#so it turns out that Starfire being the “Robin” in this situation makes things go much smoother

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstar Week Day 2: Joy and Confusion (Prompt: Power Swap/Role Reversal)

For this prompt, I decided to take the role-swap AU that @burr-ell made a while back for inspiration. Some of you may remember that I've done this once before, bouncing off of one of the AU concepts to make a sort of alternate version of a scene from the "Masks" episode. I did the same basic thing here, taking inspiration from a doodle on the original post that invokes an alternate version of "Stranded" and expanding the concept into something that I could picture happening in that situation. I deviated a little more from the canon version than I did in the Masks AU, and I think this story is better for it.

As for doing the role-swap itself, that was an interesting challenge. I feel like a lot of Starfire and Robin's interactions and differences are rooted to some degree in the fact that she's a Tamaranean and he's a human, so when switching their species I had to think of how much those species and cultures would affect their respective personalities while still making the characters recognizably themselves. I ended up toning down some of Starfire's emotional energy and especially her reaction to Robin's "she's not my girlfriend" moment (since in canon her strong reaction was mostly because she was trying to keep her powers from going on the fritz), while cranking her already significant human observation skills to maximum as part of her training from Phoenix and leadership role. For Robin, I tried making him more emotionally open while still having that grimly determined streak and awkward shyness about romance, which pretty much resulted in his bout of power failure being his own darn fault lol.

Joy and Confusion

Robin was walking ahead, mouth set in a thin line as he quietly focused on the mission, and that was the first sign that something was very wrong.

It wasn’t that focusing on the job was a remotely bad or even unusual thing, Starfire thought to herself with a small frown. Their mission on the interstellar communications relay had been an unprecedented disaster, and of course their top priority now was to get themselves off of this unfamiliar planet. And besides that, Robin was a warrior prince of a planet with its own host of dangers, whose people defended themselves fiercely from threats both on their homeworld and from beyond. He knew just as well as she did how to knuckle down and get to business.

But Robin was also enthusiastic and open, always easy to read whether he was happy or angry or grimly determined. Starfire thought it might be a Tamaranean thing – cultural or psychological, she couldn’t say, but she’d seen a lot of the same emotional energy in other Tamaraneans back when they’d visited his home planet. Now he seemed… not angry or afraid, exactly, but vaguely nervous and like focusing on finding the others was just an excuse to bottle all his emotions up. And she had a bad feeling that she might know why that was.

“Robin?” she asked, sprinting up to him. “Are you… upset with me?”

Robin’s face pinched a little, and he pulled ahead of her again. “No,” he said curtly. “I do not envision any reason to be upset with you. Do you?”

That was hardly reassuring. Starfire ran to catch up with him again. “Because I overstepped my boundaries as team leader. What I said back at the station…”

Her brow furrowed as she trailed off. Why had she said that? “If I’m not your girlfriend, then what am I?” She’d just been so annoyed in the moment, watching the combat partner she obviously had some kind of chemistry with freak out and act offended at Chimera’s light teasing, that she’d just kind of blurted it out. If she’d just been a regular member of the team it might have been fine. But as the Titans’ leader, there was a sort of force behind her words that came out even when she didn’t intend it.

“I just wanted us to be on the same page, that’s all,” she finished lamely. “I was taught that clarity with your teammates is crucial, but I think I was the one being unclear. And for that I’m sorry. You were technically correct, after all,” she added with an awkward little smile.

Robin’s face seemed to twist through a series of emotions at that – nervousness, embarrassment, hope, excitement, fear – but then it settled back into that vaguely anxious look that he’d had since they first started trekking across this planet.

“You are forgiven,” he said, his voice neutral. “Please, let us focus on finding the others.”

With that, he continued across the volcanic canyon they’d been traversing, leaving Starfire to valiantly resist the urge to scream and start pulling her hair out.

Instead, she sprinted to catch up to him yet again. “Robin, will you please talk to me? I can tell that something’s still bothering you.”

Robin stopped, staring intently at the ground, and held up one hand in a halting gesture.

Starfire grit her teeth. “We can talk while we search, you know. I just don’t want –”

She was interrupted suddenly by a red-hot geyser shooting up from the ground not two feet in front of her. Robin watched the geyser run itself out and drop back down with a disgruntled twist to his mouth.

“The ground is unstable here,” he said, his voice low to keep the geysers from getting worse as he looked about. “We should find another way around.”

Starfire sighed internally, but bit her tongue until the two of them found a sturdier part of the canyon marred only by a single long fissure that seemed to relieve volcanic pressure with bursts of steam. She thought things over to herself, mentally reviewing the day they’d had so far as they walked along either side of the crack.

Then a revelation struck her, and she hopped over to his side of the gradually widening fissure in between steam eruptions.

“Robin?” she asked gently. “Does this have anything to do with your powers failing?”

Robin froze mid-stride – she could practically see his muscles tensing up. “Why do you say that?”

Starfire frowned thoughtfully as she remembered back through their encounter thus far on this planet. Things were starting to fall into place, but she knew she was still missing a piece somewhere. “When you fought off that slug monster, you were using regular weapons. I didn’t think about it at the time, because I was too busy trying not to get eaten, but you weren’t flying and I didn’t see any starbolts. And despite the treacherous ground here, I still haven’t seen you take to the air once. Is… is something on this planet blocking your powers somehow? Is that why you’re so distracted?”

Robing seemed to be shrinking in on himself as she spoke, and when she looked expectantly to him with her question he winced. Fiddling with his fingers and looking anywhere but at her, he choked out, “It… is not… the planet, precisely.”

Starfire’s brows furrowed in concern, and she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Then what is it?”

Robin made a distressed little groan in the back of his throat. “Tamaranean powers rely on strong emotions, and mine are… that is to say, at the moment I am feeling very confused.”

Well, that certainly explained a few things. Starfire filed the revelation about Tamaranean powers away for later and asked, “About what?”

Robin looked at her with a sheepish half-smile. “You?”

Starfire raised an eyebrow, but let him continue. Robin let his smile collapse with a deep sigh and he added, “When Chimera said, ‘the girlfriend,’ I did not know how to respond. You are correct in that it was not factually true, but still I could sense that his words meant something beyond that. And now that I am thinking about it I am nervous and uncertain, and you are upset, and I… I do not know where else to go from here.”

He was blushing and averting his eyes again by this point. Starfire blinked rapidly as she tried to process his odd confession.

“So…” she started slowly. “You are upset and emotionally confused for the same reason I was earlier? Then why didn’t you want to talk it out?”

Robin made the distressed groaning noise again. “I always expected to be matched into an arranged Tamaranean marriage,” he muttered, his blush deepening. “I am not very good at understanding Earth relationships.”

Starfire thought about it for a moment, and then suddenly let out a little laugh. At Robin’s questioning look she said, “Honestly? Neither am I, at least when it comes to this.”

After another moment’s consideration, she stepped back and offered a shy hand to him. “Perhaps we can figure it out together?”

Robin looked at her proffered hand for a few seconds, his face shifting through uncertain expressions again. Finally, gingerly, he reached out and took her hand in his own.

“I think I would like that,” he replied, not seeming to notice as he hovered an inch off the ground.

[ew-selfish-art]

Dp x Dc AU: That one episode of teen titans where they all dress up as Robin + Tim being a gremlin about his legacy + Danny look alike/twin AU.

So there is that episode of Teen Titans where Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven all dress as Robin (Dick) while he's out and it's admitted that the outfit makes them feel cool. Imagine a young Tim hearing that story mentioned in passing by Dick while trying to manage what becomes Young Just-us. And then when Damain becomes Robin?? Gremlin mode activated.

Tim hosts regular 'Robin' Parties, where the idea is that you come in Robin colors, get a mask at the door and everyone gets to basically hang out in civilian clothes without the identity crises for those just getting started. "age appropriate" drinks, games, and good music are all staples. The parties become more frequent once Damian becomes Robin and he pointedly doesn't attend Tim's parties which... Neither of them are really happy about. Family is complicated, but finally, after a few years of cooling off, it's decided that Robin will actually host this years Robin party.

Meaning Tim shows up in casual clothes (MIT sweatshirt) and a mask, and Damian is actually dressed as Robin when the party is starting to get into the swing of things. The point of it is to make sure all the young heroes get to come and start to befriend each other, so there are a few people who show up and have to actually say that they're *insert alias* and this is met with basically "Dope, nice to meet you Robin" etc.

Insert Danny Twin AU (Or just look-alike fuckery) (for either brother but my brain is on Tim Twin au mode).

Danny decides to show up as his human self, grabs a mask at the door before coming in, and is slowly integrating himself into a conversation when someone grabs his arm- "Hey Red your brother is fighting with a newbie about meat products again-"

And Danny doesn't have a brother but my god has he heard this fight too many times with Sam and Tucker- He's going in and he's defusing this situation because he cannot handle the thought of this argument taking over his new friend group. He deals with it enough, okay?

Robin (like, the real one) looks at him curiously while Danny is talking down the other hero Robin (insert here), and the whole room notices when Robin doesn't take the opportunity to dismiss or belittle his older brother (Lmao because its danny). Damian cannot place his unease about Drake (again, Danny, who is not hiding his identity beyond a mask), and simply decides that this isn't worth the effort.

The party moves on but now instead of everyone calling themselves Robin, Danny is distinctly being called Red. It confuses him a bit, he didn't even know Red Robin was going to be at this party (he hasn't met the guy and doesn't know the lore), but he rolls with it because he's made fast friends with Robin (Bart), Robin (Cassie) and Robin (JON). The kid was full little bro energy and it made Danny laugh, he was so surprised when the real Robin joined them and fell into easy conversation with Robin (Jon).

Danny is playing games with a few others when someone goes to grab a broom to clean up- Turns out Red Robin and his boyfriend Kon had been making out in the closet for most of the party- and the whole room looks at Danny like he's tried to trick them. Tim is at first uneasy that so many people mistook him, but once he's in front of his dupe, puzzle pieces start to move around in his head.

"And who are you again, Robin?" Tim asks carefully, though he suspects he has his answer.

"Uh, Phantom, but you know, a lot of people were calling me Red tonight and I didn't get why until just now." Danny laughs nervously.

"Yeah I bet- Find me monday and we can see about a geneology test."

"That leaves us the whole weekend, to do what exactly? Fuck with people by pulling a parent trap style swap?"

"Nature vs. nuture and all but I don't know how you could be anything but my brother with a question like that." Tim grins and they get to scheming.

[p-artsypants]

Paint it Black (5) Sheltering

Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City's crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a correlation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself? [Actually, does not contain an OC]

Ao3 | FF.net

The day after was a rainy afternoon. The alarms had not gone off yet that day, and the Titans each collectively did their own thing, resting before another battle. These days, it was a matter of wasting time before they had a lead. It was a ring at the doorbell that got them attentive.

"Someone visiting?" Beast Boy asked.

"Don't know." Cyborg shrugged. "Let's go check it out."

The two teens walked down to the lobby. A curious Raven and Starfire following. Normally a guest wouldn't be that big of a deal, but since they lived on an island…it was a different matter. Cyborg opened the door to see a waterlogged punk. His leather trench coat fell off his shoulders and the raggedy bottom dragged on the floor. His black hair molded to his head and plastered to his face. His cheshire cat smile still shone on his pale face. 

"Howdy ho! You know, it's quite a swim out here."

"Black! Man, what are you doing here?!"

"Dude, you SWAM here?"

"Well, I was going to walk, but I'm not as gutsy as Peter."

"Peter?"

"You know...walked on the water to meet Jesus, then started sinking when he saw the storm...?" Black elaborated. "Well, I guess you guys never went to Sunday school!"

"And you did?" Raven questioned as he came into the tower, his shoes squeaking with each step. 

"Sure! At least recently. Free coffee, free music��comfy chairs."

"So to what do we owe this reception?" Star asked.

"Well," he put his fists on his hips. "I leave for a few hours to do stuff, and come home to find my hat gone!"

"Your hat gone?" Cyborg asked.

"Yes, my hat." The boy violently shook his head, sending water drops everywhere. “My humble abode betwixt roof and sky, nary a clue as to its remains…except a wrecking crew and a half demolished factory." 

“Oh, the hat on the factory where that fight was two weeks ago.” Cyborg elaborated.

"Bingo! Anyways, Jolene here," he pointed to Star, "said I could come to you guys if I needed anything. I think this constitutes as needing something."

"But you didn't need to swim out here, we could have met you somewhere!"

"And how would I contact you? Smoke signal? Rob a bank?" He shrugged.

Raven spoke up. "You're soaked."

"Excellent observation, Sherlock!" He promptly sneezed. "Oh great googly-moogly! My brain just blew up!"

"Let us get you into some dry clothes. You are becoming sick."

"Now darling," he laughed, patting her hands fondly. "I am already sick."

They started to lead him to the common room as they talked. "Huh, fancy-shmancy." He acknowledged as they traveled. 

"Beast Boy, get some clothes for our guest. He looks about your size," Cyborg suggested.

The green teen gave a thumbs up and ran down the hall.

“So, it’s not really in my nature to ask for help,” Black paused. “I think. At least not that I know of. But I figure you all owe me one anyway, for rescuing you.” 

Raven crossed her arms. “You mean for making a legal mess for us? It’s one thing to send a criminal to the hospital, but you paralyzed him.” 

“It’s his fault for being old!” Black argued. “A young person wouldn’t have snapped like that!” 

“Perhaps we should not dwell on that situation,” Starfire suggested. “You did help us, despite the great peril to yourself, so if we can help you, we shall.” 

Black shrugged. “Eh, not the first time I’ve stood in front of a firing squad. That, I’m certain of!” 

Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire shared looks of concern. 

“So what’s this favor you need?” Cyborg asked, glossing over that whole thing. 

“My hat, man! I can’t find it! It had all my money in it! All two dollars and 17 cents! I need help finding it.” 

“Aw buddy,” Cyborg rested a hand on his shoulder with a squish. “I’m pretty sure your hat is gone forever. They demolished that factory.”

His jaw dropped. “And they didn’t keep the hat!?”  

“Why would they?” Raven asked. 

“To put it on another building?”

“And…why would they put a hat on another building?” Starfire asked. 

“Perhaps whimsy! Frivolity even! This city sucks!” 

“Well,” Cyborg tried to placate him. “How about this: why don’t you stay here with us? For a little while, at least? Winter will be here soon. We’d all feel a lot better knowing you had a home when it’s cold out.” 

The assembled Titans shared looks. They were doing this. It wasn’t how they expected to lure him into the tower, but they needed to act now. 

Black seemed to mull it over, then took a deep breath and answered. “Kay.” 

“Then it is settled!” Starfire clapped her hands. “Please friend, may I take your coat?”

“Why certainly!” Black shrugged it off so it plopped in her arms. It was heavy. Heavier than just wet leather. It would be worth checking the pockets.

At that point, they arrived at the ops room. 

"Whoa!" Black exclaimed as he ran to the window. "You can see everything!" He pressed his hands and face against the glass.

"It was Robin's idea." Star proudly stated, hanging the coat up to dry. "When the Gordanian ship crashed here, Cyborg thought it would be most beneficial to convert it to a home. Robin conceptualized the design and the window overlooking the town."

There it was again. The unexplained anger over this simple name. Granted, there wasn't much that Black could explain in his head anyways. But this bothered him.

"Who's Robin?" He tilted his head.

The team simultaneously fell sad. "He was our leader," Cyborg stated.

"Our teacher, mentor, and coach," Raven added.

"And our dear friend," Star finished.

Black was still puzzled. Robin didn't sound like such a bad guy, so what made him so angry? "I saw y'all talking' 'bout 'im on the flash box."

"The what?"

"Flash box. You know, it's a box in a window that shows things on it, usually really depressing things that you don't want to see. Like commercials."

"Oh, you mean the television!" Starfire translated. She swiped the remote from the couch and flipped on one of the channels. The window sprang to life with a cooking show.

Black stared in awe. "THAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFULEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!" He attempted to hug it, but ended up sprawled out on the glass.

The team smiled to themselves.

"Alright dude, I got some civvies you can borrow. It just took a little while to find some that didn't smell funny." He held up a pair of gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt with ‘I’m with Stupid’ and a big arrow on it. 

Black's attention was immediately away from the giant TV. "Excellent!" He walked over, taking off his long sleeved shirt. His chest was riddled with scars, some fresher than others. "Gimme." He reached out his hands and snapped them like crab claws.

"Black, man, what happened to your arm?"

The strange boy looked at his arms. Besides being covered in watches, one was covered in cuts and blood, and one single band aid. "Oh. I punched a window out because I was angry," He spoke nonchalantly.

"You better let us patch it up," Raven spoke up. "It could get infected."

He looked at his arm. "I already licked it. That's what I usually do when I get hurt."

Beast Boy shook his head. "Animals are known to have lysosomes in their saliva, which aids the healing of wounds. Humans, however, carry bacteria in their mouths that could infect the body."

Raven looked surprised. "One of your rare moments of knowledge."

"When it comes to animals, I gots the knowledge." He tapped his temple. 

Black was still looking at his arm. "I don't want to lose my arm," he pouted to Cyborg. "Fix my boo-boo."

Cyborg couldn’t help but chuckle. "Okay, follow me to the medical lab."

As Black went towards the door, Starfire's eyes strayed to his back where she noticed something. It perplexed her at first, and her face twisted into a grimace the longer she looked.

"What is it, Star?" Cyborg asked, startled.

She shook her head in disgust and pointed at Black.

"Whoa…" Beast Boy exclaimed when he saw it.

"Yikes…" Raven followed.

Cyborg turned Black around to look at his back. "No way…"

"What? What is it? Is it a spider?! Get it off!"

Upon his flesh was a tattoo. Not any normal tattoo either, but a mess of lines and colors. First, there was an ‘S’ made of sharp angles in black ink. Then, it looked like someone went over it with a green and red smiley face with sharp teeth. It was clearly done outside of a studio, maybe even poke and stick. It was infected and raised, the jagged lines were weeping and blotchy. Around the smiley face were a bunch of lined scars that at first looked like hatch marks with a knife, but after staring for a while, the lines spelled out laughter, ‘HAHAHAHA’, that covered his whole back. 

"Black, where did you get this tattoo?"

"Tattoo?" The boy asked, trying in vain to see his back. "I have no tattoo."

Raven spoke up. "I bet he got it before he lost his memory."

"And I believe Slade had a hand in making him lose it."

Black whipped around and looked at Starfire. "Say that name again."

"Slade?"

He nodded. "I know him, well, not personally, and not physically, and definitely not Biblically. But I know him."

"How?"

"I…" the boy looked to the floor. "I think he's my dentist."

Cyborg gently steered him toward the hall. "Let's get you cleaned up. We have a lot of questions for you."

Beast Boy handed over the clothes he had brought earlier. 

“What? No undies?” Black pouted. 

“Uh…we’ll buy you some…” 

“I want a pair with Spongebob on them,” he explained, removing his belt. “Or Spiderman. Spiderman’s the coolest!” Without preamble, he dropped his pants, and then realized he was still wearing his shoes. He frowned and tried to balance to take them off while his pants were still around his knees. 

Raven and Starfire quickly turned around to give him privacy. 

Cyborg and Beast Boy were trying to figure out how to help, but it was a little awkward. 

“Uh, your shoes don’t match,” Beast Boy noted, for the first time. One was a mid-calf combat boot, and the other was an Oxford. Both black, of course. 

“This one’s my dancin’ shoe, and this one’s my ass kickin’ shoe.” Then he pointed to his butt. “And this is my shoe kickin’ ass.”  

“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“No, I just lean to one side.” 

Once he got his shoes and disgusting, mismatched socks off, he was left in his underwear. Bright green with white Hawaiian flowers on them.

Unexpected, to say the least. 

But besides that, he clearly had lines of scars down the back of his legs, and they probably continued onto his buttocks. His knees were black with dirt and bruises.

Cyborg groaned. “You know what? You should take a shower, man.” 

Black looked down at himself. “I am quite crusty.” 

Raven and Starfire shivered.  

“I’ll show you to the bathroom, come on.” 

Black toddled along, leaving his dirty clothes behind on the floor. Raven would collect his shirt and pants for cleaning, but the rest would be incinerated. 

Cyborg led him to the bathroom, and gave him Robin’s shampoo and conditioner to borrow, as well as a towel. Then he stood outside the door, making sure he had some privacy, but wasn’t completely unsupervised. 

“Found the dude some underwear and socks,” said Beast Boy, a new package under his arm. “He can keep ‘em.” 

“Now that you found it, it's gone! Now that you feel it, you don't! You've gone off the rails!” Black was singing at the top of his lungs, apparently enjoying his shower. 

Beast Boy shivered. “You think he picked up singing from Robin?” 

“Don’t know. I honestly don’t know how I feel about Black. Unsettled, but he’s kinda funny and seems nice when he’s not a whacko. I just…don’t want to believe he killed—” he stopped there, not wanting to say more. 

“Yeah,” Said Beast Boy. “Ditto.” 

“WHAT DO YOU LOOOOOOOOKKKKK LIIIIIKKKKEEEE—WHEN YOU’RE NUDE?” 

After a moment, the water shut off, and Black was humming. 

The door suddenly swooshed open, revealing a totally nude young man, toweling his hair dry. 

“How did I know that was gonna happen?” Beast Boy lamented. “Here dude.” 

“Yes! Undies!” He opened the package. “White?! What kind of malarky is this!?” 

“Put the underwear on,” Cyborg demanded. 

“Yes sir.” Black dressed quickly, throwing on the underwear and pants. Then he gathered all of his watches, like a bouquet, and smiled at them. “I’m ready for my doctor’s appointment!” 

In the medical lab, Black sat like a good little boy on the table, gently swinging his legs. Cyborg had a cotton ball and was disinfecting the multiple cuts on his arm. Raven gently cleaned the tattoo with a soapy cloth.  

"Well, nothing too deep. It doesn't look like you'll need stitches."

"One alien is enough trouble," Black mumbled to himself.

"So," Raven stared at the gorey markings as she dabbed it all dry. "When did you lose your memory?"

He scratched his head with his good arm. "Well, I didn't really lose it…I just…misplaced it. I think I've been memory-less for a few months."

"Only a few months?" Cyborg raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Or maybe it was a few years, I'm not sure. But in all honesty, I have some fuzzy stuff from before then and I have dreams of what I think was my past life."

"What are the dreams like?"

"I would rather not talk about them…they make me…hmmm…not happy."

"What is the first memory you have?" Starfire asked.

He put a finger to his lips. A tap tap tap. "There are little things, dark and bloody and scary things…but I remember clearly waking up in a dark room. Alone and NAKEY."

"So you still don't know where the tat came from?" asked BB.

"I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Here," Starfire took a tablet they used for medical exams and took a picture of it. "This is present on your back. It takes up the majority of it." Starfire kept trying to show the photo to Black, but he wouldn’t look at it. Not a straight refusal, but he seemed to be distracted by different things in the room. 

"It's Slade's mark," Raven elaborated. “And something else, that I don’t recognize.”

"Like a curse?!" Black jumped from the table, wiped his hands frantically on his pants, spun around in a circle, and spat on the floor.

"I'm afraid it is much worse than a curse," Raven spoke gravely. "No doubt he's the reason you can't remember anything."

Black scrunched his nose. "I guess I owe him a thank you."

"What?" Cyborg squawked.

"Whomever I was in said past, is not this present person. And said present person is more pleasant to exist as than person in the past."

"What?" They asked unanimously.

"Me good now, no good before. Si?"

Raven's eyes narrowed as she looked over the strange boy. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Black?"

"What do you want to know?" He finally calmed down enough for Cyborg to finish wrapping his wounds. Raven put on some nitrile gloves and gently applied some antibiotic cream to the tattoo.

"Just about you. Likes, dislikes, stuff like that. We’re friends, aren’t we?" Raven spoke casually, but she was probing for deep answers. Beast Boy’s theory that this boy was the one from the video nagged at her mind, but she still had doubts. 

What were the chances? 

She had heard Slade’s voice before. Everyone on the team had it burned into their brains. Whoever those men were on the video, neither of them were Slade.

But was there still a connection?

"Well," he scratched his chin. "I like to pee in the rain."

They all simultaneously blinked.

"Don't judge until you try." He wagged his finger. "I also enjoy fishing for golf balls, watching buildings burn, censoring offensive graffiti, and having happy thoughts while listening to sad music."

"Hobbies?"

"Kicking names and taking ass. Sometimes I tie people up upside down and make them sing for me. They usually just scream."

“Uh…that’s pretty messed up,” said Beast Boy, chuckling anyway. 

“I don’t do it to innocent people, just criminals, like drug dealers and door to door salesmen.” 

"There." Cyborg said, taping off the last bandage. "All done. Here.” He handed over the shirt, which Black gingerly put on. 

“Would you like something to eat?"

The boy looked up at the robot with wide, bright eyes. He clenched his fists and nodded excitedly.

In the kitchen, the team watched as plateful after plateful was scarfed down by this puny kid. He did look incredibly skinny to the four, but as he was homeless, they didn't think much about it.

"More Grutchlog?" Starfire smiled hopefully.

He nodded only.

"Don't you want to know what you're eating?" Beast Boy asked, looking queasy.

"Why? It'll make a turd." He shoved a spoonful of black fuzzy goop into his mouth. When he got to a single Hot Dog on a plate he froze completely. “Oh. No processed meat please.” 

Beast Boy grinned. “Yes! Another vegetarian around here!” 

“I’m not a vegetarian,” Black clarified, “I just don’t eat processed meat.” 

