#Damian was surprised to the amount of things his family had to say about him

[theredcuyo]

Sleepovers at the manor. SLEEPOVERS AT THE MANOR.

Bruce had always been very wary of who got to and who didn't get into the manor further than the guest spaces, and when Dick appearead in his life with eyes that could make him do literally anything, he feared the day he'd ask to bring a friend over

Maybe that's why he decided to use the ancient ways Alfred has once used against him and Harvey

Embarrasment

Wally West was used as a warning to Dick, and he learned

Dick didn't get the chance to teach Jason that lesson in his time as Robin, but when his little wing and Roy crashed at his place one time, he got it

He'd gotten practice before that, learning from the masters themselves when Tim invited young justice over

Tim got back at him by sending Kory and Babs some of his old stash of Robin photos

Steph tried to escape it, but she and Cass got trapped at the same time by Alfred's cookies, and that day, Tim took notes

By the time Jon first stayed with Damian for a sleepover, Damian knew about the 'tradition' already and he was determined to prove himself over it

He failed when all of his sibblings joined forces, from Dick's retale of when he was his Batman, to Todd's old stories from their time training in the league and somehow Drake had gotten pictures of him when he was younger (Talia gladly contributed)

Was it too late for his father to un-adopt them all?

[acid-ixx]

Wouldn’t it be funny if Reader shows just a tiny amount of happiness to any one of the batfam, and the next thing you know they try their best to make Reader to do it again.

Example:

Dick:Makes a silly joke

Reader: Actually smiles and laughs at it

Dick: gloats about it to the fam

The BatFam: practically on all fours chasing after Reader to try and make them laugh

Don’t stress out with your writings (btw love your ‘again & again’ series❤️)

Take your time and don’t forget to drink water🫶🫶🫶

laughter is the best medicine

ft. yan! dick grayson, jason todd, and damian wayne

— masterlist !

more beneath the cut ! fluff ? with a mix of yandereness is my thing hehe. i love this ask sm <3 you guys are being fed well today !!!

reblogs and interactions are encouraged and appreciated.

ugh they're the definition of giving someone an inch and they'll be taking a mile. it would especially be annoying if it were dick on the receiving end of the line. but even if he'd be the one you'd take most precaution to, don't underestimate just how much your opinion holds the most value in the family. so they'll most definitely gloat about their achievement of making you smile or hell, even leaning against their shoulder willingly calls for a celebration.

trust me when i say that living in a stuffy manor already sucks, and they don't exactly like seeing you sulk and merely rot in your bed all day. so like any loving family would do, they'll try their damn best to at least see a quirk of your mouth or that faint glimmer in your that dick oh-so enchantingly talk about.

so it comes to them in the form of a surprise that one day, when your oldest brother accidentally trips over one of your expensive novelty ballpen, instead of nearly shouting at him for breaking one of your favorites, it was the "oomph!" sound his throat makes and his wide eyes when his ass directly landed on the floor that makes you crack into small giggles.

if it weren't for his enhanced hearing, dick would've crossed out your laughter as a hallucination, a product of imagination, something entirely impossible to produce, but no.

he had proven himself wrong.

once he turns back at you, he sees the crinkle of your eyes and your palm trying to cover your shit eating grin. the plump of your cheeks are so accentuated that he forgets the initial embarrassment he feels in the first place, replaced with awe at just how artfully captivating his sibling looks; sitting by

it's like a painting, he wishes it was. he wishes tim would be quick enough to capture the succession of your smiles in the live camera feed.

all because he couldn't believe it. couldn't believe that his baby bird is laughing. they're laughing and they look so mirthful and full of life when doing so.

yes, you're laughing at him, at his stupidity for being unable to detect a mere ballpen despite being trained to locate every known obstacle in a field.

but fuck, he was already raised at a circus to fulfill the role of an acrobat who entertains the crowd. what more could it be if that means he could play the role of a clown for you, his baby bird worth more than a thousand lives, whose laughter is equivalent to the immense euphoria that is filling his entire being?

give him an inch and he'll take an entire mile.

the next day, you'd be greeted with... a lot of peculiar instances within your family. all of which you would laugh at because it's not typical that your family displays mistakes, and you feel a bit better about yourself when their imperfections seem to seep out of their being— or maybe it's just your thoughts eating you up again, because is it just you or did jason, tim, and even damian, manage to at least trigger a reaction out of you?

tim would accidentally end up drinking orange juice right after brushing his teeth. his cringing expression, choked gargling and immense spitting is enough to guarantee a light chuckle from your seated form as you ate your cereal in peace, watching him as he tries to rid of the bitter taste on his tongue. although, bitter as it may, the sweetness and the aching of his tooth overpowers the regret he fills for gulping an entire bottle of orange juice down his throat.

he's so glad that he had set up multiple cameras and recorders at different angles prior to your time spent with him because he just couldn't stop watching your reaction in loop whilst he tried to continue his investigations within gotham's latest crime news. yet no matter how hard he attempts to control himself, his eyes couldn't stop looming over to your form, finding your reaction too incredibly cute to be ignored. yeah, he'll do his duties later. for now, he just needs to... screenshot every single frame of your expressions.

jason isn't much of a joker but when reading you one of your favorite stories, he had managed to mispronounce one of the words so badly that it ruined the narrative of the classical book he was voice acting for you. it was a stupid thing to laugh at, but for a guy like jason, who was an english nerd in his very prime, it would be hilarious— especially when his gothamite accent seeps into his vocabulary; which is very unbefitting for the voice of a character who was a princess that loves to wear frilly, pink dresses.

imagine a man, with a growl that vibrates through his skull, and muscles that bulge through his shirt, voices a princess of all people! his high pitched register for the character was already grating to your ears, but the sudden shift from an airy and girlish to deep and gruff with an added effect of a voice crack at the word "cake" was enough to let you burst out into laughs, your giggles echoing through the comfortable silence of the manor's library. for the first time in a while, you let jason wrap his arms around your shoulder, asking for your input about his tremendous acting skills.

jason never had many moments to cherish within the manor, preferring to stay over and outside of bruce's radar, but god does he love going through the batcave's live feed just to zoom in on your expressions, the grin on your face heavily reminds him of himself, back when he was the oblivious robin with no idea of what was coming to him. yet only now, he swears to protect your smile from never faltering.

damian takes his artistry skills seriously, constantly making a show of bragging to you whenever he has the opportunity to. but this time, he was incredibly pissed at drake for accidentally squeezing all the paint from the tube of oil paints he had stored by the drawers, and it was a shade closest to your skin tone, too; he meant to use that tube of paint for his next portrait of you. so like the petty child he is, damian sets on an hour long routine of drawing tim with monstrous features that screams the opposite of what he sports.

that means he had drawn multiple variants of tim with a hideous, actual bowl cut one. no seriously, his hair was a bowl and the strands that peeked out of it were spaghetti strands. in another drawing, his red robin outfit consists of plucked feathers and an elongated beak for its mask, what seems to be the pocket for the eyes now replaced with cat-like slits that makes the vigilantes expression looker idiotic and downright stupid. yet it felt therapeutic for damian to draw that his brother with what he felt was enough revenge to exact upon drake. that scum deserved a horrendously made portrait of him.

what he didn't expect was that you had stumbled upon his atelier, wanting to cure your boredom by painting a scenery when all of a sudden you had to drop all your equipment from your hands because... what the fuck was damian painting...? why is tim crawling across the floor in one of the portraits...? it takes a second or two for you to register the drawing's very detailed portrayal of a literal bowl cut, your laughter bursting out of the seams because no fucking way did damian actually draw something so hilarious and unserious. if you were anybody else, damian would've kicked your shins so violently you would've required a visit to the hospital. but because it's you... he chooses to sulk in the corner with puffed cheeks and burning ears as you approach the painting with said curiosity of a child and a laughter you can't stifle so easily.

at least it got you to stay in the same room as him for about an hour, with you giving your youngest brother more ideas to make the drawings even more unsettling than they already were, to which damian takes your tips to heart.

after you had eagerly (and shyly) showed the entire family you and damian's shared creation of a monstrosity, tim swears he'll never squeeze a tube of damian's paint anymore.

[thekitsunesiren]

Dc x Dp Prompt #31

This is inspired by the various fics & prompts about twins Damian and Danny being separated one way or another, and Damian finding out that Danny was alive this entire time. But think about it this way: what if Damian knew where Danny was this entire time and vice versa?

Because let's think about it:

Danyal and Damian were raised together by the League ever since they were born. Damian was raised to be the future head of the League while Danyal was raised to be his shadow: ever following and watching out for what could possibly be out to attack the future head of the LEague of Assassins.

Truly Danyal didn't have much to call his own. His thought and actions were all surrounding his brother and ensuring that he was old enough to take the mantle of their grandfather. The only thing he could proudly say that he knew about himself was how often he liked to gaze at the stars whenever he had the chance.

Cut to when Talia removes the twins from their grandfathers hold and is telling them about their father. Bruce Wayne: A multi-billionaire and was supposedly unaware of their existence. Because of course he was.

While Damian argued with their mother of leaving them to an unknown man that didn't know about them, Danyal spoke up with own thoughts.

"Damian should go on his own."

The statement shocked both his brother and mother as they stared at him with evident shock at the thought.

Damian called him crazy for suggesting such a thing. That as brothers they would surely show their father how superior they were as their blood sons. But Danyal didn't budge.

Danyal was determined for his brother to go on his own, because from the sound of their father, that life didn't sound like one he could deal with. Being in a large mansion, surrounded by all the needless things. And with their fathers fame, they were bound to be in the limelight one way or another. No. That didn't sound like the life he wanted. But he knew that Damian would fit in such a position.

He tried to convince him that it would be for the best. That he would be better fitting for being Bruce's son while Danyal should go somewhere else. Someplace that wasn't in the limelight of their father. Damian argued that the attention was their birthright while Danyal said that the both of them being there would put an obvious target on their backs, despite their training.

The argument went on for what seemed like hours before it was stopped by Talia. And she agreed that Danyal needed to leave. The decision surprised both brothers. Danyal because she was sure she would have agreed with Damian, and Damian because he was betrayed that their own mother thought that the two was separated.

While relieved that his mother believed that the two separating was a good idea, Danyal noticed that Damian looked truly broken over the idea. And while he did feel a tiny amount of guilt that he was the one separating them, he knew that he needed to do this. To find out his own person.

The twins said their goodbyes to one another. Damian turning to leave before Danyal stepped forward and briefly hugged his brother. With a brief promise that he'll see him again, Danyal pulled away and quickly disappeared into the night, leaving Damian to be guided away by their mother.

That was the last time the two saw each other. In person that is. Damian on his way to meet his birth father. And Danny was going off to find some place to call home. He didn't know how far he traveled but he remembered falling asleep in what he thought was a secluded place to be woken up by a child. A small redhead with blue eyes that seemed to gleam in the light, behind her was a taller male with black hair and a woman who looked like an older version of the child. They were the Fentons. And they were Danyal's new adoptive family. Time Skip for a bit to see how the boys adapted to their families.

Danyal, now named Danny, had taken the Fentons like a duck to water. Thankfully they weren't a normal family, so it wasn't hard to act dumb when they caught him doing strange things.

He lied to the Fentons and said that he was a foster child that escaped a bad family, whose names and faces he seemed to forget after his long time of being on his own.

Jack and Maddie, or mom and dad they insisted he call them, took them in without a second doubt. It was hardly a week before he was adopted and named Danny Fenton: the youngest child of the Fenton family.

His adoptive parents were something called ecto-biologists. They believed in ghosts and were working tirelessly in order to prove that they exist with their inventions.

He would admit that they were a bit negligent with the needs of their children, but that was fine with him. He had plenty of time to explore the small town that they called home and even make some friends on his own. And having a sister like Jazz was a total plus as well.

Of course, his sister made up for the attention their parents didn't give. It was annoying at first, but Danny found that he....liked the attention his sister gave him. The sudden closeness that he had with his new sister was something he wished he had with Damian back when they were in the league.

A bit of time passed and he managed to make a two friends with the kids of Amity Park. A Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley. The three of them becoming a thick as thieves in record time.

Time passed and Danny became accustomed with his new life. Though, there were times where he would sneak off and do a small bit of training back when he was in the league. But the more he got comfortable with his new life, the less that happened.

He also looked up the Wayne family for any news about Damian when no one was around. When his twin made his first debut to the public, Danny almost laughed himself to death at the sour expression he wore in the photo.

But then, the accident happened.

Danny had gotten so comfortable living with the Fentons that he partially forgot how dangerous their inventions could be, even when they didn't work how they supposed to. So when he went to go turn on the portal in the basement, he wasn't prepared for what came after.

Pain. Pure pain that coursed through his body like nothing he's felt before. Worse than any injuries he's earned. Worse than any punishments he's been dealt by his grandfather. It felt like he was truly dying.

And upon opening his eyes, he found out he did. Because standing over him with horrified expressions were Sam and tucker. Looking at him as if he shouldn't be alive.

Glowing green eyes and hair as white as snow greeted Danny when he found a mirror, and he knew just how badly his decision was.

That was when Danny officially became Phantom, and that lead to him slowly losing his mind.

Sam and Tucker helped out with ghosts whenever they could. And when Jazz found out, she helped him out with hiding it from their parents and patching up any wounds he had. But that wasn't enough to keep the stress of making sure both this world and the Ghost Zone from collapsing. From either the wrongdoings of his parents or the GIW.

He hadn't really thought of it before, but what if he had stayed with his brother and went to stay with their birth father?

Would he be alright with twins instead of the one? If he left now, as a halfa, would he still be accepting? Would Damian be accepting of what he become?

No. Probably not. So for now, he kept the deep thoughts that told him to run and find his brother in the back of his head

Damian on the other hand, was slowly coming to terms with everything.

Upon arrival to Wayne manor, he introduced himself to both his father and the family butler when he answered the door. During the obvious shock between the two, wondering how they would've reacted if he had arrived with Danyal at his side.

When on his way to his fathers' home, Damian came up with the decision of keeping Danyal's existence a secret for the time being, or whenever his brother decided to come to their real home. While he was upset that his father had already adopted several children prior to his arrival, he knew that he would soon win over his father in showing him just how much better a son he was in comparison to the others. Whatever it takes.

Of course, he's thrown off with how friendly the others seem, especially the oldest. He wants Damian to call him Dick but he would never stoop so low to say such a name.

But all of that kindness didn't matter to him because no matter how kind they acted, they weren't his real brother. And Damian made sure to treat them as such.

And in return, they treated him the same. Well, most of them anyway. Richard was always energetic and trying to bring the family together. His jokes often reminded him of Danyal and Damian would upset himself thinking how well the two would get along together. Making puns and laughing the night away.

When he became Robin, he was monitored for a while, but that didn't bother him. No, what bothered him was the lack of a familiar person on his right side as he stood at his spot on the left. He and Danyal made an excellent team in terms of combat, both in training and off the field. But now, it felt odd doing this without him.

Some nights, he would look at the night sky and try to find the constellations Danyal told him about, wondering if his brother were looking at the exact constellation.

Over the years, the brothers grow and adapt in their own way. With secrets hidden from both of their families of who they were. And secrets hidden from each other.

Danny knew where Damian lived, and he took advantage of it. The League taught them ways of how to send messages and how to make sure they weren't caught. And once he settled in, he began to send his messages. They were short and to the point. Giving small details about the family that adopted him and word to his brother about what he's been doing. About learning new hobbies, the friends he made, and anything else he could think of. He would even give messages of when he saw certain things about the Wayne family on the news, constantly teasing him about having to deal with more than one brother now, especially with some of the headlines talking about some of the mischief they got into.

Damian enjoyed each and every letter. Even though he knew he could not send a proper reply, it still felt that he was with his brother in some aspect. And from the sounds of it, he was adjusting better to a civilian life than he was. Especially with how fondly he spoke of his friends and newfound family members. He made sure to hide the letters in a secure place in his room, so that Alfred or any of his snooping siblings would find it if they went looking through his room.

But as time passed, the letters became less and less. And by the time they were fourteen, Damian was lucky if he even got a letter once a month. He began to fear that something had happened to his brother to make him stop writing altogether. Like something happened with his adopted family or worse: he forgot his twin.

