#tim drake's terrible taste in names | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

curlybookwriter0294 · 3 years

Text

Simple Favor

Summary: Damian Wayne does not ask for help, nor does he ask for any favors. So, this was new to him. If it were any other person, he wouldn’t be doing this. However, the person that he’s thinking of is different. He trusts her and believes that she would do this for him with few questions asked.

It should be easy to ask her for a simple favor. If that was the case, then why is he having a hard time knocking on her door?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the DC universe or the Teen Titans! Just the plot :)

This is PRE-DamiRae!:)

“Father.. you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious son. This could be an excellent start if you plan to take over my company one day with Tim.”

“And tell me how by bringing in a ridiculous date help me in anyway?” Damian asked, folding his arms over his chest as he watched his father typing away on the bat computer.

Bruce turned around in his chair to stare at his annoyed son that was standing in front of him. He sighed when he rakes through his hair with a hand. “Damian, people like me because I am good with people. I know how to communicate. I am also very sociable as well. People like that. Especially big investors. If they see you not being happy in any shape or form, they will start to stray away.”

Damian narrowed his green eyes at him, not buying a thing that he had just said. All he knows that this is an idiotic idea that his father had come up and he was known to have smarter ideas than this. “Father..” he started to protest but Bruce interrupted him.

“It’s just for one night Damian. If you need help in that department, I can probably can make a few calls—“

“I don’t need help from you in that department,” Damian said with a roll of his eyes. “You have terrible taste in women and that includes my mother,” he muttered with a sigh after taking a deep breath, wrinkling up his nose. “I… have someone in mind.”

Bruce lifted a brow with interest and leaned forward in his chair as he studied his son’s unreadable facial expression. “Oh? Anyone that I know?”

“Tch. Just know that she will be there with me that night. That’s all you need to know,” he told him, walking out of the Batcave as he tried to ignore the face that his father was making behind his back.

Damian Wayne does not ask for help, nor does he ask for any favors. So, this was new to him. If it were any other person, he wouldn’t be doing this. However, the person that he’s thinking of is different. He trusts her and believes that she would do this for him with few questions asked.

It should be easy to ask her for a simple favor. If that was the case, then why is he having a hard time knocking on her door?

“Damn,” he muttered, bringing his fist down from her door from a failed attempt at knocking on it. He rakes his dark hair with his fingers as he stared at the name that was printed on the door, wondering why he couldn’t just open it already. It’s not like he was nervous or anything right? Though, he could’ve swore that he had felt a little flutter in his stomach as he walked down the hall towards her room earlier after getting back to Titans Tower. “It’s just for one night,” he grumbled to himself. “Stop being an imbecile.”

He raised his fist to knock on the door and waited until he heard the word enter before sliding it open and stepped inside the room. He spotted her floating crossed legged in the middle of the room with her eyes closed as she repeated her mantra.

“Are you alright?” she asked, opening a purple eye to study him briefly before closing it again when she feels a wash of mixed emotions coming from him. “You seem troubled about something.”

Right. He should know by now then to attempt to hide things from an empath.

“I need a favor,” he said quietly, knowing that she could hear him. He watched her open her eyes when he spoke. She gave him a look of surprise. “What Raven?”

Raven shrugged her shoulders at him and smiled at him when she landed on the ground gracefully. “It must be that important coming from you,” she teased lightly, watching his emeralds narrow towards her when she laughed at him softly. She sighed when she caught a whiff of irritation coming from him. “I’m sorry. What do you need my help with?”

Damian cleared his throat as he tried to come up with a way on how to ask her. It should be a simple question, right? So why does he feel nervous the more that his green eyes stare into her violet ones that was looking at him and he knew that she was studying his emotions. “I need you to accompany me to a fundraiser event that’s in two days.”

Raven lifted a brow at him and crossed her arms over her leotard. “Why do you need me to accompany you?” she asked, titling her head to the side as she studied Damian in front of her.

“If I were to help run Wayne Enterprises one day with Drake, I need to start making appearances to these events. No matter how much I truly don’t want to be there in the public eye,” Damian explained, averting her gaze as he walked over to the big open window in her room, watching a few birds flying by the Titans Tower.

“And what does that have to do with me, Damian?”

“Father tells me it would help that it would appear that I am happy. And that I’m..” Damian paused as his mind tried to find a way to give the empath an explanation. “Likable. Otherwise, investors will start to stray away from WE. It’s better to start now rather than later.”

“Hmm..” Raven pondered, walking over to stand next to him. “Why me?” she wanted to know. If she were to do this, she needs to know the real reason why he had picked her specifically. Suddenly she could feel a wave of different emotions washing over her and she looked over at the former assassin that was standing next to her. “Damian… if this is for PR purposes…”

“It is for PR purposes Raven.” Damian told her with a small sigh as he turned his head to look at her. “And I trust you. That’s why I’m asking you to do this simple favor for me. You know me better than anyone,” he explained to her quietly, looking into her violet gaze. “Will you accompany me?”

“What color would you prefer my dress should be?”

“It doesn’t matter to me Raven.”

“So, Bruce tells me that you brought someone to the fundraiser event. Is that true? Because I don’t see anyone next to you.”

Damian sighed as he took a small sip of his champagne glass when Tim Drake walked over to him with his own glass in his hand. He was wearing a similar suit as him but Tim’s tie was blue and Damian’s was a dark green.

“Tch. Mind your business Drake. As I told father days ago that she’ll be here. Where’s Brown?” Damian asked, noticing that the curly blonde wasn’t attached to Tim’s arm.

Tim nodded his head behind him, and Damian eyes finally spotted the former Batgirl engaging a conversation with a board member as the two eat tiny sandwiches. “Working her charm as always,” he said with a smirk. “You sure you got a date to this thing?” he teased the youngest Robin, looking all over the big ballroom of the fundraiser event. “Or were you just lying?”

“Drake..” Damian muttered, pressing his lips into a hard a line. “You do realize that I know how to get rid of a body correct?”

“Relax,” Tim said with a roll of his sapphire eyes, scoffing at him. “We promised Bruce that we can handle this event without him. I’m just making sure that things are running smoothly,” he told him with a slight shrug of his shoulder. “Here comes one of the vultures now,” he whispered, leaning in close to the green-eyed former assassin. “Look alive,” he warned.

Damian looked away from Tim to see Lois Lane from the Daily Planet walking over to them. She had her shoulder length dark hair high up in a bun and was wearing an off-shoulder light blue dress with a pen and notepad in hand. “Gentlemen, would you like to say something about the fundraiser event for the Daily Planet?”

“Of course, Ms. Lane,” Tim said as he immediately went into business mode. “Anything for my favorite news reporter.

Damian rolled his eyes as he half paid attention to what Tim was saying to the reporter. His mind was elsewhere as he scanned across the room to see if he could spot a pair of violet eyes, wondering when she would make her entrance.

“You and Miss Stephanie Brown look quite lovely this evening,” he heard Lois say to Tim and Damian casted his gaze back over to them to see Tim rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “How long have you two been together again?” she asked with a smile on her face. “A lot of TimStephs want to know.”

“Gosh, Ms. Lane it’s been almost a decade for us.” Tim replied sheepishly with a small chuckle at the little ship name she had mentioned. “TimSteph huh? Clever.”

“And what about you Damian? Are you alone tonight? Or have you brought someone as well?”

Before Damian could respond, he finally spotted a pair of violet eyes that was standing a few feet from the three of them and he could feel his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Even though they were only feet away, he could tell that she wasn’t used to this kind of event. She had her arms wrapped around her strapless emerald dress loosely as she shook her head when a waiter tried to offer her a champagne glass.

She was wearing green just like his eyes.

Damian tried to recall any sort of conversation about what color dress that Raven would be wearing but he remembered telling her that it was up to her decide on what color to wear and she looked. He wanted to know why she had chosen that specific color. Not that she had looked horrible or anything because that was the total opposite from where he was standing.

“She just arrived actually,” Damian told the raven-haired reporter and cleared his throat. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said, walking by them and completely ignored a look that Tim was giving him behind his back as he walked over towards the quiet empath. She looked over at him once he had gotten closer to her. “You look…” he said quietly, eyeing her up and down as he tried his best to come up with a word to describe her.

“Out of place,” Raven answered for him with a sigh, reaching up to play with the end of her braid that was over her shoulder. “I actually do feel out of place.”

Damian shook his head in disagreement. “Quite the opposite,” he told her, giving her one of his rare smiles that only a few people manage to bring out. “You look lovely.”

Raven could feel her cheeks getting warm at his compliment and looked down at herself. “Thanks, I guess,” she muttered as she looked over to look at Damian and his black suit. “Good thing I picked green,” she said, nodding at his green tie.

Damian lifted a brow as he glanced down his tie and chuckled. “Come on,” he said, holding out an arm and Raven hooked her hand through it. “Let’s get this night over with.”

He led them back over to Tim and the Daily Planet reporter and both raised a questionable brow at him as he brought Raven over to them. “This is Rachel Roth,” he told them, watching Raven smile at them. “She’s my date this evening,” he placed a hand on her lower back and briefly looked at Tim. “I believe you’ve met her before,” he reminded him, tilting his head to the side. “Remember?”

“I do remember indeed Damian,” Tim said, catching on what Damian was doing. “It’s good to see you again Miss Roth.”

“Likewise, Tim,” Raven said. “How’s Stephanie doing?” she asked him.

“She’s doing fairly well. She’s talking to few board members actually,” he told her with a small chuckle.

“Would you mind if I ask you a couple of questions for the Daily Planet Miss Roth? Is that alright with you Damian if I ask your girlfriend a couple of questions?” Lois asked them both, quirking up a brow as she got her pen and paper ready.

“Oh, we’re not—”

“That is fine with me.” Damian interrupted without thinking and looked at Raven sideways briefly and ignored a look that she was giving him. “Just make it quick,” he demanded, crossing his arms with a sigh. “Drake and I have to make a speech soon.”

“Of course,” Lois said, nodding her head and then asked Raven a couple of questions. They were basic questions about the fundraiser event that was being held and how Raven felt about it and both Tim and Damian paid extra attention on how she was answering her questions. Damian noticed that she was a natural at answering them smoothly without skipping a beat. He was about to drag her away from the reporter, thinking that she was doing asking Raven questions when a question made him paused. “How long have you two been a couple? You make a lovely couple. Not to mention,” Lois was saying, looking at the young adults and their outfits. “You two are matching tonight. Was that planned by any chance?”

Damian had realized at that moment, maybe he should have let Raven corrected the reporter. He had miscalculated the next set of questions that the sharp reporter would ask next. He could tell that Tim was trying to hold himself together at the mess that Damian had created for him and Raven and it was too late to try and fix things. Damian shot the Red Robin a glare and the older man had quickly took a drink from his tall glass of champagne.

He had only brought Raven to this event for PR purposes only and to listen to his father’s advice. Damian also knew that this little story about him and Raven would make it to the front page of the Daily Planet, putting them into the public eye even more.

Damn.

“It’s uh,” Raven started, looking at the now frustrated Damian next to her. His emotions were screaming at her and it was hard to concentrate on what to say to Lois Lane. She cleared her throat and realized that this wasn’t part of the plan that he had for them. “New. Fairly new. A few months to be honest.” Damian turned to look at her when she had spoken, and she gave him a small smile when she reached down to place her pale fingers through his tan ones.

Lois smiled down at their joined hands and clicked her pen and placed her notepad in her front pocket. “Alright, I think I have what I needed. Thank you for your time and enjoy your evening.” She cleared her throat as she walked away from them to grab someone else to ask more questions.

“Drake,” Damian growled out in a warning when Tim was about to say something when his mouth had opened. “Don’t you have to make sure that our speech is ready?”

Tim closed his mouth and nodded and turned on his heel to leave Damian and Raven alone. He looked down when he saw that his hand was still wrapped around hers. She was the first to remove her hand. “I apologize for not letting you correct that reporter.”

“It is fine Damian,” Raven told him, chewing her lower lip. “I did not mind it.”

Damian ran a hand through his thick hair and sighed when he looked down to check his watch. “I should go prepare for the speech. Will you be alright here?” he asked, and Raven had nodded at him. “I shall return soon.” There was a pause before he had walked away from her. “Thank you, Raven. For everything.”

“You’re welcome Damian.”

It was very late in the evening when Damian and Raven had finally left the fundraiser and he was driving them back to the Wayne Manor. He had insisted that she should stay in a spare bedroom until the next day before they return to Titans Tower. The car ride was silent except for the low hum of his car. He tapped the wheel with his finger, wondering if he should break the silence between them. He replayed the whole even in his head, from the beginning to the very end when the reporter was asking Raven questions about him and her.

In his opinion, he was impressed with her. She had played the role extremely well despite the little hiccup that he had placed them in. It had made his stomach flutter with how she had spoken to the wife of the Kryptonian. It made him feel things in a way that is making him question everything slowly.

It made him wonder if she would do this again but for more than PR purposes.

“You are speaking very loudly,” Raven commented, breaking into his thoughts. She leaned back against the leather seat of his car and stared out at the darken window at the passing trees. “Want to talk about it?” she prompted.

“I…want to thank you again for doing this favor for me Raven,” he said, gripping the wheel tightly in his hands as he turned on the curvy dark road. “And to apologize again for putting you in a tight situation.”

Raven looked away from the window to look at him and shrugged her shoulders. “You don’t have to apologize. It was…rather interesting to say the least.”

Damian looked away from the road and lifted a brow at her before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him. That was not the response that he was inspecting from her. He had hoped that she would be angry at him for the questions that the reporter had asked her about them being a ‘couple.’ Was she telling him the truth right now?

“Yes, Damian I was telling the truth,” Raven answered him, and he rolled his eyes. “It was an interesting event,” she told him honestly, nibbling her lower lip when she used her hands to undo her braid and let her hair fall on her shoulders. “If you need me to do this again…”

The words were left hanging in the air between them and it was quiet once again during the drive to the Wayne Manor.

