#i see a lot of - Dick begs for Tim's forgiveness for taking Robin away fics out there

[danny-chase]

Do you think that Tim saved Dick in a way? Because we see Dick getting better as he gets closer to Tim and healing and getting back into the family, and ig it’s Tim who initiated that.

I literally don't have a yes or no answer for this... like most things in the Batfam - it's complicated. (Following answer is informed by 90s-00s comics, i can't really speak for new52 because it just... has so many issues one of which being erasing the relationship between Dick and Tim for *checks note* no discernable reason other than possibly *checks note* Didio hates legacy characters and wants only bad things for them so he could have excuses to kill them off or cancel their comics... idk just a guess)

Warnings: for Bruce stans - just look away i'm about to bring up bits of canon you most likely don't like, for Dick stans - Devin Grayson's run is mentioned, for the lovely anon - i wrote an essay, hope you are prepared

Tim coming into the family gave Dick a reason to occasionally hang around Bruce and i'm not sure if this is an exaggeration or not but he did sort of save that relationship - but whether that was a good or bad thing at the time, i can't really say. For sure - it starts off good, Bruce is actually trying to be a good dad (he comes down to Blud to check on Dick, adopts him, trusts him with his own city, calls him for backup, etc.). But we also see throughout Bruce Wayne: Fugitive/Murderer how unhealthy the relationship between the two can be. Dick built his core values around Bruce - if Bruce had actually killed here it would have been devastating for Dick (he was pretty much on the verge of a mental breakdown simply because they couldn't find proof Bruce wasn't guilty). The two literally got in a fist fight during the arc because Bruce was being uncommunicative and Dick couldn't take it anymore, snapped, and punched him when Bruce said "Bruce Wayne is dead only Batman now" - this tied into Dick finally having the relief and validation of being adopted and he couldn't handle Bruce stripping himself (and by extension, his fatherhood of Dick) away. In this era of comics Bruce had gotten physical with Dick before (here's me venting like an annoyed loser), and here's a clip from Bruce Wayne Fugitive that i just, *sigh*, canon Bruce, my detested.

Now on the other hand - getting Dick involved in the batfam more doesn't just mean he was hanging out with Bruce. His relationship with Tim is pretty great and I can definitely see where it was healing for a while - but also - to give credit where credit is due, the healing he goes through during this era of comics can also be attributed to Barbara and the Titans (the fab five specifically). Wally literally joins the Titans to give Dick a "social life" (me - it's because he's gay and wants to spend more time with Dick, actually, screw you DC you know i'm right). Donna plays a major part in keeping Dick's emotional well being in check. So like everything was going fine - Dick was healing, spending more time with friends, spending a lot of time with people he loved, like Tim, except he was neglecting his health and not sleeping - but overall he was in fact, managing, and moving past the deaths of Jason and some of the other Titans. With the current Titans - he was a hardass (which like ~trauma~ so I understand), but like things were going relatively okay.

And then Donna and Lilith died. And hooof Donna dying was like really really bad for his mental health.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003) #1

[Image ID: Dick sits in a room staring at a photo, the phone rings in the background, and he doesn't even acknowledge it, the voice mail plays: "I'm not here. Leave a message after the beep." The photo is shown closer in the next frame, it's of the five original Teen Titans - Roy kisses Donna on the cheek, tipping his hat his other hand making the okay sign, Donna has an arm around Roy, the other hand on Dick's shoulder, Garth proudly stands beaming with his hands on his hips, and Dick has both his arms around Wally's neck. Everyone is smiling in the photo. A voice plays over the answering machine: "Dick, it's Roy - pick up the phone... c'mon... please... I know you're there... just pick up. Dick, we need to talk... you can't just... please..." End ID]

For context - the previous page noted that this is Dick SIX WEEKS after Donna died. Usually Dick's the one who moves on quickly, but Donna dying broke him in a way nothing else had before - and that could be partly because he was still recovering from everyone else's death.

Up to this point, Dick had been healing and Tim was definitely a part of that, but then DC decided to throw the absolute book, bookshelf, and library at him. Reading Outsiders (2003) it's very clear he's very traumatized, and around the same time, Devin is literally whumping him like it's the whump Olympics, breaking him and Babs up, burning down his childhood home, blowing up his apartment complex (killing all but like two of his neighbors), he's literally sleeping on fire escapes using newspapers as covering because he has nothing, and the bad thing i don't like to think about (i'll let you know if you ask but that one needs lots of tw, but if you know where i'm going you know what it is already), Blockbuster is killed and he blames himself - and loses it over breaking Bruce's one rule, Bludhaven is nuked, and he pretty much tries to kill himself.

