#I want them to have a complicated relationship (Or as Complicated as Childe 'I'm allergic to self reflection' can be.)

[possibly-not-a-ghost]

I have One (1) fear and it's playable Skirk being utterly demeaning in her treatment of Childe.

[mintmatcha]

So my favorite thing...is thinking about how a child so obsessed with loved he tattooed it with sand on his forehead would behave in an actual relationship. Which is why I was inclined to think your drabble was just angst. It could go that way. He could just not know how to love or have any actual desire for it. But I think your apparent idea much closer to the one I have. The one where he is soooo desperate. So unfamiliar. When he actually experiences it...he assumes that can't be right. This can't actually be love. He must be doing it wrong.

i think you are exactly right.

The first time he feels that tick of wrongness is the first time he notices your scent. You're halfway bent over his desk, pointing to some line in paper work.

"It's just a very complicated way to say they'd be willing to open up more trade-" You smell fresh, like how the air pops when he digs his nail bite into an orange peel, "However, they're being slightly sneaky with the way they are--"

You pause, cocking your head to the side. "Are you alright?"

No, he feels ill. Lightheaded and jittery, Gaara's almost afraid his heart is racing much too quickly to be healthy. It's too much, whatever this is, and yet he doesn't back away. Instead, his hand reaches for your arm.

"Are you wearing perfume?"

"Is it bothering you?" You let him take you by the wrist with only a confused glance, "I'm sorry-

Before she was married, Temari used to dot perfume on her pulse points. When Gaara asked why, she told him that's just how things are done. Now, as he drags your wrist to his face and inhales, he realizes it soft inside of the wrist is much more intimate than he originally thought.

He's either excited or terrified or absolutely panicking. The taste of you makes his body physically react, lungs squeezed much tighter that before.

"It's orange and..." His voice is tight, but low. Grittier than he can usually muster.

"Jasmine." You cover your lips and nose with your free hand, hiding your flustered smile, "A little pepper too."

He's not allergic to any of that, so why does he feel so unsettled, as if he swallowed shifting sands and let them live in his chest cavity. It's too much, it's not enough. When you pull aways, he glances up at you, meeting your gaze. Even with your mouth covered, he knows you're smiling from the way your eyes are crinkles at the sides.

"It smells nice," is all he can manage, "I like it."

When you turn away and he catches a sight of your toothy grin, that twisting feeling grows deeper, stronger.

"I'll wear it more often," you promise.

Gaara nods. He feels sick, but a part of him never wants to feel well again.

[ambiguouspuzuma]

Picky eaters

"Table for three, is it?" the greeter asked. She was small, pretty, and African-American, with an accent that leant towards the former, but what stood out most was how young she looked. She couldn't have been much more than a child. "No problem at all. Come right this way."

"Thank you." Simret led them over the threshold. She'd been East African, once - but had long since lost her accent, along with every other detail of the child she used to be. The others followed close behind, impatient to be seated and decide on a meal: it had been a long evening, and they hoped to find something more tempting than had been on offer elsewhere.

"Here are some menus," the server said, doing her best to help with that. They seemed to get younger every time. Did she look fourteen? Twenty-one? Simret wasn't sure what either looked like anymore. It had all been so long ago. "I'll be back to take your orders in a bit, unless you want anything to drink in the meantime?"

"No, thank you," Simret replied, her mouth near-parched with thirst. "We're good for now."

This was the fourth place they'd tried, and they all knew the drill. Azmera went in one direction, under the guise of studying the specials board, and Simret went in the other, asking another table if an extra chair was spoken for. Tigist headed to the restroom. They had well rehearsed each pretence, having honed their patter over the years, although it had changed much in the past century or so.

They reconvened back at the table, now adorned with an additional chair. Simret was the first to report back.

"No luck. They're inebriated. Azmera doesn't drink... wine." She sniffed again. "Or fruit cider. Sorry, I haven't much of a nose for the stuff."

"Nothing from me either. They've just finished their burgers." Azmera had palmed one of the cocktail sticks used to hold them in place, and now used it to pick at her equally sharp teeth. "I can smell it in their sweat."

The relationship with meat was a complicated one. Strictly, in the human sense of the word, all vampires were vegan. They had a connection with the non-sapient creatures of the world - they could control their simple minds, and even take their shape at times - and were uncomfortable feeding on them. It formed a sort of food triangle. Humans ate cows, and vampires ate humans. But not when they had the taste of too much beef in their blood.

"This is the fourth restaurant we've looked at," Tigist complained. "I'm starving."

"You're the reason we couldn't eat at the last place," Simret reminded her.

Tigist's name meant patience, if she recalled correctly, and with no little irony. She'd been there when it was chosen. They'd each worn several over the years - so many that she'd quite lost track, although she knew there had been more since others started keeping count. There were too many records nowadays. They made it hard to stay in the same place, or in the same identity, for long.

They'd moved from town to town, continent to continent; travelling up through Transylvania, along the Carpathian Mountains; across the sea to Whitby, across the ocean to Manhattan. They were endlessly seeking a promised home, a land of blood and honey - at least for as long as it would sustain them. However rich the supply seemed at first, the flesh always seemed redder in the next town along.