Still, it had been years since the two had been separated, and while Damian had been worried about what happened to his brother, bringing it up now would cause more curiosity and suspicion. Even living in Wayne Manor and working to make himself more trustworthy, he knew that someone of them still didn't trust him fully. Not yet.

So for now, he waited. Wondering what could've happened to his brother that made him stop writing so suddenly.

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

"This..couldn't be right." Tim thought as he stared at the Batcomputer in pure confusion and disbelief. "It has to be glitch."

No matter how many times he went through the computer, trying to retype or recalibrate the information given to try and create a new result, it was always the same.

Right there. On the screen, was a teen who looked almost-no exactly like Damian. The only difference was the piercing blue eyes in comparison to Damian's bright green.

The name of the supposed clone was named Daniel Fenton. But his name goes by Danny. He was adopted into the Fenton Family a few years back with no prior notice of where he could've possibly came from. Any other background research for any possible foster homes or orphanages came up blank with both the name and image came up with zero results. That could only mean one thing.

But what would a clone from the League of Assassins be doing all of the way in the midwest? It just didn't add up.

And besides, if Tim found out about him, it wouldn't be long before the others found out. And who knows how Damian would react at the truth of a possible clone. Before he could think about his next plan of action, the sound of a door leading to the batcave opening and the sound of multiple yet silent footsteps rang in Tim's ears. Panic filled him as he worked quick to try and hide his findings from whoever entered the cave. Knowing that if one bat knew, it wouldn't be long before the entire family knew. "Hey Tim! What are you working on? You haven't been on it all night, have you?" The familiar voice of his older brother and mother hen, Dick.

A familiar tsk was also heard, causing Tim's panic to spike as he worked to try to quickly hide the files on the large screen before him.

"Of course not, Richard. Drake becomes addicted to his technology whenever he is on a case, even more so than he usually-"

Silence followed the no doubt berating statement, but the suddenness of it told Tim that Damian was currently looking at the clone on the screen.

"Tim. Who is that?" Dick asked tentatively, and Tim finally turned to see the reactions.

Dick was staring at the photo on the computer with obvious shock, curiosity, and caution. Caution that was directed towards Damian as the older male glanced towards him to see his reaction would be.

But instead of the sudden angry tirade that would come from Damian, Tim saw Damian staring at the screen....fondly? That couldn't be right.

But no, it was. While there was surprise and shock at the sight of the photo, Damian's demeanor instantly relaxed as his eyes flashed with recognition and them relief.

"So he's alive." Damian breathed out in relief, shocking the Tim and Dick with the sentence. He knew this kid? Was he not a clone and perhaps another assassin that escaped the league?

"Do you know him, Damian? Is he a clone or something we need to watch out for?" Dick asked, taking a small step closer to him to stop him from any possible outburst that has yet to come.

"There's no need. He was apart of the league, but he isn't a clone," Damian said, the corners of his lips turning upwards in what many viewed as his smile. "He's my twin brother."

That admission had Tim and Dick stare Damian with wide eyes. Even as he sat at the control station, Tim still felt as if his knees were going to give out.

A twin. Damian had a twin brother that they didn't even know about. That Damian didn't even mention.

"What the fuck?"

(That is all, and I would also like to announce that I've started writing commissions. So feel free to look at it here.)

[anxiousnerdwritings]

I can totally imagine that, after getting absolutely no where, Jokerized!twin darling just has an Azula-level breakdown. Especially if the Batfam or God forbid Damian somehow manages to subdue the unpredictable mess. There's no way that Twin!Reader doesn't resent Damian to a degree, especially after everything he put them through... so seeing his twin brother not only be accepted but also find a family that was willing to have him? While Twin!Darling was just used and abused in some shape or form? Absolutely breaking down!

Twin!Reader wholeheartedly holds an immense amount of resentment towards both Damian and Talia. I really like the idea that Twin!Reader was more akin to being that of a normal child born outside of a family full of assassins than to acting like one who was. Like, Twin!Reader was on par with Damian when it came to the proficiency of their training but the mentality just wasn’t there for them. They couldn’t just aimlessly kill, they couldn’t just walk away with someone’s blood on them and not feel something. Not only that, they just weren’t emotionless to any degree like how their mother and brother so easily were. They laughed, they cried, they felt fear, they felt hurt. Like, I’ve had this scenario in my head for a bit of there being a thunderstorm or a blizzard and Twin!Reader seeking out Damian because they’re scared, they sneak into his room and they just want comfort. They just want to be together with their twin brother in their moment of need. And Damian begrudgingly allows it cause they won’t go away no matter what he says but he still makes comments about how weak they are for something as ridiculous as a storm to have them acting like this and that the Reader better be out before mother finds out. I especially like this kind of scenario being what Twin!Reader holds onto when they need something no the better side to look back on. It didn’t happen often, nor did it come without berating, but there were a few moments that Twin!Reader had with Damian that they’ve held onto, that they’ve cherished.

I also really like the idea of Talia having tried to kill Twin!Reader behind Ra’s back, leaving them for dead only for them to survive and that’s where we go from there. I think it really adds to the whole familial betrayal thing and gives more to the Reader eventually going off the rails, especially as they’re in search of somewhere to belong, for someone who willingly and genuinely wants them for them. It makes it even more of a surprise and gut punch respectively for Damian, Talia, and Ra’s when the Reader pops back up. Especially, after being Jokerized.

All their life, Twin!Reader as been used and abused in some way, shape, or form. And even after being Jokerized that’s all they’re met with. Even if it isn’t to the same extent it was with Talia and Damian, these new people the Reader is trying to find belonging in all have ulterior motives. They want to use the Reader against Batman (or one of the other main people the Reader’s been associated with), they want something to have and hold over Batman’s (or whoever else’s) head. That’s all it is, at least in the beginning. Eventually these people do come to have some amount of care for the Reader but by then it’s too late and the Reader is in the wind and on to the next one.

I do really love the idea of Damian and Twin!Reader sharing their love for animals. I especially love the thought of the Reader’s first pet/companion being a hyena Joker and Harley (probably just Harley) gifted them after their initiation into the Clown Family. That hyena would mean the absolute world to the Reader, as far as the Reader was concerned it was their first friend and the first thing that ever stayed around for them. Wherever the Reader went, so did it. I love the thought of the hyena being protective of the Reader, sticking close to them for both security and comfort. The hyena very quickly becomes the only thing that Twin!Reader truly cares about anymore. Not to mention, there’s no doubt that after everything Twin!Reader’s been through before and after being Jokerized they have constant nightmares, even some night terrors, and the only one there for them is their loyal hyena. It’s there to curl around them protectively, to give them a warmth they’re not used to and a sense of being looked over that they’ve never felt before. I can even see the hyena bringing the Reader snacks to remind them to eat and take care of themself.

I can really see the Jokerized!Twin!Reader being thrown into an all out breakdown if their hyena died, especially if it died protecting them (whether from the batfamily or some rogue rando). That was their only friend, the only thing that truly ever cared about them and now they had nothing anymore. They had no one. They were lost all over again. If any of the batfamily members had anything to do with the Reader’s precious hyena’s death there would never be any forgiveness. If someone else were the reason for the hyena’s death than the Reader wouldn’t think twice about killing them and getting revenge for their beloved companion. Either way, no matter who caused the Reader’s hyena’s death I can see the batfamily all trying to subdue them from enacting any revenge on whoever. No matter how feral and berserk the Reader is in the moment, no matter how hard they fight, how hard they hit, I see Bruce, Jason and Damian especially not letting go of them. They hold the Reader the entire time, unrelenting in their grasp no matter how hurt they get in the process. If the Reader is as unrelenting as they are then they’ll have to knock them out. From there the family will take Jokerized!Twin!Reader home, where they’ll be safer, where the family can watch over and be there for them.

After their breakdown, there is no way in hell, Damian and Bruce especially will be able to go on with the Reader not being with them. Seeing how absolutely destroyed they’ve become, how much of a broken husk they’ve been turned into after everything they’ve been through, Damian and Bruce can’t allow anything more to happen to their sibling/child. No matter what it takes, how long it takes, Damian and Bruce aren’t giving up on Jokerized!Twin!Reader. They will save them, they will put them back together again. They will be the family that the Reader should have had all along.

God forbid if Ra’s was there to see his precious grandchild breakdown like that in front of him. Damian and Bruce be damned, he’s taking them home with him and Talia will be thoroughly dealt with for her part in all of this, in destroying his pride and joy.

[spacedace]

Continuation of this post.

Okay, took a bit since I was kinda going through and slightly tidying things up/picking out the bits that had more humor in them since that was more the vibe of the last post and I figured that’s more of what peeps where interested in, but here be the snippets of the awkward post-surprise-wedding dinner between the Waynes and Nightingales!

I actually have more snippets of things that go down before/during/after these snippets if anyone would like to see those. They have things like Duke & Babs breaking into the Nightingale apartment to investigate, some BatPham family fluff, and Talia’s party crashing scene in anyone is interested

*

They really were trying, is the thing.

Tim feels like they should get credit for that, on whatever cosmic score board “meeting the in-laws-who-may-potentially-be-supervillains” is tracked on.

Damian offered the invitation to Elle and her family, Jason even - reluctantly - agreed to it, even if he wasn’t happy about them meeting at the Manor rather than somewhere that qualifies as neutral ground. The Nightingales accepted, a date and time set. It was happening.

Sure, Dr. Jasmine Nightingale - the woman that Jason had been dating for years and was about to have a baby with - was incredibly suspicious and potentially involved in the disappearance of at least three of Gotham’s regular rogues. 

And yeah, it turned out that the guy Dick had been flirting with off and on for years was her - older? Younger? What information they had was conflicting on where Dan fit in the sibling order, which was a thing - brother who kinda-maybe-definitely was running something illegal with his bar in Bludhaven as a cover. 

And yes, Damian had sorta-secretly married his best friend of many years - who likely wasn’t involved in anything shady but who was able to keep up with Damian in a scuffle and that kinda was a reg flag by itself if you thought about it for five seconds - completely without warning while the two had a very long history of not being interested at all in any kind of romantic relationships.

They were trying their best to put these very large, very red flags aside for one night for the sake of Damian and Jason’s insistence that the Nightingales weren’t a massive threat to Gotham at large or their family specifically.

Did Barbara go slightly out of her mind trying to figure out why any research into the family led her running in circles for hours on end, only for her one and only slight hint of a lead to result in her computer oozing a mysterious green substance that no amount of testing had been able to identify? 

Yeah, kinda.

Did Duke admit that he’d known that Elle was some kind of meta of unknown powers since he met her for the first time when she was twelve and didn’t tell anyone because he was pretty sure she didn’t even have any active powers, only to discover a year ago she did when Damian came home suddenly glowing like her and still didn’t say anything because Damian asked him not to? 

Sure.

Did they have a family meeting - minus Damian and Jason - discussing the possibility that the two were under the effects of some kind of mind control and that they were absolutely going to be using the dinner as a means of getting as much information out of the Nightingales as they could without tipping their hand as to their suspicions?

Yes. Without question. One hundred percent.

Were they still also doing their best to make things pleasant on the - extremely to the point of impossibility - small chance that their new in-laws weren’t incredibly dangerous villains but instead very normal civilians with weird luck?

Okay, Tim can admit, that one was up in the air.

Bruce had the security on the manor completely overhauled. They’d stashed weapons and meta-inhibiting cuffs around in case things turned violent. They set up contingency plans to try and prevent any kind of mind control. They’d put the Justice League on standby to have Martian Manhunter and a few others just in case none of their many contingency plans worked. Superman was covering patrol for the night and was going to keep a listening ear on them to call in the cavalry if it was needed.

But they were still at least trying, alright.

For example: Tim was trying very hard to not think about the fact that the years of slowly getting to know Danny - both as Red Robin and as Tim Drake - might have all been some long con on the Nightingales’ part to infiltrate the family even further than they already had. 

That Danny’s bright eyed ramblings about space as they sat on the roof of the guard shack at Gotham Cemetery squinting up past the light pollution to those brightest stars and sipping overly-strong coffee were fake. That the easy days of hanging out at cafes and arcades and museums learning about all of Danny’s little quirks  and sharing his own as his civilian identity could have been an act. That the sass and sarcasm and sweetness that Tim liked so much about his maybe-sorta boyfriend was a carefully calculated facade made just for Tim to fall for.

Tim was trying very hard, thank you very much.

Alfred suggested they all just try to get through dinner first.

Tim’s unsure where Alfred found such a sudden well of near-delusional optimism inside him, but he hopes that it isn’t an effect of Dr. Nightingale secretly brainwashing him too. He’s mostly sure the only Nightingale to ever come over to the Manor had been Elle, and he’s pretty sure Elle isn’t herself involved in whatever shady shit her family is maybe-probably into - kinda pretty sure…The hindsight on the fact that a totally normal girl should not be able to throw down with Dami on the regular without being horribly maimed or outright killed wasn’t doing her any favors. Nor was the surprise marriage.

Point was, Tim was pretty sure that getting through even a single meal in the state things were in was going to be an impossibly high bar to clear.

He was proven right when, five minutes after sitting down at the table, Talia showed up.

—

As far as first impressions go when it comes to meeting your clone/daughter/sister’s new platonic-husband’s family goes, pointing and shouting holy shit is that Hot Dumpster Guy? the moment the front door is opened is probably up there for one of Danny’s worst.

It’s taken a whole 1.2 seconds for Jazz to start facepalming. That’s gotta be a new record. She was going to kill him when they got home for sure. She’d spent the entire week - and the car ride - leading up to tonight talking about having manners and not starting fights and please these people are going to be family you cannot start shit the minute we get there, at least wait for after Elle and Damian’s first anniversary.

In Danny’s defense, it totally is Hot Dumpster Guy that Dan’s been driving them all nuts about with his pining for the past few months. 

It’s not his fault Dan never called him by his actual name. Or that the defining moment of their meeting for the first time was Dan fishing the dude out of the dumpster behind his speakeasy after the guy girlbossed a little too close to the sun while trying to be the Tony Hawk of parkour. And Jason and Damian were in the family chat, they could have mentioned that the guy was their brother at some point after one the many - many - times Dan spammed them pictures of the dude doing acrobat bullshit and wailing about how hot and funny Hot Dumpster Guy was. Hell, Elle could have mentioned it at literally any time and wasn’t she the one that coined the name Hot Dumpster Guy to begin with when this all started?

Based on the delighted grins on Jay and Elle’s faces and the fact that he can feel Damian’s smug amusement echoing out from not that far away inside, the three had been hoping for something like this. Because of course they had, his Grave is nothing but a bunch of chaotic menaces at the end of the day, himself included.

Dan, bright red and utterly mortified, uses his place towering behind Elle as a cover to kick Danny in the ankle as hard as he can without sending him dropping to the ground outright. He can feel his alternate-universe-future-self/son/brother’s rising homicidal rage. Totally worth the mortified look of shock and horror he’s wearing though. It’s what he deserves after all the years of making fun of him over the Red Robin/Tim Drake stuff.

“Hot dumpster guy?” The Hot Dumpster Guy in question sputtered, looking like he didn’t know who to turn his bewildered and betrayed look on first.

Elle makes it easy on him, for the first and most likely last time in his unlife.

“Dan sent us the CCTV camera of your spectacular landing when you guys first met.” She said with a grin that was probably just a touch too sharp to be totally human, shoving her way past him with as much manners as a feral badger - Ancients, they really were fighting an uphill battle trying to convince Damian and Jay’s rich ass family that they were a nice and normal bunch. “I saved the scream you made when the rat crawled down your shirt as my ringtone for you.” She added, waving her phone back at him, and yeah her teeth were definitely too sharp for normal humans, Danny was going to have to try and pull her aside before Hot Dumpster Guy or any of the rest of the family noticed.

“One night, I asked for one night.” Jazz muttered forlornly into her hand. Jay gave her a reassuring pat because he was a good partner and a shit eating grin to Hot Dumpster Guy because he was an equally good asshole little brother.

Yeah, Danny thought as Hot Dumpster Guy floundered his way through trying to introducing himself after that shit show, one night was probably setting the bar a little too high there.

—

Introductions did not get better.

Dick could admit that probably was because Damian and Elle had decided to take it upon themselves to lead the charge on that after the two had all but  physically drug everyone into the most comfortable living room. 

