#richard grayson x reader

This was requested by anon and it is long overdue but I really had so much fun writing this request. I chose to write about Disneysea because I just came back from Disneysea with a bunch of my friends and despite the cold, I enjoyed it immensely! So I figured, since the memory is still fresh in mind, I should write about it. Thank you so much for sending this in! 

The first time you had noticed him had been by Triton’s Kingdom’s inner facilities. While your friends had gone to wait in line at the Blowfish Balloon Race, you had opted to wait in line at Sebastian’s Calypso Kitchen because you were hungry, and you did not feel like going round and round on the balloon ride. You had been minding your own business when you suddenly see something from the corner of your eyes so naturally, you turned to look, and it was probably one of the best decisions you have ever made because standing not far from you – by The Sleepy Whale Shoppe – were a group of friends? Family? – you weren’t quite sure – and they looked like they were having a good time.

(Although, out of everyone present in that group, there was only one person that caught your attention).

He was wearing a fitted black shirt with jeans that hugged his derriere very well and the jean jacket he threw on top of his shirt made him look all the more appealing and sexier. Not only that, he was also using a Mickey Mouse headband as well, making him look quite adorable – though when you did a quick scan, you notice that almost everyone in his group had either a headband or a hat.

The first time you had noticed him had been by Triton’s Kingdom’s inner facilities. You had been waiting in line by Sebastian’s Calypso Kitchen when you suddenly see something from the corner of your eyes. So, naturally, you turned to look and it was one of the best decisions you have ever made because standing by The Sleepy Whale Shoppe were a group of friends? Brothers? – you weren’t quite sure – and they were all good looking. Although, out of everyone present in that group, there is this one person who caught your attention.

While you were busy checking him out, you had missed one of his friends nudging him and pointing at you. So, when he turned to look at you, you blush profusely when he caught your eyes and gave you a smile – one that you reckon will probably be in your dreams when you return to your hostel that night. You immediately look away, placing both of your hands on your cheeks. “I am so dumb.” You murmured to yourself, relieved that you would be going up to the counter very soon.

The second time you had noticed him… Well, you had not really notice him at that time for you were too busy trying to build up the courage to take photos with Pluto when one of your friends nudge you. “Y/N, don’t look now but some hottie is definitely checking you out right now.” She whispered, giggling to your side and you probably should have listened to her but when someone tells you to not do something, you have this tendency to do quite the opposite.

So, you looked over your shoulders and almost choked on air when you saw the man from Triton’s Kingdom and this time around, he gave you another dazzling smile and a wave, causing you to flush from his attention. Not wanting to repeat the mistake you had done earlier (when you told your friends about what had happened while you waited for your hotdogs, your friends had given you an earful for not smiling back at him), you shyly lifted a hand to wave back and the smile on his face grew bigger, if possible.

“You should totally go over there and say hi to him, Y/N!” Your friend told you, but you shook your head. Today is really all about having fun with your friends and truth be told, you were just far too shy to go over to where he was casually standing at to ask for his name and number.

Giving him one last look, you turned to look at your friend. “It’s fine – come on, help me take a photo with Pluto, please?” You asked her, handing your phone to your friend and she furrowed her eyebrows at you before she relented, giving you a smile.

“Third time’s the charm, right?”

You had almost dropped your Strawberry flavored popcorn in surprise upon hearing a voice right beside your ear, but you did, however, startle, almost tripping over your own feet in surprise until a warm hand caught you and steadied you. You mumble an apology and turned around. “Oh my God.”

The man from before is standing right beside you and he is better looking upfront and definitely taller than you. You blink a couple of times and flush slightly at the smile on his face. “Sorry about that.” He apologizes and you shake your head, tongue too tied-up now. “My name is Dick and I know this is too forward of me, but we have seen each other quite a lot of times today, haven’t we?”

At this, you had to let out a soft laugh. You did happen to see him a lot today and although you should probably consider the fact that he might have been stalking you as well, you feel flattered that he even bothered talking to you. “Yes, we have. My name is Y/N.”

“So,” Dick looks around and looks back at you, raising one of his eyebrows up. “Why are you alone and not with your… friends? Sisters?” He asks as he moves forward with you.

“My friends are afraid of heights and I really wanted to ride the rollercoaster.” You explain, awkwardly holding on to your popcorn, contemplating if you should offer some to him or not. “What about you?”

Dick rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “My family all went ahead – priority passes – but while we were walking by, I saw you alone so here I am.” He tells you and your jaw drops slightly. Being able to afford priority passes speaks a lot – they are far different than fast lane passes – and the blush on your cheeks darken at what he had just implied. Dick smiles warmly at you. “You don’t mind, do you?” The smile falters slightly when it suddenly occurred to him that you might actually mind.

The first time Dick had seen you, the entire family had been trying to convince Damian and Jason to either get a headband or a character hat because everyone but the two of them got hats and headband and it had actually been Jason that pointed you out to him.

The second time he saw you, he was slightly disappointed that you didn’t even look at him but when he saw how excited you were, waiting for your turn to take a photo with Pluto, Dick could not help but smile so he stayed around the area just for a little bit – which happened to be a good thing because after that, Alfred managed to make everybody come together nicely for a family photo.

So, obviously, when he saw you standing alone and enjoying your popcorn, Dick knew he had to talk to you.

“No, I don’t.” You shake your head, giving him a shy smile and Dick visibly relaxes, a smile returning back on his face. “Would you… Do you want some popcorn? It’s strawberry flavor.” You offer the popcorn to him.

Dick chuckles and nods his head. “Sure, Y/N.”

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 ?

________________________________________________

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​

_________________________________________________

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

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 : 50 years being married..Surely, this calls for a party ? Except of course, said party is planned by your children, who never ask for your permission. And they drag poor young Terry McGinnis (aka “New addition to the family”) along with them… 

This was requested by @legendarylearner18, been a while since I wrote a request haha. Also, first time I write something with Terry in it ! :o I really wasn’t planning on writing this, as I didn’t have time but..Sudden burst of inspiration right before bed. Anyway I hope you’ll like this, comments and/or reblogs are of course, as usual, very appreciated : 

my masterlists :@ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

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

It’s early in the morning, and a warm hand caressing your cheek is slowly taking you away from your deep slumber. 

Too bad. You were having such a pleasant dream. 

Well, more of a souvenir, really. Of a day long ago. A beautiful, beautiful day. 

Full of love, laughter, and maybe a little sibling rivalry…How nice of your subconscious, to recall such time to your mind, and to turn it into dreams. 

That beautiful beautiful day, was it the last one you spend all together ? Yeah. Yeah, you slowly realized, nostalgic and a little sad. 

You were dreaming of a day spent with all of your children, and your Bruce, and Alfred…oh Alfred…

Yes. Yes this was the last day you all spend together, before Alfred’s passing, and before your children were all grown up and so, oh so busy. 

Of course, you still saw them. But it wasn’t like before. It could never be, like before. First because Alfred wasn’t around anymore. And second, because you never quite managed to gather them ALL together again. It was always too difficult, their schedules were so different…

Your pleasant dream was, as you were waking up, fading into a nostalgic feeling. Damn. You missed your kids so much. Getting old sucked. And-

“Morning, my love.” 

Ah. But everything didn’t suck. No. No some things were constant. Like love. Love for your children, of course. But also love for that man…Ah that man. 

Bruce Wayne. 

Your Broosh, the love of your life. Still here, after all this years. 

After all this years ? Those words made you feel like you had to remember som- OH ! 

Of course. This was why he woke you up. Today was special. And he’s never been a patient man. You had to admit that lately, you did sleep in a little too much. Being old sucked…

But him ? Even at 80, he had a hard time getting rid of his old habit of not sleeping lots, and would always be up early, even while it has been a very long time since he last wore the Batman suit. 

Today. Special. Was it really already 50 years ? 

Wow. Fifty years married to that man. 

Your strong, shared love was one of the only thing, you knew it, that got you to go this far. There really were difficult times, along those years. But you two stuck together. Never giving up on one another. 

“Hello, my Heart.” 

A kiss. Soft. Right on your lips. 

“You know what today is ?” 

“Um, Friday ?” 

He chuckles, knowing full well you’re teasing him. And as he looks at you, you’re, for the millionth time, struck by the adoration and love you’re seeing in those eyes. Were those really just for you ? 

Yes. Over fifty years ago, if someone would’ve told you you were going to still be as in love with him as you were then, you weren’t sure you’d believe them. After all, at the time, you sort of lost hope for “true love”, and although your feelings for him were already strong, nobody could’ve guessed you’d go this far together. 

Well, by nobody it really meant you two. Because anyone who ever saw you together knew instantly you were meant for each other. Clark told you that many times. “At first I was shocked he had a wife, and a damn family. But once I saw you together ? It all made sense” he said. And you understood him, for sure the Batman he knew at the beginning was certainly not portraying himself as a family man. 

But Clark, and many others, learned to see past his shell. Although you were the first to do so. And he was the first to teach you what real love was, too. You knew that he could decipher the same love and adoration in your eyes, too. 

It’s emotions you were never able to hide, when it was just you and him. 

And as your eyes lock, you’re once more reminded of how wonderful those past fifty years by his side were (although sometimes rocky), as nostalgia rushes over you when you think about how long ago it was, that you adopted Dick. And how all your children were grown, now. They didn’t need you as much…

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

Tim took care of Wayne Enterprises, and was overbooked all the time. He did come by to see you two though, and would fall asleep at the dinner table…Some things never change ? You did tell him to slow down though. Him too, wasn’t getting any younger, and though he could endure the lack of sleep as a teen, but now ? Mmmm. That boy will always worry you.  

Dick retired from being Nightwing after too many wounds, including one leaving him paralyzed for a while (how fortunate, that Barbara always stuck around him, right ? And oh, how history unfortunately repeats itself sometimes). He was still living in Blüdhaven, and had his own little family now. He was always so busy with so many things, although he did come by too. 

Jason was probably the one who came to see you the most often. He stayed in Gotham, and made quite a nice career out of writing books (like you, which surprised NO ONE given his love for literature). Although it was often a source of tremendous pain for him, your boy (now a man…Well, he’s been a man for decades actually) has never been able to leave it behind. He would visit at least once a week, if not more, and was probably the one making sure to see everyone in the family the most. Not surprising really, family has always been important to your Jaybird. That’s why it was so hard for him to accept, and forgive, the fact Bruce never went after the Joker and killed him. He knew now, though. That was one thing you were glad was in the past. 

Damian left a year ago, on a grand mission. He wanted to reform the League of Assassin. He took up the Batman mantel for a while, but then found a grander calling. If he could achieve his plan, then the League could truly turn into something that could save the World in so many ways. You missed him. Lots. Especially since you knew that it would be a while before he would come back. He warned you about it. You didn’t try to stop him. This was something he needed to do. He wanted to finally put the final touch to his redemption. Unbeknownst to you, your son was going as fast as he could, so he could come back to Gotham. His greatest fear was that you or his father die while he’s not there…You were getting old. 

Cassandra didn’t retire from her vigilante days. She was probably the only one actively still working. Gotham didn’t really need “Bat-people” anymore… Although lately, things took a turn for the worst again. She opened her own ballet school. Your only daughter came by whenever she could, which unfortunately wasn’t as often as you wished. 

Duke was extremely involved in Gotham’s social work life. After what happened to his parents, and finishing his teen years growing up with you, he took a great liking to helping people. In every way he could. He was the one, nowadays, bringing forth charities he thought Wayne Enterprises should support. He also didn’t gave up The Signal mantel, and was often seen around town too. 

Yes. All of them still came to see you and Bruce. But it just wasn’t the same, you know ? Getting old…It really did suck. You just ended up being more and more alone, as your children grew up and went on to have their own lives. 

Oh. Oh you wished you could turn back time if only for a moment. You think you’d go talk to Alfred first. And ask him to help you put together a feast for your entire family…

“A penny for your thoughts ?” 

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

Bruce’s voice brings you back to reality. You shake your head and smile at him. Living in the past was never good, that’s something you definitely learned from growing old with Bruce. 

Ah. Growing old with someone…yeah, it wasn’t all bad. 

Sure, you couldn’t gather up all your babies at once. But he was still there. He was always there. Bruce never left your side, and you his. And yes, growing old with him was honestly not too bad. You never felt lonely, that’s for sure. 

How many people on this earth could say : “I found the one, that person that always knows how to cheer me up, that listens and cares. I found the one, that person who understands me like nobody ever did. I found the one, with whom I can just sit in total silence, and still feel utterly comfortable. I found the one.” ? You knew : not many. 

Finding the one, one real love, love of your life, life entirely spend together. How precious. To never feel alone, because you did find your genuine other half. 

Plus, the existence of people like Diana, or John Constantine and his mystic powers, sort of proved to you there must be something after Death. Everything pointed to it. And you were sure that you’d find everyone there once this was over, and that he would still be here, too. Somehow, you don’t think you’d have to wait for him too long. 

This was maybe a little morbid of you, but you always thought that if Bruce died first, you would follow after quickly. And vice versa. It didn’t feel possible, that one of you could go on living without the other much longer. Especially not now, at your age. 

“A penny for your thoughts ?” 

You didn’t want to tell him you wished all your kids were here, and that Alfred wasn’t gone. You didn’t want to tell him you were feeling suddenly too nostalgic, borderline sad. You knew it would hurt him, too. So you just said : 

“Just that fifty years is a long time, yet I’m still not tired of you waking me up with a kiss.” 

To be fair, you were together for more than fifty years. But you sort of didn’t pay attention at the beginning (and there was that infamous long months you “broke up” and Dick and Clark managed to patch things up with you two), and your wedding day became when you two started to actually count the years. 

He kissed you once more, one of those soft kisses you liked so much, and caressed your sides, slowly lowering his head to your chest and resting it there, right above the beating of your heart. 

As the years went by, both your libido went down. It was all rather biological, really. Most humans lost it, and to be fair right now, at 80 ? Definitely couldn’t do what you used to do…You almost blushed, at your old age, thinking about oh, oh all the things he did to you over the years. 

But the cravings for physical contact ? Hugs ? Kisses ? Just holding hands ? You don’t think this would ever disappear. If Bruce was in the same room than you, it felt weird not to touch him in some way. Whether it was your legs across his. Your head in his lap, his in yours. Or simply sitting shoulders to shoulders… Across those 50 years, the need to be close never died down. 

And so you reveled in him putting his head on you, arms around you, lying down right next to you (there used to be a time, he would lay on top of you, as you always loved how safe it made you feel…but he was a little too heavy for your old bones, now). 

You were running your hand through his hair, a motion that always had a soothing effect on him, as he said : 

“Happy anniversary, my Love. Fifty years by your side went by too quickly.” 

“Happy anniversary to you too, my Heart. Should w-”

BANG, the door to your bedroom opened suddenly. 

“IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS HOUSE ?! HELLOOOOOOO !! Been calling for you guys for ages, guess old age makes you DEAF. Oh no look I knocked but I opened the door at the same time, how does it feel ugh ? Y’all better not…oh god, you really better not, you’re way too damn old for doing the nasty !” 

What ?

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

“Jason.” 

Bruce said simply, as indeed your son was the one who barged in your bedroom. He was wearing one of his infamous shit eating grin, clearly very pleased with himself about his little surprise. 

“Damn you’re old. Once upon a time, you would’ve heard me coming and thrown something at m-HEY !” 

A pillow to the face is what he got. Bruce still had good aim. Jason threw back said pillow to you and Bruce and…

Laughter. 

What else could happen ? 

This scene was very reminiscent of a lot of moments Jason just barged in (eyes close, always, just in case…it was always quite funny, to see him come into your room, no knocking of course, with his eyes close to avoid any further trauma). A definite scene of déjà-vu. This has happened before. 

From the day he came into your life, to now. 

Aaah, this was a nice feeling to have. A sense that yes, some things would never change. Like your son’s laughter, his voice was much deeper yes, but it still had the same tone than when he was younger. 

Imagine that. Forty-five years old, and yet he still acted like such a child sometimes. 

“Always a pleasure to see you son, but what are you doing here ?” 

“Wha-What am I doing here ? What ? You didn’t think we were going to miss the show, did you ?” 

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

You are…so touched. 

So much so, that you’re crying. In fact, you really can’t stop crying, as you hold onto your husband’s shirt and hide your face in it. 

They’re all here. They’re all here ! Well, except for Damian. He was too far of course. He called you just a few days ago, saying he still had so much work. But the rest of your children were here. All of them. 

And in the middle ? Terry. Evidently, he had been dragged out of his home by Dick, and brought here. His hair were still disheveled, and you could see on his face he had no idea what was going on. 

It was almost comical. You were sure that you would laugh about it later, thinking back on the scene. But right now, you were a crying mess as they were (almost) all reunited, for the first time since a very, very long time. 

You were starting to feel better when-

“Mom, where do I put this ?”

A voice you didn’t expect to hear resounded in the living room. You turned around and…There he was, with a cake in his hands. 

“DAMIAN ? WHAAAAT ?!” 

You exclaimed, and you ran to him, forgetting your bad knees and joints, and your cane, as you jumped in his arms. 

“My baby ! My baby, you’re here !” 