So basically, he was on the path to healing (with Tim as part of that) before he got absolutely destroyed (and almost killed off by Didio in one of the crisis). Tim in his own right, was also going through a lot in the meantime, his dad died, Steph died, Kon and Bart died, i don't remember what else happened and i haven't read that era of Robin yet. Things were good until they weren't anymore, and sometimes i think Dick would regret ever exposing Tim to the life they live, and questions whether he should have just sent Tim packing x2. They do get to spend a year together on a mental health cruise, but then Damian comes into the picture, Battle for the Cowl happens, and they have their falling out. But whatever happened on that cruise must have been really healing for Dick because he actually kind of rocks it in this era - he keeps things light with Damian, Alfred notes at one point how he makes things easy because he has lightness in him, and he patches things up with Tim - catching him in that panel of Red Robin - from there they kind of go back to normal, there's a lightness to the way they banter with each other (also here) and Tim returns the favor (from the Red Robin incident) by pulling Dick out of the water.

They've saved each other multiple times over (physically), and in both in the Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham, Tim helps out in a period where Dick is starting to fall apart from the pressure of holding things together for so long (something Tim might feel guilty for, because he did run away from Gotham on a wild goose chase for Bruce). In that period, it's really clear that Dick saves Tim (he reminds him in RR, that someone does actually care for him) and then Tim saves Dick from being torn apart by Gotham.

I should point out - Damian, while starting off as kind of a hinderance, does eventually start helping Dick as well. By the end of their relationship (before the New52 destroys everything i love), Dick has helped Damian grow emotionally, and through that process Dick probably finds meaning and value in their time together, probably a lot like he used to feel with Tim. And of course, physically, they've both saved each other multiple times by the end of the run.

So yeah. I think Dick finds meaning in growth in mentoring his younger brothers, and it's likely a healing process, that healing just has some twists and turns along the way, and sometimes, on bad days, he probably feels like maybe he shouldn't have intervened at all, but i think on most days, he's proud of what Tim's become.

...I hope this is coherent lmao

[anothertimdrakestan]

Batboys Getting Betrayed By Their S/O HC

Requested? Yes! From a lovely anon!

“Hello! I'd like to make a Batboys reaction request if I may! If writing for all of them is too much please pick whoever you'd like! Have fun with it! Batboys finally catch the villain they've been after for a disgusting amount of time, they grab their mask/helmet, rip it off and BAM!! It's their S/O. How do they react? Thank you for your time!!”

THIS HC TURNED INTO AN EPIC COLLAB BETWEEN @birdy-bat-riya AND WE POPPED OFF!!! Riya really said “lets break the boys heart then give them the best fluff in the world” and I agreed then BAM this beauty. I hope you enjoy and I’m super excited to collab w my tumblr soulmate more!!!

ALSO GO CHECKOUT STAY WITH ME A TIM DRAKE FIC THAT IS KINDA LIKE THIS IF YOU WANT STORYLINE IT’S ONE OF MY FAVES!!!

Damian Wayne

- Damian would not see it coming

- after a painful bout of hand to hand combat, Robin had you stuck to a wall with Batarangs, and he stalked forward

- hoping he would get pulled away by Batman so wouldn’t notice your similarity to the love of his life, you sucked in a deep breath as you realized there was no escape

- “The great villainous sidekick defeated by Robin. Sounds good doesn’t it? But I want to know just who I bested” he quipped, reaching for your mask

- as he pulled it off he froze, your mask dropped to the ground as you began begging for forgiveness

- “Baby it’s not what it looks like! I’m sorry you know I couldn’t tell you! I love you Damian please understand!” you cried, pulling against the batarangs you felt your suit rip as you jumped to the ground reaching for Damian

- Damian looked beyond stunned, trying to process the idea that the one person he trusted above all had betrayed him. He’d spent months hunting, fighting, deeply wound you, then calling you beloved just a couple days later

- pulling yourself forward you flung your arms around him, trying to love him into submission

- instinctively his arms began to wrap around you and you could feel the material of his gloves grace over the exposed parts of your side from where your suit ripped, but he drew them back, pushing you off of him

- “belov- Y/N” his tone was harsh, and broken, “is this really you? You knew I was Robin, and yet you lied to me every day? Learned my weaknesses and my truths all just to use it against me?” you could see him shaking, his domino mask hid his glassy eyes but not his heart broken expression

- you realized he thought you’d only befriended him to use him and you jumped to explain “No! Babe never! I keep this life and our life completely separate! I never used anything and would never tell your secrets to anyone! This, this life [ you gestured to your suit ] is out of necessity, for my survival I have to be strong. But with you, Damian, with you life is worth living, you make my battles worth fighting, everything I do is for us!” you realized how good it felt to let everything go, tears streaming down your face

- Damian looked conflicted, broken because of your betrayal, but you could tell he still loved you

- “Y/N you know I can keep you safe, why? Why live this life when you know of the one we could’ve had together?” Damian 

- “I didn’t think of it that way” you whispered, thoughts flying through your head

- “Then let me help you” was all Damian said, and he reached out a hand

- Batman and your boss appeared behind you and Robin, both confused with what was happening

- Bruce looked shocked to see who the villain’s sidekick was, but he was trying to keep his Batman level confidence

- “C’mon kid lets go” you felt a tug on your shoulder, trying to lead you back to your base, but the look Damian was giving you stopped you, unable to turn your shoulder on him

- this was Damian asking you to pick a new life with him. And you knew he was the only thing that truly made him happy, but this would be the end of your reputation, and your safety

- you began to reach for Damian but stopped, needing his reassurance

- “you promise you’ll protect me?”

