#it's the intro to Comfort Food on ao3 but i debated leaving it just as this drabble

[motleyfam]

Dick is convinced that food always tastes better after a show.

His dad laughs and tells him it’s just because they’re acrobats and they can’t eat much prior to spending a few hours intricately twisting and flipping their bodies through the air over the dizzying roar of the crowds below. Hunger, he tells his son, has always been the best spice. But Dick thinks there’s more to it than that. There’s something about the buzz — the energy following a performance — that makes even the simplest of dishes special.

With so many different cultures and nationalities represented at Haly’s, Dick is used to eating all sorts of things, learns to tell who’s making dinner each night by the aroma of the various herbs and spices wafting out from the tent. There’s a Russian acrobat and a Taiwanese contortionist and a French wire walker and a clown from Cleveland, and the only common factor seems to be their insistence that the nine-year-old could use some more meat on his bones. He helps his mother stir cornmeal porridge and stuff cabbage leaves with ground meat and rice while his dad, grinning, juggles bell peppers and onions and cans of tomato paste in an arc above their heads.

It’s always late at night by the time they gather around the plastic folding tables with full plates, aching muscles, and weary smiles. Snippets from conversations in three or four different languages wash over Dick, and he doesn’t understand everything, but he doesn’t mind it either. The food and laughter warm him from the inside out, and he eats until his belly is full and his eyelids start to grow heavy. His mother pulls him into her lap and lets him curl up against her chest, and he’s lulled to sleep by the hum of the troupe members’ voices, perfectly safe and content.

The night that Dick’s parents fall to their deaths, there’s beef goulash simmering on the cookhouse stove and just the smell is enough to make him sick.

#dick grayson #fanfiction #batfam #i was scrolling through some of my past fics the other night to answer an ask #and i came across this one #it's the intro to Comfort Food on ao3 but i debated leaving it just as this drabble #which is much angstier than the full fic #the full fic's more bittersweet and i'm a softie #but i wanted to share it just in the drabble format as well #so we can have both flavors #angst #grief #canonical character death #drabble

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous Team and Batboys, end of Damian Grasyon day 1

Here’s what i have for the update

--

Marinette wasn’t surprised to see Lilia trying to talk to Damian in her seat. Or that he looked ready to kill her.

“And then Damiboo—“

“Hey Lila, I need to do more official welcoming committee things with Damian before class starts. We wouldn’t want him to get caught unprepared for any attacks at Dupont, would we?”

Before Lila could speak up Alya grabbed the girl’s arm and pulled her back to her lair in the back.

“C’mon, we don’t want him to get pancaked then miracle back—you know how much people that are used to it hate that.”

“But—“

“Oh sweet, no lecture today then,” Nino grinned.

Marinette almost rolled her eyes. “I know your haunts, I will get you on a semi-healthy sleep schedule.”

“I am an artist, we say screw sleep.”

“You can be nocturnal and have a sleep schedule Nino.” Marinette paused for a moment. “Or I will revoke morning delivery privileges.”

Nino stiffened.”Got it.”

She turned back to Damian, who held up his phone. “Did all of these really happen?”

Marinette looked at the attacks he had pulled up. “Yeah, just, don’t bring up that one,” Marinette pointed to the Siren video. “The survivors are in therapy and the victims don’t remember for a good reason.” She paused for a moment before saying, “And try not to bring up someone’s akumatazations, it’s a leading cause to re-akumatazation like with this one.” Marinette tapped the first entry on the page, Stone Heart.

Damian nodded, looking over at her once again before continuing his scroll.

“If you have any questions about this or school or classes, I can give you my number. No guarantees I’ll get back that moment, but usually that day. Commissions can eat up time… I’ll check with Sabrina if she’s willing to answer questions too.”

“The class deputy, correct?” Damian asked without looking up.

“Yeah, I’d ask Chloe but she’s in the middle of fighting the school on a few trip schedules for the class and well…”

“I cannot believe they want to cut our time in the gardens Adrikins, can you believe it! It’s ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

Damian looked up at her as she sighed. “I’m pretty sure oil and water get along better than you two would.”

Damian nodded and—no she was imagining it. No way that expression happened.

“She’s more tolerable than the other one.”

Marinette hummed at that. “Chloe is the lesser of two evils at any point in time.”

“Oh shut up Dupain-Cheng.”

“Marinette, that isn’t very nice,” Adrien gently reprimanded.

Marinette rolled her eyes openly this time. “Its this or war.”

“Personally, I’d prefer war,” Chloe huffed. “But we have someone to dispose of first.”

“I mean, maybe she’s just got a condition? No need to jump down her throat dudette,” Nino added.

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “So what did she screw up on her timeline this time?”

Chloe huffed this time. “The same summer she was with Ali doing “delegation things” she was apparently being wooed by Gotham’s elusive ice prince.”

Marinette snorted at that.

She missed Damian’s reaction, but she doubted it was anything important.

“Okay, so are you all now in agreement that she’s lying?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Told you all Dupain-Cheng was right at the beginning, but did you listen? Nooo.”

Adrien sighed. “I really messed up at first, didn’t I?”

Marinette shrugged. She got why---rock, hard place, and really bad coping mechanisms but… “Kind of.”

“Dudette, thanks again for making sure we all still went into those competitions and stuff.”

Marinette nodded, watching others in the class check the document, minus those in Lila’s sight.

