Batboys: Rogue One

A/N: This was the start of a series, so I’ll put it out and if you want me to add the rest/continue hit up my inbox. lol guess who got inspired by Fast Five.

Also I finally got Instagram! Not relevant but it’s new to me.

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“I know someone who can help.”

“In this situation? Doubtful.”

Ignoring the complete lack of faith his brothers demonstrated toward his unnamed ally, he chose to contact them anyway. Which was a chore in itself considering the company they kept.

“This is a private line how the fu- ooh, hey richboy~” It began with irritation and strain as his friend was apparently riding their custom motorbike, but the tone became sassy once noticing the caller despite the sharp shots in the background.

"Sorry to FaceTime you like this (Y/n) but I need your - are they gunshots?!” He flushed at the playful nickname, but soon became worried for your safety even if you weren’t exactly consistent friends.

“Yeah, anyway what’s up I’m not in the best place to chat right now.” Your voice cracked over the monitor but remained steady, your helmet hiding any expression as you evaded fire at a prediction of over 90mph.

Such a enigmatic character was enough to silence his brothers who now couldn’t shift their gaze from the monitor, meanwhile Tim explained the whole situation to you.

“Look I don’t think my help is the kind you want, and besides I’m in Miami Beach dealing with my own problems.”

“That’s actually perfect! Our guy is over there right now, we’ll meet you and I’ll text you the details.”

“Drake I swear to -” And he hung up, silencing your frustrations, next turning to find the shocked expressions of his elder siblings.

“Whothe heck was that?!”

Tim only sighed at the similar questioning, though he’d expected it considering your unlikely relationship.

“(Y/n) (L/n), a… friend.”

——

The rays of Miami would be bathing the trios skin if not for the shade of the outdoor bar, Tim had barely managed to confirm your attendance and his brothers were growing inquisitive with the passing time.

“Alright, in all honesty - how did you even cross paths with your friend, you’re literally opposites.” Dick curiously inquired, sipping his drink.

“Right? Tim shouldn’t know someone like that, (Y/n) is my kind of person.” Jason added, referring to your similarities that Tim certainly didn’t exude, especially when you originally met. Though Tim only rolled his eyes out of mild irritation.

“It’s really not important -”

“Thatstory involved a con, drag races, a gala and a rich boy. Maybe you’ll get it out of us one day, but not today.” A smug yet charming voice answered, one unfamiliar to 2/3 of the vigilantes.

Halting in your graceful glide beside Tim, he longingly embraced your figure immediately much to your surprise but you laughed none the less. He pulled away slightly, hands moving to your waist as he spoke to you with a spark his brothers hadn’t seen before and they quickly coughed to make their presence known. Tim immediately flushed out of embarrassment, gently releasing you and making necessary introductions.

“This is (Y/n) (L/n), and these are my brothers, Jason and Rich-”

“Richard Grayson, thank you for coming (Y/n), it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” The eldest interrupted his brother, gently grasping your hand to place a kiss to your skin.

However you raised a brow rather than flush like he’d anticipated, quickly flipping your hand over and pulling his knuckles to your lips thus reciprocating the greeting which only flustered the man much to Tim’s amusement.

“The pleasure is all mine Richard.”

“Ah - um, Dick is fine, you can uh - yeah call me whatever.”

Jason never really bothered with getting to know fleeting allies to the point of continuing communication after a mission, but with that little stunt you had his full attention. He liked you already and Tim could tell by the quick up and down flick of his gaze and the genuine appeased smile that followed.

——

They needed to get into Black Masks personal documents which required a handprint due to high security measures, you’d recalled that from the briefing Tim had given when trying to coax you into joining them and you understood the importance of preventing a gang war. Your friend had gone to scout the area leaving you with his brothers, he was the eyes of the operation to minimise suspicion and give relevant information on numerous targets.

“The handprint can be on any object right?” Your head tilted as more than 30 minutes had passed without any progress as you remained seated with Dick and Jason drinking as well as getting acquainted.

“We can’t exactly take the chair with us, nor his glass because no man is getting close enough with that level of security. We don’t have time to wait it out either.” Dick explained, giving an exasperated sigh before looking to you with a curious expression.

You were silent for a moment, analysing the entrance and where Sionis’ gaze lingered then a proud smirk befell your lips.

“Maybe you shouldn’t let a man do a woman’s job.”

“What do you…” Jason flicked to you, his attention instantly captivated as the kimono slid down your shoulders revealing your stunning figure in a ravishing bikini with confidence that’d be enough to make any man drop to their knees. Or in Jason’s case, derail their train of thought. Leaving your shawl on the table, now making your way over to the bodyguards and your target with the art of seduction in every stride and a hand running through your hair. The False Facers moved to block your entrance, implicating how you did not have the authority to be here but you’d captured the gaze of Roman who’d studied your body language before personally escorting you inside himself.

“I think I’m in love.” Jason muttered, the pair watched whilst you perched on the arm of Masks chair, legs crossed and leaning forward as he spoke with a flirtatious laugh here and there - his hand making its way from your lower back to your ass. Now you wanted to slap him, but by god you needed that handprint as your fingers edged toward his glass. Within an hour you walked out empty handed, somewhat frustrated - the waiter had taken the empty table wear, Roman not ordering another or touching anything steal-able. Though not the cause of your overthinking, you had your own reasons for talking with Mask for so long.

Upon your return, you met your rag tag team at the designated rendezvous point after getting pulled aside by Tim on your way to change clothes explaining how you’d managed to get the handprint despite original perceptions. Smoothly you pulled up to the local cafe on your motorcycle, walking to the outdoor table that already had (preferred drink) before an empty seat.

“Thanks Timbers~”

“How’d you know it was him? I could’ve taken a very well educated guess.” The biker smirked, leaning forward in feigned offence.

“Huh, where was that logic an hour ago?” You sassily remarked, matching his smug gaze and referring to your more applicable initiative when attaining prints.

“Well Jason spent the whole time looking at your assets so he was out of commission.” Dick chuckled, nudging the broader shoulders of his brother who only rolled his eyes, turning away to hide his blooming skin thus ending your little contest.

“More like keeping an eye on where that bastards hands were going.” The underlying protectiveness in the rebel was endearing but you it shrugged off.

“I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to be.” Now that mutter from Jason caught you off guard too, you were sure you misheard him, as were his brothers.

“What?”

“Nothing. How’d you manage it then smartass?” Jason brushed off their knowing smirks, nodding to you in curiosity but it wasn’t until you handed Dick a plastic evidence bag did they realise.

“What’s wrong, never handled ladies panties before Dick?”

“None that didn’t end up on my floor, and I was hoping you wouldn’t be an exception (Y/n).” Dick smoothly replied, putting the bag containing your bikini bottoms away to scan the print from them later much to your amusement.

“Always have a back up plan don’t you.” Tim mischievously quipped, likely speaking from past shared experiences but you couldn’t help the genuine smile that graced your lips.

“That why you haven’t caught me yet richboy?” You playfully winked at him, though Tim only shook his head with a light laugh.

.

“We’re heading back to Gotham tomorrow, would you like to come with us?” Dick inquired once friendly conversation had died down, Tim offered a hopeful glance but dared not ask you himself.

“I don’t have anywhere -”

“Manors got plenty of space (Y/n), room next to mine is free.” Jason stretched as he spoke, Dick sending a pointed but cunfused glance at his nonchalance. Did that mean Jason would be staying too?

“Ido have business in Gotham, so if you’d have me I’ll pay you.”

“I think after your spontaneity, it’s free. Plus a friend of Tims is a friend of ours.” The eldest offered a sincere grin, one that conveyed his unspoken gratitude too.

“Is breakfast included?”

“I can whip up some cereal for us.” Dick hopelessly shrugged, Tim smirking as he added his own addition.

“I know exactly how you like your (tea/coffee/other) in the morning (Y/n).”

“Tch, don’t listen to them just knock on my door if you’re up earlier than me and I’ll cook whatever you want alright?” Jason stood up, giving you a wink before heading back to his motorcycle with little more than a lazy salute.

Dick and Tim exchanged confused glances, though the latter more interested in your reaction to his brothers unusually generous offer…

How could you refuse?

Older Batsis: Wally West

A/N: A bit of fun in time for Valentine’s Day.

Warnings:Sexual implications (no smut or anything), mature language

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Entering the manor and slamming the door behind you was supposed to be like entering a world of welcoming warmth that you could melt into, not be only a degree or so lower than the frozen wasteland you’d just escaped from.

You glanced around the hallway, darkness filling the area leaving you with a frustrated sigh - power was out. Fortunately you’d mentally mapped out the floorplan over your years and navigated your way to a lounge and lit the fireplace with a content hum.

You’d shed your wet, snow covered, outer layers but with a sudden breeze you instantly regretted that decision and spun to meet the offender with a defeated huff.

“Hey beautiful, we’re working on a case down in the Batcave but heard the door slam so your brothers sent me up to check on you since ‘super speed’ and they didn’t want to move away from the heaters.” The alias under the Flash crossed his arms once quoting 'super speed’, offering a flirty wink which even now still doubled your heart rate.

“They s-stole all the he-heaters… Shitbags. I - I’m free-freezing Wally.” You barely managed through chattering teeth, understanding that though the Manor was powerless the Batcave ran off of a different source meaning they were toasty down there.

“I could steal you one, plus you’ve already armed yourself with your fluffy blanket.” He gestured to the item splayed in front of the fireplace to warm it up before you had the opportunity to utilise it, instead choosing to welcome you into his arms for a warm hug.

“Wa- Are you vibrating?” You disregarded his last comment in favour of your query, tilting your head at his minuscule shifting stature unsure as to whether you were just shivering.

“Yeah, keeps me warm.”

“Can you do me?”

“I, yes - any day of the week - but lemme get this straight, are you asking me to be your vibrator (Y/n)?” His reply was full of smugness, you pulled back to catch his playful smirk.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I meant for warmth!”

“I know, couldn’t resist~” He chuckles to himself, meeting your frustrated gaze with a kind smile as it remained comfortably silent for a few seconds before you spoke.

“But - but can you, y'know, vibrate?” Your hands settled on his chest out of your sudden curiosity, tables now flipping as he became the flustered one partly due to your insinuating words which caught him off guard in its supposed innocence.

“I mean, almost all of my past partners haven’t known about the speed thing so…” This was killing him, you knew exactly what you were doing and had very little shame about it either. While you seemed untroubled by his presence - ever since you’d arrived he’d been muting all vividly romantic thoughts, holding his tongue with pick up lines and resisted the urge to hold you like he’d so desperately wanted. Like he did at your house, like you did at his apartment… The Manor was dangerous territory and acting on those lustful instincts were supposedly best avoided.

Though you had alternative ideas.

“I know about your speed, and I really need warming up Wally.” Your voice was seductively enticing, your lips choosing sensitive placement on his neck and he released a shaky breath reflecting the wavering if his willpower. Damn you.

“(Y/n)… your brothers w-” It came after a satisfied moan, Wally biting his lip and gently parting from yours before attempting a weak justification he had absolutely no belief in.

“Won’t miss you too much.” You finished for him, kissing his jaw and awaiting his response.

“And you?”

“I’ll show you how much I missed you~”

In the next instance you felt soft silky fur of your blanket against your back, Wally hovering above you with the fire dancing in his irises and illuminating his skin in a brilliant golden glow - you swore he never looked more attractive. It was rather ironic, who’d have thought losing clothes would make your temperature skyrocket?

.

Back in the Batcave, Dick barely caught the dash of his friend, now shirtless and rooting through his belongings for a spare apparently.

“Woahwhathappened?!”

Wally flinched at the sudden brief contact with his back and the painful sting that came with it causing him to speed a metre or so away now in a fresh sweatshirt. His healing would kick in soon.

Your beautiful, stunning, incredibly persuasive sister happened.

Dick gave him a quizzical glance, the claw marks on his best friends back obviously quite fresh and the afflicter was unknown.

“Ah - Alfred - the cat one, he kinda caught me off guard when I was with (Y/n)?” He didn’t sound at all convincing but they assumed it was down to sheer embarrassment at being bested by a feline.

“Perfect, his training has paid off.” Damian now fully invested in the conversation added, indicating he had an ulterior motive which was unsurprising considering the protectiveness he held over his eldest sister.

“What training?” Dick cautiously questioned, now concerned with his own safety as well as overtaken by sheer curiosity.

“Whenever West makes a move toward our sister, Alfred will attack. Clearly my training methods are effective.”

“Hold up, did you make a move on our sister?!” Dick incredulously shot to his best friend, Damian now narrowing his gaze at the sighing red head.

God yes, multiple pleasurable moves.

“I hugged her.” Not a lie, but not a full truth either, those was better left private but Damian wasn’t fully convinced and made a step toward the stairway.

“Hmm, how about we ask (L/n) then?”

“Nodon’t! Uh - she’s asleep in front of the fire and looks really peaceful.” He began protectively, speeding over to block the Robins exit before becoming flustered when explaining his reasoning.

“That why you were gone so long?” Grayson raised a brow, noting the odd behaviours and body language but ultimately didn’t dwell on it.

No, things got way hotter than originally planned.

“Yeah, I helped her find some blankets and start the fire. Then we caught up a bit, we haven’t seen each other in almost two weeks.”

They displayed disinterested at this point, content in knowing they’re worst fears hadn’t been realised.

.

It was late evening when you stirred from your peaceful hour long nap, instinctively your fingers reached across the array of soft blankets finding only empty warmth. With a soft smile you’d concluded Wally had waited until you’d fallen asleep in his arms before heading back down to the Batcave, knowing him he’d probably remained a little longer simply enjoying the afterglow and warmth that followed such intimacy with you.

A pleased sigh escaped your lips when you moved to stand, the aching of your leg muscles a rather welcomed one in your opinion - regardless, as you already donned Wallys hoodie you dressed yourself fully before heading down to the cave.

“Why are you wearing Wallys hoodie?” Stephanie inquired somewhat suggestively the moment you entered, eyebrows wriggling as an indicator.

“Hmm, oh well after having sex by the fire it was the closest thing to me so logically I was too lazy to get anything else.” You boredly sighed, Wally paling at your sheer lack of secrecy whereas Spoiler wasn’t expecting such an open answer leaving her speechless.

Despitehating how brutally honest you were, the way you worded it so unbelievably paid off and consecutively too.

“No seriously though.” Dick tried again, dismissing your last answer like usual whenever you’d given such brash replies regarding your activities.

It was rather ingenious actually, if they ever found out about Wally then they couldn’t blame either of you for not telling them because, in fact, you consistently did - it’s not your fault they didn’t believe you.

“Seriously. I genuinely just made love to your best friend.” There wasn’t a hint of misleading this time, expression casual with a smug nod to Dick who only rolled his eyes.

“Hey babe, you know they’d murder me right?” The speedster indicated to Damian carefully sharpening his katana, though his overuse of pet names meant your family paid no mind to them any more.

“They’d have to get through me first.” You wink at him, your brothers scoffing at the thought even if they knew you were being honest.

Even so, you linked your arm with the speedsters despite his hesitancy at displaying any form of contact in the presence of your family - but you were good friends, a fact your family knew all too well.

“Wanna have a rather late dinner at my place tonight?”

“Sounds perfect, would you like me to get takeout or should we attempt a recipe?” Wally relaxed at the casual tone of voice, one he found familiarity in as you both left wrapped up in conversation.

Not an unusual occurrence really, but still, that didn’t cease the racing minds of the young detectives that remained.

.

It was a few moments, Damian’s glare solely focused on the two of you happily retreating, before some spark of realisation surged through him.

“Wait… There were no claw marks on his hoodie…”

“Meaning when Alfred got to him, he wasn’t wearing it so - WALLY!” Dick finished, shooting after his best friend who had probably already swept you off by now - Damian more than willing to take the war to your apartment.

“The cat was happily wrapped in Wallys hoodie so it couldn’t have attacked him really… Ohmygod what if it wasn’t Alfred at all! Ahhhhhh~!” Stephanie clasped her hands together out of both enthusiasm and shock, low-key fangirling about the possibility despite its implications.

“Uh - or maybe, the cat attacked Wally when he gave (Y/n) his hoodie to keep her warm.” Tim justified, one that supported the proficiency of Damian’s feline training and as such already semi convinced the youngest by praising his ego - the theory made sense. Dick and the youngest offered shrugs to each other before heading off to grab some files whereas Steph withheld a suspicious expression toward her partner.

“You…You‘re covering for them. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Tim! Why would (Y/n) even consult you in the first place?” She knew it was likely due to his lack of interference, that and no doubt you outrightly told him if he happened to ask the right questions which Tim had a knack for doing.

“Because I’m the favourite.” He offered her a smug wink, once more typing away leaving a pouting Steph with Alfred the cat purring at her leg. The creature hadn’t taken in any of Robins orders or laid a claw on West and yet radiated waves of accomplishment.

“Traitor… Damian won’t be very pleased once he finds out you allowed Wally near (Y/n) kitty cat.”

A/N: Sooo I got this idea after I watched the vow, (great movie btw) It’s not requested, I’ve just had in it drafts for a really long time. I’m not sure anyone’s really going to like it? But I figured I would post it to see what happened. I’ve already gotten a few more parts written, so if you like the story please let me know so I can post those! Anyways, I’ll stop rambling  Love you all! 

Pairing: Green Lantern Reader x Dick Grayson (Nightwing) 

If you could describe it in one word, blank. 

It had been blank before. Why had it gone?

The first thing that came back to you was sound. A constant, steady beeping. A machine rising and falling. The worried and hushed whisper of voices, voices, people… you felt a hand brush over yours. Touch. The lingering placement spoke of worry and care. Your mother maybe? Your father? 

You felt an itchy sheet underneath you, and you laid on a rather stiff bed, the mattress odd and unforgiving. 

Almost as odd as the stench of disinfectant. Smell… like sickness and bleach… like a hospital.

Hospital, you frantically blinked open your eyes. White light, much too bright assaulted you as you rapidly tried to adjust. 

As if through a tunnel you could hear the heart monitor beeping rapidly, the shuffling of feet, the even louder murmur of voices. 

Hospital. 

You hated hospitals. 

You were covered by a thin sheet, tubes were attached to your arms, you were trapped. How did you get here? Why were you here? Who are you people?
The heart monitor’s beeps increased in frequency, urging your heart to beat faster to keep up. 

A few People rushed To restrain you, and unfamiliar faces crowded your vision.
Too many people, too many hands, curling yourself up, you cradled your throbbing head and cried out. 

Oh god, make it stop, make it all stop, take you back to when it was blank. 

“Hey! Back off her alright?” An outlying voice said, a tone of anger wavering in their voice. 

The hands withdrew, steps faded away- you must remember to thank that angry voice. 

You felt someone brush the hair off your forehead, and flinched at the contact. It hurt, oh lord, your head hurt. 

“(Y/N)?” A gentle voice whispered, and the soul inside of you leapt with recognition, as if crying: (Y/N)! Yes! That’s me! I’m (Y/N)! 

You slowly tipped your head up, blinking once again at the bright surroundings, and your eyes immediately focused on blue.

The blue you dream of, the color blue the sky is when you are a child, the blue the ocean is when you can see all the way to the bottom, the blue of the ever constant tides and of the calming midspring rains, the blue that was so full of emotion… 

“Thank god.”

You blinked multiple times, focusing on the whole picture rather than the one detail. 

A man, you were staring  at a man. You could see the slight differences of skin tone where if he had been paler there would have been a splash of freckles, his messy black hair, the way he had a slight scar above his left brow, the forgotten laugh lines and deep dark circles around his eyes- his bright blue eyes- it looked like he hadn’t slept in days… you were much too close, and he was far too attractive. 

Scrambling backwards, you took a ragged breath as the room around you became much clearer. 

“Shh, (Y/N), it’s alright, you’re safe, we’re in the hospital,” the man said soothingly and you begrudgingly nodded. 

Confusion swirled in your brain, like a fog that was too dense to navigate through. It seemed to settle over things you knew you should know- like a blanket covering memories you felt tugging at you, but no matter how hard you tried the fog wouldn’t dissipate. 

“I-” you coughed, your voice coming out much more pathetic than you had realized. 

A small foggy pink glass of water was held in front of you, and with a jerky movement you glanced up. 

A tall, imposing man stood next to your bedside. He so seemed impossibly wide and formal you couldn’t help but feel intimidated. His eyes were kind but his jaw was harsh. 

Carefully taking the glass, you swallowed a few gulps. 

“My… my head hurts,” you said slowly, wincing ever so slightly. 

A nurse glanced at you and checked the chart in her hand, with a warm smile she patted your foot. 

“That’s completely normal after what you’ve been through sweetheart. I’ll go get you something for that." With that, she headed out the door, leaving you with the three men- your doctors?

You wrinkled your nose is confusion. "I don’t understand- what I’ve been through?" 

The imposing man looked you over worriedly. 

"You were gravely injured in the fight against The legion of doom, you took on Sinestro even though your ring had been dangerously low on power-” he stopped as the brown haired man behind him scoffed. 

“We told you not to! You could have died (Y/N)! Do you have any idea how much-”

“Hal!” The blue eyed man snapped, and the imposing man sighed. 

“We’ll lecture you another day, we are all just glad you’re alright."  

Your eyes widened in confusion. 

"Excuse me, but what the heck?” You glanced between the men-doctors in utter confusion. “Who’s… Sin-Jesto? What ring? Why would you Lecture me? And Why did you start yelling at me? Where are my parents?" 

”(Y/N),“ the blue eyed doctor began and you shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. 

"Don’t you remember us?”

“I’m sorry, remember you? Aren’t you just my doctors? Wha-”

“What’s going on here?” The nurse returned, glaring between the three men.

“You said she would recover! You said she would be fine!” The blue eyed man launched to his feet, jabbing a finger angrily in your direction, glaring at the nurse, as (Hal? Maybe was his name?) whirled on her as well. 

“Brain injuries aren’t that simple, Mr. Grayson. I said she would recover, the odds were good but there’s always unforeseen side affects. She’s alive, and awake. And that’s what counts,” the nurse placed a hand on his shoulder. “Give it time, You have to give her time.”

The man- Mr. Grayson, turned to you. 

“Do you really not remember?” He asked quietly as he sat on the chair next to you. 

“I’m sorry, should I?” You frowned. He  looked so heartbroken as He carefully placed his hand over yours. 

“(Y/N), it’s me, Dick, your husband, and Bruce.”

It felt like you stared at him for hours. 

This… this man, Dick, he was your husband? And his name was… Dick?
You couldn’t help the bubble of incredulous laughter that rose in your throat.
“I’m- I’m sorry! It’s just- how are you my husband? Why’s your name Dick?”

“Sweetheart, I still ask those questions,” Hal responded and Dick shot him a glare. The nurse turned her head to you in worry. 

“Honey, what’s the last thing you remember?" 

You frowned, biting your lip in concentration. It was hard to pinpoint an exact memory. 

"I- It had just snowed. We were at my House, my mom told me to grab my gloves before school, and that’s it? Why?" You shrunk under the woman’s worried gaze. “Yeah, about that where are my parents?" 

Dick, (Seriously, how was that his name?), took a sharp breath. 

”(N/N), it’s 2022,“ Dick said softly. You spluttered. 

2022? How was that even possible? You needed a mirror, you needed to see…
As soon as you tried to get up, Dick tried to hold you down. You shrunk back for a moment under his touch before trying to push him off you. 

"I need to see! Just let me up alright?” You snapped, and he immediately pulled his hand back. 

“It’s alright,” the nurse informed you stood warily. The older man, Bruce, Dick mentioned, carefully moved the iv drip so you wouldn’t tangle the cords. 

Dick got up too, and when you looked in the mirror you took rapid steps back. This girl- she barely looked like you! Her eyes were harsher, her face more thin, her hair was a ratted mess (most likely from being wrapped in bandages)…. she couldn’t be you. She seemed so… hardened. Reaching a wary hand up, your own face and paused as you looked at your arm. 

“Woah,” you murmured, flexing slightly and you stared agape. Turning back to the others you saw them looking at you in confusion. “I’m freaking ripped!”
Dick and Hal burst out laughing and you couldn’t help but smile, soon Bruce and the nurse joined in. 

“I came as soon as I heard! Shayera is on her way from the watchtower… (Y/N)?" A familiar voice echoed from the room and you froze in shock.  That was your Uncle John, John Stewart.

"John, she doesn’t, just be careful, she can’t remember-”

“Uncle John!” You screeched and ran over to him, tripping up on your iv drip but nonetheless flinging yourself in his arms. He stiffened in shock for a moment before returning the hug with similar vigor. 

Tears fell down your face as you breathed in. You could remember him, there was one thing here that connected to your memories.

“(Y/N), I’m so glad you’re alright,” he pulled back a little to get a better look at you. “What’s wrong?" 

John turned to look at everyone in the room, and you took a step back. He wasn’t the same Uncle John you remembered. His hair was grayer and his voice seemed rougher. But then again, if it was 2022, he would have aged quite a bit. The men looked at you, and Dick- you had to turn your eyes away from his. He looked so distraught, and you knew it was all your fault. 

Hal seemed distant, and the other man, hell you still didn’t truly know his name.
"She doesn’t remember any of us,” Hal rasped. 

“She doesn’t-” your uncle turned his head down to look at you. 

“Her last memory is it snowing and her mom telling her to grab her gloves before school,” Bruce filled in. “But it makes sense she would still remember you, she’s known you her whole life.”

“Bruce-” Uncle John paused with a heavy breath, “that means…" 

"Speaking of,” you murmured, “no one answered my other question: where are my parents?" 

The room went eerily quiet and your Uncle John placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. 

"Sweetheart, your parents passed away 10 years ago.”

You stumbled backwards, confusion marring your face. “That’s not possible.“ 

Everyone was quiet and watched your reaction, and Dick looked ready to catch you if you passed out. 

Your breaths came in sharp gasps and your shook your head wildly.
"No, no. That’s not right. This is all just some bad dream. It’s not 2022, I’m not married to some random guy with the name Dick, I’m not in the hospital, I’m just…." 

Uncle John placed his hand on you, and your nose wrinkled in pain.
"How are they dead?” When no one answered you turned to the nurse in a flurry, “How come I can’t remember my freaking life?” Tears filled your eyes and your knees crumpled. How could you forget so much?

Synopsis : Your son, Jason, the fearsome Red Hood, got cursed somehow and…turned into a toddler. Shenanigans ensue.

Please. I’m very proud of the pun in the title. For once, I found the title instantly haha. Anyway, here’s a “bonus” story, sudden burst of inspiration, had to write it. I hope you’ll like it :) :

My masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

Jason Todd(ler) 

It was a calm afternoon, which was rare enough, in your household, for you to notice it.

When was the last time you and Bruce had time to relax like that ? Time to do nothing, and spend a lazy afternoon just the two of you ?

Too long ago to remember.

You’re running your hand through your husband’s hair, as his head is in your lap, and he’s in a half-sleep state, just content being near you, taking a well deserved rest. You were reading, quite enjoying your book, and soothed by Bruce’s warmth.

This was such a nice moment. Relaxing. Silent. A rare moment of stillness, which you appreciated all the better.

And then-

“PARENTS, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY !!”

Dick. 

Dick just barged in, clearly panicked. And you understood instantly why, as you spot, settled in his arm…A small child ?! Wrapped in a, is that a hoodie ? You feel like you’ve seen that hoodie somewhere, but you don’t have time to look at it further as your eyes are attracted towards the kid. 

A toddler. A little boy. No more than two. With big blue eyes, and the cutest tiny face you’ve ever seen. With a white streak in his hair you’d recognize anywhere.

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

“How did this happen ?!”

There were no doubt in yours, nor Bruce’s mind, that this was your Jason.

Same eyes, same hair, and he turned to you whenever you and Bruce said : “Jason”. So, either this was your son, or it was your son’s secret son, but you somehow doubted it. Sure, kids could look exactly like their parents, but to this extent ? He even had that little beauty mark under his ear…

This was Jason. You were sure of it.

You’d recognize your boy anywhere. Now, the question remained : what the hell happened ?

“I don’t know ! I went to his place to check on him, and I found him like this. It’s Jason. It’s definitely Jason. I found him asleep on the floor, in a pool of his clothes. Definitely too big now. But it’s him.” 

“Yes, it seems like him. But, again, how ?”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t put past him actually pissing of some kind of magician or something. Last time I spoke to him, he said he had a lead on a possible metahuman who was doing some shady business, could be it.” 

Could be, indeed. This was so odd. What were you going to do now ? There was no way you could-

Ah. He was waking up. He yawned (most adorable things you’ve seen in a long time), rubbed his eyes and theN. 

Then he pointed at you, and said, smiling : “Mama”. 

“He knows who you are, my love.”

Bruce said, matter of factly, his initial shock vanished as he was now studying the situation. 

Jason turns to him then, and says : “Dada ?” 

Evidently, there were some remnant of Jason in there, as he recognized both of them. But as soon as he turned to look at Dick, he started screaming and kicking, wanting to get away, and only calming down once he got into your arms. 

What was this ? A reaction like little ducklings ? Recognizing the first people you saw as your parents ? Or some distant memories ? 

The situation was getting more and more intriguing. But you were sure you’d all figure it all somehow. 

None of you could know that Jason would be stuck in this state for a few months…

We need supplies 

How to go buy a bunch of baby supplies without looking suspicious ? 

Damn, it was annoying sometimes (often), to be so well known in your city. For sure someone would notice Bruce Wayne, no matter how he would disguise himself (ironic, isn’t it ? Everyone always recognized him in the streets, no matter what, yet nobody ever realized he was the Batman). And the same went for each member of the family. 

Especially if you’d go buy baby supplies. Imagine the gossip the next day, in the paper ? You couldn’t have Jason’s condition known ! 

You were trying to figure something out, because you did need the supplies. You had to be discreet. Because-

“What about Uncle Clark ?” 

Tim’s idea. Of course. And…OF COURSE. 

Clark DID have a baby. 

Jon. 

Maybe he still had some of his stuffs ? 

Also, nobody would bat an eye if they saw Clark Kent (who ?) buy diapers and whatnot. And then he could fly right to the Manor, he knew how to be discreet. 

It was perfect ! 

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

You know how you recognize good friends ? They’re here in less than an hour when you need them. With everything you need, too. 

Well. It did help that said friend was a metahuman with super-speed. But still.

Clark was there quickly, with clothes, diapers, a baby bed, formula. The perfect “a baby appeared in our life starter kit”. 

“Someone gonna tell me what’s going on ?”

Yes, a true friend indeed. The kind of person who comes with “baby supplies” when you ask him to, because it’s an “emergency”, and he doesn’t even ask why up until he did it. 

You quickly explained the situation, and after he laughs a little too much, he settles down and asks : 

“So, what are you going to do ?” 

“Still figuring that out. Have a few lead.” 

Clark knows Bruce enough to know that the man isn’t going to tell him more about his plans, so he doesn’t push it. Instead, he turns to Jason, and smiles at him. 

“Hey there buddy, how are you doing ?” 

He reaches to ruffle his hair, but Jason slaps his hand away, and goes to hide behind his father, reaching up, asking to be picked up. 

“He doesn’t like you.” 

Bruce says, smirking, way too pleased about what just happened. You can’t help but roll your eyes at his childishness (which always seemed to get out when around Clark), as Superman says : 

“But Jason loves me !” 

“Adult Jason maybe, but baby Jason knows better.”

“What do you mean ? Hey, hey ! What do you mean ?!” 

Bruce doesn’t answer, and just snicker, amused by his friend’s reaction. And you find the situation too funny to tell Clark that : Jason is simply a very shy child. He runs away from any person he doesn’t know, you noticed very quickly. 

You could’ve told Clark that, and it would’ve settled thing. But it was too funny to witness THE Superman trying to get a one year old kid to like him by bribing him with a wide array of toys, yet failing each times. All while THE Batman kept mocking him and telling Jason that Clark was a “bad man”…

Oh. Oh this would be a memory to preciously keep in mind. What a sight. 

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

Slowly, life went back to “normal”. Just, with a toddler Jason instead of an adult one. Which you weren’t sure was more calming, in the end. 

Your other children quickly heard the news, and slowly but surely, a sort of routine started in Wayne Manor, in which all of you took care of the boy. 

You knew he’d do the same for you. 

With Damian

“Gah ?”

“Yes, indeed. Very good choice.”

Damian didn’t notice you, as you snuck up in the room him and Jason were in, and you just looked at the both of them. Your youngest son was such a good older brother, who would’ve thought ?

He was currently drawing with Jason. There was paint everywhere, and Alfred would probably not be very happy (although he actually didn’t mind cleaning this kind of mess). The questioning “gah” Jason gave Damian was apparently about whether he should use blue or not. Of course, Damian said he should. It’d go nicely with Jason’s adorable mess of a painting.

Who knew Damian was that good at baby talk ?

They were calmly drawing together, both laying on the floor. You noticed Damian was actually painting his “little” brother, while Jason…It was abstract, but his “older” brother influence was clearly there as the colors mixed nicely together.

Jason finished his masterpiece, as he held it up with his little hands and exclaimed : “Babaaaa” (his version of “tadaa”, surely).

“Very nicely done, Little Bird, very nicely done indeed.”

“Little bird”…oh, your heart was going to melt. This was Dick’s nickname for Jason (and all his little siblings really, although Jason was the first he called like that, and it was definitely happening more with him, simply because it annoyed him so much, and Dick LOVED to get on his siblings’ nerves). 

You never thought Damian would use it one day, after all, you and Bruce never really talked about having more children. You had already quite a handful of them…And no, definitely not, having little Jason around DID NOT make your baby fever go wild.

“You’re very talented you know”, Damian says, patting his brother on the head. Jason seemed so pleased, so proud of himself. And then, then he let out the biggest yawn you’ve ever seen coming out of such a little mouth.

“Ah, it is nap time I see. Come on little bird, I’ll-“

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Jason just snaked his way in Damian’s arms, and got comfortable. In just a few seconds, his eyes were closed, and he was fast asleep. Aaah, to be a toddler, capable of falling asleep anywhere in a matter of seconds. What a dream.

You thought Damian would stand up, and go to Jason’s room (where you installed a little baby bed,Jaso’ns actual bed being way too big…Bruce had it custom made for his son, which like, is not surprising to anyone). But instead, Damian sat up a little, rearranged Jason in his arms so the little boy would be more comfortable, and stayed still.

He wasn’t moving at all, his “baby” brother cradled in his arms. And here you were, as if hypnotized by the cuteness of the scene.

