a terrible best friend,' Kaldur said, a small smile warming his face. 'But that doesn't mean your heart isn't in the right place.'
'Thanks, Kaldur,' Dick said, patting Kaldur's hand upon his shoulder.
Kaldur dropped his hand and the four of them sat down on the couches. 'Y/N didn't tell me where she was going,' Kaldur started, 'just that she needed to find out who she was again.'
'I don't follow,' Dick said.
Kaldur chuckled. 'Don't worry, I said the same thing to her when she told me. But she also said something along the lines of, "I need to find out where I've come from to find out where I will go.".'
'What the hell does that mean?' Connor asked.
'Again, not sure. But when I asked her the same question, she said she had to go back to her roots,' Kaldur elaborated. 'Something to do with where it all started. And her mother...'
Dick contemplated all of Kaldur's recollections, juggling each statement over one another to try and make sense. It was so vague, but Dick could sense there was a blatant truth staring right at them if they just looked hard enough.
Where it all began... Where she's been... Her mother...
The answer hit Dick like a brick wall.
'Themyscira,' he said softly, then more confidently. 'She's gone to Themyscira.'
'The Island of the Amazons?' M'gann asked. 'Are you sure?'
Dick nodded. 'It has to be. That's where Wonder Woman is from, and Y/N mentioned all the time when we were kids how much she wanted to go visit it one day.'
'But isn't it hidden?' Connor interjected. 'I mean, that's why they haven't gone back right? Anyone who leaves the island can never find it again.'
'Wonder Woman must've had something to help her remember,' Kaldur offered. 'Or at least guide her back home. I would suggest we go ask her, but again, I doubt she would tell us anything.'
It was like nothing had changed. The four of them had slipped back into theorising and planning and bantering as if no time had passed, as if no one had left or been promoted. It warmed Dick's heart at the thought that they all wanted to help find Y/N, even bring her home.
But Dick shook his head in dismissal. 'You guys don't have to worry yourselves over this. It sounds like I'm part of the reason she left in the first place, so it's my responsibility to find her and make this right on my own.'
'While I agree that this is partially your fault,' Connor said, earning a slight slap from M'gann beside him that he barely flinched at, 'Y/N's our friend too. The least we can do is help you find her.'
Dick smiled gratefully at his friend, who gave him a nod in return which was a start. 'Okay then...' Dick brought his watch up in front of his chest, clicked a few buttons before bringing up a large holographic screen with Barbara on it. 'Can you see us, Babs?'
'In quality HD, as well,' Barbara replied with a witty smile. 'Now, what can Oracle do for you?'
'We're trying to find Themyscira,' Dick explained. 'But it's not on any maps that we know of. Anything in any history records? Sailor sightings while out at sea?'
'You're asking me to find a mythical island from greek mythology that is meant to be hidden from Man's World and is forgotten by any who leave it?' Barbara asked incredulously, but then began typing ferociously on her end. 'Yeah, sure. No problem.'
Dick and the others waited in silence as Barbara worked her magic, files and maps and illustrations of the island popping up all over the screen around her face. After a minute or two, she spoke again.
'Okay,' she began, 'according to maps, you're right, the place doesn't exist. Even old sailors from Ancient Greece don't have any records of the place. However, I did find some similar tales being published in short stories of greek mythology and sailing journals. And all of them mention a couple of times sailing near what has now become the mouth of the modern Terme River in what we now know as Turkey, and having a strange sensation wash over them about danger. Each and every one of them have been convinced there is danger ahead and have turned away.'
'But they're just stories,' Kaldur argued. 'How can you be sure that what they speak of is the Island of the Amazons?'
'Ease up, Aquaman. I'm getting there.' A few more clicks and taps and Barbara brought up a picture of a very odd looking fish. 'Do you recognise that at all?'
Kaldur stared at the fish for a moment, contemplating its odd structure. 'I don't recognise it as a species,' Kaldur said. 'But I do recognise parts of it. It is like... different fish species have been spliced up and put back together to form this.'
'Exactly,' Barbara said, tap and clicking fervently again. 'This is a fish that has been found not near Turkey but close enough, and on multiple occasions. Now, if we isolate all these fish types... and then map out where each species usually resides... then find the crossover point for all of them...'
Dick watched diligently as Barbara isolated the fishes, highlight on the world map which species resided where, then drew lines horizontally and vertically, then zoomed in on the section the two lines crossed over.
'And there you have it,' Barbara offered proudly. 'The mouth to the Terme River in Turkey. You're welcome.'
'That makes sense,' M'gann said, looking up at the map, intrigued. 'If Themyscira is supposedly this pocket of space no human can find, then it makes sense that sea creatures of different genetic combinations would be able to breed there in peace, more than likely living there except for the stray pod or two that wander off into the open ocean.'
'I would have to agree,' Kaldur said, fascinated by it all as well. 'Who knows how many sea creatures live in harmony there.'
'Well, I'll be sure to find out when I get there,' Dick said as he stood up. 'Thanks Babs.'
'Any time,' she said, then the call ended.
'Wait, you're leaving now?' M'gann asked as Dick made his way to the front door.
'This cannot wait, M'gann,' Dick insisted, opening the front door. 'I have to speak with her as soon as possible.'
'Hey.' Dick was forced to stop when Connor grabbed him by his bicep, bringing the two of them close enough Dick could feel Connor's breath on his cheek.
'Are you really doing this for Y/N's sake, or for yours?' Connor asked in a hushed voice. 'Because whatever mission you think you need her for, I can assure you it cannot be more important than your friendship. Do you understand?'
Dick didn't quite understood what he meant, but he nodded anyways, and Connor let him go.
M'gann and Kaldur stepped up beside Connor as Dick made his way down the apartment stairs and back to the car. M'gann wrapped her arms around Connor's waist as he embraced her with one arm over her shoulder.
'Good luck, old friend,' Kaldur called out. 'May your journey be safe and successful.'
Dick chuckled as he waved farewell. 'I know you've always been well-spoken, but is it now a job requirement as Aquaman to sound like Gandalf?'
Kaldur pulled a face that Dick and M'gann laughed at, and Connor cracked a smile at the slight burn. Before he could psyche himself out of it, Dick hopped in the car and took off towards Wayne Manor.
'Call Alfred Pennyworth,' Dick spoke loud and clear, and the car immediately began ringing.
After a few rings, Alfred promptly answered the phone. 'Master Dick, what a pleasant surprise.'
'Hey, Alfred. Is the Batwing free at the moment?'
'I've just given it a deep clean now. Why?'
'Excellent. Could you please prepare it for take off by the time I reach the Manor? I have a little excursion I have to go on.'
'Will that excursion bring the Batwing back in one piece, Master Dick?'
'...I'll be there in twenty.'
Dick promptly ended the call, not waiting to hear a scolding from Alfred. Those were never fun.
Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to expect when he went to Themyscira. But Steve Trevor did it once, surely it could be done again.
Either way, it was a risk Dick was willing to take to get his best friend back.
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randomperson3736 · 8 months
Text
Cooking skills
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Paring(s): Jason todd x reader, Roy harper x reader, Batboys x reader
Genre: fluff, comedy
Warning(s): bad cooking, Jason beating people up, screaming, pet names
Word bank: Y/N- your name
Summary: You were great at everything expect one thing— cooking.
"Woah, this tastes sooo good, babe. Your cooking skills have improved since the last time" Jason, your boyfriend, lied to make you happy and too see that adorable smile on your face.
His smile twitched slightly after tasting the cake you made; he seemed almost like he wanted to cry. He then glared at Roy and his brothers who were also tasting the cake
"Swallow it" Jason mouthed silently when you weren't looking,giving them a death stare.
The boys forced themselves to swallow, choking on the cake you made. "Yummy" Dick said, with a forced smile as Jason looked at him.
"Of course I'm not lying, honey! I love your cooking. The way you've tried so hard to impress me... it's super cute, babe" Jason smiled, giving you a small kiss on the cheek.
"....S-sorry, Y/N... but it's not that good..." Roy said as he choked on another piece of cake. "....y-yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Roy on this... sorry Y/N..." Tim said, quietly avoiding Jason's eyes.
Jason's eyes flared up. "So, now I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson..." Jason looked at his best friend and brother with a stern look.
The other boys had their expressions turned from shocked to confused in an instant. Jason looked from his best friend to his brothers to you. "Babe, could you leave the room for a minute? I don't want you to get scared from what I'm about to do...."
Jason took your hand and led you outside. He closed the door to the room,turning to face you. "Don't be scared, honey. I won't hurt you,okay? Their gonna get a lesson of a life time" Jason's features hardened,his gaze becoming cold and uncompromising.
In the room, you heard loud banging and clanging, followed by Tim, Roy and dick screaming loudly. All their screams fell silent all of a sudden...
Jason opened the room door and stepped out. He fixed his jacket and moved his hair out of his face. "It's all done now, babe"
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orchidsangel · 4 months
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Dick doesn’t think abt it but he is touch starved. He’s loves touching you. Squeezing your waist as he passes by, holding hands no matter him impractical it is (interlocked hands while he texts Bruce back, plays games with Gar, reading through case-files and waiting for his turn at the bakery, thumping the piece of paper with his number).
When you finally call him out for it, he denies it.
“What? Me, touch starved? No, what makes you think-“ He’s cut off by you holding of your interlocked hands, pen squeezed between his fingers.
“You’ve adapted to do everything while holding my hand.” He doesn’t know how to explain himself, so ignores it.
(He starts holding your hand, holding you, even more now.)
he's so in denial about it but every time he's within a few feet of you he finds himself walking the distance to touch you in any way. a hand on your lower back, an arm around your shoulders, or both wrapped around your waist. you don't mind at all, in fact you enjoy it (but that's not gonna stop you from teasing him about it). you bring it up and he's just full blown denying it, "what so i can't want to touch my girlfriend anymore ???" and you're like errr that's not what i said. he's kinda defensive, not really, just like ?? you blindsided the poor man with an accusation (the truth) what else is he supposed to do?? but he eventually leans into it, becomes really fucking shamless. you have to start apologizing for the way he comes up behind you and pulls you in to kiss him sometimes. the dirty looks you guys get are lethal but that man dgaf !!
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cablecar-s · 15 days
Text
to love and self loathe
part 1 part 2 part 3
I'm Just A Guy, With A Boomerang!
Okay, so maybe she was a tiny bit rusty as being Spider-Woman. No big deal, just a few more days or nights being in the suit and she can-
Wait- No, this was supposed to be the only and last time she was even putting on the suit. It was just a precaution! You know, if the other vigilantes weren't able to make it because of the decoy or whatever Black Mask was planning.
. . .
God what was she doing...?
Swinging from building to building, she headed into the direction of Wayne Manor. Except, she soon found out just how far the manor was from the city. By the time she made it to the manor, just on the edge of the forest where she saw the clearing of the rather large and gothic mansion, she was quite literally out of breath.
"Damn rich people..." She wheezed, slightly panting as she tried to catch her breath. Once her breathing went back to normal, she climbed over the aging stone wall and jogged over to the massive building. 
Scaling up the wall, she peeked through the multiple windows, making mental notes to herself as she continued to go through each window.
"Now if I were a bunch of thugs, where would I-"
And as if on cue, a large explosion shook the mansion, smoke coming out from one of the sides of the mansion.
"There, I would be over there." She sighed out.
Quickly crawling her way over, she let herself inside the very large ballroom, trying her best to not gawk at how fancy it looked whilst crawling on the ceiling.
"Nobody move! Or the brat gets it!" 
Looking down, everyone was in a state of panic while a thug with a black mask held a young boy hostage, a gun to his head.
With the smoke slightly clearing up, she had taken note that there were about 8 men, and they were all armed, wonderful.
All of them were shoving through the crowd of rich folks, seeming to look for someone in particular. While they were busy doing that, she quietly dropped down, trying to use the smoke and people, hopefully they didn't scream out when they saw her.
"Sorry, pardon me." She quietly whispered, squeezing past the many expensive suits and dresses. "I like the tie." She complimented, though everyone just gawked at her as she put a finger up to where her lips were supposed to be as she made her way over to one of the thugs.
"Hey." She called out, poking the thug's shoulder.
"Wha-" Turning around, about to aim his gun at her, she quickly webbed his mouth shut with one hand while the other had shot out a web to take hold of his gun to take it out from his hand. Shooting out another web to wrap his upper body, she jabbed the butt of the assault rifle into his stomach, causing him to let out a muffle 'oomph!'.
