#and right after that i have to see dinah kiss bruce and all these adult women go omgg how was iit :o we All wanted to do this but You did i | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hollyharper · 3 years

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If you’ve read my earlier family reunion one shot, You can imagine what’s coming. But this time, it’s the Wayne’s and a few unexpected guest! I few conversation ideas I borrowed from @steadybakeryathleteroad. If you haven’t read his batfam conversations, you have to.

The suggestion had been Dick’s, but it was Selina’s work that made everything fall into place. Kara had agreed to watch over Blùdhaven, and the Titans promised to hold their own. Dinah was basically begging to help in any way. She ended up on guard duty in Tokyo for the weekend. No one seemed to mind the three days inconvenience. In a way, they all seemed hype about the idea. Selina bit her tongue as she glanced down at the guest list. Deep down she knew Bruce wouldn’t be happy, but it was Thanksgiving, a percent time for a family reunion. She was family. With a sigh she dropped the paper into the waste bin. It would be good for them all to come home, and she wanted to meet them. It wouldn't be like she was truly part of the family, until she met all of Bruce’s protégés and ‘children’. The words caused her to tremble. Even if it was the closest words, she couldn’t call them his kids. Bruce was only in his mid thirties, the idea of a twenty four year old ‘child’ was nothing but freaky. Fourteen year old Damien, she could handle. At least the idea of his parentage, no one could handle him, especially not her. For their shared love for Bruce both managed not murder each other, at least when he was there. Selina gave the hall a quick once over.

“It’s repulsive.” There was the reason she couldn’t stand Damien, his rude unruliness.

“I like it.” Holly’s soft voice trailed after him.

“It’s permissible.” He grumpily alters.

Another thing that drove Selina crazy, how he still did everything to please Holly. Always the rebel, Damien wasn’t in the button down shirt that had been agreed upon, but a black turtleneck and dark gray trousers. Holly wore a short pale pink dress with lace sleeves. Her hair was loosely braided, with half falling out, clearly Damien’s work. Selina but her tongue. As much as she wanted this year’s Thanksgiving to be perfect, the messy look fitted Holly. Selina tucked loose strands back into Holly’s braid, and left it at that. Footsteps echoed down the stairs.

“What do you think?” Selina asked, not even turning around.

“You did good.” Bruce rested a hand on her shoulder just as she finished with Holly. “Is Flatline coming?” He asked.

Damien nodded. “Yes.”

Holly turned her head to hide her scowl. While two had never officially dated, It had been obvious how they cared for each other. When Damien came back with a girlfriend, Holly was anything but happy. Flatline had quickly picked up on it and made a point to rub it in whenever possible. Putting the two in the same room was worse than Barbara and Koriand'r. In the middle of tension, the doorbell rang. Selina sighed and expertly guided Holly away. Bruce gave a silent thank you, and went to greet the first guest.

Flatline dress up impressively. While she stuck to her classic punk, her knee length dress was stunning. A small smile crossed Damien's expression. He gave no complaint, but greeted her affectionately. As they crossed into the main room, arms casually around each other, Flatline sent Holly a challenging glare. Holly gripped the tray tightly. Without a sound, she walked past. The second to step in, was Barbara. As usual, she wore a bright green dress, with her hair in a delicately curled ponytail. She gave the teen girls an observant look, and crossed to Holly.

“Who braided your hair?”

Holly didn’t even look up. “Damien.” She refused to use his nickname now.

“He did pretty good.” Still Holly refused to respond. “You just have to let it go.” Barbara placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “They’ll be others. Most boys aren’t worth crying over. And the one who is won’t make you cry.”

Holly simply nodded and wiped at her eyes. Selina smiled at the sight. Barbara was better with kids than her. Something about the young woman was welcoming. From the corner, Damien’s laugh echoed, even through a straight face. Flatline leaned closer to him and said something else that resulted in another laugh. That only seemed to worsen Holly’s mood.

Cassandra Had flown in the night before, and now descended the stairs, in time to see Barbara whisk Holly away. Cass quickly followed out the side door. Jason, Tim and Dick joined the remaining group not long later. Stephen trailed behind them, completely neglected.

“Is that it?” Bruce asked, after greeting the four.

“Two more.” Selina whispered, half afraid to admit what she had done.

He nodded and bit his tongue.

“Come.” Damien commanded.

“Where?” Flatline asked, just to annoy him.

He pointed to the three retired Robins. She stalked over without him.

“Hi, Flat.” Dick greeted.

She scowled. Dick was the only one of the older siblings she had met. While she kind of liked him, the nicknames were detested.

“Jay, Tim, This is Dami’s girlfriend, Flatline.”

Both stared at her.

“Did you say ‘Damien’s Girlfriend’?” Jason said, still staring. “Really?”

“How did you meet?” Tim asked.

Damien and Flatline exchanged a look. Both stayed silent. When it was clear that Damien wasn’t going to tell, Flatline spoke up. “He was being arrogant, and cute.” At that Damien acully blushed slightly. “And I had to kill him.”

“Kiss him?” Tim amdened.

“That too.”

Jason and Tim started to stare again.

“Welcome to the dead son club.” Jason slapped Damiens shoulder as he passed.

“He died and came back.” Tim explained.

“Hmm.” She didn’t sound impressed. “Damien died twice.”

“What?” Tim exclaimed as she walked away. “Twice?”

Damien nodded. The side door was flung open, as Barbara and Cass paraded Holly in. They had put her into a black halter dress Selina had never seen before. Her hair was now twisted into an elaborate bun. Pink eye shadow mirrored the cherry blossoms in her hair, and the ones painted on her skirt. She smiled for the first time that evening. Damien stopped to stare as she entered. Annoyed, Flatline grabbed his arm and dragged him away. Dick’s eyes were glued to Barbara.

“Do you want to help with the turkey?” Tim asked.

“Mmmhmm.” Dick responded, clearly unintuitive.

Tim dragged him away, while Jason argued with Damien. Dami finally consented, on the compromise, that Flatline could come too. Finally, all five stood around the turkey pin.

“Who wants to shoot it?” Jason asked.

“SHOOT IT?” Damien exclaimed. “Don’t shoot it.”

“It’s dinner.” Dick calmly replied.

“We can’t eat Tom!”

“Tom? You seriously named the turkey?” Jason lifted an eyebrow.

Flatline smothered a giggle.

“He’s mine.” Damien claimed every animal in the house was his.

“Dami.” Dick started gently. “You knew at the beginning that we were going to eat this turkey.”

“You can’t. I won’t let you.”

“Jason.” Tim and Dick asked simultaneously.

“He’s right.”

“What?”

Jason shrugged. “It’s not a fair fight. We should give the tur- Tom a gun too.”

Flatline’s jaw dropped along with Dick and Tim’s.

“You’re actually serious?” She threw her hands up. “I’m going inside.” With that, she stomped off.

Selina glanced around the hall. The five girls had clumped by the punch. Only one left. Helena had arrived after the boys went to help with the turkey. She had been absorbed into the gossip circle immediately. Heels clicked on the tile. Bruce gasped.

“Beloved.” Talia greeted.

She gave a cautious glacé toward Selina, then placed a quick kiss on Bruce’s cheek.

“Where’s Damien?”

Selina reserved the ‘We will talk about this later’ look.

“He’s outside.” Bruce answered. “He’ll be in soon.

It wasn’t five minutes later, that the boys all filed back inside. Jason had a deep cut on his shoulder. Dick’s left thigh was bleeding, and all but Damien were bruised and scratched.

“What happened?” Three of the girls flocked over.

Selina buried her head into Bruce’s shoulder, and muffled a sob. Holly and Flatline stepped forward at the same time, but then glared at each other.

“What happened?” Barbara asked, pressing a cloth to Dick’s injury.

“Let’s just say, we’re not having turkey.”

Damien had a very pleased expression. Talia fidgeted with the green of her emerald dress. His expression changed when he saw her.

“Mother?” In half a second, he had flung himself into her embrace.

“Like it or not, she’s family.” Selina whispered.

“I know.”

The reunion of mother and son quickly turned into an inspection. Damien seemed happy, even as he moved through rehearsed drills.

“You’re stronger.” Talia smiled approvingly.

Damien dragged her to everyone in turn, she recognized Jason and Cassandra, and warmly greeted all the others. She was skeptical of Flatline, but after hearing how the two meet, the girl appeared to have her approval.

The alternative to turkey turning out to be chicken. It wasn’t too bad of a substitute.

“This is really good.” Stephine said, her mouth half full.

“It would be better if we had turkey.” Tim shot Damien a glare.

“No one touches Tom.” Dami growled back.

Talia silently sighed and bit her lip. The table was thrown into an argument that resulted in Damien and Holly being sent to bed earlier. Thankfully, the adults managed to carry out a more calm evening afterward. Untill, Cass and Jason started bickering. That started another chain reaction. Tim and Steph started arguing, and soon Barbara was in on it too. Inevitably, everyone either calmed down or left. By the time everything had calmed back down, Selina, Bruce, and Talia were all that remained.

“This is for Damien. It was his grandfather’s.” Talia handed Bruce the package, then without a goodbye, left.

The young couple stared at each other for a moment.

“That was, eventful.” Selina whispered, slumping against the couch.

It’ll be better next year.”

“Next year!” She called up after him. “NEXT YEAR!!!!”

#damien #jason todd #tim drake #barbara gordon #bruce wayne #selina wayne #stephine brown #dick grayson #talia al ghul #cassandra cain #helena bertinelli #Holly Robinson #OC #one shot #batfam #fanfiction #thanksgiving

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flashfuture · 3 years

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Okay so I have a question. Is Oliver Queen a particularly shitty dad or something? Because I've seen him in a few comics, one of them with Connor, and honestly he seemed fine. Like I know him and Roy don't have a particularly great relationship, and Ollie kinda fucked up with him, but like is this just the case with Roy?

I'm asking this because people generally ignore this thing about Bruce, who has a been a mostly shitty dad for a while now, and generally make excuses for him, citing the fact that he wasn't always like this. Most fics featuring him show him as a good parent. But fanfic authors go out of their way to show Ollie as a terrible father, and an asshole in general, especially when pitted against Bruce? Why is it this way?

PS. I haven't read many Green Arrow comics.

Okay so this is gonna get long lol

Snowbirds Don’t Fly is where Roy is on heroin and there are many many misconceptions about this particular issue

#1 this was a PSA which means certain characters have to play a role even if it seems out of character

#2 That is the only time ever that Ollie has hit Roy. And Roy hit him back later not that this excuses it but yeah nowhere near anything like Bruce

#3 The whole kicked out of the house thing. Roy was an adult. A full-grown adult who lived on his own. Roy only got into heroin because Ollie left on a road trip thinking his kid would be fine

#4 Ollie himself is an alcoholic so say what you will but personally, I know addicts in families can get pissed when other people also get addicted to things just based on personal experience

#5 After fucking up Ollie went out of his way to learn everything he could about addiction and recovery. He went out of his way to earn Roy’s forgiveness and then a few years later Roy agreed to reconciliation. All this happened in the 70s and by the end of it Roy and Ollie were fine and firmly in the father-son category without much lingering animosity

But then the 90s and Chuck Dixon happened. Dixon hated Ollie. He wanted to kill Ollie. So he made Ollie as unbearable as possible. For example, Ollie who loves kids, always wanted kids pushed away Connor Hawke as soon as he learned it was his real son, ran off with eco-terrorists, and blew up in a plane crash. Really dumb story

Anyways after this Roy was heartbroken he’d lost his dad. Like they were really close and people really hang on to an argument/ fuck up that happened going on 50 years ago. While conversely as you said waving away arguments that have happened consistently and recently. And Bruce started being abusive in the 80s like full-on horrible dad after Jason died.

Then in 2001 ish Ollie is brought back to life. And he’s handed off to Judd Winick. Winick is a racist, sexist, and all-around bad writer. He’s noted for creating a black love interest for Ollie just to kill her brutally because of an argument with a Black Lightning writer.

The other thing is Winick played Ollie like a womanizer and a cheater. Birds of. Prey also ran with this because that series had a nasty habit of bashing men.

So basically Ollie was called a cheater for that time he was drugged and assaulted, kissed against his will by a teenager who he pushed off, and slept with a woman while he and Dinah weren’t dating. Cheating.... I can’t even explain the level of devotion to Dinah that Ollie displays. She is it for him really he isn’t even a flirt. Hal is the flirt.

Winick also whitewashed and sidelined Connor a bunch cause screw him right.

So that series did not shed a good light on Ollie and it’s sort of done damage to his rep when we should be ignoring it like we do with King’s work because it was that bad and ooc.

What was valid from that series was Ollie adopting Mia Dearden after seeing she could use a hand up from where was in life. What was valid was Ollie spending all the time he could with Connor because he missed out on his son's whole life. And spending time with Roy and his granddaughter Lian. Like Ollie loves kids he loves Dinah and he loves his family.

That’s who he is.

