#(jk you can picture them as Mar'i and Jake if you want)

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstarweek Day 6: Children, Plural (Prompt: Children)

I was very excited to see the prompt “Children” because 1) it encourages lots of cute parenthood/next-gen shenanigans and 2) it gave me an opportunity to use an idea I already had floating around. As you might have guessed by the title, I had a bit of fun taking advantage of the specific word choice for this prompt.

Children, Plural

In his defense, Nightwing had not freaked out when he first learned his wife was pregnant.

Why should he? They had planned this, carefully. The process of starting a family was complicated enough without the parents being both different species and full-time superheroes, but they had researched and discussed and gotten advice and outlined exactly how active on the team Starfire could be before the baby came and how they would handle alerts after.

…He really should have known that all those plans would go out the window once it actually happened, but he had been too busy assuring himself that he was ready for this. And then when Starfire had rushed to him, practically glowing, with the news, he’d been so happy.

(He still was happy, too. He had to stop and remind himself that. It was just… a little overwhelming right now.)

But then had come one of those odd little moments that crops up from time to time when you share your home with four superpowered beings. Apparently, the new little life force had just gotten strong enough for Raven’s passive senses to pick up, because she’d felt the need to round up both parents-to-be and tell them about it.

Mostly because there were two of them.

Nightwing groaned again and laid his head down on his desk, pulling lightly at his hair. He’d shut himself into his office on the pretense of working on a case and blocked off his emotions from Raven’s half of their mental bond. She wouldn’t be suspicious of that. Probably.

Look, he just needed a little time to process everything, okay?

…Great, how he was arguing with himself. He let out a slow breath and tried to focus.

Twins. Twins. This was a thing that was happening now. He was going to have two babies at the same time. He and Star hadn’t really planned to have more than one child at all, unless perhaps they decided to retire from hero work to focus on their family. That wasn’t something either of them intended to do right now, but somehow they were still going to have to raise two infants at once.

It really drove home the fact that Tarmaraneans (and most Tamaranean hybrids) could fly at just a few months old. Could Nightwing fly? No. The “wing” in his name was a lie. Why had he made that part of his adult hero identity anyway?

…Right. In any case, until now he had expected to take care of his flying baby with a careful eye, some help from his teammates, and maybe the occasional bit of clever acrobatics. He could accept that. He could deal with it. But he wasn’t so sure he could keep up with two of them at once. What if they went zipping off in different directions? What if it was his turn to watch the kids while the others were on a mission, and he lost track of one of them?

What if they got hurt because of him?

And that wasn’t even considering what could happen once they got older and their other powers manifested. Surrounded by superpowered, often mischief-loving honorary aunts and uncles, he had no doubt that they would pick up roughhousing. And if sibling rivalry cropped up, well… Nightwing had seen firsthand what kind of destruction a pair of warring Tamaranean siblings could wreak.

What was he supposed to do about any of that? He could take on supervillains and monsters, but that required using weapons and actively fighting them. He could keep a handle on his team, but only because they were all mature enough to listen to him (or at least not do anything too stupid when they refused to listen). How was he going to handle his own children when they had tantrums or fights or stubborn phases, when they would be stronger and faster than him?

Nightwing’s face was practically pressed into the surface of his desk now, his fingers tangled in an unruly mess of hair. He couldn’t, that was the answer. Starfire would know what to do, and be perfectly capable of doing it, and the others with their superstrength and magic and shape-changing abilities could probably help as well, but him?

He was going to be a terrible father.

So absorbed was Nightwing in his emotional breakdown that he didn’t even hear the light knock on the door behind him. After a few seconds, it opened to Changeling’s face poking its way in.

The other Titan opened his mouth to say something, but then he got a good look at his hopelessly panicked leader. His mouth snapped shut, he backed out and closed the door silently, and then he turned tail and hurried back to the common room.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Starfire, meanwhile, was in an exceedingly good mood today.

She flitted around the kitchen, humming a wordless tune to herself as she prepared a sort of “Tamaranean fusion” dish that she and Cyborg had perfected years ago. Her feet barely touched the ground – probably a result of the emotional highs and other extremes that naturally accompanied Tamaranean pregnancies, but she was hardly complaining. It suited her attitude now, and if it flipped to rage later, she could take that out in training or perhaps on the next villain who dared to threaten her home and family.

