#(keep in mind this is pretty much Bruce asking himself that question; it’s the demon working with whatever guilt complex is in Bruce’s head) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

awhitehead17 · 3 years ago

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Batfam Alphabet: H - Height

Summary: When Bruce brings a new kid home who happens to be taller than him, Tim isn’t pleased. He already gets relentless insults about his height from the others so adding someone else into the mix will not help, in fact it’s just rather mean. How could Bruce do this to him?

Enjoy! :D

“Absolutely not. Take him back. Get a refund.”

Everyone turns to look at Tim in disbelief as his protest cuts through the silence of the room. Tim pays them all little attention as he keeps his focus on the person directly in front of him.

The newest member of their dysfunctional family stands opposite Tim with a look of uncertainty on his face, probably caused by Tim’s rather blunt comment. Tim already knows all about Duke Thomas, he’s heard about him and has even read what little documents there are on him but this is the first time they are meeting in person. He had been away for the last two weeks on a Titan’s mission and only returned to the Manor that afternoon.

Just behind Duke, Bruce stands stiffly sending him a hard glare. “Tim, do we need to have a conversation?”

In a show of exaggeration, Tim pouts and sends a Bruce a betrayed look. “Yes Bruce. Let’s have a conversation, let’s talk about how this is just unfair of you to do this to me.”

The previous looks of disbelief turn into confusion but it’s Duke who speaks up first now looking both confused and upset. “Hey man, what did I do? This is the first time we’re meeting, surely I haven’t been able to piss you off already?”

At this point Tim has to bite back a grin. He’s only teasing Duke, he has absolutely nothing against the guy, everything he's heard is all positive and Tim honestly thinks he’s brave for willingly coming into the family as he is.

“Tim do you mind explaining yourself.” Bruce demands lowly. His adoptive father is sending him a disapproving look, clearly he isn’t clicking onto Tim’s teasing.

Waving his arms dramatically at Duke, Tim explains. “This is unfair because he’s taller than me! How could you bring someone into the family that’s taller than me Bruce, especially someone who is younger! I thought you loved me.”

A few beats of silence pass by as everyone comprehends Tim’s words. The confused looks revert back into the disbelieving looks but for a different reason this time.

From the right there’s a snort from Jason. “Oh my god I didn’t even notice it, Tim is still the smallest in the family!”

As Jason cackles, because the bastard loves taking the piss out of Tim’s height, Bruce suddenly looks resigned. He sighs before running a hand over his face and Tim bets he’s questioning why he ever thought it was a good idea to have kids.

“Aw,” Dick coos from the side, he’s grinning widely glancing at him and Duke, “Timmy is still the baby bird of the family.”

“That’s not true!” Tim protests, he wheels around to pin Dick with a look. “Damian, and now Duke, are in fact younger than me, making them the baby birds of the family.”

“Aw Timmy…” Dick makes his way over to Tim and before Tim could react, his oldest brother has him trapped in a hug. Dick locks his arms tightly around Tim’s neck and rests his head on top of Tim’s, clearly using his height to his advantage. Tim squawks in protest and tries to push him away with no avail.

“Technically speaking, isn’t Damian the shortest one out everyone?” Duke questions looking a little frazzled at everything going on.

“Yes, but not for much longer,” Jason answers him, “it’s already obvious the demon spawn will outgrow Timmy here. The kid’s eleven, he has at least another three or four growth spurts in him. And have you seen the size of Bruce? There's no way that kid is staying short.”

Tim wiggles in Dick’s grip, trying to move his head around so he could send Jason a glare. “Hey! I have at least another one in me.”

Jason raises an eyebrow. “Sure you do baby bird.”

“What about Cass, she’s smaller than Tim isn’t she?” Duke speaks up again. Tim appreciates the way he keeps bringing up other family members but it also goes to show he has a lot to learn about the way they operate in this family.

Dick gives him a squeeze and Tim grits his teeth, even throwing a punch into the man’s side in attempts to break free from the octopus grasp he’s locked in. He feels Dick shake his head. “Cass doesn’t count, she’s in her own category. Plus she doesn’t get annoyed about it like Tim does, with him we always get a reaction.”

Using all of his force this time, Tim jabs Dick in the stomach before kicking one of his knees, the man stumbles and Tim uses the advantage to finally break free from his grip. Scowling he steps away from him. “Because you’re all assholes that’s why.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “You’re the one that brought it up Tim, you were practically asking for the teasing this time round.”

All Tim could do was huff and cross his arms over his chest because he’s not wrong and Tim can’t exactly deny it.

“It doesn’t matter how tall you end up being or not being.” Bruce suddenly declares. Everyone turns to stare at him, having completely forgotten the man was even in the room. He had been silently watching them converse the entire time.

The man walks over to Tim and places a warm hand on his shoulder, sending him a supportive smile. “Unfortunately we cannot control our genes so we have to work with what we got and make up for what we don’t. You know this Tim, you need to stop letting your brother’s wind you up about it.”

Tim opens his mouth to object against his words but Bruce doesn’t seem to be interested in what he has to say because he gives his shoulder a squeeze and without further ado leaves the room. Tim blinks after him, taking a moment to register what just happened.

A silence falls over the room as the boys all look at one another and it soon becomes awkward as no one seems to know how to break it. In the end it’s Tim himself who breaks it, in a small voice he brings up the previous topic again.

“Being small can have its benefits I guess…” He weakly argues.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Jason mocks, either humouring Tim or simply finding another way to tease him.

“Like beating your fat ass for one.” Tim retorts, trying to not fall for the trap again. This kind of thing really does hit a nerve and make him go on the defensive side. It’s one of his insecurities, he can’t help it.

“Excuse you, I am not fat. This is all hard core muscles, you little twink.” Jason counters back, even standing up straighter as if his height will intimidate Tim.

Tim rolls his eyes at the display, he may be short yes, but he is far from intimidated by Jason’s height. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Alright enough.” Tim’s attention breaks away from Jason when Dick steps between them, intervening. “Enough with the dick measuring contest. As Bruce rightfully said, we work with what we’ve got and make up for what we don’t. Every height has its advantages and disadvantages.”

“Oh fuck off dickhead. That’s bullshit and you know it. We have to show Duke here how things get sorted here now he’s part of the family.” Jason says eyes narrowing at the oldest in the room.

“Real mature Jay,” Dick rolls his eyes, he glances at Duke afterwards, “this isn’t how things get sorted out between us, we’re better than this.”

Duke holds his hands up placatingly, “I don’t even think I want to know.”

“That’s probably a wise idea.”

Tim snorts. “Oh don’t worry about it, Jason here is just insecure because he knows that I can take him down. Even with my small size I can beat him.”

Jason points at him threateningly. “Is that a challenge replacement? Because I will take you down.”

“Will you now? And how would you do that, by sitting on me?”

“Right you little shit…”

Tim yelps as Jason lunges for him. He’s able to dart out of the way from being grabbed and has to dodge again when Jason lunges for him a second time. Knowing that Jason won’t stop until he’s had his revenge Tim dashes for the door to make his escape. As he exits the room he shouts over his shoulder. “Can your fat ass keep up? My smaller size allows me to be more agile than you!”

Jason yells in protest but Tim doesn’t pay attention to it, all he does it focus on getting as far away as he could.

Back in the room, Dick and Duke watch as Tim hurriedly exits the room with a furious Jason on his tail. Dick is unsurprised by the turn of events, having gotten used to this kind of thing a long time ago. Duke, on the other hand, blinks in bewilderment and concern. He opens and closes his mouth several times without saying anything as if he doesn’t know what to say.

Dick glances at him after a moment. “Don’t worry about it, this kind of thing happens all the time, you’ll get used to it.”

“So a simple conversation can turn into a fighting match?”

“Yeah pretty much.” Dick starts heading for the door, gesturing for Duke to follow him. “Come on, let’s go make sure they haven’t killed one another.”

Duke looks alarmed at that. “Wait don’t tell me that’s a thing we have to actually worry about!”

Dick could only laugh in response to that.

#batfam alphabet #Tim Drake #bruce wayne #Jason Todd #dick grayson #duke thomas #sibling relationship #sibling rivalry #batfam #humour #everyone makes fun of Tim's height #poor duke #he has no idea what he's in for #teasing #fanfiction

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frostedfaves · 4 years ago

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For the Love of A Daughter

Masterlist

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Summary: The mom friend (or girlfriend) sometimes needs a mom, too.

Warnings: strained relations with a parent, emotional trauma mentions, a bit of angst, very unedited fic because I refuse to reread this

A/N: surprise Natasha fic as a result of my unresolved issues so I hope you enjoy! also I feel very exposed posting this so excuse me while I hide away.

It was no secret that you were the ‘mother’ of the group despite being the youngest, and you were astonishingly good at it.

You were the only person able to convince Tony to sleep at some point during the night. You protected the tower from a few Code Greens by simply knowing exactly how to bring Bruce back to the front lines of his own mind. When Thor visited, you helped him unwind with Earthly snacks and movie marathons. You also helped Natasha get in touch with her emotions more, which played a small part in the two of you getting together.

Anyone from the Red Room knows that emotions are for children, which is why Natasha despised you at first. The first moment you noticed a crack in her hard exterior, you touched it and suddenly the whole thing was shattered. She hated that you read her so easily when her job called for being a closed book.

Unfortunately for her, there were only so many times you could place your warm hands on her heart before she gave into the comforting heat. A few minute talk one night turned into four hours and suddenly you understood why she pushed you away so often. From then on, she leaned into your caring eyes until she fell too far forward and pressed her lips to yours. She’s been glued to you ever since.

As time went on, the rest of the Avengers got used to you lovingly patching their wounds on the jet ride home, bringing a mug of tea to their rooms when JARVIS alerted you of nightmares. Your kindness easily slipped right into their routines, a part of you that everyone eventually and quickly grew to love.

When everyone besides Thor arrived at the tower that evening, an unsettling feeling of dread filled their senses at the silence of the main floor. You’d been out to visit your mother for the first time in a while due to missions, but you promised the group you’d be home before them to make dinner. It wasn’t that they were incapable of feeding themselves (or ordering takeout to feed themselves), but you never broke a promise.

“JARVIS, where is our tiny mother?”

“She has not returned from her outing, sir,” the AI quickly answered Tony and Natasha sighed.

“I’ll call her.”

“Agent L/N has arrived, sir,” JARVIS cut in before she could pull her phone from her pocket.

“And all's right with the world again,” Clint commented with a smile, earning himself a punch in the arm by Natasha.

“Maybe she stopped at that local bakery she likes on the way home. You know, the one that sells the Hulk-shaped cookies,” Bruce suggested as the elevator doors opened.

Your steps seemed to echo as you entered the room until you were greeted warmly by the others, and Natasha only needed a few seconds to look you over and realize you were not yourself. You were a pro at painting a comforting smile on your face but Natasha knew an artist when she saw one, especially one she loved.

“Boys, give us a minute.”

You watched everyone slowly file out of the kitchen to find another room to hang around in, turning to Natasha with a frown.

“Is everything okay, Nat?”

“You tell me.” She stepped closer to you, hands landing on your shoulders and sliding down until your fingers locked together. “Something’s bothering you.”

Your instantly quivering lip and tear-filled eyes left you no room to lie, so you didn’t.

“My mom’s getting married again.” You took a deep breath to prepare yourself to open up farther than you’d ever done before. “I’m actually really happy for her because her partner is a perfect match, but they have kids.”

“Are they little demons or something? I can take care of that, you know.”

“No,” you laughed a bit, the smile falling away quickly after. “No, they’re perfect little angels and I love them...and so does my mom. Probably more than she ever loved me.”

“Don’t you two have a great relationship though?” Natasha questioned, freeing a hand to wipe away an escaped tear.

“Yeah, she likes me now, but she didn’t when it really mattered. When I was their age, I would’ve killed to receive the positive attention and compassion she shows them now, and the more I watched them together, the more I felt like maybe there was something wrong with me.”

The tears fell more frequently now, faster than Natasha could wipe them away, and the waves of hurt emitting from your expression when you locked eyes was enough to wreck her heart.

“I reached out to her so much as a child with my arms opened as wide as they could go, and every time she just stepped around them. It only motivated me more to take all the love I was deprived of and share it with someone else, but sometimes I wish it was just who I was, and not a coping mechanism that turned into a personality trait.”

Natasha pulled you in flush against her, rubbing your back and squeezing a bit tighter when you began to shake in her arms. She held her tongue as she waited for you to calm, only pulling away when your sniffles were few and far apart.

“I know the world hasn’t been fair to you, but I’m proud of who you’ve become, so proud. I love that you were able to turn something so negative and hurtful into something that not only helped you feel better, but has absolutely done great healing wonders on the people around you.”

“What?” You scoffed instantly. “Nat, I didn’t do--”

“Yes you did, babe,” she pressed. “This team wouldn’t function as smoothly as it does without your gentle guidance, and I wouldn’t feel so damn warm inside when I wake up next to you.”

A grin spread across your lips as you pulled her in to kiss you. “Well when you put it that way, I guess I do something around here.”

“You do everything and then some. But don’t forget that you deserve someone to look after you, too.” She pulled out of your embrace, keeping a hold on one of your hands. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” you asked curiously as she led you back to the elevator. “I have to get dinner started.”

Natasha simply shrugged as she pressed the button for the ground floor. “They’ll figure it out. We’re focusing on you right now.”

A short walk later, she watched with a smile as your eyes seemed to find their light again. You were approaching your favorite bakery, and you could tell even through the windows that new items had been added to the cookie section.

“Last time I was in here, I bought one that looked like the tower--” You suddenly gasped, pulling your girlfriend along with you before she could even ask what was wrong. “Look!”

Peering into the glass, she spotted her likeness in cookie form, beautifully dressed in her Black Widow suit. It was pretty flattering to see, but she couldn’t fight the cocky smirk that formed as she leaned in to whisper in your ear.

“If you wanted to eat me, we could’ve just stayed home.”

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #avengers x reader #avengers #avengers fanfic #avengers imagine #the avengers #avengers x you #avengers x fem!reader

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avaritia-apotheosis · 3 years ago

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Phantom Children Ch. 6

Hi guys! I'm back <3 (also, I'm currently looking for alpha/beta readers for Phantom Children, so if you're interested, feel free to shoot me a message!)

In Which: Danny Attempts to get Answers, Bruce Learns, and Dick Finally Learns What's Inside the Door that Doesn't Exist

AO3 | Prologue | 5 | [ 6 ] | 7

DANNY IS KNOCKED DOWN three, four, eight times on the ice. Each time made his back ache, his bones bruised and tired, and his mind burning with embarrassment and a drive to lash out. But each time he gets back up. Each time he lasts a little bit longer against Talia.

The ice still shifts, cracks and rumbles with every wrong move. Danny learned to roll with it. Move on light feet but attack with a firm stance, gauge which parts of the ice are stable and which should be avoided. Multi-tasking has never been Danny’s strong suit, but he’s good at learning and learning quickly.

Talia corrected his form as much as she beat him down. Exploited every one of his openings until he learned to defend them and praised him whenever he managed to pull one over her. The League’s martial arts was the holy amalgamation between almost every single fighting style there is, mashed and refined to perfection to become almost unpredictable to the untrained. A vast improvement to Danny’s previous ‘fuck around and see what works’ brawling and had the added benefit of meshing together with his spontaneity.

“You are doing well, Daniel,” Talia said as she sheathed her sword, hand resting just above her hip. “You have improved greatly in such a short time, as I have expected.”

It takes every ounce of Danny’s superhuman energy to not collapse to his knees, his every breath a ragged shudder as he tries to get his breathing under control. “Still can’t beat you, though.”

“Very few can boast that feat.”

“I’m not exactly sure if that’s supposed to make me feel any better or not. Do I get my prize at least?”

Tahlia tossed her braid over one shoulder with a laugh. “Come, then, let us rest in the caves. The sun is to set soon and we must make camp before we freeze to death.”

“Hypothermia is so last season. I’m way too cool for that.”

He didn’t know whether to be disappointed that Tahlia didn’t react to his pun. It was pretty clever, in his opinion.

('Puns are the lowest form of comedy,' said mind-Jazz.

Says the one who named the Box Ghost the ‘Crate Creep.’

'That’s alliteration, not a pun.')

It was kind of pathetic that even his mind-version of Jazz was smarter than him.

“What would you like to know first?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarcasm dripped from Danny’s voice. He sheathed his sword and let it hang loose at his side. “Maybe how old this mysterious brother of mine is?” Ancients, his life was weird enough already, it wasn’t supposed to sound like the B-plot to a bad soap opera.

“Damian is younger than you by a little over four years. He will turn eleven this year.”

“Huh. Never been an older brother before.”

“Perhaps you might have been, if circumstances had been different.”

Cryptic. Great. Danny stepped over a particularly large crack in the ice and scampered over to solid ground. “You gotta give me more than that. What’s he like?”

“Prideful,” she said. “But skilled enough to warrant it. He was raised like a prince—as how you should have been.”

“And he lives with…our dad?”

“Yes. In America.” The cave was deep enough to shield them from the worst of the eventual mountain winds. Tahlia had already started building a campfire with equipment from her knapsack, embers eating away and growing into a steady flame. He sat down, legs crossed, beside the fire, hands tucked beneath his armpits.

He bit his lip, a question forming in his mind. “Do…do we have the same dad?”

Tahlia looked up at him. “Of course. Only your father has had the privilege of being called my beloved, and only he is worthy enough to have sired my children.”

Once night fell, it fell quickly. Blanketing as far as Danny could see from the mouth of the cave in a thick darkness. Snow fell from the skies in thick tufts and covered their footsteps.

“Does he—do they know about me?”

“No, they do not.”

“And you probably aren’t going to tell them anything about me, if you could help it.”

“That is very perceptive of you, habeebi.”

“You won’t tell me anything more about them, will you?”

“In due time, I will.”

Danny blew part of his fringe away from his face. Figures.

Despite the ever-present niggling at the back of his mind, Bruce had yet to see what was in the flash drive. The weeks since his strange meeting with Vlad Masters suddenly exploded with criminal activity with the recent breakout in Arkham and the brewings of another gang war in the shadows of Gotham’s paved streets. It was all hands-on deck. And Bruce, whether as Batman or Wayne, had always prioritized Gotham and its citizens over anything else.

The flash drive remained on his person despite the crisis, tucked away in one of the sturdier compartments of his utility belt to prevent the data inside from becoming damaged. Sometimes he found his hands gravitating towards it, fingers brushing against the button that would release the mystery from its confines before he realized what he was doing and steeled himself. Hands fisted to his side and attention forcibly directed elsewhere.

Eventually, the rogues were placed back into Arkham, and Gotham let out a shuddered breath of relief as it remained standing for another day.

Most of the family were out on a light patrol, cleaning up the remains of the breakout and helping where they can. Jason and Dick bickering over the comms whilst Barbara laughed in her clocktower.

(“It’s not that bad.”

"‘It’s not that bad’—shut the fuck up.” Jason spat. Bruce could hear him revving his bike. “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? Certified Grade A idiot. B’s gonna kill you.”

He could hear Dick roll his eyes. “Sure, pile it all on, Jaybird. Blame the victim.”

"It was your fault.”

“It’s not my fault I didn’t see it there!”

"You tripped and got a concussion. From a stick. A. Stick.”

“Can we please just leave that out of the report?” Dick groaned. Barbara laughed. “Oh god.”

“Richard motherfucking John Grayson. I swear if you vomit on me then—”

“I’m not gonna vomit on you! You just turned the corner a little too fast. It’s nice to see you care though.”

"Fuck no, I just don’t wanna smell like regurgitated cereal.”)

Damian was benched from a patrol. Their last conflict with Poison Ivy ended with Damian sticking a bad landing and twisting his ankle. He dealt with it with as much grace as can be expected. Meaning that he spent the last few days sulking as he caught up on his missed schoolwork and shooting daggers at everyone else who came back from patrol.

Bruce flicked the flash drive open and plugged it into the computer. The flash drive contained only a single folder dated six months ago.

He clicked it, and a news headline popped up.

LOCAL TEEN DIES AFTER DRIVING OFF CLIFF

Beneath it, a picture. Blue eyes. Black hair. A familiar face.

Blood pounded in Bruce’s ears. He could hear nothing except a sharp gasp from Damian behind him.

When Dick and Jason arrived at the batcave, it was to an eerie silence. Not that it was usually loud, only that Bruce spent most of his free time down in the cave and Dick had come to expect hearing some signs of him around. Typing on keys, the clicking of a mouse, the heavy thuds of a fist meeting a punching bag or a training dummy, etcetera, etcetera. Or maybe even Alfred cleaning up around the cave, feeding the bats, or restocking their med bay.

(Dick, it turned out, didn’t have a concussion. Probably. Not a severe one anyway. What mattered most was that he managed to convince Jason to have dinner at the Manor. Alfred was making a tarte tatin for dessert tonight and those were absolutely to die for. )

One of Tim’s cases took him to the other side of Gotham. The only person in the cave was Damian, who was staring agape at the batcomputer.

“Why the hell is the demon spawn looking at old pictures of Bruce? We get it. They look alike.

“Uh, Dami? What’s up?”

Damian snapped his mouth shut. “I believe it might be best if you asked father that, Grayson.” Despite his clipped tone, there seemed to be little anger in his voice. His proud shoulders were hunched over on the chair, eyes trained on his lap.

He looked so small.

Damian clucked his tongue. “He’s upstairs, if you need him. So is Pennyworth.”

Dick shot a glance at Jason who raised his hands in mock surrender. “You’re up golden boy. Whatever the fuck the old man’s problem is this time, I’m not dealing with it.”

Dick sighed. “Fine.”

There was a door in Wayne Manor that didn’t exist.

