#imagine jason tim and damian sitting quietly together for once and bruce and dick walk in and just. stare.

[batfam-stuff-posts-0]

For the "top 5" thing: top 5 headcanons

Not necessarily in this order:

Tim gets away with a ton of shit because Bruce immediately assumes it's one of the others and can't prove it's tim even if he gets suspicious.

When Damian does something wrong they spray him with water like a cat.

Damian follows dick around sometimes like a lost kitten. Dick doesn't mention it, but his mood improves significantly every time he notices.

All the batkids steal each other's clothes.

Jason's body temperature is too low because death and Lazarus pit reasons. Once he came to the cave because he was injured, not majorly, but enough to warrant Alfred's help. And Bruce saw his temperature. And freaked tf out. This resulted in a cuddle pile, a grumpy Damian, and Jason accepting hugs from others (mostly Dick) more often.

[verymuchimmortalcat]

Remembrance

For Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month Day 5: Stories/Memories

ao3

@maribat-bdbwm

Marinette and Alfred are the ones who had welcomed him to the Manor when Bruce had first taken him in. Marinette had been his first friend outside the circus. The bright three-year-old daughter of Bruce Wayne who nearly no one knew about.

He remembers her hugging him in greeting the very first time, whispering, “you need hugs.”

Dick would never forget that. Never forget the smiling child who had cheerfully announced that he was her big brother and had accepted someone new into her family immediately.

.oOo.

Barbara got to know Marinette by talking to her over comms for years. Agent A and Sunbird, a name, as she was told, that was given to her by her big brother. The younger girl used to convince Alfred into giving her a private line on the days where crime was lighter and the two of them would talk to each other until Marinette fell asleep. The older she grew the longer the time they spoke for.

She still remembers some of the stories Marinette had told her as a child. She brings it up occasionally to embarrass her like any good big sister would. She’d also make life hell for anyone who hurts Marinette like a good big sister.

.oOo.

Marinette and Jason used to spend every free afternoon they had in the kitchen. With Alfred’s supervision, of course. They took up their own corner of the large kitchen and experimented with their cooking. Sure, they were occasionally banned but unlike Bruce, who was banned for the rest of his life, it was only for a month at most.

A fact which they teased him mercilessly about. Babs joined too when Marinette told her, and once Babs knew so did Dick. Their accomplishments in the kitchen were thus immortalised, along with Bruce’s failure, but that’s less important.

.oOo.

Alfred remembers the resolute 13-year-old girl who stood in front of him after her brother’s death and asked him if he knew anyone who lived away from Gotham who’d be okay with her staying there for a while. She’d said she couldn’t stand to stay in the Manor anymore. Alfred knew there was nothing that could stop her once she’d made up her mind, she was just as, if not more, stubborn than her father. And so, Alfred had gone through is old contacts until he found Gina Dupain and made arrangements for Miss Marinette to stay with her son and wife.

He and Miss Barbara were the only ones to see her off. Master Bruce had still not got himself together and Master Dick was still off the map. The two of them had watched as she had faked a smile and walked through the gate.

.oOo.

Tim first met Ladybug when Robin suddenly showed up on the streets of Paris. Tim had immediately gone on high alert when the Parisian heroine had appeared at his hotel window. Which had morphed into understanding when she had detransformed.

Marinette had taken a picture of his expression, saying, “I’m sending this to Babs. I don’t ever want to forget how ridiculous you looked.”

Tim had no clue how he’d missed that she was Ladybug.

“Magic,” she’d explained, “and also I never really got around to telling Dad, so we never bring it up during our calls.”

After he’d finished the mess with King Snake and Lady Shiva, he’d helped Marinette tell Bruce. And then Dick had taken the two of them out for ice cream.

.oOo.

At some point after Cass started staying on her own it became normal for Marinette to be there every weekend. The two of them sparred together, went out on patrol, played rooftop tag, ate street food, took care of crime.

Cass has a scrapbook filled with photos from their patrols that Marinette had given her for her birthday, “so we never forget,” Marinette had told her when she had given it to her.

.oOo.

Marinette calls Damian up weekly to ask about his animal friends. She never pries too much and Damian appreciates it. He willingly tells her stories of what they’ve been up to throughout the week and sends her pictures and paintings. She, in exchange talks to him about the kwami. She can’t really send him pictures of them but she lets the all the kwami out to play when he visits.

Damian cherishes it, not that he’d ever say it, but he does. He doesn’t have to talk about anything he doesn’t want to and Marinette doesn’t try to get it out of him but he knows she’ll be there if he needs help, and so will everyone else.

It also helps that Alfred (the cat), Titus, Jerry, and Ace adore her but they still prefer him, of course.

.oOo.

Around the time Stephanie became Batgirl, Marinette’s visits to Gotham became a lot more frequent. Probably because her dad died, or at least that’s what nearly everyone had thought.

Steph had never really gotten to know Marinette before, she’d met the younger girl several times when she’d gone to meet Cass but she never had the chance to get to know her.

But with Marinette in Gotham often, it meant she was visiting Babs often. And since Steph was with Babs a good amount of her time, she spent a lot of time with Marinette. It was similar to what she imagines having a sister would be like.

After Bruce’s return, Marinette’s visits became less often but the two of them kept in contact.

.oOo.

Bruce had several moments in his lifetime that he would never forget. His parents��� death, the deaths of his friends and children (even though they all came back), and several other moments with his several children.

He remembered when Marinette had teleported into the cave just as everyone was getting ready for patrol, looking tired. All of them had been by her side almost immediately. Marinette rarely ever randomly showed up, even if she did one of the others were bound to know. But it hadn’t been one of those visits, he’d been sure of it.

And it hadn’t been. Marinette had told everyone to continue with whatever they were doing and then asked to speak with him.

“Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth,” she had stated.

He hadn’t been shocked. He’d met the man a few times, being Paris’ supervillain didn’t seem beneath him.

“And you have a plan?”

She had nodded confidently, “yes. I just need to check a few things on the Batcomputer.”

“Let us know if you need anything.”

She had nodded at him and rushed off to the computer. Bruce had been so sure everything would be fine at that moment.

.oOo.

Duke had been worried when Babs had called and said to get everybody in the cave for an emergency, even Alfred. He had never imagined exactly how bad it could be.

She had had tears in her eyes when she had said, “Hawkmoth’s been defeated.”

There had been cheers and laughs but Duke couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread.

“Why did you say it was an emergency?” Bruce asked quietly.

“Marinette gave up her guardianship so that they could win.”

The following silence had been the quietest the cave had ever been with all 10 of them there. They all knew what giving up guardianship meant.

Bruce had been the first to leave, he walks away into the Batplane without a word. None of them had stopped him. They were all frozen in shock.

Damian stormed off to the training mats, Jason joining him soon after. Alfred seems to have vanished. Steph and Dick are talking to Babs and Tim seems to be looking into the exact details of what happened. Cass walks away then and Duke not knowing what to do follows her. They walk in silence until they reach her room. Duke stands around awkwardly as she rummages through her room. She hands him a scrapbook. He recognises the signature.

““So, we never forget,” she had said.”

The irony of the situation isn’t lost on either of them. But he doesn’t say anything, just sits next to her in silence holding the scrapbook.

[butwhyduh]

A Little Box

Dick Grayson x reader

Christmas series 3

Warning: none?

Dick arrived back at your apartment almost late. The traffic had been awful. He pulled off his work tie and walked into your bedroom. You were putting final touches on makeup in front of a vanity. He gave you a tired smile and kissed your hair before grabbing his clothes.

He changed into a cashmere sweater that Bruce had bought him last Christmas and a nice pair of trousers. Most cops couldn’t afford anything like that and he didn’t want to stand out in Bludhaven so he had rarely worn it. But it was perfect for Wayne Manor Christmas dinner.

Dick watched as you stood up and he smiled. You really looked beautiful in a nice blue dress. “What is it, Pretty Bird?” You asked.

“Just admiring the lovely lady in front of me,” Dick said. You smiled. He was always sweet like that. He grabbed his blazer from the closet and pulled it on. You grabbed your coat as well.

The car ride was nice. Dick’s Porsche was warm and he easily maneuvered the soft snow falling on the highway. It was going to be a white Christmas after all.

Well, in Bludhaven. As you neared Gotham it changed to nasty sleet. You wanted to hold his hand but didn’t want to distract him on the nasty roads. This was his home, you reminded himself. He’d driven these roads a billion times. Bludhaven, your home, was snowy. Gotham was wet.

The size of the manor always took your breath away. And with it decked out for Christmas, it was even more beautiful. Dick parked in the giant garage that had many beautiful cars. He held your hand with one hand and slid his other in his pocket.

He felt the box. He certainly didn’t forget about it. There were other presents that he dropped off earlier in the week on a surprisingly nice weather day. But this one had his heart beating quicker.

“You okay, baby?” You asked him with a frown. He realized that he was just standing around like an idiot.

“Yeah. I’m great. Let’s get inside,” he said. You both walked into the house through a side door. There was many and each entrance was just as lovely. A side view of the main staircase framed a tree that had to be 14-16 foot tall stood proud. You could faintly smell cinnamon and some kind of roast meat. There was laughter from the main study. Pre-dinner drinks.

Bruce, Tim, his girlfriend, and Duke were having some sort of lively debate. Damian and his girlfriend were playing chess in the corner. Jason was a no show. It wasn’t a surprise. He rarely showed. And Cass was on the way. Alfred must have been in the kitchen working.

They all welcomed you both as you walked in the room. You sat on a leather couch in front of a gigantic roaring fire. Dick had his hand on your knee, gently rubbing circles.

“I am fine with books to movies but remakes need to stop,” he said. Duke all but gaped.

“I thought you liked the It movies.”

“I did. But most of the others were so bad.”

“We should remake movies that could have been great but were bad,” Tim added. “Like any video game movie pretty much. Like imagine if we started with a Spider-Man game. The movies would be awful.”

“Can we talk about how annoying it is when people think we work like Spider-Man? Like I can’t catch a bus or anything. No one acts like him,” Dick said. Tim and Duke laughed out loud.

“Bro, if there was ever a vigilante asked to ‘do a flip’ it would be you. Throwing himself off buildings to pounce on bad guys? Talks too much in fights? That’s you,” Tim said.

“I don’t-“

“Dinner is served,” Alfred said at the doorway. The conversation stopped as they all moved to the formal dinning room. You sat next to Dick and watched his beautiful profile as he continued to argue with Tim and Duke over Spider-Man. The little hairs that flopped on his forehead. The smile he kept just a moment from showing all the time.

“Hhmm,” a voice said clearing his throat. Jason stood at the doorway with a woman. She appeared nervous.

“Master Jason! You made it,” Alfred said excitedly. “I recieved your message but it’s been many years. Sit. Sit.”

The pair sat across from you and Dick and the table all stared. Jason had a date? In the years that you’d dated Dick, you’d never seen him at Christmas or with a girlfriend, much less both.

“Yeah, it’s Christmas,” he said shrugging.

“Glad you could come,” Dick said with a grin. Damian was whispering to his date. Probably telling her who the heck this man was.

A burgundy mushroom soup was served. The soft clatter of spoons was loud as everyone quietly ate. Bruce kept glancing at Jason and the woman he saw.

Cass showed before the second course was served and hugged everyone including Jason’s mysterious date before declaring that she liked her. It was nice to see everyone at once. Bruce insisted that Alfred share pudding with everyone else and the older seemed quite pleased.

Dick on the other hand was literally sweating. He was forgetful in conversation and his glass of wine lay untouched. He was thinking of that little heavy box in his pocket. He’d talked to you about marriage. You’d had those late night conversations about marriage and children and the future. It wasn’t a surprise that you’d both considered marriage. But to ask in front of his entire family was scary. On Christmas too. He considered chickening out.

“Dick, are you okay? You kinda spaced on us,” you said, putting a hand on his knee. He sat up and smiled. But his eyes were still a little too wide to be casual.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. This was a great time to do this. A sign from god some would say as the entire family was watching him. His fingers moved rapidly over the box in his pocket.

“Actually,” Dick said a little too loudly. “I... uh, I have a question.”

If everyone wasn’t watching him before, they damn sure was now. You looked at him confused as he took your hand. He was literally panting. “Lovebird, babe. I love you.”

“I love you too,” you said, feeling almost uncomfortable with the attention of the whole table. He wasn’t drunk so what was wrong with him? Cass grinned widely and covered her mouth. Of course, she understood Dick’s body language instantly.

“We’ve kinda talked about this before so I hope it’s not too much of a surprise. But I’d like to talk about forever. Will you marry me,” Dick asked. His blue eyes were so wide and he looked a mess.

“Will I marry you?” You asked shocked like an idiot.

“Oh god, I have a ring,” he said pulling it out of his pocket and handing you the box. You opened it and looked at the ring. “Please say something,” Dick pleaded. The table watched. They couldn’t turn away if they wanted to.

“Yes! Yes,” you said grabbing his face.

“Yes?”

“Yes,” you answered and he kissed you quickly. The table broke out in applause. Dick pulled back slightly to look in your eyes. He clumsily slid the ring on your finger. It was so pretty in the candlelight from the table.

Alfred appeared at the table with champagne a few minutes later and everyone got a glass. Even Damian and his date got a tiny amount for a toast.

You and Dick sat close together all night and you honestly couldn’t tell what anyone else said or did as you just wanted to be with him. It was early in the evening that you retired to his old room as the storm had gotten too bad for a drive back to Bludhaven. No one could blame the love birds for wanting alone time.

[douvle-eh]

these are the days it never rains (but it pours)

these are the days it never rains (but it pours)

Summary: Jason stays at the manor after an injury and learns a few things about Dick and maybe offer some comfort. Just Jason trying to be a good brother. Gen.

An: I love a good dad Bruce as much as the next guy but sometimes I also like to indulge in bad dad Bruce so….here you go. If you don’t like abusive Bruce (mentioned only) please don’t read this. Also don’t expect this to make any sense. My writing process works like this - I have random dialogue that pop in my head and at times it’s hard to make sense of what I’m trying to get thru but I just build the sentences around those dialogues.

 -----

It’s raining.

Jason watches as the rain blurs the view from the huge window. A flash of lightning races by, thunder comes a few seconds later indicating that the storm is passing, though knowing Gotham the rain would be staying with them for another week before it clears up to its usual smog.

He lets out a sigh. It’s bad enough that he got hurt in a routine patrol; it was worst that the bat brats had run into him during his struggle to crawl to his safe house and had gone ahead and snitched to Nightwing. The blue bird had forced him to go back to the cave and together with Alfred, they were able to convince him to stay the night or until he healed (though they all knew he would sneak away before then).

Honestly, he would have chosen bleeding out in an alley way to this.

He turns back to the room. They’re in one of the smaller living rooms (Jason still rolls his eyes at the luxury of the manor, who needs multiple living rooms? He never did get use to it) the room is a warm neutral color and consists of two large couches, a love seat and two armchairs (one of which he’s currently sitting on) all positioned to face the large fireplace.

It amazes Jason that everyone is here, and when he says everyone, he means even Duke is here and Jason feels more like an outsider than ever.

He’s tried his hardest to stay away, making sure that he never accidentally run into them but surprise surprise here he is, talk about the worst family reunion. And though the tension between them isn’t as bad as it was before, it’s still awkward.

Duke and Cass give him curious glances, Steph smiles at him when he catches her eye but he hasn’t spoken to them in who knows how long. Tim glances at him warily as if waiting for him to start something, and Damian glares his way whenever they meet eyes. Don’t even get him started on Bruce. The man hasn’t even given him a passing glance. The only one who’s at least trying to pull him in a conversation is Dick and he doesn’t care for the look Dick is giving him, like a puppy who’s head butting you to get your attention because he knows you’re sad.

God, this was hell, sure he’s no longer activity trying to kill them, but they’re far from being a happy family. No matter how hard Dickie’s trying to keep the family together, it’s just too much hard feelings and not enough effort on all their parts.

Besides, the manor brings too many memories with it. Everything pretty much looks the same as it did when he was younger save for a few new pictures and knick knacks. The furniture is the same, the set up of the room, even the weather is the same.