Stumbling back from the impact, she gave him a simple push into the wall before using her webs to keep the man stuck to the wall.
Dusting off her hands, she soon took notice of the many rich folks who only looked at her in bafflement. A bit embarrassed at the attention, the Spider cleared her throat, pointing behind her shoulder.
"I should.. I should probably go." Raising her hand up, she had her web shooter pull herself back up onto the ceiling, crawling on her hands and feet to get to whichever criminal she saw next.
For the next 20 minutes, she was able to take down two more guys before the hostage situation had gotten worse.
Finishing up with keeping one of Black Mask's stuck to the ceiling, the sound of laughter from Mask's men had garnered her attention.
"Now we're getting somewhere." The man holding Damian grinned cynically. Just opposite of him was another one of the criminals, now having Bruce Wayne as a hostage, another gun pressed to his head.
"Alright Mr. Philanthropist, you're gonna listen closely and do as we say: Within 24 hours you're gonna give us 20 billion in exchange for the brat." Damian's hostage tightened his grip around his neck, pressing the gun even closer to the pre-teen's skull.
"I will kill you all." Damian hissed out, but he was only met with getting hit with the gun, making him grunt in pain.
"Shut the hell up." His captor growled out.
"You can have the 20 billion, just leave my son out of this." Bruce said, doing his best in trying to stay calm.
The man only cackled, the sound of his gun cocking, his finger now hovering over the trigger. "We're gonna need the 20 billion first Mr. Wayne."
"Ahem."
All heads quickly swiveled to the sound, only to see Spider-Woman standing there, almost a bit awkwardly.
"Didn't know we were supposed to bring guns to a party as fancy as this." She commented.
It went silent for a moment.
Okay.. Great start.
"Who the fuck are you?" The young Wayne's captor hissed out.
"Oh you know," She let out a small nervous huff. "Just a passerby, thought I would take a look around Gotham and all." She waved a hand nonchalantly. "And you know, it's really nice in Gotham, well, of course, minus all the crime and guys trying to mug an innocent bystander every ten minutes."
She continued to ramble, her arms moving about.
People only looked at her like she was crazy, and honestly? She couldn't blame them.
She herself had no idea what in the hell she was doing, she just hoped she could find herself an opening before the situation escalated any more than it already has.
At some point, the captors were getting irritated, now finding her ramblings tiring.
"Would someone get rid of this bitch already!?" One of them yelled out.
In that moment, her senses tingled, but everything had almost gone in slow motion as the sound of a gunshot rang out, making people scream while some sort of black baton was simultaneously thrown at one of the captors.
Bruce Wayne's captor let out a pained yell as he had been hit with the baton, to the Spider's left though, another yell of pain was heard, as it was one of thugs who was about to shoot the woman.
"What the-!?" Damian Wayne's captor's attention quickly turned to where the baton and gunshot had came from.
Taking this moment of distraction, the female vigilante quickly shot out a web and yanked the gun out from the captor's hand.
"Hey!" Turning his head to look at her, she shot another web, making it cover his entire face. Alarmed, his hands quickly let go of the boy and tried to pull the webbing off. Damian, in response, turned to his captor and gave him a swift kick, knocking him back onto his butt.
There was no time to relax though, for from the corner of the Spider's eye, she saw another one of Black Mask's minions point their gun straight at Damian.
"Hey kid watch out!" She yelled. Quickly running towards him, she closed the distance by grabbing him with her web before shooting another web and pulling themselves up to the ceiling.
An echo of screams rang in the ballroom, everyone now running and panicking, all of the rich folk quickly trying to leave the now dangerous room.
"You alright?" She looked at the boy who had a scowl, arms crossed.
"I'm fine." He retorted.
Rude.
"Okay Mr. Grumpy-Pants." She muttered.
Hearing more gunshots, she looked over and saw two of Gotham's vigilantes fighting off the rest of Mask's men.
"Hey so, I'm gonna leave you up here real quick-"
"You will not-" 
It was too late though, the young Wayne found himself webbed into a cocoon, now stuck to the ceiling of his home while the Spider made her way down to help the two men.
"Release me at once!" He yelled at her, fuming.
Both Red Hood and Nightwing were preoccupied and cornered by Black Mask's minions. Both fighting the men and dodging the bullets they shot at the vigilantes.
Too preoccupied, Nightwing had realized too late as one of the men were about a second away from getting shot. But an all too familiar sticky string had pulled the gun out from the minion's hands only to be promptly knocked out with a harsh kick from behind.
"You boys need help?" She questioned, tossing the gun to the side.
"We have it just fine."
"That'd be appreciated."
Red Hood and Nightwing glanced at each other, but Red Hood seemed to be the one to look away first. With a smile, Nightwing threw his escrima stick, shocking a criminal as they went down while he looked back at the Spider.
The two nodded nodded at each other at the result of Red Hood's lack of resistance and made quick work of joining the two men. 
"I don't think I've ever seen you around in Gotham before." Nightwing turned a bit, dodging a fist that flew his way.
"Ah well, I just thought I'd do a bit of sightseeing." Spider-Woman replied, webbing one of the men's foot to the ground, causing him to fall face first onto the ground.
"And Gotham was your first choice?" The first Robin looked over at her, both brows raised, while simultaneously kneeing a man in his face.
She let out a small laugh, weaving her way behind a guy before shoving him to fall to his knees.
"I let the wheel of fate choose for me." She shrugged.
 Nightwing quickly picked up his escrima and tossed it to her, her web shooting out to have it come to her faster.
Once in hand, she tossed the escrima in the air a bit before catching it once more and hitting the man, who was trying to get up, in the back of the head, causing him to fall once more, though this time staying down for good.
"You two, less talking and more beating Sionis' men up." Red Hood grunted in irritation, taking hold of the man throwing a punch at him and bent it the other way, causing the man to let out a blood curdling scream.
Both Spider-Woman and Nightwing backed up into each other, their backs pressed to each other.
"Is he always that snappy?" She questioned, causing him to laugh.
"He's nice, I promise."
She only let out an unconvinced hum in response. 
Clasping his fingers together, Spider-Woman stepped into his hands as he threw her into the air. Finding her target, she shot two strings of webs to the ground before pulling herself feet first, giving the last guy a good kick, and a long-term concussion, to the head.
A satisfied hum left her lips, hands on her hips.
Nightwing whistled a bit, walking over to her. "You're pretty good." He mused.
She couldn't help but feel giddy at the compliment, remembering the adrenaline rush that comes with being a vigilante. 
"Why thank you." She said in a bit of a posh accent, one arm slinging behind her back while the other wrapped around her stomach, and bowed.
Nightwing chuckled at her antics as she straightened herself up.
"I thought I'd be a bit rusty, but it seems I still got it." She hummed brushing her shoulder. Soon, she felt something sturdy and warm brush against the back of her head, slowly tilting her head backwards, the looked as Red Hood was tilting his head down to look at her.
"What are you doing here in Gotham?" His robotic voice questioned. "And don't give me that 'sightseeing' bullshit." 
Turning herself around to face the slightly scary man, she looked up at him clearing her throat and held a finger up.
"Uh well, for starters," She started. She only looked as he continued to stare at her, waiting for a response.
God was he scary when you weren't a citizen.
She seemed to be having a hard time trying to come up with something, a sense of deja vu coming upon her. 
"I have.. Family..?" Her response was more of a question than an answer, and that only made Red Hood even more unconvinced.
"Really." He crossed his arms.
"Ye.. s...?" She slowly drew out the word a bit more, slightly cringing at how unsure she sounded herself.
"If you are done chatting then it would be smart of you to let me down before I come down myself!" A voice, slightly far away, yelled out.
All three vigilantes looked up towards the voice and saw Damian still stuck to the ceiling.
Nightwing snorted a bit at this, the Spider quickly clearing her throat.
"I uh, better go get him." Letting out a nervous chuckle, she glanced at the two vigilantes before webbing her way up to the ceiling, ripping away at the webs to get the boy out from his cocooned confines.
"I don't trust her." Jason squinted his eyes at her, watching her every move.
Dick rolled his eyes at this. "You don't trust anyone Jay- Ow!" 
His head went forwards, a light slapping noise echoing in the walls.
"Vigilante names, we don't know if she can hear us or not." Jason stated.
Dick only let out an annoyed huff, rubbing the back of his head, there was a bit of a smile on Jason's lips, his mood slightly lifting after giving his older brother a good smack.
The Spider soon let their youngest brother down back to the ground. They only watched in amusement as the two seemed to have an exchange of words before Bruce made his way over.
"You're alright?" He questioned his son, crouching down a bit to take a look at him.
"Fine." Damian huffed, looking away, arms crossed. "I told you this party was useless." He slightly glared at his father who only chuckled, giving a small ruffle to his hair.
"I'll make it up to you, promise." He smiled. Standing up, the billionaire looked at the female vigilante. "Thank you, for saving my son."
"Oh, I mean.." The Spider became a bit bashful, a sheepish laugh leaving her mouth. Rubbing the back of her head, she slightly looked away, waving her hand a bit. "It wasn't just me who helped too." 
She looked over at the other two vigilantes, the two seeming to be talking—more like bickering, no one needs to know that but them though—until Nightwing lightly elbowed Red Hood who begrudgingly followed behind the masked vigilante who made his way to them.
"Mr. Wayne." Nightwing said with a smile.
"Ah, Nightwing." The billionaire smiled, looking over at the man that stood behind the more chipper vigilante. "Red Hood."
Red Hood only gave the man a curt nod, muttering the billionaire's name as a greeting. He shifted his weight, having crossed his arms before promptly looking away afterwards.
It became a bit awkward after that, Spider-Woman only watching with slight discomfort at the odd greeting she had just witnessed.
Clearing her throat, all three men looked over at her. "Well I uh, I better get going." She pointed behind her.
"To New York?" Bruce questioned, raising a brow.
"What?" She questioned back, looking at the man before blinking a bit too much. "You.." She pointed at herself. "You know of me?" She asked, dumbfounded.
He chuckled at this. "Of course, you were all over the internet with your disappearance." He mused.
"Oh.." She mumbled, remembering seeing the many articles as well. Everyone questioning as to where she had gone, and if she was coming back.
The flash of a smile and a melodic voice calling out her name came to her, making her grimace.
"Everything alright?"
She snapped her head up to look at the billionaire who had a bit of concern on his face, the two vigilantes looking at her with questioning look.
"Uh, yeah, sorry." She hummed nervously. "All that fighting really tired me out." She winded up her arm, rocking back and forth on her feet a bit. "Anyways uh, thank you, for having me. Sorry about the mess." 
Her hands moved around all over the place, taking small steps back towards the large hole in the wall. "I'll be, I'll be going now, haha.." 
Turning around, a web shot out from her wrist and she had left with the wind. 
"Some party that was." Dick mused. 
"Father did you see how she stuck me to the ceiling like some insect?" Damian quipped.
"Maybe because you are one." Jason mused. 
Immediately, Damian's head turned to look at his brother to give him a glare. Bruce only sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Enough." Looking over at his two oldest, he gave them a questionable look. "Does anyone want to tell me what Spider-Woman is doing in Gotham?" He questions.
Dick shrugged at this. "Beats me."
Jason stayed quiet, a bit of a grimace falling on his face.
"Jason." 
The second Robin only rolled his eyes, looking at his adoptive father. 
"She seemed to have come to Gotham a week ago. Only trail she left was her webs." He informed, arms still crossed.
"And I wasn't informed about this because..?"
Jason shrugged. "Didn't seem important."
The father and son duo stared at each other for a good while, tension slightly building up.
Fuck, this wasn't how Jason wanted this to go.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce beat him to it.
"Well as long as she doesn't pose a threat." He sighed out. "You two should probably get changed, I'm sure Gordan and the others will be here soon."
And right as Bruce said that, the distant sound of sirens could be heard, the colors red and blue flashing in a distance through the darkness and trees.
With a nod, both Jason and Dick went to leave—Damian following along to head to his room—Dick going on ahead, all the while Jason having stopped in his tracks after hearing his name be called out.
Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder, seeing Bruce stare at him for a moment, his lips pressed into a line.
"Will you..." He hesitated for a moment. "Will you be staying for the night?" 
Jason stopped breathing for a moment. 
Did he want him to stay? Or was he just asking out of formalities? Of course Bruce wanted him to stay, he was his son for crying out loud.
