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remakethestars · 3 years

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Being Damian Wayne's Twin Sister Would Include:

Headcanons.

❝Exactly. I don't ask my dog to drive, and I don't ask the Justice League to solve my problems.❞

— Damian Wayne, Adventures of the Super Sons #9: Showdown on Hexworld

TRIGGER WARNING: Cursing, (Damian’s) death. Mentions of toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny, nightmares, blood, knives.

Headcanon masterlist.

When people ask you, “So, which one of you is the evil twin?” Damian always glowers, and you always motion to him.

You look disturbingly alike when only your eyes are showing; Damian’s got long lashes. Talia taught you a good tactic for tag-teaming in combat as kids was to pull up your hinged balaclavas and make the enemy think there was only one of you, that they’re seeing double.

Or for one of you to hang back while the other attacks as a distraction before the other knocks them out from behind.

Obviously, this won’t work when the two of you start filling out, but it works when you’re kids. It’s the reason why, even off the field, the two of you usually wear a matching outfits with hoods.

You utilize the same methods when she sends you to live with Bruce.

You don the Robin costume just like he does, much to the rest of the Batfam’s confusion (both because they weren’t expecting it and because they can’t tell you apart either), but sticking with the “red” theme, you go by Redstart.

There’s a rumor on the street that Robin V. is a meta that can teleport.

The two of you are freakishly good at mimicking the other’s voice and mannerisms, which makes it even harder for your family.

Jason tells you two about April Fools Day, and you make the most of it. Of course, Damian’s a pain in the a$$ and decides to go around pretending to be you and getting into trouble. You’re banned from the mall, and you still have no idea why.

The two of you can communicate with just an impassive expression (Dick says it looks like a prime example of twin telepathy to anyone else), but anyone close to you knows sh¡t’s about to hit the fan when the two of you look at each other and smirk.

If it’s something you can’t communicate nonverbally, you use your cryptophasia.

Cryptophasia is a language developed by twins when they’re learning to talk. Most of them grow out of it, you and Damian decided to keep developing it so it became more of a conlang. No one else has been taught to speak it, and they never will be. It’s for emergencies only.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was your Bible growing up, and the two of you call out verses when you fight together and need the other to understand a tactic (you both inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory, so you’ve got it memorized).

When you get too big to pull off the which-is-which game, you make your own costume and become the true Redstart.

It’s basically Damian’s Robin uniform (the Super Sons’s version is the only one I’ll accept), but the boots and gloves are black, the biceps have a white stripe, the lining of the cape is white (the lining of the hood is black), the gold accents become white, it has a zipper down the front instead of clasps, and the mask becomes black (including the eyes). The waterline of the eyes is white. Like a painted redstart.

If Damian’s into animals, you’re into plants. The two of you find common ground on the fact that pollution sucks, so when you walk Titus, you take a trash bag and gloves with you to pick up litter as you go.

You did not want to go to Jon’s school.

Not because you don’t like Jon (because you do), but because you know you could run intellectual circles around every one of those snot-nosed brats.

School is stupid. Especially because the American education system is subpar; everything about it is.

You hardly pay attention in class. You do all of the homework a week ahead of time incase something comes up. Usually you’re doing next week’s homework in class. You’ve written entire papers on your phone in Google Docs in the middle of class to be printed out later.

If you’ve already done everything, Damian’s usually drawing and you’re daydreaming or you’re working on a case on your phone.

The teachers are always trying to catch you not paying attention, but you little sh¡ts can always answer their questions.

Damian’s closest with Dick, but you’re closest with Tim. You admire his ability to plan ahead (see the entirety of the Red Robin comics), and you know that he’s better than both your father and your grandfather; you want to be as good as him when you grow up.

It takes a long time to wash the toxic masculinity and internalized misogyny our of your head, to learn that your grandfather’s ideas of “strength” were wrong, that it’s okay to lean on someone besides Damian, that you can be just as strong as your brother and still be feminine, that there are acceptable emotions besides anger.

Actually, your father teaches you that anger is more likely to get you killed. He won’t let you go into the field when he knows your angry.

It’s harder to drill out of you than your instinct to kill.

There’s a Lebanese restaurant called Tarbooshes (Teen Titans Special #1) the two of you go to when you’re feeling homesick. They make ox blood soup the same way your mother did, and it’s the only non-vegetarian thing Damian will eat for that very reason.

It’s nice to have a place to go where they know you by name and know what you want when you tell them “the usual.” It’s nice to have a place where you’re not a Wayne or an Al Ghul, where you’re just [Y/N] and Damian.

You disappear for an hour on your birthday to eat there. Bruce has asked you were you go, but you kept that between the two of you.

Speaking of birthdays, you’re eleven minutes older than him. He was six pounds and ten ounces (Batman & Robin #0?), and you were a solid seven.

After Damian died, you go to Tarbooshes to feel close to him.

You were doing all right with the no-killing thing until the night Damian died.

Heretic never stood a chance.

He looked so much like Damian it gave you nightmares, though. Nightmares where you killed your twin brother and woke up sobbing.

Damian didn’t give you a speech in his last moments. He just looked over at you and said in your cryptophasia, “I’m sorry.”

Not “I love you.” Not “Take care of them for me.” You knew that; you’d do that. He didn’t have to tell you, and he didn’t have to ask.

Just “I’m sorry.” Sorry that you were the one that was left behind.

It’s one thing to lose a family member, to lose a friend, or to lose a lover. It’s another to lose half of your soul.

The two of you had always feared you would die apart. It had always been a possibility; you weren’t stupid enough to think, “It’ll never happen to me.” Because it definitely could.

And it had.

You wanted to run away from everything. Even just for a while. Go to one of your safe houses in London or France or whatever and just — you didn’t know — stare at the wall until you felt better? But you’d made that unspoken promise to Damian — “I’ll take care of them for you; don’t worry.” — to take care of Titus and Catfred and Jerry and Batcow and Goliath, to take care of Alfred and Bruce and Dick and Jason and Cassandra and Tim, to take care of Jon and Colin and Maps.

You avoided the cave. And if you had to go down there for some reason, you refused to look at the Robin suits.

Dick noticed. He asked if you wanted them taken down, even just for a while. You gave him a look like he was nuts and said, “No.”

Jon was a mess. More of a mess than you were, somehow.

You’d shown up at the Kents’s. Jon was out doing Superboy things with Clark and Conner. Lois was the only one home.

You nearly scared her out of her skin when you materialized behind her and asked, “Is Jon home? It’s important.”

He had to know first. He deserved to.

For all he put up with from you two, he deserved to be the first to know when one of you was f*cking dead.

Lois, of course, bless her heart, had the mom instincts to know that you were in no way, shape, or form okay even when you were trying so hard to hold yourself together. She asked you what’s wrong, and it’s what made you break.

Your lip trembled. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Damian,” your voice broke. “He’s dead.”

Jon came home to find you in his living room in your Robin uniform, covered in Damian’s and Heretic’s blood, snot running down your lip, sobbing in his mothers arms and knew what happened without having to ask. He did anyway.

When you and Jon both finally passed out, your Uncle Clark flew you back to the Batcave. No one was in any condition — not even Alfred — so he carried you up to your room; took your boots, mask, cape, and gloves off; and tucked you in. Then he went to find Bruce because there was no doubt he was losing it too.

Bruce doesn’t tell you anything about trying to find a way to bring him back without the Lazarus pit because he doesn’t want to get your hopes up.

You walk into your room one day to find Damian sitting there reading the dissertation (the requirement was three pages, not 120, but your teacher would just have to deal with your coping mechanisms) you had been working on for your World History class and left up on your laptop while on patrol.

He said with the utmost indifference, “You’ve made some good points, Sister,” and, of course, you pulled out a knife and attacked him because this was — was — was some shapeshifting alien or hologram tech or a cruel joke — your twin was dead, this wasn’t funny, whoever did this was going to pay.

He met you blow-for-blow and flipped away from you before saying, “And here I was expecting a warm welcome,” in your cryptophasia.

“Brother?”

“Tt. Obviously.”

Yeah, a college level thesis. You’re smart. You inherited Bruce’s eidetic memory and were raised by assassins.

You learned seven languages and wrote five doctoral theses by the time your teeth came in, wrote your first letter to a newspaper editor when you were two, could’ve had a geology doctorate when you were seven (Super Sons #1), and it only took you a week to learn the language on Takron-Galtos. You’re smart.

You’re also incredibly skilled. You learned to drive when you were five (Super Sons #1), your mother trained you to go for weeks without eating (Adventures of the Super Sons #6), you can micro-sleep for days and converse with half your brain asleep, can use a muscular contraction to move your liver out of the way of a blade (Nightwing #20), and can place yourself in a deep trance to heal damages caused by a hematoma (also #20).

(My dumba$$ didn’t note what Super Sons/Adventure of the Super Sons comic I was reading when I took notes, so I don’t have all of them noted in the two above bullet points. But that’s where they’re from. If I end up rereading them, I’ll edit this and add the comic numbers.)

The first time on patrol you thought Bruce was gonna die, you called him Baba.

The next evening, when Dick came to visit the cave, he turned to you and Damian and asked, “So, which one of you called him Dad?”

“How’d you know?” you asked.

“He’s smiling the way he did the day I called him Tati.”

“He’s not smiling,” Damian pointed out.

“He is on the inside.”

Can we talk about how royally the Arkham Knights game screwed up Tim Drake? (Though, everything seems to screw up Tim one way or another, I guess.) Why does he look like a quidditch player in the gif above the cut?

Visit my headcanon masterlist.

DISCLAIMER ━━━ I’m a dumb white American, and I don’t know much about Arab or Romani culture other than what I’ve learned online. I hope I got it right?? If I didn’t, please drop a comment or P.M. me or something to let me know!

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redhoodssweetheart · 3 years

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Blackbird | Epilogue

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.6K

Requested: No

Warnings: Swearing, angst, some fluff, talk of having a dark soul and not being a good person, death mention, shot with a gun

Description: You were once a member of the BatFam known by the moniker Blackbird. You and Dick Grayson were close, but when a tragic accident left many members of the team thinking you were dead you went into hiding and tried to build a new life for yourself. But now Dick is back and he’s about to find out your secret.

A/N: Thank you for following along on Blackbird's journey with me. This was the first DC story I ever wrote, it was actually the first ever fanfic I started. Back then it was an OFC story and when I started my blog I made it into a Reader Insert. It was meant to be more of a healing journey for Blackbird than anything else. Her coming to terms and confronting her past while finding love with her best friend and the one person who understands her pain more than anyone else. I hope you all enjoyed it and thank you for your comments and love on this journey!

One Year Later

The plane touched down in Gotham and Y/N stared out the window at the familiar setting. Despite how much fun she had had on her year long sojourn with Jason there was still a part of her that had missed home. She missed the way the city sounded during the day with the hustle and bustle of people. She missed the pancakes from that shop she had frequented as a teen. It wasn’t perfect, but it was home and she didn’t know how she had done without it for all those years after her rebirth.

That was how she had come to think of her resurrection. It was a rebirth. She wanted to put a positive spin on it after so long of it controlling her and bothering her. She still had her bad days, but she wasn’t going to let her past and the bad that she had done after coming back define her any longer. With Jason’s help she had come to terms with her past and learned that she was worthy of love.

“How did you convince me to give you the window seat… again?” Jason’s voice came from beside her, it was a little groggy from sleep, but he was looking at her with a mischievous spark in his eyes.

She stuck her tongue out at him, “Because you love me?”

He moved in close to her and smirked, “I do love you.” Then he kissed her sweetly.

The two of them had grown a lot over the past year together. They had been all over the world from Lagos to Paris to Tokyo and so many others. They had shipped souvenirs of their time in these countries to Bruce for safekeeping until they got back. Y/N had gotten snow globes and flags of each of the places they had gone to visit. Jason had been in charge of pictures and he gathered postcards that he meant only for himself.

With their bags collected they headed to their apartment which looked the same as always. Tim had made sure nothing happened to it while they were away. They tossed their bags down and collapsed onto the couch together, tired but happy. “You need to call Bruce,” she reminded Jason.

He groaned, “He’s gonna want to see us.”

“I don’t care,” Y/N poked his stomach. “You promised that you would call once we landed and were home safe and sound.”

Jason sighed and dug his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Bruce’s contact info. “If we have to go to the manor I’m blaming you,” he told her as his finger hovered over the call button.

She laughed and stood, “Let me know what he says. I’m gonna go shower the plane off of me.” Then she disappeared into the bedroom to take her shower.

Just as Jason predicted he wanted them to come by the manor and he said to dress appropriately which meant there was gonna be a surprise party. “He’s not slick,” Jason said around his toothbrush. “He wants us to believe that it’s just gonna be a quiet dinner at home and then everyone we know is gonna be there and we’ll have to tell the same stories at least fifty different times tonight.”

“And it’ll be fine. I’m sure they won’t make us stay too long. Plus we got gifts for the others that I want to hand out,” Y/N told him as she put the finishing touches on her outfit. She was wearing a dress she had bought in Paris, and Jason was already eying her. “No,” she pointed a finger at him.

“Come on, babe, I’ll make it worth your while,” his arms went around her waist and his minty fresh breath fanned across her neck as he bent to kiss her.

She gently pried him off of her, “Nah-uh, you’re not going to rope me into doing anything because we’re already running behind because you wanted a quickie in the shower.”

That got him to smirk, “Sweetheart that was definitely not a quickie.”

She tried to glare at him, but she couldn’t help the grin forming on her face. “I hate you,” she said.

He chuckled, “No you don’t, you love me.”

“I do,” she sighed. “So damn much.”

“That’s my girl,” he said as he sat her on the counter of the sink and began kissing her neck again.

An idea struck Y/N and she said, “Jay if you stop and finish getting ready I’ll make it worth your while later tonight.”

His hand paused on her calf, and he looked up at her, “I’m listening.”

She smirked, “Oh sweetheart,” she turned his nickname against him. “I’ll make your wildest dreams come true.” She gripped his chin between her fingers, “But you have to behave.”

He stole one more kiss, “You win, Blackbird.”

Slipping off the counter Y/N moved back into the bedroom, “I knew I would.” The sound of his chuckle followed her.

Jason was ready five minutes later and they were off. The manor was lit up like a Christmas tree when they pulled in, and there were several cars in the driveway along with motorcycles that they knew belonged to the boys. Y/N wondered just how many people were actually waiting inside when they entered. Bruce knew that they knew something was going to happen, but he was still going to try and surprise them.

“Miss Y/L/N, Jason,” Alfred smiled when he opened the door for them. “It is wonderful to see the two of you again.”

“You too, Alfred,” she said as she kissed his cheek.

Jason patted Alfred on the shoulder, “So how many people are we going to be greeted by?”

“I am not at liberty to say,” Alfred told them. “This way.” He ushered them into the living room where a group of people was waiting.

“WELCOME HOME!” They all shouted when they saw Y/N and Jason round the corner.

Bruce was the first to greet them, followed by Tim, Damian, Barbara, Duke, Cassandra, Stephanie, and Kor’i.

Y/N’s eyes went to the back of the room where Dick was lingering, he offered her a smile when he noticed her looking and she gave him a little wave before her attention was pulled away by something Barbara was trying to tell her.

It wasn’t until later that she finally got to talk to Dick. He had pulled her aside after the gifts had been given out that they had a moment. Together they stepped outside onto the back patio where they could have a moment alone.

“I should probably say sorry first and foremost,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t handle you coming back to life in the best way.”

Y/N chuckled, “I think you handled it the best way that you could, Dick.”

He smiled at that, “It took me awhile to realize that things couldn’t be the same. We’ve both changed since that day you died. I was just so caught up in the past that I didn’t realize that we couldn’t just pick up from where we left off.”

“If things had been different maybe we would still be together,” Y/N admitted. “But we’ll never know now and to be honest I’m pretty happy where I am. I’ve grown a lot in the past year with Jason and coming back. And I’m sorry I never told you I was still alive and that you found out like you did. But I just wasn’t ready to see you, not after I tried killing you.”

He nodded at her words, “Kor’i really helped me understand things from your perspective and helped me grow past them. I realized that you were right, we were different people and that that’s okay. All that mattered to me was that you were still in my life in whatever way possible.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters to me.”

Warmth spread through her and she wrapped her arms around Dick, “Thank you, Dick. And I just want you to be happy too. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” They broke apart and she nudged him with her shoulder, “So you want to tell me what’s going on between you and Kor’i?”

His cheeks heated, “We’ve been dating for a few months now.”