When Dick was a child and recently adopted by Bruce Wayne, one of the first things he did was explore the manor. It’s the prerogative of every child that somehow found themselves in a large mansion—even more so given the castle-like exteriors of Wayne Manor. All castles have secret passages, and if the Batcave lay in the subterranean depths below, then surely the manor proper must have its own secrets.

Dick would tumble and cartwheel along the hallways, opening any and every single door he came across. A lot of them were just empty bedrooms or unused parlors and sitting rooms; the furniture covered by white sheets to keep the dust away. Alfred was probably magic, but even he can’t keep the entirety of the manor dust free.

The majority of the unused rooms were unlocked.

Except for one.

It was a room in the west wing, on the second floor. A couple doors down from where Bruce’s and Dick’s were. Why it was locked, Dick never found out. But he was curious since it was the only room on that floor that remained shut.

When he asked Alfred about it, the old butler only said that it was an unused storage room they preferred to keep locked just in case. When he asked Bruce about it, he’d be quick to change the subject. Usually something Batman related. Which, well, always worked, because it was Batman related. And Dick, young and spry and itching to fly under Batman’s wings, would quickly forget about that curious little mystery in favor of punching bad guys in the face and flipping over rooftops.

At some point that locked door quietly disappeared, leaving a blank expanse of wallpaper and a decorative vase where it once stood. It was never brought up again. And Dick slowly forgot that it was ever there in the first place.

Until now.

The wooden table and vase were shoved off to the side. Wallpaper sliced away to reveal the lines of a doorway. The door, covered in its faint damask wallpaper, was kicked open, the wood around the bolt splintered and cracked. He could hear voices—Alfred’s and Bruce’s—speaking softly on the other side.

He pressed his back against the wall and kept his breathing quiet.

“Three times, Alfred.” Bruce’s voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “Three times she’s done this to me.”

“Master Bruce…”

“I don’t—I don’t understand why—” Bruce choked, swallowing a shuddered breath. “Damian, I can understand. Jason, I can too. But…This? I—” Bruce suddenly quieted. Dick knew the jig was up.

He unlatched himself from the wall and slowly slid through the once-hidden-door, a hand kept on the frame. “Um. Hi, Bruce? Alfred?” The words fell flat, stilted. Dick winced as he said them. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but, uh…” He trailed off the second he registered what was in the room.

It was large, as so many rooms in the manor were. The room was covered in peeling green wallpaper with faded pictures of baby deer and owls and other woodland creatures prancing about. There was a dresser on one wall. A shelf filled with little picture books and stuffed animals on the other. A brown teddy bear had fallen on its face on one of the shelves.

In the middle—where Bruce was hunched over—was a crib. The wood streaked and aged with time, the beddings within pristine and untouched, if not dusty. Hanging overhead was a mobile with little animals dangling on a string.

“Worry not Master Dick. It is good that you are here since it will inevitably involve the rest of the family at some point.”

Dick nodded absentmindedly, trying to lock eyes with his guardian. “B? What’s—what’s going on?” Dick took one step deeper into the room. “The pictures in the cave. I thought they were you since they were too old to be Damian—” Bruce’s hands on the crib’s railing flinched.

Dick’s breath hitched.

“They’re…not your photos, are they.”

Bruce took a deep breath in, the lines of his shoulders tense. “No. They’re not.”

In their line of work, the answer could have been anything. Clones, magical doppelgangers, alternate universe counterparts, hell, even just someone’s genetic code being coincidentally similar to another person. But…this room, this nursery, pointed towards only one conclusion.

“Who is he, Bruce?”

Bruce angled his head towards Dick, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes. “He’s my son, Dick.

“He’s my son.”

#danny phantom #batman #danny phantom x batman crossover #dp fic #phantom children.txt

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imaginationjunkie · 4 years ago

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Say the word

Jason Todd x Reader

It’s kinda heartwarming

I tried to control my fast breaths, lifting my head from the crook of Jason’s neck to give him a lazy kiss. Deliriousness coursed through our veins, minds hazy from the aftermath bliss of an intimate climax.

Being apart for weeks for his mission and my conference clearly had one gigantic perk- the mad intense I-missed-you-so-fucking-much sex.

It doesn’t matter if it was the first or the thousandth time, the feeling of his body against mine never failed to weaken my limbs to mush and warm my heart, like it’s soup being heated up on a stove.

A smile split my lips as I tried lifting my naked body up from his chest, and failing. The thick, muscular arms that were tightly wrapped around my waist stopped me from doing so. It made me smile wider and lean down to put my lips on Jason’s.

“You know you’re gonna have to stop doing that right?” I murmured, running my fingers through his dark raven locks. A chaste kiss was placed on my cheek by his smirking lips.

“Hmm? Doing what?”

I leaned down so that our bare chests pressed against each other, lips hovering over his. My whisper was naughty as I answered him.

“Why should I? We both seem to like it so very much,” Jason nuzzled his nose against mine with a mischievous smirk.

“Because if by any chance I get preggers before marriage, my parents will chase you to the ends of the earth and decapitate the crap out of you,” I whispered jokingly, but meant every word. “And then after they’re done with you, they’ll feed me to the demons.”

My ever-so-daring boyfriend’s reply was to lowly chuckle and simply kiss my shoulder.

Affection came naturally to us now, especially since Jason had been touch starved practically since birth. The first few months of our relationship, I had to have a mental debate every time before touching him; how far I should go with the cuddling, to hold his hand or not, put my legs on his body while cuddling or not...

Unlike his brother Dick, who much to Jason’s irritation loved pulling me into a tight hug every time we met, Jason just wasn’t the affectionate type.

After a few months, I understood how badly he needed to be touched- to be loved, to be comforted. When he got the message that it’s okay to hold me as much as he wants, that there’s finally someone he can lose himself in, someone he can love, he found a way to touch me every spare moment we spent together. Kissing my neck, nuzzling his nose, holding my hips, putting his large hand on the small of my back or around my waist, constantly lifting me onto his lap- the list’s never ending.

“I’m serious, a child out of wedlock is beyond just a sinful taboo in my family,” I booped his nose, leaning my forearms on his chest to hold my upper body up.

Jason pretended to be lost in thought for a while before suddenly rolling our bodies over to our sides, the ridges and sinewy muscles of his defined chest flush against my back. He tucked the messy portion of my hair out of the way before kissing from my neck up to the back of my ear.

“Well since marriage is out of the question, I’ve no option than to not make my pull out game weak,” his tongue darted out to lick my ear teasingly.

Ignoring the pang that hit my heart at his statement about marriage, I turned to swat his chest teasingly. My lips were unable to hold back a grin at his reference to WAP .

“What? You’re the one who keeps dancing to it every morning,” Jason grinned back at me.

“It’s 4 am, we should sleep,” I shook my head at him, turning to face forward again. Jason and my shared bedroom turned dark as he flicked the dim bedside lamp off, making the glow of moonlight our only source of light.

The warmth from having his arms encased around me brought a serene feeling, making me think about how impossible it’d be to live without Jason Todd.

“I love you,” he murmured against my neck.

My eyes closed shut, senses overwhelmed with the depth of my feelings.

“I love you,” I whispered back.

I had an amazing life- loving and supporting, albeit sometimes overbearing, parents, a great job, a pretty apartment, and a man I’m certain I’d love and be loved by for the rest of my life. For the entirety of my existence, I’ve had the one thing Jason never did- stability.

But when it’s meant to be, it’ll always be.

God, fate or whatever higher force is up there looking over us made sure to let our souls find each other. Cherish each other.

I knew Jason’s views on marriage and children. It was hard enough for him to indulge himself with something as normal as a committed relationship, that too for two and a half years; but it’d actually be impossible for him to be a husband, a father. He didn’t have a basic job in the least, and thus didn’t think tying the knot and being a family man would be suitable for him.

Ever since I was a little girl, one of the things I’ve wanted greatly was to be married to the man I loved someday. But for Jason I could give it up. I could give up the hopes of having a ring on my finger and a baby on my belly, because he means more to me than anything ever will.

¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

*2 months later, New Year’s eve night at the Wayne Manor backyard*

“Damian, those aren’t fireworks, they’re explosives!”

At my alarmed exclaim, Dick quickly snatched the big box from his younger brother’s hands, waddling his finger as if to say ‘no no’.

“They’re fireworks,” Jason assured from behind. “The kid and I labelled it explosives so Dick doesn’t steal it,”

Dick’s face scrunched up in confusion, “”Why would I steal your fireworks? I’ve better things to do for fu-”

“Miss, the barbecue is ready. Would you like to add the last bit of sauce on top?” The always-polite and everyone’s favorite Alfred smartly interrupted Dick from saying the curse word.

Every time I practically forced my boyfriend, his brothers and father into having a family night, Alfred let me help with the food; and since I suck beyond words at cooking, he always gave me the easy tasks to do.

Now if you’re thinking that prevented me from considering myself as the world’s second Martha Stewart, you’re wrong.

I clapped my hands together in delight, “I’d love to!”

“No she wouldn’t,” Jason, Dick and Tim said at the same time.

I turned to them, perplexed at their concurrent interference.

Taking note of the unusual shiftiness in the boys’ stances, I raised a brow- “And why is that?”

Out of the three suspicious-looking brothers, Dick replied- “Because there’s only 20 minutes till midnight and you have to help us set the fireworks off!”

Now both my eyebrows rose, and I crossed my arms against my chest.

“So you’re telling me,” I said in slow amusement, dragging the words sarcastically. “That three of the strongest night vigilantes of Gotham, one being a violent nutcase once,” a look was thrown in Jason’s direction, “Needs an ordinary girl to set off fireworks?”

This time Tim responded, “Well you see, we’ve never set them off. None of us has ever had the chance to have a normal new years with fireworks and a countdown,”

“Really?” I deadpanned, voice turning into a shrill by the end of the question, “So have I been planning and working my ass off every new year’s for the past three years to make robots happy?”

Tim realized his mistake, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head before trying to redeem himself. “But we’ve never had a family new years, y’know, with the barbecue and fireworks,”

“Also, you’re nowhere near ordinary,” Jason added in a low voice as he came to stand behind me and kissed my temple. I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness, wrapping an arm around the middle of both the boys’ backs.

Right then Damian piped in, surprising everyone. “Plus you’re not a girl, you’re a woman,” he emphasized on the last word, making Jason scoff with a smirk and everyone else laugh.

It didn’t take long for me to grow on Damian, making him accept and like me. From what I heard from his brothers and Alfred, he didn’t like most people and never went easy on newcomers. I was especially concerned about getting Jason’s family to like me, since he didn’t have much of a good relationship with them and I wanted to change that. In the end everyone ended up accepting me; and gradually even treating me as one of their own. Dick and I were practically best friends.

Despite what he used to say, I knew Jason loved them all like they were his own blood; so I knew that it meant a great deal to him to rekindle his relationships with them.

Bruce Wayne’s voice spoke for the first time that evening, “Good evening, my apologies for the delay,”

An awkward silence took over our so-far cozy night. All of the boys looked other directions, not acknowledging their dad who never bothered to show up to any family days on time. I tried my best to knit the boys together, help them get close and create a bond; and saying that I succeeded wouldn’t be a lie. But the fact that Bruce couldn’t even take one day off from his billionaire/ vigilante duties sort of upset me every time.

Jason scoffed, his mouth opening to say something undoubtedly snarky to his father. But before he had the chance to I stepped on his shoe and gripped his hand tightly, silencing him.

“It’s okay Bruce, at least you made it,” I smiled.

The excruciatingly tense atmosphere was cracked by Dick, “I still need help with the fireworks, anyone up for it?”

“I’ll come!” I was quick to squeak and walk towards him.

“Me too,” Damian grumbled, following me.

Tim was the last one. “Yeah, me as well.”

“Great, so you guys do the fireworks and Jaybird and I will be right back!” Dick clapped his hands together in perky delight, pushing Jason’s back forward as they walked into the manor. From the distance, I saw Jason shrug Dick’s hand off before glaring at him. Again, confusion filled me at their strange behavior tonight.

“What was that about?” I asked Tim.

He smiled, “Nothing, probably just vigilante stuff.”

As the minutes passed by, the new year came nearer and nearer. The three of us successfully managed to set off the first batch of fireworks, looking up at the sky and laughing freely. Even Bruce had a small smile as he took a sip of his drink, looking up and the lit up sky with a hand in his pocket.

When it was about 10 minutes to the clock ticking 12:00 am, worry started to cloud the excitement I was feeling; but Tim and Damian were quick to distract it.

“Now can we do the grand purple one?” Damian gave me a rare pleading look.

“Yeah we can, but where’re Jason and Dick? They’re gonna miss new year’s,” I voiced my concern.

Right then, my phone started ringing.

Incoming video call from mom.

I answered, knowing that my parents were calling to say Happy New Year like they did every year. What rendered me surprised after receiving the call was that almost my entire family was on the frame of my mom’ video- two of my aunts, uncles and all the cousins I’m close to. Which are a lot.

I’m a family person, if you couldn’t tell already.

“Hi baby!” My mom grinned.

I grinned back, glee taking over the initial confusion.“Hey y’all! Are you having a New Years party without me?”

One of my younger cousins replied, “Sort of, now show us!”

My brows furrowed, “Show you what?”

A string of ‘oh shit’s sounded from mom’s side, further increasing my confusion.

Out of the blue, Dick intervened from behind me, “The fireworks of course!”

A sudden bang! took us all by surprise, and I looked up to see the huge purple fireworks lighting the dark canvas of the sky up. A wide grin split my lips, along with all the other boys as they whooped at the different shades of purple. It happened to be my favorite color.

I felt the familiar warmth of Jason’s body against my back before hearing or seeing him. The digital clock on the top corner of my phone read 11:55 pm. Not being able to contain my excitement, I subconsciously shoved my phone to Tim, who was beside me, while my family was still on video. I raised a hand to point at the sky.

“Jay look, it’s all so purple!”

And then something happened. Something I wouldn’t even dream of imagining.

Jason’s larger hand rose to the level of mine, which was still pointing up at the sky. He spread my fingers out so that my hand was displayed open. I turned to look at my boyfriend, not quite understanding his intentions.

His eyes were trained on mine, a golden and purple reflection from the fireworks and balcony lights visible on the glossy blue orbs.

Our eyes stayed on each other’s as I felt something cold graze the top of my ring finger.

In the background I heard Dick harshly whisper, “Tim, the song!”

I wasn’t dumb. I knew what my boyfriend was holding on top of that finger.

Jason’s lips were an inch away from my ear as he spoke clearly, not a hint of hesitation in his voice, “Just say the word, and I’ll put a ring on you.”

I couldn’t even look at it as I tried to get over the giant bucket of emotions that was thrown over me. Shock, flabbergast, sheer happiness, disbelief, excitement, a rush of adrenaline. My heart threatened to beat the crap out of my chest.

“Jason,” I whispered, my eyes fluttering shut as he put his chin on my shoulder, inches from mine. “What. Are. You. Doing??”

He bit his lip, smiling before cryptically answering. “I love you.”

“I thought you didn’t want to get married?” I questioned again. “Do you think I’m pregnant? Are you doing this cause-?” my voice was breathy.

Jason smirked, his unoccupied arm going round me from behind to rest on the other side of my waist. “No baby, I don’t. The twenty something negative pregnancy sticks on the bathroom trash sort of made it clear that you aren’t pregnant.”

I couldn’t hold back my own grin from his teasing. For the first time, I turned my head to look at our hands. The sky was phenomenal in the background of them, a swirl of blue, red and purple as Damian and Dick continued setting the fireworks off. Tim was holding my phone up to where Jason and I were standing, undoubtedly showing the scene to my family. Now I knew why they were all gathered together to call me.

“You asked my parents?”

Jay rubbed his nose on my cheek, his smart-assery coming to action as he quoted my words from that night two months ago- “Of course, wouldn’t wanna be chased to the end of the earth and be decapitated the crap out of now, would I?”

The boys all had blinding bright and hopeful grins on their faces; even Damian! Alfred’s expression could only be described with one adjective- delight, and Bruce had an odd smile as he saw the straight-out-of-a-movie scene unfold.

I turned my head to the side to look at Jason again, grin faltering to a small smile.

This time nervousness coated his expression and words as he asked once again, “Will you marry me?“

I heard my mom speak through the phone, “Oh come on, stop torturing the poor boy! Answer already!“

Taking a deep breath, I leaned my head even closer to Jason’s. His blue eyes pierced into mine with their intensity, and my lips touched his as I said the word softly.

“Yes.”

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karimac · 3 years ago

Text

...in the details, Part 2

A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.

All relationships, at this point anyway, are platonic.

Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

A bit about the OC Kari

Part 1

All mistakes are my own.

Word count: 2,249

Before you ventured into Westview, a flight of birds overhead reminded you of Redwing and Sam. Poor Sam. That sixth sense you had told you that fight at the compound was going to lead you all into very weird places. And the first one left you very squarely not in the room once again.

This time it was Steve and Bucky being thick as thieves, and you and Sam were…making a sandwich run? Couldn’t exactly get GrubHub to make a delivery to an attack site, could you? Bruce did not want some driver with a cellphone putting video up on Snapchat. “How would that look?” he bemoaned as he worked on the time travel platform. “We’d be getting tourists left and right. I don’t need that.” So off you and Sam went.

“You know, you could just, you know,” Sam started to say as he waved his hands like he thought a wizard would do, “and just poof up a plate of stuff. Right? With extra food for Banner, of course. He inhales tacos like nobody’s business. Just ask Tic Tac.”

“Sam, what have I told all of you before? Magic is the transfer of energy and matter. No suitable food stuff means no sandwiches. I can’t just think about the deli counter at Wegman’s and make a sandwich and a side of coleslaw appear in my hand. So, we’ll order on the app and pick it up. Just like everyone else. Before I hit the button, any changes to your order?”

“No, it’s fine. But don’t tell me you’ve never done shit like that when you’ve had your back against it,” Falcon huffed as you went to the rental car you’d gotten earlier in the day. That, thank Heaven, was easy to get at the local but extremely small airport.

“I’ve killed small rodents and eaten them, and I don’t mean just rabbits. Snakes, too. And, well, birds of prey, like falcons,” you groaned as you started to get into the car, but you stopped and headed back to the passenger side. “And I know you hate my driving, so here you go,” you said as you handed Sam the keys. “Sorry it isn’t a Ferrari. I was lucky to get this Kia. They didn’t exactly have anything race course worthy.”

As Sam climbed in, he saw bags of gear in the back seat. “You pulling a Wanda? Need some me time away from all us testosterone jockeys? Cyborg is going to be pissed.”

“Bucky has other stuff to deal with, trust me,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “He does not need to add Crazy Old Broad to his growing list of things to do and people to take care of this week. I heard him talking to Steve…”

“You? Eavesdropping? You are human!” Sam smirked, but then he saw the comment had hit a nerve. “You know I was kidding, right?”

“I know you are,” you said as you swallowed hard. In reality, you were not exactly buying that last comment. Sam was a sweetheart, but his comment sounded like things Tony and Steve had said about you in the weeks before the Time Heist. It depended on the situation, but one or the other of them seemed to question you, your motives, your powers and what they could do, and, at times, your grasp on reality. You did have a connection to a goddess they couldn’t see. Blaming them for having those questions just was not in your wheelhouse. “And yeah, maybe I just need to go figure a few things out. You guys know how to get me back here if you need me.”

“Somehow I don’t think Steve, Bucky and I would look so great standing and screaming your name in the middle of a fight,” Sam noted as he finally turned the key in the ignition.

“Now who is having issues with gender roles?” you said with a very pronounced side glance. “Sam, we are all human. We all need a save now and then. Maybe you’ll never have to utter my name again after today, unless you guys can’t find something you think I hid? Thor will be back once he’s done exploring the universe, and you can always get him here fast if you have Strange find him. And Wong is just dying for his shot as a full time Avenger. We all know that! And I can go back and do, well, goddess stuff, I guess. And raise horses. Just, please, make sure no one drops the ball on Parker. He lost his parents and his uncle. Losing Tony will hit him harder than anyone likely expects. He’s a good kid. He just needs support and guidance. Now, want to get this thing moving, or do you want me to drive?”

“And have you antagonize the local cops by going Mach 1? No thank you!”

You had to laugh at that one. You did tend to floor it. A lot.

++++++++++

A short time later, you and Sam rolled back to the site Bruce had chosen to set up the time travel platform. After you two handed out all the food, you realized it was really time for you to get going. No, you didn’t have a train, plane or bus to catch or someone to meet. You just knew it was going to get harder to make the break the longer you stayed there.

“She’s pulling a Wanda on us,” Sam said as he finished off the last of the sweet tea he had grabbed at the deli where you’d gotten food. “I think it’s too much he-man macho stuff, but she won’t fess up to that.”

“Wilson, how many brothers did I have?” you asked as you cleaned up the trash from the table Bruce had borrowed from a local park that had been wrecked during the battle. It had a huge hole in the end, but hey, it was good enough for the moment.

“Eight,” Bucky replied before Sam got the chance. “Just don’t quiz me on all their names. I remember your twin, Branan, and the one who was the vampire. Ewan? Right?”

“Yup, that’s right,” you grinned at Buck. “And no quiz. Promise,” you said as you raised your left hand and crossed your heart with your right.

“Why are you leaving?” Bruce asked as he adjusted the sling on his still injured arm, putting extra emphasis on the word “are” as he uttered it. “We need all the help we can get.”

Bruce, heaven help him, was suddenly one of the last active OG Avengers standing on Earth. Thor was off finding himself with the Guardians, and no one could really begrudge him that. He needed time to heal, and you knew all too well that was not easy nor time limited. Clint had more or less retired again after Natasha’s sacrifice on Vormir. Steve was getting ready to take the stones back, but upon his return, he’d likely join up with Sam and Bucky again to root out any remaining Hydra cells. That left Bruce in a very different place this time around.