Damian cleared his throat as he walked inside the spare bedroom with Raven and watched her looked around at the neat room. “Will you be comfortable in this room?” he asked her as he leaned against the open-door frame with his arms folded over his chest.

“It feels cozy,” Raven said, placing the heels that she had borrowed from Kori at the foot of the bed. “Thank you.”

“Good. Good night Raven,” he was about to leave the room to let her get some rest when he felt a tug on his arm and looked down at her with his head cocked to the side in confusion. “What is it?”

Instead of answering him and before Raven could chicken out, she leaned up to kiss him softly on his cheek, blushing at the shock expression he was giving her and leaned away from him. “If you need me to do any more favors for you just ask me and I will do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a simple favor or a difficult one. I would do it for you and for you only Damian.”

“I’ll…definitely keep that in mind,” Damian told her in a serious tone, reaching up a hand to touch the spot where she had kissed. “Good night Raven,” he said, clearing his throat and stepped out of the room.

“I’m going to definitely keep that in mind,” he repeated to himself, touching the spot on his cheek again and his stomach started to flutter again. “Definitely.”

AN: So I am highly new to this fandom and I truly hoped that you guys had liked it!! Even though it was heavily Pre-DamiRae lol. Please let me know what you guys think!:) have a lovely day:)

#damirae #raven x damian #teen titans #damian x raven #demonbirds #damian wayne #fanfiction #timsteph #tim drake #stephanie brown

104 notes · View notes

lady-literature · 4 years

Note

Ok, we've seen Bio!Dad Bruce, Adopted!Dad Bruce, and both adopted and blood siblings for nearly all the robins. Now consider Bio!Mom Marinette. She's got the looks to be a Wayne, so do Jason/Tim/Dick. Imagine one of them being her actual son and then meeting Bruce. Imagine something happening and Marinette is separated from her child so Bruce adopts said child until she can come get them. Imagine all the different scenarios.

I have said it once, and i shall say it again: I fuck with mominette

but, hmmmmmmm. this is a tricky one. I can’t imagine that there would be much that could keep Mari away from her child for long enough for Bruce to need to adopt them. Unless she was presumed dead or, perhaps, previously knew Batman/Bruce and left them in his care and then something magical/inter-dimensional went wrong so she’s MIA for a bit (which, if he then turned around and made them a child hero I can only imagine the thrashing he’d receive when she came back).

keeping with backstories as much as possible I suppose it’d look like this:

The Flying Graysons are not a duo but a trio. Mary and John and Marinette, who are all as in sync as any three people could be. It’s no secret in the circus that, while Mary and John are the ones who are married, Mari is hardly the third wheel in their act. Mary and Mari have been together longer than they’ve known John, and when the three discuss children, it’s always Mari who they agree should carry the child.

(Mary’s life is in the sky, but Mari has always been able to flit back and forth. She can stand to keep her feet on the ground for a few months, but Mary always jokes that it would kill her.)

It’s Mary who gets final say on the name, and soon, Richard John Grayson is born to three loving parents and an extended family in the circus they all call home.

but when Dick is eight, Mari is called away for business, whether miraculous or fashion or simply friend related, it doesn't quite matter. She chooses to go on her own, for one reason or another and when she kisses each of her little family goodbye, she does not know it will be the last.

Mari doesn’t hear about their deaths until she catches back up with the circus a week later and when she does they break the news. she almost collapses with grief before the rage distracts her. because Haly explains to her that Dick is gone. That he’s an orphan now even though Marinette is his mother too.

(She’s had the name Grayson for years. all her official documents say Marinette Grayson. The fucking idiots in charge of this whole joke of an investigation seemed to have believed that Mary was a nickname, and no one would listen to her son when he cried about a second mother.)

and then, before she can storm in and demand the incompetent Gotham forces fix this Dick is already being bundled up and brought to Wayne Manor. Which is just,, great.

Mari’s never punched a billionaire before, but she supposes there’s a first time for everything.

***

(and yeah, i know Catherine wasn’t actually his mom but Shelia can choke for all i care about her) or like this:

It’s not drug addiction that takes his mother, but Jason gets to watch her fade all the same.

It’s a different sort of poison, but it’s just as deadly and painful.

The very air in Gotham suffocates her, digs into her skin and winds around her heart like a vice, turning her veins thick, inky black.

Gotham is killing her slowly, but their only alternative is her dying quickly instead. If his mother was to step foot outside of Gotham she would burn, a supernova on earth.

Her miraculous was shattered, broken while she wielded it and the backlash was enough to send her to this death-life. her miraculous shattered and so did she.

His mother is broken and wrong but no matter how much Jason tries he cannot fix it.

He watches his mother wither away to ashes and later—when he is more man than boy and has tasted the death that took away the only person who ever seemed to give a damn about him—he wears her colors in remembrance.

***

Marinette married Jack Drake out of obligation more than any sense of love.

But, she supposed, it could have been worse. Jack is not a cruel man and he’s gone on business more often than not, which leaves her and their son and the servants of the manor.

It’s not the life she wanted, but it’s far from terrible. Tim is the light of her life, and regardless of her feelings for his father, she adores him just as she always knew she would.

They are as close as Mother and son can be, which means she notices when he starts disappearing for long periods of time. At first she had believed him to be taking pictures—he’s grown very fond of photography and Marinette encouraged creativity at every opportunity—and well. Technically she isn’t wrong.

She stares at her son unamused when he tries to use that argument.

he’s oddly tight lipped about why he’s been following around Batman, and it takes all her skill in prodding and teasing out her son’s worries to get him to speak.

“Batman needs help,” he finally tells her. “Bruce Wayne needs help.”

And, oh. Well then.

“Okay,” she says simply, already planning how best to approach this situation. grief is a tricky thing and her and Bruce aren’t exactly close.

“He needs a Robin,” Tim insists then and multiple pieces suddenly click in her mind.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“But-”

“No. You are not going out and fighting crime at your age! If you think he needs a partner so much, then I’ll do it.”

if Tim is put out by being told he can’t go out and fight crime with Batman, it is very much overshadowed by the idea of his mom going out and fighting crime with Batman.

(Before the end of the week, Marinette has taken Tim over to Wayne manor and all but forced themselves on the household.

In six months, Nightingale takes to the streets of Gotham, fluttering at Batman’s side like she’s always been there.

In a year, Marinette has spoken to Jack—who gives his blessing which she appreciates even if she hadn’t needed it—and she begins spending more nights in Bruce’s bed than she does her own.)

#maribat #my typewriter #mominette #mlb x dc #prompt me #the jason one made me sad #but also like #50-50 she /actually/ stays dead yaknow?#magical fuckery is weird yall #with dick's #i like to think mari treats bruce as like a second son #even though he's like #only six-seven years younger than her?#a little brother at least #and FUCK #tim's killed me #but i'm actually pretty proud of it?#she does not have the miraculous in that one tho #hope you liked these!

367 notes · View notes

river-bottom-nightmare · 3 years

Text

Conner Kent Week 2021, Day Two: Rarepair

Jason knew jokes about how pale Tim was, about how he was either a vampire or the perfect blue blood, about how he needed to get out and absorb some sun for God’s sake. They were met with glares, scathing retorts, smacks with a bo staff, and on one memorable occasion, a horrified Bruce as Tim barged into the house with visible sunburn all along his arms, shoulder and face. (Bruce hadn’t taken Tim’s accusation of But Jason told me to go get some sun! very well.)

Jason wasn’t joking now. Loosely covered in a hospital gown, Tim’s still body seemed to be more devoid of colour than any of the sheets, machines, and tubes surrounding him and attached to his body, keeping him alive in the most impersonal of ways.

It was quiet, the sort of quiet that muffled any attempted noise with a soft hush, an invisible reprimand at showing signs of life in a place where there should be none. The beeping of the various machines didn’t register, the hum of the fluorescent lights was ignorable. Even the rhythmic tapping of Jason’s foot on the linoleum, a nervous habit he’d never been able to break, was utterly silent.

It was quiet. At least until Conner Kent barged into the room, his heavy combat boots thudding on the ground and his breath coming out in pants, the terrified look on his face telling Jason that he thought he hadn’t gotten here fast enough.

“He’s fine,” Jason managed not to cough while speaking, the roughness of his throat a physical ache that was just now flaring up. “Full recovery, they said.”

“Good, good, that’s...” Conner dropped into the remaining hospital chair, right next to Jason. “That’s good.”

Silence blanketed them once again. Jason hadn’t ever been in a regular hospital room. He had supposedly spent a while as a patient in one when he’d risen from the dead and trembled around Gotham like a 21st century zombie, but he couldn’t remember any of it. He didn’t think Tim’s best friend had ever been in one either, given a good majority of Tim’s team was invulnerable or had advanced healing in some way.

Jason was sure Bruce was itching to take Tim to the cave’s medbay, and honestly, Jason found himself on Bruce’s side in this. As much as he liked to distrust the entire Bat clan, he knew they’d give everything they had to make sure Tim was okay, while the hospital was only giving Tim their best care because of the “Wayne” tacked onto the end of his name. Jason had been about to demand Bruce bring him back to the cave no matter what, but Oracle butted in, telling him that Tim been shot as Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne in broad daylight. Bruce couldn’t take Tim home, not without raising some very complicated questions.

So that led them here. Jason being slammed full-force in the face with how much he’d let himself care about the tiny little toothpick, unable to make himself move for fear that Tim would slip away in the one moment he was gone. (Once he’d come back to life and seen how chummy Dick was with Bruce all of a sudden, he’d always expected Dick to drag him back kicking and screaming. He never thought Tim’s unobtrusive yet steady presence, doing his tech work in exchange for food, would lead to the word brother coming to his lips as easy as a breath.)

Next to him, Conner shuffled, and snapped Jason out of his thoughts. “I thought Nightwing would be here.” A statement, subtly posed as a question.

But, still one Jason had an answer to. “Deep cover. A mission he’d been planning for weeks. He doesn’t know.” And he would probably throw a fit about it too, when he came back. Even Jason had to wince a bit at the horrible sense of déjà vu Dick would end up feeling.

“So they sent you instead,” Conner said, and his tone was simple, but Jason found himself getting heated anyway.

“What, you thought the fill-in for Big Bird would be a little better?”

Jason was just burning for a fight, the helplessness he felt at being able to do nothing but sit in a low-quality plastic chair skating up his body and down his arms, forcing his fingers to curl in a fist. He expected the other boy to rise to the bait, having heard Tim’s complaints on how hot-headed Superboy was.

But something about their current situation caused Conner to just turn and glare at him flatly instead. “You once put him a hospital bed, too. Don’t act like you care about him now when you would’ve celebrated this a couple years ago.” His tone was dismissive, and that dug under Jason’s skin much more than he expected.

“Well then, it’s a good thing time travel’s reserved for the speedsters, huh? ‘Cause lucky for you, I’m not the same guy I was a couple years ago,” Jason replied scathingly. The next words were ripped from Jason’s throat, and he could almost see the blood splattered on them. “That’s my brother in the shitty hospital bed right there.”

“Yeah? And how long have you even cared about that ‘brother’ of yours?” There it was. Jason could see red trickling into Conner’s cheeks as he let Jason’s words get to him, and found himself oddly curious about that flush.

Still. Argument to win. “Long enough to know him,” Jason shot back. “Long enough to help piece him together after he almost broke. Where were you during that time? Fucking around with your friends or dead?”

“Trying to hold together the team that Tim helped build,” Conner shifted a bit to face Jason more directly head on. “All you’ve done is tear people apart. News flash: having a sort-of truce with Tim doesn’t automatically mean your family loves you again.”

That one hurt. Years of training to keep his emotions hidden was the only thing that kept him from flinching back visibly, but Jason still felt like he’d been slapped. Because the boy was right; just because Tim liked dropping by one of his safehouses every other week doesn’t mean the rest of the family was anywhere near comfortable with him, not after all the pain he’d caused them. And he couldn’t even fault Conner on it, because it wasn’t like he was wrong and it wasn’t like it wasn’t Jason’s own damn fault.

Still. He couldn’t just let that slide. “At least my family loved me to begin with. What do you have? Megalomaniac scientists who built you from an evil billionaire who thinks of you as an experiment at best and supposedly one of the best men on Earth who still thinks you’re not worth his time.”

Too late, Jason realized his insult came out a little too scathing. Conner’s eyes widened, and Jason saw him blink back pinpricks of tears...fuck. He didn’t know when mutual antagonizing had turned into a caustic competition, but he was pretty sure Tim wouldn’t be very happy with the two of them biting each other’s heads off. And Jason was the one that goaded Conner into this to begin with, to let some of his own helpless anger loose. Conner just wanted to make sure his friend was alright.

So, slightly reluctantly, Jason said, “Sorry. That was a bit too far.”

Conner shot him a grimace. “S’okay. You’re keyed up ‘cause of Tim. I get it. You’re still a jackass, though.” After saying his bit, the other boy turned away, taking up another vigil by Tim’s bedside.

...What the hell. It wasn’t like Jason had lied, anyway. If there was one person that had worse daddy issues than Jason did, it was this poor son of a bitch. Back when he was first catching glimpses of updates on what happened in the larger superhero world while he was letting green overtake his mind, he’d marveled a bit at Superboy, and the way the Justice League seemed to speak about it. How bad do you have to be to be Superman’s own son, (sorta), and still have him hold you at arms length. But after Tim’s stories, and after meeting him now, Jason was pretty sure Superman was in the wrong.

You really couldn’t trust anyone, could you?

“Nah. You’re right,” Jason said. “God knows none of the Bats want anything to do with me, so this stupid sort-of truce with this stupid brother’s all I got.”

Conner glanced over at him, surprised. Jason couldn’t blame him, he was a little taken aback at how easily the confession had spilled out of him too. They both knew how closed off people in their line of work were, but Conner seemed to take Jason’s words as an olive branch.

“You were right too. Found out the fun way that parents aren’t worth shit. So the team’s all I got, and Tim’s a big part of that.”

