#he may have told her that he was related to damian wayne. just to prepare her for that. not so sure on the writing in this one folks

[starry-bi-sky]

(Part of this post with older brother danyal al ghul)

...Okay, look. Sam knows she's staring. She knows very well that she is staring. And that if she doesn't stop staring it's gonna draw her unwanted attention, and that will only have to make her explain why she's staring. Which she doesn't want to do.

She's trying not to stare, which she thinks she should get brownie points for. She tries to look away, to find a spot on the wall to stare lifelessly at, maybe she can burn holes into some of these annoying socialites' heads. But eventually her eyes drift, and suddenly she's back to staring again.

Can you blame her though? Damian Wayne looks like a very close mini-me of her fucking best friend. Seriously, it's like looking into a mirror to the past. If that mirror to the past had green eyes rather than blue and a distinctive lack of a facial scar.

The first time she sees him when her parents drag her over to Bruce Wayne to butter up to him she has to do a doubletake. Then a triple take. Then a quadruple take, just for good measure that she was seeing what she was actually seeing. She was sure she looked like one of those stress toys that when squeezed had their eyes pop out comically like a Saturday morning cartoon, that's what she certainly felt like anyways.

Look, Danny's come a decent way from being that scowl-y, jerkish little ten year old she first met when he arrived like the wind to Amity Park five years ago (even if he was still occasionally scowl-y and jerkish), but one thing that's stayed the same is how reserved he is about his home life prior to being taken in by the Fentons.

He doesn't talk about it much, and Sam's come to know that he's very good at changing the subject when it gets brought up. Even after being friends for nearly four years, the only thing she and Tuck know for certain is that he has a little brother that he refers to as 'starlight', whom he cares a lot about but left on really bad terms with. And that he's never met his father, but wants to and knows who he is.

He's never told her or Tucker who he was though, and glancing at Bruce Wayne, Sam is realizing why. She can begrudgingly acknowledge all the good he's done for Gotham, but... well, if Danny told her that Bruce Wayne was his dad, she wouldn't have believed him at all.

But she's starting to see the resemblance, as subtle as it is.

And she sees the resemblance to Damian Wayne, her eyes dropping back down to him as he wears a very Danny-like scowl on his face, arms crossed behind his back as his eyes swept around the ballroom. He was five years younger than Danny, and god it was so, so weird.

His eyes turned on to her, and they locked gazes for a moment.

Involuntarily, Sam makes a startled noise and looks away. Fingers tap against her purse, black and purple and unfortunately a clutch that only held her phone and her wallet in it. She would have kept a knife on her, but her parents put their foot down and there was a security detail at the door. Only in Gotham.

Silently, she was hoping that the little Danny-me didn't say anything. Or at least, he hadn't noticed her staring. Which was a tall order if she ever heard one -- and unfortunately, her silent prayers went unanswered as her mother's eyes dropped down onto her.

"Did you say something, Samantha?" She asks in a sickeningly sweet voice, a sound that makes Sam's skin crawl. Her dad and Bruce Wayne's attention also turns onto her, and she glowers at her mom from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't say anything." Sam says, barely keeping her tone polite as she turned her head away. Her mother clucks her tongue, disapproving, but from her peripherals doesn't pester her more

Bruce Wayne, the bastard, takes that time to turn to Sam and grace her with his dime-a-dozen billboard smiles. "I've been talking with your parents this whole time, Miss Manson, you must be terribly bored. How is your schooling going?"

Sam eyes him up and down. On one hand, she immediately wants to be snarky. It's none of his business what her school life is like, she doesn't care for his fucking small talk.

On the other hand, this was Danny's whole father. Someone who she knows that Danny has wanted to meet for, what she's assuming, his whole life. He's never brought it up much, but she remembers that very quiet, solemn conversation she and Tucker had with him where he admits to having never met his dad. But god does he want to.

And... wait. Sam's eyes narrow, and she meets Bruce Wayne's eyes. Does this man even know Danny exists? She drops her gaze down to Damian, who was staring at her suspiciously, and then back up to Bruce, and she alternates between them.

Why was Damian living with Bruce, but not Danny? Why hasn't Bruce done anything to reach out to him - what was going on with Danny's biological family that Danny had to be separated from them, but not Damian? Danny's always been kinda mysterious, but now things weren't adding up.

Was Danny given up? Does Bruce just not want Danny, but wanted Damian? Why the fuck does Bruce Wayne know about Damian but not her best friend -- or does he know and just not care? He's fought for custody for his adoptive kids before, does he just not want to fight for his other biological son? Does he think Danny's not worth it?

She's never cared much about the Wayne family before, other than to hear about the advancements on WE's eco-friendly tech, but Sam thinks she's gonna have to look into why Damian Wayne was living with the Waynes.

Slowly, with a protective anger beginning to burn in her gut and crawl up her throat, a scowl slowly curls at the corner of her lip as she redirects her glare from her mother onto Bruce. "It's going fine," She says curtly, jutting her chin out defiantly. "Me and my friend Danny started a petition to fix the leaky faucets in the girls and boys' bathrooms in order to conserve more water for the rest of the city."

She eyes his face, waiting to see if anything like recognition flashes through it. And- and nothing. Sam breathes in slowly through her nose, trying to quell the red that's blurring the edge of her vision -- does he just, not know where Danny is?

Her parents however, make vaguely displeased expressions. "Our Samantha is... quite passionate about her pet projects." Her dad says, laughing low and nervously, "she's very vocal about silly things like that."

"Her friend Daniel is perhaps even worse than she is sometimes." Her mother adds on, fanning her face with her perfectly manicured hands with a sigh. "I swear, he's the one that keeps dragging her into these things."

Sam's anger turns on its head, and she whirls on her heel like a fire-breathing dragon. "It's Danyal." It rolls out like instinct. Danny's told them both that he hates the Americanized pronunciation of his name, but in a rare moment of restraint, puts up with it for reasons unknown to her. "And Danny doesn't make me do anything, it was my idea."

The name, Danyal, seems to ring some kind of bell in Brucie Wayne's head, because she sees him and Damian quietly perk up like two cats pricking up their ears. Her eyes flick onto him immediately, something dangerous rearing its head. So Bruce Wayne knows about Danny. And he's not reaching out to him. Is he? She's not sure.

She does know that she's gonna rip his throat out if she finds out that he's known about Danny this entire time and has been ignoring him while favoring his little brother. She'll hunt down Aragon herself and steal his dragon-shifting amulet and wreck house on Bruce Wayne if that's the case. Batman and his league of vigilantes be damned. Her parents don't notice her slowly turning head towards Bruce.

But Bruce does, and she makes direct eye contact with him. His smile doesn't falter, he just tilts his head like a curious puppy and looks at Sam's parents. She hopes Bruce can read minds, she hopes he can hear her threatening him.

"Danyal?" He asks, and Sam doesn't know if she hates the fact that he said it correctly or not. She just continues burning holes into him and hoping he might spontaneously combust.

Her mother waves her hand dismissively, tilting her nose up poshly into the air. "Our dear Samantha's little... foster friend from school," she says, not even bothering to hide her disdain, "a creepy little boy with the most garish scar on his face. He's a rude little thing, not good for polite company."

Scratch that, Sam mentally alternates between ripping into her parents and Bruce. She whirls on them. "Do not talk about Danny that way." She all but snarls, and they all but ignore her.

(She's tearing up the upholstery when she gets home. She's going to paint over the fine china. She's going to do something to make them pay for this.)

"Oh yes, he was taken in by that freaky Fenton family a few years ago." Her dad continues in lieu of her mom, and they both shake their heads disapprovingly. "It's just what our city needs, another menace."

"Danny is not a menace." Sam continues, raising her voice while her hands shake with rage. Her parents finally look at her, but she can already tell that they're going to scold her for raising her voice. She bulldozes over them and jabs her black-painted finger at them. "He's got a bigger heart than the both of you combined."

"Samantha, please." her mom says, exasperated. They both give her disapproving looks, Sam thinks about grabbing champagne off the tray of a nearby waiter and throwing it in their faces. "You defend that boy far too much. What do you actually know about him and his family?"

Sam sets her jaw, puffing herself up like a dragon protecting its hoard. She steps into her mom's space. "I know that he loves the stars; you can ask him anything about astronomy and he could give you an entire lecture on the formation, class types, and various gasses that stars are made up of. He can tell you how the Earth was formed, he can tell you about the visible light spectrum and about light curves, and a whole ton of other stuff that I don't really understand. But Danny loves talking about it."

Her face twists and scowls, "I know he cares a ton about the environment and about fixing light pollution, and preserving the forests and natural habitats of animals." She nearly jabs her finger into her mom's chest, "I know he loves dogs, and that there's one he feeds every day on the way to school that he calls Cujo, its a St. Bernard puppy and Danny carries him around whenever he sees him after school, and is in the middle of training him."

It's not a total lie, but it's not the whole truth either. Cujo doesn't need food, but Danny gives him it anyways. "I know he likes spicy food and loves movies but specifically only sci-fi and horror, and he hates most martial arts movies. His favorite superhero is the Martian Manhunter, but Batman comes in at a close second." For reasons to her that were pretty unknown, but it didn't matter.

"I know he loves wordplay and making puns, which I would have never expected from him when we first met, but it's so unbelievably Danny-like that I can't imagine him not making puns." And she smiles a little to herself, she remembers the first time Danny intentionally made a pun once and it got startled laughs out of both her and Tucker.

Her smile suddenly falters, and she swallows. Her lips purse up, wobbling, and she very quickly glances over to Damian Wayne, of whom is watching her with a vaguely bewildered expression alongside Bruce.

She turns her eyes back onto her parents. "And I know that he worries a lot, even if he has a shit way of showing it. I know he had a little brother that he hasn't seen since he was adopted by the Fentons, and he doesn't talk about him often but when he does he he calls him 'starlight'." From the corner of her eye, she sees Damian jerk.

"So- so, so what if he's not 'good for polite company'." Sam's voice, embarrassingly, cracks down the middle. But she's so angry over Danny's behalf that she doesn't really care. "Or that he can be mean, and critical, and stubborn. He's learning, and he's becoming kinder by the day. That's more than I can say about you."

(She remembers when Danny finally admitted to her and Tucker being his 'closest friends'. It was sometime before the portal incident, and it felt like a milestone because beforehand he only really referred to them as his companions or allies.)

(At the time, he'd looked unsure of himself. Skittish like a stray in the back of an alleyway, almost shy in his own way. It had come out stilted, slow, like an infant taking its first steps, and it would have been endearing if it hadn't been heartbreaking.)

Her parents rear back like she'd struck them, and her mother holds a hand against her chest in aghast. Sam doesn't care, she blinks the sting out of her eyes. "Samantha." Her mother starts.

Sam cuts her off, "I don't care what you have to say, you-- you pricks." she snaps, around her, there are gasps. Belatedly, she realizes she's grown an audience, but again she doesn't care. "Danny might be an asshole, but he cares. And I'd rather be around someone whose mean but cares, than someone whose nice but doesn't."

With that, she whirls on her foot and turns on Bruce Wayne, who has been silent the entire time with a surprised expression on his face. He starts to shake out of it when Sam turns to him, but she doesn't give him the chance to speak. "Enjoy your party." She snarls, and then stalks away.

[artxyra]

What if Damian and the miraculous class are friends and they have movie nights, but since Damian is in Gotham he sneaks out of the manor and portal via Max & Kalki to participate. The Fam get suspicious and try to figure out where Damian is going every week. When they find out he goes to Paris they try to follow him but the portal closes and they use the tubes instead. They end up crashing in on them watching a horror movie which freaks the class out. Insert yelling and things being thrown.

To: Demon From: Angel

Are we still on for movie night?

To: Angel From: Demon

Yes. Just need to get away from the family.

To: Demon From: Angel

😀

Marinette looks over smiling from her phone. Today is a good day. There were no akuma that needed Ladybug’s attention, nor had she broken up a fight between Max and Kim about the latest game. So yes, she was ecstatic to know this is how her day is going.

“Hey Mars, is Damian coming tonight?” Adrien asks seating next to her playing with a strand of his hair. Ever since he came out to her, their relationship has blossomed beyond a crush to a blooming brother-sister relationship. That and Luka were more than willing to take on the blonde without a second thought. She kind of feels bad for Juleka having to see Adrien on a near-daily basis and with her brother no doubt.

“Yup,” Marinette continues to smile, “I just received word that he’s good to go. All we need is for Kaalki and Max to open up a portal at the designated time.”

“Sweet, I hear that Kim was the one picking out this week’s movie. I hope it’s nothing horror-related.” Adrien pouts causing Marinette to laugh that the poor kitty’s face.

“I’m sure it’s nothing too crazy.” Marinette hopes that it was something simple to follow and an action pack rather than horror. She may love horror games but kwami be damn if she watches a horror movie in the dark that wasn’t comedic.

“It looks like break is almost over, we’ll continue you this later.” Adrien sends Marinette a comforting smile before jumping down into his assigned seat next to Nino. Alya and Nino just walked in holding hands.

“Hey, lovebirds, who’s ready for a night full of fun?” Alya greets the two causing them to roll their eyes at the nickname that no longer pertains to them.

“Hey Als, I should be asking you that instead.” Marinette lifts an eyebrow that accompanies her smirk. Nino and Alya’s faces turn red and they side glance each other. Marinette and Adrien laugh at the couple.

“After class, I’ll be giving a quick speech regarding tonight’s plans,” Marinette states pulling out her classwork and books for class. They all nod in understanding. Just then the rest of the class filed in with matching smiles and asking pertaining to tonight’s activities.

To: Angel From: Demon

Save me from the idiots that I call my brothers?

To: Demon From: Angel

Can’t love, I’m sure it not that bad.

To: Angel From: Demon

For some idiotic reason, they are watching me like a hawk today. I’m currently in the bathroom with the doors locked listening to them bicker outside.

To: Demon From: Angel

Yikes 😬. I’m sure it will die down before you’re required to leave.

To: Angel From: Demon

I doubt that.

To: Demon From: Angel

About that, why did we move our weekly movie night from Saturday to Friday?

To: Angel From: Demon

It’s a half-day at school.

Shit. Talk to you later.

Marinette places her phone down and slowly turns her attention to Mme. Bustier. The red-haired teacher tried to keep her students engaged with the content, but she was losing them faster than on average. Marinette turns to her classmates. Alix and Kim were trying to out strength each other, Juleka and Rose was trying to pay attention but the drooping in Rose’s eyes say otherwise, Sabrina and Chloe—well doing what they usually do—living in their own bubble, Nathaniel was sketching something down in his notebook while Max was pretending to take notes as Markov does it for him. Finally, Mylene and Ivan were also in their own world.

Hours seemed to past in Marinette’s mind before Mme. Bustier concluded today’s lesson. She was so caught up in watching the time that she didn’t realize that was sketching an outfit in her own notebook. Whoops.

“Marinette is there something you would like to add?” Mme. Bustier prompts sending the class’s designated designer a smile.

“Yes,” Marinette gets up from her seat and walks down to the podium. “Tonight is our weekly movie night instead of tomorrow. Do you remember what to bring? If not, please message me before the event. Remember that we are having this event at Chloe’s family’s hotel as it a makeshift theatre room.”

“Daddy says we can have the popcorn maker also.” Chloe interrupts. The class cheers at the thought of the infamous popcorn maker that was usually locked behind the hotel kitchen doors.

“Thank you, Bee, for that tidbit. Now, Max, you are to arrive at the bakery no later than six o’clock. The demon is having a half-day today and I’m ninety-nine percent sure that he’ll want to be here no later than that. Everyone else, you are free to do.” With that and a pretend gavel, Marinette dismisses the class to their next class for the day. 

For Damian, being at school felt like a blessing even if it was a half-day. His brothers have been hounding him all morning. It’s like they are looking for something that isn’t there. Damian’s emotions? Yeah right, they all know he only shows emotions to his beloved animals or animals in general. Damian had to double, triple check the security on his phones because who knows what Drake would find if he had access inside it.

For over six months, he had been going to Paris for movie nights with his beloved and her classmates. At first, he had done it through the zeta tubes but after gaining their trust just enough to be in on the Miraculous Team of Paris, his trips became a lot more frequent. He would make up an excuse about going to a classmate, or Jon’s, house for the night, or to work on a school project. He had gotten away with it for a while, but Tim was the first to notice the lie.

Tim and Conner were having their usually meet up when the Damian had told his family that he was spending time at Jon’s, something that was no unusual. All was fine and dandy until Jon came home with a Damian Wayne. Tim, well it was mainly Dick, had grilled into the young hero about Damian’s whereabouts. Jon either lied or literally had no idea. Which prompted the Batbros to start the search on Damian's weekly disappearance.

Everyone took the day off to “spend time” with Damian. They wanted to trap the teen inside the manor and watch his every movement. Like that isn’t an invasion of privacy or trust.

Alfred brought Damian to the manor around noon. This gives them enough time to hide any open-source of weaponry they could find or items that Damian could use against them in battle. That was a lot of items on the list. Dick inquired for Bruce to hold off on the tracking device as a last resort. He wanted to start everything out with a discussion, but Jason laughs that idea out the window as he cleans his guns.

“The young master is residing in his bedroom,” Alfred speaks walking down into the Batcave.

The Wayne family knew this was it.

To: Angel From: Demon

I’m ready.

To: Demon From: Angel

ETA in 5

Damian smirks at his phone. He loves his girlfriend and how quickly she can manage an entire group of classmates and plan a weekly movie night event.

He had packed his belonging that he usually brings with him when he does to Paris. Which isn’t much.

Four minutes.

Damian thought his ears were playing tricks on him, but they weren’t. He could hear the stampede of footsteps that were no doubt from his family members aside from Alfred. Alfred’s footsteps are like a ghost, you never hear them.

Three minutes.

“Hey little D, since you had a half-day today, why don’t you spend it with us,” Grayson asks the second his bedroom door swings open. Alfred the cat sends a glare to his owner’s family.

“Yeah, Demon spawn, we all took the day off to spend time with you,” Jason adds gas to the fire that was already burning intensely.

“Damian…” Not his father too.

Two minutes.

Damian doesn’t say a word. His eyes bounce from one person to the next and repeat. He didn’t know who to answer them. “Tt.” Was the only word? Sound? That had escaped his lips.

“You need to leave like now.” Damian refuses to have his family find out the very secret he had kept hidden for so long. His quick need for them leaving only pushes them to stay. Worried about various reasons from teen problems to joining the League of Assassins again. They didn’t want to take any chances.

One minute.

Damian could sense the user of the horse kwami becoming active. Soon a blue swirling portal opens up behind Damian. Damian looks at his family and side glances at the portal. The portal wins. The family of vigilantes runs to the portal only for it to close.

“Am I hallucinating or did that just happen?” Tim asks wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

“No, replacement, that really just happened.” Jason states. Tim nods in understanding.

“I’ll do track him down.” Dick sulks at the thought that Bruce was right.

It didn’t take long for the results to come in.

“Uh…so how the hell is the Demon in Paris, France of all places?” Jason shouts from behind his older brother and Bruce.

“The swirling portal thingy?” Tim states the obvious, but it sounded more like a question as he sits down and drinks a cup of coffee.

“Boys we’re going to Paris.”  Bruce states over his sons. From afar, Alfred sighs and goes to prepare the zeta tubes with the destination in mind.

“Uh, civvies or uniform?” Dick asks as they all start to make their way to the zeta tube. This was one of those questions that they linger on for a hot minute.

Before they knew it, Damian had gained an hour over his family.

“It doesn’t matter, we need to know where the little demon has been hiding all this time.” Jason screeches talking over to the zeta tube and teleporting to the location.

Bruce turns to the remainder of his sons who shrugged and follow suit.

Entering Paris, they were further from Damian’s location than anticipated. They follow the tracker with some interruptions. Dick wanted to buy something for Kori, Jason wanted food and Tim needed for coffee. After all that was done, they officially made it to the supposed location of Damian’s whereabouts.

“Why would the little demon at a hotel?”

“Hum, this coffee is really good,” Tim says before taking another sip.

“Boys, focus on the mission.”

“I am focus, Bruce.”

“I didn’t say you were, Dick.”

“Touché.” Dick rubs the back of his arm.  

They enter Le Grand Paris with tensions high and were surprised by how calm and relax the employees were. Jason swears this was just a hoax and they were torturing Damian behind one of these doors. An employee asks them if they are in need of anything. Bruce states that they were looking for his son.

“Is he friends with Chloe and her classmates?” The employee asks.

“Who?” Dick and Bruce ask simultaneously. Jason had dragged Tim off somewhere to look at some things.

The employee eyes the family skeptically.

“Well if he’s not friends with Mlle. Bourgeois, then I suggest heading to the police department and report a missing child.” The employee states before walking away. Bruce sighs and pulls out the tracking device. Damian is so close to them.

“We’re going to find him, right?”

“And drag the brat back to Gotham?”

Bruce in the direction that would be location, he gestures for his children to follow.

Damian was having a blast. In his arms, Marinette sat on his arm clinging to his shirt cursing Kim’s name throughout the film. Kim had chosen a horror movie for tonight’s showing and by kwami it was fantastic. There was no comedic relief, actual horror storytelling leaving the class on the edge of their seats.

Adrien was curled next to Marinette in Luka’s arms. He was also clinging to a body, a certain musician as if he was a frightened kitten.

Just as the MC was about to open the door to the attic, a series of figures jump from the ceiling. Screams in real-life match those within the movie. Popcorn, empty cartons of candy, soda drinks are thrown at the figures. A string of curses follows not long after that.

“Damian, tell your friends to stop.” He knows that voice from anywhere, it was Grayson’s voice. Marinette slides herself off himself.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He screeches in English. Most of the class didn’t have a clue what was being said.

“We wanted to see where you were?”

“We thought you were kidnapped?”

“I just came for the scenery.”

Damian’s eyes twitch.

“That’s nice and all, but can you move? We’re trying to watch a movie here and you’re ruining it.” Chloe stands up demanding the bat-family to move. They all look to one another before subtly moving away from the screen.

Damian places a quick kiss on Marinette’s cheek and guides his family out of the room. He was not happy that they came in ruining his night with Marinette. Now he has to make up for it with something romantic, not that he’ll do it anyway.

“What made you believe that I was kidnapped?” He asks, the second they were out of the room.

“The portal thingy.”

“You not answering any of our questions.”

Damian breathes through his nose. “You’re all idiots.”

“Well movie night is a bust, but we all agree to stay here to continue rather than going home.” Marinette walks into the hall after a moment of them talking—well it was more of a screaming match between Bruce and Damian with some input from Dick. “Will your family be fine without you for a couple more hours?”

“Habibti, these dunces are my family,” Damian states gesturing to his family,

Marinette nods, “Well then, hello, and can we keep Damian for the night?”

Damian walks over to Marinette and wraps his arms around her. “I’ll return from before it’s nightfall in Gotham, father.”

“Uh, sure. Boys lets go.” Bruce accepts the came and walks down the hall. Before either of the brothers could pester Damian about this newfound relationship, Bruce gave them all the bat-glare and demanded that they follow.

“You know you’re going to get pestered, right.” Marinette laughs.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, we have a movie to finish.”

With that, Damian takes Marinette’s hand and walks back into the room.  

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[beautiful-disasters-sunshine]

Why I Left pt.2

     Its been 5 years since my kidnapping, honestly I had thought that they were going to treat me just like grandfather had. But I was wrong, though while kidnapping me they did use chloraphorm and sleeping drugs to knock me out and keep me out till we reached Paris. They are actually all extremely nice. During the first month I had struggled, lashed out, and refused to listen to them. But they took it kindly. Fu would prepare me tea and poor himself a cup from the same pot as well as allow me to add my own sugar and cream and such. Sabien would sit by me and as the month progressed she would do my hair in intricate braids while Tom would bake snacks for me while I watched and taught me videogames. It was these things that caused me to eventually trust them enough to sit and listen.

      Fu explained to me about his twin Ra’s and the order and creation of The League of Assasigns. He continued on and told me everything, they has kidnapped me because the kwami Tikki had said my energy was the perfect match to her miraculous. At that time they had no clue Ra’s had a daughter let alone grandchildren. I had to explain it all on the notepad they had given me to respond with. They were surprised by Damian and I’s existence and horrified with my treatment, not just by the league ether. After that they began to teach me so many things. How to fight, to use my miraculous, to cook and bake, to sew when I showed interest, to dance, and most importantly to speak in so many languages and not just the slim Arabic and English that I had figured out how to say. By the age of 11 I was able to join public school under the new identity they gave to me for the duration of my time with them, I was now to be known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I got 2 years of being a mostly normal kid, before Hawkmoth finally appeared not long after I turned 13. From that point on I was the “daughter” of 2 bakers who was actually the runaway but later discovered to have been kidnapped Wayne. As well as Ladybug heroin of Paris, who fought alongside her trusty partner Chat Nior. Well our partnership has had its ups and downs, him being a constant flirt with no comprehension of boundaries or what the word no means. But we got buy for a while.

     When I turned 14 Lila had shown up and tore away all the friends I had made and helped me to discover just how spineless and stupid my partner truly was. Yes I know Chats identity have since day one and to be honest I’m surprised grandpa Fu even picked him being in a rush or not. It was just days after he told me to take the high road when I took his miraculous from him. Which brings us to now. I sigh as I sit in my seat in the back of the classroom and open my laptop getting ready to check the latest in Wayne news when the front of the class breaks out in excitement.

    “I can’t believe that the Wayne's are coming to Paris!!! Girl you will finally be able to see your childhood friend after so long,” Alya said as she nudged Lila. I sit up in surprise as I had not known that, but then again she hadn't checked on the latest Wayne news in about a week due to being busy with schooling, hero work and commissions.

    “Well they did find evidence that Aara was brought to Paris after her tragic kidnapping, I just hope that they find her soon, I miss the long conversations we used to have.” Lila said wiping away a stray fake tear. I rolled my eyes before packing my stuff back into my bag and walking to the door. Mrs. Bustier entered as I was about to exit.

“Where do you think you are going Marinette,”  She said drawing the attention of the class to us. 

  “I’m not feeling the greatest Ms. Bustier I was gonna try and get through the day but I don't think I can,” I replied hoping to be able to leave quickly and to talk to Grandpa Fu, Aunty Bean and Uncle Tom. “I’m sorry Marinette but I cant let any of you leave right now,” she responded.

    “Why not,” I asked I really needed to get out of their. “Because it is suspected that the missing Wayne may ether be in this school or that someone here has seen her since her kidnapping. So the Wayne's, some of their friends, a few Justice League members and local law enforcement will be coming to look over the classes and talk to you all. But first their will be an assembly on the court so that they can explain some things about her and to show us an old picture and an aged up photo. I'm sorry that you don't feel well but I need you to go sit down and we will see about letting you go as soon as possible. 

Now I really felt nauseous, its not that I don't want to go home, or to see them all again. Because I would love nothing more then that, don't get me wrong I love grandpa, aunty and uncle. But I miss my father even though we never got to bond, I miss my adopted brothers and sisters, I miss Alfred the cat, I miss titus and batcow, I miss Granpy Alfie I miss mom who joined them not long after I went missing, but most importantly I miss my twin brother Damian. But if they find me now they will spirit me away and keep me under lock and key. Plus what would happen to Fu, Tom and Bean if they find me. I sit back quietly and pull out my phone. texting the groupchat I have with them.

Beautiful Light: Did you guys know that my family would be in town

                       Pops: Yes we did

                                  Bean: They are going to find out about you ether way, if not at school then here because Talia found out about us being related and tracked us down.

I sigh as Tom texted

  Tommy: Mari, we need the help of the League you cant keep going as you are.

I guess he is right, I hope that when they eventually find me I can explain things and get them to understand. Deciding I was done with texting them for now I decided to pull out my design book and sketch up a few ideas I have had floating around in my head for a while. This went on for about an hour before we were all called down to the assembly.

