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paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 · 2 years

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Visiting a Sick Little Bird

The following takes places in a sort of AU in which Tim is staying with his biological mother Janet, who is a good parent. This One-hot I dedicate to my very good friend @thattimdrakeguy who has a great blog with especially great analyses of the character of Tim Drake I highly recommend you check out. Likes, Replies and/or especially Reblogs are greatly appreciated and if you ave any constructive criticisms, Please feel free to voice them. I am willing to hear suggestions. Otherwise, please enjoy this little meh-sterpiece of mine.

I finally reached the street I was looking for, stepping out of the bus that got me from school all the way to here instead of my place. Finally, since it was Friday and I told my folks beforehand, I begin my stroll towards my partner’s place. Poor elf got himself a bad flu since yesterday, reason why he couldn’t make it to our classes, lucky him, but hey no hard feelings about that, he needs someone to keep a good watch for him. His mom, Senator of the state just an FYI, is gonna be gone all night so when I made the offer to be the guy to watch over him, well, thank Lord almighty Momma dearest and I are on good terms since she said ‘a-okay’ and well here I am, making my way there...just maybe two more house to my left and then....

Hold up...right forgot about intros...my bad. I thought you might need a little bit to know about yours truly before you can move on with this silly account. The name’s Dowd, Bernard Dowd. You can me Bern for short. You’re looking at the best Robin truther right here. I got the know-hows and outs about our favorite Boy Wonder and who’s under that Robin Hood mask. Also, I know you ladies are probably thinking about locks and these shredded biceps of mine and you’re just drooling ain’t ya? Well, I really like the fondness and heart eyes but I am very sorry,I got a date already. A date I should be close to now that I stand outside of a familiar house on the preppy side of Gotham.

Right underneath the address number was some tiles with letters on it that allow me to double check it clearly, ‘Drake’. Yep, this is the place. Stepping onto the doorway patio, one press on the fancy doorbell followed by a very nicely ring I gotta tell ya, next thing you know, there’s my date’s Mom, the Senator herself answering the door for me.

Almost instantly, a smile propped up on her face and she stretched out her hand to shake mine. “Oh Hello, Bernard! I am quite glad were you able to make it.”

Grinning both out of friendliness and to make sure I don’t get on her bad side, cause then it’ll be really bad, I shake her hand in turn. “Oh please, Mrs. Drake, it’s just like an awesome like honor to be drop by.”

Soon enough, Mrs. Drake lets me step right into her frankly gorgeous mansion of a place and before I can probably do a bit of snooping around and sightseeing, she quickly and thankfully leads to the main reason I’m here. After going up to about two floors on the stairs and after a little walk down to my left to a certain bedroom door, A certain sign with a ‘T D’ on it is all the more apparent on who’s dwells in here.

“ACHOO”

That sneeze from inside had that familiar squeak and pitch I know and love. Yep, my date, Tiny Tim’s in there. Boy though did that sneeze sound loud. Good thing though I had a flu but got better from it around two days earlier. Less chance of me coming down with anything so hey that’s a plus.

Mrs. Darke and I step into the room, I see the things I usually see here; Superman poster on the right wall, old school TV box on a dresser next to the left one, his bed scooted up next to his window, glass doors for his closet and right on the mentioned bed, there he....

(snickers) I’m sorry but...(snickers) Teddy Bear Robin Imprinted PJs? I mean it was a flannel shirt and pants meant for his size so there’s that...but (snickers) really?

And I thought Ives was the spoiled one between us. Thankfully, I kept the my laughter at such a fuzzy outfit to myself as Mrs. Drake makes her way next to her little man, placing one of her hands through his sweaty, slick, black hair. And already, I can see the little guy getting a noticeable blush on his face that’s not fever related. Frankly, if my Mom tried being...well, all Momma ish on me right in front of my crush, I’d blush too, hard.

“Felling a bit better, Little Timmy”, Mrs. Janet asks in that type of cutesy voice like how Moms talk to babies. Rightly did the Timster’s blushing darken a bit.

“(Cough) Mom”, he whines a bit, “Not in front of him.”

Mrs. Drake had a sweet giggle that I can hear clearly out of response, so much so I even started a bit of lightly chuckling myself. Poor fella’s been going through this for about an entire day and a half by now so maybe I should hold it in. Or least I tried cause then my boyfriend turns his gaze towards yours truly and lets me know right away that he heard that.

“Dude, seriously?” Well, yeah, seriously.

Though I gave it a quick thought for a reasonable answer. “Hey Timmers, I’d bet you’d feel the same if my Mom did that for me.”

Before saying anything, my boyfriend paused in his try for a comeback, pondering a bit before finally breathing out, slumping back on his pillows and shrugging with his shoulders. “Yeah, good point.”

Mrs. Drake and I had a good laugh at that before she then whispered a sweet nothing or two to her little boy’s ear, gave him a quick kiss on his forehead, pulled up his Bat-blanket up to his shoulders and finally began to make her way to the door, not before wanting to chat with me.

“Thank you so very much for volunteering to watch Timmy today, Mr. Dowd. It’s very appreciated.” I cannot help but now blush in turn. Don’t if it was being very much taking in Mrs. Drake’s compliments or just the stuffiness int his room, but I was blushing. Maybe it was the first one since I was also rubbing the back of my head.

“Um”, I briefly tried thinking of anything to say back cause to be frank, it was out of nowhere, “pleasure’s all mine, Ma’am.”

She then gave me a nice pat on the back with a firm nod before opening her mouth once more.

“Okay then, within two hours, Timmy’s morning dose of his medicine should be wearing off so you’ll need to give him another daytime dose of it. It’s the bottle with the orange stuff. The green one is the one for four hours after that, that’s for nighttime. Also, I have made some soup for you both which is in the big pot in the kitchen stove. And Finally, make sure that he gets some good sleep later tonight, it’ll help him get better much faster. Now as for your bed...”

Boy, I can tell Mrs. Drake really had this all sorted out with each and every small thing she’s letting out for me to hear all at once. Then again, I tend to drone on and on about my totally correct and accurate theories about who can Robin be so frankly, who I am to say anything about this. That said, I get the basics: my boyfriend’s medicine taking, where the spare blankets and pillows are at when it’s time to crash, the soup, no wild parties while she’s gone (Well...yeah, I get it but still sorry Ives, sorry Darla) and also she might be at that place all night so she’ll be like ultra late or the like.

I nod as she wraps up all that and more. “You can count on me for all that. Miss.” Thankfully I didn’t need to bluff cause it was true to a large extent. Mrs. Drake nodded a-okay in turn. “Thank you, oh so very much.”

With that, Mrs. Drake takes her purse that was hanging from the edge of the bedroom door on her way out and to her appointed big gov thing. She gives my boyfriend an....admittedly...adorable air kiss before giving a standard “Love you, sweetie” before finally closing the door.

Now it was me and my teddy PJs wearing boyfriend. So I guess it was time to actually point out said Robin Teddies on his sleepwear.

“So...Dude...you got that thing you wearing from a Build-a-Bear and ordered life size or something? No offense, just asking.” Jeez, that came out wrong did it. Yeah, now that the guy I get heart eyes over now starts blushing again while looking at himself, oh yeah, that was just something a bit not cool.

To my deep down surprise, he did answer that; “Well...kinda a bit”, he says while rubbing the back of his head, “I mean, either I wore this all day or like....maybe Mom getting like footies like I had when I was really little. Believe me, I mean when I was very, very little”

As he finished explaining himself, I make my way to his bedside, taking a seat on a spot close enough for just lightly bump an elbow before slinging my arms around my doofus of a boyfriend. “It’s fine, Teddy Tim. You gotta believe me, I’ve seen more cutesy than I can count all at once compared to that.”

The blushing on the Timster’s face toned down a bit and he let out a good laugh at that. Quick save, Dowd, crisis averted. Too bad, that sweet laugh of his got cut short by a sudden fit of coughing. As he finishes said coughing, I noticed a tall plastic glass of water on his nightstand, take it in my hands and offer him to take a sip, trust me, post cough spitballs and such are just nasty in more ways than one and good ol H2O helps big time with that. Thankfully, he takes a good sip from the plastic glass before I put it back where it goes and allow him to get comfy again.

My boyfriend had a pouting look on his face. “This sucks.”

I shrugged my shoulders cause he was right. “Yeah, tell me about it.” Though hey given how long my battle with flu lasted before I got totally better; “But hey, maybe this thing can blow over by tomorrow or even tonight, Dude.” That seems nice to say as a small smile goes up on Tim’s lips.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Bernard.”

With that arm around his shoulder, I bring him a bit closer to me in a one arm hug. Hey, come on, whatcha expect?

“So I guess, I’ll be your doctor for today then”, I say with my usual ‘sarcastically quirky jokester’ voice, only to him to again give a small laugh at that.

“That’s funny; I thought Mom was doctor and you’re the nurse.” Oh very well played, pal. Well, too bad for you, you’re dating the undisputed universal champion of snark and joke city....rough neighborhood.

I snort out a small laugh before bringing my boyfriend’s face facing mine and giving something on my mind in response. “Yeah, but let’s face it, at least my jacket showcasing”, I buff up my right free arm, showing off its biceps, “these rocks and I don’t have to wear any outfit for the ‘HELLLOOOO Nurse’ crowds.”

Again, that very sweet laugh by boyfriend has...it just gets my heart pumping a but faster ya know?

“Yeah Man, I hear ya.”

I take my arm off his shoulder and smack my hands in a clap for preparation. “So...um, need anything right now Tim-Tam?”

About twenty minutes later......

I try my best right here; two hot bowls are chicken broth and mixed vegetable goodness, the smell making nose all sorts of joyful, said bowls on a bigger wooden tray, me trying to climb up the last for steps before finally, I reach the top and quickly find my way back to Timster’s room. Upon seeing me, Tim sits up on his bed and straightens his calves underneath the Bat-blanket for his own bowl. Whew! After trial and error beforehand, I finally managed to get a bowl on Tim’s lap, spoon included. Almost immediately the little guy lightly blows with his breath and slurps up whatever broth and vegetables he got on said spoon. Now don’t get the idea that my last tries with got the wooden stairs wet or anything. But yeah, at least at the end of the day, even the best of best like yours truly can get clumsy. But I did wipe up anything that could’ve spilled so no harm no foul.

Sure enough, I too dig in for my bowl. Time to see how Mrs. Janet makes this classic dish.

Nearly Seven Hours later....

Well, this is it. After some soup drinking, me explaining once again my tonally correct theory on who Robin is (SPOILERS....he’s obviously Ives, come on, how’s the blond hair and his own glasses not a dead giveaway for a disguise), jamming to some White Album, and basically a whole of things him and I did today, only now is the smaller guy between us after so long, it’s about darn time this guy passed out. Well not that I knocked him out or anything but most certainly that green medicine Mrs. Janet told me about sure did.

After such a day for me, now clad in a spare white T and black bike shorts and having just give a good scrub and brush to my pearly whites, I guess best thing I can do is go on the opposite of Tim on his bed, looks like plenty of room. As I was about to do so, and thankfully for me, Tim-Tam rolled over to his left side; Goody, there’s my space, now just to get under the Bat-blanket and start lay down on the....

Suddenly, I felt my boyfriend’s feet slightly on my socks under the blankets, man are those things warm. But hey, bet it was much worse yesterday. As I set my head down on the pillow and pull up my spare blanket to cover me further...I just gotta wonder....why him?

Do I ever regret my feelings for him...never, and anyone who says otherwise can get a pass from me for listening to their drabble. But out of everyone I could’ve found myself with all these....spikes in my heartbeat...this sense of closeness....something I don’t think I ever gotten from standing next to Darla or my earlier attempts for a date. Nope, it’s him, the very fella right next to me on this soft bed. Why though? What is it about Timothy Jackson Drake that makes me....feel something?

My questions get interrupted as Teddy Tim rolls over so that his lightly snoring face was on my right side. Dang...it’s...just...wow. I have never seen such a sight this up close and...peaceful. I don’t know the exact answer but upon me giving this guy a kiss on his cheek, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close to me...I’m sure it’s there.

So yeah, bottom line before it’s off to dreamland for me....I love this doofus alright....I just do.

#tim drake #bernard dowd #janet drake #fanfic #lgbtq #my posts #timbern

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redrobin-detective · 2 years

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Looking for you but you’re right here

It’s not everyday you learn that one of your best friends was a local superhero, much less learning it through the 6 o’ clock news. Sebastian Ives had been flipping through a comic in his bedroom when his world had flipped upside down. His phone buzzed next to him, interrupting the song he’d been half listening to.

It was a text from Tim, “I’m sorry,” was all it said.

Of course he’d panicked, who wouldn’t? Especially when his responding texts and calls went ignored or went to voicemail. He ran downstairs, not caring that he was in his sleep shirt and boxers to beg his mom to drive him over to Tim’s place. The guy had been distant for a while now, a few years if Seb was being honest. He barely had any idea what his friend was up to these days.

His folks didn’t seem to hear him, practically rooted in front of the TV. His mom was half slumped against the side of the couch like her legs would give out if she tried to move. He could smell the evening’s dinner burning in the oven.

“Mom, we need to go. Tim- I think something’s up with Tim, he-” he stuttered when he’d caught sight of the news. Some whackadoo had dropped a list with the secret identities of pretty much every major hero. Tim dropped out of his mind for a second as he gaped, wide eyed at the news. Superman was apparently some 4 eyed reporter dude and the Flash, one of Sebastian’s favorites, was a forensic scientist. But, of course the local news didn’t care much about them. Gotham had two favorite sons, Batman and Bruce Wayne; the news was always going on about one of them. Turned out they were the same person this whole time.

“Huh, I guess that explains all the Robins,” Dad said in a half hysterical voice, like everything had just become one big joke. He’d never heard his dad laugh like that, it was kind of scary.

“Sebastian,” his mom said quietly, not turning from the screen. “Didn’t you say Tim was doing an internship with Bruce Wayne?”

“Oh shit Tim,” Seb cursed as he pulled out his phone and looked again at the single text from his friend. It really showed his mom’s state of mind that she didn’t nag at him for the swear. He dialed Tim’s number again and this time, got a cheery voice announcing that the number had been disconnected. On screen, the news was putting up associates of Batman and their identities.

This feels wrong, he had enough brain space to think as a side by side of Nightwing and ladies’ favorite Dick Grayson appeared. Next was Commissioner Gordon’s daughter and a grainy shot of the first Batgirl. A young Jason Todd, Wayne’s adopted street kid before he’d been killed in a freak accident and the second Robin. Wait he’d been killed too, hadn’t he? The connection was so obvious now that it was pointed out to him.

How had people missed this? People who saw the Waynes every day, talking and interacting with them. How could they not see that their friends weren’t who they claimed to be?

“The current Robin is a minor and thus we can’t say his name on the air but we can show an updated photograph,” the shaken, excited newscaster announced. And they didn’t need to say his name for Seb to recognize Tim Drake’s sophomore yearbook picture down to the wrinkled flannel shirt Seb had tried to smooth out moments before the camera clicked. He didn’t really recognize the picture next to Tim even though they were supposedly the same. Oh the hair cut was vaguely familiar, the body shape too. But Tim never stood like Robin was, strong, steady with his shoulders back and ready to fight. The challenging grin as he twirled the hero’s signature bo staff. It was about as far away from his friend as you can get.

“Honey? You okay?” Mom asked gently, stroking his hair. He didn’t know what to say, even when the news cycled through the rest of the Bats. She led him around and helped him onto the couch where he went boneless. The smoke alarm sounding had her running towards the kitchen for the now thoroughly burnt roast. Dad got up to help, opening the windows and dumping the still smoking pan right into the trash.

“How about Chinese?” Dad smiled wearily, leaning up against the kitchen door frame. Sebastian didn’t say anything, just watched the news blankly. He was no closer to believing the truth even when Tim and Robin’s side by side profiles appeared again.

To no one’s surprise, Tim wasn’t at school the next day. Seb was beat from staying up late ranting and freaking out to Hudson and Callie over discord, not that he’d slept well once he’d gone to bed. He and his friends were pretty low on the social ladder normally but it seemed everyone had something to say to them or some inane question to ask.

They asked if they’d seen the Batcave, if Tim would be willing to give out Starfire’s phone number, if they had any good Robin stories to tell. They’d all been friends for years, everyone just assumed that Tim had confided in them. The assembly was expected but awkward, the principal asking for patience and privacy while they worked out the details with the school board, GCPD and Justice League. As if that wasn’t the wildest combination on Earth.

The rest of the week was miserable, each day dragging on as he flipped from being angry to excited to worried all at random. By the time the weekend passed and the next week began, worry began to take over most. Where the hell was Tim? Was he okay? The heroes and the government were still coming to an agreement on whether metas and aliens and everyone in between had the right to exist in society. Callie in particular was following the news with a passion, blogging incessantly about hero rights and such. Huds was too pissed at Tim to think of helping and Sebastian just felt kind of blank.

By the time the sixth week had come and gone, Seb was starting to accept the fact that Tim was gone and he might never see him again. He stopped taking the long way home, the way that passed by Tim’s apartment and the barely there, thinning crowd of rubberneckers waiting for someone who was probably never coming home again. While Tim and Robin and superheroes still dominated their conversations, he and Huds occasionally bickered about the decreasing quality in their favorite sci-fi show. The FBI or CIA or whoever those suits were, only came the once for questions Seb couldn’t answer; everyone else stopped asking around the same time. For better or for worse, his life moved on without Tim Drake. Until he walked into his bedroom on his way up to bed one night and found Tim sitting on his bed like he’d done a million times.

“Jesus,” Seb startled, dropping his phone in surprise. For a second, he thought he might have been hallucinating. But a few blinks later and Tim was still there, same as ever. Only not quite, Tim’s hair was a bit longer than the trim look he was used to with the ends trailing past his ears. He had dark bags under his eyes and his posture was hunched, cautious. He somehow managed to look resigned but also ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

“Sebastian, everything alright up there?” Mom called from downstairs, that startled him out of his stupor.

“Y-yeah Mom, just dropped my phone, it’s all good!” He called back, grabbing his phone and shutting his bedroom door leaving him and Tim alone.

“Hey Ives,” Tim paused, biting his lip. “Is this… Okay? I can leave if you want but I figured you were owed an explanation and I… I missed you. It’s all been so crazy lately.”

“Yeah, can’t imagine why,” he grumbled as he sat down at his computer chair. Now that the shock had worn off some of his hurt and irritation was peeking through. “So, Robin huh?”

“Yeah,” Tim rubbed at the back of his neck and he looked just like regular Tim that Sebastian was thrown for a minute. “I’ll tell you and the guys the full story tomorrow, I promise, it’s a little bit long and convoluted and I still can’t even believe half of it happened after all these years-”

“Wait, tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Tim gave him an exhausted smile, “I’m back at Gotham Heights in the morning. Ugh, I’ve got so much work to catch up on. You don’t suppose Hudson will let me borrow his notes? He always takes the best-”

“You’re coming back to public high school after being outed as a vigilante?” Seb couldn’t help but laugh. “God, that’s gonna be a nightmare and a disaster rolled into one.”

“Don’t I know it. B wanted me to homeschool but Dad insisted, said I needed to put all this stuff behind me and act like a man or something,” Tim groaned. He scrubbed at his hair and Sebastian caught a glimpse of the neon green bracelet on his left wrist. Callie had been enraged by one concession by the JLA for all active heroes to wear colored bands to identify themselves in public based on threat level. From what he remembered, green was the lowest on the scale, mostly reserved for humans. It had just seemed like another political issue on the news but now…

“You really gotta wear that thing?” He asked quietly, Tim eyed his bracelet with a sneer.

“For now, we’ve got the best lawyers working on it but, like, I’m Jewish so I know this is how ugly things get started.” Seb didn’t really know how to respond to that so he just didn’t, all of this was way too much to handle much less for a kid barely into his junior year. “So how’s it been, hope the jocks haven’t been giving you too much flak.”

“How’s it been?” Seb asked incredulously, “you disappeared to god knows where-”

“The Batcave mostly but also Titans Tower for a while,” Tim added helpfully which was actually super Not helpful.

“- for over a month, we haven’t heard a peep from you since this whole thing went down other than your cryptic super unhelpful message and you think you can break into my room and ask how things have been?” He wasn’t an angry guy by nature but all the anxiety of the last few weeks had turned into anger and was projecting onto Tim. “What is your malfunction dude? Have you spent so much time with your pals Superman and Wonder Woman that you forgot what real people are like? We’ve been freaking out down here on Earth and you just-”

“Hey, it hasn’t been a cakewalk for me either,” Tim snapped. “I had to scrap everything once the leak got out. You’re lucky I was able to get those texts out before we had to literally destroy all our gear. Titans Tower was jam packed with overflow heroes since the Watchtower was already fit to burst. I’ve had all my secrets and skills and past fights dug up and pasted all over the internet. God and don’t even get me started on my dad,” Tim groaned loudly and flopped backwards on his bed.

“I’m at my wits end, Ives. I know this hasn’t been fair to you but it sure as hell hasn’t been fair to me either and ugh!” Tim rubbed roughly at his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I just wanted to see one of my best friends before the literal worst day of my life tomorrow.”

“Oh so I’m one of your best friends,” Seb asked, still steaming. “So I just forgot about you having my back when I was out most of last year for Lymes? What about all those DnD sessions without our Paladin? All the mumbled excuses I can’t even remember? I don’t- I don’t even know who you are anymore!” His voice cracked at the end and he turned away, angry but mostly embarrassed.

“Ives…” Tim said slowly, sitting up and watching with sympathetic eyes. Well Seb didn’t want it, he’d always been an emotional crier. Mom said it was healthy, for now it just made him feel stupid for getting upset over something neither of them could control. “It ate at me, always bailing, not letting you know what was going on. I wanted to tell you but, you know…”

“You think,” Seb paused his sniffling to laugh incredulously. “You think I’m blaming a superhero for keeping secrets from me? The lies, the secrets, I get it, Tim. Saving the world and junk is so much more important than whatever dumb stuff we were doing.” He paused and looked up at Tim’s sad face as he wiped at his dribbling nose with his shirt sleeve. Ives used to tease him for it but Tim’s always had something of a baby face, delicate and sorta soft. His friend looked especially young now. “But just because I know all that, that doesn’t mean I’m not hurt by it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tim sighed, he really was a hero because he took the opportunity to look at Seb’s stupid Millennium Falcon poster while Seb got himself together.

“I mean, it seems stupid now but I thought- I thought your dad was hurting you,” Seb blurted out. “The mystery injuries, your moodiness, the way you wouldn’t talk about anything with us.” He babbled without meaning to. “Me, Callie, Huds, we weren’t sure what to do. I even sat down and talked to my mom about it once. I was thinking of calling CPS that time you came in with a busted arm a few months back.”

“Oh yeah, that was Killer Croc, the jerk,” Tim complained with a half grin. “Got his claws into my shoulder and practically ripped my arm off. It wasn’t broken, just dislocated to hell and back. I was off patrol almost 2 months for that.”

“Yeah I remember,” Seb huffed, “you were around more, we actually got to run through that campaign I’d been holding onto for you.”

“The necromancing skeleton hoard? Yeah that was a sweet story, Mr. Game Master.” Tim’s smile turned sad. “As much as I love being Robin, I do miss hanging out with you guys, just being able to be normal, to relax for once instead of trying to meet everyone’s crazy high standards.”

