#like i always say on here: bernard dowd you are loved more than you can imagine. you just have to let yourself believe it.

[introspectivememories]

"why aren't you asking me anything?" he asks, his throat aches uncomfortably. "just ask i know you have questions."

his zio and zia exchange glances that he can't decipher. he wishes they'd just say what they want to say. just spit it out he wants to scream. be more like mom and dad. say it, no matter how much it guts me, just say it. split me open with your words, carve my chest open, finish what the high priest didn't get a chance to.

"are you in pain?" his zia asks instead.

he feels a little wrongfooted now. they were supposed to ask what he did to get hurt so badly. he was supposed to horrify them with tales of how he fucked himself over. how he ruined himself for nothing. he was supposed to let their hurt break him.

"what?" he asks dumbly.

"are you in pain, bernardo?" his zia asks again, moving the flower vase out of the way so she can pin him with a steady look, "does it hurt?"

he laughs. does it hurt? what does he even say to that? it's been hurting since he was 16. since she-. does it hurt? is she worried? everything on him is something he's done to himself.

when he was younger, his zio used to like to tell stories about his scars. here, he'd say, this is where i got hurt fighting the fascists. and this, he'd point to his shoulder laughing, is from the time your zia's dad shot at me when i came around to ask for her hand.

here, he wants to say dragging his zia and zio's hand over the wound on his chest, is where they dug the knife into me. here, he'll say letting them trace over the scars on his wrist, is where it hurt too much when i was 16. this, with a hand reaching back to the sitched up mess on his back, is where i let the pain consume me. this is where i fell, where i begged for more, where i let them rewire me, remake me.

"bernardo," he's brought back to the present by his zia’s sharp voice, "you got lost. answer the question, does it hurt? are you in pain?"

his zia's voice cracks on pain, like it hurts her, and something in him breaks. he's so tired of hurting other people, of pushing them until they're broken and exhausted. he thinks back to when he last saw his friends. the weary set of their shoulders at the airport. the way jam's mouth seemed to be perpetually set into a frown. how he couldn't remember a time when chinna's eyes weren't rimmed red. when dijah didn't look at him like he was another opponent. how mori's voice had seemed hoarse from all the screaming he did in the ambulance as he begged bernard to stay with them.

how long had he been making them pick up his broken pieces? how long had they been cutting themselves on the shards of his pain? he remembers their faces as he stood at the gate, getting ready to board the plane, exhausted and broken. in the end, chinna, their tenderhearted youngest, was the only one say something.

"chetta," she said tears streaming down her face, "when you find what you're looking for over there, give us a call okay? and even if you don't find it, give us a call."

he had noddled once or twice, he doesn't remember properly, too drugged up on the mandatory pain drugs the hospital put him on before he checked out.

"bernardo, you keep getting lost." his zio says, quietly.

understatement of the year, he thinks.

"i'm sorry, zio," he says, throat tight with tears, "i don't think i know how to be found anymore."

his zio hums softly, "that's okay, piccolino. how about you just answer our questions first: does it hurt? are you in pain?"

his eyes fill over with unshed tears, "yeah zio, it does hurt. it hurts so much, zio!"

his zio's lips turn downward and his hand reaches out to brush away bernard's hair away from his forehead, "oh bernardo," he sighs sadly, "it will be okay. you will be okay piccolino."

bernard slumps into his zio's arms, "it hasn't been okay since i was 16 zio, how will it be okay now?"

his zia rises and walks around the table to kneel down next to him. one hand comes up to grip his wrist and the other starts to stroke featherlight touches up and down his back.

"it will be okay because i say so, and maybe you've been gone from here for too long if you think you can beat your zia maria in a battle of wills."

bernard snorts out a wet laugh.

"and," zio says, "you will be okay because you will learn how to heal here. one day at a time. you have all the time in the world."

zia maria points out the window to where he can see the ocean lapping at the shoreline, "look bernardo, the sea always returns."

the hand around his wrist tightens, "like that," she says staring into his eyes, steady as can be, "you too, will return. you will return."

bernard turns his head away to stare back at the sea and tries to believe the words his zia says.