- “always.” you took his hand, falling into his arms, and decided a future with Damian was better than anything else

Dick Grayson

- Dick didn’t know you were Slade’s protege after Dick told him no all those years ago

- you knew he thought of your villain persona as his greatest opponent and you couldn’t break his heart

- you’d both been in the good guy vs bad guy business since you were kids so you couldn’t expect him to understand, so you hid it.

- he told you he was Nightwing a couple months before and your heart dropped realizing you’d been fighting the love of your life for years, and were trained by one of his greatest tormentors

- in a terrible turn of events you, Nightwing, and Slade all ended up fighting each other, Nightwing and you after Slade for seperate reasons just before his escape he noticed how you couldn’t hurt Dick like you used to

- in an act of revenge for you leaving his side all those years ago, he shouted “catch you later sweet Y/N!” before jumping out a window out of your sight

- Dick’s head whipped to you, a look of confusion at Slade knowing your identity

- hoping he’d missed it you tried to run out of the building and take off

- angy Dick is basically super powered so he caught you (yes i said angy)

- when he rips off your mask and the face he’d adored for years looks up at him he physically can’t stand

- watching the love of your life crumple to the ground is the hardest thing you’ve endured

- frantically trying to explain you keep trying to cup his face in your hand but he pulls away, refusing to look you in the eyes, eventually finding the strength to get up and grapple away

- the entire batfam goes after you. Damian especially, because he trusted you, glad Dick had someone that loved him the way he secretly did. There is no way you’re gonna get away from an angry Batfam especially when their mutual favorite brother has been broken

- I honestly don’t think Dick would let it go back to normal. His family would never approve and knowing you lied for months was too much, he knows what is good and bad for him and is surrounded by family.

- One day the two of you would team up and apologize, continuing forward as mutuals that come when the other needs you, but Dick wouldn’t be able to look at you the same, and Damian would never leave his side, refusing to let Dick get hurt again

Jason Todd

- Jason was used to coming home to you bruised and cut. He never liked to see you battered and bleeding, but he understood it was part of your job as a Criminal Investigator.

- at least that’s what he thought

- you were used to seeing him beat up too. The only difference was that you knew the real reason he came home beaten and injured. 

- it was because he would spend his nights fighting you.

- you truly loved Jason, but you couldn't bear to break his heart by telling him the truth. That the woman he loved was his sworn enemy and was lying about it.

- little did you know, he was beginning to get suspicious of your injuries. They seemed a little extreme for an investigative agent, and dare he say, they seemed to match the injuries his enemy walked away with last night.

- then one night, it happened. You were being chased by Red Hood. You thought you were in the clear. And knowing jason would be home any minute, you headed back home, hopping from rooftop-to-rooftop.

- you stopped in the parking lot of your building, about to take off your mask when you heard a voice. Red Hood was leaning on your car, looking more tense than usual. “Go on. Take off the mask.”

- you were mortified. You tried to run but he caught you and you were cornered. He took off the mask and you looked down, afraid to meet his eyes.

- he wasn’t startled or shocked. You heard the seams of his gloves rip as he clenched his fist. You looked up and saw him scowling, but behind the anger, there was so much disappointment. You could see his heart breaking.

-  he stepped back and began to walk away. You tried so hard to explain and apologize but he only turned you down, unwilling to see your face.

- realizing everything was ruined, you gave one final apology. “Jason, I know you can’t forgive me. But I truly am sorry. I'm sorry for lying, I’m sorry for hurting you, I’m sorry for everything. But I promise, I really do love you. And I know you might not believe me, but I mean every word.” Tears were streaming down your face, and he wouldn’t let you see it, but they were brimming in his.

- you left and didn’t come back. You kept your distance from Jason but made sure you knew was still alright. He was frequenting bars, skipping patrols. You began to worry when he was nowhere to be found, so you donned the mask once more, only without your usual uniform.

- that night, to your disbelief, you found the Red Hood fighting some petty cat burglars outside of a museum. You noticed how his punches held more force than they used to and felt a little pained, seeing his hurt in his movements. 

- while he was taking care of the robbers, you saw one of them run off to a car with a jade vase and instinctively charged in. You hopped in the car roof and swung into the passenger seat, knocked out the driver, and safely drove the car back.

- you put the vase back where it belonged and left the scene of the crime without anyone’s attention.

- Red Hood turned the burglars over to the cops. There was something about a tripped alarm and missing vase but the item was kept exactly where it was meant to be when they checked.

- he was about to trudge away when he heard something. “This masked broad, she jumped into the car! From the bloody window!” His mind wandered. It couldn’t be…

- that night, you returned to one of your old safehouses and headed to your closet to put away your mask, but the first thing you saw was your suit. You looked at the domino mask in your hand and all you could remember was Jason’s face when he found out. Right then and there, you threw it all away.

- months passed. You hadn’t heard from or seen Jason Todd. You revamped your suit and donned a new mask. You went by your old name still. You couldn’t change who you were, and you didn't want to either. 

