#also diana tries to make friends good for her

[15-lizards]

The Pitt has every character I could ever wish for:

-Competent fatherly figure who is two minutes away from a mental break. Representation for guys who stare into mirrors while have ptsd episodes

-His relatively unhinged hyper competent friend who belongs on a battlefield probably .

-A third beautiful hyper competent doctor who keeps getting beat with hammers by the universe when she tries to smile.

-Efficient and hardworking single mom with beautiful blunt bangs. And threatens her deadbeat baby daddy

-the most beautiful princess Diana in the world who keeps getting reprimanded for being too good with patients. They literally said ohhhh pretty girl let’s hate on her

-mean cocky lesbian who threatens pedophiles. Only been there seven hours and already has an age gap toxic situationship yuri thing with another doctor. I live

-autistic queeny who’s actually proving to be the #1 communicator and caretaker in the whole hospital. Pure of soul and mind. Keeps following her resident around like a puppy dog

-said resident who only likes his little autistic intern. Has crazzzyyyy beef with the mean lesbian. Is also stealing pills from the hospital. Love his vibes

-child prodigy med student who is also on the verge of a breakdown. Intellectual prowess but has absolutely no game. Makes sense bc she’s 20. needs to yell at her mom

-worlds mousiest pathetic white boy with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen like actually. You know the bisexuals are going crazy over him

That’s family

[iluvbuckets]

seeing paige fall at the game today just made me fume on how no one even tried checking if she had a concussion 😓

so could u do like a one shot where r basically throws a whole tantrum over seeing paige on the floor and demanding she gets checked

I BEG

great minds think alike bc i literally started this immediately when i saw the announcement

concussion protocol

 paige bueckers x fem!reader 

summary: you and paige are teammates on the dallas wings and she takes a hard hit to the head in the second quarter.

warnings: nothing just you having a soft spot for paige

word count: 2.1k

notes: i could make a part 2 if y'all want also i'm not used to getting anon messages i feel so special

✷✷✷

you had been playing for the dallas wings for two years.

this new team had been nicknamed the team of crashouts, with paige bueckers being a mini diana taurasi combined with dijonai carrington and myisha hines-allen. but you had never been the type to argue with a referee, so you were quickly nicknamed the mom. you kept everyone calm while they were having genuine conversations, as paige would call it. of course, if a call was particularly bad, you did talk to the refs, but not in the way they did. and you had always been that way, even since aau basketball. 

there were many clips of you coming over to talk to any of your teammates while they were talking to refs, especially paige because she seemed to be doing it the most. 

when paige was announced as the number one pick in the draft, you and your team danced around the room in dallas like it wasn’t being live-streamed. you were so excited to get someone as skilled in the sport as paige, and someone who was so kind off the court. 

during training camp, she quickly became your favorite teammate. there was a running joke among the team that she was your velcro player because she just always seemed to be where you were without fail, and you pretended to be annoyed by her, but you would never admit that you secretly loved it. having her around was like a breath of fresh air with her sweet, childish energy, especially because she made sure everyone was always having fun at practice.

and you were becoming close off the court as well. during the first week and even throughout the rest of training camp, you could tell she was having a hard time adjusting to being so far from her loved ones. you started inviting her over for dinner a couple of nights a week so she didn’t feel so lonely and honestly, it felt good to have someone who wanted to spend time with you like that. 

it had evolved from just dinner, though, to full-on hanging out any chance you got, and everyone knew. the two of you had been caught at the mall, professional sports games, the grocery store, restaurants–all by fans wanting photos. not that you minded, of course, because she was quickly becoming one of your best friends.

so when you finally won in connecticut, you were so happy for her, you thought you could cry. it was the place she had never lost in front of her old teammates that she had missed so badly, so you knew it was a full-circle moment. you definitely weren’t expecting her to ask you to come meet her old teammates, either. when they saw you two walking together, they gave each other looks, but you pretended to ignore them for the sake of your sanity. 

leading into the next game against the sky, she was still riding on that high. the last game she had been on fire and she was determined to bring it back to chicago with her. 

but things didn’t always go according to plan.

during the second quarter, while running point with courtney vandersloot guarding her, she tried to drive to be able to get the shot (or a good pass, knowing paige). instead, she ended up colliding with sloot and was sent tumbling to the ground. you were standing in the opposite corner waiting for her to go so you could move from your spot. you barely even registered that she had been hit until you saw her stumble. as soon as the whistle blew, you were running to her side, not even waiting to see if she would get right back up.

and she didn’t, she stayed on the ground. her eyes were pinched shut, biting her bottom lip as hard as she could, hands on her forehead, as she tried to will the pain away on the floor. your stomach dropped at the sight.

you placed a hand on her knee, bending over her a little bit. “are you okay?”

she just nodded in response, moving her hands to cover her face, but you weren’t convinced. you glanced over to the bench to see if they were sending any trainers or if coach was coming over, but she reached her hand out for you to help her up, so they didn’t. they can’t come onto the court unless the player can’t get down. still, you helped her up, patting her on the back comfortingly. she blinked a few times, wincing as she did so.

“you need to go get checked out, paige,” you said sternly.

“no, i’m fine,” she argued, shaking her head. you didn’t know if she was shaking her head at you or trying to shake some of the pain away, though. “i can play.”

you threw your hands up at her, clearly angry. “you just hit your head.” 

she just shrugged as she turned to walk to her spot for the possession throw-in, getting stopped by sloot on the way to check in.

“paige!” you yelled in frustration. she just shook her head at you and pointed to the baseline, silently telling you to drop it and just throw it in. 

you began to walk over to the ref, debating on whether or not there was anything he could do. ultimately, you decided there wasn’t much except give you a technical for arguing like that, so you immediately pivoted to direct your anger to your coach.

“you’re going to let her play?” you practically screamed, watching as his eyes widened slightly, but he attempted to remain calm. he had never been the butt of your emotion before (well, he’d probably never seen it on film either, so this would be a total first).

you couldn’t even stop to think about how to handle it rationally without lashing out, and you didn’t think about the way the announcers would be talking about it either.

uh oh, that’s new. y/l/n seems to be having some words with her coaches after bueckers took that fall.

the arena was quiet enough watching it all go down that the livestream could hear you yelling too, and that would definitely get sent around later, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. a head and neck injury is a serious injury, and you can’t believe that they aren’t treating it as such.

“if she says she’s fine, she’s fine,” coach shrugged, not wanting to make a scene. 

“i don’t give a fuck what she says,” you laughed in disbelief. “evaluate her, at least. she just got hit in the head!”

i don’t think we’ve ever seen y/l/n this heated before. i’m surprised there isn’t smoke coming out of her ears.

paige was standing where she was supposed to be, chewing on her lip, watching this all go down. she couldn’t decide if she was embarrassed or feeling giddy seeing you react this way, but she was definitely a little annoyed. she tried to play it off as best as she could so she wouldn’t get taken out and there you were, ruining it. 

before you could keep yelling, dijonai was pressing a hand to your stomach to push you away before things got too heated. she gave you an apologetic smile, but didn’t say anything as you walked back to where you were supposed to be. when you were standing on the baseline, you shot paige a glare that she ignored.

you played out the final minute, but you couldn’t stop thinking about how angry you were. at paige for getting up, at your trainers and the refs for not intervening, at your coach for not taking it seriously. you didn’t blame your teammates because honestly, what were they supposed to do?

when the buzzer sounded to signal halftime, you walked straight past your coach as you went into the tunnel back to the locker room. you stood at the bench lining the wall for a few moments, closing your eyes and tipping your head back to try to gain some composure before the rest of the team walked in.

you nearly jumped out of your skin when you felt arms wrap around you from behind and a head rest on your shoulder, a ponytail touching the side of your neck.

“i’m okay,” paige’s voice broke the silence. it was soft and quiet, and attempting to be reassuring, but it didn’t help.

you laughed, but not out of amusement. “don’t piss me off.” 

“you already are.”

“not at you, but i will be if you don’t get evaluated,” you said.

she let go when she realized you weren’t going to hug her back, sitting on the bench in front of you and staring up at you. you didn’t sit next to her, though. you just crossed your arms and shifted your weight to one foot. 

“i just did a quick one,” she replied matter-of-factly. “they said i can still play.”

you rolled your eyes at her words, knowing that meant that you had to just let it go if she was cleared, but you still knew it was a bad idea. your brother played in the nfl, and if that happened to them, they would’ve been immediately pulled from gameplay because symptoms can take 24-48 hours to show. it’s ridiculous that paige didn’t get the same treatment. 

“you have a headache?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. 

she shook her head, but didn’t make eye contact. then opened her mouth to speak, but the rest of the team started filing into the locker room. 

for the rest of halftime, you didn’t meet your coach’s eyes as he spoke. you just sat on the bench next to paige, stealing glances every so often to try to catch her wincing in pain so you could plead your case and trying to diffuse your anger. 

she doesn’t though, and you’re forced to carry on into the next quarter like usual.

but it wasn’t usual. she was moving slowly, throwing up bad shots, and making lazy passes. all those stupid mistakes that a normal, healthy paige would never dare to make, even by accident.

at some point toward the middle of the third quarter, she bumped into one of the opposing players. the hit wasn’t even hard and a foul was called on someone somewhere else on the floor, but you watched as she reached up to touch her temple where she had been hit and winced. 

“paige!” you yelled again, approaching her as everyone went down the floor to throw in on chicago’s side. “what the hell was that?” 

she gave you a confused look. “what?” 

“you have a fucking headache,” you accused. there was no reason to ask at that point; you could tell. her face constantly looked like she was in pain for the entire quarter and that touch only gave it away. “get the fuck off the court.”

“i’m fine,” she shook her head, running down the court where everyone was waiting.

you marched right over to the bench for the second time that night to give your coach a piece of your mind. 

“take her out,” you said, pointing to paige.

“she was cleared,” coach said calmly. 

“okay? you want to play around with our best player like that?” you asked, throwing your hands up. still, you jogged back down the court so the game wasn’t delayed anymore and you could avoid a call for that. 

the game continues like nothing happened. 

toward the end of the quarter, another foul is called on your team. it results in free-throws from chicago. while they are setting up, you use the opportunity to approach paige again. 

when she noticed, her eyes widened like she was scared you would yell at her again. you didn’t, though, you wrapped your arms around her shoulders in a hug, making sure your head was on the side she didn’t get hit on. she relaxed in your touch, her hands coming up to rest on your back. 

“i’m not mad at you. i’m just worried, okay?” your murmured in her ear, reassuringly. “i want you to get a full evaluation after this game is over.”

she nodded into your shoulder, knowing she didn't have a choice.

[dcxdpdabbles]

im kinda curious, in your freelance inventor au does the rest of Bruces exes know about his affection for Danny? since he hasnt been with anyone since meeting Danny? because id figure some of them would be chill about it but others would probably be jealous.

oh, they know.

Talia has actually tried to take him out (mostly because she worried he would eventually sire an heir with Bruce using science and Damian would lose his inheritance). She does respect him for his mind and skills, showing genuine remorse that she has to kill him. Then fails. For years.

Seline had a more on-and-off relationship, so she took the loss gracefully when he fell for Danny. They meet on the field and no longer flirt; it's more taunts between old friends. She offers to babysit whenever they go on dates, but the kids know it's just her attempting to steal from the Manor.

Vickie only cares to make a story out of it. She has been sniffing around for years with the theory that all his dates and his playboy image being behind him are to cover up his actual lover. She's right in the sense that Danny is unaware they are lovers. She's very bitter about how Bruce didn't want anything serious with her and is very jealous whenever a fake story about Bruce's new date pops up.

Harvey and Bruce were each other first boyfriends with the understatement that it was to try to figure out their sexualities with someone they trusted. Their relationship was more friends with benefits, but they did care for each other greatly. When he hears about Danny, he asks Bruce to visit him in Arkham to talk about it like good old times. Two-face even interrupts them to say that Danny is fortunate to have Bruce like him.

Bruce is very open about his bisexuality, but people think he's straight enough that it doesn't matter. They only focus on the women he's seen with, even if it's nothing romantic- like having a coffee with Diana when she visits or treating his PA to lunch with the rest of the team. Danny doesn't mind these stories because he knows they are fake. Bruce is not a playboy, and he thought his friend was also Ace for a long time.

[wonderjanga]

Hello!(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) Yeah, this is just a random thing that I suddenly came up while browsing some Shazam fan arts

What if, Shazam can control his pulse and/or heartbeat/heart rate. Like, a JL league could check his pulse while he's asleep(For no reason or fun) and it's absolutely zero. So, it's hard trying to tell if Captain Marvel is asleep or dead. And about him controlling his heartbeat/heart rate, he can literally control how fast it goes. Sometimes it's just so slow that it's like a dying person, and sometimes it's so fast(I kinda want you to write a story about this...😔😔 If you have time, and have a good day!🫶🏼)

I’ve actually already done this before. Or, I at least had a little tidbit of it in one of my earliest posts. (Marvel Messing with the JL post) I think I also touched up on it a bit in my Barely Human Cap post too, but I’m happy to expand on it though!

Billy can control his heart rate as Marvel. It’s something he found out he could do after Solomon happened to let it slip one time. So, he uses it to his advantage.

Like, the time Junior and Marvel were talking at a little get together thrown by the JL. Then for whatever reason the room just happened to go silent as Junior said what was probably the worst and most embarrassing sense Billy had ever heard. The silence was so loud.

Marvel and Junior: *just standing there as the JL stare*

Thankfully though, Billy and Freddy came up with a plan if anything would ever happen like this.

Marvel and Junior: *lock eyes*

Marvel: *sighs for what he’s about to do, slowly lets his heart rate start to increase and stumbles to lean on a nearby table*

Freddy: “Cap?” *fake concern*

Marvel: *let his hand clench at his chest as he lets out a groan*

That’s right. He’s faking a heart attack.

Marvel: *lets himself fall, continuing to clench his chest*

Supes: *can hear his heart rate and looks horrified* “OH MY RAO!?”

There was a lot of screaming and yelling and all that. Freddy got them out of there thankfully without having to take him to the medbay.

They’ve pulled this move several times.

Anyways, another way he’s used this move before is lying. Since Supes can detect lies based on heartbeat, it’s kinda easy for Marvel. Don’t get him wrong, he’s completely screwed if Diana uses her lasso though.

Marvel: “It’s true!”

Supes: “It is not!” *smiling cause Marvel is a funny guy*

Marvel: “But it is! I fought a giant purple magnifying glass that tried to burn the earth to a crisp!” *making sure his heartbeat is steady*

Supes: “No way…”

Though, he has faced some problems due to this skill. Like the time he went to sleep in one of the medical cots. Just face down, ass up, sleeping without a care in the world. After all, these guys are his friends so why would he care?

Unbeknownst to Billy, because, of course, he was sleeping, Martian Manhunter came in, saw him, laying motionless on the bed and thought he was injured so he went over to check his pulse. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Not a single beat. He panicked and alerted the other members. That’s how they held a funeral service with a coffin they got from somewhere.

Marvel: *stirring awake*

Flash: “Can we at least call somebody? I know he has no listed contacts or relatives, but surely we can call someone.”

Wondy: “Flash, it’s highly likely any of Marvel’s relatives would probably be deceased, considering the fact that he’s a demigod.”

GL: “What about that Junior kid? Crap… did any of us call him?”

Marvel: *sits up* “Junior?”

The JL proceeded to let out the loudest culmination of screams ever heard. Canary even accidentally used a bit of her powers.

Supes: “Captain!” *flies over checking Marvel over*

Marvel: “Yeah?” *scratches head, a little too groggy to register the casket he was just in and instead floats out and lands on the ground*

They proceeded to dog pile on him.

[iiannabxth]

Something I think is neat about Eden’s Garden is that everyone has an animal that represents them.