He still remembers the time he spent curled up on the couch reading a book during rainy days as the fireplace warmed him from the Gotham freeze. Bruce would be by him reading his own book and kid him used to hope that this could go on forever, that maybe after all that life had given him that he finally found a place to belong. He remembers looking up at Bruce and getting a smile back, he remembers…he remembers… fire… pain… betrayal-

Suddenly, he feels like he’s floating, like his whole being is just his eyes, like he’s just watching everything happening as his body becomes numb. There is a crushing emptiness in his chest and he has the feeling of being closed in, the room is too crowded, too hot and the voices start to mesh together.

He needs to get out.

Jason takes in a sharp breath silencing the conversation between some of them and is ready to stand up (screw his broken leg). He pushes himself out of the chair and sees Dick standing up ready to help. He shakes his head at his older brother and starts to limp out but stops when he hears a clipped voice from someone entering the room.

“I do hope Master Jason that you’re not thinking about leaving.” Jason turns to the butler (grandfather & caregiver) before he pastes on a smile trying to ignore his siblings’ questioning gaze.

“Of course not Alfie, just gonna walk around a bit, I mean what do you take me for?”

“The fact that you’re not even supposed to be on that leg, much less be walking around; I would say an idiot sir.” Jason grimaces as the younger kids titter at that, he really should have just stayed in that alley and drowned in the rain.

He sits back down and carefully lifts his leg back up.

Dick pulls out a table which Alfred lays the tray of drinks on. He looks at him with a silent question of ‘Are you ok?’ and Jason just nods curtly at him; he really didn’t need the golden boy fussing over him acting like the perfect caring older brother. He knows that’s all bull anyways, just guilt and regret working behind those feelings.

He turns back to the eyes staring at him and narrows his own ready to let them know where they can shove it, but before he gets the chance, Dick interrupts. The eldest turns back to his younger siblings and smiles as he heads next to Damian on the couch. The younger ones gazes automatically follow Dick to where he sits. Jason snorts, Dick Grayson - Ever the center of attention.

“Did I ever tell you guys about the time Bruce and I convinced the whole league that I was a ghost?” Dick starts and Jason sees the family perk at this. Steph stands up and walks closer to Dick, a gleeful smile on her face.

“Oooo, tell me more.”

Dick leans back and throws a hand around Damian’s shoulder, collecting his thoughts before he continues.

“Well, when I was eight it was my first time at the Watchtower and I wasn’t really known as Robin yet, but I was able to talk Bruce –“

“Beg.” Bruce interrupts while Dick rolls his eyes.

“Begged Bruce to let me visit,” he amended before continuing “Anyway, so I went with Bruce to the Watchtower, I guess you can imagine how a lot of the heroes viewed Batman at that time. He was the dark knight all grime, vengeance and ‘I work alone’ hero and suddenly he shows up with a kid dressed up like a traffic light with scaly underwear…” Jason lets his brothers’ story become his anchor as the feeling in his chest lightens and the memories slowly unravel until they disappear for the night. He watches as Dick talks animatedly, he has the attention of everyone in the room as he makes them laugh about his shenanigans and pokes fun at Bruce when the man tries to add to the story or correct what he thought was a mistake.

Jason knows it’s immature of him but as he watches Dick he feels a sting of jealously for the easy way that Dick Grayson could make Bruce relax while he tells stories that to them sound like fairy tales. He’s sure that all of his siblings felt the same jealousy.

Dick Grayson was a charmer, charismatic in a way that’s different from Bruce, more genuine. Maybe it’s his background as a circus performer or maybe it’s because out of all of their siblings he was the only one really grew up with loving parents. But Dick Grayson could soften rock and mold it like clay.

Dick continues with another story from his childhood with Bruce. A Bruce none of them really know. The one who read bedtime stories with funny voices, who readily gave hugs and kisses and sweet nicknames and one who showed that he loved and cared. Of course Jason can’t fault him for it though, Dick was Bruce’s first kid, and Dick had just turned eight at that time, meaning Bruce had him when he was younger than all of them, when he hadn’t lost so many people yet and still had enough light and hope and control over his life.

Dick knew Bruce at a different time, he knew a Bruce that none of them ever had the chance of meeting and for that he was sure all of them listen to his stories with a sense of awe and jealousy.

Jason knows that Dick regrets it, had spoken to him enough to realize that the other man blamed himself for it. He had once confined to him before (under the influence) saying that he felt that his failings made Bruce the way he is, that he messed it up for his younger siblings, that maybe if he had been a better robin, son or partner that there would have been more of Bruce left for them.

Jason wished for that too, but it’s not like him to wonder too long about that. He can’t torture himself about what he should have gotten from Bruce as his son; he let his life be ruled by that long enough.

Dick turns to him and smiles, his eyes bright as he basks in his siblings’ laughter and their questions.

Yeah Dick was just the lucky one, the favorite, the golden child - it was nothing against them.

 ----

 Jason wakes up in his old room and he’s surprised that he fell asleep in the first place. He stares into the darkness before he starts to get restless, he sits up quickly hoping to escape the memories creeping at the edge of is vision. Carefully he brings his legs down and pushes himself to stand wobbling only for a second before he’s limping out of the door. Jason knows that Alfred wouldn’t be too happy with him walking around his leg, but he can’t stand to be in his room right now.

He thinks maybe he should head for the kitchen to get a drink and see if they have any sleeping pills he could take. He hates those things but it’s better than roaming around the manor like a sad ghost. God wouldn’t that just complete his night.

He’s in the hallway but stops when he hears voices from the study. The door is cracked open and the voices are soft enough that he can’t really understand the words. Quietly he peeks in and realizes that the owners of the voices aren’t exactly in the room. Even with a broken leg Jason is able to skillfully lighten his footsteps and quietly push the door open. The study is empty but he can hear the voices a little bit clearer now.

When he steps in, he realizes that the grandfather clock that hides the cave is open and as he gets closer he can finally hear the voices. It’s Dick and Bruce, he sticks close to the wall as he tries to make sense of their argument.

Really he’s not surprised, Dick and Bruce had always had arguments, seems like they never really grew out of it. He should probably leave, it’s not like he never heard it all before, it usually had Dick trying to talk some sense to Bruce and Bruce arguing that he was wrong. He tries to turn when he suddenly hears his name.

“You need to get over yourself Bruce, Jason is up there and you can’t even say a single word to him. He’s taken the steps, he’s slowly opening up to us, but you have to do your part. You’re his father.”

“He doesn’t want to talk to me.” Bruce answers gruffly and Jason realizes that Bruce’s voice sound almost … distant. This wasn’t Bruce Wayne talking, this was Batman.

“How do you know? You’ve never spoken to him.”

“I’ve tried” Jason wants to snort at this; really he couldn’t have guessed with the way that Bruce has been acting all night, “it doesn’t end well.”

“Well, were you listening? And I mean really listening, not telling him what or how to feel or pushing your morals on to him.”

“He needs to understa-“

“He does, he’s trying!” Dick interrupts, his voice rising and Jason can just imagine him running a hand thru his hair in exasperation. “He hasn’t killed anyone in a while; he’s been using rubber bullets, he’s been curbing his anger even I can see it and I…I don’t know what you want from him Bruce.”

“He knows what I want.”

“No Bruce, he doesn’t and right now I don’t think even you know what you want. You’re just afraid.” There’s a silence between them and Jason slowly moves his leg to ease the weight, he thinks maybe they were done before Dick whispers out “You haven’t changed one bit from when I first met you.” Jason sucks in a breath as he hears the weight of disappointment and he’s confused. What did Dick mean that Bruce hasn’t changed?

Bruce is confused too and asks “What?”

“You’re still that same person from when I was eight. When I just lost my parents and you took me in. Don’t get me wrong you were great, you helped me and loved me and you were what I needed. You gave me a reason to go on but there were times when I felt like I was the one taking care of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I tried my best.”

“I know you did but I quickly realized that I had to deal with your emotions that you never dealt with when your own parents died and…and maybe the reason why we got along so well when I was a kid was because to me it felt like we were just two kids in a big house who understood each other because of our shared tragedies. But the moment I started to move on and leave my hurts behind I realized that you never would.” Dick voice sounds exhausted as he continues, “I was growing up but I still felt like I had to be there to support you. I had to become the adult for you, and I’m still doing that Bruce. Anytime there’s a situation where you can’t handle emotionally you start pushing people away. You’re so afraid of losing them and I have to come here every time to fix your relationship for you and to tell you how to deal with it. I’m just so tired - mentally, emotionally I was spreading myself so thin just so you could feel better about yourself.”

“I never asked.”

“Oh of course not...you would never ask for help, you’re so afraid of loving those kids Bruce but they already love you. God they would do anything for you and so would I, but I’m not going to let you take advantage of them and raise them the way you raised me. It’s too late for me because I can’t refuse you anymore, but I can fight for them. I know what it’s like to be at the end of your disappointment Bruce, you’ve brainwashed me into a pathetic robot that needs your love and approval.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is, you don’t know how much I’ve given up or done just to get your approval Bruce. My job, my friends, my own team,” At this Dick’s voice gets a little desperate  as Jason leans more heavily on the wall next to the clock, “What more do you want, what more does Jason have to give up, he already gave you his life!”

“Get out.” The voice growls out and Jason steadies himself ready to leave just in case Dick come ups.

“No, this is what I mean Bruce, the minute I try to make you face your own emotions and-“

“I said get out!”

“-start acting like a father for once-“

“Leave!”

“No!”

“Get out before-“

“Before what?! You hit me again?!” Jason feels himself freeze at that, no, that’s…that not what Dick meant, sure Batman had beaten Jason before, but that was before he knew who he was and was pit-crazy. Jason is sure Dick didn’t mean that Bruce would hit one of his kids for no reason, he’s not like Willis. Bruce was always supposed to be safe. But Dick continues “…because you can’t control me or because you don’t want to hear what I have to say? Go ahead, blame me for everything! Hit me! You know I’m pathetic enough to come crawling back asking for forgiveness so just do it!”

Jason waits, his heartbeat pulsing in his ears as he prepares to intervene, he waits for a slap, a punch, anything. He knows that if Bruce did lay a hand on Dick that he would run down the cave and throw his own fists in even if he has to crawl down.

“That…was a mistake.” Bruce finally answers and he hears a short laugh, bitter filled and mocking.

“Of course it was, the first time.” Then in a tired voice he adds, “and I’ve forgiven you for all of them Bruce.”

Suddenly Jason feels so betrayed, not just by Bruce but by Dick too. Dick always tried to get them to talk, to open up, and to make sure that they didn’t end up keeping things inside so it didn’t eat them up or destroy them. He made sure that Bruce was treating them ok and told them to come to him should they feel the need too. Yet he hid in the dark his own troubles, and Dick for years had preached to them to heal and in shame he had wiped up his tears with a smile and hid ugly bruises and bloody lips in the dark shadows of their broken family.

Again he thought about what he had been jealous of Dick about. Yes, Dick knew a Bruce they didn’t, a Bruce who had less control of his anger, whose parents’ death still felt fresh especially after taking in Dick, and whose life for years had revolved around the mask and nothing else. Bruce had to learn to open up again and his mistakes left their mark on his oldest child.

The silence stretches and Jason wonders now if they’re done. He wonders who will leave first, Dick or Bruce? The answer doesn’t surprise him when Dick starts once again.

“Bruce…” the voice beseeches softly and Jason knows even after all that Dick is the one reaching out for forgiveness. Jason doesn’t think he can handle this anymore, he flees. Quickly he wobbles out of the study, he goes back to the hall way and finds his way to his room, the conversation still tearing thru his mind.

God he hates himself. He knows that Dick and Bruce never had a perfect relationship; he was there front and center for most of their fights when he was a kid. And just like how Dick knew a different Bruce Jason knew a different Dick, he wasn’t always the perfect brother; he remembers when he was an angry teen, one who had felt betrayed after his mantle had been taken from him. He remembers the glare that Dick had given him looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And he remembers the Dick Grayson who didn’t want nor care for that title of older brother.

He gets to his room and steadies himself on the nightstand as he sits on the bed. He grabs at his head pulling the strands of his hair, damn it damn it damn it.

He shouldn’t have listened in, he was perfectly content to imagine that Dick and Bruce had a great relationship and that everything had worked out after he died, because if not…what does that mean for him and the rest of his siblings? That if the golden child of the family couldn’t get approval from Bruce, was all their efforts and sacrifices all for nothing? Was his death all for nothing?

“Jay?” Jason turns to the door where Dick is peering at him, the light from the hallway shadowing his face.

“Knock.” He grits out and the older man tilts his head and even though Jason can’t see his face he knows that he probably has that damned look of his again.

“I did. Can I come in?”

“’sa free country.” Dick takes a moment before he walks in and sits on the bed by him.

“Nightmares?” Dick asks and Jason wishes it was. Nightmares he could deal with.

“Yeah sure.” There’s an awkward silence between them, Jason doesn’t know if Dick knew he had heard his argument with Bruce, so he asks. “What are you doing up?”

“Just…checking on everyone, Tim has a bad habit of staying up way past when he should and Steph and Cass sometimes gets the idea of baking in the middle of the night with Babs on the phone.”

Jason turns to look at the man and tries to imagine the bruises on his face. Imagines his excuses and his smiles and his avoidance of any questions about them with practiced ease, and they as non metas are used to making excuses for unexplained bruises.

Jason wonders how Dick could handle it, being in the presence of his abuser. How can he smile and joke and trust the person who’s beaten him down and made him feel less…but in a way he can understand. Bruce wasn’t someone you could easily leave and forget. Bruce could bring people together, push them to do their best and light up their passion to fight for something. He left you feeling like you could own the world, but the minute you turn to him for approval he stares back at you like you haven’t done enough so you push on, dragging your broken body and splintered mind begging for another chance.

Dick wasn’t wrong, Bruce had a way to make you feel pathetic. Hell, he was only with Bruce for a few years and he’s still chasing after the guys love and approval, he couldn’t imagine being under him for almost two decades and living thru all his drama and trying to make sense of his messed up emotions. Let alone managing it and trying to piece out the puzzle of his psyche so it could be presented as normal for others so no one else had to deal with it.

“Jay?” Jason looks into concerned eyes and realizes that he hasn’t said anything, “did you…want to talk about it? It may help.” Jason holds himself back from laughing mockingly at this, Dick was the biggest hypocrite. Yeah, talk about it; it’ll help Jason and all the while Dick tightened the reins on his own problems.

He thinks about taking the things he’s heard from the cave and just throwing it back on Dicks face, start yelling at him for his idiocy until he’s hoarse and shake his shoulders to get him to spill everything.

He wants to punch him in the face (and sees the irony of that) and tell him everything wrong with what he’s doing and if it had been him a few months ago he would have. Just let him have it and damned the consequences.

He knows that people see him as nothing more than a muscled wall of anger who doesn’t think and who lets his fists and guns do all the talking but Jason wasn’t just a bomb waiting to happen (barring the first few years after his resurrection). Many seem to forget that he was reasonable too. He was level headed enough and could fix a problem without his guns. Otherwise he would never make it as a respected crime lord or a vigilante that could hold candle to Batman himself.

So he tries a different tactic, maybe bring up his past and lay down a picture for Dick to compare to, or at least see how deep this rabbit hole went.

“I never really knew my dad.” He starts, trying to sound nostalgic, “He was in and out of prison most of the time.” Dick scoots closer and Jason sees him getting ready to comfort, his eyes are open and sad and Jason wonders how many times Dick has lent a shoulder to someone that his actions right now is automatic, that in just a few seconds his face and his eyes soften to look caring and empathetic.

“But when he was around … well it wasn’t bad, I mean it wasn’t like some other kids in our neighborhood. Just a smack here and there for talking back or not doing what he asked. He broke my wrist once, but …” He glances at Dick and he sees him nod understandingly urging him to go on.

“I deserved it.”

“No Jay,” Dick shakes his head, anger in his eyes and Jason can see how strongly Dick feels about it, “no one deserves that. That’s abuse, he had no right to hit you.”

Jason nods slowly; at least he knows Dick knows abuse for what it is.

“Yeah? Did your dad ever hit you?”

“Never.” Dick answers with conviction so Jason chooses now to strike.

“Did Bruce?” At this Dick stiffens and realization dawns in his eyes, he knows that Jason had heard. Jason watches as suddenly Dick puts up a guard, something unnamed flashes in his eyes and suddenly he pulls back.

“That…that’s different.”

Jason is quick to answer now, “Yeah, you’re right. I mean it doesn’t matter if he’s smacked me a few times then right? Or Tim or Damian?” Dick’s face suddenly looses all color before his jaws tighten and his hands ball into fists.