The plan had been for Dick to bring them to one of their more…formal sitting rooms. Namely the one that could with the press of a button turn into a nearly inescapable prison if things got ugly. No windows, one entrance, walls and doors reinforced enough to slow even Supes down in smashing through. The works. Damian had either sussed out what his family was up to and was circumventing it, or Elle - as part of the house as the rest of them after all these years - had simply not even considered that the Wayne family would bring them anywhere else. Dick hoped desperately that it was the latter.

Then they started introducing everyone to each other.

“That’s my latest blorbo.”

“This is Nightingale.”

“That’s some scunkly guy.”

“And this is Nightingale.”

“Over there is the world’s worst pathetic meow meow.”

“On Nightingale’s other side is Nightingale.”

“Those two over there are Failed Tumblr Sexyman and Spider Georg.”

“You know Todd.”

If it wasn’t for the fact that Babs found and confirmed their signed and certified marriage certificate, he’d suspect the two of making the whole thing up just as an excuse to cause maximum amount of chaos for their respective families.

“Hey, Hot Dumpster Guy, where's everyone else?” 

Actually, nevermind, Dick doesn’t put it past them to have actually gotten married to sell the bit.

—

When Bruce had asked him for help with his meeting the in-laws/sting operation, Clark had been expecting - based on the situation as explained to him - that he would be listening in on the kind of cat and mouse verbal chess games that so often occurred when Batman was facing off against subtler foes. To be waiting for any sign - however subtle - that backup was needed, tense and on edge all night as he swept up as much crime as he could while the Bats and Birds were busy.

He had not expected to be listening to the single most awkward small talk he’s ever heard in his life. The second hand embarrassment of it all felt as devastating as any kryptonite he’d ever encountered.

Similarly unexpected had been the sudden turn the moment Duke and Barbara - late by virtue of snooping through the Nightingales’ respective homes for evidence, a venture that had really just made everyone involved feel uncomfortable from what Clark could hear  - had arrived. It seemed that the presence of all the Bat’s brood had been required for the trap that was set off the moment the two joined the group.

The utter devastation laid down upon both Nightingales and Waynes by the newlyweds as they unleashed utter chaos on their new shared families in the form of what must have been years of carefully curated blackmail. There was a slideshow. And a movie. And so many embarrassing stories about all of them. 

Clark may have started texting Diana the second Elle and Damian Wayne al Ghul Nightingale - they had decided to just…keep all their combined last names, apparently rather than choose just one - made it clear what they had planned for the pre-dinner entertainment for the night.

There may have also been plans to get the Wayne al Ghul Nightingales to share their beautiful collection with Damian’s dear Uncle Clark.

*

Tag time: @screamingtofillthevoid @stargirl1331 @mnemovoid @malice-of-the-sunrise @bathildaburp @autumnwulf @revnantdpxdclover @coruscateselene @writer-extraodinaire @idfk-man10 @fluffen-spooky @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @unadulteratedsoulsweets @phoenixdemonqueen @overlycaffeinatedsuperwholockfan @gin2212 @emotional-otter @lexdamo @dixiwoods @wildbacon @ashleysmshly @that-random-fangirl @satanicrutialspecialist @lazy-bouqet @treepainting

I think that’s everyone haha, hope you guys enjoy!

[bloustorm]

Just a silly idea I had and typed out on Discord, if anyone wants to use this feel free I guess, just wanted to get this out here

(Also i just want to mention that when tim talks about the crush he means like, a silly puppy crush, just pure admiration nothing serious)

-

"Oh this is an easy question" Jason chuckles as he reads the card. "Okay Baby Bat, who is your favorite brother?"

Damian raises an eyebrow at him before scribbling his answer onto his board.

Tim's rolling his eyes, a slight smirk playing on his lips, Jason and Dick are full-blown grinning, confident in finally getting an answer right as to who it will be.

"Okay everyone done?" Jason asks, looking up to check, the others nod at him before they all turn they boards at the same time.

Jason and Dicks board read "Dickwing" and "Me <3" respectively, but their faces fall out of the grin as they stare in open disbelief at Damian who is holding the board boredly that reads "Timothy"

"What when did that happen" "Dami, don't you love me most?" they shout in union, switching to look between Damian and Tim who both look bored, if not slightly pleased at the situation.

"You teamed up to cheat us out of points" Jason accuses.

Damian sneers at him, "Timothy is my brother, I thought you would be happy about us finally getting along."

"Aww Damian I love you too" Tim calls over to him, only to get an annoyed eye roll in return

"Yes yes that's nice but you're supposed to write down your favourite one, not just one of them" Dick pouts

Damian smirks at him, "I don't understand your problem, Timothy is my only brother"

Jason gasps in mock outrage, clutching dramatically at his chest, "Do we mean nothing to you?" he demands

Damian turns up his nose at him mockingly, "At best you are just some coworker Todd" he calls.

Jason narrows his eyes, "What about Dick?" "Yeah, what about me?"

Damian pauses, tilting his head, "You are family, yes" he admits "but I have never considered you my brother, you have been too much a mentor to me for that"

Out of the corner of his eyes he can see Tim slightly nod along to his words.

"So you've been just what? Getting all brotherly with Tim? How did that happen, didn't you try to kill him?"

"Damian and I share a surprising amount of things" Tim informs them

"You knew you would be his answer didn't you?" Dick asks, Tim only holds up his board in response, on which was written in a lazy drawl "me"

"We're not done with this" Jason declares, "but now it's Tim's turn, and this time I won't get it wrong" he mutters

Tim looks up at the ceiling as if waiting for someone to come and rescue him before wiping his answer away and scribbling a new one.

Damian still seems fairly unconvinced by this "getting to know each other better" game

"Okay done!" Dick declares overly dramatic "turning in 3, 2, 1 go!"

Jason still looks smug, his board reading "Dickhead" again.

"There ain't no way he isn't your favorite" he drawls, "I've seen how much you admire him"

His smile falters when he looks at Dicks and Damian's choices.

Dick wrote down Damian's name, and is currently in the process of gushing about how cute it is that they've come around that much.

But Damian's is stating Jason's name, and a quick glance at Tim's board reveals that to be true.

"Wait what the hell, since when am I your favorite Brother?"

Tim looks slightly pained, "it's complicated" he mutters

"Tim" Dick paints a perfect picture of a scandalized Victorian woman, clutching at his imaginary pearls, "How can Damian not be your favorite when he chose you?"

"I'm not you Dick, I'm not that easily flattered by facts" he replies sassy, "also, it works the same way that Damian didn't write your name, when everyone and their mother knows he's your favorite."

"Okay but that doesn't explain how you chose Jason over me" he says draping himself over said man while Jason is trying to shove him off "Oh I see how it is" Jason mutters

Tim shrugs, "Dick I idolized you all my life. I had a massive crush on you since I was 3 up until the first year when I was Robin. Seeing you as my brother and not just someone to look up to took work. And well, I chose Jason over Damian because he's been spending longer on making it up to me. Doing things with me. It might also partially be Steph's fault for getting along so well with him."

Damian nods, "I know I still have a lot to make up to Timothy, before I can reasonably take that position."

Jason frowns at him, "Hey wait, this ain't a competition and there's no way I'm letting you take the baby bird away from me" he reaches out and pulls Tim into his side, practically dragging Tim away from his previous position.

[itstimetotheorize]

Melinda’s struggle

As the Hostage situation of chapter “69” is finally drawn to a close, we see Yor appear after relentlessly searching for her all throughout the town on foot. However, to our surprise, and to the surprise of Damian, Melinda also shows up to the scene not long after Yor arrived. 

When Anya reads Melinda’s mind, she states Melinda's thoughts are on the same level as Yuri whenever he thinks about Yor, which is oftentimes an head flooded with an overwhelming amount of concern, love and admiration for Yor. Within Melinda’s mind, we see she loves Damian and genuinely did feel terrified over the hostage situation which had occurred, because had it not been resolved, Damian would have likely died.

However, the moment Damian shifts to the topic of his father, something bizarre happens. Damian, though happy to see his mother so worried about him and actually make effort to come and see him, asks she not tell his father (Donovan) that he cried as he does not wish to worry him, but the moment he does... Melinda’s mind begins to shift back and forth between loving and hating Damien to an extreme degree. 

Of all the questions we have about Melinda, why would she have such mixed feelings about Damian? Then again... it's not the first time we've seen her act this way. Back in chapter 66, as Yor tries to apologize for Anya punching Damian, Melinda's behavior shifts the moment she explains how Donovan only saw it as a pointless matter between two kids. 

The other women say the Desmonds have a more hands off parenting philosophy...and yet...what if it had nothing to do with parenting?...what if...it had everything to do with Melinda’s relationship with Donovan?.

We don't know much about the relationship between Donovan and Melinda, but given she spends much of her time out and about with others doing various activities, then could it be Melinda  wasn't just hanging out with friends for the fun of it? ...but rather... to purposely avoid her family by doing as much as possible throughout the day?...maybe. As we know from the WISE reports, she never did anything that could provide insight to the Desmond family, the only thing they knew was that she was estranged from her husband and sons, but perhaps this estranged relationship she had with them was never the result of her being a bad parent and wife, no, what if maybe...just maybe...it was always her attempts to distance herself from a family and marriage she never wanted.

Looking back, there was always one thing many of us had forgotten to consider until we remembered the circumstances surrounding Yor and Loid. Although Yor and Loid both agreed to marry each other for convenience, they actually gradually  began to realize they liked being with each other... and yet... all the while we watched their growing bond, many of us had forgotten one very crucial, very obvious detail... which is that marriages like theirs...might have never been the only ones, even more so...they may not all be happy ones. Where am I going with this? Well... what if maybe...just maybe....that’s exactly what happened to Melinda. Melinda married Donovan and yet...could it be Melinda ...never wanted to be married to Donovan?,... could it be she never wanted to be a Desmond?...maybe.

The Desmond family is highly sought after by other families, but with such a pristine family like theirs, odds are, they made sure to only marry their children to others of equal status. After all, being a Desmond meant you had a reputation anyone would find impressive, but it was also a reputation you had to be careful in how to uphold.  All throughout the series, we see many children are motivated to befriend Damian so their parents could enter his fathers social circle.

  If Melinda’s family was among the masses who wanted to be involved with the Desmond’s simply because of their family name, then could it be Melinda and Donovan married, not out of love, and not necessarily out of convenience for each other... but for the convenience of both their families?...in other words...was Melinda forced into a marriage to Donovan in order to uphold her families expectations of being connected to the Desmond Family, just as so many others have tried to do?...honestly who's to say.

When Melinda talked to Damian in chapter 75, she didn't refer to Donovan as her husband, let alone as Damian's father, no, to Melinda, Donovan was simply “That Man”, indicating that despite being married to Donovan, Melinda never saw him as a loving husband, just someone in her life she had to learn to avoid. Now, if Melinda had truly been thrown into a loveless marriage with Donovan, then odds are...her life with him was a painful one to live as it now revolved around his word and never her own...and maybe...just maybe.. it became even worse the day she gave birth to his children... children she was quick to resent as she saw Donovan and the struggles of her life in them.

In chapter 75, Melinda’s mind began to fill with mixed feelings of both loving and hating Damian, the moment Damian brought up his father and showed concern for him over the hostage situation he was just in. Of course, Damian only assumed if his mother was worried about him, it meant his father was to. Sadly, given Melinda was the only one to show up...he likely wasn’t. Based on Melinda’s complex thought’s, its as if part of Melinda wants to be free to love Damian, but the other part can’t help but also resent him. So then...why did Melinda show up to comfort and worry about the child she resented?

Up to now, Melinda had never revealed herself to show her support and care for Damian. She didn’t show up to his school orientation, she never called him over the phone  and she did not appear at the school grounds during the imperial scholars mixer when Damian wanted to talk about how he achieved his first Stella star, regardless if Donovan met him or not. Of all the times Melinda did not show herself for Damian's sake, why did she now choose to appear and comfort Damian in chapter 75? Well, the only change we know of which happened to Melinda recently....was that she met Yor.

In chapter 66, when Melinda questioned Yor about  Damian, Yor’s response in confirming what Melinda’s staff had told her, may not have just caused her to feel relieved in knowing her son was happy, rather...what if it was more than that? If Donovan is as truly heartless and unsympathetic as Loid says he is, and if  Melinda had truly held her children in the same regards as their father, then could it be hearing Yor talk about Damian, was enough to leave her wondering if perhaps Damian... was not at all like her husband?.

If what we theorize is true, then this would mean meeting Yor made Melinda see Damian in a new light the moment she began to hear about how happy his life is at Eden academy, and how he befriended a young girl who, according to Damian himself back in chapter 9, was considered a commoner and not at all within the standards of the Desmond’s to befriend as he alone was entitled to be above all others and never be considered someone others should defy. A complete contrast to how Damian is now after having interacted with Anya for so long

And so, in chapter 75, when Melinda met Damian after the hostage situation was resolved, for a moment, it was as if Melinda didn’t just look at Damian as her son...but a boy who was not affiliated with Donovan and the Desmond legacy. 

However, as Melinda heard Damian show concern for his father, it was as if Melinda realized she had forgotten a very cruel and painful truth. Damian is her son, but... he is also proof of the ongoing misery in her life, and so long as Damian sees his father as someone he should strive to become and do whatever it takes to uphold the Desmond Legacy, Melinda will continue to see him not just as her son, but the son of Donovan, a son who will inevitably one day grow up to be just like his father. 

And if she feels this way about Damian, then how does she feel about Demetrius? Demetrius is much older, but given his phone conversation with Damian in chapter 37, Demetrius also had a tendency to be cold and distant towards others, including his little brother. 

Although this does beg the question, if Melinda views both of her children as nothing more than a curse and a reminder of her painful life as a Desmond, then...what will it take for Melinda to stop viewing Damian(and possibly Demetrius) as a curse and instead as just her son?... well...the answer to this may have always been presented to us from the start...Damian... must realize his father is not the man he envisioned him to be, and no matter what he does, let alone what happens to him, Donovan will never become the father he dreamed he would become if he were to uphold the Desmond name by becoming a scholar, all things which he came close to realizing back in chapter 37 but quickly let go the moment Donovan gave him an fraction of praise.

If Damian were to truly realize his father was just as much of a monster Loid grew to understand, then perhaps his choice to separate himself from his fathers shadow and the entire Desmond legacy, may become the driving factor in Melinda not only shedding her resentment towards her children over a marriage she never wanted,...but also become her reason for possibly betraying Donovan when the  time comes for WISE and Loid to face Donovan.But hey...its just a theory...a SpyxFamily theory.

[hellishere7980]

Begin Again Chapter 5 (sequel to IMW)

"What are your current policies on metahumans and magical users in Gotham?"

"Someone you know?" questioned Bruce, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and intrigue.

"Yep," Pixie chirped back, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Bruce began with his obnoxious voice, "We are not as strict as they used to be."

Pixie, muttered something suspiciously that sounded like a curse but not in the language of earth as Alfred would have said something. Sure he was fond of Pixie but nothing stopped the old-ever-vigilant butler from reprimanding on improper language.

Bruce, in response, raised his stupidly perfectly arched eyebrows that he attended salon sessions for and continued, "But we should know about them, and they should have their powers under check. It is also helpful if we know exactly how dangerous their powers can be."

"Hmm," Pixie hummed thoughtfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she glanced around the room.

She turned to Demonspawn and asked, "Got your camera ready, Damian?"

Jason, along with his brothers, quickly pulled out their cameras, and Jason swore he saw Alfred tap his phone, which was sitting on a stand by the countertop. Bruce, to his credit, managed to look both confused and slightly intrigued at the same time.

Pixie hummed a catchy little tune, and to Jason's astonishment, he saw Bruce making a funny expression. His sentiment was clearly shared by everyone else at the table, except for Bruce and Pixie.

Bruce then turned to Damien and, with a solemn voice, said, "My son, I know I don't say this often enough, but I have always been proud of you."

Jason raised an eyebrow in disbelief while the Demonspawn looked genuinely concerned. "Father, are you feeling well?"

Bruce, seemingly ignoring the question, turned to Timers, who was still trying to recover from his previous statement and said, "Tim, you saved me from my worst and are the reason Wayne Enterprises is flourishing. Thank you."

