#bruce carrying his (grown adult) children

[sylvemooniet]

Dead Little Bird

Word count: 4,078 words

Centric: Bruce Wayne & Jason Todd (father/son relation)

Trigger warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical death

Summary: which Bruce isn't Batman, but his children are still Robins.

Bruce was familiar with the "Robin" codename so many kids used to fight crime on their own. He already has met Dick Grayson, the little acrobatic orphan, so determined to protect the kids from bullies.

Dick was sometimes aggressive, Bruce couldn't say the contrary. He was surprised by how violently Robin beat the Wayne's kidnappers. Bruce couldn't blame him, that kid was an orphan, he needed to unleash his anger on something.

Many people didn't know how the famous billionaire playboy had soft spots for kids, especially orphans. After all, he was an orphan himself.

No one suspected a thing when the great Philanthropist adopted such a "poor helpless kid" like the little Grayson. It was funny how people theorized that the new Wayne was actually dating the mysterious Robin.

And still no one suspected when a new vigilante appeared on Bludhaven the same time the young Wayne moved away. Bruce was "alone" again. Even if he had Alfred, he missed his little Robin, but he was still proud of his Nightwing.

Then, there was a new kid. A new Robin. Such a bright smile and a great attitude, along with a fighting style obviously coming from the streets. The first time they met, he said to Bruce:

"Am I your new bodyguard now, old man?"

Wayne's memory of that day was clear as crystal, he remembers the boy headbutted one of the billionaire's kidnappers when saying that. That kid had a spark on his eyes, the spark Bruce already saw, on himself.

When the new Robin appeared in Bruce's life, the media joked about the philanthropist being a magnet to the vigilante children. And well, they weren't exactly wrong.

Besides Dick quickly revealing his identity to Bruce, it wasn't the same situation with the new kid. He even asked Alfred to do a research in all Gotham City's orphanages to find out more about the boy, but there was nothing, there was no one who looked like the new Robin. Bruce forgot the kid wasn't like Grayson, maybe he had parents, but would they really let a twelve-years-old fight crime?

Wayne offered the boy a decent Robin uniform, hence the kid's one was just dirty and fragile clothes that wouldn't help him fight crime. But the kid refused without thinking twice.

"I don't need your charity, old man. I know how to take care of myself."

The various scars on the kid's body proved he was lying. Even with the optimistic attitude and strength, there was still a truth: no Robin lasts too long.

Grayson was quite lucky, he became popular, he had support, he had Bruce. Dick was one of the only Robins who could grow up to be a better hero. It wasn't rare to see in the news about the police finding a body of a kid wearing red and green with a poorly sewed R brand.

And Bruce didn't want to see such a determined kid dead. But one night, he was just leaving a party, when he saw the kid fighting some thugs like always, but the boy obviously didn't have any advantage. Wayne's bodyguards got into action as he ordered, helping the little boy to win the fight.

But he was already unconscious. His small body was completely bruised, a reminder of a child who's already a soldier. It was unfair of a kid fighting against grown adults.

"Sir, he's still breathing."

So Bruce brought him home. It surprised Alfred to see him carrying a child in his arms again, he hadn't seen a scene like that since Dick had grown up.

When Grayson paid a visit in the next morning, he didn't expect to see a new Robin kid at the Wayne Manor. The butler told him about the last night, about how Bruce found him barely alive.

And the little boy was surprised when he woke up in a strange bed, in a strange room, with the billionaire old man he liked to provoke.

"Uhh, do you collect children or something?"

It was the first thing he said to Bruce when he woke up. He was still wearing his bloody clothes, but there was Dick's old clothes on the nightstand for him.

"Wasn't I supposed to be your bodyguard, old man? Not the contrary."

He tried to get off of the bed, but even after Alfred taking care of his wounds, it still hurt. Then, he just leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. His temper was obviously different from Dick's, and he was way more stubborn.

"What's your name, kid?"

Bruce asked once again, even if everytime the answer was the same.

"None of your business."

And the boy wouldn't change his reply so easily.

"Listen to me, I really need your name, and your parents' phone number, they must be worried about you."

For some reason, that made the kid chuckle like it was a really bad joke.

"I'm Jason. Jason Todd. And my parents aren't exactly available, y'know?"

"... What do you mean?"

Bruce already expected an answer coming from Jason. But if he really was an orphan, why Alfred didn't find anything about him while searching?

"Well, old man, my parents are pretty much dead."

"But, but… I made searches about you, you aren't in any orphanage or foster system. Is there anyone who's taking care of you?"

"As I said before, I can take care of myself, old man."

"But you're a child."

"Wrong, I'm a Robin."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, not even Grayson was that stubborn, but still, he wasn't Grayson, he was Todd.

"Why were you fighting so many people? They were double your size and clearly on advantage against you."

"They were stopping me from reaching my goal."

"And what is it?"

For a moment, Jason looked at him like what he truly was, a lost kid. Then, he looked away, almost like he was holding his tears, hiding them from Bruce and himself. He needed to be strong, like a real Robin.

"It doesn't matter, alright? Thanks for saving me or whatever, but I can just go now."

"Where do you live?"

"What are you? A stalker?"

Jason replied quickly, being extremely defensive.

"Jason, you said your parents are dead, where do you live? And with who?"

"Nowhere, and with no one. I'm no one's son."

"You're a kid, you can't just live on the streets."

Bruce said, his voice getting more soft as he tried to gain Jason's trust.

"Am I your new charity project, old man? Will you adopt me just like you did with the other Robin?"

Dick was spying the conversation through the slightly open door, but he backed away when Jason mentioned him. The boy was smart enough to connect the dots between Dick Grayson-Wayne and the acrobatic boy wonder.

"Listen to me, Jason. You at least need a place to live, and I need to compensate for the times you saved me."

"I don't need your help."

Jason tried to get out of the bed once again, but his body was shaking, still weak. He looked like a helpless kid, and he hated that.

"Jason, please, at least let me pay you a place to live. I know being Robin doesn't pay you."

"... Fine. But remember, you're not my father, and I'm not your trophy son."

==========

Kids were supposed to be easy to deal with. But as Jason stated various times, he wasn't a kid, he was a Robin, and being Robin gave him magic.

Both Alfred and Dick were surprised when Bruce told them he bought an apartment for a "random kid". Jason wasn't a random kid to him… Even if they weren't actually close to each other.

There was a kind of new routine in the Wayne Manor, at least once a week the little Robin came to ask Alfred to help him with the worst wounds he got and couldn't patch them himself. And sometimes he also came to return Bruce back to safety after another attempt of criminals to kidnap Bruce.

"You need to learn how to take care of yourself, old man."

Jason joked, wiping the blood out of his nose, he smiled, even after being hurt because of another fight. He was used to it, and not for just being Robin. But it wasn't a problem anymore, he had his Robin's magic.

And if Bruce was lucky enough, the little Todd would come by for dinner. He was hard to convince, but he still enjoyed being with Bruce, Alfred and sometimes, Dick.

And in an "unfortunate night", according to Jason, Grayson made up a nickname for him, and never stopped using it. "Little Wing", it was how he called the boy.

"When I get older, I'll be taller than you. You'll see who's the little one!"

That just made Dick laugh at him, he said Jason looked cute when he tried to threaten someone, and Alfred hid the knives just to guarantee the boy wouldn't take extreme measures.

Bruce thought of Dick as a reflection of himself, but Jason was unique. The boy wasn't like any of the Waynes, he was in fact a Todd, he was not part of the family.

Grayson and him were Robins, but they were different. Even when Dick was violent, it doesn't compare to how bruised the pimps Jason fought were. The news said this Boy Wonder was crazy, aggressive, the worst Robin Gotham City ever had.

"I can't wait to find this kid dead in a dark alley."

It was what Jason overheard from a cop another day. Once the policeman and the young vigilante met again, the man had an "accident" during work that broke his arm.

Alfred noticed the little boy was smiling a lot during dinner that day, even more than usual. And the butler knew that smile, a smile of a child who just did a mischievous thing.

"Master Jason, did you have a lot of fun today?"

"A lot, Alfred."

One day, a body was found under a balcony, it was presumed the man was pushed to his death. And on that balcony, there was Robin, the possible culprit. And people accused a child of murder.

"I didn't kill him! And what if I did? He literally violated a woman!"

Jason tried to justify himself to Bruce, who was worried about the boy, as he was needing to hide himself, afraid of getting arrested.

"Jason, you can trust me, have you done it?"

Wayne asked him with a soft tone, trying to comfort the little boy. He tried to reach his hand to touch Jason's shoulder, but he stepped back.

"Bruce, do you really think I'm a murderer!?"

The man didn't answer, and Jason felt his heart breaking, the boy thought he could finally trust someone. But he was still seen as a criminal, even to the person he thought… The person he thought could be a new father to him.

"Jason… I…"

Bruce stopped himself, as he noticed something. The Robin was crying, and he was actually being a child, not a hero. A child in despair to be trusted.

"Jason… I'm…"

He didn't let Wayne finish, he just ran away out of the manor. And Bruce didn't stop him. He broke the boy's trust, and he didn't deserve to say anything to him.

Bruce tried to be the father of a no one's son. And nobody is surprised he failed. The Wayne Manor isn't supposed to be a place for kids like Jason, who fought fate itself to survive.

But, a week later, the investigation stopped, Robin was no longer a suspect. It was very sudden, but the detectives with a new big quantity of money in their pockets wouldn't justify it.

And in the same night the investigations stopped. In the same rainy night, the window of the Wayne Manor was opened by an "intruder", who noticed the great Philanthropist on the couch, like he was waiting for someone.

The little "intruder" sat down with him, his head leaned on his shoulder. Bruce caressed the boy's soaked hair, which startled him a little bit, but he slowly gave in.

"I'm sorry, Jason."

Despite Bruce's morals, his codes, the laws. He would do anything for his sons, no matter what. And Jason knew that, and he finally felt safe.

==========

Jason spent his fourteenth and fifteenth birthday with the Waynes, and even if he didn't say it, he wanted to spend all his birthdays with them.

It didn't matter if the boy wasn't in the charity galas like Dick was. It didn't matter if he didn't show himself publicly as a Wayne. Bruce saw Jason as his little bird, as his son.

And Bruce was really proud of his son. Like Grayson, he was a hero. He watched how Todd was growing up, how he was growing better, and he was a hero Bruce could never be.

The Robin was always around in the manor, even if he wouldn't easily admit, he felt at home. All the dinners, the sleepovers, the movie nights, it felt like home. He finally had a home to come back to by the end of the day.

Bruce would make a surprise for Jason, finally getting the paperwork to adopt the little bird, to finally call him "son". It would be a surprise gift, right after him coming back from patrol as Robin.

Wayne waited excited, he knew Todd would be equally happy. He was so proud of what he became, and will be more proud when he finally can call this hero his son.

It was already late, and he still didn't come back. He tried calling him, hoping he just went directly to his apartment that night, it would be understandable, but nobody picked up the phone.

Bruce turned on the television, maybe Jason was late because he was in the middle of a big situation. It already happened sometimes, so it wouldn't be different from those times. But all that he heard was nothing about one of the Robins.

But Jason, he only heard the sound of his ribs breaking after yet another hit with that crowbar. His vision was completely blurry, and it was so hard to breathe. He looked over the woman that smoked while he was in pain.

Jason never told Bruce about how he was searching for his biological mother, just Alfred was helping him secretly, and he made the butler promise he wouldn't tell anyone.

But the little Robin didn't expect his mother to be a backstabber, and in that exact moment, the metal hit his back, breaking even more ribs. Then, he heard laughter.

The laughter of a maniac clown, the one who was enjoying so much causing pain to him. Sometimes he even joked about it, like it was the most funny thing to watch.

"Uh oh, the little bird got a broken wing, maybe your mommy could help you… Oops!"

Then, more laughter followed by another hit that made his eyes water again. Jason was feeling so weak, feeling the cold floor and his own blood accumulating under him.

"D-dad…"

Jason cried out, his voice hoarse and weak. That brought his mother's attention, she knew Willis Todd was dead. But that wasn't the father her son was calling for. He was calling for Bruce, even if he wasn't a vigilante like him, even if he couldn't fight anyone.

Jason just wanted to be in his father's arms again, even if he's dying. He just wanted to be home again.

"Awn, look! Little bird is calling for daddy. What a pity!"

He sobbed in silence, he couldn't give that clown the happiness for breaking him. Jason was broken, very broken, but still, he shouldn't cry, Bruce would probably be disappointed at him.

If his biological mother betrayed him, backstabbed him without thinking twice, Bruce would never save him, even if he knew about his current situation.

The boy's mind became foggy, probably because of so many times his head got hit by that fucking crowbar. The psychopath clown wasn't there anymore, but his mother was tied up. His only memories were of untying her, and a ticking sound, then, nothing.

Bruce found himself awake until very late, even if his mind felt asleep, it woke up, and unfortunately, to the sound of Vicki Vale's voice.

"... A sudden explosion occurred in a warehouse in Gotham City's south area. The GCPD is investigating what might have caused it."

The camera showed a lot of rubble, and various policemen around the area, searching for clues and possible bodies. And they found it.

"Attention! The police just found the body of a child!"

Bruce became startled, his heart was getting tight on his chest, and the tears were ready to come. And when the camera zoomed to a very familiar boy's body, he felt broken.

He didn't get any time for any other type of reaction, his emotions were taking total control of him, Bruce was no longer acting rational. Minutes later, he was exiting the car right in front of the crime scene.

"I can't believe it, Mister Wayne! What are you doing here!?"

And similar reactions were heard by him, but completely ignored as he walked towards his son's body, which was being taken by the police.

"Mister Wayne, you shouldn't come closer, this is a crime scene."

They tried to stop Wayne, but they failed, as he got Jason's limp body in his arms. The boy was already so cold, his eyes still open, all the blue going away. The blood was still wet, staining Bruce's clothes, but he didn't care.

His little bird was dead. His son was dead. Bruce thought the pain of his parents' death was unbearable, but he never thought he would have his son's body in his arms, so cold, so lifeless.

Bruce carefully closed the corpse's eyes, so it looked like the boy was just sleeping, but he knew he wasn't. He held his son tighter to his chest, and screamed. His screams were so painful, as his heart was completely shattered.

Alfred made sure the police and the media wouldn't talk about that moment. And the butler also made sure the boy would be buried with the Waynes, as he should be.

Jason wasn't as lucky as Dick, he wasn't an exception. His end was just like the other Robins. Dead, found brutally killed.

Grayson really wanted to see Jason grow up to prove he wasn't his Little Wing anymore. Grayson wished he could call his little brother his Big Wing.

Alfred really wanted to see Jason's mischievous smile once again. Alfred wished he could bake Jason's sixteenth birthday cake.

Bruce really wished he could have saved Jason. Bruce really wished he could see Jason's smile again. Bruce really wished to hear Jason calling him old man again.

Bruce wanted his little bird back.

==========

Both the media and the GCPD didn't want to admit it, but Gotham got worse after Jason's death. He was one of the best Robins the city ever had.

Dick spent more time in Gotham since that, to act both as Nightwing and comfort Bruce. Wayne needed his son to be with him, and even if Grayson wasn't the son he wanted, he wanted to make his father happy.

They just didn't expect to find Bruce's neighbor inside of the manor, wearing a Robin costume, while having the worst dark bags under his eyes.

Somehow, the little boy knew about the relation Bruce had with the Robins, he knew about Dick and also knew about Jason. The Waynes started to think that kid was a stalker.

The boy was Timothy Drake, who was clearly obsessed with the Robin concept, and the fact the most important Robins of the city were his neighbors, it made him very excited. Even if one was gone.

"C'mon, Bruce, could you resist this kid puppy's eyes?"

Somehow, Dick convinced the philanthropist to not report the kid to his parents, or even to the police. And Tim's parents didn't seem to care about his safety, since he was just running around as Robin without them worrying about him.

And the story repeated itself, with Bruce having another Robin under his wing. He expected the story would go differently, and he wouldn't need to hold his son's body again.

The years were going through, and still, every single day Bruce had visited Jason's grave, but still, he wasn't in the moment his son dug out of his own grave.

It wasn't a surprise when the philanthropist was once again kidnapped, criminals really liked abducting rich people. But he wasn't in panic, it was just like another Saturday, and he was just waiting for Tim to show up.

But it wasn't a Robin who showed up. A person with a red helmet entered the room, and even if Bruce nor the criminals could see his face, they knew he was pissed.

"You idiots can't do a thing right, I told you to not get him. You should give me a reason to not explode your heads right now."

The mysterious man said, and Bruce could feel some familiarity in his voice. The criminals didn't even dare to blink in the wrong moment, obviously scared by their leader.

"You should all go, and if any of you try eavesdropping, I'll cut your ears off."

They all exited immediately, even Wayne was scared by his attitude. And for some reason, he was freeing him from the restraints. That was a very different kind of mob boss.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, old man. I don't hurt you and you don't call those pigs, are we good?"

Bruce looked at him suspiciously, everything was so familiar, but he couldn't point it out.

"Also, don't call your bird boys, do you hear me?"

"You mean the Robins?"

"Exactly, old man. You keep collecting them, apparently. So, just leave, call your butler to take you or whatever."

"Why are you just letting me go?"

"Damn, how ungrateful of you. It's because you're not a bad rich person, if you were some like, I don't know, Lex Luthor, you'd be already dead."

"... Thanks."

"Just go already."

And when Bruce left the building, he almost immediately found Tim, who was in his Robin uniform. If Jason was alive, he would feel replaced.

Days later, the news was just about the infamous Red Hood, who was cleaning up the streets from crime, while staining them with blood.

And still, somehow, the Red Hood and Bruce kept meeting, as criminals still tried to steal from him. And for some reason, a mob boss was determined to protect him.

"Am I your new bodyguard now, old man?"

That phrase, those exact words, they were so familiar, it reminded him of his son. But if Jason was alive, he would think he was forgotten.

"Do I… Do I know you?"

Bruce asked, searching for eye contact even if the man hid his face behind that helmet.

"I saved your ass sometimes. Geez, old man, have you already forgotten? Most of the time, people don't forget about a man with a red helmet."

"No, it's not it. I feel like we've met before. Before all this."

If Jason was alive, he would think his father just moved on after his death.

"What if we did meet? Does something change?"

"You… You remind me of my son."

"Your… Son?"

If Jason was alive, he would have thought his death was meaningless to Bruce, or to anyone.

"My son, Jason."

And he was alive. The Red Hood removed his helmet, revealing the face Bruce missed seeing. Jason was older, but it was still him, even if he was changed. It was still his son.

Bruce was in complete shock as he tried to process the information his son was alive. Jason thought his father would back down, run away from the pain, he must have done the same when he was dead, right?

But Bruce's arms were wrapped around him, hugging him tightly, like he was afraid he would lose his son again. Jason gasped in surprise, but returned the hug. He thought his dad forgot about him, but he didn't.

Wayne cried on his shoulder, and he noticed how tall his son got. He was his little bird, but he was so big now, completely grown up.

"Bruce…"

"I missed you, little bird, I missed you so much."

[secondgenerationnerd]

Little fic or headcannons of how much lian and roy are alike please and thank you

Oooooo imma do a fic! Someone mentioned this again and I’ve been thinking about it!

———————

When possible, the parents of Omega Squad like to get together for a ‘normal day’ with their kids. Well, as normal as their lives got. They rotated who hosted and who provided what food. Their kids enjoyed spending time with their parents….likely because some of them acted like they weren’t grown ass adults with teenage children.

“Is Jade on her way?” Linda asks Roy, swatting her husband’s hand away from the cake.

Roy nods, grinning at her phone, “Yeah, she is. Li’s been antsy all day about it. Not that she’d let me see it.”

Dick fakes a gasp, “A Harper avoiding showing their feelings? Say it isn’t so, Wallace!”

“I’m afraid it’s true, Richard.” Wally says solemnly, “When will they ever understand that being ‘too cool to care’ just keeps them apart from those who love them?”

“Hey, Bianca?” Roy calls to the beautiful woman chatting with Lois and Selina, “If I kill them, do you have to report it? Are you obligated to revive them or….?”

She glances at Dick and Wally, then back at Roy, “I’d revive one of them. Let the kids pick which one.”

Laughter fills the room as the teenagers get back from their ‘mission’ to the store. Several speedsters, two half aliens, plus growing teens means they need all the food they can get.

“Oh dear.” Jai sighs, “I think they finally lost it. I thought we had at least another week for Dad.”

“Don’t be an ass, dude,” Jon snorts, kissing his mother’s cheek as he carries most the grocery bags. “If anyone gets dementia first, it’ll be Bruce—“

More laughs and a faux glare from the Bat himself. Roy sees his daughter staring at him, “Yes, Lian Alice?”

“Ugh, you and Mom had to go with Alice for my middle name.” She rolls her eyes. “I sound like a Bridgerton character.”