“Guess I’m not surprised Batman runs a tight show,” Seb hummed, some of his anger dimming. Tim just kinda had that effect on people; he was just such a good guy you couldn’t help but chilling back and chatting with him. It’s why he still considered Tim once of his best friends even though it seemed he hardly saw the guy. “You mentioned your dad earlier. Is everything ok?”

“No,” Tim said quietly after a minute of tense silence. “Dad flipped out when he heard the news, got a gun from somewhere and threatened B with it. It was… bad. Dana is laying low in a safe house but Dad insisted on staying with us at the Manor. It’s not great. God, King Arthur, y’know Aquaman, thought Bruce was my father, same as the previous Robins and I thought Dad was going to choke him out. I feel like I’m caught in the middle of the world’s most awkward, complicated custody battle,” Tim groaned. “They argue over everything but the one thing they can agree on is that Robin is through.”

“Wait? Seriously? Just like that?” Seb demanded.

“Dick put up a good fight about it, even a couple of JLAers threw in their support but it’s pretty hard to fight both my actual Dad and Batman,” Tim snorted before throwing Sebastian a grin he knows he’s seen Robin wear on the news. “Of course I didn’t get this job by listening to what adults tell me to,” a quick glance at his watch. “Everything thinks I’m asleep, I have Cass covering for me but at least one of them, most likely B because he knows me, is going to pull back the covers at some point so I gotta scram.”

“You good getting back to Bristol on your own? Not to mention sneaking into Batman’s house?” Seb asked because he had to. Tim grinned and pulled a real grapple gun out of his bag. He held it as naturally as Seb did a handheld game.

“Yeah, taking the scenic route. I missed you and I wanted to give you a heads up about tomorrow but this is also kind of a trial run. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a hero it’s that you never back down when the fight gets tough, you just gotta double down and be tougher.”

“That is so cool,” he reached for his notepad on his desk. “Can I quote you on that? For the next campaign? Honestly can I just flat out interview you for story ideas, I bet you have the absolute craziest things to say.”

“Oh man, like you wouldn’t believe,” Tim laughed and it was nice to hear with everything going on. He supposed that’s what Robin was, the light in the dark. “Tell Call and Huds to meet at Big Donnie’s at 6:30, I’d do it but I still don’t have a phone. I got permission to use the back entrance getting in and out because well, crowds,” his smile dropped. “If you want, I can distance. I don’t want to cause you guys trouble.”

“Nah man,” He reached out a hand and Tim grasped it back. “You’re our bud, our weird bird themed crime fighting bud. Like you said, when things get tough, you knuckle down. We got your back, man.”

“That’s not what I said,” Tim smiled. “See you in the morning, Ives.” He was silent as he rose, pulled open the bedroom window and grappled out into the night. Seb ran to the window to watch his friend get lost in the black sky.

“Holy shit, I’m friends with a superhero,” he breathed out, falling back onto his bed. “Man what a crazy world.” Tomorrow would be rough for Tim as would the days that followed. But he’d get through, because he was Robin, the Boy Wonder but he also was Tim Drake. Seb didn’t know much about crimefighting but maybe, just this once, he could be Tim’s hero.

#title from Taylos Swifts Coney island which really captures the feel i was trying for #Outted Au #yes Im still thinking of this AU!#always and forever #theres a lot to unpack here a lot of hcs that I just threw in #but the dialogue of Ives and Tim bickering popped into my head and wouldn't stop #Sebastian Ives #that dude has put up with so much from Tim he deserves care and recognition for being a bro #love Ives I miss him #(it felt so fucking weird calling him sebastian but who thinks of themselves by their last name)#I'll probably ramble more later but I gotta sleep up at 5am ugh

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ragingbookdragon · 3 years

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I’m Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 7

Batfamily x Batsis Story

Word Count: 2.1K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst

Author’s Note: Anyone order a part seven? Cause I got a part seven for y'all. Enjoy! -Thorne

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

Ever since the meeting that night, she’d gotten more letters from her family than she’d ever received in twenty-one years. Not that she decided to read them. The first line from Dick’s letter was, ”I never wanted you to leave because of me. If only I’d known…”. She couldn’t keep reading, and she wasn’t sure if it were from guilt, sadness, or anger, but there was something there that she didn’t want to face.

It didn’t stop there though. They kept coming even if she tacked a return to sender on it and sent it back. She’d even labeled one and written, ”Stop writing me.” but that didn’t stop them. Wally texted her every other night on top of the letters and she wanted to strangle him through the phone.

She knew though, that if she could keep holding out for three more months, she’d be home free. Wherever home was at this point. Every city she kept thinking about had some type of vigilante and there was nothing that didn’t; eventually she decided on Coast City. Somewhere warm and sunny, and as far from Gotham and Central as possible.

Of course that little voice in the back of her head just kept telling her to talk to them, but she was going to be as stubborn against it as possible—but time was dwindling, and so was her resolve.

***

“Ophelia, have you seen the extra bag of espresso beans? I can’t remember where you put them the other week.” She waited for a response. “Ophelia?” she turned and frowned. “Why did I accept the manager’s position when I can’t even round up my workers?”

She walked out of the storage and wiped her hands on the rag at her waist. “Ophelia?” A giggle sounded at the counter and when she walked out, her eyes went wide at the sight.

Jason was leaning against the counter with that smile he used to use on the models at the galas. He smiled at Ophelia. “Tell me, what do you make better, the cappuccinos or lattes?”

“Well, I make a —”

“She makes a mean ‘get in the back and find my espresso beans’,” she grunted and both of them jumped.

“Melisandre!” Ophelia stuttered, pale cheeks flushing pink. “I thought you were in the back.”

“I was. Think you can go find the coffee beans you put away?” She shot Ophelia a stare that screamed ‘scram’ and the girl nodded, hurrying to the storage room.

“Aww, why’d you run the cutie off, Melisandre?” Jason queried. “I was going to ask her out on—”

“Can I talk to you?” she interrupted, voice barely containing her seething rage. “Outside.”

Jason shrugged and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “Sure, but be careful, people might get suspicious.”

She grunted and walked outside, listening to him follow and when the door shut, she turned around and hissed, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just getting coffee.”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Jason. We both know that’s a load of bullshit.”

His eyes narrowed and he noted, “You’ve really gotten comfortable using foul language. You know that, (Y/N)?”

She glared at him. “What. Do. You. Want.”

“You won’t answer our letters,” he shrugged. “Didn’t have a lot of options to talk.”

“And showing up at my job is the better option?” she griped.

“It was that or your house, (Y/N). Take your pick but you can’t have both.”

“Well, maybe my silence is supposed to be the answer to those letters. Did you think about that?”

“I did,” he nodded. “But after the third letter being rejected, I decided to go big or go home.”

(Y/N) growled. “Go home.”

Jason smirked. “No.”

“I’m not fucking joking here, Jason. I don’t want you coming here. Ever.”

“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” he retorted then stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. “You don’t wanna talk willingly, fine. I’ll make you talk to me. And if I have to show up here every day, I will.”

“No, you won’t.”

Jason cocked a brow and tightened his grip. “You wanna bet? Because I’m not Dick and I’m sure as hell not Bruce. I don’t have a day job to get to.” He smirked. “I can do this all day.”

(Y/N) bit the inside of her cheek and thought for a moment then sighed and yanked her arm away. “Fine. Come to my apartment after five. We’ll talk there.”

“Thank—”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she interrupted coldly. “I’m agreeing for one meeting and then you fuck off back to Gotham City and leave me the hell alone for good.” She spun on her heel and started back for the door when his voice reached her, tired and pained.

“Do you really hate all of us? Do you really hate us like you make yourself think you do?”

(Y/N)’s feet felt like lead and she stopped, gazing at the glass door. “I don’t know, Jason.”

“Then let me help.”

“You can find the apartment on your own. I know you’re good at looking for homes.” She slipped in the café door, leaving him standing there shocked and hurt.

***

Sure enough, a minute after five o’clock, her doorbell rang and she called, “It’s open.” The door opened and shut, and she looked up from the little kitchenette, watching the way Jason walked into her apartment, gazing around the empty living room.

“Shit, do you live in a home or a prison cell?”

(Y/N) grunted. “Nice quip. Come up with that by yourself?”

He wandered into the kitchen, leaning back against the counter as she prepared dinner. “What’re you making?”

“Chicken marsala,” she replied. “You’re here to talk. Start talking.”

“Are you going to be a bitch like you were the other night or can I ask about life in Central the last three years?” she shot him a glare, warning him, but he paid it no mind. “You going to school?”

(Y/N) nodded. “I go to Central City Community College. Take classes all week at different times.”

“What are you studying?” he asked.

“For now, general studies, but I’m minoring in political science.”

“Planning on a four year after you graduate?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Her hands stalled for a moment. “I don’t have the money for a big school to get a bachelors.” Shaking her head, she chopped up the vegetables. “Figure if I can get a job in the area, I can scrounge up enough to start the process though.”

“Might take years,” Jason noted, and she nodded.

“Yeah, hard work usually does.” (Y/N) glanced at him. “What’s Cassandra like?”

He blinked, evidently not expecting that, though he recovered and smiled. “She’s great honestly. Kicks ass better than anyone I know.”

“Even Batman?”

Jason huffed a laugh. “I’m sure she could wipe the floor with each of us if she decided to not hold back. Her mom’s Lady Shiva and her dad’s David Cain.”

“I don’t know who they are but I’m assuming from the tone that they’re not exactly the best parents in the world.”

“No…they’re not.” He agreed. “David didn’t teach Cass how to speak so she’s been mute all her life.”

“I’ve heard the few interviews she’s given,” (Y/N) replied. “She’s very eloquent when she does.”

“Shakespeare’s influence. And probably Emily Dickinson.” He smiled. “I leave her a lot of books to read so I can be her favorite.”

She snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like you.” Sliding the cast iron skillet into the oven, she sat at the crappy metal dining table, Jason taking the seat on the other side. (Y/N) scratched at the table. “Does Bruce like her?” she questioned lowly, and he nodded.

“Loves her like she’s his own.” He her with cautious eyes. “Just like he loves you.” Jason watched the emotion flash across her face, quick as lighting, a deep sorrow, then she was humming.

“Well, that’s good then.” She cleared her throat and looked at the clock. “How’ve you been? I hear a lot about Outlaws.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, that’s my band of renegades. Me, Roy Harper, and Koriand’r.”

“Remind me, those were Speedy and Starfire, right?”

He snorted. “Arsenal and Starfire. But yeah, close enough.”

(Y/N) got up and pulled two glasses from the cabinet before going to the refrigerator and getting the lemonade. She poured them both glasses and sat back down. “How’d you manage to wrangle two of the Titans into your posse?”

“Kori willingly tagged along, and Roy won’t leave me alone,” he griped, sipping his lemonade.

“Mmm…and how does Dick feel about you stealing two of his exes?”

Jason choked on his drink, spilling it on the table and down his chin. “That’s not—” he coughed. “That’s not what that is.”

“Uh huh, sure it’s not.”

“It isn’t,” he glowered.

“Riiiiiiight,” she drawled out with a grin, then took a sip and set her glass back down. “Figured you’d get Cass along with you. she seems like she’d be fit for Outlaws.”

He shook his head. “Nah, she’d be better off with Tim and his Young Justice weirdos.”

“She non-lethal?”

“Mhm.”

They dwindled into silence until the timer went off on the oven and she pulled the skillet out and set two plates on the table. “You’re gonna feed me?” he asked as she handed him a fork.

(Y/N) scoffed. “Duh. I’m a bitch, but I’m a bitch with manners.” She smiled sweetly. “But you have to leave afterwards.”

“Mmm…can I crash on your couch?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

He shrugged. “Figured I’d try anyways.”

They ate in silence, occasionally speaking about their lives the last three years, and when the food was all gone and the lemonade drunk, he sighed and reclined in the chair.

“What?” (Y/N) questioned and he shrugged.

“Dunno…I’d like to do this again soon.” His teal eyes found hers. “It’s been too long since we were together.”

“Tread carefully,” she murmured, looking at the wall and he sighed.

“Sis, talk to me,” he begged. “Even if it’s just to tell me how much you hate me, just talk to me.” She didn’t respond and he sighed again, standing from the table. “Thanks for dinner.”

“…I hate that you all put Gotham and every civilian before our family.” Jason stopped dead in his tracks and turned, gazing at her, though she didn’t tear her eyes from the wall. “I hate that the only time I felt like anyone paid any attention to me was when we were at galas and even then, the attention was just for show. It didn’t matter because all anyone wanted to do was get the hell out of the manor and go on patrol. It didn’t matter because I wasn’t like any of you. I wasn’t a part of the real family.”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “I hate that I spent more nights sitting in a dark and silent manor than spending them with my family. I hate that I never had a normal family growing up where we’d go for ice-cream after school and attend school performances. I hate that I got stuck with a bunch of siblings hellbent on giving every piece of themselves to the world and they couldn’t take one night off to have a family night to save their lives. To at least pretend to be normal.”

(Y/N) finally took her eyes from the wall and he felt his heart tighten as the tears slipped down her cheeks and she breathed, “I hate that I was born Bruce Wayne’s biological daughter and I’d give anything and everything I have to be someone else’s daughter and sister.”

Jason’s mouth felt dry, and he didn’t have single thing to say to her and she whispered, “Is that what you wanted to hear, Jason?” she blinked. “Because that’s what I feel every morning I wake up.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, and she cleared her throat, wiping her cheeks.

“Yeah well, I’m three years passed sorry.” (Y/N) nodded to the front door. “You should leave now.”

Jason nodded but his feet didn’t move. For a moment, he couldn’t move them, then he sucked in a breath and started edging back to the door. When he neared the door, he pulled it open and paused, looking back at her. “(Y/N)?” she didn’t answer but he said it anyway. “I love you. More than you’ve ever known.” He sighed and stepped out, closing it behind him.

(Y/N) buried her face in her hands and sobbed alone at the dinner table.

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

Tags!: @itsnottilly @cloudyskylines @starflyer-104 @iwillstaywiththemforever @justine-en @weirdgirlfromtx @notsostraightweeb @candlestudy @willowoo @peterxwade24 @the-atlantic-french-fry @bad-bouquet-of-emotions @vvipgot7be @pure-princess-97 @atomicsoulhumanspy @foreverthefloor @natatawa-ako @impactshawol @bethabear12 @adazzlingsakura @kimhanbiin @thatanonymouschocolate @mischief-writter-24-7 @lostinwonderland314 @elz-zalarrr @lady-of-the-abyss @peqchynero @d3m0n8ch1ld @goldenguki @fallen-wolf22 @battlenix

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youngerdrgrey · 2 years

Text

moments from a wedding // a wildmoore fic, part three

summary: “We sat across that table at The Hold Up, and we said, ‘to different minds, but the same heart.’ You are my heart, and I am so fucking happy to be your wife.” // Or, moments from a wildmoore wedding + read on ao3 (part one, part two)

chapter three summary: Mary and Ryan's day gets derailed since Ryan's still in her head about this possible engagement.

notes: Wildmoore Week, Day Six: favorite third wheel (choosing Mary for the sake of this, bc she was my favorite first, but Luke is my honestly my favorite at the moment and Jada is a very close third.)

🦇

to finding the time —

They might not be fine. The little hiccups and run-ins in the kitchen, the ways they’re both working longer and spending more time gazing at each other than actually connecting. Kisses and touches feel more like apologies than anything else. And they start doing family brunches that don’t include the other. The space is meant to be helping. Ryan has the space to think. Sophie has the space to stop thinking. They can meet in the middle.

But what if they can’t? What if the middle is like the burned down husk of Coryana? Untenable and devastating. What if —

Mary clears her throat to bring Ryan back to the moment. Ryan has to blink a few times to readjust. Stop spiraling. Focus in on the loft at midday, and her best friend pouring sweet potato pancake batter onto the cast iron.

“Sorry.” Ryan cringes as she says it. Another apology.

Mary grumbles, “Don’t be sorry—“

“Be better, I know.” Ryan swipes a hand down her face with a sigh. “I swear I’m not trying to zone out.”

The pancakes bubble slightly in the pan. Ryan’s back a bit, giving Mary the space to take control of their brunch. It’s been years since Ryan first made them for her. Years of Mary getting closer and closer to perfecting Mama Cora’s recipe.

Mary talks to the pancakes instead of Ryan. “Even if you’re not trying….” She lifts the bottom of one with the spatula. It’s not ready. They both know it isn’t, but checking gives her something to do with her hands. Gives her a beat to leave one thought behind and pick up the next. “It’s our anniversary — yours and mine. And I had to fight to get this day away from Sophie and Jada and all of Gotham. I…. I know you’re going through a lot, but I miss spending time with you.”

Her voice has that cathedral effect. When she’s trying not to sound too emotional, so she clamps her mouth shut around her words and tries to ignore the way her voice shakes.

Ryan’s shoulders sink, and Mary keeps going. “I-I miss you, Ryan. I’m working on it, like, with my therapist, but I really don’t want to feel like everyone else is moving on without me. Again.”

Ryan crosses to the stove at that. The last thing she wants is for Mary to feel left out again. Mary’s the one who gave Ryan a home and a place in this Batworld. Mary’s her best friend too.

“No one is moving on without you,” Ryan swears. “I’ll still be here, even if and when we’re old ladies in our bat-wheelchairs.” Mary chuckles, but it’s watery. So Ryan takes the spatula from her and flips over their pancakes. They were getting a little burnt. A little overdone and crispy, but still good. “Nothing’s changing anyway.”

Mary scoffs. “Yeah, right.”

Ryan eyes her. “What?” Mary eyes her right back. The sadness takes a backseat to the clear judgment. “Don’t look at me like that.” Mary hums, and even that sounds sarcastic. “Nothing’s changing.”

“Does Sophie know that?”

Ryan flinches. Sophie knows. Of course Sophie knows. She’s disappointed, but she gets it.

Or she wants to get it.

Ryan goes for deflection. A defeated “I thought you wanted me to focus.”

“You can’t focus if all you’re doing is thinking about Sophie.”

“It’s not just Sophie,” Ryan tries to explain. “It’s… the rest of our lives. And I have no idea what that looks like.”

“It probably looks the same as it does now,” Mary says.

“Does it? Because I never thought my birth mom would be alive. Let alone in my life and loving me and wanting to be this great person. And I never thought I could be a superhero. And I never thought I’d be best friends with my roommate who saved and changed my life. And I never even imagined that Sophie would be everything that she is. But it’s all so good, and it’s so scary to think that it’s all so good and all so different from what I thought would happen, and—“

“Okay!” Mary clicks the stove off and grabs Ryan’s shoulders. “You sound like you’re spiraling. And that’s okay. It’s your first engagement and—“

“It’s not.”

“What?”

Ryan squeezes her eyes tight. “It’s not my first engagement.” Even with her eyes closed, she sees Mary’s face turn. Knows the follow up questions before they even start. Tries to beat Mary to them. “You know Ange and I were together since we were, like, twelve. We weren’t always exclusive, or official, but we thought we were it. So…” her throat feels right, “before it all fell apart, we were having these same conversations. One minute she was talking about the ring she was going to buy me, and the next….”

Mary finishes for her. “You were caught with her drugs.”

Ryan nods. “And I spent eighteen months building a very different version of my life.”

“But you know Sophie would never do that.”

“I know.”

“Sophie loves you.”

“Ange did too. But love isn’t always enough, Mary.”

“Not always, but Ryan, come on, what you and Sophie have is different.”

“How?” It’s not rhetorical. It’s what Ryan keeps coming back to. Who’s to say this won’t fall apart too? Who’s to say that one day Sophie won’t wake up and change her mind, and Ryan will be right back where she was before? What makes this different? “Because it feels better? Because we took our time and ‘different hearts and same minds?’”

Mary shakes her head. “Where is this coming from?”

“I—“

“No, seriously,” Mary makes sure to meet Ryan’s eyes, “is this about your mom, or Ange, or is it just, you know, normal abandonment stuff?”

It’s not normal abandonment stuff. Ryan’s worked on that. “It’s her, Mary. I-it’s the fear that Sophie’s going to wake up one day and realize she was never in love with me—“

“Come—“

“Just like she did before — with Tyler and with Kate. I get how feelings can change, and I’m grateful for it, but how does someone go from being the love of your life to just another person?”

“Wow.”

Ryan winces. “Don’t wow me.”

“I don’t….” Mary bumps her hip into the stove. “What do you want me to say? It sounds like you’re scared, and you’re using Sophie’s history to justify your own, you know, need to run for the hills. But if you run, Ryan, then you can’t come back. Do you want to lose Sophie because you’ve lost a few people in your life?”

She doesn’t want to lose Sophie. That’s the whole point. “It’s been more than a few people.”

“That’s a reactive response,” Mary says. Therapy’s clearly working on her side. But Ryan doesn’t need therapy. Ryan’s worked on this stuff. She’s got a great relationship with Jada. She has the love of her life — even if she doesn’t end up being Sophie’s. She has a family, and she’s fine.

But she keeps having to remind herself that she’s fine. She keeps self-soothing instead of just enjoying it. She… she won’t even let Sophie talk about wedding stuff, or engagement stuff, without being weird.

Ryan’s face must fall because Mary grabs her hand. Mary says, “I love that you’re talking about this right now, and you’re thinking about it, because you clearly have some stuff to think about. But you have to talk about this with Sophie. You can’t lock her out right now.”

But if Ryan says she has doubts…. “What if it makes it worse?”

Mary gives her a little smile. “Then you make it better after. It’s so weird. You can fix a whole city, but you can’t talk to your girlfriend.”

Ryan scoffs, but she smiles too. “Don’t play me like that.”

“Don’t play yourself, Ryan. Or Sophie. Talk to her,” she says. Ryan nods, but Mary squeezes their clasped hands. “Tonight. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next time you make game night weird.”

“Was it really that weird?” Ryan asks. Mary gives her a look. Fine, the vibes were totally off. They swapped to Uno after that, and they all pretended not to notice that they couldn’t have Ryan and Sophie next to each other. A poorly timed Draw Four would’ve absolutely started a fight that night.

“So…?” Mary prompts.

Ryan sighs. “I’ll talk to her. Tonight. I promise.”

“Good. Feel any better?”

“Not really.”

Mary grins and motions with her head towards now the cold pancakes in the pan. “Will those help?”

Ryan nods. “With extra powdered sugar. And maybe some ice cream.”

“You better get on DoorDash then because I’m fresh out of the vegan one.”

“You ate mine!?”

“Mine ran out. Like you don’t have plenty at your place.”

“You’re lucky I love you.”

Mary yanks Ryan into a hug. “I really am. Now, can we please enjoy the rest of our anniversary?”

“Yes, yes, I’m all yours.”

“Good. Because I am starving, and these smell amazing.”

🦇

end author's note: ooh a bit of emotion for y'all. catch you for part four

#wildmoore week #wildmooreweek #wildmoore #ryan x sophie #ryan wilder #batwoman #fic: moments from a wedding #mary hamilton #mary and ryan #mine

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hauntedbythefanficsofmypast · 3 years

Text

BatMom- Jason Todd

Masterlist

Part 1

Part 2[Here]

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Jason Todd, Her Toughest Bird.

Marinette paced the Batcave anger clear on her face as she waited for Batman to get back with his newest Robin. She couldn’t believe Batman would go this far, he knew damn well that wasn’t his name to give away. Her thoughts were interrupted by the Batmobile skidding into the cave and parking. Batman and the young boy getting out, the new Robin took one look at her before sizing her up with a glare.

“Who's the angry lady B?” He said looking ready for a fight, which amused Marinette slightly. But her gaze focused on Batman as she upped her glare.

