#five little ducks

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 13/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma, TW: Self Harm

Chapter Thirteen: The New Normal

Bruce woke up with a blade to his throat. “Jason—.”

“How’d you know it was me?” Jason whispered. He had a man’s voice, an angry man’s voice, but Bruce knew better.

“Because you’re scared,” Bruce whispered as he opened his eyes. They exchanged glances in the dark.

“You’re the one with a knife to your throat, and I’m the one who’s scared?” Jason asked.

“If you were mad, you would’ve gone for my eyes,” Bruce answered. Jason tightened the blade against Bruce’s neck, allowing the serrated edge to penetrate the skin. “Sit down, and let’s talk. It’s been a while… I missed you.”

Jason shook his head. “No, it’s a trick,” Jason whispered. Bruce touched Jason’s wrist gently.

“You don’t think I love you… And that hurts, doesn’t it?” Bruce asked. Jason pressed the blade further into Bruce’s flesh, drawing blood. Bruce didn’t flinch.

“Do you think this is funny?” Jason asked. Tears forced their way down Jason’s cheeks as he raised the knife above his head. Bruce let go of Jason’s wrist and stared into his eyes. They were a child’s eyes. Jason let out a sob involuntarily as the tears flooded down his face. “Fight back!” Jason screamed. Bruce didn’t move. Blood trickled down his neck as he watched Jason fight within himself.

“I wasn’t the same without you… If this is what it takes to prove I love you, then so be it, Jason. I’d do almost anything for you,” Bruce whispered. Jason let out a sickened scream like a wounded animal as he plunged the knife into Bruce’s shoulder.

“We should’ve died together! I passed away without ever knowing how you felt! If you loved me, you would’ve died with me!” Jason screamed. “Or you would’ve killed him!”

“I couldn’t kill Jo—. Him… because it would’ve made your death cheap. I don’t know how to fix it if I can outside of that, but part of me knew that I’d never be able to remember you as you were if I made it about him. I wanted to kill him… Hell, I still want to kill him for what he did to you, but I never would’ve grieved you properly. You deserved that at least—.”

“You didn’t grieve me. You replaced me. I was nothing more than another sidekick to you. You never cared about any of us… You didn’t care about me,” Jason spat. The words tasted sour to Bruce as he considered Jason’s words. Bruce didn’t want to fight. That was the mistake Bruce made back then. He never should’ve fought Jason.

“I love Tim and Dick… But you were special. I don’t think any two people were more made for each other as father and son as we were. Jason, I couldn’t love the same after you. I couldn’t breathe the same… Batman will never feel the same. I put on the cape and cowl, and I’m constantly haunted by the little boy I killed.

“I know you’re scared, but I’m here. It’s not too late to let me help you. We can fix this—.”

Jason pulled the blade from Bruce’s shoulder and backed away. “You didn’t want me anymore! You were gonna let me go with her! She was a stranger, and you were fully prepared to let me go with her… Like I didn’t mean anything to you,” Jason cried as he sank to the ground in a corner of the room. Bruce held his bleeding shoulder as he sat up and turned the light on.

“I thought it would keep you safe. I didn’t want you to leave, but I—. I was terrified about what would happen if you stayed with me… It’s all my fault,” Bruce admitted. Jason hid his face in his hands.

“I was scared, Bruce… Everything was falling apart, and I just—. I wanted something to hold onto,” Jason wept, “You weren’t there for me.”

“You’re right. I was too passive. When I saw you hurting, I backed away. I should’ve been stable. That’s all you needed,” Bruce replied as he approached Jason. “You loved all your parents, and we all failed you. Didn’t we? You loved Willis. I know you did… But he didn’t know how to let you be gentle. You loved Catherine, but drugs took her away from you… You loved Sheila, and she betrayed you… And you loved me, and I failed you in every way imaginable. I’m sorry.” Jason dropped the knife and looked up. Bruce nodded.

“I hate you so much,” Jason cried. Bruce nodded as he opened his arms. Jason struck Bruce across the face. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” Jason fought Bruce’s embrace until he realized Bruce wasn’t giving up. “I loved you, Bruce.”

“I love you too, Jason,” Bruce whispered, “Jason… You’re gonna be alright. I’m not gonna let go. I’m right here. Nothing else matters, I promise.”

Jason wept on Bruce’s uninjured shoulder. “I’m so tired,” Jason mumbled.