Timers, still trying to regain his composure, couldn't help but spit out the coffee he was unholy worshiping moments back. Then, Bruce turned to Jason and said, "Jason, I am sorry I never avenged you. After breakfast, we'll start on the plan to physically harm Joker to ensure he doesn't carry out his villainous activities anymore."

Jason blurted out, "WTF". Even Alfred was too astonished to reprimand him.

Bruce, undeterred, turned to Dickhead and said, "Thank you, Dick, for being the level-headed one when I was a dick."

The level of surprise and amusement reached new heights, surpassing even some of the frankly weird stuff they had encountered as a family of vigilantes.

Finally, Bruce turned to Alfred and said, "Thank you, Alfred, for putting up with me. I always saw you as my mentor."

Jason felt the amount of things in the world that could surprise him reduce very, very notably, as he watched the family's breakfast unfold in all its bizarre glory.

He saw Bruce's face slide off his neck? Only to see another Bruce's face behind it. The first face floated beside the second face for a while before going PooF!... and so did any semblance of civility they had.

Chaos reigned before Pixie shouted. "OK! SHUT IT!"

As the chattering abruptly closed Pixie continued.

"You saw I have magic."

He would have never believed that Bruce did a handstand and a split at the same time had he not seen it with his own eyes. Tim laughed out a strangled laugh which was borderline maniac. Did he see Bruce 2? Whatever that was, go poof.

"Talk amongst yourselves. Whatever questions you have get them printed out on a nice sheet of proper paper. I'll be back for dinner and answer them. Spoiler Alert most of the answers will be classified. So bye !"

With that Pixie poofed out leaving them dumb-struck.

He swore that nothing would have stopped the broody bat from typing off a list but today was a compulsory Justice League training session required to attend by all members, honorary or not and associates. He could feel his headache coming on with Bruce .

They placed on their uniforms with a slightly excited aura which was dampened by... honestly... all the variables in the situation.

They arrived at the Watchtower via Zeta Beam only to find it brimming with heroes... some who were anti heroes at times including himself.

Heading towards the training room, they could hear sounds of intense combat, indicating that many were getting their butts handed to them in sparring sessions.

As the whole bat clan stepped in expecting to see maybe Wonder Woman or Black Canary only to see a black clad figure dancing out using martial arts, honestly he didn't think anyone in the Bat Clan knew judging by their... frankly vibrant expressions.

As soon as they were noticed, Boy Scout Sr. stopped pounding Green Lantern's shield sparring and let out a whistle.

"As we always do we request anyone to share a particular skill that most of the people here can learn."

Lady Miracle raised her hand. "I can do that. How many people here can survive in space and want to smash stuff?" he announced.

He thought it was concerning the significant number of hands and at what speed they shot up. but with all the emotional baggage that comes with being a hero, breaking stuff is honestly the least destructive wait they can go forward.

Lady Miracle gave a cheshire grin.

"Everyone suit up! really are going to Noirdya Galaxy!"

Green Lantern raised an eyebrow.

"The abandoned clearly 2 million light years away Galaxy?"

"I can portal, you know.” Lady Miracle responded. “And the fact that it's abandoned makes it perfect for smashing ."

Green Lantern shrugged his shoulders "Fair enough."

As they all suited up and those who couldn't breathe into space stepped into a shield bubble made by Green Lantern. Lady Miracle turned to one of her gods? Cosmic beings? right. Kwamis.

"You'll see I'm gonna break my record."

"What exactly is this record?" Superman asked.

“How long I can survive without a suit. based solely on the dragon's powers which I have outside of suit. I often use this Galaxy for magical experimental purposes."

no one wanted to question her after all they all had their... quirks.

As they passed through the portal Lady Miracle had opened they came across a vast space filled with smaller than earth planets.

He saw Lady Miracle say something by her lip movement, saw her flashing a bit before she stood in a T-shirt and some cargo pants similar to what Superboy once more although she did have a domino mask like the bats and the arrows'. and then she flew and... hugged the planet? To everyone's astonishment the planet slowly turned into ash. Then she flew to another planet and he saw… some purple sparkles? around her hands and then she punched another planet and broke it into big pieces. How powerful was this girl? Honestly this was her out of suit being what he assumed passively charged by these gods.

She looked towards everyone. "What are you waiting for?"

He saw people readying themselves to join in the celestial smashing, embracing the opportunity.

[maybeimamuppet]

the blood of angry (wo)men III

helloooooo happy wednesday!! 

this was requested a while ago by Aspenchokey on wattpad ! thank you for requesting this!! it’s basically exactly like the others but pre-twins and just cadnis goin through it and dragging damian behind them. 

tw for 

periods

mentioned pregnancy

and as always if i’ve missed something please let me know so i can add it :)

enjoy!

————

Damian is in the midst of his nightly singing time, using his comb as a microphone instead of on his hair like he’s meant to be doing. He continues dancing around his room to gather his pajamas.

He screams when a twirl lands him facing the door, a sudden Cady standing there looking quite upset. He rushes back to his vanity to pause his song. “What happened?” 

Cady bursts into tears, sniffling into his shoulder when he hurries to pull her into a hug. 

“What’s the matter, babe?” Damian asks sadly. His heart always breaks a little when Cady’s upset. Sue him, he cares about his friends.

“I really-really want Taco Bell but-but we don’t have any,” Cady wails into his shirt. 

Damian blinks in confusion. “Taco Bell?”

“Yeah,” Cady sobs, muffled against his shoulder. 

“Oh,” Damian says as the understanding suddenly hits. That time of the month. 

He’s been friends with both Cady and Janis long enough to learn what happens for each of them on their periods. 

Cady gets very emotional, and very hungry. The smallest thing is enough to make her cry for hours. Damian learned this years ago, during a movie night back in high school. He and Cady were splitting a pack of gummy bears, and Cady cried for a solid twenty minutes because she had accidentally eaten the last green one, Damian’s favorite flavor, instead of saving it for him. 

She can also eat an ungodly amount of food. Damian doesn’t know how, and he’s frankly too afraid to ask. He’s never sure how she can eat so much and still be so tiny. Where does it go?

Janis, on the other hand, gets angry, and very cuddly. Which makes her angrier. 

Janis introduces him to a world of new insults once a month, over things that don’t seem like such a big deal to him. Like the time she dropped a paintbrush and the neighbors filed a noise complaint. 

She also only seems to be content when someone is holding her. She says it makes the cramps better, but it infuriates her that she needs it because it ‘goes against her image’ that she tries so desperately to maintain. 

Damian tenses when he hears a clang from the kitchen followed by a flurry of impossibly loud profanities. 

Dear god, they’ve synced. 

Cady is his first priority, since she’s rapidly on her way to just becoming a sad little puddle of Caddy in his arms. 

“Shh, Little Slice. Here,” he says. Cady takes his phone in her small hands and looks up at him with a pitiful sniffle. “Look up the menu and make a list of what you want.”

“You’ll go?” Cady sniffs, her lower lip trembling again. 

“Of course,” Damian hushes. Cady starts crying again, which was the opposite of what he wanted. 

“I love you,” Cady blubbers. 

“I love you too. Do you need anything else? Hygiene stuff? Candy?” 

“Sour Patch Kids,” Cady sniffles. “And the good chocolate.” 

“Okay,” Damian chuckles. 

“Sorry,” Cady continues. “You’re an angel.” 

“Thanks,” Damian laughs as Cady squishes his cheeks between her hands and smooches his forehead. “Come on.” 

Cady squeaks as Damian hauls her up bridal style and carries her out to the kitchen. 

“Jan, come cuddle your girlfriend.”

“What?” Janis replies, aggressively washing a spoon in his direction. Cady sniffles, lip trembling and more tears threatening to spill if Janis is mad at her. Janis turns off the tap and turns around, blinking in surprise at the situation. “What happened?” 

Cady pouts and reaches out for Janis. Damian shifts to hold her under her arms, keeping her held aloft like baby Simba in The Lion King. 

“I hate this family,” Cady grumbles sarcastically as Janis grabs her, letting Cady koala around her torso and nuzzle into her shoulder. 

“Come along, children,” Damian says. Janis blinks at him again, so Damian motions her over and shoots her a look. “Chop chop.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Janis huffs. 

“I’m not, I’m telling Caddy. You just happen to be her chosen mode of transportation,” Damian replies. “Now, get your hormonal asses over here.”

“I am not hormonal!” 

“Stop yelling,” Cady whimpers against her. 

“You’re such a baby when it’s your shark week,” Janis teases.

“I’m always baby,” Cady huffs. “Don’t bully me.” 

“Oh, yeah, I’m so terrible,” Janis scoffs.

“You are. You’re a terrible mean thing.” 

“Says you,” Janis smirks, getting exactly what she wants when Cady kisses her to shut her up. “You okay, Peanut?” 

“Mmhmm,” Cady hums contently into Janis’ neck, which her girlfriend finds unfairly adorable. “Damie’s getting me Taco Bell.” 

“Is he now?” Janis says, raising a suspicious eyebrow at her friend. “Nice of him.”

“Look at her, I can’t say no,” Damian defends, gesturing to the tiny redhead wrapped around Janis. “Here, write out what you want too.” 

“Why are you being so nice?”

“Because you guys scare me when you’re on your periods.” 

“You are too?” Cady asks, pulling back a bit to look at her girlfriend. 

“No, I just yell at spoons on the regular,” Janis teases. Cady humphs and scrunches her face up. 

“You’re a meanie.”

“You knew that going in, babes. Part of my charm,” Janis sighs, relaxing back against the couch. “Are you gonna let go?”

“Nooooo.” 

“Alright, fine,” Janis huffs, getting comfy with her little monkey of a girlfriend wrapped solidly around her. 

“You love it,” Cady teases against Janis’ warm neck. “Cause you’re a big old softie and you love cuddles.”

“I am not!” Janis insists. “I just let you because you cry if I make you let go.”

“That means you careeee,” Cady continues. “Because you looooooooove me.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Janis hums, not willing to admit how nice it is to have a clingy girlfriend when her period hits. Cady’s like a heating pad and a weighted blanket all in one. 

“Alright, lesbians, here,” Damian says, firing up Gilmore Girls on Netflix and handing Cady the remote as he drapes a blanket over the two of them. “I shall return shortly with our Taco Bell bounty.” 

“I love you!” Cady calls as he leaves. “Don’t get mugged.”

“I’ll try hard,” Damian chuckles. “Love you too.”

“You’re kinda handy around this time of the month,” Janis hums. “Even Damian’s not immune to the puppy eyes.”

“Hey! He’s not our servant. I didn’t think he’d go, I just got upset,” Cady mumbles sheepishly. “You were busy and Dame gives good cuddles too.”

“But one way or another you’re getting your tacos,” Janis smirks. 

“And I’m sure Damian’s gonna make me recreate bootlegs with him for a week to make up for it,” Cady sighs.

“That’s not so bad. I was a big fan of your two-man production of Wicked,” Janis laughs. 

“Defying Gravity was just me on his shoulders while I waved the Swiffer around.”

“And it was excellent,” Janis scoffs. “I still think you would’ve made a better Galinda, but Dame did it pretty well too.”

“His Popular was pretty incredible,” Cady admits. Janis laughs and starts gently brushing her fingertips up and down part of Cady’s spine. Cady shivers contently and nuzzles somehow closer into her shoulder. “That’s nice.” 

“Is it now?”

“Mmhmm,” Cady hums. “I’m kind of glad we synced.” 

“Really?” Janis chuckles. 

“Yeah. Less laundry. And now we get to split our cravings when we have them, and we both get cuddly so it works out,” Cady says. “Probably easier on Dame to get our hormonal rage out at once, too.” 

“I do not have hormonal rage,” Janis scoffs. 

“Tell that to the spoon,” Cady giggles. “You know what this means, though.”

“What?”

“Your period came early, right?” 

“Yeah?” Janis says in confusion. “Few days early, why?” 

“Mine’s right on time,” Cady says, leaning up on her elbows with a grin. “Your body synced to mine. That makes me dominant.”

“Yeah, ri-”

“Your hormones are my bitch.” 

“Caddy!” Janis laughs in shock. 

“I’m just saying,” Cady shrugs. “I run this menstrual shitshow now. Get used to it.” 

“Your hormones may have worked mine into submission,” Janis hums, slowly shifting her hands down Cady’s back, lower and lower. “But we both know which way this goes in every other circumstance.” 

They’re both very glad Damian is out.

He doesn’t need to know what happens to their sex drives when that time comes. 

————-

An hour or so later, Damian comes parading back through the door, swallowed by various bags of snacks and their dinner. Cady leaps up to help free him, but Janis can’t get past a 45 degree angle and decides she’ll help with something else. Later.

She bristles a bit as she hears her girlfriend squeal, “You’re the best!” She knows it’s stupid to be jealous of her openly homosexual best friend’s relationship with her girlfriend, but sometimes her emotions decide to be particularly sadistic. 

“Jayjay, come on,” Cady says, carrying in about half of Damian’s treasures. “Dinner.”

“Help,” Janis groans, reaching out for her. Cady rolls her eyes lovingly and rests her bags on the table before coming to her. Janis leans along as Cady grabs her outstretched hands and hauls her up. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Cady giggles. “Come on, he got your burritos.” 

Janis groans and trudges her way over, like she’s making her way across town in a blizzard. Cady waits for her in the kitchen with some painkillers and a sip of her Baja Blast. 

“Thanks,” Janis says once the pills are down and working their magic on her cramping body. She sits at the table armed with the heating pad Damian also offers and tears into her bean burrito. 

“Thank you Damian,” Cady says happily, standing behind Damian’s chair and hugging him. Damian laughs as she rests her chin on top of his head and gently pats her arm.

“You’re welcome. Come eat,” he chuckles. 

Cady does, taking her own large bag of food as she sits down. She does a little happy dance as she finally gets to dig into her tacos. 

And dig in she does. Janis and Damian observe in a mix of awe and horror as she downs three tacos, two burritos, four quesadillas, an unholy amount of cheesy potatoes, and a whole slushee in less than fifteen minutes. 

“Maybe I should get pregnant,” Janis mumbles as she slowly chews her own burrito. Cady chokes on her slushee. 

“What?!”

“I wouldn’t have to deal with this for nine months,” Janis says. “I think that’s worth it.” 

“I think it would be exactly like this for nine months with no break in between,” Cady giggles. “And probably worse. And we definitely don’t need a baby right now.”

“Nothing says we have to keep the baby,” Janis shrugs. “I could be a surrogate.”

“But you couldn’t have sushi that whole time,” Cady replies, raising a knowing eyebrow. “Or as much coffee as you insist you need to function.”

“Never mind, I can never be pregnant,” Janis replies immediately. 

“Thank god for that,” Damian murmurs under his breath. Janis gently whacks him upside the head. “Ow! Hey, I got you dinner.” 

Janis rolls her eyes lovingly as she stands up to go throw away her dinner trash, gently kissing the spot on his head she hit. “There. All better.”

“Maybe I’ll get pregnant, then,” Cady says as she follows Janis. 

“What?!” Damian and Janis both yelp. 

“What?” Cady replies. “I could handle it, I think.”

“Cads, you’re barely five feet tall, I think a baby might kill you,” Janis replies. “It’d probably come out bigger than you.”

“Hey!” Cady pouts. “That’s mean.” 

“It’s just the facts,” Janis says, kissing Cady’s cheek. 

“There have been plenty of short people who’ve had babies throughout history and been fine. And you’re right, no periods for nine months,” Cady says. “And I don’t even like sushi or coffee in the first place, so I’d be totally fine!” 

“I dunno if I can handle nine months of Taco Bell, though,” Janis chuckles. “Or a baby.” 

“I don’t crave Taco Bell all the time,” Cady huffs. “We’d mix it up.”

“Yeah, with Chipotle, probably,” Janis replies teasingly, gently poking Cady’s belly. “You’re probably about sixty percent taco at this point in your life.” 

“I didn’t get to eat a single taco until I was sixteen, I have a lot of tacos to make up for!” Cady pouts. 

Janis grins and kisses her pout away, gently holding Cady against her. Cady hums happily and nuzzles into her chest. “Happy?”