“Hello B, we need to talk.” She said stiffly before looking down at the boy with a stern look. “Alone.” She said firmly gesturing to the changing rooms. Jason huffed, pulling off his mask walking passed her indignantly. Marinette wasted no time tearing into Bruce the moment the door was closed.

An hour later Marinette walked through the halls of the manor a frown still on her face. She stopped outside an opened door looking in on the newly adopted Jason Todd-Wayne. “Kid,” She called out catching his attention. “want to go out for ice cream?” Jason scoffed, closing his book giving her a deadpan look.

“Ya great idea let me go out with a woman that obviously doesn’t like me.” He said sarcastically waving his hand at her in a go away gesture. “Why would I even want to go with you in the first place?” Marinette smirked leaning against the door.

“First off I don’t know you enough to not like you, my anger at B will not be dragged over to you. “Second off we are going to Pico’s Ice Cream Gotham’s world renown Ice Cream Parlor, over two hundred flavors, I intend for us to eat so much Alfred has to pick us up. Finally B is paying and after your stunt with his tires, something tells me you’d be more than happy to waste his money.” She held up her hand showing Bruce’s Amex Black card held between her index and middle fingers. “So are you in or not kid?” Jason smirked, placing his book down and jumping out of his chair.

“Oh I am so down! Let's go get sick to our stomachs with Bruce paying!”

An hour later Alfred had arrived at Pico’s giving both of them a disappointed glare as they climbed into the shortened limo he had brought. Marinette and Jason laid on the floor facing each other, curled in on themselves.

“Was it worth it Miss Marinette, Master Jason.”

“Definitely.”

“Hell yes.”

The two groaned out their response together shortly followed by a yelp from Jason after she had flicked his nose.

“Watch your language.” She said causing him to grumble while Alfred simply sighed, closing the door. A few moments later they felt the limo begin to move. Marinette closed her eyes trying to calm her churning stomach, well aware of Jason’s eyes on her.

“Why were you so mad at Bruce?” He asked softly, wanting to know yet not at the same time. Marinette was silent for a moment before opening her eyes, meeting his own.

“B gave away something that wasn’t his to give away. Dick hadn’t let go over the title just yet, and Bruce in his anger ripped it away from him and gave it to you instead. He really hurt Dickie, that’s why I was so angry at him. Not at you, you’re innocent in this Jason.” She said softly groaning when Alfred took a sharp turn, showing his displeasure with his two current charges. “My anger is all towards B right now.” Jason nodded thinking over what she had said before he had another question.

“Why do you call him B, why not just say Bruce?” Marinette was silent before looking away with a slight blush.

“B stands for bitch and he knows it.” She said causing Jason to grin at her.

“Language.”

“Shut it little birdie.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, The Night Joker took him.

She sat at the door curled up crying begging for forgiveness, and Jason-Jason couldn’t find it in himself to give it. This woman, this woman had caused this, Sheila Haywood was no saint. No she was far from it, and unfortunately she was his mother. She was the one that gave birth to him, and now she’d be the one to help kill him. A dark part of him was happy she’d go with him but he’d never admit that out loud. His thoughts strayed from his so called mother as he watched the timer slowly countdown. Instead he thought of the one woman in his life that always tried. That was always there for him, that always stood up for him, and helped him build a relationship with his predecessor. He thought of the terrible fight they had, though he knew that it was mostly on his part. He had gotten too hard headed and Marinette was always stubborn and unwilling to bend with things she believed in. His Marinette wanted to help him meet his mother, she did even though it hurt her slightly and he had known it. She had helped him unlike Bruce who refused after the fight they had had, she helped even though it hurt. Yet he persisted and pushed and pushed until they finally found the women. Jason had insisted that he left for Ethiopia right away, planning to go alone. Ever protective Marinette had refused, told him he would not go alone and that they would go together. She said she’d have everything ready at the end of the month, but that was not soon enough for him. He snapped at her demanding that she stayed out of it. He declared it was a family matter, and ignored the hurt in her eyes. She had told him not to be hard headed and that she was coming along. Only to be silenced and told that she was not going, he was being so stupid, he let his temper get the best of him. He told her she wasn’t family, that she was nothing but the woman that chased after his adoptive Father. Trying to find any excuse to have his attention, he regretted it so much when he watched her close in on herself. Her blue eyes dulled so much they looked gray, her ever perfect posture faltered but he hadn’t cared. He turned and left her there all alone. Just like he was now, all alone wishing that his mom was there. Wishing that his Marinette, his Mom was hugging him and running her fingers through his red hair.

“Jay-bird.”

That was it, that's mom’s voice.

“Jay-bird, I don’t know if you can hear me, Gods I hope you do.”

He could hear the shake in her voice as his eyes landed on what he thought was his broken communicator.

She’s crying, she should never cry.

“Bruce is on his way my little Fire-Cracker.”

She said choking back a sob, Jason twitched in his bond moving closer towards the communicator. His body protested every move as he made his way.

“Dickie isn’t on Earth right now but I told Clark he better get his ass off planet and to him as soon as possible.”

Jason let out a pain chuckle at her swearing, she rarely did it and it always surprised him to hear. Foul language was his thing; it should’ve never fallen from his mom’s mouth. Especially for the fact that she disliked crude language.

“Jay?”

She heard him, she can hear him.

“I’m here.”

He said his voice horse as he shed a few tears.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I snapped at you, after everything you did, I hurt you so much. I’m so sorry Mom. I should’ve stayed, I should’ve listened, I’m so sorry. I just want to be with you. I want to be with you so bad mommy.”

He said desperate for the women to know, desperate for forgiveness from his mother.

“Jay, my sweet baby bird, it's okay. Oh baby, I love you so much my beautiful boy. You wanted to find your birth mother and I will never hold that against you. You have nothing to be sorry for, you hear me?”

Nine Seconds.

Jason’s eyes remain on the timer.

“Mommy, I love you. Thank you for everything.”

Eight Seconds.

“Don’t-”

Marinette’s voice cracked as she cried into her hands.

Seven Seconds.

“Please tell Dickie I love him and he was an amazing brother.”

Six Seconds.

“Don’t-Don’t say goodbye, this is goodbye Jason! You hear me! this isn’t goodbye.”

She finished her voice in a pained whisper.

Five Seconds.

“Tell Bruce he’s an asshole, but I loved him.”

Four Seconds.

“Tell Alfred I love him too.”

Jason was crying uncontrollably as he spoke.

Three Seconds.

“Mom?”

Two Seconds.

“Yes baby boy?”

One Second.

“Don’t blame yourself.”

Marinette stared at the casket, unable to console herself and stop the tears. Her baby boy was in there, her tough little bird. He was gone and she wasn’t there, she failed him. A mother is meant to protect, and she didn’t protect. She should’ve followed him to Ethiopia, she shouldn’t have let her feeling of hurt get the best of her. A sob fell from her lips as her shoulders shooking, her posture breaking as she curled in on herself. Her baby bird will never fly again, he will never read her poetry or discuss his favorite books with her again. No, now she’d have to visit him here, for the rest of her life. Now she’d have to talk to a gravestone every time she saw her baby bird.

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, Red Hood Finds her.

He watched her for weeks ever since he had officially come back to Gotham. Watching her as Ladybug, Lady Noir, and Marinette, watching the woman he had called mother. The mother that had seemingly moved on from him, along with his so called Father and brother. He saw her spend countless nights with his replacement, she had never gone on patrol with him as much as she did with the new one. She, of course, didn’t realize she was being watched. Old age he supposed his once mother looked much older since the last time he saw her, before he died. Black hair now greying and everything so perhaps he could not fault her for not noticing.

This night was special though, for weeks she had been fighting him with the so-called Batfamily. Tonight, exactly three days after he shot the replacement, she would find out that he was her ‘Baby-bird’.

He watched as she picked up the phone, no doubt Bruce or Alfred, his amusement faded when tears began to fall. He always hated when she cried, she was always so happy and collected. She rarely cried and when she did it was so heart wrenching, because Marinette cried with her entire body. He watched as she dropped the phone and rushed to the balcony, he saw the small red and black Gods following her. Heard her voice crying out as she threw the doors open.

“Plagg, Claws out!”

She transformed and was traveling across the rooftops in minutes. She was making her way towards Bludhaven only to be met halfway by Nightwing. Immediately breaking down into her eldests arms.

“It's him, it's him, it's him. It's my babybird! It’s my baby! It's my baby!”

Her cries caused Red Hood to flinch as he turned his gaze away from the mourning mother. He took one last glance before turning away returning to his current safe house.

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, Saving him from Himself.

“Don’t do this.” Her voice called out, it was calm as always yet filled with pain. She limped toward him holding her side tenderly in an attempt to stop the bleeding from her wound. “Don’t do this Baby boy.” Red Hood growled leveling the gun on her as he turned away from the downed third Robin. He froze the moment he saw Marinette, not Lady Noir, not Ladybug, but Marinette, his Marinette. Beaten, Bloody, and Bruised, all caused by him and his men. She didn’t even flinch at the gun pointed at her even though it was clear that her injury was a bullet wound.

“Shut up you fucking liar.” He growled out red tinting his vision once again as he thought of her protecting his replacement. Thought of all the videos of her with little Tim Drake, the newest Robin, all the pictures of her at school events. The actual adoption of not just him, but of her perfect first son. That one had hurt him the most, she had adopted them but not him.

“I am a liar.” She admitted softly continuing towards her son. Looking up at the young man, but always her babybird. “I am. I promised you that I’d always be with you, that I’d protect you. I failed you and I have blamed myself every day. I should’ve followed you, I should’ve found you, I should’ve protected you. But I failed you instead.” She stopped with the gun barely an inch away from her forehead, and for a second she marveled at how tall her baby was now compared to her. She wished she could see his face, see how handsome her beautiful boy had turned out. While Dick had grown into a beautiful young man, she knew her tough little bird would grow into a very handsome man. “You have every right to be angry with me, but not him. He looked up to you, still does, he pulled Bruce, Dick, and me out of the dark place we were in after your death. Not once did he wish to replace you, not once did he shy away from mentioning you. If you want to take your anger out on somebody, make it me.” She closed her blue bell eyes picturing her little red headed bird with his mischievous smile, and love for literature. Marinette leaned her head forehead allowing the barrel of his gun to press against her head. Her free hand shook as she reached out, caressing the red helmet with her knuckles. She opened her eyes again, tears staining to fall from the now dulled grayish blue. “Just remember I love you my little Fire-Cracker, though you’re not exactly little anymore are you.” She choked out holding back a sob as she let her hand drop her legs shaking from exhaustion. “If you’re going to kill us then take me first. Please I don’t think I can bear to watch another one of my birds die.” She barely finished before exhaustion caught up to her and she began to collapse. She didn’t hit the ground though, no she was pulled into strong arms. Arms that held her tightly cradling her and providing safety. Red Hood stared down at the woman in his arms, the red having long faded as tears fell hidden by the helmet. Jason Todd-Wayne held his hurt mother in his arms as he let himself cry.

“Stupid woman, Stupid Mom.” He whispered before moving her so that she laid beside her newest bird. “Don’t say a word you fucking replacment.” He growled out as said bird looked up at him in surprise. “You better fucking protect her or else I will kill you.” He growled glaring at the small shy smirk on the bird’s face.

“Watch your language, you know her thoughts on cussing.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, Bruce’s Death.

Jason Todd-Wayne sat atop Wayne Enterprises staring down at the city he was born into. Bruce was gone, he was gone and Jason didn’t know what to think of it. Dick was taking up the cowl, making Bruce’s actual son his new Robin. Tim had taken over Wayne Enterprises, the youngest CEO in the world. Meanwhile here was Jason still legally dead, and estranged from the family. With no idea what to do with his life, he had slowly waned from killing doing the same with her men. They very rarely killed, only those that truly deserved it, but ever since that night since he cradled his mother’s broken form. He hasn’t seen the family, he only knew of Bruce’s death from the video he had sent to the family. He tensed as a body sat down beside him, curling into her jacket.

“Hello Handsome Birdie.” She said softly reaching up and caressing his cheek. “I’ve missed you.” Jason grabbed her hand holding it gently and rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I’ve missed you too Mom.” He admitted softly both turning to look out at the city in silence together. “Is he really gone?” He asked, not really wanting to know the answer. Marinette leaned against her son allowing her eyes to drift to their held hands.

“Tim-Tim says he might not be and is trying to find him. Dick, my poor bird is hurting so much he is scared to hope that Bruce isn’t dead. Then there is Damian, oh he is going to be a tough Birdie to crack.” Jason smiled softly squeezing her hand.

“Well you managed to raise me, you'll have no problem with him.” He said jokingly, causing Marinette to laugh shaking her head.

“You didn't call me ‘Father’s newest whore’ and then immediately attempt to kill me.”

“He did want?!”

Jason asked with a protective glare on his face as he turned to his mom.

“Oh hush Fire-Cracker, I’ll get through to him.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, The Outlaws.

Red Hood could feel her eyes on him and his two companions. The fact that they didn’t notice was both irritating yet caused a bit of pride to fill his chest for only his mom could hide so easily.

“Kori, Roy,” He called out, pulling his helmet off his mask soon following revealing Jason Todd-Wayne to the night sky. “We have a visitor.” He said, turning to look at the shadows where Lady Noir resided.

“Getting better every day aren’t you Jay-bird?” She finally announced her presence to her son’s friends. She knew the both of them Roy better than Kori, it had been Dick that introduced them. Before the split in their friendships, she hated having to comfort her bird of the loss of his older brother. Lady Noir wouldn’t let her hold it against him though, or hold it against Kori.

“Hello mom” Jason said affectionately as he walked over to Lady Noir. She smiled, dropping her transformation and allowing her son to pull her into a tight hug. Marinette reached up rubbing his cheek with her thumb. “Come to make sure, I’m not getting into too much trouble?” He asked, teasingly causing her to roll her eyes.

“No, I simply wanted to see how my son’s new team worked together. “ She combed his hair to the side gently with her fingers before grabbing his gloved hand in hers. “My birds rarely team up with others outside the family.” Jason glanced away a little nervous squeezing her hand gently.

“Well, what do you think? Of my small team here?” Marinette smiled softly glancing back at the two that had joined her son, before looking back to her son.

“I think you have found some very good friends Fire-Craker. They will care for you as you care for them.” She leaned up on her tiptoes, huffing slightly when Jason still had to lean down for her, and kissed her son’s cheek. “Be good to them and you shall have a strong team.” keep them safe. They will do the same for you, now run along my tough little bird.”

“I’m not little anymore.”

“Hush.”

“Yes Mom.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, Returning to the Family.

Jason stuck his hand firmly in his pockets as he stared up at the manor. Marinette and Dick had both told him he should come for the holidays. If it had been just Duck he would have blown it off, but he’d hurt his mom too much in the past to do it to her. He didn’t want to go in, his relationship with Bruce was still incredibly rocky, and he really didn’t like the Demon brat. Though somehow his mom and older brother had both become rather fond of the brat. He shook his head and squared his shoulders walking towards the door, only to turn around and take the steps back down the stairs.

“I can’t do this.” He growled out kicking the snow glaring at it frustrated. “How can this be so hard! Just walk through the damn door, say hello to Alfred hand over your coat and then immediately find mom. Give her the stupid gift, then sneak out when the others distract her.” He said to himself, but he didn’t turn around he just continued to glare at the ground, his hands shaking slightly in his jacket pockets.

“Or, just putting this out there, you could turn around, walk through the door with me and spend Christmas with your family. A family which has been nervous to see if you’ll actually come tonight.” Marinette called out from her place on the steps behind him. Her cardigan wrapped tightly around her to chase away the cold. Jason turned slightly looking at her sheepishly until he realized she didn’t have a jacket on. “Personally I prefer my idea, way better than you sneaking away from us.” Jason glared slightly walking up to her as he unzipped his jacket.

“What are you doing out here with only a cardigan? I seem to remember you always complaining that I’d get sick if I didn’t wear a jacket!” He pulled his off wrapping it around Marinette holding back a snort over it reaching her knees. Marinette glared slightly as if knowing his thought process and turned up her nose indignantly huffing. “You’ll catch your death out here without a jacket Jason! Jason don’t forget your hat! Jason gloves are not uncool they make sure your fingers don’t get frostbite!” Jason said repeating all the phrases she had used on him when he was just twelve. Marinette reached out pinching his ear slightly causing him to wince, and pout at her, though he’d never admit it.

“I am your mother, young man. I have every right to make sure you wear proper attire for winter. And apparently I should have said it more as it appears, the only thing you were wearing is your jacket.” Jason rubbed his ear after she let go grumbling to himself about annoying mothers.

“Why did you come out here? How did you know I was here?” He finally asked before wrapping his arm around her shoulders walking her towards the door. He knew his mother never did good in the cold, a side effect of being the Champion of a Ladybug Goddess. Marinette huffed, shaking her head, giving him a pointed look.

“Timmy and I sat watching you stand outside for five minutes before he suggested I came and got you.” She smiled as Alfred opened the door for them. “That and Alfred had been standing at the door for a good ten minutes and I decided that ten minutes was enough.” Jason smiled apologetically at Alfred, hugging the elderly butler.

“Hi Alfred, I missed you.” He said softly, smiling brighter when the man hugged him back.

“And I you Master Jason, now come join the family. I shall take your coat from Mistress Marinette.”

Jason raised an eyebrow looking over at his mom who shook her head fondly.

“He insists that Bruce is going to marry me one day. It’s the only bit of denial I’ve seen him in, I shan’t mention it to him however.” She said with a mischievous smile, winging at her son. “Besides Bruce’s face when he brings it up is hilarious. Now come the boys are eager to see you.” She corrected herself after Jason’s pointed look. “Fine Tim and Dick are excited to see you. Damian doesn’t want to share me and Bruce can’t emotion so he hasn’t said it but he is thinking it.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, Alive Again.

Jason paced his room in the manor mumbling to himself while Kori and Roy sat on his bed watching him. Today was the day, he had agreed to announce that he had survived the explosion all those years ago. They had even come up with a rather ingenious cover story on where he had been. Though that was most his replacement, the kid was wicked smart.

“I can’t do this.” He said turning to Kori and Roy with a pleading look, as he gripped his hair with his hands. “Kori, get me out of here, please.” He said softly though they could both hear the panic in his tone. Kori chuckled standing up and walking over to him. She gently pried his hands from his hair gesturing for Roy to grab the hair brush.

“X’Hal, Jason, you are overthinking this, and panicking. You can do this, I know it for you are not weak. You know you want to do this, doing this means spending more time with them.Yes, yes that’s not why you are doing this.” She said rolling her eyes when he opened his mouth to argue. She took the hair brush Roy held out with a bright smile. “Jason, this is a most joyess occasion! After today you can spend more time with your K’norfka, and Roy and I know you want to go places with her more than anything.” Jason huffed letting her brush out his hair hold his face as she tilted his head side to side.

“She is not my nanny Kori, she’s my mother.” Kori pinned him with a look as she squeezed his cheeks gently leaning forward.

“On my planet K’norfka, also means guardian. Of which she is, correct?” Jason huffed before nodding his head.

“Yes, yes, you are correct.” Kori smirked triumphantly before kissing him briefly and releasing his face. “Roy and I will be here waiting for you when you are done. Isn’t that right?” Roy nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist, smirking at his boyfriend and girlfriend.

“Oh we will be here, but I don’t know. From the look on Miss Marinette’s face we won’t see you for a while.” Roy said nodding to the door, where Marinette stood watching them. She slowly made her way over to the trio.

“Mom! I can, I can explain. Roy, Star, and I-were-uh-were really good friends-well no we are actually-well.” He was silenced by Marinette’s hand on his cheek, causing him to finally meet her eyes. Understanding and love shining brightly in her eyes, as she rubbed his cheek with her thumb, marveling at her tough little bird all grown up.

“You couldn’t have picked anyone better Jay-bird. They have proved themselves remarkably well, and have shown their love for you my sweet bird. And that’s all that a mother can ask for in life, that their baby is happy and loved.” Jason teared up as he leaned down wrapping his mom into a tight hug hiding his face in her shoulder, causing the women to giggle. Marinette softly stroked his hair resting her cheek against his head. She looked over to the two her son had chosen her smile not wavering but Roy and Kori could read her eyes. Happiness, acceptance, and a little bit of love shining in them as she silently thanked her son’s precious people.

“Now, let’s go. It’s time for Jason Todd-Wayne to enter the world again. This time though I’ll finally get to adopt you.”

———————————<3————————————

Jason Todd, A Prince Consort?

Jason stared at himself in the mirror tugging on the traditional Tamaranean clothing. He still couldn’t believe this was happening, Kori wasn’t even the Queen anymore. Yet her, Roy, and him had all been carted away to her home planet by her brother. News had spread far of her proposal to the two, and her home planet wanted to witness the marriage. Only two months after they became engaged they were getting married, and his family wasn’t even there.

“Lost in thought, Birdie.”

“Just thinking about how my mom is going to kill me-Mom?!” He turned quickly looking at his mother, dressed in a lavender purple dress, obviously of her own design, that held elements of the Tamaranean attire.

“Surprise.” She said softly with a twinkle in her eye as she walked over. “Oh look at you, my tough little bird is getting married.” She smoothed out his clothing, a tearful smile on her face. “Koriand’r had a feeling her brother would insist on this. So she made sure that the family would also be picked up, she also gave me a few different items of Tamaranean clothing, so that I could make my own clothing.” Jason smiled at the mention of his soon to be wife.

“She is amazing, her and Roy.” He whispered softly, a smile taking over his face. Marinette watched him as a single happy year fell from her face.

“Gosh, first Dickie and now you. Now I just need to have Timmy and Dami find someone that loves them unconditionally. Then I could die happily knowing my sons are loved.”

“Don’t joke about that mom, you won’t be dying for a very long time.” Jason said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “Besides demon brat find someone, please.”

“Jason.” Marinette said with a warning note in her tone causing Jason to grin at her. Tikki coughed, finally gaining their attention.

“Oh not again. Tikki stop out shining me will you!”

Marinette said smiling playfully at her dear friend. Tikki smiled a twinkle in her eye as she shook her head.

“No I don’t think I will Mari!” She flew up kissing Jason on the forehead just like she had done a year ago for her bug’s first bird. “I grant you and your mates Good luck and Fortune in your future together. Cherish each other always, I am proud of you, even if you’re a troublesome bird.” Marinette smiled softly looking up at her second son, her tough bird, her Fire-Craker.

“I am proud of you too Jason. You’ve grown into such a handsome young man, and have found yourself the loves of your life. That’s all a mother can ask for in life.”

“How much are my brothers going to tease me over being a Prince Consort.”

“Oh so much, that we’re thinking of jokes on the way here. A little scary watching Timmy and Dami work together, but you know Dickie, he can bring anyone together.”

Jason snorted rolling his eyes, Plagg chose this moment to show himself grinning at Jason.

“So, you’re gonna be a Trophy Husband now kid?”

“Plagg!”

“Ow! Oh come on Sugar-cube! Ow!-It was a joke!”

@mythogaychic

#maribat #marinette dupain cheng #batmom #batman #miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fandom #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #jason todd

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ellana-ravenwood · 4 years

Text

“It’s Alfred dayyyy” - Batfam x Fem!Reader

Synopsis : Every year, every single year, your family reunites to celebrate the marvel that Alfred Pennyworth is.