“The kid fucking hates you,” Jason said, putting some good-natured humor into his words to let Conner know he wasn’t entirely serious. “Loves you to death, but complains about you to me all the time.”

Conner snorted. “Look who’s talking. Every week at Titans Tower, it’s all ‘Jason won’t stop scaring off all my informants’ and ‘Jason spit on my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’”

“You can’t blame me for that last one, aight?”

“No, I agree with you,” Conner said. “That movie was terrible. I don’t know why Tim likes it.”

“Because he’s a goddamn loser,” Jason said. He couldn’t say he was expecting Conner to know who he was, much less from stories Tim had told him. But it felt...good, in a way. Nice to be recognized by his media tastes instead of his bone-chilling reputation. Nice to know that the guy Tim wouldn’t shut up about to him knew who he was.

Silence fell in between them again, but it was comfortable, mutually acknowledged and let rest. Jason didn’t break it when Conner stood up, brushed a kiss to Tim’s hair, and left the hospital much quieter than he came. Jason didn’t break it when he made to leave either, squeezing Tim’s hand and mentally willing him to heal faster. Jason didn’t break it all the way home.

The next day found Jason in a similar position. The positive side of being a mob boss: he didn’t have much in the way of a day job. He didn’t know why cramming himself into an uncomfortable position to stare, with a tight throat, at a kid in a medically induced coma was what he decided to do with his day.

Maybe because the kid had grown on him, latched onto his heart like a leech and didn’t let go until Jason could ruffle his hair and think of him as a little brother without physically throwing up.

And maybe because he wanted to see Conner again. He didn’t know why, but their brief talk yesterday had loosened something inside his chest. He was used mulling over his regrets, used to Bruce condemning him and giving up on him as a lost cause, used to Dick trying to brush everything aside and form a bond with him again. He wasn’t used to someone staring his sins in the face, then shrugging and forgiving him.

Forgiveness was much lighter and much less guilt-ridden than Jason expected, and he wanted more of it. From the way Conner had sunk into the same line of thinking as Jason, he wanted more of it too.

Conner didn’t disappoint him, but Jason wasn’t sure when he’d gotten his hopes up high enough to be disappointed in the first place. Calmer, now that he knew Tim was doing better, Conner leaned against the doorframe of hospital room, staring at their resident comatose with a little frown on his lips.

Jason took the time to study him. A black leather jacket stretched across his shoulders, a little more showy than the practical brown one draped across the back of the chair Jason was sitting on. He supposed it fitted in with Superboy’s theme, because anyone who wore that pinwheel-bright costume with the fucking thigh holster Jason saw pictures of online was more than a little showy. There wasn’t much proof of in his simple t-shirt and jeans, though, and Jason almost would’ve been disappointed if it weren’t for the earring hanging from his left earlobe and the tall black boots with glinting metal lace hooks that stretched up their length. Jason bet he owned the exact pair of fingerless gloves that were wrapped around Conner’s wrists right now.

In all of Tim’s vivid descriptions of the guy, Jason never realized how much he had in common with the guy, at least cosmetically.

“How’s he doing?” Conner asked, and jolted Jason out of his reverie. He didn’t make any indication he caught Jason looking, but Jason eyed him in slight embarrassment just in case.

Realizing that Conner was actually waiting for an answer, Jason cleared his throat and leaned forward a bit from his relaxed sprawl. “They say they’ll bring him out of it tomorrow, then a week here before he can go home. That is, if he doesn’t wake up on his own. The doctors say they’re astounded at how fast he’s recovering.”

Conner snorted, then stepped fully into the room. “Can you build up an immunity to injury? Or, like, have your body develop a mini healing factor or something? Just based on the kind of shit we’ve gone through over the years?”

Jason didn’t miss the way Conner put feather’s touch more emphasis on “we,” or the way his eyes flicked over to Jason. “At this point, I’m sure it’s the only way we’ve stayed alive so long.”

“No you didn’t,” Conner chuckled.

Jason’s head whipped up, staring at the other boy with disbelief threading through his mind. It had taken months for Dick to start making death jokes, and even then, he hesitated a bit, as if making sure Jason was okay with it. But after one meeting, Conner just steamrolled ahead, every bit as confident as he appeared to be. Jason found himself laughing too, with genuine amusement albeit a little punched out.

Crossing the room to seat himself in the remaining plastic chair, Conner sunk down with a sigh. “I just want him to wake up already.”

“Yeah, well. Who doesn’t?” Jason said, feeling unreasonably a little disappointed. Of course Conner wanted to talk about Tim, that was the whole reason he’d come to the hospital in the first place. He’d only known Jason for an hour, and a large part of that was spent trading insults back and forth. Of course he didn’t want to talk about how Jason was doing.

“So,” Conner said, turning away from the hospital bed. “How are you doing?”

Or maybe he did. Jason didn’t know what to call the little bubble of satisfaction that flew up his throat and popped in his mouth. “Not bad. Life as a mob boss is kinda boring, whaddya know. You?”

“Playing den mother for a bunch of hypercompetent yet cluelessly stupid baby superheroes is not how I imagined my life going.”

“Playing den mother?”

Conner wrinkled his nose, in a motion that was in no way cute, honestly kind of gross and flat. Jason found himself staring nonetheless. “Bart used to call me Team Mom back when we founded the team, and it caught on. Now, Cassie leads, but since even she says it, everyone fucking says it. They ask me for granola bars and money to buy movie tickets.”

“And?”

Conner sighed. “I give them granola bars and money to buy movie tickets.”

“There you go,�� Jason said, his voice dripping with smug amusement.

“I swear I’m not usually this lame,” Conner pleaded, and his half-smile was aimed straight towards Jason.

“No, no, I believe you. Tim’s told me stories,” Jason said. “Didn’t you once throw some guy into a police car so hard, the car dented and they had to call in a helicopter so the guy didn’t die on the way to the hospital?”

Conner flushed, and Jason found it just as entrancing as last time. “He tried to touch Cassie,” he explained. “And she can take care of herself more than well, I know. I just got a bit...overprotective.”

Jason just laughed. “Don’t worry. I thought it was badass.”

“Really?” Conner’s lips twisted into a sour smile. “Because the League thought it was proof of my, fuck, what was it? Violent, destructive tendencies mirrored on a smaller scale of the schemes of Lex Luthor. Something along those lines.”

Shaking his head with desideration, Jason scoffed. “Sounds about accurate. Besides, you don’t wanna know what the League thinks of me.”

“What?”

“Aside from, like, Joker and Two-Face and Mad Hatter and shit, Red Hood is one one of Batman’s most powerful and dangerous rogues, and must be stopped at all costs.”

Conner was laughing before Jason even finished talking. “I love that for you,” he said. “You’re just so powerful and dangerous. I’m quaking in my boots.”

Jason shoved him lightly, and felt Conner give way on purpose, ignoring how natural and easy the motion felt. “Whatever you say, Luthor Lite.”

“Well, guess I found my new superhero name,” Conner said, finger held up to his chin in mock-thought as if musing something extremely important.

“It’s perfect,” Jason said. “And here we have Conner Kent, ordinary punk-rock farmer. But he’s hiding a secret! When his ‘violent and destructive tendencies’ come out, he turns into...Luthor Lite!”

The two of them collapsed into muffled laughter, Jason stifling his noise by biting his lip and Conner putting his head in the crook of his arm to hide his red face. Pity, Jason liked that flush.

Straightening up with a sigh, Conner offered Jason a little grin. Crimson was still creeping along his cheekbones and the edge of his jaw, and Jason was suddenly struck by the urge to trace it.

“Kon,” Conner said.

“What?”

“Call me Kon,” Conner said. “Everyone does.”

“Kon, huh? With a K, right?” Jason asked, then nodded thoughtfully when Conner made a noise of affirmation. “Is it Kryptonian or something?”

A rueful expression stole it’s way onto Conner’s face, mischievous lips and daring eyes staring at Jason as if challenging him. “Yeah. Kon-el. Kryptonian for ‘abomination’. It’s what they thought of clones.”

A pause. Then, “Wow.” Jason bust out laughing for the second time. “That’s metal as fuck. Good for you, Kon.”

“Says the guy who took the name of the person who killed him, then twisted it into something so horrifying that now, no one else associates it with anything other than you.”

“Is that judgement I hear?”

“Respect,” Kon said, and his smile was oddly shy, the first time he’d shown that emotion since he’d met Jason. Jason liked the way it looked on him; it suited him oddly well.

They were quiet for a minute, grinning at each other like buffoons, but Jason couldn’t find the heart to stop. Eventually, Kon stood up and rolled out his shoulders to stretch. “I gotta get going. I’m meeting Bart and Cassie, updating them about Tim.”

“They’re waking Tim up in the afternoon,” Jason said. “Bruce is gonna be here, plus Steph. So I’d stay clear.”

“Gotcha, thanks. I’ll come in the morning.”

A proposition, if Jason ever saw one, and there was no way he could have refused. “I’ll be here,” he said, and kept his eyes on Kon until he rounded a corner, away from sight.

Kon was already there when Jason came to visit Tim the next day, and he gave him a friendly, if a tad flirtatious, smile. Jason responded, accidentally putting too much emotion into the greeting than he would have liked, but it made Kon brighten, so Jason didn’t feel too bad.

Dropping heavily into what had become “his” chair, Jason shrugged off his jacket. He gave himself a mental high-five when he noticed Kon staring at his shoulders, but made no motion to address it.

“If all goes to plan, he’ll be the same annoying little prep boy that’s always annoying the hell out of me by tonight,” Jason said.

“He’ll be fine,” Kon said, and his voice was quiet, but there was an undercurrent of confidence curling around his words. He sounded like he had utter faith in Tim. Jason wished some of that would bleed over.

“He’s a tough little shit,” Jason said, then repeated Kon’s words. “He’ll be fine.”

“How ‘bout you?”

“Hm?” Jason raised an inquiring brow. “Oh, I’m all good It’s not me that’s hurt.”

“Jason,” Kon snorted. “If I have learned anything over the past two days, it is the fact that you are most definitely not ‘all good.’”

“Yeah well,” Jason said. “You’re one to talk.”

Kon made a noncommittal noise, and shrugged as if to say what can you do? “We’ve all got issues. But I get the feeling that you’re not as closed off and angry as you let people believe. Or maybe you are, but you don’t want to.”

Jason bit back the first response that came into his mind, telling Kon that no, he was closed off and angry, just not with him. But that wasn’t the truth, and he definitely didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. So instead, he said, “Maybe. Not gonna lie, from the way Tim and everyone talks about you, I was expecting more...”

“Cocky little frat boy?” Kon asked, smirking.

“More or less.”

Kon sighed, then looked down to where his hands were fiddling with each other. “Superman doesn’t act like a cocky little frat boy. Neither does Lex Luthor.”

“You’re not either of them,” Jason said, realization pouring into his mind like spilled oil. “You’re not either of them, but no one else seems to get that, so you make it as obvious as possible.”

“A couple people got that eventually,” Conner said, looking up at Tim with a soft smile. “Not many, though. And none as quickly as you.”

Kon leaned back, level with Jason now, turned to face him, something on his face that Jason couldn’t read. The chairs seemed much closer than Jason could remember, but he wasn’t very much banking on his memory right now.

“Yeah, well,” Jason said, feeling a little lame. “What can I say. Misery likes company, and companies read each other through water.”

“Never heard that one before.”

“I came up with it,” Jason said.

“I like it,” Kon smiled, then leaned forward with an ease Jason had been determined to build up first.

A little peeved at Kon beating him to it, Jason closed the distance first, the kiss probably a little too rough. But given the way they’d met, Jason felt like the bite he gave Kon was justified, even if the other boy was invulnerable.

Jason had made plenty of bad decisions in his life, and he knew exactly what they felt like. This wasn’t one of them. There was no chance that the way Kon’s hands coming up to cup Jason’s face, dragging his nail down Jason’s jaw, was anything other than good. No chance the way Kon’s soft hair suddenly threaded through his fingers was anything other than soft, no chance the soft noise Kon made in the back of his throat was anything other than delightful.

Yeah, Jason knew bad decisions. And despite the avalanche of bad decisions that seemed to make up every inch of Jason, from his scarred hands to his chipped nails, despite the pile-up of thoughtless ideas that led to this boy being made, despite how intimately familiar Jason was with regrets, he was certain Conner Kent wasn’t one of them.