“It’s a very respectable name for a little demon.” Roy says cheerfully, kissing her temple, “You can air your grievances to your mom in twenty minutes.”

To anyone who didn’t know her, the eye roll she gives her father would be disrespectful. But every adult in the room knows how anxious the topic of her mother is. It’s a simple way for her father to answer the question gnawing at her without her having to ask. Of course, her friends and boyfriend would never dare let her worry on it….even if she ‘doesn’t care’.

“Hey, Roja, did you ever try on that shirt I made?” Milagro asks, leaning against her father’s side on the couch.

“Aw fuck, I forgot, I’ll go try it on now.” She bats her eyes at Jai, teasing, “Any chance you want to help me change?”

“Jai Bartholomew,” Roy doesn’t turn back from where he’s putting the groceries away, “Make one move up those stairs and Irey becomes an only child.”

“I was going to say no, Uncle Roy, promise!” Not a single person believes the speedster with that mischievous look on his face. A few minutes after Lian disappears to her room, Roy notices how Dick and Wally look at him.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. Just funny how you seem to forget where here shamelessness comes from. “If anyone else said that about his kid, Roy would kill them. But from Dick, he takes it as the teasing it is.

“Isn’t the point of parenthood making your kids better than you?”

Wally snorts at that, “Just yesterday you said ‘as long as she doesn’t do crack, murder is a cake walk.’”

“And I’ll die on that hill, thank you, Wallace.” Roy says, rolling his eyes. “Besides, I’m not shameless.”

“Right,” Dick nods, “Remind me how old Lian was when she said she knew you and Jaybird were together?”

“That depends, Uncle Dick,” Lian appears down the stairs, “How old I was when I told them? Or when I knew?”

The shirt she’d changed into is made of a sheer, deep red material. The sleeveless cut shows off her muscular back and arms. A black band of fabric hugs her breasts, a contrast against the exposed skin. Flip her long dark ponytail, Lian holds out her arms.

“I accept compliments but prefer cash.”

“Red really is your color,” Milagro says with a laugh, getting up to check the fit of the shirt. “Not too snug anywhere?”

“Not really, but if you want to check, my safe word is ‘French toast’.”

“Lian!” Roy meant to chide his daughter, but it came out as a laugh. How many times had he said the same thing to people in this room? Milagro does tug at the fabric, holding it at different lengths to see how they look. Several old scars poke out from the top, but most of them haven’t seen that burn in the center of her back before.

“What’s that, Chiquita?” Bianca asks, motioning at an old burn on her back.

“Hmm?” Lian looks over her shoulder, “Oh! Dad, isn’t that the brand from the human traffickers?”

The room goes quiet. The kids look intrigued at the new lore while the adults seem horrified. Roy glances at it. “Oh yeah. You were little bitty when it happened. I’m shocked they didn’t let you go when you called them pussies.”

“Excuse you, old man? I was a delightful child!” She scoffs, “Easily worth a few thousand.”

Were they really joking about this? Holy shit they were. Trust the Harper’s to come in with dark humor.

“Maybe nowadays, but then? You’d have settled for a sandwich and a nap.”

“Um,” Bianca blinks at the pair, “What happened?”

“Oh some jackasses kidnapped her. They were going to sell her to some creeps I’m sure, branded her to ‘keep track of merchandise’ blah blah blah.” Roy sips his soda.

It’s Lois who asks the next question, “And when you arrived?”

Oh that smile on his. Omega has seen it on Lian so many times. It’s not the Chesire cat grin she has during a fight. It’s an easy, almost laidback smile that could put anyone at ease….if the look in his eyes wasn’t murderous.

“When I left,” Roy says, ignoring the specifics of her question, “They were still breathing. I can’t say for sure if they were when my wife left.”

[onenettvchannel]

#OnlyOnOneNETnews: Teen Kids News celebrates its 20th Anniversary in the U.S.A.

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK -- The longest-running first-run weekly syndicated news magazine in the United States of America (U.S.A.) known as "Teen Kids News", a news programme that focuses both the children and teens to keep you more informed.

The news show was started in late-September 2003 and was created by the late Albert Thomas Primo, who was an Executive Producer of TKN after he was recently dying from cancer a few weeks before to his death; while Alan J. Weiss, who was also the said same role and a former Senior Program Producer of ABC News in New York. Primo is the only creator of "Eyewitness News" leaving more than a hundred television markets taken their name label across the American state in local newscasts where you live. Not only the concept of Eyewitness News before, a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast.

In September 1968, Primo moved to WABC-TV 7's ABC: New York, where the said named label was born. And in the present day a year later, after the 9/11 attack in New York... TKN was first started in late-Fall 2003 to give young people an opportunity to develop an interest in the news industry through delivering news and information to their peers in television sets nationwide. TKN was originally known as Eyewitness Kids News (EKN) in Season 1 before adopting its current name. The series was the first attempt at a syndicated news show aimed at children and teens in a targeted demographic audience on television since the cancellation of the similar "News for Kids" in 1996.

The said news programme received an award for the first time in 2013 at the New York Emmy Awards (NYEA) and was also been acknowledged the rest of the magazine publications & mainstream news media. TKN is syndicated to almost 200 TV stations where it was carried by educational channels to thousands of American schools covering the individuals of journalism for students to be one of them. It’s a regular feature on the American Forces Network (AFN), available to all U.S. Military families stationed around the world. Here in our country, OneNETtv Channel (DYDZ-TV 8 in Dumaguete City) was first to air in an online internet television in 2010s from a local Internet Café as part of our world's first international broadcast importation to Negrosanons and the City of Gentle People until before the end of this said decade.

The biggest names of interviews featuring Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), Jonas Bros., Robert Anthony de Niro Jr., Walter Bruce Willis, Shawn Corey Carter (known as Jay-Z), Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Ian Murray McKellen, Elijah Jordan Wood, Stephen Edwin King, Avril Ramona Lavigne, Channing Matthew Tatum, Michael Fred Phelps II and the older cast of the Harry Potter movies as PR Newswire reported.

Some on-air news personalities are no longer in teens in a previous season(s), which is now a full grown adult period. Others are taking different paths of careers with a retirement, while most of them are continuing their careers in its next level of the news industries in other TV news networks.

As the 20th Anniversary starts in celebration, the news team of TKN always keeping you more informed both the children and teens with the important issues in a format intended to educate with a parental supervision of adults. TKN has the news teens you can use and the news teens want.

You can watch the whole newscast of "Teen Kids News" every Monday morning(s) at 8am Eastern, only on a flagship TV station WWOR-TV's My9: New York and the rest of the syndicated TV stations every Saturday afternoon(s) like WGAL-TV's NBC 8 in Susquehanna Valley region of Pennsylvania.

PHOTO COURTESY for REPRESENTATION: FuboTV

SOURCE: *https://teenkidsnews.com/about-teen-kids-news/ [Referenced Biography Article #1 from the TKN website] *https://teenkidsnews.com/2022/09/10/teen-kids-news-show-2001/ [Referenced Full Show Episode from the TKN website] *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Kids_News [Referenced Biography Article #2f from Wikipedia] *https://vtdigger.org/2013/03/24/lyndon-state-college-student-garners-three-n-y-emmy-nominations/ [Referenced News Article #1 from VT Digger] *https://triblive.com/aande/movies-tv/pittsburgh-native-eyewitness-news-creator-al-primo-dies/ [Referenced News Article #2 from Trib LIVE] *https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/only-tv-newscast-for-teens---delivered-by-teens---turns-20-301618790.html [Referenced News Article #3f from PR Newswire] *https://awptv.com/us/about-alan-weiss/ and *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyewitness_News

-- OneNETnews Team

[fairy-lights-and-blobs]

Danny jumps back through the portal that brought in Frostbite, and a red sygil that couldn't possibly be mistaken for anything other than a damned lock form over the portal. No matter how much Constantine pokes and prods, it won't budge.

Almost an hour later, just as Frostbite and Steph get to witness Constantine get zapped by the lock on the portal, Danny steps back through it, carrying a worrying stack of books in his arms. The portal dispels with barely a flick of his ghostly tail, and the books are placed on the table with a heavy thump.

Danny himself looks like he flew over all of Gotham at speeds higher than Superman, and then had to fight off a cat for those books.

"Ok, so...don't ask questions you don't want answers to...but I maneged to get my hands on the records of every single prophecy, past, current and future, involving demigod children, or ghosts, or both." A flick of the wrist and a chair is sliding towards Steph as she approaches the table "Soul Tax Evasion Man over there, you're going to help me and Frostbite comb through these and find any prophecy that deals with our kid."

Batman finally stops blue-screening, only to sputtered indignantly right after Danny bulldozes past his attempts at intimidation "The furry with the cape, you can find the nearest adult woman. Steph is going to need advice that we are not nearly qualified enough to give, least we can do is find someone who CAN. Get to it."

It's...endearing, how seriously he's taking the matter of hers and the baby's safety. The "King Phantom" attitude is starting to come out pretty heavily, and Phantom is, at his core, a protector.

Fortunately, Bruce recognizes the wisdom of Danny's words, and goes off, probably to track down either Catwoman or Kate Kane (and then hide away, to mourn the fact his "borrowed daughter's" all grown up).

The legs go back to being a flickering tail, so Danny can wrap it around her waist while he, Frostbite and Constantine get to scouring every inch of a stack of books on prophecies that, perhaps, shouldn't be so easily displayed.

Alfred the Cat peeking over her shoulder, the King of Ghosts being a mother hen to rival Dick, and Damian observing from the stairway, Steph think she could get used to this.

Steph was freaking out. She was pregnant! She had a month long relationship with a guy, they slept together (multiple times), and now she was pregnant.

How long should she keep this from her (adopted))family. They all were detectives but that was usually focused on a case and not her. There was no use hiding this from Alfred or Cass. They would see through her in an instant. Luckily the rest of the family was focused on their own lives, with B being pulled into a JL meeting lead by Constantine. Something about a newly conseived demigod or something she never listens to Constantine, barely anyone does.

She was in the middle of planning her 9 months of pregnancy and lying, when suddenly Batman and Constantine magically teleport into her apartment. " According to the ritual This is the girl whose is pregnant with the demigod" Constantine states while being completly ignored by the two. Steph is staring at Batman who is slightly twitching. "Well shit" she groans.

Another magical ritual later and her previous... Boyfriend? Fling? Her month long, one night stand is standing there in a magic circle. She rushes to speak before her family can, "Danny you jerk! You got me pregnant and didn't even tell me you were a god?!?"

[purple-goo-writes]

Where on Earth is MDC?

Chapter 1 

Richard “Dick” Grayson with all his 10 year old intelligence and circus know how was pretty sure of one thing and one thing only- there was no way his guardian, Bruce Wayne, was married. He may have grown up in a circus as an acrobat and wasn’t schooled the way kids were normally, after all most kids don’t have a circus clown teaching them math or a Lion Tamer teaching science- But he was not an idiot! Plus he was Robin! He helped Bats solve some pretty tough cases. He wasn’t letting Bruce try and pull the wool over his eyes! There was no way that Bruce Wayne was married-except maybe married to his work as a vigilante.

For one, Dick has never seen or heard evidence that Bruce was married or seeing someone in the whole two years he has been living in Wayne Manor as Bruce’s ward. Sure, Bruce claimed that his lovely wife was a globe trotter like her grandmother and rarely came home to roost due to how busy her schedule was... Dick called elephant-dung on that. There is no way some socialite would be out exploring the world when they could be hanging off Bruce’s arm gossiping at all the galas and parties Bruce had to hold for his business. Though he is only guessing that this is how high society women act due to only seeing this behavior from Bruce’s investor’s wives, dates and daughters. 

He does find it odd that no one comments on Bruce never bringing a date to his own galas or other social functions. And that everyone when meeting Bruce glance at the odd silver ring Bruce always wears in place of a wedding band before giving those weird sympathy looks and subtle glances amongst themselves. Adults seemed to have their own language when it comes to greeting each other that Dick hasn’t been able to decipher yet. Though the Not-Wedding Ring doesn’t always detour the newer social climbing women from flirting with his guardian or trying to seduce him. Dick has been used many times as a human shield against said women and has come to accept/resent his fate.

Two, the young Robin has never seen so much as a tiny photo of the so called Mrs. Wayne! There are no portraits or photos in the manor that he has seen. While Alfred assures him that Bruce carries on with him every where, Dick hasn’t ever seen it not even after slipping away with Bruce’s wallet, just like Jackie taught him to do with the really rude patrons that came to the circus when he was younger. He made sure to return the wallet! He just wanted to see if maybe Bruce had a tiny photo in there like he had seen other men do, like how The Strong Man carried pictures of his husband and children around in his wallet. But, there was no picture in the wallet except for the one of him, Alfred and Bruce together in a family photo. When he saw the photo, Dick had teared up cause this meant Bruce did see him as family and not as an charity case like everyone at the Academy liked to say he was. Alfred claimed that the Misses was simply too busy to pose for a portrait to be painted and always preferred to be the one taking the photos anyway. While Alfred has never lied to him, Dick is still not convinced.

And three, Dick couldn’t find any mention of a Mrs. Marinette Wayne anywhere! Not even with the Batcomputer! All he could ever find was the latest travel logs of some woman named Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as the fashion designer MDC. Sure there were odd newspaper clippings now and then speculating when Mrs. Wayne would be returning from abroad. But those were not concrete evidence of her so-called existence! Honestly, it was starting to drive Dick up the wall with not being able to find anything about or on his guardian’s absent wife! 

The ten year old was this close to throwing a tantrum like no other in demand to get answers. How was everyone convinced that Bruce was married? If he was, then where in the world was Mrs. Wayne?! Cause, Dick would really like to meet her. If only to shut up the voice in his head that was worried that if She was real that she would have Bruce send him away. After all a Circus Freak didn’t belong in High Society. Though Dick was starting to worry if Bruce was really a widower and his way of coping with the grief was to pretend that his wife was still alive and just on an extended road trip...

Though if that was the case then why would Alfred go along with it? Maybe Dick needed to go take a look in the Wayne Family Cemetery just to make sure...

Dick was broken from his musings by Alfred coming into the Manor’s library and clearing his throat, “Master Richard, Master Bruce wishes to see you in the Family Parlor Room. There is someone here he wishes for you to meet.”

That puzzled the child sidekick, but he simply shrugged and nodded, “Alright, Alfie!” Before hopping up from his chair and leaving the book he had been reading in the seat as Dick darted out of the room excited to meet someone new. Maybe it was one of Bruce’s lawyer friends again! Like Dent, who was nice and for some reason liked to comment on how much Dick looks just like Bruce in that odd teasing tone all of Bruce’s actual friends use when they learn he took Richard in. Honestly, Dick isn’t sure what is so funny about the fact that he looks like Bruce. Genetics are weird and he still refuses to try and understand them. 

When Dick skidded into the Family Parlor Room, he was not expecting what happened next. Not at all. Because before Dick could even ask Bruce who was there, the ten year old was being swept up in a flurry of chiffon and lace as a lovely French accented voice started cooing over the tiny child in her arms. Dick would forever deny the startled squeak he let out and the fact that he blushed as red as his uniform top when he managed to get a good look at his captor. The person holding him could only be described as a heavenly beauty with long silky black-nearly blue hair and bright expressive blue eyes that exuded motherly love whilst she held him close in a gentle hug. Her smile made Dick think of the sun shining out from the clouds after weeks of rain and it radiated love, love that he could tell was aimed at him even though they had just meet. It reminded him so much of his own mother’s smile that Dick had started to tear up.

“Hello, ma petite colombe, it’s so lovely to finally meet you,” the heavenly being cooed at him, gently cradling the child closer with a gentle smile, “Bruce has told me so much about you. I’m so glad I can finally welcome you to the family.”

Marinette simply held her son, yes her son because even if he was not adopted yet Marinette already loved him like her own, close as the little boy broke down and started crying as he clung to Marinette returning the hug. She could tell he was relieved that she accepted him, honestly she warned her silly husband that Dick may be worried about her not liking him. Really, her silly love was just as silly as her Papa at times. She shook her head and tugged Bruce into the hug as well, so that he could reassure their little dove that they loved him and he was welcome in their family and home. Mari loved Bruce, but he was sometimes slow on how to approach emotional situations.

[shyestofhearts]

Okay so I'm on a roll today thinking and what if Bruce at some point in his life just starts assuming if there is a kid causing chaos it's one of his kids?

Now the issue only starts when they start meeting the justice league and then Batman becomes know for just gathering chaotic children and taking them back to the batcave

And like they show up at the batcave and he's got two speedsters, 2 of his own kids as well as at least one of the arrow clan and someone else 50/50 of it being a random kid hero and a super depending on how mad Clark made his kids

The league is not overly impressed Bruce is just a tired dad

This also happens at galas and makes a higher chance of him running off with one of Oliver's children or clarks because they're more likely to be there either because of media presence or just rich

Bruce is so tired

( feel free to go more in depth of you have any ideas)

-⭐

Star Anon you GENIUS

He absolutely does.

At any given time if a kid is causing chaos he just sorta. Picks them up and goes back to the cave/manor with a tired "we'll talk about this when we get home" that just sorta stuns whomever he grabbed into silence until they really do get "home"

Once they arrive it's a 50/50 chance whether or not Bruce notices he's grabbed another person's kid and not one of his own

At first the JL thought it was Bruce's kids stealing their friends away, so when they found out it was Batman himself they were like "Bruce what the hell you have enough kids stop stealing ours" to which they get a tired, slow blink in response

One time some of the adults themselves were causing problems and Bruce was so tired he didn't realize he picked up a grown ass person and used his tired dad voice to say "we'll discuss this later"

The whole JL went silent as they watched Batman carry a grown adult to his car with all the tired disappointment a father could muster

The kids all thought it was hysterical

[catxsnow]

HIDDEN NAPS

Summary: You found Damian in the most unexpected place, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Based on this post. Batmom!reader

Warning: fluff

A/N: Just a cute little fluff to lighten your day. 

Word Count: 1.2k

Damian had a bad habit of disappearing for several hours at a time. Bruce hated it, Alfred hated it, you hated it the most. He wouldn't tell anyone where he was going and didn't seem to have enough care to answer his phone either. You were always worried sick about what kind of trouble he could get into.

There had been more than one time that Damian would get himself intro trouble and get himself home half awake and covered in blood. As mad as you were at him each time, you were more worried about his safety. Him leaving without anyone knowing always left a bad taste in your mouth.

This time, just like every time, you couldn't find him. Bruce was out doing his own thing and you couldn't even ask him to give you a hand. Alfred hadn't seen him either and as always he wasn't answering his phone. You searched the house and yard but there was no sign of him.

You even went as far as calling Jon to see if Damian had gone over to Metropolis to help with patrol. He hadn't, which had only put you in even more of a fit of worry. Did the League take him? Two-Face? The list of possibilities of who could have taken Damian was quite literally endless.

Damian had pretty much become your own son when he showed up at the Manor. Years of being with Bruce had led you to parent all of his children as they came and went. Nights of worrying what was happening to them, days of fixing their wounds. Through everything, it was something that you would never change.

Even though Damian didn't like you at first - then again he didn't like anyone - you still had patience with him. However, it was times like those when your patience would run thin. You had told Damian so many times that he couldn't just run off without telling anyone. He was still a kid, as much as he fought to be an adult.

You worried about him. Damian could easily take care of himself, but that didn't mean that bad things couldn't happen to him. Wherever he was going, you just want to know so you weren't in some sort of panic state like you were now.

Finally, you had gone down to the batcave. You had checked there once already, but now it was time to message Bruce and see if he knew about Damian's whereabouts. You hated having to pull this card, but if Damian was to live under your roof, he needed to learn that you had to know where he was going.

The cave was eerily silent, just as it always was. The dark screen lit up as you stood in front of it, illuminating the space. Just as you were about to call Bruce, a sound had caught your attention. There were often times many strange noises that echoed through, but this one sounded too familiar.

With narrowed eyes, you back away from the computer to find the source of the sound. Unexpectedly, it came from where Damian's pet cow - along with his various other pets - were kept. The closer you got, the more sure you were of what it was: snoring.

You couldn't help but smile as you peaked inside the animal pen. Batcow had been laying down sleeping - not that surprising. However, it was Damian leaning against her with his arms crossed over his chest and snores passing his lips. Titus's head rested on his lap with Alfred the cat laying by as well.

Titus perked up at your sound, but upon realizing that it was just you, he went back to his place. Quietly, you pulled your phone out to snap a picture and send it to Bruce. It was the most relaxed that you had ever seen Damian - he looked like the adorable child that he was meant to be.

You jumped the fence of the pen and knelt down beside Damian. Who knows how long he had been down there - at least as long as you had been looking for him. All your worries were washed away and you felt foolish for worrying so much about where he was. This whole time he was safe in his home.

