#Damian lets them touch him without making too much of a fuss

[bhaalsdeepbat]

There is potential for Cass, Jason, and Damian to all be with the LoA at the same time, allowing them to all briefly meet, not even knowing who they all will be to each other, once they're free of the League

[maanae]

Holidays

I would like to thank you all because by the gods, I didn't have that much notifications since way too long, love you all ♥

(and warn you because I don't have a rythm. At all. It's 2 OC in 10 days, it'll probably be wayy much before the next one :'))

I didn't find any real fanfic on Daminette x Teen Titans and I really think it can have a lot of potential (and I like the Titans) so here a little thing. It's more of a "throw all ideas before I forget them" so it's not really organised but I think it's sweet, so enjoy! (like last time, make what you want of it, if you want to write it just @/me I want to see!)

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Aged-Up Characters! Marinette 17 years old more or less and Damian 18 I suppose. I'm not really up to date on the ages of all the characters but they're close to be or are adults.

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Marinette is tired. Really really tired. She needs holidays. Far away from Paris, from Hawkmoth, from Malizia, from Lila Rossi and her court of lies, from her Order and her responsabilities and just... holidays. And her friends know that. Even the new members of the Order who don't know her very well know that. So they scheme. (Because she needs it but she won't take holidays obviously. Self -sacrifiyng and way too hard-working demoiselle.)

She'll keep the Coccinelle because she's one of the two persons who can wield it and the Chat isn't a good idea for holidays (like yeah okay he's fun but he's also chaos and Marinette needs rest. So Ladybug it is). She also has the Cheval, in case of akuma or amok or mirage or idk what they want to throw at her. All of her Gardians duties will go to Adrien and Nino, her fellow gardians-in-training (because there is no way she can be a full-fledged Gardian without much guidance, even X years after, don't fight me). And yeah, it's not perfect but it's something and it's way better than what she has now.

That's good, all good. They just need a location now.

It was an idea from Alix, with her weird smile they learn to not ask about. But it's Adrien and Chloe who talk to Jon and Damian. And it's Kor'i who concretises it by inviting Marinette at Jump City, in the Titans Tower.

And she accepts, because she knows she needs holidays and she wants to see Damian and to meet his friends (just coworkers dixit himself and she doesn't believe him at all).

So she goes.

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Of course, Damian haven't let the Titans know who their guest would be and Kor'i wanted it to be a surprise (and a little mischief, maybe, it'll be fun). So when the car parks in front of the tower, they wait for an hero, or a celebrity, or someone they know, or or... anyone really. Not an asian girl with dark rings under her eyes, half-asleep and clinging to Damian. Nor the ease of Damian when he takes her bags with his arm around her waist.

... Damian has a girlfriend !?

(Kor'i was right, it's fun.)

Damian has indeed a girlfriend but she just says hello and then go crash on the bed. Damian's bed in fact. In his room. Where he takes her bags. The Damian. Who doesn't like anyone in his venicity or in the venicity of his things (and okay, he's more... less... than in the beginning but still it's a huge thing for him!). The following hours are eventful for the Titans who doesn't get what the fuck is happening, Kor'i who just wants popcorns and Damian who hides in his room. With his girlfriend. (The Titan have a hard time swallowing that).

Marinette wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Rachel in the kitchen, in front of a cup of black coffee. She smiles, a little shy and a lot eager and buzzes with energy. Her dark circles are a little less pronunced but she takes a double coffee with enough sugar and creme to wake the dead. Heh. The girls bond across coffee, late nights, Damian and art. It's cool. And when the sun rises and the boys and Kor'i wake up one by one, they're friends. And Marinette makes divine coffee and all the boys are enamored in a minute.

(Damian is Not jealous. But he keeps close to Marinette. Just in case.)

Marinette is all smiles and flowers, adorable in this not-naive way of helping others like it's a second nature and asking if she oversteps, always cautious of the boundaries. She has the look of heroes, mature and wary, but her eyes shine when she talks and she's sunshine, lighting up all that she sees. Damian is at ease when she's at his side, hands fluttering around to explain her last idea, he rolls his eyes when she hits walls and furnitures and apologizes and smiles when she lits up in joy and passion. He looks like his dad when Bruce gets out of his multiple costumes, serene in a way they never know him to be.

Sometimes she disappears and she explains she's a hero at home and they can't know her alter-ego without being banned from her city. They look at the thundering look on Damian at that and understand that he hates that truth. When she reappears, she looks dead on her feet and the first time they couldn't do a thing - too surprised to see Damian fuss over someone. After, they learn that she needs distractions so Garfield and Victor organized video game contests and they discover someone who can, in fact, stand up to Cybord. Sometimes the enemy is too much and Rachel comes to meditate with her, her calm a great help for the buzy mind of Marinette. Other times she just sleeps on Damian and they keep quiet (with pictures because they're cute and it's Robin).

Another time, it's their turn to go on mission and Marinette waves them with a smile and hopes of good fortune. And, okay it's a little weird but hey she's nice, let her have that. (And she's French so maybe she had a case of weird translation of a French saying even if she's bilingue). They're weary when they return and Marinette regards them with something grave in her eyes, like she can see more, like she knows somehow. They advert their eyes first, except for Damian who goes to her and she stands on her toes to kiss him on the forehead and there is a weird shimmer. When Kor'i goes to her after him and receives the same treatment, Garfield asks if it's a cult thing of something and Marinette smiles but her eyes are still too deep, too obscure and explains that she can heal them a little, if they want. Raven is the first to accept and the weight on her shoulders is lift a little when Marinette delivers. At the very moment her lips touch her forehead - just beneath her cristal - she knows the healing is not only physical even if it's not really psychological either.

Damian's girlfriend is adorable and hero but she's also magical in a way so very different of what she saw before.

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When Marinette's holidays come to an end, she has new friends, knows new people she can trust to have her back, and her smile is much more genuine than two weeks ago. And Damian is teased relentlessly (but also a little enviously, she really is too good for him! Even Raven said it).

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(or the AU where the kwamis doesn't exist so Marinette is Magic. I love Tikki and Plagg and all the others but I really love a good kwamiless AU, it's so much magic. So here it is.) (btw it's the DCMAU version of Teen Titans, sometimes in the future, it's the only one I know enough to write about. and I don't even recall how the Judas Contract end so.)

[yummyyume]

Of Love and Sunlight - Part 02

Here it is! To be perfectly honest with all of you, this part has been written first. There will be a part 03, somewhen in the future. I just need to write it. And there are some tentatives plot bunnies for a part 04. So we’ll see how it works out.

You can visit my AO3 if you want. I’ll post Of Love and Sunlight there soon. 

Part 01

Hope you all like it!

Tittles are adapted from Sunlight by Hozier, because I love this song and I didn’t have any idea how to name this series.

I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors, English is not my first language. I hope it’s still intelligible.

Taglist:

@alysrose-starchild @vixen-uchiha @dont-panic-to-much @ramos123 @stackofrandomstuff @thecaptainthunder @redbullgivescaswings @megaafangirl @thebooki3h @zorua-adorable  @user00000003 @eliza-bich @transcendent-heroes @a4-machete @nyx-in-line @stainedglassm @maskedpainter @schrodingers25 @iamabrownfox @corporeal-terrestrial

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Hold me, carry me slowly

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Marinette opens her front door tiredly. It’s far too early for anyone to be bothering her yet. She’s only awake because the twins are going to start fussing soon, and despite her short night, she prefers waking up with her alarm than with her babies’ cries. It tends to make her panic if they’re the ones waking her up, because her mind immediately wonders what’s wrong instead of remembering that it’s feeding time.

She’s not expecting to see Jon and Damian on her front step. She hurriedly steps out and closes the door behind her to bare them entry, leaving only a sliver open so she’ll hear her babies if anything happened.

“What are you doing here?” She hisses, glaring.

“We wanted to talk to you, Marinette,” Damian replies, words mild, expression politely blank, while Jon looks both hopeful and sheepish.

Marinette’s blood boils.

“I have nothing to say to either of you!” She snaps back. “You made it perfectly clear that you want nothing to do with me! Well, I don’t want anything to do with you!”

It’s only because she knows him so well that she sees Jon’s flinch at her words, but despite that he takes a step forward, careful not to touch her. Marinette takes a step back and curses the fact that the door is in the way.

“Marinette, we’re sorry. We’re really, really sorry for everything and we would like to talk. Please.”

And Marinette has always been weak to Jon’s earnest tone and puppy dog eyes. She wants to let them in and listens to what sort of flimsy excuses they came up with, because she missed them. She missed them so much, but they broke her heart and she’s not ready to let them break her babies’ hearts too.

Just as she’s about to open her mouth and tell them to get lost, there’s a sharp wail coming from the bedroom and at their suddenly alert expressions, she knows they heard it too. She closes her eyes just as a second wail starts and she knows there’s no getting rid of them now.

“Are you…” Jon starts, eyes fixed intently on the door. “Marinette, are you babysitting?”

She only sighs in answer and opens the door to get back inside. She doesn’t close it in their face as much as she wants to, because she knows they’re about to follow.

The girls are both fussing in their crib and Marinette scoops Scarlet up for a nappy change. She takes the time to put Asha’s pacifier back into her mouth before moving to the changing table.

“There, there. No need to cry. It’s just a soil nappy. We know how to take care of those.” She coos gently. “There, you go. All clean. I’m going to change Asha now and then we’ll have a nice breakfast, okay?”

She puts Scarlett back in the crib despite her complains and repeats the whole process with Asha.

She can feel the boys’ eyes on her, and it makes her want to lash out.

“Are they ours?” Damian demands.

“They’re mine,” she snaps, not looking at him. “There’re no fathers list on the birth certificates. They don’t need any dads, they have me.”

“But they’re ours, right?” Jon presses, tone so hopeful, but Marinette refuses to answer. That’s an answer in itself.

“Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you call?” Damian speaks again.

“I called you!” She hissed, eyes blazing in anger, but keeping her tone even so as not to upset her babies too much. “I called you and left voicemails and then both your numbers were disconnected, and I got the message! If you didn’t want anything to do with me, then I didn’t want anything to do with you either!”

“I didn’t change my number,” Damian says slowly, eyes never leaving the little face on the changing table. And then what he said seem to register and he retrieves his phone with a deep frown to swipe through the apps. “It’s not the same number.” He then looks at Jon with an almost wide-eyed look and Jon takes out his own phone to seemingly so the same manip.

“Me too,” he reveals, shocked. “Someone changed our numbers. Damian!” He hisses, this time with a glare for his boyfriend.

“Marinette, can you please give us the possibility to explain-”

“I’m this close to throw you both out, Damian! There’s nothing you could say that would make anything that you did okay!” She replies hotly.

“Please, Mari,” he pleads. “Please, just hear us out. You can throw us out after. I promise, if you want us to go, we will.”

Jon doesn’t add anything, but he bites his bottom lip and nods jerkily.

“Just… just go. Wait in the living room. I need to feed the girls.”

They both listen, thankfully. Marinette needs a minute.

Someone changed their phone numbers? Without their consent? That seems stupid and unfeasible, but… but she wants to believe them. She missed them. God, she missed them so much.

Marinette fusses a bit with Asha’s onesie and tries to make a list of all the reasons why she shouldn’t let them back in her life. When Scarlett makes an impatient noise that announces her readiness to cry again, Marinette knows that she can’t wait any longer. She scoops the girls with their favorite plushies and goes to the living room.

Damian and Jon are sitting squished on the armchair beside the couch.

Marinette sighs again and sits carefully in front of the couch on the plush carpet. It takes some maneuvering, but soon Asha is leaning across her lap, gently sucking her pacifier and looking at Marinette with all the trust her little baby heart knows. Marinette arranges the Tikki plushy on her tummy so she can grasp it.

“Let’s feed Scarlett,” she tells her daughter. “You know she’s always hungry.”

She then uncovers her left breast and, removing the pacifier, guides Scarlett to her nipple. The baby latches onto it and start sucking greedily, her little fingers kneading Marinette’s sleep shirt.

And then she waits. She’s not going to make things easy for them.

Jon is the first to move, seemingly transfigured by the sign of his daughter. He stands up in the living-room to face her.

“It’ll be easier to show you.” He says, before starting to spin so fast he’s only a blur, but when he stops, he’s wearing Superboy’s uniform and Marinette feels like a stone has dropped to the bottom of her stomach.

“I’m Superboy,” Jon tells her almost gently, as if he doesn’t want to spook her.

“And I’m Robin,” Damian utters after him. He hasn’t moved from the armchair, but there’s a green domino mask between his fingers.

“Oh,” Marinette says quietly, before she drops her gaze to Scarlett’s face. Her daughter has closed her eyes while she’s nursing.

Marinette… Marinette doesn’t know what to say. She knows what it means to be a hero. She used to be one, after all. She knows the sacrifices, the missed opportunities and the excuses. She knows the necessity for a secret identity and what it means to trust someone with it.

“You broke my heart,” she admits in a whisper, because what else can she say in the face of that, and she can feel her eyes prickle with tears.

Jon drops to his knees in front of her, back in his jeans and hoody.

“I’m so sorry, Mari. I never wanted to do that. It broke mine too to end things, but we couldn’t tell you.”

“We asked for the permission to tell you our identities,” Damian says, kneeling beside Jon on the carpet to face her, “but we were denied.”

“We had a long mission,” Jon continues. “Dad, Aunt Kara, Conner and me, as the last Kryptonians, were asked to help two planets come to an understanding. They were at war and their whole solar system was suffering from it. The mission was to stop the war long enough for a ceasefire and then helps with negotiating a peace treaty. Green Lantern helped and Damian-”

“I wasn’t going to let Jon walks into a dangerous fight without back up,” Damian cuts him off.

“I’m basically indestructible!” Jon replies without any real heat, proving it was an old argument. “And Dad, Aunt Kara and Kon were my back up!”

Damian ignores the interruption, focusing back on Marinette.

“The Green Lantern Corps was part of the mission too and while it’s officially over, the situation is still tense on those planets. The Corps is keeping an eye on things for now. We may have to go back if things turn south again, but hopefully, it won’t require our deployment again.”

“And we wanted to tell you the truth.” Jon tells her, earnest and heartbroken. “But when we asked our dads, they said our relationship was too new. That we couldn’t risk it. Even more so because we were going to leave for months and we wouldn’t be there to ‘make sure you don’t tell anyone’.” he finishes bitterly.

“As much as we didn’t want to end our relationship with you, without the permission to tell you the truth, we couldn’t disappear from the face of the earth and invent an excuse like ‘we’re doing a tour of the world and you’re not invited’.” Damian sighs and grabs Jon’s hand tightly. “We spent the last few months trying to come up with a way to win you back. Anytime we had some down time, we brainstormed about what we’ll do once we’re back on Earth.”

During their explanation, Marinette had switched the girls for feeding. Across her lap, Scarlett was now looking in direction of the men, probably intrigued by those new voices she didn’t know.

“And the phone numbers?” She eventually asks.

Damian slumps, breaking his rigid posture. “Do you know who my father is?” He asks.

“Batman?” She tries, but she’s almost certain. If he’s Robin, then it makes sense for his father to be the big bat himself. Which also mean that his siblings are the other Gotham vigilantes.

“Yes. Jon and I had to leave our phones here. Even the communications with the Watchtower were scarce. If you called more than once, Father must have changed our numbers.”

“But why?” She growls. “What right did he have?! You’re both adults! He didn’t even try to find out why I was calling you!”

“I’m sorry, Mari. I know Father loves me, but he tends to do what he thinks is best without always consulting us. Rest assure that I’ll have words with him.”

Asha choses that moment to push away her breast and Marinette does the usual ministrations to clean her face and clears her stomach of gas.

She hesitates a second, before closing her eyes with a deep sigh.

When she opens them again, she holds Asha out like a present. Jon scrambles closer without hesitation and very carefully accepts her in his arms, following her instructions on how best to hold her.

“This is Asha. Asha Gina Dupain-Cheng. She’s Dami’s.”

“Oh my god,” Jon exhales and a few tears immediately escapes his eyes. “Hello, Asha. It’s very nice to meet you.” His voice cracks a bit as Damian looks over his shoulder with an expression so soft and lost that Marinette’s heart aches with it. She beckons Damian closer too and places Scarlett in his own arms.

“And this is Scarlett Sabine Dupain-Cheng. She’s Jon’s.”

Damian is more confident in holding her, so he frees a hand to gently run his finger down her skin.

“Hello, Scarlett.”

“How…” Jon chocks on his tears. “How does it work? They’re twins, right?”

Arms free, Marinette slumps against the couch.

“It’s called ‘heteropaternal superfecundation’. My ovaries released two eggs at the same time, and both were fertilized. That alone would have resulted in fraternal twins. Except that one was fertilized by Jon and the other by Dami. So, twin babies with different bio dads.”

Because her Luck was just like that. Of course, Tikki’s influence would make Marinette’s first pregnancy the result of almost impossible odds.

For a long moment no one say anything. Jon and Damian are pressed so tightly together, both alternating looking at each baby in their arms, that it brings s a reluctant smile to Marinette.

“You have so much groveling to do,” she tells them. “You broke my heart. I’m not kidding when I say that. And the father section on the birth certificates is going to stay blank until I can trust you again. But you do something like that again and Scarlett, Asha and I are out of your lives for good. I don’t care if Scarlett is half-alien. They’re mine more than they’re yours right now. I carried them for eight months, I gave birth to them, and now I’m feeding them. And I was alone for all of that.”

“I promise, Habibti, that we’ll prove to you we’re here to stay. We want you and we want the girls.”

“It was a long mission,” Jon grins cheekily. “We definitely earned some downtime.”

“Exactly,” Damian agrees. “What would you like for breakfast, Mari? I’ll cook.”

“I made French toasts, last night. The preparation is in the fridge. You can cook that.”

With a small smile, Damian carefully gives her back Scarlett and then presses a dry kiss to Marinette’s forehead, before disappearing in the kitchen.

Jon moves until he’s sitting by her side against the couch and smiles at her. She missed his smile.

“So, what can you tell me about your daughters?”

“They are very healthy babies,” Marinette starts. “Scarlett definitely inherits your appetite. I need to complement her diet with formula because I don’t produce enough milk for all her feeding, plus Asha’s. That’s the alien biology, I suppose?”

“Yeah. Mom had some problem with that too when she had me, but at least she only had one baby to feed. What about Asha?”

“She’s fine with just breast milk, but she’s fussier when it’s time for sleep. I hope she’s not a premature insomniac, but now that I know about your nightly activities, I shan’t hold my breath.”

Jon snickers.

Breakfast is a lively affair. The French toast was only one portion, so Dami made pancakes and a fruit salad to accommodate Jon’s and his appetite. For the first time in weeks, Marinette can eat without one of her arms being commandeered by one of the twins. She knows things aren’t completely better. They need to talk about their relationship, their expectations, and relearn what it means to be together, all three of them plus two babies. But that particular conversation can wait a bit. For now, Marinette tells them about Asha’s curiosity and Scarlett’s boundless energy, about some of the weirdest things that happened during her pregnancy.

Things will work out. She’ll make sure of that.

[chilling-in-the-dark]

The Batboys Growing Up as Yandere’s Part 5: Damian Wayne

This is a yandere story; it mentions elements of obsession, possessiveness, death, murder, and kidnapping. If any of this is triggering for you, I understand, and you don’t have to read it.

As always, feedback is welcomed.

Tim had moved out by the time Bruce found out about Damian; in fact, Tim had left as soon as his girlfriend returned his affections.

When Damian Wayne was still Damian Al Ghul, he’d always been told that caring too much for anyone was a weakness, that it would get him killed. So, he couldn’t understand why his father, the great Batman held on so tightly to his wife. Damian doubted that the woman whom he refused to call a Wayne, because that right should have been reserved for his mother, could even defend herself properly. Damian would have killed her in the early days if he thought he could have gotten away with it.

Though Mrs. Wayne’s patience and constant care slowly wore down his walls, and then he started to envy his father. Yet at the same time, Damian didn’t think he deserved someone; he was a demon who’d killed people. Yet, at the same time, he craved love, Damian yearned for soft touches and sweet smiles.

It was the summer before his freshman year of high school when he’d made a dumb mistake, one his mother would have killed him for, and when the villain he’d been fighting used it to their advantage, he’d barely managed to get away with his life.

It had surprised you to find Robin bleeding out on your fire escape. Against your better judgment, you took him inside and tended to his wounds as best you could, glad your mother was rarely home since her and your stepfather’s messy divorce, you think after six of them she’d learn to cope better.

Damian woke several hours later to find an angel leaning over him; for half a second, he wondered if he’d died. Damian corrected himself; if he died, he certainly wasn’t going to meet an angel. Also, he probably wouldn’t feel like he’d just been given the beating of a lifetime.