Your son still hadn’t notice you, and was looking intently at Jason. He brushed a few fingers on his chubby little baby cheek, and after a long silence during which you felt you were literally melting because this was so sweet, you heard Damian’s voice :

“You know, you used to do this for me. I don’t- I don’t really remember exactly, but I just feel it. You used to hold me just like that, when I was a toddler, and I just know you were one of the only person who were able to instantly soothe me. It’s a gut feeling. I know you were there.”

It doesn’t take long before you understand, and you find yourself chocking up.

Damian is talking about his own childhood, foggy memories of a lonely upbringing full of training, fear and harshness. Ras’ was not a tender man, and his grasp on his daughter was, at the time, too strong.

Damian did not grow up like most kid. Like any kid. And yet, amongst all the tough moments, there was one memory he seemed to be holding on…

Jason taking care of him.

You knew your son had been assigned to Damian’s protection. When he didn’t really have any memories of what happened to him, or of who he was. When Ras, out of the compassion he still had hidden deep in his heart, resurrected your boy after the Joker killed him, feeling guilty.

But Jason came back altered, the trauma of his death was too much. He couldn’t quite remember, and with reasons, Ras thought it was better to keep him with the Assassins instead of sending him back to you and Bruce. Of course, Ras being Ras, he took advantage of the fact your son was a well trained boy who could probably do his bidding…

And that’s how Jason became Damian’s protector (and an assassin for a while, but that was another story).

“You’re one of the first memory I have, Jason.”

Damian continues, as you look at them, feeling your heart filling and breaking at the same time.

“You took care of me, protected me from people who wanted to end the “Demon”’s legacy. You don’t really remember, I know. And I don’t either, I was too young. But I have glimpse of moments, furtive memories of it.”

You know Damian would never talk about this to Jason if he hadn’t been turned into a toddler. Both Damian and Jason had trouble expressing their feelings (can you say : “like father, like son” ??).

But it felt like Damian had waited a long time to finally get this off of his chest. To finally speak his mind about it. 

He remembers Jason. He remembers how he took care of him, how he was there when nobody else was. He remembers. 

“I’ll protect you, Jason. I will. Just like you did for me. I’ll protect you.” 

The flood gate was now opened, tears running freely on your cheeks. You discreetly left as Damian was slowly swaying his brother from side to side, and the little boy drifted off to sleep, a sleep full of pleasant dreams as he knew…He knew, he was safe in Damian’s arms. 

He was safe. 

Not him !! 

Zatanna was busy, but she promised to come by as soon as she could, which could take months, given her schedule. 

“Bruce, I’m afraid we don’t have a choice.”

“No no, we do. There’s always a choice. And other options.” 

“Do you really know that many people with magical powers ?” 

“You’d be surprised.” 

“Ok, fine. But he’s the one we’re sure is going to be available.”

“I’d rather call Black Adam than him.” 

“Bruce…”

Silence. He doesn’t look at you, turning away, clearly pretending to type something on the Batcomputer. 

“Bruuuuuuce.”

Yup, he’s definitely ignoring you now. 

“Are you sulking, my Broosh ?” 

He turns around quickly, and says, a little too intensely : 

“I am NOT sulking ! Why would I sulk ? There’s absolutely no reason whatsoever I would. I don’t sulkanyway.”

“You do. Sometimes. You definitely always sulk when we talk about him.” 

He glares at you (or at least, he tries, to you, he just looks like an adorable grumpy bear), and you hold his eyes. After a while, seeing you’re not about to back down, he sighs and says : “Fine. Call him.” 

Constantine’s Help

“When I received your call, I knew it meant you got yourself into some shingles. But I didn’t expect that.” 

John Constantine was standing in front of you and Bruce, and stared at Jason, who was in his father’s arms. 

Jason. Jason Todd. The Red Hood. Batman’s son. That tall jacked “boy” who always seemed like he could snap anyone like a twig if he wanted to (and honestly, John wouldn’t put “snapping people like twigs” passed that “kid”). 

Jason grew up to be such an imposing man, that it was quite a surprise to see him…Like that. 

John thought he couldn’t be more than two years old. Probably one and a half (John had a knack at guessing people’s age, it was…useful for his craft). 

He quickly gave his diagnostic of the situation : 

“Well, he’s been turned into a toddler.”

“…”

“…”

Silence. And then, Bruce, will all the sarcasm he could muster, says : 

“…Thanks. We didn’t notice.” 

John smiles, always happy to get on Batman’s nerves. He adds : 

“Cooking up such a spell requires quite a bit of power. It probably left a trace where it happened. If you show me the place, I think I can figure out a way to retrace it, recreate it, and therefor, hopefully, reverse it. It might take some times, of course.” 

“Of course. Thanks anyway for coming.” 

“Oh no worries beautiful, for you, I’d always co-”

“Ok thank you, bye now.” 

You and John exchanged an amused smile, it was always fun to make Bruce jealous (although he was adamant he never felt jealousy. What a load of cr-). He was now quite literally pushing Constantine out of the house, because he knew the warlock was about to flirt with you.

On purpose. Just to piss him off. 

But also, Bruce knew you and John Constantine had a quick fling in the past, and he knew John himself. No way he was about to let him flirt with you. The man had quite a reputation…Nuhu. 

Making sure to have a promise from him to work on your son’s case, Bruce then chased him out of the house. Later, he turned to you and said : 

“Black Adam would’ve seriously been better.” 

With Bruce

“No, Jason. Noo. Oh my god please boy, stop touching all the button. No, JA-”

The boy almost pressed quite a dangerous button, “autodestruction” and all that. And Bruce had enough. He put him on the floor and-

“BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!”

Big sad cries. Jason was just balling his eyes out now, and Bruce knew he wouldn’t stop up until he would pick him up again. 

You knew he wasn’t going to resist. You gave him 10 seconds max. And ah, you overestimated him. 4 seconds later, Jason was back in his arms, trying to reach every single buttons possible, getting frustrated because Bruce kept stoping him from doing so.

Your husband turned to you, sighing deeply, and you couldn’t help but laugh. 

************ 

He ended up building a “sensory box” for him. Jason always wanted to be held, for some reasons, and disliked being anywhere else but in someone’s arms. The problem was, when he was in Bruce’s, he kept wanting to touch everything on the bat computer. 

Of course, for a child, it was quite an attractive thing to touch. 

And so, after a few researches, Bruce found out that kids Jason’s age had a lot of “sensory experiences”, and couldn’t help but just touch everything (the same way babies always put stuffs in their mouth).

It didn’t take him long to build a little box, with a bunch of buttons on it, some making noise, some just nice to the touch. It occupied the boy nicely. 

Jason would giggle away, playing with his box, and it made Bruce’s heart full, to hear that little laugh. 

One night, as he thought you fell asleep in your desk chair (it happened often, although this time, you were just resting a bit), Bruce turned to his son and asked : 

“Not tired yet champ ? Should be time for a nap, no ?” 

The boy just looked up at him, smiling widely, clearly not tired. He always smiled when looking at Bruce. Of that smile that- 

That-

That Bruce hadn’t seen in years. 

Not since-

Since-

He felt a tear on his cheek. 

“I’m sorry Jason, I’m so sorry..;”

It was like he felt something break in him. Something he held on for so long. Looking at that little boy, who bore the smile of the son he lost all those years ago. 

Jason still hadn’t smile like that again yet. You knew it would happen some day. That he would finally heal. But it didn’t happen yet. 

And the fact that as a child, innocent and trauma free, that smile came to him so easily…It awoke all of Bruce’s guilt. All of his heartbreak. 

Bruce’s sadness distressed the boy. 

“ ’Ou ok ? Ok dada, ok ?”

“You ok ?” he was asking. Which made Bruce’s emotions surge even more. Jason as always been such a nice kid. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. 

He didn’t deserve it. If only he never met him..

Jason was standing in Bruce’s lap now, on tippy toes, barely reaching his father’s face and…slowly comforting him.

That was your Jason.

Even as a small child, always so compassionate, sweet, and caring.

“No cwy, no cwy, all ok.” He said, patting his father’s cheek, and smiling, hoping he would console his father. 

Yes. Jason has always been such a good person. 

Bruce knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop his emotions, and so as to not further distress his son, he just hugged him tight. Close to his heart. And his warmth and little giggles were such a nice comfort…

Nightmares

When John was here, he said that it was possible that he had some remnant of memories of who he was. Which was probably why he called you and Bruce “mama” and “dada” right away. 

But it was also probably why at night, when he was all alone in his bedroom, he would have horrendous nightmares and scream his lungs out. 

You learned to recognize his cries, over the months. Sometimes, he was hungry, sometimes, he demanded attention, sometimes, he wanted this or that…His cries during the night were haunting. 

There was no doubt in your mind, neither in Bruce’s, that he had recurring nightmares. And you didn’t have to think much about it to know what those were. 

You didn’t want to think about it. You didn’t need to. As long as you were there, when he woke up, panicked…

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

Panicked. 

Exactly the word that would describe the first time it happened, on the first night Jason came to the Manor, turned into a young child. 

Screams. Of a deep seated fear. 

It was horrible, to hear such a sound knowing it was your “baby” who was currently very afraid. 

Both you and Bruce rushed to him. He was just coming back from patrol when Jason started to wail. 

You barge in his bedroom, and he’s crying. Big salty tears running down his face, crying so much it’s hard to breath. 

Bruce is faster than you, and he reaches for his son. Jason’s naturally put his arms up, definitely wanting to be picked up. 

It took a good ten minutes before the boy calmed down, exhausted from crying, slowly falling back asleep in his father’s arms. 

Bruce didn’t leave Jason’s bedroom that night, and you didn’t either. You all cuddle up in his actual bed. The double bed he usually use when he crash at the Manor. 

Jason falls asleep in the middle of you and Bruce, his tiny little hands clutching your fingers. Yours, and your husband’s, each arm on each side of him. 

You don’t dare to move, afraid he’ll wake up. And in the night, when Bruce moves a little too much in his sleep and Jason’s hand sleep away from his finger, the boy wakes up, and starts to panic as he thinks he’s alone, before being soothed back to sleep by his father, who always had a light sleep, and woke up the instant he heard the smallest of whimper. 

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

Each night. Each night he wakes up at least once, screaming, crying, afraid. Afraid of what ? You can only guess. 

John did warn you about this. During his sleep, he’s most likely to remember his past life. 

You can only assume than when he’s all alone in his bed, he has horrible nightmares. But when you sleep with him, or when he’s asleep with Bruce or his siblings, the way he clutches at you, the way he peacefully sleeps…it feels like he remembers the good time. 

He seemed terrified of the dark. Understandably so, when you knew his history. 

Poor baby, always so afraid to be all alone. 

With Tim

“Um, was spaghetti really the best idea, Tim ?”

You came in the room just as Bernard was asking this question to your son, and. Oh. Oh the carnage. (A/N : For those who don’t/didn’t follow more recent comics and such, Bernard is a childhood school friend of Tim with whom he sort of lost contact after he got adopted by Bruce, and they recently reconnected and are now dating J)

“It’s his favorite food ! I mean, adult him. I swear once, I saw him only spaghetti for two weeks straight, with different sauces every time. But his favorite is bolognese. I guess…It wasn’t the best idea here.” 

Jason is COVERED with pasta. His entire face is red, tiny pieces of meat stuck to his cheeks. The little fork Tim gave him is discarded on the floor, and the boy is eating with his hands. 

Handful of pasta, out of which very few actually reach his mouth, and even less enter it. Most of it is just splayed all over his face. 

“I see babysitting is going well.” you say, amused. 

Bernard stands up quickly, as if you’re his boss or something. You smile at him, and say : “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you boys. Having fun ?” 

Tim sighs, knowing you’re mocking him a bit. But Bernard is still a little tense. After all, he’s been introduced into the family not very long ago. Tim finally felt confident enough to introduce him to you guys, and of course he was met with a warm welcomed. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t still a little nervous in your presence. 

Especially since you were THE (Y/N) Wayne. And oh god, he could never relax around Bruce (which honestly was your husband’s fault, he was always suspicious of his children’s boyfriends/girlfriends at first, and still considered Tim, one of his youngest, like his baby bird). 

“Mama !” Jason said excitedly, and then he took another handful of pasta, and threw it on Tim. You could see he didn’t do it on purpose. That he was just SO excited his body didn’t quite respond with the proper coordination. 

Tim turned to you, blasé. 

You and Bernard burst out into laughter, this was quite the scene. 

Jason giggled, and Tim couldn’t help but smile. Who would’ve thought that his brother could be so adorable ? Adult Jason was quite different. 

Still adored his brother though. Jason often bragged about how smart Tim was, as if him himself wasn’t (which wasn’t true, Jason was extremely intelligent, he just had a massive imposter syndrome). And Tim was Jason’s first little brother, he doted over him all the time. 

Of course, Jason was close from Damian too, but with Tim, it was something different. 

Because Tim “replaced” Jason. In a way. He was the one which brought some light back in Bruce’s heart. The one that helped you start to heal from the wound Jason’s death gave you. 

Jason thought he had to hate Tim, at first. Because he was “replacing” him. But he quickly realized he couldn’t do that. 

Because Tim was Tim. 

And he was himself. 

Jason had never been a hateful person. So sure, he was angry at his father, angry at the world for how unfair he was treated. But he couldn’t be angry to someone who had nothing to do with it. 

Plus, when Tim came in, he was so adorable, and SUCH a fanboy. How could Jason not instantly adopt him as his brother ?

“Adorable”. That’s what Tim was thinking about baby Jason now. 

Funny, how life could go full circle like that, sometimes, right ? 

“Pabgeti !” Jason yelled, happy, showing his food (that once again was more all over his face than anywhere else). And then he pointed at Tim, and repeated : “Pabgeti !” 

You smiled, and said : “Tim made you some spaghetti ? He’s nice isn’t he ?” 

Jason nod his little head, and smiled widely at Tim and-

Any trace of annoyance, or anything else, vanished. Ah. Funny. Even as a baby, Jason was always there to make sure Tim felt home. 

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

Sat down in the sofa in his room (with the door open, Bruce’s rules…he was so old school), Tim and Bernard were holding hands as they looked at Jason who was playing on the floor in front of them. 

The little boy turned around, saw the linked hands, and creased his eyebrows. He crawled on all four towards the sofa, managed to get on his feet and he separated both hands. 

“What, not you too Jason.” 

But the little boy would have none of it. He refused to let Bernard get back closer to his brother, and kept glaring at him, as if afraid he was going to still Tim away. 

It was very cute, to be honest. And although Tim could’ve been annoyed, he actually felt quite happy and warm. 

First steps

Jason had simply refused to walk so far.

So, nothing prepared you nor Bruce to witness what was about to happen. 

It had been a month since Jason turned into a toddler. John did say he never heard of such a spell, and would have to do some thorough research (although Bruce suspected him to take his time, just because he thought the situation was funny, and because he loved to spite him). 

He crawled everywhere, for sure. It was a nightmare, actually. He truly only listened to you and Alfred, and would way too many time try to escape his siblings’ surveillance. 

He hid in a basket once, fell asleep in it, as they all looked for him, panicked. 

Yes, he crawled, and got into tiny spaces where it was hard to get to him…But he never walked. 

Until now. 

You were laying leisurely on the couch, legs across your husbands lap, looking at your son playing on the floor, thinking about how weird your life was sometimes. 

One of your boy turning back into a toddler. How odd really.

Jason was sitting on the floor, playing with some toys. And then, he got on all four, and your heart beamed as you noticed Bruce’s body tense. He was ready to get his son if need be (for real, that kid really managed to get himself stuck in the strangest places). 

But Jason didn’t move. Instead, he pushed with his little arms and…

He was on his feet. 

Standing. Standing ! Albeit his legs were shaky and it felt he would fall back on his butt any seconds, he was standing ! 

He took one step, and was falling forward wh-

You felt your legs being pushed aside. Not violently or anything, Bruce knew how to be delicate. 

You felt it, and then somehow, your husband was near your son, catching him before he hit the ground. Damn. You forgot sometimes that he had insane reflexes. 

Jason was giggling now, evidently very pleased with himself that he managed to stand up. He looked at Bruce, smiling widely, and started to blabber in baby talk. Non-stop. 

Bruce chuckled. An affectionate and sweet chuckle. And he said : 

“Yes yes, very impressive. You’re so strong. You’re so strong, little one. Can you do it again ?” 

Bruce sad the boy back on the floor. Jason smiled, looked at him again, said : 

“Dada ! Babubya !” (whatever it meant) 

And he stood up once again. Took one step, two, once again his father’s arms caught him before he could fall. 

“Aaaah baba baba !” Jason exclaimed, very proud of himself. 

“You did so good !” 

Bruce was as excited as his son, and it was the cutest thing to witness. Leading the life you lead, you never got to have a baby in the house before then…So this was how it felt, to saw them take their first steps. 

This time, Jason made four steps before crashing in his dad’s arms (which you suspected he did on purpose, because he thought it was fun). 

By the end of the day, he could walk on his own and on quite a distance. When Damian came home from school, he was greeted by an extremely proud little Jason, who walked towards him, exclaiming :

“DamDam wak !” (which you translated to something along the lines of : “Damian I can walk”). 

Oh. The feels. 

With Dick 

Dick found Jason first. He hadn’t heard a word of his brother the entire day, and got worried. Which yes, for many it’s ridiculous but…

Dick cannot help it. He HAS to have at least a text from his family members every 24 hours, or he freaks out. And, could you blame him, with the life you lead ? 

The only exceptions were if you warned him first. “Hey, I won’t be there for the next four days, don’t worry before the fifth one haha !” then he wouldn’t insist. And all of you knew by then, that you “needed” to give him a head’s up whenever you wouldn’t be reachable. 

And to be honest, if it could reassure your son, you’d definitely go the extra mile. Every member of your family would. 

So when Jason didn’t warn him about not being available, and didn’t answer his texts and calls, Dick panicked. 

He knew he shouldn’t, that his brother was probably all right. But he couldn’t help it, he had to quickly check. 

He went to where Jason’s phone pinpointed (of course he put trackers in everyone’s phones. After all, Bruce was his teacher, right ?), one of his hideout, on the outskirt of Gotham. 

He came in through a window, as usual, and…

That where he found a baby. A baby fast asleep, in a pool of what he knew were Jason’s clothes. 

A baby that, evidently…was Jason ?? 

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

“Do you think he remembers us ? Or who he is ?” Dick asks you, looking at his little brother who’s happy to be held in your arms. 

“I’m not sure. He did call me mama, and is calling Bruce dada. I don’t know if it’s just natural, or if he has some remnants of memories. Because clearly, he’s “just” a baby, and not Jason stuck in a baby’s body. I mean. Itis Jason. But an actual baby version of him. Know what I mean ?” 

“Yes, I do.”

There’s a small silence, before Dick has an idea : 

“Ok well, let’s see if he does sort of remember but can’t quite voice it. Hey little man, I’m-”

“NO !” Little Jason says, slapping Dick right in the face and pushing him away.

“Ok, it’s definitely Jason…Except, like him when he first came here. He used to downright hate me haha.”

“He didn’t hate you…”

“He kind of did.” 

“No, he didn’t. He just- He just wanted to show everyone he could be just like you, if not better. He wanted recognition.” 

“Which I…did not give him.” 

Regret was obvious in Dick’s voice, and it broke your heart. For once, you weren’t sure what to say. Because it was kind of true, that at first, Dick wasn’t the nicest towards Jason. Things didn’t go as smoothly as you wished. 

But neither you nor Jason or Bruce ever blamed Dick for it. It was a time in which he was lost, and always so angry. He left the manor because of it. 

Long story short, Dick hadn’t always been the best brother. Jason’s death profoundly changed him…

Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without his siblings. And he could definitely not imagine not being the oldest one. 

It actually hurt a bit, Jason’s rejection. The boy was now hiding his face in the crook of your neck, clearly not wanting to be held by Dick. 

Ah, but your son had an idea. 

“Coming back in a sec.” 

He disappears for a bit, and comes back indeed just a few minutes later with a- Ah. Yes. Of course. 

He has a cookie in hand. Jason’s weakness. He’s never been able to resist a cookie, especially not those baked by Alfred, like he one Dick was holding. The boy looks curiously at him, and then at the cookie, obviously interested. 

Dick breaks it in smaller pieces, and hand it to him, Jason immediately proceeded to suckle on it and-

That was it really. Dick managed to get him in his arms, and from then and on, Jason never rejected him again. 

“Bribing him with cookies always worked.”

“Um, excuse me, bribing ? Why did you need to bribe him before ?” 

“Oops haha.”

And then he was gone, escaping your question by quickly leaving the room. You shake your head, aaah, those boys. 

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

Jason started to seek Dick, now. Whether it was because he wanted more cookies, or to see his brother, nobody could quite say…

DADA ! 

Baby Jason adored Bruce. 

Adult Jason too, though he would never admit it. Not anymore. Not after what happened to him…

But he did. Adore his father. That’s probably why he found it so hard to forgive him for not killing the Joker after what he did to him. Ah, but this was another story. For now, Jason as a one year old was an absolute Bruce fanboy. 

He loved you too, it was obvious. He came to you whenever he wanted comfort, or cuddles, or anything of the like. You were his mama, and at that age, he would choose you over anybody else. 

But, Bruce ? 

“DADA !!” 

Jason would exclaim whenever he saw him in the evening, when your husband would come home from work. And then he’d do his little toddler run towards him, and Bruce would catch him in his arms. 

So heartwarming. 

You took time off of work, you were pretty independent anyway so nobody really minded. You took time off of work, so you could help Alfred with Jason. You saw that little boy all day. 

But Bruce ? 

Ah Bruce. He still had to work. The responsibilities of owning such large enterprises made it impossible to take more than a day or two off. So he would see your son only in the morning, and evening before bed time. 

It was enough, though. 

“DADA !!” 

Jason would yell excitedly, running to him. 

Bruce found himself waiting for this moment with great anticipation. Your son would melt anyone’s heart, with his cute little face, big blue eyes, dark hair and that infamous streak of white…He was such a cute toddler. 

But Bruce ? 

Ah, Bruce’s heart had always been soft for his family, unbeknownst to many. How could he resist that child ? 

“DADA !!” 

Running little feet on the floor. Giggles as he was lifted off of it. And then he’d put his hands on his father’s cheeks, and just…smile. 

Of that recognizable and pure “Jason smile” he used to always have before-

What if Jason couldn’t be turned back into an adult ? Was that such a bad thing ? 

He had another chance right now. 

Bruce had another chance. Another shot at not screwing up. At keeping him far from this “Batman” business. 

Another chance…

But was this really your, or Bruce’s decision to make ? 

No. No it wasn’t. 

“DADA !!” 

Run. Catch. Hug. 

A shame, that you both knew this was but a chimera which had to end one day. 

With Alfred 

You almost missed it. But as often in your life, fate made it so you managed to make it just in time. 

A few minutes before or after, and you wouldn’t have seen it. Because for sure, if he had seen you, he wouldn’t have done it. And if you came just a little later, you simply would’ve never had any idea it happened. 

Here they were. 

Baby Jason laying in Alfred’s arms, as the butler sat in a comfortable arm chair, in the library. 

 “Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea, 
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff
Oh, Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail” 

Singing. 

Alfred was singing to him. 

And Jason was utterly enthralled by the song, his big blue eyes staring at his “grandfather”. He was holding one of the butler’s hand with both of his, tightly. And you were sure your son didn’t even notice how much he clutched at the old man’s hand. 

Neither of them noticed you, standing there, looking through the crack of the half-opened door.  

 “Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail
Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came
Pirate ships would lower their flags when Puff roared out his name” 

Captivated, Jason let Alfred caress his little head with his free hand, not realizing what he was doing. 

Putting him to sleep, surely. 

 “Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee
Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant’s rings make way for other toys
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more” 

Oh my God. This song was actually incredibly sad. But Alfred’s soft voice interpreted it so perfectly, that it was beyond soothing at the same time. 

Baby Jason didn’t really understand the lyrics anyway, he just seemed to find the song beautiful. It was made obvious by how his eyes got a little misty. 

The boy was moved, and it was truly magical. Such a young mind, touched by all the love poured into this song by his grandfather. 

 “And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar
His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane
Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave” 

The song reminded you of Jason and Bruce too much. You felt like crying, and you didn’t hold the tears back when they started to fell. 

It was a bittersweet feeling. Sadness because of all the hardship they both went through, but happiness because they managed to overcome them. 

Bittersweet. 

Because their strong bond, their father/son love, was so important to both of them, that it became the source of so many conflicts and pain. 

 “So Puff, that mighty dragon, sadly slipped into his cave
Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee” 

“Sadly slipped into his cave”, was this song specifically written for your Bruce or what ? Yes. Yes it fitted Bruce and Jason’s story so well. 

It made you choke with emotions. 

“He used to sing that to me when I was a child.”

You didn’t hear him come in, in fact, you felt his arms wrap around your waist before he even made a sound. 

Your Broosh. And his warmth is so comforting. 

In the library, Alfred starts singing the song again, after Jason was babbling in baby talk, clearly asking for more. Ah, and the old butler was never able to resist any of those kids. 

“What is it ? The song.” 

“Puff the Magic Dragon, by Peter Paul and Mary. It used to be my favorite song. I think it still is…”      (A/N : I highly recommend listening to it once, just to get the feel…I love that song)

You both listen to Alfred sing to Jason. The boy is clearly in love with that song, too. Bruce whispers : 

“It used to soothe me, no matter what. As a baby, at least according to my parents. And I’d only want Alfred to sing it, nobody else. Not even my mother or father. When they died he-”

“Oh, Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee”

“He used to sing it every single night. And it always helped me to fall asleep, even when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to. I love that song.” 

“Yes, yes I think- I think I do too.” 

You and Bruce stayed there for a while. Holding onto each other for comfort. Listening to that lovely song, while Jason was slowly falling asleep, a smile on his lips. 

Trouble and Jealousy

Jason wasn’t even two, in that state, yet he was already quite a smart boy. 

Everyone always thought Tim was the brain of this little cluster of siblings, and although often they weren’t wrong, all of your children were intelligent, and great strategist. 

And evidently, it showed in young Jason right now. 

He quickly found he had a knack to get out of trouble. He just had to look at people with cute eyes, and boom. It was done. 

Something his siblings weren’t too fan of, because it worked way too well on their mom ! And ever since Jason was turned into a toddler, said mom, you, got her attention a little too focused on him ! 

The kids were rarely jealous of each other, especially because you and Bruce always found time for each and everyone of them. There were NO favorites, in the Wayne household. 

But a toddler demanded much more attention than a, say, 8 years old child. And definitely more than an adult. 

Oddly enough, Damian didn’t mind too much. He took his big brother role very seriously, and had a very : “Jason (as a baby at least) can do no wrong” kind of mindset. Even if it was obvious the boy did something he wasn’t supposed to, Damian would defend him, and fight anyone who wouldn’t leave it alone. Which Jason noticed quickly. 

Running to his mom or to Damian became a habit, when he caused…Utter chaos. Honestly, there was no other words. 

He was a very energetic boy, and although he was very sweet, obedient and nice, it seemed he always came up with the worst of ideas ! 

Which is what Tim discovered, as he came in the kitchen and found his little brother devouring cookies, sat in the middle of SO MUCH FLOUR ! 

“Jason, what did you do ??”

Jason looked at him, and giggled. He giggled, the little devil ! Tim went to him, picked him up, and was about to scold him a little (as he should) when you entered the kitchen. 

“Oh. My. God. What happened ?!”

Tim was of course about to say Jason somehow got on the counters and such, but the little boy in his arms, after looking at him, a mischievous look in his eyes…started crying. 

Big cries that Tim knew were fake. Oh, the crocodile tears ! 

But it worked on you. It worked really well indeed. 

You went to him, took him into your arms, patting his back to comfort him, holding him close. 

“Shush shush, it’s ok baby, it’s ok. Tim, please can you clean the mess ?” 

And then you left, consoling little Jason…Little Jason who wasn’t sad at all ! He was still making crying sound, but Tim swore he saw a smile on his face as he looked at him and their eyes crossed when their mother left the room !

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

Dick was easily jealous, if you gave more attention to another of your kid. After all, he had been a lonely child for quite some years before Jason came in. He was used, for so long, to be the sole receiver of your attention (fighting for it with Bruce, though). 

Even as an adult, when he came to see you, you’d make sure to have time for him. You saw less of each other since he moved to Bludhäven, so when he came by, you dropped everything to spend time with him. 

Dick LOVED it. Maybe he had always been a bit of an attention seeker, but you couldn’t blame him. He had been an only child for years, even before he met you and Bruce. Old habits die hard. 

So recently, when, whenever he came by, you would take care of Jason, he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. 

He hated to feel jealous of his siblings. He thought he grew out of that. Most of his conflicts with Jason, years ago, when the  boy first came in, were born from Dick being jealous and thinking Bruce replaced him without a second thought (very wrong). 

Also, Jason was currently a toddler. Of course he’d have more attention. 

Didn’t mean Dick didn’t feel jealous though. Sigh. Damn. 

But then-

Then whenever Jason saw his oldest brother, he would jump on his feet and run to him, and Dick felt like he was the most important person on the planet because of how the boy looked at him. 

He would never admit it now, but Jason had always greatly admired Dick. He was his model. His hero. 

Seemed like things never changed, eh. 

Ah. Well, Jason always got away with almost everything, with Dick. Some things will never change indeed, no matter the age. 

And just like that, any jealous feeling vanished. 

With Cassandra 

Jason was mesmerized by Cass. 

Whenever he would start to cry, or feel cranky, she’d dance for him. 

Ballet. 

He loved it. 

He would instantly stop crying, and just stare, utterly captivated, entranced. And then when she’d be done, he’d smile, widely, and raise his arms to make her understand he wants her to pick him up. 

And she would, of course. 

Cass and Jason never spoke a word, never made a sound. They seemed perfectly content in just being with each other. 

Often, Jason would look for his “big” sister, and just sit with her, looking at whatever she’s doing. Even if, say, she read a book with no picture. He’d just look at the words, and at his sister, perfectly content. 

Tim quickly renamed Cass “The Baby soother”. 

Jason could be a little destructive, as a toddler. He broke way too many vase, and the more people (that weren’t his mom or Damian) told him “no”, the more he wanted to do it. 

Yet Cass would come in, and it’s like she knew the button to turn him off. Even if in the middle of a tantrum, she’d just dance, and Jason would calm down. 

It was magic, really. 

Jason and Cass had both very strong childhood trauma. It seemed to please her that her brother’s bad experience had now been erased. 

“Can’t we keep him like that ?” 

She once asked. You answered : “I wish. But it’s not our decision…” 

You couldn’t possibly decide for your son like that. You couldn’t, for selfish reasons, decide to keep him as a baby, letting him grow up differently. You couldn’t. 

“I know..” 

She said sadly. Seeing her sad made Jason sad, and the boy was about to cry when-

His favorite thing. She started dancing for him. This time picking him up to dance with him. 

Because she was going to take every chance she got to make her brother’s “new” childhood the most memorable, calming, and warm possible. 

Jason Todd 

Finally, after three whole months, Constantine came back. 

With good news. 

“I found a way to reverse it, but it might be a little long.” 

And long it was indeed. With the help of Bruce, it took him the entire day to perform the ritual that would give Jason his adult body back (and mind, hopefully…John wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t about to tell that to any of you. Oops). 

It worked. 

It worked. 

Jason was there, actually Jason. And according to John, there would be no permanent damage. He managed to bring both body and spirit back. 

He warned them he would sleep for a while, the shock of the transformation being exhausting. 

Jason slept the entire day, when he woke up, he was groggy and still tired, his first words being : 

“Mom.” 

Of course, because he saw you first. 

“Dad.”

Bruce felt a pang in his chest. Jason’s first instinct was to call for himtoo. 

“…The FUCK happened ?!” 

And your Jason was back to his normal self, for better and for worst. You wouldn’t have it any other way. As you told him the story of the past few months, you realized that you would never forget the memory of Jason as a baby, and how sweet that kid has (and will) always be(en). 

And when he says : “The last thing I remember is being with that girl, oh I forgot her name now. Anyway I was with her, because I suspected she was a metahuman and wanted to make sure, but she didn’t say anything. Then she was all like : “well if you’re going to act like a child, then you might as well be one” and…And that’s it, that’s all I remember.”, you all bursted out into laughter. 

“You might as well be one” indeed. Of course, Jason would piss of a magician capable of transforming people. 

Years later, you’d learn said girl was a disciple of Klarion, and everything finally made sense. 

I want to be an older brother 

Damian started to understand, those months. The feeling you get, as an older brother. The intense need to protect your younger sibling, to teach them things, to be there for him. 

And looking back on his life since he joined you and Bruce at Wayne Manor ? All his older brothers and sister did exactly that for him. 

Jason, always did that for him. Ever since he was a baby. And Damian ? He wanted to be that for someone too. 

“Being an older brother is pretty fun…”

Damian told you, not long after Jason turned back into his adult form. 

And you could see he wished he wasn’t the youngest one, for once. Damian definitely enjoyed his junior status, he knew he could get away with a lot of things with his siblings and parents (funny enough, Jason was the softest one who would let him get away with stuffs that honestly weren’t too good), but having a toddler around seemed to make him want to be an older brother…How funny, how destiny works.

You weren’t going to lie. It was nice, to have such a small kid home. You and Bruce never got to raise a child from birth, for obvious reasons. Not that you regretted anything, or the life you lead until then. It was just…Nice, to have a little kiddo around. 

Funny, how things work. 

Was it fate, that made it so you had a certain news not long after that adventure with Jason being turned into a toddler by a wizard he offended ? 

Fate, that made Damian’s wish a possibility. Fate, that made it so you discovered that you were actually…

Pregnant. 

To be continue ?

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If you thought this was another excuse for me to write more toddler with Bruce and Batmom…then you were right haha. I’ve been in a mood my friends, and I love writing babies. Jason as a “lil lad” who has (almost) a chance at a good childhood makes my heart warm, but it can’t happen so next best thing ? Wizardry. Haha. I almost want to write a “turned toddler” story for each batsiblings hehe.

Hope you enjoyed ! As per usual comments and reblogs are very welcomed :) 

PS : I tweaked a little Jason’s story with the Al’Ghuls after he got resurrected, just because…I wanted to haha. So, Damian’s part is heavily inspired by actual canon stories, but maybe, JUST MAYBE, I made it so Jason and Damian’s relationship was stronger that it is portrayed to be, just because, again, I can. And I love that headcanon.

Synopsis :In which Batmom (you), is HYPING Bruce up A LOT. Because like, have you seen the man ?? He IS handsome and smart and beautiful and brave and *insert more ramble here about how much of a simp we all are for Bruce Wayne*. 