“That’s not fair.”

Jason laughs bitterly.  “What’s not fair? That I’m calling you out for playing the martyr again?”

“I’m not-“

“Oh fess up, you don’t get to act like a self righteous prick and talk about how Bruce can’t face his problems when you’re doing the same thing.” They’re quiet again and Jason wonders if anyone else can hear them. He can see Dick’s hands shaking and he feels enough pity to give him a way out. “Fine, tell me this, the times that Bruce hit you, was it when you were in costume? Cuz, hey, I can understand that, it comes with the territory, but Bruce has no right to hit you outside of it.”

The silence is all that Jason needs to hear for an answer and he feels his blood boiling. He wants to ask, ask what led to Bruce hitting him outside of their costume, ask what he said and what he did that made him think he warranted Bruce’s fists, but as he stares at Dick he knows he won’t get an answer. Dick Grayson would rather die with his secrets than ruin any semblance of peace he has found between them. And Jason thinks maybe Dick is trying to do him a favor by not telling him.

“He didn’t mean it.” Dick whispers and they both know how that sounds.

‘They didn’t mean it’

‘They were just angry’

‘It’s my fault’

‘They promised it won’t happen again.’

It’s the loud slam of his fist on the nightstand that makes them both jump. Jason didn’t even realize how deeply he’s breathing, but he can’t help it, if he hears another excuse from Dick he’s gonna stand up and start screaming and wake the whole house. He’ll throw everything down and tear it all raw and all the anger and darkness in their family would be splayed on the floor. But he knows if he does that Dick would never be the same, no matter what anyone says Dick has been the main reason that their family is surviving, he’s filled the holes, hid the secrets, soothe the hurts. He’s given his blood, sweat and tears into making it somewhat functional. It wasn’t perfect, he failed many times (and Jason can’t help but be bitter about the fact that he’s one of those failings) but he also did a lot of things right. He never gave up on any of them and to tear it all down now would break him, because Dick was the heart of this family and the family was his heart.

And for all of Bruce’s flaws and secrets Jason knows he cares for them, either because they were useful to him or because they fit in his agenda of saving Gotham in a never ending mission. He can’t help but feel disgusted by the fact that he cares about Bruce too, that even with every secret that’s being ripped open showing Jason how messed up he is, Jason still cares.

But…he can’t let Dick keep doing this to himself, keeping those secrets. Hiding the emotional, mental and physical bruises. Someday Dick will break under that and the family will follow right after. He knows it isn’t much, (too little, too late) but he may keep the family from falling apart just a little longer.

“Promise me,” he looks Dick right in the eyes because he wants him to know that this isn’t arguable, “if Bruce lays a hand on you again that you come to me.” Jason finalizes what he has to say to make sure that Dick understands, “And if you don’t and I find out, I’m done. I’m out of this family.”

Dick tries to read his eyes while surprise, confusion and hesitance shine back in his own. The array of emotions doesn’t surprise Jason, he’s been slow to fixing his relationship with the eldest. And he’s been guilty of leaving everything to Dick when things go south, ignoring his pleas and outstretched hands when he needed help so much so that Dick learned to do things on his own while barely keeping himself a float. He figured out how to come up every once in a while to breathe before being pulled down again.

So Jason tries.  

“I know that…that I may not be the first person for you to talk to and it might not mean a lot now since I haven’t been around but…“he tries to find the words, settles on the truth and aims to hit Dick where it matters, his sense of duty to their family “we’re the older brothers right? We protect the family. Together. It’s my burden to share.”

He can see Dick’s eyes shine before a fight starts in them, sees as Dick looks at every angle of his offer. Jason can slowly start to see the acceptance in his eyes but he also knows that Dick will always carry the heavier load on his own back.

“I’m not asking you to tell me all of your secrets Dick. Just like I will never tell you all of mine, I just want to be there when you deal with Bruce’s bull headedness and misplaced anger. That’s all I ask.”

Jason doesn’t know how long he waits, but he counts it as a win when Dick doesn’t automatically leave or smile it off.

Lighting flashes and the thunder echoes before Dick scoots closer to him. Before long he feels a weight on his shoulder as Dick finally lets himself relax even if it’s just for a little while.

It’s this that Jason realizes for the first time (at three in the morning on a rainy night in his old room surrounded by everything he left behind) that he finally feels like he’s part of the family. That along with his older brother they would keep the secrets together so that their growing family could someday find peace.

He lays his cheek on his brothers head and feels something expanding in his chest trying to lodge the ball in his throat out. No, this isn’t the time, Dick needs him to be the strong one right now.

So he pushes the feeling down and listens as the rain outside continues to pour.

END

Why can't we give love that one more chance?

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word And love dares you to care for The people on the edge of the night

And love dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves

 This is ourselves under pressure…

 -       Under pressure by Queen/David Bowie

[spooky-z]

College Françoise Dupont’s talent show [5/5]

• 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 4.1 • 5 • 5.1 •

Warning: suicide mention at the final

@ozmav @maribat-archive

Damian was not one bit happy with the wistful eyes of Adrien for Marinette.

Since the confrontation with the class, Wayne noticed that the blonde did not take the eyes of his bride. Perhaps he was not even blinking. He could barely see the boy breathing!

“Damian, control your temper.” Tim nudged him. “Looks like you’re going to jump the golden boy’s neck anytime.”

They were sitting in the auditorium, lights on, people searching their seats. The whole family sitting in the third row of the main set of chairs, occupying the entire row.

The order being from the far left starting with Alfred, Bruce, Dick, Kori, Jason, Tim, Damian, Sabine, Tom, Chloe, Kagami, Allan, Allegra and Claude.

Jagged and Penny had been taken into the cabin, accompanied by Chloe’s parents and Kagami’s mother.

Adrien and the rest of the class, sitting in the second row. The blonde standing right in front of him, not disguising the fact that he was facing Marinette, who was on stage talking quietly with Felix and the director.

“If he doesn’t stop eating her with his eyes, I’ll…” and clenched his fist, imagining Agreste’s head in the middle of it.

Sabine, who had heard the exchange, laughed softly. Her son-in-law was so cute.

“Honey, it’s like we say: they may look, but they can’t have it,” she says, her hand on Damian’s fist. “My daughter looks beautiful. If no one looked at her twice, I would have been offended on her behalf.”

He bites his lip in conflict, but seems to decide that his mother-in-law was right and looked away from the blonde, preferring the sight of his angel.

“Good evening everyone.” The director says in the microphone, Marinette and Felix at his right side, microphones in their hands. “Today we mark the end of the talent week and also the end of the semester.” He pauses with the sound of the applause “this week was indeed amazing. Many talents discovered; many laughs obtained. It was wonderful.“

The audience shouts in agreement. Damian frowns with the particularly high-pitched scream in his ear and glances quickly at Tim.

“Today, as you can see, I have two guests with me” the director says again “Marinette Dupain-Cheng-”

“Hello!” Marinette sings into the microphone, a sweet smile on her face.

“-And Felix Aguillard.” Felix bows to the audience “Our first graders of the year.” More applause.

At the sound of the applause, Damian was able to hear a loud "What ?!” coming from the row in front of him, but could not recognize the voice because of the noise.

“It’s been a year since they’ve been studying at both Dupont and a prestigious university.” General choke “Marinette at ESMOD and Felix at INSEAD-”

“WHAT?!” Lila shouts in surprise, cutting off the director. She sits up quickly when she realizes that she has lost control in front of everyone. “Sorry, I was just surprised.”

Chloe scoffs before shouting to the stage “THAT’S MY GIRL!”

Marinette laughs “And Fe? He’s your boy too, isn’t he?” Teases into the microphone.

Felix looks at her, the pained expression on his face.

Chloe scowls at them and screams once again, “I’m sorry, but I’m SUPER GAY.” And the audience laughs out loud at the antics. The director looks unsure of what to do.

“Ahem,” he catches everyone’s attention, the laughter calming down. “Continuing what I was saying- Today marks their last high school day, so nothing fairer than them being our special guests of the night. The two will open for today’s participants, but they will not be part of the competition.” And ends, waving to the two talk something before they begin.

Felix shakes his head, saying he doesn’t want to say anything and follows him off the stage, but Marinette takes the lead, microphone tight in her hands.

“Good evening everyone.” She says, “Like Principal Damocles said, my name is Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng and I want a little of your time.” Her eyes gauge each of the audience, not stopping at anyone for long.

“Today has been a particularly special day for me.” It starts “But I’ll start with last month. Last month I was able to go a step further in my career. I received an undeniable proposal and now my things must be arriving at Gotham, my old and new residence.” She notices some violent reactions in the ranks of her former class. Alya. “Today… today I was proposed by the man I love. Today I have friends supporting me, I have my family by my side, I’m having you all now.” Her slightly wet eyes, Damian notes, wanting more than anything to be by her side right now.

“But it wasn’t always like that.” His tone a little bitter. “There was a time, like, about three years ago, that I had people in my life that I thought were there to support me. To be my friends. To support me when I’m not well…” she sighs “But I was wrong. So wrong.”

“I came to such a low point, so dark, that time has stopped. Like this. I had lost my will, my motivation. I was alive but not living.” Sabine, who had been holding back tears, could no longer and cried silently “But hey! This is not a sad story. It’s not because I found good people. Great friends. A great boyfriend. It was not easy at first. There have been relapses. Days I wanted to do nothing more than sleep and sleep. But I did it.” She winked at Lila, who seemed to have eaten something bad.

“I’m reaching my goals. Saying goodbye to most of you, see you soon to others and a ‘I hope I never have to see you again’ for the ones left.” She says sweet, so sweet that her teeth hurt.

“It was thinking about this past, this dark spot of my life, that I wrote a song … Yeah! I know! You were expecting a fashion show, but here I am, ready to sing.” Jokes with the general surprise.

She looks at the side edge of the stage. Luka was waiting for the signal to be able to enter. She blinks at him and he smiles, the guitar positioned in his hands.

“To sing this song I would need support, so a friend volunteered for this role.” She turns to the audience. “Please, a round of applause for Luka Couffaine, my best friend.”

///

Alya was… She didn’t know how she was feeling at that moment.

She had stopped trying to understand what had been going on since Chloe had appeared with Kagami two nights ago to pick up Marinette at the theater.

That was so frustrating! How, when … The three had become friends. How Marintte could forgive Chloe. When Marinette had overcome her rivalries with Kagami.

Alya didn’t understand. Alya didn’t know.

Alya didn’t remember when it was the last time she’d talked to Marinette. Her best friend.

But she remembered the last time she’d screamed at the brunette about being mean. About how after so many years, she still hasn’t gotten over her jealousy of Lila. How Adrien would never love her if she continued this behavior.

She remembered the teary blueberries, the flushed cheeks (of shame or anger she didn’t know) and the weak voice asking to leave her alone.

But it wasn’t her fault! She just wanted the brunette to grow up, take her head off the Adrien world, and live. Give Lila a chance.

What did not happen. Marinette just walked away.

She would come to school, attend classes, and then disappear. No one knew where she was going at breaks. During classes, she hardly interacted with others.

Just Chloe.

And Alya still couldn’t understand. Didn’t understand what Marinette was saying on that stage. Didn’t know what she was talking about. She was trying. Really. But it was all in vain to see Luka Couffaine come on stage.

His slightly longer, unruly hair combed anyway, torn black jeans, shiny boots, and a black T-shirt under a mossy green leather jacket. A guitar in his arms.

His eyes wrapped in a thick layer of khol.

He bent slightly toward Marinette’s microphone, a polite smile on his lips.

“Good night, Dupont. I’m Luka and I’m here today to help Minette in one or two songs.” He says “God knows how bad she is with the guitar.” He laughs when Marinette jokes him playfully.

She takes his microphone and says again "I think we should start, what do you think ?!”

A projector screen descends behind them and they begin.

No, I think I’ll stay in tonight

Skip the conversations and the “Oh, I’m fines”

No, I’m no stranger to surprise

This paper town has let me down too many times

And, man. She was good.

Alya was surprised, scared even.

Why do I even try? Give me a reason why

I thought that I could trust you, never mind

Why all the switching sides? Where do I draw the line?

I guess I’m too naive to read the signs

Adrien shifted uncomfortably beside Nino. His gravelly face.

He was sure the music was for them, the class.

For him.

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

The screen behind them began to pass photos.

Photos of Marinette that no one in the class had ever seen before.

All they ever do is let me down

Every time I let somebody in

The first photo to appear contained Luka and Marinette hugging each other. Her arms around his neck, their cheeks glued together and his arms around her waist.

The unknown background landscapes. The sun shining bright.

Luka was wearing only a black T-shirt, his hair a mess and the tongue sticking out. Marinette in a black cropped with blue accents, her hair in a bun, eyes closed and a huge smile.

She looked so happy.

Adrien cringed.

Then I find out what they’re all about

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

In the next picture, Chloe and the brunette were sleeping together on a futon, probably in Mari’s room.

Chloe wearing Ladybug pajamas being the small spoon and Marinette Abeille being the big spoon.

Alya tasted the blood.

Wonder where they’re all hidin’ out

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

Gotta get up out of this town

In the third photo, Marinette was sitting on Kagami’s lap while they were taking selfies. The two making funny faces.

Kagami’s hands steady around Marinette.

And that was a shock to Nino.

The ice queen being funny and protective of someone.

Oh, oh

Oh, ah

A picture of the four of them together at a sleepover in what looked like Chloe’s room. Luka had a face mask, Chloe’s hair stuck in bobs, Kagami painting her nails, and Marinette reading a fashion magazine.

All of them on the bedroom floor, sweets and snacks spread and a television on in a black and white film.

The photo was taken by a fifth unknown person.

I stay up, talkin’ to the moon

Been feelin’ so alone in every crowded room

Can’t help but feel like something’s wrong, yeah

'Cause the place I’m livin’ in just doesn’t feel like home

This time it was a video of Marinette in what looked like a kitchen. A huge kitchen. Wearing a black shirt too big to be hers, probably making breakfast.

She had a spatula in her hand, distracted, using it as a microphone while singing something.

The man who had arrived with Bruce Wayne, the one with the black and white hair, joins her singing. They start dancing like crazy around the kitchen.

The video ends with him slipping and falling, Marinette laughing out loud before falling too.

It didn’t even last 20 seconds.

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

All they ever do is let me down

Every time I let somebody in

Then I find out what they’re all about

Another video came, this time Marinette is sitting on the grass, surrounded by puppies. Two Great Dane resting their heads on her lap while she pats them.

Damian Wayne joins her and she rests against him.

He looks at the person filming and the filming quickly ends.

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

Wonder where they’re all hidin’ out

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

Gotta get up out of this town

The next picture had Marinette in a gym, leggings, black top, hair in a ponytail.

Another of the men who came in with Bruce Wayne, on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

She was all skinny muscle.

Nino heard Adrien choke and cough.

I just wanna talk about nothin’

With somebody that means somethin’

Spell the names of all our dreams and demons

For the times that I don’t understand

Marinette this time was in the same kitchen (video), an old man beside her watching her beat the dough in the bowl.

The crowded bench with Damian, Bruce and the other three men, Chloe, Kagami, Luka and… Félix?!

Tell me what’s the point of a moon like this

When I’m alone again

Can I run away to somewhere beautiful

Where nobody knows my name?

There was a joint gagging of class with the pool photo.

Damian felt jealous boil again.

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

All they ever do is let me down

I let somebody in

But I find out what they’re all about

The next photo had Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling, Clara Nightingale, Prince Ali, and XY at a picnic. All dressed informally, looking comfortable, smiling at Marinette who was playing with Fang in the background.

And that’s how Ms. Bustier’s class seemed to remember that Jagged didn’t have a cat but a crocodile.

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

All they ever do is let me down

I’m just lookin’ for some real friends

Gotta get up out of this town, yeah

The last picture was of everyone together.

Dupain-Cheng, Waynes, Chloe, Kagami, Luka, Felix, Claude, Allegra, Allan, Jagged, Penny, Clara, Ali, XY. Even Fang and the Great Danes.

Everyone was looking at the camera, smiling excitedly. Marinette in Damian’s arms and a banner with “Joyeux anniversaire, Marinette” in the background.

Oh, oh

Oh, ah

Marinette and Luka ended the song’s last chord when a video, this time with sound, played on the big screen.

“… Let me hear you say, this shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”

Marinette turns horrified to the big screen.

“This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!” Marinette on the big screen screams along with the music.