New52 is another reason. So Ollie got shafted and shafted hard.

He and Dinah weren’t dating at the start? I don’t think they were

Roy was no longer Ollie’s son but his co-worker

Connor and Mia just didn’t exist. Mia showed up for 6 issues and hasn’t since. Connor has only recently re-appeared in the Robin comic.

Ollie and Roy didn’t get along because Ollie fired Roy for drinking on the job and that was sort of it. They weren’t father and son here so it’s a weird idea to compare them to Jason and Bruce and if you look at canon Bruce is still the worse one

But Rebirth has reset Roy to being Ollie’s son and Ollie was crushed when Roy died. Is still crushed cause i don't think he knows Roy is alive.

Also Ollie is just like a generally good dude. He’s a genuine socialist and environmentalist. He uses his money when he’s got it to promote these things and sometimes blackmails corrupt rich people into supporting social services.

Like you know Dick saying he wants to be Blüdhaven’s safety net? That is a page right out of the Oliver Queen playbook.

Ollie funds most of the justice league really always has since like Zero Hour. Bruce and him probably are the two who do but it’s remarked upon multiple times that Ollie was the first (in some timelines) and main benefactor.

I’ve noticed what you have in fanfics too and it drives me crazy. With the addition or I should say lack of Dinah and Hal. Dinah was absolutely like a mother to Roy. She’s his mama. She got him through his detox. Hal was the one who brought Roy to her.

(Most people gloss over that Hal was like an Uncle to both Roy and Wally)

So yeah whenever I see Ollie bashing plus no mention of Dinah I know that the writer knows next to nothing about Ollie.

Also Bruce likes to say Ollie is just as bad as him when Ollie is categorically a better person in like every way lol.

This isn’t to say there is anything wrong with fanon-ing Bruce. But I just don’t understand why Ollie is essentially fanon-ed in the opposite direction.

Roy will always get along with Ollie better and be safer with him than Jason would be with Bruce. But fanon wants to play off like Roy hates Ollie and is terrified of him or whatever which even in the darkest New52 pits of hell that wasn’t even true.

I’m not sure why it’s gotten to be this way tbh. Bruce, Dick, Ollie, and Roy are the golden ages boys who got to stay young and they’ve all been slandered by writers but fans seem really only capable of ignoring when Bruce is written badly which is so odd. Like Dick gets called out for things that are so wildly ooc it astounds me that Bruce out of all people is the one people want to ignore is just sort of the worst.

Lol yeah I got ranty. As you can tell I am very passionate about this and I just wish more people would even try to find out about Ollie before assuming things that are not true.

Hope this helped somewhat

#dc comics #ask #ollie queen

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bluebird722 · 4 years

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Happy Birthday, Lian!

Summary: Rewrite of the episode “Home Fires” (but without the “nuclear weapon” subplot). It’s Lian’s birthday and the first without her mother. Come stress with Will as he goes the extra mile to ensure that his daughter has the best birthday party ever!

Rating: K

Characters: Lian Harper, Will Harper, Roy Harper, Artemis Crock, Jim Harper, Raquel Ervin, Amistad Ervin, Donny Allen, Dawn Allen, Iris West-Allen, Traya Sutton, John Smith, Queen Mera, Artur, Lynn Stewart-Pierce, Jennifer Pierce, Anissa Pierce, Lois Lane, Jonathan Kent, Karen Beecher, and a bunch of OCs!

Author’s Note: Happy birthday, @youngjusticeslut! This is for you, based on this (which, I guess, is something I’m responsible for)! I just figured, why the hell not?

Will stared at the date on his calendar, with a giant red star on the particular date. He had been dreading this day for months, but it was finally coming closer: his daughter’s birthday–or, rather, Lian’s first birthday without her mother.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. No words could describe how he was feeling. Grief? Anger? Worried? What would Lian say, when she realized that Mommy wasn’t coming to her birthday party? Would it be one of those things in the movies, and Jade would show up unexpectedly, like an army parent coming home as a Christmas gift for their children? It wouldn’t happen, and Will knew it, but it helped to imagine it. In the meantime, he had to plan her birthday party, and he wanted everything to go perfectly. This was his daughter, and she deserved to be happy.

He had seven million things to do to prepare, he knew, and it was more than just finding the cake and buying decorations and planning games and activities; it involved working late every night for a month to be able to afford the type of party he wanted to give her. He knew so much about heroes because he had been exposed to them all of his existence, and he wanted to give her everything hero: Justice League, Marvel heroes, whatever. He didn’t care. He could probably find a sneaky way to get the whole League to attend her party, or he could dress up as a hero of her choice a la that episode of I Love Lucy.

A small shuffle of footsteps interrupted Will’s train of thought, and he turned around to see his daughter in pink blanket pajamas. “Daddy…”

“Hey Lian.” He stood up and walked over to his daughter, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. “Are you all right?”

Lian patted her stomach. “Tummy ache,” she whispered.

Will gently lifted her up into his arms and carried her to the kitchen for children’s Tylenol and a glass of water, which she finished. Then he carried her back upstairs and sat her onto her bed. “Why are you up so late, Daddy?”

Will stopped himself from lying that he was working on files and shrugged. “I was getting ideas for your birthday, Lian,” he said. “I know it’s your birthday, and you decide what you want, but I was looking up where to get the cake, the decorations…you know.” He ruffled her hair. “I know I’ve been working a lot, but I just want to be able to get you a fun party.”

“Okay,” Lian nodded. She grabbed her feet and rolled on her back. “I want a Paw Patrol party.”

Paw Patrol. Will’s heart sank. He knew more about heroes than that TV show that he knew Lian enjoyed, but he never really watched it with her. Apparently, she watched it with her friends from daycare or when she was visiting other friends. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do to get a Paw Patrol birthday party for you–”

“Can we invite my friends?” she asked, tilting her head. “Donny, Dawn, Ani, Khary, Greg, Jenny, Artie–”

“Of course,” he said with a stroke of her hair. “But you better get some sleep now so Daddy can start planning.”

Lian sank her head back into her pillow, her arms around her Wonder Woman plushy. Will stared at her for a long time before he closed the door behind him.

***

The week before, while Lian was at daycare, he and Artemis raided Party City and got all the decorations, cutlery–everything, all themed to Paw Patrol. They picked up “Pin the Helmet on the Dog”, a giant piñata, and a “Birthday Girl” sash that even if Lian didn’t want to wear, they could place it over her chair.

He called the other parents in the private parent-child circle and told them the situation: Lian was inviting them to her birthday party, but she wanted to invite friends from daycare, and he couldn’t afford to throw two parties even if he wanted to. The daycare didn’t throw birthday parties anymore due to food allergies. Eventually, after a strenuous group text, everyone agreed that the birthday party would count as the playdate for the month, but those with superpowered children had to ensure that their children would be careful not to expose their abilities to daycare tykes.

Lian was aware, though still upset, that “Grandpa Ollie” and “Grandma Dinah” weren’t going to make it, since they had “an important business meeting”, as Ollie put it, but Will didn’t know if he could believe them; they did promise to have a big birthday dinner for her soon. Of course, Grandmommy Paula couldn’t come, but she promised to mail her present as long as Artemis would film Lian opening her gift. Violet, on the other hand, was going to be at a training session with Dick and the others, and she encouraged Artemis to attend the party; she knew that Artemis wanted to be there anyway, and they could train together later.

***

Will opened the door, relieved that it was his genetic template, holding what had to be the giant cake in both hands. “Come on in, Roy.”

The human barely closed the door with his hip when a little voice came screaming towards him. “UNCLE ROY! ARE YOU COMING TO MY BIRTHDAY PARTY TOMORROW?!”

Roy’s ears began to ring almost immediately, and Will loudly shushed his daughter from the kitchen. Still, Roy looked down at the almond eyes that stared into his with a begging look. “Of course I am, kiddo. I’m helping get everything ready.”

Lian giggled and climbed on Roy like a jungle gym. Will took the cake and carried it into the kitchen while Roy spun Lian in a front flip. “Are you ready for dinner soon, chickpea?” he asked.

Lian nodded eagerly.

“Good,” said Roy, “because the adults and I are getting your party ready, so you will need to go upstairs soon so it will be a surprise tomorrow.”

“Now?” asked Lian.

“Not right now,” Will said as he took her from Roy’s arms, “but soon.”

The doorbell rang again, and Will welcomed in his fellow clone, who barely had time to walk through the doorway when Lian threw herself at his leg and held tight as he walked in. Jim grinned, knelt down, and pulled her up for a kiss.

“Isn’t someone’s birthday coming up?” he playfully asked.

Lian laughed and kicked midair as he positioned her so he supported her up by her chest and stomach. “Oh, look, you’re Wonder Woman,” he said as he made her “fly” midair. “Wee…”

Lian giggled and waved her arms until he set her down and opened the bag dangling from the crease of his elbow. “What’s in the bag?” she asked.

Jim accepted the mug of coffee Artemis handed to him and took his time emptying the bag. “Everything for a moon bounce for a special little girl.”

“A moon bounce?!” Lian squawked, her jaw dropping. “I gotta moon bounce?!”

Will’s stomach sank. How many kids were injured by moon bounce-related injuries per year?

“Yes,” Jim said, “but we’re not going to set it up just yet.”

Lian and the adults gathered around for pizza, which Will had picked up earlier, while she made sure they watched Paw Patrol. Roy was on his phone most of the time, Artemis ate and scratched Brucely’s ears, and only Jim and Will paid attention to what was on TV; every time Jim babysat, he always got super into what TV shows Lian watched since it was perfect uncle-niece bonding, and Will wanted to make sure he understood the characters that his daughter clearly worshipped.

Eventually, the child went to bed at eight on the dot; Auntie Mouse carried her upstairs and changed her into pajamas while the men went on to decorate. Once Artemis came back down, they blew the balloons, set up the kitchen table with extra folding chairs, and mixed together the punch. Jim went outside and used the light from his phone to read the directions on setting up the moon bounce and how to keep it afloat overnight. Afterwards, the adults were up until midnight making gift bags for the children and going over the schedule, from games to lunch to cake to presents and more games. Since some kids were, as Will assumed, “gender neutral” (Roy had to laugh, since that was so new to him), they had to make sure to mix up the colors so the girls wouldn’t just get pink and the boys blue; some kids got green, some got purple, some others.

Finally, Roy set down the last bag he was working on and sighed. His back ached from hunching over work for little midgets, and even the fingers on his robotic arm hurt. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going back to the hotel,” he yawned.

“Me too,” Jim agreed as he rubbed his face. “See you guys tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Will greeted them goodbye as they put on their jackets and contacted an Uber to pick them up. As soon as the car drove away, Will went back to the decorations and kept going, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. He knew how many kids were coming, he didn’t want to be short on a goody bag, he double checked that there was enough food for everyone and that nobody was allergic to anything, and there was enough punch to make more bowls in case they ran out or some kid crashed and made an accident.

“Will,” Artemis hissed. “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”

“I can’t,” he whispered back. “I have to make sure everything is perfect!”

Artemis bit her lip but smiled anyway. It looked odd. “Will, everything is perfect, I swear–”

“Artemis,” Will interrupted. He stared at the extra gift bag he was making as an emergency. “I have to make sure everything is perfect. I don’t want anything bad to happen. I want it to be the best I can give my daughter…because her…” His voice trailed off.

His sister-in-law also looked uncomfortable when she clearly thought about her sister, who was surely not going to see her own daughter. Would it make up to Lian, to have a perfect party that her mother would not attend? Would everything Paw Patrol distract her from the pain of an absent parent? What if Lian still declared the party ruined because Mommy did not show up? Artemis rubbed her face and thought bitterly of her birthdays growing up, how even her assassin mother made time to host a small party and invite all her school friends, but Dad did nothing when his wife was behind bars. Lian didn’t deserve to have anything less than that, and for a moment Artemis wanted to hate her sister for making no indication that she was going to celebrate her daughter’s life.

“Listen, Will,” she sighed as she put her hands on his arms. “Everything will be fine, I promise. If anything goes wrong, I’m still there. So will Roy and Jim. You are not alone. Will, look at me.”

Will closed his eyes but reluctantly obeyed. Artemis smiled weakly. “I know what bothers you, and I appreciate that you’re doing this to give Lian the best birthday you can, but if you keep doing this, you’ll agitate yourself more. You’ll end up ruining the party for her if you don’t get any sleep or you strive to make everything too perfect.”

Will took a deep breath but nodded. “Come on,” she encouraged him. “Let’s get ready for tomorrow.”

Artemis led her brother-in-law upstairs, and he was quick to brush his teeth and change into sleepwear. Still, he wasted two hours on his phone looking up nothing of particular interest until he yawned and decided that it was time to go to bed.

Will did not remember falling asleep; he woke up promptly at six on the dot as though someone poured cold water over his face. He yawned, stretched his arms, and hurried down the stairs into the kitchen to make his daughter the best birthday breakfast ever.