“That’s what a––you know what? Never mind. I’ll fry you up some tofu sesame noodles! You’ll love them!” 

“You ate a chicken leg,” Raven pointed out. 

“Because it wasn’t processed.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t organic.” 

He set his silverware down and folded his hands in front of him. “I don’t eat anything that you could hide human meat in.” 

The team fell silent. 

“That’s…something you had a problem with?”

Black took a far off look and he stared passed them. “Nightmares.” 

Cyborg scooted a plate of waffles closer. “No meat in this.” 

“Don’t mind if I do!” And he tore into the food. 

After his meal, they escorted him to the guest room. It had been Terra’s room, a long time ago, but Beast Boy took it upon himself to repaint it, to help let go of the bad memories. The walls were a desaturated brown, a black ceiling, and gray carpet. There was a bedside table, closet, and double bed. 

“BED!” He screamed and ran full tilt toward it. His arms spread wide as he leapt and collided with the mattress, bouncing slightly. 

"It's like a cloud." He whispered to himself.

"Why don't you get some sleep? Don't worry about the morning, just sleep as long as you need to." With that, the Titans left their new friend alone.

[syresdcthings]

Alina Shelley (Known as Alina Napier) in Monium Au. She is Tims age!

During let's say Jokers 2nd Finch child, he found out he had a DAUGHTER! She was 6, and he kidnapped her. Alina was young so she was confused but she's always been smart and was able to put together the fact this was an extremely weird situation she should get out of. Fact: she didn't. And she'd be mad that she never saw her mum again if it wasn't for the fact she died a month after Alina was kidnapped.

Alinas relationship with Joker is complicated. She would often run away to the Police Station, which turned into Gordons house, where she meets Barbara. Joker ALWAYS found her though even if they did everything they could to stop that.

At some point, Alina gave up fighting. Joker let her go to highschool when she turned 14, and he didnt make her fight hero's like the Finches had to (Though after she met Robin! Tim, she started sneaking out ALOT more often wink).

At 17, when Joker is alot more chilled out with Alina, and after the rewritten Jon age up and RoboTim arc, she officially joined young justice as Evelyn (Occasionally as herself). She wasn't there for EVERY mission but she tried her best, since she was still under Jokers care it was difficult doing hero shit.

Time skip to her being 18! Joker has met Sylvian and Alina is officially able to get the hell away from Jokers super secret lair. She moves in with the Wayne's temporarily, but is soon welcomed by Gordon into his house (since he has a spare bedroom). I live for Monium Au Dad Gordon crumbs.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

She's 20 now, and is living in her own apartment! Sylvian, Bruce, and others have made Jokers pill and he is on the track to almost full sanity! Joker and Sylvian plan on making mpreg babies the Alien way 😍 (DNA samples and a touch of Spark from Sylvians weird Alien star thing, incubated. Lab baby. Canon.)

Alina is 21. Mittens is born! Sylvian DIES and Joker is incapable of looking after the baby! Alina takes over but she is ALSO finding it incredibly difficult because she's busy juggling training to become a police officer and hero work with Evelyn. Everyone comes together to help.

Mittens goes with Dick, Starfire, and Barbara mostly, they both love to have him. Wayne Manor take him usually on weekends, Alfred adores having a baby in the house (Damian, at 19 years of age, is still not a fan). The Flash fam already have the 3rd Finch to deal with so that's a lost cause. Jon loves Mittens because he SENSES something from him and he doesn't know what, so occasionally Superfam. Sylvian had ties to the LOA, but Alina isn't sure she trusts Talia with Mittens...

The most IMPORTANT one, though, is the fact Mittens goes with Corefour every night.

Mittens called Alina mum once. She sobbed.

Anywho! ALINA ART! plus Tim. Plus toddler Mittens.

[nitewrighter]

Headcanons for Robin/Nightwing and Starfire’s future in the animated series?

>If we're assuming they got together after "Trouble In Tokyo" I imagine they'd be together for about... two to three years. During this time Robin finally has the confidence to put on the mantle of Nightwing and move away from being Robin, but also something's still off.

>Like the thing about 03 Robin/Nightwing, at least in my interpretation, is that he's going to continue to be a hot-headed over-competitive asshole consumed by their hero work until Starfire's like, "Okay but do you actually see yourself having a life outside of this. Do you see yourself as a whole person outside of this." And Robin doesn't actually have an answer for that. So... she dumps him. She loves him, and she knows he loves her, but like... she also knows that the Dick she knows now will just keep throwing himself at a wall until he falls apart if it means getting the mission done, and she knows that's not healthy for either of them. She knows she's not helping him get past that.

>So Starfire goes into space for a time to get some perspective--and it hurts, but like... also Earth is a planet she got really attached to because she essentially crashed onto it after a series of really traumatic events, so she kind of needs to see how big the universe is because she let her world get so small so fast. She loves her friends, but she also needs to see what's out there, you know? So she goes among the stars, nearly gets recruited into the Star Sapphire corps, helps Razer find Aya (because goddammit I need closure there), has long philosophical sessions with The Android, hangs out with the Wonder Twins, kicks some Apokolips butt, hooks up with a Thanagarian hottie, gets fuckin' blasted with Lobo, gets in a bar fight with Lobo, has a long weird bonding session with Lobo, and drunkenly cries to Space Cabbie about how much she misses the Titans (and Dick) while Lobo's like, "You don't NEED them, you are a strong, beautiful, independent Tamaranean!" Helps Lobo patch things up with his own daughter, does her best to patch things up with Blackfire (Things are still really awkward between them but there are fewer coups involved, at least.) Does a whole bunch of humanitarian (tamaranean-tarian?) work on Tamaran, and honestly just kind of gets a great sense of like, "Okay, you know... I actually feel like a whole person now." Like she's seen enough of the universe that like... she doesn't feel like a fish out of water back on earth. But ultimately... she misses earth, and she misses her friends, and that's her home, so she returns. It's been like... 3 years, but she finally feels comfortable saying that's her home.

>Now in that three years, Dick's been going through it, too, but this is not a "Getting Your Groove Back In Space" situation. He's doing a lot of work in Blüdhaven. He has a kind of intense relationship with Barbara Gordon. Like the whole thing there was that Babs was hardcore a childhood crush for him, so it's like, "Yeah! This is what I've actually wanted the whole time! Guess I just have a thing for redheads!" But... nah. It's... not quite like that. Like Babs thinks he's cute but it's also like Dick represents her trying to get emotional fulfillment out of the whole cape life and everything's all tangled up in them trying to prove themselves to Bruce and why the fuck are they still trying to prove themselves to Bruce?! It's that situation where you think it's what you want and you convinced yourself its what you want for so long that you don't want to admit how hollow it feels when you finally have it... Dick's still willing to try for it, but Babs was always the brains between them and she breaks it off.... then she gets paralyzed and that fucks both of them up and Dick is like, "Hey let me be here for you" but she pushes him away. She's done. (Don't worry give her like a year and a half and she'll be kicking ass as Oracle--it'll all work out.)

>So Dick is like, "Fine. I can give up the cape life too. All it's ever done is fuck me up anyway." So he does. But it's not like he can sit around and do nothing. And that's where all of the fucking "Spyral" shit starts. Spyral sucks. He feels like a goddamn idiot with Spyral. But then everything starts funneling back toward Gotham again and uh oh it turns out Gotham has gone to shit--like way more to shit than usual. And that's when Damian pops up in Dick's life like "Bruce disappeared. You have to be Batman now. Also you suck and you'll never be Batman. Now put on the cowl. Fuck you." And Dick is like, "Wow. I cannot stress how much this is the last thing I want." And just to rub his nose in it further Tim Drake is just absolutely vibing as Red Robin so it's like, "Huh I guess all your Robin hangups were a you problem." But... somehow chasing Damian's freaky little sword-wielding-ass around and getting the shit kicked out of him by Jason and then kicking the shit out of Jason helps him work through a bunch of stuff? Like it's ugly. It's an ugly situation from all angles. But it's also Dick confronting literally everything that fucked him up about being Robin, while also trying to steer Damian to a healthier mindset as the new Robin.

>Eventually Bruce returns from the Phantom Zone or whatever, takes up the mantle of Batman again like, "Oh god I'm so sorry I never meant to put that on you and I realize I put a lot of shit on you" and Dick comes out of it finally being able to say, "I'm never going to be Batman. But if I'm going to be a symbol, and I know I want to be a symbol, I'm Nightwing." And Bruce is like, "Hey, that's great. So like... this is totally optional... but the league is putting together a kind of junior team. It's gonna be run a lot more cleanly that the first iteration of the Titans, but we can't be babysitting them the whole time... what do you say." And honestly being a mentor has like... really grown on Dick, so he's like, "yeah totally." And Hal fucking Jordan cuts in like, "Great! You'll be co-leading with Kory!" and Dick's like "What."

>Oh my god working as co-leaders is so fucking awkward. Like basically each sees the other like, "Oh fuck. They've gotten so much hotter and they seem so much more mature and together and I've just been a hot mess for the past three years." But then they start catching up more and more, and they start talking about their adventures, and god, they are such good co-mentors to the new Titans. They become really good friends and that whole guardedness about not wanting to hurt each other actually lets them develop a really deep and respectful non-romantic relationship. But also there's still that "Oh no they're hot" tension going on.

>To their credit it takes about like... a year and a half for them to finally hook up again, and then shit gets gross. They're just making out all the time, having cutesy little inside jokes during briefings, walking around the tower with shit-eating grins, it's unbearable. But also good for them. They are absolutely the team Mom and Dad and their shit is together.

>Eventually they get married and have Mar'i and they keep showing goddamn baby pictures to the league and the Titans when no one asked. The End. :)

[catxsnow]

OBVIOUSLY UNOBVIOUS T.D.

Request: I have a request ! It's kinda angsty but what if tim and y/n work together(maybe your like second in comment at WE), and y/n knows his secret, y/n is also very strong(powers or not up to you ) and Tim manages to convince her to join the Titans.y/n likes him , and she can't help but be jealous of him and Cassandra's friendship.y/n tries not to like cass but fails Bc she's just that good of a friend 

Sorry it's a Tim request! Where Tim and y/n are unaware of their feelings for each other. So Tim asks cass to be touchy, more friendly, and y/n is unaffected but on the inside she's boiling , so she asks Bart to be extra flirty, and it's just one big hot mess. 

Request for Tim falling for the new member of the Titans , y/n the protege of green arrow/black canary , Tim bring mad protective/jealous every time Bart flirts with her, yn being oblivious as hell

Warning: fluff, mentions of blood, 

A/N: I combined three requests because they were all kinda simliar in the bart/cassie making reader jealous so I hope you don’t mind. 

Word Count: 4k

Joining the Teen Titans had not been your idea. At all.

Tim pestered you for months to join his silly little band of sidekicks. You met him not long after he 'saved' you from a night of patrol gone wrong. New to Gotham and not quite understanding just how much of a hell hole it was. Avoiding Batman was easier than you thought - but Robin? Not so much.

Robin was kind to you, unlike his mentor. He always had a boyish smile for you, some explanation of the new tech he got excited over, and he never questioned who you really were. You knew that he knew your entire identity, how could the great Batman let his sidekick cohort with an unnamed masked vigilante?

You found yourself seeking his company more than seeking criminals at night. It wasn't just having someone watch your back, it was even if you didn't know who was hiding under the mask you felt like you could trust him. Robin quickly became the one person you could constantly rely on.

Robin was somehow always there when you got yourself into a tight situation. Cornered by goons that outnumbered you by a landslide, an unexpected amount of hired guns at a drug bust, even when you stumbled upon higher up criminals did he managed to be there just in the nick of time.

The reliance became almost unhealthy. Any time you were stuck in a rut you told yourself he would be there, he would always be there. And then he wasn't. In the moments that you needed him most, he wouldn't show up at all. Bloody and bruised, you'd barely make it out alive because you believed that he would show up.

It was your own fault for putting faith in someone you didn't even know the name of. Batman and Robin had their own issues, their own battles to fight - they didn't always have the time for yours.

A freezing Saturday night Batman had found you barely breathing in a dark alley. Ganged up out of the blood, trauma to the head that left you dazed and barely able to fight. It was a small gang that you thought you had taken down months ago - turns out they were just hiding in the shadows and waiting to attack.

They left you half-dead in the alley, hoping that you would have learned your lesson to not mess with them again. Instead, it made you angry - furious at them, at yourself for messing up like this. Revenge was the only thing on your mind while you tried to push yourself up to move again.

Truth was, if it wasn't for Batman showing up, you weren't sure if you would have ever made it back home alive. He took you to the infamous batcave, tended to your wounds like his own sidekick. He was silent, just as he always was whenever he saw you and Robin together. The quiet made it painfully obvious that Robin wasn't there that night.

You woke up in the early hours of the morning, still in the cave and with an unfamiliar face at your side. Dark tufts of black hair that stuck up in every direction, sharp cheekbones that could barely be seen from the hand resting on his face. He wore shorts, despite the cold that lingered in the air.

Your eyes flickered to the Robin costume that was displayed in a glass stand. Bright reds and greens that always stood out in the night and made it oh-so-easy to spot. A mask that covered only the eyes and the sculpted cheeks bones of the boy hiding beneath. It was Robin that was sleeping in the chair beside your bed, maskless and vulnerable to someone he didn't even know.

"You're awake," he spoke without opening his eyes. Sleep was heavy in his voice. The usual pep that he had was replaced with a hoarseness that had you taken aback for a split moment. Bright blue eyes met yours. You always wondered what color they'd be, but you never expected them to be so vibrant - so full of life.

"How could you have possibly woken up from that, I haven't even moved," You tried to joke. A pain rippled through your whole body. Bruises dark in color splattered against you and a tight wrap was around your ribs where surely half of them were broken or cracked. You could feel the swell in your lips, the metallic taste of blood that lingered in your mouth even hours after you were defeated. Without needing to see yourself, you knew that you were looking rough.

"You were making noises in your sleep, they stopped when you woke up," Robin informed you. Whimpers and whines from the pain that ached throughout you echoed through the cave for hours. He knew of getting his ass handed to him, and he knew just how you felt that moment. "How are you feeling?"

Tim felt guilty. He tried his best to watch over you in the ferocious Gotham life, but sometimes he hadn't made it in time. You were lucky to be alive, and if that wasn't the case he wouldn't be able to live with himself, not when he was on some stupid team-building exercise in San Francisco.

There were tons of descriptions that you could have used to describe how you were feeling. Enraged. Embarrassed. Vengeful. "Sore," you settled with. Tim nodded, by the hesitance you had he wasn't sure if that was going to be your final answer. You rubbed a hand down your face, mixed feelings running through more than ever.

The familiar feeling of bare skin met your path. No mask, no covering your identity. No surprise that Batman did so. You paused a moment before sticking that same hand out for Robin to shake. "I presume you already knew long ago, but (Y/N) (L/N)."

Tim accepted your hand, surprised at the sudden grip that you had on him in your weakened state. "Tim Drake, I assume you already put together that I'm Robin," he mocked your words. "It's nice to officially meet you, (Y/N)."

Months of trying to convince you that joining the Teen Titans was the best thing that could happen to you. Not only would you get the additional training you needed, but you would have the resources and a team. You'd get friends - and most importantly you'd get to be near Tim more often.

As annoying as his pestering was to get you to join him, it was far more adorable. He'd get this little pout on his face, bottom lip sticking out that made you just want to kiss him. You knew the reason - or thought you knew - why he wanted you to join. He was scared for you. That night in the alley when he wasn't even home terrified him.

He was going to make sure that it never happened again. Tim would be there to protect you, and if he couldn't then his friends sure as hell would. Months of bribing, swaying, hangouts, and patrol, Tim finally convinced you to join him. The time you spent together had brought you closer together as friends.

It also brought unwanted feelings that kept you up at night. The little amount of sleep that you usually got dwindled as your thoughts and dreams became consumed by Tim Drake. He was more than a friend, a partner, a teammate - he was someone that you could love for the rest of your life. Yet, he had no idea.

Joining his little band of heroes didn't help either. You spent far more time with him. Training, missions, just hanging out in the lounge of the infamous Titans Tower. He became your every living moment - along with his friends. They weren't all easy to get along with. Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, they all acted like they controlled your each and every move.

Conner Kent, Superboy, as nice as he was whenever he spent time with Tim you couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Bart took a while to get used to - just as Tim had told you it would. He was nice to you, but his literal sense of being all over the place drove you nuts. Cassie? Well, she was the one that got on your nerves the most.

Whenever Cassie and Tim were in the same room together, she hung off him like a leech. No matter what was going on she was right at his side. She made it impossible to hang out with him and you had no idea why she was so possessive of him. It seemed impossible to enjoy her presence. 

It was also impossible to hate her too. Whenever the two of you worked alone, she was always so incredibly kind to you. She would help you when you messed up or offered words of advice from her own mistakes. Cassie wasn't afraid to admit to you that she's messed up far more than you had. It was confusing why she changed so much around Tim.

It was annoying to see his stupid little smiles every time you were visibly frustrated with them together. It was even worse when their hugs lasted a little longer than they needed to be. Your jealousy of Cassie was getting out of hand, and that would only mean that bad decisions would be made.

><

You stood with your fist raised, ready to knock on the door in front of you. Maybe this choice was petty, maybe you were more scared to admit your own feelings than you were fighting monsters. Truth was, you just wanted to see Tim react the same way that you did when he was around Cassie. What better way than to use one of his own friends to do it?

Kon was too loyal to Tim to keep a secret. Victor and Gar wouldn't agree to it in the slightest - them being the 'responsible leaders' that they were. That left Bart Allen. Speedster. Kid Flash. As kind as he was, you didn't know him well enough to know if he would even agree to this ridiculous plan of yours.

The more you thought about it, the more ridiculous it even was. Why waste time trying to make Tim jealous when he probably didn't even think about how Cassie acted around him? Why not just tell him outright that after over a year of working together, you had caught major feelings for him?

Before you could change your mind about this whole thing, Bart's door opened. He looked ready to run out to do god knows what but stopped, confused, when he saw you standing there. "(Y/N), hey, uh," Bart scratched the back of his head. You never stopped by to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to you?" Your gaze turned to the end of the hall when hearing footsteps. Black and yellow cape, green shirt, of course, Tim remained in uniform even in his downtime. He met your eyes for a moment, a smile making it's way to his face before realizing that you were talking to Bart. His gaze turned to a glare when seeing how little of a space was between you and Bart.

Seeing his small change in facial expression had just confirmed that you liked seeing him jealous - if that's even what his emotion was. You smiled his way before grabbing Bart's hand and leading him back into his room. The door slammed shut before Tim could even reach it.

"What-" Bart tried to ask.

"I need you to do me a favour," Bart's room was a mess. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, unmade bed, food wrappers, and pizza boxes covering every inch of furniture. The difference between him and Tim was astounding just by looking at their living spaces. "I need you to help me make Tim jealous."

><

Surprisingly, Bart was quick to agree with your little plan. He too noticed that since your arrival to the tower, Tim and Cassie were closer than ever. If he was to notice, then surely there had to be something going on, right? Either way, it just fueled your desire to make him jealous even more.

They were small actions at first. You'd make sure that Bart would enter your room just as Tim was walking by, only to leave again moments later when he was gone. Always being quick to pair up with you for everything, only for Tim to argue that his pairing with you made more sense. Lingering hugs, watching movies together, sharing food.

Tim was quickly annoyed with Bart's presence whenever you were with him. However, he didn't bring it up. His glares, huffs of annoyance, and cold behaviour were all obvious though he never asked about your sudden interest in his best friend.

Kon, the only one that wasn't involved, but invested, quickly picked up on what happened. Tim got Cassie to be touchy the first day that you arrived. You asked Bart to do just the same. It was obvious what was going on to everyone besides you and Tim.

As funny as it was to watch, he was also getting annoyed at the lack of communication between you. According to Tim, you and him were best friends before you decided to join the team. Now, it seemed that you had never been farther apart because of your ruses.

"You and Bart got close since you've arrived," Tim was leaning against the door of your room. It had been days since the two of you had talked alone and you missed him. Keeping this fake-touchy relationship with Bart was exhausting. It didn't even seem to be worth it - until this moment.

"Yeah, he's a good guy," You peaked above the book you held in your hand. Tim invited himself into your room and sprawled across the bottom of your bed. He didn't want to hear about your relationship with Bart, but the words slipped his mouth before he could think of anything else. It drove him nuts seeing the two of you together. "Made this place feel like a home."

He didn't, at all. Truth was, you wished that you were back in Gotham, back where you didn't know you had to share Tim with anyone besides Batman. Now, with all his friends, you felt like you never got to see him at all. As much as you learned, and as thankful as you were for everything that you learned, you missed what your friendship used to be with Tim.

"You never told me you and Cassie were so close," You hesitantly spoke as a silence washed over you. Tim remainder stotic. He and Cassie were great friends, but they were never as physically close as they were now. She had been reluctant to agree to his pleas of acting closer than they really were to make you jealous. His efforts seemed all for null with your new fondness of the speedster.

If Tim were Bruce, he'd probably be able to pick up on the jealousy in your voice. Right now, he was too caught up in your own thinking about the hours that Bart spent in your room, laughing so loud that he could hear it from his room. He loathed the idea of you and Bart together.

"Yeah." Yeah. That's all he had to say? All their time together, nothing more than a single word to talk about the woman he clearly cared deeply about.

Another silence. A painful, heart aching silence that never used to happen before you joined this stupid team. It seemed that arriving had pushed you and Robin farther apart than ever before. You hated these moments, hated it felt like you knew nothing about one another, like you hadn't nearly died together half a dozen times.

It seemed that your silence in the middle of a mission was louder than these moments.

"Tim?" You asked. He was staring up at your ceiling and you couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on in his head. No matter how close you were, or thought you were, he would always remain a mystery.

"Yeah," he repeated.

What if I moved back to Gotham? What if I asked you to stay there with me? What if I told you everything with Bart was a lie? What if I told you my feelings for you were undeniable? What if the reason I want to hate Cassie is because of you? What if...

"Nevermind." There was no point in dwelling in what if's.

><

Kori always promoted training with teammates. It was a great way to hone in on your skills, and develop a further relationship among your team. Kon was back in Smallville, Beast Boy and Cyborg were off working for their previous leader Nightwing. That left just the four of you - two of which you could barely look at.

You were infuriated with Tim. The entire week he had been brushing you off, ignoring your messages, it was like he was avoiding you completely. To make matters worse, Cassie had been glued to his side the entire time. They didn't part ways for anything it seemed.

Now, you and Bart were fighting against Tim and Cassie. Though the speedster and Amazonian had no issues with each other, it was clear that they knew to stay out of yours and Tim's way during the spar. It seemed that just as you were frustrated with Tim, he was with you.

The clashing of staffs was almost as loud as Bart's cackling as he ran around the training room. Tim didn't hold back, not at all. He wasn't surprised to see you do the same, however, he was shocked to see how much you had improved since your time in Gotham. As good as you were, you could rarely hold your own against him.

You didn't need to see beneath his mask to know that he was angry. It was only a matter of who it was directed at. Bruce, maybe. Dick. Kon. You could only dream that it was Cassie but you knew damn better than that. Likely, you were the one to have done something wrong - which was probably why he was ignoring you.

"If you've got something to say, Robin, you should say it," You gritted out as you narrowly missed the staff swinging your way. It was beyond frustrating fighting with him. Tim was impossible to get a hit laid on him, and he was constantly on the defensive with you - as if he didn't want to hit you or something similar.

"Do you really think now is the best time for conversation?" Tim flipped to miss your swing. As he landed, he knocked your weapon away in a single move, leaving you defenseless against him. The fight, as if it wasn't already, became completely unfair in his advantage. Conversation was the only thing that was going to get your the upper hand.

"Well you refuse to talk to me any other time."

His strikes became harder, faster. You needed to get his staff away from just as he did to you before he landed a hit. Tim cried out as your heel slammed against his hand. The force of it knocked the staff out of his hand and it rolled away in the opposite direction of your own.

Tim nursed his throbbing hand for a moment before raising his fists. "Didn't think you'd notice with how much time you're spending with Bart." He jabbed at you, hitting your forearm instead of his intended target of your face. You could see the two other heroes fighting from the corner of your eye - both of them getting just as frustrated but for completely different reasons.

"You're the one that invited me to this team, Drake," your foot jutted towards his chest. It barely impacted him - even though he was quick, he wasn't quick enough. "It's like the moment we left Gotham you were ready to drop me."

"Is that seriously what you think?" Tim was barely able to dodge your oncoming throws. Punch after punch you had still missed them all. He managed to grab your fist. "You obviously don't realize-"

"You wouldn't know obvious if it punched you in the face!" You exclaimed as you wound your free arm back. Tim was so taken aback that he didn't have time to prepare for the hit. Your knuckles collided with his cheekbone and the force of it had knocked him flat on his ass. A loud thud echoed through the room - enough for Cassie and Bart to stop in their tracks.

Tim's cheek was red from where you had hit him.  He didn't look angry with you - it was a spar after all. He looked disappointed, more at himself than you. Was there more to this whole situation than he had originally thought there to be.

Robin, world's second greatest detective - he should have been able to see right through everything. Just as he had asked Cassie to be affectionate when you were around - maybe you just done exactly the same thing with Bart. What kind of mess had he gotten himself into?

You stood above him, hands still in fists. In that moment you made up your mind. Staying in this damn tower was draining you and you couldn’t take it any longer. 

"I'm going back to Gotham."

><

"You were right."

Tim caught you packing your bags for your return back to Gotham. To no surprise, he managed to sneak in without you even knowing. You were frozen, hand in your bag after shoving in a handful of clothing at the sound of his voice.