"Dames," you whispered. Titus got off of Damian's lap and moved to sit by you. He licked all up the side of your face before sitting. "Damian, wake up." He didn't even stir at the sound of your voice. Usually, he was a very light sleeper - he must have been exhausted if he wasn't waking up now.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way, huh, bud?" You asked Titus, scratching behind his ears. He seemed to smile up at you. With a sigh, you pushed away the cat and picked Damian up - one hand under his knees the other supporting his back. He was getting to be so grown and you were sure by next year you wouldn't be able to carry him.

For now, you were thankful that he was still just a young kid.

You made the long trek up the stairs, careful not to hit Damian's head on any of the door ways or walls. Titus and Alfred the cat followed directly behind you - or more so followed Damian. As gentle as you could, you placed Damian down on his bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. Even if it was early in the evening - especially for him - he needed the sleep.

The two pets jumped on his bed with him, taking up over half the space. You shut the night light off in his room, the only source coming from the hall now. Quietly leaning over, you kissed Damian's forehead - taking advantage of the time that he was so tired he couldn't argue with your affection.

"Love you..." Damian mumbled, half awake from your touch. You breath caught in your throat at his words - it was the first time that he had ever said that to you. For the longest time, you believed Damian thought of you as nothing but another one of Bruce's... harlot's. Over time, he had grown affectionate of you.

"I love you, Damian," You whispered back, unsure if he had heard you. "Sleep well."

You were silent as you shut his door. A smile shone bright on your face as you rested your back against his door. It had been a long time in the making to get Damian to warm up to you, but you had finally done it. Suddenly, your phone buzzed - Bruce had replied to your photo from earlier.

Hard to believe that's my son sometimes

It was true, Damian and Bruce differed quite a lot in their personalities. You've caught Bruce sleeping in some strange areas - in front of his computer in the cave, his desk at work, one time even in the shower. Never would he have thought to sleep next to a cow like that. Damian loved his animals, probably more than he loved anything else.

Coming home soon? I miss you. Damian told me he loves me.

He always has, my love.

[flashflashhundredyarddash]

Between You, Batman, and the Bat-Hound, I'll Take the Bat-Hound

A fic about Bruce Wayne deciding to adopt a service dog.

Read on ao3 here. Warning for major character death.

Bruce got Ace when Dick was ten. He’d started therapy when Dick was eight, but it had taken a while for it to occur to Bruce to get a service animal. Ace was a German Shepherd who had thrived in his emotional support training and had so far passed all his requirements with shining colors. Bruce and Dick had met Ace and a few other dogs in New York a month before their graduation and Dick had felt an immediate connection to the dog. Bruce had made a sizable donation to the program, paid for the full costs of the next 632 dogs that were going to be placed with owners for the next year, and a month later Bruce, Dick, and Alfred flew back to New York to pick up Ace and fly home.

For being only one year old, Ace was a dog who took his job very seriously. He had obediently followed Bruce from room to room, and didn’t wander off while they were in the Batcave, and instead sat patiently at Bruce’s feet.

Dick adored Ace, and it was obvious Ace loved Dick. Ace technically had his own bed, though Ace actually spent half his nights sleeping with Dick and half his nights curled up on Bruce’s bed. Dick always tried to come with Bruce for Ace’s walks and always made sure Ace got presents when the holidays rolled around. Ace’s favorite toy was a Batman plush Dick bought for him, and Ace carried it with him everywhere. Ace stoically endured it when a 12-year-old Dick dressed him in a Batman costume for Halloween. The picture of the dog was hung in the hallway leading to the kitchen, where other important family photos resided, with the caption “Ace the Bat-Hound” in Dick’s handwriting. Ace curled up with Dick whenever Dick had nightmares about snapping wires.

Bruce loved his serious and stoic dog.

Jason was wary of Ace when he first came to the manor. In his experience, most big dogs were threats he had to guard against. Bruce had combatted this by letting Jason come with him to the office one day while Ace was working, his bright red service vest on. By the end of the day, Jason was significantly more comfortable with the dog, and it wasn’t odd to see Jason holding one-sided conversations with Ace while ranting about his homework.

Ace took his responsibilities just as seriously when it came to Jason as he did when it came to Bruce and Dick. He spent most nights in Jason’s bedroom, who had horrible night terrors. When Jason was at school, Ace spent his time in Dick’s room, curled up on the bed with his Batman toy.

When Jason died, Ace stayed attached to Bruce’s side every minute that he could. When Bruce was on patrol, he paced the hallway in front of Jason’s locked door, and sometimes Alfred would cry into his fur. Ace spent more time in the Batcave, waiting for Bruce to come home, his head resting on his crossed paws. Alfred stayed alert for Ace to come get him when Bruce was injured (which was often).

Tim’s mother had claimed an allergy to dogs and cats, so Tim had grown up with neither. He knew, logically, that Bruce Wayne had a service dog, but he hadn’t been prepared for the reality of an animal that seemed to be what happened if Bruce Wayne’s personality had been put into the body of a dog. The first time Tim heard Bruce really laugh had been when Ace had tugged Tim to the floor while wrestling over a rope, and then had climbed onto Tim and whined apologetically. When Tim’s parents left on trips after only being home a few weeks and he collapsed into the bed in his spare bedroom at Wayne Manor that was slowly becoming his bedroom, Ace would lay with him, on top of Tim’s legs. Ace was too well-trained to jump in greeting, but his tail always wagged when he saw Tim again, and when Dick began to come around more Ace could barely contain himself from following his first kid around the manor.

David Cain had used dogs in his training of Cassandra. When Bruce had first seen the horrific bite scar in Cass’s upper arm, he’d gritted his teeth and within the week took down a burgeoning dog fighting ring.

He thought about doing what he did with Jason, letting Cass spend a few days with him and Ace to let Cass feel more comfortable, but Cass had had any and all indications of fear trained out of her, so Bruce couldn’t even be sure she was even afraid of them. Ace, clever as he was, seemed to pick up on Bruce’s tension, and was always on his best behavior when Cass was around. While Bruce was still mulling it over, he came across Cass and Ace in the library, Cass with her phone leaned up against Ace and watching a video while Ace sat quietly with his Batman toy, his tail wagging. Bruce quickly teamed up with Ace to teach him the ASL signs for his commands, and soon enough Cass started to take Ace with her whenever she left the manor to travel into Gotham, Ace wearing his vest with pride. Ace was a big hit with the Gotham City Adult Beginner’s Ballet Class, who were very careful to not distract Ace from his job.

Ace met Krypto once. Ace was unimpressed. Bruce shared half his sandwich with Ace as a reward.

The first time Red Hood was invited back to the Batcave, Ace had sniffed him, settled at his feet, and had refused to leave his side until Jason left. Ace once again took up vigil outside Jason’s door, so Alfred unlocked it for him. Alfred sat on the edge of Jason’s bed, and Ace had put his head in Alfred’s lap and closed his eyes while Alfred pet him. Ace went to retrieve his toy and then slept in Jason’s room for the first time in several years.

When Damian came to the manor, Ace was an old dog, with grey around his muzzle. Sometimes he had trouble going down the stairs. Bruce did not miss Damian’s quickly hidden interest in the dog, and had kneeled down to introduce them.

When Dick, Damian, and Alfred moved to the penthouse, Damian had quickly commandeered responsibility for taking care of Ace. He prepared specially made food for him, took him on his walk, and defaulted to talking about Ace whenever he could.

For Ace, the strangest part about moving back to the manor and seeing Bruce again for the first time in a year was learning to live with other animals. When Titus first arrived, he was small enough to walk underneath Ace, but he quickly grew into his oversized paws and soon the Great Dane dwarfed the German Shepherd. Titus loved Ace, and while Ace tried to act disinterested, he was clearly fond of Titus, too. For Halloween that year, Ace was once again forced into his Batman costume by his first kid while Titus happily played in his Robin costume. Alfred the cat was apparently supposed to be Catwoman. Ace grumpily sat by Bruce while Bruce sympathetically patted the old dog on the head and then he spent the night in Bruce’s bed when he came back from patrol.

When Duke joined the family, Ace was a quiet, old dog with drooping eyes. He couldn’t come out with Duke because he got tired easily, but whenever Duke visited his parents Ace would spend the rest of the day with him. He carried his Batman toy with him everywhere. He was a pleasant companion while Duke did homework, and didn’t seem to care when Duke blasted his music. In the afternoons, while everyone else was asleep, Ace came down with Duke to the Batcave and waited patiently for Duke to suit up for patrol, and was always there when Duke came back.

One day, Duke and Damian came home from school to find Steph, Cass, and Tim huddled at the base of the grand staircase, whispering. Duke and Damian shared a look before approaching them, and when Damian made a loud “tt” noise, Tim and Steph jumped and whirled around while Cass turned sedately. Damian stared at the trio judgmentally while they all looked at each other. Duke noticed Ace at their feet.

“Ace can’t make it up the stairs,” Tim finally said, looking unsettled. Duke’s attention immediately snapped to Ace, who was laying down just beside the first step.

“Can he walk at all?” Damian asked.

“He followed us from the living room,” Steph said, “but he was limping a little. And then he couldn’t make it up the stairs after us.”

Damian chewed his lip, uncharacteristically unsure. “We should call Father,” he finally said, “and bring his bed downstairs. And his toy.”

Steph veered back to the living room to fetch his toy while Cass and Duke went upstairs to get his bed out of Bruce’s room. Damian gently shepherded Ace to the kitchen with Alfred while Tim called Bruce, his voice quiet in the somber mood of the kitchen while the kids lingered there.

Bruce, who was at Wayne Enterprises, broke several traffic laws to get home within half an hour to meet his family in the kitchen. He crouched to check over Ace the same way Damian did, and Ace’s tail began to wag weakly as soon as he saw Bruce.

“He seems alright apart from the stairs,” Damian reported. “He ate and drank at his usual times, though he does appear more lethargic than usual.”

His other children and Alfred watched Bruce and Bruce ran his hand over Ace’s side, thinking.

“I’ll keep an eye on him tonight,” Bruce decided. “If he gets worse, I’ll take him to the vet. I’ll inform Dick, Jason, and Barbara to cover my patrol route.”

Duke shared an alarmed look with Cass. Bruce almost never passed up a night of patrol without much cajoling.

That night, Bruce moved his things downstairs and took up residence with Ace in one of the spare bedrooms on the first floor. Over the next month, visitors trickled in one at a time.

Dick seemed to be over every other day. He bought Ace a Robin plush that quickly settled beside his old and ragged Batman plush, right in the center of Bruce and Ace’s new bed. Dick brought his daughter, too, and she happily petted Ace and played with him while Ace bore it with the quiet dignity he always did.

Barbara visited, and she sat on the couch with Ace in the living room while she coded and he snored. At dinner, she dropped food underneath the table for him.

Titus spent his mornings while the kids were at school with Ace, cuddling with him and trying to play. Once, Ace had growled ferociously when Titus tried to take his Batman toy, and Damian had retreated to his room in tears after he’d pulled Titus away. Ace had apologised the next day by letting Titus play with the toy, though he was careful not to let it out of his sight.

After patrol one night Bruce came home and Ace was on his dog bed, asleep. Bruce couldn’t recall a time when Ace hadn’t either stayed up to wait for Bruce or gone to sleep with one of the children. Bruce picked Ace’s toys up off of their bed and set them by Ace, and then curled up around his dog for a brief minute and had fallen asleep on the dog bed.

Jason had carried Ace up the stairs and they spent the whole day in Jason’s room, and when Jason got bored of that they’d wandered into everyone else’s rooms, and found an old ball hiding underneath Damian’s bed. Ace had panted happily when they reached Bruce’s room, so they’d spent the day watching movies on Bruce’s bed.

Cass invited some of her old friends from the ballet group and Ace had perked up. They’d laughed and spent a few hours with him, and at the end of the visit Cass had been the proud owner of a bag of treats for Ace. That night, she spent several hours during patrol following every stray dog she found, giving them food and water when she could.

Steph bought Ace increasingly ridiculous doggy accessories when inspiration struck and taking numerous selfies with him, matching sunglasses on their face. She sent every one to Bruce.

Sometimes, Alfred the cat would take advantage of Ace’s now docile attitude to sit on him and take a nap.

Tim managed to coax Ace out onto the manor grounds on a particularly sunny day and Tim sketched out blueprints while Ace lay pressed against his side. The sun seemed to give him enough energy to play fetch with a stick for a few throws, and Tim recorded him on his phone and then sent it to the family group chat. Bruce reacted to the video with a heart.

Damian spent any time not in school or on patrol with Ace. He quietly followed Ace from room to room, from sibling to sibling and during their monthly family movie night he sat on the floor with Ace and the rest of their siblings and patted his belly and cooed at him about what a good boy he was. A few times, Bruce had gone upstairs after the rest of his children had already gone to sleep and found Damian asleep in his bed with Ace.

While they waited for the rest of their family to return home from patrol, Alfred sat with Ace in Bruce and Ace’s room and gently pet him while he read a book.

Duke carried Ace down to the Batcave after his afternoon patrol while the rest of the house’s occupants were sleeping. They sat in front of a display case containing one of the old batsuits, and Ace nosed the glass. Duke left him for a moment to find the current cape and wrapped Ace in it. Duke carried Ace back upstairs, cape and all, at the end of Bruce’s afternoon nap and dropped Ace off next to Bruce. It was a blatant violation of Alfred’s “no uniforms in the house” rule, but Duke figured Alfred would make an exception.

That night, Batman went out in a slightly older version of the cape.

On the last day, Bruce stayed home because Ace wouldn’t sleep or eat or move and just lay on their bed, whining intermittently. Bruce’s hands shook when he called his children who weren’t living at the manor, and on the way to the vet Duke and Damian sat with Ace in the back. Alfred was on his phone, texting various members of the family, and he kept turning in his seat to smile sadly at the dog and reach back to pet him. Bruce’s eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror to watch his dog.

They waited until all of the children came. Dick was already in tears when he and Jason came, and Jason’s were red and puffy. Everyone was teary-eyed by the time Tim finally arrived, apologetic and frantic. The entire Wayne family gathered in the back to wait with Ace.

“Wait,” Dick said, his voice rough and nearly hysterical. “His toy, did anyone get his Batman toy?”

Bruce’s eyes widened for a moment before Duke shrugged off his backpack he brought from the manor. He pulled out Ace’s Batman toy, the cape Ace had been sleeping with, folded up to look like a blanket and finally, his old service dog vest, slightly faded after years of washing. Duke handed them all to Bruce who laid them out beside Ace. when Bruce gently set down the Batman plush beside Ace, Ace ignored it in favor of nuzzling into Bruce’s hand.

This is what caused Jason to make a loud hiccuping sob and burst into tears, and then all the kids followed suit.

“Children,” Alfred began, choked up, “we must make a valiant effort to… to...” he trailed off, tears dripping down his cheeks.

His children clung to each other as the vet came in, and Bruce pet Ace’s scruff while someone clung to his hand.

Bruce and Ace looked at each other. A man and his service dog. The Batman and The Bat-Hound.

“You were the best dog a man could ever ask for,” Bruce whispered when Ace closed his eyes.

***

Six months later, Bruce was waylaid by his eldest child while on the way to work.

“Did someone ask for a valet?” Dick grinned, and Bruce grunted and got in the backseat so he could talk to his granddaughter. A few minutes later, Alfred got into the passenger seat and Bruce’s trepidation grew.

“Dick,” he said, “you know I hate surprises.”

“Yeah, Bruce,” Dick said, “but it’s a good one this time, I promise.”

“The last time you said that someone painted the Batmobile pink.”

Dick laughed. Bruce turned to his granddaughter. “I swear I will never attempt to throw you a surprise party as long as I live.”

Mary gurgled at him.

“Hmm,” Bruce said. “Yes, you understand me.”

An hour later, they pulled into the parking lot of the GCPD police academy and they got out of the car.

“You said this was a good surprise, chum.”

“It is!” Dick said as he unbuckled Mary.

“I can see Steph’s car across the parking lot. And Barbara’s and Tim’s and Jason’s bike. If this is a surprise party I will never forgive any of you.”

Dick scoffed. “It is not anywhere close to your birthday.”

“A perfect time to strike.”

As they walked into the lobby, a man straightened from where he was talking to the person manning the front desk.

“Jim,” Bruce’s smile came a little easier as he walked over to shake his hand. “How’s retirement treating you?”

Jim sighed. “Barbara says I can’t complain because I was lucky enough to retire. It’s so awful I almost miss being a beat cop. Almost.”

Jim turned and started to walk down the hall. “Your kids are waiting for you,” he stopped by a nondescript door.

“I suppose you can’t tell me what this is about?”

“Well, that would ruin the surprise wouldn’t it, Bruce?”

Bruce sighed, but turned and opened the door.

“I knew it was a surprise party.”

All of his kids were piled into the small office, and they laughed at him. Barbara was in the middle of the room, a box by her feet, looking distinctly pleased with herself.

“Hi, Bruce,” she said, and then pulled out a small German Shepherd from the box.

Bruce said nothing.

“Don’t freak out,” Dick said, too late.

“Too late,” Jason said.

“I’m not freaking out,” Bruce said.

“You look like you’re freaking out a little,” Duke said apologetically.

Bruce abruptly smoothed his face.

“One of my dad’s friends helps run the K9 training. This little one was a bit ‘too friendly’ for K9 work,” Barbara said, patting the puppy’s head, whose tongue was lolling out. “So I asked if we could take her instead.”

“Guess what her name is,” Jason said, gleeful.

“Every litter usually gets themed names,” Barbara said, smiling, “And this litter’s theme was a certain group of Bat-themed vigilantes…”

“Oh, no,” Bruce said.

“Oh, yes,” Jason said.

Barbara lifted up the German Shepherd, “say hello to Robin.”

Bruce sighed but still reached out to pick up the dog. He lifted her up and stared at her face while she panted happily at him. Bruce sighed.

“Did we crush this surprise party or what?” Steph said. “Up top!” and Cass and Tim gave her a high-five.

Bruce cradled the dog to his chest and stroked her fur. Damian reached over to scratch her head.

“Being Robin is a very important responsibility,” Damian told the dog, “but I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“It turns out all of the puppies washed out of their police training. I’ve never been more proud,” Jason said.

Cass turned to Bruce. “I want the Black Bat puppy,” she signed.

Bruce hid his smile in his new Robin’s fur.

[lilacmeadows]

Made For You pt. 2

Omg you guys thank you so much for all the support! Part 1 was my first fic and you guys were so sweet. I had to get started on part 2 right away. If you want to be on my taglist, just let me know! This is just leading up to the next few chapters that’s just gonna be FILTHY. I needed a bit of backstory to be satisfied, but now that the boring part is out of the way, I’m gonna go research other names for genitals. Hope you enjoy! -Savvy

BUCKY X READER

Summary: Hydra had just finished training you to be the Winter Soldier’s perfect mate when the Avengers saved him. But what’s going to happen to you now that Hydra has deleted your old life and left you with nothing but a soldier that needs to learn to love himself before he can love someone else.

Part 1    Part 2     Part 3

WARNINGS: explicit sexual content, explicit language, underage reader (nothing sexual happens underage), stockholm syndrome, mentions of family death, eventual dom/sub dynamics, mentions of captivity and kidnapping. violence- guns, mutual pining, eventual smut, fluff, angst if you squint (must be 18+)

WORD COUNT:  2.9k

“Make the Soldat happy. He is my mission.” 

When she was first taken, of course she was scared. She didn’t know why, where she was going, if she’d be rescued. It was a painful adjustment, and some days it was as if the tears would never stop. It’s not like she was worth anything to anyone who mattered, her family wasn’t rich. Just her mom and brother. They lived a happy and normal life. 

She’d guess it didn’t really matter. At the age of 10, y/n was old enough to understand basic concepts, carry a conversation with adults, and she had strict teachers in school, so she knew how to behave. 

What she didn’t know was how to be a wife. Or a ‘life-partner’. None of the Men would ever call her a future ‘wife’. She was training to be a mate. Someone the Soldat could own and connect with so he didn’t fly off the rails if things got out of control. If he got out of their control. Every morning, a watcher would wake her up at 8AM so she could stretch, eat, and meditate. By 10AM, her first trainer of the day would come in and teach her the schooling she was missing. Just basic math and reading, a little German, and a little Russian. Not enough for her to eavesdrop on their plans, but enough to understand her Soldat if he didn’t feel like speaking English. 

At 1PM, another trainer would come and bring her to the small kitchenette down the hall. They had no intention of domesticating the ‘couple’, but she was learning to be a woman- of course the Men would have her start in the kitchen. She would learn very simple meals that could feed a fully grown man, and usually had something light for lunch herself. The men brought her the other 2 meals a day. At 3PM she would have lessons on ‘Womanhood’. At least that’s what she called it. A trainer would come in and teach her a never-ending list of rules that she had to follow in order to be a ‘lady’. It reminded her of an old Barbie movie she would watch when she was little. There was a song called ‘To Be a Princess’, where a poor girl learned how to act proper. Once she started seeing herself as that princess, the days got a little easier. Some days, they would go over how to sit and lie down like a lady. Others, they would walk laps around the halls open to her, reviewing how to walk on the balls of her feet. She learned to talk in short sentences with excellent manners, and how to brush her hair, so she could look more presentable for her Soldat. 

