#i also never realized i needed damian being an older brother

[bruciemilf]

Crying because I imagined Damian quietly observing Bruce with the other birds, -- who surpassed his Baba in height, -- and taking in what he's seeing.

Bruce picks Dick up, brows tied with effort. He doesn't miss the wince.

A part of him wants to wake his older brother up and tell him to get himself upstairs, but Dick clings to their father tight. Damian realizes how mean that'd be.

" I'm fine,'' Jason does this a lot; Pretending. They're a family of actors, after all. Blood or not. " I'm not 10, I'm perfectly capable of walking out of this car by myself."

Bruce nods, " Okay."

"...My ankle hurts, actually."

Damian noticed, more sorrow than envy, that Jason holds Baba tighter than all of them. And that Bruce holds him back tenfold tighter. They love Gofham, -- but they'll never trust her again.

Tim and Cass are easier to work around. They both get piggyback rides. He doesn't miss Jason and Dick being upset about that.

But He also doesn't miss the blurry sadness in Tim's eyes when Bruce needs a minute of rest after, or that he's looking Baba in the eye instead of up at him.

He doesn't miss Cass' joy dulling slightly when Bruce can't quite toss her in the air as easily as he used to.

" What are you doing, Habibi? It's bed time. We have to call mama for the goodnight call."

Damian nods. He makes grabby hands, an embarrassing habit he picked up from Dick, but not one he's willing to kill off from his system because it makes Bruce grin.

" I'd like to talk to her alone for a minute."

"Of course. I'll be right back, honey."

Damian's bedroom window gives him a clear view over the moon.

He sees the bat signal shining across the ashy Gotham skyline. He knows Bruce won't be right back until morning time, brusied and beat.

Damian says goodnight to his mother. He refuses to give any updates on Baba's dating life. No, mother, he won't skin Vicki Vale alive.

Damian googles How to stay small before going to sleep in Bruce's bedroom, where he finds the others already sleeping there

[brucewaynehater101]

Tim falling in the time stream and YJ fishing him out happens post brucequest so Bart and Kon are alive which helps Cassie keep herself from being gaslit by well meaning members of the justice league who completely forget/ignore/disregard that Batman literally just came back from the "dead" and so Cassie can have Kon and Bart there to keep her from forming or joining another cult

Bruce's reaction depends on the writer and how they feel about Bruce though his family seeing him go into a depressive spiral at the loss of a kid in his custody and getting some partial insight into just how bad he may have been immediately post Jason and the stuff that Tim had to deal with would be interesting, and the family dynamics of dealing with Damian who no longer has the verbal punching bag and focus of jealousy that is Tim available

Ooh. Now I want to kill Tim off in a fic and watch the batfam implode as they deal with their grief and come to several realizations. I've got too many WIPs for that, though.

Anyways, YJ is out here gripping their sanity and determination to bring Tim home by their blood-stained finger nails. It's hysterical laughing, refusing to cry (because he's not dead), and chaotic adventures that aren't as fun without Tim.

When Tim gets back, all four of them (and the retired members) are in agreeance. Fuck the JL. Fuck the other heroes.

For the batfam, we'll say Bruce can't go out to find Tim for plot. The exact reason can be up to the dealer, but he either doesn't hear YJ's theories, or he can't go look for Tim.

This traps Bruce with the rest of the batfam.

Damian, a kid who still looks up to his dad, is suddenly forced into Tim's Robin's role.

He, at first, isn't too upset that Batman is being harsher. Surely, the man would know what's best. Perhaps he's just realizing that criminals should he punished harder (not personal beliefs, obv. Just speculation of Damian's mindset).

Then Bruce gets worse. And worse.

Suddenly, the twelve year old is frozen as he watches the brutality of which Batman is pummeling someone. He's watching as blood flings off of Bruce's gauntlets onto the alley floors and walls. He's hearing the victim pleading.

Damian's not scared. Of course he isn't. That's ridiculous....

He just kind of wishes his Batman, Dick, was there instead.

Damian also has lost his ability to insult Tim. While it's not uncommon to go months without seeing Drake, his family's reactions to Damian's usual comments have changed. Suddenly, everyone is yelling at him or getting angry for what he's saying. He knows Tim died (and gods does it burn that he'll never get to know the older man), but why is the family getting mad at him? They've always let the comments go in the past.

It's an unhealthy coping mechanism and mindset that Damian developed of continuously comparing himself to Drake and dragging the older man down. It's a bit late, but Damian realizes that he doesn't hate Tim. He might have even admired him. He was blinded by his need to feel wanted in a family that chose everyone but him (at least, that's how he thought it was).

It's cruel he only comprehended this after Tim's death.

Jason is still on the outskirts of the family. Yet, from his distance, he has a front row seat to watching Bruce rapidly descend into his grief. Maybe the man denies that's what Bruce was like when Jason died (because Bruce liked Tim more than Jason). Someone points out that any animosity Jason and Bruce have was post his revival (and honestly fuck them for that). They also point out that this Bruce, the spiraling wave of fury, is a much more supported and restrained Batman. Tim, as a thirteen year old, witnessed and pulled this man from his even worse grief.

Jason doesn't know how to process that.

Dick is older and closer. He has to grapple with the fact that he failed another little brother. Another one is dead.

He also has to watch his dad descend into grief all over again. He's closer than he was when Jason died, back when he was brimming with rage at Bruce and despair. He's getting a closer production of Bruce's unhealthy coping skills.

He has to explain to his siblings and himself that last time, when Jason died, Tim weathered this storm. Dick came around, but not nearly enough. He couldn't for his own mental health.

That doesn't assauge his guilt.

Cass :( Imma say she's out there helping YJ. She believes them. It doesn't change how much Tim's death hurts, but she holds onto hope.

Alfred has to watch his son mourn again. Alfred has to mourn his grandson and watch his son destroy himself again. Alfred has to watch the family implode upon itself.

He doesn't have hope that another kind soul like Tim's will be here this time around. He can only offer support as he hopes the family makes it through this time.

When Tim comes back, he's not angry that the JL didn't help or believe YJ. He's not even disappointed.

He's resigned.

He's not upset the Bats didn't do anything either.

Creating YJ wasn't originally about ensuring Tim had support he could count on. He's glad it turned into that, though. He wouldn't give any of them up for the world.

[msjaeger]

Whipped Like A Motherfu- (Older!Damian Wayne x Reader)

Description: The boys never thought it was possible for their youngest brother to have a soft spot for a woman. Or a soft spot in general. So how will they react when they witness their brother being lovey-dovey first-hand?

This was requested by @beatriceshadowmarvel2 so enjoy!!!

The only warning I got for this is that it has explicit language.

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Damian could be hot-headed. And very irritable. Also not to mention annoying at times. Overall he was a complete dick to almost everyone around him. Keyword: Almost. There was one person he would never and could never show any harsh emotions towards. The love of his life, the one he'd die for, the one he'd kill for. You.

The two of you had met during an attempted robbery. But not in the way one would probably assume. It was Damian who was getting robbed, not you. For obvious reasons, Damian could handle himself in these situations. But also for obvious reasons, Damian is the one who usually initiates the attack. It's been a while since he's been jumped out of nowhere. So he was a bit rusty on his reflexes.

You, on the other, had grown up on the rough side of Gotham so you had gotten a headstart on having your reflexes in tip-top shape. At the time of the incident, you had a fresh can of mace. You were walking past when you noticed the man get struck on the back of the head and were taken aback by surprise. On instinct, you reached into your purse and whipped out the black can. Then the rest was history.

That was approximately two years, six months, five weeks, and twenty-two days ago. It was that long ago since Damian realized that he could never love and long someone as much as he did you. But somehow, after all this time, you're finally meeting the infamous Wayne. His family.

And he was not excited.

"Of course, I'm not going to be excited, sweetheart. You didn't have to live with them for eight years of your life and for another two, having to meet up with them for every fucking holiday to exist." Damian scowled as you flipped his eggs onto a plate. He had just entered the kitchen and sat down at the bar of your shared apartment.

You turned around, one hand on your hip and the other lying his plate in front of him.

"C'mon Dami. They can't be that bad if you didn't run away." You offered, running your hands through your boyfriend's messy hair. He picked up his black coffee and muttered:

"Trust me. I tried."

You sighed and kissed his cheek, his freshly shaved jaw still having shaving cream in random areas of his face. "Did your father ever teach you how to shave?" You chuckled, wiping a smidge of cream off his face. You walked out of the kitchen and stood next to him, silently urging him to eat.

He grumbled something Arabic before grabbing your hips and pulling you down to his level. He started rubbing his cheek against yours, which usually you would be fine with. If shaving cream still wasn't on Damian's face.

"Damian! I was finally ready to go and now my makeup is ruined! I think you got some on my sweater, too!" You whined as he let out a laugh. He pulled away and stared into your eyes, his hands on both sides of your face. His green eyes kept observing each little feature you had on your face. The confused posture on your lips. The twitch of your nose as words came out of your mouth but he could only focus on your face.

"You don't need makeup, my love. You don't need anything to change how you look. You're already the most beautiful thing to bless this Earth." Damian said mindlessly, staring into your eyes.

You chuckled, confused about what made Damian come to those words or thoughts. "I'm not too sure what you mean by that, Dami. But I love you as well.". You stood up to your full height and tried removing the shaving cream from your sweater. "But not as much as I love looking presentable for your family so they don't think I'm a South Side junkie." You announced while walking back to your bedroom.

After your little situation was fixed, the two of you left the penthouse and started your thirty-minute journey to Wayne Manor. The drive gave you time to publicise your concerns.

"Dami, what if they think I'm not good enough for you? Or what if they think I'm using you for money? It doesn't help that I'm from the poorest side of Gotham and possibly the entire fucking country. Should I swear in front of them? I know they're all guys and probably swear worse than me but they-" Your rambling was cut off when your boyfriend kissed you right on the lips.

"Damian! You're driving, from the last time I checked. That's how people crash and die from a cell stroke or something." You reprimanded. Damian only chuckled and removed his hand from the wheel of his favorite Corvette.

"One: This is the car that was partnered with Wayne Enterprises to create the first self-driving sports car. It was in Hands-Off mode, sweetheart. Two: You can't die from a cell stroke because there is no such thing. Three: They'll love you I promise. Because if they don't, I can guarantee they will die a slow and pai-".

"That's enough, love. I'll stick to them not liking me." You compromised, knowing it was the best option as you were aware of Damian's threats becoming a reality.

"That's the thing, Y/n. There shouldn't be a reason for them not to like you. You're beautiful, both book and street smart, and the kindest person to ever walk this Earth." Damian was about to continue his rant about how much you were worth when he noticed he was already parked outside the place he too wasn't sure how to feel about.

A part of him wanted to walk in and reminisce on the memories of his youth. The other part of him wanted to drive his car into the side of the house (without you in it, of course), put it in self-destruct mode, and blow the house into pieces.

"I'm gonna fucking kill myself." Damian groaned as he put the car in park. You glanced at him as his face contorted into one of horror as he stared at the now wide-open door.