For example, Wolfgang’s animal motif is a sheep, therefore, sheep are associated with his character. (Ex: his blackmail is a play on “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”) That being said, I don’t think Wolfgang is a sheep, rather, he is a shepherd. Wolfgang is quickly established as the “leader” of the group. As a lawyer, he’s used to defending the helpless, so he steps in to protect a group of people who he thinks need his guidance.

I’ve seen people debate about the motivations behind Wolfgang’s optimistic approach to the killing game, but I believe they were entirely wholehearted. Something I’ve seen a lot is the idea that “Wolfgang was blindly leading the group because he didn’t even seem to believe what he was saying.” While it’s true that Wolfgang didn’t entirely believe that no one in the group would possibly kill another person, I think he wanted the others to believe that.

Going back to the shepherd metaphor, Wolfgang was trying to convince the group— his “flock”— that everything would be alright. He knows that they are in a dangerous situation, but he wants the group to believe that they can trust each other, which allows them to make bonds and friendships. He also tries to eliminate any feeling of inferiority between the ultimates, as he insists that everyone’s ultimate is important and can possibly benefit humanity. Through all of this, the creation of relationships would hypothetically prevent a murder from occurring because there would be a feeling of harmony among them.

This mentality is why characters like Eva and Damon quickly get singled out. The majority of the group is receptive to Wolfgang’s encouragement because they want to believe him. However, Eva and Damon immediately dispute this and blatantly state what everyone is secretly thinking: that they really can’t trust each other. They also think that some ultimates, such as their own, are more valuable than others. (Ex: Damon thinks his talent as the Ultimate Debater is more important than Diana’s or Cassidy’s.) Because they disagree with the group and are disrupting Wolfgang’s attempt to cultivate peace, he allows them to be ostracized by the others. Even though it creates discourse, it protects the rest of the group.

However, there’s a difference between Eva and Damon. While both Damon and Eva are initially singled out from the group, Damon manages to reintegrate. Unlike Eva, Damon works to form relationships with the other ultimates and proves that while he doesn’t entirely agree with Wolfgang, he’s not a threat to the harmony that Wolfgang is trying to create. Eva, on the other hand, maintains her beliefs that she does not trust the others and isn’t going to play nice with them. (Ironically, she proves Wolfgang’s philosophy by trusting Damon, but that’s a whole other rant lol.)

I disagree heavily with the idea that Wolfgang is egotistical and is leading the group solely because he wants their praise/admiration. I think that he genuinely wants to protect people he views as his “friends.” He gives them the benefit of the doubt when he logically shouldn’t. This is why he goes to meet the person who wrote the letter, but he brings a weapon just in case. Wolfgang is not naïve and he knows that every single person in their class has the potential to harm another, but by placing trust in them and setting the expectation that they won’t harm anyone, he helps them to believe in each other.

— Side note: I think that his tendency to believe in others comes from something to do with his past/his father. (His hallucinations/delusions when talking to Diana suggest that he is actively trying to rise above someone else’s shadow and break a harmful cycle, likely to do with his parents.) I believe his blackmail is a dig at him, as he is possibly trying not to be like his father by attempting to be a good person?

Anyway, I think that Wolfgang’s sheep motif is incredibly important to his character and I think it really reflects his personality and philosophy ^^

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Prologue

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 7839 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

Long summary I know, but I'm attempting something that I haven't tried to do in a long time and I've had this thought in my head for ages so I've just got to get it out now. This story will cover the plot from Season One to the beginning of Season Three. Apologies if anything is vague or inaccurate, I haven't watched the show in a while and cannot be bothered going back to get it right when the main plot of this story is entirely of my own design and not canon. Also, for the sake of the growing-up-together part, I've brought Dick's family's death up so he is taken in by Bruce earlier than 12 years old. I've always loved this version of Dick Grayson (Nightwing) in Young Justice and I hope I do him justice for those of you who also loved the show and him xx

~~~

(10 years old)

'Don't worry, my beloved,' Diana said in a soothing voice, patting her daughter's head gently as the car pulled up. 'It's not so scary on the inside.'

Wayne Manor was made of grey columns and dark shadows it seemed to little ten-year-old Y/N, who couldn't shake the feeling that the house was full of ghosts. It was an imposing structure, making her wonder how anyone would choose to live in such a cold and lifeless place.

'I want to go home, Mother,' she whimpered, backing away from the car window.

Diana turned her daughter's head to face her, giving her best reassuring smile to alleviate some of her daughter's worries. 'We will, but I need to take care of something first and I can't leave you at home alone. My very good friend has kindly offered for his butler to look after you while we sort our business out. He has a son that I think you will get along with quite well.'

Y/N couldn't believe that a child lived in the scary house outside, but she knew when not to question her mother.

Her mother was always busy, it didn't matter what time of the day or night. Y/N didn't quite know what her mother did, but she knew it was dangerous, as her mother would come home with cuts and bruises, exhausted from whatever she'd just been doing. The partial truth of it all came out just last week, as Y/N and her nanny had been attacked in their small apartment in Washington DC. The nanny had locked Y/N in the bathroom when the men attacked so Y/N didn't see what happened to her. But Y/N had heard her screams, had heard the men laughing at her anguish. She'd heard her mother finally arrive and slaughter the men. And when Y/N was finally let out of the bathroom, her mother's red, white, blue and gold metallic outfit was covered in blood, as was the sword she'd dropped as she pulled Y/N into her arms tightly.

Whatever kind of work her mother and her mother's "good friend" were involved in, if she said Wayne Manor was the safest place to be when she worked, then Y/N wouldn't argue.

It didn't stop Y/N from squeezing her mother's hand to the point of cut off circulation as they walked from the car into the scary house.

'Miss Prince,' a man in a tuxedo said in welcome. He was partially bald and his moustache twitched when he spoke.

'Alfred,' Diana said, giving the older man a warm smile. 'So good to see you again. And please, I am Diana to friends and family.'

'Of course,' Alfred said, a cheeky smile on his face, 'but forgive me if I prefer to be a little old-fashioned, Miss Prince.'

'Very well,' Diana said, turning her gaze down to Y/N. 'This is my daughter, Y/N.'

Alfred smiled warmly down at Y/N, crouching ever so slightly to hold out his hand. 'A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Y/N. Welcome to Wayne Manor.'

Y/N hesitated in taking his hand. She'd always been taught to be cautious around strangers.

'Come on, Y/N,' Diana insisted. 'Don't be rude.'

Y/N, with her free hand, accepted Alfred's outstretched one, giving it a firm shake like she'd seen her mother do with people she had meetings with at work and at home.

'My, you certainly have your mother's strength,' Alfred commented as he stood back up, shaking his hand a little. 'I'll be sure not to mess with you when you grow older.'

Y/N didn't have time to process what Alfred meant when two dark figures walked down a grand staircase into the lobby they stood in. As they drew closer to the light, Y/N distinguished one as a tall and broad-shouldered man with dark hair, neat attire, and a stern face. Beside him was a small child close to her height, also with dark hair and flashing blue eyes. Unlike the taller man, though, his face was bright with intrigue and mischief.

'Diana,' the tall man said by way of greeting as he reached the ground floor with the boy.

'Bruce,' she replied, walking herself and Y/N over to him and the boy. 'Thank you for offering to look after Y/N tonight.'

'Well, it won't be me personally,' Bruce replied, 'but I'm sure Alfred will be able to look after them while we're gone.'

'If I could raise you to be the man that you are today, Master Bruce, I am sure two beautiful children won't be much of a task,' Alfred called out casually as he closed the front door and exited the room.

'I've contacted Clark,' Bruce continued. 'He says he'll meet us at the rendezvous point. We should leave soon.'

Diana nodded. 'Okay.'

To her surprise, Y/N found Bruce's gaze on her, and his stern expression softened as he looked her over. 'This must be the famous Y/N I've heard so much about.'

Y/N remembered her mother's lessons on etiquette and nodded politely. 'Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne.'

Bruce surprised her again as a small smile broke out, making him look younger and less intimidating than before. 'It's nice to meet you too, Y/N,' he said, looking down to the boy beside him. 'This is my ward, Richard.'

The young boy groaned in annoyance. 'It's Dick, Bruce. You know I don't like it when you use my real name.'

Bruce sighed, but conceded. 'Sorry, this is Dick. I hope the two of you get along tonight, Y/N.'

Before Y/N could reply, Dick stepped forward so that they only stood a step apart. His blue eyes were so bright as they scanned over her, and it took all of her will not to hide behind her mother.

He squinted sceptically at her. 'Do you like sparring, Y/N?'

'Dick,' Bruce exclaimed, eyes wide with horror. 'That's not something you should ask-'

Y/N ignored Bruce's protests as she locked eyes with Dick. She saw the challenge in them, and whatever fears she had about coming here faded away. A fire sparked in her, and she couldn't help herself but grab Dick's unsuspecting wrist and flip him over her and land him on his back. Before he could get up, she pressed a knee to his neck softly as she held him down.

'Y/N!' Diana exclaimed. 'That is not how we treat-'

She was cut off by the sound of Dick laughing, a sound so pure and light it brightened up the gloomy interior of the manor. Dick looked up at Y/N, not even bothered by the fact she was an inch away from cutting off his airway. 'Oh yeah, we're going to get along just fine, Bruce.'

The last of her apprehension to the arrangement disappeared as she released Dick from her death grip and helped him to his feet, a bright smile gracing her features.

'Where'd you learn to flip like that?' Dick asked.

'My mother,' she answered proudly. 'We've practiced for thirty minutes everyday since I was eight. I've also been taking classes back in Washington in judo and karate.'

'Cool!' Dick said. 'Maybe you can teach me some moves?'

'Sure!' Y/N answered.

Without even hesitating, Dick grabbed Y/N's hand and took off running to who knew where, words falling from him like a dam that had just been broken. 'Awesome! And then I can show you some of the cool gymnast tricks I picked up in the circus.'

'You were in the circus? That's so cool!'

The two of them were lost in their own world as Bruce and Diana remained in the lobby, looking after their children lovingly before they disappeared completely. When silence filled the room once more, they turned to each other.

'How much does she know?' Bruce asked.

Diana sighed. 'Enough to know that she will never have a normal life. Not after the incident last week. I thought I had a bit more time.'

Bruce placed a hand on his friend's shoulder comfortingly. 'I'm sorry, Diana. Truly. It's hard enough protecting a child who isn't your own. At least Dick has known death before. He knows everything.'

Diana nodded her appreciation, patting Bruce's hand before he let it drop. 'She will know, one day, what all this means. What her destiny is. Until now she has shown how much of Steve she has in her.' Diana paused at the memory of her fallen lover, feeling the tears rise up whenever she thought of him. 'But I fear she will grow to inherit my power, my responsibilities. I don't know if I'm ready to let her become that for the world. Not yet.'

'Diana,' Bruce said softly, 'she might not have a choice one day. I fear the same thing for Dick. You and I won't be around forever. The world will look to them to help, one day.'

Somewhere in the distance, Y/N and Dick's laughter resonated through the manor, giving it a warmth Bruce hadn't felt in a while. He smiled at the sensation. 'But for now, they have a choice. They can choose to be kids. Until the world no longer needs us.'

~~~

(11 years old)

'Uuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhh,' Y/N groaned as she flopped onto Dick's bed, textbook flattening over her face in defeat. 'I give up. I'm never going to pass this infuriating maths exam next week.'

All Y/N received was an amused laugh from the dark-haired boy, resulting in her throwing her textbook at his head where we sat on the floor. But Dick had always been quick, dodging the book easily. He was even more quick since they'd started training with each other since she moved to Gotham permanently for school.

She was enrolled at the same school as Dick: Gotham Academy. It was the best school in the area, and when she'd received her scholarship, her mother couldn't refuse her wishes to move. Y/N stayed in the boarding house for the most part, but being friends with the Bruce Wayne's only son certainly had its perks. Such as getting out of the boarding house whenever she needed to study and train without prying eyes.

Dick laughed again. 'Come on, Y/N,' he said, picking up her strewn textbook and offering it back to her. 'It's not so bad. We're just trying to find x.'

Y/N rolled over onto her stomach so Dick wasn't upside down anymore. 'Yes, and it is impossible! I mean, they give us nothing to try and figure out a and b, but we need them both to find out x. How?!'

When Y/N didn't take her book back, Dick put it on the ground and shuffled forwards. He did so until he was half an arm's length away from Y/N's face where it rested in her hands.

'All right, let's have a break,' he said. 'Focus on something else. How about... Ooo, I know! What would your vigilante name be?'

Y/N's eyebrows furrowed. 'What?'

'Your vigilante name,' Dick reported. 'You know, like a code name for ordinary people to refer you by. Like Bruce for example, he's Batman.'

'So like my mother too, who is Wonder Woman,' Y/N added.

Dick nodded. 'Correct. When we start fighting bad guys - and we will some day - we will need alter egos so villains don't pursue us outside of an ordinary mission.'

Y/N sat up as Dick jumped to his feet, pulling out all kinds of ninja-karate moves, many of which Y/N had taught him herself over the last year. 'I think I'll be something winged too. Batman needs to be accompanied by another flying animal, don't you think?'

'That is... logical,' Y/N admitted, though not understanding his motives for the specific topic. 'I haven't given much thought to the matter, honestly. I'm too busy trying to find this dumb x value.'

Dick landed a slam kick against thin air before he took up a normal standing position in front of Y/N. He smiled down proudly at her. 'I was thinking of just bird,' he confessed, taking a seat beside her on his bed, 'but then I thought that was boring. Batman and Bird, yeah sooooo intimidating. So I was thinking maybe Hawk, or Sparrow-'

'Why does it have to be intimidating?' Y/N asked.

Dick paused for the first time in the conversation and looked at her as if she was crazy. 'Because Batman is intimidating. I don't want to be seen as a sissy when I rock up beside him to fights. I defs won't feel the aster, then.'

'But shouldn't a hero be giving people reassurance and hope when they come to save people?' Y/N countered. 'Why would you want to be something that all people dread when you enter the door. I think a hero's name should be strong and encouraging. Something like my mother's.'

Dick rolled his eyes. 'You're just saying that because she's you're mum.'

Y/N shook her head. 'No I'm not. I've seen it first hand. When my mother shows up to lend a hand, the people cry with joy and relief because they know she will do all that she can to save them. I'm not saying Batman - Bruce - doesn't do the same thing, but I just know that when I have to be a hero, I would hope my name inspires people to keep hoping. Not fear me.'

Y/N watched Dick process her words, saw his piercing blue eyes grow distant as he looked down at his hands. For a moment, Y/N worried she'd ruined everything. That she'd overstepped. Dick and Bruce's relationship - it was more of an arrangement, in her opinion - was tenuous to say the least, the two of them always dancing on a very thin line that could snap at any moment when push comes to shove. Either way, it wasn't her place to comment on how Dick should handle his relationship to Bruce.

However, when Dick looked up to Y/n again, she was relieved to find he wasn't angry at her. In fact, a soft smile had bloomed on his lips.

'You're right,' he said softly. 'I don't have to be scary. Bruce has that all covered.'

'Glad to hear it,' Y/N replied with a a reciprocal smile. 'So... anymore ideas on your name?'

'Well, I still believe it's got to be a bird of sorts,' Dick answered. 'But let's steer clear of the birds of prey, shall we? Maybe Jaybird, or Bluebird. No, that's stupid. Raven? Nah, that's going backwards...'

'How about Robin?' Y/N suggested, and Dick's smile broadened to the point Y/N was scared he'd split his mouth right open.

'That's perfect!' he exclaimed, bringing her into a hug. 'Batman and Robin. It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?'

'It sure does,' Y/N said, grateful to have helped.

When Dick let her go, he said, 'Now how about you? What do you think your vigilante name should be?'

Y/N thought about it for a moment, but could only come up with one name. 'I like Wonder Woman, but mother already has that. I don't think two of us would make it easy for the public, especially if she is still working.'