“I know…” Bruce held Jason until he fell asleep, and he tucked Jason into his bed. While Jason slept, Bruce patched himself up and sat by Jason’s bedside, pushing his hair back. “It’ll be alright. This wasn’t your fault. You’re gonna be okay,” Bruce whispered. Jason breathed heavily in his sleep as if he hadn’t slept in days. His chest heaved up and down quickly, and Bruce gave Jason’s scalp a gentle scratch. “You’re safe now. Don’t worry about anything. I’ve got you now.”

*

Bruce slept in the chair and awakened as Jason draped a blanket over the older man. Bruce looked up and smiled. “How’s your inner child?” Bruce smiled.

“You let me stab you in the shoulder,” Jason mumbled as he sat on Bruce’s bed crosslegged.

“I thought you were aiming for my throat,” Bruce whispered, “And you missed everything important.”

“I wasn’t aiming for anything important… I was thinking…” Jason chuckled, but his smile quickly faded. “You know about what happened when I was ten years old… What do you have to say about it?” Jason asked.

“Are you a baptized Catholic?” Bruce questioned. Jason smiled and nodded. “And we didn’t talk about why… Why’d you do it?”

“Things were awful at home. Mom and Dad were fighting all the time, and—. And I was tired of being the adult,” Jason replied, “I was only ever a kid when I was with you.”

“I’m glad I did one thing right,” Bruce grinned, “Oh, the haircut you had when you were eight… I liked it.”

“Funny,” Jason replied, “I learned a lot from this.”

“You remember all of it?” Bruce questioned. Jason nodded.

“Don’t tell anyone that I remember, okay? Except for Stephanie… Tell her I said she was one of the best moms I ever had,” Jason smiled.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me… And I’m grateful for the time I spent with you these past few weeks,” Bruce confessed, “But next time, can we do family therapy instead?” Jason laughed.

“I’ll never let you off that easy,” Jason whispered. The two men sat in the dark together, watching the sunrise outside Bruce’s bedroom window. “I don’t know how to move forward, Bruce.”

“That’s okay. We’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out,” Bruce whispered.

[scripture-pictures]

[stickerskingdom]

little duckling sticker

[heaven-zent]

i’ve been thinking about brubuck a lot lately

[ghostiesoop]

[kazcreates]

Date Night

When Mike and Ness have one of their first dates, Mike calls Vanessa over to watch Abby because of course the babysitter fell through at the last second. He really has bad luck with babysitters.

Mike is still getting ready when she arrives, and his date is nowhere to be found. However, it isn’t long before there’s a knock at the door. Curious to see who Mike’s mysterious new partner is, Vanessa follows behind him as he goes to open it.

Ness is there, flowers in hand which he obviously picked himself, and dressed somewhere between formal and casual. He’s smiling brightly—at least until he meets Vanessa’s gaze, then he looks a little flustered.

“Do you two know each other?” Mike asks, looking between the two of them.

“You could say that,” Ness says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’ve arrested Ness here about a dozen times, for trespassing,” Vanessa explains, flatly.

“Really?” Mike asks, grinning. “You’ll never guess how we met.”

[lara-prism-light]

I'm going to start making some art requests. You can tell me what you want, as long as you follow the rules of my blog.

The fandoms I'm part of are:

Monster High💀

WinxClub🦋

Ducktales/Duckverse/Duck Avenger🦆

Hollow Knight🐛

Pokemon🔴

Dangaronpa🩸

TMNT🐢

The Owl House🦉

Precure✨

Ninjago🐲

Cuphead🎲

Monkie Kid🐒

Henry Stickmin💎

Animation vs Animator/Animatio vs Minecraft🖊

Tales Of Arcadia🗡

Murder Drones🤖

Transformers🚛

Undertale❤

Five Nights at Freddy's🐻

Sonic the hedgehog🌀

My Little Pony🦄

Trolls🎶

Crossover Fandom💫

Rules:

No NSFW🔞

No racism✊🏿

No prejudice ☮️

No homophobia/transphobia/acephobia🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

No defending Israel🚫🇮🇱

No discrimination against Palestine/Gaza🇵🇸

No fandom discrimination💬

No proshiping(insect, noncon, pedophilia, etc)🙅🏻‍♀️

No fetishes🤢

No hate🤬

If any of these rules are broken you will be ignored or blocked.

You can ask me anything.

[jrueships]

Paul George on Stephen A. Smith’s Kawhi Leonard jab: “I didn’t like that moment… Kawhi wants to play… We exhausted a lot out of Kawhi this season. So at some point your body breaks you down… I didn’t appreciate that moment. I know I laughed because the situation was lighthearted, but deep down it was like you gotta let that go, Stephen A.”

Paul George, knight in shining armor

[morbidmotive]

Ok hear me out but like...