Four grown men walked out of the door, a prideful aura radiating off them. Damian's eye twitched as he swung the car door open and flicked them off before they even got the chance to utter a word to him. He made his way to your side of the car and opened the door for you.

He reached his hand out to you and helped you out of the car. You readjusted your skirt and reassess your outfit choice.

'Does this make me look like a hooker?' You wondered to yourself as the group approached your boyfriend and yourself.

"Wow. Little demon managed to find a girl that will put up with his attitude. And he... opened the door for her?" The one who you knew was Dick Grayson and your boyfriend's oldest brother. Only because he was on the best terms with Damian that he actually talked about him. But not in the brotherly way people would consider.

"Fucking Grayson. He's always showing off."

"Dick? Just assume the name comes with the job"

"I will not talk to him. Just because he's my brother and helped me out when I was younger doesn't mean I forgot he threw up all over me when he got shitfaced the last time I saw him."

"Guys, don't tell me the spawn of Satan himself actually learned manners and pulled a good-looking chick. I think I'm gonna cry." The one next to Dick wiped fake tears from his eyes. Damian's scowl deepened.

"Here's an idea, Jason. Go fuck yourself." Damian retorted. The new speaker, Jason, rolled his eyes and chuckled. He was the first to approach you formally and stuck his hand out.

"Hey, I'm Jason, Damian's older, hotter, and smarter brother so if he fucks up, you know where to find me," Jason smirked while you shook his hand.

"I'm Y/n. I would gladly take your offer if I didn't know Damian would never fuck up." You replied back, silently wincing at your use of vulgar language.

But instead of sneering at you or commenting your foul language was 'unladylike', Jason howled in laughter and shrugged.

"Offer still stands. Your accent. You grow up on South Side?" He asked, crossing his arms after you dropped his hand. You nervously glanced at Damian, who nodded in affirmation.

"Yep. Born and raised. How'd you figure it out? I'm usually pretty good at hiding it. That and I don't go around at night, begging for a cigarette and three cents in change."

"I'm from there too. At least before Buck-for-Fuck here adopted me. Grew up on Crack row or whatever it's called by the rich." Jason shifted his gaze to his brother. "You got a good one, Demon. You already know how we turn out." He gestured to himself with up and down hand motions.

"It's a good thing she got out before you, then."

"Fuck you, man."

Jason whimpered in fake pain before being shoved out of the way by Dick and the other brother. Dick introduced himself to you in a very formal way, starting it off by kissing your hands.

Damian did not take it well. He pushed Dick's cheek away from your knuckles. "At least ask her first. Don't you have any self-dignity?" Dick frowned but backed off nonetheless. "My bad, little man. I-", the first thing you've picked up from this family is they don't seem to let each other finish as you watched Dick get shoved by his father, who was clearly embarrassed.

You didn't need an introduction from Bruce motherfucking Wayne. 1. He owns the biggest technology company in the world. 2: It's Bruce Wayne. He's probably the one person on the planet who doesn't need to introduce himself. And he knew that too.

But he introduced himself anyways.

"Hello, Y/n. I'm Damian's father, Bruce. I've heard a lot of things about you." Bruce held his hand out as you shook it respectfully. You glanced at Damian, who scoffed at his father.

"All good things I hope, Mr Wayne." Bruce grimaced when you spoke. "Please call me Bruce, dear. Mr Wayne makes me feel as if I was alive when the Civil War was still being considered." Jason snickered before saying, "You probably were. You'd think with the amount of money you earn, you could afford getting rid of those crow's feet." Damian rolled his eyes at his family's antics before pointing at the last brother that wasn't introduced.

"The emo one who hasn't said a word is Tim. He's a bit odd and stays in his room jacking off or playing with Father's computers." Damian wrapped an arm around you as he explained his brother's habits. Tim's face became stoic as Damian shrugged.

"I hope all your stocks drop completely," Tim grumbled, brushing the hair out of his eyes. Damian's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to send a comeback towards his brother before Bruce chuckled nervously.

"Why don't we all go inside and catch up? Also so we don't embarrass ourselves even more in front of Y/n." The boys seemed to all agree and Damian and yourself followed the rest of the family inside.

After settling down inside the manor's living room, Bruce poured you a cup of tea and sat down in between Jason and Dick, Tim sat on the floor, and Damian and yourself sat on the couch.

"So Y/n. Tell us more about yourself. You didn't seem to have any time to do to certain people in the family. You said you were from South Side, right?" Jason clapped his hands and hollered. Bruce gave him a nasty side-eye while Dick slapped his chest.

"I think the more important question is... how the fuck someone like Damian ended up with a sweet little angel like yourself," Tim spoke while drinking something that obviously wasn't tea. Your boyfriend's frown deepened.

"I wouldn't call her a little angel, Timmy. We met because she maced a guy trying to rob me." Jason jumped out of his seat and started a handshake that was created for South Siders to identify each other with. Surprisingly, you still remember the whole thing.

"That's what I'm fucking talking about! You make everyone who still lives in Shitville proud!" Damian pushed Jason back into his seat before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Please refrain from tainting her with your filthy hands." Damian had little spurts where he would switch from casually talking to someone to as if he was talking to the president. Of course, Jason had a knack for making fun of it.

"My dearest apologies, my lord. May I offer my condolences for my idiotic acts?" Jason bowed from his seat.

"Okay, we can try this again. Please don't fucking touch her with your nasty ass hands that we all know you 'forget' to wash. The next time any one of you touches her without her permission, I'll be sure the Lazarus pit can't bring you back to life." Damian snapped. It suddenly became quiet despite the conversation being between two people.

Although it was only two sentences, it was enough to leave the family of undercover heroes speechless. Not about the fact that the youngest member snapped at them. No, they've gotten used to that.

It's the fact he snapped at them over a girl, let alone anyone else in general.

Jason's jaw was slacked and his eyes were wide in surprise. Tim had lost all his secret stash of alcohol as he not only spit out the liquor in his mouth but his water bottle dropped onto the shiny floors. Dick's face was stoic as he processed the fact that his baby brother could actually care about someone as much as he cared about himself. Maybe more.

Bruce's expression was possibly the hardest not to laugh at. His eyes were wide, an eyebrow was arched, and overall just looked weirded out.

Damian groaned in irritation and his fingers twitched in annoyance. He tapped your thigh a few times and stood up with your hand in his. "We're gonna head to my room and sleep off the bullshit from today. Don't bother us." Damian dragged you along like a lost puppy up one of the many staircases throughout the mansion and disappeared behind the thick walls of the hall. Not before hearing:

"Use protection, please! We don't need any more demon spawns running around when we have Damian and Jason!" "Fuck you, Bruce!"

Bonus:

You laid on Damian's bare chest, his pecs acting like a pillow for your head. Your legs intertwined with his and your hands were in the pockets of his black sweatpants.

You were fast asleep, the warmth from his upper body acting as a sedative for comfort. But Damian wasn't asleep. He couldn't fall asleep. Not while admiring the beautiful soul on his chest.

He ran his calloused fingers through your hair, dismissing the tangles in your hair by prying his fingers apart at the ends of each strand. He knew you'd be pissed about the sudden frizziness when you woke up but he didn't care. Not when he'd at least hear your voice.

"Words cannot describe how much I love you, Y/n. You saved me more than the day we met with your can of mace. You changed me and I will always be grateful for your love and affection towards someone like me." He whispered into your ear. He kept whispering poetic words into your sleeping ears. He suddenly stopped when he heard a creak from the corner of the room.

His vision sharpened to see into the darkness of his old room and immediately reached over to his nightstand and switched his lamp on. It illuminated the room just enough to see his family in the corner of his room, recording the scene in front of them.

Damian wrapped his arms around your waist and gave the nastiest glare possible towards the boys. Tim was about to say something, maybe lighten up the approaching argument but Damian brought a finger up to his pursed lips.

"If you wake her up, I will play tic-tac-toe on your throats with my katana." He blankly threatened.

Dick realized there wasn't any bluffing behind his brother's threat, as he had doubted threats from Damian before and that's how he ended up with thumbtacks in his ass and tried to escape the impending doom.

Jason, on the other hand, wanted to see the world burn and tripped his older brother, causing him to trip and eat shit. A thud echoed throughout the room, causing you to stir in your sleep.

"Dami? What was that?" A dagger was whipped out of the nightstand and held by Damian in a way with the intent to throw it at an unsuspecting victim. "Nothing, sweetheart. Just go back to sleep, okay beautiful?" You drifted back to sleep as if under a spell, your hands now on his defined chest.

There was a brief moment of silence that gave Damian time to admire the love of his life. That was until Jason decided to open his mouth.

"Dude, you're whipped like a motherfu-"

A knife flew across the room and landed right next to Jason's head.

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

This is the first thing I've written in almost a year so lmk if it's ass or gas. BUT KEEP SENDING IN REQUESTS I LOVE HEARING OTHER PEOPLE'S IDEAS!!!

[ifyoucandaniel]

I want to thank you for making your list of recommended long batfam fics. I have been making my way through it and I am really enjoying them! ESPECIALLY cards on the table (I also love Dark Matter but I had already read it). Please let us know if you ever get more long batfam fic recs 🥺

okay so ive been waiting to answer this until i had gathered a good chunk of new long fics and ive been getting a lot of similar messages asking for recommendations, so here is another list of my fav long batman fics!

Jason and the Three Terrors by @cdelphiki, 220k, ongoing, T. if i can get you to read one thing, let it be this. ohhh my god where to even begin, this is a fic where jason stays with the league after his dip in the lazarus pit for a little while and winds up being charged with getting damian, his cousin, and his sister out of the league safely. this fic is just so fucking good, cdelphiki always writes such seamless relationship growth and watching jason go from "im dropping these brats off first chance i get" to "im a single mother of three and i need to provide for my kids" is phenomenal. 1000/10, the writing, the kids, the relationships, please do yourself a favor and read this.

A Collision of Masks by Movaz, 169k, completed, T. !! guys. this is such a good dick grayson-centric fic. this is set in an AU where batman never joined the justice league so the justice league knows very little about batman inc. and consequently dick never joins YJ so the YJ team is tasked with checking out a new hero called nightwing in bludhaven and police officer grayson is tasked with helping the team in their investigation :) really good fic exploring dick juggling all his identities and finally gaining people he can rely on! i actually did a bind of it so you know i love this story so much

Life Happens by @cdelphiki, 176k, complete, G. ok so this fic is probably one of the most beautiful stories of growth and love i've read. its about tim and damian being transported from their world into ours where they're only comic book characters and they start to build a life for themselves here. cdelphiki is one of the most amazing authors, im currently going through all of their works, but this one has just stayed with me and i dont think anyone should pass it up. watching tim and damian grow together and seeing damian have a real childhood and just the whole concept of life happening wether you want it to or not is so beautifully done. cannot recommend enough.