Terry wasn’t sure to understand what was going on. He never saw you have such a strong reaction (of course, he rarely saw you interacting with your children…life got in the way of you seeing them way too much). Evidently, you were happy to see that man. 

That man he recognized as one of your sons, Damian. He never met him, but he saw pictures of him all around the house. Damian was the only one of your children he hadn’t met yet, because he left right as Terry started to interact with Bruce. 

“You little rascal, I can’t believe you lied to me !” You screamed, squishing your son in your arms. And it was actually really funny, how he was tall and big like his father yet you almost manhandled him, at your age. 

“Grayson made me !” Damian answered, pointing a finger at his oldest brother. 

“What-Hey ! How dare you put that on me ! -short pause- It was Jason’s idea !”

“…EXCUSE ME ?!” 

It was odd to Terry, to witness all those people, people he admired for year and looked up to…fight like children. 

The mighty Nightwing. The fearsome Red Hood. The kind (Y/N) Wayne. 

He never expected to see them act that way. As if they were kids again. And in a way, when you were around, they were. 

So what if they all were well in their forties now ? They would forever be your babies, as your reaction upon seeing Damian proved it. And this…Was very soothing for Terry. 

It was proof that you were all humans, after all. When he first met Bruce, and talked to him, the man appeared so bitter, cold and harsh. 

But then…Then Terry started to come over the house (well, to the Batcave specifically). And he met you for the first time, as you brought tea and biscuits to him (you weren’t about to give up a habit given to you by Alfred). 

And slowly but surely, over that past year, Terry really got to know you and Bruce. And your children. But just a bit. He would see them pass by quickly, or leave just as he arrived. It was clear you were a tight knit family, but he never realized how tight up until now. 

And how weird it was, to see Jason, right now, grab his brother (Dick) in a chokehold and say : 

“Snitches get stitches !” 

“Why are you attacking me, Damian is the one who-AAARGH MY BACK !”

Jason, knowing of his brother’s old injury, immediately let go…only to be viciously tackled by Dick who said : 

“Can’t believe you always fall for it, you big softie.”

“HEY DO NOT RUFFLE MY HAIR, I’M NOT A CHILD ANYMORE !”

“Not even two minutes together, and you guys can’t even act properly.” Tim sighed, looking at Cass and Duke and…All three of them rolled their eyes, as if they were used to this kind of antics. 

Terry felt strange. A warmth was spreading from his heart to…Every where. The sort of warmth he rarely felt during his short 16 years on this Earth. 

It was carefree, pleasant, and-

He couldn’t help it. He bursted out in a huge fit of laughter, and all of you turned to look at him, curiosity in your eyes. 

“I’m sorry but-HAHAHAHAHA-I-I-HAHAHAHAHA-I always saw you all as such a stoic and serious family this is just-hahahHAhahHAHAHaHAhahah.”

He couldn’t even breathe, because of how much he was laughing and- 

None of you needed more to follow in his laughter. 

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

Damian did lie to you on the phone. He always had the intention of coming back for your anniversary. How could he miss the celebration of fifty years of love ? 

Jason and Dick were the masterminds of it all. They carefully planned everyone’s scheduled months and months in advance, making Tim do an excell spreadsheet so nobody would have an excuse to not come ! 

But of course, they’d all find the time for their family. And it had been so long, since the last time they were all reunited. 

In fact, ever since Alfred was gone, they were pretty sure that-

Ah. But of course. Alfred had always been a good planner. He always managed to get everyone together, and it’s a talent none of you quite inherited…Nobody could be like Alfred. Nobody could fill his shoes. And you weren’t sure anybody wanted the spot anyway. Alfred was one of a kind, and he had to remain so in all of your hearts. 

When he passed away, things really got harder. He was such a pillar in your family. But in the end, and that counted also when you and Bruce would be gone..You’d always make time for one another. 

As your children showed today. And as they showed you by coming by whenever they could. 

You were happy Terry was here too, he became a full time member of your family in your mind, and he reminded you so much of your sons. It was nice, to have a kid around once more… 

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

You’re happy. So happy. 

This was the kind of memory that would last. A core memory.

As you were sitting around the dining table you always used, you took a little time to look up. A metaphorical gesture, because you knew he wasn’t actually in the sky but…You took the time to send some thoughts to Alfred. To thank him, as he was one of the reason you were here today. 

Somehow, you knew that wherever he was, he was always keeping an eye on you all. And you knew he would be so proud. 

Bruce caught your gesture, and took your hand in his, giving it a squeeze that you knew meant : “I love you.” 

You squeezed his hand back, as a response, and turned to your family. 

“Thank you all for being here. Really. This means…So much.” 

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

It was a grand day. 

Full of dramatic retelling of all your best memories.

Silly memories, like that time Bruce lost Dick in a mall and kept yelling “HAVE YOU SEEN MY DICK ?!” to everyone (a classic). That time you and Damian stole an elephant from a circus, because he was mistreated. That time Bruce thought it was a good idea to let Jason, 9 years old, choose what he wanted to eat for dinner and he decided that two full bucket of vanilla ice cream would do…and how he got sick for three days straight (and the subsequent hour long sermon Alfred and you gave Bruce). That time Tim had a science show and his project was so brilliant they thought Bruce and you made it for him, and your outrage when they refused to give him the first place prize ! 

And more serious memories, like that time Duke discovered his powers, freaked out, and thanks to you all managed to calm down. The moments you discovered Jason and Damian were alive (you hit Bruce and Tim on the head saying : “and the moments you guys faked your death I swear I could’ve actually killed you”). The moment Cassandra was so afraid to hurt you guys that she ran away, and you tried to find her, in a downright panic, thinking maybe her father took her back…

Precious memories. Your life, really. And its meaning. 

Terry learned so much, that night. About the “Batfam” (he didn’t even realized yet that he was part of said family now), but also about himself, and about what he wanted in the future. 

This. 

This is what he wanted. A loving family getting along (most of the time at least). That were able to put aside their differences because that’s how much they love each other. 

This. 

A family who would always be there for each other, no matter what. This is what he wanted. 

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

The evening went by so fast. Too fast. Terry got introduced to Bruce’s family (and in a way, his family too). All of them now. He knew all of them. 

And he understood why, sometimes, he would catch you looking at pictures with a fond smile on your lips. It was obvious, even if distance and time kept you away from each other, that this family was all about love. 

The young man felt so welcomed in your family. Even by Damian, of whom he heard (mainly by Tim) that he wasn’t always an easy child (which honestly implied that the rest of them were, and you could say a few words about how : nu-hu, they were all trouble at some point. And you wouldn’t have it any other way). 

“Drake ! What did you tell him about me ?!” 

“The truth Damian. The truth…” 

Tim kept his flare for the dramatic, and the way he said those words just made you laugh. He was always so great, at teasing his little brother. And said little brother always fell for it. Ah but one had to look deeper, to actually understand that this constant teasing between the two of them were only their own love language, and that they’d be lost if their brother would disappear…

Painful memories of when Damian died came to mind, Tim’s reaction was so strong. And when Tim faked his death ? The maddest one was Damian, who never gave up on him and wouldn’t admit his brother was gone without seeing a body. 

This, Terry would learn a little later. Right now, he only saw two adult men bickering over nothing, and he found it very amusing. But one day, one day, he would realize what brotherly love truly is. In big part thanks to Tim and Damian, who were a little closer in age with him (at least, compared to Jason and Dick). 

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

It was already late at night, and time to leave. 

Dick was going to drive Terry back home when-

“What are they doing ?” He asked innocently, looking through the window at you and Bruce standing outside, only lighted by the moonlight. 

“Oh, right. We never did tell you what we came to celebrate. Sorry about that buddy.” Dick said, and continued : “It was their fiftieth wedding anniversary. And they’re about to do one of their little tradition, on such a night…” 

Curious, Terry turned back to look at you and your husband. You were- turning on music ? From an old-what was that ? A “gramophone” right ? Terry never saw one in real life before. And he was sure this type of technology was old even for you two. So why-

The music turned on. They could hear it faintly from the Manor. 

And then…

Then Bruce caught you in his arm, letting go of his cane. And you did the same. You were each other’s support, after all. And slowly, you started to waltz. 

Not as fast as you use to, not as vigorously. But it was beautiful. Terry felt captivated by the spectacle you were giving. Slowly, your children gathered up around him, looking at you two fondly. 

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

Seeing you and Bruce dancing slowly in the moonlight, brought many memories to your children’s mind. Memories that were a little bittersweet, of times that none of you will ever live again, but that none of you regretted. 

DICK

Dick found himself in his eight years’ old body, feeling sad and hopeless, not long after his parents’ death. He just had an argument with Bruce, and became so angry he broke a vase that used to be Bruce’s mother’s…Neither you, nor Bruce or Alfred yelled at him. But Dick couldn’t help feeling guilty as he saw the hurt in Bruce’s eyes, and in yours too. He knew you wanted to help him. He knew. But he was always so angry…So here he was, sat on the floor in his bedroom, knees to his chest, head down. But then…

A song resonated through the manor. It was faint, from his bedroom. And it lighted his curiosity. He followed the sound, and- That’s when he saw you two. You were dancing in the living room. 

It was raining outside, so you didn’t go out that year. But you still had to dance. It was an important tradition. And Dick found himself looking at you two swirling around, smiling at each other. 

The song ended, and Bruce wrapped his arms around you. You rested your head against his shoulder, and you stayed just like that, close to each other. For some reason, Dick felt all warm inside, looking at you two. 

You never knew he was there, that night. And you never knew how much this event meant to your son. That night, a little slither of hope came back in his heart. Because the love he witnessed ? His little eight years old self didn’t quite understood it yet, but he knew it meant something. It meant that everything wasn’t all dark. It meant that, yes, he lost his parents who were his heroes…but he was one of those “lucky ones” that managed to find a new family in which there was just as much love as he used to have. 

JASON 

Jason had a flashback of the first time he came with you to a charity ball. 

He was so awkward and uncomfortable, wearing a suit he really hated. He kept pulling on his bow tie, trying to readjust it and to not make too much of a mess of his clothes because…He was wearing the exact same suit Bruce was. And the man he came to see as his father seemed so comfortable and at ease in that damn suit, that he was trying really hard to imitate him. 

But it was tough. He wasn’t used to that. And he wasn’t used to all eyes constantly being on him, Bruce Wayne’s new son. 

He knew those people saw him as a charity case, although he also knew he wasn’t. No. Bruce and you showed him what true parental love was. So he knew. He knew you didn’t adopt him just because you had pity on him. He didn’t care what they thought. All that mattered what what YOU thought. But yes : This evening, Jason wished he could be somewhere else up until- A song. A song started to play. 

A song he never heard before, but that from that moment up until the end of his life, he will always associate with his parents. And with love. 

It was as if he was in a movie. Maybe his memory of the moment was a little warped, it was, after all, almost 40 years ago. But the way he remembers it, this is how it happened : The song started. You and Bruce immediately went to each others, without concerting. As if you knew, even though you were both talking to different people at different places of the room (charity events were lots of work). It was as if people moved to make a path and lead you to each other. Nobody else was dancing. Just the two of you. You captivated the room. And then the song ended, and it was as if everyone came out of a dream. Was this really what happened, or did Jason romanticized the moment in his mind ? It didn’t matter. Because that’s when he knew. 

And that’s when Jason knew. That’s when he knew he could endure anything, as long as he had both of you there. 

Tim

Tim remembered an evening very much like this one. 

The moon was shining, and he couldn’t sleep. Sleep (at least at night) had never been something easy to come to him. He thought too much. 

Ever since he was a child, nights were just not when he could properly sleep. And so here he was, on the roof that he could access from his room’s balcony, looking at the moon. That’s when he noticed something unusual. 

Bruce was in the garden, probably just home from patrolling. And, you were too ? What were the two of you doing ? Tim had always been a curious boy, so he followed you two discreetly, thinking you didn’t know he was there (but of course Bruce knew all along). 

And then, the strangest thing happened. You turned on an old gramophone (which had sentimental value to both you and Bruce), and a song started. A song which had this peculiar grain to it, due to being played on a gramophone. 

You walked towards Bruce, who was smiling at you. And ah, this was the first time Tim saw him smile like that ! He felt flabbergasted. What was going on ? 

The song went by, and Tim felt things he never felt at ease for what felt like the first time in his life. He had always been a stressed individual. Always felt like he had to be productive, or else ! 

He was always on the move, always had to keep his mind or else his thoughts would consume him. Yet here, hidden in those bushes, basically spying on you dancing…he felt relaxed. 

Peaceful. 

There was a vibe coming off of you and Bruce, that just made him feel like everything was going to be alright. He almost felt like your swirls and such were hypnotizing him but…No. 

It was the serenity radiating from you and your husband that touched him. Tim and Bruce bonded quickly, because they were both always so anxious. You were pretty sure (except for you), nobody understood better your son than Bruce, and vice versa. 

They had the same OCD moments, the same worries, the same need to work constantly. The same disregard for their own safety, and health. They were more alike than anyone seemed to think. 

So maybe this was why your boy felt like that right now ? As if Bruce’s own comfort spread to him ? If even Bruce, who had so many issues, could sometimes let it all go just to dance with his wife in his garden….then surely, he could do, right ? 

Yes. This simple dance gave hope to Tim. And was a good reminder that he could, and would get better. It’s funny, how impactful something in appearance so small can be, right ? 

Tim only talked about the impact it had on him seeing you that night to one person, nobody else. , . Not even to Kon, or Stephanie, nor you. No. Tim only talked about it to Bruce, a few days after the event. 

Your son felt so relaxed, that he fell asleep in the bushes. Of course, Bruce found him, and took him back to bed (and he was so adorable and tiny at the time ! Well, not that he grew too much, out of all your children, Tim definitely never quite hit that growth spurt they all went through). 

Tim guessed that Bruce brought him back when, the next day, he woke up in his bed. And he told him. He told him what he saw, and how he felt. Although he didn’t understand those feelings quite yet. And Bruce ? Bruce help him understand. Because the were more alike than anybody seemed to think.  

Damian 

Damian’s memory  was short, but one of his favorite memory ever. 

He came down one evening, unable to sleep and trying to sneakily get some ice cream from the freezer (Alfred was utterly exasperated whenever he found the locks he kept putting on this damn freezer crack or simply cut…worst thing is, he could never know who was stealing the ice cream, because you all did it). 

And that’s when he saw you and hid father, dancing slowly in the kitchen. He wasn’t even disgusted by the display of affection, more, intrigued. 

“Hey my little buddy, can’t sleep ?” 

You asked casually, your head on your husband’s neck and his face buried in yours. 

“Um, yes. Yes I couldn’t sleep.” 

“Neither could we.” 

And there, came the important memory. The day he realized he loved you and his father so damn much. As if your minds were connected, both you and Bruce took a step away from each other, and you said : 

“Do you want to dance with us ?”

Damian didn’t really know how to react, but he approached and-

“LOOKS LIKE DAMIAN SANDWICH IS BACK ON THE MENU BOYS !”

You grabbed him by the shoulder, and squeezed him between you and Bruce. It made the Dark Knight chuckled, and Damian made a mental note that his dad wasn’t always the same person when around you (or his kids). 

Your son didn’t even remember he should protest, and resist this force hug ! Because he felt so warm, safe and loved all of a sudden. So much so, that the slow swaying you were doing, dancing with him, put him to sleep. 

Bruce carried him to his bed. And that’s it. That’s when Damian realized how strong love could be. 

Cassandra 

Cassandra was lost in the memory of one of her favorite day ever. 

She loved ballet as a child, and kept the hobby up until it became too hard physically to dance…Although you were pretty sure that even know, past forty, she could still do amazing dance moves. 

She liked ballet. She didn’t have to speak and could let her body express her feelings, without hurting anyone. Bruce built her an entire dancing room in the Manor, so she could practice. 

And that was it. Today was one of her biggest recital yet. She was so nervous. But what stressed her the most, was whether you would be there or not. 

You and Bruce were busy. So busy. And honestly, finding free time just to come see her silly dancing ? Meh. Of course, that’s was what she thought. Cass, although many people didn’t realize it, had the bad habit to self-deprecate. This was unfortunately how she was raised, feeling like she was never enough. 

Up until last minute, she didn’t know if you were there or not. She was too afraid to look at the room, and see the empty seats she reserved for you. 

And then, finally, the curtain rose, and she jumped on stage and…

You were there. And Bruce too. Sitting in the front row. Ah ! And her brothers were here too !! They were clapping so much for her, it reminded her of that scene in The Addams Family movie…And it made her radiate. 

She was so happy. And she gave it her all, to make all of you proud. Proud, was a euphemism. Her brothers swarmed her and if you didn’t stop them you were pretty sure they would’ve thrown her into the air like a cheerleader. 

Bruce, of course, was the proudest of them all. And you ? Well, of course. You too. Most of all, you were so happy she found a hobby. Something she loved doing, and that always seemed to take her mind off of her troubles. You told her : 

“I like to dance too. Waltz though, I think I’d be bad at ballet.” 

“Waltz ?” 

“Yes.” You smile at her, and a little shyly, she asks : 

“Show me ?” 