[peppermintmagicianlynn]

TimBer Week 2024: Bernard's Birthday

TimBer Week 2024 Day #6: Bernard's Birthday

This one is set in an AU where the Grieves Trio made it to senior year. Oh, also Darla has magic. Because.

--

“Happy birthday, you filthy animal!”

Bernard had two seconds to turn around and brace himself before Darla came flying into his arms. He managed to catch and spin for two rotations before he started to wobble. Luckily, Tim was there to support both of their weight. Other students sent them dirty looks for blocking the school hallway, but the trio paid them no mind. They were always like this.

“Thanks Dal, but I feel that in light of my new age, you should add Mister or Sir in there.”

She gave him a remarkably unimpressed look, considering she was clinging to him like a koala. “Or I could turn you into a frog and you can just be a filthy animal.” She raised two fingers, letting them spark with red magic as a threat.

Bernard, who never backed down from anything, replied. “As long as Tim will kiss me back to a prince, go for it. That’s the best Birthday gift I could want.”

Tim let them both fall into a giggling heap on the floor.

—

“But what do you actually want for your birthday, Bern?” Tim kept his tone casual, hoping to offset how badly he want to hold hos boyfriend’s hand as they walked the halls to lunch. They did that now and then, but Tim didn’t feel like glaring at all the shit-talkers who had a problem with their PDA. He wanted all of his attention ready for what Bernard would say next.

“You know I don’t,” the blond replied, bumping their shoulders together. “My parents max out my gift limit every time a sale comes out. I guess they think if they preemptively get me stuff, I won’t ask for anything else during the holidays. I don’t know if I’m more annoyed that that plan always works or that they know me enough to get things I actually kind of like. I hope to God they aren’t secretly mind-readers.”

“Nah, you’re just easy to read. If the Dowds were mind-readers, they would know about our plan to get you into culinary school and skip out on that biomed college you got a scholarship for. Just 7 more months before I can get the trust fund Mom left me.”

“If you’re not going to let me fight crime with you, you don’t get to pay my way through life. That was the deal, remember?”

“Hey,” Darla clapped her hands to cut off their bickering, “less sugar-baby debates and more discussions about birthday fun. This a big year, guys; we have to do something for it!”

“We’re not going to Trampoline Planet again, are we?”

“I think we’re banned from there, babe.”

“Yeah, but Aquista money gets us into a lot of places we’ve been banned from.”

Darla ignored them both, using her phone to quickly google some ideas for how to celebrate a friend’s birthday. She saw a promising idea though it would be very hard to pull off on such short notice. Maybe if she asked her mother… Darla glanced behind her, where Bern and Tim were shoving each other and giggling like saps. As long as they were distracted, Darla might manage to send some texts out and get this done.

Bernard would love it.

--

“Thank you everyone for joining today’s French Cuisine class!” Despite her heavy French accent, the instructor was bright and peppy as she grinned out over the class. “We arranged for this lesson on very short notice, I know, but I am glad to see so many of you are here. Our dish for today: a simple and elegant chocolate soufflé!”

Bernard squealed in delight.

As soon as school had let out, Darla threw them into her limo and had her drivers take them to the local community center. There was a cooking class that had spontaneously decided to host a lesson this afternoon and there were exactly three open spots available, which was just so perfect as their Bernard-Birthday activity! She’d pointedly ignored Tim’s suspicious glare while taking in Bernard’s sun-bright grin. The only thing he loved more than conspiracy theories (but less than trolling his friends) was learning new dishes.