Honoring Promises by LananiA3O, completed, 14k, T. okay this isnt actually a long fic, but its one of my favorite fics ever and i need it on this list. if you're like me and you love UTRH aus where instead of sticking around as red hood after bruce threw a batarang at his throat jason fucks off and disappears to live a normal life, this is for you. from dick's pov, he realizes jasons last letter was a last attempt at reaching out and stalks him until he finds out what really happened to his little brother. i think about this every day and wish it was 10000 words long

The Time Before by @cdelphiki, 80k, completed, G. at this point this is basically just a cdelphiki fic rec lmao when i said everything by them was good, i meant that shit. this is a fic where jason is sent back into time when he was 9 years old but still has all his memories from the future. he goes to bruce for help despite wanting to do literally anything else and is surprised to realize maybe everything isn't how he remembers it 10 years in the future and maybe theres a chance he can go home when hes older again. once again cdelphiki hitting me in the feels with this one, really amazing study on how time and pain can change how you perceive and remember things and also just forgiveness and fixing mistakes and accepting mistakes were made. very good, highly recommend

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors by Sophene, 80k, completed, batlantern, T. I have no excuse for this, this is such a fun and funny fic i love it so much. basically HOA president single dad bruce with his 10 million adopted kids and then hal jordan moves in next door and plays his music too loud at 10pm on a school night and throws parties and bruce has a stick up his ass about it. i really really love the shift in hal when kyle comes to live with him as his ward (? i cant actually remember if hes adopted or just a ward) and seeing him finally understand why bruce acts the way he does when it comes to his kids. also seeing bruce just being a tired dad 90% of the fic when he isnt glaring at hal is so good.

Option C by CasualGeek, 78k, completed, T. this has, in my opinion, a very unique and interesting premise. basically, what if instead of becoming red hood, jason comes back to gotham and manages to get Joker put on trial for the murder of sheila haywood and get the insanity plea thrown out. really interesting approach to batman and joker and jason technically doing things through the legal justice system and what that means for him and the people around him. very good, read it all in one sitting

butcherbird, fly away home by e_va, 41k, completed, M. lost days jason todd loml! basically what if when jason was off on his world tour one of his tutors kidnapped bruce wayne and jason has feelings about it against his will. "what if lost days jason was stuck in the same room as a sick bruce for more than 10 minutes and actually had to talk to him without punching him" AU and i throughly enjoyed it. @darlingatlas recommended this one and she never misses with the jason recs

this kind of weather by r_astra, 55k, completed, T. this is the fic something in the static was originally inspired by and if you know me, i love that series, and i love this fic too. another what if jasons mom didnt die until later and social services gets involved before he can bolt and bruce seeks him out with some very interesting news. i love fics that display jason’s relationship with crime alley and him being one of them. very good, i love jason so much

ok now these aren't actually long fics but i need to get them out here because i love them so much and highly recommend!

To My Brother by a_silly_gander, 7k, completed, T. Lost days jason au where he starts sending post cards from his travels to dick on a whim while we follow his time away and the people he meets. i love this one so much, please read it if you love jason and dick, its so special to me.

Enhanced Fashion Sense is a Perk of Being a Cat by 12pt_timesnewromanfont, 23k, complete, G. selina breaks into drake manor to steal a cat artifact and accidentally meets the drakes ten year old son they left home alone. then she starts keeping tabs on him and eventually adopts him and makes him stray. i really love selina finding tim before bruce and taking care of him <3 10/10 i wish selina would adopt me

[lazycats-stuff]

Can I request a batfamily fic with a reader who loves reading and is rly shy but they’re trying to spend more time with them ♥️

Aww yeah... I can just see the fluff. Also, the speed that you sent this request made laugh so hard my friend looked at me like, are you okay?

Summary: (Y/N) is very shy. The others try to spend time with him.

Warnings: fluff, shy reader...

Bruce knew that not all of his children would be vigilantes. He knew that not all of them would be cut out for it. He was actually very happy to have one normal kid at least. Well, some what normal if you will. (Y/N) was very shy and introverted. It has been a bit difficult for him to open up about something.

Bruce never minded the fact that (Y/N) was silent and just shy overall, but there were times when he wanted (Y/N) to speak up when he was hurt or just bothered by something. Sure, as he is too emotionally constipated and finds it difficult to talk about his emotions, (Y/N) was just shy and that's what made it difficult.

The boys were fully aware how shy (Y/N) could be. Damian found it weird when he first came. He just couldn't understand how someone could be so... Damian couldn't describe it, which was something that he has never done.

You could almost say that Damian was speechless about the way (Y/N) was shy and how he couldn't speak up for himself. At first, Damian teased him about it, well, more like insulted (Y/N). Bruce and the others were trying to get him to stop doing it, but wouldn't.

It wasn't until (Y/N) saved Damian and himself from a very dangerous situation. Damian was shocked once he realized. It has been due too the fact that (Y/N) had a radar for stress. He has developed it after years of being stressed in public.

He could see it coming from a mile away and that might have saved his own and Damian's life. And Damian had to admit, it was incredible to see how someone who is apprehensive about interaction with other people could observe them and just see if there is something coming.

Damian was trained to look for those signs, but to see that an untrained, shy teen saw it before him? It made him gain some respect for (Y/N) and soon enough, Damian was very protective of his older brother too.

Whenever (Y/N) was in public, Damian acted as a bodyguard. Everyone acted as if they are (Y/N)'s bodyguards. They know that (Y/N) doesn't like the public and anyone really approaching him. Bruce and the rest of the family didn't have a problem with protecting their brother and son.

The only thing that they really hated was the fact that (Y/N) is bottled up in his room reading and not spending any time with them. Sure, he studies and reads, doing something productive, but he didn't spend any time with them.

Jason was the one who was the most whiny one about, but he understood why he shouldn't push it. Every time he would be outside of his room, Jason would follow him around, before just grabbing him and taking him to the couch in the library and then the two are reading together in silence.

(Y/N) liked it a lot and the two were just often basking in silence. (Y/N) always fell asleep on Jason's chest and Jason followed a few minutes later, catching up on the sleep he needs. The two had that routine and it felt nice.

Dick just watched the movies that were based on books that (Y/N) has read or if he didn't do it by any means, which is impossible, then (Y/N) would find that book to read it. If he read the book, he would comment during the movie about inaccuracies or accuracies.

Dick would often smile at the way (Y/N) talked passionately about his opinion. He wouldn't back down from it and Dick loved it. he stayed quiet and then carried his brother upstairs. (Y/N) was protesting it, but Dick knew he loved it.

Tim? Whenever Tim needed a break from a case and if he just needed to be listened to, he would go to (Y/N). His brother is a great listener and not just because he is quiet, but because he often tries to provide the solutions. Tim would just come in after knocking and then he would plop down on the bed and talk to (Y/N). (Y/N) would hum occasionally and Tim would be like, I know right?

And Bruce? He had no problem going to the bookstores to browse for books (Y/N) wanted. He walked behind him, offering his suggestions for (Y/N). The young boy would just hum and Bruce followed closely behind. (Y/N) took Albert Camus' Stranger and he was interested in the Communist Manifesto... But would he be judged for it?

" What's wrong? " Bruce asked and (Y/N) pointed at the book in question.

" Oh. I would take it. I have never had a chance of reading it unfortunately. " Bruce said, taking a copy into his hands.

" I'm just afraid of being judged you know. " (Y/N) mumbled and Bruce took a copy.

" Don't be afraid to read anything. Reading is a good thing, especially when you can read and understand philosophy. I will read it after you do. " Bruce said and (Y/N) smiled a little bit. Bruce smiled too and he put his hand on the back of (Y/N)'s neck to guide him to another aisle.

(Y/N) liked it when Bruce put his hand on the back of his neck. It made him feel safe and he liked that level and sense of security. Bruce liked it too, it showed to him that (Y/N) trusted him. He had no problem with paying for the books.

Bruce had no problem with spoiling his son with books. (Y/N) stopped, eyes focusing on a cookbook. He thought of Alfred immediately and took it. Bruce smiled, but didn't say anything. Alfred was one of (Y/N)'s favorites and he saw that Alfred didn't have this cookbook and (Y/N) would be damned if he didn't get it for Alfred.

Bruce just took his credit card out and paid for it all, without even looking at the price. (Y/N) smiled shyly as Bruce carried his bag for him. Bruce scowled once he saw paparazzi outside and (Y/N) saw them too.

Bruce often kept (Y/N) by his side, arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders, allowing him protection and a place to hide his face away from the invading paparazzi. (Y/N) accepted it and his hid his face away from prying eyes.

Bruce frowned at the paparazzi and made sure that (Y/N) got into the car in order to save him from the paparazzi. Bruce huffed as he entered the car, quickly driving away.

" Well, that was crazy. " Bruce said as he tried to make the light of the situation. (Y/N) nodded, feeling tired from the paparazzi interaction. His social battery is officially out and he just wanted to go to his room and read.

" Is your battery out? " Bruce joked and (Y/N) smiled very slightly.

There is this joke that (Y/N) has a low social battery and it gets depleted every time he has an interaction with anybody outside of the family and he would just make a be line for his room. Every time without fail.

Once they got to the manor, (Y/N) quickly found Alfred and gave him the cookbook and then ran towards his room, trying not to bump into any of his brothers. Jason was the first one to see him, but didn't stop him.

" What happened to (Y/N)? " Jason asked Bruce.

" Paparazzi found us. "

Jason whistled and then he made his way upstairs. Sure, his brother preferred to be alone, but that's not really healthy... And Jason wants to make sure that his brother is okay. (Y/N) hates the paparazzi and has had bad experience with them and Bruce had no problem punching one.

Jason punched one for his brother. He was happy that evening. Jason opened the door to (Y/N)'s room, smiling at the small groan from his brother.

" I know, but you need some comfort. I need to spend some time with you. " Jason said closing the door before plopping down on the bed quickly next to (Y/N), looking at the books he bought.

" I didn't know you were into philosophy? " Jason inquired, looking at the Communist Manifesto and Stranger.

" I have always heard that they were good, especially the Stranger. And I didn't thought that I was ready to understand it. " (Y/N) explained and Jason nodded.

" Lets cuddle. I missed you today. " Jason said as he hugged his brother, rolling them down to lay down comfortably. Jason closed his eyes and smirked as the others came in.

There were soft noises at the five brothers laid together napping. (Y/N) wouldn't want to change anything in regards with his brothers. They loved him, each in their own way and (Y/N) loved them back.

Nobody said a word as they drifted off, (Y/N) feeling comfortable with his brothers. If they had to nap to spend time together, none of them minded. And besides, they needed all the sleep they could get.

[minnesota-fats]

The Ghost and the Runaway

Tim, done with the constant degrading comments from Damian and his older brother and father figure both downplaying the atempts on his life he decided he was done. And what better way to show that than going out in a blaze of glory. He sets a building to explode with everyone believing he was inside before walking away.

He makes Kon promise not to out him cuz his heartbeat. Kon agrees cuz tim if better off somewhere where his isn’t in constant danger. And attending his own funeral was more fun in a way he never thought possible! He hated to admit it, but he as glad to see how distraught everyone seemed; even damian.