Not cereal today, he thought as he checked the cabinets. I don’t want to take her out to eat… French Toast? Maybe pancakes.

Will wasn’t a terrible cook, but he was never one to perfect making his own pasta sauce; the one time he tried, Jade could not stop making faces and licking her teeth because it clearly tasted bad. Sighing, he pulled out his phone and looked up recipes.

Artemis walked into the kitchen with the birthday girl in her arms and was surprised to see the kitchen as though she walked into the set of a cooking show. Will was chopping strawberries at the counter, with a bowl and whisk beside him. Something heated on the stove, and Artemis tried not to moan because of how good it smelled–like vanilla and cinnamon.

“Morning, Daddy,” Lian chirped through a yawn.

Will instantly dropped the knife and quickly smiled. “Happy birthday, Lian,” he said. “Hope you’re hungry.”

“What are you making?” asked his sister-in-law as she set Lian into her big-girl seat.

Will quickly smoothed the creamy filling between the bread and added strawberries and syrup before he presented the plate to his daughter. “A French Toast sandwich, with strawberries, bananas, and syrup, and chocolate chips,” he said proudly. He watched as Lian’s eyes lit up when she saw her yummy-looking breakfast and he took a deep breath. He wanted her to have the best birthday breakfast he could offer. She grabbed a fork, and Artemis helped her cut her sandwich into small pieces. Will’s heart beat faster, and Lian’s eyes widen.

“Yummy!” she squealed before she shoved another forkful into her mouth.

Will laughed, and Artemis gently stopped her from shoving another forkful between her lips and reminded her to chew and swallow first. Relieved, Will poured coffee for himself and Artemis, and cooked another patch before the party would start.

***

Artemis was outside and setting up decorations and party bags when the doorbell first rang. Lian was watching TV with her father, but Will was quick to walk up to the front door. All of a sudden, his anxiety came back. What if everyone else who came hated the party? What if this was the only kid who came to the party? Swallowing, Will peered through the peephole but opened the door with a smile.

“Hello, Will. Are we late?”

“Raquel! No. You and Amistad are the first to arrive!”

The young woman clutched her squirming son and grinned. Will smiled at the little boy, clearly looking for his friend. “Come on in. Artemis is out back, but Amistad here can–”

“Ami, Ami!” Lian was at her father’s side within a moment and jumping. Raquel set down her son, and the children embraced.

“Aw,” cooed Raquel.

“Today is your birthday,” said Amistad as he pet Lian’s hair.

“Auntie Mouse is outside, and we got a moon bouncy,” Lian squealed. She and Amistad grabbed hands and ran to the backdoor but could not reach the doorknob. Will shook his head and opened the door for them.

***

Over the next hour, Will did his best to relax. The party was going off rather smoothly. Lian’s friends were there, both from daycare and the parents’ group. Donny and Dawn, who somehow knew not to run around, were laughing and rolling around the lawn with Zehra and Khary. Artur and Traya were having too much fun inside the moon bounce with Greg and Brandon. Many of the daycare moms were still starstruck to meet Iris—the GBS reporter! Lian’s daddy knew a news reporter from the second biggest national news station, after GMA!—and Artemis, who had dropped off Brucely at the Watchtower for the day, was happy to photograph as many things as possible.

“It’s hard getting my kids out of the house sometimes,” sighed Nicole as Lian tried doing a cartwheel while Dawn and Zehra cheered her on. “What’s your secret?”

Will swallowed, at loss for words. “Uh, well, when you’ve lived with a millionaire most of your life, you get to travel a lot, more or less like an army brat, and you make friends with whoever does business with your adoptive dad. So…” He felt so awkward and worried that she could sense it. “I guess it’s…doing something new every day.”

“Ani, Jenny!” Lian and Dawn screamed.

Anissa and Jennifer, each carrying a present, shoved them into Lynn’s arms and bolted for their friends. “Happy birthday, Li!” Jennifer giggled.

“Lynn, so happy you could come,” Will said as he handed her a cup of punch and offered two more to her daughters. The girls wiped their mouths, thanked their host, and let Lian tug on their hands as she rushed to introduce them to her friends from daycare.

Will introduced Lynn to all the daycare mothers, who were very nice and alternated between watching the children play and talking to each other. “Wow, your daughter is really a social butterfly,” Masasa commented. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s voted Homecoming Queen in the future!”

Will forced himself to chuckle. He couldn’t imagine Lian at age six just yet, so just the thought of her as a teenager felt weird.

“Everything okay?” Lynn asked in a voice low enough so the daycare moms didn’t hear.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m not used to playing host, and…I’m worried something might happen.”

Lynn cocked an eyebrow. “Say that again.”

Will gestured for her to follow him as he slowly walked from the daycare moms. At a considerable distance, he took a deep breath. “I get nervous around the women from daycare. It’s not easy being the only dad–well, only really involved dad. I mean, other dads will help with things, pick up their kids and all, but…” Then he swallowed and double checked that nobody was watching. “I’ve heard quite a few women notice that I’m the only one of Lian’s parents to do things, and they’ve said some rather mean things, like her mother is a bad parent for not being with the other moms or…picking up our daughter.”

Lynn’s face made him think that he told her that her brother had just died. “Are you serious?”

Will nodded. “Yeah. Sometimes I have Artemis pick Lian up, just because…it’s kind of hurtful.” When Lynn didn’t say anything, he continued. “That’s why I want this party to be perfect, so these mothers can let the others know that I am a good single father even if I don’t have my wife with me.”

Lynn glanced at the daycare mothers chatting animatedly with Iris, Mera, and Raquel. “Well, I think it’s enough that you have her aunt involved, but…at least you have us. We know you don’t project your daughter’s needs to her aunt. We got your back.”

Will felt completely grateful and nodded.

***

The doorbell rang shortly after Brandon won Pin the Helmet on the Dog, but some of the kids alternated between running inside and some were already back outdoors. Artemis reassured Will that she would watch over the kids so he could answer the door.

“Hello, brother.”

Will smiled at his fellow clone, who carried a present wrapped in appropriately themed wrapping paper, but his smile sank when he saw Roy hunched over his phone. “Someone’s not in a party mode?” he asked.

Jim glanced at their genetic template. “I practically had to drag him from the hotel. I’m starting to think that he may have second thoughts about being caught in a kiddie party.”

“I’m not deaf, you know,” Roy groaned. Jim chuckled.

“Lian, Uncle Jim and Uncle Roy are here!” Will called out. “Put that down, however you pronounce your name again!”

Jim laughed and elbowed Roy to follow him inside, where Lian ran to them both for hugs and then dashed through the backdoor. He grimaced as he tried to set down his gift somewhere on the mountain of presents without it falling over. Once he was satisfied, he followed Will into the backyard. Some of the mothers he recognized, and the others must have been daycare moms. The only other guy was definitely the human android that Red Tornado set up. Roy walked away, but Jim looked up and saw a very familiar face that he was happy to see.

“Hey, Karen!”

The expectant woman grinned, and they hugged as tightly but loosely as they could given her condition. “Glad to see you!” He quickly peeked around. “Mal’s getting better, I hope?”

Karen nodded. “Yes, but he encouraged me to come anyway, and I’m going to film Lian opening our present for him. Plus…” She glanced around at the little ones laughing and having fun. “When you’re going to be a member of an exclusive club like this, you don’t turn down the invite for what you’re expecting.“

“Absolutely,” he agreed, thinking of his protégé and how excited he was for the couple.

“So, uh…how’s Karen?” she asked as she cradled her baby bump.

Jim grinned. “Your, uh, closest ‘geranium’ is doing well, and she hopes you’ll come back and visit soon.” He liked to see how Karen’s eyes lit up. “They all miss you and can’t wait to hear about your dissertation. Definitely let me know if—”

What cut him off was a squeal of laughter, and Donny and Dawn jogged behind the other kids, waving their arms and making silly noises. Artemis secured a few pictures, but Will could not laugh. He watched his daughter and a friend from daycare attempt to hula hoop, but both failed miserably. Fortunately, Lian just laughed, and so did her friend. He noticed Roy succeed in opening a bottle of water with one hand and offer a kid a juice box.

Then Will looked over his daughter’s head and panicked when he saw Mera put her hand to her son’s forehead. The prince must have dehydrated himself in the moon bounce. Will grabbed a water bottle and hurried over. “Here,” he said. “He looks thirsty.”

“Thank you,” Mera said as she handed her son the bottle and encouraged him to drink. Will checked to make sure nobody was watching, but he was worried. He wanted his daughter’s birthday to be perfect, and that did not include a child passing out, especially an Atlantean.

When Artur took deep breaths, Will fanned him as best as he could. “If you want, the bathtub is upstairs if he needs a good soak.”

“Thank you, Will,” Mera said, “but I think he’s good for now.”

“You sure?” Will asked the prince. Artur hesitated but nodded. Will sighed in relief and chuckled when he saw some of the day care moms—Denise and Nicole—standing close to Jim, who looked amused and uncomfortable. Nicole, with the black hair, nodded to what he was saying and brushed something off his shoulder.

***

“Lois! I’m so glad you and Jonathan could make it!” the host greeted the last guest before he welcomed the two inside.

“Thank you for inviting us,” Lois said. “I mean, I know he’s a little young for birthday parties, but it means a lot that you welcome us here.”

“Of course.” Will led mother and child to the backyard and ruffled the baby’s hair. “My daughter enjoys playing with your son, and she wanted him to come.” Then he clapped his hands and put on his best host smile. “All right, everyone, who’s ready for the piñata?”

Even little Jonathan bounced in his mother’s arms as he watched the children line up. Artemis took a picture of her niece clutching the Sky piñata before Jim hung it over a tree branch and Roy tied a bandana over Lian’s eyes. He handed her a wooden baseball bat.

“Hey, no fair!” Jennifer whined. She pointed to the older kids behind her. “They’re bigger than we are, they’ll hit it better!” Then came a little chorus of protests, and Will panicked. He tried to read his daughter’s face, but it was hard given the blindfold.

“Not quite, kiddo,” Jim said with a smile. “Who says that I can’t lift”—he tugged on the rope so the piñata went up a few inches higher—“for the taller ones?”

“Damn, he’s so hot,” Will heard Kath mutter to herself or the other mothers. He tried not to chuckle, even though he knew that if Jim found out, he would have turned red.

It took about half an hour and tiny cheers of encouragement, but at last Sky broke apart when Amistad whacked the side, and a shower of candy poured onto the grass. Children rushed over and grabbed handfuls of Tootsie Rolls, sugar stix, Twix bars, Kit Kats, lollipops, and Twizzlers, which their parents said they would hold onto until after presents.

“All right, everyone,” Will said after he checked the time, “who’s ready for birthday cake?”

Roy would never admit to anyone that a hoard of tiny legs and bodies nearly trampled him to the ground in a rush into the house, and he was sure that one kid kicked him in the gut, but nobody noticed because everyone in the kitchen impatiently watched as Will removed the cake from the refrigerator.

Will set down the giant Paw Patrol cake in front of his daughter, with the 3 candle lit and dancing. It was 4:16—the exact same time that Lian was born, after her mother was in labor for sixteen hours. The birthday girl and her friends bounced in their seats as Will and Lian posed for her aunt. Then Will let her take a picture of all the guests before he said, “All right, everyone sing…”

“Happy birthday to you…”

Lian blew out the candle, and her friends, their mothers, her father, her aunt, and her uncles clapped and cheered. Then Will slowly cut the cake into equal wedges and set them on tiny Paw Patrol paper plates for the children. (He then worried that someone would notice that he gave Donny and Dawn slightly bigger slices and regretted not ordering a stack of cupcakes for everyone so the twins wouldn’t detect if they were eating something sugar-free).

Lian, for no reason, ended up shoving her slice of cake in Roy’s face. Her friends burst into laughter, while their mothers blushed. Jim chuckled, but then he felt a stranger caress his arm and then his back a little too much for his liking. Will, for once, stopped worrying and started laughing. His daughter was happy. She was making other children laugh.

Roy, who thought that Lian had wanted to whisper something in his ear, stared as cake fell from his face and onto the table. Lian giggled and licked her fingers. He shrugged and ruffled her hair. Little goofball—he couldn’t get mad at her. Then he searched for a napkin, but his eyes instead hit Artemis holding a camera, pointing in his direction, clicking more than once. The humiliation came back in a fresh wave. He needed to break that camera apart and burn it. He could not let anyone else see evidence that a three-year-old “caked” him like a newly married couple to each other.

“Jennifer, no!” Lynn warned as she grabbed her daughter’s wrist before she could shove her own slice into her sister’s face. Anissa either didn’t care or was laughing too hard to notice. Will grinned as everyone ate and Jonathan smashed his fist into his own slice, and then he, Artemis, and Jim carried the presents and set them on the table where the cake had been.

