#it was always going to be this easy for Alfred but bruce insisted he wanted ti try and take care of it himself

[abadazed]

It was Alfred.

I want the Joker killed. But not by any of the Batfam. It's gotta be just some guy with a shotgun.

Bruce thinks it was Jason. Jason is convinced it was Tim. Dick and Damian are both absolutely positive it was Alfred.

[aealzx]

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Update Post

Prologue | AO3

Previous

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With all the excitement from the Watchtower, Danny had ended up crashing as soon as they got back to the manor. The others had let him sleep, and Bruce had been there to help him get the dinner Alfred had left for him when he woke up in the middle of the night. Yet after eating he was quick to fall asleep again. It was a similar pattern of sleeping, eating, and sleeping more that filled up the entire next day for him. Though he did manage to squeeze in another bath during the most recent stretch of time he’d been awake. That was before he unintentionally knocked out on his stomach while lounging on the couch in the study. It really was a nice room. With the fireplace, and soft cushions. Sam had ended up telling everyone to just let him sleep since he was usually sleep deprived anyway. The rest could only do him some good on catching up on the two years of accumulated sleep debt.

It was only in the afternoon of the second day after meeting with Barry that Danny was staying awake for more than two hours. A checkup from Leslie kept him occupied for an hour, even though it was still odd to him to be getting his health monitored by an actual doctor instead of his family members and a lot of guessing. He currently only had burns in an area slightly bigger than his hand on his ribs, and they arguably weren’t even second degree anymore. Something that made Leslie marvel considering he hadn’t had any kind of skin transplant or the like, but something that was still annoyingly painful if he moved too suddenly or too far.

It was during the check up that Bruce let him know that Barry and Wally had made progress with isolating which realm was theirs, and would probably be over that evening. Part of their validation was for one of them to actually visit the realm, and potentially bring something back that the others would recognize. Danny felt it was a little unfair that one of the Flashes would be able to see his realm before any of them, but it was something he was willing to give up if it meant they could confirm everyone was alright. Barry had already called to check in with Jazz on an item she thought they should try to grab, and because of the conversation with Conner and Bart at the Watchtower she had suggested one of their cellphones or laptops.

It was strange when they were gathered down in the Batcave and Barry didn’t have either of those in his hands. Danny figured maybe he was going to try and surprise them with it since they didn’t know exactly who’s phone he had grabbed, but he also couldn’t help feeling uneasy with Barry’s mannerisms. Something seemed off about him. That smile wasn’t quite right. Even though Barry tried to be as energetic as them while they all clambered into seats, Danny couldn’t help staring at him with increasing unease. Why was he insisting that they were all seated?

Had…. Had the G.I.W. done something worse than they could think of?

Danny felt Jazz start to share his unease when Barry took a seat to face them at eye level, and drew a breath to speak.

“As you know we were able to lock on to your realm’s original location. And as part of the process Wally and I both took a trip there to make sure we could create a connection,” Barry started, giving a summary that was way too quick and caused Danny’s smile of anticipation for the good news to slowly drop. Barry didn’t seem to want to drag this out any longer than necessary though, for after a tense breath and exchanged look with Bruce he finally let his own, forced smile fade. “I’m sorry… This is never easy to say, but… there’s nothing left.”

Danny didn’t fully register standing up. A subconscious need to put himself between the others and what he considered, however momentarily, a threat forcing him to his feet and moving him to stand slightly between Barry and his friends and sisters.

“W’what?”

That was Jazz, of course. Always giving the other side a chance to clarify. To explain more. To maybe correct their statement with the other side’s feelings in consideration the next time.

“I’m sorry,” Barry breathed again, wishing he didn’t have to tell these children their home and everything in it was no longer in existence. “The space where your realm occupied is empty. We’ve seen it a few times before, after something causes the reality of the realm to be broken…. There’s nothing we can do, but we’ll make sure you’re taken care of here.”

Their world had died. While they were gone, something had happened to erase what they had left behind before they could get back to it to protect it. Millions of people were gone, but all Danny could register was a single fact, echoing repeatedly in his mind.

His parents were dead.

His parents were dead, and he hadn’t been there. His own words from before echoed in his brain in a static of spikes as his breathing became semi erratic. None of this mattered if the people he cared about weren’t safe. What did it matter that he was still there- what did it matter that he was almost healed? What did any of it matter if Maddie and Jack weren’t there with him?

His friends and sisters were in an uproar, but it felt so distant from him. He only caught pieces of their outrage.

“What are we supposed to do?”

Sam.

“Says the one whose parents probably left her an entire fortune! I have nothing now!”

Tucker.

“I have nothing either, you ass! Or did you forget none of us exist in this realm! None of us have anything!”

Sam again.

“You will be taken care of. I promise-”

Bruce, interrupted by Danielle before he could finish.

“None of that matters you idiots! Who did it? Who’s the dumbass that killed my mom and dad?! ‘Cause I’m gonna rip them to shreds-”

“Danny?”

The voice from Jazz was strangely soft compared to the others, but shaking so much. He hadn't noticed her stepping in front of him, his brain a static of fuzz and muffled noise. Her poor frame trembled as she gently took Danny’s hands, causing him to flinch and blink for the first time in the past minute. He felt hollow. Like someone had ripped open his chest and scraped it clean, spraying it with disinfectant to the point he was numb from the burn. His throat didn’t want to work, memories of the explosion destroying the Nasty Burger breaking into his memory. Only to be pushed fractionally at bay by Jazz’s warm hands and concerned expression filling his vision. If he could just focus on her, maybe he could get his body moving again. Maybe he could do something. He still had his sisters. Maybe they could keep him going until he could figure out a way to fix this. He did last time. He had to figure something out. He always did.

“Was it because of Danny-?”

The breath to Danny’s lungs cut off harshly as he heard Sam’s words sounding too loud in his ears. He couldn’t breathe, his gaze dragging through eternity to meet her’s as she tried to recover what she’d implied.

“I’I- No- Danny, that’s not what I meant-” Sam stammered around the hand that had flown to her mouth after she realized too late what he question had implied. She had just been listing potential events to consider for the cause of the destruction. The fight against the GIW ending in realm rending explosions that had transported them there in the first place. Explosions that were essentially caused by Danny’s wail.

All Danny could think as his wide eyes stung, blurred, and spilled hot tears down his cheeks, was blame.

It’s my fault.

His thoughts were a whisper in his mind as his hands pulled from Jazz’s grip.

I killed them.

The start of a scream too weak to fully manifest escaping his throat before he smothered his mouth with his hands. He couldn’t be there. He couldn’t deal with all of this on top of them. He couldn’t handle being there when he didn’t know if they wanted to hate him or beg for him to save them.

So he left.

Body becoming intangible and invisible Danny leapt into the air, fleeing the source of the hurt and the confines of the foreign building so he could maybe just get some damn air and quiet. To stop being stared at with pity, and grief, and guilt, and concern, and something his sister gave so freely but he didn’t deserve. How could she still love and care about him after what he’d done? He had to leave so he could figure his own brain out before coming to terms with them, leaving behind even more voices from before yelling in an uproar.

“DANNY!”

How many people had yelled that? The more colorful cussing was easier to pick out individual voices to, but Tim gave his own explicative to the pool.

“Shit! Where’s he going-?” he cursed, eyes locking on Danielle since she was the only one he thought would even have a chance to follow the kid with abilities none of them knew how to deal with yet. They had only caught Danielle before because she had chosen to fight back. When she hadn’t wanted to be found in the past, they couldn’t find her. And Danny was more advanced in his skills than her.

“Don’t look at me! I can’t track him!” Danielle spat, her emotions getting slammed sideways with additional stress over her brother.

“Did you seriously just BLAME DANNY!?” Tucker burst, rounding on Sam.

“I WASN’T BLAMING ANYONE!” Sam roared back, coming back at Tucker with a fist raised only to have Barry snatch her hand.

“I have to go look for him!” Jazz broke, turning to leave, to do something other than stand there unable to get her brother’s soul crushed expression out of her mind.

“ENOUGH!”

Bruce hadn’t raised his voice once since they had been staying with him, and hearing him scold them now caused everyone in the room to freeze and snap their full attention to him. Even Jazz stumbled where she was and stopped.

“No one is going anywhere-” Bruce started, his tone more even, and surprisingly calm once again.

“Do not tell us to let him go, Bruce!” Tim snapped, breaking away from his almost frantic brainstorming with Barbara over the phone. “Being alone is not a good idea right now. He’s an isolated kid that got forced into being the only hero and having everyone rely on him, and just lost two people he loves. You and I both know people can’t deal with that on their own. Not even you,” he spat, rounding on Bruce defiantly.

The outburst caught Bruce only slightly off guard because of the content. But to Tim’s surprise, after flinching back fractionally, Bruce just gave a slightly pained grimace before resting his hand on Tim’s shoulder. “I know, Tim,” Bruce assured. “And likewise, this isn't just on you to take care of.” That caused Tim to flinch this time, having not realized he was falling into that headspace. “No one is going anywhere until we get a plan together to make sure we have the city covered. It’s a big area after all, and Danny can fly. Which means we’ll have to work with everyone. So how about we all get suited up?”

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=7=;a I had this chapter 90% written like two months ago, and because of that I've reached the point where I've worked with it so long I think it's terrible. Also I had such a long break from the holidays I feel like I forgot how to draw X'DDD euuhhhhh I hope Sam looks okay, I'm not all that familiar with that culture so just googled and picked things that I thought suited her

Anyways, enjoy the return of suffering =u=b

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Tag list: @galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships, @starscreamlover, @nerdynonnativenarnian, @dragongoblet, @megacharizardx99

@bellathecatastrophe, @cj-ghostemoji-destielpie, @asexual-insomniac, @wolfeyedwitch, @tkiesai, 

@fanaroff, @raven1508, @nebulainajar, @serasvictoria02, @oliocelottafanfics,

@honeysuckletook, @omniithe-deer, @wolf-under-the-stars, @gingernutcalo, @that-random-fangirl,

@op-sys-chaos, @kirasigncomics, @ehobep, @paranoid-ira, @nomaru666

[sanguineterrain]

Hi! I love your writing so much and I'm really excited about you doing requests :) Would you consider writing a drabble (inspired by Window Pains 😉) in which Jason and Reader are in a relationship filled with trust and safety (and blood lol) but Reader becomes overwhelmed by the responsibility and worry over patching Jason up and pretty much keeping him from dying all the time? Reader breaks things off and it hurts Jason more than he ever anticipated (I'm a sucker for angst 😌).

sucker for angst eh? if you insist 😎

jason todd x gn!reader. tw jason almost dies, reader is guilty and scared and doesn't want to lose him etc etc. breakup. marinate in the unresolved angst! hehe

prompt lists are here! i reblog all fics to @sanguinelibrary

Now with a pt 2!

****

You're shaking by the time you get back to Jason's apartment.

His heart had stopped. He'd been alone in a warehouse, comms fried, clinically dead for three minutes.

He'd died.

"He'll be okay," Dick had said, but you'd seen the way he'd cradled his baby brother's head in his lap.

He very easily could've not been okay.

"Take it easy," you say as Jason hobbles through the threshold.

You trail behind him with his duffel over your shoulder and the bag of medication Alfred had prepared in your hand. Jason slumps onto the couch. He hisses when the movement jostles his bandaged ribs.

"Why aren't you in bed?" you ask, setting his duffel down.

"'Cause I'll keep you up. Pain meds always give me nightmares. 'S why I told Bruce not to give 'em to me. But does the old man listen? No, of fucking course not."

"Jason, I don't care if you wake me up with your nightmares. Your body needs to heal. It can't do that if you're on a lumpy couch."

"Baby, it's not a big deal," he says, not even looking at you. "I'll be fine in a couple of days anyway. Babs said there's some trafficking ring in Crime Alley. If I time it right, I can get—"

You throw the bag of pills onto the table. Jason doesn't flinch but he does look at you, one brow raised.

"Wh—"

"You were clinically dead for three minutes!" you shout. "What don't you understand about that?"

"What are you talking about?" he asks, face pinching. "I was fine. I'm alive. I'm here. Close calls happen all the time."

"You died! Your heart stopped!"

"Not the first time," he says evenly.

As soon as he says it, you can tell he regrets it. You crumple all the same, bracing yourself against the couch.

"I can't sit around waiting for you to die, Jason," you say quietly. "That'll break me for good."

"Baby, you were there. You're always there in time, and Dick was—"

"Dick could've been a minute late, and then I would've had to hold my dead boyfriend until the ambulance came," you say, closing your eyes.

You can't get the image of Jason, pale and lifeless in Dick's arms, out of your head.

"I wouldn't have... sweetheart, I would've been okay. I'm always okay—"

You cover your face as you start to cry. Jason makes a soft noise.

"Baby, don't cry, please. I wasn't—I'm sorry I scared you, honey."

"I can't do this, Jay, I can't lose you," you cry, palms wet with tears.

"You won't! I'll be more careful, I promise—"

"I can't keep you alive, Jason. I can't—can't do it anymore."

You pick up your bag and your phone, walking towards the door.

"Baby," Jason starts, fear bleeding into his voice. "Sweetheart, stop. Stop it. Where are you going?"

"I'm going home," you say, wiping your cheek. "I'm done, Jay. I can't do this."

"No, no, baby, please. Please, baby, it's late, don't go. I don't want you to go. This is home," Jason says desperately, trying to stand up from the couch.

"Jay, sit down before you pull your stitches," you say.

He ignores you. You open the door and wince when he grunts in pain. He's too slow to stop you tonight, and that's all the reminder you need to leave.

"I'm sorry," you say. "I love you, Jason. But I can't watch you kill yourself."

"Please—"

The door shuts behind you. You start walking before you can change your mind.

You'll never be too late to save Jason Todd.

[eupheme]

MULTI-FANDOM - 2024 FIC RECS

a rec list to share and support all the gorgeous fics I read this year. please check these out and support these writers, they are all incredible! 💖✨

ALFRED PENNYWORTH X READER

— an angel’s kiss in spring by @stargirlfics

Surprise picnics in the garden are where Alfred makes life feel so soft and sweet

— eyes on you by @/viceofdionysus

A car ride home on a rainy autumn night takes an unexpected turn.

— of beachgrass and seafoam by @/viceofdionysus

When Alfred takes a vacation at Bruce's insistence, he expects to get some rest and relaxation. He doesn't expect you.

— sweet as silk, just like lavender by @/stargirlfics

Alfred Pennyworth can’t keep his hands off you even if he tried

ARTHUR MORGAN X READER (RDR2)

— watermelon moonshine by @/viceofdionysus

When Arthur finally finds the courage to ask his crush out, the evening goes better than he ever could have imagined. Especially with a little help from Peterson's famous Watermelon Moonshine.

HALSIN X READER (BG3)

— bunny by @viceofdionysus

On a blustery autumn day, you and Halsin take spend some time together.

— down by the river by @jksprincess10

EDDIE ALDEN X READER (SOMEONE LIKE YOU)

— love is here to stay by @moonlight-prose

mornings where the summer heat was unbearable and energy was nowhere to be found, made getting up a difficult task. add a sleepy eddie and a multitude of kisses and suddenly it became near impossible.

GORTASH X DURGE (BG3)

— eat you alive by @astarionslittletreat

She's returned to him, his Bhaalspawn. After vanishing from him without a trace, he's got her exactly where he wants her. Tied up and waiting for him with murderous lust.

JIM HOPPER X READER (STRANGER THINGS)

— a little magic by @/viceofdionysus

Jim's been working hard this Halloween, so you decide to show him some extra appreciation.

— coldsnap by @/viceofdionysus

When a snowstorm leaves Hawkins shutdown, you and Jim have a snow day together.

— little witch by @/viceofdionysus

When Jim comes home from a long day at work, he finds you trying on a Halloween costume. He lets you know how much he appreciates this view of his Little Witch.

LIAM BLACK X READER (THE ACCUSED)

— the fear has gripped me, but here I go by @tarabyte3

It was so easy to develop a crush on Liam Black. He's sweet, handsome, funny, and all of your conversations feel effortless. How could you not? Maybe it was too easy because you're starting to fall a little deeper and you can't stop calling him whenever you need a taxi.

LEVI ACKERMAN X READER (AOT)

— press four for more options. by @amywritesthings

After seeing your ex with his new girl at a work party, you take the not-so-smart advice from a friend to call a sex hotline to get over him. Your match? A baritone bossy dom named Levi.

ULYSSES KLAUE X READER (MARVEL)

— ante up by @/viceofdionysus

After Klaue makes you an interesting offer, you decide it might be worth the gamble.

— close your eyes to see by @citrus-moonlight

Even when he's at the compound you don't get to spend as much time with Klaue as you both want, so you're always pleased when he has a few minutes to give you some much needed attention.

— salvation is a deep dark well by @/citrus-moonlight

The actions of others leads to chaos at the compound, and after Klaue returns to deal with the aftermath you’re surprised to learn that his reasons for being upset aren’t what you think, and you finally have to admit some things that you’ve been denying.

if you haven’t read these, you need to! and please support these amazing fics & writers by reading, reblogging & commenting! 💕

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

I love the bonus random uploads! They’re such nice surprises :) but now all of my thoughts are consumed with the Wayne’s. More doting!family content?

"Welcome home, Mrs. Wayne," Alfred said, helping you out of your jacket.

"Thank you, Alfred," you tell him. It was a bad day in court. And a worse day at the office. All the plea bargains in the world couldn't save your client from a judge determined to make an example of him. And all the legal loopholes and documentation in the world couldn't protect everyone who came to you for help.

"I assume you're not at home this evening?" he asked.

"No," you tell him. "I'll be in my office. I've got... I've got a lot of things to finish."

Alfred nodded, "Very well. Master Bruce and MASTER Richard are gone for the evening already. Will you want dinner?"

You shake your head, "No, but some coffee would be nice."

Another nod followed that and he watched you go, frowning slightly. It had been a run of bad days, it seemed. Not that he was surprised. Things tended to go in waves. And dealing with the system in the aftermath of Harvey Dent's accident was clearly making the waters murky.

Dent may not always have agreed with your politics but. He could respect what you were doing. And he could respect your integrity- and it went both ways. As often as you worked against each other, it was easy to work together. His absence made the subsequent crackdown on petty crime all the more ruthless.

Alfred assembled a tray with coffee, sugar and cream. And after a moment of hesitation, he decided to add a slice of cake he'd made earlier. He wasn't sure if you'd eaten much since breakfast but he was sure it wasn't enough.

He stood outside the door for a moment, and listened. Wincing when he realized you were crying. It wasn't loud. Not the theatrical sobbing of a socialite in a snit... And he wasn't sure what to do. Aside from put things down for you quietly and excusing himself.

But when he opens the door, he just can't. You're curled in your desk chair, your forehead resting on your knees. He did set things down and slip out of the room but returned, moments later with a damp washcloth. "Here now," he tutted, proffering it, "Wipe your face."

"I'm sorry I just-"

"None of that," he said, gentling his tone, just slightly. "Just wipe your face. Then eat. Whatever you did have today wasn't enough to keep a dog alive."

"I just- It's just-"

"First things first," he said proffering the cloth more insistently until you take it. A pretty crier you are not. Part of the reason it was so heartbreaking- if you were crying you were past caring. As much as you ever cared what you looked like.