“Bruce, you don’t really need me being a head case. Trust me. You do not need me giving any news outlets ammunition to blast headlines that make the team look less than spotless. I need to go home, at least for a little while,” you replied, knowing full well you were not telling him or the others everything. “And as I reminded Sam, you guys can just call me, and I’ll be here. Just whisper my name. Or yell it. Whatever works. Text me! If it’s an emergency, and if I’m not in the middle of some new damned war on my end, I’ll come running. But I have a feeling you guys are going to be just fine. Hell, I’ll give you a blessing before I head out.”

Yeah. A blessing. More like the final nail in the coffin. The words to start the spell to make them forget you.

“Big guy, you first,” you said as you put your hands on Bruce’s injured right arm. “And no, I am doing this, Bruce. It won’t be a full healing, but it should speed things up. You got this, big guy. Biggest brain. Biggest heart. May you realize just how much this team was built with your sweat and tears as it was anyone else’s.”

“I can’t change your mind?” Bruce asked as he pretended to wipe a tear from his eye and pout a bit. “And I am not asking because you are likely the only one of us who can cook…”

“I’m pretty sure all of you guys can cook something. Maybe not a good Colcannon or a fine Dublin coddle, but you’ll survive. As for the cupcakes, you guys may need to get a bakery on speed dial,” you added with a laugh because you knew they’d make that bakery rich. The Avengers loved their sugary snacks.

“Just don’t bug my sister, Bruce,” Sam noted as he waited for you to come over to him. “I still remember asking why the Cupcake Lady had a sword that night when those demon things attacked near the tower. I never asked. Why the cupcakes?”

“And not why the demons or the sword?” you said as you nearly choked on your words. “You realize that was before Steve saw me at Peggy’s funeral. That night was truly a fluke, Sam. No one was supposed to see that side of me then. As for the cupcakes, they were my entry to your world. Gifts from a fan girl. They’re easy to carry, a synch to personalize when needed, and everyone can have their own without fighting,” you said with a grin as Sam shook his head. “What?”

“You sound like Sarah.”

“Then I am in good company. Tell her the good stuff you’ve told me all these years. The words of wisdom. The little jokes. The pep talks. Tell her often. A single mom with two boys needs that. Be there for her, and drag these guys to see her, too. It would do the boys a world of good to have all their uncles stop by. Now, Samuel,” you said as you gave him a hug, “remember to keep these guys flying right. And if the world drops opportunity in your lap, whatever it might be, do not look at it and push it away without a lot of thought. The world needs Sam Wilson, the hero with a heart.”

And now the hardest part of this good bye had you wiping tears from your eyes. “I know. I’m a big mush. Girls from Brooklyn would laugh at me for this, right? Sorry, but girls from Naas and Athy do cry sometimes. I’m going to miss you two lugs. A lot.”

“Lugs. Last time you called us that was in ’43,” Bucky said as he looked down at his feet for a minute. “Somehow Hydra missed that memory.”

“You’ll see us again,” Steve said as he turned briefly to see where the case with the stones was on the platform. “But this time, it better not take 70 years.”

As you looked at the best friends, something about their auras seemed off. They had been planning something when you almost walked in on their chat a few days ago. You had no idea what it was, and you suddenly didn’t want to hang around to find out what the next act was going to bring.

“Just…watch your back, Steve. From what Clint said about Vormir, that one is going to be tough. And Buck, whatever comes next, I’m rooting for you. Even if you can’t see me doing it.”

“You really don’t have to leave,” Bruce kept insisting as you hefted your backpack on your shoulder.

“Dr. Banner, do you really want to fight my demons after all this? I have enemies. You just haven’t seen them yet. Frankly, the only reason that Hydra didn’t grab me before I hooked up with the Howling Commandos was because I was pulled into another dimension by one of those enemies. It was only by some weird twist of fate that Peggy found me when she did. If the veil between worlds had not been so thin near that camp, I might never have made it back, or Hydra might have found me first. It was pure dumb luck.”

{{And, Heaven help me, part of it was these two lugs over here}} you thought as you turned to head to your car. Then you stopped. This was a lot harder than it had been any time before, but it was the curse of an immortal to have to keep moving on. “I wish you luck, joy and happiness. I wish you peace. And, if you are truly lucky, memories long enough to have little space to spare for the likes of me because they are filled with so much more! See you in my dreams, for now anyway, fellas.”

++++++++++

You rolled out of there before Steve started his mission to return the stones, and you got a text from Bruce hours later telling you everything that had happened. Steve not coming back as planned. Then an older version of Steve shows up, sitting on a bench near the platform, and he gives Sam the shield. Right in front of Bucky.

It was now weeks later. No. It was months later, and here you were staring up at the sign for Westview. You’d gotten out of your rental car so you could get a feeling for the area around this little town.

“You made it back,” a voice said behind you. “How are you, after all that mess with Wanda and that Agatha woman? She was a real piece of work.”

The person speaking to you was Dr. Darcy Lewis. Friend of Thor and Dr. Jane Foster. Why was she even here?

You couldn’t fully figure out what the hell she was talking about. You didn’t remember being here before. Yet, you knew who she was, and you had never met her before. Or at least you couldn’t remember meeting her, here or anywhere else.

“Apparently not as great as I thought I was,” you muttered as you winced again. “Dr. Lewis, how long ago was the blip?”

“Give or take a week, about six months ago,” she replied as you started to pace. “Why?”

“Shit. Not this again,” you hissed as you looked up at the sign once more. “I think I’m going to need your help. How much do you know about Celtic myths and Irish history, Dr. Lewis?”

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randomdcfangirl · 4 years ago

Text

Jason x Superman's daughter!reader

Request: Hi can i request a jason todd x reader where reader is a daughter of a hero and defends jason infront of the jl by @illzarr

(A/N): You didn't specify if you wanted them to be a couple or not but I made them one, hope that's okay :) Also I made it Superman's daughter.

Tags: @redhoodieone @avengerdragoness @comic-nerd-dc

Keys: (Y/N): Your Name (Y/S/N): Your Superhero Name

Word Count: 1,381

Warning(s): Cursing, arguing, mention of child abuse, talking about Jason's death, league may be a bit rude and ignorant when it comes to Red Hood, also a bit insensitive

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

Being on The Watchtower wasn't something Jason liked doing, especially since he wasn't Robin anymore. As Robin it was fun and he liked it but after everything it wasn't a fun experience. Red Hood isn't seen as a hero in the hero community like he is down in Crime Alley. Moral codes got in the way of that.

How the hell Jason got (Y/N) Kent or (Y/S/N) he has no idea, no fucking clue. Why did Clark allow it you may ask? He did not, he doesn't know, good thing Jason carries Kryptonite around, he's not dying a second time to Superman.

Jason doesn't even really know why he was called to this mission, it wasn't hard and they wouldn't need backup so he was a bit on guard because of that. He was walking with his Nightwing, his brother of all people, to this meeting that Jason is pretty sure isn't a meeting. Jason's pretty sure he's getting set up but he was going with it for now, well somewhat.

"Wing, you need to tell me right now, am I getting set up?" Jason asked him.

"I'm not going to take you to get arrested, Hood. If I wanted that it would've happened a long time ago." Dick let out a laugh.

"Wow thanks, glad to know you don't want me in prison." Jason joked. "But actually, this isn't a mission is it?"

"To be honest, I wasn't told anything either. So I honestly don't know." Dick replied.

"Okay, now I know it's not a mission. They were prepared for me to ask questions so they didn't tell you anything." Jason sighed. "Guess I'm arguing with somebody today."

Dick shrugged and they continued on their way to the conference room. That conversation didn't give Jason any information at all. They arrived in the conference room a few minutes later and everyone was there, already waiting for them. There was a seat for Jason at the table between Diana and (Y/N), Jason cautiously walked up and sat in the chair while Dick walked around to sit next to Bruce and Clark.

"Now that we're all here we can get started. So, it's not really a mission." Superman said. Jason's suspicions were confirmed.

"I had a feeling, so why am I here?" Jason sighed.

"Think of this as sort of an intervention, Batman has no say in anything we've done and he cannot stop it." Diana said.

"Intervention for what?" Jason asked confused.

"Your actions as the Red Hood." Clark replied.

"If this is about killing I haven't killed anyone in the past year, bats already beat you to that "intervention" a while ago." Jason said with finger quotations.

"Not just the killing, there's a lot of younger heros that look up to you and you're too aggressive out in the field." Diana explained vaguely.

"But yes mostly the killing." Flash said.

"I didn't sign up to be a role model, that's not my fault. All I do is mind my business and do my job, I don't think that's a need for an intervention." Jason replied.

"Okay, let's talk to Jason instead of Red Hood, drop the persona." Superman said. "Clark to Jason."

"Sorry but Jason isn't any different, I think the person you're looking for died in a warehouse 8 years ago." Jason replied, Clark flinched a bit at that remark. "Just spit it the fuck out, why exactly am I here?"

"They don't like the way you act and work down in Gotham like they have any authority down there in the first place." (Y/N) said from her place next to Jason.

"(Y/N)." Clark warned.

"No, all you guys ever do when he's here is criticize like you have authority over him. Well guess fucking what, you don't. He's a grown man who can make his own decisions and you're not his family. Maybe you were considered so at one point but in my opinion you lost that privilege a long time ago!" She exclaimed to all of them.

"(Y/N) you don't hav-." Jason started but she cut him off standing out of her chair.

"No! I do! I'm sick of all of you trying to change who the Red Hood is! Just because he has a different moral code? Also did you know that he's never once killed an innocent person? Did you know Red Hood has only ever killed murderers, rapists, child molesters, because I don't know about you but those people don't deserve to be breathing in my opinion anyway." She said darkly then turned to Jason and talked softly. "They brought you up here because Joker is dead but they wanted to know if you did it or not. They wanted to see if they could make you say it without straight out asking you."

"He's dead? When? Who?" Jason asked quietly in shock.

"We were hoping you knew." Green Lantern said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"If I was never stopped he would've been dead a long time ago. But no I didn't kill him, I wish I did but nope." Jason was keeping himself composed from the shock.

"Okay, he didn't kill him, like I told you many times. But you wanted to know how I knew so you know what I'll tell you. I was with him for the past 2 weeks every single night and day. He's my boyfriend and he's the most kind hearted, hard working, strongest and intelligent man I've ever met. I've never been treated with such respect and love so I'm not going to sit here and let you tear him a part in lectures anymore. He does too much good down in Crime Alley to deserve it." She said strongly to everyone in the room. Bruce sent her a nod because he's glad Jason has her.

"Oh really, what good has he done?" Green Arrow said.

"When was the last time you guys gave out food to street kids or an orphanage? How many of you guys help kids with homework or the kids who have to cover bruises on their arms or legs while at school? When was the last time you gave a sexual assault victim peace of mind knowing their attacker can't hurt them anymore? When was the last time you worked your asses off every single night to bring kidnapped children home from a trafficking ring? Probably never for most of you but Jason does it every single day while dealing with his own demons up in his mind because guess what he's gone through literal hell and back and that shit ain't easy!" She exclaimed more. "C'mon babe, you have no reason to be up here. Let's go home."

She grabbed his hand after they both stood up and they walked out of the room. They left everyone in the room including her father who didn't know what to think.

"That's three bats now somehow involved with my family." Clark sighed.

"It's not fun from my side either, Clark." Bruce replied standing up. "Also don't ever call a meeting to do with any of my children again. Especially not Jason, he deals with enough already and you have no authority over Gotham so your input on my city is not accepted. Leave my family and my city out of League business, this meeting is over."

Batman is scary but Batdad is scarier.

When Jason and (Y/N) got to his apartment they changed out of their gear and into sweats and comfy clothes.

"You didn't have to do that you know." Jason said wrapping his arms around her from behind while in their bedroom looking out the window.

"I did, I know you won't defend yourself with actual facts and would likely turn to anger to protect yourself so as your girlfriend I decided I'd take it upon myself to protect you the way you try to protect me, even though I'm Kryptonian." She replied. Jason huffed a laugh because he does do that even though she doesn't need it.

"I love you." Jason told her kissing the side of her head.

"I love you too." She replied and turned to give him a real kiss.

They'd deal with Superman later.

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

Hi, I haven't wrote is fic in a long time but here this is. I'm still doing the Jason x Bermudian!reader I'm sorry that's taking so long. But I love you guys and hopefully I'll be more active on here :) <3 (Also I couldn't think of a title lol)

#dc comics #jason todd #batman #dc #batfamily #red hood x reader #comics #jason todd x y/n #jason todd imagine #red hood imagine #jason todd x Superman's daughter!reader

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anjuschiffer · 4 years ago

Text

Weren’t Meant To Be

So ummm... surprise???

I wanted to write more Male!MarinttexDamian, but ended up world building... enjoy!

Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

Context and Background: This is in the same timeline as ‘Beloved’. Lila is a good child here and kinda replaces Mar in canon (she’s Alya’s Bestie despite having transferred on their second to last year of lycee). Marcel and Alya are close friends, but aren’t best friends, so I’d like to think that since they aren’t that close, it’s easier for Alya to be more persistent with her ideas and plans.

Wait...Lila replacing Mar in canon, so who is Mar in this timeline? Marcel is still similar to canon, beloved by all but replaces Adrien in the sense that the entire school and community knows him because of his tallness (and handsome features even though he’s oblivious to it).

AO3

“Just give her a chance, Marcel.” Alya pleaded, looking back at their classmate, her bestie. Thinking that Alya had caught her staring at Marcel, Lila looked away, a prominent blush on her face. Alya grinned. “She’s head-over-heels for-”

“I already told you.” Marcel huffed, looking at the weapon in front of her- the ray Joker had used in his latest attack on Gotham. “There’s already someone I like.”

It was their last year at DuPont, the senior class settling on touring the US as their senior trip. Their last stop: Hall of Justice situated in Washington DC.

Alya remembered when she had introduced Lila to Marcel. They had hit off pretty well, Marcel taking an interest in Lila when Alya had proposed the idea of Lila helping Marcel model for his brand.

He was short a model and needed one asap. Who better than Lila?

While Lila had no trouble having to wear makeup for the photo shoots, her two strands of hair and straight bangs already framed her face beautifully. Her olive complexion and green eyes made her stand out more than Marcel’s other models. (No offense Juleka.) And the bun? Made her even cuter!

Alya had planned on getting her two friends to become more than friends through Lila modeling for Marcel, but it never got farther than that.

Marcel never picked up on Lila’s advances, her feelings, always remaining professional with the girl, much to Lila and Alya’s dismay.

It’s been two years since the two have met and Alya wasn’t going to let her efforts go in vain. This trip was Alya’s chance (out of many) to try and get the two together...hopefully.

“Yeah, yeah. Imaginary boyfriend - Damian.” Alya sighed, noting that this was the umpteenth time Marcel had used that excuse. He’s been using it since a year ago. “Why are you so insistent that you’re seeing someone? Is it some kind of tactic? Do you really hate Lila that much?”

“He’s not imaginary.” Marcel sighed, now going to see the next weapon. “He’s an actual person, whether you want to believe it or not. And no, I would never stoop that low just to make someone leave me alone. Besides, it’s my love life. I should be able to decide on who to like, not someone who doesn’t know my heart.”

At hearing her friend’s words, Alya frowned before storming off to join Lila and Nino.

“Seriously. I can’t believe him sometimes.” Alya muttered, crossing her arms as she stood next to Nino.

“Believe what?” Nino asked, wondering what was going on between his two friends. Despite the fact that the two were good friends, Nino sometimes couldn’t help but notice their differences. “Why’s Mar-“

“Because I asked him about his boyfriend.”

“He has someone?” Lila asks, Nino and Alga seeing her face drop from her earlier mood. “Marcel has someone…he likes?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Alya attempted to cheer up. “Marcel keeps saying that he’s seeing someone, but I’m pretty sure he’s just saying that because he’s too shy to admit his true feelings.”

“Do you really think Marcel would do something like that?” Nino defended his childhood friend, completely knowing who Alya was talking about. “We both know he would never do-”

“He wouldn’t, but he’s so infuriating!” Alya wanted to scream, instead settling for pulling at her hair. “Like seriously! Would it hurt him to give Lila one glance? Because from the looks of it, it would!”

“What if he’s telling the truth? What if he is dating someone?” Nino asked, watching Alya’s face harden. “How do you think his boyfriend will feel when he finds out or sees his partner on a date with someone else? I know how I’d feel if I found out you went on a date with someone else: pissed.”

Alya took a deep breath from her boyfriend’s words, looking over at Lila.

Her bestie was on the verge of crying, her lips trembling.

“Okay, fine. Let’s say he really does have someone.” Alya continued the instigation. “Then why haven’t we met him? Why haven’t we gotten a single piece of evidence that this guy does indeed exist?”

“Maybe Marcel is doing it because of the person Damian might be.” Nino defended. “Maybe Damian doesn’t want their relationship to be-”

“What kind of person wouldn’t want-” Alya cut off, only to be cut off herself when she heard Marcel’s squeal echo throughout the building.

The trio quickly went over to where Marcel’s squeal originated from, quickly hiding behind a statue when Alya saw the scene in front of them.

There’s no way...

“I-Is that who I think it is?” Nino asked, hoping he wasn’t dreaming.

“That’s Clark Kent from the Daily Planet.” Alya whispered, wondering how Marcel found them. Although the bigger question was, how was Marcel conversing with them as if they’d known each other for a very long time?

And if they knew each other, why didn’t Marcel introduce him to her?

Weren’t they friends?

“But who’s that behind him?” Lila asked, pointing over to a large group behind them.

“Holy shit.” Nino cursed, knowing it was worth saying it this one time. “That’s, no. Those-”

“Wayne. They’re Wayne’s.” Alya finished, gawking at the sight of all the Waynes in one place.

There was the eldest child, Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson, talking with his other brothers: Timothy Jackson Drake and Jason Peter Todd. Right behind them was Stephanie with Cassandra, Duke -the recent addition to the family- at the end of the mob, his face glued to his phone. But at the front?

Leading the family was Bruce Wayne himself, smiling when he saw Marcel talking with Kent.

The trio watched as Marcel straightened up and quickly turned his head, a grin appearing on his face when he saw the Waynes, quickly jogging up to Bruce. Alya watched as the two conversed, watching as other members of the family quickly noticed him and circled around Marcel to talk to him.

“Come on, we have to get closer.” Alya insisted, already pulling Lila with her.

“Alya, I don’t think we should-” Nino started.

“Are you with us or not?” Alya hissed, wanting to get closer to the group. She could barely hear them, not wanting to miss the possible explanation as to why Marcel knew them.

With a sigh, Nino looked at his girlfriend before turning around and leaving them, shocking her.

‘Fine! Have it your way!’ Alya wanted to scream, but knew that would blow her cover.

With Lila entail, she got as close as she could, Alya signaling Lila to keep as quiet as she could.

“-class trip? You could’ve given us a heads up, Red!” Alya heard Grayson exclaim, watching as he ruffled Marcel’s hair.

“Hey! It took an hour to get it this neat!”

“See! He gets it!” Jason exclaimed, pulling out the hair tie from the mess of hair and promptly redid Marcel’s half bun with ease. “Guys with short hair will never understand.” Jason said, Marcel voicing a ‘Ditto’ while Tim and Dick glared at them while the girls simply cleared their throats. “Well, you guys at least understand why we have to get up an hour earlier to get ready for the day.”

“By the way, where’s Damian?” Alya heard Marcel ask, feeling Lila’s grasp in her hand tighten. Alya glanced at her before completely looking over to her friend.

Lila’s face was blank, but her eyes said it all. She didn’t even need to see the tear spooling in Lila’s eyes to see what she felt.

She was scared.

“Demon spawn? Last time I checked on him, he was talking to Jon.”

“Jon’s here?!” Marcel exclaimed, looking over to Clark. “Uncle Clark! You didn’t tell me Jon was here!”

“I didn’t? Must have slipped my mind.” Clark said, whispering that last line.

“Did someone call for me?” Alya watched as this Jon came into view, watching as Marcel grinned.

“Jon!” Marcel smiled, running to the boy and hugging him. “It’s been so long!”

“We literally saw each other over spring break!” Jon chirped, effortlessly prying himself from Marcel’s grasp.

“But that was months ago!”

Alya watched as someone else made their way to the group, her eyes widening as she recognized their face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She whispered, replaying Nino’s words from earlier.

“Maybe Marcel is doing it because of the person Damian might be. Maybe Damian doesn’t want their relationship to be-”

-known. For it to be a secret.

Alya cursed herself.

It all made sense now.

The reason why Marcel couldn’t introduce Damian to them? He was a Wayne, people who loved to keep their life a secret.

“Jon, I already told you various times, but why must you...“ the youngest Wayne started, only for his words to trail when his eyes locked onto Marcel.

Alya watched as Marcel slowly turned to look at the youngest Wayne, his mouth gaping a bit.

“Damian.” He spoke, Alya watching as he took a single step forward.

“Habibi.” Damian replied. “What-“

“Damian!” Marcel exclaimed, running to Damian, scooping him into and hug before taking a step back and cupping Damian’s face. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Alya watched as Damian’s face softened, his eyes filling with adoration.

“As have I.” Damian replied, having tip-toed to kiss Marcel, using his hand to bring Marcel closer to him.

Alya watched as the two parted, the family grinning at the lovebird’s gesture.

“S-So he did...he did have someone he li-liked.” Lila whispered, her voice cracking.

She hated this feeling. She hated the blurring of her vision and the pain in her chest. She hated the ever so growing lump in her throat.