The girl throws her arms up, jumping on the bed. The Batman themed pajamas.

“Oh my god, Minette…” the recording person laughs softly so the girl doesn’t hear.

Marinette continues to scream the lyrics, unaware that she is being recorded, until the recording person starts laughing out loud and she gets scared.

“… Jason?” She has a confused expression on her face until she notices the camera and her face becomes homicidal. “Were you recording…?”

The man seems to be scared because the laughter soon dies.

“… No?” he tries.

“Really? So, you don’t mind me taking a look at your phone, do you?” She gets off the bed and goes toward him.

“… Listen, I think Alfred is calling me. Bye!” He runs from her, but doesn’t finish recording.

With him running, the phone only films the confused shapes of the house, but everyone is still able to hear Marinette running after him.

“BACK HERE TODD!”

"NOT! I DON’T WANT TO DIE AGAIN!”

Shooting continues for another two seconds and then ends abruptly.

Luka was laughing openly on stage, Marinette still with her back to the audience, blushing embarrassed and the audience laughing.

And that was how the last night of the Talent Show began.

///

Lila was waiting for her at the backstage.

Marinette knew that an hour would have to face the girl, but did not think she would attack in such an open and public place.

But objectively, this was the only chance she had, since Marinette was leaving Paris that night.

“Should I congratulate you on the engagement, Dupain-Cheng? Or should we talk about your poor attempt to come out on top?” Lila scoffs, the smugness on her face. “Because it didn’t work. They are still eating in the palm of my hand.”

Marinette sighs already tired.

"What do you want, Lila?”

“I just came to brag. I like to throw salt on the wound.”

“That’s good! Because I like it too.” Marinette says, her tone becoming sharp. “Do you really think I would go away and do nothing to unmask you, Lila Rossi?” Lila stiffens the smile. “Or rather, Volpina, the accomplice of Hawkmoth.”

The girl steps back as Marinette approaches.

"What are you talking about?” She countered. “Are you going crazy?”

“Crazy? I? No.” Marinette laughs “I just think it’s funny that you think there would be no consequences helping a terrorist. And no use denying, I know you have been helping Hawkmoth and Mayura all these years. Your best friend, Ladybug, told me.”

The two do not notice Adrien, Nino and Alya coming. Adrien, noticing the situation, prevents Alya from trying to help Lila and forces them both to hear the conversation hidden behind some wood panels.

“… So, what if I helped Hawkmoth?” They hear Lila say. Adrien feels his blood run cold. “I was a minor. A child. You have nothing against me.”

There is a break and Marinette respond.

“That’s where you’re wrong Lila. Gabriel Agreste may have been arrested and refused to speak, but the evidence, Lila, speaks for itself.” Her firm voice “One year, Lila. A year gathering evidence against you and look, I was surprised to learn that I wasn’t the only person you emotionally abused.”

“… What?” Lila whispers looking scared.

“Emilia Shawn’s suicide.” Marinette’s voice comes out like lightning. “Don’t you remember her, Lila? The girl you bullied so much she couldn’t stand and threw herself off the roof of your school in Italy?” Alya was crying on Nino’s shoulder.

“No problem you don’t remember Emilia!” Marinette says very cheerfully “As long as you remember Cassandra. Or Phillip. Marie… Rico.”

“How do you… how do you know those names?” Lila shouts.

“Because unlike you and our lovely classmates, Lila, families didn’t believe their children were abusive monsters and committed suicide because they were sorry.”

There are footsteps, Adrien gets up enough to see what was going on and recognizes Agent Raincomprix with the National Police, surrounding Marinette and Lila.

Damian Wayne appears along with Bruce Wayne alongside Marinette.

“You cannot do that! I was just a child! Children make mistakes!” Lila begins to freak out when she realizes the situation.

“No, Lila. This is murder and terrorism. And you will pay for what you did.” Marinette says.

Damian hugs the brunette in support and she squeezes his arms in thanks.

"Lila Aloisi Rossi, you are arrested for accomplice of murder and terrorism.” The Raincomprix agent says as he holds Lila in handcuffs “You have the right to remain silent. Whatever you say can and will be used against you.”

"What? NO! LET ME GO!” Lila shouts, going crazy as she struggles.

The police soon have to help the agent contain her and before they leave, he turns to Marinette and the Waynes.

“Bruce Wayne, Marinette. Thanks for your help.” He nods. “It’s up to us now.” And leaves.

“Thank you mr. Raincomprix.” Marinette says.

"I’ll go with you guys,” Bruce says and joins the agents.

Meanwhile, Lila was still screaming and kicking through the theater corridors, people leaving to find out what was going on.

Ms. Bustier’s whole class watching.

“YOU HAVE TO UNLEASH ME! I HAVE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!” She shouted.

Bruce Wayne, who was right behind the National Police surrounding Lila, looked smug when he spoke.

“Your country has withdrawn your immunity after we have presented the evidence of your crimes, Lila Rossi.” Lila widened her eyes, the panic evident. “You will face justice in full rights.”

Damian believes that all of Paris was able to hear the scream that the Italian gave.

He turned the woman in his arms, needing to look her in the eye.

“It’s over, angel.” He whispers to her, noticing the tear in her eyes.

Marinette sighs, relaxing against him.

“It’s over, Dami. Ended.“

[tag list]

@mystery-5-5 @spicybelladonna @iglowinggemma28 @crazylittlemunchkin@lunaraquaenby @maude-zarella @mooshoon @kuroko26@littleredrobinhoodlum @fanboy7794 @shadowberrybinch @k-rena-k@captainmac6 @clumsy-owl-4178  @tazanna-blythe @vixen-uchiha @zebrabaker @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay @artxyra @ellerahs @minightrose@redscarlet95 @soaringowlsstuff @xxkelsey39

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

To Think Your Soul Isn’t Already Magical - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Summary: Dick’s heard too much lately about Damian selling his soul. He doesn’t like it, not one bit. A/N: Based off of Tom King’s characterization in his Batman run of Damian constantly threatening/actually selling his soul. I feel like that’d upset at least one person in the family. A hopeful future of no more Ric Grayson. Writing hasn’t been a priority lately so sorry it sucks.

~~

He doesn’t know why he thought about it. Or, rather, why when he thought about it this time, the thought remained, lurking in his brain, picking at his heart.

Was it because of what Bruce has said so many times, about those visions he’s had? The future the world tells them is set in stone? Was it because of the constant attitude, or snarkiness? Was it that he so often pushed people away?

Or was it that moment in the desert, a few months prior? That conversation with Superman, where he exposed how smart he was, how slick and clever and downright conniving?

Or was it because their lives were hell? Because he adored him more than he could ever describe, or would do far more for him than he’d ever dare admit out loud?

It stuck in his mind this time, this thought. This possibility. And he found himself standing in the gate of the garden, watching his younger brother across the field, because of it.

Tim had said while he was gone, while he was Ric, Damian had brought it up again. Damian had actually done it this time, and Dick didn’t quite know why that hurt so much to think about.

“…Grayson?” Damian called, noticing him in the gateway. Titus, who was frolicking around him, jogged up to his side. Dick blinked and smiled at him, giving him a wave. “What are you doing here?”

“Wanted to see my kid brother.” Dick offered as he moved forward. “Is that a crime?”

“Depends on which brother.” Damian smirked, petting Titus’s head. “How’s Bludhaven?”

“Fine.” Dick hummed. “How’s Gotham?”

“As depressing as ever.” Damian sighed. “But Father actually went to a museum with me last weekend so…not too bad.”

“He gets a gold star.” Dick laughed, ruffling Damian’s hair. Damian laughed too, leaning down to kiss Titus’s head. Dick watched him a moment, felt his smile fading. “…Hey, Dames?”

Damian glanced up at him.

“Can we…talk?”

Damian’s own jovial mood dropped instantly. “Of course.” He nodded. “Something wrong?”

“Not…really.” Dick trailed off, leading Damian back to the short deck attached to the manor with a hand on his back. Damian quirked his eyebrow, but said nothing, calmly sitting in one of the deck chairs. Dick sat in the one next to him and sighed. Clasped his hands together and stared at the fist they made.

“Damian, I…” And he found he didn’t know how to start. “How much do you know about magic?”

Damian shrugged. “Enough for it to be useful.”

“…Enough to sell your soul?”

Damian thought for a moment, then shrugged again.

“You mentioned it to Clark, when we were looking for your parents.” Dick continued. “And I heard you claimed to have actually done it once, to get Klarion’s wand to defeat Gotham Girl.”

“So?”

“So you know what happens when you do that?” Dick pushed. Damian just stared at him. “You’re taken from us.”

“I’m…not seeing your point?” Damian tilted his head apologetically. “Or why you seem so distraught about it.”

“And that probably makes it worse.” Dick snorted bitterly. He stared at his hands again then looked up. “Damian, do you still not understand how much we don’t want that? We don’t want you taken away from us. Not ever.”

Damian remained silent.

“Damian, I love you. We love you. All of us. Yes, even Tim.” Dick added before Damian could make that joke. “And the idea that you would want to sell your soul to…to get to us, protect us, save us is…painful.”

Damian watched him for a moment. Then quietly, thoughtfully, honestly, he asked:

“Why?”

“Because losing you is the worst thing I can imagine.” Dick cried, almost hysterically. “God, Damian, you already died once protecting me. Do you think I could handle it again? And through something like selling your damn soul?”

Once again, Damian said nothing.

“And do you think your dad wants that either? Or Jason? Or Jon? That any of them would want you to sell your soul for them either? Lose you in the process of being saved? Lose you at all?” Dick whined.

Damian looked down, head bowed like he was in trouble.  And Dick realized he was all but shouting at the kid.

“I just…Promise me, kiddo. Please.” Dick whispered, reaching out to take Damian’s hand. Damian looked up at him with childish eyes. “Promise me you won’t use dangerous magic for us. That you won’t sell your soul for any reason, or let some wizard or demon or whatever take you from us. No matter what.”

“Not even if it’d save your li-”

“No.” Dick squeezed Damian’s hand, harshly. “Matter. What.”

Damian furrowed his brows, seemingly confused.

Dick smiled sadly. “And I know you love us too, Damian, and that you’re a good person. The best person.” He reached his free hand up to hold Damian’s face. To force Damian to look him in the eye as he said, “But we are not worth you. Not me. Not Cass. Not Gotham. Not the planet. Not even Bruce. Not ever.”

Damian just stared at him with big, soulful eyes that he was far too young to have. Didn’t offer an opinion, or rebuke. No real emotion. Just stared.

“…Make sense?” Dick asked after a moment.

Now Damian frowned. “No.”

Dick snorted a laugh. “Do it for me anyway?”

Damian pursed his lips. “I’ll…consider it.” He sighed. Dick dropped his hand from his face, but kept his other hand wrapped tightly around Damian’s. “It just means now I have to find a new way to save your sorry asses when I need to.”

“As long as you stay alive and with us in the process, knock yourself out.” Dick grinned. “But can I take you out for ice cream before you fall into your new studies about saving the world?”

Damian smirked. “I suppose I can allow that.”

“Good. Because I probably would have just kidnapped you if you said no.” Dick laughed as he stood, tugging Damian up with the hand he refused to let go.

Damian didn’t try to pull away either.

They walked silently across the yard, Titus trotting behind them. When they reached Dick’s car, and Dick finally let go, Damian just looked up at him.

“It wasn’t…a kind of suicidal mission or anything. And I admit I never thought about what you would all want for me, or that you would…grieve me or anything.” Damian explained softly. “I just always thought my soul, objectively, wasn’t worth much. Not after all I’ve done. So if it was a payment a demon or magician was willing to accept, it was something I’d gladly give. A small price to pay for the world, or you.”

Dick just watched him. And when Damian finished, he just silently wrapped his arms around Damian’s back, holding him as tenderly as he could. Damian just leaned against him.

“Well I’ll be the first to tell you that a world without you is not one worth living in.” Dick whispered, squeezing Damian harder. “And I have a long list of people who agree. Want me to call each and every one of them?”

Damian scoffed. “I think I just want the ice cream I was offered.”

“Done.” Dick laughed. He uncoiled from their embrace and walked Damian to the passenger side of the car. “Ice cream first, then proclamations of unconditional love, you got it.”

“Perhaps we can swap that second option with a stop by a book store instead.” Damian mumbled as Dick opened the car door for him. As he plopped into the seat, Dick caught a glimpse of the embarrassed heat in his cheeks.

“I’ll consider it.” Dick offered. “But don’t hold your breath, kiddo.”

He closed the door to the sound of Damian’s long-suffering sigh, and smiled as he made his way to the driver’s seat.

[redhoodieone]

It’s Cold in Here

A/N: This was totally random. I’ve been sick this entire weekend with my allergies and this idea just kept bothering me even when I wanted to work on other projects. So, I decided just to write it out. I don’t really know how I feel about it other than it’s pretty dark and serious and I’ll continue it if people want it. [And this takes place after Batman Arkham Knight, since I love the game, and I believe Bruce should have stayed as Batman and I don’t really care for Tim and Barbara being together].

Summary: Dick Grayson and Y/N have been together for three years but have been best friends since they were teenagers. Y/N believes Dick is her true love, and that the two of them will be together forever but Dick has been distant and cold lately; and he’s clearly hiding something. Y/N is determined to figure it out, but the secret is worse than she’s ever imagined, and if anyone ever found out Dick’s private and public life would be destroyed. But what would you do when the love of your life doesn’t want to be with you anymore? How far would you go for love?

Couples: Dick Grayson x Y/N, Jason Todd x Y/N.

Mystery couple: Dick Grayson x ?

Warnings: Smut and language. 

My body is on fire. Every time he kisses me, I feel as if my body will explode like a firework. But it’s always been like that with dreamy, charming Dick Grayson.

Anyone who knows him can say Dick is sexy. I mean, the guy’s got a fine ass and when he’s dressed up as Nightwing, it’s like I can cum in my panties on the spot. But of course, he’s just kind, sweet, and loving to me. Everyone who knows him can say he’s a friend to them, and Dick says everyone is a friend of his.

But I can’t think about anything else other than his long thick cock ramming inside my pussy at a pace I didn’t know Dick had in him. Every time he thrusts into me, I can feel the carpet burn on my lower back. I grip his arm, and I arch my back because I don’t know how much longer I can take.

Even though having sex on the floor in his bedroom is hurting my back, I wouldn’t object to sex since it has been two weeks since we fooled around. The only problem I find with this quickie is how far apart I feel.

I know my hands are all over his fit and toned body. I know my eyes are staring into his bright blue eyes. I know I can reach up and tug his messy dark hair; just the way he loves it.

But no matter what, I know we’re not here together.

First off, we’re not even completely naked. All Dick has done is lift my skirt up and push my panties aside. My top is moved up so I can show off my breasts confined in black lace.

Two, he insists we must hurry and be quiet, so his family won’t know what we’re up to. (Even though he’s twenty-four, and I’m above the age of twenty).

And three, he is so determined to go out on patrol with someone.

I sit up and kiss him. Our kiss is hard and short, since Dick’s panting more. Sweat covers our foreheads, and I accidentally let out a long moan.

“Y/N…can you please be more quiet?” Dick asks. He doesn’t even try to hide his irritation at me.

“I’m sorry, you’re just making me SOOO good, Dick,” I whisper desperately.

Dick then sits up on his knees where his jeans are bunched up and begins to thrust harder and faster. He must want to finish up quickly, and I would complain about it, but my orgasm is coming now.

I whimper as quietly as I can. The sensation of his hard cock rubbing against my sensitive spot, and the way his hand holds my waist is enough for me to let go. My pussy drips out my own juices onto his cock, and I bite the back of my hand to silence my moans. Dick continues to pound me until he shuts his eyes and whispers something so quiet that I didn’t quite catch. He rests his head on my shoulder, as he slowly pulls out of me.

The quickie fulfilled everything I needed. Dick sits up and disposes the condom in his trash, as I quickly pull down my skirt. He zips up his pants and wipes his forehead from the sex sweat. We then just look at each other, and I immediately wonder what he’s thinking about.

“I love you,” I tell him. I mean every word.

“I love you, too.”

Dick gently takes my hand and leads me downstairs. I know he takes his patrolling seriously, because even I help out sometimes despite Dick’s plead for me to stay out of the vigilante life. I know all of them are going to leave after dinner, and I suppose I should be at my own place, too.