"I don't hear you say that very often," you snarked. He leaned on the edge of your desk, arms crossed over his chest and mask peeled off. He never wore it anymore when the two of you were alone. He trusted you too much not to. Then again, maybe you were just the only one that knew the real him under that mask.

"That's because you rarely are," he chuckled. Now wasn’t the time for his joke. "I'm sorry, for everything. Apparently, I wasn't able to see the truth until it hit me in the face - literally. Bart told me what happened, what you asked him to do. I... I-"

"Asked Cassie to do the same," you cut him off. Tim's mouth parted with shock. How could you have figured it out? Defeated, you sat on the edge of your bed. You felt like a fool for going through with such an elaborate plot to gain his affections. "She just left my room. Don't know whether I'm surprised or disappointed in both of us.

"Great minds think alike, huh?" Tim shook his head. Only a fool would have gone through such a process - and a fool he was. "What were we thinking? You're my best friend (Y/N), I know I can trust you with everything, and yet- and yet I was scared of what you would say."

"We really played ourselves, huh?" You chuckled. Tim pushed himself off your desk to take the seat next to you. He grabbed your hand, pulling it into his own lap and intertwining your fingers. His warmth crawled up your arm and spread across your entire body. 

What were you thinking with this stupid plan? More importantly, how did neither of you figure out the truth sooner? Tim felt just as much of an idiot as you did. 

He smiled at the sight of your hand in his. He was so caught up in trying to get silly reactions out of you that he forgot the reasoning behind it all. Tim adored you, he wanted you to be his and he should have just told you outright instead of being the scared little boy he once was. 

"Come back to Gotham with me? Please?" You asked suddenly. The two of you needed a break away from the team, you needed time to figure out what these past few months were really for. Mostly, you wanted Tim all to yourself, even for just a little while. 

"There's a great burger place that I found with Dick one night on Patrol. Ate so many that I could barely move the rest of the night," Tim smiled at the memory. "Go with me? On a date?"

Tim's eyes shone with hope for your answer. After going through this entire mess, he only assumed you would be willing to go on a date with him. You leaned towards him, lips barely brushing against his but aching with anticipation for more. He pressed himself into you, lips molding to yours like he was made for you.

"If it wasn't obvious, I'd love to."

@pricetagofficial @mora-miserium  @babymango-writes  @redrobin-yumm  @simp-is-what-i-am  @catsofsmoke  @subtleappreciation  @officiallydarkgeek @spiitfiires  @pinkdiamond1016  @childish-kiwi  @givetimdrakeacoffee  @gunnedrobin   @local-fandom-trashcan  @bikoncon  @foenixphire

[stxleslyds]

Robin Jason, a friend and ally of the Titans.

PART 2.

Hi! Welcome to Part 2 of this post, as I said in the last one, I will be talking about Robin Jason’s moments and not reviewing the issues from a story point of view but I think I will have to give a little more context in this one because honestly I am a little lost with this particular storyline, there is too much going on and Jason isn't part of many pages so yeah, I hope this post isn't too boring or bad though.

I will link part 1 Here!

Let’s begin!

·         NTT (1884) #26-28

In my last post I talked about how Jason would be called by Donna to help the Titans save Dick and Raven from Brother Blood’s people. We start #26 with Mother Mayhem giving a public speech on television. What you have to get from this is that this cult is using the image of the two Titans/Heroes (Nightwing and Raven) that they captured as propaganda for their intentions, their intentions being resurrecting Brother Blood and making the world believe that they are good people. Obviously, Dick and Raven are not there because they are supportive of their cause, they were both brainwashed.

In this issue the Titans team that had fallen apart in issue #19 is back, so we find Donna, Beast boy, Cyborg, Joey and Wally together once more and they are trying to figure out what to do because they have two problems, on one hand Beast Boy’s father is killing people and captured Garth and on the other a whole ass cult is doing cult-y shit and captured Dick and Raven. In the end they choose to go save Dick and Raven first but they do it because Beast Boy says this “I…don’t know. I can’t say what we should do. We need Dick here…he’s a tactician. We need him as out leader”. Never in my life would I have thought that I would agree with beast boy but yeah…hard agree.

Donna understands that even though the team is (mostly) back on its feet they still need more firepower and that’s why she calls Jason. While it was kinda rude of Cyborg to say that Jason is not all that (in terms of firepower) any kind of tension is quicky gone because Starfire comes back (talk about firepower).

We have various moments of Beast Boy being a perv towards Kory (thanks a lot Marv) but that’s not important, what’s important is that now the Titans have to tell Kory that Dick has been captured and they are on their way to save him.

They all leave to Zandia (where Brother Blood’s Church is located) and a fight ensues as soon as they arrive, they fight but their goal is to get to the Church as fast as possible. Jason doesn’t say anything in these panels but he is fighting alongside the others. When things get a bit more complicated Jason starts to feel that maybe he isn’t that capable of handling himself but he doesn’t have to do anything by himself because this time he has a team that can back him up. Kory gives him a lift as soon as Jason is surrounded, he is of course thankful and a little bit pervy (thanks a lot Marv).

Kory is shot just after she gets him out of trouble and Jason as the adorable kid that he is becomes worried for her well-being. After Beast Boy is also injured in the fight the Titans decide to leave back to camp. Thankfully both Kory and BB are okay but they are all still worried about how they will get to the Church. We see here once more Donna being a bit overwhelmed with leading the Titans and beating herself up over what happened in Switzerland (#20 and #21) but Jason reassures her instantly that she did a good job and she doesn’t need to be so hard on herself.

This interaction here is particularly nice because Jason reassures Donna without her asking for it. In my last post Donna looked for reassurance in Robin several times but she didn’t do it because she actually wanted Jason to give his thoughts, she did it because she was hoping Jason would act like Dick and eventually take over the team’s leadership. Here that isn’t the case, Jason just tells her what he thinks.

After Donna talks about her doubts Kory says that she is impatient and worried about Dick but also expresses being unsure because the last time that she saw Dick they kinda left things off on “bad terms”. I say this because just like it happened with Jason and Roy, Jason and Kory also have differences, she is a grown and experienced woman that is going through adult problems and Jason is a kid that is just happy that he was called to join them on another adventure.

If we back a few panels to when Jason said that Kory “was a sight for sore eyes” Kory responds saying “first Changeling, now you. It’s got to be puberty”, she is obviously not pleased about Jason making that comment about her and it’s also made clear that he is just a teenager.

This is where I rant about how different what we see here is from what we get later in New 52. Just like Roy (in New 52) Kory is also seemingly very close or the same age as Jason and she is the one that is written as wanting to take Jason to bed or, at the very least, attracted to him. Kory being an adult in comparison with Jason is taken away from her and she is just transformed into something to fit Jason’s new beginning as the Red Hood. Lobdell didn’t do Kory any favours, he annihilated her character and made her out to be just eye candy that can come off as stupid and way too reckless just to prop Jason up, believe it or not Jason sometimes was the voice of reason to both Roy and Kory’s antics.

It’s even worse when you consider the fact that in this issue Kory is feeling better and more confident because she finally understands what she wants and has accepted Earth as her real home, all of that is gone in New 52, Kory is lost, insecure, she even depends on Jason a bit too much at the start (because she “didn’t remember” her time on earth or Dick) and goes back to killing. All in all, Lobdell’s version of Kory was very damaging and a disservice to her past history.

Back to the issue, as Donna and the others are going to start coming up with a plan (with only two days until resurrection day) we move scenes and find ourselves in a meeting where people are complaining about the Titans messing up their plans, but that is not what matters, apparently the people in that meeting wanted to “summon the Brotherhood” and here is where we are introduced to the person who will make the Titans’ lives a little more complicated…Twister. She is one of the people that were victims to Brother Blood’s brainwashing and experiments.

In the next page we see the Titans resting but Cyborg is awake so thanks to that he hears someone coming straight to them, here Kory takes the lead and she says once more that she will not kill whoever that is, that she can’t and won’t do that anymore…I wonder if Lobdell ever read these issues, maybe not.

The attacker was Twister and in seconds she twists the Titans’ reality and leaves them all incapacitated. She then goes to look for and recruit the Brotherhood of Evil. While she did that though the Titans slowly made their way back to the city and are now getting ready to attack. Donnas plans as we soon find out don’t include Jason as one of their front line fighters, in fact he has to be left behind as back up.

Jason is not very happy about this; he is the boy wonder! But because it’s the plan and the Titans are experienced, he decided to stay put (at least for now). Its funny to me that even Beast Boy calls Jason a kid. What is sad from these panels is obviously the last thing that Jason says “I can’t wait until I am sixteen!”. I mean, this issue came out exactly two years before Jason’s death, there was no way they could have seen that coming but yeah, it’s just sad. Jason really was in a better and happier place around this time, little did he know everything would turn upside down after a while.  

The rest of the Titans fight, Donna starts to feel like she is finally in control and that she is doing a great job at keeping the Titans together, Kory is having her inner turmoil about Dick but she is doing her job and when she decides to go help Cyborg and Joey they come across the Brotherhood of Evil. This is where #26 ends.

Issue #27 starts with a very difficult fight for Kory, Cyborg and Joey, it ends with Kory injured, Joey captured and with Cyborg thrown off a window. The only one of them that Donna, Beast Boy and Jason are able to save is Kory.

The Titans that re left have to retreat and find a place to recover, Jason is very silent all the time but Donna and Kory are the ones that are having interesting talks, they have to find out where the Brotherhood has Joey and Cyborg and their time to save Dick and Raven is running out but if they don’t save the others they might die. It’s a complicated situation and they are both impatient but Donna tells Kory this “Dick would be the first to tell you to plan first, attack later”, I bring this up because nowadays its very common for fanon and current writers to think of Dick as someone that doesn’t plan, that doesn’t think before jumping. Even Beast boy called him a tactician, I know this is a Jason post but its also a post about how characterizations are also kinda destroyed. Dick has suffered a lot from mischaracterization so its nice to go back to these stories and see that what we think Dick should be now isn’t something that we once imagined but something that mas modified or taken away from him either by fanon or current writers.

After the Titans decide to wait for the storm to pass to go looking for Joey and Cyborg, we actually see that Cyborg is in the city looking for shelter, he is injured and as he falls unconscious we meet a couple that decides to save him. Back to the Titans once more we have Jason say that the storm that is forming look “like something out of Ghostbusters” its then that the Brotherhood makes itself known, they are taunting them and they have roped Joey to the top of the capitol building and they are asking the Titans to surrender or Joey dies.

Its here where Donna takes full control of the Titans and even though she and Kory have different ideas of what to do she says that she is the leader now and what she says gets done. Donna will be in charge of saving Joey while the others will make their way towards the Brother Blood Church to help Dick and Raven.

Before they go their separate ways Jason says this about Donna “Wow! I wouldn’t wanna be in her shoes for all the garbage pail kid stickers in the world.” I am going to be honest, I had to look those stickers up and all I have to say is what the hell. But I am not here to talk about stickers I am here to talk about how funny its that Jason is being so uninterested about leading a team. Now, don’t get me wrong, Jason has the ability to lead, yes, but he is better at leading himself or an operation, we have all read UtRH, we know how well the Red Hood can handle himself and his plans but a team of heroes? Controversial opinion but I think that Jason should have never been given a team and I am talking about Kory and Roy as well as Artemis and Bizarro. Was Rebirth better than New 52? Absolutely. But I just don’t see Jason as a leader of a team of heroes and it’s also incredibly repetitive, just because he was Robin doesn’t mean that he needs his own team. I know that Robin Jason and Red Hood Jason aren’t the same person and that they might think differently but if Lobdell had never come into Red Hood/Jason Todd’s life when he did we might have never seen Jason lead his own team and that to me is proof enough that it should have never happened. I quite enjoyed the Prince of Gotham storyline in Red Hood: Outlaw, he didn’t have a team but he had an operation going on and people working FOR him not WITH him. In my opinion that’s better for Jason (if you would like to see me review that storyline let me know).

There is a lot happening story wise and I am finding it more and more difficult to continue talking about Jason’s moments here without giving context so I am going to resume what happened between Donna leaving to save Joey and Jason’s next appearance in this issue. Here we go, Brain tells Monsieur Mallah that he decided to “help” Twister take down the Titans because he wants to use Brother Blood’s Blood Pool because he is dying, Twister goes back to her family’s home and we get to see how brainwashed she is, her family is shocked to see her and they are also the ones that took care of Cyborg while he was unconscious, Cyborg leaves to find the Titans but Twister sees where he left to, she tells the Brotherhood where he might have gone to but protects her family by not telling them that they were the ones that protected Cyborg in the first place and Donna was able to save Joey. I think that was everything.

We see Jason again when he is just outside Brother Blood’s Church with Kory (who is giving him a lift) and Beast Boy. But because life can’t be easy for them the Brotherhood of Evil teleports there and a fight ensues. Kory takes the lead and Jason gets to work.

Kory praises Jason for his work here not because she can’t do anything but because she is seeing that a kid is doing an excellent job. Make no mistake, she is the one with experience but she is nice and gives credit when its due.

Cyborg arrives and the fight continues. We see Beast Boy warning Jason about some of the villains’ powers and Jason being the excellent Robin that he is pays attention and escapes Plasmus’ touch.

I might not think that Red Hood is a team player but Robin Jason absolutely is, and the Titans are nice and care for his safety.

While all of this was happening, Cyborg had made his way to the Church and there he gathers all kinds of information including the location of Brother Bloods main Church in the US. He also makes the alarms sound so everyone leaves because he set up the Church to blow up. Somewhere else Monsieur Mallah is threatening to kill Brain after the later insults him again. And there is where this issue ends.

In issue #28 Jason and the rest of the Titans appear after several pages of Mother Mayhem being a creep, Azrael the angel rising and trying to resurrect Brother Blood through the power of prayers, people watching the live broadcasting of the event and Dick trying to break free from his own head but as soon as he does it Mother Mayhem brainwashes him right away.

The Titans are back in their tower where we see Wally again but that is not all, Frances Kane and Robotman come in too. After all the people who are willing to fight get together the Titans make their way to Brother Bloods Church.

It’s in the jet with Wally that we see Jason and this time he gets to talk too! Jason is talking about how much braver the Titans are compared to him but Wally calms him down by saying that even though he has been doing this for a while he is also scared.

The fact that Jason joined the Titans on another adventure without mentioning it to Bruce is funny to me, he was probably so happy that Donna called him again! Maybe Jason was more bored of being with the Bat than he let on and maybe he didn’t feel appreciated enough or heard. I also like to think that Donna got Jason’s number through Dick, like do you remember that Dick gave Jason his number if he ever wanted to talk shit about the Bat with him? What if they did talk and then Dick put Jason’s number on the Titans’ data base? That would be cool and really sweet!

Jason continues to be a team player and being useful during the fights, he has the Titans’ back as much as the Titans have his.

They fight their way in Brother Blood’s Church and once there they find a dude called the Confessor with Arella (Raven’s mother) but he tells the Titans that she is dead. Somewhere else though is where the real trouble is at, between Azrael and Raven, Brother Blood has finally been resurrected. 

It’s in the last page where Brother Blood is looking all mighty and powerful that Dick seems to have broken free from his brainwashing once more.

 That’s the end of that issue and this part of the post. This one was super difficult to write and it’s even longer than part one, I hope I didn’t make it super difficult to read. At some points I felt like I was explaining too much and in others too little. I guess it’s very difficult to show how one character participates in a story without giving context but I just didn’t want this post to be too plot heavy.

These issues had some cool Jason moments but the ones in issues #29 to #31 are even better!

[rainygothherowolf]

Daminette- Oblivious Idiots

Ladybug groans her face in a pillow as she freaks out a little a lot.

"How'd you figure it out? I'm not that obvious, am I? Do you think he knows? He can't know, that would be awful- ohhhh NonononononoNOnonononooooo. No. Please, tell me he doesn't know." Ladybug is laying face down on the couch in the living room of Titans Tower, Beast Boy smirking down at her reaction to being found out. The boy just brought up her rather obvious crush, and now the Parisian hero is a little panicked. If Beast Boy noticed who else did? Everyone on the team is really smart.

The Parisian joined the Titans over a year ago after asking the Justice League for help. She fits into the team’s dynamic really well, playing video games with Beast Boy and Kid Flash; hanging out with Star and binging rom-coms; Raven was a tough nut to crack but didn’t seem to mind hanging out. They did get along but respected that they just had very different interests.

Robin is a completely different story, at first he was rude but the bluenette was stubborn. She wasn't going to deal with his bratty attitude, she sticks up for her herself. At some point, the Parisian earns his respect. They became friends over time, working well together though Robin insisted they train so she could improve her technique.

"It's kinda obvious for me, but he's pretty dense. Bats are always idiots when it comes to emotions n' stuff." The young Parisian hero looks up from her pillow.    

"I know that... he's my best friend. Friend- Merde. What if he sees me just as a friend!?" The bluenette's hands go to her hair, eyes blown wide. It takes everything in Beast Boy not to laugh at how blind the girl is being. Does she not see how smitten the fourth Robin is for her? That he acts more like a human being when she's around?

"No, what if all he ever sees in me is a friend? This isn't good, then we'll never date and he's just so datable. Have you seen the way his nose crinkles when he tastes something he doesn't like, holding it until it goes away? And the way he swoops his hair, I'd bet it's soft. And he's so strong-"

"Ew. I have ears, please don't-" Ladybug doesn’t seem to hear him, continuing her rant. 

"And then one day I'll have to watch him fall for someone, I think I already have. It's awful- not that I'm not happy he's happy, because I am- but I think he likes Raven. They spend so much time together, sneaking off sometimes."

"I bet they like each other, how could I compete with her. She's amazing, and- and I'm not." The bluenette's tone goes from one of acceptance to defeat.

"Oh, okay, we got serious. Uh- don't cry." When he and Raven went over the plan, they hadn't covered the possibility of a) Ladybug thinking Robin and Raven were a thing; or b) that Ladybug would compare herself to Raven. The Parisian is always so self-confident and optimistic, perfect even- she never lets anyone get her down. She huffs at his less than helpful response.

"I'm not gonna cry. It's just, why would he like me? I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm annoying." The girl stands pacing, trying to decipher the enigma that is Robin. The girl's moods changes at the drop of a dime, leaving Beast Boy to try and play catch-up.

"Am I  annoying to him? Probably. Raven is so calm and nice, he has no reason not to like her."

"That's definitely not true, if he thinks that he would tell you." She nods, sitting on the couch, leaning on her hands. His words help a little but a girl’s mind is her worst enemy, all the worst 'what if's' popping into her brain like spam mail in an already full mailbox.

This is going to take more intervention than he thought. "You're ridiculous, that isn't true."

"You're just blind, and as you would say- 'you're too close.'" Robin rolls his eyes, Raven is sitting on her bed as Robin looks at her, standing.

"All I'm saying is-"

"I understand what you said, you don't need to repeat it. All I'm saying is-" He mocks, "- that it's highly unlikely she'd be interested in me." This time Raven rolls her eyes, he really is an idiot.

"How can I prove it to you- just ask her out. She'll say yes."

"I don't trust you, you have no proof."

"Fine. Don't believe me, but mark my words, if you wait too long she might settle for someone else. You heard her complain about being mobbed on Valentines day last year."

"Whatever, she didn't like any of them."

"Yeah, because she likes you." Robin glares at Raven as he walks out of her room to go train. Robin first saw her as annoying but she grew on him. He mistook his interest in her as friendship until Raven commented on his liking their latest addition without telling her. It went downhill from there, now it’s like he can’t get her off his mind.

He tried to deny it, reason a way out of the conclusion. Raven did her best to encourage him but she was getting nowhere, the entire team was frustrated because both refused to see what was staring them right in the face.  Beast Boy and Raven meet with Starfire after both Ladybug and Robin go back to their respective home cities.

"What did you the learn?" Beast Boy speaks up first, recounting his confronting Ladybug about it. 

"She's got it bad, thinks he and Raven are into each other." 

"Robin is convinced she doesn't like him. He doesn't want to get rejected so he refuses to ask her out."

"How can we tell him she likes him that he actually does the listening?"

"He'd only be convinced if he heard her say it." Raven reasons, knowing how blind and hard headed Robin is.

"There's no way she'll fess-up, she's too insecure. Even if we convinced her that Robin wasn't into you."

"I wish the little D could just hear her say it in passing. He would ask without fear and she'd get to date him without putting herself out there." Beast Boy can already see it, it’s the perfect plan. 

"I'm sure I could get her to talk about it in the hall, you could get him close enough to hear?" Beast Boy offers, it could work but they can't see each other.

"We'll use the hallways on the fifth floor, that are separated by a wall and meet towards the elevator?"

"Sounds great, Mama." Raven rolls her eyes at his nickname for her. Starfire looks between the two before abruptly standing, trying to hide her smile.

"Yes, well, I must attend to some dishes. Farewell." The two shared a look. Perhaps it isn't only Robin and Ladybug that need to come clean.

"We gotta say something sooner than lat-"

"I know, but not yet. We could use this to our advantage..." "Right? So I had to go all the way to the other side of the city to deliver this banner, it was worth it though. The skater friend won."

"Do they still race? You said this was a normal way to spend your weekend."

"O-oh well, I don't see them much anymore." Ladybug's shoulders turn inwards, looking to the floor. Robin hates the small frown on her lips, he knows better than to pry but maybe if he got some more information he could help.

"How come?"

"Just, time. Grew apart I guess."

"You're an awful liar."

"I take that as a compliment!" Ladybug defended, smiling slightly. "You see, while Mr.-Tall,-Dark,-Handsome,-and-Mysterious is making up lies he has to keep straight I'm simply seen as an airhead that forgets her phone everywhere she goes!"

"You're even worse at changing the subject." Ladybug's smile falters.

"Hehe, yeah, have you seen Star? She said she had the cutest picture of you asleep in your costume with some dog." Robin crosses his arms, why is she avoiding the subject?

"I have plenty of pictures of 'the dog' but please-" He pats the seat next to him on his bed, "-elaborate on this 'growing apart' situation." He isn't going to give in, he has that face he used to do during training when she was too tired to get up. Ladybug sit, plopping onto the bed her arms spread across the comfortable fabric of the duvet.

"I can't say much, just that they don't want to be friends with me anymore. None of them do."

"Who's none of them?"

"My friends. All of them, only one does but they 'can't' be my friend. He just doesn't have enough of a backbone."

"Surely you have other friends besides the mindless heathens."

"School and hero duties add up, I hardly have enough time to keep up with my jobs. I don't have time for that, and they could get suspicious, notice the patterns where my old friends would see the clumsy forgetful me." He nods, laying on his back and turning to look her in the eye.

"At least I have you guys." She smiles, brushing some hair from Robin's forehead. It feels nice.

"If it were up to me-"

"It isn't, and it's best not to dwell. Come on, bird boy, let's get a snack."

"Right, but none of that hot chocolate nonsense." She rolls her eyes, she'll get him to try it. One day.

"Are we sure this is gonna work?" Beast Boy is unsure, Raven hadn't seen the way Ladybug reacted, it was like no matter what he said her mind found some way to turn it into a bad thing, like she could only see the worst in a situation. It was completely unlike her.

"Yes."

"But-"

"No 'but's', this will give Robin the push he needs to ask her out. She'll say yes. End of story."

"Then why are we planning the the thing with the mo-"

"In case he's more dense than humanly possible and because it's time people knew."

"Right... I'll wait till ten minutes from now to get her to walk past, you have till then to get him there, we'll take two laps just in case." Raven nods before going to look for Robin. She finds him in the living room, reading a book. 

“Come.” Raven turns around and makes her way towards the elevator, he catches up and they ride to the fifth floor. They exit and hide behind the designated wall. 

"You are not to make a sound, simply wait and listen.”

They wait.

And listen.

It takes ten minutes for something to happen, the elevator bell rings and opens at their floor. Raven motions for him to stay quiet. Robin hears to footsteps as someone sighs.

"-How could I not? He's just so- dreamy."

"Ew. Why do you even like him? You're too nice for him."

"I am not 'too nice' and Robin is not mean... He's just... gruff- yeah, gruff, at first. But you should have seen how cute it was when we were talking about something and I was laying and he laid down next to me and there was hair blocking his eyes a little so I swiped it out of the way and it was so soft." She says it all in one breath which should be concerning if Robin’s attention wasn’t being taken up by trying to not freak out. His eyes wide, back pressed against the wall so as not to get caught. She keeps talking, he has to hear more.

She sounds so sure of her affection, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She likes him? Like to date? Raven is right? This is impossible, but it was happening. She’s ranting about things not even he notices about himself like they’re the most amazing things in the world.

"And have you seen him smile? And his laugh, it's one of my favorite things about him. And did you notice the way he always perks up when there's a happy animal on the television, like it reminds him of something- I'd bet he has an animal. I wish I could have a pet." They kept walking, she kept rambling about him, his hair, his smile, the way he walked. He heard the voices fade at she and Beast Boy kept walking.

"I told you." Robin didn't even have a response, she feels the same way?

"She likes me?"

"You've got to be joking, after all that, you still don't believe it?"

"Shut up, I'm processing." Raven crosses her arms, impatiently waiting, they'll loop back soon.

"She likes me."

"Just keep listening." Ladybug and Beast Boy came back into earshot. When they got closer, Beast Boy cut her off when she starts going off topic about his hair.

"So if he asked you out, what would you do?" Robin hears them stop, she makes a high pitched whine he knows means she’s flustered, she used to do it every time he glared her down and got a little too close, at the time, an unknown symptom of his attraction towards the heroine.