“I suggest you set your eyes on someone else.” Marcel told her as she measured her arm. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Why didn’t she heed his advice? Maybe because she thought he was just being sweet? Maybe because she was in denial?

Doesn’t matter. Clearly, they weren’t meant to be...

Lila quickly left the scene, Alya debating on whether to follow her bestie or stay to listen.

What kind of question was that?

Alya chased after her friend, missing the moment Marcel, Clark and the rest of the Waynes disappeared behind the door that only Justice League members were allowed to go through.

#maribat #daminette #male!marinette x damian #maribat male!marinette #mentioned daminette

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rosesgonerogue · 4 years ago

Text

I didn’t so much fall in love - It kicked me in the face Chapter Eight

Masterlist

The room seemed empty without the plague that was his brothers. Tim stood silent and still for a few moments longer (long enough to make it awkward) before he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about Damian, he was out of line.”

“He was, but I was a little out of line as well,” Marinette said with a sigh. “But you are also not responsible for your brother. I feel like I need to apologize and let you know that it’s okay if you don’t want to go for coffee.”

“No, we’re still on for that,” Tim said immediately. “As long as you still want to, of course.”

“I’ll be waiting in anticipation. But I’ve held you captive for too long already, I’m sure you’ve got things to do, naps to take. Unless you have any last minute comments or complaints on the suit?”

“Ask me that again on a day when I’ve had more than forty-five minutes of sleep. Then I’ll have an incredibly witty response,” Tim said with a smile. “Aside from the lack of lining, the suit is everything I never knew I needed.”

He carefully took off the jacket while his mind raced. Hearing the way Marinette had phrased her experiences had struck him with the fact that Paris wasn’t nearly as idyllic and safe as they had supposed, and the thought of Marinette in danger was unacceptable. Instead of sleeping, Tim found himself compiling a briefing file on the crime history of Paris, as well as the most important aspects of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now Tim just had to convince everyone else that some of them needed to go assess the situation in the city itself. There were numerous evidences that Hawkmoth was an issue of the past, but the fact that the whole situation had gone on for at least four years without the League even noticing was… concerning, to say the least.

Privately, Tim couldn’t help but wonder just how Marinette’s name hadn’t been added to the list of “akumatized” victims. From everything he knew of her, she was fueled by love and passion - she was an unstoppable force of emotion. He couldn’t help but respect her all the more.

Ladybug was also a mystery. Paris wasn’t in constant danger like before, but she remained active, helping out in day-to-day crime. Chat Noir showed up occasionally, but she seemed to be the only regular hero.

It was hours before the fittings for Dick and Jason were finished, and then he called everyone in for a meeting. Damian looked incredibly annoyed, a good portion of which was a remnant from his earlier collision with Marinette. Just thinking about the skirmish was enough for Tim to decide he was at least a little bit in love with the woman. Anyone who could put Damian in his place like that was someone to be respected.

“So what’s up, Timmy? Why the family meeting? It must be serious if even Alfred is part of this,” Dick said, sitting down.

“First I have a question for Bruce. Did the League ever get any kind of distress call from Paris between nine and five years ago?”

“From Paris? None that I know of. What’s going on, Tim?” Bruce asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Sit down boys, there’s been a serious oversight.”

Tim handed them each a file and sat down, settling in to watch their reactions.

*******

“Why do you keep looking in the mirror, Maman?”

Marinette lurched away from the bathroom mirror, cheeks flushing. “I… I was just making sure my hair looked okay.”

“You look pretty, Maman. I’m sure Monsieur Tim will think so too. When this is done you need to invite him to Paris so you can go on a date without me, like it’s supposed to be.”

Choking on her spit, Marinette stared at her child. “Leo! Who told you to say such a thing?!”

“Uncle Kim says that kids aren’t supposed to go on dates.”

“Well, that’s usually true,” she said, massaging her temples. “But people go on dates to see if they like someone enough to see if they want them to be in their lives forever. If a man wants to be in my life forever, I have to make sure that you like him.”

“I told you, we’re supposed to know Monsieur Tim,” Leo said, slightly exasperated. “He makes us both happier.”

“You’re right, and I trust you, but Monsieur Tim and I just need to get to know each other before anything happens.”

“Fine,” Leo huffed, dramatically throwing himself onto his hotel bed. Marinette couldn’t help but shake her head. Her son was incredibly mature, and sometimes it felt like he could practically see into the future. But she loved the reminders that he was still just a child.

“Stop pouting, it’s time to go,” Marinette said, shoving him off of the bed. He caught himself with ease - it seemed that he’d been blessed with a natural athleticism instead of her own inborn clumsiness.

The coffee shop was easily within walking distance, and Marinette held Leo’s hand with the strength of a vice - it was Gotham, after all, and they didn’t have the best track record with the city.

After walking for about a block, Marinette finally brought herself to ask Leo what she’d been wondering since she and Leo had met Tim. “Leo?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you mean when you keep saying that we’re supposed to know Monsieur Tim?”

He turned to her, gifting her with one of his rare full smiles, and Marinette barely resisted the urge to smother him in a hug. His blue eyes sparkled with some secret knowledge before he said, “That’s a secret, Maman. You just have to wait and find out.”

“Leo, that’s not fair,” Marinette said, mock pouting.

“Monsieur Tim is going to be important to us both, but especially to you,” Leo said plainly. “He can understand you in a way that most people can’t, but he wouldn’t try to pity you or something like that.”

Whatever she had been expecting, it definitely hadn’t been a reply like that. Marinette found herself rendered speechless for the rest of the walk, her mind racing with the possibilities of what Leo could possibly mean by that.

They were early, but Tim was actually already inside, remarkably awake for so early in the morning. He sat at one of the tables by the window, and when he caught sight of her he waved wildly. (Marinette couldn’t tease him about it though, she and Leo waved just as enthusiastically.) She couldn’t help but smile. With a start to her day like this, how could it go wrong?

Taglist: @ii-fox-demon @queen-in-a-flower-crown @novaloptr @saphiraazure2708 @iamabrownfox @smolplantmum @redhoodedtoad @loysydark @slytheringinger300 @finallyaniguana @brokenwordsarehard2 @abrx2002 @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @moonlightstar64 @marinettepotterandplagg @black-streak @purplesundaze @maribat-is-lifeblood @the-fusionist @river9noble @chocolatecatstheron @darkthunder1589 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @dast218 @k-poplunardreams @meanids @changelinggarden @ladybug-182 @pawsitivelymiraculous @zotinha456 @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @somebodyspersephone @spider-person95 @zestyzealot @toodaloo-kangaroo @kokotaru @kurogaya913 @tis-i-beanbandit @annapointone

Note:

Here's the next chapter, kids! I already posted about this, but I want your opinion as well. I have at least two more ideas for Mominette fics, would y'all be interested in me posting them? I'm still trying to ride through quarantine without seeing my nieces and nephews, so I need children in my life SOMEHOW. There’s a Daminette one and a Jasonette one. Let me know what y’all think. Also somehow I’ve almost got 500 followers??! I would like to do something as a thank you, just let me know if you guys have any ideas.

Also I’m totally fine with my brand becoming Mominette. I don’t know how much everyone else in this little niche fandom like it, but I also assume the majority of you aren’t single people in grad school that get lonely.

Anyway, let me know what you guys think, both for the Mominette fics and what you want for the 500 follower thing once I hit 500 followers!

#maribat #timinette #marinette x tim

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sparkleofpizza · 4 years ago

Text

The archer - Tim Drake x reader 3/?

Requested: no

Warnings: swearing, flashback in italic

Taglist: @isthataladybag

Summary: Y/n Queen will be living in the Wayne Manor for a while, and Dick Grayson decided to be the Cupid between her and his little brother Tim Drake.

Word count: 2.918

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

Tim trusted Bruce. He trusted Bruce a lot, he was Batman after all, he took care of the city very well and would never let a known threat just live there normally. But Tim was a detective as well, he felt a bit bad for it, but he had to dig a bit on you.

After finding out you are Oliver's sister and not Roy’s, and that you had been trained by Talia al Ghul, he realized he knows nothing about you or your past. If it was anyone else staying at his house, he would've already found out all of their secrets and everything they had ever done in their life. He couldn't let a silly crush get in the way, or your pretty conquer smile. He felt very bad for snooping around, but he had to do it. It was who he was.

You were out for the day, you had to take care of a few papers at Gotham University since you would be studying there in a few days. You had invited Tim to accompany you, and he really wanted to, specially since you knew nothing about Gotham and could easily end up going somewhere dangerous (everywhere was a bit dangerous, but still). He told you he had to work on a few papers for Wayne Enterprises and suggested you invited Jason to join you.

So now, there was Tim. Sitting alone in his room, laptop open, a mug of warm coffee by his side, and he was ready to look you up. He started typing, doing the thing he always does when he needs to dig dirty on people he is tracking for a case - he still felt terrible about doing this behind your back, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, it was just the crush he had on you talking louder than common sense.

Y/n M/n Queen. Birthday: xx/xx/xxxx. Birth place: Star City.

Moira Queen - mother (deceased)

Robert Queen - father (deceased)

Oliver Queen - brother

Emiko Queen - half sister

Tim started reading everything he could find about you. Good student with great grades, former cheerleader, socialite knowing for mingling with important people from Star City. Has been saved by the Green Arrow a few times when kidnaped for being a Queen, and then Deathstroke's victim. Footage of you out there being Silver, in the years where you were activated the most, now a days you're hardly ever seen as vigilant. Associated with Thomas Merlyn - mercenary, Malcom Merlyn - mercenary and assassin. Joined the League of Assassins for five months after being held as a prize on a fight between Malcom Merlyn and Oliver Queen, resulting in the loss of Oliver and you being sent to the League. Trained by the whole al Ghul family. Often associated with Roy Harper and Connor Hawke. Teamed up with Red Arrow and Kid Flash before.

Tim was pleased he didn't find anything bad about you. All of this was ok, even the League of Assassins stuff. He was relived, but now was feeling ever guiltier than before. Should he tell you what he did? Would you be mad?

He closed his laptop, rubbing his eyes. Maybe he was just tired, that's why he did all of this. There was no need for you to know any of this.

"Drake." Damian said, barging into his room, hands behind his back and chin held up high "I think we need to discuss the fact that Queen is a former member of the League of Assassins."

Tim sighted "I already looked it up, she is fine, Damian."

"Then look it up again and harder. You are letting your feelings cloud your judgment."

And with that the little boy left.

You were sitting at a cafe with Jason in Gotham Downtown. You had already delivered the missing papers at Gotham University, and now were enjoining an iced coffee with him. He had a hat and sunglasses on, trying to hide his identity, he was supposed to be dead and hasn't made his big debute just yet.

"So... Dick seems to be trying to be the cupid between you and Tim." he commented, taking a sip of his Frappuccino "What do you think about that?"

You chuckled "I am certainly not opposed to that."

Jason's eyebrows shot up "Really? So you are crushing on my replacement?"

"Stop calling him that, you know he didn't want to replace you." you rolled your eyes, no you didn't know that, but from what you learned about Tim, you could tell that wasn't his intention when he took the mantle of Robin "And yes, I am crushing your brother. Although I have no idea what he wants from me."

The man in front of you rolled his eyes back at you, not like you could see trough the dark lenses covering his eyes. Of course you were crushing on him, if you were already willingly to defend Tim without even knowing everything.

"Dick wouldn't have came up with this idea if he didn't think Tim was interested in you as well. But, I can try and talk to him if you want to. Please, don't."

"Geez, why did you volunteer if you don't want to?"

"Because I am trying to be nice to you."

You shook your head, sipping on your iced caramel macchiato. You only hope that Jason don't rat you out to Roy, you don't want your brother to find out about you having a crush on Bruce's son thought Roy. God knows he didn't know how to keep the gossip to himself.

"What's the deal with you being trained by the demon's mother?"

Ah there it was, the question you knew would come eventually. You regretted telling them the truth in the first place, but you also knew that if they found out later and on their own it would have been worse. They would probably think you were trying to hide it from them because of bad motives. It wasn't, you just didn't really like to look someone in the eyes and say hey, did you know I was trained by assassins?

"I already said it isn't..."

"Yes, it is." he cut you off, not buying any of your bullshit "I know you are not the bad guy, if that is why you are afraid of telling me the truth. I just want to know what happened. I know how the league can be... brute."

You bit on your lower lip, staring off into distance.

The air was warmer than you remembered it from a few years ago, maybe it was because you were younger and was only trying to see the best into the situation - it was like a trip, right?

You looked out of the window, watching the trees' leafs waving with the wind, people walking in a group outside, looking for any inconvenience. You wondered how long it would take for you to be killed if you decided to escape.

"It is time for your training." Nissa al Ghul informed you, standing at the door of the room you were currently calling yours

"Again?" you asked, not turning around to face her, you didn't want her to see your blank face "I just finished training with your sister."

Nissa sighted, pushing back the brown hair that was around her shoulders. Her hand left the handle of the sword tucked into her belt. She had promised Oliver that she would do her best to keep his sister out of harm ways, but there was only much she could do. Going against both her father and sister was not a smart idea, and although it wasn't often that she saw eye to eye with them, they were still her family, and Oliver and you were simple... friends? Maybe, that was a complex term.

"Yes, again. My father is waiting for you and he doesn't like when people keep him waiting."

You nodded your head. There was no point in fighting like you did the first couple of weeks. You knew you were outnumbered, and God knows when your family is coming to rescue you, if they can succeed in doing so.

As you walked around, silent footsteps, no sign of your approach, you saw Ra's al Ghul. Before you could even blink, he had his sword down to your neck, you on your knees as you helplessly stared into his eyes. His angry eyes.

"Never keep your opponent waiting. It gives him the time to explore his surrounds and learn the best path to ambush you the moment you arrive."

You pushed his sword back, not caring that the blade cut into the palm of your hand. You allowed the blood to drip on the floor, pushing yourself off the floor and grabbing your bow and an arrow from the quiver on your back.

Fighting with Ra's made you think that maybe this was going to be your life from now on. Sparring everyday until you had to kill for the first time, then sparring harder until you got sent on a mission, for your first kill. You wondered if maybe you would be stopped by your brother and friends, if you would allow them, or if not, if they'd succeed in stopping you.

"It was just Malcom's Merlyn fault." you stated, turning your gaze to Jason who was still staring at you "He provoked my brother into a fight, I was the prize. Malcom won and the league finally got a Queen so they could mold into the perfect assassin. Thankfully, Tommy joined Oliver and they both got me out of there."

Jason nodded, it wasn't a full story like he was expecting, but hey! He doesn't like to talk about his time at the league too. Hell, he thinks not even one of his brothers know fully everything that happened there with him. Somethings are better left unsaid, and apparently, for you, this was the case. He was ok with that, that was your story to be told, and if you didn't want to share it, then you didn't have to.

"Yeah, Roy mentioned a couple of times how much of an asshole Merlyn can be." He said, earning a laugh from you

“He knows how to be a pain in the ass.” You nodded your head in agreement “I thought Bruce had said something about it to you guys.”

Jason shook his head, it was typical Bruce to not share informations with the rest of them. Jason learned from him how to be closed off and not share his feelings, even when Dick would bother him about it.

“No, he didn’t say anything.”

You persued your lips “Oliver asked him for help at the time, you know, because of Bruce’s connections to Talia. He wanted to know the best way to outsmart her. I thought at least one of you knew...”

“Bruce probably thought it was for the best to keep this kind of information away from Damian. He doesn’t like to talk about his time at the league, I don’t like to talk about my time at the league. Dick would’ve found a way to ask us how we feel about it, and Tim... he would’ve found a way to ask us how was our time there, trying to learn more.”

You nodded your head. You couldn’t blame Bruce for not talking, you were actually relieved he didn’t, that way the boys got to know you because they wanted to, and not to prove you weren’t an assassin living in their house. You’ve never even killed anyone before, so... maybe you should’ve started the conversation with Jason by stating that fact, it would’ve been better.

“I never killed anyone.” You addded, voice just above a whisper “I thought you should know that.”

“Well, then I am glad the league didn’t break you enough to start killing.” He smiled at you

Dick was sitting at the kitchen with his brothers. Damian was going on a rant about you, exclaiming everyone should keep an eye on you, just in case.

Dick grabbed a cookie from the plate, they were still warm, freshed baked. He could understand why his little brother was worried, but Tim looking you up?

“I already talked about it with her today.” Jason sighted, presssing his hand trough his face “She isn’t an assassin, Damian! Let this go!”

“I can’t believe you were digging dirty on her.” Dick said, shaking his head in disappointment “I thought you were crushing on her! Damian said he saw you guys almost kissing yesterday!”

Tim blushed “I just had to make sure she was who I thought she was. We knew nothing about her, now we do. Her parents are both dead, she doesn’t have a criminal record, and she’s never killed anyone before.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, frowning. Did you hear them correctly? Did they look you up just to make sure you weren’t a bad person? Ok, you understand them being wary of you after they found this whole league of assassins thing out, but Tim...? You just couldn’t believe he had the nerve to do this instead of asking you, you would’ve told him anything he wanted to know.

Maybe you were being a fool, trusting him blindly when you shouldn’t. You were being a fool for just starting to fall for this boy who clearly doesn’t trust you enough like you trust him, and clearly his crush on you means nothing.

Frustrated, you went back to your room, closing the door behind you. Right now, you were regretting having agreed to wait for Oliver to come back from his missions to look for an apartment to live in Gotham.

You grabbed your cellphone from the bedside table, clicking on the screen and then holding it up to your ear.

“Hi, I need to talk to you about something.” You said as soon as he picked up

“Hello to you, too.” Connor Hawke said on the other end of the line “Who ate your ice cream?”

You rolled your eyes. Once when you were younger, Roy ate all of the ice cream there was on the fridge and you were pissed for the rest of the day. Now, every time you are on a bad mood, they would ask who ate your ice cream. Very funny.

“Hi, Connor. How are you?” You asked after taking a deep breath, taking your anger out on your best friend wasn’t going to solve your problems

“I’m fine, but you apperently aren’t. So tell me, what did Gotham do to you? Or perhaps what did the Wayne boys did to you?”

You sighted, taking a sit on the bed, Connor knew you too well. He also knew the troubles you went trough growing up as a Queen and as the Green Arrow’s sister. He was always there for you, so he knew a lot how you coped with things and how certain small things had a big impact in your life.

You started by telling him about the sparring session you had with Jason and how it ended up with everyone finding out about you being trained by the league of assassins. And then proceeded to tell him about what you overheard at the kitchen.

“I know that me being part of Team Arrow should make me understand why Tim was researching about me. We have been betrayed by people close to us before, and I really want to be resenoble about this whole situation, but...”

“But you are upset about it. You wish he had came to you to ask you all this questions.” Connor finished up your train of thoughts

“Yes, God yes! I wish he would’ve just came to me, I would’ve told him anything he wanted to know, and damn, I know this makes me sound like a fool.”

“Just a little bit.” Your best friend laughed “I am happy to see you are developing feelings for him, even if I am a bit mad he was suspicious of you. But in our line of work, we should always be too careful.”

You pushed your hair away from your face, staring at the cream walls in front of your. Connor was right, you were overreacting because you were developing feelings Tim and you wanted him to trust you because trust is fundamental in a relationship. You couldn’t help but think that if it was the other way around, you would’ve done the same thing.

“You’re right. Thank you, Conny.”

“I am always right, and please, don’t call me Conny.”

You chuckled, flopping down on bed so you could rest your back on the soft mattress.

“Should I talk to him about it?” You asked quietly

“If it is going to make you feel better than you should approach him with the subject, if not, let him come to you, it will be a proof if it is worth nurtrishing feelings for him.”

After you ended the call, you kept thinking about what Connor had said. He did know how to give good advise, and waiting for Tim to tell you was indeed a good test to know if it was actually worth it to have a crush on him. Maybe you shouldn’t let him know you knew. Let’s see what he’s gonna do.

After all, he wasn’t the only one who came from a family that knew how to keep emotions on check.

#tim drake x reader #tim drake x you #tim drake x y/n #tim drake imagine #tim drake headcanon #red robin x y/n #red robin x you #red robin x reader #red robin imagine #jason todd x reader #dick grayson x reader #damian wayne x reader #roy harper x reader

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bi-robins-club · 4 years ago

Text

jason had just settled onto his couch with a jane austen novel and his favourite peach iced tea when damian crept in through his window. he sighed internally and decided to simply ignore him. he had told damian to use the front door (nevermind the fact that jason rarely used the door) and more importantly? he was freaking comfortable. after a few minutes as jason flipped idly through the book, damian cleared his throat. jason sighed again, outwardly this time and reluctantly dragged his eyes up to his youngest brother. baby bat was shivering slightly from the rain outside and jason simply rasied an eyebrow as he sipped at his tea. scowling, dami stomped over to jasons bathroom to dry off. he rolled his eyes. how dramatic. damian was acting like he sentenced titus and alfred the cat to their deaths instead of how he was actually saving jason from deep cleaning his rain soaked carpet. (he was still going to deep clean the carpet the next time he tidied up but still)

when damian stalked back into the room, looking less like a wet, angry kitten and more like a dry, angry kitten, jason titled his head back and established eye contact.

"so what brings you over to my neck of the woods, demon spawn?"

instead of snapping back like jason expected, damian simply stood there looking extremely uncomfortable. he shuffled his feet, opened his mouth then closed it and sat next to jason on the couch he splurged way too much on.