- the only difference now was that you didn’t kill. something tilted the needle on your moral compass, and as much you wanted to deny it, Jason rubbed off on you.

- you took your burglary jobs, and got into your own type of trouble, but you could almost always handle it. Emphasis on the ‘almost’

- once or twice you bit off more than you could chew, for example the time when you needed to collect some money from a Bludhaven gang. you were outnumbered and unarmed. just when you thought it was all over for you, you heard two gunshots and violent cursing. 

- you found yourself standing before two gangsters with bloody hands and one Red Hood. “You’re welcome.”, he said with his usual snarky tone, muffled by his helmet. 

- this was the first of many times he would save you. You would drop in on his gigs sometimes as well, just to lend a helping gun.

- bad blood aside, you were always there for eachother. He meant it as a silent acceptance of your apology and that’s exactly how you took it.

- soon enough the tension faded, you both went down your own roads but found comfort in knowing that you were never alone. It was an unspoken pact that when one of you needed the other, you’d never be far. 

Tim Drake

- Tim would notice something, maybe you stuffing your suit in your trunk, you using a phrase his enemy always used, something that gave him the wrong feeling

- he’d push it away, always wanting to believe the best of you

- but eventually it wouldn’t add up

- Tim came over one night and made a beeline to the back of your closet, a drawer he never saw you open during all the years of knowing you

- you heard a small gasp when he pulled out the suit of his rival, the strangled sound of disbelief was the last noise he made before he threw your suit on the floor and stormed out, and it was the last you saw of him for months

- watching the news seeing “RED ROBIN GONE BAD?” or “IS THIS IS THE SAME HERO?” as you watched Tim become more and more reckless and cruel. Tim rarely got so physical the medics came instead of the police but watching him through your screen you saw a new person

- seeing Tim (and Red Robin) break down on television gave you the realization of the necessity behind Tim’s heroics

- almost as an homage to his heart break he began using the moves you’re villainous alter ego used on him on his new targets, showing you the hurt and the damage you’d done to your victims

- after weeks of watching the torture you knew villainy wasn’t worth it if it meant Tim was broken like this

- knowing he’d be on patrol like always you waited on the top of the building he’d brought you to the night you started dating, hoping he’d miss the memory as much as you did

- rushing up to him, begging for him to listen, even after the heart break Tim couldn’t say no to you, and he needed to know why, this was a mystery he really couldn’t piece together

- frantically explaining everything from your childhood forward, you couldn’t stop, the honestly was refreshing, and Tim listened the whole time

- after admitting everything you brought your suit out, and in front of Tim you began to rip it to shreds, hoping he’d see the meaning behind your words

- this was a lot for Tim, and he asked for a week to settle his feelings

- Red Robin was inactive for a week, 168 hours you spent praying to anything that he’d take you back

- and exactly one week later, you were holding your head in your hands sobbing, wishing you could’ve changed earlier and hoping Tim would go back to his heroism - when you heard your apartment window carefully opening

- Tim came back, suited up, holding a new suit for you that he’d had created

- Tim explained that he wanted you back, and he intended on helping you fix all your past mistakes, one life saved at a time

- you often looked back on the news from that week, the headlines showed a new chapter of your life

“RED ROBIN AND NIGHTINGALE Y CRIME FIGHTING DUO!” “RED ROBIN IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER WITH A NEW HERO AT HIS SIDE!”

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS IS A REMINDER TO GO FOLLOW @birdy-bat-riyaBECAUSE SHE IS THE REASON THIS IS SO AMAZING ILY GIRLY

[pasdecoeur]

batlantern. O.

O. The stars or space. (ahahahahhaahaha remember when this was supposed to be a minific. it’s not a minific. fuck me.) (T, 1.6k, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, complete) this fic is now on ao3.

send me a ship and i’ll write you a fic!

don’t you dream impossible things.

“Hey, so you remember that asteroid belt in Alpha Centauri?” Jordan asked, plopping into his seat in the monitor room, and shoving a vellum scroll in Batman’s face.

“You’re late.”

“You’re repetitive,” Jordan replied. “Are you gonna look at this?”

Bruce kept quiet. Eventually, it would penetrate even the Green Lantern’s enormously thick skull.

“Oh, what? You want me to apologize? I’m sorry. I had shit going on. Cut me some slack. Have I ever not turned up when it matters?”

Bruce kept quiet, and Jordan snorted. “Seriously,” he said, unfurling the scroll, “listen to this, ‘On the event of the Ascension of the Mir— Mirhhh—’ I can’t pronounce this. It’s the kid, you remember him? The little god-prince?”

“He’s the leader of their religion. He’s not royalty.”

“Hello? As good as!” Jordan countered enthusiastically. “And hey! You remember him! They’re inviting us to his, I don’t know, his official elevation to the post — inviting the League, I mean.”

“A formality, of course.”

“I mean, probably, yeah.” Jordan turned to the screens, and they peaceably watched a minor storm system form in the Southern Indian Ocean, and then dissipate when it hit an underwater cylon buried off the coast of the Maldives. “God, he was just a baby when we were there, wasn’t he?”