Jason's mouth suddenly felt dry, having to lick his slightly chapped lips. His eyes darted around the room, suddenly feeling like that walls of the ballroom were closing in on him even though there was a giant hole in one of the walls.
"No, I'll be going back to my place." He flexing his hand a bit to try and calm his nerves, feeling his clothes suddenly feeling a bit too small on him all of sudden.
"I see. Take care then. I'll see you tomorrow." Bruce said softly.
"Yeah." Was all Jason was able to muster before walking off, leaving the man by himself in the large ballroom.
His footsteps quickened once he left the room, a somewhat nauseous feeling overcoming him. Quickly moving the arms of the grandfather clock once more, he wasted no time going down the stairs.
Fast walking to his motorcycle, he kicked the stand up and stuck the key into the ignition.
"Leaving so soon?" 
Jason paused, hand just barely about to turn the key to start his bike. It was quiet between him and Dick, the two not saying a word.
"Bye." Jason said, his bike roaring to life at the same time, almost drowning out his goodbye as he sped off.
Dick only sighed, watching his younger brother leave the Batcave, the smell of exhaust and gasoline filling the air.
At least he's trying.
part 1 part 2 part 3
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poetatorturadaa · 2 months
Text
Have my back, everyday, fels like home.
jason todd x fem!reader, light angst?, hopeful ending. soeees, I had this saved in notes for a long time, it doesn't have an exact beginning and nor an end, but I wanted to share it. English is not my first language, so let me know If I missed something, I hope you like it. <3
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Jason looks at her and his eyes soften with something else, something like tenderness as he watches her take the strawberry from the bowl and chew on it. It's strange for him to think that she was ever interested in romance. It's not that he thinks romance doesn't suit her—he's seen her living with his siblings, she's a sweet, warm presence who can bring out the best in anyone. Hell, even Damian's. But she always plays the role of friend, of platonic confidant. No one seems to be able to see past her pretty face and realize how alone she feels.
Jason is not a poet, nor does his training as a vigilante offer many insights into romance. But he can see that there is something in her that craves attention, to feel loved. It's not Jason's place to fill that void, or at least, he's not supposed to. He then looks away and continues cleaning his motorcycle.
A weight floats in the air. Y/n doesn't recognize it, but the silence becomes too pronounced. It's almost as if even the cartoon on her phone knows there shouldn't be such an absence of words.
Jason's gaze moves back to Y/n's face, who remains focused on the screen. It's like it's easier to pretend that a cartoon is more interesting than whatever else is happening in the room. There's a strange electric hum in the air and her skin tingles when his gaze meets hers. There are so many different possible futures, each of them tugging at her heart in a thousand different ways.
He couldn't say anything, let the energy dissipate and pretend it never happened. He might give in and confess a secret that could turn everything upside down. He could engage in a monologue about the state of his soul.
Instead, he speaks plainly, as if none of these things were possible or even worth mentioning. "Do you want another strawberry?"
Y/n looks at Jason and feels a strange kind of kinship with the silence that hangs between them, even if he's doing her job, making the sound of metal scraping against stone. Still, she can't let herself get comfortable with the silence between her and Jason, and her thumb flicks across her phone to change the cartoon episode she'd just finished. "Yes, of course," she begins, looking at Jason, "So...what were you saying about Dick?"
"Dick seems to think you're keeping me balanced," he says quietly, taking a couple of seconds to extend the now half-full bowl of strawberries toward Y/n. There's a subtle change in her tone, a slight drop in sharpness. It's subtle, but is there anyway. "He thinks you... tame me or something." He lets out a soft, almost imperceptible laugh, though that's completely accurate to her relationship with Dick.
In Jason's eyes, Y/n could only be described as the sunsets that seem to be longer in summer, a cup of coffee with the perfect amount of sugar on a winter night, and the sweet, pungent aroma before the rain. She is able to bring a strange feeling of calm to anyone who crosses her path. And as a close friend of the Bat-family, she is one of the few entities capable of talking reason to them. Y/n has the unique gift of being able to keep all of their tempers in check.
She lets out a small giggle at Jason's words, amused by the way Dick perceives her, oblivious to the fact that Jason actually thinks of her the same way too. "He must know something to think that." She scoffs, her voice as reserved as ever as she turns off her phone and puts it in her back pocket, turning around and placing her chin on the back of the couch to now look at Jason as her hand goes to grab another strawberry from the bowl he's holding. He extended it to her.
"He has this idea that you... calm me down" Jason continues, looking at her now. His expression has softened. "He has told me more than once that as long as you are in the game, I will be fine. That you will keep me in line and make me less destructive."
He pauses, turning his gaze to the metal of the motorcycle, which is now in perfect condition to be used again. "It's actually a little insulting," he says, his voice thick with sarcasm. Y/n brings out the best in everyone, but it seems like no one believes she might be the one who needs to let her guard down.
Y/n discovers that she admires Jason more than she should. Maybe just a second longer, but Y/n is detail oriented. And that extra second was incredibly countable. The vigilante, and his gray-green eyes, tired and constantly expressive, in which she felt that if he looked for a second too long she would get lost again. Distracting hands. His expression was so different and complicated to put into words.
"I think we all need someone to take care of us." She responded softly, expressing between the lines her inner desire to have someone to take care of her too.
Jason's expression changes again. It is something so subtle that it cannot be pinpointed. But the weight is still there. And it's almost as if an entire novel has been written since his last words.
He looks up again and again his expression is hard to read. "I doubt anyone has ever taken care of you." His tone is soft, almost calm. It may seem like a shot to the heart, and maybe it is. But he says it sincerely, he knows that even though he and the rest of his siblings, even Bruce, or many other superheroes, are always there, she doesn't have a person to take care of her like she wants to be taken care of. And she deserves more than that.
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dxckgrxsonx · 1 year
Note
sorry i’m on a roll tonight but everyone always talks abt jason’s scars but like. everyone in the batfam must have them, i mean they fight criminals who have knives and guns and brass knuckles there’s no way they’ve never gotten hit,,, so being dick’s lover and him being used to being sultry and stuff but one day when he comes out of the shower you pull him to the bed and he’s like “eheh you couldn’t wait to have me?” but his words die in his throat when you gently lay him down and start kissing every little scar on his body, and he gets really whiny and surprisingly subby when you start kissing an old stab wound on his inner thigh *insert elmo fire gif here*
oh oh i’m soft. i’m crying just a little. my baby boy 🥺🥺
**
You still manage to surprise him.
He thinks it should be statistically impossible, thinks that you shouldn’t be able to sneak up on him the way that you do. The quiet, emotional way you do when you see something that makes your heart ache just a little.
He’s trained since he was a child to prevent things like this, he knows body language, he knows speech patterns, he knows how to disarm someone in three seconds flat.
He knows you.
He also knows what it’s like to be wounded. To be bleeding out and hurting and utterly alone. He’s painfully aware that a serrated blade will tear and shred his skin and leave a horrible, jagged scar. He knows exit wounds are messier than entry wounds and that being shot burns. He knows that his body is a patchwork quilt of freshly healed skin and old, aching wounds.
He knows that you love him.
But of all the things he knows, all the things he expects. He not once considers the possibility of an ambush. Especially from you.
**
“Cmere.” You beckon when he comes out of the bathroom, towel wrapped low on his hips. His first thought is lustful, scandalous. You want him. You always want him. He’s more than happy to indulge you. But the set of your mouth is off, you’re looking at him like you see him. All of him. “Dick, c’mere. Let me love on you.”
He trips forwards, just slightly touching up against uncoordinated. The smile on your face is soft, patient, wonderful. He feels his heart stutter for just a moment, a brief skip. On patrol the skip of his heart usually means ‘oh shit i’m about to die’. But with you it’s different, with you it’s ‘you make me clumsy, you make me vulnerable’.
You guide him backwards, push him down onto the bed. There’s a thousand different thoughts tangled in a knot and he’s half stuck between excitement and apprehension. You’ve shoved him onto the bed before, usually before you sink your soft, wet cunt around his cock. But you don’t have that look on your face this time.
So the apprehension sweeps in.
His brain does it on autopilot–comes up with contingencies. He’s got every single weakness of yours catalogued. He knows exactly where to put pressure to get you to give. He knows that your left arm is weaker than your right. He knows he could open his mouth right now and say something that would have you in tears.
Part of him hates himself for it.
But it’s kept him alive.
Your mouth presses against his shoulder, just below his collarbone. There’s a mess of scar tissue under your lips. It’s a messy circle. A gunshot wound. 9mm. There’s no exit wound and he remembers digging into the open wound looking for the bullet. He remembers the blinding pain and laughing hysterically at the fact he could hardly hold the tweezers with the amount of blood coating his hand. But you lick over the sensitive skin and Dick shudders, the memory fracturing apart.
“What are you doing?” He finally asks, voice thicker than he wants it to be.
Your attention flickers to him for just a moment, “My pretty boy. Jus’ want to show you how much I love you. How much I love all of you.”
There’s a lump in his throat and he can’t swallow it back.
You shuffle down his body. Lick over the long, thin line of scar tissue over his ribs. Pocket knife. He was still Robin when he got that one. He recalls the flash of pain as it sliced him open. The adrenaline hid it well amongst the fight but when it was over it stung, nerves flaring awake. Seven stitches in total. A neat little row.
Nimble fingers tug at the towel around his waist and Dick feels his breath hitch. You pull it open and suck a mark into his hip. The dark blemish settles besides a smattering of bruises from his most recent patrol and he doesn’t expect to feel overwhelming relief at the feel of your mouth on his skin.
But he does.
You tap at his thigh, gesture for him to settle back and hook it open so you can kiss at the thick, jagged scar running across his inner thigh. The skin is raised and pink. Still new. Still healing. The edges are surrounded by tiny needle marks. Stitches.
His entire body flinches and he finds himself almost trying to run from the feel of your lips on that horribly sensitive patch of skin. Serrated blade. Agonising pain. He remembers the rip and pull of his flesh as the knife went in. Remembers almost screaming from the pain of it.
Your hot, wet tongue drags along the length of the scar and Dick feels tears prick at the corners of his eyes.
“Are you okay, baby?” You ask between gentle kisses, lavishing affection on something that was once so painful. It still hurts sometimes. Especially on cold nights. Even more when he does certain manoeuvres in training, in combat. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
Your thumb smooths along the scar and then your mouth chases it.   
“Don’t stop.” He gasps. “Please don’t stop.”
He feels you kiss the inside of his thigh so softly, so gently and he’s knocked completely off kilter by how much he likes having you dote on him the way you are. You kiss his damaged skin like you’re trying to remove the pain and Dick wants to cry, wants to hide himself inside you because if anyone in this world would keep him safe, he'd trust it to be you.
“You’re so beautiful.” You whisper, and glance up to catch his watery gaze. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. My brave boy.”
**
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k-4-ni · 9 months
Text
summary: a little secret between you and your goofy boy best friend.
[ Dick Grayson x f!reader ] / SFW
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"She was amazing."
There you lay, slouched up on the couch, muscles slack and relaxed as you forced yourself to listen to Grayson's rant about how he met this one vigilante, his tone awe-stricken yet his gaze was bitter and tense.
"Her moves... Unlike anything I've ever seen." He swooned.
He grunted, jabbing the punching bag a third time now, was it the fourth? You lost count at the 5th.
You could hear the collision of his fist jabbing into the punching bag that lay dangling from the ceiling, beads of sweat trickling from below his eyebrow as he bent his elbow, swinging at the punching bag once more.
"Did you see her ass? I heard she had a great ass."
You snickered softly, your voice with a tinge of mockery as you scrunched your nose in a teasing manner, your gaze flickered from Grayson's forearm to his glistening forehead.
You threw your head back against the sofa, your fingers digging into the leather material as you swung your legs over the arm rest.
Grayson stopped his training, veering around to face you. The way your eyes glimmered as you glanced at him with what seemed to be admiration and an intention of playfulness was something that he hadn't felt from another woman before.
"Yeah?" He mocked.
“She does have a great ass. Though, the thing for me, is she has two great assets,” He winked and nudged you playfully. “That, and I hear she’s a great detective, too.”
The heavy bag swayed in the air, and the chain clanked against the support. He let out a huff of frustration, wiping the sweat off his brow.
“You got it?”
"Mhm."
You mumbled, a sense of irritation coursing through your viens as you crossed your arms in front of your chest.
"Anything else? Or was it just her ass that you liked?"