"i don't know how to tell you this" dami began, hesitant "but i believe harper is experiencing thoughts of suicide"

jason jerked up, almost knocking over his tea (and what a damn waste that would be) before fixing damian with a look. he hadnt noticed anything different in roy lately but he knew more than anyone that depression acted strangely and was hard to pinpoint. his mind raced with thoughts of why roy might be suddenly suicidal, from a sudden relapse to not getting a happy meal toy included in his 3.99 box of clogged arteries. "why do you say that, damian?"

"i have been keeping an eye on his health since he became a close confidant to you and last night he said something worrying that i am still not able to parse the meaning of" jason smiled lightly at that, in damian speak he was basically declaring that he cared for roy- if for nothing else than for how happy he made jason. still he shook it off and asked what roy had said that was worrying dami.

"he was patrolling last night" jason knew that. roy had been picking up his patrols since jason had a nasty leg wound. it was the reason he wasn't out tonight. "and he was on the phone with an unknown person, though i am inclined to believe it was either Starfire or Canary" okay, still not surprising "and then he said that the only place he could die happy was between your thighs" oh hello blue screen. yes jasons mind was in the middle of rebooting but could you hurry it along? he almost missed what damian said next. "not only does he wish for death upon himself, he wishes for you to give it to him!"

"damian" jason managed, frantically trying to figure out a way to explain to his baby brother without including his sex life. "uhh its just an expression"

damians face brightened up slightly. "really? he does not wish to smother himself between your thighs?"

"yeah, its like...like just a way to say... mind your business? mmhmm" he struggled to get out, pulling an explanation out of his ass.

"you have told father to mind his business a thousand times but i dont recal you ever using that one. is it new?"

oh god. jason would rather die again than continue this conversation.

"uhh its only used if you're close to someone" jason didnt know what he didnt wrong but dami's eyes widened in clear worry. "i thought you and father were reconnecting? has something happened? are you fighting again?"

well shit. jason had not thought this one through. fuck roy and fuck his mile wide kink that centered around jasons thighs. he was going to kill him. and he wouldnt even use his thighs. "oh nonono dami we're fine, just not as close as me and roy" he hedged, pleading to gods he didnt believe in to stop this conversation with whatever means necessary. strike him dead if need be but *please*. damians eyes narrowed "and exactly how close are you with harper, jason?" jason stared in disbelief. how had his nice relaxing evening turned into such a shitshow? damian was fine with roy when he and jason were just friends but now that he was (correctly) assuming a relationship, his over protective instincts were kicking in? christ. he remembered how when dick and babs finally started dating (again), damian seemingly lost all respect for her and called her an evil harlot more than once.

thankfully he was saved by answering in the form of the best person jason had ever met aka duke thomas. he announced his presence by awkwardly coughing. jason met his dark eyes and mouthed 'help me' over damians head. duke smiled as if it was getting pulled out of him by torture but nodded.

"hey dames, dick wanted you to join him by the docks when you finished up here" damian scowled "cant you see i am clearly not finished yet"

"hah, well dick was facing up against scarecrow and i think he needed some back up but you know him"

"yes, he wont admit he needs help when he very clearly does" damian sighed "very well, ill go check on dick. you stay and question jason. " and with that damian clambered out the window and after he disappeared from sight, jason threw his head back to stare at his ceiling and groaned. duke laughed at him.

"hey daisy duke?" duke grumbled at the nickname and jason cracked a smile "how did you know i needed back up?" duke winced and ran a hand over his dreads. he made a face and jasons soul was slowly draining out of his body. "oh haha funny story" duke rocked back on his feet and faked laughed "damians com was still connected to the channel" jason froze.

"who was on the channel oh my god" duke smiled thinly and his hand paused on his head. "other than me? everyone." jason buried his head in his hands and let out a high pitched whine. duke consolingly rubbed his shoulder. this is why jason loved him. he hadn't even laughed at jason like tim, dick or steph would or started plotting death like damian started to. he and cass would just offer support. jasons favorite brother and sister right here folks. duke sat down beside him

"listen. i know what it's like to be outed when youre not ready and when i heard damian grilling you about roy, i thought i would help" jason turned and stared at his brother. duke was staring at his hands and avoiding eye contact. "i got caught with a boy when i was 15 in high school. its pretty shitty to be gay and poor in a homophobic neighbourhood but its worse to be gay, poor and black." jason knocked shoulders with him. "if you tell me the name of whatever asshat outed you, I'll shoot him for you." duke let out a waterly laugh. "they kept bullying me for being gay but if they even listened, they would have realised that im pan" he joked "its a completely different thing after all". jason snorted

"that was horrible"

duke winced "yeah, it was wasnt it. im bad at this" it was jasons turn to avoid eye contact now.

"talia once caught me with a league operative. a male operative. i was so paranoid for days until i caught shiva leaving her rooms. i got the courage to tell her i was bi and she just patted my cheek and asked how my training was going."

duke huffed out a laugh. "bruce gives you shit but i for one think your lesbians moms are cool"

jason laughed with him "just wait until you meet Ducra. shes a badass"

"ducra?" he questioned with a weird look. "how many moms do you actually have? i knew about diana and your assassin moms but thats a new name" jason burst into laughter at the expression on dukes face. "its not fair man. steph is the only other one with a mom and you have four! you need to share" jason choked on his laughter and shoved duke.

"first of all, its only *three*. ducra is like my badass abuela"

"dont you already have a badass grandma? have you forgotten about Ma Gunn? she threatened to shoot bruce in the dick last week!"

"yes well excuse you i need strong female role models in my life, fuck you" the two of them continued to joke around for a little while longer before jason caught a flash of black kelvar outside his window and sighed. duke followed his eyes and smiled before patting jasons shoulder and pushing off. "have fun with the one strong male role model in your life. im going to see if cass needs help" both of them knew that cass wouldn't need help but jason accepted the excuse for what it was. "me and steph are still coming over to study tomorrow. college is kicking my ass and i need you to explain this English assignment to me"

jason scoffed "im not writing your essay for you"

"eh worth a try. bye jace" duke gave a two fingered salute and slipped out the window. jason took the brief reprieve to sip his tea and mourned when he discovered the ice had melted and watered down the peach taste. for the third time that night, someone crept into his window. oh well. third times the charm right? jason wasn't going to acknowledge bruce until he said something himself. it was a repeat of damian. jasom read his book as it got increasingly uncomfortable.

"jason."

"bruce" jason drawled, not lifting his eyes from his book. bruce grunted like the neanderthal he was and jason finally huffed out a heaving breath before marking his page and looking up. bruce looked supremely uncomfortable. actually his face looked exceedingly neutral but jason knew how to read bruce and that was the brow furrow of how do i deal with jason without fucking it up? jason was well famailairsed with that one.

"you know i love you" jasons own eyebrows rose. bruce only said 'i love you' like four times a year tops. and he usually never wasted it on jason. bruce deflated at whatever face jason must have made. goddamn it. this was why jason always fought with bruce with his helmet on, he couldnt control his facial expressions for shit. "no you dont know that." bruce smiled thinly and to jasons suprise, quickly crossed the room and knelt, placing his hands on jasons shoulders.

"even if you dont believe it, and its my own fault that you do and i hate that i ever caused you to even doubt my love for you, i swear that i do, jay lad" jason was completely frozen. he had expected bruce to yell at him for letting roy go unchecked on patrol last night and how irresponsible he was yada yada, not this declaration of feelings that he had no clue how to deal with. he couldnt remember the last time bruce called him that. it had to have been when he was still in those scaly green panties and pixie boots. and not the adult verison that jason picked up from a halloween store on a whim just to see roys eyes.

bruce sighed and drew jason into a hug. when bruces shoulder started getting wet, jason was horrified to realise he was crying. "i wanted you to know that i wouldnt love you any less for loving a man. but you have to know that i love you in the first place for that to happen" bruce said self deprecating.

"shut the fuck up" jason said sniffling and gripping his dads back. "i hate you"

bruce laughed softly at him before pressing a kiss to the side of jasons head. "i want you to know that i expect roy-and you- over at dinner on sunday. i need to meet the man that stole my babys heart" he murmured. jason laughed wetly "youve already met roy, you just want to con me into actually coming to family dinner"

bruce smiled "that was before i knew you two were dating. roy needs to know what hes getting into" jason leaned back enough to stare into bruces eyes and weakly punched him in the chest "dont threaten my boyfriend. he refused to look at me for two weeks after t was done with him" bruce sighed longingly "its times like this when i remember what caused me to love talia in the first place."

"bruce!" the aforementioned man laughed and hugged jason tightly before stepping back a few steps. "Sunday dinner. you and roy. 8 pm." on a whim jason reached out and snagged bruces hand. "hey" he started, swallowing "you wanna stay for a while? we could watch a movie or something" bruces eyes softened and he nodded. "let me change out of the suit."

and if roy had crept in after patrol only to see jason napping on his dads chest to a shitty action movie playing in the background and took several pictures, well that bruces fault for not waking up when roy stumbled it. (nevermind the fact that bruce had every single one of those pictures saved on his phone) (nevermind the fact that after roy put his phone away, he was greeted to the sight of batman glaring at him as he twisted a batarang around his fingers. it was sorta ruined by the fact that jasons curls was hiding the lower half of his face but roy was still adequately terrified)

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taliaquinn · 5 years ago

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Why Me!? Chapter 14

Marinette was bundled up in her blankets on her very expansive bed and was focused on the screen in front of her. An irritated Chloe Bourgeois, an impatient Aurore, and a glaring Kagami, who was sharpening her saber, were staring back at her. Marinette made a quick mental note to ask her how many sabers she has. Juleka had confiscated her saber, unfortunately, it seemed like Kagami had spares.

“-then Alya had the nerve to ask the committee to reinstate your plans, of course since I’m on the committee I immediately shot down that idea, She of course immediately threw a tantrum and was almost kicked out, later she had a live stream ranting about how being class president is so difficult” Chloe said making air quotes.

“Of course at this point, she had only 30 viewers, most of them from Bustiers” Kagami added putting away her saber.

“How is it that Alya only had the job for LESS THAN A WEEK and is already stressed, meanwhile we both had the job for over a year and yet we never cracked” Chloe ranted.

“Some people are just unappreciative,” piped Aurore. Chloe snorted, that was the understatement of the year.

“Anyways talking about her leaves a bad taste in my mouth, Marinette when are you returning to us?” Aurore asked she missed the bluenette.

“Probably in a year,I’m getting enrolled in some school in Gotham”

“Are your aunt and uncle okay with you staying for the rest of the year?”

Oh right Marinette forgot that was her cover story. She hated lying to her friends even more. But She was scared of how the others would treat her if they found out her parentage and if she would be able to tell the difference between the honest people and the fake gold-diggers, the Alya’s, Alix’s and Nino’s so to speak.

Now It was getting harder to be able to video call her friends in a spot that would get her privacy and doesn’t look too extravagant.

Her new room was far bigger than her room in Paris, which took Marinette some getting used to. Of course, Mr.Wayne made sure to give her money to fill her room up. Although a spool of thread does not cost triple digits, at least the thread that she uses. She already has an area dedicated to her sewing business.

Tim has been gracious enough to be hmannequin until hers come. Marinette finds it unfair that someone like Tim can be sleep-deprived and coffee-addicted and still look like that. Unfair.

Marinette already finished Ms.Kyles' dress and she’s going to give that to her next time she comes to the Manor.

“Yeah, they’ve been very uh accommodating, and great actually!!”

“It shows, you look way less stressed and more relaxed” Kagami noted

“The wonders of having a decent sleep schedule” Marinette quipped. Seriously she didn’t have school yet and didn’t have to worry about class duties anymore. It was awesome.

“Oh and great news, We’re going to Europe in a few weeks,” Marinette added excitedly

“WAIT!!!! Exactly when” Aurore asked.

“Two or three”

“EXCELLENT” Aurore blurted out, “That means that you’ll be able to attend the school dance”

Suddenly all lightbulbs seemed to click on in all the girls.

“That was exactly the final piece we needed” Kagami nodded

“ Yeppers, now all we need is Ladybug and then we’re good” Chloe added.

“Waitwaitwait Final Piece to what?” Marinette asked

“Revenge” All three girls responded in unison.

“Oh boy, you guys wanna clue me in on it? Or is it that type of situation where I want as much Plausible deniability as possible?” With those three you never know.

“Probably best for you to not know anything yet” Chloe chimed sweetly.

Thank god That Marinette can now afford bail

Suddenly she started getting a video call from Dick

“Sorry guys I got my er-cousin calling me, I'll talk with you guys tomorrow,” Marinette said, Receiving a chorus of goodbyes and one whine in response. Marinette hung up and quickly answered Dick.

“Hiya Maribug, sorry I wasn’t able to call you yesterday things are pretty busy around here” Dick greeted. Marinette noticed that the poor guy seemed exhausted, he had dark bags under his eyes and kept on yawning.

“It’s fine Dick, What’s going on?” Marinette asked concerned.

Dick sighed. “It seems that Penguin and Black Mask have set up base here in Bludhaven, unfortunately, the two aren’t playing nice, so now we seem to be on the brink of a gang war,” Dick said tiredly. Both Officer Grayson and Nightwing were busy trying to stop the city from falling into a gang war, of course, that was exhausting.

Gang War? AND HER BROTHER WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!? Having a cop brother is stressful enough but having a cop brother in Bludhaven is something else,

Seriously Bludhaven makes Gotham look like a resort destination and that’s after Nightwing has made his debut. Mr.Wayne told her that Dick was regarded as a good cop who’s been helping root out corruption in the BPD. Which of course puts the idiot in EVEN MORE DANGER. Jesus Christ. Now she can understand why Everyone always seems to mother hen the boy. She’s joining the crusade soon.

“But you’re not going to be too involved are you Dick?”

“Sorry Maribug, right now I’m involved, but don’t worry your brother can take care of himself” Dick quickly added with a wink.

“Uh Huh Sure, those eyebags say differently, Go Sleep” Marinette ordered.

Dick Barked out a laugh. “Oh alright Maribug, Night Night”

“Nighty night” Marinette responded and hung up. She turned over and shifted in a comfortable position and let the darkness overtake her.

Batcave, Wayne Manor Gotham City, USA 8:50 pm

“Damian Marinette is going to start school at Gotham Academy in a few days, I need you to keep an eye on her and help her” Bruce informed Damian

“-tt- of course, father, But I am afraid we’re going to have to come up with a believable cover story”

“No cover story, people are bound to find out soon anyways, but she’s going to be enrolled as Marinette Dupain Cheng so people won't probably make the connection”

“Yeah demon-spawn and if people do get curious as to why you’re being decent, just say she's your cousin or something” Jason added oh ever so helpful

“-tt- Very well”

“We’re going to introduce Marinette in a few weeks anyways, we have a business trip to London so she’s going to make a pitstop in Paris and get her stuff in order before we announce her to the world” Tim piped up upon entering the Batcave.

“Jesus being the Child of Bruce Wayne is going to be stressful enough, imagine how wack it's going to be when she finds she’s the daughter of Batman as well” Jason noted

“Speaking of which Bruce are you sure we shouldn’t tell Marinette about our little side job, I mean shes noticed that we aren’t exactly normal,” Tim said, while typing away on the batcomputer, right now he was busy trying to track down a few escaped convicts from Arkham and figure out any last known locations of Black Mask and Penguin.

“Yes father she is not an imbecile unlike you Drake”

“Why you little br-”

“We can’t do that” Jason cut in before insults started flying. “She’s a normal kid, She isn’t a secret superhero or nothing, she’s the embodiment of sunshine and happiness, which reminds me Bruce are we sure she’s your kid?” Jason asked

“Yes, I’m sure” Seriously what was it with people questioning it. He wasn’t that gloomy, was he? “She has her own business that has already gained attention and recognition, plus she was a class president in her old school, she had to get that from me” Bruce retorted.

“OH COME ON, we can’t loop her in, She was fucking president of her class, that’s as normal as you can get, Plus right now her sunshine counterpart dickface isn’t here to balance things out anymore” Jason finished. At that reminder, Bruce slightly grimaced. Dick had to go back to Bludhaven for his job. As a Cop. It doesn’t matter how many years it’s been Bruce still worries about his oldest and his choice of career.

“Fine we don’t tell her, what’s going to happen if she’s ever in danger she doesn’t exactly have a panic button that we could give her without arousing suspicions” Tim added.

“Dupain-Cheng isn’t an idiot, she shares fathers blood she’s going to figure it out eventually”

Finally, Bruce made up his mind.

“We can’t risk her life, much less your sister’s life, by revealing our secret for no reason. We aren’t going to tell her-, For now” Bruce quickly added before Jason could make his protests. Taking a quick look at his son's faces it seemed that it was the decision that everyone could agree on, thankfully.

“This is going to totally gonna go wrong isn’t it?” Tim muttered.

It probably will.

Authors Note: I hope that you guys liked my Infinity War Au. I am definitely going to continue that story line, however I have other one-shots saved to my drafts so yeah keep an eye out for those :). I will be making a taglist for those so just ask. Stay safe and Healthy <3

Hope you guys enjoy today's chapter.

Taglist:

@maribat-is-lifeblood @kass-is-weird @another-fan-of-anotherplan @damianette-is-life @amayakans @parallelparabox @miukiiu @valeks-princess @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @thezestywalru @dreamykitty25 @pirats-pizzacanninibles @mochinek0 @shamefullove @mochegato @souleateralicestein @thestressmademedoit @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @aestheticnpoetic

#miraculous ladybug #mlb au #maribat #batfam #Marinette deserves better #Damian Wayne #dick grayson #Tim Drake #Jason Todd #bruce wayne #class salt

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heyitsani · 3 years ago

Text

Loving You is a Losing Game Chapter 4

Word Count: 6518

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Character death (applies in this chapter and not overly graphic)

Pairing: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson

Summary: The curse takes the payment it demands.

Notes: End of the line, folks! I’m off to work on the other pieces I did for JayDick Week, as well as finish up a few things I have for this month. It’s my birthday in the middle of the month and it’s Pride Month, so good things coming all around!

You can also read it on AO3 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride to the cave was as silent as Dick had expected it to be, but he couldn’t help but feel it was more because Bruce was trying to figure out how Dick had managed to get out now but not before. And honestly, Dick wasn’t really sure how he could leave now and not before, but he also wasn’t magical. So what did he know about what the curse could do?

“Tim and Damian have been communicating with Constantine about how to possibly break down the wall,” Bruce finally said as they pulled into the secret entrance. “He has been pretty adamant that only the yielder could destroy it though.”

Dick considered that, thinking about the witch who had put Jason in there to begin with. He didn’t even know the reason, Jace having kept the reasoning quiet when Dick had tried to ask. But he wondered if the man were correct in his assumptions. He would know more than Dick would, after all.

“We have to find a way,” Dick finally said. He didn’t know how they would do it, but they had to. He had to get them out of there. He had to. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t just walk back through that wall and stay there. “I need to keep a promise.”

“Dick,” Bruce’s voice was sharp when they came to a stop and the engine was cut. Looking over at Bruce, Dick waited. “How did you escape?”

Shrugging a shoulder, Dick looked away. “I don’t know why I could get through this time. I tried before and was stopped. But…” He let out a huff of air through his nose, looking at the approaching forms of his brothers, who wouldn’t be able to see he was in the car through the tinted windows. “We have to get them out of there, Bruce. We have to.”

“That man trapped you there.”

“No,” Dick shook his head. “He’s not…he didn’t do that. There’s some kind of curse over them. And it’s more than just him. There are others there, trapped just like Jace.”

“Jace.”

“The man, that’s his name.” Bruce remained silent, just watching Dick with his blank face before he opened the door and stepped out of the car. With a sigh, Dick opened his own door and climbed out.

“Dick!” Tim’s surprised voice interrupted his thoughts and immediately a smaller body collided with his own. Looking down, he smiled at the familiar sight of Damian with his face buried in his stomach. And soon enough Tim was at his side, giving him a hug.

“Father was successful then?” Damian questioned when he pulled back. Dick ruffled the kid’s hair and smiled sadly. “Richard?”

Looking over at Bruce, he saw the man watching with the cowl pulled down and frown on his face. “No, I was able to get out on my own. It’s hard to explain. But I do think we need to speak with the League,” he said, loud enough that Bruce could hear him clearly.

“Perhaps after a rest, Master Dick?” Alfred approached with a relieved smile. Dick pulled himself away from his brothers and reached over to Alfred to give the older man a hug. “I am so glad to see you are safe, my boy.” The man kept his voice low, but Dick could easily hear the emotion in it. Dick responded with tightening the hug for a moment before pulling back to smile at him.

“We need to go, B. We can’t leave them there. You thought there was a link between the missing heroes and that spot, maybe there is. We can’t do this one on our own just because it’s Gotham.” Bruce’s frown deepened and Dick raised his chin, making it obvious he would go to the League on his own if he needed to. “This is their problem too.”

Bruce seemed to be considering the issue before sighing and turning toward the computer. “I’ll call them to come here to Gotham. We’ll meet them in the city.” Dick nodded and let his body relax a little. He would get Jace and the others out. He would do it even if he had to figure it out on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt like coming home, standing on the top of Wayne Tower in one of his back up suits, the one with the fingerstripes that he had retired a few years prior, with a domino firmly in place on his face while they waited for the members of the Justice League to arrive. He stood just off to the side of Batman’s stoic figure, Robin on Bruce’s other side and Red Robin behind them on an elevated platform. They made an intimidating group, as the Bats always did, but Dick felt like it was a false face at this point.

He knew Bruce was going to order the Robins to remain in the city to handle the assassins and keep an eye on the city, but that it was going to result in a fight. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to risk the two of them getting caught in something because they didn’t know what would happen if all of them tried to get through the wall of magic at the same time.

Dick hoped it would break under the pressure, but he doubted he’d be that lucky.