“Mm.”

Jordan turned to him. Bruce could feel the force of his gaze. “You know what… You know what? We should go.”

And then Bruce did turn to him. “I beg your pardon.”

“We should go!” Jordan enthused. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. I’ve read about the Ascension ceremonies, this is like, a once in a century deal! It’s literally epic! And the kid, you remember him, he thought you were the shit. He was so impressed by you! I bet he’d get a real kick out of it.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, and turned back to the monitors. “It was four years ago. More likely than not, the boy doesn’t even remember us anymore.”

“Aw, c’mon, Spooky. Ain’t nobody who can forget you.”

Jordan’s voice had dropped a little, and Bruce turned to him once more. Hal was watching him, eyes bright, mouth curled up in that warmly satisfied grin, the smile of a man who knew exactly how good he looked. And Bruce fought the urge to look down, look away, heat crawling up the back of his neck, before he fought it down again.

“Tomorrow night, yeah?” Jordan continued, in that softened, low murmur. “It’s only a two hour round trip in the Jav. We drop in, say our how-do-you-do’s to the prince, duck right back out. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

---------

But whatever Lantern’s schedule was for the intervening eighteen hours had him a proper wreck — he stumbled into the Javelin hangar, blinked blearily at Bruce, mumbled, “Hey, you drive, ‘kay?” before weaving dazedly into the back and conking right out on one of the bunks.

The flight was easy, and they docked in a bustling spaceport on the Ginaheri asteroid cluster an hour fifty later. Jordan had woken up on re-entry, and had managed to put himself together by the time they disembarked.

Where the kid was waiting for them, in person.

“Rain?” Hal asked incredulously, “What are you—?”

“Lantern!” Rain crowed, darting away from his attendants, and throwing his wide blue palm up for a smacking loud high-five, before Hal grabbed him, laughing, spinning the gangly kid around and carefully setting him down. Rain looked over Jordan’s shoulder and the jewel-like facets of his amber-gold eyes went luminous. “Batman?” he said in a tone of reverent wonder.

“Hello, Rain,” Bruce said, stepping forward. Rain was practically vibrating, the iridescent silver markings around his eyes taking on an electric gleam. Batman touched his shoulder, and then smoothly sank to a knee, so their eyes were level. The Ginaheri were not a tall people, and even by those standards, Rain was slight and delicate looking. He reminded Bruce of nothing so much as Dick, in the dark, early days, before he had become Robin. It made something in his throat seize, and when he spoke, his voice was gruff. “You’ve grown taller.”

“I didn’t think you would come,” Rain said shyly.

And Bruce felt a rush of gratitude towards Jordan. “Of course I did.”

Rain smiled at him, the sharp black of his canines glinting in the low light. “They’re putting up the weather dome in Tevona. You wanna come see?”

Bruce rose up to his feet. “There is nothing I would like more,” he said gravely, and made no comment when Rain locked his hand around two of Bruce’s fingers, tugging him off and away.

And over his shoulder, he glanced at the Lantern, who had apparently been watching them with the strangest little smile, bemused and off-kilter, papery soft at its edges. Hal had… never looked at him like that before. ----------

They ended up staying for the complete length of the ceremonies, before heading back to the Javelin. Bruce sank into the copilot’s seat and proceeded to ignore takeoff procedures entirely in favour of his tablet, and six weeks’ backlog of financial data Tim had forwarded to him for review.

They had put several thousand miles between themselves and the asteroid cluster before Hal said, “You think he’s gonna be okay?”

“Rain?” Bruce said, scrolling through Tim’s data dump. “He’s a good kid. Smart, tough. Got people who care about him. He’ll be fine.”

“PUtting a lot on him, though, isn’t it? The new gig?”

Bruce shrugged. “Kids are more resilient than people give ‘em credit for.”

He could hear the smile in Hal’s voice when he spoke. “You’d know, huh?” He paused a beat. “You’re very good with him. I’d forgotten that.”

Bruce kept his eyes on the tablet. “It’s merely a matter of experience.”

“Nah,” Hal replied easily. “I’ve got three brothers, and we all came out— Well. You’ve met me. Experience doesn’t count for much.”

“You think I haven’t made mistakes?” Bruce countered quietly. “Because, believe me—”

“I’m not saying you were some kind of model-perfect, you know, a Mr. Rogers dad,” Hal cut in, waving a hand dismissively. “I just think kids can forgive a lot, right? If they know they’re loved, right down at the— At the core of things, if they’ve got that to hang onto, kids can forgive pretty much anything.”

Bruce was quiet for a time, trying to understand what that meant. He was pretty sure there was a compliment buried in there somewhere. Trust Jordan to… He huffed a laugh, and that got his attention, brown eyes swinging around to rest on him.

“I wanted to thank you,” Bruce said.

“For?”

“For insisting we visit Alpha Centauri. I wouldn’t have, but I’m… glad we did.”

“Oh,” Hal said. He sounded a little… stumped. “I mean, sure. Of course.”

Hal stayed quiet for the rest of their ride back to the Watchtower, and Bruce quietly, ruthlessly pushed down the little voice in the back of his head wondering if he had, somehow, as usual, found exactly the wrong thing to say.