Over the years of compliance, the trainers softened on her just as the watchers had. Of course, they were still horrible people, but they knew she was a kind girl at heart and wouldn’t cause trouble. Some days, she would be made to sit perfectly still with a stack of books on her head, while her trainer would tell her something silly happening outside the walls of the building that became her home. She learned little bits of information about their lives, music, art. But never anything political or having to do with who the Men even worked for. That was strictly forbidden. They would let her color in her free time. Sometimes a watcher would bring a book from his home for her to read, and when she was old enough, she was given a few colors of yarn and started knitting sweaters and scarves on plastic needles. She didn’t have a clock, but she would learn by the rotating shifts of her watchers what time of day it was.

There were children whose lives sucked more than hers. And for that, she was grateful.

When she got older (let’s say 18), the training started to change. She never knew what day it was, or even what year. She had stopped keeping track so long ago, but the changes were made gradually. She would be made to read books on intimacy, and then watch videos of men brutally ravishing ladies about her size. She had to learn what to do to please her Soldat, without being taught physically. This made her happy. The thought of any of the watchers or trainers doing that to her made her sick. And everyone thought it was in her best interest to be completely innocent to the touch of a man when she has her first encounter with the Soldat.

Which turned out exactly as planned. But on the day Steve and Sam plucked her out of her bedroom, she was not expecting the Soldat to be sitting right in front of her. In all his glory.

The quinjet was eerily silent for all of seven seconds before Clint had the audacity to continue the conversation he started.

“You make the soldier happy?” was the best the shocked man could come up with.

“I haven’t met him yet, but I’m ready. They made me ready for him.” y/n said with bright, hopeful eyes. Her words flowed so easily, they sounded rehearsed.

“Do we tell her?” Tony asked Steve, who was getting greener by the second. He couldn’t believe he just got his best friend back, not two weeks ago, and now he has to worry about a girl who’s obsessed with said best friend.

“I don’t think we really have a choice.” Steve replied, taking a deep breath. The whole quinjet looked like they were holding their breath. y/n still didn’t know the names of the three men on the opposite side of the quinjet. Two of them standing together, pausing their conversation, and the brooding man, who everyone keeps looking at.

“y/n, meet Bucky.” Steve said, pointing at the man across from her. But ‘Bucky’ went completely over her head- the name being unfamiliar to her.

“Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you.” She said, offering a genuine smile, but clearly not picking up what Steve was putting down. Clint chimed in again, wanting to be out of his confused misery.

“Wait a second. Y/n. You mean the soldier, as in the Winter Soldier?” Y/n immediately nodded at hearing that name. She knew her Soldat went by that name. “As in that guy right there?” 

Her eyes went wide at the realization. He was sitting right in front of her. Staring at her since the minute she stepped onto the plane. And he was gorgeous. Long hair, thick thighs, piercing blue eyes, and a jaw that could probably cut glass. But he looked upset. Pissed really, and that scared her. She had one job: Make the Soldat happy. And there she was, barely presentable. She hadn’t even addressed him properly, how she was taught. With all the eyes on her, she felt a blush rush through her whole body at the embarrassing thought. But she had to. He wouldn’t like her if she didn’t follow the rules she grew up with.

Y/n daintily stood up and walked until she was right in front of Bucky. He held her eye contact the entire way, still not having said one word during this whole exchange. She gently knelt down until she was on her knees in front of him. 

“I hope I can make you happy, my Soldat. I am a gift from the Men who take care of us, and I am entirely yours.” Bucky’s jaw twitched. He hadn’t said anything this whole time, but his mind was moving at lightning speed. He watched this gorgeous, barely dressed girl sit across from him, and was already in awe. But then that girl got on her knees and declared her loyalty to him? In front of everyone he knows? He couldn’t lie to himself, he’d never been more turned on. But everything about this was wrong. She was just a Stockholm Syndrome’d girl who wanted to follow orders. But her orders were to make him happy. He finally broke eye contact with her to see Tony’s shocked face looking over at Bruce and Thor, to make sure he’s not hallucinating this. 

“Y/n, you should stand up.” He said to her in a hushed tone. Probably harsher than he meant to. He could see her visibly take a breath at the sound of his voice, his eyes followed the gentle slope of her neck down to her breast. She dreamed for years about what his voice would sound like, and it just rolled over her. But she quickly obeyed and stood in front of his seat. He expected her to say something else, but she was silent then. Her previous outburst was one of the few exceptions to her ‘only talk when spoken to’ rule. “What do you want? Where is your family so we can take you home?” He asked her. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. He didn’t want her was all she could assume. She was made for him, so why was he turning her away?

“I want to make you happy, sir. It’s all I want. Please let me be good for you. I promise, I’ll be so good for you.” Begging was familiar to her from her studies. She didn’t expect to be begging for her to be able to please him, but she would do whatever it took to get him to keep her.

“No. Y/n. This isn’t right. You were being kept there, whatever Hydra told you to do is over. You’re free now.” The tears flowed freely down her cheeks and it broke his heart. She tried to cover her face with her hands. He didn’t want to see her cry, nor did he want to turn her away, but he also couldn’t just let her be his sex slave. It wasn’t right. 

“Please don’t be sad. This is for the best-” He tried to reason with her, but when he took her hand off her face so she would look at him, the contact only made her sob harder. This was all she wanted. 

“Buck, I think we should just let her sit for a minute. Can you grab her some water? Tony and I will try to figure out where she was from.” Steve said to Bucky- trying to end this painful and awkward situation. Bucky stood and walked to another area of the quinjet. He was grateful to be able to use this time to think.

“Y/n, we’re gonna need your help to get you home okay. What’s your last name? How old are you?” 

“Y/L/N” And then she went quiet. It never occurred to her that she didn’t know how old she was. Of course, she remembered her birthday, but she couldn’t tell the weeks and months apart, so she hadn’t celebrated it since she turned 10 in 2006. “What year is it?”

“When did they take you?” Steve asked gently. Being a man from another time, he could remember well the day he woke up in 2011 when it was supposed to be 1944. He knew how jarring it was to discover all the time that’s been lost, and wanted to spare her that grief.

“2006. I was 10.” She looked at him, and she could tell it’s not just 2008 by the look on his face. She knew her body went through changes over her time with the Men, but between the ‘dietary supplements’ they gave her, and the fact that she wasn’t looking in a mirror- much less shopping for clothes- she didn’t realize she had fully completed puberty. 

“Y/n, it’s 2016. You’re 20 now.” And that made the tears come harder. But she wasn’t so upset about the 10 years of her life. She was mad at 20 years of her life wasted. Since Bucky didn’t want her, all of the training was for nothing. She knew living for him made her the definition of a broken person- she wasn’t dumb. The idea of her Soldat was what grounded her all that time. When she was lonely, she’d think about the man the Men always tell her about. They told her how he was their ‘greatest asset’. And she often fantasized about if he would fall in love with her. So by the time she met him, she had already been in love with him for much longer than she’d care to admit- which makes the heartbreak of rejection hurt that much more.

Unfortunately for Bucky, his heart was heavy too. He tucked away into the tiny bed area on the jet after quickly handing Steve the water to give to y/n. It was too much. Being in that room with her, she looked at him like he hung the moon. But he most certainly had not. He was a murderer. Tony’s father was a scientist during the war, and Bucky knew him pretty well through Steve. And he killed him. He had scattered memories of hurting dozens of people, so why would she be so willing to be with someone like him?

Part of him wanted it. After almost a century of not owning anything and not having a choice, he was given the opportunity to have something that belonged only to him. A gift from the men who take care of us. If it wasn’t cruel, he would have laughed in her face. Maybe she was taken care of, but he most certainly wasn’t. She was brought in young enough to still be under the impression that Hydra wasn’t evil, just strict. He imagined for a minute how things could have turned out for the two of them if he hadn’t gotten free. If Hydra really was planning on giving him a gift. He didn’t like the last gift they gave him in the shape of an arm, but y/n was perfect. She was the perfect size for him- although his broad frame could dwarf most women. And her smile pulled at his heart.

He wanted to kiss her the minute he saw her. He knew he wanted to make her his.

And that was bad.

He rubbed his hand over his face and decided to rejoin the group in the middle of their conversation. Thor and Bruce decided to stop being passive members of the conversation and introduced themselves. Y/n was very confused at Thor’s proclamation as ‘God of Thunder’, but with all that was happening, she didn’t feel it was her place to question it.

“- a good thing we have spare rooms at the compound. You can stay as long as you like.” Tony finished speaking to y/n just as Bucky was walking into the room. “We’re gonna have a new house guest MC.” He waggled his eyebrows at the man who caught the back half of that conversation.

Bucky’s jaw dropped. This would only make the situation much harder than it needed to be. He looked to Steve for an explanation. The blond stood up and made his way over to Bucky.

“Look, Hydra scrubbed her records off of every database and-” He took a deep sigh, “Her family is dead, Buck. They probably killed them after they took her.” 

Then it was Bucky’s turn to sigh. He knew the right thing to do was to help her, but he also knew how much he wanted to feel her soft skin in his hands. And that made her dangerous to be around. 

What nobody knew was why Hydra took the 10 year old from Georgia. In 2006, the Winter Soldier was sent on a mission to kill a scientist that lived there. Of course the poor guy didn’t have a chance when the Soldier was sitting in his house, waiting for him when he got home, but what the Soldier wasn’t expecting was a little girl to be coming inside with him. The scientist looked sleazy and didn’t have any children, so who knows what would have happened to her if the Soldier didn’t get there in time. She screamed and cried. The comm in his ear commanded him to kill the girl for being a witness. But the part of the Soldier that was still Bucky wanted her to be safe. He shushed the little girl and asked her for her address. When she recited it to him, he rubbed her head and told her she was a good girl, before he dug his metal fingers into the child’s pressure points and she fell limp into his arms. y/n woke up in her bed, crying at the bad dream she must have had- her mother not even home yet. That was the first act of defiance Hydra ever experienced from the Winter Soldier. First sign of humanity and compassion. They knew if the mind control was getting weaker, he would be harder to control next time they unfroze him, but his protective nature of the girl would make her an asset to them.

Her capture was arranged before his heart was fully frozen in the chamber. Neither Bucky nor y/n remembered this- Bucky only remembering parts of his time under their control, and y/n never thinking about that bad dream again, but the connection was still there as strong as it was that day 10 years ago.

Part 3

[sdottkrames]

Welcome Home My Boy (Welcome Home My Son)

✍🏼By: me, @sdottkrames

🎁For: @skeeter-110 for the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

⭐️Rating: general audiences

💜Relationships: Tony Stark & Peter Parker, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, May Parker (au where she’s not Peter’s aunt)

Summary: Tony Stark’s life is missing something. Peter Parker is an orphan who wants a family. And Pepper Potts comes up with an idea that brings them together

Read on AO3: Here

“Do you have a family?”

“Yes. And I will see them when I leave here. You Stark?”

Tony’s mind flashed first to Pepper. Then Obadiah, Rhodey, Happy. But the memories exploded with the car crash that had killed his parents and faded along with the life in the eyes of Edwin Jarvis. He had no family. He’d kept it that way, distancing himself with booze and sunglasses and a falsely confident persona, all to protect himself from being hurt even more when he inevitably lost them, too.

“No.”

 Ho Yinsen had changed Tony’s life in more ways than one, but perhaps the greatest change had been through that admittance he’d been forced to give. 

Ever since that whispered “no,” there had been something stirring in Tony’s chest. He’d squashed it down vehemently when a black Tetris puzzle crawled across his chest and neck like some evil game. When he’d been freed of that, he’d found a little family in his best friend and his (now) girlfriend who hadn’t let themselves be pushed too far away by his fears and insecurities. 

Then his family had unexpectedly and, at first, unwelcomingly, grown. But soon the five other superheroes had forced their way into his heart and home. He rearranged the tower to house the new avengers, and found himself participating in weekly team training exercises and helping Steve Rogers of all people cook for team dinners. Game nights and movie nights and pool parties became part of the norm and Tony found himself slowly working through the anxiety and fear that carrying a nuke through a wormhole and falling almost to his death left in its wake.

 His life had never been more full of family. But something was still missing.

Then he’d had the dream.

***

Pepper was pregnant. 

She came to him with tears in her eyes, excitement and joy warring with worry and fear on her face, and showed him the positive test. 

“Tony,” she whispered, and he found himself speechless. The joy he felt spread all the way through his chest and stilled his tongue so he answered the only way he knew how: he swept his beautiful wife into his arms, shoulders shaking a little with a joyful sob that broke through.

“You are?” He finally choked out, and saw the fear and worry leave the battlefield of her eyes and she nodded.

“We- we gotta get a room together! A crib and, and paint. What color? Grey? You like grey? That’s neutral right? Then it doesn’t matter what they are- boy or girl or even if they decide to say eff off to gender norms.”

Pepper cut him off with an ecstatic kiss, and Tony felt that stirring for something different, something more, settle and dissipate. 

He’d finally found what was missing.

*** 

Tony woke up in tears, mourning something he wanted with every fiber of his heart, but that he feared he would never be good enough for.

He mentioned it to Pepper, and she was the one that came up with the idea.

“Tony, I want you to listen to me, and get this into your head. We’ve both talked about how we aren’t ready for kids, but I need you to know that it isn’t because I don’t think you’ll be a wonderful dad. When we decide to have kids, you will be the best dad those kids could ask for. I believe that with all my heart.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath and letting himself hear her words and believe them.

“What if you volunteered at an orphanage or something?” she said. “Get around kids, fulfil that desire until we both feel ready for a family of our own?”

“That’s not a half bad idea.”

Pepper had left him to his thoughts then. Once he got that look on his face, she knew that he wouldn’t let it go.

Sure enough, Tony found an orphanage in severe disrepair and desperate need of some support. After a few meetings with his teammates to make sure they were okay with little kids coming to the tower for a bit (Natasha and Bruce had thought it sweet, Steve had smiled and got a look in his eye like he was already imagining hanging out with the little ones, and Clint and Rhodey had all agreed enthusiastically) and filing all the paperwork with the best lawyers he could find, he’d gone to the orphanage to offer his help.

May, the sweet but slightly frazzled orphanage caretaker, had burst into tears right there.

“I- I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless,” she said, chuckling through grateful sobs.

“No thanks needed. I’ll take the kiddos off your hands for a couple months while my guys fix this place up. You just tell them exactly how you want it and what you need. We’ll take care of everything.”

Three weeks, several panic attacks, and more trips to Toys “R” Us and Ikea than he wanted to admit to, Tony had one of the lower floors of the tower completely arranged to house seven small children and was preparing to welcome them into his home.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, Tony,” Pepper whispered, hearing his breath hitch as the car he’d sent to pick up the kids pulled in.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Just fine. Let’s go meet our new roommates.”

***

Peter Parker could not believe his luck. 

When his parents had died in a horrible car crash a year ago and he’d ended up in the orphanage, he’d been labeled as having bad luck. Every little trip they went on, something happened. He’d accidentally let the class snake out at school (May had told him about Harry Potter, and how he'd let a snake out, too, which made Peter feel better). And there was the time that he’d gotten left behind during an outing at Central park, and the time a bird had pooped on his ice cream while he was eating it outside with his best friend Ned, and the time that-

Well, you get the picture.

Joselyn called it “Parker Luck,” but she wasn’t trying to be mean. She just talked even more than Peter did, and tended to say exactly what she thought. She was one of Peter’s best friends at the orphanage, and besides, she wasn’t wrong. Peter did tend to have some not so great things happen to him.

But not today.

Today was the greatest day of his life, because today was the day that all the kids were moving into the Stark Tower. 

Three weeks ago, Tony Stark himself had come to the orphanage. Peter remembered May crying and he hadn’t known why. He’d drawn her a picture to make her happy, but she explained that they were good tears, and had told him and all the kids that they would be leaving for a few months to live at Stark Towers. 

Peter had nearly peed his pants in excitement, and he was quivering with it again as the car pulled up and he could see both Tony Stark and Pepper Potts through the glass door. 

One by one, each kid got out of the car while a small swarm of workers gathered their things to take up for them.

“Hello, everyone,” Pepper greeted them with a smile, and Peter felt his cheeks heat up. Tony was his hero, but he also knew how smart and wonderful Pepper Potts was. 

“Welcome,” Tony said, grinning.

As soon as the man spoke, Peter couldn’t help the way his eyes went wide and his mouth popped open with a gasp. He was everything the boy had imagined, standing confidently in a sharp black suit with those signature sunglasses on his face.

The two adults began to explain the rules of the tower as they took the children on a small tour. They introduced the security guards, explained who to ask for help if they got lost or hurt, where they were allowed to go and what areas were off limits, and how they would be getting to school. Peter didn’t pay too much attention though. He was too excited, taking in the sight of the tower, his hero, and thinking about how cool it was that this would be his home for a little while. He was certain nobody was luckier.

“Mr. Stark?” one of the other boy’s- Mikey- asked when they passed one of the labs they were being shown on their little tour.

“Yes?”

“Where’s your Iron Man suit?”

Tony chuckled. “It’s in my private lab, away from anybody’s hands that aren’t mine. Don’t want anything breaking them.”

“Not the Mark 50,” Peter asked softly before he could stop himself.

“Huh?” Tony’s piercing gaze was turned to him. 

Squirming under the sudden attention, he tugged on his shirt. “W-well, the nanite suit, sir. Unless a person broke the actual nanite robot, the suit could just be reformed.”

“You know about nanites?”

Chocolate curls flying, the boy nodded enthusiastically. He couldn’t help himself once someone got him talking about the things he loved. “Yeah! I did a report on them a month ago. I read all your papers on them, and I even started trying to make my own so that I could-” Blushing furiously under his hero’s appraisal, Peter cut himself off and ducked his head. “Sorry.”

But Tony Stark didn’t look angry. “I’m gonna give you a piece of advice, kid: never apologize for being the smartest in the room.” He winked. “You really read my work on nanotechnology?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m impressed.”

And Peter was grateful that his legs didn’t give out right then. He could hardly believe the compliment. He was dazed for the rest of the tour, soaking the praise in with a huge grin.

Eventually, they arrived at their floor. It was a large one, and after the Battle of New York, it had stood mostly empty. There was a spacious living area and a small kitchen, and then a hallway with three bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms.

“Now, you’re going to have to share,” Tony explained. “We don’t have seven rooms on this floor, but each room has a bed and desk for you.”

“You three girls will share a room while the boys will split up in twos,” Pepper added. She gestured to one of the rooms. “This one’s yours, girls. It’s a little bigger and we’ve put three beds in it. Boys, you can decide which of the other rooms you want and who you want to share it with.”

Joselyn, along with the other two girls Kaylie and Hazel, dragged their suitcases and chatted excitedly as they entered their room.  If it had been possible, Peter would have roomed with Joselyn...or Ned. But those two not being an option, he looked to the boys.

He was the oldest out of all of them. There was the four year old Greyson and the six year old twins Mikey and David. It was fairly obvious that the twins would stick together, so Peter took Grey’s hand.

“Can I be your roommate, buddy?” The little boy nodded enthusiastically. “It looks like the twins took the middle room, so we get this one!”

The boy genius led his new roommate through the door and for the second time that day felt his jaw drop. 

The room was huge, and the beds looked like they were clouds, piled high with pillows Peter was almost certain were the most comfortable things on the planet. Grey seemed equally as overwhelmed, walking over to inspect the bed.

“Can you help me put my clothes away?” he asked, turning to the older boy.

“Sure.”

And slowly they got settled into this new chapter of their lives.

*** 

Tony was about ready to throw something at the wall, which meant that he needed to get out and move around, distract himself from the problem before he actually did break something. It wouldn’t be the first time, but he didn’t want a repeat of the great Potts meltdown of ‘09. 

Sighing, he stood up and stretched, letting a loud yawn out as he did before wandering out of the lab. 

It had been nearly a week with the little kiddos staying at the tower, and Tony had enjoyed having them so far. He even invited them up for dinner and a movie the other day. Most of them had been totally starstruck and it had made him smile. He figured they might provide a decent distraction, so he wandered down to the “baby floor,” as he called it. 

He was delighted when the first face he saw was Peter Parker’s.

The boy was shy, but also unfailingly kind. Tony had seen him take the hand of the smallest boy when the two twin boys ran into their room, making the little one feel welcome and loved; had watched as the kid listened to his friend Joselyn, who tended to ramble, with a patient and kind smile, never seeming annoyed by how verbose she was; and had smiled as the kid let one of the other girls hold his hand during a part in Snow White that scared her.

