#Steph at Batman: Leave her alone! Get a job!

[tumblingxelian]

Batman: I cannot be with my loved one's, not truly, my true soulmate is Gotham.

Gotham: Fuck off, you barely live here, I have several soul mates and none of them are you!

[incorrectbatfam]

Batfam’s Father’s Day plans

(also on Ao3)

"Morning, Bruce."

The way Stephanie says that instantly makes him look up. She traces her socked toe on the right angles of the tile, looking down. 

"Morning, Steph." Bruce puts his coffee down. "Something wrong?"

"Huh?" She perks up in realization. "No, not at all. I actually just have something for you. I stopped by Walgreens on patrol last night 'cause I ran out of antiseptic, and I saw something that reminded me of you." 

She hands him a dark blue greeting card with a cartoon fruit bat and Comic Sans text reading: You drive me batty, but I love you.

"Get it? 'Cause it's a bat, and you're the Batman." She scratches the back of her neck. "Not trying to make it weird or anything, you're just a cool mentor and whatnot. But also, it's nice to have someone who you can mess around with. My old man was always talking business even when he was at home—you kinda do that too, but in a good way 'cause anything's better than being a D-list villain, y'know. Plus, unlike him, you're working on striking a balance. Sometimes you even have a sense of humor." She chuckles awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm going on a jog. Text me if you need anything." 

Before he processes her rambling, she grabs a granola bar and races out the door. He opens the card and out falls out a handful of purple confetti plus an ever-rare two-dollar bill. Smiling, he brushes the confetti up and puts it in his shirt pocket. 

Bruce checks his watch. Everyone else is already out, except for Cass. She was out late last night on that Clayface mission, but even she should be up by this time. He fixes her a bowl of cereal with the package instructions and brings it upstairs. 

"Cass?" He knocks. "Are you up yet? It's past 9:30."

He hears the duvet crunch like a candy wrapper as she shuffles around. A moment later, the door swings open as a messy-haired Cass yawns. 

"I'll leave this up here for you," he says, putting the bowl on the dresser. "Any big plans today?"

She shakes her head. "Write reports. And relax."

"Well, you deserve a break. Great job on the stakeout, Princess." He plants a quick kiss on her forehead. 

"Love," she says.

"Huh?"

"Favorite thing you do. Love."

He laughs softly. "I try. Now go get dressed."

The rest of the day goes by like any other. Despite it being Sunday, he still has a meeting scheduled with some Singaporean investors on their timezone. By eleven, he and some other executives are gathered around the long conference table as the video call drones on, and it's not until over an hour later that they're finally let out. Bruce loosens his tie and Tim does the same, sighing in relief and exhaustion. 

Bruce asks, "Did you have lunch yet?"

"Oh, I forgot that's a thing," Tim says, stretching. "Hey, remember that ice cream place on 32nd?"

"You want ice cream for lunch?"

"I'd break your no killing rule for their M&M cookie sundae, okay?" he says. "Besides, remember when you took my friends and I there even though we massively bombed our first off-world fight? I might still be a massive perfectionist but that made me get a little more comfortable with failing. Anyway, I thought it'd be cool to stroll down memory lane—and have junk food as a meal without Alfred knowing. Unless you're busy, which I totally get."

"Not at all," Bruce replies, putting an arm around Tim's shoulders. "Duke and Damian will be at the arcade all day and I don't have any urgent side business." 

And so, instead of calling Alfred for a ride, they journey through the Gotham subways with Tim's camera capturing the Grammy-worthy saga of a billionaire CEO battling a common turnstyle. They get a few side-glances in the sparse train car, but besides a teenager asking for Tim's autograph, the civilians leave them alone. Pretty soon, they're at a 1950s-themed ice cream parlor, where the waitress slides their orders down the long chromium bar. 

"Why do they call it a banana split?" Bruce asks, grabbing the cocoa powder shaker. 

Tim pauses mid-bite of his cookie. "...Because they split the banana in half?"

"Really?"

He moves the whipped cream aside to reveal the cut banana in Bruce's dish. 

"How would it sound if I said I never noticed that?"

He smirks. "That's why I'm the brains of this operation."

"Indeed you are." Bruce ruffles his hair. "Though this head of yours could use some shampoo." 

"Will saying I love you get me a free pass out of it?"

"No." He laughs. "But I love you too, son."

Alfred catches on to their little dessert escapade and picks them up from the parlor, though not without commenting on the strawberry stain on Bruce's jacket. As Tim plugs his music into the car, Bruce takes the time to listen to the voicemails he got during their lunch break. 

"Hiya Bruce," Clark's voice plays. "I hope today's going swell for you. I just want you to know that I'm glad I can call you my pard'ner." Bruce snickers at the country twang.

Next is Diana. "Bruce, I apologize if I must keep this brief since I have a curator's convention today. However, I wish to tell you that you are an invaluable teammate and even more remarkable friend."

"Hey Batman, I gave you a shoutout to the Central City press for your help taking down Weather Wizard," Barry says. "Also, thanks for letting me borrow your communicator. I can always count on you to be overprepared. Have a good one!"

"Bats, tell your kid to quit taking my yogurt from the fridge." Ah, good old Hal. "Also, today's all about guys like you, so... yeah. I admit, you could be worse." 

Finally, there's one from Zatanna. "Afternoon, Bruce! I'd tell you in person if I wasn't caught up in Kahndaq, but I hope today is extra special for you. I know how much the birds mean to you, and I know they're gonna treat you well."

(There's also one from Ollie, but he's just asking if he can use the communicator after Barry. In the background, Dinah is is clearly ordering food.) 

After dropping Tim and Alfred home and switching to a more discreet vehicle, Bruce makes his way to pick two of his other kids up from the arcade. 

"Did you guys have fun?" Bruce asks as they climb in.

"We decimated every game," Damian says, "and won you the finest specimen as a trophy."

He plops a five-foot Snorlax into the front seat and buckles the seatbelt.

"This is for me?" Bruce asks. 

"Tt, who else would it be for?"

"I didn't win as many tickets," Duke says, "but I also got you a spider ring and a Chinese finger trap." He puts them in the cupholder.

"Why are you giving me all your prizes?"

"Again, who else would we give them to?" Damian asks.

Duke says, "I think what he means is that you do a lot for us, so this is a thanks from us."

As silly as it might seem, Bruce is genuinely touched. 

Pre-patrol dinner is a quiet affair, with Kate stopping by because she apparently forgot to go grocery shopping. She takes a fingerling potato off his plate. 

"Um, you're welcome?" he says. 

"Bruce, we're family. It's what we do." She takes a bite. 

He takes a piece of asparagus from her. "I wish all of us were here, though. Too bad Dick and Jason have that Penguin stakeout. Hopefully they're being safe."

"Even if things go wrong, they were taught by the best. You should trust them more." Selina gets up and places a peck on his cheek before going to get a drink. 

"I do," he mumbles into his meal. "It's the world I don't trust." 

As he puts on his cowl, he asks Barbara for an update on the evening. So far, Duke is handling a carjacking, the girls are preoccupied with a strip mall hostage situation, Damian is patrolling Metropolis with Jon, and Kate is kicking off her shift with a car chase against Two-Face. Tim and Selina are staying back to catch up on some overdue reports, but other than that, the cave is quiet. 

"Before you go," Barbara says, "my dad was cleaning out the attic and found something you might like."

From her bag, she pulls out a blue mug that says: World's Okayest Dad.

"My brother got it for him a long time ago, but... you know. It's all yours now, if you want it." 

He takes it, running his thumb along the words. 

"It suits you," she says before turning back to relay something to Stephanie. 

The route laid out for him tonight gives him the perfect opportunity to swing by and check on two of his boys. He lands on the rooftop silently, where Nightwing and Red Hood have already set up camp. Evidently, they don't notice him as they keep going with their conversation.

"Did you get dropped on your head as a baby?" Jason asks. "Sour cream and Greek yogurt are not the same thing."

"They totally are, change my mind." Dick glances through his binoculars. "No sign of Cobblepot yet."

A moment goes by as Jason not-so-covertly steals some of his brother's patrol snacks. 

"So how'd family therapy go yesterday?" Jason asks. "Did the old bat finally show an emotion?"

"It was pretty insightful, at least on my part." Dick lowers his binoculars. "I think I realized where Bruce's persistence comes from. It's annoying as hell, but I think that's how he maintains hope. And who knows, maybe it's his love language."

Jason scoffs. 

"I'm serious," he says. "I know none of us are stellar at this family thing, but we care about each other. You can't deny that. We just gotta... refine how we express it." 

"Count me out."

"Jaybird."

"Codenames, Dickhead."

Dick snickers. "You love us, admit it. All of us."

Jason mutters a string of curses under his breath before saying, "If you tell him, I'm filling your mattress with sour cream."

Bruce smiles and leaps to the next building. 

At the end of the night, Bruce finds Alfred brewing tea in the kitchen and takes the kettle from him. 

"I got this," he says. "Why don't you go relax in the living room? I think they added your favorite detective movie to Netflix." 

"This is a pleasant surprise." Alfred raises an eyebrow. "What brought it on?"

"It's Father's Day, of course," he replies, pouring the cups of tea. "You know you've always been a second dad to me."

"You made that clear with last year's breakfast surprise," Alfred says. "Care to join me?"

"Always," Bruce says. "By the way, do the kids seem different to you today?"

[qcomicsy]

Some Nice!future au headcannons because I want to keep the ideas fresh in my head.

- Bruce is retired, Wich is insane saying this, I know right? How could he? And that's my favorite part he is retired, except he isn't actually.

He generally stays in the comm and no he doesn't care if that bothers Terry. Sometimes Terry just purposely turns his comm off, part to piss Bruce off and part to not get himself pissed off because there's a limit on how much you want your dad minding your business while your doing your job.

So Bruce stays sometimes in the comm and sometimes giving his mostly unwanted inputs on his investigations.

He doesn't get out as Batman as much as he wants to, because yeah that would get him killed but when that ever stopped Bruce Wayne honstly? And also because when he did it he almost gave everysingle one of the Bats a fucking heart attack.

Terry was so fucking confused because some goons and criminals kept telling him 'I though you were taller???' and he would get '????'

- Bruce minds everyone business as well is not just Terry, sometimes he just pop up in the other Bats comms and everyone is deeply annoyed about it, because how the fuck he keeps invading their own security system?

And it's even more infuriating because in the end of the day (most of the time) he is just extremely helpful.

Not even Oracle could keep him off her back.

- Tim is "technically" now the best detective in the world, except he isn't because Bruce isn't dead and Detective Chimps isn't either, but not many people know that.

- Gordon is happily retired thank you very much, and he can finally rest because Montoya filled for him as commissioner.

- Everything that might happen is her problem now.

- Harley is mostly retired she lives with Pamela in a farm and works as a super-people/part villains therapist from home-office.

- Harley and Pam got married.

- Jason visits Harley constantly, they bonded a lot in these past few years.

- Jason visits Harley much more often then he visits Bruce and Bruce is definitely not jealous about it even though Harley lives in literally nowhere and the Manor is right there–

- Bruce nags Jason, so much about it. He nags everyone about it. He sends a passive agressive "Alfred told me to tell you dinner is ready" message ever couple of weeks (he's lying).

Jason once told him "I really miss it when you were emotionally stunted" and Bruce just looked at him and quipped.

"You're the ones to told me to get therapy."

- Bruce doesn't actually go to therapy he gossips with Harley and they call that therapy.

Because Harley tricks him into sessions mid gossiping.

And it is in fact, better than nothing.

- Terry became Batman as an annoying 17 year old for the exasperation of every adult of the Batfamily.

- Damian and Tim we're the one's who trained him, Bruce unfortunately was hospitalized at the time (he's better now).

- Damian trained Terry in martial arts, combat and streets smart skill and Tim helped training him on how to proceed with the criminal forensics part.

- Duke and Steph kept an eye on Terry in his first months of patrol, Terry kept trying to get away from them to do whatever he wanted but Tim or Damian would always eventually catch up to him.

- That doesn't mean he stopped trying until he made all four of them age ten years of stress.

- They let him do it whatever he wanted eventually, but mostly because they knew he was ready.

- Steph just did on purpose.

- Damian rarely would actually join Terry (or any of them) on patrol because he prefers working in the shadows.

- The day Terry successfully tricked all the four of them into leaving him alone he almost had a heart attack because he immediately bumped into no one less then Nightwing and Redhood.

- Red Robin was the one to call them.

- Terry and Jason got along so quickly it's infuriating.

- Terry is a great Batman, he is skilled and witty which puts almost every criminal off rithm.

They hadn't got this that amount of stress ever since Dick's robin.

- Jason works as a literature professor in Gotham public school.

- Jason was Terry's teacher for a while.

- Terry hated it.

- Terry got to school with patrol bruises once and when Jason managed to get a hand on him he cussed him out for 45 minutes.

That's how he learned that Tim and Damian forgot to teach Terry how to hide them.

Then he cussed them out for 84 minutes holding Terry's shirt the same way you hold a wet cat.

[avalon-of-babylon]

Batman: The Capped Crusader literally introduced my 4 favorite batkids in the same episode and made them all literally adoptable.

Realistically, I know in the next season, Bruce isn't gonna pop down to the orphanage and grab himself a Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Carrie Kelley AND Stephanie Brown (just two of them at the same time would fucking kill him) but also now I want a batman to have to contend with his 4 most feral children. And they are the most feral of them all.

Also before I begin can I just say I fucking love Jason and Carrie being the sameish age. For years, I have been convinced that if Carrie was in a mainstream universe, she should be Jason's age and that the two of them would be so close they'd basically be twins and this right here is so close it almost feels like vindication.

Now for why these 4 are the most feral batkids and why Bruce having to put up will all of them as Robin at the same time would fucking kill the man.

Richard "Dick" Grayson:

The man may be a genuine himbo but he is also the son of circus performers, so for as much light as there is in his soul there is also a gay wolf telling him to do backflips when he's bored, make puns at every opportunity, touch everything and generally be the most adorable menace you've ever met. Also, Discowing definitely counts as feral behavior.

Jason Peter Todd:

In this universe, Jason was probably put into the system after his stepmom ODed so chances are this isn't a steal-the-wheels-off-the-batmobile kinda Jason but could definitely still be a sneaks-out-of-the-house-to-hang-out-with-Catwoman-and-co or is babysat by prostitutes kind of Jason. (I know for a fact that last one literally happened at least once) Even if you take out the violence and crime, you can not convince me that this Jason is not the kind of kid who wouldn't constantly be getting into trouble because he's always trying to prove himself and eventually have a tragic dead at the hands of the Joker that when he's brought back leaves him jaded, angry and the beautiful problem child we all know and thirst after. Also, he's the only member of the family Alfred allows into the kitchen, so jot that down while you're at it.

Carrie Kelley:

My girl was created by the living curse that is Frank Miller that alone makes her feral. But if you don't know my girl Carrie in the Millerverse got saved from a mugger by batman and imitately decided "fuck pants and my drug addict hippie parents it's time to fight crime in green booty short with a fucking slingshot", was almost imitately begrudgingly taken in by batman, probably dropped out of school, fought a Joker who had suicide bomber child-sized android baby dolls and helped lead a literal underground war on crime with a pseudo-cult of batman themed vigilantes called the Sons of Batman formed by former gang members who became obsessed with the guy after he beat up their former leader a no-neck nipple studded punk humanculous who looks even worse than I'm describing. Every iteration of Carrie Kelley is forged from the mold of a girl who almost reached Logan living with wolves levels of feral behavior, she is insane and I love her.

Stephanie Brown:

Her father is literally bargain bin Riddler because he lost his job as a game show host and she got fucking refrigeratored by Black Mask only 2 months into being robin, she deserves to be a little feral. Every iteration of Steph is one with a right to live life to the fullest weither that means giving Bruce shit over his terrible parenting, memeing on c-list villians like kiteman or just hanging around being a menace this girl is feral. Good for her, good for her.

In summary, Batman: The Caped Crusader should end with Bruce's kids literally killing him off with stress, lmao. Also, the setting is perfect for making Dick Discowing, so DC take notes.

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts day 9

From this prompt list. I set a goal of writing at least 150 words per day in 2024, which sounds pretty pathetic but if you take into account the fact that I haven't written any fiction since 2019 it felt like a feasible target. Anyway I've finished the first draft (it topped out at 88k words) and will be unlocking each post as I edit.

read from the beginning here

Day 8 here

***

71. "How are you feeling?"

***

They all had nightmares, and they almost all had protocols for how they were supposed to be woken up in case they dreamed around someone else.

Dick didn't react badly to being touched, so usually a hug was the right choice until he opened his eyes.

Jason had to be left utterly alone until he woke himself up, and then sometimes whoever was with him was allowed to sit next to him without talking while he clutched the knife under his pillow and pretended he wasn't pressing into their side.

Steph needed someone to call her from safely out of arm's reach, and then hold her hand while she stared at the ceiling.

Cass dreamed silently, without providing a clue of what was happening in her sleeping mind. Her companions only knew she'd had a bad dream if she chose to tell them.

Duke would wake himself up and then talk about literally anything else. It was the job of the person with him to laugh at his jokes and act like nothing had happened.

Damian was mean as a snake for a good half hour after being awoken from nightmares unless it was Dick who did it, so whoever was with him had to be careful not to be caught checking on him.

And Tim . . .

Well, Bernard had just straight-up called it creepy, though only in the most affectionate way when Tim was past the worst of it. Tim couldn't disagree with the description. His brain wouldn't shut down even in the middle of relived trauma, and he usually ended up talking out loud in his sleep, so whoever was nearby got half of whatever dialogue he was trapped in. He'd had a lot of run-ins with talkative villains, people who preferred to frame their violence with words. So if he was having a bad dream, usually the best way to help him was to talk back, to tell him he was safe and it was over.