I realized something yesterday : I wrote HUNDREDS of stories of Bruce (or the kids) hyping Batmom up, but I don’t think I ever wrote a story where she’s the one hyping him up ?? I shall correct that fatal mistake in this story. Hope you’ll like it, as usual comments/reblogs are welcomed :) : 

My masterlists : @ella-ravenwood-archives​

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

Bruce hated himself. 

He hated himself for not being able to save his parents. 

He hated himself for the way he treated Alfred after they died, and for the way he abandoned him to go train far away. 

He hated himself for not being able to save everyone. 

He hated himself because he knew he had issues, he knew he wasn’t well…yet he continued on the dark and lonely path of being “The Batman”. Vengeance itself. 

He hated himself for not being able to save Dick’s parents. 

He hated himself for not being able to convey his feelings properly, and to show how much he cared for that little boy. To show his love, the fatherly love he quickly felt towards him. 

He hated himself because he wanted so much for Dick not to be like him, but could he ever achieve that ? Yes, the boy was happier and brighter, but if he stayed with him…Could Dick really have a good future ? 

He hated himself because he knew he was violent and his ways weren’t always good. But at least…At least Dick was a good kid. It was good, that he went off by himself with the Titans, to cool down. And Bruce hated himself for missing him so much. Wasn’t this what he wanted ? To make sure Dick could move on, unlike him, who couldn’t forget his past ? 

His hatred for himself went through the roof with Jason. He hated himself for not being able to protect him. He wanted to die, when he realized his son was still alive, hating him maybe even more than he hated himself (which was a feat). He wanted to die, and not feel anything ever again, when he lost his son, and when he realized what Jason became…He couldn’t save him…he couldn’t save him…

He couldn’t save Damian either. Nor could he be there when Tim needed him the most. And Cassandra ? Did he ever do anything good for her ? Ah, he couldn’t save Duke’s parents, if only he had killed the Joker… 

Yes. Bruce hated himself so much, sometimes, it was unbearable. And so he hid his feelings, he pretended to be cold, to not care, even. 

It was easier, to push everyone away. To keep them at bay, and act as if he didn’t feel anything. But the truth was…

The truth was that he felt everything. 

He had always been an overly sensitive child, “hypersensitive”, they even said. And he had to beat this side of him down, to pretend he lost all feelings…It was vital, in a way. 

He couldn’t survive otherwise, he couldn’t keep going if he always let his emotions out. He would not have survived his parents’ death. He would not have survived his son(s) death. He-

It was just easier. To hide the fact he hated himself so much. To hide all feelings. To pretend. His facade was so well polished, and perfected over the years ! 

But then-

Then you came along. 

Yes. Bruce hated himself. Past tense. 

There were still moments Bruce had a hard time to live with himself, and went back to old habits. But…

But ever since you entered his life, things changed. 

Because you loved him. Wholly and unconditionally. And if someone loved him so much, someone he loved to death too, someone he found to be the most amazing person he ever met. If that someone loved him so damn much, then maybe…Maybe, he wasn’t so bad ? 

Even when he was a jerk to you. Even in his darkest time.

You found him. Took none of his crap. Told him off, and brought him back on a way full of life. 

No matter how hard things got, and oh, they sometimes became so hard you felt like you were not going to be able to keep going, you stayed. 

And you told him. You told him how much you loved him, how important he was, how-

You made him believe it. 

There were still moments he hated himself, and felt like he would fall back into old habits of punishing himself by pushing everyone away, and becoming “Vengeance” once again. But now…

Now he had you. And you never shied away from telling him how great he was.

Bruce hated himself, but you love him.

It’s funny, how someone can think another person is their savior.

Before you met Bruce, you were destined to have a certain life you knew you would’ve hated. And then you met him. 

Your light. 

You knew Bruce thought that you were the one who saved him, that you were the one who kept him together. Your husband always had a tendency to put you on a pedestal, and think you were the greatest human who ever lived. 

The truth was, you desperately needed him. You were a highly flawed individual, and you were very aware of your flaws…except when he was with you. 

He always knew what to say, how to make you feel safe and loved, how to make you feel like you were the most important person on the planet. 

And it killed you to know how he could be so hard on himself sometimes. 

You had made it your mission, long ago, to erase all those feelings inside him. You knew it was going to be a long journey. You knew there were times he wouldn’t believe you. Because you were the same.

You were the same. 

Sometimes, you didn’t believe him when he told you you were the most beautiful woman he ever met, the one he loved the most, the only one he had eyed for (oh but if anyone could’ve told you : when you were in the room, he really did have only eyes for you, not noticing any other women nor men because you occupied all his thoughts). 

You knew he didn’t always believe you…But you were never going to stop telling him how great he was. 

You were NEVER going to stop hyping the love of your life up. 

Before you even met him

“Have you heard of that guy, um, the rich one who just came back? Because (Y/N), he’s hot.”

“What ?”

It was too early in the morning for your best friend’s shenanigans. What, it wasn’t even 7 am, you were about to go buy coffee before going to school (it was exam week at your high school, you needed the caffeine), and here he was, talking to you about some random rich man who “came back”. Came back from where anyway ? Ugh, this SO didn’t interest you.

You were about to take an important maths test, you really didn’t care about some random handsome billionaire who was going to flaunt his wealth all around Gotham, pretending to care about the city while not doing anything to help it. 

“Bruce Wayne, it’s Bruce Wayne ! You know, from THE Wayne family !” 

“Ugh, yeah, I kind of got that from the fact his last name is “Wayne”…”

Your friend ignored your snarky comment, staring at the cover of the magazine you still didn’t even look at, where, you assume, was probably a picture of that “Bruce Wayne”. 

You had faint memories of him. Years ago, he suddenly disappear from Gotham and like um, his butler ? His adoptive father ? You couldn’t even remember the guy’s name, but he told the press his “Master Wayne” (cringe) went to school abroad or something. 

Again. You didn’t care. You had your head full of equations. You would’ve done anything for your best friend to STOP talking about that dude. 

“Just look at him (Y/N), he’s so your type ! Come oooon !” 

“Ugh, I don’t have a type, and you-”

He shoved the cover in front of your face, definitely forcing you to look at it and…Wow. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

Hewashot. 

No. Fuck. No. Wait. Noooo, but your maaaaaths ! Damn your brain for going : “hot man + handsome face = you’re not going to remember Pythagoras’ theorem”. 

“Shit.” You say, and your friend just looks at you with an expression that clearly means : “RIGHT ?! Told ya.”. You take the magazine, automatically reading the title of it. 

“The prodigal son returns : after years away, Bruce Wayne is finally back in town. And he has a plan !” 

You weren’t going to lie, you didn’t even care about the plan, kinda obnubilated by how hot he looked. Nooo, you thought you passed the age of having instant crush on random men ! 

“He looks like a douche.” 

You say, trying to hide the fact that, annoyingly, your friend was right when he said that man was your type. Ugh, couldn’t he not look so ridiculously good smiling at the paparazzis like that ?!

“Well, he’s already hot as fuck, he can’t get all the qualities right ? That’d be unfair. He looks like such a himbo.” 

You nod, and add : “a doumbo”. Your friend look at you curiously, and you say : 

“Ya know, the combination of a himbo and a douche. Like, himbos aren’t always douche bags, but look at him, and his dumb sexy smirk. He must be a douche.” 

“A doumbo. A himche ?”

“Some would say, a Douchbo.” 

“A Himbouche, even.” 

“Haha, himbouche. Sounds French and fancy.”

And that was all you needed to burst out into laughter. A well needed fit of laugh, before arriving in front of your maths test and realizing that…You can’t remember anything of your lessons, as the face of that “Himbouche” kept coming back into your head. Physical appearance didn’t even mean that much ! Personality was your jam ! Ah but with handsome men like that, how could you even pretend not to be interested ? 

Ugh. It’s not like you’d ever had a chance to even meet him ! 

But you met him. 

You could mock that cover all you wanted, the fact remained that you kept that magazine for a long time, too long to divulge it because it’s really embarrassing when you think about it. 

Thanks the gods you managed to hid it from Bruce. He never even knew you owned that magazine, and like, good. He would’ve never let you hear the end of it. 

You first met him at a gala, in which you felt very uncomfortable. 

A charity, to open more libraries in Gotham. Your charity. You send him an invitation on the off chance he would come and…Here he was. 

You noticed him instantly, but he was busy and you were definitely not going to introduce yourself first. 

Somehow, you ended up speaking to a bunch of women you didn’t know the name of, but you often saw them in pictures participating in galas and such. They were probably rich. You had most likely Bruce Wayne to thank for them coming, because your charity ? Clearly not their crowd. 

“So tell me, um…?”

“(Y/N).”

“Ah yes, (Y/N), what an adorable name.”

Could someone sound even faker ? Probably not. You could feel your eye twitch a little, but you promised yourself not to snap back at any possible donator. It was hard. 

“So, tell me (Y/N), how did you manage to get Bruce Wayne to come here ? He usually only comes to um, important events. Not that your little thing isn’t, it’s just- you know.” 

You did know. But you weren’t going to let this people intimidate you so you said : 

“Actually, I don’t. Would you care to explain what you really mean ?” 

That put them in an awkward position of course, because as much as these people were good at insinuating things and being snarky, they never seemed to outright speak their mind. Which often worked to your advantage. 

The woman cleared her throat, and you said (regretting it immediately) : 

“Bruce Wayne actually comes to a lot of the smaller events, and always donate gracefully to good cause. He’s clearly not the snobby man you think he is, just last week he was at a small neighborhood place which was trying to get money to open a basketball court in the Narrows. He’s amazing.” 

All those years ago, when you called him a “himbouche” with your friend, you couldn’t be more wrong. His action spoke for themselves, he really turned the city around. Plus, he financed the Batman, which is something you couldn’t ignore. How great was that ?! 

You might’ve spoken a little too vehemently, because the woman facing you smirked. One of those almost evil smirk which meant she was about to try to humiliate you. And indeed, she said, loud enough for everyone to hear :

“What, you have a crush on Bruce Wayne or something ? That’s cute.”

Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Murder was not on your list tonight. You smiled, of that same fake smile she harbored, and said : 

“Please, who doesn’t ?”

You decided that it was easier to not even lie, to not pretend you don’t have a crush on the man. Because, well, you knew you were definitely not the only one. And there wasn’t any shame in having a little crush on someone. 

Plus, the way that person said “that’s cute” really irked you. You were not about to let someone mock you like that. Even if you knew there were no chance that he’d be interested in you, the way they said it, “oh that’s cute” as if it was a given he’d never notice you, really made you mad. 

“A crush on me, you say ?” 

What ? No. Fuck. Ah. He was right behind you right ? Bruce Wayne ? Yeah. You were never going to turn around ever again. Ignoring him seemed like the rational thing to do. 

Your flawless plan of not turning around was, however…Flawed. He literally just had to move in front of you. Which he did. 

“Bruuuucie, how nice it is to see you !”

The woman instantly latched on him, but he downright ignored her, turning to you and saying : 

“I’m Bruce Wayne, very nice to meet you (Y/N). Love your books..”

The rest was history. From that night, it seems, you two never quite managed to truly say “good bye” to each other.  

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

“Did you mean it ?” 

He asked, later that night. You two escaped on an isolated balcony, where no one could find you. It’s strange, how it seemed like you both had the same idea at the same time. 

“What ?” 

“What you said about me.” 

“The…Crush ?” 

“That too, but not only. The other thing, about me making Gotham a better place.”

“Ah, of course I meant it. It’s plain to see you really do. Surely, you’ve heard that before ?”

He lets out a little self-deprecating chuckle, and turns his face towards the sky.

“Well, I guess a lot of people do say that. But I don’t think many of them truly mean it. So, thank you.” 

He turns to you, and he smiles. A pure, almost child like smile. A real smile. Not the one you saw on his face countless times in magazines, or on TV. 

Wow. 

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. 

Your heart beat so loud, you were sure he could hear it. 

What a smile. The most beautiful you’ve ever seen. Without exaggeration, you were sure that smile could brighten an entire room easily. 

“I don’t think many of them truly mean it”, those words sounded so lonely. Like you caught a glimpse of his true self, right before he hid behind his mask again. How come a man like this didn’t think people really meant it, when they said he was amazing ? 

That blew your mind. 

You promised yourself that night, that if you ever were to meet him again, you’d make sure to always give him the compliments he deserved. 

In Private

It’s early in the morning. 

A moment you both loved and dreaded. 

Loved, because the first thing you saw as you woke up was your beloved husband. Dreaded, because it usually meant you wouldn’t see each other the entire day, as you both were very busy. And then, there was that all Batman gig…

But for now, for now, you’re both waking up, and you’re in each other’s arms. 

He rolls on top of you, hands on each side of your shoulders, and smile. 

Ah, that pure smile you love so much. 

“What a handsome man…” you say, as you put your hands on his cheeks.

He lays his face in the crook of your neck, and you know it’s because he’s trying to hide his reaction.

“You getting shy on me big man ?” the amusement is evident in your words, and he grumbles but you feel his lips quirk up on your skin. And that’s enough to make you feel content. And to make him feel butterflies in his stomach. Even after all this years, you still make him so happy with the simplest compliment. 

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

“I love it when you smile…”

It took a long time, before you got to see his real smile. Not the one he arbored at gala, not the “Brucie Wayne” one, no. His real smile.

The one he had when looking at you, eyes full of fondness. A smile of utter contentment, he had only when with you, or his children. 

Your comment makes him smile, and he’s about to say he loves yours too but you don’t even give him a chance : 

“I love being with so much, I wish time could stand still when we’re together.”

“I feel the same..” he whispers, as you two instantly fall into each other’s arms. 

“Bruce, I mean it.” 

“I know. I do too.” 

“No but, I truly mean it. I’m so happy I fell in love with you. When I hold you in my arms, I feel so lucky.”

Sometimes, he feels chocked up. It’s rare, and it always takes him by surprise. To be honest, most of the time, he’s the one to render you speechless with his beautiful words. He always had a knack with finding the perfect things to say to make you feel good about himself. 

You did too, of course. Just, he was always better at controlling his emotions. Didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate your compliments of course. 

But yes. Sometimes, sometimes it felt almost too good to be true. He was so sure, after his parents’ death, he would never know again what happiness was. And here he was. 

In those moments, he’d hide his face in the crook of your neck. You knew what it meant, when he did that. Your words meant too much to him. So much, that he lacked the words to truly express it, and the only thing he could do was embrace you. 

Oh. Oh you wished more people could see him like that. During moments he couldn’t hide his emotions, he couldn’t hide at all. During moments he showed his true self : a caring, loving, empathetic and emotional man. 

It made you made, sometimes, that people thought of him as only a “machine”. Someone who could endure anything and everything. Someone who, anyway, didn’t feel anything. 

As you often said : he feels everything. 

Everything. 

It’s not easy, to be the Batman. To endure. To keep it all inside. 

So many people were wrong about him. So many people didn’t truly knew him. 

Not the Vengeance. But the man who, even as he was utterly broken, kept fighting for what he believed in. Driven by love. Ah. 

But in a way, you liked the fact you were one of the only person privy to his real feelings. And so, when he hid his face in the crook of your neck, you could feel nothing else but happiness. 

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

“It’s so unfair.” 

You say, breaking the silence reigning in the batcave. He’s been focused on the screen of his computer for a while now, and you caught yourself just staring at him. He acknowledge you though, as always, and he says, turning his head towards you : 

“Mm ?” 

“You are so handsome. Like, all the time.” 

He smiles softly, but shakes his head. Of course, Bruce had always been aware he was a good looking man. He used that to his advantage many times. But when you said it, even after he heard you say it hundreds of times, he just felt all warm inside. Butterflies. Flustered. Like a damn teenage boy. 

He turns back to the computer, not even realizing the smile has not left his lips yet. 

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

Bruce kept it all in a special place in his heart. All your beautiful words, that made him feel like he wasn’t worthless. Like maybe, there was no reason to hate himself so much. He kept it all inside his heart, so that in tough moments, like fighting an intergalactic menace far from you and his family, he could plunge back in that part of himself and remember how loved he is. 

This part of him kept everything, everything you told him over the years : 

“You have my heart. I’m so glad you chose me.”

“The sound of your laugh is music to my ears.”

"I’m in awe of what a wonderful person you are.”

“You inspire me to be a better woman”.

“When I’m with you, I feel like I found what I was looking for.”

"I feel so safe with your arms around me.”

“Your presence brings the best out of me. I can’t wait to make more memories with you.”

“You make me so happy just by being yourself.”, you were probably one of the only person who loved him for who he truly was. For him. 

"Being with you feels so right. Thank you for loving me.” 

"I never get tired of looking at you. Of talking to you. Of being with you.” 

“Hearing your voice brings me so much joy.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

You always acknowledge the thing he did for you, too : 

"Thank you for supporting me.”

"Thank you for looking after me.”

“Thank you for always being there for me.”

"Thank you for listening.”

You just always had a knack to hype him up ! : 

"There is no one else like you. You are the best.”

"You always have the best ideas.”

"Adventures with you are my favorite. You always manage to make things interesting, even the dullest ones.” 

"You make the world so much more beautiful. You know you’re the best, right ?”

“I’ll fight anyone who say anything bad about you.” 

And if he ever said something along the line of : “You don’t have to.” You’d respond with : “Oh no but, I do.” 

Alfred had always been supportive of him. And along his life, Bruce met countless people who praised him for whatever reason. 

But nobody, nobody ever quite had your talent to hype him up. To make him feel like he was genuinely great. 

Clark would say that your praise of him sometimes did him a disservice. Because, yes, your husband knew he was intelligent. And he could therefor be so damn arrogant. But his arrogance often hid, as most arrogant feelings do, a great sense of insecurity. As if him being smart was his only use in the world…

You made him feel like it wasn’t. You made him feel like being Batman wasn’t the only thing he had going on. So what if sometimes he was insufferable, he thought he was always right etc…You never once saw Bruce act as if he was superior to anyone. 

You never understood this weird image following him. Sure as Brucie Wayne he played on being insolent and arrogant and all. But as Batman ? When did he ever truly make someone feel less than ? Never. That’s when.

On the contrary. Bruce often hyped others up, even if they didn’t notice (were there really a biggest Superman fan than him ? He just was subtil in his compliments). 

Nobody ever said your husband was flawless. But his qualities vastly outweighed his flaws. You could bear with his “dark moments”, and him sometimes being a jerk, because you knew how great he truly was. 

Hoping people can be perfect at all time is so unrealistic. And quite toxic, really. 

Everybody makes mistakes. 

Not everybody can try to better themselves though, like Bruce does. It drove you crazy that some people seemed to never notice how much progress he did. Ah, but you knew. 

Bruce wasn’t selfish as some people said, he was selfless. 

You knew. 

You never wanted him to be perfect anyway, you loved him just as he was. 

In Public

From the day he became your boyfriend, to when he turned into your fiancé, and now as your husband, you never shied away of being very vocal about how much you admired him. How amazing you thought he was. 

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

“He’s amazing, isn’t he ?” you’re often caught gushing at the journalists, and oh you have so many reasons to be proud of your husband. Whether he just started an amazing charity, or just because he exists really. 

Many people tried to fluster you, or anger you (drama always sold more) by making inappropriate comments about your husband, like how hot he was and such. How many people were after him. Without missing a bit, you always answered things like : 

“He’s gorgeous in his new suit, right ?” 

“Honestly can’t blame anyone who have the hots for him. I mean, have you seen him ?!” 

“I know, his butt looks GREAT in those pants !” 

“I had to go buy a new dress shirt for him, he flexed his arms and pecs earlier and tore it apart. Can you believe it ? He’s so strong. And fff, what a snack. A buffet, even.”

Sometimes, some people tried the other tactic, trying to denigrate Bruce in any way : 

 “What did you just say ?! My husband is the kindest, smartest, most incredible person on this planet. I will tolerate no slander.” 

And you were ready to fight. You would NEVER stand for any bad talk about your husband. People could say whatever they wanted, but anyone pretending he was a bad person were just liars. You’d never, NEVER let them defame him !

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

Whenever you spotted a paparazzi, you reveled in showing your husband off. Pointing out his chiseled jaw line, or his biceps. Forming the word “thicc” on camera as you pointed your finger to his thighs. 

It became a running joke in Gotham, and a source of endless memes. Nobody could deny that Bruce Wayne was an attractive man anyway… 

If anyone asked you a passing question about him, while you were going somewhere or they caught you buying coffee, you would often ramble about how great Bruce was. 

“He’s so smart. And humble. And kind. And brave. And bold. And compassionate. And so pretty. And interesting. And (insert an infinite influx of compliment).” 

To be fair, people learned not to ask you much about your husband, because you could never shut up, and hype him up in front of everyone. And vice versa, “that’s my wife” Bruce would say, proud of you at any small occasions. 

“Bruce Wayne and (Y/N) Wayne are our modern Gomèz and Morticia Addams” was an official instagram account. A very popular one. You always wondered who was the creator of it (I’ll let you guess). 

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

“Bruce, Bruce listen.” 

“Mm ?” 

“I crave you more than pizza.”

He chuckles at that, and you-

“Ew. Please. Mom. Can’t you wait for us not to be around to say things like that ?” 

“Right ?! I agree with Tim, please. This is our family night, you and father, stop being gross.” 

You turn to your children, snickering. Oh how you loved to gross them out by openly complimenting you husband. And you knew he loved it too, and that he was most likely about to make a comment that would annoy your kids, while making you feel all warm and nice. 

“I’ll never look at pizza the same way…”

Jason says dejectedly, looking at his piece of pizza. And you can’t help but burst out into laughter. Drama queens, all of them. 

Aaah, it’s not because your children were there that you were going to not tell Bruce how much you loved him. How much he meant to you. How amazing he truly was. 

At the League’s headquarters

“Your intelligence always astounds me, my heart.” You say without thinking, forgetting that well…You’re surrounded by all your superheroes friends. And they’re all looking at you and Bruce.

Superman, your great friend Clark, has a faint smile on his lips (what ? The man was a sucker for good romance ! Following yours and Bruce’s love story was quite the ride, and he was always there in the tough moments…he secretly was the person, along with Alfred, who rooted for you two the most). 

Wonder Woman smirked (she thought it was funny when you managed to fluster Bruce).

Flash was going to catch flies with his mouth open like that, in utter shock. 

Green Lantern seemed almost grossed out (his expression not unlike the one your children harbored when you two kissed in front of them). 

Green Arrow’s eyes immediately went to Black Canary’s, their relationship more alike to yours than any of you will ever know…Y

ou made a mental list of all your friends in your head, looking at you two. Ff, the League was getting big now, with new arrivals pretty regularly. Maybe you should try to control your “simp surge” (that’s how Tim called those moments during which you gushed over your husband).

But then, how could you, when he truly was intelligent ? The best detective out there. Once, you heard one of them (you could honestly not remember who) imply that Bruce wasn’t an important member of the league because he didn’t have any powers. And oh Gods. 

“Please.” you said, annoyed that anyone would think just because he doesn’t have any power he’s not the most important part of the team (no, you never exaggerated ! hehe)

“When A piece of rock is your nemesis, or when the color yellow is your weakness, you don’t really get to brag too much ok ? Plus, let’s think about how many times Bruce got you all out of bad situations, mm ? Who always has a plan B, all the way to Z here, mm ? Dare to say you wouldn’t panic if Bruce one day say : “I don’t know”, mmmmm ?”

To be fair, it was kind of true. Nobody could quite deny the fact that, if one day, the Batman himself ran out of ideas to “win”, it’d be quite frightening. Not that he was the only intelligent person around. Oh no, there was Barry too of course, and J’onn, and many others ! But over the years, everyone came to rely on his mastermind to find solutions to their biggest problems.

Ah yes. There wasn’t a moment in the League headquarters where you didn’t express your admiration for your husband (in relevant situations of course).

To friends 

You had the same friends he did, for the most part. Except for your childhood friend, and his. You shared the same friend group. 

To be fair, the League was in big part your friends. But it was different, when you were officially on League missions, and only just all together casually, outside of “work”. 

You hyped Bruce up, but not in the same way you hyped Batman up. 

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

Clark is the only one used to it. 

Everyone else always gets taken aback, when you gush over Bruce and he sometimes let a smile slip up. Usually, he keeps his face cold and unfeeling (he has a reputation to uphold). But sometimes…

Only when he doesn’t have the cowl on, does they sometimes catch him smiling at you. Unable to stop himself. And that’s when they all realized that “The Batman” was before all else, just a man. 

And an impressive one at that, as you constantly reminded them. 

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

One day, you were sitting on the Kent farm’s porch, a cup of coffee in hand, waiting for your husband and Clark to come out (they were currently doing the dishes, and helping Martha out with some things, Martha was adamant that the men must help, and you two had to chill  à préciser que les two c’est elle et Lois) when Lois joined you.

Lois had a true “journalist” reflex. As soon as she learned Batman’s real identity, she wanted to ask him so many questions. And when she met you ? Oh boy.

Like today. It was the first time you came over at Martha’s for a Sunday lunch. The first time of many. Clark and Lois didn’t have children yet, and Dick was with you since just a few months (he was currently helping to bake a pie…that boy LOVED to cook).

“Ok I have to ask. How is he, really ? With you ?”

“Mm?”

“Well, I knew Bruce before, but I always felt he wasn’t showing his true self to me. Like there were always a barrier between us two. Probably why we didn’t last long. So I was wondering…”

You don’t have to think much about it : 

“He’s kind, nice, sweet, always pays attention to me and tries to make me confortable in every situation. He-” 

Fifteen minutes. For fifteen minutes, you hyped your man up. Fifteen minutes of you gushing over him, and Lois couldn’t help but smile. 

She was happy, that Bruce found the right one. And that you found him. You were clearly meant for each others. 

That day, she also realized the same things your other friends will see over the years : “The Batman” was human. He loved like everyone else, he hurt, too. He wasn’t that heartless machine they thought he was, or that stupid and arrogant playboy. No. He-

He was just a man, trying to do his best. 

Your constant admiration of him made them realize that. Gave him a humanity they thought wasn’t there. Made them realize, they never truly knew him before then.  

And it made them a little jealous, too. Because it was clear your love for each others knew no bound, and you’d always be each others biggest fan. 

With your kids

They don’t mind it, most of the time, when you compliment their dad. 

Sometimes, it can get a little gross, like why does it always lead to kisses ?! 

But sometimes, it’s really cute, and inspire them to find someone who loves them as much as you love Bruce (and vice versa). 

Maybe that’s why none of them would ever settle for anyone toxic ? Because they had their parents example, and certain “couple goals”. 

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

You and Damian constantly boast about Bruce (when he’s not there). Damian would never admit it openly like you did, but he thought his dad was amazing. And only with you, did he feel safe enough to truly speak his mind about the matter. “Did you know father could bench press 1000 pounds ??”, “I did ! And he always does that at the end of his training, the man is a machine, a beast.” Damian constantly bragged about his dad (and you, and his siblings) at school. And nobody could ever really tell him that THE Bruce Wayne wasn’t as cool as he sounded…because everyone knew he was (except maybe Bruce himself).

You and Dick LOVED to fluster Bruce. Exaggerating your admiration for him (which was already huge) was your jam. Dick was a great actor, he’d often take his most angelic face before saying how much he loved his dad. It was even worst when he became an adult, because he kept that angelic face and nobody could resist that expression. You and him could never get enough of seeing Bruce blush as you both complimented his every action. 

Jason, before his death, never shied away from backing you up when you said Bruce was a great father. “My dad is the best !” He’d exclaim proudly, making sure journalists caught that on tape. 

After his death, those words never really came out of his mouth ever again. Which made Bruce feel miserable. Until one day : someone dared speak ill of him. Jason lost his cool, and let’s say that this person will never dare again say something bad about Bruce Wayne. This was proof Jason still cared so much, still thought he was the best…And that only him, could criticize his father. 

You and Tim used to have a secret “Batfam Fandom” website, that Bruce found out about years after its creation. You and little Tim had forums, and fan pages dedicated to the Bat (and by extension, to Bruce, albeit you were the only ones knowing the truth). When Bruce finally discovered that page, he was too touched to even admit he found out about it. You still didn’t know he knew…But he definitely went to check that site from time to time, when he didn’t feel good and needed a “pick me up”, knowing he’d found your account (NumberOneBatmanSimp) and your son’s (BatmanStan) gushing over how great he was. 

Cass was THE daddy’s girl. Of course she’d always join in on you complimenting him. “You. Great.” she’d tell him whenever he felt badly about himself. She would never hesitate to scold him, too. “You taught me how to love myself. Love yourself, too. Or else…”, the threat in her words often meaning that if he didn’t, she would hug him up until he felt better. Just like you, she would never let anyone speak badly about her father, including himself. 

Duke was already a fan of Bruce before he met him. And when he finally did, reality went beyond his expectations. Bruce was everything he imagined, and more (the more being : newsflash, he was also the Batman !). How could he not find him amazing and cool and all ? 

Yes. Bruce often found himself stuck in a “hype sandwich”, where you and one of the kids (sometimes even more than one), would remind him of how great he truly was. And how much you loved him. 

Hyping the kids up

"Have you met my oldest son, Dick ? No ? You have to, he’ll honestly make your life better by just existing.” 

“Yes, Jason, my son, he’s fantastic isn’t he ? When he laughs, it brightens the entire room and he never did anything wrong, ever.” 

“Have you ever met someone more intelligent than my Tim ? The answer is no, because nobody is. Objectively speaking, he’s the greatest.” 

“Cassandra is beautiful, smart, amazing, flawless…I pity anyone who can’t see that.”

“Damian ? Another one of my son who never did anything wrong, ever. I’ll fight you on that. Damian is the sweetest little boy ever, he overcame so much, and constantly works on bettering himself. Not a lot of people will achieve even half of his will to become a better man. He will change the world, mark my world. And for the better.” 

“Duke didn’t let his power change him, do you know how strong you have to be for that to happen ? How much of a good person you have to be, to not turn pretentious because you’re powerful ? Such a powerful kid, in every sense of the term”. 

Being your child meant never feeling worthless. Never feeling less than. Of course, you weren’t always perfect and you lost your cool with them more than once…But we established nobody was perfect. 

Well. Except your children. 

They were perfect in your eyes. Their “flaws” only made them better, stronger. They always impressed you so much by how tough they truly were. They went through so much, yet always pulled through. How impressive was that ? 

You never missed an occasion to tell them how amazing they were.

And nobody could hype someone up quite like you.

__________________________________________________

Ok, hope you liked it ! I wrote it “fast” in a burst of inspiration, but I hope it’s suitable for y’all :) comments and reblogs = always loved, welcomed, and motivating ^^. 

Anyway. I wanted to write this because like, I think an aspect of Bruce that is often overlooked is : “why did he decide to become the Batman, and shut away his feelings a lot of times ?” ya know ? Anyway, here’s my way of seeing things. I always felt like Bruce hates himself so much, which is why his facade is so polished…We know that deep down, he actually feels everything to the max (he even says so himself TT.TT). Hypersensitive Bruce trying to protect himself…My jam <3.

Anyway.At least now it’s clear I’m a huge Bruce Wayne simphaha. 

Synopsis: The title says it all, just a few things about the kids and how they’re definitely your babies. 

Just a drabble I suddenly wanted to write. Hope you’ll like this short thing :) :

my masterlists : @ella-ravenwood-archives​

__________________________________________________

“Who’s the biggest “mama’s boy/girl” ?”, was once a question asked to your children during an interview for a local paper.  

Your kids all instantly yelled at the same time : “DAMIAN !!” (including Damian himself, as he said times and times again that being a Mama’s boy was hardly something he’s ashamed of, indeed he’ll happily yell “ME !” to that question. He even takes it as a great win, to be honest), but it wasn’t quite the truth. 

No. No it wasn’t. Because that interviewer only asked them, right ? And that was a mistake. Of course, they’d say Damian. They knew it made their little brother happy, and they knew it was the most obvious answer to anyone who didn’t know their family very well. 

But it wasn’t quite the truth. 

Because if you asked their father, or Alfred, they’d tell you : “It’s literally impossible to rank the one that is the most mama’s boy/girl”. Because they all are. They might not always show it publicly, but man anyone who knows them is just used to them demanding cuddles or asking her things. 

“Moooom ?” was a word often heard yelled across the manor. And if Bruce was nearby, and they wanted to ask something he could totally do for them, they’d still say : “Do you know where mom is ?” 

Dick

Dick, to anyone that do not know those kids, would be the “second most mama’s boy” in their eyes, as he’s never been afraid to show his affection for you in public. 

As soon as he started to consider you his mom, and calling you that, as soon as he realized his own biological mom would probably be ok with it and want him to be happy…Dick Grayson became very attached to you

During galas, tiny him would come sit on your lap around the table and fall asleep on you. There’s hundreds of pictures of you carrying him back to the car (he really was a small kid, for an eight year old). If you and Bruce would let him have an interview (with you present, so the journalist wouldn’t ask him things that would hurt him) he would always gush over how amazing his mom and dad are. 

When sick, he’d look for you first. He’d ask you to get a drink for him, he’d stick near you whenever there was big events, hide behind your dress etc etc…

Publicly (and privately) Dick has always been very open about loving his mom to death. Even now, as an adult, it’s not rare to see pictures in tabloids talking about how they had a lunch date and Dick hugged you while waving at the camera (he looooooved to embarrass you publicly. And vice versa, to be honest).

At the Manor, whether it was when he was eight or now as a mid-twenties guy, he always asked for your hot cocoa and snuggle in front of a Disney movie. His teammates in Teen Titans and Young Justice used to tease him about that, until they realized that you really were super awesome and kinda got jealous (You always made sure to make hot cocoa for all of them…it’s quite a sight, now, as they’re all well into adulthood, to see them snuggling against each other in Wayne Manor’s living room, drinking hot cocoa and watching The Lion King).

Damian 

Damian doesn’t care what anyone says, if he suddenly wants to latch onto his mom and not let go, then he will. 

To the surprise of many, you and him connected instantly. Damian never really had a “normal” mother, one that would pamper (if not baby) him when he didn’t feel well. Talia loves him, yes, and deeply at that, this was no secret. She would always be Damian’s mother. But because of her upbringing, and how she thought she was supposed to raise her son, there wasn’t always the place for display of affection (especially not when Ras was around). Nobody taught Talia how to love, being raised by Ras Al’Ghul was not synonym of warmth and safety. Quite the contrary. But she surpassed that now, and you and her ? You were far from hating each others. There is place for two moms in Damian’s heart. Love was the root of why you and Talia, despite all odds, actually understood each other (but that, I will talk about in another story…hehe, story about Talia and Batmom’s relationship coming soon, I’ll put the link of it here once I write it.).