Because Alfred does deserve his own “holiday” really. This has been sitting in my draft for almost two years, someone send me an ask that reminded me of it and I just suddenly really wanted to write it. I hope you’ll like it :

my master list : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

Midnight, a new day :

“And we will be waiting for you at 8 am, your mom and I forced him to sleep in, but we all know he will be awake by that time anyway.”

“Ok, I’ll pick Jaybird on my way there.”

“Jason is coming ?”

“He said he would.”

“Oh. Good.”

Dick did his hardest not to roll his eyes. “Oh. Good.” he says, as if the news didn’t make him wanna jump in joy. But of course, the Batman has a reputation to keep, if he showed too much emotions in one sitting, he’d probably explode.

The truth was that if Jason was coming...Well if Jason was coming, it meant they were finally on the road to forgiveness. And Dick knew that Bruce had been waiting a long time for this. Bruce...and everyone else really.

Especially you and Alfred.

“In any case, be there by 8. We’ll do the usual. Now that I think of it, could you maybe pick up his cake at West Side’s bakery ? Your mother was going to do it, but if you pick up Jason...I think he lives in the area ?”

Of course, Bruce knew exactly that Jason indeed lived not far from Alfred’s favorite bakery. Because he was keeping an eye on him. Not out of mistrust, or thinking he would kill again (he promised his mom, you, he would stop, but the promise was still recent, so was his return), but because...Well, it was his boy.

Ever since Bruce adopted Dick, he never stopped worrying about his kids. He never stopped trying to keep an eye on them. It got even worst after Jason’s death...He was actually overbearing many times, which lead Dick away more than once.

But he’d always be back.

Just like Jason, eventually, would be fully back.

For the moment, it was enough that he’d come by tomorrow.

For tomorrow was the one and only...”Alfred day”.

“Yeah sure, we can pick the cake up.”

“Alright. Well. I’m going home, and you lot should too. We promised Alfred, after all. An entire day without any vigilante’s business. Unless there’s an emergency of course. Good night.”

“’Night dad.”

Bruce turns to his youngest kids, expecting them to follow him, but Damian says :

“We’re right behind you, we’re just gonna hang out with Grayson a little more. Since he moved to Blüdhaven, we almost never see him...”

“Guiltripping me will not work little brother.”

“Are you sure ?”

Silence. And then Dick turns to his father :

“I’ll get them home soon, we’re gonna go get some ice cream.”

Bruce smiles, of this small genuine smile he only has when around his children. He nods, tell them not to stay out too late, and leaves, on his way back to you.

12:30 pm, Batcave.

“You are late, Master Bruce.”

“Only by half an hour. I had to see Dick before coming back. Logistic talk.”

As he speaks, Bruce takes his armor off, stretching a little after this short night full of not much happening. As if every villain in Gotham knew this day was happening, and they too would give a break to the butler (because if Bruce was resting, then Alfred could rest too).

“Well it means you’ll have to start half an hour late tomorrow, this is the deal. Where are the children ?”

“Alright. I will. And they’re getting ice cream with Dick. Now please, go to bed before she catches you up.”

“Lady (Y/N) will understand that I was making sure you are home on time.”

“She does understand yes, and she’s also telling you to go rest this instant ! You have slept even less than Bruce this past few days for god’s sake !”

Both Bruce and Alfred jumps a bit as you enter the bat cave, smiling at them. Alfred raises his hands in a sign of peace, smiles at you, gives you a kiss goodnight on your forehead (a nightly tradition, by now...you never had a dad, and Alfred took it upon him to catch up lost time), and leaves.

You turn to Bruce, and gives him your hand.

He takes it gladly, a smile on his lips. The kind he only shows when around those he loves...

A “glad you’re here” kiss, and a few words :

“You know, my favorite thing about this day is that you’re home all day long, and I don’t have to miss you...”

As usual, your words grip his heart, and his arms tighten around you. Even after years of being together, you could always make his pulse race with only a few words. Sometimes just a look...

He doesn’t resist or look back, when you give his hand a pull and leave the bat cave.

Rare were the occasions Bruce would forget about his vigilante work. In fact, only one day a year, would he completely forget about it. Because he promised. And because it was a special day.

A day to celebrate the man he came to view as his father.

Alfred day.

1 am, in “Giovanni’s 24/7 gelato” shop.

The waiter of the place didn't even blink, as he served ice creams to a bunch of kids at 1 am, in the heart of Gotham. Used to it really. Nothing in this city was like any other place. Most people were night dwellers, even children.

Probably because, thanks to a certain group of vigilante, they all felt safer when the sun was down.

“So, how did it start exactly, this Alfred day ?”

Duke asks, after taking a full scoop of his favorite ice cream, curtesy of a certain Dick grayson.

You had told Duke, about a week prior to it, that he had to clear his schedule for this particular day but didn’t really explain what it was exactly. Just that it was to celebrate Alfred. Not giving much more context.

Dick smiles, and say :

“How did it start ? Haha, oh man, it’s quite the story.”

With an annoyed sigh, Damian says :

“Just out with it already Grayson, we know, you were the only one that knew them by then blahblahblah.”

“Do I sense a hint of jealousy, little bird ?”

Damian doesn’t answer, but plants his spoon a little bit more aggressively in his gelato. Ah yes, maybe he was a tiny bit jealous that Dick had the luck to have their parents all for himself, once upon a time...Maybe.

“Well anyway, legend has it that mom chose the date.”

Dick takes a dramatic pause, making the siblings who already heard the story (so everyone but Duke) roll their eyes. Their oldest brother had a flair for dramatic retelling of past events.

“A long long time ago, on this day, when I was only 8 and just came into the family, they got into a bad fight. When I was little, before Jason came in, they got on the verge of breaking up a few times. Even did really broke up once, worst fucking time of my life, feeling like I was losing another family (A/N : referencing this story : The break-up)...”

A shot pause, this time, not for dramatics, but because the memory was genuinely painful and Dick had to take a short break. He continues :

“So anyway, on this day, a long time ago, Mom discovered how vital Alfred was to this family. She said it’d been a day where she wanted to literally kill our father because he was so damn annoying, and overly brooding, and stupid – her words not mine- and that Alfred calmed her in just a few words. I don’t quite know what he told her, or what he told dad. All I know is that he told me that he wouldn’t let them break-up again over a stupid fight, and um, next thing I know, I’m avoiding the East wing for a few hours.”

“Oh...Oh no Dick gross !”

Dick chuckles, enjoying a bit too much messing with his little siblings.

“Anyway, mom decided that Alfred deserved a day, in the year, where we would do everything HE wants because without him, our family would crumble. It just sort of became a tradition. So from midnight right now, to midnight of next day, no vigilante business. And we spend the day all together with him.”

“That’s actually...a really sweet story ?”

“It really is Dukie, it really is.”

“Dukie ?”

“Ah sorry, you’re part of the family now, which earns you a nickname from me. Jaybird. Timbo. Dami. Cass or Cassie if I feel like being a particularly doting older brother. So...had to find one for you. It was between Dukie and Dukester so-”

“Dukie is fine.”

Everyone snickers as Duke rolls his eyes, and then he asks :

“So...What exactly are we gonna do ?”

“Oh, well it’s simple. It starts at 8 am when we arrive, and we kick off with...”

4 am, Alfred’s bedroom.

You open the door to Alfred’s room quietly, as you would sometimes to make sure your children sleep.

This time, you were checking to see if the butler did really go to bed. One of the point of Alfred day, was that he had to feel perfectly fine, and he never had a full night rest !

So if you had to make sure he did during that time, then you would.

Your children had came home a few hours ago, happy they had some time with their oldest brother. Dick had been away often lately, and they missed him...You knew they were gonna guilt trip him into buying them a snack.

You and Bruce had had some alone time before they came home, that you definitely took advantage of...But for now, you escaped your husbands grip to come and check on Alfred, making sure he was sound asleep.

And he was. Good. Perfect. He’d have a good night sleep. A full night of sleep.

Quietly, you left the room again, unaware that a smile slowly rose on the Butler’s face...

8:02 am, Alfred Day :

Bruce is the one that opens the front door for them. They have their own keys, of course...but they both forgot them, as usual.

They’d normally just climb through a window, or sneak into the backyard, knowing where all the security devices were (the back door was never closed because of this), but decided that for this day, they’d just ring the bell and come in the right way.

Without much surprise, Bruce answers the door. It’d either be him or you, during Alfred’s day. Or anyone that wasn’t Alfred really.

Dick and Jason move to remove their shoes (house rules, NO SHOES inside) and coats, while Bruce looks at them, waiting for them so they can all walk back to the kitchen.

Jason is the fastest, and there’s this embarrassed silence between the three of them. Bruce smiles awkwardly at Jason, who looks away as soon as their eyes meet. With a “tt” very typical of his little brother, Jason says :

“Don’t misunderstand this, I’m here for Alfred. And...For mom.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

“Yes.”

Silence. Awkward, as Dick takes way too long to untie his shoes, and pretend he’s not hearing anything.

Bruce knows what he’s doing. He knows his oldest son is trying to give him some more time “alone” with Jason. But he’s not really sure what to say...

“I’m um...I’m glad you came.”

Good. That was good. Keep going on that path Bruce, that’s actually-

“Yeah, whatever. I’m going ahead, you know the way Dick.”

Damn. Almost there. Almost there with an actual moment between them two. Dick sighs, and puts a hand on his father’s shoulder.

“He’ll come around.”

Bruce doesn’t answer, he exhales slowly and nods, not very convinced...But today was not a day to dwell on the bad. Jason and him would make this work, if only for today.

Because today was Alfred’s day.

8h30 am, the Kitchen.

The butler came down in the kitchen, well rested and pleased to be greeted by his entire family. Your smiles already made his day perfect, and if “Alfred Day” was done in this instant, he’d still be happy.

“Sit down Pennyworth, we have made breakfast for you ! Well...Mom and father did...but we helped ! I was in charge of making tea ! And I think you will appreciate the way I brewed it. I followed an ancient Japanese recipe, and I reckon an aficionado like yourself will appreciate it.”

Damian bloomed when he was with his family. To people who didn’t know him as well as his siblings and parents, he could seem like a petulant and arrogant child, but he was the opposite of that.

He was insecure, and unsure. Scared of being left alone. And so to overcompensate all the fear instilled in him by years of abuse from his “grandfather”, the infamous Ras Al’Ghul, Damian could be quite a little jerk sometimes.

But when he was with his family...He opened up. He smiled. And he spend hours trying to brew the perfect cup of tea for the grandfather he actually chose to have.

“Bruce made your favorite Alf’, didn’t do half a bad job either -you smile at your husband, and give him a quick peck, which have the famous result of making your children make their best “ew” face-. You taught him well.”

You say, smiling widely at the butler.

It’s true, Alfred did teach Bruce how to cook really well. People often had the misconception the billionaire was bad at housework, which was wrong of course.

When his parents were alive, they’d insist he still had chores to do, so he wouldn’t be too spoiled. And when Alfred raised him, he taught him as much as he could so that the boy could hold his own.

Bruce was a great cook (you could definitely attest to that, what with him cooking your favorite meals on date nights and all). And he always made Alfred’s perfect breakfast for his special day.

“Jason and I just arrived so we didn’t really participate, but we picked up your favorite cake so it counts right ?”

Dick says, a wide smile on his face. Oh master Dick, Alfred blessed the day this little boy walked in their lives.

He wasn’t so little anymore, but he was always such a joy to have over. Even when he had his tantrum as a youngster (and now sometimes too, although he became better in controlling his burst of anger), Alfred couldn't help but love that child.

The butler turned to Jason, who shyly smiled at him and...Alfred’s heart was full.

“I am very happy to see you in this house, Master Jason.”

He said, as he sits around the kitchen table. Jason’s cheek tints slightly of red, as they always do when he’s a bit embarrassed and overwhelmed.

Jason was such a kind and sensitive child. He never quite got used to compliments, having been used to abuse and hate, and he would always blush under them. Alfred was glad to see that, even after the horror Jason went through, small things could still make his cheek turn rosy...

Jason sat down at the table, looking happier than he had in ages.

“For you.”

Cassandra said, settling in front of him a plate full of food, while Damian put the the cup of tea down.

Sweet little Cassandra. It was always a pleasure to hear her talk. Poor little thing was never taught love, or even how to talk...Having you in her life greatly helped. Having a family, greatly helped.

She still didn’t talk very often, but when she did, all of her words truly counted. She laid a small kiss on Alfred’s forehead, to bid him good morning, and went to sit in her usual spot, right between you and Damian.

“You will be happy to know, Alfred, that all of our electronic devices have been off since midnight last night ! Yes, even mine. Promise !”

Tim exclaims, smiling at him.

Tim was the only one out of all of Bruce’s children to have entered this life willingly. The only one that came knocking at their door, just really wanting to help.

Unfortunately, him too lost his parents over time (although they weren’t particularly great ones)...But the first impulse the boy had, was that he just loved Batman and wanted to give a hand !

Tim was selfless, maybe a little too much, and often worried you to death. He would get wrapped up in his projects even more than his father, and needed a constant reminder to take care of himself...task that you, Bruce, Alfred and his siblings would share gladly. He would give back anyway, working his ass off and putting his own life on the line for them any hour of the day...

At the furthest side of the table from him, sat Duke.

This was his first “Alfred Day”, and he was looking at things curiously, nonetheless happy to be here.

Young Duke’s situation was a little special. His parents were still alive, and he still hoped they’d find a cure for their madness. Because of this, the boy would often distance himself on purpose from some family events, finding it hard to find his own place.

This was one reason he didn’t wear the Robin mantel for long, and almost immediately went to be The Signal. It didn’t help either, that he was the only metahuman.

And yet...Yet as the days went by, Duke felt more and more at home at the Manor, and would more and more hang out with everyone. More and more felt like he was truly part of the family, now.

Of course, him moving to Wayne Manor was all very recent, and he needed time. Time that everyone was giving him willingly and gladly. Time to adjust and find his place.

But here, sitting around the kitchen table bustling with activity and laughter, Duke felt like...he felt like this Alfred Day brought him one step closer to truly be a part of it all. After all, to him too, the butler had been nothing but great.

Alfred had that talent, to congregate everyone around him...

You felt happy, there, sitting amongst your children, your love, and the man you came to consider your father.

Alfred had a good feeling, when he first met you. He knew. He knew you’d be the one to “tame” the bat, to not take his shit when he was being a jerk, and to give him unconditional love.

“Unconditional”.

It was important, to be in a relationship with a man like Bruce Wayne.

But oh. Oh he was giving you back every bits of love you ever gave him, times a hundred. He let you in in his world, and had no intention of ever letting you go.

Breakfast went by fast, as everyone talked away, and enjoyed each others company.

It was very rare, nowadays, that everyone could be in the same place. At least one of them would be busy normally. But on this day...on this day they surely made sure they would be free.

And so here they were, having breakfast altogether, happy.

If only people from the outside could see this scene; If only.

Then they’d know, just like Alfred knew, that this family was the strongest, tightest that ever existed, and that there was nothing but love between all of them.

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

11 am, the theater.

Before the first “Alfred Day” happened, Wayne Manor did not have a “theater”.

It had a “Ballroom number 3″.

It was your idea, to turn it into a small theater, so that Alfred could perform for everyone.

Over the years, you had realized that Alfred was actually a very talented actor. After all, he filled in Batman’s shoes many times, to pretend that Bruce couldn’t possibly be him. And he might’ve use his dramatic talent to convince you and the rest of your family to do what he wanted you to do...

Clever man.

On Alfred Day, the first activity, after breakfast, would be to take part in a monologue of his. Usually shakespearian. But sometimes he’d come up with small surprises. He once recited the “heaven” part of the Divine Comedy by Dante, because he knew you loved that poem.

It was absolutely brilliant, and you almost wished he had pursued an acting career instead of becoming the Wayne’s butler...but then, you would’ve never met him.

By 11 am, breakfast would usually be done and it was time for a performance of a year. By that time, Barbara and Stephanie would’ve join.

They didn’t live in the Manor, but they were close friend of the family. Friends that definitely knew how precious Alfred was to everyone.

This year, Alfred decided to entertain you with a series of short monologues taken from a wide array of material, from Shakespeare to movies. It was fascinating. They all had their snacks as if they were at the movie theater, and were captivated by his performance.

For Alfred, it was a way to relive his youth, working in London’s east end’s theaters. And to perform his hobby in front of a live audience.

So sure, maybe said live audience might’ve been a bit biased towards him, but he knew their applause and praises were genuine.

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

1 pm, East Wing living room.

Lunch was always skipped, as you snacked too much during Alfred’s performance, and he was never hungry after he acted.

You’d directly skipped to Alfred’s compliment session.

He both loved and hated this time. Loved it because it was a treat to see he positively impacted his family. Hated it because it was never comfortable to just hear people compliment you The moment they gave him a cherished memory they shared with him...

Each year, one by one, they would tell him something he did for them that really was important to them.

It was custom that the youngest would start. So Damian stood up, and said :

“My memory this year, is one that happened not long after I came to live in Wayne Manor. I had just gotten into a fight with Tim, and been mean to mom as she tried to talk to me about it...I felt terrible. I felt like I would never be someone good. Pennyworth came in my room, ignoring me when I told him to get away from me. He settled some cookies for me, and told me a story of my father when he was young. Of how stubborn he used to be, and how sometimes, he’d say very hurtful things he didn’t mean...Alfred explained to me that it was normal to feel angry, when we’re hurt. That it was ok to not always be on our best behavior. That the people who love us will understand, and do understand. That they’ll still be there if they really care. Then he left, and I went to apologize to my mom. And she was there. I also apologized to Tim, and him too, was there...”

Damian sat back down, avoiding everyone’s eyes, as he felt too overwhelmed with feelings. You threw an arm around his shoulder, and he instantly hid his face in your own shoulder, acting like a little scared kitten who’d hide under his mom.

It melted everyone’s heart, but nobody would say anything of course. This was between Damian and Alfred.

It was Duke’s turn, and he was a little nervous, as it was his first time :

“Mine is...Well...It’s going to sound so silly, after Damian’s heartfelt story, but one of my best memory with you Alfred, is when I first put The Signal mantel, and immediately hurt myself that night. I came back to the bat cave early, feeling shameful I couldn’t finish my patrol. You took care of my wound, and simply reassured me. It was just...soothing. I didn’t feel bad, as you stitched me up and calmed me down. I felt at peace, for the first time since my parents went mad...I can’t quite remember what you told me, as you just talked about random things, to calm me down. And it worked. As silly as it can sound, it worked. And that’s um...That’s when I started to feel good, here. Ok. That’s all.”

Duke sat back down too, hoping Tim would start speaking soon. Thankfully, he did.

“The memory I chose to share today, is one that is rather recent. I was struggling with some...self-worth issues. I felt like I could never fill dad’s shoes. Or Dick’s. Or Jason’s. Or anyone’s. I felt like I was trash. Like I was wasting away. I felt anxiety eating me up, and I was too scared to talk to anyone about it. Even to you, mom. I knew you’d find the right words, but I was just too scared you’d be worried about me. I know you worry a lot. So I didn’t say anything. Alfred walked in on me having a panic attack...and he helped me fight it. Then he scolded me because I didn’t tell anyone anything, and that it was a bad habit to always take all the burden on my shoulders. He then brewed me some tea, and talked about my favorite TV show with me to take my mind off of things...”

Tim smiled at Alfred, and sat down. You reached for him, and squeezed his hand, making him understand you too, were there. And you worried about all of them all the time anyway so, ya know.

It was Cass’ turn now. Cass always had some interactive things, because she never spoke too long. She held up some drawings she had made (with the help of Damian). It represented her at a ballet recital (to which you all went by the way, and which was amazing. Cass was a talented little star). She gave the small comics to Alfred, took a deep breath, and said :

“Thank you for helping me work on my dance, even when you were busy. You are a good teacher. For everything, from dance to how to make a perfect loaf of bread. I love your bread. I love your dance lesson. I love eating bread after our lessons. I love you more than bread. Even the sandwiches mom make with your bread and my favorite homemade jam.”

She then did a few ballet dance move, and sat down again, holding her knees with her arms, and breathing deeply. It was still a difficult exercice for her, to speak. And to convey her feelings through words. It was always difficult, and quite an exploit that she said that much.

Alfred smiled at her, before turning to Jason.

“I’ll never forget the day you yelled at Bruce because he tied me up after I stole the batmobile’s tires. How livid you were, and how you threatened him to tell everything to mom. How he instantly looked scared at the idea of her being angry, and how you made him realize he went too far. How you were there, every step of my way adapting to life in a mansion, after living in the streets. But yes, above all, I’ll never forget the day someone stood for me for the first time, when you yelled at da-Bruce. When you yelled at Bruce for me.”

He almost said “dad”. And that alone, was making Alfred’s heart happy. It was proof there still was some hope to salvage their relationship...

“Ok, well I’ll be quicker than everyone else. And just say : you’re the best grandfather I could ever ask for.”

With Dick, there was only two solutions. He would either go into a lengthy reenactment of a very specific event, or throw affirmations like that that would make Alfred feel tears coming to his eyes.

Today, Dick decided on a short and sweet version, and it fitted perfectly.

It was now your turn :

“Every year, I’m reminded how vital you are to this family. And every year, it is tough to chose just one memory I love about you. I always have to think, because there’s so many. But I think this year, I will choose that time I said “yes” to Bruce after refusing his marriage proposal three times, and you screamed in happiness, through your broom across the room, and ran to hug me. It was so out of character for you, it makes me happy just to think about it. But I mean, I can understand the excitement...I was pretty content myself.”

You smile, looking at your love, and he rolls his eyes at you, before smiling too. Of this pure smile he only shows you. And then he turns to Alfred, and tells him :

“You made the loss of my parents bearable. Without you, I don’t know what I would’ve done. I’d probably turn...very dark.”

There was a small silence.

Bruce’s speech was always short and to the point.

And every time they were all done talking, Alfred would find himself with tears in his eyes. With those last few words from his son, this time didn’t escape the rule, and he found himself dabbing at the corner of his eyes.

Damian’s next word released the emotional atmosphere as he looked at his father and said :

“Tt, show off.”

Everyone bursted in laughter, and this great day continued on...

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

4 pm, interlude.

This was Alfred’s few hours of utter peace. Everyone would leave him alone, and he could relax doing something he liked to do (usually reading or something of the sort) while not worrying about anyone.

You’d give him space. It was very rare, for Alfred to be all alone with his thoughts, thoughts that he was forced to NOT have about his family.

It was even rarer that he wouldn’t think about Bruce or you, or his “grandkids”. So in this day, when he knew none of them were doing anything dangerous, he took full advantage of it to relax his mind.

In the meantime, you’d watch a film or two.

Damian and Tim were in the process of choosing when Duke turned to Bruce, and a smirk on his face asked :

“Soooo…I heard Alfred Day exists because you annoyed (Y/N) ? »

Bruce glares at Duke, ah he never quite likes to remember why Alfred Day exists…But before he can answer, you enter the room (you went to get some snacks for the movies) and exclaim :

“Don’t let Dick downplay how truly unsufferable he was that day ! Dick always manages to forgive his dad, and make things less worst than they are. It’s a talent really. Annoying doesn’t even cover how awful he was. He had one of those « dark days », decided he should break up with me for my own safety out of literally nowhere, yelled at baby Dick, was mean to Alfred saying he could fire him…I swear I could’ve slapped him.”

“You tried.”

“And if Alfred hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve succeeded. Anyway. Yes. You see, Bruce and I almost broke up that day because he was being really stupid, and Alfred...salvaged everything.”

“I was being stupid indeed...I almost lost...I...”