He stood over you. Waiting for you to wipe your face. "I'll be back with ice water shortly," he said. Bruce could coddle you when he got home. But. For now, you needed someone that wouldn't let you wallow. And would force you to eat something and drink water.

"Thank you," you murmur.

"And a proper meal," he added, "If you don't mind, Miss Y/N."

"You don't have to-"

"You can't ruin lives if you're starving to death," he snorted.

[tinkerbelle05]

Batfam as catshifters pt 2

Part 1 (But you don't have to read if you don't want. Anyway I have more brainrot of this au so here ya go

Jason would be the type to hiss at people but also crave love and attention, especially from Bruce. He could argue all he wants but it’s clear as a day when he purposefully shifts and cuddles up to Bruce when he’s feeling neglected.

Every single one of the kids has napped on Bruce’s lap when he was in an important league meeting (once the secret was out ofc) and they made it into a game to see how many times they can get him to crack that stony expression. 

Cass is leading the scoreboard with a whooping 30 times while Tim is dead last with a mere 8. Tim insists that he doesn't care but they all see the droopy cat ears.

Stephanie is absolutely in love with that red light, she’ll spend hours trying to catch the red light on the wall. If the walls have any scratches, you didn’t see them and moved on.

Alfred had absolutely raised hell because of it so everyone that was in cat form was forced into the cat room. 

In the room that’s for their cat forms where there are many toys and obstacles for them at their leisure. Every 6 months Bruce takes it down and gets a new and harder one (bc they keep complaining about how “easy” it was and that they needed an “actual challenge”, the old ones he donates)

Everyone always uses Bruce’s bed for cat naps and cuddles because it has so much space and everything’s just soft. Plus, there is a warm human they can cuddle up next to, who wouldn’t want that?!

Damian loved being in cat form to hang out with Alfred, the cat. Animals were his best friends so it was great to understand them on a deeper level. He loves sitting on Batcow and just existing with her.

Dick loves to be spoiled by Bruce so that he could maintain his self-proclaimed position as Bruce’s favorite. Belly rubs, scratches behind the ears, the whole nine.

Tim often “runs away” from home when his family is being too much of a family. He doesn’t hate it but he isn’t used to attentive families. 

When that first happened during his Robin era, Bruce went on a whole manhunt for this kid, his mind kept wandering to broken bones and smoke. 

Once Tim was found, he was hiding on a rooftop (these bats and their rooftop, I swear) he was given a stern talking too and a heart-to-heart. Afterward, he was allowed to go on breaks, but give head-ups and check in every so often.

There are protocols if they happen to shift during patrol or a fight. First, a smoke bomb goes off and covers the entire area in a thick layer of smoke. Every team is notified and those who are closest come to get the person out of there and then they deal with whatever was going on prior.

The cat shifter then goes to one of the many designated rooftops to be collected or they just go home by themselves. Even with this detailed plan, there have been many, many close calls.

Like that one time Condiment King almost got Duke in his cat form if Cass hadn’t come in the literal nick of time or when Damian got transformed while fighting Killer Croc.

The kids like to follow Alfred around while in cat form so that he can “accidentally” drop whatever dinner their eating for that night, and “Oh now, it’s on the floor, we eat can’t this piece of fish for dinner but-” and it’s already being eaten by Dick. Jason was hot on his trail too but Dick’s agility had given him an edge. This leads to Alfred “dropping” another piece on the ground for Jason to eat.

Bruce comes in with a raised eyebrow but no one offers an explanation for his unanswered question and he doesn’t mention it.

[n1ightw1ng]

{Tim confesses the cause of his nightmares to a sympathetic ear.}

“If I may ask…what is it that weighs so heavily on your mind? Your life has not been easy, even if others would say so.” Every inch of him stings raw. Alfred always listens. Always understands. “The night with Joker. And Dick.” “Ah. A harrowing affair. Have you spoken to Master Dick? I’m sure he w—” “He’s the one who did it, Alfred.” If only one other person knows…that’s all he needs. One person to hear him. “He hit me. Branded me.” Alfred goes silent for a long moment. “That is…quite a revelation.” “It wasn’t his fault. Joker made him. And I—I told him to. He made us choose. I chose.” At last, the sobbing subsides, but his chest still trembles between breaths. “He didn’t want to. He…” I’d rather die, Dick had said, and here Tim is, feeling sorry for himself, when he had insisted Dick go against his own conscience, his own morals, so ferociously.  “You were both children,” Alfred says after another long breath. “Nothing about it was fair. Unfortunately…that is the world we live in. The world which Master Bruce has chosen for you all.” With our enthusiastic permission, he thinks, but Alfred would disagree, or hum thoughtfully, and it wouldn’t make any difference. They were children, once upon a time, but being Robin means more than being a child. He knows that more than anyone. He begged for this.

chapter two;

[josnhoes]

Hey, could I possibly get a how Dick Grayson and Bruce wayne would deal with having an adult 30 year old s/o who has autism, but the men don’t know about the autism until the men either figure it out themselves or date number 5 is when s/o tells them cuz they don’t just going around telling people about their autism. S/o at first masks themselves very well, but as you get to know them they have these quirks. Like s/o takes an intense interest in their men’s day or hobby or intensely helps out when they’re in trouble. Theyre excitedly talk to their men about their own interests. Gets stressed easily and can’t sleep until they’re not stressed. Finds it hard to understand new topics no matter how many times it is explained to them until it is explained in a way that isn’t normal, but once they understand it, they’re really good at it, except for the concept of being rich with all that money, still can’t wrap their head around how Bruce deals with all that money and all the meetings that go along with it. Finds it hard to express emotions unless it’s intensely happy or intensely hurt. Very blunt, like Batman says he works alone and date waits until other people are gone before saying “but you just worked with the police 10 minutes ago”

Batman and his family are all Autistic to varying degrees except Alfred who is the token nuerotypical, and I will die on this hill. Look at them and their behaviors and *tell me* they aren't autistic. I *dare* you.

GN reader

Content warning: none

Bruce, despite his himbo persona, he put on struggled with people and connecting to them. His family was an exception. He at times struggled with sarcasm and had some blunders but that was publicly chalked up to silly Brucie Wayne the himbo. His diagnosis was kept secret, being famous made that hard to accomplish, but he'd managed to keep it hidden; for him and his family.

Still he was surprised when he clicked so well with you. He found your blunt honesty charming, he appreciated the way you honestly cared about his day. It was nice to have someone outside the family who cared for him and not his fame or money. Though you didn't seem to comprehend how much money he had when you insisted on paying your part of the dates. If he snuck the money back on you somehow, well you'd never know. Spoiler alert you did but you appreciated the gesture.

Then on one of your dates you came clean; and how you clicked made sense! You guys both had autism. Sadly he couldn't tell you his own diagnosis yet. Forgive him for being so cautious, but he worried about the public opinion. Maybe he was a coward, but it was rooted in paranoia.

He knew there was nothing wrong with being autistic, he just also knew the bigots were a major issue and with his nightlife and CEO work he didn't really have time to deal with the bigots and media storm. But if you both lasted longer then a few months he'd tell you.

He supports you completely. Every hobby, Fandom, and hyperfixation he tries out with you. And even if he isn't a fan he happily listens to you talk about it finding the way you light up attractive.

You quickly become *his* person just as he became your's; a fact obvious to everyone.

Dick was the most functioning of the family. Everyone was functional but Dick was able to push through some things. Like the various sensory issues. He also was pretty good at reading social situations. Though he attributed that to his time with his Bio parents. It wasn't always easy for him, when he was younger he was much more prone to outbursts.

He maybe seen as the golden child now, but as far as Robins went *he* had been the one to give Bruce the most gray hairs. Though no one believes it when they hear it. That being said he is one of the few members of the family that is pretty open with his diagnoses. He wants to be a pillar for the autistic and adhd community in Gotham.

So when he met you, he pretty much pegged you as autistic. You had been in the area of hit and run, and as a witness, you had to give a statement. Being the friendliest of the force, he'd been chosen to talk to you. You were point blank and despite the situation you were calm and almost unbothered. Which he asked about and when you said you had trouble emoting he knew right away. He sends you off with his personal number incase you need help or remember something more.

From there, a friendship grew. That being said, this man was a mother hen. Always trying to help you with every little thing, including your sleep issues. He backs off some if you tell him it's too much, but he does explain it's how he shows he cares; and it's not because he doesn't think you can do things for yourself. He remembers the bitterness he felt when his cop coworkers found out about his autism when he first started, and they had both babied him and tried to get him off the force.

From friendship come a romance eventually. He was the one to make the first move. He made a meal for you both to share in his apartment. He picked a couple of movies, each a comfort film for both of you, and made the night special even if it was simple.

[nycterent]

@crimeloyalty left a message: there's no use in talking. i know what you think.

wayne tower still looks halfway like a mausoleum. he can't bring himself to change it, no matter how hard he tries to. and he does try, sometimes. it feels right to make something different out of it, but he can never unfreeze it from that moment. if he lost that, then what would remain of the place he calls home? would it even feel like home? it's not something he has the time or energy to think about, with his nights occupied how they are. so it's pushed back every so often. even as alfred insists, again and again, he waves it off.

the company investors, he knows, don't like meeting him here. they always look palpably uncomfortable, standing among high windows and hints of dust in the corners, looking like they want to shrink back from it all. back into the light and out of the dark. bruce barely thought about why until he actually invited harleen over, and then had to think about it for more than the passing seconds he usually does.

so here they are, in the room with its round table, gotham's cloudy sunlight pouring in. a room full of ghosts. of the last time he saw his mother fix his father's tie. of the last time things felt easy and fit into place.

now they're arguing in it. or—not really arguing. bruce hasn't really disagreed with any of it. he's been listening.

the worst part of walking the tightrope of his life is how much he has to divorce what the bat would think, what he really thinks, from whatever bruce wayne would think. it's lying more often than not, or finding ways to accidentally wander into the truth. it's funny, the things bruce wayne sometimes says. of course, he doesn't really mean that. or think it.

"i don't — trust me, you don't always know what i'm thinking." despite himself, bruce manages a dry smile. there's nothing actually mocking about it. it looks more tired than anything. "i know it's your job to be able to work out what people are really thinking. so i'm not going to fault you for that. and i'm not looking for kindness about all of this either."

how can he, when he hasn't earned that kindness yet? he's a recluse. he has kept to himself as gotham crumbled for all these years, to the point where he's still more of a story than a person. stories are set in stone. they don't think. they follow their narratives until the end. he has to be better than that.

"so tell me what you're thinking about all this. about arkham, about the projects i've been putting money into. i can only keep an eye on so many of them at once."

[weirdfishy]

idk i think this would be cool to explore

in a "danny stumbles on hood's territory & goes woah buddy you need some milk (pure ecto)” thing bc imagine danny's surprise at finding the most benevolent haunt and the most angry-bitey/ shoot-y haunt existing within the same city like he wants to meet the second of these super powerful protectors- hood was easy bc he's confrontational & it was an accident really but it feels like he's being judged by a unicorn (one that won't hesitate to stab you with its horn but still. judging his purity) when he floats over the manor one night just a tad too close to the height alfred has claimed

or maybe a 'jazz moved to gotham to chase her dreams of taking arkham asylum by storm in reform’ and she can Feel the haunts when she's cruising the city trying to get familiar with it. she's lived in one town her whole life she's going exploring esp be she doesn't have the same 'my brother's haunt so i'm always protected & ultimately safe’

which obv she can take care of herself but it's a liminal thing w that she's so far from her fraid but she's slowly building a secondary one in this city- and it starts with the unassuming yet clearly more dead than not honest to gods butler she encounters at the grocery store one day which is how she gets introduced and accepted into That fraid as a friend-of-the-family sort of thing & obv if alfred is protecting someone then hood is too bc Its Alfred.

cue jazz explaining over ecto-laced tea and finger sandwiches in the gazebo The Kids built last spring what she understands of ghosts and where alfred might fall on that. he obv has to take A Bit To Process bc he now knows He Died (& jason isn't completely back either) but it kind of makes sense if he lets his emotions and denial clear out enough to think rationally.

it's probably emotional & everyone immediately comes running to their protector their Alfred is in distress they Just Know It- cue hug pile and jazz doesn’t manage to slip away bc she's now attached to them and they love her like their own. she's a family friend but that still makes her family.

and then jazz has to walk the most emotionally outta wack family through this and really she does appreciate the insane amount of money in a whole account for her attached to alfred’s but her midwest-nurtured-instincts are screaming at her to get into a polite refusal battle with bruce wayne for the next six hours over a social lunch and then a business meeting pertaining to arkham but then gets a message from oracle that she can think of it as payment for the pure ecto jazz will now be supplying jason and alfred with and jazz remembers to unfurl herself a little, shorting out those pesky bugs and tech from the bats

bc jazz isn’t dense and it’s Right There in the birdarangs behind the couches and the insane things The Kids will do that are a little too close to what the news catches on camera, unconscious habits like dick’s quick headcount in any room that matches nightwing’s on the roofs, the same exact katana damien uses once he questions her calluses from her bo-staff turned creep stick wielding being used on robin’s patrol

idk jazz’s fraid-away-from-fraid is in the pennyworth-haunt and it might be a lil weird for alfred to meet danny in the manor bc danny sees alfred as equal bc he’s been protecting jazz and all of this friad but alfred knows it in his gooey ghosty bits that this twenty-some is someone he should be deferring to even though he insists that he should just be considered as jazz’s little brother, not even as just the head of jazz’s main fraid.

guys. guys ok. consider. and operating on dp x dc bc ppl dying-but-coming-back in dc is so prevalent and it’s dandy to slot dp ghost rules into dc—

yes immortal!alfred pennyworth, but what if. and lemme tell you i don’t know much about dp ghostly categories, but what if. if alfred died (which ik he did in dc canon somewhere and was lazarus’d but bear w me) but like. nobody noticed. not even alfred himself.

maybe he came down with something real bad, but then after a week of fighting a rattle in his chest, he suddenly feels like he did in his thirties; just wakes one morning and is more than fine— he’s a lil more ghost than human, but there’s enough tethering him to his body and to the land of the living that he still operates basically the same.

he didn’t completely die/not totally ghost, bc the manor, and his family almost immediately becomes his haunt and his friad/spook/whathaveyou and that connection, that need to be there for them is So Strong that he’s still able to do everything he usually does. he’s still able to pat a shoulder reassuringly and administer medical aid (though by now they all know enough to do it to each other bc they all want to take the strain off of him though he would do it until he died), still able to cook and clean and go out— just sometimes he’s able to reach those places usually just a touch too high to reach without assistance (not noticing his toes just leaving the ground), his asbestos fingers being the best he’s ever had bc he accidentally touched a hot pan and it didn’t burn quite as badly as it probably should have, the manor lights flicker for the barest of seconds that could feasibly be explained by gotham’s shitty power if the entire manor wasn’t on a closed, self-sustaining system when he hears of a mortal wound, and the batfam now gets feelings of calm-care-safe-loved every time they cross into the bounds of the manor (jason feels it the most, with damien, cass, tim, bruce, and dick feeling it in descending amounts yet still noticeable. everyone else not near the low-liminal-adj still feels it, thru sheer force of will on Alfred’s part)

of course, with all the stalker-y surveillance stuff in the manor, this becomes questionable, the way alfred has changed his habits just a bit to the left to accommodate what things he’s noticing and dismissing from deeper thought (denial is so. so there in both him and his family. nobody wants to face the fact that once, alfred had to take breaks between cleaning rooms and that now, when distracted with cleaning, he barely breathes at all, like he has to think about it to do it)

[ellabxrnes]

the first kiss

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader

Summary: Your first kiss with Bruce Wayne. Prompt based off of Taylor Swift's song Fearless.

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 962

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts for a hot minute. I thought I'd proofread and post it.

Growing up, you never put much stock into relationships. You were OK on your own or with your close friends. That being said, you never dated anyone throughout high school and college. Sure, you were interested in people, but you always pushed those thoughts back and focused on your goals. It didn't hit you until you graduated college and got a good and well-paying job at Wayne Enterprises. It was an "Oh, shit" moment. It's like you blinked, and you realized that it would be nice to have someone around, someone you could depend on, love, etc... But you'd never had any relationship experience, so you continued to push back and ignore it all. Nobody wants a 22-year-old who hasn't even had their first kiss, right? So you continued to focus on your career. 

You worked in the heart of Gotham City as an Executive Assistant to Bruce Wayne. When most of your friends asked about your job, you tended to disregard their "oohs" and "ahs" about your boss. Of course, you had feelings for him; who didn't? Mr. Wayne was the stereotypical CEO. He also had a very active sex life. Or so your friends say. You try to suppress those butterflies and cut off your lingering stares because, after all, you still have work to do for him. Running a company isn't easy, and you are here to help him, not become distracted by his presence. 

You understood when you were hired that you would be spending a lot of time with Mr. Wayne, but you didn't realize just how much time you spent with him. Months passed, and you spent less time talking to your friends and more time talking to your boss. It started when Mr.Way- Bruce (he insisted you call him by his first name) asked you to join him on his business trip to Japan. You agreed, not because you would get the chance to ride in a private plane, but because you knew he needed someone to go with him. You'd like to say everything changed after that trip, but it was hard to tell.

You noticed Bruce would come up to your desk much more and ask you to do things that wouldn't be in your job description: Get lunch with him so you two could coordinate his schedule for the next week, come over to his manor and have dinner so you two could discuss the itinerary for your next trip together, etc., etc...

Alfred saw right through Bruce's behavior. Right before the trip to Japan, Alfred caught Bruce pacing in the cave after patrol. Bruce finally broke down when asked what was wrong and asked Alfred if he should ask you to join him on the trip. He said he needed someone organized like you to keep him on schedule; Alfred just nodded. After all these years with Bruce, he was still attempting to 'hide' something from him. 

Eventually, Bruce was sick of getting you to tag along on various things with him. He knew he needed to ask you out for real. So, he did just that. It was a bit of a shock to you when Bruce admitted he had feelings for you. That should've been the first clue, but he overlooked it. 

He spent days trying to plan the perfect way to ask you out. He admitted his feelings to Alfred, who told him he'd already known long before Bruce even admitted it to himself. Hee caught you just before you were about to leave for the day and asked you out to dinner. You happily agreed and made plans for the next week. 

It wasn't until he had taken you out to your favorite hole-in-the-wall sushi joint and walked you to your doorway that he discovered your lack of relationship experience. He thanked you for a good time, and before he let you open your door and walk away, he grabbed you and pulled you close to him. You tensed, and he froze, backing away. Had he made you uncomfortable? 

You looked down before you spoke, scared he would judge you. "I- I'm sorry. I just-"

He shook his head and cut you off. "Don't apologize. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."

You gazed up at him then with shaky hands. "Bruce, you didn't make me uncomfortable. I-" you take a deep breath and exhale. "I've never been kissed. Or had any relationship." He looked stunned. "I know this makes things awkward now. I had a great time." You started to open your door and slip inside.

Bruce was speechless but in a good way. He knew he should say something before you leave him waiting on your doorstep, so he pipes up, reaching to steady your shaking hands. "This doesn't change anything. You know that, right?"

You gawked at him and looked down at his hands enveloping yours. He started to bring you closer to him again, and you started feeling braver. He moves your hands to rest on his neck as his hands go just above your hips. Your lips are almost touching now, but before he inches closer, he breathes, "Is this okay?"