He was exactly the sort of distraction that Tony needed.

“Hey, Pete. How’re you doing?” he greeted, smiling a little as the boy’s cheeks turned pink and his lips lifted in a small, excited grin when he was called by name.

“G-good, Mr. Stark. How are you?”

“I’m doing good. A little frustrated with a project I’m working on, so I figured I’d take a break and come see you kiddos. How was school? Learn anything good?”

Peter’s eyes lit up as they had the first day the older genius had met the kid and they bonded over nanotechnology. Tony smiled as the chatter about 2nd grade science (they were learning about cells) and math (how was an 8 year old already doing functions?!) swept his frustration right out the door with its soothing familiarity. He didn’t have to figure anything out or meet any deadline. All the kid wanted was someone to listen.

So Tony did, oohing and mmhmming in all the right places, until the kid asked: “So what project were you working on before? Maybe I can help so you’re not so frustrated? can I?”

He’d known how sweet Peter was, but Tony was still taken aback by the kindness. “Well, if you want to-“

“Sure!” The little eager beaver said quickly. “What’s the project?”

Hesitating only for a second, Tony explained how Clint’s explosive arrows weren’t working properly, detonating too soon because of an unstable chemical inside them.

With a few graphs and a little breaking down of some more technical terms, Peter understood the problem.

“Let me think a little bit, okay?”

“Sure, buddy,” Tony chuckled. “However long you need.”

And he let the kid think while he checked some emails and wandered into the kitchen to grab him and his mini genius a granola bar.

He stopped for a moment before joining Peter at the table, his steps halted by the adorable crease in the boy’s brow and the way his tongue poked through his teeth as he drew some diagram.

When Tony finally pulled himself together to sit down against and offer Peter the snack, the kid announced: “I got it!”

Surprised, Tony raised an eyebrow and motioned for Peter to continue.

“What if you use your nanites? You could engineer them in a way that they wouldn’t jostle or affect the catalyst. Clint could control when they fell away, which would cause the explosion to happen.”

He pushed the little picture he’d drawn to illustrate, compete with a stick figure Clint Barton in purple (Hawkeye’s theme color), and Tony let his jaw go slack.

“Kid, honestly, I’m impressed. That’s genius. How in the world did you think of that?”

Peter flushed under the praise, and explained the process to Tony, the latter encouraging him whenever he seemed self conscious about his rambling. 

“You, my friend, are one of the smartest kids I know. Would you like to help me build these arrows?”

Peter’s eyes widened to the size of a dinner plate. “What?”

Tony chucked. “They’re your idea, kiddo. It’s only right that you should help me make them. I’ll handle all the explosive parts, but I think you should help engineer the nanites.”

“I would love to!” The boy choked out.

“Great. After school tomorrow, come to my lab. Jarvis will know where to take you.”

“Okay!”

Tony stayed a little while longer, enjoying talking science with Peter, before being called to other projects. He was grateful for the distraction though, because he couldn’t wait to see the look on the kid’s face when he saw the lab.

And, boy, Peter did not disappoint.

When Jarvis opened the door, Peter’s jaw dropped and he practically flew to one of the Ironman suits. Talking a mile a minute, he inspected every inch of the lab. 

“Oh my gosh, what’s this?! Wait, no way, is that- it is! Mr. Stark this is amazing! And woah look at that!”

Tony just chuckled at the kid’s enthusiasm, and pulled his attention to the reason for their working together after a few more minutes’ exploration. 

The two spent hours in the lab together. Tony hadn't ever thought he would enjoy sharing his lab with anybody, let alone an 8-year-old child, but Peter was different. He found himself wanting Peter to come help him more often.

This is only temporary. A cynical voice inside him said.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be. Maybe I can give him a real internship and a real job? Said the more hopeful part of his brain.

A seven year old with a job. Yeah, that’s a great idea.

Tony shook his head to clear off the thoughts. He would enjoy the lab time he did get with this kid that had somehow wormed into his iron heart. He’d just have to baby proof the lab first.

***

Peter fought back the tears, trying hard not to let Flash’s taunting get to him. He kept walking, ignoring his classmate’s teasing behind his back as he nearly ran out the front door.

“Hi, Mr. Happy,” he greeted, trying to keep the sniffling out of his voice. The man Mr. Stark had assigned to drive him to and from school didn’t like little kids. (At least, Peter thought he didn’t. He wasn’t mean, but he seemed to grunt and growl more than use really words.)

“Hey,” Happy grunted, as was his usual greeting, and Peter didn’t notice the concern in the man’s eyes when he didn’t answer right away as he blinked back tears. 

The drive to the tower was quiet except for the occasional snuffle from Peter, who was trying to his sadness. He hated when Flash was mean, especially about his parents. He missed his parents and his Aunt and Uncle. It was right of Flash to bring them up, but there wasn’t much Peter could do about it.

When he came into the tower, he was surprised to see Mr. Stark there, waiting for him in the living room. Usually the man had him come straight to the lab, but they hadn’t been scheduled to work together that day.

“Hey, kid,” Tony greeted.

“H-hi. Are we having a Lab day today?” Peter tried to keep the hope out of his voice. Tinkering around the lab with his hero was exactly what he needed to cheer him up. 

“I was thinking we might spend some time in the lab, yeah. If you’re up for it?”

“Yeah, i'd love a lab day, sir!” Peter said, smiling his first genuine smile since Flash had said the word “orphan” at lunch.

“Yeah? Let’s go, young padawan.” 

Peter gave a small smile at the Star Wars reference. Mr. Stark wouldn’t have known that reference if Peter hadn’t rambled about the franchise one of their last Lab days, which then led to the man insisting they watch the movies together so Peter could “make sure he understood what was happening.” He was pleased Tony seemed to have enjoyed the endeavor! The pleasant feeling followed him as they went to the lab and began working on the housing unit for the nanites in Clint’s arrows.

Tony, however, kept a watchful eye on his little friend.

Happy had texted saying that something was off with the kid, and while Tony had no experience with children prior to the last few weeks, he did have experience with being a genius and an orphan. He figured tinkering would be a good distraction, and he’d wager he was correct after seeing the look of relief and excitement on Peter’s face when he was invited to the lab.

It wasn’t until they had the housing unit almost complete that Tony decided to actually broach the subject.

Though working with his hands seemed to have stemmed the tears Happy reported seeing in the car, the boy was definitely off. He sniffled more than once, and didn’t seem as talkative or enthusiastic as he normally did. There wasn’t a single excited ramble about his friends Ned or Jocelyn, or whatever the last thing they learned in science was.

“So, Peter. How was your day. You haven’t said much.”

Tony didn’t miss the tears that misted the boys eyes slightly 

“It was fine,” he said, turning back to his project with a barely concealed sniffle.

Tony felt slightly awkward and unsure. He’d never had a conversation like this with a little kid before. Heck, he was barely getting to the point of speaking openly to his girlfriend and best friend about some things. But if he wanted to someday have kids, he figured he’d need to start getting used to stuff like this. With a deep breath, he took the plunge.

“Buddy, if you don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay. But, uh, if you do want to talk about whatever is bothering you, you can. I mean, I’m all ears or whatever. I can blast or make fun of or drown in ice cream nearly any problem you have.”

Peter hesitantly turned towards him. “I-it’s really nothing. I’m f-fine.”

“I’m real sure, kid,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “Seriously, is everything okay?” The hesitation in the boy’s eyes warred with the desire to tell what had happened. “C’mon. Out with it! The sooner I know who or what I need to blast, make fun of, or drown in ice cream, the better we’ll both feel.”

“W-well It’s this kid n-named Flash.” Peter began twisting his shirt into knots as he finally gave in. “He was just making fun of me for not having parents and he just b-bothered me more today, I guess.”

Tony’s heart squeezed in sympathy. He had plenty experience of his own being an orphan and dealing with bullies.

“Since I can’t blast a kid with my repulsars, although he maybe deserves it for being such a jerk,” he finally answered, “and I don’t feel right making fun of him, either, I’m going to settle with drowning it in ice cream. I know a great place just up the street, whaddya say?”

There was a small smile, which Tony saw as an absolute win, and then a shy nod, and Tony whisked the boy away for ice cream.

“Ya know, kid, none of what this Flash kid says is true,” he said as he licked his mint chip cone. “You’re not unlovable, or unworthy of parents. You didn’t do anything wrong the day they died. You couldn’t have been a better son. Trust me. All those things are utter nonsense.”

Peter stared at him dumbfounded. “H-how did you know?” He whispered.

“I’m an orphan too, ya know. I lost my parents many years ago, but I definitely know a little of what you’re feeling and dealing with.”

“Really?”

“I promise.”

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Anytime, kid. Anytime,” Tony said. “Now, are you drowning enough in ice cream? Do you need more chocolate sauce? You look like you need more chocolate sauce.”

Peter giggled, and Tony couldn’t help the slow smile that stole across his face as he went to go get more chocolate sauce, determined to keep that little boy smiling as long as possible.

***

“Um, can you find it in an aquarium?”

The science genius duo was enjoying their usual time in the lab and Tony had begun a session of “I’m thinking of an animal.” His animal was a hippo, which he’d felt fairly confident about until this last question.

“I don’t know, kiddo, I’ve never been to an aquarium!”

Dropping his jaw and his screwdriver, Peter spluttered out an incredulous, “what?”

“I’ve never been to an aquarium.” Tony shrugged.

“Oh, man. You don’t know what your missing, Mr. Stark! There’s fish and turtles and sometimes even hippos and alligators. My favorite are the turtles.” Peter's Big brown eyes widened and Tony grinned in anticipation of the child-like excitement that was sure to follow in whatever story the kid was going to tell next. “One time, there was this huge sea turtle and it came and swam next to the glass right where I was sitting for literally five minutes. My mom took tons of pictures. It was so cool!”

Tony chuckled. “That sounds really cool, bud.”

“It was! Did you know that some turtles only lay eggs every four years?”

They continued working and sharing weird animal facts and Tony was again startled by the desire to make this little kid smile. 

“Jarvis, buddy, can you look up the nearest aquarium?” He asked when Peter had left to go to bed.

“That would be the New York Aquarium.”

“Does it have turtles?”

“It does.”

“Hippos?”

“No, sir. But the Philadelphia Aquarium does.”

“Get two tickets to the New York one for this Saturday. And clear my schedule for that day.”

“With pleasure, sir.”

A few days later, Tony was nearly bouncing with excitement as he waited for Jarvis to bring Peter up to the penthouse for them to go to the aquarium.

“Mr. Stark, is everything okay?” The boy asked as he exited the elevator.

“Yeah, kiddo. Everything’s just fine. We’re going on a little field trip, though.”

“We are?” Peter’s eyes lit up. “Where to?”

“That’s a surprise!” Peter’s grin widened to match Tony’s. “My schedule’s all clear. You good to go?”

With a floppy-haired nod, they were off. 

The little boy had no clue where they were going, and Tony indulged 20 questions, but by the time they arrived, Peter was no closer to figuring it out.

“Wait...an aquarium?” He gasped when he got out and took in the building.

“They don’t have hippos or alligators, but they just got a couple turtles. I figured after hearing about how wonderful aquariums are, I should try and go to one, and I thought you could show me around.”

Peter didn’t hesitate one moment, unabashedly grabbing Tony’s hand and pulling him into the aquarium. They presented their tickets and the younger genius continued to drag the older genius around from exhibit to exhibit with huge smiles on both their faces. Like Peter, Tony’s favorite part were the turtles. The way they gravefully swam through the water and their kind faces made him feel peaceful and warm and fuzzy. And Peter’s little hand in his while he spouted off lots of facts about turtles made him feel even more so.

But the kids were leaving within the next couple weeks, and those pesky thoughts were back, marring the joy a little. Tony dutifully beat them back, aided by the peaceful feeling of being with Peter and the kid’s head modded off onto his shoulder on the way back to the tower.

***

Peter had nightmares more than he wanted to admit. 

They woke him up shaking with his heart beating so fast and hard he could hear it in his ears. The worst part about them, though, was how they would linger, seared into his eyelids. Scary images of his parents and aunt and uncle as their plane went down in flames replayed themselves over and over. 

Sniffling back tears, Peter decided to quietly sneak out of the room. He didn’t want to wake his little roommate.

“Hello, Peter,” Jarvis greeted, making him jump even though he knew the AI well. (Tony had even started helping Peter code his own when the boy showed interest.)

“H-Hey, Jarvis.”

“It is quite late for you to be up. Or early, depending how you look at it. Are you well?”

“Just can’t sleep. I’m heading for a snack, that’s all.”

“I think I have something that might help, if you’ll follow me, sir.”

The AI lit up a pathway and Peter shrugged before following it. He thought Jarvis would lead him to the kitchen, but instead he found himself staring at a door that definitely wasn’t for a kitchen. He’d never been to this part of the tower.

“Uh, where am I?”

“You’re outside Mr. Stark’s bedroom.”

His stomach flipped like a monkey after a banana, and Peter stumbled backwards. 

“Jarvis,” he hissed. “I can’t wake Iron Man up! Why’d you take me here. I thought you were bringing me to the kitchen for a snack!”

“I did not say that I was, only that I had something I thought would help.”

“No, I’m not going in there. I’ll find the kitchen myself,” he said, backing away as quickly as he could. 

But it was too late. 

A light flicked on and before Peter could turn around, the door opened to reveal a sweatpants-clad Tony Stark.

“Peter? What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark.” Peter’s voice was shaking and tear were burning his eyes. He’d gotten closer to the man the last month and a half they’d been together, but this was beyond embarrassing. He couldn’t ask Iron man to help him with his nightmares. “I couldn’t sleep and thought Jarvis was leading me to a kitchen for a snack.”

“No worries kid. C’mon. I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Y-You really don’t have to do that, Mr. Stark. I’m okay, I swear.”

Tony rolled his eyes, ruffling Peter’s curls and throwing an arm around the kid’s shoulders to lead him down the hallway. “It’s not a problem, buddy. I don’t mind cooking.”

So Peter was lead to the kitchen, and he was surprised how much better he was feeling not being alone. This was the second time Mr. Stark had saved him from being alone like this, and it felt really nice. He would miss it when he went back to living at the orphanage in a few weeks when the renovations were done. Sometimes, he would imagine what it would be like if Mr. Stark was his real dad, or adopted him, but he knew that would never happen. He usually tried to stop those daydreams fast.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. That looks really good,” Peter said, breaking out of his thoughts to take the toast with butter and jelly that he was offered.

It was quiet as Peter ate, Tony sitting next to him in companionable silence. Once the plate was empty, the bolder genius spoke up. “Again, kiddo, you do not need to explain, but if you want to talk about what’s got you up at nearly 2 in the morning, I’m all ears.”

Peter felt tears well up in his eyes. He had done so well not crying in front of his hero and he didn’t want to start now. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists to keep the tears from falling, but he was grateful to talk to someone.

“Um, I keep having dreams about- about my parents. The, uh, the day they went on the plane that crashed? And they just make me sad.” He shrugged. “S-Sometimes it’s hard to go back to sleep after I have one.”

“I have dreams like that, too,” Tony whispered.

Just like when the man had practically read his mind, saying exactly what Peter had needed to hear when Flash made fun of him the last week, a shock went up Peter’s spine. “Really?”

Tony sighed. “Yeah, I do. I lost my parents, too. Car accident. I also have dreams about being stuck in Afghanistan, in that cave, or in the wormhole. They’regetting better, though.”

“That must be really scary, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, patting the man’s arms.

“Heh. I’m supposed to be the one comforting you, kiddo.”

“Well, we all need comfort sometimes.”

“Thank you, buddy. How are you feeling?”

Peter looked up shyly. “Better. Thanks for the food.”

“No problem. Wanna watch something? That usually helps me fall back asleep.”

“Okay!”

They chose Iron Giant, and Peter felt so comfortable as Tony threw a blanket over him and pulled him under his arm. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed.

Tony watched as the little boy fell asleep, his heart melting and wrapping around his finger even more. After a few minutes to make sure the tyke would stay asleep if moved, he slipped his arms around the little body and carried him up to bed.

As he closed the door and saw Peter’s chocolate curls poking over the blanket, his tears prickled with tears at the realization he would lose this in a couple days.

Shut up he vehemently told that pesky little voice, and went back to bed, but didn’t get much sleep.

*** 

There were tears in everyone’s eyes, but Tony was going to blame it on May, who greeted him with tears of gratitude. All the kids gave her hugs before running off to explore the new building, chatting excitedly as they ran to the new beds and play area.

“Mr. Stark-“

“Tony, please, May.”

She smiled. “Tony. Seriously, though, I cannot thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to us. How much this means to me.”

See, this is why he was blaming May for the misty eyes. “Not a problem. The pleasure was all mine. It’s a special group of kiddos you got there.”

“They really are. And thanks to your help, the orphanage got some media attention, and now I’ve got people interested in the twins and a couple of the girls! I hope they all find good homes.”

“That’s amazing, May!” Tony said, and he meant it. Every single one of the kids had found a way into his heart, but none more than Peter. And the thought of that little boy going to another home caused another round of tears to come, though he quickly blinked them away.

“Mr. Stark!” As if called by Tony’s thoughts, Peter came bounding up, throwing a hug around the man’s waist. “This is amazing. Not as amazing as the tower, obviously, but this is a close second. Thank you so much!”

Tony hugged the boy back and assured him that he was happy to help, all the while trying to pretend his heart wasn’t breaking.

***

“Tony, this is ridiculous,” Pepper said, marching into his lab after the fourth day in a row of him being there. 

“What is, dear?” He asked, deflecting as usual.

Pepper raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her crisp blue suit. Even under her scrutinous glare, Tony had to admit she was gorgeous.

“You know what, dear. Peter’s gone and you’re back to moping in the lab.”

Acid curled his stomach, and he had to look away. “Well, what do you want me to do. Yeah, I miss the kid, and I’m trying to work through it. Just...just give me few more days.”

“You won’t survive another few days, Tony. You’re not invincible, you know.” She came over and ran a comforting hand through his hair, and his eyes closed of their own accord, trying to hide the tears. “Tony, what if...what if we adopt Peter?”

His eyes shot open. “What?”

“What if we adopt Peter?” She repeated. “You clearly love him, and I’ve watched him with you. He loves you, too. And I...I don’t know him as well as you do, but he’s so sweet and it’s impossible not to love him.”

“You’re serious?”

Pepper smiled. “100%. Tony, you’re ready. We’re ready. Let’s start a family.”

And just like in his dream, Tony couldn’t say or anything except pick his girlfriend up and spin her around.

“Thank you,” he said, tears in his eyes again. “I love you.”

***

Peter loved the new orphanage. He really did. The beds were as comfortable as the tower’s, and there were lots of cool toys and a new playground.

But Mr. Stark wasn’t there.

Peter tried to deny how much he missed him. How much he missed his own dad and how Mr. Stark helped fill that void a little with lab days and movie nights. He’d even helped Peter when Flash was mean and he’d had a nightmare.

And he missed him.

It also didn’t help that Jocelyn and Greyson got adopted, and the twins might be as well. People had been buzzing at the orphanage ever since the renovations. The media had run a few stories on how the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist had taken in the group of orphans and funded the renovations of the building. People had been coming ever since, but none of them really connected with Peter.

He hated to admit it, but he compared all of them to Mr. Stark, and none of the fit. Besides, they all wanted the younger kids.

“Peter!” May called, interrupting his moping. “Come here, sweetie.”

“Coming, May!” 

He jumped off the swing set, running towards the orphanage, but screeched to a halt as he saw a familiar face. Two familiar faces.

“M-Mr. S-Stark? Mrs. Potts?” He stammered out. “W-what’re you doing here?”

“Hey, kiddo,” Tony greeted. He looked nervous- a hand running over his carefully defined goatee, feet shifting back and forth, fingers clasped with Pepper’s.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, buddy, everything’s fine. We, uh, we were wondering if,” he hesitated and Pepper squeezed his hand. “We would like to adopt you, Peter. If that’s something you’d be interested in?”

Shocked, Peter couldn’t say anything, which was a rare thing for him. Or so his parents used to say.

“Really?” He finally choked out.

“Yeah, sweetie,” pepper said, smiling kindly. Peter was surprised. He’d gotten close with Tony, but not as much with her.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Tony grinned at him. “Well, say yes, buddy! We got a room all ready for you and a team of the best lawyers to make it official if you want.”

“Yes!” Peter said, throwing himself into their arms. “Yes, I want to!”

Again, everybody was crying (happy tears) and once all the paperwork was filled out, Tony took Peter’s hand.

“Let’s go home,” he said, his heart at peace finally, the nagging sensation of something missing finally filled by the little boy who was now his little boy.

“Home,” Peter repeated, smiling. His new favorite word.