Duck season/Rabbit season, but with Monty (as Daffy) and Bonnie (as Bugs, naturally)

And Gregory with his Fazerblaster

[quackerjackstoychest]

Screenshots of QJ from Whiffle While You Work. That’s it. That’s the post. I’ve always loved him in this episode, he is just quite the cutie patootie

Broski is hiding

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 1/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma

Chapter One: Hickory Dickory Dock

Bruce leaped out of the Batmobile, blood pumping as he sprinted halfway across the docks and kicked in the warehouse door in a panic. He couldn't be too late. Not again. He looked around the room, his heart still beating in his ears. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to regain his cool. Jason wasn't a child anymore. He could take care of himself. Jason was probably long gone. Bruce tried to reassure himself that everything was fine. He turned to leave just as a pipe clattered and clanged against the cement floor, followed by a gasp. Bruce met eyes with a little boy with a bloody nose and bruised knuckles. He sat in the corner of the room shaking and crying, wearing a hoodie that was so oversized it pooled over his feet.

The boy held both hands over his face, stifling sobs as his body shook. Bruce's shoulders dropped, and he made himself appear smaller and less imposing. He stepped forward to approach, and the child screwed up his face and broke into a sobbing mess. "Oh no, I'm not here to hurt you-." The little boy shook his head frantically.

"No! No," he pleaded. Bruce sighed and sat down where he stood.

"I only want to help," Bruce reassured him. "Can you step into the light for me?" The child shook his head. "My mask is awfully spooky, huh?" The boy nodded. "Don't worry. I'm just a regular man under the mask."

The little boy shivered in the cold. "It's too cold in here to stay all night... I actually have a ravioli soup to pick up in a little bit, and I couldn't possibly eat it all by myself. Do you know anybody who might want to eat hot and spicy ravioli soup with me?" Bruce questioned. The little boy's stomach growled. Bruce reached out, and the little boy took his hand. "Oracle-."

"Got it," Barbara replied. Bruce held his hand out, and the child finally accepted. Bruce took a wet napkin and wiped his face and hands clean, checking for signs of a broken nose.

"Does that hurt?" Bruce questioned. The little boy tried to stop himself from crying. "Does your head hurt?"

The little boy shook his head. "No..." His voice was small, almost mouse-like.

"Okay... I don't think anything's broken," Bruce whispered, "Will you come with me?"

Bruce walked him to the Batmobile and set up the car seat he kept around for emergencies. He buckled the boy in and checked to ensure the seat belt was secure. The little boy grabbed Bruce's wrist, and they locked eyes. There was a strange familiarity swimming around in the boy's downturned eyes. "Am I in trouble?" asked the boy. Bruce shook his head. "Are you gonna take me home after?"

"I'm going to try to. How'd you get way out here?" Bruce asked.

Bruce hopped in the Batmobile and started driving toward the restaurant in Little Italy. "I don't remember," the boy mumbled, "I usually remember things... But I don't know this time. I never go this far away by myself."

"Do you know what neighborhood you live in?" Bruce questioned. The little boy swung his feet as he looked around at the Batmobile's interior.

"Uh-huh. I live in the apartments on Park Row," the boy answered, "Mr. Batman, you hurt my daddy before... But sometimes, he does bad things. My mommy says sometimes people have to do bad things to survive."

"Well-."

"I think he had to go away again and get punished," the little boy explained.

"I'm sorry that I hurt your father," Bruce apologized.

"It's okay... You probably didn't know. Sometimes people hit people because they don't know better," the little boy justified. Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he pulled up into the alley.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Bruce asked. The little boy nodded.

Bruce went into the back entrance and paid for his order. He took an empty soup container and split his order in two before grabbing his forks and returning to the Batmobile. He climbed into the backseat and draped a napkin over the boy's lap before handing him his soup. "Thank you," the little boy whispered. Bruce could tell it'd been a while since the child's last meal, but he had excellent manners. Bruce ate with him in silence. "Do you know my name?"

Bruce shook his head. He thought it was a strange question. "Do you know Santa Claus?" the little boy questioned.

"No, I can't say I do," Bruce replied, "What is your name, by the way?"

"Jason," the little boy answered. Bruce turned to him and shook his head.

"Jason Peter Todd?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded and smiled.

"Hey! You told a fib! You do know my name," Jason giggled. Bruce's breath caught. How was that possible? Jason was a full-grown man when Bruce received the distress call earlier. Who could've done something like that to him? "Mr. Batman?"

Bruce took off his mask and looked him in the eye. He hoped it would spark something in Jason's memory. "Jason, how old are you right now?" Bruce questioned.