@mochegato @myazael @anjuschiffer @ramos123 @southamericangothamite @megaafangirl @maskedpainter @greatautorbonkweasle @sam-i-am-0222 @dnsakina @damaged-princess @dorkus-minimus @certainmufibagelzone @the-flapdoodle-noodle @artxyra @ranger-gothamite @pawsitivelymiraculous @karukofox21 @anne-97 @kitsune-the1 @finn-cipher @laurcad123 @kissa-chan @crystalangelluna @aestheticnpoetic @idunnosam @avengerthewarrior @vickydotcomm @fusser90 @weird-pale-blonde-person @woe-is-me0 @toodaloo-kangaroo @frieddonutsweets 

[heyitsani]

A Dream Ripping at the Seams

@damianwayneweek fic Reverse Robins

Word Count: 5024

Rating: Teen and up

Warnings: Referenced past child abuse, canonical character death mentioned

Pairing: None

Summary: He had planned the whole thing out.  The moment he had seen the notes in Richard’s file on the computer, he had known he needed to get him out of there and away from Batman as soon as possible.  He refused to lose another brother.  

Saving Richard because he failed to save Todd was his only priority.

Notes: Guess what! IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! And it also happens to be Reverse Robins day for Damian Wayne week!  So to celebrate, I wrote this fic to give to all of you lovely people.  But especially those in the RR Discord who are always willing to encourage me to run with an idea that comes up last minute.

Also, this fic ends abruptly and that’s the point.  I might continue it, I might not.  But it’s supposed to feel sudden and full of questions.

To clear up confusion: Dick was 10 when adopted, Jason died when he was 15 and Dick 11, Dick is 12 (nearly 13) when the story starts, and 13 when it ends.

You can also read it on AO3 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian waited until he had the opportunity to get Richard away from the manor for the afternoon before he approached the subject with the boy.  He hadn’t been certain he would need to, at first, but the longer Richard was in the house with his father the more he saw the signs he had seen with Jason. And that meant he needed to act.

So he had asked Richard if he wanted Damian to pick him up from school one Friday in February so they could go for ice cream before dinner.  Richard had, unsurprisingly, agreed enthusiastically like Damian had known he would.  With the kid’s sweet tooth, he never turned down things like ice cream.  Especially since it wasn’t something the circus really got much of apparently.  Traveling in trailers didn’t allow for too many luxuries like freezers.

“Richard,” Damian started once they were seated on a bench in a local park, not far from a playground that the child was eyeing.  When the sapphire eyes turned on him, Damian took a deep breath and looked directly at him. “I know you have figured out what Father and the rest of us do in the night.”  Richard nodded, smiling as he licked his cone.  “Has Father approached you about training yet?”

The boy nodded again, and Damian pressed his lips together.  Twelve years old.  Twelve.  None of them had been that young outside of himself, but his situation was different. Being born into the League of Assassins made for a different upbringing.  “Is that bad?”

Shaking his head, Damian made sure his face was neutral before speaking again.  “No, but I have concerns.”  The boy blinked at him, but remained silent as though he was waiting for his brother to tell him what it was he was concerned about.  “You do not know of my childhood, but it was far from…pleasant. I was raised in a place called Nanda Parbat that trains people to be the kind of people Batman fights against.”

“But you were a kid?” Richard sounded confused; ice cream forgotten as he tried to sort through what Damian was saying.  And what he wasn’t saying.  “Why would you train a kid like that?”

“Because that was the way things were done there.”

“Then they were done wrong.”

Damian let out a soft laugh, corner of his mouth raising just slightly at the thought of this twelve-year-old child telling him that he had been raised wrong.  “Be that as it may, you are correct that I was a kid and that should not have been my childhood.”

Richard hummed and went back to his ice cream, looking out at a pair of dogs playing in the grass. Damian observed him as he watched the dogs, wondering what he was thinking.  He wasn’t sure how to ask the boy to do what exactly he was thinking, but he just hoped Richard would go along with it.  That he would agree to leave because this was not the life he should be living.

“Dami?”  Richard looked back to him, and Damian raised his eyebrows.  “You don’t want me to train with Batman.”  Damian shook his head.  “Ever?”

And wasn’t that the real question?

Damian wasn’t sure if he wanted Richard, the purest of them all, to be exposed to how ugly the world was the same way the rest of them had been.  It would ruin him.  It would steal the innocence that Damian found himself desperately wanting to protect. It would tear out everything good in him and leave him a shell.  

“Never,” he admitted quietly.  Richard dropped his gaze again and chewed on his lower lip.  “I want you to understand why.  My childhood aside, I do not want to see what happened to Todd happen to you. I do not want you to lose yourself the way I have seen Drake do.  I do not want you to realize the ugly truths of the world long before your time the way Cain or Brown have.  I want to protect you from all of that.”

With brows drawn down, Richard looked at him again.  He was looking at Damian with that look, the one he had seen Cain look at him with too many times to count.  The look that penetrated all the walls and shields he had put around his mind and heart.

“You want me to leave.”

“I want to take you away from here and hide us both until you are able to stand your own against Father on the subject,” he quickly corrected, not wanting Richard to think he wasn’t welcome in the Wayne family.  “I want to protect you from a fate I wish we all could have been protected from.”

Richard took a lick of his ice cream and Damian waited, worried the boy would tell him no and then tell his father everything Damian had planned.  “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Richard nodded.  “Okay.”

And Damian released his held breath, relief washing over him.  He could save one of them, the best of them.  He could do one right thing in his life, a life filled with so many wrong things.

“We leave in a week.” Richard’s eyes turned determined, and he gave a firm nod before looking over toward the playground again.

“Can I play after my ice cream is finished?”  Damian laughed and nodded, too relieved to deny him anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who is she?”  Richard asked, tugging on the black chuba Damian had selected for himself the moment they had touched down in Tibet.  The weather was fairly cool, and he hadn’t thought to purchase the proper wears before he had put his plan into motion. But thankfully he had anticipated needing to switch enough money into Yuan to get them by for the first couple of months.  It had made purchasing weather friendly clothing for himself and Richard much easier.

Looking down at Richard, Damian frowned and followed his eyeline to the familiar statue that stood at the top of the mountain, guarding over Nanda Parbat.  “She is Ruma Kushna,” he told Richard, who couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the beautiful stone statue.  He couldn’t blame the kid, he had been fascinated with the goddess when he had been younger.  She had been formidable and even his grandfather had spoken highly of the goddess. “She watches over all of those in Nanda Parbat.”

Richard frowned and looked away from the statue, blue eyes skittering over the various people wandering around the market they were making their way through in an attempt to find lodging.  “She is not kind then,” the boy said, looking up at Damian with a fierce look.

“What makes you say that?”

Richard shrugged and looked away, curiosity stealing the boy’s attention once more.  But Damian couldn’t forget that look for stubborn protectiveness that had covered Richard’s face in the moment.  It had been breathtaking if he were honest.  He couldn’t remember the last time someone had looked at him like that when they weren’t preparing to fight him for one reason or another.

Pausing at a stall with various spices that smelled familiar and distant at the same time, Damian gave the older woman a friendly smile.  “Tashi delek,” he greeted her, giving a small bow of his head.  “My son and I are looking for lodging, do you know of anyone with vacancies in their home that would spare space for us?  We are willing to pay.”

The woman seemed to consider him closely, glancing from him to Richard and then back again.  He knew his excuse of Richard being his son was flimsy when someone considered their age difference, but it was the story he needed to stick to for the time being.  He couldn’t risk someone looking too deeply into their relation if they thought they were merely brothers.  And Damian would be drawn and quartered before someone took Richard from him and returned him to Bruce.

“I have a spare sleeping quarter if you could spare your strength,” the woman finally replied, kindness heavy in her old eyes.

“Tuchi che!”  Richard exclaimed, smiling brightly at the woman who almost looked surprised at his enthusiasm.  Damian struggled to hold back a smile of his own as he gave the woman a firm nod, silently agreeing to her terms.

“I am Damian and this is Richard.  We are grateful for your hospitality.”  The woman chuckled and waved them off, telling them to scout the market for anything they might need since their packs were small and probably did not hold much out of the bare necessities.  “What should we call you?”

The woman’s smile warmed, and she leaned back.  “I am Amala,” she responded.  “Now go find you both some clothing that is not of the city but of the mountain.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You are al Ghul,” Amala stated as she handed over the cup of tea.  Damian froze, eyes wide as he looked at the woman who still looked at him with that same kindness she had since that first meeting almost four months ago.  But he couldn’t figure out how she could possibly look at him that way if she knew who his family was.  “The League is well known in our village, as small as we may be.  They look after their own on the mountain.  But there were whispers of the Heir refusing to return and the Demon Head demanding justice.”

Looking down at his teacup, cradled in both hands to warm his palms from the cool night air coming in from under the door, he sighed before glancing back toward the corner where Richard was sleeping.  Confirming Amala’s words would put them both in danger of being discovered.  He had picked this village because it meant they were right under his grandfather and mother’s noses.  They would never look for him here.

But if he lied, he risked having to run with Richard again.  And the child was finally settling nicely in the village.  He had made friends with some of the other children and he was catching up on his studies.  The last thing Damian wanted to do was uproot him yet again.  His life had been disrupted enough since the death of his parents.

“I am he,” Damian admitted, looking back to Amala.  The woman smiled knowingly before pressing a finger to her lips in a ‘shhhh’ motion and Damian let out a sigh of relief.  “How did you figure it out?”

The woman shrugged.  “You have your mother’s eyes,” she said, as if that was enough to give it all away.  “And your mother used to bring you down here as a babe, just learning to walk the mountain.  I recognized you the moment you approached my stall at market.”

“Has anyone else?”

“Not that I have heard.”

But that didn’t mean they hadn’t.  If someone told his mother or even one of the footmen, Damian would need to pick Richard up and run.  He wouldn’t have a choice.  He probably should do it now before anyone had the chance to come after them.

“Thank you, for trusting us then.”

Amala waved a hand.  “I could see in your eyes that you were running from something.  That you were protecting your son from something.”  Damian held back the cringe at the word son, knowing she had to have figured out that Richard wasn’t his.  “You are safe in my home.  I will not bring harm upon you.  No matter if it is from up the mountain or from far away.”

Damian swallowed, bowing his head against the onslaught of emotion that hit him from her words.  “Thank you,” he whispered, unable to look at her just yet.  “Protecting him is all I am after.”  He looked over at Richard again and blinked away the tears.  “It is my only goal.”

“And that is what makes you a good father,” she said softly, “blood or not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Baba!”  Richard called out; voice distorted as it came into the house from outside where he had been helping plant some new seedlings.  “Dami!”  That made Damian pause.  It had been a while since Richard had called him by his name, out of habit or fear Damian couldn’t be sure which.  But it made a small sense of panic arise in his chest and had him dropping the piece he had been sketching and immediately run out the front door.

He froze when he saw a man kneeling in front of Richard, black cloak and hood pulled over his head, hiding his face from Damian but not from Richard.  But when the man looked up, Damian felt his stomach drop.

“No,” he whispered, hurrying forward and pushing Richard behind him as he glared at Timothy Drake, his father’s second eldest but first adopted child.  “You are not welcome here, Drake,” he said lowly, English rusty from lack of use since coming to Tibet.

Drake held up his hands and took a step back, but Damian held tighter onto Richard who tried to move out from behind his legs.  “I am not here to cause trouble, Damian,” Drake offered.  And Damian knew him well enough to know the man was being honest.  But it didn’t mean he could let his guard down. “He doesn’t know I’m here.  He doesn’t know I found you.”

“Trackers.”

“Rerouted.”

Taking a deep breath, Damian glanced around before giving Drake a nod and herding Richard into the house, knowing Drake would following them.  “Richard, go work on your schooling.”  Richard looked up at him, frowning at the order, before glancing over at Drake.  “Now, Richard.”  And though Damian knew the child didn’t want to, Richard walked away with a pout to the table where his schoolwork sat waiting.  “How did you find us?”  

“It wasn’t easy, you covered your tracks better than any of us expected,” Drake said, eyes watching Richard as he took his seat and began writing in the notebook.  Damian could tell he was curious, but Damian needed answers before Drake got his own.  “I looked at footage we had searched through a million times and got lucky.”

“And Father doesn’t know? I’m meant to believe you simply didn’t tell him?  You?”

“He thinks I’m off world with the Titans.”

“That doesn’t answer why you didn’t tell him.”

Drake seemed to consider his answer for a moment before shrugging both his shoulders.  “Dick didn’t seem to be in distress in the footage I found. He looked like he wanted to be with you.”

“I explained it to him before we left.  He agreed to come with me on his own.”

“Why did you take him?”

A familiar anger built in his core and Damian had to push it down with a few deep breaths before he could answer Drake without yelling.  “Because I would not let him sacrifice Richard the same way he sacrificed all of us. Because since losing Todd, he has lost sight of the true mission and we have become nothing but soldiers to him. I would die before I let that man turn Richard another glass case bearing a bloodied suit of armor,” he growled, fists clenched tightly.  

Drake watched him with those eyes, the ones Damian had always hated because it always felt like he was a risk and Drake was calculating how dangerous he was in any given moment.  As if Drake was just like his father, with a file of ways to put an end to Damian because part of him was too dangerous to be trusted.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Drake finally said, looking back to Richard with a nod.  “I didn’t believe you could have taken him for anything other than his own good.”  The cool blue eyes looked back to Damian and had lost some of the calculating look.  “B won’t stop though, Damian.  He’s desperate to find you both even though it’s been over six months.  I don’t know how long until he realizes that you hid both of you in plain sight of the League.  Does Ra’s or Talia know you’re here?”

“Not that they have revealed to me,” Damian admitted.  “Our patron, she knows of my heritage and has sworn an oath of secrecy.  But she is League loyal due to their protection.”

Damian watched Drake fully take in the appearance of the home they were in, the simple nature of it all and Damian couldn’t help but wonder what the man thought of him now.  What did he think of the haughty Wayne heir who had loved to shove that fact in every ones faces, telling them that he was the heir to one of the richest men in the world.  That he was heir to Batman, the Dark Knight.  The Damian standing in front of Drake was far from that person as Damian could probably get.

“This has not only saved him,” Drake finally said, looking directly at Damian.  There was no lie that Damian could see and though he wanted to deny what his brother said, his eyes glanced over to Richard and knew it was the truth. He was not who he had been before they had left Gotham.  He had been losing himself in his own grief and it was only the deep seeded fear of losing yet another family member that forced him to pull out of it and take action.

But he couldn’t admit that to Drake, could he?  “I wouldn’t lose him the way we lost Todd.  I did what I had to do.  He never would have listened.”

“No, he wouldn’t have.”

“And has anything changed?” Drake frowned; eyebrows furrowed. And that was enough of an answer for Damian.  “He’s just become obsessed with finding us instead.”

Drake nodded.  “It’s been bad enough that Superman watches Gotham from afar to keep B from doing something he might regret.”  And Damian knew, yet again, that he had made the right choice in getting Richard away from that.  “Can I give you a burner that only I know about?”  Damian’s eyes snapped back to Drake, having drifted back to Richard yet again.  “I want to be able to give you a heads up if he comes your way.  It might not be much of one, but maybe enough for you to get a head start.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, having that option, but Damian also knew it might give his father access to the pair of them without Drake even knowing.  But Drake did know technology more than anyone else in the family. Perhaps it was a risk he could take.

“All right,” Damian relented, giving a nod.  Drake’s features looked relieved, to the point where Damian wondered if he had made the wrong decision.  But he could work on the device later and see if it had been bugged or tampered with in any way.

Drake dug into his small pack and pulled out a small phone, probably a prototype that Wayne Tech had decided wasn’t worth the trouble.  He quickly showed Damian how to turn it on and use the basic features before it was turned off yet again and Damian was tucking it into the pocket of his pants.

“I need to go, I can’t reroute much longer.  But if you need anything, please call me.  I have your back.”  Damian gave a nod before watching Drake walk over to Richard and kneel down to talk quietly with the teen.  He didn’t bother listening in, knowing Richard would tell him what was said later, but he did watch.  He watched Richard listen and nod, responding with his own words before reaching out and hugging the man around the neck.  

When Drake stood and turned to leave, Damian was fairly certain he saw a sheen of tears in his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian knew something was different the instant he walked into the small house, even if he couldn’t immediately tell what.  It caused him to stop short in the doorway, Richard smacking into him because he had been too absorbed in the book of mathematics one of the men of the village had shared with him.

“Baba, what…?”  The child complained but Damian’s eyes focused on the figure in the corner of the room instead, not answering.

“Mother.”

The woman moved forward, like a serpent seeking prey, into the light with a smirk on her face.  “Son,” she greeted, eyes looking over his ragged appearance from his day of labor with a hint of distain before stopping on Richard. “You really do have too much of your father in you.”

Rolling his eyes, Damian shuffled Richard into the house and nudged him toward their sleeping corner. And though he didn’t think his mother meant them harm, he still kept his body between the two of them and coiled his muscles to prepare for a fight.

“What are you doing here? How did you even know?”

“Oh please, Damian,” Talia sighed and came closer before lounging in one of the chairs near the fireplace.  “Do you honestly think we weren’t aware the moment you landed in Tibet?  That we weren’t tracking you from the very start? You have forgotten your roots.”

Damian narrowed his eyes. “Then why did you wait so long to approach me?”

“Because we did not need you.”  That made Damian tense further.  The League needing him would lead to nothing good, he knew that deep in his core.  “I have something in Nanda Parbat that requires your attention before it can be dealt with.  And no,” she held up a hand to stop his question, “it is not your father. But it does have a link to him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  He couldn’t trust his own eyes in that moment.  It wasn’t possible.  Was it? No, he had seen the body.  He had been there as the coffin had been lowered into the plot and covered with dirt.  He had laid his hand on the tombstone and apologized for not being able to get to him in time.

But that was definitely Jason Todd in front of him.

“How is this possible?”  Damian asked, glad he had put Richard in his old rooms while he handled this.  Richard had known Todd for only a year before he had died. This was not something Damian wanted to expose the teen to before he knew what the point of all of this was.

“We are not certain. We can’t even say how long he has been like this.  He has been dead for nearly 18 months and we have had him here for the past six.” Damian frowned, walking closer to Todd, trying to catch the teen’s eye.  “He is alive and everything is in working order, but it is as though death stole his soul.”

“Of course it did!  He died!”  Damian snapped, looking back at his mother who stood a ways back watching but looked bored.  “We buried him.  We…” Breathing heavily through his nose, Damian looked back to Todd and shook his head.  They had mourned him.  And now he was there, living and breathing but lifeless.  Everything that had made him Jason Todd seemed to have been stripped away.  “What do you intend to do with him?”

His mother’s heels clicked on the marble floor as she moved closer and stopped once she reached the pair. He watched a slender hand reach out and pet the side of Jason’s face.  Annoyed, Damian’s hand shot out and grabbed his mother’s wrist to stop the obscene gesture.  “What do you intend to do with him,” he growled, gripping her wrist tightly and turning to fully face her.  He narrowed his eyes and stared her down, not willing to let her brush him off.  She had brought him here for a reason.

“We will put him in the Pit, of course,” she said, unaffected by the grip he had on her or the look on his face.  “We just wanted to see if a familiar face might wake him up first.”

“Mother,” Damian gasped, releasing her and stepping back.  “We do not put innocents in the Pit.  It is not done.”

Talia raised a brow and Damian glowered.  “There is no ‘we’, Damian.  You made your choice.”

“You cannot do that to him. He had anger before his death.  He was murdered brutally.  These are all things the League has always avoided in resurrections.”  Damian looked over at Jason’s empty eyes and frowned, shaking his head.  “You cannot sentence him to that Madness.  He is a child.”

“He is no more a child than any of you were.  My Beloved has only had one true child in his home and you stole him away in fear of him turning your precious Richard into the same monster each of you fight off daily.” Talia tilted her head, considering him. “You most of all, my son.”

“You created the monster long before he got his hands on it.”

A slender shoulder rose and fell gracefully.  “Perhaps, but you have Demon blood in your veins and you have always been destined for so much more than this charade of a life you have taken up.”

Damian clenched his jaw and looked away from his mother, unable to deny her words.  He knew this farce he and Richard had been living would not sustain them forever, but he knew it was what the teen needed at the moment. If he returned Richard to Gotham, his father would rip the child away from him and Damian would lose him to the fight he desperately wanted to protect Richard from.  The Bat would get into his head and Damian would lose.

No, returning to Gotham would never be an option until Richard was old enough to stand on his own.

“You could remain here. Take up your title again and we could train and teach the boy to be the very best.”  Damian immediately shook his head.  That wasn’t any better than the fate that awaited them in Gotham.  “It is only a matter of time before he finds you. He will exhaust all resources and then call upon me.  He will come to Nanda Parbat and hear the tinkling laughter that reminds him so much of the boy his own son had stolen away from him.  He will follow the sound to a yard where a teen with black hair and sapphire eyes kneels in the dirt, pulling weeds from around the plants that have just begun to sprout.

“He will watch in wonder at the change a year, perhaps two years, has made in the boy.  And then he will see the man who is responsible for the heartache and fear he experienced over that time, standing in the window watching the teen just as he had been.  And he will take him back.  He will threaten them both with everything in his itinerary until there is no choice but to return.”

“And then he will ruin him,” Damian whispered, closing his eyes because he knew his mother was right. It was the fear that kept him up each and every night.  His father would never stop searching and he would eventually get desperate enough to turn to Ra’s for help.  And he would come himself to plead his case because otherwise Ra’s would laugh in his face and behead whoever was foolish enough to come in his stead.

Opening his eyes, he stared into the familiar one watching him closely.  “You win.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian hated that his mother insisted on Richard being in the room with them when Todd was placed in the Pit, but he wasn’t in any position to argue.  He just hoped that nothing happened that would require him to use the sword strapped to his back in order to keep Richard safe.  The last thing he wanted was for the teen to see that side of him, the side that would require him to take up arms against another of his brothers.

But Richard stood just behind him, stubborn look on his face as he watched Todd over near the Pit. The green glow of the waters within gave the room an ethrial look but made Jason look sickly.  With that blank look on his face, Damian felt his heart ache for the boy he remembered.  He had tried harder with Todd than he had with Drake, but it didn’t mean he was the best of brothers.  He hoped the teen knew he had tried.

But emotions had never been his forte.

Thankfully, he was doing even better with Richard than he had with any of the others.  The teen had taught him much more than he ever thought possibly while he had taught the boy what little he had to offer outside of self-defense. Which, he had taught him as well. Just not to the same effect that training to be a Cape would have done.

“Are you ready to witness true magic, Richard?”  Damian frowned over at his mother when she entered the room and moved over to stand with the two of them.  He looked back and down toward the teen, who he found watching his mother with narrowed, untrusting eyes.  Good boy.

Damian had made sure that he always questioned his surroundings and stayed wary of those he didn’t know. Apparently, Talia al Ghul fell in that category.

The woman simply quirked an eyebrow at him before she walked over to where the footmen were getting ready to move Todd to the platform.  Reaching out, Damian tugged Richard closer to him in hopes to shield him from the coming disaster.  His mother might be certain this was a good idea, surely for her own gain, but he knew this was not something that should be done.  But as good of a fighter Damian was, he could not take on the entire League. And he would need to do just that if he wanted to get Todd out of there before he was manipulated and twisted into a shadow of the teen he had been.

“Let us begin,” Ra’s said as he took his place on the opposite side of the Pit.

[editorofeverything]

Four Times Marinette teleported to where she would be safest, and the one time she was already there—Part Three

Okay, so, obviously being out of school didn’t help me finish this at all. I discovered recently that I have a phobia to plots which kept me from finishing this earlier. I had originally planned this series out to be one shots that sort of went together, with little plot besides the daminette aspect to it. This, however, is plot heavy. So. Much. Plot. SO many details to keep track of throughout each chapter… My anxiety said “How about no?” But! I am back! And more determined than ever to finish! Just two (I think?) more chapters after this one! And they’re mostly written already! Hooray! I hope you like it!

I think this may read a little clunky and seem to jump around a lot, but there is a reason for everything, I promise! A lot to unpack in this chapter. Lots of emotions to work through and decisions to be made.

Without further ado:

First - Last - AO3 - Next

A month passed since the start of Marinette having the Wayne’s on her side.

Three akumas passed with ease in the time, leading to their monitoring the situation, but not really needing to assist. Her parents were ecstatic that Marinette had an internship at such a prominent company and they noticed how much effort she put into everything she did. They had concerns about Marinette slipping in school or taking on too much like she had in the past, but after a long conversation about priorities and responsibilities, Marinette stepped down as class president and her parents decided to hire a temp so Marinette wouldn’t have to step in all the time.

She and her parents started having family nights every Sunday where they either bake, play video games, or watch movies. Their trust in Marinette was slowly starting to be restored, and Marinette loved being able to not lie outlandishly to her parents all the time. Even though she was still technically lying, Marinette felt better telling her parents she had internship stuff to do, and then following through.

The first few weeks were bumpy, jumping from disappearing during an akuma attack to going to her internship, but learning about business and how to market her brand… it was like being paid to do what she loved.

Along with getting used to her internship, Marinette also started feeling more comfortable leaning on the Wayne’s for support, whether it just be to talk or when she was struggling.

Like a few days ago when Lila had ruined Marinette’s newly made sundress by “accidentally” spilling paints all over Marinette’s desk. Lila had immediately started sobbing through an apology, trying to rub out the paints which only ruined the expensive, sensitive fabric more.

Marinette had broken down, knowing there wasn’t anything she could do for the fabric and ran home. Unluckily for her, the Wayne’s had been monitoring the school more closely and Tim had just happened upon the footage of Lila very purposefully grabbing a pallet of paint and “tripping” onto Marinette.

A video call from Dick and Tim calmed her down and gave her some advice about being more aware of her surroundings and how to take care of her things so that people don’t find them or get them away from her easily. Jason also had some choice words of advice about how to get out of fights even if she started one, making her laugh.

She had went back to school the next day with her head held high and ignored everyone’s attempts at justifying Lila’s behavior and villainizing Marinette’s. Marinette thought long and hard that day about her friends in the class, and, after Damian’s prompting, decided that “taking the high road” wasn’t in her best interest, no matter how selfish she felt putting herself before her friends and classmates.

Which lead her to where she was, pulling Adrien aside after class when she knew he had some free time and even looked grateful that she pulled him away from Lila.

“We need to talk,” was all she said, and he followed her all the way to the bakery and up to her room silently.

After they sat in silence for a moment, Marinette to gather her thoughts and Adrien to admire her new setup—She had taken all of his photos and other crush memorabilia she had out, and painted her room a lavender color with white and gold accents. More sophisticated and mature, Damian had said with what she would take as pride after she facetimed him the first time since she redid it.—Marinette turned towards Adrien and tried to prepare herself for whatever outcome could come her way.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

“Adrien, I need to tell you something, and I need you to let me talk until I’m done.” At his concerning frown and hesitant nod, Marinette straightened up and looked him right in the eyes, trying to channel the Wayne’s confidence and all the advice they had given her up until that point. “I won’t stay silent about Lila anymore. You said that what she’s doing isn’t hurting anyone, but you’re wrong. As you friend, I was hoping you would give me the chance to prove it to you. Otherwise…” Marinette swallowed, and clenched her fists. “Otherwise, I don’t think I can be friends with you or the rest of the class anymore.”

The alarm and hurt on Adrien’s face both wounded and relieved her. At least he genuinely cared for her. She wasn’t really sure about any of her friends in the class anymore.

“Marinette-” he cut himself off and took a shaky breath. “I’ll listen. Of course I’ll listen to you, Marinette. I… You were one of the first friends I made here… I don’t want to lose you over her.” His voice was so soft and emotional, and Marinette grabbed his hands in hers and pulled him closer to her.

“I’m sorry to make such an ultimatum. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, right?” He nodded instantly and Marinette sighed. And then she told him everything. How Lila’s lies to their classmates could hurt them in the long run, how she keeps purposefully causing akuma attacks, and, finally, how Lila was obviously attacking both Adrien and Marinette.

“She’s bullying me, Adrien, and she’s harassing you,” Marinette said bluntly, if a little stern. If she was channeling Damian a bit there, no one else needed to know except for Tikki who was bursting with pride at her Lady Guardian. “I understand that you were homeschooled and that your father is really strict, but this can’t keep going on. The people around you who truly love and care about you should never stand by when you’re obviously getting uncomfortable or hurt.” Adrien was pale, and he looked as stricken as she felt, but she powered on.