"No...there's more than that," Dick hummed, putting more weight into his punches as he struck the heavy bag. You could hear the small grunts that left his lips with each impact as sweat dripped into his eyes.
"Her fighting. It's like poetry in motion." There was a slight pause before he added, "And her body is nice, too." He smirked as he continued striking the bag. Despite a steady stream of sweat, he didn't wipe it away as he let his gaze linger on your slack form.
“I like her sense of justice, her style, the way she moves, and her ass if I have to be honest." He beamed. His eyes caught yours for a silent moment, His eyes roaming over your lean figure and neutral expression as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, intentionally flexing his muscles. “Are you jealous?”
"I mean, if she looks as pretty as you say, I'd take her too." You uttered, Your expression unhinged and tepid as you let your gaze fixate on your nails.
“Good luck with that, [Name].”
And with one final puncture to the poor dented bag, he fainted against the couch, his chest trembling and quivering with each struggling breath as he wiped away the stream of glistening sweat down his temple.
“If she and I get together, you have to stay far, far, far away,” He smirked sternly, flashing you a toothy grin.
"And what makes you think you can pull such a great ass like hers?"
You grinned smugly, shifting your weight and positioning the upper half of your body on your elbows, leaning up and tilting your head up at him as your eyes flashed with a devious glimmer.
"Let's just say... I know a few things."
News flash, She rejected him.
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nubimera · 10 months
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Artemis babe, wait for me, I'm coming
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justgowithitplease · 1 year
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Hey, this is gonna sound mad confusing, but I'm hoping you get my vision 🫶, dick grayson x catwoman reader, but their enemies as catwoman and nightwing, but without the mask there both best friends 🙀, In love 🙀🙀, and one day they get demanded and yeah fluffy angst type with happy ending xx
bby im not sure what demanded means in that context, so ima think of it as demasked. sorry if i got that guess wrong ;-;
This is Going to be a series b/c i cant write this all in one take and i want you to have something, so here's part one!
Part 2
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CATS, BATS AND EVERYTHING THAT'S UNSEEN
"Hey Grayson!" You yelled, waving over the black-haired boy.
"Hey [Reader]!" He yelled back, jogging over to the porch you were sitting on.
"How are you today, my good sir?" You said, fake curtseying. You let out a little giggle as you stood up straight again.
"Absolutely Wonderful, My lady!" He said in a horrible british accent. "And how are you?"
"Why, I am just so peachy." You stated in an equally horrible accent.
"Peachy?"
"Yes, peachy."
"Speaking of peaches, a new cafe opened up, and they supposedly have the best peach pie in town..." he said, dangling his car keys infront of your face.
"Well then. i guess we have to do our duty and report on it to your family. make sure its safe and all that jiz," you replied, packing up your school work and throwing it in the dorm.
"That we must, m'lady, that we must."
"Hey Dick?"
"Yeah [Reader]?"
"RACE YA!" You yelled, snatching the keys and sprinting down the road to the car.
"NO FAIR YOU DID TRACK!" He screamed, chasing after you.
------------------------Time Jump To The Cafe---------------------------
"Mhm, Thith ith the betht pie eveh" Dick said, mouth full.
You nodded in agreement, swallowing the last chunk of pie on your plate. "Best Pie Place ever."
As Dick started to stand up from the chair, he winced in pain and sat back down.
"You Good?" You questioned, noticing the small, yet noticable hesitation to get up.
"Yea, I just- nevermind." He muttered, almost spilling his secret identity.
"No, what is it. What has hurt the invincible Richard Grayson?" You mocked.
"I believe it's called 'The Imbecilic Damian Wayne." He stated, putting his hands up and moving them away from each other, imitating a marquee.
"You lost again?" Raising your eyebrows is shock.
"Yes, Again." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Sh-HE is a tough opponent."
"Hah, i can tell you all about tough opponents." You said, mildly annoyed and not noticing Dick's slip-up. Your mind temporarily wandering to Nightwing, the masked self-proclaimed vigilante. AKA, Your mortal enemy.
"Glad to know im not the only one."
"Yeah..." You trailed off.
Dick's phone pinged, and he looked up with a devilish grin.
"There's a gala tonight?" You guessed, giving your own impish smile back.
"Yup! Do you care to join me, m'lady?" He asked, standing up and offering his hand.
"why yes i do, ... m'man...?" You said, wondering if that was even a word.
"M'man. Adding that to the dictionary." He laughed, helping you up off your chair.
"Oh please, like you've never said anything that wasn't a word before. Also, i call driver." you stated, knowing he wanted to drive.
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For the WIP Word Ask Game: worry
Thank you so much for the ask!!! 😘
I have "worry" in my Hadestown!Dick Grayson x reader fic:
“Don’t worry, this is just Jason. He’s my little brother.” “Little?” You muttered suspiciously but slowly moved out from behind Dick.  Jason smirked, “Yeah, he wishes. I might be the younger of the two of us, but I’m not the little one.”
Fanfiction Work-In-Progress Guessing Game
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planetwaynez · 9 months
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Everyone I decided to comeback with "thought of the day"
And my thought of the day is about Dick Grayson. But not any Dick Grayson thought, it's a special one.
Think with me, besties: Dick Grayson finding his soulmate. At first he doesn't realize it, but after a while he starts to understand that the connection that he has with his s/o is like no other and goes to Constantine and OUR FAVORITE SUPERNATURAL GUY (Constantine) sees that beautiful, glowing and thick read string tied to yours and dick's pinky fingers, connecting the two of you.
To me is just do sweet to think about Dick finding his soulmate and said soulmate falls for him not bc of his looks (something that happens very often in Canon, people falling for Dick bc of his looks) but bc of his personality and his talents and his humor... I'm gonna cry real quick excuse me
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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Prologue
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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 7839 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.
Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.
But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.
Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.
However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.
Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?
Long summary I know, but I'm attempting something that I haven't tried to do in a long time and I've had this thought in my head for ages so I've just got to get it out now. This story will cover the plot from Season One to the beginning of Season Three. Apologies if anything is vague or inaccurate, I haven't watched the show in a while and cannot be bothered going back to get it right when the main plot of this story is entirely of my own design and not canon. Also, for the sake of the growing-up-together part, I've brought Dick's family's death up so he is taken in by Bruce earlier than 12 years old. I've always loved this version of Dick Grayson (Nightwing) in Young Justice and I hope I do him justice for those of you who also loved the show and him xx
~~~
(10 years old)
'Don't worry, my beloved,' Diana said in a soothing voice, patting her daughter's head gently as the car pulled up. 'It's not so scary on the inside.'
Wayne Manor was made of grey columns and dark shadows it seemed to little ten-year-old Y/N, who couldn't shake the feeling that the house was full of ghosts. It was an imposing structure, making her wonder how anyone would choose to live in such a cold and lifeless place.
'I want to go home, Mother,' she whimpered, backing away from the car window.
Diana turned her daughter's head to face her, giving her best reassuring smile to alleviate some of her daughter's worries. 'We will, but I need to take care of something first and I can't leave you at home alone. My very good friend has kindly offered for his butler to look after you while we sort our business out. He has a son that I think you will get along with quite well.'
Y/N couldn't believe that a child lived in the scary house outside, but she knew when not to question her mother.
Her mother was always busy, it didn't matter what time of the day or night. Y/N didn't quite know what her mother did, but she knew it was dangerous, as her mother would come home with cuts and bruises, exhausted from whatever she'd just been doing. The partial truth of it all came out just last week, as Y/N and her nanny had been attacked in their small apartment in Washington DC. The nanny had locked Y/N in the bathroom when the men attacked so Y/N didn't see what happened to her. But Y/N had heard her screams, had heard the men laughing at her anguish. She'd heard her mother finally arrive and slaughter the men. And when Y/N was finally let out of the bathroom, her mother's red, white, blue and gold metallic outfit was covered in blood, as was the sword she'd dropped as she pulled Y/N into her arms tightly.
Whatever kind of work her mother and her mother's "good friend" were involved in, if she said Wayne Manor was the safest place to be when she worked, then Y/N wouldn't argue.
It didn't stop Y/N from squeezing her mother's hand to the point of cut off circulation as they walked from the car into the scary house.
'Miss Prince,' a man in a tuxedo said in welcome. He was partially bald and his moustache twitched when he spoke.
'Alfred,' Diana said, giving the older man a warm smile. 'So good to see you again. And please, I am Diana to friends and family.'
'Of course,' Alfred said, a cheeky smile on his face, 'but forgive me if I prefer to be a little old-fashioned, Miss Prince.'
'Very well,' Diana said, turning her gaze down to Y/N. 'This is my daughter, Y/N.'
Alfred smiled warmly down at Y/N, crouching ever so slightly to hold out his hand. 'A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Y/N. Welcome to Wayne Manor.'
Y/N hesitated in taking his hand. She'd always been taught to be cautious around strangers.
'Come on, Y/N,' Diana insisted. 'Don't be rude.'
Y/N, with her free hand, accepted Alfred's outstretched one, giving it a firm shake like she'd seen her mother do with people she had meetings with at work and at home.
'My, you certainly have your mother's strength,' Alfred commented as he stood back up, shaking his hand a little. 'I'll be sure not to mess with you when you grow older.'
Y/N didn't have time to process what Alfred meant when two dark figures walked down a grand staircase into the lobby they stood in. As they drew closer to the light, Y/N distinguished one as a tall and broad-shouldered man with dark hair, neat attire, and a stern face. Beside him was a small child close to her height, also with dark hair and flashing blue eyes. Unlike the taller man, though, his face was bright with intrigue and mischief.
'Diana,' the tall man said by way of greeting as he reached the ground floor with the boy.
'Bruce,' she replied, walking herself and Y/N over to him and the boy. 'Thank you for offering to look after Y/N tonight.'
'Well, it won't be me personally,' Bruce replied, 'but I'm sure Alfred will be able to look after them while we're gone.'
'If I could raise you to be the man that you are today, Master Bruce, I am sure two beautiful children won't be much of a task,' Alfred called out casually as he closed the front door and exited the room.
'I've contacted Clark,' Bruce continued. 'He says he'll meet us at the rendezvous point. We should leave soon.'
Diana nodded. 'Okay.'
To her surprise, Y/N found Bruce's gaze on her, and his stern expression softened as he looked her over. 'This must be the famous Y/N I've heard so much about.'
Y/N remembered her mother's lessons on etiquette and nodded politely. 'Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne.'
Bruce surprised her again as a small smile broke out, making him look younger and less intimidating than before. 'It's nice to meet you too, Y/N,' he said, looking down to the boy beside him. 'This is my ward, Richard.'
The young boy groaned in annoyance. 'It's Dick, Bruce. You know I don't like it when you use my real name.'
Bruce sighed, but conceded. 'Sorry, this is Dick. I hope the two of you get along tonight, Y/N.'
Before Y/N could reply, Dick stepped forward so that they only stood a step apart. His blue eyes were so bright as they scanned over her, and it took all of her will not to hide behind her mother.
He squinted sceptically at her. 'Do you like sparring, Y/N?'
'Dick,' Bruce exclaimed, eyes wide with horror. 'That's not something you should ask-'
Y/N ignored Bruce's protests as she locked eyes with Dick. She saw the challenge in them, and whatever fears she had about coming here faded away. A fire sparked in her, and she couldn't help herself but grab Dick's unsuspecting wrist and flip him over her and land him on his back. Before he could get up, she pressed a knee to his neck softly as she held him down.
'Y/N!' Diana exclaimed. 'That is not how we treat-'
She was cut off by the sound of Dick laughing, a sound so pure and light it brightened up the gloomy interior of the manor. Dick looked up at Y/N, not even bothered by the fact she was an inch away from cutting off his airway. 'Oh yeah, we're going to get along just fine, Bruce.'
The last of her apprehension to the arrangement disappeared as she released Dick from her death grip and helped him to his feet, a bright smile gracing her features.
'Where'd you learn to flip like that?' Dick asked.
'My mother,' she answered proudly. 'We've practiced for thirty minutes everyday since I was eight. I've also been taking classes back in Washington in judo and karate.'
'Cool!' Dick said. 'Maybe you can teach me some moves?'
'Sure!' Y/N answered.
Without even hesitating, Dick grabbed Y/N's hand and took off running to who knew where, words falling from him like a dam that had just been broken. 'Awesome! And then I can show you some of the cool gymnast tricks I picked up in the circus.'
'You were in the circus? That's so cool!'