“Nightwing!” Superman looked surprised the instant he touched down on the rooftop. “You’re back! We had worried you fell into the same fate as…” Dick gave him a sad smile, thinking of Jon having gone missing a week before Dick had gone to save Bruce. “I am glad to see you are safe.”

Nodding his head, Dick remained silent as the others began to arrive. Wonder Woman and Black Cannery together, Flash moments after Green Arrow and Aquaman. Green Lantern was the last to arrive, gathering Dick up in a fierce hug before Batman barked at them all to come to attention. And Dick straightened his spine at the order, even though he usually balked at being treated as Bruce’s soldier. This time he would relent. This time he would tolerate it because it was important to him.

This time it was about Jace.

“With Nightwing’s return, we have decided it best to call in the League to handle a problem that we are not able to do so on our own,” Batman said, voice flat. Dick knew how much he hated that he was having to ask for help in his city, but deeply thankful that the man was willing to.

He listened to Batman explain to the others what exactly had happened the day Dick had vanished, recounting how Batman had been taken by the shadow man and then how Agent A had called in Nightwing to try and rescue Batman. Bruce kept to the facts, telling them that Nightwing had exchanged himself and then been unable to escape when he had tried a few weeks later.

“So this man is holding everyone hostage in this curse?” A voice that made Dick tense up questioned.

Bruce practically growled. “Deathstroke, what are you doing here?”

But where others would have been intimidated by Bruce’s menacing voice, Slade just smirked and sauntered closer to the group from the shadows he had been hiding behind. “I heard my birdie had finally come home,” he said, looking over at Dick and making the hero roll his eyes.

“Leave, Slade,” Dick said, shaking his head. He knew he would have to face an interrogation after this was all over from Bruce about what Deathstroke wanted with him, but he didn’t want to add more fuel to that fire right then. He had people to rescue.

“I don’t think I will. I think that I have a right to be concerned about the fact that someone I care about went missing for months and now wants to rescue the man who was responsible.” Dick sighed and looked over at Bruce, who kept his face blank but Dick knew him well enough to know he was glowering at Slade. “You do know the term Stockholm Syndrome, don’t you Birdie?”

“That’s not what this is, Slade. You don’t know anything. He’s a prisoner as much as the others are.”

“Is he? Or is that just what he told you after he ‘saved your life’ and caught you in his web?” Shaking his head Dick looked over at the other heroes and noticed they seemed to be considering Slade’s words carefully. He knew he needed to nip this in the bud as soon as possible.

Stepping forward, ignoring the attempt Robin made to grab his arm, Dick moved into the center of the group where Slade was now standing. “Slade doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I was there, I experienced it. Jace is a good man and he’s trapped just like everyone else. And I can prove it,” he said, reaching into the pocket he had stored the vial of liquid Jace had given him and a flimsy silicone bowl he could fold up. Pouring the green glowing liquid into the bowl, Dick tucked the vial away again.

“Nightwing, is that…” Robin’s question faded off and while Dick was tempted to ask him to finish, he focused on the task at hand.

“Show me Jace,” he said, looking at the liquid swirl and shift just as it had when Jace had given him the chance to see Bruce before letting him go. The image of Jace shifting between shadow and man appeared, surrounded by the broken furniture of the room in the West Wing. It made Dick’s heart ache, seeing the sadness on Jace’s face and the destruction around him.

The others gasped, moving in closer to see before Dick found the bowl pulled out of his hands. “This isn’t a man,” Slade said, voice low and disgusted. “That’s not a shadow, that’s a demon!” Dick shook his head and looked at the others to help him out. But Superman and Wonder Woman were looking at Slade with wide eyes and fear laced in anger. “We can’t let this creature out! He’d kill us all!”

“No!” Dick shouted, trying to grab the bowl from Slade but found himself being tugged back. Looking behind him, he found Green Lantern holding onto his upper arm while frowning deeply at Slade. “He’s not a creature. He’s a man. He’s just a man and he needs our help!”

“This doesn’t look like a man, Nightwing. This looks like someone who has possessed your mind and forced you to believe he was good. Why were you suddenly able to get out? Why were you able to after coming to trust him but not before when you were certain it was his fault you were trapped there?” Dick shook his head, hating that Slade was able to twist his words like this. He wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling the truth either. “He wanted you to trust him, to care for him. And now he’s waiting for you to release him onto the world. Well not on my watch!”

“Not on our watch!” Superman said, but Dick could only stare at Slade in disbelief. How did they end up here?

Green Lantern’s hold tightened and before he knew what was happening, Batman, Red Robin, and Robin were all being held by various heroes. “I have a place we can lock these four away so they can’t cause any trouble. Then we can go after this monster and rid the earth of this danger!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Fuck!” Dick growled as he tugged on the door of the cell in whatever random safehouse Slade had locked them in. Why he even had a safehouse with a cell in it to begin with was beyond him, but part of Dick didn’t even want to know what the purpose of it was.

“Dick, stop,” Tim called from the corner where he and Bruce were trying to figure out how to get out of there. “It’s not going to just magically open.”

Releasing the bar, Dick let his shoulders drop with a sigh before turning as he ran a hand through his hair. “I need to get out of here. I have to help Jace. This is all my fault.” He looked at the pair in the corner before looking over at Damian as he looked for weaknesses in the structure of the cell.

“We’ll get you out, but you need to calm down. Freaking out isn’t helping.” Nodding his agreement with Tim’s assessment, Dick dropped down to sit on the ground and watch Damian continue. “We don’t have enough room to blast our way out. We’d get caught in the blast.” Bruce grunted his agreement, but still sorted through the items they had available. None of their lockpicks had worked and Tim made a good point.

“Can we call anyone?” Dick asked, looking over at Bruce and Tim who seemed to be at a loss. “Oracle? Batgirl? Batwoman?”

Bruce shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know where Batwoman is, but the Birds are out of the country.” Groaning in annoyance, Dick pulled his knees up and shoved his face into them. He had no idea how they were going to get out of there and that meant he was helpless to do anything to save Jace and the others. He just hoped the man had the League of Assassins on his side for this.

“Communicators aren’t working any way,” Tim muttered and Dick suppressed the desire to groan again. Rarely did he feel hopeless. Rarely did he feel like there was no chance of getting out of a situation. But right then? With the knowledge that Slade had the Justice League on his side while hunting the man he cared about, maybe even loved? He felt hopeless.

But then the sound of a door blasting open caused him to pull his head out of his knees and look at Bruce. But he found Bruce and Tim both looking beyond Dick. Turning to look behind him, Dick saw the smoke of a bomb having gone off before a man was coming through the cloud with a determined look on his face.

“Agent A!” Dick leapt to his feet and grabbed the bars of the cell.

The elderly man looked them all over briefly before getting to work on the lock of the door. “I was unable to contact anyone to assist, so I came myself,” Alfred said, keeping his focus on the task at hand. “There was no time to waste if you wanted to save your friend.” Alfred spared Dick a glance and Dick sighed. Alfred knew there was more to the situation than just friendship and Dick didn’t know why he was surprised that the man had picked up on that.

“Robins, I want you on the outside as planned. Red Robin from above and Robin on the ground since you know how to handle the footmen,” Batman barked out orders as the click of the lock sounded and the cell door swung open.

“The plane is on the roof,” Alfred said as Dick rushed out of the cell, squeezed the man’s upper arm in thanks before running out of the safehouse to get to the plane. He didn’t need to look back to know that the others would be right behind him. He didn’t have time to worry about whether or not they were there because he had to get to Jace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrived at the location, Dick saw chaos. The League of Assassins’ footmen were spread out, fighting the members of the Justice League, but Slade was no where to be seen. And that thought worried him.

“Nightwing wait!” Batman called out as Dick ran out of the plane the moment it touched down, but Dick ignored him. He went straight for the wall of magic, avoiding a kick to the side by a footmen before he was able to start pushing through.

Familiar with the feel of the magic now, Dick almost felt like he was being welcomed home as he broke through and ran for the castle. “Dana! Where are they?” He knew Slade had to have made his way to Jace, but the castle was too big to search on his own. The woman looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, before pointing upward to the roof. “Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing his grapple gun and aiming for a spot not far off from where Jace and Slade were facing off.

His feet had just touched down when he heard the sound of a sword clattering to the ground and found Slade standing in front of Jace with his katana in hand and Jace’s sword off to the side, just out of reach.

“No!” Dick screamed as he surged forward, not pausing to think about the katana soaring through the air toward Jace who had his back against the wall behind him. The only thing he thought of was saving the man from the fate Deathstroke felt he had earned. “Slade-” his voice cut off without his permission when he came to a halt in front of Jace.

There was silence for a moment and time almost seemed to freeze as Dick watched Slade’s eye go wide and Jace gasp behind him. Shifting his gaze from Slade downward, Dick took in the sight of the katana buried in his stomach, frowning in confusion. Surely if it were really in his stomach to the hilt he would feel it, right? But there was nothing.

And then there was too much.

Dick felt himself crumble, only to be caught by the man he had just saved from this very fate, and the sword sliding effortlessly out of his stomach as he went. The sound Jace made behind him was almost inhuman and pained and Dick figured that was when he got a good look at the damage.

“You.” He heard Jace growl before he saw the familiar figure lung over him and grab at Slade. The force of it was enough to surprise the man and just as Dick managed to turn his head to look at the pair, he saw Jace pulling the katana out of Slade’s hands and throwing him off balance enough that the assassin was toppling over the edge of the rooftop they were on.

He watched Jace stand there, breathing heavily for a moment before Dick reached out a hand. “Jace,” he rasped, drawing the other man’s attention. And reality came rushing back to him, Dick could see it in his eyes as he remembered the condition Dick was currently in. The katana fell to the ground with a sharp clang.

“Oh god, Dick,” the man cried out as he ran back over and fell to his knees. Dick let out a grunt when a hand pressed against his chest in order to stem the literal life bleeding out of him. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to be you. God, Dick.”

“It’s okay,” Dick whispered, giving Jace a warm smile but it didn’t look like the man appreciated it. It almost looked like it pained him to see it. “You’ll be okay. You’re safe.”

“But you’re not!” The man cried, ducking his head so Dick couldn’t see anything but the top of his head. “The curse wasn’t supposed to take you. Anyone but you.”

Dick furrowed his brows and turned his eyes toward the sky to see the stars blurring. “I’m glad I got to meet you,” he spoke carefully, drawing the familiar green eyes back to his face. Dick let his eyes trace the tears that had already left their tracks down his face and raised a hand to brush some of the wetness away. “Will you tell me now? Your secret?” He kept his hand pressed against Jace’s cheek as he watched the man consider telling Dick the one thing the older man hadn’t been able to pry away from him.

“My name is Jason.”

“I knew a Jason once. I didn’t do right by him. I couldn’t protect him.” Dick let his eyes drift for a moment, remembering the boy who had been undeserving of his anger that should have solely been directed at Bruce. But he had been young, hurt, and stupid. He had been dismissive and then Jason had been dead. Looking back to Jace, he smiled again. “Maybe you were my redemption. I couldn’t protect him, but I was able to protect you.”

There was such profound sadness in Jace’s eyes that Dick wondered if he was saying the wrong thing. But he didn’t have the energy to figure out what that might be. And with a soft sigh, his hand fell away from Jace’s cheek to rest at his side once more. His clock was ticking.

“Dick, Dick,” Jace whispered, pressing a shaking hand to Dick’s cheek and Dick’s eyes fell closed for a moment as he enjoyed the warmth that bled from the hand to his skin. “Dick, look at me.” Blinking his eyes open, he looked at Jace. “My name is Jason Todd.” Dick frowned at that. Had he been cursed to save someone with the same name of the one he had failed? “I was placed in a Lazarus Pit and when I came out, I attacked the a witch in my madness. She put this curse on me and anyone who came close got pulled in by the magic. Until the day someone sacrificed their life to save mine.”

“But…” Dick tried to sort through what Jace Jason was telling him, but his mind felt like sludge. “…you died.”

Jason nodded, the muscles in his jaw working. “I did. And I came back for some reason I’m not sure of. Talia found me and she put me in the Pit. Whatever she had planned was ruined by the witch. But it’s me,” he whispered, picking up Dick’s fallen hand and pressing it over his heart. “It’s me, it’s Jason. You won’t see the curse fall away, but I don’t want you to die without knowing. It’s me and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad I got to love you.”

He wasn’t expecting the sob Jason let out at that, but he was thankful for the press of the other man’s lips to his own. “I love you. I’m so sorry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When consciousness came back to him, Dick found that he was still in the same place he had been when he and Jason had confessed their love. The same place where Jason had revealed what had been done to him and how Dick had managed to reverse the curse when he had put himself between Slade’s katana and Jason’s body.

Taking a deep breath, he jostled Jason who had been silently crying into Dick’s chest as reality came back to him. It was enough to have the man jolt upright and look toward Dick, eyes going wide and a gasp falling from his lips.

“Dick?!”

“There you are,” Dick smiled, taking in the much more familiar face. The curse had obviously fallen away and now Dick could see the man for who he really was. And the familiar turquoise eyes he remembered from before the younger man’s untimely death. But it was the smile that overtook Jason’s face that really drew his attention. Lifting a hand, Dick pressed it to Jason’s cheek and dragged his thumb across the other man’s lower lip. “There you are.”

The laugh Jason let free was wet and Dick took in the tear tracks on his cheeks and the tears that still clung to his eye lashes. But Dick didn’t think the man had ever looked as beautiful as he did right then, with his real face finally revealed.

“Dick!” Turning his head, Dick looked over to see Bruce rushing over to them. When the man fell to his knees beside them, he let out a gasp. “Jason? How…?”

“A curse,” Dick grunted as he nudged Jason to allow him to sit up. Pressing a hand where the wound had once been, Dick noticed that the hole in his suit was still there, along with the blood starting to dry into a sticky substance, but the wound itself had vanished. “And a miracle.” He smiled over at Jason, who turned from glaring at Bruce to turning a gentler look onto Dick.

With shaky legs, Dick let Jason help him stand as he glanced around at the crowd that seemed to be gathering around them. Most faces he wasn’t surprised to see, but then his gaze fell on a few familiar redheads and an amused pair of blue eyes that struck him deep inside.

“How-” He started but stopped, pushing away from Jason’s hold and past Bruce who was reaching for him, probably wanting to be sure he was actually okay. But Dick was more focused on the fact that his missing friends, and all the other missing heroes, were now standing in front of him. Stopping in front of Donna, Kori, Roy, and Wally Dick looked at each of them before glancing back to Jason with a frown. “The curse?” He questioned, locking eyes with Jason who nodded. Turning back to look at his friends he let that final piece slot into place and he finally felt like everything was making sense.

The expressions on Dana’s face that would remind him so much of Donna. The smiles from Kassandra that seemed familiar could easily be seen as Kori’s smiles. Wade’s energy and presence and Ryan’s own brand of stoic observation. It was all so obvious now that he had them in front of him, he wasn’t sure how he hadn’t made the connection before.

“The curse would not have let you figure it out,” a voice called from behind him. And before he knew what was happening, Dick found himself shielded by Jason’s body and one of his escrimas in the man’s hand. “I am not here to harm you, Jason of Gotham. I am only here to retrieve my castle and wish you well. I did not curse you for attacking me that day like you assume. I did it to save you from a future that would have caused you and yours a lot of pain.”

He could see the witch just over Jason’s shoulder, a beautiful woman with an aura that buzzed vibrant energy. It was hard to picture her as the one who had put Jason behind the wall of malicious magic that he had felt. But maybe that had been on purpose. Not that it mattered anymore. It was over. No matter what her reasons were, the curse had been fulfilled.

Dick pressed a hand to Jason’s back, not surprised to feel the tense muscles coiled and ready to attack if need be. He was surprised when the man leaned back into the touch and relaxed just slightly into his touch. He wondered what the future the witch was referring to, but he doubted Jason thought being cursed in time for five years was better than what he would have faced otherwise.

“And now?” Jason questioned.

The witch smiled and waved a hand before vanishing. And with her, the castle went and the group of heroes found themselves standing in the middle of the warehouses that had always been there. Glancing around, Dick tried to get his bearings about him but it was a bit disorienting to be shifted from a castle back to reality in a matter of seconds.

“Are you okay?” Looking over, Dick found Bruce looking at him and then Jason hesitantly. Dick gave a nod and Jason responded with a grunt of his own before turning to look at Dick. Dick placing his hand Jason’s chest and taking a deep breath.

“We owe you an apology, Batman, Nightwing.” Dick looked over at Superman and frowned. “We should not have allowed Deathstroke to manipulate our emotions the way we did.”

And yeah, Dick agreed but could they really be to blame? “You were missing a son, I can’t blame you for being desperate,” Dick offered. And he knew Bruce wouldn’t agree with him, but Dick could understand being desperate to save someone. When Slade had convinced them to go after Jason and the others, Dick had felt that same desperation. He would have done anything to make sure the man didn’t hurt Jason and the others. Even when he didn’t know it was Jason and his missing friends. But now that he did, he understood even more.

“Still.”

“Just get out of my city and we can forget it ever happened.”

Jason let out a snort and Dick smile up at him. “Good to know that hasn’t changed.” And Dick couldn’t help but chuckle at that, because it’s not like he was wrong.

Once the others had been seen off, Dick taking a few extra moments to hug and speak with his friends who had been with him the whole time, Dick found himself standing near the batplane with Tim and Damian already on and Bruce making his way on. Looking at Jason, Dick tried to figure out what the man was thinking.

“You okay?”

Jason didn’t look away from the plane he had been staring at since they had approached it. Dick didn’t know what to make of the expression the other man wore, but he wondered if he would be able to read Jason the way he had tried to read Jace.

“I don’t know that I belong there anymore.” Dick frowned, placing a hand on Jason’s cheek to try and draw Jason’s gaze from the plane back to him.

Dick waiting for the familiar sea blue eyes to look at him before speaking. “You belong with me,” he offered, quirking an eyebrow. It was mostly a joke, but still true at the same time. And going by Jason’s snort of laughter, it achieved it’s task of distracting him from whatever thoughts he had rushing through his head. “We don’t have to stay at the Manor. I can take you to my apartment in Bludhaven or drop you off at one of my safehouses in Gotham. It’s your call. No one expects anything from you.”

Jason swallowed hard and Dick let his thumb caress the skin of Jason’s cheek as the man attempted to come to a decision or even just digest the situation. Dick couldn’t blame him in the least. Jason had died. He had been taken from them and then he had been thrown into the curse the instant he had been allowed to come back to himself.

Which was something Dick was desperate to ask about, but would save those questions for another time.

“I want to see Alfred, but I can’t stay at the Manor. I…” Jason pinched his brows and Dick waited. “I’m not ready for that.”

“Where can I take you?”

The pause Jason took to make his decision weighed heavy on Dick, not sure if he was about to be turned away or not. “Your apartment is good. I just need time.” Dick nodded and accepted it without question. Jason wasn’t telling Dick he wanted to be alone, but he also wasn’t saying what he expected to happen between the two of them from this point on either.

It was enough, for now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For two weeks the pair found a balance that was something like the one they had had at the castle. Dick went out every night as Nightwing and Jason listened in on his comms while he filled himself in on everything he had missed over the five years he had been gone. He learned that Batman had never taken out the Joker after he killed Jason and while Jason was angry and hurt over that fact, he knew if he had learned that when the Pit Madness was still heavy, he probably would have been murderous. Especially toward Tim, who he found out had technically been his replacement even if the kid hadn’t really given them a choice in the matter.

Jason could respect that.

He also learned about Damian, Bruce’s son with Talia, and Jason explained to Dick that it was Talia who had found Jason after he had dug himself out of his grave. Dick relayed the information to Bruce and the man had remained silent before vanishing for two days and Damian telling Dick that apparently his mother was not welcome in Gotham any longer.

When Dick had asked Bruce about it, the man simply said that they had gotten lucky that the witch had been there when Jason came out of the Pit. But without more, Dick had no idea what to make of that. So he just let it die.

When Jason found out Dick had killed the Joker and Bruce had brought him back to life, Dick had found himself pressed into the wall and Jason’s mouth hot on his. It wasn’t their first kiss (the one while Dick had been dying didn’t count to either man), that had come the night he and Dick had dragged themselves into Dick’s apartment after having spent hours telling Bruce the full story of what had happened in the castle the months Dick had been trapped and the years Jason had been. But this was the first one that was more than just a simple brush of lips against each other.

This one had purpose.

He had been so caught up in the feeling of Jason’s body pressed against his own that he had just let the man do with him as he pleased. And when Jason had finally pulled back, both of them were panting and achingly hard in their pants. Jason had told him he wasn’t ready to go further just yet and Dick had accepted it without question, never needing to hear “no” twice.

“I think I want to come up with a new persona,” Jason had said one night while Dick was cleaning his gear and Jason was making dinner. Dick looked up at him, eyes wide in surprise and needing a moment to fully digest what it was Jason was talking about. Bruce had been working on bringing Jason back from the dead legally, but Dick had a feeling that wasn’t what he was referencing.

Putting down his grapple gun, Dick turned his full attention onto Jason. “Did you have something in mind?”

Jason shrugged and went back to the taco meat he was making. “Red Hood,” he muttered and Dick tried to think of why that sounded so familiar.

“Like what Joker used to call himself?” He asked when it finally clicked. Jason glanced at him over his shoulder and seemed to be searching for something in Dick’s expression before looking away again. “Jay?”

“I just…” The man sighed and turned off the stovetop before turning to face Dick fully. “I think that if I hadn’t been cursed, I would have come back with vengeance on my mind. I think that’s what the witch meant by sparing me from a future that brought pain. I would have hated Bruce, I would have hated you.” Jason gave him a sad smile and Dick nodded in understanding. “But that didn’t happen. And now I have options I wouldn’t have had.”