[the-shadow-of-atlantis]

Meeting Family

Tagging: @melyaliz @sea-quinn @lizartgurl @speedypan @coffee-randomness @uncpanda

Read Earlier Parts Here

A/N Nick and Debbie mentioned at the end belong to @melyaliz

"What are you thinking about kitten?" Selina asked as she carefully brushed the little girl's hair.

Annabella had a little frown on her face that matched her father's when he was deep in thought. Her little brown eyes met Selina's in the mirror.

"What's a grandma?" Annabella asked.

"Well a grandma is what you call the person who's the mommy of your mommy or daddy." Selina said simply as she began to grab strands of Annabella's hair.

"But… daddy doesn’t have a mommy anymore. And you're not my mommy. So how can I have a grandma if I don't have a mommy?”

Selina's heart ached for the little girl, again she found herself thinking about whisking her away. But Bruce was stubborn; they had to stay in Gotham. According to him it was the best option.

"You do have a mommy kitten, she's just not here." Selina sighed, this was a conversation she needed to have with Bruce not her.

"Why can't you be my mommy?" Annabella asked, her voice coming out so soft Selina almost wasn't sure if she heard her right.

How do you explain to someone so young that you just weren't ready for that title no matter how much you loved them? How do you tell someone that even though they love their father so much the commitment scared you? Alfred cleared his throat making Selina jump slightly. She quickly secured the braid she was working on with a hair tie.

"Mrs. McNider has arrived." Alfred announced.

"She's not used to strangers." Bruce said as he approached the manor. "In fact she's pretty protective of any one she's grown up with. So if she doesn't approach you immediately don't take it personally. She has a pretty set schedule though it got a bit disturbed after the… incident. If I’m being she hasn't really been sleeping in her room lately though that was already a slight issue before what happened. I've already added more security measures because once the paparazzi catch wind of who you are it's only a matter of time before she realizes.”

"I see you haven't changed Bruce." Teresa chuckled as they reached the door. "Let's just take this one step at a time."

Bruce made a face as if he did not like that plan and Teresa couldn't help but smile. The doors opened then and Alfred stood in the entryway.

"Ah Mrs. McNider, I hope you had a pleasant flight." Alfred greeted.

"It was wonderful Alfred." Teresa smiled as she stepped inside. "Now where is my granddaughter?"

"Hiding." Said Selina, she stood in the middle of the entrance and just behind her clutching her leg was Annabella.

Her little face peered over the side of Selina's leg and Teresa couldn't help but gasp. Deep down she must've been expecting the features of her daughter. Despite the pictures she had received she thought maybe her eyes would hold the coldness her daughter carried. Instead Annabella's soft brown eyes studied her with such intense curiosity they seemed to bore deep into Teresa's soul. No, not the eyes of her daughter, they were the eyes of her lost son.

"So you're a grandma?" Annabella asked, stepping away from Selina.

"Yes, I'm your grandma. Though if you don't mind I would prefer the word abuelita." Teresa smiled as she bent down to be at eye level with her.

"Abuelita." Annabella tested the word out. "Why?"

"Because that's the spanish word for grandmother." Teresa explained.

"Tú hablas español?" Annabella asked, excitement lighting up her eyes.

"Sí." Teresa chuckled.

"Ms. Wayne, why don't we show your abuelita where she will be staying." Alfred suggested.

"Okay." Annabella beamed, taking her grandmother's hand and leading her through the manor.

By the end of the day Annabella decided that grandmother's are the best. Hers especially, Teresa did not mind answering all of Annabella's questions. And Annabella was convinced that her grandmother's handbag was magic since she always seemed to have just the right thing to use throughout the day.

As soon as Annabella's head hit the pillow she was out like a light. The adults all stood around as they watched her sleep.

"This is the first time she's fallen asleep so fast." Selina whispered.

"She'll be up soon enough." Bruce frowned as he felt his phone buzz. "I have to go into the office."

"I guess I should go home too then." Selina sighed, she turned and gave Bruce a peck on the cheek.

Teresa watched as Selina quickly and quietly walked into Annabella's room and gave the little girl a soft kiss on her forehead. With that she went out and Alfred escorted her out to her car.

"She wants to run, you know." Teresa said, focusing on Annabella now.

"I know she told me." Bruce said, wondering how she could have known that.

"But she's still contemplating it. Unless you tell her the truth, there's a chance she will stay. She needs to know why you're so driven to stay here."

"It's better for Annabella."

"Is it? Or is it better for you?"

"What do you see?" Bruce sighed.

"She will suffer one way or another even if you leave. How I'm not quite sure, but she'll pull through, she's strong. She'll be even stronger if she has more people supporting her, she needs more family and more friends."

"We're all she has."

"Now Bruce we both know that's not true."

Bruce simply frowned at that knowing that. Okay so maybe there was other family but he couldn't risk bringing them into their lives.

"Go, I'll watch over her. Make sure she stays in bed." Teresa urged as she lightly guided him away from the little girls room.

The week got better for Annabella and by the end of it she had her grandmother wrapped around her finger. For all her meals Annabella was allowed to help her grandmother prepare the food. Well she was allowed to pour things into the pots and pans at least but the kitchen was filled with music and laughter.

Though Annabella had considerably warmed up to Teresa every time they went out to the park or just to tour Gotham Teresa did notice the little seemed to cling to her. For good reason strangers were still scary for Annabella. Still they needed to work on her people skills.

In the evenings they would relax with some tv while Teresa worked on a craft. Annabella loved to ask hundreds of questions on whatever her grandmother was working on. She was even given little tasks like sorting the yarn for hitting or organizing the strips of fabric for a quilt.

By the time it was bedtime Annabella she went to sleep with ease. Bruce had to admit he was impressed but even he could tell Teresa was a little winded. Maybe she had a point, maybe he should bring in more family.

"She has an aunt and uncle that have children. They are all the way in Tokyo and I haven't spoken to them in years but… I'm sure they would be thrilled to come and spend some time with her." Bruce looked at the woman who smiled knowingly. "What?"

"I knew you'd come around." Was all she said making Bruce feel uneasy.

"What did you do?" He asked, he was still trying to figure out just exactly what she was capable of.