The two of them were lost in their own world as Bruce and Diana remained in the lobby, looking after their children lovingly before they disappeared completely. When silence filled the room once more, they turned to each other.
'How much does she know?' Bruce asked.
Diana sighed. 'Enough to know that she will never have a normal life. Not after the incident last week. I thought I had a bit more time.'
Bruce placed a hand on his friend's shoulder comfortingly. 'I'm sorry, Diana. Truly. It's hard enough protecting a child who isn't your own. At least Dick has known death before. He knows everything.'
Diana nodded her appreciation, patting Bruce's hand before he let it drop. 'She will know, one day, what all this means. What her destiny is. Until now she has shown how much of Steve she has in her.' Diana paused at the memory of her fallen lover, feeling the tears rise up whenever she thought of him. 'But I fear she will grow to inherit my power, my responsibilities. I don't know if I'm ready to let her become that for the world. Not yet.'
'Diana,' Bruce said softly, 'she might not have a choice one day. I fear the same thing for Dick. You and I won't be around forever. The world will look to them to help, one day.'
Somewhere in the distance, Y/N and Dick's laughter resonated through the manor, giving it a warmth Bruce hadn't felt in a while. He smiled at the sensation. 'But for now, they have a choice. They can choose to be kids. Until the world no longer needs us.'
~~~
(11 years old)
'Uuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhh,' Y/N groaned as she flopped onto Dick's bed, textbook flattening over her face in defeat. 'I give up. I'm never going to pass this infuriating maths exam next week.'
All Y/N received was an amused laugh from the dark-haired boy, resulting in her throwing her textbook at his head where we sat on the floor. But Dick had always been quick, dodging the book easily. He was even more quick since they'd started training with each other since she moved to Gotham permanently for school.
She was enrolled at the same school as Dick: Gotham Academy. It was the best school in the area, and when she'd received her scholarship, her mother couldn't refuse her wishes to move. Y/N stayed in the boarding house for the most part, but being friends with the Bruce Wayne's only son certainly had its perks. Such as getting out of the boarding house whenever she needed to study and train without prying eyes.
Dick laughed again. 'Come on, Y/N,' he said, picking up her strewn textbook and offering it back to her. 'It's not so bad. We're just trying to find x.'
Y/N rolled over onto her stomach so Dick wasn't upside down anymore. 'Yes, and it is impossible! I mean, they give us nothing to try and figure out a and b, but we need them both to find out x. How?!'
When Y/N didn't take her book back, Dick put it on the ground and shuffled forwards. He did so until he was half an arm's length away from Y/N's face where it rested in her hands.
'All right, let's have a break,' he said. 'Focus on something else. How about... Ooo, I know! What would your vigilante name be?'
Y/N's eyebrows furrowed. 'What?'
'Your vigilante name,' Dick reported. 'You know, like a code name for ordinary people to refer you by. Like Bruce for example, he's Batman.'
'So like my mother too, who is Wonder Woman,' Y/N added.
Dick nodded. 'Correct. When we start fighting bad guys - and we will some day - we will need alter egos so villains don't pursue us outside of an ordinary mission.'
Y/N sat up as Dick jumped to his feet, pulling out all kinds of ninja-karate moves, many of which Y/N had taught him herself over the last year. 'I think I'll be something winged too. Batman needs to be accompanied by another flying animal, don't you think?'
'That is... logical,' Y/N admitted, though not understanding his motives for the specific topic. 'I haven't given much thought to the matter, honestly. I'm too busy trying to find this dumb x value.'
Dick landed a slam kick against thin air before he took up a normal standing position in front of Y/N. He smiled down proudly at her. 'I was thinking of just bird,' he confessed, taking a seat beside her on his bed, 'but then I thought that was boring. Batman and Bird, yeah sooooo intimidating. So I was thinking maybe Hawk, or Sparrow-'
'Why does it have to be intimidating?' Y/N asked.
Dick paused for the first time in the conversation and looked at her as if she was crazy. 'Because Batman is intimidating. I don't want to be seen as a sissy when I rock up beside him to fights. I defs won't feel the aster, then.'
'But shouldn't a hero be giving people reassurance and hope when they come to save people?' Y/N countered. 'Why would you want to be something that all people dread when you enter the door. I think a hero's name should be strong and encouraging. Something like my mother's.'
Dick rolled his eyes. 'You're just saying that because she's you're mum.'
Y/N shook her head. 'No I'm not. I've seen it first hand. When my mother shows up to lend a hand, the people cry with joy and relief because they know she will do all that she can to save them. I'm not saying Batman - Bruce - doesn't do the same thing, but I just know that when I have to be a hero, I would hope my name inspires people to keep hoping. Not fear me.'
Y/N watched Dick process her words, saw his piercing blue eyes grow distant as he looked down at his hands. For a moment, Y/N worried she'd ruined everything. That she'd overstepped. Dick and Bruce's relationship - it was more of an arrangement, in her opinion - was tenuous to say the least, the two of them always dancing on a very thin line that could snap at any moment when push comes to shove. Either way, it wasn't her place to comment on how Dick should handle his relationship to Bruce.
However, when Dick looked up to Y/n again, she was relieved to find he wasn't angry at her. In fact, a soft smile had bloomed on his lips.
'You're right,' he said softly. 'I don't have to be scary. Bruce has that all covered.'
'Glad to hear it,' Y/N replied with a a reciprocal smile. 'So... anymore ideas on your name?'
'Well, I still believe it's got to be a bird of sorts,' Dick answered. 'But let's steer clear of the birds of prey, shall we? Maybe Jaybird, or Bluebird. No, that's stupid. Raven? Nah, that's going backwards...'
'How about Robin?' Y/N suggested, and Dick's smile broadened to the point Y/N was scared he'd split his mouth right open.
'That's perfect!' he exclaimed, bringing her into a hug. 'Batman and Robin. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?'
'It sure does,' Y/N said, grateful to have helped.
When Dick let her go, he said, 'Now how about you? What do you think your vigilante name should be?'
Y/N thought about it for a moment, but could only come up with one name. 'I like Wonder Woman, but mother already has that. I don't think two of us would make it easy for the public, especially if she is still working.'
'That is true,' Dick replied, turning away from her as he delved into deep thought. Y/N could tell he was thinking deeply as his tongue was poking out ever so slightly - the thing he always did when he was concentrating really hard. Y/N always found it amusing since the day she met him.
Y/N jumped a little when Dick suddenly cried out with excitement. He turned back to her and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look directly at him. 'How about we take inspiration from your mother? Use part of her name to create yours. Like Wonder Girl!'
Y/N shook her head. 'No, that's really lame, Dick.'
'Wonder Kid?'
'No.'
'Wonder... Child?'
'No!'
Dick snapped his fingers and his eyes brightened as Y/N assumed a great thought popped into his head. 'I've got it: Wonderess! You know, like Wonder Woman and goddess put together!'
'Wonderess...' Y/N tested it out on her tongue, and she smiled at how easy it rolled off. It was simple, it was to the point. She could just hear the world now, shouting and screaming and crying her name for joy, for help.
She couldn't stop her smile from widening and matching Dick's. 'I love it.'
'Great!' Dick slid back down to the floor and grabbed the forgotten textbook she'd thrown at him earlier. 'Now, oh mighty and powerful Wonderess, time for you to conquer the alluding and difficult enemy that is mathematics.'
Despite her earlier anguish, Y/N felt rejuvenated and took the book from Dick and opened it back to the page she'd failed to understand. 'Then conquer mathematics we shall, oh sneaky and charming Robin.'
Dick flashed her one of his dazzling smiles. 'Oh yeah, I can see it now. Robin is going to be popular with the ladies when I'm older.'
Y/N rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain her smile. 'Don't make me throw this book at you again.'
Dick raised his hands in mock surrender before they both dove back into their respective homework. But after five minutes of work, Y/N had another thought.
'Dick. What does "aster" mean?' ~~~
(13 years)
When Y/N had walked into the Hall of Justice earlier that day, she never imagined that she'd end up helping her best friend and the sidekicks of the Flash and Aquaman break into a top secret and highly secured lab centre, get captured by the mad scientists running the show down there, break out and now be standing in front of the Justice League as a Superman look-alike (that they'd broke into for and out of with) stared down his creation's inspiration.
'Start talking' Batman said, finally breaking the tense silence.
Between Kaldur, Wally, Dick, and Y/N (Superboy, Y/N realised early on, didn't talk much), the story of how they ended up at Cadmus and pretty much destroyed it was eventually told. Afterwards, the blockbuster monster they'd fought was taken away by Green Lantern and some other League members. Y/N couldn't help but peak at her mother as Wonder Woman herself conversed with Superman and Martian Manhunter. For a brief moment, Diana looked her daughter's way then quickly averted her gaze. But Y/N knew from that one look that her mother was unimpressed by her actions today.
'Cadmus will be investigated,' Batman said, after Superman said a frosty goodbye to his younger clone. 'All fifty-two levels. But let's make one thing clear-'
'You should've called!' the Flash finished, crossing his arms, clearly disappointed in his sidekick's efforts.
'End results aside, we are not happy,' Batman continued. 'You hacked Justice League systems; you disobeyed direct orders; and you endangered lives. You will not be doing this again.'
Y/N's heart faltered at the very notion. Despite the wreckage and the stress and the struggles they had faced, Y/N very much liked working with Dick, with Kaldur and Wally too. Even the Superboy was enjoyable at some points. To never work with them again was not something she expected she would miss after one mission.
Kaldur and the other boys must've read her mind, as he stepped forward, standing tall and speaking with a strong voice well beyond his years. 'I'm sorry,' he began, eyes never leaving Batman, 'but we will.'
'Aqualad,' Aquaman started, stepping up behind Batman. 'Stand down.'
'Apologies, my King. But no,' Aqualad replied. 'We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together. On our own. We forged something powerful. Important.'
'If this is about your treatment at the hall,' the Flash started, 'the four of you-'
'The five of us,' Wally corrected, looking directly at Superboy as he did, 'and it's not.'
'Batman,' Dick said, stepping to the front of the group. 'We're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?'
'Why let them tell us what to do?' Superboy interrupted, pushing past Dick to take the lead. 'It's simple, get on board. Or get out of the way.'
Y/N joined her friends in staring down the heads of the Justice League. It was an intimidating figure they all posed, but Y/N knew she was doing the right thing. That her and her friends had done the right thing tonight.
Diana joined Batman, the Flash, and Martian Manhunter, her face unreadable and voice monotone. 'Are you sure this is the path you would like to forge, Wonderess?' she asked, her voice echoing in the crater they stood in.
Apart from Dick and Bruce, no one else (to Y/N's knowledge) knew that Wonder Woman and Wonderess were related in any manner. Not that either disguised themselves like other heroes did - purposefully hiding their faces to conceal their identities like Batman and the Flash - but neither outwardly acknowledged their true relationship either.
However, Y/N could tell her mother wasn't just asking her as her sidekick, but as her daughter. Was Y/N really prepared to risk all she had trained for, for some... strangers?
Y/N eyed the golden lasso that hung at her mother's hip, and opened her hand to summon the seemingly never-ending rope into her hand. It wrapped around several times, then glowed as Y/N clenched a tight fist around it.
'I am more certain than I have ever been, Wonder Woman,' Y/N replied, feeling the lasso urge her to speak all her truth. 'While I still endeavour to one day be your successor, my place is with my friends right now. We need to walk this path together, wherever it leads. I know this to be absolute truth.'
Y/N sucked in a breath as she let go of the lasso, feeling slightly drained from the power it had over her. Dick put a hand on her back to brace her as she recovered. Once Y/N had caught her breath, she spared Dick a grateful smile, which he reciprocated.
Just as it had been from day one, they would ride this wave together. No matter how rough.
The very next day, the five of them were taken to Mount Justice, the backup facility for the Justice League as Batman explained. Upon arrival, they met M'gann, Martian Manhunter's niece, and soon after Artemis was brought into the mix.
Soon, they were the Young Justice.
~~~
(13 years old)
'Congratulations team, you have won the day,' Red Tornado said as he laid dismembered on the ground.
The rest of the team had just reconnected as the Justice computer phased a date and time code onto one of the glass walls of the Watchtower. It read: January 01, 00:00 EST.
'Happy New Year, Justice League,' the computer announced.
To no one's surprise, Wally picked up Artemis and pulled her in for a long-awaited kiss. M'gann and Connor paired up, so did Rocket and Aqualad surprisingly.