“Badmouthing me to everyone who will listen, where I can hear her while she knows I promised you I wouldn’t do anything about it… she’s been hurting me since she threatened me when she first got here and I tried to expose her. I won’t let her hurt you or me anymore. Have you ever wanted her by your side? Hugging you? Trying to convince the class that you should be dating? Coupling up with you at every chance?” Marinette tried not to cringe at how she could relate to some of the words she was spouting. Between her, Lila, and Chloe, there was a good chance Adrien would never know what proper courting and dating behavior should be if she didn’t get through to him. “If she wasn’t working for your father, if she wasn’t lying about everything convincingly, she would’ve been removed from our class, maybe even our school, by now. No one would put up with her and they would be supporting us more. Now, it’s more complicated, because the class truly believes her every word, and we’ve been too complicit, but I would rather stand against her and take whatever consequences come with that than stand aside and let the people that I once cared about and called my friends be used and abused by a faker. I need to look out for myself from now on. I feel selfish, but I can’t keep babysitting the entire class to make sure Lila’s lies don’t hurt them permanently and stay sane. It’s part of the reason I stepped down as class president, and part of the reason I can’t keep staying friends with people who won’t have my back when I need them.”

Marinette tried to calm her breathing and watched Adrien’s face wearily for any signs that he would brush her aside or take Lila’s side. She didn’t want to lose him, didn’t want to lose any of them, but she wouldn’t keep drowning herself to make sure everyone else stayed afloat.

“…I… I am so sorry, Marinette,” he finally said, pulling her into a surprise hug. She could hear the thickness in his voice and felt her eyes fill with tears in response as she held him tightly. “I never thought that… No, I knew that what Lila was doing was wrong, but I thought everything would work itself out.” Adrien pulled away from their hug, but kept her hands in his, giving them a squeeze and a wobbly smile. “My father wants me to keep Lila happy… but I’m not happy anymore,” he admitted, avoiding her eyes, where she had begun to cry in earnest. “I haven’t been for a long time. What you’re saying now… I know it’s true. I’ve thought it before, but I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before. Even though I wasn’t willing to put in the effort to get there. I let Lila hurt you and your reputation—your entire relationship with the rest of the class—just to make my father happy, even though he’s allowed Lila to—to harass me like you said. I think you’re right. Maybe it’s time we be more selfish.”

Marinette pulled him into a hug again and they cried together until Nathalie called demanding that he come home for practice. Adrien and Marinette were pilled on her bed, watching a movie and Adrien gave her a mischievous grin.

“Maybe being more selfish can start with staying with you a little while longer?” He asked gingerly and Marinette smiled at him.

“Maybe we can start with you staying the night. You ever had a sleepover before?” Adrien shut off his phone excitedly and threw it across the room.

“You have to teach me everything about sleepovers!”

~

Having Adrian by her side was something Marinette never really knew she needed in her life. She always wanted him by her side, but not like this. Not like she truly needed him. Not like how he needed her. And no matter what thirteen year old Marinette might’ve thought, Marinette wouldn’t trade the love and friendship she had with Adrien for anything else, and she really believed that she would never have to.

They didn’t do much anything differently in class, though Nino and Lila seemed to know something had changed between them. Maybe it was how they seemed to both disappear together after school all the time, ignoring invites to after class activities… Or maybe it was how one of them would sneakily intervene whenever Lila would corner the other. The rest of the class didn’t want to cause a fuss, so they turned away whenever the three of them would get into it, which Marinette actually appreciated.

She could fight her own battles now, and so could Adrien as he became more and more outspoken towards Lila’s drama, but fighting the people she once cherished as her closest friends… it was something that she was most afraid of.

Almost a week of no akuma attacks and peace throughout Paris led to Ladybug taking to the rooftops. The sky was clear and the stars seemed to glow as bright as the lights on the Eiffel Tower, and Marinette was able to actually look around and appreciate her surrounding for the first time in a long time. The way the Seine glowed at night; the people milling around the streets; the sounds of music drifting through the light wind kissing her cheeks. Marinette felt… bright. Her heart was light and she would bet the world that her soul was taking on a pinkish hue, beating with her heart in time to the sweet piano still playing somewhere.

She ended up, as always, at the top of the Tower, looking out over her city. Seeing her school, her parents’ bakery, Andre’s ice cream stall… it had been a long time since she could look at these places and the first thought of them be ‘home.’ She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the music once more.

A noise came from behind her, though she didn’t bother moving from her spot. She had taken to lying down, her legs swinging over the edge of the platform, staring at the sky.

“…My Lady?” Chat’s soft voice drifted around her and she smiled at him upside down. His soul seemed to be lighter than it had been and Marinette couldn’t help but smile at the soothing dance their souls took on as they slowly intertwined with each other.

“Hi, Chaton. Wanna come look at the stars with me?” She asked, returning her gaze to the night sky.

“Oh, um… of course, My Lady.” Chat walked over to her and sat down, though he didn’t lie next to her. Something was obviously on his mind, but Marinette didn’t ask. She would wait for him to speak, if he wanted to. And if he didn’t want to talk, they could gaze at the stars together and she would let him know she’s there for him.

After a little while, the piano stopped playing. The wind died down and there was less chatter on the streets. Marinette took a breath and sat up, pulling herself around to look at her partner. He was lost in thought, gazing out at their city.

“Chaton…” Marinette started, gazing at him warmly. She had thought about this a lot over the past month, and Tikki and the Waynes seemed to think it would be in their best interest, but there was still something holding her back.

“Ladybug,” Chat said, turning to her and the look in his eyes was determined, and Marinette was hit with a wave of unease, though she cursed herself for it. Chaton meant well, and he was her partner. She shouldn’t feel so uneasy around him just because she knew he had feelings for her. “Ladybug, I need to say something to you and I need you to listen to me, and I need you to listen until I’m done. Please. I—I need to apologize to you.”

Marinette froze. “…What?” She breathed out, confused and dazed and… hopeful? She shook her head. She would unpack all of those emotions later. “Whatever for, Chaton?”

Chat Noir straightened up, took a breath, and look her right in the eyes. She saw it then. The sadness, the fear, and the resolution there.

“A good friend of mine recently showed me signs of… harassment. Before, I just thought… I thought everything was fine no matter how uncomfortable I was… How upset I was the longer it went on and when my friend helped me out… I realized I acted the same way with you. You kept telling me over and over again that you didn’t want to reveal our identities. You told me over and over how you didn’t love me back, but I kept pestering you about my feelings and what I wanted. I—I’m so sorry, My Lady. I never should have ignored what you said about how you felt, or got upset when you told me the truth. I’ve realized that… The truth, no matter how upsetting, is always better than lying, and you’ve never lied to me, My Lady. I hope you can forgive me for pressuring you so much. I swear I’ll be better from now on and be the partner you deserve… if you still want me to be.”

Marinette felt frozen. There was no way… Was he really…? Marinette shook herself and sucked in a breath at sudden wobbling of her Chaton’s lips the longer her silence went on.

“Oh, Chaton,” she cried out, pulling him into a hug and holding on as tight as she could as his shoulders shook. “Of course I forgive you. You’re my partner, Chat. No one can replace you. Thank you for apologizing. I… We’ve been through a lot and… I’m not going to say it’s okay, making me uncomfortable and not listening to me, but I do believe you. I know how it feels to want to be with someone and everything else falls away. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t forgive you.”

After a few moments of holding on tight, Chat pulled away and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you, My Lady.”

Marinette knew right then. She knew deep in her soul that she wanted her Chaton to know who she was out of the mask. She knew she could count on him and trust him, and she knew that he felt the same. Their souls swirled together like a storm and she rested her head against his.

“I do love you, Chaton.” She watched as his tearful smile and sweet green eyes met hers warmly.

“I love you too, My Lady.”

~

With Adrien by her side during school, Chaton by her side during akuma attacks, and the Wayne’s with her every day, Marinette knew she was stronger than ever before. Her heart, mind, and soul were finally at peace, and working together versus being constantly at war was liberating. No matter what Lila did, Marinette honestly couldn’t be bothered anymore. She still called Lila out for lying and harassing Adrien, but she could no longer care about the rest of the class’s reaction or Lila starting something every day. Marinette learned how to walk away when the fight wasn’t worth her time.

If a certain green eyed, aloof Wayne came to her mind more and more often as she chose her battles, bringing her a type of strength she never knew she could have… well, no one needed to know that.

Adrien knew about the Wayne’s and they were aware of him, but both parties didn’t seem interested in knowing more about the other as long as they both supported Marinette. Chaton also knew Ladybug had been in contact with The Batman and his team, leading to an amusing freak out session when she announced that they’d be in contact with them in the next akuma attack.

Except it didn’t quite go as well as Marinette was hoping.

It wasn’t easy focusing on the akuma in front of her while forming her own plan and listening to Tim, Damian, Alfred, and Bruce making comments and giving their own opinions on the fight in her ear.

They just barely manage to defeat the akuma, and Marinette heard hers and Chat’s miraculous timer beep their third warning.

“My Lady?” Chat mumbled, keeping one hand on his side and Marinette tried to keep her balance with Chat’s added weight on her bruised ribs. The timing of her Miraculous Ladybug and a sudden explosion… was unfortunate, leading her and Chat trying to protect the nearby civilians and damn near getting blown up if she hadn’t pulled a car in front of them at the last second.

Yay for not getting blown up, but still ouch for being squished between a wall and the car.

Lady Luck didn’t seem to be on her side still as more civilians took to the street, demanding to know why Ladybug’s magic didn’t protect them from the bomb. How could their heroes not stop the bomb from going off sooner? Why were they running away instead of cleaning up the mess they made?

Marinette tripped as the fourth beep sounded off, and she barely managed to prevent herself and Chat from collapsing to the ground. There were still people close by and they would surely notice the appearance of two injured teens in place of their missing heroes.

Marinette couldn’t focus. Her hear hurt so bad, and the static in her ear from the earpiece that cut out with the explosion was deafening and she was getting dizzy and Chat was getting heavier and the voices were getting louder—

The sudden appearance of a red portal was all she saw before she gripped Chat tight and jumped just as the final beep of their Miraculous sounded off.

~

Marinette and Chat dropped onto the soft mattress of a bed right as their transformations wore off. Marinette, who landed on top of Chat and kept her face hidden in his shoulder, clutched him tightly to her.

“Um, My Lady?” Chat asked, holding her close and Marinette just knew he kept his eyes closed ever since they transformed, and she felt her dusty rose colored soul warm while it swirled with his minty green. “Did we just go through a portal?”

“…maybe,” she answered, not lifting her head just yet. She knew that if she asked, Chat would look away from her and allow her to mask them both again before he betrayed her trust, and Marinette considered her options.

“You don’t seem too overly concerned about this,” he said, shifting their weight to a more comfortable position. Her side twinged and she knew he must still be hurting as well.

“It might have happened to me once or twice before…” Chat barked out a laugh and Marinette felt her soul shift with his as she made her decision.

“Of course it did, My Lady,” he said softy—fondly. “So… where are we, exactly? Your house? I’ll keep my eyes closed if you want to go into another room. Plagg and I can be out of here as soon as he’s recharged.”

Marinette took a deep, steadying breath before pulling away from Chat without looking at him and sitting up. They sat back to back on the bed, heads tilted together and Marinette knew for sure. She looked over, finding Tikki and Plagg looking seconds away from passing out on the futon. Marinette gave them both a meaningful look and Tikki nodded her head in understanding while Plagg looked surprised. It was time.

“This isn’t my house, actually, and it’s a little hard to explain.”

“I get it, my lady! Secret identities are important and Master Fu made the rule for a reason. I respect your decision to keep your identity safe, as well as mine.” He sounded so… proud as he announced the words and Marinette wanted for the hesitation. Waited for the anxiety and the fear… but it never came. She just felt… happy. Excited even. Yes, this was right.

“…And if I said I changed my mind?”

Chat’s pause made her smile as she felt him straighten behind her.

“…you can do that?”

“Well, I am Guardian now… I’ve been thinking a lot about our team, Chat, and while I believe Master Fu’s intentions were good and his rules were necessary for the time, he’s gone now and I’m the Guardian. Things are different, and I trust you,” Marinette grabbed his hand and heard his breath catch.

“My lady, are you sure?” He asked vehemently, and she felt her eyes sting. Kwami, she loved him. Loved him with her whole heart and soul.

“Yes, chaton. I’m sure. I want us to be able to support each other completely. How can we truly be partners if we don’t know each other? I was scared for a long time, but I’m not scared anymore. I trust you, Chaton, and I love you.”

“…Alright, My Lady. I trust you and I love you. I’ve never regretted taking your lead, and I will follow you to the end.”

“Together?” Marinette asked, pulling her hand away and standing. She heard her Chaton do the same and took a breath. She had never felt this exposed… this seen and he hadn’t even looked at her yet.

“Together.”

They turned around. Blue met green and Marinette let out a laugh. A laugh of pure disbelief and joy that she couldn’t stop if she wanted to. Adrien smiled fondly at her while she giggled and walked around the bed to her.

He grabbed onto her hands tightly and brought them up to his lips. They were both crying now, tears slipped from the corners of their eyes and met at the curves of their lips that were wearing matching smiles.

“My Lady… I wish I could say I was surprised… but it’s always been you, hasn’t it?” He said, not letting go of her hands as they gazed at each other.

“It’s always been us, Chaton,” she corrected, and she pulled him to her and held on tight. “It will always be us.” Marinette knew a year ago she would’ve thought their embrace was romantic—knew that anyone could walk through the door and think they were a couple, embarrassingly enough—but she knew they were on the same page. Knew that when they met eyes unmasked that first time, it felt like coming home. The Lucky Ladybug and her Black Cat would always find home in each other, and she would never let him go.

~

Marinette waited until Adrien was asleep as comfortably as he could be while still injured with Tikki and Plagg watching over him before heading out the door. Unfortunately, she didn’t remember where she was in the Manor or how to get to the Batcave from where she was, and she didn’t have either of her phones on her since the akuma attack caught them off guard during school. Her ribs ached with every step she took, but it wasn’t bad enough to make her stop.

They were probably worried since her comms cut out after the explosion, but surely they would see the news where she and Chat—Adrien—disappeared. She vaguely recalled hearing Damian shout her name when the explosion occurred and felt her chest warm, though she decided to ignore it.

She tried the door next to hers, but it was locked, which seemed to be the trend down the hall as she tried each one. At the end of the hall, there was what looked like a servants staircase and she decided if the Batcave were anywhere, it’d be as far down as she could go.

Except her hand didn’t even meet the door knob when someone’s hand gripped her shoulder tightly and pushed her up against the wall. Marinette’s right arm was pinned behind her back, but her left arm was free, so she got her palm flat against the wall and prepared herself despite the throbbing in her side and head at the sudden attack.

“Who the hell are you?” A female voice snarled at her, and Marinette pushed against the wall, kicking off of it and coming up behind her attacker, moving her arm so that it wouldn’t come out twisted and wrapping it around the girl’s throat.

“Who are you?” Marinette yelled back, not letting up even as the woman elbowed her in her bruised side.

The woman seemed to freeze at Marinette’s words and dropped her guard enough that Marinette pushed to woman to the ground and flung herself towards the stairs as she heard the scrambling sound of her attacker coming after her.

She managed to race down the stairs just as she noticed a door at the bottom that was conveniently opening as she met the last step.

Her attacker reached the top of the stairs just as Marinette got to the door and hoped the person behind it didn’t see or hear her coming. Whoever opened the door was looking behind him and talking with someone. His mistake. Marinette didn’t recognize him either so she bolted down the last few stairs, not bothering with being stealthy, and launched her feet at the person who had just started to turn around at the noise. She hit him square in the right side with both of her feet and caught herself from falling with him by gripping the doorframe and launching herself over his falling body.

It wouldn’t be enough to knock him out, but it would slow him down enough that she could attempt to find the Wayne’s or get away to call for help. There were two women standing in the hall who turned at the noise, but Marinette saw them before they saw her and grabbed the rug as she ran along the hall, making them lose their balance and trip over each other in surprise. For good measure, Marinette flung the heavy rug over the two of them without stopping.

“Hey!” and “What the fuck,” came from behind her, but she just hoped they would be tripping over each other for another minute or so while she fled.

Marinette rounded a corner and ran straight into someone else, who grabbed her arms to prevent them both from falling. Marinette didn’t even look him in the face before she flipped his arms around so she had hold of him and dropped backwards, using her legs to fling him over her head and onto his back with an audible “oof” while she rolled from her back onto her feet.

She continued into a foyer where her exit laid. A large set of wooden double doors offset by beautiful ceiling high windows. Marinette dashed to the doors and pulled them open with ease despite their size. She took a single step outside when she heard people behind her.

“Marinette!” She skidded to a halt and turned, panting hard and finding Damian, Alfred, and Bruce Wayne coming from the stairs above her. To her left, Dick and Jason rounded the corner with concerned looks on their faces, and to the right, the group of people she got passed in the hall came through just as Damian and the others reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Who in the hell is the girl who used a rug like a fucking cartoon character?” One of the young women in the room asked. She had shoulder blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Tripped you up, didn’t it?” Marinette shot back, still feeling vulnerable and uncertain about the group of people in the room. This was her safe place… but not at the same time. The safe place she came to before was with a few of the men she knew whose souls resonated with her. These people were a mix of different souls and emotions, and some of them obviously didn’t know who she was and mostly likely also didn’t know about her identity.

“Why were you running through the house like a madwoman anyways? Don’t you recognize me, Ladynette? I’m hurt,” one of the men said, pouting at her. Tim. She had just thrown him onto his back.

“Oh no, Tim, I’m so sorry, I just reacted on instinct when I ran into you. Um…” Marinette shifted on her feet and look wearily at Bruce. “I was teleported back here after the akuma fight with my partner, Chat Noir. We ended up in the room I used last time I was here and I thought it would be best to come find someone since I didn’t have my phones on me when someone attacked me in the hall.” She shot the dark haired woman a look as Alfred came behind her to close the front door.

“When a strange girl appears in my family’s home, I don’t ask questions first, little girl. What’s your excuse?”

“When someone attacks me while injured, I don’t ask questions either, and I certainly don’t sit there answering all their questions while they have me pinned to a wall.”

Damian was at her side in the next moment, tugging on her elbow and looking her over, catching her attention. Jason also sided up to her, throwing an arm over her shoulders and making a face at Damian. Bruce and Dick were shouldering the other girl in between them as well.

“Alright,” Bruce said, “that’s enough. Introductions should be in order now, I believe. Marinette, this is Cass. Cass, this is Marinette, our sporadic guest we discussed.” Cass didn’t reveal much on her face, but the tightening of her lips and the slight twitch of her eye told Marinette enough as Dick nudged her with his elbow. Cass didn’t move, and Bruce looked at her disapprovingly, opening his mouth to say something.

Marinette sighed before marching up to Cass before he could, feeling drained from the sudden burst of adrenaline and feeling the throbbing in her head and side return with a vengeance. “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. You were just trying to protect your home and family from a stranger. I was still… defensive when you grabbed me. I should’ve known better than to think someone random would get into this house.” She tried for a smile, but it came out as a grimace as she adjusted her footing to ease her side.

Cass narrowed her eyes before relaxing and nodding once. “I apologize as well. Your maneuvering while in your state was impressive.”

Jason snorted behind her and threw an arm around Marientte’s shoulders again, causing her to suck in a breath at the jostling.

“Shit,” he said, immediately pulling away but keeping her steady, “sorry, little lady. Let’s get you looked at.”

Alfred was looking over her bruised side as she laid on a plush couch when Tim, Jason, and Damian came into the room.

“Bruce is speaking with the rest of the family now. They had been told about you before, but I don’t think they really expected you to just show up out of nowhere,” Tim explained while they circled around her. Instead of feeling surrounded in such a vulnerable situation— injured and with her shirt off—Marinette felt safe with them all around her. She shivered at the cold patch Alfred applied to her side.

“You have some bruising, but nothing appears to be broken, My Lady Guardian. How’s your head?” Alfred asked, helping her sit up.

“Better now,” she answered honestly. Whatever Alfred had given her eased the pain while allowing her to remain focused. “I’m not hurt anywhere else. The Ladybug Cure healed everything from the akuma attack. The explosion is what got my side and head.”

“We saw,” Damian said briskly where he stood to her side with his arms crossed. “The news caught what happened when your comms went out. Do you know where the explosion came from?”

Marinette shook her head slowly, not wanting to cause the throbbing to come back. “Someone started screaming about a bomb and Chat and I tried getting the area clear as quickly as we could. We were still too close once the crowd cleared so I pulled a nearby car over for protection which blew us back, but kept us safe at least. He’s upstairs still, sleeping now. I think his leg is hurt, and maybe his head, but he seemed to be as good as me when I left.”

“Your partner is ok with being here?” Jason asked, sitting next to her and helping Alfred pull her shirt back over her head without stretching her side.

“…I haven’t told him where we are yet. Though I did reveal my identity, which went… better than I thought it would.” Marinette couldn’t help but smile and rested her head against the back of the couch.

“I’ll take you back to your room,” Damian suddenly announced, stalked out of the room before Marinette had even processed his words.

She missed the Look Alfred, Tim, and Jason shared over her head as she stood slowly.

“Um, I’ve been meaning to ask… About Chat Noir…” She looked uncomfortably away from their warm gazes. “I can have us teleport back to Paris as soon as our kwamis are recharged, and I take a look at Chat’s leg.”

Jason rubbed her head and gave her a smile. “We already discussed what would happen if your partner were to ever stop by, little lady. If you want to tell him where he is and who we are, we don’t mind. You’re a team and we wouldn’t ask you to keep our secret from him. Not if we want to keep working together in the future.”

Marinette felt her eyes sting again and she nodded shyly, unable to properly thank them through the lump in her throat.

Alfred passed along the first aid kit he was using to Marinette and patted her cheek.

“Go look after you partner, My Lady Guardian,” he said, “I’ll bring up some food for all of you in a little while.”

~

Marinette and Damian didn’t speak for a while as he led her to the room she was in. The made it all the way to the foyer before he slowed just enough that she was nearly walking by his side.

“Your attempt at escaping was admirable, but you should have been more forceful if you thought you were in a potentially dangerous situation,” Damian said as they walked. Being so close to him as she trailed after him once again was distracting to her. Why was his soul so… loud to her? “What did you think?” He continued, not bothering to turn around to see her reaction. “That they broke in? Rendering a potential enemy unconscious would be far more effective in a getaway than tripping them or knocking them down.”

His tone was cold. He sounded harsh, but Marinette could sense that he was trying to get a point across without saying it. He obviously knew what he was talking about, and he wasn’t one to sugar coat things. She could respect that.

She hummed in agreement and felt his soul flicker for some reason. “You’re right,” Marinette said and Damian turned his head at her. She caught a glimpse of surprise in his eyes before he jerked his head around again. “I was so concerned about just getting out of the house that I didn’t think ahead. If this was a different situation, I would have gotten caught just outside.”

“…Correct. And you don’t know where we are, do you? An unfamiliar territory could hurt you more than waiting to take stock of where you are or who has you.” They started up the stairs, going at a much slowly pace thanks to her ribs.

Marinette sighed. “Guess I should add ‘What to do in a kidnapping situation’ to my research list right under ‘What to do in a bombing.’” She swore she saw Damian’s lips curl as he glanced at her once again before continuing ahead.

“I’m surprised your instincts proved resourceful enough to allow you to get passed four well trained individuals after a draining attack and while still injured.”

“‘A Guardian must trust her instincts above all else to protect the vulnerable and stay one step ahead of her enemies,” Marinette recited proudly, bursting with the unspoken praise in Damian’s words.

Damian paused at a door at the end of the hall and Marinette tilted her head at him.

“Everyone will be waiting in the dining room for you both if you decide to stay. It’s been a while since everyone’s been together for dinner, so Father and Alfred are making a big deal out of it. You and your… partner are welcome to join us. I trust you’ll be able to find your way back to the foyer from here?”

Marinette hummed and smiled at him, feeling her soul swirl happily with his. Something about his eyes… she could get lost in them easily if she let herself, but she wasn’t going to go down that road. Not again.

He opened his mouth to say something when a thump came from the room that drew their attention.

“Perhaps I’ll see you, then,” he said briskly as he turned away.

“Thank you for your advice,” she called after him softly, hand on the door to her room. “I really appreciate it.” She entered the room with a smile that grew at the sight of Adrien on the ground while Tikki and Plagg snuggled together on the bed.

“Little help here, My Lady?” Adrien asked when he saw her in the open doorway.

“Of course, Chaton,” she giggled, letting the door close behind her, missing the way Damian had paused by the door to the stairwell, rubbing at his chest as if that would stop his heart from beating out of it.

~

Word Count: 6645

Hehehe, this chapter was soooooo fun to write, but it had soooooo much content in it and I kept having to go back and forth between chapters to make sure I was presenting the right information and emotions accurately. Also, what the hell is with the Wayne’s eyes?? I kept having to look it up and came up with different examples of whether Damian’s and Jason’s eyes were blue or green, so I just settled on them both being green because of the Lazarus Pits (ignoring Bruce’s dealings with it completely because why not? So Bruce’s and the other boys’ eyes are blue.) 

What to look forward to in the next part: More interactions with the rest of the Batfahm and the rest of the class, and a look into Marinette’s internship as well as Adrien’s sudden burst of rebellion getting much, much worse. Hope you like it! Comments are always welcome!

Tag List: @starlightshield, @nickristus-dreamer, @liquid-luck-00, @chocolatecatstheron, @kuroko26

[chronicbatfictioner]

"Overall, it wasn't so bad..." Tim commented.

"Except for the fact that Bane roared like a constipated bear and literally lunged at Damian and Jason threw him out the window..." Barbara quipped, her face serious but her lips were still twitching. "I... am highly amused. Twice."

"You were laughing until you bent over double that if you weren't in a wheelchair, you've probably knelt on the floor laughing." Dinah deadpanned. "It was hilarious."

"Yes, it was. The fact that Jason could actually lift Bane and throw him out... Did you guys see Bruce's face, though! Oh my god! He... he looked at Jason as if he'd seen the lord savior Jésus Todd or something!" Tim crowed. "Like, the dude Bane got thrown out a bay window twice. I get the awe, I was a little star-struck myself. But I can't believe dude actually wanted to try the third time until Alfred pointed a damn shotgun to his forehead! I can't even!"

"This thus solidifies my thoughts that the Waynes may be trying to figure out a way to get rid of this... brute without... I dunno..." Barbara pondered.

"Gotten themselves broken in half?" Tim suggested. "He sure insinuated that he would do such a thing to Damian."

"Oh, gee, Tim. Which part of his speech insinuated that? 'You lying bastard!', or 'I'll break you in halves!'?"

"I'm partial to the 'bastard' remark, really. I mean, pot, kettle?" Tim replied, giggling.

"Technically," Helena Bertinelli - The Huntress - sighed as she chimed in; "and ironically, at that; the 'bastard' would be Bane since he claimed to be Thomas Wayne's son and is younger than Bruce. Which means he was 'conceived' while Dr Thomas was already married to Mrs Wayne..."

"Right? Bruce and Talia were two consenting adults, albeit under 20 years old; and were wed in a local ritual witnessed by locals, according to Jason. You should see Bane's face when Jason presented copies of the marriage's registry." Tim continued.

"Oh, we saw, all right. Harper's drones worked quite well." Dinah replied, snickering, referring to Harper Row, one of their tech 'consultants'. "Even at that height, it still delivered crystal clear pictures. I vote we use them again."

"No vote needed, the drones are on stand-by at the Wayne Manor permanently at this point. I'm more interested in his reaction when Damian offered them a DNA test." Barbara told her.

"I'm more interested in Bruce Wayne's reaction, really. He didn't seem too surprised, as if he was expecting this to happen or something." Helena pointed out.

"Maybe he did," Barbara replied absently. "Dude has been swingin' more than the roarin' 50s, there has got to be some juniors out there that even he didn't know of."

"Ugh, while I'm not a fan of Bruce Wayne's womanizing ways, I personally don't think he's that reckless. He's not a drinker or a junkie, as far as I know. He has virtually no vice other than extreme sports." Helena argued.

"I agree," Selina, who has been quietly watching from the corner, chimed in. "This is a guy who got visibly antsy when some sexy girls in bikinis come up to him - I thought he was gay. But if he'd been... wedded to Talia Al Ghul all these times, that would make sense. He knew exactly where he stood, and what would come up if he screwed it up."

"Has Jason or Dick said anything of the Doc and Mama Wayne's reaction?" Helena asked.