Sometimes, when he would remind himself of that day he almost went too far and truly drove you away, Bruce would feel almost like an anxiety attack coming over him. Because if he had lost you, and had continue on the path he was taking with Dick...Well he wouldn’t have had that second shot at having a family.

And it was enough of a frightening thought to be overwhelmed with anxiety.

“To be honest, I also was quite stupid. I can be stubborn too, sometimes. And there were time, at the beginning, where I wouldn’t try to be in your place...”

You say, letting soothing fingers run through his hair, a motion you knew always relaxed him. Bruce instantly calmed down, as your kids made some disgusted faces at your closeness, and the incident was over.

It was good, though, that Duke asked. First because it was actually pretty funny to think of the fearless Batman getting his ass kicked by his wife...but also because it was a good reminder to him of what he almost lost, and who he used to be.

Alfred saved him.

You saved him.

His children saved him.

And now, he could appreciate a relaxing movie time with all of you (minus Alfred, who was in his room, probably devouring the cake you got him (because yes, that cake was for him and him only), finally relaxed).

The movie chosen, everyone took their usual spot on the massive couch, that Bruce had ordered specifically so that his big family could all fit on.

At one point, both you and Bruce drifted off to sleep, in each others’ arms, and barely noticed your kids placing a blanket on you, rolling their eyes at how teeth rotting sweet you two were.

6 pm, a walk through the park.

Alfred loved Wayne Manor’s gardens.

And he loved even more peacefully walk through them with his family.

This was the time you were always reminded how massive the “backyard” was, when you’d go through acres of it.

The kids would play soccer, baseball, football, or anything really. Alfred would often join. He was actually very athletic, and the kids would fight to have him on their team.

You and Bruce would take part in it too, and your children would always make sure you’d be in the same team. Sure, sometimes you’d stop playing to smooch each others, like two damn teenagers...BUT, having you both on the same team would avoid triggering your crazy competitive minds.

For some reason, whenever you had to play against each others, you’d both get very ruthless and petty, and it would often time get annoying (for real, you were forbidden to play UNO since a long time by then).

You’d all spend some times outside, no matter the weather, enjoying a normal family outing.

Alfred loved this time of the day.

Because he loved the gardens, but most of all, he loved seeing his family being happy and together...

9:30 pm, the dinner.

Dinner was entirely prepared by you, and Alfred only had to come at the table and wait.

By then, you had a perfect system that made it so the meal was prepped efficiently. It was Alfred’s favorite, of course.

The table would be filled with all his favorite meals, prepared mainly by Bruce with you guys’ help.

Your kids would pretend to be waiter in a fancy restaurant, and exaggerate everything, which was very funny.

And you’d all share a meal, something that was quite rare, in this day and age.

In fact, you were pretty sure that your entire family being reunited for a dinner happened max three times a year. For the holiday season, for Alfred Day, and for Batman day (you just thought it was funny to celebrate it).

This was just a time to catch up, and to be together.

Alfred would ask countless questions to everyone, and everyone would be polite and listen. It’d just be so nice, and relaxing...

11:30 pm, almost the end.

The day would end in the batcave, with everyone enjoying each others’ presence for a few more minute before you’d go back to a “normal” life.

You’d talk about your favorite moment of the day, and how you always really liked “Alfred day”.

And then it’d be over. Alfred would retake his butler position, and the Batman would prowl the streets of Gotham once more.

You’d be their home support again, working the computer often, and you-

Ah. Yes. But not yet.

There were still a few minutes. And it sounded like the perfect time for you to finally talk about a certain news...

You see, Alfred was the one you went to to vent. You loved your family with all your heart... But anyone knowing them just à little bit knew they could be à handful. And Alfred, he was always there.

So it just seemed fitted for you, that you’d announce this news on that day. While everyone was around, and celebrating Alfred’s existence.

Because what you were about to say, was one of Alfred’s dearest hope...

12:28 pm, 2 minutes before the end.

You waited the very last minute, because you thought the effect would be even better.

And as your husband and kids were ready to leave, you said :

“Oh wait, I have one last thing to say on this very special day !”

They all stopped, and turned around, looking at you. You smiled. Nervous, but happy. You knew that you and Bruce wanted this anyway, so it would be fine. And you knew your kids...your kids would be happy. For sure.

But Alfred. Alfred would be over the moon. And so, without further ado, you said :

“I’m pregnant !”

Bruce’s eyes went wide, and his mouth opened dumbly. He froze on the spot, before smiling widely and starting to laugh stupidly. His first reaction was to go to Alfred, which you were expecting.

Your children all reacted at the same time, rushing you like a wave of noise and excited screams and...pfiouh they could be overwhelming.

Alfred was indeed over the moon.

And he was the one calming your children, tearing them off of you so he could hug you, and give you some space, too.

Because that’s what Alfred did. Take care of you. Of his family.

And Alfred day, this year, ended with him looking at you and Bruce hugging tightly, overjoyed by the news of a future new little addition to the family.

Up until next year, and this future baby’s first Alfred day...

_________________________________________________

Annnnd it’s 9:12 am, kept my promise to post something “today” haha. Probably not the best time to post. Buuuut...well, another sleepless night (or early morning, all about perspective really haha) of writing. I’m definitely back :). I hope you liked this story, I’m a little nervous after being gone for so long, I feel like I don’t know how to write anymore, and this is all very...mmmmbadhgezhe. I still do hope you liked it a little bit.

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated <3.

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littlekikichan · 2 years

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I just saw that picture you drew of Axe and OH MY GOD! It's so good! >//////<

Oh, and those families you made for all the skeletons are super cute! Could you tell me about them? 🥺

@mmhinman drew that for me it's so cute as for the families.

Axe's and Amelia's offspring

Chance is Axe's first born son he was named Chance due to the fact Axe didn't know if he could father a child. Chance was born a full skeleton due to his mom using her soul to reflect the monster she loves. Chance has an eye socket problem like his dad but unlike his dad he got his eye socket problem due to a complication of his birth. Axe was relieved that both his mate and child were safe after the scare. Chance loves fishing and planting things. He also loves bugger catching. He prefers to listen to jazz while he maps out stars. Chance drives a red pick up truck and likes to explore woods and caves and pretty much anywhere he can go. He loves audio books and loves to read to his siblings. Chance is 19 years old.

Miracle and Alex are twins and have many physical disabilities. Miracle has a skeleton eye and she can use magic but has very little magic. She can't summon attacks but she can summon shields and she has a butt load of healing magic. Miracle was named miracle because Axe couldn't believe he could have such a miracle. She is Axe's favorite child and she takes after her Dad she loves carrying around a small axe and likes making humans feel creeped out. She loves her momma and her Uncle Jupes she likes to hunt and climb trees. She wants to learn about birds because she wants to know how it feels to fly. Alex is considered a miracle boy he was born without his left arm and he is considered one of the "normal" ones out of his family. He is polite and soft spoken. He doesn't like violence or hunting or fishing or trapping. He likes drawing playing music and creating puzzles Miracle likes to pick on Alex for not liking to hunt with her and Dad but Alex would rather plant food then to hunt for it. He considers himself a vegetarian he take iron supplements and he and Axe get into heated arguments about his pickiness towards his food. Miracle and Alex are both 16 years old.

Gotham is the first font name Axe has given a son of his. Axe is now less paranoid about his children dusting or dying in front of him. Gotham was born a skeleton monster again Axe's mate wanted to have a child that reflected her love towards Axe. This time though her pregnancy went perfect and no birth defects happened. Gotham is a newborn and is attached to either Uncle Jupes or momma hip. He likes to gnaw on his mom though which cause Axe to worry so Axe tends to over feed his mate due to Gotham's teething. Gotham is only two months old.

Red and Kiki's offsprings

Adam human mage Red's first born is a powerful mage he can summon a bone scythe and Gaster Blasters he can use healing magic and plant magic. Adam can also commune with animals. Monsters don't come around the skeleton due to both Edge and Adam and Red since they have a protective gene. Adam loves music and plays the drums in his free time he also works as a mechanic he is 17 and he drives a 1977 red Firebird Pontiac he keeps his car in mint condition.

Ace is a skeleton monster even though his mom is human he didn't get any of her human traits just the magic within her soul he can use blue magic and gravity magic and his magic weapon is red mace he can also form into red whip. Ace likes playing card games and hustling he is very rebellious and gets into constant fights and trouble he has a very dirty potty mouth and likes to flirt with any pretty lady he lays sockets on. Ace favorite card is the ace of spades and he loves to gamble even though he is a minor. He loves to play bass in his band called The Undead Heads. He makes sure his sister Ember is safe like his big bro told him to do even though he can't stand watching her all the time.

Ember is a human skeleton hybrid and has many physical disabilities socket eye is partially blind due to humans throwing salt in her socket. She is a very rare hybrid and she can dust like any monster can she has her dad's shortcut ability and her insides are made of magic but her outward appearance makes her look human. Red collared Ember to make sure monsters and humans like know if someone goes after her the Serif family will hunt them down. She is Red's precious baby girl and is very very careful with she gained her Dad's cursed low HP which is why Red keeps her closer than all of his other children. Ember is 9.

Jayson is a skeleton monster like his brother Ace but is a genius he is master at his own magic and can create fire magic, he has shortcutting like his Dad and can summon Gaster Blasters he also has the ability to Judge. His weapon unlike his brothers are dual chain axes. He loves training and loves torture and puns and he genius level intelligent and he is only 4. He also plays the violin. He loves his sister Ember for her kindness and tolerates his brother Ace even though he thinks him more brutish and neanderthal and very interested in Adam's abilities and he respects his eldest brother even though he considered a mage to all the monsters.

Blue and Stretch's offspring with Violet

Abram is a human skeleton hybrid and he has breathing problems due to having a skeleton jaw and throat. He was giving a breathing apparatus by Undyne and the moment of his conception. Abram can cast orange magic bones and his magic weapon is a baseball bat. His personality is more like Stretch due to both his parents were trying to figure out the right schedule for them and him so most of the time he was babysat by Stretch. He is 15 years old and he like to play acoustic guitar. He likes to ride around on his orange motorbike and likes to hang around at the mall.

Airy is a skeleton human hybrid and they are nonbinary. They were born male but they prefer not to be label by any genders. They like their brother Abram have breathing issues due to having a human jaw and throat and like their brother they received a breathing apparatus at birth so not to die. Airy loves fashion, EDM and their magic is unstable but they can use blue attacks and bones their very good at puzzles and very athletic even with their disability. They are often bully at school but they don't let it get them since their confidence knows no bounds. Airy is 14 and they like getting rides from Blue and Abram.

Justine is a human skeleton hybrid she was born bald and her hair has never grown in she use her magic to make ecto hair so she feels somewhat pretty even though her Dad and mom give her all the praise in the world she feels self conscious from her appearance her socket is also isn't magical she puts in a fake eye. Justine is a very shy and very smart girl but she is very self conscious she likes art and music. She also likes to perform in plays. She plays the piano and figure skates. Justine is 12.

Cin was born of Stretch and Violet due to Stretch becoming very depressed and distant and Blue couldn't stand watching his brother dissolve into dust. Blue tried getting him into a relationship but no one he set him up with worked so Blue came up with the brilliant idea of sharing his mate with his brother. As it turns out Violet was perfect for Stretch making him happy and helping him out with his depression when they discussed to have a baby together Blue was of course involved with the discussion. Cin is a newborn and has no problems and stable magic he has no physical disabilities like his cousins but he is the precious cinnamon roll everyone loves. Cin is a very happy baby bones and loves to gnaw on Stretch's phalanges and pull on his mom's hair. His magic color is cyan and orange.

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theblackcanarybird · 2 years

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( emmy raver-lampman. 33. she/her. cis woman. ) are you a HERO? something tells me biker jackets, fishnets and motorcycles make you who you are, DINAH LANCE. with the powers of CANARY CRY & MASTER MARTIAL ARTIST, you’re sure to have a courageous, blunt personality — and you definitely belong to UNAFFILIATED. were you listening to BLACK SHEEP by METRIC on your way to the subway? it suits you. we can’t wait to see what you do next!

@reshieldedintro

| INFO |

Name: Dinah Laurel Lance Alias: Black Canary Age: 33 Species: Metahuman Gender: Female Sexuality: Bisexual Birthday: July 25th, Leo Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Mandarin. Profession: Vigilante, Singer

Height: 5’6″ Eye color: Brown Hair color: Brown; dyed blonde Strange or unique physical attributes: Dinah has a scar on her ribcage where she was stabbed with an arrow. Favorite clothing style/outfit: Mom jeans, biker boots, leather jackets, fishnets, chokers. Positive traits: Engaging, witty, compassionate Negative traits: Brazen, emotional, stubborn Family: Dinah Drake Lance (mother, deceased), Larry Lance (father, deceased) Affiliations: Justice League, Birds of Prey and Team Arrow. Powers/Abilities: Found here x

001. what were they doing when they passed through the portal ?

When the convergence happened, Dinah had assumed she had died and was brought back. However, she has managed to learn from others what had really happened and has no choice but to continue to rebuild her life in this new world.

002. where are they living ? are they living with anyone ?

Dinah had an apartment in Gotham which was often visited with either Team Arrow or Barbara and Helena.

003. why is your character affiliated with who they’re affiliated with ?

Dinah is a team player but has remained unaffiliated from the new organisations, not trusting them yet. However, she still works with the Justice League as a reserve member, preferring to operate with the Birds of Prey or Team Arrow, focusing on crimes that often fall through the cracks of the big fights.

004. who are their major friends, allies, and foes ?

major friends : oliver queen , john diggle , emiko queen , roy harper, barbara gordon, helena bertinelli, bruce wayne, diana of themyscira allies : justice league , batman family , lady shiva (at times) foes : league of assassins , deathstroke , lady shiva (at times)

005. whose hands do they believe the country should be in ?

Dinah has always believed that it is the little people who make the world what it is. She knows what it is like to not have someone look out for you and she doesn’t believe those big wigs truly care what is happening on their streets. Regular people are not bound by votes and impressions. They could be raw and honest.

006. what’s their current mental state at ? their physical state ?

Dinah, physically, is in her prime and has a intense training schedule, often involving demanding physical activity and often spars, having a passion for martial arts and combat. Mentally, Dinah has been keeping a level-head but has been using her job and her vigilantism to distract her from her own feelings.

#reshielded:intro

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druigsfavwitch · 4 years

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Maternal Instincts- Harley Quinn x Female! Reader

requested by @marvelettez-1 (this is from my wattpad)

summary: you and harley adopt a kid and you're scared that you won't be a good mom but harley proves you wrong

~~~~

You and harley had been together for about 3 years coming up this week. You guys haven't talked about what you guys were going to do for your anniversary yet.

You guys have briefly talked about kids after cassandra left. I mean, you guys had bruce but you wanted to help more kids that didn't have homes. But there was always a lingering feeling that you wouldn't be good enough. You never expressed these feelings to harley because she had better things to do than worry about you.

~~~~

You guys were taking a trip to the local gotham orphanage today to meet some kids. Your anxiety was spiking as you guys got closer to the orphanage. Harley seemed to notice. "Are you alright, baby?" You looked over at her and nodded your head. "Oh yeah. I'm just excited to meet these kids." She gave you a smile and turned her attention back to the road.

When you guys got to the orphanage, the lady at the front desk led you back to different rooms. There were many different kids of all ages there. Some where babies and some where teens. You were kinda shocked, they all looked so sweet. Who would give them up.

"Which ones do we wanna look at first?" Harley asked you but you weren't paying attention. You were staring at the wall. "Hello! Earth to Y/n!" You snapped your head to her and saw the semi concerns look on her face. "What's going on with you?" You scoffed and your eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" She raised her eyebrow. "You avoiding eye contact is a classic sign of deception." She said taking a sip of her drink. You sighed. "You know how i really don't like talking about kids? It's because i'm afraid of being a mom. Like, what if i mess up? What if the kid gets hurt? Or, what if the kid doesn't like me?" She sighed and smirked. "Follow me." She grabbed your hand and pulled you into a room full of toddlers. They all turned to look at you guys. They all crowded around you guys and started showing you guys their toys. You smiled at all of them and then looked over to see a little girl sitting in the corner. You got up and walked over to her and slowly waved. "Hi, my name is y/n? what's yours?" She smiled shyly. "Rose." You smiled. "That's such a pretty name." You looked down at her hands and saw her fiddling with a toy doll. "What's your dolls name?" She smiled. "Oh, this is darla. she's famous. she's my favorite. she's the one that i can keep. the other kids keep stealing the others." You smiled sadly at her. "how about i come back tomorrow and bring you another doll so she can have a friend?" Her eyes widened. "Really?!" She got up and hugged you. You were shocked but you hugged her back. Harley watched from the other side of the room and smiled. Before you guys left, she smirked at you. "What?" You asked, confused. "Nothing, it's just you were worried about being a mom and you were just one to that little girl in the room." You smiled. "I was wasn't i?" Harley grabbed your hand. "That's what i saw. You're amazing, babe." You smiled and kissed her cheek. Maybe you were ready.

Taglist- @marvelettez-1 (if you wanna be in the dc masterlist, let me know)

#harley quinn x reader #dc x reader #harley quinn imagine #dc imagine #harley quinn

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damianwaynerocks · 4 years

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Tim Drake & The Good Samaritan

hi i wrote something on ao3 so here it is

Description: Tim Drake tries to kill himself, whenever a therapist just so happens to stumble upon him. Tim opens up to her and realizes that maybe he's worth more than he thinks.

Warning: Suicide attempt, depression

dedicating this to @super-sons-a-bitches bc what a supportive mutual

He was done.

Tim Drake was done.

He'd known for a while what was true and what was not. Was he a good son? Not true. Was he simply a placeholder between Jason and Damian? True. Did anybody truly love him? Not true. Was he simply a burden? True.

Did he deserve to be alive? Definitely not true.

Tonight had been the last straw.

It had been him, Damian and Dick. They were going to bust a human trafficking operation. Tim had been paying attention, he would swear that up and down, but it wasn't enough. He had accidentally kicked a rock, and the traffickers noticed right as they started to pull into Gotham Harbor. With a yell of several crew members, the ship turned back around, into the open sea.

Where the brothers could not get them.

Damian was furious. "You incompetent fice!" he had snarled, "We almost had them! We were going to save fifty women and children, Drake, fifty!"

"You should've been more careful," Dick added, his arms crossed, "You scared them off." Dick never scolded like this. He only did it whenever he was truly upset.

And it was Tim's fault.

"I'm sorry!" he said, Dick clenched his jaw.

"Go home, Red Robin," he ordered. Tim stepped back.

"Good riddance, we'll be much better off without you, Drake," Damian sneered.

We'll be much better off without you.

Those were the words ringing in Tim's ears as he swung from building to building. The wind was whistling through his hair, and usually, it invigorated Tim.

But not tonight.

Tonight, it just reminded him of what he didn't deserve.

All he did was mess things up. He'd messed things up with Stephanie. He'd messed up not only this mission but countless missions beforehand. He'd even messed up his goddamn immune system, now that he didn't have a spleen.

Tim knew he wasn't enough. He wasn't enough to make his father, Jack Drake, proud of him. He wasn't enough to make his other father, Bruce Wayne, proud of him either. He wasn't good enough to be Robin, either. Dick had made that clear whenever he'd ripped the title away from him as soon as he laid eyes on Damian, even after he had tried to kill Tim.

Dick probably wished that Damian had succeeded, Tim thought, because Dick would have his Robin, and nobody would have to deal with Tim.

Tim decided at that moment that he was going to take it upon himself to finish what Damian hadn't been able to do.

He was going to kill himself.

Tim landed on the roof of an apartment building. He took out his earpiece, which doubled as a tracking device, throwing it on the ground and stomping on it. If he was going to die, he at least wanted to do it without Damian's voice in his ear.

How to do it? Tim thought. He knew some heroes kept cyanide pills on them in case they were ever captured, but Bruce had refused to allow that. Tim could jump off of the roof, but he was worried that he'd lose his nerve and grapple to safety before he could reach the ground.

There was only one way that he could think of.

Tim pulled off his gloves one at a time, letting them land on the ground. He took a Batarang, razor-sharp, out of his utility belt, and held it to his wrist. He took a deep breath, excited. He would finally be free. He would be free from the pain, from the knowledge that he was worthless. Better yet, his family would be free of him.

We'll be much better off without you.

With a small smile, Tim started to slide the blade across his wris-

"No!"

Tim whirled around, now poised to throw the Batarang. Hey, just because Tim was going to die, didn't mean he was going to let someone else die first. His eyes slid around the rooftop, looking for danger, but he only saw a woman.

She looked to be around Bruce's age, but there was something about her that was completely different than Bruce; her eyes had feeling in them.

"Please don't do it, Red Robin," the woman urged, "Please. Please stay."

"No," Tim replied stiffly. The woman took a deep breath.

"Okay," she said slowly, "But will you please have a cup of tea with me first? It isn't every day I get to meet a hero.

A hero. She thought he was a hero.

But she was wrong.

Before he could stop himself, he had thrown himself in her arms. She wrapped them around him, holding him tightly.

Tim gripped the lady's shoulders as hard as he dared- God, he didn't even know her name and he was crying on her shoulder -as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently. Tim shakes his head, choking back another sob.

"I don't want to think about it anymore," he croaked. The woman nodded.

"Okay," she said, "Then are you any good at geometry?"

Tim sniffed, then replied, "Yeah." The woman smiled.

"Would you mind helping my son, then? He's a freshman at Southwest High, and he's having trouble with his homework right now. And I think you could really help him."

You could really help him.

Tim nodded, shakily stepping back from the woman. She smiled warmly, grasping his hand as she led him off of the roof and down the stairs. "My name's Emira," she introduced herself, "But you can call me Emma. All of my friends do."

Friend.

"My name's-" he broke off, unsure of what he should say. Emma seemed to understand his hesitation.

"You don't have to tell me your real name," she assured him, "How about I call you Red?" Tim smiled weakly, and Emma took that to mean he agreed. "Alright, Red, here's the door." she fished a key out of her pocket, and opened the door to her apartment, Tim following.

The first thing he noticed was the Cross. There was a portrait of Jesus Christ on the Cross sitting above their table.

The table which had a young boy, around Damian's age, sitting at it, his brows scrunched in concentration.

"Hey, Danny!" Emma said, flashing her son a brilliant smile, "I found you a tutor!"

"Mom, I don't need a-" Danny stopped talking as he turned around, his jaw dropped. "Red Robin!?" he squeaked, "You're my favorite hero! And you're in my house!" he jumped up, smiling so wide it was almost unsettling, "You're the coolest! Holy crap!"

You're the coolest.

"Hi, Danny!" Tim greeted, putting on the smile he used for paparazzi. "It's nice to meet you! So your mom says you need help with geometry?"

It took ten minutes, but Emma and Tim finally wrangled Danny to the table, where Tim was now helping him.

"See, you just gotta remember SohCahToa," Tim explained, "It's the easiest way to remember sine, cosine, and tangent."

Danny stuck his tongue out slightly in a way that reminded him of Damian. Tim's heart sank at the realization, all of his positive feelings sank with it.

We'll be much better off without you.

"Thanks, Red Robin!" Danny said excitedly after he'd finished his assignment and Tim had double-checked it, making sure that all of the answers were correct.

"Okay, Danny," Emma spoke up from where she'd been silently watching the two, "It's eleven. Time for bed."

"But Mom Red Robin is here-"

"You know what else is here? A big test tomorrow. You need your sleep."