“That’s great!” Y/N gushed. “I’m happy for you, she’s a great person.”

“She is,” Dick said, happy that you agreed. “And you and Jason seem happy together, I’m glad he was there for you when you needed him.”

“Me too,” she said softly. “I didn’t feel so alone after I came back. Jason knew what it was like and he was really there for me. I love him.”

“He loves you too,” Dick glanced inside and saw Jason watching them, he didn’t look mad or upset, just curious. “Do you think he’s gonna ask you to marry him?”

“Oh God, I don’t know,” she laughed. “We talked about it a couple of times, but I think we’re just enjoying life right now. Plus I think he wanted to wait until we got back to Gotham before we made any big life decisions.”

“Can I make one request?” Dick asked.

Curious she asked, “What’s that?”

“If the two of you do get married, could I… be the one that gives you away?” It was a weird request, but it made sense.

“I’d really like that, Dick,” she took his hand and squeezed it. “But I have to get engaged first.”

Dick looked at his brother again and knew it was only a matter of time before Jason asked Y/N to be his for the rest of their lives. “Yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see.” He slung his arm around her and said, “Come on, we’re missing out on the party.”

And the two of them walked back inside together. Laughing as they caught Tim recounting a funny patrol story to Damian from their younger days.

#Jason Todd x Reader #Jason Todd x Reader fluff #Jason Todd x Fem!Reader #Jason Todd x Reader angst #Jason Todd #Jason Todd fanfic #Jason Todd fanfiction #Jason Todd fluff #Jason Todd angst

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is-it-art-tho · 3 years

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Summary: What happens when two of the most emotionally damaged members of the Batfam are tricked into spending quality time together?

Damian and Jason have complicated histories when it comes to family and revenge, but a Father's Day card could help them start to work through it.

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“You didn’t have to come,” Jason pointed out, trailing his fingers along the wall of greeting cards.

Damian scowled at a New Year’s card with a drawing of Superman on the front being pulled into the air by a balloon over the caption Up, up, and away to a new year! It was infuriatingly nonsensical. Why would the alien need a balloon if he could already fly?

“Pennyworth insisted. And I was under the impression that this was going to be some form of surveillance operation. It seems he didn’t find it necessary to disabuse me of that notion before we left.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed as he recalled the pleased slant to Pennyworth’s mouth as Damian had gotten in Todd’s car. The younger boy had assumed it was because Alfred would get to have the house to himself for the afternoon. Now he suspected a much more nefarious motive.

Jason chuckled. “Played by the old man, huh? Anyone who thinks Bruce is the master manipulator hasn’t met Alfred.”

“Tt. I wonder what I have done to upset him.”

“Hm?” Jason plucked a card from the wall and skimmed it. He chuckled at whatever it said.

“Pennyworth must be fairly irritated to have set this up. Obviously he knows how we feel about each other.”

At that Jason raised an eyebrow, putting the card back in its slot and grabbing another. “Oh yeah?”

“Of course he does.”

“And how do we feel about each other?” There was a subtle lilt in his voice; Damian could see the older boy fighting back a smile.

His jaw clenched. “Stop acting like a fool. You know the status of our relationship.”

“Thought by now you’d realize it’s not an act. I really am just an idiot.”

Damian scrunched his mouth together, but continued with forced calm. Meanwhile a woman pushed her cart past them slowly, clearly eavesdropping as she pretended to examine the envelop options.

“We are colleagues. That is all. Otherwise, we stay out of each other’s way.”

“Right,” Jason agreed as he flipped open yet another card. This one had Green Lantern grinning on the front and saying something that Damian couldn’t see around Jason’s fingers. “Why do you think that is?”

“What?”

“The whole ‘staying out of each other’s way’ thing. Why is it like that with us?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I’ve got actual beef with Bruce, Dick-wing, and Replacement. Or at least, I did. You, on the other hand,” he glanced at Damian now. “What’s your deal?”

“My deal?” Damian echoed incredulously, his voice grating under the strain of keeping it at least somewhat moderated. “Since the moment we met, you have made it abundantly clear that you want no part of me. Most of the time, you refuse to even look in my direction. You set the terms of this relationship, and I have accepted them. That, Todd, is my deal.”

Damian’s face felt hot, and it took more effort than it should have for him to slow his breathing. The nosy woman was openly staring at them now.

Jason blinked at him, his eyebrows arched in surprise, then looked back at the wall of cards. His expression reverted into something smooth and inscrutable, but his ears had gone red.

“Hm,” was all he said in response, exchanging the card in his hands for yet another.

Damian, on the other hand, felt as if his head might pop, and Jason’s lack of reaction was only making it worse. Now on top of being inexplicably angry, he was also embarrassed. Compared to Jason’s calm, he looked like a child throwing a tantrum in a store.

He was also embarrassed that Alfred had tricked him into coming here for a reason he apparently did not understand, and that Damian had also apparently misinterpreted something about the dynamic between him and Jason. All this time Damian had thought he’d understood the rules of engagement between them. Now it seemed as though he had been mistaken; that fact burned in his stomach like acid.

But Damian knew what he saw. He had not made up the aura of revulsion that had initially wafted off of Todd in waves whenever Damian had come around. He had not imagined the surreptitious glances of rage or disgust, the loaded silences between them. And he would not let Todd try to make him think that he had. As if all this time he’d been playing make-believe like some foolish child.

“What are you even doing?” Damian spit. For the first time, he noticed that Jason was looking at Father’s Day cards.

The older boy offered a delayed and distracted, “What?”

“What are you doing?” Damian repeated slowly, emphasizing each word.

Jason looked at the card in his hands before looking back at Damian, the blush in his ears intensifying. There was an edge in his voice when he retorted, “What’s it look like?”

“It looks like you’re browsing Father’s Day cards, which is odd seeing as how you don’t have one.”

Jason recoiled, and Damian relished the wild fury that flared in his eyes – the break in his vexing calm. The younger boy found himself bracing for a physical attack; the others would never be so reckless in public, but from what he’d seen of Todd, this boy was careless and unpredictable enough to launch into an all-out assault right here in the pharmacy.

But then the fury faded into something barely restrained, and he muttered,“You’re lucky you’re still just a brat and that I don’t pummel children.”

“I am not a child,” Damian snarled, trying not to cringe at how utterly childish that response sounded on his lips.

“You’re an infant. And I’m sick of looking at you. Go wait in the car.”

Although he wanted nothing more than to do just that, part of Damian despised the fact that it would now look like he was taking orders. He stood there, weighing his dignity against his overwhelming desire to be elsewhere, until he caught the flash of ire in Todd’s eyes again and decided that the consequences of his defiance would not be worth whatever satisfaction he might glean from it.

He stalked out of the pharmacy, ignoring an employee’s too-bubbly farewell as he slammed open the door and marched toward the old, definitely-stolen Jeep in the lot. It wasn’t until he yanked on the locked passenger door that he realized he’d forgotten to get the keys, and he threw his head back and screamed a curse that would have turned Alfred to stone.

There was no way he was going back inside now, so he found himself sitting on the curb, his arms crossed tightly around his knees as he glared at the asphalt.

A few minutes later, he heard the chime over the door, then the crunch and shuffle of boots on pavement followed by the sound of the car doors unlocking. He got in without a word and glowered straight ahead.

Beside him, Todd got in empty-handed and started the car, but they didn’t move right away. The following silence felt like a precursor to something, and Damian was glad he hadn’t yet put his seatbelt on. Adrenaline bubbling up in his chest, he slid his hand over to unlock his door, ready to make a quick exit.

At last, he chanced a glance in the older boy’s direction, expecting to find unbridled fury and perhaps even murderous intent. While Todd did still looked incensed, his unnaturally green eyes burning a hole in the windshield, he also looked oddly wounded and confused. The expression was enough to distract Damian from his escape plan, and he paused with his hand on the plastic nub of the lock.

Jason muttered something, and Damian asked, “What?”

“I said ‘I don’t hate you.’ I mean, I do – I did. But it was never personal.”

“That doesn’t make any–”

“Would you just shut up? I know, okay? I know it doesn’t make sense. Just let me–” Jason exhaled loudly, running his hand over his face as he tipped his head back into the seat.

When he spoke again, it was with his eyes closed and his hand still resting over his mouth. “I’m trying to communicate. Just work with me, all right?”

“Tt.” But Damian fell silent, allowing the older boy to continue.

Jason at last let his hand drop, his eyes slipping open so that he was staring at the stained and scuffed cream-colored ceiling. “When I first met Tim, it was like I’d been punched in the face. I don’t know how much you know about me and my… history, but even when I was Robin, Bruce and I never completely agreed on how we should handle things. We got along most of the time, but we argued a lot. He thought I was too aggressive, I thought he was too soft. He thought I was impulsive and reckless, I thought he had a stick up his ass.”

He paused. “Butt. Don’t tell Alfred I cursed in front of you. Anyways, we were just so different. The poor kid from Crime Alley and the billionaire CEO. It shouldn’t have worked, but when it did, it was great. And when it didn’t…”

Todd paused again, his gaze becoming distant and… pained, Damian thought. Not a sharp, lancing pain, but something dull, like an old bruise.

“Then I died and I came back and there’s this new kid– the new Robin. For some reason, I’d gotten it in my head that Bruce would just retire the role all together after me. As if he cared enough to do something like that.”

He smirked, but there wasn’t an ounce of joy in it; it was a sour twist of his mouth that reminded Damian of poison.

“So, there he was. Robin 3.0. And he was good. Like really good. I was a good Robin, Dick was a good Robin, but Replacement.” Todd shook his head in rueful appreciation. “The kid is a genius. He’s like a mini-Bruce. Even Dick was never like that. Apparently he even figured out the whole secret on his own when he was like fourteen or something?”

“Thirteen,” Damian corrected quietly. He, too, often found himself impressed by Drake’s mental acumen, even if he’d never admit it aloud. Damian was sharp, but he’d had to work for years to get like that; for Drake, it just came naturally. Watching him solve a puzzle was like watching a prodigy at their craft. There were connections that Drake could make that Damian knew he never could, no matter how many years of training he got under his belt.

“What are you getting at?” he asked, perhaps more sharply than he’d meant to.

“I’m saying, that when I first met Tim, I hated him. Like really, genuinely hated him. But it wasn’t him that I was pissed at. It was what he was. He was everything I never was and could never be.”

“Smart?” As soon as Damian said it, he regretted it. He could never figure out why he was like this, always throwing barbs even when he didn’t really want to. It was like a reflex, and he again braced for the equally reflexive response he expected from Todd.

Instead, the older boy barked a laugh. The sound was as genuine as it was sad.

“Yeah, that. But mostly, when I saw him I saw someone who was more like a son to Bruce than I ever was. And a way better Robin. They just fit together. Rich kid to rich kid. Like puzzle pieces. Then I met you. My worst effin’ nightmare.”

Damian bristled. “What do you mean?” he demanded.

“I hated Tim because he was like Bruce’s actual son. How do you think I felt about you?”

Any quick retort died in the younger boy’s throat. He swallowed and frowned at the glove compartment. “I fail to see how my biological relation to Father has anything to do with you.”

Jason sighed. “It doesn’t. It shouldn’t. But I look at you and Tim and even Dick and all I can think is, ‘I bet Bruce would kill for them.’”

He chuckled wryly. “Jesus, it sounds even more effed up out loud.”

And again, he lapsed into a heavy silence, this one so cold and absolute that Damian hardly dared to breathe.

After some time, when it was beginning to feel as if Jason wouldn’t speak again, Damian cleared his throat and said, “Obviously, I was not there when you had your… incident.”

Jason scoffed, perhaps at Damian’s choice of words, and it rankled him, but Damian continued as if he hadn’t noticed.

“But I have heard stories from that time, and the time shortly after. From what I understand, your death was not insignificant. It nearly killed him.”

Jason seemed to be working hard to maintain his sardonic grin; he was failing. “Is that what they told you?”

“It’s what I’ve gleaned. And after living with Father for several years, I don’t doubt that it’s true.”

“Tell me something,” Jason said, his eyes searching Damian’s thoughtfully. Any trace of humor, false or otherwise, was gone from his expression. “If someone killed you tonight, what would Talia do?”

Damian stiffened but said nothing. He knew the answer and he knew that Todd knew as well. His mother would be enraged by his failure, for certain. She would talk grandly about how Damian was no longer her concern since he’d chosen to be with Father, but the same day she would unleash utter destruction upon everyone responsible. She would lay waste to them and their families and salt the earth at her feet. His killer would know the full wrath of the League of Shadows, and the last thing they would see would be the tip of his mother’s blade.

Damian knew this implicitly, but the knowledge did not inspire any feelings of love in him the way Jason apparently suspected. The younger boy did not feel flattered by this assurance. If anything, it made him sick.

“Father does not grieve in blood,” Damian said at last, swallowing against the dryness in his throat. “He isn’t like us.” Damian didn’t know if us meant himself and the League of Shadows, or him and Jason. Perhaps both.

He’s better, is what he wanted to add, but instead Damian continued, “And vengeance is not always love.”

He thought again of his mother. The same woman who would wage a war on his behalf had also nearly killed him dozens of times herself. The fact that both of these things could be true at once still made his head spin.

Jason gazed out the windshield for a moment before offering a simple, “Hm.” It would have sounded dismissive, but Damian could see the consideration in his eyes.

Outside, the sun was tipping into late afternoon, and shadows were creeping longer and longer across the ground. Damian watched two birds dance together in the air. At first it looked like they were fighting, but then they landed side by side on a powerline, so close their wings were nearly touching.

His finger worried at the plastic lock as he built up his nerve.

“I don’t hate you either,” he offered, and he was grateful that his umber complexion a least somewhat camouflaged any flush that might be creeping into his face. Even staring out his window, he felt Jason’s eyes on him.

“You should.”

“I don’t.” He took a breath. “Where I come from, love is earned. Every day you must prove yourself worthy of it and every day is another opportunity to lose it. The slightest failure could cost you everything.”

He forced himself to continue quickly, outpacing the memories he felt rushing to meet him. “That is the mindset I arrived in Gotham with. My first few years with Father were marked by that conviction. It made sense to me. Dick and Tim are worthy combatants. I understood why Father would offer them his affection. But you… All I knew of you was that you had failed.”

At that, Damian’s head swiveled to look at Jason, realizing too late how his words must have sounded. The older boy was rigid, but he didn’t look angry.

“I didn’t mean–”

“I get it. It’s okay.”

“No,” Damian insisted sternly. “It is not. I was raised to believe that to die in battle was the ultimate failure. But that was wrong. Like much of what I learned back then.”

When Jason didn’t say anything, Damian continued, “I heard stories about how you were when you first returned. How you hurt Father and the others over and over again. I know about Father’s attempts to reach out to you and how you turned your back on him for years.”

Damian could feel the temperature around Jason dropping, as if the older boy was turning to ice at Damian’s side, but he continued, feeling now as if he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. The words flowed out of him, unfiltered and unrelenting.

“Your grievances against him were so numerous and severe, it didn’t make sense to me that he would still love you. And yet he did.

“Meanwhile, I live in constant fear that I will inevitably prove them right. That I’m not worthy of…” Damian’s nail carved into the hard plastic of the car lock as the words hitched and stuck in his throat. He swallowed.

“Who?” Jason asked quietly.

“What?”

“Prove who right?”

My mother. My grandfather.

Everyone.

Me.

“That’s not the point,” Damian answered. “I resented you and your unearned love and and how absolutely oblivious you seemed to be to that blessing. Even now, it is clear to me that you fail to recognize how fortunate you are.”

A few years ago, Damian would not have been able to say this without lacing the words with venom. Now he was able to say them plainly, though something in the center of his chest still ached.

“You know it’s not like that with you, though, right?” Jason confirmed. “That whole earning and losing love thing– Bruce would never make you do that. You’re his son.”

“As are you.” Damian forced himself to look Jason dead in the eye then, and Jason held the gaze for a beat before looking away, his ears once again going red.

“You do not see the way Father looks at you,” he explained. “It is like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.”

Jason was speechless for a second before muttering, “Whatever you say, kid,” as he put his hands on the wheel and backed out of the parking spot. When they hit the road, the older boy switched on the radio, and Damian was grateful for the blanket of sound to quell any further discussion.

He sunk into the seat then, oddly exhausted, and turned around in time to watch as the two birds on the wire took off towards the clouds.

*********

“Just admit it. You killed him, didn’t you?” Tim asked, leaning back on the rear legs of his chair. “You finished the job.”