"They seemed truly confused, a little apprehensive, but didn't seem to be opposed to the idea that Damian is Bruce's child. Dr Wayne said that a DNA test wouldn't be necessary, but Jason insisted it." Tim replied, and added a little absently a few heartbeats later. "But why would he, a physician with more specialties than a truck stop, would not question the biology of anyone claiming to be his biological descendant?"

Barbara glared at Tim, "excellent question, Tim. If my dad has someone coming out of the boonies saying he's related to me, the first thing dad would do is draw blood."

"They... don't care?" Dinah suggested. "Maybe the Wayne men were less... chaste than they appear?"

Barbara glared at her this time. "Of all the women Bruce Wayne has dated, I've only recorded a handful who would end up in a second date. Less than a handful who were actually mentioned beyond social media photos; and you know how I feel with social media photos: generic, unverifiable, and showoff-only. Dates with Bruce Wayne generally would start with the pick-up, dinner, and then some form of jewelry. I..." she looked at Selina and Helena, "you've both dated him at one point or the other."

Selina shrugged, "I went for a gala dinner, and was honestly there to scope the homeowner's safe, really. I wasn't interested in a follow-up date." she replied. "Helena?"

"Social arrangement. My people called his people and boom, we were on a red carpet." she elaborated. Helena was a part of a mafia family, until she decided that the mafia way would not be the best way to make Gotham a happy place for all, and donned the costume of the Huntress to hunt down wrongdoers. Barbara had decided to let her join to prevent her from going over the line and murder anyone out of overzealous-ness; but also in order to get a line-in into the mafia families.

"No second dates, either, huh?"

"No, I'll have to check, though. I think his people called me again, but I wasn't interested in a vapid playboy, even if he has more money than Jesus."

"Vicky Vale," Selina reminded. "She has had a... somewhat lengthy relationship with Bruce some years ago."

"Sooo... the next answer in our mystery could probably be answered by interviewing an investigative journalist." Tim commented.

"Oh, no..." Barbara grinned mischievously. "Not this investigative journalist. I know just the journalist to talk to when it comes to gossip among themselves."

Dinah snorted a laugh. "I thought you didn't like her."

"I liked Vale less," Barbara griped. "Plus, Vale is already getting news on Bruce's probable child; why shouldn't I send Lois Lane the allegations of the Bane Conspiracy?"

"Conspiracy with who?" Dinah asked curiously.

"Oh, the Waynes, of course, to get rid of the Court of Owls," Barbara smirked. "Why should we be the only ones racking our respective and collective brains when we can have someone else on the ground doing the grunt work?"

"Babs, you can be... pretty evil sometimes," Selina remarked. "I know there's got to be a reason why I like you."

"I'm also awesome with technology and can launder your ill-gotten money and make it legal and undetected." Barbara pointed out.

"Oh no, that's why I liked you." Helena quipped smirking. "Seriously, how many mob family can say their ill-gotten money is accountable by law?"

"As long as it is within the facets of the law, and so on and so forth... Anyway! Tim, you're quiet for more than two seconds. I'm always nervous when you're quiet."

"Just thinking..." Tim said, looking a little lost in his own brain. He often does that when he has at least a dozen scenarios running through his mind. Through the time of Barbara knowing him, Tim would probably be the only person whose claims of 'just thinking' wouldn't immediately be picked on by anybody.

"Care to share with the class, kitten?" Selina prompted.

"It's not fully mapped yet... but I was thinking. What if the Waynes aren't... didn't cooperate with Bane in order to destroy the Court of Owls, and they're literally being hostages in their own home? What if Bruce Wayne has predicted something like this could happen, and has gotten himself all prepared all the way to ten years ago when he wedded Talia Al Ghul? I mean, who would have had enough firepower to defeat Bane other than the Al Ghuls? Look at Jason," Tim pointed out. "He threw Bane out the window as if he was a fly. While Jason is as solid as a rock but isn't a metahuman - Bane is. He was assigned by Talia herself - out of Gotham - to protect and guide Damian-- why? What's so special about Jason Todd? Why did Talia choose him? Why didn't Bruce Wayne - at least - act shocked when Damian said he was his son? Surprised, sure. But not shocked or in denial.

"Who's gonna win if Bane turned out to be Dr Wayne's son? Who's gonna lose? What will they lose? Who is Bane accountable to? If none, who planted the idea of him being Dr Wayne's son? Because from what I've read about him, he was born and raised in a prison with his mother - no mention of a father. His mother was an insurgent of Hasaragua, fighting against US-condoned democracy. And while there was a record of Dr Wayne being there, there was no exact date and length of stay, because he was there privately and not as a part of Médecin sans Frontieres or something like that.

"What about Mrs Wayne? She wasn't a poor or uneducated woman, since she was a Kane. Society-wise, do you think she would have tolerated her husband's indiscretion, both then and now? Yet she kept quiet for nearly two months. She has a Ph.D. in psychiatry, and would she be the ones to keep quiet about DNA testing and all that? Personally, I don't think so. If my mother - a little 'lesser' society lady compared to Martha Kane-Wayne - ever got a word of a child that 'probably' got fathered by my dad, she would have demanded a divorce right away without bothering with a paternity test, sure. But my dad, who was also a society man, would have at least attempted to convince her that it was a mistake and/or it was a lie. What best method to decide a child's paternity than DNA test?

"The criminal front in general - especially the costumed criminals - has been pretty quiet since Bane eliminated the Court of Owls. Why? That's rather stupid since we know that the Court's Talons were the ones who made moves to 'discourage' the costumed freaks. Annnd... that's where I couldn't map out things further." Tim rambled.

"Keep talking, even half sentences are better than none, Timmy." Barbara prompted. Tim might have had a brain that worked a mile a minute, but he was still very young and would often get flustered with himself. Barbara, on the other hand, has an eidetic memory, and things Tim said tend to stick to her brain and would fill the gaps in any puzzles she might be thinking about. Even half sentences.

"Right, I do the fact spreads, you do the jigsaw-puzzling." Tim nodded. "The murders of Talia and Ra's Al Ghul. Jason said they were deliberately murdered in a way that they would never be able to be resurrected through the Lazarus Pit. The perpetrators would be the League of Shadows, a rogue splinter of the League of Assassins. Lead by Lady Shiva. Why? Why were they murdered? Why now and not - say - next year or last year? Who benefited by their death? Aaand... I'm done, for now, I think..."

"I... can feel a headache brewing," Dinah admitted. "You and your conspiracy theories." she rubbed Tim's head fondly. Tim gave her a half-smile, still trying to articulate the thoughts in his head.

"That's why we need him, he takes the most random input and makes a theory out of it, and some of them would actually make sense. I'll start a search string based on some of your questions. If you have more, don't hesitate to tell me, Tim." Barbara realized belatedly that her tone sounded dismissive, and turned to Tim. "Want me to call up for Chinese and powwow a little more?" she added.

Tim shook his head, still glaring blankly. "Thanks, I gotta go... I've some... things to look into. Thanks, Babs," he replied, ending it with a genuine smile as he got up.

"Want to come home with me, Kitten?" Selina asked, worry for Tim apparent on her normally-blank face.

"No, thanks, Ma. I gotta go back to the mansion, just in case, right?" Tim pointed out.

"Then Dinah should go with you," Selina decided.

"She's coming there later, right, aunt Dinah?" Tim asked. Dinah nodded.

"I'll get home with food, so don't worry about that, kiddo." she said. Tim waved them all and then walked out.

Once he was out of the door, Selina sighed. "Ah, young love..."

"Right? Remind me to check in on him before going to the House. I don't want to walk in on something and have him traumatized." Dinah agreed.

Barbara glared at them quizzically, and then at Helena, who shrugged. "Grayson said it first, I think. Our kitten is growing up. I just hope that Jason guy is worth his firsts..."

The memory of Tim gawking at Jason when he thought Barbara wasn't watching flashed in her mind.

Oh.

And then of Jason blatantly checking Tim out just before Oracle made her appearance, and at times when her Oracle projection was turned off.

"Oh boy," she sighed.

"That's about it in a nutshell. Good thing I've told him of the birds and the birds..." Selina grinned slyly.

"Millennial parenting at best, Ms Selina Kyle." Dinah grinned. "Come on, let's go patrol and induce the fear of goddesses to Gotham's low-lives before inducing maternal fear to our little kitten."

"...or to the big tabby. We'll see," Selina added, waving as she and Dinah walked out of the room.

Suddenly Barbara felt a little sorry for Jason. Just a tiny, teensy, weensy bit of sorry.

[unmaskedagain]

Five boys the Batfamily scared off (And the one boy who helped Marinette get revenge on them all)

This is actually based off a prompt/ask I got by #vixen-Uchiha

Okay, believe it or not, I’ve in history of all my days writing fanfiction (I just turned 27 and have been writing since I was sixteen); I started when Twilight was still at the height of its popularity. (All that work has been deleted, burned, and doused with holy water; don’t ask questions) But even with almost a decade of writing fanfiction, I never even considered approaching this fanfiction classic.

Until now.

Wish me luck. And don’t judge me too harshly.

Note this was also inspired by a poem I loved called To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter by Jesse Parent

 Marinette always knew Tom was her step-father. Sabine and he married when she was three after all. And while she considered the great cuddly bear to be her dad, she still had a great relationship with her actual father: Bruce Wayne. And all her brothers and Sister.  She spent every summer with them and every other Christmas in Gotham. She loved her family. She just wished they take a chill pill.

And stop scaring away her freaking boyfriends.

Lê Chiến Kim: The Boy who swears Marinette’s related to the Boogieman

           If anyone asked Marinette now if she would ever date Kim, she’d have died of laughter. Kim was like a goofy cousin. They were great friends. Their moms were best friends. She just didn’t see him like that.

           However, it wouldn’t have been so funny to six-year-old Marinette who ran from school with a Daisy in her hair and a big smile her face.

“Daddy, Daddy,” She’d squeal to her Papa later that day. She barely noticed he was still wearing bat uniform, except the mask. Or all her brothers were with him.

“Hey Sunshine,” Bruce smiled lovingly at his youngest daughter. “You have a good day at school.”

“Give ‘em hell, firecracker,” Jason called from the background.

           Tim and Dick laughed. Bruce just shook his head amused.

“I got a boyfriend!”    

           Silence.

           That day would forever be known as the day all the smiles died. Seven-year-old Damian just blinked in confusion. He didn’t know what had happened but he knew it was bad. And that it involved his sister. Was she in danger? Did she need help?

           Before Bruce could process or respond to his precious, baby girl, who was way too young to date (And what the hell was Sabine thinking?). Dick literally pushed him out of his chair like it was nothing. “What’s his name? Who are his parents? Where does he live? And where can I find him right now?”

           Marinette, being too young didn’t notice the threat in her eldest brother’s voice and the look of murder in his eyes, had no problem telling Dick all about her best friend Kim, who was super nice, and gave her a Daisy, and kissed her cheek.

           When the call ended, Bruce brought up the picture of the boy in question. A nice-enough looking boy to most, but he knew the truth. He knew the evil in his heart.

I have been waiting for you, Bruce thought, not just to Kim but to all the boys who would day date his daughter, since before she was even born. Before you took your first steps, I was preparing to make it so you’d never walk again.

           However, Kim was still just a child. He needed a kinder touch. He looked back at his children: Dick, Jason, Cassandra, Tim, and Damian, and made his choice.

           When Dick showed up to walk her to the school the next day, Marinette didn’t think to question how her brother got from Gotham to Paris so quick. (Cough, misuse of Zeta beam). Or why he was dressed in all black with a scary biker jacket on. She just shrugged and let him help her tie her shoes and carry her bright pink, hello kitty, and backpack.

           He held her hand the entire way to school, where Kim and his dad were waiting by the doors. Kim had another daisy in his hand that he gave to Marinette.

“This is Dick,” Marinette introduced her brother. “My biggest brother. This is Kim, my boyfriend,” Kim preened. “Look, Dick, Kim got me another daisy.”

           Dick beamed at his sweet little sister, “I see. Hey! Isn’t that you’re friend Rose? Why don’t you go show her?”

“Okay!” And she ran off.

           As soon as she was gone, Dick’s smile quickly disappeared and he glared at the little Casanova, and his father, who felt like someone had just walked over his grave.

“My sister is a little young for a serious boyfriend,” Dick hissed. “Don’t you think? Don’t want her to grow up too fast, right?” The two could only nod in fear. “Good. Don’t hurt her. Don’t make her cry. Because I’d hate to have to have another talk with you, Chi��n. It might not go as… nicely.” And with that, he left to go find his sister, leaving two terrified people in in wake.

           That conversation would be the reason Kim broke up with Marinette over recess but to the girl’s dismay and why the boy wouldn’t allowed to date for another ten years.

           Looking back Kim would swear darkness and shadows started to fill the schoolyard. That Marinette’s older brother’s voice got deeper and his eyes turned completely black. He had been a living nightmare, one that would haunt his dreams for years.

Marinette wouldn’t get another boyfriend for years.

 Chat Noir aka Adrien Agreste; The Boy who just didn’t want to Get Neutered

           Marinette never considered Adrien or Chat Noir her boyfriend. He had been her best friend, her partner, and for a long time, her crush. However, before Marinette found out who was behind the mask, and he earned the title of her best friend in the whole world.

Chat Noir had the title of Guy who can’t take a hint.

           They had been just thirteen at the time. Chat had been spending for more and more time flirting with Ladybug and joking around then actually taking the fight seriously. And when he wouldn’t get the response he wanted from his Lady, he’d pout or throw a tantrum and storm off. It had been getting to be a real hassle. And as much as she liked Chat, she had been seriously considering Master Fu’s offer of getting her a permanent partner to replace him.

           Then one day if all change. All the silly behavior, most of it anyway, and the constant flirting all stopped and never started back up. It would take Marinette months to find out why.

           Unbeknownst to Marinette, her Papa, Bruce had been keeping a watchful eye on the deteriorating situation. The flirting, his daughter’s frustration, the lack of care. It had to be stopped. Chat Noir had a few lessons to learn.

           Bruce glared harshly at the image of the cat-themed Superhero. He was proving to be a useless partner for Ladybug. And a prime example for a sexual harassment claim. “You’re sure you can handle this,” He asked son.

           Damian scoffed, “I will teach that alley cat the true meaning of fear.”

“Go.”

           When his son was gone and Bruce was once again alone in the Batcave, he smirked darkly at Chat Noir and all other boys who would come and go. “When you were still playing war in the school yard, I was perfecting headshots. You can’t catch up at this point.”

           One night, after a particularly hazardous fight with an Akuma, Chat Noir had been running home when suddenly everything went dark.

           He woke up, tied upside down, and gagged. For a few moments he thought Hawkmoth had finally gotten, wondered if this was the end.

           When a sword pressed against his throat, and a chilling voice whispered in his ear, “Care to find out just how many lives you really have, fleabag?”

           At the moment, Chat Noir no longer wondered if it was the end. He knew it was.

           A boy, Robin, he realized glared fiercely at him.

“I should kill you,” Robin sneered. “I should rip you limb from limb and leave your head mounted on a spike to show the next fool who thought he was worthy of my sister’s hand. Ladybug is too good for the likes of scum like you.”

           Chat Noir gulped. Sister? Ladybug was Robin’s sister. Adrien’s eyes widened, that meant Ladybug was Batman daughter. He was going to die. He was just going to disappear and his father, or most likely Nathalie, wouldn’t even notice until he failed to show up for his next appointment.

Gorilla would notice though, Adrien thought, he’d miss me.

           Robin pressed the tip of the sword to Adrien’s face until blood was drawn. “You will cease your incessant flirting with my sister. You will train harder for your battles. And you never, ever, leave Ladybug to fight alone again. Am I clear?”

           Adrien nodded his head earnestly. He’d never flirt with anyone again, he swore. He wouldn’t even celebrate Valentine’s Day. Or anything.

“And if for some miracle,” Robin hissed, “My sister deems you suitable to date, you will treat her will respect. You will never touch her without permission. And if you hurt her, Consider my genes a mark of Cain; you will suffer seven times whatever you do to her.”

           Chat Noir whimpered.

           A smoke bomb later. Chat Noir’s bonds were released and Robin was gone.

           It took a long time for him to stop shaking.

           He never flirted with Ladybug again. He worked harder and became the partner she deserved.

           And when Adrien discovered Marinette was behind Ladybug’s mask, he only managed to stumble a little.

           However, when Marinette told him that her brothers was coming for a visit; she couldn’t understand why he paled and stuttered out excuses for photoshoot he never mentioned before in far, far away countries. That same day, Adrien had his father taken them to Australia for vacation under the threat of Adrien dying his hair pink. He wouldn’t return for a month.

Jon Kent: The Boy who, in retrospect, really should’ve known better.

           Marinette’s first real boyfriend was the son of her father’s best friend, Clark Kent, otherwise known as Superman.  She had been only fourteen and it had been a summer romance while she stayed in Gotham. She had thought Jon was perfect; handsome, kind, funny…

           Invulnerable to most weapons and had amazing healing factor.

           Plus it’s not like her papa would kill the son of his best friend, right?

           Right.

           It had all been going great… until it wasn’t.

“I welcome you in my home,” Bruce hissed at the picture of Jon Kent on the bat computer. “I trained you. I trusted you. And you betrayed me.”

“Let me speak with him, father,” Damian demanded. “He is my friend. He will listen to me.”

           Bruce shook his head, “That’s why I can’t send you. You’re too close to the situation. He snuck past all our defense. Now I have no choice but to do same. J?”

           The Asian girl smirked, “Little Superboy will know dread.”

           Jon had been visiting the fortress of Solitude when… it happened.

           Before that day he had never dreamed the place would be anything less than safe, anything other than secure.

           His dad had just flown off to help someone in Brazil. Jon waited patiently for him to come back while he dreamed of his beautiful new girlfriend. Marinette was amazing, perfect, and the nicest, sweetest girl ever.

           When suddenly he felt a tickle in his throat, and he tried his best to clear it but it just got worse and worse. Until Jonathan Samuel Kent, Superboy (now that Connor was going as Krypton), fell to his knees as he struggled to breath.

           No matter what he did, the more breaths he took, the worse he felt. It was like his lungs were on fire.

“Do not struggle,” A voice said. Jon looked up see Blackbat, Cassandra, standing above him. How did she get into the fortress? Not only could only a Kryptonian open the doors but only a member of El could be let in. It was impossible. “Struggling makes it worse.”

           Jon coughed, “What?”

“The air,” Cassandra waved her hand around. “It is filled with dust. Green dust of Kryptonite. It has disable you and your powers. It’s concentrated. You will not die. The alerts of the fortress were disabled. No one is coming to help you, villain.”

           Jon shook his head frantically. He wasn’t a villain. He wasn’t a bad guy. This had to be some mistake.

“No, not villain,” Cassandra corrected. “Not yet. A thief who thought he could earn my family’s trust and then steal away our most precious jewel; our princess. And do it without consequences. I am here to teach you better.”

           Superboy flinched at her words.

“You will not pressure my sister,” Cassandra hissed. “You will be the gentleman we believed you to be. If you cheat on her, I will ensure you never have children. If you strike her, I will know. She will not keep your secret. You can’t make fire feel afraid. And I will come for you. Do you understand?”

Jon nodded, fear in clear in his eyes.

“Good.” She leaned forward, right into the young superhero’s face. “Some say you and your father, your cousin Kara, and Connor, are invincible. That you can’t be stopped. That you are gods among us.” She scoffed. “Let me make this, if you break my sisters’ heart, you will learn, boy of steel, that even gods bleed.”

           And then she was gone, and with her all traces of kryptonite. It didn’t stop the chill that filled Jon to the core.

           It was to no one’s surprise when Superman showed up at the Batcave not long after. “Bruce,” Clark asked with his arms out. “What the fuck?”

           Marinette’s relationship soured when suddenly Jon was too scared to hold her hand, her be alone with her, or kiss her. She got the hint that he just wanted to be friends and broke it.

           She found out a year later what really happened.

Luka Couffaine: The Boy who decided he didn’t want to sing his tune yet.

           Luka had been Marinette’s first serious boyfriend. She was sixteen. They had been together for months and were getting to the ‘I love you’ stage.

           He was cool. He was funny. He was a budding Rock star. He had dyed green hair, tattoos and earrings. Luka went onto tour with his band every summer. He was older than Marinette by two years. He had quite a few previous girlfriends. And he hadn’t been scared off by the normal attempts by his other kids.

           In other words, he was Bruce Wayne’s worst nightmare.

           And the nightmare got worse, when for the first time ever, Marinette was bringing a boyfriend home for Christmas. It was all the confirmation he needed that the things were serious.

           It was why he knew he had to send the greatest soldier he had. Luka Couffaine would rue the day he decided it was good idea to ask his princess out. “Are you ready?”

           Tim nodded. “I’ve done my research,” he declared. “I know what makes him to tick. I. Will. Break. Him.”

“Excellent,” He drawled out the word like it he tasting fine wine. Not caring at all that he sounded like a superman.

“You really think he’s a threat, dad?” Tim asked. “Because I can take care of it. I can have him eliminated. Ra's al ghul owes me a favor. It’ll look like an accident,” He promised. “It’ll look like he just… disappeared.”

A sense of pride filled Bruce. Tim was his most capable and resourceful soldier. He would make a great batman. Any of his kids would.

Batman stared the picture of the boy on his phone as he fought the urge to crush it in his hands. “No,” he finally answered. “I’ve known plenty of rock stars and so called bad boys in my day.  Angel’s smart,” he said using Marinette’s codename. “I have been routing out indifference apathy from her life, her childhood was filled with love and affection. There are no daddy issue for his teenage talons to latch upon. Just… make sure he understands who he is dealing with.”

“Understood.” And then call ended.

           He looked up and saw all the other Justice League members staring at him with expressions of awe, fear, and confusion.

“…Marinette’s got a new boyfriend, huh?” Diana asked when the call disconnected. Amusement in her tone, she knew Bruce would never seriously hurt a kid.

“Poor guy,” Barry said with a shake of his head.

           Clark pinched his nose, “You can’t keep scaring guys away from her forever. Eventually, she’s going to find one who isn’t afraid of you.”

“And then she’ll marry him out of spite,” Dinah added.

           There were snorts from the other league members.

“Like that’ll ever happen,” Oliver said with a shake of his head. “That kid would have to be the biggest moron in the universe. I’ll pity his family.”

           Marinette had constantly warned Luka about how overprotective her family was. Luka hadn’t thought much of it. He dealt with overprotective fathers and brothers before. Eventually they grudging begin to like him. Or realize that if they actively hated him, it would just make the girl get attached.

           He was excited for Christmas, excited to prove himself to the girl of his dreams, and impress her by dealing with her entire family. Luka didn’t understand why Adrien looked so afraid when he told him. Or why he asked what type of flowers he liked.

“For the funeral,” Adrien shrugged. “I need to know what to buy.”

           Luka had laughed, thinking the blond was joking. He had already met a two of her brothers; Dick and Damian. They had been growls and threats but nothing he couldn’t handle. But Adrien didn’t laugh. He just shook his head and promised he’d be there for Juleka. Luka thought he was overreacting.

           However, nothing. NOTHING. Could have prepared Luka for the first time he met Tim.

           Luka had been walking home with Kagami, his long-time friend and one-time rival for Marinette’s affection. It was board daylight, there were tons of people around, and then they had made the apparent mistake of walking by an alley, when suddenly they were pulled into the back of a van, hoods thrown over their heads, and their hands bounds.

           He didn’t know how much time had passed. Or where they were being taken. All he saw was darkness. All he felt was fear. Was this how died?

           When the hoods were finally removed, the two teenagers found themselves in what looked to be a deserted warehouse, bound to their chairs, with a teenage boy not much older than they sitting across from them, looking absurdly comfortable given the situation.

My name is Timothy Drake-Wayne. I am Marinette’s older brother,” He said. “Let me make something clear before we begin. The last hour never happened. This conversation never happened. We never met. And if you say otherwise,” Tim’s eyes narrowed.  “No one will believe you. I was just by dozens of witnesses in Mexico with my boyfriend less than two hours ago. But if you do tell anyone, there will be consequences. Do you understand?”

           They nodded not daring to say a word.

“Luka, Luka, Luka.” Tim smiled an eerie grin that should look more at home on the monsters from Horror movies, and not on such a handsome face. “I hear you’ll be visiting us over the holidays. Must be so exciting for you, meeting your girlfriend’s family. Are you excited, Luka?”

           Luka swallowed hard. He never thought he’d hate the way his own name sounded. “I was- I mean I am. I am.”

“Good,” Tim said. “I just wanted to offer you a bit of advice. So you can know to expect. You see it call all be a bit… daunting to newcomers. Some people don’t understand the Wayne family’s unique tastes. Okay?”

           He nodded.

           Tim still smiled. In fact he never lost his smile the entire time. Yet his eyes were empty like there was no real life in them. “When you first come to my home, you will see the bone carving over the doorway. It will be hard, but try not to imagine your own femurs so expertly carved.”

           At this Kagami’s eyes widened. She had done her best to remain calm but somethings were too much.

           Tim smile widened, “There are one or two rooms you will not be allowed in. However, accidents happen and we understand. But we do ask that you pay no attention to our… ample crawl space. Or the smells that can sometime come from it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luka stuttered. “Sure, no problem. Man.”

“Try not to go into Father’s playroom,” Tim continued on. “It will be easy to spot. It’s mostly empty, apart from a rubber mat and a drain. He gets so testy when stranger go in there. You’ll hear strange noise from time to time but just ignore them. That is just father… playing.”

           The green-haired boy just stared. Because what the fuck.

“Just follow that advice, and you should be fine,” Tim promised. “Though you are a pretty one.  You both are. And we like pretty ones. Oh the things we do to pretty ones”

Luka whimpered. Kagami felt tears build in her eyes.

           Tim laughed, “Now, now, none of that,” He said channeling his inner Brucie. “We’re not going to hurt. We’d never hurt Marinette’s friends.” He promised. “We would hurt people who hurt Marinette because people who hurt Marinette are not her friends.”

           Red Robin looked over the two, “What I’m trying to say is. Break my sister’s heart, and we will kill you. I will kill you. You won’t see if coming. You won’t know we’re there. And if you’re lucky, you might not even feel it. Clear?” They nodded. “Excellent. Now you’re going to leave the same way you came. Remember not a word.” He smiled got even bigger.

           They felt hands on their shoulders.

“Oh and Kagami,” Tim’s voice rang. “Should romantic feelings spring to life between you and Marinette again, just know our sister Cassandra is much scarier than I. And a much better shot.”

           Then the black hoods and complete darkness came gain.

           When they were finally let go, in the exact same place they had been taken, neither Luka nor Kagami spoke for what seemed like forever. Their minds still wrapping around what had just taken place. However, it was Kagami who finally broke the quiet.

“Well, it appears I dodge a bullet, huh,” She shrugged, her face not betraying the fear she still felt. “Sucks for you. I’m going to go propose to Chloe. I know can I take her mom in a fight. And that she’s not a serial killer.” Kagami then gave him a grave look. “Happy holiday, Luka. I’ll send best flowers to your funeral.” And the she was gone, literally fleeing down the crowded street, leaving Luka alone with his thoughts and sense of his impending doom.

           He broke up with Marinette an hour later.

           It would take weeks before he would willingly be in a room with her again.

Kaldur'ahm: The Boy who regretted ever walking on land.

           Marinette had met her next boyfriend through her brother Tim. Ironic, considering she had just found out what he did to Luka. She had gone in for some extra training with the Black Canary when she spotted him. Kaldur; aqualad. Marinette had never talked too much with him before but found he was a very calm person and level-headed. A good leader, no matter how much Tim complained.

           They had spared together one day. And another. And Another. Then he asked her out. It was sweet… While it lasted. And it didn’t last long.

           Batman had looked at Kaldur’s picture, scoffed, and said, “Jason?”

           The sound of a gun clocking was heard, “Little Mermaids going down.”

           Unlike his brothers, Redhood had no time for mind games. He went for the quickest route.

           Aquaman burst into room where the justice league meeting was, “He shot Kaldur,” He roared to Batman. “The Red Hood shot Aqualad!”

           Bruce didn’t bat an eye, “Is he alive?”

“Yes,” The King of the seas said quickly. “But that’s not point.”

“Seems like it is,” Bruce said and went on with the meeting leaving a stuttering, red-faced Aquaman still standing there.