You feel his warm breath against your lips. Your voice is weak as you answer his question. "Good," he responds, but you reach on your toes and give him a chaste kiss before he can kiss your lips. It leaves him wanting more, but he knows he will have to take his time with you, for both of your sakes. As you reach back, you mumble a quick "Like that?" leaving Bruce speechless. 

Maybe it was good that you waited to date. You might have never met Bruce or had such a flawless first kiss, where you felt nothing but fearless. 

[ellana-ravenwood]

The art of taking care of the woman you love - Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader

Synopsis : You’ve always had really bad period pains. You learned to live with it, and to take care of yourself during those times...Up until a certain Bruce Wayne came into your life, and made it his mission to be there for you. 

For @meghan-maria​, who gotta be the sweetest out there :), and for anyone who ever had really bad period pains. I hope you will like it : 

TW : periods. It’s obvious given the theme, but I guess we never know and better safe than sorry. 

My master list : @ella-ravenwood-archives​

_________________________________________________

The First time it happened

It’s the fact you cancelled your planned date with him without an explanation that makes him worry. 

“Sorry, can’t make it tonight. Will see you tomorrow !” 

You never did that before, and you two were so busy neither of you would miss a date really. Not unless something bad or important happened. But then in that case, you would’ve told him, no ?

It made him so anxious. And he was starting to clearly overthink things. 

Were you maybe...having second thoughts ? 

You and Bruce made your relationship official not long ago, was the media’s pressure becoming too much ? You told him you’d be fine, but after a few months experiencing the plague that were paparazzi and invasive questions, did you change your mind ? 

Or maybe it was because of the whole Batman thing ? You discovered that a while ago, even before making your relationship official so...why would you change your mind about it now ? 

Maybe he came home with too many cuts and bruises. Maybe you were freaking out ? He would understand if you did. 

Or...There was a last option that came to his mind : he upset you somehow. 

It was entirely possible, sometimes he could get stuck in his own mind, and be a jerk without even truly realizing it. He knew that fact very well about himself. It was often the reason of how he ruined multiple relationships, friends or more. 

The way he sometimes just got too focused on his vigilante work. Too obsessed. And could be stuck in a “dark mode” like you’d say...

But, he also knew that you never took any of his shit. You would’ve told him if something was really the matter, right ? 

Right ?!

Should he ask Alfred if he noticed anything ? His butler, and surrogate father, always saw things that escaped him. Especially when it came to feelings. 

This was a less known trait about Bruce, but ever since he was a child, he’s always been anxious. He was usually really good at hiding it, and his “Brucie Wayne” persona made everyone think it wasn’t possible for him to be anything else but confident and cocky but...it wasn’t true. 

Especially when it came to those he cared about. Especially when it came to you. 

You loved him despite his flaws, accepted him fully, without any conditions. It was the first time it ever happened, that he LET it happen...So, with this simple plan cancellation that was quite unlike you, he freaked out a bit.

In the middle of the day, he finally decided to call you. One. Two. Three tones before you picked up, and oh. Oh he felt so relieved to hear your little “hello ?” 

At the same time, his worry peaked. Was it just him, or did you sound really weak ?

“Hey honey, just wanted to check if you were alright ? Your text was a little short, and I know you don’t owe me any explanations of course, but I just wanted to check on you. You know. I-um...” 

Clumsy Brooshy. 

It made you smile, the way he could be a little flustered and lose his words, when with you. And it made you smile even wider that he chose to call you to make sure everything was ok. 

Sweet Broosh.

If you really didn’t want to talk to him, you wouldn’t have answered. And he wasn’t the kind of man to “insist”. He would’ve left a voice message, and leave you alone until you felt like calling him back. Bruce was most definitely not invasive...but at the same time, you’d never leave him worrying for no reasons, knowing how anxious he could be.

The truth was, your text was short because...You didn’t know how to tell him the reasons you needed to cancel your date. You didn’t want to embarrass him. Men didn’t really like to talk about what you currently were suffering from. 

You also were a little embarrassed yourself, because the entire society surrounding you made you feel wrong for having periods. 

Periods. 

One week a month. Every single months. That was a lot. 

Especially for you because...you always had complicated and difficult periods. Painful. Making you feel like you couldn’t move. The pain making it impossible for you to even get out of bed for long. 

You and Bruce had been dating for a while but...weren’t periods sort of a taboo subject ? You didn’t really know how to tell him. Especially since most men really seemed uncomfortable with the all thing. 

Of course, you should’ve know Bruce wasn’t “most men”. 

“Baby, are you there ?” 

“Um yes yes, sorry I was lost in thoughts.” 

“Are you ok ? You don’t sound right.” 

The most observant man in the World was obviously going to realize your voice sounded weaker than usually. The truth was, you were trying really hard to keep it steady as pain filled your being. 

“Yes yes, I’m ok, just feeling a bit...under the weather ?” 

“Is there anything I can do ? Is it a cold or something ? If so, I can bring you buy some chicken noodle soup, and pick up any meds you might need.” 

You almost cried at his words. 

Super busy bee Bruce Wayne was telling you he’d go out of his way to bring you what you needed...It made you crack a little. 

He was too damn nice. And your hormones were in shambles. It was very easy right now for you to cry. 

This. How willing he was to help you, how he immediately asked if he could...Was what made you say the truth without thinking twice : 

“I’m-I’m on my periods. They’re usually- They’re usually bad.” 

“Oh.” 

His response scared you a little bit. Were you right, was this maybe too much, too soon ? You were about to add something when he said : 

“I’ll be there in about an hour, if it’s ok with you ? If you prefer to be alone I can send-” 

“No ! No, I would love for you to come. I just-I wasn’t sure-I-”

“It’s ok. I understand. See you in a bit, love you.” 

“Love you, too.” 

On that note, Bruce hung up and leaves you with a wild beating heart. 

************

Exactly an hour later, your doorbell rings. 

With difficulties, you stand up, and go open the door. Surely enough, it’s your boyfriend. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.” 

He has a bag in his hand, and you melt a little at the soft look and smile he gives you (even if there’s clear concerns behind it). You let him in, and go sit on the couch, even if just sitting up is already too much. 

“Do you want to lie down ?” 

“No. No I’m fine. You came all the way here, I can’t just stay in bed haha.” 

“Of course you can.” 

There’s a small silence for a little bit. Not awkward, you’re just not quite sure what to do. Should you go back to bed ? You really want to. And clearly, he understands. He always does. 

“Ok.” 

You stand, and wince because moving really makes everything worst. He approaches you, worried, but doesn’t dare to touch you and just follows you into your room. You get back in your comfy bed, under your comfy comforter. 

Another silence. Until he breaks it, taking something out of the bag he was carrying and saying : 

“So. I wasn’t sure you had a hot water bottle, I don’t ever recall seeing one in your apartment. So I bought one on the way just in case. Sorry if you don’t like the color, I can pick another one up later. It’s just, the woman on YouTube said that heat pads and hot water bottles were great.”

“The...woman on YouTube ?” 

“Yes, I watched a video on menstruations on the way here.” 

For a few seconds, you just stare at him, stunned. Never EVER in your entire life did you think you would hear THE Bruce Wayne say those words one day.

“A video on menstruations ?”

“Well, yes. Obviously, I don’t have periods. So I have no idea what it feels like. So I watched a video, to understand the process. And also so that you wouldn’t have to explain anything to me. You know what periods are, you don’t have to educate me on it. It’s not your job. And I definitely don’t want to sound patronizing about it. So I watched a video, and read a few articles. I won’t say I know how it feels, but I understand it more. Tell me if I ever step my bounds at any moment..” 

You can’t help but smile, even as your lower belly is on fire. Ah. Of course he would search things about it. Bruce was the kind of man to be thorough in his researches before tackling a problem. As Batman, he always tried to know everything there is to know about a situation before finding any solutions. But he was like that in real life too. 

And it particularly touched you that he did it so you wouldn’t have to explain...You had an ex, once, who sat down with you to talk about menstruations and it sort of drove you crazy. He thought it was nice, but your hormones were wreaking HAVOC and he was trying to explain to you how periods work and what it felt like ??? Give you advice about it and that it would be fine if you did what he said ?? Excuse me ??? As if you didn’t try everything already to feel less pain. And as if, as a woman, you didn’t know what it felt like or what it was exactly...

And there came Bruce. Reading up on it. And knowing he would never quite know how it feels. But educating himself so he won’t say something that could trigger you in any way. 

Sweet sweet man...If only people knew. 

He caressed your cheek softly, before whispering : 

“Then I-I watched something on endometriosis, because I read in a previous article it felt horrible. And you said your periods were bad, when we were on the phone. It sounds awful. Do you-...Have endometriosis ?” 

You shake your head weakly. Endometriosis was one of the reason why your periods were so painful and dreaded. And the worst ? It was a sickness many people said didn’t even exist. 

A woman being in pain during her periods ? Drama queen. Right ? It didn’t hurt that baaaaad. See, some women didn’t feel anything, just bled for a bit and moved on with their months. So obviously every women felt the same. Some were just being too sensitive...

Endometriosis was still, even to this day, a rather unknown illness and one that was rarely taken seriously. Some people just couldn’t even fathom you being in pain because of your periods, so much so that you couldn’t move. 

That you occasionally fainted, that you couldn’t eat much because it made you vomit, that you had awful migraines, stomach ache and back pain. That you couldn’t focus or sleep because of it. No. 

No those were just “made up symptoms” because you were “weak”...What awful things to say, right ? It was even worst to hear. Someone telling you this, as you felt like you were dying because of the pain, made you feel GUILTY to have painful periods. 

But it wasn’t your fault ? IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT ?! Nor were the moodswings, the cravings, the fatigue...

You hated going to the doctors when you were younger, because you knew he wouldn’t believe you when you said your periods hurt...

Anyway. Even without endometriosis, women who had bad periods pain were rarely taken seriously. Unless they met another woman who felt the same. Then they’d feel like they weren’t alone, or crazy. Like there were others who felt bad too. 

Every woman was different. And you unfortunately never met someone else with the same problems than you...

You felt very alone, for so long, and it was enhanced by your hormones going crazy and the pain being unbearable at times. 

And then, in come Bruce. 

Your Broosh. 

“Ok. Well. I brought you some of your favorite food. And um, I picked up some snacks if you want to do a movie marathon ? I brought all The Lord of the Rings extended editions. I got heat pads and a hot water bottle like I said. We can also just cuddle and relax if you prefer, I read that physical comfort was good ? Or, I can leave everything here, settle you in properly, and leave you alone. Just, tell me what you need my love ?” 

What did...you need ? 

Nobody ever asked you that. Nobody. Not even your parents. 

What did you need ? 

The answer came quickly. 

Him. You need him. His warmth. His large and soothing hands. His comforting presence. His calming voice. 

You knew you were in love with him since a while now. You exchanged “I love yous” already. But never did you feel as much love for him as right now, seeing him sitting in front of you, asking you what you needed...

A simple action. Simple words. And yet, it meant everything. 

“What do you need, honey ?” 

The concern in his eyes, and how he was very obviously ready to do whatever you wanted him to. 

It already made you feel better. The physical pain didn’t go down, that’s not how it worked unfortunately. But the emotional anguish ? Gone. 

Because he was there. 

Without even realizing it, you started crying. This was too much for your heart, too overwhelming. It meant the World, in that moment. 

It meant the world, to you and your overworked hormones. And so you cried. You cried hard. 

Without thinking twice, Bruce moved towards you. Taking his coat off and leaving it on the floor (Alfred would scold him about this for sure), he climbs in your bed and engulfs you in his arms. And it’s so warm and comforting, comfortable, too. 

“Just tell me what you need..”

He whispered to you, in his deep calming voice, his fingers running soothingly through your hair. 

“Could you just...keep holding me ?” 

He smiles softly, and says : 

“Of course.” 

He never, and never would, shy away from comforting you in any way. If you needed to have a good cry in his arms, so be it. And if you just needed him to be there, he would be there. 

You cuddled for a bit, the soothing circles he rubbed on your back doing wonders to make you feel relax. He brought some essential oils, that he massaged on your belly before filling the hot water bottle and laying it there...It relieved the pain a little bit, as you started a marathon of your favorite movies.

He took great care of you all day long, answering your every need even as you didn’t dare to ask...as if he could read your mind. You almost suspected he really could. You never felt so in phase with anyone before like you did with him.  

You had been together for less than a year. Although your anniversary was right around the corner. But him coming over as soon as he knew you weren’t feeling well. Him educating himself on what was it that hurt you...

If you weren’t sure yet that he was the one...You knew now. 

It sucks to be a woman, sometimes 

Bruce never knew periods could be that bad. Well, of course, he was a guy. And “periods” was never really a subject he talked about with anyone. He never really paid attention to it, like many men really. 

Until he saw you while on it. 

He knew you. He knew you were a tough lady. Once, you broke your leg while on a date with him. A silly accident really. Involving an ice rink, and an overzealous you chasing a hockey puck...Long story short, you ended up with a bad break. And you barely said a word about it. 

Bruce had his bones broken many times, he knew the pain of it. It was one of the pain he hated the most, along with burns. One he dreaded the most. And you took it like a champ. 

The break was bad enough you even needed surgery, yet you kept smiling at him (he might’ve feel bad that he let his over-competitive mind take over, “pushing” you to really want that puck...but of course, it was not his fault, after all, you too were very competitive, it was a pure accident). Saying you were fine, and that it’d be ok. 

He always hated seeing you hurt, it hurt him too. Inside. And scared the Hell out of him, to even think about you being harmed. So that day, he was rather frantic. You staying calm helped him, which made him feel a little guilty that even as you were the hurt one, you reassured him. 

But then you reminded him the roles were often reversed when he came back hurt from a rough vigilante night...You always had the right words to ease his mind. 

Anyway. That one time, after badly breaking your leg, you stayed rather calm and collected. But when you had your periods ? 

He never knew it could hurt so much. You couldn’t hide your pain, or pretend everything was alright. 

It was clearly a really bad moment to go through. 

He knew about the terrible migraines, being unable to sleep which made everything worst, feeling like your lower belly was being twisted from the inside, being sore all over for no reasons, not being able to move... 

Seeing you, was enough for him to know that periods sucked. 

“Being a woman is the worst, sometimes!” 

You’d often say during those moments, and he’d just soothe you, wishing he was in your place...

He hated when you were hurting. It hurt him too. Inside. 

And never. NEVER would he doubt that you were in real pain. Because unlike the doctors who kept telling you it was in your head, he knew you. He saw you get injured before. He knew you were tough. So for you to not be able to pretend everything was fine... 

You were hurting. Badly. And it was awful. But he believed you. He believed you and that’s all that mattered to you. 

Space

He also knew how to give you space when you needed it, though. 

He would be here if you needed him, bring you any food you craved, giving you relaxing massages, rubbing essential oils on your belly, filling up your hot water bottle etc etc. 

To be honest, his reaction to you being on your period is what made you sure he would be a great father one day...And you were right. 

Not a perfect father. 

But oh. Oh he cared. And wanted so much to do good...

And he knew. 

He knew exactly when he had to be there, and when he had to give you space. 

His hoodie

Bruce couldn’t always be with you when you had your periods, of course. 

He often took time off to be. But it was unrealistic to think he could be 24/7 with you the entire week. 

And sometimes, when he was away, you really suddenly craved his presence...So you came up with a trick. 

You stole his clothes. 

Particularly, hoodies he often wore when hanging out casually in the Manor. 

First of, they were very comfortable. And second, and most importantly : they smelled like him. 

They were warm, had his scent, and you could fall asleep feeling like he was almost there. 

Bruce couldn’t count the number of hoodies he lost to you....Then again, after a while, you’d ruthlessly abandon one because it stopped smelling like him, and would steal another one. 

Of course, he never minded. In fact, beyond the fact hoodies were nice and comfortable, he started to wear them a lot while in the house or during times he didn’t need to wear a suit (in every sense of the term), specifically because he knew you’d steal them when you felt lonely. 

It was cute. And it made his heart beat faster just thinking about it. 

Nobody. 

Nobody ever needed him that much before. Nobody ever loved him so much that sometimes him not being around was distressing. 

Of course, he felt the same. And the knowledge that you too, would sometimes feel lovesick when you were separated for too long...Filled his heart to the brim with the best feelings. 

For so long, he thought someone being dependable of him, and him being dependable of someone was bad...Oh, how he was wrong. 

It’s not because you open your heart to someone that you’ll get hurt, or that they’ll use it against you. You just have to find the right person... 

So. Yes. He will always cancel plans just to be with you. 

To bring you hot water bottles whenever you need. To cook your favorite food and snacks. To be there during all your mood swings, and endure even if you’re not the nicest to him (it’s not your fault). To watch your favorite movies. To let you sleep in and run your errands...

Periods sucked. 

He didn’t need to be a woman to know that. 

So he was there. Right there. For you. Taking care of you. And he would forever be there for that. 

But when he wasn’t ? 

Then he’d strategically leave one of his hoodie near the bed, so you could steal it, and comfort yourself with his smell...

Mood Swings 

“Brooooooooooosssssh...” 

You’re crying. You’re crying ! 

And it makes Bruce panic. You cry very rarely, so when you do it means something really bad must’ve happened or..or...

Bruce makes a quick calculation in his head and...Yup. 

It’s that time of the month again. 

Already ? Poor you.. 

This means that tomorrow, you’ll be a mess as everything will hurt too much, and today, the eve right before, you’re overly emotional. 

Hence you clinging to him right now, sobbing while repeating “I love you so much Bruce, I love you soooo much”. 

Hormones could really turn your head around. Right at the start of your period, before the pain, you had a rush of many emotions. 

You could either get very irritated for no reason (like “WHY IS THIS FLOOR ON THE FLOOR ?!”) or cry at everything. Right now, you were crying because you realized you loved your Broosh to death and you just had to tell him and you didn’t want him to go that night and...ah...

“It’s alright, it’s alright my love. You’re ok. We’re ok.” 

He lets you cry in his arms, of course. And already made the decision to not go out tonight, and stay with you. Kate could take over. He couldn’t leave knowing your emotions were doing quite a trick on you...

************

Your mood swings during your periods were particularly bad. 

You guessed it went in pairs with all the pain. Of course, not just one thing had to be exacerbated. Oh no. EVERYTHING bad about periods had to be turned to the max for you. Otherwise, were was the fun, right ? Sarcasm. 

You’d get irritated for no reasons. Then feel bad and cry for hours. To then feel ridiculously giddy once again for seemingly no reason...and then suddenly a burst of anxiety would attack you. 

It was a circus in your mind, and in your body. 

You couldn’t focus on anything. You couldn’t sleep properly. You felt awful all the time. Everything hurt. God...

And there he was. Bruce. Taking the brunt of your bad moods without saying a word. He knew it wasn’t your fault. That you didn’t mean it. That your hormones dictated your behavior against your own will. 

He knew. 

And he was there. 

He was there. 

“Every little moment is important, Son” - Thomas Wayne, to Bruce during the Flashpoint events.

“Bruce ? What are you doing here ? Thought you had important meetings ?”

“They weren’t that important.” 

“Really ? Lucious said-”

“Lucious is overdramatic. Anyway, Tim is taking care of it.” 

“...You’re letting our sixteen years old son taking care of the future of your company ?” 

“To be honest, he’s probably more competent about it than me.” 