Damian’s eyes flicked up from his book to glare at the boy across the kitchen table. This particular joke had been going on for over two weeks, and while Tim’s attempts at humor were never amusing, this one was particularly grating since it also managed to twist Damian’s guts into guilty knots.

No one had seen or heard from Jason since he had returned Damian to the manor after their disastrous pharmacy outing, and now all the younger boy could think about was everything he had done wrong. He never should have been so transparent; he never should have been so cruel. In retrospect, he could concede at least that much.

Damian typically preferred to apologize with his actions rather than explicit words, and he’d thought that he had managed to convey that while he and Jason were in the car together, but perhaps the older boy had not seen it that way. Perhaps he’d been waiting for a formal apology, and now that so much time had elapse, they had finally fallen below even the status of colleagues – not quite enemies, but certainly no longer allies.

Damian straightened in his seat, setting his shoulders. If that was the case, then so be it. He was the last person who would ever weep over a burned bridge. The loss would be inconvenient – Todd had proven himself a useful aid in the field at times – but it was not as if they had ever been particularly close or worked together often. If Todd wanted to move on, then Damian would do the same.

He returned his attention to his book, but after a few seconds of rereading the same sentence over and over, he slapped it on the table with a frustrated sigh and took a sip of his lukewarm tea.

There was distant knock at the front door followed by some muffled conversation between Alfred and whoever the other person was. A moment later, Damian shouted as a plastic bag rocketed into the side of his head and fell to the floor. He whirled toward the source, but all of his rage evaporated into blank shock when he saw Todd leaning in the doorway, a fading bruise on his cheek and a butterfly bandage over his eye.

“You like those, right?” he asked.

Damian blinked down at the bag on the floor. Reese’s cups.

He nodded.

“Good. You and I are patrolling together tonight, got it?” Jason’s tone was decisive, leaving little room for disagreement. Two weeks ago Damian would have bristled at it, but for once, he felt he was reading the older boy correctly, and for all Jason’s gruffness, Damian was certain that this was not an order, but a request.

He nodded again, and Todd’s mouth twitched at the side.

“Wait, you disappear for two weeks and come back with free candy?” Tim exclaimed. “Where’s mine?”

“Get your own, Replacement,” Jason shot back, disappearing back through the door and shouting, “Bruce! C’mon, I wanna kick your ass in pool. Sorry, Alfred…”

Damian ignored Tim’s dumbfounded stare as he bent to pick the candy up off the tile. His chest suddenly felt warm and buoyant, and he lingered out of sight below the table for a second longer than necessary as his lips curled into a tiny smile.

#damian wayne #jason todd #jason todd and damian wayne #whump #emotional hurt/comfort #the boys just gotta talk it out #robin #batman fanfic #batman fanfiction #batfam fanfic #batfam fanfiction #batfam #red hood

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goldandbluesmiles · 4 years

Text

Another Lovely Family

Summary: The Batfam get interesting visitors from another reality.

Ao3 This is part of my batfam Flufftober 2020

Note: I have no idea what this is. It just kinda spiraled out of control. But I hope you guys still like it.

Sorry for Barbara fans, she's kinda not here. I couldn't really find a way to put her in here.

Also, the Chinese folk creatures mentioned were the fox spirit aka the nine-tailed fox. They are depicted as being both a good omen or bad omen depending on the literature. The second one was a Huan Cat. Its pelt was said to contain medicine for certain illnesses and some believed they scared away bad luck.

Their patrol had been peaceful that night, and the whole family ended it in the cave, laughing and joking as they stripped out of their suits and weapons. Bruce was watching over them with his ever stoic gaze but Tim could spot the small smile on his face.

So, that was exactly when everything went to shit.

There was a sudden rumble that shook the cave, making everyone reach for the nearest support. A blinding flash and then a portal-like circle appeared at the top of the cave. Through it fell...Tim didn't know how to really describe the really spikey creature.

And then another larger creature fell through.

They were both scaly and covered in patches of clothing. They seemed to have some humanoid feature but they seemed to be a little twisted. There were horns in their heads, wings at their backs and Tim could tell that the little one's irises were silted, like a reptile's eyes.

Tim pulled out his staff, beside him Jason clicked off the safety of his gun, everyone around the cave also took up their weapons.

The bigger one didn't seem to be moving but the smaller, about four feet tall, started to flap its wings and dart around, making a whining and screeching sound but stayed close to the bigger body.

Dick tried to get closer but the little thing lashed out and cut his cheek. Jason instantly straightened his gun but Cassandra moved in front of them.

"Stop!" she ordered

Everyone stopped, even the little creature, though it kept up its whining and chattering, slowly flapping its wings.

"Cass what is it?" asked Bruce

"Damian," she said

It surprised them, but Tim noticed that the little creature stilled at the name.

Cass turned toward the small thing, holding her and up and moving slowly. The little thing slowly backed away but seemed to be calm.

"Damian," said Cass again

The small thing tilted its head to the side, as if curious.

"Your name," said Cass, "Damian,"

After a moment, the creature nodded and chattered softly.

"You understand me?" asked Cassandra

It nodded again.

"Cassandra," said Damian, "What are you-"

"Look," she said softly, "Look close,"

Tim followed her instructions and closely looked at the face of the little thing. At a closer peek, their features were more clear, the green eyes, high cheekbones, and dark hair- It was eerily similar to their Damian's.

"You know," said Stephanie, "I can kinda see it,"

Cassandra nodded and turned back to the other Damian.

"We have Damian too," said Cassandra, "We call you D, Okay?"

The other Damian waited a few moments and then nodded.

"Good," said Cass, and she pointed at the bigger body, "Family?"

D nodded again, this time chattering in what Tim thought might be distress.

"We help," said Cass, "Okay. Turn them over to see,"

D nodded one again.

Dick and Steph stepped forward to help her flip the person gently. Unlike D, the features of this one were more clearer.

"Talia," whispered Bruce

Tim had to agree. Long hair, the same lips, same structure under swirls of silver that matched her son. The horns were bigger and straighter than D's and her hands had claw-like nails but the resemblance to their world's Talia was there.

"Mother?" Cass asked D

D nodded vigorously and chattered, pointing at Talia's side.

"Hurt?" asked Cass

D once again pointed at the same place.

"Can we check?" asked Cass

Once she got affirmative, Cass gently moved the cloth there. Their skin was bare at the back and stomach area but there seemed to be some scale-like things covering the sides. The scales were twisted in one area, almost pushed into the skin, and covered in silvery goo.

"Blood?" asked Cass

D nodded.

"We need to figure out a way to help and I don't think we can do it alone," said Bruce, watching as Cass talked some more with D, "I certainly don't want to try in case we make it worse,"

"So?" asked Jason, "We could reach out to some allies but who would know about something like this?"

'Well," said Bruce, "I don't like the man, but Constantine has travelled to other realities, we could get a few trusted biologists in here to take look. We could call Zatanna and Manhunter to see if they can establish a line of communication with the child,"

"The child?" asked Damian

"Yes, Damian," said Bruce, "From his behaviour and the comparison to the fully grown mother, it is obvious that he is a child. Though I'm not sure about the 'he' part. They don't seem to be human,"

"Anyway," continued Bruce, "Make those calls. I'm going to go explain this to Alfred,"

xxx

"So what is this?" asked Dick

Constantine glance from the Talia on the table to little D sitting with Cassandra at the end of the bed.

"I've never seen anything like this before, mate," said Constantine, "But there are worlds out there where some of us normals humans are metas. I mean there was one where you were born under the sea. There are some realities where humans evolved differently. I dunno mate, I've never seen anything like it and since the little one isn't talking, can't know for sure,"

"And from the looks of it, the scales have gone into her skin, a stark contrast to the other scales that are standing and parallel to her body. I'm sure they need to be pulled out but I don't know how to do that since I can't know how her anatomy works or even which organ is which. Not to mention I don't know how to verify if she's coding or not. Right now, the only indication that she's alive is that her stomach seems to be moving up and down and there is air coming out of her nose indicating breathing,"

"We could put her in a magical coma," said Zatanna, "It would slow everything down, including any wound she has. It's is our best bet,"

D was listening to them and let out a soft chatter.

Cassandra turned to him, "Okay,"

He looked at Zatanna for a long moment and then nodded.

"Okay," said Zatanna, "Here goes,"

xxx

Once the spell was done, D came to sit by his mother and curled up on her good side. He stayed like that for the next several hours, ignoring any of Cass's attempts to interact with him.

Watching him made something in Jason's heart, reminded him of the many times he had curled up against his own mom, until the day he had woken up to the feel of her cold dead body.

Ignoring that train of thought, he focused on another issue from his alley days.

"He's been here almost twelve hours, right?" he asked Bruce, "He should have been given something to eat by now,"

"When we checked Talia, we noticed that her teeth resembled a carnivore's," said Bruce, "I asked Alfred to get some meat options, cooked and raw. But he's also making a vegetarian meal, just in case,"

"Good," said Jason, still watching the little one, "He's so small,"

"I know," said Bruce, "And we have no idea how to get them home,"

"Have you been able to get the Martians here yet?" asked Jason

"No. They're still not available and Zatanna couldn't do anything,"

"And that also only works if Damian knows how to get back. The only reason our Damian is this resourceful is that he was trained by the league. Who knows how this little guy was trained to what tech they have on their side,"

"I know it's a lot of variables," said Bruce, "But we have to take it one step at a time. First food,"

"Right," said Jason, going back to gazing at D.

Bruce stopped looking at the reports he was going through and turned toward Jason.

"Jay, are you alright?"

Jason startled.

"Yeah. Yeah. Just...you know. Reminded me of...yeah,"

Bruce glanced at D and nodded in understanding.

"Why don't you bring him the food down in a little bit?"

"Me?" asked Jason, pointing at himself, "Is that a good idea?"

"Why not?" said Bruce, standing up and gathering his papers, "You're good with kids and you're good with food,"

"But..."

"Come on, Jay," said Bruce, "It'll give Cass a break and you can explain to the little one about the different options,"

"If you're sure," said Jason

"Of course I am, Jay," said Bruce, "I'm gonna go check on our Damian,"

"Okay,"

xxx

Half an hour later, Jason came downstairs holding a tray. Cass looked at him and smiled, vacating her seat beside Talia's bed. She kissed his cheek before making her way up the stairs.

Jason sat down and put the tray on a nearby table.

"Hey, D," said Jason softly.

Damian stayed turned away from him but Jason saw his wing twitch.

"So, it's a little afternoon now, which mean that you should probably eat something,"

Another twitch.

"Now, I don't know how much you need to eat or what you even like but we guessed a bit and I have some things here that you can choose from,"

Damian didn't have any response this time.

"You know your mother doesn't need food right now, because of the magical coma. But she needs you. They say people in comas, especially magical comas, can still feel and hear the people around them. How are you supposed to be here for her if you don't eat, huh? Maybe just a little?"

There were a few moments of silence, but then Damian turned around. His eyes seemed tired and hurt and made Jason's heartache.

"We have a few options. Vege's, cooked beef, pork and chicken. Same thing but raw too. Which one would you like,"

D pointed to the cooked meats, specifically at the beef. Jason handed him the plate and he started eating it as finger food, leaving the utensils behind on the tray. It reminded Jason of how some League members would eat.

There were a few minutes of silence and suddenly Jason had no idea why Bruce had sent him down, Dick was much better at these things.

Then he spotted a book sitting on his desk.

A little Princess.

"Hey," said Jason, "You know my dad would read to me whenever I was sick or injured and sometimes just because. Do you mind if I read something to you and your mother,"

D looked up and tilted his head sideways, a gesture they had come realize meant he was curious.

"Just a second," he said, getting up to get the book.

Jason came back and sat down, opening the book to its first page.

"Alright, Kiddo," said Jason, "Let's tell you the story of Sara Crewe,"

xxx

When Dick made his way down to the cave, it was with a tray of tea for Jason, a tradition that Alfred had brought to the family. D was still curled up against his mother and Jason seemed to be reading him Little Women. A copy of A Little Princess was sitting close by.

"Hey," whispered Dick as he came down, sitting the tray on a table, "How's it going,"

Damian chattered softly and Jason smiled, "D and I have been discussing characters,"

Dick smiled, "That's great guys. I brought you tea, Jay,"

"Thanks," said Jason, "I'll drink and read,"

Dick nodded and turned toward D.

"Hey, so I love listening to Jason too. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

D looked at him for a moment but the scooted a little, making his intention obvious. Carefully Dick sat himself down on the bed. the beds were big enough but Dick was still careful as to not touch Talia.

D seemed to have no such reservations and leaned against Dick's side. Jason raised his eyebrows at the action but kept reading. Eventually, soft snores started to emit from the little one and Dick looked over to see his eyes closed.

"I think he's asleep," whispered Dick

Jason nodded and closed the book, putting it away.

"Poor guy," murmured Dick, "In a world so different from his own,"

"Yeah," said Jason, "Seems to like you though,"

Dick smiled, "He didn't seem to hate you either, Jay,"

"Yeah," murmured Jason, "Do you think he has his own versions of us too. I mean the way he looks, his dad is probably their version of Bruce Wayne, right? Think the man adopted a slue of kids over there too,"

"I dunno," said Dick, "Maybe,"

Just the, D let out a small snort and twitched his wings.

"He's kinda adorable isn't he?" said Jason

"Yeah," said Dick, gently smoothing down D's hair, "I just hope we can get him home. And help his mom,"

"How's Dames taking it?" asked Jason

"He's alright but I know something's bugging him," said Dick, "But he seems more concerned about something regarding this little one than about any threat to him or to the family so that's some progress I guess,"

"Definitely progress," said Jason and then frowned, "What's the concern though?"

"No idea," said Dick, "Maybe he's just showing the inherent kid mentality, ya know, worrying about other small people,"

Jason snorted, "Yeah. Maybe,"

xxx

Half the bats ended up staying back from the patrol that day. Neither Jason nor Cass wanted to leave their guest and Tim stayed with them. D had been given dinner and seemed content to lay with his mom. Seeing this, Cass and Jason had taken to the sparring mats and Tim had started his work on the latest security update of the cave.

Tim was deep into it when he felt someone approach him. He turned to find D curiosity looking at the screen.

"Hey, Kiddo," said Tim, "Need something?"

D chattered and pointed at the screen, head tilted to the side.

"You want to know what I'm doing?" asked Tim

D chattered and nodded.

"Well," said Tim, "I'm trying to make our home safer for us. See these, here? This is the pattern for silent arms but Jason broke through them the other day just to prove a point to Bruce so now we're updating them. It usually ends up being my job but I don't mind. I like helping to keep my family safe,"

D started chattering excitedly, pointing at the screen, then at Tim and then at his wings. It took his doing it a few times for Tim to understand what he was trying to say.

"Are you saying that you have a Timothy too? And that he makes your home safe?"

D nodded with a huge smile on his face, excitedly flapping his wings.

"So you do have your own versions of us. Dick and Jason were wondering if your dad had adopted more kids too,"

D got quiet at that and Tim had no problem recognizing the sad and faraway look in his eyes.

"You must really miss them," he said softly

D chattered softly and nodded with his eyes down.

"I wish we could find a way to get you back. But there is nothing to read from the energy that brought you here and we can't really know anything until you tell us where exactly you're from. And we need the Martians for that. They'll be here tomorrow,"

D started chattering really fast after that, his wings flapping to the point where he was lifting off the ground.

"Hey. Hey," said Tim, "What's wrong? I'm sorry if I upset-"

D's chattering just got louder.

"I'm sorry," whispered Tim, "I'm sorry but I can't understand you,"

D let out a huff and landed back down, stomping his way back to the little corner they had set up for him and Talia. They had tried to get him upstairs but he had refused to leave his mother's side so Alfred and Jason had set up a temporary residence in a corner, separated by curtains.

"What happened?" asked Jason, running up to him, Cass right behind him.

"I dunno," murmured Tim, "We talked about his siblings and then I was saying how we were waiting on the Martians and he just got worked up and started to say something. I couldn't understand him,"

They looked over to D, who was still visible due to the curtains not being closed. He was sitting on the floor, gently rocking back and forth, almost in a trance.

"I'm gonna-" started Jason

Cassandra stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"No," she said, "Leave him,"

Trusting her judgement, Jason nodded and turned back toward Tim.

"I'm sure it was nothing. He's probably just getting a little frustrated you know. His mom's asleep, he's in another reality and no one here can understand him,"

"Yeah, I guess," said Tim, "I just wish there was more we could do,"

"Me too," murmured Cass, "Me too,"

xxx

It was the second day of their guests being in the cave that the Martians landed outside of it.