"It's not my fault I'm allergic to tree nuts," she said. "Or that their blood was full of them."

"What about her?" Azmera asked, nodding to a woman alone in the corner booth.

Tigist shook her head. "I followed her into the stalls. Her blood sugar's way too high."

"Thank you for checking." Simret was Type 3 diabetic - the type where you develop it in death. "So, I guess that's nil for four. What do we do?"

It was hard for them to find someone they'd all agree on. They weren't particularly picky eaters, any more than the next clan of vampires - they just had very specific dietary requirements.

Their server chose that moment to return. "So... see anything you like?"

Their heads had dropped, seemingly in contemplation of the written menus, but now they rose as one - as if seeing her for the first time.

"Perhaps," Simret replied, treating the girl to the full terror of her smile. "Tell me... do you do take-out?"

[0xo]

tw: non-graphic surgery talk, malpractice, child death, ableism

as a disabled trans person who has experienced extreme medical trauma and surgical malpractice, i have a really complicated relationship with wanting to undergo surgery to relieve dysphoria.

on one hand, i am like... not scared of surgery itself. the last one i had, i was ecstatic about, as it was a colostomy takedown. my colostomy was a surprise emergency addition, and a major source of stress and dysphoria for me. (i recognize colostomies can be life-saving, and are not a bad or gross thing! i fully encourage ostomate positivity. however, i am allergic to adhesive, which is necessary to keep a colostomy bag on! so that obviously caused a lot of distress and frustration. i am glad to not deal with that particular problem anymore.)

i am scared of incompetent surgeons, malpractice, and surprise emergency additions. i have experienced that before and it gives me great hesitancy to engage with the medical world in general.

to this day and forevermore, i am disturbed by the way i was treated when i was dying, and by how willing particular people were to just let me die. i know, without a shadow of a doubt, i would've died nine years ago if my parents had not been fiercely and constantly fighting for my life. and i am deeply, intrinsically haunted by the thought of what happened to other children who's parents couldn't be there every second of every day. you should theoretically be able to trust that a "world-class" hospital won't murder your child, but i do not. not even a little bit.

so yes, i am scared of all the things around surgery. the table and recovery don't scare me, the fucking people do. how much is my life worth to someone who sees me as a file and a paycheck? how careful will they be with a body that's already "broken" by their standards? how can i trust that someone will listen when i am screaming that something is wrong, when i have been ignored before and it nearly cost me my life.

i am disabled. i am happy, and i have a life worth living - but more than one medical professional didn't think that was enough. their carelessness accelerated the progression of my disability. i died, i actually died on that hospital's watch, three times. how do you trust anyone after that? awards mean nothing when you kill children through ignorance and incompetence and sheer fucking ableism. i was fourteen, i was a kid, i didn't deserve any of that.

and yet... i still want surgery, more than one even. how do you balance that. how do you steel yourself for being in that environment again, to jump through those hoops and advocate for yourself. it's so... frustrating. because i know now, what it's like to have a dysphoric thing and then get it fixed, how much better that feels even if there's scarring. even if it's a long recovery. i know, i know i would feel better if i could do this. but there's still a child in my mind, scared shitless and begging not to go anywhere near those people. what do i do to calm that kid down? because that kid, fourteen, wanted exactly what i want now - they're just freshly fucked-up and so, so terrified. they grew a shell and made jokes and never actually dealt with the pain and now i'm here, trying to take care of them.

i don't think most people understand how traumatic it is. or how it sticks with you. or how whole seasons get ruined because the air is just right to remind you of months stuck inside, begging for your life or to die or for someone to just make it stop. one wrong sensation and i am trapped there again. and i'm trapped here now - there's a clear solution to my problems and yet, and yet, i cannot trust anyone to do it right. and if i want anything to change, i have to trust someone to do it right.

i want my life, and i want to improve my life by making these changes. i know i could. i know i can. but it is absolutely hell trying to negotiate with my past self about this. about if it's safe or right or going to turn out well. if i can even do it because of my health - i can't bind, even, instant pneumonia. so will i be able to bind post-surgery?

all this to say, fucking leave people alone if they can't or won't get the surgeries you "think" go with their transition. or if they don't bind or whatever. no matter how well you think you know someone. you most likely have no idea what someone has been through, or what their health is like, or what it means to them to trust a medical professional. you don't know and it's frankly not your business. and if you have any qualms about this, you personally can give me ten thousand dollars to go see the singular surgeon i think i'd be okay with. otherwise, shut up and fuck off.

[lmaowhateven]

umodern au but its only the genshin pairs i care abt

some hcs under the cut or whatever 🙄 i have lots of thoughts

THOMIYA (dating)

Thoma 26 Yoimiya 24

-Thoma is the manager of a Kamisato Teashop. He grew up with Ayaka and has naturally been very close with the family. Unofficially adopted into the family and eager to help in the business :)

-Yoimiya is running her father's fireworks shop as he's getting to old to do everything himself. It's taking a lot longer than she thought it would, but currently she's trying to get a degree in business.