Ah, you were never able to resist that cute little face. And so you nodded, and without even having to ask, Bruce stood up too and..You waltzed. 

Cassandra was mesmerized. Your movements were in perfect synch (which she knew wasn’t that easy to achieve), and you were twirling around so gracefully. Oh, and the looks you exchanged…probably the only time she wasn’t grossed out by your love. 

Waltz, was something she taught her students at the ballet school. Because she realized it helped with coordination, and synchronization. And because…it reminded her of you, and that mere thought always put her in a good mood. 

Duke

Duke couldn’t help but be thrown back to decades ago, when he first came to the manor and came in to see…You and Damian dancing ??

You were waltzing with your son all around the room, and laughing together. He was clearly imitating Bruce, and his impersonation was spot on and made you laugh so much. 

When you noticed Duke, you asked if he wanted to dance, too. Not particularly a waltz, just…Dance. You had a date night with Bruce, and while he was getting ready, you and Damian were making fun of him (as you should, why was he always so long to pamper himself ??). 

Duke joined in, he too, had some wicked Bruce impersonation. “Hey, look at me, I eat my burgers with a knife and fork because I’m so fancy !” and you and Damian were bend forward, laughing too hard. Duke pushed the caricature even further, further and further up until- 

“This is NOT how I sound.” 

Oh oh. That was Bruce. Coming down the stairs adjusting his bow tie, and not looking amused at all. Damn. Duke was afraid he upset him, it’s true that it was quite the impersonation, and he didn’t think The Batman was too kin on humor. 

“This, is how I sounds.” And then, Bruce cleared his throat and said, in a perfect gentleman way, and that smirk you loved so much on his face : 

“May I have this dance, my Love ?” 

And as you took his hand, and Bruce took the lead, Duke remembers thinking, right at that moment : “that’s what true love looks like.” 

It was a flash, an evidence. This was it. True love. Wow. He hoped he could find it one day. 

“Oh ew, here they go again…Come on Duke, let’s go play “Cheese Viking” before they start -gagging sounds- kissing !” 

Not only did Duke discover what it was like, to find your one true love. But this moment also became a bonding moment for him and Damian. The first time he called him “Duke”, and not “Thomas”. And the first time he started to view him as his brother…

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

The song ended, but you didn’t leave your husband’s arms. This was your moment. The one where you would just hold each other, for as long as you wanted. As long as you needed. 

Inside the manor, your children were all smiling. 

This was it. This was what those 50 years represented. 

Love, in its purest form. 

How not to feel touched ? 

Their hearts were filled with the same emotions. They knew it. Because they all lived this before. And they hoped they would live this a lot more times…because a world without their parents ? 

They already lost Alfred. Their parents HAD to live longer. 

Ah, maybe this was why they felt so at ease right now ? 

Whenever they saw them dance, and remembered all those times they saw them dance, it felt like you and Bruce were young again. Like they were children once more. 

And those memories ? They’d make you live forever, if only in their heart. 

The end.

_________________________________________________

Ok here ! Just a short story (compare to usually haha) that I did NOT plan to write (didn’t have time, but I wrote this in an hour right before bed so like, bonus story hehe), but was fun to. Hope you liked it. Don’t hesitate to leave a little comment or(/and) to reblog ! :)

Important to anyone who is surprised about what I wrote about Damian + certain things if you read the comics (especially most recents ones) :

I don’t care about what they did with Damian in some recent Batman Beyond comics. It’s like, literally a renewal of when he first came at Wayne Manor and I hate it. Please. Stop constantly annihilating Damian’s hard earned redemption and making him a villain, to then give him a redemption arc again, and doing this again and again and again it’s getting old…So in my version, he chose to leave the Batman’s mantle behind not to continue Ras’ “legacy”, but to go to the League and deeply reform it so it would become an organization good for the World…right away. He didn’t first try to see if Terry was “worthy” (please, he did basically the same fucking thing when he was ten with all the Robins…………….STOP WRITING STORIES WHERE HE REGRESSES) and never had any intention of following The League of Assassin’s goals. Like, none of that : “oh I changed my mind I’m not a bad guy again now” bullshit. He’s directly not a bad guy, and just has higher/other inspirations.

+ I also changed Dick’s future, because…I didn’t like most of it…mmm…

+ Same for Tim. Sue me.

+ Jason appears almost never and whenever he did I was like : “no” so…Hahahahahahaha.

+ Same for Cass.

+ Duke doesn’t appear at all, but in my world, he does. Because Bruce would never just ignore any of them if he could. ALSO most of those characters don’t exist in that world anyway but you get my point.

+ Ok not gonna lie, the only future I like is Barbara, only because it makes sense that she becomes commissioner. Other than that…MEH.

+ Ok maybe I really like Terry’s character, and his relationship with Bruce, but honestly what they always do to other characters I love in this universe are very meh.

Long story short : in the world of fanfiction, you can just change whatever you hate and pretend it never happened.

I’m a sensitive bitch, I made myself cry when I talked about Alfred because I couldn’t stop thinking about Batman Beyond’s Bruce having to live without him at his sides…Haha. Also. No spoiler but if you ever decide to delve into Neo-Gotham territory, be ready for quite a lot of heartbreak. Not too much in the TV show Batman Beyond, but certain comics ? Oof (SPOILER : I’m still not over Bruce saying goodbye to Terry, my dudes…And especially how it happened and aaaah)

PS : If anyone knows the “Metal Gear Solid” game saga, y’all know why I love Terry McGinnis haha. The MGS are some of my favorite video games EVER, and a major plot point is shared by both those stories hehe…No spoilers for anyone who never watched/read anything with Terry. Highly recommend (both MGS and the animated series + some comics). 

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

__________________________________________________

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 : “(Y/N) Wayne, Gotham’s biggest drug lord ? What will her husband, who works closely with Batman, think ?” said the headline in today’s paper. And you’re not sure if you should be fuming, or bursting out laughing. Oh, oh mother of all misunderstanding. It definitely doesn’t help, that your children think this situation hilarious. 

 As usual comments and reblog are very welcomed, and I hope you like this little story ! :) : 

My masterlists : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

You could see him, there, out the corner of your eye, that infamous smug look on his face. And you were currently trying to ignore him, drinking your coffee and pretending to read a book.

Infuriating. The boy was infuriating. 

And he knew it. 

Dick smirked, knowing indeed full well that you weren’t able to completely ignore him and how he kept staring at you, clearly waiting for you to ask him what was going on. 

But you refused. Stubborn. 

You were not going to play this game. Not today. You woke up on the wrong side of the bed, had a tough day at work waiting ahead of you, and getting annoyed at your son that early in the morning was not on your schedule. 

As if he cared. Little sh*t. 

He knew what he was doing. He’d done this kind of thing a million times ever since he first came into your life, barely eight years old and already too smart for his own good. 

Finally, realizing you weren’t going to react at him obnoxiously looking at you, he says, a hint of mischievousness in his voice : 

“Moooooom” and you know he’s about to tell you something just to mess with you. You hear it in his intonation. This is a “Mooooom” that means : “I’m about to say something that is going to piss you off, and I’m gonna have fun doing it.” 

And so he continues : 

“Are you aware there’s rumors spreading fast that you’re apparently one of Gotham’s most prominent drug lord ?” 

There’s a short silence. You know, the time for you to process what he just said. And then you slowly put your book down. Turn to him, trying to stay as calm as possible (because WTF IS THAT RUMOR ??), and say, the tension in your voice palpable : 

“Excuse me ?!” 

He nods, taking a fake grave expression, showing you the headline of one of Gotham’s most famous newspaper, and answers : 

“Oh yeah. There’s pictures of you going in dark alleys with packages and all. Very sus mom.” 

He knows he successfully just got on your nerve. His condescending tone, his expression that seemed to say : “really mom ? I expected better from you”, and the fact he most definitely was telling that to you JUST to irritate you. 

Yes. Mission : success, as you exclaim : 

“Wh-OH HEY ! You know why I do that !!” 

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

Yes. Of course he knows. Is that going to stop him from getting a rise out of you though ? Hell no. He always thought it was amusing, when you’d get annoyed at him. He LOVED to push all your buttons, and he was probably, amongst your children, the best at it. 

Although, they all had quite a talent to get on your nerves when they wanted to.

Contrary to popular belief, you were far from being a perfect mother. Sometimes, whether on purpose or not, your kids annoyed you. You didn’t have an endless amount of patience. Not every day was rainbows and sunshine, sometimes you weren’t in the mood. 

And your kids ? Well, if only they didn’t have the joyous hobby of purposefully seeking you out when you were in those moods, just to annoy you further (the point was to get you very mad, so you’d evacuate your bad mood, and then you’d feel better…and it worked every time, you’d get incredibly irritated, and then things would just diffuse by themselves). 

Jason

Oh my God JASON. That little…

Jason was a MASTER at annoying you on purpose. He never did that when he was a kid, too afraid you’d send him away if he was too much of a nuisance (a thought that genuinely broke your heart). 

But after he died and came back to life ? After all the hurt he went through, and the resentment that neither you nor Bruce killed the Joker ? Well, even as he slowly came to forgive you, he would sometime get small revenge by being a brat. 

Leaving his dirty close RIGHT NEXT TO THE LAUNDRY BASKET. He’d never fully close drawers or cupboard doors. He’d always put back empty bottles in the fridge. He was the greatest at stealing every single phone charger in the house. He’d tell you that he needed something just after you just went grocery shopping. He’d leave the shower curtain just outside the bath, so that the entire bathroom was a goddamn swamp…Any petty thing you could think of ? He would do. Just to annoy you. 

And it worked. 

Whether he thought it was funny when you got mad, or because he just wanted to act out a little revenge. 

It always worked. 

Damian and Tim 

Damian and Tim worked in a team, to manage to piss you off. They, in fact, perfected their technique so well that it was impossible for you not to get annoyed at them. 

They did it when they were bored, to get a rise out of you, which they found very amusing (as long as you didn’t actually got angry, cause you were scary when angry…but annoyed ? Oh that, that was fun).  

Yes. They were very proficient in the act of “squabbling”. 

Getting into arguments with each others over the most trivial things ever. It had the great tendency to exasperate you. Just the other night, they were taking great pleasure into arguing with each other over who had the most french fries in their plate. They LOVED to argue over literally nothing, because they knew it greatly irked you, which they just found funny. 

Cassandra 

Your daughter was an angel, wasn’t she ? Always so nice, attentive to others, caring…Yeah. Yeah she was all that. But she also wasn’t perfect. And when she was bored, she’d often purposefully get on your nerve so you’d take care of her. 

“Bored.” She’d say repeatedly, and then proceed to sigh every two seconds, right in your ear, up until you paid attention to her. 

Oh, and she always ALWAYS stole your favorite clothes, never to be returned..

Duke 

Duke was insidious in his way to annoy you. There was ONE thing he’d always do, because he thought it was funny to see you and Bruce panic and rush : 

Every time there was an important school event, or somewhere you had to be for him, he’d remind you barely half an hour before said event and pretend like he told you about it ages ago, and you forgot. It was always nerve wracking, to suddenly have to find free time. And it was particularly frustrating, because he would enjoy himself way too much during those times. 

Damn brats. 

So,yes. You weren’t the perfect mother. And although you often felt a pang of guilt when you were annoyed at them, you also were aware this was normal and that you couldn’t always be at your best. 

Especially when they were purposefullygetting on your nerves. 

Like right now, as Dick thought it extremely funny that you were accused by the Gotham Sun (one of the city’s most infamous tabloid newspaper) of being a prominent drug lord ! 

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

Obviously, you were panicking over it. What if this sprout Gotham PD to put their nose in your business ? What if it lead to them discovering the truth about your family of vigilantes ?? Oh, and the fact your eldest son was finding it so amusing didn’t help. 

“You out of all people know why I do that !” 

“I do. But the people of Gotham don’t.” 

His smirk is even wider now, and you’re fuming. How dare he make light of this very important situation ?! Especially since he knew the truth. 

It became a habit, over the years, that during some nights, you would bring food to your family while they’re on duty…You certainly never expected the media to completely misunderstand your totally normal back and forth in dark alleyways late at night ! 

Taking food to them was the only sure way you knew they’d eat (of course, you wouldn’t go out when there was immediate danger in Gotham, just during normal “shifts”). 

Dick was fine with everything. Ever since he was a little boy, he had a great appetite and it was sometimes a wonder to you how he never gained weight. Sure, he worked out a lot, but you also often saw him eat his entire meal, and then eat whatever his siblings didn’t finish…You all called him “the garbage can” when he was eating. He’d literally finish everyone’s plate, no matter what was in it. So bringing him food was easy, anything would do. 

Jason had always been fond of burgers. You know what’s the good thing about burgers ? You can make declinations of it infinitely. Make different kind of patty (meat or veggie), change the kind of bread, the filling etc. That meant that although he always asked for burgers, he often had a diverse food option available to him whenever you’d do your little delivery service. 

Tim was a picky eater, and was the toughest to cook for. Things had to be at a certain temperature or he wouldn’t eat it (he had sensory issues). He didn’t like change, and often ate the same meals, which had to be cooked by you or Alfred, or he just wouldn’t eat it. 

Damian loved your veggie sandwiches, and anything from the falafel place on fifth avenue. He wasn’t a picky eater, as long as there were no meat, he was pretty much good. He always thought your cooking, even the most rudimentary of things, was delicious. 

Cassandra was a huge fan of gyozas, and you would always bring her an assortment of it, whether homemade or not. Shrimps, chicken, pork, veggie…She loved it all, and it was quite impressive how much she could ingest, given her size. 

Duke had fancy tastes. Ever since he came to live with you and Bruce, he’d discover a cuisine he never got to try before…And it stuck with him. What other kid would ask for caviar sandwiches, lobster rolls and other high end salmon for dinner ? It amused you greatly, and honestly, you were glad he found a new passion in food. He even followed gastronomy blogs now. So you’d bring whatever he wanted to him, often using your billionaire status to not rise suspicion in the fact that you’d ask fancy gastronomic restaurants to “take away” their meal. They just took it as another caprice. 

Bruce ? Bruce would take anything you gave him, quite like Dick. However, unlike his son, his children often had to remind him to eat his food, as he had a tendency to get too entranced in his work. Your kids definitely snitched on him, and so, so he wouldn’t make you mad, he took a habit of eating the things you brought him automatically. How many times a thug was taken down by a Batman who had half a sandwich in his mouth ? Probably too many times. 

Yes. You had a little “Batmom’s food delivery” thing going on, driving all around town as your kids and husband were often scattered all over the place, to give them their meals. 

In retrospect, yeah. To anyone outside your family, this probably looked a little shady ! Who saw you ? Oooh this was dangerous. 

If someone noticed you were going in dark alleyways late at night, with packages in your hand, and then would come out without them, it could be dramatic for your family. What if you were actually followed ? And people saw you give the food to your family ? They’d surely discover their identities in no time ! 

This was terrible. And oh you wished your son wasn’t cracking himself up right now, thinking about how people might believe now that his mom was a drug dealer !! 

It true, that it was funny to think about. (Y/N) Wayne, prominent figure in Gotham’s charity scene, wife of the richest man in the city and one of the richest person in the country, often seen as an excellent mother and faithful wife…dealing drugs during her free time ? 

You could see the irony in it all. How this “drug” thing was drastically going against the image you wanted to give the media (a false image of course, because you always appeared “perfect” in public, but in real life, you were often quite a mess. Or, in other words : human). 

Bruce and you carefully crafted your public figure for years, for it to be completely shattered by this rumor… 

It was even worst, that in the headline, they were involving Bruce and his possible reaction to discovering you were supposedly dealing drugs ! For sure he would have to make a public statement, and how to explain your late venture into Gotham’s dangerous streets ? 

Damn the media, and their nosy journalists. Who even noticed you were doing this ?? Who noticed you, in casual close and not even using one of your many fancy cars, at 3 am, roaming the city ?? 

You were going mad, and while you were overthinking everything, your son kept imitating the media and inventing more and more outrageous possible rumors about you (”(Y/N) Wayne, definitely cheating on her husband with Batman”), driving you even madder. 

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

It was infuriating how everyone but you seemed to take the news lightly. 

You were now all around the breakfast table, and the news of that tabloid title quickly spread. Of course it did. Dick made sure the first thing every one saw when coming in the room, was that said newspaper. 

“Mom, are you a drug dealer ?!” Tim exclaimed, fakely shocked, taking an over the top tone. Damian, who was right next to him, added : 

“And you were my role model ! I’m so disappointed…If even you are bad, who can I trust ?!” 

He had a knack for theatrics, and his siblings giggled as he splayed himself on the table, as if he had fallen into great despair. 

“And you dare to lecture me…How ironic.” 

Jason said, shaking his head in a way that was so obnoxious to you. 

“And I thought you were a respectable woman. The disillusion is too grand for me to even fathom it.” 

Duke and his high and mighty way of talking make his siblings burst out in laughter, while you’re boiling inside. How dare they make fun of you in such a serious situation ?? 

“Mom. No chill.” 

Noooo, et tu, Cassandra ? She was clearly enjoying the events too. And if you weren’t so annoyed, you would be touched by how close your kids were. How they had such a great “partner in crime” dynamic, getting along so well. Ah, if only they weren’t ganging up against you right now ! 