'That is true,' Dick replied, turning away from her as he delved into deep thought. Y/N could tell he was thinking deeply as his tongue was poking out ever so slightly - the thing he always did when he was concentrating really hard. Y/N always found it amusing since the day she met him.

Y/N jumped a little when Dick suddenly cried out with excitement. He turned back to her and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look directly at him. 'How about we take inspiration from your mother? Use part of her name to create yours. Like Wonder Girl!'

Y/N shook her head. 'No, that's really lame, Dick.'

'Wonder Kid?'

'No.'

'Wonder... Child?'

'No!'

Dick snapped his fingers and his eyes brightened as Y/N assumed a great thought popped into his head. 'I've got it: Wonderess! You know, like Wonder Woman and goddess put together!'

'Wonderess...' Y/N tested it out on her tongue, and she smiled at how easy it rolled off. It was simple, it was to the point. She could just hear the world now, shouting and screaming and crying her name for joy, for help.

She couldn't stop her smile from widening and matching Dick's. 'I love it.'

'Great!' Dick slid back down to the floor and grabbed the forgotten textbook she'd thrown at him earlier. 'Now, oh mighty and powerful Wonderess, time for you to conquer the alluding and difficult enemy that is mathematics.'

Despite her earlier anguish, Y/N felt rejuvenated and took the book from Dick and opened it back to the page she'd failed to understand. 'Then conquer mathematics we shall, oh sneaky and charming Robin.'

Dick flashed her one of his dazzling smiles. 'Oh yeah, I can see it now. Robin is going to be popular with the ladies when I'm older.'

Y/N rolled her eyes, but couldn't contain her smile. 'Don't make me throw this book at you again.'

Dick raised his hands in mock surrender before they both dove back into their respective homework. But after five minutes of work, Y/N had another thought.

'Dick. What does "aster" mean?' ~~~

(13 years)

When Y/N had walked into the Hall of Justice earlier that day, she never imagined that she'd end up helping her best friend and the sidekicks of the Flash and Aquaman break into a top secret and highly secured lab centre, get captured by the mad scientists running the show down there, break out and now be standing in front of the Justice League as a Superman look-alike (that they'd broke into for and out of with) stared down his creation's inspiration.

'Start talking' Batman said, finally breaking the tense silence.

Between Kaldur, Wally, Dick, and Y/N (Superboy, Y/N realised early on, didn't talk much), the story of how they ended up at Cadmus and pretty much destroyed it was eventually told. Afterwards, the blockbuster monster they'd fought was taken away by Green Lantern and some other League members. Y/N couldn't help but peak at her mother as Wonder Woman herself conversed with Superman and Martian Manhunter. For a brief moment, Diana looked her daughter's way then quickly averted her gaze. But Y/N knew from that one look that her mother was unimpressed by her actions today.

'Cadmus will be investigated,' Batman said, after Superman said a frosty goodbye to his younger clone. 'All fifty-two levels. But let's make one thing clear-'

'You should've called!' the Flash finished, crossing his arms, clearly disappointed in his sidekick's efforts.

'End results aside, we are not happy,' Batman continued. 'You hacked Justice League systems; you disobeyed direct orders; and you endangered lives. You will not be doing this again.'

Y/N's heart faltered at the very notion. Despite the wreckage and the stress and the struggles they had faced, Y/N very much liked working with Dick, with Kaldur and Wally too. Even the Superboy was enjoyable at some points. To never work with them again was not something she expected she would miss after one mission.

Kaldur and the other boys must've read her mind, as he stepped forward, standing tall and speaking with a strong voice well beyond his years. 'I'm sorry,' he began, eyes never leaving Batman, 'but we will.'

'Aqualad,' Aquaman started, stepping up behind Batman. 'Stand down.'

'Apologies, my King. But no,' Aqualad replied. 'We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together. On our own. We forged something powerful. Important.'

'If this is about your treatment at the hall,' the Flash started, 'the four of you-'

'The five of us,' Wally corrected, looking directly at Superboy as he did, 'and it's not.'

'Batman,' Dick said, stepping to the front of the group. 'We're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?'

'Why let them tell us what to do?' Superboy interrupted, pushing past Dick to take the lead. 'It's simple, get on board. Or get out of the way.'

Y/N joined her friends in staring down the heads of the Justice League. It was an intimidating figure they all posed, but Y/N knew she was doing the right thing. That her and her friends had done the right thing tonight.

Diana joined Batman, the Flash, and Martian Manhunter, her face unreadable and voice monotone. 'Are you sure this is the path you would like to forge, Wonderess?' she asked, her voice echoing in the crater they stood in.

Apart from Dick and Bruce, no one else (to Y/N's knowledge) knew that Wonder Woman and Wonderess were related in any manner. Not that either disguised themselves like other heroes did - purposefully hiding their faces to conceal their identities like Batman and the Flash - but neither outwardly acknowledged their true relationship either.

However, Y/N could tell her mother wasn't just asking her as her sidekick, but as her daughter. Was Y/N really prepared to risk all she had trained for, for some... strangers?

Y/N eyed the golden lasso that hung at her mother's hip, and opened her hand to summon the seemingly never-ending rope into her hand. It wrapped around several times, then glowed as Y/N clenched a tight fist around it.

'I am more certain than I have ever been, Wonder Woman,' Y/N replied, feeling the lasso urge her to speak all her truth. 'While I still endeavour to one day be your successor, my place is with my friends right now. We need to walk this path together, wherever it leads. I know this to be absolute truth.'

Y/N sucked in a breath as she let go of the lasso, feeling slightly drained from the power it had over her. Dick put a hand on her back to brace her as she recovered. Once Y/N had caught her breath, she spared Dick a grateful smile, which he reciprocated.

Just as it had been from day one, they would ride this wave together. No matter how rough.

The very next day, the five of them were taken to Mount Justice, the backup facility for the Justice League as Batman explained. Upon arrival, they met M'gann, Martian Manhunter's niece, and soon after Artemis was brought into the mix.

Soon, they were the Young Justice.

~~~

(13 years old)

'Congratulations team, you have won the day,' Red Tornado said as he laid dismembered on the ground.

The rest of the team had just reconnected as the Justice computer phased a date and time code onto one of the glass walls of the Watchtower. It read: January 01, 00:00 EST.

'Happy New Year, Justice League,' the computer announced.

To no one's surprise, Wally picked up Artemis and pulled her in for a long-awaited kiss. M'gann and Connor paired up, so did Rocket and Aqualad surprisingly.

Y/N felt uncomfortable watching them all making out, so she turned to her best friend so they could give them all some privacy. 'Hey Dick, let's go-'

But as she turned around, Y/N saw that Dick had also paired off with someone: Zatanna. This time, Y/N couldn't help but stare as the two of them made out.

Since day one of Zatanna joining the team, Y/N had noticed Dick had a thing for her. Who wouldn't? She was beautiful, she was just a year older than them but that just made her more desirable, and she was good with magic!

Something stirred inside Y/N, something that twisted her guts to the point she thought she'd throw up. Was it jealousy? No, she wasn't the jealous type. Besides, Dick was her best friend, no one could change that. He could kiss whoever he wanted to kiss. At the end of the day, they'd still talk and laugh and spar and go get ice cream together.

...Right?

'Human customs still allude me,' Red Tornado said from his place on the floor.

'You're not the only one...' Y/N mumbled to herself, standing all alone.

~~~

(16 years old)

Y/N was just sparring on a test dummy when Dick entered the training ring looking a little worse for wear, his usual mischievous smile not visible.

'Hey,' Y/N said, finishing up her combo of kicks and punches, heaving in deep breaths. 'What's up, bird brain?'

He didn't reply straight away, instead standing on the edge of the fight ring as if afraid to step out of the shadows and into the light. Y/N raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Dick?'

When he didn't respond again, Y/N walked over to him. And when she got closer, she realised why he remained in the darkness.

'Have you been crying?' she asked softly, scared to speak too loud in case he ran away.

Dick wasn't an emotional guy. He just wasn't. He was the mischievous gremlin who kept the team together with his witty remarks, charm, and sheer intelligence. And even though Kaldur had been the leader of their team for years now, Dick always wanted to be a leader like Bruce was for the Justice League. He never gave himself room to be emotional.

So for him to stand in front of Y/N with red-rimmed eyes and tear marks streaking down his face, whatever had just happened had to be so impactful it finally broke his resolve.

He averted his eyes. 'Zatanna,' he started, biting his lip to suppress sobs falling out between the words. 'She broke up with me.'

Subconsciously, Y/N had been dreaming about hearing those words for a long time. She didn't quite understand why, as Zatanna was a close friend and Dick was by far her best friend so of course she only ever wanted happiness for them. But now that Dick stood in front of her so broken and sad, Y/N only felt sorry and remorse.

'Oh Dick,' she said. 'I'm so sorry... How can I help?'

Dick shook his head vigorously, eyes still averted from her. 'Can you just... Can we spar please? I think I really need that right now.'

His tone was restrained, as if he were holding back what he really thought. Y/N had half a thought to suggest they just talk, but when he finally looked directly at her, how could she refuse her best friend? After all, she was the only one he never wore his glasses around. Even after all these years with the team, he trusted no one else but her with his identity.

The original members knew, but even then he still wore his shades around them half the time if he wasn't in his vigilante suit. But not around Y/N, though. Never around Y/N.

'All right,' Y/N conceded, walking with him back to the centre of the fighting ring. She stood in her usual starting position, hands raised and feet split ready to fight. 'Same rules as last time?'

Dick nodded. 'No flying from you, no gadgets from me. Just us.'

'Perfect.'

Y/N launched into a heated sparring match, much more heated than any other match she'd had before with him. Sparring matches are usually to practice a skill, usually some punches can be pulled. But not now, Dick was throwing himself into everything, becoming sloppy, opening himself up. While the first few jabs Y/N got in were small victories, she soon grew worried as he grew more and more reckless as the match progressed.

'You're opening yourself up too easily, Dick,' Y/N commented between heavy breaths. 'Tighten up your stance.'

Dick groaned with frustration in answer, throwing another punch at her which she easily ducked and palm-punched his abdomen hard. He stumbled back as he caught his breath, but Y/N took it as her chance to end the fight as she charged at him, crash-tackled him to the mat with a bit more super-strength than she'd been using and pinning his limbs to the ground.

Dick struggled under her, but she refused to let go. 'Concede, Grayson. Now,' she demanded.

She rarely used his last name, only when he was in serious trouble or when she really needed him to listen. So he stopped, and he looked up at her and he nodded. 'I concede,' he said between huffs of air.

Y/N nodded her head in acknowledgement before stepping off him and helping him to his feet. For years they had been the same height, but once Dick had hit fourteen, he shot up fast. He was still lean and more on the skinny side, but he was toned in certain places and he now stood a head taller than Y/N. But she didn't let his new height stop her from locking eyes with him.

'Do you feel... somewhat better now?' she asked cautiously, feeling that Dick was on the brink of an explosion, she was just unsure what kind it would be.

To her surprise, Dick's piercing blue eyes welled up with tears. 'No,' he said.

Y/N immediately wrapped her arms around him, and Dick fell into her and wrapped himself around her as if she were a warm blanket on a cold night. They stood like that - with Dick crying silently into her shoulder and Y/N rubbing soothing circles into his back - for who knew how long. A minute, two, an hour maybe. It didn't matter, Dick needed Y/N'S help so she would stay there as long for as it took.

'She said she couldn't do it anymore,' he said finally, tears finally finished running, but he still didn't break from Y/N's embrace. 'The long distance.'

'Being promoted to the Justice League is a huge commitment, Dick,' Y/N offered.

'It's not just that, though,' he said. 'I think she couldn't take me anymore. Ever since Jason-'

His voice cracked on the mention of his fallen brother, the next ward Bruce had taken under his wing. When he joined the team, Jason took over the Robin mantle, giving Dick freedom to explore a new path of vigilante identity. One outside of Bruce's shadow and the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. He'd settled upon Nightwing - another name Y/N helped come up with - and he'd taught Jason everything he knew about being Robin and how he could find his own meaning for the role.

But Jason never got the chance to do the same for the next Robin, who Bruce mentioned would never be found after Jason's death. Jason had been killed on a mission with the Batman himself only a month ago, and Dick had secretly been a wreck ever since. He'd learnt from his sponsor who to hide his emotions, but Y/N assumed he had to let it out to someone or someones every so often. Those people were herself, and no doubt Zatanna.

Despite her bubbly and adventurous personality, Zatanna knew death, knew grief. It suddenly angered Y/N at the thought that Zatanna had dumped Dick because he was grieving and couldn't give her the attention he had become known to give her daily.

Y/N held her tongue as she pulled him tighter, though. Now was not the time to rub salt into his open and bloody wound.

'You don't have to explain yourself to me, Dick,' Y/N reassured him. 'I understand.'

He squeezed her tighter. 'First my family, then Jason, now Zatanna. Promise me you won't leave too. Promise.'

'I promise, Dick,' Y/N answered. 'I'll always be here if you need me.'

Dick finally pulled away from her, but only far enough that he still held her in his arms and she had to angle her head harshly upwards to look him in the eye. Despite the redness, Dick's eyes still shone a blue that didn't seem quite real - like the colour of the purest, cleanest ocean.

So beautiful.

'You're my best friend, Y/N,' he said softly, a grateful smile finally breaking through his sadness. 'You know that right?'

Once upon a time, Y/N wouldn't have hesitated in answering. Yes, she would say, because it was the truth. It was the truth still, but a discomforting feeling in her stomach squirmed at the words "best friend". What he meant to her went past the simple label, at least in her opinion. But she just couldn't quite put it into words yet.

'Y-Yeah, I know,' she stammered out quickly. She had paused way too long to answer. 'Just like you're mine, bird brain. Don't think a bunch of tears is going to scare me off so easily.'

She was so glad to be the one to make him laugh then. It was the most melodic sound she'd ever heard, even though she'd heard it a thousand times before. Dick could never be tiring to her.

Finally - and thankfully - Dick stepped out of her arms, allowing her to suck in air that had previously been missing from between them. But he stole it all right back when he flashed her that charming smile of his.

'Guess I'll see you tomorrow, Wonderess,' he said. 'Thanks again for the sparring. I'll be sure to tighten up for next time.'

'G-Great, good, excellent,' Y/N stumbled over her words, unable to breathe when he smiled so causally yet so beautifully at her. 'See you tomorrow.'

Dick gave her a tiny wave as he left the room. As he left, Artemis and M'gann strolled in wearing civvies. They greeted and farewelled Dick before continuing to walk to Y/N, who stood frozen where Dick had left her staring after him.

'You okay, Y/N?' Artemis asked, waving a hand in front of Y/N's face. 'Helloooooo. Earth to Y/N?'

'Maybe she's fallen into a hypnotic state,' M'gann suggested. 'Or worse! A mind ant has taken over her brain! I'll have to go inside her mind to weed it out.'

That finally disrupted Y/N from her stupor. 'No! No need for that. No mind ants here,' she frantically said just M'gann was about to enter her mind.

'Then why were you looking like Medusa had risen from her mythical death and frozen you in place?' Artemis asked, deadpan.

'First of all, Medusa was a real person. Greek Mythology is real, or therefore my mother and I wouldn't be here today,' Y/N countered. 'Second of all... I think I a have a crush on Dick.'

As soon as she said the words, she knew them to be true. She didn't need to discuss it with the girls, she already knew.

Y/N Prince, daughter of Wonder Woman, had a huge, fat crush on her best friend, and son of Batman himself, Richard 'Dick' Grayson.