Love. Yes. The reason Talia brought Damian to Bruce, the first time, wasn’t actually because it was part of her father’s plan. But because she knew. She knew that there, he would find what she, deep down, always wanted : love. 

Damian unfortunately didn’t have the early childhood so many dreamt for him. But you were damn if you weren’t going to give it to him now (and Talia would come back in the picture later, she had a lot of healing to do too). 

So when Damian came in the house, and there was suddenly this person who loved him unconditionally no matter what, even when he made mistakes (mistakes, in the League, were not appreciated…Ras told your son one too many times that he held his life in his hands, and to not disappoint him again), of course he’d turn into the biggest mama’s boy ever.

You were there in the tough times, but also in the good ones. With you, he learned that it was normal to laugh like crazy because of a stupid joke, to play in the leaves in Autumn or in the snow in Winter, to annoy his father by spraying him with a hose in the summer, going to see bees and flowers in the spring…

Damian is extremely close to you, and he doesn’t give a hoot what anyone says or think. 

There is photos in magazines, of Damian grumpily burying his face under your arm, trying to avoid getting his picture taken, and you protecting him instinctively. There’s also photos of you just giving him random piggy back rides around town, or of you just talking to someone at a charity event, and him holding onto you with his arms around your waist, hugging you from behind and half-sleeping on you, because he just feels safe when you’re around, and he seeks this comforting feelings that evaded him for so long. 

Most people wouldn’t think so, but he’s very affectionate, and just like his mom, has those random burst of “too much love” and has to get them out by suddenly hugging you (reference to this story : A Mother’s love : Burst of Affection). 

He’s definitely DEFINITELY a mama’s boy, and will never care if people mock him for it because you know what ? Yesterday his pet frog died, and only his mom’s arms were able to console him.

Jason 

Jason chased after his own biological mother for years, but she never wanted him. She never wanted a child. So when he stole his way in Bruce Wayne’s life, and when Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend accepted him as his own in a heartbeat…how could he not become a Mama’s boy ? 

He always asks for your opinion (whether it’s before or after his resurrection), he cares about what you think of him, and you’re probably the only one who could change his mind about something. He often went out of his way just to see you and spend time with you. 

He needs you, and always will. You’re the only person that always supported him without faltering, even when he did some pretty fucked up things. The only one that always stuck by him no matter what. He needs your presence, he needs to see you at least once every week or he gets sad and just misses you. 

As a kid, he definitely took advantage of the fact he had a new mom, and Bruce often joked saying the boy was glued to you…but it was kinda true. He’d hug you for no reasons, just because he felt too happy to have you in his life. He’d always ask you 328323 questions and you would just patiently answer them all…You taught him how to play guitar and piano. You and him often had dance parties that made Bruce roll his eyes but also smile like crazy. 

As an adult, the only reason he went by the mansion for a long time was just to see you (and Alfred). He’d sneak in, spend a few hours with you, and leave before his dad would come back. For some reason, he was never as mad at you as he was at him…Sure now he forgave him and he’s quite the “daddy’s boy” too, but..Maybe it’s because you were always so gentle and knew exactly which words to use to soothe him ? 

Bruce wasn’t always great with showing his emotions (though when he did show them, it was always a feat because man the dude could get emotional and show them he loves them), but you ? You just knew exactly how to handle that little scared boy who was hit and trampled on most of his young life. You just knew exactly what to say, what to do…seriously, how could Jason Todd not turn into a mama’s boy ?!

Tim

Now Tim. Oooooh Tim. He’s the one that, if you don’t know him personally, you’d least think is a mama’s boy, with his aloof kind of persona, and work obsession. He always seems to be busy doing something, and rarely shows his emotions in public…But oh, oh if you know him just a little, you know he’s the biggest mama’s boy ever. 

Now when Tim entered yours and Bruce’s life, his parents were still alive but…What kind of parents don’t even notice their eight year old son left for a few days, and didn’t come home and all ? What kind of parents just give their son up as a ward to someone they don’t even know, in exchange of a big check ? Bad parents. Parents that aren’t physically abusive, but that never acknowledge their kid. 

You know the book and movie “Matilda” ? Tim is Matilda. He’s a genius, a sweet and kind boy, but his parents never noticed anything about him. They never noticed him at all, never read him a bed time story, tucked him in, made sure his teeth were brushed, his homework done…or just care overall. 

So when he arrived in the Wayne’s household and this kind woman with a beautiful smile did all that to him without even being his mom ? It was very novel for him, to be cared for. To feel like he actually existed. Like he was loved.

 Tim always sought you for everything. “Wanna play video games ?” “Hey wanna help me do that science project ?” “Hey, how do you tie a tie ?” “Hey can we make cookies ?”. He was always chasing after you and your attention.

And he got it so easily ! It wasn’t that difficult to start calling you “mom” when his parents were gone and he was officially adopted into the Wayne family (to be honest, he even almost called her “mom” a few times before all that). 

Tim craves for attention, even if he doesn’t show it much. And you never shied from giving it to him. He’s a true mama’s boy in that he really think he can’t function without you or your love anymore, that you fuel a lot of his motivation and really help him live normally. 

Without you, he’d still be that boy no one knew existed. While now, in this family…He’s a mama’s boy, though you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t know him personally. He lives for you to softly caress his scalp, running your hand through his hair as he works on his computer. And he will fight dirty just to get the seat next to you during movie night (how many times Jason or Dick, who were much taller than him, ended up split in two with their hands covering their crotch after a nasty hit by their “baby brother” just because it was HIS turn to sit next to you, and they were trying to play him ?). 

Cass 

Notoriously a daddy’s girl but oh man is she a mama’s girl too. She’s also the only girl in the family, so you KNOW she’s going to take advantage of it a lot. 

Cass has the (bad ?) habit to steal your clothes. It doesn’t even matter if they’re too big/small for them, she makes it work in clever ways. More often than not, you’ll see her walk by with one of your favorite shirt and before you can say anything, she’s like : “Reminds me of you, smells like you” and you don’t have the heart to tell her off. 

“It smells like you”. To many, this could be such a weird thing to say. But knowing Cass ? She was raised to be a weapon. Not even taught how to speak. And she found other way to say things, than with words. She relied on other “senses” almost (even if the act of speaking wasn’t a sense). Nobody would have kind words for her, and she couldn’t give them words anyway either…So she found comfort in other things. 

Smells, sounds, physical touch. 

Smell was a big thing for her. She always felt better, if she could only smell something that reminded her of those she loves, of something she loves. And so, the reason she stole your clothes ? It was because of this. Because then, she could feel surrounded by your warmth and love, just by wearing something that smelled like you. She associated your smell with something comforting and nice. If you had to leave for a few days ? She’d definitely steal your clothes. 

Cass demanded physical touch the most. She’d been touched starved most of her life, her own father never having as much as a pat on the head for her. So when she felt like she needed it ? She just came to cuddle. 

Not that you were going to complain. You were happy, that you’re only daughter was such a mama’s girl (there might be, sometimes, a little competition between you and Bruce about this sort of things). 

Duke

Duke hadn’t been with the family for long, he came in later than all of your other children. He was already in his late teens, his parents weren’t quite gone, and him living at the manor was suppose to be temporary…And here you all were, years later, with him still here and still very much part of your family. And Duke ? Didn’t seem like it, but oh, oh he was SUCH a mama’s boy. 

You made it too easy, to become a “mama’s boy”. You were just always there for them, how could they not rely on you for most things ? How could they not seek your presence ? 

Duke noticed first hand his siblings being super close to you, and he always thought that it wouldn’t happen to him because he had a mom already. Because he came in too late. Because because because…

And here he was. Years later, coming by the Manor just to get some of your apple pie. And last week ? He came by because you were going to be home alone and he could have you for himself and talk to you without one of his sibling interfering. 

Don’t get him wrong. He loved his brothers and sister. But sometimes, just like them really, he wanted to have his mom just for himself. To talk to her about his life on his own, to hear what she had to say, to get her full attention. 

Funny, how Duke never thought he’d become greedy with her attention, and yet here he was. And was that really wrong ? He didn’t think so.

It felt too nice, to have a someone you knew would never give up on you, no matter what. Duke actually thought about whether it was a good thing or not, that him and his siblings relied on you so much…And he came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. None of them had an easy life, so what if they sometimes wanted to be pamper by their mother ?? It’s not like you hated it, quite the contrary. 

Bruce 

When he was a kid, he was definitely a big mama’s boy. He worshipped his mother and father, he thought they were the greatest people that ever lived. Which is why the trauma of losing them turned him into a vigilante. 

For years and years, he walked in the darkness. He was “Vengeance”, he beat up criminals every single nights to…

No. If there’s one thing he learned, is that it was never really about vengeance. It was about love. 

Love for his mother.

For his father too, of course. 

For the city he grew up in. 

And later, for his children (his “true strength”). 

And for you, of course. 

After he lost his mom and dad, Bruce changed. And he stayed in the shadows for years, before finally… 

It’s not his mom, who saved him. But it’s “a” mom. “THE” mom, if your children had their say (and they definitely did). 

One day, he came back from patrol, and you and Dick were waiting for him. Well. You were waiting for him. Dick was fast asleep, in your arms. 

And Bruce…Bruce had a flashback of himself, age 8, not long before his parents died, asleep on his mom in that exact same position and-

Full circle. 

Your husband was sure that it was at that exact moment he finally realized how far he’d come. He wasn’t “Vengeance” anymore, hadn’t been for a while. No. No he was a beacon of hope. 

And who was his hope ? 

His family. 

Vengeance, had never been what made him become the Batman. 

No. Love did. Love for his parents, for his family, for his city…

Love, and hope that what happened to him never happen again. 

It’s as he saw you, sitting in his desk chair, with Dick in your arms (and oh, he was so small for his age), that he understood for good. 

Love was his driving force. 

From the first love he ever felt, the one of a mother, to you. 

Full circle. It starts with a mom, it ends with a mom. 

So if there was going to be just one person who would NEVER give your kids grief for how they were such big mama’s boys/girl, it was definitely him. 

Because he knew. Bruce knew. 

He knew how warm and strong a mother’s love was. 

__________________________________________________

Ok here. I hope you liked it :). It’s not much, not like a well thought out thing, or an actual “story”, I wrote it in less than an hour and didn’t spellcheck or anything, I just wanted to write this all of a sudden, and just let my mind wander haha. T’was pretty nice. I often speak about how Batmom’s affection for the kids is endless, but rarely how the kids pull a “uno reverse card” on her a lot, and are affectionate in return haha. As usual, comments/reblogs are always welcomed and more than appreciated <3. 

Thank you for reading, and see you soon with a new story :).

Synopsis : Bruce arrives just in time to save you from a situation that is a little too close from home for him…

That scene, in The Batman, where he looks at the mayor’s son and just stares for a bit for obvious reason…It stuck with me. And I got the idea of writing this, Bruce making sure what happened to him never happens again. Also, maybe I wanted to write Battinson interacting with a toddler…Hope you’ll like it. Comments and other reblogs always super welcomed and appreciated <3 : 

My masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives

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In retrospect, you think it might be fate, who brought you together that night. 

What were the chances that he’d be there, at that exact moment ? 

He often said it himself, he couldn’t be everywhere. And yet…

He found you that night. Both of you. 

How could you not believe in some kind of destiny, after all these years and what you went through ? 

Yes. It’s been years since that night, and it’s an evidence to you. 

It’s fate, that took Bruce’s steps towards you. Fate that guided him, that made it so he would make it just in time to save you and your son…

Ah. It’s funny, now. “Your son”. His, too. Who would’ve thought, all those years ago, that your “little buddy” would become the most amazing older brother that ever existed ? Certainly not you. You were so sure, at that time, that you would only ever have one child. 

And look at you now. Surrounded by family on that clear evening, eating dinner all together. All because once upon a time, on a terrible night, your path crossed the Batman’s…

Oh. How very different it would’ve been, if fate had decided to never do its little tricks. 

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

Ten years ago

There’s some days, you just have no idea how you made it this far. 

Some days, you’re not sure you can keep going. 

Some days you feel like it’d be oh too easy to just let it all go. 

But you can’t give up. If you were alone, maybe. But you’re not. You have your little buddy to take care of. And you could never forgive yourself if you let him down. You didn’t care what happened to you, as long as he was fine. 

Nonetheless, it was tough, to be a single mother in Gotham. To be honest, it was tough to be a single mother everywhere in the world. But Gotham ? Gotham had its way of making everything worst. 

You could live with the constant judgement everyone was throwing your way. People judging you without knowing your story wasn’t anything new. But you had to admit, sometimes, it got old. 

It’s almost funny, how a life can take a radical turn in but a few moment…

One day, you’re painting the nursery of your future child, happy, in love, ready to welcome this little life in the world. 

The next, someone calls you to say : “There’s been an accident”, and all your dreams chatter. 

Your fiancé was working for a building company, and lately had been on a worksite at “The Ice Lounge”. You didn’t like the idea of him working there. Everyone knew what this place really was full of…But the money was good. And with a baby on the way ? Yeah, of course he’d take the job. 

“Work accident” they said, giving you a modest compensation thanks to the “Renewal plan” (was this really what the money was supposed to be used on ?). And just like that, in a few seconds, your fiancé was forever gone. It took you a while to even process what was being said to you through the phone. 

Couldn’t someone at least come tell you the news in person ? 

Apparently not. 

You were given no other infos. You did receive a condolences card from the owner of the place, a certain “Oswald Cobblepot”. Although you’re not really sure he even signed it. You heard the rumors about the man… 

You didn’t believe one bit he died because of a “work accident”, but in Gotham ? Nobody cared about the truth. Police were in those people’s pocket, as if they were going to search for foul play. 

At the end of the day, the result was the same. If anyone was guilty of his death, they wouldn’t have gone behind bars anyway. Everyone knew how the mafia worked, around Gotham. It was a well known “secret”, for those living in those streets. They would’ve found a scapegoat, and you knew your fiancé would’ve hated that. You would too, an innocent person in prison…No. 

It didn’t mean that it was easy to accept. But living in Gotham meant you had to live with certain things. And to be honest, once you ended up all alone with a baby on the way, you had to take your responsibilities quickly. 

You unfortunately didn’t have time to chase after the truth. But you would, one day, you would. 

For now, you had to work two jobs to stay afloat, and that’s how you ended up here. Late at night. Going home with your baby in your arms. 

Well. Baby. He wasn’t really a baby anymore, he would turn three in just a few months. Damn. Three years old already ? Wow. How time flies. Especially when your days are a succession of long working hours and trying to survive. 

But you didn’t have a choice. As a single mother, you were near the bottom of the food chain in Gotham, and you had to fight. For him. 

Because he deserved better. He deserved the world. You would do anything to give him a decent childhood. Unfortunately, it meant that sometimes, you had to take tough decisions.

Like tonight. 

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

You knew bringing your two year old son to work that night, was a bad idea. But what could you do ? You couldn’t miss work, you needed the money. And you were certainly not going to leave your son alone because no one was available.

So you brought him with you.

He fell asleep in the back room, in a little makeshift bed your coworkers made for him…They absolutely adored your boy. And you understood them. Maybe it’s because he felt how hard you had it, but (Son’s name) had always been a calm child. He didn’t cry often, he quickly slept through nights…A blessing, really, given how hectic your life was. 

Your night job was in a bar. Your shift ran from 7pm to 3 am. Fortunately, the bar you were working in was a “nice one”. One of those “local street” bar with only people from the neighborhood. Hell, you even served coffee…Ah, but there were many insomniacs, down in Gotham City (you were sure it was fate too, which, years later, made it so that this place you used to work at became your son Tim’s favorite place to get late night coffees during his vigilante shifts). 

It was late. It was raining. And you were finally going home, with your little sleeping buddy in your arms. The weather was good, when you left for work, so you did not have an umbrella. You were pretty much soaked. Which didn’t matter, as long as your baby was dry and warm, and safe. Wrapped in your coat against your chest, only his little face was peeking out. He was fast asleep, and the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen. 

And you’ve never felt so scared of going home late at night than now.

When you were alone, it was ok. You knew Gotham. You knew the streets to take to get home quick, and to avoid trouble. Sure, you were mugged a few times, but it was never ever really bad because honestly, you didn’t have much to give. And most thugs being out that late were just that, street thugs who didn’t really look for huge trouble. 

But right now, with your son in your arms ? You had a bad feeling. 

A feeling creeping from your toes to your head. As if you were followed. As if something was lurking out there.  

And…you were right. As you turned down a back alley where there usually were nobody, someone got in front of you. By instinct, you took a step back. 

Damn. Now, he was going to know you were afraid. 

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

The man came out of nowhere. 

And instantly, all your sense were on high alert. 

A group of thugs was less dangerous than a man lone, in Gotham. 

Because someone deciding to attack on his own ? It was someone who didn’t have much to loose. Someone who wouldn’t be too happy with the barely twenty bucks in your wallet…

He stood right in your way, blocking it. 

“Your wallet, lady. And that ring, too.” 

No. Not the ring. It was the only thing you had left of your fiancé…And you did such a good job hiding it too. You had taken it off of your fingers a while ago, putting it around your neck keeping it safe against your heart. 

But it seemed as if your son, as he fell asleep, took hold of it and was holding onto the necklace…

You did not want to give that man your ring. But with your baby in your arm, you weren’t about to risk it. The story of one of the most famous and powerful couple in town came back to your head, in that moment…If Thomas and Martha Wayne could get shot in the streets, just like that, then a nobody like you definitely could too. 

“Ok. Just give me a second, ok ?” 

This wasn’t good. The man looked nervous, looking all around. You knew what he was looking for. Or rather, who. His looks up and towards the darkest areas of the streets told you everything. And oh man, if only The Batman was around right now…

“Buddy, hey, you have to wake up.” 

You didn’t want him to see this. You didn’t want him to live this. What, not even three years old and already his first time getting mugged ? This wasn’t right. 

This wasn’t the life you wanted for him. He should’ve never been there. If only you had enough money to pay for a sitter…

He wakes up, and as usual, he’s an adorable little bundle right after sleep. He rarely cried, when you woke him up for whatever reason. Deep down, you think it’s because he’s already aware of the struggles you’re going through. You know it’s ridiculous, he’s just two. Yet it feels so many times he makes your life better…

“Mama.” 

“Yes, yes don’t worry buddy. I’ll put you on the ground for a second, ok ?” 

He nods and yawns sleepily. He didn’t notice the man in front of you, yet. Everything is alright. Everything is good. You’re handling this. You put him on the ground gently, as you need both your hands to reach for your wallet, which is hidden in an inner pocket of your jacket (can’t be too safe in Gotham). 

He’s still wrapped in your coat, coat which drags on the floor as your son’s legs are just too short…

“Mama.”

Worry in his voice. Of course, he would notice the scary man in front of him. He hid behind your leg, holding your pant tightly, your coat slips off of him, and by instinct you try to put it back on him when-

“HURRY UP LADY !” 

A gun. Was it there since the start ? You don’t know, but it’s there now. In his hand. Pointed at you. 

This was bad. The man was too nervous, he could snap any seconds. You knew this, you’ve lived in those streets long enough to recognize desperate people. You raise your hands, and say : 

“Ok here, here just take everything.” 

You quickly take your wallet, and your ring from around your neck, and hand it to him. 

“Empty your pocket, you must have more !” 

“Sir, I’m sorry but I don’t, I-”

“DON’T LIE TO ME BITCH ! WHAT YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW YOU’RE HIDING SOMETHING ?”

He grabs you by the shirt, you hear your son scream, you don’t mean to but…you fight back. It’s a visceral reaction. You’re so scared for your son, as that gun faces downward towards him, that you fight back. You grab his arm and-

BANG. 

That was a shot, right ? You looked down at your son, thanks god, he wasn’t touched. But he was looking at you with wide eyes. And you felt like you were slowly falling downward. 

Oh. Oh you felt, a little light headed. 

“Mama ?” 

Why couldn’t you feel his hands anymore ? And why everything was so wet ? It takes you a few seconds to realize you fell on the floor. 

“MAMA !!” 

No. No. You can’t speak. You wish you could scream. You can’t leave him all alone against that man, you can’t let him get hurt. You try to move, but you can’t. Your can hear (Son’s name) crying now, and the man panicking and then-

SWOOSH.

Swoosh ? That was a weird sound. 

You turn your head, and- oh. That’s him. 

At least, your son will be safe. And that’s all that matters. 

Honestly. What were the odds of him being around here, right now ? It’s almost as if fate brought him there, to save you. You feel your son’s little hands holding your jeans tight, crying, and you really want to stand up, take him in your arms and run, but your strengths are leaving you…

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

FUCK !! Will he ever be on time ?? First his parents, then Alfred, and now-

He did not know you. But he knew this situation all too well. This was probably the most triggered he’ve ever been. 

Never again. He promised himself. Never again. 

Your son’s cry almost gives him a panic attack. He almost freezes on the spot, seeing the scene unfolds in front of him. In just a few seconds everything goes to Hell, there’s a shot…

It wakes him up. It wakes Bruce up. 

He has to act. This is why he became the Batman. This is why he became the Batman ! He jumps from the balcony he was standing on, and drops on the man heavily. 

He sees you fall, and the little child (he’s not sure if it’s a boy or a girl, wrapped in that coat like that) shaking you. 

And he sees red. 

He barely stops himself before he kills that man with his violent punches. Never before has he felt so angry, and close to killing. It’s just-

He’ve seen all this before. 

He had been that little boy, on his knees, shaking his parents for them to wake up.

“ ’ake up mama ! ‘Ake up !”

The man is taken care of quickly. His gun is utterly destroyed by Bruce, who makes sure it will never be able to shoot another bullet. And then he runs to you. Your eyes flutter, but do not open. It seems like you feel his presence because you whisper : 

“My son…”

You were hurt. Badly. Yet your first thoughts were for your son. 

A painful reminder to Bruce. He knew his parents’ last thoughts were for him, for his safety. He didn’t have a child, and to be honest, didn’t think he would ever have children (oh the irony) with the kind of life he was living. Yet he felt what you were feeling. 

He remembered his mom’s terrified eyes as she took her last breath. His dad trying to say “Bruce” and “Martha”. The fact they were in this alley because of him…

It’s a love so deep you can’t seem to fully understand it up until you lose it. 

And right now, Bruce wasn’t ready to let another child live through this. Especially not as young as that little one seemed to be. 

The boy couldn’t stop crying, clinging to his mom and screaming in distress. The kind of cry where you can’t even breathe properly. He coughed, and started to hyperventilate, unable to process all those strong emotions…

He couldn’t be more than three years old. No kid should ever witness something like that. 

Bruce was still holding your hand. Tightly. But he had to act. Fast. 

Because right now, he knew your life was on the line. He could still feel your heartbeat. He would save you. He would ! Never again will he let a child witness their parents be murdered in front of him. At least, not in Gotham. 

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

He had to take you out of this alley. Without thinking much about it, he took you in his arms…And your son hit him. 

“Leave mama !” 

Bruce realized that he probably didn’t even see him fight the man who shot his mom, and, ah, what a brave little boy. He was soaked to the bones, shivering in the cold night, and his mom just got hurt, and yet here he was, kicking probably the scariest man he ever saw. 

There were very few instances, in which Bruce regretted he chose such an intimidating costume. But right now, faced with that little boy who was head bent on protecting his mother, he wished he chose something a little more colorful. He noticed the Spider-Man backpack the little one had…

“I’m going to help your mama, ok ? Help ?” 

Your son was young, but not stupid. He didn’t seem to believe Bruce at first, which was understandable. But then Bruce took a lollipop from his utility belt (even now, years later, he still had candies in said utility belt…not many people knew Bruce had a sweet tooth, and then of course with the kids, it became a habit, oh how many times they emptied his “candy pocket” in one evening), and gave it to him. 

Your kid was like most kids. If someone gave them candies ? It meant they were nice…He was still too young to understand this was actually something to be weary of. Fortunately, in this instance, it wasn’t. 

Bruce took you in his arm, and got your son to jump on his back. 

“Hold on.” 

“Mm.” the little one nodded, and Bruce took off running. The Batmobile wasn’t far, and he had to hurry.

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

The people at the hospital weren’t shocked to have someone come in with a gunshot wound. To see the Batman though, with a kid holding onto his back ? That was new. 

The police was called, and you were sent to the an emergency surgery. Your son whined a little, when you were taken away, calling you. But somehow, Bruce managed to calm him down. 

Your son wasn’t “wild”. He trusted people easily. Too easily, in your opinion. You often worried about it. But right now ? It was a blessing, as he seemed to understand that the doctors where going to take care of his “mama”, and just sat there in silence, on The Batman’s lap. 

That was quite an odd image. 

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

The sun was rising, and Bruce wasn’t sure what to do. 

He couldn’t leave him here, all alone. And the police still hadn’t shown up. And so he just sat there, in his Batman costume, in the hospital, with everyone staring at him.

He heard them whisper, and none of them even hid the fact they were talking about him and the child. It was uncomfortable. He hated when people looked at him. Even under the protection of his costume. 

Ever since his parents passed away, he had a hard time standing people’s gaze on him. When they died, everyone kept looking at him. They whispered wherever he went. And they stared, stared and stared again. 

He hated, when people looked at him like that. 

Finally, Jim Gordon showed up, apologizing. Apparently, it been quite a night out there. Bruce knew. Before saving you, he already took care of quite a lot of affairs. 

He didn’t even realized, but he didn’t feel any guilt about missing a few hours of the night patrolling. His entire mind was focused on that little boy in his lap, and his mother still in surgery. 

His entire mind was plagued by a question : “what if you didn’t make it ?”. He didn’t think he could handle it. So, what if he skipped three hours of patrol ? This was important. 

He told what happened to Gordon, and the detective nodded saying they found the man responsible for the shooting. He was also in this hospital, The Batman did not held his punches… 

Jim then turned to the little boy in his arms. Your son didn’t fall back asleep (maybe it was the sugar in the candies Bruce kept giving him ?), and was looking at Gordon suspiciously. 

He screamed his lung out when the detective tried to take him from Bruce’s arms, writhing and kicking and crying and yelling “no no no”, clinging to Bruce as if his life depended on it, and the Batman didn’t have the heart to let the little one go. He was reminisced of himself, years ago, refusing to let go of Alfred for hours on end after he came back from the police station and the butler came to fetch him…How could he let go ?

He couldn’t. And so he stayed, and held onto that young child who wasn’t an orphan yet, but could very well be at any instant, if you didn’t make it…

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

His clothes were soaked, poor little thing. And he was shaking a little bit. Naturally, Bruce just wrapped him in his cape. Glad he put some “thermopads” in them (thanks to Alfred really, who was starting to be tired of treating his cold when he spend nights out and it was cold. He just had to wrap himself in his cape and…done).

Gordon was looking at the two of them, probably wondering how the Hell did the Batman got himself in that situation. They had lived a lot of things together, over the past two years, but never this. 

“What’s your name ?” the detective asked, and the boy just hid in Batman’s cape, peeking out of it sometimes to see if he was still looking at him, and then hiding again. 

“You’re scaring him.” Bruce says. 

The irony of the matter didn’t escape any of them. What, Jim Gordon, probably one of the only honest policeman in Gotham, scared that little boy, and a man wearing a bat costume and being purposefully intimidating didn’t ?

There was comedy, in this. 

Bruce pulled his cape a little, looked at the boy and asked : 

“What’s your name?”

The little boy looked at him for a few seconds, and Bruce wondered if he understood. How old was that kid ? Two or three ? Didn’t children speak already at that time ? Man he wished he could call Alfred right now.

Finally, your son, after pondering whether that weird man wearing a bat costume was trustworthy (because yes; he did understand the question), said :

“(Son’s name)" 

Bruce’s first thought was that that name fit him. And his second thought was that his voice was adorable. When was the last time he thought this kind of thing ? He realized, never. Interaction with kids weren’t really his forte. They either quivered in fear, or asked too many question.

But here he was.

That little kid, just looking at him curiously, calm and…collected ? At least for a child that young, who was in a stranger’s arm, and who’s mom was nowhere to be seen. Bruce wondered if that little one understood what was going on…

No. No your son wasn’t really sure of what was happening. But there was one thing he knew, and that Bruce couldn’t know.

Bruce couldn’t know what was going on in that little head of his. Your son was only two, almost three. But he understood that Bruce did a good thing for him and you. He understood that this man saved his mama. Kids in Gotham grew up faster than anywhere else, because of the violence they always witnessed. So someone fighting "the bad guys” ? Instant trust.

“Your name ?” 

He asked, and Bruce answered : 

“V-Batman.” 

Your son smiled widely, making everyone’s heart melt, and repeated : 

“Man-Man !”

“No no. Bat-man.”

Unable to hear where he pronounced it wrong, the boy repeated : 

“…Man-Man !”

“Bat, repeat after me. Baaat.”

“Baaat.”

“Man.”

“Man !”

“Batman.”

“Man-Man !”

Bruce heard himself chuckle. Wh-What ? When was the last time he laughed ? 

He couldn’t even remember. 

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

Time went by so slowly. And there was still no news about your condition. 

Bruce was still waiting, still in his Batman costume. (Son’s name) was finally fast asleep, clutching one of his finger tight. It was…adorable. Bruce couldn’t describe the feeling he felt, holding this child, wrapped in his cape, holding his finger. 

It was an odd feeling.

Finally, news arrived. Good news. 

You were in an artificial coma right now, but they said you were out of danger. You just needed a lot of rest, and to stay in the hospital for a while. 

The “problem” of your son came quickly. The hospital said that the little boy would be able to stay with you, but only in a few days, once you’d leave intensive care. Someone to take care of him had to be found. 

“What is going to happen to him ?” 

He asked to Jim Gordon, as your son was still asleep in his arms. 

“Well, social services will probably-”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no ?”

“He’s going to be scared. I know how social services work, they tried to take me away from-” 

Wow. Two years of making sure Bruce Wayne couldn’t be assimilated to Batman, and he almost said : “they tried to take me away from Alfred once”. Wow. He knew his emotions were in shambles. This case really was too close from home. 

If Jim Gordon noticed anything, he didn’t say it. He just continued : 

“It’s our only option. Unless someone is willing to take him in. I would gladly do so, but it’d unfortunately be a conflict of interest as I’m assigned to his case. And there’s procedures, the person would have to prove they’re fit to take care of him.” 

“Anyone could take better care of him than social services…” 

“Maybe, but it’s the only option we have right now. You’re going to have to leave him.” 

Leave him ? No…

Bruce didn’t dare to even speak to the mayor’s son when he had the occasion to. So now…It felt personal.

This all thing.

It felt like he had to act.

Batman left, leaving the sleeping boy in the care of Jim Gordon. But Bruce Wayne ? 

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

Alfred was still in the hospital, and it ended up being a blessing. Another thing that makes you strongly believe all of that happened for a reason, that it was destiny that brought you all together. 

Because Alfred still being bedridden in that same hospital Bruce took you to ? It meant that Bruce Wayne had a reason to be there. 

And that’s how he made an appearance as his “real” self, and oh, what a coincidence, encountered the social workers who were currently taking care of (son’s name). 

The poor little fella seemed greatly distressed. The only person he gave his trust to, the Batman, left while he was sleeping, and he woke up surrounded by people who asked him too many questions. 

The social workers didn’t ask Bruce many questions. They knew who he was. They were surprisingly easy to convince (the truth was, they wanted to end this as quickly as possible, and move on, and honesty, who would blame them to give responsibilities to a literal billionaire ? He could always just hire people to take care of him). 

In just a few minutes, (son’s name) was in Bruce Wayne’s custody for the next few days. Oddly enough, the little boy didn’t fuss when Bruce took him in his arms, and Bruce had a suspicion that the kid recognized him. 

But it wasn’t possible, right ? He was only two, how could he recognize him when he was masked, changed his voice etc ? 

Your son didn’t recognize him. But he felt oddly at ease, in his arms. Reminded of another person’s arm, the man who saved you…So he went with it. He’ve always been a sweet and calm child. 

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

“Alfred.”

“Yes my boy ?” 

“Where are um-…Where are my kid’s clothes ?” 

“Your what now ?” 

“You know, the clothes I used to wear as a kid. I know you didn’t throw them away. Where did you put them ?” 

There was a silence. Before Alfred finally said : 

“Why on Earth would you need children’s clothes ?” 

There was worries in the butler’s voice, and for reasons. What was his young master’s latest fad now ?? 

“There’s this boy. Um. His mother. She got shot.” 

Oh. Oooh. Oooooh. Wait, what ?

“A…boy ?” 

“Yes. I said I would take care of him for a few days.” 

Another silence. If Alfred wasn’t still badly injured, he would’ve stand up and shake his master. 

“I’m sorry, are you out of your mind ?? You ? With a child ? All alone ??” 

As far as he could remember, Bruce hadn’t seen Alfred freak out as much as right now. 

“I couldn’t leave him Alfred. I couldn’t.” 

Pinching his nose (a gesture that Bruce will mimic a lot in the future, whenever his children would do something that genuinely would give him headaches), Alfred sighed and said : 

“Where is he ?” 

“Waiting with the nurses.” 

“Well bring him in.”

Bruce went to fetch (son’s name). As if it was the most natural thing in the world, the little boy climbed on Alfred’s bed (with a little help from Bruce) and sat there, calmly. 

He exchanged a look with Alfred, and something in the butler’s face made him smile and say : 

“Hewwoooo.” 

“Well hello there young man.” 

“You have booboo ?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

“Mama do too.”

“Your mama is hurt ?” 

The boy nods, and then say : “But ish okay.” 

“It is ?” 

He nods again, and adds : “Man-Man save her.” 

Alfred turns to Bruce, who shrugs and aaah. Of course. “Man-Man”. Everything made sense, now. Why did his master want to take care of this child. 

Of course.  

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

The least that we can say, is that things definitely got out of hand a lot of time. Bruce had never taken care of a child (crazy that people thought, just because he was extremely rich, he was fit to take care of him). He called Alfred one too many time.

The poor butler, stuck in his hospital bed, was literally pulling his hair because of the worry (an explanation to his premature baldness ?). 

“What do you mean you gave him ice cream for dinner ?? That is not appropriate Master Bruce !” 

“He’s two years old, of course he has to go to bed before midnight !” 

“*sighs* Can you repeat please ? You let him do what with our highly priced and precious collection of Fabergé eggs ?”

“Master Bruce, please, by real food and stop giving him candy. This is why he doesn’t want to take a nap, he’s high on sugar.”

“He does need to wear pants, yes.”