Of course, none of that helped when he wasn't dreaming, like right now. Standing in his father’s apartment. His father lay on the floor opposite Captain Boomerang.

“Oh God . . . oh God, not again . . .” he quavered in the doorway. “I'll get it out . . . I'll get help . . .”

You should've .  .  . tried harder . . . Jack whispered.

You weren't drafted, his own voice added. You waltzed right in and demanded this role. So why are you so bad at it? No answer? Beautiful. Then we'll just have to run it again, won't we?

“You think this is a game?” Tim demanded.

Wow. Fifty-two times and not even close. Not once.

His father lay dead on the floor again.

“I can save you, Dad- - you just have to trust me. I can do it--I have to do it!” he panted out.

Face it, Bird Boy, you can't save anyone. You’ll get everyone you know killed someday. It's just too bad that your best was never good enough.

His father lay dead on the floor again. 

Batman didn't have any training when his father died- - what’s your excuse? Stephanie sneered. Now stay back before you get anyone else killed!

“Stephanie, wait!” he shouted after her. “You can't do this! You're one of my best friends! I can't lose you too - -”

You wanted to carry the world on your wings, little Robin . . . the doppelgänger rasped.

His family lay dead on the floor.

How do you even go on breathing? the other Tim asked, acid in every word.

“Leave me alone,” Tim cried, but none of it made any difference because they were dead again, they were always dead on the floor and it was always his fault--

"Ssh," a voice said in his ear, low and soothing. "You're home. You don't have to save anyone tonight."

Tim sobbed and curled into a ball. Everything was so cold and he would never see anyone he loved ever again--

But heat curved to press against his back and wrapped around his chest, pulling him close to the person still murmuring reassurances. "You're no longer there. You're in your Nest and there are no active threats to the others. They're finished with patrol and in bed."

With another shuddering sob, Tim finally woke fully and pushed his body even more tightly against Damian's. The dark surrounding them was a relief when he still saw the bodies sprawled in puddles of blood every time he blinked.

"I'm awake," he whispered when his voice started working again. "Thanks."

Damian brushed a kiss against his temple. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts but that's it. Fuck. I'm so glad I'm not really there." Tim overlay Damian's arm with his own and pulled it closer to his chest.

"As am I."

day ten here

[op-sys-chaos]

Danny promises the Riddler he’ll come by Arkham once a week (barring any emergency scenarios, in which case he’ll come twice a week until he makes up however much time he missed if he’s gone for a while) and solve his riddles if the Riddler will stay put and heal. It works. The Bats notice this and Steph and Duke start also visiting him because they’re the best riddle solvers in the family. They also take note of how Danny engages the Riddler and start doing it too

They take what they’ve dubbed The Danny Method and start applying it to other rogues. Ivy stays in Arkham for a month? She’s gifted a small plant. She stays put another month? New plant. They tell her if she stays put and focuses on healing for an entire year, they’ll give her a greenhouse. She does it

Scarecrow? They set up a program. People who want to face their worst fears and work through them can come be willingly dosed with fear gas. There’s an antidote on hand which they can ask for at any time and it’ll be given immediately. A camera is set up so Scarecrow can watch and study people since he wants to study fear. They tell him if he leaves Arkham or harms anyone they’ll turn the cameras off for a month. He stays put so he can study like he wants to. At first, there aren’t a lot of volunteers, but the bats tell people that if they do it, Scarecrow will stay put. People start doing it. Therapists across the country will also occasionally send people who need to get through their fears to work through them via fear toxin. Scarecrow is also allowed to give the bats notes on developing better versions of fear toxin if he wants to make improvements. Danny also tells Scarecrow that if he stays put for an entire decade, he’ll introduce him to Fright Knight. Scarecrow is so excited by this idea that it alone nearly keeps him there. The cameras do the rest. Once a year, Danny comes to visit Scarecrow and tells him a single story about Fright Knight to keep the man excited about meeting him. (It’s also a “job good staying for a whole year” present)

The only rogue who doesn’t get treated to The Danny Method by the bats is Joker. They aren’t sure what to do with him.

Danny steps in. Obviously, the clown is obsessed with Batman. And Danny knows of a dimension where its Batman is obsessed with the Joker. So Danny locks the two in a room (read: empty dimension) together and tells them to have fun. They never have to worry about the Joker again

Danny and the Riddler getting on like a house on fire because Danny is used to helping ghosts with their obsession and the Riddler gets enrichment time

Like, Danny answers riddles but he makes a show out of thinking about them out loud and taking his time and appreciating the riddle

Which is very different from the people either doing it out of fear, being done with him or super quickly

[thatblondeperson]

give me Steph and Tim going undercover as Alvin and Robyn Draper!

So I've had this ask in my inbox for a while. When I got it I had no clue what to do with it, then I tried again a couple months later, then I gave up. BUT! I had a mini spark of inspiration recently so I'm finally getting to it!!!!

And to apologize for the lateness, a bonus couple drawings to go with it.

Mr. & Mrs. Draper

"I already told you, it's out of the question," Tim said firmly, checking the address that had been sent to him.

Steph peeked over his shoulder, making a mental note of where he was headed. Some hollowed out department store on Gotham's west side. Supposedly there was a party being held there, lots of teens there participating in highly illegal activities, but there were also rumors of kidnappings recently. There were about twelve missing teens that had popped up in the news in the last week and a half. A place like this was a prime hunting ground for whomever was orchestrating the kidnappings. Not to mention getting to the bottom of why it was happening in the first place. It was a big job, and Tim was going in alone.

"I could help, you know," Steph pouted, but she was shrugged off.

"This isn't up to me, Batman wants me on recon, just me."

Steph cocked an eyebrow that was concealed under her mask. "And if it was up to you?"

"I'd still say no."

Steph crossed her arms in annoyance. "Just wait, you're gonna realize that you needed me."

Tim sighed, getting his grappling hook ready. He had to go change, this was an undercover mission, Robin would draw too much attention, alerting the people he was trying to track and scaring them away. He had to be careful, calculated, delicate. All things that Steph sometimes struggled with. No risks were going to be taken tonight

"I'll call you later?" he offered, leaning over to pull her mask up, but his hands were stopped.

"Nuh uh, boy wonder. You don't get a kiss for leaving me in the dust tonight."

Tim grimaced, but he supposed that was fair. He'd still call later, even if Steph didn't answer. She'd come around soon enough.

.....

Tim didn't have a lot of time to put together a last minute disguise, so he pulled out an easy one that was already ready to go. Alvin Draper, a name he hadn't used since Steph had gone into labor. At least he'd blend in well.

It was easy to hide in the crowd when he arrived, pushing through the party, trying to calibrate his earpiece so the loud music wouldn't wreck his hearing. He'd have to look like he was supposed to be there, but this was far from his scene. He couldn't exactly lurk in the corner, looking suspicious, but his other options were drinking, smoking various substances, or dancing. None of which piqued his interests. He was there to stop these kids from getting into far worse trouble than they were already engaging in.

As was Steph, and maybe a little bit of her motivations lay in proving her stubborn boyfriend wrong. She hated being benched, especially when she knew she could help. So she'd rushed home as soon as Robin swooped off, and quickly threw together the best disguise that she could on short notice. It wasn't great, but she had to blend in. She threw on simple clothes and over-accessorized until she looked the part of a teenager trying to convince the world that they were at the forefront of rebellion. Her hair was tied up in messy firework buns, and a pair of sunglasses finished off the look. After all, that was how Robin concealed his identity.

So here she was, keeping a low enough profile in the crowd, keeping her eyes out for anything suspicious. It all looked too normal, but if Batman thought something was up, he was probably right.

It wasn't hard to spot Robin, Steph picked him out easily enough. Across the room, trying his best to assimilate, was Alvin Draper. It was the only name she could put to her elusive boyfriend. It was fake of course, but Steph often wondered how close it was to his real name. Would he hide his identity in plain sight like that? No, he was too closed off, too tightly wound. He stuck to his principles, which she supposed she could respect. Even if it meant she was stuck in the dark.

Tim made idle chit chat with the party goers around him, trying to nonchalantly see if any of them had a connection to the missing teens. Of course everyone knew about them, it was all the news seemed to be talking about, but there appeared to be no direct connection that Tim could find. He scanned the room, checking the corners for anyone lurking who was not supposed to be there, but his eyes were distracted by a flash of blonde. He couldn't see her face, but he could swear he heard her voice. Maybe he was hallucinating. Steph wouldn't have shown up here when he had told her to stay away.

Then again… that was exactly what she would do.

Tim tried to push through the crowd to get to her, but a hand grabbed his arm roughly and tugged him back. He whipped around and immediately recognized who had grabbed him. One of the missing teens, a fifteen year old boy named Jacob Avery, Tim knew his face from the news and the posters all over town. But his eyes didn’t look right, they were clouded over, and he was acting as though he were blind. Something was definitely up, and from the way he was trying to drag Tim somewhere, Tim was going to end up just like him.

A few screams came from the room and it wasn’t long before the party began to scatter in a panic. Bruce's Intel had been right, this was a hunt, and every kid in this room was potential prey. The worst part was that if Tim wanted to get to the top, he'd have to let himself get captured. Not his favorite way to save the day for sure.

But with the party scattering, he also got a better glimpse at the blonde girl he'd seen earlier, and grimaced to himself as her identity became clear to him.

She was wrestling with someone herself, putting up a fight, though she had to be faking it. Steph could take down plenty of these guys with ease, which meant she was looking to get captured on purpose as well. Perfect…

Tim pretended to struggle against his own captor as well while his wrists were zip-tied tightly. He was only let go when he was shoved into the back of one of two vans, with several scared teens, and Steph. Steph who smirked at him as soon as he scooted back to sit beside her.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked as soon as the van doors were slammed shut.

"Helping, duh."

Steph couldn't help but enjoy the look of annoyance on her boyfriend's face. He really needed to ease up, she was his ally, not a hindrance.

"How exactly is this helping?"

Steph wiggled her wrists behind her back, popping them free of their binds a moment later. Another look she enjoyed from him was one of dumbfounded shock. It was a cute look on him.

"Wait… how did you-?" Tim started.

Steph motioned for him to turn around, quickly cutting at his binds to break him free as well.

"Slipped my thumb under the zip tie when they grabbed me. Easy," she teased. "Took a PDA off some other shifty guy first."

She fished into her pants pocket and tossed the device to Tim who still looked bewildered.

"Uhhh…"

"Thank me later, Albert. You figure out what we need from that thing, I'll untie everyone."

Tim shot Steph another annoyed look but he quickly got to work, digging through the device for pertinent information. Steph moved from person to person, cutting through each of their ties. Most of them seemed too drunk or high to understand what was going on except that they were in danger. She offered what comfort she could to them, but it was a bit futile in their current circumstances.

"There's more than twenty kids on this list, that means some of them haven't been marked as missing." Tim tapped away at the screen, reading through the names, Steph peering over his shoulder after a few moments.

"That's terrible."

"We'll get them accounted for. Steph, I need"-

"Robyn."

"What?"

"Not Steph, Robyn. With a ‘Y’."

Tim raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Steph crossed her arms. "What? You get an undercover name and I don't?"

"But Robyn?"

"Uh huh, Robyn Draper. Cute, huh?" She grinned.

"It's… something," Tim mumbled, feeling himself blush. Steph was certainly something.

Another minute of digging and Tim found what they were looking for. A location in Bludhaven which was a longer ride than either of them wanted to take right now.

"We need to get all of this to Oracle. I'll call Batman, he can head to Bludhaven, and we can stop this convoy from getting there," Tim stated, stuffing the PDA into his pocket.

Steph nudged his arm lightly. "We?"

"Not now… Robyn…"

…..

It wasn't an easy task, stopping the van they were in and derailing the other, all while making sure none of the kidnapped teens were injured in the chaos. They almost managed it. There were a few bruises and sprains to be had, but everyone was relatively unscathed. Steph took her time making sure that everyone was accounted for and pulled to safety while Tim wrangled up the crew they'd taken down as gently as they could. They were well aware that these kids were victims too. Once they did a headcount, they noted seven of the original missing group with them, as well as the thirteen new ones they'd just rescued. The rest would have to be picked up by Batman. Hopefully no one was missing.

Steph and Tim disappeared when emergency services appeared on the scene, zipping off to a safe spot nearby. Steph could tell that Tim was keeping something bottled up, ready to bust at any minute.

"What's wrong Alonzo? Don't like that I had to swoop in to save your butt?" Steph teased.

Tim grumbled quietly. There was nothing he could say without being wrong. She had offered to help. He had said no. She had helped save the day. The only thing to say was…

"Thanks. For that."

"For what? What is it you want to thank me for?" Steph taunted him.

Tim rolled his eyes. "For saving my butt, okay?"

Tim tried to remain stoic, but Steph was smiling so sweetly that he couldn't help but laugh. Steph threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck to kiss his cheek.

"Anytime, boy wonder. Anytime."

[taggingtim]

Why I love Pre-Boot Tim Drake and why the Reboot has ruined him

I love Tim Drake.  He is my favorite comic book character of all time.  I’ve been really upset the past few days about what DC has been doing with him lately, and I thought it would be cathartic for me to write something up about it.  (No, this isn’t a rant about Tim being bi/gay; it’s a much larger problem than that. But I’ll get to that in a bit.) Bear with me for a bit of history, first.

When I was a kid I loved the Batman Animated Series.  I know this will lose me a lot of internet cred, but I always preferred the fourth season. In particular, I loved Tim Drake. He was fun and funny and I absolutely adored him.  I used to beg my mom to take me to the mall so I could buy issues of Gotham Adventures. For my birthday one year my parents got me a subscription to the comic, and I was blown away by the idea that I could have comics MAILED to my HOUSE.

Around middle school I started collecting Marvel comics, mostly X-men stuff.  I loved them, but when I started college I quit the hobby for financial reasons.

 Fast forward a few years, and I felt I was financially stable enough to start buying comics again. Rather than going back to Marvel, I decided to give Batman comics a chance.  I had no idea where to start, and when I found out my beloved Tim had his own comic series, I thought it was a perfect entry point into the Batman universe. I bought the complete series from a local comic shop and dove in.

 Tim’s Robin series was exactly what I was looking for in a comic.  He was very different from little Timmy Todd from BtAS, but I loved him. I built the rest of my comic collection around him, grabbing up every book that he was featured in, from Young Justice to Teen Titans to Batman, Detective Comics, Nightwing, Red Robin, and many others.  I have random books from series like The Demon just because Tim was in them.

 So why did I like Tim so much?  What about this character made me so excited for more?  I found in Tim something that I had never seen in a comic book before: character growth.  Somehow, though he was written by many different authors over many different years, Tim managed to have a character arc that is consistent and makes sense. Sure, there were a few small bumps along the way, but on the whole Tim has always stayed true to his character, and he’s developed in a way that the big name characters, like Batman, never can.

 When we’re first introduced to Tim, he’s a young teen who has been neglected by his parents growing up. He’s smart, healthy, and strong, but he lacks so much self confidence and has little sense of self worth.  Tim notices Bruce’s increasing violence as he grieves for the loss of his son, and Tim knows he needs to step in and help.  Batman needs a Robin.

 For most characters, this would be the part where Tim put himself forward for the job.  But he doesn’t.  He seeks out Dick Grayson and begs him to come home instead.  It’s only when Batman and Nightwing are in danger and there is literally no one else to help that Tim steps up and dons the cape. And once he does, he’s constantly plagued by self-doubt, terrified he will screw up and leave Batman worse than ever before.

 From there, Tim undergoes intense training.  He never begs to be in the spotlight, doesn’t push to go out on the streets before he’s ready.  His goal is to help Bruce as much as possible.

 Here’s where I started to fall in love with him.  All that self-doubt, the constant need to be useful?  That’s exactly what you would expect to see from a child whose parents had ignored and neglected him.  He finally has a parental figure who sees him, who values him, and Tim does everything he can to make himself worthy in the hopes that Bruce will keep him around.

 This is the first example of character consistency that we see with Tim.  And it continues.  When his mom dies and his dad is put in a coma, you see Tim struggle to come to terms with losing the people he loves, but never had a relationship with.  Tim almost never mentions his mom after her death, because she just wasn’t present in his life.  When his dad recovers and decides to stick around, Tim struggles to build a relationship with him.  He’s plagued with guilt because he’s finally found the father figure he needed in Bruce, but he thinks that he’s supposed to feel that way for Jack.  It’s a running undercurrent in their relationship that creates distance between them for years.

 This is already so long, so I’m going to try to summarize a bit more.  We get to watch Tim grow up.  We see his awkward relationship with his first girlfriend, Ariana.  He doesn’t know how to treat her; he’s never had the opportunity to observe a healthy relationship.  But he tries so, so hard.  All of Tim’s relationships are awkward, because he’s never had a model of a good one. Steph is a great match for him, because she’s very vocal about what she wants and needs, and she isn’t afraid to call Tim out when he messes up, which is exactly what Tim needs.

 Big things happen to Tim. He’s stuck with Jean-Paul Valley, who slowly goes insane, leaving Tim to try to keep the city in one piece.  He’s infected with the Clench, a plague that sweeps over Gotham and kills everyone it touches, and barely escapes with his life. His girlfriend is sexually assaulted, leaving him to deal with the fallout.  His family moves out of Gotham, and he has to sneak back in during No Man’s Land to help.  His relationship with his dad has intense ups and downs, resulting in him being sent to boarding school, punished in a variety of ways, and generally caused a lot of trouble in his life.