It was to one’s surprise when Kaldur dumped Marinette and was gone. Disappeared to the safety of Atlantis. And when he came back, Marinette was barred from Young Justice Headquarters.

It was on that day, that Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Wayne decided enough was enough.

 Roy Harper-Queen: The Boy who should start making better life choices

           It was weird to say but Marinette met the boy who would turn out to be the love of her life when she was ten-years-old. And then sometime after her eighteenth birthday, she would team up with his clone to go rescue him. They became friends, went on missions together. It was a year later that he asked her out.

           Roy was pissed at the world, ready to die for anything if it meant he’d went fight, had a rude mouth, feared nothing and no one, and didn’t play by anyone’s rule but his own. In other words, he was perfect.

           Marinette just never meant to fall in love. She certainly didn’t expect to say yes when proposed.

           They had been keeping their relationship a secret from both their families for over two years. They were happy together. They loved each other.

           But more importantly, they could plot revenge together.

           And revenge was sweet.

           It all played out during a Justice League meeting. Roy, Red Arrow, and Ladybug had been full members for quite some time. The meeting was just about to close, when Roy stood up, “I have an announcement to make,” He said. “Red Arrow will be withdrawing from missions for the perceivable future. As will Ladybug,” He looked at Marinette who nodded firmly.

“What’s going on, Roy?” Oliver asked his once wayward son, with a frown.

           Batman eyed them suspiciously. As did the other members of the batfamily, all were present. Apart from Alfred because Marinette liked Alfred.

           Wonder Woman frowned, “Are you going solo again, I thought you were happy.”

“We’re fine. We’re very happy,” Roy said slowly before taking a deep breath and doing the bravest thing he ever would in his entire life. “Ladybug’s pregnant and I’m the father.”

           A few seconds passed before the words were processed in the Superheroes mind.

           Bruce’s eyes widened, his mind stopped working, and then a snarl ripped form his throat as he moved to attack. The batkids joining him.

“Alpha Code Angelbug” Flash shouted.

           That was all the other league need to go into defensive positions around Roy, against the batfamily. Marinette remained where she was with glee in her eyes. Superman stood in front of Roy, blocking him from view and potential danger.

           The Flash, Cyborg, Black Canary, Wonder Woman, and the Green Arrow stood in front of them. Oliver aimed at arrow at Batman, “Don’t move!” He yelled. “Don’t you dare move, Bruce. I’ll do it. Roy’s my son. And I won’t let you hurt him.”

           Batman growled, “He. I. My daughter!”

“Get Roy out of here, Superman,” Wonder Woman ordered. “We’ll hold him off but we can’t do it for long.” She stepped towards Bruce. “Marinette’s a grown woman. She makes her own choices.”

           Dick shook his head, anger clear on his face, “Dude, you were my friend.”

           Damian snarled, “Harper’s a sneak and a coward.”

“No honor,” Cassandra agreed.

           Jason just looked at his best friend, “I love you…. But you’re dead.”

           Tim just growled.

“No one’s dead or dying,” Marinette said as got up. “Because I’m not pregnant,” She said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. She walked to her boyfriend and pulled him out from behind his shield. “But Roy and I have been dating for almost three years. And we’re getting married. You can be happy for us. Or I can never talk to you again.”

           Roy grinned, “Pops,” he said to Oliver, whose face was torn between relief and fury at it was prank. “We thought you and Bruce could be the main wedding planners. With the rest of the Queens and Waynes helping out; you know now that we’re going to be family. ”

           With that the two lovebird left the room, leaving the chaos they had created.

           Silence filled the room as Batman and Green Arrow stared at the other.

           Oliver gulped. He let out a breathy chuckle, “So I think a wedding in Star City would be great. Lots of Lilies. The Queen family loves lilies.”

           Batman’s eyes narrowed, “Gotham, roses.”

           Black Canary crossed her arms, “Star City would be safer.”

“Gotham is far more beautiful,” Tim snapped back.

           And just like that, battle lines were drawn. Justice League members’ face turned weary.

           Whether they knew it or not, that was Marinette and Roy’s last act of revenge.

           Forget Batman vs Superman.

           Try Bruce Wayne versus Oliver Queen: billionaire against billionaire, father against father. Elsewhere, thousands of journalist, photographers, florists, and caterers trembled and they didn’t know why.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) Pt. 5

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Note: I know that this is long and that there are a good number of time skips, but I didn’t want to make this into a series and just wanted it as a long fic because .... well because I can lol

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4812

Masterlist for Series

      You woke without an alarm with the 4am birds. It was a sound that you weren’t used to. Typically, you’d head down to one of the indoor training rooms and join Damian. It wasn’t unusual for one of you to be a few moments late but after that you’d get breakfast. This time though, you didn’t want to see Damian. You went instead out to the gardens. Instead of really working out or training, you decided that the best thing to do was just sit and meditate.

        Walking down the hallway some the opposite way of where you were going, you saw that Damian’s door was open. Wanting, to avoid him, you went out one of the side doors. He would be in the cave training for the most of what you could tell. You walked outside greeted by the morning air. It was cool outside and the birds had stopped chirping for the most part. You walked towards the sounds of the fountains along the cobblestone path. The trees and shrubs were cut perfectly in different shapes and animals in some areas. You smiled walking through it all, the moon being the only light.

        Once at the fountain, you sat down. There wasn’t really anything you were focusing on. Everything just swirled around in your mind. With no indication or signs on what was going to happen, the only thing you felt like you could do was keep on the tightrope that you had been thrown onto. The start of it all was a blurry and foggy mess. The end however, was even worse. You had no idea where this new life was going to take you or Damian. It was easier when you had an idea. That didn’t make it better.

        You were consumed in your thoughts for the longest time before getting up and walking around more. This was the longest you’d been alone to wander freely like this since God knows when. It was nice but was eventually interrupted. You turned upon sensing that someone was there. Carefully, you reached for your dagger but didn’t pull it out yet.

        “Miss Y/N, breakfast has been prepared. Miss. Gordon will be here soon to take you to the shopping mall.” Alfred said, “I hope you are not about to pull a weapon on me. I will warn you, I don’t fancy being attacked.”

        “N-no. It’s just...” You slacked a bit.

        “Training. I understand.” Alfred gave you a reassuring look, “You seem to be adjusting better than Master Damian even on your first day here.”

        “That’s because I wasn’t born in the league. This is just like some distant home to me. I was in the foster care system until Talia got me.” “I also got to go on more missions outside of the compound.” You informed the older man.

        “I see.” He sighed, “Well, I hope that you will eventually find some sort of comfort here.”

        “Thank you.”

        It was strange hearing words of good wishes. Not that you hadn’t heard them before, it was just that it was rare and typically in a secret kind of code for lack of a better term. No one dared give well wishes directly, only in little ways. You and Damian did that the most out of anyone you’d ever met. It was just normal in that sense.

        The walk back inside was quiet. Alfred informed you of a few other details that you’d need during your stay. Most had to do with the boys. He said that they would be behaved but that they can get a bit... rowdy. It was just in their nature. You understood and told yourself to expect it. Walking inside you prepared for the worst. What you did get though was a very sleep deprived looking teenage boy, a tall man who was almost zombified, you knew that was Bruce, a very chirpy young adult male with bright blue eyes, and a tall red headed girl rolling her eyes at the younger man.

        “Master Dick, Master Tim, Miss. Gordon, this is Miss Y/N. She came with Damian last night and will be staying in the manor now.” Alfred said introducing you.

        Tim looked up, “Hi Y/N.” He then proceeded to down his cup of coffee.

        “Um, hello.” You replied. It was unusual to see someone like that but you also related to his actions deeply. You thought it was kind of funny anyways.

        “Hey, I’m Dick. So, did you get here last night?” He asked smiling and said the last part quietly, “You’ll have to excuse Timmy over there, he’s a bit tired from a case he’s working on. Just wait, he’ll eventually fall asleep somewhere for a day.”

        “Yes.” You shrugged, “And I understand where Drake is coming from.”

        That made Dick chuckle, “You seem to be less temperamental than Damian.”

        Barbra hit him with her elbow some, “Really Dick?” She looked at you, “Sorry about him, he gets excited about new people.”

        “I am only the temperamental type when I need to be. Other than that, I find it partially unwise to try and scare everyone with anger. Silence works just as well for me.” You sat down at the table with breakfast.

        The meal looked like something out of heaven. It smelled fresh and looked like whoever prepared it had been doing this for a while. You took the first bite, and after that you devoured the entire meal. You then remembered that Barbra was taking you shopping and started worrying about what was going to happen.

        “So, Y/N.” She said seeing you drift off into your own thoughts, “I was thinking that it might be best if we go to the smaller shopping center first. That way you might not feel so uncomfortable there. They’ve got some things I think you might like.”

        “That sounds suitable.” You answered, “Um, I have seen the more recent fashions from previous missions, however, I’m hoping that there are still stores that carry items of reasonable value instead of ... absurdly over the top garments.” “Avant-garde if you will.”

        “Oh yes, you’ll have plenty of options.” She laughed some at the concerned look on your face, “But I agree that some people do wear some very over the top things.”

        You nodded in an understanding way noting her tone. In these cases, she probably means that the clothes are normal and what you have seen is just avant-garde clothing worn by the rich to turn heads. While you had walked by the mall countless numbers of times on missions, and even inside, there was nothing that really caught your interest. Besides, missions were never for shopping you had the job of staying on task at all times.

        “Oh, and I invited Steph but she had previous arrangements so it will just be the two of us today.” Barbra said.

        “Very well.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra made your way inside of the mall. It was deemed best if she was the one to drive everywhere since Alfred and the limo would draw unwanted attention. Bruce did still have to figure out how he was going to break yours and Damian’s arrival to the press. He’d probably just pull another adoption stunt in your mind. It wasn’t rare and at this point, the media just accepted that he has an obsession with it.

        The two of you made it through the parking lot and into the building, you on high alert the entire time.         “You’re tense.” Barbra commented, “I can practically feel the tension coming off of you.”

        “Unfamiliar settings may lead to all too familiar circumstances and fallouts. I find it most wise to keep on guard in a place like this. It’s open to any assortments of attacks. With the right variables, a disaster could strike at any given moment.” You replied back looking around overwhelmed at the options of stores not noticing Barbra giving an understanding yet concerned look, “I uh- where do we start?”

        “I have some suggestions. Although, I think the first store that we should try is something with a bit of variety so that you might be able to find something that you like.” She said.

        “I think I might have something in mind. Maybe something a bit dark, classical, refined, but also something that might be able to be turned down to a more casual piece.” You listed some features you were interested in with an almost inquisitive look only to meet Barbra’s eyes which portrayed an almost warm and kind look.

        “I think I know just the place.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra walked around the shopping mall sipping on coffee from the Starbucks and eating some of the pastries.

        “These are not too bad.” You commented speaking about the treats, “I must admit, I have never had anything quite like this before.” “It tastes...”

        “Commercial?” Barbra asked laughing some making you shrug in agreement, “There are better places we might go some time. I just figured this would be suitable for the time being.”

        “Well the decision wasn’t ill placed.”

        “Oh, we should try this store up here. Steph and I are always finding some good items here.” She commented leading you into another store.

        At this point you had almost lost track of everywhere you’d been. It was like navigating a more organized jungle. This time however, the animals were people and there was no North Star nor moss to guide your way.

        “You were talking about more classic. This place has some clothes I think you might really like.”    

        Walking in, there were rows of all sorts of clothes including fitted and paper bag pants, pencil skirts, turtle necks in some places, tweed jackets, blazers, sweatshirts, hoodies, and almost anything you could have desired. You gawked at the sight and started wandering off on your own to explore the vast new area you had found. Slowly, you took what you thought looked best and gained an eventual plethora of clothing articles before heading off into the dressing room with Barbra in close pursuit.

        “What do you think about this?” You asked stepping out in an outfit you had put together from the clothes you’d picked.

        “I like it. I like it a lot. I do think though, that we might be able to add some jewelry to spice it up a bit.” She replied, “Change back and then we can go jewelry hunting.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Once outside of the dressing room, you and Barbra checked out and went into the jewelry store that was down the hall and across the walk way on the second floor which you were already on. You headed inside and were immediately drawn to some plated jewelry. It was simple and elegant, just what you were looking for.

        “These look nice.” You gestured to some, your own ring on your finger flashing some in the light. It was an ever so slightly worn gold ring that you wore on your right ring finger. On it had intricate braided designs and a symbol that represented an eternal bond or promise.      

        “I didn’t notice you had a ring already, it’s very beautiful. You were allowed to keep it?” Barbra questioned pointing it out.

        “Thank you. But no, actually, I’ve had this ring, and smaller versions of this ring as I grew up. They were given to Damian and I when we were young. It is a symbol of promise. I’m his right hand, I go where he goes, and stay where he stays. Think of it as a contract of sorts, or maybe even a wedding ring. It’s just a daily reminder of my place.” You explained.

        “Interesting. Was there anything you did keep or was this is?” She asked.

        “I um.” You fiddled with something around your neck, “A necklace from my parents. It’s a moon and stars, the only thing I have from before the league really. The piece was the only thing I could keep.”

        She didn’t ask any more questions, instead opting for the task of browsing for jewelry. You picked out a few pieces, some with jewels and others just plated and empty. Barbra picked up a black watch to throw into the mix saying that it goes well with everything. You didn’t really doubt her. There was no reason to thus far. Once you left the store though, the two of you started to notice shopping’s effects and how the pastries and coffee had worn off.

        “I’d say we try the restaurant down the block. It’s got some really great options and I think you might really like the burgers there.”

        “It sounds like a decent plan.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra walked inside of the place. Inside there were booths and tables along with a bar and waiting area. It was the run of the mill nicer business which thankfully, quickly got you seated. With drinks and even food ordered, there was a silence. It was kind of uncomfortable and awkward, you weren’t the greatest with social skills and starting conversations with new people. Damian wasn’t either which made it so easy to be around him. Well, at least when you weren’t fighting. You sighed thinking about it.

        “You’ve got that look on your face.” Barbra noted making you snap out of your thoughts.

        “Look?”

        “I know that you have just arrived and have much on your mind, however, you have that “boy issue” look plastered all over your face.” “Did something happen between you and Damian?”

        You weighed your options. Typically, these things worked themselves out. Damian wouldn’t be able to be rid of you unless he killed you and that would breach one of the highest codes of honor in the league. Typically though, these arguments were stupid or at least simpler like too many missions or being hurt on the field. This time, his grandfather had died as a result.

        You huffed some and took a deep breath, “Damian and I were in an argument last night because of my mission. I have been assigned since day one a location and route that would take him to Gotham in case something like what did happen, happened. For years, I’ve trained for this like some prepare for Armageddon. However, Ra’s al Ghul died in the battle. He blames himself mostly but also claims I have some part in it. Although, I think he might have changed that outlook since the fight last night.”

        Barbra looked shocked at what you told her, “Ra’s al Ghul is dead?”

        “Correct.” You answered grimly, “Heavy arrow fire took him.” “And, you don’t have to give your condolences, I know of what has happened at his hands and how that is viewed.”

        She nodded, “So you and Damian have just been avoiding each other all morning hoping that this all blows over?”

        “Precisely.” You sighed, “I for one know that this might never be worked out if there isn’t a final confrontation on the matter at hand however, I’m not quite sure how to approach that.”

        “Well from what I’ve seen, it might be best to just be straight forward with him. Letting this drag on and on isn’t going to solve anything whatsoever.”

        “I would have to agree with you Gordon. You have my appreciation.”

        “It’s no problem.” She smiled some.

        “I do have one concern and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because I trust my instincts and they tell me you can be trusted.” You said.

        “That is?”

        “How, how are we supposed to adjust to a different culture, life, policies, and circumstances in a matter of a few weeks. I mean I assume that Bruce will introduce us to the public and then with the blink of an eye, we’ll be out in public being swarmed by the media. I worry about Damian’s more impulsive and temperamental behavior with the newer surroundings and how he will cope. I think it will be difficult for the both of us to start abiding to certain ... rules if you know what I mean.”

        Barbra didn’t comment for a few seconds and instead took what you were saying all in.

        “I cannot say that I understand your position. I can say though, that I think that you of all people are more than capable of doing this. From what I have seen, you know what is best for the two of you and will stick to those beliefs, you’ve got the mindset of a fighter and strategist. Whether it be training or even turning away from some of it, I think you will find a way to adjust. And I know that it’s hard to trust people at first. That part I understand, however if you need anything, Alfred and I are always there.” She explained carefully almost washing away all of your fears.

        “Thank you.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra were back at the manor now. Alfred had taken your new clothes for cleaning and you had your new room decorations and jewelry to put into place. You didn’t get many things seeing as the room already decently matched what you felt most comfortable with, however you were not going to protest against a few touches of your own.

        Once upstairs, you closed the door and got your new record player set up. Picking one that looked the most suitable and got to work making things as you pleased. You hadn’t noticed how much the time had passed before there was a knock at your door. You turned the music off and opened it to reveal Alfred with an assortment of clothes on hangers and another stack of freshly pressed and folded clothes.

        “I have your new garments ready to be put away.” He informed you.

        “Thank you, I can put them away myself.”

        “It is no problem Miss. L/N.” He handed you the clothes, “Dinner shall be ready at 6pm sharp.”

        “I understand.”

        Once he had left, you closed the door only and started putting items away only for another knock to interrupt you once more.

        “Yes?” You opened the door again, “Oh... hello demon.”

        “General- L/N, I wanted to talk to you about last night.” He said almost sheepishly.

        “Very well. You may enter.” You closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone else to hear the conversation.

        “I must apologize, my actions of last night were impulsive and guided by misjudgment from the events that have taken place prior to now.” Damian sat at your bed as you were still putting away clothes in the closet, “I stepped out of my place questioning your choices because I did not know under the circumstances they were made.” “You did nothing wrong.”

        “I accept your apology Damian.” You said making him almost sigh in relief, “I understand where the outburst came from.” “As cheesy as it might sound, I have thought over what happened last night.” You went and sat down at the end of the bed and looked him in the eyes, “The only thing we can really do now is stick together. We have no one else here that knows about where we came from and the worst choice we can make for ourselves in splitting apart. Especially over a recent quarrel or smaller dispute.”

        “I agree.”

        There was a small passing of silence, “Just promise me that you will try everything you can to make adjusting as easy as it can be on yourself. It will be a challenge, but you don’t have to do it alone. We’re both in the same boat on this one Damian.”

        “I promise, just as you have done so many other times before.”

        There was a small ringing from the phone you had gotten at the mall.

        “That means it is time for dinner.” You got up and turned off the alarm quickly before walking towards the door, “After supper I expect to see you for some sparring?”

        “I will be there.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Damian were sitting next to each other at the dinner table. It was awkward and quite for some time, no one really wanting to bring any conversation up.

        “So how did you feel about Gotham Y/N?” Bruce asked you trying to start some sort of conversation.

        “It was fine.” You replied, “it’s comparable to a darker version of Chicago with a hint of New York.”         “When did you go to either one of those cities?” Dick asked inhaling his food.

        “I went to Chicago on a mission a year ago and New York three years ago.” You replied, “It was only for two nights at maximum.” “The people are strange though.”

        Your comment made everyone either smirk or chuckle which lightened the mood a bit. You could tell that Damian was uncomfortable in this newer situation however. He wasn’t one for talking to those if he wasn’t bragging about something. You never commented on it while he was doing it, only glaring some to get your message across to him. He’d typically get to a stopping place but on the rare occasions he wouldn’t, you’d actively end the conversation or bite your tongue to keep from saying anything regretful.

        “I took Y/N to that joint near the mall you told me to go to Bruce. It was good.” Barbra commented.

        “Agreed.” You responded, “We also picked up a great plethora of items from the shopping center. Thank you for letting me go. It is greatly appreciated.”

        “You are most welcome Y/N.” Bruce replied with a look of approval showing on his face, “And Damian, because you have opted not to go out with one of the boys, Alfred has had a selection of items delivered to the manor. They should have arrived already.”

        “Yes, they did father.” Damian said quickly, giving you a slight glance.

Damian’s POV:

        You seemed to be adjusting well. It was typical of you to take what you understood of your circumstances and adapt so quickly. You were just like that. He’d always admired it but right now, it was strange seeing you as the best adapted like you were. The strange distant feeling of seeing you not in armor or commanding a squad got to Damian. New surroundings like this were uncomfortable and unpredictable. He watched you fake your every move like it was nothing, the way that you carefully examined everything around you intrigued him. Then again, you were doing too well. He knew you were covering something. Old habits, old nightmares along as new ones, new yet familiar styles in the way you dressed, he saw your walls hold higher, most of the ones you “dropped” were mere props in the way you played. You’d always said life was a game or a gamble anyways, you just had to know how to play it.

        The conversations at the table were forced. At the Leauge, typically there were either no conversations, or they were over missions and training. Though, it’s not like he really enjoyed any of it to begin with. He reached over just enough so that no one would noticed and lightly tapped your leg.

        “most forced conversation I’ve had.” He tapped in a shorter way of speech than typical with Morse code.

        “same.” You answered back quickly, “wonder how long we’ll be here.”

        “hours.”

        “very funny demon.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Your POV:

        Damian was right, it did feel like hours. You didn’t really know when it was alright to leave, so you stayed until Bruce left. He was sitting at the head of the table, so he was in control of when you could leave. At least, that was how it was when you were raised in the foster care system. Damian left when you did and you both got suited up for sparring. You two met up outside of your own rooms when you were done, swords, daggers, and armor in all. If someone wasn’t familiar with the situation, they would have thought you were coming from a dress up party or cosplaying in some sense. That would have been insulting to you if you didn’t care about keeping your cover.

        “Woah there kiddoes, where are you two heading dressed like that?” Dick asked coming down the hallway.

        “Daily sparring.” You answered sharply.

        “With all of that?” Steph chose to comment as well.

        “Correct.” You continued, “They are merely swords and a few items of weaponry, nothing that should be too out of the ordinary seeing as you have the regular superhumans or even super heroes coming in and out regularly.”

        Dick nodded and let you two through after Steph got him to stop pestering you two with questions. You and Damian exchanged looks of distaste in regards to your interaction. Rolling your eyes, you continued, eventually making it to the cave. Once on the mat, you started training. There was no conversation at first. There didn’t need to be. You’d always thought that if there was no room for conversation, there was no need to squeeze it in. If conversation wanted to add more space, it would naturally.

        “So, how are you?” You asked, “Adjusting wise.”

        Damian looked around some before responding to make sure no one was there, “I am doing as well as I can be. I find that we are being underworked in responsibilities however. It’s boring here.” “You seem to be adjusting well.”

        “In standards of not beheading the shrubbery,” You smirked at the glare he gave you, “I’m... just testing the waters at this point.” “It feels strange not having a squad to command, I don’t like it that much but it is what it is.”

        You didn’t reveal everything or really anything close to the most. What you were supposed to do anyways? It’s not like you were going to reveal all of your struggles in one training session. You weren’t ready or willing to do that anytime soon. Deep down though, everything felt wrong. Not having your position anymore was just the surface of your issues. The constant urge to pull yourself back into your old habits was overwhelming. At a strange noise, you found yourself reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. When someone tried to talk to you, you immediately put even more walls up trying to figure out what they wanted to really know. You needed action and something to focus on besides keeping up some imagine like you always did. At night or in the moments you were alone, the constant shadow of your former self was there to greet you like a figment of your worst flashbacks. You knew exactly what was wrong, you just didn’t know how to express it because of the quantity in which your problems amounted in. So, for now, you’d keep it to yourself.

        “Understandable.” He said pinning you down to the mat.

        You went to flip him over and then stopped in mid motion where he didn’t hesitate to take you down before standing up.

        “That was far below your own expectations for yourself in combat Y/N.” He said offering a hand up.

        You felt your fight or flight mode kick in the moment everything happened thinking back to the arrows falling from the sky. Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself of where you were. There were no arrows flying. No screaming from those around you. You looked around to reassure yourself before hearing someone come up silently from behind you.

        “Hey love birds.” Dick said loudly walking up behind you.

        You felt him go for a pat on the back. Clearly, he was just being stupid for the time being but you could control what you did. Taking the man by the wrist, you used all of your force and some of his own weight against him to slam him over you onto the mat. The rush of adrenaline faded when you saw who it was laying on the mat groaning in pain.

        “Holy shit.” He mumbled.

        Damian’s jaw dropped to the floor seeing you pull something like that. You snapped out of your temporary trance and immediately extended your hand to help him up.

        “M-my apologies. I mistook you for someo-“

        He stopped you, “No it’s fine. Should’ve known not to do anything too sudden like that.” Dick looked at you for a second, “You put up a fight Y/N. Although, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a high general.”

        You sighed some at the comment, “Thank you. I must be leaving now.”

        The two watched you swiftly head up the stairs. You made sure to travel through the manor as quietly and quickly as possible. The last thing you needed was for anyone to try to touch or talk to you. Once you made it to your bedroom, you immediately grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the shower. A hot shower was the only thing you thought would help. At least, that’s what you were hoping.

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[poepoe-thebunny]

Damien The Littlest Brother

Or: Stuff Damian does with his siblings.

Dick

Dick in some ways was another form of idolization for Damian. Damian was so very young when they first met, younger still when Ra's and the league sunk their teeth into his heart and tried their best to tear it to shreds. Dick's role, part sibling part guardian, was the first major form of stability Damian had. Little Damian had been born with the mythos of The Bat hanging overhead, and the hope of measuring up to first his grandfather's and then his father's standards had nearly broken him.

Like a lot of children Damian didn't necessarily understand or appreciate what Dick was trying to do for him until he was older. But just like other children Damian clung to the emotional support and care Dick gave him, the care he had so often been deprived of.

Damian wasn't necessarily there for the events that shaped Dick and the rest of their family, but he is growing up in the aftereffects of it. Dick chose to give Damian the love he deserved, Dick chose not to punish a child for the situation he was born into. But Dick isn't perfect. He loses his temper, he gets frustrated, he gets things wrong, he makes mistakes, he bleeds. Dick, at least initially, was real and human in a way Bruce wasn't to a little boy who already had his future decided for him.

While he may not admit it, Damian looks up to Dick because in a lot of ways Dick is a better person than most. Dick is a good man, a better man than Bruce in some ways. He shows Damian what a hero actually is, and that the concept of being a hero isn't tied to the suit. Dick shows Damian that he can and is a good person, that he can make those decisions for himself and that his own emotional needs are not anything to be ashamed of. Damian is a boy first, not a weapon.

So Damian leans into his affection. There are shared naps after patrol, and days out getting ice cream or going to the zoo. Damian wakes a tired Dick up with a pillow to the face, and pillow fights and laughter ensues. Dick comes along to the school showcases, where an embarrassed Damian has pictures and paintings of their family up for all to see. He never once mocks Damian's desires, instead listening with seriousness to every moment of Damian's vulnerability.

That's what sticks with Damian the most. That Dick wholeheartedly believes Damian is a good person, that Damian can be good and kind and soft. He sees Damian fumble with his cool demeanor, growing shy and embarrassed when chatting with students his own age. Damian knows the names of most of his classmates, takes down random details that shouldn't be important to a stranger "We're NOT friends Grayson," but Damian talks to the youngest students about animals, and how to properly hold puppies. Damian has lists of underfunded animal shelters and regularly sends them to Bruce and Tim when preparations for the Wayne Foundation charity events come up. Damian knows most of the officers in Bludhaven since he occasionally stops by with something for Dick, a late lunch or hot drink or Dick's spare clothes in case he needs out of his police uniform. After many coos, head pats and cheek pinches, Damian is occasionally "babysat" by some of them while Dick is out on patrol of the police variety. He does not realize how much he has charmed Dick's co-workers, talking about his pets or his brothers.

Dick is the kind of hero, the kind of person, Damian was told wasn't real. That heroes were childish nonsense, that mercy and love were weak. The concept that someone could love him, that he was deserving of love instead of being forced to earn it, was foreign. But Dick Grayson was all of that. So Damian puts up less and less of a fight over the silly pictures they take together. Dick buys books about animals, and Damian grudgingly wears the cute stupid animal ear headbands Dick buys him. While part of Damian knows he won't be, the part that viciously beats "heroes" and "love" and "ice cream" back with a vengeance, another part of Damian, a very small fragile part, thinks that maybe if he grew up becoming like Dick Grayson the Person (TM) it wouldn't be so bad. "Awww thanks Dami!"