J'onn and M'gann came early in the morning and were introduced to D. Stephanie thought she saw recognition in his eyes.

"Hello, little one," said J'onn, kneeling in front of D, "I would like permission to from a mind link with you. I will not try to look into your memories, but I would like to understand what you are thinking and then translate your thoughts to our hosts here. Do you understand?"

D nodded and smiled up at J'onn, gently patting him on the cheek.

"Alright then," said J'onn, "Let's get started,"

J'onn locked eyes with D and they started to glow. Both him and D went oddly still, an odd sight that Stephanie had gotten used to when it came to the Marians' mind link.

Only a few moments into the link, D started to squirm, moving his hands and twitching his wings.

J'onn visibly stopped and looked down at D, "Is there something wrong, little one?"

D balled his hands into fists and shook his head, obviously trying to get them to stop. It didn't seem to help and the switching of his wings only got worse.

Beside her, Duke leaned in, "Does that look like what I think it looks like?"

"Maybe," murmured Stephanie, analyzing D's movements and thinking back to what Tim and Cass had said about his mannerism, "I think so,"

"Should I-"

Stephanie nodded, "Doesn't hurt to try,"

Bruce was just about to step up when Duke stood up.

"I have an idea," said Duke, "I'll be right with you,"

Duke jogged over to the cabinets and pulled out a couple of things and brought them over. He and Stephanie then explained them to D.

"See this," said Stephanie, holding op a plush penguin, "His name is Mr. Flappy. We sometimes hold him when we want to do something stressful. Would you like to hold him?"

D touched the soft toy and then nodded. Stephanie gave him the toy and he squeezed it, cooing in delight when it squeaked.

Duke smiled, "This is a weighted blanket. You can wrap this around yourself while J'onn makes a link,"

"And D," said Stephanie, "You don't have to be still, okay?"

D looked down at his feet but nodded. Stephanie took it as a win.

"Good," said Duke, "We're just gonna go over there,"

Both him and Stephanie turned back to go to their original spot and as they did, Stephanie spotted a proud smile on Bruce's face.

'Good job' mouthed Bruce.

Stephnie grinned and beside her, Duke did a thumbs up.

This time when J'onn tried to establish the mind link, D seemed noticeably calmer, rocking back and forth while wrapped in the blanket and holding the toy close.

"So, child," said J'onn, "Show me what happened,"

D closed his eyes and J'onn started to narrate.

"You were being chased and your mother tried to get both of you away. but she was- she was hurt, is that it? Yes, she was hurt so she miscalculated. I see. Do you know how we could get you home without waking your mother up?"

"Ah," said J'onn and opened his eyes.

"What?" asked Bruce

"Well," said J'onn, "It seems that D here believes that his family will find him. That's what he trying to tell young Timothy yesterday,"

"There's a difference between his family being to able to track him and him believing that they'll come for him," said Bruce

D let out an unholy screech at that, obviously offended.

"I think you pissed him off, B,"

Bruce turned to D, "I'm sorry, Kiddo. But we need to know,"

"May I?" M'gann asked D.

He scrutinized her for a minute but then nodded his consent.

M'gann started a mind link and began to ask her own questions.

"How are they going to find you?"

A few moments and then-

"Ah, I see," said M'gann, "According to D here, there are five people in the family that can travel through realities, including his mother. The others are his father, his brothers Jason and Richard and his sister Cassandra. They will most likely split into four groups. His Father and Aunt Kate. Jason and his outlaws. Richard, Selina and Timothy. Cassandra, Stephanie and his last brother, Duke. Alfred will be taking care of his baby sister Helena,"

"How do they track you, D?" asked Tim

"Hmm," said M'gann, "According to him, they have a link and can signal each other but D's is weak since he's young and his mon has to be conscious to send one. His family will look into other realities around and then make their way here. Apparently, they already have a system in place for if something like this happens,"

And then she snorted, "Something about his father being a bit paranoid,"

There were a few chuckles around the room while Bruce glowered at all of them.

"Anyway," said M'gann, "All that can be done here is that you take care of him and keep him safe,"

"Who was chasing you?" asked Jason

D frowned and looked around the cave, his gaze landed on the wall of blades and he pointed to ap articular one.

"That's my league blade," said Damian, and Stephanie noticed him stiffen, almost involuntarily.

Something was up with the kid.

"Were you being chased by Ra's?" asked Bruce

Damian nodded.

"I'm assuming he can't travel thought realities," said Bruce, "And no one in his loyal circle can either,"

D pointed to M'gann and she once again began the mind link.

"Hmm," she said, "No, Ra's can't travel. Interesting. It seems that the species in their reality are a bit different than most. Only D's kind and magic users can travel through realities and even then a very small percentage of those groups. Ra's and his followers are not included in this category. And even if he could find someone to do his bidding, it would be near impossible for them to find him since there is no link,"

"So only his family can track him," said Tim, "That's why Talia got them out of there. She was hurt and took the risk,"

"Brave of her," murmured Selina

D also chattered sadly.

Dick smiled and kneeled in from of him, "I'm sure your family will come soon, Kiddo,"

"Who do you think will get here first?" asked Tim

D tilted his head and then pointed at Jason.

"Jason, huh," said Duke, "Makes sense if you ask me,"

D giggled and leaned into Dick, a bit of the day's tension draining out of him.

"I have to leave now," said J'onn, "But M'gann will stay in case you need another mind link. Is that alright, D?"

D smiled and nodded, waving a small, clawed hand at M'gann.

J'onn smiled, "Lovely then,"

xxx

After lunch, Damian was sitting in his room and reading when someone knocked on his door.

"Come inside," he called out

It was Richard at the door.

"Hey Dames," he said, "Whatcha doing?"

Damian scooted over to make room for the man on his bed.

"Just a book," said Damian

"Hmm," said Richard, "You know, I've noticed that you haven't sent any time with our guest,"

"I'm not required to," he said shortly

"No," said Richard, "Of course not. But I'm just wondering if you're alright?"

"I'm fine," said Damian

"Dames-"

"I'm fine, Richard. I am not missing my mother. I am not worried about threats. I am not feeling sad. Or anything else your mind is coming up with right now. I am fine,"

"Okay," said Dick, giving his head a gently kiss, "Let me know if that changes, okay?"

"Fine," said Damian

Dick gave him another smiled and then left. Damian sighed and slumped down, not knowing how to explain to anyone what his actual worry was about.

Maybe he should spend more time with the other Damian. He could certainly alleviate some of his concerns this way.

Making up his mind, he grabbed some of his art supplies and made his way down to the cave. There, he found M'gann and Cassandra sitting and conversing with each other while D played with the plush toy Stephanie and Duke had given him.

Once the girls saw him, they both left while begging Alfred's cookies.

Damian sat down with D who looked at him curiously.

"I like drawing and painting," said Damian, "Do you mind if I draw you. I've never met someone with your features before. I think it would be interesting,"

D titled his head and then pointed at some of his paper followed by his fluid acrylics.

"You want to paint?" asked Damian

D nodded and looked at him with pleading eyes. Damian couldn't help the smile that came over his face.

"Alright, you paint. I'll draw you,"

He opened the paints for D and then went to grab a brush but noticed that the other boy had started painting with his claws.

"Well," Damian murmured, "That's one way to do it,"

Damian took his time sketching D, making sure he got all the details right. By the time he was done, a few hours had passed and it was almost time for dinner.

When he was finished, D showed him his painting and Damian had to say, he was impressed. And that was no easy feat.

While Damian had been drawing him in detail, D had used that paints to sketch out a few rough paintings. It wouldn't have worked usually but the material of D's claws had probably made it easier.

The first one was of Damian, showing him with his head down and bowed over a book. Next were three faces, One of D's mother, the other one obviously his father and a third that looked like Jason. He also had another painting of six figures flying in the distance. Another one that looked like a dragon from folklore.

"These are beautiful," said Damian, "Do you all live together? Your mother and father and your siblings?"

D nodded and Damian sighed in relief. A part of him had been afraid that Talia was taking D away from his family and that his father and siblings would cause a fight, hurting D the way Damian himself sometimes hurt.

Except, it didn't seem to be the case.

"That's wonderful," said Damian, "Do you want to see mine?"

D nodded and took the sketch, instantly squealing happily. His wings started flapping and he did a swoop around the cave, chattering happily as he clutched the drawing.

"You really like it, huh?"

D smiled and nodded.

"Well, you can keep it," said Damian, "As long as you let me draw another one that I can keep too,"

D nodded enthusiastically, smiling down at the sketch.

"Would you like to see more of mine?" asked Damian

D let out another whoop.

Damian grinned, "I'll take that as a yes,"

xxx

Bruce climbed down the stairs with Dick to get both Damian and D for dinner. They were hoping to coax their guest out of the cave to eat.

Once they got there, Bruce was surprised to find that both boys were sitting down and excitedly chattering. It didn't matter that Damian couldn't understand D, they still seemed to be able to communicate effectively, flipping through Damian's sketches that were kept down in the cave.

"Oh, hello Father. Richard," said Damian, as they came into view

D smiled and saved shyly.

"Boys," said Bruce, "We were just here for dinner,"

Damian turned to D, "Would you like to come upstairs this time?"

D shook his head and cast a glance at his mother, his eyes going dull and sad again.

Bruce frowned until an idea came to him.

"Dick," he said, "Tell Alfred we have a change of plans,"

And that was how they all ended up having dinner in the cave, picnic style.

After dinner D showed them sketches of his family. Everybody smiled and complimented as M'gann translated for D.

"Yes, apparently Jason is the scariest one of them but very sweet. Richard can do other most tricks in the air and Tim likes to fly at night. Cassandra is the fastest though. And Stephanie has the most unique wings because they are purple. And Duke lets him draw on his wings with glitter. Helena can't do much yet, she's just a baby,"

"So," said Jason, "Would you say that your dad is scarier than Jason or less?"

"Ah yes, " said Dick, "Ask the important questions why don't you?"

Jason shoved him before turning back to D, "So?"

M'gann laughed as she listened to whatever D was saying.

"According to D, his father is the pretty one of the family. A real charmer,"

Bruce smiled, "Well, that's not so bad then,"

"Pretty boy, Bruce," teased Stephanie

"Do you have an Alfred too?" asked Tim

D nodded and then picked up the picture of the dragon-like creature and held it up for everyone to see.

"He has silver features and this his 'other' form,"

"His other form is a dragon?" asked Jason

M'gann got a surprised look on her face, "Everyone in his reality has another form, which shows through their features. His family is what we call dragon, they pronounce it draagn. There are only a few of those around. Most of the populations are made of magic users and animal-shifters. Some other forms are sea creatures,"

"Wait!" said Duke suddenly, "I have an idea,"

He pulled out his phone and started to look for something. When he found it he held it out for everyone to see. Bruce scanned it and see that it was list of mythological creatures.

"Are any of these the 'other forms'?"

D nodded, pointing at a Nyad, a phoenix, a griffin, a pegasus, a jinn and even a chimera and some Chinese folk animals like the nine-tailed fox and the one-eyed cat with three tails.

"Wow," said Tim, "Could it be that our realities brushed each other and a lot of out folk animals are really just people and creatures from other realities,"

"Maybe," said Dick, "Some might have even gotten stuck here, hence the myths and stories,"

Everyone got quiet for a moment, trying to comprehend what this, if true, meant for their realities' history.

Eventually, Bruce decided to break the silence.

"I think it's time for bed for some people, especially if we're taking a break from patrol," said Bruce, sending a meaningful look to his two youngest sons. They had promised to him sleep earlier this week.

He also noticed that D slumped down a bit and felt bad.

"You can come up too," Bruce told him

D shook his head and chattered softly, casting his gaze toward his mother.

"I can just sleep down here," said Damian

Bruce wondered if his kids would ever stop surprising him.

"Yeah!" said Dick, "Why don't we all just stay down here tonight?"

"Well," said Alfred, "These old bones are not made for this cave. However, you all can stay here if you prepare proper bedding,"

"I'll take care of it, Alfie," said Bruce

"Alright then," said Alfred, "I'll be heading up,"

Bruce waved to him and then turned toward his children.

"Alright, Jason and Tim bedding, Stephanie, M'gann and Cass pillows, Duke and Dick blankest ad everyone's plushes, Damian and D, you can set things up as they bring them downstairs,"

His kids nodded and scattered to get everything done.

Once everyone was sitting down, still quite awake, Bruce decided on a long proved tactic.

"Anyone want me to read anything?" asked Bruce

"I'm fine with whatever," said Jason

A few more murmured os assent followed. D raised on os his hands and chattered softly.

"D's wondering if you would finish the book Jason was reading to him yesterday,"

"Little Women," said Jason, "It's still on the table and put the bookmark in,"

Bruce smiled, "Little Women it is,"

xxx

Bruce was barely starting to stir awake when the cave rumbled in a familiar way and there was a flash of light.

He sat upright just in time for five figures to appear in the cave. D had also spotted them and was flapping his wings and flying among them. The figure at the head finally took his in their arms, gently hugging him close.

It seemed like D had been right after all. The figure could be no other than Jason Todd. And he was terrifying.

Twisted horns, double claws, slit eyes and big stature, all came to together to make a nightmarish figure. The way he was talking to his little brother negated the effect though.

Behind him stood what seemed to be his team. Kori and Bizzaro looked the same as they did in their universe while Artemis seemed to have a greyish tint to her skin and Roy had spirals of what seemed like fire all around his arms and legs.

"Huh," said Dick, "D was right,"

"Seems so," murmured Tim

Their guests finally seemed to be done with their greetings and the other Jason turned toward Talia's body and frowned. Tim instantly stepped up to explain.

"We had to-"

"A magical come," said Jason, voice a bit jarring and shocking

Tim instantly stopped and stared at him wide-eyed.

Jason turned back and frowned again.

"What?"

"Well- uh- I wasn't um-expecting to- well"

That was when Bruce decided to step in, "Sorry. What my son is trying to say is that we weren't expecting you to speak since D didn't. That's what we've been calling him,"

"And you're kinda terrifying," Tim rushed out

The other Jason let out a laugh, "Why, thank you. Also, we do talk, D is just nonverbal,"

Ah, that certainly explain ed some of the behaviour that they had just put to being anxious and different from them.

There was another rumble and bodies started to flash into the cave, the whole other family appearing altogether.

"Damian," called out one of them, separating themselves from the hoard.

It was the other Bruce Wayne

"Holy shit," muttered his Jason

Holy shit indeed.

Pretty did not begin to describe the other's appearance. He was wearing a tank top with pants that seemed to be painted, leaving little to the imagination. Slim with toned muscles, shimmery wings, sparkly blue slit irises and shimmery black swirls reaching for his cheekbones, the man was a thing to behold. His hair was waist length and had been braided loosely. His scales shone in the light of the cave and his claws seemed to be made of dense glittery obsidian and his horns were gold and black.

Once D was done with this father, he flew over to the rest of his family and the other Bruce turned toward them.

"Hi," he said softly

Bruce stepped up and held out his hand, "Lovely to meet you,"

Other Bruce gave him a bright smiled and shook his hand.

If Bruce was a lesser man, he would have been at the start of an inferiority complex at the moment.

Instead, he gestured at Talia.

"We have her in a magical coma," he told him

"I can see that," said other Bruce, "We'll take her back with us and take care of her once we get home,"

"So you're together?" asked Damian, "D, that's what we call other me, said you all lived together. Is that true?"

It struck Bruce then, the reason for Damian's odd behaviour. He thought D would be separated from his mother the way he had been separated from his. By the way some of his other children were shifting, they had realized it too.

The other Bruce merely smiled though, "Ah, yes. We are married. Just celebrated our fifteenth anniversary,"

"And who's Helena?" asked Tim, "We didn't recognize that name,"

"Oh she's mine and Selina's," he said, vaguely gesturing behind him, "Sel wanted a baby so I helped her out. We agreed that she would be raised as part of the family though she keeps her mother's name,"

"Ah," said Tim

A child half him and half Selina. While part of him was curious, another didn't want to know the outcome of that.

D came up to his father and said something softly.

"Anyway," said other Bruce, "Thank you for taking care of my family but we should be going now,"

"Of course," said Bruce

The other one went to get Talia and the rest of the family came up to thank them. Dick practically hugged all fo them, Tim was solemn and Cassandra kissed all their cheeks. Stephanie and Duke went around giving them fist bumps and high fives while Selina and Kate merely said a few words each.