-The Kamisato Teashop and Nagonahara Fireworks are right next to eachother! Thoma and Yoimiya have known each other since middle school but they only recently started dating (Ayaka set them up on a blind date >:D)

-They are practically perfect together save for the fact that Thoma frequently picks up stray animals and volunteers at shelters, and Yoimiya is wildly allergic to animal fur.

BEIGGUANG (divorced/it's complicated)

Beidou 33 Ningguang 35

-Beidou use to be a prominent fish catcher and sailor, but within the last 5 years has quit her job and bought a houseboat where she lives with Kazuha (17) (her half adopted son/half roommate).

-Ningguang is a prolific CEO of a mining and trading company. She's built up the entire operation herself. She's also paying the mortgage on Beidou's houseboat.

-Beidou and Ningguang met in their early 20's and it was practically love at first sight. They got married within a year and stayed together for 4 years. Split up due to completely different lifestyles, but they can't stay away from each other for too long.

-There is nothing funnier to me than divorced beigguang but the relationship is so messy they can't help but come back to each other. It's not toxic they just need couples therapy and both are too proud to admit it. 😐

-My ideal for them is "I thought we'd be better off divorced but I'm literally so miserable without you." They are so messy so so so so messy in my head

CHAEYA (flirting)

Kaeya 24 Childe 25

((this one is a bit of a shitpost idea my other idea was smth inspired by killing eve because i love my gay bitches MESSY and PROBLEMATIC but i went with this one instead bc it was just tooooooo edgy and i didn't want to make kaeya work for the FBI or MI6 cause he's too sexy for that))

-Childe is a tik tok influencer trying to break out into the acting world. He's fairly talented for a newbie on the scene, and having him as an actor in your movie is good publicity, so he's quickly becoming an up-and-coming star.

-Kaeya has been an a-list celebrity since his teen years, due to his father being a rich philanthropist it was fairly easy for him to get roles as a kid. He's won many awards for his talent and has been in block buster after block buster. As of late though, he's recently been caught in the middle of a NASTY public scandal surrounding his brother suing him, and has become black-listed in many celebrity circles. This hit to his public reputation has him working in films he'd usually decline.

-So that's how Childe and Kaeya became co-stars of the newest cheesy netflix teen drama. Kaeya so clearly doesn't want to be here and Childe is very eager to mess with him. I'd like to think Childe keeps posting images of him and Kaeya online together and fans keep speculating on their (character's) relationship. It drives Kaeya INSANE and Childe loves to press his buttons. He pretends like it doesn't but he's plotting 1210312313 different ways to get Childe fired offset.

-Kaeya starts messing with Childe whenever they have to act together on screen. If Childe wants to spread rumors than Kaeya can spread rumors too. 😌 Y'know just adding a little acting here and sprinkling a yearning touch there. It's all in the name of show-biz (AND VENGEANCE)

XIAOYU (married)

Xiao 31 Ganyu 34

-Both of them are ex-members of the Chinese mafia, but you'd never have guessed that. Now Xiao is a homemaker and Ganyu is a secretary for Ningguang. (basically a way of the househusband au.)

-Have been married for 8 years but everyone tells them they look too young to even be married at all.

-Ganyu frequently falls asleep on public transport, so Xiao takes her to and from work on his motorcycle. She absolutely loves the feeling of being on the bike, Xiao is so terrified every second of the way.

-They met after a long turf war had ended between two gangs. Their boss had grown tired of all the fighting and wanted to retire, and felt that they were too young to be roped up into all of this. Without anywhere else to go both of them had found solace with each other.

[smolponcho]

Yay- Ship child- :3..

I have had her since August 26th 2020 so that's her birthday- XD

Please don't attack me for my ships hhhh.

Kréme/Driller Ship Child

(Ship is Killer x Dream - Yes, it exists. On here, it might not be popular but on Wattpad it's hella popular- XD)

So uh.. More information about her:

By Levitation, it means she can levitate/float. She can't make others do it. Although, she has a few flaws with levitation - She cannot control it that well. She can levitate at her own will, BUT, when she is Flustered, scared, embarrassed, those types of emotions - She'll levitate without wanting to. It takes her maybe 10 minutes to come down.

Ironically, she is scared of heights.

She thinks romance and love is very gross. Example: She HATES seeing people kiss. It makes her go 'bleh.'

She does not like violence, loud noises - It scares her a lot.

She is allergic to Strawberries. ;^;

She does not like long sleeves, they are very uncomfortable. But she likes to wear gloves as she gets cold easily.

She stole those gloves from Dream when she was a toddler(around 3-4 years old.)

She was kind of an accident? It's hard to explain- Her also being 'b o r n' was very weird.

Her soul formed inside of Dream's soul which caused a whole bunch of proplems which are too complicated to explain. I would have to assume Dream's soul had to be cut into to get her soul out when it got too big. Magic skeletons are weird, man.

She likes dancing.

She wants to be a lawyer at some point in her life.