“Oh, thank god your alive,” you spoke, relief flooding your voice. You’d done your best to stop the bleeding, but a lot of his wounds looked like they needed stitches, something you weren’t capable of.

Once Damian came to as much as his blood loss would let him, he felt his face, relieved to find his angel had left the mask in place. Robin didn’t speak much until Batman arrived, but then as he was carried out by his father, you could have sworn you heard, “Thank you,” fall faintly from the boy’s lips.

You didn’t know it, but you’d come to regret the night you’d saved a Robin from certain death.

It wasn’t a month later your mother came into your bedroom, demanding to know why you had a letter from Gotham Academy. “So, help me, you better not have applied I told you we can’t afford this and don’t you dare bring up scholarships, those don’t cover uniforms or books.” She’d spent the better part of an hour yelling, not letting you get a word in edgewise, so you couldn’t tell her that you hadn’t applied. Finally, she thrust the envelope onto your dresser and left.

You knew it was probably a scam, but you opened the envelope anyway, only to find a letter about being awarded a full Martha Wayne Foundation scholarship, it supposedly covered every expense necessary to attend. You decided that you’d look up the school’s number and call them in the morning. At worst, you’d end up embarrassed, but if this letter was real, you might have a shot at a future.

It had taken more strength then Damian thought he possessed, to keep him from killing your mother, as he watched the live feed from the security camera he’d installed in your bedroom. Damian had only put them in there because he wanted to keep you safe, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself; he wanted to see how his beloved was doing.

He’d been happy to see you on the first day of school. Actually, he’d gotten to see you before class even started. Your bike tires being several years older than you, had finally given out, and of course, it had started raining of all things.

You’d been cautious when the town car came to a stop beside you, even more so when you saw the back window rolled down to reveal Damian Wayne, but the boy had somehow managed to get you into the car with him. While he’d been rough around the edges, Damian had managed to come off as sweet and charming. It hadn’t been hard something about your presence soothed him, made it easy to let out emotions he usually kept bottled up.

He’d spent the day by your side, and for the first time in a long time, Damian felt at peace; in his eyes, you truly were an angel sent down to save his soul. Damian was convinced that meeting you was fate, that some higher being was giving him a chance, someone to love and that maybe if he did it right and kept you safe, it might make up for his sins.

You were sixteen when Damian had finally asked you out, you’d been happy, how could you not be, your crush liked you back, You’d gushed on the phone to your friends for hours afterword, they were dumbfounded that you hadn’t realized how in love with you the boy was, “He calls you Beloved for peat’s sake, of course, he’s in love with you.”

To you, this was a new relationship, but to Damian, it had been formalizing what he already knew to be true. You were his, and that class ring on your finger would prove it until a wedding ring could take its place.

That time would come on your graduation day when Damian had just finished his valedictorian speech when he knelt in front of you and pulled out a small black box. You knew what was in it before he’d even had a chance to open it and reveal his family’s heirloom engagement ring. Mrs. Wayne must have given it to him.

You’d cried happy tears as he put the ring on your finger, once that was done Damian leaned in to kiss you while ignoring the clicking of cameras. Despite what many think, Damian loved PDA because it let the entire world know whose protection you were under. You wanted the wedding to wait until after college, much to Damian’s dismay, but he’d begrudgingly accepted your choice. Though to Damian’s satisfaction, the wedding came a lot sooner than you’d planned.

You’d been attending Gotham university for a few months now and had been loving it, that is until you spent longer then you’d planned in the library. You knew Damian would want you to call him so he could come and get you, but you knew he was on patrol, and while you didn’t like the idea of walking in Gotham after dark, you’d walked home at night before and never had an issue.

Tonight though, a mugger had pulled you into a dark alley and pointed a gun at your face demanding all your valuables. You’d relented giving the man everything you had on you, but you’d forgotten to give him your ring. You loved the ring, and it was a Wayne family heirloom, but you knew it wasn’t worth your life, so when the man slapped you and demanded you give it up. You instantly started working the ring off your finger.

Just as you’d slipped it from your hand, Robin showed up and started whaling on the guy. You’d never seen Damian so vicious before, but he’d refrained from killing the man in your presence, not wanting you to see death. An angel should never have to see such darkness, no that was reserved for a demon like him, so Damian slipped a tracker on the unconscious man and took you to the manor. Once he’d managed to calm you down enough to sleep, he’d go back out and finish the job.

Damian had used the incident to convince you to marry him sooner, playing up how short life could be and asking you what the point in waiting was. The next day the two of you applied for a marriage license, and during New Jersey’s mandatory three-day waiting period Alfred and the other Wayne wives planned and organized the whole wedding. It was a small and intimate affair, but lovely none the less, everything had been perfect.

Until the next day, that is, when you woke up and found yourself in a locked room, you definitely hadn’t gone to sleep in. Damian was also noticeably absent. Your heart was in your throat, had you been kidnaped, if so how did they get into Wayne manor and why didn’t Damian wake up, your husband was a light sleeper.

There was no way anyone could have taken you without waking him up even if, by some improbability, you hadn’t woken up yourself. You’d never felt so relieved as you did when Damian walked through the door breakfast tray in his hands. Maybe this was some sort of staycation to make up for not being able to go on a honeymoon.

“Dami, why is the door locked?” You asked anyways, not expecting the answer that you were going to get.

“To make sure you can’t leave the safety of this room beloved,” He said, and your blood froze because Damian’s tone made it sound as if he believed it was completely normal to lock his wife in a room. You tried to explain to him how messed up that was, but he ignored your arguments. Your husband wasn’t the man you thought he was.

You weren’t dumb enough to think you could take Damian in a fight, so you waited until he left for patrol to start looking for an exit. All that got you was a bruised shoulder because, apparently, the window was freaking bulletproof glass.

You’d decided that tactic was useless because all it got you was Damian fussing over you, and right now, the last thing you wanted was your kidnaper anywhere near you. So, you stopped eating and made it clear to him that you weren’t going to unless he let you go. Part of you still loved him, so it broke your heart to see such a proud man beg, but no matter how much he cried and pleaded, you held firm.

You kept it up for about a week before you woke up tied to the bed, Damian making it clear that if you weren’t going to eat willingly, he’d force-feed you, after all, he’d vowed to keep you safe, even if it was from yourself.

Tags

@yanderepeterparker​

@idkmanicantenglish​

@prettyafghan

Grow up as only

@neon-phosphorecsent​

@foggyturtleknightangel​

[spooky-z]

Mom? Dad? Chaos.

First, I would like to thank you all! Really. And I'm not talking about the followers (which reached the 500), no. I'm talking about your reception for my stories. You guys are awesome!

Second, Marinette is a little... dark in this story. Maybe because she fought Hawkmoth for a long time or Batfam influence, I don't know. She defends herself and defends her friends against Lila. So, don't be surprised, please.

(finally managing to edit the post f- u tumblr) 6K of salt, sailors.

Lightly based on Wayne Travelers by @multishipper1needshalp​​ Maribat by @ozmav​​

The day had started normal.

Marinette getting up late for class and getting ready in a hurry while Tikki helped the girl as best she could, her parents setting the table for breakfast together and Damian sitting, waiting for his girlfriend to go to school together. Adrien still asleep after staying up all night with Jonathan on the phone.

That had become Marinette's morning routine for the past two years, with Damian going to Paris to study economics with the best education that money could afford and her finishing high school in Dupont with Adrien.

And as said before, the day had started normal.

They ate breakfast with her parents, Marinette kicking Adrien out of bed and walked together to Dupont's entrance, where their paths parted.

She had kissed Damian good-bye and he whispered a “see you later” before getting in the car parked on the sidewalk. The driver politely waving to Marinette.

Adrien grimacing in the background, like a child watching his parents kiss.

It had been normal the way the class wrinkled their noses as she passed them; how everyone was in their proper place when Lila began to tell the latest nonsense lie; when Adrien came right behind her and was forced to sit next to the Italian (face completely twisted in pained expression); Chloe walking to the back of the room and placing a tender kiss on Marinette's cheek before sitting next to her; the two whispering the news to each other while Adrien sent a wistful look to his friends; their kwamis together in the boy's bag (since it was the largest of the three there).

Ms. Bustier leaving and leaving them with free time to do whatever they want.

This was normal. This was the routine after Hawkmoth had given up on terrorizing Paris and returned the butterfly and peacock Miraculous. After Gabriel Agreste had been arrested.

What was not normal now was that portal opening beside Ms. Bustier's desk and five people passing by.

The whole class frozen in shock.

The first out was obviously the oldest. In his 19 years, probably.

Black hair - in the sunlight there was a bluish illumination - trapped in a bun at the top of his head, the eyes were a cold and sharp gray, his skin was a beautiful olive tone, a strong jaw and the body showed that he was very more than just physically active.

The second person to go through the portal was a girl, who was about 15/16 years old.

They couldn't see the color of her hair, as she wore a hijab, but the eyes were a vivid and bright green, her skin was paler, small face, pink lips in a cupid bow and she also seemed to exercise a lot too.

The first two seemed to be siblings and that at least one of the parents was Asian.

The third was a blonde girl. She was the same age as the first girl, not much older than 16. While she didn't seem to have a more defined body, just the fact that she wasn't touching the floor when she left the portal said a lot about her.

The blond hair - exactly the color of Chloe and Adrien's hair - was long and loose, the curls unruly. The eyes were blue, a radiant blue and not very common, the triangular face, the doll's lips.

The fourth person was actually a little boy, who must have been at most 3 years old and was in the blonde girl's arms.

His hair was black and unruly, eyes were the same bright blue as the girl, round face with rosy cheeks, pale skin and he was sucking his thumb.

The last person to pass through the portal had been a girl with a much stronger Asian heritage than the first two.

Her cherry-red dyed hair reaching her shoulders, body far more defined than the girl with the hijab - her biceps pronounced by the shirt – the eyes were amber and dangerous, thin lips, her skin was tanned from spending too much time in the sun, oval face.

They stared silently at the class as the portal closed behind them.

"Okay... Who's going to tell this to our parents?" The blonde girl asks, breaking the silence and the red-haired girl looks at her, a murderous expression on her face.

“That was your fault! You're the one to tell!” Growls.

The blonde girl looks sincerely sorry.

"How would I know this was a time machine?!"

The redhead approaches her, her fists clenched ready to pounce, but the oldest of the five holds her in place.

"Rie, Emilie, please. Now is not the time to fight." His voice comes up like a blade. Sharp. "Especially with Clark among you."

They move away from each other. Rie walks closer to the classroom door, Emilie floats toward the window. Both with serious faces.

"It's not wanting to cut your drama, but we're not alone." The hijab girl says, drawing their attention to her. “We have audience, (哥哥) gēge.” She points to the still very frozen class.

He turns, his eyes scanning the students, before locking in the back of the room. In Marinette and Chloe. His eyes close in a pained expression.

“Fuck.” Curses without shame. "Dad will kill us."

"Absolutely." She replies, not looking any little upset at the situation.

In fact, her eyes were shining. She seemed very excited about everything.

The bell rings and it seems to wake everyone up from the shock, the students frenzied.

Everyone talking at the same time, they approach; Alya with the phone in hand; Marinette talking quickly on the phone, looking worried; Chloe was looking critically at the newcomers, the familiar feeling poking at her head; Adrien looked downright in love with the little boy in Emilie's arms.

Lila was... Wanting to take advantage of the situation to do something.

Rie begins to fuss over and over with the noise of the class, the pitch of the sound seemed to be hurting Clark's sensitive ears. The situation gets worse until she screams, anger clear in her tone.

“ど け! (Doke!)” Everyone shuts up but doesn't understand what she says. "I said get away, NOW!"

They are frightened by the girl's ferocity and move away.

“Okay, now one at a time.” When everyone moves to talk together again, she raises her hand in a stop signal. "Raise your hands and I'll choose who speaks."

They quickly raise their hands, waving violently. Max was jumping in his seat.

"You." Rie points to Rose and the girl stands up happily.

"What is the name of you all?" Questions.

Rie raises an eyebrow, disbelieving that this was the most important question the girl had to ask, but said nothing. Who answers is Emilie.

"I'm Emilie, this little one is Clark, the scary one is (理 恵) Rie, the handsome guy over there is (健) Jiàn and the hijab girl is Aria-" She turns sideways to point at the girl, just to find the empty spot. “Where's Aria?” She asks the two beside her and Rie just points to the back of the room.

And they all turned just in time to see Marinette being hugged her life away by the girl.

“妈妈 (māmā) you are so cute!” Both Adrien and Chloe gasp, eyes wide. Marinette gets paler and paler.

That moment makes both Rie and Clark notice the blondes in the room and Clark begins to cry, writhing in Emilie's arms and trying to reach Adrien.

“Papa! Papa!” The little boy sniffles until Emilie releases him and lets him fly to Adrien.

The class shouts at the demonstration of power.

The blonde catches him reflexively, hugging the small body in his arms and the boy sinks, melting in the warmth. He looks shocked at Emilie, wanting an explanation and the girl just shrugs, a bland smile on her face.

"Hi Dad."

Adrien chokes, his eyes filling with water, thrilled. He smiles back in disbelief.

"Hi?"

Chloe rises from her seat indignantly.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Shouts. “Why do you two get visits from your future kids, but not me?!” She stomps her foot in a tantrum.

It seemed just another bout of Chloe's futility, but Marinette - who was still being held by Aria - felt her heart ache at the hurt look on her best friend's face.

“Chlo-”

"What am I? Invisible?” Rie responds rudely. “You should recognize your children, 母 (haha).” Her cheeks were rosy despite her serious face.

Chloe is speechless before going downstairs and throwing herself into Rie's arms. She could scarcely believe that she had built a family in the future, that apparently her best friends continued together years and years into the future.

“And you must be my son!” Lila's voice cuts the happy mood. "Handsome like that, you're just like my Damian."

Chloe turns away from Rie, Marinette comes down the stairs with Aria and Adrien stays in his seat, with Clark in his lap and Emilie sitting at his desk, stroking the blond boy's hair.

The seven looks at Lila standing in front of Jiàn, who seemed disgusted with the thought of being her son.

"Yes, many say I look a lot like my father," He replies. And although the expression is not the best, his voice contains no emotion. "But I have my grandmother's eyes."

Lila seems especially excited about the boy's response.

Alya still recording everything and the class in an eternal pause.

“Oh! Now I see! You really look like my mother. She's very beautiful, looks like a model.” Lila says, glancing quickly at Alya, probably making sure the girl was recording everything.

Jiàn wrinkles his nose in disgust and turns away from the greedy hands of the Italian.

“You're not my mother.” Lila is surprised by the hatred in the boy's tone. "My mother has decency and honor, something you obviously lack."

The class seems to stop breathing.

"Oh, that hurt." Emilie muttered, chin resting on Adrien's head.

She had left Adrien's desk and was sitting at Alya's desk, which was behind the boy, so that she could hug him like a koala. Clark was dozing in his arms.

Alya snorted offended.

"Hey, this is no way to talk to her!" She moved, the phone still clenched in her fist.

"I speak the way I want." Jiàn answers. "Criminals and liars don't deserve my respect."

The class starts talking on top of each other, confused.

“What do you mean?” Alix's voice sticks out.

Jiàn tilts his head, but straightens again. An expression on his face as if he had just unraveled the mystery of the century.

"Oh, you haven't found out yet..."

"Or rather, they haven't opened their eyes yet." Aria comments.

Kim gets up, his face rock hard.

"Explain."

The newcomers exchange glances with each other. Aria raises her eyebrow, Emilie shrugs, Jiàn sighs and Rie looks at everyone.

"I think aunt Mari already told you about the sausage being a liar." She pats Chloe's arm affectionately. “Lila Rossi, in 2046, is under arrest for terrorism, extortion, sexual harassment, blackmail and best of all: murder.” Rie smiles darkly as she watches the students' pale faces.

Alya's phone recording every second of everything. Live. On Ladyblog.

Lila feels panic bubbling in her chest, her hands shaking and a sudden weakness in her legs. This could not be happening!

She glances at everyone in the class, noting the expressions between disbelief and fear, only Alya still holding the angry expression on her face.

Adrien, Chloe, and Marinette did not seem surprised by what the boy said, nor angry. She would use that to her advantage.

Lila's eyes widen in the most pitiful expression possible. The fake tears already running down her cheeks. She didn't forget to sniff before she spoke.

“Why are you guys doing this to me?” That catches everyone's attention, Kim being the first to come to the rescue. She uses the boy for support. “Is it some kind of horrible plan Marinette came up with? I know she hates me, but I didn't think she would do something so wicked to bring me down.”

Alya, Alix and Mylene are quick to reach both of them to comfort Lila. Which left Ivan, Nathaniel, Max, Rose, Juleka and Nino to defend the honor of the Italian.

“Look what you did!” The DJ pointed out. "Lila is crying because of you!"

"It had to be Chloe's daughter." Max says, adjusting his prescription glasses to his face. "Only a snake would give birth to another snake."

Emilie sighs offended, as does Aria and Jiàn.

Max barely has time to blink before feeling the sharp edge of Rie's katana in his throat. He swallows, the eyes wide.

She had left Chloe in the same spot before jumping over the tables and reaching Max. The katana that had been her belt, taking shape in her hands just in time to reach the target.

"Call my mother snake again and I'll cut your head off." She says coldly.

Nathaniel runs away, Rose and Juleka accompany him. Even Lila swallows the fake cry feeling the fear run down her spine.

"You wouldn't have the guts-" Ivan begins, but quickly shuts up when he sees Max leaning as far away from the sword as the red thread of blood trickles down his throat.

"Do you doubt...?" Rie says quietly. "Are you sure?"

Marinette reacts with that, ready to separate the girl from her classmate.

“Wait-

“Rie Tsurugi Bourgeois!” Aria calls, voice like steel. "Let him go."

Rie doesn't move, doesn't even blink.

“Now.” Aria raises her voice. Adrien and Marinette are able to see her eyes turn a radioactive shade of green (which resembles Chat Noir's eyes very much) and her round pupils narrow like those of a reptile.

Rie grits her teeth, smoke escaping between them. She squeezes the katana a little deeper into the boy's throat before moving back toward Chloe.

The blade becomes malleable in her hands and she fastens around her waist again, sparing no glance at the rest of the class. Not at all sorry.

Marinette breathes a sigh of relief, but soon becomes serious. She needed to fix that mess.

"Okay." Says it out of nowhere and catches everyone's attention. Aria once again hung around her neck. “This day was too weird in just a few minutes, so I need everyone to collaborate.”

Her gaze points mainly to Rie and Alya, who turn their head into a tantrum.

“First, I want an explanation for that.” Hands shake in the air. “What are you doing here in 2022 and who are you?”

Jiàn smiles quietly before getting serious again.

“Our names have already been said, so I'll tell you where we came from.” He takes the liberty to sit on Ms. Bustier's desk, as if he owns the place. “First, we are from the future, as you have already understood. Secondly, we are children of three students in this class.”

The young man turns to Rie, beckoning her to proceed.

"I'm Rie Tsurugi Bourgeois, I have a twin sister named Alice." She turns to Chloe. “We are your daughters with Kagami Tsurugi. I think you two became something last year, 2021, right?” And the blonde nods emphatically. "Three years from now you get married and after five years Alice and I are born."

Chloe hugs the girl, wild feelings in her chest.

“My turn!” Emilie shook herself on the table, Clark, still sleeping, shifted uncomfortably. "My name is Emilie Lois Agreste-Kent and this cute sleeping is my brother, Clark Auguste Agreste-Kent." She notices Marinette's horrified look and sighs in agreement. "I know I know. Our names are one thing... horrible, but they wanted to honor our grandparents...”

The class makes a confused sound and Nathaniel is the fastest to speak up.

“I don't understand.” The voice loud enough just for a quiet room to hear. "Adrien's mother's name is Emilie, Lois may be his mother-in-law's name and Clark the father-in-law's name..." He pauses thoughtfully. “Why Auguste? Shouldn't it be Gabriel?”

At the sound of the name, newcomers, Chloe, Marinette and even Adrien himself react negatively, leaving no doubt of the dislike of the designer.

"Because Gabriel never was and never will be a father to uncle Adrien." Aria replies.

Nino nods in agreement with the girl.

“… Ok, I understand where you come from. But who is Auguste?” He asks. “I don't remember anyone with that name Adrien commented on.”

The blonde gives a bland laugh before looking at the DJ.

"It's because I never speak his name, but you know him... the gorilla."

Nino widens his eyes at the news, but soon understanding dawns on his face. It made sense. The man cared more for Adrien than his own father, who could only look at his belly button.

"Wait!" Alya calls. “Gorilla's name is Auguste?” Adrien nods and she presses her palm over her face. “Oh my god, this is cursed! He doesn't look like an Auguste!”

Emilie releases Adrien to fly over his head.

"I know! I once told him that and he laughed at me!” Her hand movements were wild.

It makes Alya pale.