At Auntie Mouse’s request, Lian had to open Grandmommy Paula’s gift first, though everything was filmed anyway. Paula gave her granddaughter two dolls that she had since she was a girl, a black dress, and a storybook in Vietnamese. Although Lian was not learning to speak Vietnamese fluently, she was able to read and understand some vocabulary. Will helped his daughter read aloud the letter his mother-in-law wrote, Lian in love with her grandmother’s handwriting. Artemis couldn’t help but feel like crying because Paula said the best words to her little sunshine.

Artur gave her a pink conch and told her to hold it to her ear so she could hear the ocean. Lian nearly squealed because it sounded so real, but not even the little prince could explain why it could do that. Jennifer gave her a Justice League coloring book that featured nearly every hero in its history (Lian knew better than to point out that she found her own daddy in the book) and a stack of crayons, Anissa bought with her own money Green Arrow and Black Canary plushies for Lian’s collection, while Amistad’s gift was a kiddie bow and arrow set with suction cups, and Traya’s a kid-friendly book on different religions. Jonathan’s parents gave her a Superman teddy from Build-a-Bear, Donny and Dawn a picture album of their adventures to the beach and the zoo, and Zehra two stuffed cats. Khary gave her a collection of Peppa Pig plushies, Greg a candy-making kit, and Brandon the same set of Paw Patrol rain boots that he had so they could be "twins” for the daycare’s upcoming trip to an apple orchard.

Roy gave her the Brave read-along book, Artemis a collection of clothes, and Jim a suitcase with wheels to carry books, clothes, and toys for when she came to visit him, her name embroidered in sapphire blue. All three of them also gave her cards declaring their absolute love for the niece they shared and how she lit up their lives.

After Lian opened a bumblebee pillow pet from Mal and Karen, Will handed her his present. She pulled apart the wrapping paper to the solar system set that she wanted for a long time and a framed poem of a father’s love and wishes for his daughter. Everyone, even Roy and Jim, started tearing up as Will coached his daughter into reading it out loud. He promised to hang it over her bed after the party.

Afterwards, the party spent the afternoon in the living room. The TV played Paw Patrol, but the children alternated between watching and engaging in other activities. Lian and Jennifer made buzzing noises to Jonathan using the bumblebee pillow pet. Artur, Traya, Anissa, and Dawn gathered at the coffee table while Jim entertained them with card tricks, and Masasa gave him coffee and a wink. Roy feigned interest as Donny, Greg, and Zehra sang along to whatever was on TV again and bounced on his lap and the couch. Amistad, Brandon, and Khary played Justice League while Raquel, Mera, Iris, and Karen got to know Nicole, Kath, Denise, and Grey. Will talked mostly to John and watched as Artemis made sure to snap pictures of everything.

Slowly, beginning at six, the guests began to leave. Jennifer and Donny whined and complained as their respective mothers escorted them out, but they were excited to go home and open their party bags. Although the parents helped Will clean up as much as they could, only John, Roy, Mera, and Jim stayed. By the time Mera and John left, with Traya and the prince behind them, Will thought he was going to cry in relief. It was hard playing host and keeping an eye out on little bodies. Roy ordered a pizza for the remaining four adults to share as they finished the ice cream, and Will began washing the dishes.

“Did you have fun, baby girl?” Artemis called out. A yawn was her response. Artemis chuckled and walked into the living room to sit beside her exhausted niece, rubbing her eyes and struggling to hold up her head. “Ready for bed? You must be sleepy.”

“No,” she sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Lian nodded but yawned again. Artemis smiled and prepared to slide her hands under her niece’s body, but Lian made a noise of protest. “No, I want Daddy.”

“Is everything okay, Li?” Will asked as he stepped out of the kitchen.

Lian nodded and held out her arms. “Daddy put me to bed.”

Will smiled and picked her up. Her head immediately landed on his shoulder. “Oh, my little girl’s exhausted,” he said. “Did you have fun today?”

Lian nodded as he carried her into the kitchen so Jim and Roy could hug her goodnight before she went to bed. “I did,” she whispered.

Will gave Lian a quick bath and had to keep his hand on her back to keep her from falling asleep in the tub, and brushed her teeth for her while she struggled to keep her mouth wide open. Lian sleepily wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his collarbone as he helped her into her pajamas. Will laid her onto the mattress, but before he pulled the covers to her chest, Lian threw her arms around him again. “Thank you, Daddy,” she yawned. “It was the best birthday ever.”

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thebluenebula · 3 years

Text

First Xmas Gala

Ashleigh Wayne Au Fic Masterlist

The day of the Gala has come, and Ash couldn't be more nervous, but with her family by her side everything will be fine, right?

Preparing for the Gala

. . . . .

I didn't sleep that night. I got up at five, shower, shaved, and cleaned myself up. I tried to do something with my hair, but there wasn't much I could do, so I ended up leaving it as it was.

As I headed back to my room, I spotted the boys in Dick's room, getting ready. The five of them were wearing similar black suits, each had unique accessory matching the Wayne wearing it. Dick, Duke, and Damien all had ties, blue, yellow, and green respectively, Tim a red bowtie, and Jay a loose floor length skirt.

I stared in aww at my brothers. "You guys look stunning."

Dick looked up at me curiously. "Thank you. Are you wearing that?"

I was still in the clothes I'd worn the day before. "First off, I already look better then you."

Jay snickered. "That's not hard."

"Secondly, no. I'm going to get changed now."

Duke adjusted his tie. "Well hurry."

I headed to my room, stripped and looked into wardrobe. The suit, or the dress? The suit was nice, and I knew I'd be comfortable, I wouldn't stand out, but I had to wear the dress. I wanted to wear the dress.

I examined myself in the mirror. The blue dress hugged my body, not too tightly, but enough. The long skirt hid the sneakers, and tracksuit bottoms I was wearing underneath. I rubbed my bare arm. It felt right, but could I really wear it in front of all those people? In front of Cassie?

Someone knocked on the door. I recognised Harper's knock. "You decent, Ash?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Mind if we come in?"

I unlocked the door for them. Carrie, and Harper walked in. I looked at the girls. Harper was wearing a black suit, with a blue undershirt, while Carrie was wearing her green sun dress

"You look amazing." We all said in unison. It was followed by a burst of giggles.

Carrie leaned against my dresser. "So, are you ready for your first Gala?"

"I guess so."

"You look worried."

"All things considered, the Galas the least of my worries."

"Cassie?"

I turned back to the mirror. "Yes. Do you think she'll like this dress, or should I wear a suit?"

Harper came up behind me, and wrapped her arms around me. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. You like it, so nothing else matters, plus I know Cassie will love it. You want to know how I know?"

"How?"

"Cause you're in it."

I leaned my head back into her. "Thank you, Harper."

In the mirror, I watched as Carrie pick up my pair of fishnet gloves. "You've been taking fashion tips from Dinah I see."

I took them from her, and pulled them on. "Zee, actually. She's got great style. Would one of you mind taking a picture of me?"

Carrie grabbed my phone. "Not at all. Strike a pose."

I smiled as she took a step back to get a proper shot. As the camera flashed, I felt a sudden weight on my back.

I tried to steady myself as Harper clung to my back. "Photobomb!"

I giggled as we fell onto the bed, knocking her off of me. "Photohog more like it."

When we were done laughing, Carrie took a proper photo, then one of the three of us together. I sent them to Siobhan, then the three of us headed downstairs.

Everyone was gathered in the living room. Bruce was the first to spot us. "Ashleigh, you look stunning."

Kate appeared behind him. "Understatement of the century."

I could feel my face reddening. "Thank you."

The same could be said for them. Bruce was wearing a pitch black suit. In a dim light room, he'd be hard to spot. Maybe that was the point. Kate's outfit was at least bit more colorful. Her black dress had intricate red lines swirling through it.

Carrie coughed, drawing our attention to her, and Harper. "There are other children in the room looking for positive verbal reassurement."

Bruce russeled their hair. "You two are just as stunning as ever."

Carrie fixed her hair in one motion. "Good. Thank you."

Harper was not so lucky. She gave Bruce a sour look as she pushed the loose hair from her face. "Yeah, thanks."

I looked around the room, admiring everyones outfits. I'd seen Bab's dress the day she got it, but it looked even better on her. The green empire dress worked so well for her. As for Steph, and Cass they both wore matching sun dresses. The only difference being the colours, purple, and black respectively, both with splashes of yellow.

We took the obligitory family photos. First, all of us together. Then the adults. Then the kids. Then a couple more in our own little groups.

Steph had taken on the role of 'parent who wants way too many pictures'. She insisted on getting dozens of pictures of everyone. After what felt like a hundred pictures, Steph left me alone, and went to get pictures of Bruce.

Kate took my hand in hers. "You nervous?"

"More then I've ever been."

She gave it a gentle squeeze. "You'll be fine."

"What if I fuck it up?"

"You won't."

"I'm going to do something wrong or forget something- The flowers! What did I do with the flowers?"

"Calm down."

I thought for a minute as to where I left them. "They were in my room. I'll go get them."

I turned to go get them, but Kate grabbed my shoulder. "You stay here, I'll get them."

Kate left, and returned a few minutes later with my flowers. She set them down nearby, and we chatted as we waited.

Since the Supers and the Wonders were also going to the Gala, Bruce had suggested they all carpool with us. It wasn't long before the Supers arrived, much to Tim, and Damien's delight.

Clark wore a lovely tan suit, Lois a very professional looking black suit, she was still very much in reporter mode. Conner, and Jon wore near identical Superman-esc suits. They we're adorable, and clearly Tim agreed, considering how quickly he jumped into Conner's arms. Kara had a lovely yellow bouffant dress, and Karen a green sheath dress. It made her look like a news anchor. Of course a news anchor wouldn't wear a green dress.

Artemis arrived soon after to pick up Jay. She had a beautiful red dress on, that ended just past her knees. I was kind of expecting her show up with the other Wonders. She assured us that the others had just run into some delays and would be here soon.

As the two went to leave, Jay stopped, and turned to me. "Piece of advice, make sure to use pro- oww!"

Artemis smacked the back of his head. "Don't you dare finish that."

"I was joking."

For just a moment I was worried that if I messed this up Artemis would break my arm, then I realized how ridiculous that was. Cassie was more then capable of doing that herself.

The two left on Artemis's motorbike, because leaving in a car or limo would have been far too boring for them.

Bruce leaned into me, and whispered. "You did have 'the talk', right?"

"Yes! What do you people think is going to happen tonight?"

Kate flashed a cheeky smile. "All cards are on the table."

I was spared delving any further into that conversation by the doorbell. Alfred left the room to answer it. It had to be the Wonders. Too late for me to back out now.

Alfred with Diana, Donna, and Cassie. I felt my heart beat faster as I saw them. Diana was wearing a blue bodice gown, Donna a sleevless black sheath dress with stars down both sides, and Cassie was wearing a red spaghetti top, and a blue skirt with stars, it looked like the one from Wonders Woman's old costume.

"Sorry for the delay." Diana apologised. "Someone forgot to check the tank before we left."

Donna sighed. "I said I was sorry."

Cassie hit them. "You two, stop fighting."

Once Cassie managed to stop the two bickering, they split off to socialise. Diana went to Bruce, and Clark, Donna to Dick, and Babs, and Cassie found her way to me.

She had a beaming smile on her face. "You look amazing."

"Thank you. You look beautiful."

She gestured to my gloves. "Got them from Zee?"

"She recommended a store."

I gestured to her skirt. "Diana's?"

"Bingo."

The two of us began chatting. Tim, Cass, and Steph joined us. We giggled amongst ourselves until the time came for us to leave.

Alfred walked over to us. "Miss Ashleigh, Miss Sandsmark, I believe it is time we leave."

Alfred, and Cassie began walking off. I went to follow them, but Steph grabbed my arm, and gestured to the flowers. "Forgetting something."

"Oh yeah." I quickly grabbed them. "Thanks."

Cass kissed my cheek. "Head up, be proud."

"Thanks."

I caught up with the two. Cassie looked at me. "What held you up?"

"I forgot something." I presented the flowers to her.

She examined them. "They're beautiful. What are they?"

"Flowers."

She punched my arm. "I know that. What kind?"

"Oh. The red ones are amaryllis, the yellow are orchids, and the blue ones are larkspur."

"I've never heard of that last one."

"Neither have I."

"Did you just choose these because of my costume?"

"For the most part."

"Dork. I love them."

We wandered out to the car that Alfred had for us. We sat into the back.

"Flowers, and our own car, not a bad start to a date."

"The seperate car was Dick's idea." I admitted.

"In that case I'm surprised it's not filled with rose petals and candles."

"Oh don't worry, he wanted to."

"He's like a cliche romance novel, in the best ways. What stopped him?"

"Babs had him a short leash. He wanted to arrange a romantic candle lit dinner in the fanciest restraunt in Gotham. I figured that might be too much."

"That's ridiculous but sweet. Someone going to be lucky to have him one day."

"Yeah, they are. Would you have liked that?"

"I'll love whatever we do, as long as we do it together."

"I'll remember that for next time."

She smiled "Already thinking about a next time?"

"No. I mean yeah, but- sorry."