I see Alfred in the kitchen cooking dinner. Bruce, Tim, and Damian are in the living room watching the news. Bruce instantly notices me at the bottom of the staircase.

“Hello Y/N, it’s nice to see you here. Will you be staying over for dinner?” Bruce asks politely.

“Actually I –” I begin.

“She has dinner plans already, Bruce,” Dick cuts in, and smiles at everyone.

Tim smiles kindly. Damian rolls his eyes at Dick. “T-t. How rude of you to speak for your girlfriend, Grayson.”

“It’s fine. I actually do have dinner plans,” I insist, despite Dick’s behavior confusing me even more. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

I say my good-byes, and as I say good-bye to Alfred, he frowns at me but gives a small wave instead. I immediately wonder what’s wrong with him, but I know I shouldn’t ask questions when it’s clearly not my business.

Dick walks me out to my car. Before I get in, we see Jason pulling in on his bike. In his dark leather jacket and pants that define his thighs, I can see why Jason is a heartthrob to most women.

Jason Todd.

How do I even begin to explain him?

Crazy.

Wild.

A dork underneath it all.

And good looking.

I scold myself for thinking about him, but Jason’s wicked smile already finds mine.

“Not staying for dinner?” Jason asks me.

“No, I…already have plans,” I say.

“She does. Maybe next time,” Dick says, before he kisses me passionately in front of Jason. I can feel Jason watching, and I know for a fact that he doesn’t like us together. Dick pulls away and smiles at me. He pushes a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too. Where are you even patrolling tonight?” I ask curiously.

“B wants us to look around Ace Chemicals and other warehouses since he’s so convinced Scarecrow is up to no good. He thinks another Arkham Knight situation is going to happen again,” Dick explains.

“And once again, you fuckheads just can’t let it go,” Jason scoffs.

I glance up at Jason, who’s leaning against his bike with his arms folded. The ‘J’ scar on his cheek used to make him self-conscious and hate himself a lot, but knowing Jason since he was Robin, I can tell he’s grown up to realize he’s sexy no matter what, and he actually admires the scar because he thinks it just makes him look tougher.

“Jay…” Dick warns seriously.

“What? I’m just saying, I still got the costume. I’ll go put it on now if you all want a reenactment or some shit,” Jason explains.

I giggle. Sometimes Jason is just too much. “I think we’re good, Jay. If anything, wear the costume on Halloween and scare the shit out of everyone. They’ll think it’s happening all over again,” I suggest.

“I’ll keep that in mind, babe,” Jason smirks, and winks at me.

Dick chuckles and hugs me tightly. His arms hold me tightly to his chest, and I can feel myself melting in his warmth and scent of cologne that smells woodsy and citrus like.

“Call me when you get home,” Dick says.

“I will. Be careful tonight, okay?” I tell him seriously.

“Always, sweetheart.”

I get into my car. The second I drive off I try to ignore the nagging thoughts in the back of my mind. But deep down, I know it’s getting cold between us.

An evening of a bowl of ramen noodles, I try to find an interesting show on TV but come to find nothing can even keep me distracted from thinking about Dick. In just my plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt of G.U (Gotham University) from Dick, I remove myself from the couch and decide to suit up to go surprise Dick.

Because when was the last time we patrolled together?

It must be at least a month since we’ve worked together because he’s been angry and worried about me getting hurt.

Because would he really mind if I showed up to surprise him?

Of course not! Dick loves surprises.

Slipping into my y/s/n’s costume, I quickly shoot my grapple and fly across my apartment building, so I head over to Ace Chemicals. Once I land, I see it’s completely deserted with no one around.

I frown, and I wonder if I misheard Dick or something. Reaching into my utility belt, I pull out my cell phone and I see an unknown text message was sent to me. Carefully opening the unknown text message, I raise my eyebrows at it.

Go to Dick’s apartment.

I freeze, and I wonder if I should reply or not. But my curiosity wins.

Who is this?

It doesn’t matter who I am. Do you want the truth or not?

I bite my bottom lip. The right thing to do is to show Batman these text messages. The right thing to do is to not go to Dick’s apartment because it could be a trap.

But my curiosity wins again, because this is about my boyfriend.

I race over to Dick’s penthouse in Gotham City. He usually never stays there, because he’s either at Wayne Manor where Alfred feeds him or he’s at my place. I slowly and cautiously land on his balcony, because a strange feeling of trespassing and fears eats away at me. The second I reach the glass doors; I notice they’re open enough for me to sneak in quietly.

I remember Bruce’s training: silence, awareness, and guarded. Slowly and carefully, I sneak towards Dick’s bedroom.

The stillness around me becomes all noise.

Skin on skin slapping.

Grunting.

Wet noises.

Moaning.

Groaning.

My body tenses. A shiver runs down my spine. My feet drag me to the doorway, and I can see my naked boyfriend behind someone.

No.

No…

Wally West?

Fucking Wally West?!

The redheaded boy who has known Dick since they were back in Titans is fucking my boyfriend.

I completely freeze at the scene before me. Dick is fucking Wally. All I can do is watch, since I’m completely horrified and shocked at how my boyfriend’s hard cock is slamming hard, deep, and fast into Wally’s ass, and there’s Wally, who’s a moaning fucking mess. The way their muscular bodies collide just shows me how this isn’t the first time they’re doing this.

Before I can think or do something, Dick pulls Wally by his red hair and kisses him.

The way he kisses him is full of…passion.

Love.

A kiss I don’t remember Dick ever giving me.

Dick pulls away and grins at Wally. “I love you, Wally.”

“I love you, too, Dick but come on…fuck me like you mean it, dude.”

They just continue fucking…making love…or whatever the fuck they’re doing. I finally regain some strength and sense to leave.

The second I make it far away from Dick’s penthouse. I rip off my mask and I scream.

A scream so loud and full of pain I never thought I would feel ever.

I cry, and I realize I haven’t cried in so long since I’ve been so happy with Dick.

My phone vibrates in my utility belt, so I pull it out and realize it’s the same unknown number from earlier. I quickly wipe my tears away to see the text message.

Now you finally know.

If you knew, then why didn’t you ever tell me!!!! I text back angrily.

If I did, you’re saying you would have believed me? With what evidence?

Why are you doing this? Why are you talking to me? Why did you even tell me this?

Because a beautiful girl like you deserves to know. What you won’t believe is who knew about this and never told you.

I stare at my cell phone in fear. People knew? Who knew?

Those around you have lied to you. They kept secrets from you. And you know what? I want to apologize on their behalf, because while you were seriously in love with the first Robin, they obviously never cared enough about you to see you as an equal. But trust me, what Dick has done is unforgivable, and when you’re ready to get even, I’ll be in touch.

Do I even know you? I reluctantly text back.

No, but your former better half does.

I return home with not only a broken heart, but a desire to just fall and die. The second I get home; I take off my costume and I climb into bed. The images of Dick and Wally in my head won’t stop. I roll over onto my side, and I quickly get on BatFamBook.

Jason is online.

I need his humor more than anything.

I send him a private message: Please tell me something funny, Jason. Anything.

Y/N, are you okay? Did something happen?

If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. I don’t…can’t talk about it right now.

Is Dick there?

No, he’s out on patrol. I decide to lie for my boyfriend, except I don’t know why.

He’s out on patrol? Bruce ended up sending me, Tim, and Damian to go look around. Dick asked for the night off after you left. He said he was going to be at your place. I thought you knew???

No. I’m alone. The tears start burning my eyes.

I’m on my way.

Should I continue? 

[skiesoftwilight]

Family Matters (Bruce Wayne)

I got the inspiration for this piece from one of the episodes from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I also related it to personal experiences as well sooo.... Yeah, it’s gonna be a sad one, but not enough to cry over lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

Word Count: 2754

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“My god, they’re really going at it up there, aren’t they?” Jason acknowledged your anguish screams coming from the top of the grand staircase; although you were on a whole different level of the manor, the pitch of your screams was still sharp on the ears for the boys and Alfred on the first floor in the kitchen. His facial features scrunched up with his shoulders every time he heard your violent scream and the sound of something breaking, whether it be glass or a heavy object hitting the ground or wall. “They started acting like that shortly after they got home,” Dick informed everyone in the room; his blue eyes observed the concerned faces of his brothers and Alfred, “they’ve been doing that for the last hour and a half, with no break.” “What set them off anyways?” Tim questioned with a hint of pure curiosity. His blue eyes narrowed while he looked over everyone in the room to see if anyone had a clue. “I heard that they were fired from their job?” Dick answered with uncertainty, making him question his own knowledge. “They got a secret partner anyone know about? Maybe a messy breakup?” Jason suggested as he stood by the entrance of the kitchen connecting to the back staircase leading up to the bedrooms; he listened to you rage on some more with the accompanies of shattering glass. “No, they haven’t met anyone in months,” Damian mentioned while he got down from the bar stool at the counter while he took his drink from Alfred. “Maybe they just got tired of being lonely?” The boys were at a loss at trying to figure out what had set you off on an emotional rampage in your bedroom. They were concerned for your safety with the number of numerous things they heard being thrown around, but none of them were brave enough to see what exactly was hiding behind that door of yours. They all chose to sit in silence, letting themselves be consumed by their numerous thoughts. Damian stood next to Dick by the table and when he heard Alfred briefly cough, a thought had snapped into his head. “Alfred, you seem to know every single thing about us and what we’re always doing, do you know the cause of all of that?” Damian pointed upwards at the ceiling as your screams got louder and something heavy hit the floor. Alfred gave the boys subtle glances before returning to preparing a tray filled with refreshments, food, and a first aid kit sitting next to it. A drawn-out sigh was the only answer the boys got; with that type of answer, they all figured that he knew the source of your distraught and was holding out on them, letting them wander in the dark with their wildest predictions. “Oh come on Alfred. It’s not like we’ll go running our mouths to everyone we know,” Jason scoffed as he was getting irritated with your behavior and the lack of progress to correct it, “Can you at least tell us if it is a serious matter to us as a family or them? We’re genuinely worried for their safety.” “It’s a serious family matter for them, I’m afraid, but it is none of your concern,” Alfred shot Jason a look that told him to just forget about the source of your pain, “You shouldn't worry too much, I’m afraid that we must let them work through this on their own for the time being, master Bruce will take care of it shortly.”

“Wait, Bruce knows about it too?” Dick asked, prompting Alfred to stop what he was doing to answer their questions in a discreet manner, “How come he didn’t tell us if it concerns our family?” “I must’ve not been clear earlier, I said that it is a family matter on their behalf, no ours,” Alfred placed his hands on top of the cool marble counter and gave all the boys a warning look, “I suggest that you all find some other activities to do around or outside the house for today. I have a feeling that when they are all done with their...excited behavior, they will be ashamed of themselves and wouldn’t want to face you all for a while.” Alfred left it with that and finished packing the tray with numerous items before setting it aside and walking into the laundry room for other matters. The boys were left dumbfounded as their wise butler left them with more questions rather than answers. They continued to listen to your screams that were starting to subside while they talked quietly amongst themselves. “So it’s a family matter. It’s got to be her blood relatives, right?” Tim questioned as he let his detective skills do all the work, “But I thought that she was orphaned with her parents' death?” “They were, but maybe it’s distant relatives, like cousins or aunts and uncles?” Dick stated, adding more questions to the mix. “Shh, you guys heard that?” Jason hushed the boys by holding up his hands in their direction while his head was poked out into the hall to the back staircase. The boys all listened in on what Jason was referring to and it all made their senses sharpen. “It’s...quiet. Maybe a little too quiet,” Jason walked out into the hallway to listen closer and he heard the slight muffle of two voices, one belonging to their adopted siblings and the other to their father, “Bruce is up there. They’re talking.” While the boys all listened at the base of the staircase the best they could without alarming the two of you in the room, you were standing in the center of your room looking like a complete mess. From your shins down to your bare feet, they were littered with cuts from the shattered photo frames of your real family and other glass objects that used to sit on your bookshelf. Your clothes were ripped and overstretched and your (H/C) hair was filled with knots in your loose bun; the flyaways constantly waved in and out of your vision, but you chose to not the littlest things take your attention away from your own goals. Bruce stood by the door, just inspecting the mess before him. The moment he stepped into the room he knew that that air would be tense, but he underestimated it as it felt like with the numerous family photos laying on the ground and your distressed demeanor that it was choking him as he was being forced to deal with a concept he is still fighting to understand himself. Your chest was heaving as you dug your fingers into your hair before pulling them out aggressively and moving to grab the snowglobe you received as a gift recently from your parents and gave it a good look over before smashing it on the wall a couple feet from Bruce. You rage lost steam the moment your eyes made contact with Bruce’s; reality and guilt took over you as you realized that you had lost yourself in his home and destroying all of his own property. “I guess I don’t have to ask you how your meeting went with your parents, now do I?” Bruce addressed the problem directly, trying to get you to cool down so he could at least get you to relax so the both of you could talk about it more discreetly. You scoffed as you threw your hands up in the air and gave him a look mixed with anger and confusion, “Oh yeah, it went just terrific. It was the best two hours of my life, honestly,” The words came out with a sarcastic tint and each word dripped with venom as you looked down at the ground to see a picture that was the source of your pain, “My life is definitely taking a big turn in a whole other direction I originally planned it to go in when I met them.” Bruce could still sense the anger in your voice and watched your lip quiver when you brought up your family. A shaky sigh came from him while he cautiously tried to take a step in your direction, but there was just glass everywhere. He knew that you were suffering and it pained him to see you that way, but he was getting used to being a parent and how could he be a parent to you when you already looked up to somebody else? “I know you’re mad and you have every right to be,” Brue started, raising his hands to fold across his chest, “but anger won’t get you anywhere good.” “Damn right, I have every right to be mad—I’m furious, pissed off!” You raised your voice, feeling the veins in your neck flex as you let all of your anger come out at once. “How could I be such a damn fool to believe their words? To believe that they actually wanted me back in their lives? They gave me up, for fuck’s sake!” Bruce felt your pain as he watched your body fight with your mind about becoming worked up once again. Your eyes wandered around the room at an alarming rate while your fists clenched and you fidgeted with your feet. Throughout your battle with yourself, he kept a neutral face and you didn’t know if that was factoring into your pain. “(Y/N)...You’re not a fool…” “No, I must be because who else would respond to the people who gave them up for adoption to meet up and spend time with them over a series of months and believe that they really enjoyed their company and thought of them as their child? Who else would get attached after all those months and have them turn around and tell them that they were a mistake and a chapter in their lives that they would rather forget?” Your fists came to hit your chest to refer to you as you began to pace back and forth in the room; the glass under your feet didn’t even bother you cause in your mind, you tried to imagine a worse pain than what you were currently going through. You wanted to through something, anything, but there was nothing left for you to grab, just like your family. “I’m a damn fool to think that because they were still together after they had me and they now have a family, five children, five… six, if they would think to count me… do they still even count me as one?” You wondered, letting your lip quiver as you let yourself start to feel bad for yourself. “It doesn’t even matter anymore really, they’re the type of people to do that, I could sense it, but I couldn’t prevent it; all they do is build you up and tear you down in the end.” Bruce couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth. He knew you like the back of his hand but the person he was seeing now wasn’t the same person that he adopted all those years back. He watched you come a long way from being a shy little orphan to a very successful member of his clan and now to see your past bring you to your knees was a blow to his heart for you. “(Y/N), I’m sorry that it turned out this way if there’s anything I could—” “No, it’s fine Bruce really, because up until I met them, I was doing just fine, I don’t even know why I agreed to see them in the first place. I learned how to brush my teeth without them, how to drive, how to play the violin, other people along with you were kind enough to teach me all of that and now look where it’s got me, I’m gonna graduate high school with honors and numerous scholarships; I got a bright future ahead of me and I give no credit to them. I’m gonna find me a man that will love me and we’ll have a big family and you’ll be damn sure that I won’t ever put those children down once!” The determination in your eyes was definitely there as Bruce finally saw you slowly come back to your true self. He ignored the glass under his shoes as he made his way over to you to see you more closely. He could tell that something was bothering you as well, but he didn’t as it came after your rant. Your teary (E/C) eyes came to look at Bruce’s and at that moment you felt ridiculous for your earlier actions and what you had done to his home. You could finally see that it was with Bruce’s help that you got to where you were today and that those people you devoted all your time over the previous months were wasted when you could’ve been spending it with the true family that has been with you ever since you were twelve. Your true family will always be connected to you, but your bond with Bruce and his boys were stronger, but the pain you were experiencing now was evident and it was still a big issue. “How come they don’t want me?” Bruce gave you a crushed look before pulling you into his arms and holding you against your chest as he felt your angry grunts turn into silent sobs. Your arms came to wrap around his waist and you pulled him tight to your body as you were finally feeling that familial love that you’ve been lacking all those years. He let you sway the both of you as were relaxing in his embrace; your sniffles were the only sound in the destroyed room and after your screaming session, your voice was becoming hoarse. The moment that you were sharing with Bruce was one you would forget. “I’m sorry about the mess, I really didn’t mean to.” Your voice was muffled against his chest while he just shushed you and patted down your wild hair. “Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you did it here and not out in public,” Bruce stated while he surveyed the room once more. Pictures were strewn about and the bed was shifted and there was water on the flooring and glass shards on the walls and floor, “Also, I know that you can hold a lot of anger and we could put that to use in your training; you might have to go easy on the boys though.” Your laugh was music to his ears while he let go of you and helped you sit on the bed. He knew that you would need some medical attention with all those cuts on your feet, so he went to call up Alfred through the intercom. You fiddled with your fingers while he did that and while you both waited on Alfred, Bruce pushed the glass shards away with his shoes for his butler. Shuffling by the door stopped Bruce in his tracks as it got louder and it sounded like someone was mumbling. Bruce shot you a questioning look while you shrugged your shoulders at what it could be. Bruce swiftly made his way to the door and threw it open to see Tim standing there with a tray of food and medicine, wearing an innocent smile while his eyes said danger. “Tim, what are you doing right here? Were you listening?” Bruce asked him sternly, cracking the door to hide the mess that he knew you were definitely ashamed of. “The others, they put me up to it, I swear.” He insisted as he handed the tray off to Bruce while slowly backing away to make a break for it back to the kitchen. He was yelling at his brothers for ditching him at the scene while Bruce just shook his head with a small smile, already knowing it wasn’t just Tim at the door and the real reason why they were there in the first place. “My god, they were listening, weren’t they?” “With good intentions. In this family, one person’s burden is everyone else's. They just wanted to make sure you were alright.” With a small, sheepish smile you just nodded curtly before finally accepting that this is what normal families do, well knowing that Bruce and the boys were more than just ordinary people, this is what families close to normal do and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[aspiratinganxiety]