"I mean, if I could speak- I'd say yes but I'd probably freak out and fall or trip over my words. It doesn't matter, he wouldn't ask. Why in the world would he like me?" Raven has to remind Robin to stay quiet and hidden with a shushing motion and a hand to his shoulder. He stays in place despite the fact that he wanted to list every reason why he would. His stupid monkey brain thought of kissing her to drive his point home but shoos the intrusive thought away.

"Right, and what you'd kiss him?" It was like his teammate is reading his stupid, teenage mind.

"Pretending he liked me back? I mean, I could go on about his li-"

"Please don't." The bluenette laughs with him.

"Ah! I have to go meet Robin for training. Bye!"

"Later." The girl's footsteps disappear as the elevator door arrives and carries her towards the training room.

"Dude you better not say she doesn't like you again." Beast Boy sad, knocking on the wall to get his attention.

"Why don't you just ask her?"

"Yes, the little D, she will the gladly accept." Kor'i appears out of nowhere, he hates when she hovers like that. He can never tell where she is. He glares at them all, he’s late to meet with Ladybug. How in the world is he going to face her after that, it was so wrong to have listened. She hadn't meant for him to hear those things. Robin is filled with guilt as he walks into the waiting elevator and nears the training room. Ladybug is there smiling and slightly pink, likely from their teammate's questions.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." He couldn't tell her he heard, she'll get embarrassed. He can't act on it either, she sounds busy enough as is. He would just be in the way.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." He snaps at her this time, the rest of their training session is silent. She leaves back to Paris as soon as her shift is over, not staying to speak with Robin like she usually does. No one is amused by his behavior.

"What the hell? You get the confirmation you've been needing to finally ask her out and you start acting like you hate her?" Beast Boy finally exclaims, Raven kicks him under the chair.

"It's none of your business, and none of you should have interfered. I was not meant to hear any of that, she doesn't have time for me anyways." Robin gets up from his seat and walks towards the zeta-tube.

After that, things get a little better. Robin isn't rude or snappy to her but they don't talk or have their little one on one training sessions. Ladybug does everything in her power to try and rebuild the bridge she didn't know had been burnt. She doesn't know what she did wrong, what she said, what happened made Robin want to avoid her like the plague.

Is he going to leave her too?

No. It doesn't matter that he probably put two and two together and knows she likes him, that he probably likes someone else, he is her friend at the very least, it might not be enough but it’s something.

Ladybug gathers her courage, waiting for him to pass the one place she knows she can get him. Waiting right at a corner, she hears him coming. She wants to laugh when he slows, always knowing when she tries to sneak up on him, but this time she holds it in. Reminding herself of why she’s there.

Just as he comes into range, she turns the corner and faces him. 

Her face is angry, no, pissed. Her eyebrows scrunched, a deep frown replacing the usual smile, she shoves a finger onto his chest. He always knew she was there but her expression, it’s hurt and angry and world ending- his world to be specific.

"What is your deal? What the hell did I do to you that you won't even talk to me anymore? What did I say? Why do you suddenly hate me?"

"I-"

"I mean, one day we're laughing and talking, and I tell you about what happened with my friends, and then the next you don't even bother to greet me!" She berates him in French, she gets more passionate about her speech until she's out of gas. At least, that's what he thinks.

“It’s disrespectful and hurtful! You don’t just drop someone because they did something to upset you, you try to fix it. You try to work through it!” 

"I-"

"What? You what? I told you about my friends, not only did I put a lot of trust in you for that- it could have pointed towards my identity if I slipped up. You're too easy to talk to. And don't you dare say that this is just how you are because we both know you've been off lately. So just tell me! Tell me you hate me, tell me you want space, tell me somethings wrong or that I did something but just don't shrug this off. You are too important to me to just let this go!" He can see the unshed tears in her eyes, why is she crying? Why does he have to make her cry? He doesn’t deserve her tears, her affection, he doesn’t deserve her. 

"I just- I think you can do better. I’m not a good enough companion." Robin refused to use the word friend, she isn’t his friend, she’s so much more than that. A rouge tear falls, her face incredulous.

"What?"

"You sound busy enough, you'd be better off spending your time with someone else." Robin doesn’t look her in the eye, it’s the honest truth but he can’t stand looking at her so upset. 

Ladybug is at a loss, that’s why he’s upset? Because he thinks she was wasting her time? That he wasn't good enough for her to spend her time with?

It’s like a switch flips, her anger melting away. Her jabbing finger falls.

"Who could be better?" She hugs him, Damian does have some experience from Grayson so he awkwardly returns the favor. The far shorter girl sniffles once before pulling back with a smile.

Robin feels a pang in his chest, he made her cry. She wipes away the unshed tears from the corners of her eyes, glad to have the mess over and done with. He vows never to do so ever again.

"I never wanna hear you say that you're anything less than the best, c'mon time to get your butt handed to you."

"Spar?"

"You wish." Robin sighed, she always beats him in video games. As they walk, the alarm blares. There’s an attack somewhere. The duo runs towards the living room, Starfire is already there with Beast Boy, Raven, and Kid Flash.

"We've got two. There's some kind of monster tearing through down town, we need to stop them."

"And the other?" Robin asks.

"Paris, akuma." Ladybug groans, like she always does. She runs off towards the zeta tubes with a wave goodbye. Time to deal with the mangy cat's puns.

Robin and the rest of the team walk back into Titan Tower expecting to see Ladybug waiting for them, she always gets back before them in situations like this. Kid Flash speeds off after grabbing his things saying he’s late to something, as usual. Beast Boy limps, most of his weight supported by Raven as they make their way towards the med bay. 

Robin and Starfire sit in the living room, she shows him photos of Dick in ridiculous sleeping positions or mid fall but Robin is on edge. Why isn't she back yet?

Of course, he gets an immediate answer. Ladybug's distress signal goes off, he and Star are off without a moment's hesitation. Jumping into the zeta-tubes, worry for their teammate clear. After over a year of working with her she’s never used the distress button. The machine powers up and blinds them, Damian jams a communicator in his ear and tunes in to the local news station. He hears where Ladybug is and he and Starfire set off in search for the girl. Paris is bright, people stop and stare as the heroes make their way towards the Eiffel tower.

Robin's mind is hyper focused and clouded at the same time, he knows he has to be at his best to help Ladybug so he shoves all that annoying emotion in a stupid box, shuts it, locks it, and pushes it into a dark little corner. They arrive at the lawn of the Eiffel tower.

Looking exhausted, Ladybug charges the villain. A blond boy in a black cat suit is flung at her with ease. The monster tries to throw a bus full of people at the two as Ladybug tries to get the boy off, he doesn’t seem to care, trying to hug the girl. Robin feels his chest tighten in jealousy.

Robin motions towards the bus, Starfire flies past and catches the bus mid air. The dark haired teenage boy is quick to lift the ill equipped partner he's heard so very much about off Ladybug.

"I believe she is trying to get up." He drops the boy to the side before offering a hand to Ladybug.

"Hello, again." Ladybug smiles up at him, taking Robins hand. Pulling her up, the two stand close together. Staring.

"Hi."

"Shall we get back to the task at hand?!" Starfire asks, mid battle with the monster when Ladybug and Robin snap back to reality. They join the fight, Chat sticks to the sidelines with a pout. The monster is tough, she only pressed the panic button in fear of the hostages being injured or killed. Even if they were physically healed by the miraculous cure it’s traumatizing.

The battle doesn’t last very long, the monster is extremely susceptible to Robin's ice capsules, and is no match for Kor'i's strength.

Ladybug is relieved when she sees the purified akuma flap away.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" The bluenette was able to use her lucky charm quickly enough, she'd say thank you before giving Tikki food and returning to the tower to finish her shift.

"Well done."

"Thank you, you weren't too bad yourself." Marinette smiles back to the far taller boy.

"Will you be returning to the tower? Should we wait for you?"

"You are the kidding, yes? We are in Paris! I'd like to go the shopping!" Ladybug laughed.

"With what money? My brother's card is rather telling. As is your own."

"I suppose you are correct."

"Don't worry, Starfire, we can go on a shopping day soon." The girl smiled.

"Yes, the little D, would you join us? Raven may join as well, yes, Ladybug? Girls day!"

"I do not qualify as a girl."

"Little D?" Ladybug asks, smiling softly before bursting into laughter. "I need to go help the victim and recharge. I'll see you back at the tower." Ladybug turns to leave but comes face to face with Chat. 

"What are you doing here? We don't need you." He directs his comments to both of the American heroes but mostly towards Robin. Ladybug pinches the bridge of her nose.

"We are members of the Teen Titans, we were asked to come. Now if you'll excuse us-"

"What? Who asked you to come here. My lady and I would never-"

"I did, and I am not 'your lady' you need to stop with the names and trying to distract me mid-battle, Chat.” 

“But-” Ladybug gives the mangy cat no time to explain, cutting in with no patience.

“No ‘but’s, you almost got us and all those hostages killed. Go. Home.” The tro of Titan’s walk away, it’s best not to give the boy anymore attention.

"We should do it now."

"What'd you mean? He's still acting like he can't stand her."

"No, they made up. I heard her yelling at him about it. He caved pretty quickly after that. We do it tonight, no more sneaking around and hopefully they get together." Beast Boy nods, watching Raven ice his ankle for him.

"Thanks, mama."

"... You're welcome." He smiles flicking some water on his girlfriend, she looks at him with a sad excuse for a glare.

"Alright, the ice should stay. Let's go see if she's back." Raven makes sure to keep Beast Boy off his ankle, quickly shooing him off to the empty living room couch. They don’t wait long for Robin, Starfire, and Ladybug to return.

"Thanks again for coming to help, guys." Starfire smiles. Robin nods.

"It was our pleasure, what shall we do now?"

"Movie?" Beast Boy asks, getting immediate yeses from the girls.

"I'll pass-"

"Come on." Raven complains, the guy can be such a pain.

"tt, no. That doesn't work on me."

"Pretty please?" Starfire asks. She pulls out the baby doll eyes and a pout.

"No, the physical appearance of the 'please' makes no difference-"

"Please?" Ladybug pulls out all the stops, she looks him right in the eyes, those big, blue, innocent eyes were so sad and pretty, she shuffles a foot, her hands behind her back. Her bottom lip juts out ever so slightly as her torso sways back and forth. His response is immediate.

"Yes." Ladybug grins in victory, Damian doesn’t get the chance to backpedal.

"Yay!" Starfire quickly steals Robin's usual seat. Raven and Beast Boy take up one side of the couch, Robin and Ladybug take up the other. Everyone bickers and argues over which movie to watch until Robin gets annoyed and plays one of the few movies he can bear. Lion King.

Throughout the duration of the film, Beast Boy slowly pushes Ladybug closer to him laying longways until he takes up the majority of the couch. Ladybug is squished against Robin, their arms pressing uncomfortably against each other. Deciding to test the waters, Robin wraps an arm around the Parisian's shoulder. The lights were off but the girl's blush is obvious. She has yet to move, he feels her glance in the opposite direction for a moment before leaning onto him.

Damian wasn't freaking out... Okay, Damian was only freaking out a little. He didn’t do well last time he saw she likes him. What should he do now? An annoying and sarcastic voice told him not to ignore her but they weren't much help. The little Grayson in Damian's mind told him to pull her a little closer, maybe kiss her head to make his intentions more clear. She still isn't aware of his affection towards her. He does the first, he could all but see the little Grayson smiling. Robin has no clue what to do next so he just does his best to watch the movie.

The lights come on far too soon, Ladybug doesn't move to get off him until she notices the lights turn on. She blushes that adorable shade of pink. That's when he sees it, just behind a blushing bluenette is Raven snuggling with Beast Boy as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. His brows furrow, his arm falls of Ladybugs shoulder. It was clear this isn’t a one time thing or anything of the sort. They know exactly what they’re doing, they’ve been seeing each other and she didn't tell him. After all the times he spoke about Ladybug, she didn't care to mention her own relationship.

Ladybug follows his line of sight, her posture goes from relaxed to tense.

To Marinette it’s like confirmation to something she knew all along, he likes Raven. Maybe he only wrapped his arm around her because of how squished they were. Which means she completely misread the situation and leaned onto him when he was just trying to be comfortable.

"I knew it!" Starfire exclaims, beaming. Raven just looks away trying or hide her small smile. Ladybug is happy their happy but Robin just walks away, his face neutral. She hates when he makes that face. Soon Starfire has to leave and Beast Boy hobbles to his room, ankle still tender.

Ladybug's overthinking keeps her in place, staring at her hands. She doesn’t even notice that Raven is still in the room with her.

"You should go talk to him."

"W-what? Me? No, he doesn't want to talk to me." Ladybug tried to say no but she couldn't help but be worried for Robin. Raven gives her a look, she relents.

"Fine." Ladybug drags herself to where she knows he'll be. He was always on the roof when he has to think. She mentally prepares herself for an undeniable, verbal confirmation that he doesn't like her, she forces herself to go- to be there for him.

"Go away." Damian is in no mood to deal with Raven, how could she not tell him?

"You can't get rid of a bug that easily, Rob." He chastises himself for being rude to Ladybug again, at least she doesn't sound upset because of it. She doesn't say anything, sitting next to him as they look over the brightly lit cityscape.

"Wanna talk about it?" He doesn't respond. The little Grayson, encouraged by the success of last time, tries to get Damian to hold her hand. Their hands were so close, just a few inches apart. That definitely isn't happening. "Right..." She trails off, not knowing what else to say. The silence grows, unchecked like a cancer.

"I- Just- Why wouldn't she tell me? After-" Robin was about to say too much but thankfully stopped himself.

"After what?" He’s relieved she’s still ignorant of his affection, putting himself out there like that’s a scary thought.

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"After you told her you like her." She speaks with such certainty, like she’s accepted it as fact. Is that what she really thought?

"What? No- I just- confided in her about something similar. I expected she'd do the same. She's one of my best friends." He sees Ladybug nod, that same look of  on her face.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt your feelings. They probably just wanted to keep it quiet until they were ready to tell everyone." Robin had to admit she was probably right. He saw the way her hands fiddled and folded, she was trying to think of something to talk about, likely to distract him. She was always so considerate.

"So... girlfriend."

"Where'd you hear that?" He was so confused, the very idea is ridiculous.

"Well, you said you confided in Raven about something similar. I just assumed you had a partner."

"Oh. No." They sat in silence again, looking over the silent harbor. Damian gathers his courage, now is the perfect time- looking over a clear sky with the stars out. Isn't this the kind of situation girls daydream about? Now was the most likely time for her to accept. Deciding to just get it out, Damian starts speaking.

"Actually there's-"

"I know you probably don't-" Of course, just as Robin starts speaking, she does too. Alarm bells start ringing in his head, the little Grayson is trying to figure out what she was going to say while the rest of him starts freaking out.

They awkwardly laugh, looking away, Damian feels an unfamiliar little burning sensation on his cheeks. He’s loosing more of his nerve by the second.

"ILikeYou,LikeLikeLike." She just blurts it out, redder than her costume. Damian's head snaps to her with his lips parted. This is happening.

"I feel the same way. I- I apologize I didn't say so sooner I just- you said you were so busy already, I didn't want to become a distraction." Ladybug gives him a small smile, that was what that was about. She fondly wipes the hair from his forehead back, lacing her fingers through his hair. Her hand rested at the back of his neck, smiling. She looks so content, at peace.

"I see no issue in distractions."

"I suppose this is the part of the story where we kiss?" Robin puts a hand on the Parisian's cheek, inching closer. They move to close the gap until they were just a hairsbreadth away. Her eyes are so blue and so beautiful up-close.

"I suppose you'd be correct." Their lips meet, the beautiful night sky behind them- everything else melting away.

[artsy0wl]

My Son (A New Teen Titans Fic)

So I have a headcanon or two for Joey “Jericho” Wilson. One being that, due to his childhood trauma, he as PTSD. I actually made a series elsewhere where I discuss how each Titan would react to it.

I also had a little fic series planned out about Slade visiting Joey during the night since he couldn’t during the day (due to work and Adeline). It was a 5 + 1, but as it went on, it felt a hit repetative and I really wamted to do the last one where Slade gets caught. By Nightwing of all people. And they decide to have a talk.

It’s a fun little project that I thought ya’ll might enjoy.

It had been two months since Joey had joined the Titans, and two months that Slade had to carefully sneak in to see his son. He had been successful and was thankful that he had not been caught. But that didn't mean he wasn't cautious.

This night was no different. As he sat on the edge of the bed, Slade noted Joey's good health. He was healthy, his weight appeared normal, and he showed no signs of physical damage. Slade was glad that the Titans were treating him well. It was something that he was sure that Adeline made them promise, with Nightwing probably the first to experience her protective rage first hand.

As his father, all that Slade could ask for was his son being in good hands. However, he couldn't entirely bring himself to fully agree with the arrangement. If it were up to him, Joey would be with either parent, preferably both, or on his own. Joey didn't need to get caught up in all this fighting, even if he had a love for helping others.

Slade's train of thought was disrupted as Joey unconsciously flinched. His body twitched in distress as he unconsciously found himself trapped in a nightmare. One hand gently grabbed Joey's arm while the other cupped the side of his face.

"It's okay Joey." Slade comfortably whispered. "Dad's here. Everything's okay now."

Joey seemed to listen to his father as he unconsciously melted in his father's grip. When his breathing regulated and his flinching stopped, Slade adjusted Joey's blanket. Slade let out a deflated sigh.

"How long have you been there?" Slade sighed, knowing that he was being watched.

"Long enough." Nightwing admitted.

"And how long have you known?"

"Two weeks."

Slade rose from his seat to face the young vigilante. He looked at Nightwing, not with anger or resentment, but exhaustion. He didn't want to be caught after such a long record of escaping unseen. Least of all by Nightwing.

"What are you going to do?" Slade inquired. "Arrest me for visiting my son?"

Nightwing sighed, shaking his head. He approached the mercenary, cautiously, but unfazed by his presence. He gave the mercenary an unusually tired grin.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Nightwing offered.

Slade shockingly flinched at the offer, eyeing Nightwing curiously. While spontaneous moments of kindness was nothing new for Nightwing, the fact that he was offering one of his sworn advisories coffee was. Nightwing's expression softened slightly, knowing that he had stumped Slade.

"I've been up working on tying a few loose ends for cases back in Gotham and am not going to bed any time soon." Nightwing shrugged his shoulders. "The next person up will be Raven and that's not for another two hours. And Joey not too long after that." He then glanced at Joey. "He'll still be here when we're done if you want to see him."

Slade bounced between Nightwing and his son. Joey was in a deep sleep, which was a good sign. And if he was going to be like that for a few hours, it wouldn't hurt if he stepped away for a moment.

"Why not?" Slade accepted.

A steaming mug of coffee was generously placed in front of Slade, as Dick sat on the other side of the table. Slade took it, gingerly picking it up before taking a sip. Dick's domino mask sat by him, letting Slade know that he wasn't afraid that he saw his true identity. Not that he hadn't already. They sat in silence for a few moments as they scanned each other.

"So, how did you find out?" Slade asked, setting the cup down.

"I guess it started when we initially got Joey situated in the Tower." Dick recalled, taking a bit of coffee before setting it down. "Adeline mentioned that he suffered from chronic nightmares. Mostly resulting from the trauma of losing his voice, your messy divorce, and Grant's death." Dick's coffee cup slightly shifted between his hands. "She also warned us that the events with Terra might add onto that trauma. Her recommendation, if we caught him in the midst of a nightmare, wake him up, talk him through it if need be, and get him back to bed."

"That does sound like her." Slade confirmed.

Slade could picture Adeline given the Titans a list of odd requests and requirements as well as warnings. It was probably for the best considering Joey's traumatic history. However, that didn't entirely answer his question and opened the door for a new one.

"So I'm guessing all of you do this?" Slade assumed.

"Me and Raven mostly." Dick stated. "Beast Boy was a bit untrusting of him after Terra's death." There was a brief pause as they both recalled the initial fallout. "And while he's gotten over it, he's still working on building a good relationship with Joey." Dick moved on to the next member. "Cyborg would, given that he knows a thing or two about trauma, but because of the nature of theirs being a bit different, he's not sure if he's the best candidate. Though he does well for the most part." That only left one other member. "Starfire gets it as well, and while she gets the difference between coping on Tamaran and Earth, he is a little intimidated by her more assertive nature."

Dick look at his cup thinking about their attempt to help. Or at the very least how they were handling it. It wasn't that they weren't trying, it was how familiar they were with Joey's or how they thought they could handle it.

"To actually answer your question though, we started noticing changes after the first month." Dick circled back around. "In that first month, he would wake up petrified almost every other night. He only got three hours of sleep a night in the first week alone." Dick's face twitched at the thought. "We thought part of it was because of the adjustment on top of the nightmares. Then about a month ago, his panic attacks got less frequent. He wasn't waking up as much and was opening up a bit more. Raven and I thought he was getting better. That maybe he was getting used to being here, and the panic attacks were clearing up naturally. We also thought that maybe with him being away from Adaline helped, thinking that her constant presence might have been part of the problem. Two weeks ago, Raven decided to take a step back. She's still open to helping, both as an empath and just wanting to be someone he could confide in. But at that point, she didn't feel the need to constantly gauge his emotions every night."

Dick sipped his coffee, recalling the conversation. He understood her decision. Without any incidents in two weeks, there might not have been a need to have him constantly monitored. Plus, she was starting to look a bit under the weather herself, which wouldn't benefit Joey's psyche, or what was equally as important, her health. As far as Dick was concerned, Raven retiring was probably good for both of their sakes.

"Which left me on and off." Dick continued. "I was up two weeks ago, helping tie up a few loose ends for a case involving Two Face that Robin and I worked on. I was taking a break, so I thought I would check on Joey. I wasn't overly concerned, but I figured why not? I was up so checking on him wasn't going to do any harm. When I turned the camera on, I was startled to find you in the room."

Slade twitched slightly. He vaguely recalled that night. It was ten days after Slade and Beast Boy had a sit down and cleared the air after Terra's death and another two after Slade and Wintergreen returned from a hunting trip that turned into Slade's first real contract after completing Grant's. Slade remembered feeling a paternal needing to see his son. To check on the kid to make sure everything was alright.

"You were sitting on the edge of the bed, much like you were tonight," Dick stated, "and you must have just calmed him down from a nightmare as well given how tightly he was unconsciously holding onto your sleeve."

There was a prolonged sense of silence as they took the time to digest Dick's story. It was detailed, which was a plus. However, it also left Slade with a lingering sense of tension and a need to explain himself.

"I just want to see my son." Slade admitted. "I know my job hasn't made it easy. Even less so, now that Adaline and I have divorced. My family is the one thing that is still important to me. I just wish I had more time with them. That I had done things differently." Slade eyed his coffee. "I miss my kids and I've screwed them both up in equally horrible ways. But for Joey's sake, I want to be in his life. And for my sanity, I have to be. Even if it’s in secret.”

"I understand." Dick replied, to a slightly curious glare. "I mean, as a parent, I don't understand where you're coming from, but as a child who had a parent being gone for periods of time, I understand." Another, slightly confused, glare dug into him. "Just because I grew up in a circus, and close to my parents, doesn't mean my father never spent periods of time away from us. I know two times where that happened. The first when my mother was on maternity leave with me and the second when I got a bad case of pneumonia that landed me in the hospital for a week. In both cases, Haly needed at least one Grayson to keep the show going. So my father had to spend long periods of time perfecting a one man routine." Dick took a sip of coffee. "I might not remember his time away when I was a baby, but I vaguely recall calling out for my father during the worst parts of my pneumonia, only for him not to show. I remember feeling pain from the pneumonia on top of feeling heartbroken when he wasn't there."

It might not have been what Slade wanted to hear, but it was something he didn't mind hearing either. Hearing how the other side fells, helped put things into perspective. Even if that perspective was a little different as far as history.

"You've raised a great kid." Dick complimented, catching Slade off guard a bit. "It's true. I've never met someone as kind hearted and wonderfully talented as he is. He's a wonderful human being. So if there's any positive takeaway from everything your family's been through, it's that."

Slade wasn't sure if he should take the compliment. With everything he's done to his kid, he wasn't sure if he could take credit for it, outside of half his DNA and its side effects. But at the same time, he appreciated Dick at least trying to be somewhat positive about it.

"He's the only good thing we have," Slade admitted, "not that we deserve him. But thank you anyways." Slade gave Dick an intense glare. "And thank you for what you've been doing for him. He needs people like you in his life."

"Of course. I want him to be comfortable."

After another half hour of conversing, Slade finally decided to call it a night. But not without saying goodbye to his son. He and Dick quietly waltz down the hall to Joey's room. Right as Slade was about to open the door when the door slid open on its own. On the other side, a slightly dazed Joey stood in front of them. He jumped in surprise when his sight processed what was in front of him. Which prompted Slade to glare at Dick suspiciously.

"Don't worry bud," Dick comforted, addressing Joey first, "I'm not going to arrest him. He just wanted to see you, but you were asleep. What are you doing up so early?"

"Smelled coffee." Joey signed. "Have to pee."

That was enough to answer Slade's suspicions. He couldn't blame Dick for his son's bladder and he was just as guilty as Dick was for the coffee smell. Turning his full attention back to Joey, Slade tried to think of what to say. Not expecting to get caught, he felt at a loss for words.

Joey tightly latched onto Slade, hugging him to fill his father's lack of response. His face dug into Slade's shoulder and let tears dampen Slade's coarse top. It was clear that Joey needed this almost as much as Slade did. More so even.