"It's alright, Ash. You don't have to be nervous."

"Says you. I don't think I've ever seen you nervous."

"I'm nervous right now."

"About the date?"

"Yeah."

"You have nothing to worry about, this is going to be the best date I've ever been on."

"How are you so sure?"

"I've never been on a date before."

Cassie laughed. "Doesn't that mean it will also be the worst date you've ever been on?"

"Shush."

The rest of the ride was filled with our typical banter. It felt so natural that I forgot it was a date. I only remembered as we pulled up to the Gala. I stepped out of the car, turned, and offered Cassie a hand out. "M'lady."

She took my hand, and giggled. "You're such an idiot."

We headed into the building. As we walked in, hand in hand, I realized something. I was so worried about the date portion, I forgot to ask what you actually did at a Gala other then dance.

I guess I have to do as I usually do, figure it out along the way, and pretend I knew all along.

The first thing I spotted once we were inside was the huge Christmas tree. It was bigger then any I'd ever seen, and beautifully decorated.

I was quickly whisked away as Cassie pulled me along behind her. Hours passed as we chatted, and joked. It really didn't feel much different then when we normally hung out.

We talked to people, the Bats, the Wonders, others who I'd never met before. When it came to that, it was more Cassie talking, and me hiding behind her. I did notice that Artemis, and Jay were no where to be seen however.

Eventually, we spotted them standing by the food table. Cassie gently dragged me along behind her as we headed over to them.

Closer now I noticed that Artemis had her hand up Jay's skirt. The two were so busy with whatever they we're doing, they didn't hear us approach.

Cassie coughed. Artemis quickly straightened up, her hand accidently pulling Jay's skirt up. He quickly pushed it down. "Hey!"

"Don't blame me. You should have worn trousers under it."

"I like the breeze."

Cassie, and I giggled at the two. "Should we even ask?"

Jay reached into his skirt, and pulled out a resealable bag full of treats. "Stealing."

I looked at him curiously. "Where were you keeping that?"

"I have the inside lined with pockets."

Cassie shook her head while chuckling. "Why are you even stealing that food, it's free?"

Artemis shrugged. "It's more fun."

I nudged Jay. "You can't go one night without some kind of mischief can you?"

"God, no."

Artemis began whispering to Cassie. Jay, and I watched them curiously. The two girls looked to us. "One moment."

They walked away, still whispering. I turned to Jay. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea." He turned back to me. "Anyway, how's the date been?"

"Great."

"And the ride here?"

"It was good, yeah. We chatted."

Jay smirked. "Is that all you did?"

"I'm going to hit you, really fucking hard."

"So is that a yes?"

"This close, Jay."

"You wouldn't hit me."

"Keep pushing, and you'll find out."

Jay was about to respond when music suddenly came on. I watched as people gathered into the center of the room.

He nudged me. "You should go dance with her."

"I might mess up. The last thing I want is to fall over her, or the other way around."

"You've been practicing all week for this. You never once knocked Cass."

"That's Cass."

"Good point."

"If she doesn't bring it up, I think I'll just avoid it."

"Too bad." He grabbed the scruff of my dress, and dragged me towards Cassie.

I tried to pry his hands from my dress. "Jay, I swear to god."

"You are going to dance. Babs, and Cass spent all week teaching you."

"Fine."

We got to Cassie, and Artemis. They looked over at us. Jay kept a hold of the neck of my dress. "Ask."

I turned to Cassie. "Would you like to dance?"

Cassie smirked. "Depends, is Jay going to dance with us."

I elbowed his stomach. He recoiled, and let go of me. "No. He won't."

Artemis laughed as he grabbed her arm to stabilise himself. Cassie, and I headed out to the dance floor. She took my hand. "You know how to slow dance?"

I placed my free hand on her shoulder. "Yeah."

She placed her other hand on my side. "Guess I'm leading."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I can lead if you'd prefer."

"It's alright, Ash."

We moved around the ballroom elegantly to the song. Eventually Cassie closed the gap between us. "You know, Ash. For a someone who seemed like they really didn't want to dance, you're quite good at it."

"I've been practicing."

"With Dick?"

"No. He wanted to show me, but Babs wouldn't let him. She, and Cass showed me."

"That explains it."

The song stopped, and we stepped apart. "What now?"

"Wanna take a walk?"

"Sure."

We soon found ourselves out to the balcony. It was empty. The silence was nice, as was the cool winter breeze. "Tonights been nice, Cassie. Thank you."

She leaned her head onto my shoulder. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I'm sorry if it wasn't what you wanted."

"I wanted a date with you, Ash. The Gala was just a great excuse for it. Tonight's been everything I wanted."

"Tonight's been a night of firsts for me."

"Oh, yeah?"

"First Gala, first date, first slow dance, even my first time wearing a dress out. It's been an amazing night, Cassie, and I have you to thank for all of it."

"This nights not over yet, Ash."

"Something you had in mind?"

"I was thinking we spend more time out here."

"That'd be nice. Maybe we can do this again. The whole date thing."

"I'd love to. Any suggestions?"

"How about the restaurant Dick was on about?"

"Sounds like a nice place."

"It would be with you there."

Cassie looked at me. "Did you just attempt to flirt?"

"Depends, was it any good?"

She kissed my cheek. "Awful, but you tried."

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. I stared out into the darkness. It got dark so quickly during the winter. The Bats, usually, would be out on patrol by now, and I would be home worried sick, but not tonight. Tonight, I knew they were inside, enjoying themselves, safe, and that made me happy. As did Cassie's hand in mine.

Today was a good day.

. . . . .

Writing this fic was so hard for so many reasons. The primary one was just to find the motivation to finish it. I set a deadline for myself of the 10th. It is not but the 10th but close enough. I think this turned out great, hope you enjoy. I also intend to post a Xmas fic soon aswell, so look out for that if you're interested. Though it might not be out by Xmas if I'm not feeling like it.

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theabominableblogger · 4 years

Text

My Reaction to “Birds of Prey“

*in best Roman Sionis impression* WHOOO!

Figured I might as well FINALLY watch it. On with the show!

*silently jams to the opening logos*

This animated intro is great.

*snorts at the little animation of how an egg gets fertilized*

Why is this animated Joker a different (and actually better) character design than what we got in Suicide Squad? Were we robbed of Letoker in full Joker suited glory? I think we were.

“Behind every successful man is a badass broad.” *points at screen in agreement*

I love Harley’s freaking rainbow apartment

The hyena!

This movie has the same amount of color saturation as “Pulp Fiction”

Freaking Bernie the Beaver is holding her tissues! We stan supportive friends!

*gasp* Cass!

This guy [Roman’s driver] looks an awful lot like Jon Hamm and that is never gonna go away

“It’s not a party without a little drama!” I love Ewan McGregor

*snorts in hilarity when Harley turns to address the audience about how much she doesn’t like Roman in front of Roman*

“Do give the Joker my [Roman] best.” Uhhh....

*jams the crap out to “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat*

*laughs at Harley drunkenly giving relationship advice to a female bust in the club*

“Some people have the Eiffel Tower. Or Olive Garden.” Can we please hear the stories about Gotham’s Olive Garden?

Oh that shot [of Harley walking away from the Ace Chemicals explosion] is great

[Four Minutes Ago] *snorts in hilarity*

So far I actually really like Rosie Perez as Montoya.

Huntress!

*Huntress kills the mob people in the flashback* That was awesome. And the way Montoya steps back and forth to investigate the body is great.

“Harley Quinn just called open season on herself.” And oop.

God, seeing Ewan as Black Mask is really gonna throw me off but man this is gonna be a great performance.

*jaw drops in horror when Zsasz removes someone’s FACE*

JESUS CHRIST HOLY SHIT RATED “R” HUH?!?

“Is that a snot bubble?” Shit!

OHHHHH THAT SHOT OF ROMAN WITH THE MASK ON!!! AAAAAAHHHH!!

The SATURATION IN THIS MOVIE

Also the soundtrack and aesthetic in this movie is very... “Suicide Squad”-esque

Man that sandwich looks good

*jaw drops when Harley accidentally throws her sandwich into the road*

Also they de-saturated everything again hahaha

Oh my gosh that guy [”Happy”] is HUGE

[GRIEVANCE: COSMETIC VANDALISM] Yeah, that sounds about right

“Par-ley??” *snorts*

Her [Montoya’s] shirt....

Also why is she wearing that shirt at work?

This movie is giving me huge Tarantino vibes

Why does the actor that plays Montoya’s boss looks familiar?

Oh! He’s Rufus in “Supernatural.” Bobby’s kinda buddy!

“Ms. Montoya, we do have a dress code.” There we go.

They are really just going back and forth in the timeline to cover everything, aren’t they?

Harley’s using nonlethal rounds?

The action set pieces in this movie so far are awesome.

*says “Run, piggy, run!” along with Harley*

Of course Dinah is singing “This Is A Man’s World”

Also I’ve seen like a 20 second Twitter compilation of Roman saying the f-bomb and it’s glorious

“We could make our own family.” Oh snap.

WAIT THAT’S THE GUY WHOSE FACE ZSASZ REMOVED!

Does... Roman... like Dinah? Like... that? Or is this manipulation?

*chuckles when drunk Harley slides up next to Dinah at the bar*

*gets very uncomfortable at a guy trying to take advantage of a drunk Harley*

C’mon Dinah...

What’s the song playing here [when Dinah’s beating up the guys in the alley]?

Uh whatcha doing in the corner there, Zsasz?

“Oh sooongbirrddd?” Noo...

Did I just see a street sign that said “ANUS”?

So is Cass faking a broken wrist or does she actually have a broken wrist?

So far my favorite characters are Montoya and Dinah. Not gonna lie.

*has to muffle laughter when Roman does the mmkay hand sign*

“I mean, I like crossbows!” *giggles*

Holy shit, Zsasz is jealous of Dinah.

“Look at his little ears, the little haircut...” *insane giggling*

ZSASZ IS DYING IN THE BACK I LOVE THIS SONG

Dinah is clearly rethinking some life decisions while looking at that statue of Roman

*jams out to “Sway with Me” by GALAXRA*

*Cass robs Zsasz of the diamond* WHOOP!

*winces when Roman does acupuncture*

“SHE’s a chILDDD!!” *laughs*

ZSASZ

Ho shit that shot of Roman on top of the stairs looking down at Harley

“VOTED FOR BERNIE” HAHAHA

*Harley completely derails Roman’s villain monologue* THIS IS AMAZING

HE [Roman] GOT A BOWL OF POPCORN

*Zsasz licks Harley’s cheek* EEUUUGGGHHH!!

Did that goon just pull a tampon out of Harley’s pocket?

I’M SORRY CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE PICTURE OF NUDE ELEANOR ROOSEVELT?

*gasps when Roman backhands Harley across the face*

OH HERE WE GO

HOLY SHIT THIS IS GREAT

ROMAN IN THE STRIPED SUIT

THE CHOREOGRAPHY

WHY WAS IT SO SHORT I LOVED IT

Where is this cover at on the official soundtrack?!?

“I’ll give you ‘til midnight.” Hold on, hold on, what’s the timeline for this movie?

Harley’s just booking it in the background

Aaaand we’re back at the beginning!

Aaand there’s Harley!

Wait there’s about an hour left and we just now got to Harley meeting Cass?

CONFETTIIIII!!

Is she just using paint bombs on all the guards?

Harley, trying to enter the cells: I AM PRESSING. EVERY BUTTON. I CAN FIND.

Why would they put Cass in the cell block with all the adults?

OH HALSEY! COME THROUGH!

*Harley slides across the floor to knock a guy down* OHHHH!!!

Daniel Pemberton’s orchestral score for this movie is reminding me an awful lot of “Into the Spiderverse”

Is that Katana’s sword?!? How the hell did it get there?!?

WAIT SHE’S GONNA HUFF THE COCAINE?!?

Jesus, now THIS is Harley’s fighting style! Holy crap!

*gasps when Harley gets kicked back and knocks off a car door off its hinges*

*jaw drops* SHE JUST SET THAT DUDE’S BEARD ON FIRE

How does everyone seem to know where Harley is?

*Smash cut to Harley buying laxative for Dinah in the store* Hahahahahaha!

“I do not care that you’re [Cass] a kid.” Yeah, Harley, didn’t you uh... assist in the murder of Jason Todd in this universe? Hmmm???

Wait so how long ago have Harley and the Joker been together?

Doc calls Harley “lotus flower”!

Those are the nuns from the school in the beginning!

She is actually... talking to the beaver

“[Joker] Sounds like a dick.” I mean, yeah.

Also I just realized that Harley drew an actual dick in the Joker drawing’s mouth

HUNTRESS!

OH NOW WE’RE GETTING INTRODUCED TO HELENA!

*eyes widen in shock at the Bertenelli massacre*

*chuckles at the smash cut to Helena practicing in the mirror*

*Roman sees someone laughing in the club* Oh no.

“Get on the table.” Uh.

Oh no what is he doing?