"He laughed. Adrien's bodyguard laughed. Oh my God."

Lila gets fed up with the situation and decides to return the conversation to where it mattered. She needed to know who Adrien's future wife was, just so she could make sure they never met. With Gabriel's help, of course.

He might have been arrested, but he still had... powers over Adrien.

“We already understood that part, but you never told us who your mother was.”

Emilie freezes in the air, the cheerful, happy air slipping into an empty shell. She sits back behind Adrien, her gaze hard on the Italian.

“Because I don't have a mother.” She responds and Lila had to control the happy smile that wanted to escape. “I have two dads. Adrien Agreste and Jonathan Samuel Kent.”

The air in the room becomes cold after she finishes speaking. Lila never felt as much hatred as she did then.

Adrien was hers. Just hers. Knowing he was married to a man in the future was too much for the girl.

“B-but how? I thought Adrien was straight. We all know he dated Kagami.” Mylene asks.

Adrien frowns at the girl. Not a bit happy.

"I never said I was straight or that Kagami and I were dating." His voice was dry. “Kagami and Chloe have been together since last year, Jon and I have been dating since I was fifteen. Four years ago."

Alya gives Marinette unhappy glances, as if pitying the girl for the news. But in the end, she notices that the brunette was not at all surprised or shaken.

"And about you? Who is your father?” She points to Aria, who raises an eyebrow at her. The mockery in all body expression. "We know you're Marinette's daughter because we heard you call her mother, but you didn't say who your father was."

Aria rolls her eyes and sighs, completely tired of having to deal with these people. They were very ignorant.

"Aria Dupain-Cheng Wayne-" Surprised sighs are heard.

“And Jiàn Dupain-Cheng Wayne. We are children of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Al-Ghul Wayne. There is Thomas too, but he was with Alfred and the Couffaine siblings when we... traveled back in time.” Jiàn cuts his sister, making a sardonic bow toward Alya.

Marinette was choking as she tried to hold back a scream.

Those were her children! There were three! She and Damian had been together for many, many years! Her heart was beating so fast that she feared everyone in the room would be able to hear.

“… Damian Wayne. Isn't that the name of your boyfriend, Lila?” Juleka says suddenly and everyone looks at the Italian trying to sneak out of the classroom.

She stops, knowing everyone was keeping an eye on her and turning around, her eyes full of tears.

It was time to put on a show.

"M-Marinette!" She sniffs. “How can you go so low stealing my Damiboo from me?! I thought you were better!” The hands cover her face and shoulders begin to shake, as if she’s crying.

"WHA-"

“My God, girl!” Alya shouts angrily as she approaches Lila once more. Alix, Mylene, and Kim did not move from the scene. “Stealing Lila's boyfriend? As if it wasn't enough to be an envious slut-

Jiàn turns the face so fast that Rie can hear the young man's bones crack. The face contorted into a murderous expression.

“I suggest you not finish this sentence, otherwise I will be forced to do something my parents wouldn't approve of.”

Lila pulls her hands away from her face looking at the boy in defiance.

"What? But it's true! First Adrien, now my Damiboo. Your mother is a bitc-” Before Lila could finish the sentence, Jiàn was in front of her. Alya pushed aside, along with the phone that fell to the floor.

His right hand goes straight to Lila's face, squeezing her chin as he forces her to face him. He didn't need to look at the look of horror on her face to know that anger and disgust were clear in his eyes.

“You're an unpleasant person, Lila Rossi.” He says. “Even though you know you have nowhere to run, that you only have those futile idiots to control, you still try to play the wronged good girl.”

Adrien gets up from the chair, Marinette approaches and Chloe too.

“Jiàn, I think-”

Aria puts her hand on Marinette's shoulder, drawing the girl's attention back to her. "No. He won't hurt her... physically.”

“But-” Adrien protests.

“Dad, please. In the future you regret not stopping her before. Let Jiàn do it.” Emilie says seriously. The most serious she had been until that moment.

When Marinette and Adrien steps back, the class sees this as allowing newcomers to do whatever they want, so they run to Lila's rescue. Alya quickly rising from the floor, the phone forgotten.

"Let her go now!" Kim shouts. He tries to hit Jiàn with a punch, but Rie is quick to stop him.

"And why would i do that? Ms. Volpina here, did much worse things helping Hawkmoth.” Lila widens her eyes, the panic clear in her face.

"I-I"

“What was that little fox? No more lies to tell us? Are you afraid because you can no longer use akumas to get rid of difficult situations?” The sarcasm in Jiàn's voice was clear, as was the acidity.

Everyone saw the way Lila stopped trying to defend herself and her gaze became sharp. Malicious. Jiàn took this to get away from the girl. She took the time to straighten her hair and caress her jaw before a blatant smile took over her expression.

Alya felt the ice run down her spine, discomfort rolling in her stomach. She stepped back, trying to create distance.

The class reacting precisely the same.

“Oh? Do you really think I need some old man and cursed butterflies to get what I want?” Rose choked on the way Lila spoke. “Look at what we have here. Come on, look!” She shakes her hands, signaling around them.

“I managed to fool these people for years. YEARS! No one doubting a word of what I was saying. Even with the most trusted person in the class trying to warn of my tricks, they just ignored it. They treated her like trash, they threw her into a corner... They humiliated her.” Mylene cried and Ivan tried to comfort her.

“And I didn't even have to do anything much, just say what they wanted to hear.” There was a victorious smile on the Italian's face. “Hawkmoth was just a tool. I never needed him to get where I got.” She nodded dismissively.

“So, you lied to us all this time?” Alix growls, Kim having to hold her so she doesn't hit Lila.

The Italian raised an eyebrow, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

"Alix, Alix ... You guys were so naive." Lila sighs theatrically. “I mean, dumb. Ignorant. Easy. Fools. I think you were by far the easiest people to manipulate.” She shrugs.

“You… are the worst! I don't believe-” Nathaniel stops and shakes his head violently, trying to deal with the situation.

“Ow, poor thing.” Lila sneers. “Okay, I was a little harsh with my words. It was not entirely your fault. Caline Bustier played a huge part in all this, since without her passivity, I would probably have been discovered much earlier.”

Marinette cringes at the teacher's name.

Caline had gone from being Marinette's favorite teacher to the less pleasant one. The woman's pacifism gave the brunette knots in her stomach. Each time she heard the phrase “be an example to others,” the discomfort washed over her body and all Marinette could think about was running home and sleeping for an entire week.

She knew that Lila's era of terror in her life would not have stretched so long had it not been for Caline Bustier's incompetence. Just with the teacher checking Lila's medical notes to know that everything the girl said she suffered was true would suffice. Then all the other lies would be uncovered, like a crumbling house of cards.

But she never did. Not even when Marinette explicitly expressed her concerns. When Adrien took the courage to confess that he felt bad about Lila being overly sticky. Or when Sabrina wept on the teacher's shoulder that Lila had made mean comments about her mother. And also, when Chloe denounced the Italian for homophobia.

Caline Bustier had been complacent. Never moving a finger to help students. Thus, Lila Rossi's greatest facilitator in Dupont.

“Ms. Bustier has nothing to do with it!” Juleka shouts in distress.

It was the first time they had seen her like that.

Lila rolls her eyes.

"Of course she have! Or do you really think that an adult woman with a master's degree, teacher, who deals with children and teens daily for years, would believe everything you say?” Her voice was annoying. “Please, you deify totally wrong people. Where's the critical sense? No one here can see the world without the pink lenses?!”

As soon as Lila finishes speaking, the room was silent. Rose and Juleka had twin expressions of disbelief, Alya cried silently, Nino tried to find support in Nathaniel who was unsure what to do, Kim along with Alix and Max had angry expressions on their faces, Mylene and Ivan hugged tightly to each other.

Aria with her arms around Marinette, both with expressions of pure boredom. Chloe and Rie had sat at Adrien's desk throughout the confrontation, tired of Lila's villain speech. Jian, already away from the Italian, was arms crossed and raised eyebrow. Adrien was the only one in the second group who was minimally disturbed by Lila's words. Clark slept despite all the confusion and Emilie had stolen the model's phone to play while flying around the room.

Lila had a victorious expression on her face as if the speech had solved all her problems.

Oh man. If only she knew.

"Did you get everything?" Marinette says in the silence of the class and everyone looks at her.

“What-” Lila begins.

"I'm not talking to you." The girl cuts her off, her expression disinterested and voice like steel. “I'm talking to him.” Marinette picks up the phone (which has never left her hands since newcomers showed up in the classroom) and shakes it, showing a video call in progress.

“Of course, حبيبتي (habibat).” The person in the video call answers. A youngster. "We are on our way. Don't let her run away.” The call is cut off and Marinette puts the phone in her hoodie pocket.

She stares at Lila. The cold, deadly eyes. Like a predator about to pounce.

“Of course I won't let it. Not anymore.” There was a dangerous smile on her lips. “It's my time to go after you, Li-la! Change our dynamics. Threatening me in the dark corners of the school is getting outdated, so it's time for prey to become a predator, don't you think?”

Lila senses the danger in the girl's words and steps back without thinking. She keeps a brave expression.

“And what do you think you are going to do? Tell your little friend?” She forces a mocking laugh. “Please, Dupain-Cheng. You know you can't against me. Never could.”

Aria lets go of Marinette and the girl slowly makes her way to the Italian, without breaking eye contact for a second. She was waiting for an opening to be able to make her move.

“Are you sure about that, Lila Agnola Rossi?” Lila doesn't hold her breath at the full name. “Because I have a lot of material against you. Your mother helped us a lot. A nice woman, despite working so hard. She needs to rest, don't you think?”

Marinette stops, less than a foot from the Italian, before leaning further. Warm breath hitting Lila's face with how close they were.

“And she said everything, you know? About how you lied about school being closed by akuma attacks, about being bullied and how your boyfriend Adrien Agreste-“ The boy and Emilie make sounds of disgust. "Are considering asking you to marry at graduation!"

Chloe sneers in the background. Aria, Jiàn and Rie laughing at what she said.

“When you-” Lila's lips were pale and her eyes wide.

Marinette leaps away. A smile bordering the maniac on her face.

“You don't know how surprised she was when we said the school was never closed!” She spins, arms raised to the ceiling. "Or that Adrien Agreste has a boyfriend."

“YOU DID WHAT?!” Lila shouted, advancing on Marinette, only to be held back by the hard look the girl sent toward her.

“Imagine the other surprise she had to learn that her little girl was a compulsive and abusive liar? That the only child she gave birth was lying as she breathed? Lila, Lila. Lying about Jagged was your first mistake, Prince Ali the second. The third was about Ladybug.” Marinette lifts a finger at Alya who reacted to the heroine's name. The girl stops. "Ladybug was not at all happy to hear her name was being dragged through the mud by someone as dirty as you."

Lila swallows hard.

“And sweetie? She wants you to pay. Pay for all the times you helped Hawkmoth and endangered innocent people or badmouthed her kitten.” Chloe laughs at Adrien's red face. “She's a very protective bug, you know? Revengeful too.”

"Is this a threat? Is that it? Ladybug sent you to threaten me?” Lila questions.

Marinette crosses her arms, a dark shadow taking over her blueberry eyes.

"Lila, I don't need Ladybug to take you down." She sighs bored. “Who do you think ended Gabriel Agreste?” The students are surprised. The newcomers sat watching like it was a very good movie. Adrien with the biggest smile ever.

“… You're lying!” Lila shouts. “Gabriel was caught by a… anonymous… report… you?!” The voice trailed off until all that was left was a whisper.

"Me." Marinette smiles.

There was a fire burning in Lila's eyes, her teeth showing, a growl deep in her throat.

"How could you?!" She bites. “You destroyed Adrien's life! How could you do this for the boy you love?!”

"Hey! She didn't destroy my life!” Adrien protests in the background, but no one listens to him.

“Ah, please! You're only annoyed because you learned that it was me who destroyed the collar Adrien was kept on and forced to wear. Or do you really believe we didn't know you and Gabriel had a deal about controlling Adrien?” Lila shivers as if she's been shocked. “We know everything. Everything."

“And you went there and put the only family he had in prison. Congratulations Marinette. You have reached a new low level.”

No one blinks for the next scene.

Marinette stretches her left hand straight to Lila's neck, pulling the girl closer to her.

"You don't open that dirty mouth to talk about family." She growls. “That man was nothing more than a piece of shit. Trash to be thrown away. He was never a father or a decent man. Being arrested was the easiest way out for him, because if I could have the opportunity to get my hands on him, you can be sure that today Adrien would have both parents buried.”

Her voice was piercing. Ice spread through the room. Everyone felt the honesty in the girl's words, no hesitation. Lila clamped her hands on Marinette's wrist, trying in vain to pull away.

She was beginning to be terrified of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Let me go." She gasped as she felt the tightness in her neck tighten.

“Adrien hasn't lost a family.” Marinette ignores the girl. Adrien puts Clark in Aria's arms before getting up. He needed to stop that.

“Just now he got one. My parents are keen to make clear what family love really means; Auguste continues to work with him even though he no longer needs it; I taught him what a toxic and abusive relationship was like, how to have siblings and people to support him; Chloe accompanied him for weekly therapy; Kagami and Luka distracted him from panic attacks; Sabrina helped him understand what sexual harassment was. We were all there when he spent weeks locked in his room crying thinking he had no one else. We introduce him to what a family is. And surprise, he's much happier now.” Marinette lets go of Lila's throat and the girl swallowed huge amounts of air.

"He's much better off living in a bakery than in a ghost-filled mansion and empty rooms with people who only knew how to exploit him."

As soon as Marinette finishes talking, Adrien hugs the girl and then the door opens.

“We're here, Minette!” Sabrina's cheerful voice tears the oppressive silence of the room. "And I brought company."

Everyone turned to look at Sabrina and found a lot more people at the door than they thought.

“Dad, Damian, Jon and Kagami have come! Lu and Bruce are there at the office talking to the Director and Ms. Rossi.”

As soon as the five enter the room, Aria rushes into Damian's arms. “بابا! (baba!) You're cuter than 妈妈 (māmā) at this age!”

“… You two are grounded.” It's the only thing Damian says, pointing to Jiàn who was approaching.

“Dad!” Emilie squeals at Jonathan, who just smiles in confusion. “Oh my god, he's so cute! Did you see, papa ?!” She yells at Adrien who hides the red face on Marinette's shoulder.

The girl laughs at him patting his back.

"マ マ (mama)." Rie says respectfully as Kagami looks at her and Chloe sitting at the table.

"... I'm feeling a headache coming." Roger mutters before putting Agent Raincomprix's face and looking at Lila. “Ms. Rossi, I need you to come with me. We have some questions to ask.”

Lila shakes her head in refusal.

"No. I have nothing to talk to you about. Nothing."

Roger sighs. “If you do not come for good, you will come for bad. I really don't want to use force with you.”

"I do not care! I won't go with you!” Lila’s voice rose two octaves. She was starting to get hysterical.

“Ms. Rossi.”

"No! I'm not—” Lila rolls her eyes closed before falling hard to the floor. Marinette stood behind her, the hand with fingers pressed together and the thumb bent. Like a knife.

She relaxes her posture and smiles innocently.

“To avoid more drama.”

Damian sighs. “حبيبتي (habibat).”

She continues to smile innocently.

First Hawkmoth, then Gabriel and now Lila. That was a great way to close a chapter in Marinette's life.

[tag list]

@poshplumcot​ @naclychilli​ @theatreandcomicfreak​ @mewwitch​ @zerotosiki​ @krispydefendorpolice @unmaskedagain​  @virgil-is-a-cutie​ @vixen-uchiha​ @dawnwave16​  @kat-thatoneweirdo​ @thedarkwhiteangel @paradoxal-occurance​ @heldtogetherbysafetypins​ @celestialtitania​ @bluerosette23​

[taliaquinn]

Why Me!? Chapter 10

"I am finally putting in my withdrawal"

“From Bustiers?” Max asked. Although somehow a small part of him knew what was about to happen. 

“From Francis Dupont,” She said, although with a bit of a smile.

Marinette finally felt happy. She was going to leave a Toxic environment, and for once she didn't give a crap about who it might hurt. What people didn't know was that in-between leaving Damocles Office, she left to go to the bathroom. Honestly, she was fully prepared to cry. However mid-sob she got a call, From Gotham. 

She quickly answered through teary eyes, not realizing she left facetime on.

“ Mari I Can't wait for you to come to you won't believe it, Bruce is going to take some time off, Cass has been a whirlwind making sure to have everything ready, Oh boy Jason and Tim are excited to meet you, Damian is excited to have a sibling to which he can teach proper Swordsmanship, and Alfred has been fussing over everything and everyone.’’ Dick was rambling while shoveling in spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth, Not even noticing he was face timing. It was amusing to Marinette. 

“Oh and Bludhav- hang on were you Crying!?” Dick suddenly seemed to notice a red-eyed Marinette. 

“Actually no I was just about to start” 

“About to start??? Huh? Maribug what’s going on?” Marinette couldn't help but flinch slightly at her new nickname. Seriously if only they knew about her extracurricular activities. She’ll be seen as such a weirdo.

“I just withdrew from my school after I got accused of assaulting someone again and honestly I’m s-so FED UP!!!! Honestly, I put in 100% in making sure the class is great and fun. Everyone has what they need. We are always the highest-ranking kids' grades wise because of me. But I can’t even say anything or else I'm being too greedy, or too narcissist or too selfish” She finally unleashed everything.

Dick seemed to be quiet and was just staring at her as she rambled. Finally, he let out a sigh god this sibling he’s only known for a bit and she's already rambling about her issues. Thank God. He couldn’t deal with another family member that liked to hide their feelings. This was his chance. 

“Maribug Listen that school honestly sounds like a sh*thole and you need to get out. The sooner the better. You know that you’re at risk right” He was a Police Officer, he knew that situations like this often ended with those who suffered from abuse blowing up. In the Worst Ways.

He decided to continue. He had a plan.

“Look ya need some perspective, some space. You’re coming to Gotham? And you’re Parents are withdrawing you from School already, by the way, excellent parenting, so you’re essentially schoolless. Why don't you apply for school here? You could go to school here for a semester and then figure out everything else.” He finally asked.

Wait a minute. That was a great idea. Ten times better than her original plan of just going home and crying while shoveling pastries and ice cream into her face. She hoped to get hopefully accepted into online Highschool. School In Gotham would be a nice change. School and Life in America would be another chance. She’ll get to learn more about her Father's family. Maman and Papa would finally be able to see another possible location to possibly open a new bakery.

“That sounds so Great you have no idea.” She said with a slight smirk.

As soon as she announced her withdrawal there was an immediate uproar. Most of the screaming came from Chloe, and Marinette couldn’t help but feel touched by how much Chloe cared. 

“ DUPAIN-CHENG YOU CAN’T ABANDON US WITH THESE IDIOTS!!!” Chloe shouted. 

All of a sudden Adrien stood up and went to grab her by the arm and drag her out. But shockingly Marinette dug in her heels and shoved his hand away. 

“No I am not going to hide away, I am going to stand here and you guys are going to Listen,” She said while staring at Adrien in the eyes. Lila for once seemed to be quiet. She was so interested in this. For once she wanted to see the outcome without her manipulation. 

“Fine” Adrien moved to sit back in Marinette's old seat. 

“I am going leave School, Right now I'm planning to enroll in a school at Gotham”

“Gotham as in crime-ridden, dirty and dark Gotham City?” Adrien asked incredulously. 

Okay, Marinette needed to do more research on Gotham City….Dick would help her get by. Hopefully. Maybe Damian had a point when he was forcing her to learn how to punch. She's been relying way too much on her magic. She wasn’t exactly bad at fighting, she was just inexperienced. Luckily Damian decided to be helpful, mean but helpful nonetheless. 

“Yes precisely that Gotham” Maybe she should have picked a Boarding school. Oh Well. Too late for regrets now.

“OH MY GOSH!? GOTHAM HAS BATMAN!!!” Alya suddenly jumped up and yelled.

“Since The Waynes suddenly left before Lila could get me an interview, You could act as my correspondent in Gotham,” She said excitedly.

“Are you kidding me no way.” Marinette spat out. Was this girl demented?

“You and Lila are both setting me up for expulsion, you released a video expecting me to get backlash-which backfired horribly by the way- and now you have the nerve to ask for my help?” Marinette seethed, upset and annoyed. Gosh, she’ll take Gotham Crazies over these Lunatics any day, at least those she would be allowed to punch. Without repercussions anyway.

“What video are you talking about Marinette?” Chloe asked because of course, that's what she focuses on.  

“The video on the Ladyblog” Max finally stated because he likes to keep track of information.

“ oh that explains why I didn’t know, I quit reading that trashy tabloid a loooong time ago”

“WHAT Bourgeois you better take it back, The Ladyblog is respected and adored”

“You're kidding, right? Please traffic on your blog has slowed ever since Aurore released her blog which is ten times better. Did you hear? Lois Lane from the Daily Planet, a very respected newspaper in America,  loved her blog and even gave her advice” Chloe taunted.