Tim, however, had some reservations. The instructor had provided neatly drawn diagrams on the whiteboard to help if they got lost, but the detective could only stare at them like he was in desperate need of a codebreaker. He might excel in chemistry, but the baking arts still eluded him at times. Bernard offered him an empathetic pat on the back, taking a moment to admire his cute boyfriend in his sleek black apron they’d all been given, but really couldn’t contain his excitement for this class. Chocolate soufflés were one of Bernard’s favorite desserts and he was stoked to learn how to make them himself.

While the instructor went on with her explanation of the ingredients, Bernard gave her his full attention. Tim leaned into Darla's side to hiss, “We could have just cone to a restaurant, you know.”

“He loves interactive junk like this. Plus, we have a professional here so you can’t burn the place down.”

“I’m not taking that from the witch-wannabe who blew up a microwave. You’re lucky Raven owed me a favor, or else you’d have Shadowpact on your ass.”

“I couldn’t figure out how to change the temperature settings! Besides, you did worse. Dana still doesn’t know about the ‘additions’ you made to her food processor, does she?!”

Bernard placed a hand on either of their dark-haired heads and turned them gently to look towards the front of the room instead of shooting glares at one another. The rest of the class had already started following instructions, but the teacher was sending the three of them dirty looks for slacking off. You could tell she wasn’t fond of having rambunctious teenagers in her oh-so-elegant French cuisine class. The trio arranged themselves to the ‘innocent angels’ formation and this seemed to convince her they were not going to be any more trouble. Naïve.

Despite Tim's worries, they worked well together even in the kitchen. Tim chopped the chocolate, Darla measured the ingredients, and Bernard cracked the eggs and stirred the pot while they poured everything in as needed. Bernard laughed at the faces they made when he started zesting the orange peel into the chocolate. "I promise you, if you avoid the white parts, this does help make it delicious."

Darla opened her mouth to make a joke, but Tim pinched her before she could get the first syllable out, turning her word into a shriek. This got them yet another aggravated glare from the teacher, and Bernard quickly put the zester out of reach before it could become a weapon.

When it was time to whip the eggwhites, Bernard left it to Tim. He made a hesitant face when Bernard handed over the whisk, but Darla was making faces behind Bernard’s back so he had to take up the task. Bernard watched him struggle to move the whisk fast enough while controlling the bowl but after he nearly flipped the entire thing, it seemed like he’d need to rescue him.

Bernard stepped behind Tim, wrapping his arms around the raven-haired boy to help steady both his boyfriend and the bowl. He gently guided Tim's hands to hold the whisk at the right angle, showing him how to make smooth, controlled movements.

"Like this," Bernard murmured near Tim's ear, helping him create a rhythmic motion. "You want to incorporate air into the whites, but not too violently." Their hands moved in sync, watching as the egg whites slowly began to transform from liquid to soft peaks.

Tim leaned back slightly against Bernard's chest, focusing on matching the steady pace Bernard had set. After a few minutes, the egg whites began forming stiff, glossy peaks that held their shape.

"Perfect," Bernard said softly, giving Tim's hands a gentle squeeze. "See? You're a natural. Darla, would you add a pinch of salt?"

"Sure. I guess I have to serve some purpose around here."

Tim's back muscles tensed, signaling he was about to make a snarky comment. Bernard gently tapped his forehead against the back of his boyfriend's head—a warning not to pick a fight that put their creation at risk. Tim settled for flipping Darla off instead, keeping his words to himself.

Folding the whipped cream and chocolate together was Darla’s job. Mainly because Bernard didn’t want to let Tim go, so she would have to carry them now. “You got this, I believe in you.” This was muttered into Tim’s fluffy hair as they rocked back and forth together, but Bernard trusted her to know who that message was for.

Speaking of messages, there was a beep coming from Tim’s short collar that meant one of the Bats needed attention. They’d all had to remove their watches (and the bat-tech Tim had implanted in them) but he’d kept the mini receiver just in case. Bernard released his boyfriend to run out into the hall for a “personal call” while Bernard continued to not help Darla.