"You have an Alfed too, right?" said Selina, "D wanted us to meet him too,"

And because Alfred was magic, he chose that moment to step out of the elevator.

The other family surrounded him, profusely thanking him or also taking care of their family members. Alfred, to his great credit, took it all in stride and responded accordingly.

Right before they were about to leave, D leaned up into Jason's ear and whispered something quietly.

Both Bruce and Jason turned back and knelt. Jason took out a block of what seemed like glass and blew into it until it was shipped into their bat symbol. Bruce made a gesture with his hands and there was a liquid sloshing in the glass replica.

They handed it to D and the little one ran over to hand it to them.

"He says it's a present," said M'gann, "The people in their reality bend metal. Some more than one. Some metals are bent by more than one kind but Mercury is bent by the draagn exclusively,"

"But isn't mercury poisonous to us?" said Tim

"Not that one," said Bruce, "You can take some out from the stopper at the bottom and test it but I believe you are fine to keep it, Think of it as a token of our thanks. Mercury is special to us or as we normally call it, Quicksilver,"

"Alright," said Bruce, "Thank you,"

The other family disappeared in a flash of light and all they were left with was an odd decor piece and a couple of sketches.

The glass bat symbol ended up sitting right in front of the huge penny.

xxx

In the evening right before patrol, Bruce found Damian standing in front of the bat and watching the liquid quicksilver slosh around as if it had a mind its own. Some kind of magic, surely.

"Father," murmured Damian

"Damian," answered Bruce

"They were a lovely family," said the young boy

"They were,"

A moment and then-

"We have a lovely family too," said Damian, "Even if I wish some things were different,"

"We do have a lovely family," said Bruce, kneeling down in front of his son, "But you are also allowed to wonder how things could have been different,"

"I miss her sometimes," said Damian, "I know she wasn't really fit to raise a child, not after everything grandfather put her through and certainly not without getting help first but she is my mother and I miss her sometimes,"

"I know," whispered Bruce, "Come here,"

Bruce tugged Damian close, enveloping him in his arms.

"I love you, baby,"

"I love you too, Father,"

#flufftober2020 #bruce wayne #Damian Wayne #Jason Todd #dick grayson #Tim Drake #Alfred Pennyworth #duke thomas #batman #batman fic #fanfics #dc fanfic #Stephanie Brown #cassandra cain #cass wayne

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dottie-wan-kenobi · 4 years

Link

A @batfam-christmas-stocking fic written for @dawnseternallight!! Happy holidays <3

----

Grayson is laying in bed.

It’s not an uncommon sight—his brother does need sleep, no matter what he might think—but it’s different today. He’s stuck in a neck brace, one leg in a cast up to his knee and the other ankle bandaged tightly. Three of the fingers on his right hand are splinted together. His ribs are bruised. Even from the doorway, Damian can see that his eyes are glassy with pain or medication or both.

Damian can admit to himself that he feels uncomfortable seeing Grayson this way. Grayson is Batman, after all, even if he doesn’t wear the cowl anymore. And Batman? Batman doesn’t get hurt. He’s strong and capable and imposing, and nothing can get through the armor he wears—both literal and figurative. So to see Grayson like this, so beaten down, it makes his stomach twist and tighten. It’s fundamentally wrong.

He’s never seen an adult wounded this badly before. Mother was never injured to this extent. Father hasn’t been either. Pennyworth has had scarcely any injuries at all in the time Damian has known him.

He’s not sure how he’s supposed to handle it now, especially when it’s Grayson who’s been brought so low.

Standing straighter, he finally speaks, voice as soft as he can make it. “You look pathetic.”

Grayson gingerly turns his head, the corners of his mouth curled up. Only he could still be smiling right now. “Thank you so much, kiddo. Really.”

Nose scrunching up at the despised term, Damian huffs and tries to ignore how raspy Grayson’s voice sounds. Brown would describe it as being shot to hell. He doesn’t like it. “Don’t call me that.”

Grayson hums, turning back to his television. One of those old sitcoms from the 1990s is on, volume turned almost all the way down. Why? Does he have a headache? Is he tired? Damian decides he’ll speak quieter next time.

“Sorry. Habit.” Grayson shifts a little and grimaces.

“I’m sure Drake wouldn’t mind if you continued to refer to him that way,” Damian says generously. He means it, sort of. Drake does seem to enjoy when Grayson reaches out and shows his affections with silly nicknames. If Damian happens to know that he isn’t particularly fond of ‘kiddo’… well, that doesn’t really matter. He’s just trying to help his brother feel better. Two of them, even.

“You think so?” Grayson laughs. He grimaces immediately after, a low whine of pain slipping out.

Damian edges into the room, fingers stretching open and closed, open and closed. It’s a tell, but it calms him a little, and Grayson is too distracted to notice anyway. Feeling foolish, he asks, “Do you need that heating pad thing?” Those help with aches, don’t they? Damian has never used one, but it’s the only thing he can think to offer.

His older brother shakes his head. “Nah, m’fine. Just don’t make me laugh again, or I might croak.”

“Don’t joke about that,” Damian mutters. He steps closer, enough that Grayson reaches out and grabs a handful of Damian’s hoodie. He’s going to stretch out the fabric, but Damian doesn’t mind.

“I’m bored,” he declares, infusing as much grandeur in his words as he can manage. Which is, unfortunately, a lot. “And you made the mistake of coming in here, so now you have to entertain me. Tell me, Dami, how was school?”

“Boring.”

Grayson makes a ‘go on’ noise, gently shaking him.

Sighing, Damian says, “I could hardly concentrate. I don’t remember much of what was taught.”

“Why not? Did something happen?”

“Yes.” Dumbass , Damian mentally adds.

Of course Grayson, that fool, tries to sit up, worry coming over his face. “Are you okay? Don’t have a concussion, do you? I know you hit your head last night, did anyone check—”

Damian pushes him back down, trying to avoid all of the bruising. It’s much more difficult than should ever be the case. “I’m fine, Grayson. It wasn’t anything that happened to me. You might’ve heard, but my brother got severely hurt over the weekend doing something extremely stupid .”

“It wasn’t stupid,” Grayson protests. Of course he does. “It saved your life. Nothing that saves your life will ever be stupid, as far as I’m concerned.”

Damian makes an outraged noise. Sweeping his hand to encompass his brother, he demands, “And this is better?”

“I’m an adult. I can take a beating—”

“That is so not the point—!”

“Boys,” Father says from the doorway. He doesn’t sound angry, but Damian stiffens and twists anyway, acutely aware that both Father and Pennyworth told him not to bother Grayson. They won’t understand that he couldn’t help it, that he had to come and check on him, had to see for himself that his older brother was okay. Really and truly. Titus is the only one who does understand, or at least, the only member of the household who might’ve seen him sneaking around in the hall without going to get Father.

For a moment, Father eyes them both. He lingers on how Grayson is still holding onto Damian’s hoodie, and the horrible neck brace. Then he meets their eyes, first Damian’s, then Grayson’s. “Can whatever you’re bickering about wait until Dick can breathe comfortably?”

“Daaaad,” Grayson complains, “I can breathe comfortably. Look.”

“Look at you breathing.”

“Yes.” Duh , Grayson doesn’t say, but Damian hears it anyway. Grayson breathes deeply, only to groan, “Oh god, ow ow ow.”

“Sounds comfortable to me.”

Grayson moves, a shrug aborted at the last second, and his face tightens with what must be pain. “Dami said he’d go and get me the heating pad. Which is why he’s in here.”

“And why you’re arguing?” Father asks, raising an eyebrow.

“We are disagreeing because he thinks this is preferable to me getting a little hurt,” Damian tells him. No, Father won’t be happy he’s in here, but he will be on Damian’s side in this. Father hates to see any of them so injured.

“It wasn’t a little !”

“Yes, it was!” It wasn’t, and Damian knows that. Killer Croc could’ve killed them both last night, and most certainly would have if Grayson hadn’t intervened. But it’s not like Damian is going to just admit to that.

“ No , it—” Grayson tries to sit up again and cuts off, hissing out a breath.

Father sighs, and moves into the room. Sitting down beside Grayson, he helps him sit up, rubbing his back. “Damian,” he says, sounding weary and old. Damian doesn’t like it. “Can you go get the heating pad? And ask Alfred to come up here, please?”

“Yes, Father.” He hesitates, unsure of how the men will react to what he wants to do. But then he remembers he can do whatever he wants here, so Damian leans in a presses a quick kiss to Grayson’s head. “Don’t croak,” he demands, an embarrassing flush rising in his cheeks.

Damian ducks out of the room before either of them can react, Titus falling into place behind him as he hurries down the hall, a little lighter. Grayson will be okay. He has to be.

#bcs19 #dick grayson #damian wayne #bruce wayne #batfam #batfamily #batfam fic #my writing #fanfic #dawnseternallight

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batfam-imagines · 5 years

Note

I literally love your batfam writing so much, can I request something? Can batsis (biological daughter of Bruce) be adapted after her mum dies and she's obsessed with makeup and loves it so all the boys think she's shallow and conceited? But she's not? Thank you so much

Makeup

Tim flops on the couch beside his eldest brother, “Did yousee her room? She’s got a one of those makeup mirror things. The one with thelights in the mirror and all the drawers. When I walked by, she was filling thewhole thing up with makeup”

“Are you serious? Who needs that much makeup?”

“I don’t think Steph, Cass, and Babs have that much makeupcombined. I mean I know her mom was a model and all, but she must be stupid shallowand obsessed with her looks”

There’s a soft creak as the door open and both boys glanceup to see the newest member of the Wayne household standing awkwardly in thedoorway. “Hi, Alfred said that you two were in here … he said that you guys wouldn’tmind giving me a bit of a tour. I only know where my room and the kitchen is …”

Dick lets out a put-upon sigh and heaves himself off thecouch, “Yeah, come on, I’ll show you around.”

Y/N glances up at him when they’re passing one of the hugebay windows, “You know, you have beautiful cheekbones, they’d be perfect be forsome highlight. And Tim has some beautiful eyelashes, I have to use falsies ormascara to that kind of length. You know I have -”

“Not everyone needs makeup to feel good about themselves,Y/N”

She freezes for a few seconds before catching up to him, “Iknow. I don’t use makeup because I don’t feel good about myself. I use it becauseit makes me confident, it’s like a mask that helps me take on the world. Ienjoy makeup, I don’t need it, Dick.” Her eyes lock with his, “This familyshould know all about mask, right?”

Dick almost chokes out a disbelieving laugh, that’s definitelysomething he’ll need to bring up to Bruce but for now he’ll ignore it. “So, youhave all that different makeup, and spend all that money just because you likeit?”

“I actually get a lot of my makeup for free. I have a YouTubechannel where I teach people how to put on makeup, so different makeupcompanies will sometimes send me their new pallets or supplies for me to testout and review. Mom taught me to be confident in who I am, to love myself andothers based on who they are as a person. I try to help my followers becomeconfident in themselves while I’m teaching them how to do makeup” The older manjust continues to stare at her, “Maybe you shouldn’t judge people on their outwardappearance and try to get to know them first”

Y/N quickly walks the rest of the way down the hall andstraight into her room while Dick slowly makes his way back toward the livingroom where Tim is still sitting. “So how was it? Was she completely airheaded,or could she actually hold a conversation?”

“She actually seems pretty smart, like she had a reason forhaving so much makeup. I guess she uses it all for her YouTube channel, and tohelp other people gain confidence in themselves”

Tim quickly sits up, “Do you know what her YouTube name is?I want to look her up”

“I don’t know, just search her name, it’ll be her mom’s lastname”

Tim types for a minute, “I found her … holy shit, she hasover 8 million followers”

“You’re kidding me. She was telling the truth? Play one ofher videos”

The two boys play a random video from two months ago. Y/Ntalks about how it doesn’t matter how much makeup someone layers on their faceif they’re ugly on the inside it’ll show. She talks about just being confidentin everything you do and in believing in yourself. The boys end up watchingvideo after video. Watching as she does casual day makeup, or night out makeup.How sometimes her mom or friends will appear in the videos and she’ll do theirmakeup as well as her own and the guest will share their own words of wisdom.The last video the two end up watching is the most recent one Y/N had posted,dated for only a few days after her mother had passed away. It isn’t a makeupvideo at all, it talks about loss and figuring out how live life after losingsomeone so important. Y/N talks about Bruce, how her father who she’s never metintends to take her in and adopt her. Finally, it wraps up by saying that shedoesn’t know when she’ll be able to post again, or even if she’ll be able to answeranyone messages.

“Did we completely misjudge her and act like total assholesto a girl who just lost her only parent up until recently? We’ve both lost ourparents and we were total assholes to her just because we assumed she wasshallow and conceited, when really she just likes makeup and uses it to expressherself”

Dick groans, letting his head fall into his hands, “How dowe make this up to her?”

“Maybe we should follow her advice and actually get to knowher. I think … I think we should treat her like a member of the family insteadof like an outsider. We need to talk to Jason and Damian, you know they’ll cometo the same conclusion we did and yeah, Damian’s gotten a little better overthe years, but he still doesn’t have much a filter.”

“You’re right. I have a great idea. We should have a siblingmovie night, then we call all get to know her at the same time and she can getto know us. She won’t feel so alone here afterwards”

“Perfect! Just us tonight, and maybe next week we can getall the girls over here too?” Dick quickly nods his agreement, “I’m going totell Alfred and see if he can whip up some snacks for us. Can you call Jasonand get Damian?”

“Yeah, I got them. I really hope this works. We might havejust ruined our relationship with Y/N because we judged her over her makeup andnot her personality. We should know better, god we’re so stupid” Dick lets outa soft sigh and pulls out his phone, “Let’s just hope she can forgive us”

A voice clears behind them. Both vigilantes whip around,their eyes wide, having not even heard the door open, “You know, I’d forgiveyou a lot quicker if you’d apologize, that’s typically how these things works”

“Y/N, you scared the crap out of me!” Dick lets out a shakybreath, “I’m sorry … We’re sorry for judging you without getting to know you.We’ve known a lot of models and just kinda assumed that you were like all of them.I didn’t mean to judge you, or insult you”

“I understand. I’m a stranger coming into your guys house.You don’t know me, you guys didn’t even know I existed until recently, so ofcourse you’d assume things about me. That doesn’t make it right though, howeverI’m going to forgive you this time. I want to get to know my new brothers, solet’s put this behind us, okay?”

Tim grins, “Thank you. So we were gonna have a movie nighttonight, the four of us guys and you if you want. A way for all of us to get toknow you and for you to get to know us … if you want”

Y/N grins, “I’d love to, that sounds like fun … but we NEEDto have some kettle corn for the movie and some cookies”

Both guys snort, “I thought you were all into the healthy lifestyleand being the best you can be? That’s what your videos said”

“That’s what some of them said, but then I also say that it’sokay to indulge as long as you do it in moderation. So, I’ll be going to the gymtomorrow, but tonight we can watch movies and eat what we want”

“Sounds like a plan, I’ll call Jay and go talk to Damian”

“I’ll go ask Alfred if he can make cookies, you haven’t hadthe chance to try Alfie’s cookies yet, Y/N. They’re amazing!”

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ranger-jedi-knight · 4 years

Text

I Was Lost Until I Found You. Part 1

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22340749/chapters/53368603

Ok, so I fell in love with another ship. This baby of an OC, named Xander, is just a lovable dork that all my friends on discord loved seeing be with Damian. Then I thought about how cute theyd be with Mari n this happened. So I just had to write it. So I hope you enjoy seeing the three together yourselves. I had fun writing it!(next fic will just be Xander n Dami)

P.S. Xander and Damian are the same age, just Xander is a few months older than Damian. Mari is a year younger than them.

When Xander was 14, he discovered he had two soulmates. He learned it by finding something from his new, in a sense, soulmate. He knew it was from them cause it wasn’t something the other lost usually. His first soulmate usually lost pens, notes, and the like. Not that. Underneath his bed was a knife, and it wasn’t a kitchen knife.

It was a dagger.

Something used to hurt and kill.

That wasn’t something his, now known to be French, soulmate lost. Seeing the knife freaked him out. He lost it pretty quickly after that since he didn’t want to have to explain it to his sisters.

Right now though, he wished he had kept the dagger. In front of him was Joker in all his clown glory. Xander was worried, the clown was walking toward him and he knew that meant trouble. He couldn’t fight Joker himself, he was defenseless. He tripped going backward and Joker’s smile grew bigger. Xander looked around and found a Batarang, he was really glad that the Batfam lost one. He picked it up and threw it at Joker.