------------

this was almost 4k what the fuck

also. please imagine tim waking up to see his best friend and older brother aggressively making out in the plastic hospital chairs next to him.

anway, suddenly i have a new ship.

imma post this on ao3 later, it got a bit long

tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @screennamealreadyused @subtleappreciation @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @bikoncon @bonkybearjpeg @maplumebleue-blog-blog @sundownridge @thatsthewhump

132 notes · View notes

aj-artjunkyard · 3 years

Text

Batfam musical headcanons

Dick:

instrument wise? Nothing, the man couldn’t tap out a tune on the piano if his life depended on it but boy that doesn’t stop him from trying

Sometimes the more musically inclined of the family will try to teach him a simple tune or beat to play in the background of a musical video they’re recording, but he’ll always forget the notes in 5 seconds and just improv when he feels it, it always sounds terrible but he’s having a blast

Can sing though. Oh man can he sing

Doesn’t mean he sings anything other than Disney Princess songs tho

If you were to ask me for a voice reference, I’d say Thomas Sanders

He has quite a wide vocal range but he’s better on higher notes

He sings quietly or under his breath most of the time, but then he’ll get to a line he’s confident on and he’ll belt it out at full volume

Sometimes a random line will ring out across the manor and it will 100% be Dick’s voice singing I Can Go The Distance from Hercules

Doesn’t remember half the lyrics

This still doesn’t stop him

Remember that scene at the start of Spiderverse where Miles is singing ‘Sunflower’, but only knows half the words, muttering the rest and getting REALLY into the parts he knows? Yeh that’s Dick

plays a KILLER kazoo solo

no he doesn't but it does annoy everyone in a 10 mile radius so there’s an major upside here

Jason:

This man has a breathtaking bass singing voice

He claims he has never and will never sing in front of anyone, but sometimes when he’s in a rare good mood, he’ll mess around with his siblings in the music room and end up singing sea shanties with Tim and Dick (and sometimes Duke if he’s not too shy)

This is Jason, Dick and Tim. Damian is recording

Sings exclusively Hamilton, but his real talent in singing isn’t in the rapping area he just loves that musical

Secret Theatre Nerd™

Famed for roping Tim and Duke into musicals; exclusively Dear Evan Hanson, Hamilton, Heathers and Les Misérables

One day Dick and Jason tease Duke out his shell enough to preform this with them

Would sing to himself in his safe houses and while ripping down the road on his motorcycle at top speeds

Not much of an instrument guy, but could tap out a piano tune or a drum beat if someone needed it

Keyword here being *could* bc he CAN but he WON’T

Even if someone managed to loop him into doing a backing beat for a tiktok or smthn he most definitely wouldn’t remember how to do it 30 minutes later

He claims his mind is too crammed with actually important information to remember a dumb piano tune for more than 10 minutes

Tim:

Can carry a tune, but prefers the instrumental side of music

He’s a tenor and sings higher than Dick, but Dick has a wider vocal range and if he wanted to, Dick could hit high notes Tim couldn’t dream of. Tim just doesn’t have the same range

But he’s fantastic at instruments

He plays a wide range due to his private lessons back at Drake Manor, including but not limited to: Piano, saxophone, drums, cello, clarinet, acoustic guitar, trombone and the triangle

Can Timothy Drake play incredibly difficult classical pieces on almost any instrument with ease and move the listeners to tears? Yes. Will he? No. Because the only tunes you will ever catch Timothy Drake playing is exclusively meme music

If it’s a sound on TikTok, this child can play it double time guaranteed

I’m talking the Mii theme, the Subway Surfers theme, Axel F, Wet Hands, you name it

K I lied he sometimes plays fantastic renditions of pop songs or movie scores

He also likes joining in on those “adding an *instrument* solo to a song that does not need an *instrument* solo” TikToks

This child makes quality TikToks

His acc has a great following bc has such a vast variety of content and its all peak. It ranges from music to music memes to family shenanigans to academic memes to whatever was in his mind that day

He has a sparse posting schedule but when he does post its always worth the wait

ANYWAYS back on track

Tim will 100% play saxophone on top volume outside Damian’s bedroom when the kid is annoying him

Sometimes Jason joins in but he plays his chosen instrument horrifically just to annoy Damian more

Jason and Tim do this

ok its time for my favourite boy

Damian:

Damian isn’t a singer. He refuses to ever sing in front of anyone, and he’s got the whole ‘boys’ tween voice’ thing going on too, and though he’ll probably have the capacity to be a great singer when he’s older, he won’t ever sing enough for many to find out

Instruments on the other hand,,,,

Damian does his little “*tt* I don’t care for the music, I play because it quickens reaction time and helps improve my memory and hand-eye coordination” and everyone’s just “sure Dami, thats why you were playing Merry-Go-Round of Life on repeat at 4am”

He likes orchestral and classical music, he’ll often play the song over the speakers in the music room and play along on his chosen instrument

He considers that genre more impressive for a musician instead of the pop rubbish Tim plays

He was taught violin by his mother back in Nanda Parbat, and it’s still his go-to favourite instrument, but he’s been teaching himself every other instrument in the music room

He uses music as a release, because he’s finally starting to get that violence isn’t always the acceptable release like it was back in the League and Dick and Bruce are so happy to see him start to understand this and get hobbies that aren’t related to work

When he gets older his taste in music expands to more electric guitar and drum heavy songs, but right now he’s still a bratty rich child and not an angsty teen

Jason is the one who introduced teen Damian to TØP, MCR, P!ATD and BMTH and now they jam together at excruciating volumes, screaming lyrics and wildly strumming on bass and electric guitar and banging on the drums and everyone would gladly slap Jason if not for the soundproof walls in the music room

Bruce:

Bruce used to be classically trained in a few instruments but he just didn’t care enough to continue them into his teen years so he just kinda forgot them

He regrets it now, seeing all his talented kids bonding over music and thinking that it probably would be been better for him to have a hobby when he was younger

On one rare night he has the manor to himself, so he sits down at one of his grand pianos and tries to remember one of the tunes he was taught. Alfred hears his woeful attempts and starts to teach him some easy tunes

They do this every time they have the manor to themselves

Bruce finally masters a song and he’s really pleased with himself Alfred is just so proud of his son,,,,

#Damian Wayne #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #DC comics #BatFam #headcanons

74 notes · View notes

wesavegotham · 3 years

Note

oh another thing they not only made Tim robin again (which is already redundant by itself) they made him a fucking child. like what the hell dc are ya'll that desperate like come on!! for real the nightwing chapter where dick got back his memories in a panel like he is short what the absolute hell Tim I hate you even more in fact he has been waiting for Damian to leave. cause he just went right back. you were almost a proper adult

Yeah, I remember some Tim fans trying to argue that going back to Robin wasn't a regression for Tim in the time before that issue came out and then I saw the artwork and thought: "Are...are you sure about that?"

He literally looked like he was 12.

Look, I don't hate Tim Drake as a character. He's okay. Just too boring for my taste and some of his fans are really annoying. The 90s are over, please accept it.

So I wouldn't say stuff like "Tim wanted Damian to quit so he could take back the mantle!" or "Tim is glad Damian is gone!"

No. At the start of Young Justice (before taking the name Drake) he just went back to Robin without an explanation because Bendis is a terrible writer who didn't give a fuck about what the rest of DC was doing and then he made Bruce ask Tim to return to the mantle at the same time that the Teen Titans annual came out. And I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea because it makes Bruce look like an asshole who replaces his family members and it narratively undermines Damian leaving as Robin. But that is more on DC trying to replace Damian with Tim then on Tim as a character. DC is dumb as hell.

The truth is, we have no idea how Tim feels about Damian leaving. DC has failed to give us reactions to that event. Hell, we barely know how Bruce feels about Damian leaving. Throwing negative adjectives around and constantly blaming Damian's personality for things going wrong doesn't scream "sad father who really misses his child" to me.

I guess what I don't really get is what DC or some fans think will change for Tim if he stays Robin from now on. Being Red Robin or Drake didn't keep him from working at Bruce's side or doing detective work. Just like being Robin didn't automatically mean Damian got to spend lots of time with Bruce. There is only one arc in Rebirth where Bruce and Damian are truly working together as Batman and Robin while Tim was the star of Tynion's Detective Comic's run. Being Robin also didn't stop DC from trying to make Damian into a villain. They would never make Tim suffer from a character assassination like they made Damian do in Teen Titans, not because of their mantles but because Tim is the white self insert that the current generation of writers grew up with.

There also isn't much of a perspective for Tim as Robin if you ask me. Damian has the current ongoing that is just titled "Robin" and even if Damian leaves, DC will eventually try to make someone else the new Robin. This is not a sustainable solution for Tim, who really should get his own identity that makes him stand out like Nightwing or Red Hood.

31 notes · View notes

phis-corner · 4 years

Text

demon’s daughter

I decided to re-open the taglist for this fic because I am sometimes a pushover, so now you can either ask or comment to be on the fic’s taglist or the permanent taglist!

Additionally, I have no consistent update schedule. My first draft is written by hand- I always like to stay two chapters ahead, so I posted this chapter when I finished copying chapter 5 into a Google Doc and proofreading.

Also, fun fact: I hate chocolate. My senses just do not like it at all. I also have a very sensitive tongue and can taste the barest hint of spiciness in foods, which also means I have zero spice tolerance whatsoever. As a Chinese-American with family in Sichuan, this means I get force-fed a lot of extremely spicy foods anyway.

Masterlist Chapter 1 Chapter 2 [Chapter 3] Chapter 4

“Why are you letting them stay? He tried to kill Dick!” Timothy points at Damian, who glowers at him from across the cave as Alfred stitches Richard’s cuts.

Marinette sighs. “Akhi was not trying to murder Richard. If you paid more attention, you would notice that all of Richard’s wounds are carefully placed in non-lethal areas meant to slow him down instead of severely injuring him.”

Batman does not say a word. He hasn’t spoken since Richard called him to verify their claims.

“They were raised as assassins, Timmy. It’s normal that they’d feel threatened a lot, and act accordingly. They’re family now. Give them a chance.” Richard replies, and Marinette blinks. She did not expect to have Richard defend them so easily.

“Pardon me,” She pipes up. “But ‘they’ are currently present.”

“Right. Sorry.” Richard has the sense to look guilty. Timothy just glares.

Damian squeezes her hand three times, their signal for I would like to leave. Marinette sighs as she exits the Batcave. Being accepted into the family is… a work in progress.

.o0o.

Slade is put into Blackgate not long after with the information Ubu gave after being interrogated by the Bats. Damian and Marinette were not allowed to go.

Too young, Richard had said. They had interpreted that as You cannot be trusted to keep him alive. He did make the right call though. Damian would have tried extremely hard had he gotten the chance.

Of course, the League did dispose of him not long after anyway, but it was the thought that counted.

Damian and Marinette spent their days in the Manor sparring, reading, or practicing their instruments. Richard, who seemed determined to bond with them, bought them both new sketchbooks, for Damian’s drawings and Marinette’s designs. She had discovered an affinity for clothing design while undercover on a mission, and had been designing ever since.

Cass (she insisted that they call her that instead of Cassandra,) was always happy to spar when asked, and although nobody ever defeated her, it was a welcomed challenge to fight someone who knew your every move, sometimes even before you did. Damian grudgingly admits she is a worthy sister, which makes Marinette smile and Cass beam.

Jason had his own home and only visited every once in a while, and Timothy was rarely seen. It didn’t help that Damian continued to make snarky comments whenever they did see him, but if Timothy was scarce, Father was practically nonexistent.

Since they came to the Manor, their father has said a total of two words to the both of them, and that was just their names when he exited his study as they passed by.

Marinette is determined to make her new family work, and so when she finds Timothy completely by accident, typing away on a laptop in one of the less-used rooms in the Manor, she takes a chance.

“You do know we are not trying to replace you, right?” She asks softly, sitting down in an armchair and deliberately not making eye contact with him.

Timothy snorts. “But is that not what you’re doing? Bruce chose to take in everyone else. I had to blackmail him into letting me be Robin. And then the biological kids show up, born and raised like fucking royalty, so who would care about Tim Drake? The little kid whose parents didn’t even want him and his neighbor only adopted him because he knew his most well-kept secret.”

“We have more in common than you think.” Marinette says quietly.

“Yeah, right.” Timothy laughs bitterly. “The Princess of the League-”

“I wasn’t.” Marinette interrupts.

“Huh? But-”

“I wasn’t the Princess.” Marinette keeps her voice calm with considerable effort. “As soon as I was born, Ra’s gave me over to Lady Shiva. He declared me unworthy because I was a girl, and I was raised as the lowest-ranked assassin. I may have been Shiva’s protege, but that just meant she went even harder on me. I did not know even my last name until after my first death when I was five. I did not properly meet my brother until last year. Ra’s decided that I could be acknowledged, but maintained his stance on feminine inferiority.”

She chuckles hollowly. “You fear being replaced by your father figure’s biological children, Timothy. But your fear is unwarranted. Bruce Wayne chose to adopt you, because he is a good man with copious amounts of generosity. However, it evidently does not extend to his biological children. Talia dumped us at Batman’s feet and left without another word, without looking back. And Father? We may have been a complete surprise, but he has said two words in total to us since that first night- our names. You need not worry, Timothy. You shall not be replaced.”

Marinette stands, her message conveyed, and pauses in the doorway of the room.

“Have a good afternoon, Timothy.”

The next day, Marinette and Damian watch on live television as their father is killed by Darkseid.

.o0o.

The funeral for Batman is somber. Everyone cries except for Marinette and Damian.

She thinks they should be crying, but Marinette simply didn’t know her father well enough to really mourn him. Damian squeezes her hand, and she squeezes back. The twins stand, faces carefully blank, shoulders straight and unmoving, like rocks in an ocean of tears.

Crime in Gotham runs rampant when they think Batman is gone, and so Richard becomes Batman out of necessity- and chooses her twin brother as his Robin.

Nobody else sees how it crushes Timothy, because Cass has left for Hong Kong, abandoning Batgirl and making her own identity as Black Bat. Jason is holed up in a safehouse somewhere, Richard and Damian are in their own little world as they prepare for their first patrol together, and Alfred needs time to mourn too.

So she finds herself knocking on the door to Timothy’s room, one hand holding a plate of sandwiches and a freshly brewed coffee because he hasn’t left his room since the funeral. Marinette quietly enters upon his muffled “Come in” and sets the plate down next to Timothy, whose eyes are red-rimmed and have even larger bags than normal, and yet he continues to work.

“I… noticed you have not come out to eat, so I brought some food and fresh coffee. Black.” She adds, after a moment of hesitation.

“Thanks.” Timothy mumbles, immediately going for the coffee. “Why are you doing this?”

Marinette shrugs. “Everyone else was caught up in their own situation and had issues to work through too. I am relatively unaffected by the circumstances and therefore my observation skills have not declined.” She says simply. “You should also eat. I will not stop you from drinking the coffee, but you cannot work on an empty stomach, either.”

He begrudgingly eats a sandwich, still typing away at his laptop all the while. Marinette notes the tension in his frame.

“Would you like to talk about it? I have read that venting is significantly better for one’s mental health than keeping it bottled up.” She offers.

Timothy suddenly slams the laptop shut, hard, but Marinette doesn’t flinch. The reaction was trained out of her a long time ago.