They spent the remaining hour plus change of their flight back in silence, and Bruce got out of his seat before the Javelin had even entered the docking bay, tucking the tablet away, and headed to the bay doors at the back for exit.

But Hal must have engaged the autopilot for wheels-down, because he was at Bruce’s side when the hydraulics on the Javelin began to engage, looking antsy and nervous, tugging at his hair, looking like he coudln’t figure out what to do with his hands.

“Get it out,” Bruce muttered.

“What?”

“Whatever you need to say.”

“Oh.” Hal looked faintly gobsmacked. “Um. If you– DId you mean it? Before? When you said…”

“Yes,” Bruce said slowly. “I’m glad we— yes.”

“Okay,” Hal said. “Okay, so if you really want to me make it up to me—”

“I didn’t realize I owed you now—”

“I was thinking—” Hal continued loudly.

“That must’ve hurt. Did you strain something?”

But Hal just snorted, and the tense lines of his shoulders smoothed out, beautifully and all at once. He was grinning now, shaking his head. “You dickhead,” he murmured. “That’s some kind of reflex for you, isn’t it?”

Bruce sighed. It really was.

“So if you wanna make it up to me? You should, um. You should let me take you out to dinner.”

Bruce paused. Blinked. Surely… Surely he had misheard. Misunderstood. “Dinner,” he repeated.

Hal was leaning back against one of the struts, and that smile had never really gone away, but it was warmer now, profoundly intimate. Hal was watching him, and Bruce couldn’t tell— couldn’t understand what his face was revealing. “Dinner,” Hal confirmed. “And you can take that any way you like.”

“Any way I like,” Bruce repeated once more. “Any way I like?”

Hal’s smile was widening now, and the temperature in the hangar bay rose a little more, like he was putting off heat, like the California sun had sunk into the bones of him and he was spilling it into the air, radiant and beautiful. The expression on Bruce’s face must have been some kind of stupid, because Hal laughed softly, and hooked a finger around the utility belt, and tugged. Bruce went with it, let Hal bracket his knees, let their bodies stumble together and collide, bracing himself only just with a palm he slapped against the cool metal strut above Hal’s head.

“Any way you like,” Hal murmured, sliding a hand around the back of the cowl, and pulling Bruce close. His mouth brushed Hal’s chapped, soft lips, and there was an bearable lightness crowding in his chest when he curled his fingers around Hal’s jaw, its fine, honed razor-edge, and it felt like it was all he could do, to hold on, to hold him, to kiss and kiss, anchored in the quiet, as they spun through the dark reaches of the ionosphere, starlight all around them.

[astrologista]

Proper Caution (wip)

Universe : DCAU

Characters : Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake (the teamup that never was)

[I wanted to try to write a JLU episode that I felt was “missing” and would have been a great team-up opportunity. So because of that, this fic should be thought of as being set in the JLU animated verse. Basically, this whole fic is an excuse to have that teamup happen. This is meant to be a big multi-chapter thing that I’m not used to writing. I might post it up on AO3 if I ever finish it. Also this fic inspires me. A lot.]

Plot: Superman is off-world. Batman and Green Arrow (along with their ex- and current sidekicks) team up in Metropolis to take down R'as al Ghul in his attempt to regain a Lazarus Pit lost to him many years ago that is positioned underneath Metropolis, since some of his other sites have been compromised. R'as and Talia will show up to take back what's theirs. But, the Team will have to work together to stop their plot. Dick and Roy have to deal with Tim tagging along and Bruce and Ollie have to accept the fact that they're getting older, both themselves and their boys.

PROLOGUE On an uncharted island of West Polynesia...

Amid the acrid scent of incense mixed with the fragrance of juniper flowers, Talia al Ghul carefully supervised the excavation of a lost artifact - a Lazarus Pit, lost to her father about 360 years prior, to natives who claimed its powers were not meant for the use of man, or woman for that matter.

"Carefully. Clear a space for the drill."

Her command fell on most obedient ears. Expensive equipment had been procured, only the best for such a procedure, and brought a mile and a half beneath the island to this dark crypt lost to time.

Talia watched with a scrutinizing gaze as her orders were carried out to the letter by her father's retainers. They knew to be careful, at the cost of their lives.

R'as himself was becoming slightly more haggard by the day. Rejuvenation was available at the few Pits he still controlled, but R'as was convinced that the power of said Pits continued to wane with the passing years, making them less and less potent with their effects becoming less and less noticeable. A Pit that had had centuries to fester and bubble, he reasoned, would certainly be more potent - that, and he was never a man to lose something that rightfully belonged to his legacy and longevity.

Now R'as approached the worksite where his minions worked mechanically, without rest, to uncover the Pit.

"Progress, my daughter."

Talia dutifully answered. "Father, we are about to penetrate into the chamber of the Pit. "

R'as smiled thinly. "Then let us step back and witness this moment of glory."

The massive drill roared to life, sending a group of bats far above to squeaking and fluttering in protest. R'as watched with a marked intensity.