Joker grunted when it hit him in the stomach, but didn’t react in any other way. He pulled out some cards and Xander scrambled back. He could hear sirens in the distance getting closer, but he knew they would be too late. He was alone with Joker. He had no one to help him. He scrambled backwards, and stumbled up to his feet. Joker laughed as he prepared to throw his cards.

The police and batfamily arrived just in time to see Joker launch the cards. Xander raised a hand out to them.

They rushed forward.

But they could only watch as the cards flew towards him.

Only watch as Xander jerked as the cards hit. A chocked out shout left him. He was mid-stride when they hit. He fell to the ground as Joker laughed maniacally behind him. His vision was blurry. He could feel a card dig into his neck. He reached a hand out toward the bat family. To his sister with the officers.

“Xander!” Alya shouted and went forward but Nightwing stopped her. “Let me go! He needs me!” she shouted, tears going down her cheeks. She could only watch as Xander look at her before his hand and head drop back onto the ground, not a sound leaving him. “No! Xander, please!” she shouted and cried. The other members went forward to attack Joker while Nightwing stayed with her and hugged her, keeping her away from Joker.

“No!” everyone was confused at her shout. Joker was tied up, still smiling. They looked back and were shocked. Nightwing was looking around confused while Alya was on her knees sobbing, right where Xander was.

Was.

The only thing that remained was one of Joker’s cards. Xander’s body was nowhere to be found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian Wayne knew he had two soulmates since he was with the League. He just wasn’t allowed to keep anything. When he moved in with Bruce, he got to keep the things he found. He got to keep the sparkly pens his french soulmate lost. He got to keep the mechanical pencils, little doodles, and little trinkets his other soulmate lost.

He felt his breath catch as he stepped into the dining room for breakfast. His family turned to him worried. They watched as he picked up a familiar teal sweatshirt. Damian turned it to look at the back and he swallowed the lump in his throat. The back was covered in blood and had holes in it. “I....I need air,” he said walking outside still holding the sweatshirt. He leaned against the railing, the sweatshirt laid across it next to his arm.

Alfred walked outside and placed a hand on his back. “I’m sorry you found out like this, Master Damian,” Alfred said and Damian nodded.

“Yeah. I just....how do I tell our other soulmate what happened?” he asked and Alfred hummed at that.

“I’m not sure, Master Damian. But, I can fix and wash this for you,” he said picking up the sweatshirt and Damian nodded.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Damian whispered and Alfred nodded.

“Of course. Why don’t you eat something? I’m sure your family will want you to be strong as you look for him,” Alfred replied in the doorway and Damian gave a nod, the barest of smirks on his face.

“Of course,” he replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari stared in horror as a bloody shirt appeared on her desk in class. Everyone was looking, equally scared and sympathetic. Even Lila, the girl that vowed to make her life hell, was sympathetic. Alya and Nino led Mari out of the room while Adrien took a plastic bag from the teacher and put the shirt in it. They then cleaned the desk so that when Mari came back calmer, she wouldn’t panic.

Mari was pale when they came back in. She barely restrained herself from shaking. Ms. Bustier nodded and Adrien grabbed their things along with the bag and took her home. Where a note then appeared on the table saying what happened, from her other soulmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a year and a half since Xander disappeared, Damian found something that wasn’t from their french soulmate. But it was something that didn’t reassure him. He took a picture of it and lost it quickly, knowing what would happen if he didn’t. He also put on a note in french in case it went to their french soulmate. Once that was done he went to find his family. They were in the kitchen making a cake for Alfred’s birthday. He handed his phone with the picture pulled up already.

“Is that...?” Tim asked, trailing off and Damian nodded. “But how?” Damian glared at the ground.

“Xander lost it, that’s how. The League took him,” Damian said and a snap rang out. Jason dropped the broken spoon he was holding.

“I thought we were fucking done with them,” he growled out and Damian shook his head.

“Apparently not,” Damian said.

“Done with who?”

They turned and saw Jason’s soulmate, who also happens to be Xander’s sister, waiting in the doorway. She was holding a bag of cake decorating items. She set the bag onto the counter and pushed back her red bangs and looked at the phone Jason was holding. “What’s with the dagger?” they all shared a look.

“That was...lost by Xander. He was taken by....by mother,” Damian said slowly and watched as Lana leaned against the counter, her mouth opening and closing as what he said sunk in.

“Will...do you…” she tried asking a question but couldn’t get the right words out. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Damian. “Do you think he’ll make it?” she finally asked as Jason set a hand on her shoulders.

“I’m not sure. We can only hope,” Damian said and Lana nodded at that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xander gripped his head with a groan and stumbled into a wall. There were shouts. French. Hands. Hands were over him. He knocked away all the hands that were touching him and slid to the ground. He blinked several times, clearing his vision, his hearing was buzzing, nothing truly making sense. But he slowly regained function in seeing and hearing.

“-he’s wearing strange clothing. Where’s he from?” a boy asked.

“He has weapons on him! He’s a mercenary!” a girl said fearfully.

“Hey! Stop it. We don’t know if he can understand us. Not to mention, he doesn’t seem aware of where he is either!” a girl said. He looked up and saw a petite french girl with blue-tinted hair standing in front of him. Her hands on her hips as she scolded the classroom.

“He’s a danger! Why would you protect someone like him, Marinette? Oh wait, I know why. You’re his soulmate!” a girl with sausage hair cried and people started glaring at the girl defending him. Marinette, the name fit her.

“Of course your soulmates with a dangerous person. It fits,” Alya spat glaring at her ex-friend.

“We don’t know anything about him, Lila, Alya. We shouldn’t assume anything. What if he’s a hunter? Or perhaps he uses those to defend himself from threats? Hmm? Who knows where he came from,” Marinette said.

“I don’t even know where I came from,” Xander replied back softly in french and the class looked at him shocked. Marinette kneeled beside him.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I....I was taken from my home, I think. Everythings...fuzzy. Bad people took me. I...I remember a name, Nanda Parbat. But I don’t...I don’t know what or where that is,” he said, his brow furrowed in confusion and frustration. People around the classroom looked sad at that. “Where am I? What’s the year?”

“You’re at Collège Françoise Dupont, in Paris, France. Your name is Xander, isn’t it?” she asked and Xander nodded slowly. “You...you disappeared two years ago. Two years ago today, your bloody shirt, this one to be exact,” she pointed to the shirt she was wearing, it was his, she fixed up the holes, “appeared before me. Our other soulmate found your sweatshirt,” she explained softly. The class looked shocked at that. To learn this teen, who appeared out of nowhere, wearing strange clothes and carried weapons, was the same teen that lost the bloody shirt. They watched his face fall as he learned that. It turned pained then turned to confusion. “What?” she asked softly.

“I-I don’t understand. I-I remember that day. I...I should be dead. Joker killed me. I know it,” he said and that had the class gasping.

“Ms. Bustier, can I take him to my grandfather? He’d be able to help,” Mari asked and Ms. Bustier nodded.

“I’ll help,” Adrien said gathering all their stuff and walking behind Mari as she helped Xander up and lead him out. They soon reached Master Fu’s place and entered. Fu looked at them confused as they brought in a confused teen.

“Master, he’s my soulmate. But,” she trailed off and he nodded.

“I feel it too. Come, sit down,” Fu said and Xander nodded and sat down in front of Fu. “I feel the twisted magic of the Lazarus Pit on you. You must have been revived using it. But it’s left a twisted and corrupt aura on you. We’re lucky it hasn’t messed with your mind much yet. We can heal you of this aura,” Fu explained and Xander nodded. Fu then had him lay down on a mat and began working. “Marinette, you need to become Ladybug to purify it,” Fu said and Marinette glanced at Tikki who nodded. She transformed and Adrien stood back with Plagg and Wayzz, watching them work.

Once they’re done, Xander is sitting again but is gripping his hair. Mari’s transformation drops and she pulls Xander to her. “What do you remember?” she asked and Xander gasps as tears fall.

“I hurt so many people. I’ve dont so many horrible things when I was with them,” he gasped out and Mari shushes him gently.

“It’s ok. You had no choice. We don’t blame you,” she whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a month since Xander returned, he’s stayed with Mari and her family to heal. She told their other soulmate he was ok now. She was told that his sisters were grateful to know that. He went to class with Mari and Adrien and Chloe. But they soon learned he didn’t need it since he was ahead of them. He could technically be transferred into Luka’s class, but he didn’t want to. He’d rather stay in the same class as his soulmate. She helped him stay calm when he had panic attacks.

Which were sadly, pretty often. But that was because of Lila. She would lie about her soulmate and bring things up that Xander asked not to around him. But Lila didn’t care. And Ms. Bustier didn’t try stopping her even though she can see how Xander reacts.

But thankfully, with Xander’s help, they take Hawkmoth done at the end of the month. After that, Xander, Mari, and Adrien all moved to Gotham. Chloe would follow soon after. Everyone at the airport was tearing up at seeing Xander hug his sisters tightly, all three crying and falling to the ground. Most everyone in Gotham knew of how he disappeared.

After that, they took him to see, meet really, his other soulmate, Damian Wayne. They reached Wayne Manor and standing outside waiting, was the Wayne family. Mari led Xander over to Damian with a smile when the exited the car. “Xander, this is our other soulmate, Damian,” she said and Xander smiled.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried when I learned of where you were,” Damian said and he nodded at that. Mari pulled them into a hug. She could see Damian wanted to, but was hesitant. Damian wrapped his arms around the two and pulled them as close as possible.

Ok, so. This happened. This was cute. But man, damnit, I was tryin to do funny/cute all the way. But my friends got me in an angsty mood. But, I hope you liked it. The next chap WILL be an alternate of pure hilarity and cuteness between the three ok? Cause I was really wanting to do that with this type of soul bond. See ya soon! -Love Willa<3<3<3

#fanfic #fanfic update #writing #my writing #update #ml x dc #oc #ot3 #Xander Grayson #xander/damian/marinette #soulmates #angst

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sassycassie-s-writing · 5 years

Text

Not According to Plan

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Rating: PG-13/T

Original Idea: Ant-Man and the Wasp, I guess

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) I’m not sure what this is, apart from long. It’s just kinda one one of those that’s a bit of a word-vomit... @welovegroot @batboys-and-other-messes

^^^^^

Dick scooped Mary out of her bed while I picked up her packed backpack and my and my husband’s duffel bags for the mission. We left our apartment and headed down to the garage, where Dick buckled our daughter into her car seat. We started driving from Blüdhaven to Gotham. The outskirts of Gotham, more accurately. The Palisades.

Wayne Manor.

“I hate this,” I muttered while Dick drove the semi-abandoned freeway.

“I know you do, sweetheart,” he said. “But it’ll just be a couple days. And she loves staying with Great-Grampa Alfred, Grampa Bruce, and Uncle Damian. It’ll be okay.”

“If there’s one thing I hate more than leaving our girl it’s leaving her in the middle of the night without saying a proper goodbye.”

Dick let go of the steering wheel with one hand to take mine. “I know babe. But it’ll be easy. Quick in-and-out. The whole mission will take us three days, max. And Mary will be having so much fun with Uncle Damian and all his pets that she’ll barely notice we’re gone,” he said.

I sighed. “I guess you’re right,” I said.

“I know it’s your self-proclaimed job in our family to worry about everything, but just relax a little bit, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

When we arrived at Wayne Manor, Damian was waiting for us on the front stairs. He was still in his Robin uniform so he must have just gotten back from patrol. Dick got Mary out of her car seat while I got her bag. Damian accepted both, slinging the strap over his shoulder and curling his niece into his arms.

“What shall I tell her if she asks where you’ve gone?” he asked.

“Tell her that we’ve gone to Coast City for Mommy’s work and we’ll be back soon,” I said.

“And tell her that we love her,” Dick added.

“Yes. Please do.”

“Of course,” Damian said.

“And take good care of our girl, okay? You, Bruce, and Alfred,” I said.

“Of course, Mrs. Grayson.” He nodded to Dick. “Richard.”

Dick smiled. “Thanks kiddo. We’ll be back in a couple days. Max. You won’t even have time to miss us.”

“Tt. We shall see,” Damian said.

Dick put his arm around my shoulders. “We need to get going. We’ll see you soon. Thanks for this, little bird.”

Damian nodded. “Good luck.”

I nodded. “Thanks Damian. We’ll need it.”

After each of us kissed our daughter’s cheek, Dick and I slid back into the car and headed off for our mission.

^^^^^

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!

I dragged Nightwing behind a heavy concrete pillar. His limp form was trailing blood. “Nightwing! C’mon! Wake up! Please, baby!”

His eyelids fluttered open. “Heeey sweetheart,” he said. His voice was breathy and exhausted. “I… I don’t think this went according to plan.”

“No. No it didn’t,” I said.

“Babe… I can feel myself checking out.”

“No! Nonononono! You can’t! Please! Mary needs you. I need you.”

He reached one bloody glove up and rested it on my cheek. “Tell Mary… her dada loves her,” he said.

“No. You’re gonna be fine, Nightwing. You’re gonna pull through this. Like you always do!”

“Not this time, honey. I… I love you too. My love. My one and only. My greatest adventure has been our family. I love you.”

His eyelids fluttered shut and he grew heavy in my arms.

“Dick? Dick? NO!” I shrieked. I checked Dick’s pulse. Nothing.

I wept, wave after wave of my powers exploding out of me as my heart wrenched.

^^^^^

Damian knocked on the door to the room in Wayne Manor that used to be Dick’s—and then Dick’s and mine. I was curled up on the edge of the bed, weeping. Damian was sweaty and in his Robin uniform—fresh off patrol. “Are you alright, Mrs. Grayson?” he asked.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “No,” I answered.

He cocked his head to the side. “I understand. It hasn’t been long. Is there any particular reason besides the obvious that you are upset?”

I raised a hand and used my powers to bring something out of the bathroom that adjoined the bedroom and let it float through the air to Damian. He caught it with two fingers, stared at it, and then looked at me. “You’re having another child,” he stated.

I nodded. “Our kids are never going to know their father,” I mumbled.

Damian set the test on the dresser and sat next to me on the end of the bed, giving me a hug. “Mary will remember him,” he said. “She’s old enough. But they will know their father was a hero.” He paused. “I miss him too, Mrs. Grayson. Richard was like a second father to me—more so than just a brother. My deepest apologies and sympathies for your loss. I hope you know that I share your grief.”

I nodded. “I know,” I said, hugging him back. “And thanks, Damian.”

“Of course. You know that if you ever need anything, the whole family is here to help.”

I sniffed. “Yeah. I know.”

^^^^^

“Dude,” Tim said, on the phone with someone. “You are going to be so mad at Bruce when you get back.”

“When who gets back?” I asked, picking up my utility belt. Ever since the others found out I was expecting I wasn’t allowed on patrol, but I couldn’t find my chapstick so it was probably in my belt.

“Jason. Bruce sent him to Colorado without all the intel he had,” Tim said.

“Oh. Hi Jason!”

“Mrs. G says ‘Hi Jason.’ … He says hi,” Tim said to me.

^^^^^

One Year Later…

^^^^^

“Listen, Babs, I’d love to have a girl’s weekend but I have two kids to take care of on my own,” I said with my phone crammed between my ear and my shoulder. “Yeah I could drop them off at Bruce’s but the last time I left Mary for more than one night I lost the love of my life. I'm not interested in… Yeah I know it’s not likely to happen again but I just can’t. I'm not ready for that yet… Hey, I just started reconditioning, okay? I did just have a baby a few months ago.”

Speaking of, my infant started crying.

“Shh… shh… it’s okay Peter. Mama’s here. Mama’s got you.” I bounced him on my hip, trying to soothe him. “I gotta go, Babs. I’ll think about it and call you later, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen. Thanks for thinking of me, though.” I hung up the phone and dropped it on the sofa.

Mary bounded out of her room. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”

“Mary, shh! For just a moment, okay? Just let me get your brother to stop crying and then you can tell me whatever it is you’re gonna say.”

“Okay,” she said.

I soothed Peter by bouncing him and giving him his pacifier and then turned to my daughter. “Okay. What’s up, honey?”

“I drew us!” she held out a picture made with crayon of four stick figures. Each was distinctly a member of our family, but still labelled. Daddy, Mommy, Me, Baby Pete

I could have broke down in tears right there. She hadn’t seen her dad in a year and still drew him as part of our family with his black hair and blue eyes. She’d inherited his black hair and bright personality. She had my eyes—brown was dominant over blue—but the glint she had in them, the humor and the joy, that was her dad’s.