"You're Bruce Wayne," Jason grinned, showing Bruce the little gap in his front teeth.

"Jason, please. How old are you today?" Bruce asked.

Jason frowned. "I'm five... Are you mad at me?" Jason questioned. Bruce shook his head.

"Do you remember talking to me today? We talked to each other three times today... I've known you since you were twelve, and I-."

"Mr. Wayne... I'm five," Jason whispered.

Bruce sighed. Jason was literally five years old. He had no memory of the past nineteen years, and there was no way to explain any of it without traumatizing him. "Well, Jason, if your mommy and daddy aren't home, do you want to stay with me for a little while?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded.

"How'd you know my whole name?" Jason asked.

"I'm a good detective," Bruce answered. Jason hiccupped and apologized. "It's alright. Jason, is it alright if I take you to a doctor and let her bandage up your cuts?" Jason nodded. "If you're good, Dr. Thompkins might give you a sticker."

Jason lit up. "I know who Dr. Thompkins is! She helped my mommy once when she was sick," Jason explained. Bruce smoothed Jason's hair down in the back. He felt something warm and wet, like blood, and he drew his hand back to see a glowing inscription on his hand. Magic. Of course, it was magic.

Corpus et mens infantis ad cor infantis. It was written in liquid on Jason's head and Bruce's palm. Jason didn't notice the glowing green inscription. "Does Dr. Thompkins know you're Batman?" Jason asked. Bruce nodded. "Am I asking too many questions, Mr. Wayne?"

"You can ask all the questions you want, Jason. Okay?" Bruce reassured him. Jason nodded as he drank the tomato broth from his soup container. Bruce smiled and wiped Jason's face. "I used to have a little boy like you... Except he wasn't as little as you. He was older... But to me, he was my little boy."

"Is he gone?" Jason asked.

"Kind of," Bruce whispered.

"Do you miss him?" Jason questioned.

"All the time," Bruce whispered, "He was only little for such a short time. I wished I could turn back time and be better to him."

Jason looked at the sad expression on Bruce's face, and he tapped his shoulder. "I bet he misses you too," Jason reassured him.

[annieandbobbienurseryrhymes]

MarMar and Zay is an educational channel that features nursery rhymes. Also learning videos to help the next wave of children get moving and excited about learning.

[quatregats]

hello Please Please do tell us about your 'the famous flower of serving men' story for the aubreyad (judging by the folk song alone I am intrigued!!)

...also I am of course interested in hornblower the tank engine.

The Famous Flower of Serving Men Aubreyad Crossover is entirely the fault of me getting brainworms about that song and then making it about my blorbos even though it is patently Not About That. It's somewhat of a fantasy AU and it is considerably less Bleak and Bloody than the song, which for those who are unfamiliar is about a pretty awful situation (warning: it is 10 minutes long and will put you into a trance despite being Bleak and Bloody), but otherwise it has a lot of what it says on the tin. Also I wrote it while reading Canigó so some of that might have seeped in. Here is a snippet:

One day in the early fall, the king was preparing for a hunting trip. The kingdom was at peace: the harvest had been bountiful and the people were content. The borderlands to the south were full of thick forests and fine game, and the king longed for a ride through the fresh air of the mountains before winter set in and confined him to his halls. “I’ll be back in a fortnight,” he said. “And I’ll leave the house to you—I hope you’ll keep it in good order.” His friend’s face looked oddly drawn and tight. “I will keep it in as good an order as I have every day, and I do not need your prying eye to help me,” he bit back. “It will only be a fortnight,” the king said, unsure of the source of this sudden displeasure. “And I will tell you of all the birds and beetles and snakes when I return.” “Sure, and I will be happy to hear of them,” the man agreed, but the unhappy look did not disappear from his face even as the king rode away the next morning at dawn.

And, well, for your interest in Hornblower the Tank Engine, I will provide you with a Rev. W Audry-style beginning-of-book letter, since I have almost finished writing this lad and will try to publish it soon-ish:

Dear Reader, Some of you have been asking about a little tank engine named Hornblower, who has been very hard at work on the Indefatigable Branch Line as of late. Some of you might have heard of his adventures with Exploding Bridges or Plague-Ridden Cattle. Not many people, though, know about his time at the dockyards, and about how he went up against a very dangerous engine and nearly won. He told me that story last September, and his Controller thinks that he has been such a Useful Engine as of late that I should tell it in a Book. We both agreed that he was Very Brave, and we think that it is high time other people thought that too. We hope you enjoy his story. Sincerely, The Author

[stickerskingdom]

little duckling sticker

[cosmiado]

duck team....,,, *bursts into tears*