He travels back and forth across the world, keeping tabs on everyone from his old life. At 18 he finds himself in amity park, meeting a ghost boy who makes him feel seen in a way he has never felt before.

Then said ghost boy is revealed to be the son of the local ghost hunters and abducted. Tim goes to the only people he knows can help him, the bats.

Feel free to take this idea and run with it!

—

And now, an unedited start of draft that I’m probably not gonna finish:

Tim has had enough!

He has had enough for a long time, but this was the last straw!

Damian had entered his room during patol and threw Tim’s camera onto the floor, shattering it to pieces. He didn't know why the brat did that, nor did he care—but if he could guess it was probably how, for once, Dick chose Tim over Damian for patrol. The reason he knew it was Damian who did it was because of the hidden camera’s he had stashed all over Wayne Manor. Sure, he could buy a new camera, maybe even repair the one he left laying on the ground as he pulled out his laptop to investigate. But this camera was given to him by his parents, years ago. It was the last thing he really had left of them. They may not have been the most present, but they still showed their love in the only way they knew best: material gifts.

Tim closed his laptop and set it on his bed before he slowly stood. He crossed the room in a few steps and stared down at the broken camera. He didn't realize he was crying until he saw droplets of tears hit his socked foot as well as the hardwood floor. When it dawned on her he took a shaky breath before saying out loud, “kon, I need you.” He knew if he didn't have a buffer right now, he might do something that would really get him into trouble.

After a few deep breaths Tim turned at the tapping at his widow where superboy floated just outside in the dark. He waved but faltered when he saw the tears in Tim’s eyes. Tim walked over to the widow, disarming the basic traps, before opening it for the super. Kon entered quickly and pulled Tim into a hug. At the warmth, Tim felt himself melt into the firm yet gentle embrace. He wrapped his arms around Kon and buried his face into his neck, letting out a shaky breath.

Kon picked Tim up and walked over to the bed so they could lay down and cuddle him. Kon’s eyes flared red when he finally spotted the broken camera, he forced his eyes shut to keep from burning a hole into the floor. Kon took a deep breath before stepping over the camera and continuing to the bed. He lifted the covers and layed Tim down first before removing his own shoes and following after him. As he laid down Tim curled up into his side and began to let out silent little gasps and sobs.

For as long as Kon knew Tim, Tim had never been a loud cryer. Later he found out that that was because of his parents before Bruce. Despite the past neglect, Kon knew Tim still loved his parents. Kon also knows that he only kept a few things from his parents, one item being an older camera that now layed broken on the floor.

When Tim’s sobs lessened, Kon spoke up. “Rob, what happened?”

Tim didn't answer, only looking up at his laptop weakly. Kon pulled away slightly to grab the item before returning to Tim’s grasp. He opened the laptop and typed the password in not knowing what to expect. Yet when he saw the video frozen on Tim’s little demon of a brother holding the camera above his head and about to throw it on the ground, Kon couldn't bring himself to be surprised.

From all that he has witnessed and heard about the brat, he had decided that he hated the little monster and was angry on Tim’s behalf.

[antebunny]

jealousy, jealousy

Tim cannot stand the sight of Jason and Damian getting along. They are brothers, so it happens quite often. Damian sniffs and says something pithy, Jason chuckles and pats him like you would an angry little kitten. Damian, feathers ruffled, demands Jason remove his hand from Damian before Damian removes it from his body. Jason scruffs him even harder. Sometimes they slip into Arabic, which always mollifies Damian more than English.

“I don’t get what your problem is,” Steph says. 

She’s sprawled on her new purple English roll arm couch that Tim got her for her birthday. He got her a lot of things, actually, and then they got into a huge fight because Steph felt bought and condescended to and Tim felt hurt because he’d only wanted to do something nice for his best friend. God, you’re just like B, she’d accused, and wasn’t it just terrible that Tim would’ve taken that as a compliment if not for her tone?

In the end, she kept the couch, and Tim sometimes comes over and watches trashy TV with her until the neon horror of real life bleeds into LED pixels and A24 dreamscapes. He’s been doing that more and more ever since Red Hood. Ever since he couldn’t look at Dick Grayson, his so-called big brother, and feel like he’s being squeezed out. Steph hasn’t complained. Yet. 

“So the biggest asshole gets along with the tiniest brat. So what?”

“It would be easier if Damian wasn’t so…” Tim gestures with his bowl of popcorn. “Damian.”

It’s impossible to capture the sheer Damian-ness of Damian in a single a adjective. Tim had been excited to become an older brother. He thought he could do what Dick did for him. Tim failed to realize just how much he was not and could never be Dick Grayson. 

Steph snorts. “Well-said.”

“You say it better than,” Tim retorts. He stuffs a handful of popcorn in his mouth and pretends to pay attention to whatever is on Steph’s TV screen.

“He’s got a need to prove himself wrapped in a superiority complex,” Steph says promptly. 

“Emphasis on the superiority complex,” Tim mutters darkly. 

Really, he’s the last person that should be joking about this, though. Most of Damian’s insults are depressingly familiar to everyone else. He mocks Barbara for being disabled, spews a barrage of nonsensical slut-shaming insults at Steph which he clearly was taught but does not understand, and denigrates Jason for being a street kid before Bruce took him in. None of that is new to them. The unexpected part is that Damian also has a slew of insults for Tim’s parentage and background. Sometimes just his skills and contributions to the Wayne family and Gotham vigilante scene, his value as a person. So while everyone else shrugs their shoulders and ignores Damian’s comments, Tim bristles and bites back the urge to attack Damian back. He has never before experienced this blatant disregard and condescension towards Tim as a person, and he cannot stand it.

But he’s the only one. 

Bruce alone escapes Damian’s attacks and welcomes his new son with open arms. Alfred, Barbara and Dick are too good and too patient to do anything but calmly and lovingly try to teach Damian better. Steph can’t be bothered to care. And Jason, the only one whom Tim thought he could trust to dislike Damian, bonded with the brat while with the League of Assassins, and now takes his big brother duties very seriously.

Tim is alone. He feels like such a petty, immature, insecure crybaby whining about how Jason and Damian get alone, but goddammit he hates feeling alone. 

[the-booty-crusader]

I want a fic where Damian is in the middle of his “cringy first OCs” phase.

He works day and night on his character who he thinks is the coolest thing ever.

His character’s name is Xendar, the Assassin Prince, Godslayer. He is stronger than Superman and Wonder Woman… combined! He could beat them with one hand… which he’ll have to because his other hand is A SWORD!

His mother is the daughter of the greatest villain in the world… but his father was a hero unlike any other!

And of course, Xendar has heterochromia and the coolest battle scars. Also, six wings and horns and a halo.

He tells his siblings about this.

Dick is confused. He doesn’t really get online culture, and especially not the online art culture. Why does he have six wings? That seems impractical. And shouldn’t he get a proper prosthetic instead of a sword arm? Aren’t horns supposed to be the broken remains of a halo? How does he have both???

Damian stops telling Dick about his characters.

Jason is delighted. The Red Hood, being the literary buff he is, immediately recognizes the self-insert. He can tell that there’s a lot of “early writer flaws” in the story but he gladly helps his little brother, this ending up being their first real bonding experience. He helps Damian with the worldbuilding, interpersonal relationships of Xendar and the flow of the story.

Damian appreciates this.

Tim’s eyes glaze over the moment Damian shows him the drawing. While Damian explains how Xendar, the Assassin Prince and Godslayer is next in line to the throne of the Demon King… Tim is getting lost in his memories of his Ao3 days. He suddenly realizes he never deleted his self-insert Batman & Robin fics. He realizes probably at least one of his family members knows— Bruce or Babs. His face slowly becomes redder as Damian talks about his masterpiece.

“That’s… really cool Dami. Uhm. I need to go.” Tim responds before scurrying off to go delete his Ao3 and Fanfiction accounts. Should he delete Tumblr just to be safe?

Damian scoffs. He wouldn’t expect Drake to understand anyways.

Tim understands better than any of his older brothers.

Now includes art of Xendar!

[necrotic-nephilim]

For the ask game: A Damian who never got the sex talk or a consent talk from Bruce (both bc he assumed that Dick, son-wife extraordinaire, would take care of that and bc he thought that Damian would be ace or celibate or something) and so in his teens after only learning about sex from the internet he just becomes like, wildly inappropriate about his crushes, including unfortunately his older siblings, especially Dick, Tim and Cass

This includes not just the bat-typical stalking online and irl, but also making comments on their bodies, flirting excessively, and one notable time, masturbating in the living room of Dick’s apartment

Everyone is torn on how to address it, if they should be saying anything at all, I mean, he’s just going through puberty, it’s just a phase right?

for the ask game!

i LOVE it when Damian has like. zero concept of how relationships work and no one thinks to talk to him about it, leading to wildly inappropriate behavior. it's my fave flavor for any Damian ship.

obviously, his first crush is Dick. and because Damian has had such little interaction with healthy romantic relationships, he doesn't even *realize* that's what he's feeling. in concept, he understands sex. but he has a very clinical definition of it, viewing it as coupling to produce an heir. (100% influenced by Ra's) so sex as a pleasurable thing, as something driven by romantic interest, that's foreign to him. he refuses to show weakness and he needs to be hyper-independent, so he falls down a google rabbit hole. i love the idea of Damian accidentally stumbling into like, forums and subreddits based on what he googles that are for people with incestual fantasies and it ends up giving him the WILDLY wrong idea about what's normal. he makes his own account and becomes mildly chronically online about it. at first, it's just a safe outlet for him to vent about his feelings. bc deep down Damian *does* know this is a little wrong and weird, he knows Dick doesn't exactly reciprocate and he understands there's a difference between familial and romantic love. but the more Damian is reading other stories online, the bolder he gets. and he starts getting more open about his attraction.

not only does he get more open about it, but his attraction spreads to Cass and Tim. for Cass, it makes sense. they grew up similarly, if anyone understands the guilt of being raised to be an assassin and now trying to atone for it, it's her. Damian respects her raw ability and naturally it turns into a crush. for Tim, it's harder to explain. he hates Tim with his whole being, doesn't see Tim as his brother. it starts as sexual attraction first, with Tim. for Dick and Cass it was romantic first, but not Tim. watching Tim train shirtless, Damian almost hits himself in the face with the workout equipment he's using. since he's never considered Tim a brother, he's never considered Tim seriously when he's thinking about incestual feelings. it startles him to be attracted to Tim too. honestly? fun concept that Damian gets so in his head with an incest kink that he finally accepts Tim as a brother to him because he's attracted to Tim, therefore this must mean that some part of Damian views him as a brother because Damian has just. entangled those feelings internally.

it's when Damian is attracted to them as well, that they all start to notice. Cass notices first, and she asks Tim about it, since she can tell Damian's feelings are toward Tim and Dick as well. they have a conversation about it and ultimately decide they can't change Damian's feelings, and they don't want to embarrass him about it because he's young and going through puberty. Tim had his own childhood crush on Dick, it happens, he really gets it. they loop Dick in, who is absolutely thrown by the concept. for a while Dick doesn't believe them. he's convinced they're reading into things. until Damian starts getting more bold. going from openly staring that could be interpreted a lot fo ways to excess compliments and flirting. Dick's used to comments about his body, they slide off easily. but when Damian very loudly makes a comment about Tim or Cass' body, Dick balks. he tries to. carefully tell Damian that there are boundaries to certain relationships and he needs to be more respectful. Damian doesn't take it seriously because Dick won't address it head-on and is dancing around the topic. Damian either doesn't think Dick is serious, or he thinks Dick doesn't understand the depth of his emotion outside of sexual desire. so he starts trying to be more romantic. flirting, gifts and gestures. it's very sweet and almost childlike, how hard Damian is trying. Cass thinks it's cute and doesn't mind it. Dick is trying carefully to let Damian down gently. and Tim is just baffled, not really sure what to do with the *very* nice new bo staff Damian got him that's reinforced and admittedly, very well balanced.