She got her name because when she got her body, which is also difficult to explain - basically she needed warmth so her soul could make her a body, I know it's weird and illogical. But anyways, she got her name because her hair was much more fire-like when she was younger, but as she got older, it got lighter.

She has an affinity for drawing and crime solving games.

She is a cat-person. She loves kittens and would talk to them very childishly. She doesn't hate dogs, she likes them too but they're tok energetic for her.

She does not believe her parents are exactly the best, while in some cases they may love eachother a lot, she still thinks they aren't ready to be parents. While since she is kind of an accident(like most ship children for some dang reason-) her parents probably wouldn't even pay attention to her canonly due to being busy and basically being enemies.

If they are enemies - how was she 'born?' Well, I don't have a planned answer tbh.. Probably their magic? Or their souls did a weird thing? Like maybe Killer being around Dream(mostly the aura tbh) caused him to get emotional and their souls did a weird thing and Flare's soul just began forming in Dream's soul? IDK-

She does not fight. She is probably chilling with other ship kids just wondering why their parents have relationship issues. '-'

When she cries, black tears come out(basically like Killer's.) And a bit of orange transparent tears too.

She has a normal monster soul, but at one side, it glows determination, another side it glows with hope. And it's hard to see, but in the middle of her soul, there's a faint orange glow, that's optimism. She feels a lot of optimism. :D

I don't think I'm ready to have her shipped with anyone, me and my friend who roleplay Flare and their OC, we kind of ship them together, but yeah that's private stuff- I ain't sharing a n y t h i n g else. Yet again, can't really stop ships, hm-

Hope you like her? I guess e?

Flare belongs to M e aka @smolpositivebean

The mentioning of Dream and Killer:

Dream belongs to @jokublog

Killer belongs to @rahafwabas

[bluboothalassophile]

Give Me Back My Mind! I'm

Missing Bats, Dead Bats, New Bats

“You’re really going to break into Shadowcrest?” Constantine asked ludicrously.

“What’s the problem, it’s not like I’m robbing the House of Mystery, and she double crossed me first,” Jason growled lowly as he sipped his beer.

“It’s not that, it’s… I thought you were done with magic,” John sighed.

“I am a thief,” Jason repeated. “I was contracted to steal the book, I did, I even had a pissed off demon after me, and I got paid for stealing the book. However, as in the terms of agreement for acquiring my services, no double crossing or the other Red comes after you.”

“No, I get it, but I just… are you sure Z took the bloody book?” Constantine asked.

“It’s my fucking starting point, and I’m relatively certain she hired me to steal it,” Jason stated flatly.

“Well, I’m always up for a wee bit of mischief, but I’ve got my own problems to handle, I’ll help you with Shadowcrest, but then you’re in my debt,” Constantine warned.

“Fine,” Jason waved off. He didn’t mind owing John a favor, it wasn’t like John’s favors were all that horrible. “Whatever you want pal.”

“You do know my friends die, right?” Constantine said with dark humor lacing his tone.

“You do know I’m allergic to death,” Jason countered. Constantine was laughing then as his head fell back.

“Yeah, here’s the Shadowcrest blueprints, but you did not get them from me. And tell your sorceress that the house doesn’t take too kindly to demons,” Constantine waved his hand and a set of scrolls materialized.

“I never…” Jason started and John gave him a hard look.

“The Gem of Scath is an elusive demon, and a hell of a sorceress but she’s a demon all the same, Jason, a very powerful one at that,” Constantine said firmly as he sipped his drink. Jason lifted a brow.

“Gem of Scath?”

“She’s the daughter of Trigon, a king of demons, she was born to rule at his side, a Princess of Hell so to speak, no doubt if she were to be in her father’s realm she’d be a Queen. The Azarathians who sheltered her and raised her, they supposedly taught the Gem to control her demon. The Azarathians prophesized her opening the door which would bring Trigon to earth and destroying all worlds mortal. They were right in a manner of speaking, but Azarath will never know that.”

“What is Azarath, I know in the League files it’s listed as a dimension and that book as the last relic of Azarath, but I’ve seen a good portion of the multiverse and never heard or saw it,” Jason said.

“Not surprising, lad. Azarath was sort of behind the veil of all multiverses, all seeing, all knowing behind the veil of the universe. It was said they were a peaceful world, and spiritual, practicing mystic arts we could only dream of, I’m sure if Fate were here he’d have more to say on the Azarathians,” John said as he sipped his beer.

“What happened to them?”

“Azarath was destroyed, by Trigon,” Constantine said indifferently.

“How?”

“The Gem of Scath, she’s a conduit for Trigon, a very powerful one at that, she accidenitally opened a door to Azarath and Trigon came, destroying it all; she was merely a child, and then Trigon stole her away to his realm, after that, somehow, she came to be on earth. I don’t know the whole story, just the whispers and rumors of what I have heard from other demons and sorcerers,” John shrugged. Jason frowned as he stared at his beer.

“’Side’s the silly prophecy came and passed already, she was powerful enough to banish Trigon back to his realm, saving us, can’t be all bad if she banish a demon as strong as Trigon,” Constantine chuckled.