“Am I going to have to arrest you ? I do recall you don’t mind handcuffs though…”

Bruce says, smirking (a kind of smile way too similar to Dick’s, that definitely got on your nerve). And you’re pretty sure you just reached a level of annoyance like never before. 

“Ew dad, what the Hell ?! Can you not ? Breaking the mood a little here..” 

If you weren’t so annoyed (and worried), you would’ve definitely taken the perch Bruce was extending to you, and play into it, acting all lovey dovey with him so your children’s want of messing with you would vanish, disgust taking its place instead (followed by them quickly leaving). 

The fact you don’t react though, shows them you’re actually worried and worked up and…they drive the nail into the coffin even further. 

You were their mom. They loved you. Deeply and dearly. But did that stop them from driving you absolutely crazy, and messing with you ? Absolutely not. They knew that this situation was actually nothing serious (rumors about your family were plenty, and they always died down quickly). 

And hey, let’s be honest, you messed with them often too. So let them have their fun a little. Dick continues, taking a pensive voice : 

“Mmm, this could be honestly a problem.” 

And then, all “hell” break loose as they each give a little comment, infuriating you more and more : 

“Yes, what if there is a police warrant to search the Manor ?” 

“Frankly mom, I expected better of you.” 

“Right ? I’m so disappointed. This could be the end of everything for us, all because you weren’t careful enough.” 

“Honestly, we could’ve lived without your food’s delivery anyway.” 

“Moooom, drugs ? Really ?”

“Are you a drug dealer mom ? ARE YOU ?”

“You know what we do to drug dealers right ?” 

“ARE YOU A DRUG DEALER MOM ? TELL US THE TRUTH ? ARE YOU SELLING “OREGANO” IN THE STREETS ?!” 

Oh. Oooh little sh*ts. 

The hyperbolic way they dramatized everything, and how their tone was so condescending and over the top…This was it. 

This was the moment that they got on your never so bad, that everything slowly diffused itself. You know, like how a kettle suddenly goes into hypertension, “screaming” loudly, and then stops when the water is fully boiled ? 

This moment always came, when they purposefully tried to annoy you (which might be their ultimate unconscious goal ? To make you feel better ? Who knows, there was also the very real possibility that they just liked to drive you mad). 

You’d get obviously upset, which amused them. They’d push your  buttons to the max. You’d talk back to them, to their great enjoyment. And then, poof. 

It was over. 

They left, snickering, content that they managed to get the better of you. 

You sighed, frustrated at yourself that they, once again, won. 

And it was over. 

“Every time, huh ?” 

Bruce said, also pretty amused by the way your children could get you to your boiling point in no time (and to be fair, they also drove him crazy on purpose).

“Yeah. Every freaking time.” 

Rumors of you being a drug lord was definitely going to be used by your children to get on your nerves. If only you’ve had had a head’s up ! You turn to your husband, your eyes narrowing at him : 

“You knew, didn’t you ?” 

He acts all innocent, and answers :

“Knew what, exactly ?”

“About that article ? No way you wouldn’t know before it was printed. You know everything.” 

“Do I, now ?” 

“Bruce…”

“What if I knew ? What are you going to do about it ?” 

Oh. Oh your husband too, could be a little sh*t. He definitely knew about it. And didn’t tell you because he knew what your kids would do. He knew they’d notice before you, and use it to mess with you. 

“You know, my heart, you better be careful. You won’t know when, nor where, but one day, I’ll take my revenge.” 

“Mmm, weren’t you the one that told me revenge is a fool’s game ?” 

“Was I ? Can’t recall.”

“You’re getting more suspicious every second, maybe you really are a drug lord, my love.” 

You glare at him, as he wraps his arms around your waist and bring you closer : 

“Just you wait mister Wayne, there’ll be hell to pay.” 

“Mmm, I’m awaiting with great expectations.” 

One last smirk, one last sigh from you, and then you’re kissing. Deeply, and passionately. Because you have a lot of stress and frustration to release. 

But oh, if he thinks a good kiss will make you forget… 

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

You don’t know why you worried so much. 

Or why you let your children get the better of you like that. 

Of course Bruce would’ve had a contingency plan. Of course, he would keep an eye on the only newspaper he didn’t own in Gotham. They had a tendency to spread fake news about your family. And in a way, it did a great disservice to them, because nowadays, less and less people took them seriously. 

Their bias against Bruce Wayne was showing too much. Like that ridiculous time their headline stated : “Bruce Wayne, is he Batman ?” which at the time everyone thought was SO ridiculous ! Nobody could fathom the famous “Brucie Wayne” being this hyper-violent vigilante Batman. Plus, at the time, both of them had been seen at the same place at the same time (thanks to Alfred). In a way, the fact this newspaper, which was owned by none other than Oswald Cobblepot, was always trying to defame your family, made it easier to discredit it. 

It did came close very often to ruining everything though. Fortunately, Bruce always had a plan. 

Like right now. 

There was no point in pretending you guys hadn’t heard of the rumors. In fact, playing dumb right now would only confirm the Gotham Sun (Cobblepot’s newspaper) claim that you were guilty. So Bruce called a press conference, and in a very Bruce way, turned the situation around completely. 

You were reminded, once again, why you loved that man so much. You knew he hated to speak publicly, but unfortunately often was forced to. When it came to you though ? He didn’t find it hard to speak. And he spoke very well. A little scary in a way, how manipulative he could be at times. How he could turn a situation to his advantage, just with his words. 

The fact that the rumor of you being a drug lord came from Oswald Cobblepot’s newspaper made it easy to disband it. 

First, because again, the bias against your family was well known and often made people suspicious of negative things posted about you all. But second, “The Penguin”s shady activities were a well known “secret”, and talking about his “alleged” ties to the narcotic industry in Gotham was enough. 

Oswald Cobblepot was not a liked man. The Waynes though ? Everyone loved you. A little too much at times (it made making any kind of mistakes very scary, because you would risk disappointing a lot of people etc etc). 

Bruce let you speak, and you explained that yes. You were the one going in alleyways with packages…for the homeless of Gotham ! You had no involvement in drugs ! It was actually a well known fact you hated drugs ! After what happened to your family…(everyone loved a good sob story). 

It was true, that when you brought food for your family, you always left some for people in needs. And it was easy to believe, for the people of Gotham. 

They knew your family. They knew how involved the Waynes were in bettering the city. 

And so the story ended, the rumor vanished…Except in your home. 

This thing about you being a “drug lord” just became another way for your children to mess with you, and annoy you to great length. 

Damn brats. 

_________________________________________________

I was thinking about what the Batfam eat when they spend long nights out, and how neither Alfred nor Batmom would actually let them skip a meal and…here we are. I hope you liked this ! Comments and reblogs are always beyond appreciated <3 ! 

Also, I was thinking about how sometimes, my brother and I purposefully annoy our mother (and it works each time) just because we think it’s funny when she gets mad over small things, and whether the Batkids would do it too haha. And I think the answer is : definitely. So I added, last second, a little part about it.

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). 

_______________________________________________

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

_________________________________________________

“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.

__________________________________________________

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​

_________________________________________________

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 : It’s rare. You meddling with your family’s “vigilante activity”. It’s rare. On the contrary, you usually support them, and you understand why they do it. But sometimes…Sometimes, it really gets on your nerves how little they take care of themselves ! And you’re not afraid of telling them, ALL of them. Wether it’s Bruce aka “The idiot” (your idiot), your kids, or even Alfred !  

I had a dream about this, so I had to write it haha. Just a small compliation of ficlets/drabbles (some longer than other) on the same subject that I compiled together, while I still work on a bigger project that I’ll hopefully post soon ;). A bonus fic, if you will. I hope you’ll like it nonetheless ! Comments and reblogs are of course, as usual, always very welcomed :)  : 

My masterlists : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

Bruce

Bruce knew that, when you called him an “idiot”, it was serious.

Your relationship was based on mutual respect, communication, healthy habits and, of course, a lot of love. So you calling him an “idiot”…It meant something.

It meant you were angry with him. And it only happened in one specific situation : When he didn’t properly take care of himself.

Bruce was a man of the extreme. Yes. “Was”. He was more temperate, now. Thanks to you, in a big part. Thanks to his children too. And to the constant love and support you all gave him.

Which sometimes lead to you calling him an idiot.

It was less frequent, nowadays. But at the beginning of your relationship ? Oh boy. The issue often came when he was “off duty”. Home. And when he’d work out up until he couldn’t anymore. And at first, it was source of “fights” between you two.

His work as Batman ? You understood it. You knew he was putting himself, every night, in danger. And why he was doing it. His work as CEO of Wayne Inc ? It was needed. He did so much good with his company. But when he was home. The rare moment of peace. He spend all of it training. And it couldn’t go on.

“I’m not saying to not work out, and you know that ! I’m saying being so intense is completely unsustainable, and you know it ! You’ll end up breaking your body before you’re even forty !!”

Bruce knew. He knew. And the truth was ? A part of him knew he would never be able to be Batman forever. Of course. So his idea was to push himself to his limits, to accomplish his work as fast as possible ! So what, if he sacrificed his body and mind for it ? As long as he achieved his goal : a safer place for children to grow in. So nobody will ever experience what he lived through.

Ah. But you disagreed. In part because you loved him, of course, but also because you believed in his cause. You believe in bringing Gotham back from the chaos it was in. And you were intimately CERTAIN that Bruce would break himself before finishing his goal if he continued like this.

You put things into perspective.

Showed him his self-destructive behavior.

There was a “before” and “after” you, when it came to Bruce’s work out. He still worked out a lot of course, but now, he also had “low intensity” work outs, and did yoga.

Which could sound ridiculous, to people who had a certain idea of the Batman. But it wasn’t.

It was a way of going the farthest in his goals, in his want and need to give Gotham a chance to get better. To give its inhabitants a better future.

Working out, keeping himself in shape (which arguably he did every time he went out as Batman), it was important. But what good would it do if his body couldn’t keep up ? He was, after all, just a man. He would for sure break, if everything was “all work and no play”.

And oh. Oh his life had been just that for so long. Training, training, and more training. Fighting, solving crimes, more fighting. Going home to sleep a few hours, and then go back to train.

It was as if he was a machine, going through life mechanically for the sole purpose of Justice.

And you were right, it wasn’t sustainable. He probably would’ve cracked before finishing his plans. Push himself right into the grave…

And then you came. You called him an idiot, yelled that self-care was important, and didn’t budge on the matter. You showed him he needed to take care of himself, in order to take care of others. You showed him…So much. Love has always been one of Bruce’s strength, no matter what certain people might think of him.

Love was his driving force.

And your love ? Is what made you so adamant he needed to take care of himself. And it changed…so much.

He couldn’t even list everything good it brought him, to finally think of himself. To put himself back in the “Batman” equation, not just as a mean to achieve a goal, but as an actual being. To view himself as a human again.

Bruce’s trauma ran deep. So deep he forgot sometimes he even existed. And there you were, calling him an “idiot” and making big speeches about how he needed to take care of himself.

For his own good. And in a way, for everyone’s good.

There you were, reminding him he had feelings. Grounding him in this world. Reminding him he was a person, with emotions and needs.

Oh and you’d never give up on him. Never. You were always there, reminding him all the good of being alive.

When his parents died, a part of him died too. Bruce thought he could never feel happy again. He buried himself in his work, in order to not feel. And there you were…

“Self-care is important, you idiot !”, simply because he was working too much, pushing his body and mind too much. “Simply” ? Ah. But the self-destructive tendency wasn’t even something he was aware of. This was far from simple. And without you, he might’ve never even realized it.

So. Yes. As silly as it could sound to some, self-care, knowing his limit and not trying to push them (too much), made him a better Batman.

All that thanks to self-care ? Yes. Even heroes, needed to take care of themselves, if they wanted to keep doing what they were doing. Something Bruce never really thought about. Not before you, for sure.

“Self-care is important, you idiot !” you’d yell at him, when he pushed himself too much. When he sacrificed his body and his mind for his cause. When he went too far, and pushed himself to the limits.

It would always happen. You knew it. This is how he was. Sometimes, he had to go to the extremes. And you loved him unconditionally. But hell if you weren’t going to get mad at him, and force him to take care of himself ! Subsequently, you took care of him a lot, too.

And maybe, his form of self-care was to let you be there for him ? Maybe. After all, he often said it best himself : “Life isn’t very long, and a man doesn’t have a lot of great moments. But you’ve given me many. All my best memories are with you.”

Bruce wasn’t the only one who would put taking care of himself as an afterthought, unfortunately for you. Your kids would do that to.

Of course, you’d never call them “idiots”, for many reasons. And to be honest only when he was really putting himself needlessly at risk would you call Bruce that, he just could act like such an idiot sometimes !! Just like you too, everyone could act like idiots at one points…Except your children, they were perfect. Buuuut, sometimes, they really wouldn’t take care of themselves.

And that made you “mad”.

Dick

“Richard, you ought to know that this was too high of a drop, even for you !”

Oooooh snap. You called him “Richard”. You were definitely not too happy with him. And your son knew better than to try and talk during moments such as this.

He had been with you and Bruce for just over two years now, and had recently celebrated his tenth birthday. He’d been calling you “mom” for a while now, and definitely saw you as the best thing that happened to him since he lost his parents. You and Bruce, you saved him.

Which is why he knew why you were calling him “Richard” right now.

See, Dick was one of the only one amongst your kids that always saw through your bluff. He knew, you weren’t angry. You were definitely not happy with him, but it wasn’t anger, that made you call him “Richard” instead of any other affectionate nickname you always gave him.

It was your worry for his safety. And how little he seemed to care, at times, for it.

Dick, amongst every member in your family, was the only one who truly got that. Of course, later on, all his siblings and his dad would understand you cared for them and wanted them to take care of themselves. But Dick ? Dick was the only one who knew you never got angry at them, you were just scared.

Probably a little frustrated too, let’s face it.

But mainly scared. Scared that they would forget to take care of themselves, and as a result, well…Things like what just happened would happen.

Dick, in pursuit of a thug, jumped from a point that he knew was too high, and broke his leg. But in the heat of the moment, all he thought was catching the bad guy. And he did. He caught him. By jumping on him from a little too high, injuring himself in the process.

And you were terrified.

If already, at ten years old, he started to have this kind of behavior…

You couldn’t help but remember a time during which Bruce would push himself too much. Would be more hurt than nowadays. The beginning of your relationship was far from easy, for the both of you. You didn’t want Dick to fall in the same habits.

“You have to be more careful, you know..”

“Yes mom, I know.”

Dick knew. He knew what you felt. He knew how you felt. Because he felt the same too. You and him had a lot in common,. And worrying about others’ wellbeing was one of said point in common. And so Dick knew what it was, to want someone to take care of themselves and watch them not do it.

After all, his dad was the Batman.

He was the only one in the family who ever truly got it. Who ever truly saw you were never angry at them, but scared. Dick knew. He knew.

He smiled at you, already so wise, for such a young kid.

Of course, you had no idea how much he understood how you felt. How much he knew already, that it was important to take care of himself. That self-care was vital. Especially in his line of work. And so you reminded him often.

Like right now, bringing him some food, as he was bed ridden because of his broken leg. You weren’t angry. You were scared. Scared they’d lose themselves.

“Mom ?”

“Yes, honey ?”

“I promise I’ll take more care of myself. So please, don’t be so worried, ok ?”

Wh-What ? Your son was ten. He was only ten. How was it, that he knew exactly what was on your mind ? That he knew what to say ? That he knew-

Ah. You looked at him, and he looked back at you. Giving you the purest smile you’ve ever seen. And you understood. Yes. You did.

You and Dick always had this link between the two of you, this way of understanding each other’s feelings. Mainly because your brain were wired the same on how you perceived life : as long as your loved ones were ok, you were ok. And as a result, you knew how important it was to take care of yourself, too. To be ok, for them.

It wasn’t always easy. And that’s exactly what family was for. So that during the hard times, like right now, as you were scared for your son who broke his leg as a lack of care for himself, together, you could pull through.

“Self-care is important, right ?”

He said, a light of mischievousness in his eyes. And oooh that boy. He’s always been clever. A little too much, maybe. You smiled back, and said :

“Yes it is my little one, yes it is. So please, be more careful…”

It was clear, in those moments, you were never angry at them. But scared. Scared they’d forget to take care of themselves, and get hurt (or worst) in the process.

When Dick started to live on his own, in Blüdhaven, one of the thing he constantly asked himself was : “Would mom be scared for me if I do that ?”, and it was honestly often a motivation to take care of himself. Take some “mental health days” off, so he could recenter himself and take care of his mind. Let his body rest too.

He always understood you. And as a result, of course, your constant remembrance of how important self-care was stuck with him, and will always stick with him.

Jason

Pre-Red Hood

“Jason, baby, you have to be more careful.”

“But did you see mom, did you see how I hit the ball so far that dad couldn’t even catch it ? Did you see it mom ? Did you ? That’d be a homerun right ? Right mom ? Right ?”