Y/N felt uncomfortable watching them all making out, so she turned to her best friend so they could give them all some privacy. 'Hey Dick, let's go-'
But as she turned around, Y/N saw that Dick had also paired off with someone: Zatanna. This time, Y/N couldn't help but stare as the two of them made out.
Since day one of Zatanna joining the team, Y/N had noticed Dick had a thing for her. Who wouldn't? She was beautiful, she was just a year older than them but that just made her more desirable, and she was good with magic!
Something stirred inside Y/N, something that twisted her guts to the point she thought she'd throw up. Was it jealousy? No, she wasn't the jealous type. Besides, Dick was her best friend, no one could change that. He could kiss whoever he wanted to kiss. At the end of the day, they'd still talk and laugh and spar and go get ice cream together.
...Right?
'Human customs still allude me,' Red Tornado said from his place on the floor.
'You're not the only one...' Y/N mumbled to herself, standing all alone.
~~~
(16 years old)
Y/N was just sparring on a test dummy when Dick entered the training ring looking a little worse for wear, his usual mischievous smile not visible.
'Hey,' Y/N said, finishing up her combo of kicks and punches, heaving in deep breaths. 'What's up, bird brain?'
He didn't reply straight away, instead standing on the edge of the fight ring as if afraid to step out of the shadows and into the light. Y/N raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Dick?'
When he didn't respond again, Y/N walked over to him. And when she got closer, she realised why he remained in the darkness.
'Have you been crying?' she asked softly, scared to speak too loud in case he ran away.
Dick wasn't an emotional guy. He just wasn't. He was the mischievous gremlin who kept the team together with his witty remarks, charm, and sheer intelligence. And even though Kaldur had been the leader of their team for years now, Dick always wanted to be a leader like Bruce was for the Justice League. He never gave himself room to be emotional.
So for him to stand in front of Y/N with red-rimmed eyes and tear marks streaking down his face, whatever had just happened had to be so impactful it finally broke his resolve.
He averted his eyes. 'Zatanna,' he started, biting his lip to suppress sobs falling out between the words. 'She broke up with me.'
Subconsciously, Y/N had been dreaming about hearing those words for a long time. She didn't quite understand why, as Zatanna was a close friend and Dick was by far her best friend so of course she only ever wanted happiness for them. But now that Dick stood in front of her so broken and sad, Y/N only felt sorry and remorse.
'Oh Dick,' she said. 'I'm so sorry... How can I help?'
Dick shook his head vigorously, eyes still averted from her. 'Can you just... Can we spar please? I think I really need that right now.'
His tone was restrained, as if he were holding back what he really thought. Y/N had half a thought to suggest they just talk, but when he finally looked directly at her, how could she refuse her best friend? After all, she was the only one he never wore his glasses around. Even after all these years with the team, he trusted no one else but her with his identity.
The original members knew, but even then he still wore his shades around them half the time if he wasn't in his vigilante suit. But not around Y/N, though. Never around Y/N.
'All right,' Y/N conceded, walking with him back to the centre of the fighting ring. She stood in her usual starting position, hands raised and feet split ready to fight. 'Same rules as last time?'
Dick nodded. 'No flying from you, no gadgets from me. Just us.'
'Perfect.'
Y/N launched into a heated sparring match, much more heated than any other match she'd had before with him. Sparring matches are usually to practice a skill, usually some punches can be pulled. But not now, Dick was throwing himself into everything, becoming sloppy, opening himself up. While the first few jabs Y/N got in were small victories, she soon grew worried as he grew more and more reckless as the match progressed.
'You're opening yourself up too easily, Dick,' Y/N commented between heavy breaths. 'Tighten up your stance.'
Dick groaned with frustration in answer, throwing another punch at her which she easily ducked and palm-punched his abdomen hard. He stumbled back as he caught his breath, but Y/N took it as her chance to end the fight as she charged at him, crash-tackled him to the mat with a bit more super-strength than she'd been using and pinning his limbs to the ground.
Dick struggled under her, but she refused to let go. 'Concede, Grayson. Now,' she demanded.
She rarely used his last name, only when he was in serious trouble or when she really needed him to listen. So he stopped, and he looked up at her and he nodded. 'I concede,' he said between huffs of air.
Y/N nodded her head in acknowledgement before stepping off him and helping him to his feet. For years they had been the same height, but once Dick had hit fourteen, he shot up fast. He was still lean and more on the skinny side, but he was toned in certain places and he now stood a head taller than Y/N. But she didn't let his new height stop her from locking eyes with him.
'Do you feel... somewhat better now?' she asked cautiously, feeling that Dick was on the brink of an explosion, she was just unsure what kind it would be.
To her surprise, Dick's piercing blue eyes welled up with tears. 'No,' he said.
Y/N immediately wrapped her arms around him, and Dick fell into her and wrapped himself around her as if she were a warm blanket on a cold night. They stood like that - with Dick crying silently into her shoulder and Y/N rubbing soothing circles into his back - for who knew how long. A minute, two, an hour maybe. It didn't matter, Dick needed Y/N'S help so she would stay there as long for as it took.
'She said she couldn't do it anymore,' he said finally, tears finally finished running, but he still didn't break from Y/N's embrace. 'The long distance.'
'Being promoted to the Justice League is a huge commitment, Dick,' Y/N offered.
'It's not just that, though,' he said. 'I think she couldn't take me anymore. Ever since Jason-'
His voice cracked on the mention of his fallen brother, the next ward Bruce had taken under his wing. When he joined the team, Jason took over the Robin mantle, giving Dick freedom to explore a new path of vigilante identity. One outside of Bruce's shadow and the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. He'd settled upon Nightwing - another name Y/N helped come up with - and he'd taught Jason everything he knew about being Robin and how he could find his own meaning for the role.
But Jason never got the chance to do the same for the next Robin, who Bruce mentioned would never be found after Jason's death. Jason had been killed on a mission with the Batman himself only a month ago, and Dick had secretly been a wreck ever since. He'd learnt from his sponsor who to hide his emotions, but Y/N assumed he had to let it out to someone or someones every so often. Those people were herself, and no doubt Zatanna.
Despite her bubbly and adventurous personality, Zatanna knew death, knew grief. It suddenly angered Y/N at the thought that Zatanna had dumped Dick because he was grieving and couldn't give her the attention he had become known to give her daily.
Y/N held her tongue as she pulled him tighter, though. Now was not the time to rub salt into his open and bloody wound.
'You don't have to explain yourself to me, Dick,' Y/N reassured him. 'I understand.'
He squeezed her tighter. 'First my family, then Jason, now Zatanna. Promise me you won't leave too. Promise.'
'I promise, Dick,' Y/N answered. 'I'll always be here if you need me.'
Dick finally pulled away from her, but only far enough that he still held her in his arms and she had to angle her head harshly upwards to look him in the eye. Despite the redness, Dick's eyes still shone a blue that didn't seem quite real - like the colour of the purest, cleanest ocean.
So beautiful.
'You're my best friend, Y/N,' he said softly, a grateful smile finally breaking through his sadness. 'You know that right?'
Once upon a time, Y/N wouldn't have hesitated in answering. Yes, she would say, because it was the truth. It was the truth still, but a discomforting feeling in her stomach squirmed at the words "best friend". What he meant to her went past the simple label, at least in her opinion. But she just couldn't quite put it into words yet.
'Y-Yeah, I know,' she stammered out quickly. She had paused way too long to answer. 'Just like you're mine, bird brain. Don't think a bunch of tears is going to scare me off so easily.'
She was so glad to be the one to make him laugh then. It was the most melodic sound she'd ever heard, even though she'd heard it a thousand times before. Dick could never be tiring to her.
Finally - and thankfully - Dick stepped out of her arms, allowing her to suck in air that had previously been missing from between them. But he stole it all right back when he flashed her that charming smile of his.
'Guess I'll see you tomorrow, Wonderess,' he said. 'Thanks again for the sparring. I'll be sure to tighten up for next time.'
'G-Great, good, excellent,' Y/N stumbled over her words, unable to breathe when he smiled so causally yet so beautifully at her. 'See you tomorrow.'
Dick gave her a tiny wave as he left the room. As he left, Artemis and M'gann strolled in wearing civvies. They greeted and farewelled Dick before continuing to walk to Y/N, who stood frozen where Dick had left her staring after him.
'You okay, Y/N?' Artemis asked, waving a hand in front of Y/N's face. 'Helloooooo. Earth to Y/N?'
'Maybe she's fallen into a hypnotic state,' M'gann suggested. 'Or worse! A mind ant has taken over her brain! I'll have to go inside her mind to weed it out.'
That finally disrupted Y/N from her stupor. 'No! No need for that. No mind ants here,' she frantically said just M'gann was about to enter her mind.
'Then why were you looking like Medusa had risen from her mythical death and frozen you in place?' Artemis asked, deadpan.
'First of all, Medusa was a real person. Greek Mythology is real, or therefore my mother and I wouldn't be here today,' Y/N countered. 'Second of all... I think I a have a crush on Dick.'
As soon as she said the words, she knew them to be true. She didn't need to discuss it with the girls, she already knew.
Y/N Prince, daughter of Wonder Woman, had a huge, fat crush on her best friend, and son of Batman himself, Richard 'Dick' Grayson.
'Shit,' all three girls said at once.
~~~ (18 years old)
Y/N watched with sad eyes as two of her closest friends walked away under the cover of darkness. Again. Kaldur and Artemis - the latter now legally dead - waved farewell before they entered a small submarine, on their way to continue infiltration of the Light on Kaldur's father's ship.
Two figures stepped up beside Y/N. 'Well,' Wally started, 'I guess that's that.'
'For now,' Dick said. 'I promise, Wally, we'll bring them both back.'
'Yeah, whatever,' Wally said, turning to leave. 'You're my bro, Dick. But if Artemis is really killed because of this, I will never forgive you.'
Wally's footsteps resounded through the empty fishing warehouse as Y/N continued to stare out at the ocean. Soon, it was just her and Dick.
'We should head back to headquarters,' Dick suggested. 'Someone might start to wonder where we are.'
But Y/N didn't turn to leave, still transfixed by the ocean. 'I thought I was okay with all this,' Y/N admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. 'I convinced myself that this was for the greater good. But now I'm not so sure.'
'What do you mean, Y/N?' Dick asked.
'The lying, Dick,' she answered, finally turning to him. 'The secrets, the faking of deaths and undercover betrayals. If we keep this up, it'll tear the team apart.'
'It won't,' Dick reassured her, his voice so certain and sure. 'When this is all over and we explain it all, they will understand. I expect some disappointment and hostility for a while, but one day they'll understand why we did what we did. But this team we've built, Y/N, it is stronger than all this. I know it.'
Y/N shook her head, wanting to believe him but unable to put aside the horrible feeling in her gut. 'I know they are strong. I just wish there was another way for us to win.'
'Trust me, if there was, I would've taken it,' Dick said, and even with a mask on, Y/N knew he was telling the truth. 'I want all of us fighting this together. For now, we've just got to trust in Kaldur and Artemis that they will succeed.'
Y/N nodded, her gaze returning to the flat ocean waters where her friends had long since left behind. 'Maybe you should've sent me like I suggested,' Y/N said half-heartedly. 'You're a great substitute for leader, Dick. Truly. But the team took Kaldur's betrayal heavily, and Artemis and Wally were out of the game. We shouldn't have brought them back in. Wonder Girl is trained up enough to take my place. You don't need me.'
'Don't say that.'
Y/N could barely react as she was grabbed by her shoulders and forced to face Dick, who had crouched so he was eye-level to her and leaned in so she could see the slightest gleam of his pupils through the white mask.
'Don't say that,' Dick repeated, his grip on her shoulders firm and grounding. 'We do need you. You're a founding member too, Y/N. Regardless of if it were Kaldur or not, the team would've struggled without any one of us. And the only reason I was able to lead this team this past year is because I knew you had my back the entire time.'
'Really?' she asked, the one word a struggle to get out.
His expression softened and he loosened his grip. But Dick didn't release her yet. 'Y/N, you are always the one giving hope to the team whenever I can't raise their spirits. You were the one to console them after Kaldur leaving. You are strong and brave and you never give up, especially when the chips are down. And they have been down on us a lot lately.'
Y/N caught her breath as Dick released one shoulder to use his pointer finger to hold her chin up, making her look directly at him. 'It kills me that you don't see yourself how everyone else sees you. Which is amazing, Y/N. Amazing and wonderful.'