Danny sighed, before looking at Tim and fishing his phone out of his pocket. "Do you mind if we take a picture? My friends will never believe I met the coolest of the Bat People!"

The coolest of the Bat People.

"Of course, Danny!" Tim replied, ruffling the kid's hair. After five minutes of multiple selfies on Snapchat, Danny gave Tim a hug, which Tim returned without hesitation.

"Goodnight!" Danny chirped and walked to what Tim presumed to be his bedroom.

After hearing the door shut, Emma turned to the hero. "Now, how do you like your tea?"

"Earl Gray, please."

As Emma set the kettle on the stove, she turned back to Tim. "He adores you," she said, referring to her son, "He wasn't lying. You mean so much to him."

You mean so much to him.

Tim sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Yeah, well, he's the only one then," he muttered. Emma waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, she spoke.

"I'm a therapist, you know," she stated, "So I can't tell anybody anything you say. HIPPA violation, jail time, huge fine and all that."

"This isn't an official session, so it doesn't apply."

Emma shrugged. "Maybe not legally, but if anybody gets wind of me telling anybody anything someone tells me in confidence, my clients will stop trusting me and stop coming, So my point's still there."

Tim bit his lip, looking up. This woman didn't know who he was, and judging from the average apartment, she had no connections to Bruce, which meant she wouldn't tell him- not that he'd care, of course, but still. Besides, it isn't like he'd ever see her again. "Maybe... maybe it wouldn't hurt."

Emma smiled warmly. "I promise, it won't," she turned back to the kettle as it whistled, and she poured the tea into two cups. Walking over to the table, she handed one to Tim, before sitting down herself. "Can I ask what led up to tonight?"

Tim looked down at his tea, not meeting her eyes. "I messed up bad tonight," he whispered, "Real bad."

"What do you think you did?"

"I-" Tim swallowed a gulp, "Nightwing and Robin and I were going to bust a human trafficking ring. Their ship was about to pull into the harbor, but I wasn't being careful enough. I knew they had motion detectors around the area, but I still wasn't paying attention enough not to kick a rock," He ran a hand through his hair, "And of course they saw, and they got away. And it was my fault."

"Who told you that it was your fault?"

"Nightwing and Robin."

Emma reached across the table to clasp his left hand in her right. "Tell me, Red, has Nightwing or Robin ever messed up a mission?"

Tim paused. There was one time where Dick was arguing with Jason, and Dick pushed Jason into the warehouse they were staking out, ruining any chance at catching a serial rapist for months. And then there was the time where Damian had been too hasty and let a serial killer get away because he refused to listen for Nightwing's signal. "Yeah, a few times," Tim finally said.

"See?" Emma said with another one of her warm smiles, "They aren't perfect either. So why do you have to be?"

They aren't perfect either.

"Because!" Tim groaned, "Batman chose them. He wanted them to be apart of the hero business. Me? I forced him to make me Robin. Nobody chose me. I wasn't wanted!"

"How old were you when you became Robin?"

"Like, eleven."

"Do you honestly think that Batman couldn't have simply wiped an eleven-year old's brain and sent him home if he didn't see something special in you?"

See something special in you.

Tim took a sip of his tea. "I... I guess not. But still! The Robin before me had just... quit. Batman probably just used me as a distraction from the pain of it. I was just a placeholder."

Emma took a sip of her own tea, thinking. "A placeholder? Because there's a new Robin?"

"Yes," Tim confirmed, "Exactly. I was Robin for a while, but as soon as Batman and Nightwing found someone else who had already been trained, who was Batman's... nephew," he paused, "They got rid of me! They made me stop being Robin! Nightwing retired, the other one quit, but me? I didn't have a choice!"

"And why do you think that-"

"And the worst part!?" Tim interrupted her, "This new kid? He tried to kill me! He had a sword and he was trying to kill me because he thought he deserved the title just because he was Batman's nephew! And he never got in trouble for it! They rewarded him with what he wanted!" he stopped nervously. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." Emma waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it," she paused she took a sip of her tea, "Do you think there could be any possible reason as to why they made him Robin?"

Tim snorted. "Yeah, I know exactly why. They liked him better than me. He was better than me at fighting. He wasn't as scared as I was at first," he laughed bitterly, "Honestly, Emma? I think the reason they rewarded him was because he had the guts to do what the others were too apprehensive to do; get rid of me."

"Can I tell you what I think might have had something to do with it?" Emma asked, and Tim nodded his permission. "It sounds like this new Robin has a lot of rage. Do you think that maybe Batman and Nightwing knew that he needed an outlet for that and that the safest way to do that might be if they could keep an eye on him?"

"I... guess," Tim admitted begrudgingly, "But still! They didn't punish him or anything!"

"How are you so sure? Did you see what happened after?"

Tim bit his lip again. "I mean, not really? I left whenever Nightwing told me I couldn't be Robin anymore." he shook his head. "Even if maybe Nightwing didn't see any other way, that doesn't explain why they treat me like shit now."

"How so?" Emma asked, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Like, I'll be gone on a mission for weeks and when I get back, they hadn't even noticed I was gone!" Tim counted off the reasons on his fingers, "Or when it's clear I'm upset, nobody bothers to ask! And nobody ever reprimands Robin for all the terrible things to me! And all Batman does it tell me what I do wrong!"

"What things does Robin say to you?"

"Oh, you know," Tim rolled his eyes, "That I'm useless. That I'm slow. I’m abysmal. Just today, like an hour ago, he said that everyone would be better off if I was gone. I hate that he has this much power over me, but his words won't leave my head; we'll be much better off without you."

"Well, I can tell you right now that Danny wouldn't be," Emma said, "Because if he had failed that assignment, he would've gotten detention, and I wouldn't have time to pick up his new inhaler."

"Danny has asthma?" Tim asked with a frown. Emma nodded.

"Yes, but it's okay now because I'll be able to get the medicine. Now, back to you. Do you think that the reason Robin is so mean to you is that he's insecure?"

"Robin? Insecure?" Tim snorted, "As if. He's the most arrogant person I know."

"The most insecure people are almost always the most arrogant. Is there anything he would have to be insecure about? Maybe that... he's intimidated by you?"

That made Tim laugh out loud. Damian? Intimidated by Tim? Never. "Definitely not."

"Are you sure? Because it sounds like he just wants to prove that he's just as good as you," Emma countered, "Or maybe- not saying that it's your fault because you definitely don't deserve to be treated like that-"

You don't deserve to be treated like that.

"Maybe you haven't tried to show him that you don't want to be enemies?"

Tim took a sip of his tea. "I mean, yeah, I don't want our relationship to be like this. I'd love to be close to him. I was so excited when I first heard about him- before I met him, obviously -because I was finally getting a younger brother."

"Have you ever let him know that?"

"I guess not," Tim said with a frown, "But it doesn't really matter. He won't care. None of them will, even if they did know I'm hurting."

"Why don't you try?" Emma offered, "It couldn't hurt, right?"

"Yeah, except then they'll think I'm even weaker than they thought. They'll think I'm pathetic, and then Batman will make me stop being Red Robin, too." His grip around his cup tightened. "And then they'd kick me out. And I live with Batman, Emma. I don't have a place to go."

"You could come here," Emma offered, "I really don't think they'd kick you out, but if you're right, you are absolutely welcome here. I promise. You're wonderful company, Red."

You're wonderful company.

Tim sighed. "Thanks, that means a lot, but you don't have to lie," his bottom lip trembled, "I know I'm worthless. I don't matter. All I do is screw up."

The pair were silent for a minute, the only noise being Tim's tears falling into his cup of tea. Emma was the first one to break the silence.

"Say, do you happen to be the first Robin that wore pants?"

Tim sniffled. "Yeah." Emma's face broke into another warm smile.

"Well, that Robin saved my life. Two men were dragging me into an alley, whenever you stopped them. Without Batman, I might add."

Tim blinked. "Without Batman?" he whispered.

Emma nodded. "Without Batman. All on your own, Red. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead, and Danny would be an orphan."

Tim smiled weakly. "It wasn't a problem, really."

"I know it wasn't, because that's what you do. You save people," she gave him another reassuring squeeze. "Now, Red, have you ever been in a position where Batman or Nightwing saved you?"

That's what you do. You save people.

"Yeah," Tim answered, once again not meeting her eyes, "I was locked in a warehouse. A bomb was strapped to me, about to go off. Batman came in and- and I've never seen him like that. So... a mess," he paused, "I haven't thought about that in a while. I guess that means he cares."

"That definitely means he cares," Emma corrected him. Tim smiled, but it was replaced by a frown as he began to sob again.

"Maybe he did then, but now- now he has his new Robin. He doesn't care, none of them do," he blinked back tears, "I don't have anything to look forward to. My days are filled with insults and complaints. There's nothing good." His hands shaking, he took another sip of his Earl Gray.

"Then look forward to this," Emma said, "Every week. Eat dinner with Danny and I, and then when he goes to bed we can drink tea and talk some. And if you ever, and I mean ever, need a place to crash, you can always come here."

If Tim thought he'd run out of tears before, he was wrong. He started crying again. Nobody had been so nice, so warm to him, in years.

Emma got up and enveloped him in another hug. "Will you promise me something, Red?" she whispered, and at Tim's nod, she continued. "Promise me you'll tell your family how you feel, okay? And promise me you'll come back and tell me next week. And if you need something from me between then and now, promise me that you'll come, okay?"

"I promise," Tim agreed, sobbing into her shirt.

The next thirty minutes were spent with Tim wrapped up in Emma's arm, still in full Red Robin uniform minus the gloves, watching Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Tim hadn't been so at peace in as long as he could remember. His mom had always been distant, and Catwoman wasn't exactly a mother figure, so honestly? Being curled up in Emma was the closest he'd ever gotten to feeling a mother's love.

He would go back to the Manor after the movie, he told himself. He would tell them how he felt. He would try to mend his relationship with Damian. But first, he was going to soak in the feeling of a mother's embrace.

He was still nervous about it, but little did he know. Little did he know that Dick would break down crying and hug him, whispering apology after apology into his ear. Little did he know that Bruce would be riddled with guilt because how could he not have noticed that his son was hurting and would tell him he loved him so much. Little did he know that Damian, although he didn't show how much he regretted his harsh words, would shake Tim's hand and agree to try. Little did he know that every Thursday after he would have dinner and tea with Emma and Danny, to the point that he would reveal his secret identity to the family and make sure that Danny was enrolled at Gotham Academy. Little did he know that it wouldn't take long for Emma to start seeing him as another son, and she would not be scared to tell him how much she loved him and how proud of him she was.

Tim would find out these things later. But for now?

Tim just let himself sink into a mother's embrace.

#in honor of mental health awareness month #tim drake #depressed tim drake #red robin #damian wayne #robin #jason todd #red hood #dick grayson #nightwing #batfam #batfamily fanfic #tim drake fanfic #tim drake needs therapy #sucide tw #damian's a shit but we still love him #depressed! tim drake

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iphoenixrising · 4 years

Note

hey we haven’t heard anything from you in a while. everything good? How’s life treating you? All my love for one of my favorite batfam writers!💗💗💗

Hi babe.

Ah sorry, I’ve been super busy at work and with kiddo :( I mean, I’m still writing when I can, but it’s just time and motivation. My project has really taken off (reads as: expanded) and most nights I’m chipping away at the massive amount of documentation for not only a Java-based framework, but an entire Platform *sob* So, it’s just such a huge amount of old articles and brainstorming sessions and meeting minutes and just ugh. I mean, it’s kind of interesting to try tracking all these things down and figuring out how they’re going to work together since the developers (from 12 to 50-ish, my God and now they want me to read markdown and do pull requests for comments and shit because this is my fucking life) are still working on the platform services, the development environment, and all these fucking tools I’ve never heard of (Kubernetes, wtf is this thing??) so I’m learning a foreign language almost tbh.

Did I mention *sigh*?

ANYWAY, also some of the things I’m working on that are like Batfam are a little more...I dunno, just things that a bit harder for me I guess, but even if I write just a sentence or two, I still count it as a win.

But like...I said something about a Sentinel / Guide Au, and even though I’m at what would be a good stopping point, I’m not very happy with it :/ So, if you’d like to see kind of what I’ve been doing, I’m going to throw down what I’ve got below the cut.

Warnings:

DickTim, Angst

Sentinel/Guide Au

After he brings B back from time, send the Dark Knight back to Gotham, he gives in to things long overdue, and trains with Shiva–

–to be an effective Guide.

Years of suppressants made it literally hell without them, trying to keep his shields up, trying to push out the telepathic traffic suffocating him the second he opens up just a crack.

Shiva, of course, had been her cheerfully murderous self, plying him with the full onslaught of a powerful Sentinel.

"You will be drawn to us from now on, Little Bird. You will want to protect us, bring us back from the abyss. If you choose to allow your powers as a Guide rein free, then you must learn to fight against the urges."

The fucked-up part is–

–she's right.

If he wants to stay in the life, wear the cape and cowl under the new name, go back to the Titans (since they've been looking for him again, fly-bys and searches for his tech), then he needs to learn how to deal with what he can do and how to deal with the instincts that come along for the ride.

It's not enough that Shiva is in the middle of hunting down a few former students ("They have made...the wrong choices."

"That's rich coming from you, you know."

"We all have a code, Little Bird, and I am no different.")

but they managed to run into a few other Sentinels along the way.

He'd like to say he'd taken his ass beating like a pro at this juncture in the vigilante game, but the reality is, they'd had to take shelter in a shitty lean-to, so he could be tragically, metaphysically hung-over.

He gives up the cowl and suit, utility belt and sundries. He goes as a wrecked teenage American boy, changing it up from the last time he trekked behind Lady Shiva and took on her adversaries. He tries not to think about Dick or Jason, Dami or Alfred, tries not to think about the confused look on B's face in his safe house, drying his hair after a long shower, trying to readjust to the current timeline.

("You aren't going back to Gotham?"

"I still have things to do."

"...there's something you aren't telling me."

"There's a lot I'm not telling you."

"Come to me when you're ready, Tim. No matter what, you're always going to be one of my Robins.")

Instead, he learns how to keep himself, and the Sentinels around him, safe and sane while trying to stay two steps ahead of the next fight, the next clue, the next "training."

In Shanghai a few months later, he knows it's time to move on when people part ways for the brightly clad superheroes coming en-masse down the packed street for him.

Well, moving on it is.

Going back to the Tower, away from the Bats and Gotham and the Rogue Gallery (thinking about facing the Joker this raw and open is fucking terrifying), was the best he was going to get considering the circumstances.

Those circumstances being the pointed twitch over Kon's eye and Bart's very intense gaze.

"You were supposed to call, asshole. The OG Batman has been back in Gotham for like months and you've just been, you know, chilling with Lady Shiva?"

Tim, who is so out of bullshit at this juncture, feels better after a hot shower and some old sweats with a Superboy t-shirt, throws up his fucking hands.

"All right, fine. I never told anyone. I...I've been on suppressants since I was a kid, just like my mom. Guides..."

"It's not that bad anymore!" Cassie tries helplessly, the first to actually reach across the table for his hand.

The instant connection makes them both gasp. It’s a shallow one, just a dip under her natural shield (he knows it’s Cissy, the Guide that’s been helping her until now, bringing her back whenever she hits a Zone, recognizes the touch of their Arrowette), just a skim over her immediate emotions this thing now untried and how utterly calm he makes her just by hands lightly placed.

"O-ooh," is soft while his fingers tighten, his eyes sharpen, his shields constructing around her, his instinct to protect.

"Not necessary," Gar chimes in, still leaning against the door between the kitchen and communal entertainment room, "we're all good in the Tower, T."

Is what shakes him out of it, hastily pulling away from Cassie's hand.

"Wow." Wonder Girl breathes out, eyes soft and half-mast, looking at him dreamily.

"Nope." Because he can already feel the headache coming on, how her hand tries to grab back at his.

“We could fight better together, Tim!”

“Do you even know how strong a Guide has to be to take care of four Sentinels?”

In one terribly creepy singular move, Bart, Kon, Gar, and Cassie give him that look.

You know, aimed at his face.

"No one," Bart cuts in, eyes wide at the exchange, of Tim's aura warm and inviting suddenly stronger, reaching out... "Tim, T. No one has to know."

The flash of fear, a residual from the tunic, makes him hedge back a subtle step back.

Kon pointedly grips him by the bicep, over his shirt while Bart moves enough that his shoulder bumps into Tim’s ribs, halting the possible escape attempt.

“Okay, okay, backing off. New powers are about a bitch, not like we all haven’t been there once or twice.” Kon soothes over, taking small steps and tugging until Tim is moving with him closer to the communal kitchen where his seat is empty at the island, and they can possibly get proof the guy actually eats.

“Amen,” Cassie throws up a hand and is already digging through the fridge until she finds–

–the last grape Zesti.

Tim’s eyes narrow dangerously on that singular can, his body moving before his brain can take over because he’s sliding on his old chair, the can cold against his fingers, too thirsty for caffeine that he can’t even.

Sure, it’s a trap, but with these guys, at least he knows it.

“I’m very not ready to do anything remotely Guide-like in the field,” the soft ca-saaaa as the can opens. “You want me to sleuth, fight, and strategize, then I’m all for it.”

Bart is just suddenly in Kon’s usual seat beside him, spinning around in tight, fast circles, “you mean you’re thinking about coming back? To the life?”

“Dude, that would be stellar.”

Tim side-eyes his besties, “it was never in the plan to-to stop.”

“Can’t blame us for assuming, you know,” Gar grins toothily, “no Red Robin for a while, my dude.”

Tim goes quiet, staring down at the can between his hands, shoulders hunched over.

“At least,” Raven’s voice is smooth and soft, comforting, “tell us why now, Tim?”

“Why now?”

“Why begin training as a Guide now?” She clarifies, sliding into the seat across from her, and the coolness of her aura, not a Sentinel, but something purely Raven puts his frayed nerves at ease, makes it easier for him to find the words.

“I turned 18,” and he can’t look at them while he admits to it, “and...and I figured out who my Sentinel is after Ra’s kicked me out the window.” (I was fine going out that way. It was fine. I was saving Wayne Enterprises from the League of Assassins, I was fighting the good fight. It shouldn’t have happened that way...why did it have to happen that way?)

“Oh,” and Cassie’s eyes get huge.

“Ra’s al Ghul is your Sentinel?!” Bart fairly screams.

“No dude,” Tim rolls his eyes and finds his can suddenly fascinating. “It’s...Dick. He’s...yeah. It’s him.”

“I didn’t hear that,” Kon hurries, standing shock-still, “I didn’t hear any of that.”

“Not him,” Bart is gritting his teeth because dammit, why couldn’t Tim have been his Guide? The universe was totally, wholly unfair.

A muscle in Tim’s jaw flexes, his nose pinkening along his upper cheekbones. He blinks watery eyes, takes a deep, deep breath to try and keep himself under control.

“Yeah,” and Tim sighs a little, the ache in his chest more acutely painful when he thinks about that moment waking up in the Cave, Dick in the Batsuit without the cape/cowl combo smiling down at him, still painfully unaware of the connection drawn tight between them.

(He doesn’t need me. He’s got Babs and Dami. His Guide and his Robin.)

Getting the absolute fuck out of the Manor had been his first order of business once he’d come to, just sprouting whatever placating bullshit Dick needed to hear to let him go without much of a fight (this time).

Finding Bruce and staying the hell out of Gotham hadn’t helped the pull he inexplicably felt, or the pressure of minds around him that had sent him to Shiva in the first damn place. His Guide abilities were overcoming the suppressants, so he was out of time...and out of options.

Still, even with the training, he occasionally has the dreams at night. Not the usual array of awful nightmares from his real life, Jason shooting him in the chest at point-blank to make sure the job gets done this time, Bruce dying right before his eyes, turning into that skeleton husk Superman brought to them thinking it was the real thing, Damian sneering at him with the katana held high, spitting out how it’s time the real Robin took his rightful place just before bringing the blade down–

No, no, it’s even worse than those.

It’s shadowy hands touching him, the warm wet of a mouth over his skin and scars, gentle voice in his ear telling him how beautiful he is, how much he’s needed, wanted, how it’s not just because of what he is or what tunic he used to wear, it’s all because he’s Tim. He doesn’t wake up when his dream self realizes it’s Dick over him, those blue eyes taking him in, pinning his wrists down to look over every inch of his naked body. He doesn’t wake up when Dick starts preparing him. He doesn’t wake up when Dick kisses him hard and desperate. He doesn’t wake up when the tears dry on his face and their bodies line up.

“Mine,” his dream Sentinel doesn’t even hesitate, “Don’t ever run from me again. Do you understand me, Tim?”

Just before Dick pushes, he wakes up, panting and hard, his instincts going crazy enough that he has to meditate to calm down.

Cassie gently wraps her hand around his shoulder, making sure they don’t have skin-to-skin contact this time. “I’m sorry,” she smiles gently at his frown, “I know you and Dick have had some...issues in the past few years.” But he can read the guilt in her face. Back when everyone thought Bruce was dead and his cape had been yanked out from under him, Dick had sent Cassie to try talking some “sense” into him. She still feels awful for jumping on the same train everyone else had been riding, the ‘that guy is suffering from depression’ instead of believing he might actually be right.

(It still stings though, doesn’t it?)

He doesn’t say anything back, just looks out one of the big windows and pulls out of her hold to take a drink of his Zesti.

“But,” Gar quickly jumps in, “you’ll stay in the Tower and fight on the team again, right? Like, no more trips with World’s Deadliest Assassins?”

Tim visibly hesitates, pausing with the can up to his mouth.

Slowly, he lowers it, his eyes taking on a cold calculation that is and isn’t like their old Rob. “Like I said, I can’t be a Guide for anyone, and I mean that. Second, I told you the truth in confidence, so I expect everyone to keep my secret. Third, I’m not anywhere near ready to go to Gotham or face the Bats, so for now, I’m fighting under the radar. If those aren’t acceptable stipulations, I’ll grab some of my clothes from storage and be out of your Tower.”

“Storage?” Kon glances around at the team, “Tim, buddy, why do you think we’d have your stuff in storage?”

“I assumed Dick would already approach you about making Damian part of the team,” his tone is absolutely empty, emotionless. “And there’s no way both of us could be here at the same time, so...” he lets them put it together from there.

The look of utter devastation on Kon’s face makes him feel slightly better.

Coming back when Cassie, Bart, and Kon have his back, just like they were closer to the end of their YJ run, makes the transition easier than it realistically should have been.

And it really might just be how low the dose of suppressants are now, or that he feels comfortable stepping into Robin’s role on the team, just with a different name, a different mask. It might just be how Bart has a tendency to hover with that hummingbird energy coming off him even when he’s seemingly standing still, maybe it’s Kon’s TTK pressing at his back even if the guy is across the room, maybe it’s how he and Cassie have leadership meetings where they just binge watch reruns of Gossip Girl and eat ice cream to bemoan their woes.

But maybe, it’s how he can feel them pulling at his shields unconsciously. Maybe it’s how he can sometimes push back enough, can skim just the edges to get impressions of angry, sad, depressed and gently erect a mental shield without delving deep without permission, can give them the space they need from their intense senses and powers.

Just another way he can be the regular guy on the team, working under the radar. So much a part of his role in the first damn place.

He doesn’t realize it becomes something normal until they take the good fight a little too close to Gotham for his liking, but the choices were few and Luthor is such an incredible ass hat that Tim actually plays it down, dresses up as CEO Tim Drake to divert their baddie while the team takes apart his latest weapon of mass destruction on the down-low.