“Yes, yes I saw. And it’d be a homerun for sure. But you-“

“And then he ran to get it but I was already half-way around the field. I would’ve finished if I didn’t fall in the roses – I hope Alfred isn’t mad – But like, it was still good right ? Right ?”

“Yes, it was. But Jason, you need to-“

Your son jumped up on his feet, while you were in the middle of taking care of his injuries, which fortunately weren’t too bad. Small scratches there and there. A bruise on his little face. It wasn’t too bad, but it was such a recurrent thing.

“I hit it so far ! I never hit it that far ! Right mom, right ? That was so far ! I think it went to the back of the garden, and Wayne Manor’s garden is big ! Dad didn’t even got to it. Well, because he came to get me out of the roses, but he was so far from it ! Right mom ? I hit the ball super super far ! I bet I hold the record of hitting it the farthest right ? The record in the family ? Dick didn’t hit it that far, did he ? Oh wait, he doesn’t like baseball. Well I’m the one who hit it the most most most most farthest then right ? Right mom ? Right ?”

Yes. It was a recurrent thing.

Jason, often engrossed in what he was doing, wouldn’t pay much attention to his body. To himself, in general. Because even as he was just nine, he often took much more upon himself than such a young child should take on. And he would throw himself body and soul into everything he did. He was a very passionate kid, to say the least.

And he wanted to help. Oh, he wanted to help so much. Because he still thought he didn’t do enough to save his own parents…While they were the ones who failed him.

You see, Jason had to survive most his life. He grew up too fast, taking responsibilities that he should never have taken. His parents were the result of years of Gotham’s neighborhood rotting away in poverty and crime. And there was little hope, for a small child. Yet…Yet he pulled through. And took so much upon himself.

This habit stayed with him. He always wanted to be there for everyone, often to the detriment of himself, whether physically or mentally. He didn’t want to just help out, no, he HAD TO throw his entire being in everything he did.

Ok, in this instance, it wasn’t that deep. Your boy just got really excited playing baseball with his dad, and accidently got hurt in the process as he hit the ball really hard and as he got happy the ball went past Bruce, he ran and…fell right in one of Alfred’s rose garden (he wasn’t looking in front of him, as he waved at you excitedly repeating “did you see this mom ? Did you see ?”). The thorns made quite a number of him.

No wounds were too deep, but there were many of them. However, none tainted Jason’s excitement. And this was one of the core of the problem.

Your son would often get too much into something. And forget to take care of himself. Whether it was because he wanted to save someone, or because he won at a game against his dad…

In that way, he actually resembled Bruce a lot. Both of them had this inside them, this way of getting hyperfocused on something to the detriment of themselves.

“Jason.”

Your solemn voice stopped him as he was again describing what had just happened, and he turned to you, worried he did something wrong.

He was always worried he did something wrong. You quickly reassured him, and added :

“It’s just…You have to be more careful buddy.”

The question in his eyes told you everything. He didn’t even notice, himself, how he could get too caught up in something and sacrifice himself in everyway possible.

Again. This wasn’t that deep. It was just a baseball game, and he wasn’t that hurt. But it represented the root of the problem nonetheless.

“It is important, to take care of yourself, you know ? Self-care is, I would say, one of the most important thing I will ever teach you.”

“Self…care ?”

“Yes. The art of taking care of yourself. And it is, an art. You know, sometimes we have too much on our plate. Too many things are going on. And we need to take a few steps back, a good warm bath, read a good book…Just take care of ourselves. It’s important. It’s so important. I could write essays about how important it is. In fact, I’ll write one for you. Maybe it’ll make more sense. I know you can be a bit cartesian my boy.”

You smiled at him, and he smiled back, naturally.  

You could see Jason didn’t quite understand just yet. But you knew he would. You knew because you’d never stop reminding him how important self-care is. And just like everything Jason did, he started to indeed take care of himself, because he knew it made you and his dad happy..

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

Post-Red Hood

“Are you crazy ?”

“I don’t need your lessons, Dick.”

“Oh yeah ? You sure about that ? Because you almost just died ‘cause you were too engrossed in trying to-“

“I. Don’t. Need. Your. LESSONS !”

Your oldest son stopped himself from saying more. He knew his little brother enough to know it was useless. To know it’d only drive him further away.

Jason had almost died (again) after he chased after a group of thugs, and, too focused on that, didn’t notice a sniper. Or rather, he noticed, but his only goal was to stop the criminals. He didn’t care what happened to him in the process. “Too engrossed in what he was doing”.

“JASON PETER TODD !”

Jason’s blood froze. Oh no. Oh. No. You weren’t happy with him. Clearly.

“Oooh, you’re in troubleeee.”

Jason glared at his oldest brother, Dick, who just said those words. What ? They weren’t children anymore. So his mom was angry, and ? He died and came back to life, so nothing really got to him anymore, and certainly not some silly-

“Exactly what do you think you’re doing ?? You could’ve been killed ! So stupidly too ! You were brought back to us, we can’t watch you go again !”

Oh. Oh he was wrong. As he saw you approached, furious, he felt like a little eight year old child again. Which was an odd feeling, because he was certain he erased everything from that time from his heart, so why would he feel like that right now ?

“Haven’t I told you to take care of yourself ? Didn’t I taught you that ? Forget everything your dad ever taught you if your hatred really makes you do it. But not this, ok ? Not the way he, we, showed you you needed to take care of yourself ? Not, not that…”

Your voice slowly faded away, tears welling up in your eyes.

Jason had come back not so long ago. You and Bruce discovered it was him not so long ago. And he still hadn’t really talked to you. He had a big fight with your husband, you knew. And you understood where his anger came from. But you couldn’t…You couldn’t bear to see him die again !

“Just take care of yourself…hate us all you want, but please…take care of yourself…Don’t let yourself get hurt like that…”

Jason had to leave. He couldn’t handle seeing you like that, but his entire being was still too wrecked deep inside, to go to you and hug you. To comfort you, like you did when he was a child. To talk.

He couldn’t.

He didn’t…He didn’t hate you. And he certainly didn’t hate his dad either. He- He didn’t know who he was anymore.

He had recently reconnected with his siblings (goddamn Dick never was able to mind his business). And Bruce had, of course, ran after him as soon as he understood who the Red Hood really was…But now, now Bruce was giving him space.

And Jason. Jason understood why. He understood. And it tore him apart even more. Oh, it would’ve been so easy, to just hate you and Bruce. But he didn’t. No.

He was hurt. Deeply. And he didn’t understand why Bruce did the thing he did. And why-

He was hurt.

And he wasn’t ready yet to confront you. To just face you. He didn’t want to break again.

And so he left.

In a way, that in itself was an “act of self-care”. Protecting himself from feelings he knew he could not handle just yet. Leaving, so he could regroup. Clear his mind.

Take care of himself.

Everyone had to (re)start somewhere.

Tim

“MOM ! MOOOOM !!”

Damian’s erratic screams pierced you like a knife. That boy rarely succumbed to panic, so if he was calling you so desperately, it meant something grave was up !

You ran towards where his voice was coming, your mind running a thousand different scenarios as to what might’ve happened. You came in the living room your family used the most, and you felt your heart drop.

Right there, near the couch, was Damian, looking as he was about to cry he was sitting down on the floor, with Tim’s head in his lap.

“He just dropped mom, he just dropped !”

Your brain entered “automated pilot” mode as you dismissed all feelings of fear, and went right to your son, to check his vitals and…

“He’s sleeping.”

“Wh-What ?”

Damian was sobbing, scared to death for his brother. Contrary to popular belief, and even if they wouldn’t admit it themselves, Damian and Tim were very close. And so when Tim passed out all of a sudden, he downright panicked, and got extremely scared.  

“He’s sleeping. He’s ok. I bet he “forgot” to sleep again…”

Yes. This wasn’t the first time Tim sort of dropped out of nowhere. He once got dumped by a girlfriend because he fell asleep in a rollercoaster. It wasn’t really too out of character. Reassured, and after making sure he was really just asleep, you went to fetch your husband so he could help you get Tim to bed. As you left you heard Damian say :

“Just you wait, when you wake up, I’ll make you pay for this !”

A soft smile on your lips, you exited the room.

You always worried about your family, of course. Especially given their line of work. But Tim ? Oh, Tim was a CONSTANT worry even when you were right next to him. You didn’t want to be overbearing, so you’d let him do “his thing”. But oh boy…That child had the worst attitude when it came to his own self.

He’d forget to eat, if he was too focus on a project. Or to drink. Or, you know, to sleep. He’d put his needs last, if it meant solving a case. If it meant finishing something.

He was the worst, when it came to self-care. And no matter how much you’d remind him, get mad at him (you, or the rest of the family really), he would always dismiss his need for (what he thought was) a higher purpose. Unlike with your husband, your argument of him not being able to achieve his goal if he dropped first, never quite hit him.

Tim simply didn’t care what happened to him, as long as he got things done. And it was tragic. In multiple ways. First, because it showed how growing up to be invisible to his biological parents truly affected his psyche. Second because it was a source of constant worry for everyone. Third because it really was unhealthy, and he was just sixteen ! Fourth…Well, the list would be infinite, when you think about it.

Tim never taking care of himself was tragic, period.

And moments like this ? Damian panicking, you feeling awful, and him passing out of exhaustion ? Well, it was proof enough of that fact.

Tim woke up in his bedroom, and was greeted by a sight that warmed his heart. Damian was asleep in an armchair, curled up in a little ball. Oh, how far they went, since the first time they met…

His mom and dad were there too, in another armchair. His mom was sleeping, but his dad…

“Hello there chum, feeling better ?”

He nodded, and smiled.

“I’m ok, of course. It was just a little moment of weakness; no worries.”

“Don’t say that to your mom, she’s gonna lose her mind if she hears you say that again after you passed out…again.”

“I know, that’s why I’m telling you. I know you understand.”

“I do. To a certain extend. I do agree with your mom, you know ? It is important to take care of yourself.”

“I am taking care of myself.”

“You passed out on your way to watch a movie with Damian, because you were THAT tired.”

“Good point. But it’s not like, all the time. I just got caught up in…stuffs.”

“I know.”

There’s a small silence. Tim knew Bruce understood him, but he also knew he agreed with you on the self-care part. Which is something he just couldn’t understand. His biological parents never took care of him, like, at all, and it was deep rooted in him that he didn’t really matter. So, you know, it wasn’t such a big deal.

He knew, of course, his family loved him. He knew the extend of your love, you showed it many times. He just didn’t think taking care of himself was that important.

In any case, he was glad you were sleeping at the moment. He definitely didn’t want you to get mad at him right now, he hated it. Not because he was getting yelled at, but because he hated “disappointing” you. So yes. He was glad. And it was heartwarming, that you guys were waiting for him to wake up.

He loved you all so much. Which is why he had to work harder to-

“DRAKE !”

Tim turned his head towards Damian, who was now standing on the armchair, pointing a finger at him.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUUU ?”

For a few seconds, Tim was lost. He looked at his brother, and then at his dad and you, who definitely woke up after Damian’s outburst.

And then Damian started to talk. Talk and talk. To sermon Tim like he never did before.

And it clicked.

It clicked in Tim’s head, that day. After years of you trying to tell him self-care was important, it finally clicked…because of his little brother.

Damian was more than mad, when he woke up. He lectured Tim for hours and hours. And the concern in his voice, in his face, in the very reason he was mad…It told everything Tim needed to know.

He was important to others. He knew it of course. He knew you and Bruce loved him, that he was your beloved son. But for some reason, he always dismissed your self-care words for being “worried parents”. But when Damian put himself in such a state because of Tim lack of self-care ?

Your son understood. Finally. FINALLY. This wasn’t just the worries of parents. This was an actual important thing. Not just for him, but for others, too. He had the same epiphany your husband had, all those years ago.

It just took him a little more time to get through his stubborn thick skull. Oh, and also, it took a loud short ball of nerve showing his utter worry for him, to finally get him to understand.

Finally. Tim understood years of you saying : “self-care is important”, because of the love his little brother held for him…

Cass

“This. Ok.”

She said, showing the wounds you were tended to.

“No Cassandra, no, it’s not ok !”

Your daughter was taken aback by the use of her full name. You only used her full name when you were angry…Or when she thought, you were angry. Usually, you calling her “Cassandra” was a translation of your worries (which granted, could appear as if you were angry).

Dick would tell her you weren’t angry, just worried.

Worried because Cass grew up with people who didn’t care about her, and only ever saw her body as a weapon (resembled Damian in that way). As a result, she viewed her own self as an expandable, and it drove you crazy.

Crazy with worries, and with pain.

Your precious little girl thought of herself as an expandable, while to you, she’d forever be irreplaceable. You hated those who gave her the idea. Hated her so called “father”.

How dare they make such a wonderful woman think she was nothing important. Think her existence was secondary.

“It’s not ok, it’s not.”

You repeated. And it broke your heart, to see your daughter not understanding why you were so upset. You were pretty sure she thought you were upset with her.

“I’m not angry at you…”

You had to reassure her on that, of course. But you couldn’t look at her. You didn’t want to cry, not in front of her. You weren’t sure you could explain to her why…

But you and Cass ? You never needed words, to understand each other. You never needed hours of conversations, long explanations, to know exactly how the other felt.  

You felt her hands softly settle on your cheeks, and she “forced” you to raise your head. For a long moment, she looked deep in your eyes, and you could see she was searching for the answers to her unasked questions.

Did she find it ?

You didn’t know. All you know is that she let you go, after a while. Looked at her wounds. And said :

“Alright. Important.”

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

It’s only ages later, that you realized she understood what you meant, in that moment you called her “Cassandra”. She understood why you were sad, and that it wasn’t her fault.

No. And that was the most important thing.

It wasn’t her fault.

It was a long road, to understanding truly was self-care is. But a long road she was willing to take. Because she knew you would take it with her, too. That you would be there, guiding her, not giving up on her, ever.

That you would be there, looking at her as if she was the most important thing in the world for you (and she was, along with the rest of the family). Giving her a sensation she never felt before.

Was she important ?

If she was, was taking care of herself important ?

A long road. That you’d accompany her on. Everything will be fine. She knew it. One day, one day she’d understand.

Self-care is important.

Damian

Damian was not used to have someone care for his need. So how could he know about “self-care ?”

When trained with the League of Assassins, he was fed, and had a roof over his head. But, he was being trained by the League of Assassins. He had been created for one purpose and one purpose only.

To one day rule the world.

There was no being nurtured, just being lead to be the ultimate survivor and weapon. Nobody ever asked him if he wanted ice-cream, for example, like you were, right now.

“Are you ok, my little buddy ?”

Ah. Another question he never heard before he started to live at Wayne Manor. “Are you ok ?”, oh, how three little words could mean so much.

Damian wasn’t ok. And he wasn’t even sure why. He just felt like everything was…Too much. Sometimes, things were just too much. And he didn’t quite knew why yet (he would discover along the way, get more in phase with his own feelings).

He shook his head, and slowly, you saw his face crumble, and tears gathering in his eyes and you didn’t need more prompting. You entered “mom mode”, an experience Damian only ever lived with you. Which is probably why he genuinely considered you to be his mom.

You sat down beside him, and enveloped him in your arms. And it felt so nice. He didn’t need to give you an explanation, to tell you why he wasn’t feeling well. You were there anyway. And it was nice.

A long time went by, when you finally said :

“You can always talk to me. And if it’s too hard, text me ? Write to me to explain, if you want. You don’t have to of course. But if you feel like it’ll make you feel better, do not hesitate. You will never bother me.”

You will never bother me, you tell him. In such stark contrast with what he was used to. His grandfather constantly reminded him that he was alive only because he let him be. That his life belonged to him, and that if he became too much of a nuisance, he’d-

“It’s ok my little buddy. Go ahead, cry all you need. It’s ok.”

All you need. You said need.

“You know, it’s ok to sometimes take some time, for yourself. It’s important, even.”

There’s a short silence. Damian clings to you, but he slowly calms down.

“You have to take care of yourself. Care for yourself, as much as I care for you.”

Silence again. Damian wasn’t crying anymore, but he wasn’t sure of what to say. Taking care of himself ? He didn’t know how that worked. Where to begin ? What did that entail ?

Taking care of himself, as much as you cared for him ?

Wouldn’t that be too much ? Too self-centered ? Going backward in his redemption, back to thinking he was “the best” and deserved to be put on a pedestal ?

Because you cared for him so much. So much. Like nobody ever cared for him before. Granted, it was easy, as nobody ever did. But you…You were such a great mom.

Damian didn’t want to be self-centered.

“It’s ok to take care of yourself. To have moment of self-care.”

You said, noticing your son didn’t seem convince. And it’s as if you could read his mind, as you added :

“It doesn’t mean you only care about yourself. There IS a difference between self-care and being self-centered.”

Yes. As if you read exactly what was in his mind.

“Damian. You are allowed to take time for yourself. Like right now. With me. It’s self-care. Opening up to someone, letting your emotion run free. It’s a form of self-care. And then, when you feel better, we can go eat all the junk food we can find, and binge watch all your favorite movies. That could also be self-care.”

“Eating ice-cream and movies are…self-care ?”

“Well, in a way, yes. It makes you feel good right ?”

“Right.”

“And relaxed ?”