After a few moment, Joey gently tapped Slade letting him know he was done. He was released, and took care of any rogue tears.

"I missed you." Joey signed.

"Me too kid." Slade agreed with a soft smile. "I'm sorry I have been a bit neglectful."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're here now." Joey turned his attention to Dick. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Dick answered, approaching him. "I'm just glad you guys got to see each other."

[whereflowersbloom]

Special Mission

Friday evening finds Raven sprawled on the floor of one of the empty rooms in the Titans Tower. Dick had given them permission to convert one of the rooms into a hang out spot since it wasn’t being used for anything else, and tonight the female Titans joined forces with a little help from the guys, to transform it in the biggest, softest, ultra-cozy pillow fort in existence. Tonight was an special occasion. Mar’i was staying over tonight for the first time.

There’s a mountain of pillows, a few bean bag chairs, and soft blankets in light colors covering every inch of the floor. A couple board games are stacked to the side, such as: Chutes and ladders, Race to the treasure, The floor is lava, which isn’t practical if you are playing with a speedster, half-kryptonians and other meta humans, if you asked Rose or Tim. Not too far from there is a television and gaming system Jon and Beast Boy set up. Gar brought some games Mar’i enjoyed last time she visited.

There are a couple of bedsheets hung overhead to give off the effect of a tent, soft fairy lights in pastel colors strung along the edges with adjustable brightness, illuminating the enclosed space. It was Rose’s brilliant idea. The new Titan member claimed to be not good dealing with children but proved to have a gift for decorating.

As soon as Raven stepped inside the room, she thought it definitely contrasted if compared with her room, designed around a dark colors palette. She was completely positive the little girl would like it though. Truth be told Raven was tired and wanted nothing but wrap a blanket around herself and sleep for the next two days. The only thing keeping her from doing it was just little Mar’i standing close to her and looking at everything with wide dreamy eyes, her bare toes wiggling into the softness of blankets. She let out a high-pitched, girlish giggle. The mission tonight was to make certain Mar’i was entertained and safe her first night away from her parents. Piece of cake.

The half-alien girl liked soft and cute things, Raven has noticed. It’s not hard to when she had spent the entire time running her little tanned hands through the fluffy blanket she had been given, wrapping it tightly around herself, calling herself a purrito proudly, needless to explain it was something Beast Boy had taught her.

It was rather enchantingly adorable Raven admitted, a smile curving her lips, meanwhile Donna was snapped a couple of pictures to send to Jon, who immediately replied with endless crying emoticons, unfortunately he was away on a mission with Damian. Quickly Jon sent a text saying they’d probably be home after dinner. Raven was sure Jon showed the picture to his partner, so Robin made proper arrangements to make sure he was at the Tower before his niece’s bedtime. Damian would never acknowledge it, but he secretly relished Mar’i’s attention and adoration.

Mar’i isn’t looking too happy now, she’s looking around as if searching for something or someone, and Raven wonders what went wrong. She replayed the events of the day. Rose entirely disregarded the planned, detailed schedule Robin left for Mar’i’s Grayson visit, declaring it was bullshit and it was time to be spontaneous and have some fun. They all agreed.

They played some of the board games, setting some elementary unbreakable rules, no cheating or using powers. Donna braided the girl’s long dark hair into something overcomplicated but cute. Karen had suggested to watch Netflix, the platform contained a variety of shows appropriate for children. At the end Mar’i had chosen to watch an old cartoon called Adventure Time, that had all of them looking attentively at the television with the same rapt attention all five year olds have, Donna was even gasping and cooing along with Mar’i.

Raven had zero experience babysitting children. They did save children on daily basis, citizens, not her friend’s children. The interaction was limited, this was different to a whole new level. The first time Kori and Dick brought toddler Mar’i, Raven was a bundle of nerves. Thankfully Kori patiently taught her everything she needed to know to look after a child.

And because she’s a organized person, who is little by little becoming a part-time babysitter apparently, she’s fully aware of the the importance of keeping to a schedule as closely as possible. It was also something Damian had repeatedly reminded all of them.

They’re halfway the second season, waiting for the girl to wind down before bed with little success. Raven immediately noticed she wanted something so she patted the little girl’s back, soothing her anxiety away.

“Is there anything you want, Mar’i?” Raven asked in a whisper.

Little Mar’i looked at Raven with teary eyes, tugging her shirt down. “Mar‘i wants Dami.” Oh it made sense. She was looking for a familiar face. Someone that reminded her of his father. Family.

The little girl clung to Raven, clutching onto the fabric of her shirt, she was burying his face in her chest. She obviously missed her parents. But Damian was on the mission with Jon, she doubted they would be back before dinner.

Raven chewed on her lower lip and tries to explain the situation to the five year old. “Damian is away fighting bad guys, like your dad but he will be back after dinner.”

The girl shyly rose her head, the slightest hint of hope sparking in her eyes. “He’ll be back? Really?”

“He promised and Damian always keeps his promises, right?” She smiles warmly at The little half-alien. Thinking of way to stall time before Damian and Jon get home.

Mar’i shook her head, she was wearing a pink dinosaur onesie, curled up on herself, hands in loose fists pressed to her chest, and an apprehensive little frown on her face. “But Mar‘i wants Dami now.”

Raven needs a workable emergency plan. Mar’i hadn’t shown signs of Starfire’s powers but she couldn’t risk upsetting a five year old and unintentionally awake them. This called for backup, a momentary distraction.

Hey Mar’i, would you like to play with someone else?” Raven asked gently, and the girl chewed on her lip and looked down and away. “Do you want me to call Conner?” The Titans pushed and it’s worth it, Mar’i’s head snapped back up to her, glowing green eyes wide with hope, before she looks away again. “I want to play with flyboy.”

“I already texted him. He’ll be here any mi-“ Rose waved her phone at them with a pleased smile on her face only to be abruptly interrupted before Faye could finish speaking.

The door to the room slammed open, making them all jump and jerk their heads towards it. Raven is surprised but already has her shield up, protecting Mar’i who is behind her, her heart hammering in her throat. It took her thirty seconds to recognize the bold invaders.

“What’s wrong with Mar’i? Rose said it was a red code.” Conner urgently demanded, standing in the doorway, a completely destroyed door beyond repair next to him, his electric blue eyes shifting around wildly as if looking for a threat, body braced in a battle stance. “Dude, You didn’t have to destroy the door.” Beast boy appeared, an annoyed expression on his face.

Raven blinks several times, recovering from the shock faster than everyone else, processing Conner’s words. Red code. She gave Rose a reproachful glance.

“What? Could have been one.” Rose said indignantly, and shrugged uninterested. “She wants to play with you, Supernerd.”

“Oh. That’s the emergency?” Conner said in surprise, and straightened up, his face embarrassed, turning red. He shifted a little in place, looking away from them, rubbing at the back of his neck self-consciously. “Um. Sorry for barging in like that...and breaking the door.”

“Well prepare for trouble.” Gar said with a wide smug smirk on his green face, standing next to Conner, elbowing his partner’s side. “And make it double.” Conner mutters playfully. Well, at least the dynamic duo would keep Mar’i entertained buying them time.

Karen broke the tension by laughing. “Damn Kon-El, that was faster than I expected.“ The rest of them started laughing a little too to shake off the nervous energy in the room. It’s not the first time Conner jumps to action and damages the building, but it’s kind of unsettling to have the intensity of Conner usually reserved for criminals and other threats turned on them. Conner kept apologizing nonstop until he locked eyes with Mar’i.

“Do you like the Superheroes, Mar’i?” Conner said smiling at her and instantly wanted to smack himself, of course the kid liked them, her parents were heroes and the rest of her family. He was still getting used to interaction with children. What would Clark do?

The small girl nodded enthusiastically in reply. “Mar’i likes Titans. I’m going to be like mommy and daddy!” She exclaimed, bounding in excitement. Well, at least Conner had managed to break the shell.

He climbs over the mountain of pillows and blankets and sits down on Mar’i’s other side, and the girl immediately scoots a little closer to him, gripping the hem of his baggy shirt, which has Superman’s distinctive Symbol printed across the chest. Conner instinctually put a hand down on the floor behind her back, giving her more space to press against his side. “Why don’t you tell me what you did with the girls today and after Gar will let you ride him while he’s in his dinosaur form.”

“Mar’i watched Totoro and Adventure time and played Race treasure.“ She spoke struggling with the difficult words and looked up at Kon-El, her eyes shimmering with eagerness and excitement.

“Hey! Don’t talk for others.” beast boy complained, looking at him with squinted eyes.

“Come on, BB. Do it for Mar’i.” The little alien approached Gar, opening her arms for a hug. Looking at him with expectant green eyes. “Dactyl.” She kept muttering the word over and over, tugging at Gar’s pants insistently. Gar’s lips turned up ever so slightly, slowly. He looked at her with unsure eyes, and it compelled her to offer a sunny charming smile. When she did beast boy’s face softened, and his shoulders relaxed as he sighed in defeat. “Pterodactyl got it.” He shape-shifted into the flying dinosaur.

They spent around an hour playing ‘catch me’, Mar’i sitting on Gar’s back, Conner flying around the room carefully not to destroy anything else. After ten minutes playing, Donna joined following Raven and the rest of the girls. It was their only chance to act like children, the childhood some never had the opportunity to experience, letting it loose, enjoying at their hearts content. Mar’i was truly a blessing. They decide to take a break when Raven noticed her phone is vibrating. She automatically answered.

“Robin here. Mission was a success. No damage or casualties to report.” Damian said quietly into the phone in his ear, observing the traffic slither along below. “What is the status?” Damian asked tentatively. Part of him was concerned what could happen if he left the Titans looking after Mar’i while he was away. He didn’t doubt Raven was skilled and intelligent, capable of handling the situation. Perhaps he was too alarmed for nothing.

“Under control. We are about to have dinner. Mar’i did ask for you though.” Raven whispered faintly, chewing in her cheek.

Damian took a shaky breath and didn’t hesitate to reply “I’ll let Jon know we are leaving right away. You’re in charge, Raven.” There’s a long silence before Raven realizes Damian hung up. She ran her fingers through her hair. Nothing could Damian Wayne. “It’s time for dinner everyone.” She announced loudly, quickly pulling her attention back to Mar’i.

Everyoone walks towards the kitchen and discussing what they would like to have for dinner: Gar and Conner pizza and she heard Mar’i mention pancakes and mustard.

~~~

That night, dinner was fun. After a few minutes, everyone’s chatting cheerfully, Conner loosened up enough to joke around ever so slightly. He was cautious still, of course, but so was Raven, watching closely Mar’i, she was her responsibility. She seemed to be comfortable with all the Titans. Conner warmed her dinner with his heat vision, making her look in awe. Raven scolded him saying it wasn’t necessary to and it was dangerous. Everyone else laughed merrily. Conner didn’t speak too loud like some of the others, and he wasn’t intimidating, like Damian. There were only few people who could see through Damian’s tough facade. Raven liked his gentle and kindhearted soul. She was sure Mar’i could see them too. When they are almost finish they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. And they were home.

“Where is Mar-Mar? Uncle Jon is here.” A high-pitched voice resonated in the Tower. Followed by a ‘shut your mouth, Kent. You aren’t her uncle.’ Mar’i tilted her head curiously.

"Dami here?" The girl asked, bouncing a little. She cheered when Raven nodded, smiling, thoughts of her uncle Dami whereabouts disappearing from her mind as he walked in, picking her up carefully, she wrapped her small arms round his neck and buried her face in his chest. “Dami.”

“I am here Mar’i.” Damian pats her back affectionately, placing her right on his lap. Damian promised to read her stories until she fell asleep. Jon stood beside him, claiming it was her turn to play with Mar-Mar, and how unfair Damian was being to him, but Damian refused to let go. He had a promise to fulfill and he kept his word.

~~~

It’s dark and comfortable. Raven delighted nights like these the most, when everything feels quiet and unhurried, no drama to deal with. When she can lay down with Damian and just breath, taking comfort in each other’s presence without the need to fill the silence with conversation. It was a much needed break after a long day. Damian for someone who's so tightly packed with muscle, his solid chest, makes an excellent pillow, she decided. A pillow who was currently running his hands through her dark hair. “Did you miss me?” Raven asked teasingly.

“I’d rather be here enjoying your refreshening and warm company than Kent’s” Damian said smugly, voice already rough with sleep. The low sound rumbled through Raven and she finds her mind shutting down without her consent. They were both exhausted.

“It isn’t the same when you aren’t around.” She murmured quietly. Her eyes fluttered, body relaxing as tense muscle melts into jelly.

The door creaked and Damian half twists, lifting his face to look at the door, finding Mar’i in the doorway, standing there in her pajamas, looking unsure and a little scared. “Uhmm. Mar’i wants to sleep with Dami and Rae.” Raven immediately softens and moves making space for her.

“You wanna join us, Mar’i? Come here, it’s snuggle time.” Raven pats the bed, the gesture makes the girl realize it was a sign to get into bed with them.

She pulled the door shut behind her and quickly crawled on the bed, slowly wedging herself under Damian’s arm between Raven and Damian.

“Are you okay?” Damian asked worriedly, sitting up a little. Ready to jump to action if she needed anything. He learnt he couldn’t let his guard down not even when he was relaxing with his soon-to-be girlfriend.

“I couldn’t sleep. I want to watch tv.” Mar’i whispered, her eyes on Damian as if asking for permission. Damian nods approvingly.

“Anything special you want to watch?” Damian questioned, looking over at his niece, as he gets up to get his laptop, placing it in his lap, lifting an arm and putting it over Raven’s shoulders so she can lean back more comfortably and have that little extra space. Mar’i half turns and scoots into a more comfortable position, stretching her tiny legs. “Kiki’s delivery service.” She instantly answered with enthusiasm in her voice.

“Good choice.” Raven grabbed a blue blanket she brought from their new fort room, unfolding it over the three of them.