Twins. Twins. She had always wanted two or three children and had been admittedly disappointed when she and Nightwing discussed the matter and decided to minimize the possible complications by focusing on just one. But now…

Okay, so this development had thrown them for a bit of a loop. It would probably present some new challenges to raising a family. But wasn’t that how family worked? It was never meant to be easy. And regardless of the challenges, she had people she loved by her side, and she knew she always would.

In the end, she believed that Fate had smiled upon her and her husband, that it found a way to still bless them with two beautiful children.

The sudden sound of the common room door opening drew Starfire’s attention out of her thoughts, and she looked up from her mixing bowl to see Changeling entering the room. He had an uneasy frown on his face, and he kept glancing back down the hall until his eyes suddenly met hers.

“Uh, Star?” he called to her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “I think your husband’s broken.”

Starfire dropped what she was doing immediately and touched down, running to him. “What do you mean?”

Changeling shrugged. “Don’t know why, but when I went to ask him a question, he was headdesking so hard he looked like he was trying to fuse with it. He didn’t hear me come in either, which is super not Nightwing.”

Well that didn’t sound promising. Brows knitting in concern, she excused herself and darted through the doorway and up the stairs.

Sure enough, Nightwing was in his office, looking exactly as Changeling had described. He didn’t even look up when she entered, but he jolted upright and turned to face her when she put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“What is wrong, love?” she asked him gently.

Nightwing blinked rapidly – Starfire wasn’t sure whether he even realized he’d taken off his mask – and then turned back around and started scrounging at the papers scattered on his desk.

“I just… can’t find a break in the… uh…” he glanced at one of the papers, “Killer Moth case.”

Starfire’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Richard.”

Nightwing winced at her warning tone, and then let out a slow breath, his shoulders slumping. “I know, I shouldn’t lie to you, I’m sorry. It’s just…” His eyes flicked to her stomach for a moment, and then back up to meet her gaze.

“…I just can’t help but worry, and I didn’t want you worrying too.”

Starfire took a moment to search his face, trying to parse what exactly had him so rattled. With a low sigh of her own, she knelt down by his chair and took one of his hands in hers.

“Nightwing, we have talked about this,” she told him, her voice gentle. “The Tower’s defenses are powerful and have not been breached in years. I know how to defend myself and when to hold back from a risky situation, and I wouldn’t dream of putting our children in danger. They are protected, and they will be as long as we are there for them.”

But even as she spoke, her husband started shaking his head. “No, it’s not that.” His forehead wrinkled in thought for a moment before he amended, “at least, not entirely. It’s more that… Twins are hard, Kor. Even when they don’t have powers… or when both parents have the same powers as them. I just… don’t know how I’ll be able to keep up with them, if they end up with both flight and Tamaranean high-strength.”

Starfire listened patiently, her eyes never leaving his face. She waited a few moments longer, to see if he had any other worries. Nightwing just grimaced and dropped his gaze, as if ashamed to have his fears laid out in the open.

In spite of herself, Starfire felt a little smile tug at the corner of her lip. “Is that all?”

Nightwing looked up at her in surprise, but she just shook her head. “Of course it will be difficult. Families always are, even perfectly ordinary ones. In all honesty, I’m a little afraid too.”

She squeezed his hand, letting the smile overtake her features. “But that is okay, because we are doing it together. And we are fortunate enough to have our closest friends to help us when we need it. You do not need to always ‘keep up’ with the children to be a good father, because you will not be doing it alone. I will help you with that if it ever becomes an issue, just as you will do the same for any of my shortcomings.”

Nightwing took a moment to absorb all that. He blinked once, took a deep breath, and then managed to crack a tiny smile of his own.

“Not alone, huh? I can’t believe after all these years you still have to remind me that.”

Starfire giggled and rose slightly, leaning forward to give him a light peck on the lips. “Only rarely. But I will always be ready to remind you when you need it.”

She felt his arm curl around her back, and she let him pull her closer to return the kiss with a lingering one of his own.

“And I’ll always be ready to listen,” he promised, as he lifted his other hand to rub lightly over her abdomen.