 Then people start dying. Over the course of about a year in his life, Tim loses his girlfriend, his dad, a close friend, and his best friend, each of whom dies under tragic conditions.  Tim’s grief is intense, and he is understandably traumatized by the losses. We see fundamental changes in his character.  He changes his costume from something bright and cheerful to something darker that reflects his emotional state.  He’s more subdued, his adventures a little more serious.

 When Bruce first tries to adopt him, Tim literally creates an uncle and hires an actor to play him, just to avoid dealing with the situation.  Bruce has viewed Tim as a son for years, so to him the adoption is an obvious step.  For Tim, it feels like a betrayal of his father, and it takes a while before he’s ready to accept Bruce’s love, home, and a place in his family.  

 When Damian shows up on the scene, Tim really struggles with him, and not just because early Damian is a horrid brat who tries to kill Tim on multiple occasions.  Tim has always felt the need to earn his place with Bruce, and Damian constantly throws all of Tim’s biggest fears in his face—he’s not wanted or needed now that the “real” son is here, he’s not worthy of a place in the family, he’s not good enough.

 Tim tries to clone Conner, his best friend.  He’s lost so many people, and he’s desperate to get them back.  Conner was cloned to begin with and fully matured over a very short period of time; the technology clearly exists, so why can’t Tim use it to get his best friend back?  And if he can get Conner back, why not the others he’s lost?  He eventually gives up, but when he eventually gets access to a Lazarus Pit, he immediately wants to incorporate the waters into his process so he can revive his loved ones.  With Dick’s help, Tim eventually decides to let it go, but it’s such a poignant moment for the character.

 Then Bruce dies, and Dick takes Robin away.  Tim switches to the Red Robin persona as he travels the world, alone, trying to prove that he was right.  He has to deal with the trauma of losing another father, finds out that his girlfriend never died but let him hurt so much for so long.  His brother and the only close friend he has left both think his grief has overwhelmed his sense and that he’s gone crazy.  He’s utterly alone.

 The Red Robin series is such a great culmination for Tim.  He finds a place for himself as a hero, as a CEO.  He gets parts of his family back—Bruce, Steph, Bart, Conner.  He finally figures out who he wants to be and creates a place for himself.

 This overarching character development is what I love about Tim.  His many, many traumas impact his decisions, and you can clearly see how he changes over time as a result of them.  I didn’t even go into his development as a leader from his early fumbling with Young Justice to his strong leadership of the Teen Titans, or how his relationships with Conner, Bart, and Cassie develop so fluidly and realistically over the years.

 This is why I love Tim. Characters like Batman are static; nothing that happens to them will ever have a lasting impact, because in the end the character always returns to what they were.  Tim, on the other hand, has changed and developed A LOT since his initial appearance.  His growth has always been consistent and logical.

 When the reboot happened, all of that character growth was lost.  Tim was replaced with a jerk who betrayed his friends and cheated on his girlfriend.  DC has basically retconned all of this and tried to turn Tim back into who he was, but by taking away all of the things that have happened to him over the years, Tim has lost SO MUCH.

 I keep looking for my Tim in recent comics, and I just can’t find him.  It breaks my heart, because I love him so much, and it feels like he’s lost to me forever.  The most recent Young Justice comic series actually gave me hope; I felt like maybe, finally, someone was going to write Tim correctly.  He had his primary friendships back, his relationship with Steph was developing (even if they seem to have completely dropped all the development around Steph’s decision to let Tim think she was dead).  The actual book itself wasn’t fantastic, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

 Over the last few days, I read the Batman: Urban Legends books.  I actually read the Batman/Red Hood story first, which was fantastic.  I was really excited to read Tim’s story (though I already knew how it ended).  Jason’s character was handled so well, and he seemed to actually have some character development that will hopefully last.  I anticipated the same for Tim.

 But Tim’s story was awful. The plot was all over the place—kids are being kidnapped, so Tim has to join a pain cult to get them back?  He’s somehow helping Oracle with computer issues while simultaneously questioning witnesses?  He’s broken up with Steph, off camera, shortly after telling her how much he loves her, but Steph somehow thinks that they should have a caring relationship where Tim tells her what he’s feeling?  Bernard has somehow become a good enough fighter to stand side by side with Robin?  Tim STILL doesn’t have a code name?  Why is everyone suddenly hounding him about what he wants to do with his life?

 It’s just such a mess of a story.  If it didn’t end with Tim agreeing to go on a date with Bernard, no one would ever have even mentioned it.  There’s nothing particularly re-readable or enjoyable about it.

 I actually liked that they brought Bernard back. I really enjoyed him in the original Robin series. It’s been a while since I read that part of the series (I’m actually working my way back through it now).  I know Bernard always read as gay to me, yet somehow I felt like he was out of character in these books.

 And then, the climax of the story.  Tim is bi, or gay, or has at least agreed to go on a date with a boy.

 If this had happened in the pre-boot, when Tim was Red Robin and had an actual character arc, I honestly wouldn’t have had an issue with it.  I do think it would have needed a LOT more build up than it was given here.  Tim has always been a very introspective character, and we’ve been party to so much of his internal monologue over the years.  It seems very strange to me that such a huge thing just sneaks up on him out of nowhere when he’s never even thought about it before.

 But more than that, this story just feels like the final death blow for the Tim I loved.  The whole arc is about how Tim doesn’t know who he is or who he wants to be.  What will his hero name be?  Will he go to college?  What is he going to do with his life?  These are all great questions, and his answer to all of them is… date a boy?  

 Is this going to be his defining characteristic going forward?  From here will we just see Tim exploring and discovering his sexuality?  The Tim we have now doesn’t have a family, a team, a purpose, or even a code name.  Why was this the thing that DC decided to give us?  It feels like they wanted to make a gay Robin and decided it would be Tim because they didn’t know what else to do with him.

 It’s stupid, but I honestly feel like I’ve spent the past few days grieving the loss of a loved one. The Tim that DC is presenting now is just not the person that I knew.  Tim would never break up with Steph that abruptly for what he admits is no apparent reason.  He would never say “just call me Robin, since Damian’s out of town.”  Everything that I love about Tim seems to be gone, and in its place DC has given me a date with a boy.  

 Again, it’s not Tim being not-straight that I have an issue with.  I’ve never read the character that way, but it’s something I can live with. My issue is the way it was handled. Why not make Tim an actual person first, and then explore his sexuality?  Send him off to college!  He’s obviously thinking about it!  It’s the perfect opportunity to give him his own book.  He can move to a different city, choose a new name, and DC can introduce a whole new set of characters.  Figure out which parts of Tim’s backstory are still canon, and which have been dropped. Make him a person again, and then let him explore his sexuality.

 I know this post is all over the place, and I don’t have time right now to go back and edit it.  I just really needed an outlet for my frustration.  Right now it feels like there are so many people who are so excited about Tim being bi/gay, but they don’t know anything else about him.  I keep seeing people comment how DC has been “dropping hints for years!” with no evidence other than “he and Superboy were really close!”  I guess I’d just really like to have some dialogue with other people who are fans of Tim, rather than fans of Tim-as-bi/gay or fans of Tim-as-straight.

 Does anyone else feel this way?  I’d honestly like to have a dialogue about it with other long time fans.

[tumblingxelian]

Bat-stuff coming up on a blog I follow is fun cos I was discussing an old idea with a friend of mine set in this nebulous period where Bruce took Dick & Tim on a "Rediscover how to be Batman" holday.

Leaving Harvey Dent who had a couple of weeks training to defend Gotham and apparently just not thinking about Cassandra at all so she was surprised when she got back from her mission.

(No one else had been introduced yet, ala Damian or Duke)

In the fic idea rather than that being used to set up Harvey going evil again for "reasons" and Cass turning evil for "Reasons" which then got made into mind control, the fic goes another.

Namely, Jason :I am obsessed with Gotham" Todd looks at the city and says "its free real estate", swings a legal resurrection, a coup at Wayne Enterprises and plans to take over as Batman.

Unfortunately for him, Harvey is still there and was able to piece together his plan and he contacted Oracle who sent Batgirl so the situation very quickly became a stand off.

(Jason had the manor rigged to explode if he needed to bail)

So a truce is reached,

Cass becomes the new Batman, Jason moves into philanthropy and Harvey is their legal advisor and mediator. Hilariously, they actually do a really good job and Gotham starts making huge improvements.

A big part of this is because by focusing on specific areas over trying to "Do it all" they are both able to really focus and also cover for each other. A line used when discussing it was "Trying to fix Gotham was like pushing a boulder up a hill while people tried to shank you." Well now someone is helping push the boulder, but another is covering for knives and they all switch out who is doing what.

Then there's just stuff like Jason having a more bottom up perspective on addressing issues of poverty having lived it, over studied it conceptually. & Cass being indifferent to law related matters, canonical as she donated millions of dollars in evidence to charity with Steph. So the social programs are not just good but also backed with stuff like:

"Hi, Jason Wayne, I am bribing you to be a less garbage governor."

These elements are followed up with Talia dropping Damian off for safety reasons along with his new bodyguard. Namely, AllCaste!Stephanie Brown with magic fire swords! (Basically she got a Robin Resurrection after her death here too & Talia was just like "OK mine now" and took her to get some spiritual healing, & fire swords.

(It'd be cool if Duke got brought into this, Alt Robins Movement?)

All of this naturally gets the Court of Owls Feathers in a ruffle as they were trying to take full control of Gotham and someone using their methods is making it much harder to even retain what they have let alone go for more. So they broke out their Talon Army and their secret weapon, the pseudo magically scientifically ressurected Orpheus (From War Games) for a big final blow out cluster fuck.

Suffice to say they will lose and Orpheus will heal and things will improve still further. With the epilogue having Bruce Dick & Tim arriving at the manor, very surprised to see it so flashy and open. But Alfred probably just knew they were coming back.

Cue them walking in to find Alfred, Harvey, Jason, Cass, Stephanie, Onyx, Orpheus Damian, Duke & Barbara at the table, all very surprised to see them!

[danny-chase]

Big Brother instinct, Dick and either Cass, Gar, Danny Chase, Steph, Kara, Rose, or anyone else u want

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Batgirl (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Dick grayson centric, Fire, Burns, hair styling, Ice Cream, Hurt/Comfort, Late Nights, Fluff and Angst, Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Missions Gone Wrong, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain is bad at feelings, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings Series: Part 11 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

Dick talks with Cass after a mission doesn't go as planned.

Fic under cut

“Argh!” Dick snaps back to attention as Bruce’s angry grunt rattles through the cave. The few bats still in for the night stir, their wings rustling in the distance. An avalanche of papers fly off of Bruce’s desk, and his grizzled form slumps forward, hands firmly planted on the table. His shoulders sag under some unknown strain; as if he’s carrying the weight of the sky.

“Hmm.” Dick blinks back another wave of exhaustion, he’s not working on a case – but Bruce is – and company always makes working more fun. Besides, Bruce is on a time limit and Alfred can’t stop him from escaping his room. So. Here he is. He took an oath - it’s his job to help.

Dick’s eleven and Bruce’s a pillar of reassurance – a precariously stacked pile of rocks constantly on the verge of crumbling. He has no idea how to pick up the pieces. No idea how to seal the cracks. “Bruce?” He mumbles, swinging his legs off his spinny chair. Bruce doesn’t look up, his mouth drawn in a tight line. The ghost of tears well in his eyes. Not good.

Dick scoots off the chair, lightheaded for a moment. He shakes the stars out of his eyes, nodding back and forth, up and down, like Bruce does when he’s sleepy. It’s late. He has school tomorrow. Not that it matters. Bruce will let him skip if he asks the right way. He jogs in place for a few seconds, readying himself, warming up his muscles.

There’s not much he can do to help, but he can at least put on a little show. He runs forward launching into a cartwheel, picking up the papers as he goes – Bruce likes his tricks, sometimes they even make him laugh, sometimes –

Bruce snags his ankle out of the air, his quick reflexes saving Dick from crashing into the edge of a counter. He finds himself hanging, the world stuck upside down as his hands dangle inches from the floor. “Thanks.” He looks up at Bruce’s weary face.

A yawn escapes his lips, and the corners of Bruce’s mouth twitch. “I’m going to have to child-proof the cave at this rate.” He tries for humor but it falls flat, his hearts not in it all.

He stares up, sticking his tongue out. Bruce’s frown doesn’t fade. “Are you okay?” He asks. Bruce’s hands fumble, and Dick swings dangerously low to the floor before he’s recovered. Not willing to take the chance again, he curls up, grabbing Bruce’s forearms and pulls himself up through his arms, settling himself on sturdy shoulders.

Bruce drops his feet. “I’m fine. Why would ask that?” He sounds almost hurt and Dick’s too tired to figure out why.

He slides down easily, Bruce gently deposits him on the floor. “You looked sad.” A yawn leaves his mouth without permission, he stumbles slightly, and a hand clamps down on his shoulder. He reaches back up, and Bruce throws him up against his shoulder, wrapping him in a hug.

Dick yawns contently, his eyelids fluttering without his permission, as Bruce starts walking towards the stairs. “I’m sorry…” The arm around his back pulls him a bit tighter. “I’m just not enough.” A shaking hand combs through his hair and Dick squeezes back because he doesn’t know what to say.

Bruce grunts as he takes a step up the stairs. “Sleep on it?” Dick suggests, resting his eyes for just a moment.

“Mmhmm. It’s bedtime.” Dick’s half asleep by the time they reach the top. He’s not sure he hears Bruce whisper, “You’re a great kid, chum.”

It took Dick years before he really understood the feeling. And even more years before he made the connection that that was how Bruce had felt on late nights spent scouring for clues that just didn’t seem to exist, having worked for days straight on three hours of sleep, and watching Gotham send all of it up in flames setting you back months on an investigation.

He’s learned there’s nights it’s impossible to save everyone – hell, he’s seen Clark get his ass kicked, and Clark’s damn near close to god. Dick would know – the Titans have fought their namesake. But the Titans have fought humans and lost despite half their members being godlike, and besides that most days now he’s alone. It doesn’t matter how hard he tries, how much he plans, how prepared he is; sometimes things just go to hell and a handbasket and there’s nothing he can physically do to prevent it.

Most of the time, he’s fine with that. It’s fine he has limits. Logically, he knows he can’t be expected to everything. Logically, he knows it’s a waste of time to worry about it. Logically, he knows it’s okay to take a night off, watch a nature documentary, invite a friend over, stay in and spend the night simply existing.

But it feels like he could be doing more – should be doing more. He feels that restlessness overtake him, and springs to his feet “Bruce I-”

Bruce gives him his patented bat-glare from where he’s sitting, looking up from a familiar pile of papers. Once it would have intimidated him into sitting back down. Now he just returns it with a patented one of his own. “-I think I’ll suit up and head out for the night, Tim could probably use some back up with-”

“Dick.” There’s this exasperated tone that Bruce can only ever seem to muster when saying his name. He pauses for a just a second, his eyes flickering down to Bruce’s clenched fists and tight shoulders. “Let me handle it.” It comes out as an order, but reading between the lines, it’s a plea.

Bruce would never admit it out loud, worry practically bleeds out of the man. Guilt gnaws on the inside of his chest, though, he’s not sure what it’s even from; the guilt of making Bruce worry or the guilt of being a useless sack of broken and bruised ribs while people need Nightwing’s help. Being benched sucks, but he knows enough to compromise. “Let me run the comms? Babs could use a night off.” She sleeps less than him and Bruce knows it.

The gray streaks in Bruce’s hair stand out all the more as he lets out a bone deep sigh. Dick rolls his eyes – he doesn’t get to do this right now. “You literally let me go out last night I don’t understand why-”

“Last night was an emergency. I didn’t have a choice.” His frown widens, his face etched in an eternal look of pain, mixed with disproval. “Two nights ago… you almost…” His mouth seals itself shut, unspoken words hanging in the air between them. It’s Bruce that breaks the gaze first. “Run the comms, don’t overexert yourself. It should be a quiet night…” He stands, hesitates before walking off “And get to bed early.”

Dick bites back a laugh, Bruce hasn’t talked to him like that since he was thirteen. “Alright.” He resists the urge to poke fun, and follows Bruce through the passage behind the grandfather clock.

“So Ives was talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean movie with me the other day, and we might go see it this weekend if I have the time. Gee- I can’t remember the last time I saw movie in theaters or even really hung out with him.” Tim’s endless chatter helps him stay awake in the dimly lit cave. His throbbing ribs help too, maybe he shouldn’t have tried doing push-ups. “Dad and Dana want to drop me off, but Ives has a car now, though dad’s still worried cuz of the time some wacko tried to stop us at a traffic light.”

Dick hums, a smile creeping its way up his face. “I can drop you off if it’s an issue.”

“Really?! That’d be awesome, you could stay for the movie if you wanted to, but I don’t know if you’d like it, I mean are pirates really your thing? I always figured you’d be more into Vikings or probably aliens actually, or something like-” A red light flashes on the screen, and Dick snaps to attention.

“Hold that thought.” Tim’s chatter ceases immediately as Dick furiously types on the terminal. He punches into the main line. “Batgirl how fast can you get to the corner of 16th and Murphy’s Ave, there’s a building on fire and you’re the only one anywhere near the Upper East Side.” A 911 operator calms down a hysterical woman in his left ear, Cass asking direction in the right.

He pulls up a map. “I-I can’t find a way out!” The woman shrieks. “I don’t know what happened, I was sleeping and-” she breaks off into raspy hacks.

“Go straight, turn right after three blocks down.” Dick winces, as the lady continues chocking on smoke. “C’mon Cass. Get there.” He mutters off the line. He eyes his cycle sitting idly in the bay – he’s twenty minutes out; Cass needs backup. He opens up another line. “Batman I need you to follow Batgirl, what’s your eta?”