“Yes, especially when with you.”

“Then it’s self-care. For me, it’s peace of mind. It’s feeling like things will be ok. It’s surrounding myself with those I love. Like you. I love you my little buddy.”

“I love you too…”

He never told anyone he loved them before. Because nobody ever loved him.

Self-care, huh ?

Damian never even knew it existed. He never saw simply doing something he liked, like drawing, as a part of “self-care”. Just like with his dad, you put things into a new perspective.

You made him understand, slowly but surely, what self-care was. And how important it is.

Duke

Duke had the bad habit of pressuring himself too much. He was a rather stress teenage boy, and it made it even worst that he always kept everything inside, like an actual pressure cooker.

He put in his head, early in his life, that he had to succeed at certain things in order for his loved one to be proud of him, and not worry for him. He’d stress over his studies, his future, sometimes he’d simply stress over not knowing what to eat for lunch !

It was simply the way he was, an overthinker to the core.

And he never spoke about it. Never. It wasn’t his style, and it wasn’t what he was used to.

A pressure cooker.

Holding everything cooking up inside, under high pressure.

You knew that. You knew, and it drove you crazy, because you also knew this kind of stress couldn’t just be cured overnight, if it could even be cured.

Duke was an anxious boy, and as a result he often got strung up on things and forgot himself. Forgot his own safety.

You made it your duty, to remind him that he needed to take care of himself. Just like you did with all your children.

But Duke was particular. All your children were different, and they all had to learn to take care of themselves in different ways. For Duke, who also had the added stress of discovering new powers which could turn dangerous if he didn’t learn to use them, it came under the form of a schedule.

Duke like the safety of knowing what was going to happen. Of planning things ahead, which is what made him such a great vigilante (and was closely related to his powers, when you thought about it).

He needed a structure, or his stress would go through the motherfu**ing roof. You discovered that the hard way. You were trying to explain to him he needed to take some self-care moments, to tell him taking care of himself was important…And it really didn’t work. In fact, it had the opposite effect.

He listened to you. He took a day off and…panicked. He hadn’t time to think what he was going to do, how he would use this day productively, how-

It just didn’t occur to him that Duke would react that way. And it was ok. Learning through trials and errors, right ? The next day, you showed him a blank schedule, saying he should try to fit a “self-care day” at least once a month, to start with. And then incorporate one a week, if he could.

And this ? This was reassuring. He could work, with thinking of a schedule. With thinking of specific days, in which it was ok for him to not plan things. He just had to plan that in advance.

For many, it could sound contradictory. But for him, who had this anxiety he had to live with for so long, it wasn’t. If he knew he had that day to relax, to not think of anything. To put everything on a side, and just do his hobbies, hang with his family and friends without worries…Then he could genuinely let go.

It was maybe a little too cerebral for some people. But it’s how Duke worked. The very essence of his meta-human powers showed this was just who he was. Someone who needed to plan ahead. It didn’t mean he couldn’t improvise, oh no, on the contrary, he had quite the talent to improvise. He was a smart boy. But, it meant having a direction to go was reassuring, and nice. And knowing when he could turn this off, was also nice.

To Duke, self-care started with a piece of cardboard. A blank schedule you gave him. And it slowly took meaning from there. Slowly became an actual thing. To finally take its full place in his life.

Duke had his own way, to self-care. His own path. And as he introduced this in his life, he became less stressed, and truly understood what you meant.

Self-care was important.

Self-care was almost vital, in a way ?

It could help you function during days you felt like nothing would go right.

Self-care was important.

Duke had a tough few years, what with losing his parents to the Joker’s laughing poison, and discovering he was a meta-human. And you teaching him self-care ? Showing him the foundation of what it was ?

It helped. It really did.

Not only self-care became a part of his daily routine. But it’s also what made him feel like he had a family again. Because if you, Bruce, those he came to introduce as his siblings, wanted him to take care of himself…It meant you really cared for him. It meant you loved him.

It meant he had a family again.

Alfred

You would FORCE Alfred to take days off.

Out of everyone, he probably the one who took care the least of themselves. And with people like Tim or Bruce in your family, that was saying a LOT.

In a way, it seemed logical. After all, his very position, being a butler, meant everyone else’s need came before his. But in your way, it couldn’t always be like that !

Alfred too, needed time for himself. Needed time for some precious self-care.

And although he was quite a stubborn man, and held his ground in front of the Batman himself…He couldn’t beat your determination. And he had to admit, it was nice, to sometimes lay back.

Everyone needed some self-care days.

YOU !

Just like you’d get mad at them, they’d definitely get mad at you too…

Sometimes, they would say you took care of them TOO MUCH.

Of course, most of the time they wouldn’t complain. They loved being around you. But they loved you being healthy even more. And so the “you time” came in. “Me time”, for you. Every now and then, you’d have moments of pure self-care. All on your own. Which was…nice.

You loved your family, but those moments of calm wanted “loneliness” were good. It was part of your self-care. The other part was…To let yourself be utterly pampered by them.

By your Broosh. By your children. By Alfred.

Moments devoted to you, to your every need. Because your health was precious, to all of them. And you understood. You understood, because this was the exact reason you always “fought” them to take more care of themselves.

Yes.

Yes, self-care is important. And it was something that almost became a motto, in the Wayne family.

__________________________________________________

Just like last time, I haven’t written anything in a while (this time mainly because of lack of time though, and not my mental illnesses…yay ?). So I’m a little nervous about sharing this little thing, I wrote rather fast in a burst of inspiration (albeit I wrote this half-asleep so ya know). They’re just drabbles. Maybe too descriptive, but the theme was made for it aaah.

I really hope you liked it. And as usual, comments and/or reblogs are always welcomed, encouraging, and heart warming :). Thank you.

Synopsis : Oh no, the Joker is after your life again, this is sooOOoo unexpected…When you get picked up from your work by one Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, you can’t really say you’re surprised. You’ve lived in Gotham all your life. And Batman is your husband. This is not the weirdest thing that happened. Although you do have to admit that Harley and Ivy actually SAVING you because Bruce asked them, is rather novel. And finding yourself suddenly talking about your respective domestic life with them ? Definitely new. Never a boring day in Gotham, right ?

The word “Batbrat” came to my mind while looking at comics where the batkids are being little smartasses, and it made me think of something Harley Quinn would say…And here we are. I hope you will like it :) : 

My masterlists : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

“Funny how life goes hu, Batsy ?” 

Bruce had to admit, this was an unusual situation. Although not unforeseen given the past few years. But it was odd, and a little funny, that The Batman was now standing in front of two of his fiercest (ex-)enemies, asking for their help. 

To their defense, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy really turned their lives around, ever since Ivy helped Harley escape the Joker’s grasp. Helped her open her eyes to how toxic the relationship was, to say the least. Ironic, right, that the actual poisoned person would help you realize you’re surrounded by toxicity ? 

Turned their lives around, yes, but they were still up to lots of mischief. And Bruce encountered them many times since they stopped being “full time villains”, but extreme problems required extreme solutions, really.

“Yes. Funny.” 

“Oh come ooooon, say it with a little more liveliness ! The situation is really funny !” 

Silence. Bruce is trying to stay patient,  because this is really important. But inside, he’s screaming, and panicking a little. There is no time to be wasted ! So he says : 

“I guess it is funny.”

“Yet no smile.” 

“Smiling is more ofhis thing, is it not ?”

“Wow, hey ! If you want us to help, be nice !” 

Damn it, he probably shouldn’t have referred to Joker in front of Harley in that way, it wasn’t on purpose. Really. 

“Please, we don’t have much time. My wife-” 

“You asking us for help is a first.” 

“It is.”

Dealing with someone like Harley Quinn requires patience. And Bruce, even in the worst moments, can be patient if needed. 

“Rumors say you don’t even ask Superman for help.” 

“I most definitely don’t ask Superman for help.” 

“But he’s your friend, right ?” 

“…”

“He’s not ?” 

“…Yes. Yes he’s my friend.” 

“So we’re like, your best friends if you ask our help.” 

“More like my only option.” 

“That’s rude.” 

“Truth hurts.” 

“Haha, that’s true ! I know that !” 

“So, are you going to help me or not ?”

Harley and Ivy pretend to ponder for a second, before saying : 

“Of course, we’re going to help. Especially if it’s to help against him…”

“Yes. We’ll protect your wife from the creep.” 

“Thank you.” 

They could not see Bruce’s eyes, but they knew. They knew he was genuinely grateful and a big weight had been lifted off of his chest.

When he came to them, half an hour ago, and explained the situation, it took them a little while to understand he was asking them to help him. But then it all made sense, right ? Who, more than Harley Quinn would want to stop the Joker from hurting more people ? 

Neither Harley nor Ivy were “the good guys”. But as Harley managed to escape Joker’s emprise on her, and as Ivy realized there were more efficient ways to save the planet than what she did up until know, they sort of became “anti-heroes”, and known in Gotham to be the people you went to when you didn’t know to whom else you could turn. 

They gladly helped lost children and distressed women. And sort of became an actual living nightmare for any abusive men in their vicinity. A polarizing topic really. They were doing good, but their methods were too violent and…

Were they really that different from Bruce ? Yes. Yes of course they were. They were still Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, they weren’t “fighting” for the same ideals your husband had. However, mindless mayhem and destruction was not their thing. 

And when The Batman himself asked them to save his wife from the Joker, could they really say no ? 

“Careful, she has a mean right hook.” 

Bruce says, with a small smirk, and then he hurries off to join his kids. They have a clown to catch. 

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

“Did he just smile ?” 

“He did.” 

“Damn, what is this woman ?” 

“Probably a witch, we should be careful when picking her up.” 

“Yes, careful of the right hook too.” 

“Alright, let’s go. I guess we sort of own it to him..”  

They were helping him, because he helped them first… Contrary to popular belief, The Batman wasn’t just a violent, cold and unforgivable vigilante. He was one of the only person who took into account Harley’s mental illnesses, or Ivy’s deeper message…He did not agree with them, of course not, he was one of the “good guy” and would never derive from this “code” he settled for himself. But he genuinely understood. 

Harley bet that nobody ever noticed that he never attacked first, unless there was a hostage situation. That he tried to understand those he stopped, especially when they suffered from the mind, like Harley, or Scarface, or his former friend, Two-Face… 

Batman wasn’t who everyone thought he was. Harley and Ivy knew. Which is why they accepted to help him, and to go put his wife in safety. 

“Don’t worry, we’re here to rescue you. Mm ? Oh, ignore the gun, it’s not for you, sorry ‘bout that haha” 

Could they really blame you, when your first reflex as they suddenly appeared before you when you were leaving work, was to clock them in the face and run ? 

No. No of course they couldn’t. Neither Harley nor Ivy had really a good reputation, even now. Only in Gotham’s slums, did they start to know they weren’t villains anymore. 

Plus, you were Batman’s wife (something that of course, nobody in Gotham knew, except a few people who figured out…like Harley, although it was a total accident, years ago, that revealed the truth to her). 

So no, they can’t really blame you. They catch to you, thankfully, before you go out in the streets of Gotham, and after quite a big struggle, manage to imobilize you and show a video of your husband. You instantly calm down, intrigued : 

“Hello my love, I am sorry I did not send you any messages prior to Harley and Pamela’s arrival, everything happened very fast. The Joker escaped after coercing some guards at Arkham Asylum, and threatened to take you again. I had to think fast, because he was going to act fast.” 

Bruce goes on to explain the situation quickly, however it’s obvious you’re still on edge and don’t quite believe things. It is easy, after all, to fake a video…And in your mind, Harley was close to the Joker. What if this is a trap ? 

 “By the way this is really me. I know you must be on edge, and untrusting, and that’s great by the way. Keep at it. But it’s really me. my proof ? Your weakness is when I  V-R-Y-A-T-W-A-T-T-C-O-Y-S you.” 

Your entire face feels warms, as you understand instantly what he’s talking about, while Harley and Ivy looks curiously at you. How dare. How dare he says such a thing on camera like that ?? Of course, not many people could understand but you, you-

“What ? Is that an acronym or something ? What the hell, and you guys call us mentally disturbed, how do you even know what the letters mean ?”

“I don’t !”

“You sure ? Cause you look hella embarrassed…Come on, tell us, what did he say ? Was it naughty naughty ?” 

“Nothing ! It’s nothing !” 

In a second, you are relaxed, and as they keep teasing you and trying to get you to talk, your odd journey of the day is starting.

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

“Sorry for the punch.” 

“It’s ok, I guess you couldn’t know we were on the good sides this time. Whatever it means. Spoiler alert : it doesn’t mean we’re good now. We just want the Joker neutralized as much as your family does. Without killing him…” 

Ah. It kind of hurts your heart, to be honest, to see how fiercely she does seem to want to stop her ex-partner in crime, yet without killing him. 

“Killing him is too nice. Arkham drives him nuts, he hates it there, it’s a good punishment.” 

Ah. Right. Probably. But you can’t help thinking about how hard it must be on Harley, after all she went through. All the thing HE put her through. 

You should feel wary of her, after all she was there when he once kidnapped you (A/N : reference to this story : “You’re mister J’s new obsession, Sugar”), but you can’t. Because you know how manipulated she was, and you know the real villain is him. She doesn’t even seem to recall this episode, she shows no sign of it at least. You do know certain people block memories out of their head, to protect themselves…

After all, if Harley Quinn was truly a bad person, she wouldn’t be helping you right now, right ? 

“Do not worry, we are not going to hurt you. I think Batman would hunt us to the end of the World, if we touched even one hair of your head.” 

“Oooh Batsy, he’s suuuuuuper in love with you, it’s disgusting, tooth rotting, and I hate the dentist. We really won’t harm you, you know.” 

You nod, still a bit unsure, until something suddenly hits you…

“Where are the children ??” 

“Oh don’t worry, Batsy’s taking care of the brats. They were with him when we left.” 

You release a sigh of relief. Of course, them being with Bruce meant that they were actively going after the Joker…But it’s not like anyone could stop them. They were all rather stubborn. And you trusted them. You trusted Bruce. You knew he’d keep them safe, and in control of their emotions. He was good, at keeping them grounded during important missions… 

Of course, it didn’t mean you weren’t worried as hell. For all of them. 

“You’re not saying anything ?”

“Mm ? Sorry ? About what ?”

“Me calling your kids “brats” ?” 

“Oh, no. I mean. They can definitely be brats.” 

“Wow. I’ve seen you with them, and defending them, I’d never think you’d ever say they’re brats…” 

Harley is genuinely surprised. You guessed she was judging out of the few encounters she had with all of you reunited, but also by all of Gotham’s tabloids picturing y’all as a “perfect family”. 

“They’re not brats like people can think they are. They never ask us for material things they don’t need, they’re not spoiled and they are well behaved…But everyone has bad days.” 

“That is true.” 

“My children are amazing, and they’re not like other children for sure. You know I’m not just saying that because they’re my kids, they are really…different. But they’re not perfect. Just like every kid, they can throw tantrums. Or get frustrated with us. Get really bratty, really. I don’t think it’s that bad. I don’t actually mind that much, it’s proof they are still children, you know ?” 

“I don’t really understand…” 

“Well. They don’t have a “normal” life, what with being vigilantes and all. There’s  a lot of times I wonder if…They’re ok, because they do miss out on being just regular kids you know ? So. When they act like a brat, like kids do sometimes…I don’t mind at all.” 

“That’s actually such an adorable thing to say. You’re adorable. Ivy, can we keep her ?” 

“It’shis wife, I don’t think he’ll let us. I don’t think she would want to either, right ?”

They both turn to you, and you can see they’re asking an actual serious question. 

“Oh um…Sorry, when this is over I definitely want to go back to my family.” 

Harley is visibly disappointed, and you’re not sure how to feel about this. But then she says :

“Well, tell us then.” 

“Tell you what ?” 

“About your brats ! We only know them as serious boring vigilantes who tell us “no” while we say “yes” ya know ? So tell us, tell us how they really are !” 

“I’m not su-”

“If you’re worried about what Bruce will say, don’t worry, we won’t tell him. Not like we can use your kids’ bratty behavior against you anyway. And we have no intention to harm any of you. Batman…has been good to us.” 

Yes. Yes he has. You know he has. He’s always had a soft spot for those who were victims, and became “bad”. That’s why he particularly despised the Joker. He stood for nothing, he had no background that could explain his evilness…he just was. The absolute perfect villain, irredeemable. Someone he would stop at all cost. Someone he would have no qualms using brute force against. It wasn’t the case with every “villain”. This was a common misconception about your husband. He wasn’t just a violent vigilante…But that was another story. 

“Alright. Well, I guess the most logical thing to do is to start chronologically. See, none of my children are actual brats. They do have moments, however, when they act like perfect little  brats…”  

DICK 

“I think Dick must’ve been the brattiest.” 

“Really ? Nightwing ?” 

You nod. There’s a fleeting thought in your mind that tells you you shouldn’t say your son’s real name, but then you’re reminded that they know who you all are. And never did anything to harm any of you. 

“Yes. I know, when you look at all of them he’d probably be your last guess because of how happy-go-lucky he is, and calm and nice and such. But oh boy, sometimes…” 

Dick was 8, when he entered yours and Bruce’s life. It was not that long after your relationship with Bruce became serious, and it was a lot at the same time. Neither of you were experienced with kids, and Dick was traumatized by his parents’ death. 