Jason shot him a confused look. “I thought you wouldn’t like demons.”

“They aren’t all evil, a bloke I know is merged with a powerful one and he’s not all bad. Demons are just… dangerous. They’re like a wild animal, impossible to predict, and very dangerous, but dangerous isn’t always bad. The Gem of Scath, from what I’ve heard, is a passive creature, while her nephew, the bloke I was telling you about, he’s aggressive,” Constantine shrugged.

“Passive my ass,” he snorted. “Thanks for the blue prints.”

“Jay, be careful in that house, Z isn’t a weak one, and she hates the Gem of Scath,” Constantine warned.

“Her name is Raven,” Jason warned lowly. “And Zatanna is only on my shit list because she double crossed me. That makes her my enemy, and if Raven’s my ally, I think Zatanna should be the one worrying.”

“Agreed, I won’t be warning her if you’re concerned about that,” Constantine said slowly. “Azarath sorcery belongs to the last Azarathian, not to anyone else.”

“Thanks Constantine, I owe you one,” Jason said as he walked out of the bar then and made his way to his safe house.

He frowned at the paintings on his floor, the wax, the candles, the scent of inscents and the faint scent of blood. However, he ignored it as he carefully moved around all the paintings; not willing to fuck with magic and end up in another dimension or turned into a bat or something.

He made it to his sleeping room and saw Raven sound asleep on a bedroll, Damian claiming the mattress. Sighing he stripped off his clothes and pulled on his pajama pants; snagged a shirt as an after thought and stretched out beside Raven.