Bruce grunts back, he hears thudding over the line. “Fifteen minutes.” The woman screams in his other ear, he yanks the earbud out as a massive bang nearly blows out his eardrum. Picking it back up, he can’t hear the woman anymore, only the roar of flames and falling debris.

“Shit.” He pulls up video from a street camera. “Shit.” The building’s collapsing in on itself. “Permission to call the league?” He clicks through to their line of communications, his finger hovering over the button.

“Here.” Cass scrambles into view, bursting through a window. Shit.

Bruce learned his limits long ago. Dick’s finally settling into his. Cass? They simply don’t register on her radar. The buildings coming down in mere minutes; she’s going to get killed.

“What’s the situation?” Bruce yells in his ear.

“Batgirl get out of there!” He screams at Cass. She’s going to die – the building’s not stable, and he’s the one that sent her there. “Make it five minutes – the building’s coming down.” He yells to Bruce. “Batgirl!” He watches a few windows blow out. A firetruck careens down the street.

“Permission granted.” Bruce huffs and Dick can’t click the button fast enough.

A couple more windows blow out, and the building seems to lean to the side. Finally he sees Cass climb back out a window, holding a couple kids in her arms as she leaps to the ground. “BATGIRL GET THEM CLEAR!” His heart pounds in his throat as she runs forwards, the building groaning behind her, crumbling to the side. Chaos erupts, chunks of flaming debris cascading from the top of the building, as the second floor merges with the first.

Dick blinks, his mouth dry. “There’s more people-” he can’t hear Cass over the ensuing cacophony as he watches the building topple to the ground. “NO!” He faintly hears her scream as the screen erupts in static.

Dick slams his fists on the desk. His chest constricts painfully. “Nightwing. Report.” Bruce’s steady voice reminds him to breathe. His chest spasms. Shit. “Nightwing!” Bruce demands as he tries to catch his breath.

“Building collapsed.” He manages to get out. “One sec.” He takes a few deep breaths, leaning back in the chair for support. “Batgirl report.” He’s greeted with silence. “Batgirl, please, if you’re there I need you to respond.”

“I…” Cass trials off. Dick sighs in relief. “I’m sorry.” The line cuts off. Well. Shit.

“Nightwing! I’m headed to the location.” Bruce squawks. Dick sighs.

“It’s going to be a long night. Search and rescue, I’ll call in backup.” Shit. So much for an early bedtime.

“Hey.” Someone shakes his shoulder. He makes a grab for their wrist and misses, his mind processing where the hell he is. He blinks a few times.

“Cass?” Her hair’s plastered to the side of her head and she’s covered in soot. Nicks, rips, and tears decorate her costume. Dick wipes his eyes as the ashy smell of smoke overwhelms his senses. Cass takes a few steps back, heading towards the locker room. “Wait.” He had something to say to her, his mind racing to catch up.

She hops up onto a counter. His mind shuffles through the events earlier in the night. “Bruce sent you back?” Cass nods glumly. The rescue efforts weren’t going well when he dozed off. The JLA sent in everyone they could spare; there’s nothing they can do anymore. Not that Bruce won’t try.

Cass’s lips are sealed. There’s a haunting expression in her eyes, her shoulders slump forward, her hands firmly plant themselves on the counter for support.

And his friends think he’s too much like Bruce.

“Hey.” He starts. She gives him a weary look, tears welling in her eyes. Well, maybe not exactly like Bruce. “Look, I’m sorry I put you in that position.” Cass shakes her head. “Sometimes things like this happen. I should have-”

“Stop.” Cass pulls her feet up on the counter, getting dust everywhere. “I should have been faster.” She swallows, refusing to let the tears spill over. “My fault.”

Dick watches as she glides off the counter, yanking off her gloves and dropping them on the floor. Burn marks dot her hands and the edges of her hair are singed. “You did everything you could.” She hesitates, before taking a step towards the showers.

“Not enough.” She mutters before storming off, leaving a trail of soot in her wake.

He stands up. “Cass.” The lock snaps shut with a click as she slips into the bathroom. Leaving Dick in an empty cave once more.

By the time he returns downstairs, Cass is already out of the shower, looking displeased. “You took my clothes.” She notes unhappily, a pale pink towel tucked tightly around her shoulders.

Dick watches water drip down from her hair, pattering on the floor. The trail leading back to the bathroom is now mixed with water and soot. Alfred’s going to be pissed. “I took your costume.” He clarifies. “And I brought you clothes.” He gestures towards the open door.

Cass scowls, planting her feet defiantly. “I’m going out.” She reaches out a hand. Dick shrugs – there’s no way she can find where he hid her filthy suit before they get a chance to wash it.

It’s all too familiar, reading the lines across her brow, watching her shoulders slump when she stills, and scanning red rimmed eyes. “What are you going to do like that?” He points out, Cass angrily storming towards him. “You’re tired, you’ll just end up being in the way.” He dodges left as a fist flies past his face. “You would have hit if I wasn’t right.” She’s faster than him on his best days.

She glares at him with pursed lips, staring before turning on her heel and storming off towards the bathroom. The door slams behind her, triggering the rustling of far away wings.

Dick sighs – he hopes he wasn’t this temperamental when he lived with Bruce. “Come up to the kitchen when you’re done, I need your help with something.” The lie rolls easily off his tongue, though he feels a twinge of guilt as Cass groans behind closed doors.

Cass’s eyes widen as she enters the room. Dick offers a smile as she edges closer to the table. He tosses a spoon, she snags it out of the air. “Dig in.” There’s a carton of chocolate ice cream – double chocolate chunk brownie sundae with hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles to be precise – and tons of candy. It’s not stuff Bruce keeps around, but Dick’s has a stash at Tim’s house reserved for movie nights. He’ll restock later.

Cass vigorously stabs the ice cream with her spoon, a smile dancing across her face as she takes a few bites. She pauses, sticking the spoon back in the cartoon, looking up with a confused expression. “Why?” She’s wearing fluffy pajama bottoms, fuzzy socks, and an old worn college sweatshirt that’s frayed at the hems. Dick can almost pretend he’s back, talking to Donna after she broke up with Roy their sophomore year of high school.

She’s watching Dick carefully. He hums casually. “You had a rough night.” This is what the Titans always did. She shrugs.

“Things happen.” She shovels a few more bites into her mouth. “I want to go out.” It’s hard for Dick to find her tough and grizzled when she’s guzzling gummi worms, kicking her feet back and forth on the stool.

“Consider this a reason to stay in.” She gives him a sideways glance. “You did as much as you can, that’s enough.” Cass looks pointedly at her ice cream, not hesitating before diving back into it.

“Spar with me?” She licks a skittle before sticking it in her mouth.

Dick snorts. “If I don’t have a heart attack, I think Bruce would.” She snaps up to attention, grabbing his wrist and quickly finding his pulse point. “I’m fine, Cass.” Her hands are freezing. He places one of his on top of hers. “If you weren’t there I wouldn’t have been.” He says quietly, catching her eye. “Thank you.” She pulls back as if burned, quickly busying herself with the candy. He waits a moment before adding, “I think those kids you saved are grateful too.”

Cass throws a bag of M&M’s at him, he’s a second too slow and it pelts him in the face. “Noted.” He grins. “Uh, also, I’m going to have to do something with your hair.”

“What.”

“Cass, hold still.” She immediately stops squirming under his hands. “Thanks.” She hums back, tucked under an old blanket that never seems to leave the back of the couch. Bruce still isn’t here, but Tim checked in after his stakeout, and headed home a half an hour ago. He snips away another lock of burnt hair, tossing it into a trash can next to him.

He rests his forearms on the back of the sofa, contemplating which section of her hair to start with next. “You find one you like yet?” He asks, peeking over her shoulder at the images of hairstyles.

“Uhh.” She scrolls a bit more. “I don’t care.” She tosses the phone up to the top of the couch.

“Mmm.” He didn’t expect much else. Donna texted him a picture earlier to copy – something easy to pull back but still stylish. He attacks the next section, carefully brushing out the tangles, starting bottom to the top. He’s oddly grateful for all those times he did Donna and Kory’s hair.

‘Practice for when Bruce finally adopts a girl.’ They used to tease. ‘You’ll have a real sister, and if his track record holds she’ll have black hair and blue eyes.’ He’s never lived the irony down. Though, Cass’s eyes are a beautiful warm brown, so Donna and Kory can take that.

“You know.” He keeps his tone light. “Most hairdressers and their clients talk.” Cass remains set in stony silence. “Though I guess most people go to a salon to get their hair cut.” He just visits Joey. “Some people say it’s like free therapy.”

“You talk a lot.” Cass notes. He pulls up doodle jump on his phone and passes it back to her. She plays a couple rounds before the phone’s placed back beside him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He already knows the answer, but still asks all the same.

“No.” Bruce never wanted to either. Barbara used to talk to him… before he left for the Titans and took years to look back. Though he likes to dream otherwise, he knows there’ll come a day when Tim won’t want to talk to him anymore either.

It doesn’t get any easier being shut out. “That’s alright. If you change your mind I’m here.” He grabs the shears, snipping away another dead end.

“Thanks.”

“Dick.” A hiss awakes him, light following soon after. He squints, turning away to bury his face in a cushion. “Where’s Cassandra?”

He turns, eyes snapping open as he quickly scans the sofa. The blanket hangs off the edge, Cass nowhere to be seen. One of her custom batarangs sticks out of his armchair’s armrest, a few inches from his hand. “She must have found her costume.” He notes, glancing towards the pajamas crumpled in the doorway. His eyes meet Bruce’s as he lets out a tired sigh.

His hair’s dripping, fresh from a shower, and it’s singed at the edges. Dick nods towards the sheers on the coffee table. “Tomorrow.” Bruce decides, crossing the room, picking up the blanket as he goes. Dick pushes down the footrest, slowly rising to his feet. His ribs twinge at every move, in hindsight, falling asleep hanging off the side of an armchair wasn’t his best idea. Bruce hovers closer than normal, watching carefully, worry lines set in concern. “Bed.”

Dick’s too tired to argue. “Bed.” He agrees. And though Bruce doesn’t carry him, he accompanies him up the stairs.

[phis-corner]

How about #34 and #9 on the fluff/angst list?Ship is yours to decide

34- “Please don’t do this.” 9- “You meant too much to me.” | Platonic Timari

Note: reverse robins au, where Tim was the one captured by Joker instead, choosing to take his own life instead of break under torture. Marinette, having given up LB post Hawkmoth’s defeat, chooses to take up her dead brother’s mantle after seeing Bruce spiral. She is also Bruce’s biological child in this au.

I got reaaaally into reverse robins, and this is the result. 

TW: suicide mention

Her father and Alfred are being increasingly shifty about the Red Hood, abruptly stopping conversations when she enters the room and changing the subject when she brings up the mysterious man who’s been picking off the corrupted people in this city.

So she makes a plan to look into it in her own time, carefully watching and observing to find a free time slot, and seizes the opportunity.

Dad is at a WE meeting because Lucius threatened him with no gadgets for a month if he didn’t show again, Alfred is asleep (because he is actually human, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary), and Damian is in Bludhaven with Jon, both working their respective day jobs as an officer in the BPD and a journalist.

Marinette silently logs into the Batcomputer, bypassing the security on Hood’s file with a little help from Oracle (hey, Steph was being kept out of the dark too, and they were both curious.)

She reads the basic information, and scrolls down to the DNA section.

Her blood runs cold when she sees the information listed there, because how can it be a match?

He’s dead.

Dead.

Captured by the Joker, tortured near the breaking point, before taking his own life with a shard of broken glass to preserve their secrets.

She watched them lower his body into the ground. Watched as his friends and family stood there, under the clear blue sky, which seemed too pretty for such a terrible day.

Watched as his teammates broke down around his grave, as Bruce’s face crumpled when everyone else is gone.

Watched Damian, two weeks later, finally show up and leave a single purple hyacinth, kneeling in front of the headstone and tracing the letter with a single finger, head bowed, before leaving. 

She searched up the meaning of the flower. I am sorry, please forgive me.

She mourned him.

Mourned a brother, so kind and intelligent, who never really knew how much he meant to all of them.

She has her own suspicions about how he was captured in the first place, but pointing fingers would do more harm than good.

Her father spiraled again, after he died.

She didn’t want to do it. Didn’t want to introduce a new Robin, and slowly let the world forget about the second. Robin should have died with Tim.

But Batman will not stop, and as long as he keeps fighting, he’ll need a Robin to hold him back.

Marinette dons the costume, two months after they bury him, and tries to forget that this uniform, his spare, still smells like him.

She’s wearing a dead boy’s clothes.

Alfred helps her make a new one after that first night.

Eventually, he does accept her as Robin. He trains her harder than he did both Damian and Tim.

She pushes through.

And now, four years later, there’s evidence proclaiming that he’s alive.

Alive, and on a killing spree, weeding out Gotham’s corrupt at the very center, strategically taking people out to topple the system.

A laugh escapes her, even as her shoulders shake with tears, because the methods are so familiar, so Tim, that she doesn’t know how she didn’t notice earlier.

She asks Jason to cover for her that night. 

He agrees without any questions, seeing the serious look on her face. Marinette has never been more grateful for the boy she and Dad found stealing the tires of the Batmobile.

After Batman leaves (Robin is benched until Red Hood is taken care of, whatever that means), and she pretends to go to bed, she opens her closet and pushes against the hidden panel in the back wall, revealing a spare uniform.

Robin escapes out her window, even though she knows that Alfred will have been alerted by the window opening.

Too bad for them, though, because she removed all the trackers except the emergency beacon, which can only be activated from her side.

The Red Hood is elusive, but she knows his tricks. She keeps up with him as he turns corner after corner, jumps from building to building, until he stops on the roof of Wayne Enterprises.

“Robin.” He says, helmet filtering out any signs that it’s her brother underneath. “But you’re not really Robin, are you? You’re wearing a dead boy’s clothes.”

She can’t help it, she flinches at how casually he speaks of his own death.

“Tim.” She tugs at the uniform, which has never fit right, despite it being tailored to her exact measurements. “What happened to you?”

“What happened? I died, that’s what happened.” The helmet comes off with a click and a hiss of air, and then it’s just her brother, older, eyes violent green, face twisted into a sneer. “I went off to follow the lead on the Joker myself, since Big Bird shut the door in my face and told me it wouldn’t amount to anything, got myself captured, and ended my own life to preserve their secrets. But you should know all of that, Replacement.”

The nickname is like a dagger to the heart. “I never wanted to replace you, the same way you didn’t want to replace Damian.” She says steadily, staring straight into his eyes even as her heart skitters frantically. “I was keeping Robin’s legacy alive.”

“Robin should have died with me.” 

“You know as much as I do that Batman needs a Robin, and Batman would not stop fighting as long as he lives.” She replies. “I never wanted to be Robin, Tim. It’s been four years, and it still feels like it doesn’t fit. But there was nobody else to do it, no one else to bring him out of that spiral.”

Tim is silent for a moment, so she continues.

“Come home, Tim. Please. We’ve all missed you so much. Dad isn’t the same anymore. No one is. We can be a family again.”

“Don’t you see, Marinette? I was never meant to be Robin, either. I was just that one annoying kid who wouldn’t leave Bruce alone, the one who blackmailed him into letting a second Robin out onto the streets. Even after I moved in, I was just that one kid who never really belonged, the outsider trying to insert himself into a family, pretending that Bruce cared for me as much as he did his biological children. Bruce only allowed me to stay in the Manor because I knew his secret. Damian made no effort to hide his disgust around me. You- you were the only one in that house who treated me like an equal.”

He draws a gun and points it at her, and she hears the safety click off. “But you’re Robin. He shouldn’t have made another child Robin. He should have said no, let the legacy die.”

“Tim,” She pleads. “Please don’t do this.”

Something in his eyes waver for a moment, fading to blue, before they harden into acid green again. “You meant too much to me. Let’s see if you mean enough to Batman too, enough for him to arrive on time.”

The gun goes off with a bang, and she feels the bullet enter through a crack in her armor, burying itself in her torso.  The pain is nothing new, but overwhelming all the same as her entire body seems to be on fire.

The last thing she does before everything goes black is calibrate the beacon to send the signal to Nightwing only, before smashing the button with all her remaining strength.

I hope Flamebird gets them here on time.

There are two reasons why she chooses to send it to Nightwing, and Nightwing only. One being because Damian doesn’t know that Tim is alive, and despite everything, he deserves to.

The other?

She doesn’t trust her father to make it.

permanent tags

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[sohotthateveryonedied]

I’ve Never Felt So Helpless

Read here on AO3!

Summary:

“Tim.”

“In fact, I think we’ve both earned a quiet night in with food and shitty movies and snuggles and—”

“Tim!”

“What?”

“You’re bleeding.”

Tim looks down where she points at a spot on his neck, and—was that stinging sensation always there? He touches the part of his cowl that covers his neck. His glove comes away covered in blood. “Oh.” Now that he’s aware of it, he can feel the blood rushing from the wound at a speed that he’s fairly certain wounds aren’t supposed to bleed at. “That’s not good.”