For several minutes, the diamond-tipped, ludicrously expensive instrument bored away at layers of rock and rubble. As the wall gave way, however, everyone present became aware of something else happening.

Great cracks appeared in the wall, spreading like a spiderweb of destruction, and soon a rumbling could be heard from above.

"Farran, cease this! Stop the drill!" R'as voice was like a sharp knife through the din. But it had to be said, else Farran would not stop the drill, even if the crypt came down on his head right then, unless he was told so by his master.

Luckily, he had heard this command, immediately shutting off the massive drill. Quickly, Ubu manuevered to his Master's side to ensure his safety, whether he wished to stay or depart.

Obviously, the sane choice was to leave. R'as wasn't known for being a sane man, but he was adept at survival.

"Father, we must go! This crypt is doomed!" Talia called, her voice of a controlled type of fear that comes with long life.

With a last look at the now unearthed Pit, R'as saw that its contents had dried up or been funneled away long ago. There was nothing of use here.

Another loss.

Though the crypt collapsed about him, pieces of stone ceiling falling from high above, bats screeching, floor shaking, R'as found himself stopping simply to know the feeling of this loss.

The same feeling that pervaded his senses whenever Batman intervened in his carefully-formed plans.

Always rage.

"Father! We must go!" Snapped back to the task at hand - survival - by his daughter, R'as swept away accompanied by Ubu to the secret elevator of the crypt. It would hold only R'as, Ubu, and Talia - no others were worthy.

Those minions would be taking the stairs. For a mile and a half.

--

Now on the surface, R'as watched as the crypt itself collapsed into the chamber of the Lazarus Pit. His Lazarus Pit. It left a cloud of dust like a smoke signal.

Rage.

Talia observed, "After the volcanic eruptions on this island 100 years ago, the underlying ground became unstable. Drilling into the inaccessible chamber resulted in failure."

Farran, who had been operating the drill, immediately fell to his knees in front of his master, begging for forgiveness. He was dragged away by two other ninja - his fate would be decided.

Talia continued to muse, "Father, you said there was another Pit that had been lost to you."

R'as' face twisted strangely. "Yes, daughter. We shall depart for it with all haste."

Retrieving a communicator from his cape, R'as spoke to his pilot, who had been hovering above the island. "Sarangul. Prepare for departure immediately. Our mission was a failure, but our next one will not be."

Talia knew that look on her Father's face. The one he used as he charged into battle, assured of victory. Eyes like fire, the fire of a Demon, the fires of Hell and the Demon's Head.

"Bring us to the United States. I have business in the city of Metropolis."

---

Ch.1.

---

"You've gotta be kidding."

Roy Harper must have read the mission briefing ten times. No. Twenty.

Going to Metropolis? That was cool. Cool city. No arguments there. Meet some chicks, see some flicks, the whole deal. The League would put him up in a sweet hotel, with a fridge full of free soda, and everything for the duration of the mission. Absolutely a sweet deal for being a reserve Leaguer.

And working with Nightwing? Awesome. Great guy, could fight with the best and was one of the few leaguers around Roy's age, so it was easy to find stuff to talk about in terms of pop culture, video games, martial arts, whatever. Just an all-around great guy, easy to get along with, easy to talk to, amazing. Nothing would be cooler than just hanging out with the 'Wing in a sweet hotel in a sweet city, if Roy had anything to say about it.

But just like anything in this job, there had to be problems. Three of them, to be exact.

The other members on the brief - well, one of them wasn't even a member, to be technical. Robin. Roy couldn't help but think it was a pretty weird choice. He was okay with the little munchkin tagging along, had met him a few times. Roy couldn't think of much to say about him other than that he was tiny and also a pain in the ass at times, basically the definition of a little kid brother. Anyway, it would seriously cut in to bro time if Nightwing had to babysit.

But apparently, that wouldn't be a problem. Batman was apparently on their team as well. Batman. The Batman. It made sense when Roy considered that they were going to be running surveillance on gang activity in Metropolis while Superman punched space robots out in the cosmos. But Batman hanging out in their hotel suite was awkward enough, without...

Oliver. Wasn't that just the cherry on top of the awkward sundae. The Martian man must really be out of line still with Earth culture if he thought this was a decent teamup to put together. But no problem, really. 

Just two young guys trying to prove their independence as ex-sidekicks, accompanied basically by their father figures and one seriously annoying brat who was way too smart for his own good. And who was also currently a sidekick.

The weekend was gonna be interesting, to say the least.

--

Roy wasn't really worried, but as a pre-emptive strike he thought it was only fair to meet with Dick and get some kind of alliance going, seeing as they were in essentially the same boat.

Metropolis' Hightower Cafe had free Wifi, anyway. He could easily stream vids and that was a pretty good deal. It meant he could watch the livestream of his college's graduation ceremony.

He'd graduated some months before, in December. It meant he didn't get to walk for graduation, but the ability to sweep out early and continue with more... pressing work was just too attractive to pass up.

Speaking of attractive... Shannon Haight was taking her diploma now. They'd dated for three months. She was a control freak, but God if he didn't miss the smile he was seeing now from his Ipad.