“Mmhmm,” Cady nods. “But you’re mean.” 

“Might wanna get used to that,” Janis says. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a horrible mean person all the time forever, I get it,” Cady chuckles. Janis suddenly freezes beneath her, her entire body tensing. “What’s the matter?” Janis takes a deep breath. Cady pulls back to see the pained look on her face. “Oh. Cramps?” Janis nods. “Poor baby.”

“Can we cuddle?” Janis whispers when the pain fades enough for her to speak. Cady smiles and kisses her nose. 

“Of course. Come on,” she says, leading Janis back to the couch. Janis lies down with a small pout. “Do you have your heating pad?” Janis shakes her head, pointing to the kitchen. Cady bends to kiss her pout away. “You’re still my tough punk.” 

Cady heads back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up after their dinner and grab Janis’ heating pad. 

“Dame, do you wanna watch movies with us?” 

“I’d love to, but I have a very involved skincare routine to finish and beauty sleep to catch up on,” Damian sighs. Cady giggles and gives him a hug. 

“Okay. Goodnight. Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight,” Damian replies, ruffling Cady’s hair. “‘Night, Jan.”

“Goodnight,” Janis calls from the couch, wincing as another cramp rolls over her. Cady heads over armed with her heating pad and some candy. 

“How do you want me?” Cady asks jokingly, striking a pose. Janis lays her heating pad over her tummy and reaches for her, so Cady settles in on top of her and cuddles in against her neck. “Good?”

“Mmhmm,” Janis hums. “Movie?” 

“You pick,” Cady says. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Whatever would make your poor uterus feel better,” Cady giggles. She rolls her eyes affectionately as Janis scrolls right to The Shining. “I should have known.” 

“Yes, you should’ve.” 

—-

Cady doesn’t look at the TV once throughout the movie, staying firmly pressed against Janis’ shoulder so she doesn’t have to see any of the scary things happening. 

About halfway through she realizes this was probably Janis’ plan all along, to keep her tightly cuddled against her for more warmth and comfort. Sneaky. 

Janis does put on a Disney movie once her horror movie is over, so Cady shifts down a bit to be able to see Moana. Janis hums contently and squishes her closer when Cady starts fidgeting with the blonde ends of her hair to keep her hands busy. 

-

“You ready to go to bed?” Cady yawns once the movie is over. “I’m sleepy.” 

“Yeah,” Janis says. “I’ll clean up out here, you go get ready.” 

“Mmkay,” Cady says, yawning again. She leans in for a kiss before carefully climbing off her girlfriend and padding down the hall towards their bedroom. She can already hear Damian snoring from his room. He wasn’t kidding about needing some beauty sleep. 

She brushes her teeth and washes her face while she waits for Janis to straighten the kitchen and living room back up. Janis comes in behind her and kisses her cheek, spluttering a bit when she realizes Cady hasn’t rinsed her face yet and she gets a kiss full of cleanser. 

“Sorry, love,” Cady chuckles. Janis wipes her lips off and hastily reaches for her toothbrush. 

“You should use a cleanser that tastes better,” she says, poking her tongue out a few times. 

“Well you’re not supposed to eat it, goof. And you use yucky toothpaste, so we’ll just call it payback.” 

“My toothpaste is mint,” Janis chuckles, squeezing some out and beginning to brush her teeth. 

“Exactly. Vile,” Cady huffs. 

“Just becauthe ‘ou don’ like it,” Janis says around a mouthful of foam. 

“It’s gross! My watermelon kind is much better!” 

“Ith’s for little kids,” Janis chuckles. 

“I’m baby,” Cady pouts. “Mint is gross, I won’t hear any arguments.”

“Shuit yershelf.”

Cady giggles and goes to crawl into bed. She gets comfy under the covers, pulling them up just beneath her nose. Hopefully Janis is still up for cuddles after two movies’ worth. Cady always gets chilly on her period, and Janis is the best heater. 

She listens with a faint smile as Janis does her own bedtime routine, listening for the clunk of a mouthwash bottle being set down and the scrubbing sounds as Janis washes her face. 

Janis herself makes an appearance after a couple minutes, smiling as she sees her girlfriend all curled up and cozy in bed. 

She’s so focused on her that she misjudges her distance from their dresser. Cady winces as she smacks her foot against it, in pain by proxy just from the sound. 

Janis immediately starts yelling, cursing both the dresser for being where it is and… the universe as a whole, from what little Cady can put together. 

She was expecting a little bit of yelling, but Janis continues for longer than seems healthy. 

“Fucking dresser being in my fucking way-” she hollers at the top of her lungs, either not noticing or not caring that it’s midnight and they have neighbors. Most probably the latter. “My fucking foot!” 

“Janis,” Cady says lowly enough that Janis stops yelling and turns to look at her, having to listen intently to hear her. “Come here, my love.”

“No, I don’t-”

“Janis,” Cady insists. “Just let me hold you for a minute and see how you feel. If you’re still angry I promise you can wake the neighbors up again and keep going.”

Janis huffs crankily and stomps over like a petulant child. Cady props herself up against the headboard just a bit, somewhere between sitting and lying down. Janis lies in between her legs and rests her head on her chest. 

“One minute. All I’m asking,” Cady whispers. “Just breathe and listen to my heart. One minute.” 

Janis’ face is still screwed up in a mix of frustration and pain. Cady gently massages between her eyebrows with her thumb and scratches her scalp, both things that help calm Janis down. Sure enough, she feels some tension leave Janis’ muscles and hears her sigh just shy of contently. 

“Better?” 

Janis nods shyly, smushing her face into Cady’s tummy. Cady grins and pulls her up higher. 

“We’ll rearrange the furniture tomorrow. Save your poor feet any future strife. Okay?” she murmurs, kissing Janis’ hair. 

“Mmkay,” Janis grumbles. “Your hands are cold.” 

“Maybe you should make them warm, then,” Cady grins. Janis yelps as Cady slips her frigid little hands inside her shirt and presses them against Janis’ warm back. “Mm. So warm.” 

“You’re a gremlin.”

“I’m your gremlin,” Cady retaliates. She feels Janis smile against her. 

“Can I return you?”

“Hey,” Cady pouts. “You love me.”

“I do,” Janis chuckles. “Goodnight, baby shark.”

“Oh, you monster.” 

—————

thanks for reading!! hope you enjoyed :)

[jrosa82fanfics]

Part 4 of Finding Family

He’s ten when his mother decides to send him away, to start a new life with his father in Gotham. It comes after a particularly calm time period, seeing as he had not gotten injured severely or scolded much by his grandfather. He had in fact been training with the man when he had made his usual comments.

“That was a good strike… for you anyways. It’s nice to see you finally improving after all these years of wasting my time.”

“I’m happy my progress pleases you grandfather.” is his only reply.

He knows better than to stay quiet, the last time having been asked to say thank you for his grandfather's compliments. He has to swallow back the words that long to leave his mouth, they’re already on the tip of his tongue when he’s interrupted.

“Father, Damian I’m sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with my son right now.”

His mother’s usually sweet voice cuts through the air, and behind her calm facade Damian can see the anger boiling beneath the surface through the cold look in her eyes. He wants to protest, preferring the harsh but familiar presence of his grandfather to the unfamiliar anger he can see in his mother.

It doesn’t matter what he wants in the end though, he follows her to his room where she closes the door. As the lock clicks into place he feels the dread from earlier building, his anxiety to know what he had done to displease her causing his palms to sweat.

He can’t hold back anymore and asks “What did I do?” The look of surprise that crosses her face calms him, as she kneels and wraps her arms around him. The smell of her sweet and tangy perfume a comfort as he takes a deep breath.

“Nothing my darling,” she begins, “You haven’t done anything wrong, it is I who have failed you.” He doesn’t understand her, can’t comprehend how she could feel that way.

Despite his confusion she continues “I think it’s time you met your father, if you could get cleaned up and change I’ll pack your things and we’ll leave to go see him. You can think of it as your birthday present.”

The confusion inside him grows with the addition of some many bewildering feelings. On the one hand he’s excited to be going somewhere new and meeting his father when didn’t even know he had one, but on the other hand he feels fear and apprehension at the thought of being somewhere unfamiliar with a stranger he didn’t know anything about and who might not even like him.

And then he begins wondering What kind of person is my father? Will he like me? What if I don’t like him? What if he’s cruel like grandfather? What if I like him and never get to see him again?

There are too many unanswered questions to consider while he showers and once he’s dressed and they leave to board a plane he’s too distracted by all the sights and sounds on his first flight to really worry about his questions.

He awakes from a nap before they land in Gotham and is swept up in the excitement, lights, and the sheer amount of people everywhere he looks, as they make their way to the car.

They drive for a few minutes allowing him to see even more of the city, including children his age and younger and it makes him realize that he’s never been taller or older than anyone before. They enter a small dinner and sit at a booth to wait for his father, and they order food.

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

Hope you all are excited for their first meeting next week!

<3J

[incorrectbatfam]

Stepmom!Selina?

She sees what she's getting into from a mile away, but she welcomes it because Bruce's kids are a part of him, and she loves all of Bruce.

The kids all see it coming too, and while some (Damian) take longer to warm up to her, she's welcomed into the fold with open arms.

Selina's got a heart as big as her partner and while she's not always perfect, you can see how much she cares.

As a former foster child herself, Selina understands Duke's unique experiences and traumas from the foster care system, so whenever he needs to talk, she's the first one he goes to. Sometimes he doesn't want to (or need to) talk, so they'll watch boxing matches or she'll teach him little bits of Mandarin. If the kitchen isn't busy, they'll try their hand at new TikTok recipes, and film themselves either succeeding or debunking the original poster.

Being raised in isolation to be a human weapon meant Cass missed out on a lot of the things daughters typically learn as children/teens. The evening of Cass's first gala, she didn't know the first thing about doing her own hair and makeup. She's braved assassin armies, but her self-made disaster of bobby pins and eyeshadow nearly drives her to tears. Selina swoops in, wipes Cass's face with gentle reassurances, and walks her through step-by-step.

Selina considers it a privilege to have watched Dick grow from the spunky little Robin to the man he is today. Even though he's taller than her, she still ruffled his hair when he does a good job. She also keeps the first ever birthday card he gave her, which includes a pop-up bat signal and scented stickers, and remembers all of his favorite radio stations. Also, when Bruce does something, Dick goes tattling to Selina.

For a while, Carrie mooched off of her siblings' Netflix profiles, but everyone got tired of her messing up their algorithm and she was forced to make her own. She soon realized how much freedom she had because no one could see what she was watching. Selina caught on to the power trip and started researching and watching snippets whenever a new show comes out. That's how she stopped a bunch of preteen girls from watching Squid Game.

Tim often gets overlooked as not just the middle child, but the child who appears put-together and regularly takes on adult responsibilities. Selina, however, remembers that he's still a teenager. She regularly checks in and gradually teaches him that it's okay to let go and act his age. Selina encourages him to call his Young Justice friends outside of missions and take small acts of rebellion against Bruce. When Tim and his boyfriend snuck out to a famous lover's lookout, Selina gave them the car keys and covered for them.

She noticed that Jason really enjoys hanging out with Harley Quinn, bonding over not just Joker trauma but other shared interests like music taste. After Harley turns to the antihero side, Selina discusses with Bruce and they start inviting Aunt Harley and Aunt Ivy to dinner. The first time they do that, Harley is so excited that she baked a three-layer cake just for Jason. Literally, in strawberry frosting, it said, "THIS CAKE IS FOR JASON ONLY." Finding someone that Jason can relate to remains one of Selina's proudest accomplishments.

She's trying her best, but she makes mistakes too. For instance, although Wayne Manor has plenty of kitchen space, Selina does her cooking at Harley and Ivy's because Ivy can offer her fresh plant-based ingredients that suited Damian's needs. When Alfred's not available, she sends Damian to school with healthy, flavorful vegan lunches shaped into Cheese Viking characters. One time, she was tasked with bringing brownies to a PTA meeting. Incidentally, Harley was simultaneously baking a... different kind of brownie for a block party (you can see where this is heading). When an angry superintendent demanded to know who was responsible, Selina wisely kept her mouth shut and thankfully, so did Damian.

Cullen loves concerts, but he's a huge introvert who gets anxiety when he's left alone in a crowd. Selina becomes his concert buddy, and she'll go as all-out as he does. Sometimes that's showing up to a garage band dressed-down in hoodies and sunglasses. Other times it's painting their faces and looking like they just came out of a Hot Topic blowout sale. She even listens to the discography beforehand so she can blend in. Selina learns a lot about Cullen through this, because nothing says more about a person than the music they listen to.

Harper, though looking rough around the edges, turns into a giddy little kid at interactive science museums. During one of these trips, Harper got distracted by the giant Newton's Cradle so she didn't notice a fourth grade field trip sweeping up Selina. When they reunited at the gift shop, a chaperone had given Selina a school t-shirt and she was put in charge of grading ten kids' assignments. Harper laughed so hard that she spewed lemonade on the museum owner. Neither of them will let the other live that day down.

Selina and Barbara openly talk about guy stuff, and Selina is more than happy to offer advice in times of need. They're both pretty liberal talking about that stuff, and one time they did a tier ranking of all the Gotham Rogues based on how effective their gimmick is (Joker was the only S-tier). They then proceeded to get into a debate on whether or not Man-Bat and Killer Croc should qualify for the list, which led to them staring each other down at dinner while the other family members sat around them confused.

Steph's school offered a Mother's Day breakfast. Although Crystal Brown was doing her best and wanted to make it, she was scheduled a double-shift that the breakfast fell right in the middle of. Selina reached out to Crystal and with permission, went in her place. Afraid that Steph would publicly reject her, Selina sat in the parking lot for ten minutes as Bruce amped her up over the phone. Steph, thinking that no one would no up, was ecstatic and said that she couldn't have thought of anyone better. They enjoyed stacking up waffles and making the girls who bully Steph envious.

Long before she and Bruce got married, Selina made it clear that she would not be relegated to the gender-typical role of a homemaker, and Bruce happily concurred because it's 2021. They knew that to give Alfred a break, they'd have to take on some chores themselves. Instead of dividing up a boring old chore chart, they find ways to make cleaning fun and collaborative. They'll dance around the halls in mop slippers, play "guess the stain", and race their roombas. The kids see this and start modeling the behavior in their own ways—Dick swings from high places to dust them, Damian trains his pets to pick up garbage, and Cass and Duke compete to see who can clean the most bathtubs.

Some parts of the Manor are due for redecorating, so Selina and Alfred make a day trip out of interior design sketches, flipping through furniture catalogues, and looking at paint swatches. It sounds boring at first, but the menial tasks meant they had plenty of time for conversation, and she finally understood why everyone respects him. They also made room in the afternoon for a stroll through the park and afternoon tea, where he told her and her only the secret to a perfect scone.

The other Justice League partners welcome her into the group too. Whenever Selina's in Metropolis, she joins Lois and Ma and Pa for Sunday brunch where they share what their kids have been up to. Iris shows her life hacks to cooking large batches of food in a short time. Selina and Dinah discover an online store dedicated to selling vigilante gear and go on a Cyber Monday spree for their whole families. Steve Trevor, Diana's partner, teaches Selina how to fly with the invisible jet so she can surprise Bruce with the batplane.

After overcoming their initial conflicts, Selina and Talia hold a high amount of respect for each other. Talia sees Selina as not just a capable combatant, but a worthy partner to her former beloved and stepmother to her son. Selina, after spending all that time with the kids, understands the motherly love that Talia holds for Damian and makes it abundantly clear that she would never try to replace Talia in the boy's life. Regardless, looking after all those kids is hard, so they are very much open to the idea of co-parenting.

(Selina doesn't know it, but all this makes Bruce fall in love with her all over again.)

[mochinek0]

2021:12-Heat

Damian knew how stressed Marinette was studying for her exams. She was trying to study so much in such a short amount of time; she was gonna burn herself out. His lovely girlfriend was already preparing to move to Gotham next year and attend University with him. He knew exactly what she needed.

The young Wayne stood outside her family's bakery. He knew there was the possibility that everything he had done would be cancelled, but he prayed her parents would allow it. With a deep breath, he entered the bakery.

"Damian?" questioned Sabine, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to surprise Marinette." he answered, "If you let me."