“...That’s actually pretty accurate. But, why did you cancel things ?” 

“Because it’s this unpleasant time of the month, right ?”

“Oh. You don’t have to-” 

“I absolutely do.” 

Disappearing for a few seconds, your husbands comes back, wearing one of his favorite silk pajamas (and by “his” favorite, he really means : he knows you love them and think they look good on him, but won’t ever admit it because they’re “damn pajamas, it’s silly”...but he likes to please you). He then climbs in bed with you, and settles comfortable against you. 

“So, what’s the program today ?” 

This wasn’t unusual, for him to do this when you were on your periods. 

In fact, it was almost a ritual. Delegating his works to others, so he could take care of you. 

Ever since that first time, all those years ago, things didn’t change much. He would ask you what you need, you’d tell him, and he would do it happily. 

He knew it was a tough moment for you, physically, hormonally, mentally...Having your periods sucked. So he was there. Right there. 

The words his father...Well, not really his father. The “Thomas Wayne” of another dimension. What his father would’ve become if he died that fateful night, instead of his parents. Regardless, to him, it was his father. 

The father that never saw him grow up and became the man he was now...Yet who had important words for him. 

“Take advantage of every little moments, you never know when it’ll end.” 

Those words stuck with him. Because it was true. It only took a few seconds in an alleyway for his whole world to turn upside down...Why would it take any less for it to completely change now too ? 

What if something happened to you ? And he didn’t spend enough time by your side ? Or to his kids ? 

There was a time, being Batman was everything to Bruce. Because he was angry, lost, and devastated. 

But over the years...Over the years this role stayed important. But he expended his vision. He included others in it. 

So. Yes. He would treasure those small moments with you. And if it meant taking a day and night off to take care of you during a rough time, then he’d do it. If it meant missing work (both his works) because one of his children was sick, so be it. 

He was Batman. But he was also a husband. A father. 

And now...Now he knew his priorities. 

He’d never stop being Batman. Never. 

But he knew now. He knew there was more to life than this dark world he thought he’d get stuck in till the end of his life. 

“I was about to watch a movie.” 

“A movie it is. If you want me here, of course.” 

“Do you even have to ask ?” 

“To make sure you’re ok ? Always.” 

“-sigh- Yes. Yes Bruce, I want you here. I want nothing else, in fact.” 

“Ah, not even pop-corn ?”

“...Once we’ll have pop-corn, I’ll want nothing else.” 

“Um, why is there tampons in your drawer ??” 

One day, one of Bruce’s associate, Carlton, needed some paperworks to finish a deal, and came into his office. Bruce was on the phone, and gestured to him to just pick the papers up in one of his desk’s drawer. 

Only the man misunderstood and opened the wrong drawer and...

“What the-Why is there tampons and pads in your drawers ?”

He asked, half-bewildered half-amused. Bruce finished his phone call, and answered : 

“Why wouldn’t there be ?” 

“Um, are you a woman ?” 

“No, but my wife, who often come to this office, is.” 

“Jeez Louise Bruce, never pegged you to be such a simp haha ! Oh man, they’re even “organic”, how far can you go for one woman right ? Haha joking of course, or maybe..haha !” 

There was something in the tone Carlton took that brushed Bruce the wrong way. Something disrespectful and irritating. Not disrespectful to him, as if he cared to be called a “simp” (by a grown ass man by the way, which made it even more ridiculous). No. He didn’t care. But..This was his wife, they were talking about, in the end. 

“A...”simp” ? Because I have items who can be useful to my wife in my desk drawer ? A place in which she often comes, as I already said ?” 

His voice was cold, and Carlton definitely noticed. He always thought Bruce was an affable man, but sometimes...Sometimes he had something almost scary in his eyes. 

Ah, but Carlton wasn’t the kind of man to really take this things seriously. And he added : 

“Come on Bruce, don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous ?”

“No.” 

“I just think it’s funny you have a drawer full of those things.” 

“As I said, my wife comes by often, and might need it sometimes. I keep them here for her. It often came in handy you know.” 

“Don’t say that, that’s so gross.” 

“Why ?” 

“Just thinking about it.” 

“Just thinking about something my wife, but also yours by the way, have no control over ?” 

“My wife doesn’t- We just don’t talk about it.” 

“Well I guess yes. Or you wouldn’t react that way. Do you not take care of her when she has her periods ?” 

At the word “periods”, the man opened his eyes wide, which made your husband roll his. It truly TRULY baffled him that this dude was being grossed by OBJECTS and most likely didn’t take care of his wife ? How could you love someone and not want to comfort them ?! 

“Well, I don’t think she- I- She doesn’t - I ...It’s embarrassing, no ?”

“No.” 

“Well, maybe it’s not with your wife but with mine it has been. She asked me a few times to buy pads for her.” 

“Why would it be embarrassing ? I can assure you, nobody is going to think it’s for you.” 

Carlton’s face was steadily going red. He said : 

“It’s just something we don’t talk about.”

“Why not ?” 

“It’s just...gross and...” 

“Why is it gross though ? Why do you think that way ?” 

“I mean, you know what periods are right ?” 

“Of course I do. It’s something happening to a very large chunk of our population, and that is a natural phase in their life. Do you think your wife wants to have periods ? Most likely not. Mine definitely doesn’t. But she does. So I do keep pads and tampons here in case of an emergency, in case she has nothing else on her.” 

“Nothing else ?” 

“Do you think only pads and tampons exist for women’s periods ?” 

“I-”

“It’s not hard to read up on it a bit. Especially when someone as close as your own wife is a “victim” of it."

Awkard silence. Clearly, the man was uncomfortable. Bruce sighed, and said : 

“Just go take care of those papers.” 

Evidently relieved, his associate almost ran out of the room. 

Bruce kept thinking about how funny Carlton thought it was to have pads in his drawers. How he was about to mock him further before he got called out. “Simp”. If taking care of the woman he loved meant being a simp, then whatever. 

Bruce couldn’t stop thinking about his associate’s words. And it gave him an idea...

The next day, every newspapers and local news channel talked about how the (Y/N) Wayne Foundation gave millions of dollars to every school and public places in the country to provide free tampons and pads to women. And how Bruce Wayne became a huge advocate of the “period positivity” movement his wife started. 

“Periods shouldn’t be taboo.”, he said in his speech for the grand-opening of thousands and thousands of free pads distributors. 

When the kids are around. 

Dick 

Dick was little when he first witnessed what your periods did to you, and he downright panicked when you fainted in front of him while you two were shopping for Bruce’s birthday present ! 

That morning when you woke up, you knew you were going to have your periods. You always felt it in your bones, a little bit before it truly started...But you also promised little Dickie you’d help him chose a gift for your husband. 

You hated breaking your promises. Especially the one you made to your kid. He was just nine, and already experienced so many heartache...You couldn’t just break a promise you made to him, no matter what. 

So you went anyway, knowing there was a high chance you’d feel ill during the day. You were hoping, in fact, your periods wouldn’t truly start up until the evening, and so you could spend the day with your son. 

Alas...

“Mom ? Mom !? Someone help !!” 

Your fainting during your period never lasted long. Just a sudden drop of energy, feeling dizzy, and falling...you woke up fast. Opening your eyes to see your baby boy with tears in his eyes. You knew what happened, and reassured him immediately. 

You refused to call an ambulance, and instead called Alfred to ask if he could come pick you two up (you would NOT risk driving while in this state). 

And there you were, sitting on a bench with your son while waiting for Alfred who would be there as soon as it takes to get from Wayne Manor to Gotham’s City Center. 

“Are you sure you’re ok ?” 

“Yes, don’t worry, this is normal.”

“Fainting is not normal !” 

Dick looked so distressed...Should you tell him what was going on ? But he was such a young child. 

Ah. But you were amongst the people who thought that kids weren’t as stupid as many people thought. And that they could handle the truth, especially this kind of things. 

Understand what was happening to you would surely easy his mind. And make him understand, and act accordingly in the future. Wether with you, or a possible girlfriend ? 

So you do just that. 

You explain to him what is going on. You don’t give too many scientific details, but you explain as best you can so he understands. 

“And every women has it ?” 

“Every women have periods yes. But not everyone’s hurt.” 

“Why do yours hurt ?” 

“We don’t really know. I guess I wasn’t lucky ?”

“Scientists don’t know ?” 

“Well, research on it are rather recents to be honest.” 

“Why ? Women had it long ago too no ?” 

“Yes, but it was a little taboo.” 

“Why ?”

“Patriarchy.” 

“Oh, damn patriarchy.” 

You laugh. You knows he didn’t understand your answer, said as a joke to yourself. But it’s absolutely adorable how he immediately sides with you anyway. 

“When I grow up, I’ll be a scientist. So I can help.” 

“Ah, I thought you wanted to be an adventurer like Indiana Jones ? Or “whatever dad is doing I want to do it too” ?” 

“Well. I can do more than once things at the same time, right ?” 

“Sure you can. You can do anything.” 

He smiles at you, and get closer for a little cuddle. And that’s how Alfred finds you two, your son hugging you, and you hugging him back, on a bench in the streets... 

************

After the initial panic, Dick made it his mission to take care of you. He got really scared when he saw you faint, and would actually be a little...overbearing. 

When he knew you were on your periods, he’d literally forbid you to walk around, and would make sure you had everything you needed. 

His attentions, plus Bruce’s, made you feel like periods weren’t so bad in the end ? 

Even as a grown up, Dick would often come by the manor with your favorite cake, for example, when he knew you didn’t feel well. And he would still get strict with you if he saw you roaming around and getting too busy while he knew you were in pain. 

He’d do whatever you had to, for you. Wether it was cleaning things up, picking groceries...Running any errands for you, so you could rest. 

You were definitely grateful. Even if sometimes, you wish you could just tell him to ease up a bit...Ah. But how could you really ? 

The trauma Dick felt when loosing his parents made him overprotective and rather intransigeant. This was just how he was. And you always loved all your children unconditionally. You could take him being a bit too overprotective sometimes, because oh, oh he brought so much in your life...  

Jason 

You having really bad periods is the reason why when Jason, as a child or an adult, heard anyone say to a girl : “Jeez, why you so moody are you on your periods ?!”, would get mad. 

It was cute to see his little ten years old self lecture grown adults about it : “Periods are really tough on a girl ! It’s not their fault is they don’t feel well or have mood swings, be more empathetic !”. 

And it was still cute to see him as an adult glare at those who’d say this and give them a sermon about why it was wrong, and they better not say it again “or else” (and when a man like your son said the words “or else”, literally no one wanted to find out what he meant by it). 

Once, someone told him, sarcastically : 

“Wow, you drunk a lot of “respect women juice” huh ?” 

“What is that even suppose to mean ? I’m being a decent human being. You should try it sometimes. If respecting women is so foreign to you, that hearing me say what I said is funny and ridiculous, reassess your life mate.”

It’s really not like anyone really wanted to argue with your son. Besides the fact he was very tall, and as a vigilante definitely worked out a lot...he had a “dangerous” air about him. It was his eyes maybe, daring anyone to argue and making them understand he wouldn’t back down without a fight ? 

Ah. But if only people tried to look beyond that. If they only tried to know your son. 

They’d realize he’s the sweetest little buddy around.  

It surprised people that you still called him “little buddy” even as he was fast approaching his mid-twenties. But for you... 

For you he was still that little, sweet Jay he was before he died. The one that you could still see sometimes, behind all his anger, trauma and hurt. 

Ever since he was a child, Jason always felt everything more than anyone around him. He was an “hypersensitive” child. When he was angry, he was enraged. When he was happy, he was the happiest boy on Earth. When he was sad, it was hard to console him. 

When he grew up, and all those bad things happened to him...This trait of his got even more enhanced. It was sometimes hard to reach him under all those negative emotions...Yet. Yet you managed to do it. 

Bruce too...But that was another story. 

For now, you just always felt extremely proud that your son was actually not as harsh as some people thought (the same mistakes they all kept making about your husband...you hated this kind of assumptions). 

He always stood up for the underdogs. And was always respectful, and would voice his opinions. 

Like how he hated when people told women : “ugh are you on your periods ?!” if they were being just a tiny bit difficult (sometimes, not even). 

As a kid, Jason would worry a lot about you when you were on your periods. He hounded Bruce to know if you were ok, which your husband didn’t mind, of course. But he never quite dared to “bother you”. 

Of course, he would never bother you. But Jason was a complicated kid who always worried too much. He didn’t want to get in your way, or annoy you. 

So he had little quiet actions for you. 

Like getting your slippers warm when you’d wake up, by placing them near the radiators all night and putting them right beside your bed before you’d wake up. Or bringing you hot beverages. Baking your favorite treats, and leaving them in strategic places so you’d see it. Or scolding his dad when he thought he wasn’t taking care of you enough haha. 

Jason was a good kid. Nobody would ever change your mind on that. He was a good kid, to whom bad things happened. Yet he never strayed from his principles...No matter how people could see his recent actions. 

Jason was a good kid. 

He was your kid. 

As a child, he hated this week during which you had your periods. He dreaded them as much as you did. Just like Bruce, he had a hard time standing you being hurt...

As an adult. It was the same. And he still had little silent actions to make you feel better. To make your day easier. 

That was Jason for you. 

Such, such a good kid... 

Tim 

Tim, very much like his father, was a boy who needed to always have a plan, and to know everything before finding solutions. 

When you were on your periods, he’d always know. Because he kept a calendar about it. 

Some people might find it weird, but...Why ? He kept count of the days to know when you’d have your periods, so he could act accordingly. So he wouldn’t be caught off guard by one of your mood swings. And so he could take care of you ?? 

It was an act of care, to keep track of your periods. Sometimes, he even knew before you when you were going to have it. 

People who thought it was weird to kept such a calendar, were the same people who thought periods were gross and a taboo subject. 

Sure, it was definitely not very glamorous. But it was part of half of the World’s population life ?? Why keep it taboo and refusing to talk about it ? 

Tim immediately, just like his dad, did a lot of research on women’s menstruations...Which got you to be called in his principal’s office once. 

The man was worried, and unhappy that your son was reading a magazine “for woman” about “menstruations”, he thought the topic was vulgar and inappropriate. 

Your son was 13. Which was also the age many of his girl friends were experiencing their first periods. And that principal was out there, scolding him because he talked about it, making an entire generation of little girls thinking they were wrong for having periods ? 

Needless to say, you got rather mad. And the principle never called you ever again (if he had to call, he was always making sure to get your husband on the line, and not you).

And so Tim kept learning everything possible about it, in the hope also to find the perfect remedies to ease your pain. He tried a lot, to help you out. Gave tricks to Bruce, too. 

And so, kept a calendar. 

This allowed him to know if something was wrong, as well. 

He was the first one to guess you were pregnant with Thomas, because of his calendar. And one time, you had hormonal problems and he’s the one that told you you should check an endocrinologist because you’d been too irregular with your periods time ! 

Yes. Just like his dad, Tim needed to know a situation fully before acting. And seeing him trying to know as much as he could in order to help you was...why, it was the most adorable thing in the world. 

Cass

Cass’ periods were not painful, and you were so glad for her. 

To her, it was a mild annoyance, there was no pain, it was just irritating. And yes, she had mood swings and could easily get mad, but it was nothing major. 

She never even knew other women could have it so bad...The education about periods was really lacking ! They never talked about it anywhere ! 

Cass was a woman of few words...but she knew how to pass her emotions through her body language. Oh, how she knew. 

“Momma.” 

Just like your other kids, she’d come check on you when Bruce couldn’t take care of you. You wanted space sometimes, which they all understood. But honestly, during your periods, when you were so sensitive about everything ? You also wanted them around almost all the time. 

A paradox. Very fitting of those damn periods time. 

Cass would just sit with you, and make sure you were comfortable. She wouldn’t say a word. Lay her head on your shoulder, and hold your hand. Watch movies with you. Hold you close. 

She was delicate with you, as if afraid to break you. 

Just like your husband, her presence had a soothing effect ? As if nothing bad could ever happen to you as long as she was there (and that probably was right, Cassandra would never let anyone touch her “momma”).

She didn’t need to talk. She didn’t need to do anything more than stay with you when you didn’t want to be alone. 

She never experienced the pain you had, but if even to her, who had painless periods, it was annoying and a damn plague ? Then to you... 

She didn’t need to do much. 

Just her being there already meant a lot. 

Her holding onto you, even as she stayed afraid of anyone’s touch for so long. 

“Momma.” 

Cassandra was your only daughter. And oh you were glad her periods weren’t as bad as yours. That’s all that really mattered to you. 

“Momma.” 

You often fell asleep with the warmth of your kiddo right there. Next to you. Knowing she wasn’t going to leave unless you wanted to. Knowing she wish she could take your pain on. 

Ah. But no. No even if it was possible you’d never allow that. You were the mom. YOU were supposed to take their pains on. 

And knowing that Cass never suffered on her periods as bad as you did, was enough. After all, your baby suffered enough in the past...She could get a little lucky, right ? 

“Momma.” 

That word was music to your hear. Cass’ first word to you. 

She didn’t need to talk anyway. Being here was enough...

It was more than enough. 

Damian 

Everyone who saw Damian around you would notice that he wasn’t quite the same boy than "normally”. 

He was calmer, nicer, and sweeter. 

You’d argue that it was his real self. That this was his “normal”. That he was just never allowed to show his true heart before, and wasn’t used to trust others and open up. And you were definitely more than happy that he finally managed to do that after arriving into your home. 

That none of you ever gave up on him. 

You especially had a calming effect on him. After all, he never had a “conventional” mom, who could take care of him when he was sick, kiss him good night and make sure he always had everything he needed. 

Some would say you coddled him too much...And you didn’t care. Because that boy lived 10 years being the opposite of coddled. So what, if you’d cut the crust off of his sandwiches, or read him bed time stories every single night ? 

Damian loved it. As he often said, being a momma’s boy was “hardly something he was ashamed of”. He never felt loved and safe before, you bet he’d take every chance he got to be cared for. 

He never got to act like an actual kid. You allowed him to do just that, AND you made him feel like he belonged. Finally. Like he had an actual family. 

So...The day he heard about your absolutely awful periods, what did he do ? 

Every single day of your life with him, you had at least one nice intention to him. Wether it was baking his favorite cookies, or telling him how proud you were of him, you always had nothing but kindness for him, often going out of your way for your son. 

It was normal for you. Of course. And you did it with all your children...but you had to admit maybe Damian had just a little more of it, because he really never had anything like that to him. 

And to him, it only felt normal then, when you felt at your worst, that he’d be there for you exactly like you were there for him. 

During any mood swings, he’d have comforting words for you. He had little attentions for you that just made life easier. 

Again, it would greatly surprise anyone but his family, but when you had your periods, he did a lot of overly sappy little things. 

Like for example : every month, he wrote seven things he found extraordinary about you and would put them in a jar. Seven. The number of day in a week. And usually the number of day, give or take, your periods would last. 

The jar would be sitting right on your bedside table on the first day, with the indications you had to read one paper every morning, or every time you felt down (it was supposed to be one paper a day). Sometimes, you’d go through his seven messages in less than a day...and magically, the next day, the jar would be filled again. 

Damian made sure of it. 

This was just a small example. But it showed exactly what kind of boy your son really was. 

If he was heartless, a killer, someone destined to destroy the World...would he really put that much effort into making you feel love ? Into making you feel better any way he could ? 