It was nice to be normal for once. Just hanging out with a cute chick, no commitments. Carefree.

The League was basically the opposite of that. But it drew him in anyway, because if he became a member it'd be much easier to get away from the stigma of the sidekick role. He could be recognized as his own hero. To his dismay, he'd only been offered a reserve position. The League's equivalent of a college's waitlist. Basically, the bench. They'd only call him in if they absolutely needed him, and it was only very rarely that they had any particular need for a non-meta. At least if you were a reserve meta, you had a chance of getting called in, say if they needed a bunch of firepower or water power and you had the goods.

But he remained only a last resort.

Nightwing was an amazing fighter. That was why they offered him full-time membership. He'd passed the tests with flying colors, apparently. But he only accepted a reserve position. After all, he had an entire, very corrupt city to fight for in Bludhaven.

Right now, the man himself was strolling into the Hightower, three minutes early.

Grayson grinned with the convivial knowledge of an inside joke as he sat down across from Roy. "Don't you think this is gonna be a fun weekend? I think this is gonna be a fun weekend." Roy sighed like a man carrying a ton of bricks on his back. "Man, can you believe? Free hotel suite WITH chaperones. And a little kid."

Dick shrugged with a what-are-you-gonna-do affect. "I'm sure they won't set bedtime too early." Then he got a bit serious. Dick was good at that, going from jocular to a bit serious.

"Look, we're independent agents now. Not their little helpers. They're pretty smart guys, I'm sure they'll treat us like the mature adults we are. They're not our bosses, anyway - they have no power over us, Roy. We can stay out 'til the sun comes up and they can't say boo."

Roy didn't look exactly convinced. "We're probably not gonna get any good action, you know. They're gonna end up taking it over, I'm sure. And we'll be stuck with the kid, probably shaking down schoolyard bullies and shoplifters."

Dick held up a finger. "Now don't go underestimating Tim. He's stronger than he looks."

"I'm sure he is, dude."

A little silence never hurt, in Roy's experience anyhow.

Dick was good at changing the subject. "How's college?"

"Eh. Finished a few months ago."

"That's cool, you get your degree?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, that's great!"

"Hey, thanks. Busted my balls getting this one philosophy class finished up. Pain in the ass."

"That sounds rough."

"Yeah, it was. Got it done though."

"Awesome."

"Yeah."

A comfortable silence extended itself. Roy knew they were... acquaintances, to say the least, but not necessarily friends to the point where they could maintain a comfortable silence for longer than a few minutes without it becoming uncomfortable quite quickly.

Roy's phone buzzed just then, which was kind of a relief.

"It's... Oliver. We were supposed to be at the room for meet and greet shit at 2:30."

"Time's it?" "2:31. Classic Ollie."

"We should probably head over there."

"I guess we should."

---

[Insert looots scenes here of Bruce and Oliver being awkward dads.]

---

[Pretty much a lot of the scenes are like this... Bruce basically forgetting that Dick and Roy are older than Tim lol. Also something happens at dinner in which Tim is a little shit and apparently Roy is his mortal enemy now. We shall call this the “dinner incident”. Also, there’s a running joke where Ollie is constantly calling Roy “Speedy” and not “Red Arrow”.]

[In this scene, I guess I was thinking that both Dick, Roy and Tim are temporarily banned from hero business for whatever reason by their guardians. Essentially they’re grounded.]

"So what are we watching?" Dick inquired.

"Oh, nothing much. Rented the Saw trilogy." Roy grinned.

"Pretty good. Wanna play a game?"

"Funny. Yeah, actually I do. Some COD?"

"Sounds good."

It was just their luck that Tim should walk in a few minutes later when they had gotten into playing.

Roy sneered, not having gotten over the Dinner Incident yet. "What'cha want, twerp? You want us to switch to Mario Kart so you can play?"

"Um, I've played Call of Duty before. Dick, can I have a controller?"

The kid was decent at playing. Bruce was right - he did have a tactical mind. He tired quickly, though.

Dick noticed. "Tim, go to bed. It's a big day tomorrow, right?"

Tim decided not to suppress his yawn now that his tiredness was obvious. "'Kay. Night, Dick. Night, Speedy."

"Sleep tight, kiddo." Dick had that stupid sappy big brother smile on his face again.

The kid left, presumably for bed, and they got in about ten more minutes of play before Bruce's voice rumbled quite close which made Roy flinch a bit because he didn't hear him come in.

"Are you going to be watching these?"

Bruce was holding the Saw DVDs.

Dick answered. As always. "Yup, we're gonna have a movie night while you guys go out. Have fun. Don't worry about us."

Bruce was looking straight at Roy as he spoke. "These look too intense..."

Dick cringed imperceptibly.

"...for Tim."

What a save. Dick spoke up, "Let me redefine 'we'. 'We' refers to Roy and I, actually. Tim's going to sleep, okay? Nothing to worry about."

Bruce didn't look happy about it, but he put the DVDs down, muttered "I hope not" and stalked away, leaving them be.

Roy felt himself breathe again.

---

[Insert more scenes]