"You have our blessing!" Tom smiled.

Damian blushed, "Not that."

"Oh." her father frowned.

Damian cleared his throat and spoke, "I was hoping I could take her to a hotel, this weekend. I know she's stressing out of her exams and I booked a reservation at a hot springs so she could unwind. There's even a spa treatment and I promise to teach her better studying tips."

Sabine smiled, "I think that sounds lovely, Dear. It sounds like somehting she needs. Why don't you pack for her and you can pick her up from the school. Just make sure to have her back home, Sunday night."

"Of course, Sabine." the young Wayne stated, making his way towards the stairs.

"Are you sure that's wise, Dear?" questioned Tom, once he was sure Damian had gone upstairs, "Alone in a hotel?"

"Tom, she's almost eighteen." Sabine spoke, "She's moving to Gotham, next year with him, and we raised her well. Should anything else happened, I'm sure they'll be careful."

Tom let out a sigh and nodded.

"At least you know, that boy, will treat her like a queen." Sabine smiled.

Tom had to give her that. Marinette was always smiling, especially when talking about him.

Marinette had been having a rough week. All she wanted to do, at this point, was crawl into bed and sleep through her exams, magically passing them. She hadn't expected to see her boyfriend outside of her school.

"Damian?" she questioned.

"Hello, Angel." he answered.

Marinette leaned against his frame and kissed him.

"I missed you so much." Mari stated.

"Well, I know how to resolve that." Damian spoke.

Marinette sighed, "I'm sorry, Dami. I really am, but I'm tired and what ever dinner reservations you have planned-"

Damian chuckled, "Habibiti, I know you are tired."

Damian picked her up and held her in his arms. He was quick to notice the people on campus beginning to stare and record them.

"What I have done, " he began, "My Angel, is book a hotel, spa treatments, and a reservation for some other things for you to relax this weekend." as he walked her towards his car.

"That all sounds lovely, My Demon." Marinette sighed, cuddling into him.

"I have also been by to see your parents." Damian continued, "They have allowed me to have you in my care until Sunday night. Sabine allowed me into your room to pack for you, on this miniature vacation retreat."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you." answered the girl in his arms.

"I should be the one to say that, Angel." Damian replied, setting her down so he could open the car door, "Ready for a weekend of relaxation? I may have booked a hot springs for you."

Marinette leaned up and kissed her boyfriend, "You have a way with words."

He chuckled as they got in the car and drove off.

Marinette sunk into the hot springs with a sigh. The heat from the water already washing away the tension from the semester and her recent comissions.

"Enjoying yourself?" questioned Damian.

Marinette quickly sat up, covering herself, and looked around, "Damian?"

"On the other side of the wall, Angel." he answered, "I do not intend to peek, if that is your worry."

"No!" she shouted, "I-I was just wondering where you were."

"Close enough." he chuckled.

Marinette moved against the wall and smiled, "I don't know how to repay you, Dami."

"Seeing you relax is all that matters right now, Habibiti." the youngest Wayne answered, "In a couple minutes, we can go back to the room and order room service. In the morning, I have breakfast prearranged an by lunch, I have a spa day set up for you."

Mari smiled, "Too bad this fence is in the way or I would kiss you."

"I'll make sure to remind you in the room." Damian smirked.

Sure enough, he got his kiss.

@maribat-calendar-events

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[anxiousnerdwritings]

Helloo! I Love your writing! your a amazing writter!! If you are still accepting request it could be a oneshot,maybe, if jason todd was platonic yandere with damian's twin sister (reader). Perhaps when she was a child she was deemed worthless, even by her brother and mother and ran away. And well, Jason found her and raised her as a sister (or daughter). Years later she meets her brother who lives with her father (bruce) but she doesn't want to know anything about them and Jason is not going to allow them to take her away either🤔🤷‍♀️ Thanks!!

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Worthless. Unwanted. Burden. That’s all you were to them. All you would ever be to them. Your own mother and brother, whom you shared your mother’s womb with, who were so supposed to love and care for you unconditionally, were the first to berate and turn their backs on you.

At least your Grandfather had been more tolerable towards you. He saw potential, something neither your mother or brother could see for themselves. He knew you would be exceptional one day; with time, consistency, and intense training, you would have a place amongst the League of Assassins.

But your Mother begged to differ. She knew her children, at least that’s what she said. She knew you wouldn’t amount to anything, not like Damian. And for that you were sure it was only a matter of time before she took matters into her own hands, so you ran.

You ran as far as you could and you never looked back. You never wanted to see the face of the people who hurt you the most ever again.

Never once did you think you would ever feel what it was like to be wanted, to be loved and cared for. To feel protected. To feel a sense of belonging. But that’s just what he ended up having to give.

He was there for you when no one else was and vice versa. He had your back and you had his.

The two of you were a team. A family. You and Jason.

You kicked ass together, taking names along the way. Tonight was like any other; an arms deal was taking place down at the pier. You and Jason were making quick work of all of them and it seemed like things were going without a hitch. That was until a stray bullet pierced through your left side.

You were down. You were bleeding. That’s all Jason needed to see red.

He didn’t hold anything back as he punched, kicked and shot his way to your side. He was quick to tend to your wound, having his own make shift first aid kit on him just in case of something like this.

Anyone who knew Jay would never in a million years imagine him to act so much like a mother hen but that’s exactly how he was with you.

You were always surprised at just how gentle he was with you. Nothing like the people you had left far behind, who would only live on in your more unsavory memories.

“I’m fine, Jay. It’s not as bad as it looks.” You tried to reassure him. You knew he wasn’t going to let you out on patrol for a few days at least. Maybe a week even. If you were lucky.

“I knew I should have had you stay home tonight. Now look at you; you’re hurt. And it’s my fault. I could have taken care of this one on my own.” He seethed, blaming himself like he always did when you got hurt.

“Really, Jay? There was no way you would have been able to take ‘em all out on your own tonight. Besides, we are a team. Remember?”

You didn’t give him the chance to respond before you continued, “I knew what I was getting myself into. I’ve been through worse. I’ve trained through worse. I’ll be just fine, Jay. Don’t go blaming yourself. Alright?”

He looked at you for a good while, staring into your eyes, seeing the life shining through them. But before he had the chance to say what he wanted to, a voice pulled both your attentions away from one another.

“Jason. Y/n. Are you alright?” It was only a matter of time before either of you would have a run in with Batman. You knew Jason had a past with the Bat but you still had yet to meet the Dark Knight. The man who was your father; Bruce Wayne.

Out of your peripheral, you could see Jason visibly tensing. It was almost like he was getting ready for a fight.

And as if things couldn’t get worse, Batman wasn’t alone either. His newest Robin was taking place at his side, much like an obedient dog would.

It was no secret who the all too familiar face belonged too; your brother, at least that’s what you once referred to him as. But now he was just Damian to you. Nothing but a stranger.

“Father, is this really necessary? Can’t we do this another time?” Damian inquired.

“No. We’re doing this now.” Bruce answered, never taking his eyes off you. Jason wasn’t liking this at all. Not one bit.

“Is your side alright, Y/n? If I could look at it, I’m sure I have something to treat it.” He said, taking a few tentative steps closer, reaching into his utility belt, but Jason wasn’t having any of that.

Stepping in between Bruce and yourself, making sure to shield you, Jason replied for you, “It’s already been taken care of. We don’t need your help.”

Pulling yourself up onto your feet, used to pain by now to easily push through it, you choose to speak for yourself, “Jay’s right. We’ve already tended to it. Thank you but your help isn’t necessary.”

It was silent for a while. Tension was filling the air, heavy and thick enough you could cut through it.

It was Bruce who spoke first, “I would like to discuss something of the utmost import-“

“Don’t bother. We’re aren’t wanting any part of whatever you have going on.” Jason interrupted.

Damian scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Like we would want you, Todd.”

“Damian.” Bruce warned. “I wanted to discuss this with Y/n, Jason.” Jason glared at both Bruce and Damian but stayed silent.

Taking a few steps closer, Bruce was directly in front of you now. Not too close for comfort but close enough to still be towering over you. “As your father, I want you to come live in the manor. We want you to be part of the family. Our family. Both Damian and I would prefer you to be with us. We can discuss patrol and everything else later, but right now there is a room already waiting for you.”

You looked from Bruce to Damian, to the hand Bruce had placed on your shoulder during his speech, to Jason’s hand tightly gripping Bruce’s wrist. You didn’t have to think twice about your decision.

“No thank you. Honestly, I don’t want anything to do with either of you. I cut ties with Damian and Talia a long time ago for a reason. Although I will admit there was a time I wanted to meet you, to see if maybe I could be a family with you but I came across Jason instead. And I couldn’t be more thankful that I did. He is my family now. And that is just where I plan on staying.”

Jason couldn’t hide the shit eating grin that had spread across his face, not that he wanted to anyway. The thought had crossed his mind that he may have to use his guns once more tonight ‘cause he sure as hell wasn’t going to just let them take you. He wasn’t going to standby and let his family be ripped away. Not now, not ever.

“Let’s get back home, Little Stunner. I think we both deserve some much needed rest after tonight.”

It was just you and him again.

Just how he preferred it.

[verymuchimmortalcat]

To Have Several first Meetings

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month Day 1: Meeting for the first time

ao3

@maribat-bdbwm

Marinette had known she was adopted since she had been twelve and had a project about genetics in school. Her parents had explained to her that her mother had given her up for adoption since she wasn’t in a situation to take care of her and didn’t think her father would be able to. Marinette’s mother had passed away soon after and while Tom and Sabine had her father’s information neither of them had ever contacted him. They left the option up to Marinette, and at the time she hadn’t cared, she had two loving parents and she was happy.

.oOo.

Marinette meets Batman for the first time when she’s 14. Wonder Woman had been in contact with them from the beginning of the hawkmoth situation, but after Heroes Day Batman insists on speaking to the them. As they enter the Watch Tower she can feel Cat Noir buzzing with excitement next to her. She’d laugh but she’s too nervous to do so.

Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are waiting for them. Marinette’s glad there aren’t more heroes around, Cat Noir looks like he might explode in excitement. They sit down at the table and Batman speaks first, “You need training.”

She’s well aware of that, but the way Batman says it irritates her, but she ignores it. She’s here because Diana asked, and because Batman is right about their lack of training.

Superman speaks up then, “We can help you with that. You can use Titans Tower for your training-”

“-And due to the nature of the threat you face, the two of you and the rest of your team is welcome there anytime.”

Marinette doesn’t point out that the rest of them are temporary heroes, it will probably alarm them more. She knows Cat Noir is probably jumping at the offer but she wants to know “why?”

Batman’s the one to speak, “if you’re going to protect Paris, then you’re going to need to be trained well.”

Marinette doesn’t know why Batman has a sudden vested interest in Paris’s safety but she’s going to go along with it. They do need the training and it will be nice to talk to more heroes their age.

“And the Justice League won’t interfere in Paris?”

“No.”

“None of them? You have a very large team and not all of them are here at the moment.”

“I will ensure everyone is informed.”

Marinette drops it, Batman sounds sincere.

.oOo.

Cat Noir and Ladybug make their first appearance in Titans tower that weekend. Cyborg and Nightwing are the ones waiting for them. They meet a lot of heroes. There’s Robin, Red Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid flash, Solstice, Ravager, Beast Boy, Raven and apparently there are more of them usually but those are the ones she meets.

Civilian names are a whole another thing. Ladybug, Cat Noir and the Bats don’t share theirs but then there are the others. Cassie of course doesn’t have a secret identity. And Kon, Bart, Kiran, Rose and Gar don’t really mind telling another super hero. It’s a bit weird how forthcoming they are with their identities, Marinette’s had the no sharing identities rule hammered into her head for over a year now, and meeting the Teen Titans is making her question that rule.

As time passes and the miraculous team grows larger and the heroes become permanent, Titans Tower becomes steadily more occupied during weekends and training relaxes into hanging out.

They still train of course, the bats help with figuring out hawkmoth and Mayura’s identities, pretty much everyone helps with the actual fighting, and Raven helps with the more magical aspects. She meets pretty much all of the teenage superhero community over the course of a year. It’s pretty cool.

.oOo.

About a year after they start their training, they figure out Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste and Mayura’s Nathalie Sancouer. It’s not surprising but she knows they’re all worried how it’s going to affect Adrien, who as they learn is Cat Noir.

Marinette is fifteen when Hawkmoth’s reign over Paris ends.

Paris celebrates for days. But Marinette can’t bring herself to feel anything anymore. It’s not that she hasn’t been dealing with her emotions with the constant trips to the tower it’s just not letting herself feel anything in Paris becomes normal.

Her parents start to get worried and as much as she would love to calm down their fears she can’t. Luka, Juleka and Alya are the ones who join forces to convince her to reach out to her biological father.

When she gives in and asks her parents, they give her his contact information happily, assuming that’s what had been bothering her all this time. Marinette doesn’t correct them.

It takes Marinette a few weeks to call him but she does call him.

.oOo.

It turns out he already knew about her; he had just figured waiting until she was older was the better approach. Marinette wasn’t really sure what to make of that but he had invited her to his house in Gotham to spend a week getting to know him and the rest of his children.

Marinette accepts his offer happily. It would be nice to learn more about her father and his family (beyond what her research turned up with, Gotham reporters didn’t seem very sensible), and get out of Paris for a while.

.oOo.

Marinette is met by M. Pennyworth, who’s their butler, at the airport. Her parents had let her come on her own after M. Wayne had assured them that she would be safe. There had still been an unnecessarily large number of people to send her off at the airport, though.

Their ride to Wayne Manor is filled with a good amount of nervous rambling, from Marinette’s part. Alfred (he had insisted upon being called so) asks her about school and friends and Marinette goes on a lot of tangents as she talks about everyone in Paris.

There several people waiting at the entrance when they reach the Manor. If she wasn’t anxious about meeting her family, she would probably be more amazed at the beauty of the Manor and the surrounding grounds.

She waves awkwardly at them and says, “hi, I’m Marinette.”

The shortest boy among them, Damian she believes, turns away and walks back into the Manor. Her father turns as if to follow him but he’s stopped by the second tallest of her siblings, Marinette doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to the idea of siblings but she finds she quite likes it, “I’ll go check on Damian. Bye Marinette, see you around.”

She waves at him silently and all of them fall into silence, Alfred having left them. Would it be too late to turn away now?

There aren’t enough pictures of Bruce Wayne’s children on the internet, with the exception of Tim Wayne, for her to recognise all of them but she's pretty sure the one who finally breaks the silence is Jason Todd, returning from the dead created more than enough reading material for her research.

“I'm leaving. Nice to meet ya,” and then heads off. None of the others seem to think it’s strange, so she doesn’t dwell on it.

Mr. Wayne clears his throat and says, “we should probably head inside.”

“Truly one of your brighter ideas B,” Tim says and the other two laugh. They introduce themselves as Cass and Duke once they’re inside and Mr. Wayne tells her she can call him B or Bruce like the others do or whatever she’s comfortable with, Marinette nods in reply. And then she’s being dragged along to somewhere deep in the Manor by her new siblings and they’re talking about some kind of prank war that they’re apparently in the middle of.

Marinette grins. This is bound to be interesting.

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 12

Chapter 1     Chapter 11

The dining room was only slightly less formal than the entry way.  It was decorated in deep tones and dark wood meant to evoke grandeur and pageantry. It still spoke of old money and cold families.  There was no evidence of laughter over inside jokes, gasping at stories about someone’s day, discussions of dreams, or fatherly advice doled out over a lovingly cooked dinner that everyone worked on together.

Marinette held back as everyone made their way into the dining room, letting them claim their usual seats, prepared to take whatever seat was left.  She was hoping to cause as little upset and disturbance as possible.  Her plan was foiled when Duke jumped up from his seat and moved down one spot.  “Hey, Marinette.  Take this seat.”  

Marinette opened her mouth to object but stopped when Jason put his hand on her back to guide her to the seat.  “Lost cause.  Don’t even bother,” he muttered low enough for her to hear.  Marinette looked back at him uncertainly but nodded in understanding. She breathed a small sigh of relief when Jason took the other seat next to her.