Alya was pissed. Ever since Aurore released her blog she has stolen a bunch of her audience. Honestly, her blog was losing so much traffic to Aurores since she had an endorsement from Killer Bee. 

Alya, of course, got an invitation to go to the Journalist banquet but she wasn’t allowed to take a plus one. Which of course was devastating to Lila since she couldn't go and see Damian Wayne. Poor Lila quietly told her how sorry she was since that meant she wouldn't be able to get Alya the interview. 

Of course, Alya being Alya tried to get sneak Lila in however they soon saw another girl who was trying to get in as well. However she had an invite, and Lila needed it. Lila however quickly pointed something out. 

“Alya can you believe what she’s wearing and oh go is she trying to come off as a junior reporter for some trashy tabloid, hmmm seems like someone more else deserves it more” Lila softly stated.  Of course, Lila was right, someone else deserved it. And Alya needed that interview.

Quickly Alya pulled Lila along towards the girl who was taking out her pass. 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry but I seriously need that Press Pass” Alya stated. Alyas' back was turned, so she couldn’t see Lilas growing smirk.  

The girl was slightly startled however she noticed that the red-haired girl with glasses already HAD a press pass, why would she need it? Of course, she couldn’t just SAY that. “W-why would you need it if yo-you a-already h-ha-have one?” she managed to stutter out while tightening her grip on the press pass around her neck.

“BECAUSE my friend over here was denied one, even though her boyfriend is going to be in there so please just give it to us so I can get my interview” Alya snapped she was honestly losing her patience.

“I-uh No Way it’s mi- '' Quickly as a flash, Alya leaped forward and snatched the pass straight from the girl's neck. Of course, the girl leaped forward to try and take it back. Alya, however, stepped back and roughly shoved the girl back who promptly fell back and landed on her behind, ripping the girl's skirt and tearing her suit jacket. 

Alya quickly handed the pass to Lila, who walked up behind her to take it. “You should have learned how to fight back better” Lila sneered towards the now tearful girl. Alya looped her arm around her and dragged her towards the entrance. Unfortunately for the security personnel witnessed the incident and refused to allow them entrance and were about to go check up on the girl. However, it was too late. 

“Yes Hawkmoth”

They all heard it coming from where the girl previously was.

That was one of the few times she caused an Akuma, unfortunately, they had to run after the girl was akumatized. Lila, unfortunately, had to leave due to her mother worrying. Luckily Adrien was gracious enough to grant her an interview, but he was distracted and jittery throughout the interview, a huge boom from far away caught his attention and he mumbled a quick apology and dashed off. Alya was desperate for more gossip and intel so she followed him but unfortunately lost him. Luckily she caught an argument between her ex-friend and Chat Noir. The outfit was beautiful and eye-catching, however, Alya only got angrier because that meant Marinette was allowed entrance.

Alya with the sudden realization snapped her head and glared in Marinette's Direction. 

“Why were you even allowed in?” Alya snapped. 

“Because I Designed and Made Nadia Chamacks Dress” Marinette Snapped back allowing a bit of pride to seep into the words

“Marinette Sweetheart it's time to go, we have to go and pick up your luggage before dropping your luggage,” Sabine said while standing in the doorway of the classroom. Sabine had her head turned towards Marinette, she quickly stepped out but quickly directed a glare at Madame Bustier. 

Suddenly Chloe surged forward along with Juleka towards Marinette. Chloe quickly latched to Marinette. “ MARINETTE PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU TAKE ME TO THE STATES WITH YOU IF YOU LEAVE ME HERE WITH THESE IDIOTS I MIGHT AS WELL SAY ADIOS TO MY SANITY RIGHT NOW” Chloe wailed while still clutching to Marinette. Marinette felt bad but hey what could you do?

Juleka quickly stepped forwards and struggled to yank Chloe away from Marinette eventually needing Max to Help. Finally, with a Final tug, Marinette was released from Chloes clutches.

“Don’t Worry I’ll take care of her and keep her from committing homicide” Sabrina stated.

Marinette quickly had a few words with them. With a final Group Hug which consisted of Juleka, Max, Sabrina, Ivan, and Chloe. Chloe still had Marinette in her clutches for a few seconds afterward. With a sigh Marinette freed herself. 

She turned towards the “Lila Side” however looking at them with slight disdain. Keeping eye contact with Lila she finally said whats she's been wanting to say from the day she met Lila.

“Goodbye”

Tag List:

 @amayakans�� @depthfire

[vikingpoteto]

27, 9, pick any two bats

 To no one’s surprise I pick Jason and Tim + cleaning wounds + “Listen, I know it’s hard, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Red Robin looks around his kitchen and tries to list 5 things he can see. The pictures of his friends held by magnets on the fridge. The pile of dirty mugs in the sink. The unread papers spread on the table. The closed window. The trail of blood leading to the counter where he’s sitting. He makes a mental note to clean that up in the morning. Before that train of thought leads him somewhere else, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. 4 things he can touch now. The leather of his cowl that he slowly peels away. The cold surface of the counter. The hard wall behind his back. The needle between his fingers. Another deep breath. 3 things he can hear. The clock ticking against the loud silence. Traffic and distant sirens. His mildly ragged breath. He opens his eyes, hoping he doesn’t have any cracked ribs. Another deep breath. He can smell antiseptic and also something coppery. He licks his lips. The one thing he can taste is the bitter pang from the antibiotics he took. 

Tim Drake glares at the needle. This isn’t the first time he had to stitch himself up. This isn’t the first time he had to take care of his own wounds. 

However, this is the first time he’s the one and only responsible for it. 

In another life, he would do a patch job, emergency stuff only, and then get to Alfred as soon as he could for a double check. In a time that felt like a dream now, he would have the latest health tech available and Cissie hovering over his bed while Cassie fussed about how he irresponsibly hurt himself, Bart made a joke out of everything and Conner, of all people, would be the one getting Tim proper care. Less than a month ago, the most deadly organization of the world was making sure Tim was getting the best care available. While his trembling fingers put the thread in the needle, he thinks of the almost healed scar from a damn splenectomy. He doesn’t know what Ra’s people had done to him, but he’s been recovering unnaturally fast, especially considering his immunity. 

Tim bites his tongue and looks down at his battered outfit. He could go to Leslie’s clinic. But it’d be stupid to go all the way there for a couple of bruises and a wound that would probably take less than five stitches. Tim could go to the cave, but… No. He puts the needle down and starts pulling his shirt out. He can’t completely muffle a pained groan and he hates the way it echoes in his empty kitchen. It’s been less than a week since he left Dick, Alfred and Damian. He’s an emancipated adult by all means. Bruce trained him to be independent. He can do this. 

Except… as soon as he reaches for the antiseptic, he hears a noise coming from the living room. Tim freezes. You’ve got to be kidding me. Of all the nights to have a robber breaking into his apartment, tonight? Did it have to be tonight? 

Painstakingly, he jumps to the floor and reaches for his staff. He has half a mind to get his cowl, but he thinks Tim Drake defending himself with what could’ve been a broomstick is easier to explain than Red Robin just hanging out at his place. If he’s lucky - and, after tonight, he feels like the universe owes him - he’ll knock out the robber before they see him. 

The most ridiculous thing about all this is that he feels like crying. He doesn’t know why. He barely remembers the last time he cried. Probably right before he realized Bruce could be alive. As much as he’s in pain now, this is no reason to cry like a baby. Especially not in front of a robber. 

Tim silently hides by the side of the fridge and listens. The person in his living room is good. He can barely hear their steps. He can tell there is only one of them, however, and, judging by the way the sound become louder, they’re coming towards the kitchen. Partly to focus on his hearing, partly to ignore the way his eyes are glazing over, he closes his eyes, listens and waits. He waits. He waits a little more.

Ignoring the way his muscles ache in protest, he swirls around and aims for the gut, hoping to knock the air out of the robber. Gloved hands grab his staff and the invader takes a step back before recovering his balance.

“Woah,” he says in a familiar voice, “easy there.”

Tim raises his gaze to face him. Red Hood lets go of the staff in order to remove the helmet, revealing Jason Todd’s frown. Tim feels his shoulders slumping.

“What the fuck, Jason?” Tim hisses. He feels his voice will break if he tries to speak up. 

“I should be the one asking that.” Jason puts his helmet aside. He takes one second glancing around until he finds Tim’s medical supplies. “Is this sanitary? Shouldn’t you be doing first aid in your high tech basement?”

He should. It would’ve been more practical than getting the whole first aid kit and bringing it up here. However, using his medical bay for the first time… It would make it all too real. Too definitive. Tim can’t tell Jason that.

“Medical bay isn’t finished. Kitchen or bathroom were my best options,” he lies.

“Hm,” Jason says as though he doesn’t believe him.

Tim could lie to Batman if he needed to, but, for some reason, Jason seems to always know the truth.

Without another word, Jason takes off his gloves and leather jacket. He drops them aside and walks to the sink. Tim doesn’t ask Jason how he knows where Tim lives - he won’t insult Jason’s detective abilities like that - but he does frown at the older boy as he strides through Tim’s kitchen like he owns the place. 

In fact, Tim doesn’t want to ask anything. He wants to scream at Jason to go away. He wants to lie down on the cold floor and not move for days. It’s comical in a twisted way that Tim had been just thinking longinly about the time in which he wasn’t alone, and, now that he has company, he wants nothing but to go back in time and hide inside the cupboard until Jason goes away. 

“What are you doing?” Tim croaks. 

“Washing my hands,” Jason says simply. He turns to Tim and waves at him to come closer.

It’s a testament to how miserable Tim feels that he does it without questioning. Jason arches an eyebrow at him and points at the counter where Tim had been sitting not long ago. Tim doesn’t move, even as Jason wipes his hands dry with paper towels and reaches for the hand sanitizer in Tim’s medical kit. 

“Jason,” Tim insists. “What are you doing?”

Jason sighs. “One of my guys told me this new vigilante, this Red Robin guy, took an ugly beating near the harbor while he took down one of Sionis’ turfs.”

“It wasn’t an ugly beating,” Tim mumbles.

“Wasn’t it?” Jason asks, his voice dripping sarcasm. “Was it easy to fight fifteen guys at the same time, Superman? Did it feel wise to bring a freaking staff to a knife fight?”

“I won!” Tim says. 

“Yeah, and which victorious mighty hero is bloody and purple all over?” Jason barks. “Sit your ass down, Replacement!”

Tim flinches and… freaking hell, his eyes are stinging again, which is the most absurd thing ever. 

Jason sighs one more time, but this time he sounds… Well, annoyed isn’t quite the right word. He does sound somewhat irritated, but there is something else in his tone. Discomfort? Embarrassment?

“That’s not… Ugh, I’m sorry, alright?”

Except that’s actually worse. 

Moments ago, Tim wanted nothing but to be seen. It was pathetic. He wasn’t even that hurt and tonight hadn’t been special. It was just the first time he went out for patrol since he moved into his new apartment. He didn’t stop Poison Ivy, didn’t get into a scuffle with Harvey Dent. He just put away a bunch of low level henchmen even if he miscalculated how many of them would be there. Such a small feat, but there was a part of him that wanted someone to acknowledge that. To see all the bruises and bloody scabs, to pat him on the back and tell him he was great for how hard he was working.

How childish. 

Now that there is someone and he seems to be fully aware of Tim’s misery - enough to apologize for speaking a little too loud - Tim only feels small and stupid. He should’ve hidden it better, he shouldn’t be in this sorry state at all. 

The last time he saw Jason, they made amends. Just returned to Gotham after his mishaps with the League of Shadows, Tim found him to let him know he was aware that Red Hood was active again. Jason had said - albeit not in so many words - he lamented trying to kill Tim one year ago. Tim had told him it was water under the bridge by now and they agreed to work around each other, even if Jason still didn’t meet Dick eye to eye after last year. Then Tim had promised himself he would become strong like that. Jason had been through hell and back so many times and he always bounced back on his own. Why couldn’t Tim?

Maybe that’s why it felt like rubbing salt to the injury when Tim glares at Jason, the boy he was supposed to replace, the man whose shoes were too big for Tim to fill, and Tim’s vision is blurry with tears and his voice is overflowing with frustration when he asks yet again:

“What are you doing here?”

Jason meets his gaze. His brown eyes show clear unease, but he doesn’t look away. His brow is furrowed as though this is painful to admit, but he finally says:

“I heard you were probably hurt like that,” Jason gestures at Tim’s bare torso. “I knew you weren’t going to the cave for aid, so I brought the aid to you.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because if it were me, I wouldn’t go there either,” he states simply.

Tim bites his lip. “You dealt with your wounds alone after you came back.”

“Yes,” Jason says. He gestures at the counter again. This time, Tim sits. “I know it sucks. You ever tried stitching your own back? It’s really fucking hard.”

Tim looks down and doesn’t say anything. Jason brings a damp cotton ball to Tim’s wounds and stats methodically cleaning them. Tim doesn’t flinch, even when it really stings. Even when he feels like shame and guilt are all going to drown him.

“How did you do it?” Tim finally asks.

“The back stitches? A mirror and one of those grabby claw things, whatever they’re called…”

Tim glares at him. 

“So serious,” Jason complains. Then, in a calm voice, “I did it the same way you were doing before I got here. If I didn’t I’d die. Guess I wanted to keep living. You’d be impressed with the things people do when they have no other option.”

“You’re incredible,” Tim admits quietly. “I’m not like you. I’m not strong or… I gotta do this alone. I don’t know how.”

He doesn’t know why he’s saying out loud all the things he struggled to keep hidden for so fucking long. Jason doesn’t seem surprised with the confession though. He keeps calmly checking Tim’s injuries. 

“Not strong, huh? Which one of us took fifteen guys in a fight and won?”

“You know what I mean, Jason.”

“Yeah.” Jason grabs the needle Tim picked earlier and checks it before starting to work. “I know. Except you don’t gotta do anything, Timbers. And I don’t mean the vigilante thing. Fuck, I know none of us can quit this fucking life. We’re in too deep. I meant you’re not supposed to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. That’s what fucked up the old man. That’s how you lose yourself.”

“What’s that?” Tim scoffs. “You sound like a shrink.”

Jason looks up and smirks. “Maybe I have a shrink.”

Tim frowns. “Who?”

“Guess.”

“Jason.”

He chuckles. “Okay, so… I know it seems crazy, but she found me and asked me to join my crew in exchange for taking off this explosive thing that Amanda Waller put in her. And she’s crazy competent, so…”

“No,” Tim interrupts him. “You did not let Harley Quinn join your crew.”

“Actually, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy,” Jason has a shit eating grin even as he finishes his stitch job. “They’re a package deal. Ivy showed up a couple of days after Harley and I couldn’t get her to leave so…”

“You’re working with Harley Quinn and letting her give you therapy sessions,” Tim says. “Am I on a parallel Earth? Have those guys killed me and I’m hallucinating?”

“A lot changes in a year, Timbers, you’ve been gone for a while,” Jason shrugs. “People change too.”

“Not that much!” Tim protests. 

“Is that so? Then how come you gave me, what now, three, four second chances?” Jason glares at him.

That catches Tim off guard. He takes a moment to realize what he’s talking about. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Tim asks, genuinely confused.

“I came back, I tried to kill you. You let it go. I get arrested, you help me to break out. I thank you by losing it after seeing B’s clusterfuck of a testament. You come back like it was nothing and tell me you hope to do business in the future. And you think I’m insane for giving shelter to an abused lady?”

“I’m not saying you’re insane for helping her. I’m saying I wouldn’t trust her advice,” Tim corrects. “Besides I know what you’ve been through. I understand, even if the others don’t. You’re still a hero. Why wouldn’t I help you get back in the game?”

“Because I could hurt you again, you moron,” Jason frustratedly points out.

“You could also be helpful. I decided it was worth taking the chance,” Tim states.

“Yeah, you did,” Jason whispers, using the bandaging as an excuse to avoid Tim’s gaze. “You’re the best of us, Tim. I’m not letting you crash like I did so many times.”

Tim just stares, his lips parted in shock. 

That’s when he feels the dam breaking and tears finally start to stream freely down his cheeks. He sniffles and makes that horrible choked up sound of someone vainly trying not to cry. Jason keeps tending to his injuries even as Tim’s body shakes with barely contained sobs and Tim doesn’t know if he’s ignoring the meltdown out of mercy or because he simply doesn’t know how to deal with it. It’s probably both. 

By the time Jason finishes wrapping up Tim’s many scrapes and rubbing medicine on countless bruises, Tim has managed to contain his sobs and is gingerly trying to wipe his face and pretending he doesn’t feel like he almost drowned.

“Listen, I know it’s hard, Baby Bird,” Jason mutters, a tad awkwardly. “But I’m not going anywhere. It’s not just you against the world.”

“Then what, is it the two of us against it?” Tim tries to quip.

“Maybe,” Jason says. “You did a lot for me. It’s about time I start deserving it.”

“I didn’t do it because I wanted you to pay me back.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m here, dumbass,” Jason takes a step back. “I’m done. Go get changed into a pair of sweatpants or something. I’m gonna introduce you to the wonders of 2am cereal.”

Tim lets out a chuckle. “I’ve eaten cereal at 2am before, Jason.”

“Not mine, you haven’t. Chop, chop, kid, we don’t have all night.”

Tim listens to him. 

He should know better, after all he had experienced new beginnings before. All of them inevitably lead to crashing and burning, some rather spectacularly too.

However… There are a few firsts here. This is the first time someone truly understands. This is the first time Tim doesn’t feel like he’s entering a challenge, that he has to earn his place as Robin, as Young Justice’s leader. He feels like his place had been earned, like there’s a small beacon of hope after a long struggle. 

Tim lets himself accept it.

[tired-college-student-writing]

Tim’s Secret Weapon pt. 11

I’ve been slightly obsessed with @ozmav​ ‘s Damian Wayne/Marinette Dupain-Cheng pairing as of late, and just saw a post that has inspired me more than anything else has in months, so I felt the need to write it

Summary- Tim has always seen the numbers floating above people’s heads, been able to perceive their threat levels with a single glance. After being a hero for so long he thought he was desensitized to seeing high numbers above people’s heads until Damian brings a new friend home. 

Part 1 

Part 10 

Part 11(HERE)

Part 12 

____________________________________________

“How can they be gone?” Tim whispered into the silence, trying to focus on anything other than the blank spaces and the stabbing pain behind his eyes. 

His numbers, the one thing that had stuck by him through everything. They had allowed him to understand the world around him as he was left behind and abandoned, time and time again. The ability that gave him the freedom of the world, the confidence to face the Batman down and demand to be allowed to fight at his side. The power that allowed him to find a family when every other person in his life had decided that he wasn’t worth the effort. 

And now they were gone. 

His family was frozen around him, fear and confusion pouring off of them. They didn’t know his attachment to his power, didn’t understand the depth of how ingrained his power was to him but they had each experienced the loss of a sense before, or a limb. It was jarring and painful and there wasn’t a lot they could do to help. 

“Take it off,” Damian said, already going to pull off the choker he wore, having not given the transformation phrase yet, “The miraculous, the transformation must have done something. Get it off now.” 

His hand shook as he tried to grasp the edge of the glasses, only for a firm hand to wrap around his wrist and pull it away. 

“Wait,” Marinette broke in, kneeling down in front of him, “Tim can you get us back to the hotel, you need to open a portal. Picture the hotel, and call for Voyage.” 

Tim blinked away the spots starting to form in his vision, what was happening, “Voy…age?” 

Max appeared in his line of sight, fear swimming behind the firm determination set in his face “Voyage, picture the hotel, picture Alfred and the sitting room, if coordinates would help you then we can get them for you. You’re the only one that can get us back right now. Can you do that for us?” 

He tried to nod but only groaned as the world spun, “Okay. I think I can… Think I can do it…Voyage!”  

The magic swirling around him as he thought back to the hotel made him nearly double over as the pain spiked, his stomach churning from the intense pressure. 

“Point at a wall,” Max soothed, “It will be over soon. We need to get you back to the hotel.” 

The world tilts as he lifts his arm and suddenly Alfred appears in his vision, surrounded by a blue light that seemed to pulse in sync with the pain in his skull.

His vision swam. 

“Get him to the bathroom now,” Marinette orders Bruce and Tim felt himself being lifted and carried, clutching the front of his father figure’s suit like he was an itty bitty Robin again, hurt enough to make Bruce fuss over them, or merely having dozed off on a stake off again. He’d been embarrassed to be carried like this again in front of his brothers if his skull didn’t feel like it had been caved in by Harley’s mallet, and injected with a bad batch of Poison Ivy’s latest experiment. 

He’s removed from Bruce’s chest, and he can vaguely hear the man protesting as he’s pulled away. 