Damian gets bolder. his touch lingers, his comments get more sexual. and of course, the breaking point: he jerks off in Dick's living room. he does it when Dick is busy in another room, taking a shower. Dick comes in just as Damian reaches completion, gripping one of the throw pillows on Dick's couch. Dick leaves the room, pretends he didn't see anything and gives Damian the chance to clean himself up. but when he comes in the room, they both know that Dick knows. Dick decides he has to be more firm with his boundaries. he sits down and tells Damian it's okay to have a crush, but this is not okay. Dick repeatedly calls it "puberty" and a "phase", and Damian gets more caught up on Dick denying the realness of his feelings than the rejection. he doubles down, because he perceives the issue as Dick just not understanding how real Damian's feelings are. this isn't some silly teenage phase to Damian, he knows his feelings. obviously, the issue must be that Dick, Tim, and Cass don't understand that. so he does his best to act more like an adult. he's far more reasonable on patrol, he doesn't pick fights, he's independent. all the issues Dick has been having with training Damian suddenly vanish and well. Dick knows why, but he has to admit, it is far easier to work with Damian like this. at this point, Tim just finds the whole thing funny. Cass doesn't enjoy the sexualized comments about her body, she's always been hyperaware of how others will oversexualize her, but she still sees Damian as a young kid and doesn't lash out at him over it. she's dealt with far worse, and she doesn't want to make him feel bad about a crush.

if i were writing this, i think it'd be fun if Damian's feels do eventually fade. he stops going online so much and he gets other things to focus on trying to be a good vigilante and soon his efforts aren't about his feelings, he's just genuinely focused on himself. he grows back and Dick, Tim, and Cass breathe a sigh of relief about it really just being some phase. that is, of course, until someone new joins the Batfam and the cycle starts again. maybe it's Duke, maybe it's someone else like Terry. but at the end of the day, Damian's incest kink wins out and maybe this time, he actually succeeds. he gets his new person of affection to reciprocate with all of the attention he gives them and Dick just has to watch from the background, facepalming. bc at the end of the day, Damian will always get what he wants, sooner or later.

[jupiterisnastar]

Anxious!Damian Wayne headcanons;

^᪲᪲᪲ I have the headcanon that all of the Batfamily have some mental disorder or that they are neurodivergent, but for me, Damian truly have anxiety, even if he hides it well;

^᪲᪲᪲ I think that he developed this while still on the League of Assassins, moments before he started living with the Batfamily, and as a true Al Ghul, Damian soon became a master at hiding his anxiety;

^᪲᪲᪲ But as all anxious people, he too had some little tics while being anxious;

^᪲᪲᪲ Damian has the habit of biting his lips too much to the point of bleeding a little, and after one of his half-brothers caught him biting his lip, Damian started to carry some gums with him, it helped a little having something on his mouth that prevented him from biting his lips or the inside of his cheeks;

^᪲᪲᪲ One of the things that make Damian realize that he's on the verge of having a panic attack, is the fact that he begans pinching his own wrist, using his nails to hurt it even more and keep himself grounded. It's not healthy, and Damian doesn't do it often, only when he's too anxious and almost losing his own damn mind;

^᪲᪲᪲ Damian once saw that lavender is a calming essence, so he bought some lavender essential oils along with essential candles. He always carried one tiny bottle on his backpack and one with on the pockets of his Robin suit;

^᪲᪲᪲ Sometimes, Damian fears that he would get killed in one of the patrols. What if he's not strong enough? What if he fails? What if he dies like Jason, but unlike his older brother, the Lazarus pit doesn't work on him and Damian would stay dead and his mother would lose his only child and and and—

^᪲᪲᪲ After having his panic attacks, Damian always put his headphones and draw silly characters for hours, he locks himself on his room and just draws until his hand hurts. Because at least Damian can still make art, at least he has the little dogs and cats that he names under his favorite flowers and mythological creatures;

^᪲᪲᪲ Beinf an anxious person also makes Damian have a lot of nightmares about what will happen in the future, so he needs to have either Titus or Alfred Pennyworth (the cat) on the bed with him. Because then he will have some comfort;

^᪲᪲᪲ Damian have a whole playlist with calming music and other with ASMR audios to keep him grounded when he's anxious;

^᪲᪲᪲ After months contemplating, Damian asked Bruce to have appointments with a therapist, he didn't elaborate why he wanted. And after some reassurance that he wouldn't talk about his Bat-duties, Bruce helped Damian choose a trusted therapist;

^᪲᪲᪲ Things are never easy for Damian Wayne, but at least he’s still alive, even with the voices on his head telling him to just end everything. But Damian Wayne was nothing but a force of nature 🗡

[dairy-farmer]

I need POVs of other people in that Dick is emotionally manipulative by slitting ask. Like, I need to see people realizing far too late that they let Tim down once again. I need people to be horrified. Maybe they're only clued in on it when Damian comes back and starts acting like Damian is his child and Tim is Damian's mother. At first, they thought Dick was joking but then they're seeing less and less of Tim. Even Damian has brought up some concerns. He likes how Tim is treating him nicely but there's something wrong about the way Dick is going about it. What if it was a civilian who tries to talk to Tim first about this? Like Bernard or Ives? Oddly enough, They moved out of Gotham soon after never to be seen again. But Damian or Tim swears he once woke up in the middle of the night and saw Dick covered in blood

dick in that severe emotional manipulation au would absolutely have tim wrapped around his finger following his perceived suicide attempt. the rest of the family and his friends would also similarly fall in line because they knew dick had been struggling but they hadn't thought, they'd never considered he'd do this!!! they start paying close attention, keeping dick company, doing the same as tim essentially because while tim is traumatized from being the one to find him the others are equally as concerned.

and this is here people notice the cracks. where they notice how...things don't quite line up. there are oddities, discrepancies in dick's story, in how he acts afterward, in the things he says.

his friends are in other cities and can't be there so they message and call him and get worried when he doesn't reply but are satisfied when others in the family tell them dick is fine. but the gotham capes, the other bats in the family...they're detectives and they're picking up on something, something that their guts tell them is... not quite right.

now... you can't just....accuse someone of faking taking their own life. that is a VERY serious accusation with very serious repercussions and if that's what you suspect you sure as shit better be right.

they don't feel...good about the suspicions but they can't help them. dick doesn't quite ACT like how people who have survived suicide attempts do. granted, not everyone fits into the same box, but dick? dick's behavior afterward is just...odd.

he doesn't want to be committed. even though he just attempted to take his own life, he refuses evaluation or help from a professional even though it's something that NEEDS to happen because...because then maybe things wouldn't have gotten this bad. dick refuses. even when someone is brought in he just clams up. refuses to speak, refuses to look at the person.

shame isn't unexpected following an attempt. anger, despair, regret. dick would likely be feeling a whole cacophony of emotions.

but then tim is brought in. and then dick is soft and pitiful, then he's emotional with his eyes filling with tears, he's reaching for tim and crying, sobbing, asking tim to stay with him and hold him while trembling like a beaten dog. and the shift from calm to that is just...strange.

dick clinging to one person would be understandable...but there's just something...not right.

the family can't help it. they can't help the oddness of how they feel.

and they're not the only ones. tim's civilian friends pick up on it too- on the rare occasions they go to visit tim at the manor because tim very rarely leaves the manor, always too concerned about dick. they all know tim's older brother isn't fully...stable. they read in the paper about it, the tabloids had gushed about it and the 'drama!' of it all.

sometimes they see tim's brother. he's in an armchair usually in the same room as them wearing soft flannel pajamas and a thick quilt over his lap and staring into space. they want to ask if he's on medications or something because he always looks so vacant and empty but it seems rude to ask. and tim always looks so haggard and stressed and tired so they keep quiet and just ask how he's been.

their visits aren't frequent and ives completely stops visiting, only calling, because one time he'd been leaving the manor. tim had been walking him to the door but then he'd realized he's left behind his hat and so he'd told tim he'd be back in a minute and then jogged back to the room where dick had remained quietly seated.

ives never told tim about what happened in that room. and...he'd hesitated to tell bernard but then bernard had told him about the 'weird vibe' dick gave off whenever he visited tim and so ives had confided in him. he told him about how he'd walked back to the room and spotted his hat on a couch cushion of the sitting room where he and tim had spent the entire afternoon talking with dick silent and staring off into space nearby. there'd been a large wall of windows that peeked into the garden behind the couch. it was nighttime when ives had left and his back had been to dick as he bent over for his hat. when he'd looked up, he'd caught sight of their reflections in the windows and felt a chill go up his spine when he saw dick turned fully to face him, face twisted in hatred and glaring at ives. when he'd turned around dick had been back to normal and staring off into space but the encounter had freaked ives up enough that he hadn't gone back.

when damian returns through some set of miracles he also picks up on the oddness of dick and tim and the way dick behaves.

no one can quite put their finger on it. they're not sure what it is. but...they know its not normal. they think, they believe, they know- whatever had happened on that night where everything changed...it was no accident.

[msfcatlover]

Realizing every one of my time traveling Robins has one of the others rendered completely unrecognizable to them by the change:

Steph lived through a Jokerized future, and stopped smiling & laughing as a result (half out of survival, because everyone learned to look on it with suspicion; half out of trauma, because the sensory experience of doing so became associated with her worst memories.) Jason, Tim, & Dick all saw their Stephs become more grim as time went on, but Damian’s Steph actively worked to maintain her light & humor for his sake as much as anything else. Damian cannot conceive of a Steph who doesn’t laugh in the face of every hardship.

Damian takes nearly 30yrs of experience (nearly a decade of it a seemingly endless war) back to his 5yr body & brain chemistry. Steph & Tim saw Damian worn down by war, while Tim & Jason saw Damian destroyed by guilt & loss. But for Dick, Damian is both younger & older than Dick ever got to see him; younger, brighter, more tired, & more worn simultaneously. Dick feels so lost trying to find the boy he helped raise between the true changes & the lies Damian sticks to to protect them.