Jason:

Next to Tim, the Cain Instincts are strongest with Jason. Jason is constantly ruffling his hair, calling him names, and sitting on him. Jason does not give a single iota of a damn for any sort of authority except Alfred. Jason is not afraid of Damian.

So when Damian latches onto Jason's neck ready to strangle him, he laughs like it's the best thing he's ever seen, and a wrestling match ensues. They bond over it, over the goading and the competition.

They bond over books too, over stories and musicals and words Damian shouldn't care about but he does. Damian says he's too old for fairy tales even though he never had them to begin with, never had stories told when tucked into bed unless it was for a harsh life lesson. And yet Damian will find books as gifts for Jason, and Jason will read them aloud after Damian annoys him by pressing his feet into Jason's side. He swears up and down that the exaggerated voices and accented narration from Jason are done purely to annoy him. Damian constantly interrupts him, always asking questions and Jason tells him to shut up and be patient, "learn to listen demon brat."

They watch Disney and Ghibli, Laika and Illumination, and after a very enlightening conversation with one Tim Drake, Jason introduces Damian to theater. From Antigone to Romeo and Juliet, from West Side Story to Hadestown to Heathers the Musical. Bruce has walked in on them recreating various iconic sword fights too many times to count, quoting lines while dressed in blanket robes and crowns made of craft feathers and stick on jewels. Alfred thorough enjoys their riveting performances.

Like a lion teaching his cubs through play, Jason teaches him that he's never too mature for anything and screw anyone else who doesn't like it. Jason teaches him fun in a way Damian never allowed himself to have before, to look past his mission, and do things for enjoyment. He teaches Damian defiance and rebellion, two very important things for him to learn even if it's only interrupting rude rich people and disagreeing with his father over whether he needs to attend another gala.

Damian and Jason have a strange relationship, and initially aren't quite sure how to act around one another. Such large parts of their identity and experiences were formed by an indirect overlapping influence. Jason's death and the effect it had on the family and how they treat Damian, Jason's time with the league and the lazarus pit. But at the same time they understand each other in a way some of their other siblings don't. The strength and struggle in establishing their independence and identity means that their grudging respect turns into fondness with time.

Tim:

It appears that Cain Instincts don't particularly care if one is related or not, given the sheer amount of times Tim and Damian are at each other's throats initially. But with time they settle and grow more comfortable with each other, the words turn from anger to a grumbly sort of discontent, like irritated puppy's more than anything.

They bond over pride. They bond over failure. The two aren't that different really. They've seen each other at their worst. Missions with too many close calls, where the knife wounds cut too close and the bullets bit to deep, when the snap of Gotham's jaw came to close to closing over them and the only thing saving Gotham's Rogues from the collective wrath of two angry Robin's was the weight of their family's morals.

They had to learn to trust each other. But they do.

The insults are more to fill the silence, partially affection and partially with the need to annoy. They watch reruns of Star Trek and play Legend of Zelda in pajama pants (Tim) and hoody's (Damian), half draped over each other with his feet in Tim's lap. When Damian couldn't find one to his satisfaction, he gifted Tim a new skateboard with his own hand drawn and painted design. He sends a video to the family group chat of him laughing when Tim faceplants.

They are the DEFINITION of annoying to each other. Damian chucks clothes at Tim to make him shower, they get into slap fights over breakfast, they sneer at each other's drinks. "With all the coffee it's no wonder you don't grow Drake," While handing a sick Tim herbal tea for his throat.

It's an underlying trust that rarely needs to be affirmed. But when it does Damian won't hesitate to let his opinion be known. Whether it be high school bullies mocking his gangly brother, reporters trying to pit the "blood son" against the "Boy CEO", or shady members of the Gotham elite with too much interest in his family and his company, Damian's blunt attitude comes back with a vengeance. There will be no Wayne Charm, no shop talk, no backhanded compliments, when Damian Wayne gets between them and his brother. It's "I trust my brother," and "No business with the likes of you," or even "When I said you two weren't on the same level, I meant that you were the incompetent one."

Tim always tries to scold him, tells him he shouldn't be petty, I can protect myself demon, but he smiles while he says it.

Stephanie

She teases him mercilessly, will smile sweetly while "blackmailing" him and challenges him to do things he has never done before. Damian won't admit he enjoys any of it even upon threat of death. She's loud, annoying, and demanding and unapologetically so and Damian is convinced she was dropped on her head as a child. Stephanie is his sister and he loves her as a younger brother would, hurling insults at each other while fighting over french fries drinking smoothies in some fast food restaurant at 2 in the afternoon on a day out.

What strikes him about Stephanie is that she demands respect because she knows on a fundamental level that she deserves it, that all of her hard work was her own and she knew she could do it even when everyone else thought she didn't belong. As he grows Damian comes not only to admire her, but finds this a very important lesson to learn for himself.

Stephanie pushes him, she encourages him even if it's hidden under mutually shared insults. On days where she "babysits him" (she does not, Damian tells himself he doesn't need a babysitter he doesn't) she's perfectly happy to work on their motorcycles together, or have random picnics in the park with bags of fast food, or challenge him to rounds of ping pong. They learn eventually that they make a very good team together. Either destroying Tim and Jason in video games, the occasional local ping pong or DDR tournament when visiting Gotham U, or spur of the moment plans in a night time fight. Stephanie is crazy enough to believe it will work, and Damian is crazy enough to believe Stephanie will follow.

Stephanie understands what it feels like to constantly have to justify yourself, to be told you can't measure up and that you're place isn't here, even though you know it is. To have the weight of your family's decisions hanging overhead for the judgment of others.

So they learn to love each other through healthy competition and teasing remarks. Stephanie shoos him off to "talk to kids your own age, don't be so serious!". It's normal, in some ways the closest to normal Damian has had in a long time. And though they won't say it out loud, it's nice to know someone else agrees that they are entitled to these moments of happiness, these moments they were stripped of and denied for so long. They believe in each other and their right to happiness. Damian will never doubt Stephanie's strength, as spoiler or Batgirl or robin or Stephanie, and in return she will never doubt him or his place in their family.

...

Even if that means trying to escape when she wants to play dress up. "I am not your doll Brown," "Fine fine, whatever you say short stack."

Cass:

The moments between Damian and Cass are silent, but if you believe nothing is said then you are entirely wrong. They speak to each other quite often even if they don't use words.

He watches her dance, and thinks she is so strong. Damian swears she could have been a princess in another life, if life had not sunk its fangs in and poisoned her with pain instead. Just as he would have been a prince. While he initially tried to hide it, Cass always knew he was there. Damian watches her. Damian hears her words, her joy and her tears, and puts it down on to charcoal and paper. I hear you, and he shows them to her, how her form litters his pages as she pats his head. There is, Damian thinks, a poetic irony in seeing something so dangerous create something so beautiful. She is art and deserves to be heard, and Damian is grateful that she hears him too. He lets her look at pages of charcoal and ink, at canvases of paint full of everything Damian can't put into words quite yet, and finds understanding.

But while he is a Wayne, he was an Al Ghul at one point and his mother gave him the training every prince should have, skills beyond his sword. So one day, as she stretches, he brings in a case and sets it down with a clunk. He tunes the strings and plays Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor, as she watches him with eyes that understand far too much, eyes that say I know, I hear you baby brother. Damian almost wishes she didn't, partially due to the struggle of his own pride, but also because no one should ever have to understand that kind of pain.

Moments with Cass are quiet, but they are never silent. Cass teaches him understanding, helps teach him empathy. And while Damian knows he can never dance the way she can, he can play and sketch and paint and between them their secrets can no longer be secrets. Cass doesn't teach him how to feel ,no, he's always been too good at that. Instead she teaches him ways to coax them out when the words won't come, to look around him with the wonder he wasn't allowed to have before, to let him be defined by a different set of skills that shows he can create something beautiful too.

Duke:

Damien thinks Duke is "cool", like the kind of cool you see in movies and TV shows, the average teenage boys in jeans and sneakers who fight for the underdog and stand up to bullies in a 3-on-1 fight even if they know they won't win. There is a conviction in Duke that rivals Damian's own, and Damian can't help but admire someone willing to strike out on their own and do something when they felt others were failing.

Duke is "Chill" as Jason likes to say, he's low pressure and not pushy in a way that Damian appreciates. He's calm, not in the stoic way of some of the others, but in a way that doesn't put Damian out of his comfort zone with expectations.

Time spent with Duke often consists of puzzles and card games, or movies. Duke is very good at using Damian's own pride against him to "trick" him into playing, but together they do everything from DnD to Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters. It's relaxing.

Duke tells him about school and if Damian is having trouble with the more normal things of being a tween, like worrying whether other kids like him, or wearing something embarrasing, Duke brings him out of his own head. Duke plays along with his competitive nature, challenging him to races the few times they patrol together. He finds Damian outside drawing, and teaches him soccer. Other times they sit there together, Duke writing whatever comes to mind while Damian sketches. Damian gifts Duke a detailed portrait of himself; standing in the center of the crowded streets, body spliced into neat clockwork-style segments with patches of his Signal uniform, the red jacket from his time in the "We R Robin" crew, his sports uniforms, and casual clothing, the bright light of his powers bursting from within in a halo under the Gotham smog. He is Gotham's daylight protector, unique and gifted, and Damian respects that.

It's not easy, Damian is still young and cocky, still isn't very good at saying what he feels. But Duke sees right through his attempts to play it off, and it's always met with head pats and a "Whatever you say lil' D." Damian won't say it out loud but he thinks that the sheer conviction Duke has for doing what's right bleeds into every aspect of him, and that maybe with time it will do the same for himself. Damian admires his strength of will and determination, and the work Duke is willing to put in to get what he wants.

[adragonhoardingstories]

Of Blood and Bonds- Chapter 5

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Tag list for this is closed!

On that note, this book will contain swearing, mentions of rape and torture. I will try not be explicit but that's really relative. Read at your own risk. There will be warning before if I make a explicit scene so that you can skip it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and don't hunt me down for this.

Happy New Year

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

Another day she had needed to spend with the idiots in her class. Once again, she felt like cursing her parents. 

Marinette was by all means done with Lycée, she was following University courses but after Tom and Sabine had disowned her in all but name, it's not like they knew that. Most of her old relations had no idea what she was up to and it suited her not seeing them ever again. 

But despite everything, the Dupain-Chengs she didn't consider herself one anymore did to her, they still didn't want her to dishonour their family even more so they made an arrangement with her and her Lycée.

She had to at least show up for the exams and any school functions and they would leave her alone to do as she pleased instead of sending her to a boarding school and well with all her responsibilities, she never really had a choice. 

Which brought her here - on the Gotham Field Trip. She really didn't know why they had even sent her here, they were only wasting their money and Sabine must have known that the chances of her meeting Bruce were high, especially since their activities were centered around Wayne Enterprises.

Today they were going to be assigned to one person they had to shadow all day - it was supposed to help them get some actual job experience. 

Marinette was chosen to shadow the CEO - how surprising - and it just so happened that today was one of the rare days Bruce Wayne was in the company so she would have the pleasure of helping both him and Tim depending on who needed her most - yay her. 

She was willing bet her future fashion empire that Bruce had orchestrated this in an attempt to get a chance to talk to her. 

However she had to admire that one good thing come out of this - Lila Rossi got served. 

Like she had mentioned it before, she didn't have anything to do with her past classmates except the bare minimum but it seemed even now the liar still felt threatened by her every time they met. And honestly, she couldn't care less except that wench was the reason her parents had turned against her and of course how could we forget the worse thing of all? That Lila Rossi was willingly working with Hawkmoth - a known terrorist. 

So the jobs had been announced and Lila has started her usual act and name dropping and oh there must have been a mistake, Timothy told me that I would be chosen to work with him since I'm already used to helping him. That had received a sharp look from the one delegating and a simple comment about Miss Rossi you are to report to our legal team, they have something prepared especially for you. Seeing Lie-La pale and shut up so yeah that had been the highlight of her day. 

But now, now she was most certainly going to be forced to speak to her father and she kind of wished that Lila had succeeded for once. 

Just as the lady she had grown to like was about to show her the way, her father magically appeared not really, she had seen him hiding in the shadows for the last five minutes and offered to guide her himself. 

As she predicted, he said nothing else, until they were in his office but once the doors were closed… 

"Mari-" He started to speak but then the doors banged open and a haggard looking Tim Drake stumbled in. 

"Nette, I heard I got you today. Thank fuck I didn't get one of the brats." He stumbled in on the couch, paying Bruce no mind and grinned at her. "Plus, I get sister bonding time so win-win for me."

Marinette looked from him to Bruce. "You have impeccable timing." She informed him. "So I'm going to make you coffee."

"You are an angel." He declared. "An absolute angel. Now I understand why Damian likes you so much."

Marinette laughed it off. "Damian likes me because I don't call him Demon Spawn Timbers."

"In my defense." He groaned. "He was a brat back then and now, well it's basically a nickname. Call it brother's privilege if you want. And he knows it."

Marinette smiled gently at him as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him and Bruce, and sat down drinking her own cup. "Does he know that?"

Tim blinked at her, a thoughtful expression taking place on his face. 

It lasted until he tasted the coffee, then it was replaced by awe. 

"This is so good, how is this so good, it's literally the same thing I drink everyday? Can you work for me permanently?"

She was amused and this conversation seemed to shock her father so it was a plus. "But Timmy, if I change my career how are you going to get your special MDC suits?"

That strangely made him go serious. 

"About that, I needed to talk to you." 

Marinette raised an eyebrow, this should be good. 

"What would you think if Wayne Enterprises becomes the main sponsor for MDC?" 

She leant back in her seat crossing her feet and took a long sip of her drink. 

"Now why would I agree to that?"

Tim looked surprised while she was careful to keep her own face carefully blank but he recovered quick enough and seemed to thrive on the challenge. 

Marinette could pinpoint the exact moment when he changed to his game face. "Why wouldn't you? This in the long term will benefit you especially when you decide to release your line or officially start your company."

"Who said anything about releasing a line? Right now I'm on a clientele only basis and the greatest thing about MDC right now is my anonymity. My business is flourishing and I'm on high demand, especially among celebrities so you can imagine the price I get for each of my works. Why would I want to change that?"

"While that is true, the novelty will eventually wash off. Your designs may be good enough for you to get some loyal customers but you won't be as you put it in high demand anymore. And I may have known you for only a while, but I doubt you haven't planned for the future."

Marinette could admit, she was a little impressed. "Also true, but I'm currently a millionaire and have more than enough money to launch a line by myself."

Tim opened his mouth to interrupt but she continues before he could.

"And yes, I do understand how accepting your offer will benefit me more but signing with you also means that will represent my brand and how can I - bearing my own interests in mind - accept knowing is publicly involved with Wayne Enterprises?"

He looked completely lost and Marinette was probably having more fun that she should with this. "I'm not sure I follow?"

"I mean that even if people don't outright state it, everyone knows that the Wayne finances and outfits the Gotham vigilantes."

"And your point is?" The poor boy was going to make her say it. 

"Your costumes are a fashion disaster Timmy, an eyesore if not a horror?" 

"They're not that bad!"

"Do not get me started on the first Robin's costume. Were you not in your right mind when you allowed it?" For the first time in the day, she spoke to Bruce. 

"Wait, you know?" She shot Tim a questioning look. Why hadn't told him, she figured it out? The boy just shrugged and she sighed. 

"It's not that difficult to figure out Bats. You and Mom literally met while you training in extreme martial arts and the way she described you doesn't match up with the idea the media has of you so I was already suspicious and then I met them and I saw them in costume, they have the same build and everything and their alibi was frankly terrible. Also the rate at which you take in kids matches with the appearance of each new Robin."

"When was the last time you got your IQ tested?" He demanded. 

Marinette elected to ignore that comment in favour of finishing her conversation with Tim. "So?"

"So if I get everyone to agree to a costume redesign by you, you'll sign?"

"I get to re-design and remake all of your costumes as well as become the go to for the family for all your events."

"That's a lot of conditions."

She shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "Those are my terms but if you'd like, you can consider the part about your costumes a favor to you sister so that she doesn't get a heart attack everytime she sees you suited up."

"I'll agree as long as you admit you're exaggerating."

Marinette gave him a deadpan look. "Have you ever seen the Red Hood helmet. I have nightmares about it."

He considered it. "Yeah okay that's fair. So should I start working on the papers?"

Marinette shook her head. "I'm going to rebrand once and for all once I'm 18 along with my face reveal."

"Rebrand, why?"

"Like you rightly pointed out two nights ago MDC stands for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Well I don't want to be a Dupain-Cheng for longer than I have to. I'll be changing my name hence the rebranding."

"Would you consider Wayne?" Bruce asked softly. Marinette paused. She had been considering taking Master Fu's name actually. "I don't know B."

"I'll leave you two to talk." Tim said slowly getting up and she would have protested but she could not run from this forever and the Kwami pressing against her leg seemed to agree. 

"Yeah just…" She took out her phone and send him a contact. "That's my lawyer, you can send her the papers to review. I'll talk to her about it."

Tim checked his phone and went slack jawed. "Elle Woods. Elle Woods is your lawyer." He threw his hands up in defeat. "I don't know why I'm still surprised at this point but I'm gonna ask, how did you get her to work for you?"

"She's one of my regulars. "

"Of course she is." Tim muttered. Marinette watched silently as he went to refill his cup of coffee but ended up taking the whole coffee machine with him and walked out of the door. 

Marinette turned to Bruce. She was not looking forward to this but she sighed and got up. "I'm supposed to be working so give me something to do."

"I thought you agreed we need to talk Marinette."

"I never agreed to anything." She reminded him. "But yes we'll talk." She pointed a finger at him. "While I work. So, give me something to do."

"You need this to be on your terms." He noted. 

"I know you've researched what happened. After having been stripped from my senses and having my will taken away from me, yes I do enjoy being in control." She dared him to say something. "So. Give. Me. Something. To. Do."

"You can arrange the paper on the desk. According to the project names, put it in alphabetical order with A being on top."

Marinette set to work without another word. Bruce took that as his cue to start speaking. 

"You know about Batman. The year I stopped talking to you was when when I was assumed dead-"

"Then why?" She cut in sharply. "Did Alfred not even deign inform me that my father was dead? Or what about after you came back?"

He stayed silent. 

"The truth B is that even before that you were speaking to me less and less. Your phone calls, rare as they were, were always so short I was never able to tell you what i wanted." She gave out a humorless laugh. "You know I used to be scared that you didn't want me. I mean why else would you keep me a secret from your other children? So I didn't complain because I didn't want to stop having the little time you even gave to me. Guess, I was right in the end."

"No." He stood up and came to stand in front of her. "Marinette sweetie, please believe me. I fell in love with you from the moment I saw you. I've never not wanted you but my lifestyle was always very dangerous but I never realised how much it really was until Jason died and then shortly after I returned Damian died. Every child of mine has been traumatized in some way by my enemies. I didn't want the same to happen to you. There are villains out there who know who I am. I got scared Marinette, distancing myself from you was me trying to protect you. I know - I know it doesn't excuse me not being there for you but you need to know I am so so sorry. Please let me make it up to you. "

Marinette felt the kwamis on her person press against her, offering their silent support. 

"I'm willing to try." She said at last, finishing arranging the last of the documents. She looked up at him and could basically read the hope in his expression. "But you need to give me space. I'm not coming to live in Gotham nor am I going to defer to you. I've built my own life, you're not going to interfere with in. You can be in it but you don't get to try and change things."

"Okay, okay I can work with that."

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Marinette offered him her hand to shake and he did shake it but right after, he pulled her in a hug. 

Bruce realized his mistake when Marinette stiffened up but she relaxed in his arms and she slowly, almost hesitantly clutched his shirt, like a small child holding their dad's shirt, trying to hide in his arms. 

And a father's heart broke all over again.

[thenewyorkghost]

Batfam Sorting

(Ok this includes other gotham characters)

Batfam:

Dick Grayson: Pukwudgie  Pukwudgie is for healers. And I think that perfectly fits Dick. He knows what makes each one of his loved ones tick and that level of understanding can be healing. He is a wonderful leader, not because he has a plan for everything like Batman, but because every one of his team members can trust him. He has a way of bringing people together. He is a person who is very in touch with the emotions of those around him, maybe not with his own at certain points, but he has built himself a good community that can heal him as well whenever he is down. He is someone who gives so much to those around him and loves very deeply that those around him become better people by being near him. 

Jason Todd: Wampus Jason Todd is most definitely a warrior, a survivor. He is someone who sees things how they are. Batman refuses to kill people and he thinks: if getting rid of this person will end up saving lives I’ll do what I have to do. And it doesn’t tarnish character, because he is logical and set in his ways. I think it shows how caring he is to those around him. He values their life so much so that he doesn’t care about the guilt or the mental strain he might put himself by killing a person. Although, in a recent comic, it showed a young Jason killing his friend’s dad, because he was being abusive or something, and he didn’t feel bad till he saw how it hurt his friend. He is just doing what he thinks has to be done. He is a very pragmatic, yet impulsive person. I think he has difficulty addressing his own emotions. He often rejects love directed at him or is just shocked by it, but over time he slowly accepts it more. And he’s always caring towards his loved ones in his own distinct way. 

Tim Drake: Horned Serpent The Horned Serpent represents the mind. When Cassandra Cain was pointing out what Dick, Jason, and Tim all fight with when she came to Tim she pointed to his mind. Tim doesn’t have the agility like Dick or the brute strength like Jason, but what he does have is a brilliant mind. He is quick thinking and very analytical. He is always one step ahead of others, not because he is physically fast but because he analyzes people and prepares for whatever they have in store for him. He knows his own limits and strengths and of those around him and that is how he is able to win the upper hand. He is not impulsive, but strategic and tactful. That is why when Damian, who is a trained assassin, went up against him the second time he lost. But his mind can at times also cause him to overthink things making him fail. 

Cassandra Cain: Wampus Cassandra Cain is extremely analytical and unbiased. She just sees everything as it is. So much so that she is capable of predicting what move people are going to make. All of her movements are second nature to her. Most of her life she wasn’t allowed to speak, but she had her eyes and used them to see the unsaid. When you’re able to see everything about someone you also see a lot of pain, so I think she has shown to be a very caring and understanding person. She’s not someone who pushes you to talk about your feelings, she just understands. And sometimes people just need someone who will just sit there with you and listen. Cassandra Cain is a warrior, but a very different kind of warrior. And even after everything she has been through, she continues to choose using her abilities for good. 

Duke Thomas: Wampus People sometimes just portray Duke Thomas as the straight man of the group, but he is someone who has this determination to him where nothing can ever get in his way. He is a straightforward person, but he isn’t the one person in the Batfam who Batman thinks is reasonable. If Batman lets Duke do whatever it is because he knows there is nothing he can ever do to stop him, so he constantly has to compromise. Dude literally jumped out of a moving car and a bridge, there’s no stopping him. He refuses to back down and, yes, it’s admirable, but I wouldn’t say it’s always reasonable. He radiates “I can do this all day” energy. Other than being a very driven character, he is also very passionate and confident. He is someone who has heart. He is a relaxed person that doesn’t plan for things, yet he is great in a crisis with his level of intellect, flexibility and spontaneity. He can be a tame person that knows how to prioritize- saving his spontaneity for a rainy day, then releasing that built up energy. Wampus is the house for people that just: do; therefore, I think he’d be best in this one. 

Damian Wayne: Pukwudgie While I think it’d be easy to just sort Damian into Wampus, because he’s literally an assassin, I think he definitely fits into Pukwudgie a billion times better. He was trained to be a weapon from birth, that doesn’t take love and encouragement. Before he met his dad he was sent on a mission to kill many people, once he was finished he was on his knees when a little animal came up to his face, kinda smiled at him, and then licked his nose. When that happened he began sobbing. This is where his love for animals began and I think it is because an animal was the first one to show love to him. Once he moved in with his dad and siblings and finally started seeing other people as his equals, we begin to see how he craves acceptance from those he cares about. We see how when he finds out that Tim has a plan in his computer for stopping Damian if he turns on them, really hurts his feelings. Anywho, when he first moved into the manor the only emotions he felt deeply was anger, but as time went on we see the range of his emotions. When he became friends with Jon both Batman and Nightwing pointed out how much happier and talkative he was. After Dick Grayson faked his death then came back, he ran into his arms and told him that he missed him. He is a more reserved person, but he forms strong emotional attachments to those he values. I think the older he gets the more he will be able to show how he feels about those around him. Pukwudgie is represented by the heart and all of Damian’s actions stem right from there. 

Extended Batfam:

Stephanie Brown: Thunderbird Stephanie Brown refuses to let herself be brought down by her misery. She’s an energetic and sassy person who makes quick connections with many people.  Though it doesn’t mean that they are deep connections. She is not someone that opens up really opens up about her private life, because she doesn’t know who to trust. Plus, the beginning of her life was really lonely. She seems to crave deep connections, while also loving action and risk. Her enthusiasm gets people to open up more. And she most definitely loves messing with literally everyone. It may seem like she can’t have close relations at first, but those develop gradually for her. One day you look back and realize ‘huh this girl is literally here every. single. day.’ Later in life this queen knows her worth and refuses to let anyone bring her down. Once she gets past all the anger built up from the pain caused by her father she becomes sure of herself. She is someone constantly trying to figure herself out or truly get to know herself. While at first I thought she fit perfectly into Thunderbird, because of her energy and love of thrill, but I think below the surface she cares more to be loved and to have that family. So, I don’t know, maybe she can go either Thunderbird or Pukwudgie. 

Barbara Gordon: Thunderbird I know that Barbara Gordon is a brilliant, tech-savvy individual who has a photographic memory. Yes, but I think her more defining characteristics are those that line up with the Thunderbird house. She is someone who cannot be tied down. From the very start she is this driven force to be reckoned with. Her whole life her defined by defying the expectations. She enjoys questioning everyone about their beliefs and is outspoken of her own. Before she became Batgirl she’d constantly argue with her father about becoming a detective. She’s very set on creating positive change in the world. She believes change is necessary and important. While she has a set moral compass it isn’t black and white. She is able to listen and work with people she does not agree. And her defining trait is that she is constantly pushing herself and never gives up. She’s a very grounded person and though she a force of change, she herself doesn’t change much. She grows a lot, but she is set with her core values from the very start. I think that makes her a reliable leader. 

Anyways, this is so difficult. I like hogwarts houses way better, bc it’s literally about what is most important to you. 

[edyacouky]

Journey to the Past (5/10)

What can I say except : I am sorry It's been month since I have the motivation to write again and I could find a way to write this chapter that make me happy. Until now ! Hope you will like it. Have a nice day.

                                                       ~*~

Since Bruce lost his son during this terrible attack three years ago, nothing in his life was the same.

How can it be?

Jason wasn’t there anymore at the breakfast. His favorite spot in the library is empty; no one dare sit on it since the King’s burst of anger once . His room became also a mausoleum. At first, each day some claimant came to him to demand the place of his son. Then once in a week. Now once in a few months.

But each time a part of him is destroyed when an investigation proves that they were just some liar, some from the poor, some were distant cousin of member of his own Council.

He punishes every person that act this way by malice, make sure the one they act because of some psychological trouble were taking care of.

After he lost Jason, he also had to deal with the horrible rumor about his older son, Dick. Everybody seems to give some credit to the rumor that Dick pays Joker to attack. And every time, he taken his defense people thinks that he is a stupid naive or that he is guilty too.

Not even six month later, the couple Drake, goods friends of him, dies too roughly. Their son, Tim Drake is also godson of Bruce, came to live in the Palace. Since the fortune of the Drake rival with the Royals Family’s, the Council was even shocked that the King “takes so long” to demand to adopt him. They know very well that now the Drake fortune belong to the Royal Family, to the “country” and they will do all they can so they can use this fortune like they want.

And if only it was the only thing that the Council waste.

Before the attack, Selina finally agree to marry Bruce. The Council gives their agreement because they realize that it was the only way to gain an heir that is biologically related to their King.

They have decided to hide it to Jason. He was so impatient about the diplomat mission, and they knew that Jason would have say in every way possible “I told you so”.

But after the attack, they were a mess and can’t imagine marry without Jason and his cocky grin with them, so they wanted to cancel it.