Alix looked ready to clock Lila from her place while Rose was a bit devastated on her end. She winced a bit at those responses. Lila still did deal some damage to the class over the years, even if she did mitigate most of the long term ones.

“Someone has to keep the class afloat.”

“Rude.” Chloe wasn’t glaring. Oh—Chloe was doing her brand of friendship with Marinette now. She’d need to be vigilant for possible Chloe-cling.

“We both know you’d sell most of us for a corn chip,” Marinette added, hoping it might put just the right amount of distance but…

“Obviously, only Sabrina and Adrikins are spared…” she was glad she wasn’t included. “though you’re a bag of corn chips.” Damnit.

“Settle down class, now…” with that class began and Marinette almost groaned because she had an impending civilian Chloe friendship, who is exactly the type to drag you around without listening to any objections.

Once classes were over Marinette checked her messages with Sabrina.

“Okay, so here’s my number and Sabrina’s, any questions you can message either of us. Sabrina is better for procedural things and responds a lot faster than me.”

Sabrina materialized out of thin air and puffed out her chest. “I am the superior organizer.”

Marinette mock-glared at the red-head for that. “You still mess up the joint class schedules.”

Sabrina huffed at her. “You’re the one that they tell everything to.”

“I listen, and follow up. You’re just lucky I forward you guys that monster schedule since you can’t be trusted without supervision.”

Sabrina pouted at that. “Its not my fault Adrien and Kim don’t update theirs.”

Marinette nodded along, wondering if she could escape soon. “Just talk to Kim—I know you hate his sport speak but just ask if he can show up and he’ll check his calendar—I made sure to train him on that before stepping down.”

Sabrina looked at her before going off to do just that, since he yelled something about a new competition and that meant an updated class schedule.

Marinette packed her things then, figuring that Damian was already gone.

“Have a good day Dupain-Cheng.”

If it wasn’t for Chloe being across the room, she would have rolled her eyes. However…

“You too Damian. Again, any questions and me or Sabrina can answer.”

He frowned at her as she stood to leave. Oh, the textbooks!

“The mint page in the orange folder should show you the easiest places to get the textbooks this late into term. I’m guessing you’re not the type to like having to hit the library for required materials, and you don’t look like the type to like sharing textbooks long term. If those don’t work, Sabrina has a pdf for transfers you can download once you get approval to use a laptop or phone in class from Bustier. The form is the second mint page I think, and don’t worry, she approves things like that in a few days.”

Damian nodded. Marinette wondered if she overwhelmed him as she left. Oh well, her classmates were busy and she still had to finish Ali’s commission before patrol or an akuma attack—it was too quiet.

She hoped Damian read over the safety procedures, and sent him a quick text to review those as an after thought as she sent him in English (She hoped she guessed right): It’s been too peaceful for Hawkmoth, and our attacks are usually once every two days.

He read it but didn’t respond. She rolled her eyes as she entered the bakery, noting that Zombie was gone.

“I’ll be upstairs!”

“Before you do, can you make more of your monstrosities? The daycare should be letting out soon…”

Marinette almost sighed. Almost. How much did Zombie have? Apparently all of it.

She rolled her eyes as she made her usual ‘sleep deprived’ set for the regulars and ran upstairs to finish up Ali’s commission. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to stay up all night.

She was almost done, just a few more details when the AkumaWatch went off.

Tikki gave her a look.

“I know, I know.” Marinette grabbed her things for school. “Maman, Papa, I’m going to the Library!”

“Don’t stay till closing this time!”

“No promises!”

She ran off a decent distance before ducking into an alleyway.

“Tikki, Spots on!”

--

Elsewhere Damian had escaped Bustier's "checking in" by taking refuge in the school's library and sent over the information he'd gathered from Dupont and the Ladyblog to Drake first. Who Todd located and then relocated at Dick's request to go over what they'd found and discuss possible investigation avenues into the miraculous and its users.

He didn't like the idea of the 'boogey-man' stories (according to Grayson) of the trinkets holding the power gods being a reality. Especially if the old stories from the League were anything to go by... According to legend, a pair of earrings were responsible for the Lazarus Pitts existence in the first place--and he was weary of the tales of the ring that wiped cities from existence, and the necklace that drove men to madness.

--

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks to everyone that’s been commenting and voting on this and the ao3 of the story. Sorry, but Damian getting intrigued beat out Lila exposure by Damian. Instead, we have Class Knows She Lies, but no action plan on that yet... May do various confrontations when we get back to school updates.

Here’s the question for the next update, since its battletime and I get stuck on those for a bit.

Two things: batboys invade the battle or show up at the end when the Miraculous Team are wrapping it up?

and any akuma ideas? I'm debating just having it be gigtitan or pigeonman if its light, or if we're going dark, then a little kid that's being starved for 'bad behavior' regularly possibly turning adults into food, and the Miraculous Team seen at the end both comforting the kid in turns while talking to the police.

light is just simple intro, dark is more a slap in the face for the batboys that this is not Gotham or the Justice League, and gets them to see the whole of the problem more.

@worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @littleredrobinhoodlum @northernbluetongue @kceedraws @pirats-pizzacanninibles @theatreandcomicfreak @daminett4life @catthhay @weird-pale-blonde-person @amayakans @chocolatecatstheron

#maribat #daminette idea au #miraculous team and batboys #my writing