“This is going to be unpleasant,” Someone tells him, even if it sounds like it’s from a mile away through a damp sewer, before the glasses are pulled from his face and he’s lurching forward to bury his face in the toilet he had apparently been set in front of, stomach finally losing the battle to keep his dinner down. 

Slowly his stomach calmed down and the pounding dulled down to an ache. He was able to stop dry heaving and became aware of the pair of hands rubbing his back. Taking some calming breaths to calm down how much his body was trembling he glanced to see Ladybug, still suited up, kneeling to his left, and to his left was Nightwing in full gear, worry and concern edged deep into his features.

“Oh thank god,” Tim breathed, resting his temple against the cool porcelain. Over Dick’s head was the ever familiar royal blue 10. 

“Powers back online?” Marinette asked worry etched on her face only to sigh in relief when he gave a slight nod, “I hoped so. I’m so sorry Tim.” 

“What the hell was that?” He heard Dick hiss. 

He could almost feel Marinette grimace, “Some people have a negative reaction to certain miraculous, but that’s usually only if they have a strong connection to one of the other miraculous that is incompatible with the one they’re trying on, such as the Bee attempting to wield the Snake or the Fox taking up the Monkey. None of you had a strong connection with any of the miraculous in the box though so I wasn’t expecting this, maybe a mild one if you chose a miraculous not suited for you, but nothing like this! I’ve never seen a reaction this bad… I guess I didn’t take Tim’s power into consideration. ”  

“I hate magic,” Tim groaned but took the glass of water Damian offered, and sipped it lightly, before allowing Dick to pull him to his feet. 

“That’s fair,” Chloe called from the main room, “But can any of you convince your dad to use my power so I can have Pollen back.”

“Bruce?” Tim asked with a scrunched brow as he leaned out of the bathroom, fearing that his stomach might try a second rebellion. 

The man was clearly uncomfortable, standing stiffly against the wall next to the door, though his jaw unclenched when he saw Tim reappear, “The bee power allows the user to completely freeze voluntary movements of the victim for an indefinite amount of time.”  

A shiver went up the Bats spine, Damien especially had an uncomfortable look on his face as they realized why this would bother Bruce so much. No matter how much the boy loved his mother, the matters of his creation were inexcusable. 

“It’ll keep the target immobilized until you detransform,” Chloe offered, eyes softening slightly, “So sting someone and then use the detransformation phrase, ‘Pollen Buzz Off’. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Bruce nodded stiffly, even though his breathing became overly controlled as the energy pulsed off of the stinger. He was gentle as he nudged the needle into Chloe’s bared arm but seemed to stop breathing as the girl froze. 

“Pollen Buzz off,” Bruce rushes out letting the power fall away and doesn’t relax until Chloe unfreezes. 

“See,” She offered, holding out a hand for her kwami to rest on, “Everything is fine.” 

“You were right,” He relented, removing the comb from his cowl, “I apologize for-”  

The blonde shook her head, “Don’t be ridiculous. You obviously have some reason to hate my power and I don’t blame you. Any miraculous power in the wrong hands is frightening, after all. I’m terrified of the Peacock but I doubt you’d ever fear for your life against Alfred, with or without the power to create sentient life from nothing. Don’t share your trauma with us over that.” 

The man merely nodded, pulling off his cowl to give her a soft, respecting smile. 

“Jason next,” Adrien offered, “Luckily Cataclysm is a bit more versatile.” 

Jason grimaced glancing down at his poisonous looking claws, “Destroy anything I touch?”  

“Try not to think about it too much,” The blond grimaced, “Call for Cataclysm and the first thing you touch with the energy will be destroyed. It can be... overwhelming if you think about too much.” 

The man scowled at the claws, but it’s Damien that voices the thought bouncing around the Bats’ heads “Cloaked in black, a weapon that can shrink until easily hidden away from sight, and the power to destroy anything or anyone but leave no evidence behind. The Black Cat was designed to be the assassin of the miraculous.”

Adrien winced, “Probably... but we don’t kill. I prefer to play the knight role to my Lady’s strategizer.  Plagg did say that there have been more than a few Black Cat assassins through the years.” 

Jason huffed a sigh as he summoned the dark energy around his fist, “Let’s get this over with, what am I breaking?” 

Alix picked up the mini writing pad from next to the hotel phone, “Catch!” 

The paper withered the second it touched his hand, crumbling and disintegrating into ash. 

“Complete entropy,” Tim commented, eyeing the tiny pile of dust left behind. 

“Geek out later, replacement,” Jason snapped with an eye roll, still holding his hand out as to not touch anything even now that the power was spent, “Plagg Claws In,” 

“Oh come on,” Tim groaned after the lights had faded. The others looked at him curiously but he just stared. 

Because while detransformation had let Bruce’s number fall back to his normal 11, though it still was rich honey in color, Jason’s didn’t. 

Jason’s neon green 10 was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a scarily familiar 15. 

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[dickgrayson80sremixmp3]

batboys h.c. #1 - hair

dick

- dick uses custom shampoo and conditioner because he is a vain bitch who never grew out of his trust fund baby ways (i’m picturing like the function of one here purely bc that’s what i have #notanad)

- he enjoys choosing the different colours and experimenting with fragrances; currently he has pear and apple which he likes but his heart lies with vanilla milkshake (soft)

- he’s an early bird (ha) and always works out in the mornings so he showers and washes his hair then

- he finishes his showers with a blast of cold water (one of a few reasons his s/o refuses to share showers with him) - he claims it’s to wake him up but it’s really bc he heard it would make his hair shiny and dick is very willing to suffer for Beauty

- dick mastered the towel turban at a very young age

- but nowadays he has a special microfibre turban to reduce frizz

- picture dick grayson standing in his kitchen eating cereal and making a gross green smoothie wearing nothing but the tightest black boxers and a towel turban

- never say i don’t do anything for you

- when it comes to styling dick is all about volume

- when he takes his hair out of the turban he works a huge blob of mousse into it and then spends up to twenty minutes scrunching it until it looks perfectly tousled

- he likes to walk around while he does this so he has mirrors all over the apartment sure that’s the only reason

- he has a habit of running his hand through his hair though so however neatly styled it starts out it always becomes a messy heap within a couple of hours

- still v charming tho

jason

- jason is working his way down the curly hair aisle of his local beauty supply store. he picks up a different shampoo and conditioner set every time

- he’s friendly with the puerto rican women who own the store and sometimes asks them for advice

- they’ve recommended that he try a co-wash but he’s secretly worried it won’t be tough enough to clean blood and gotham harbour water out of his hair on a regular basis

- his actual routine is v basic though

- step 1: he showers when he comes in from patrol around 4/5am and washes his hair

- step 2: uses a ton of conditioner every time

- step 3: puts a towel over his pillowcase and goes the fuck to sleep

- naturally he wakes up with a mess

- drags himself to the bathroom sink, wets his hands, and rakes his fingers through his hair until his hair is at least more evenly distributed over his head

- it usually sorts itself out to some extent eventually and he spends so much time with a helmet on that he’s not too fussed about how it looks

- boom

- thatse it

- he does have a secret self care ritual - it’s not regular but every couple of weeks or so he covers his hair in a deep conditioning mask and tucks it into an old shower cap he found under the sink. next the face mask goes on, he gets a smoothie/glass of wine/elaborate cocktail depending on his mood, fluffy robe, and settles onto his sofa with a book for a couple hours

- he only does this when he’s sure to be alone and interrupting this ritual is liable to get you shot (ostensibly a warning shot but he’s not particular about where he aims said warning shot)

tim

- listen i love tim to death but the truth is he forgets to shower on an upsettingly regular basis and his hair gets greasy easily :(

- luckily all it usually takes is an ‘ew snape’ and he’s off to the bathroom at a light jog

- a freshly shampooed tim drake however is the most beautiful thing in the world

- somehow manages to have nineties boy floppy curtains in the year of our lord 2020 and not look like a prick

- this boy is a serial shampoo thief and it is not uncommon for him to walk into a room, someone to sniff the air, and promptly beat him up for hair product theft

- will he learn from this? absolutely not

- when his bangs get long enough he tucks them back behind his ears (it’s adorable)

- even more adorable is when his s/o starts leaving hair accessories lying about

- timothy drake-wayne sitting in the batcave looking sternly over his case notes with glittery butterfly clips holding his hair back

- he does not use a single styling product on his hair it just does that

- perfectly straight and shiny every time, no cowlicks, no frizz

- it’s infuriating

- after a disastrous experiment with bleach in his early teens tim resorted to a buzzcut rather than let it grow out

- the effect was,,,,interesting

- he’s constantly threatening to shave it again but everyone knows he won’t go through with it bc he heard a barista at his favourite coffee shop swooning over his hair once and now he brings it up every time someone criticises him

- ‘oh yeah well if i’m such a waste of space how come i have “““ the prettiest hair in the world ohmygod it looks so soft don’t you just wanna touch it”””, damian’

- no that’s not the reason it’s his favourite shop what are you talking about

duke

- used to have it all figured out but a recent change in career path has left him high and dry

- before becoming the signal duke’s hair was the best on his street - he favoured twist braids but he was considering locs

- wearing a helmet has kinda limited his options, so his hair is in cornrows for now to make sure his helmet fits properly but he’s not mad keen and he’s trying to figure out how to broach the subject with his barber without compromising his secret identity

- speaking of his barber there’s only one guy at one shop who duke trusts with his fade

- the shop is in south gotham

- as in the other goddamn end of the city

- it’s a fuck ass long drive from the manor

- every time he goes he looks wistfully at his old street as they pass (a fifteen minute walk from his shop)

- his stash of products at the manor are the only ones safe from tim

- it’s not that tim respected his boundaries or anything but the one time he used one of duke’s deep conditioners without checking he came out of the shower with oilier hair than he went in

- duke brought his own satin pillowcases to the manor bc he guessed (correctly) that bruce would never think of it

- they make jason snigger bc he thinks it’s like a sexy thing (ooOOoo SiLk ShEeTs)

- duke just looks over jason’s hair with a judgemental stare and tells him maybe his curl definition wouldn’t be so poor if he got satin pillowcases of his own

- (dick and tim: OOOOOOOOO)

- ((roy, somewhere in star city: OOOOO, artemis: wtf are you doing ? roy: didn’t you feel it? the burn?))

- this one got out of hand rip

damian

- when he was with his mother and the league he never concerned himself with the toiletries provided for him he just used them

- it’s only when he comes to america and is presented with fake apple scented goo that he misses what he had

- the issue is that he doesn’t even know how to start looking for his old products, and it’s not like he can just call talia up and ask her which shampoo she used on him as a child

- he does consider it though

- mostly he just sulks until dick takes pity and tries to help him figure it out

- it is not successful and damian is now somehow mad ???

- as a distraction and filled with regret dick buys him a shampoo bar, the decision primarily based on proximity and novelty value - he hopes the time it takes damian to figure it out will give him time to get away

- this is more like it - damian appreciates the more sophisticated sandalwood scent and also its environmental credentials

- the downside to the bar is that it’s somewhat drying

- damian solves this issue with the only product he can remember his mother using - moroccan argan oil

- as a result his hair is now smooth, shiny, and ethical as fuck

- it also smells nice, which is the only thing tim can think of while damian is furiously challenging him to a duel, the top of his head directly under tim’s nose

- as a young ‘un damian likes to gel his hair into a part swoopy, part spiked quiff, which both highlights the thickness and lustre of his hair and also adds a crucial few inches to his height

- as an adult though just keeping it swept back neatly away from his face is enough

(a/n i rlly wanted to include duke in these headcanons bc he gets left out a lot but idk much about afro hair so if any obvious mistakes jump out to anyone drop me an ask and i’ll edit!! will also be uploading a batgals post next)

[pandoraimperatrix]

randumbteahouse replied to your post “I’m in a bad mood and I want to write fluff people Please send me...”

BatCat babysitting little Mar'i and/or Jake Grayson?

 BatCat | DickKory | Plotless unashamed fluff | 1,8k | Read on AO3

“Hi, B!” Greeted Dick opening the door of his condo.

Bruce gave him his small barely there smile in answer to Dick’s huge all white teeth one.

“Hello, chum.”

Dick then turned to Bruce’s companion.

“And how are you, beautiful?”

Selina raised her gloved hands to Dick’s face, pulling him for a loud kiss full on the lips, to which he made crunched his entire face blushing horrendously to her delight.

“I’m wonderful, darling. So glad to see you. He’s so handsome, Bruce, look at him.”

“I’m looking.” Agreed Bruce with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Where’s the little kitten? And that gorgeous wife of yours?”

“They are in the nursery” Selina took her woollen coat off and handed wordlessly to Bruce, walking across Dick following his instruction, Bruce moved inside too, starting to undress from his heavy overcoat as well, but was interrupted, buy Dick’s arms hugging from the middle, he patted the younger man awkwardly on the head. “Thank you for coming.”

Bruce just grunted. Dick, freed his emotionally stunted dad and closed the door.

“Where…?” Asked Bruce holding the clothing.

“Oh, the coat hanger fell under the weight of Kory’s collection of handbags and I haven’t put the new on the wall, just throw your coats… Anywhere.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow to that noticing the apartment around him. Dick had never been an organized child, he had impeccable work ethics but his living grounds had always being a reason for arguments when he was growing up, and adding a baby in it… Well, he knew now why Dick invite Alfred to babysit yet. It was not a complete chaos, but it was far from acceptable by the butler’s standards.

“Come! We wanted you guys to see her while she was awake, but she woke up this morning super early for no reason, she was so full of energy, flying everywhere I think she crashed now.” He laughed.

“Flying?”

“Oh! I didn’t tell you?”

But they had reached the nursery door.

Kory was sitting on a very comfortable velvet chair, Alfred’s present. The baby on her arms had a darker shade of golden skin than her mother’s, and her long black eyelashes making shadows under her closed eyes and she suckled on her mother’s breast. Her little plump hand was holding firmly to Selina’s finger.

“Bruce, look how big she is…” Said Selina whispering.

“Greetings.” Koriand’r smiled to Bruce.

He nodded his head to her, approaching the women.

Bruce leaned in and with the back of two fingers, brushed softly the dark locks of the baby’s hair.

Selina turned her gaze from the baby to her husband, to others maybe he looked stoic as always, but by the way his Adam’s apple bobbed she could see the huge emotional response. She rubbed his bicep with her free hand.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?”

Bruce cleaned his throat.

“Yes.” He answered, his voice croaky and deeper than the usual.

Selina and Kory exchanged an amused look.

“Do you want to hold her?” Asked Kory.

“Aren’t you feeding her now?”

“Oh no, she is done.” Smiled Kory. “She is already asleep.”

“I don’t want to disturb her.”

“She sleeps heavily. No need to worry.” Kory pulled her nipple from the baby’s mouth and covered herself, floated so she was in level with Bruce, and gently put the baby in his arms. Her daughter looking so little next to her massive grandfather.

Mar’i cooed softly getting comfortable but did not wake.

Dick sniffled loudly and the eyes turned to him.

“I’m sorry guys, I just-” he choked; Kory and Selina hugged him by each of his sides. Kory giggled. “Don’t laugh at my expense, Kory, not cool.” She kept giggling but tried to muffle it by kissing his hair. “I still can hear it!”

“I’m going to get ready.” Announced Kory untangling herself from the double hug and turning to her parents-in-law. “Please let yourselves feel at home, and thank you so much for doing this for us.”

“You’re welcome darling.” Said Selina as they watched Kory float out of the room.

“She’s still flying.” Noticed Bruce. When Kory hit the fourth trimester – turns out half-tamaranean pregnancies were a lot longer than human ones – her feet were so swollen that she just flied everywhere. After Dick commented on that Bruce started sending soft tall pillows so, she could put her feet up, compression stockings which somehow were the exactly shade of Kory’s alien skin, and one time Dick arrived home to find a whole spa and masseuse staff that he had not booked.

“Oh, she’s not in pain anymore… She’s just happy. Can’t keep her feet on the ground. My neck is cramping from looking up so much.” But by his thrilled tone he didn’t seen annoyed by his balloon wife at all.

“Where are you taking her, honey?” Asked Selina still hugging Dick and making little circles in his back.

“Nothing very fancy. We mostly just want to have an uninterrupted meal, then walk by Byke Beach a little before coming home to save you guys. And as Kory said, thank you so much, Mar’i a sweet baby and she was all we had to worry about it would be easy peasy, but things pile up and we could use a breather.”

“It’s our pleasure, darling. Bruce and I needed a break too, and you father have missed you so much, you should see him showing the pictures you sent us to everyone, he is so proud.”

“Is that true, B?” Asked Dick beaming.

Bruce cleaned his throat loudly and then looked down to the baby terrified he had disturbed her, but she didn’t even fuss. When he looked up again Selina and Dick were looking at him with glazed eyes.

He cleaned his throat again, this time in a softer tone.

 “I can’t stop looking at her, Bruce, she’s so cute.” Said Selina perched on Mar’i crib. Dick and Kory were gone, and with the baby sleeping, Selina found out that there wasn’t actually a lot to do.

“Let the baby sleep, Selina.” Mumbled Bruce typing something on his phone, he had extracted Selina five times from the nursery in the forty minutes Dick and Kory were gone.

“What are you doing?”

Selina clenched her eyes, Bruce looked away, guilty as hell and pocketed the phone.

“You were working on your phone wasn’t you?”

“No.”

“Oh my god, Bruce!”

“I wasn’t. Look.” He showed her his phone. “Tim sent me a photo of a frog in a skateboard.”

Selina’s face was completely voided of emotion for a fraction of a second before she let out a loud laugh… That was followed by baby cries.

“Shit.”

 The baby was not stopping crying. Bruce thought that she would recognise them from all the facetime calls, he was wrong. Mar’i knew that he and Selina were not her parents, and she was not happy about it.

“Is she is pain? Do you think she is in pain?”

“I don’t think so. Dick said she was in perfect health, but it’s hard to know without proper medical equipment.”

“Try feeding her again.”

Bruce took the warmed milk bottle – noticing the colour was darker than regular human milk supposed to be, it looked like light caramel. He made a mental note to take a sample to look to it in his lad later – and offered to the baby girl, but she slapped the bottle away with a strength no human six months old would have. No adult either. The bottle flew across the room and broke into the drywall.

“I’ll pay for that.”

“How don’t you know how to make a baby stop crying? You are a huge nerd, you know everything! Didn’t you raise like fifty-two kids or something?”

“They were never that young.” And to be fair, when they cried, he mostly handed them to Alfred and later Dick.

“We should call Dick.”

“No.”

“What?”

“We are solving this, Selina.”

“How?!”

Bruce took a deep breath and tried to remember everything he knew about pre-language children. He read some articles to try to communicate with Cassandra years ago, mostly applied to babies and was not useful to him at the time, but maybe it would be useful now. He recalled something about tonic dialogue, that meant the first form of communication was from touch. Basically, holding a baby while having a tense body was not good, because the baby could feel the discomfort and respond to this with distress. So, he tried to relax. Lower his heartrate. Mar’i didn’t stop crying, but her loud screaming and the fussing were gone.

“Good! Good! I don’t know what you did but it’s working.”

“Try to distract her.”

“By doing what?”

“I don’t know Selina, why do I have to know everything?”

“You are the Batman!”

“Not now, I’m not.”

“Ba mum” mumbled Mar’i between cried.

Bruce and Selina exchanged a shocked look.

“Yes, kitten. Granddaddy is Batman.”

“Ba mum!” The baby said angrily, her bluish green eyes flooded with tears.

Selina sent Bruce a terrified look. He just shook his head, also having no idea. Mar’i’s lip trembled and the crying returned with revenge.

“Hold her a little.”

“Me?!”

But before she could protest further, the baby was already in her arms, bright orange, sobbing against her shirt spreading snot and tears everywhere.

Bruce was calling someone.

“But you said you were not calling her parents!”

“I’m not. Alfred, finally, I have a predicament.”

He was silent for a while, his face rumpled in concentration, then he turned off with a “thank you”.

“What did he say?”

“Mar’i has a favourite toy. It’s a handmade Batman doll made by Damian. That’s what she mean by ‘Ba mum’.”

“I want to gush about how cute this whose sentence was but she is pulling my hair pretty hard, and I’m grieving my shirt, this was Prada’s limited edition. Let’s find that doll.”

 Half an hour later and no sign of the doll, Bruce was going mad, Selina’s head was aching, and Mar’i proved that her human-tamaranean hybrid lungs were very efficient. They fell heavily on the living room’s sofa.

“Bruce… What do we do?”

He just gave her a defeated look.

“Ba mum! Ba mum! BA MUM!”

“Oh kitten, I don’t know where your ‘Ba mum’ went.” Said Selina drying the baby’s tears then her head shot up. “I have an idea.”

“I’m willing to try anything.”

“You brought a suit, didn’t you?”

Bruce pretended not to know what she was talking about.