Dick pouted at the seating, but took the seat across from her instead, grabbing the seat quickly from the right as Tim was just about to drop into it from the left.  Tim grumbled something about annoying puppies and took the next seat over, causing Damian to scowl and redirect himself to a different seat. “Damian!” Dick called out to him. He patted the seat next to him.  

Damian huffed and sent Marinette a glare as he took his not normal seat beside Dick.  He squirmed in the seat.  It wasn’t his usual seat and he could feel the difference.  It felt off.  It felt wrong.  He didn’t like it at all.  This was not his routine.  This was not what he was comfortable with and it was all her fault.  They were playing a charade for her.  They were making themselves uncomfortable for her.

Marinette watched politely as M. Pennyworth set the plates down in front of everyone.  When he was done, he exited quietly.  Marinette watched him leave the room as the rest of the family took bites of their food.  M. Wayne had called M. Pennyworth a father and Jason had called him a grandfather, but he didn’t eat with them?  And addressed them all as Master or Miss?  Did none of them know what family was supposed to be?  What it was supposed to mean?  Because that, wasn’t it.  And honestly, if that’s what they thought it was, she had serious concerns about joining their ‘family’.

She looked back to Jason and tried to send him a message with her eyes to ask him about it without having to say it out loud and draw attention to herself.  She cleared her throat quietly, hoping it was quiet enough that just Jason would hear but everyone looked at her.  She looked at their eyes before returning hers to her plate.  “Sorry,” she said quietly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bruce said kindly.  His eyes were filled with concern and a touch of worry.  He wanted her to eventually feel like this was her home too and if he wanted that to happen, she needed to feel comfortable here.  “Did you need anything?”

“No, no, no,” Marinette insisted, shaking her head and sending him a weak smile.  “It’s nothing.  The dinner looks amazing.”

“If there’s anything you don’t like…” Bruce started.

“No!  Of course not,” Marinette exclaimed.  “This looks really delicious.”  She was waving her hands frantically.  It was all going wrong already.  She was causing a commotion.  From the moment she’d walked into his life, she’d caused nothing but commotion.  She was really hoping to break the cycle tonight and get closer to the kids in the family.

Bruce watched her uncertainly, but nodded.  “Because if you want anything else, we have a huge kitchen and pantry,” Bruce tried to assure her.

Marinette’s eyes grew even bigger and her movements more frantic.  “Jesus, B. Lay off her.  She already said she was fine,” Jason grumbled.  “You’re going to give her a complex.”

Somehow, Marinette’s eyes got wider and her face went slack.  “No, no. It’s fine.”  She turned to Bruce with a desperate look.  “I’m fine.  Thank you for your concern.”

“Marinette,” Bruce stated with a touch of exasperation. He didn’t know what he had to do to get her relax, to get her to believe she wasn’t going to make him not want her. “Just let me know.”

Marinette nodded rapidly.  “Of course.”  She looked around the room taking note of the pasted on, polite smiles while they took silent bites.  She could feel her shoulders curling in on her as the quiet continued.

“How was your day today?” Bruce prompted Marinette after the first few bites in uncomfortable silence.

She nearly dropped her fork in surprise.  “Oh, it was pretty good,” she answered with a polite smile.  And oh God, this was the most awkward thing she had ever done.  She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a breath.  It wasn’t going to change unless she did something to change it.  “I’m glad you had a meeting this morning so we missed out on the Penguin.  I mean sorry about the meeting, but I think it worked out for the best.”

She fought the urge to openly examine the people around the table.  They had all frozen at her mention of the Penguin, but all seemed to be trying to pretend like they hadn’t.  Their smiles became forced.  She wasn’t sure if it brought back bad memories or scared them how close M. Wayne had been to getting taken by the Penguin.  If they had stuck to their original plan, he could have been able to take him.

Bruce chuckled politely, tightly.  “Definitely a better result.  I would still like to go to the art museum with you though.”

“Do you have room for someone else?” Dick asked perking up.  “I’d like to get in on that.  Cass?” He looked over to Cass to see how she felt.  When she nodded excitedly he looked over to Damian.  “Damian would love to go to, right Damian?”  Damian leaned back in his chair and focused on the food, refusing to look at Dick.  “Damian’s in,” Dick enthused.

Tim snorted but realized his mistake as soon as the sound came out.  He looked warily over at Dick who was giving him an overly wide smile.  Tim turned to Marinette with an artificial smile.  “I’d love to.”  Duke shaking his head caught his eyes and he grinned maliciously. “Duke loves the art museum.  We can’t go without him too.”

Duke froze and narrowed his eyes at Tim for a fraction of a second before smiling at Marinette.  “If you don’t mind the company.”

Marinette looked between them.  The only one who seemed to actually be happy about it was Dick. Everyone else seemed like this was the last possible thing they’d ever want to do.  She plastered on a smile, unwilling to be the cause of discord in the family.  “No. Yeah.  That sounds… fun.”

Damian narrowed his eyes at her.  “You’re being insincere,” he accused harshly.

“Damian!” Bruce scolded loudly.  “That was uncalled for.”

Dick looked at him with disappointment. “Damian.  It is not okay to treat a guest… your sister like that,” he added after Bruce finished.

Jason was tense, preparing to step in if Damian said even one more word to Marinette.  He knew she already didn’t feel welcome in Bruce’s life, let alone his home.  He sure as Hell wasn’t going to let Damian solidify that belief.

Marinette stared at Damian wide eyed.  He wasn’t wrong, but she thought everyone kind of understood the reasoning behind it.  It wasn’t ideal, but it was expected.  Not to mention she wasn’t the only one.  She looked around the room and finding varying levels of disappointment, concern for her, and annoyance with Damian.  She looked over at Damian trying to gauge his goal.  

Roy and Jason had warned her that he would try to intimidate her, likely attack her.  And she guessed she should have expected to defend herself.  But again, he wasn’t wrong.  What he was accusing her of; not being entirely honest, she wasn’t.  None of them were.  But when she looked in his eyes, it wasn’t hostility she saw, not completely.  It was confusion, uncertainty, unease, and yes, a fair amount of hostility.  And wasn’t that the issue she was having with them too?  That they didn’t seem to be sincere with her?  But while she curled in, he lashed out.

“You’re not wrong,” she admitted quietly.  The room fell silent again and Damian looked up at her with a confused scowl.  She met Damian’s gaze and gave him a small smile.  “We’re all being varying levels of insincere.  This is an awkward, uncomfortable, scary situation.  For all of us, I imagine.  Again varying levels of that.  Maybe for you and me more than the rest.  You’re the baby and I’m…”  She let it trail off leaving ‘unwanted’ unsaid, hoping they would fill in the sentence with a more palatable adjective.  One she wouldn’t have to discuss with concerned looks and sympathetic smiles.

“You guys don’t want to offend me and I’m trying desperately not to offend you, but we don’t know each other well enough to know how to do that or what we need to do to ease the tension.  We’re trying to figure each other out, so nobody gets hurt. You or me.”  She knew she was rambling but it was honest, coherent rambling at least.  Maybe not completely, but it was the truth.  And Damian was right.  They weren’t being themselves and they weren’t going to get to know each other until they were.  

“I don’t want to expose too much and scare you away or give you the ammunition to really hurt me, if that’s what you’re going to do.  And I imagine you guys are afraid of driving me away by saying the wrong thing.  And how do you know what the wrong thing is until you know someone?  So we’re all on edge.  Not ourselves.  We don’t feel safe to be ourselves yet.  And how can you be sincere when you’re not yourself?”

Cass smiled warmly at her and nodded in agreement. Jason wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.  “Except me. She’s herself around me, so suck it.” He stuck his tongue out at the rest of the family, like the mature, tough, dangerous, vigilante he was.

“Oh my God, Jason.”  Marinette shook her head and dropped it in her hands.  “That’s because I was drunk off my ass and didn’t have the ability to pretend when we met.”

“That’s French for ‘because you’re the best’,” Jason assured them with a completely straight face.

“It definitely isn’t,” Dick rolled his eyes, but his lips were turned up in a smile.  “If you want to talk about him behind his back in front of his face in French, let me know,” Dick winked at her.  “I haven’t gotten to practice my French in a while.”

“It sounds like Jason took advantage of you in a weakened state.  Terrible brother behavior,” Tim insisted.  He shook his head in mock disappointment.  “You deserve better.”

“Who?  You?” Jason squawked, affronted at the suggestion.

“I was going to say Duke, but if I’m the first one that comes to mind when you think of best brother, I mean, I’m not going to argue,” Tim shrugged with a smirk.

“You say Jason is always wrong and you’re always right, so…” Duke added with a grin.  He turned to Marinette.  “Sounds like you and me are going to form an alliance.  New Kids Club.”  He turned his head slightly when Cass made a noise.  “And Cass.”  He smiled when Marinette giggled.

“Let’s not form alliances and cliques or hog Marinette, please?” Bruce asked, the resignation clear in his voice but affection clear in his eyes.

Marinette nodded and turned serious. “Absolutely.  I will not form any kind of pact with Duke and Cass over lunch next week?”  She looked between the two of them for confirmation. Duke and Cass nodded back at her and Marinette grinned.  “Monday?”

“Hey!” Dick objected.

Jason gasped at her and dropped his arm from around her shoulder.  “This feels like a betrayal.  I’m betrayed.”  He shook his head and took a bite of food.  “You’ll fit right in.”

Duke shook his head.  “Can’t Monday.  I have a poetry thing.”

Marinette’s eyes brightened.  “Are you presenting or watching?”

Duke looked down shyly and rubbed the back of his neck.  He hadn’t even told the rest of the family about it.  It didn’t occur to him that they would be interested.  “Presenting actually.”

“Would you mind if I came too?  Or do you not like people you know being there?”

Duke shrugged.  “No, I don’t mind, but…” he cringed slightly, “it isn’t in the best part of town.  It’s kind of dangerous.”

“Don’t worry, I can protect you,” Marinette winked at him.  She ignored Damian’s scoff and Bruce’s choke.

Jason rolled his eyes.  “Don’t worry, I’ll go too.  I’ve never heard the kid read.”

“I’d like to come too,” Dick looked at them hopefully, “if you don’t mind.”

Duke made a noise that sounded like some combination of happy and resigned and nodded.  “Yeah, that sounds fun.”

“You okay with Adrien and Max coming too?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, bring them.  It’ll be nice to meet them.”  He waved off her concern.  “Okay, that’s fun and all but we still need to decide when to not meet for the New Kids Club.  And I’m not putting that in my nonexistent calendar for,” Duke looked up questioningly, “Thursday lunch?”

Marinette looked over to Cass who nodded excitedly at her.  Marinette smiled back at her and Duke.  “Sounds good.”  She pulled out her phone and handed it to him.  “Want to put your number in so we can coordinate?”

“Absolutely!”  He took her unlocked phone and put his number in.

“Can I put my number in too?” Tim asked

“And me!” Dick exclaimed.  

“Yeah, of course,” Marinette smiled at both of them. A real smile.  Thank God Adrien was right.  She kind of liked the kids… even though most weren’t kids and most of them were actually older than her.  

“Why don’t you put all our numbers in there, Tim,” Dick suggested.

“Tt,” Damian scoffed.  “There’s no reason she would need my number.”

Bruce gave him a disappointed look, but Marinette shrugged.  “Please, don’t put it in if he isn’t comfortable with it.”

Tim pursed his lips.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  What if she finds a cute animal?  How’s she supposed to send you the picture?”  Damian scowled but didn’t say more.  Tim finished and handed the phone back to Marinette.

Marinette took it back with a thank you and scrolled through her contacts.  “Huh… he didn’t put you in,” she assured Damian.

“What?”  Tim looked at her confused then looked at her phone again.  “Oh, it’s under Demon Spawn.”

Marinette gaped at him.  “It’s under what?”

“Dem…”

“Yeah, no,” she cut him off.  She pushed a few buttons and looked back at Damian.  “Not anymore.  It’s gone.  You can give me your number when and if you’re ready.”  Damian didn’t acknowledge her, but he did nod curtly at his plate and Marinette was taking that as a win.  

She tucked her phone away and looked around the room.  “Okay, so, Duke does poetry, I heard Damian does art, and I heard Dick likes to swing, what does everyone else like to do?” Marinette asked with a bright smile.

Jason and Tim burst out laughing.  “Your reputation proceeds you, Lover Boy,” Jason managed to get out between gasps.

Marinette frowned and looked between them in confusion. “Did I say something wrong?”

Dick smiled warmly at her.  He kept his eye contact with her as he threw a roll at Jason’s head.  “Ignore them. Their minds are in the gutter.  For clarification, I like gymnastics.  I was a trapeze artist in a Haley’s Circus when I was a kid.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” Marinette almost squealed in excitement.  “You must have loved flying through the air.  That was always the best feeling.”

“It was.  I loved it.  The freedom of soaring before gravity took over was amazing,” Dick nodded in agreement. His eyes took on a distant look as he talked about it and a smile curled on his lips.  “Did you do trapeze work in Paris?”  Marinette froze momentarily.  “You mentioned you liked the feeling.  Is that how you know it?” he prompted gently.

“Oh… um… no.”  She looked down at the napkin on her lap for a second, pretending to readjust it.  “I was friends with a few of our local heroes.  One of them, Ladybug swung around the city on a yoyo that worked kind of like a magic rope.  That feeling of swinging up and breaking gravity was always heart racing.  And the feeling of falling until the string caught.” She looked away with a smile. “Yeah, I understand what you’re talking about.”

“We have a trapeze in the manor.  Did you want to try it out sometime?” Dick asked excitedly.  

Marinette grinned.  “That sounds like fun.  I’d love to.”

“How about tomorrow?”

Marinette blinked.  The Waynes definitely moved fast.  There was no time to breathe.  Just moving from one thing directly into the next.  She needed time to think, time to process that they apparently didn’t require.  “I can’t. Sorry.”  Dick’s face fell immediately.  If she didn’t have a legitimate excuse, she’d feel guilty.  “I’ll be in New York tomorrow for business and I’m meeting with Lucius Friday.”

“Saturday then,” Dick offered.  Marinette smiled and nodded causing Dick to almost vibrate in his seat.  None of the other siblings ever wanted to go on the trapeze with him and he was beyond excited to connect with Marinette.

“Did they take you around often?” Bruce asked with forced calmness.  “The heroes,” he explained when she scrunched her face in confusion.  “You said they took you around often enough for you to know what it felt like… where Hawkmoth could see.”  Spending time with civilians in suit was dangerous, incredibly so, even more so doing it in full view of the public.  Something like that could have resulted in Marinette getting targeted.  It was irresponsible and negligent.  He should have never trusted the Parisian heroes or Diana that the heroes could handle Paris without him.

“No,” Marinette said as nonchalantly as she could manage, trying to pretend like she didn’t notice the tightness in his voice. “They rescued me a few times and once things were resolved they would sometimes take people who had gotten caught up in the attacks for short rides like that to bring up morality.  To make them feel better.  It wasn’t unusual or noteworthy, just a public service.”

Bruce relaxed minutely, but the tension in his frame was still clear.  Marinette watched him carefully, trying to gauge if she’d used the right words to calm him.  She could feel her body tensing at exponential rates the longer he was silent, the longer it took him to relax or smile.  Marinette looked down at her plate and pushed her food around with tight lips.

“I like unsolved mysteries,” Tim threw in.  Eyes around the table turned to him, most of them incredulous and tense that he would take the conversation there.  She heard a whispered “Dude,” from somewhere around the table.

Marinette let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding and started laughing.  The eyes that had been on Tim turned to her, making her laugh even harder at the awkwardness of it until another voice joined hers in laughter, followed by another, until most of the table was at least chuckling.  

“My best friend gets into that too,” Marinette nodded with a grateful smile.  She narrowed her eyes playfully at him.  “Do you end up in all night benders following the trail of a mystery down incalculable rabbit holes until you get crazed and someone has to come and force you to sleep too?”

Tim looked shocked and slowly looked around the room before returning his gaze to Marinette.  “No,” he said tentatively.

“Yes,” Cass, Dick, Jason, Duke, and Bruce all chorused at the same time.

“Oooohhh, remind me some time to talk about the Impossible Murder,” Marinette offered.  Her eyes lit up with excitement.  Unsolved mysteries and conspiracy theories she could do.  This was her comfort zone.  Not that she got into it, but years with Alya had taught her the rhythm of inquiry and questions.  She took comfort in that rhythm.  It was something familiar she could lean into.