You didn’t think so. The only way your son could ever “turn bad”, was if you (and Bruce) stopped caring for him. Left him alone (A/N : this is a CLEAR jab at current comics canon, if you know what I mean :I ). Only if he felt abandoned, unloved, and rejected. 

You knew your boy had, just like you, “rejection dysphoria”. It was hard for him to accept any kind of rejection, and it made him act out and hurt. But that was another story... 

Right now, all that mattered to you, is that you knew your son was always going to be there for you, just like you’d always be there for him. 

That he finally learned how to love, and care. That he would never unlearn it, as long as you lived. 

Your periods sucked. 

So bad. 

But Damian was a ray of light in the darkness of those seven dreaded days...

Duke 

Duke’s mom also had endometriosis. 

Over the years, he perfected a “special remedy” he always made her when she had her periods. 

He hesitated to make it for you. After all, it was something that made him bond greatly with his own mom...was making it for you, now, acceptable ? Did it mean he forgot about his mother ? 

No. No of course not. 

Duke scolded himself for even thinking that. You too, became his mom. He learned over the years that it was ok, to have two mom. That when they’ll find a cure for his parents, it wouldn’t take away the years you filled in for the mother role, and took care of Duke as if he was your own. 

So here we go. 

Some ginger. Some lemon. A dash of his little secret ingredients. Your favorite blend of tea. And it was done. 

He brought it to you, saying it always soothed his mom...

And just that. 

Just those words. It meant so much. 

“It always used to soothe my mom. Used to do it all the time, ever since I was five !” 

He said with a smile. 

It was something he used to do for his mom, and now he did it for you. Just this. Just that fact, it was enough to make you feel better. 

It didn’t take away the pain, but mentally ? It felt amazing. 

You drunk his concoction and...Oh god. 

Oh god it was disgusting. And...Ah. Yes. His mom probably pretended she liked it. “Ever since I was five !”. Ha. So cute. But also, it really was gross. 

At the same time, you felt a pleasant warmth spread through your body as the terrible aftertaste slowly faded. Duke smiled to you, and with a little mischief in his voice said : 

“It’s really gross, isn’t it ? But it does the trick haha” 

There was a few seconds of silence. During which you blinked at him, not quite registering what he just said. Until... 

You burst out laughing. The little mischievous smile, and the way he said “it’s really gross, isn’t it ?” was just too funny. 

Your communicative laugh spread to Duke, and as he laughs it makes you laugh even louder too and...You forget. 

For a moment you forget about your periods. The pain. The anguish. The emotional labor. This damn week of hell. 

You forget.

And you just laugh. 

You laugh alongside your son. 

Thomas (if you wonder who the H is Thomas, you can check my “Batmom” masterlists, he appears from the story “the great mall adventure” ^^)

Thomas must’ve been about four, when he first saw you having your periods. 

Your littlest baby was also one of the most sensitive out of them all (right along with Jason, the two of them cried their eyes out when they watched “Inside Out” and Bing Bong disappeared). Bruce always said he took that after you. And honestly, you couldn’t disagree. It’s true you could be very sensitive. 

So one morning, when he woke up and went to breakfast and heard you weren’t feeling right, he immediately went to you and...

Bruce found him an hour later, crying in his room. 

“Oh wow hey hey, what is it buddy ?” 

He asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice. Thomas might’ve been sensitive, but he rarely cried. He was just a very empathetic boy. But also a cheerful one, and he had a knack to see the good even in the worst situations. 

So seeing him sob like that, made Bruce’s heart drop. 

“Is mommy going to die ?!” 

It took Bruce a few seconds to get a hold of his racing heart. His son crying. And asking if you were going to die. It shortcircuited his brain for a few seconds. Until he realized what Thomas was talking about...

“Oh, oh no champ, no, mommy isn’t going to die.” 

Your kids were used to see you strong and fierce. Of course the first time your little one would see you on your period, he’d think something big was wrong.

He had just recently learned what death really mean (you can read about this here : The day he understand what Death means), and since then was so scared it’d happen to his parents. Or his siblings. Or anyone he knew, really... 

Picking up his son and slowly and softly tapping his back in soothing circles, he walked around the room and rocked him until the boy calmed down a bit, before trying to explain as best he could why mommy felt bad, without going in in too many details. 

Once Thomas understood this was just like when he got a fever that time, that it would pass, he felt much better. But also worst. Because his mommy wasn’t feeling well ! And it happened often ! 

Bruce reassured him that there were ways they could help you...And soooo : 

Thomas brought you hot water bottles, with the help of his dad (the bottles were almost as big as him), and ended up falling asleep  on one as it laid on your belly (he heard that humans’ body heat was very strong and wanted to “help the hot water bottle”). 

The water in the bottle became cold, and you removed it..Your son didn’t woke up, so you laid him back down on your belly. And he was warm and so tiny, and you loved him so much...It made you feel like the luckiest woman in the world, to be surrounded by people like this little one. 

And all your kids. Alfred. Your friends. Broosh...You fell asleep with sweet dreams made of warmth and cuddles. 

Not long after, Bruce came by to check on you, finding both you and Tommy deeply asleep and...An overwhelming feeling of happiness took him over. 

You weren’t the only one feeling lucky. Except for Bruce...For Bruce it was even stronger, because after his parents died, he never thought he would be happy ever again. 

This was why he’d always be there for you. You gave him another family... 

His schedule was freed, and he had a busy day. A nap sounded perfect. Especially while nestled against you, with his little one right there. 

Dick came by in the afternoon, and found all of you like this. Bruce holding both you and his son, Thomas taking way more space than such a small body would make you thing he’d take. 

Dick snapped a picture, and send it to the group chat he had with his siblings and some other close friends and such (like Clark, Wally, Conner, Diana etc etc they used the group chat to gossip about Bruce, mainly). With the caption : “Big bad bat tamed by a four year old”. 

Cass send multiple hearteyes emojis. Jason said it was adorable and send a crying emoji, and didn’t care one bit what anyone would think of him saying such things. Damian yelled at Dick that he should’ve put the comforter back up on his baby brother and mom because it wasn’t properly put on !! Duke send a : “I’m downloading that picture for the next time he gets mad at us and we need to soften him up”. Tim replied with a gif of Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist saying : “dis dad”. Clark said “they look so peaceful, you wouldn’t believe he threatened me just yesterday to punch me because I made a joke” to which Diana answered : “that joke was so bad I wanted to punch you to. Cute pic btw, give kisses to Tommy for me, you should come see me more, I just stocked my freezer with nothing but ice creams”..Everyone send a little comment about it. 

Because even superheroes, could have normal conversations about those they love. 

Suffering alone is a thing of the past

It’s funny. You couldn’t even remember, now, what it felt like “before”. 

Before. 

Before you met Bruce.

Before that first time he showed up to your apartment to take care of you. 

How were your periods before that ? The worst. 

Definitely. 

Actual Hell.

Not that they were feeling better now. Oh no. There were time your overdramatic self exclaimed : “uuuugh just kill me alreadyyyy” when the pain was too grand...But you weren’t alone anymore. 

That’s what made it a bearable moment of the month. 

It still felt as bad as it used to when you were younger. 

But it wasn’t just you agonizing in your bedroom all alone anymore. 

It wasn’t you wishing you’d have someone to take care of you, and to try and ease the pain. Not anymore. 

It wasn’t you crying with nobody to dry your tears anymore...

No. You had an entire army of people right there just for you. 

Alfred, your children, and most of all...Bruce. 

Your Broosh. 

Ah. If only some people could see this side of him you and your family knew. The caring and loving one. In a way though, it was rather comforting and made you feel special, that only you and your kiddos knew the real Bruce ? 

Of course  nowadays, some of his closest friends like Clark and Diana weren’t fooled anymore either. But they’d never see him the way you did, when you were in unbearable pain, and he was right there, drawing soothing circle on your back, keeping you warm and safe... 

This was only privy to you. 

Your Broosh. 

Yes. 

Your periods were still as painful as they used to. But now...

Now you weren’t alone anymore. 

The end. 

________________________________________________

Hey guys ! I hope you liked this :). As usual, feedbacks and reblogs are always welcomed ! (Especially lately, the reblog ratio seems at its worst haha). And again, I really hope you liked this. I was finally able to sit down and write after weeks of  being stuck in a depressed mood, so I’m quite excited about sharing this. But as usual, always a bit nervous that you’ll be disappointed blahblahblah low self-esteem and all that haha... :). I just hope this is to your liking. Thank you.  

[tinky-dinky]

Alfred might have convinced Bruce, but who went ahead, trained and took Tim out as Robin? Who had already set the precedent of having a child sidekick? Bruce. So, nope, he’s still to blame.

Again, I really do not care about Damian’s background or all the excuses for his behaviour. No, his background does not mean his behaviour should be treated differently. If anything, they need to be stricter on Damian than the others, seeing as he’s willing and able to kill.

The ‘he doesn’t know it’s wrong’ excuse only works for the first time he tried to kill Tim. After that, presumably, either Bruce or Dick told him that killing people is wrong. That he chose to try and kill Tim again is all on him and inexcusable.

Dick absolutely was the light to Batman’s dark. That’s how that whole thing started. Don’t be stupid. And, no, what Damian needed was actual consequences, not being rewarded with exactly what he wanted whilst simultaneously screwing over Tim.

Did I say that Superman and Wonder Woman could drop everything? No. But they could help every so often. So could Dick’s other friends, like (Kid) Flash, Arsenal (now wouldn’t he be helpful for parenting advice?), Wonder Girl, etc. It’s almost like there’s a whole large world of superheroes out there who could help.

Or, who know who else could help? Do some patrolling, ease Dick’s ‘burden’ there? Babs and the Sirens! Batwing! Jason! Dick’s so insistent on Tim having to get along with his murderous sibling, why isn’t he getting along with his?

Yeah, Jason coming back was a miracle. But by the time of Bruce’s death, heroes coming back was a regular thing. And it wasn’t like Tim didn’t have any proof. It just seems very stupid and very nasty to decide Tim’s crazy.

You wanted to talk about Steph? Fine. I want to talk about Tim, seeing as you’ve gone over Damian and Dick’s struggles. Let’s talk about the sad sad life of Tim Drake.

So Tim’s bio parents are both dead, his dad very recently. His best friends? All dead, except for Cassie, who had joined a cult. His adoptive father? Possibly dead, possibly alive. His brother thinks he’s crazy and is prioritising Damian, who is violent and insulting to Tim, because he thinks Tim can cope, which shows how little attention he is paying to Tim because it is blatantly obvious he is not coping. Then, to cap it all off, he gets Robin- the reason he’s even part of the Batfam- taken away from him without anyone even asking and it’s given to the little brat who has made his life hell. So that leaves Tim with only one reason to keep going: that he believes Bruce is alive. Hence why he leaves and goes on a suicide quest to bring him back. If he’d died on that quest, it would have been Dick’s (and Damian’s) fault.

Oh, and that’s on top of a background of child abuse and neglect (everyone always seems to forget that Damian is far from the only Robin to come from abuse; if anything that’s the rule, not the exception, see: Jason and Steph as well) due to his absent parents and angry aggressive father. And that he was trained by Bruce at his harshest because Jason had just died.

Yeah, things haven’t been easy for Tim. And instead of providing emotional support for this heavily bereaved barely sixteen year old, his brother calls him crazy and allows Damian to physically attack and verbally bully him.

Ok so I'm back on my Batfam bullshit (as if I ever left, ha!) and I have some thoughts.

My opinion on Robins remains that child soldiers are not okay and that the nine (Dick), twelve (Jason and Tim) and ten (Damian) year olds may have chosen to be Robin, but a) they should not have been in a position to make that choice and b) Bruce is the parent and the adult in the situation, he should have done what every parent does when their child decides to ignore self preservation and do something incredibly dangerous- stopped them. That is practically the entire job of a parent.

If there was truly no way Bruce could have stopped Dick from being Robin, and Jason was still Robin, it should have stopped there. There is no sane logical reason for continuing to allow children to fight villains after a fifteen year old child was violently murdered because he was Robin. None.

I loathe the thing the fandom does where they have all the Robins just ignore Batman's orders and argue with him about him giving them orders or making decisions for their safety. He is the adult with all of the experience. He is the one who makes orders and he is the one in charge of who goes out and who doesn't. Frankly, if the Robins aren't mature enough to understand that, then they shouldn't be out crimefighting.

My opinion on the Tim/Dick/Damian situation remains the same. Dick handled it abysmally. He never should have given Damian Robin, for a variety of reasons. For one, Damian has not demonstrated any of the necessary qualities for a Robin beyond fighting abilities. Robin is supposed to be the light to Batman's darkness. Damian is not that. He's not cheerful, or kind, or interested in anything besides fighting people. He has no people skills, so he can't be trusted with witnesses. He can't even be trusted not to kill people.

Then there's the Tim issue. Giving Damian Robin after his attempts to kill Tim just reinforces that it doesn't matter if he tries to kill one of his brothers. This is confirmed when he tries to kill Tim as Robin and doesn't, as far as I can tell, receive any kind of consequences because his feelings were hurt.

I've seen a number of excuses made for Dick and I think all of them are bullshit. He's barely in his twenties? So was Bruce when he became Batman and took Dick in, and Dick has the benefit of years of experience with both vigilantisim and team work with children. He's got a lot to deal with? No, not really. Dick is managing being Batman and being guardian of Damian and Tim. Considering that Bruce was Batman, CEO of WE and had multiple children/sidekicks to manage, Dick's got it fairly light comparatively. Also, Alfred's there. It's not like Dick's doing this alone. Steph's 'dead', I think, but Babs should be about to help with the crimefighting. And maybe Jason? I'm unclear on what the situation is with him at this point. And it's not like Dick doesn't have friends and allies he could ask to help him.

Well, that's a lot, so I think I'll leave it there for now.

[detectivemarvelingcomics]

Not Your Classic Vigilante [Ch. 5]

Alternate Dimension AU

TW: Language, Mentions of Death, Descriptions of Violence, Scar Mention, Mentions of Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts

CW: OC Use, See the OC Guide [Here]

Genre: Angst

Pairing: Batfamily x Batsis!Reader

(5/?) [Previous] | [Next]

[DC Masterlist] | [Not Your Classic Vigilante Masterlist]

YN Pronouns: Female (She/Her)

Word Count: 2.7K

Notes: Boop boop, I’ve been re-reading Batman DC Rebirth, hehe, and jfskherejwr I’m starting to remember why I loved reading comics in the first place!!

Not Your Classic Vigilante: @gabytodd​ @peachydoki @marshmallow12435​ @escapenightmare​

Disclaimer: This series is originally by @fandom-meanderer who is a close friend of mine, but she has since fallen out of her Tumblr days and asked me to finish a few series for her, hence why I am now in ownership of the Not Your Classic Vigilante series, I hope I can still live up to her writing as I rewrite this series! (I promise not to change too much, hehe)

27 July 2022

The chiming of the grandfather clock in the foyer resounded throughout the manor. Alfred’s eyes scanned the newspaper, looking for anything on the family of the house or anything else amiss. Aside from the usual headlines of “[Insert Bat-Person Here] Saves the Day” there was nothing entirely eye-catching. Alfred placed the teacup down gently, the small click bouncing off the walls regardless, and he sighed. The manor had always been quiet, granted, but there are some days he wished that there was some more life around the area. It was strange, he could take the best care of any plant inside the silent walls and still they’d wither within days.

Then came a sound he hadn’t heard in quite some time. The familiar knock at the door startled Alfred. It was a simple tune, but it nevertheless sent chills up his spine. His hands shook almost, a sudden fear in them, while he grabbed onto the rifle hidden next to the bookshelf. A familiar but foreign sound put him on edge, it had to be a trick of some sort, some sick joke from the Joker perhaps, regardless he understood it as a threat. A memory flashed in his head as he made his way to the door.

~

19 May 2009

At the ring of a doorbell, Alfred picked the rifle up from the floor, Bruce had mentioned earlier that a few acquaintances of his were starting to get antsy, and for him to be ready if anything were to occur. He hid it easy behind the door as he opened it.

“Ah, Miss Kyle,” Alfred visibly relaxed when he saw you step inside.

“Bruce’s turn to watch the kid,” she says. She bent down to your level. “Give him hell for me,” she handed handed you the usual small bag of your belongings.

“I will,” you skipped inside and Alfred bid your mother goodbye.

“Well, Miss (Y/N), what shall we— Oh, goodness, give that to me!” Alfred moved the rifle out of your hands and placed back in its usual place. He didn’t even know how you picked up the thing, it’s a lot heavier than anyone would think given both the fact that it was loaded and from age alone. Not to mention he would’ve most likely been ripped to shreds by Selina, or even violently reprimanded by Bruce. And he didn’t even want to think about what your siblings would do. Strangely, despite outward circumstances, you were the baby of the family and everyone cared for you deeply.

At the very least, he’d like to think so. But there was a voice at the back of his head that you’d grow rather differently in comparison to the other Waynes. Such was clear whenever Alfred would be in charge of your care.

“Okay, okay,” a young (Y/N) smiled. “So you know it’s me, and you don’t have to hurt yourself trying to reach for that big thing again, I’ll knock like this, okay?” You explained while you knocked on the door five times in a simple rhythm.

“If you insist, Miss (Y/N),” Alfred pats your head gently.

“Okay, I’m going to go play with Jason!” You said loudly, running up the stairs. There is a slight thud that echoed around the manor followed by a quick “I’m okay!” Before the echoing sound of a door opening and slamming shut.

Alfred chuckled lightly before sitting back down. You’ve always been oddly observant, probably a product of your mother’s teaching, and no doubt you must’ve seen him blow his back out bending over to pick it up at least once, age never really caught up to Alfred until recently. But there were days when he could just watch you run around the manor and absorb some of that youthful energy.

“Cheeky girl, she is,” he sighs and continues on with the paper, marking interesting articles as needed and circling things for Bruce to look into later.

~

27 July 2022

Alfred rested his hand on the lock. Who would be at the other side of this door? It was more of the tune that was the most jarring, having heard it for the first time in years, he was in near shock. He steeled himself, anything was fair game behind this wall of mahogany and he had to be ready. Of the family he was the one who took it upon himself to grow from what happened to you, he had seen many a time how members of this family came and went then came right back, but the one that returned was almost never the same as the one who left. He reached for the rifle that was leaning on the wall next to the front door and slowly he unlocked it.

The sight before him nearly put him into cardiac arrest.

“I thought I told you that you didn’t need to grab that if it was me,” you said softly. You eyed the aged rifle, it didn’t even look like it could fire more than two rounds at its old state. Alfred had brought it back with him from his time in the British Special Forces, stating that it was a lucky object that he treasured, but the thing looked more like a hazard now. You remembered the thing even backfiring on him if anything.

“I must be dreaming,” Alfred’s voice wavered.

“Uhm… Gosh, I promise I had this entire thing planned out,” you rocked on your heels, “but now I have no clue what to say,” you shifted awkwardly and pressed your lips together. “Can I come inside? It’s really cold out here…” You brought your hands up to your arms and rubbed them up and down.

Alfred is a tough one, years of being in this family trained him so, and if you were going to duck under his radar then you’d have to be extra careful. Your siblings were another story, it was easy to get things past them so long as you stayed in character, but Alfred? He’s been through too much bull shit to just buy the story you gave Jason. You knew this immediately when Alfred moved to the side and allowed you to walk in slowly, almost unsure of whether or not you still belonged there. Honestly, you didn’t

“Where’s dad?”