For such a powerful demon, she was tiny, he thought as she shifted on her stomach and scooted into him on her own. Exhaustion claimed him as he yanked a blanket over him and Raven and he decided he wouldn’t be childish about sleeping with her. It was chilly in the apartment after all.

~~~*~*~*~~~

He was too fucking exhausted after dealing with Superboy the day before and yesterday that he had collapsed in his living quarters on his bed and opted to sleep for a year. Between talking to Superboy the day before, and having Tim sit there and talk to Superboy, Dick had spent most of yesterday trying to figure out how to talk to Superman about the existence of the clone; it was exhausting.

Life was exhausting as of late.

Not in the bad, depressing way, but rather in the ‘there’s one of me, eight of you, a thousand things to do, have patience, I’m working on it’ way. When Damian had shown up earlier this year and they had sorted everything about the League of Assassins, the Pit, Slade Wilson, and where Damian would be staying, Dick had decided he’d have to step up more as a big brother. With both Tim and Damian. And while he and Tim were good; had been since Tim had donned the mantel of Robin, Damian was a different story.

Damian was a handful to say the least, he was so unlike any other child that there was that it was a bit ridiculous to try to treat him as a child. However, Damian was ten, and he needed to be a child. And after all the shit the kid had gone through, both before being dumped on Bruce by Talia al Ghul, and after, the kid needed… family. And the Bat family was perpetually dysfunctional as hell. Also, by taking Damian out of Gotham he was out of the reach of both Talon and Talia, and Dick would do anything to keep his baby brother away from the psychos of Gotham and the League of Assassins.

But aside from Tim and Damian, there was Bruce to worry about; not that he had to worry about Batman, but Bruce he had to worry about. Bruce was the not-great-but-still-trying father who was paranoid that something bad would happen to them, Bruce was the father who had lost his son, and who didn’t know how to be a father but tried all the same.

And to add to his exhaustion of life there was now Barbara and Kori to deal with. He and Kori had a nice thing going, steady for a year, not quite boyfriend and girlfriend, but more than just friends with benefits. Truthfully, until Bruce had insisted on the Titans having technical support and Barbara being said support, he had been planning on taking Kori on an official date and uncomplicating this part of his life. But with Barbara here he wasn’t certain about this, or how to proceed. Dick had loved Barbara, and he still did in a way, for a long time, she’d been a dear friend in a moment of his life where he’d been in hell, and she’d helped save him. But whatever spark, whatever flame had been between them in their youth, it had extinguished when the Joker had broken her and she had shut him out and he’d let her shut him out.

But with his family, and confusing relationships, also came all the work he did as Nightwing, Dick, Richard Grayson, and a member of the Titans and the League. It was exhausting to try to keep up with all that.

And perhaps it was this exhaustion which had made him miss it. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed because he was already stretched so thinly and he had come to rely on Raven to be there to keep him propped up. Raven was good like that, she was like a sister to him and she was his savior where Damian was concerned. Perhaps it was the fact he was so comfortable here in the Tower that he hadn’t noticed it. However it had slipped his notice, even as he cracked his weary eyes open at the sound of his ringing phone and an empty bed.

Yawning he reached for his phone and looked at the caller before sighing, wincing, sitting up and looking around his room for Kori. She wasn’t here, he felt his cold bed and groaned as he fell back; complicated! For about a year, whenever he was in Tower or in San Francisco, he and Kori shared a bed; and right now she wasn’t there.

Groaning he got out of his bed, noted that it was five in the morning, the only two who would be up would be Raven and Damian. Damian got up and four-thirty every morning to train; unless the Titans had had a ridiculously late night mission. And Raven would be getting ready to meditate at five, they always shared a morning cup of tea and coffee at five.

Walking out of his room with his phone in hand he made his way down to the kitchen and noted the absolute silence, not even the hum of the holographs running, which had him sighing as he walked to the coffee. Raven hadn’t made it, frowning he just did it himself as he waited, waited for both the coffee and Raven to materialize from the shadows.

She didn’t show, he just shrugged it off to her being exhausted as he sat at the kitchen table and dialed back Bruce.

“Dick I need you to do me a favor,” Bruce started when he answered the phone on the second ring.

“Morning Dick, how are you? Oh, I’m good, just exhausted, Supes has a clone, I haven’t slept well in four days, and I’m exhausted. Also, my alien girlfriend, the one you’re not overly fond of, is mad at me for letting my childhood sweetheart live here, and I woke up in my bed here, alone for the first time in a year after having a steady thing with Kori going, thanks for asking though,” Dick sarcastically filled in his guardian. As much as he loved Bruce, Bruce wasn’t his father, no one would ever be able to take his father’s place in his heart or mind, and Dick refused to entertain the idea of calling Bruce ‘Dad’. But Bruce was a guardian, and Bruce was alright with that.

“Sorry, Dick,” Bruce sighed.

“It’s alright, we’re still training you,” Dick shrugged; he had Tim in on him with the correcting Bruce on how a father was supposed to be, hopefully Bruce would be a better father for Damian. “Now, what’s so important you’re calling at five in the morning?”

“I have some news,” Bruce started.

“Of course you do, else you wouldn’t have been calling,” Dick stated as he sipped his overly sweetened coffee, it was so warm, and good, it was like coming to life again.

“I’m going to need your help talking to Damian and Tim about this,” Bruce said firmly, but the undercut of uncertainty was what had Dick sitting up straight in his chair.

“What is it Bruce? You’re officially scaring me. You’re not dying are you!?” Dick felt the panic coming at the thought of losing Bruce; he wasn’t ready to be an orphan again, and he was not ready to be shoved into the mantel of Batman; and he didn’t want it. No, Dick was happily waiting for Damian to be all grown up to take the Batman mantle.

“I’m not dying,” Bruce stated firmly.

“Oh thank God,” Dick sighed as he fell back in his seat. “So what’s up?”

“Selina’s pregnant,” Bruce stated and Dick burst into laughter; it couldn’t be helped. From the age of thirteen Bruce had been hounding it into him to use protection, to be safe, to be smart, to accept the consequences of sex if protection failed and to never treat a woman as anything less than a lady; regardless of what she did for a living or how she acted. And now, in the span of a year, Bruce was telling him that he had not only sired one baby, but two; it was priceless!