'Shit,' all three girls said at once.

~~~ (18 years old)

Y/N watched with sad eyes as two of her closest friends walked away under the cover of darkness. Again. Kaldur and Artemis - the latter now legally dead - waved farewell before they entered a small submarine, on their way to continue infiltration of the Light on Kaldur's father's ship.

Two figures stepped up beside Y/N. 'Well,' Wally started, 'I guess that's that.'

'For now,' Dick said. 'I promise, Wally, we'll bring them both back.'

'Yeah, whatever,' Wally said, turning to leave. 'You're my bro, Dick. But if Artemis is really killed because of this, I will never forgive you.'

Wally's footsteps resounded through the empty fishing warehouse as Y/N continued to stare out at the ocean. Soon, it was just her and Dick.

'We should head back to headquarters,' Dick suggested. 'Someone might start to wonder where we are.'

But Y/N didn't turn to leave, still transfixed by the ocean. 'I thought I was okay with all this,' Y/N admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. 'I convinced myself that this was for the greater good. But now I'm not so sure.'

'What do you mean, Y/N?' Dick asked.

'The lying, Dick,' she answered, finally turning to him. 'The secrets, the faking of deaths and undercover betrayals. If we keep this up, it'll tear the team apart.'

'It won't,' Dick reassured her, his voice so certain and sure. 'When this is all over and we explain it all, they will understand. I expect some disappointment and hostility for a while, but one day they'll understand why we did what we did. But this team we've built, Y/N, it is stronger than all this. I know it.'

Y/N shook her head, wanting to believe him but unable to put aside the horrible feeling in her gut. 'I know they are strong. I just wish there was another way for us to win.'

'Trust me, if there was, I would've taken it,' Dick said, and even with a mask on, Y/N knew he was telling the truth. 'I want all of us fighting this together. For now, we've just got to trust in Kaldur and Artemis that they will succeed.'

Y/N nodded, her gaze returning to the flat ocean waters where her friends had long since left behind. 'Maybe you should've sent me like I suggested,' Y/N said half-heartedly. 'You're a great substitute for leader, Dick. Truly. But the team took Kaldur's betrayal heavily, and Artemis and Wally were out of the game. We shouldn't have brought them back in. Wonder Girl is trained up enough to take my place. You don't need me.'

'Don't say that.'

Y/N could barely react as she was grabbed by her shoulders and forced to face Dick, who had crouched so he was eye-level to her and leaned in so she could see the slightest gleam of his pupils through the white mask.

'Don't say that,' Dick repeated, his grip on her shoulders firm and grounding. 'We do need you. You're a founding member too, Y/N. Regardless of if it were Kaldur or not, the team would've struggled without any one of us. And the only reason I was able to lead this team this past year is because I knew you had my back the entire time.'

'Really?' she asked, the one word a struggle to get out.

His expression softened and he loosened his grip. But Dick didn't release her yet. 'Y/N, you are always the one giving hope to the team whenever I can't raise their spirits. You were the one to console them after Kaldur leaving. You are strong and brave and you never give up, especially when the chips are down. And they have been down on us a lot lately.'

Y/N caught her breath as Dick released one shoulder to use his pointer finger to hold her chin up, making her look directly at him. 'It kills me that you don't see yourself how everyone else sees you. Which is amazing, Y/N. Amazing and wonderful.'

Y/N swore Dick could hear her heart thudding rapidly against her chest. In the two years since realising it, her crush on her best friend hadn't faded like she'd hoped. Instead, it had grown and blossomed but Dick still couldn't see how much she absolutely adored him. She'd resigned herself to the fact that he would never feel that way about her, and also if they were to date, then it would just make working together all the more complicated. She couldn't compromise on the team's relationship.

But as Y/N looked into Dick's eyes now, a little spark of hope flickered inside her. He was so close to her, he had to feel her heartbeat. He had to know... right?

A wind of doubt blew out the spark and she stepped away from Dick so her head would stop spinning. 'You just had to get a pun in there, didn't you?' she said, surprised at how calm and casual her voice came out all things considered.

Dick took a moment to gather himself, as if he too had been lost deep in thought. But soon that infamous smile of his stretched his lips and Y/N knew she could never say no to him. 'What can I say? I'm an opportunist.'

'I thought you were a gymnast.'

'I am also your best friend, and so I am legally obliged to slip in puns about you whenever possible.'

'Oh, do you now?' Y/N asked, lightly shoving him as she made for the warehouse door. Dick was right, they needed to head home before anyone started questioning their whereabouts.

Dick quickly caught up. 'I mean it Y/N. You are my best friend.'

'I know,' Y/N said nonchalantly, trying not to let the words sting too much. But she managed a soft smile as she said, 'And you are mine. Always have been...'

Dick flashed her a genuine smile, no charm, no hidden agenda behind it. He held his pinky finger up, to which Y/N linked her own with. '...Always will be,' he finished.

As they went home, Y/N felt better about Kaldur and Artemis' mission, as well as her place in the team. But she was now even more confused about Dick and how he felt about her. They were best friends, had been through so much together, it wouldn't be wise to ruin all that now.

But the way he'd looked at her, maybe there was a chance after all.

~~~

(18 years old)

'You're leaving?'

Y/N and Kaldur couldn't believe what they'd just heard. One minute, the three of them were discussing the team's next move after foiling the Reach's invasion plans and splitting the Light in half, and the next...

'That's correct,' Dick said. 'I just... I think I need to take a break for a while.'

'For how long?' Y/N asked, finally getting over the initial shock of his announcement. It had been a hectic day, full of surprises and sacrifices nobody saw coming. Right now, in her opinion, everyone needed to band together, not... leave.

Dick shrugged his shoulders. 'I don't know. But it definitely won't be quick. This team has been my whole life for five years now. I think it's time I stepped away, let Kaldur take the reins again.'

'The team will not be the same without you,' Kaldur offered.

'The team already isn't the same,' Dick said solemnly, and the slightest crack in his voice indicated to Y/N what he was referring to. 'You, me, Y/N, Wally. We founded this team. Without him...'

Dick didn't need to finish. Y/N had felt Wally's absence since the moment he fazed out of existence. He saved the world, but he'd been too slow to combat the chrysalis' energy. Not even the Flash or Impulse could save him. It made Y/N so mad, because Wally must've known he wouldn't come out of it alive. He knew he was too slow, having been out of the game for so long.

And yet he did it anyway, because that was who Wally West - Kid Flash - was.

'I understand,' Kaldur said, placing a comforting hand on Dick's shoulder.

'Thanks,' Dick said, then looked to the boom tubes of the Watchtower. 'I should probably go.'

'What? Now?' Y/N asked. 'At least see the day through, Dick.'

'There's nothing else for me to see through, Y/N,' he countered, already making his way to the boom tubes to make his exit. 'Kaldur is back, and so is the Justice League. I am no longer needed.'

Kaldur didn't follow Y/N as she chased after Dick. 'At least let the team know personally you'll be leaving. Don't you think they deserve that much from you after all we've done?'

'All I did was sign Wally's death sentence,' Dick answered harshly, not even bothering to turn around and face her. 'Yeah, the team really deserves that from their substitute leader.'

The two of them stopped before the boom tubes, facing each other one last time. Y/N grabbed Dick's wrist before he could dial in his code to exit the Watchtower.

'Dick, please,' Y/N pleaded, voice tight with desperation. 'I know you're hurting right now. We all are feeling Wally's death. But the team needs you right now. I need you...'

It was a last ditch attempt at convincing him that he meant more to her than just a friend. That he was her glue, that he was important to her and the team. That, even if he was nothing else, he was her best friend, and she was his.

Always have been... Always will be.

Don't go, she wanted to say, but the words never came out. It's like Dick had always been a part of her life; she now couldn't imagine her life without his witty remarks, without his odd use of words like "aster" and "traught", without his charming smile and kind eyes. She couldn't imagine life without him. Please, don't go.

Dick's sad expression told her he'd made his mind up before he even spoke the words.

'I'm sorry, Y/N,' he said softly, pulling her into a gentle embrace where he pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead. 'But I can't deal with this right now.'

As if in a dream, Dick stepped out of the embrace and dialled in his code for the boom tube.

'B:01 - NIghtwing,' the computer announced as the boom tube activated.

Dick was a step away from leaving Y/N behind when she called out, 'Don't be a stranger!'

She knew he had already made his mind up. But that didn't mean the two of them couldn't still be what they had always been. Best friends.

To her joy, Dick stopped and turned back around, a melancholic smile on his face as he held up his pinky finger. 'Always have been...'

Y/N reciprocated his smile as she too held up her pinky finger, imagining hooking it with his. '...Always will be,' she replied softly.

And then he was gone, and Y/N was left standing alone in the Watchtower.

She didn't realise she was crying until Dick was gone, until her senses had returned fully and felt the sensation of tears rolling down her face. That's when she acknowledged she was truly, utterly, hopelessly sad.

Because for the first time in seven years, Dick was no longer by her side. She didn't have Dick to fall back on when things got tough; she didn't have Dick to talk to about her issues with the new recruits; she didn't have Dick to laugh with after a night out at the arcade where he had failed epically at every game; she didn't have Dick reassuring her that everything would be okay, even when the world was telling them otherwise.

Dick was gone, and that was something Y/N had never expected to deal with.

'Wonderess.'

Y/N wiped her tears away before she turned to see who had called her. It was Kaldur, and based on his sympathetic expression, she knew he had heard everything.

'Batman and the rest of the Justice League wants to speak with us all,' he said.

'Right,' Y/N said, composing herself before walking over to join her friend.

Dick was gone, but she was still an integral part of Young Justice, and they needed her more now than ever. Whatever was to come their way now, they had to be strong, a united front.

Even if her heart yearned for someone who had completely abandoned her.

[leupagus]

Working Title: Grumpy Old Man

Inspired by this excellent post:

He sees her on the playground, of all places. First time he's pretty sure he hallucinates her, pushing a little mini-me version of herself on the swings with her hair in a messy ponytail and arguing with someone on the phone. She's gone grey in the fifteen years since he's seen her last, but she still stands straight and tall like a dancer, still has that dimple on her cheek that had scrambled his brain more times than he could count back in the day.

By the time Jack's confident that she's actually real, they're long gone and Theresa is tugging at his pant leg, demanding uppies and also an ice cream.

"Your mom won't be too happy about that," he warns her even as he swings her up onto his shoulders, the move natural now with almost three months of practice — ever since he'd gotten the call in April, Ingrid barely able to get the words out: Dad, he's gone. He's gone and what are we going to do? "She said no sweets until after dinner."

"Ice cream anna cookie, Grampa," she bargains, fisting her little hands in his hair to steer him toward the ice cream truck like she's an oversized rat hauling him around a fancy restaurant kitchen. He's gotten used to it, though he suspects there's always going to be a part of him terrified that one day she's going to yank him right into traffic and Ingrid will dig up his corpse just to kill him all over again.

(That's all that had kept him from stepping off the roof on his bad days; kept him from unlocking the gun safe in his closet, kept him from the knives and the pills and the dozen other ways he knew he could've ended it quick and clean and painless. Eventually his bad days had faded into the sort of bad day that most people bitch about to their friends or their families, and he didn't have to hold onto his daughter as his one reason for living. But it had been a long few years of that, teetering so close to the edge that tripping had felt like relief.)

-

The next time he sees her at the playground, she sees him first. "Dr. Abbot?" The voice is hesitant, puzzled, and immediately familiar.

She's wearing an oversized sweater-dress and achingly practical boots, her daughter perched on one hip and clapping arrhythmically to a song only she can hear. Jack gets up from the bench after glancing over at the sandpit — Theresa is still engaged in her battle with some kids that look straight out of a remake of Children of the Corn, but she can take them easy — and tries not to read too much into the broad smile on her face as she realizes it is, in fact, him.

"Long time, no see," he says, and she laughs.

"No kidding. You're — how are you?"

"I'm good. And you—" he bites off you look good and gestures at the little girl, who's arching her back in an almost perfect semi-circle now, the universal sign for any kid who wants to be set down. Her mother obeys and the girl takes off like a shot for the slide, still clapping. "Congratulations on," and he makes a vague gesture that he hopes conveys getting knocked up at some point and having a kid with the same cute nose as you have.

"Oh, I just stole her from some mom who wasn't paying attention over at the Baby Gap. Kidding," she adds, as if that little girl could be anyone else's.

"What's her name?"

"Diana. Her father’s idea — he’s big into Wonder Woman — but it’s grown on me.”

“Oh,” he says, and is aware that his voice got pretty high just then. He’s almost sixty-three goddamn years old, this isn’t acceptable. “Congratulations on that, too.”

“Mm,” she says, considering, “probably better to congratulate me on the divorce. But thanks. I can’t pretend I regret it, since I got little Beanie out of the deal.” She watches her daughter for a little while before looking around. “And are you… um. Is one of these—”

Jack abruptly realizes how it looks — an old guy sitting on a bench in the middle of a playground — and says hurriedly, "Yeah, the one in the sandbox over there. My granddaughter."

She turns and frowns. "Which one?"

Just then Theresa scrambles to her feet, holding something aloft. “GRAMPA WE FOUND A POOP,” she bellows. “GRAMPA IT’S STINKY.”

“That one,” he says, blowing out a sigh. “That one’s mine.”

[fancyfeathers]

Comment from @veil123 on this post

Flash must be about to have a heart attack, given how risky his daughter was. I have no doubt that while watching the videos, he'll speed off to try to save his daughter so she doesn't break a bone.

I imagine they're in another city, Flash, at a meeting, and then the topic of "kids on the run" comes up (we call them that because they're literally the real deal. If I could run away from home, I'd run away from everything). And they put on a live video of them and Flash, face to face, watching their daughter walk in and out of a burning building, as if to say to death, "Come on, I'm not afraid of you," while Diana's son yells at her to calm down and stop taking risks because she's going to fall.

Example:

"Hey, control yourself. Supergirl is going to..." he is interrupted.

"Asteria!" Supergirl, who doesn't want to be Supergirl, angrily corrected him. (I feel like Supergirl would change her name every five minutes so they'd stop calling her Supergirl)

"Whatever! Stop running, we're going to put out the fire in the building. If you stay inside, you might freeze and fall," he warns her as he helps some civilians out.

"I'm not going to fall."

And as a dramatic twist to what she said, she took a good fall, amidst the laughter of Supergirl and a heavy sigh from Diana's son.

Meanwhile, the heroes tried to revive Flash, as his fatherly, protective side of his princess, suffered a cardiac arrest due to what he saw on screen.

Yandere!Justice League with their darling!children AU

For reference this series is set in the universe of the Young Justice show

A/N- Again I just had to answer this as a post. I’ll make a masterlist for this series soon.

Whenever the League gets new footage of their little team, they are always hoping that it isn’t their kid, Batman is used to seeing his own daughter cause problems since she has been on the run the longest. Flash’s daughter is definitely the one who gets into the most trouble. Like the first time there was an incident where she was running down a highway, or rollerblading rather, since she uses those because of a dare and a semi truck just straight up hits her head on, she broke nearly every bone in her body, but luckily being a speedster she heals extremely quickly. But it was still horrifying for Barry to see the video of his daughter half unconscious on the ground for at split second before she was picked up and rescued by Clark’s daughter.

Diana’s son also has a fair share of injuries, especially since he is just human who was trained by an Amazon. The worst injury he has ever gotten is when he broke his leg and it was a compound fracture when he and Bruce’s daughter broke into a League of Shadows base to steal documents but they both had the unfortunate encounter with Ra’s Al Ghul himself. He could barely move let alone walk, but Bruce’s daughter got him out of there and luckily his mother will never see that footage. Now on camera he has never gotten injured, which makes Diana think that her son is somewhat being safe, he’s not, it’s just never been seen. So just imagine how pained she feels when she sees her son in person during a fight and he keeps on taking hits over and over again to protect the rest of his friends.