“I’ve brought changes of clothing, yes.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Selina…”

“So what we can’t find her doll? You are the real deal!” She said exasperated.

“That’s not what my suit if for, Selina.”

“I couldn’t care less what your suit is for” she covered the baby’s ears “we had sex plenty of times while you were in that suit don’t pretend you never abused its function before.”

He sighed.

 Two hours after Kory and Dick returned home to find Selina sleeping sitting on the sofa, Bruce in his full Batman gear also sleeping, but lying on his back and using Selina’s lap as a pillow, and Mar’i belly down on her grandfather’s chest, drool all over the bat insignia.

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

Tonic dialogue is a real thing I learnt on uni. I have no idea what the frog in a skateboard was about, I just like the idea of Bruce’s kids sending him random memes and funny pictures.

[typinggently]

Oh gosh your superbat ficlet is so damn cute 😍😍😍 I'm pretty sure I squealed more than once (oh, Bruce, you're such an adorable idiot) Do you still take prompts? I'd like to offer one if you're interested :) -> so basically Clark gets hurt on a mission and Bruce is fussing over him like a mother hen to the utter delight of Alfred and the rest of the Superbat family watching the scene from afar.

Dearest!! Thank you so, so much for this! I’m so happy you enjoyed this little story and your prompt is so cute!! Thank you so, so much for your sweet message 🥰♥️♥️  And I am so, so sorry this took so long!!!!

It ended up a little softer (and thus less funny) than I thought but I love the concept of caring Bruce so much. He’s so soft but he’s trying so hard to hide it but everybody knows!!!

-

Warning: slight injury mention

-

Usually, when Jason drops in, he goes to the kitchen first to greet Alfred. And usually, Alfred will stop whatever he’s doing to ask him a few questions and make him some crunchy cinnamon toast, sizzling hot and sweet with crispy crusts. So when Jason walks into the kitchen and Alfred only looks up quickly to smile at him before turning back to the coffee maker, something is clearly not right.

“What happened?” Jason drops his helmet on a chair and shrugs out of his leather jacket, trying to read Alfred’s body language (impossible). At least it can’t be any mortal danger, considering Alfred is cooking coffee, not needles.

Before Alfred can answer, Dick pokes his head around the corner, cheeks flushed suspiciously. “Quick, Tim’s bringing him the first aid right now.” The words should be alarming, but Jason knows Dick well enough to know that he’s buzzing with delight, not fear.

However – “What’s going on?”

Dick turns his head and spots him. “Oh, Jason! Hey! Great timing, come quick!”

Not exactly an explanation, but Jason will take it. Especially Alfred checks the temperature of the coffee maker and nods, brushing past him.

“Well, hop along then.”

Jason, who’s never seen Alfred encourage Dick to move faster, hurries to follow them. Their little trip ends in the study, or rather at the door to the study. Tim is already peeking around the left side of the doorframe while Damian is sitting on the right, close enough to peek but also turned away enough that he looks like he’s pouting. At this point, Jason isn’t going to ask anymore. Instead, he steps behind Tim, who doesn’t even have the decency to be startled, and looks over his shoulder into the study.

-

It’s 7am on a Saturday and the sun is sleeping in. Still, her light is almost bright enough to make out the details of the room. On the shelves, the books slowly take shape while the shadowy smudges on the rug slowly grow back into delicate flowers.

But most importantly, there’s the sofa. With how the light is falling into the room, it illuminates Bruce’s rigid posture as he leans down. Since the back of the sofa’s is turned to them, it’s impossible to tell who’s laying on it, but then the person moves a little and Jason makes out a head of dark almost-curls on the cushion. He frowns, squints a little.

“Is he injured? Is that even possible?”

“Well,” Alfred says in a quiet voice, “he certainly was at some point. An ugly sight.”

From somewhere around Alfred’s knees, another voice pipes up, pouty but still whisper-rough: “For five minutes! Everything about this is ridiculous.”

“Now, now,” Dick says and Jason sees out of the corner of his eye how he reaches down to ruffle Damian’s hair. “You know how Bruce is.”

They all fall silent now, watching Bruce straighten and say something that sounds very stern, very concerned. He reaches for the first aid kit on the little table next to him and picks up a bottle of disinfectant, a little cotton ball. For a moment, he hovers over Clark with those, then turns to put them back down. Jason bites his lip, smiling to himself. Leave it to Bruce to try and fuss over the most indestructible man on earth.

Clark huffs a little laugh, as well, sounding both fond and defeated, and a big, golden hand wraps around Bruce’s pale wrist. They all know how Bruce is, indeed.

-

-

“You know,” Clark says, voice softly amused, “I really appreciate this, but I don’t think I have to lay down anymore. I can just sit on the balcony for a moment.”

“No.” Bruce keeps his voice firm, but doesn’t pull his hand from Clark’s grip. “The sunlight will shine directly onto this sofa for one hour and a half, and you’ll stay here for at least twenty minutes.”

“It was just a light hit, really. It’s all gone, see?” Clark uses his free hand to indicate his chest, unblemished and glowing under the torn crest of El. Bruce frowns. Two hours ago, there had been a large burn, black at the edges, skin torn and bubbling at the centre. Half an hour ago, the chest had been an angry shade of red. Now, Bruce has no reason to use the disinfectant.

His hand twitches a little in Clark’s grip and Clark’s expression softens. He relaxes back into the cushions, his eyes an inhumanly, sparkling shade of blue. “Alright, half an hour. But would you stay?”

Bruce hesitates. He should go down to the lab, to the BatComputer and write the mission report, update his file on the damage kryptonite can do to Clark upon contact. But the sun is waking the colours of the room and Clark’s hand is warm. “I could do that. Let me just get a chair-“

Before he can finish and pull back, Clark is shaking his head. “No, that’s not necessary. Here, just sit down, the sofa’s big enough.” To emphasise, he pulls his legs up a little, moves to the side, effectively creating a space for Bruce to sit down.

And well, he’s right. Bruce bites his tongue and sits down, careful not to accidentally touch Clark and risk hurting him. He frowns at his wrist, Clark’s palm still wrapped around it, warm and secure. Now that he’s sitting down, lead pours through his limbs and his eyes sting. “Maybe I should alert Alfred to make some soup.”

“Maybe you should relax a little.” There’s a warm palm between his shoulder blades and he feels the weight settle deep in his core, making it impossible to fret. “Here, we can relax together, I’m sure that’d help me.” Clark is smiling, glittering teeth, sparkly eyes.

Bruce blinks slowly, takes a deep breath. He nods. It’s a plan, of some sort. It’s a way to help Clark feel better. “You could benefit from some light relaxation exercises, I’m sure. Close your eyes, we’ll breathe together.”

-

At 8:30, Alfred walks into the study to pick up the first aid kit. As all Butlers, he too has mastered the skill of moving without sound, and not even Batman or Superman are able to pick up on his presence. He stops by the sofa and watches them, wrapped around each other, both still half-dressed in their nightly gear, with Bruce’s head resting on Clark’s chest. Sound asleep. But who would blame them, Alfred thinks to himself as he drapes a blanket over them, they’ve had a rough night.

-

-

again, thank you so much for your sweet words!!! 🥺

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 8

I’m a little late, but here it is!

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Monday April 15

The fucker was flipping through his book. The meeting was in fifteen minutes. I don't fucking know why I came early. The Dean's grandson glared at Brandon. He was the only absent at their previous get-together. Could he be the contemptible asshole who had the idea of the bounty ?

"I'm not." said suddenly the idiot.

"What the fuck ?"

"Regarding what you're thinking. I'm not the one who had a price put on the prey." explained Brandon. "You know I'm a devoted follower of D.R... I even helped to foil my roommate Barbara."

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey snorted. It didn't mean anything except maybe that he was a smart ass. The fact you're using your brain make you more dangerous than the others.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Stop acting like if you can read my fucking thoughts you moron."

Brandon dared to smile. Jesus he was so annoying.

"I'm sorry. You're usually way more difficult to decipher. But this story seems to bother you."

It's my damn boyfriend we're talking about, stupid ! Yeah except no one knew. The junior remembered his last discussion with Zack. His friend had called him a coward. A coward. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey, the gifted hunter, feared by all, had been called a coward. Zack didn't intend to be mean but ouch. I would feel much better if the cocksucker behind all this was arrested.

"Now that I think about it." mumbled the blond lad. "You are a supposed psychic so you must know something, right ?"

"Yeah. I know I'm innocent." replied the smart aleck.

I swear to god I'll kill him.

"More seriously." he continued when he noticed the Dean's grandson glaring at him. "I got things to tell but we'll have to wait for the others. D.R wants to update them aswell."

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey grunted.

Archie, Theo and Gabriel arrived right on time. As for this arrogant Matthew and the girls, they all came late. On purpose of course. They want to piss me off. Such a flock of donkeys. Finally, when Samy deigned show up, the meeting officially began.

"Why are we here ?" asked Lucy. "Summer didn't say much but I don't have time to lose. Fallen King, I hope this is serious."

Damn. When did you start shitting by the mouth dickhead ? He remained silent only because Brandon had taken his phone out.

"It's me who summoned you." resonated D.R's voice. "Sorry if we are taking your precious time Lucy. Maybe you want to leave and give up all your privilege as a member of this assembly ?"

The idiot bitch shrivelled up on her chair. Pathetic.

"Get to the point." Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey intervened. "Why are we here ?"

"Because, Brandon and I have made some progress regarding the investigation about the pranktser who is defying our authority." she explained. "First of all, I will let you all know that we get to the root of his website. Much to our surprise, he's based in Canada."

"So it's a stranger ?" was surprised Gabriel. "But how does he know about the prey ? Even I didn't hear about him before all this fuss."

Let her speak. I want a name. Going to Canada to kill someone sounded worse than it actually was, right ?

"We are sure he has an accomplice at the university." carried on D.R. "Probably the mastermind behind all this to be honest. Besides, with some skills, it might be possible to manage a website from Canada while being actually here. That's not the only thing we went through. My team caught some hunters who spied on the prey and sold intel at our prankster, who then put them online."

What ?! Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was sure he didn't have enough bullets to shot every little fucker who did that. Damnit ! He had been the most careful he could and still, they escaped his surveillance ? And why D.R didn't told him sooner ?!

"Don't be mad." teased Jolenne. "We just got all the infos you spent month to get in a few days. Poor fallen king."

The Dean's grandson almost lost his calm. He was feeling paranoid and irritated. But he didn't need Zack calling him a brute as well as a coward.

"Unecessary comments are not permitted." said codly D.R. "Until now, what has been revealed to the public are mostly practical intels. The prey's greediness when it come to food is emphasized by many people. Also, there are his supposed sexual preference, his work and college schedule and when it is possible to meet him without Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey around. Even his friends are not safe from this search of information. I hope you realize this is craziness."

"Don't worry, we're chasing him by following your rules." giggled Miranda. "We don't need all this shit to catch him."

"Do you have any idea about the identity of the prankster ?" asked Archie.

"Well, thanks to the hunters we arrested, maybe." the head of the hunter announced, making them all quiet. "Brandon."

"As you may know, since my arrival here, D.R usually resort to me when she wants to question people. Here's what I discovered." the guy revealed. "They all received the money the day following their exchange via transfer. What is interesting is the bank making those transfers... The Mason's Financial."

Silent followed. Everyone looked up at Samy. She was called Samy Mason for a reason after all. The name is common but I know for sure she's the daughter of the actual ceo of Mason's Financial.

"My family's banks has numerous clients." she said, seemingly bored. "And this little information doesn't prove anything."

She's right. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was much more calmer now. And Samy was right. She had the means but that didn't make her guilty. This link wasn't much more than coincidence at this point.

"We'll do further investigation of course." resumed D.R. "Samy, you'll have to pay me a visit at my office very soon. As for the others, you can hunt, you can catch, but always remember there are rules. You have to insure that the others hunters respect them aswell. Is that clear ?"

They all agreed. Of course. But how many of them are cheating behind our back uh ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey left the room as soon as the meeting ended. At least he learnt something tonight. Nancy will have some work to do.

The Dean's grandson headed towards his flat quickly. He checked his phone on the way home. One text was from the head of the women defense club. Even outside the get-together, she couldn't let him in peace ? How annoying.

< D.R. : About our other matter, I expect the victim you told me about to pay me a visit soon. >

Of course you do. She was worried. Well he was worried too but he wasn't blowing a fuse about it. Archie seemed fine until now, so what was the problem ? Anyway, he also had a text from his boyfriend.

< The baboon : I'm stuffed !!! uwu >

A picture was attached to it. It was a selfie of Liam from underneath, which drew attention to his belly. His bloated tummy. Well Damian also noticed the tightness of his brief, since it was the only clothes he decided to wear. I hate him so much. Since when is he such a tease ?! At first, these little... provocations looked innocent. A comment about Liam being bottom when stuffed. An invite to touch his butt. The blond lad had thought it wasn't done on purpose. But when the action became repeated, it become obvious that the baboon was way more naughty than he let think. It didn't help that the junior was fantasizing about his boyfriend more and more... He'll be the death of me one day.

Liam Wednesday April 17

The College's library was a dark and secret place Liam had feared since his arrival. Books could harm you kids, no joke. He had yet to find the magical section but he knew it was here, somewhere. Thankfully he was in the history section and not alone. The chestnut lad was looking for a title Nate asked. Apparently, reading helped his bestfriend to distract his mind from any bad thought. I will bring it to him tonight.

"I can't find it anywhere." grumbled Nick. "Are you sure they have it ?"

"Yes." assured Colton. "I checked the website twice already."

It was the fourth time they had this discussion in the last half an hour. Since Nick had decided to follow a diet, he was grumpy most of the time. Probably because the unicorns think it's bad for him. They know more than we do. Colton, as the teddy-bear he was, had the patience to deal with their sullen friend. Liam glimpsed the book they were looking for.

"Found it." he announced. "Let me borrow it and we can go."

The three boys headed towards the exit. And there she was. Of course she would be there : library were suitable for dark ritual so the forces of evil were most likely bound to appear here. The witch was with another girl he didn't recognise right away. Because the lad had friends to protect, he decided to face them. Oh. This is the girl who offered her body to me. So she switched side ? This is bad. He didn't need a demon on top of his problems.

"Hey." smiled the witch when they were close enough.

Liam tried to ignore her and focused on the librarian who was registering his borrowing. Without success apparently.

"I'm Lucy remember ? And this is Miranda. We want to know you three better boys. Do you want a little meeting with us girls outside the university this weekend ?" suggested the pawn of evil. "We can bring a friend along to be even."

Nick pulled a face. Colton smiled prudently. They're falling for her charms... Liam hesitated. On one hand, it was dangerous, and his boyfriend had vigorously asked him to stay away from her. But on the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity to face her once and for all.

"I'm not against it." he eventually replied. "If the others are fine with it too..."

His two friends exchanged perplexed glances. Finally, they agreed and the three boys were free to go.

When they arrived at their place, Liam noticed Dami waiting for him at the entrance. His boyfriend was texting aggressively. He looks angry. More than usual. The others greeted him and went upstair while the chestnut lad smiled. In all honesty, he didn't know what he was doing with Dami. He was well aware their relationship was slowly improving for the better. There was no doubt in his dreamy mind that sex was near. He even had naughty thoughts of Dami while he... had been taking personnal pleasure last time.

"What the hell did you just say ?" asked the junior.

Liam blinked. Did I think out loud ? That would be very embarassing.

"Hum forget it." he muttered. "I've something to tell you."

He related his encounter with the witch and the human sacrifice. He also carefully explained why he wanted to face her. It was important to be clear because Dami was a hero. Hero didn't like when their relatives and friends faced troubles and they had a tendency to take all the blame. Liam knew that, he read it somewhere. But he had a mission from the unicorn.

"I think this is one of your dumbest idea you baboon." declared his boyfriend once he concluded. "The damn horses don't know everything and... Whatever do your thing. I'm not protecting you anyway."

"Thanks you for trusting me." smiled the freshman.

He kissed Dami lenghtily to express his gratefulness. Two hands grabbed his ass and pushed his waist closer. Liam gulped when he felt his crotch react at the gesture. They stayed like this only a few minutes but it was enough to make them both blush awkwardly. It's hot in here right ? (Please unicorns, believe it.) (The magical creatures probably won't like his perveted thoughts tonight...)

"I need to go." whispered Dami. "See you tomorow baboon."

It was almost bedtime when Nate announced he wanted to see a shrink. According to him, it was Dami who suggested the idea.

"He told me she was a professional who could help." he explained. "And Archie sees her too so I guess she knows her job. But I would like you to come with me the first time... Is that ok ?"

"Of course bro." assured Liam.

He could feel the positive energy in the room. His bestfriend was trying. I'll support him the best I can. Nate slipped under his covers, letting only his head visible.

"Say, how did you know you were attracted by men ?"

The chestnut lad made a weird sound. That wasn't a question he had expected at all. They had already talked about that in the past but... He discreetly looked at the unicorns. Were they doing something to Nate ?

"Stop your mental chat with the magical poneys and answer me." ordered Nate.

"Oh sorry... Well I don't really know ?" he said. "As you remember, I was first into chubby girls but well... I don't know it felt nice to be with Kilian. Being in a relationship with another boy is great to me... As long as I love him right ?"

"This doesn't help." grumbled his bestfriend. "I'll try to be more specific : why is Dami attractive to you ? Physically ?"

"He's cute." giggled Liam, remembering their last encounter. "And well, kind of sweet. He's a nice skin. Oh and his eyes are scary, I like that. Why are you asking ?"

"I think I like Archie's hugs." Nate revealed. "But that doesn't mean anything. I'm just touch starved and he feels safe that's it. I'm overthinking little things. Good night."

He covered his head, meaning the conversation was over. And Liam fell asleep the next second. He had unicorns to feed after all.

Nicolas Friday April 19

< Imagenius : Dang ! We lost but that was a close one. >

Nick grunted. Annoying.

< TheSavior : Still a lose. >

< Abeautifulwoman : speaking in terms of statistics, we're in a losing streak. Boss you're the one who made the most mistakes in our last games... While you were the best one week ago. >

Nick ground his teeth. Annoying. They piss me off.

< Abeautifulwoman : Anything on your mind lately ? >

< TheSavior : I 'm on a diet. >

The lad had never expected it to be so hard. How could he focus on his game while all he could nibble was a salad ?! And damnit he missed beer. But I need to lose the weight. Not only four or five pounds, but fifty. Enough to not be disgusting again.

< Imagenius : change of subject but Beauty I think I know who is your bossy friend ! >

< Abeautifulwoman : Are you serious rn ? Just let him be and focus on the bad mood of our boss. >

< Imagenius : He's the most famous hunter in my college right ? The one who has sex with everyone whenever he wants. He's the great son of the Dean that lucky bastard lol >

Wait. What ? Nick re read the text but there was no mistake. A Dean's grandson who sleep around ? The bounty hunt and the very famous prey... Could it be happening here ? It was only his imagination for sure. There could be many great son of a Dean who were also part succubus. (Yes sometimes, Nick fell for Liam's crazy theory.)

< Abeautifulwoman : There is a reason why I'm not talking abut him here and it's called privacy bitch. >

< Imagenius : You're the fake bitch. What if you're working for the Smith Carrey ? I have friends who don't fear him you know ? >

*Abeautifulwoman is offline.*

< Imagenius : such a coward c**t lol >

*Imagenius is offline.*

Now there was no doubt possible.

This evening, Nick arrived at the pool his head full of question. Imagenius was a student here. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was the best of the hunters. And a mysterious hunt with a bounty interested everyone. Weird. This is so weird. Liam's boyfriend had always been shady but a hunter ? What does that even mean ? Nick caught sight of Colton near the pool. He sighed deeply. Whatever is going on, this is not my business. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey can do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't hurt my roommate. And I don't want to meet Imagenius in real life. Not when the freshman looked like a disgusting fat cow.

"Everything's fine bud ?" asked his friend.

"Yeah sorry. I guess I'm not feeling very confident about tomorrow."

This improvised date with three girls was another thing on his mind. Something I can talk with Colton. This latter smiled. His whole body irradiated a delicate but welcomed warmth. His attitude only was reasurring. And no, Nick didn't believe in magic but this guy had some strong positive vibe.

"This is not even a date." Colton recalled. "I think one of them is interested in Liam, and she asked help from her friends. You don't have to worry : we'll just enjoy the moment."

"Easy to say for you dude. You're handsome and incredibly nice." Nick retorted. "I'm not at the same level."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." assured his friend. "You made me think about my two bestfriends. They both have low self-esteem despite being amazing. I hope they finally realised it."

Nick detected distress in Colton's voice. For the first time, his expression revealed something esle than happiness. He looks almost sad.

"Now that you mention it, I never heard you talk about your past." noted the geek. "I mean, I don't have any friend from highschool since I was only focused on studies and you already know what I think about my annoying family but you... Even Liam's been more open."