Mar’i watched the movie with undivided attention, eyelids slowly drooping as the movie flies by until she falls fully asleep pressed against Damian, who was breathing steadily, sleeping peacefully. She felt safe between Raven and Damian, protected, it reminded her of her parents’ warmth and love for her.

~~~

The next morning Damian wakes up to an empty bed. That was not what he excepted. He gets up slowly, mouth uncomfortably dry and with a dull headache from sleeping more than usual. He looked at his phone it read ‘9:00am.’ Tsk. He overslept that was strange but considering how hectic the last weeks has been. It was a possibility his body was suffering extreme fatigue.

Blinking blearily, he made his way downstairs, he stopped when he hears voices from the living room and debated to just say a quick greeting to everyone on his way to the kitchen, or focus on his objective, Raven and Mar’i, but startlingly he gets caught with his mouth half open to speak at the scene in front of him.

“Why is my precious niece floating on a broom?” Damian asked skeptically, not sure of it was a dream or his mind was hallucinating. He finally rubbed the tiredness out of his penetrating keen eyes, watching as Mar’i weightlessly sat on a worn broom, both hands wrapped tightly around it and smiling widely, excitement in her growing green eyes. Raven’s has one hand on the broom, controlling it. So it was real. He reason if she was with Raven she was safe.

“I am a witch like Rae.” She squealed breathlessly.

“Mar’i, I’m not.” Raven shuts her mouth, sighing softly. “You’re a witch. Yes.” She had no idea how Dick and Kori had the energy to deal with the unstoppable hurricane Mar’i Grayson. She supposed it was something she’d find out one day, she told herself. Her violet eyes glancing up to Damian for a second.

It’s here @chromium7sky @andthendk @ravenfan1242 @quoth--the--raven @deep-in-mind67

[ohmy7hearts]

Being an Amazon and Tim Drake’s significant other; pt. 2

A/N: my grammar is all over the place,, so just don’t mind that,,, on a more exciting note!! i’m planning to take A levels next year despite graduating with diploma in March so,,, idk how committed I would be to writing ((like i was in the beginning lololol))

prev

They have made it clear that whatever you did will not earn you any sort of favours from them. So you have decided to just avoid them entirely, using your enhanced abilities to sneak around the tower, like some kind of burglar - dashing off to your room when you hear the littlest sound of voices coming towards your direction, peeking out at the corridors before walking down them, not joining them when they go out for their outings or having their movie night

Honestly, Gar and Bart were the only ones who felt bad about leaving you out entirely. They tried suggesting subtly but it was always met with glares or just shut down before they could convince anyone

The two of them band together to try and make you be friendlier with the rest of the team to earn their trust back

However, no matter how much they’ve tried, your enhanced skills always leave you one step above

So they have to take things the hard way, they infiltrated your room

You were not happy to see the two - no matter how sheepish and sorry they look and how fast they try to talk into listening to them - and literally threw them out of the room

Tim was walking past to witness the whole thing. He gave an offhand remark about leaving people alone and respecting their personal space. Honestly, he just doesn’t want you hanging around with the rest of the team. He felt so vulnerable with you and he sucks at keeping his emotions in check. The last thing he needed was for you to even hint about his crush on Cassie - the team was too smart and pick it up straight away

There was a mission that forced you out of your room, some illegal drug smuggling by the coast. The plan was a simple get in, kick their ass and get out to call the police right on time. Hence, you were told to standby - to watch how the team works so you wouldn’t be confused about how to work with others in the near future

You merely shrugged and waited on the roof as told while the rest of the team entered to seize the operation

However, you see someone sneaking around the shadows and your gut was telling you to go down and help them. You don’t want to cause any more trouble with the team than you already did but you knew they needed help

And from the sounds of it, with the screaming and gears going off, they were ambushed. So, albeit reluctantly, you went in and saved their asses

Despite that, that wasn’t the team’s primary focus. Apparently, the assailant was provoking them and he - Slade was it? - knew where it hurts the most 

Conner was up and arms with Tim about his supposed crush on Cassie with the latter not helping in dissuading the situation despite being a team leader. The team themselves want to intervene but it was escalating badly

You rolled your eyes, going to help Bart with an unconscious beast boy. You three headed back to the aircraft without saying much despite you being able to see Bart opening his mouth and closing it again in hopes of finding the right words to break the ice between the two of you

You tended to Beast Boy’s wounds with Bart vibrating behind you, peering over your shoulder then zooming to and fro the small space whenever you requested for some medical ointments

The peace was broken when the rest of the team rolled in with looks of exasperation and exhaustion and Tim and Conner gone. Bart launched his questions, worry apparent in his voice and features but Cassie merely waved her hand to dismiss him

Starfire sat beside you, staring at a patched up Beast Boy, before muttering thanks to you. You looked at her from the corner of your eyes before nodding slightly

The moment you all touched down, Cyborg took Beast Boy in his arms, nudging you away when you were about to. Shrugging your shoulders, you retreated back to your room

Of course, that didn’t come easy as Bart tried to talk to you, chattering about endless subjects, following you till you both faced your bedroom door

You raised an eyebrow at him and for the first time you noticed the wrangling of his arms out of nervousness and the constant darting of eyes from corner to corner

“I just want you to know that you have a friend in me. I know it’s weird with how we almost died - but hey, we didn’t so that’s a win for us - and the team is falling apart - to which I find is totally ridiculous if you’re curious cause technically you can’t control your feelings for someone but I’m not saying that Red Robin is in the wrong but neither is he right but so is Conner but he’s always been emotional and there’s nothing wrong with that but, wait - what was I saying?”

You considered him, eyes scanning him from toe to the ends of his hair, putting him further on edge and a small part in you almost grin manically at that, before you hummed in acknowledgement and spinning into your room

Behind the closed door, you can hear him shouting about it’ll be nicer if you actually talk instead of just humming and nodding and going off tangent to which you smiled at before soaking yourself for a bath

After that day, you returned to your routine of avoiding everyone - despite Bart and Beast Boy knocking on your door every now and then with invitations; Bart being more annoying and persistent and threatening to vibrate through the walls - and stumbled upon Tim one late night when Bart was in the same room as you

Too engrossed in making a late-night snack, and half-listening to Bart’s one-sided conversation, you didn’t hear him creep around -  kudos to Batman for teaching his sidekicks to be discreet successfully

“You’re still here?” His biting tone was what greeted you and with a blank expression, you raised an eyebrow at him

Bart, ever the peaceful one, jumped to your defence while trying to deter Tim from spiralling further into his foul mood

You pick up your snacks, glancing back one last time before leaving, scoffing “At least I add value to the team and not just participating in petty arguments.”

Tim snarled about how he was wanted, unlike you with the Amazons and the team

Your jaw tensed, blood turning cold, eyes seeing red and were ready to maul at him but Bart literally intervene 

Somehow, that tick Tim the wrong way and him sneering about your boy toy and Bart being such an idiot, which was not surprising

Bewildered, he stood there with mouth agape not believing that the person in front of him was one of the people he always admired for his determination, levelheadedness and thoughtfulness

You rolled your eyes, mocking his emotional intelligence or lack thereof was the reason why he was so isolated from everyone despite how much he tried fitting in with people

Dragging a shell shocked Bart to the rooftop for an unplanned heart-to-heart

You didn't - or even bother to - see the hurt flitting briefly on Tim’s face

Discomfort was something rare when Bart was around but with how quiet he was, you started prattling about your life on Amazon without actually revealing much about your own history; you were not ready for that vulnerability

That somehow got his attention; with childlike wonder, he questioned you one after another and you patiently answered

You didn’t know how long you both stayed there and it was hard to keep track with how seamlessly the conversation flowed to his whereabouts and history and dreams but you knew when the sun bathed you two in sunlight, Bart was already dozing off while still murmuring about something

And for once in a long time, you were content

[dragonselfship]

“. . .And it’s almost midnight, which is the perfect time for donuts!”

The Titans are gathered on the edge of an oil rig, less than a half a mile from their home. Sparks from destroyed machinery buzz around them, smoke pillaring into the air from their latest fight with Doctor Light- who was currently being handled by the authorities. Cyborg’s hands are on his hips, expression jubilant as he looks at his friends. They all slowly begin to nod- a good fight was never finished without food.

“I’m down.” The tip of Winter’s tail flicks back and forth as he mulls the idea over in his head. He was still in his dragon form, the green mass of his body hulking over the huddled team below. He hadn’t shifted back yet, knowing that he would be carrying Robin or Cyborg back to the tower.

“I’d most enjoy a sweet treat!” Starfire smiles, turning to look at her companion. “Robin?”

Robin shrugs. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“That settles it, then! Jumbo super-glaze donut with strawberry filling, here I come!” Beast boy whoops happily before jumping into the air, taking on the form of a songbird. He rests on Cyborg’s shoulder.

“You think that little thing is gonna carry me?” Cyborg raises an eyebrow, turning his attention to the small green bird. The other titans carry on chatting, but their voices seem to fade out as Winter gazes at Raven.

“Raven?” He murmurs the best he can in his draconic form, and she turns to look at him. Her eyes glow owlishly in the full moon. “You coming with?” Winter begins to stand, stretching his wings. Cyborg exclaims loudly as he’s almost hit in the head by the massive appendage.

She takes a moment before answering, gaze sliding away from his own.

“No, I’ll pass. I have to. . . Meditate.” The way she says it sounds wrong. Raven’s always been hard to read, but over time Winter likes to think he’s gotten pretty good at it. His brow bone furrows, his head tilting as he continues to look at her. She ever so subtly wilts under his gaze. The metaphorical bubble he finds himself in so often with her; like it was only ever him and Raven at any point in the world- pops suddenly.

“Hello, earth to Raven and Winter? Are you guys coming?” Beast boy waves a hand up at the dragon, who’s a good seven feet above him.

“No.”

“No.”

Raven looks at Winter incredulously as he matches her answer perfectly. His teeth bare in the equivalent of a dragon’s (shy) smile.

“Aw, what? Both of ya’ll are ditching?” Cyborg sighs dramatically. “More for us, then.”

“Maybe this time we won’t get kicked out for overeating.” Beast boy snickers, narrowly dodging a metal hand to the head after he speaks.

Robin sizes up Winter and Raven, an eyebrow raising. “You two okay?”

“I’m fine.” Her reply is short and sweet and wonderfully ominous- just like her.

“I’m just tired, I gotta shower, you know how it is.” His wings shuffle in the equivalent of a shrug. “Grab me some donut holes?”

“You know it, big man.” Cyborg chimes in, making his way towards Starfire. Robin nods, seemingly satisfied with the situation. Pterodactyl Beast Boy begins hovering above Robin, and he takes a talon in each hand.

“We’ll be back soon!” Cyborg’s voice fades away slowly as he’s carried off by Starfire, followed closely by Beast Boy and Robin. Winter watches them go for a moment, before turning back to Raven. She’s staring at him.

“You could have gone with them, you know.” Her voice almost mixes in with the sound of water whispering below them. He turns his head this way and that as he answers.

“I- I just wasn’t feeling it, y’know? A warm shower sounds nice.”

She remains silent, now looking at the distant Titans Tower. Winter fidgets in the quiet.

“Okay, I’m a little worried about you,” He admits. “You can talk to me if anything is wrong, alright? I’ll get it. I’ll try to.” God, she made him such a mess. She turns to look at him for just a moment more, a small smile visible under the shadow of her hood.

“I know. Thank you.” She takes off without another word, and soon the blue of her cloak blends in with the blue of the night.

Winter sighs.

--

He hadn’t seen Raven since they both arrived at the tower, and he guesses that she’s meditating or sleeping. Beast Boy had just texted him to let him know they were on the way home, so he knows that whatever she’s doing, she won’t be doing it for long. It feels much too empty in the tower without the rest of the team, so he’s glad they’re on the way.

If he was being honest, something felt really wrong. He could feel it in the air- whether or not that was because of his dracontine instincts or his severe anxiety was to be determined. Either way, he didn’t want to be alone right now.

As he’s lost in thought, he finds himself walking right up to Raven’s door. He blinks at the smooth metal dumbfoundedly, hand coming up to fidget with the fabric of his shirt. Just knowing that she was alive in there, with him in the tower, would really soothe his mind. His anxiety only grows as he thinks about it.

Just knock. You’ll feel better.

He raises his hand to the door, and it slides open before he can touch it.

“Raven!” He expects her to be just as surprised by him as he is by her, but her eyes are meeting his own as if she was looking at him before the door even opened. Her eyes. . .

“Raven?” She seemed scared. Her eyes were glowing slightly under furrowed eyebrows, and her skin was pale- somehow paler than it normally is. He wants to reach out, to touch her and make sure she’s still. . . real. He doesn’t, of course.

“Hey.” Her voice is a hoarse murmur, the nerves wavering in it covered up loosely by a facade of normality. This was not comforting.

“Hey. . . Um, I was feeling kinda-” His words are cut off with a breathy huff as Raven barrels into him, arms wrapping around his shoulders like a vice. He stumbles backwards as he catches her, eyes blowing wide open before closing tightly as he buries his face into her shoulder. Had he ever been hugged by Raven? Definitely not. He would absolutely remember the feeling if he had. He can feel the tension trembling in her shoulders, the soft material of her cloak as it brushes against his legs. Her nails dig into the fabric of his nightshirt.

He steadies his breathing, eyes opening slowly as her grip begins to slacken.

“Raven, what’s going on?” He tries as hard as he can to keep the anxiety out of his voice- he hopes it comes across more as disbelief. She’s never acted like this before.

He can feel the vibrations of her voice when she speaks.

“Nothing. A- A bad feeling, I guess.” She’s a bad liar, but he keeps that to himself.

“I’ve been feeling it too. Any idea-”

“No.” She’s quick to cut him off and stern in her reply.

“Okay, okay,” He soothes, noting that talking about it probably won’t help- no matter how big the pit in his stomach is. “Is. . . there anything I can do?”

Her fingertips begin to run in short arcs against his back, and if he thought the embrace was over, he was wrong. She inhales shakily against him.

“Just. . . Stay. For awhile,” Her voice was so quiet, so fragile. Whatever was eating her up inside was doing a damn good job at it. “And don’t tell the others. Please.” Whether she was referring to the sudden affection or the aura of imminent doom was uncertain. He decides he’ll stay quiet about both. Any trust Raven puts in him is worth doing anything to keep.

“Of course, I promise. I’m right here.” The dread he was feeling earlier is steadily being replaced by something more tender, filling up behind his sternum and spreading to his throat and stomach. It almost brings tears to his eyes, the amount of vulnerable emotion he was feeling.

When Raven finally pulls away, Cyborg’s voice calls through the tower. They both look down the hallway, towards the faint light of the living room.

“We’re back!” The faint sound of crinkling plastic bags and opening cardboard boxes can be heard.

Winter smiles, turning to look back at Raven.

She’s gone, disappeared into her room without so much as a breath. He tries not to let it get to him, he really does- she needs time alone to deal with whatever she’s going through. That’s okay. He has all the time in the world to wait for her to come to him, and they can talk, and maybe he could get another hug or two. The thought soothes his worries, if only for the time being. Besides, his friends were here now, and he had donut holes to eat.

The next day, a shadow covers the sun.

[heartless-error]

Broken, not perfect, but together. - Chapter 13

Fandom: DC comics, Batman

Pairings: Jonathan Kent x Damian Wayne (JonDami) & Jason Todd x Timothy Drake (JayTim)

Rating/Tags: Family feels, hurt/comfort, mental health issues, running away, brotherly love, adopted children, fatherhood

Other(s) links: AO3

Broken.

The Batfamily was broken.

It was six years ago, and they had barely stood together since then, trying to stand up despite guilt and regret.

Damian  was sure there was nothing to save, not after losing something that he didn’t know he cared about. But when a new opportunity to get back what they had lost appeared, he cannot help to doubt as his past decisions haunt him again.

If you love somebody, set them free. But you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

Chapter Summary: He knew exactly what he was doing when he helped Tim and Jason six years ago. But at the same time, he didn’t. No one was prepared to let them go the way they did, not even him. And now, after dealing with the consequences all this time, his heart was about to explode, he couldn't breathe. Because they were there, they were right there. His brothers were in front of him, and he couldn't move, couldn't do anything, because, once again, the weight of truth was about to crush him mercilessly.

Chapter 13

 Now

 Silence.

 The batplane was completely silent.

 Technically not entirely, since like the many trips and flights that had been made with it, could be heard perfectly the ambient sound of the wind brushing and surrounding the plane as it advanced on its way, also the noise of the engines accelerating to reach their destination as quickly as possible, as well of the machines and the control panel echoing at the front of the cabin, with all the breaths and movements of those inside.

However, it was they, the bats in there, who were precisely in silence, without having uttered hardly any unnecessary words since they occupied their seats on the plane and taking extreme care of each of their movements, of their postures. The tension in the place and between them was such that they had the impression that any movement or whispering would unleash a true storm among all, although this was already occurring within each of them, it was preferable to keep it hidden and sheltered for the moment, covered and hidden in nobody’s eyes while they were in a clearly confined space and knowing what was about to happen.

 Bruce was at the front of the batplane, paying attention to the control panel, and gripping the steering wheel with more force than necessary. It was curious to see him like this, tense, inflexible and dressed in civilian clothes, especially when they had already been used to see the figure of The Dark Knight handling that transport with his gloves, the hood and the cloak tangled in the seat, not his father, not Bruce.

Cassandra, curled up in the passenger seat, was the only one who had deigned to sit next to him. Her gaze insistently alternated between the screen of the GPS that was indicating their current position, and in front, where she could contemplate the sky and the clouds that passed through them. But she seemed too impatient and agitated to appreciate anything.

Stephanie was right behind her, but at a safe distance from the control panel and the driver, also curled up on herself and quieter than they’d ever seen her be. Dick, on the other hand, was at the other end of the cabin, away from everyone and lost in his thoughts as he stared at nothing.

 Like him, Damian was there. Farther still, almost to the end of the cabin, sitting awkwardly and with his arms crossed, thoughtful, absorbed in his head and in everything that occupied and prowled around it without stopping.

Sometimes he looked up to capture the blue of the sky and the landscape below his feet, but he couldn’t concentrate to observe it better. He settled into his seat as best he could, trying to find a comfortable position that wouldn’t bother his injuries, something difficult after everything that had happened that morning. He also met Dick’s uneasy gaze several times, Stephanie’s too, but no one said anything, no one moved, they just turned away their eyes to continue silently and in the spiral of their thoughts, allowing the tension to build and the journey to become longer, more harrowing.

 Damian knew the distance from Gotham to Florida was not that much, or at least not that much compared to all the places where he assumed that Tim and Jason could be hiding. After all, it was almost eighteen hours by car, and only about three by plane, less on the batplane. Still, he had the impression that this journey was going on for days, weeks. It was endless, exhausting, and every time he glanced at the clock on the control panel, he suppressed a sigh as he realized that only a few minutes had passed when he thought it had been an hour, even longer.

 The fact that the whole situation felt like a countdown against him, calculating how much was left to ruin all his life and efforts these last six years, didn’t help.

 Damian knew exactly what he was doing when he helped Tim and Jason six years ago. But at the same time, he didn’t.

 Contrary to what some people on the plane were thinking, the idea to run away was not Timothy’s, nor Jason’s. No. The idea was his, all his. 100% Damian’s credit. What’s more, they even doubted at first, they were very surprised when he explained the idea to them, and they partially refused. It seemed crazy when after all at that moment they were being watched strictly by a family who didn’t believe in their relationship and Jason was still recovering from an unwarranted aggression that had meant a total rupture between both sides. Although in the end they ended up agreeing, obviously, which he didn’t regret at all.

He was sure that if the others found out about this, that he had not only been an accomplice, but the leader of the entire operation, they would be much more upset than they had already been, maybe he would even receive another punch. And he would probably start to receive the same questions that had already been asked before and had tried to answer ambiguously: How? Why?

 The “how” was pretty easy.

 At first, a simple call to his best contact was enough: Talia. She didn’t welcome the son she now called failure with open arms, but she did like everything that would benefit her and help her obtain the power she was after. His mother was a woman very aware of her own interests and recognized something that favored them at the time, she knew how to choose her battles well. Erase Tim and Jason from the map, make them disappear, it was one that was definitely worth it, so he didn’t have to convince her to agree.

 Jason was a well-known failed project of Talia, a boy who she revived in the waters of Lazarus’ pit, brainwashed, trained and commanded into battle to cause damage to Bruce and all of Gotham under the poisonous ideas that she had implanted in his damaged and resurrected mind, to later see how he not only reformed and fought again on the side of the bats, but fell in love with the one she most wanted to eliminate.

Timothy, no doubt, had always been a clear obstacle to Talia, even from his Robin days. Something she had been waiting to get rid of and get out of the way as soon as possible at any cost. She manipulated Jason and manipulated him to hate him, to break him, to kill him, because she was conscious of the obsession that his father, his grandfather, had with Timothy. Ra wanted Drake for himself, it was a fact. He wanted him, craved him, chased him, for him he was his perfect detective, the only worthy being who could challenge him, confront him. He wanted him to be his successor, his right hand, wanted him at his mercy and wanted to hand over his empire to him. Empire for which Talia had fought all her life and could lose to the third Robin.

Then, hiding the couple meant making her mistakes and her greatest threat disappear. Talia would gain respect and a big advantage with both vigilantes disappearing, she knew that, and she didn’t hesitate to take it all in immediately. Damian and the others didn’t have to wait a single full day before receiving instructions to get it all started.

 After that, only the most difficult thing remained: the metas. Because no matter how much Tim and Jason changed identities, went to another continent, or avoided cameras, they had been friends of metahumans who could easily find them at any time. Any Super could identify their heartbeats wherever they were, and any Speedster could run around the world for them in seconds. They wouldn’t get very far if Superboy, Impulse, or even Starfire were involved in their search.

 But he didn’t have to do much to fix that problem either because Jonathan volunteered. He didn’t even ask him, he didn’t even know that he was aware of what he was trying to do, but apparently, he was inside from the first moment, even before any plans were formulated. He simply appeared before them with a Kryptonian device sneakily pulled from the fortress of solitude and handed it over to them, assuring the red team that as long as they kept it close, it would block the metas and hide them from everyone without problem. It clearly worked, and too well seeing as how absolutely no one had been able to find them despite the many efforts made.

 So, getting it all done was not as difficult as anyone might think. Especially when nobody suspected them or paid attention. Everyone was too busy focusing on all of Tim and Jason’s movements back then, and he and Jonathan were sixteen and thirteen, respectively. No one knew what was happening until it was too late, until they had been at the airport and left that damn note in the cave.

 Regarding why they did it, he already explained how he was allowed that morning.

 His brothers were tearing apart, little by little. Gotham were taking away a lot of things from them and continued to do so every day. Their vigilante lives began to overwhelm them more and more and the family didn’t help but make it worse with their indifference and their way of dealing with problems, including him.

Damian was sure that if they had not run away, if they had stayed in Gotham and continued with the rhythm they were taking, they would have ended up finally breaking and, with them, their relationship.

 He just knows, he knows that’s what would have happened if he wouldn’t have intervened.

As much as Todd insisted over and over that he didn’t need the attention of the bats around him, that he didn’t want anything to do with the family, his actions indicated how badly he needed approval and apologies from Bruce. Like Tim, who had always depended on that kind of acceptance ever since he was a child and had driven him to seek it wherever he could obtain it. And it didn’t matter how much they both fought for each other, for themselves and their relationship, the rejection of the family, of Bruce, hurt, hurt them, made them suffer despite knowing what could happen, despite having hiding it for years to avoid the problem. They wanted to solve it, they wanted to fix it. But besides all of that, both were also rooted to Gotham and its people in a way that Damian could never empathize, sacrificing and fighting tirelessly for the city until they reached that point of no return where they were, where they sacrificed their lives and his whole being.

Their loyalty and sacrifice for the city, for the bats, was too big, it meant too much to both of them and if they didn’t let them go, if they kept tying up that way, eventually everything would have split them in two, it would have separated them, and they would have allowed it in order to keep the place standing and the bat happy. As always, they were able to consecrate their own happiness for someone else even without wanting to, without realizing it.

 But Damian did it, and he couldn’t allow it. He just couldn’t, much less at that time.

 Damian could lie to others and himself all he wanted, but the need for his brothers to be happy was there. The perspective of them losing what they had because the other bats couldn’t see it, sacrificing their happiness for them again, was too much for him. He thought it was too unfair.

He knew he had been an insufferable brat for years, that he had caused too much trouble, done too much hurt, and could have ruined their lives with his mere presence, but whether they wanted it or not he grew up, they all did, and his relationship with them had improved considerably over the years, too much to let what was happening happen in front of his eyes and stand with arms crossed. Damian’s appreciation for his brothers had grown in a way that he never imagined at first, feeling something that never thought what could feel towards no one, because he and Jason shared a similar past that made them lean on the other without words, and Tim… It was Tim, just like that. Both were patient and annoying until the end, but one day he realized that he loved them and couldn’t see how they were about to collapse.

 They were a weakness, he knew.

 But Damian knew too that he had been a participant in inflicting their suffering, and that moment was the best time to fix it, he could fix it. Because the best way to prevent Gotham, the family, and the vigilante lifestyle from destroying their brothers, was for them to leave everything behind, including everyone, including him. They couldn’t hurt them if they weren’t there. It was that simple.

And that was without doubt his best way to earn their forgiveness, to make amends with them: Give them freedom from all the chains that imprisoned them.

 Jonathan felt the same, he knew it. He owed the red team nothing, not in the same way that Damian did, he didn’t need to feel deserving of their affections or forgiven for his past actions, but Jason and he were friends, and Tim practically raised him with Conner. He was also too fond of them to do anything, and most importantly: he wanted them to stay happy together.

 Anyone would say that he and Jonathan, beyond the brotherly love they felt for the other two, helped them because they reflected too much their own relationship in the elders’. And they would be right.

They didn’t have the same story as them, and they weren’t the same people either, but unintentionally and without knowing they had turned in their greatest reference in terms of relationships, their support to carry theirs forward and, without a doubt, the push they needed to start dating. Their parents seemed not want to see what happened between them back then, as if it didn’t exist and everything followed its normal course, they kept doing it even today. They were both young, had not discussed their sexuality with anyone else and the indifference of their guardians stopped them from doing so. Nor did they know how to cross beyond the line of friendship with the one who was their greatest confidant and puberty is the worst time for human beings. They both felt trapped, confused, and the longest and closest healthy homosexual relationship they ever knew was Tim and Jason, who were in hiding and Damian didn’t even find out about them until the end, but they always seemed to understand and accept their situation more than their own parents.

 Then, when everything exploded, both didn’t hesitate when choosing sides, and not when they helped them escape too. The rejection of Tim and Jason may have affected them as if it had been directed at them, their relationship with their parents was almost irreparable, but they turned that pain into stubbornness and courage to confess  their feelings and help them to leave. Because they wanted them to stay together, they needed them to stay together, since that was their way of showing everyone, themselves, that they could be happy, that they were not in danger. Both Tim and Jason, and them.

 So, yes, they did. They helped them, planned, and carried it out, being fully aware of what they were doing.

 However, it was what came after that they didn’t consider.

 They became so focused on helping those two to escape, that at any moment they didn’t stop to think what would become of them and their surroundings once they left.

 They should have.

 The nightmares, the anxiety, the secrets, and the paranoia became his new normality. The enormous guilt that came with their actions hit them too hard and fast, without giving them time to even assimilate or change it, because once it was done there was no going back.

They both thought they were ready to let Tim and Jason go, but they weren’t. Not them, not their families, not their friends, not even the hero community. No one. The huge gap that their absence left in their teams and families was too big, but they had already disappeared and all that remained was that stupid note along with the consequences it produced.

 The batfamily fell apart like a house of cards in a matter of days, and it could have been in hours if they had not been focused on the search, but the fights continued without rest and the resentment along with the tension didn’t do more than increase over time. The Titans and all the metas who knew the missing ones contributed to the search, but there was no clue, making the situation worse if possible. They were all trying to find a common culprit, or a valid and less painful reason than the one they had to leave because they were unhappy, they even hoped to find them, but they weren’t going to get anything.

And as the days, the weeks, the months went by, the tension increased, everything got worse and both Damian and Jon had to get away from those whose presence could no longer bear, either due to a total loss of confidence after what happened, or because they found themselves seeing themselves as those traitors who had brought suffering to their family and friends.

 Damian couldn’t trust anyone, not anymore, not his father, not Grayson either. He felt like everyone had fallen too high from the pedestal on which he had them and had to watch Bruce fall into another self-destructive spiral where no Robin was going to get him out this time. The betrayal and rejection he had felt from them didn’t allow him to have a civil conversation with none until eleven months after what happened at least, and even with Grayson he needed more time without wanting to yell at him until he was hoarse. Yet, he had to endure seeing how Brown, Batgirl, walked away increasingly because she couldn’t bear to see their faces, and how Cassandra came back from his mission in China to find her lost and broken family, how Alfred completed his tasks silently and not daring to say a word of it too, afraid to bring up the subject and cause again all those discussions both new and old that originated after the disaster.

Jonathan also felt deeply betrayed by his father and his lack of response to what happened, for his inflexible opinion in agreement with Bruce’s and his indifference to what his son felt. Damian knew they had a fight much stronger than Jon had wanted to admit, that he threw more things in his face than he said, but he decided not to pressure him on the subject and respect if at any time he wanted to give more details. Besides that, his boyfriend saw how Conner Kent crumbled at the loss of his Robin, how he looked for him without a break over and over again to the point of even neglecting his responsibilities with his team and his own health.