“It’s not- it’s- my entire life, I’ve been trying to prove myself. Robin was- Robin was special. I wasn’t the first Robin, but it was a reminder that I was worth something to someone, that I could do good and be useful. And then Bruce dies, Dick becomes Batman, and he just names Damian as his Robin like my opinion on the matter meant nothing, booting me out of the position, without any semblance of an explanation and-” He breaks off into sobs.

The sight of somebody crying makes Marinette more than a little awkward, because what is she doing? She doesn’t know how to comfort a crying person, but she does know that Timothy was touch-starved as a child. However, she isn’t the most touchy-feely person on the planet either, so she just settles for rubbing his back as he lets it all out.

Once he’s run out of tears, she silently hands him the tissue box she plucked from his desk.

“Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, you are not worthless.” Marinette says sternly. “Nobody is worthless, and you are far from being anywhere near so. You are the cleverest and most intelligent of us all, a capable, quick-thinking strategist, and you have detective skills that rivaled Father’s. I believe Richard chose Damian as Robin because Robin is always supposed to be Batman’s sidekick. He is always taken under Batman’s wing because there are things he hasn’t learned, that Batman can teach him. Richard sees you as an equal, and therefore cannot keep you as his Robin because you have graduated the mantle. It is time you created a new identity and moved on. Do you have anything in mind?”

Timothy sniffs once. “Thank you. I really needed that. And as for the ideas,” He reaches over and pulls out a sketchbook, a smile spreading across his face. “I’ve got a few.”

.o0o.

They brainstorm ideas for almost three hours before Timothy falls asleep. Marinette easily carries his light frame to his bed and drapes a blanket over his shoulders before quietly exiting his room.

Thankfully, she managed to convince Timothy that the cowl was a terrible idea. Marinette returns to her own room for her sketchbook. Batman and Robin will have each other’s backs. But Red Hood works alone, leaving Red Robin with nobody to watch his back.

Timothy is Marinette’s brother too, and everyone else is headed into the field anyway. She, like Damian, also had the phrase ‘justice, not vengeance’ drilled into her head, and Richard had made sure to remind them daily to aim for non-lethal spots. Not that she planned on taking a life ever again anyway.

Marinette flips open her sketchbook to a bookmarked page and smiles. It seems that Starling would be making an appearance very soon.

.o0o.

It is almost time for Richard and Damian’s first patrol as Batman and Robin. Marinette heads downstairs to wish them well, but freezes at the sight of her twin in Timothy’s old suit.

“This is unacceptable!” She screeches, hurrying forward and looking pleadingly at Richard. “You cannot let akhi out into Gotham looking like a traffic light!”

Richard frowns, as does Damian. “But you never had a problem with Tim wearing it.”

“Tt. Timothy had little to no prior experience in combat before being trained as Robin. Damian has been trained to utilize the shadows in combat since birth. Wearing those bright colors will make him stand out and put him at a disadvantage.” Marinette tuts, already scribbling out a new design in her sketchbook.

“Then what do you suggest, ukhti?” Damian asks.

“I have a design in mind. The colors will stay, but the yellow and green will have to be significantly darker, and the red should be dulled as well. Sadly, you will have to wear that monstrosity tonight, but I can have the suit finished in time for patrol tomorrow, as will mine and Timothy’s new suits.” She replies, not glancing up from her book.

“What do you mean, Marinette?” Richard questions, and Marinette feels a tiny twinge of annoyance at how he handled telling Timothy about Robin.

“I mean that Timothy and I have crafted new identities as well. You did not expect him to just stop fighting crime, or for me to just sit at home while everyone else carried out Father’s mission, did you?”

Damian nods, a small smile pulling at his lips. “It will be nice to see you in the field too, ukhti.”

“What will your names be?” Richard prods curiously.

“I will not tell you just yet.” Marinette smirks. She shows her twin the finished design. “Does this look alright, akhi?”

“It looks wonderful, ukhti.” Damian replies. “Thank you.”

She sniffs. “Well, somebody had to fix the lack of fashion sense in this household eventually.”

.o0o.

Everyone else in the family may use capes, but Marinette decided that Richard’s Nightwing suit was by far the best because of its lack of one. Capes were long, heavy, a waste of fabric, and overall useless.

The Starling suit was primarily black, with a dark emerald mask covering the lower half of her face (because why carry a gas mask and rebreather when it can be built in?) with gloves and boots in the same color. A single silver star with curved sides was splayed on her chest, and a dark green utility belt rested on her waist. Her steel war fans had holsters strapped to her thighs.

All in all, the suit was built for the shadows. Marinette had learned to master slipping through the dark, unseen, and Gotham was the perfect place to utilize that. Starling would be nothing more than a ghost, a legend, if she had her way. After all, the less citizens knew, the less likely the information would hit the underworld, and that way, the vigilantes wouldn’t have all their cards out in the open.

Damian looks much better in his new suit as well, and Timothy is also grinning when he steps out of the male’s changing room. (A/N: the new 52 suit. I’m not letting him out of the Cave with that ugly cowl, or the traffic light costume with an extra R. Don’t even get me started on the Drake one.)

Richard, cowl still down, smiles as bright as the sun itself. “Good to see you, Robin. Tim, Marinette, can I ask your names?”

Timothy fastens his domino. “Red Robin.”

Marinette pulls her face mask up and curtsies with perfect posture. “Starling. I wish to work in the shadows, if that is alright.”

Richard puts on the cowl and becomes Batman. “You guys all look amazing.” He grins, and it is unsettling to see Batman smile. Oracle logs into the comms from the Clocktower.

“You all ready?”

They split the city in half. Red Robin and Starling take the North while Batman & Robin will cover the South.

Starling trails Red Robin from afar, leaping from building to building and only using her grappling hook when the distance is too great to close by foot. They stop four muggings and two attempted assaults, all without Starling being spotted. The criminals think they hit their head on the alley walls or each other instead of her fist from behind.

It’s almost three in the morning when Batman calls it quits and they return to the Cave, changing out of their suits and showering. They are somehow all unharmed, so Alfred sends them up to bed.

Damian and Marinette brush their teeth before climbing into bed and flipping off the lights.

“Tonight was actually quite enjoyable.” Marinette remarks. “It is a nice feeling, to know that you are helping people.”

Damian hums sleepily. “It is good to know that we are continuing Father’s legacy.”

Marinette smiles. “Yes, I suppose so.” She burrows deeper into her blankets. “Sleep well, akhi.”

“The same goes for you, ukhti.”

For once, Marinette doesn’t have a nightmare.

Previous ◈ Next

Taglist (re-opened and will stay open): @moonlightstar64 @dast218 @our-preciousss @novicevoice @pawsitivelymiraculous @trippingovermyfeet @miyla-lokidottir @consumeconstantly @mochegato @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @azuremayscarlet @iloveitwhen @bran-thecreeper-stark @no-username2544 @susiej1118 @kking13

Permanent taglist (always open): @wannajointhecrabcult @marinettepotterandplagg

Unspecified (you asked to be tagged and did not specify which one): @momothefemur @indecisive-mess-named-me

Note: some of them didn’t work. I am terrible with technology and have no clue how to fix this.

#maribat #mlb x dc #demon's daughter au #my writing

340 notes · View notes

a-la-la-llama · 4 years

Text

Officially a twenty-one-year-old today, Damian was being dragged out to a run-down bar by the many annoyances that he was forced to call brothers. “Baby bird’s finally able to have a drink legally! It feels like yesterday when you threatened to stab me.”, he clapped his hand on Damian’s shoulder who immediately shrugged it off, with a far off look Dick sighed. “He did threaten to stab you yesterday.”, Tim corrected. “Tt, not my fault he decided a happy birthday was needed at midnight.” Damian crossed his arms as the group walked in. Jason had frequented the place enough to know the bartenders, who were now giving him crap because of the last time he came and started a bar fight. “Come on Larry, it’s Demon Spawn’s birthday! You can’t kick me out yet?”, trying to persuade the bartender into serving him, Jason threw an arm over Damian’s shoulder. “The infamous Demon Spawn is old enough to join the big boys, eh?”, the bartender asked, cleaning a mug before filling it up with a yellow substance. “Would you believe me if I said I was brought here against my will?”, staring at Larry with a deadpan expression he was handed a cup of beer. “First one’s on the house. It’s gonna taste bad but you’ll get used to it after a couple of rounds.” As if Damian hadn’t tasted alcohol before, it wasn’t hard to go to the middle of Jason’s stashes and fill them with water. After the second bottle of vodka, he was usually too drunk to even notice the difference. Taking a gulp, Damian could hear the cheers from Dick as Tim poured a suspicious amount of whiskey into his coffee mug.

Damian couldn’t be more content that he could now drink, or he would have already been annoyed at how loud and noisy the place was. Or the fact that a group of men were desperately trying to convince a group of girls to join them on the dance floor that was severely crowded and failing pitifully by not taking the hints. Don’t even get him started on those who were on the edge of blacking out and were making a fool of themselves on the dance floor. Tim and Dick had been the first to catch a buzz, one being a light-weight and the other having terrible health choices. Jason had grabbed the two on a mission to see what crazy plans he could pull while they were under the influence. This had not been Damian’s plan, he was spending his birthday sitting alone on a barstool when he would much rather be at home with his beloved fur family members than the human ones. But, he soon found himself on his own personal mission.

She had caught his eye first. He was scanning the crowd trying to locate his brothers in an attempt to convince them it was time to head home. Damian had to do a double-take when he saw her midnight sky hair in the faint yellow glow of the bar. She sat directly across the room from him on a tall table with her head down in what seemed to be a book. He didn’t register how long he had been staring but was pulled back to reality when a drink was placed on the counter. “She’s your age. Real sweet and has been coming here alone for the past two months.” It was none other than Larry the bartender that gave him an all-knowing smile that eerily reminded him of Alfred’s. “Tt. This is going to Drake’s tab, correct?”, jeering his head to the drink. Larry shook his head at the topic change, “I’m just saying you should go talk to her, that’s all.” Damian grumbled, he was an Al Ghul and Wayne, he would never succumb to the embarrassment of pinning after a girl in a bar like some others did around him. Then again, she didn’t have to know that, did she? He doubted he would ever see her again, what harm could come out of it? Damian, no last name, mused about the next following steps he would take.

She felt the presence of a pair of eyes on her. Keeping her head low she hoped the lack of interest in the setting was enough to throw them off. It was a common occurrence actually, what did she expect to happen coming into a place like this by herself. But this felt different somehow, the aura coming with the gaze made her distracted. She fiddled with Plagg’s ring, located on her right hand’s pointing finger, spinning it around. She adorned the leather as it was much more suited for the dark city of Gotham than her spots. The night vision was an added bonus that came in handy when traveling around at night and the sassy talks she had with Plagg. She had felt the eyes travel off her for a moment before they were right back on her. Now she couldn’t even focus enough to remember what she was just about to write. Frustrated, she tapped her foot impatiently on the chairs stepping stool. That she hated to admit she used to get up and her foot barely reached it. To her wit's end, she snapped her head up only to meet the most beautiful emerald green eyes she had ever seen. With newfound inspiration, she drowned herself back into her book.

Damian hadn’t expected her to snap her head up so quickly as she did, nor did he expect her to stare right at him when she did. Though, he couldn’t have been happier that she did, especially taking into account the lovely pair of doe eyes he was able to stare into at the moment. Her eyes were similar to a clear sky’s baby blue color but not as dull. It was almost like they had a certain electrifying touch to them because they seemed to glow in the dimly lit area. As if on the verge of catching fire at any given moment, holding a world of secrets and passions that he desperately wanted to uncover. Her eyes left him as quickly as they came leaving a void in his vision. The strange girl that captivated all of his attention in a blink of an eye without even knowing it, dove her head back down. He gave himself a sly grin.

Step One: Catch her Eye. Check

“I’d like-“, before he can even turn and ask Larry he already pulled two drinks out of nowhere and they were resting on the counter. “Good luck! Don’t make me regret this.”, lectured Larry. Mustering up his courage, Damian took a drink in each hand before making his way across the bar. Thankfully, his brothers were nowhere in sight and couldn’t possibly ruin this for him, yet that is. He set the drinks down with two little clinks, drawing her attention from her book to him. “Mind if I sit here with you?”, implored Damian gesturing to the open stool next to her. “I assume you brought me offerings to bargain with?” Damian almost short-circuited with how cute her voice sounded. “O-of course!” He mentally cursed himself at the small stutter but covered it up by handing her a drink. Damian noticed how one cup held a pink bendy straw and gave that one to her. She didn’t take a drink until she got a nod from Larry behind the bar. It wasn’t the first and certainly wouldn’t be the last time someone offered a drugged drink, but Larry always kept an eye out for her and said it was safe. “I’m Damian.” She nodded, “Marinette.” He felt a smile creep onto his face,” Nice to meet you, Marinette.” The name gracefully rolled off his tongue.

Step Two: Catch her name. Check.

Once out of his stupor he realized she had once again returned into the book. Peering over her shoulder (out of curiosity not to get closer to her, never!) , he noticed it was filled with intricate drawings with French notes written in the margins. “Isn’t that French?”, he questioned, “Are you not from Gotham.” She scribbled something down before looking up and answering. “It is and nope! I lived in Paris all my life until four years ago.” He pondered for a moment, “Any reason why?” The girl squirmed in her seat, ‘Dammit Damian! Now you made her uncomfortable, she hates you!’ She twirled her ring a couple of times, “I needed a change of pace and couldn't take living there anymore. So I packed up and left.” Damian could tell it wasn’t something she shared with most people and wondered what made him different. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he relished in the fact he was able to catch some of her secrets though it wasn’t what he was after at the moment. Taking another glance at what she was doing he realized that she was drawing in a sketchbook that seemed to be filled with countless articles of clothing. “Is this a hobby of yours?”, he asked pointing at a model sketch. She looked up at him and seemed to beam, “I’m an up and coming fashion designer! I come here every day to find inspiration! You won’t believe how many different styles you can see here!” Damian had found what caused the spark in her eyes and listened to her ramble about it happily.

Step Three: Start a Flame. Check!