Dick watched his entire family slip through his fingers like water, accident after seeming accident claiming them one after another. Damian, Steph, & Jason have all dealt with Dick’s near-manic, grief-driven protectiveness before, all know how to recognize the way Dick’s communication skills start to shut down even as he clings hard enough to leave bruises on anyone he loves. The closest Tim has come is the fallout from Bruce’s fake death, when his own grief & coping mechanisms crashed headlong into Dick’s in the worst possible way. The way Dick hovers nearby with a nearly-perfect smile & haunted eyes, the way Dick fusses & triple-checks every chance he gets that his family is okay, the seeming lack of trust in how often Dick needs to see for himself rather than just take their word for it… It makes Tim’s skin crawl, and he doesn’t know what to do about it.

Tim hasn’t changed so much himself—not that far off in age from Jason’s timeline, trauma not too different from what Tim dealt with in that timeline (just more of it)—but Jason never really got the chance to get to know Tim in the first place; from Jason’s return to Tim’s death were the two worst, roughest years of Tim’s life, and Tim was either out of Gotham or avoiding Jason for more than half of it. Getting to know the absolutely insane, wild, creative, brilliant, idiotic badass that is his little brother is a roller coaster Jason is in no way prepared for.

...Which I guess leaves Steph unable to recognize Jason. I’m still puzzling out Steph’s future, so I’m not entirely sure how that works yet. (I can see how being surrounded by Joker-zombies could seriously impact Jason, obviously, but part of my point here is that they’re not just unrecognizable as the version that other Robin lost, but that they also aren’t recognizable as the person that Robin knew before their timeline went completely off the rails. It’s not, “Oh look, it’s my sibling before everything went horrible! Gosh, I almost forgot what they were like back then.” It’s “Who are you, and what have you done with my sibling?”) Still, I like this motif, so if I can find a way to make this work then I’m sticking with it.

[brucewaynehater101]

Ok so ive had this idea stuck in my head for WEEKS at this point and i need to tell someone about it so im invading your asks

(ages for this au, id imagine Damians around like- 12 or 13 and Tim/JJ's like- 17)

What if a version of Damian (like from ine of the good happy batfam universes) was sent to to a universe with Joker Junior where the rest of the bats were killed by the Joker and JJ was never reacued and brought back to being Tim?

And Damian is like- terrified because he doesnt know where he is or how to get back home and then hes found by JJ.

And like- at first JJ would probably try to leave Damian but once he gets a good look at this kid baby brother, thats his baby brother- he would realize that he recognizes this kid. So he keeps him!

The only problem with that is the Joker. Now the bats are all dead (or theres circumstances preventing them from doing anything) in this universe so theres nobody around to stop the Jokers shit. And we all know that the Joker isnt above murdering or tourturing kids. (Id imagine the JJ of this universe has done stuff like that once or twice, but he doesnt like to. He's a smaller equally manical yet WAY less bloodthirsty version of the joker)

So JJ keeps Damian hidden from his "Papa" until the bats of Damians universe are able to find a way to bring him back home. In the meantime tho, Damians under JJ's care, and its terrifying, but at least he tries!

Now in my mind Joker Jr. is kinda like Jinx from Arcane with mood swings, visual and audio halucinations, so so smart but so so crazy and confused and SCARED and oh so close to finally snapping until he actually does.

And this boy that he kiddnaped rescued confuses the fuck out of him. Because Junior recognizes him from somewhere and he doesnt know why.

(I hope this all makes sense its kinda just like a word vomit lmao my lizard brain just want crazy older brother Joker Jr. [Also there isnt enough JJ content out there and that is a crime])

(Older brother JJ content??? Fuck yeah)

TW: JJ, torture, child abuse

JJ... Recognizes those glaring emerald eyes and scowling face. He doesn't know why, but it causes reality around him to pulse with uncertainty as it teters between JJ's world and someone else's. Someone Papa doesn't like.

JJ won't talk to them. He knows he's not supposed to. Papa will become angry. So Junior tears his eyes from the bird kid baby bat and turns to leave. A tsk stops him.

Another wave of familiarity crashes over JJ, but he doesn't know that child. He doesn't. He really really doesn't know him.

So, Junior should move. Papa won't he happy if JJ can't move.

Well, unless Papa is teaching JJ a lesson.

His nerves light up at the memory of cold metal tables, electric probes, and buzzing.

JJ needs to go, but that kid. He can't leave him. He also can't take him with either. He knows what happens to the kids Joker meets.

Junior would never disobey his papa, but the ever-present buzzing noise isn't a deterrent for bad behavior. With how often he's punished, it hardly matters whether JJ is being a good child or not. He's always in trouble. Instead, that buzz is a reminder that he can't be caught.

JJ is smart. He's clever and sneaky. He's also great at lying, even to bats. While he may not know why lying to the nocturnal creatures is important, he knows it's an accomplishment he's proud of.

He can hide the child from Papa! It'll be a fun game! Junior's little surprise.

Junior isn't sure what he's winning, but he knows what will happen when he loses.

Death to the bird and punishment to JJ! A great joke!

Though Junior doesn't know why the kid is a bird.

Oh well! JJ will take great care of the little bird. All he has to do is feed him and keep him hidden! It will be like all the other things JJ hides from Papa. He'll never admit it, but Junior thinks Papa is a little dumb. As long as JJ plays pretend with the older man, he'll remain unsupervised.

Anyways, JJ has more of a demented, childish voice while Tim is more analytical and serious.

Damian, to start with, doesn't recognize Tim. JJ has green hair, bleached skin, cut cheeks, and way less muscle mass. The behavior is drastically different as well (also, we're not gonna speculate any specific mental disorders for these AUs. JJ and Tim are considered different due to their characterizstions, but I don't want to put harmful connotations out there [especially since I don't have any relevant conditions to insert accurate and mindful interpretations]).

In this AU, the Bats are all dead. JJ did kill some of them, which drastically reduced his ability to recover and remember that he's Tim.

He didn't kill Damian, though. Tim also feels extremely protective of his younger siblings (Duke included). Unfortunately, they're dead in this AU :/

JJ oscillates between being terrified, peppy, silent, crying, and content at rapid rates. It takes several days for Damian to feel out some of the triggers.

The Bats from Damian's universe are trying their damned best to get there as soon as possible. Sadly, Joker finds out about Damian before then.

JJ, by this point, has bonded with the kid. That kid is HIS. He may have some slightly fucked up notions on how to show care, but he will not let anyone harm the bird (not even Papa).

So, JJ does his best joke yet. He kills Joker.

Only after killing the Joker do the other Bats show up. They offer to take JJ with them (particularly because that's Tim!!!), but he refuses. He doesn't want to go with his family. He doesn't remember them and he killed some of them.

He can't stay with them.

[browniesarethebest]

hi umm I really love you're reverse robin fic! please, if you don't mind could you do one where steph either just has a breakdown where she's alone and damian walks in or the thing with black-mask happens (i'm not sure if it happens in your timeline but it happened AGAIN or something? just no kidnapping steph to africa) and damian kinda just being mother-hen because STEPH WONT LIE DOWN? basically just damian being soft/protective big brother to steph, cause your writing makes me want to squeal☺️

Aw thank you, guys! I'm just gonna combine these both since they're so similar if you don't mind.

As the second oldest, Stephanie often felt like she was still fighting to prove herself. The feeling had decreased some over the years as she settled more into the family and gained younger siblings, but it still flared up. Tim liked to bitch about the turbulent start to his and Damian's relationship, but he never seemed to stop and consider her start with the Bats.

Damian definitely didn't like her at first. Back then, it had just been him and Bruce, so when she started crashing their crime scenes and fights with villains, he was pretty pissed off about it. He was always calling her insulting names and actively trying to intimidate her away from the duo, but it never worked. She was used to men trying to intimidate her, and Damian could never discourage her from doing what she thought was right. Her only saving grace at the time, which Steph wouldn't realize until Tim joined up, was that she wasn't living at the Manor—not at first at least.

No, she wouldn't move in until after Cluemaster killed her mother.

By that time, Damian had calmed down some after the whole Joker Junior fiasco. Her mother's death probably had something to do with his more accepting attitude towards her as well. She was just thankful he stopped calling her a harlot and didn't look at her with pity.

It very quickly dawned on Stephanie after she moved in that she was the first female presence in the Manor in a long time.

Sure, Selina came by sometimes and maybe Leslie too when someone needed some serious stitching up. Kate and Diana occasionally stopped by too, but Steph was the only one actually living in the Manor. There were definitely some conversations had that Steph did not want to repeat.

Damian was obviously not the friendly type. He cared, Stephanie eventually figured out. It just took a long time for someone to gain his trust, and even then he still had a weird way of showing he cared. Bruce and Alfred could be pretty closed off too. And so, she ended up taking on a caring role for Tim. She could be there for him in ways that Damian, Bruce, and Alfred just couldn't. She did the same for each child that Bruce eventually took in as well. Damian had opened up a bit more by the time Dick showed up, but it was still up to Stephanie to be the older sibling with open arms.

Stephanie loved all of her siblings so much, but sometimes, it got to be too much. She could only handle so many problems at once, and it wasn't like she had someone in the same role for her. Every time she seriously thought about going to Bruce or Damian with a problem, those old feelings of inferiority would rear their ugly head. She would bottle up all her feelings about every worry and every mistake until she could beat them out of her system. It was like killing two birds with one stone—she could simultaneously improve her fighting skills while also physically releasing her stupid, pent-up emotions.

That was how Damian found her—beating the shit out of training dummies in the Cave. It was long after everyone else had gone to bed, so no one should have been up to bother her. Steph couldn't remember the last time she had slept, and she was pretty sure her ribs were bruised from the fight with Poison Ivy, but none of that mattered. She was in the zone, and she needed to put in at least another two hours before even thinking of potentially stopping.

"What are you doing?"

Stephanie whirled around to find Damian standing at the edge of the training area, arms crossed with an eyebrow raised. Stephanie felt the urge to punch it off his face.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm training, obviously. You starting to lose your sight in your old age, Damian?"

Damian didn't rise to the bait. "You should be asleep. When was the last time you slept?"

Stephanie scoffed, "That's rich coming from you."

Damian's eyebrows furrowed. Stephanie wasn't normally so antagonistic. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong!" Stephanie spun back around to continue beating on the dummy. "Everything is peachy keen and all that bullshit, so just leave like you always do and go back to bed."

"What does that mean?"

"What do you think it means?" Stephanie was getting really tired of talking to Damian. Her punches grew more erratic. "You may seem to give a shit when I'm not all sunshine and rainbows and shit, but you sure as hell don't care enough to actually do anything about it. I'm the one that's supposed to talk everyone through their problems. I'm the one who's gotta be emotionally available because God forbid any of the adults in this house actually act like adults and help the kids when they need it! Bruce tries, sure. And bless Alfred, but even he has his own issues. So it's gotta be me! But where's my help?! Where's the emotional support when I need it?!"

Her next punch was stopped as a hand wrapped around her wrist. Stephanie snarled at Damian, who seemed stunned at the action, and yanked at her wrist, but he refused to let go.