“In his office at Wayne Industries, Miss Wayne,” Alfred says kept his responses brief. You didn’t know whether he had just stayed the same from when you last left or if he was just putting on the front for what was, at most, an unknown entity standing before him. You knew Alfred, and you knew he was smart enough to look twice at your arrival and the events leading up to it.

“What’s with the formalities, Al? What happened to just calling me (Y/N)?” You laughed. Even now it felt weird to hear him call you by that, it made you feel alienated, in a way, and you really considered Alfred more of a parental figure than Bruce ever was, or ever could be. “Geez, the way you’re looking at me makes me feel like I died and came back.” You tried to hold back the sarcasm in your voice.

“Apologies, Miss (Y/N),” Alfred eyed you wearily. You could tell he was analyzing you, and you couldn’t blame him. But when the sound of a jangling collar descended the stairs, your attention was automatically diverted to the ball of energy that, truthfully, you found surprising that he was still here.

“Titus!” You squealed. The large dog ran up to you and nuzzled his head your leg. If there was one thing you missed from this universe, it would’ve been Titus, the one living thing in this house that was always excited to see you, at the very least. Aside from Dick, but his appearance at the manor was always conditional and never for a long period of time before he’d go back to Blüdhaven. “Aww, hi, buddy! So cute as always, aren’t ya?” You rubbed behind his ears and he slobbered on your jeans, and although it was slightly disgusting you really did enjoy playing with him.

“Titus, heel,” Damian growled. He marched down the stairs. Just from one glance alone and you regretted coming back at all, you knew it, you knew as soon as you saw him you’d want to stay home. He had grown so much, goodness, you were never one to be too sentimental, but Damian always had a special place in your heart. You were blood-related, nothing would ever change that, and you’d always felt more of that “normal sibling” relationship with him than with any of the others, but that originates largely from bias. “I don’t understand why…” Titus didn’t move from your leg. Well, shit, you were hoping that you could’ve just had Alfred let you wait for Bruce in the bat cave, got the data on the justice league, then skipped out of this universe with Alex and Carter, but nope, you’ve so far run into Jason and Roy, Alfred, then Damian. At least you knew that the others don’t care much for returning home.

“Hey, Dami, how was school?” You smiled. Damian walks up to you slowly and then proceeds to circle you, looking for something that was amiss. Then his eyes moved to your neck. There was a visible scar across the front of it. You usually cover it up, actually, it’s not something you want to remember, but to make the conscious effort to hide it would bring suspicion to a group of vigilantes who were trained to find flaws. “Oh this thing? I just looked in the mirror and saw it, I’m not quite sure how it got there, don’t worry, I’m not suicidal or anything,” you chuckled. Damian finally wraps his arms around you and you stiffened. You haven’t really been one for much affection like this, as of late, and to get it from someone who didn’t traditionally do it, you wondered what state you left him in. And you knew Damian to be one who tended to be more averted to things like this, and you couldn’t deny that this, this felt nice. There were always times you wondered how the youngest Wayne had been holding up, you were his closest confidant at one point, and now you wondered what you were to him.

Sometimes you thought how much of a horrible person you must’ve been, leaving them all behind and when you got the opportunity to come back you just chose not to. You wondered what they were like when you left, but truthfully you usually did your best to push it to the back of your mind. The dead should stay dead, in your opinion.

“That was random,” you finally said before hugging him back. “Everything alright?”

“Master Damian, she doesn’t know.”

“You’re an idiot,” he finally musters out. You grinned awkwardly and rubbed the top of his head.

“Ah, I was worried for a second,” you said. Damian lets go of you and tugs on Titus’ collar.

“I’m going to go sit here,” he says quickly. He falls on the stair step and Titus sits next to him. You could see the cogs working in his head, moving to and fro and processing, yes, that was the right word. You wondered what it was that he did to properly think things through, you wanted to sit him down and pick apart his thought process simply because of how interesting it all was.

“Would you like me to call your father, Miss (Y/N)?” Alfred has his hand on the phone.

“Nah, it’s okay, I doubt he’d come anyways,” you sighed. Maybe you could convince him to let you into the cave but with Damian here, you’d have to reconsider your original plan. “I just came to apologize to you guys, it’s not fair I dragged you into mine and dad’s mess, you know? I think two months is long enough to be mad, right?” Two months, it was the time period that Alex had recommended.

“Has it really been two months, Miss (Y/N)?”

“Yeah, I think he’s learned his lesson,” you beamed.

“Alfred!” Tim calls out. Great, here comes another one, and one of the more observant of your siblings who was only second to Cass when you originally lived in the manor. Tim was one you had learned to be weary of a long time ago, you were never able to get anything past him and he wouldn’t even give you the chance to, the number of times he figured things out before you yourself did was remarkable. He walks in to the main room. “We’re out of coffee.” His eyes land on you and he rubs them tiredly.

“I believe I left it on the shelf, Master Drake.”

“On second thought, keep it,” Tim says, maintaining eye contact with you. You were beginning to remember why you dreaded coming to the manor. The stares. It felt like they were psychoanalyzing you, trying to pry into your brain and figure out just what made you so different from them, it sickened you sometimes but you didn’t dare call them out on it before. Hell, if you weren’t in character, you would’ve called them out on it now. Every time you thought back to them, your family, all you could remember was the constant interrogations, you knew they meant well, they had to, but now you couldn’t differentiate it from the borderline infantilization just because you didn’t put on tights and grab a gun. “I’m starting to hallucinate.”

“Gosh! I’ve only been gone for two months and you guys are treating it like I’ve been gone for years!” You stamped your foot on the ground. Yeah, you’re never doing that again, no wonder they treated you like a baby. “Geez, are you guys that mad at me?” Your expression wavered slightly. Step into the role, it’s not as hard as one would think.

“Hey, I left my mask in the ba—” Dick stops half inside the manor and half outside the manor. Alright, just throw out the plan in its entirety, why not, there’s no point. All you needed now was for Jason to run in.

“Master Dick, why don’t you take a seat,” Alfred offers. Without closing his jaw he follows Alfred to the couch and keeps his eyes trained on you. Great, another set of eyes. At least you knew Dick wasn’t going to cast you out.

“Guys, (Y/N)’s alive!” Jason shouts, helmet under his arm and guns in his hand. There he is. He looked around at his brothers and shut his hanging mouth.

“Oh really, Todd?” Damian snarks. “I didn’t notice.” You looked around them with wide eyes.

“Alive? I never died? What?” You stumbled on your words. You controlled your expressions well, you just realized how shaky your story is, but granted you also have to remember that you’re as confused as they are. Dick stands up and waves at his brothers.

“Family meeting in the bat cave, (Y/N) stay with Titus.” Seriously? Dead sister comes back and already they’re keeping her out of the loop? You weren’t really surprised, but you still were a little disappointed.

“Hey!”

“Love ya, sis,” Tim says as he passes by you. He quickly back tracks and pats your shoulder, then returns to the bat cave. The rest followed after and you slouched on the couch. Once the bookshelf moved back into place you placed your hand on your heart.

“I’m in,” you whispered. You waited to hear back from Alex, but you figured he was probably busy, he’d get into your head at one point after this. You usually hated communicating this way, telepathically, that is. It all felt so violating and, luckily, Alex agreed. But in what is now a high risk mission such as this then there are just some exceptions that would have to be made. You just hoped that he didn’t pry too much into your mind.

[squishneedsahero]

New Beginnings

Awesomest of Them All 2.0

Part 6 of 13

Word Count: 1519

Batman x Batmom!Reader

You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.

This is a rewrite of my story Awesomest of Them All, I wanted to see how much I've improved over 3 years.

You stood in front of a mirror admiring your dress. It was a beautiful white gown, the perfect fit and cut for you. It was everything you had wanted and more thanks to Bruce insisting on Lois and Dinah going with you to make sure you treated yourself for this occasion.

You and Bruce had decided to go with a small family wedding, which is kind of ironic considering both of you were only children whose parents had passed. It was to be held in the manor's garden, a nice private little thing. You had both invited your friends, mostly the members of the League and their partners since you had never been great at the making friends thing.

As soon as Bruce spilled the beans on being Batman all the other women who were connected with heroes had swooped in and claimed you as one of their own. So now all the more extroverted women who were desperate for someone else who understood how obnoxious being in love with a superhero was had brought you, the introvert, into their group to bitch about things together. Needless to say you all had become fast friends and regularly texted in a group chat to complain about things no one else would understand and call your partners idiots for this or that.

Lois and Dinah had become your closest friends of all the women, all the other men in the league had at least a tad bit less of an ego than Oliver, Clark and Bruce did so the three of you formed a close bond. This is what had lead to you asking them to be your bridesmaids who were currently helping you with the finishing touches on your veil and flower crown. They finish up and begin chatting with you about something else when you're interrupted by a knock on the door, "Come in," You say, and it opens to reveal your pseudo father, Alfred.

"You look lovely Miss (l/n)," he says and you smile. "Are you ready?" He asks. You had asked him to walk you down the isle, since your biological father wasn't here to do it. Dinah and Lois wish you luck before hurrying to their places and leaving you to have a moment with Alfred.

You take a breath, "Yes, I'm ready," you were jittery with nervousness and excitement and you could feel your arm shaking when you hook it with Alfred's.

"Are you okay y/n?" He asks you, as he had finally begun to use your first name as you had asked him many times.

"Yes," you smile at him, "just excited to really be part of the family."

He shakes his head gently, "y/n, don't sell yourself short, you became part of this family the first time you walked in that door." With that he walks you out of the dressing room to be ready to go after your bridesmaids.

You and Bruce had asked Dick to be the ring bear and the fourteen year old had been delighted, except for the fact that he couldn't dress up as a bear. He heads out first, followed by Oliver and Dinah then Clark and Lois. It really was a small wedding, the only person you and Bruce didn't know well was the photographer.

Within a minute of you leaving the dressing room you're walking down the isle. Bruce was standing up there and when he saw you a huge grin made its way onto his face. It might be the biggest smile you've seen on his face, possibly bigger than the one he had on his face when you had said yes to him proposing. Commissioner Gordon officiates and the ceremony flies by. After you say the I do's the rest of the day is a blur. There's the dances and toasts until you and Bruce leave for your honeymoon that evening.

You and Bruce had decided to go to a cabin in the mountains, with no cell reception or WiFi, an entire week for just the two of you. The two of you spent most of the time cuddling and enjoying the fact that you could spend time together with out being needed. You had told the League members to not bother the both of you even if the world was ending, mostly joking... mostly, because you would both die happy.

Most of the cuddles happened in the morning, evening, and at night when it was cold. During the day the two of you would do stuff together. At one point you decided to climb a tree and claimed to be stuck just so he had to come rescue you, then you turned it into the two of you 'Sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G'. The two of you lived off of cheap take out food the entire week, because neither of you knew how to cook, most of your dates had been to high end restaurants in Gotham, and Alfred would never allow such food in the manor.

It was a perfect week, sex, kissing, cuddling and doing the dumbest of things together. All of the sex and kissing was just a bonus as the two of you just genuinely loved spending time together. Sure the two of you had other friends and people to spend time with but Bruce was your favorite person in the world and your best friend while you were his. You had married your best friend and that was why it worked so well because before being lovers, before even thinking of dating the two of you had been equals and respected each other.

Eventually the end of the week comes and the two of you have to head back to civilization. When you get back Dick and Alfred are waiting for you.

"Welcome back Mr. and Mrs.Wayne," Alfred says with a smile on his face that gets bigger when he calls you Mrs.Wayne.

"Mom! Dad!" Dick exclaims running to hug the two of you, and you cry. It was the first time he called you Mom, and knowing him he had probably planned it.

"Hi, baby," you say pulling him and Bruce into a hug, then you reach out for Alfred and he joins you.

Dick pulls away, "I forgot to give you your present."

"Oh, Dick, you didn't-" you stop talking when you see what he's holding out to you. It's adoption papers. You find yourself pulling him back into a hug, and crying again, silly you had thought you were done with that.

"Are you okay?" He asks worriedly, "You don't have to, I won't call you Mom if you don't want me to," he continues hurriedly.

"No I'd love to Dick, and you can call me Mom, but only if you want to," you kiss his forehead. All of those questions he had asked when you and Bruce first got engaged had fallen to the side, not mentioned again by anyone. But they obviously hadn't been forgotten, as shown now by Dick and his excitement.

"I want to call you mom, mom," he says hugging you again.

"Well, as long as you're sure," you kiss his forehead once again, "where's a pen?" You ask as you stand up straight and Dick grins at you.

A few nights after you and Bruce get back you head to the kitchen to get a snack, in the hopes of calming your nerves, because Bruce and Dick are out on patrol and you can't help but worry. They're your boys. You sneak into the kitchen and open the fridge in hopes of finding Alfred's leftover pie.

The light switches on and you turn around like a deer in the headlights, just to see Alfred standing in the doorway. "What are you doing Mrs.Wayne?" He asks, ever since you and Bruce were officially married he had refused to call you anything else.

"Worrying," you reply, turning back to the fridge, "there wouldn't happen to be any leftover pie, would there?"

"There is," Alfred says moving forward and finding it for you.

"Thank you, Alfred," you say taking the pie from him and moving to sit, not on the counter thanks to Alfred's being present. You sigh deeply, "why do I have to worry? It was so much easier not knowing."

"Was it?" Alfred asks, wise as always.

You sigh again and shove a bite of pie into your mouth as you give your father-in-law a playful glare. "I suppose it wasn't, never knowing why he wouldn't let me stay the night, but it was less stressful not having to know he's out there being Batman and that Dick is out there too."

He sets a hand on your shoulder in comfort, "it doesn't get easier-"

"Gee- thanks for making me feel better," you joke before shutting up and finishing your pie.

"Y/n, they're your loved ones, it will never be easy seeing them put themselves in danger but you knew that when you agreed to marry him. It might not be easy but it's worth it for those you love, I've found that to be true on many occasions."

[psychovigilantewrites]

Chapter 14 - A Different Point of View

Summary:  Things that happened that you weren't aware of.

Word count: 9,163 words

A/N: Thank you for being so patient with me. I struggled with this chapter due to its nature. I had to further dive into Bruce and Dick's character that I wasn't too familiar with.2020 was a very tough year for me. I lost lots, learned lots. And I thought that the quarantine would mean I would write more. But I was wrong. Life hit me hard, and I stopped doing a lot of things I used to enjoy.Despite being virtually absent last year, you guys stuck by me anyway. Thank you. I love you all for that.Special thanks to my two beta readers. You know who you are. Here it goes.

(i recommend you guys read previous chapters to refresh coz I had to lol)

Ao3

Masterlist

The roles that people played were false- a mere necessity for their career or survival. Everyone was playing a role, whether it was of their own accord or not.

Bruce Wayne was a role- superficial, fake, yet vital to Gotham. Batman, on the other hand, was a completely different role, born out of exigence and a sense of justice.

Dick Grayson, however, genuinely enjoyed playing his role.

Nightwing felt right to him. Being a police officer felt right to him. And especially, if not ultimately, being an older brother.

He listened to the dial tone of his phone, which rung for a few seconds before you finally picked up.

“Hey,” Dick heard your voice, the usual chirp absent that day.

Dick frowned to himself. Bruce was right about you being troubled after all.

“Hey, sis!” he forced the concern out of his voice. “You busy?”

“Nah, I’m just going over some old case files. What’s up?”

Dick leaned back into his sofa. Aside from the traffic blaring outside, the silence in his apartment made it easier for him to concentrate on analysing your speech patterns.

“Can’t I call just to ask how you’re doing?” he teased, easing into the conversation.

Everyone had always told him how he was natural at talking.

“You already called last week…”

Dick smiled to himself. He could already picture your narrowed eyes regarding him with suspicion.

It was good that you were always on your feet, but it was becoming borderline unhealthy. It reminded him of Jason and how he was always so guarded .

He pushed the memory away.

“I can’t call you again?” he rolled his eyes at no one.

“Bruce put you up to this,” you accused.

That’s because he’s worried about you, kid.

If only you knew how much Bruce had changed for you. Dick was glad that you were being loved by Bruce, yet he still couldn't help but feel slightly bitter that he never got that kind of treatment from his father- not the same treatment he gave you.

But he would rather die than admit his selfish thoughts to anyone.

“Yeah,” he conceded, “He was worried about you after last night.”

“I’m fine, Dick,” you insisted.

How many times has he heard those very same words from Jason?

“Well, if you’re not, then you can talk to me,” he offered.

A short pause.

Your response would be what differentiated you from his late brother.

“Actually, yeah,” you admitted.

There it was. No matter how stupid he knew it was for even comparing the two of you, he found that he always had to remind himself not to.

“How did you deal with it? Did it affect you?”

Dick told you his own experience with gore and dead bodies, how he overcame it, how he coped. There was silence after, and he just somehow knew what you were going to ask next.

“How did, uh, he deal with it?”

Your voice came in a whisper, hesitation evidently clear.

Dick was expecting it, but his heart still sank. He knew how everyone acted when Jason was brought up in conversation- he was guilty of reacting as well. He also knew how you were smart enough to avoid that topic.

It had been years. They should all have moved on, because Dick knew that they were also hurting you.

“He came to me as well.” Dick recalled Jason’s hesitant voice over the phone, never directly saying what was wrong, just rambling about things other than what was really going on in his head.

“Then he gradually called less and less when he learned how to deal with it himself.”

The day Dick noticed it, he was happy for Jason, but a small part of him was saddened that his little brother no longer needed him.

“I’ll have to look for that cognitive therapy, then. Thank you for calling, Dick. Talking to you helped.”

Did it really? He noticed your voice had changed again. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone on about Jason like that.

“No problem, kid. Call me if you need to talk, okay?”

The familiar beep left him isolated with his thoughts, wondering if you would trail in Jason's footsteps.

When will the day come when you eventually stop calling altogether?

***

He felt indebted to his city- the city he loved. The city he hated. The city that robbed him of his childhood.

He felt indebted to his family- the family he would give up everything for, the family he couldn’t stop hurting.

And he was sorry. God, he was sorry.

Sorry for everything he’s said and done- or didn’t do. But he still couldn’t stop. Because he didn’t know how.

Yet, no matter how much he claimed to love his family, the problem with Bruce Wayne was that he always expected them to be the people he wanted them to be.

Never like himself, though. No, he would never want them to turn out like him.

“That’s an order. Stay-”

The silence that followed the click in his ear represented the first time you had ever disobeyed a direct order.

It was a little late on your side. Dick and Jason had begun to disobey him within their first six months in uniform. But you had always been obedient- which made it easier for Bruce to trust you in the field.

This first time came as an unexpected and unwelcome surprise. And Bruce was…

Disappointed.

He grit his teeth when he saw you on the ground with the warehouse burning behind you. If he had just been a few seconds late, would you be in the fire, too?

“I almost had him.”

Bruce didn’t miss the wince of pain as you got up to your feet.

He had heard those exact words before countless times from J- no.

Bruce shoved that thought away.

“He would have gotten away, and we wouldn’t have known who it was that did this,” you argued, brows drawn together in a frown, mouth downturned. Your respiratory rate was high, and you were having trouble breathing.

When did you grow so tall? So confident?

Bruce silently pointed to the active security camera he noticed the minute he arrived and saw your expression fall- only for a second.