Can I request the sleepover head canon ?💕

Of course you can, baby doll! I am sorry it took me so long to get to it… 

Anyway, I am writing these headcanons as though the reader and the character are already in an established relationship. Rather than offer a play by play of what sharing a night with this character looks like, I’m instead breaking down how the topic of overnight stays developed or effects the relationship between the reader and their partner.

If you were wanting platonic interactions or some first time sleeping over imagines, please let me know! Also, I tend to write female insert characters unless otherwise directed or inclined. 

If you’d like this same prompt with a male s/o, please tell me.  

Also, I ran out of steam before getting to Damian. I may very well come back to add him to this post. For now though, it is 3:17 am, and your girl is tired. 

Now, this prompt is the letter S from @imagine-mcu​‘s alphabet of headcanon prompts. Thank you, imagine-mcu. I am grateful for the access to this resource, and I hope you don’t mind that I am using it for DC materials 😂   

Dick: 

-Listen, you are positive that you’re not the first girlfriend whose home Richard Grayson has quietly annexed. There’s a method, okay? A foolproof strategy designed to optimize the amount of time he has with you at every opportunity. 

-As far as he’s concerned, it is the only logical way to progress in a relationship that he deems serious. His line of work is perilous, dammit. He’s a patient man, but he’s not a friggin’ saint. Tiptoeing through the awkward do-si-do of “should I stay or should I go?” every single time the two of you wind up fooling around in one or the other’s apartment is a waste of effort that could be geared toward activities that are much, much more fun.

-Even before you outright know that he’s Nightwing (you heavily suspect), Dick’s begun the invasion. First, he always wants to stay at your place. Works for you. Sleeping in your own bed is a gift, and he has a lot less to worry about in terms of hygiene maintenance.

-Why fight an agreeable tide? 

-And that’s just what he counts on for Phase 2. He wants to keep a change of clothes and some extra toiletries around your place now that it’s the go-to. 

-Some pajamas. 

-Maybe a jacket and a pair or three of socks. 

-Oh, yeah! He forgot to mention that Bruce sometimes calls him into the WE office on short notice to contract with the sub-company under his name. Could he have a sliver of your closet for a suit? He does’t want it to get wrinkled in the drawer you cleared out for his things.  

-Sure, normal enough… except that you’ve only been dating for a month n’ a half. Exclusively for a scant three weeks (Your last boyfriend lived out of a duffel bag that you kept by the shoe rack in your front room for 9 months before you even let him have the drawer).  

-Whatever. You and Dick both keep tight schedules, and it’s not as though anything is feeling rushed or overwhelming. Just the opposite: you feel like you can’t spend enough time with him! 

-You quickly make a habit of using his man-smell soap for a change of pace on occasion. Or a spritz of his cologne here and there when it’s been a busy week and you miss him, even though it’s only been 4 days since he was last there. 2 days since your lunch date. 

-Shut up.

-You haven’t quite mapped out the rest of the moves that he put into play, but before you know what’s happening, nearly all of the space in your weensy, Tupperware container of an apartment is divided equally between you and your boyfriend of less than three months. 

-All of this to say that Dick’s sleepovers don’t feel like sleepovers, they’re just Tuesdays. Or Saturdays. Or Wednesdays. Whatever the hell day he shows up, lets himself in with the spare key that you didn’t so much as hesitate to have made for him, and goes about eating all of your Frosted Flakes.

Jason:

-Sleepovers are rare for Jason toward the beginning of your relationship. Not just because he accidentally punched you in his sleep once, though that did put the kibosh on overnight visits for a while. The predominant reasoning that he cited when apologetically declining one of your invitations involved his hours being flipped completely around. Most nights, when sleepovers are meant to be happening, Jason is hard at work sussing out the details of a case or running a patrol. 

-Simply put, he felt like there was no reason for him to be skulking in and out of your place in the dead of night, disrupting your rest, just because he’s chosen to live one doozy of an unorthodox life. 

-However, this noble resolve deteriorates quickly.   

-Jason’s dedication and the singular advantage of being the only full-time vigilante in the whole batfamily also means that he’s out of the country on lengthy, long distance assignments more often than any of the others. 

-The nights Jason gets home from these missions had proven to be the best time for you to arrange overnight stays. Days, sometime weeks of being completely out of contact with one another has a way of asserting all of the comforts and satisfactions that you find in your partner’s company, both physically and emotionally. 

-He’s real weak to the line, “But baby, I’ve missed you so much!” too…

-10/10.

-It’s super effective!

-Look, it’s not like you pressed when you got the impression that he didn’t want to have you over or be at your place because he needed space to work through something risky or complicated. 

-You’re not stupid or some spoiled, manipulative brat. 

-Jason’s life is hard, painful, and incomprehensibly dangerous. He’s not looking to change one damn thing about that either. His lives exactly as he wants, minus some small tweaking here and there where old ghosts are concerned. 

-You understood this from day one.

-Unfortunately, it took a much longer time for him to figure out that you didn’t give a single fuck about missed sleep or nosy neighbors assuming he was a drug-dealer and filing complaints because he buzzed in at 4 o’clock in the morning. With the way that he lived…

-No, because of the way that he lived, you wanted to capitalize on every single moment that he could bear to spend with you. 

-Some people went lifetimes never knowing a love like the one you had for Jason. Hell would be seeing a snowstorm if you were gonna’ let the idiot continue to rob you of his presence because he was afraid of inconveniencing you. 

-Once that was through his thick, self-depreciating skull, the need to orchestrate sleepovers was no longer necessary. 

-You moved in together, renovating the loft he owned in the Cauldron district to be a bit more Welcome Home! and a lot less Marks with Bodyguards Cost Extra.

Tim:

-Oh, Tim. 

-Sweet, wonderful, awkward, angel-baby Tim. 

-The first time he slept over at your house, it was January. He passed clean out on your living room floor during a power-binge of Stranger Things that he had been apologetically procrastinating since the season release in October. 

-You didn’t have the heart to wake him, not even when he started to drool, snore, and suddenly sit bolt upright, shouting?

-His proclamations made zero sense: something abstract about Scarecrow robbing some guy named Oswald of his prized Wyandotte laying hens.

-A cursory attempt to talk to him indicated that he was still, to your horror, fast asleep in spite of sitting perfectly straight on his own and lecturing you about the dangers of yellow scented candles. 

-You settled him back down on your nest of blankets and flipped the TV off, loosely praying that this was some kind of fluke and you wouldn’t have to worry about your boyfriend accidentally leaping off of your balcony in a state of gibbering semi-consciousness. 

-You messaged him in a panic when you woke the next morning to find him missing, terrified that he slept-walked into traffic while you caught some rest on the floor beside him. You detailed the entire scenario for him, omitting nothing to spare his pride. (The man had scared you nearly to death. His ego wasn’t exactly your top priority when he said he’d snuck out because he liked sleeping in his bed better than he liked your floor.) 

- “Sexy, right?” he replied with a winky face.

-It wasn’t, he hadn’t, and he hasn’t ever since. The explanation: ”It only happens sometimes when I’m way too tired and I’ve had way too many energy shots.” 

-Even so, that first experience proved to be surprisingly indicative of the bizarre occurrences that would befall you when Tim ended up sharing a night with you.

-First the sleep talking, then staying up all night crouched over his laptop like some kind of gremlin while you slept not three feet away, arguing about the benefits of avoiding blue light in order to actually let your brain power down, and, finally, physically wrestling you to keep you from putting his phone in your nightstand drawer so that he would just lay the F down and go to bed.

-Tim does his best to gracefully make it seem as though your bickering is all in good fun despite your very real frustration with his lack of ability to focus on spending time with you and disengaging from his crippling responsibilities to both Wayne Enterprises and the endeavors of the Batman himself.

-You’re honestly still working on it, but he does forfeit all internet capable devices after 9 pm while in your home. 

-At first, it was out of obligation and only at your explicit request. Now though, having garnered some of the soundest, most rejuvenating sleep of his life every other week or so at your place, he tosses the phone in the drawer himself as you get ready to tuck in.

-Tim doesn’t know if it’s the regular sex or the down pillow-top on your mattress, but he can fall into blissful, dreamless unconsciousness in under half an hour by your side. 

-Perhaps it’s the near ritualistic way that you insist on sharing a cup of chamomile tea before heading toward your room? Maybe the laundry detergent or the weight of your too fluffy comforter?

-Regardless, shortly after he’s eagerly relinquishing his tech in favor of a solid night’s sleep and some quality time with you, an uptick in his demeanor and proficiency appears.

-You find it endlessly endearing that he needs a measurable statistic in order to justify asking you if he can stay over every week, rather than biweekly. As though you need data to be convinced to spend more time with him. 

The lovable idiot...  

[snickletastic]

Babysitter {Damian Wayne Imagine + Jason Todd and Reader}

warnings~none

summary~ this takes place after I’m Pregnant, which I wouldn’t say is mandatory to read before this, but i still recommend it :) damian has to take care of the reader and jason todd’s son, tommy. but-damian has no clue what a toddler is even like.

a/n~first off, thank you all so much for 300 followers! it means the world to me!! also, i got this story idea from @cas-backwards-tie! and i have to be honest here, i don’t know too much about little kids, so if a couple things are off about a 1 year old, sorry about that. i did my best to google what a toddler is like but i might be off by a bit. anyways, i hope you guys like this!! (damian is supposed to be around 15 in this btw)

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Jason said in disbelief as you were leaning into the car, unbuckling your son.

“Will you relax already? Damian said that he’d be happy to babysit Tommy, and frankly, he’s the only person available right now,” you said, raising the toddler out of the carseat. 

Jason crossed his arms and pouted, “I don’t trust him with my child.”

“You are a child. Now come on, grab the diaper bag and let’s go,” you said, bouncing Tommy up and down.

Truthfully, you weren’t really sure how Damian would deal with a one year old. But, Dick was in Bludhaven and Tim was far too busy with school. Bruce wasn’t even in the country, and he had dragged Alfred with him. And Barbara? Well, Barbara was going through a hard time right now. Damian would be your last choice to watch Tommy, but hopefully he could pull through on this one. And honestly, you were surprised that he even agreed to do this.

“This is the stupidest idea you’ve ever had,” Jason complained as the three of you stood outside of the manor doors. He knocked sluggishly and continued to pout.

You rolled your eyes and patted Tommy’s head as you held him. The doors opened and Damian greeted you, “Hello, Y/N,” he nodded, “Todd.”

Jason scoffed, “Demion.”

“Thank you so much for doing this, Demi-I mean Damian. It really means allot to us,” You said as you walked into the manor.

“He is my nephew, after all. I suppose I shall keep my family happy,” Damian said with his hands behind his back.

“Well you know you can always call us if you have any questions or problems. Everything you need is in the diaper bag,” you smiled, “We need to get going now.”

You gave your son a kiss and Jason followed. Then, you handed him to Damian, who clearly had no idea how to hold a child. He held the baby away from his body and made a face, “He has an odor.”

You laughed and Jason frowned, “You’ve never taken care of a baby before, have you?”

“Oh, please, of course I have! It was…in my training back in the league.”

“Really?” you asked, surprised.

“…No.”

You sighed and explained to Damian the most basic steps to watching a child. Changing a diaper, feeding, playing, and safety. 

“He shits himself 5 times a day?!?” Damian said in absolute disbelief.

“Unfortunately,” you took Jason’s hand to examine the watch on his wrist, “We have to go! We’ll miss the train. We will be back tomorrow morning to pick Tommy up,” you said before opening the door, “Call me if you have any questions, and refrain from killing our son.”

You ran out to the car, but Jason stayed behind to have a word with Damian, “If anything happens to my kid, I’m going to strangle you.”

“I’m extremely capable of taking care of a toddler. How bad could it be?” Damian shrugged as Tommy crawled past his right foot. Jason groaned and started to walk out the door, shooting Damian one last glare before leaving. As soon as the door shut, Damian scratched his head while watching the toddler chew on a potted plant by the coat rack.

He walked over to Tommy and squatted down, “Hello, small child.”

The toddler waved at Damian as he continued to gnaw on the plastic leaf. Damian laughed and gave the child a pat on the head, “This won’t be so bad.”

“He won’t stop crying, Dick. I don’t know what to do. I gave him a piece of steak and he started to cry even more,” Dick freaked out on the phone. His once white shirt was covered in stains that he couldn’t even identify, his hair was pointed in different directions, and he lost one of his socks.

“You tried to give the child steak?” Dick said in disbelief over the phone, “You’re joking, right?”

“What do I feed it?” 

“You feed him baby food, that mushed up crap in a jar. Didn’t they put some in a diaper bag?” Dick lectured.

“…I hadn’t even thought of that,” Damian said as he hushed the crying baby who was sitting on the couch, covered in A1 steak sauce, “Thanks, Grayson.”

“Wait-” Dick said, but Damian hung up the phone. He grabbed the diaper bag and started to search through it. There were bottles and toys, “Ah! Baby food!” Damian picked out one of the jars.

He opened it and went to the kitchen to get a spoon from the drawer. When he got back, Tommy was no longer sitting on the couch.

“Shit!” Damian shouted as he put the baby food on the coffee table, “Where did you run off to?” He started looking everywhere, under the couch, inside of the cushions, behind the TV stand, but the kid was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, God…Oh Go, what do I do?!?” Damian pulled his hair. It’d be an idiotic idea to call you and Jason, they’d never let him watch Tommy again. He ran all over the house trying to find the toddler. Could he climb up stairs? Damian wondered.

He checked behind curtains and under beds and on top of the fridge, but the kid was gone. He finally dialed his phone in shame and called you to admit he had lost your child within the first 5 hours of babysitting him.

“Hey Damian. Everything alright?” you answered.

“No. Not at all, Y/N. I….I have something I need to tell you.”

“Oh God, what happened?” you asked, fearful of the answer.

“I lost-” Damian started, but then he heard a loud noise come from the trash can.

“You lost what, Damian?”

Damian quickly ran over to the trash and looked inside, finding Tommy eating out of an old pudding cup, then he laughed awkwardly into the phone, “I lost a bet! I bet with Tommy that he couldn’t poop twice in an hour, but he did!” Damian made up.