"Nothing I haven't done before." Teresa waved her hand dismissively. "Now off to bed for you too. There is no light in the sky yet and you won't be young forever."

~~~~~~~~

Nick sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He really needed to take a break from the computer but he just had one more task to do. Blinking, he stared back at the screen and clicked on his junk folder. Without meaning to, he accidentally clicked on one of the files. He was about to exit out of it when he noticed the header.

“Hey honey?” He called out and blinked again wondering if maybe he was just sleep deprived.

“Yeah?” Debbie asked, coming out from Jens room holding the book she no doubt took from the girl in order for her to go to sleep.

“Um, since when did Bruce have a daughter?” He asked cautiously, still unsure if the article was real or not.

“What?” Debbie asked, walking faster. She stood behind him and bent forward to see what her husband could possibly be talking about.

There in the email was an article from the Gotham Gazette a large photo was displayed that had Bruce walking out of an ice cream shop holding a little girl that looked to be around five. Next to him was an old woman who had a soft smile on her face. In the bottom corner was a picture of two women but one seemed vaguely familiar. The header read Who’s the Real Mother?

Debbie didn't bother to read the article, instead she focused more on the little girl that Bruce carried. It was hard to really see any of her features in the black and white photo but there was no mistake when it came to the way that little girl smiled. She had Aunt Martha's smile.

“I’ll start looking into flights.” Was all Nick said as he opened a new tab.

“I’ll start packing.” Now all Debbie had to figure out was if she was going to slap her cousin or kill him for not telling her about her niece.

[rocknrollsalad-moved]

“Halloween costume party meeting a blind date but oh it's my high school squeeze who broke my heart and is only back in town to shut down the candy factory”

Thanks to a lovely conversation with @moongoddess2k4 we are now blessed with this amazing, amazing prompt, if you will, for a Halloween Hallmark story if they did them like the Christmas ones. 

Read on to see how I ran with that idea and created a quick little something for the season. It was super fun to write and I wish I could have done a whole thing with it but there’s too much on my plate right now. 

Word Count: 3400 Triggers: some mentions of drinking/being drunk, loss of jobs, and implied future money struggles

Halloween wasn’t going to be the same this year. Decorations still adorn most doors, yards, and windows. Costumes seemed to disappear from shelves along with bags of candy. The traditions carried on as neighbors helped neighbors, a silent thing to keep a town that was built around Halloween in the spirit.

Hanging over the head of every resident, a joint burden, was the knowledge that this was the last Halloween for them. Stark Sweets and Treats would be closing its doors on November first. In those storm clouds not chased away by the sun was the reality that many of the people living here would be out of a job. Generations of candy makers, sorters, and wrappers now left on their own, without a severance package, one last bonus, or even a thank you card.

There was no future in candy anymore. Processed sugars were falling out of fashion and while no child wanted a box of raisins or an apple, parents wanted to hand out sustainably grown, sugar-free alternatives. Buzzwords, Bruce knew as much as people online spouted recycled rhetoric about saving the planet with their shift to these different treats. He’d argue with each post. Typing his nights away about the jobs they were taking, about the fallacy of that sustainable or organic sticker. GMOs weren’t what people were saying they were.

But no one listened.

What did a small-town high school science teacher know about genetically modified anythings? Never mind the multiple doctorates he held. Never mind the qualifications he had to speak on the subject. People couldn’t be reasoned with on the internet. Bruce was shouting into the void and doing nothing more than boiling his own blood.

It was mad worse by everyone pointing out he didn’t have a horse in this race. Not directly. There would still be children to teach. Year after year of the same projects and battling against boring lesson plans. He wasn’t losing anything. Instead, he’d be left to watch. Left to stand in front of his classroom trying to teach kids who carried the same weight as the adults, without the ability to bear such a thing. That’s who he fought for. These children didn’t need to know this level of hardship while trying to navigate their way to adulthood.

Most of their parents, their baby sitters, and classmates were putting on a brave face, though. Halloween kept this town afloat and while it was their last, they weren’t going to roll over and let it pass. Every annual event went just like they had for decades. Some people had done so well at pretending they weren’t waiting for the hammer to drop that they were actually having fun. And for it a moment that normalcy and false happiness rubbed off on the cranky science teacher who was never one for holidays of any sort. Even in a town built around Halloween.

As an outsider, Bruce wasn’t born with the Halloween spirit. It was gifted to him, though, year after year. Townsfolk who took pity on his pathetic attempts at decorating. Neighbors who baked treats and desserts left on his doorstep. Coworkers who brainstormed costume ideas and dragged him to parties. Each year that passed it got easier and easier for everyone to twist Bruce’s arm until they didn’t have to.

For the past few years, he’d been leaving cookies for his neighbors. A little charred on the bottom, decorated simply, but not a single house complained. The change must have emboldened some of his coworkers though as they recruited him for a night of costumed speed dating. It was the last time the town was doing something like this. They laid the guilt on thick. 

Bruce was among four other staffers who weren’t married, even one of the teachers who was dating someone went to witness it all. Many emails were exchanged for days leading up to the event. Who would wear what, despite Bruce’s numerous protests that knowing that would ruin the event. How they’d get there and which bar they were meeting at to discuss all the details. A never-ending stream of planning by people who should have been teaching their classes but everyone coasted around the holidays. 

The night would be simple enough. Bruce would go dressed in a ruined bed sheet, make sure that no one was interested in him, skip the gossipy drinks, and then two nights later at the big Halloween bash everyone would get to see their matches without obstruction.

In reality, this was a smart idea. Everyone was given a fair chance. Not to be judged on the superficial, with the exception of those few distasteful costumes that tried to sneak in, but on their personality. Answers to questions, conversational skills, it was what dates should be founded on. Not that Bruce thought he’d find a date here, no matter how ideal it was. Tagging along, instead, because his social circle was going. Because participating and being a part of the events was better than hearing about them the next day.

So he sat through a grueling two hours of three-minute dates. Listening to people both mock him for not trying and appreciating his classic callback sheet-ghost costume. Having insufferable conversations with people who didn’t understand how to listen or have the spotlight off of them. The worst was the number of Scream villains that were there, leaving a few to accessorize just to stand out. Which should have made Bruce’s costumes one of the better ones, at least he was unique. 

There was a particularly sweet Jason Voorhees that Bruce could have stood to have another three minutes with and that was far more than he’d expected to happen. He gave her favorable marks but, again, didn’t expect them to be returned.

In the last fifteen minutes, though, when Bruce was eyeing the door and thinking there was no way the last five people were going to be better than anyone before them, a werewolf sat down at the table. Promptly explaining that he wasn’t any werewolf but the Teen Wolf, hence the basketball shorts. Teen wolves were apparently very crucial to the basketball team. It was a reference Bruce didn’t get and the man seemed used to hearing that, if not still a little dejected. Running through the basic questions got them to Bruce’s job, to his doctorates, his expertise, and somehow to an argument about the merits of various alternative energy forms. A solid two minutes was spent citing facts and studies, managing to get heated enough that the host had wandered over to stand by their table.

What the host didn’t know was it was the most exciting conversation Bruce had had all night. An unnecessary argument that neither needed but both wanted. They were both right and though he couldn’t explain how, he knew they both understood the pointlessness of their argument. Both sides were right but the conversation was well informed, the Teen Wolf didn’t back down, and if Bruce thought he wanted to talk to Jason for three more minutes, he could have fought with this werewolf for three hours.

The few dates that followed were a blur, Bruce wasn’t sure he even spoke to the one. More than once he caught the werewolf looking back at his table. Whether the spirit of Halloween was watching over the town or it was fate, Bruce left the event with an unexpected feeling of success and far too many thoughts in his head. The one thing he didn’t count on had happened. He found a match.

He’d gone home, as he’d planned, but his coworkers brought the gossip to him the next morning. Waiting in his classroom with coffee. Everyone gushed (quietly as there was more than one hangover in the room) about the people they spoke with and Bruce made sure to wait until just before the first bell to say he found a werewolf who caught his interest.

Never before had his computer chimed with so many alerts. He had to mute it in order to teach but he was distracted and the kids weren’t any better. They dissolved various Halloween candy staples, carved pumpkins because someone donated their overflow and no other teacher wanted to deal with the mess, and Bruce kept the day easy. Everyone’s mind was on the party quickly approaching. And for the first time since moving here, Bruce found himself wishing it would come just a little faster. Not just so it’d be done and life could go back to normal until Christmas break.

For those few days, it seemed like no one talked about the factory closing. It wasn’t who was out of a job anymore but who was driving the tractor for the hayrides. Collectively a town decided to ignore their impending doom and had Bruce not been so wrapped up in it himself it would have been an interesting study.

Though underneath the excitement were murmurings that a Stark was in town. No one knew what for. Some hoped for the best, that’d they had seen things clearly and were going to announce that the factory would remain open. Others didn’t even try to mask their threats. The rest used logic, the town hall meeting on the first day of November was likely going to be led by Tony Stark as he thanked the community for their years of loyal service, offered nothing, and made himself feel good before going back to one of his many mansions to never think about them again. Comments that passed as quickly as they came, replaced by where to find a recipe or if the grocery store had taken eggs off the shelf yet.

Eventually all the gossiping and planning came to it’s natural conclusion. Halloween arrived and without sight or word from Stark. Bruce thought he must have some sense if he’s staying out of the way. Yet another thing to add to their list of Halloween blessings. Had Stark not been doing what he was, Bruce would have given him a bit of credit for allowing the festivities to carry on without him.

For most of the day’s events, Bruce stayed at home. He graded papers, watched a few shows, and kept things on an even keel. Not because he didn’t want to go out, he had no reason to since he didn’t have any children. He stayed home for his sanity. Crowds were never his thing and because he’d decided last night to attend the big dance in hopes of a speed date match, Bruce needed all the energy he could store. Though it did afford him far too much time to think about what it would feel like to learn no one wanted the reveal.

Staying home until he couldn’t handle the busy work anymore, Bruce made his way to the center of town. Talking to kids he currently taught, kids he’d taught in the past who were carrying children of their own, and running into a couple of people from work all helped to wrap the event in a warm feeling of welcome. The brisk air mixed with the food and blew around leaves, creating something nothing short of picturesque. As he took it all in, Bruce’s heart broke with the knowledge that the town would never feel like this again.

He bought popcorn balls from some grade school kids, drank what felt like a gallon of apple cider, and stocked up on candies for the rest of the fall. Bruce found a greater sense of peace and calm out among the crowd than he did at home but slowly families started to make their way home. Children were left with babysitters, teenagers went off to their parties deep in the woods that they thought no one knew about, and left the adults to their barn dance.

The nerves Bruce had been trying to avoid found their way to him as he wrote his name on a sticker, drew a little ghost and pressed it over the pocket of his flannel shirt. When the matches were posted right at center stage, Bruce held back. Maybe if everyone else paired up he wouldn’t even need to see. Except he needed to know. Before he could force his legs to carry him up to his fate someone stood in front of him.

“You? You were under that sheet?” the man asked

“I was. You were, uh? I don’t see your name tag.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think it went with my outfit.”

“Who says stuff like that?”

“I don’t know, me I guess.”

“I feel like I know you,” Bruce said, squinting in hopes it would help him figure it out.

The man stood there, watching Bruce with a single arched eyebrow, holding his breath in waiting. It took a minute, far too long if you asked either of them, but Bruce’s eyes went wide.

“Tony? Tony Carbonell? No! It can’t be. What are you doing here?”

“Business,” Tony said. Not exactly lying.

“God, I haven’t seen you since high school.”

“Science High. Home of the best or something like that.”

“Only if you applied yourself,” Bruce laughed at his own joke and it didn’t feel like it was his voice. He’d not laughed like that since...high school.

Repressed feelings came flooding back. The memory of how badly he wanted to talk to Tony when they were fifteen. They were from two different worlds but in constant competition for the top of their class. Bruce would have let Tony win if it meant they got to talk though. He hadn’t pinned for anyone as much or as hard since. Now he was standing face to face, talking to him like they were long-lost friends.

If that realization wasn’t enough, Tony decided to pile on when he said “If I’d have known it was a classmate under that sheet, I’m not sure I would have marked you down as my match.”

Bruce almost dropped his drink. “What?”

“Yeah, you were the only interesting conversation the entire night. I was just bummed we didn’t have another minute. We could have got ourselves kicked out.”

“Wh-” before Bruce could finish repeating himself he sucked in a hefty breath. “The werewolf?”

“Teen Wolf. I told you, man. C’mon, I thought you were smart enough to hold a thought for a day.”

“It’s been two and a half.”

“That’s still not that long.”

Scanning the room, Bruce desperately tried to find a familiar face. Anyone to help out with this situation. He was in over his head and had forgotten why this was a good idea. He wanted to bolt for the door. Not even the door, if he could break through the nearest wall and just run home it’d be preferred.

None of that happened. He was left to stand there with his first crush and talk about flirting with each other. In the course of the conversation, Bruce had fully regressed to his teenage self. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know where to put his arms. Why didn’t he have something stronger than cider to drink? Of which he needed another gallon because his throat had never been this dry.

“Who was your pick?” Tony asked.

“Huh?”

“Who did you write down on the form? Who’d you wanna meet?”

“Um, you. The Teen Wolf.”

“Really?”

Bruce nodded to the stage, nearly clear now as everyone had found out whether or not a match had been made, silently telling Tony to go check if he didn’t believe him. Which Tony did. Walking away without a word. As soon as his back was turned, Bruce doubled over, hands on his knees, and breathing like he’d finished a marathon. Now was his chance to run. Yet, again, his feet didn’t want to move. Glued to the spot, waiting for Tony to come back and confirm what Bruce knew to be true. After all these years they’d finally matched.

Before he could coordinate his mind and body, make a swift but likely clumsy exit, Bruce stood up to find himself staring at one of his coworkers. She thought she’d put down a guy she had great chemistry with but they didn’t match and she was distraught. Not that she knew which of the men in the room were the one she was looking for so they were all suspect. Each of them awful in a randomly assigned way.

She’d made the assumption that Bruce hadn’t made a love connection either given he was standing alone and Bruce could have used this as an out. Escort her to the bar, drowning her sorrows, and lay low. Yet those words didn’t come out. Instead, he explained the situation. That he was waiting on confirmation from the tall, dark, and handsome man walking towards them. They had both written down each other’s disguise. Though he did leave out the part that they’d gone to high school together.

Tony came in just in time, nipping the protests and cries of how unfair it was that bordered on insulting. A charming grin that Bruce did not remember him having in school. In fact, Tony had little in common with his high school version. Whereas Bruce wanted desperately to grow another foot, Tony had. He looked like he worked out. Not in a lab, like Bruce, but a gym like people were supposed to. Everything was immaculate, his hair, clothes, smile, all of it. A far cry from just another one of the nerds. If Bruce didn’t know better, Tony almost looked like the kind of person to shove nerds in lockers.

But that couldn’t be true. Tony extended a hand towards Bruce. The slow music, a room full of people swaying back and forth as they excitedly talked about the speed dating and its outcome, Bruce knew what that meant. He’d watched enough movies. Trying to hide wiping his hand on his shirt before putting it in Tony’s, he accepted the dance. Gliding through this dream. So many other places boasted the magic of Christmas but in this moment, it didn’t hold a evergreen scented candle to Halloween.

The last time Bruce had danced with anyone, he’d been a child playing pretend with family. And yet it came easy, his hand in Tony’s, their arms around each other, and just enough distance to talk as they moved around. Like everyone around them, they talked endlessly. The conversation came easy, as unusual as that was for Bruce.

Somewhere between memories brought up by the songs the DJ played, what they’d done since high school, and watching as the dance floor emptied, the sun had gone down. Replacing that warm autumn light with string after string of lights above their head. The perfect glow as the smell of popcorn and funnel cakes had burnt off and bonfires had taken over.

“So what brings you here?” Bruce finally asked. The question had been sitting behind everything else they’d discussed. “It’s pretty far from where we met and I know my path here but you...you don’t live here, I’d have seen you before.”

“I don’t, I live in New York. Would you buy that I came for the spirit of Halloween?”

“Plausible. It is why most visitors come but you strike me as more of an Amityville Horror Halloween than caramel apples and corn mazes.”

“You’re not wrong,” Tony laughed. “Have you been there?”

“No, and you’re changing the subject.”

“And you’re too smart to fall for it. What if I told you no one has called me Carbonell in so long I almost forgot it was me?”

Bruce stopped the lazy circle they were shuffling in. “What do you mean?”

“It’s my mom’s maiden name. I went by it in school because my dad’s last name is, uh, recognizable and I didn’t want to be recognized. I mean, I still don’t want to be recognized as his but I’ve got his company, I’m trying to make it better. Make the name better.”

Facts were connecting for Bruce and he didn’t like where they were going. The data made sense but he needed to hear it. “What’s your last name then.”

Around them, the world seemed to stop and slowly fade away. Without the music, Bruce had come to a complete stop, staring at Tony and daring him to give the answer they both knew he would. The answer that would ruin Halloween.

“Stark.”

[quicksiilver]

In My Fathers Eyes

All Parts: Here

Also now on AO3: Here (I’ve wanted to do this from the start!  Finally did it.)

Part Four: The People In the Dream

Word Count: 4k.

Chapter Summary: Rachel reencounters the boy from downstairs.  A familiar piece of art is brought up, and her uncle identifies their type immediately, which gives Rachel just a taste of what she’s really in for.

Getting off the elevator I followed Thors directions and went straight down to the end of the hallway passing by rooms that were full of scientific equipment and important things that I wouldn’t understand.  This must’ve been the science fair Natasha was talking about and I smiled to myself thinking about it, shoving my hands in my hoodie pockets.

She seemed so cool and so chill.  I wondered if she was the only girl on this team because she’s the only girl Avenger I’ve heard about so far.  Black Widow, I thought, how cool it would be to be Black Widow.  I smiled again and shook my head.  Just wait until I tell Shaun that that thought just crossed my mind.

“Yeah, downstairs,” I heard a voice say as I reached the end of the hall.  Peering into the room I found Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Natasha and the guy I ran into on the first floor who was the one talking.  I cleared my throat to subtlety announce my arrival and sure enough everyone's heads snapped to look at me.  Natasha and Steve were smiling at me, but Thor got up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.  I gave him a smile.

“See?  Told you there was no need to rush.  Everyone is here, everyone is patient,” He gestured toward the group.

They were all sitting around different tables that used holographic computers or something.  Tony was using a touch screen but it was in midair.  I broke away from Thor and weaved my way through the tech, admiring it all.

“Yeah, patient,” Tony muttered fiddling with three different sets of codes, his eyes not leaving the screen, “Rachel we gotta talk.”  Turning to look at Tony I shrugged my shoulders to let him know I was ready and then I looked to the boy next to him who was already looking at me.  He seemed a little nervous so I smiled.

“Hi,” I said quietly before my face twisted with confusion, “Wait- how’d you get up here so fast?  You were on the stairs...”

“Uh, yeah,” He started and shrugged his shoulders twice, waving a hand at me as if to tell me to ignore him.  The boy clearly had trouble with words, but he was cute if I had to admit it.  He was as tall as Tony and gave off a sweet energy.

“He’s Spiderman,” Tony said flatly, still not looking away from his screen.  My jaw dropped only a little in shock, “Peter, this is Rachel.  Rachel, this is Peter.” He waved a single hand between us before returning it to the table.

“So you’re just going to give me up like that, then?  Again!?” Peter raised his voice, annoyed by Tony.  I laughed to myself, gaining Peter’s attention again.  He gave me a small smile and laughed with me.

“Nice to meet you,” He nodded.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I said.  We shared eye contact for another moment, just taking each other in before Steve started to speak and took me away.

Behind my back Natasha was watching Peter, and once Peter noticed her stare he pulled a face of disgust.  Natasha rolled her eyes, flickered her eyes between Peter and I, and then winked at him.  He was flustered, and looked away, but then turned back and shook his head trying to throw her off.  She nodded her head slowly and raised her eyebrows pointing at me once before giving her attention to Steve.

“Now that you’ve gotten to know Uncle Thor-“ He began, but Peter quickly cut him off.

“Uncle!?” He exclaimed, his eyebrows were raised so high as he watched Thor seeming more shocked than I had been.

“No Uncle,” Thor smiled, but squinted his eyes and we both shook our heads trying to dismiss the name we both decided didn’t fit.

“Okay, not Uncle Thor,” Steve said unsurely quizzing me with his eyes, “We figured now that you know some information we could possibly get started on what we need to do to... you know, save the world,” He sighed and sat down in a chair beside Natasha folding his arms across his chest.

“Funny, Cap,” Tony said as he stepped away from his tech, “You said you didn’t want to take the reins on this one.”  Steve took a deep breath looking at Natasha before turning to Tony.

“Then be my guest, Tone,” He said saltily, turning the air bitter.  Somewhere in my heart it felt unfitting for Captain America, a man who lived in the 1940’s, to treat someone with a little disrespect like that.  I glanced to Peter who was pressing his lips in a firm line obviously holding back a laugh.  My lips slowly grew into a smile even though I tried my best to repress it, and Peter’s did the same.  Not even a second passed before we both burst into laughter, the adults in the room turning to look at us.

“Children? For one second can you let the grown-ups have a moment?” Tony threw out a hand and talked with it.  Peter shut down quickly, but I let out another giggle as Tony turned back to face Steve.  He glanced at me only once more at the sound, and when he did I lowered my chin and narrowed my eyes watching him do a double take of disgust.

“Can you, please!  Please do not look at me like that,” He brushed his shoulder off with his hand as if to brush me away.

“Look at you like how?” Peter asked.  Keeping my chin low I faced Peter to let him have a look.  From Tony, to me, to Tony, to me, his eyes were dancing.

“I don’t get it,” He shook his head.

“He doesn’t know who that is?” Bruce spoke up.  Peter shook his head again.  I sighed and crossed my arms, copying Steve who looked to me humorously rolling his eyes in agreement.

“Listen, Cap,” Tony caught him in the act, “I wasn’t about to involve the entire team in this yet,” He gestured to Peter vaguely, “Let alone Peter, when we have no idea what this mission is going to do to us.”

“What mission?” Peter asked, getting no answers to any of his questions.  Tony and Steve broke into an argument that Natasha did her best to break up, and when she failed Thor stepped in and pushed Tony backward with a giant metal hammer that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  The Asgardian had business written on his face as we all watched the two of them stare at each other.

“That is my brother's daughter,” He spoke softly, but the strict tone was eminent.  After he said that Peter looked at me, still confused.

“If you all are not going to treat her with respect and thank her for coming here to help us, then I will take her home myself and make sure she lives the happiest life now that I know who she is,” Thor tapped Tony’s chest with the hammer again, “And I’m talking about you, Stark.” Tony looked between the hammer and Thor with minimum expression on his face.

“What will you do?  Lightning strike me into oblivion?  You guys need me, you wouldn’t do a thing,” Tony said. Thor pressed the hammer against him completely.  My mind was blown, it was as if this hammer weighed thousands of pounds yet Thor was able to just carry it around.  Tony let out a few noises to alert us that he was uncomfortable, and Peter looked concerned, but I watched with content.  Tony had been nothing but rude to me since I met him, I didn’t see anything wrong with giving him a little push.

“I could do it,” Thor agreed, “But I won’t,” He turned to me and I gave him a thankful smirk, then he looked to Tony once more, “Without you we won’t be able to find Loki.  We wouldn’t have found Rachel.  I need my brother to be safe, and she needs her father to come home.  Loki... Loki needs to be here,” His voice fell soft at the end, “He needs to be with her.” The room was silent for not even a minute after Thor’s touching speech, that did pull at my heart a bit.  Hearing that my father could be in danger if Thor said he wasn’t safe, and hearing that he needed to be with me, something stirred inside of me.  It felt like a longing, a need to know someone, a need to help someone.

Now it was Peter’s turn to get the attention.

“Loki?  You’re his daughter?” He asked me.  Nodding, I shrugged my shoulders.  My go-to for when I didn’t feel like admitting anything out loud, or apparently when the Avengers were driving me nuts.  I waited to see if Peter's face gave any hints as to how he felt about that information, but he just looked down to his hands and messed with them.  His eyebrows were pushed gently to the center of his forehead as he looked up at me, but he didn’t expect me to still be watching so he quickly looked back down.  Turning completely toward the adults I found Natasha watching me with a small smile.  Returning it I sighed and took my hoodie off completely, tossing it over a table to my left.  The white tank I had beneath it would do, I was comfortable being chilly anyway.

“Okay,” I said gesturing my hands around at them, “I’m ready.  Use me.” I said sarcastically.  Thor eyed me curiously, but proudly as I offered myself to them.  He had a plan of keeping me away from this tonight, but I decided now that I was going to get this over with.  Bruce stood up and held out a hand.

“Bruce Banner,” He said.  I shook his hand and nodded.  Hulk, I said to myself in my head, big green guy.  I mentally noted to always be nice to Bruce.  There was something about knowing he could turn into a monster in a split second that just freaked me out to my core.

“Rachel Andrews,” I said and let go, holding my hands behind my back.

“Nice to formally meet you, Rachel,” He said with an emphasis on the word formally, getting a quiet rise out of Tony, “You’ll be doing a lot of work with me... and Tony to start out with.”  Thor released the man who came a few steps closer to us.

“Hi, Rachel,” He said in the same tone he’s been using, “Yes it’s been great to meet you, but I’ve just been stressed the hell out.  These superhuman’s don’t understand that I can’t punch or break something to simply figure out how...” He paused and internally seemed to tell himself to stop talking.

“Can I tell you what we need to do?” He asked me and I gave him the famous shrug, “You know you do that a lot.” He mumbled and turned around motioning for me to follow him.  Just when I thought Tony could’ve redeemed himself in the slightest, he ruins it with a snide comment.

“Guys, Steve and I are going to go meet Wanda downstairs,” Natasha said, starting for the door with Steve behind her, “Peter?” She paused for a moment looking to the boy who was still standing there quietly.  He looked up to her.

“Are you going to come with us?” She asked him, her tone insinuating something.  Peter shook his head and then cocked his head toward Tony.

“Nah, I’m going to stay and help,” He said.  Natasha eyed him, then left with a grin on her face.  

Tony brought me over to the table he was standing behind when I first came into this room and he started to explain what I was looking at on the screens.  It was insane, when I was behind the screen I could see right through it, but looking at it from here it was like a solid page.

He told me that he and Bruce needed to, ‘explore the valleys of my hippocampus’, to see if they could find any leads on my father and where he could be or what he could be doing.

“You realize I’ve never met the guy?” I said, stating the truth.

“Seems as though you’ve met something related to him,” Tony said and I pulled a face.

“Yeah, Thor-“ I started to catch an attitude, but he shut me up.

“Not... Thor,” He held out a hand before reaching for his phone in his pocket, “Banner, I didn’t show you this yet.” Tony scrolled on his phone for a minute and then flipped the screen around for Bruce to see.  His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and Tony vocally agreed with him.

“What is it?” Peter asked coming close to peer over Tony’s shoulder, “Whoa, is that paint?!” He exclaimed.  Reaching out a hand without thinking twice I snatched Tony’s phone from him with force and saw a photo of my painting from this morning on the screen.  I could feel my blood start to boil.  Nothing made me anymore angry than non consensual art being flaunted around, especially if it was mine.  In sixth grade a drawing of a girl I had a crush on was spread around the school and I was made fun of for weeks, so I’m pretty sure that’s where this trauma stems from.

“You think this is okay? Stealing peoples art and hard work?” I spat, sliding his phone back to him on the table, “I worked for hours on that.”

“And it’s great, really,” Tony praised, “I didn’t take the picture to steal your art, kid.  Can I ask what it is?  Who are they?”

I peeked at his phone again, looking at the blue figures I had painted onto an icy background.

“I know who they are,” Thor said, making us all jump, because I think we all forgot he was here.  He walked toward us, stood behind me and reached over my head for Tonys phone.  I looked up at him genuinely shocked.

“What!? You do?” I asked, “These are things I’ve seen in my dreams my entire life.  How do you know who they are?” Thor looked to Tony who looked to Bruce.

“Go ahead, she’s going to need to find out anyway,” The scientist rolled his eyes.  Thor placed a hand to my shoulder as usual and walked me away from the table.  Once we were across the room he showed me my own painting again.

“Yes, I know,” I nodded, “Blue people, red eyes, ice world.” Thor laughed under his breath.

“This is a place close to Asgard,” He began, his words freezing me in my place, “We used to be at battle with them, the Jotun’s, for millions of years until my father... ended it.  It’s called Jotunheim and these people are called Frost Giants.” My eyes were glued to my painting and my stomach was starting to feel nauseous.  My entire life I had believed that this was a made up place that my six year old brain created, and then continued to create when I needed something to get me away from what is now my traumatic backstory.