Colton smiled but that was as fake as Rebecca's kindness.

"Stuff happenned. When I decided to follow Barbara, the people I cared about didn't take it well." he explained. "Even my sister is still mad. She was right tho, I got dumped in the end."

"And despite that, you're so nice and all ? Dude you really are half teddy-bear aren't you ? In your place, I would never trust anyone again."

They started to warm-up while talking. Liam would arrive later to help with the swimming lesson.

"I hope my friends will forgive me one day." confessed Colton. "Especially these two... But that doesn't mean I will be dejected until then. I'm sure they don't want that from me."

"You're so positive about everything that's kind of impressive." grunted Nick. "I would like to borrow your optimism sometimes.... Is it because some people have it worst ?"

He was thinking about Nate. That was petty of him to complain about his weight when his friend got raped. I'm ridiculous.

"You're getting it wrong." refuted the other. "You've the right to not appreciate your body but it is important that it is you, and not the opinion of the others, who chose that. As for me, I don't complain only because there is nothing I can do for now but hope. So I'm hoping."

Yeah, seems legit. They went into the pool and Nick focused on his swimming. The rest could wait.

To be continued

Dami is hunting the hunters... It’s a big mess. Who to trust uh?

And now Liam’s trying to solve his problem on his own, what a bad idea! But who knows, maybe he’ll manage ;) Big revelations in the online chat of Nick! Now, he has more info than he should...

Some background info on Colton. I’m not sure they’re very useful for now, but still.

[iwritethat]

Damian Wayne: Great Dane

A/N: Sorry it’s been a while, I’m having trouble of the male kind and it’s difficult to focus on anything else ahah. But here, Doggy Plan 3/?, Damian is older.

>>>>——————————>

Athena. A Great Dane who wore a coat of bedazzling silver and had the most stunning sapphire irises you'd ever seen on a canine. She was your best friend and knew you incredibly well, she was intuitive enough to accept that your romance life wasn't sparking with passion but it had always been you and her since the young dog could remember. Romance never seemed important. Until she saw them across the park, now Athena was usually well trained and put together but after endorsing love at first sight over a pristine matte black Great Dane, she wanted you to experience the same feeling.

So when Athena's leash slipped from your hands and your beloved companion went galloping across the park you had no choice but to race along after her. To your regret, she ended up bombarding an equally large dog with playful barks of encouragement as his owner knelt down to investigate.

"I'm so - so sorry - I - she just bolted." You breathed apologetically, wrapping the forgotten leash around your hand for extra security.

"What's her name?" He didn't really acknowledge your apology, he was more interested in your friend.

"Athena, pure bred Great Dane but I suppose you knew that part already."

"Hm. And you?"

"Oh- oh I'm (Y/n) (L/n)."

"Damian Wayne and this is Titus." Cautiously, you shook his hand considering this was one of the most eligible bachelors in Gotham you'd came to realise. As a result, you dragged Athena away from her apparent play date and hoped that to whoever was listening that you wouldn't see him again.

.

Hope never was your thing.

.

You couldn't exactly determine how long it had been since then but when Athena bounded off in no specific direction you promised you'd get a new leash. Arriving on the scene you discovered an event much worse than previously - Damian Wayne with your dog's paws draped over his shoulders and honestly to hold up a canine as big as yours with ease, you knew this man had to be pretty strong. Athena at least wasn't bothered by the situation, pleasingly allowing the handsome male to fuss her with Titus plodding over to you for attention which you happily knelt down to give.

"You again (L/n), should've known."

"Hi Mr Wayne and sorry about Athena... again." You didn't want to meet his eyes, instead focusing on fussing a relaxed Titus lying paws up in front of you allowing you to scratch his stomach - unbeknownst to you but this was a huge deal to Damian.

That time you actually stood by one another watching your companions bond and spoke like normal people, you decided that he couldn't possibly be an arrogant, stuck up jerk consistently so you gave him a chance - you were wrong. But there was something endearing about it as you'd come to learn.

.

The next time was different, you never arranged anything. To Damian there seemed to be no point and you were too nervous to ask such a thing from a person of his calibre so Titus unexpectedly tackling you to the ground one morning left you startled. A yelp escaped Athena as she dashed to your side, barking at the oversized beast standing over you with a rhythmically wagging tail as he took a gruelling tongue across your cheek. If you didn't know any better you would say he was smiling at you judging by the lopsided grin.

"Titus! Leave (L/n) alone." A voice you'd grown familiar with let out a reluctant sigh of disapproval, but Titus obeyed and greeted Athena.

Instantly you sat up and brushed yourself off with a laugh only noticing the assistance offered to you after you'd rid stray strands from your peripheral vision. In a fluent motion, you slipped your fingers into his calloused hand and you were pulled to your feet. A muttering of 'thanks' escaping your lips regardless of the ever-present scarlet hue, Damian smirked as he found amusement in your reactions around him.

It was similar to how he enjoyed annoying his brother's but your reactions seemed much more satisfying despite only meeting you on a few select occasions. As time went on you grew to become 'friends' which lead to arranged meetings and dog walks in the park rather than one of you being dragged across the greens in the instant your mutts picked up their favourite scent. You walked together, with playful antics in between and careless touches exchanged that made it difficult not to grow closer. You’d fall into one another, offering intinctive hugs as greetings and getting breakfast for the other just out of thought.

.

This time was no different, you hadn't glanced at your companions since your attention was solely focused on insulting one another so when Damian's arms suddenly hooked themselves around your waist and gravity tugged you down to the grassy earth you could only groan. Instantly, you leaned up on your elbows, finding yourself nose to nose with a scowling prince of Gotham that sent you into a flustered mess. You pushed your body up within a second out of sheer embarrassment and the need to get away from the situation but the entangled restraints spiralling around your legs caught you off-guard and rebounding back to firmly placing your hands to the ground in your rush to prevent even closer proximity.

The boy simply rolled his eyes, unimpressed with the failure as he used his elbows to hoist himself up a little meanwhile a sheepish grin played on your lips as you rolled off of him as much as the restrictions would allow - albeit this wasn't much considering you had to lean on one elbow with your body nestled into the males own. The most awkward issue was where to put your free arm, you didn't exactly have it mindless hovering in the air as it's begin to ache soon but with the movement of Damian it instinctively shot to his abs in order to balance yourself (y'know since the majority of your weight was basically leaning against him).

After a few stretches and strategic undoings you were both finally free of from the pair of leashes so you could put some distance between you and actually release a breath you didn't know you were holding.

"Well trained you say?" You sarcastically commented, the question aimed as more of a point as your suspicious gaze lingered on a pair of contently sitting Great Danes. Though they radiated a moderate wave of disappointment - they were dogs, what could they possibly know?

"Like you can talk (L/n)." His snarky smirk left you to push his shoulder in playful annoyance.

It was silent for a few moments, yourself brushing off earthy remnants until Damian spoke once more.

“You might as well clean yourself up at the Manor and then we can go for dinner as my apology, come on (L/n).” You didn’t get the opportunity to argue as he grabbed both leashes and lead the way nor did you see his soft smile.

.

You didn’t essentially realise that it was a date, that is until after he paid without your knowledge and chose to walk you home. It happened more frequently, much of your time was spent together and it didn’t take long for you to fall into the beautiful routine of having Damian be apart of your week. However over time, you soon realised that the relationship between your Great Danes had progressed much further than yours. Athena had fallen pregnant, Titus being the proud father meant that both you and Athena spent the final week of pregnancy living at the Manor and spent an hour or so of Athena’s labour asleep in Damians arms. It was a long night, the two of you and your companions receiving regular visits from Alfred until the puppies were born.

“Damian, we’re parents!” You gleefully chimed, despite being exhausted you gently congratulated Athena before admiring her adorable litter.

He was silent, that statement alone bringing a flush to his features as he gazed at you like you were the light of his life. With a gracious smile you lifted a puppy into your arms, and he simply couldn’t help what tumbled from his mouth in response.

“Would you want to be?”

“...I-” The question caught you off guard, even Titus shot up to eye his master as his tail wagged.

“I mean with me, in the future? I’m going to need an heir and I couldn’t ask for a better person to raise them with.”

“What are you asking me exactly?” Your brow was raised as you returned the puppy to Athena.

“If you’d want to make this relationship of ours official?” The male smirked at you, grasping your hands and running his thumbs over your knuckles.

“I’d love that Damian.”

With that he leaned in, nose brushing against yours before his lips met your own - however a loud cheerful bark interrupted your moment - Damian resting his forehead against yours with a smile on his lips before turning to the two pure breads, the both of them practically radiating excitement at the scene of your embrace. You’d get plenty of chances to display your admiration for each other, but for now you had another family to take care of.

[wellthatjusthappend]

I have seen the stuff you've done with previous stories and I love your writing, the way you wrote your stories are amazing honestly. could you do a story where omega jason and alpha roy are married and jason has given birth to the first child and having a small with them baby, lian. cue the bat family only finding out that they're married when jason does not turn up for a mission because he's on maternity leave. it all kicks off and their totally pisserd because he hasn't told them jack shit.

Ooh, yeah I can do that. I freaking love writing Red Fam. And Jason would go elope without telling anyone. 

“Jesus Christ kiddo, you’re a mess,” grumbled Jason lifting the squirming infant up onto the changing table.

Honestly, the first day they could go a whole day without multiple clothes changes, Jason was going to be tempted to shoot off some fireworks or some shit. Roy would probably be even worse.

As if summoned by the thought, Roy wrapped his arms around Jason’s middle and molded himself to his back.

“How’s my baby?” he cooed, resting his chin on Jason’s shoulder.

“You better be talking about our daughter,” Jason said dryly, continuing to pull a new onesie over her head.

“Of course,” Roy chirped. Jason didn’t believe him for a second.

“Well, since you asked, she’s been a screaming, puking, shitting mess,” Jason grumbled, “She is a newborn after all.”

“You love her~”

“I know I do. I pushed the noisy gremlin out; she’s a fucking treasure,” Jason said hoisting the happily drooling girl back into his arms and kissing her forehead while Roy snickered.

“You know I kinda miss the baby bump,” mused Roy stroking Jay’s stomach thoughtfully, “It was super cute.”

“Fucking inconvieniet is what it was.”

“A little sexy too.”

“You would think that, weirdo.”

“We should make another,” Roy mused, shifting to kiss their little girl’s black hair.

“Don’t even think about it,” Jason threatened, narrowing his eyes.

“Aw, you quite liked making the first one if I remember correctly,” Roy purred, turning his head to nuzzle against the bond mark on Jason’s neck.

Jason couldn’t quite suppress pleasant the shiver the touch caused. Nor the Heat tinged memories it brought up: pushing his husband down and snarling in pleasure when his knot finally locked into place. Jason would always be grateful that Roy was an Alpha that loved being sexually dominated by his Omega partners. They probably would have never worked otherwise.

“Don’t be fucking gross in front of the kids,” Jason said a little gruffly kicking him in the shins.

“She doesn’t understand,” Roy grinned, “besides, you like it when I’m fucking-”

“DADDY!”

Jason and Roy both jumped as Lian toddled into the room pointing at Roy.

“DAS’ A BAD WORD, DADDY!”

“Yes, sweetheart, Daddy’s sorry. Inside voices please,” Roy said kneeling down next to his first daughter.

“FUCKING-”

“No, thank you, babycakes,” Roy laughed nervously.

“Daycare is going to love that one,” Jason snorted, bouncing slightly as the baby in his arms began to fuss.

“Oh please, it was only a matter of time before you cursed in front of her,” grumbled Roy.

“CAN I HOLD THE BABY J-DADDY?”

“Can you remember your inside voice?” Jason grinned at his step-daughter as he plopped down into a chair.

“Can I hold the baby, J-Daddy?” Lian asked slightly quieter, but no less eagerly as she clambered up onto the arm of the chair.

“If you eat your dinner,” Jason granted. She was too little to do it on her own, but if Jason or Roy was there to help her, there was few things Lian enjoyed more than holding her new baby sister.

Well, maybe candy or flying with her Auntie Kori, but those were hard to beat.

“Speaking of dinner,” Roy said coming to perch on the other arm of the chair as Jason fumbled one handed to get his shirt open enough for the baby to start feeding, “I made some stew for you guys that should be ready in like 40 minutes, but are you sure you’re good to do bedtime on your own today? I can get Connor to cover for me.”

“Connor has been covering for you almost every other night since this one was born,” Jason said adjusting his hold, “We’ll be fine. Go give the kid a break.”

“If you’re sure,” Roy said leaning over to give him a kiss.

Jason let his eyes fall closed as he leaned into his Alpha’s touch. He never thought he’d be in this sort of domestic situation… used to swear up and down as a kid that he’d never be some alpha’s stay at home omega bitch. But it’d never been like that with Roy. In fact, Roy ended up doing far more of the domestic work than Jason did (since he made half of the messes anyway).

It’d be another month or so until Jason was street ready again after months out of training while he was pregnant. Even when the time came though, the idea of leaving his girls at home with someone else filled him with anxiety.

He’d figure it out later.

“I WAN’ A KISS TOO!” Lian announced right in his ear.

“You got it, Princess,” Roy winced, his ears clearly ringing slightly too.

Jason let himself smile fondly as he looked at his new family. It was perfect.

His phone buzzed with another emergency all-hands mission from Gotham, but Jason just pressed ignore as usual.

If it was truly important, someone would tell Roy.

****

Jason woke up bolt-right in the middle of the night not knowing what had woken him.

The baby was asleep- for once- in the crib next to the bed and he could see Lian was out light a light in the next room as well from the monitor. He looked around blurrily, his pulse still racing for whatever reason. Roy was still out on patrol and would be for another hour or two at least. For sanity’s sake, Jason quickly tested a few of the custom alarms Roy had set up from his phone.

They were all turned off.

Feeling much more alert, Jason unlocked to safe by the bed with a touch of his finger and grabbed his knives (the guns and ammo were locked separately elsewhere much more securely out of curious fingers reach) before rolling to his feet. He needed to get Lian and move her to the room so he could guard both children more effectively, but-

Movement by the door.

Jason had a knife at their throat in an instant.

“Give me one good reason not to slice you open,” he hissed.

“Jay! You’re alright!” Dick breathed out a sigh of relief, completely unconcerned about the knife at his throat.

The light in the living room flicked on and Jason blinked as he took in the sight of most of the rest of the Bat’s easing out of the shadows.

“What the fuck are you doing breaking into my house in the middle of the night?!” Jason snarled quietly.

“You haven’t been answering Mission calls,” Bruce said unrepentantly.

“So? You’re not my fucking boss,” Jason snapped.

“There have also been no Red Hood sightings in months, plus your civilian persona hasn’t been seen at any of your usual bars and haunts,” Tim interjected.

“We got worried Little Wing,” Dick said soothingly.

Fucking over-protective Alphas.

“Well, now you can see I’m fine, so get the hell out,” Jason snapped.

“Not until you explain,” Bruce said stubbornly, “Not until-”

Everyone froze as the baby started crying.

“Aw, shit, now look what you did,” Jason said, dropping the knifes and hurrying over to pick the girl up.

“You- baby- that’s a baby, Jay,” Dick stammered out, creeping cautiously closer.

“No shit, sherlock,” Jason grumbled as he soothed his daughter with soft cooing sounds.

“Why-”

“Obviously it’s Todd’s, Grayson,” Damian spoke up for the first time, “Or has your nose stopped functioning?”

“You had a baby?” Tim looked completely disgruntled.

“And you didn’t tell us?!” Dick was starting to sound offended.

Bruce’s mouth was a hard line, his shoulders full of tension.

“Will you guys shut-up?” Jason glared, “You’re going to wake up Lian too at this rate.”

“Lian? As in Lian Harper? Why would she…” Tim trailed off.

“...I’m going to fucking castrate Roy.” Dick growled. Bruce honestly looked like he might help him.

“Will you knot-heads quit it?” Jason snapped, “This is my family and my husband and I’ll thank you all to get your noses out of our business.”

“Your what?!”

Jason growled. It was going to be a long night.

[thepartyresponsible]

fourth drabble! i’m still working on drabbles from this list. this one’s for @izumikouhei​, who asked for tony stark/bruce wayne with 66. “if i die, i’m never speaking to you again.”

for the record, there’s bonus roy harper/jason todd. no real warnings for this one, except that it’s ridiculous and kinda fluffy.

also, i failed spectacularly to keep this one under 1000 words. damn, did i fail.

It could have been anyone and anything, but it’s a kid on a rooftop, out of his mind on fear toxin, and it’s a four-story drop crashing through a poorly-enforced fire escape. Batman ends his nightly patrol with a broken arm and three broken ribs and a concussion so mean he can barely stand up without puking.  

The kid is fine, though. Of course he’s fine. Bruce sacrificed his grappling line to save him.

“Yeah,” Jason says, when he shoulders his way into the Manor, drops his duffel bag at the door, and lets Alfred wrap him in a hug. “Yeah, whatever. Beacons are lit. Gotham calls for aid. Here I am.”

“Oh good,” Tony Stark says, peering inquisitively over Alfred’s shoulder, drinking what is either a glass of orange juice or a casual mid-morning screwdriver. “I was hoping someone sturdy would show up.”

  It should be Dick’s problem, but Dick’s doing something complicated with the Titans that involves a lot of fraught interpersonal dynamics and new uniforms and maybe the apocalypse. It could also be Tim’s problem, except he’s at summer camp with the Teen Titans or whatever the hell they do when they all collectively disappear for a while, and Damian, of course, is around, in the sense that he’s always around, but Jason doesn’t trust Gotham to his tender mercies.

Damian’s a promising enough kid, but he’s also potentially the Antichrist. And if the kid gets killed, Jason’s going to have to deal with Bruce in mourning, and he doesn’t have the stomach for that kind of showy, resolute self-martyrdom anymore.

So it’s Jason’s problem. He packs his bags, lets Roy kiss him goodbye, and then he heads to Gotham. He even has the decency to leave his guns behind. He feels a little stupid about that once he discovers he’s patrolling with Iron Man, but it turns out Stark’s swapped all his ammunition for non-lethal rounds.

“Of course I did,” Stark says, three nights in. Dawn’s slowly bruising the skyline, and they’re drinking ice water on the rooftop of Wayne Manor, trying to cool off after another bullshit night of sweating through their body armor. Stark clears his throat and then drops his voice, approximating Bruce’s Batman-growl with impressive accuracy. “If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world remains the same.”

Jason groans and presses the cold glass to his forehead. It doesn’t help as much as he wants it to. “He’s such an asshole.”

“Yeah,” Stark says, with a wide, affectionate grin. “And surprisingly bad at math.”

Jason doesn’t mind working with Stark. He’s like a funhouse mirror version of Bruce: too rich, too smart, too good at what he does, but stretched-out and wrongly-proportioned, all that grim resolve replaced with good-natured purpose, that laser point attention swapped with a cat’s capricious focus.

The Iron Man suit is fun, and Jason wants one of his own, but he’s content to keep dropping his tech on the breakfast table and watching as Stark’s concentration is slowly but inevitably drawn away from his coffee.

“You owe me, like. Hm.” Stark pauses, tips his head. They’re down in the Batcave, and Stark’s upgrading Jason’s rebreather. “Shit, how many things have I fixed for you? What is this? The…seventh? Do you know what my time’s worth?”

“Put it on Bruce’s tab,” Jason suggests. He’s texting Roy, who’s frothing at the mouth trying to get himself an invite. He’s got some kind of bizarre inventor’s crush on Tony Stark.

Stark goes still for a second and then laughs. He stifles it quickly, which is out of character.

When Jason looks up, Stark has his head ducked, mouth flat, and his cover is so egregiously shitty that he might as well be whistling innocuously with his hands in his pockets.

“Huh,” Jason says, just so they’re clear. Just so Stark knows that Jason knows that some weird shit is afoot.

“You know what you need?” Tony says, damn near doing jazz hands in his completely transparent attempt to redirect the conversation. “Repulsors.”

There’s one bad night where Jason lets Scarecrow dose him because getting drugged is better than letting the creep touch Damian, and then Jason’s out of his head, fucked up, clinging to the Iron Man suit while they skim through Gotham.

“Graveyard,” he says, because his mouth is full of imaginary blood and his fingernails feel broken to the nailbed and he’s been screaming for days, for years, for lifetimes. “Don’t take me to the graveyard.”

“Hey, scout,” Tony says, which is offensive. Which is bullshit. Jason is twenty-two years old. “I’m taking you home, okay?”

He takes him to Bruce’s house, and Alfred fusses, and someone asks, “Can I get anyone for you, kid?” and so Jason says, “Roy, I need Roy,” even though he doesn’t, not really, but he knows he’ll feel better if Roy’s there.

And then Roy is there, sitting suited up at Jason’s bedside, bow in hand, and it’s ridiculous, it’s all made-up, it’s fine. But. It’s nice, having someone on watch.