She excitedly explained all the little details in her most recent designs and provided reasons and meanings behind each one. He hadn’t meant to read the margin notes of the dark green peacoat that was drawn with intricate gold embroidery. “Is this one from me?”, he questioned with a sly grin and side glance. Damian noticed how the color of her cheeks and the tips of her ears, that were now exposed as she tucked her hair behind them, turned a dark pink compared to her pale skin. The contrast helped him realize how her face was dotted with freckles that resembled constellations in his mind. A smile crept upon his face again, “I had already drawn the jacket but couldn’t decide on a color scheme. When I looked at you earlier, I concluded that you had really pretty eyes.”, she admitted mumbling the last sentence. Marinette was tense now and caused Damian to be determined to lighten the mood. “You know what they call a jacket on fire, right?” The random question threw her off as she furrowed her eyebrows together before raising one. “A blazer.” Nonchalantly as possible, he grabbed his drink and took a swig as the joke settled in. He admitted it wasn’t the best but was still rewarded greatly. A smile graced her lips before she burst into a fit of giggles, hiding her blush behind her hand. He was left catching his breath at the sweet sound of her laughs tinkled like bells in his ears. Completing his final step.

Step Four: Catch a Smile. Check!

Damian had not expected to get this far based on his track record. No matter how much the press gossiped about his looks and mysterious charm, he was never good at the social and relationship points in life. Damian would admit that the main problem was his inability to adjust to the variety of people’s personalities. Yet, this small slip of a girl who was an incarnation of pure sunshine made it feel so easy. His usually cold, harsh, and stoic demeanor vanished once in her presence. Damian felt like an entirely different person but found himself liking the new one better. His mind raced a million miles a minute on what else he could possibly do as they continued to talk. ‘Would it be weird if he tried to hold her hand? Maybe he could get a dance with her? What was a good way to catch her number? It’s dark he should definitely offer to walk her home. Getting a date didn’t sound bad either.’

Oh.

Oh no.

Damian realized the girl sitting next to him was already five steps ahead of him on her own mission. She had already caught all of his feelings and his heart in the hour they spent together. He knew she knew it too as she gave him a pleased smirk. Damian Al Ghul Wayne had his heart stolen from him right under his nose.

And he had no intention of taking it back. Next!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aged up Daminette that I wrote about at 12 am....Enjoy?

#maribat #daminette #maridami #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #Aged Up Daminette

594 notes · View notes

adragonhoardingstories · 4 years

Text

Of Blood and Bonds- Chapter 5

@mystery-5-5 @synnesstra @thesunanditsangel

@abrx2002 @clumsy-owl-4178 @daminett4life @zalladane

@heaven428 @unmaskedagain

@dawnwave16 @kris-pines04 @emeraldpuffguide @hypnosharkrebeldreamer

@weird-pale-blonde-person

@ravennightingaleandavatempus

@persephonebutkore

@be-happy-every-day-please @blue-peach14 @annabellabrookes

@jaynintodd @st0rmy-w1th1n @bluerosette23 @ladysblackcat @18-fandoms-unite-08

@vixen-uchiha @novicevoice @jessigurl-design @tinyterror333

@rebecarojas07 @sparkle9510 @magicalfirebird @mewwitch @shamefullove

@ravennightingaleandavatempus

@sassydepression @caffeinetheory

@reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo

@krispydefendorpolice @mermaidofthelost @drarryismylife101 @ladybug-182 @northernbluetongue @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @iloontjeboontje @mjisntme

Tag list for this is closed!

On that note, this book will contain swearing, mentions of rape and torture. I will try not be explicit but that's really relative. Read at your own risk. There will be warning before if I make a explicit scene so that you can skip it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and don't hunt me down for this.

Happy New Year

---------------------------------------------

Another day she had needed to spend with the idiots in her class. Once again, she felt like cursing her parents.

Marinette was by all means done with Lycée, she was following University courses but after Tom and Sabine had disowned her in all but name, it's not like they knew that. Most of her old relations had no idea what she was up to and it suited her not seeing them ever again.

But despite everything, the Dupain-Chengs she didn't consider herself one anymore did to her, they still didn't want her to dishonour their family even more so they made an arrangement with her and her Lycée.

She had to at least show up for the exams and any school functions and they would leave her alone to do as she pleased instead of sending her to a boarding school and well with all her responsibilities, she never really had a choice.

Which brought her here - on the Gotham Field Trip. She really didn't know why they had even sent her here, they were only wasting their money and Sabine must have known that the chances of her meeting Bruce were high, especially since their activities were centered around Wayne Enterprises.

Today they were going to be assigned to one person they had to shadow all day - it was supposed to help them get some actual job experience.

Marinette was chosen to shadow the CEO - how surprising - and it just so happened that today was one of the rare days Bruce Wayne was in the company so she would have the pleasure of helping both him and Tim depending on who needed her most - yay her.

She was willing bet her future fashion empire that Bruce had orchestrated this in an attempt to get a chance to talk to her.

However she had to admire that one good thing come out of this - Lila Rossi got served.

Like she had mentioned it before, she didn't have anything to do with her past classmates except the bare minimum but it seemed even now the liar still felt threatened by her every time they met. And honestly, she couldn't care less except that wench was the reason her parents had turned against her and of course how could we forget the worse thing of all? That Lila Rossi was willingly working with Hawkmoth - a known terrorist.

So the jobs had been announced and Lila has started her usual act and name dropping and oh there must have been a mistake, Timothy told me that I would be chosen to work with him since I'm already used to helping him. That had received a sharp look from the one delegating and a simple comment about Miss Rossi you are to report to our legal team, they have something prepared especially for you. Seeing Lie-La pale and shut up so yeah that had been the highlight of her day.

But now, now she was most certainly going to be forced to speak to her father and she kind of wished that Lila had succeeded for once.

Just as the lady she had grown to like was about to show her the way, her father magically appeared not really, she had seen him hiding in the shadows for the last five minutes and offered to guide her himself.

As she predicted, he said nothing else, until they were in his office but once the doors were closed…

"Mari-" He started to speak but then the doors banged open and a haggard looking Tim Drake stumbled in.

"Nette, I heard I got you today. Thank fuck I didn't get one of the brats." He stumbled in on the couch, paying Bruce no mind and grinned at her. "Plus, I get sister bonding time so win-win for me."

Marinette looked from him to Bruce. "You have impeccable timing." She informed him. "So I'm going to make you coffee."

"You are an angel." He declared. "An absolute angel. Now I understand why Damian likes you so much."

Marinette laughed it off. "Damian likes me because I don't call him Demon Spawn Timbers."

"In my defense." He groaned. "He was a brat back then and now, well it's basically a nickname. Call it brother's privilege if you want. And he knows it."

Marinette smiled gently at him as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him and Bruce, and sat down drinking her own cup. "Does he know that?"

Tim blinked at her, a thoughtful expression taking place on his face.

It lasted until he tasted the coffee, then it was replaced by awe.

"This is so good, how is this so good, it's literally the same thing I drink everyday? Can you work for me permanently?"

She was amused and this conversation seemed to shock her father so it was a plus. "But Timmy, if I change my career how are you going to get your special MDC suits?"

That strangely made him go serious.

"About that, I needed to talk to you."

Marinette raised an eyebrow, this should be good.

"What would you think if Wayne Enterprises becomes the main sponsor for MDC?"

She leant back in her seat crossing her feet and took a long sip of her drink.

"Now why would I agree to that?"

Tim looked surprised while she was careful to keep her own face carefully blank but he recovered quick enough and seemed to thrive on the challenge.

Marinette could pinpoint the exact moment when he changed to his game face. "Why wouldn't you? This in the long term will benefit you especially when you decide to release your line or officially start your company."

"Who said anything about releasing a line? Right now I'm on a clientele only basis and the greatest thing about MDC right now is my anonymity. My business is flourishing and I'm on high demand, especially among celebrities so you can imagine the price I get for each of my works. Why would I want to change that?"

"While that is true, the novelty will eventually wash off. Your designs may be good enough for you to get some loyal customers but you won't be as you put it in high demand anymore. And I may have known you for only a while, but I doubt you haven't planned for the future."

Marinette could admit, she was a little impressed. "Also true, but I'm currently a millionaire and have more than enough money to launch a line by myself."

Tim opened his mouth to interrupt but she continues before he could.

"And yes, I do understand how accepting your offer will benefit me more but signing with you also means that will represent my brand and how can I - bearing my own interests in mind - accept knowing is publicly involved with Wayne Enterprises?"

He looked completely lost and Marinette was probably having more fun that she should with this. "I'm not sure I follow?"

"I mean that even if people don't outright state it, everyone knows that the Wayne finances and outfits the Gotham vigilantes."

"And your point is?" The poor boy was going to make her say it.

"Your costumes are a fashion disaster Timmy, an eyesore if not a horror?"

"They're not that bad!"

"Do not get me started on the first Robin's costume. Were you not in your right mind when you allowed it?" For the first time in the day, she spoke to Bruce.

"Wait, you know?" She shot Tim a questioning look. Why hadn't told him, she figured it out? The boy just shrugged and she sighed.

"It's not that difficult to figure out Bats. You and Mom literally met while you training in extreme martial arts and the way she described you doesn't match up with the idea the media has of you so I was already suspicious and then I met them and I saw them in costume, they have the same build and everything and their alibi was frankly terrible. Also the rate at which you take in kids matches with the appearance of each new Robin."

"When was the last time you got your IQ tested?" He demanded.

Marinette elected to ignore that comment in favour of finishing her conversation with Tim. "So?"

"So if I get everyone to agree to a costume redesign by you, you'll sign?"

"I get to re-design and remake all of your costumes as well as become the go to for the family for all your events."

"That's a lot of conditions."

She shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "Those are my terms but if you'd like, you can consider the part about your costumes a favor to you sister so that she doesn't get a heart attack everytime she sees you suited up."

"I'll agree as long as you admit you're exaggerating."

Marinette gave him a deadpan look. "Have you ever seen the Red Hood helmet. I have nightmares about it."

He considered it. "Yeah okay that's fair. So should I start working on the papers?"

Marinette shook her head. "I'm going to rebrand once and for all once I'm 18 along with my face reveal."

"Rebrand, why?"

"Like you rightly pointed out two nights ago MDC stands for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Well I don't want to be a Dupain-Cheng for longer than I have to. I'll be changing my name hence the rebranding."

"Would you consider Wayne?" Bruce asked softly. Marinette paused. She had been considering taking Master Fu's name actually. "I don't know B."

"I'll leave you two to talk." Tim said slowly getting up and she would have protested but she could not run from this forever and the Kwami pressing against her leg seemed to agree.

"Yeah just…" She took out her phone and send him a contact. "That's my lawyer, you can send her the papers to review. I'll talk to her about it."

Tim checked his phone and went slack jawed. "Elle Woods. Elle Woods is your lawyer." He threw his hands up in defeat. "I don't know why I'm still surprised at this point but I'm gonna ask, how did you get her to work for you?"

"She's one of my regulars. "

"Of course she is." Tim muttered. Marinette watched silently as he went to refill his cup of coffee but ended up taking the whole coffee machine with him and walked out of the door.

Marinette turned to Bruce. She was not looking forward to this but she sighed and got up. "I'm supposed to be working so give me something to do."

"I thought you agreed we need to talk Marinette."

"I never agreed to anything." She reminded him. "But yes we'll talk." She pointed a finger at him. "While I work. So, give me something to do."

"You need this to be on your terms." He noted.

"I know you've researched what happened. After having been stripped from my senses and having my will taken away from me, yes I do enjoy being in control." She dared him to say something. "So. Give. Me. Something. To. Do."

"You can arrange the paper on the desk. According to the project names, put it in alphabetical order with A being on top."

Marinette set to work without another word. Bruce took that as his cue to start speaking.

"You know about Batman. The year I stopped talking to you was when when I was assumed dead-"

"Then why?" She cut in sharply. "Did Alfred not even deign inform me that my father was dead? Or what about after you came back?"

He stayed silent.

"The truth B is that even before that you were speaking to me less and less. Your phone calls, rare as they were, were always so short I was never able to tell you what i wanted." She gave out a humorless laugh. "You know I used to be scared that you didn't want me. I mean why else would you keep me a secret from your other children? So I didn't complain because I didn't want to stop having the little time you even gave to me. Guess, I was right in the end."

"No." He stood up and came to stand in front of her. "Marinette sweetie, please believe me. I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you. I've never not wanted you but my lifestyle was always very dangerous but I never realised how much it really was until Jason died and then shortly after I returned Damian died. Every child of mine has been traumatized in some way by my enemies. I didn't want the same to happen to you. There are villains out there who know who I am. I got scared Marinette, distancing myself from you was me trying to protect you. I know - I know it doesn't excuse me not being there for you but you need to know I am so so sorry. Please let me make it up to you. "

Marinette felt the kwamis on her person press against her, offering their silent support.

"I'm willing to try." She said at last, finishing arranging the last of the documents. She looked up at him and could basically read the hope in his expression. "But you need to give me space. I'm not coming to live in Gotham nor am I going to defer to you. I've built my own life, you're not going to interfere with in. You can be in it but you don't get to try and change things."

"Okay, okay I can work with that."

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Marinette offered him her hand to shake and he did shake it but right after, he pulled her in a hug.

Bruce realized his mistake when Marinette stiffened up but she relaxed in his arms and she slowly, almost hesitantly clutched his shirt, like a small child holding their dad's shirt, trying to hide in his arms.

And a father's heart broke all over again.