“Master Bruce, with all due respect, that “wallpaper” was a five hundred years old tapisserie from England, and yes I’m a little mad you let him paint on it. It was a relic from the Queen herself that she gifted to your grandfather !” 

“NO A CHILD DOES NOT NEED A MILLION DOLLAR WHAT WOULD HE DO WITH IT ANYWAY ??”  

Bruce had people babysit him at night, pretending he had “things to do” and honestly ? Nobody questioned it. Everyone knew Bruce Wayne was a little odd. He even heard one of the caretaker whispering something about him being the master of a “sex dungeon”…Good, people were miles away from suspecting he was the Batman. 

Having that many people home though made him uncomfortable. It was a painful reminder of when his house was full of help, during his parents’ time, and how so many of them tried to sell pictures of a crying Bruce right after their death…Alfred fired all of them. 

But he couldn’t leave (son’s name) alone at night. However, one evening, as it was time for (son’s name) to go to bed, Bruce heard him whimper. It wasn’t a full on cry, just a sob, barely noticeable. 

“Mama…” 

He was calling for you. And Bruce didn’t have the heart to leave him alone. For the first time in two years, he took a night off. The Batsignal wasn’t shining anyway. And he stayed with that lost little boy, who was calling for his mom and who reminded him of himself…He was such a brave child. 

Bruce never thought he would one day console a crying kid. Hold him in his arm until he was asleep. Stay to make sure he was ok. He felt…Was this how Alfred feel when he stayed entire nights in Bruce’s room to wake him up if he had a nightmare ? 

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

(Son’s name) only stayed with Bruce for three days, but it meant something for him. Never before had an experience change him so much…Well, if you don’t talk about his parents dying right in front of his eyes of course (yes, I think I’m funny). 

The boy was curious, eager to learn, sweet, a little stubborn, and he did have one massive tantrum (over the silliest of things : he really didn’t want to wear pants and only hang out in his PJ) but just like any kid, really ? 

Bruce was really impressed by how your son handled this entire situation. Being thrown into a stranger’s house, surrounded by strange things…Of course, being so young, your son didn’t always realize what was going on. And thanks god children don’t really have any notion of time, because he always would be satisfy with “tomorrow” as an answer to him asking “when will I see mama ?”. 

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

You woke up in a panic. But were quickly reassured that your son was alright, and taken care of. By instinct, you went for the ring around your neck, forgetting that you had given it to the ma- No. It was there. 

Who put it back around your neck ? The Batman ? 

It didn’t sound like something he’d do, right ? Yet…The ring was back around your neck. And someone put it there. Nobody else but the Batman and your son were in the alley that night. So…

You had to remember to thank that Batman one day, if you ever saw him again. 

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

Four days later, you were able to receive visitations. And of course, the first person was your son. And…Bruce Wayne ?? 

Nobody even told you HE was the one taking care of your child. What the fuck. This was..unexpected. How did that even happen ?? You would only truly understand that years later, when you’ll find out he’s The Batman. For now, it was really strange, and nobody seemed to really know how and why Bruce Wayne was here. 

To be fair, everyone assumed it was all a coincidence. That Bruce came to see Alfred, and heard the story of that little boy, that reminded him of his own story and…it made sense for everyone. And it was partly the truth. Yes; the entire thing was close from home for him. 

And it did make sense he would decide to help a boy going through the same kind of experience he did (except, thanks the gods, you survived). 

First thing first, you hugged your boy. Tightly. And then… :

“What the hell are you wearing ?” you said, as you looked him up and down. Was that a..SUIT ?!

“Um, sorry. I didn’t have much clothes left from where I was a child. Only…tuxedos and polos, apparently.” 

You were feeling much better now, after a few days of rest. Turned out, the shot you received went right through you, and didn’t touch any important organs. How lucky. 

And here your son was. With Bruce Wayne. Wearing a “tuxedo for children”. This was all too much. Too strange. You burst out in laughter, unable to stop yourself even though each laugh hurt. 

Your son quickly followed, with his cute little laugh. Him too, was unable to stop. 

And before he realized it, Bruce too, was laughing. Like he hadn’t in years. The nurses even had to come in and tell you to keep it down because all three of you couldn’t stop laughing…which only enhanced your laughter. 

It took you ages to finally stop. 

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

Fate. Fate reunited the three of you together. You were sure of it. How else could you explain what happened next ? 

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

After Bruce left the hospital, saying his “good byes” to (son’s name) (who cried, and it was heart wrenching), Bruce felt oddly empty. Like he was making a mistake, leaving you two behind without another word. It’s as if destiny was telling him to go back. To ask for your number. To come back later to ask for news. But to not just turn the page on this chapter. 

He should move on. He saved you. Made sure your son still had his mom. His mission was over, his goal to never let happen what happened to him again was over. Yet he felt like he had to go see you again. Like if he didn’t, he would forever regret it…

Why couldn’t he take you out of his mind ? And (son’s name) ? Why ? 

And you ? Why couldn’t you stop thinking about this Bruce Wayne guy ? You didn’t even know him, yet it felt like you did. Things clicked between you, you felt it. And even better, things clicked between him and your son. Clearly, those two were meant to get along. 

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

It took a long time, before you and Bruce started to date.

You still had some healing to do. Both physical and mental. And he still had a lot of issues to resolve. Ah, that could be a story in its own, really, how you came to finally be together (A/N : yes you guessed it, I’mma write it…this one was just getting too long to put it here haha).

Funny enough, it’s your son, who opened his heart to Bruce first. You don’t know what happened between the two, but obviously, the few days they spend together had straighten a bond that will never break.

Bruce already felt, deep in his heart, that (Son’s name) changed him, that now, nothing could ever be the same. And he kept coming to check in on you, and on (son’s name). 

As Batman, he reopened the case of your fiancé’s death, finding out the truth (spoiler alert : it was not an accident). Working with Jim Gordon, he discovered that many people who worked on the “Below 44″, such as your fiancé, mysteriously died of “work accident” during the years of its building, and they uncovered a large conspiracy. But more importantly, they gave justice to your fiancé, at long last. And by doing that, finally gave you closure. 

Closure that allowed you to truly move forward. 

Forward…To him. With him. 

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

The rest was history. 

Bruce wooed you (and it was the most awkward thing you’ve ever seen, you couldn’t believe that later on, before your relationship would go public, he had the guts to take a “playboy” persona given how bad at flirting he truly was). 

It took some times, but he managed to finally have what he truly wanted, for the first time in years. You. And by extension, your son. 

His son. 

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

It’s crazy, to think about. Years passed, but the feelings were still as strong. You loved that man. You loved your children, of course. 

Ah. Children. 

(Son’s name), of course. Who grew up to be such a good man, and oh how different his life would’ve been if Bruce hadn’t been there that night ? The man he quickly started to call “dad” definitely saved him too, that fateful evening. Your early years of dating, when he was still a toddler, were quite something. 

Dick came in quickly after Bruce and you officially got together. Barely a few years older than (Son’s name), he fit right in. He had always wanted to be a big brother, and (Son’s name) ? All he knew was that now, he had a partner in crime. And that was great. They bond was instantly strong. 

Then Jason followed. Lost little street kid who reminded you of yourself at his age. So eager to please, and to have a family. He would never admit it, but he still loved it when you and (son’s name) especially treated him like the baby of the family, even if he technically wasn’t. 

Tim. Too smart for his own good. Made (Son’s name) loudly say : “What the fuck ? Alfreeeeed !”. You all instantly felt very protective over that little boy who was definitely way too clever. And what a surprise to him, to finally be at the center of everyone’s attention. To find his place in a family… 

Cassandra. Your only daughter. Adored by her brothers, by her dad, and of course, by you. Suffered so much, and yet the kindest young woman you’ve ever met. 

Damian. What a shock, when he came in your life and you all learned of his existence. He was conceived before you met Bruce, and raised by the League for ten years…It was difficult, at first. But none of you would give up on him. Never. Ah, the change in his behavior could be a story of its own (wink wink). 

And finally, recently, Duke joined your family. It was now time to make sure him too, would feel at home. 

Yes. One can wonder what would’ve happened if Bruce didn’t came across your path, and saved you. 

__________________________________________________

Well I hope you liked this ! I think I might write other fics there and there about how Bruce wooed reader specifically, and just use more of that little toddler in other stories about this alternative Batfamily (AU from my own timeline at least). Comments and reblogs are always welcomed of course :) And motivating and all, ya know the drill. Thank you <3. 

Synopsis : The story of the heartbreak brought by the dreaded news that one of your son just died…

Hello everyone. Long time no see☺️ Was very busy IRL (in a good way), but I don’t intend to stop this blog anytime soon. So here’s a story. Angst in coming haha. As usual comments and other reblogs are always very welcomed ! Hope you’ll like it: 

My masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives

TW : Angst, death of major characters 

_________________________________________________

You wanted him to shut up.

You’d do anything for him to not utter another word.

Punch him in the face with all your might. Leave and never come back. Duct tape his mouth, or force him to close it with your hand. Sing loudly as to drown his voice. And if only you were able to speak yourself, you could scream at him to shut up. 

Shut up, Bruce, shut up. 

Just shut up. 

You’d do anything for him to stop talking. For you not to hear what he’s about to say.

If only…

If only you were able to move. To speak. But you couldn’t. You were frozen on the spot, unable to stop the disaster that was bound to happen. 

If only this was a dream. 

If only…

You’d wake up, and tell him about this awful nightmare you had. About how you wanted nothing but for him to shut up because you knew that he was going to announce a tragedy you weren’t sure you could handle. 

But this was reality. And he was right in front of you. And you could do nothing, but listen to what he had to say. 

“Jason…”

You could feel your legs buckle under you, as if they just turned into cotton. And you couldn’t control them. You couldn’t control anything. A fuzzy dark fog took place in your brain, knowing exactly what was about to happen, while at the same time refusing to accept it. 

But you knew. 

You knew what he was going to say. You knew ever since you saw him come back alone, his face emotionless. A face he would make only when in great distress himself, trying to tuck away his emotions in order to survive through the crisis. 

He only kept this emotionless attitude around you when the situation was dire. When he felt the worst. So you knew. You knew what happened.

And you didn’t want to hear it.

“Jason…”

Thanks God Alfred was right next to you, or you would’ve fall.

You grabbed the butler’s arm, and he catches you.

He knows too what your husband is about to say. He knows too, how broken you two are going to be, and he knows he has to be strong to try and mend you back together.

And so when your weight falls on his side, your surrogate father catches you.

He’ll always be there to catch you.

Bruce finally says it. After his explanation of how the Joker got your boy…He finally says it. Those few dreaded words.

“Jason…Jason isn’t coming back.”

He tries to stay stoic, to not bow down. To not fall apart, to not feel overwhelmed and destroyed by the death of his son. 

He tries to stay strong, for you.

But he cannot hide the sadness filling his eyes when he looks at you. He cannot hide the guilt he feels, as he came back without his son. Your son. 

He tries, really hard. Because he can’t break right now. But it’s hard. It’s too hard. And what he thinks will follow makes it even harder. 

You’re shocked. And devastated. 

And he waits.

He waits for you to regain a semblance of your senses. He waits, trying to stand tall, for you to…get mad at him.

Furious, because it is his fault you lost your son. 

He waits for you to come to him, and hit his chest as hard as you can. He waits for you to let your hatred for him flow. He waits for his sentence, as he committed an irreparable crime. 

It’s his fault your son died. His son.

He should’ve never allowed him to become Robin, never. It was so selfish of him. Dick left, and went to do his own thing, and he found Jason and…The boy was so enthusiastic. So happy to be there. So eager to please, and be part of your life. Part of bettering Gotham, too, knowing full well how much the city needed help. 

Bruce couldn’t resist him. Couldn’t resist that pumped little boy who wanted so desperately and wholeheartedly to help. He trained him, took him in as his son.

And now he was dead. And it was all his fault.

You pull away from Alfred, wiping tears off of your cheeks. The man you came to see as your father hands you a handkerchief, and you take it, trying to dry the ever flowing stream of salty tears coming out of your eyes.

You finally take a step away from Alfred, and look at Bruce.

Your eyes are so full of pain and misery that he cannot hold your stare. He bends his head down, trying as hard as he can to remain stoic. Wrongfully thinking that he has to be the strong one. That he has to endure everything on his own. 

He feels you coming close to him, and he’s ready for you to hit him with all your strength. To yell at him that it is his goddamn fault if Jason was gone.

You’re right in front of him.

His eyes close automatically, awaiting your well deserved hate towards him…
Awaiting for the last bits of his heart to be trampled on, as he’s sure he earned your loathing.

But instead… 

He jumps at the feel of your hands on his cheeks.

You force him to rise his head, to look at you. There’s so much sadness in your eyes that he feels like his heart is going to burst, but there’s also…determination ?

He doesn’t understand why one of your hand strokes his cheek while the other tangles in his hair. He doesn’t understand why you drag him down to you, so your foreheads are touching.

He doesn’t understand why you’re not yelling at him, why you’re not trying to hurt him…With a broken voice that makes you wince, because it’s filled with grief and hopelessness, he says :

“I killed our son…”

It’s barely a whisper. You can hear him only because you’re so close to him.

Your fingers massage his scalp, you know he always found the gesture soothing. Although in this instance, maybe he didn’t even notice it…

With your other hand, you brush his mouth with your thumb, and bring him ever so close to you. Flush against your body. His arms automatically wrap around you, and his head buries itself in your neck.

“I killed our son…”

He repeats. And you can’t take it anymore. Tightening your grip in his hair so he doesn’t look away, the hand that was on his cheek moving to go around his shoulder, you say :

“No. Bruce. No.”

“But I…”

“It isn’t your fault. It isn’t anyone’s fault but the Joker’s. He’s the one who took our son away. Not you. Hell, if you’re guilty then I am too, I didn’t do anything to stop him from going out there as Robin either…”

“You’ve got nothing to do with that ! I won’t allow you to even think about it !”

“Then it’s not your fault either. It’s the Joker’s. You know it is. It is his fault. His.”

The anger rising in you scares you. You can’t allow such feelings to install themselves inside you. And yet…you see it happen with frightening clarity. 

Bruce’s voice brings you back to reality :

“It is still my fault. I am…”

You shut him up with the softest kiss on his lips, trying to convey to him that no, no he’s not responsible for Jason’s death. It’s the Joker. It’s all him. He killed your beloved son. It is hisfault. He has to pay.

You feel the furry climbing inside you, how it overshadows even your sadness.

Turning your grief into hatred. You want to kill him. You want to kill the Joker…

God, you want to annihilate him so bad. 

But you know it’s not the solution.

You know it’s exactly what that psycho wants. And Bruce does know it too. He can feel your anger as well, and inside him, it’s a turmoil of emotions.

In your arms, he understands though.

He understands that he cannot kill the Joker for what he did to his son. Because if he does, then not only did he lost his boy, but also his soul.

If he kills the Joker, then the clown wins. Everything the Joker ever did was to taunt the Batman to kill him. He will not give him this satisfaction.

For Jason. And everything that boy stood for. 

He cannot let that happen. For Jason. He’ll never let that happen.

He won’t let the Joker win.  

He can feel you loosing all your strength in his arms, and he goes down on his knees with you, holding you tight against his heart.

“It is not your fault my love, it is not your fault…”

You repeat that for hours and hours. You repeat that until he almost believes it.

Here, on the floor of the batcave, you repeat it, while you hug him with all your might, and let him burry his face in your neck. 

He needs it.

He needs to let go. You make him understand he doesn’t have to be strong with you. He just lost a son. You just lost a son.

He doesn’t need to be strong all the time. And certainly not when with you.

“We…we lost our son…”

His voice cracks, and finally, his tears run freely, his arms strengthening around you, bringing you even closer to him. You let him. Of course you let him. You let go too. And together, you let your grief run fully out of you.

You can feel at some point Alfred coming close to you, wrapping the both of you in a warm blanket. Even in pain he makes sure you don’t catch a cold…you want to tell him “thank you”, but all you can say is :

“It’s not your fault.”

To Bruce. Over and over again. Holding him close. And he almost believes it.

You repeat those words, until you’re both too tired, exhausted because of the sorrow, and the heartache you felt.

“We just lost our son…”

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

It was the same nightmare all over again.

Jason came back to you years ago. It took him a long time to forgive you and Bruce for not killing the Joker. It took him ages to realize why you didn’t do it. And though he finally understood, the boy he used to be, the cheerful and mischievous boy he was, had forever disappear.

Sometimes, you could see some remnants of what he used to be. Some fleeting moments, when he was with you or his brothers. But it was often gone rapidly…In a matter of seconds, he was all serious and broody, just like his father. 

Just like his father, though your Bruce would give anything for him not to be.

Jason came back to you years ago, but the boy he was died that fateful day. Your boy was gone, forever, replaced by a man. But at least, he came back…

And now, it was the same nightmare all over again.

“Damian…Damian isn’t…”

“Please Bruce. Shhh. Don’t say it. Please. Don’t say anything else.”

The wave of despair that hits you right there and then, makes you fall to the floor, hard. And Bruce can barely catch you before you hit the ground heavily.

Here you are again. Laying on the batcave’s floor, in his laps, grieving a son.

Damian isn’t coming back, you already know it.

His own biological mother killed him, to prove a point to herself. 

A point that hurt her. Because no. She wasn’t as emotionless as she thought. No, she couldn’t just kill “her” son and move on. She wasn’t her father…

But she killed him. She did. Keeping yourself from killing her isn’t as hard as when you decided not to kill the joker. Because you know she suffers too, more than if she was dead. And in a twisted way, this makes you more satisfied than if she was gone. 

You resent those feelings. This is not who you are…And yet. It is. The hatred you feel after the death of your little boy will forever be part of you. The need for the person responsible to suffer is unfortunately something you truly feel, to your core. And honestly, who could blame you ? 

Unlike the Joker, you knew Talia felt things. And, good. 

Because she doesn’t even deserve to die. It would be too easy. 

And oh, oh how you don’t recognize yourself in those ugly feelings. But…She killed Damian. She killed “her” son. She killed your son. You cannot hide this dark part of yourself that needs revenge. 

You cannot. 

You feel Bruce shake while he holds you against him. Sat on the floor with you in his arms,  not ready to ever let you go.

You can see Alfred collapsing in Dick’s arms. Your beloved butler cannot handle it this time. He cannot be the strong one everyone needs. Not again.

On your oldest son’s face, there’s nothing but misery, but he tries to keep it in, because it’s his turn to take care of you, of Alfred, of his father…He wasn’t there for you guys when Jason died, busy doing his “own things”, not even knowing his little brother died. Maybe if he was there at the time, he could’ve saved him ? Maybe if he didn’t “selfishly” decide to leave ? 

But there is no point in dwelling in the past. He wasn’t there before, he would be there this time. He would be there this time…

You can also spot, in the blur of your teary eyes, Jason holding a shaking, crying Tim. It wasn’t always the biggest love between Tim and Damian. They drove each other crazy on a regular basis. But he was his brother. The teasing didn’t mean there was no love. On the contrary, their constant bickering was their own way to say : “I care deeply about you, dumbass”, their brotherly love language. And Damian was so young. Damian was so young…He wasn’t even able to protect his little brother, how could he help protecting the city ?

You don’t see Cass, and in a way, that’s good. You’re not sure you could handle seeing her heart broken You vaguely recall, in your painful state, that she’s away on a school trip, and you dread her return…

(A/N : Duke was not yet part of the fam when Damian died, which is why he does not appear in this story). 

Your eyes meet Jason’s, and the strength in them makes you feel a tiny bit better. You know he’ll be here too. You know he’s not going anywhere. Not this time. It took him a long time to forgive you and Bruce, but now, he wasn’t planning on leaving ever again. Especially not now. He knows you need him more than ever, and he’ll be there. Yes. He’ll be there.

This time, no words are exchanged between you and Bruce. You just hold onto each others, because that’s the only thing you can do, the only thing you can bear. His breath warms your forehead as he holds you close to him. 

This time, no words are exchanged between you and your Bruce. No. This time, you can’t speak. Surrounded by your grieving family, by your sons who are shaken to the core, by your surrogate father who was dying of sadness, by your Bruce…You can’t utter a word.

You can just hug your husband tight, making sure he won’t go.

He can just burry his face in your hair, not holding back his tears and sadness. Once again, he lost a son, and it was his fault, because he wasn’t able to protect him.

This time, you don’t have the strength to tell him itisn’this fault. This time, years after you lost Jason, you don’t have the strength to handle it anymore.

Couldn’t your family catch a break ? So much grief, so many bad things happening to your beloved sons, to your Bruce…

This time, you don’t have the strength to reassure Bruce.

You just lost a son. He just lost a son.

“We just lost our son…”

You hear him whisper, so lowly that you’re not sure he actually said it, or if your brain is playing tricks on you. If it’s some kind of flashback from Jason’s death.

Damian isn’t coming back. He’s never coming back. You lost a son. He lost a son. Your kids lost a brother. Alfred lost a grandchild.

The World lost one of its greatest and brightest inhabitant. 

The reality of all of this delves on you, and the same sadness you felt when you thought Jason was gone forever washes over you, taking away all of your hopes, all vision of a bright future.

Damian. Your son. Your youngest little boy. Isn’t coming back.

He’s never coming back.

Yes, how terrible it is, to love something that Death can touch.

To be continued ;) (because yes, Jason and Damian’s death were super hard to deal with…but let’s not forget about how Dick, Tim and Bruce faked their death and it must’ve been as equally horrible to think you lost your loved ones just to realize they were fine all along, re-writing this story made me want to write a sequel about those guys so bad :). And also talk about other very close call with death, admittedly an endless subject with this family haha). 

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Maybe some of y’all noticed, this is a rewriting of an old story of mine (which I accidentally erased…I need to stop being on Tumblr on my phone ). I liked it so I just…rewrote it (I still had the original story tucked away in a word document, thanks God I saved everything from the first time I accidentally erased something haha). The original story was almost 5 years old, and although I’m still insecure in many ways about my writing, I do believe I improved since then (mainly thanks to this blog, and y’all <3). I’m pretty happy I re-wrote it, I made some massive changes to it which I think better it :). I don’t know if any of y’all read it before this re-write, but if you remember it (again, it’s old and pretty much went under the radar amongst all my fics), you’ll realize how vastly different it is now. And I like it better…I hope you do too.  

Yup. I do hope you liked it, and if you did, comments and reblogs are always beyond appreciated, and motivating:). 

Synopsis :Damian is terrified of growing up, because he finally found a family and doesn’t want them to be around him less because he grows older…He’s especially scared that his mom, you, will slowly stop taking care of him. Because that’s what growing up is right ? Your parents just slowly stop taking care of you because you’re an adult. His siblings reassure him that…this is definitely not gonna happen.

Sudden burst of inspiration, had to jump on the occasion to write ! Like y’all, I hadn’t been able to sit down and write for that long in over six months, the fact I wrote this in an hour without stopping once is a good sign for me hehe. I hope you’ll like this, and of course as always feedbacks and reblogs are super welcomed !! :

My Masterlist :@ella-ravenwood-archives

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“Hey buddy, I have some important meetings today and won’t be there for lunch. Your dad too. I left some food for you, see you tonight, love ya.”

Are the simple sentences that set Damian off.

Alfred had his day off (and Damian couldn’t feel bad about that, the butler rarely took days off and when he did they were planned well in advance and he’d usually prepare everything for everyone). You and Bruce were busy. And his siblings were out and about. Damian could definitely reheat food for himself. It wasn’t really a challenge. It’s just that…

That him alone in the manor, it reminded him of bad days from the past, when he always had to fend off for himself.

He felt absolutely ridiculous feeling that way, because that was the first time since he came into your life that he actually was home alone. But he couldn’t help it. He’d gotten used to always having someone around. And he hated being alone.

At first, he always sought to be on his own. It was all he ever knew. And he thought that’s how life was. He spend hours on end all alone in his room, when he wasn’t in the Batcave. Up until…

Up until you sought him out. Whether it was to watch a movie, bake some cookies or just be silly. And if it wasn’t you, it was one of his siblings. He thought you were all so annoying, in the beginning. He always sighted, growled and got snappy with you all when you came look for him at first. But then…

Then he realized that, when you finally started to leave him alone thinking he just liked to be on his own…He felt lonely.

Actually lonely.

And it always brought an onslaught of bad memories, when he felt that way. So today ? Yeah. To him it was silly to have those emotions, but he couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t. He wasn’t used to be alone anymore.

The truth was, this couldn’t be a worst timing.

It was almost his birthday, reminiscent that he was getting older and older, closer and closer to the age he’d have to leave the Manor and fly on his own.

And he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to and this wasn’t fair ! He was already ten when he came into yours and Bruce’s life, so much less time than most children to enjoy their parents’ care ! And to be the “baby of the family”. He only had eight years of this bliss.

Eight years of finally having care and love, and someone who would always be there for him.

For some reasons, in his very pragmatic and cartesian mind, once you turned eighteen, you were on your own. 

Was it because this was the age his grandfather had originally planned for him to start taking over the world for real ? The age his grandfather always mentioned as the final trial before he had to handle himself (even more than before) ? Before he had to put his years of training into action ? A perpetual “Year of the blood” ?

Maybe. 

And maybe if he wasn’t so afraid, he would’ve seen how, even though Dick and Jason had their own place in town, they were still very obviously your babies (just the week before, you went to Dick’s apartment to bring him some chicken soup, and stayed there the night because he had the flu !). 

Or maybe he would’ve noticed Cass had turned 18 not long ago and was still here with no intention yet of leaving. Cass actually had the same sort of thoughts than Damian, except in her head, because she only started to have love and care at age 12 when she was officially adopted by you, she had lots to catch up, and her plan was to stay as long as she could at the manor. 

Not that it would bother you nor Bruce. The place would feel too lonely without them (Bruce’s secret wish would be that none of his kids would ever leave the nest, and he did everything to convince them to stay…Alfred had to have a stern talk with him when he tried to dissuade Dick to take his own apartment and scare him into staying home).

Yes. Maybe if he hadn’t been so afraid, Damian would’ve realized that of course you’d never just stop caring for him once he turned a certain age.

But fear. Fear always numb the mind, and you can never think straight when something that primal rises inside you. And it was oddly set in his mind that once you turn eighteen, you had to leave your family.

He had only about four or five years max left now. It wasn’t much. 

It wasn’t enough.

And he was so afraid.

To be honest, he had been thinking about it for a while now. And the mere thought of having to leave the manor filled him with anxiety and distress. 

He needed some fresh air. Whenever he felt like he was going to explode because he felt too many things at once, he’d go out in the garden (most of the time with Titus). To think. And to refresh himself. And he would-

“Uuuum, I’m sorry young man but where’s your jacket ? It’s October, and COLD.”

Damian jumped a little in the air, he was most definitely not expecting anyone. As he turned around and saw Jason there, a frown on his face, the gloominess he felt about being alone for lunch instantly faded away.

“What are you doing here ?”

He asked a bit harshly, to keep composure. He was not about to tell his brother, especially not that one, that he was feeling the way he was feeling. Jason had a tendency to remember things way too well.

“Mom told me to come check on you, she wasn’t sure she left enough food for your lunch. Dad called too, cause of course he would. As if I forget to do things, you know ? Anyway, I brought veggie burgers and fries. Oh. And Dick also texted me like forty times to come because I wasn’t doing anything “important” -how would he know anyway- and he was busy…being a cop or something.”

Jason said, ignoring the bite in his little brother’s voice. Just like everyone else in the family, he came to recognize when Damian didn’t really mean the things he said, or the tone he took.

As if it was the most normal thing in the world, he took his jacket off and put it on Damian’s shoulder.

“Honestly, wearing a t-shirt in this weather. You’re lucky mom’s not here. You’d never hear the end of it. If she can make a speech about wearing proper warm clothing to dad, out of everyone, to the Batman himself, she can definitely talk your ears off about it too.”

“I’m not cold.” 

“Sure you’re not.” 

Truth was, yeah, Damian was starting to feel a little cold. He didn’t really think about taking a jacket when he got out. Mmm. Someone reminding him to wear a jacket. 

It’s the little things, you know ? 

That he’ll miss. When he’ll be too grown up for it. When his parents, and even his siblings will just assume he can think of a jacket himself. And like, yeah, sure, he probably could. Once you’re an adult you have to think about this kind of thing. 

But what if he forgot ? Nobody anymore to remind him, or to bring a warm way-too-big-for-him coat to wear…

He’d miss that. 

Jason was staring at him, immediately noticing something was wrong, and said: 

“Alright, out with it.” 

“What ?” 

“Something is obviously bothering you. Come on, tell me. You know you can trust me.” 

“It’s nothing.” 

“Sure it’s not.” 

Damian clicked his tongue in annoyance. Jason had this particular sarcasm and irony about him, that instantly made you understand that he did not believe you. He shook the bag containing the veggie burgers, a warm and appetizing smell coming out of it, and said : 

“Come on, let’s go inside. Eat. And we’ll see if you wanna talk then.” 

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

Damian did talk. And it was easier than he thought it would be. Jason made a comment about him not eating any of the food you made, and how it would worry you and…It just poured out of the little boy’s mouth.

All his worries. His fears and his stress. 

“I know it’s stupid, but please don’t mock me.” 

He said, dejected. There was a short silence before Jason said : 

“I’m not about to mock you for that, little brother. I feel ya, really.”

Ah yes. Yes. There was probably no one better than Jason who understood exactly Damian’s feelings right now. 

As a child, Jason was constantly afraid he’d do something wrong and you would stop loving him, so he always worked extra hard to be good, even when it was hard to. And after he died and came back in the way he did…It’s like his worst fear happened. Because he thought the reason Bruce never killed the Joker was that he didn’t really love him. And the reason you and him adopted Tim was to replace him.

Of course, now, he understood how wrong he was. And of course, at the same time, his anger and hurt was justified. But this was another story.

The point was, Jason understood Damian’s fear right now. And so the perfect words to reassure his brother came naturally to him, too. It were the words he wished he heard, all those years ago (and that you eventually did tell him) : 

“Ok but Squirt, if you think that just because you’re gonna be a “grown up” or whatever I’ll stop caring about you, you’re very wrong. I will call you to remind you of very basic things till the end of days. You’re sixty, have a wife and children ? I’m in my seventies screaming at you to were a jacket. It’ll never end. Never. You’re always going to be my little brother. And mom’s kid. Always.”

He’d never admit it, but Jason was kind of the “mom brother”. People always thought he was the rebel who only fought with his family…that wasn’t true. He fought with Bruce, sure. And he constantly bickered with Dick but that’s because they had this little “big brother competition” going on (and when they were children, Jason admired Dick and felt embarrassed about that so he would snap at him for no reasons because he still had a hard time processing his emotions…after all, he grew up all alone, nobody ever explained to him it was ok to want to be loved, to be angry, to be hurt etc).

He resembled you greatly in that way, really. It was because of his life in the streets, and his broken family. When he finally found the love of a Family, he never let it go. Even when he was so angry, in the first few years of being Red Hood. The reason he was, was because he loved all of you so much. 

And he resembled you. The same comments about eating enough, drinking water, sleeping enough, wearing warm clothes or not watching TV in the dark. He’d “mom” his siblings when you weren’t there, and they pretend they were annoyed by it while really, it was the opposite. 

And Damian thought, well, if his brother, who was so much like you, said that. If he sounded so sure about never ever stopping caring and loving him…Then surely, you would too, right ? 

Because you were really a like, he thought. Really alike. 

And he was happy to not be alone for lunch. 

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

“Jason ! You’re still here, oh you’re staying for dinner right ? Alfred always make too much food just in case one of you will pop in anyway. He’s coming back tonight”

The sheer and simple happiness written on your face as you see your son is obvious. Damian sees it. And it’s reassuring. So, so reassuring. The same smile Is still on your face when you turn to him and say :

“How  was it today ? Did you have enough food ? See when Alfred has his day off I always feel like I don’t feed you enough.”

“It was fine mom. Also Jason brought veggie burgers and all so we had more than enough.” 

“Oh good. What did you two little buddies did today ?” 

“You two little buddies”. Jason, who was in his early twenties, and Damian, who was quite younger…were called the same way. 

It meant something, right ? It meant you both saw them the same, right ? 

And so…it meant than when Damian would be older, you’d still see him as your little kid ? And care for him ? 

You hadn’t seen Jason for barely three days, and yet you attacked him with dozens of questions about how he was doing, and what he was doing and…it reassured Damian. Greatly. 

Yes. You left space for your children as they grew up. But when they didn’t want that space ? When they needed you ? Like right now, as Jason was telling you about his recent adventures ? …You were there. 

You were there. And by all means, it felt like you would always be there. 

Jason noticed the relief in his little brother, and gave him a partner-in-crime kind of wink. Which made the little boy smile, despite himself. 

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

“Mooooom !! Can you make that “PB and J samwitch” you’re famous for please ?”

“With the crust cut off ?”

“Yes please.”

“No worries little buddy.”

Dick hadn’t been home for more than an hour, before he launched his infamous “Moooom” and asked you for something. And honestly ? Didn’t bother you one bit. He had always been polite about asking you things, and it was never too difficult. Just small rituals between you two. 

Like the PB and J “samwitch”. Almost an inside joke between you and him. One of the thing, as silly as it sounds, that made you so close all those years ago, when he was a little heartbroken eight year old. And when you promised yourself you’d always be there for him. 

So what if sometimes you made him his favorite sandwiches ? He definitely was grateful and this little reminiscence of past years always warmed your heart. Making those sandwiches, cutting the crust off, eating them with him…It all brought only good memories. And it made new good memories. So why would you stop doing it ? 

Dick smiled and went to sit in the comfy armchair of the main living room. Damian was sitting in another one, reading a book. However, very fast, Dick felt his brother’s eyes on him and turned around, a question in his eyes.

“…You’re twenty-four.” Damian said, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, I am. And so ?”

“”Samwitch” ? Crust cut off ? Can’t you do that yourself ?? Are you a child or what ?”

There’s a small silence, during which Dick seems to ponder Damian’s question. And ah, of course he takes it very seriously. A little too seriously maybe, as he puts a hand on his chin, as he always does when he tries to think of a plan of attack during his “vigilante work”.

“Well. Yeah. I can do it myself. And I do when I’m back in my apartment. But mom is here so, yeah.”

It sounded like an evidence in Dick’s mouth. Of course. Of course if his mom was here, if you were here, he’d take advantage of it and seek to be pampered by you. And where was the bad in this ? 

I mean, he’d been living on his own for a while now, couldn’t he sometimes be indulged and treated like if he was still a kid ? You always told him he’ll forever be “your kid” anyway. And your sandwiches, although made the same way he made it, somehow still tasted better. 