In the morning, Roy steps out to grab breakfast and comes back wide-eyed and red-cheeked. “Holy shit,” he says, under his breath. “Holy shit, Jay, it’s like walking in on your parents.”

And Jason’s got no fucking clue what he means by that, but he’s too wrung out to ask for clarification. He rolls onto his side, lets Roy scramble up into bed beside him, and then he makes soft pathetic noises until Roy pours just the right amount of sugar into his coffee.

Eventually, Bruce gets well enough to become a Goddamn nuisance. As soon as he’s cleared to sit in front of the screens in the Batcave for a couple hours a day, he decides, naturally, to play backseat driver while Jason and Tony run patrol.

He is fucking insufferable.

“Red Hood, on your right—on your right.”

“Iron Man, this is a street brawl, not a dance competition.”

“Hood, you could have shattered his scapula with that. Be careful.”

“Iron Man, the disarming sequence is—no, stop that, I have it right here. Stop it.”

Jason daydreams a lot about punching Bruce in the mouth. Tony Stark, for his part, just laughs and fires back.

“Oh no,” he says, when he’s disarming the bomb that’s supposed to level a city block. “Oh, how clumsy of me.”

“Iron Man,” Bruce says, voice tight.

“Whoops,” Tony says, while Jason coughs into his comm unit to hide his laughter.

“Iron Man,” he says, voice so low and tense that Bruce’s vocal chords might as well be glaciers grinding together.

“Gotham is just so dangerous,” Tony says. “If I die, I’m never speaking to you again.”

“Tony,” Bruce says, and there’s something weird in it, something held back.

The bomb goes dead and harmless at Tony’s feet. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he says. “But I’m still better with explosives than you are. Don’t play tech support with me.”

The thing is, Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne don’t usually spend time together. They could. They both have that playboy billionaire thing to lean into, and there’s a whole series of archived news articles about their exploits in their early twenties. And Jason remembers, dimly, that Tony came by the house once or twice before that regrettable incident in the desert with the Joker and the crowbar.

Something happened between them after Jason died. Or maybe after Tony had his own regrettable incident in the desert.

“Why’re you here?” Jason asks, finally. Because it’s been three weeks, and Bruce is starting to train like he thinks he’ll be suiting up soon. Which means this vacation is almost over, and Jason’s going back to the Outlaws, and Tony’s going back to the Avengers, and Bruce is going back to brooding on rooftops. “I mean, I’m glad you are. Thanks for the upgrades. But Bruce is kind of an asshole, you know?”

Tony laughs into his coffee. There’s a vaguely evasive look on his face, and he’s smiling for no damn reason at all. “Bruce,” he says, with a shrug. “We grew up together. Even went to the same boarding schools a couple times.”

Jason cannot imagine Bruce as a child. “Before his parents died?” he asks, because that’s the part that seems impossible. Bruce Wayne, as a kid with parents, as someone with a future instead of a mission.

“Sure.” Tony shrugs; his smile disappears. “And after. We went to each other’s parents’ funerals. He brought a flask to mine, even though he never approved of—well. That’s how you know about people, isn’t it? At least with someone like Bruce. When they’ll give in, just a little. Because it’s something you need.”

Jason wouldn’t know about that. After all, the Joker’s still walking.

Although maybe, if he thinks about it, there’s a hundred different ways Bruce has compromised for him. And if he hasn’t done the one thing that would mean the most, maybe that’s because there are parts of yourself you can’t ever give away. Maybe Jason’s old enough to understand that now. Because, in the end, Jason hasn’t killed the Joker either.

“Sure,” he says. But he’s thinking about Roy. He’s thinking about Roy dopesick and shaking and terrified. He’s thinking about Roy, clean and steady and brave.

Tony finally looks over at him. His smile is crooked and fond. “You’re a good kid,” Tony tells him. “You’re all good kids. Don’t know how the hell Bruce managed it. But good for him.”

They were good kids before Bruce Wayne. They would’ve been good kids without Bruce Wayne.

But Jason’s ready to acknowledge, in the privacy of his own head, that maybe they’d also all be dead kids without Bruce Wayne.

Tony Stark stays for a month and a half. He and Bruce spend the last week fighting, loudly and dramatically, over every single improvement Tony’s made to the Batcave while Bruce was too busy trying not to throw up on his shoes to stop him. Jason and Roy sneak down to watch, but Roy keeps getting antsy and dragging Jason out before things can get too heated.

“You’re just not ready,” Roy tells him, earnestly. “Your virgin eyes, Jason. I mean it.”

“My virgin what?” Jason asks, incredulous.

“Your slutty eyes,” Roy amends, conciliatory.

“That’s—wow.” Jason stares at him. “That’s even worse.”

“Aw, c’mon, baby,” Roy says, mock-apologetic. “You know I love how slutty you are.”

“Great,” Jason says. “Awesome. So, we’re breaking up. You can move out tonight. Never speak to me again. It’s been terrible, and I won’t miss you at all.”

“Oh no,” Roy says, eyes wide, sounding so legitimately devastated that Jason has to kiss him, immediately.

Roy snickers into his mouth, which really underscores to Jason how out of his depth he is, how much of him Roy owns completely.

“I hate you,” Jason tells him, because it’s been years but I love you still feels like a jinx, like an invitation to the universe to break his fucking heart.

Roy grins at him, immensely pleased with himself. “Hell yes,” he says, “I love hate sex. Let’s go.”

Jason’s not an idiot. He has an idea of what’s going on. He knows two adult men don’t spend that much time together passionately discussing differences of opinion on technical innovation unless they plan to get naked at some point. He knows what it means when Tony’s eyes go warm and distant like they do sometimes when he talks about Bruce. He knows what it means that Tony’s here at all.

It’s just that he figures Bruce Wayne is fucking everything up, the way he always does. He figures Bruce is crashing headlong through the world in grim, determined pursuit of the best, fastest, most justice-glorifying path from Point A to Point B without realizing that Point C has more merits than he deserves.

He figures it’s one-sided. He figures Bruce is going to break Tony’s heart. He figures Tony’s going to let him, has been letting him.

And then he turns a corner on Tony’s last morning in town and walks right into the kind of goodbye kiss that needs an age restriction warning.

“Oh, Christ,” Jason says and slams his eyes shut. A second later, Roy’s hand slaps down hard across his face, palm wrapping protectively across his eyes. It stings a little, honestly, but Jason forgives him for it. He just wishes he’d been faster.

“Oh God,” Roy says, “I warned you! I told you it’s like walking in on your parents!”

“Stop it.” Jason hisses through his teeth, clinging to Roy’s arm. “Get me out of here, fuck’s sake.”

“Your kids are so cute, Bruce,” Tony says. Jason feels endlessly betrayed by the smug amusement in his voice. He’s been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with this man for a month and a half, and he had no idea he was such a shameless philanderer.

Jesus, just tongue-deep in each other’s mouths right in the hallway, where God and Alfred and Damian could walk by at any moment.

“Only one of those is mine,” Bruce says. He sounds – terrifyingly – like he is out of breath.

Jason wretches, audibly. Roy hauls him against his chest and starts dragging him to safety, back the way they came.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tony says. His voice is deliberately pitched loud enough to follow them. “Looks like you’ve practically got yourself a son-in-law.”

“Roy,” Jason says, “just kill me. I’m done with this earth.”

“Aw, Jay,” Roy says, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Jason’s head, “don’t give up. We’ll go find the Scarecrow, see if he can bleach it outta your head with more of that fear toxin.”

“God willing,” Jason says, low and fervent. 

Jason and Roy go out a window on the second floor, just to be sure they don’t run into Tony and Bruce defiling any other hallways with their goodbyes. Jason’s not proud of it. But he’s finally learned the merits of a well-executed retreat.

It turns out to be unnecessary though, because Tony’s already down in the driveway, climbing into an offensively beautiful red sports car. Jason braces a hand against Roy’s chest to keep him from throwing himself at the hood to get to the engine.

“Hey, kids,” Tony calls, waving jovially. His mouth is very red. Jason is prepared, at this moment, to offer his soul to the multiverse.

“Hey,” Roy says, voice reverent, eyes running all over the car with a licentiousness that would make Jason blind with jealousy if he were looking at a human being.

“Last time Bruce fooled around with someone,” Jason says, “he spawned the Antichrist. So you just think about that the next time you mix your bodily fluids.”

“Oh no, my girlish figure.” Tony does not seem to be taking this as seriously as Jason means it.

“Bodily fluids,” Roy says, under his breath. He doesn’t seem to be taking it seriously, either.

Jason curls his hands around the car door, pins Tony with a look of grave concern. “Listen,” he says. “You deserve so much better than that shithead in there. He’s a disaster. He is the definition of emotional constipation. He knows everyone’s blood type and nobody’s birthday, and he gives up kidney stones easier than personal information, and he absolutely has a plan for how to neutralize you if necessary, and he honestly, legitimately, no-shit thinks that’s what teamwork means.”

“Kiddo, pal, Red Hoodlum,” Tony says, giving Jason’s hand an encouraging pat. “That’s my emotionally constipated shithead disaster in there, and I’d thank you to remember it.”

Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to save people from themselves.

Jason steps away from the car and shoves his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry you’ve chosen to do this to yourself,” he says. “You seem like a perfectly decent human being.”

“It’s been a real treasure working with you, too, scout,” Tony says. He glances over Jason’s shoulder toward Roy and smiles wider. “And, hey, Wayne-In-Law, if you ever want to talk shop some more, swing by SI. You’d love the labs.”

“Oh my God,” Roy says, very quietly. And then, louder, “Oh, okay, sure! Maybe! Next time I’m in town.”

Tony nods, smiles again, and then turns toward the manor and blows a giant, ridiculous kiss over his shoulder.

And Jason thinks he’s an idiot, thinks he’s just asking to get his heart broken, but there, on the third floor, is the subtle but unmissable shift of curtains falling back. Bruce Wayne was up there, lurking through a final goodbye, and Jason honestly needs to get out of this town immediately.

He climbs on his bike, waits for Roy to do the same. And then, just to see how far this lunacy has spread, he texts Grayson: Did you know Stark and Bruce are fucking?

Dick texts back a string of fruit-themed emojis that Jason instantaneously blanks from his brain. A second later, Dick sends: You didn’t see the pics from Stark Expo???

“Roy,” Jason says, “I love you. Let’s go somewhere with no wifi signal.”

[erintoknow]

“Fine, woman, have your secrets”

more fallen hero:rebirth fanfic, set pre-Heartbreak. so, chargestep... fluff??

Julia’s pulling at your arm, dragging you after her through the apartment complex. She has this huge shit-eating grin on her face and despite your best efforts it’s hard not to feel it too. “I can’t believe you did that!” You hiss at her.

“I can’t believe I did that!” Julia comes to a stop in front of what you assume is her apartment door and pulls you into a hug.

You squirm in her arms, pushing her off you. “You’re the Marshal! You can’t punch out your boyfriend!”

“I think this technically makes him an ex-boyfriend now.” She sorts through her pockets, looking for keys.

“This isn’t a joke!”You press a hand to your temple, willing yourself to stay mad.

Ortega at last finds her keyring, slipping a finger through the metal loop and flipping the keys through the air with an entirely unneeded flourish before unlocking the door and pushing it open. “Ladies first,” she says, ushering you inside. You hesitate, glancing at her. Julia’s been trying to invite you over for ages now and you’ve always managed to wriggle your way out of it. Was this whole thing really her way of pressing the issue? No, no. Julia can be craftier then you give her credit for sometimes but well… it’s not like she’s you. You return Ortega’s grin with a nervous smile of your own and step inside. Julia follows behind you, pulling the door shut.

Julia’s apartment isn’t terribly extravagant, there’s a living space with a couch, coffee table, and TV, a kitchenette to your immediate left as you walk in. Behind the TV the massive glass window gives a view of the skyscrapers that make up the heart of the city. “Welcome home,” she says, “there’s the fridge over there,” she gestures with her free hand as she locks the door, “help yourself to whatever.”

“Um… sure, thanks.” You answer, feeling a little small. Everything looks so clean, and new, and the difference between the lives of Julia Ortega and Ariadne Becker have never felt quite so stark before.

If Julia notices your cowed reaction, she doesn’t let on. That’s either uncharacteristically polite of her or she legitimately doesn’t notice. You’re not sure which you’d prefer.

“What on earth possessed you to punch that poor man?” You stick to a safe question.

Julia avoids you gaze, walking past the kitchen counter to what you assume is her bedroom. “Don’t you worry about it,” she pauses, then adds “he had it coming anyway.”

“Doesn’t he have like…” you falter for a moment, “many dollars?”

She looks back at you, amused, then gestures at the Ranger uniform she’s wearing. “I’m going to put some normal clothes on, no peeking okay?” She laughs as if this is the funniest thing in the world and shuts the bedroom door.

You roll your eyes and bury your head in her fridge. “Wouldn’t dream of it, you old hag.”

Through the door you hear a muffled “I heard that!”

“Good! I’d hate to think an old woman like you already needs hearing aides!”

You pull a can of cheap bear out of the fridge, and then on second thought, grab another for Ortega, leaving them both out on the counter. Hanging on the wall across from you is a collection of framed photographs. Most of the faces you don’t recognize. Friends? Family? Is this what real– what normal people decorate their homes with? You can’t help but feel a little pang of jealousy. Odd, you don’t find any pictures of her boyfriend, or maybe, that’s not so strange? You don’t really know how this kind of thing works.

Her newest boyfriend is this blue-eyed blond-hair corporate sponsored hero, and like all corp heroes he looks like he came straight off the rack of central casting. The two of them met on the job, because of course, and corp-man had ideas about ways the Rangers could shore up their finances.

You’ve made a pointed effort not to learn or remember the man’s name.

Julia steps out of her bedroom, looking much more at home in a pair of slacks and a tank top. To your surprise her braid is undone, hair looking wild and free as it trails down her back. You toss her one of the beers, “Thanks,” she catches it and cracks it open.

You grab the other can and join her on the couch. “Are you going to tell me why you socked your boyfriend in the face?”

“Damian is a pendejo.”

You give Julia a look. “I’ve been telling you that for weeks. Hell, Steel of all people told you that.”

Julia groans and stares at the ceiling, “Yeah, but… I thought I could put up with it at least until the sponsorship deal was signed. But then tonight right after you left he…”

“He what, Ortega?” You press.

“Oh, you’ll just get mad if I tell you.”

You huff. “Well gee, Ortega, now I’m just mad without knowing why I’m–”

She waves a hand to cut you off. “It doesn’t matter what he said, I’m done with him.”

You sigh, the static hum of Julia’s mind betraying nothing of what went on in the entire minute between you leaving Ranger HQ and Julia bursting out after you, grabbing your arm, and yelling for you to run for it. “Fine, woman, have your secrets.”

“Thank you. I don’t want to think about that jerk right now,” She drains the rest of her beer, dropping the empty can on the coffee table. Julia makes a face like she just drank something foul. “I’m already going to have be kissing asses all week to make up for this.”

“How inconsiderate of him, really.”

“I know!”

With that line of inquiry out of the running, you let the awkward silence fill the air between the two of you. You shift in your seat to stand up, only to find Julia’s hand on your sleeve, trying to pull you back down.

“Hey, don’t go. Not yet.”

Something in her voice makes you stop, frozen in mid-rise. “Are you-“

“Pizza!” Julia pumps a fist in the air, “we should order a pizza and watch a movie!”

You sit back down.

It’s one in the morning when the credits for James Cameron’s Apollo 13 finally roll. Two empty pizza boxes lay open on the floor, and enough empty cans of beer (most of it Julia’s doing) that you don’t want to count them. The Coffee table has been pushed out of the way, against the wall so you can Julia can sit on the floor, backs against the couch like the pair of delinquent teenagers you must definitely are not.

Julia stretches her arms, arcing her back as she raises her fists into the air. “Wow, that was pretty good with the special effects and all.”

You look away from her, suddenly, painfully aware of how you don’t have any right to be here. “I can’t believe they got actual footage.”

From the corner of your eye you can see Julia giving you a strange look. “What do you mean?”

You can feel the heat in your face, instantly aware you’ve said something wrong but helpless to do anything but see it through. “The-the one scene on the moon?”

Julia stares at you for a moment longer than bursts out laughing. “It’s science-fiction you dummy!” She lightly jabs you in the arm as you sink down to the floor, face burning. “No one’s ever actually gone to the moon!” She cackles.

You can feel a knot in your gut, you’ve fucked up. You’ve fucked up and now they’ll all know. They’ll know your fraud and a liar and they’ll turn you back over and you’re going to lose everything and she’ll hate you forever and–

“Hey, hey, Ari? You okay?” Julia’s hand is on your shoulder, shaking you gently. The laughter is gone, replaced with a look of concern, and that almost scares you more.

You rub your eyes, “it’s fine, I’m fine,” you lie. You shrug off Ortega and push yourself back up right. You take the chance to get up and stretch your legs, gather up the garbage, pull your face back into a neutral expression. 

Julia stifles a yawn and runs her hands through her hair, trying to gather it into strands, but not quite getting it. “Damn,” Julia giggles, “I’m drunk as hell.”

You put on a concerned frown, eager to let things move to a new topic. “What are you trying to do?”

Julia tries to cross two handfuls of hair, “Gotta - mierda! - gotta braid my hair before I go to bed or it’ll be a mess; tomorrow’s going to be bad enough. Bunch of whiny punk-ass–” Julia descends into a stream of slurred curses in Spanish.

You take a seat on the couch as Julia tries to loop two strands of hair around a third, one slips out of her hands and she has to start over. She hisses.

You watch her struggle. “Do you need to do this right now? This is painful to watch. And maybe a little sad.”

Julia stops fussing with her hair to turn and look at you. She looks like she’s about to say something, but doesn’t. Then a sly smirk spreads across her face and Julia silently scoots on the floor over to you. “Oh yeah? You think you can do better?” She turns her back to you, resting her head on her hands. “Put that master mind of yours to work girl.” He voice is light, slightly slurred. 

You stare at the back of her head. 

A moment passes.

Then another.

Finally, Julia asks, “Uh… Ari, you still there?”

“I’m working on it!” You snap. Part of you feels like you’ll be struck by lightning if you touch her, a fear that, with the hero Charge is perhaps not entirely unjustified. “I’m just… trying to figure it out–“

“What, didn’t your mom teach you?” Her tone is light, joking, but you can’t read her mind and now with her back to you, you can’t even read your face. You feel like you’ve be stranded in a minefield. You can’t tell her this is the longest your own hair has ever been, and you absolutely can’t tell her you’ve never had a mother. You never learned this at the Farm, why would you? You weren’t playing any women roles.

Julia has this aggravating habit of pushing at the edges of your Ariadne persona without even realizing it. Now Ariadne has a favorite color, hates the rain, has a preferred taco truck, even a sense of style, if barely. All these little details you never imagined being important. You like Anathema, she gets it. Neither of you need to pry about the other in order to enjoy the other’s company.

But unlike the rest of the Rangers, Julia can never take no for answer. Never leave well enough alone. Hell, your morning routine has tripled in length now that you actually care what you face looks like, now that you have a face even. So how does Ariadne handle this? Ariadne wouldn’t be scared of touching someone else’s hair right? She fights monsters on a daily basis. 

You must have taken too long to respond because Julia’s right hand reaches back and catches your own. “Look, it’s dead easy, I’ll walk you through it.” 

And she does, letting go of your hand as she walks you through it, step by step. She is right, it is dead easy, once you have the hang of it.

You cross the lefthand strand over the middle, then the righthand over both of them.

This is just some… perfectly normal bonding thing, that perfectly normal human women do.

Left over middle, right over middle.

And you’re not some imposter, you’re just… a friend taking care of a friend.

When you finish, Julia grabs an elastic band off the coffee table and slips it on to keep the end of her braid in place. She leads back and you have to quickly shift your legs so her head doesn’t end up between your thighs. “Hey Ari?”

“Yeah?”

“Damian really sucked.”

“You don’t say,” your tone carefully diplomatic.

“And then what he called you-” You go stock still. Oblivious, Julia clenches her hand into a fist. Little blue sparks crawl out of her palm and down her arm. “I just got so mad and,” She punches the air in front of the two of you, electricity discharges from her fist to the metal rim of the coffee table with a faint zap! sound.

Julia tilts her head back up at you, her face more than a little flush. It’s too much, you have to look away. “But you know what I think?” She winks at you.

“You’re drunk, Ortega.” You caution her. Maybe if you were a real woman you would know how to handle this? How does Julia always manage to get you into the most awkward situations? Why you do you keep letting this woman keep do this to you?

Julia reaches a hand up to your face but you bat it away. “I think you’re very pretty,” she says. Something impossible snaps inside your chest.

“You’re drunk, Ortega.” You insist, suddenly feeling very tired.