Y/N swore Dick could hear her heart thudding rapidly against her chest. In the two years since realising it, her crush on her best friend hadn't faded like she'd hoped. Instead, it had grown and blossomed but Dick still couldn't see how much she absolutely adored him. She'd resigned herself to the fact that he would never feel that way about her, and also if they were to date, then it would just make working together all the more complicated. She couldn't compromise on the team's relationship.
But as Y/N looked into Dick's eyes now, a little spark of hope flickered inside her. He was so close to her, he had to feel her heartbeat. He had to know... right?
A wind of doubt blew out the spark and she stepped away from Dick so her head would stop spinning. 'You just had to get a pun in there, didn't you?' she said, surprised at how calm and casual her voice came out all things considered.
Dick took a moment to gather himself, as if he too had been lost deep in thought. But soon that infamous smile of his stretched his lips and Y/N knew she could never say no to him. 'What can I say? I'm an opportunist.'
'I thought you were a gymnast.'
'I am also your best friend, and so I am legally obliged to slip in puns about you whenever possible.'
'Oh, do you now?' Y/N asked, lightly shoving him as she made for the warehouse door. Dick was right, they needed to head home before anyone started questioning their whereabouts.
Dick quickly caught up. 'I mean it Y/N. You are my best friend.'
'I know,' Y/N said nonchalantly, trying not to let the words sting too much. But she managed a soft smile as she said, 'And you are mine. Always have been...'
Dick flashed her a genuine smile, no charm, no hidden agenda behind it. He held his pinky finger up, to which Y/N linked her own with. '...Always will be,' he finished.
As they went home, Y/N felt better about Kaldur and Artemis' mission, as well as her place in the team. But she was now even more confused about Dick and how he felt about her. They were best friends, had been through so much together, it wouldn't be wise to ruin all that now.
But the way he'd looked at her, maybe there was a chance after all.
~~~
(18 years old)
'You're leaving?'
Y/N and Kaldur couldn't believe what they'd just heard. One minute, the three of them were discussing the team's next move after foiling the Reach's invasion plans and splitting the Light in half, and the next...
'That's correct,' Dick said. 'I just... I think I need to take a break for a while.'
'For how long?' Y/N asked, finally getting over the initial shock of his announcement. It had been a hectic day, full of surprises and sacrifices nobody saw coming. Right now, in her opinion, everyone needed to band together, not... leave.
Dick shrugged his shoulders. 'I don't know. But it definitely won't be quick. This team has been my whole life for five years now. I think it's time I stepped away, let Kaldur take the reins again.'
'The team will not be the same without you,' Kaldur offered.
'The team already isn't the same,' Dick said solemnly, and the slightest crack in his voice indicated to Y/N what he was referring to. 'You, me, Y/N, Wally. We founded this team. Without him...'
Dick didn't need to finish. Y/N had felt Wally's absence since the moment he fazed out of existence. He saved the world, but he'd been too slow to combat the chrysalis' energy. Not even the Flash or Impulse could save him. It made Y/N so mad, because Wally must've known he wouldn't come out of it alive. He knew he was too slow, having been out of the game for so long.
And yet he did it anyway, because that was who Wally West - Kid Flash - was.
'I understand,' Kaldur said, placing a comforting hand on Dick's shoulder.
'Thanks,' Dick said, then looked to the boom tubes of the Watchtower. 'I should probably go.'
'What? Now?' Y/N asked. 'At least see the day through, Dick.'
'There's nothing else for me to see through, Y/N,' he countered, already making his way to the boom tubes to make his exit. 'Kaldur is back, and so is the Justice League. I am no longer needed.'
Kaldur didn't follow Y/N as she chased after Dick. 'At least let the team know personally you'll be leaving. Don't you think they deserve that much from you after all we've done?'
'All I did was sign Wally's death sentence,' Dick answered harshly, not even bothering to turn around and face her. 'Yeah, the team really deserves that from their substitute leader.'
The two of them stopped before the boom tubes, facing each other one last time. Y/N grabbed Dick's wrist before he could dial in his code to exit the Watchtower.
'Dick, please,' Y/N pleaded, voice tight with desperation. 'I know you're hurting right now. We all are feeling Wally's death. But the team needs you right now. I need you...'
It was a last ditch attempt at convincing him that he meant more to her than just a friend. That he was her glue, that he was important to her and the team. That, even if he was nothing else, he was her best friend, and she was his.
Always have been... Always will be.
Don't go, she wanted to say, but the words never came out. It's like Dick had always been a part of her life; she now couldn't imagine her life without his witty remarks, without his odd use of words like "aster" and "traught", without his charming smile and kind eyes. She couldn't imagine life without him. Please, don't go.
Dick's sad expression told her he'd made his mind up before he even spoke the words.
'I'm sorry, Y/N,' he said softly, pulling her into a gentle embrace where he pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead. 'But I can't deal with this right now.'
As if in a dream, Dick stepped out of the embrace and dialled in his code for the boom tube.
'B:01 - NIghtwing,' the computer announced as the boom tube activated.
Dick was a step away from leaving Y/N behind when she called out, 'Don't be a stranger!'
She knew he had already made his mind up. But that didn't mean the two of them couldn't still be what they had always been. Best friends.
To her joy, Dick stopped and turned back around, a melancholic smile on his face as he held up his pinky finger. 'Always have been...'
Y/N reciprocated his smile as she too held up her pinky finger, imagining hooking it with his. '...Always will be,' she replied softly.
And then he was gone, and Y/N was left standing alone in the Watchtower.
She didn't realise she was crying until Dick was gone, until her senses had returned fully and felt the sensation of tears rolling down her face. That's when she acknowledged she was truly, utterly, hopelessly sad.
Because for the first time in seven years, Dick was no longer by her side. She didn't have Dick to fall back on when things got tough; she didn't have Dick to talk to about her issues with the new recruits; she didn't have Dick to laugh with after a night out at the arcade where he had failed epically at every game; she didn't have Dick reassuring her that everything would be okay, even when the world was telling them otherwise.
Dick was gone, and that was something Y/N had never expected to deal with.
'Wonderess.'
Y/N wiped her tears away before she turned to see who had called her. It was Kaldur, and based on his sympathetic expression, she knew he had heard everything.
'Batman and the rest of the Justice League wants to speak with us all,' he said.
'Right,' Y/N said, composing herself before walking over to join her friend.
Dick was gone, but she was still an integral part of Young Justice, and they needed her more now than ever. Whatever was to come their way now, they had to be strong, a united front.
Even if her heart yearned for someone who had completely abandoned her.
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fallingwaynes · 2 months
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chapter 1 of my fic!!
“the pact of our youth”
yes the title is based of achilles come down by gang of youths hehe
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Growing up in the circus was a challenging task, especially with the amount of performances and training everyone was expected to do in a day. It was especially challenging for a child, for you and your only other friend. Dick Grayson.
He was the circus’s golden child, being the only child acrobat. You were a golden child as well, being the only child with tarot reading abilities. It was highly likely that the only two children in Haley’s circus would become friends. And you two became best friends.
If anyone was to ask Dick about you, his little face would light up and he would explain excitedly about how amazing you were. He especially pointed out the times where you did your tarot readings on him and they came true. And if anyone was to ask you about Dick, you would nod shyly and talk about how his acrobatic powers would soon outshine his parents. You truly believed he would be the best acrobat in the circus.
When you weren’t doing tarot readings for paying customers or for other circus members, you were spending time with Dick. If your mother needed to find you, all she had to was visit the Grayson’s caravan or in the close area. You would always be there, giggling at a joke that the other eight year old made.
That’s where she would find you today, holding his hand as you stared at his palm. She knew, as well as you did, that you had no ideas how to read palms. This was just a simple way to humour the young acrobat; he giggled as you ran your finger in circles on his palm.
“It says that you’re have the most amazing best friend ever.” you spoke, nodding all serious like. He widened his eyes, before erupting into giggles.
“Does that mean I’m going to get a best friend?” he was teasing you, and he giggled as your face scrunched up in a frown. “Kidding, you’ll always be my best friend.”
You dropped his hand, crossing your arms with a huff; you smiled though. “Good, we should always be best friends, Dick.” Then you giggled at his nickname, he giggled too only because your laughter was contagious.
Your mother cleared her throat, turning the attention of both of you to her. “Mom!” you scrambled to your feet, and wrapped your arms around her waist. Dick stood up also, waving at your mom. She smiled sweetly at the boy, sending him a wave back and then wrapping a single around you.
“Hello, Richard.” she was one of the few people in the circus that refused to call Dick by such a nickname, and he had grown accustomed to it. She frowned apologetically between the two of you, and looked over at the approaching figures of his parents. “I hate to break you two apart, but there’s another performance tonight.”
Dick nodded understandably, turning around just as his parents reached where you all stood. They nodded at your mother, she returned the gesture. “Bye, see you later!” Dick smiled brightly at you, before placing his hand in his mom and dad’s and retreating back into his caravan.
〰☽◯☾〰
That night was the worst, you couldn’t even have used the tarot cards to read an event like this happening. Your mother had sent you to fetch more cards so you hadn’t seen it happen but you had come back to everyone crowding around the acrobat area. What could have happened to warrant such a response?
You made your way over to see what had happened, your mother was too shocked to even notice. Dick was kneeling on the floor next to two bodies. His parents’ bodies. You gasped, running to hug him; he sobbed into your shoulder and a few of Gotham’s elitists cooed in adoration.
“My parents.” he sniffled, resting his head against your shoulder and grabbing onto your hand. At this moment, while he was devastated about the deaths of the two most important people in his life, he was glad his best friend was there.
“I’m so sorry, Dick.” you whispered, running a finger in circles on his palm. You knew it wouldn’t make him laugh like earlier, but you at least wanted it to bring him some comfort for now. You stared up at the crowd, most of them were being ushered back to their seats by the Gotham police.
Dick continued sniffling, but some of his sadness had turned to anger. “Someone murdered my parents, and I’m going to make them pay.” he muttered, before glancing once more at the corpses of his parents. “Make them pay.” he repeated, just as a cop approached the two of you.
“I’m sorry about your parents, kiddos.” he looked between the two of you, and you shook your head quickly. The cop, the Commissioner you guessed by the badge pinned to his jacket, nodded understandably and crouched next to Dick. “I’m sorry about your parents, son.”
Neither of you knew the best course of action in a situation like this. Would someone in the circus be willing to take on Dick, so that he could continue to become the best acrobat in Haley’s circus? You didn’t want him to leave the circus, but you knew deep down that it was most likely the best idea for him after such an event.
You turned as your mom called out your name. She stared down with pity at the crying state of Dick, and you rushed into her open arms. “Mom, what’s going to happen to him?” you whispered, watching as the cop placed his jacket over your best friend’s shoulders.
Your mom sighed softly, it wasn’t easy having to admit that Dick would have to leave the circus and enter the foster care system. “He’s going to have to live with someone else, my little fortune teller.” she whispered to ensure that the grieving boy wouldn’t hear it.
Judging by the way he placed his hand into the Commissioner’s, the news had been broken to him and he had accepted it easier than it was expected. If the Commissioner and Dick had stayed a moment longer, they would’ve noticed Gotham’s richest playboy staring at the young boy with a frown.
You noticed however, and you began to wonder if Dick would at least be in the hands of someone who could afford all of his needs and wants. You just hoped you would be able to see your best friend before he left the circus forever.
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orchidsangel · 5 months
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Dick is a Protective boyfriend, with the line of work he leads and the place they reside Dick can't help but worry about his pretty Girlfriend.
He just wants you to be safe, and what better than to be safe in his arms.🥰
dick's seen firsthand how depraved people can be, how heinous crimes can be committed in a split second when no one's around to stop them. he wants nothing more than to keep you safe, nothing more than to stop the criminals of bludhaven. so, he's mapped out every possible entrance and exit to your apartment, he knows the safest routes for you to take home from work/school, and he teaches you how to throw a mean punch should anything ever get physical.
but even with all of those precautions taken, he worries. he worries when he's at work, he worries when he's on patrol, and he especially worries when he's more than a couple of hours away from you. he worries nonstop, but he tries not to be overbearing. he's taught you well, and you were smart to begin with. so, he continues on, shoving any anxiety he has to the back of his mind, until he can go home and hold you in his arms where he the dangers of the world can't get you, where he knows you're safe.
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cablecar-s · 16 days
Text
to love and self loath
Description :
With the death of her lover too much to bear, she makes the decision to run away from her life as Spider Woman, finding solace in the most crime ridden place in the U.S: Gotham City.