“Oh, you had me scared for a second there,” you said in relief. Damian could hear Jason’s voice in the background asking what happened.

“Y/N, I must go now and…feed Tommy. He seems hungry.”

“Well, alright. Call me again if you need help with anything,” You then ended the call.

Damian lifted Tommy out of the trashcan and placed him on the counter, “Don’t you ever pull anything like that again! You had me worried sick!” He scolded the toddler. 

“Oughhh, what is that awful stench?” Damian wretched, “Did you? Oh no..” He sighed and grabbed a diaper from the bag, then grabbed dishwashing gloves and a mouth mask. After he put everything on, he slowly opened up the diaper.

“Ma allaena!” Damian cursed as he threw the diaper away. 

After he changed Tommy’s diaper, he sat on the couch and put the toddler next to him and put the TV on. He figured that a childrens show would be the best choice, but when he put the Bubble Guppies on, Tommy looked less than impressed. So, he flicked through the channels, watching the toddlers reaction to the different shows. Finally, the baby smiled and pointed at the television when it got to some house hunters TV show.

“…Really?” Damian groaned, “Of all the shows.”

For the next 5 hours, Damian and Tommy watched about ten episodes straight of some show with two brothers changing houses, “That is the absolute ugliest rug I have ever seen in my life,” Damian argued with the TV. The baby cooed in agreement. “These people have despicable taste, don’t they?” Damian asked Tommy, who again cooed. 

“Maybe it’s time for bed,” Damian said while looking at the clock on the cable box.

“No!” The baby shouted.

“Do you want a story? A lullaby?” Damian asked while rubbing his eyes. The baby nodded at the word lullaby. “A song? Do you have a specific one you like?” Damian asked him. The baby shook his head no. “Does it have to be in English?” The baby shrugged, probably not knowing what English even is. Damian laid down and brought the toddler towards him, so he was sitting on his chest. Then, he sang him a lullaby in Arabic for a few minutes, trying to make him sleepy.

The next morning you and Jason barged in the front door. Damian wasn’t answering your calls or texts, and you were worried about what might’ve happened after the odd phone call from the evening before. When you both walked into the living room, you found the coffee table covered in popcorn, ice cream, and baby food. Three or four binkies were all over the floor, and Jason accidentally stepped on one.

“Damn, what happened here?” Jason said worriedly.

You walked towards the couch and found Damian snoring quietly with his arm around Tommy, who was laying on top of him. 

“Oh my God,” you whispered and smiled, “How cute!”

Jason walked over and looked down,and laughed quietly, “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Damian woke up at the sound of Jason’s laughter, “Hello,” he said in a raspy voice.

“Hi, sleepyhead. You warm up to Tommy?” You smiled.

“Just a tad,” Damian said while rubbing Tommy’s back.

“Good! Maybe you could do this again next weekend,” you clapped your hands together.

Damian grunted and pulled the couch pillow over his head.

I’m Pregnant 

masterlist   requests are open :)

[danithegrrrl]

Birthday Breakfast

It’s Bruce’s birthday!!! I only thought it appropriate to show my favorite local bat enthusiast some support, so here’s a little fic. :) Happy birthday dadman.

Summary: Bruce may have forgotten what day it is, but his family didn’t! 

Words: 1,394

Rating: Gen

AO3 Link

All the warning Bruce gets is the quiet jiggle of his door handle, the soft footsteps across plush carpet, and then-

The whole bed bounces and startles Bruce into awareness, before he turns to look at Dick’s bright, sunny smile. His twenty-five year old son is kneeling, bouncing on the bed like a ten year old. “Good morning Bruce!”

His surprised expression draws into a deep scowl and he flops back down to his stomach, yanking a pillow over his head and holding it there with both arms. “No.” The single word comes out muffled by the mattress, but he prays it might be effective.

No such luck. Dick starts poking at his back, then his neck, but Bruce doesn’t budge. “C’monnn, Alfred has breakfast ready for you.”

“No,” Bruce says again. He’s only been asleep for-

“You’ve been sleeping for nine hours, old man, let’s go!”

Oh. So maybe he had been sleeping longer than he thought. But still-

“Mmf… no.”

There are a few moments of silence in which Bruce is sure Dick’s just frowning at him, but much to his surprise, Dick leans over and starts working the heel of his hand into the muscles in his back. Bruce goes stock still for a moment, before relaxing and letting Dick give him a deep, slightly painful massage. He uses his knuckles and even his fingertips to work into his back, and it hurts in the best way ever. They all have to do this sometimes, to work out all the tension and knots in their shoulders and backs and calves. As much as Bruce wants to shove Dick off and go back to sleep like a teenager, his back has been absolutely killing him lately, and he couldn’t even imagine asking him to stop.

Bruce flinches slightly as Dick passes over a tender bruise on his right shoulder blade, but Dick quickly learns and avoids that spot. Bruce loses track of time. He lays there, surrounded by the smell of clean linen and the warmth of Dick’s hands working into his sore muscles, and drifts. He has totally forgiven Dick for the rude awakening at this point. He must have drifted a little too much at some point, though, because Dick notices and retaliates by digging his fingers into Bruce’s sides instead, in just the one spot he’s actually ticklish. Bruce jolts up so fast he almost head-butts Dick, and he immediately covers his sides with his hands. He’s frozen there, looking at Dick.

Dick sits back, laughing loudly at Bruce as he gave him his absolute best death glare he could manage. One that criminals run from but Dick is cracking up at. It’s infuriating. Finally, Dick gets ahold of himself and snatches the pillow from Bruce before he could stick it back over his head. “Alright, I gave you a hellishly good massage, now you owe me so let’s go downstairs,” Dick says. Before Bruce can protest, Dick smacks the pillow back down on top of his head, and vaults off the bed. By the time Bruce moves the pillow off his face, Dick is gone.

---

When he finally shuffles downstairs, still in his white t-shirt and sweatpants, he rounds the corner to find everyone sitting at the table. He pauses in the doorway, blinking to make sure he’s right. He counts heads. Dick, Tim, Steph, Cassandra, Duke, and Damian are all seated around the breakfast table, grabbing bacon and sausage and eggs from the plates in front of them. Six people. He’s blown away. Usually they can’t get more than four of them together for breakfast anymore. Damian and Cass were the only real constants. Duke often skips out so he can see his girlfriend before school, Dick and Steph don’t live here, and Tim only stays in the manor maybe a third of the time, usually staying at his own apartment nowadays. Jason isn’t there, which wasn’t really a huge surprise, but still disappointing nonetheless. Maybe Bruce will be able to ask him one day. Maybe.

“Hey, Happy Birthday, Bruce!” Bruce’s eyes move to Duke, who is smiling at him through a mouthful of pancakes, and - oh.

“Oh my god,” Tim says. “He forgot.”

Cassandra snickers and Bruce wants to scowl at them, but honestly, he had forgotten. Well, mostly. He’d thought about it a couple times in the past few weeks, he knew it was coming soon, he just hadn’t realized the date was upon him until it already was. So he doesn’t glare at them, because it was true. And also, because they are all gathered around the breakfast table and look so...functional? Bruce almost laughs at the word when it comes to his mind. When was the last time he had a “functional” family?

And then, out of the blue, it hits him. They were doing this for him. Trying, for at least a moment, to be a family that eats breakfast together, even if just this once. Something bittersweet spills into his chest at that thought, and he doesn’t choke up, he doesn’t.

Instead, he walks around the table and sits in the chair he always sits in, and looks at the absolute mountain of banana pancakes Alfred has stacked on a plate. His kids are all talking, chattering about school and Steph’s new internship she’ll be doing this summer, and the club Duke’s joining at school, and Damian’s “date” with Maps. And that’s the point in which they begin yelling and tossing food at each other, which Bruce honestly doesn’t mind too much because at least they’re doing it together.

Alfred comes out a minute later and most of the food stops flying instantly. Bruce doesn’t understand how Alfred has so much control over them; so much so that he doesn’t have to say any words at all to make them behave. He carries a mug of black coffee over to Bruce. “Happy Birthday, Master Bruce.” He produces a blueberry muffin from behind his back, with one lit candle, and places it on the plate in front of him. Bruce looks at Alfred gratefully.

“Thanks, Alfred,” he says. Most of his kids are still talking to each other, but a couple watch as he blows out the candle, then plucks it out of the cupcake to stick the other end in his mouth.

Dick rolls his eyes. “There’s not even any icing on it, Bruce, it’s a muffin.”

“Did you make a wish?” Steph asks.

“Wait,” Cassandra says, holding up a hand. “You can’t tell us.”

Bruce doesn’t intend to, because if things continue as they’re going right now, it wouldn’t even matter.

Bruce begins eating Alfred’s blessedly good banana pancakes, one of his all-time favorites, and sits quietly, perfectly content to listen to his kids. He knows that before too long, most of them will have to go. Damian and Duke to school, Stephanie and Tim to their classes, Cassandra to her recently found job at a branch of Gotham General hospital teaching self-defense classes to young girls, and Dick back to Bludhaven before nightfall. For now though, just for a little bit, everything is nice. The windows are open, letting the unusually warm February air fill the room, and Titus is perched under Damian’s chair, often inclining his head to grab a scrap of meat that Steph or Tim keep sneaking under the table not-so-discreetly.

It is nice. Birthdays are often hard. Bruce knows that any special occasions or holidays get harder the older he gets, with more and more memories of hard years past. For now, though, Bruce feels okay. Happy. His chest is light and somehow everything feels good. He knows Jason will probably sneak into the manor later to punch his arm and tell him happy birthday, or maybe just send him a sarcastic card, but that is more than enough for Bruce because it’s progress. Barbara will probably call, too, and talk to him for a bit. Maybe he can go over and visit later; he hasn’t seen Jim in a while either. As for the rest of them, they are all here, gathered around the breakfast table. It’s all more than Bruce could ever hope to ask for.

He catches Cassandra’s gaze from across the table, and she smiles at him, something gleaming in her eyes. He smiles back, gratefully, and takes another bite.

[addicted-to-dc]

Batboys X Reader- Welcome To The Family

“He got another one?”

Dick and Jason stared at your dirty and small figure sitting at the dining room table, eating your food as if it were your last meal.  Bruce had informed everyone that he had taken you off from the streets when he found you at a crime scene.  You were hidden behind a couple boxes when a criminal decided to mug someone in the same alley.  The sounds of the victim struggling woke you up from your nap, making you leave your current home at the time.  There was a woman that was attempting to push a man’s knife away from her neck.  You quickly grabbed an old pipe you kept with you and stood up, quietly approaching the man until you were directly behind him.  You rose the pipe and bashed it on his head, causing him to drop the knife and collapse on the ground.  You hit him again for good measure and kicked away the knife.  The woman you saved stared at you, trying to process what you had just done.

“He’s still alive,” you muttered and kicked the man, receiving a groan from him.

“Thank you,” she stuttered out and hugged you.

You sighed at the warmth she provided, but had to let go, “Can you call the police?  I don’t want to be here without help if he wakes up again.”

She nodded and pulled out her cell phone out of her battered purse.  A few minutes later, a shadow enveloped you and the woman.  You turned around, the pipe still in your grip, to find the Batman looking at you and the woman.  He walked past you and the woman, grabbed the man, and placed some type of handcuffs on him.  Once he was finished with the criminal, he turned around and faced you and the woman.  

“Is this one yours?” he asked and gestured to you.

She shook her head, “she just… appeared and knocked out the guy.”

He nodded and looked over to you, which caused you to tighten your grip on the pipe.  You watched as a slight smile appeared on his face, but it disappeared as he faced the woman again.

“I’ll take her somewhere safe,” he said as he approached you.  “You get home, the police will talk to you in the morning.”

The lady nodded before looking at you one last time, “Thank you.”

You nodded and watched her as she walked out of the alleyway, but returned your attention to the caped crusader that was standing near you.

“I don’t need your pity party,” you stated and walked over to the cardboard boxes that you called home.  “I’ve been doing fine on my own.”

“I’m not saying that you aren’t, I’m saying that no child should have to live in the conditions you are,” Batman stated.  “I’m offering you food, water, a home and possibly a family.  If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

You were actually surprised with your answer when you agreed to his terms, and now you were glad that you did accept his offer.  Now you had a roof over your head and all of the food you could imagine.  You saw a boy and a couple of older men walking around the manor during your stay, but you never bothered to start a conversation with them.  The man who took you in, Bruce Wayne, had shown you around the enormous house after you finished eating. The room he said that you were staying in was bigger than the alley you used to sleep in, and the bed was the softest thing you’ve ever touched.  Bruce had left you in the bedroom saying something about private matters and to make yourself at home.  If it were a normal home, you would have definitely done what he suggested, but all you could do was stare at the room.  It felt as if you were out of place.

“Is your bed too soft?”

You jumped when you heard a new voice and turned around to find one of the men you saw walking in the manor.  He had a white streak in his raven hair, making you wonder if he dyed it.

“What?” you asked confusedly.

“The bed, is it too soft?  I remember the first time I moved in it felt like I was sleeping on clouds,” the man chuckled.

You nodded and watched as he walked over to your bed and sat down, patting his hand on the bed next to him.  You flopped down on the bed and sighed when you felt your spine relax.  

The man chuckled again, “What’s your name?”

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” you stated.

“Jason,” he introduced himself and held out his hand.

You lazily shook it and dropped your hand back in its original position, “(Y/N).”

“Jason, where are you?!  You promised that we would-”

Another man walked past the doorway to your room, but walked backwards until he saw you and Jason.  Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.  

“There you are!  We’re going to be late for that new movie premiere,” the man said and turned his attention to you.  “I’m Richard, but you can call me Dick.”

“If I can call you Dick, can you call me ‘Boob’?” you asked him in a serious tone.

He seemed taken aback by your question, but you soon bursted out in laughed and rolled off the bed.  Jason placed a hand over his mouth to cover his smile and contain his laughter as he looked over to Dick.

“The kid has got a point.”

You were still laughing on the floor when two boys entered your room.  Once you recovered, you climbed back onto the huge bed and noticed that two new people entered your room.

“We heard a thud and laughter, I knew you imbeciles wouldn’t be able to take care of the new resident,” the boy scowled and approached you.  “I am Damian, and the coffee addict is Drake.”

“It’s Tim,” the other one corrected Damian, giving you a small smile before sipping his coffee.  “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” you replied, wrapping the blanket around you.  

“So… Who wants to go get some ice cream?” Dick asked, receiving an unanimous agreement from everyone.  

Jason stood up from the bed and walked into your closet, returning with a spare change of clothing in his arms, “You might need this, it’s pretty cold outside and I don’t think those clothes are very insulated.”

You took the clothes from his and ran into the bathroom, leaving the brothers alone.  Jason sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.  The other three boys were looking over at Jason, who glared at them when he noticed.

“What the hell are you staring at?” Jason grumbled.

“Who knew Jason was such a softie,” Tim chuckled and took another swig from his coffee, making Dick snort and Damian smirk.

“It’s being called sympathetic, idiot,” Jason retorted.  “You have no idea what a kid does to survive in the streets, especially in Gotham.”

The sound of the bathroom door opening directed the boys’ attention away from the conversation and to you, who was fiddling with the oversized clothing you changed into.  You quickly walked over to the foot of the bed and grabbed your battered shoes from the floor, making the boys frown.

“(Y/N), you do not need to wear such atrocious shoes, I will go fetch some footwear I do not require anymore,” Damian stated and walked out of the room, leaving you dumbstruck.  

You stared at the doorway for a couple seconds, registering what Damian had just said.  The battered, torn shoes in your hands were placed down on the floor and kicked under the bed.  You didn’t want to let go of those shoes yet.  There were many important items in them that you didn’t want to lose, they were the only things you had from your family.  After a few minutes of awkward silence, Damian returned with two pairs of old tennis shoes that looked about your size.  They were a little worn, but they were still in better condition than your shoes.  Damian handed you a pair and placed the leftover pair near your bed.  You quickly put on the shoes and zipped up the huge jacket that devoured you.

“Everyone ready?” Dick asked.

Everyone nodded and walked out of your bedroom, heading to the garage where all of the cars were located.  You quickly followed, slightly jogging to keep up with their long strides.  Dick seemed to notice this and pulled you up for a piggyback ride, which startled you at first.  He noticed your reaction and went to put you down, but you were already hugging him tightly, not budging an inch.  