“DANCE, ERICA!” Ohh. Shit.

“Take your dress off.” *jaw drops in horror*

God, I cannot watch this. Holy-

*has to avert eyes*

*Roman stops Dinah from leaving* NO.

“You soothe me, little bird.” AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

OK, I can take a breather now. Ohhhh my God...

They’re [Harley and Cass] really just having a girl’s night

BRUCE, NOOOOO!!!

“No one knew we were here except-” DOC SOLD THEM OUT!

“This next bit ain’t very pretty.” Oh boy.

“I [Roman] own this town. You have my protection.” Mmmmm... no?

Whoa this super dramatic cover of “Hit Me with Your Best Shot”

OH HE’S [Zsasz] GONNA SEE THE TEXT SHE [Dinah] SENT [to Montoya]!

*Roman starts to break down* Oh. Shit.

OH THIS MUSIC

*Roman puts the mask on* OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

OH THIS IS GREAT

Also of course Joker and Harley had a hideout in Amusement Mile

*winces when Montoya punches Harley right in the boob*

*Harley kicks Montoya out the window* Oh she dead

*gasps* Zsasz!

Man that sideways shot of him is terrifying!

OH FRICK NO

JESUS I DON’T LIKE THIS

So is it implied that Zsasz only kills women or what? I thought he was an equal opportunity killer?

“That’s why he [Roman] needs me [Zsasz] to look after him.” Dude.

...did they just kill Zsasz?

Everyone except Harley is pointing guns at each other and all I’m thinking of is that scene from “The Office”

*snorts in hilarity for Harley clapping for Helena completing her kill list*

Oh Roman just brought a whole freaking army

OHHHH HE’S GOT THE MASK

Oh this music *chef’s kiss*

Oh my God is Roman gonna find Zsasz’s body?

Oh that crane shot out of the lair and back outside? That’s some good shit. Cathy Yan, I see you.

“I [Helena] DON’T HAVE RAGE ISSUES!” DINAH’S FACE!

*Helena pounces on a goon in the slide down and kills him* Geez that’s awesome

This whole set is great

*Helena gives Cass her old toy truck* THIS MAKES ME SAD

Yeah when did Harley have time to put on her skates?

Some dude just gets shanked then leaps back up

That fight scene just went by real quick

*gasps when Roman shoots Montoya*

*jaw drops when Dinah does the Canary Cry*

*Harley gets sideswiped by one of Roman’s goons* Yeah no there’s like half a rib cage gone

*Harley works on overtaking one of Roman’s goons’ car* CRAZY TOWN BEEP BEEP!

*Harley backflips onto the top of Roman’s car* OHHHH!

Founders Pier... geez that looks great

Wait are those all Roman’s goons just lining the dock or are those just statues?

Oh they’re all statues. That’s creepy.

“exCUUSEE me?!?” *snorts in hilarity*

*jaw drops when Cass tucks a grenade in Roman’s coat and activates it*

*still shocked when he FREAKING EXPLODES*

I’M SORRY THEY JUST KILLED OFF BLACK MASK

*Cass finally goes to the bathroom* Finally!

“Does she always [Montoya] talk like the cop in a bad 80s movie?” *laughs*

Guys Helena is great

*laughs when Helena laughs at the fact that Harley stole Dinah’s car*

“They call themselves the Birds of Prey.” Yay! Lemme see them again!

Harley’s jacket has a bedazzled vagina on the back of it

Look at Cass with her jacket and sunglasses!

“Yeah, I made the kid my apprentice.” Yeah, that’s not gonna last long.

#the blogger reacts #dceu #birds of prey #harley quinn #ewan mcgregor #black mask #roman sionis #dinah lance #black canary #huntress #helena bertinelli #cassandra cain #renee montoya #victor zsasz #joker #daniel pemberton #bop #rosie perez

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themusicplayedherlife · 5 years

Text

I Know What You Did

pairings: Bruce Wayne x Reader

characters: Reader, Bruce Wayne, Dinah Laurel Lance, Diana Prince

word count: 1428

warnings: simple injury, implied sexual content (like a line or two), but just fluff, like dumb amount of fluff

a/n: @forevans and i did another fic trade/challenge and this time i got bruce wayne and the prompts: [text] I know what you did last summer… + “On a scale from, ’I can sometimes make important phone calls without crying’ to ’I have a stable job with a steady income, a spouse who loves me, a dog, and two kids who are screwed up minimally at worst’, how much of an adult are you?”

forevans prompt w/ chris evans: counting our time in dog years

Really, you shouldn’t have been surprised that after keeping what you did a secret from him, that it would come up sooner or later, especially when he enjoys the extracurricular on his off time. To your defense, he had waited a whole fucking year to bring it up and you had allowed yourself to fall into false security.

A rookie mistake.

Batty Bat 🦇: I know what you did last summer.

Batty Bat 🦇: I wasn’t going to mention it because I thought there was no reason to, but you’re doing it again, aren’t you?

Y/N ❤: Doing what? Having fun? Cause I am having fun!

Batty Bat 🦇: I can teach you better than those instructors, you know?

You look over at your companions and send them a glare that they disregard with a smile—traitors must have let it slip somehow.

Batty Bat 🦇: I’d be helping you every step of the way. My hands guiding you, pushing you.

Batty Bat 🦇: Don’t you want that?

You feel the ghost of Bruce’s hands on your hips, caressing and teasing as they draw closer and closer to your aching—no! No. No. No! He’s playing you! Trying to psych you out and you won’t let him!

Swatting away the thought, you send him one last text and hand your phone over to Diana to start strapping yourself into the harness.

Y/N ❤ : What are you talking about, babe ?????

“Why don’t you come clean?” Laurel asks, crossing her toned arms over her chest.

“Because,” you start, grunting when you tighten the harness properly like you were taught last year, “he’ll know how much it bothers me that I can’t beat him.”

“I think he knows that already,” Laurel teases.

“I think it’s admirable that you want to better yourself,” Diana says with a smile as you make your way over to the wall with colorful handles. “But I wish you’d be doing it for yourself.”

You think back on the day Bruce first took you climbing and how horrible you were at it, and how he had found it cute that you couldn’t pull yourself up. That ass! He’s the superhero or vigilante or whatever! You’re just a regular old office worker that happens to occasionally help him and his team with their activities when you have time, and only if a computer is involved.

“I am!” You answer back, carefully placing one foot on the handle and then gripping another, pulling yourself up. “If I get better, then I beat Bruce at something for once and that—that would make me happy.”

Laurel laughs. “I just don’t understand why you only practice during the summer. If you had kept up training all of last year, this year you could’ve most likely been able to keep up with Bruce, maybe even go rope free.”

You keep yourself concentrated on the handles, only making sure to grab onto the ones that you know are sturdy enough to hold your weight, but it doesn’t stop you from answering her. “If it’s not Wayne Enterprises taking up my time, it’s the Wayne Foundation. At least during the summer I can take a couple of days off and force Bruce and Lucius to cover for me—” you squeak, losing your footing for a moment. Regaining your balance with the cheers of your friends, you let out a relieved sigh.

But your relief is short lived, another misplace and slippery hand has you pushing away from the wall and, while for a moment you might think you’re safe because of your harness, you’re coming loose from the only hold you had. Before Diana can catch you or any of the instructors can rush over and help you, you’ve already landed on the padded floor, and on your wrist.

“Are you all right?” Diana asks as soon as you sit up with a wince, checking you for injuries.

You try waving her away, but a burning pain prevents you from making any sudden movements. “I think I sprained my wrist.”

Laurel and Diana both share a look, staring at eachother for what seems like forever until Laurel backs away with a sigh. “I’ll call Bruce.”

“Did you not fasten the harness?” Diana scolds you, helping you up. She tells an attendant to call for a car, and they rush to the front to do so.

You cradle your injured hand to your chest. ”I thought I did. Guess not.” Giving Diana a cheeky smile, you say, “At least, I didn’t fall on my head, right?”

She rolls her eyes.

You’re putting on your jacket when you hear footsteps rushing into your room. Thinking it’s Diana or Laurel, you turn ready to chastise them for running, only to come short when you see it’s not either of them, but Bruce looking disheveled in a plain button up and jeans.

“What are you doing here?” you ask him, completely surprised to see him here of all places. Isn’t he supposed to be at the fundraiser you had scheduled months ago?

He takes long strides to reach your bed in record time. His dark, blue eyes aren’t on you, but on your arm that’s been wrapped up and bandaged. “You didn’t get hurt anywhere else?”

“No, I—“

“Are you sure? Did they look you over properly—“

“Bruce—“

“I can have them transfer you to a better—“

“Bruce!” He snaps his gaze away from your arm and to your face, you reach for him with your good hand and he leans down close enough for you to caress his jaw. “I’m okay, babe. I promise. In fact, I can go as soon as the nurses come back with the discharge papers.”

He sighs and leans into your touch, trapping your hand between his jaw and his larger hand, but a smile breaks through his worried expression—his radiant smile full of love and adoration that is only reserved for you in your moments of privacy. “On a scale from, ’I can sometimes make important phone calls without crying’ to ’I have a stable job with a steady income, a spouse who loves me, a dog, and two kids who are screwed up minimally at worst’, how much of an adult are you? Really?”

You know he’s only teasing, and so you let out a scandalizes gasp and twist your hand free from his hold. “Excuse you?”

He lets your hand go, but not without an affectionate squeeze. “Trying to one up me? Really?”

“Hey! It’s just not fair that you’re good at everything, Bruce. I mean look at you, Jesus,” you say, rubbing your free hand all over his well toned stomach and trail a finger up to his chest where he once again traps your hand over his heart. “Good looking, athletic, rich, and smart? Not to mention kind, generous, charismatic and brooding all in one? How is that even possible ?”

He chuckles and presses his lips to your forehead. “Only you get to see all those sides of me.”

You quirk an eyebrow and wiggle your ring finger in his hold. “I would hope so, I didn’t say yes just for you to shut me out.”

“Never,” he says, bringing your hand up to kiss your knuckles. “Now, as soon as you heal, no more sneaking off to rock climb in secret. We’re doing it together next time. Deal?”

You pretend to think about it before sending him a small smile. “Deal.”

After being discharged and saying goodbye to Diana and Laurel, who have decided to stay to enjoy the perks of a fully funded trip, you and Bruce get in a car that’ll take you home.

“How did you get here anyway?” His expression morphs into that of him wearing his dark knight mask—stoic and you know he’s hiding something. Except, what would he be—your eyes widen. “Oh my god. You followed me didn’t you? That's how you knew what I was doing last summer, isn’t it? You followed me last year too!” And here you thought he was taking care of the company! Who’s the responsible adult now?

“I didn’t mean to. The boys wanted to go on a trip and I thought coming here would be fun. You never even told me where you were going, so I was just as surprised as you when I saw you at the gym, and in the climbing area no less. Figured you were trying to keep it a secret.

You groan, throwing your head back. “I’m calling off our wedding.”

He chuckles and kisses you softly, gently. “I love you too.”

#bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne imagine #reader insert #bruce wayne #batman imagine #bruce wayne one shot

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offbrand-valk · 6 years

Text

Stephcass week day 7 - Marriage

Finally done, now i just need to actually do day one, and i’m really really done. Also, if you think I just used this as a vessel to show Kate and Renée being the embarrassing gay aunts we all know them to be, you would be correct. (slightly nsfw for lots of talk about sex toys and stuff)

This had been supposed to just be a small thing. A few friends, a backyard and some good food. How in the world had they been talked into a moderate media presence, Wayne tower, and canapés (canapés!)?

At least the press wasn't allowed inside the church, but Bruce had told her with the size of the event and the people involved it would be impossible to keep them away entirely. "and whose fault is that B-Man?" Steph wanted to scream at him, while Cass just got more tempted to call the entire thing off as time went on.

Even as she was walking down the aisle, Cass was still wondering if she was making a mistake. Not in marrying Steph, that was without a doubt the best decision she would ever make. In allowing other people in on their special day. She had thought the worst would be over when they had decided it would be Alfred walking her down the aisle to stop Babs, Bruce, and Kate fighting over the right. Boy had she been wrong.

Steph was mentally running through her vows for the billionth time, as Selina walked her down the aisles, she was pretty sure she would be reciting them in her sleep for the next month, and at the same time she was convinced she would mess them up when the time came, because that was just the kind of screw up she was. She hadn't had anything to drink all day to keep her mind sharp as could be, and she was very much regretting that decision. She hadn't eaten either, since her dress fit absolutely perfectly right now, and even the slightest bit of tummy was going to ruin that, she would gladly starve herself for the sake of her aesthetic, so long as she remembered not to look at the appetizers.

Somehow some way they both got their vows off without a hitch, and the fairy tale moment lasted all the way through the kiss, which felt so good Steph had a mini heart-attack/orgasm. Neither the paparazzi, nor rice in the bra could ruin the day. In fact, their moods were so high, they were genuinely considering a quickie in the limo while they changed to their party dresses.