“Oh sweetie, it’s beautiful. I love it. Should I put it up on the fridge?”

Her smile reminded me of Dick too—just the unbridled happiness. “Yeah!” she said.

With Peter still on my hip I put the drawing on the fridge while Mary babbled to me about a kid in her preschool class not liking the way she drew. “Baby, what that kid thinks doesn’t matter to you. If you like the way you draw, then keep drawing that way, got it?” I said.

“Mmhmm,” Mary said. “Guess what, Mommy?”

“What, baby?”

“I had a dream about you and Daddy last night,” she said. “You were in a building, wearing costumes with masks on. But it was you and Daddy. The building was on fire and you were crying, asking Daddy not to leave you. He was in a black and blue costume but it was covered in blood like the time I fell off the swing at Grampa Bruce’s.”

I froze completely. I’d hoped that I wouldn’t pass on any sort of superpower to my children and with how much they both took after Dick I thought for a long time that I’d gotten lucky and hadn’t passed any meta-gene on. Apparently I was wrong. “That’s… an interesting dream, baby,” I said.

“It felt like it really happened,” Mary said matter-of-factly. “Is that how Daddy died?”

“No, honey. Daddy died while we were on a business trip for Mommy’s work,” I said. It was definitely a lie but she was way too young for me to tell her the truth.

It had taken Dick three years of marriage to convince me to have kids in the first place since I was so scared of them ending up with powers. Now Mary was dreaming about the night her father died.

The doorbell rang, knocking me out of my thought process. I went over to it with Mary leading the way. she wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the lock yet though, so I peered through the peephole.

“Uncle Damian,” I said as I opened the door.

“Mrs. Grayson,” he greeted as Mary shouted, “Uncle Damian!” and threw her arms around his legs. He patted her head absentmindedly. “I need you and your children to come with me. Right now.”

I blinked. “Okay. Do I need to—”

“No. Don’t pack anything. We’re just heading to the Manor. But this is urgent.”

I grabbed the diaper bag I kept near the door. “Okay,” I said.

Damian hoisted Mary up onto his hip and jogged down the hallway. I locked the door behind us and followed after him while Peter barbled and pulled on the hair that had escaped my extremely messy bun.

Damian led me and my little family down into the garage of our apartment building. He had one of Bruce’s fancy SUVs—equipped with Peter’s baby seat and Mary’s four-year-old car seat. We buckled my kids in and drove out of Blüdhaven for Gotham. “When is your move into Gotham finalizing?” Damian asked as he drove.

I sighed. “Most of the important stuff is already at the house. I just gotta find time to… dismantle… y’know. The subway. And then sell the apartment lease.”

“Tt. I see,” Damian said. “Should you require, I could come by and assist—”

“No. It’s… it’s fine. I just… I can’t make myself go in there right now. The display cases and everything is just as it was and I wouldn’t even know what to do with most of the stuff we have stored. All our old suits. All our equipment. I just… there are too many memories.”

“What are you talking about, Mommy?” Mary asked.

“Just the place where your dad and I stored the rest of our things after you were born and we needed to make room in the apartment,” I said. “And our house in Gotham where we’re gonna move.”

“How come we’re moving?”

“To be closer to Grampa Bruce and Uncle Damian so they can help me out with you and Peter.”

“Babababa…” Peter babbled quietly. I glanced over my shoulder at him in his car seat. He was gumming his pacifier contentedly.

“Two months old and making noises,” Damian remarked. “Mary didn’t make a sound until she was four months.”

“Mary didn’t speak till she was nearly two and then busted out full sentences,” I reminded him. “Both of my kids were born with a lot to say. They just decided when to start saying those things at different times.”

“Indeed,” Damian said.

“So what’s so urgent that you’re here at eight in the morning on a Saturday?” I asked.

“Tt. Best not to tell. Just to show,” Damian said evasively.

The drive between Blüdhaven and Gotham was about a half-hour, but with Mary talking about school in the backseat, endlessly, it seemed to be quicker than that. Damian loved listening to her stories, even if he wasn’t terribly expressive at showing it. Still, I caught him grinning as he drove.

Once in the Manor, Damian intercepted Alfred. “Pennyworth, if you would keep an eye on the children, I'm going to take Mrs. Grayson downstairs.”

“Of course, Master Damian. It’s always a pleasure.” Alfred took Peter from me and took Mary’s hand while she smiled and giggled and talked to Great-Grampa Alfred about how his outfit looked very nice.

Damian led me immediately to the grandfather clock and down into the Batcave.

He turned to me in the elevator. “Mrs. Grayson… no one will judge you if you cry,” he said. “This will come as quite a shock.”

The elevator dinged open to the cave. Damian led me out. I followed. I hadn’t been down here in… months. Since Peter was born at least. Alfred had used the med-bay to do a lot of my check-ups while I was carrying Peter but I hadn’t been down here since I went back to Blüdhaven.

I trailed behind him to the med-bay. I knew the path well after years of treading it, even in the darkness.

When we reached it, I stopped in my tracks and gasped.

“Dick?” I whispered.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt and was bandaged up. His hair was a mess, his lip was split and bleeding, and he had a black eye. But it was him. Sitting on a gurney with eyes half-closed.

He glanced over at me and gave me an exhausted smile. “Hey sweetheart,” he greeted.

I took a few cautious steps toward him—

And promptly smacked him.

“Mrs. Grayson!” Damian exclaimed.

“Stand down, kid,” Dick said, rubbing his cheek. “I deserved that.”

I grabbed his face as gently as I could and kissed him, ignoring the blood on his lip. “I just… I had to make sure you were real,” I said.

“I'm real. I'm here. Are you okay? You look different. What have I missed? Tim said I was going to be mad when I got back,” he said, kissing me back enthusiastically.

Tim was talking to Dick?! That little liar—he said he was talking to Jason!

I slid my hand down his arm and took his hand. “Come with me and I’ll show you,” I said.

He hopped off the gurney gingerly and pulled on a loose-fitting blue T-shirt.

We headed for the elevator. “What happened?” I asked. “Why did you… why? I was there! You were dead!”

“I'm so sorry, love. I had to. Nightwing had to die to keep you and Mary safe. It was the only way.”

I wanted to just curl up in his embrace and cry for three days. Instead, I muttered, “I'm going to kill Bruce for this.”

“It’s not one-hundred-percent his fault.” Dick paused. “Okay, maybe it is, but the undercover mission I did was… really important.”

“Right,” I deadpanned as we reached the main body of the Manor. I took him to the playroom. “You asked what you missed and why I look different. Well, here it is.” I pushed the door open.

Mary was sitting on the beanbag with a picture book in her hands that she was reading while Alfred sat on a chair with Peter on his lap and read to him. Peter wasn’t paying any attention but he was staying quiet.

“Peter, baby,” I said.

He looked up from where he was chewing his fingers and smiled at me.

Dick gasped quietly from the shadows beyond the door. “We… we had another baby?” he whispered. He didn’t even question that Peter was his. How could he? Peter had his exact hair, both color and texture, and the same eye shape. Though Peter was probably going to have my nose.

“Yup,” I said. “And I'm going to kill Bruce for not ordering you home the second he found out I was expecting.”

Dick stepped into the light of the playroom.

Mary saw him and dropped her picture book. “DADDY!” she shrieked, bounding off the beanbag and running over. Ignoring his injuries, Dick dropped to his knees and gave her the gentlest but firmest hug he could.

“Hi sweetie! Oh I missed you!”

“Mommy said you went to heaven!”

“She thought I did, but I didn’t. Because Grampa Bruce told me to let her think that. But then I came back because I couldn’t leave my babies.” He held her tightly as Alfred got up and brought Peter over. I took our baby in my arms.

“Peter, do you wanna say hi to your dada?” I asked quietly. He kicked his legs but didn’t say anything.

Dick got to his feet, still holding the back of Mary’s head while she clung to his leg and held his hand out for Peter. The infant caught his finger and stared. Peter had green eyes that stared at Dick like Peter was searching his dad’s soul.

After a moment, Peter beamed and started babbling, just making noises.

Dick carefully took him out of my arms and looked up at me. “I'm so sorry,” he said. “I'm so sorry I missed this. Can you ever forgive me?”

I wrapped my arm around his shoulders. “I can. I don’t blame you for this. I blame Bruce. But… give me a couple days.”

“I can’t believe I…” Dick’s eyes watered and spilled over. I wiped the tears off his face. “I can’t believe I abandoned you to go through that alone. I'm so sorry.”

“I know. And it’s gonna be okay, Dick. Just give us all time,” I said.

“You’ll have it,” he promised. “I'm never doing that again. I'm never leaving you, or our children, ever again.”

“Good.”

#Not According to Plan #Dick Grayson #Dick Grayson Imagine #Dick Grayson FanFiction #Nightwing #Nightwing Imagine #Nightwing FanFiction #DC #DC Imagine #DC FanFiction #BatFam #BatFam Imagine #BatFam FanFiction

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marudny-robot · 6 years

Note

JayTim: Who developed feelings first? Did they deny this or accept it?

Hi! Thanks for the ask! :D (And sorry for kinda late reply)First of all, as you well know, depending of the AU the beginnings might drastically change, but considering you didn’t specify anything then I’ll go with the most… canon-ish version (pre!52).Before I continue, I’d like to mention that I have read only @glaciya ’s version of that answer before writing that and, honestly speaking, I kinda/mostly agree with her.

I agree that during Tim’s stalking days he might have developed a crush (or was very hardcore fanboying, but well, emotions are confusing). I think he developed crush on Robin!Jason (while was mostly fanboying over Robin!Dick) mostly because he get to know him better. I’m not sure how in canon that might be (bc I have not read those comics), but I like to think that when Tim started going out taking photos Dick was on the way to transition to Nightwing (and changing cities), so he didn’t saw much of him. On the other hand he get to observe Jason career as Robin from beginning to end.

So that would make Tim first to develop a crush.And later that crush will die ugly death, because no-one likes when your crush ambushes you and tries to murder you.

So, after this it mostly depends on Jason. I like to think that he took time for himself (to decide his stance on various members of the batfam, where REALLY lies the problem he have with them, to control Pit-rage, etc., etc.). I don’t think that that was the moment he fell in love in Tim, or noticed at least how cool Robin 3rd is, BUT it was the time his stance changed from “I hate him” to neutral.

What I like to think what’s happen next is that Jason tries to reconcile with batfam members from before his death (Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Barbara). In doing so, he sometimes helps/works with other batfam members, whom he doesn’t care about - but also doesn’t dislike.While others might start liking Jason thanks to this, Tim understandably is still wary of him.

I imagine there’s period of time (few years long), after the events of Red Robin where the above happens - Jason slowly gaining trust with others, while Tim asks himself were he is standing in the Family. During that time Tim rarely trust anyone. He was hurt and now he is alone, in bad place mentally, and is afraid of doing the first step towards reconciling with ‘family’, because he might get hurt again (plus he doesn’t think HE should be the one to make the first step, anyway).Red Robin does his job but he doesn’t care that much and is often reckless.Now enter Jason, who doesn’t specially care for Red Robin or Tim or Replacement, but idiot will bleed out or get shot and Jason can’t with clear conscience leave the kid to die. So he helps him. Sometimes.They don’t talk when Jason stitches him. Tim observes him like a hawk the whole time. He is still wary of him (and doesn’t understand Jason’s agenda).Tim once asked him why he helps him. Still doesn’t believe him when the answer was “I simply don’t want to see you die on my watch.”

It takes Jason helping him lots of times. Tim still can’t - doesn’t want to believe him. He is still waiting for when Red Hood would just leave him to die.Still, Tim starts to feel grateful, you know? So he tries to even the score. He leaves Jason info for his case, sometimes it’s gear.

And so, they are stuck in that kind of limbo. No-one wants to look gifted horse in the mouth. Jason more often stops Tim from dying sometimes even helps him some other way and Tim does the same. They don’t talk emotions with each other, are professional. Those 'meetings’ became the way to get a break from others (mainly batfam members), problems connected to them and life in general.

It isn’t perfect. There’s always some tension from the murder attempt (they never forget, Tim never forgives and Jason never tries to be forgiven), but besides that they aren’t center of each other’s problem. So it’s easier to just …ignore that and simply be in each other presence.

Years go and they became more comfortable with each other. They start to trust each other (to certain degree). They wouldn’t exactly call each other 'friends’. More like 'I hate him the less’ or 'I might actually be sad if he dies (again)’.Then, Jason is the first one who wants to move from Gotham and from vigilantism. He is tired.Tim is the first one to hear about his decisions and agrees to join him later. He is still working for WE, but Damian is almost in his twenties and it’s time to train him to take Tim’s place.

They move out of town, out of country. Live together, get jobs and adopt animals (like two dogs and a cat, maybe more). They still have contact with the family and it’s not as bad as it was before. Less tension, maybe some things are already talked over, but they are still left alone.

Even more years goes by and they start thinking that they might actually feel happy! Their lives aren’t so stressful anymore and they start to, not only enjoy each others presence, than more often seek each other out. They are blissfully happy with their simple life out of Gotham with horde of animals.Then one day, someone (from work, stranger in the park, cashier, whoever) make a comment about them being husband or boyfriends or something, which results in the conversation late in the evening between two of them. What they are? Friends? Boyfriends? Flat-mates?They can’t decide in the end. Mostly because each of them got to their own conclusion which they don’t want to share.

Some time later Jason or Tim tries to propose to other. Or they do that at the same time. In the end the wedding is big and Bruce is happy to see them on their special day with the whole family.

And they lived happily ever after…

#jaytim #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #headcanon #I like happy endings fight me

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ellana-ravenwood · 7 years

Text

How to remove a Wayne safely - Batmom x Batfam

My nephew got a tick on him today and, you know, there’s a way to remove them fully, like you can’t just tear them off or the head is gonna stay ? Well, it gave me a stupid idea. Hope you’ll like it.

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_______________________________________________

Some mornings, you had obligations. You had to wake up early.

When you and Bruce got married, you took the place of second CEO at Wayne Enterprise, to relieve your husband of a bit of the weight of it all. To make things easier on his end...To allow him to, sometimes, sleep more than three hours a night.

You did it gladly.

One morning every two days, more if Bruce was injured, you’d wake up early in the morning to go take care of the family business (when Bruce asked you if you could help, you felt like he genuinely fully trusted you...he trusted you with his parents’ empire, which meant a lot).

Your Bruce both loved and hated it. Loved it because it meant that he could take a well deserve rest, hated it because it also meant that he’d wake up alone in the bed and oh he loathed that more than anything. He lived for those days were neither him nor you had anything to do, and could just cuddle your way to 5 pm haha.

He also hated it because, since you monitored the bat computer every nights, you also needed your sleep and...he just hated the fact that your “obligations” toward him and his enterprise made you wake up.

You wouldn’t have it any other way though, anything to allow your Broosh to rest, to recuperate and such. He wasn’t getting any younger and needed those peaceful time...Of course it was even better when you could both be lazy in your bed but, life wasn’t always like that.

This morning, your faithful alarm clock, aka Alfred Pennyworth, came into your room to wake you up and...it was difficult.

Last night, Bruce and your boys came back around 8 am, and of course you stayed up with them, monitoring the bat computer. And when you and Bruce finally got to bed...Well, you needed each others before sleeping and you both collapsed after a heated love making session, exhausted. Now, barely two hours later, you had to wake up and your entire body was sore and screaming for more sleep and...Uh, Alfred was having none of it.

-Lady (Y/N), you need to wake up.

-I am awake...

You said in a weak voice, bringing the blanket up to your nose.

Bruce didn’t even budge, his arms around you, his face nuzzling your hair. Contrary to popular belief, once he was truly asleep, Bruce was very difficult to wake up and there could be a very loud metal concert next to him and he wouldn’t even hear it, too deep in his slumber.

And right now, as you and Alfred talked aloud next to him, and you shifted in his arms...Well, he didn’t even move one inch.

-Well you need to stand up then. Your meeting is in less than an hour.

-I don’t need more than twenty minutes to get ready, we’re fine Al’. Just a few more minutes please.

Well, it’s true that you always got ready fast but...there was one tiny little problem that meant that you HAD to stand up NOW. And not in a few more minutes.

-You’re forgetting something, Lady (Y/N).

-Mmm ?

-It will take you more than twenty minutes to get ready.

-Non sense Al’, you know I get ready fast, I can even squeeze a shower in there and...Oh.