"Is that how you really feel?"

Stephanie was shocked to see genuine concern in the man's eyes and deflated. She hadn't meant to dump all of that on Damian, but she was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She tugged her wrist halfheartedly and let it drop to her side as Damian let go.

"I..." She fought back tears. She refused to cry in front of Damian. She didn't want to see or hear his contempt for weakness. She didn't think she could handle it in her current state.

She jolted in surprise as a hand landed on her shoulder. She stared up in surprise at Damian, whose face was twisted with discomfort.

"You are correct." Damian admitting she was right? Stephanie was sure she'd fall over from all the surprises she was receiving tonight. "We have never considered the position we inadvertently put you in. I was... not a normal child, so I did not expect the care you give to the others, which suited Father just fine. You were already part of our team when Timothy joined us, and you moved in not long after. We did not have time to consider his needs—or the needs of the others—before you swooped in to care for them. We never considered what you needed because we were comfortable the way we operated. That was our mistake."

Damian glanced at the training dummy before looking back at her. "You have nothing to prove to us. You are a formidable warrior, and a valued member of this family. The others love you and would be distressed to know you are hurting yourself in some absurd quest to prove your worth." Damian paused, and Stephanie felt the slightest squeeze from the hand on her shoulder. "Father can be quite dense. Should you need someone to confide in... I am available."

Stephanie was floored. This was not how she was expecting this night to go, but she couldn't deny this was all she ever wanted to hear from her brother. Her eyes shined with fresh tears. "You mean it?"

Damian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I would not have said so if I did not."

"Come here, big guy!" Stephanie lunged at the man and wrapped her arms around him.

She could appreciate this for what it was. It had to have taken a lot for Damian to step so widely out of his comfort zone. His arms hung uselessly in the air above her back, but Stephanie didn't mind. Damian had given her a lot tonight. She wouldn't push.

"...You can let go now."

"Shh. We're having a moment."

"...I would like to go back to bed."

"Fine! Fine!" Stephanie let go with a laugh.

They made their way to the elevator in silence. As they ascended, Stephanie could feel a weight lift from her shoulders. She still had some work to do in regard to her insecurities, but this was a big step towards something better for her. The rest would be easy.

When her insecurities reared their ugly head again, Stephanie knew her big brother would be there to catch her.

[dato-potato]

The Lost Son

AU where Talia leaves Damian at an orphanage in Gotham when he’s five. Damian hasn’t been told about his Father and Bruce hasn’t been told about his son. Chaos ensues. Here are their stories. This was suggested to me by @maddoxxx44 and it’s truly magnificent. I have so much more for this fic, so this is just part one.

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

———————————

Talia knelt down in front of Damian. She checked their surroundings once more before looking at her child, “Damian, my son, you must be strong.”

Damian nodded, not understanding what was going on exactly, but knowing that his mother was only protecting him, “I will, Mother.”

Talia breathed out and nodded, one of the few remaining loyal assassins placed a hand on her shoulder. A reminder.

“I shall return. I cannot promise when, but until then, keep yourself hidden,” she told him as she gently brought her lips to his forehead. Damian gave her a curt nod and Talia couldn’t help but think about how much he truly was his Father’s son, even without knowing it. For a moment, she considered driving him the extra hour to the manor and dropping him off there, but the hand on her shoulder once again reminded her. She sighed and took one last look at her son as the car drove away from the orphanage.

Once the car was out of sight, Damian took a deep breath and turned to the door which looked a lot more ominous than it had a moment before. There was a flash of light to his left followed by the rolling of thunder. Damian couldn’t help but think it was fitting. He shivered against the cold, or at least that’s what he told himself the reason was, not that he was scared. He would have no one to rely on, not that he hadn’t been trained to deal with these situations, but he always had people he could go to after. In this, after was indefinite. He had no way of knowing when he’d see his mother again, if ever.

Damian shook his head as if shaking the very thoughts from his mind. He turned to the door once more, steeling himself as he brought his tiny fist to it and knocked. He waited for a few moments, soon rustling and murmured voices sounded from the other side of the door. It swung open to reveal an older woman in a nightgown, a confused, clearly annoyed look on her face as she studied the small boy.

The old woman’s face softened, “Dear, what’re you doing here?” she asked softly.

Damian shifted his feet, unsure of how to answer her, “Mother told me to wait here until she returned,” he decided to tell the truth, not the whole truth, but enough that she’d let him stay.

The woman stuck her head outside, looking for Damian’s mother no doubt, before she turned her attention back to the child, “Alright, well let’s get you inside first.”

She guided Damian inside and to what seemed to be a kitchen. She motioned for Damian to sit down at the table. When the boy didn’t make any move to sit, she pulled the chair out, “Sit,” she commanded him. Damian frowned at her words but did as he was told.

The woman joined Damian at the table, two steaming mugs in her hands, “Well, I suppose we should start with names,” she tapped the table with her nails, “I’m Janet Norwell.”

Damian nodded, “Damian.”

Janet cocked her head, “Damian...?” she prompted him.

“Al--” he stopped himself short and Janet raised an eyebrow, “Alistair.”

The woman sighed heavily, “Alright then, Damian Alistair, what’s your mom’s name?”

Damian took a sip of the steaming liquid, “Dunno,” he said vaguely. He made a face into the mug, the sweet liquid completely foreign to him.

“Too much chocolate?” Janet asked as she took a sip of her mug, “Usually the kids will beg me to add more.”

Damian shrugged and took another sip.

The next day, Damian was introduced to the other children. He was totally and completely out of his element as the younger ones crowded him, bombarding him with questions while the adults cooed over how adorable he was.

The first week was absolute hell for Damian. He had been trained by some of the most deadly assassins in the world, yet he was more terrified of the small children who would climb on him or ask him to read them stories or draw with them. No matter where Damian hid, somehow they would find him. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Shortly after Damian’s sixth birthday, Janet enrolled him in school, much to Damian’s protests. It didn’t take long for a phone call to be made to the orphanage, suggesting they enroll Damian in Gotham Academy. That night when he got back from school, Janet sat him down and they discussed how best to handle his situation. Damian was soon offered a full scholarship to the academy and graduated three years after.

——————————

“Damian!” Janet’s voice rang through the house. Damian sighed and heaved himself off his bed and down the stairs.

Aurora, one of the younger kids, poked her head through the banister as Damian descended the steps, “Is Dami in trouble?” she asked softly getting his attention.

He smiled up at her, through the time he’d been at the orphanage, he had certainly gained a small soft spot for the kids.

“I doubt it, little one,” he paused for a moment, looking at the small child, “And stop leaning through the railing, you’re gonna get stuck,” he chided as she nodded and ran back to the kids’ room.

Damian entered the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, “Oh good,” Janet said, eyeing him sideways, “Can you go into town to grab milk? I forgot to get some earlier.”

Damian rolled his eyes, earning a tap on his head from Janet’s wooden spoon, “Why can’t Grace? She’s supposed to be here today isn't she?” Damian was pretty sure he had seen her on the daytime schedule.

Janet sighed, “Yes, she is, but she had to go home early. Said she wasn’t feeling well.”

Damian nodded and headed for the door. Janet threw a coin purse in his direction as Damian caught it without looking. Although he didn’t use his ‘talents’ as he did in the past, he still trained to keep himself sharp. He knew Janet knew he would often leave during the night to train either in the surrounding forest or during his ‘strolls’ in town, but she never said anything. Janet never asked any questions after the first night, and once when she asked about Damian’s father, but Damian didn’t have to lie when he said he didn’t know.

“Be back soon,” he told the lingering kids who all nearly took him down to the ground with the force of their hugs.

So perhaps he had developed a rather large soft spot for them. Damian had definitely struggled the first few months he was left with Janet and the other kids, he didn’t understand how they played and when he had tried to join, he would often end up hurting them. As he got used to holding his strength back when he was with them, he began to care for them as something of an older brother figure. They had become his family, more than his real one. Damian couldn’t help but wonder if his mother was ever actually coming back for him Part of him hoped she would never return. 

Damian grabbed his bicycle from the back of the large house.

He had been at the orphanage for nearly five years, seen a lot of kids come and go, even had a few people who wanted to adopt him, but he quickly declined and asked them to consider one of the others. Thanks to Damian, the small orphanage had gained a great deal of fame due to his academic achievements and the kids that lived there were often quickly adopted, leaving Damian as the now oldest resident. It helped that they were also on the outskirts of Gotham, keeping them a good distance away from the city and crime.

Damian dismounted his bike and locked it to one of the streetlamps. He walked into the small convenience store, the chime above the door alerting Mrs. Williams to his arrival, “Hello, Damian, what is it tonight?” she asked him pleasantly as he grabbed the milk.

Damian stopped at the front counter and handed her the money, “Nothing for me, Janet needs some milk.”

Mrs. Williams nodded her head, “Good of you to come and get it for her, wish my grandkids were half as good,” the old lady sighed and shook her head as she handed his change to him, “Hurry back now child, you know how it gets after dark in this damn place.”

Damian nodded and shoved the milk into his backpack. As he exited the store, he huffed out a breath, the cold air making his breath visible and got his key out for his lock before stopping short.

“Really?” he breathed looking at the cut cable that had secured his bike to the lamp barely two minutes prior. Damian looked down the streets to find the culprit and quickly spotted him. 

A man, much too large for Damian’s small bike, was attempting to escape while riding it. Damian shook his head before taking off in a sprint to catch him. This wasn’t the first time he had stopped a thief, the first time was shortly after he had been left with Janet, while he was on a walk one sleepless night. Since then, whenever he couldn’t sleep, he would walk the streets and if he happened upon some lowly scumbag preying on someone, he’d take the opportunity to train.

The man on Damian’s bike turned down an alleyway, Damian following close behind. When the man got off, Damian cleared his throat, “You mind giving me my bike back?”

The man chuckled, “Really? You’re asking me for your bike back?” the man grinned as he flicked out a blade and Damian sighed, he did give the idiot a chance.

“Fine.”

The man lunged, knife ready, but Damian easily dodged. The man swung his knife wildly and probably would’ve done some serious damage, had he not been up against Damian. He dodged lazily, tiring the man out before he sent his fist into the man’s temple. The man fell to his knees and finally flat on his stomach. Damian scoffed at him and sent a solid kick into his side. For good measure.

Damian grabbed his bike from where it was leaning against one of the buildings when he suddenly felt his senses screaming that someone was there. He whipped around, getting low and sticking his foot out to sweep the spectator’s feet. The person yelped and fell to the ground with a satisfying thud. Damian readied himself in a fighting stance.

“Wait! Wait a second!” the person shouted, a hand in the air. Damian finally looked carefully at the person as they stood up, dusting their uniform off. The boy couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen, judging by his height, and was dressed in a red spandex suit, complete with a cape and an R that anyone in Gotham would recognize.

“Oh, you’re Robin,” Damian said letting his hands fall at his sides as he picked his bike back up. The other boy seemed to be frozen in place as Damian turned back to him, giving him a look of disapproval, “Perhaps next time, show up before they pull a knife.”