What he absolutely doesn’t expect is to leave the lobby of one of the most posh restaurants in Metropolis–

And walk face-first into Dick Gryson’s chest.

(Technically, it’s Nightwing, but really, this doesn’t make the sitch any better.)

A hand, black with blue fingerstripes, covers his mouth, and the sound of a grapple retracting is a pending oh no that he doesn’t fight the vigilante pretty much kidnapping him off the street in broad daylight.

He can only thank God it isn’t skin-to-skin contact because his inner senses are flaring this close to the Sentinel, his Sentinel, that he has to grind his back teeth to keep himself in check. He pulls away the second they land it on solid rooftop, shoving his sleeve back to check the team’s status on his hidden wrist computer.

Mission success!

“Imagine my surprise,” Nightwing growls, hand on his shoulder to spin him around, “when I find you having lunch with someone like Lex Luthor instead of taking my damn calls, Timmy.”

Stepping out of that hold is subtle because Tim is looking over the side of the roof, adjusting his tie to try putting some distance between them. “I’m undercover. Those are the things people like us do when we’re running an Op, Nightwing.”

Those whiteouts narrow on him, a trick only Dick can really pull off effectively. “None of that tells me where the hell you’ve been for the last year since you left to find Bruce, found him, and didn’t come back.”

His back straightens, eyes looking away when the irritation and heat of anger hits him harder without the nice little cocktail of suppressants and stabilizers, makes his own shields tremble at the burning sear along the edges of his consciousness.

Instead of saying something he might come to regret, Tim sucks in a breath through his nose and works through the bolt of pain, gathers his shields around himself to keep the Sentinel from unerringly lashing out at him again.

“What the hell are you even doing here? Recon on Luthor? For which nefarious plot?”

A black and blue hand slashes the space between them, “not even important, Tim. So, how about you call your team and tell them you’ve got some Bat business because we? Need to talk.”

“I’m sorry, what now?”

“You heard me. I’ve been trying to get in contact with you for weeks.”

“I sent back your case files, asshole–”

“Not about cape and cowl shit, Tim!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now,” even though he does, he really does. He just doesn’t know why it has to happen now.

Nightwing, however, has had enough of the talk and with a whip of his arm has a bolo out and thrown, his natural speed as a Sentinel might be slower than someone like the Flash, but it still has Tim wrapped up tight faster than he can realistically dodge.

The sight of the vigilante Nightwing swinging through Metropolis with the CEO of Wayne Enterprises over one shoulder would be big news in the city if anyone had been bothered to really look up.

The hotel is nice Tim thinks while wiggling around on the bed where Dick pretty much dumped him. His fingers are already getting the bolo loose from around his upper body by the time Dick has the mask off and the Nightwing suit unzipped to flop around his waist.

The Gotham Knights t-shirt underneath is a new one since the old faded one got blown up in that little explosion in the ‘Haven a few years back.

Dick lifts and sets a chair down with a pointed clack, sitting down to watch Tim squirm his way up. He’s got the bolo loose enough to brace his palms.

“What part of I’m in the middle of an OP–”

“Don’t care,” Dick cuts him off ruthlessly, those blue eyes hard and jaw tense. “I honestly don’t give a crap about the Titans right now.”

“Well I sure as hell do thank-you very much,” Tim pulls the bolo off, tosses it across the room with an angry flick, facing his former mentor, former partner, former friend with those old feelings creeping up his throat to make the taste in his mouth coppery and bitter.

“The only thing I care about right now is that I finally caught up to you. The last time I even saw you was that swan dive–”

“I’m aware. Being kicked out of a window is pretty memorable, even for people like us,” he keeps it deadpan, keeps the anger and irritation, the feelings of shit like betrayal and it must have been so easy to throw me the fuck away.

“The point is, smart ass, you left the Cave and haven’t been back. You only answer my emails about cases and bad guys. But when I ask you to come back home, which I have, Tim, I don’t even know how many times, and I get nothing! We need you–”

“Why would I come back to Gotham for you?” Is what spills out of his mouth, something bitter and foul. “You’ve already got a fucking Robin to be your little brother, remember?”

Welp, there goes playing it cool.

But watching Dick jerk back like Tim had landed a physical blow was more satisfying than he wanted to admit.

“Are you kidding me right now? You’re still angry about that? I’ve explained to you exactly why–”

The irritation in Dick’s tone, obvious disgust when he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest is just about enough.

“You explained it just fine. You made your choice, so everyone just has to deal with it, right? Yeah, that’s really being my equal.”

Tim makes himself stay deadly calm and cold, moves his legs away from Dick’s to stand and take a few steps away from the seething Sentinel to adjust his tie and try to get his hands to quit trembling.

“I can’t believe you’re acting this childish, Tim. I’m really disappointed with you right now.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, Dick, disappointed in each other,” but it strikes him anyway in the small, sad place where he held on to the hope they could still work everything out somehow and at least go back to being friends. A small part that’s been slowly dying in degrees, and that last hit is enough to make it so absurdly painful.

(All those years in the R, fighting the good fight, being brothers, having each other’s backs, and it all ends here, doesn’t it?)

“What? I did everything I could do for you! I–”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then that’s fine. I don’t have any reasons to argue with you,” staring at his own reflection in the mirror, seeing the red start to creep over his cheeks, his eyes get overly shiny, Tim Drake straightens his spine and flexes his own shields.

He keeps himself together enough to turn on a heel and walk calmly to the door.

“Tim, just...okay, just wait. Let’s talk this out–”

He doesn’t even turn, hand already on the knob, just pulls open the door and takes a hasty step through. It’s only the first step, but Dick is still just suddenly there, trying to snatch at Tim’s wrist with a bare hand, managing the brush of fingertips over a pulse.

“Don’t leave like this,” Is the last thing Dick says before the electric shock slides up his spine, the pull to all his senses almost has him on his knees.

The touch has Tim lurching away, jerking his wrist up to cradle against his chest, the red burn of Dick’s emotions beating at his shields harder with just a simple graze.

It ends with Dick still in the doorway, braced against the frame, gaping, and Tim leaning heavily into the wall across the hall, a wince on his face.

Stupid metaphysical connections and shit.

The touch hadn’t been enough to, you know, like bond them or anything, but it’s widely believed True Pairs didn’t even have to touch to get impressions from one another.

“You asshole,” he seethes at that shocked expression.

“You feel like I betrayed you,” is low and thick, Dick’s eyes a little dazed with what he picked up through the momentary connection, “it hurt you so much when I made Dami my Robin because I didn’t even talk to you, I didn’t trust you. You think I just threw you out of my life. How could I ever do that to you...?”

If Tim was a better Guide, on a higher dose of suppressants, he would have been able to keep himself closed off enough that if they did manage to touch, he could have kept Dick out of his shields, wouldn’t have given him the ability to skim over shitty emotions.

If Tim was a better Guide, he wouldn’t have the urgent need to run.

But welp, here they are.

As the thought takes shape in his brain pan, that he’s in his civilian day-ware and can run down the hall while Dick –still half in Nightwing– is trapped in the doorway, his knees firm and his eyes dart wildly to the side, giving himself away.

And since Dick was Batman, is Nightwing, is a Sentinel, he sees the writing on the wall and absolutely refuses to let it happen. Dick shoves with his arms, darts out into the hallway, makes his suddenly weak knees work enough to shake up Tim’s plan, seizes the apparent Guide, his Guide, in a princess hold and get back before the door even starts to close.

“Put me–!”

But Dick folds his legs to sit with his back against the door, and wraps both arms around the struggling third Robin. He can hold onto Tim better than a bolo anyway.

The push at Tim’s shields is a pressure he isn’t used to dealing with, and it’s painful to fight against it rather than just let the tentative connection open. His hands curl into fists in his lap, trying to strain against the arms pinning him while concentrating on strengthening his shields.

He doesn’t realize he’s whispering, “no, no, no,” under his breath.

“Please,” Dick lays his forehead down on top of Timmy’s head, “please don’t go. Not now. I’m finally...Tim, I get it now. I swear, I get it.”

“...doesn’t matter. Too late.”

“That isn’t fair,” the smallest shift and Dick is breathing against his throat, making him shiver, “I just found out you’re...a Guide. My Guide. We haven’t even started yet. It can’t be too late if we haven’t had a beginning.” It gets worse when Dick breathes in his scent deeply, a noise coming out of his chest.

“We have had a beginning,” he bites out, fists tight, concentrating on keeping his shields strong but flexible, “we’ve had years–”

“And I’m not ready to throw all of that away.”

The pressure against his mental shields finally eases up as Dick raises his head, gives him a little shake to make him look up.

“You already did, remember?”

“I didn’t... I never threw you away. That’s not what I meant or wanted. Yes, I should have handled things better. I know that now, and I’m sorry I hurt you. I was sorry before, I just didn’t know how to tell you, how to make it better between us.”

Tim’s eyes narrow, and he doesn’t let up in case this is one of those diversionary tactics to put him in a false sense of security.

(They fight bad guys. Sometimes, they have to cheat, and he wouldn’t put it past Dick to do just that.)

“I don’t know what you think is going to happen here,” he finally tries, staring up into those blue, blue eyes (I trusted you once, and fuck if I’m going to let you do this to me again). “But whatever it is, you’re wrong. I’m not going to come back to Gotham and be your Guide. I’m not going to bond with you because the universe says I’m meant to be some kind of magical counterbalance.”

Dick’s expression crumples, his arms go a little slack.

“Tim, we’re...we’re a True–”

“I don’t give a fuck about True Pairs, Dick, not anymore. Babs has been your Guide since you both presented. She wants the job, she can damn well have it.”

It’s not a fight to push against Dick’s arms the second time and stand up out of his lap.

“You’ve loved me since the moment you put on the cape, Tim. I know you have.” When what he means is I know now.

“I loved you before that, you asshole, and you betrayed me. You don’t get that chance again.”

Turning away shouldn’t be this easy now that Dick knows the truth, but it is, and the very last parts of him still hoping, still craving, are just as easily–

–wiped out.

Dick’s eyes are watery when the door hisses and creaks upon opening, and it’s an automatic thing, reaching a hand up just expecting Tim to take it.

“Tim. Timmy, please.”

“Good-bye, Dick,” is already fading with rapidly retreating footsteps. At least he can keep some of his dignity because Dick will never know he falls the fuck apart as the elevator goes down.

Author’s notes:Here’s why I don’t like this: 1. I want to talk more about why Tim chose Shiva as the Sentinel to teach him how to be a good Guide. Like, I want to explore that dynamic more because I’ve never really had the time or space to write Shiva as we see her in Tim’s Robin run.2. I wanted to go more into the expanded senses of Sentinels and how to - hell, I dunno, make it seem to be a little closer to cannon maybe? Like point out some of Dick’s greatest escapes and be like part of that is due to his Sentinel power. 3. Dick says some shitty things, and I don’t give him any context. Like, at that point, he legit believes he did the right thing at the time, and look! Tim’s Red Robin so everyone wins! But yeah, once he got under those shields, the truth shakes him up. 4. I dunno, this au might not be for me. It doesn’t feel very different from some of my other angsty things I guess but meh. Who knows, I might fix it someday :D

#winter answers #with angst #and frustration #sentinel!au #Tim Drake #Dick Grayson #the titans!#my fics #my writing

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jcmorrigan · 3 years

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001 - Danganronpa

Favorite character: KAZUICHI SODA IS MY BABY BRO!!! Look, I know he's problematic but he's also a kind soul, a wayward outcast, a heartbroken man, anxiety incarnate, and just a very relatable everyman lens through which to view DR or any fanwork you put him in. He has far too much energy and I'm here for it. After him, JUNKO ENOSHIMA. She's glam, she's spontaneous, she's sadistic, she's just here to fuck up some shit, she'll keep rotating personalities and accents for as long as it takes to keep it fresh in her own mind while everyone's just like "What the hell, lady?" She broke the planet and I'm glad. Just an engaging villain. After that, my love goes out to Shuichi Saihara, Kaito Momota, and Tsumugi Shirogane.

Least Favorite character: TERUTERU HANAMURA. So you show me how he can't respect women (or hot men) for two hours, then try to claim that he loves his mom? Did his poor sick mom approve of him womanizing (and man-izing)? No wonder Kazuichi picked up some horrible habits hanging around this fuckwit. Also shout-out to all five of the Warriors of Hope for having bomb designs and then failing to impress me across the board.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Kazuichi Soda x Weiss Schnee (RWBY), Junko Enoshima x Jerome Valeska (Gotham), Tsumugi Shirogane x Mr. Sparkles (Big Hero 6: The Series), Shuichi Saihara x Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), aaaaand Sondam

Character I find most attractive: Kaito Momota

Character I would marry: Ehhhhhh I'm not sure. I'd like my husband material to be a bit older than all of them.

Character I would be best friends with: See, while logically I know that a RL Kazuichi would be too much to handle, I still really want to be his pal. (H...hey...Junko and Tsumugi? Can I hang? Can we invite Mukuro?)

a random thought: You know that whole revelation in SDR2 that the Remnants of Despair replaced their body parts with Junko's salvaged from her corpse? In a world where DR3 is nonexistent, do you ever wonder what the ones who weren't Nagito, Mikan, or Fuyuhiko had? (I do like the idea of Fuyuhiko losing his eye in Neo World because it was gone IRL and replaced with Junko's. Junko WOULD be that cheeky to arrange such a thing.) I personally like to think Kazuichi had one of Junko's legs. Walked with a limp for a loooooong time.

An unpopular opinion: I actually like Korekiyo Shinguji. I like fucked-up villains, and it's not like they ever endorsed what he did as a good thing. I think you were supposed to feel disgust upon him disclosing his true nature, because Shuichi sure was disgusted and worked hard to bring him down for it. I don't really feel "betrayed" by the writing either because the whole series, as the mystery genre, revolves around there being horrible twists to uncover at every turn, and the previous two games also had characters they let you get attached to only to reveal a darker side later (Celeste stands out big-time). Also, it just strikes me as frickin funny that his whole motivation was incest and the others cringed, and then Tsumugi's love hotel scene has her revealing she has a stepbrother kink, and Tsumugi is the one who created Kiyo as an entity, so basically she was like "FINALLY I GET TO FANSERVICE MYSELF WITH MY KINK"

my canon OTP: I don't even know how you'd consider a DR couple "canon" because I feel like a lot of the subtext gets far but it's never explicitly said. I'm gonna take the Word of God statement to say Ishimondo is in fact canon, and I love it. The chill delinquent tol loves his high-strung smol.

Non-canon OTP: Kazuichi/Weiss is becoming more of a joy the longer I have it

most badass character: Going by what we hear in her case file, Mukuro Ikusaba. Oh, man, what I would give to see gameverse Mukuro kicking some ass. I mean the "IF" short story did give us the text version of that mental image, which I appreciate a lot.

pairing I am not a fan of: Kazuichi/Sonia; he needs to learn to let her go and be better to the next girl. SaiOuma, Kiibouma, and Oumota all feel like they require Kokichi to be too nice and vanilla and functional in the relationship, and Oumeno is that but also straight which Kokichi is not. Nagito/Mikan; he gay and she into a completely different type of villain.

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): They never let Taka grow out of his grief before he simply died. Hiro was just a joke and the longer he went on, the more of a jerkass he became. Kaito is a WONDERFUL character but I don't like that there's a random bit of homophobia hidden in an optional scene in the English translation (if this is gonna be a flaw of his, at least have it out in the open), and even less the transphobia in the Japanese translation. Angie was just one long racist joke, Nagito's motivation was really roundabout to explain, and then...DR3. Just DR3. Junko Enoshima converted her Remnants through hard work and persuasion, not a magic hypnotism video!

favourite friendship: Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki. Otherwise known as "the positivity beam and his two anxious misfits."

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: KAZUICHI IS BABY BRO

#danganronpa #incest cw #horror cw

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brokcnbutunbowcd · 3 years

Text

she laughs like god (her mind’s like a diamond) chapter 2

Alright, Chapter Two is up! Thank you so much to everyone who left kudos, commented, and bookmarked, it means the world to me! Just a quick note: this follows the events of Batman: Year One, but some liberties have been taken (like aging up James Gordon, Jr. for example. The dates are also going to be a but different, and the timeline will be condensed, with the events taking place over seven or eight months as opposed to a full year. This just helps keep my timeline straight, as I have big plans for this story! I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to comment, it really does make my day! Link to AO3 is at the bottom!

The ride to the Manor was spent in silence. One of the officers had packed a bag with an assortment of things from the girl’s room, with a promise that they’d be able to come back for the rest once the crime scene had been cleared. The Social Service worker had loaned Bruce an extra car seat, and he’d been able to figure out how to install it with minimal fuss. As they got further and further out of the heart of the city and closer to the Manor, Bruce couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was doing. He knew nothing about caring for a child. He was about to embark on a mission that would very likely get him killed. This was the absolute last thing he should be doing.

But Leslie had asked. Leslie, whom he owed more than anyone else, save Alfred. “Please, Bruce, do this for me,” she’d said.

And how was he supposed to refuse that?

As they pulled up to the long gravel drive of Wayne Manor, Bruce took another glance in the rearview mirror at Meda. She was no longer shaking or crying, and he figured that the shock had finally set in. He quickly got out of the car and opened her door for her, helping her out of the car seat and grabbing her bag from the seat beside her. He watched as she got her first good look at the mansion, her eyes popping wide and her jaw dropping open.

“This is where you live?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded. Mistaking her awe for fear, he said gently, “Don’t be afraid.”

She looked at him, tilted her chin up defiantly. “I’m not afraid.”

“Alright.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s introduce you to Alfred.”

“Who’s Alfred?”

The man in question was standing in the doorway waiting for them as Bruce led Meda up the steps. Thinking over the question, he told her, “He’s the man who raised me after my parents died.” Alfred’s job would become clear to her later, but for now he settled on the most important truth. “He’ll help take care of you.”

As they approached the doorway, Alfred gave them both a welcoming smile. “Ah, Master Bruce, welcome home. It certainly has been an exciting first day back, hasn’t it?” He turned his attention to the little girl beside Bruce. “And this must be Miss Meda!”

Meda nodded. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, sticking out her little hand for a shake. Alfred took it gently and smiled warmly.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss.” Straightening up, he turned to Bruce. “I’ve taken the liberty of preparing one of the guest rooms for this young lady.” He reached out to take the duffel bag from Bruce. “I’ll see to unpacking this as well, while you and our guest warm yourselves by the fire.” With that, he swept up the grand staircase to the second floor and out of sight.

Bruce gingerly took Meda by the hand and led her into the parlor where Alfred had stoked the fire. She slumped down on one of the sofas, clearly exhausted, but perked up when she seemed to remember something.

“Why does he call you Master Bruce?”

Clearing his throat, he decided that honesty was probably the best policy. “Alfred is also the family butler.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve never met anyone who had a butler before.” She shook her head. “He doesn’t have to call me Miss Meda, you know. Just Meda is fine.”

Bruce smiled. “I think you’ll have a hard time convincing him of that. Alfred has always been very formal, you see.” She nodded. Her eyes scanned the room curiously, taking in the opulence and decadence, the dark polished wood and the cool marble of the fireplace. Finally, she looked to the photograph hanging above the mantle.

“Are those your parents?”

Bruce took a moment to examine the photo, as well. His eight-year-old self stared back at him, grinning happily. His mother and father stood behind him, each with a hand on his shoulder, each beaming with pride. “Yes.”

Meda hummed in acknowledgment. “They look nice.”

“They were,” he said, that pang in his chest back again. “My father was a doctor. My mother did charity work. They were both very good people.”

She sighed. “My parents were very good people, too. The best people. And now they’re gone.” She didn’t sound like she was about to cry again, just empty. Just broken.

Bruce was quiet for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before finally saying, “You know, Meda, someone once told me that no one’s ever truly gone unless you forget about them. You won’t forget about your parents, will you?” She shook her head furiously. “Then as long as you’re here, they will be too. I promise. It’s been almost twenty years, and my parents are still with me. Every day.” And yes, he probably took that to the extreme, with his plan for Gotham and its future, but the sentiment remained all the same.

Meda seemed to contemplate this for a while before Alfred re-entered the room. “Miss Meda’s things have been unpacked and her room is ready for her.”

Bruce nodded. “Thank you, Alfred. I'll show Meda to her room.”

“Very good, sir.”

Standing, he held out a hand to her and waited for her to take it. This time, she gripped his own with a little more force. As they made their way up the stairs and down the long hallway where that led to the bedrooms, her eyes never stopped darting about, taking in all the excess of the Manor with wide eyes. Bruce didn’t blame her. Even he was taken aback by it, sometimes.

Alfred had left the door to the chosen guest room open and left the light on, probably for Meda’s comfort. “Here you are,” Bruce said as they stepped in front of the threshold. Seeing the look of trepidation on her face, Bruce said again, “Don’t be afraid.”

She whipped her head up to stare at him. “Stop saying that,” she commanded.

“Okay,” he agreed.

“I’m not afraid.”

“Okay.”

With that, she took one last look at him before entering the room and closing the door behind her. ______________________________________________________________________________ Meda stared in shock at the room in front of her. It was bigger than her whole apartment back home, and she didn’t know how she was supposed to climb up onto the canopied bed. There was a window seat, which she had always wanted, and the walls were a pale purple. The largest TV she’d ever seen was set against the far wall.

Alfred had laid out her pajamas on the bed, and as she changed, she ran her hands over the pretty silver sheets. When she was done, she struggled for a moment to climb onto the bed, but eventually made it. Pulling back the covers, she nestled into the bed and curled up comfortably.

She thought that she would be kept awake, by thoughts of her parents, by worries over the new strangers in her life, by the sound of the wind howling in the trees outside her window. In the end, the day’s events proved so exhausting that as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

It was the last night she’d sleep peacefully for a long time. ______________________________________________________________________________

When she awoke the next morning, sunlight was shining through her window, and it took her a moment to realize where she was. The previous day’s events came rushing back to her in a flood of memories. She fought back the tears that formed and refused to cry. She’d cried enough yesterday, all over poor Lieutenant Gordon. If they thought she was a crybaby, then Mr. Wayne and Alfred might not want her to stick around. Besides, her mom had always said she was a brave girl. She wouldn’t let her down now.

The smell of something cooking penetrated her cocoon of blankets, and Meda peeked her head out. She thought about waiting for someone to come get her, but curiosity got the best of her, and she followed the scent down the hall and down a staircase (different from the grand one that had led up from the entryway) into a kitchen. It was the largest kitchen she’d ever seen, and looked like it could cook enough food for several hundred people, maybe even a thousand. At one of the stovetops with an apron on was Alfred. He was pouring batter into a pan and already had a stack of pancakes next to him on a plate. Mr. Wayne was sitting at the counter in the middle of the room, reading a newspaper.

He looked up when she entered the room. “Ah, Meda!” he said, and she thought he sounded pleased to see her. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

Alfred turned to smile at her. “Good morning, Miss Meda. I hope you like chocolate chip pancakes.”

Meda gasped. “Those are my favorite!”

“Are they?” Alfred raised a brow. “How wonderful. You just pull up a seat next to Master Bruce there and I’ll have these ready for you in a moment.”

She climbed up onto the chair at the counter next to Bruce. Turning to her, he asked, “Did you sleep well?” She nodded. “Good.” Putting his paper down, he turned to her more fully and said gently, “I got a call from Mrs. Parker at Social Services. Some of your parents’ friends from high school have offered to help plan the funeral, but they were hoping to get your input. You know, to help pick out what songs they’ll play and what type of flowers they should have. Does that sound like something you’d be up to?” When she hesitated, he quickly said, “There’s no rush. You don’t have to meet with them today. Would you like to think about it?” She nodded, and he smiled. “Take all the time you need.”