Your hazed mind didn’t understand at first. It took you a few seconds before you got what Alfred meant. Oh but of course. The good old ritual of “removing a Wayne safely” that you went through so many times since you started dating Bruce, years ago...

You had discovered very early on that the Wayne boys, your husband and sons, when deep in slumber, were almost impossible to get away from. They would cling to you, not letting you go and at first, you didn’t know what to do...until you and your beloved Alfred developed a technique to get away from their grasp, without waking them up.

It was quite technical really. Especially with Bruce. He was a strong man and making him move while he was sleeping was difficult. Besides, if he felt in his subconscious like the way he was moving was unnatural, he would wake up instantly, fearing that a danger was there.

It took you a LOT of failed attempt with him and Dick to finally discover how to “safely remove a Wayne from you”. It took you a lot of awkward situation where you were half out of bed or something, with Alfred holding Bruce’s arms, and him waking up, looking at the both of you as if you were mad men...But by the time you adopted Jason, the technique was down perfectly.

It was rare, nowadays, that you’d wake them up while slipping away from their grasp. Hell the only few times it happened, it was because they weren’t actually asleep.

This morning though, it was going to be difficult.

Bruce had seen a lot of shit recently, and was, even more than usual, worried about everyone’s safety...Which meant he fell asleep completely wrapped around you, as o shield you from any possible threat.

His thigh was over your waist while his other leg was locked under you. His arms were around your shoulder, holding on tightly (though this position sounded uncomfortable, oh it was actually quite the opposite, and if you didn’t have to wake up, you would have fall back asleep in his strong and protective arms...).

Carefully, Alfred lifted the blanket from you, thanking the day you and Bruce finally started to sleep in pajamas and stop sleeping naked. The butler said :

-Ok, shall we start with the bottom or the top ?

-Bottom. It’s easier to get the lower part of my body out of the bed first.

-Right.

Carefully, Alfred kneeled in front of the bed and, as you moved your legs toward him, he started to lift slightly Bruce’s thigh. It was quite interesting really, how Bruce’s body would react when he was asleep. A slight tickle on the side of his knee would loosen his leg muscles, and allow Alfred to lift his leg so you could slip away.

Slowly but surely, you untangled your lower body from your husband’s and Bruce only groaned a tiny bit when his leg fell back on his instead of yours. It was rather cute really, how even when asleep, he could feel you leaving.

Now for the riskiest part...His arms.

If Alfred made a wrong move, or if you were getting to impatient and left his grasp too soon, there was the risk of making him cling to you even more than he already was. This “risk” was always there. Just the wrong move from Alfred or you, and Bruce would pull you closer in his strong arms, and it would be impossible to leave, you’d have to wait for him to wake up.

It was a subconscious reflex for your husband really, he would just close around you like an oyster if he felt you slipping away...so you had to arm yourself with patience and bit by bit get away from him. You and Alfred called this the “lock mode” and any action of getting away from it would be vain...So you always tried to avoid that. Mostly succeeding.

You had developed a technique to roll away from Bruce’s arms, as Alfred was slowly opening his grasp...It was a team work really. Alone, you would never be able to leave.

Finally, you were out of bed and Bruce’s arms closed themselves on air...he made a weak and desperate sound in his sleep, as if mourning the loss of your warmth, but when you bended down to kiss his forehead, it seemed to soothe him.

It always did. He would be distressed even as he slept, when you were leaving, but another touch from you, showing him you weren’t completely gone would always help. Mostly a kiss on his forehead. And as you and Alfred left, you couldn’t help but make an “awww” noise at the vision of your husband smiling his sleep...

Oh you wished you could have stayed in his arms.

************

-Alfred.

You whisper, hoping that the butler would be around.

-Alfred !

And sure enough, your surrogate father appears.

You were laying on the couch in Wayne Manors’ living room...your youngest son, Damian, laying on you, his arms around your waist, his head on your belly, and your hands tangled in his hair.

You and him had just finish watching a movie and of course, your exhausted little bird had fallen into a deep slumber...it was time yet again to use the “how to remove a Wayne safely” technique, but Alfred was nowhere to be seen !

Fortunately for you, you just called him for less than 10 minutes before he arrived. As if the man had a sonar in his head that would tell him whenever one of his little duckling (he would never call you or anyone else that out loud) needed him.

As he came toward you and your son, he couldn’t help but stop a second to witness how cute the scene was. He also couldn't help being a bit jealous of the fact that Damian would always hug you and such WILLINGLY. The other members of his family always had to somewhat force or beg him to...but you ? The boy seemed to wrap himself around you automatically.

You look up to Alfred and, with a slight smile as you notice the “look” he gives you and Damian (that fatherly look full of love), you say :

-A little help here ? Please ? I have to go meet Bruce at work and I’m already late...

Alfred nods and comes to kneel beside you and your son.

First thing first. You untangle your fingers from your son’s scalp and Damian lets out a small sigh, as if already missing your soothing touch. But he doesn’t wake up. Next thing : unwrapping his arms from around you. You lift your hips slowly, so Alfred can access your little one’s hands that are clasped behind your back, and with tender and soft movements, the butler is able to unclasp them.

You slowly crawl upward, as Alfred raise your son in his arms, trying to move him the least possible and...you fall over the edge of the couch as you finally get over. You get up quickly and whisper a “I’m alright !” and as Alfred lays your son back down on the couch, the two of you try really hard not to burst out in laughter. You quickly leave the premises, an arm around your surrogate father’s shoulders, his holding your hand against his heart.

You were closer from that man than from your real father and, to be honest...it was totally fine.

************

Sometimes, they wouldn’t completely cover your body. They would just cling on your arm or leg...But it didn’t mean that it made things easier to leave.

Like today. You were reading a book in the living room when Dick and Jason came in. You didn’t talk, you didn’t need to. They just came in to enjoy your presence...and to listen to the story.

They were grown ass men, but they still LOVED when you were reading them stories and...That’s exactly what you did.

You were reading a book they never heard before, and though it was full of adventures and really interesting...their exhaustion got the better of them and they fell asleep, their arms wrapped around yours, their head on your shoulders.

You sighed, as you had just finished your book and, as much as you loved cuddling with your kids, you had important things to do...And oh, hey there Alfred, help please ?

The butler gives you a knowing look and comes closer.

It’s time for the “Indiana Jones technique”. It’s something you developed together (of course). And it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Inspired by that scene in the first Indy movie where the famous archeologist exchanges a golden statue with a bag of sand. Except that, when you and Alfred do that, a giant boulder DOES NOT suddenly try to crush you, and the house don’t fall apart...Good.

You bend forward as Alfred takes hold of your sons’ arms and...a nod from him and you snap yourself away from them, while Alfred takes your boys’ arms and close them around each other. They’re now hugging each other, without even reacting at the loss of you because...they didn’t feel it.

You wished you had time to stay and look at them when they’ll wake up, because you were pretty sure it was going to be funny...Knowing Dick he would tease his brother into hugging him more, and Jason would try to get away and...oh you wished you had more time to stay with them.

************

Tim was the one you had to be “unlatched” from the least.

He had the lightest sleep ever (probably because of all that damn coffee he ingested) and a slight move, or a noise would wake him up instantly.

When he fell asleep with you around, he had a tiny bit deeper sleep but...still, it was quite delicate to get away from him without waking him up.

Like right now. You were both talking about your favorite TV show when he started to yawn more and more. You took the cup of coffee he was sipping away, and as he listened to you rambling about how it was such a disgrace that FOX cancelled Firefly...he fell asleep.

Good. It was your goal along. For him to finally go to bed. What you didn’t plan though was that he would fall asleep with his head in your lap.

With slow movements full of care, you put a few wild strands of his long black hair behind his ear and reached for your cellphone.

The text Alfred received read : “S.O.S. Baby bird number 3 fell asleep on me. Extremely delicate mission. Have to not wake him up, the boy need his sleep. Come as soon as possible please”.

Thirty minutes later, Alfred arrived in Tim’s room.

You had your legs crossed, and was resting your weight on your arms behind you. Tim was laying face first on the floor, his head in your lap, arms on the floor and on your knees.

-Oh...

Alfred lets out in a murmur.

Yes. “Oh...”. It was going to be difficult. But you had to do it. You couldn’t wake him up, because you just knew that if he did, he wouldn’t go back to sleep.

Alfred walked on his tip toes to you, and sat down.

You communicated just with looks and nods of your head, and together, lifted his head slightly as you were slowly crawling away.

It was like playing a game of mikado really. If you made a stick move, then you lost...well there, it was : “if your knee touch his head too much, he’ll wake up”.

As Alfred was trying not to shake while holding Tim’s head, you hurried (sneakily as to not make any noise) and got hold of a pillow to put under him and...he didn’t wake up. Success.

You refrained from high fiving Alfred, and slowly retreated away from the room, smiling as, in his sleep, Tim said something resembling : “I love you mom”...

And with a smile to Alfred, you each went on your ways, probably to go take some more care of your family. And yes, Alfred went to check on your boys to see if they were sleeping too, and you were going back to bed, knowing that Bruce was waiting for you to be in his arms to finally fall asleep...

And the next morning ? It would be a “How to remove a Wayne safely” time all over again.

************

Your favorite times though, were when you didn’t have to ask Alfred for help. Was when you could just spend times in your husband arms. Or in your boys’ ones. When you didn’t have anything to do, but to enjoy their warmth.

Your favorite times, were when you could just cuddle your life away.

Fin.

_______________________

This is so stupid, and not well written at all. A mess really, that makes 0 sense. But..Oh well :/.

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damijon-supersons · 7 years

Note

So i've never prompted anyone before and I'm sorry if this is lame, but maybe one of those 5+1 things where it's 5 times a batfam member catches damijon kissing, and one time they get caught doing something that's definitely not kissing, up to you whether the last thing is something lewd or something funny/cute.

Whoo boy anon! You’re my first blood :p Honestly, I’m not sure what you meant by that 5+1 thing, but I did come up with this…

Bruce kind of regretted sending the drone after Damian that night.

Originally, he and Clark just wanted to check up on their sons’ progress as a team. Bruce had secretly sent out a cloaked drone to monitor the boys on their mission. He expected to see an improvement on cooperation, teamwork, coordination…he definitely did not expect to see Robin kissing Superboy on a rooftop.

Clark sat beside him, equally stunned. Bruce wished that his friend would say something, anything, just to lift the incredibly awkward silence. Finally, Clark cleared his throat.

“Did you know?” Superman asked with forced calmness. It was obvious he was still at a loss for words?

Bruce glanced at him awkwardly. “I’m the world’s greatest detective, but no I didn’t know.”

Clark stared at him for a few tense seconds, and then he grinned.

“Bruce, that’s what you said last Christmas,” Clark chuckled.

“Every time I feel like I know Damian, he keeps proving me wrong,” Bruce said with amusement. He shook his head, and the tension evaporated.

“How to be a good father to our sons is the greatest mystery of all,” Clark said with a smile.

***

Dick listened to his little brother with rapt attention. He could have told Damian to stop, he could’ve asked Jon to sit down and relax, but he didn’t. Even though he knew about them already, he let Damian talk. They both needed to do this in their own way, without any interruptions.

Damian gulped as he finished, and then glanced at Jon. They both nodded with determination.

Dick watched as Damian closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Jon’s.

“Do you understand, Grayson?” Damian asked wearily. He was holding Jon’s hand tightly, the younger boy’s fingers laced through his own.

“I understand that I have a new brother now, I guess,” Dick shrugged comically. His humor had the intended effect. Jon started giggling and the edge of Damian’s mouth twitched, as if he almost wanted to laugh.

Dick wrapped both boys in a hug.

“Coming out takes a lot more courage than putting on tights every night to soak up bullets and knives,” Dick began. “I know how much this means to you, and really, thank you for trusting me.”

“Of course we’d trust you!” Jon chirped. “You’re the best big brother ever!”

“Watch it,” Damian pouted. “He was my brother first!”

Of course, Dick thought, bickering was part of the package.

“Don’t worry, Damian. You’re both equally brats,” he laughed.

***

Jason swore. He spent the last of his cash for the week on the magazine, and this was what he saw. To be fair, he’d expected Damian to get into kissing at this age. What he didn’t expect was that Damian would be kissing Jon.

When Damian had texted him for dating tips, Jason had told Daman to meet him in the arcade. Jason already knew what he had to as an older brother—he was going to buy Damian his first porn mag. Sure, he could’ve gone online for porn, but nothing beats the classic physical porn mag to give you that “naughty” frame of mind. He was going to take one for the team and tell Damian all the ways you could pleasure a girl in graphic detail. After all, what was an older brother for?

But then yeah, Damian had kissed a boy—a Superboy. It was just a quick peck on the cheek after Jon had beaten the high score on a ring toss. It was enough for Jason to know that his plan was ruined.

He’d gotten that magazine from one of his shadier contacts who swore on five different crosses that it wasn’t probably smuggled. The catch was, there were no refunds or exchanges. Jason sighed.

“Hey, kid,” Jason said to the boy nearest him. He was just another kid at the arcade holding one of those gun-shaped controllers. Jason handed him the magazine. “Here. From Santa Clause.”

The boy stared dumbfounded at the magazine, and then at Jason, who’d started to walk away.

“But…it’s August!” he called out in disbelief.

“I’m doing summer shifts,” Jason said without looking back.

He took out his phone a dialed his friend again.

“Emil, it’s me,” Jason said. “I need a new…book. My brother didn’t like the last one. Can you get me something with just guys in it? Yes, I said what you think I just said. And yeah, my brother found someone cute, don’t worry.”

***

Everyone considered Tim to be a genius. But in this case, he’d have agreed with anyone who’d wanted to call him an idiot.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Tim groaned.

“Sorry?” Damian chided. “What you did was reprehensible, Drake! A complete disregard for me and Jon’s privacy!”

Damian huffed with his arms crossed. His indignation was undercut by how disheveled he looked and the red mark on his neck. Jon sat awkwardly beside him, his hair a tangled mess and his vest halfway off his body. He was staring at the floor and fiddling with his thumbs.

“You guys were eating each other on the sofa. Which is in the living room. Which everyone walks past on the way to the kitchen.” Tim said dryly.

“It’s midnight!” Damian protested. “No one in their right mind would come through here!”

“So I drink an espresso every midnight, no big deal,” Tim said nonchalantly. “That’s not the issue here. It’s you two.”

“What do you mean?” Jon asked, his bright blue eyes sparkling with anxiety.

Tim sighed. “I mean get a room. We live in a mansion, Damian. We have five guest rooms for goodness’ sake. You have a 70 square meter bedroom! I know you guys are head over heels for each other, but how do you think it makes me feel when we walk in on you inhaling each other’s faces like that?”

“You?” Damian smirked. “Jealous.”

Jon burst out laughing.

Tim rolled his eyes at the young teen and walked away. He needed twice as much coffee now that Damian had Jon. A sullen Damian would often annoy Tim, but a happy Damian? He shuddered at the thought.

I’m totally not jealous.

***

Damian froze. His eyes flung open and he saw that Jon had done the same. It felt somewhat odd to pause just as their lips had begun their clandestine adventure, but fear and surprise interrupted their higher brain functions. They weren’t able to pull away from each other when they’d heard the door open.

It happened much too fast than was humanly possible. Alfred had opened the door, crossed the room, and set the gleaming silver tray down on the bedside table all in the span of three seconds. It took him half a second to arch his eyebrow at Jon, whose lips were still firmly locked with Damian’s as though in a paused recording. Another second later, Alfred had closed the door.

The boys had gotten over their trance and pulled themselves apart. Alfred didn’t know, of course. They’d only told Dick, and had made Tim swear to keep what he saw a secret or else Damian would throw out all the mansion’s coffee reserves. They didn’t know how Alfred would react, or if he’d tell, or if the old butler would get a heart attack. For a minute, they were silent, their eyes speaking volumes about what they’d feared.

Suddenly, the door opened once more. It was Alfred, carrying an identical silver tray as the one he’d placed before. Damian felt a sense of déjà vu as Alfred mechanically placed the tray in front of them in exactly the same way as he’d done earlier, as if repeating that instance in time. When he opened the tray, Damian saw that it was a sandwich exactly like his own.

But unlike before, there was a pastel-colored box on the tray—it was a box of Kleenex.

Damian and Jon’s eyes grew wide as the implication hit them. With a barely imperceptible wink, Alfred swept out of the room, leaving two very red-faced boys behind him.

#ask #prompt #fic #damijon #super sons #Damian Wayne #jonathan kent #Robin #Superboy #Batman #Superman

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