 All that pain, all that loss, all the tears, the screams, the fights, and the problems, they caused it. All of them. Without hesitation. And the best thing is that they weren’t planning to fix it. No. They would take the secret to the grave if possible, because if there was one thing they couldn’t regret or back down, it was to make Tim and Jason happy, despite the enormous price they had to pay.

 In their poor defense, they didn’t know that everything was going to fall apart like that. They didn’t come to think that the reaction would be so strong, nor the chain of disasters that followed. But it wasn’t until they saw everyone suffering and tearing apart that they realized what they had done, and that everyone would get very angry if they found out about their actions.

 So, they had no choice but to keep quiet and move on, because what else could they do? They hid it all, they studied, went together to prom, moved into their apartment in Metropolis, Damian got a job, Jon is in college, and despite the difficult family situation and missing the red team a lot, they looked for their own happiness and normality where they knew they could find it, where they taught them they could get it.

 And they were fine, really.

 They were together and fine. The weight of guilt was not so big if you shared it, and they both learned to lie fairly well together at an early age, also to continue side by side no matter what. They didn’t even have to lie that much, just pretend, because they never had a clue where Todd and Drake were, the best was not knowing it and the moment they saw them go through the airport gate, they too disappeared for them completely.

Mostly, they couldn’t talk normally with their parents, sometimes they had to be too on guard or alert in case someone discovered something, every now and then everything became too much and they lost control of their emotions, but they always ended up overlapping. They had nightmares in which everyone surrounded them and yelled that it was their fault, in which they saw flashbacks of happy moments turned into true horrors, where they heard resentment, poison towards them and pure hatred. But despite waking up screaming, crying, begging for forgiveness, they didn’t forget the most important thing: they did it for a reason, and they weren’t responsible for everything.

 If you love something you have to let it go, and that’s just what Tim and Jason chose to do. As much as they had been the ones to give them the option, it’s what they chose and they had to respect it, they had to deal with it. They couldn’t tie them to a life of misfortune, nor force them to return when they weren’t even part of the real problem there.

 Damian was determined to do that for as long as possible, to protect their new lives with everything he had, during all of his if necessary, because that decision was the only selfish decision that his brothers had made in a long time, the only one they had made thinking of themselves, and he felt they deserved it, he knew they deserved it. He was going to fight to preserve that.

 For that, maybe he should have tried a lot harder in Zodome to avoid this disaster.

 He had to hold back himself not to curse and fall prey to his anger when Gordon revealed in the batcave that the reason they had found his brothers had been because of the explosion in which he had been involved. He had felt so helpless, because he hadn’t found out what had caused the disaster until that meeting, and it didn’t make it better.

The whole time he thought that the terrorist cell he was chasing was on the island because of its black market and its easy access, didn’t come to imagine that they were going after a hidden supercomputer of the league that they wanted to sabotage and that they would also fail in their attempt, almost killing him and uncovering his lies.

 If he had been faster, if he had been more focused, if he hadn’t been regretting and missing his brothers again, if he had been better, none of this would have happened. They definitely wouldn’t be on their way to Florida.

 He could have prevented so many things. And yet he had failed, failed them, again.

No matter how hard he had fought for them, how long he had resisted, in the end everything had fallen apart because he couldn’t fulfill a simple mission or control his temper.

 It was very frustrating.

 Damian dug his nails into his forearms, squirming in his seat. His back hurt, also the side of his face where Grayson had hit him before. His fingers itched a lot, he wanted his phone back, his comms, something. He wanted to call Jonathan and make sure he was okay, safe, at least hear his voice to be able to calm down. But they had both been isolated from each other and from everyone by the time Damian made his confession.

As they thought it would happen, just when the others learned the truth took all forms of communication and kept them under surveillance. Jon was surely under the strict and impassive gaze of Clark after a warning from his father. As if any of them could jump in at any moment and alert Tim and Jason that they had been caught and they were going for them, when in fact they didn’t know how to contact them or where they were.

 He sighed, felt Grayson’s gaze on him again but completely ignored it. He was tired, angry, and resentful. He felt like an animal on the way to the slaughterhouse, his heart pounding and his mistakes hounding him, reminding him of everything he could have done to prevent this. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, he didn’t want to see anyone. All he wanted to do was scream, get mad, scream more, fight and beg for them to turn around, to stop the plane and all this madness, to go back to Gotham and forget everything they knew so they could get on with their lives like until now.

 But that was already impossible, everything had changed, and they were not going to forget it, they couldn’t.

 Looking straight ahead, Damian remembered Barbara Gordon’s soft grip on his arm before getting on batplane, he remembered the way she leaned, whispered an apology and with an indecipherable look said it.

 “Even if you don’t know it or want to admit it, you need this Damian. You need to see it.”

 He considered his answer, but he just gave her a cold look and got on the plane. He sat in his place, waited for takeoff, and hadn’t moved since, still quiet and waiting for this journey to end and see the destruction of what his life had been until now.

 Everything was still silent; everyone was still quiet.

 Damian didn’t care. After all, he had been six years without speaking, what mattered a little more?

 ~0.0~

 They landed before lunchtime, outside the city, about a thirty-minute walk from the town. They were not detected, and their objective was not to attract the attention to alert the former vigilantes of the place.

 Even after landing, for a few seconds, no one dared to move or say anything at all, even though some of them seemed to be about to get off the plane and begin the search immediately. They all stood still as if they could break a fragile peace that had never existed. The tension seemed to reach its peak just as Bruce got up and began to give directions of the procedure to be followed. Without having Oracle’s help this time to track them down immediately, they had to break up into groups to explore the area and check out the places they already knew Tim and Jason had been seen, hoping to meet them.

 Dick and Cass would go to the local electronics store and its surroundings, where Tim might appear. It was obvious why Grayson chose to search for Drake first, and why Cass was with him, since there was no doubt that Timothy could attack him as soon as he sees him. He didn’t blame him; he would do it too.

Brown would take care of the library, where they saw Jason. She was not in much danger with him if she found him, at least not entirely. Stephanie was not so involved in the conflict and her relationship with Jason had always been neutral, they had a mutual respect that they could use to their advantage this time.

 Damian was evidently forced to go with his father, who was clearly not going to leave him alone on the plane and was watching and controlling him like he was still ten years old and was planning to do something stupid. Much to his regret, he planned to check out the downtown area and where the other two had been seen crossing a pedestrian crossing that morning, having to cover a less specific and greater terrain.

 Great.

 Damian had assumed his complaints would not be heard at all, no matter what he felt, how angry he was or how bad what they were doing was. So, he decided to apply the total ice tactic and be silent all the way to the small town, analyzing the route, the place, thinking how easy it would be to run and alert his brothers before disaster struck. He didn’t, and he didn’t say a word as they all parted, and the search began. Just kept going next to his father, rigid, tense. He felt as if he were outside his own body, in another place, everything seemed out of focus and his nerves were on the surface. It was difficult to breathe, his chest contracted more and more, and he didn’t want to look at the streets, at the people. He feared so much meeting Drake and Todd. Standing next to Bruce looking for them, he felt like the most twisted of the traitors, again.

 The traitor betraying again, what a surprise.

 At least the place wasn’t too bad, for what little he deigned to see. As reported, the town was small and cozy, smelled of the sea and clean air. It was close to the beach and it was a sunny and lively place, very neat and beautiful with a close community made up of families and locals from there along with some tourists. They all seemed quite close and upper-middle class, from what could be seen.

 It was very different from Gotham.

 Laughter, lively conversations and happy sounds of children and adults, accompanied by the sound of the waves in the distance and life in general in the city were heard. It was refreshing, something new, different. There was no fog, no dark alleys, trash, rats, or the constant threat that a madman dressed as a clown would brutally murder you and your children for fun.

 Damian had stopped for a second to look at a lady who was walking his dog -a white chihuahua very ugly, but funny and whose face of sorrow in this life alleviated his anguish a little- when his father’s voice made him turn to him in annoyance.

 “I have brought your phone and comms.” He said to him as he continued walking, urging him to follow him and quite attentive to the area in case he saw any sign of those he had come looking for.

 Damian didn’t answer, he just kept walking beside him.

He knew he wasn’t going to return any of this or stop watching him until he was sure he couldn’t interfere with his plans, but he was informing him of it to gain ground with him. It was always his way of trying to score points, it was a kind of punishment veiled with concern and the usual parental explanation for not looking so bad. The typical “I have punished you with this, but I’m being good, I hope you understand and forgive me because this is your fault for misbehaving, not mine.”

 It won’t work.

 “I’ll give them back to you as soon all of this ends.” He continued saying when seeing that he didn’t obtain an answer.

 Damian rolled his eyes and continued in silence, walking briskly. It hadn’t worked, mostly because he wasn’t thirteen anymore and knew the trick, so he was still angry, a lot.

Bruce had to realize that hadn’t gone as expected, because he heard him sigh and call him again, in a slight tone of reproach.

 “Damian.”

 No answer.

 “Damian Wayne.” He called him again in a severe tone. “Can you speak to me, please?”

 He didn’t speak. What’s more, he looked at a couple that passed right by them as they walked to a black Lab, who seemed very happy to be there. Reminded him a bit of Titus, he missed him, his friend had a good life.

 “You are no longer a child, and I hope you understand that in these situations you are required not to behave as such.”

 He frowned. Really? The trick of maturity wasn’t going to work either right now, much less when the first to treat him like a child it was precisely him, invalidating his opinions and keeping an eye on him. He couldn’t be serious.

 He snorted and kept walking, not wanting his temper to get the better of him again and crossing the crosswalk that he recognized as the one from the photo he had seen on the batcomputer. His heart clenched for a second, he lowered his head holding his breath, because he was stepping on the same ground that his brothers had passed, they had been here and now he was crossing it with his father while they were looking for them.

The chances that they were getting closer to them were more and more real, the option of being found head-on were many and his hands had started to sweat. He didn’t know what he would do if that happened, he didn’t know how he would react if it was Bruce and he who ended up finding them before anyone else.

 “Giving me the silent treatment will not solve anything of this, son.” Bruce ended up saying again, crossing the street in  a tired tone and ignoring the internal struggle that Damian had at that moment.

 At that, the last Robin looked at him angrily, because of what had said in itself, and because he had called him “son”. He had no right to play that trick at the moment, at all. He refused, and he was too upset right now to that.

 “What we’re doing either, but we’re doing it anyway, right?” He finally reproached him with coldness and aversion.

 He listened to Bruce sigh again and kept walking, stepping forward to leave him a little behind and still without looking closely around. He continued going down the street after crossing the pedestrian crossing, staring at the ground and with his heart beating faster and faster. He didn’t want to walk, he didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to continue arguing, he wanted to go home and hold Jonathan until they couldn’t make out where one began and the other ended.

 “You have to understand that this is necessary.” Bruce justified himself behind him, still in that serious and exhausted tone.

 Damian felt anger wash over him once more, almost rising up his throat and burning it to start screaming and throw words sharp like knives. But they were in public, the goal was not to attract attention and nothing good would come of losing control now.

 They came to an intersection with an avenue, but Damian continued without looking back, hoping to lose sight of his father for as long as possible.

 “For whom?” He asked with annoyance. “Tt.”

 Clearly solely for them. He, Grayson, or whoever couldn’t live with what they had done. But that wasn’t his problem, nor was it anyone��s. They didn’t have to do this, it was unnecessary, but after all Damian was the selfish one for not having said a word about what he did for years.

 Of course.

 He hoped to hear an answer behind him, knowing that his father would try to lecture him, scold him, or make him understand his point of view, but curiously he got nothing. When Damian took a couple of steps across the intersection, he realized that he didn’t listen either the unmistakable Bruce’s steps behind or beside him, they had disappeared.

 He frowned and snorted exasperated.

 “What? Now is it you who’s going to give me the silence treatment?” He complained in annoyance and stopped on his own steps to turn around and look at him, the disgust inside him urged him to start another discussion.

 However, when he caught a glimpse of his father and realized that he was completely still, rigid, standing and watching in awe to his right, fixing his gaze in something, in someone, which was far down the avenue, that disgust quickly transformed into a mixture of anxiety and emotion so strong that Damian could have passed out if he hadn’t been so on guard.

 Slowly, fearfully but curious, he turned his head and followed his father’s stunned gaze to where it had been frozen.

 And he wanted to scream.

 He wanted to scream, cry, laugh, he wanted to run there, wanted to flee, wanted to do many things but felt completely incapable of doing none because like Bruce he froze, was petrified and was unable to react, unable to decide.

 Because they were right there.

 Timothy Drake and Jason Todd were right there. A few meters from them.

 His hands started to tremble, to sweat, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t, his throat was closed, his lungs could barely function well, his heart was beating so hard he couldn’t hear anything else, his head was in chaos, everything turned and stirred.

 But it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter at all, because they were there, they were just there.

 Damian couldn’t look away, couldn’t do anything but stare intensely, trying to assimilate that it was true, that it was them, in front of him. They were alive, they were fine, they were there, and they still hadn’t realized that they were near, observing them and about to run towards them.

 They were on the sidewalk, talking lively with two women, who seemed to really enjoy their company. Their postures and smiles were relaxed, open. They were side by side and chatting with each other as if there was no other problem in the world, and if he paid enough attention, if he tuned his ears enough, he could hear Jason’s deep voice and Drake’s light laugh in the distance. And they had definitely changed, they had grown. They were more mature, more adults plus attractive if that was possible. Jason still kept his white lock in his hair and his leather jacket, but his posture was less threatening, calmer, it seemed more centered and stable than ever. Tim had cut his hair, and looked shorter if possible, but he kept that soft and genuine smile he never wore while he was in one of the expensive suits he wore at WE.

In the eyes of both there was light, there was life, a shine that he had never seen in them. They carried an aura that he never thought he would witness in them.

 His eyes itched, he could cry, he didn’t know if he had already started to cry. His instincts screamed at him, screamed so much, so many different things and with such force that he didn’t know which ones to follow. One part told him to pick up his father, get away from that street, not alert others and leave in order to keep that light in them forever. But the another yelled at him to run towards them, to approach them suddenly, hug them hard and never let go, because he had missed them so much, and was glad that they were still together and so calm.

 The instincts to go to them seemed to win definitively when Jason’s bigger figure leaned closer to Timothy’s to put his arm around his shoulders, causing the smaller to smile at him and intertwine their hands together without hesitation, where -for a second- an unusual shine on the fingers of both hands caught his eye.

 Rings. That were rings. They wore rings. Wedding rings. Alliances.

 His resolve broke, his mind went blank. Without realizing it, Damian took a step, then another, another. Tentative, automatic, unconscious steps. He still couldn’t barely breathe and now his gaze was focused on their clasped hands, on their posture, in that hug, at their smiles while they were still talking without realizing they were there.

 Just as he was about to start running, a firm and powerful hand grabbed his forearm hard and pulled him back, making him complain and stumble in surprise on his steps. He hadn’t seen that coming, and he turned astonished to see how his father, surprised too, had clung to his arm, and held him in place, shaking his head.

 He looked at him in startled, almost panicked, breathing hard and with a million questions going through his mind, but discarding them all quickly at the fact that he was stopping him from going to his brothers.

 A shrill chime that was too familiar rang out somewhere, but that wasn’t important to him right now.

 Damian shook his arm hard, flustered, grabbed Bruce’s hand, and tried to pull it away from him, shaking his head. But he couldn’t push him away, his father didn’t let him go, he tried to take a step towards his brothers and was pushed back again. He was breathing faster his heart was going to explode.

 “No.” His father said, his voice also broken with nervousness. “Wait. No.”

 He didn’t want to wait. He couldn’t. But the fact that it was precisely Bruce who wanted to wait now, who was stopping him right now, turned his alarms back on and in his agitation, Damian realized that something was wrong, that he was missing something.

 Shaking his head hard and trying to regulate his breathing, he turned his gaze back to the ex-robins to realize that the scene in front of him had changed, that indeed, in his surprise for having them close again and his focus to watching them, he had been missing an important detail.

 A very important detail.

 The women his brothers were talking to were not the only ones on this street, there were more people there, it was full of adults, more groups talking to each other, men and women waiting for something in front of a building. A big one, well-kept, with traffic signs specific that he knew and with a gate of colors, childish. It was now open and from which children were coming out, who were screaming, shouting, laughing, and running to the adults who welcomed them with open arms.

 Wait.

 The adults were parents. This was a fucking school.

 “Dad!”

 “Daddy!”

 Two voices, shrill and childish, repeated those words with genuine joy as they quickly approached Tim and Jason, whose smiles grew up, and they looked fondly at each other.

 A boy and a girl, small, smiling, and excited, entered the scene. Holding hands and running as fast as their short legs allowed them, they finished throwing themselves towards Jason and Tim, laughing happily, with squeals of excitement and a warm welcome.

Jason caught the girl in mid-jump, hugging her tightly and not taking long to cover her face with kisses as she squirmed and laughed out loud, happy in his grip. Tim bent down to extend his arms and receive an effusive hug from the boy, separating shortly to leave the most tender and gentle kiss that Damian had never seen on his cheek while the child allowed himself to be picked up carefully to be hold. After that, they both ended up with smiling children in their arms as they talked, greeted the other and laughed with them.

 “I haven’t said everything.” Barbara said. “You have to see it, Damian.” Barbara said.

 Well.

 Shit.

[nightglider124]

RobStar Week 2020: Day 2

Oof, I don’t actually like this one. Which... it’s a shame cos I was excited to write this and it’s an idea I wanted to do for ages but decided to use it for this years robstarweek. 

This is an... alternate cave scene from the episode ‘Stranded’.

Idk... I botched it lmao. I am... my writing skills have honestly gone down the pan, ngl. 

BLEH WHATEVER. Enough of the negativity.

Hope you guys at least take some joy from this one. Hopefully I will do better than I have with the first two prompts for this week.

___________________

Warmth

Robin sucked in a deep breath as he reached up and snapped off a wayward branch that seemed to have snuck through the cracks of the cave they had taken shelter in. It had been a bit of a challenge to find wood of all things on this strange planet at first but after some time, the two of them had managed to get a small fire going.

His heart was still pounding from what had happened. The last thing he expected was for the ground to shake and give out beneath their feet as they attempted to find the others. Robin was more than ready to find the missing members of his team, head home and put as much distance between them and this death trap of a planet as he could. 

Pausing before he walked back over to the small fire, he chanced a glance over his shoulder at Starfire. Ever since they had plummeted into an inky abyss, she had been mysteriously and uncharacteristically quiet. 

She was sitting on a log that was on one side of the flames, her arms wrapped around her shoulders, as if shielding herself from harm. It was a first to see Starfire practically retreating in on herself and barely speaking to him.

He could feel the anxious knot in his chest, tighten suddenly as he dwelled on their situation and the conversation they had been having just before the cliffs collapsed. 

The whole mission had been a complete train wreck. He wished, more than anything, he could go back to that space station they’d arrived at, defeated the screaming monster with her and then ushered Cyborg out before he could tease anything at all.

Robin furrowed his brows beneath his mask as he remembered the memory from earlier that day. He was so stupid for reacting like that. In reality, she wasn’t his girlfriend. She was his friend who was a girl but… romantically? He didn’t think they had breached that recently or at least, it wasn’t made clear to him if they had moved forward like that. 

It was true that there was some underlying connection; something that drew them to one another but they’d never taken the time to discuss it or broach the subject before. With him being practically allergic to any conversation pertaining emotions, he had always shut them down or avoided those types of conversations with her before they even had a chance of starting. 

It wasn’t like he didn’t want that kind of relationship with her because he did. He’d thought about it and imagined what it would be like, many times since he had first met her. Robin wondered all sorts of things in regards to if they were to take their relationship further, into unknown territory. 

But, in truth, it scared him. He didn’t know what he would have to expect and didn’t know if they would last, despite hoping they would. 

There was this weight hanging on his heart now, just holding him down and denying him any of the confidence he usually had. She had been off with him ever since they had found one another which, after some probing and careful tiptoeing, he had realized that she was still angry and a little confused about what he had said. 

It was obvious that it had been going through her mind and she had started thinking about it on a deeper level, despite his words being more of a defensive response to Cyborg’s jabs, than anything else.

God, he couldn’t wait to give Cyborg double training when they eventually got home.

He inwardly scolded himself for not giving her credit where the English language was concerned. At first, he thought she was confused over the wording but after some time, he learned that she knew full well what Cyborg meant by his word choice. 

She was upset because he seemed so flippant and dismissive of it altogether.

Robin closed his eyes for a moment and tried to organize his scattered mind. There was a plethora of thoughts racing through his brain, including finding the others, hoping they wouldn’t run into any other weird beast like creatures as well as getting off of this crumbling planet as soon as possible. 

But, sitting at the forefront of all of that, was Starfire. He was concerned about her and their friendship too. Back when they had started falling, she had been unable to tap into her flight and it had utterly terrified him when she had yelled that she couldn’t fly.

It had never happened before. 

Starfire had always been solid in terms of relying on her powers and she’d never faltered in the slightest in any battle they had had since they’d first banded together as a team. 

On the flip side, he wanted to know if they were okay. One of the main reasons he had always steered away from admitting to any romantic feelings towards her was because he didn't want their friendship to change because of any harboured emotions.

He bowed his head and opened his eyes again, allowing the hand that was resting against the cave wall to slide down the jagged surface until it fell away to his side.

Swallowing sharply, he shook his head and turned around, wandering back towards their makeshift safe spot.

His heart was beating a mile a minute as he reached her, throwing the branch into the flames and watching as she shifted away slightly so that her back faced him a little more. 

Robin frowned and slowly sat on the opposite side of the wooden log, “Starfire…” He murmured, his tone soft, “What happened back there? Why couldn’t you fly?” 

He heard her sniffle quietly before she turned to gaze at the fire, her expression telling of what she was feeling. She looked tired and frustrated; upset that she had had no real answers to her questions since the explosion back at the space station.

“Tamaranean powers are inclined by our emotions…” She admitted, her eyes lacking the electric spark they usually had. 

“So the way you feel affects your ability to fly.” 

Starfire nodded solemnly, her emerald orbs shifting with uncertainty, “And right now, I feel unfamiliar confusion.” 

“But… we’ve faced danger before without your powers failing.” Robin pointed out, a sudden heat consuming the back of his neck as he sensed it wasn’t exactly that, that was the problem,

Starfire sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest, her feet resting on the log as she turned her head away to the dark side of the rocky cavern. 

“It is not danger that confuses me, Robin. It is you.” She confessed, opening her eyes and staring directly at him, “I do not understand… us.” 

Robin felt his throat run dry and he fought not to visibly react to that, despite his heart feeling like it was about to burst out of his chest with the anxiety that came hand in hand with these types of discussions. He pulled an awkward expression, without even realising it, as the inferno creeping up the back of his ears intensified and he knew it was only a matter of time before the blush spread to his cheeks.

“Ever since Cyborg said… the ‘girlfriend’... things are different between us.” She continued, tilting her head a fraction,

Reverting back to what he thought might work, Robin forced a smile onto his face and held a hand up to stall her words, “It’s... just a misunderstanding....” He explained, “Everything’s okay.”

He tried to brush it off and act as though things were absolutely fine when he knew, deep down, they were not and this wasn’t something that Starfire was going to simply let go without talking about.

And… maybe that was a good thing. Possibly.

Starfire rebuffed this and got up from where she had been perched, “Everything is not okay.” 

She moved away from him, once again turning her back on him as she shuffled into the shadows of the cave. He frowned, hating the air of sadness that was tainting her voice every time she spoke. 

He more so hated the fact that he was the cause for said sadness. 

“We are not okay. I fear we will never be okay again and you will not tell me how you feel.” She whimpered, trying to detach from him by standing so far out of reach.

Robin stood as well, clearing his throat and tugging at the collar of his cape as he crossed some of the distance between them, “Uh… I’m not… very good at that.”

It was the truth. He supposed he should probably be honest with her about how difficult he found situations like these. Despite not wanting to talk about feelings at the risk of making himself vulnerable, he realized it was Starfire and if anyone deserved some kind of answer to the way he acted, it was her.

Starfire sniffled again and slowly half turned towards him, her expression one of discouragement, “Do Earth boys come with… some kind of manual then?” 

He was powerless to stop the soft smile that graced his lips at that, once again acknowledging how endearing and sweet she was, without even realizing it herself. 

Robin breathed a laugh, “That would make things easier.” 

She spun on her heel and strode back over to him, keeping her distance by remaining on the other side of the scorching blaze. Her eyes bored into him, silently pleading with him to offer something up, just to satisfy her doubts in some way, “How am I to know what you think about me?”

Robin sucked in an exasperated breath, having not been prepared for this at all and knowing, if he were to try and explain to her what he felt or even, what he liked about her, he’d become a babbling mess.

“Starfire…” He sighed, practically his whole upper body slumping as defeat started to consume him.

There were so many things that he liked about her. In fact, it was probably a shorter list to tell her what he didn’t like and that was extremely barren. 

He loved how carefree and bubbly she was and how even the simplest things on Earth were things she found utterly fascinating whilst the average human wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. 

He loved how caring and sweet she was with everyone around her. Whether they were friend or foe, she constantly tried to see the positive and the good in individuals who, most of the time, didn’t even deserve it. 

He loved how intelligent and strong she was, being able to handle herself in practically every situation she found herself in. Her powers were just an extension of her warrior self, fully capable in the art of combat, should the need ever arise. 

Robin blinked to himself as reason after reason sailed through his head, her question having stayed with him for so long, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t replied to her at all. He cleared his throat and ignored the way his face was now roasting with embarrassment,

He wasn’t sure he could say any of that to her and rather do what he most likely should have done and told her what he thought about her, Robin simply flapped his mouth open and closed, again and again like a fish gasping for breath.

Starfire’s demeanour slipped and whilst she had looked hopeful and excited to hear what he thought about her and their relationship status, it suddenly dwindled faster than water trickling down a drain.

Her eyes became dull and her shoulders lowered, casting a glance off to the side before she took a step away from the fire again,

Robin felt trapped; he didn’t know what he could say to possibly salvage this. He had just been handed a silver platter of a chance, to clear things up between them but there was something in the pit of his stomach that simply refused to let him open up in such a way. 

“It… It does not matter…” She whispered, her tone low, “I am... sorry for pushing you to speak about this and… it is clear to me that… Cyborg was wrong. I am not your girlfriend and I… should never have expected or assumed otherwise.” 

He could see her chest rising and falling a little faster than before and he took the smallest step forward, unsure if she was crying, her face being distorted by the dim lighting being cast around the cave.

Robin swallowed the mountain in his throat, panic and regret locking in his chest. He was already kicking himself for not saying anything, leaving her to stew in her own insecurities in relation to him and how he felt about her. 

There was a frantic aura, flaring in his head like alarm bells. He wanted to take it back, redo the whole conversation and set it straight that he thought she was beautiful, kind and amazing; just a few traits, beyond an entire list of other reasons why he was falling more in love with her every day since he met her. 

“Star-” He croaked, reaching a hand out to her.

She stepped away and offered him the tiniest smile that spoke volumes of how she was truly feeling; the conversation not having gone at all how she hoped it would and it was all down to him for being an idiot and deflecting her.

He didn’t blame her in the slightest. Starfire was a creature of emotions. Tamaraneans wore their hearts on their sleeves, being open with how they felt and what they thought which was a stark contrast to how most humans operated.

Starfire had often pointed out that humans constantly seemed to complicate matters with words and logic, rather than just riding out circumstances with their hearts.

“There is a storm coming.” Starfire blurted, briefly eyeing the darkening sky through the small gap in the side of the cave; a sure fire exit once it was safe.

Blinking, Robin inclined his head to catch a glimpse of the outside. The sky was full of dark clouds, with an amber shade drenching the entirety beyond it. He continued to stare out until he saw a flash in the distance, illuminating the clouds before it faded out. 

Soon enough, dust and sand began to swirl as the wind picked up and howled outside. He considered asking Starfire if it was a sandstorm, since she would be more familiar with the types of storms that happen in space, but ultimately decided against it since it wasn’t the most appropriate time.

“I believe we should rest and try to find our friends once it is safe outside.” She suggested, tentatively pushing some of her auburn hair behind her ear, “Who knows? Perhaps they will find us, instead.”

Robin watched in silence as she moved around their little campsite and he wished he could grapple for something to say. 