Dick could see Damian had some trouble fathoming his behavior, and as the big brother he was, of course he’d properly explain.

“We’re lucky to have an awesome mom who loves us. Who wants to be there for us, even if it’s to make our favorite food. Why wouldn’t we be happy about it, and let her do it ? I’m always happy to do things to help her out, like when I pick you or Tim at school. Stuffs like that. It’s um…Our love language ?”

“Love language ?” 

“Yeah, you know. The way we show we love each others. Amongst other thing. Like we both have multiple love language I feel but it’s not really the question here. Listen, yeah, I’m twenty-four. And maybe it’s a flaw, to still love to be treated like a kid by my mom. Maybe it’s not normal, even. But out there, whether at work at the police station, or when I’m Nightwing…Things are rarely great. We always see broken families, people in pain, horrible things happening. So what if, when I’m home, with my mom, I like to be taken care of ?” 

Damian was stunned. Yeah. Yeah he understood what Dick meant. But he just didn’t know you could be THAT old and still have your mom do all of that ! Which is a little silly, because he did see his mom act that way towards Dick or Jason before, without batting an eye. 

Why is it that when it came to himself, he always thought there were different set of rules, he always was so hard on himself about everything ? You and his siblings made him understand. 

He deserved love too. And-

“Here little buddy, yoursamwitch. And you, littlest buddy, do you want anything ?” 

You were speaking to him. He hadn’t even noticed you came back, pondering about what Dick just said. But he answered : 

“Could I have some cookies, please ?” 

“Of course. White chocolate chip ?” 

“Yes ! Um, could I help you ?” 

“Of course, come one, the more the merrier. Let’s try to not eat all the cookie dough before though, like last time. Wanna join, Dickiebird ?” 

“Gladly ! Always love to cook with you.” 

Dick didn’t care, when his team mates from Teen Titans mocked him because he called his mom every day. He didn’t care, when the Young Justice, and now the Justice League mocked him when his mom called him “Dickiebird”, “Little buddy” or “my baby”. For Dick, you still sometimes almost babying him was a great treat. 

Because he was right. His life was hard. Harder than most. And so, what if he wanted to get a hug from his mom, or to just be generally pampered by her ? If you were around, he for sure still would ask you to tuck him in…and where was the shame in this ? Those moments were so rare nowadays. And he was an independent adult. So what if sometimes, just sometimes, he wanted to escape the harshness of real life just to feel cared for by his mom, or his dad ? 

There was no shame in this. None. Which is why Dick never cared when other mocked him about it. This was hardly something he was ashamed of. 

And today, Damian understood this, too. 

No matter how old he would be, he would always still still be allowed to have his mom take care of him. 

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

“I turned 18. I am now an adult, by law. But mom doesn’t care much about law. Look.”

Cass says, and on that note, she smiles at her brother tenderly before going to where you were sitting, and just…Ah yes. Damian saw her do that before.

Damian and Cass understood each other really well. They both had a difficult and loveless early childhood, and were craving affection now. And it wasn’t rare that he would see his sister…demand a hug from their mom (and even from their dad, the boys were sometimes a little too proud and awkward for that, but Cass ? She didn’t care. If she needed comfort, she wouldn’t hesitate to seek it. Not anymore.)

And Damian instantly knew what she was trying to show him.

Cass was grown up now. By all technicalities. Yet if she wanted a hug, she’d get it. And both Damian and her knew that whether she was twelve, eighteen or forty, as long as you were there, you would give one to her.

As usual, without any words, Cass was able to convey all her meanings to her little brother.

Damian felt warmth in his heart the rest of the evening. Feeling happy to see her sister happy. But also that yes, age definitely didn’t matter when it came to motherly love. And that made him more than happy, a feeling he had no words yet to express.

But as Cass constantly showed, sometimes, you didn’t even need any words to show your true feelings.

******

Damian’s concerns came to Duke’s ears, one day. And although Damian was less and less afraid of the eventuality you would one day stop caring for him, the topic of conversation still came up as they were patrolling, and Duke was more than willing to let Damian open up to him. 

Especially since this was the first time they had this kind of heart to heart conversation. Damian was a tough nut to crack. He always kept his distance at first, suspicious of any newcomer. And he also was a little jealous of the attention given to Duke, for sure. 

But this conversation ? It came naturally as they were just casually talking while on their patrol, and nothing much was happening. 

“I’ve been here for less time than you, but I have no doubt in my mind that Bruce and (Y/N) will never cease to see us as their kids.”

It’s true. Duke hadn’t been here for as long as all your other kids. And his situation was a little special, as his parents were still alive and there was hope for them, even after all this time. He hadn’t yet called you or Bruce “mom” and “dad, but he didn’t think any less. You took that place in his heart, right along sides his own parents. You taught him that he could still treat all of you like his family without betraying the family he already had.

And that was precious.

And oh so needed, after all he’s been through.

And for Duke, there really wasn’t any doubt. He knew he’ll forever be able to count on you.

“See it that way, if I needed you, twenty years from now, would you not come to help me ?”

Damian looked at Duke, outraged in his eyes, and exclaimed :

“Of course I would come !”

“Well it’s the same for all of us. We fight sometimes, and we say things we don’t mean. I know I haven’t been around long, but I also know I would jump in any situation if it was for any of you. In the short time I’ve been here, I was able to feel the family love. And the strong bond we now all share. So believe me Damian, when I say none of us will ever stop caring about and for you just because you grow older, I truly mean it.”

It’s true that Duke hadn’t been a member of the “Batfamily” for long. And this new perspective he brought, Damian didn’t even think about it ! Sometimes, it felt so obvious to all of you that you loved each other, that you forgot to remind that to one another. But for Duke, it was all new. And he had no qualms reminding his new little brother that yes.

Yes, he’ll always be there.

It’s a shame, really, that no one else was around when Damian gave that first hug ever to Duke, who gladly accepted it.

But in a way, this first brotherly move, first trace of the bond that had been built between them, well, maybe it was meant to only be between the two of them.

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

It just happened. 

One evening, he was feeling particularly anxious and scared, and he just spilled the bean to..his dad. 

And Bruce’s reaction was immediate, and it was obvious by how quickly he spoke that he didn’t quite think things through (if he had, maybe he would’ve known what was about to happen, given a certain son’s presence) : 

“Son, your mother even baby me sometimes, so I really do not think she’ll ever stop seeing you as her precious little boy.”

“She…babies you ?”

“Yes, and he LOVES it !” Jason chimes in, snickering and obviously reveling in the fact his father wasalmostblushing. 

With his dad, it was always about the micro-changes in his facial expressions. It was hard, to decipher it. Only the trained eyes could see it, and oh, you trained Jason since he first came in to show him the small changes in your husband face. To recognize his “smiles”, his worry, his anger…

Bruce spend years learning how to school his facial expressions, how to control his emotions. But sometimes, with his family, he didn’t fool any of them. And right now, he was clearly not going to react to Jason’s little mockery, so naturally Jason thought he’d add, speaking to his brother :

“You probably saw it. He lays his head in her lap and she scratches it. Kind of how we scratch Ace and Titus’ heads.”

Bruce kept a neutral expression (and how frustrating it was how much he could school his expression to let nothing appear), and answered, matter of factly :

“She does not “scratch” my head. She runs her hand through my hair. -short pause- It’s soothing.”

There was almost a comical gap between his lack of facial expression, his monotone tone, and his words, and it made Jason’s smile even wider. Damian too, couldn’t help but smile a little too much.

“But um. Yes. Sometimes, she just…sooth me.”

Bruce knew this sounded ridiculous, and out of character (to anyone not truly knowing who Bruce Wayne really was). But he also knew that this was the truth. You had this gift. Sometimes you’d sing him sort-of lullabies when he had bad nights. You’d hold him until he fell asleep. You’d run your hand through his hair, caressing his scalp…And he would never stop you. 

He would never admit to anyone else but his children this very fact. Never. But if it could reassure his son in any way, what was the harm ? 

There was none. And as the night started, Damian felt all warm inside. By the fact his parents love always made him happy for some reason (when they weren’t being gross and kissing -bleargh). But also because, if his forty years old father still had the “soothing treatment”, why wouldn’t he, when he was grown up ?

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

Your kids were pretty good at keeping secrets…but it never lasted long when it came to you. You always knew what was going on. Oh, and once Bruce knew about it ? There was no way he could resist you. 

He always told you everything. 

And so you came to know Damian’s worries, and even though you understood that everyone reassured him already, you felt like it was your duty to reinforce everything. So, one night, as you were tucking him in, you chose a particular story to read him. 

It was a small children’s book. Definitely destined for kids way below his age. Not the kind of thing you would read to him. Usually, you’d both read classics. Adventure books. Lately you read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Etc etc. Never actual kids’ books. But tonight, this choice seemed appropriate. 

It was a book called “Love you Forever” written by four authors, and the last words went something like this : 

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living, 
My baby you’ll be.” 

And there was no need for more. He knew you knew. 

He knew one of his siblings told you about his fear, probably out of worries. Or that his father, as you “ran your hands through his hair”, spilled the bean. And he didn’t care. 

Because by reading just a simple bed time story, you erased all his fears. 

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living,
My baby you’ll be.” 

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

It was rare, to have all of your kids home. But sometimes, it happened. When they took the rare night off (and only because Kate was out, because they knew it’d be calm…even in Gotham, certain nights were eventless). It happened less and less, as time went on and they all grew up. 

Your babies. 

You always felt a pinch in your heart, thinking about how one day, they’ll all leave. Ah if only. If only they could all feel like Damian feels right now. 

Like he never wants to grow up, like he never wants to leave. 

But you knew. You knew that even him, one day, would take his flight. And you knew that he would do great. 

You also knew you would never cease being a mother. And that as soon as they’d need you, you’d be there. 

It was getting late, and you were thinking about all this when Dick, who was always great at reading your feelings and knew you were a bit nostalgic at the moment, said : 

“Hey, say, mom, since we’re all here and have the night off…what about a bed time story ?”

Oh. Ooh. How could you resist ? As Dick asked you that, a wide smile on his face, you had a flashback of the sweet little eight years old boy who used to ask that same question every night. And you never could say no.

And when they were all here ? It was impossible to refuse the offer.

Yours and Bruce’s bed was a unique bed tailored especially for you that your husband ordered years ago, when Cassandra officially became your daughter and your old bed was starting to be too small for all of you when it was “story  time nights”.

It was a bed especially made for your family, and each one of your children had their spot on it, as you started to read one of the house’s favorite. Even Bruce, was listening, and the sound of your voice plus the presence of his children had the most soothing effect on him.

You all regularly joked that he was the first one to dose off, off in a deep sleep. He didn’t care much, those were the few moments he could genuinely sleep. And that made all of you happy.

One by one, your children fell asleep, a cute tangle of arms and legs (Dick had the habit since a long time to almost strangle Jason, clinging to him as he fell asleep, and as Jason grew up and became much taller than Dick, it just went from cute brotherly love to hilarious “hugchokehold”). Damian was the last one to close his eyes, as usual, wanting to enjoy moments with his family as much as he could.

The story was over since quite a while, but you weren’t asleep yet. You were just basking in the warmth and love of being surrounded by those you loved, your children who would always be your babies, and your husband who was the love of your life. 

Sometimes, amongst all the hardship and troubles, there were really blissful moments. 

The end.

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I hope you liked it. Just a little silly story that came to my mind as I was thinking about my own mom :). Maybe it’s stupid, I still enjoyed writing it ! And I hope you liked reading it. As usual feedbacks and reblogs are always welcomed, and see you soon with a new story ! 

Synopsis : Your water breaks during a storm in Gotham, which prevents you to get to a hospital right away…Freak outs all around ensues. Except for you, as you try, while in labour, to calm your family down.  

I’ve had that idea in my head for a while haha. So here we are. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this story, as usual don’t hesitate to leave a comment, reblog, and such ^^. Thank you, and here we go : 

My masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives​

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It was a dark and rainy night, and a storm was brewing. 

The weather outside was downright awful, the kind of weather that makes you want to curl under a warm blanket, with a cup of warm tea or chocolate milk, and read. Or watch a movie. Just stay inside, safe and sound. 

Living near the Atlantic wasn’t without danger of a natural disaster, although storms were rare in Gotham.  But oh when they happened…You couldn’t see the end of it. It could last for days, and it was rather violent. 

The city, courtesy of Wayne Inc, had turned most buildings into “hurricane proofs” shelters so that in the rare occurrence of such a storm happening, everyone would lock themselves in. Safe and sound. 

Iron curtains would come down, foundations of skyscrapers were reinforced etc etc. The “hurricane protection” program started with Bruce’s parents, and their son finished it after years of construction work, and patience. Despite having a terrible reputation crime wise, the city was known to be one of the safest in the USA in case of a natural disaster such as this. 

Bruce had also installed “Hurricane relief funds” so that every single citizen would have enough supplies to actually stay in. 

Yes. Violent storms (or rather, “hurricanes”), were rare, in Gotham. But they happened. And most people hated them, understandably so. Even if nowadays they were safe, great damages would still be done. It was one thing to get your car blown up by the Joker, it was fine, there were insurances for that…But it was another thing to get it flooded and/or destroyed by a goddamn storm. Thanks god for that Wayne guy “relief funds” eh. 

Especially since, well, this was Gotham. Nothing was ever half-assed here. When the weather was getting real bad, it was getting REAL bad. And of course, being isolated in your home for a few days was never fun. 

And then there was you. Probably one of the only person who loved hurricanes.

Selfishly so, but then again, everyone was allowed to be a little selfish, sometimes. Especially when the reason you liked when there were storms…Was because your entire family would gather in Wayne Manor. 

And your entire family being in the same place at the same time ? Well, let’s just say it was almost as rare as hurricanes in Gotham. Almost, there was still moments you could gather all together, but oh with your children growing up it was getting harder and harder to do it. 

So, stormy nights ? Let’s be a little selfish and be glad that they happened, just so you could have your family close to you. You relieved a little of your guilt knowing that Wayne Inc and your foundation would help people repair the damage, so it was ok if you wanted more hurricanes right ? To see your kids ? Everyone was safe anyway. 

Not even the bad guys, went out during those times. It would be a death wish to do so. Which meant even Bruce, stayed home for the nights. 

How ironic, that it’s on one such dark and stormy night, that you affectionate so much because they get you to stay at home with your family, that a very pregnant you’s water would break…

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

Gotham’s meteorologist were always right, when it came to coming storms. A few days prior to one, they would make all necessary announcement and everything would be put into place. 

The city was often taken by surprise by attacks from a large and colorful array of criminals. But storms ? That was under control. 

Your family was definitely prepared, although your husband was a little worried because you were rather close to the due date. 

Bruce wanted you to stay the storm’s duration in the hospital, just in case. But you refused, because little Thomas wasn’t due for another three weeks, and you wanted to spend time with your family in the privacy of your home. 

“Bruce, we’re fine, he’s not suppose to show up before a few weeks still. It’d be very unlucky if he suddenly decides to come out now.”

You felt that three weeks was definitely a large enough time, and your son would come when he was supposed to. Plus you weren’t going to push yourself too much. Anyway, your children, Alfred and Bruce were absolutely doting on you (which was nice). There was no chance you’d “set in motion the delivery” (Tim had very…original ways of calling childbirth) by being too active. You were just going to chill with your family, probably fall asleep earlier, let Bruce carry you to bed etc etc.

You would quickly come to the conclusion that you were wrong, and that you should’ve listened to your husband. Never again, would you underestimate your youngest child ability to surprise you, and his proficiency to impatience. 

Because as the storm was finally fully raging, and you were walking towards the couch to enjoy a good movie night…

Splash

Not a sound, nor a feeling you liked. You froze on the spot, in shock for a few seconds, not sure what had happened, until you realized…Yup, your water definitely broke. 

The next steps were going to be very delicate. You had to tell that to your family, without them freaking out. And ah, you knew them. 

To people who didn’t know them well, they might all appear in control of their emotions, and ready for whatever could come at them. Your husband was the goddamn Batman after all. He always had a plan, right ? And he schooled himself for years, to control his emotions perfectly. 

Dick was a joyful boy (man, now) yet extremely serious when he had the Nightwing costume on. He was the one who resembled Bruce the most, in a lot of ways. A leader, capable of taking that weight on while keeping a cool head. 

Jason could appear more emotional to everyone else. Prompt to explode in anger, and let his impulsivity get the better of him. And in a way, it was true. He had always acted on impulse, and could get his emotions overwhelm him. Except in serious and dangerous situation. In those times, he knew exactly how to control himself. His older brother, Dick, was one of his role model for this. The capacity to not let his emotions run his actions. 

Tim was a very cerebral being. He was able to detach himself from every single situation and keep calm, analyzing every details to find solutions. You were kinda counting on him to stay relax and help you direct the others. 

Cass could appear emotionless, if not cold, to a lot of people. That was because she had been raised to be a living weapon, and sometimes, human interactions were a little hard for her. It didn’t mean she didn’t have any emotion though, oh no, on the contrary. But she was very good at staying calm and collected, so you were counting on her too, here. 

Duke was an anxious teen, but he had that rare talent that made him capable of controlling his stress and using it as a driving force. Just like with Tim, you were kind of hoping he would use his freakout as a springboard to find solutions. 

Damian was a little ball of nerve, to whoever didn’t really know him. He was actually a very smart child, who lived with a lifetime of guilt and who wanted nothing more than to redeem himself. To you, he was one of the sweetest little boy you ever met, but he was definitely going to freakout right now. He wasn’t just yet as in control of his emotions as the rest of your family. 

Ah, but in this situation, none of them would remain master of themselves. You sort of forshadowed it, knowing them as well as you did. You were standing still, looking at them as they were waiting for you (pee breaks were happening often, while you were pregnant), you felt a surge of panic that you tried as best as you could to shut down. You had to remain calm, because you knew they weren’t going to.  

Jason and Dick, as if they were kids again, were fighting to have the most comfortable armchair in the room. Both were incredibly stubborn, and they ended up sitting in it uncomfortably, sharing half of the chair, sure that the other one was going to give up (very unlikely). It alleviated your anxiety about losing your water just now, if only for a few seconds, to see your sons, now grown men (they were still your babies, and only in their early to mid-twenties !), “fight” like they used to when they were younger. 

Tim had taken his favorite spot, on a bean bag you deemed absolutely uncomfortable but that the boy loved. He’d sit in it, right in front of you and Bruce’s legs, because he liked the comfort of knowing you were near. 

It was Damian and Cass’ turn to sit next to you and Bruce, and they were already in their place. 

Duke was sitting in the armchair just in front of the one Jason and Dick were fighting for…An exact replica of the armchair they were arguing over. Years ago, to stop them from fighting because of it, Bruce bought the same model again. Both your sons said it wasn’t the same and they liked the other better (it was the EXACT same one). Duke looked at them, rolling his eyes, comfortably settled in that great armchair, quite amused by his oldest brothers behavior. 

Alfred was distributing hot beverages, and would soon go sit in his own dedicated armchair…but then he saw you. And he immediately understood. 

Good. Saved you the task to tell them what happened, right ? 

Alfred’s worried look was quickly spotted by Bruce, who was already sitting down, and he turned around as fast as a certain Wally West (at least, it felt to you that it was that fast). He saw you, standing, and at your feet…A puddle of “water”. You had just lost your amniotic fluid. 

You were about to…

“WHAT THE FUCK ??” 

Before Bruce could react, Jason, who, as many little brothers around the world, had been ejected from his spot by his older sibling, was about to go back to the fight to get that armchair, when he also saw you. 

Chain reaction. 

Your husband turning around to look at you, plus Jason’s sudden exclamation, made it very clear to everyone else what was happening. They all turned to you, a few seconds of silence (the silence before the storm ? Pun non intended), only the wind outside was heard. And then…

Everything went dark. And the panic started. 

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

Just like in many cases of hurricanes, the power went out. And apparently, it had a sense for a dramatic flair, as it happened just as everyone realized that you were about to give birth, and how bad the situation was. 

Fortuntely, Wayne Manor had multiple generators, and they started by themselves after a few seconds, during which you heard your children, and Bruce, scramble toward you while also trying to be careful not to just run into you and hurt you (or the baby). 

The light went back on, and you were surrounded by worried eyes as they all started to talk at the same time : 

“What are we going to do, we can’t go to the hospital ???”

“I’m sure the bat mobile could endure the storm !”

“If we go with the bat mobile though, won’t everyone know it’s us ?” 

“Yeah we’d be sus, but hello, mom is about to have a babyyyy !” 

“HOLY SSHHH ! SHE IS !!”

“Guys.” You tried to squeeze in, but they didn’t hear you. Couldn’t hear you.

“What are we going to do ??” 

“Boys. Stop yelling. Might scare baby brother.” Cass was distributing little slaps on her brothers foreheads to make them stop, but she didn’t seem calm either. In fact, you knew she was freaking out, just like they all were ! 

Bruce had taken you into his arms, and carried you to the couch, before you could say a word, and was pacing in front of you. And, wow. It calmed you for a few seconds, to be honest, because that was quite the sight. 

Have you ever seen Bruce panicking ? Maybe like, twice in all the years you’ve been together. And even then, he managed to keep his cool. But there ? Not really. He seemed lost, and unsure. Which was a first. But who would blame him ? Even the Batman himself, could freak out at the thought of having his wife about to give birth, while an access to a hospital was nearly impossible ! And with nobody in the house knowing how to deliver a baby ! 

Oh this wasn’t good. They were about to make you freak out too, and you knew that once you were panicking as well, things would go from bad to worst. 

Someone had to keep it together. And to be honest ? You were feeling fine, even if your water broke. And ah, you just realized. You didn’t feel any contractions ! This wasn’t the start of it yet, you had time to gather your thoughts and think of this calmly ! 

“What if we have to deliver the baby ??”

“I think I’m going to throw up, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the fact maybe we’ll deliver the baby, or because I’m so stressed.” 

“Don’t throw up on me bro !” 

“Maybe we could…No, no that wouldn’t work…Or maybe…” Bruce was mumbling, his brain clearly not wanting to work properly. He was obnubilated by the fact things could go very wrong, and your life as well as his son’s were in danger. 

None of them were listening to you, and it was becoming increasingly stressful to see them in such a state. 

“Guys, guys, GUYS !”

You raised your voice very rarely, but when you did, there was that edge to it that instantly made all of them shut up. Maybe it was the surprise at you screaming that stopped them, or maybe you genuinely scared them back into place because they knew how scary you could be when angry (the only occurrences you might scream). 

“Listen, my contractions didn’t begin ok ? I’m not actually in labour yet ? It could be a few hours before it starts, it is common.”

You visibly saw Bruce’s face relax, because…He had time. It wasn’t sure how long, but at least he had some time to think. And he needed it. He needed time to gather his thoughts, to calm down, and think of this logically. With pragmatism. He was sure he could think of a viable solution, with this valuable time. You smiled at him, and added : 

“It gives us time to- AAAAH.”

You mentally slapped yourself, as you were pretty sure your optimism just jinxed it…Because you just had your first contraction. That baby wanted out. You could feel it. 

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

All Hell broke loose. 

Your scream of pain (and surprise really, you didn’t expect to have a contraction so suddenly) put your entire family in a state you never saw them in. 

Alfred was nowhere to be seen, while you were desperately looking for him so he could help you calm your family down. He had disappear as the light went back on, and you assumed he was fetching some things to make you comfortable. At least, you hoped he was. 

Your children were not armed against seeing you in pain. They rarely saw you hurt, and it was always such a grand source of distress when you were. 

They were downright freaking out, even more than before. 

Your contractions were very spaced out, which made you think this was just slowly started. But they wouldn’t know that, would they ? Plus, you definitely screamed in pain. And they really didn’t like that. 

Bruce, oh boy. Bruce was in a state. He was even worst than your kids when it came to you getting hurt. He just couldn’t bear it. And you could see that he was not doing well right now, and felt powerless as he knew there was no way he could get you to a hospital. At least, not without breaking the secret that he was Batman. 

The phone lines were off, so there were no calling for help (anyway, you were pretty sure, given the violence of the storm outside, that nobody would’ve been able to come). 

Alfred had reappeared with a fresh beverage that you definitely needed to calm and cool down, and disappeared once more God knew were. 

You could see Damian was on the verge of crying, not able to handle all this stress and scared to death that something bad would happen to you. 

This instantly calmed Jason who took his role as a big brother very seriously (Dick did so much for him, when he was younger, even if most people always thought he wasn’t present before his death…it was wrong, Dick had been a constant presence in his life, always there for him, and the first one able to approach him and talk to him when he came back as the Red Hood). He went to Damian, and cradled him (maybe a bit roughly) in his arms, patting him on the back to calm him down. 

Damian didn’t cry, but he did stay latched on his brother for a bit. 

Cassandra was pacing all around the room, nervously cracking ALL of her bones, and you knew she was not doing well and was rather panicked because of how unable to stay still she was. She’s always been a discreet girl, so seeing her pacing around and such was quite a sight. Not a very good one, really. You wished you could reassure her, but you didn’t know how. 

Tim was in his own world, clearly trying to calculate all outcomes possible of the situation, and not quite liking the results because he was sweating profusely, and obviously was about to freakout even more. Dick, seeing this, also tried to do what Jason did and calm down to take care of him…but Tim said something in his ear and all of a sudden Dick went really pale, and they both kept rambling about things, hyping each others up in the worst way possible. You could only hear a few things they were saying, but it was clear they were imagining the worst scenarios that could possibly happen, and it was not good at all. 

Duke was next to you, and you were honestly not sure whether he was more trying to calm himself or you. He didn’t know what to say, but held your hand and kept nodding, trying to convince you (and himself) that everything was going to be ok. 

Suddenly, Bruce stopped in his track, took a look at the sky, and started yelling : “Clark ! CLARK !”

“What are you doing Bruce ?”

Another contraction arrived just after your question, and you did your best to not scream as to not provoke even more panic in your family, but they could clearly see by your face that you were in pain. 

Bruce turned his head the other way, as he knew he was going to lose it completely if he saw that expression one more time. And he answered, bluntly : 

“Calling Clark.” 

Silence. You knew the phone lines were off, it always happened during a storm in Gotham, phones just didn’t work. And you were a little confused by your husband reaction. 

Calling Clark ? How ? 

“CLARK HURRY UP GODDAMNIT !!” 

Your kids stopped what they were doing (which was great, because what they were currently doing, was freaking the hell out and it was doing nobody any good), and looked at their father as if he definitely had lost it. 

But then…

Crrrrraaaaaaack

The front door, you knew this was the front door. That clearly just shattered. Maybe because of the storm ? This couldn’t be someone.

Because first, who the Hell was crazy enough to come all the way up here with that kind of weather outside ?? And second, nobody was strong enough to destroy that massive door, right ?

By then, it hadn’t quite hit you that only one answer to this question, “who could it be if it was a person”, was possible. 

Bruce left, and came back quickly with… 

Well. Yes. Clark Kent. One of your best friend, also known as “Superman”. 

“I knew this must’ve been an emergency when you called me “Clark” instead of “Superman””. 

He was smiling, of that smile you all knew all too well. But there was a strange edge to it, and you knew that Bruce had filled him in on the way. 

But you weren’t quite sure how he got there. Of course, being Superman, the storm wasn’t really a problem, but…how ? How did he know ? 

On that moment, you couldn’t think straight. Your water had broken, your family was freaking out all around and you didn’t know how to calm them, and now Clark was here and you just couldn’t think of why and how ?? 

And then it hit you. And you felt dumb that you didn’t think of it before. Of course, given the situation, you were most definitely not to blame for a little cognitive lapse. 

Super hearing. 

Clark had super hearing. 

But still, did he really hear Bruce yelling from all the way to Metropolis ?? 

“How ??” 

You managed to ask, in between contractions who were worryingly getting closer and closer. 

“I heard Bruce.” 

“Amongst…Everything ?”

“Oh yeah, I know the sound of y’all’s voice. It’s the same for Lois, Jon, Conner…Everyone important to me, you know ?” 

“You…know the sound of our voice ?”

“Yes ?”

Silence. 

“Is that weird ?” 

If it was anybody else than Clark Kent, you would’ve found it slightly creepy. I mean, someone knowing how your voice sounds exactly, to the point that he could recognize you calling for help in the cacophony the world was ??? 

Well, granted, not many people had super-hearing. But, yes, if it was anyone else but your good friend, you would’ve been freaked out. But Clark ? Clark was the golden retriever of your friend group. A little too nice for his own good at times (although you already saw him angry, and were DEFINITELY happy he was your friend, and on the “good side”). And definitely the kind that cared a LOT about the people close to him. It wasn’t that surprising that he imprinted in his head the exact sound his close friends and family made. Although honestly, it was impressive that he was able to isolate you guys’ voices…Then again, we were talking about Superman. 

He’d never cease to impress you. Not like you’d ever that to Bruce anyway, so what was the arm in thinking it ? Another contraction took you out of your reveries and Bruce said : 

“You have to fly her to Gotham’s hospital. I have a batsuit downstairs which she can get into so”

“Bruce -aaaaaah- I’m fine, I’m fine Clark, don’t worry, contractions ya know. Bruce, if we do that, everyone will know you’re Batman. It’s going to be SO obvious.”

“I don’t care, your safety and the little one’s are more important.” 

You felt your heart melting, and if the situation was different, you would’ve jumped into his arms…

Your children gathered around, clearly agreeing with their father. So what if their secret identities were revealed, if it meant their mom and little brother would be safe ? 

And it was so sweet. The very example of what “unconditional love” meant. But it wasn’t possible, it simply wasn’t. They weren’t thinking straight, you said : 

“We will all be in more danger if people know who we really are, and I can’t let that happen”. 

Silence. And…Well, yes. If it was known who Batman really was, and who his sidekicks were, your entire family’s life would constantly be at stake. That’s without counting that what they were doing was illegal, and they would certainly get arrested fast, no matter what Jim Gordon’s feelings were about them (you were pretty sure he guessed years ago who Batman really was, but would never say it because he thought he was important for Gotham).

Taking a deep breath, you finally found the force in you to fully calm down. It only took the thought of your family to be in danger to finally make you think clearly : 

“So far, everything is going on fine. I am feeling like I am suppose to feel. Am I terrified ? A little bit. But nothing is going wrong. There’s no complications, you know that, you read the books about childbirth.” 

“Oh, childbirth for dummies or childbirth 101 ?” Clark asked, clearly trying to ease the atmosphere.

“Both.” Bruce answered, almost mechanically, as he was studying you to see if everything was indeed going as well as you were saying. Well, albeit for the fact you were about to give birth home, while it really wasn’t planned. 

“I read them too, when Lois was pregnant with Jon. They were very informative and reassuring and-Right. Sorry. Not the right time.” 

Ah, but Clark few words made you smile. The golden retriever of your friend group for sure. And the way your husband glared at him ? Priceless. You continued : 

“We’re not gonna use Clark and a batsuit to take me to the hospital. It’s definitely too obvious, and a bad idea in the long run. The storm will not stop any time soon, so let’s think this logically and aAAaAAAaaa- sorry, sorry, I’m fine. Let’s think this aaAAAAAaah !” 

“Six seconds apart, mom’s contractions are six seconds apart !! The baby is definitely coming !!”

Tim exclaimed, panicking again after this short lull in the “freakout department” that the surprise of Clark’s appearance gave. And you could see they were all about to go into “hyper mode” again, as it was becoming clearer and clearer that you will have this baby here. 

Even Clark, who finally realized what the situation truly was, seemed about to panic and man, have you ever seen Superman himself panic ? It’s not a sight you wanted to see again. 

You were about to, once again, try to calm them down (although it sort of felt that the fact you had contractions that were closer and closer, and that you couldn’t help but show your pain each time it happened, was making things worst) when…

The back door opened, and : 

“Oh, a visitor. Unexpected but…yes, yes actually, Mister Kent, it’s good you’re here. You will be able to keep this lot away while we do what we have to do.” 

Alfred had reappear, wearing surgical gloves and a white coat. 

“Alright, let’s go, Lady (Y/N)”

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

Alfred. Who had been strangely discreet, this past few hours of freakout from your family. He was there, taking care of you. Bringing you everything you needed before you even knew you needed it. That constant reassuring presence in your life, as usual. 

But he didn’t speak much. And when he wasn’t bringing you things, he was nowhere to be seen. 

You didn’t really think much of it up until now, as he reappeared dressed like that. Your mind was occupied elsewhere, to notice. Same for your husband, and your children, who would usually call him for help right away. But the specific situation send all your brains’ into overdrive, and none of you really were able to think beyond the panic. 

“Follow me now, please. Time is of the essence, now that the contractions are close. Thank you, Master Timothy, for keeping track of this.” 

You couldn’t quite grasp what was happening, but Bruce seemed to catch up faster. He rushed to you, picked you up, and followed Alfred. 

Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Duke and Damian were close behind, Clark in the back, following by instinct more than anything. 

When he heard Bruce calling him, the panic hearable in his voice, he didn’t think twice. Lois told him to go, and he did, leaving behind a calm family night to rush to his friend’s aid. 

He arrived quickly, of course, and Bruce filled him in. He wanted him to take his pregnant wife, you, to the nearest hospital. In the storm. With a batsuit. Risking to divulge the secret of his identity. 

If you didn’t say something, Clark would have spoken up. He had never seen Batman in that state…Then again, it’s been years since their first encounter. He had learned that the Bat hid a lot behind his mask of coldness and harshness. 

Anyway, as for now, Clark was following along, ready to help if need be. Truly, the golden retriever of the friend group. 

While on the way, Alfred started to explain what the Hell was going on. He, on the opposite of everyone else, seemed completely calm and collected : 

“I’ve prepared anything necessary to bring this baby into this world. Lesl- Dr Thompkins and I prepared a birth plan, just in case. We are going to the room I’ve prepared, now. If you need my credentials : I received extensive courses from Lesl- Dr Thompkins in case this would happen. It was most definitely a probability given Master Bruce’s…Night work. I’m sorry it took me a while to settle things properly. Follow me please. So we can take care of this.”  (hello I secretly ship Alfred and Leslie Thompkins haha)

“This ?” 

“Lady (Y/N), you have been in labor for quite a bit now. In pain.”

Bruce visibly flinched at the words “in pain”, and the kids all turned to you, beyond worried. They knew this was definitely painful, but putting things into words made it that much more real. And they were on the edge of freaking out once more..But Alfred didn’t give them time to, putting them into action. 

“From your symptoms, and the amount of contractions getting closer and closer, we can clearly not wait. Like father like son, this baby is already quite an impatient one.”