It really hasn’t been easy, in the beginning…Oh, but this isn’t a story about how little Dickiebird came to be one of the brightest sun in your lives, and how tough the first few years were. No. This is a story about how, like every child, he behaved like a little brat, sometimes. You smile at Ivy and Harley, as they’re unaware of the little walk on memory lane you just took, and tell them :

“You know how many chandeliers we had to change when he was little ? Oh my god he used to jump from the BANISTERS onto the chandelier in the foyer exactly when I’d walk in just to freak me out. Then he’d laugh, and always threw me into panic mode when I could see the chandelier slowly unscrewing. He did that EVERY SINGLE TIME he was upset we told him no and such.” 

“Upset you told him no ? What a brat !” 

“I’m not going to say he wasn’t a brat at times, but he was a good kid. Dick just always had…trouble, when he was younger, at dealing with his anger. Now, it’s very rare that he gets angry, but my oh my when he does I really wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it !” 

Not that you ever were. When he was a child you would sometimes endure the brunt of his frustrations because he was not yet mature enough to truly control himself, now as an adult, he would only get very mad when someone would hurt a loved one, and of course it was never you. 

But this wasn’t the point here. No. Right now, you were talking about how Dick and his often reckless behavior made you think : “brat !” about him a few times. 

“Dick has always had particular ways of…being purposefully annoying. Sometimes to see how far he could push us, sometimes just because well, he could be a little brat. For example, when we’d stay too late in bed, and he was annoyed at that because he wanted to see us, he’d barge in our room, plunger in hand, and I kid you not, would jump on our bed, get some height, use that damn acrobat training he had since he was born, and stick himself to the ceiling with the plunger ??? How did he even had such an idea ?? And he’d really stick up there, just hang above us telling us it was time to wake up, or just giggling, and then Bruce would have to stand up on the bed to get him down safely, and well, we’d have to wake up. You wouldn’t believe the amount of rings on the ceiling he made. We had the repaint it at least twice.”

“No way !”

“Wayy ! To this day, you can’t find any plunger in Wayne Manor. Well, you can, but they’re all hidden under Alfred’s bed because Alfred’s room is the only place none of the kids dare to go in…” 

“Oh so they barge into your room easy, but no in the butler’s room.” 

You nod, smiling. Not feeling like going into long explanations about how Alfred is much more than just a butler, but knowing where you stand on the matter nonetheless.  

“Dick used to drive us crazy, he would have such…creative ideas to show us he was upset about something. He didn’t have that many tantrums. Or rather, his tantrums translated in us having to run after him in the most crowded places in Gotham, while that little brat would parkour his way through easily…Brr, those were NOT good times.” 

“I never knew Nightwing was such a difficult child.” 

“Oh don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t. Not really. But he had his moment. And believe me, out of all of my kids, he’s probably the most stubborn one, and you really don’t want to get on his bad side.” 

“That’s such a funny thing to think about. The Batman himself trying to get a kid who’s hanging from a plunger.” 

“You’d be surprised about what’s really going on in our family haha.” 

“I bet we would. I mean. To be honest, I always felt like there was more to the bat than what he let on, if only for all the time he showed me kindness when I probably didn’t deserve it.” 

Ivy said, thoughtful. And how ironic again, right, that someone known as a “villain” would be one of the few people who didn’t stop themselves at their first impression of your husband ? 

You smile, actually quite liking the idea that even people who fell on his wrong side still saw kindness in him. You knew him the best, of course. Along with Alfred. And you knew why he really did all this. That kicking some people’s asses was definitely not his motivation. 

It was nice, to realize that Ivy actually thought rather highly of your husband. And that Harley did too, because he always took into consideration their mental illnesses and inner troubles. 

It was nice, that once again, talking about your children and their relationship to their dad helped others to see that “the big bad bat”, was just a man after all. 

JASON 

“Contrary to popular belief, Jason was a very sweet child. He never even talked back ? When he got frustrated, he would go to his room, not saying a word, wouldn’t even slam his door, and then come apologize for his behavior…” 

“Are we both talking about Red Hood right now ?” 

“Yes, well he wasn’t always Red Hood now, was he ?” 

Harley feels the weight of your eyes on her, and for a second, an old anger you thought was forgotten rises in you when you think about all the things your son went through because of…because of…Because of the Joker. 

It wasn’t Harley, that took your baby away. It wasn’t her who used him to hurt your husband so deep he fell in a dark well again for years. It wasn’t her. She wasn’t even with the Joker, at that time. 

You sigh, and say : 

“Jason was a little street urchin, as some say. He learned how to survive in the streets, not to live. He had no idea what it was like to be taken care of. So when we took him in, and after his suspicions passed…He never acted out. Never. He absolutely worshipped his dad, and took everything I said as gospel. That’s probably why, when we didn’t avenge him he…” 

“You don’t have to continue about this.” 

“Thank you.” 

“It’s ok, I understand. So. Red h-Jason, wasn’t a brat at all was he ?” 

“Really, no. I honestly can’t recall a time he acted like a brat when he was little. Oh, of course there was that time he stole Bruce’s favorite lambo and went on a rodeo through Gotham because he thought we were going to give him up…He was 9.” 

“He knew how to drive at 9 ??” 

“He knew how to neutralize a man three times his size at 9.”

“Oh, right, sorry, forgot I was talking about your family.“

“It happens.” 

“So…What happened ?” 

“Ah, yes. Well you see, he got himself in danger stupidly during a night out, so Bruce got mad. Madder than he should’ve. He yelled, instead of explaining. Can’t blame him though, he really was shaken up. But in Jason’s mind, yelling equated to him soon being thrown away like garbage. Every time someone yelled at him, or around him, in his life prior to him being with us…he ended up abandoned. All alone. So…” 

“So he thought you were going to give him up ? But that’s so silly, it was just a bit of yelling ?” 

“You have to understand the way Jason grew up. To him, and his past traumas, it was more than just a bit of yelling. So he decided to leave before we told him we didn’t want him anymore…Can you imagine how heartbreaking a decision it was ? I don’t even know now that I’m telling the story, that this is really bratty behavior. Well. He did keep going even as Bruce chased him with the Batmobile, and he only stopped when he ran out of gas. Then he ran away, as fast he could. It took Bruce a while to catch up to him. And when he finally did, Jason didn’t make it easy. He fought back, yelling that he “didn’t want to hear it”. Once we understood what he was talking about, of course, we reassured him. And he calmed down. He fell asleep in Bruce’s arms as he brought him home. We never yelled at him again after that…Not even when he became the Red Hood, and wouldn’t listen to us.” 

There’s a slight pause, an awkward one, a heavy one. Every one in the room knows what happened to your son…You do not want to dwell on this today. Not anymore. Not as you finally got your baby back, and just like he used to be, there’s not one “bratty” blood in his body.

“Rather boring I guess, a child who isn’t a brat at all haha. It’s easily explanable by how he grew up. He never wanted to disappoint us. I guess…He had more bratty behavior once he came back ? I…”

“You don’t have to talk about it.” 

“Right. Well. Let me continue, then.” 

“Go ahead, we’re listening.” 

TIM

“Tim came shortly after Jason’s death. And when his own parents died and we officially adopted him, I must admit the beginning of his education might’ve been too full of extremes. On one hand, we’d never tell him “no” if he wanted something material or to do something not dangerous, on the other Bruce was extremely strict with him when he was Robin, even a little overbearing at times…You have to understand, we had just lost a son. We couldn’t bear to lose another one. We sheltered him a little too much, maybe, while spoiling him a lot. Not rotten though. But that is, thankfully, because Tim isn’t a bad kid. He grew up in a wealthy environment. He always had whatever he wanted, but his parents’ attention…So he craved ours a lot. And that’s maybe why sometimes he’d um…” 

Silence. How could you put what Tim did without making yourself pass as a terrible parent ? 

“He’d what ?” 

“Tim had the bad habit of…sort of running away.” 

“Sort of ?” 

“Yes. He wasn’t really running away. He was going on “adventures” without telling us…” 

“Oh, like a dog ? Like you know how certain dogs escape from their home’s garden when their owner go to work, and then come back before they do ?” 

The analogy is special, comparing your child to a dog but…Harley isn’t wrong. Tim’s behavior was quite like that. 

“The worst thing is that when he’d come back, he would really pretend like nothing happened. He’d just go off to look up on a case on his own, or because he suddenly wanted ice cream and went by himself. I think he was too used to do things on his own, as his parents weren’t very present and never really took care of him. It would make Bruce mad though, mad with worries. And then when Tim would come back, they’d get into stupid fights about it…” 

Reminiscing of your husband during that time always hurt your heart. He was so afraid to loose more than what he already lost…

“It never deterred Tim to go off on his own though, oh no. On the contrary, he’d take great pleasure in bypassing Bruce’s security systems, and nag him about how easy it’d been, before leaving. That’s the bratty thing about it, I guess, how he’d sometimes would just act like anyway, we can’t stop him.” 

It was frustrating, especially because you both knew Tim could be very reckless. It was also frustrating, and made you feel bad about yourself, that your own child would just decide to not listen and…Ah. But Dick did do this sort of things too, didn’t he ? You were just too used to Jason and…Jason and…

You didn’t want to think further about that time. 

“Eventually, we did realize that his behavior was directly our fault. How could he understand our point of view if 1) we never explained to him why we did what we did, and 2) we’d tell him “yes” for everything except when it was related to his Robin duties ? Of course it was confusing for a ten years old boy eager to help. To be honest, most kids acting like “brats” are often like that because of the parents. Once we figured that out, well, we had a talk with him.” 

“And did he understand your point of view ?” 

“Tim is the smartest boy I ever met. He definitely understood. And that was our mistake really, to not take the time to explain things to him. Don’t get me wrong, even now he sometimes goes off by himself and LOVES to drive his father crazy by bypassing any security he settles, but it’s just…Well, it’s just because he’s a brat. He understands our view, and never pushes it too far. But he does like to push our buttons…Smart ass.” 

CASSANDRA

“Hey, what about your daughter ? I don’t know her name, sorry.” 

“Cassandra.” 

“Aah, that’s a cute name. Well, is she more well behaved than your boys then ? Girls are often calmer and more mature.” 

You burst out laughing at Ivy’s statements. Yes, that is true that Cassandra matured faster than her brothers. But oh boy, “calmer” ? Cass ? Well. You could see why some people thought that, after all, she didn’t speak a lot. But ah, when she was upset with you or Bruce ? 

Cass was sneaky. A little salt in your coffee because you didn’t let her do something she really wanted to. Or hiding one of your shoe. 

You knew when she wasn’t happy with one of your decision. She’d stare at you from one side of the room, and whenever you’d look at her she’d turn her head away, nose up in the air, pretending you don’t exist. 

It didn’t happen often, to be fair. Most of the time she’d try to view things from your perspective, and understand your decision. But sometimes..Sometimes…Well, she was a teenager. 

Kids didn’t always understand their parents’ decisions, especially regarding their lives. Sometimes, it feels like they just don’t get you and are trying to control you, even if they’re not. Being a teen is tough. Being a vigilante teen is tougher. Getting frustrated was normal. 

But Cassandra had trouble expressing herself with words. She spoke nowadays, but she didn’t always find the right words when it came to explaining her feelings. So she’d do other things, to let you understand. 

Just like how she said “I love you” in millions different little ways that were her own…She also was able to say : “I’m annoyed with you” very well. 

It was by her action, and not her words, that she truly could be a brat. The way she’d ignore you, or be a pain on purpose. 

“Once, I told her she couldn’t go with Jason to I-don’t-even-remember-where-but-it-was-definitely-not-a-place-for-her, and for a week she didn’t even look at me. She made a spectacle of talking lots to her brothers, more than usual, and wouldn’t utter a word to me. Gotta admit, it hurts a bit. But I guess ya know, kids don’t always realize that. She apologized later on, but that’s not the question. Sometimes you just don’t see you’re hurting the person.” 

“That’s true. I know that all too well…” 

Harley says, looking at Ivy and then down. Ivy puts her hand on her shoulder, and squeeze it, and it’s quite an adorable sight to see. 

It feels like them too, have their own family. It sort of reminds you of Bruce and you, the early years, to be honest. 

“You know, my daughter, Cass, I can’t be mad at her in those moments. I too was a frustrated teenager who did things to my parents, my brothers, I still regret to this day. I wish I could go back and not be a little shit, ya know ? I understand her. I understand sometimes, you have to lash out. And honestly, what she does is nothing compared to what I already did…Everyone needs to vent. We’re not perfect. And..No matter how big our mistake, we all deserve redemption.” 

They know you’re talking about them now, and not about your daughter. Although they can’t know that Cass’ had been force as a child to be a weapon, and did things she dearly regrets. 

And that’s it. That’s why you find yourself able to “forgive” Harley and Ivy for their past actions. Obviously, they already changed quite a bit. But also…Jason, Cass, and Damian…They all did things they regret. They all went through so much, and have been on the “dark side”. 

They deserved redemption. To be given a chance. 

Jason, Cass…And Damian. 

Your little Damian, a paragon of what the word “redemption” means. 

DAMIAN

Damian is not a brat in the way you think he’s a brat. 

Sure, if you don’t know him he can appear too sure of himself, full of himself even. Someone who looks down on people. But…people who think that just don’t know him very well. 

No. Damian was only truly an actual brat when it was related to animals. 

“One time, I said “no we can’t take another cat my little buddy”, because like, we already had like, 17 cats roaming around the mansion and the gardens, as Damian has a tendency to just bring in any strays he finds. You know what he did ? He went to a near puddle. Like a very, very muddy puddle…And he just started to jump in it, and roll in it, until I said ok, we can take another cat in…Brat.” 

“You caved ?” 

“I caved. He was so dirty !” 

“Hahaha, that’s an hilarious thing to think about really.” 

“Not the worst occurrence of this. Once, he wanted to free the tigers at Gotham zoo because he thought their enclosure wasn’t good enough. I told him he couldn’t do that, of course, and I was going to add that we’d look into it but…Next thing I know, he tells me : “Watch me”, and disappears in the crowd. I was like : “WELL I CAN’T WATCH YOU IF YOU JUST GO OFF LIKE THAT !!”. First, it’s already scary when you loose your kid in a crow, even if granted, if anyone tried to kidnap Damian, they’d be the one in trouble. But still. And second, we were just talking about how he wanted to set some tigers free !! Fast forward not even fifteen minutes of me frantically looking everywhere while calling Bruce on the phone and trying to explain the situation, I see Damian, wearing his Robin costume, mounted on one of the tiger, and leading the other two away out of the zoo…” 

“What the hell ?? What happened next ??” Harley was absolutely entranced in your story. You saw her nodding away as she was definitely agreeing that those tigers needed to be free…And you sort of recall her having hyenas as pets ? 

“Well, I get home ok ? Because I know that boy brought those tigers to our garden, just like he does with all those stray cats. And yes, I come home and here he is, eating cookies and drinking milk, saying the tigers need a real home, as said tigers are chilling in our garden ???” 

“What did you do with the tigers ??” 

“Damian convinced us to start a case against Gotham zoo and…Turned out he was right, there was some malpractice. The tigers were relocated in a reserve of one of our friend. And Gotham zoo was entirely remade by one of the Wayne Foundation. So I guess it ended well.”

“That kid isn’t a brat, he’s an icon.” 

“Yes well, he didn’t listen to me at all.”

“But he saved those tigers. And a few other animals.” 

“Harleyyyy ! That’s not the point !” 

“Did you punish him ?” 

Small silence. You look at them. They look at you. Then you turn away and say : 

“Of course I didn’t, it was epic.” 

Cue some laughter, of course. Aaah. It was HARD to raise children, especially when they were such smartasses ! 

“But honestly, Damian is a sweet child. He does definitely totally ignore his father sometimes, but he always listens to me. The only times he doesn’t, and act like a proper brat, is when animals are involved. I’m not even going to tell you the time he almost brought home a dragon from Apokolips…” 

“What ?? You have to tell us now !” 

“Oh, You want me to tell you ? Alright then, well see, we were on…” 

There were dozens and dozens of stories about Damian acting like a “brat” and trying to convince you to bring more pets (with you rarely winning the arguments, because he’d throw genuine tantrum acting like the 10 years old he actually was). 

You loved those stories. Of course, you’d get frustrated that your son wouldn’t listen…But it was proof he was still just a little kid. Your little kid.

Talking about him to Harley and Ivy was oddly nice, as if they’d been your friends since forever. They didn’t invalidate you, they didn’t tell you you were a bad mother for succumbing to your kids’ tantrums sometimes (to be fair, your kids knew not to push you too much either, your glares were rather effective), and they were eagerly listening.  

It was nice, to see someone actually interested in the mundane side of your life. Granted, stealing tigers from a zoo wasn’t THAT mundane, but ah, your children acting out sometimes…It was normal. 

And it felt nice. As odd as it might sound. 

DUKE

Duke was already 15, when he came to live with your family. And his parents were still alive, as well, which made the dynamic between you and him different. He was distant, at first, reminding you every chance he got that he’d leave as soon as his parents would feel better. 