“I still think I made the right decision,” you insisted.

“You disobeyed a direct order.” He hated his own voice. The way he spoke sounded too militant.

“I acted how I saw fit,” you continued, “You always say to follow my instincts-”

“Not if your instincts contradict my orders.” He regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He thought he had changed. But no, Bruce was still a dictator.

“Wow. Just- wow.”

He could see the little twitches of annoyance within the disbelief on your face. He understood it completely.

You were walking away, clutching onto your side and weakly limping to your bike, adamant on not seeking his help.

He hated seeing you injured, in pain. It was his fault. If only he was faster, he could have stopped Red Hood from beating you up. If only he predicted it sooner, if only-

“I’ll be heading back now.”

He missed what you had said before that.

“Robin,” Bruce forced out, “Have Alfred check your injuries.”

He should have been there.

When you drove away, he lingered at the crime scene.

Bruce flipped a switch in his helmet, and his lense changed. Non-organic material lighted up bright white. He noticed a fractured piece of shrapnel lying on the ground, less than a centimeter long.

He picked it up and placed it into a test tube from his belt. Switching his view to normal, he saw that it was red, maybe made from fiberglass. He could only deduce that it was a piece of Red Hood’s helmet.

Despite Bruce’s frustrations at you for disobeying him, he felt a swell of pride. You probably landed a hit hard enough to crack the helmet just a little bit that you yourself probably didn’t even realise it.

He shone a UV light on it. A small portion of it glowed.

Bruce had always been numb when he played investigator so that he would remain impartial and objective. That was true justice.

But when he pocketed the evidence and sped to the Batmobile, he felt something he had never felt before.

Against all logic and rationality, he found himself dreading to uncover who the blood belonged to.

***

Bruce never drank his sorrows away. It was dangerous, too easy to develop an addiction to. He could have easily drowned in alcohol at any given chance, like when he thought of his parents, or when he thought-no, knew- he wasn’t enough.

But no, he only restricted his drinking for leisurely activities. He was disciplined. It was the reason why he was who he was.

However, in that moment, staring at the results of the DNA analysis after hours of anxious waiting, he wished he allowed himself a drink.

Not because he was distraught, not because he was in grief- but because he just didn’t know what to feel.

It wasn’t numbness. It was just plain confusion, an internal tornado of emotions whirling inside him all at once.

Footsteps.

He tapped on a button once, immediately closing the window of the test results displayed on the screen.

Composing himself, he clicked on another pending case to pretend he wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown. It’s just another role.

“Master Bruce.”

Why was he still up at this hour?

“Yes, Alfred,” he turned to meet the butler’s tired eyes- just as tired as his own.

Tired because of him.

Alfred was always up because of him. Because Bruce was a disease, constantly burdening others, dragging them down, keeping them up at night.

“I made some sandwiches. They’re light. Please do eat them,” he set the tray on the cluttered desk, simply pushing aside the numerous stacks of papers.

“Go to bed, Alfred,” he told him. Alfred was too old to be up at this hour. And whose fault is that?

“In due time,” he responded calmly, “What of the blood results, if I may ask?”

“Inconclusive,” Bruce lied.

“I see.”

Suspicion shrouded Alfred’s voice.

“How are her injuries?” Bruce asked, the pain finally creeping in, seeping into his bones.

“I commend you for asking about your daughter’s injuries after only four whole hours of staring at the screen, Master Bruce. You would definitely win father of the year.”

“I was occupied,” he sighed, “Please.”

“Her injuries are only superficial,” Alfred said, “Surface contusions at most.”

He still hurt her.

“Thank you, Alfred. Now go to bed.”

“It was only a little more than two decades ago when I was telling you the same,” he grumbled away.

Bruce made sure Alfred was gone before pulling up the results on the screen again, the glaring ‘MATCH’ sign staring angrily back at him as if it were shouting at Bruce, yelling in rage.

And Bruce understood completely. He had failed Jason Todd. He had betrayed him. And now he was back, vengeful, and full of resentment.

But that didn’t matter to Bruce.

Because despite it all, his son was alive.

In the end, that was all that mattered.

***

What did my son do to my daughter?

Bruce watched in horror as you lay unconscious on the hospital bed, hooked to the IV bag. He couldn’t stop staring at the bruises littering your neck.

Bruises that were far too small and evenly shaped to be the effect of a mere throttling.

He knew how the people close to him viewed him. He knew they thought he was strong, unforgiving, cold, emotionless. Especially when they put him side by side with Clark.

But he forced himself to be those things, because if he didn’t, he would have broken down years ago.

He was used to it. The pain. The darkness.

But this time, he felt like he was being crushed.

He felt like he was hanging on by a thread- no. A delicate strand of thin, brittle hair.

“It’s okay, doctor,” you had said, “I know what you’re going to ask me. No, my genitalia does not hurt. He didn’t do anything to me.”

He felt a wave of relief crash over him.

Jason wasn’t that far gone, then.

But as Bruce looked at your neck again, he still couldn’t help but feel nausea crawling into his core.

He still touched her.

Jim left after his questioning, and you drifted to sleep. He went over to you and looked down at your face, taking everything in.

Since when did you look so mature? When did you get so beautiful?

He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. Even in sleep you had your eyebrows tugged down, as if you were angry that you had to go to bed. He didn’t know why he never saw that small part of you that shouted rebellion despite you almost always following his orders.

He realised that when he watched you sleep, you looked a bit like- no. Don’t ever compare the two.

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to your forehead, trying to convey all of his feelings to you.

He was sorry. So god damned sorry for dragging you into this, for hurting you, for pulling you down to the depths with him.

Hoping you didn’t feel the teardrop that fell to your forehead, he quickly wiped it away before leaving for his press statement.

***

“Master Bruce, please!”

Another crash.

Alfred’s plea snapped him out of his blinding fury, his crushing pain.

He was standing at the hallway near the Manor entrance, glass and broken wood shattered at his feet, feeling the walls closing in and narrowing as Alfred looked at him in alarm.

“I-I’m sorry, Alfred. I-” he stammered, feeling like the small, helpless boy who watched his parents die before him.

He remembered the time when he was little, only a couple of months after the tragedy. He had done the exact same thing, taking out his anger and anguish by destroying things, triggered by something he had long forgotten about.

At that time, Alfred had held him closely in his arms as he stained the butler’s suit with his snot and tears. Again, a burden to the man who raised him.

This time, he refused the old man’s offer of comfort, walking past to descend to the cold darkness of the cave he was so familiar with.

Bruce didn’t usually drink his sorrows away, but this time, he did.

***

Dick wasn’t a good person. He was far from it.

Case in example, it was the first time he saw you after your kidnapping.

He meant to come sooner, he really did. But he was just so busy in Bludhaven, he couldn’t spare any time to rush over the moment he heard his sister was hurt. He tried to justify it in his head by thinking that you were probably handling it fine.

But he was just trying to make himself feel better.

What a great brother he was.

“So, why are you obsessing over violent crimes?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from breaking.

Desensitization was one thing when you worked in that field, but obsession was a whole other problem. And he didn’t want to see his sister walk down that path.

“A lunatic just kidnapped me a couple weeks ago, Dick, maybe this is my coping mechanism,” you huffed, giving him your signature eye roll.

A lot of things start with just a coping mechanism, kid.

Dick knew it about it all too well. The people he brought in on an almost daily basis, high as kites. The accident last week on the highway at three in the morning, two innocent lives taken because of a drunk man who had started drinking three years ago to cope with his mother’s loss.

The man downstairs in the cold cave, who was just a little boy when his parents died, now living with the trauma while going out night after night to beat up criminals, sleeping only three hours a day at most.

“I don’t want your pity, Dick,” you huffed, “I’m fine.”

Yeah, you were. And that was what worried Dick the most.

“I know you are,” he tried to smile, “Which is why I don’t think this is your coping mechanism.”

You talked to Dick about Red Hood, sharing your concerns about him. This is what made you, you. Opening up to him, offering your thoughts and feelings. It was something he never had with Bruce or Jason. The both of them were similar in that sense.

“He won’t tell me either,” Dick huffed, “It’s always been like that with him. No matter how hard I try to get closer to him, sometimes it feels like he’s getting further away.”

It was the same with Jason as well. Did everyone he cared about just end up running away from him?

“I can relate to that,” you sighed.

“But I have a feeling that he will tell you eventually,” Dick tried to comfort you, “It seems too important not to.”

Dick knew better. Bruce had always excluded information from him, whether it was important or not.

“And,” Dick hurriedly tried to change the subject, “I heard from Alfred that you’re not talking to Bruce. May I ask why?”

“So that’s why you’re here,” you eyed him suspiciously. . “I came to check up on you,” he stated, “I’m sorry I couldn’t come here right after, but my little sister did just get kidnapped.”

When are you going to stop putting your guard up around me, kid?

“I told you, I’m fine,” you insisted.

“Then you’re fine enough to tell me why you haven’t been talking to Bruce,” Dick pushed, “I won’t judge. I’ve had my fair share of cold shoulders and fights with him too. I know first hand how frustrating he can be. So come on, tell.”

He saw you hesitate for just a moment, before conceding.

“We fought,” you began, “It was when I got back from the hospital. He wouldn’t tell me who Red Hood was. And he- he called me ‘Jason’.”

Ah, fucking hell, Bruce.

“Jesus,” he whispered, “What did he say exactly?”

“‘Back down, Jason’,” your voice cracked.

Dick saw the way Bruce spiraled after Jason’s death, and he would never tell you this, but deep down he was against Bruce adopting you so soon after. He thought that Bruce was using you to fill up the hole he too felt with Jason’s absence.

You were so like him, yet so different. Still, Bruce must have been really distracted if he could slip as badly as he did.

Dick would ask later.

“Now that’s something I haven’t heard in years,” Dick chuckled humorlessly.

Jason arguing with Bruce about using excessive force. Jason sneaking out to go for patrols whenever he was grounded. Hell, even Jason stealing whiskey from the cabinet at the age of fifteen.

He could still remember it so clearly. Jason with his dark hair poking into his eyes that were full of fury, cheeks puffed up and red as he pouted angrily at Bruce for making him stay at the Manor on nights Bruce insisted on going alone.

Dick tried to shove the past away. He knew he was making you even sadder.

“Has Bruce made any attempts to reconcile?” Dick remembered the conversation he was having with you.

“Yeah, but I’m still mad at him,” you pouted.

“And you have every right to be,” Dick nodded, “But Bruce, well, you know Bruce. He keeps these things to himself, but obviously he’s still hurting.”

You have know idea how much he’s hurting, Little Wing.

You avoided Dick’s eyes, looking down at your fumbling thumbs as the room became silent.

“I’m seeing someone,” you changed the subject.

“You are?”

Interesting.

“Yeah,” you blushed, “It’s still very new, and we’re not official yet or anything. But we’re definitely testing the waters.”

“That’s great,” Dick grinned, “Who is he? Tell me the deets. Spill the tea.”

He sort of loved gossip. It wasn’t a secret.

“I met him in the library a while back,” you excitedly said, “We exchanged numbers. Started texting, meeting up from time to time. He’s really cute.”

Ah, young love. What Dick would give to be at that age again.

“I bet he is,” Dick teased.

“What’s with that face?” you laughed, “He is! He’s slightly older, and he’s got this sexy bad boy look, you know?”

“I thought you liked the nerdy types?” Dick responded. He saw a picture of you and your classmates on your Instagram. Typical prep school kids.

“I never had a type, you ass!” . “You’re right. I thought you were completely uninterested in boys,” he wondered out loud, “Is he nice, at least?”

“Yeah he is,” you smiled to yourself, “He didn’t know I was Wayne until 2 weeks ago. Before that, we were mainly texting. Now we’re meeting up more. I feel like I can be myself with him. I don’t know, there’s just something about him that makes me trust him.”

So you still have some of your walls up with me, but you trust a stranger? Who is this guy?

“I’m not going to tell him anything!” you quickly added, “I’m not stupid. I know I shouldn’t trust someone I just met. It’s not about the confidential stuff. It’s the little things like how I feel, and my problems, and just- stuff, you know?”

The thought didn’t even cross his mind. Dick trusted you enough with their secret, just as how Bruce did.

“I get it,” Dick tried to rationalise, “You don’t know what it is about the person, but you feel like the two of you just click, am I right?”

It had been like that with Barbara. It had been like that with Kory.

Now Dick was alone, and deep down he knew that they saw him as how he truly was. Selfish.

“Exactly,” you smiled, “Been with anyone like that before?”

“One or two,” he brushed it off, “People like that- whom you just click with- they’re hard to come by. You should see where this leads. Who knows, maybe he’s one of those that would stick around, huh?”

What he would give to have at least one person who would stick with him.

After he met with Gordon, Dick went to the cave to see Bruce who was, of course, facing the computers.

“I know what you’re going to say,” his father’s voice echoed without even turning to look at him.

“Then you know how much you’ve hurt her?” he crossed his arms.

Bruce did turn around to face him, and Dick suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He knew that Bruce hardly ever slept, but this was different. He looked disheveled, his complexion pale, his eyes more bloodshot and the dark circles even more prominent.

Alfred did say how badly Bruce took the kidnapping, finding him passed out on the cave floor with an empty bottle of scotch in his hand, but he thought that Bruce would have gotten himself together by now. It was surprising to see him that way, and Dick felt… Uncomfortable.

Something was wrong, and it wasn’t just the kidnapping, nor his fight with you.

“You found out something,” Dick narrowed his eyes, “Something important. What is it?”

He caught a flash of guilt in Bruce’s eyes. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Bruce,” Dick groaned, “This is why you keep on hurting her.”

Hurting us.

“I’m protecting everyone.”

“You can’t use that excuse with me anymore,” he sighed, “I don’t need your protection. So tell me.”

“No.”

That was his final word, and he knew that Bruce would never budge.

“Fine,” he let out a breath, “Did you know that she’s seeing someone?”

Bruce frowned.

Which made Dick frown. Since when did Bruce miss things? What the fuck was going on with him?

“Name?”

“Dunno. Didn’t ask. And no, don’t you dare,” Dick pointed an accusatory finger at him, “Do not do a background check on him. She deserves privacy. Hell, don’t even bring it up. You have no right to go poking into her relationships.”

Dick was being defensive, but that was because he was trying to convince himself as well, which was why he didn’t ask you for a name. He knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“I wasn’t going to,” Bruce reassured, “She… She deserves a life. A normal life. Not this- not-”

Dick knew then he had to leave, because Bruce’s voice breaking meant he was far from okay, and he knew that Bruce hated to show his vulnerability to anyone.

“Bruce,” Dick said, this time softly, “You’re not alone, you know. I’ve been with you since the beginning, and I’m still with you now.”

And with that, Bruce turned his back towards him again, silently going back to his goddamned computers.

“He’s been that way ever since the kidnapping,” Alfred informed him when he walked up to the manor.

“I don’t think it’s just the kidnapping, Alf,” he frowned at the butler, “There’s something more to it. Did he figure out who Red Hood is?”

“Perhaps,” Alfred pursed his lips, “But he refuses to tell me.”

“That means we know him personally,” Dick theorised, “Who the hell could it be that he’s so adamant on keeping it a secret?”

“I do not know Master Dick, but it can’t be anyone good if he’s got Master Bruce drinking during the day.”

***

Bruce knew that he was wrong to call you by his dead son’s name.

But his dead son was supposed to stay dead instead of haunting him with that glaring red bat across his chest, and having that thought in his head all the time, he slipped up.

He prided himself with his contingency plans and detective skills and preparations, but no amount of time could ever prepare him for when he found out his dead son had sexually assaulted his daughter.

You seemed to have dealt with it surprisingly well, exceeding his expectations. In fact, Bruce thought it was a bit odd that you weren’t as affected by it.

And then he saw it.

He saw what he thought was the internalized anger you felt finally bursting through the seams of your tightly lidded emotions.

And he wasn’t prepared for it.

Bruce didn’t think you had it in you, or else he would never have made you Robin.

But there you were on the ground, beating a man beyond recognition.

He couldn’t dread this moment because he never saw it coming. Not from you. Never from you.

He hurriedly ripped you off the man, flinging you away with force.

Pulse was present, but weak. Flail chest. It took him only a few seconds to observe the damage you did to the man’s face. It didn’t look good.

“Stay back,” he growled at you when you came close.

He couldn’t look at you. He didn’t want to.

“I-I didn’t mean to,” he heard you whisper.

“Call an ambulance,” he ordered.

There was no other choice. He had to take the fall for you.

“NOW!” he snarled at you again. In the background, you were on the phone, but Bruce’s thoughts were elsewhere, calculating what needs to be done.

You moved-

“Leave. I’ll deal with this.” You needed to go. You couldn’t be here when the ambulance and police arrived.

“Batman-”

“I said leave,” he snapped. He couldn’t even hear your voice.

He waited for the ambulance to come before leaving, making sure they saw him escape. Making sure he would be the one the media would attack.

And while he drove back to the Cave, he decided to give his son a call.

“Bruce?”

“Dick,” he sighed. He knew he had always been unfair to his eldest, giving him so much pressure to perform, pushing him to be his best- and ultimately away. He knew that he never showed it, but he was proud of Dick. He always had been from the very beginning.

“What’s wrong?”

It wasn’t a surprise that Dick picked up immediately that something was wrong. If it wasn’t for the fact that calling him out of the blue was what gave it away, Bruce himself trained Dick.

“She- she crossed the line tonight,” he tried to explain, “Jerome Miller. She attacked him. The damage she’s done to him is irreversible. I suspect he will be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.”

“Jesus,” Dick breathed from over the line, “Why didn’t you stop her?”

“I wasn’t there,” he grit. He thought he could trust you.

But deep down Bruce knew that it was all his fault after all. Who was he to act so righteous when he was the reason your parents died?

“I don’t know if she’ll talk to me, Bruce,” Dick sighed, “Not about something like this. She’s probably beating herself up over this already.”

“As she should.”

“Bruce.”

“Please,” Bruce asked, “I’m worried. She isn’t herself and I can’t blame her for it, but the chances of her talking to you are much higher than if I were to try.”

“I’ll try,” Dick agreed.

“Report to me after.”

“Bruce, we’ve talked about this,” Dick grumbled, “I am under no obligation to report to you. I’m doing this for her. Not you.”

He was trying not to go back to the man he was before, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.

They’re your children, not your soldiers.

He had to remind himself time and time again. It was easier to be just a father to you as compared to Dick and Jason, yet even then he made slips.

“I know,” he apologised. “Thank you.”

Click.

And then Bruce was alone again.

***

Bruce watched you from the corner of his eye when you came back. He noticed that you had put more effort into dressing up when you left the house that day.

There was a slight bounce to your step and a small smile that played on your lips.

Dick was right after all. There was someone you were seeing.

But no, he couldn’t look into it. In fact, it would be hypocritical of him if he did. Dick had many girlfriends and flings, and Bruce didn’t want to know about any of them. Mainly because Dick was his first, and the thought of a boy he raised maturing and having relationships made him feel confused about parenthood.

Not that many of them lasted too long anyway.

Jason was a little different. While Dick had girls lining up after him all the time, Jason was much more subtle about the girls he liked, and that made Bruce more curious- but not enough to investigate.

He thought about when Barbara had caught Jason looking at her, making him turn red. He wondered if Jason would like you.