“We probably shouldn’t sleep… we don’t uh… we don’t know if there are more things like that slug…” He murmured as he crouched down, trying his best to respect her wishes to be on the whole other side of the fire from him.

Starfire nodded, “We do not necessarily need to sleep. If you would prefer to stay awake…”

He watched as she lowered herself to the ground, brushing at the dirt before she laid her head down, turning away without saying anything at all. Robin frowned and felt an empty bubble in his stomach; a hollow guilt and he wanted to apologise to her and make things better but… he really didn’t know how.

How could he possibly make it better after practically avoiding her questions and her frustrations all day?

Robin exhaled quietly and tried to ignore the painful thuds in his chest as he laid down on the hard dusty concrete. He threaded his gloved fingers together on top of his ribs and chewed on his lower lip as he delved deeper into his chasm of worries.

Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind whistled through the entire cave, setting the overall temperature down to a bitter coldness. Robin flinched and tugged the edges of his cape around the exposed parts of his arms that weren’t covered by his uniform, struggling not to jerk at the bite that the cold offered.

He cautiously glanced over at Starfire, noticing that the fire was really brawling with the winds in order to stay alive. She had barely moved, as if not even noticing how chilly the air around them had become.

Robin inclined his head, trying to suppress the shivers that were wracking his body as he peered out of the small opening of the cave, only to see blustering dust particles so thick that he could no longer see the cliffs outside.

His breath came out shakily as he shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut beneath his mask, surprised at how quickly his body temperature had dropped. His teeth started to chatter as a deep iciness started creeping along his skin.

“Robin?” Starfire murmured, and he could partially hear her shuffling and turning back in his direction,

He kept his eyes closed, trying his best to block out the cold by pulling his cape even tighter around his body. All he could hear was the crackle of the fire and the billowing wind outside.

Suddenly, he felt a weight drop down beside him and his eyes snapped open, his head swivelling to see Starfire making herself comfortable beside him. She stared down at him with concern in her expression but he was baffled by how calm and unaffected she was by the blizzard frost in the air.

“H-How are you… able to deal with the cold?” He stammered, watching as she scooted closer, gently pushing him towards the fire to warm him back up.

“My people are most resilient, especially to low temperatures. You forget… I am from space.” She told him, a wry smile gracing her lips.

“Wh-what are you doing?” 

“You are freezing, Robin. My body heat runs much higher than humans and I believe I can help.” She replied, laying down beside him and bringing her arms around his torso, rubbing her palms against his exposed areas of skin. 

The heat was practically instantaneous. Warmth spread across the planes of his skin like wildfire; everywhere she touched was ignited with fire and he momentarily wondered if she was adding her powers to it for maximum exposure.

Robin exhaled, his jaw aching from where it had been chattering uncontrollable merely 2 minutes beforehand. 

His shoulders dropped and he relaxed as the cold seeped away from him, thanks to the alien Princess who was effectively just holding him now.

“Robin? Are you okay?” She asked, beginning to pull away.

He grabbed onto her hands and pressed them against his chest again, with his back still facing her. 

“Don’t… I… it’s still really cold.” He admitted, feeling a blush slip across his cheeks.

“Okay.” 

They dipped into silence again as they laid there, with only the wind howling outside filling the space. Robin couldn’t deny that being this close to her was nice, especially since they hadn’t really been on great speaking terms since he messed up.

He could feel something building inside of him and decided that now would be the only other chance he had to try and explain himself to her and apologise for the confusion he had caused her.

“Hey… Star?” He murmured,

“Yes?” 

Robin turned over so that he was facing her, despite the blush that was likely still painted across his cheeks, “I… I wanted to say sorry.”

Starfire blinked but lowered her chin, her gaze dropping to the small patch of dirt between them, “Robin…”

“Really… I… I don’t know why I reacted like I did when Cyborg… said what he said.” Robin muttered, furrowing his brows as he recalled it in his mind, 

“I am not your girlfriend… I understand now what was meant.” She whispered, taking solace in just forgetting it,

“Star… I’m not the best at talking about feelings… I was never taught that and… I’m just not good at it.” He admitted,

“Robin… it is fine. Truly.”

“I wouldn’t mind it… you know.” He blurted, his face turning a crimson tone and he couldn’t look directly at her.

Starfire blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what he had just said to her, “What?”

“Having… a ‘friend who is a girl’ as you put it.” He elaborated, smiling slightly as he repeated her own words,

She softly smiled back, “Truly?” 

“I… think I’d need to get used to the idea of it… but… yeah.” He paused and decided to go all the way considering he was already opening himself up considerably, “And… as for what I think about you… I think… it’s uh… awesome the way you shoot starbolts?” 

Starfire brightened at that and tilted her head, “Yes? And?”

“And uh… it’s also cool that you’re brave and the strongest girl ever.” 

“And… you do not mind having a friend who is a girl?” Starfire checked, visibly a lot more pleased with his communication,

Robin sat up and gently pulled her up with him and smiled back at her, opening his mouth to reply but was cut short by a loud rumbling from behind them.

As they spun to investigate the sound, the wall shook and crumbled, collapsing to reveal the screaming monster that had apparently followed them to this wasteland of a world.

The couple gasped and jumped up as the monster growled, stalking towards them before it opened its mouth and let out a long, ear piercing shriek, preparing to attack. 

[pink-bird-30]

RobStar Week 2020- Warmth

Welcome back! We are on day 2 of RobStar week and I’m committed to posting everyday.

I’m going to make all of these days a continuous story somehow.  So this is a few weeks after my first post from yesterday.  IF you haven't read it yet, well go read it!

Today’s topic is Warmth.

I tried my best to keep this Teen.

Happy reading!

Here is the link to where I will be posting my stories on FF.net:

( https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13635654/1/RobStar-Week-2020-All-Works )

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

Robin wasn’t sure how they got here, but he really wasn’t complaining.

After confessing his love for Starfire weeks ago they decided it was best to keep their relationship a secret.  He knew they’d be constantly ridiculed by their teammate and would never have a moment alone together.

But he had to admit, sneaking around was fun.

No one ever questions if Starfire and Robin go off somewhere after a mission.  They never question why they would be sitting so close in the ops room watching TV.  And they never question why Starfire and Robin are happier than normal.

Except for today.

Today they got caught.

The night before the team had decided to have a movie night.  Each week one Titan has the choice of which movie to watch.  Last night happened to be Raven’s turn to pick and she decided upon a scary movie.  But not just any scary movie, she wanted to watch Annabelle Creation.  Needless to say, no one was happy to go to bed after watching a movie like that.

During the movie the Titans were all scattered around the large grey couch, all dressed in their pjs.  Starfire and Robin were mindful to keep a decent distance between them, but couldn’t help but sneak glances at each other.  As the movie progressed each of the Titans slowly inched closer and closer to one another.  Finally after the 10th jump scare, Beast Boy and Cyborg jumped behind the couch, Raven was laughing at their reaction, and Starfire flew into Robin’s lap, clutching him for dear life.

He could feel her body heat radiating against his chest.  It seeped its way through his entire body.  He was slightly on edge from the movie, but not as bad as everyone else.  But having Starfire’s body pressed against his made his mind drift elsewhere.  Starfire stayed in his lap and lifted her head from time to time to glance at the screen.  When the score of the movie would swell, alluding to a new scare, she would bury her face in his neck.  Her warm breath would cascade across his throat, the sensation sending shivers down his spine.  He instinctively held her tighter and ran his gloveless hand through her auburn locks.

No one took notice of their proximity, they were all too focused on the movie.

After the movie was over, Starfire slipped off of Robin’s lap before anyone had a chance to say anything and they all made their way to their respective rooms.

Robin and Starfire walked ahead, walking close but not close enough to catch any curious eyes.  As they approached her door he glanced down the hall to the other Titans, noticing they have already retired for the night.  He wrapped his arms around Starfire pulling her close to him.

“Goodnight, Star.”  He brushed a kiss on her cheek and smiled at her before walking across the hall to his own room.

“Robin?”

He turned around, hearing her voice was much softer than usual.

“What’s wrong?”  He reached out to her and laid a hand on her cheek.  She leaned into his touch and placed her hand on his.

“Well…” She fidgeted for a moment and let out a huff. “I cannot go in there alone!  What if the doll of Annabelle is there?!”  Her usually bright green eyes began to tear up at the thought of being alone.

Robin smirked at how amusing this all was, but knew better than to laugh at her.

“Do you want me to check it out?”

She nodded before letting go of his hand and stepping behind him, allowing him to enter her room first.  He rolled his eyes at her ridiculous behavior and entered her room.  He moved across the plush orange carpet to turn on her bedside lamp, she hovered close behind him cautiously looking around the room for the haunted doll.

After Robin searched her room for a few minutes, he declared it free of any demon dolls.

“I am most grateful!”  She flew over to him and gave him a soft kiss.

He pulled away from her slowly, a goofy grin gracing his face as he walked back out to the hallway and into his room.

Little did either Titan realize there was a young Titan walking down the hallway close enough to hear their late night exchange…

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

Harsh winds howl as a late night storm come rolling into Jump City.  The rain hits rhythmically against the windows of Starfire’s room, pitter-pattering away as the storm moves across the night sky.

Starfire was able to fall asleep knowing her room was free from Annabelle, but she felt unease in her dreams.  A silent chill wrap her body in sleep as the storm continued to pass by, making her shiver.  She instinctively pulled her sheets closer to her but could find no warmth in her own bed.

As the storm continued, Starfire tossed and turned in her bed.  When the first flash of lightening highlighted the sky, her body froze.  Then the crackle of thunder shook her room jolting Starfire from her sleep.  She looked around her room and watched as another crack of lightening crosses the sky and the thunder rumble not a moment later.

“Xhal!” she quickly threw the covers from her body and flew out her door and lightly knocked on Robin’s door.

“Robin?” She quietly said, hoping her boyfriend was a light sleeper.

When he didn’t come to the door, Starfire looked down the hall and swore she saw someone moving in the dark.  Before she knew what she was doing, she punched in the override code for his door and dived for his bed.

Robin mumbles in his sleep, not fully awake but aware someone is in his room.

More importantly, someone is in his bed.

“Mhm…Star?”  he rubs his eyes with back of his hands and turns over to face her.

She is shaking underneath his thick black comforter and using a pillow to cover her head.  He reaches out to take the pillow away and is met with resistance.

“Starfire?  Are you okay?”  He was growing concerned for his alien girlfriend.  She’s never been this worked up over a scary movie before.

“N-n-oo.” The violent shaking too much to get a proper word out.

Robin quickly sat up, the comforter falling away revealing his bare chest.  He pulls on the covers to try and free Starfire from the cocoon she curled herself into.  He is met with slight resistance until she feels his warm hand on her bare waist where her shirt lifted slightly.  She instantly relaxes at the contact, but still feels an internal chill.

“Star!  Why are you so cold?!”  He lifts her from the comforter and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and adjusting the comforter back over them.

“M-my pow-wers, a-and my-y e-em-mot-tion-ss.”  Her teeth chatter as she tries to explain her predicament.

Robin thought for a moment before it made sense, “Since your powers are connected to your emotions, you being scared is effecting how your body radiates heat?”

Starfire nodded.

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?  I would have let you stay-“ Robin stops before he finished.

Starfire is in my bed.

This definitely goes against everything Bruce has ever taught him.  Don’t date your teammates, check.  Don’t get emotionally involved with your teammates, check.  Don’t get yourself in a situation that you shouldn’t be in.

100 percent, check.

Clearly since all the rules have gone out the window, he might as well enjoy the time he gets to spend with Starfire, alone, in his room, in his bed.

Alfred will kill me if he finds out.

“R-robin, I am-m- th-he cold.” She tries to snuggle herself closer to him, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Robin contemplates if he should do what he was thinking, but it could help her get her mind off things and warm her up a bit.

Fuck it.

He tilts her head up, her eyes peak with curiosity before he dips his head and meets her lips with his.  It was a slow kiss, coaxing her chilled lips to move with his as he kisses her more passionately.  His tongue traces her bottom lip begging for entrance; instinctively, she parts her lips to let him in.  Her shivers start to subside, giving her the ability to move again.  The warmth radiating from him is enough for Starfire to want to be even closer to him.

Her cold hands find their way around Robin’s torso, pulling him closer as the kiss goes on.  He feels her respond more, her cold hands on his back only further his desire to make her warm.  He slowly pulls away from her and shifts them lower on the bed, laying them gently against the pillows.

Starfire brushes her nose against his, the sensation reviving the need to feel more.  Their warm breath mingling together as they gravitate closer together again.  Closing the distance once again…

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

“Hey Rae, have you seen Starfire and Robin?  It’s past breakfast.”  Beast Boy asked Raven as she passed him in he hallway.

“Yo, BB.”  Cyborg walks out of the ops room, letting the door slide close behind him.  “Did you find them?  No offence, but only Robin can cook and I’m starving.”

“Nah, man.  Couldn’t find them.  Star wasn’t on the roof and Robin wasn’t in the gym.”

Raven stayed quiet knowing well enough where their leader and resident alien is currently residing.

“Uh…”  Both Cyborg and Beast Boy gave her a curious look.

“Well, do you know where they are?” Beast Boy asked again.

“No way…” Cyborg thought about it for a moment before the realization hit him.

“No fucking way!!!!  BB go check Star’s room.” Beast Boy gave him a ‘wtf’ look before heading down the hall to Starfire’s door and knocked.  The door slides open and inside was her empty bed with the sheets a twisted heap on the floor.

“Well where is she then?!”  Beast Boy yells as he steps out of her room.

Cyborg grins as he walks over to Robin’s door before knocking on it.  Behind him are Raven and Beast Boy, peering around him, waiting for the door to open.

“This isn’t good.”  Raven drawled.

When the door didn’t open, Cyborg is about to type in the override code when the door swishes open revealing their two missing friends.  They both have bright smiles on their slightly pink faces.  Completely unaware of the people standing right in front of them.

Cyborg crosses his arm and looks at the two Titans smugly, “Well well well, what do we have here.”

Beast Boy was speechless, his mouth gaping.  And Raven rolls her eyes at the two idiots standing in front of her.

Robin freezes seeing his friends standing outside his door.  Starfire gasps and hides behind her boyfriend.

“Uhh…”

“Xhal!”

Cyborg laughs before dragging Beast Boy away, letting the new found couple get their bearings before breakfast.  Raven stayed to look at the two blushing teens attempting to come up with some sort of excuse.

Raven holds up a hand to stop Robin from explaining, “I knew.  I just didn’t mention it.”

She moves to levitate away before turning back to them, smirking.  “I see you were able to warm up, Starfire.”

Their eyes widen at the revelation and watch as Raven laughs quietly, and levitates away back to the ops room.

Even though it’s embarrassing getting caught by your teammates, Robin doesn’t regret helping Starfire.  

Not one bit.

[iggy-of-fans]

Finally there. The last chapter. The epilogue. The long awaited finale with a Raven redemption, Adrian's story, reactions and a lot of fluffy fluff! Over 3000 words for this.

LIFE GOES ON

Bruce stood at his window, overlooking the rose garden in the backyard, gathered with everyone except Damian and Marinette. There was a strong sense of anticipation in the room. As Bruce looked about him, some of the Kwami zooming around the room, he thought back to the events three years ago. Guardian Angel officially joining the Justice League, the great battle of Gotham, and returning of teenage renegade to Paris. He still got chills when he remembered Agreste's statement of events.

The room was quiet for a moment as Adrien tried to think of where to begin. He stared at the ceiling.

"It starts a year before Hawkmoth first appeared. My mother and father and I lived happily together, father was busy at work, but we were all very happy. Sometimes I would hear them shouting, but it would turn to moans not long after, and father told me when I asked once that mother just needed to be loved properly. Then mother disappeared and father searched furiously for her, until eventually she was proclaimed as dead. Father became distant, and I rarely ever saw him except if I messed up or something. So I tried to be the perfect son, but I wanted some freedom, friends, to fall in love like all my animes. I snuck out of the mansion to go to school, and almost made it in when I saw this old man needed help. So my father's assistant caught me and brought me home. But there was a box on my table, and with it I became Chat Noir. I thought Ladybug was my soulmate because how could we not be? Then my father agreed to let me go to school and I became friends with Marinette and Nino and Alya and my childhood friend Chloe was there too. It was perfect. I was a hero, I had friends, I had a soulmate. But Ladybug was always turning me down, and she was allowed to choose more heroes, and she refused to have any fun. And then Lila Rossi transferred and she liked to tell tall tales, but she wasn't hurting anyone. Marinette was just being too hard on her, too stubborn. If she'd just let it go, just played nice, she would've been fine. Lila would eventually get tired of it all. I always had her back and she knew that. Her 14th birthday, Lila told me about Marinette's love for me. Marinette was supposed to wait for me and we would have a magical night. I found her a ways away, and thought she'd just gotten sick of waiting for me, but I made it up to her and brought her home. But two nights later, the police swarmed our home, and were shouting about my father being Hawkmoth, which is impossible, because he was Akumatized! And I was taken in, because Chat Noir was being accused of rape! And Nathalie was supposed to be Mayura! And none of that made sense! So I tried to have them find Marinette, because she would be able to clear everything up. Three days went by when Ladybug showed up, carrying Marinette's dead body to the police. She had a video of my classmates hurting her, hurting Marinette. And she had the power to fix her and didn't. I was devastated. Then Marinette appeared to me. She was as real and bright as ever. She wanted to be with me. And I wanted to create the perfect world for her. Our class would all be friends, Chloe would be nice to her, and Lila would be her best friend, and Marinette would be Ladybug instead. My mother and father would be happy and together forever, and they would love Marinette just as much as me. Marinette was the one who planned everything and told me what to do. But I knew no one else saw her. But I did as she told me, because once I made my wish, nothing bad would ever happen to her again" Adrien spoke with passion in his voice, but his eyes never met theirs.

Batman and Wonder Woman's eyes met. This wasn't their first rodeo with the mentally unstable.

"Do you feel any remorse at all, knowing that those lives you took will forever remain dead?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Ladybug is the only one guilty. She could bring them back if she wanted to."

"The ladybug powers do not work like that. My mother was once a Ladybug. She needs to absorb the negative energy of a magical attack, like with the Demon, and she uses that to rebuild the world. She can not create or bring back life or heal, because when she does it, she is merely absorbing the darkness from their bodies. Otherwise there would never have been ill in Paris. The dead would have risen everyday. Can you not see that? " Wonder Woman asked.

" Marinette would never lie to me" Adrien stated. He was looking to his side, smiling softly. Wonder Woman was especially concerned that he saw her still, even while under the influence of the rope of Hestia, which should break through every delusion.

The interview concluded, it was decided that Adrien Agreste would serve life in a French Asylum, without bail. When his family was contacted, his father was emotionless, his mother just disinterested. She'd always known he'd be just like his father.

Bruce came back to the present when Damian and Marinette walked onto the scene below. Her 18th birthday was just around the corner, and they were planning a family party for her in that very garden. But Damian had asked for a sem-private moment with her. Knowing they'd all find a way to spy on them anyways, he'd told them to just watch from the office. Damian had grown up a lot since meeting Marinette. He was still chaos impersonate, still the calm before the storm and determined beyond anyone else his age. But he was also considerate of other people, he didn't lash out as quickly or as violently. He took the time to get to know his brothers better, and he showed his gratitude to them in small ways, like remembering their favorite bands and buying concert tickets, or simply sitting with them after a rough mission instead of dealing with it alone. The family was closer than ever before. So Bruce smiled with hope when he watched Damian kneel in the grass.

Dick watched as Damian walked into the garden, speaking quietly with his "Angel". She'd grown into a beautiful young woman, her scars had healed, both physically and emotionally with the constant presence of Damian at her side. He proved his love to her with every word he spoke, with every comforting hug. He truly always had her back and there was nothing the youngest Wayne wouldn't do for Marinette. Even forgiving Raven.

Nightwing and StarFire took Raven back to Star City, where they had built a special cage built in case Trigon ever sent his sons to do his bidding. Placing Raven inside, Nightwing paced. He still remembered Guardian Angel's expression as she fell, thinking that it had been Damian. More than that, he remembered watching as Raven ruthlessly ripped the earrings out of Marinette's ears, or the sick smirk on her face. He paced some more, ignoring Korri's worried looks. When Raven started stirring he walked in, expression cold as he stared down at the petite girl. Once, he would have been happy to call her sister. Now though.

"What happened?" Raven asked, looking at the cage around her. His frown deepened.

"How dare you?" he hissed, the snake miraculous still gleaming around his wrist. He was usually the one to enforce the "no kill" rule the strongest amongst the family, but he could feel the temptation to strongly. Raven furrowed her brow, trying to remember what had happened to get her locked up, but could remember nothing past Damian walking into the ballroom with a girl on his arm. She'd remembered feeling slightly crushed that her crush seemed to have moved on, but the next she knew, everything went dark. Now here she was, in a cage to hold her brothers. What had she done?

"What…. What have I done?" Raven asked, her voice pleading. Nightwing felt his anger rise even more. How dare she sit there, looking innocent. He couldn't believe anything she said or did, because really, who would turn so willingly on her teammates. Who would abandon their friends in mid battle and turn around and kill one of them. He didn't believe the innocent act at all. Korri placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to step in front of him but he wouldn't budge, glaring with all the hatred an older brother could feel.

"Damian had just walked in with the new member of the Justice League. I was sad, because… Well, you know I have a crush on him. But then things got dark, and I heard someone saying something, like a whisper. I thought I passed out. What happened?" she asked again. Nightwing was still not buying it. He felt his hackles rise, wanting to get her to confess.

"And you just expect me to believe that?" he growled, his muscles tensing.

"Nightwing! We know how powerful Trigon is! He only just escaped, we have no idea if he left a mark on her!"

"we also know that Raven is more powerful than that. She has him captured. Is it so wrong to believe she just snapped?" Nightwing snapped at Korri, the image would forever haunt him.

"What?" Raven was so confused. Korri wasn't much better, since she had been on the other side of the battle, and with second chance, no one else remembered anyways. Perhaps we should call WonderWoman here" Korri suggested calmly, trying to settle the tension in Nightwing's shoulders. Nightwing wanted to just throw the cage into a deep hole and never look at her again.

A Portal suddenly opened behind them and Robin stepped through. His fox transformation had long worn off, but Nightwing knew he still had it on him. However, instead of turning on Raven and tearing into her, he turned to Nightwing and held out his hand.

"Guardian Angel I'd worried about your emotional stability right now. Hand over the Miraculous before you do something that will haunt you as much as whichever image makes you so angry now. The ability to fix or change a situation can corrupt even the purest of souls, and you haven't been tested to be a permanent holder." Nightwing didn't even twitch, keeping his arms crossed and his face in a scowl. Nobody would even remember if he slid his finger over the bracelet.

"Please Richard. You do not want that on your conscience" Robin pleaded, his face softening into understanding. And really, who other than Robin, and maybe Red Hood, would understand better? He sighed and reached for the bracelet.

"Transform me" he mumbled, and a blue light went up under his other suit. Sass flew right through the portal, a blue blur trying to get away. Nightwings shoulders hunched. He was no better than that blonde idiot and his friends. Robin grasped the Miraculous and reached his other hand on his shoulder. "No one knows what you do about this battle, Richard, though Guardian Angel has a guess she won't share. What you saw was one outcome, one possibility of many, and you prevented the worst. But you are not all knowing about people, and the Justice League has wrongfully confronted Raven once before. Let Wonder Woman question Raven, and take comfort that no matter her answer, it is the truth."

" when did you get so wise, baby bird?" Nightwing whispered, finally relaxing his posture completely.

" Angel told me most of what I should say before I came through. The rest…. I've just had some good influences in my life, I guess"

Nightwing smiled and Robin stepped back through the portal to Gotham. A few minutes later, Wonder Woman stepped through her own.

"Agreste?" Nightwing asked.

"Still in surgery. Oracle said she'd monitor him for me and send me back in time for the questioning. Now, Guardian said you needed my help?" Korri nodded.

"I'm afraid we can't just accept her word at face value right now. We have no idea if what she's saying is true."

Wonder Woman nodded and sent the Rope of Hestia through a breathing hole. Raven easily picked it up and wrapped it around her wrist multiple times and looked up.

" What is the last thing you remember?" Wonder Woman asked.

" We were all in the ballroom, and Damian came walking in with the new girl. He looked so calm and happy and kept staring at her. I was choking a little bit. I'd had a crush on him since he first came to the tower, and… I just wanted to get some fresh air. I couldn't breathe properly and my head was starting to hurt. I kept hearing whispering, and I just thought some of the guests had noticed, but then I just blacked out. I came to and I was in this box" Raven stated, looking concerned. Oracle decided to find footage of the ballroom.

"Found her. Here come Damian and… Raven just grabbed her head. She is shaking it slightly. I'm picking up a rusty red glow from the jewel in her head. And she's back. She changes her outfit around the time Wonder Woman starts talking. But otherwise, there's no change" Oracle dictates over the comms.

"Can you please send Guardian through? We may need her to look at the jewel and drain it" Wonder Woman says. The comms are quiet for a while, before finally another portal opens. Guardian Angel comes through, followed closely by Robin with his katana drawn. Raven groans slightly and reaches for her head.

"Did I steal your sword?" she asks, her eyes wide and worried. Robin merely nodded before looking at his Angel. She takes a deep breath before walking up to the box.

"Please stand as close to grass as possible" she tells Raven. She's weary, and something is telling her not to, but Wonder Woman gives her a firm tug of the rope, and glares at her in warning. She crawls over to glass and shakily stands up, placing her forehead to the hold not with the rope through it. Guardian Angel raises her hand and places it over the glass on her side, and immediately a black aura tries to lash out at her. She flies back against the far wall, and Robin and Nightwing become defensive.

"NO! Get out of my head!" Raven yells, falling back to the ground and clutching her ears. Guardian Angel is on her feet immediately and rushes back, breaking the glass container. She clutches her hands around Ravens and whispers in an ancient tongue, the Guardian Language. A pink glow emanates from their forms and when it disappears, Guardian Angel is passed out, and Raven is barely hanging onto consciousness. The crystal that once held her father, a black diamond in her head, is now pink.

"He's gone!" Raven manages to whisper out, before passing out as well. Robin rushes to his Angel's side and quickly brings her through the portal back to Gotham, while the others all stare at Raven. Now what do they do?

Dick remembered how Raven struggled with her magic after that. It took her months to gain back control, as her father had been slowly corrupting it, and with it, Raven as well. But Marinette never held her in contempt, like Dick had. She forgave her and helped her heal, and Damian meditated with her to help as well. Raven was now Marinette's best friend, and she wholly agreed that she was better off with Tim, who had been by her side, analyzing her magic capability. Their family had grown so strong from her forgiving and kind nature. He smiled as he tuned back in to see Marinette throw herself into Damian's embrace.

Tim was so happy, watching his little brother and his future-sister-in-law on the lawn. The past three years had gone by quickly, with Damian growing up into a strong, pure force for good. He looked down to Raven's smiling face, and knew she felt nothing but content, watching her sister in all but blood be so overcome with joy. Three years ago, no one would've thought that this would be the outcome after the exhausting battle and aftermath.

The destruction cleaned up, the villains in jail, Raven cleansed and only waiting to hear Agreste's story, Timothy couldn't quite rest yet. He went to the detention centre and asked to see the Parisian boys, to hear what they had to say. He'd come alone, but saw no reason for them to lie or try to fight. He still had his transformation going under his Red Robin suit, so he was confident he'd be okay.

"Max Kantê and Nino Lahiffe. I've come to take your statements" he said, funnelling as much authority as he could into his statements. The boys' heads snapped up from where they sat. Max gulped audibly, while Nino just looked exhausted. He nodded and sat up a bit.

"Why did you come to Gotham?"

"I wanted to warn Marinette. Max wasn't given a choice" Nino stated calmly.

"I believe from video evidence that Marinette is dead" Red Robin said. Nino just shook his head.

"I think a part of me always knew, but I just didn't want to think, at first, that one of my best friends would go swinging into danger like that. Then, after Lila joined, it was just easier to believe her. And she hated Marinette, so she couldn't be Ladybug. Ladybug carrying Marinette's body into the police station would've fooled most, but I just always had a feeling she wasn't completely gone. I just… Assumed I guess… " Nino tapered off, looking at Red Robin hopefully.

" Marinette Dupain-Cheng is dead" he shook his head. Nino's face fell and he looked at his hands. He shook and cried. He'd been against Alya's plan to attack Marinette, and hadn't been there. Maybe he could've stopped it. He thought that maybe that was why he'd come. A second chance to be a real friend.

Max looked lifelessly at Red Robin.

"My family was murdered by Adrien. I… I have nowhere to go." He finally managed to choke out. Red Robin nodded, aware of the atrocities committed in Paris.

"What do you want to happen? You both were the reason the Justice League was able to mobilize so quickly. From evidence gathered and statements from Cesaire, we were able to gather that neither of you ever did anything against the law or of your own free will. Kantê, as you said, your family is unable to take guardianship of you, and if you choose to return to Paris, you may be held in contempt from the public. Lahiffe, your family has been made aware, but they are currently speaking to Social Services, as they're scared for their other son's health and safety" Tim said.

"And if we stay here?" Max asked while Nino broke into a fresh wave of tears. He'd never be allowed near Chris again.

"... The Teen Titans have long asked for an Oracle of their own…" Red Robin tapered off, leaving the rest for them to interpret and think about," you'd be under house arrest for a while at least. But… You could do some real good there."

Max nodded after a moment and Nino did too, still too emotionally distraught to do much else. Red Robin smiled.

"You'll be moved to your new residence in a couple of weeks," he said, and turned and left as abruptly as he came.

Max Kantê, now known as Le Donnèes and Nino Lahiffe, now Sécurise, became an integral part of Teen Titan operations and training, often conferring with Oracle on large Justice League missions. It was easy to say that they'd become amazing heroes. Nino and Max were in Paris now, in fact, for the first time since leaving. Nino had earned his right to see his brother again, but didn't want to go alone. They'd been quite emotional when Marinette came to them the first time, and they'd become close friends once again. Things were far from perfect in the world, but right this moment, nothing at all could ruin this.

And done. I hope you enjoyed! I've been reading a lot salt and angst, and I wanted to get this out of my system, and maybe write another, more happy, one soon. I'm afraid there's no tag list for this because like an idiot, I forgot to write it out, but I'll try to add it in post haste