Alfred was finished with the pancakes by then, and placed them on a plate in front of her. Stacked high and drizzled with syrup, the sight of them made Meda’s mouth water. Grabbing her fork and knife, she started to dig in, before remembering herself. “Thank you very much, Alfred.” She then popped a piece of pancake in her mouth and chewed greedily.

Bruce looked amused. “Don’t need any help cutting those, huh?”

Meda shook her head vigorously. “Daddy taught me how to do it. He says that you can come from dirt, but if you know how to eat right, people will never know it.”

“He sounds like a smart man.”

“He’s the smartest man in the world.” She paused, then corrected in a small voice, “Was. He was the smartest man in the world.”

Alfred smiled sadly and said, “He’d be very proud of you Miss Meda. Your table manners are better than Master Bruce’s by far. He eats like an animal, this one.” Bruce gave Alfred a pointed look, but stopped when he heard Meda start to giggle.

Wiping off his hands on a dish towel, Alfred then said, “When you’re done, Miss, why don’t we take a tour of the rest of the house. You didn’t get to see much of it last night, and besides, it’s far more beautiful in the daytime.” Meda beamed and nodded, before turning to Bruce with a confused look.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Mr. Wayne?” she asked between mouthfuls (she remembered her manners, after all).

“Just call me Bruce, Meda, please. And I already ate. I’m on a bit of a...special diet, you see.” He gave her a close-lipped smile, and she had a funny feeling that he wasn’t saying something important, but she didn’t want to be rude by asking so she stayed quiet and finished her pancakes.

When she was done, she was so full that she swore she’d never eat another bite. Bruce had chuckled at this, saying, “You say that now, but just wait until you get a taste of Alfred’s lasagna. You’ll find room, trust me.” Alfred had just winked at her. ______________________________________________________________________________

It had been a long time since Alfred Pennyworth had had anyone to cook for, and in just one day, he’d received not one, but two charges to look after, and he intended to take his duties seriously. His father had served the Wayne’s before him, and their families would be forever linked. Master Bruce wasn’t the only one with a legacy to protect, after all.

His youngest charge seemed just as taken with the Manor as any child would be, fascinated by the seemingly never-ending corridors lined with doors that opened to all different types of rooms. She gaped at the indoor swimming pool, the game room, the movie theater.

But it was his favorite room that received the largest reaction. The library. A massive room lined with bookshelves several stories high, with tables and couches for reading or relaxing and artifacts from all over the world.

“I’ve never seen so many books in my life!” she declared, and Alfred suppressed a chuckle, refraining from pointing out that given her life had only spanned half a decade so far, it was likely there were many things she’d not seen.

Children did not like to be reminded of their inexperience, he’d found.

She turned to Bruce with wide eyes. “Have you read all of them?”

Bruce laughed. “Not quite. I’m afraid there’s more books here than even I could read in a lifetime. You like to read?” Meda nodded.

“I was the first one in my class to start chapter books,” she announced proudly. “Do you have Charlotte’s Web?”

“Of course,” Alfred said, moving to the section of the library that held children’s books. It was the smallest section, but still likely larger than any school library in the country. He scanned the titles for a moment, before selecting a small book with a girl holding a pig on the cover. “This was one of Master Bruce’s favorites when he was a young boy,” he said, handing it to her.

“It’s one of my favorites, too,” she said quietly, looking down at the cover. “Mrs. Jones was reading it to us before Christmas break, but I got a copy from the library and read ahead to finish it. I had to give it back before break, though.”

“Well,” Bruce said. “Feel free to keep this one as long as you like.”

Meda’s eyes widened again. “Really? You mean it?”

“I really mean it,” Bruce replied, smiling.

The little girl squealed in delight and rushed forward to hug Bruce, who stiffened in surprise. Alfred had to stifle a laugh again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Meda cried. Bruce relaxed after a moment, patting the child on the back gently.

“You’re very welcome, Meda,” he replied softly. ______________________________________________________________________________

Later that night, after Meda had gone to bed, Bruce and Alfred sat in one of the sitting rooms, both contemplating the child sleeping upstairs. Alfred was personally hoping that this new responsibility would encourage Bruce to leave off his mad idea and settle down to a quieter, simpler life. Bruce was already thinking of ways to make sure the danger of his chosen crusade didn’t harm Meda.

“She seems to be settling in rather well, sir,” Alfred said, pouring a cup of tea for himself.

Bruce grunted in acknowledgement. “She’s still in shock. It’ll wear off eventually, and then she’ll start to spiral. The social worker gave me a number for a psychologist. We should make sure she gets in soon.”

“How uncharacteristically reasonable of you, sir,” Alfred said dryly.

Bruce ignored him. “I need-” He was cut off by a blood curdling scream.

The men looked at each other for a split second, before they both sprung into action. Alfred moved to retrieve one of his firearms from a safe behind a photograph on the wall, while Bruce took off in a run towards Meda’s room.

Throwing open the door the second he reached it, his eyes frantically scanned the room for a threat, but found nothing. Moving his gaze over to the bed, he saw Meda thrashing in the sheets, eyes squeezed shut and screaming.

A nightmare.

Bruce’s stance softened and he moved towards the bed, slowly, carefully. “Meda,” he said, reaching for her shoulder to gentle her awake. “Meda!” Her eyes flew open and with one last cry of despair, she bolted upright in bed and stared at him.

She stared at him for a moment, breathing heavily, and then burst into tears.

Bruce was at a loss for what to do for a moment, before deciding to go on instinct and pull the little girl to his chest, letting her cry into his shoulder. He murmured nonsense to her, telling her everything would be okay and not to be afraid. That seemed to stir something in her, and she pulled back with a yelp.

“But I am afraid,” she cried, wiping at her tears. “I’m so afraid. I’m afraid that they won’t find the bad man, and that he’ll come back for me or you or Alfred.”

Bruce was silent for a minute, before taking her hands in his and saying urgently, “Meda, I need you to listen to me. Can you do that for me?” When she nodded, he continued on, “I have spent a very long time training for something very important. I’m going to make sure that what happened to our families never happens to anyone else again.”

“How can you do that?”

“I have a mission,” he said, willing her to understand. “A purpose. I made a promise to my parents that I would rid this city of the evil that took their lives. I was too late for your family, and for that I’m so sorry. But I won’t be too late for the next one. Do you understand?”

Warily, she nodded. “I think so.”

Sighing in relief, he went on, “I need you to promise to keep this a secret.” He realized he was a fool for placing the secrecy of his mission in the hands of one five year old girl, but he had to say something. He had to show her that she didn’t have to be afraid. “If other people knew about this, they would try to stop me, or they would try to go after you or Alfred to get to me. It’s very, very important that you never tell anyone about what I’ve just told you, do you understand?” She nodded again, looking at him strangely. “What is it?”

“It’s just-” she cut herself off, biting her lip. “I was just wondering if I could help you. With your mission, I mean.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse, to insist that she needn’t worry at all about that, when an idea struck him.

“Actually, Meda, I think there might be a way that you can.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648013/chapters/73343064#workskin

#batman fanfiction #batman oc #batfamily fanfiction #batfamily oc #c: meda wayne #v: the vigilante

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stardancerluv · 4 years

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Gotham Lockdown 2020

Part 7

Summary: Victor’s take on things.

Warning: None...except you see how Roman was before he met Reader.

Side story to Creative Fervor

Arthur’s Note: This is the first time I wrote Victor. (hope I did him justice!) I took (and expanded on some of his backstory from the comic books!) Additionally, Ewan has worked and walked the red carpet with many lovely ladies. I used a couple shots in the collage for two of then to stand for Circe & Tiffany. (Those were the wife/girlfriend of Roman in comic books!) I gave them both much better storylines especially Tiffany! That’s about it...Enjoy!

“Victor...set me free...set me free..” His mother begged. Her eyes far away.

Victor awoke screaming, gasping for breath. He was soaked to the bone in sweat. As long as he lived he’d carry the death of his parents with him. It was the same nightmare over and over again. Tearing his blankets aside he shed his pajama pants and walked the short distance to his shower.

He turned the cold water on full force. He didn’t feel it. Resting, his forehead against the marble he easily relieved that horrible morning.

“Gonna go for a quick swim.” He had told his mom, as she was grabbing the ingredients for breakfast. He gave her a half hug. “Don’t be too long. I’m making your favorite.” “Yeah..yeah mom.”

Climbing top deck he bad found his father. He rested his hands on his father’s shoulders. “Its gonna be another clear day.” “Another day great day of sailing. Want me to grab some crabs for dinner?” His father shrugged. “Why not.” He a fixed a small net to the belt on his waist. “See you soon.” He adjusted his snorkel mask. Then fell back into the ocean waters like he always did.

He was barely under the surface when he felt the shockwaves hit him. They pushed him further down. Something was wrong, that didn’t happen. Pain exploded in his nose and ears. Despite the horrible pain, he swam to the surface.

When he popped up on the surface. There was no boat. “Mom! Father! He called moving around kicking his feet. Then he spotted a large part of the haul, going over to it, he knew what he saw before he even had to draw closer. It ripped at him. He swam over and found his father already dead slumped, over part of the boat. He had to find his mom. He called out to her. He heard some straggled cries turned he saw her, holding onto cushions. He immediately swamp through the water to her as if it was nothing. Her eyes barely met hers before looking off whimpering incoherently about wanting to be set free. She died shortly after.

“Fuck this.” He slammed his fist into the marble. He shut off the water and grabbing a towel he went and looked out his window, the towel wrapped around him.

He looked out. Still not a soul on the streets. The sun was high in the sky which was a clear blue, like that day. Summer had passed. It had come in hot and brutal and now before it was over, and autumn was grabbing a hold of Gotham.

It was empty, Gotham was desolate. Looking, out his mood shifted. He was grateful to Roman Sionis. With this virus killing people faster then he ever could. He’d would have been dead perhaps in a month or two.

He was Roman Sionis’s right hand man. He took care things. He retrieved and eliminated problems that Roman faced. So when this all happened he insisted that him and his girl stayed at the penthouse. As Roman said after arriving on one of the last planes to land in Gotham, there was no one else, he’d share his space with during the lockdown. You and Roman were the only two he cared about. Well, there was Doll-face, but he didn’t really know how he felt about her. He certainly did miss her.

Dropping the towel in the hamper, he went grabbed a fresh pair of boxers.

As for you, you were interesting. You were the first girl in a long time that he liked. You had spunk, when you talked to him you actually looked him in the eye he was used to most girls adverting their gaze.

Pulling slacks and a fresh shirt, he began to loop his belt to his pants.

Yeah, you were interesting you saw the scars and they didn’t phase you. After that most girls stopped looking at him, forget talking that was over before it could begin. You did something only Roman had been capable of and that was to sometimes forget and that was finding his smile.

The years he had been Roman’s right hand man you were also the only one Roman ever cared about. He had only seen the aftermath of the break up with Tiffany because of Joker had been rough.

You however, caught Roman’s heart. From the day Roman saw you handcuffed in nightclub he was different. Damn, you had been really brave during that whole thing. You earned his respect after that.

Soft, muted moans floated down to him, he shot the ceiling a look and sighed. He pulled on some socks and shoes. That was the only thing that was difficult about the lockdown. Well, to be honest, it had been difficult before as well. He could only get so far without hearing the two of you. The only floor down, you two never did it on the floor he lived on. Everywhere else apparently was open season, he just shook his head. He was going to head down to his room in the basement that held his knives and trophies from the various times Roman gained more control over Gotham.

That was the only thing that irked him about you. Ever since Roman met you, his sex drive had gone through the roof. Sure Roman had anyone he ever crooked a finger at. He’d cum and they would be gone. There had been rare occasiona there would be two girls a night. None of them ever stuck around or at least he didn’t want them too.

Walking in on the two of you sometimes was unavoidable. Roman cared about your decency. Before he could have cared less, if some bimbo was going down on him and he’d walk in. He’d still make her finish.

Well to be honest he grown to care about your decency too. Both you and Roman never wanted you to feel cheap.

So gritting, his teeth he snapped the light and smiled at all the knives that hung from the walls. He’d check on the trophies soon. They needed a good dusting.

*****

Rolling over you woke up, you could have sworn you heard a scream. Hoping it was just a dream, tried to will yourself back to sleep. You even tried to gently roll back to Roman’s solid warmth. It did not work. Sighing, you got out of bed, stretching your fingers reaching as high as they could above your head. Looking back at Roman, he was soundly asleep. He was out for the count. You would have loved to graze your lips against his but you didn’t. Just because you couldn’t sleep didn’t mean everyone else should be awake.

On quiet feet, you snuck into the bathroom. Perhaps, you would make Roman some breakfast in bed you mused as you freshened up for the day. Stretching again all remaining desire to sleep was gone.

You were careful when you opened the door. Creeping out, you went to go put on some fresh panties and clothes.

“You are up early.” His deep voice shook you to your core.

Looking over you saw that Roman was very much awake. Laying there, his back against the headboard, a hand behind his head, the sight made your stomach tighten.

“You are too.” You whispered as you went and sat on the bench. “Would you like some breakfast in bed?”

A smirked curled his lips. “Come over here.”

@darling-i-read-it @spn-obession @vintagemichelle91 @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @ewanfuckingmcgregor @zodiyack @angel98624 @starwarsprequelfangirl @nebulastarr @emyliabernstein @thepeachreads @itsknife2meetu @whyisgmora @theblackmaskclub @omghappilyuniquebouquetlove @nomnomnomnamja

#roman sionis x you #roman sionis x reader #roman sionis fanfiction #roman sionis #ewan mcgregor #bop #birds of prey #black mask fanfiction #black mask #black mask x reader #victor zsasz #victor zsasz x roman sionis #victor zsasz x reader #gotham lockdown 2020 #part 7 #creative fervor

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lady-griffin · 4 years

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So, I just saw Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Really fun and very enjoyable. It’s a pretty great movie in my opinion and is just a fun “superhero” movie.

I feel like the word “fun” kind of undercuts this movie, but it really was fun and just a good film to watch.

I had a great time.

And I feel like you can tell this movie was clearly written and directed by women with women in mind. Which as a woman, I greatly enjoyed.

I’m sure this movie will probably rub some guys the wrong way, just because of that alone, but honestly it’s a good movie. I don’t think it alienates men or discourages them from watching it or enjoying it.

If you can’t enjoy this movie, because the characters aren’t “sexy” enough, then that’s on you.

And speaking of that. The Outfits.

Harley Queen and Black Canary have style, I want their clothes. Oh my god, do I want their clothes. Just so stylish and it works with who they are as characters.

Cassandra, Renee and Huntress have clothing that looks comfortable and works with their characters as well, and Renee and Cassandra’s clothes really makes them look like actual people and normal woman.

Which is nice! I like it when you have female characters who clearly are different and dress differently. It feels ridiculous when you have a show or movie or comic, where you're suppose to believe all these “very different” female characters all love wearing supery sexy stuff all the time.

I’m not against ladies dressing sexy, but it has to fit with the character and not just cause of the male gaze.

Also Roman/Black Mask gets some serious style points.

Bird of Prey is a fun, violent movie wear badass ladies beat and murder their way through Gotham City. Go and see it.

It comes highly recommended by this random internet chick.

Also, there isn’t an after-credit scene just a Harley Quinn voice over. The music is good in the credits, so if you want to stay, you can, but honestly you can skip it.

Spoilers Below

The movie does make a few choices that bug me. You know how in Suicide Squard, they spent like the first 30 minutes (maybe more) introducing characters.

This movie does that too. Kind of.

Honestly, now that I think about it, it does work a lot better here. Much better than I was initially thinking.

For one thing, the way the characters are introduced works with the plot and what’s happening and overall are pretty quick. For the main characters it’s fine. But Harley and her narrative kind of introduces everyone and their cousin.

But unlike Suicide Squad, this movie doesn’t stop everything to introduce a character with like a 2-3 minute character trailer/ad.

It’s not awul or anything, but I could’ve lived without it. It worked well and was humorous at times, but it did bug me to a certain degree.

And on that note, Harley has kind of Deadpool thing with her narration. I just think it was the wrong balance for this movie, it should’ve been in the movie either some more or some less and it probably would’ve worked better. It just seemed a bit off to me.

I kind of wished Harley’s narration was just in the beginning and in the end.

But let’s get into the characters

Harley Quinn/Dr. Harleen Quinzel

If you enjoyed her in Suicide Squad, you will definitely enjoy her here. She’s fun, she’s wacky, she’s violent and crazy, and she does have a bit of a heart. She has a soft-spot for the kid.

It’s definitely Harley’s show. But I’m not mad at it. I think without Harley no way this movie (with the other characters) would’ve been greenlit. No way. But now, maybe...I’m certainly not oppose to the idea.

So while Margot Robbie is definitely making sure the spotlight is on Harley Quinn, the light does get shared.

Also her action scenes were so good, I mean she really gets to shine and it’s just awesome. Really amazing action scenes that really do the character justice I think, truly some amazing fight choregraophy. Just Excellent.

And honestly I just want a Gotham Sirens movie with her, Poison Ivy and Catwoman even more now.

Oh, and while not Bud and Lou, I love me some Bruce and Harley.

Black Canary/Dinah Lance

If anyone has watched Arrow and has been annoyed, frustrated, angry or sadden how that version Black Canary is not like Black Canary at all. Then I think you will love Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Canary.

I certainly did.

She’s not the star, but she has a nice on-going story of how she doesn’t want to follow in mother’s footsteps of being a dead hero. Basically she doesn’t want to get involved in anyone’s bullshit, but can’t help herself or is force to get involved.

They have a scene where they hammer that in a bit too hard. It was unnecessary, I felt like just by watching her scenes you get her story, without the details.

She has some amazing style. She wears a few suits and boy not only do I want her wardrobe but also goddamn, was she sexy. You can see why Zsasz was nervous about her stealing his boss/lover away.

I mean really the only negative thing I can say, is that she makes me hold a grudge against the Arrow show, because their version of Black Canary has got nothing on this one.

I would love to see more of her.

Huntress/ Helena Bertinelli

I greatly enjoy Huntress or the Crossbow Killer (loved that). I would say out of the other ladies (minus Harley obvi), she really does hold her own and her story while is as interconnected as everyone else’s to the main story, it just pops a bit more.

A badass assasin murdering mob bosses/ goons to avenge her family, who also happens to be one social awkward baby.

Loved that dichotomy. I laughed several times at that. Just great stuff.

It’s hard stricking the right balance in having a badass character and scenes/moments that undercut them for humor. And they struck it here. Really well done.

She was such a delight.

Really Mary-Elizabeth Winstead does such a great job as Huntress.

Other versions of her character don’t really seem to get the whole wanting to murder everyone who was responsible for her family’s death, in my opinion, because they also want her to be sexy. Here sexy isn’t really her thing and that’s more than okay with me.

The other birds think she’s a badass and I bet every other women (and hopefully some men) in the audience think so too.

I certainly want to see more of her, especially with Black Canary.

Also this Black Canary and Huntress and their dynamic come so close to ousting my favorite versions of them from Justice League: Unlimited. Which is a big compliment.

Renee Montoya

A cop with some serious issues, who maybe isn’t doing her best and probably has a drinking problem, but she’s trying okay. She’s trying.

She’s an intelligent detective who knows her shit and does not get the respect she deserves from her colleagues. Due to combination of both sexism and her own personal problems. Luckily for her she found some new colleages who have their own issues.

I certainly enjoyed that her problems at works seemed to be a combination of sexism at the work place, but not entirely, Renee is flawed. Wonderfully so.

Rosie Perez brings the more human element to this movie with her Renee and is a nice grounded contrast to the others. It’s also nice seeing her more grounded style of fighting.

Sometimes the scenes with her weren’t great. They sometimes felt forced, particulary the one with her and Canary and her trying to convince Canary to be like her mom. I could’ve lived without that.

That being said the movies has fun, pointing fun at her and basically saying she’s an 80s cop movie come to life. Which I liked.

Cassandra Cain

I like the character, don’t get me wrong, but this is not Cassandra Cain. And it does bother me as a huge Batman Comic fan. It just does.

I feel like they should’ve based her on some minor character from the comics or hell just created a new character. BTAS did that with Harley Quinn in 1992, so why the fuck not.

That would’ve worked so much better in my opinion. Sometimes rewriting a character works, here it feels odd. Because I don’t get why they decided to call this character Cassandra Cain.

Honestly, remove the Cain part from her name and you have a great little apprentice for Harley, who brings her own moxy to the table.

Ella Jay Basco does a great job holding her own as a screen partner against Margot Robbie. And she did such a good job protraying a street kid who thinks she can handle shit, to a scare kid who is way over head.

It was nice watching all these badass ladies keeping an eye out for Cassandra.

The characters reminds me a lot of Jade from Jackie Chan: Adventures. I mean both characters eat a valuable object and a bunch of bad people are willing to cut them open. Just saying.

If you’re a big fan of Cassandra Cain, I would suggest just ignoring the times they say her full name and try to think of her as a different character, named Cassandra.

Roman Sionis/ Black Mask

A murdering psychopath who thinks everyone and everything belongs to him. He’s power-hungry, cruel, violent and sadistic and is plenty messed up in the head. You see enough to get the picture and they don’t elaborate nor do they have to.

He wears some amazing clothes, by the way. I liked this version of the character a lot. Even when he’s being nice and friendly, you know that he can snap at any second (which he does). He does not have it together.

He doesn’t steal the show, but that’s a good thing. He’s a good villain, that allows our girls to be the perfect heroes/anti-heroes to his villany.

Victor Zsasz

Boy does he have it bad for Roman. He is very jealous and you know he wants to kill anyone who steals Roman’s attention away from him. A different kind of Zsasz, but enjoyable.

I love the rivalry between him and Black Canary, or what he percieves as a rivalry.

Female Empowerment/Some Reviews

So some reviews, I’ve seen basically say they don’t like this movie or have problem with it, because this kind of “female empowerment” has been done before and isn’t good or isn’t as good as it thinks it is.

And while, it’s not untrue that violent women willing to murder are not the greatest role models, I also am a bit annoyed at these reviews.

I mean, this movie does have a girl-power vibe to it without a doubt.

But it feels more like the message is --

Girl are Awesome. Here are some awesome ladies with varying degrees of violent tendacies, who are badass and who all should definitely know a therapist aside from Harley Quinn.

I don’t think girls have to violent to be badass, especially not in real-life, but I also don’t think female characters can’t be violent or angry. And 3 out of 5, weren’t starting anything or actively seeking violence at least not to the degree of the other two.

Also, it’s an R-Rated movie about a villainous comic book character...I mean, what were you expecting.

I understand the issue some people are having with this film, about women-empowerment and the celebration of violence and I don’t disagree with that.

In my opinion, the women-empowerment comes less from the violence and more from the fact that you had women as the center focus who were all pretty different and unique, and all of them had clear individual stories being told that created the plot of the movie.

For me, the movie was saying here are some awesome comic book characters who are also women, enjoy watching them beat and murder their way through Gotham City. Also enjoy them kicking several men in the balls, it’s quite fun.

I had great time with this movie.

So I hope people see it and I hope they have a good time.

#Birds of Prey #Harley Quinn #birds of prey and the emancipation of one harley quinn #birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #Birds of Prey Spoilers #Black Canary #Huntress #Renee Montoya #Cassandra Cain #Dinah Lance #helena bertinelli #Harleen Quinzel

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