#MLB X DC #maribat #platonic daminette #mentions of rape #torture #lila salt #adrien salt

538 notes · View notes

magic-miraculous · 4 years

Text

Daminette December-- So Close (And Yet So Far), Chapter Two “Blind Date”

———————————————————————————————————– Marinette absolutely adored Gotham University. She felt free there, away from the responsibilities and drama that she’d been sucked into in Paris. Ever since the defeat of Hawkmoth a few months before, Mari had found that the only tie she had to the city was her parents. Luka was touring with Jagged as an intern, Kagami had gone to Japan for pre-Olympic training and University, and Chloe was planning to move to New York with her mother after her father lost his job as Paris’s mayor. She had no contact with anyone else in the class, but she did hear what some of them were up to through Luka, who was told from Juleka. Apparently, Lila and Adrien had started dating a few weeks into the summer (Marinette had left for Gotham just a few days after graduation, staying at the university for a summer program specifically for foreign students; where she met Damian, actually, even though he wasn’t a foreign student of course), and Alya and Nino had broken up yet again soon after. They got together for the first time during their last year in college, but the relationship had always been rocky. Alya was under Lila’s command, and Nino didn’t appreciate that. Luka said that this might be the real end for them, though. Nathaniel got into a prestigious art program at the Sorbonne, and Sabrina became one of Lila’s new cronies. The rest of the class didn’t do anything that Marinette or Luka found noteworthy. As much as thinking about her old class angered her, she felt comfort in the fact that she was able to escape and find such amazing friends.

Chloe, Luka, Kagami, Allegra, Felix, Allan, Claude. And now Damian, too, as difficult as it was for him to admit.

Marinette really appreciated Damian’s sobering and serious presence. He brought her back down when she spiraled, and he actually listened to her, which she really appreciated. He wasn’t the type of person Marinette ever expected to be friends with, but she’d found their personalities really complemented each other. Tikki even thought he reminded her of a black cat, and Mari agreed.

The duo was quiet on their walk, as Mari expected they would be. Mari waved as people she knew passed by, but Damian kept walking. She had to take quicker steps to keep up with his brisk pace, but with her extra endurance she wasn’t out of breath.

It was outside one of the academic buildings that a club had set up a table covered in newspaper-wrapped books. The sign in front of the table said “BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK: $2.00”

“Oh, look!” Mari said, pointing at the table. “Let’s go over!” She grabbed Damian’s hand, an act that he surprisingly didn’t recoil from as he would have if it was anyone else who’d done it, and headed over to the table.

“Hi! Want a book?” a boy sitting behind the table asked. “Some general info is written on the front, just so you have a general idea of what you’re getting into, but all the titles are hidden.”

Marinette picked up a thin book, reading the notes on the cover. “SUPERHEROES, BIRDS, WITTY BANTER”

“Can I take this one, please?”

“It’s all yours! Just two dollars, please.”

Marinette fished through her bag and frowned. “Any chance you would take euros? I need to convert some more cash…”

“I’ve got it, Mari,” Damian said, pulling out some money from his wallet.

“No, it’s--”

“It’s only two dollars,” he replied. “No big deal.”

“I’ll pay you back,” she said, making it clear that she wasn’t going to let him get away with that.

“If you say so. Want to keep walking?”

“Yeah!”

As they walked, Marinette started to unwrap the book. “Superheroes, birds, witty banter,” she told Damian. “Any guesses?”

“Comic book?” he suggested.

“Right you are!” She held up a copy of “Batman and Robin: Bad Blood.”

Damian scoffed. So it was one of the fake stories. There was no ‘bad blood’ between him and his father, and even when Dick was acting as Batman he was sure to keep things professional.

“--are so cool!” Mari said, flipping through the pages. Damian watched to make sure she didn’t trip over anything on the ground. “Who’s your favorite?”

Damian’s favorite hero? He couldn’t say Robin; that would be conceited, and on the slight chance she ever found out his alter ego she would think he was a raging narcissist. Definitely not Todd, and he would rather die than have Grayson find out he said something nice about the eldest brother. That only left--

“I guess Red Robin is pretty cool,” he replied calmly. “What about you?”

“I really like Robin,” Mari said. “Even though he has terrible fashion sense and his costume could use a serious update.”

Damian felt an unnatural blush forming from her first comment, but her second one sobered his thoughts. “What do you mean, ‘bad fashion sense’? His costume is tasteful, and timeless!”

“More like ‘lost in time,’” Mari told him, flipping to a page in the comic that had his full outfit on display. “The cape is old-fashioned and a bit too long, and the color blocking just gives you a headache, you know? The colors work, but they’re also very bright and… violent, maybe? I can’t find the right word, but you know what I mean, right?”

“Sure,” he muttered, staring at the page. He never really thought about any of the things she said, but now those critiques were all he could see. He’d have to talk to Alfred or one of his brothers about potentially changing it.

Wait, why did he care so much what she thought of his alter ego’s outfit? For some reason, he now craved her approval. He didn’t like that feeling at all. At least she looked happy, though. He always saw a light in her eyes when she talked about fashion, and this was just the distraction she needed to get over the stress of getting so many unsolicited calls.

Damian found himself wishing he could stare at that smile forever.

———————————————————————————————————–

BONUS #1:

“So, could you find out who the number belongs to?”

“Yeah, it’s a guy named Adrien Agreste. Age eighteen. Son of Gabriel Agreste; big fashion guy. Kid’s a model, currently living in London and attending University there. Business school, of course.”

“Any chance you can make it so his number can’t call this one?” Damian asked, handing Tim a piece of paper with Marinette’s number on it. “But you aren’t allowed to look up the holder of this number. You have to promise me.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tim replied, already typing away. “Okay, so now whenever he tries to call this number he’ll get one of those ‘why are you harassing women?’ messages. That good?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

Tim blinked. “Did you… did you just thank me for something?”

“I take it back.”

“Too late! I’m going to cherish this moment forever, Demon Spawn. I hope you know that.”

“I’ll stab you, Drake. So help me, I’ll do it right now.”

“So that is a knife in your sock! Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“Not as uncomfortable as it would be to be stabbed by it.”

“Touche.”

———————————————————————————————————–

BONUS #2:

In the Batcave:

Damian: Do you guys think my suit is outdated?

Dick: It’s a classic!

Damian: That’s what I thought too, but recently someone I know from school said that it was ‘lost to time,’ and that the colors were blocky and too bright and I’m starting to see it.

Tim: Is it the same person whose number you gave me to block from that creep?

Jason: What person? What creep?

Damian: Drake, I swear to all that you hold dear, I will stab you.

Tim: Do it. I’m calling your bluff.

Bruce: No stabbing anyone! We’ve talked about this!

Damian (mouthing to Tim): Watch your back!

Bruce: But yeah, the outfit can be a bit much sometimes.

Dick: *indignant noises*

Damian: Alfred, can we make some changes?

Alfred: Of course, Master Damian. I’ll have some new sketches ready in the next few days.

Jason: Hope your mystery friend likes it!

Damian: *scowls at Jason* You’re next.

———————————————————————————————————–

Hope you enjoy the bonuses! They're my favorite parts that I've written so far. Also I was planning to post this earlier but I’m dumb and accidentally deleted ALL of my tabs I had up and had to reorganize everything which took a WHILE so yeah.

Tagstagstagsallthetags:

@dawnwave16 @bluerosette23 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @northernbluetongue @latinawithbooks @blue-peach14 @weird-pale-blonde-person @astridflies @annabellabrookes @iloontjeboontje @abrx2002 @valeks-princess @interobanginyourmom @vixen-uchiha @sofmimis @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @thesunanditsangel @crazylittlemunchkin @caffeinetheory (comment/send me an ask if you want to be added! Also, please feel free to lmk if the notifications aren’t working and I’ll my best to fix it!)

@daminette-december2019 @ozmav @maribat-archive

All of the prompts are available to see on @daminette-december2019 on Tumblr, and that might give you a general idea of how this fic is going to go (but there will definitely be some twists, I promise you that!)

COMING UP NEXT-- Chapter 3 "Decorating"

#daminette #daminette december #daminette december blind date #daminette au #maribat #maribat au #marinette x damian #marinette dupain cheng #marinette x batfam #miraculous #miraculous au #blind date #chapter 2 #chapter 2 blind date #Ao3 #wip #so close (and yet so far)#sarah does a thing

350 notes · View notes

awkwardbluefish · 4 years

Text

Restrained in More Ways Than One

Warnings: Blood, non consensual touching, kidnapping, mentions of tourture.

A/n - really rushed?? Horrible?? I’m sorry??

Waking up restrained | shackled | hanging

Red Robin swallows, the copper staining the inside of his mouth. He shifts, shoulder roaring in pain, raw and open wrists straining against metal cuffs. The melding skin breaks open, blood trickling down his bare arms.

A smirk crosses his lips, it’s exhausted and stretches his cracked lower lip open, stinging as it makes contact with the open air. Despite the haunting words he couldn’t help feeling incredibly smug as he raises his head to grin through bloody teeth. “Good.”

“Oh contrary little bird,” the masked man hums, the sound vibrating and disoriented. His face is permanently disfigured, scraped off and placed in a blending machine only to be glued together by a hot glue gun and stitched on by an amateur who had better things to do. “It just gives us more time to play.”

Red Robin swallows, too tongue licking around his stained teeth. “For now,” he agrees, bowing his head. The effort being to much to keep it up. The back of his neck pulls at the motion and vaguely he wonders if it’ll peel open.

“For now.” The man agrees, boots leaving muddy prints on white cream carpet. “If you escape, that is.”

The man’s left boot lifts, pressing harshly against Tim’s lower stomach. A harsh hiss is sucked through clenching teeth as broken bones protest against the pressure. “When I escape.” Tim snarls back, spitting blood filled saliva on the ground.

A click of the tongue echoes in the otherwise silent room. The boot is taken away and his body sways forward without the pressure previously against his chest.

“It’s been two weeks since your capture.” The man says, anger lacing his words as he steps back. “You should know by now not to mess up the room. The room is supposed to be clean remember? You wouldn’t want to upset your little sister when she comes for a visit, now would you?”

Tim wants to tell him to go away it not so polite terms. He swallows instead, forcing himself to nod instead. The satisfaction on the man’s face makes him want to barf.

The girl. The little girl is why Tim hasn’t tried to escape. He can’t leave without her. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t. Because no matter how much pain he’s going through, it’s nothing compared to that little girl.

That small little girl with white hair and green dull eyes. Bandages covered her whole body, head to toe, specks of red usually staining through the white.

“I think it’s another time for that dose of nimbex, don’t you?” The man hums, the sound terribly cheerful. “You are getting a little too lively for my taste. Jimmy.”

Tim bites back the urge to snarl at the man. That wasn’t his name and no matter how much he said it, taunted Tim with it, he wouldn’t fall for it. His name was Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. He knew who he was. But how much longer will he? How much longer will the little girl?

This man was living in a fantasy. A fantasy to bring back his dead family. His plan was sick and twisted, wanting Tim to impregnate the girl so the man could have his family back. He’s seen the pictures, heard the stories the man wistfully tells the two when they’re together. The girl ‘Abatha’ and him looks startling alike to the couple in the photograph. If they just have a baby, he says, his family would be complete.

It was sick and twisted and Tim didn’t know how much longer he could put it off.

With the drugs in his system constantly he wouldn’t be able to stop it if the man decided enough was enough.

Tim watches, stomach doing loops as the man steps forward, needle in the air. His hair is grabbed, forced back and he hisses, glowering at the man through his half cracked mask.

A broken moan leaves his lips, the liquid forcefully being pushed into his blood. He rips it out, humming as he walks away.

“Please,” Tim whispers to the wooden floor. “You need to get here, if not for me than for the little girl. Please.”

Despairingly Tim closes his eyes and lets his body be manhandled. His kidnappers soothes him, whispering sweet nothings and calling him ‘Jimmy.’

He squeezes his eyes shut tight, wishing he could fight against the hands undressing him. This was the worst part. The torture was nothing compared to feeling absolutely violated and being able to nothing about it. Not being able to fight back.

As touch scarred hands trail against his bare skin he prays for the others to find him. To find the little girl.

“Please come,” he murmurs brokenly, worsts freshly wrapped only to be strapped down to the bed.

He hopes someone listens to his prayer. Anyone at all.

#tim drake #dc #whumptober2020 #red robin #tw torture #tw blood #tw non consensual touching

7 notes · View notes

setsailslash · 4 years

Note

Hi! Congratulations. For the prompt-A-Thon, how about BruJay with possessive Bruce? Jason totally doesn't push Bruce's buttons or try to make him lose control. Please 🤤🤤

i reaaaally hope i hit the possessive bruce bit in this prompt given i got derailed for a bit 😂 a reverse robin au fill, also for @brujayweek day 7 prompt: age difference.

warnings for non-consensual groping (not between bruce and jason), implied child abuse, underage

When Jason comes to Bruce with his design for a new Robin suit, Bruce tells him: "Absolutely not."

"We catch bad guys, don't we?" Jason asks, shoving the sketch back under Bruce's nose, forcing him to look again, and its implications are just as awful on the second pass.

"Not like this, Jay."

"I want to catch the worst ones." Jason is unlike Tim. For one, Jason isn't dead. For two, Jason takes to being Robin with enthusiasm instead of obligation like Damian or a natural aptitude like Tim. "You could either make it fire-repellent or bulletproof or whatever else your Bat-Tech can make it, or I'll wear my own."

"Your own?"

Jason pulls out a skimpy scrap of bright green fabric that shimmers from the pocket of his hoodie, and tells Bruce. "My own."

A long, low whistle. A leer above a lit cigarette.

It is all the makings of terrible things.

"Playing dress up so late at night?" The man calls out to him, echoing off of the walls making up the dead end. He is ten feet away.

Robin doesn't say anything, standing straight from where he was bent over a petty thief knocked out and out cold on the ground, pulling the zip tie around his wrists tight behind his back.

"Kid like you, dressed like that, really shouldn't be out on these streets. Nothin' good ever happens this late at night." The man says to him, steadily closing the distance between them. Seven feet now. "I'm a nice guy, ya see. But you won’t always get so lucky. There're lots of bad men out here." And it seems like he quite likes the sound of his own voice too when he just keeps going. "I mean, unless you're looking for trouble, 'cause if you're then you're in just the right place, lil'bird."

Six feet.