“And where do those options take you?”

He watched Jason purse his lips before smiling. “To the place where I could be considered Nightwing’s partner? In more ways than one?”

Dick considered the implication of Jason’s words. He wasn’t just asking to work with Dick to clean up Bludhaven. He wasn’t just offering to be Nightwing’s partner. He was asking to be Dick Grayson’s partner as well.

“And if I agree?”

“We ask Bruce to stop trying to bring Jason Todd back to life and bring Jason Peters to life instead.” Because the world would frown upon adoptive brothers being in a relationship, even if they hadn’t seen each other in years. But Dick Grayson could be with a man who had no links to Bruce Wayne whatsoever. And while Dick wouldn’t mind if they just never made any public appearances together, he also knew he didn’t want to hide Jason away. “So what do you say?”

Focusing back onto Jason when the man’s hesitant voice sounded, Dick stared at him for a moment. The Dick found himself slipping off his barstool and rounding the island that separated him and Jason. He slotted himself against the other man easily, as if they were jigsaw pieces coming together, and wrapped one arm around Jason’s waist and the other hand gripping the back of his neck. “I say ‘Welcome to the world, Jason Peters’.”

The smile Jason gave him was practically blinding. And Dick didn’t regret anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You look fine, stop it,” Tim complained as Dick stopped to look at himself in the reflection of a window one last time as they approached the ballroom. The gold suit jacket was a little more flashy than he usually went but it was special. And Bruce had only huffed in mild annoyance when Dick announced that it was what he would be wearing. “I should have let Damian deal with you,” he grumbled as they stopped at the doors and Dick fidgeted with his tux one more time. “You and Jason have been dating for months, the public already knows this. Why are you freaking out?”

“Because,” Dick answered lamely. He didn’t actually know why he was nervous. Tim was right, the public had known about him and Jason as soon as Jason Peters had been brought to life. They had been to charity events, fancy dinners, even just regular dates around Gotham and Bludhaven. The public had taken the news of Richie Grayson being off the market well and hadn’t tried to drag Jason through the dirt as much as Dick had originally worried. But this was the first time they would be attending a Martha Wayne Foundation gala together and it felt different.

It felt important.

Because this was the one gala a year that Bruce took personally, and they all did their best to make sure it went off flawlessly. Sure there were the occasional issues, it’s Gotham after all, but that wasn’t something you could predict. Everything else, they could make sure went smoothly.

“Ready?” A familiar voice spoke up from behind him and Dick turned to find Jason standing behind him with Damian at his side. Smiling, Dick allowed himself a moment to admire Jason in the familiar blue suit that he had worn that night they had had their first date. The night that had sent them running full steam toward breaking the curse. The night that had changed everything.

“I am now,” Dick responded, taking the arm Jason offered.

Jason gave him a wide smile of his own before looking at Tim and raising a brow. “Well, let’s get moving Replacement.” Dick laughed when Tim let out a huff of annoyance before pushing open the double doors so they could make their entrance.

#jaydick #jason todd #dick grayson #beauty and the beast au #bruce wayne #slade wilson #jla members #tim drake #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth #teen titan members #anikah writes

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miss-choco-chips · 4 years ago

Text

From the ground up.

The road to recovery is a bumpy one, but Tim’s (reluctantly) ready for the drive. He just hopes they won’t crash and burn.

-.-.-

Tim recovers after an injury. Mending his bonds with the bats its a plus.

Or, Tim can’t exactly run away from a conversation, and they all take advantage of it.

( @animemangasoul asked for Tim actually needing his crutches. Of course my dumb ass brain needed to take that idea and make a whole, emotional thing of it. Threw in some family bonding cause why not.

Babe I did my best, and if it’s bad I’m blaming exams and life stress of me being unable to properly deliver what you hoped for)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It had been a stupid decision. Self sacrificing, reckless, idiotic. He doesn’t know Bruce’s disappointed eyes, Dick’s worried ones or Damian’s disdainful sneer to know it.

Still, it had been his choice, and he’s going to stand by it. Even if it means having Steph pose as Red Robin for some time. Even if he has to deal with M’gann’s guilty looks at failing to convince him to change places, to allow her to get shot while he took the criminal out, instead of what they actually did. Even if it means getting annoyed, nearly hysterical texts from basically everyone he knows, condemning him for his stupidity.

The only ones he had explained himself to were Tam -who honestly deserves it after all the shit he was going to put her through, dealing with her recent trauma (courtesy of assassins) and the press going haywire at Tim’s broken engagement and then almost fatal injury-, Steph (who was going to be changing between Batgirl and Red Robin for some time to keep the whole charade up and Vale off their track) and M’gann herself, who had needed some serious explanation before she conceded to Tim getting shot in front of her for appearances sake.

The rest of the world? They could rot in curiosity, for all he cared. Bruce had probably extrapolated enough from his succinct explanation about Vicky to understand the whole plan. Dick was probably dying to know, but with their relationship strained as it was wouldn't dare to ask. Damian… who know how the devil’s mind works. Alfred was already used to the Bat’s collective shit, and would probably just sigh and make chicken soup for him.

What he wasn’t cool about was being forced to have his recovery period in the Manor. He had a perfectly funcional place for himself, thank you very much, and could wobble around in his crutches from bedroom to kitchen to his small, personal cave, no problem. But Bruce had been unmoving in his decision, going as far to physically carry Tim in his arms, like a toddler, from the hospital steps to the car. It had been humiliating, but he couldn't exactly wiggle free in front of all the reporters, could he? How to explain a nerve strike to his dad, and his own ability to withstand the pain of falling back to his feet?

(Because he totally could stand the pain. He had done it in the dessert with a ruptured spleen, he could deal with a slightly damaged spine)

He was going to have his revenge though. As soon as he was able to move freely without clenching his teeth from the pain.

He’s being deposited on the bed, when he notices Damian lingering around the door. He was looking at Bruce, a little unsure, more than a bit of envy at the care which his father bestowed on Tim. Before, those jealous eyes would have made him weary of an attack. Now, with Bruce and Dick having forced a promise of civility from the kid, he was still on guard but not ready to flee at any given second. Perpetually tensing would only dampen his recovery, after all.

It was still something to think of. The lack of fire in his eyes. He… looked like a kid. Not as much a demon as he had been when Tim went away.

Well. Only time would tell if he had truly changed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Bruce had ordered bed rest. No work, detective or CEO. Nothing more straining (for the mind or body) than watching a movie. Eating and sleeping were his only allowed activities. Even reading was to be moderated, because Tim was known to lose himself in any topic that caught his fancy and forget everything else.

Tim had listened to his reasoning, nodding along and adding his own helpful insight, smiling when his head was patted in response to his obedience. Waved cheerfully as Bruce left, made smalltalk with Dick when he visited hi room before heading out for patrol (theirs was a talk that he wasn’t really looking forward but knew he wouldn't be escaping for long), thanked Alfred for the food and ate half of it under his watchful eye. Even took the medicine with just mild complains.

The perfect picture of innocence and submission. Right until the butler went to the Cave to man the comms.

Then all bets were off.

Moving his bed out of the way to get the laptop hidden below the loose tile under it was impossible in his current condition, but thankfully he had been able to talk Bruce into letting him keep his phone, and his briefcase wasn’t too far to not be able to make the walk without crutches (painful as it was).

Before an hour had passed, he had the wall by his bed covered with post it notes, connected by red sting and pins here and there. A pretty evidence board, even with the lacking resources. Perrrfect for a little Tim-Time, a small bit of detective work.

Bruce would certainly bitch about him moving around so much, taping pieces of information or moving the string around, but, well. What Bruce didn’t knew…

-I thought Father ordered bed rest.

The voice, completely unexpected (he had either been in too deep thought, or the brat was getting better at stealth), made him jump so high and sudden he almost pulled his stitches. The medication, fading with each hour, had weaned enough he felt every bit of tissue, still torn from the shot, straining under the move.

It resulted in the longest, filthiest string of curses his sharp mind could come up with, partnered with gasps and a lot of hair pulling in a instinctual attempt to redirect the pain from his torso to somewhere less dire.

-No one taught you to knock and not to startle convalescent people, brat? -he spats between clenched teeth, squinting through barely-opened eyes to glare at him- And why aren’t you patrolling?

The kid was on pijamas. Tim can’t remember the last time he saw him unarmed. Though he probably still had at least a dagger on himself that he couldn't see.

Bruce and Dick’s promise echoed in his mind, but just in case, he let one of his arms go around his middle, acting as if trying to soothe his hurt (okay, maybe it wasn’t all an act) while he palmed the three Red Robin pallets he had secured between his bandages earlier.

Damian scoffed and approached him, careful to keep a healthy distance but enough so he could properly appreciate Tim’s wall.

-Apparently, Father knows better than to trust you to behave, and he came up with a schedule to keep an eye on you. For what reason, it escapes me. Your death could only serve as a stress relief for everyone, specially if it was caused by your own stupidity. And you didn’t answer my question.

A large part of him wanted to tell him to fuck off. An even larger reminded him he was barely armed, heavily incapacitated, and that Damian had actually answered him first, so, technically, it was fair to do the same.

He sighs and leans back into the pillows, shoulder on the wall crumpling the photo of his number three suspect.

-Whatever. Bruce clearly bought when I said I’d act the part, otherwise he would have cleaned my room of anything useful. You’re probably here because paranoia is too deeply ingrained in the man, or he thinks you could use a rest too. Or both.

Probably both, Tim thinks. He’s ready for Damian’s sneer and a declaration that he ‘didn’t need a rest’, most likely paired with an insult.

Instead, Damian surprises him by tilting his head and looking at him with something akin to curiosity.

-You lied to Father? And he… believed you?

Feeling his petty bitch inside stirring, he smirked- What, like it’s hard?

It actually was, it required a hell of a mental preparation and careful planning. But once you learned how to pull it off and took care to polish it, it was a often used weapon.

Damian wouldn't let any positive emotion towards Tim willingly show on his face, so the amaze was most likely honest. It was… a little humbling, truth be told.

-Tell you what -he decides, pulling his best negotiator voice, to cut the kid some slack-, you keep this little naughtiness -a nod towards the wall- between us and help me hide all proof before B comes back, and I give you some pointers in how to lie to Batman.

Damian seems truly torn. On one hand, Tim can guess, it's the mission his father entrusted him, and his deeply ingrained disdain to anything Tim proposed. On the other, the temptation of such a useful tactic, and the fact that he didn’t really care for Tim’s wellbeing enough to stop him from doing his thing.

-What are you working on?- he asked, likely gaining time while he mulled his options.

-Cold cases -a shrug-. It’s just a pastime of mine. I dig into Bruce’s old files, search for anything he couldn't solve, and work on it until I do. It’s really good for self esteem, and it helps a lot of people who never got closure for whatever it happened to them.

-Father will know you disobeyed if you solve it.

-I’ll wait until he gives me permission for some light work, and then dump all my worked out cases on him at the same time.

There’s something akin to wonder fighting to make itself known above Damian’s facade of indifference.

-Can you actually solve something Father himself couldn't?

-Done it before, will do it again. What will it be, Damian? Cause if you decide to snitch on me after all, then kindly leave me to this until then. I’m about to crack this, and if its going to be the last one I’m able to work on, I’d hate to leave it halfway.

A few seconds go by, before Damian takes the last step and carefully perches at the end of the bed, eyes solely on the wall.

-I’d prefer to aid in solving this. If it’s true this is something not even the Batman could do… it’d be highly rewarding to work on it. You can teach me the arts of lying another day.

Shocked it actually worked, Tim did his best to swiftly recover. Not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth, he kept his doubts in check to dwell on them later and went back to his wall.

Having Damian around was surprisingly useful. He could just lay there, in his pillows, and direct the brat through moving the string and adding post it notes here and there, until the whole thing mapped out in front of them, the answer staring at them as clear as the quickly approaching day.

Satisfaction strong enough to smile despite the ever growing pain in his side, he gave into the urge to give a small pat to Damian’s shoulder before telling him to help take it all down, least Bruce came from patrol and found them on the act. High on the success and more than a little stunned about it, the younger vigilante actually complied, even going as far as to put all their mess back in Tim’s briefcase and bringing him a glass of water to wash down his meds with.

When Batman came to check on his middle son after patro, Nightwing on his shadow, they were regaled with the shocking, unbelievable sight of Damian sleeping, sitting on the ground with the back of his head resting on Tim’s bed, while the bedridden boy himself snored, a hand on top of the smaller kid’s head.

The picture Dick took of them was gonna be his most treasured possession forever.

-.-.-.-.-

-And this will make me a better detective? -questioned Damian, frown scrunching his nose in a way that Tim couldn't help but think of as adorable. Or as adorable as it could be, in a hell spawn. Fuck, Dick was rubbing off on him.

-It helped me -he shrugs, eyes on his own screen as he makes the proper adjustments-. Long live the queen is a good place to start. You need to consider both the character’s mood when selecting the week’s classes, and the goal you aspire towards. All the while dodging assassinations attempts, commoners uprisings or noble plots depending on the choices you make, and… other stuff. And ruling a country. And getting engaged. It’s a lot of juggling, keeping in mind which skills you need for which event, and it forces you to consider how the character is doing emotionally, something you could seriously use to learn. Want me to give you a run through?

-No need -he scoffed, clicking in the start game option, dubiously reading the introduction-. It seems easy enough.

Tim just smiled, eerie, from his place behind him.

Damian was sitting in the floor by his bed, back resting against it. The position, if slightly uncomfortable (Drake wasn’t an enemy any longer, if Grayson was to be believed, and after the other night’s joint work he agreed to help train Damian in mind schemes, but he wasn’t a complete ally either… and having such a grey person with such a clear shot at his neck made the assassin in him nervous), was the best way for Drake to watch his progress in this… game, while keeping his wound unbothered. It also kept Damian from ‘sneaking a peek’ at his own screen and ‘cheating at the game’, as he had said. Not that he planned on it, but-- well, all resources, no matter how dirty, were still fair game in the arts of war, as far as he was concerned.

Not that Damian needed the help. This was a silly game. He would probably beat this first try, high score even. Really, the main screen image had a teenager dressed in a frilly, pink, magical girl outfit. How hard could this be?

---

-My cousin just got bitten by a snake. Will she die?

-Wouldn’t you like to know, demon child. You’ll figure it out later in the game. Just keep going.

---

-Why do I keep failing this skill-checks? What am I missing? Is it even relevant? I just passed one that was completely useless about world history, but somehow missed the one that would have helped me keep this stupid girl from getting betrothed.

-If it was relevant, you’ll know it when, not if, when it kills you.

-...I should save my game here.

-With these shitty skills you’ve built? Sure, if you want to, but at this point you’ll die no matter what.

---

-Is this woman trustworthy? Our father said it was her fault mother died, but she said…

-Hmm. I’m not giving you spoilers. Tell me when you figure it out, one way or the other.

-Well, at least we have our aunt, uncle and cousins. Surely they are on our side, as our family.

-...

-Drake, why are you laughing?

-...

-Stop it! You are not scaring me!

---

-Look, I said I was not going to help you… but you can’t keep pissing everyone off, baby bat. You’ll never survive until coronation if you do.

-Those people deserved to get executed.

-...some of them, maybe, but you failed a lot of skill checks there, so you don’t have all the facts. Also, if you are gonna fuck with people, at least choose if you are doing it with nobles or peasants. Both of them is taking it a bit too far.

-I am the Queen. Neither would dare oppose me. I will have their heads if they do!

-..okay then. Let the record say I tried.

---

-Is this birthday party important?

-Uhm… Kinda. Your friend just turned of age, which means she gets to inherit control of her lands. There’s also a whole new route if you do go to the party, if you have the necessary abilities for it.

Tim saw the back of Damian’s head bob as he nodded. He gave it a few minutes. Then-

-YOU DIDN’T TELL ME I WOULD DIE ON MY WAY THERE!

-I did say you needed specific skills. Both for the party itself, and to get there.

He was ready for the unholy sound that escaped from Damian’s mouth, finger quickly taping at his phone to record it. That treasure was going to be his new ringtone. It would help with the pain, too. Happiness therapy or something like that, to distract the mind from the hurt.

---

-Hey, Dami? I’m gonna go get ready for patrol. Are you com/?

-NO -he snapped, neck almost breaking from how quickly he raised his head to look at Dick at the door. Eyes red from staring at the screen for so long, hair a mess after messing it up in incalculable desperation- I’m about to win! This time, my strategy won’t fail!

Tim, game already finished and now watching a movie (at least until Bruce and Dick left and he could go back to coding a new security system that even Babs wouldn't be able to crack) tilted his head, examining his brother’s open game. Week 30, no medicine knowledge, no intrigue, little to no dog training, no composure and not enough divination...yeah, Damian was gonna die again. It was the first time he had lived long enough to reach the tournament, and subsequently, the poisoned chocolates.

Should he tell Damian? On one hand, the frustration, clear in his face, would tear him apart after yet another failure. But… this was the most fun he had in a long time, and the longest they had gone without either insulting the other.

-Okay then -mumbled Dick under his breath, smartly retreating out of the room.

Tim waited a few beats- Let me know if you need help.

-Leave me alone Drake! As if I’d lower myself to such tricks! The victory won’t be truly mine unless I win by my own merits!

Still at the door, feeling both a little ignored and elated at his brothers getting along so nicely, Dick decided to slowly exit the place, least Damian truly snapped and threw a dagger or something at his head.

---

The downside of the pain meds was how drowsy they made him. He didn’t know quite what to do with himself, now that the bags under his eyes were so close to disappearing. He had come so used to them… maybe he’d need to start investing in eyeliner and fake them.

Blinking himself awake, he moved a bit to look at the clock on his bedside table and immediately flinched. He kept forgetting the wound, and then moved and was painfully reminded.

A hand appeared out of nowhere, holding a familiar pill. He took it without prompting, accepting then the glass of water.

-Don’t think too much of this, Drake. I’m merely assisting Pennyworth. Since I’m already here working on my progress, I offered to make sure you don’t forgo your medicine. Again.

The disdainful voice, probably masking the smallest shadow of care, had come familiar enough in the last couple of days that he knew even without opening his eyes who it was. The question of what the hell was he still doing here, after spending the entire day at Tim’s side, remained.

-Damian? Are you still playing?

The kid seemed uncomfortable.

-The idiotic Queen wouldn't stop dying. It’s against my every principle to give up before achieving my goal, so I had to stay here until I passed this… training of yours.

Tim had to bit his check to keep from smiling. Damian was kinda decent at it, but the boy who lied to Batman wasn’t so easily fooled by a half assed attempt. The brat had actually stayed so he could make sure Tim didn’t forget his pain meds and woke the whole manor up with his groans later.

-Well, as your teacher for this particular test, I’m telling you to call it a day. Go to sleep and come back tomorrow with fresh mind and eyes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rehab… sucked. There was no way around it. Sure, he could go the nice, easy way, give himself enough time to heal before starting on the recovery path. But vigilantes didn’t have the luxury of nice, and he needed to be functional again asap. Steph was running herself ragged, working on keeping Tim’s identity on the streets alive and her own territory safe, and there was a limit on how much Tam could take over in WE before collapsing.

Bruce hadn’t been happy about his decision of starting physical therapy while his stitches were still there, but when was he, ever? And the doctors had said he could do it as long as he was careful about it, now that the swelling in his back had disappeared, so he couldn't use them as counterpoints. There was also the nice plus of being emancipated, which made his medical decisions his own, and not even Bruce could just breeze by and ignore them.

Sweet, sweet independence.

Too bad he forgot a tiny detail: how fucking painful it was.

He could move around now, using the crutches, and he had a series of exercises his doc gave him to help regain movement, which he followed like religious doctrine. Two reps before lunch, one before bed. Okay, the physical therapist had said only do one per day, but he couldn't take into account Tim’s vigilante resistance and strength, so he felt safe in his small expansion of the activities.

That was, until the sharp pain on his side made him lose balance during his last rep and trip over his crutches.

A strong arm around his upper chest stopped his fall to the ground, and took the air off his lungs. It didn’t touch his wound, though, which… nice.

-If you're falling jus’ from walking, maybe you're not as ‘recovered’ as I heard.

-Ja...son -he coughs, hand (with the crutch secured to him by nice straps, courtesy of WE’s medical division) raising up to hold Jason’s arm for support. The other man shifted, coming closer, shouldering his weight without a word, his other hand going around his waist, under the wound, to help him along- This… but a scratch.

-Quoting “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” at me won’t keep you out of trouble, little shit. C’mon, I’ll take you back to your room. Which way?

Pointing him in the right direction, Tim took advantage of their closeness to examine the other man.

They weren’t on ‘kill on sight’ terms any longer, but Tim wouldn’t exactly call the man when in a pinch. What was he even doing here? He was fairly sure he and Brucer were still at that ‘mindless anger/deeply rooted guilt’ stage of their relationship, and his book club meetings with Alfred were wednesday afternoons, not friday evenings…

-Stop thinking so much, you’ll strain som’ing.

-I’m not Dick -he fires back almost in instinct, earning a deep chuckle in turn. He shifts a little, looking for a position where his trembling arms wouldn't make the crutches shake quiet so much. If Jason saw his struggle, he respected him enough to say shit about it.

-Speaking of, how’s it going with him?

-I have no idea what you’re talking about. We are fine.

-Yeah, right. And he’s sitting out of helping you with rehab because he suddenly lost one of his hundred hearts and it’s just your luck it was the one he had for you?

-Fuck… -a misstep, and his arms automatically shift to compensate, keeping him standing but paying it in pain when the movement tugs at his side. Jason tightens his grip, an unvoiced promise to keep it from happening again- you.

-Really threatening, with all the gasping and whining.