Aquaman’s son has taken a few serious blows, but I think the biggest would have been if and when he got caught, he was helping rescue people during a hurricane type storm, but his ankle ended up getting caught in some rocks and coral, and with every wave that comes in his head gets bashed up against rocks, coral, and other things that have formed in the ocean. It is horrible, he is so close to the surface and pulling himself out, but he can’t he’s stuck. It goes on and on until he is knocked unconscious and eventually he is found but by then he has lost a lot of blood and has a serious concussion. When he wakes up, he is back home, back in Atlantis. His father takes a break from Justice League missions to look after his son and he is never leaving home ever again.

Clark’s daughter, Zatara’s son, Martian Manhunter’s daughter, and Green Lantern’s twins have never really gotten injured before. Clark’s daughter because she is kryptonian, but there was an incident where she got exposed to kryptonite that got caught on camera and she got violently sick. Zatara’s son has been able to deflect practically everything with magic, he really would never get injured unless perhaps he got into a fight with Klarion, The Witch Boy. Then Marian Manhunter’s daughter has never gotten injured, she is sort of the team manager, she’s the one who helps treat injuries along with Green Lantern’s son, I love the idea of the two of them being the team parents, they are the ones who are always fixing things and running communications. Green Lantern’s daughter has never gotten seriously injured by sheer dumb luck and a Star Sapphire ring, no one knows how she is still alive she just is.

Then the one who was gotten the worst injury is Bruce’s daughter, there was a time where her grappling line just snapped and she fell so far that she should have been dead, it was a literal miracle that she survived, she was on bed rest for weeks, she could couldn’t even move with all the injuries she sustained from that. The rest of her friends genuinely thought she was dead for a few minutes because Supergirl, Clark’s daughter, genuinely did not hear her heart beat for two minutes.

[onhirel]

Never Gonna Give You Up

If there was one thing that Akko genuinely enjoyed doing, it was pulling a fast one on her friends. Her prank wars with Amanda were things of legends, and she was finally gaining the confidence to actually start getting back at Sucy after being her test subject for who even knew how long. Some of her friends were strictly off limits, like Lotte and Jasminka. Both were too sweet to prank. Constanze was also out because her reaction to being pranked might actually be... oh, who was that one Italian writer? Mochiavelli? Akko was pretty certain it was Mochi-something, though why an Italian was named after mochi eluded her. Anyway, yeah, Constanze might actually obliterate Akko if Akko tried anything. Hannah and Barbara were prime targets, of course, which felt a bit therapeutic after their bullying.

There was, however, one target that Akko had thus far not been able to prank:

Diana.

Oh, Akko wanted to prank Diana so bad! Diana was so amazing at so many things that really pulling a fast one on her would be such an accomplishment as well as a tongue-in-cheek nod to Akko's professed rivalry of Diana, even if Diana never saw Akko as a rival... or so she said.

Akko suspected otherwise.

The question was which prank to do? It really had to be a good one. Diana deserved nothing less than the best, after all. Physical pranks like a harmless hex to turn her skin purple or to make is so that she only spoke in limericks or something didn't feel right. Plus, trying to prank Diana with magic was asking for trouble and there was no guarantee that Akko could actually pull that off, not with how fast Diana was on the wand. Amanda had tried something like that only to get hit with a counterspell so powerful that she spoke backwards for the next day.

Akko didn't relish the thought of experiencing the same thing.

She also wasn't fond of the idea of using her skill at transformation magic to try and do a jump scare or the like. That, too, Diana didn't deserve. If she got pranked, it would have to be a good one and not something that was going to cause Diana distress or harm. With all that in mind, there really was only one option:

The classics.

Akko realized which one she wanted to do when she found out that there were actually video recordings of the broadcast of her and Diana fighting against the Noir Missile. Diana had absolutely no idea about anything internet related, which was both wildly hilarious and also deeply frustrating, but it was also an opportunity here. Diana had NO idea what memes were, and what better meme to use to prank her than the King of Memes?

Akko made the video herself, and actually felt pretty accomplished with it, given how it wasn't an instantaneous transition between the videos. She added a sharp camera pan to the right, complete with a blur effect before the new video started. Not the best she'd ever seen for this particular meme, but pretty darn good considering that she was doing this on her phone.

Luckily, the opportunity to actually spring the prank on Diana happened sooner rather than later. It was actually the weekend after Akko finally managed to start flying on her own. She was still terribly slow and couldn't quite manage to fly every time that she cast Tia Freyre but everyone else still wanted to celebrate her success, so they all went out to Blytonbury together. For the first hour or so they all humored Akko, getting ice cream and checking out the Last Wednesday Society. Akko definitely wanted to get Diana alone because she just totally knew that Amanda would spoil the surprise if given the chance, and Akko really wanted to get Diana with this. So, after lunch, Akko gave Diana a beaming grin. "Hey, hey, Diana! Mind if we go swing by the fountain real fast? I have something I want to show you!"

The way that everyone else looked at her, you'd think that she had grown another head or something! Sheesh, she was just asking Diana for a moment of privacy, was all! Amanda opened her mouth, only to release a muffled cry as Hannah clapped both her hands over her mouth. Barbara, for her part, was all but shoving Diana towards Akko. "Go on, Diana!" she said... with a blush, of all things. Lotte, too, was blushing, while Sucy and Constanze looked somewhat exasperated. Jasminka merely kept eating the remainder of her fries, though her smile seemed warmer than it had just a moment ago.

Akko gave her friends a suspicious look before she and Diana headed off alone together. "That was weird, wasn't it?" she asked, only to notice that Diana, too, was giving her a strange look. "What?"

"Oh, it's... it's nothing," Diana said as she waved one hand dismissively. Was it just Akko's imagination, or were Diana's cheeks pink, too? Why was everyone being so weird? "What did you want to show me?"

Akko mentally shook herself before she grinned again. "Did you know that there are recordings of the two of us fighting the Noir Missile?"

Diana's eyebrows shot up. "No. I didn't. Are there, really?"

"Yeah! And I figured that it would be neat to watch the video with you without anyone else making comments!" That sounded perfectly reasonable to Akko... so why did Diana look almost disappointed? "We, um... we can show them a bit later. It just feels right watching it the first time with you, since it was just the two of us up there when the broadcast was happening." They had entered the town square, and Diana nodded as they sat down at the fountain. Huh. Diana's shoulder was bumping Akko's, which... well, that wasn't entirely like Diana, was it? Usually Akko was the one with, ahh, boundary issues, so to speak.

Why was everyone being so darn weird?

Akko put that out of her head as she pulled out her phone. "Ready?"

Diana nodded as she leaned in closer to see better, and a flutter hit Akko's tummy. Must've been the food she had eaten for lunch mixing up with the ice cream from earlier. Ignoring her tummy rumbles, she pulled up the video and hit play.

She had to admit that it was a little weird to see her and Diana flying high like this. At the time, they had been so busy just trying to survive that there was no time to think about how they looked, but... well, they looked good, even if it was weird to see herself and Diana like this, flying in tandem and fighting for their lives. She had left a good minute of the broadcast intact, and Diana hummed softly as she leaned in closer.

Only to make a small and confused noise as the video transition happened. It was at the moment that Akko realized that her brilliance had a flaw: anyone else would have immediately recognized the opening notes of the meme song and given a groan of exasperation, which would give Akko her victory.

Diana wasn't anyone else. She was Diana. She had no idea what a Rickroll was.

Cue Akko's second mistake: she hadn't kept the meme video down to its meme format of, what, ten or fifteen seconds? No, she had put in the entire video and Diana was giving the phone her full attention as the instrumental intro ended. It felt like it would be really rude to pause the video or lower the phone. So, she panicked and kept the phone up, and the video continued playing.

We're no strangers to love You know the rules and so do I A full commitment's what I'm thinkin' of You wouldn't get this from any other guy

Diana's right eyebrow had raised when the video had first transitioned. As Rick Astley started singing, her left eyebrow shot up to join the first, and her gaze grew all the more focused on Akko's phone. The song continued.

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling Gotta make you understand Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down Never gonna run around and desert you Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you We've known each other for so long Your heart's been aching, but you're too shy to say it Inside, we both know what's been going on We know the game and we're gonna play it And if you ask me how I'm feeling Don't tell me you're too blind to see

Oh. Okay, um... that was actually kind of romantic, wasn't it? Oops. Akko felt herself blushing as the video continued, and she was amazed that save for Diana's laser focus on her phone and her raised eyebrows, she was as cool as a cucumber.

Or... at least... that's what Akko was seeing.

For Diana? She rather felt like a duck. On the surface, she was calm and composed, the product of countless etiquette classes and stiff resolve. Internally, below the metaphorical surface of the water, she was desperately kicking to try and stay afloat. She had been flustered from the moment that Akko had asked for a moment of privacy. Diana... was fully aware of her feelings for Akko but didn't know how Akko felt back. She hadn't wanted to presume anything and make a move and ruin everything. She wasn't even certain if Akko liked anyone, much less her! Perhaps Akko just wasn't ready for a romantic partner. That was fine. Diana would cherish her friendship. Having Akko in her life was what was important, whether that was as a friend or as something more.

So, yes, when Akko asked for privacy, Diana almost panicked. Had she missed the signs? Then Akko mentioned the subject of the video, and the pendulum swung firmly back to the domain of friendship. Of course Akko would want to share the video with her in a moment of privacy. Reading any further into it would only lead Diana somewhere that Akko wasn't ready to go.

That was fine.

Then the new video started, and Diana wasn't so removed from Mundane life and culture that she didn't recognize it as a music video... one decades old, judging by the clothing styles and the quality of the video itself. At first she was only confused. What did this have to do with the Noir Missile.

Then the lead singer started singing and Diana bloody well nearly had a heart attack. A full commitment? Akko wanted to tell Diana how she was feeling? Line after line hammered home the theme of love and support. The vernacular was perhaps a bit slangy for Diana's tastes, but the message was unmistakable.

Akko was never going to give Diana up. She was never going to let Diana down. She was never going to desert Diana. She was never going to make Diana cry. She was never going to say goodbye. And, oh heavens, Akko was so much more perceptive than Diana expected! Yes, Diana's heart had been aching, and yes, she was too shy to say it! Bloody hell, maybe she was too blind to see Akko's feelings for her!

As the verses repeated themselves, Diana felt like she had heard enough and so turned to Akko, who paused the video and lowered her phone. "Yes," Diana said.

Akko's eyes widened. "Huh?"

Oh, did her darling wish to hear all the words? Very well. "Yes, I will happily date you, Kagari Atsuko."

Diana had never seen Akko's face get that red before. "Eh?! N-n-nani?!"

Diana felt a blush touch her own cheeks. Only it wasn't a good blush. Doubt and embarrassment were swelling up. "That... that was very romantic. I... am impressed at... at how much effort you put into confessing your feelings. So, I accept." Diana nervously wet her lips. "That's... what that was, right? It was a confession?" she asked, the words faltering towards the end. "Or... did I misunderstand?"

Akko stared at her with wide eyes for a long moment, her mouth working soundlessly long enough that Diana started to feel utterly confused and humiliated. What signs had she misread? That was completely romantic! Akko had tied in a video of the moment where she and Diana had been as close as two people could be with a romantic song professing devotion! What was Diana missing? What didn't she understand?! Her eyes were stinging and she started to try and blink away the gathering tears. "I-I'm sorry. I must have made... made a mistake. S-sorry." She began rocking forward to stand up, only to freeze when Akko cupped her cheek with a warm hand. Akko turned Diana's head towards her before leaning in to kiss her with slightly chapped lips.

Again, Diana froze, only now it was because her heart was soaring just as high as she and Akko had. After a moment, she sighed and relaxed as she returned the kiss. This was right. This is what she needed. The kiss lingered and tingles ran through her body, warm and pleasant and perfect. Then, finally, Akko pulled back. "So... girlfriends?"

Diana blinked a few more times. "Yes. Was that not the intention of that?"

Akko giggled. "Well... let's just call it a perfect and happy accident. I promise I'll explain it all later. But right now? Right now, I think I want to kiss you again."

When she leaned in, Diana pulled back with a small shake of her head. "Before that happens... Akko? I promise you that I am never going to give you up."

Akko stared... laughed aloud... shook her head... leaned back in. "I'll tell you why that's so darn funny later," she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth, and Diana was a moment from inquiring further when their lips met again, and...

...well, that was enough, wasn't it?

Also found on AO3!

[fryingpan1234567]

DC high school au… mayhaps…..

I’m not sure if anyone’s done this before

But I’m doing it now

So the JL, right. These are famous alumni who made school history and now obvi they’re billionaires and reporters and museum owners but they’re not superheroes— just regular people

Liiike Clark Kent was the best quarterback the school has ever seen

Oliver Queen essentially revolutionized the archery team

Diana Prince convinced the school to start a fencing league

Barry Allen slayed both track and any and all chemistry competitions thrown his way

Arthur Curry… I shouldn’t have to say anything about his swim team career. That’s where he met his wife

Bruce Wayne was one of the smartest people probably ever, especially to grace that building

And so on and so forth

Anyways so these people are famous, and they’re up on the walls and display cases and shit

The staff!! Was so thrilled!! To be getting their children!!!!

(The principal counted down the days on his calendar after the news hit that Brucie adopted his first kid)

So.

Dick and Barbara are seniors. Dick is the cheer captain and Babs WAS on the team until a fun little accident that has her wheelchair-bound. (It’s fine, she discovered she actually likes computers better. She’d hacked the entire security system one day at lunch because she got bored)

Dick is kind of the queen bee of the school, which is hilarious, because he KNOWS but refuses to let it get to his head. This man will start water gun fights in the hallways for fun

Jason and Cass are juniors

Jason is one of the drama club’s absolute best (singing and acting). He played Billy Flynn in Chicago, Prince Charming in Cinderella, Aladdin in… yeah. He slays pretty hard

Cass is on the dance team and regularly misses class for some competition or another. Sometimes, when cheerleaders and the dance team collab on stuff (like assemblies), she actually likes the pompoms. She does not like the skirts.