It also revoked Bruce’s lecturing rights on protection.

“After all the lectures you gave me!” Dick laughed. “You have a ten year old show up on your door step, and now Selina in less than a span of a year! This is great! You can’t lecture me anymore about protection! I’ve never even had a pregnancy scare! This is great!”

“I will still lecture you so you do not get to being my age and have a ten year old showing on a yacht not the doorstep,” Bruce grounded out.

“Nope! I’ve never had a pregnancy scare, and my current girlfriend and I haven’t even had to worry about the possibility. And yacht, doorstep, tomato-tomata,” he shrugged. “Congratulations are in order I take it.”

“Yes,” Bruce said uncertainly.

“Tell Selina I said hi, congrats, and welcome to the family. Oh, and I want a baby brother,” Dick stated happily. “She is going to be a part of the family, right? I like Selina, why better than that manipulative bitch Talia.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that, and we’re working that out,” Bruce sighed. “Also, you know you cannot make requests as to the gender of a baby, right?”

“I know, but face it Bruce, we have no idea what to do with girls, Barbara’s Barbara, and Cass is a former assassin, and Stephanie’s Cluemaster’s daughter, both girls are more of Barbara’s than ours,” Dick pointed out.

“Still can’t will it to be a boy,” Bruce pointed out.

“I can hope, also, is this why it was suddenly imperative that Tim and Stephanie join up with the Titans? I get having Damian here, and I get that those three need to work on being a team, but your push was sudden,” Dick pointed out.

“The reasons of needing them to be a unit are also true. And after Wonder Girl, Supergirl, and Superboy’s near death attempt at a mission is also a true factor in my pushing them to join the Titans. But yes, the pregnancy was a private factor as well, Selina and I will work this out, without interference, but Dick… I’ll be in San Francisco next week, I would like to sit down with all of you and talk about this,” Bruce carefully and the wheels in Dick’s head spun.

Damian wasn’t overly fond of Tim and he barely tolerated the rest of the adopted clan and preened over being Bruce’s only blood son and rightful heir. There could be problems forming with this announcement and Damian’s attitude.

“I’ll talk to Raven, see if she can help me with talking to Damian,” he sighed. Raven was perhaps Damian’s only friend outside of the family, Dick was hoping this would change in time, but it was a good start. Also, Raven was a good role model for Damian, Dick would have sworn she was like a big sister or mother to Damian with how she had taken to treating him.

“Raven?”

“I need reinforcements, and Raven’s good at getting through to Damian, you know this. Besides she’ll keep it all to herself, Raven doesn’t gossip,” Dick pointed out. He was pretty certain that all of Damian’s calls home had elements of Raven in them.

“Just… don’t have the entire Titans know, else the League will know and everyone will know,” Bruce grouched.

“I get it, how far along is she?”

“Ten weeks.”

“Hey, wasn’t that after…” Dick started and frowned. “How long have you two been officially, secretly dating then.”

“Since before Damian came here,” Bruce answered.

“Wow, almost a year then,” Dick said in awe. Brucie tended to be frivolous in his dating life, Bruce Wayne sought to stay single or have a connection, and Batman couldn’t have attachments or love. Dick was impressed. True Bruce and Selina had been dancing around each other since before he’d ever even known Bruce, but to actually hear that they were a couple… it was impressive.

“Congrats, send Selina my love and try to do right by her,” Dick grinned at taking over the father role at the moment.

“Talk to Damian,” Bruce pleaded.

“No worries, baby bird will be ready to be a brother before I’m through with him,” Dick announced. “Call me when you want to arrange that sit down, I’ll make certain Tim and Damian won’t kill each other before then.”

“Thank you, Dick,” Bruce sighed.

“Talk to you later Bruce,” he smiled as he hung up and then stared up at the ceiling.

Another sibling…

Another spawn of Bruce Wayne, with Selina Kyle as the mother, the world wasn’t ready for that but Dick was kind of looking forward to it. If Jason were alive to be here he’d have been excited, Tim was going to be nervous but thrilled, and Damian… Damian was a wild card. Hopefully Dick could coax the youngest Robin around to the idea of being a big brother; this was going to take a lot of help.

Thank God for Raven, demon or not, Raven was an angel for putting up with him and his family being shoved on her. Finishing his coffee he noted the time and decided he’d go find Raven and talk to her about helping him with Damian and getting Damian to like the idea of being a big brother. After making his way back up to the living quarters he walked the hall, pausing outside of Kori’s door he was tempted to walk in and join her in bed for some more sleep, however, he needed to talk to Raven. He’d talk to Kori later. Walking to Raven’s room he lightly knocked, there was no answer. Slowly he walked in, careful of her wards, and left the door open just in case her room decided to pitch him out.

“Raven?” he called out, he stopped at her bed and frowned at the man’s leather jacket on it and the empty bed. Where was she? And who’s jacket was this? Picking up the jacket he slowly walked out of the room; careful not to touch anything. Coming into the hall he quietly shut the door and looked up when Victor emerged from his room.

“Hey, Cy, have you seen Raven?” he asked.

“Who? What!? I don’t know anything! Rae’s out!” Victor scrambled and Dick’s eyes narrowed on his giant friend.

“Victor, where is Raven?” he repeated slowly and clearly.

“Uh… She’s tracking Red X! He broke into her room, stole something and she’s been tracking him down, Damian is with her, I insisted she didn’t do this alone, and obviously, I can’t leave else who’d be in charge of her team!? You’re too busy for the training stuff, and Damian volunteered to go with her! I don’t know anything else! I swear!” Victor balked.

“Raven chasing Red X! And my baby brother is out there without protection!” Dick paled at the thought; Talia wanted Damian back and the League of Assassins would go after him now that he was out of Batman’s protection! Oh shit!

“He’s with Rae,” Victor pointed out.

“That’s not the point! The League of Assassins, Talia al Ghul, wants him back!”

“What!? Does he know!?”

“No! Bruce and I thought it was for the best if he wasn’t tempted to return to them!” Dick snapped.

“Oh shit,” Victor paled more.

“We have to find him before the Assassins find out he’s out there on his own with only Raven to protect him!” Dick shouted.

He also had to find Damian before Bruce found out he was missing; else Dick was dead.