“You think it’s Robin on the other side? I think Tim mentioned Oracle is ‘down for maintenance’ so he had to be the call center.” Though Tim had moved on to a new name and mostly patrolled their neighborhood, he and the Bats still helped each other out. Bernard had even seen the Girl Wonder swinging through the streets when that gang war had popped off last year. She’d helped Batman save Gotham, though it was Batgirl and Nightwing who’d helped Tim save their school from those gunmen.

“Don't worry about that, Bear,” Darla said, using her magic to pull him into her side. It was as much of a comforting hug as she could offer while scooping chocolate-cream mix into the rest of the whipped cream. “Robin is way too good for Tim Drake.”

“Then what does that make me?”

“His perfect match.”

“Damn right.”

Bernard ladled the souffle mix into their cups, Darla cleaned up the edges, and Tim took over to the kitchen ovens where they would bake with the rest of the class. This left them 15 minutes to clean up their station and NOT look like total delinquents.

Which of course was when it all went wrong and this time, Bernard was at fault.

Bernard had been tasked with wiping down their station while Tim and Darla handled the dishes. Everything was going smoothly until Bernard had noticed a particularly stuck-on glob of chocolate. He poured on the elbow grease and took a step to the side, right where Darla had accidentally spilled dish soap. With a shriek, Bernard slipped backwards and crashed into the dish rack. Tim was fast enough to catch the dishes before they smashed on the floor, but Darla was knocked into the leftover flour and egg containers. Bernard made a desperate grab for the eggs but only succeeded in batting the basket sideways—launching them into another group’s perfectly clean cooking area. The flour went right into the sink where they’d left the water running.

It was like a nuke had gone off, a cloud of wet flour exploded out to coat all three teens and most of the surrounding area in a sticky paste. The instructor's shriek could probably be heard from the parking lot. "Mon Dieu! What have you done to my kitchen?!"

Bernard turned to his flour-covered friends with an apologetic grin. "Um... oops?"

Tim set aside the dishes in his hands, the only thing left unscathed, trying and failing to look stern. "This is why we can't have nice things."

"At least it wasn't me this time," Darla said cheerfully, looking like a ghost with her flour-whitened hair and stretched out on the floor where she’d landed.

Bernard wasn’t that surprised that their day trip ended with being kicked out of the lessons, only enough time to return their aprons, and left to sit on the front steps of the community center until Darla’s limo came to pick them up. “Well, that could have gone better.”

"Sorry," Tim and Darla said at the same time. They were self-aware enough to take credit for helping push the instructor to their breaking point.

"Nah, it's okay. The chaos is what I like most about spending time with you two." He leaned over to kiss Darla on the cheek. "Thanks for setting this all up, Dall."

"Hey," Tim grumbled, pulling on his sleeve.

Bernard laughed, turning to face his boyfriend. "And thank you too, boy wonder. I wouldn't have had such a great year without you in my life." The kiss he gave to Tim was on the lips, naturally.

"You're welcome, Bear." Tim smiled, with a touch of mischief. "Though, we aren't done yet."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of white candles. "I snatched this from the pantry on the way out. Darla?"

She grinned, eyes glowing as she waved one hand over her outstretched palm. Red smoke circled until a familiar white dish appeared from thin air.

"You stole one of our dishes?" Bernard grinned. It sure did pay to be best friends with a witch in training, even if her magic was a little bit evil.

"Make a wish!" Darla demanded, setting the soufflé into Bernard's hands while Tim put in a candle. Darla snapped her fingers to light the wick.

Bernard looked between his best friends in the world and really couldn't think of anything else he would want.

So he blew out the candle and made a simple wish: to be with them again like this, next year.

[aliteralchicken]

You can't just say 'timber joker junior au' and leave us hanging

I got a few ideas so far which do you want to hear about?