Tim is a simple man, no matter what anyone else says. Does he fight crime in tights? Yes, and proudly. Does he guiltily watch the occasional Riverdale episode because he had a crush on Cole Sprouse growing up and owes this to his prepubescent self? Obviously. Would he like to enjoy a relaxing night every once in a while, devoid of supervillains and near-death experiences? One hundred percent. Tim has stated this precise case upwards of a dozen times tonight, yet here he is, exhausted and covered in plant matter from a fight with Poison Ivy. All because Steph wanted to handle Ivy’s escape from Arkham themselves despite the fact that she and Tim specifically asked for tonight off so they could have some alone time for the first time in weeks. Tim bought sparkling cider, dammit. “You are way too hung up on this,” Stephanie says, wringing out her hair from when Ivy chucked her into a pond. They stand together on a rooftop, watching the final squad car pull away from the scene. It is not nearly as satisfying as it should be. “I wanted one night. One.” “There will be other nights, Tim. Besides, we caught Ivy before she could do any major damage. I call that a job well done.” “At the cost of our date night!” “Oh, like you’ve never canceled plans to fight crime. You’ve blown me off for supervillains plenty of times. So have I. But this time, we got to do it together, which I think counts as a date night.” “It doesn’t, actually. Normal people do things like going out to dinner, catching a movie, taking romantic walks on the beach. I want to be like that.” Steph turns to face him. She plants her hands on her hips. “Tim.” “And, you know, I can’t remember the last time we got to have a date night that didn’t involve punching someone. Do you know how insane that is?” “Tim.” “In fact, I think we’ve both earned a quiet night in with food and shitty movies and snuggles and—” “Tim!” “What?” “You’re bleeding.”

Tim looks down where she points at a spot on his neck, and—was that stinging sensation always there? He touches the part of his cowl that covers his neck. His glove comes away covered in blood. “Oh.” Now that he’s aware of it, he can feel the blood rushing from the wound at a speed that he’s fairly certain wounds aren’t supposed to bleed at. “That’s not good.” Steph is in front of him in an instant, one hand pressed against his neck and making him hiss. “How does the world’s greatest detective not realize he’s got a giant gash in his neck?” Should Tim be feeling this woozy already? It must be the adrenaline rushing out, leaving him a puppet without strings. “There was a razor vine, but I thought it missed me.” His legs shake, dangerously close to giving out. Steph takes notice and helps lower him to the ground so they’re on their knees, facing each other. “Clearly, it didn’t. Take your cowl down, let me see.” Tim obeys. Steph has to let go of the wound for a moment so he can loosen the cape from around his neck. It’s only a second, but Tim already feels warm blood seeping down his collar, soaking into the fabric of his uniform. “Shit,” Steph hisses when she gets a good look. Her hands fly back to press against the wound. “How bad is it?” “Bad.” She fumbles in her belt for a pad of gauze. She pins it to his throat, trying to keep the blood inside of him where it belongs. “It didn’t hit an artery, did it?” That would...well, it would be pretty damn bad. Life-threatening, if it isn’t already. “I don’t think so. The gash is too low.” She presses harder when blood leaks from a gap in her fingers. “It shouldn’t be bleeding this much, should it? The wound isn’t even that big. I don’t think your blood is clotting like it should.” Tim goes even paler than he already is. “Oh.” “Oh?” “Ivy. She sprayed me with something.” He winces as the wound throbs. “During the fight.” “Are you kidding me? You couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?” “I was busy! And I felt fine, so I figured I would run a blood test when we got back to the cave. I didn’t think she would do something to my blood.” “Damn it. Okay.” Steph closes her eyes, thinking. “Can you reach your communicator?” “Yeah, I think so.” Tim reaches for his utility belt, tilting his head to see better. That small motion causes Steph’s hand to slip, allowing another gush of blood to spurt from his neck. “Shit, shit, shit.” She repositions, gets a better grip on the wound. “Don’t move your head.” Tim swallows nervously. “We good now?” “I think so. Just...be careful, okay? Small movements. You’ve already lost too much blood, so I want to keep you as plugged up as possible.” “Kinky.” “Shut up.” Tim manages to locate the communicator and turn it on. Just in time, too. It’s getting harder and harder to focus, the blood drying on his neck and sticking to his skin. If he wasn’t anemic before, he certainly is now. The communicator crackles. “You’ve got Oracle. I thought you and Batgirl were off duty tonight.” “We are,” Steph says. “Listen, can you patch me through to whoever can hypothetically get me and Red Robin to the cave as fast as humanly possible?” “What happened?” “We had a run-in with Ivy. She’s taken care of, but she did something to Red. Something to keep his blood from clotting. He’s got a laceration on his throat and I’m trying to stop the bleeding, but I don’t know how much longer we have.” “Sending an ambulance to your location.” “Negative. His face is uncovered, so a regular hospital is off the table. It needs to be the Batcave.” “Got it, I’ll transfer you to Batman. He can take you in the Batmobile. I’ll call Leslie Thompkins and have her meet you guys there.” “Tell her to hurry.” Steph’s voice wavers, anxious. Tim wants to reassure her that he’ll be fine, but it’s getting more and more difficult to concentrate, like he’s a radio trying to tune to the right station. He tips forward and presses his forehead against Steph’s shoulder, his body sagging. She keeps him upright, careful not to loosen her grip on the gauze. Finally, the communicator beeps. “Batman here. What is it?” Steph runs through their situation again, leaving Tim free to drift as he pleases. Steph is warm against him, like a fresh latte. There’s blood in her hair. Tim runs his fingers through the bloody patches, trying to separate the clumps. Something prods his shoulder. “Hm?” “I asked how you’re doing.” Bruce doesn’t sound nervous—he never does. But Tim knows him better than most. He can tell when he’s worried. “I’m hanging in,” Tim manages. “How long ‘til you get here?” “I’m ten minutes out. You think you can hold on until then?” “Mm-hm.” Honestly, Tim isn’t sure if he can. But at least Bruce won’t worry as much if he thinks Tim is going to be okay. “Batgirl, do either of you have an Ivy antidote on you?” “I have a couple for her general toxins, but I don’t know how they’d do with this one. Should I give it a shot anyway?” “No, it might make things worse. Keep me updated on his condition. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Batman, out.” A click. Tim tosses aside the communicator, uncaring of whether he turned it off properly or not. The ground rocks beneath him, like the rooftop is floating on a roiling ocean. Steph’s free hand runs through his hair, soothing on his scalp. “Sweetie, are you still with me?” “Mm.” “Stay awake, okay? Just for a little longer.” Tim nods against her shoulder. Steph releases a breath. “Good. Now, do you think you can reach into my belt and get some more gauze? This one is soaked through.” Already? That’s a bad sign. Tim doesn’t move his head from her shoulder. “Which pocket?” “Uh...second one on the left of my right hip, I think? I usually go by muscle memory.” Tim checks the pocket and finds no gauze, but there is a stick of gum and a few rubber bands. “Next to that one, maybe?” Still nothing. “Steph, do you actually know what you’re doing?” “Look, it’s easier when I can see it, okay? Here, bunch up your cape. I can use that for now until Bruce gets here.” It takes some careful maneuvering for Tim to reach his cape without moving his head or neck, but he manages to fold it the best he can. He hands it to Steph, so brings it close to the wound. “Okay,” she says. “I’m going to switch off now. Ready?” Tim nods. “Do it.” She’s quick about it. She yanks away the soiled gauze and replaces it with the cape in seconds, but blood eagerly spills out as soon as it’s free. Tim’s vision goes blotchy, the darkness behind his eyelids sprinkled with stars. He hisses when Steph crams the fabric against the wound hard enough to make him want to jerk away. He doesn’t, though, just digs his fingers into her shoulder and takes deep breaths through his teeth. “Sorry, sorry,” she murmurs. “It’ll stop hurting in a bit.” She presses a kiss to his hair. “I’ve got the bleeding under control, I think.” “You think or you know?” “I think.” That’s not at all reassuring. Even so, Tim finds that he doesn’t mind as long as it’s Steph with him. He would gladly put his life in her hands, and now that he’s here, he’s content. He trusts her. “Tim?” “Hm?” “I changed my mind.” “On what?” “We should have done a date night instead.” Tim snorts, but it’s weak. More a huff than anything. “This isn't so bad. ‘Least we’re together.” “Yeah, covered in blood on a freezing rooftop. Very romantic.” Tim hums, presses his nose to her neck and closes his eyes. She smells like lavender. “You’re pretty.” “Stop that.” “Stop what?” “Stop talking like you’re dying.” “‘m just making an observation. You’re pretty.” There is blood covering both of their uniforms, smeared across the bat symbol on Steph’s chest. Her face glistens with sweat from the fight, and there’s a bruise on the side of her jaw. She’s still gorgeous. “You’re a dork.” Tim hums. His stomach rolls and his heart picks up until he can feel it throbbing in his skin, like his pulse is racing to get out. He closes his eyes. “I don’t feel good.” “Bruce is going to be here in a few minutes. Hang in there, alright?” How much blood has he lost by now? Two pints? Three? How much longer does he have before the point of no return? Even as Steph keeps pressure against the wound, he can feel rivulets running down his neck. She can’t keep the bleeding at bay forever. “I love you...y’know that?” “Don’t say that. I’m not kidding.” “Someone should...should feed m’cat. Ruby’s tiny, but she eats a lot.” “Bruce is on his way, Tim. You’re gonna be fine. Don’t fall asleep yet.” “I’m losing blood,” he mumbles against her shoulder. “Humans...need blood to survive. ‘m gonna go into hypovolemic shock soon, and then it’s over.” He can barely lift his head now. There are weights attached to his eyelids. “Stay awake, Tim. You hear me?” Steph’s voice trembles, and Tim feels awful for putting her through this. She deserves better. “You’re not dying. I won’t let that happen.” Tim wants to reassure her, to tell her she’s right, if only to keep her from making those shaky crying noises. There are tears dripping on his shoulder. He wants to stick around, keep Stephanie from feeling the hurt that’s about to come, but his pulse is racing too quickly to keep up with blood it can’t circulate. He hears Steph’s voice somewhere above, calling his name, but she’s too far away. Tim lets himself sink into the darkness.

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

Steph hasn’t changed out of her uniform yet. She knows she should. She’s sticky, covered in blood that dries on her suit in rusty red flakes. The blood is thick in her hair, on her hands, soaked into the fabric over her knees. Tim’s blood.

She can still feel it—feel Tim’s fluttering pulse under her fingertips, growing weaker and weaker with every passing second. The weight of him against her shoulder, slumped as if he was already dead. And then the agonizing moment where she felt him let go, sagging against her like a corpse. She wants to forget it. To forget this entire night, wipe it clean from her memory. Pretend that everything is still okay, even when it isn’t. “How are you doing?” Steph looks up at Bruce. She didn’t even hear him come in. He hands her a cup of coffee, which she takes in cold hands. “I’m fine.” Her voice suggests otherwise. “He’s going to be okay.” Steph looks back at Tim asleep on the medical cot, his skin as pale as a cadaver's. A bag of O-negative hands beside the bed, pumping blood into his body through an IV. Another IV pricks his other arm, delivering the antitoxin. He looks dead. He was unconscious for a full three minutes before Bruce arrived on that rooftop, lifeless in Steph’s arms. It was the most terrifying three minutes of her life. “Stephanie.” Bruce’s face is stern but sympathetic, his eyes gazing into her own. “You did good tonight.” “He nearly died.” “But he didn’t. You saved his life. And for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you.” Steph can count on one hand the number of times Bruce has said that to her. He puts a hand on her shoulder. “Alfred prepared a room for you upstairs. You look like you could use some sleep.” Steph shakes her head. “I think I’ll stay here for a while. Just until he wakes up.” Bruce nods and leaves, his footsteps echoing off the cave walls. Steph reaches out and grasps one of Tim’s cold hands in her own. His fingertips were pale before, almost blue, but they are slowly returning to their rightful shade. She sighs. Fuck it. She leaves the coffee on her chair and climbs into the bed beside Tim, pulling herself close and resting her head on his chest. She can hear his heartbeat under her ear, steady and unfaltering. She closes her eyes. “Don’t do that again, okay?” she whispers. “Or I’ll resurrect you just to kill you myself.”

[peppersonironi]

How I Picture a Batfam Age Reversal

I’m going to write this as a fic (And I want to go on into a young justice world where dick forms the team and his siblings are protective) but here is the outline in bullet points in case anyone is interested. Please note this is VERY first draft.

Ages (At end) & Order:

Damian- 24

Duke- 21

Stephanie- 20

Tim- 21

Cassandra- 19

Jason- 19

Barbara- 15

Dick- 13

Damian is Ten when he is sent to live w/ his father. Bruce is 30.

They don’t really work well together at first. But Selina, Alfred, and Clark somehow get it through Bruce’s thick skull that he has to care for this child.

Damian keeps sneaking out on patrol, against B’s wishes. Eventually, he let’s Damian join and tells him to choose a name (Not what we meant, Bruce!)

Damian wants to go for something like Shadow, or Demon, but Bruce puts his foot down. He says that Damian shouldn’t try to be darkness.

Damian is pouting in the gardens when he finds a wounded robin. It’s wing is broken. He demands that the animal should be taken to a shelter, and carries it in his hand the whole way there.

The bird makes it, and Damian demands to be called Robin. He designs his suit, going slightly more colorful. “I might be called Robin, but I am NOT wearing brown, Pennyworth.”

Bruce introduces him to Superboy (Jon, note: less age dif) and the pair are close friends.

He is Robin for a little over seven years before he begins to fight with Bruce about being allowed to patrol alone, and being his own hero. (basically what happened w/ Dick).

Damian leaves Gotham, opting to claim Bludhaven. Jon joins him. He suggests they call each other Nightwing and Flamebird. Damian thinks it’s a bit childish, but he can’t say no to Jon. They’re costumes are here. (done by @hyperactive-lectiophile! Fantastic job!)

They eventually realize they’re in love w/ each other, all while trying to figure their lives  out. Damian briefly tries to join the police. He hates it. Eventually, he enrolls in BH college for a major in Art and a minor in business.

Later in Gotham, the We Are Robin/Robin War stuff happens. Long story short, Duke is adopted. 

Damian is angry to find out he has a new brother, goes to Gotham to yell at Bruce, but then meets Duke. They bond, and are close siblings. Damian makes his father promise to not adopt any more strays.

Stephanie Brown wants to stop her Father, so she sews up a costume and goes out as Batgirl. Bruce is apprehensive at first, but his family basically yells at him to train the poor girl before she gets hurt.

He does, and after Steph meets Damian, who she absolutely adores (He loves her too. The way she pisses his father off is legendary), Stephanie decides she wants to be Robin. Batgirl was good for dealing with her father, but she wants to belong to this new family, and, w/ Damian’s blessing, she makes a new costume.

Unfortunately, after a while, Stephanie is killed by Black Mask (her death is faked, like in the comics, but the Fam doesn’t know)

Enter Tim Drake. Batman has been going crazy over grief, and not even Nightwing, Catwoman (this is SOOOO batcat, btw) or The Signal can calm him down. Tim steps right up, and demands to be robin.

Damian and Bruce fight over this. Surprisingly, Damian is the one who thinks Tim should be given a chance. He sees how his father has been acting. Damian knows that Tim must be brilliant to figure out their identities, and thinks that should count for something. Duke takes his side, knowing that it takes guts to talk to batman, and be willing to join him. Bruce, meanwhile, is a constant chant of “no more dead robins”. After a while, and lots of arguing, Tim takes his place as Robin. They redesign the suit, and he takes his place as robin.

It’s little while after this that Stephanie comes back. Tim offers Robin back, but Stephanie declines. They talk and grow closer. At one point they talk about Stephanie’s new moniker. She says she doesn’t want to be Batgirl either. She wants something new. Tim suggests Spoiler (Bad pun turned brilliant idea?).

Cassandra Cain arrives on the scene next. She saves the commissioner’s life (like No Man’s Land, minus No Man’s Land), and Stephanie immediately imprints on this tiny assassin child (So do the rest of the family, but Steph claims the fourteen-year old first. She and Bruce fight over custody.). She offers Cass Batgirl. Gotham gained a new vigilante, and Bruce Wayne adopted a new child. (Faster than the comics, I KNOW. But Cass deserves happiness)

Everyone loves their new sister, and everyone spoils her. Duke is the one to take her to a ballet the first time. She immediately begs to be put into lessons.

Somewhere in here Tim’s mom dies and his dad is in a coma. Bruce takes him in.

Eventually, Bruce decides to offer Tim Red Robin, hoping to avoid the strife he had with Damian. (Like in the comics, Bruce was going to give Jason Red Robin)

Tim is unsure of this, and puts off deciding. Then little Jason Peter Todd decides to jack the tires of the batmobile and is immediately taken in.

Everyone is captivated by the tiniest addition to their family, but it's also at this time that Jack Drake finds out about Robin and forces Tim to quit. Tim gives Jason his blessing to become Robin.

Everyone pitches in on helping train the newest Robin. Damian teaches the kid things he learned from the league (non-lethal things, since Damian loves this kid), Duke teaches him escrima fighting, Stephanie (Much to Bruce’s dismay) has a full seminar of the delicacies of glitter bomb making. Tim teaches the kid hacking, when he can get away from his dad. 

Unfortunately, when Jason has been Robin for almost a year, he is killed by the Joker.

The family is torn apart by greif. But this time around, Bruce has a much larger support system. All of them lean on each other.

The only time that Damian ever broke his no-kill rule while living with his father was to kill the Joker. He hunted and murdered the clown, sparing Harley. He had been friends with Quinzel since he was Robin, and knew how the Joker treated her. Harley became the batfam’s honorary aunt after this.

Bruce was too emotionally tired to fight with Damian over his actions, so no one said anything. Eventually, Bruce and Damian did argue. Damian refused to apologize,, though he did promise his father to never kill again. Their relationship was strained for a while, but they worked through it.

Less than a year later, Jack Drake dies, and Tim comes back onto the vigilante scene. He refuses to become Robin, however, choosing to take Bruce up on his offer and become Red Robin. He designs his own suit, and the world seems to slowly become normal. Or some semblance of it.

One night, the circus is in town and the whole family (except Alfred) is home. Duke, Tim, and Steph drag Bruce, Cass, and Damian to go see it.