Canapés aside the party went great! Harper got drunk and started loudly arguing about thermodynamics with Luke, Jason had to get thrown out of the party for his behavior no less than 5 times, and Alfred had made sure to buy cheap sheet cake they could throw at Damian when he said something Damian-like!

Most of the presents were bland, way too mature, and coming from people neither of them knew. Seriously who the hell wanted a brand name spice grinder?

Bruce gave them an apartment and the promise of paying all their tuition if they wanted to go to college. Steph had tears and snot running down her face as she thanked him for the most Bruce gift she had ever gotten.

Selina got them a "get out of jail free" card. literally. From the game monopoly and everything. When Cass and Steph looked up from the card, Selina fingergun'd them, and the penny dropped. "Ayyy." All 3 said simultaneously when Cass and Steph returned the fingerguns.

Times had been tough of late for Harper, but she had managed to scratch together for a "personal massager", and if she ever thought she had a chance of getting in Batman's good graces it was lost then and there.

Then there was Kate and Renée's gift. They had been aggressively protecting it from peeking since the start of the reception, it was the size of a fridge, and they insisted it could only be opened after midnight.

With so much hype there was around it, Cass and Steph were pretty sure the box was just going to contain packing peanuts and a waffle iron. Still they kept their hopes up, because Kate and Renée were absolutely the wildcards.

At 2am Kate pushed the box up in front of the brides' table, whilst Renée grabbed a microphone. Steph woke up from her cake induced coma, and Cass let Dick out of the chokehold so she could focus on the last present of the night.

"You see, there's a bit of history to this present." Renée began, whilst Kate pulled a combat knife out of her boot and opened the box. "Being the designated gay aunts of the family, we felt it was our responsibility to prepare you for your adult queer life, with a bit of a care package." She continued whilst Kate unceremoniously dumped a pile of flannels, snapbacks, and slogan t-shirts all wrapped in a pride flag in front of them.

The box was still mostly full, and Steph was practically vibrating in her seat to see what else was in there, whilst Cass chose snapbacks for them to wear the rest of the night ("strong athletic queer" for herself, "bi nerd" for Steph). Renée slumped overdramatically. "Then Kate heard Bruce was buying them an apartment, and you know how competitive they get."

Kate and Renée switched places, Kate planting a quick peck on Renée's lips when she handed over the microphone. "Well don't worry guys, there is no second apartment stuffed into this box." Everybody chuckled loudly, probably due to the alcohol.

"However there is:" Renée placed a cardboard box roughly the size of a shoebox in front of them. "A sex swing." Across the room, Bruce spat out his drank, and if there was nothing else in the box, that would have been fine for Steph just to see that face.

However Kate was only just beginning. "A strap-on harness, along with 5 different size dildos. we didn't want to be presumptuous after all." as she spoke, Renée began lining them up on the table. They ranged in size from "the length and width of 2 fingers" to "how would this ever fit inside anyone?!", and Cass sent Steph a predatory smile that made it absolutely clear which of them would be the first to wear the harness.

"Lube, as well as flavored lube, because not everyone is able to conjure Niagara falls between their thigh at the first mention of titties." Kate stared accusatively at her wife, and both the brides groaned in disgust. "TMI aunt Kate, T M I!" Steph yelled from her seat in Cass's lap.

"We've also got you ballgags, and in this case we specifically mean you Cass, because we thought you might need a break from Steph once in a while." Renée placed the gag in Cass's hand, who replied. "Won't but thanks."

And they kept going like that until Bruce had nearly choked himself to death with how hard he was clutching his pearls. The cat o' nine tails had in the meantime become Cass's favorite fidget toy, and Steph was finding it ever hard not to think about trying a hitachi wand.

Luckily Kate and Renée's performance seemed to have drained the rest of the guests of what little energy they had left. People started leaving in droves, either to go home, or in Kate, Renée's and Dinah's case to find a sleazy bar to get in a fight at.

Babs drove them home, and Steph managed to sneakily throw some of their new toys along with a waffle iron into a backpack before they left.

Safely home and naked in bed together, Steph looked at Cass solemnly. "Ready for your first night as a woman?" She asked, doing a bad parody of Azrael's voice, and Cass laughed so hard she started choking on air.

#stephcass #stephcass week #stephcass week 2017 #stephanie brown x cassandra cain #fanfic #my writing

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iatethepomegranate · 7 years

Text

Blue is the New Red Chapter 45

Masterlist

Link: AO3, FFNet

Rated: M for torture, flashbacks, trauma reactions, PTSD, sexual assault of minors, consensual sexual content and related freaking out about it, drug references, non-consensual drug use, possibly underage drinking, homophobia and biphobia, references to self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempt. Warning for references to Dick’s PTSD, but the chapter’s pretty chill overall.

Main Pairing: Birdflash

Status: Multiple chapters, in progress

Overall summary: Nightwing has finally made his return to the Team, but he finds the events of the past two years aren’t quite done with him yet.

Chapter notes: Dick visits his family's graves on the anniversary of the Flying Graysons' demise. (I did not mean to be away this long oops)

Chapter 45: Family

Dick went back to his room every so often—usually to grab something in there rather than have someone else fetch it for him—but rarely lingered. He didn't have to rush this. Whether all at once or little-by-little, he was still regaining the space he had lost.

He made a special effort on the anniversary of his family's deaths. Their poster still hung in the room. It didn't feel right to move it. So he sat on the bed, bundle of white roses cut from the garden in his hand. He used to talk to the poster as if it were a conduit to wherever they were now. Closest thing he had to the real thing, aside from the cold headstones that marked their final resting place.

Wally found him after school had let out, leaning against the doorframe; he rarely came in here if he could help it. “Need a minute?”

Dick let out a long breath. “Let's go.” Staying in this room wasn't going to make him feel better. This was an old hurt, more of a dull ache than a sharp pain. Maybe one day, far off in the future, it would ache less than it did even now. Hard to say, given the way Bruce as an adult was still affected by losing his parents.

The man in question drove them to the cemetery. For all the sadness of the occasion, there was something comforting in the routine of it all. For someone who didn't put much stock in routines, Dick seemed to have a lot of them.

“I can't believe it's been a year already,” Wally murmured as Dick led him down the neat little rows of tombstones and statues. Bruce followed at a respectful distance.

“I'm just amazed I'm not dead,” Dick admitted.

He located his family's row. Time had weathered his uncle's tombstone, but it was still notably younger than the others. Dick planted a rose on every grave like he usually did before slipping the rest of the bouquet into the little metal vase built into his mother's stone. Before the addition of Uncle Rick, she and Aunt Karla had shared the centre so Bruce had arranged to have her stone come with an inbuilt flower vase.

Dick stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. The air still had a wintery bite and clouds blanketed the sky, filtering the sunlight until it was steely and cold. Drops of rain darkened the headstones here and there, not yet enough to warrant rushing for cover.

“Sorry I haven't visited much,” Dick said. It still felt weird addressing the headstones, but they were called headstones for a reason. They were the only physical indicator his family was here, so they would have to do. It wasn't any weirder than speaking to the poster in his room.

It was just as well Wally had seen him do this before, the April before he died and everything went to shit. Wally and Barbara were the only people outside the family Dick had allowed to come with him on an anniversary like this. It was too personal to share with most people, and the whole talking to his dead family thing was hard to explain.

“It's been rough,” he told his family. Wally was a comforting presence by his side. “Things are getting better, though. Skinner and his friends are in jail now. Joker's quiet. I'm patrolling again and just got cleared for team missions.” It would take time for him to get back to his peak, but he was getting there.

Sometimes the anniversary could be hard. The most draining moment of the year. Maybe it was because he'd just come out of a whole series of events that were both draining and downright fucking traumatic, but he felt relatively okay in the here and now.

Dick braved the cold to reach out and squeeze Wally's hand. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“Any time,” Wally said quietly, his eyes on the headstones. “Are you okay?”

“I think so, yeah.” Dick let out a long breath, which misted in the air. “I'm gonna have some time to myself on the trapeze, if that's all right.” Some anniversaries, he couldn't stand the sight of the thing. Others, he needed it like air. It was as close as he could get to having the Flying Graysons with him again.

“Of course it's all right.” Wally squeezed his hand. “I'll be near if you need me.”

Dick smiled at him, before addressing his family one last time. “See? I'm still being looked after. Uncle Rick used to worry about that.”

He said his goodbyes, promising to come back next year like always—barring the years he'd been away—and he and Wally returned to the car. Bruce drove them back without speaking. The understanding Bruce and Dick had went beyond words at this point. Dick probably could've found some if pressed, but it wasn't necessary.

Bruce triple-checked the trapeze rigging before he let Dick get near the thing. As if Dick wasn't about to do the same. Today of all days was not the time to get complacent. Fate could be downright fickle at the best of times.

Dick felt lighter once he was finally swinging. Today was fairly good was far as anniversaries went, but it still weighed on him and likely always would.

He kept things simple at first, gradually building up the difficulty. He hadn't tried a quadruple somersault since returning to the trapeze, but it felt right today. So he did it, the memory of his parents' pride the first time he performed it for them filling his body with warmth.

He didn't attempt it again. Once was enough for today.

By the time he finished, he was breathing hard and drenched in sweat. His body was heavy and tired in that satisfied way that only came after intense hard work.

Alfred had run him a bath upstairs. Wally was reading study notes in the study connected to the batcave entrance, so Dick ran into him on the way.

“You look like you've been swimming, babe.”

Dick laughed, still a little breathless. “It's fashion, Walls. You wouldn't understand.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Wally's cheek. “Wanna visit the team later?”

“Are you up to it?”

“I'm in a cuddle pile kind of mood.”

Wally caught his hand, kissing his knuckles. “I'll make the arrangements.”

Dick headed off for his bath.

To say the team hadn't exactly expected Dick to visit today would have been an understatement. To be fair, Dick hadn't either. But here he was, materialising into Mount Justice after Wally and before Jason, who followed as soon as he was out of the way.

M'gann, as usual, was the first to greet them. Dick may have held onto her hug just a touch longer than he normally would. It was still a rough day, even if it was better than expected.

“How are you?” M'gann asked, giving him a squeeze before they finally separated. “I wasn't sure you were coming today. I made a batch of cookies without burning them.”

“I'm all right. We should grab some cookies before Wally steals them all.”

“I'll give you a ten-second head start,” said Wally. M'gann flew on ahead, Dick and Jason following at a more reasonable pace. Half the cookies were already gone, claimed by the rest of the team who lingered in the kitchen.

“Where's your other half?” Artemis asked as Dick reached past her to get to the tray.

“Giving us a head start before he eats everything in sight.” Dick passed Jason a cookie and then grabbed one for himself.

Wally shoved three cookies into his mouth mere seconds after he joined them. Raquel elbowed him out of the way and took another. No one had mentioned the date, but Dick knew Dinah had spoken to the team about it. Still, the normality was as comforting to him as an outright heart-to-heart would have been.

“Is there training on later?” Jason asked, pushing Wally's face away while he grabbed a cookie himself.

“If there is, I'm kicking your butt,” Wally complained.

“There is,” Zatanna confirmed. “Better start running, Jason.”

Dick distinctly saw Kaldur and Conner look at each other and roll their eyes good-naturedly from their seats near the television.

“Somehow I get the feeling you're all on your best behaviour,” Dick said. “And that worries me.”

“Normally you're the bad influence,” said Zatanna.

“Don't encourage me.”

M'gann pulled a second batch of cookies out of the oven. “They're still hot. Please don't eat them yet.”

“Challenge accepted,” said Wally.

“No,” Artemis replied.

“Go ahead,” Dick said. “Burn your face off. It'll cheer me up.”

Wally crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath.

“Wow,” said Zatanna. “You play dirty. Not that I'm all that surprised.”

“The one upside to shitty situations is the ability to make other people uncomfortable at will.”

Wally snorted. “Babe, you've tried it on me so many times I barely even feel it anymore.”

“So you claim,” said Artemis.

Raquel took the first cookie off the tray, blew on it and shoved it in her mouth. Wally clutched his chest in mock betrayal.

“You snooze, you lose.”

They then proceeded to fight over the tray. The rest of them left them to it, sitting on the couches with Conner and Kaldur. Conner had been watching the television static again.

“I thought Batman didn't want you carrying guns,” Zatanna said, poking the muscles in Dick's arm.

Dick lifted the arm and flexed. “Sorry. Forgot to leave them at home.”

Artemis reached over and shoved his arm back down. “I did not ask for tickets to the gun show, thanks.” Then a smirk came over her. “Well, more like half a pistol show, but...”

“Rude.”

“That's what I'm here for.”

Zatanna reached over Dick to poke her in the chest. “Anyway... you had that talk with Barbara, right?”

“Ages ago,” Dick replied. “Kinda forgot to tell you guys.”

“I did it for you,” Jason said, holding his hand out as Raquel passed him. She gave him a cookie. “Are there even any left?”