Tim, Steph, and Duke are sophomores— people are s c a r e d of these three

Tim is known for constantly having a stockpile of energy drinks in his locker; sometimes a few of his friends get access to it. He’s also terrifyingly smart. And he’s got a bike. SOPHOMORE YEAR. TIM WHAT

Steph’s whole entire TikTok presence is lifting/ workout challenges against any poor scrub who tries to go up against her. She can lift the same amount as Jason Todd. That gives her a very confident “don’t fuck with me aura” around school, which is good, because she’s got zero interest in any guy there anyways (bi f pref queen)

And Duke… Duke is the golden boy, so the first time you see him in a sparring match with any of his siblings (they do that for fun at lunch), you’re very shocked to see him holding his own against Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown. He also slays

Damian is the only freshman in his family. Jason and Tim make fun of him endlessly

It is pretty impressive that a freshie organized the biggest fundraiser the school has ever seen— and it was for local animal shelters. Nobody knows how he did it. Probably intimidation. You never know with that kid

Now the superfam. Ohoho, yes, these legends go to that school too

Kara is a junior, Kon is a sophomore, Jon is a freshman. They’re all on the football team (their dad comes to every game🥰)

Did anybody expect a woman or freshman to land on the varsity team the first year either of them tried out? No. But they made it anyways. Good for them

And football is just so different from their day-to-day personalities, sometimes it gives people whiplash

Kara pretty much runs the broadcast and yearbook teams, and she does it along with dominating the football field and gym

Conner looks like he’d deck you for looking at him wrong (I mean he might but like he won’t… probably), and he’s like. He makes good fashion choices. He’s the Bad Boy, which is funny considering his nerdy bf is the one with the motorcycle

Jon is fluffy?? So nice?? Sir who let an actual decent person on the varsity football team?? When someone spots Dami wearing his letterman at some point, they become the most popular couple at school. As freshmen. Slay for them tbh

Donna Troy is a senior. Fencing and beauty pageants is a weird combination. But she knows she’s pretty and she’s gonna make damn sure everybody else knows too

Cassie is a freshie, but she’s already on the fencing team as well and several people have seen her sparring with Damian (wHERE did he get KATANAS), and it looks like a couple of war gods who happen to be fifteen are fighting to the death for a few yards of shitty grass behind the school

Conner Hawke, Artemis Crock, Emiko Queen, Roy Harper, and Mia Dearden are the archery team captains. Yeah, there’s five of them, yeah, the coaches couldn’t pick because the kIDS ARE BETTER THAN THEM

(Ollie laughed so hard he fell out of his chair when they came home and told him that)

Roy is a junior and definitely brings his bow everywhere he shouldn’t. He also “accidentally” shot Jason once. Whenever someone asks about their meetcute they just laugh until the person gets scared and runs away

Conner is a sophomore but a bitter old man in his soul. What a king

Artemis is also a sophomore and everyone thinks she’s Ollie’s favorite because she’s like a mini-him, but Ollie doesn’t actually HAVE a favorite and she finds this claim hilarious

Mia, third sophomore, has a very strange attraction to the color yellow. She LOVES it. And she actually pulls it off, how awesome is she

Emi is a freshman but gets along with Dami pretty well, which isn’t surprising considering their matching deadpan humor and lowkey murderous rage constantly

Jackson Hyde broke Arthur’s record for fastest lap on his fourth try. He spends more time at the ocean than literally anywhere else

Wally West and Bart Allen are technically not related?? They’re like. Cousins. But Barry ended up officially adopting Wally (long story)

Anyways they’re actually cousins with Jesse Quick

The three of them DOMINATE track and field/ cross country/ physics club (yeah you read that last one right don’t even with me)

Wally is a senior and working towards becoming a forensic scientist for the cops. When someone asks why the fuck he wanted to do that to himself, he always jokes, “I’m not fast enough to be a serial killer so I guess I’ll help catch ‘em” and everyone is scared

Bart is a sophomore but should be a freshie, because he’s almost a full year younger, except that he skipped fifth grade and went straight to sixth. Tim and Kon pretend to be his adoptive parents and it’s like a soap opera watching these three act out a dramatic divorce arc

Jesse is a junior (alliteration go brr) but a younger one (summer birthday WOO) she definitely takes after Barry, especially in speed

SO people call their friend groups chaotic. What are you gonna do, go up and fuck with any of them? Bad idea

For fun, these assholes run a fight club after school with betting and rosters and everything, with anyone who signs up. FOR FUN. Once the batkids learned their dad has a black belt in like six different martial arts, it was all over

They say it’s a good workout

They’re probably not wrong, but still

Who the fuck wakes up and chooses violence on all their friends and family all in good fun to make MONEY OFF OF BEATING THEM UP

The most viral videos taken from their school is a push-up contest with all eight batkids, seven competing, Babs filming

Cass won.

LET me know if you want more for this. Because I’m gonna write more. But if you had specific suggestions or characters or scenarios or questions, I would love to write them

Good morning/ night/ 4am!! (PS BACK TO SCHOOL WOO)

[demigod-shenanigans]

The choiceless hope in grief (chapter 2)

Summary: Leo Valdez has lived and died for the gods. Their war has shaped his life since he was a baby. With Gaia defeated, he sort of hopes he can finally rest. He has friends and some semblance of home to return to for the first time since he was eight years old. Just this once, he allows himself to hope the good things might stick.

But the gods aren’t done with them just yet, and by the time Leo finds his way back, Jason is gone.

This time, Leo decides he’s done just taking the Fates’ bullshit lying down. If getting his best friend back means striking a deal with the gods and venturing into the Underworld… well, it’s probably not even the most reckless thing he’s ever done.

The caveat of said deal? He has to trust Jason will follow him, or his self-doubt will doom them both.

And after the life he’s lived, Leo is so intricately familiar with self-doubt that he could probably trademark the word.

Or: The only possible way for Orpheus to succeed is if he learns to think of himself as a person worth loving.

Word Count for chapter 2: ~6k

Rating: Teen and Up

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General notes for this chapter: -More grief/self-loathing themes. Not sure if I’ll be warning for those for each chapter individually since they’re quire relevant to the overall fic, but it’s been a minute, so I thought the reminder probably couldn’t hurt. (It having been a hot minute since I posted the first chapter is also the reason why I put the fic summary here again, I won’t do that for every chapter) -This does also go into the demigod deaths from Tyrant’s Tomb (at least a little bit). The death toll in that book is huge and I honestly found it really upsetting. I’m aware the Hunters don’t canonically stay behind to help rebuild but this is my fic and I can do what I want <3

-For my sanity and yours, we’re suspending our disbelief and taking the fact that Calypso is mentally sixteen in canon at face value. Her and Leo have a variety of problems, and, as should be clear by the premise of this fic, they’re not gonna last, but please note that I will be treating them both as traumatized teenagers.

———

Chapter 2: Piper tries to make burritos unsupervised

The first Iris Message came through on the ninth of April, barely ten minutes after breakfast. Piper’s dad was already at work, which at least meant they thankfully didn’t have to explain why there was a floating rainbow that had people’s faces in it chilling in the middle of the living room.

It was Thalia and Reyna. 

Leo hadn’t even realized they knew each other, but apparently the Hunters of Artemis—Diana, whatever—had come to Camp Jupiter’s aid. This should have been a relief, but there was no relief to be found in Reyna’s expression. The only flicker of joy he saw on her face was when she told them she’d be joining the Hunters.

It wasn’t the kind of decision Leo had expected from Reyna. Then again, she barely looked like the same girl that had shown Leo around New Rome with a proud smile, eagerly listening to and expanding on Leo’s ideas for fortifications and long-range weaponry. Had it really only been a few weeks since then? It felt like a lifetime ago now.

There was still that same grim set to Reyna’s jaw, but her usual proud posture looked more like she was… well, posturing, for lack of a better word. And the expression on her face… 

Leo knew that expression. He had seen it in the mirror many times as a child, and again in the last few weeks. It was the expression of someone who’d seen their home get burnt down to the foundations and found themself sitting in the wreckage.

He knew the kind of news they were getting even before Reyna started telling them what had happened.

Thalia was easier to look at—Thalia, whose grief was all fury, small bolts of electricity dancing through her dark hair like she was the human embodiment of a storm cloud.

At that moment, she looked nothing like Jason. It was such a relief that Leo almost cried.

They’d won the battle against the emperors, but Reyna called it a Pyrrhic victory—one that was so disastrous for the victors that it was basically indistinguishable from a defeat.

New Rome was in ruins. So many had been wounded. Even more people were dead.

Leo felt sick to his stomach. He’d known some of these demigods. Not well, admittedly, but he’d fought side by side with them. The thought that so many lives had been cut short, and that none of the gods had bothered to interfere for the longest time, despite the fact that it was their kids down there, made him want to punch something. 

Knowing that at least some of them had probably been friends with Jason in the life he’d never properly remembered, and how desperately Jason had always tried to protect everyone when the gods couldn’t be bothered to… 

Leo clenched his trembling fists, flames dancing in his curls and licking at his arms, all the way up to his elbows.

He needed to go outside and cool down for a bit to avoid lighting Piper’s bedroom on fire by accident.

~~~~ They were talking about Jason’s funeral when he got back. Thalia hadn’t been able to make it, which felt like a punch to the gut. She hadn’t found out he’d died until after it was already over. Percy and Annabeth still didn’t know, and Reyna wasn’t sure about Nico.

And there was the regret Leo had been so terribly afraid of feeling. He didn’t regret keeping Piper safe, especially not after hearing just how hard-won the ensuing battle had been. She was sitting here, next to him, alive, and nothing would ever make him regret that. It wasn’t even that he suddenly thought attending the funeral would have brought him any closure. How the fuck could there ever be closure for something like this?

But the thought of Jason, who’d been abandoned by both of his parents and had his memory wiped by his patron—whose camp had barely looked for him after he’d gone missing—going into death alone, surrounded mostly by strangers who had only known the person he’d been before he’d lost his memories, if that, made Leo feel sick to the stomach. 

It didn’t matter that he knew Jason would have cared more about them being safe than he would have about them attending the funeral. It felt like failing him all over again.

“I ditched you both in life, and now he’s gone, and I couldn’t even bother to be there for him, then.”

His eyes were swimming again. Piper wrapped her arms around him wordlessly. 

Reyna—serious, stoic, collected Reyna—had an expression on her face like she wanted to reach through the Iris Message and pat his head.

“I held some private rites for him,” Thalia said gently. It wasn’t worded as a suggestion, but the meaning was clear anyway. “I’ve also spent a lot of extra time shooting arrows at stuff lately. It helps, if only a little.”

“The only thing I could shoot here is Leo, and he hasn’t annoyed me that much yet,” Piper commented, so Leo promptly kicked her in the shin. “Ow! Actually, keep it up and I might use you for target practice, after all.”

“You can’t. I still owe Thalia hot sauce.”

It was such an absurd statement that even Reyna almost cracked a smile. “Yeah, I’m going to need context on that one.”

~~~~

Two hours later, a rainbow image of Frank and Hazel popped up. The worst part of that conversation was them asking how exactly it had happened, because apparently Apollo had performed a song about it, which had been emotional but not super clear on the details. Piper struggled to tell the story again, and she was reassured several times that she didn’t have to, but she pushed through. The only slight comfort was that Jason would have been dead right away—hopefully he hadn’t been in pain for long.

The second worst part of the conversation was way more mundane: Frank asking what their plans were going forward. 

Leo didn’t think there would be much going forward for him, just in general. In his mind, he’d been planning on staying in this reprieve forever—playing video games and getting lost in the woods with Piper as they continued to pointedly ignore the emptiness of the third chair at their little table.

Jason’s face kept popping up in his dreams, but the days were mostly bearable as long as he was here with Piper.

But then Piper talked about school, and the classes she was planning to take, and the possibility of college somewhere in the area. She talked about her dad and camping and maybe getting a job to help out.

Things that a person with a normal life would have done.

And, okay, maybe a part of Leo had realized that his idea of the future wasn’t exactly realistic. He also realized he couldn’t stay 

there forever. He didn’t want to be a burden on Piper and Tristan. He knew how long Piper had been wanting to properly spend time with her dad, and now she actually had the chance to, and here Leo was, inserting himself right into the middle of their already complicated father-daughter-relationship. He wasn’t supposed to be here, messing this up for her.

As much as he disliked thinking about this, he couldn’t keep ignoring that particular part of reality. He’d already spent too much of his life in homes where he wasn’t wanted. He couldn’t stand the thought of bothering Piper so much that she started feeling that way about him, too.

As good as it felt to see Hazel and Frank, a part of Leo was relieved when they ended that call. The even more horrible, selfish part of him was also glad Hazel had promised to be the one who told Nico. Leo didn’t know him that well, but he knew Nico didn’t have many friends and that he’d already lost too much. That particular breakdown Leo felt like he was in no way equipped to handle. He could hardly even deal with himself right now.

The calls didn’t stop. 

Piper’s siblings called, asking how she was and what had happened, and so they had to tell the story again, tearing off the scab and making their wounds bleed all over the place. 

Then, like everything else wasn’t bad enough, Leo got an IM from a very anxious Harley, who seemed relieved he was alive and asked when he was coming back to camp. 

“Don’t know yet,” Leo said, forcing a smile. “Probably not for a while. I’ll call you, though. I promise.”

He didn’t have the heart to tell his kid brother that he wasn’t sure he was ever coming back—that even thinking about stepping into this place that was brimming with memories of Jason made him feel sick to the stomach.

Leo supposed he couldn’t blame Reyna for wanting to leave behind a city full of ghosts when he couldn’t even handle one of them.

~~~~

Shel invited Piper out for coffee two days later. Via letter, of all things, because obviously Piper hadn’t had a phone number to give her but Shel apparently wouldn’t let that stop her.

“You falling out of a tree really did it for her, hm?” Leo teased, trying to read the letter over Piper’s shoulder. 

“Har. Har. Har.”

“Hey, you were the one who said you liked me being supportive and annoying.” He nudged her. “Come on, what’s it say?”

“Like I told you, she just asked me to grab coffee with her.” She folded the letter before he could get a proper look at it, but Leo knew it had way too much text to just be that. 

“Liar.”

“Okay, okay.” Piper held up her hands defensively. “She really did just ask, but she might have done it with a poem.”

“Damn.” Leo raised his eyebrows. “You think she’s picked out engagement rings yet?”

“Shut up.”

“I will refer back to your comment about liking that I’m supportive and annoying again! You’ll never get me to shut my mouth now. Besides, I did promise to make you regret saying you missed me,” he teased her. “I have a reputation to uphold.”

Piper snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Shel’s picking me up in an hour. Are you sure you’ll be alright here on your own?” 

It was clear that she was reluctant to leave him, especially since her dad was at work. 

Truthfully, Leo wasn’t super thrilled about the thought of being alone, either. But it was clear that Piper wanted to do this, and that was more important than him not wanting to be alone for a few hours.

He could totally do this. He’d spent a pretty large chunk of his life alone. He had plenty of experience keeping himself busy.

“I’ve third-wheeled on enough of your dates for one lifetime, thanks,” Leo informed her, still grinning. “Besides, I should probably call my own girlfriend. That’ll be a lot less awkward without you being around to give me shit.”

Because contacting Calypso may have barely crossed his mind in the past few weeks due to him being both a garbage boyfriend and a garbage person just in general, but at least in theory, they were still dating.

Piper stuck her tongue out at him, and he just hoped his laugh wasn’t too obviously fake.

“For the record, though, this won’t be a date,” Piper said determinedly. “I’m not- I don’t think that would be fair to Shel. Not when I still have so much to figure out, and not when I’m still dealing with… you know.”

“For the record, I don’t think Jason would be the type to show up and haunt his ex during dates. If he does, let me know, because then I might have to unfriend him post-mortem.”

He knew Piper didn’t love when he made these kinds of jokes, but she never told him to stop. Humor had always been how he coped. Piper got that.

“Leo.” Piper groaned, exasperated. “Be serious for a second, yeah?”

“Oh, I’m super serious. Possessive ghost exes are a total friendship dealbreaker for me.” Leo nudged her again. “As the resident expert on constantly getting rejected, maybe don’t take my advice on this, but I don’t think there’s a timeline for these things. It’s okay if you find her cute. I think he’d want you to be happy. That’s the kind of awful sap he is.”

Leo realized he’d slipped into present tense again, but he didn’t have it in him to correct himself. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I do find her cute. I just don’t think I’m ready for a relationship at the moment.”

“That’s fair.” Leo shrugged. “If I don’t get to be best man at your wedding, I’ll be really pissed, though.”

Piper stepped on his foot, so he kicked her in the leg and a moment later, they were swatting each other with pillows like they were little kids. Piper was actually laughing. For the first time in weeks, she seemed genuinely excited about something. And Leo wanted her to be happy. He was glad at least one of them was.

~~~~

The door closing behind Piper was terrifying. Suddenly, Leo was truly alone with his thoughts for the first time since Jason had died. Even late at night, when his thoughts inevitably drifted in all kinds of awful directions, Piper was there. Even if she was asleep and all he could do was hear her breathing, that still helped. This? Being alone with his thoughts in a completely quiet room? 0/10 experience, would not recommend.

He didn’t give himself much time to think. He rummaged around in his tool belt and pulled out a golden drachma for an Iris Message—as upset as Leo was with all the gods right now, he supposed at least his dad had the decency to actually give him an allowance—then pulled out the device he’d been working on. It was a small cylinder, no larger than the palm of his hand, and it obediently folded out into a prism at the push of a button. You just needed to fill it with water, switch it on, and voilà: you got yourself a rainbow. It even had an inbuilt flashlight in case you needed to use it when the sun was out.

He tried to swallow his anxiety and flipped the drachma into the rainbow.

“Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Calypso. Waystation, Indianapolis.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the rainbow flickered and an image appeared—blurry at first, then slowly taking shape. Calypso was sitting at a desk by a window, brooding over some notebook that almost looked like…

Leo blinked.

“Huh, am just heroically saving you from your homework?”

Calypso’s head snapped up. Her eyes went wide as saucers. “Leo?” 

“I do recall that being my name, yes.” He grinned and waved. “Hi.”

He tried to remember how to talk to Calypso. The thing was, Leo wasn’t sure he’d ever actually known. Hell, even if he had, how exactly did you greet a girl you’d sort of ditched a few weeks ago and hadn’t called since?

Calypso didn’t look very amused. “Where are you? You were gone so long that- I was beginning to think you’d died!”

“Well, yeah, I did,” Leo said with a shrug. “That’s how I rescued you, remember?” 

It was easier to say that than to say anything else. To admit it really did feel like there was a part of him that had died and that he was never getting back. He didn’t want to have to actually talk about Jason—to tell the story again—especially not without Piper there. 

He realized his mistake a moment too late. Calypso’s eyes flared with anger.

“For the last time, you did not rescue me!” she snapped. “And do you think that’s funny? You disappear for weeks without a word, and that’s one of the first things you say to me? Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

Right. Joking back and forth with Piper had been so natural and easy that he’d briefly forgotten Calypso didn’t like it when he did that.

Okay, admittedly, Piper probably wouldn’t have appreciated that particular joke either. She would have crossed her arms and told him off. But they would have been okay, after.

He never felt like he and Calypso were okay, coming out of these arguments. Most of the time, he just felt like shit.

“Yeah, well, things happened. And it’s not my fault communications were down.” He didn’t look at the image in the rainbow.

“What is it?” Her voice softened a little. “What happened?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Well that’s not exactly helpful,” she huffed. “Will you tell me when you’re coming back home, at least? Maybe we can talk then.”

Leo was pretty sure he visibly winced at the word ‘home’. He wasn’t sure what the Waystation was, but he’d only spent a few days there. It wasn’t a bad place, but it most definitely wasn’t home. Home had burnt down when he’d been eight years old. The only other home Leo had ever found was ashes scattered across the ruins of New Rome now. 

Leo pushed the thought away. He had to keep it together. 

“I… listen, I don’t know yet. I just need some time to… I don’t know. Process, I guess.” 

“Process whatever it is you’re refusing to tell me about.” Calypso crossed her arms. “Fine. But you are coming back?”

There was an edge to her voice now—that of someone who had been left behind a few too many times. Over the course of her life, every person who’d ever kept her company had eventually dipped and left her heartbroken, never sparing her another thought. 

And now Leo had done the exact same thing.

Wow, he was a terrible person.

“Obviously.”

He couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t continue bothering Piper when she clearly wanted to at least try to move on. And he had promised Calypso to try and stay somewhere with her—to live a normal life with her. Going back on that wasn’t fair to her. Not even when he was sure he was too broken to live that kind of life—too broken for anyone to ever properly put him back together. 

Staying here wasn’t fair on poor Festus, either. Leo knew his dragon friend didn’t like being folded up into suitcase form as much as he was, but Piper’s new home wasn’t exactly made for huge metal dragons. 

Leo tried to keep talking to Calypso. He really did. She lit up a little when he asked about school, and so they talked about that for a while. Calypso told him about classmates she got along with and how she liked marching band and Emmie tutoring her in the subjects she didn’t understand. 

Leo listened and tried to get past the fact that he just didn’t get it. He tried to grasp her excitement for a place that had at best been boring as hell and at worst been actual torture for him. 

“That sounds… I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I wish you were here. You’ve already missed several weeks of classes, but I think you’d like this school.”

Leo almost laughed. “I highly doubt that. They have yet to invent a school that can even contain me, never mind one that I actually like.” 

“If you’re still refusing to engage in any sort of actual conversation with me that even vaguely implies there is a future where you may be coming back,” Calypso said bitingly, “will you at least tell me where you are so we can all stop worrying so much?” Leo kept brushing past the answer to that question because he knew it would prompt more questions that he wasn’t ready to get into. “Did you manage to help Camp Jupiter?”

“I-” Leo’s throat closed up. Not enough, his brain supplied. I couldn’t save Jason, and I couldn’t protect his home, either. I’m not sure me going there made a difference at all. He couldn’t bring himself to say any of that. “Kind of. I’m with Piper right now.”

Calypso’s expression soured even further.

“You ditched me and let me think you were dead for weeks so you could hang out with your friends? Let me guess, Jason is there, too.”

Somewhere, there was a rational part of Leo’s brain that realized this did sound bad. If he had been listening to that rational part right now, he probably could have had a mature conversation about this with Calypso. They could have resolved this like reasonable people.