The Council refuses to accept that, they do make sure that everyone knew that this wedding was planned; they lie telling that everything was already paid; they spread rumor about Selina’s pregnancy. At the end, if they cancel or postpone the wedding th e n Selina’s carreer would be over and Bruce will lose many support.

So the wedding happened. But nobody of the Royal Family was happy, no one succeed catch a photo where they smile. Some of the Council suddenly fears that maybe it would bring bad luck. It was a relief for them when two years later; the little Princess Helena was born in good health.

But the Royal Family became even bigger when Bruce meet some kids at one of the Centers Jason helped to created.

Stephanie Brown, Harper and Cullen Row, and Duke Thomas.

Because of their origin, the Council didn’t even want them as pupil but they can only oppose to the adoption.

Despite everything that can help him to find peace and happiness, Bruce couldn’t forget his son, Jason. Neither he can forget his expression when he forces Jason to leave him, when they finally found each other in the mob, when he was getting shot and when Joker catches him.

These memories haunted him every hour of every day.

He found a way to endure it with alcohol. It was the only way he found to, not forget but, soothe the memories.

It would have become out of control if Alfred, Selina and Dick weren’t here. But he, that never loved to drink, still can’t help himself some time to time.

Another thing that changes is, since the King Wayne welcome Cassandra Cain in his family, first as a pupil then as a daughter, he becomes a regular of the Great Ballet.

Every time they do a spectacle, the Royal family attends it for the delight of Cassandra.

She wasn’t educated to understand the words and to express herself with them either. She was supposed to be a weapon. She learns to read the body of everyone around her to anticipate their action. So watch a story only tell by music and movement is perfect enjoyment for her.

She stills as many difficulties with her education as heir and learning of the protocol.

In fact if she doesn’t look exactly like the kind of young girl that a monarch of a neighboring country love despite the difference of forty years old, the Council would have refuse her adoption like they did for her others siblings.

Bruce is aware of their reason and even if he is against it, he doesn’t tell them ou t loud. For the moment this deviant monarch doesn’t dare make any proposition so it is easy to ignore Council plan.

Tonight, being in the show with his wife and children, it’s easy to forget the Council and his worries.

To ignore other’s worries.

                                                         ~*~

Roy and Jay still don’t really understand why Duchess Kate accept to arrange a meeting without asking them too much question.

No matter what Dinah wrote it must have been very persuasive.

Duchess Kate has decided to make the meeting the nigh of their arrival to Gotham.

At first, they were expecting to meet King Wayne before the show or be seated near him, but Duchess Kate contradicted them. They are seated in another lodge, hidden from King Wayne’s eyes, and she will bring Jay to him during the interval.

Everything was going too fast since they meet her. Jay can’t believe he will finally bring Damian to his father, that they may gain ally to rejoin Talia against Ra’s.

He should be happy, relieved, but the true will be known and he hasn’t any second to spoke with Roy alone. He is so anxious imagining all the way he may react when he will learn that Jay lie to him since the beginning and put his children in a danger bigger than he though.

He wants to come clean to him but doesn’t want to compromise Damian’s meeting with his father, neither his safety in case one of Ra’s spies is near them.

All this situation put his nerves in though test.

One of his legs keeps shaking since he is sitting and he destroys the poor program piece by piece.

At a moment, Roy takes his hand gently and smiles at him lovingly.

“Everything will be alright.” He reassures him

Jay takes a deep breath and look at Roy. Despite wanting to scam a Royal Family, this man is caring and kind and Jay doesn’t want to hurt him.

He has to come clean now, after it would be too late.

It may be too late now.

“I wasn’t honest with you. He whisper so Kate doesn’t hear them

-What do you mean?” Roy asks worried

Is that some kind of trap? A way to catch people wanting to scam the Royal Family. It’s the first thought of Roy but h e can’t believe that. It’s so absurd.

Maybe Jay lies about his feeling for him because he was worried that Roy may abandon him.

Roy feels bad to making Jay feel he have to lie to him about that. No means no. Roy can understand and accept that.

Of course the rejection will hurt but he can deal with that.

Roy prepare himself to assure Jay that he will accept only be a friend, if Jay agree to let him be.

But he doesn’t expect the next sentence of Jay.

“I lie about who I am. Jay say, now all his body is shaking and his headaches don’t help him

-I don’t understand.

-I …”

Jay swallow his saliva, licks his lips and take a deep breath.

And he explains everything.

He is heart broken when Roy let go his hand and when horror is see in his eyes when he realize to whom Jay and Dami … No! Prince Damian was hidden.

It was one thing for Roy to have to hide and protect his family against some rich family of 'Eth Alth'eban, but it is a completely another thing to hide and protect his family again the King Ra’s Al Ghul. One way or another Roy doesn’t have the choice but beg King Bruce to protect him.

All the affection he feels for Jay and Dami … Prince Damian turns into betray and rancor. How could Jay sacrifice Colin and Lian like that, not telling before the real risk of their adventure?

Before Roy could give to Jay a piece of his mind , the light turn on. It’s already the interval.

“Now it’s the time young man. Duchess Kate says standing up. It’s now or never.”

Jay stands to follow her but Roy catch his hand.

“How could you? He shivers with furry.

-I am so sorry . I promise. Jay whispers frankly. Just … All I did was for Damian. I’m sorry.”

Duchess Kate calls again Jay and this time he takes back his hand and follows her.

Roy wants to argue with him, ask him: “what now?”. Did Jay will tell that he play Roy to lie for the reward. It will doom him and his children.

He wants to run after Jay but then it would let the children alone. So he turns to the only person present that may be as guilty as Jay .

Dami.

Or is he Prince Damian?

                                                        ~*~

During the interval, Bruce isolates himself as his cousin Kate’s early demand.

She was pretty vague about what matter she wants to talk. But Bruce loves his cousin and always glad to see her.

And it gave him the opportunity to serve himself a glass.

He doesn’t look at the door when it opens. No matter what Duchess Kate wants, she won’t beat about the bush.

If she judges him for his glass, she doesn’t say.

“There is someone that has something to tell you. And you should listen him.”

Curiously now, Bruce looks at the unknown figure that approaches him.

“Maybe a spy who have information about one of his neighboring country.” He thinks taking a slip while Kate sit down and invite her guest to do the same.

Bruce stop counting long ago how many claimant come to him, so one more isn’t really a surprise or unusual. But it’s the first time one is brought by a close member family, and he can’t believe that his cousin would be that cruel.

The boy is young, but his Jason was just a boy during the attack.

The same smart green-blue eyes. There is a gleam that Bruce sees in his eyes but no recognition. Jason never looked at him like that.

“I’m listening, boy. What do you have to tell me?”

The same pointy nose still down as this boy doesn’t dare keep his head up.

The same pouty lips that answer to Bruce but says something he never anticipates.

“My companions and I did a long journey from 'Eth Alth'eban.

-Some came from far away from that.” Bruce retorts but his blood freezes in his veins

No news from 'Eth Alth'eban can be good. Not since a long time ago.

“I’m servant of my Princess Talia Al Ghul. I come here, following her order.”

Bruce inhale deeply while glancing at his cousin. But she stays impassible. At this game she can be better than him.

“What did your Mistress want from me?

-A few weeks ago, the men of my King Ra’s Al Ghul attacked the Azraq Palace. They attacked my Princess Talia Al Ghul.

-How is she now?

-I don’t know. I escaped without her and follow her last order since.

-And what is her last order? Bruce asks noting mentally to order to his spies to gain information about Talia’s situation

-To bring your son.”

Bruce could have jump for his seat, taking this young boy in his arms, imploring him to show him an indisputable proof that he is his Lost Son and so they can finally be together again.

“Which is also her son. Jay keeps saying without knowing what trouble perturbed Bruce. Damian Al Ghul. He did all this travel with me, avoiding as much as we could attack from men of Ra’s. And he is impatient to meet you.”

For a moment, Bruce is sure that he didn’t hear well what this man is.

It was clearly not what he was expected to hear tonight or ever day ever.

“For what I know, Bruce says coldly not being amused by this lie, Talia was pregnant only once. A girl stillborn…

-Ten years ago. Jay defends himself. Athanasia Al Ghul, twin sister of Damian. She is buried in Azraq Palace. Look, even if you don’t believe that Damian is related to you. He is to Princess Talia. And if you can accept him as a political exile despite your … tense relationship with my country …

-Did you know?”

This time Bruce doesn’t talk to the boy, he doesn’t even look at him. All his attention is on his cousin.

“Dinah and I had our suspicion when we saw the kid. But I didn’t expect that.

-Dinah is involved?

-She is the one who recommended them to me.” She answers giving him Dinah’s letter

He takes it and start reading it, pacing while doing so.

Jay doesn’t know how he suc c eeds explain calmly everything to the King.

He had such a shock when he saw him.

At first he doesn’t realize why. After all he saw picture of the King. He knew how he look like. Maybe it was seeing him in bones and flesh, Jay says to himself.

Then he realizes that the man in his dream on the boat was the King. Suddenly he remember the man of his dream being killed so violently in front of him.

Even knowing that everything wasn’t real, it doesn’t help the tumult of emotion clashing in his soul.

But he succeed say what he have to say and he is even surprise by their reaction.

Can’t believe they were so sure they were subtle and success to lie to this two ladies; then it seems like Dinah and Duchess Kate knew the real intention of Jay all along. And they accept to help him without hesitate.

It is too good to be true. Jay would love nothing more than to thankfully kiss their hand and promise to always be in debt with them.

But it is too good to be true. There must have so trap somewhere.

Jay tries to read Duchess Kate emotion to know if he had condemned his Prince or if his Princess was right to trust this King, but the way she looks at him is really frightening. She scrutinizes him, maybe waiting for him to make a mistake, maybe he already made a mistake and she wait for his punishment.

His head hurts so much.

He is glad that his Princess isn’t here to see him like that. She taken care of him, she educated him to being Damian’s Shadow for three years and now that he can prove himself, he doesn’t feel up to the scratch.

“Don’t you have anything more to tell me? Bruce finally says to Jay

-Well … If I may dare … Never Prince Damian or I would have come this far without Roy Harper and his children. If … you’re kind enough to accept Prince Damian as political exile, can you take them under your care too?

-Is that really all you have to tell me?” Bruce insist

Jason blushes furiously at what he thinks is an accusation.

“Neither the Prince and I are beggar. We don’t want your money or any title. We may face a difficult situation but my Prince will take back what is his and we will pay our debt.”

Bruce looks at him with a deep sadness but finally whispers:

“Go. Bring me your Prince and your friends.”

Jason nods and stands up, thanking the King and the Duchess before leaving.

And one time more during this meeting, Bruce’s heart is again broken.

The same untamable curly hair with the same tuft in the back as his head is throwing at Bruce’s face when Jay lets to bring back Damian, Roy, Colin and Lian

                                                       ~*~

Despite his anger, once Roy sees fear and anticipation as much as hope, he can’t bring himself to be mad at the kid.

Even if Jay was saying the true and that Dami is really the Prince Damian heir of the Al Ghul, he is still a ten years old boy that will met his father for the first time, days after he may have lost his mother forever.

And the kids hear what Jay told to Roy and now grill Dami … Damian so he have to explains to them the situation.

Colin decides that he should have know, because only a Prince could have such a broom stuck in their ass. Well not fair for Roy but he never consider himself as a prince so he says nothing.

Lian sights with disappointment telling Dami… Damian that he really doesn’t look much as the kind of prince that her books sell to her.

There is a little justice.

He tries to calm his anger, keeping saying to himself that he didn’t tell to Jay who Roy really is after all. And that he suppose, despite their … reciprocate attraction, they aren’t close. They were simply a mean to an end for each other.

He can force himself see the situation as far away as he can, as logical that possible, his heart doesn’t beat like it was before Jay’s revelation.

At a moment, he was dreaming that he and Jay could have something real and beautiful together. But he was just played along and now he is terrified about what could happen to his children.

What if Jay tell the real motivation of Roy to the fudging King of Gotham? What if Roy is imprisoned? What would happen to his children? They won’t be keep together, that’s for sure. They may never found a happy family that love that at least tenth as much as Roy loves them.

Sob are blocked in his throat. He keeps a reassuring smile to them, playing with their hair.

Should he leaves?

Abandon Dami … Prince Damian here. Take his kids away from this place. He takes care of them without any King’s money for three years. He can still do it.

But which doctor will agree treat Lian?

And King Ra’s men must already told him that Roy help Jay to escape him. He has no hope to have his family safe again now.

Roy jumps when he suddenly feels a hand on his shoulder.

Jay is back.

“The King want to meet all of us. Jay tells him then add more insecure, he knows how much you help us.”

So Jay didn’t tell the true, at least not all the true.

Roy start to breath again more easily. Maybe he still have a little luck after all.

He still refuses to acknowledge Jay’s tentative smile. He can’t forgive being play like that in a war against an enemy as dangerous as Ra’s Al Ghul. Now, there is nowhere on this world where they could be safe.

                                                           ~*~

Damian really doesn’t know what he should expect from his meeting with his father.

When he was old enough to realize that he should have a father, his mother answered him that he was dead long ago. So all Damian had his imagination to fill the void.

Then suddenly, his father is safe and sound. He is a king, the King of Gotham. He is the enemy of his family, but also the man his mother send to him for help.

This man that Damian never met had to compete a chimera that Damian created long ago. The father in his head is everything that was missing in his life, and if this father take some characteristic to Jay, Damian will never admit it.

In his heart, in his head, Damian know that he will be disappointed. How can he be different? He really just hope that he won’t be hurt that’s all. He really just hope that this man will help him find his mother.

When they enter in the room where the King and his cousin are, Damian let all the other enter before him even if it’s not really appropriate. He really needs some more minutes.

He heard the deep voice of the King greeting and thanking Roy and his children with some kindness, even if he seems on the edge.

Damian thinks of a million of things he could say to his father. First impression matter.

But when he is finally in front of him.

When he have to deal with deep blue eyes full of surprise and suspicion, Damian couldn’t think even to save his life.

“Father, I imagine you taller.”

Thankfully his voice is neutral.

He could have bear if it has broke with all the emotion he feels right now.

If the man was the father Damian liked to imagine, no doubt Damian would have broke in tears right now and throw himself in their arms. But this man isn’t.

Roy and Jay exchange a look, unsure about the way they should react.

Duchess Kate, with Colin and Lian, laughs with delight.

“I told you, didn’t I? No need of some DNA test with him, he is definitely your and Talia’s spitting image.

-The similarity are truly impressive.” The King admit with a smirk visibly not annoyed by Damian’s remark.

He invites everyone to sit down, he makes Damian sit right next to him and ask them all to explain what happen.

They talk during all the second act. Kate has to leave them to inform the Royal Family that Bruce won’t come back anytime soon.

Hearing about the Royal Family provokes in Damian some uneasy feeling. This people are his family after all, but he can’t help seeing them as stranger, as enemy of his real family. But he needs his father’s support, a man he was learned to hate, so he tries as best as he can to hide the discomfort he had to heard about people he can’t help himself but despise more than anything.

Why his mother decide that this people are the good people to help them is beyond Damian’s comprehension. But his mother is a smart woman that is rarely wrong so he trust her and give her plan a chance.

It won’t be that hard to find another ally if the Wayne prove to be unworthy ally, Damian though without a doubt.

Facing now Bruce is really hard for Roy, especially because of the languish look he keeps sending to Jay. Obviously, he can’t help but hope that Jay is Jason.

Roy can’t remember which justification he choose to exploit the man’s pain. Nothing can explain or justify why Roy decide to reopen the wound of a father. Roy can imagine too well how Bruce must feel. And just for some money, Roy prevent the man to grieve and purposely hurt him with hope.

Maybe Roy deserve some punishment after all.

“Some verification would be made of course. Especially to be sure there is a need for my country to help Princess Talia. The King finally says. In the meantime, you will all be staying at the Summer Castle away from the Council and the press until a decision is made.”

J ay and Damian want to argue that they don’t have the time for that.

But the door violently open cut them.

“Selina wait! Duchess Kate calls in the background. You didn’t let me explain …

-Kate just told me you found your son.” The Queen says to the King

Jay want to cry. This woman was in his dream too. She was the woman that called him …

“Kitten.” She sights coming near him with a palpable eagerness, tears in her eyes as she caress Jay’s cheeks

Jay wants to tell her that she is wrong. But the adoration in her eyes, her joy, it makes Jay cry uncontrollably.

He’s so ashamed of his behavior, never Talia would have make him Shadow of her son if she knew how weak he really is.

Firmly but gently, Bruce takes his wife in his arms. He is shaken with emotion too but forces himself to stay imperturbable.

“Selina, you know that I had a romantic relationship with Talia Al Ghul.” He says

She nods with confusion clear in her eyes.

What does it have to do with this miracle?

“This is her son. Bruce adds showing her Damian. This is my son, Damian.”

If at first, Selina wasn’t really listening, wanting only looking at her Kitten, the comprehension darken her face.

“Oh.”

There is a long silence when Kate forces Jay to go out so he can calm down under her supervision.

Suddenly, Selina forces a laugh to leave her throat.

“How can I be so stupid? She jokes and then really look at Damian. He is your spitting image. I should have know right away. What kind of first impression did I make?

-Selina …”

Selina doesn’t let Bruce pamper her more. She leaves his arms and asks where Talia is, saying she doesn’t remember they were supposed to meet with the Al Ghul anytime soon.

Bruce keeping his voice low explain everything to Selina.

“Oh, Dear! You hate surprise so much. But you have to admit with one is a good one. So we will go to the Summer Castle. I have to make some preparation but I’m sure we can all be here in a few days.

-You don’t have to …

-What are you telling me here? Don’t you think that I and the kids don’t want to know more about Damian? And we have to properly congratulate Prince Harper, his children and the poor boy I didn’t ask his name, for bring him to us. Alfred will agree with me.

-I suppose.

-Good. I will see you in a few days, I suppose you will leave immediately with them.

-Indeed.

-Well since we agree. I will leave you and inform the children.”

As sudden as she appears she leaves.

She ignores the young boy that dry his tears. She can’t acknowledge him now, even if she knows she must apologies.

Something in his eyes make her believe that …

But who care about that?

She need to inform the family not only of Damian but also prepare himself seeing someone looking exactly like their Jason.

Oh! But how are we suppose to be prepare to something as painful as that?

Away of the dark though of Selina, Damian looks at Roy with perplexity.

“Wait. Does she just call you Prince Harper?”

[mydeardeath]

Ineluctable (4/4)

This was written almost two years after chaper 3 so it’s not quite the end I had first thought of. Not beta read, so sorry for the mistakes 

                                           ___________

Their search for Damian didn't last long. The following morning his name was all over the newspapers along with the word "Omega" written in capital letter. The title was simple but it was sure to sell. Tim had been stuck in traffic on his way to work when he had seen it. He had stopped in the middle of the road and gotten out, ignoring the cries and the honking to take one of the papers. The fact that Damian's true cast had been discovered was concerning enough on itself but that not what drew Tim's attention. There was more horrifying that Damian's secret being exposed to the whole world.

Ra's had Damian.

The paper showed a picture of Ra's Al Ghul, a "protective" arm slung around his grandson's shoulders. He had presented himself to the Hong Kong's authorities as a concerned grandfather looking out for his omega grandson who was traveling alone with an unmated alpha. Once he had been confirmed that Damian was indeed an Omega he had been put into Ra's care. Cassandra Cain, the unmated alpha that had been traveling with him had been put under arrest to be investigated as well as the whole Wayne family for not only lying about one's cast but also for failing to provide the "protection and education that all Omegas shall receive". Thus, until the investigation was completed, Damian Wayne would remain under his grandfather's care, who had been granted temporary guardianship. 

Ra's told himself appalled by Bruce Wayne's actions and swore he would bring proper care for the Omega. That would cause such a scandal. Bruce and Tim would have to step down from their position in WE. Their funds would probably be blocked during the investigation. But they would need a really good lawyer to win the trial. They were sure they would be one. Ra's had played it smart by making it public. They couldn't just go and retrieve Damian now. Tim felt stupid for not seeing it coming. Of course, Ra's would get involved. This was a golden opportunity.

Tim's hands were clenching hard on the papers and he was brought back to reality by the news-seller yelling at him about reading the papers without buying it. He tossed him a bill and got back into his car. There was no need to go to work today. He needed to get back at the manor before the police came looking for them. It was surprising they hadn't woke then up in the middle of the night. But relations weren't that good between the US and China. Small mercies.

***

Alfred was already opening the door as Tim's car pulled up in front of the Manor. His face was somber. He already knew, had probably heard the news when he was preparing breakfast for the rest of the family. So the others probably knew too.

Alfred led him to the living room. Bruce was standing in a corner of the room while Jason and Dick were sitting on a sofa, close but not quite touching. Dick had come back as soon as he had heard that Damian had disappeared and Jason was soon to follow. As an omega himself, he understood why Damian had kept secret about his cast. People coming from the dead weren't that weird nowadays with all the metas and aliens. Jason could have easily got his identity back. But he would be trapped again, never really free because of his caste. He was far better off with being officially dead.

None of them could hide their worry, not even Bruce. It was his younger son that was concerned after all. And this wasn't anything mission's related. He didn't want to admit it out loud before his sons, but he had doubts. He wasn't sure he could win this. Not his usual way of thinking, but he had no emergency plans for one of his sons being an Omega. He had never thought Damian was one. He was surprised Talia had lied about it. At first, it made sense. She wanted Damian to inherit her father's empire. So she couldn't have him be an Omega. But she could have easily sold him out once he had turned his back on her to stay with her father. She had disowned him. Yet, she remained silent about his true caste. No matter all she had done, she had protected their son from that. So despite all that had happened between them, he felt afraid of what Ra's might do to her for lying to him all of this time. She was not a good person but she didn't deserve to pay for protecting Damian. So Bruce would not only have to make sure that he got Damian back quickly but that Talia was safe as well.

Bruce remained silent for a few minutes after Tim had joined them. He didn't know where to start. He had no plans forming up in his mind. He was unable to come up with anything. He loved Gotham and his country but he knew its flaws. He knew how Omegas were regarded. There had been some progress in people's minds but laws were slow to follow. Omegas still needed a guardian even after hitting 18. They were always under someone's authority, may it be a parent or a mate. And regarding the law, Bruce had failed as a parent.

"So what's the plan, B?" Jason put him out of his thoughts.

Bruce had now the attention of his sons. They all had tried to think of something and were as lost as he was. They looked at him with various ranges of despair, waiting for him to spell out a plan of action. Anything to reassure. To show them that Damian wasn't lost to them, that they would get him back.

"I..." Bruce started, not knowing what to say to them.

At the same moment, Alfred came into the room followed by Jim Gordon.

"Commissioner," Bruce greeted him, straightening suddenly to face the newcomer.

"Misters Wayne," he replied, trying to smile at them but they could see he was tense.

"What bring you here, commissioner ?" Tim asked.

"Damian Wayne," Jim said simply to no one's surprise. "The state has chosen to press charges against your family for housing an undeclared Omega as well as registering said Omega as a Beta in front of the law."

It was clear in his tone that the man didn't like that more than they did. But he did not have any other choice than to enforce the law no matter how bad it was.

"We understand Commissioner, but I would like to point out that as Damian's father that the sole responsibility of..."

"There is no need for that, Bruce. Lying to a representative of the law would bring no good in our current situation."

"Tim..." Bruce tried to interject, no understanding what Tim was getting at.

"Truth is, Commissioner, that Damian is my mate, but as he was ten when he arrived in the family I couldn't bring myself to declare it. I ask them to say nothing until Damian was of age as I did not wish to be tied in this way to a child.”

They all froze at Tim's declaration. They had not expected him to declare Damian as his own. But they all could guess why he had done so. They had all come to the same conclusion: they would lose a trial. Bruce may be Damian's father but Ra's was also family. And he had law and public opinion on his side. Well, maybe that last wasn't entirely true. Omega's right defenders would side with Bruce, but the judges of Gotham were old and conservative folks. That wouldn't win them a trial. The only thing stronger than Ra's claim of guardianship over Damian was a mate claim. Tim claiming Damian as his Omega was the only way of getting him away from Ra's.  So, while they were all trying to think of some kind of plan, Tim had resigned himself to that. He knew it was for the best but he still felt bad for putting Damian in a situation he wouldn't like.

They all still had to follow the commissioner back to the station to give their statements. Well, with the exceptions of Jason, of course. He was still official dead so no charges were pressed against him. He watched them all walk out of the manor, including Alfred. He went straight to the job as the door closed. They all had some knowledge of laws but it wouldn't hurt to get back to the laws about Omega and pack's rights. And it made him felt at least a bit useful and kept him from going crazy while waiting for the others.

***

Damian stared blankly at the wall while Ra's servants busied themself preparing him. He had had no other choice but to follow his grandfather. He had waited until they were out of Hong Kong's authorities' view to try to escape. He was still pretty weak, his heat not quite over even if the worst had passed. But despite his weakened strength, he had put up quite the fight. That's it until his grandfather had pressed his teeth to his neck. Damian had gone slack, trying to put some distance between himself and the teeth.

"Keep fighting and I'll bite. You little Omega slut will be bond to me and you will never be able to be with anyone else." His grandfather had said. Damian had tried to relax his whole body and put his head down to show submission. The idea of being claimed his own grandfather completely disgusted him. He knew that the old man was capable of it. "If you try to escape again, I'll sell you off to the more offering." He had added while finally letting go of Damian.

After that Damian had made no other attempt at escaping. He wouldn't take the risk of being mated. Once you were bitten, your body would accept the person claiming. He had heard many stories of Omega getting claimed and then being stuck with their aggressor. But being claimed didn't force love so the bond often remained one-sided. Sometimes Alpha remained unclaimed but took several Omegas.

Truth is the bond could be broken with time and your body could accept somebody else. But few Omegas managed to get away long enough for that. And even when they managed it, if the claim had been made official then you were fucked. Officially, you would still belong to your first mate and the state would recognize no others (except if said mate was dead since an Omega 'needed' an Alpha to take care of them). Few Alphas would accept an Omega that had been bonded anyway. They would be regarded as outcasts. Most would end up selling their body on the street, the only place that accepted them.

That was not a fate Damian wished to share. So the boy laid still while the servants cleaned him. He didn't even move when they started waxing him. He showed absolutely no reaction when they pampered him to make him look like a "good omega". It went every instinct he had. But he couldn't risk angering his grandfather. He had no doubt that the man was preparing something for him but whatever it was, he was safe for now. Well, as safe as he could be in this place. The only thing he could do now was hope that his father would come to rescue him. He hated having to rely entirely on someone else, to have no control whatsoever over the situation. That's what he had tried to avoid most of his life.

But he could still have some sort of control. Once they had been done taking care of his skin, they had dressed him in traditional, covering most of his body. Unmated Omega shouldn't show too much to preserve their virtue. One of the servants had forgotten a needle, that Damian had discreetly hidden in his sleeve. It wasn't a knife but he could do the job in Damian's hand. Not to attack them and escape. No, there were far too many people and his clothing didn't allow much movement. But if it came to that, he'd rather take his own life than live as someone's bitch. Death would be better than be forever the slave of some Alpha Ra's had chosen for him.

***

Tim was released from the station three hours after they had been brought in. He hadn't seen the others since then. They had all been escorted to different interrogation rooms and the man that had questioned him had refused to tell him anything. The police officer had made a few snide comments about his failure as an Alpha for not mating his Omega. He had not seemed to understand what was the problem of Damian being 10 when they had met. Which was frankly disgusting. He would need to watch that one, Tim imagined he could be involved in some unsavory dealings.

He was escorted to his apartment by another officer, a Beta this time, that didn't utter a word to Tim until they reach their destination and informed him that he was not to leave the state while the investigation was still ongoing and to remain available for further questioning. Tim nodded and left the car under the watchful eyes of the officer. He walked calmly to the front door. Once it had shut behind him, he went straight to his own "cave". He turned on his computer and sent a message to the others, including Steph and Barbara. Less than a minute later, he received a response from the later. She added him to their discussion channel. They were already here. He must have been the last to be released.

"How did your interrogation went, Tim?" Bruce asked

"As well as you can imagine." Tim grimaced. I hadn't gone bad per se. He had said nothing that could compromise them much than they already were. He basically only had to bear their sexist remarks. "They wouldn't tell me what happened to Cass though."