Dick shook his head and chuckled, “What car are we taking today?”

“The safest one,” Tim blurted out.  “For.... safety reasons.”

“Fine,” Damian agreed, “but I’m driving.”

“No,” the three brothers said in unison.

“I know how,” Damian argued.

They rolled their eyes and entered the garage, where dozens of classic and/or expensive vehicles were parked.  You looked at all of them and saw one that spiked your interest.  You let go of Dick and ran over to the car, admiring it.  Your parents had a car exactly like this, but not as nice.  They had fixed it up together before they got engaged, but stopped when your father had to buy the engagement ring.  They occasionally tinkered with it while raising you, but it was never fixed to its full potential.  This car was all black instead of yellow and white, but you would recognize the model anywhere.  They boys stood there, watching as you looked at the vehicle with a solemn face.

“Do you want to go in this one?” Tim asked, earning a small nod from you.

You immediately opened up the passenger door and crawled into the back, not even bothering to move the seat.  The boys entered after you, Dick and Damian in the front and you, Jason and Tim in the back.  You sat in the seat you always sat in when you hid away in your parent’s car, tracing random pictures on the window.  When your parents were doing yard work or talking to a neighbor, you would listen to the radio and stare at the sky, if the roof was taken off, or lay down and take a nap with the music playing in the background.  You always kept the softest blanket in the house in the back for times like that.  Maybe you could do the same here if you choose to stay.  During the ride from the manor to the ice cream store, the boys remained quiet.  The only noise was the radio faintly playing some tune from a classic rock station.  You watched as the buildings and people whirred past you for about twenty minutes before the car stopped.  When you peered through the window, the small ice cream shop you passed too many times to count was right in front of you.  You haven’t been here in years.

“Everyone out!” Dick shouted and got out of the car.

Damian stepped out of the car and moved his seat up, allowing you, Tim and Jason to exit the vehicle.  The small shop seemed different from the last time you visited, you guessed it was renovated to look more modern.

Tim pulled out his wallet and asked, “What types of ice cream do you guys want?”

“Let’s just see what they have first,” Dick said and walked up to the counter.

“What can I get for you today?” the worker asked with a smile.

Each of the boys gave her their choice of ice cream and pushed you up to the counter to look at the choices.  You stood on your tiptoes to look through the glass, searching for a flavor that seemed like a good choice.  Once you told the worker your choice, you quickly sat down at one of the vacant tables and looked out the window.  Yesterday, you were out on the other side of this window, stealing wallets and defending yourself from the criminals that wanted to get their hands on you.  Now, you are in here and waiting for ice cream with four guys you barely even know.  It seemed like a bad joke to you, but you were grateful for their generosity.  You peered closer to the window, trying to catch a glimpse of something in the alley.  You looked back at the brothers, who were now arguing about something quietly, and ran out of the ice cream shop.  They didn’t notice that you were gone until they got your ice cream and found you missing from the table.  You couldn’t hear their shouts when you ran across the street towards the dark alleyway and grabbed a plank of wood that was on the ground.  

“I don’t care if you don’t have any money!! Just give me the damn wallet!!”

You quickly ran over to the man and slammed the wood plank on him, making him stumble back from the man he was trying to mug.  

“Son of a bitch!” the crook wailed and pulled a knife from his pocket.

You quickly pulled the innocent man’s sleeve and yanked him in the direction of the street.  Blood was running down the man’s face and hands, making you cringe at the amount of blood on your hands.  The crook was still on the ground when you finally dragged the man out of the alleyway, but you were met with four frantic brothers.

“(Y/N)!! What were you thinking?!”

“Are you hurt?”

“Who kicked this guy’s ass?”

You shoved the injured man to the brothers and quickly kicked the approaching crook directly where the sun don’t shine.  He collapsed on the  ground clutching his crotch and let out a bunch of profanities that would make a sailor embarrassed.  You looked back at the brothers and grabbed the ice cream from Tim’s hand, scooping some into your mouth.

“He needed help,” you stated and leaned up against the building after kicking the criminal one last time.

Dick and Tim stared at you while Jason dialed up 911.  Damian continued to eat his ice cream and joined you on the wall.  Once the two brothers snapped out of it, they continued asking you questions and checking for injuries.

You slapped their hands away and pointed to the injured man you rescued, “I’m fine, you should be worrying about him.”

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

After the police showed up, questioned you and took the crook away, you returned to the manor silently.  All four of them looked tired and ready to go to bed, and you knew that it was because of you.  When the car was finally parked, you climbed over the seat and exited through the back, leaving the boys in the car.  You ran to your room and quickly opened the door, revealing Alfred holding your shoes.

“Forgive me, miss (Y/N), but I was just collecting your old clothing,” Alfred said and placed your shoes on your bed.

“You don’t need to do that, I can take care of it myself,” you said and grabbed your shoes, taking out the soles and grabbing your photos and locket.

“How was your day out?” Alfred asked, sitting down next to you.

“It was fun,” you responded smiling.  “We got to go out in a car that looked almost like my mom and dad’s.  It felt like I was at home again.”

Alfred smiled, “I am glad that you enjoyed yourself.  How were the boys treating you?”

“They were nice… and goofy,” you replied.  “They treated me like a sister, even if they just knew me for less than a day.  To be honest, they feel like my brothers already… and I love them so much.”

“Does this mean you are going to stay here?” Alfred asked.

“I think so,” you answered.

“Welcome to the family,” Alfred said and stood up.  “I have some other things to tend to, but I am sure Master Bruce will arrive soon.  He will speak to you about the adoption.  Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m good.  Thank you,” you responded.

“You are very welcome, miss,” Alfred stated and closed the door.

Once the door was closed, he looked down at the boys who were huddled against the door frame.  He rose a brow and walked away, leaving the boys to process what you had said.

“I suggest you all go to bed before I scold you for eavesdropping.”

[redhoodieone]

It’s Cold in Here Part 3

A/N: And…I’m back! Okay, so I wrote this at work (omg I know…I’m so bad lol), and the story is clearly continuing with Y/N ‘pretending’ to be Dick’s girlfriend. Now, I should mention again that there will be future warnings because Dick’s sexuality is going to be a problem to some people. Otherwise, I don’t have anything else to say right now, so enjoy the story!

Warnings: Language and masturbation.

I wake up with a stiff back. Falling asleep on the couch and lying almost still, I wince when I roll off and land on the ground to completely stretch my body. Sounds of cracking joints and muscles stretching to the fullest, I know I’m due for a hot shower.

 Stripping down naked, I step into the shower and allow the hot water to cleanse me. Applying soap into my hand, I scrub my body; letting my fingertips rub my sensitive skin. My hands caress my breasts; fingers gently pulling and pinching my nipples.

 A moan escapes my mouth. When was the last time my body was worshipped from a man?

 One hand takes turns on both my breasts while the other hand runs down my stomach all the way down to my pussy. Just the slightest touch to my clit is enough to have me panting and anticipating what’s going to happen next.

 The next thought is what gets me going.

 I close my eyes and imagine two strong large hands touching my body as if they have been dreaming of this. A hard, muscular tall body is pressed behind me. I slightly gasp when I feel a hard, thick cock being pressed against my ass.

 “Fuck...you must really want me, doll. I can see you’re already on edge. How bad do you want me, Y/N?” Jason’s voice whispers in my ear.

 His fingers replace mine and he begins to rub fast circles on my clit. Jason’s rough hands work their magic on me. Between the fast, hard circles on my clit, he begins to finger me as well.

 “I-I want you so bad! Oh God! Please destroy me, Jason!” I beg. Tears are pouring down my cheeks.

 “Oh, I will destroy you so much, Y/N. I’m going to fuck you so hard. Your pussy is going to be mine forever! Now, fucking cum for me, doll!” Jason demands. His voice deepens and he groans in my neck.

 One of his hands is holding my waist, while the other hand is being used to bring me to my orgasm. He fingers me with two fingers, while his thumb rubs my clit faster and harder than before.

 I grip onto the shower wall and with my other hand, I grab onto his arm; squeezing tightly to hold on because I feel a soaring hot sensation go through my body.

 “Jay! Oh my God, Jay! Fuck!!! I need you so bad!” I whine.

 “Fuck Y/N...I want to taste you so fucking bad. I want to feel you cum all over my cock,” Jason whispers seductively in my ear.

 Jason turns my head around to kiss me. The moment our lips touch, I feel myself clenching down onto his fingers. My pussy gushes with my juices, and I moan very loudly to where I bite my bottom lip to quiet down a bit.

 I open my eyes and realize it was only a fantasy. I remove my fingers from my pussy, and I end up washing myself again despite feeling relieved and somewhat attracted to Jason.

 Jason fucking Todd.

 Once I get out of the shower, I quickly slip on my black bikini top and short black swimming shorts that compliment my curves and ass. I then wear a pair of short jeans and red tank top over my swimsuit to go to the Wayne Family Barbecue at noon. The nagging voice in my head tells me to act natural, and to be the sweet loving girlfriend to Dick.

 Except I know it’ll be harder to do when all I want to do is punch Wally West in his fucking balls for sleeping with my boyfriend.

 Maybe it’s the woman in me. I obviously see that women have a power in them to make men’s lives miserable. And as a woman, I’m clearly strong enough to bring a man down when I want to; especially mentally, that is.

 So, I do what I do best: I make myself feel better.

 I put my hair up in a ponytail. I then apply a little makeup, but light enough so I can swim without looking like a raccoon with dark eyes. I even apply my favorite lip gloss; peach colored and flavored.

 A taste Dick can’t even deny.

 I grab my tote back with a spare change of clothes. I’m about to head out when I open the door and see Artemis and Zatanna there.

 “Oh my God! You guys are back already!” I squeal. Hugging them both tightly.

 “Hell yeah! We wouldn’t miss a Wayne Family Barbecue. Damn Y/N,” Artemis smirks and looks at me. “You look good! Are you trying to give Dick a heart attack?”

 More like kill him, I think to myself.

 “Yeah I am,” I giggle. “You both look so good, too!”

 The blonde bombshell smiles and twirls around so I can check her out in her booty shorts and green tank top. I notice Zatanna is shy, and waves at me. She’s wearing a short black skirt and white tank top.

 “Hi Y/N,” Zatanna greets me quietly.

 “Z...how many times have we been over this? I’ve known you for three years! Stop being so nervous and shy around me,” I insist.

 “Yeah Z! We’re the Powerpuff Girls!” Artemis says.

 “You’re Bubbles, Z! Arty is Buttercup and I’m Blossom! We’re good friends here,” I explain. “You should know that by now.”

 “She’s just nervous because she’s going to try to hook up with Tim tonight,” Artemis reveals. She wiggles her eyebrows at Zatanna. “She’s been crushing on the nerd since the vacation.”

 “Artemis!” Zatanna gasps.

 “That’s Buttercup to you,” I point out. I then freeze. “Wait...you like Tim?!”

 Zatanna blushes and looks down at her feet. “I think he’s...sweet...” she confesses.

 “Yeah! So, while you and Dick are sucking each other’s tongues, and Z hooks up with Tim, I’ll be trying to jack off Conner under the table,” Artemis admits. She steps aside, so I lock up my apartment. I slowly turn around and stare at her.

 “You...and Conner? What happened to M’gann and Conner?” I ask, slowly realizing how out of the loop I am.

 Artemis wraps an arm around me and Zatanna as we walk down the stairs.

 “She cheated on him. She complained she wasn’t feeling good on the vacation, so Conner decided to go back to rest with her, but she was being fucked by Lagoon Boy! So, after Conner proposed to her, she cheats on him and gets back with Lagoon Boy. So, the engagement’s broken off. Now Conner is single and ready to mingle, so...I’m not going to lie to you Y/N, I’m going to hit that perfect ass of his,” Artemis says, smiling at the thought of her and Conner. “Don’t give me that disapproving look! After Wally broke up with me eight months ago, I have the right to get with whoever the hell I want!”

 That’s right. I totally forgot that Wally broke up with Artemis. Even though the breakup wasn’t messy, I always wondered what his reasons were because Artemis always insisted, they’ve just grown apart after he came back from being stuck in the speed-force. Everyone believed he died, but Dick somehow always knew he was still alive.

 Maybe that should have been a clue...

 “I think today is going to be so much fun! It’s like a reunion for all of us,” Zatanna says excitedly.

 Artemis scoffs. As soon as we reach the bottom of the stairs, we walk out to my red convertible. “No magic transportation thingy?” I ask Zatanna.

 “No way! I love your car! We’re taking it,” Zatanna claims. She hops in the back while Artemis sits in the passenger seat, as I drive.

 The ride to Wayne Manor makes me feel sick. I can feel my stomach hurt and a headache coming on. I wonder if I can even get through this. I even think about how Dick said he was going to talk to me this morning, and that had yet to happen even though it’s almost eleven o’clock. As friends of the Batfamily, we always go early to these gatherings considering Alfred might always need help.

 “Earth to Blossom!” Artemis calls out to me.

 I blink. I must have tuned them out while I drive in complete concentration.

 “What? I’m sorry. I must have...been in my own world,” I apologize.

 “Well I heard from Tim that Damian is dating Jessica Cruz, the new Green Lantern. I guess her Hispanic culture interests him since he has someone to share his Arabic and Chinese culture with,” Zatanna reveals, while opening a bag of potato chips in the backseat. “I think they’re totally cute together.”

 “Totally!” Artemis agrees.

 “Yeah...” I trail off. I’m still feeling uneasy right now.

 “Look, I heard a little rumor while we were sunbathing out on the beach. So, I heard from Roy, who heard from his girlfriend, Kori, who heard from Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, who heard from Damian, who heard from Alfred, who heard from Bruce that Jason Todd is secretly in love with someone! Like, what the hell, right? So, as Z and I are gossiping on the beach, Z tries to get Damian to admit who the girl is, but it turns out only Tim knows who Jason is in love with. We HAVE to find out tonight!” Artemis demands.

 “Why? What’s so fucking special about Jason’s love life?” I ask, even though I can feel jealousy slowly seeping inside me.

 “It is a big deal because Y/N: Jason has never fallen in love before! I mean, if someone like Jason can find love, that means anyone can,” Artemis clarifies.

 “I think it’s interesting considering when I shortly dated Dick way back then, Jason was in love with you Y/N,” Zatanna reveals softly.

 “In love with me?” I repeat. My heart beats fast and I grip the steering wheel tighter. “You guys are crazy. Jason was never in love with me!”

 “It’s true because Jason said you were different, Y/N. You never judged him. You never abandoned him in his darkest moments. You were better than any other girl that he’s been with,” Zatanna explains carefully.

 I roll my eyes. “Okay, so maybe he could have been in love with me. Whoever he is in love with now must be special enough to handle him,” I say, not entirely sure what I’m saying anyways.

 Whether Zatanna is aware or responsible for it or not, flashes of memories come to my mind.

 At just fifteen-years-old, I was homeless with no one. Batman found me, along with Jason, as the second Robin.

 The two of us were inseparable. Jason’s goofy and fun-loving moments were only shared with me, while I was learning to let go of the hatred and darkness from my parents leaving me.

 Jason was there for me, as I was there for him.

 Then Jason died. A part of me did too.

 Maybe that’s why Dick was there for me, and why he and I got together.

 Maybe that’s why I chose to be with Dick because...I couldn’t have Jason?

 Oh fuck.

 Fuck Z and her mind tricks to confess dark secrets and shit.

 “If it’s any consolation, I believe Jason and you made more sense than you and Dick,” Artemis mumbles to herself. She must have thought I wouldn’t hear her, but I did. “Jason seemed to love you for who you are. Dick just loves the idea of you.”

 I act like I didn’t hear her since we’re pulling into Wayne Manor. This confession makes me feel sicker and more confused about everything.

 Artemis and Zatanna are my best friends. I’ve known them since I was just sixteen years old, and we’ve been through a lot together. Their opinions matter to me, too, and if they truly think Jason was meant for me, maybe it’s true to a certain extent.

 But Dick has been the love of my life forever, and I’m still in love him.

 But maybe a part of my heart has always belonged to Jason.

 But Jason has clearly moved onto someone else. I’ve lost him and that chance. My heart slowly rips apart like a taped picture from a wall.

 But one thing’s for sure though: this barbecue party is going to be interesting and dangerous.

 Because if I have to pretend to be Dick’s happy girlfriend, I can only imagine what could happen next.

A/N: And Let me know if you are ready for Part 4!