It is on this night that Dick Grayson’s parents fall to their death. Dick is sent to live in juvi, meanwhile Bruce tries to adopt Dick. He succeeds, and the manor once again has a bright young child running through it’s halls.

Dick figures out the secret identities of his family and instantly demands to be allowed out. He wants to take down Zucko, and won’t settle for every single member hunting for him. Dick wants to take down his parent’s murdered himself. He tries to sneak out multiple times, but is always stopped.

Damian talks to Dick (They are extremely close) and explains the origins of Robin. He says that the mantle was born out of a want to distance himself from the revenge and violence of the league. Dick cries when he learns this and says that his own parents used to call him Robin. He suggests that the mantle is more than a personal need. Robin is Family.

Damian almost immediately demands that Dick be trained and help catch Zucko. Bruce is confused, as before, Damian was strongly against letting a nine-year-old fight crime. Damian explains (after much cajoling. He might be more emotionally open and healthy than when he first arrived in the manor, but the kid is still constipated) what Dick had said, and that Damian understands the kid’s need for direction. “When I first came here, I needed Robin. I might not have known it, but I did. Richard needs Robin now, as well.”

The family took sides on the issue, but eventually Dick (with the aid of his puppy-dog-eyes™) won everyone over. He got his own Robin costume, and they caught Zucko.

Dick refused to stop being Robin, and so Gotham gained a new bird.

Dick was Robin for almost two years when The Red Hood made his appearance in Gotham. No one knew what he wanted, as he didn’t seem to do much beyond killing criminals. They thought he was a vigilante at first, but then he began to take over the criminal underbelly of Gotham, regulating crime. On top of that, Red Hood targeted Robin. Attacking the boy wonder when no one else was around. After the red helmeted rogue let loose a few hints about the league of shadows, Damian interrogated his mother, who explained the identity of The Red Hood, and how she had set him on Gotham.

As soon as the family figured out the newcomer’s identity, and the reason he was alive Damian tracked him down. He knew how to deal with pit rage from his childhood, and brought the lost bird back to the nest.

The family was whole for the first time in years. Jason was still angry and resentful, but he had his family back. Jason was grateful for Damian taking revenge for him, and they were once again close. 

Slowly, Jason let everyone back in, including Bruce. Dick is wary at first of this new older brother, but the little chicken nugget quickly warms up to Jason, and even convinces him to teach him how to shoot a gun (In secret, of course, Dami and Bruce would blow a gasket). Jason couldn’t resist the kid. It was physically impossible.

A year later, Cass decides to pursue dance as her career. She gets a job with the Hong Kong Ballet company. She moves there, and decides to take a new moniker: Black Bat. Her family is so proud of her, but they miss her dearly. Duke visits often, bringing new back to the family.

The absence of Batgirl is filled after a while by Barbara Gordan. She makes her own costume and starts going out. Once again, Stephanie Brown adopts a smol bean (Well, not legally. The commissioner is still alive) and outfits her with a more Gotham-friendly suit and weaponry (I.e. heavy kevlar and leather)

Babs is taken whole-heartedly into the fold, and is made an honorary sister.

[currentfandomkick]

Marinette did not sign up for this part 10: Mari plots plotting

So long time no post. I live. Ish. Also finally figured out readmore on mobile, so yay. Will take forever to edit posts now though. Explanation at the bottom First part here previous part here. Ao3 here

Marinette wanted to go on record that Mandeliev did not, in fact, give her an extra day or so to study for the test. Why? Instead, she was told she may do a paper on the application of physics in gymnastics and principles of evasion in urban areas and how to combine the two to maximize one’s ability to run away from akumas and other dangers.

Or as Nino put it: “I am tormenting you into running better, the eight page essay.”

Alya dubbed it the “Run Better Paper.”

Aurore said it should include more formulas when Marinette showed her the draft. (as Adrien would complain about lack of theories and how she should have used this advanced formula she’d never heard of instead and then Marinette would have to forcibly stop him from taking over her paper. Again.)

Kim had taken to keeping her in his hoodie, escorting her to the bakery and didn’t leave her alone until Adrien said it was his “Marinette Anxiety Watch” shift.

Which she would like to go on record, is just plain mean to say. She has Liar 100% under control when world ending things and metaphorical bomb drops aren’t happening to her constantly.

—-

Bruce tried to contact Diana and Arthur again. Hal was off world, and therefore useless.

Why?

As his missing son hadn’t contacted them yet. Was still in the Miraculous team’s custody. And he saw the footage of Robin—Damian—being hunted by a lving shadow, an element casting swordswoman, and a strategist that seemed to know exactly what to do to keep Robin cornered in battle. The living shadows—Chat Noir—tried to kill his son with Cataclysm.

That was when they were in public, and had Hal watching over them.

He didn’t want to think about what the kids might do unsupervised to someone that tried to kill Ladybug, openly stalked her civilian self, and apparently tried stalk her again, in broad daylight. And possibly may have revealed her secret identity…

From the comments, it seemed that the Parisians hadn’t connected his sons aliases to the pair, writing it off as “Copy-cat Vigilantes” thankfully. And none of them were revealing more than “so the Fashion Disaster tried to go after Chat and Ryuko’s civvie… Not A Smart CopyBird” was the most he was able to get.

His children, on the other hand…

——

“I Fucking KNEW IT!” Tim yelled. “I knew it was her!”

“But,” Jason smirked. “You didn’t tell us.”

“Soup girl, baby bat!” Cass said gleefully.

“Wait, we both talked to her—and you didn’t say you thought it was her either Cass!”

“So what I’m hearing, if my ears don’t deceive me,” Jason continued. “Is that you all lost too.”

“What—“

“Wait a minute!”

“No way—”

Cass shrugged. She was the least invested in winning. She got to meet soup girl, who is very nice and her parents are safe for Baby Bat.

“We don’t have proof,” Dick pointed out. “Didn’t you say something about her being a mouse?”

“I—”

“Well—”

“Yes.” Cass cut through Tim and Stephanie’s waffling. “She is.”

Dick rubbed his forehead. “How many secrets can one kid have?”

“Five?” Jason said without much thought. “Limit is definitely five.”

—-

“Let me get this straight,” Miss Sting began, watching Ladybug very, very carefully. Rena and Carapace were busy that night and couldn’t act as the team’s Common Sense Filter in person. and texts only went so far.

So the job fell to Aurore. To talk (probably Marinette) Ladybug out of a Very, Stupendously, Inconceivably Bad Idea.

“You want to trust Robin—the kid who tried to kill you—to contact his mother—an assassin—to talk strategy about how to take down Hawkmoth’s civilian life’s business, not kill him, and trust that they won’t kill you?”

“…I’m bringing Chat with me.”

“Ladybug.”

“What, do you want me to use a Lucky Charm to prove this is our best bet?”

“You know what?” Miss Sting threw her hands up. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Fine.” Ladybug threw her yoyo skyward. “Lucky Charm!”

A red, spotted ball with an 8 on it came down.

“… you have got to be kidding me.”

Ladybug shrugged. “Uh, Magic Eightball, is it okay to trust Robin with this?”

One shake later and the floating die window read “Without a Doubt.”

“Give me that.” Miss Sting scowled, shaking as she asked. “Should she bring someone besides Chat and Robin—like someone from our team or Wonder Woman or Aquaman?”

The ball answered “Outlook not so good.”

Miss Sting glared at the magic eight ball. “I can’t believe this!”

Ladybug shrugged. “Lucky Charms are Lucky Charms—and I gotta go.”

Miss Sting checked her beeping spinning top. Someone was just akumatized.

“Re-charge first!” Miss Sting yelled before swinging ahead.

—-

“Oh, hey, when’s Demon Spawn going to contact us?” Jason asked as other bats calmed down.

“He’s not answering his communicator.” Bruce growled. “Hal took it earlier.”

The bats paused at that.

“Well then. Trackers?”

“Disabled—what? We didn’t need anyone crashing the apology and he ran off before I could stop him,” Dick defended. He is not Damian’s keeper. Just his Batman (as yes Bruce, he is Damian’s Batman and Damian is his Robin. Current masks not-withstanding).

“Then how are we supposed to find him?” Stephanie asked as the room grew uneasy.

No one answered that.

“How’s this,” Tim began. “Me, Steph and Cass agreed on who Hawkmoth probably is, each of us has a different set of evidence for it—and I’m counting breaking into his evil Liar and the cameras catching him mid-act a few minutes ago as absolute proof.”

“I’m sorry, you did what!” Stephanie leaned over Tim’s shoulder to see. “Oh shit. Isn’t that guy—”

“One of her friends? According to their private Instagram accounts, more like partner in crime and possible Chat Noir. I mean, he’s the one that calls her his “everyday Ladybug” and voices Chat Noir in everything." Tim answered idly. “My money’s on him not knowing at all.”

Bruce twitched. Then began to add ‘stalking social media feeds’ to his to-do list tonight.

“So,” Tim stepped forward. “I suggest we send this to the Wonder Woman and ask for Robin’s comm to be returned, and failing that, I bugged the video so anything they play it on, we get access to its IP and can find where they are.”

“Have Oracle go over the bug, just in case,” Bruce told them. “In the mean time, the rest of you suit up for the night. Gotham needs its vigilantes.”

—-

Marinette wanted to go on the record that her plan (to keep the bats away) was going well. Deciding what to do with Mu—R—Damian. Damian. Damian and his offer, was a challenge.

For obvious reasons, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were against her asking a bunch of assassins for their help. Chat has more than a few reservations. Carapace, Rena and Miss Sting gave her looks for that plan.

But.

But it would work. She needs more information on how to make the plan burning in the back of her mind work. It’s a lot of chaos (and she may thrive in chaotic battles but this wasn’t her usual battlefield, and her team didn’t know who they were going up against for once). And Marinette? She needs to know its not just her doing this when its so out of her depths.

So despite literally everyone and their disagreements she had Chat on her right side with Damian on her left, meeting up with his Crazy, Semi-Immortal mother. And possibly his Immortal, former Black Cat candidate, grandfather.

Why?

As Marinette isn’t trusting the likely cult that makes up the Gotham Ghost Gang (Batfam if you like them) when she can get real advice and vague directions to immortal and allied (loyal and terrifying) assassins.

And yes, she wasn’t sure if Liar was wrong or right when they said it was a bad idea too.

But fuckit she’s already got Kaalki at her shoulder, looking a bit bored at the deserted rooftop that Kaalki chose for their meeting.

“داميان*,” the woman smiled at her son. “It’s good to see you.”

“Mother,” Robin greeted. “This is Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug wished to speak to you about potential strategies to take down an enemy outside of battle without violence,” Damian stressed.

“I am well-aware of the Kwami and their Chosen, اِبْن.**” The woman spoke calmly. “The League of Assassins formed to act as the Black Cat to restore the world to balance and un-burden the Order with its maintenance.” The woman offer Ladybug her hand. “I am Talia al Ghul, and I am at your service, with or without violence Ladybug.”

Marinette took her hand. “Thank you Talia. Our target being directly exposed like I planned would have…” Ladybug trailed off, thinking over the ramifications not only to Adrien, but to the whole of Gabriel’s brand, workers and all that worked with them. “Some intense ramifications I’d rather avoid.”

Talia nodded her head, waiting for more information.

“I believe its possible to topple them without affecting their employees by uncoupling them from their business, but doing so is, well, stocks and economics isn’t my strongest point.” Ladybug admitted a bit sheepishly.

“I would suggest,” Talia began, “to create a bit of chaos in the stock market. Perhaps a rumor here and there, let investors pull out and grab the abandoned stocks quickly. Consolidate them under one owner and become the company’s owner.”

Marinette twitched a bit at that. “That… sounds complicated.”

“Oh, but it isn’t. My son knows just how to that, or did you forget our lessons?” Talia asked coolly.

Damian twitched at Marinette’s side. “I did not.”

“You know,” Chat chimed in. “I do know a few things about those things. If its general chaos, well…” Chat’s face twisted in a way Marinette forgot he could do after that Chat Blanc episode.

“… I will take that into consideration.”

“Anything else?” Talia asked, watching Ladybug and her son. Specifically, how her son seemed glued to the girl’s side. “I am certain my son is able to take out your target, if all else fails.”

Damian scowled at Marinette’s side.

“However, I do believe that whatever is happening, whatever has you active, might require a more… experience hand.”

Damian brushed against her side. Code for ‘Possible Danger.’

“Thank you for the offer,” Chat moved in front of Marinette. “But mi’lady and the Guardians have that much handled.”

Talia’s eyes shifted from Chat to Ladybug, staying on her. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I merely needed more information on how to execute this type of plan, that’s all!” Ladybug almost, almost slipped into Marinette while Liar, while silenced for the moment, prodded the back of her mind. “I want to minimize collateral damage as much as I can, to everyone. The kwami already said they get to chose the target’s punishment.”

“Ah, I see.” Talia relaxed then. “You are following the kwami’s wishes. I will respect their wishes as well, Chosen.”

Marinette categorized this interaction as one of the “not too horrible, but will avoid a repeat” once they left.

—

*Damian in arabic

**son

so we have Talia now as a Player, sort of. she plays by her word pretty well so hopefully its a cameo more than anything else.

any ideas on how JL will handle the video, and if Miraculous Team should see it and freak out or only LB and keep on the dl while JL assissts in her Chaos Plot?

End of update. Will have to repost from ao3 on my phone now as desktop tumblr is being exceptionally rude. Tags always open, just takes me a bit to do—sorry to vixen for vanishing from tags

TAGS:  @heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06 @chaosace @jeminiikrystal @toodaloo-kangaroo @kris-pines04 @bisha43rbs @izang @dreamykitty25 @emu-lumberjack @vixen-uchiha

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for all the love.  Black Lives Matter.  I stand with those who are actively dismantling racist attitudes, behaviours, and systems, and want to remind you that you are always welcome on my blog.

October 31st, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was dressing up.

Her hair, long and wavy and a bit frizzy on its own (thanks dad) was now teased, crimped, and made purposely frizzy.  She outfitted herself in a blazer embroidered with poppies, leaves, and other floral insignia, a pair of 1970s style black pants, and a ridiculously ruffled shirt.  She looked over at Kasha, whose own hair was curled and crimped then teased, a pair of skin tight light wash jeans, a plain tank top, and a Japanese cherry blossom-printed kimono-style cardigan left loose but tied around her waist.

They were Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.  And they were going to the Leafs’ Halloween party willingly dressed like this.

The purchase of the exact replica blazer embroidered with the poppies was probably one of the most ludicrous purchases Aberdeen had made in her life, but she now had a Halloween costume for life.  It wasn’t exactly her parents’ proudest moment, but they made explicitly clear growing up that any money she made was her money and she was free to do with it whatever she wanted.  Did that mean buy an exact replica Jimmy Page blazer?  Probably not.  But Aberdeen didn’t hear it that way.  All she had to do for the rest of her life was find a friend or partner (or three friends or partners) to be the rest of the band.  That proved harder than she thought.  

“I can’t believe you’re bringing me to a party with the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Kasha said as she layered some mascara onto her lashes in front of the full-length mirror in her room.  

“I can’t believe you agreed,” Aberdeen said, applying her own mascara as she sat on the floor in front of the same mirror.  

“Hey, I only agreed for an hour,” Kasha reminded her.  “Then Evan’s picking me up and we’re going to his friend’s house party.”

Aberdeen didn’t want to think about the fact that Kasha would have to leave her alone with the Leafs after only an hour.  She should be thankful that Kasha was coming in the first place.  “What does Evan think of your costume?”

Kasha chuckled slightly.  “He dressed up as John Bonham.  Fake moustache and everything.”

Aberdeen swooned.  “That boy is in love with you,” she said.  Kasha stayed silent.  “But why doesn’t anybody ever want to be John Paul Jones?”

“Oh, one of his friends is being John Paul Jones.”

Aberdeen almost poked her eye out with her mascara wand.  “Okay, can I come to your party instead?  You guys obviously need a guitarist.”

“Um, no.  It’s not every day that someone gets invited to a Leafs party,” Kasha said, a devilish look on her face.  “Besides, I bet Will is looking forward to seeing you.”

Now Aberdeen rolled her eyes.  “Stop.”

“No way.  Do you know what he’s dressing up as?”

“No idea.”

“Maybe he’ll dress up as John Paul Jones.  He’s definitely got the hair for it.”

Aberdeen laughed.  “I don’t think he even knows who Led Zeppelin is.”

“I barely know who Led Zeppelin is,” Kasha quipped, making Aberdeen laugh.  “The only reason I know is because of you and your dad.”

“And thank God for that.”

***

“Aberdeen!  You made it!” Travis Dermott greeted her at the door dressed up in a unicorn onesie.  He didn’t move to hug her but he gave her a very obvious up-down to take in her costume.  “Are you supposed to be the seventies?” he asked.

“Jimmy Page,” she pointed at herself, then moved to point to Kasha, “and Robert Plant.  From Led Zeppelin.”

“Well, rock on baby,” he smiled.  “And this is…?”

“This is Kasha, my roommate.  Kasha, this is Travis Dermott.”

He led them further inside the venue, The Burroughes, before introducing them to his girlfriend, Kat, dressed in a matching unicorn onesie.  Zach Hyman came up to them as well, introducing his wife Alannah.  They were dressed up as characters from Stranger Things, which Kasha got a kick out of.  Morgan and Bee came to say hi too – Bee was dressed up like Bruce Springsteen, and Morgan as Courtney Cox from the ‘Dancing in the Dark’ music video.  Aberdeen got a kick out of that.  

“Where’s Jason?” she asked Morgan as he led them to the bar, looking around for him.  He was the one who invited her to be here, after all.  She thought he’d be running up to her to say hello.