Wally laughed loudly from the kitchen. Dick took that as a no.

“She's been pretty quiet,” said Artemis.

“I gave her a lot to think about.”

“You told her everything?”

“She deserved to know.”

“Yeah, but that's a lot to take in at once.”

“I know.” It was a lot for Dick to take in, and he'd lived it. He and Barbara had texted here and there since their conversation, but they hadn't actually spoken about it. She had been kind to him that night, so he wasn't too worried at the time.

“She's your best friend,” Wally said, finally abandoning the kitchen to join everyone else. “Well, aside from me. And you said she took it pretty well on the night.”

“Time can change things,” Dick replied.

“Somehow, I don't think it will.”

“Wally's got a point,” Artemis said. “She's not the kind of person who would hide that from you. If she's pissed, she will tell you.”

“You could always ask her when she gets here,” said Zatanna.

“I would rather hide forever, thanks,” said Dick.

“The mighty Nightwing,” Wally narrated. “Jumps off buildings for fun, terrified of teenage girls.”

“We surrounded by terrifying girls on a daily basis.”

“That's the smartest thing you've ever said,” Raquel told him.

The zeta tube chose that moment to announce Barbara's arrival. Dick wasn't exactly ready to face her yet. If there was a problem, maybe she'd go easy on him knowing what day it was.

M'gann flew out to meet her.

“I do not believe her to be angry with you,” Kaldur assured him. “She has asked after you on multiple occasions.”

M'gann brought Barbara into the sitting area. Barbara was in civvies like the rest of them. They'd change for training soon.

Barbara said her hellos to the group at large before leaning over the back of the couch to hug Dick from behind. “I wasn't sure you'd be here. Did you visit your family? Are you okay?”

Dick squeezed her arm, smiling up at her. “Yeah, I brought them flowers earlier. I'm okay.”

Barbara rested her chin on the top of his head, her voice vibrating through him as she spoke. “I've been thinking about what you said. It took me some time to get my head around it, but we're cool.”

“That seems a little too easy.”

She punched his shoulder. “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I've got your back.”

“Told you so,” said Wally.

“We all told you so,” Artemis added.

Dick rolled his eyes at them. “Forgive me for not expecting everyone to be cool with the whole killing people thing.”

“Because no one in the Justice League has ever killed someone before,” said Artemis. Dick could actually taste the sarcasm.

“Let's not do this,” he said tiredly. He could've mentioned that his body count was probably higher than whichever Leaguer's name she picked to prove her point, but he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So Barbara was still his friend. He wasn't keen to give her a chance to change her mind. Plus, that aside, this whole topic of conversation wasn't exactly his favourite thing in the first place.

He must've sounded really bad, because Kaldur hastened to change the subject.

��I believe we may have a mission this weekend.” He smiled up at Barbara. “Perhaps this could be your first.”

Kaldur didn't say these things unless he was fairly certain they were true. Dick wasn't sure if Batman would let him come along, even though he had been declared fit for duty.

“Any details?” Barbara asked.

“Black Canary told me it is out of the country. Batman has yet to provide details.”

They changed into costume for training shortly thereafter, which always served to lift Dick's mood. Apparently this day was making him sensitive, even if he was doing better than he had in the past. Win some, lose some.

They assembled in the main chamber just as Black Canary materialised in the zeta tube. “Warm up. Batman is coming to observe.”

Bruce hadn't bothered telling either of his kids, of course. That was just par for the course.

The team had just paired up for sparring practice when the zeta tube hummed to life, delivering Batman into the chamber. He hung back while Canary directed the team to keep training.

Nightwing had drawn the short straw and ended up with Kid Flash. He was always a pain in the ass to fight, especially while he was still developing, which meant his powers weren't always exactly the same. Nightwing would need some time to figure out his patterns before he could take him down. It'd start getting easier soon, though, since the guy couldn't possibly have much more growing left in him.

There were a few things about Kid Flash's powers that remained the same. He was slower than the Flash. He was more liable to trip over his own feet. There was the occasional inconsistency in his vibrations that affected his speed, probably owing to his imperfect replication of Barry's experiment. And it was very difficult to change directions at speed. Dick just had to figure out his path and disrupt it to send him crashing to the floor.

Kid Flash blew past him, a streak of colour and wind. He set a direction to land a hit, but Nightwing moved just enough that the blow missed. Reset. Another blur. Nightwing shifted, elbow raised in time to connect with Kid Flash's chin. The impact jolted through both their bodies, but Nightwing had been prepared. Kid Flash fell on his ass, dazed. It didn't always work out that way. A slight miscalculation and their positions would've been reversed.

Kid Flash shook his head clear and grinned. “You still haven't told me how you do that.”

Nightwing pulled him to his feet. “A magician never reveals his tricks. Batman taught me and that's all you're getting.”

“Try and get me again. I dare you.”

“You're on.”

Kid Flash managed to get the better of him this time, adjusting his path just in time to set Nightwing off-balance. The next time he tried that, though, both of them went down.

Nightwing, sandwiched between KF and the floor, couldn't hold back a shocked laugh. “Well. That happened.”

Kid Flash rolled off him, snickering. “So, technically we both won. And lost.”

Batgirl pinned Zatanna to the floor after dodging a spell. “Teach me how to do that, 'Wing. I mean, once you've stopped failing at it.”

Nightwing snorted. “Cute.” He picked himself up.

“There are easier ways to take him down,” Artemis said, poking a bruise blossoming on her arm from her fight with Aqualad. “Just take your shirt off. Worked for me.”

Dick laughed his ass off as Wally's face went red. He caught a tiny hint of a smile on Batman's face.

The team showered—Dick freshened up with a washcloth instead—and dressed down into civvies before returning to the main chamber. Batman had brought the holocomputer online, with pictures and chunks of text that meant nothing to anyone but him yet.

“I don't know what the mission is,” Barbara told Dick, “but apparently I'm sleeping over at your house for the weekend, starting tonight. Or, well, that's the cover story anyway. Dad says hi.”

They gathered around, while Batman brought up an aerial photograph of a building surrounded by snow. “Ra's al Ghul has taken over a compound in Northern Canada. I have yet to discover his purpose for this location. Long-distance recon attempts have been unsuccessful. I need the team to infiltrate the compound and gather information. Avoid engagement if possible.” There was an amused quirk to his mouth that indicated he doubted the team could do that. To be fair, most of their covert missions did end with something blowing up.

The team shared a look that was only slightly guilty.

Batman brought up another image, lower to the ground, with some kind of turret just visible through the snow flurries. “Automated defences, possible thermal imaging, which may detect the bioship even while cloaked. You will have to enter on foot in small groups at these locations.” More images. “I will send the map data to your devices.”

He divided the team into three squads. Aqualad, Batgirl, Zatanna and Artemis were alpha. Miss Martian, Nightwing and Kid Flash were beta. Superboy, Robin and Rocket were gamma.

“I have updated your cold weather gear, which should allow you to withstand the temperatures for longer periods of time. The Justice League is investigating another location nearby so we will be available if the threat is worse than anticipated.”

Black Canary had been hovering near the zeta tubes. “You leave early tomorrow morning. If you can, I would advise sleeping here tonight. Rest up. We'll see you off before we leave for our own mission.” She left via the zeta tube and Batman took Dick aside.

“Black Canary assures me you're ready for team missions,” he said. Dick's fitness scores were back within acceptable parameters and he had been handling Gotham patrols perfectly well. Batman knew this already, but he was not as keen to put Dick back in the field as Dinah was.

“I am.”

“I'll be close if there are any problems.”

“I know,” Dick replied. “You told us.”

“If you spot either of the al Ghuls, tell me immediately.”

“We will.”

“And—”

“B. I'll be fine.”

Batman put his hands on Dick's shoulders, squeezing them. “If anything goes wrong, don't wait to ask for help while you try to fix it yourselves. I'm not losing you again.”

Dick put his hands on top of Bruce's, smiling up at him. “You won't. I'll be careful. I've been training and patrolling for months, you've put me in a squad with two metas, and I learned my lesson about rushing into things unprepared a long time ago. Trust me?”

Batman nodded and let him go. “Get as much rest as you can. Are you okay staying here?”

“Completely.”

“If anything changes—”

“I'll tell you. I promise.”

Batman finally relented and headed to the zeta tube, leaving the team to relax in the sitting area by themselves. Wally had microwaved a massive bowl of soup and was dunking anything bread-like he could find. At least restricted his food carnage to the counter.

“Is everything all right?” M'gann asked Dick. Good to know Conner hadn't told the team about the conversation. It was hard to say a word in this place without him knowing, except in the garage and even then it wasn't a guarantee.

“It's fine. He's just worried about me.”

“It's a big club,” said Barbara.

“Membership is now closed.”

“I'm the president and I disagree,” Wally said, mouth full of bread.

“You'll have to duel B for that honour.”

“Do it,” said Artemis. “I could use the laugh.”

“Do not encourage them,” said Kaldur, before changing the subject. “How are you feeling about your first mission, Barbara?”

“Excited. Nervous.”

“You're not alone,” Dick said. “This is my first in months.”

Barbara made a face at him. “At least you've done them before.”

“I believe in you.”

“We'll take care of you,” Raquel promised her.

“Assuming you even need our help,” added Artemis.

“Do you think we'll run into the al Ghuls?” Barbara asked

Dick shrugged. “They have a lot of bases, mostly in warmer climates. And they'd have to know staying anywhere near the US for long periods of time puts them at risk of Batman finding them. Then again, Talia sometimes does that on purpose.”

Jason groaned loudly at that. “They're the worst.”

Barbara raised an eyebrow. “Clearly, I'm missing something.”

“They kind of have a thing,” said Dick.

“Because apparently the big guy has a fetish for supervillains,” Jason muttered.

“That's not a word I ever wanted to hear coming out of your mouth,” said Dick.

Barbara cut in. “I thought he and Catwoman were—”

“They are,” Dick replied. “It's complicated.”

“Anyone else I should be aware of?”

“Ignorance is bliss,” said Jason. “I miss it.”

“You know, I never wanted to know about Batman's love life,” said Zatanna. “I don't even know what to do with this information.”

“Pretend it never happened,” said Artemis. “That's what I'm trying to do.”

Wally dumped his bowl in the sink, turning on the tap to rinse it. “Tell them about the time Catwoman robbed a museum just so he'd chase her across the city.”

“No, don't tell us,” Barbara complained. Dick cackled loudly, both at her discomfort and at the memory. Bruce's exasperation at the end of the chase had been photo-worthy. He'd given Dick and Jason ice cream money so they'd stop laughing at him. Selina also may have high-fived them for laughing at his expense.

“That one was pretty funny,” Jason admitted.

Wally flung himself onto the arm of the couch, leaning heavily against Dick, who elbowed him in the ribs. “I feel like this is a metaphor for our relationship.”

“Not really. I'm not crying hysterically.”

“That's really sad, actually,” said Barbara.

Dick splayed his hands and shook them, grinning because otherwise he would start crying hysterically. “Welcome to mental illness!” He'd never specifically told her he had PTSD, but she was clever. She must've figured it out. Dinah had kept his diagnosis out of all formal records given the stigma could affect job opportunities later on, but he didn't need to worry about that with the team.

“I thought something was up, but I didn't want to pry. Not after everything you told me.”

“I have PTSD.” May as well spell it out. “It's like there's a party in my brain and everyone's screaming. And there's someone playing a never-ending video of all the bad shit that's happened to me. I keep throwing that asshole out but he keeps coming back.”

“Well, that's just bad etiquette,” was all she said in response.

“Tell me about it. Today's actually a good day, which is weird.”

Barbara nodded in understanding.

The team worked together to make dinner. It was nigh-impossible to make anything complex, especially with Wally's general impatience, so they made pasta, which was quickly devoured. Dick and Wally went to bed early. Dick in particular would need the extra time to make sure he was properly rested. He didn't want to feel like a zombie on his first mission back with the team.

Wally changed in his room before coming to Dick's room.

“Are you still okay?” Wally asked, sitting on the bed. Dick joined him.

“I'm good. I started the image rehearsal therapy again. I think it's helping, at least a little.”

“Are you feeling okay about the mission?”

“I think so. The odds of us running into Ra's or Talia are pretty slim anyway. If I had my pick of home bases, I certainly wouldn't pick one that's liable to freeze my face off.”

“At least it discourages visitors. Mostly.”

Dick snorted. “We'll see about that tomorrow, won't we?”

Wally rested his chin on Dick's shoulder. “I'm glad Bruce stuck us in the same squad.”

“You know he did it on purpose, right?”

“Dude, I'm not that oblivious.”

“Oh, I don't know...”

“Don't be a dick.”

“That stopped being funny after the first ten times.”

“Shut up. It's always funny.”

Dick climbed under the covers, shoving his face into the pillow. “I'm going to sleep to get away from this conversation.”

Wally laughed, kissed his shoulder and joined him.

#birdflash #dick grayson #young justice #ao3 #ffnet #nutrh2 #my fics

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