“Alfred-”

“You will ask questions later, for now, hurry along.” 

The “butler” always had the best words to shut everyone up. Anyway, you were all kind of too stunned to react more to this all thing. After a few minutes, he stopped in front of a room that is very rarely used. One of the guest bedroom and : 

“Wow, when did you do all this ?” 

“As soon as your water broke, I did my best to help you, and settle things here. I was hoping you would go into labor later, hopefully the phone lines would be back on so we could call the Dr. But, this will do. I’m sorry, I had to hurry.” 

The room looked like a hospital room. A bed was made, and everything needed for a baby delivery seemed to be here. This further convinced you into the fact that Alfred was not a human, but a fae of some sort who was to protect Bruce and his loved ones at all cost. He was most definitely magic. How else would he have put all this together so fast ?

“To reassure you on my credentials on the matter once again, I am actually a trained midwife.” 

“You are ??” 

“Like I said, the eventuality of you having to give birth in the Manor could happen. Les- Dr Thompkins and I therefor made a birth plan for you, just in case. I am sorry my dear, for not telling you sooner. I really wished we would’ve avoided this evenuality…Although I had worst scenarios in my mind.” 

“Like…What ?” 

“Well, in one of the emergencies I thought about, Wayne Manor was under attack and we had to go to the safe room and it’s honestly no place to give birth. A storm is alright. Manageable.”

Both you and Bruce were STUNNED. Everyone was. 

Jason shook his head, chuckling to himself and saying something along the line of : “Old man still surprises me even after all these years.” and his siblings agreed. You were even pretty sure you heard a few “holy shit”, which, coming from your kids who didn’t swear often, was quite something. 

“Wait, you’re a trained midwife ? You can’t be a trained midwife so fast, right ? You’re always here as well, when did you train anyway ?” Damian asked, suspicious, as he was thinking of nothing else but your safety. And his little brother’s. 

Alfred cleared his throat a little, before taking that tone of voice, the one he took when he was saying something he found embarrassing : 

“Well um…When it became serious between Master Bruce and Lady (Y/N), I took some classes. Just in case. Evidently, it was the right kind of thinking ahead.” 

Ah. Well, it made sense. After all, Bruce had got his “I always have a plan” thing from the man who ended up raising him. 

“Wait, when it started to get serious ? That was years ago..”

“Yes, I had quite an extensive training, as I said. Once again, sorry I hid this from you all. It was um, in cases of emergencies. Now enough chit chat, we have a baby to deliver !”

Alfred cut all possible questions with this. It wasn’t the time, right now, to wonder about what he did in his free time. They might ask about it later, and maybe he’ll answer. For now, there was a “baby to deliver” !

At those words, you saw how your kids were getting a little panicky. Well. Yes, watching a baby being born wasn’t very glamorous. Watching your MOM give birth ? Yikes. 

“I need all of you to stay calm, and help me run this smoothly.”

Alfred. One of the pillar of this family, the calming force that could soothe all of you in a few words. 

“Alright. Everyone out now, except for Master Bruce, who will assist me. Please Mister Kent, keep the children out, no matter what is heard in this room. Their intervention will only complicate things.”

Clark nodded, and left the room with your kids, who all still looked hella worried about you. Alfred smiled at you, winked, and added, a little mischievously: 

“Plus, let’s not scar the children, today.” 

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

Everything went so fast. 

Alfred was constantly monitoring your temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and the baby’s heart rate. 

And the good news ? Everything was going perfectly fine. 

Bruce had calmed down and listened to every single instruction Alfred was giving him. Reassured that the butler thought of everything, and had the right machines to monitor everything important about you. 

And everything was doing good. Everything was doing good. 

Little Thomas definitely wanted out, and the good thing was that he put himself headfirst, which ensured a smooth delivery. 

Smooth, but given the fact you were at home, not without pain…

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

A few hours later. 

Clark had to stop the kids, a few times, from rushing in the room because of your screams. In the end, it was good, that he came. He hadn’t been able to bring you to a hospital, but his presence was clearly necessary. 

Letting Alfred do his thing was vital, right now. And Clark took his role very seriously. Especially since he was about to become an uncle !! 

Well, again. He already had five little people (although Dick and Jason weren’t so little anymore…) he considered his nephews and niece. But still ! 

Silence was slowly coming back in Wayne Manor, but the door to the room still didn’t open. 

“It’s taking so long !” 

“Calm down Damian, things will be alright. It’s Alfred we’re talking about. And mom. She’s tough, and he clearly knows what he’s doing.” 

Dick was trying to reassure his nervous little brother, but it was clear he was himself rather nervous. Tim added : 

“Child birth can sometimes take days, in some cases. It’s actually rare it’s taking only a few hours, especially for a first kid.” 

Jason gasped, and said : 

“Days ? I don’t think I can handle it. I will fight you !” 

Clark, whom Jason was pointing at, chuckled and said : 

“It’s alright, this is pretty standard. Jon was born after 48 hours of labor.” 

“Well that’s because he’s a born annoyance ! My brother will not be that kind of person !”

Clark didn’t even say anything about the comment Damian said about his son. He knew the two of them were best friends, and that the stress always got the better of your own son. He also found it a little funny that he was already in full blown “protective older brother mode”. 

“Can’t we open the door a little, to make sure everything is fine ?” Duke asked, trying to go pass Clark who didn’t let him through. 

“Boys, calm. No more freakouts. Or I’ll freakout.” 

Cassandra murmured, and there was a dangerous edge to her voice. It definitely told them they should stop blabbering and trying to get into the room. She was about to add something when-

Finally, the door opened, and from inside, they could hear the sound of a baby crying. 

“It’s done. And they’re both ok..” 

Bruce almost crumbled to the floor right there, as the stress of the night was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. But he held tight, holding himself up against the door, as he let the kids peek in. 

“Can we see her ? Is it ok ?” 

“Well, she’s very tired and-”

“It’s ok, it’s ok, come in.” 

Your voice, albeit a little weak, still resounded all the way to them. The baby wasn’t crying anymore. 

The door opened fully, Bruce let the children go through (and Clark, Clark went through too. Meh, after all, he was part of the family) and…

The emotions Dick felt were indescribable. The feelings Jason was overwhelmed with were too strong. The sentiments that filled Tim were intense. The force of the warmth taking hold of Damian, as he looked as his little brother, was immense. A strong fire lit in Cass’ heart, and she knew it would never be extinguishable. The sensation which took hold of Duke’s entire being knew no bounds. 

And Bruce. Bruce’s eyes, as he looked at you and his newborn son in your arms, were filled with unshed tears and love. So much love. 

Clark sniffled at the sight of that little cute baby. And that was it. That was it.

The massive freakout was over. 

And Thomas Wayne II had fallen asleep, probably feeling safe and sound after the most traumatizing time of his life (they often say the day your born is a huge trauma). Probably already feeling the love that surrounded him. 

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

The next few days, as the storm slowly faded away, things went swimmingly good. The phone lines were back on, and a quick call to Dr. Thompkins confirmed the birth happened perfectly fine. 

Little Thomas was healthy, and so were you. 

You had to admit, you rarely got to hold your son, because he was constantly in one of his siblings’ arms, or his dad, or even Alfred. But you were ok with this. You knew, after the stress of his birth, they needed to know he was doing good. 

Plus, those who didn’t hold your son, were doting on you with extra fervor. Making sure you had everything you needed, and that you were resting properly. 

More than once, as Thomas started to cry, one of his sibling snuck into yours and Bruce’s room to take care of him. 

Those first few days, the fact that there was a storm, was honestly a blessing. Because otherwise, they would be most of the time out taking care of crimes in Gotham ! But as the storm went on for a few days, a plan of action was able to be put into place. 

First, it was great that everyone could be here for those first crucial day. Everyone took turn to take care of Thomas. But also, second, it gave you all time to put Bruce’s plans in action. Each night, at least two of your family member would stay home with you, while the others went out. 

For at least a year, there was extra passion into cleaning Gotham’s streets of all crime. Because now…Now they had one more motivation to do so. 

Nobody ever talked about it, but you all more or less vowed to never let Thomas become a night vigilante. He was doomed to, if you couldn’t put Gotham straight before he was of age. So there was even more effort than before, to make the world a safer place. 

Your youngest son came into the world in rather…Special circumstances. For a special boy. And he was loved, so loved. A cherished baby, surrounded by the unconditional love of his family. And oh, before he was even born, he was already so loved. 

The freakout everyone went through the night he was born was proof enough of that..

The end. 

__________________________________________________

Well, I hope you liked this :). As usual, comments and reblogs are more than welcome, and are very motivating and encouraging to write more !! It also alleviate my nervousness of always thinking I write terrible stories hahahaha. Haha for real, I really hope this story did not disappoint you ! See you soon with another story ! 

Just in case, the baby that chose the worst time to decide to be born, is the oneyou can find in all those stories hehe : The Great Mall adventure,Master of Diaper,Shaky steps and bad teaching,Polichinelle,“Go away, you’re confusing my baby”,Wild Child 2 “We want them back”,How do you make babies ?,“Mom got lost again”,The day he understood what Death means,What it means to be a big brother - By Damian Wayne in case you wanna catch up :). 

Synopsis : A story about those few dreaded words : “You’re not my real mom”, said by the batkids, to you, in a the heat of a moment. And the aftermath of it all… 

This has been in my draft for ages. I hope you like it :) : 

my masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives

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DICK 

It happened so fast. In a quick moment of anger. 

A flash, a bang, words said too quickly to truly realize their meaning. 

Dick was frustrated because he felt you didn’t understand him, his point of view. And you were trying to explain to him that it was not okay to…

You know what ? 

You couldn’t even remember what he did. As if whatever it was, it was all wiped out of your memory when he pronounced those bone chilling words. 

You only remembered you were “scolding” him, just like parents do when their child did something he wasn’t supposed to. You rarely told Dick off, even when he would burst into fits of anger. 

You always told him : “When you came into my life, you changed everything. And I love all of you little bird. Not just when you’re joking around and smiling. But also when you get angry, and lash out. You are my son, I love all of you.” 

And you meant it. Often, you or Bruce would take the brunt of his anger, without batting an eye. After all, that child went through a lot. It was totally normal for him to lash out at times. 

He saw his parents died right in front of him. It wasn’t a trauma that would be solved that fast (Bruce was proof of it). “The magic of love” couldn’t simply cure someone who was so deeply hurt. Although it helped, over time. 

Yes. Time. 

It would take time, and support, for Dick to heal. And you were here for it. Here for him. 

But there were times, you had to say something. 

Usually, it was when he was being too reckless. 

Your son could be overzealous, and go too far. And you were so worried about his safety and wellbeing…Very rarely, you’d have to “scold” him. 

And you couldn’t even remember what you were lecturing him about that evening (even if you had an idea it was about being a little more careful). All you remembered was…

“You’re not even my real mom ! You can’t tell me anything !” 

And him turning away from you, crossing his arms and refusing to look your way. Which was good anyway, because you were an instant mess. 

“Ok”, you managed to say, wondering how the hell you were able to get the words out. And then you left. Feeling the tears welling up in your eyes. And your heart slowly breaking. 

Bruce found you two later, both clearly feeling down… 

Dick stayed quiet the entire time they were on patrol, and Bruce instantly knew something was wrong. He wasn’t there during your fight, and he only arrived when you were already gone, surprised that you went to bed so early in the night, and didn’t stay with your son downstairs until it was time for patrol… 

The man didn’t push the boy, waiting for him to open up if he wanted to. And as usual, Dick did finally speak up. In a weak voice, as they were surveying the city from a rooftop, he said :

“I told her she wasn’t my real mom…” 

“Ah.” 

Bruce felt the urge to go back home and console you, knowing that you were certainly a mess, right now. But he had to take care of his boy, too. 

And oh, oh Dick looked so crestfallen and sad as the meaning of his words slowly etched into his mind. 

“I told her she wasn’t-she wasn’t-but she is I just-I-I don’t know why I said that-I…” 

The little one was on the verge of tears, and Bruce understood why. 

He probably understood more than anyone else. 

He told Alfred “You’re not my dad !” more than once, and remembered how even the stoic butler looked, whenever he said it. 

He remembered the hurt in his eyes, the resignation too. The “very well sir”, said in a neutral manner, but the stiff way he’d left the room. 

It took Bruce a while, to finally realize that Alfred WAS his father. That he raised him, most definitely. And was always there for him during the hard times. 

That he even helped and supported him, when he came back after disappearing for years, saying : “I’m going to dress up as a bat and wipe crimes from Gotham”. …How many parents would be that understanding, eh ? 

Alfred knew Bruce. And always tried to do his best for him. So whenever Bruce would yell at him that he “wasn’t his father”, it hurt. 

Bruce knew it. He noticed how Alfred’s entire demeanor would change. He’d see a light go out in his eyes. 

“Very well, sir.”, a small bow, and the stiffness of his body as he left…

And Bruce remembered. 

The guilt and the pain he felt himself, as he regretted ever saying those words. As he knew they were going to hurt, which is why he said them in the first place.

It wasn’t that he wanted to hurt his adopted father, oh no. It was that sometimes he just…He just felt so angry ! Like everything was unfair ! And he missed his parents so much ! 

It was a force stronger than him, he wanted Alfred to leave him alone, and pushed him away…”You’re not my dad !”. So yes. Bruce understood little Dickie. He understood you, too. He knew how you must’ve felt, he saw it enough happening to Alfred. 

Once you’d get home, he would take care of you. But right now, he had to care for his son. 

Right here, on one of Gotham’s rooftop, the scary and mighty Batman slowly kneeled down, and took his boy in his arms, holding him tightly. 

Dick didn’t need more to throw his arms around his father’s shoulders, and hold him strongly too, with all his nine years old strength, sobbing slowly. 

Bruce drew soothing circles on his back, and whispered : 

“It’s ok, it’s going to be ok. It’s ok. Calm down, things are going to be ok.” 

Your husband lost count of the time passing. Were they there, holding each others while Dick was sobbing uncontrollably, for ten minutes, or for ten hours ? He didn’t know. And he didn’t budge.  

His son needed him. Just like once, he needed Alfred… 

Dick fell asleep in his arms, and that night, Bruce came home early. 

Not like he was going to stay out anyway, knowing you were probably devastated, all alone in your room… 

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

Dick fell into a deep sleep, and didn’t budge one bit even as Bruce came down the building, rode home, and put him into bed. 

Bruce’s guess was that all the pent up feelings truly exhausted him. Also, he knew that crying could be tiring. And freeing, in a way. 

Putting the boy’s blanket all the way up to his chin, Bruce laid a kiss on his forehead and then rushed to your shared bedroom… 

You had cried too, but you were not asleep. 

Your eyes were puffy and red, and your cheeks marked with your tears. You seemed surprised, when he came in, and looked at the clock. 

It was only midnight ? 

“Hello, my love.” 

He sat down next to you, and from the way he ran his fingers through your hair, and caressed your cheek, wiping the salty tears from it…You knew he knew.

He knew how devastated you felt. How those simple words that would mean nothing for many, truly wounded you. 

He knew how much you loved that boy, how as soon as your eyes laid on his little face that terrible night he lost his parents, you felt like he was going to be your son one day. 

He knew how much you’d sacrifice for that kid’s happiness, how far you’d go to keep him safe…And so, how hurtful him telling you you weren’t his real mother must’ve felt.  

There was no need for words. 

He knew what to do. He laid next to you, and you just cuddled up to him, letting him wrap you up in his warm embrace. 

He drew those same soothing circles on your back than he did on Dick’s. And whispered : 

“He didn’t mean it. He truly didn’t. He loves you, you know. I love you too.” 

You fell asleep to his words of love and reassurance, finally letting go after hours of not being able to sleep, reenacting the terrible scene in your head over and over again, making yourself feel worst each times. 

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

You woke up around 4 am, with Bruce’s arms wrapped around you.  

He was asleep and escaping his grasp (without Alfred’s help) took you a little bit..but you managed to leave without waking him up. 

He did groan a little at the loss of your warmth, and grabbed your pillow to hold it against his chest. Which was extremely cute, and oh how glad you were to be the only one to see this side of him. 

You went down to the kitchen and… 

Dick was coming from the other door, opposite to the one you took.

The kitchen had three access. Two doors facing each others, and one on the third wall. The door you took was because you got a little lost and did a detour through the drawing room. Dick, however, came from the door you should’ve come from too, which was the one you accessed from the West Wing third corridors, which was directly under your bedroom, and Dick’s. 

The boy probably stood up a little after you, and while you got lost in your own home (again), he took the normal way and…

Boom. Here you both were, arriving in the kitchen at the same time. 

There was a small silence. Awkward. And…

Your heart tightened. 

Dick was sort of cowering backward in fear. Fear of what ? 

Oh. But of course. 

“He didn’t mean it.” 

Bruce whispered to you many times, before you fell asleep. And the way Dick looked at you, worry in his eyes…He was thinking you were mad at him. And the regret in his pupils was as obvious as that fact. 

“Ice cream ?” 

You ask him. His eyes widen a bit, and you can almost see the gears in his brain trying to piece everything together. You’re…not mad at him ? 

Of course you’re not. You felt sad, and lost, and hurt, yes. But never did you feel any hint of anger. Of course not. 

You take out his favorite flavor from the freezer, and settle a bowl in front of one of the high stool around the counter. 

At that time, Dick was so tiny. A very short little bean. And he’d stay small for a long time, only having a sudden spurt when he was around fifteen. 

He climbed onto the stool, and watched you as you gave him some ice cream and a spoon, and then sat down next to him to eat some as well. 

The silent was slowly turning less awkward. 

Slowly, and unsurely, Dick picked his spoon up and looked at you. And completely missed his mouth, the ice cream spreading on his cheek instead. 

You turn around to look at him, ice cream on his cheek, and he’s clearly embarrassed, as a tint of color slowly rises on his face. 

You don’t really know why, but something snaps in you and you start laughing. And laughing. And laughing. 

Because honestly, the kid missing his mouth as he picked his spoon up full of ice cream, is kinda funny right ? And also, all the tension and stress you felt suddenly broke with this simple, silly thing. 

Unsure at first, Dick just looked at you. But your laughter quickly spread to him, and soon enough, you both were bursting out in laughter. 

Anyone not knowing what happened, would probably think you were both crazy, laughing that hard for no apparent reasons. 

Instinctually, you ruffle his hair and Dick gasps. You really weren’t mad at him ?!

You realized what you did, and slowly, both your laughter subsided. There was a small silence as Dick stared at you, and you stared back, and then : 

“I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it !” 

He says in a small voice, and he can’t add anything else as you just pick him up and hold him tight against your heart, and you say : 

“I know.” 

And it’s all he needs to realize you’re not really mad at him, and although he messed up and hurt you, right now, you were both on the path of recovery… 

Next morning, Bruce woke up alone in bed, which greatly distressed him as usual (he often woke up first). But a gut feeling was telling him that…

He found you asleep with Dick in his bed, holding him tightly. 

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

After that event, you sat down with him, so you could have a serious talk about the underlining issue this raised. Talk about something important. 

“Little bird, you know I love you, right ?” 

He nods, but still cannot speak quite yet, doesn’t have the energy to. 

“I want you to understand something. Something vital. Are you listening ?” 

He nods again, his eyes fixed on you. And he’s listening, oh he definitely is. 

“It’s ok to be angry. It’s ok to lash out. It’s ok to not be alright. It’s ok to make mistakes.” 

He nods, a little slower than before, and you can see his eyes slowly becoming wetter and wetter. 

“It’s ok. It really is. I’m here. And I love you. Even when you don’t want me around. Even when you push me away. I’m here. And I always will be. Ok ?” 

He nods one last time, unable to hold his tears, and then his little arms latch around you, and he refuses to let go for well over an hour…

Oh. Sweet, sweet boy. 

Your son. 

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

Even now, at age twenty seven, Dick still often think about this day. And the regrets are as burning as they were back then. 

He often thought about it. 

Whenever you did something for him, went out of your way to make him happy, or were just there for him, always…

He’d have a flashback of this day, and feel nothing but regret and anger at his younger self. 

And then you’d read him like an open book. Know exactly what he was thinking, and would slowly shake your head, and say : “I know I often said that, but I will say it till the day I die if I need to :  when you came into my life, you changed everything. And I love all of you little bird. Not just when you’re joking around and smiling. But also when you get angry, and lash out. You are my son. I love all of you. Even when you’re a little bit of a jerk.” and you’d wink at him, making him chuckle and feel a surge of affection toward you. 

Kind of like the ones you’d feel sometimes. A sudden urge to hug your family, to tell them what they mean to you. Both you and Dick understood since a long time that with the life you all lead, you never knew what could happen, and should never waste a “I love you” if you felt like saying it. 

Well, the apple never fall far from the tree ? 

Yes. Because you were his mom. And nothing would ever change his mind on that. Ever. 

JASON 

“Well Jason, you did it you idiot !” 

He says to himself in the mirror, and oh he could’ve punch himself if it was possible. He took his desk chair, and threw it across his bedroom, letting out a scream of frustration. 

He went to his desk, and threw everything that was on it on the floor. He then went to his book shelves and…

There. Your book. The one you wrote for him. 

Jason fell to his knee, holding his head in his hands, crying softly. 

Yes. Yes he did it…He ruined this one chance life gave him to have parents. 

He hurt one of the person that meant the most to him, one of the person he loved the most…His mom. You. 

Because you were his mom, no matter what he told you, in that moment of anger as you scolded him after he did something dangerous during one of his patrol. 

He hadn’t been allowed to go out for long, by then. And Bruce had already scolded him before for the very same thing, so when you did it too, he had enough and…it happened before he could think about it. 

He was angry, about the lack of trust and about the sermons, and his brain tried to hurt without even thinking about it. Triggered by years of living in the streets, where he had to think quick and act right away, and then suffer the consequences. If he wasn’t fast enough, it could be the end of him… 

A gut reaction triggered by years of being all on his own, having to fend for himself. His brain went into overdrive, “hurt” is what it set into motion. 

“You’re not my mom !” 

And that was it…

As he saw your face fell, and his father’s face turn angry, he knew. He knew he messed up. He messed everything up, as usual !

“Jason !” 

Bruce called, but Jason wasn’t about to stop. He ran out of the cave, right to his bedroom. Oh, oh but if only he stayed a little longer. He’d realize that his father wasn’t angry, just hurt as well. 

Hurt to see the woman he loved being hurt. 

Not angry. Ah but being in pain could sometimes look like you are mad ? And Bruce hadn’t been able to hide his frown as he heard Jason’s words… 

“Let him be, Bruce.” 

You say in a weak voice. You knew Jason, you knew sometimes he needed to cool down on his own. That he could be impulsive, but always came around. 

Ah. But that time, he needed everything but to be alone. 

Because, as he thought he ruined his one chance at having a real family, he thought… 

“Better to leave before they throw me away !” 

He knew he could never bear to face you and Bruce, as you’d certainly tell him you were “un-adopting” him. Jason saw it happened before. Someone thinking their adopted kid was “too much”, and sending them back. 

It was awful, of course. But it happened. For real. And Jason knew that life could really suck…But her couldn’t bear to face you as you’d send him away. 

Worst, what if you just send Alfred and that was it ?

No. Jason would leave before you could do that. He couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t. 

Filling his backpack with some clothes, and snacks, he opened his window and slid down the gutter all the way to the ground, and then ran away into the night. Tears trailing down behind him, as he left behind the one place in which he ever felt safe, warm, and loved. 

In the meantime, you and Bruce were unaware of that, and slowly falling asleep in each others’ arms… As usual, Bruce was there for you. 

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

“Jason ? I thought I wouldn’t see you anymore after you got adopted by dem fancy fellas. Are you here to get some work ?” 

“No.” 

“Really, why did you come then ?” 

“I didn’t, I’m just passing by.” 

“Nah, don’t believe it. Once a bad boy, always a bad boy !” 

“TAKE IT BACK !” 

As he ran away, Jason went back to a place he thought he never would need to. A few intricate alleys, in the Bowery, under the main city. 

The Bowery, a filthy underground neighborhood, hell on Earth for many. Although things did improve when Batman started his work a few years back. 

“Wow there tiger, relax.” 

Jason came in this specific area for only one thing. Retrieve a few items he left behind, thinking he would never need it again because he was leaving behind this life. 

He had a hideout, not far. In which he hid some materials to survive in the streets. He thought he probably had to go back to stealing cars’ tires…Although maybe he should change it. Thinking of what happened last time he did this hurt his heart. 

He knew that next time he’d get caught stealing tires, the person wouldn’t end up adopting him…Anyway, he didn’t want any other parents but you and Bruce. 

And he messed that up so bad, by being so mean to you ! 

“Listen, it’s not because you got all fancy schmancy that you can talk to me like that. Remember who’s boss in this part of town.” 

Batman did a lot of good to the city, but also, by getting rid of some big players in the “crime business”, he allowed small time thugs to climb up the ladders…It felt, at times, like there always was someone to replace whoever Bruce just put behind bars… 

The man who was talking to Jason, used to be a small time criminal. Turned boss, when the Batman kept arresting all the people above him. Jason used to “work” for him, bringing him watches or jewelry that he’d exchange against cash. 

Damn. He never thought he’d ever see him again… Oh and he definitely didn’t think this through. 

As the new boss, who’s name was Johnny Clancy, told him that he’d forever be a “bad boy”, Jason saw red and…getting mad at a crime boss was a bad idea. 

Before he could even think about an escape plan, Jason was surrounded by dangerous armed men. 

“How dare you talk to me like that ? Mmm. The Waynes adopted you right ? Mmm. They’re loaded. Probably would pay a fortune to get you back uh ? And to think they’re gonna give me a lot of cash to get a little runaway brat back haha. Because that’s what you did right ? You ran away ? As you always did before mm ? You know, I observed you Jason Todd. I saw you run away from anyone getting close. I saw you.” 

Jason’s heart didn’t need anyone to push and squiggle the knife he felt in around some more. He had just lost his family. Did he need more reminder that he always fucked up ?! 

“They won’t give you any money, they don’t want me anymore…” 

But Johnny didn’t believe him, of course. He told two of his thugs to grab the boy, but Jason, by instinct, dropped them to the floor with a few well placed kicks and punches. 

And that was enough to unleash Johnny Clancy’s wrath.

See, he was a new boss. He had to assert dominance. And an eight years old kid making a fool of him and his gang ? That wouldn’t go. 

So what if he had to off a child ? Anything to keep climbing up, and leave the Bowery’s slums. 

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

“Have you seen Jason ?” 

Bruce asks you, a few hours after your fight with him. 

“What ? No, I thought he was with you ?”

“No, he skipped his training and I thought he might be with you, apologizing for what he said yesterday ? You know, sounds like something he would do.” 

“I haven’t seen him since, you know. I thought he was avoiding me…” 

“He would never.” 

“Bruce…” 

“He would never, my love. I know what he said hurt you, but I’m sure he’s regretting it right now. You should go see him, he’s probably sulking in his bedroom. I wouldn’t be surprised if you meet him up the stairs as he comes down to say sorry.” 

“Bruce…” 

Your husband comes to you, and takes your hands in his. 

“You know him. He’s impulsive, and a little abrasive sometimes. But he’s a sweet child. And he regrets his bursts, you know it. Tonight was just tough, we both scolded him, he’s not used to it.” 

“You’re right.” 

“Of course I am, I’m-”

“I swear to God if you say “I’m Batman” I’m going to smack you.” 

Bruce smiles softly at you, glad he managed to at least made the tension go away a little. He pecks your lips quickly, and watches you as you leave to go to your son’s bedroom. 

He was about to go down the Batcave, when you came back, panicked : 

“He’s gone ! Jason’s gone !” 

Ah. Bruce knew that placing a tracker in his children’s molars was a good idea. 

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

“HOW HARD IS IT TO CATCH A FUCKING KID ?!” 

Jason runs as fast as he can, without looking back. He managed to break the line of thugs coming at him, and escape in-between to of them who didn’t pull their guns out quite yet. 

They were shooting at him. With no hesitation. 

Johnny was set on proving he was an unscrupulous boss. To earn everyone’s respect. So what if he had to shoot a kid ? It’d send everyone a message. He’d back off from nothing ! 

Jason turned in an alley and…Damn it ! He must’ve taken a wrong turn at some point, it had been a while, since he roamed the Bowery’s alleyways…

He was faced by a wall, stuck. And they quickly caught up to him. 

“Wooouh, you’re fast kid. And you’re sneaky. Too bad you’re such a brat, I bet you could be a nice addition to our-”

Johnny Clancy never finished his sentence. In fact, he never could properly speak after that night. After getting his jaw broken into a thousand pieces by the Batman’s fist. 

Bruce had come down from nowhere, with…you in his arms ?! 

This was the first time Jason saw you wear the costume he saw a few times in the Batcave. He thought you wore it only to go to the JLA’s watchtower, to hide your identity. Not that you could actually…fight ?! 

And wow, you definitely could hold your own ! You made a few disarming pass, taking the guns away from all the men before they could even react, and letting Bruce finish them off with well placed kicks and punches. 

Oh and that night, the Batman unleashed his rage and unforgiveness full force. How dare they touch his son ?! 

You didn’t have anything to envy from your husband either, however, as you worked through Johnny’s gang rather fast too. 

That night, the both of you exterminated (figure of speech, of course, neither of you ever killed, that was the one big rule…but there were never a rule against breaking a few bones) Johnny Clancy’s gang, who dared to even think of hurting your precious son. 

Jason, holding his backpack tight against him, couldn’t believe his eyes. You two came to save him ? But…why ? 

He messed up. You’d surely not want him around anymore ! 

Once Bruce dropped the last man, you rushed to Jason and before he could utter a sound, took him in your arms. 

“Oh my god, I’m so glad you’re safe baby, I’m so glad you’re…” 

Your voice broke at the end, and you chocked, the emotions too strong and squeezing your throat. 

Jason didn’t understand. And through his surprise, he managed to say : 

“I thought-I thought you’d never want to see me again, and that you wouldn’t want to be my mom anymore.” 

You hold him even tighter, as you feel Bruce get down on his knee and bring the both of you in his arms. 

“Oh sweety, never. Never.” 

You say, not letting go. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” 

Your son manage to choke out, before sobbing profusely and holding on to you and Bruce. 

“I’m just glad you’re safe…it’s ok, it’s ok it’s already forgotten…” 

And it was. As soon as you saw that Jason-That your SON, was missing, you forgot he ever told you “you’re not my mom”. You forgot and it truly didn’t matter anymore, as all you cared about was to find him, and make sure he was safe. 

“Jason, oh my little Jason, I’m so glad you’re safe…”

Wether it is a conscious things or not, he returns your embrace fiercely, holding tightly as he looks up at you. It almost feels like he wants to make sure you really are there. And won’t go anywhere. Like everyone else did in his life. 

Jason was tired of losing those close to him. Those he cared about. Sometimes, he’d push them away, by fear of getting attached again just for life to rip them away from him. So he held onto you, as you held him back. 

Tightly against your heart. 

“Mom…” 

This was the day Jason Todd realized something very important : He wasn’t alone anymore. He had parents who loved him, and he loved them back. 

So much. 

And they’d never let him go. Never. 

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

Years later, this love he had for you and Bruce, turned out to be the very reason he became “Red Hood”. 

From that day he told you : “you’re not my real mom !”, he felt like he belonged. Like finally, the people he loved loved him back. Like he was cherished. And then Bruce didn’t avenge him. He let Joker get away. And you let him do it. You, the people he trusted and loved most in the world, betrayed him…

He felt like he wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t worth Bruce breaking his one rule to avenge him. He wasn’t worth it…He didn’t matter enough. 

Jason felt so angry. For years. He wanted to hurt you, to hurt Bruce. To show you what it felt like. What HE felt like. 

But Jason has always been a strong one. You knew it. You told him enough times : “you’re a fighter, my Jason. You went through so much, and always came out of it. You lost a lot on the way my little one, but you never give up. You never give up…” 

You never give up. 

Love. 

It’s what drove him to become the Red Hood. It’s what drove him over the edge. What gave him so much pain. 

Rather, the feeling of not being loved. The thought all you and Bruce said to him, about how much you cared and loved him, was a lie. 

Yes. The thought that you lied about loving him, is what broke him. What made him find every way possible to truly, truly hurt you two.

You never give up. 

He was so angry. But he never could quite give up on his family…that’s why he didn’t stay with the Al’ghuls. That why they didn’t keep him. 

He could never forget you and Bruce. Move on. 

He could never. 

Jason was a strong lad. Strong enough to see past his hate and need of revenge. His pain. His deep trauma. 

It took a while. But the change came from him. He’s the one that gave you another chance. And it allowed him to realize…nothing was a lie.

And you got your son back.

Because you showed him. You showed him nothing was a lie.

When his dad never gave up on him even as he killed more and more people, and even as Jason saw him completely erase people who used to be close from him as soon as they killed once. When you refused to let him go. When Bruce kept going back, even as he knew Jason would fight him and try to hurt him. When you pleaded with him, even when you knew his answer would be the same… 

Jason never gave up. 

But you didn’t either. 

“You’re not my mom”, are words he never meant. Not even once. Not even when he was the “old” Red Hood, the one that killed mercilessly any criminals, and that was trying to be exactly what Batman wasn’t. 

“You’re not my mom”, even at his worst, at a time he suffered greatly, Jason never meant it. He never did. 

And ultimately, it’s this filial love, and the love you and Bruce had for him, that brought him back out of the dark pit the Joker pushed him in…

TIM 

Tim knew that his overly pragmatic mind sometimes could make him sound tactless. That he had trouble, sometimes, expressing himself properly. 

He knew that what he said, although it could be the factual truth, could be perceived as not being very nice… 

He knew, yet sometimes, he couldn’t help himself. 

“But you’re not my mom.” 

He told you that day, as you asked when was the “mother/child day” at school. 

Tim’s school had a day each year, during which every mother would come and do different activities with their kids. You did it with Dick and Jason, and it was always great fun, and amazing bonding time. 

By then, Tim had been with you and Bruce for over a year now. And he did, see you as his mom. However, he was a little too set, at the time, on rules and specifics. In the “mother/child day” rulebook, it “specifically” said that the actual child’s mother had to come, not the nanny or anyone else. 

In Tim’s mind, although he did see you as his mom, he thought the school wouldn’t. For him, the way the rules were written, were clearly stating his birth mother had to come. And the official adoption papers were not processed yet. Those took quite a while. 

He had been living with you for over a year. He called you and Bruce “mom and dad”. He truly considered you two his parents. But the official papers were not done quite yet. So to him, in the eye of the law (be it a silly school rule), you weren’t his mom quite yet. 