"Trouble has a habit of finding me." Robin tells him, wondering if the man gets it at all. That the thief slumped on the ground didn't get there himself. Four feet.

"Seems like with or without you wanting it, eh, kid?"

It is every last taste of the unsavoury injected into those words. That some men will take and take and take. And you can scream yourself hoarse when they hold you down but no one comes to save you, not now, not ever. So why even bother?

"Kid like me, right?" Robin echoes, looking up at the man that has put him into a corner. Two feet.

"Yeah." The man drops the butt of his cigarette, grinding it against the wet asphalt before reaching out with a nicotine-stained hand to curl it around Robin's jaw. He tips his chin up, the dim light from the street lamp from the mouth of the alleyway coats everything in a sick oily glow.

The thief at their feet does not stir, not even when the man's other hand reaches down, dragging over the skin on the outside of Robin's thigh before his hand goes up, his fingertips digging in and grabbing Robin’s ass hard.

A chuckle, low and deeply amused when he earns a quiet little gasp from between Robin's mouth.

"Well, baby, aren't you just asking for it?"

When Robin steps on the man's hand and breaks every joint on every last finger, the man screams. Long and loud and almost unbearable.

Robin relishes in the sound even as he spits out, and it is scathing: "It's going to be a long fucking while before you'll even be able to touch yourself."

If asked to describe Robin in one word, Jason's answer is this: Robin is bait. So no one else has to be the blood in the water to be swallowed whole.

When Batman shows up with red and blue flashing a symphony behind him, he doesn't reprimand Robin even as he lays eyes on the state of the man. Instead they stand aside as Gotham's finest lead the men away, one finally coming to while the other now beginning to lose consciousness.

"Told you it works." Robin is rocking back and forth on the heels of his green pixie boots, hands clad in matching green gloves clasping loosely behind his back. He tips his head up to Batman with a grin that is all teeth when he can clearly see all the displeasure in the tense line of the man's clenched jaw. "Even if you don't want to believe me, I'm okay with this, really."

There are no bruises in the shape of anyone's hands across his body. That is his own doing. Robin’s mouth doesn't let up from its grin, not even when he presses himself up against Batman's side.

"B, would it kill you to say good job though?"

There are only so many hours of the night left when they come back from patrol.

Jason doesn't head to the shower, he doesn't go upstairs either. Instead, he hops up on to the desk just as Bruce sits down at the computer. Jason doesn’t break the silence, not this time.

He swings his legs from his perch, working through the plate of cucumber sandwiches Alfred had left for them before he retired for the night. Jason has polished off three-fourth of the plate before Bruce says, finally, drawing his hands back from the keyboard when he no longer has the excuse of the nightly patrol report to fall on.

"You did good.”

“Pulling teeth would’ve hurt you less, isn’t that right, Bruce?” Jason asks around a mouthful of bread, sprays a bit of crumbs on Bruce too when he does if just because he can.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

"It's Saturday tomorrow, B. No school."

Bruce falls silent. Jason doesn’t reprimand him. Instead, Jason looks beyond Bruce to the row of Robin uniforms along the far wall of the cave. To Damian Wayne who has left Gotham for the League.

"The first Robin was your real son."

To Tim Drake who is dead and buried and mourned.

"They were both my sons."

Jason knows exactly every way where he doesn’t measure up, where he doesn’t even come close to either one of them. He is Robin in name only, and he has made his peace with that.

He swings his legs still, tip of a pixie boot bumping against the chair’s armrest. There is no reading between the lines for this. He drags his eyes back from all the Robins to have flown this nest to tell Bruce in probably what is the only way to spur him into action.

"I don't want to be your son, B."

It is the yellow cape that falls to Jason’s bruised knees.

It is the red tunic that hikes up when he reaches out to him.

It is the tiny pair of green scaly shorts that show off so much bare skin.

Except, it isn’t just any of those things when Bruce gives up all pretenses and kisses Jason breathless. Bruce is the fox in the hen house, the snake with poison in its fangs, the man in love, and maybe that’s the worst of them yet.

Bruce Wayne is a man that doesn’t lost control, this comes as close it gets.

It starts chaste with Bruce going slow and Jason eager to part his lips wide enough to welcome the slide of Bruce’s tongue. Bruce licks into his open mouth, dragging just the softest hint of teeth over the tip of Jason’s tongue when Jason tries to imitate what he is doing for him.

The first thing Jason lets out when he gets enough air in his lungs again is on a burst of delight: “Finally.”

Jason says it with a smile. It is a small damning thing when he directs it at Bruce, and just him.

#brujay #brujayweek #brujayweek2020 #bruce wayne #jason todd #kuro's 200 subs promptathon #was hoping to edit and throw this on to ao3 too but uhhhhhh that's going to have to wait

57 notes · View notes

ten-ten31 · 4 years

Text

Dear Yuletide Writer

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you so much for writing for me! :) I can't tell you just how excited I am. This is my first Yuletide and I guess I'm super nervous, but also looking forward to it. :)

Please feel free to browse my ao3 (KitKaos) and/or tumblr to get an idea of what I stan, like, read or write. I hope I can give you some broad ideas and inspirations in this letter to help you plan. Do feel free to fall back on my general likes if the prompts don't do anything for you. Or just use the prompts, whatever works best for you. Oh, and should you, dear Yuletide Santa, want to write in German and not in English, then I'm definitely okay with that. I'm fluent in both, so whichever you feel more comfortable with. If there's something missing or if you have a question, you can reach out to me via the mods.

General likes: I'm a sucker for the old friends-to-lovers or even enemies-to-lovers (with all the drama of grudginly admitting that the other party maybe isn't all that terrible and all). Things I'll never get tired of include coffeeshop AUs, spy AUs, musical AUs, found families, fake dating, pining, crossdressing, drunken shenanigans, fish-out-of-water situations, pop culture references, etc. Just about any kind of scene you can sneak in there about cooking or eating food (also characters being picky about certains foods and other characters going to some lengths to accommodate that) will make me happy, too. I do have a thing for descriptions of food and expecially impressions of taste - and if you want to make it kinky: food play. ;) I also have a bit of a hand fetish - so descriptions of hands are always welcome. If you want to do it, I probably also won't say no to someone breaking the Fourth Wall, any kind of alternate history AU, crossovers of my fandoms, or even some lovely steampunk aesthetics.

Do Not Want: rape/dubcon/noncon, watersports, scat, humiliation, A/B/O, soulmates AU, vampire/werewolf AU, second-person pov, character bashing of any kind.

Fandoms

Just two more thing before I go into detail: 1. The prompts below are nothing more than ideas - feel free to ignore them if you have a better one. :) 2. Not all of the characters need to be used in every prompt; pick and choose as desired.

Dial H for Hero (DC Comics)

- Summer Pickens, Miguel Montez

The 2019 12-issue run is just pure love! There is worldbuilding galore, relatable characters, a wonderful coming-of-age and initiation plot, interdimensional shenanigans, the question how Joe Average could get addicted to sudden superpowers, and so much fun with the concept of Superhero Secret Origins. Summer is a wonderfully strong and caring female lead and Miguel is a self-conscious little oddball.

As for prompts: Seeing more of their Metropolis adventures or Red/Yellow/Blue/Black Dial transformations would definitely be a lot of fun. Also, there's this cute boy Miguel asks out in the comics and I would love to see that first date. And what about Summer? She definitely won't be reduced to sidekick!

Feel free to include any other ((teenage) superhero) cameos you feel like. Please do not pair up Summer and Miguel romantically - although I don't have any problems with a fake relationship fic for them. ;)

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Masks: A New Generation (Roleplaying Game)

- any / worldbuilding

I only just disovered Masks as an RPG, and ever since I started playing, it's probably the most fun rping I've had in a long time. I love that playbooks are not by the type of power but the type of problem each teenager faces personally. Like, how do you juggle school, first love, being different in a way no one should know about, being different maybe in a way people will immediately see, adults telling you who to be, chores, and being part of a young superhero team that wants to make a name for themselves? It's hard. And the best sessions alternate between deep emotional connections, hilarious teenage drama and great action scenes.

As for prompts: I would love me some good worldbuilding - so maybe there is a reason the Scarlet Songbird is still around? What was Halcyon City like back in the days of the Golden-Age heroes? What has changed since then? How do especially the older generations view the naming conventions going around for new heroes? Is there a code to follow? Who in Halcyon City pays for all the damage to buildings and infrastructure caused by superhero-supervillain fights? What was it like back in the olden days for the Golden Age heroes as opposed to now? Are there cultural exchange programs with any of the alien races visiting from time to time? Give me a day in the life of an average Halcyon City citizen - they don't even have to be all that close to an epic fight or something. Just their way of coping with the daily madness of a huge city housing most of the world's superheroes. If you like something a little more character-specific: The one actual-play podcast that does it best in my opinion are the Theatre of the Mind Players with their "Future Shock" and "Past Tense" seasons of Masks. And I would love to read more about these characters. Have Sparrow and Figment finally get together. Give me a glimpse of how Horizon assembled his ersatz mom. What will Helix and Remix get up to?

Where to find it: The core rulebook is available from Magpie Games. The Theatre of the Mind Players’ Masks sessions can be found on Youtube.

Super Sons (Comics)

- Jonathan Samuel Kent, Damian Wayne

Super Sons is how I finally came to like and care for Damian Wayne - which, if you know me, is a major achievement! He is still a huge brat, don't get me wrong, but Jon's influence on him and the way he is confronted with certain issues he has... it's magical! It's wholesome! It's healing! They are both so fiercely protective of each other, and they both grow as characters from their experiences with each other.

As for prompts: So, dear Yuletide Santa, give me character growth and banter and friendship galore. I can see slumber parties at Wayne Manor or at the Kent farm. I can see them getting lost in space and time. I can see more adventures once they're at the same school. I can see a canon-divergence AU where Jon is finally admitted into the the Teen Titans at age 13 - how would that go? Or how about an Interrail Buddies AU?

If you want to write slashfic for them, I will not say no but would probably prefer to age them up a bit. I also most definitely don't mind any background appearances of any of their families.

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Superman Returns (2006)

- any (Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Richard White)

I still love this movie a lot - not because it's particularly spectacular, but it treats the characters with love, it treats the legacy of the Reeve movies with love and it leaves SO MANY questions for fanfiction authors to answer. ;) I mean, I've been a Superman fan for a long time and I've discovered that I'm most comfortable with a Clark who wears a mask both as Clark Kent and as Superman, who isn't either of those two (and who is fallible). And whenever someone learns of his secret identity, they will see that he's so much more than either Clark or Superman. I know Lois is a fairly underdeveloped character in this movie, so I would love for her to be treated not just as a prize, especially since there were those years of her having to put her life back together after Supes just up and left.

As for prompts, I've always wondered about the different coping mechanisms (Lois turning bitter, Jimmy starting up daydrinking - WTF?!) and just how their day-to-day business changed without Clark and Supes there. Give me the Planet staff banding together to rescue Lois when she remembers just that second too late that there will be no superhero to save them (I also wouldn't mind any of the Bats helping out secretly, if that's up your alley). Give me Jimmy trying not to think too much and instead getting on Lois' nerves until he's rescued by Richard intervening. I am also an absolute sucker for continuation fics, so how do things settle down after what happens in the movie? I would love for some real Clark and Jimmy bonding moments, maybe even Jimmy finding out or having known all along and covered for Clark. I would love for some truce and real friendship blossoming between Clark and Richard, as they are both intelligent, compassionate, insightful men. If you want to include Jason anywhere, feel free to do that, as he makes for such a wonderful catalyst for disaster. Feel free to write gen or any canon pairings - I'm also okay with non-canon het/slash pairs (or threesomes) as long as they make sense in-universe. ;)

Where to find it: Sadly, the movie doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere, but since it’s 14 years old now, you can buy it relatively cheap.

Young Justice (Comics)

- Tim Drake (but do feel free to have any of the other characters in the story, too)

No matter if you're into the old 1990s YJ comics, the companion comics to the cartoon show, or the new 2019/20 version of the comics - I love all of them! So much I don't even know where to begin... The snark! The lovable teenage stupidity! The friendship that goes above and beyond! My definite favourite is Tim, because he is such a bright, snarky, secretive, repressed little bird (the moment he takes off his domino mask to reveal a second one underneath? priceless)! I also love his deep friendship with the others because that's his found family. Yes, Batman is his mentor (even though Tim might understand B better than the other way round sometimes) and Dick is his older brother and idol (hero worship, anyone?), but Young Justice is where he wants to be himself and all of it.

As for prompts: Even though I did not put either Cassie or Cissie in my request as I want something Tim-centric, the dynamic with those two strong-willed girls is definitely something I would love to see explored more. Also how the dynamic with the bats is so very different than the Young Just Us dynamic. What's it like being the one without powers in a group of hormonal teenage superheroes? I also just realized that I would love to see more of Mister Sarcastic trolling the rest of the gang. Or how about: What if Tim had powers for one day? If you're into the 2019 comics, how about a 5+1 of Why Drake May Or May Not Be A Good Superhero Alias. If you want to include the rest of the gang, you're definitely more than welcome to. Tim and Kon's bickering and outright arguments in the beginning turning into such a solid friendship (or more) is something I can read about time and time again. Pretty much the same goes for Tim and Bart. Or how about some Wendy the Werewolf Stalker shenanigans? Why is having girls in your group a bad/good idea? How did Cassie's becoming the team's leader affect Tim's sense of self? Heck, if you feel like it, open up the love triangle Tim-Cassie-Kon since there's like a ton of history there. Oh, and anyway, why is Stephanie Brown never part of any of Tim's teams? Dear Yuletide Santa, do also feel free to include any of the other teens (I have a soft spot for Li'l Lobo/Slobo).

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Overall, I’m sure I’ll love what you have for me, and I'm looking forward to reading it! <3

#yuletide 2020 #yuletide #dear yuletide writer #dyw #yulebuilding #cheftide #wrapping paper challenge 2020

3 notes · View notes