“Jason’s trick-or-treating with his kids.  Where else would he be?”

Her face dropped.  That little bastard.  He invited her to the Halloween party and then didn’t even bother to show up.  She thought for sure he’d take delight in watching her squirm the whole night and interact awkwardly with the team.  “Oh, that’s nice.  He was the one who invited me.”

Morgan smiled.  “He was the messenger,” he said, almost underneath his breath.  She saw Bee try to discreetly elbow him.

“What does that mean?”

“What are you ladies having to drink?” Bee asked, changing the subject completely.  “Everything’s on the house.”

Aberdeen ordered a gin and tonic while Kasha ordered a Tom Collins.  A few more of the guys and their girlfriends came up to say hi, confused by their costumes until she explained them.  Their costumes were much cuter, much more couple-y, like Alex Kerfoot and his girlfriend, who dressed up as Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat, or Mitch Marner and his girlfriend Steph, who dressed up as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo.  Even Nic Petan and Frederick Gauthier dressed up as Holmes and Watson.  Bee soon started chatting up with Kasha, which left Aberdeen sipping on her drink and vulnerable to Auston Matthews seeing her approaching her.

“I must say, I think you’re the only person in the world who would get invited to the Leafs’ Halloween party and not dress up in something provocative,” Auston said, a drink already in his hand.

She knew Auston was Auston, but she still rolled her eyes.  “I work with you people.  We have to see each other tomorrow.”

“And you’re not trying to impress anybody?”

“No!”  It was the most ridiculous notion in the world.  Most of them were married or in long-term relationships.  Plus, she was an employee.  Did he not read the MLSE Employee Handbook?  “In case you forgot I work for Brendan Shanahan.  You know, the president?”

“Whatever,” he rolled his eyes playfully at her.  “What are you supposed to be, anyway?”

“I’m Jimmy Page,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  It should have been, since he was dressed up as Freddie Mercury.  She assumed he would know his rock stars if he dressed up like Freddie Mercury.  

“Who’s that?”

“Led Zep—you know what, never mind,” she shook her head, trying not to laugh.  “Maybe I should have dressed up like Justin Bieber.  Then you’d know.”

“Is there something going on between you and Willy?” he asked suddenly.  

Aberdeen practically spit out her drink.  Was he already drunk?  “No,” she said firmly.  “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know,” Auston shrugged his shoulders.  “He’s always just kinda looking at you.  And when Kappy hit you in the face with the soccer ball…he was so red afterwards from being so angry I thought he was gonna murder Kappy.”

Aberdeen got defensive.  She couldn’t help it.  “Well, there’s nothing going on.  I don’t know why you would even think that.”

“I think he’s got the hots for you,” he tried to provoke her.  

“Oh, shut it, Auston,” she said.  “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me.  I’m just trying to do my job here.  What Willy does or does not feel is none of my business.”

As if on cue, William appeared behind Auston, dressed as Batman.  So stereotypical.  She wondered who was his Robin.  For a brief second, she wondered if he brought a girl.  “What’s none of your business?” he asked, throwing an arm around Auston but looking directly at her.

“What Kyle Dubas’s coffee order is,” Aberdeen thought on her feet, answering quickly.  “He’s got Peter for that.  Although I think he’s partial to a latte.”

She could see William giving her an up-down and briefly got self-conscious.  “Are you a rock star or something?”

“Jimmy Page.”

“Who’s that?”

Aberdeen rolled her eyes as Auston laughed out loud, turning to walk away to find someone better to talk to.  She felt a rush of blood flood her cheeks as William continued to look at her.  Kasha was still talking with Bee, and she wished to God either one of them would pull her into their conversation.  But they didn’t.  So she was stuck with William.  “Who’s your Robin?”

“Would have liked it to be you, but it’s Rasmus,” he said.  It made her head spin.  “Who’s your…I don’t know, partner?”

“Kasha, my roommate,” she pointed quickly to her.  “She’s Robert Plant.  The lead singer.”

“You got my texts that day, right?” he asked, changing the subject quickly like Auston had.

She gulped.  “Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you text me back?”

“Did I have to?” she asked.

William shrugged his shoulders.  “Would have been nice.”

“How’d you even get my number?” she asked.

He smiled.  “Don’t worry about it.”  He looked down at her drink.  “Cucumber mule?”

“Gin and tonic.”

“Ah, that’s right,” he smiled.  “You’re more of a gin girl, right minskatt?”

Her heart fluttered in her chest at those words.  My treasure.  My treasure.  She’d told Kasha about it and Kasha almost teared up.  “Don’t call me that.”

“Don’t call you that?”

“At least not here.  Not in front of everybody.”

“So I can call you that when we’re alone?” he countered.

He was really dead set on making her heart fluttered out of her chest.  “When are we ever alone?” she asked, looking around the room at the team that surrounded them.

“We can find time,” he said.  “At least I will.”

“Aberdeeeeeeeeen!” she finally heard Kasha’s voice call out her name, tugging on the elbow of her blazer.  “Aberdeen, you have to see how cute Bee’s cat Bruce is!  Oh my God, he and Minerva can be best friends!”  When Kasha noticed Aberdeen wasn’t moving, too busy staring at William still, she looked at him.  He looked just as she remembered him from that night in June.  Blonde hair, blue eyes.  A total dreamboat.  A total hottie.  What she should have done is pat Aberdeen on the back for landing him.  “Hi, I’m Kasha,” she extended her hand to shake his.  “I’m Aberdeen’s roommate and best friend.”

“Nice to meet you Kasha,” he shook her hand, taking his eyes off Aberdeen momentarily.  “So, roommates, huh?”

“Mhm,” Kasha looked at him knowingly.  

“Here’s Bruce!” Bee intervened, bringing her phone up to Aberdeen’s face.  “Kasha tells me you have a grey ragdoll?  That is adorable.”

***

Kasha was too good a girl to break her promise to Evan, so over an hour into the party, she told Aberdeen he was here and she had to leave.  They had spent the first half of their time talking to William, who wouldn’t leave Aberdeen’s side, and the second half talking to Bee, Aryne, and Alannah.  But even when it was just the girls laughing and giggling, ordering drink after drink, whenever Aberdeen’s eyes left any of the women’s, she found William somewhere in the room staring at her.  

As Kasha hugged Aberdeen goodbye, Kasha held her in place to whisper in her ear.  “Okay, but listen.  He’s so sweet.  And he said he wants you, Aberdeen.”  When she pulled away, her eyes flashed and she nodded slightly, signalling that William was probably coming back.

“Kasha, don’t leave.”

“Evan’s waiting.”

“Kasha, if he’s coming, please don’t leave.”

“Leaving so soon?” Aberdeen heard William’s voice asked as he saw the two girls hugging.  

“My boyfriend is here to pick me up.  I’m going to another party,” she informed him.

“Boyfriend?  Auston’s gonna be heartbroken,” he smiled as he hugged her goodbye.

“Tell Auston there’s no way he’s getting near her,” Aberdeen said immediately, skeeving at the thought of Auston hooking up with Kasha.  Kasha would never, but still.  There was only one fuck up that was going to hook up with a Maple Leaf, and that was Aberdeen.

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you sometime soon,” William said to Kasha as they let go of their hug.  Kasha raised her eyebrows at Aberdeen when she heard William’s words before turning on her heels and walking through the door.  

When Aberdeen turned around, she saw Kasperi and his girlfriend Saylor, dressed as what looked like the twins from The Shining, approaching her and William.  For a guy who apparently wanted alone time with her, tonight or otherwise, it looked like William wasn’t going to get it.  “You must be Aberdeen,” Saylor said, smiling at her.  “I’m Saylor.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Aberdeen shook her hand politely, but smiled awkwardly.  

Saylor grabbed her hand, leading her towards the bar.  “We have so much to talk about.”

“We do?”

“Did you know my boyfriend and Will used to be roommates?  Oh my God, it was a disaster.”

Saylor liked to talk.  Aberdeen didn’t know whether to chalk it up to the fact that she was a bit drunk or that she just had a lot of information and gossip to tell, but she did about 95% of the talking throughout their “conversation”.  Aberdeen would nod her head and laugh along at the stories Saylor would tell, but at the end of the day, they were just stories Kasperi told her of when he and Will lived together when they were like, nineteen.  She wasn’t around then, and so these were just second-hand accounts.  

It was 12:30 in the morning before Saylor stopped talking, and Aberdeen was finally able to realize she was tired and wanted to go home.   Everybody was quick to take the group picture, and when they finished, she began saying goodbye to everybody.  John and Aryne first, then Morgan and Bee, and then she saw that William was watching her give goodbye hugs and waves.  

He made a beeline towards her, like if he didn’t get to her quick enough, she would disappear into thin air.  “Are you leaving?” he asked.

“Yeah.  I’m exhausted.  Listening to Saylor took a lot out of me.”

“Can I walk you home?” William asked, his tone hinting on the side of desperate.

“Unnecessary.”

“Why not?”

“It’s only a twenty minute walk away,” Aberdeen explained.

“Are you joking?  All the more reason,” he defied her.

“Will.”

“It’s late at night, it’s dark, and there are drunk people everywhere from Halloween parties—”

“—William—”

“—Who knows if one of them will scare you or throw up on you or God knows what on the way home…I wouldn’t feel right knowing you’re out there walking alone and—”

“If I say yes will you shut up?”

William smiled.  Aberdeen rolled her eyes.  “Let’s go.”

They left the The Burroughes rather inconspicuously, beginning their walk along Queen Street.  If it was any other night, of course, they would have looked ridiculous – Robert Plant and Batman walking along the street together – but tonight nobody even gave them a second look.  William kept looking over at her, though.  The only pair of eyes on her.  

“So, you and Kasperi used to live together?” she asked, trying not to feel awkward with his eyes on her as they walked down the street.  

“Yeah,” William nodded his head.  “He’s actually one of my best friends because of it.”

“Does he know?”

“No,” he answered automatically, shaking his head.  “The only person that knows is my brother.  I told you I wouldn’t tell anybody on the team.  I don’t break my promises.”  He was so soft spoken that Aberdeen felt bad for insinuating she wanted him to shut up not even five minutes ago.  “Do any of your friends know?”

“Well, Kasha knows.  She is my roommate,” she said, suddenly nervous.  “And I told my sister Siena.”

“Are you guys close?” he asked.

Aberdeen nodded.  “Kasha’s one of my best friends but Siena is my sister and my best friend.  She’s the person I’m closest with in the whole world,” Aberdeen explained.  “I know I can tell her anything.  And I mean anything.”

“Sounds like me and my brother,” William smiled slightly.  “He’s the person I trust most in the world.”

“Yeah.  That’s Siena for me too.”

There was a moment of silence between them before William spoke up again.  “I mean what I say, you know.  I’m not going to tell a soul.”

“I believe you, Will,” she said, well, because she did.  When she really thought about it, he gave her no reason to think otherwise.  If he wanted to be vindictive, he would have told the entire team already, maybe even spoke to Brendan about it.  But he didn’t.  

“Why do you call me Will?” he asked.

“That’s how you introduced yourself to me,” she said.

“But you hear everyone else calls me Willy.”

“So?  You introduced yourself to me as Will.”

He smiled at her again.  “I like it.  I like it a lot.”

She blushed again.  She wished they had taken the streetcar because she didn’t want keep blushing in front of him because of his cute, stupid, adorable, dumb one-liners that made her swoon and his cute, stupid, adorable, dumb smile that made her swoon even harder.  “So your brother.  What does he do?” she asked.

“He plays hockey too.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” he giggled.  He thought she would have googled him by now.  “He plays for Chicago.”

“That’s pretty cool.  And then?  I remember Kasperi mentioning in Newfoundland there’s three others or something?”

“There’s three girls after us,” he explained, loving that she remembered that from all the way back in September.  “And my older half-sister before me.  So it’s Michelle, me, Alex, Jacqueline, Stephanie, and Daniella.”

“Oh my God, there’s six of you?” she asked.  William nodded.  “God bless your parents,” she said, causing him to giggle again.  

There was another moment of silence.  Aberdeen didn’t know if it was her or William that had slowed down the walking pace, but she noticed.  She wasn’t going as fast as she usually did.  God, it was probably him.  He clearly wanted to spend time with her.  He left his entire team to walk her home (in a Batman costume) and now he wanted to elongate the experience as much as possible, regardless of how ridiculous they looked.  He wanted to spend time with her.  He found time and got her alone, like he said he would.

“Has Ethan done anything else I should yell at him for?” William suddenly asked, taking Aberdeen away from her thoughts.    

“No no, don’t worry about it,” she said, shaking her head.  He’d made some comments here and there, but again, she wasn’t going to let William know about it.  The most annoying was that he kept referring to her as Girl Friday instead of her name.

“I told Mike about it, thinking that he’d say something to Brendan,” he explained.  “He decided not to.  But I can go to him if you want.”

“It’s fine Will, don’t worry,” she continued to shake her head.  The absolute last thing she wanted to do was cause a ruckus with an established member of staff.  “I know I’m like, the rookie around the office, and he’s just trying to test me.  I get it.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Will said strongly.  “He still shouldn’t be doing that.  Rookie or not.”

Aberdeen bit her lip.  Clearly Will had a protective side that she hadn’t seen yet, and was only getting a small glimpse of now.  “Did you get hazed when you joined the team?” she asked.  

“If you count paying for an entire team’s meals and bar tab, then yeah.  But that’s the extent of it nowadays.  Harmless stuff,” he said.  “Anything worse is just bullshit.  Plus the media would pick up on it and it would become a shitshow.”

“Brendan tells me the media in Toronto is ridiculous,” she said.  

“They are.”

He didn’t say anything else.  Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it.  Maybe something had happened to him in the past and that’s why he didn’t like them.  She didn’t really read about what they said about the team – she left that to Brendan.  When she got home from work, she didn’t really want to think about work.  She never googled articles about the team or anything like that.  She wanted to keep that portion of her life separate from the one she lived outside of work.  

She changed the subject, bringing it back to hockey and playing with Alex as they continued their walk home.  He was much more upbeat talking about his close relationships with his siblings, particularly Alex.  The endearing smile on his face couldn’t be missed – he clearly loved his family.  When she spoke about Siena and Camden, there was a similar endearing smile on her face, too – one that William wished would never fade.  He heard about the shenanigans she and Siena would get into as young kids, and she even recounted the day she went to the hospital to see Camden for the first time.  She and Siena had to end up sharing a room so the baby could get his own.  

Sometimes, their hands would brush against each other’s, and William would feel a jolt of electricity surging through his body.  

They stopped outside her condo building.  His smile was still on his face, as was hers.  Their walk was nice.  Their talk was really nice.  Aberdeen held her breath.  She didn’t expect to enjoy it so much.  She looked him in the eye, and suddenly, her word vomit got the best of her.  “You don’t regret that night, do you?” she asked before she even thought about what she was saying, or its implications.

“God no,” William said in less than a millisecond.  The notion was absurd to him.  “No.  Never.  Why would you even ask that, minskatt?”

She couldn’t think for a moment because he said that name.  Again.  “I don’t know…I just…”

He purposely reached forward slightly to brush his fingers against hers, like he was going to hold her hand.  He could hear the breath hitch in her throat.  “Don’t ever think that again,” he told her.  

Aberdeen didn’t say anything.  She couldn’t say anything.  All she could do was look into his eyes.  She was doing that a lot lately, apparently.

Then he moved closer.

And closer.

And looked down at her lips.

And licked his.

And then he leaned forward.  

“Will…” she whispered, moving back slightly.  He looked her in the eye.  “We can’t, Will.”

He bit his lip, sighing.  “I’m sorry.  I know.  Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“You just…I can’t help myself sometimes when I’m around you,” he confessed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what you think it means,” he said, cocking his head to the side.

Aberdeen could only handle so much of William making her heart flutter in one night.  She felt like she was going to develop heart palpitations if she stayed any longer.  “I’m gonna go upstairs.”

“Aberdeen…” he said longingly.  

“Goodnight,” she said, turning away from him.

“Aberdeeeeeeen…”

“Goodnight Willy,” she said as she looked at him over her shoulder, walking into her condo building.  

William stood outside, watching until she disappeared down the hallway towards the elevators.  He brought his fingers up to his lips, rubbing them gently as he chuckled to himself, turning on his heels as he walked down the street.  

[animemangasoul]

We Parted Ways A Long Time Ago

Summery: Lucius Fox is Tim's emergency contact number.

In which Bruce and Tim have drifted apart and Bruce doesn't realize it until it's little too late

Chapter: 1/4

He’s out the door and in his car, driving full speed to the hospital before the remote can hit the carpet.  

Today had been one of those rare days Bruce got to himself. Those once in a blue moon days where all his kids were accounted for but busy enough with their own interests that he’d somehow come out the other end with nothing better to do but relax on the couch.  

Dick had been upstairs reading; Jason in the kitchen baking with Alfred, Steph and Damian accompanying Cass to her ballet recital and Duke out of the country with his family. Everything had been normal, calm. Too normal. Bruce should have known. Should have noticed that one of the kids had been unaccounted for. 

Tim had been unaccounted for.

Swerving around the corner, his grip tightened around the staring wheel, and Bruce tried to breathe through the constricting feeling in his chest.  

Bruce life was always hectic, and he was fine with it. He’d signed his life away to the job many years ago and he’d made his peace with that. Gotham needed both Bruce Wayne and Batman and the Billionaire had readily given it both. But that demanding life came with its own set of sacrifices and it had made Bruce a jaded and broken man. The time he spent with his kids had practically shrunk to nothing and his family had drifted apart, no longer connected under similar goals and similar trust of warmth and love.