"Cass is well. They're sending her back to America as we speak. Gotham won the right to have the trial even though she was arrested in Hong Kong. She will be authorized to remain with me at the Manor since she doesn't have an apartment of her own ('officially', it went unsaid)," Bruce informed him.

"What about Damian? They didn't tell me more either."

Bruce sighed, "Jim promised he would try to make sure he would be present to the trial. But we don't know if Ra's will aggry to it."

"He will" Tim was sure of it. "He wants his victory to be public. He's enjoying making us watch while we can do nothing."

"We are doing something" Jason spoke up for the first time since Tim had joined in.

"Are we? I don't remember coming up with a plan this morning. And since we all admitted that we lied, the trial will happen shortly from here. We won't have much time to prepare."

"We don't need to prepare. The only thing that will win us the fight is you. You claiming to be Damian's Alpha this morning is the best shot we have."

Tim was about to reply but Jason interrupted him.

"I know. I don't like it either. I'm an Omega, remember? I would never wish to be in Damian's position. But as much as I hate it, it's better than having Damian trap with Ra's." Jason paused. "You can't be much worse than the Alphas Ra's had in mind, Replacement." He joked half-heartedly. Tim gave him a small smile. But it didn't reach his eyes. He was feeling sick. He had still hoped that one of them would come with a better idea but they all remained silent after Jason had said his part.

As there was nothing else they could while they waited, Tim bid them goodbye and turned off his computer. He stared for a while after he had turned black. He was lost with what to do. He couldn't go to WE to distract himself with loads of paperwork and it was far too soon to go patrol. Which they wouldn't probably do for the next days anyway. They couldn't risk getting injured when they were supposed to stay at home and wait for the trial. Jason and Steph would have to do without him until it was over.

Tim was pulled out of his thoughts by his phone. He tried to ignore it but he kept ringing for five minutes straight. As it didn't seem it would stop soon, Tim resolved to take the call. He grimaced when he saw the name but still pressed the button.

"Hey Tam," he greeted her weakly.

"I heard about Damian," she went straight to the point.

"Yeah, it's..." complicated, fucked up? She had met Ra's so she already knew how bad the situation was.

"How are you feeling, Tim?" She asked, unexpectedly. He had thought she would talk about WE. It was her job after all.

"I might throw up soon," he answered honestly. "He's..."

"I'm sure he will be alright, Tim. You've beaten Ra's in the past. You'll do it once more" she tried to encourage him. And he could tell that she really believe it. It was sweet but she was wrong. He wouldn't be able to save Damian this time. But he didn't tell her that. He needed someone optimistic right now. It was refreshing when he felt like his entire world was falling apart. It's not just Damian that would be trapped if he had to claim him. He was the one who had said it, but it meant that he too would need to abandon the idea of finding someone. He wouldn't force a one-sided bond on Damian to go find someone else for himself as other Alphas did. They would be both condemned to never truly mate with anyone. So he kept talking to Tam and let her hopeful words wash over him.

***

Flashes assaulted him as soon as he got at out of the car. Journalists were yelling to try to get his attention, their words unintelligible. He hadn't spoken to anyone in over a week. The servants were not authorized to talk to him and Ra's had not come to see him since the first day. So he had spent the last days locked in a golden cage. He was treated like a prince. He had expected to be locked away in a cell. But the servants and the place they were staying at didn't look like it belonged to the league. Ra's probably wanted people to testify of how good he was treating the Omega and why he should keep taking care of him. Being suddenly crowded by so many people made him feel dizzy. But he took it upon himself to show no sign of distress. He wouldn't give his grandfather the pleasure of seeing him weak.

Ra's escorted him to the courtroom, a hand in his back as if to make sure he wouldn't try to run away. Which would be incredibly stupid in front of the journalists and police officers that had their eyes on him. Stupid and completely useless. Even if he managed to escape, he would be hunted down. He could hide, he didn't doubt that. They would maybe even forget about him in a decade or so. Damian could go live anywhere under a new identity. But Damian wasn't ready to give up his actual life. He was past wanting everyone to know he was the true son of Bruce Wayne. He had actually come to care about the family. Not just his father and Dick. But all of them. He couldn't imagine having to live without them all. Having to live all alone. That's why he had tried to antagonize them. Getting attached was a weakness. And here he was, unable to live them all behind. Ready to be treated like all known Omegas were treated, just to stay with them. He hated himself for that.

Once they entered the room, his eyes fell on his family. Bruce was seated beside Tim and Alfred while Dick was in the next row with Barbara and Cassandra. Steph was not officially part of the family and Jason was still supposed to be dead so they couldn't be there since the trial would happen in closed doors. Damian was thankful that reporters were not allowed inside. It was enough that his secret was now exposed to the whole world, no need to have them present while his fate was decided. They all turned to him when he entered and he could see that his father wanted to cross the room to meet him but they couldn't do that. He tried to smile at them, try to reassure them but he was pretty sure he failed to be convincing. But they were no better. The situation was hard for everyone. Damian wanted nothing more than for it to be over but dreaded what would come to the end at the same time.

Ra's led him to the opposite side of the room where Ra's lawyer was waiting for them. They started speaking to each other in low voices and Damian didn't bother trying to understand what they were saying. The trial would soon begin so whatever they had prepared didn't matter. He just had to hope that his father had thought of something.

Ten minutes after Damian had sitten down, the judge came in and the room fell silent. Ra's side started as they were the accusation. They repeated what they had already told the press about Damian being an Omega and being hidden by his father for years. They showed that Bruce Wayne had declared him to be a Beta and deliberately lied to the state. Ra's brought up evidence of the proper care he could provide for his grandson. None of what was said was a surprise. The only thing that was uncertain was the defense his father would come up with. But instead of his father standing up to talk, it was Tim that came forward. Damian's eyes opened wide. No. That couldn't be it. That wasn't happening. He tensed as soon as the other man started speaking. He could barely hear anything with all the blood rushing to his ear. He fell as if he could not breathe anymore. He knew very well what Tim must be saying. There was only one reason for him to speak up instead of his father. Had Damian been a bit less terrified of Tim claiming him, he could have enjoyed the look on Ra's face. The man had not seen that coming in the slightest. How could he have? Damian knew about Tim but still hadn't expected it to be brought up. He guessed he should have. They didn't have much to go with to win in court.

Damian finally calmed down when he noticed that Tim had stopped speaking. In fact, nobody else was saying anything. Tim was still standing but his eyes were fixed to the door, a look surprise on his face. Damian was as shocked when he turned to see what was happening. He couldn't believe she was here. He had thought she would remain in hiding in fear of Ra's wrath. But no, Talia Al Ghul was standing in the room, her head held high and her eyes unwavering. Damian felt like crying. He had barely spoken to his mother in years and yet she had come for him.

"Sorry to interrupt you like that but I was informed very belatedly of what was happening. Which I find shocking as Damian's mother." Talia spoke strongly, even daring to look right at her father. "I raised Damian in my father's home until he was 10. He presented under my care. I have the document that proved that I was the one to declare his caste. He was my choice and not his father's to do so. In fact, I never informed him of the truth."

"When you are saying your father's home, who are you talking about exactly, Mrs ?"

"I am Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra's Al Ghul."

She was convincing. How could she not be when she only said the truth. She had been living at her father's home. He just happened to no really be alive when he had presented. Not that Ra's could tell that to the judge. Plus, her presenting a document that showed she had been the one to declare Damian as a Beta brought up the question of the origin of the document Ra's had shown to the judge to incriminate Bruce. He didn't put him in a good position to have forced said document and lied in court. If the man hadn't intended to track Talia down before, he sure would now. Damian couldn't fathom why she would do such a thing.

The judge asked his mother a few more questions before the jury left the room to deliberate. He saw his father briefly take his mother's hand at the corner of his eyes, showing her his gratitude for going against Ra's to protect Damian. Ra's was throwing them murderous looks, failing to remain cool and hide his reactions.

After only 20 minutes of debate, the jury came back "After deliberation we came to the conclusion that Damian Wayne could not remain in his grandfather's care as we can not be sure of his honesty." Damian felt relieved at that but it was short-lived. "But we cannot either put him back in his mother or father's care as they both failed to bring him the education an Omega needs. We all agreed that he would be better with Timothy Drake, his mate. Once they have claimed each other, Damian Wayne his free to go home." Damian's eyes fell to the floor. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore but didn't want anyone to see. He tensed when hands grabbed him.

"It's me, Damian. Let's go take a little walk while arrangements are made," his mother muttered in his ears.

He let him guide him out of the room. They didn't go far and guards remain not too far from them to make sure they wouldn't flee. They sat down on a bench, his mother's hand still of him. For long they didn't say anything, his mother waiting for him to calm down.

"That's what I had been trying to avoid since you presented. I knew how my father would react. I know how he regards the like of us." She sighed.

"What? What do you mean, the "like of us"?" Damian was looking at his mother as if he was seeing for the first time. Could she be?

"Draw up your own conclusions Damian. I won't confirm anything." His mother had been really great at hiding that part of her. He guessed nobody had ever known (or lived after knowing) that she was an Omega.

"What will do now ?" He asked curious and worried.

"That not for you to worry, you will have enough of your own."

"Why ?" He finally asked what he truly wanted to know.

She looked straight at him "I resented you for choosing your father over me for a long time. But I spent my life fearing what Ra's would do to me if he knew. I have imagined so many things. And imagining you going through that. No, I couldn't do nothing. I guess we both failed to not get attached. But now if you don't mind, I would like to get a headstart on Ra's." He nodded while she got up.

"Mother," he called when she was leaving, "Thank you." And with that, she was gone.

He stayed alone on the bench until Dick came up to him with Barbara. His brother gave him a big hug and for once Damian didn't try to pull him off him but loosened in his arms. His mother's comforting hand had been nice but he had needed more. Dick didn't ask how he felt. He did not need to do that. He knew Damian and he wasn't stupid. He just tried to show Damian that he would be here for him. They were interrupted by the guards. It was time.

***

The ceremony was very formal. They mostly just signed paper. Then comes the bite. It feels weird touching Tim. He had avoided physical contact with Tim as much as possible over the year. The few times they had touched had not been intimate in any way, mostly to tend to injuries. And it's the first time they touch with Damian not wearing sent blockers. He doesn't count the time that brought them here considering he was completely out of it and doesn't remember it clearly. Damian had started trembling when Tim had lowered his head to bring his teeth to his neck and the man had stopped moving. Tim couldn't bring himself to do it when Damian was this distressed. So Damian had brought himself to do it first so it would be over quickly. He had put his hands on Tim's shoulders and the man had tipped his head to bare his neck. Damian didn't let himself time to think and just sank his teeth into the flesh. It barely lasted a second but Damian felt overwhelmed. His body was starting to respond to the Alpha in front of him. He bared his own neck, unable to control it. Tim's bite was just as brief as his own. And yet this act had sealed their union. They had claimed each other. Damian closed his eyes and let the Alpha pheromones washed over him to keep him calm. He didn't want to have a panic attack in front of everyone. Plus he better get used to it. It was his life now.

[milas-imaginarium]

Cadenza; witchcraft  /Jason Todd x Reader/

I'm writing as much as I can since I'm inspired, I guess is the Jason effect. Here is part three, I said this is a short story but...Not as short as you may think!

WARNINGS: Smut and swearing that's all! 

ººº 

PART ONE  PART TWO

Gotham's East End

Four months after Mia's graduation

The first traces of a sunny morning came across the curtains, a soft and warm sunbeam caressed her face gently lighting up that smooth skin she had. His lashes waved as she opened her lazy eyes, oh...It was morning already and Mia was not ready for a new day, not since last night. 

"Morning babe," said Jason with that sexy hoarsely voice while strengthening the grip he had in his fiancee's waist "Morning, Jay" answered Mia moving her body to face Jason's. His hair was messy, his cheeks flushed, eyes incredibly light blue, one of Jason's features Mia loved the most was the fact his color eye changed, sometimes that blue was deep, dark, sometimes clear, sometimes even with a green trace "What? Do I look that bad?" Asked Jason catching Mia's attention, she smiled and got close to kiss his soft lips. 

"You know I love your sleeping being with all my might." Her voice was lower than usual, her throat ached the same as the rest of her body, arms, legs, and in between them. Jason was a fucking savage and she loved that. "I gotta go, bae, the interview is today" Jason didn't move, Mia smiled playfully outlining a line in Jason's shirtless backbone "If you intend to get out of bed...You're doing terrible. I'm not letting you go."

Jason never believed in love stories and it wasn't his fault, her mom and dad were not the best examples of a healthy relationship "I don't want to be late but...How I'm supposed to leave you like this? All hot, naked and horny"  as a teenager the only thing in his mind was his life as Robin until he met Mia until he saw himself looking forward to a new concert, a visit from her, a call, a message. "How do you know I'm horny?" Mia proved that being alone or expect a shitty relationship were not his only options "Oh, baby, I don't know...I feel it." 

Mia rubbed her tight against Jason's cock gaining a groan from him  "Quickie?" and that question in that husky voice was enough. "I'm sore from last night...But hell, I want you so bad." Without hesitation, Jason took Mia's lips in his on a passionate kiss as she positioned on top of him. "You want what, babe? Tell me." Not able to answer or speak, Mia let Jason's dick slide inside her slowly "I want this, fuck Jay, yes.”

"Ride me, babe. Show me how much you like my cock..." Jason slapped Mia's ass enjoying his fiancee movements, it was hard for him not to lose composure when her body looked so hot; breasts bouncing deliciously, her lips parted and that sweet voice calling his name "Ah, shit...How can you be so damned hot?" murmured Mia before kissing him twisting her tongue with his in a delightful dance.  Three years of relationship and the only thing that was different, besides Jason well build body, was the sex...Now dirtier. 

ººº

"Are you okay Mia? It's fine if you're nervous, I'm capable of control this situation and handle the interview," Said the youngest Wayne full of confidence, Mia tilted her hear, at the instant, her hair followed the gravity cascading in her shoulder.

"Dami, I'm not nervous...What are you talking about?" uttered mia walking inside Channel 9 building, the paparazzi blinded her for an instant.

"You're walking strangely, it's clear from your posture that you didn't want to be here." 

"Hey...I'm well prepared for this interview, you know I'm the face of some projects in Wayne foundation" She explained with a smirk. "And yes, sometimes I prefer to linger with your brother instead of doing this whole-"

"Don't say it, if you were with Todd I understand why your body language is so...Incorrect." 

"Oh, shut up wise guy." Mia punched Damian's arm softly "The time when you find someone special is getting close, that day your body language will be...Incorrect too, or maybe your partner's, yeah, more accurate."  

And with a satisfied giggle for a flushed Damian, Mia went to studio 7. The interview's main objective was to promote some charity events in more than five countries to support families in need, Damian was there to explain some other things related to Wayne commitment with education and as a representation rather of Bruce.

"Our followers in Gotham...and some in Metropolis are asking something. Do you mind to answer, Mia? " The young woman holding a phone looked at her with hopeful eyes. The interview was successful until that point both Damian and Mia were public figures, they were conscious and tried their best to focus on the main topic; Wayne foundation but since the show structure included a big influence of digital media all kind of questions popped out. After Mia nodded the reporter grinned. 

"You and Jason Todd are as followers describe, a power couple. In the last weeks, some photos caught people attention, a ring in your right hand!" unconsciously Mia glanced at her ring "That one, yes. It means...Some wedding bells? Some followers are talking about a new little Wayne in the family, is that true?" 

Mia sighed and immediately place a hand in Damian's, a soft touch for him to relax, something that triggered the little demon inside him was strangers trying to put their noses in his family privacy "What an imagination, people. I see so much detective potential out there." Mia was annoyed and was far from being shy "Don't wast it in cheep gossip like this." Her smile was wide but she wasn't happy at all, Damian was pretty proud in fact "Now if you're curious don't lose that curiosity, it makes this life spicier. The meaning of this ring will remain a mystery."

"But what is not a Mystery is how to apply for a Wayne scholarship, education will help to focus your hidden talents to benefit your community." Damian put the cherry on top and the look in the young reporter's face reflected what everybody in the studio though, not exactly happy thoughts at all. 

ººº

"Miss de la Fuente, are you okay?" asked the gentle butler with eyes locked in Mia's face. 

"Call me by my name and yes" Mia paused rolling her eyes from the phone to Alfred's face "I'm distracted and you know? The interview was..."

"Odd" Added the youngest Wayne. Mia nodded and the old man smiled shortly he enjoyed the interview feeling proud of how both of them handled the situation, however, Mia was not distracted, she wasn't thinking in the interview, the journalist or even in the foundation, no, her mind was far away from that bus. 

Eyes locked again in the bright screen while something grew inside her; she was about to jump into a cliff, her decision would change her future for one...Darker.

"Where are you? I have it already." 

"I'm with Jay's family. " Mia gazed Alfred and  Damian who was reading "I'll go wherever you're to get it and Timmy...Thanks." 

One hour later

"I know you have your suspicions but I don't think this is a good idea." Said Tim slurping his iced coffee while drawing some lines on the old book's cover.

"What if I lost him?" with watery eyes Mia spoke "And perhaps I'm not doing this only for him but for me"

"If what your mother told you is true...You should be careful"

Mia kept silent waiting for his friend to tell something else but he didn't, he just placed a hand on her shoulder supportively. 

"Maybe not, maybe yes. What is important is that this book can help me to know the truth and to develop an ability in the case I have one"

A waitress got close to them bringing a second bourbon with coffee for Mia, more alcohol than caffeine but the second she placed the beverage in the table her sight was attracted by that book, the girl turned pale and uncomfortable "Noctis grimoire" was the title. 

"Put the book away, Mia." Suggested Tim as the waitress blushed and moved away from their table. 

Mia did as her friend said, it was risky to have such a book at sight of everyone "I should go, Timmy. I'll call you if it happens to be real."

ººº

This is part one, I didn’t want it to be too long. 

Comments? 

Hope you liked it, please wait for part two, some things will change, else worlds can be...Interesting places. 

[quinquinis]

hey, can you please write another crossover between White Collar and Batman? like a oneshot or something, but i really like how you tie everything together. like maybe where he hadn't deleted his existence off of the internet and was found out as Dick sometime while working for the FBI. and like, everyone was shocked that rich-boy Grayson was grand-thief Caffrey. XD thanks, any theme you use is good though, i'm just really into your AU.

I don’t know if this is what you were thinking about but enjoy:

Bruce tried, Neal suffers and Nightwing drops in on Peter

Bruce had tried. He was exhausted and beaten and could no longer put up the fight. He could only hope his eldest son would forgive him.

"Hacked the wifi yet?" Jason asked Tim from his corner of the elevator. Tim, sitting right by the buttons, had pulled out some cords and was using them to try and get his tablet computer online.

"Didn't we get you a portable wifi modem?" Bruce questioned.

Tim hummed and crouched down, placing the screen on his legs. "That won't get me unrestricted access to the FBI. Nor will it tell me where we are." Bruce had no doubt that Tim could find a way around that but, it seemed his middle child wanted to do things the messy way.

"We're on the tenth floor, going up," Damian said in his 'you're stupid' tone. He pointed to the floor indicator on the button panel above Tim's head.

"They're inaccurate," Tim repeated. "And I want accuracy."

"Just don't get caught," Bruce sighed.

"-tt-" Damian pushed off the wall and Bruce glared at him.

"Damian!" he barked. "Against the wall."

"This is stupid," Damian huffed dropping back against the wall of his corner of the elevator.

"Then why did you come?" Tim snapped back.

"Because you were coming."

"Because I like the idea of walking right in and out of the FBI," Jason responded with a grin. "I think Red Hood is still on their watch list."

"I didn't ask you."

"He didn't ask you."

"Stick to your corners, boys!" Bruce said as they started to shift. How many more floors were there until the White Collar office anyway? He didn't think he'd survive the way things were going. "And I told you all to stay back at the hotel."

"Come on Bruce, that FBI agent said we should give our statements."

"After all, it's not every day we take down a fleeing suspect."

"Besides, this is the best team in the country. They even have a conman working for them."

"It's not the first time that's happened," Jason commented.

"This one supposedly stole the painting of St. George and the Dragon done by Raphael."

Damian rolled his eyes.

The elevator dinged.

Bruce tensed. It was time.

Bruce Wayne and sons walked into the office like they had stepped off the runway. Neatly and smartly dressed, Wayne and the two youngest were in suits while the other one was dressed in a blue button up shirt and black jeans with a jacket thrown over his shoulders.

They could give Neal a run for his money.

Neal's eyes widened and everyone wondered about that until the one in the jacket pointed at him.

"You!"

Neal pointed back and yelled at Bruce, "I thought you said you weren't going to bring them!"

Bruce looked like he had been caught between a rock and a hard place. He adjusted his tie while Jason growled at him.

"You knew?"

"I tried?" Bruce admitted to Neal, looking worn out for a moment.

A few of the agents felt for him. It was obvious he was out of depth with whatever was going on.

Up in his office, Hughes frowned at the sudden commotion. He walked out and popped his head in Peter's office.

"Is it Caffrey?" Peter asked with a put-upon sigh.

"Possibly. Wayne's here."

"Great," Peter groaned. They observed from above the bullpen.

A rather thin and short teenager had Neal pressed up against a wall with a finger shoved against his chest. Neal's hands were up in surrender and he had the smile of a conman whose con had just gone wrong.

"You know that the Raphael was my favourite!" Tim cried out. "Why'd you go and steal it?"

"Allegedly," Neal said, "no one has proved anything. Also, come on, Tim, you never saw it in real life anyway. It's not like it getting stolen affected you."

Damian cackled from where he was sitting on Neal's desk.

"Caffrey!" Hughes barked.

"This isn't my fault!" Neal whined back. Peter wondered about that. He was starting to understand why Neal had been twitchy whenever Wayne was mentioned and downright terrified of the man coming to the office.

Who knew Neal's reaction would have more to do with Wayne's children than Wayne himself?

"I do apologise for my children," Bruce sighed, causing Peter to jolt. The man had somehow appeared beside him without his notice. "They are... troublesome at times and it's been a while since they've seen their older brother."

"The guy in the jacket?" Peter questioned. He looked like a ringleader, standing behind Neal's desk and grinning at the others while he looked through Neal's drawers.

Bruce blinked. In an almost too-innocent tone he said, "no. That's Jason. He's the second eldest. I was taking about Richard... what did you call him? Caffrey? I was taking about Caffrey."

"I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Hughes demanded to know. Richard Grayson was Bruce's first, taken in years ago and adopted only a couple of years back. "How is Richard related to Caffrey?"

"Hey, Dick! Why do you need a drawer full of ties?" Jason demanded to know with a wide grin in Neal's direction. He held up a blue tie which Peter had seen before. Neal wore it often but only in the office. If they went outside, he tended to change it. Neal had said that the tie was special and he didn't want anything to happen to it.

"Put that down Todd! I bought that for him!" Damian screeched, reaching across the desk to grab it.

"Everybody FREEZE!" Neal bellowed suddenly in a tone no one had ever heard from him before. It reminded Peter of Hughes or himself, the tone of someone in charge. "Tim, take a couple of steps back and I'll talk to you in a moment. Damian, get off my desk and follow your father up the stairs. Jason, choose. Either get yourself into the conference room or get out before I call security."

Silence reigned for a few moments, broken when Jason sighed and shoved the tie back in the draw.

"You will have to explain," he said, shoving a finger in Neal's face before quickly ascending the stairs and walking right into the conference room without acknowledging anyone else.

Damian made his way up to Bruce with a frown on his pudgy face.

"Tim," Neal sighed. "Really?"

Tim's expression was serious as he responded, "Really."

"Sara was bad enough but now you?" Neal huffed. "Forget about the Raphael for now and I'll explain what's going on upstairs."

"The FBI better get it back in a couple of months in an anonymous package or something," Tim said as Neal guided him up the stairs.

"What just happened?" Agent Blake questioned in shock.

Peter raised an eyebrow at Neal, who just shoved a thumb in the direction of the conference room. Hughes had already walked inside to keep an eye on Bruce Wayne and his brats.

"Okay, Caffrey explain," Hughes ordered.

Neal smiled. "Hi, my name is actually Richard Grayson but most people call me Dick. I'm Bruce's eldest. I... may have done some silly things and Bruce decided I could stay on the anklet until I learnt my lesson."

"You broke out of prison. For a girl," Bruce huffed.

"She was in danger! I was right about that," Neal muttered.

Peter winced at the reminder of what had happened with Kate. Neal had been devastated to lose her. He both disapproved of Bruce treating the anklet like a minor punishment and approved of his disapproval of Neal breaking out of prison.

"Prison. Which you were in because you went and forged bonds for Roy and then gave them to that Mozzie character."

Jason laughed. "Seriously? Bond forgery? Should of known you'd be the most boring white collar criminal."

"Bond forgery is not boring!" Neal countered. "That's mortgage fraud!"

"Does it really matter?" Tim questioned, looking between his two brothers. "Although I guess this is why we haven't seen you outside of phone calls for a while."

"A year," Damian said. "Not that I've been keeping track. I just have a good memory."

"Of course," Neal said with a fond smile and ruffling the kid's hair. Peter was amazed. Neal actually seemed like a responsible adult around these people.

"Dick, we will see you back at your place, I think," Bruce said. He told Tim the address and Jason, Tim and Damian bolted out of the room. "Let me just give you my prepared statement and then I'll be off."

"So, Neal is your son?" Hughes questioned as Bruce handed him a signed statement.

"That's right. Just... let him go by Neal Caffrey. It'll get him into less trouble than Dick Grayson," Bruce advised.

Peter wondered about that but decided to trust the billionaire. Neal already got into trouble on a regular basis. He didn't want to risk it getting worse.

A few months after meeting Bruce Wayne and his kids and learning that Neal was not just Neal but also Dick Grayson, Neal received commutation and was let go. The news had a mixed reaction from the White Collar office. Some agents would miss him while others was glad to see him go. The latter were not from White Collar and didn't interact with Neal often, if at all. Peter wasn't surprised at the news and wondered if Bruce had something to do with it.

Neal left with a smile on his face and a promise to Peter that he would see him again.

A few nights later, Peter had been in the backyard with his wife when a man in a dark uniform jumped over the fence. Peter grabbed his gun while El held him back. She had seen the flash of blue across his chest.

"Peter, wait! That's Nightwing!"

"Nightwing?" The man dropped to the ground, holding his side and Peter looked closer. He did look the vigilante who returned to New York and had started hanging out with a bunch of adults calling themselves the 'Titans'. "He's hurt, El. Get the med kit." He could see the dark stain of blood growing on the man's uniform. He wandered over, holding his hands and the gun up to show he meant no harm. "Can you stand?"

"Ugh, I have no idea. I didn't intend to hit the ground." That voice was familiar.

"Neal?" Nightwing grinned up at him and Peter huffed a sigh. He should have known. He reached down and helped Neal up, caution gone now that he knew who was under the mask. "Why are dressed like that?"

"I'm following a pattern of behaviour instilled in me in a young age," Neal responded. "Also, call me Nightwing, okay? To any outsiders, you're just helping the guy who crashed into your yard. I don't want any of my enemies coming after you two."

"Then why come here?" Peter growled as he deposited Neal into a chair. The man was heavy, probably as a result of all the lean muscle under his uniform. No wonder Neal always had looked fit.

Neal looked at the ground. "I missed you and I promised I would visit." Peter didn't budge, staring at him until he answered probably. "I'm hurt and was close to your place. Plus, I need sleep which isn't interrupted by my friends' 'emergencies' like 'Roy invented a bomb which exploded and now the room is covered in whipped cream' so can I sleep on your couch tonight?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get a look at you." To his surprise, the suit had a zipper down the back which Peter had to pull down for Neal.

"I would do it, but I don't want to risk tearing myself open even more."

"I would love to know that trick," El said as she came in. "Maybe I could use it to get into some of my dresses."

"Use a coat hanger in the hole of the zipper," Neal responded matter-of-factly. "And pull it up."

Peter resisted telling his wife that were was no hole in the zipper for Neal's uniform. It was small, almost invisible.

Neal's side had been sliced. He raised his arm and had a look.

"Well, that's not as bad as I thought. Hurts though."

"Of course," Peter said patiently as El handed him something to clean the wound with. How had he ended up mending a hurt vigilante in his lounge room anyway? "You know what? While I'm helping you with this, maybe you could help with some of my cases?"

Neal barked a laugh. "Sure, why not?"