But at the mention of Jason’s name, he just shut down. He did not tell Calypso anything. He just hung up on her.

~~~~

Leo showered, so by the time Piper got home he didn’t look like he’d spent the past hour curled up in a corner, bawling his eyes out.

Piper wasn’t an idiot, though. She knew that something was up the second she stepped through the door to find Leo in the kitchen making burritos.

“You okay?”

“Just got hungry.” He shrugged, like he wasn’t in fact trying to cook out the feelings he hadn’t been able to get rid of with his tears. It hadn’t really worked—cooking couldn’t exactly fix relationship issues or the fact that his best friend was dead—but rolling up the ingredients in one of his handmade tortillas at least helped keep his hands busy, and he actually was a little hungry. “You can have one, if you didn’t already eat on your date. Ingredients are pick what you want,” he said, gesturing at the mess of bowls and the still sizzling pan of fried tofu, “but they’re all vegetarian.”

“You are my favorite person in the whole entire world, and also definitely trying to distract me,” Piper said, shaking her head, but she did move to fill up one of the still-warm tortillas with a ridiculous amount of black beans, lettuce and tofu, combined with not nearly enough salsa, as far as Leo was concerned. “And it wasn’t a date.”

“Mhm, sure. Did you guys-” Leo broke off in horror. He’d been watching Piper work, and sure, he’d been lovingly judging some of her completely unbalanced food combos in his head, but this he could no longer tolerate. “Pipes, what in the world are you doing? I’m unfriending you.” 

He set his own food down on his plate and moved to stand beside his best friend. Screw the date interrogation, for now he had to save Piper’s poor tortured burrito.

“I thought I just had to roll the tortilla. Did I put too much stuff on it and that’s why it doesn’t work?”

She’d been trying to roll the entire thing in a single direction, impressively managing to make her excessive amounts of filling spill out of three sides at once. 

“This is what I get for briefly forgetting you grew up a rich kid with a private chef,” Leo groaned, shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief. He gently shoved Piper away from the kitchen counter to do rescue breathing on her half-slaughtered dinner. “You can’t roll it like that, you absolute heathen. You need to tuck the sides in. Here, like this. That way you won’t end up with ingredients all the way down your shirt.”

He gently opened the tortilla back up, took a spoon to move the filling Piper hadn’t spilled to the middle and then rolled it properly, like his mom had shown him when he’d been five. He made a point of doing it way slower than necessary, like he actually expected Piper to memorize the steps and maybe take notes.

“Okay, okay, point taken.” Piper raised her hands. “But heathen is a hilarious insult considering we both have a Greek god for a parent.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a riot.” Leo grinned, neatly cutting the burrito down the middle and handing the plate back to Piper. Then, he started wiping down the counter. Kitchens were the only work spaces Leo had ever properly bothered to keep tidy. “Now that neither you nor your food are at immediate risk of death, tell me how things went with Shel. You engaged yet? For your sake, I hope she’s better at rolling burritos than you, because otherwise you’re both doomed.”

He made a show of looking at her hands like he was actually expecting to find a ring.

“Shut up.” Piper rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “It was pretty great, actually.”

“Hello? Details?” Leo waved his hands in circles for emphasis. “You don’t seriously think I’m letting you off the hook that easily, do you?”

Instead of moving towards the table like she should have, Piper flopped down on the small couch with her food, so Leo grabbed his plate and joined her there. He wasn’t complaining about dinner on the couch.

“I’m only telling you if you tell me what’s up with you first. Because, distraction or not, you won’t get rid of me that easily, either.” She nudged him gently, then stuffed her mouth with food like she was trying to emphasize she wouldn’t go first.

Her face melted into a completely content expression, and Leo immediately felt happier.

“That good, hm?” Piper made a humming noise of confirmation. “Then I think you owe it to me to tell me how your date was. I promise I’ll tell you what’s up with me after,” Leo said with a grin.

He knew he had to give her something or she would never talk, but he really wanted to hear about Piper’s day before he went and ruined the mood.

“Ugh. You’re the worst.” Piper sighed, letting herself fall against the sofa’s backrest dramatically. “Fine. But only because you’ll be completely unbearable otherwise.”

“You know me so well.”

Leo tried not to feel a sting at how great Piper’s day had been without him there. What he felt when she talked wasn’t the same painful sting he’d felt when it had been her and Jason dating, though Leo couldn’t quite explain why. Most of him didn’t mind this. Hell, most of him was happy for her.

But it certainly didn’t help the feeling that he wasn’t exactly needed here.

The not-date itself actually sounded pretty nice, as long as Leo managed to make all the useless voices in his head shut up.

Shel and Piper had grabbed coffee (which Leo couldn’t sympathize with) and just talked for ages. Shel was apparently on her school’s swimming team, did theatre in her free time and liked a lot of the same music and movies as Piper. She’d lived in Tahlequah her entire life. She’d also known she was a lesbian since she was eight years old.

At that point, Piper had apparently felt like she owed her some sort of heads up—both about the fact that she was still new to all this and about having recently lost a really close friend that she’d dated at some point and how that didn’t leave her with much headspace to figure out… everything else.

That seemed like a lot to share so early on, but Piper said Shel hadn’t minded. She’d just thanked her for being so honest, and told her she was there if Piper needed someone to talk everything through with.

“Which I obviously can’t, because well, if I told her a Roman Emperor came back to life and stabbed my ex, she’d definitely think I’ve lost it completely, but it’s a nice sentiment.”

“Yeah, I thought everything else was already a bit much, but ‘my mom is a Greek goddess, I can brainwash people and me and my friends saved the world last year’ really isn’t a conversation for a first date.”

Leo wasn’t sure how Piper could stand it. The thought of having to keep most of his life secret from a mortal parent and any new friends he made seemed impossible to him. Hell, even if he’d wanted to, Leo was pretty sure he’d inevitably slip up and make a joke about the time he almost got eaten by a giant killer shrimp, and that was if he didn’t anxiously catch himself on fire first.

“Anyway, she said it’s totally understandable that I need time, and if the worst she can get out of this is a friendship with a pretty girl, that’s still a win in her book. And she still insisted on paying, to welcome me here,” Piper told Leo fondly. “It was… I don’t know. She’s nice. I’ll probably end up at the same school as her, and she’s offered to show me around.”

“So, how soon can I expect a wedding invite?” Leo asked with a grin. “You’ll remember the best man thing, right?”

“Keep this up and you won't get an invite if I do actually get married one day,” she teased back, gently flicking him in the head. “Now, tell me what’s going on with you. You promised. Did your call with your girlfriend go okay?”

Leo winced, which was answer enough in his opinion, but he knew Piper would disagree with him on that one. He still didn’t want to have this conversation. He also really didn’t want to bring Piper down when she’d finally had a good day for the first time in ages.

But she was looking at him expectantly, and Leo knew that no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to get out of this one.

“It wasn’t great. Apparently, me being gone for so long had everyone pretty worried. Go figure,” he admitted, hoping he could avoid elaborating. He didn’t exactly want to dump all of his relationship issues on Piper, especially since there wasn’t anything she could do to fix them. He knew it was sort of necessary to keep talking, but he could barely get the words out. “And, uh. Because of that, I think it might be time for me to head back to the Waystation.”

It was something he’d been thinking about on and off since that IM with Frank and Hazel. And as much as the thought of going back made his stomach pool with dread, the call with Calypso had just sealed the deal. Once he’d managed to stop crying like a baby and his heart had quit throbbing out a painful rhythm of Jason, Jason, Jason until he couldn’t breathe, Leo had at least tried to figure out what he wanted to do now. He couldn’t keep staying with Piper, who was finally starting to be somewhat okay again. He couldn’t keep ignoring the fact that he’d just ditched Calypso for the world’s longest, most depressing sleepover.

If he wanted any chance to salvage that situation, and if he wanted to give Piper a chance to actually move on instead of continuously dragging her down with him when he didn’t want to move on the way she was trying to, then he had to go back to the Waystation.

The teasing smile slid off Piper’s face.

“Oh,” she said, her lip wobbling a little. “Do you really have to go?”

Leo felt almost relieved that Piper seemed sad, though he realized maybe that was a bit of a shitty reaction on his part. At least he hadn’t completely annoyed his way out of this friendship just yet.

“See, that’s why I refused to go first. Instant mood killer.” He tried for a half-smile. “But yeah, I should probably go back soon. I’ve kind of been neglecting my girlfriend a whole bunch—I haven’t seen her in over a month, which is pretty shitty of me. Besides, poor Festus deserves to be in a place where it’s easier for him to stretch his legs. You know he doesn’t like being in sleep cycle this much.”

Piper wrapped her arms around herself. “I guess that makes sense, but- do you have to leave right now?” 

Leo shrugged. “I mean, I don’t think another day or two will make a difference at this point. I’m going to get an earful once I get back either way.”

“Okay. Good. I know that you can’t stay here forever. But I need a few more days with you. I’m sure Festus will forgive you eventually.” Piper was obviously trying to sound like she was teasing him, but something pleading, almost desperate crept into her voice, which had Leo worried. 

“Yeah. Festus.” Leo cringed internally. He actually wasn’t all that worried about Festus staying mad at him—sure, he might pout for a bit and would probably complain most of the way back to the Waystation, but he was usually easily appeased with enough motor oil, Tabasco sauce and maybe an upgrade or two.

Leo was unfortunately pretty sure his relationship issues with Calypso would need fixing that was beyond the magical abilities of Tabasco sauce—though what would fix them, he had absolutely no idea.

Them having problems wasn’t exactly new, and hadn’t entirely been caused by him running off on her now—even if that admittedly hadn’t helped.

“So, are we doing the world’s longest goodbye movie marathon, or do you need me for anything specific?” Leo joked, trying to hide his relief at getting to stay for a few more days, consequences for his relationship with Calypso be damned. “I know you’ve been lucky to bask in my presence for so long, I’d be reluctant to let me go, too, but that sounded like you might have actual plans.”

Piper didn’t laugh. She didn’t even roll her eyes at him, which was a terrible sign. 

“If you really have to leave, there’s something I want to do first.” She reached out and took his hands with shaking fingers. “I- I’ve been thinking. About what Thalia said. And I want to find a way to properly say goodbye, too. But I don’t think I can do this without you.”

Leo felt like someone had punched him. He could basically feel the way all color drained from his face at Piper’s words.

“I- I don’t know if I can-” he stammered, fighting his instinct to immediately turn on his heels and run—out of this room and this house and preferably the entire state of Oklahoma.

Joking about it was one thing. Facing the reality of it—the fact that Jason was truly gone and he’d never get to see him or hug him or joke with him again—was an entirely different beast.

Leo wasn’t sure he was ready for that. He wasn’t sure he would ever be ready for that.

“You don’t have to say or do anything you don’t want to. I promise,” Piper told him, gently squeezing his hand. “I won’t force you to do anything you don’t feel ready for, okay? I just need you there. Please?”

Piper wasn’t charmspeaking him. Leo would have known if she was, and he knew that she’d never do that to him—not when it came to something as important as this. But she was looking at him with such wild desperation in her eyes that it was still impossible for him to say no.

It didn’t matter if this didn’t help him. Piper needed it. He’d left her for over six months. She was the one who’d actually been present when Jason had died.

The thought of that kept him up at night. He kept imagining Piper kneeling over Jason. Piper shaking Jason’s shoulders and screaming his name, hoping desperately for an answer she’d never receive. Piper clutching Jason’s body to her chest for the very last time. Piper wailing on that awful beach while Leo was a thousand miles away.

He hadn’t been there for her when she’d needed him the most. This was the least he could do to start making things up to her.

“Okay,” he said, reaching out to pull Piper into his arms. It was a mostly selfish act, really—if he hadn’t been holding onto something, Leo wasn’t sure how he would have kept himself from falling apart. “What do you want to do?”

“Jason wasn’t just a Roman demigod. Not since-” Piper broke off, but Leo caught her meaning anyway. Not since he met us. “He belonged to both camps. That was important to him. I think he should have a proper Camp Half-Blood funeral, too.”

———

Some more notes:

So, it’s been six months since I posted the first chapter of this fic and about fourteen months since I first started working on it, and I am delighted to announce that it’s finally done! I can therefore reliably promise both weekly updates and that this fic won’t be abandoned partway through! Hooray!

It still feels kind of dizzying whenever I think about this story actually being done considering how long it’s been my main writing project. I originally thought this whole fic was going to be done in like three chapters. It turns out what my brain wanted instead was a whole Leo Valdez novel. I cannot say that I, personally, am upset about this outcome.

Special shout-out to my friends who have listened to me ramble and rant about this fic for months LMAO

I poured a lot of love into this story and I hope you’ll have a good time with it! Comments obviously super, super appreciated. Thank you all for reading!

Tag list: @poppitron360 @bookIshpolythist @lilyfrey @lady-silkwing @intenebrisobscurat @manygeese @ann-rex

(If anyone wants to be added/removed from the tag list, let me know!)

[skittlesaus]

Epic The Musical LWA and RWBY Cast

I've had this thought stuck in my head for like half a year now and I finally want to talk about it😂 this post is for the small community of people that have listened to Epic, watched lwa, AND watched at least a season or two of rwby. ANNNND enjoyed the heck out of all three (and really likes Diana but that makes the 'small community' bar even lower).

The post in short is:

Diana would make an amazing Odysseus. Pleeeease think about it. Ody when he's at his most depressed and angsty? Ody when he's being a confident leader? Diana would be able to pull everything and more off perfectly.

Now the post in long form:

So in my head, the girls from lwa and rwby are in a modern AU (it's actually a University Glee AU that I have and will probably never write) and are acting out Epic the Musical for funsies. I tried to have only the lwa girls be the cast but I could NOT make it work. Honestly I'm still flopping back and forth on what is the perfect cast. Its apart of the reason I'm making this post. I'm hoping to get someone's thoughts on it.

So the cast! I'll write it in a loose order of when the characters have speaking lines.

Odysseus: Diana

Eurylochus: Akko/Amanda/Hannah/Someone else. I feel like I'm having trouble placing this position the most. Amanda would be a good fit but I think she would be an even better Poseidon. Amanda being Poseidon would work with her and Diana's dynamic too. Akko would be good but I think Akko would work better in other spots. Same with Hannah.

Polites: Hannah/Akko. Now as I said above, i think Akko would be fantastic in other positions. Mainly older Telemachus, i think she would be perfect for him. But she has the personality to work for this position. Perhaps we could do a Hamilton and kill Akko off here and respawn her as Tele. Now I really like Hannah in this spot cause in my Glee AU Diana/Hannah/Barbara have been friends since childhood. So casting Hannah in this spot would really work from a friends pov. In my head, it allows Dia to act out Polites' death even better.

Athena: Pyrrha. No words, it's perf 👌 oh well now that I'm thinking about it Chariot would also work for all the Chariot fans. So Pyrrha/Chariot.

Polyphemus: Will basically be the voice of Jasminka

Wind God Aeolus: Nora. Okay okay I know Nora has the whole lightning thing which would make for a good Zeus, buuut I think a different character would fit Zeus' vibe better😌

Penelope: Lotte. Pen sings in Keep your Friends Close right?? Anyways as much as I would like a Diakko Ody and Pen, Akko would be better suited in different spots.

Poseidon: Amanda.

Circe: Weiss. Heh. Imagine it. Weiss and Diana acting out that scene between Ody and Circe? You know. The scene. Heh😏

Hermes: Ruby. I think Ruby may or may not work here but I also cant think of anyone better.

Tiresias the Prophet: Blake/Sucy

Zeus: Yang. I think Yang would be a spectacular Zeus😂 i feel like she could bring out those vibes in a way that works better than Nora

Telemachus: Akko/Ruby. Literally the only people I can imagine in this spot. I think Akko would work the best.

Calypso: Barbara/Lotte/Nora/Velvet/Listen I'm really not sure. Probably Barbara.

Apollo: To be honest I have no clue. Ren/Velvet maybe?

Hephaestus: Jasminka/Constanze no cap. Would be perfect. Jas if you head cannon Cons to be mute. Cons if you don't.

Aphrodite: another idk. Uhh coco? Nooo. Uhh. Lmao I dunno guys

Ares: another idk here. Imma need yall to decide. Amanda/Yang could work but you know. Got them in better places. Maybe that tall guy? Velvet's teammate? Yats...Yatsu? But i think he's a peaceful dude so idk.

Hera: Yeah I struggle with casting for all these gods. When I'm listening to the musical and I get to God Games the only girls from the lwa and rwby cast I visualize is Yang for Zeus and Jas for Hephaestus. So uhhh idk someone choose Hera for me.

Aaaand the asshole Antinous: I'm sorry but I visualize Coco. I know Coco would never be that awful but I think she could act out those nastyass vibes. Croix could work also. Coco/Croix.

I think that's it! For the one or two people who were interested enough to make it this far, give Epic a listen with this cast in mind and tell me your thoughts. And let me know your thoughts for characters i might have missed. Like Scylla or that guy who stabs Ody in Mutiny. I imagine him to be Sucy lmao.

[confusedhummingbird]

Remaking this post because my previous one got flagged

I wanna talk about an underrated and lesser known character named Vanessa Kapatelis.

Vanessa Kapatelis for those who don't know was introduced in George Perez's Wonder Woman series. Diana, who was new to man's world and a new hero lived with Julia Kapatelis, an architect and her young teenage daughter, Vanessa "Nessie" Kapatelis.

Both Julia and Nessie are important to Diana in so many ways. Diana views them both as her family and especially views Nessie as her little sister. She was someone who was around for 100 issues and through those issues being around Diana brought her both joy and pain. Because Diana didn't have a secret identity and was Wonder Woman 24/7 and was very public with her identity and the knowledge that she lived with the Kapatelis's. So their lives were constantly threatened especially with Doctor Psycho. And another issue was Nessie also dealt with was her best friend committing suicide partly because she felt very self-conscious and jealous of Nessie being able to have such a good life with her Mother and Diana. And she is only about 13-14 at this time so dealing with all of this at a young age and she's not powered in anyway. She's just a normal girl.

Eventually Julia suggests that Diana should see a former student of her's Helena Sandsmark to further help her. And there we meet Helena Sandsmark and of course the second Wonder Girl, her daughter Cassie Sandsmark.

And shortly there Cassie works to become Wonder Girl first by stealing magic artifacts to save Diana and then later going up to Zeus and asking for real powers. And after that she's shortly granted the official Wonder Girl name and even Donna's old costume.

Something Nessie was never able to have (For Infinite Crisis retcon reasons but still) And after Cassie becomes Wonder Girl we see very little of Nessie or Julia as time goes on.

This leads to after Diana misses a meet up with Nessie, she's kidnapped by Doctor Psycho and Circe.

And she's brainwashed by Doctor Psycho using her feelings of abandonment and her jealousy of Cassie and augments her into the third Silver Swan

Where she attacks Cassie's school, home, and Helena's work because of her anger and hatred. Diana tries to talk her down but she's hearing none of it.

Eventually after a few encounters Diana is able to defeat Vanessa and sends her to a hospital in the hopes they can heal her injuries however she's stolen from the hospital and augmented even further.

And is sent to fight Diana again and again Diana is able to beat her and break through her brainwashing after Doctor Psycho is shot.

And she takes her to sister Amazons to save her life and get rid of the implants and Diana is able to get a doctor to fully save Nessie.

After this Nessie is able to go back to a normal life and graduate and her and Diana truly make up and forgive. She's able to have her happily ever after (Til Rebirth)

[fables-if]

Again, please feel free to take your time answering as I swarm your ask box!

How would the romanced ROs react to MC crying, especially when they rarely cry? They find out that MC does cry, but just not in front of them (or like, anyone other than Rami) cause 'I don't wanna be a bother sniffles'

Also, please include Granny too, with kid MC (though I doubt kid MC would be any good at hiding it, but what do I know lol)

God, I love these questions, Otter. I'm so grateful you have taken an interest in my little story and characters <3 Ana: Ana would immediately be worried that they're physically harmed and would go to check for a wound. Once she confirms MC is okay, at least their body is okay, she would hug MC and let them cry and try to make them tell her what's going on? or at least to unburden themselves with her. Once she hears them say "I don't wanna be a bother" she'll get furious internally because who dares tell someone as precious as them that they are a bother. She would immediately try to reassure them that they are not a bother, that she wants to get to know them all, not just the "nice parts" and that above everything she's there for them. To talk, to blow off steam, to be vulnerable... to do anything they need to. After that, she would regularly check with MC, making sure they're okay and leaving constant letters, herb remedies, and treats for Rami and them... and leaving always the door open for them to come and talk to her, because she cares. I think she comes off a bit strong but she's deeply emphatic with others but tries to protect herself as well. Diana/Diego/Dix: They would assume someone has tried to hurt them and would also check for physical wounds. They would be less sweet and gentle, more rushed and tense. Thinking the worst always. Once they hear MC say that they never cry in front of them because they don't want to be a bother, they'll get so fucking angry.

"Who has told you that you are a bother and how do I find them?" 100% set on beating the living hell out of whoever has hurt MC and making them think that being vulnerable or crying is bothersome for anyone around them. Dix would be so ready to just make sure that never happens again, even if they have to rough up someone or be a constant threat to future friends, and partners in MC's life. They'd have a hard time comforting MC, they would awkwardly pat their back while giving them a tense hug, and once MC is doing a little bit better, Dix would take them to their home so MC can pet their ferrets for comfort since they are not very good at it.

Anne/Antón/An: An would immediately come rushing to hug MC, a big bear hug that would warm their bones, would make sure they sit down and offer them a bit of water or a warm beverage. Get them comfy, and would just kneel on the floor, holding their hands, waiting for MC to tell them what's up. They have never seen MC like this, even when they were children MC would never ever cry so for An this is a big deal.

Once MC tells An that they don't cry in front of people because they don't want to be a bother, An changes. They're a very sweet person but a rage ignites in them when they hear that. Who dares to tell their best friend such a thing? They would imminently tense up and get this weird look in their eyes but wouldn't say a thing. An would hug MC tenderly, stroking their hair softly while they plot a murder in their mind. They would let MC know that they're never a burden and that they should cry anytime they need to, that that is normal and they shouldn't feel guilt or shame for crying. Then An would make sure to find out who told them that and would have a road trip with Dix to make sure that person regretted it lmao. Bingen: Bingen, as the sensitive soul he is, would immediately hold MC tightly, and bring them to a place where they can have privacy. He would hug them and talk them through it or sing to them while they cried very softly. Once MC can talk a little bit better, he would ask them what's going on and if he can do anything to help. He would stand by, stroking their hair and face while MC talks, not saying anything.

Once MC opens up about not wanting to be a bother, he'll just hug them. He knows how is it to live like that and he's sympathetic to it but he has a hard time with words so he hopes his hug helps. Once MC calms down, he tries explaining to him that he knows how it is to feel like that but he can confirm they are not a bother and he's always willing to listen and be there for them.

Caterina: (I forgot about her) Caterina knows her grandchild better than anyone, so she knew that a child that had lost all family and didn't have anyone to take them under their wing wouldn't have an easy life. When MC was a child, they would hide in little spaces around the house to cry and did so silently or as silently as they could. Caterina finally found them one day, during the first month of their lives together, under the stairs, trying to keep their sobs as silent as possible. Their little body shook with every breath. Caterina, who by that time was no youngling, crouched down and crawled under the stairs, sitting next to kid!MC. MC couldn't look at her, hiding their face behind their hands but Caterina could tell they were crying so she just put a hand on their shoulder and brought them into a hug. A big tender and heartbreaking hug. MC just cried on her shoulder for so long, not even able to state the reason why and Caterina just stayed, listening.

Once MC was doing a little better, Caterina invited them to go to the living room together and drink a little bit of hot chocolate with some rosquillas (homemade spanish donuts made with spices). She did sign MC up for a child psychologist and would follow their advice on how to deal with grief but some stuff stayed in the way they handle the world

[briarmoon1015]

Have some headcanons of the league being genuine friends with Bruce to combat all the aus and headcanons that the league know nothing about him and his family :))

Barry and Bruce get along super well. Bruce and Barry often compare cases and love talking about detective stuff together. Both go to each other to geek out about cases, more so Barry than Bruce, but either way they enjoy it. They are also the most introverted on the team, so they often will have moments when they need a break and find the other doing the same thing. They both find a lot of comfort in silently being able to enjoy each other’s company. Dick and Wally get along so well because Bruce and Barry were always down to hang out with each other.

Hal and Bruce obviously don’t get along super great, but they respect each other massively. Bruce actually took advice from Hal about the Batplane, and has even let him fly it. Their birthdays are also a day apart, so the league often throws shared parties for them. They have a friendly competition to see who can make a better cake everytime. They both lose, of course, because neither are good at baking. Luckily Barry doesn’t seem to mind finishing them off for everyone else.

Diana is very close to Bruce as well, but out of everyone, is mostly likely to actually touch him without losing a finger. Diana has a habit of picking up the closest person when excited and swinging them around, and when Bruce happened to be said person, all the other leaguers nearly lost it. They are also each others favorite sparring partners, as they both feel as if they learn something new every time.

Clark and Bruce are clearly besties, but are super competitive with one another. They often compete to get each other better gifts, Clark’s being insanely thoughtful, and Bruce’s being insanely expensive, as well as trying to mess with the other while at work. Clark will help the daily planet write about how Batman fell off a roof during a league battle, Bruce will post on Twitter every time Clark makes a spelling mistake. It’s all in good fun, but the league totally takes advantage of it to get the two off their backs.

J’onn is also one of Bruce’s favorites. It took a while for Bruce to warm up to J’onn, mostly because the mind reading thing put him on edge, but as soon as Bruce saw the tactile advantage, he was all over it. J’onn loves exploring Earths culture, and often enjoys watching movies with Bruce, who is somewhat of a movie buff for the classics. Bruce’s tendency to over analysis them is very enduring for J’onn, as the constant chattering is informational, as well as remind him of the constant telepathy on Mars.

Oliver and Bruce have known each other the longest, as their families wealth has caused them to run into each other before they were heroes. They often like to tag up at undercover missions and during business deals, as the familiarity is quite nice, especially in such a secretive occupation. Being able to cancel a meeting because Scarecrow just decided to go gas downtown Gotham is much easier to explain when your business partner gets it. They also have a one sided competition, but it’s only on Oliver’s side. He ties hard to outclass Batman both as Queen Industry’s and as Green Arrow, but it never seems to work. However, Oliver is a surprisingly good sport about it.

Dinah is one of Bruce’s other favorite sparring partners. Her skill is similar to his, and fighting someone who also can’t lift up a bus is a nice change of pace from time to time. Dinah often tries to tell him gossip, of which Bruce always denies wanting to hear, but gives in quite quickly. Often times people chalk up Bruce knowing what’s going on as him being Batman, but he’s actually just getting the information from Canary, who is much better at reading social cues than him. He knows when he needs to outsource lol.