Damian started out of the alley when Robin placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Damian, being trained thoroughly since young, grabbed Robin’s hand and flipped him over his head.

Robin coughed as he lifted himself off the ground, again, as Damian sighed and offered his hand.

“Thanks,” Robin said with a light chuckle.

“Sorry about that,” Damian said, not looking the other boy in the eyes, “Habit.”

Robin nodded, “Oh, yeah, totally get it.”

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments, “So,” Robin started, “where’d you learn that stuff?”

Damian felt a little uncomfortable standing face to face with the masked boy, “My mother taught me.”

Robin nodded, “Oh, nice! I’ve uh, actually seen you around here a few times,” he said sheepishly.

Damian hummed in response. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say nor where the boy wonder was going with his words.

Robin cleared his throat, “Anyway, you’re not too bad,” he smiled at the smaller boy.

Damian scoffed, “And you could use some more work,” Damian mused, a smirk forming on his lips.

Robin laughed, “Yeah, well I guess I was a bit thrown off guard. I wasn’t expecting a small child to--”

“Kick your ass?” Damian finished for him, full-on grinning.

Robin was clearly taken aback by the child’s words, but soon he wore a similar grin, “Yeah, maybe we should go again?” he challenged.

Damian was quite curious to see how it would go, but the weight in his backpack reminded him, “Sorry, perhaps another night, I have to return.”

Robin nodded, “Sure, whenever you feel like you can take me on, I’ll be waiting.”

Damian chuckled as he mounted his bike, “Just make sure you have bandages,” he shouted behind him as he sped back to the orphanage.

“What in the world took you so long?” Janet questioned angrily from the doorway of the orphanage.

Damian rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Sorry, I got distracted?” he tried as innocently as he could.

Janet huffed and guided him inside.

Damian grinned widely when he saw Aurora waddling towards him. He scooped her up in his arms as her giggles echoed off the walls, “Guess who I met,” he whispered to her.

Her eyes went wide, “Baman?” she asked softly, mispronouncing the vigilante’s name. Damian shook his head and Aurora tilted her head to the side, “Who?”

Damian smiled gently as he strapped her into her highchair, “Robin.”

——————————

Tim stood in the alleyway a moment longer, still a bit dazed from his meeting with the weird kid. He was quickly taken out of his thoughts as the grunts from behind him told him that the bike thief was awake. Before Tim could turn around, there was a solid thud, and he almost dreaded turning around to face who it might be.

“Hey, B’s asking where you’re at,” Dick said as he tapped Tim’s shoulder, “I’ll make sure this guy gets to the GCPD, but you’d better get over to him quick.”

Tim sighed in relief and mumbled a thanks to Dick as he made his way back to the cave.

“You’ve been going off on your own an awful lot these days,” Bruce began when Tim entered.

“Yeah, well, I’ve found someone interesting.”

This caught Bruce’s attention. He turned in his chair and raised an eyebrow, “Interesting how?”

Tim chuckled as he removed his mask, “You’re gonna wanna see this.”

——————————

Parker tapped gently on Damian’s door, taking his focus off of the assignment Damian had been working on for one of his online classes. He had been offered full scholarships to multiple universities but because he didn’t want to leave the orphanage yet, he declined and only does special online classes.

“What is it, Parker?” Damian called from his desk.

There was a small gasp on the other side as the door slowly inched open, “How did you know?” he asked in a hushed voice.

Damian chuckled at the child and motioned for him to come closer, “I could tell from you footfalls,” he told him honestly.

Parker stared wide-eyed, “Teach me?”

Damian shook his head, “You have something else you want from me?”

“Not really,” Parker whispered. Damian plucked the book the boy held in his hands, it was his sketchbook. The other kids enjoyed arts and crafts but Parker was particularly interested in drawing and when he saw Damian’s drawings, he couldn’t help but become entranced.

“You want to draw in here with me until bed?”

Parker’s face lit up, “Can I?”

Damian nodded his head, “No fair! Me too!” Aurora complained from the doorway.

“Yes, Aurora, you too then, come on,” Damian motioned for her to come in too.

It didn’t take long for Aurora to get bored and start bringing in storybooks for Damian to read to her. In no time, both the children were fast asleep on Damian’s bed as he sighed, looking over them.

“You know, they see you as an older brother,” Janet told him as she picked Parker up.

Damian nodded and smiled, scooping up Aurora who latched on to his arm, “I know.”

“Parker’s teacher said he’s been getting along better with his classmates too.”

Damian smiled at the child in Janet’s arms. He saw a lot of himself in the small child, especially when he had first been brought to the orphanage. Parker was always angry and got violent with the other kids, he wasn’t even allowed to be left at school for full days because there weren’t enough people to look after him.

“That’s good.”

Janet nodded thoughtfully, “There’s a family coming from Central City next week to meet him.”

Damian took that in. He was happy Parker would have a chance at a better life, but it was always bittersweet whenever any of the kids left.

After Janet and Damian tucked the kids into their rooms, Damian stretched, “Going on a walk?” Janet asked.

Damian nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be back later, don’t wait up,” he smiled at her.

Janet smiled back and shook her head, “You know I will.”

Damian grabbed his bike and headed into the city. He found himself in the same alleyway he had seen Robin last and looked around, perhaps he’d be there?

When he didn’t see him, he looked up towards the roof of the buildings. After locking his bike up with the spare lock, he ascended the building, making his way to the rooftop. He forgot how much he enjoyed high places.

As he took in the night view, he felt someone behind him. Damian turned around quickly, seeing one of the other Bat-related vigilantes, “Oh, hey, you must be the kid Robin talked about,” the man said with a chuckle. From his black suit and blue V-shaped bird, he could tell who he was.

“Nightwing,” Damian greeted and gave him a curt nod. Nightwing cocked his head to the side, a little surprised, no doubt.

“You sure are a weird kid,” he laughed.

Damian was about to retort when Robin glided down from another building, “Ah, memory cloth,” Damian nodded to Robin’s cape as he landed and it turned back to a normal-looking fabric.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Robin asked.

Damian shrugged, “Seen it before.”

Nightwing seemed to want to ask him something else but Robin cut him off, “So, you wanna spar?”

Damian chuckled at the other boy and readied himself as Nightwing shook his head and mumbled something to himself.

——————————

Bruce sat in his chair in front of the Batcomputer as Alfred brought tea over to him. He was watching a video of what seemed to be a hotel exploding on repeat.

“Nothing on cable?” Alfred mused from behind him.

Bruce hummed in response before stopping the video and turning to Alfred, “Talia was apparently in that building.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow, “And?”

Bruce turned back to the screen, “And although they haven’t found a body, it appears that she may have been caught in the explosion.”

Bruce was surprised enough to hear of the death of Ra’s, but to think that Talia had also perished was a bit alarming, he wasn’t sure how to feel about it exactly.

——————————

Damian and Robin had been training together for a few weeks, and Damian could tell that the older boy was certainly well trained, he was not trained enough to defeat him, though he wasn’t sure if Robin was simply holding back.

They both dangled their feet off the building, taking in the cityscape.

Damian sighed, “My mother is dead,” he told Robin suddenly.

Robin went stiff, unsure of what he was meant to say or do. Damian had done the same when he had come across the information himself. Every once in a while, Damian would do a search through government databases, illegally, of course, to see if anything came up for his mother, and a couple weeks ago, he got a hit.

“I’m sorry,” Robin said awkwardly. Damian shrugged, “Wanna talk about it?”

Damian thought for a moment. Robin didn’t know Damian was truly an Al Ghul, and he intended to keep it that way. He didn’t know Robin’s true identity, though he wasn’t particularly interested in it either.

“No.”

Robin nodded, “Alright, well, I’ll just stay here then.”

Damian nodded, thankful to have some semblance of a friend. He wasn’t all that broken up about his mother, but she was still his mother, and she promised she’d come back for him.

A part of him was relieved. With his mother gone, he had a chance at a semi-normal, semi-peaceful life.

——————————

End of Part One?

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Omg Grayson at this art show to support Damien but also to talk to teacher!reader

Dick sipped a little cup of fruit punch and smiled a little. Damian, of course, was leaning against a wall looking surly and disinterested, but, when you clicked by on your heels and said something to him, his face lightened, just a little.

After some digging, it didn't take Dick long to learn why. You were the only teacher that ever said anything about him was good. Even the not so good things you had to send home were more worried about him than frustrated.

"It looks nice, Dami," Dick said, coming to lean on the wall next to him.

"Of course it does," he scoffed.

"Miss Y/L/N has an eye for talent-"

"Please. Everyone else was incompetent. Let's not go overboard."

Dick ruffled his hair unphased, "Did you at least thank her for trying to make this less miserable?"

"It's a celebration of mediocrity."

"Dami." Dick looked down at the kid and suppressed a sigh with difficulty before glancing at where you were talking to parents. Explaining the different assignments kids had done and how pieces had been selected from each grade, he imagined. He and Bruce had never bothered to go to one of these little showcase things. But Bruce was doing his best to not look bored to death.

He'd showed up for Damian but was patently disinterested in any other kids' work- which was fair. And at least he seemed to not be flirting with you. That, for whatever reason made Dick feel irritated.

Watching the way some of the dads were watching you made his skin crawl. And it didn't take an expert to see you were similarly not a fan.

Still. Things were winding down now. Families were gathering their kids to go do- whatever it was people did after these things when they didn't have to suit up and prowl the city.

And as he watched you excuse yourself to start gathering programs that had been discarded, his eyes narrowed. A man old enough to be your father had evidently also realized you weren't standing near any children and decided this was his chance to say something... indecent.

Not today, asshole.

Dick pushed himself off the wall and strolled forward, scooping up a stack of papers on the way; figuring it would look less creepy if he was being helpful. "It all looked really good," he said, holding them out with his best charming smile.

"I- oh- thank you," You take them, juggling clumsily for a second to add them to the ones you already collected before pushing your glasses up.

"I don't know if you remember me," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "We uh, only met for a secon-"

"Damian's older brother," you answer smiling.

"Right." He laughed and glanced briefly over your shoulder to watch the middle-aged horn dog amble away, defeated.

"Damian talks about you a lot," you tell him, lowering your voice slightly, glancing at where he'd gone to sulk next to Bruce.

Dick felt his face heat and he coughed slightly, "I uh- good things I hope."

"Mostly," you answer. Your polite smile turning into a grin as you crinkle your nose.

The heat he felt intensified and Dick brushed hair out of his eyes, "I won't keep you," he said, fidgeting with your stack of papers. "I just- I guess I just wanted to say thanks. Last year at school was hard on him. We were all a little relieved when he came home the first day and said it was 'Fine just horribly dull' instead of declaring he'd never go back."

"High praise indeed," you snort.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "So uh- thanks."

"He's gifted," you answer shrugging, your smile softening a little.

"Do me a favor?" Dick asked.

"Hmm?"

"Don't tell him that," he said. "His ego doesn't need the help."