~~~*~*~*~~

Bruce felt a bit more confident about broaching the whole family thing with his children now that he had talked to Dick and Dick had been excited. Truthfully, though he had suspected Selina was pregnant, he hadn’t officially known until yesterday when he’d met up with her for lunch and he’d never been more scared. Well, except when Talia had shown up and presented Damian as his son, finding out about Damian had scared the shit out of him. But he loved that boy, just as he loved all his sons and he was striving to try to be a father to Damian and to teach his boy that there was more to the world than the Assassins who had brainwashed him and were now seeking him out.

Sighing he leant back in his seat as he contemplated how this could work and tried to predict how Damian would react to the news. Of all his children Damian was the most difficult, and the most like Jason; more serious than Jason, but Damian still possessed the same anger, rage, temper and views on killing and going off alone. Bruce was trying to reign him in, trying to stop his youngest’s reckless behavior, but found it difficult.

At least until Dick had decided to move Damian in with the Titans.

True Damian was still reckless, still violent, still brash, but he was calmer. Bruce figured it was Raven’s doing, all of Damian’s calls home were filled with the demoness’s words, her advice, her help, and just Raven. He’d have found it amusing that his youngest had a crush on the Titan if not for the fact that Raven was a demon. And while he trusted Raven with his family completely, he was also well aware that she had dangerous powers she chose to keep to herself that no one in the League knew about.

Dragging a hand through his hair he took another steadying breath before standing, buttoning his suit, grabbing his needed files, and walking out of the office to head for a board meeting. Tonight he and Selina would be talking, and Alfred had the night off. It was all quiet in Gotham, and if he hadn’t known where all the lunatic criminals were at this moment, he’d have thought it too quiet. Like the calm before the storm.

Still, Bruce couldn’t shake this uncanny feeling that trouble was coming despite the world all but telling him it was at peace.

Something bad was about to happen, he could feel it in his gut.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Raven was not surprised to wake with Jason again, or to have his heavy arm tossed over her back, or for him to be so close. He was very warm, and she was very comfortable where she was. Turning her head she looked up on the bed to see Damian staring at her with curious, unblinking eyes; a habit from his father and brothers no doubt, Dick and Tim both did this look as well. A low moan escaped her as she stretched out a bit on her stomach, not dislodging Jason, and then she sighed before giving Damian her undivided attention.

“Morning,” she breathed in a hushed tone.

“When are we moving on Shadowcrest?” the boy asked.

“Tonight,” came the mumbled reply from Jason who was sleeping on his stomach, facing away from them. “Go to sleep.”

“I can’t there’s gunshots across the street,” Damian hissed.

“Go to fucking sleep! Cops will take care of it!” Jason hissed.

“This is a very unsafe place to have a safe house, worse than Crime Alley,” Damian wrinkled his nose a bit in disgust and Raven chuckled as Jason came awake then and propped himself up beside her.

“Not all of the world grows up in palaces with guards, tutors, and money Damian. Be grateful, and this is a perfectly safe, safe house!” Jason growled lowly. The sound of sirens blaring had Raven rolling onto her back as she stretched and sat up.

“How about tea and breakfast then we’ll discuss Shadowcrest,” Raven yawned.

“Please don’t cook,” Damian pleaded.

“I’m cooking twerp so shut it, sunshine’ll make the tea,” Jason groaned as he stretched and sat up too.

“You can cook?” Raven and Damian asked at the same time.

“Yes, and I’m an excellent cook,” Jason stated.

“I doubt it,” Damian snorted.

“Just cause you can burn water does not mean the rest of us mortals are inept at cooking,” Jason sighed as he got to his feet and left them in the bedroom. Raven looked at Damian who was now looking a bit more curious than angry.

“Why is he sleeping with you?” Damian asked.

“You mean aside from the fact it’s cold, there’s one mattress with good blankets, and I have the bedroll?” Raven clarified.

“He did it in the hotel too,” Damian pointed out.

“Because he wanted to sleep on a bed, and now, probably because it’s cold,” Raven admitted. She doubted there was another reason she and Jason had taken to being so close so quickly.

“Grayson shares a bed with Kori,” Damian said so innocently Raven felt like she’d been creamed by a linebacker then.

“That’s different,” she assured him.

“I know, but I thought that’s why people shared beds,” Damian snorted.

“Damian, worry about it when you’re older, for now, Red seems intent on sleeping on a bed or with a blanket, though he’s a furnace,” Raven sighed as she dragged her fingers through her hair.

“If he tries anything I will disembowel him,” Damian said firmly.

“Good to know, let’s get breakfast,” Raven decided as she stood up and stretched. She was still in her pajamas as she walked into the living area.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Damian wasn’t a fool, he knew why people slept together and what they wanted; he’d walked in on his grandfather once, and his mother was not shy about the men who came to her bed. Dick and Kori slept together, Damian had snuck in one night before the dawn curious as to what Grayson’s relationship with the alien was and found them sound asleep. And he’d seen his father sleeping in Catwoman’s bed before too. He knew what people wanted when they shared beds, and what that usually meant.

Waking up to Jason and Raven together was different though.

It was comfortable. Damian had waited until they were awake before speaking, he did not want to disturb the peace he felt around them.

And now he was sitting at a battered table as Jason made batter and Raven made tea. Was this what normal felt like? To just sit at a table for breakfast and have people be calm? Damian didn’t know, he didn’t think there’d ever been a calm moment with the Titans or the Wayne family. And despite the obvious chaos outside, it was calm in here.

“Vanilla?” Jason yawned.

“Here,” Raven said as she waved her hand to have a bottle float out of a cabinet.

“Thanks.”

“What’s for breakfast?” Damian asked.

“Waffles for me and little bird, you like pancakes so you’ll be getting those,” Jason informed him.

“That is acceptable,” Damian decided.

“It’s too early for the prince shit,” Jason growled.

“Knock it off Damian,” Raven chided and he just blinked at her as she made him a mug of tea. It was comfortable here, he kind of liked it as he accepted the mug Raven placed before him and she sat, Jason continued to make batter.