Note:
Hello! I'm currently just testing the waters of Tumblr at the moment, so bear with me because I have no idea what I'm doing. Constructive criticism is welcomed, just remember to not be mean >:/ Enjoy the first chapter!!
Prepare For Trouble
"You're Spider-Woman, right?" He looked at her with a knowing yet amused smile on his face, all the while the woman who stood before him could only stare at him with slight bafflement. Eyes wide, lips slightly parted, she blinked at him, beginning to stammer.
"I.. What? How could you..? What kind of crazy.." She let out a small mix of what seemed to be a huff and laughter in trying to play off his not-so-false statement.
Her crush could only give her a look that read all too clearly as 'Really?' which led her to promptly give up, a sigh of defeat leaving her lips.
"I.. Yeah, you got me. I'm.. I'm Spider-Woman." She looked at him with a defeated smile. "How'd you know though? I thought I was pretty secretive!" She raised her hands up in defense, making him laugh.
"Well, with how much you sometimes ditch me last minute every time I hear sirens going off or how you always disappear out of thin air when something big or small happens, it was pretty easy to deduce the reasons why." He chuckled softly.
"You are also talking to the most smartest person in his entire school." He quickly added.
The female vigilante could only slightly scoff at this, looking around, as if someone else could hear the ridiculousness that was coming out from his mouth.
"Really now?" She questioned, almost mockingly.
Slowly, the two teenagers inched closer to one another while continuing to bicker, a teasing smile on both of their faces until finally they were mere inches away from one another.
"I hope you're not waiting for something." The teenaged boy said teasingly, a smile on his lips.
"No, not at all." The girl hummed, smiling back.
With the night air nipping at their skin, the warmth of their breaths could be felt on one another. And as they leaned in for a kiss, the floor beneath them fell in an instant, and they were soon falling down the clock tower.
With her spider suit on, breathing now heavy, adrenaline pumping into her veins, she watched as the boy she loved since high school began falling, watching as her single web was shot down towards him.
It was silent in that moment, everything having gone in slow motion, her web slowly reaching out to him, but was only seconds too late. The web, sticking itself to the man at the last second, his head still hitting the cold, hard floor, killing him in an instant.
The sound of her cries echoed in the now broken clock tower; grief, guilt, and anger consuming her body, until...
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP
In an instant the woman woke up, covered in her sweat, her heart pounding against her chest. Her fight and flight instincts having kicked in, her eyes darted around her new apartment, her brain slowly catching up as to where she was. 
The muffled sound of cars honking from outside her window was heard, the slight musty smell that her apartment had, and the multiple of unpacked boxes laying around in her small bedroom had slowly calmed her down.
Memories from a few days ago came back to her again, making her sigh while simultaneously burying her face into her hands, that night continuing to haunt her time and time again no matter how many times she had tried to forget. 
Finally turning the alarm on her phone off, she got herself out of bed and went to her bathroom to freshen up, her morning not doing so well with that dream of hers. 
Pulling her hair back from her face, the woman left her bathroom and started to continue where she had left off from yesterday with unpacking her stuff. Putting her playlist on shuffle, she began digging through all of the boxes that held her belongings, putting them in their respective places.
The female vigilante was glad to have gotten away from New York, it gave her time to take a break from playing Spider-Woman—and to hopefully heal. Though it's obvious someone from above thought it would be funny that she would be transferred in the most highest crime rated city: Gotham City.
There goes her vacation.
Though Gotham City should be fine without the help of Spider-Woman shouldn't it? They have all the other vigilantes that kept Gotham fairly safe.
From Batman and Robin to Nightwing, Orphan, Spoiler, hell they even have someone to protect Gotham in the morning, which would be Signal. Of course there was also Red Hood, though she still wasn't so sure if he was to be counted since he did run a few drug cartels.
Wasn't really her business though, as long as she didn't have to do any fighting in the mean time of her slight vacation. 
Boy was she wrong.
"I need you to take some photos of our vigilantes." Her new boss ordered.
"I'm sorry?" The woman furrowed her brows, staring at the woman who was busy typing away on her computer.
"You heard me. Pictures. Vigilantes. Stat." Her voice was monotone, yet it had a slight intimidation to it. 
The vacationing vigilante did her best in holding back her frustration, moving her arms a bit to exaggerate her words just a bit. 
"But Gotham is a lot more crime ridden at night. Can't you have one of the men do it? I'm sure they'd be less likely to get mugged unlike me." She couldn't help but huff, nothing but familiar with this attitude this older woman had.
She was very much the same as Jameson back at the Daily Bugle.
It wasn't long until the woman peeled her eyes off from her computer screen to stare at the vigilante with sharp eyes.
"Listen sweetheart, the reason why you were even transferred here was because of the crystal clear pictures you had taken of Spider Woman over back from where you're from." Opening a file cabinet from her desk, she flipped through a few divided folders before pulling one out in particular and opening it up, slightly tossing it in the middle of her desk.
Photos that she had taken slid itself out from its place in the divider, all of them of which were in good quality and all had good angles to them, only because she was quite literally taking pictures of herself in order to even obtain a job as a photojournalist.
"So it's either you take photos as nice as these of our vigilantes or we can throw you back to New York, your choice." Quite literally, Jameson's female doppelganger looked back up at her new transferee before going back to typing.
Letting out a small sigh, a muttered "Yes ma'am" left her lips before leaving her new demon boss' office. She really can't catch a break can she? 
Well it's not like she wasn't a night person in the first place right? Being able to do whatever she wanted during the day, and once the sun had disappeared and the darkness and rain had taken over Gotham was when it was her time to go out and do her job.
The only downside was how incredibly freezing cold it was in Gotham once night had hit. She could stand the cold to some degree, as a New Yorker she was quite used to the cold, but Gotham was a whole other story.
She should probably install thermos into her suit. As much as she didn't want to think about vigilantism, she knew deep down she would end up doing it, only reason she had brought her suit, which was buried in the deepest parts of her closets.
As her uncle had said time and time again: With great power comes great responsibility.
Being way too busy being deep in her thoughts while slightly, not really, looking as to where any of Gotham's vigilantes may be swinging by, the hair's on her body shot up, the familiar feeling of a tingling sensation in the back of her head appearing.
With swiftness, she side stepped a hand that had tried to take hold of the back of her neck. Turning around, she found herself eyeing three men, all having sinister smiles on their faces.
Just what exactly was her luck today?
"Come on boys, don't you think three of you is a bit much for a single woman like me?" She questioned, a nervous chuckle leaving her lips.
Every step back she had taken, they had taken two steps forward. They had glanced amongst each other, snickers leaving their mouths.
"Not with a lady as pretty as you." One of them commented.
Slowly, they had backed her into a closed off alleyway, all three of them laughing once her back had hit the brick wall.
Her eyes darted around, checking every crevice, every shadow, trying to see if any of Gotham's vigilantes will swoop down to rescue her, and save her the trouble of having to take care of these men herself. 
But there was no one, not even the slightest of movements, not a glint of lenses shining in the dim lighting. Welp, looks like she's on her own for tonight. 
"You guys, really don't want to do this." She warned them, but they only laughed more. They always laugh. Who wouldn't though? A helpless woman who you've backed into a corner telling you they're gonna regret what they're gonna do?
Good thing she wasn't just any ordinary woman though.
"We're gonna have so much fun with you pretty lady." One of them cackled.
"Ugh, how gross..." She muttered.
Glancing around one last time, this time, making sure there would be no bystanders to witness as to what was going to happen.
Pulling up the hood to her winter coat, she let out a sigh, raising one of her arms, pointing it towards one of the men.
"You asked for it." 
In the blink of an eye, her webs shot out from her wrist, a long string going straight for the one in the middle, before he was heaved straight towards the woman before making a harsh impact with a trash can lid.
"Ooh, you'll be feeling that tomorrow." She winced.
Grunts of surprise came from the other two men, but no matter how odd it was for webs to shoot out from a woman's hand, they proceeded to run at the female. With ease, she dodged their attempted charged attacks.
Her hands, opposite of the two men, shot out webs and took hold of the back of their heads before she pulled at the connected webs, causing the two men to bash their skulls together.
"You'll definitely feel that tomorrow." She chuckled. 
Taking a few steps back, she hesitated for a moment and stared at them before quickly rearranging the positions of their bodies.
"Just in case..." She muttered. With their backs all facing each others', she bundled them up in her webs, a precaution if they ended up gaining back consciousness before the morning
Dusting off her hands, she let out a satisfied hum before securing her hood once more before quickly jogging off, not wanting to be found at the scene of the crime. That would only cause herself more trouble. 
"Lets just call it a night, I'm freezing my ass off here." She muttered to herself, trying to bring her coat as close to her body as possible, not wanting to lose what bit of warmth her body was keeping.
Unknowingly to the spider though, a mysterious figure with their infamous red helmet had stumbled upon her small clean up, the two barely missing each other.
He stared at the scene in front of him, his helmet quickly getting to work in scanning the mysterious webs. With his boots softly kicking at the small puddles on the ground, he crouched down, taking a closer look at the webs.
His helmet broke down the composition of the webs, seeing how it was made with a few chemicals. Reaching out his hand, he began to touch the webs a bit, trying to rip at it for a sample.
It clung to his leather glove, and it took a bit of force until it got unstuck, it almost took his glove with it with how hard he was pulling.
"The hell..?" He muttered to himself.
He rubbed his fingers together, some of stickiness staying on his gloved fingers. He took out his knife from one of his secret pockets instead and cut a bit of the web off, making it cling to his blade.
"This shit better come off..." He grumbled before putting his knife away. 
Standing up, he took out his grapple from his utility belt before disappearing into the night. 
---
The spider quickly shot up from her bed, her breathing irregular and covered in her sweat again, tortured once again by that never ending nightmare. Her eyes darting around her bedroom once more, she takes slow deep breaths before covering her eyes with her hands, the palm of her hands pressing into her eyelids.
Letting out a deep sigh, she got out of her bed, doing her morning routine once more. Scrolling through her phone, she looks at the news of Gotham City, most of them mainly about the many crimes of the city, some of politicians, and others of Bruce Wayne. 
Before putting her phone down though, a message popped from the top of her screen, it was from her new boss.
"I better have those photos by the end of this week!!!!" It had read.
The woman only rolled her eyes, turning off her phone so she could dump her face in water. 
Leaving her bathroom, she rubbed her moisturizer onto her face while making her way to her living room that also shared her kitchen. Starting up her coffee machine, she made herself a quick PB&J in the meantime. 
Leaning against the counter as she slowly ate her sandwich, the smell of coffee beginning to waft in the air, the vacationing vigilante took a good look at her small apartment. 
It was.. 
A bit bland to put it nicely. 
Guess she was going shopping today. Quickly downing her coffee without trying to burn her tongue, she quickly got dressed and headed out to do a bit of shopping, to make her apartment just a bit more welcoming for the time that she was staying in Gotham. 
Though she had a bit of a tight budget, she managed to buy a few things well within it that there was a little left over that she could buy herself dinner.
By the time she was done shopping though, the sun was beginning to set, meaning that it was nearly time for the criminals of Gotham to come crawling out of their hiding spots to cause some trouble.
"Shit..." She muttered under her breath, holding onto her plastic bags tightly, her shoes tapping against the cement as she quickly tries to make it back to her apartment before she got mugged.
Her senses have heightened a bit as a sense of panic and wariness began to settle in her stomach. Her eyes flitted about, cautious of every corner, every shadow, every alley, the last light sunset disappearing over the horizon.
Cursing under her breath, her steps quickened, and then there she saw it. A blur of bright red, green, and yellow flying in the air; it was Robin.
Her boss's text from this morning came back to her, which only made her curse more. Of course she didn't bring her camera. The handles of the bags hanging from one of her arms, she quickly fishes out her phone from her back pocket, turning the flash on to take a quick picture of Robin before he disappeared off into the night.
She cursed at his nimbleness, taking a small step back as he flies above her, but just as she was about to take the picture, she had bumped into something sturdy. 
Blinking, she slowly turned around, only to come face to face with someone's chest, Batman's symbol on a black shirt, but instead it was in red.
Slowly, she looked up, only to find herself face to face with the Red Hood.
Click!
The flash to her phone went off as she took a picture of him.
next chapter ->
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pluvialpoet · 20 days
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lol I found a nearly finished wip in my drafts…who wants to be tagged?
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