-Shut up. Why would we be at odds?

There’s a minute of silence as one of Jason’s hands leave him long enough to open the door to his bedroom.

-I’m jus’ saying -he shrugs as he helps Tim inside and towards his bed-, I know a discarded Robin when I see one.

He’s not sure if the pained sound comes from the jostling as he’s carefully lowered into his pillows, or the strike to his most exposed nerve.

-It was… a tough situation. Dick didn’t have much choice. I -it hurts to say- I get it.

It had also been right, by Damian. Tim can see it, in the remarkably diminished killer intent he could feel from the kid, and his actual willingness at keeping Tim company and even helping him around when needed.

Even if it was the worst for him, at least one of the two fucked up kids under Dick’s watch had benefited from it. It was… it was good enough. It had to be. Tim was fine, after all.

Jason looks at him for a moment, waiting until the pain yields a bit and he can breath again. Then, taking a seat by his feet, he lets his eyes stray to the photographs mounted on the walls, avoiding Tim’s scrutinizing gaze.

-Even if it makes logical sense, it still hurts. I know how it is.

There’s… not really something he can counter. He moves a bit to find position easier on his side, hiding the nervous twitch with the action.

-I never blamed you for it -he feels compelled to add. Jason winces, as if struck. He’s still not looking at him.

-And the brat’ll probably be the same with you, someday. Means shit now, but… small comforts.

-I guess so… I mean, we’re kinda getting along, now that he can’t try to kill me since I’m convalescente and I’m bored enough to contribute to his training.

Jason seems pained again. Tim is annoyed by how confusing this entire situation is.

-Y’er a good predecessor. He’ll/

-What is this all about? -he cuts, unable to stop himself. This attempt at deep conversation is well and good, but it’s coming out of nowhere and Tim never pictured Jason as one to go around randomly offering wisdom- Why are you here, and with me of all people?

There was a shadow of something passing through his face, before it transformed into the physical intonation of the ‘Fair enough’ feeling.

-I heard what happened from blondie while she was takin’ care of soom goons on y’er part of town. And… well, I have some experience on getting back on your feet after a bad injury, just in the wake of loosing Robin. Figured you’d be over doing it and getting yourself hurt worse.

It… was a fair assessment of what he was doing, actually. And if there was anyone he could speak about this… it’d be Jason.

-There’s so much I have to do -he sighs, sagging into his bed, relaxing for the first time when in a room with his childhood idol-, and Steph can’t keep running all my cases for me. I keep solving them, but I need groundwork done and she has already so much on her plate by patrolling my side of town, I just… I can’t let people die because I couldn't spy on an arms deal and tore it apart before the guns made their way to the streets.

Jason looked at him again, his emotions in check, and he seemed to think about it for a minute, before humming.

-What about this? You take it slow and easy with the physical therapy, and I help with that stuff. My territory is somewhat in order, or as much as you can have it in this hellhole of a city, so I have plenty of free time, and… I could use the atonement. After, you know, trying to kill you so many times.

It…was unexpected. Jason, helping him? In exchange of Tim’s wellbeing? It seemed absurd beyond belief, but there was no mistaking the earnestness on his face.

And, well, fuck it. Tim was somehow on speaking terms with one of his formers almost-assassins, what was one more?

...it would also be so worth it, once Dick knew. Tim could already picture his jealousy, seeing the two brothers he was at odds or uncomfortable with, speaking at each other and working together.

And having Jason at his side would keep Bruce from checking on him so often. Two birds, one crowbar.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

This was shaping up to be the strangest week of his life. Had he entered the twilight zone?

He had gotten kinda used to Damian popping into his room before patrol, or during the nights B forced him to stay at home. He’d work Damian through one of the easiest cold cases, or aid him in his never ending game of Long Live the Queen (he was getting really close to a happy ending, though). In exchange, the kid would keep his work a secret, and help him move around if the pain was too strong, or if he wanted a glass of water and didn’t feel like getting his crutches out for the small trip to the bathroom.

Also, it was somewhat normal to have Jason swing by (morning or mid afternoon, while the vigilantes of the manor slept off their patrol), some case files in hand, informing him about a new development in whatever Tim had asked him to research. Alfred, highly approving of their newfound camaraderie, would insist Jason stayed for tea, and the three of them would dwell into a very satisfying bitch fest, with Bruce as their source material.

What he wasn’t ready for, was having both of them around at the same time.

-Drake, you need to stop lazing around and do your exercises! Father and the doctors said…!

-Chill out, Demon, he did ‘em already. Shouldn't be doin more reps than the doc said, y’know?

Acting like his nurses.

-And how do I know you’re not lying to me, Todd? Hurting Timothy could only benefit you!

-...In literally which way? He’s the ONE brother I like! And like you are any better, Mr slashed zip line.

-Who told you about/? No matter. That was before we became allies. You, on the other hand!

Had he stumbled into a different universe? It wouldn't be the first time. Just in case, he sent Bart, his time/multiverse travel expert, a quick text.

-Hey guys, what’s all this noise abou/ Damian! Drop the knife!

Oh yeah. Just what Tim needed; the awkwardness that seemed to appear whenever he and Dick were in a room together. Maybe it was time to book it back to his room.

-Grayson! Give it back, I need to/!

-Disembowel Jay? I don’t think so.

-Fuck off Dickiebird, I don’t need your protection.

Decision made, Tim slowly moved his crutches, walking backwards without taking his eyes from the three vigilantes. If he was really, really quiet...

-I know, just/ Wait. Is that a gun?

-Well, it’s not like I’m happy to see yar ugly face.

-Excuse you?!... Here, Dami. You can have it back.

-FUCK!

-DIE!

-TIM!

The last scream came from Dick, who looked in his direction just in time to catch the moment Tim’s crutch slipped in the carpet. As it was, he was the only one who could react fast enough to prevent a painful, possibly very bad for his injury fall.

It also meant Tim was being cradled like a baby. Which- no.

The other two fell silent for long minute, while their minds caught up to Tim’s almost accident. Then, apparently seeing him safe in Dick’s arms, they turned to fight again. Apparently, blaming the other for Tim’s misfortune. Which… okay maybe he’d been distracted watching them go at it when he tripped, but still!

-I’ll just… take him upstairs -informed them Dick, though it sounded almost like a question. Probably wondering their ability to keep the discussion verbal.

Used to the nagging, both of them raised their hands, showing them empty (which, truly, meant little in the face of two of the most weapon-inclined people he knew), without pausing their rapidly escalating exchange.

Halfway up the stairs, he stopped wallowing in self pity about his still recovering body to remember that, for the first time in a helluva long time, he’d be alone with Dick. Which translated in Talk Time. Fuck.

By the time they reached his door, he had ready no less than six deflections and twenty conversation topics which avoided mention of all their baggage and could potentially satisfy Dick’s need for socializing with a brother.

-Wipe that look off your face, Baby Bird. You won’t be orchestrating this chat -the older hero informed him, casually as one can be, kicking the door closed behind him and softly lowering Tim on his bed. He was having serious Deja Vu’s from his first encounter with Jason-. We are going to sit in your room. We are going to hear each other out. I’m going to apologize for hurting you and give you insight on the why I acted the way I did. You’ll decide whether or not you’re ready for forgiving me. We’ll bond. Maybe cry. There’ll definetly be hugs involved -that shouldn’t sound like a threat, why did it sound like a threat, Tim felt threatened-, that’s non negotiable, don’t even try to put the ‘tender wounds’ card on me ‘cause I won’t buy it. And…

Dick’s stern voice wavered, arms still around Tim shoulders even when it was clear he didn’t need his support to sit in the bed.

-And we’ll be brothers again.

The tiny, broken sound mid-sentence was what got Tim.

Hand a little shaky, scared for his own heart but unwilling to let the older boy (his hero and family for so long) keep hurting, he touched Dick’s cheek and smiled. Tentatively, because they were on unstable ground here, but hopeful, because god did he miss his brother.

-We never stopped being that, idiot.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was after dinner, when Bruce approached him in silence. Tim had been making his slow but steady way to the den, where Dick had roped them all into watching a movie together. He could hear the sounds of Jason and Damian roughosing (okay, Jason was; the brat probably believed the whole affair to be a fight to the death for honor or something like that) and Dick’s chirpy voice as he ranted about The Greatest Showman from the hall.

Bruce had been making the trip by his side, hand hovering close to Tim’s elbow, in case the crutches failed him or he tripped. Tim wanted to tell him it wouldn't happen, but… he’d missed his dad’s attention a little too much to complain about independency now.

-How’s the recovery going, son?

He stopped in the door leading to where his brothers waited, turning to face Bruce with an arched eyebrow.

-You know that better than me, Mr I’ve broken every bone in my body at some point. Also I’m dead sure you hacked my medical files and know every little detail my physical therapist wrote by heart. You can probably recite them to me verbatim.

-I didn’t mean the physical recovery. The shot in your side is not the only wound you’re carrying right now

Silence, the only noise coming from inside the room and Tim’s heavy breathing. Unable to refrain himself, he risks a glance at the tangle of limbs rolling around in the carpet (Dick’s tactic to stop the fight was to hug them into submission) and lets the tentative, frail smile tug at his lips.

-Honestly, B… That one is healing nicely. There’ll be scars but… That’ proof of what we overcame. Right?

Bruce’s smile looked kinda uncomfortable in that stony face of his, but warm all the same. His hand left Tim’s arm to tussle his hair a bit, careful to not unbalance him.

-When did you became the wisest of my children?

A crash came from inside the room, startling them both.

-TODD YOU…!

-DAMIAN NO! JASON PUT DOWN THE CHAIR! DON’T MAKE ME CALL ALFRED!

-C’ME AT ME, MIDGET!

-ALFIEEEE!!!

-Bruce…

-Yes?

-I’m the only wise child you have.

#My writing #tim drake #red robin #Batfamily Fanfic #batfamily #jason todd #red hood #damian wayne #robin #dick grayson #nightwing #bruce wayne #batman #recovery #tw: injury #family bonding #gift to babe

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alexiessan · 5 years ago

Text

Never alone - Chapter Five - Soulmate AU

AO3

Previous - Here - Next

Master List

Thank you everyone for your feedbacks!

It makes me really happy to see that you like this story and motivates me to write.

Which is why you get two chapters this week!

Getting to know each other turned out to be pretty easy. Not only did the soulmate magic made them be at ease for each other, but Marinette made it a game out of it. The first game was a classic twenty questions, where they each got twenty questions to ask each other.

Robin was grateful that his soulmate didn’t ask for any too personal questions. She asked him if he had siblings but didn’t ask how many nor for their name. She asked for his favorite color, his favorite meal, his favorite kind of music. She asked for his pass time and favorite TV shows.

For each question they asked, the other would also answer. And thus, he told her how much he loved animals, that he had a dog, a cat, and a cow, and he was a vegetarian ever since he adopted said cow. He told her that he loved to read and to draw, and promised to show her one of his drawings after she nicely asked.

Then, she turned the game into two truths and a lie. And this one made him smile as he had done some crazy things as Robin which made it hard for her to figure out which one was the lie.

Then again, he was also surprised by some of the things she had done.

There was more to Marinette than it first appeared.

They stayed on the roof until five in the morning, only stopping because the blue-eyed girl was starting to fall asleep mid-sentence. So he took her in his arms and took her back to the window of her hotel room where they promised in a whisper to meet at the same time that night.

After four hours of talking, Robin was satisfied as he felt like he knew Marinette better than some people he had known for longer.

That’s probably what happens when you actually put effort into knowing someone, he mused as he got home.

Right as he got out of his uniform and prepared himself to go to bed to catch at least an hour of sleep, he remembered that he had to do a little bit of research about his soulmate.

Not to stalk her or to know everything about her by checking her background. But the feeling that he had seen her before didn’t disappear at all that night, and he wouldn’t be at peace until he knew why.

So he went to the Batcave, empty at this hour of the night, or rather, this early in the morning. As he sat at the computer and typed Marinette’s full name, he discovered that there was already a file on her.

This meant that his family had made some research about her prior to their meeting.

Upon opening the file, he cursed himself for not connecting the dots.

Back when Hawkmoth started to terrorize the city of Paris and Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared to fight against him, Batman had Red Robin investigating the matter.

He wanted to know who was behind the masks of the heroes and the villain, especially since the duo of heroes seemed to be made of children.

While magic was involved in the matter, it didn’t mix well with technology, so Tim had tried to run a facial recognition for the heroes, hoping the magic wouldn’t work on technology.

Unfortunately, Hawkmoth was the kind of guy to act from the shadows and there wasn’t any picture of him anywhere on the internet.

It took a good week, as Paris had millions of people, but they eventually got a result.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug and Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

Both were only thirteen when they first began their job as superheroes, and no adult was ever seen by their side.

It was also obvious that none of them had any training and were only trusting their instincts. Odds were that they were literally thrown into the superhero business without their consent and, most likely, without any proper explanation.

Damian remembered that he had rarely seen his father and his brothers so mad about something that didn’t have anything to do with the Joker. Batman had then called the Justice League of Europe himself, demanding to know why children were playing superheroes when it was their job, but was then asked nicely to mind his own business back in America and that Paris was not under Batman’s jurisdiction.

There was nothing they could do to help the two heroes, but they had been keeping tabs on the situation in Paris.

That explained why Marinette was not as awkward as she should have been with the “my soulmate has a secret identity” issue. She knew better than to ask personal questions since she herself had a secret identity to protect.

Damian sighed, massaging his temples. He didn’t want to keep too many secrets from Marinette. While he knew there were some things he wouldn’t talk about for some time — his childhood — and he wouldn’t reveal his identity before long, he still didn’t feel like keeping the fact that he knew her identity would be a good way to start any kind of relationship with her.

He would have to tell her when he’ll see her tonight.

Looking at the time on the computer, the youngest Wayne sighed.

So much for catching some sleep.

And he still had to have a conversation with his father.

Despite having only an hour of sleep that night, Marinette managed to wake up at six sharp, even before Alya.

Never before has she been in such a good mood after waking up so early and with only an hour of sleep.

It was a good thing that she got up before her friend too, as she had to figure out how to put contacts on.

“So, I get it that it went well last night?”

Marinette looked up from the little box of contacts, from which she was reading the instructions. She smiled at Tikki, who was looking at her with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, it went well. Sorry I didn’t take you with me.”

Tikki shrugged.

“It was probably better that way. He’s not a civilian, one small error from me and he would have you figured out.”

“We talked for hours. I was at peace with him, it felt like I knew him already and after we talked, it feels like I’ve known him way longer.”

The tiny god smiled.

“That’s part of the soulmate magic. You’ll always feel at ease with each other and the most time you spend together right after your meeting, the more you’ll feel like it. Do you know if your bond is a platonic or a romantic one?”

The designer winced as she poked her eye trying to put the contact on.

“That’s harder than it seems.” She tried once more before answering, “Well, I think Robin is very attractive.”

Which was exactly what told you if your bond is romantic or not. The bond didn’t make you instantly love your soulmate, no, those feelings would develop at your own pace, but instant attraction was the key to know whether a bond is platonic or not.

You’re attracted to your soulmate? The bond is romantic.

You’re not attracted to your soulmate? The bond is platonic.

It’s as simple as that.

“It’s a romantic one, then! I’m so happy for you Marinette!”

“Thank you, Tikki.” the designer smiled.

They were silent then, Tikki enjoying a cookie and the black-haired girl still trying to put the contact on.

It took approximately ten tries before she finally put it on, and just as Alya was knocking on the bathroom’s door.

“Are you almost done?”

The baker’s daughter opened the door with the brightest smile she couldn’t manage.

“It’s all yours!”

The journalist giggled.

“Well, aren’t you happy?”

“I’m always happy, Alya! Come on, now. Go take a shower and change, I can’t wait for today’s visit!”

When Damian came home from school that day, he went straight to bed to take a good nap before dinner. He had done his homework during the day so he could have the evening entirely free. If he wanted to announce to his family that he met his soulmate during dinner, it would be after he was well-rested.

No way was he dealing with that when he was half asleep.

It’s Titus who woke him up twenty minutes before dinner, barking behind his door, probably wanting to be let out outside.

He took the dog outside, playing with him and petting him for a while before Alfred came to tell him that dinner was ready.

After washing his hands, he joined his father and his brothers at the table, wondering how he should bring up the topic of meeting his soulmate.

Turned out, he didn’t have to worry as Dick brought it up himself.

“So, Damian, don’t you have something to share with the family?”

It was enough to silence them all.

Jason raised a brow.

“Something’s wrong, demon spawn?”

The green-eyed boy sighed, putting his fork down.

“Nothing’s wrong, Todd. It’s just…” he turned to look at his father. “I met my soulmate last night. As Robin.”

It was silent once again until Jason let out a low whistle.

“Damn, that’s news. Wonder how she is.”

“She’s such a cutie!” exclaimed Dick.

Bruce cleared his voice.

“I see. It’s a little problematic that you met her under your alias, but… Congratulations, Damian.”

“So that’s why you came back at five in the morning.” mused Tim.

“Come on, tell us about her little D.”

The youngest sighed. They would meet her eventually, so it was better to give them the information they were seeking.

“She’s a French student here on a trip for your Career Program, father.”

“She’s from the winning class that will be interning next week, then?”

Damian nodded.

“I’ve run a background check on each of them. Ladybug and Chat Noir are among them.”

Tim frowned. “Will Paris be alright with them away?”

“They must have a plan to keep Paris safe, they wouldn’t leave just like that.”

Damian took a deep breath.

“About that… My soulmate’s name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Dick’s, Tim’s and Bruce’s eyes visibly widened and Jason let out a snort.

“Figured your soulmate would be a hero.”

“At least, that means she’s understanding about your identity, right?” asked Dick.

The young heir nodded.

“I see. Will you tell her that you know about her identity?” asked his father.

“I will. If I want us to start on the right foot, it’s the best thing to do. She understands that I have to keep my identity a secret, but it’s another thing to know hers and to keep it a secret.”

Bruce nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips.

“You’ve grown, Damian.”

Damian could feel his ears go red from his father’s praise.

“I know that you can’t keep your identity a secret from her forever but… I trust you to wait until you completely trust her before you do tell her, and telling us beforehand, as once she knows about you, it won’t be hard for her to figure out ours.”

“Of course, father.”

Dinner then went as usual, until they all stood up after finishing and his father came to him, giving him an unexpected and somewhat awkward hug.

“I’m happy for you.”

As he saw his brothers smile at him from behind his father, Damian thought that, maybe, from now on, he could talk a little more to his family.

One step at a time, though.

They agreed with his father that he wouldn’t be patrolling for the next two weeks so he could get to spend time with the tiny French girl for the duration of her trip.

It was the first time that Damian didn’t protest about sitting out of patrol.

Marinette was in Gotham for only two weeks, and he wanted to get to know her as much as possible during those two weeks.

So when he took her to the roof at one sharp after giving her his cape to hide her from sight, he told her that they could meet earlier if she wanted.

They agreed to meet at eleven from now on, as her roommate tended to fall asleep around ten, luckily for them.

Before they got in another conversation to learn more about each other, he had to bring up a delicate issue.

“I need to tell you something.”

Marinette smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but compare this smile to the sun.

“What is it?”

He winced before taking a deep breath.

“Back when Hawkmoth appeared in Paris, we couldn’t believe that the superheroes were just two children so we investigate a bit to help. The JLE rejected our offer though… Anyway, we did some facial recognition for Ladybug and Chat Noir and… Well, to put it simply, I know that you’re Ladybug, and I thought it would be better to tell you I knew than to keep this piece of information from you.”

The fashion designer stared at him, completely silent. He stayed silent too, giving her all the time she needed to process what he just told her.

“I see.”

He could see her having trouble breathing, on the verge of a panic attack.

He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t need to worry, except for us, no one knows and we won’t tell anyone.”

Marinette took a few breaths before looking at him.

“Sorry. It’s the first time someone figured out my identity and I’m trying not to freak out. I’ve always been told how important it is that no one knows about me being Ladybug that I can’t help but panic.”

“Understandable. But, no one knows about you being Ladybug?”

The teenage girl shook her head no.

It made Robin mad. That girl had so many great responsibilities on her shoulder, and no adult to guide her or to vent to when it became too much.

“What kind of person just drop a miraculous to a child anyway?” he asked not too kindly.

Marinette flinched.

“The guardian… He just chose people that were the most compatible with the miraculous… And children are less likely to use the miraculous for evil so…”

“It doesn’t excuse anything. You were just a child without any guidance. You shouldn’t have the responsibility of Paris’ safety on your shoulders.”

The girl shrugged.

“There’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I could always introduce this guardian to my sword.”

“He’s not here anymore.”

As he was about to answer to that, mad that she was now completely alone except for her partner in all this business, she raised a hand.

“But let’s not talk about it. You know about me. That’s one secret I don’t have to keep and honestly, it’s like a weight off my shoulders, even if it’s not ideal that you know.”

She stopped to take a deep breath, now completely calm. She raised her head, looking at him in the eyes and giving him a shy smile.

“I won’t ask for your identity, don’t worry. We’ll cross that bridge when you’re ready, okay?”

He nodded, grateful that she didn’t ask for his identity in exchange for hers.

“Now, I remember you told me that you loved dogs. I have some very cute pictures to show you!”

Her smile was so bright and contagious that he couldn’t but smile a little too, as he got closer to her to watch her phone over her shoulder.

Tag list:

@bigpicklebananatree @animegirlweeb @crazylittlemunchkin @northernbluetongue @cutechip @justafanwarrior @iloontjeboontje @resignedcatservant @maribat-is-lifeblood @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @mikantsume @dast218

#maribat #ml x dc #miraculous x dc #daminette #maridami #damian x marinette

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