1) a lighthearted classic hero x villain/antihero,

batfam member Bernard always facing off against JJ until it becomes very clear that there’s more going on than meets the eye (yes the batkids have made many comparisons to Bruce’s love life and no they won’t stop) in addition to trying to get him away from the joker you’d think Bernard is thinking ‘I could fix him’ but no, honestly JJ isn’t that bad once you get to know him Bruce…

2) full angst, being introduced to the family through tragedy

Red Robin gets captured by joker and is tortured and brainwashed, he’s saved by batman and batgirl and taken to the batcave, he’s having to be put into a cell because the only person who he’ll let near him is batgirl, anyone else JJ will try to hurt, badly

until the bats can stabilize the joker venom in his system they can’t take him to get treatment, the news reports about Tim Drake Wayne taking after Bruce and traveling the world, the bats think they’ve covered their tracks until a blond starts banging on the doors of Wayne manor demanding to be let in because whatever the news says is bullshit and he wants to know if his boyfriend is safe

3) because I love the dowd crime family au,

Bernard meets a few of the children of the other villains, mob bosses and general bad people, mainly the son of Lex Luther, a descendant of the Thawnes and the child of joker and Harley Quinn, they’re clearly a trio and one with powerful ties at that, but for some reason JJ seems to like him?

JJ isn’t the most vocal of people, preferring not to say a word but he’s made it clear that Bernard can stay with them (and the others aren’t about to argue) everything is starting to look up for Bernard, his family is for once pleased with him, his time with the cult is finally paying off and it looks like the team is getting some more members…it could’ve stayed nice if the new girls weren’t double agents sent by the justice league though

4) red hood and the outlaws who?

Darla was killed and is now going by Laura, Tim was brainwashed and is now going by JJ, Bernard became part of a cult, he’s still not going by Bernie though

Louis grieves trio, together once again, now with added relationship drama (you can’t just date your best friends crush and get away with it), superheroics despite everyone telling them not to and a lot of trying to figure out where they can go from here

[ladyvialana]

Fic: Jitters

DCU fic. Steph & Tim. Past Steph/Tim, implied Tim/Bernard.

Summary: Tim calls Steph over for some help before a big date.

Notes: spoilers for Urban Legends #6, kinda Rebirth era comics, but not specified, Steph POV, fluff and friendship

Also on Ao3

Steph wandered into the Nest stifling a yawn. It was 2 in the afternoon. She’d managed a reasonable amount of sleep after last night’s sting but it was semester break and she didn’t have to work today; she deserved to still be sleeping. But Tim rarely asked for help on anything, so her planned lazy afternoon would have to be rescheduled. She refused to amend her outfit though; Tim would just have to deal with her oversized Batgirl hoodie and space-themed tights for the afternoon.

“What is this non-urgent emergency that has you so flustered Boy Wonder?” She peered into the workroom, perplexed to find it just as empty as the main hub. “Tim?”

“In here.”

The bedroom. The least used room in the Nest. Steph was more likely to find Tim dozing in the computer chair or curled up on the hub couch than in his actual bed when he was too exhausted to resist his body’s need for sleep. Curious, Steph walked in without knocking.

Tim was a slob. Sure, he was organised and kind of a perfectionist when it came to work, but his personal spaces were always a complete mess. What greeted Steph upon entering was not Tim’s usual disinterest in cleanliness but rather an active frenzied attack on Tim’s wardrobe, the innards of which had been strewn all over the room – the bed, the floor, hanging on the corner lamp, caught on the upper corner of the window frame, edging over the threshold of the ensuite bathroom. In the middle of it all stood Tim, in wrinkled shorts and a stretched-out t-shirt, looking completely lost.

Steph crossed her arms over her chest. “You had better not have called me to literally clean up this mess.”

Tim shook his head. “No, no, I need you for something else.” He dug around in the pile of clothes on his bed and pulled out two collared shirts. “Which one of these would be good for a first date with a civilian?”

Steph’s eyebrows raised involuntarily. This was an actual surprise. Not that Tim would eventually start dating – Steph had already been on a few disaster outings herself since their breakup – but that he would be so concerned about it. Tim was good with people, with knowing what they wanted. It was why he’d worked so well when dealing with Wayne Enterprises events and PR. He was always good at presenting himself in the best light to give the best impression. He didn’t get nervous.