“You’re looking like him again,” Thor whispered, mentioning the clear discomfort I was wearing on my face, “The place was silent for a long, long time after my father created peace, the Jotun’s leaving Asgard alone, however... today battle is on the horizon.  It has been for a while now.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up to my uncle.

“Are you alright?” He asked genuinely, a hand touching my cheek.  I started to nod slowly.

“I mean... yeah, if you consider the fact that I have no idea who I am anymore,” I said at merely a whisper, “This has to do with my dad, right?  All of it?  Why else would I be dreaming about another planet?”

“This is why we’d like to explore...” Tony sang out from the other side of the room, letting his voice trail off obnoxiously after his little song.

“Maybe, possibly, somehow some of it wasn’t a dream... It was real,” Bruce said.

“I’ve NEVER met my father,” I clenched my fists and watched Tony flinch, my voice raising a bit as I stared Bruce down.

“Maybe it wasn’t your father,” He said simply, not even reacting to my state.  Squeezing my eyebrows together I quickly crossed my arms over my chest hoping to physically fix the emotional hole that was just opened.  My body was turning warm, I could feel the heat rising from my bones and it started to make me shake.  I turned to Thor and shook my head nearly pouting my lips.  He rested a hand on my arm and pulled me in to hug him.  His hold was strong, but comforting, and as he hugged me he told me quietly that he was not going to let anything or anyone hurt me.

“And I mean here, too,” He lifted a finger to my head implying mentally.  Bruce and Tony had turned away and were talking to one another focused back on a screen.  Peeking out from under Thor's arm it seemed as if they didn’t care that this day has been the third most overwhelming day of my life.  They both just tapped away at their work with their fingers and spoke a second language of smart people’s lingo to each other.

“Hey,” Peter said from behind Thor and I.  Suddenly realizing that he was still here I stepped back from Thor rubbing my eyes clean of any subconscious tears that may have fallen before turning to look at him.  I took a deep breath as he stepped close to me.

“I don’t really know what you have to do,” He started, and I nodded in agreement because I had no idea either, “But Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner can be nice sometimes.  They can even make me laugh sometimes,” He spoke lightheartedly, watching me curiously.  Then he spoke quieter, keeping his words between us, “If you wanted, I could totally stay here, if that’s okay with you, and maybe even help them and you, of course.  You barely know me, but somehow I feel like I get you.”  Tucking my dark hair behind my ears I glanced to my feet feeling something stir in my center again as I stood here in front of Peter.  

It was a feeling I had felt for the first time in sixth grade, and another time when I first met Shaun.  Shortly after getting to know Shaun and who he was it was settled that I’d have to get over what I was feeling, fast, or else we wouldn’t have become the friends we are today.  I had never dated anyone before, and I wasn’t sure that something along those lines was even written in the stars for me.  The thought of someone coming into my life and disrupting the way I live it made me uncomfortable.  I work too hard to be able to survive the way I’ve been, and any time Shaun asks to set me up with someone I decline.  He loves to tell me I enjoy shutting people out, and have a talent for not opening up or speaking my truth.  Although for Shaun that’s never truly an issue.  Our other friends however couldn’t tell you a single thing personal about me.

As I looked back up to Peter these thoughts washed away and all that remained was my gut instinct to shut it down as fast as possible and run the other way, but then I figured I could use a friend while I was here.  Shaun was at home, possibly still at mine, and I was here by myself completely vulnerable to a handful of Gods, superhuman’s and shape shifting human beings.

“Sure,” I answered Peter with a small smile, “You can stay.”  He smiled in return, his eyes looking to me happily.  Flutters in my stomach.  Breaking my gaze I sighed and turned back to Thor who was waiting attentively.

“You can do this.  In the end everything will be fine.  Even better than fine,” He said grinning, “Peter, Spider-boy,” He said.

“Uh, Spider-man... Thor, sir,” Peter said too respectfully.

“Right,” Thor laughed, “You’ve always been someone I trusted these few years you’ve been with us,” Peter’s smile grew, “Can you promise me something?”

“Of course,” Peter nodded quickly.

“Good, now, please,” Thor paused and closed his eyes.  I turned to Peter for a moment, both of us questioning him, “Please promise me that if I am not around... if I am not in sight, and this one is in danger,” Thor pointed to me, “Promise me that you will protect her.  Whatever it takes.”  Peter stepped around me and held out his hand for Thor to shake, and when the god grabbed it he nearly lifted Peter off the floor.

“I promise,” Peter said genuinely.  Thor nodded and looked between the two of us satisfied with himself.

“Good, good,” He mumbled, “That is my niece,” He said to Peter who nodded, understanding, “And this is my friend,” He said to me, gesturing toward Peter, “Don’t get too comfortable.” He whispered harshly, laughing at the cringe reactions he got out of both of us.

“I will be leaving for a moment, will you be alright?” Thor then asked me.  Nodding my head I glanced to Peter, then to Thor and smiled, “Great.  Take care of her, please.”  He said to Peter before heading out the door.

“Rachel, can we do a test run to see if we have everything working right?” Bruce called over to Peter and I.

“Sure,” I said knowing that I didn’t have another option, but Thor's threat to Tony about him taking me home did sound pretty nice.  Walking toward the geniuses I say down in a comfortable chair right beside the table Tony was working at.

He handed me two tiny earbuds and explained to me that I needed to put them in my ears like I was wearing headphones to listen to music.  I hesitated at first, questioning Peter with my eyes, but he just gave me a shrug, so I stuck the little oval shaped beads into my ears.

“Alright,” Tony’s tone turned to excitement, “Let’s see how well our four month prototype works out, Banner.”

“Prototype?!” I nearly shouted and lunged forward in the chair making Tony jump and stumble backwards.  The sight of his frightened face confused me once again, yet it always seemed to bring me a but of joy, “You’re really scared of me, aren’t you?” I asked quietly, my voice lowering immensely, some humor detected behind it.  Tony came back close to me and ignored the question, giving me the answer I was looking for, and started tapping away listening to Bruce’s instructions.  Peter had himself sitting criss-cross on a table top when I looked back to him.  His hands were in his lap and he was watching the guys work with interest in every move they made.  His eyes found me and he smiled again, shooting me a look that was asking me if I was okay.  I sat back against the cushion once more and nodded as I rested my forehead on my fist, the feeling of a headache brewing and on its way.

[davidanderson7162]

Cartoons for Everybody

It is not true that just children take pleasure in cartoons. Cartoons have been showing up in print media as well as television for decades. They are extremely entertaining and also are suitable anxiety busters for the worn grownup. For youngsters, animes can be academic in addition to enjoyable. It holds true that there are some that are violent, those are best prevented. It would certainly make good sense to pick intelligently what you desire your children to see Kids TELEVISION Online.Kids TV Network

Exactly how do they profit your youngsters?

- Some animes carry messages in social understanding. Cartoons almost always have stories that centre round a hero. The hero is always combating evil as well as victories. Happy endings are constantly great to have.

- There are those that develop vocabulary. Kids learn new words as well as enhance in their speech.

- An added advantage is that, those youngsters watching programs like these find out to focus. This helps them focus as well as educates them the ability to follow consecutive episodes.

- They learn life lessons, they discover sharing and exactly how to recognize right from incorrect. They find out that it is not always the large and also the solid who constantly win.

- Animations constantly obtain stored away as terrific memories and those pleased associations are carried appropriate into adulthood.

How do they profit adults?

- Viewing an anime when you're ill in bed is a splendidly recovery exercise. Remember those times when, as a youngster you did precisely that?

- Researches reveal that viewing cartoons lowers the danger of anxiety associated illness in adults. A great laugh launches endorphins in the mind. These endorphins make us really feel far better mentally and physically and are the best de-stressor that money can't purchase.

- Individuals like these find they associate better to kids as well as have a much better understanding of them.

- Obviously, this is a great way to kill time as it keeps individuals out of mischief. The still mind, as they claim, is the devil's workshop!

Throughout the years animes have actually advanced from one dimensional characters on the screen as well as paper to a three dimensional one. Modern technology has made cartoon personalities realistic. Both adults and children connect to the story Children TELEVISION Online.

Anime Vs Cartoons: What's the Difference?

In the "Anime" neighborhood, for most fans as well as fans, "Anime" is "Anime and also "Cartoons" are "Cartoons". For them both of the things are truly different from each various other.

Firstly, many individuals obtain puzzled between an Anime and also an Anime, even if both are animated that doesn't imply that they both are very same. There are a lot of differences in Anime as well as Cartoons. While both are caricatures that might be computer animated, anime generally has visually distinctive functions for characters. So, below I will certainly now clarify the difference in between these 2. Anime are Japanese computer animated production, that are available in various layouts like, television series such as dragon sphere z, Naruto, one piece etc., computer animated brief films, and also full-length films. However animations are two-dimensional illustrated visual art, non-realistic or semi-realistic illustrations.

Anime characters have distinct facial and also physical features that are extremely comparable to truth, their large eyes and tiny mouth are developed due to cuteness. On the various other hand, cartoons physical features are very much from reality than anime. Anime characters additionally reveal various kinds of distinguishable faces whereas animes do not.

Cartoons are normally made to make people laugh, so the style mostly is funny. Yet there are likewise several animes that are academic, showing something good to mainly young children and also youngsters in an enjoyable, interactive way. For example, mickey mouse, Donald duck, pests bunny and so on

. Unlike cartoons, anime does not adhere to just one or more genres. Anime programs and also movies are all based on some sort of story which proceeds through the whole series, for instance, bleach, one item, Naruto, etc. Anime is based upon real-life problems or something that are closer to human feelings and also have a lot more categories than cartoons such as, dramatization, school life, slice of life, love, activity, and so on

. However if you check out both of them as different entities, or as same, you will not be able to locate a clear difference between the two, which is why a lot of the people get puzzled in between both and wind up calling anime as well as animes are very same Children TELEVISION Online.

The initial animation was stated to be generated in 1499. It depicted the pope, holy Roman emperor, and the king of France as well as England playing the game of cards. However, Japanese animation began in the very early 20's, when Japanese filmmakers were trying out various methods. By 1930s, as an alternative to the live activity sector, computer animation was established.

As anime are two-dimensional numbers drawn and utilized in animations, as caricatures in papers, and also publications. If we were to define what Anime is after that the basic suggestion of several of the common as well as agreed upon notions would certainly be "Japanese, animation, vibrant layouts, as well as hand-drawn" would certainly be primary buzzwords.

Today, Anime only appears to refer "animations just from Japan" to make it extra understandable for individuals. After all this is human nature to like the important things which are conveniently understandable and conveniently categorized.

To make the distinction more clear, let's take the example of the tom as well as jerry and dragon sphere z. So, you may believe what's the difference in between both when they both are computer animated and have excellent visuals, histories, sound impacts as well as even the computer animated drawings behave. But, there are lots of distinctions in them which differentiate them from anime to animation. Like, their principles are absolutely different, as you know every episode of tom as well as Jerry is various as well as is not associated with any of the previous episode or continuing some sort of tale from a point but in dragon sphere z every episode is connected to the previous one, and proceed the story from where it stopped in the previous episode. And their categories are various too, as tom and also Jerry is purely based upon a pet cat and also mouse battle and made to make people laugh and their watch time enjoyable. On the various other hand, dragon sphere z is sort of a journey of a saiyan to conserve the Planet and also the universe from several dangers, he defends conserving every person, with the aid of his family members, close friends and fellow saiyans. Dragon ball z is can be categorized in various categories, like activity, experience, comedy, very power, etc

. An additional thing in which some individuals may unique anime as well as cartoon would certainly be that cartoons are for youngsters whereas reach of anime can be extended to many various other age and other locations Kids TV Online.

However what I believe is, cartoons are not simply children product, because as we can see in the newspapers, as well as on television also, there are many cartoons containing as well as targeting lots of political, spiritual sights. Most of these messages are concealed as well as indistinguishable for kids, to ensure that grownups can appreciate viewing them with youngsters. Whereas some of the anime consists of high grown-up material and thus are not secure or good for little kids to see. Those type of anime are made completely concentrating on adult target market. But there are likewise some anime collection which are definitely risk-free to enjoy with children. However nowadays, even normal anime's might have some scenes which are not meant to be enjoyed by kids.

So, I think, where cartoons are secure for kids to see, anime shouldn't be thought about secure sufficient for them. But despite just how old you obtain, you can still appreciate it as it is.

I really feel that, anime has much deeper thought in them, well created characters, broad story-line, a solid style, sensible background animation, the real world scenarios, discussions, expressions, etc. all of these things bound us together to view all the episodes (whether there are 12 or 24 or more than a thousand of episodes) of the anime collection. Whereas on the various other hand, animes, regardless of whether they are telling a story or simply going for funny, have superficial characters and themes.

Cartooning for Kids: 3 Books That Can Help You Get Started

Many children I understand love to attract eventually. Several of them love it a lot, they take place to produce video games, comics, cartoons, and comics. If you are seeking some exceptional books on cartooning for youngsters, below are three that can aid you get going.

Among the outright finest general intros allows Publication of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. He starred in a public tv program for years, and I was able as a young person to learn from his techniques.

Guide covers whatever from basic cartooning abilities, like integrating various facial forms, features, and hairdos, to make various characters. It likewise demonstrates how to attract bodies and also add motion to them so they are funny and also dynamic, and not just stalling.

He does a terrific work of introducing animation results as well as devices. Those are the kinds of things that make animes enjoyable and bring them to life, like the wavy lines appearing of a piece of pizza, to show that it smells excellent. Or the lines on a pool of water or a mirror, to reveal they are reflective. And also one of the most enjoyable of all, those little grains of sweat or activity lines, like when someone has actually just thrown a sphere Children TELEVISION Online.

There is also a great deal of mention on just how to create cartoons, consisting of how to lay them out, invent jokes, as well as do your lettering. For kids who wish to attempt their hand at superhero-type comics, he covers different means to make your male go from dopey to wonderful, from absolutely no to hero. Likewise included are numerous positions you might utilize, like training, taking off, flying, and also boxing.

This extensive work additionally has an area on animation portraiture or caricature. In this way you can draw funny pictures of on your own, good friends, family members, as well as teachers, and offer those away as presents. You may even wind up offering your job!

An additional outstanding summary is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know concerning Cartooning yet Hesitated to Draw. The writer is a Disney-trained musician, so it's a perfect recommendation if you like that design. Yet it too covers every little thing from expressions and also drawing action presents, to cartoon format.

One specific area I such as is exactly how to attract your animes from various camera angles, like way down reduced. That way, if you are trying to attract something from the viewpoint of a very tiny character, like a computer mouse seeking out at an individual, you can obtain an excellent funny aim to your job.

Art for Children: Cartooning: The Only Cartooning Book You'll Ever Need to Be the Artist You have actually Constantly Intended to Be motivates youngsters to try out various techniques to obtain their own designs. The design hangs and also open, so it's easy for kids to comply with. There is also info on composing jokes as well as developing panels Children TV Online.

So if you have an interest in cartooning for children, these 3 books to help you get going are perfect. You will have 3 completely different designs to examine, and you will have great deals of suggestions on attracting fundamentals, plus information on how to put whatever together into your own anime creations. Delighted cartooning!

8 Memorable Youngsters' Anime Adaptations to Motion Picture

When a well enjoyed children's TV series makes the change from the little to the hollywood it normally spells a break from tradition and also an attempt to interest an entire new target market. Computer animation resorts to live activity, rough-and-ready image resorts to CGI, obscure commentary artists are replaced by prominent Hollywood stars as well as puppets are switched for real-life actors. To commemorate the incredible brand-new film of eponymous cult TELEVISION series Stories of the Riverbank [talesoftheriverbank.co.uk/ trailer], here are some motion picture gems that really improve their kids' TELEVISION starts, and also some stinkers that ought to have adhered to what they're best at:

Garfield (2004 )

On the one hand, Bill Murray seems like he's constantly been the voice of Garfield - his effortlessly sarcastic wit seems completely suited to the lasagne addicted fat feline. On the various other, pretty much whatever else regarding this movie sucks. The performing's not up to much and also the animation's nothing short of tragic. The initial comic strip as well as anime series didn't endeavor to far from Garfield's litter tray, so this attempt to stretch things to more than an hour just ends up a mess.

Little understood fact: Bill Murray recorded a lot of his audio for this in Italy while shooting "The Life Aquatic" on a watercraft.

Authorities Garfield website - garfield.com/.

Tales of the Riverbank (2008 ).

Though not a cartoon, this new motion picture is absolutely worth a mention: when Johnny Morris initially placed his voice to these shore pets in the 1959 TELEVISION collection of the same name, it could have been debatable. However it turned out that making pets appear like they were chatting was a huge success. Today the adorable Hammy Hamster once more joins GP, Owl as well as buddies in a fracturing feature length waterfront prance. With a winning, British voice actors and also an innocently jolly story, this motion picture is set to become a company family members favourite. Little understood fact: In the '60s TV program, the animals were adjusted to look like they were speaking utilizing peanut butter on the roofing of their mouth.

Official Website - talesoftheriverbank.co.uk/ trailer. TOTR on IMDB - imdb.com/title/tt1043748/.

Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 ).

There were the Samurai Pizza Cats and after that there were the Bicycle Rider Computer Mice from Mars - yet both were bad copies of what was undoubtedly the supreme animal/mutant based cartoon activity collection embeded in a drain ... including a speaking rat. "Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles" was a computer animated TELEVISION show in the 80s, a trilogy of live-action films in the 90s as well as more lately a computer system cartoon animation (TNMT). The films are mainly dreadful - however watch out for an instead snazzy-looking Vanilla Ice in Adolescent Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Glop. Traditional. Little recognized fact: In the UK the TELEVISION series was called Adolescent Mutant Hero Turtles as the word "ninja" was considered as well terrible.

Scooby Doo (2002 ).

Among the much better remakes, this is about as close as you're going to get to the original collection without returning to full animation. All the one linings are there, as are all the trademarks that made the original such a smash hit. There's additionally a healthy and balanced dosage of self mockery to make certain the grown-ups can enjoy it as high as children. Any person that located Scrappy Doo more than a little bothersome in the original will enjoy the spin at the end. The only secret that still remains is this - what worldwide IS a Scooby Snack ?? Little recognize truth: In a very early version of the film, a certain Jim Carrey was connected to play Shaggy.

Official Scooby site - warnerbros.com/sd_brand/index.html.

Thunderbirds (2004 ).

The initial puppets had lots much more magic and also personal appeal than the 'live' actors in this substandard remake. Creator of the initial TELEVISION series, Gerry Anderson, also contradicted a $750,000 deal to write an endorsement of the film for its launch. A substantial flop. Enough stated.

Little bit understood truth: The motion picture is routed by Jonathan Frakes that played Riker in Celebrity Trip.

Flintstones (1994 ).

Translating a computer animated classic right into a live-action film using the real world actors isn't always simple. Perhaps the most essential item of the jigsaw is the spreading. In the case of 1994's Flintstones they soooo really nearly got it right. John Goodman as Fred Flintstone - place on. Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma - made for the duty. Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble - all good. Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Debris? - Um ... intriguing. At the very least the sound-track (courtesy of the BC52s) appears wonderful!

Little bit recognized fact: Halle Berry plays a character called Sharon Stone (obtain it!?).

Transformers (2007 ).

Hardcore Transformers fans who bear in mind the 1980s hit cartoon show may really feel a little peeved that, in a separation from the original collection, Spielberg as well as co. have decided to opt for some more modern-day automobiles. So Bumble-bee's no longer a huge yellow VW Beetle! Boo! Nevertheless, those that can not bear in mind the initial (virtually anybody under the age of 30) will enjoy the continuous robo-action.

Bit understood fact: The 1986 "Transformers the Movie" was one of Orson Welles last ever movies - one of his very first was Person Kane.

Tom and also Jerry the Granddaddy of Kids Cartoon Movies.

Everyone has their very own preferred animation flick or tv show; as a matter of fact animations are now a big component of a youngster's very early years as well as in addition to enjoyable to adults too. If you were young in the 60's, 70's or 80's after that you'll have been lucky sufficient to have actually enjoyed the initial hand attracted animated standards, like the Flintstones, The Jetsons or among the most prominent as well as lengthiest running, Tom and Jerry.

The Tom as well as Jerry reveal begun as a TV series and then took place to become a number of feature movies; it has been running given that the 40's and also has because won 7 different Oscar awards for ideal animated short. Back then you needed to await the program to come on at a specific time, though today were fortunate enough to be able to purchase a Tom and also Jerry DVD set anytime we like and also relive the magic in our very own houses.

The characters are easy Tom a troublesome house cat with a preference for mice and also Jerry a reluctant mouse with a kind heart; both are friends at heart, however constantly wind up attempting to win one over on each various other generally with Jerry winning the day. The simple as well as funny slapstick comedy of this crazy duo is what's made it so popular in nations around the world; you'll find the preferred films playing in practically any kind of resort area on all continents.

So where did it all start? Most individuals do not understand that Tom and also Jerry has had more than one maker in over 50 years of broadcast; the initial 2 were the gifted William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. They came to the MGM workshops in the 40's with their concept and Tom as well as Jerry became a reality in individuals's houses. After a brief time the program was reduced and the team broke up until the 1960's when MGM made a decision to reboot the project, they hired Gene Deitch for 2 years, but his eccentric imagination didn't mix well with the program. In 1963 the workshops employed a new director Chuck Jones who became the next creator of the motion pictures.

An instance of an especially excellent film is the magic ring which came out in 2002, it was composed and also routed by both of the original makers as well as additionally worked together on by Chuck Jones. If you're a fanatic of the lovable pet cat and also mouse duo after that you'll love this movie, it would certainly also be a wonderful introduction to the personalities for your very own youngsters.

[incorrectbatfam]

Writer research as well as personal curiosity: What do you think would have happened to the batkids if they never became the batkids? (Also known as "I'm struggling to know if this fanfic plot is actually plausible and you're my personal wikipedia")

Assuming none of the parents died…

Dick would’ve continued living with John and Mary as they traveled around as the Flying Graysons. He would’ve honed his acrobatic skills, but less in a combat way and more gracefully, like the performer he is. And when he grew up, Dick wouldn’t be a crime fighter or police officer in Bludhaven. He’d branch out, but still stick close to his roots by making a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Perhaps as a stunt actor or daredevil or you name it.

Jason would’ve been stuck growing up in Crime Alley, joining the swathes of children who are failed by the system and labeled delinquent. He wouldn’t have died or been resurrected, but he’d still have done questionable things. Namely, getting involved in Gotham’s underground. Perhaps he would’ve fought his way to the top as a crime lord, or perhaps he’d be forever stuck as a henchman, helping to conspire against the Batman.

Tim would’ve grown up with his cushy childhood. He wouldn’t have investigated Batman or Robin (because the latter didn’t exist). Instead, he would’ve gotten perfect grades at the best schools and put on a mask for the show. He would’ve carried on the Drake family legacy doing exactly as he was supposed to because deviating from it was not an option. 

Stephanie would’ve been stuck with her abusive father. She would’ve dealt with the demons at home by herself and acted like everything was okay when surrounded by friends at Gotham High. She would’ve spent her time like a normal teenage girl (that and dealing with her father) rather than chasing down criminals in a homemade costume. And when she became an adult, she’d make her escape. Get into a good college, far away from Gotham City, and start life anew.

Damian would’ve become the exact person that Talia and Ra’s wanted him to be, far away from the throes of modern society. A skilled tactician, genius, perfect weapon. He would’ve inherited the Demon’s title and continued the League’s agenda. From a young age, he’d have entire armies at his beck and call. And if he were to face against Batman, things would not be pretty.

I don’t know enough about Cassandra or Duke, sorry. Anyone who does can do it in the reblogs

Bruce, simply put, would be lonely after his parents’ murders. Despite being genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Bruce Wayne by day and the Justice League’s Batman by night, there would always be something missing that not even Alfred could put a finger on. Wayne Manor would be too quiet, too empty without siblings quarreling or pets tracking mud onto the carpet. He’d be isolated in the strange way many A-list celebrities are. God knows how long he could last like that.

(send me a link to the fanfic when you write it)

[hosttos]

Does anyone else really love Matilda?

Disclaimer: I'm not an english native, so if you think that the following is just a long non-stoping constant nonsense, you're probably right, but I have no way to tell, so I'm sorry for both of us.

I know it's a childish movie by all intention but I just love it, maybe it's exactly that what makes it so amazing, it's a kids movie that makes you feel like a kid, not just by literally telling the story from the point of view of an adult trapped inside the body of a little girl, but because somehow it manages to feel so real. By that I don't mean that such an amazing antagonist as Tronchbull is a realistic one (because she isn't) but she represents the way a child feel about a lot of adults, and that's what makes her so perfect, is a totally real villain that doesn't rely on realism to make us fear her, let's face it, taking a girl by her braids and throwing her as far as possible it's not the most scary thing you'll see in a movie, but you can empathize with Matilda by the fact that you feel she could be next and there would be a lot of pain without any consequences for Tronchbull.

The movie plays a lot with that, the sensation that adults can do whatever they want without having to face the punishments kid suffer over the most ridiculous things (like eating a pair on M&M's in the presence of a grown-up). That is, indeed, the whole plot, a girl trying to achieve fairness by making use of a bigger (sometimes magical) power.

In the beginning of the movie we see how Matilda feels about his dad's business, she (as any responsable adult would) feels horrified when her father makes a living out of scamming and lying with no visible consequences, and, when her father accidentally teaches her that when a person (not only a child) misbehaves they should be punished she tries so hard to make her dad suffer through physical pain, and she does, but soon she feels that such a simple punishment can't make her dad regret for all the bad things he has done, and she's about to know why when she meets the other adult that doesn't know how to handle power.

Tronchbull is, unlike Harry, not made for us to think she's a normal human being, Harry is just a lazy, stupid egocentric man that doesn't know what he's getting into. Tronchbull, on the other hand, is the most weird and twisted analogy you can think of Hitler, a grown woman with a lot of power that she uses to make others suffer, she's perfectly aware of her position and doesn't follow a clear moral pattern (other than hating children) because she doesn't need to because she's totally convinced she's doing the right thing because people made her think so. She's any child worst nightmare and she's happy with it, because of the comfort being in a powerful position carries, so, to punish her, a bigger power is necessary.

That's when Matilda's magical powers get in the game, they're a pretty common fantasy for a child and, combined with their imagination, it's a tool for everything. But let's not forget that Matilda has still that selfless innocence of a child, she doesn't want everything to go on her favour just so she can relax and see the world fall apart, she wants to make things fair, and that's, in her mind, make Harry and Tronchbull pay for what they've done wrong.

When Matilda thinks of punishing Tronchbull she doesn't even think of going through physical pain, not because she thinks that'd be too cruel or sadistic, but because she literally thinks Tronchbull is unable to feel pain, for her, Tronchbull is a monster that gets happiness from making little kids suffer, like Bruce; instead, she wants to make her suffer in a proper way for what she does to children, she wants to make her feel as vulnerable as any kid feels in her presence, and she achieves that through an imaginative use of her powers (it's obvious she couldn't have done that by conventional methods), she's living a dream, basically.

At the end of the movie we see a lot of things happening, Tronchbull faces everything she has ever feared at the same time, so does Harry, who has to run away from authorities because he's finally about to get punished for his actions in an intended way (kind of Dantesque if you think about it), and Matilda gets to live with her new mom: Ms Honey.

Ms Honey is the exact opposite of Matilda, she's a child on the inside and an adult on the outside, she lost her childhood due to Tronchbull's mistreats and doesn't get to enjoy it back til the end of the movie, when the roles get to their proper way, Matilda being the child and Ms Honey being the adult.

In conclusion, this is how you make a movie for adults and kids and the same time.