A tight squeeze in his chest.

He didn’t let his mind linger there.

Bruce felt obligated to protect you, which tempted him to investigate the boy you were seeing. It could be a trap, it could be someone using you for fame and money, or something even more sinister. Hell, it could be Jason himself after that stunt he pulled off.

But there was no evidence, and Bruce wanted to be a father to you this time instead of Batman the mentor. So Bruce would have to trust you on this one.

***

There was something holding Bruce back from telling everyone the truth about Jason.

And because he is who he is, Bruce knew what it was.

Guilt. He blamed himself for what had happened, and telling others about it meant owning up to his mistakes. Bruce never ran away from his fears and feelings despite what others might think. On the contrary, he held to them very strongly, using them as a motivation to fight head on.

This time, though, he felt more self destructive- the worst he had ever felt since he carried Jason’s corpse from the rubble- and so he tried to delay the inevitable.

But time was running out. He had enough time to wallow in self pity. It was time to pull himself together, and the first step began with Alfred.

The Cave was colder than usual that night, air thin and darker despite the illumination he had provided. Bruce was slumped in his usual wheeled chair, cowl resting on the desk after patrol, the weight of his suit almost crushing him in his weakened mental state.

“Alfred,” Bruce sighed, “Please, take a seat. I have something to tell you.”

“I assume this is about the identity of one criminal who has been terrorizing your daughter?” Alfred retorted, sitting down anyway.

“Yes,” Bruce nodded, “This… This won’t be easy, Alfred. I suggest you prepare for the worst.”

“And the worst being..?”

Bruce wheeled himself closer to the butler, leaning forward. “It’s Jason.”

Alfred merely blinked. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid my ears have caught up to my age. I must have misheard you, because for a moment, I thought you said that Red Hood is Jason.”

“You didn’t mishear me, Alfred. It’s him.”

Bruce saw the confusion in Alfred’s eyes, the frantic search for reason. “Our Jason? Jason Todd?”

“Yes, Alfred.”

And then, Bruce felt it. The pain he had been suffering with for weeks spreading to the man who raised him. Alfred clutched his chest with one hand, the other clenching tightly over the armrest of his chair, his breathing quickened.

“Impossible,” he whispered, “Jason died. How?”

“There was an event regarding The League and Superboy punching reality. I won’t get into details, but I suspect that was what caused the initial resurrection. The restoration, however. We know of someone who has been continuously restored time and time again.”

“Ra’s Al Ghul,” Alfred concluded, “But why? Why on Earth would he restore Jason?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce frowned, “But it is an almost perfect revenge plan. I would like to entertain the idea that he has brainwashed Jason into thinking we are the enemy, but I can’t put it past him to develop a hatred for me. I… betrayed him.”

“Master Bruce, this is not your fault,” Alfred rose to his feet, “If it is indeed Jason, we can still help. I have faith in the boy.”

“Me too, Alfred. Me too.”

Bruce didn’t miss the sob that echoed faintly through the cave when Alfred ascended back up.

***

As if in slow motion, he saw every change of emotion on Dick’s face. The way he blinked once in confusion, the surprise approaching as he widened his eyes, and then his eyebrows stitching together in a deep frown, his lips downturning and nose flaring in anger.

Bruce saw the punch coming, but he did not do anything to counter it. Gladly, he took the right hook Dick gave him, appreciating the sting that radiated from his cheekbone to his jaw.

“How long have you known?” his son shook in anger.

“Dick-”

“HOW LONG, BRUCE?!” Dick roared, fists clenched, voice echoing in the cave.

“Since the night he blew up the warehouse,” Bruce replied.

“Jesus, fuck,” Dick ran his fingers through his hair, “Jesus, Bruce. That was over a month ago.”

“I know.”

“We-” he choked on his words, “We deserved to know.”

“I know.”

“So why the fuck didn’t you say anything?!” he slammed his fists on the desk. Bruce caught a few drops of tears that fell to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce apologised, and meant it. But he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything more.

“You’re sorry?” Dick looked at him with eyes far too cold than he knew, “He was my brother, Bruce. He told me things he never told anyone else. We shared secrets and jokes. We went to the same diner once a week to catch up. He asked for my help and I asked for his. And then he died. Just like that, because you couldn’t keep him on a leash. And now he’s back, and you knew it was him, and you’re just sorry?”

Dick’s eyes were wet and red, and filled with contempt. Bruce couldn’t blame him. He hated himself, too.

“Does she know?” he whispered, “Does she know that the man who attacked her is your son, and is my brother?”

Like always, he pushed the pain away efficiently, logically, objectively.

“Yes,” he confirmed, “I told her this afternoon.”

“And she’s not angry?”

“If she was, she did not show it,” Bruce described, “In fact, she looked… Worried.”

“Of fucking course she would be worried,” he snarled, “She’s worried that she’s going to be irrelevant to you now the dead Robin is back.”

“She’s not,” Bruce growled at that, “She’s not his replacement. She never was.”

“Does she know that, Bruce?” Dick snickered, “Did you finally get over yourself and tell her that? Because the last fucking time I spoke to her, you called her Jason.”

Bruce didn’t know how to respond to that. He was good at smiling at the cameras and making speeches and charming an audience, but he was never good with words, real words that described his true feelings to the ones he cared for the most.

“I’m sorry,” he simply said, now numb to everything throughout years and years of practice. “I promise, I will bring him back. Will you help me?”

“What can I do that you can’t?” Dick scoffed.

“You knew him, Dick,” Bruce said, “You knew him in ways I never did. I can predict his movements, but to accurately guess what his motivations are- you knew him better than I did.”

“Fine,” Dick conceded, “But I’m not forgiving you for this, Bruce. I swear, you’re going to pay for all the secrets you’ve kept from us, be it by my hand or someone else’s.”

***

“Did you know that your daughter went out last night to see a boy while we were patrolling?” Dick brought up.

He was looking at Bruce’s back, as he always was.

Bruce was on the computers, going through hours upon hours of security footage and traffic cams for Red Hood- for Jason.

It was difficult for him to put the two together. Jason had always been his little brother. Young, naive, inexperienced. And now that same person was the leader of the underground.

It was definitely difficult.

“Alfred mentioned she went out, but I didn’t know it was to meet a boy,” Bruce replied without glancing his way.

“Well, she lied to me about it at first,” Dick sank in a chair, looking at his nails. “Got pretty defensive when I brought it up. Even tried to deflect by using Jason against me.”

Dick knew you meant to hurt him with your words, and it worked.

He was definitely surprised that you would stoop that low because he always saw you as a sweet, kind girl.

People change. That’s what happens when you stick with Batman.

But Dick didn’t expect you to change so fast.

“She… used Jason against you?”

Bruce finally turned towards him, the ever constant frown a little bit deeper that moment.

“Yeah,” Dick straightened, “It was the first time she’s ever spoken to me that way.”

“What did she say exactly?”

“That I was distracting myself by using humor as a coping mechanism, and that I should come to terms with the fact that it was my brother who kidnapped and sexually assaulted her,” he repeated bitterly.

“What did you say to her that she responded that way?” Bruce asked.

“I was just making fun of her boyfriend,” Dick shrugged, “Why? Do you think she’s hiding something?”

At first, Dick thought that you were genuinely angry at the both of them because you were right- Jason did kidnap you. Jason did do those things to you. And Jason was supposed to be under both Bruce and Dick’s responsibility.

Dick didn’t blame you for it, because he would have probably been angry if the situation was reversed.

It was one of the mistakes he always made as Robin when Bruce was teaching him how to accurately deduce by reading people. Never assume that someone’s motivations would be the same as your own.

“She hid that she has… someone from me. There must be a reason why.”

“Or she knows how you are and would rather not have your nose in her business, Bruce. She did find out about that tracker you put in her necklace. How did she even react to it?”

Bruce had done the same with both Dick and Jason while they were Robin, though it didn’t come disguised as a pretty, shiny piece of metal.

On the contrary, during Dick’s Robin days, Bruce had hid it behind his third molar while he was unconscious. He only found out after a year, when he was held hostage by a mercenary who wanted to use him to lure Batman. Said mercenary had detected the tracking device and pulled it out along with the tooth.

It made him increasingly more hostile towards Batman and his never ending need for control, but at least it saved him a trip to the dentist.

From what Dick knew, Jason died with his tracker on him.

Bruce had said that it was all done in the name of safety.

But would you tell Jason the same thing now?

“I apologised and never replaced the one Red Hood damaged. I thought that would have been sufficient for her to trust me again.”

Dick let out a bark of laughter at that, but it was void of any humor. “Only you would think that not replacing her damn tracker would make her trust you. No wonder she hasn’t told you anything.”

It was probably best not to mention that you were now also sexually active.

“Do you think she’s hiding something important?” Bruce asked.

“Are you actually asking for my opinion?” Dick smirked, “No, but it’s too soon to tell, anyway. Relax, Bruce. It’s like you forgot what it was like to be young and in love.”

That was obviously a joke. Bruce grew out of his childhood the moment he saw his parents getting killed in that alley.

As for being in love, did Bruce ever allow himself that?

***

“What did you say she called herself?” Nightwing asked softly.

The poor girl was scared out of her mind to the point where Dick found it difficult to extract important information from her ramblings.

Well, that’s what happens when someone makes you kill a person.

It was difficult, so difficult, to face the fact that it was Jason behind all of that.

“I t-think, V,” the witness- Elena- stuttered. “She with him. But try to stop him.”

Behind him, he felt Batman pause. He was walking around the club and analysing evidence while listening to the conversation.

“She tried to stop him? Him as in Red Hood?” Dick frowned.

“Yes,” Elena looked down and rubbed her arms.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but,” Dick tried, “You told me they were partners.”

“Yes, but she try to stop him,” she repeated, “I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Dick offered a smile, “Thank you very much. You’ve been a huge help.”

“Am I going to prison?” she looked at him with big, wet eyes.

“We’ll make sure you won’t,” Dick assured, “You’ll get the best defense team in Gotham.”

“You can do that?” she asked, hope in her voice.

“It’s the least we could do,” Dick answered, a sad smile playing on his lips.

He’s our responsibility.

“Thank you,” she gave a watery laugh, “Even prison better than with him, I want to be free.”

Dick heard footsteps approaching. As he turned around, Gordon entered the crime scene, followed by his team.

“Of course you’re here first,” he sighed at Batman.

“Gordon.”

“You might have to speak to the police again, okay?” Dick told Elena who was suddenly nervous again by the presence of so many people. “I’ll make sure they know you’re innocent. Gordon is the only one you can trust, okay?”

She nodded, her gaze turning downwards.

“Gordon,” he approached the aging man. He was used to talking with Gordon in Batman’s stead, even when he was Robin, and remembered feeling proud of himself whenever he finished speaking to Gordon regarding cases without Batman having to add anything.

“Nightwing,” he blinked, “It’s been a while.”

“Desperate times calls for desperate backups,” he grinned, “Anyway, the girl. She’s a victim of Victor Ibenescu’s human trafficking trade. Romanian, only thirteen when she was kidnapped. She was forced to shoot Victor by Red Hood.”

“This Red Hood likes his poetic justice,” Gordon snickered.

“It’s still first degree murder, or at least, that’s how the law would make it seem,” Dick reminded him, “But I assure you she’s innocent. Red Hood threatened to kill and rape her if she didn’t shoot.”

That was a lie, on both his part and Elena’s. Judging by the way she averted her eyes and touched her own arm, Dick could tell that she wasn’t telling the whole truth about being threatened by Red Hood- but he also knew that he couldn’t expose her and get into more trouble.

He wanted to let out a tired sigh, but that would give him away in front of Gordon and the other officers. He still needed to maintain his air of hopefulness, and he couldn’t seem like he was troubled by his thoughts.

Time to meet Bruce back at the cave and watch the surveillance footage.

***

“He’s got a partner now,” Dick voiced out his findings, “Since when did Red Hood partner up?”

Bruce’s frown was deep as he stared at the screen.

Dick pursed his lips. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Whether this is Red Hood or Jason?” Bruce hummed, “This definitely does not seem like anything Red Hood would do. He’s always tried to separate himself from others because it furthers his authoritarian agenda. He does not get friendly with people because people are disposable to him.”

“So you think this is Jason, then?” Dick concluded, “Well, Jason never had much of a problem working with others in the past, and he made some friends. He wasn’t the type to be hostile to people.”

“He did have trust issues,” Bruce pointed out, “At the very beginning.”

“Yes, and he kept a lot of things to himself,” Dick agreed, “But he did have friends.”

“Special friends,” Bruce added, “Friends who gained his respect and trust. So the question is- who is this girl and how did she manage to gain his trust?”

“Hey, play it back again,” Dick said, “Those moves.”

Bruce played the security tape, showing the mysterious girl and Red Hood taking down Victor’s men.

“Arnis,” Bruce pointed out.

“It’s a little different.”

“She has incorporated silat in as well. Low stance,” Bruce observed. “She’s skilled, but not polished. It could be anyone.”

There was something familiar about the girl that Dick couldn’t pinpoint. Dick usually had strong intuition- a gut feeling that enabled him to know which facts to focus on during an investigation, or a strong ability to see through people.

But the problem was that it wasn’t solid proof or evidence, something Batman heavily focused on. It was a gut feeling that told him he knew who the girl was.

“Do you think it’s-” he broke off without completing his sentence. There was nothing to back his claims.

“She has no reason or motive to work with Jason,” Bruce shot the idea down, “He’s hurt her. And… She wouldn’t betray me like that.”

“She’s been keeping secrets, Bruce,” Dick reminded, hating the fact that this time it was him who was suspicious.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

Because he never would have thought that Jason was capable of torture and murder, either.

Why didn’t he come to me?

“As you clearly pointed out prior to this,” Bruce grit, “She has her reasons as to why she’s keeping secrets. And it is most probably because of me. All of you kept secrets. But this time, I’d like to let her keep hers.”

It was sweet, seeing Bruce that way.

“Is it guilt?” Dick asked.

“It’s repentance.”

Dick hated playing the bad guy.

Because he wasn’t supposed to be. He was the one people looked up to for inspiration, he was the light to Batman’s darkness, he was the smiles and charms and laughter.

He wasn’t the one who would accuse his little sister of fraternizing with the- was Jason the enemy?

Shit. Jason had messed with his senses. Dick’s head was chaotic, his emotions causing him to tense up.

Was he wrong? Was he just like Bruce? Was he jumping to conclusions just because Alfred told him you were out? Should he investigate this Carter you said you were with?

No. I’m not Bruce.

And now, you were looking at him with angry eyes, betrayed and appalled by his accusation.

*** Large.

That was the first thing that came to Dick’s mind when he saw his little brother.

The last time Dick saw him, he was much shorter, and definitely not as bulky.

And the last time Dick saw Jason, he was giving him a hug goodbye, complaining that Dick had messed up his hair.

And now, Jason was aiming a gun at him.

The gunshot didn’t hurt nearly as much as the thought that Jason had indeed shot him. Did Jason hate him that much?

You’re almost as guilty as he is, Jason’s voice echoed in his head.

“Bruce,” he gasped in the comms, “I’m down. They got away.”

“I heard a gunshot,” the deep voice in his ear spoke.

“Yeah, Jason shot my leg,” Dick winced, “Didn’t hit bone but I think it nicked my artery.”

“There are children here,” Batman said, “I was right. He’s sabotaging the Powers’. Gordon should be here soon. You control your bleeding.”

Dick nodded to himself and took a deep breath before plunging his finger into the gunshot wound to keep himself from bleeding out.

***

“...suspects that the crime lord only known as Red Hood and an unidentified female were behind the home invasion. Maria and Joseph Powers were left in a gruesome state according to reports, but their only child Carrie Powers was unharmed. The authorities are not sure what Red Hood’s motive was, but more will be elaborated during Commissioner Gordon’s public address later this afternoon...”

Dick heard you close the door.

“You didn’t come home last night,” he lowered the volume of the television.

“Uh, yeah,” you answered.

Dick looked over at you. You seemed tired, eyes swollen and red from crying, wearing an oversized t-shirt that he didn’t recognize.

“I was at-”

“Carter’s?” he finished your sentence for you.

“Yeah,” you nodded, sitting down next to him on the sofa.

Dick frowned to himself. Your arms were crossed, you were avoiding eye contact, your body was angled away from him.

“You heard about the Powers’?” he turned his gaze towards the television.

“I saw the news on the way here,” you monotoned.

You smelled like a different shampoo. It was familiar, but Dick couldn’t remember where he had smelled it before.

“So you know that-”

“Yes, Jason did it,” you said rigidly.

“Along with-”

“His partner.”

Ah, now he remembered the smell. Jason’s favorite shampoo. He used to make fun of him for choosing one that was called what it was called. He didn’t really care about it, Dick kept his hair soft and fluffy with multiple women’s hair products. He just liked to rile Jason up because he was so defensive about it.

And with that, Dick let out a long, disappointed sigh.

“Bruce is in the cave. I suggest that you think long and hard about what to tell him,” Dick offered you a soft smile, “But no matter what you choose to say, you’ll always be my sister, and I’ll always love you no matter what, okay?”

You gave him a look of shock, and then realised that he had figured it out.

“I’m sorry, Dick,” you lips trembled, your eyes started brimming with tears.

“No, kid. I’m sorry,” he replied, “Go.”

You nodded and left.

Despite being right all along, he didn’t feel any sense of achievement. Dick couldn’t help but partly blame himself. For being so absent, for being neglectful, for being a bad brother.

Dick wasn’t perfect, but like hell would he stop trying to be.

***

For years Bruce had tried to stop feeling guilty for being relieved whenever someone else takes care of a problem he couldn’t solve- especially when it involved murder.

Bruce had tried to take down the Powers for almost a decade, and everytime he got close, there was always another obstacle in the way. It was difficult to expose the rich and powerful without resorting to violence, without resorting to breaking his principles.

So Bruce was ready to stop himself from internally celebrating their deaths. This time, however, he wasn’t as pleased. Because this time, it was Jason who brutally murdered two people. Jason, who was supposed to be under his care and responsibility.

“Bruce?” he heard your timid, small voice from behind him. “I have to tell you something.”

And there it was.

Bruce turned around and looked straight at you, piercing your eyes with his own as he waited on your confession.

A minute passed.

“I’m V,” you struggled to speak, “I’ve been meeting up with Jason for a few months now. I didn’t know he was Red Hood until you told me. But when you did tell me, I chose to confront him and team up with him anyway.”

Bruce didn’t say anything.

“He- he’s not a bad person, Bruce,” you justified, “He’s just really hurt. He needs help.”

You were telling Bruce things he already knew.

“I- I fell in love with him,” you continued, “And I let my feelings cloud my judgement and betrayed your trust. At first I thought that he was onto something, that his… methods were better than yours. And I was angry that you kept secrets from me. But after last night- after what I saw- I couldn’t- I couldn’t stay.”

Bruce clenched his jaw.

He suspected it. Dick suspected it. But for your sake, the both of them chose to put their trust in you. He had tried so hard to change from his old ways. He learned his lesson with both Dick and Jason.

He didn’t want you to go through the same thing they did.

So, he chose to blindly trust you anyway, hoping that he wasn’t right.

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” you were sobbing now, “I’m so sorry. Please, say something.”

After another minute of watching you break down in front of him, Bruce finally spoke up.

“Hang up your colors. You’re no longer my Robin.”