It was only after his death that he’d recognized his shortcomings. Only after Tim had practically dragged him from the abyss that he’d finally taken a closer look at what he’d become and actively tried to mend fences. He had started with Dick. His son who had almost broken under the pressure to live up to his name. They’d sat down and talked things out.  

There had been a lot of hugs and reassuring words, but Dick had always been the forgiving one. The kind one. The son he didn’t deserve, so despite his failings, his oldest son had practically folded into his arms the moment he had voiced his apology, and slowly, ever so slowly their relationship had built up from there.

Then of course came Jason whose hatred for him boiled over the edges and burned. Burned his skin of his flesh, flesh of bones and bones of soul. But he’d persisted. Hung on tight as his second oldest trashed, screamed, punched and fought, but Bruce hadn’t let him go. Had chased him to the end of the world and told him as many times as Jason needed to hear that he loved him. He loved him so so much and “won’t you come home son”?

It took weeks, months, but eventually his second oldest did come in from the cold and while he spent most of his time solely with Alfred, the fact that he was even here; under the same roof, and actively participating in family dinners.... Bruce couldn’t ask for more.  

Cassandra wasn’t home much, but the frequent phone calls with his only daughter and her uncanny ability to make things a little less awkward between him and Stephanie had made their conversations worth every second that he took to speak with her. She was so easy to talk to and the warmth in her voice... Bruce loved her and through her, he’d gotten to know Stephanie, and it was as if his family was ever so slowly starting to mend. And the hope he’d built with the others had given him the strength to finally take the last steps to fix whatever that had been broken between him and Damian.

His youngest had been different from the others. There weren’t as much history between him and Damian. Not as much disappointment and let downs. For his youngest son, he was still unblemished, untarnished. He still was a hero not a man. It was difficult to get past the image of perfection Damian had created during his death and it was hard to sit down and get to know his son. And it hurt.... it hurt seeing him treat Dick the way Bruce deep down wanted to be treated by his son, butwith patience and time. Bruce has swallowed down his restlessness, his frustration and taken the time to get to know his son. Let down his guards little by little and let his boy see him for who he was and.... he’d seen it. That look. The curious tilt of the head, the spying as Damian trailed behind him; albeit trying not to be noticed, as his son got more intrigued by the man behind the mask rather than just the Batman himself, and....

If that didn’t make Bruce feel elated.  

The first time Damian laughed in his presence is probably one of the best days Bruce had ever experienced in the entirety of his life. Watching his son turn beat red; tiny hands coming up to clap over his mouth as he tried and failed to hold back his uncontrollable giggles. Yes.... yes, Bruce would never forget that moment.  

It would forever be ingrained in the fondest corner of his mind along with all the precious memories he’d made of his family.  

Now, as he hurried to park his car, almost forgetting to turn of the engine in his stumbling haste to get to the hospital, he wondered how long it had been since he last had a conversation with Tim.  

“Excuse me,” he said to the receptionist, looking mildly frazzled where he was leaning against the desk. “Can you tell me where Tim Wayne is?”

The old woman was halfway through a polite refusal when she looked up. Eyes widening and mouth falling open, she quickly scrambled to type something into her computer. “Oh,” she said. “So sorry Mr. Wayne. He’s in room 204. Right down the hall.” She pointed. Thin lips forming a hesitant smile. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. Too many unsavory people want to know your son’s location and I-”

Bruce cut her off with a head shake. “I understand. Thank you for looking out for him.”

With that he made his way down the hall, hands stuffed in his pocket and looking for all the world like a man unburdened, all the while his mind raising as to why Tim hadn’t called him the minute he was able. His son had apparently collapsed on his way out of Wayne Enterprises and had been quickly rushed off to the hospital.  

If it hadn’t been for the news, if Bruce hadn’t been lazily shifting through the channels; too bored to put on a movie, he might have missed the incident all together.  

His son was in the hospital and he hadn’t been called.  

Maybe he should have asked the receptionist?

He was all his children’s emergency contact number. He should have been notified. Maybe it was an oversight on their part, or maybe Tim had refused to let them call. He was stubborn that way. Still, Bruce frowned, reading the numbers as he quickened his pace.  

Not calling him would result in his boy having no one here with him in his time of need, and that was unacceptable.  

Finally reaching the right room he knocked. Not waiting for an answer, he twisted the doorknob and let himself in. “Tim, kiddo how are you--” he came to an abrupt stop.

Tim wasn’t alone.

Bruce hadn’t expected him to be alone. He’d expected a doctor or a nurse or a medical staff of some kind to be there. What he hadn’t expected however, was Lucius Fox sitting by his son’s bedside chuckling about something while patting Tim’s hair.  

Blinking in surprise, Bruce faltered. And it was then Tim turned around and saw him.

“Bruce!”

“Tim.” He nodded, shaking the wariness off. “Lucius.”

His son smiled up at him. It wasn’t wide, it wasn’t overly sweet but it was friendly and familiar. Still, it wasn’t the one Bruce remembered before his death—It looked foreign on the kid’s face and Tim looked so tired. So very tired, that something at the very depth of Bruce soul ached.  

“What are you doing here?”

For a second Bruce thought the question had left his lips, but it didn’t. Instead his son was looking at him, still a friendly tilt to his lips but confusion crinkling at the corner of his eyes. Bruce frowned back. “I saw the news,” he said stepping closer; fingers coming to rest on the bed railings. “I heard you collapsed at the fundraiser, so I came to check on you.”

“Oh.”

The words come out airy and Tim inclines his head a little. “Wow.... thanks Bruce. That’s really nice of you! But I’m fine. The nurse called Lucius and everything seems to be fine.” Here he turns slightly to smile up at the man next to him. Said man reaching out to ruffle his hair as if it was a second nature. Bruce frown deepen. “I think I just overworked myself.” A shrug. “But the doctor said I could leave so you shouldn’t worry.”  

Overworked....

Bruce hadn’t had the time to check up on his middle son and he knew the kid had been overworking himself, of course he did. Anyone who knew the younger vigilante could tell that he was taking on more work than was heavenly possible, but he’d assumed the kid could handle it. Tim had to have learned to pace himself, right?

Years of working under him and independently most have thought him something. And yet, here he was. Laying on a hospital bed. Face ashen and limbs trembling ever so slightly.

He opened his mouth to say something. To refute Tim’s ability to take care of himself, to drag him home and scold him, but just as he’d made up his mind, Lucius moved. Head tilting downward and arm coming to rest on the younger’s shoulder; squeezing it once before letting it rest there.  

“We’ve talked about this Tim,” he said; voice warm but the stern scolding behind it unmistakable. And by the way Tim looked away in guilt he’d heard it too. “I know our current project is draining all of us, but you need to take a breather every once in a while, son.”

And, Bruce flinches at the last word.  

It’s not even something new, there is nothing specific about the word ‘son’ that almost makes him recoil in anger. Lucius had always talked like that to all his kids. It was normal.  

What wasn’t normal was Tim’s reaction to the word.

His son... his son uncoils as he hears it. Stiff muscles relaxing and face lifting into more of a sheepish smile the minute Lucius addresses him in that familial way and.... and....

Nausea almost rises up Bruce’s throat as Tim practically leans into Lucius. His old friend, running a hand through the matted hair; looking mildly amused yet exasperated. “Tim,” he says, words still stern, but Tim only hums back, pressing his face even further into the businessman’s chest.  

“I know Lucius. I know.”

“Good. Now you understand that I’ll take care of everything while you take a break, right?”

Bruce expects Tim to vehemently deny the suggestion. Refuse the rest and insist that he was fine. That he can handle it. That he’s ok to continue working and ‘I can handle myself Bruce. I don’t need you to worry about me.’ But again, taking Bruce by surprise, all his kid does is nod tiredly into Lucius and mutter a soft ok.  

“I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement. Now,” the man says, gently pushing Tim away. “It’s about time to get you home.”

And that’s when Bruce snaps out of the stunned daze that had been keeping him trapped. The overwhelming chaos in his mind momentarily coming to a screeching halt as he raises his hand quicker than his mind can comprehend the action. “I’ll take him.”

Tim startles, but Lucius only fixes him with a smile; it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Are you sure?” His fingers are still running through Tim’s hair and Bruce’s stomach flips.  

“I’m sure,” he grits out.

Tim looks back and forth between them, lips pursed in confusion, but when neither seems to want to elaborate, he shrugs and smiles at Bruce. It’s friendly as ever albeit not as happy. Bruce relaxes under it. “Are you sure?”

The echo of the same question, this time from his son’s mouth makes Bruce stomach sink even further, but he tries not to show it. Instead grunting low and nodding. “Yes Tim. It will be no trouble at all.”

The smile turns into a grin and Tim flings the cover off himself. “Great. I’m already discharged so we can go.” Bruce silent question why he was still there if he was already discharged must be too readable, because his son shakes his head; humour dancing in his eyes. “Lucius wouldn’t let me go until he scolded me.” The words come out with an exaggerated incredulity, but the warmth coloring them are unmistakable and Bruce doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like it one it.

And for the life of him, he doesn’t know why that bothers him.

Still, “Let’s go Tim,” he says, waving the kid over with a sharp twist of his wrist while sending Lucius his signature Brucie smile. “We need to get you home.”

He tries to keep up that cheerful persona even has his muscles tense watching Tim; without hesitation lean forward to hug Lucius fox; his friend cupping his son’s face and telling him to call as soon as he’s home safe.  

Even as his son, his son only affords him a tiny smile in comparison to that overly friendly display of affection and he tries to keep the mask on as Lucius reaches out for a handshake, tone light as always but smile just one the side of plastic. “I’ll be seeing you Bruce?”

Bruce nods. “Of course.” He doesn’t let them linger. Putting an arm around Tim’s shoulders and leading him out the door the second the pleasant back and forth is over. “Goodbye Lucius. Say hi to Tam for me!”

---------

They are in the car when it finally hits him.  

“Tim,” he says, pulling out of the parking lot, eyeing his son. “How did Lucius know to come get you? I thought he was still on his week off. He couldn’t have seen your collapse.”

His son pauses on whatever he’s typing on his phone before looking up at him and shrugging. “I told you, the nurse called him.”

“Why?”

Something unpleasant is niggling at the back of his mind and Bruce grips the steering wheel tighter.

Tim shrugs again. Looking utterly confused. “He’s my emergency contact Bruce. I’m sure they saw his name on my medical records or something, I don’t know. It's not the first time they had to call him.”

Bruce freezes.  

Sensing that something most have shifted in the air, Tim stills too.  

But his son is confused. It’s so obvious that Tim doesn’t understand what has upset Bruce. Because the kid is fidgeting, fingers absentmindedly tapping at the back of his phone while his feet are wriggling on the floor. Bruce may have not spent as much time with Tim has he should have lately but he still remembers the kid’s habit, and the fact was that Tim had no idea why this new piece of information had suddenly and violently shattered Bruce’s idea of their relationship.

Breathing in deeply Bruce holds it for ten seconds before letting it out. He does that three times until his heart-rate his back to normal and his fingers don’t feel as clammy anymore.  

“How many times have you ended up at the hospital since my return?” he asks, careful to keep his voice even and his eyes forward. Right now that was the safest question and Bruce desperately wanted to know everything without asking for it directly.

His son flips his phone a couple of times as he mutters nonsense under his breath. “Five times?” he finally answered, sounding unsure even of that. “Maybe seven?”

Bruce’s breath hitches. But he has to know. “And Lucius picked you up every time?”

“Yeah?”

Taking a left turn a bit too sharply than safely allowed, Bruce gritted his teeth. “You couldn’t call me?”

“No?”

Bruce tenses. “Why not?” The mild befuddlement in Tim’s voice only serves to make him even more adamant in fixing this. Them. Whatever this was.  

Whatever that happened to have broken between them to the point that Tim did not even consider him as his emergency contact anymore.

“You were dead,” his son says, sounding amused. “And then you were super busy with your family so I just kept Lucius as my emergency contact.” He looks out the window and shrugs. “It made things less complicating. And...” Here he smiles faintly; a ghost of what his smile used to be but not any less genuine. “Lucius tends to freak out when I don’t call him after an accident so I thought it would be good for him to know.”

There was so much Bruce wanted to address in that answer, so much, but before he’d even had time to formulate his thought Tim spoke up again. “You missed the turn.”

Focusing back on the road, Bruce shook his head. “No I didn’t.” They were fifteen minutes away from home. Bruce wasn’t that old to have forgotten where the manor was located and he tells Tim just that, trying to lighten up the mood.  

It works.

His son barking a high-pitched laughter only to slap a hand across his mouth, failing to muffle the sound.  

Bruce can’t help but smile at the action.

“Don’t worry Bruce. You’re still a couple of years away from the gray hairs.”

“Just a couple?”

Tim grins. “Yes a couple. For real though Bruce. My apartment is only a couple of blocks away. You need to take the next turn coming up or we will have to take the long way back.”

Bruce’s heart stops. “Your apartment?” He hadn’t even thought of his son not coming home with him.

Sure Tim hadn’t been at the manor for months, but that’s because he was busy and Bruce had so much on his hands with the rest of his kids.  

Working on getting to know them and catching up with the life he’d missed. He understandable hadn’t had time for his middle son, but that didn’t mean his kid didn’t have a home with them anymore. And with him sick, surely he would want Alfred’s cooking and a nice bed to sleep in with family surrounding him on all sides? “Don’t you want to see Alfred and your siblings again?”

Tim doesn’t miss a beat. In fact he sounds very sure of himself. “Course I do Bruce. But I’m pretty tired and I don’t feel like dealing with all the noise and death threats and stuff. So please drop me off at my apartment.”

Death threats?

Was he talking about Damian?  

Didn’t Tim know that Damian had become a lot more mellow ever since his return? Sure his youngest hadn’t always been the nicest to Tim, but for Tim to hold those minor strife against him and use that as an excuse to avoid the manor? Bruce frowned.  

He had thought better of his Robin.  

“I’m sure they miss you son,” he says, leveling his second youngest with a look. “Why don’t you come and stay for dinner at least.”

Tim is already shaking his head before he can even finish the sentence. “No can-do Bruce. I need to rest, and I’ve got other plans today so maybe another time?”

It’s one of Tim’s ‘there is no arguing with me tone’. A tone Bruce had learned not to ignore in his years of trying to get Tim out of his shell, so despite the insistent need of having his son near clawing at his throat, he resists.  

Still....

“Tomorrow it is then,” he says, taking the turn as it appears. “Alfred will be delighted.”

Tim looks startled, but a blank mask quickly descends over his features and he shrugs again. “Sure Bruce. I can work with that.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up.”

“There’s really no nee-”

“Tim,” he says. “I’ll pick you up.”

His son nods and turns away to stare out the window, a tiny amused smile curling around his lips.

The rest of the drive is taken in silence and Bruce, well Bruce, no matter how many times he opens and closes his mouth is not able to say anything. He can’t manage to strike up a conversation. Can’t for the life of him even remember a topic of interest he can discuss with his kid that doesn’t revolve around work.

God, when was the last time he’d had a sit down with his middle son and just talked?

He’d talked to Dick early this morning.  

A quick reminder not to forget their movie night and a hair ruffle as his son had escaped his hold and skipped up the stairs. Jason he’d talked to just an hour before he’d seen Tim on the news. Complimenting his second oldest on how great of a baker he was and as for Damian and Cass and Duke and Steph.... he could distinctly remember the many conversations he’d had with them this week. The exasperation, the annoyance, the fondness..... he remembered it all. So why couldn’t he recall the last time he and Tim talked?

How long had it been?

A huff of laughter startles him out of his chain of thoughts and he looks over. Sees that Tim is on his phone, typing away with the largest and most impish grin on his face. Bruce heart tightens.  

When was the last time he’d seen Tim so happy?

‘In the hospital,’ a traitorous voice hisses in the back of his mind. ‘With Lucius Fox.’ Bruce elects to ignore it. Instead coughing lightly and avert his gaze.

“Who’re you talking to?”

Tim takes a second to type something back before he chuckles again and grins up at Bruce. “It’s just Kon. Bart is doing something stupid and he doesn’t know how to handle it.”

Bruce tries to smile; it turns out more like a grimace. Tim doesn’t notice, being too busy grinning at his phone. “You’re still close then?”

“Of course,” his son scoffs, looking incredulously up at him. “Why wouldn’t we be? Just because they died doesn’t mean they aren’t my friends anymore?”

‘I died and you seem fine without me,’ Bruce wants to snap, but he doesn’t. He would not let himself stoop that low. Not when Tim was slowly slipping out of his hands and he didn’t know what to do to keep him there.  

“That’s good.” he says instead; his smile a little bit more genuine this time. “I’m glad.”

“Thanks Bruce. Oh!” Bruce looks over and Tim is pointing out the window. “We’re here. Just park in that spot thanks.”

Bruce tightens his grip around the wheel and does as told. Almost holding his breath as he comes to a stop. It’s as if his body is expecting something, anything. Something that will make everything ok. Fix what was broken and bring them back to how they used to be. Bring back the Tim that needed him, the Tim that wanted to spend time with him but...

“Goodnight Bruce!” And with those few words, Tim is out the door and steadily vanishing behind cars; a last enthusiastic wave all that he leaves behind. Bruce doesn’t know for how long he sits there in the parking lot. Hands on the wheel and teeth chewing at his lips, but by the time he finally pulls out and begins the drive home, his mind has been made up.

He was going to get Tim back. Whatever it took.  

He wasn’t ready to lose his son.  

@miss-choco-chips wanted to write a fic where Tim wasn’t the one angsting and it was actually Bruce while Tim was fine with his wholeass new family and Bruce was left floundering. Hope you like it. Kinda nervous since all your new fics are literally the best thing that ever happened to me.

@throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen New Tim fic I wrote. Hope it’s your cup of tea. This time Bruce be angsting.