Tim cared about this date. It was serious.

Steph grinned and hopped up to sit cross legged on a clear spot on the bed. “Details, Boy Wonder.”

Tim sighed, shoulders dropping and he let the shirts drop to the floor. “Seriously?”

“This is the price of my assistance.” Steph affected an exaggerated pout. “Because, really, you call up your ex-girlfriend to give you advice on dating someone new?”

Tim pushed at her shoulder so she fell over. “Like you didn’t do the same to me last week with whatever that thing was.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. Seriously. I mean, I looked great, but just no.” Steph pulled herself back up into a proper sitting position. “But this isn’t like that, is it. You like her.” She poked at Tim’s chest.

Tim sighed and surprised her by sitting down next to her and laying his head on her shoulder. “I do. And I’m nervous because screwing this up would suck in so many different ways.”

Steph’s heartbeat quickened. It always would when she was near Tim; she was certain his would near her too. She loved him and it had been too long since she’d seen him happy. “Tell me about her.”

Tim hesitated, shrinking a little into himself before he corrected her. “Him.”

That was … not actually as shocking as she expected. “So tell me about him, then.”

“Bernard.”

“Dowd? Your friend that just got kidnapped by a cult?”

“Yeah.”

Steph gasped and grabbed Tim by his shoulders. “Were you actually on a date when he got kidnapped? Like, I was joking, but you were!”

Tim knocked her hands away, but he was blushing. “No. I mean, kind of. It wasn’t an official date. I think we were moving toward that but I was still a little clueless.”

“Yeah, you always were a little slow in the romantic department at times.”

“Hey!”

“You always made up for it though.”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” Steph clapped her hands together. “Now, onto the actual problem. Bernard is a fashionista, right? I think I remember that. Those shirts won’t do. They’re fine for boring fake Tim Wayne stuff, but Bernard knows you – he knows you have an actual personality hidden under that floppy-haired charm and wealth.”

“Maybe you were the wrong person to call for this,” Tim said, edging away from her. Steph just grabbed him by the hand and hauled him back to his feet.

“Please. You would be lost without me.”

Tim didn’t say anything back, but he did squeeze her hand to acknowledge the truth within her joking comment.

“Now, where are you planning to go and how formal do you need to get, because I know I got you a really nice jacket last year that can work to dress an outfit up or down.”

“Arcade and a Japanese restaurant. Smart casual maybe but we’ll be walking around.”

Steph hummed, thinking. Then she looked around, digging into the piles of clothes for what she wanted. Tim let her do as she wanted. When she had an outfit she was satisfied with she shoved it into his arms and shooed him into the bathroom to change.

Was it weird that she was excited for him – that she hoped this worked out for Tim? He deserved it, of course, she wanted him to be happy. She just always thought his happiness would lie with her. Part of it always would, she told herself. Tim loved her; she loved him. But there were many types of love. And nothing about either of their futures could erase their past together or the importance they had – and will continue to have – in each other’s lives.

So yes, Steph was excited for Tim – excited to see what his future would bring. She was just as excited to see what her own future held.

“Steph?”

Tim stepped out of the bathroom. He looked amazing – of course he did, Steph knew exactly what looked good on Tim. The outfit was simple but flattering: tight black jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved Henley with a pale grey t-shirt just peeking out from beneath the undone buttons.

“You can shower me with thanks by providing every detail of your successful date later.”

Tim walked over and hugged her tight. He wasn’t wearing his usual civilian cologne yet. It would be a perfect addition to the outfit. She’d have to remind him once they broke apart. For now, she was content to bask in the warmth of one of her favourite people in the world.

“I hope he makes you happy, Tim.”

Tim pulled back. “Thank you, Steph. I hope you find the same happiness too.”

She would. She had no doubt of that.