So when he said : “but you’re not my mom”, that’s what he meant. Of course, you misunderstood…

How could you guess that Tim was thinking that only his “birth mother” could take him, because officially right now he didn’t have a mom, just “guardians”…

His mother was dead. Has been dead for a while, now. And even if she wasn’t, Tim knew she’d never come at this event…She wasn’t the caring type of mother. Not like you. Which is why it really bummed him out that those rules were so clearly stated like that !

What Tim misunderstood, is that this specific rule had been added to the rulebook because many family would send their nanny, or a big sister, instead of the mom. Because Tim was of course in Gotham’s Academy, full of rich families, in which the moms were very busy…

Which is why such a day existed. Some kids spend quality times with their mom only on this school day. Nowadays, everyone made an effort to come (the fact you appeared, the famed (Y/N) Wayne, a few years back, with Dick, and it made all the papers’ headlines, might’ve influenced others to participate too).

To tell the truth, Tim was very disappointed that you couldn’t go with him, and was considering asking the principle of the school to do an exception to the rule and allow you to go with him.  

He was already fomenting a plan in his head to convince the headmaster to let you come as his mom, and as usual when he was planning things out, he completely disconnected from reality. 

And therefor, didn’t see how your face “closed”, and your eyes turned sad. The boy was typing away on his computer, as if nothing had just happened, as if you didn’t feel your world crumble as he flat out told you you weren’t his mom…

Of course, it was all a misunderstanding. He meant it as “officially”. Not about his actual feelings. 

For some reason, the way he said it so nonchalantly hurts you more than when Dick and Jason yelled at you that you “weren’t their mom”. Because at least, in your eldests’ cases, you knew it was in the heat of the moment. 

That it was because they felt frustrated and sad. 

But Tim just told you : “But you’re not my mom.” matter of factly, and moved on. And it hurt. 

It hurt so much, because that boy…You loved that boy, of course. And considered him your son for sure. Part of your heart, now. Part of your family. And he felt so far, right now…so far… 

You left the room and he didn’t even notice. 

Did he really not see you as his mom ? Was he just calling you “mom” to imitate his brothers ? …You didn’t know, but it hurt. 

It hurt so much. 

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

You found Bruce in his office, doing some paperworks for Wayne Inc. When he saw your face, he immediately smiled, your presence lighting his whole world…But then he saw your expression, and he frowned. 

“What happened ?” 

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

“Mom ? MooOOooom ?” 

Tim had been looking for you for the past hour, but wasn’t able to find you. You weren’t in all your favorite places ! Did you leave the Manor without telling him ? It was unlike you. 

Finally, he found you. You were in a room that was rarely used, but which was conveniently close to Bruce’s office, and had a couch. 

Laying on top of your husband, you were fast asleep as Bruce was going through his paperworks, letting you holding onto his waist as he kept working. 

When he saw the boy come in the room, he smiled at him. And it was hard, not to smile at Tim, seeing his own big wide smile. 

Tim was missing a few teeth, that fell not long ago, and it was absolutely the cutest, when he smiled widely. He looked so happy, eyes sparkly and genuine smile. It felt wrong to Bruce, to think that this sweet boy didn’t see you as his mom…

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding ? Wouldn’t be the first time. Although, Bruce knew how sometimes Tim could be brutally honest, and say the facts in a matter of factly way that could be very harsh on the uninitiated. 

Your son was holding a cardboard sheet almost as big as him, and looked very excited about something. He slowly approached you two, and said, whispering, yet the excitement was clear in his voice : 

“Has she been asleep for long, dad ?!” 

He called Bruce dad. Without an hesitation. And it felt so genuine. Like he was relishing in the word rolling off of his tongue. And it was often the case, with Tim. His parents, when they were still alive, never really noticed his presence… 

And sometimes, it could be even worst to have parents who acted as if you didn’t exist, than caring parents who passed away. Bruce realized this. 

“No, she just closed her eyes.” 

Bruce answers, looking at you. And oh he couldn’t possibly know how soft his expressions as as he gazed at your sleeping face. 

“Oh…” 

Tim was clearly disappointed. His shoulders fell down, and he looked on the floor, looking defeated.

“What is it, champ ?” 

“Well, I wanted her to-Oh ! Mom !” 

The rumbling of your husband’s chest as he spoke is what woke you up. Not the actual sound of their voices, just that low vibrations reverberating in his chest. 

You opened one eye, then the second, and was greeted by your youngest son’s face being very close to you. As Tim saw you were waking up, he kneeled down next to the couch, settling his piece of cardboard next to him, and approached you very closely. 

His smile and sweet expression filled your vision. And you felt even more hurt, as you saw him so happy to see you, to know he didn’t really think you were his mom. 

It was clear he cared for you. And loved you, and being with you. But to him…You weren’t his mom. And that was so painful. 

“I got a plan mom, I got a plan !” 

A…Plan ? For what ? You don’t even have time to ask him, and, still a little hazy as you just woke up from a short nap (that you took after crying exhausted you), you raise a little from your husband. 

You exchange a curious look with him, as you see Tim spring to his feet and get a hold of the piece of cardboard that is almost as tall and large as him. 

He turns it around and…

Your heart drops. 

It’s a lot of very detailed drawings, maps and words about…about…

“This is how we’re going to convince the headmaster of my school that you’re really my mom, even if officially you’re not yet !! I thought we could start with logic first, and then go down the path of pathos if he really doesn’t change his mind !” 

What ? Your brain is trying really hard to comprehend what’s happening, although it is starting to put two and two together. 

“The rules say that the mom HAS to be the one who comes, and the way they wrote it suggest that they wouldn’t accept someone who isn’t yet official. But I think we could convince that, in our heart, we’re already an official family, right ?!” 

Tim looks at you, and then at his dad, a little worry in his eyes (what if for them, he wasn’t their son yet because the paperworks weren’t finished and officials quite yet ?!?!). Bruce cannot help but smile, and nods, feeling his heart melt (a rare occurrence). 

And you. You have exactly the reaction he expected you’d have. You sit up, put the cardboard aside, and drag your son into a tight hug that makes him giggle and exclaim : 

“Hahaha mom wait I can’t breaaaathe !! Mom !!” 

But he hugs you back, knowing that this means yes, you do consider him your son already, paperworks or not, and you will probably follow his plan to convince the school to-

“Mom ? Why are you crying ? Mom ?” 

You can’t explain it to him. You feel silly, but also so emotional and touched. You thought he didn’t think of you as his mom. But he did. Oh he did, and was actually worried about technicalities of rules and…So sweet. That boy is so sweet. 

Carefully, Tim dries your tears, and look curiously at his dad, his eyes clearly asking : “Did I do something wrong ?”

You’re still unable to speak, as you hold onto him, and Bruce ruffles his son’s hair saying : 

“She’s just too happy, champ. She’s just too happy.” 

CASSANDRA

"You, not my mom !” 

She screamed. You never heard Cass raised her voice before. And yet, here, she screamed at you. And then closed her bedroom door right on your nose. 

And you felt it in your heart. That specific pain that you wished you’d never feel again. That kind of hurt you wished you’d never feel ever again. 

It happened just liked it did with Dick and Jason. You were “lecturing” her about putting herself in needless danger, and she felt frustrated at the fact you “didn’t trust her”. 

It wasn’t true of course. You did trust her. And you knew she could hold her own. Didn’t mean you wouldn’t worry, and scold her if she really scared you… 

It was pure instinct. You couldn’t stop yourself from telling them off when you felt they went too far. You did it with Bruce too. 

Once, he threw himself in the way of a bullet to save you, and once he recovered enough…Oh you were so mad at him. 

It’s not that you wanted to take that bullet, of course. You knew it was also instinct that made him move to save you. But in truth, you would rather take a thousand bullet than lose any of them. Bruce, or your children. 

And sometimes, it was hard for them to understand this. To get why you were so worried, when you accepted fully their night activities. 

Why you monitored the batcomputer, if it was to scold them when they put themselves in danger ? 

Ah but they didn’t understand that you only got “mad” when they put themselves in NEEDLESS danger. Pushing themselves too far that one night, being careless with something, ignoring their own safety to finish a task… 

You couldn’t help but be afraid. And your fear turned into you scolding them. And sometimes, on each sides, things boiled and…

“You, not my mom !” 

The meaning was clear. As Cass slammed her door right in your face, you knew not to push it further, not to tell her anything more. 

Maybe you should’ve ? Should’ve open her door, and continue lecturing her so she’d understand her life was valuable ? 

Cass put herself in danger more than any other member of your family, because she was raised as a weapon and thought of herself as an “expendable”. You weren’t mad at her for this, of course not (but oh, David Cain probably should never cross your path, it wasn’t pretty, when you were truly angry). 

You were just worried. And unfortunately, being a parent was complicated and sometimes, your worry turned a little overbearing for your kids. 

This was a mistake every normal caring parents made. Wanting what was best for their children, sometimes not realizing they’re going too far. And you ? Your family wasn’t normal. 

Your children were vigilantes. Your worries were tuned up to the max.  

Being a parent was hard. And sometimes, both you and your kids were frustrated. It happened. In any family. 

It was resolved rather fast, most of the time. A little conversation, understanding and indulgence, and boom. Sorted. 

However, there were times when things would go a little too far. Wether because one of you was tired, or didn’t feel well etc etc…

Tonight, was such a time. 

“You, not my mom !” 

Cass didn’t even register what she said. She was just mad and frustrated, and said the first thing that came into her mind. Her hand slammed the door shut before she could even think about it. 

And here you were. In the corridor. In front of your daughter’s door. 

Hurt. And feeling as devastated as you did when her brothers told you the same thing. You would think, after a few times of this happening, it’d be easier, right ? Well. No. It wasn’t. It really wasn’t. 

As usual in those instances, you went to seek comfort in the arms of your husband. 

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

Cassandra didn’t feel ok. 

In fact, she felt absolutely terrible. 

She couldn’t even remember the last time she felt that bad. 

When she went to look for you and apologize for her behavior, she found you in her dad’s arms, crying, and it made her run away…

She couldn’t face you, knowing she truly hurt you like that. 

The worst thing is, she knew she would hurt you by saying those words. Yet she still did it. It was as if she couldn’t control herself. It was like an ugly force took over her, and made her say those words. 

But she knew. She knew she’s the one who ultimately decided to say them. She’s the one that pronounced them. Under the anger. 

Anger. 

The ugly force. 

She turned around in her bed, holding onto the plush toy you gave her shortly after her arrival. You said “every child should have one” and that this one made you think of her. 

It was a fox with bright colors. And it still smelled like you. 

She was about to fall asleep, when she heard a knock on her door. 

“Can we come in ?” 

It was her older brothers. 

Dick, Jason and Tim. 

It was rare, to have them all in the same place nowadays, what with how busy they all were. Dick with Bludhäven, Jason with the gods only knew what really (the gods, and you and Bruce…but sshhh, that’s a secret), and Tim with college applications. 

So Cass immediately understood that they heard about the fight she had with their mom. 

And she felt a rush of shame come over her. She felt sad too, because maybe they’d be mad at her ?

Cassandra didn’t think she could bear to break your heart, and have her precious brothers mad at her all in the same day. 

She almost told them to leave. But she didn’t have the strength. 

They surrounded her, and their presence was so…soothing. 

And then they spoke. They each told her the story of the time they told their mom those few dreaded words. 

“You’re not my real mom !” 

They told her how awful they felt, and how they knew they hurt their mom. They told her that…well, they did have the best mom ever. 

You never held any grudge. Ever. Especially not against your own family. 

You never even mentioned again the fact they told you this awful thing, you never even mentioned once this, under any circumstances. 

Her brothers stayed with her for hours, talking about their feelings on the matter. Telling her it happened. That everyone wasn’t always on their best behavior…

It was hard, for Cass, to not be “good”. She did so many awful things when her biological father raised her to be a weapon, she felt like she had to catch up so much on those years of “badness”. 

She often felt like she was evil, and could never caught up to everything. Like she was doomed, and could never become good. 

On that, Jason told her she was wrong. That everyone could change, and no one was born truly evil. Environment, and the way you’re raised, matter. And what she did…wasn’t her fault. She was forced to. If she really enjoyed doing this she’d never become a Batgirl. She would never be part of this family. 

She often felt like she was a bad daughter. 

On that, Dick told her she was wrong. He too, felt like a bad son, when he “replaced” his parents with you and Bruce. He too, felt like a bad son when he would get so mad while you would do anything to make him happy. He too, felt like a bad son…on so many occasions. But he grew. And thanks to you mainly, he realized he was just human. Mistakes are human. And it’s not being a bad son, to sometimes feel so hurt that you lash out. That your trauma are so strong, things sometimes are tough. 

She often felt like she couldn’t fit in, and would never fit in. 

On that, Tim told her she was wrong. Him too, felt too different. He already had parents, they were alive, he just wanted to help, he didn’t have any friends…But in this family. In this family, everyone fitted in. Because you made it so. Bruce made it saw. You both accepted any flaws, and differences your kids might have. You loved them unconditionally, they all knew that by now. 

And Cass…Cass didn’t want to hurt you. 

They knew that, too.

It was an accident. In the heat of the moment. She didn’t mean it. Of course, you are her mom. Of course…

It felt good, to have her brothers there for her, when you couldn’t be. 

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

Later that night, after her brothers left, Cass slowly exits her room and take the known way to yours and Bruce’s. 

You are both there, and she knows her dad stayed because you felt bad. He always stayed with you, when you were feeling down. And vice versa.

Cass always told herself that, later, if she ever found a significant other, she’d want her and them to have the same kind of relationships than you. You and Bruce set up a rather high standard for whoever would come into her life. 

But that was another story. For now, she was opening the door slowly, scared of waking you up. But you were awake. 

Bruce was asleep, deeply. As usual when he felt your warmth against him. But you were not. Cass could see you slowly and absentmindedly caress your husband’s hair. It was soothing to both of you. His silky smooth dark hair were soft in between your fingers, and helped you get your mind off of the pain and focus on the sensation, while for him…Well, it put him asleep, when you did that. 

The door creaked a little, and you abruptly turned your head towards it, ready to fight and…You instantly recognize your daughter, even in the dark of the room. 

She doesn’t need to talk. You manage to roll over Bruce, who then by instinct roll too, and therefor you create a little spot for your daughter to climb in bed with you. 

You turn around in Bruce’s arms, and slowly wrap them around your middle, instead of your shoulders. You turn towards Cass, your back against Bruce’s chest, and tap the small spot you managed to create next to you. 

Cass understands, and climbs in, facing you. She lays her head on her arms, as you do the same. And then she mouthes : 

“Sorry mom…” 

And that’s all you needed. You gesture for your daughter to cuddle up close, and she does. By instinct, Bruce lets go one arm off of you, and grabs his kid to bring her closer. He is still asleep, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone that his subconscious holds onto the two most important women in his life like so. 

And there she is. Cass feels safe. And warm. And she hears your heart beat softly. And she knows it partly beats for her. 

And partly for Bruce. And partly for Dick. And partly for Jason. And Tim. And Damian. And Duke. And Alfred. 

It beats for your family. 

For her family.

Family. 

She has a family. 

And you are her mom. 

Her biological father never hugged her, never told her everything was going to be alright, never… 

Cass never felt safe and warm. 

Like she did, right now, held by both you and Bruce. 

“Family…”

She whispers, as she slowly falls asleep. And you’re the only mom she ever wants to have. You are, her real mom. Always have been, always will be. 

DAMIAN 

Damian didn’t really think this was a big deal, at first. 

Just like his father, he often made the mistake to think that people around him will simply understand his true meaning. 

When he told you : “You’re not even my real mom !”, he obviously didn’t mean it. He was angry because you told him he couldn’t go out on patrol for a few days, as he was grounded for skipping school and going to work on cases instead. 

“But school is boring, I already know everything ??” 

“It’s the principle of it, Damian. You can’t just do what you want whenever you want, this is not how it works. I don’t feel like we’re extremely strict parents, so when you betray our trusts like that, it has consequences.”

Bruce kept out of the argument, ready to jump in however if you needed him to affirm  that yes, actions have consequences and although you two are pretty lax with your son on many fronts, he still has to listen. You and Bruce made clear rules when you first adopted Dick, because you realized your lifestyle was anything but normal, but it didn’t mean your children could just do anything they wanted. 

Neither of you wanted them to turn into privileged little brats. Or to think they were above everything. And you were right, by skipping school so much, and lying about it, Damian did betray your trust. 

Understanding actions had consequences was a big step that took a while, with Damian. Unfortunately, he grew up in an environment that indeed taught him he could do whatever he wanted, no matter if he hurt people on the way… 

Unlearning all this, was tough. And you understood that. Which is why you let things go a lot, with him, and only slowly told him about things. Gradually teaching him about your values and principles. 

However sometimes, like in this case, you needed to be firm and strict, because otherwise he’d just keep doing it knowing it had no bad consequences, and you didn’t want him to simply not go to school anymore…School was important for his social development, you realized it as he made friends and…

And simply, an eleven years old kid couldn’t just roam around all day as he saw fit. That’s it. And so here you were, trying to explain this to him. And that’s when he said it. 

He scrunched up his nose like he always did when he was angry, and then, turning his head away from you, throwing his Robin boots at the back of the cave. 

“You can’t tell me what to do, you’re not even my real mom !” 

And then he bolted out of the Batcave, leaving you behind, with a broken heart and feeling guilty…What if he hates you, because you were too harsh on him ? 

Bruce, that night, did not go out on patrol either, and stayed with you. Of course, he did. 

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

The fact he still listened to you and didn’t go out, made him thought you knew he was just angry and didn’t mean a word of it. 

To him, it was so obvious he thought of you as his mom, and that he said this just because he wanted to have the last word, that he honestly didn’t think much of it. 

Sure he was frustrated and angry, just like any kid was when their parents said : “no” to them. But he didn’t mean it… 

He didn’t really see you of the entire day. Finally, he decided to go see his father to ask him what was up. 

“Father ?”

“Yes ?”

“Is-is mom ok ?”

“Well, what do you think ?” 

“She doesn’t seem ok.” 

“Do you know why ?” 

“Did you do something to upset her ?” 

Normally, Bruce would feel vex at this statement. What, did he really do things to upset you that often ? Yes and now. Sometimes,  he would get on your nerve, and vice versa. It happened, in relationships.

But it was never anything major. Not anymore at least. Because now, when he had his “dark days” and could be a total jerk, you knew how to handle him. You knew not to take his bullshit. 

Yes. Normally, Bruce would pout like a child, at the fact his son thought that his mom was feeling down because of him. But not today. No. 

Because he knew that what made you sad, was something important.

Unfortunately, Damian inherited from him his bad habit of thinking others will understand his meaning. 

Like, when he tried to push you away at first so you wouldn’t get involved in his crazy life, what he really wanted was for you to get closer…Or when he told you that he was fine at times, all he wanted was for you to hold him and take care of him etc etc…The first time he told you “I love you”, wasn’t with words, but by not going on patrol one night, to stay with you. And he thought you’d immediately understand that he truly loved you…Truth was, it wasn’t as obvious to you (or anyone really) than it was for him. 

And Damian had the same problem. Doing things that he thought would obviously tell his meaning, his real feelings, when really…No one but him would get it. 

Although you became quite good at deciphering your husband’s true intentions, you could still misinterpret things sometimes. 

And yesterday night, when you grounded your son and tried to teach him a life lesson…You definitely didn’t see that he didn’t mean what he said and just wanted the last word. For you, he was seriously meaning it. And that’s why you were avoiding him a little, because it was too hard to…to… 

Damian’s words truly hurt you. You often were scared he could never see you as his mom (even if he did call you mom now and clearly cared for you) because of how he grew up. You’d never give up on him, of course, but it didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt when he pushed you away or pretended to not care… 

Damian thought it was obvious, that his actions actually reflected how much you meant to him. That without you, he’d be lost and honestly wouldn’t want to live in a world where you weren’t. 

But it wasn’t obvious. 

Bruce sighed, and then smiled : 

“Since when is she acting odd ?” 

“This morning. She didn’t kiss me goodbye when she went to work !”

It felt like such a serious issue to your boy, in that instant, that Bruce wished you were there to see his reaction. You’d instantly know he didn’t mean it, when he said you weren’t his mom… 

But you couldn’t quite face him. You didn’t really avoid him or try to hurt him by not saying goodbye. Of course not, you were an adult, and you definitely knew that doing to others what was done to you is pointless, and mean. And why hurt someone the same way they hurt you ? You’re no better than them uh… 

“Can you think of anything that might’ve upset her ?” 

“I spilled my milk a little, but cleaned it after. I didn’t let Alfred do it like last time. I woke up a minute late, too. Jason hasn’t called in two days, but he was there yesterday afternoon. Dick said she messed up her pumpkin soup but he was just joking and she knows. Tim fell asleep at the breakfast table. You clinging to her this morning apparently made her late, I heard Alfred say it. Um…Cass um…Cass didn’t do anything bad really…None of those things sound like it would upset her though ! She really looked sad this morning, not like herself at all !” 

Bruce couldn’t help but smile. It was pretty cute, how Damian often acted as if he didn’t care about anything, yet no details would ever go past him. Especially not when it came to his family. He always noticed, when one of them felt down in any way, and tried to help (in his own way). 

Hell, he probably woke Tim up and told him to sleep more and take care of himself. Called Jason and told him to call his mom. Scolded Dick to not make this kind of jokes again. 

This was just the Damian that was privy only to them. A sweet child, who unfortunately often had trouble expressing his true feelings. 

Just like his father. 

Damian would often brag about his siblings, and how awesome they were, to his friends (notably to Jon, who didn’t have any siblings). But he’d never tell them right in front of their face. 

Bruce tried to help Damian see what was wrong, and said : 

“What about last night ?” 

“Ugh ? What about last n-OH !” 

Damian replayed the events in his head, and remembered his anger and frustration. But most importantly…What he told his mom. 

“I have to find mom ! Where is she ?!” 

Damian looked absolutely panicked, which was quite unlike him. Bruce answered : 

“She’s at work, she had a meeting with her editor. She should be back soon, though.” 

And on that note, Damian ran out to do god knew what, as Bruce shook his head and…Well, he just knew things would turn out alright. 

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

Alfred almost fainted, when he saw Damian tear off his beautiful flowers from his garden. He almost ran out, and had a very “get off my lawn !” moment…up until he realized that the boy was probably doing this for a reason. 

Oh. Oh his poor lilies.  

Hopefully, this really was for a good reason. A very good one. One so good, that it would stop him from strangling his grandkid, hopefully…

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

When you came home, Damian was waiting for you at the front door. He had a bunch of lilies in his hands (that you were pretty sure were from Alfred’s precious garden) and he looked absolutely frantic. 

He ran to you, almost threw the flowers in your arms, and yelled : 

“I’M SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN IT !! YOU ARE MY REAL MOM ! I WAS JUST ANGRY ! I’M SORRY !!” 

You were a little confused as to why he was yelling, but before you could continue he took a drawing out of his pocket and added : 

“THIS IS A DRAWING OF YOU ! I MADE IT FOR YOU !! YOU ARE MY MOM ! YOU REALLY ARE ! PLEASE FORGIVE ME !! I’M SORRY !! DO NOT BE MAD AT ME !!” 

Still confused as to why he was screaming, you bend down to look at him eye level, settled the flowers on the floor, and said : 

“It’s ok Damian. It’s ok. We all get frustrated sometimes…I won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt, but it’s ok. It happens.” 

Damian’s face showed great relief, and he leaped into your arms, yelling : 

“I LOVE YOU !!” 

You winced as he screamed in your ear, and said : 

“Why are you yelling, little one ?” 

Damian took a step back from you and said : 

“BECAUSE I HAVE TROUBLE EXPRESSING MYSELF AND JASON TOLD ME THAT SAYING THINGS IN AN AGGRESSIVE WAY MIGHT HELP !! AND HE’S RIGHT !! I LOVE YOU !!”

Damian told you he loved you before, in certain moments. When he got really hurt, when you were really hurt, if he felt really sad…It was always a moment full of emotions. And it was still rather hard for him to say the words. 

It didn’t really surprise you that Jason would have such a technique. Yelling his feelings. Yep. Sounds like him alright. And it did seem like it worked for his little brother too. 

Only you and your close family would know, because you were the only ones to truly know him, but those two were more similar than others would think. And it wasn’t because they already

I was just thinking how I love that Bruce, even in canon, is often “selective” with his affection. 

I already wrote about this sort of things, like how I headcanon that he’s a “slow texter” EXCEPT when his kids try to communicate with him (you can read it here : Bruce Wayne is a slow texter). I don’t know, I just really enjoy this aspect of Batman where he appears cold and harsh to many, but then if you’re in his close circle of family/friend he can be an entire other man :). And this is just yet another sort of little scene like this, but involving Batmom this time. I hope you’ll like this very short drabble ^^  : 

________________________________________________

                                               ******

It was his idea. 

Bruce’s. 

Which could be surprising…to anyone who didn’t actually know him.

The real him.  

To his invitation, the Kents came over for a Sunday lunch, something that was rather rare to be honest. There wasn’t many peaceful time for either family. So today, was cherished and appreciated by all. 

And it was his idea. 

Bruce’s. 

Recently, Gotham’s nights had been particularly busy and stressful, and he just wanted his family to relax. To be happy. Letting out all the anxiety they felt, after quite a rough week.  

To have just one normal day.

And it was normal, to invite friends over for lunch. 

If the Bruce from years ago, the one he used to be before you and Dick entered his life, could see himself right now, sitting at a dinner table with his family and with friends, he’d probably think he had died and was now in a rather nice afterlife. 

For years and years, it seemed so unfathomable to him that he would ever be happy again.

And yet. 

Yet, one day, you barged in. And soon after you, Dick followed. 

You gave a new meaning to…Everything. 

To a lot of people, it would feel so surreal to see the Batman invite anyone over to HIS home. Have LUNCH with them. Talk and LAUGH with them. Smile. 

SMILE ???? 

After all, “he was the night”, right ? A vengeful vigilante who would never rest until he cleansed his city, Hell, the World of all evil ? Any means necessary ? 

It wasn’t quite true. Those who knew him, who really knew him,knewthat. 

Sure, he was definitely a “workaholic”. And he would probably not retire before a very long time. And his goal, was still to indeed make Gotham a better and safer place, and by extension, the World, if not the Universe. 

But his motivations changed. Or maybe they were always the same, he just didn’t see it at first ? Yes. Yes maybe that was it. 

For a while, Bruce’s only thoughts and drive was indeed vengeance. But he quickly realized, once he became Batman, and once he adopted Dick and let you in his life, that his actual driving force, was love. 

What made him become Batman, was love for his parents. Was the wish to never let any other child feel what he felt, live the tragedy he lived. It was love for them, but also for you, for his children, for Gotham’s people, for his city…

Love, is what always drove him forward. It just took him a while to realize it. 

Ever since you and Dick entered his life, so many things changed, and everything was meaningful again. And every time a new kid came in, it made more and more sense (even if certain events, like Jason’s death, threatened to shatter it all). 

And his twenty-something self, coming back to Gotham after years of training to bring JUSTICE to his city, and make sure no child would ever be left in a back alley, crying the senseless murder of their parents…Would never believe how happy he would feel again. 

He didn’t need to pretend anymore. His smiles were not fake. And sure, he still had “dark days”, he could still be SUCH A JERK. He wasn’t flawless after all, and he really did try hard to better himself. 

He finally was willing to give himself a second chance at having a family, and being happy. 

Not that every day was a treat. You guys’ life was quite something. There was a lot of pain and misery, in doing what he chose. Even with a supporting family, a loving wife and children. 

But each and everyone of you was willing to take on the burden. No matter what anyone said, you all ended up choosing this life too. 

Because you believed in the same principles. And because…You loved Bruce. 

Love. 

Your driving force. The one making all of you go forward.

Love. 

Which made those peaceful moment of domesticity, where everything almost felt normal, priceless. And though they were rare, none of you would pass on it. 

Not Bruce, not Clark, not you or any of the kids. Certainly not Lois. It gave all of you a sense of normalcy you often thought you could never feel again. 

A sense of belonging, too, oh so precious. 

And here you all were, normal, if for only one day, having a Sunday lunch between family and close friends. 

And that’s when it happened. 

A very silly event, that made you glad nonetheless you were here, you took time to do this. That you had so many people around you, that you loved and that loved you. 

A silly little thing. 

That yet showed that behind all the masks (literal and figurative), costumes and fighting evil mastermind…You all were still human (even Clark, who could never quite get behind Kryptonians’ elitism). 

Yes. Such a mundane moment. Yet it stuck with you all the rest of the day, making you smile when you thought back on it. And maybe it was because it wasso mundane, that it truly meant a lot ? 

It happened during dessert time. Because you knew it was Clark and Jon’s favorite (and though Lois would NEVER admit it, hers too), you baked an apple pie. 

And that…That’s when it happened. 

“AH !” 

Jon gasped loudly, which made everyone look at him, curiosity in their eyes. The boy, seemed absolutely shocked, and was staring at Bruce. Damian glared at him, grumbling :  

“Why the heck did you feel the need to scream in my ear like that ?!” 

Jon grasped his shoulder, and without thinking this wasn’t very polite, he pointed at Bruce, at his plate which had TWO slices of apple pie (he loved your baking) and exclaimed : 

“Your dad !”

“What about my dad ?”

“He’s eating pie !” 

“Yes and ?” 

“I thought you said he didn’t eat pie ! LIER ! HE IS LIKE EVERYONE ! He does eat pie !”

This makes you smile. All of you. 

It probably isn’t as big a deal as little Jon makes it out to be, but at the same time…You understand him. 

After all, him too fell for the : “Batman never smiles” schtick. Even if he did slowly realize he was maybe wrong, as he started more and more to hang out at the Manor, and as he saw that Damian too, wasn’t actually how he liked to portray himself in public…He was so much nicer and unsure of himself !

So. Yes. You’re not really surprised by this reaction. 

And Damian LOVED to boast about his dad, and to say things about him that would sound crazy to others, and make him exceptional. 

You agree, of course. Your husband WAS exceptional. Although the fact he didn’t eat pie didn’t seem like a big issue…Ah but it was for  Superboy, apple pie, in his family, meant a lot. 

It meant a normal day at his grandma. It meant a normal family night. It meant his mom baking it with care, or his dad trying to bake it but not succeeding very well (although the secret ingredient, love, made it edible…So cheesy).

As odd as it could sound, a simple apple pie, to little Jonathan Kent, meant normalcy. And it became an important part of his life exactly for that reason. Which is why he felt so shocked, that night Bruce didn’t even touch his slice. 

Especially since he thought his mother’s pie was the best in the world. 

For now, your son was absolutely outraged at the accusation that he lied, he jumped on his feet, and said loudly, pointing a finger at his friend : 

“I didn’t lie ! Not really ! He only eats my mom’s pie !!” 

And that was all that was needed. Enough to make this day oh so necessary. An innocent little argument, that yet made everything worth it.

Clark almost choked on his pie as he bursted out laughing, while Bruce also almost choked but for obvious different reasons.  

Both Damian and Jon didn’t understand why Bruce went pale, why you looked embarrassed, and why Clark was trying to hold his laughter while Lois insistently elbowed him, while simultaneously not being able to retain her own chuckle. Or why Damian’s older siblings pushed their piece of pie away, looking like something definitely cut their appetite ?!

What was so funny in Batman only eating his wife’s pie ?!

“Adults, amarite ?” their exchanged look seemed to say. 

Oh, to be young and innocent. 

And this. This innocence. Was exactly why, those normal albeit rare days were so important. To all of you. 

This innocence, that made you forget all your troubles. That made you forget about your “night job”, or the responsibility to have powers. 

This innocence, and this kind of normal day, between family and friends…Was often what kept you sane. And the fact that the fearless and fearsome Batman didn’t eat pie, unless it was baked by his wife…Made him all the more human. Gave him an endearing side. 

Showed that well hidden side of care, love, sweetness and…Of the child he used to be before his parents’ died ? Yes. Yes. 

The innocence. And discoveries like this one. 

Just for that, just for that it was worth holding such simple and normal events. 

_______________________________________________

It’s very silly, yes. And short. And maybe too stupid to post ^^’…But I don’t know, I really like Bruce’s “selective affection” (I’m gonna call it that now), and I have a shitty humor ‘k ? Haha. Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed this small slice of life (I kinda wanna write more of those, it takes me literally two minutes to write and it’s fun and allows me to blabber about domestic batfam haha), and see you soon with an actual story:). 

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Animal Instinct

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Reader (Platonic), Dick Grayson x Reader (Established)

Family dinners at the Wayne Manor was not uncommon and since being engaged to Dick, your appearance at his childhood home had only increased, not that anyone was complaining, you were part of the family now.

You always looked forward to family dinner, enjoying the huge number of people that attended, the delicious food and the boisterous atmosphere.

This time you and your fiancé had gotten there early so you were already seated in the dining room when everyone began filing in one by one.

You kept a close eye on the door, in a way that reminded Dick of his eager puppy awaiting for him to come home. When the person you were waiting for stepped in, your face lit up and you snatched up Damian into your lap.

He struggled, trying to push you off him but he was hardly any match for your super strength. You giggled, nuzzling your face against the top of his head. The rest of the family didn’t even react, hiding smiles and chuckling at your dynamic.

“Why must you do this every time, (Y/N)?!” He whined, struggling to get out of your grip and you shrugged.

“I don’t know, I see tiny human, I must cuddle tiny human. It’s like animal instinct.” You explained simply, pecking his cheek quickly and Damian pretended to give up his struggle and slumped against you like you knew he would.

“Are you comparing yourself to an animal?” Came his judgmental tone and you turned to face him with wide eyes.

“Are you implying that animals are beneath humans and it’s therefore humiliating to compare myself to them?” You asked with faux innocence, knowing he’d never bad-mouth an animal.

Damian blushed and avoided your gaze, “No..”

You chuckled at him, “I just love you is all.”

“You should feel lucky, lord knows she doesn’t give me this much attention.” Dick piped up and you stuck your tongue out at him.

Tim shrugged, “It’s compulsory for the youngest of the family to get some (Y/N) lovin’. If you hate it so much, just hope that the next kid bruce adopts is younger than you.”

Bruce grunted at this and you hid a laugh in Damian’s hair.

The baby in your lap huffed as he completely surrendered to you, “The thought makes me sick.”

No one had to ask him if he didn’t like the idea of another sibling or of someone else getting your undivided attention. It was obvious in the way he burrowed his reddening face in your neck.

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