“Yes!” Tim exclaimed, an inquisitive glint in his eyes.

“No,” Cass, Dick, Jason, Duke, and Bruce all chorused at the same time.

Marinette giggled and winked at Tim.  “We’ll talk later,” she stage whispered to him.  She grinned at the groans she heard around the table.  

Tim turned to Duke and stuck his tongue out at him. “Sounds like we get our own club, just for Marinette and me.  The Investigator’s Club.”

Jason scoffed and took a bite.  “Like I’d want to be part of a club with that name.”

Cass cleared her throat lightly, drawing some attention to her.  “And Cass,” Tim amended.  Cass nodded happily.

“How about you, Cass?”

“Ballet,” Cass answered with a smile.

“Oh, I wish I could do ballet.  Are you in a class or do you do it on your own?  Or are you a professional?”  Marinette asked trying to keep her voice from getting too excited or invested.  Bruce had mentioned she didn’t talk a lot and Marinette didn’t want to pressure her to talk if she didn’t want to, but she also didn’t want to make her feel like she was ignoring her.

“Fun.”

Marinette nodded.  “I bet it’s a nice way to relax.”

“Not as good as shooting guns though,” Jason grinned. “Or blowing things up.”

Bruce sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. “Jason…” he started, not even bothering to try to finish the sentence.

Marinette blinked a few times then nodded.  “Uh huh.  I like sewing,” she responded dryly.  Jason laughed and shook his head at her.  He took a bite of his food and looked back at her appraisingly, a happy glint in his eye.

“Right, B mentioned you’re a designer.  Just graduated right?” Dick prompted.

“Yes.  My final project was a few weeks ago.  Now I’m figuring out my next steps.”

“Is that related to your trip to New York?” Duke asked.

Marinette nodded and swallowed the bite she’d just taken. “I’m meeting a few friends and someone at Style Queen to talk about styling a shoot.  And Adrien has a job interview.”  She took a quick bite of her dinner before continuing.  “We’re also trying to get a feel for New York, see if that’s somewhere we would want to move.”

“Wow, Style Queen is really big!” Duke nodded. “That’s awesome!”

Marinette smiled at him.  “Getting on her good side is definitely good for your career. Luckily, I’ve been able to impress her over the years.”

“Along those lines,” Bruce cut in, “I’ve commissioned her to create clothes for us.  We were planning on her coming over to start on Tuesday, so I expect everyone to be here for it.”

Dick beamed at her but Damian grunted loud enough for everyone to hear.  He had absolutely no interest in wearing something purely because ‘his sister’ designed it.  He had a style and level of craft he required in the clothes he wore and he was not about to sit or stand around uncomfortably all day long purely out of some misplaced obligation.

He narrowed his eyes at Marinette.  It still didn’t make sense.  Why would she have come to Gotham if she was looking to break into fashion?  She had to have had an ulterior motive.  “So you just happened to consider Gotham as a place to reconsider?”

Marinette cocked her head to the side.  “No…” she scrunched her face in a bit of confusion. “I never even considered it. Gotham was a side trip.  I had no intention of staying past earlier this week. But things… changed,” she looked around sheepishly before looking back at him.  “I was considering New York or Metropolis in America.  Also Shanghai, I have family there; London, Adrien has family there; Milan, my… grandmother grew up there.”

“Is Adrien your boyfriend?” Tim asked.

“No.  My... brother,” her voice petered out as she called the word and she looked down guiltily.

“Will he be part of your business?” Bruce asked, pretending like he hadn’t registered her discomfort, hoping that if they moved past it, she would too.

“Yes. No. Maybe.” Marinette grimaced as she went through all the options.    She shrugged.  “Whatever he wants.  He wasn’t allowed to make choices growing up so now that his father,” she spit the word out with disgust, “is gone, I’m going to let him decide his next move. He wants to help, but he’s looking for a teaching job.  He’s thinking of doing both for a while.  I’m hoping I can convince him it’ll be okay for him to focus on him.  It isn’t ‘abandoning’ me if he does.

“But, that's what's taking so long.  I can work from almost anywhere.  I’d prefer to be near a big city, but really, it isn’t necessary. It’s harder to find a place he'd like to teach and we want to live.”

“If he isn't part of your business...” Dick started, trying to figure out her motivation.

“We come as a set,” she said definitively and took a bite, staring him down as if daring him to challenge her.  “He’s my emotional support grimalkin.”

“Will your future romantic partner, if you want one, be okay with that?” Damian demanded.

Marinette shrugged.  She could feel Jason tensing next to her at Damian’s tone, but she wasn’t too bothered by it.  “They will be or they won't be.”

“Those are the options, yes,” Damian deadpanned.

“Demon Spawn…” Jason hissed.

“I meant,” Marinette cut in before Jason could continue the fight he wanted to start, “they will be okay with it or they won't be my romantic partner.  Adrien and I have been through a lot.  We feel safest when the other is near, at least close enough to come running if there’s a problem.  If someone can’t understand that about me, then I don’t need them in my life.”

Bruce nodded and gave her an understanding smile. “We should invite him next time.”

Marinette nodded in agreement.  “He’d love that.  He’s dying to meet you all.”

Bruce took another bite before coming up with an idea.  “If he’s thinking of being part of your business anyway, why don’t you bring him with you when you do the commission?  We can have a family dinner afterword.”

“That’s a great idea.  I’ll check with him,” Marinette nodded.  “And apparently, as long as he doesn’t talk about pineapples with you guys,” she gave Jason a pointed look, “it should be fine.”

Tim groaned.  “No.  No! I’m not having this conversation again.” He glared at Dick.  “Pineapple is the most disgusting topping to put on a pizza.”

Dick gasped dramatically.  “You take that back!”

“It’s worse than sardines,” Tim hissed.  “It’s an abomination.  It’s an insult to pizzas.”

“How dare you!  Pineapple is amazing.  It adds a sweetness that perfectly contrasts the saltiness you get from other ingredients!” Dick defended.

Marinette blinked a few times as Dick continued to sing the praises of pineapple on pizza before she leaned over and whispered to Jason.  “You weren’t joking.”

“Nope,” he said popping the p.  “Told you it always finds a way to come up.”

“It came up because you mentioned it,” Marinette deadpanned.  “Literally you’re the reason it came up.”

He shook his head as if he didn’t hear her.  “It always finds a way.  It’s like sorcery.”

Chapter 13

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[robinofgothamcity]

♡ prompt: you’re going to a chistmas party with your ex in attendance and you try to find a replacement as quick as possible. 

♡ song suggestion: HIP - MAMAMOO

♡ pairing: jon kent (superboy) x fem! reader

♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes 

“i can’t just go to this party and not show up with a date, do you know how humiliating that is?” you exclaimed to Damian, chugging back the last bit of wine you had in your glass, “it’s easy for you to show up like that because you’re fucking Bruce Wayne’s son and you aren’t the one who actually lied here...I DID!” 

Damian saw the panic arising in your eyes as you tried to come up with just anything to get out of the Wayne Christmas party but nothing was coming up in order to actually get you out of it. it was too late to actually back out and you swore to Damian you’d attend the party so it wouldn’t be so miserable for him. 

“who exactly did you lie to that you’re that deep into a lie?” Damian asked, kicking his legs up on his desk. “Michael from human resources! he’s been up my ass about taking me out that i finally broke one day and said I was already in a relationship and while he did back off, he’s expecting me to bring a date,” you confessed. 

Damian started laughing again, not knowing whether to fire Michael to finally put you out of your misery or actually take the opportunity to make you meet his oh so single best friend...Jon Kent. he sat on the idea for a few minutes as you ran your fingers through your hair nervously. 

“good lord, if I bring a friend of mine as your date, will you be quiet?” you looked at him in confusion. “you have friends?” you laughed, instantly dodging his wad of paper. 

“for your information, I actually do,” you sighed, not really knowing if you wanted to take him up on the offer, “he’s a friend of mine from Metropolis. he’ll say yes, it’s up to you,” you cautiously agreed, threatening him that if his so called ‘friend’ ended up being some creep, you were within your rights to hurt him. 

as you and Damian exited the building, you saw the copious amounts of reporters standing to the side, trying to capture photos of Damian or getting information on the party for tomorrow. 

you sighed, giving the reporters the middle finger, not really in the mood to deal with their bs. there were a few times those nosey reporters had made stories about you and Damian. claiming that you were sleeping with him so you could get closer to the Wayne family heir. it didn’t exactly help that you were in the assistant and secretary role as well. 

“wow, feisty aren’t you?” you heard Damian’s eldest brother, Dick, say out of no where. you quickly greeted him, seeing that the street to get out of Wayne Enterprises was getting clogged up with traffic, “see all of you tomorrow! Damian, don’t let me down!” 

Dick looked over to his brother, wondering what you meant by that. “I’m bringing Jon as her date for tomorrow,” he explained. his eyes widened, “really? him?” he asked, surprised that he would even set up a date for someone. “yeah, he has way too much time on his hands and it’d be better for me to set those two up to finally get them out of my hair.” Dick laughed knowing exactly where that could go wrong. 

+ 

the morning finally came, much to your unamused pleasure. you had told Damian that you’d meet him at his place so if anything funny happened with his date, it wouldn’t happen to your embarrassment at your work place. you were not sure who your mystery date was and Damian refused to give you a name. all he had told you was that he worked in Metropolis and had been his friend for years. 

you dragged yourself into the shower and unwillingly got dressed. your makeup was the hardest part of the entire outfit as you were going to try and perfect it as much as possible. you had never really gone all out with the makeup in what felt like years so you figured today would be the day. 

“almost ready?” Damian asked over the phone. you rolled your eyes, “yeah, i’m just pulling my shoes on before heading over to your place,” you responded as you munched on a granola bar, “why do you care?” you asked. 

you heard two voices laugh, “because your date is here so hurry up!” Damian exclaimed before hanging up the phone. you didn’t bother to play into his antics before finishing up. the dress you had bought was something you had from a previous event and up until now, you hadn’t worn it again. 

the dress you had picked was one from a previous event that no one hardly saw. it hugged the curves you wanted to show and you knew it would surprise those who hardly saw you gala or formal party attire. 

you got into your car and chugged back a red bull before heading into Damian’s home. you saw a few cars parked in his garage along with a limo to which you assumed you and a few others were going to take. you annoyingly pushed the doorbell to strike a nerve in Damian. 

“woah,” you heard Dick say as he opened the door, “I know, I look good,” you said smiling. he nodded in agreement as the two of you walked in farther into the house. you could tell Dick kept looking at you every so often and even dropping a few compliments and pick up lines. 

as the two of you were walking, you hadn’t realized you had completely passed Damian and his friend. you were so enamored with your conversation with Dick that it wasn’t until Damian half-annoyed screamed your name out to catch your attention. you turned around and stopped mid way through when you saw Damian and his friend. 

“oh hey,” you whispered, not wanting to look at Damian’s friend in the eye. he was a lot more attractive than you had anticipated. “didn’t know you could actually clean up nicely,” Damian murmured, not even hiding the fact that he was checking you out. 

you gave him the middle finger in response, “this is Jon Kent, Jon, this is ( your name ), I guess she’s my friend,” he rolled his eyes at the last thing he had said. you slowly stuck your hand out to shake but much to your surprise, Jon had shook your hand rather excitedly. 

“nice to meet ya!” he exclaimed, his slight southern drawl coming out. you laughed at his excited tone, “heard a lot about ya!” he continued. you looked at Damian, “aww, you do like me!” you said, a mischievous smile appearing on your face. 

Damian kicked you in the back of the leg before murmuring that all of you needed to head out before any of you got into trouble for being late. you met up with Dick and Tim who were arguing about something as the three of you waited for Alfred to pull up with the car. 

the entire ride to the venue, it was just you and Jon talking here and there. you could tell that Jon was the very exact opposite of Damian and it was a wonder how him and Damian even got along with their personalities being the exact opposite from each other. once the car came to halt, all of you piled out, the cameras immediately snapping as they realized the Wayne’s have arrived. 

“don’t kill them this time,” Damian threatened you as you put up your hands in defense. you looked over to Jon and gave him a small nervous smile, “ready?” he asked as you nodded. 

he put his arm around your waist, tightening it as the two of you walked up to the red carpet. you smiled fakely to the cameras. Jon looked down at you, not expecting this reaction to the paparazzi. “not a fan, eh?” he asked. you shook your head no, “god knows how many times those idiots have thought that Damian and I were together.” 

Jon gave you a look, “but the two of you are like siblings?” you shook your head, “I know but they think we’re hiding behind all of that.” the two of you reached inside of the building to see the long extended tables as you and Jon were seated on a two chaired table. 

Jon pulled your chair out, making sure you were comfortable before sitting down across from you. the menu was pre filled as it was your job to make sure everything on it was correct and put everything they were going to serve for the course of the night. 

“so, what do you for a living in Metropolis?” you asked as they put small appetizers in front of you. Jon smiled, “I work for the newspaper,” he replied, “I bet it’s tough to be Damian’s assistant, huh?” he asked as you nodded yes, dramatically. 

through the course of the night, you and Jon talked, Jon making sure the conversation never died down. you had to give Damian credit. you weren’t exactly trustful in Damian that he would pull through on his blind date for you but Jon up till this point had not made you seem uncomfortable or even slightly creeped out. he was like the perfect gentleman. 

“wanna dance?” Jon asked, getting up from his chair and grabbing your hand softly. you held his hand, giving it a squeeze as a response. 

the two of you walked to the small dance floor as you saw a few of your coworkers, those who were either married or in long term relationships dancing. you gave them a wave as they waved back before going back to their conversations with their partners. 

“I’m glad you came,” you told Jon as you took a sip of your champagne shyly. he looked down to you and grinned, “I’m glad I did too. I wasn’t going too originally but once Damian told me a bit about you, I just knew I had to meet you,” he replied as you hid your face in his shoulder, slightly embarrassed. 

the song playing in the background happened to be a piano rendition of ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’. you had watched Snow White a million times as a child and the fact that this song was playing as you were dancing with someone who you hoped would give you a second date made your heart swell. 

“I have to admit, I’m glad I told Damian as well. the date was so last minute and honestly, Damian is the last person I would ever trust to put me in a blind date situation but I’m happy that he actually pulled through for once.” 

Jon laughed as he bent down a bit and kissed your cheek in response. you noticed that the more nervous Jon got, the more his slight southern accent would come out. you reciprocated the kiss but this time, you kissed him on the lips. he was taken by surprise but nevertheless, he returned it. this time deepening it a bit. 

after the two of you danced a few more songs, you took a break as Jon excused himself to the bathroom and you made a beeline to the bar to refill your glass along with Jon’s. 

“hey there gorgeous,” you heard the voice from the last person you wanted to see. you turned to Michael and gave him a tight lipped smile, “good evening Michael,” you responded, trying to get back to getting your drinks. “I saw you with your little boyfriend earlier but I knew I had to come over here and tell you how fine you looked.” 

you felt yourself wanting to gag by what he was saying as you felt him grab your wrist, “since your boyfriend isn’t around, how about you give me a little dance,” he asked. just as you were about to response, you felt Jon’s presence behind you, “who’s this, baby?” he asked, staring down at Michael. 

to Jon’s credit, he was towering over Michael. “no one,” you replied, shaking yourself off of him, “hiya! I’m Jon, ( your names ) boyfriend. you are?” he asked. Michael scoffed, half scared at how Jon was looming over him, “I’m her coworker,” he replied before leaving. 

you look to Jon in relief, “thank you so much,” you said. he smiled, putting his arm around your waist, “no problem, isn’t that what I’m here for?” he asked with a smile on his face. without actually realizing what you were doing, you happened to snuggle closer to Jon as you saw Damian approaching the two of you. 

throughout the rest of the night, you kept yourself to Jon’s side as you remained with Damian and a few others. every time you left, Jon made sure that once you returned, he always had his arm around your waist or shoulder. Jon’s grasp was firm and even slightly possessive but you did not mind it one bit. 

if you were being honest, you were hoping that at some point in the future, the two of you would get farther than that but for the moment, you enjoyed being in his grasp.