And those few first weeks, when he was lost and unsure he even wanted to stay with you at the Manor…It wasn't “bratty behavior”. Just like Dick who missed his parents, or Jason who was afraid you’d leave him, he would act out sometimes. Out of pain. Out of frustration at not understanding his own feelings, and being so full of conflicted ones. 

On one hand, you gave him a home and made it so that he wouldn’t be lost in the system. On the other, he wantedhis mom and dad. 

Yes. At first, it was tough. But as time went on, and with your care, and making him understand that it was ok to be angry…He truly opened up. 

His behavior the first few days, wasn’t “bratty”. It was a behavior born from trauma and pain, and being scared. 

“He did got me arrested once though, I admit that day I wasn’t too happy and might’ve thought he was a brat…” 

“He did what ?” 

Both Harley and Ivy were absolutely glued to your stories, and you definitely had a way to tell them. To keep them on edge, wondering what would come next. Like right now. What did Duke did, that got you arrested ? 

“Well. He pretended I kidnapped him. I didn’t have the official papers that said he was our ward with me, and that little one is an amazing actor. I got put behind bars, and then they called social services. The mix up was cleared up fast, as Bruce arrived. But ya know, it wasn’t a good experience. If only to witness the utter incompetence of Gotham’s police.” 

“Tell me about it, they never even once caught us. Not without Batman’s assistance of course.” 

“That’s a wild story honestly…What did Duke do, after that ? What did you do ?” 

“Honestly ? It was obvious he felt extremely bad about what he did. When Bruce asked him why he did it, he answered that he didn’t even know. And we believed him. Sometimes, when you’re in too much pain, you do things without really knowing why. After that, actually, things greatly improved. He talked to us. And he never once did anything like that again.” 

Duke wasn’t a brat at all. Well, none of your kids were. But Duke, even with his own parents, was always a calm obedient kid. With a normal life… 

The times he acted out with you, you knew it was a cry for help. And you knew you guys put that new life on him. You, and what the Joker did to his parents. Everything always lead back to the Joker…

“You have a nice family.”

“Thank you for telling us all that.”

“No problemo.” 

“You managed to make me simultaneously want, and not want kids !”

“Aaah, you just summarized the life of a parent haha !” 

Who would’ve thought ? Who would’ve thought that one day, you’d be sitting comfortably in an armchair in one of Gotham’s most famous “villain’s” lair ? They had a nice loft, to be honest. You had no idea where it was, but you heard the sea not far so probably somewhere in East Gotham. 

This was nice. It was odd because you were talking to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, but it was nice. To talk about your children, and how sometimes…they did act like children. 

It was easy to forget, even for you, that they were just kids. So this was nice. A nice reminder, that them acting like brats is actually good. 

Everyone needs to vent their emotions, ya know ? 

Plus, there is so many good moments with them… (A/N : aka, literally all my stories with the Batfam haha) 

“I envy your family a bit.” 

“You do ?” 

“Yes. When Batman came to ask us for help, I saw it. And I see it now too, as you tell us those stories. You guys aren’t perfect, but you really do love each others very much.”

“Ah, yet another great summary made by Harley Quinn…” 

“Well you know, I was a psychiatrist after all.” 

You smile gently at her, wondering if maybe one day, she’ll tell you her story. How come she ended up under Joker’s manipulation ? What happened to her, and what were her aspirations ? 

“To be honest I admire you, I don’t think I could handle someone like Batman on a daily basis !” 

“Hahahahaha, if I had a dollar every time someone told me that ! But hey, it’s cause nobody quite knows him like I do…Which makes me think, wanna hear one last story ?” 

“Of course !” 

BRUCE

“You know what’s funny ? I just thought of it right now. The brattiest of them all isn’t even one of the kids. It’s Bruce. Man. He can be SUCH a brat !”

You say, rising up slightly in your seat. Ivy chuckles and says : 

“Oh I believe that.”

“He can be so broody for no reasons.”

Both of your new girl friends nod. They definitely noticed he brooded a lot. And never smiled. And he had a bad tendency of telling them to “stop” doing something when they were having such fun… 

“Like, once, I forgot to kiss him goodbye before work ok ? Well he pouted all day about it. Our two years old son Thomas had the same reaction, when I got home he was all like : “Mommy left with not kissy !” except, you know…He’s two.” 

“Wait, I wasn’t expecting that.” Ivy says, while Harley add : “I thought you were going to talk about how cold, harsh and all he was.” 

“Oh, he was in the beginning, it didn’t last that long…you know, everyone needs someone to be themselves with. He’s not cold with me at all. Really, no, more like…Well. He can be a brat, actually. Ok, there that one time I lost too much at Uno and threatened to divorce him, but he can be much worst !”

“U-Uno ?” 

“Yes. Long story. Not worth mentioning, right now we’re talking about how BRUCE is a brat. You know, he pouts soooo easily. Not in public, but when it’s just the two of us. Oh boy. He’s also super jealous. But that’s another story. You know, he does get moody when he doesn’t get his way ? Like he wants to watch this movie, but we all wanna watch something else ? Well boom, he acts like a brat. This kind of thing you know ?” 

“Batman is…a brat ?”

“Ah yes ! And you should listen to Alfred’s stories of him as a child. An actual genuine brat !”

You’re about to keep going with your stories, when you realize both Ivy and Harley look at you with their mouth open, as if their brain just melted. And…Well, you understand. After all, it must’ve been quite a surprise, for them to learn that the big bad bat was a brat. 

Come to think of it, yeah, you’re probably the only one in the world that would call The Batman, a “brat”. Batbrat. Haha. 

(A/N : If you have no idea who Thomas is, he appears in those stories : . Not writing a part with him because it was really getting too long, but imagine some toddler shenanigans haha). 

Always here 

Jason is the first to arrive at Harley and Ivy’s hideout. He rushes to you immediately, asking if you’re alright. 

“Yes, didn’t even see that damn clown. Harley and Ivy picked me right up.” 

“I’m glad.”

“Where are your brothers ? And your dad ?” 

“Coming soon. They wrapped things up. We caught him, of course. He’s becoming sort of predictable, in his unpredictability. I just didn’t want to participate more, so I came to get you. We’re regrouping home.” 

Relief. 

It’s a relief to know this is already done. Although it’s almost suspicious, it went so fast…Oh well, you’ll think about it later. Maybe it’s true, that he became too predictable ? Your guts tell you he might’ve had an ulterior motive, but you ignore them. No. Not now. Now, it’s time to go home. 

You don’t go home, of course, without telling goodbye to your new friends. 

Your son waits for you a little further, eying both of them suspiciously. Especially as Harley takes a step towards you and says : 

“Listen, I’ll go quick because I know your kiddo over there hate me but…Thank you. For telling us stories and reminding us we’re human, too. I hope our path will cross again.” 

You nod. You hope so too, in a better situation than : “we’re protecting you from being killed by a maniac”, hopefully. You’re about to leave, when your son stops, and turns around, saying : 

“I don’t hate you. The Joker used you, he mentally manipulated you and ruined your life. You’re not responsible for what happened to me. That doesn’t mean, by the way, that all your actions are forgiven. But it does explain and excuse some things…and everyone is allowed to have their redemption arc. I would know. Plus. Again. He gaslighted you for years, and manipulated you.” 

His words shook Harley to her core. Except for Ivy, and maybe Bruce, nobody ever gave her a chance like that…Nobody…

You’re so proud. Oh. You’re so proud. You can’t even say anything, you hold him in your arms, and as you leave, you see Harley, crying in Ivy’s arms… 

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

Home. And all together. In the end, this day was good for you. You got to vent about your kiddos, while underlining how amazing they truly are. You made new friends. You once again realized how much you loved your family…

It didn’t feel like a “Joker evasion” day. Usually, those were much more terrible, and ended terribly. But here you were. All home. 

You did notice Bruce seemed a little worried, and you felt it in your guts once more. You were sure him too, felt Joker’s plan wasn’t entirely done…But ah, there was nothing to do right now. 

So you took to distracting him, and making him enjoy this little moment right now, as you’re all in the mansion, together. 

It’s movie night. 

No vigilante duties, for anyone. It was already quite some work to catch the Joker, and usually after such a big arrest, Gotham was calm. Worst case scenario, Kate, Bruce’s cousin, was out as Batwoman. She’d take care of things, and call them for backup if need be. 

Right now, it was movie night. 

With all of your little brats. 

Aaah. 

Yes. They could be brats sometimes. Everybody had bad days, right ? 

But they were your little brats. 

And at the end of he day, they were always there for you. And vice versa. 

Your precious beloved little brats. 

EPILOGUE 

A shadowy figure is looking at your family through the back windows, standing in the dark. You’re unaware of its presence of course, trusting your home is a safe haven. Because…Nobody really knows who you really are. And your house is surrounded by security created by your husband and son. 

Someone able to bypass all your security, someone who filled your nightmares for years. Someone who wanted to make sure his suspicions were right. 

“Aaaah. So they ARE the Waynes. Interesting. Thanks Harley for the valuable informations, although maybe you didn’t give it willingly. You and I will see each other again soon enough. We’ll all, see each others soon enough. A little…family reunion, if you will.” 

Someone who isn’t done with your family…

The Joker. 

To be continued ?

_________________________________________________

Well here. I really hope you like it, and that you are not disappointed with this new story, I know it might look a little fragmented and weird, I haven’t written in ages and it felt like I didn’t know how to anymore :/. I know there’s always expectations when someone doesn’t post for a while and then comes back so..Yes, I hope you like this story born in the spur of an inspiration. As usual, feedbacks and other reblogs are more than welcomed (and thank you for going that extra mile <3).

More stories to come soon, on which I’ve been working for a while ^^. More well thought out stories if you will, and longer things (including multi-chapters stuffs because I got hella carried away). Once again, I hope this didn’t disappoint you, and thank you for reading ^^. 

Synopsis : You’ve always had really bad period pains. You learned to live with it, and to take care of yourself during those times…Up until a certain Bruce Wayne came into your life, and made it his mission to be there for you. 

For@meghan-maria​, who gotta be the sweetest out there :), and for anyone who ever had really bad period pains. I hope you will like it: 

TW : periods. It’s obvious given the theme, but I guess we never know and better safe than sorry. 

My master list : @ella-ravenwood-archives​

_________________________________________________

The First time it happened

It’s the fact you cancelled your planned date with him without an explanation that makes him worry. 

“Sorry, can’t make it tonight. Will see you tomorrow !” 

You never did that before, and you two were so busy neither of you would miss a date really. Not unless something bad or important happened. But then in that case, you would’ve told him, no ?

It made him so anxious. And he was starting to clearly overthink things. 

Were you maybe…having second thoughts ? 

You and Bruce made your relationship official not long ago, was the media’s pressure becoming too much ? You told him you’d be fine, but after a few months experiencing the plague that were paparazzi and invasive questions, did you change your mind ? 

Or maybe it was because of the whole Batman thing ? You discovered that a while ago, even before making your relationship official so…why would you change your mind about it now ? 

Maybe he came home with too many cuts and bruises. Maybe you were freaking out ? He would understand if you did. 

Or…There was a last option that came to his mind : he upset you somehow. 

It was entirely possible, sometimes he could get stuck in his own mind, and be a jerk without even truly realizing it. He knew that fact very well about himself. It was often the reason of how he ruined multiple relationships, friends or more. 

The way he sometimes just got too focused on his vigilante work. Too obsessed. And could be stuck in a “dark mode” like you’d say…

But, he also knew that you never took any of his shit. You would’ve told him if something was really the matter, right ? 

Right ?!

Should he ask Alfred if he noticed anything ? His butler, and surrogate father, always saw things that escaped him. Especially when it came to feelings. 

This was a less known trait about Bruce, but ever since he was a child, he’s always been anxious. He was usually really good at hiding it, and his “Brucie Wayne” persona made everyone think it wasn’t possible for him to be anything else but confident and cocky but…it wasn’t true. 

Especially when it came to those he cared about. Especially when it came to you. 

You loved him despite his flaws, accepted him fully, without any conditions. It was the first time it ever happened, that he LET it happen…So, with this simple plan cancellation that was quite unlike you, he freaked out a bit.

In the middle of the day, he finally decided to call you. One. Two. Three tones before you picked up, and oh. Oh he felt so relieved to hear your little “hello ?” 

At the same time, his worry peaked. Was it just him, or did you sound really weak ?

“Hey honey, just wanted to check if you were alright ? Your text was a little short, and I know you don’t owe me any explanations of course, but I just wanted to check on you. You know. I-um…” 

Clumsy Brooshy. 

It made you smile, the way he could be a little flustered and lose his words, when with you. And it made you smile even wider that he chose to call you to make sure everything was ok. 

Sweet Broosh.

If you really didn’t want to talk to him, you wouldn’t have answered. And he wasn’t the kind of man to “insist”. He would’ve left a voice message, and leave you alone until you felt like calling him back. Bruce was most definitely not invasive…but at the same time, you’d never leave him worrying for no reasons, knowing how anxious he could be.

The truth was, your text was short because…You didn’t know how to tell him the reasons you needed to cancel your date. You didn’t want to embarrass him. Men didn’t really like to talk about what you currently were suffering from. 

You also were a little embarrassed yourself, because the entire society surrounding you made you feel wrong for having periods. 

Periods. 

One week a month. Every single months. That was a lot. 

Especially for you because…you always had complicated and difficult periods. Painful. Making you feel like you couldn’t move. The pain making it impossible for you to even get out of bed for long. 

You and Bruce had been dating for a while but…weren’t periods sort of a taboo subject ? You didn’t really know how to tell him. Especially since most men really seemed uncomfortable with the all thing. 

Of course, you should’ve know Bruce wasn’t “most men”. 

“Baby, are you there ?” 

“Um yes yes, sorry I was lost in thoughts.” 

“Are you ok ? You don’t sound right.” 

The most observant man in the World was obviously going to realize your voice sounded weaker than usually. The truth was, you were trying really hard to keep it steady as pain filled your being. 

“Yes yes, I’m ok, just feeling a bit…under the weather ?” 

“Is there anything I can do ? Is it a cold or something ? If so, I can bring you buy some chicken noodle soup, and pick up any meds you might need.” 

You almost cried at his words. 

Super busy bee Bruce Wayne was telling you he’d go out of his way to bring you what you needed…It made you crack a little. 

He was too damn nice. And your hormones were in shambles. It was very easy right now for you to cry. 

This. How willing he was to help you, how he immediately asked if he could…Was what made you say the truth without thinking twice : 

“I’m-I’m on my periods. They’re usually- They’re usually bad.” 

“Oh.” 

His response scared you a little bit. Were you right, was this maybe too much, too soon ? You were about to add something when he said : 

“I’ll be there in about an hour, if it’s ok with you ? If you prefer to be alone I can send-” 

“No ! No, I would love for you to come. I just-I wasn’t sure-I-”

“It’s ok. I understand. See you in a bit, love you.” 

“Love you, too.” 

On that note, Bruce hung up and leaves you with a wild beating heart. 

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

Exactly an hour later, your doorbell rings. 

With difficulties, you stand up, and go open the door. Surely enough, it’s your boyfriend. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.” 

He has a bag in his hand, and you melt a little at the soft look and smile he gives you (even if there’s clear concerns behind it). You let him in, and go sit on the couch, even if just sitting up is already too much. 

“Do you want to lie down ?” 

“No. No I’m fine. You came all the way here, I can’t just stay in bed haha.” 

“Of course you can.” 

There’s a small silence for a little bit. Not awkward, you’re just not quite sure what to do. Should you go back to bed ? You really want to. And clearly, he understands. He always does. 

“Ok.” 

You stand, and wince because moving really makes everything worst. He approaches you, worried, but doesn’t dare to touch you and just follows you into your room. You get back in your comfy bed, under your comfy comforter. 

Another silence. Until he breaks it, taking something out of the bag he was carrying and saying : 

“So. I wasn’t sure you had a hot water bottle, I don’t ever recall seeing one in your apartment. So I bought one on the way just in case. Sorry if you don’t like the color, I can pick another one up later. It’s just, the woman on YouTube said that heat pads and hot water bottles were great.”

“The…woman on YouTube ?” 

“Yes, I watched a video on menstruations on the way here.” 

For a few seconds, you just stare at him, stunned. Never EVER in your entire life did you think you would hear THE Bruce Wayne say those words one day.

“A video on menstruations ?”

“Well, yes. Obviously, I don’t have periods. So I have no idea what it feels like. So I watched a video, to understand the process. And also so that you wouldn’t have to explain anything to me. You know what periods are, you don’t have to educate me on it. It’s not your job. And I definitely don’t want to sound patronizing about it. So I watched a video, and read a few articles. I won’t say I know how it feels, but I understand it more. Tell me if I ever step my bounds at any moment..” 

You can’t help but smile, even as your lower belly is on fire. Ah. Of course he would search things about it. Bruce was the kind of man to be thorough in his researches before tackling a problem. As Batman, he always tried to know everything there is to know about a situation before finding any solutions. But he was like that in real life too. 

And it particularly touched you that he did it so you wouldn’t have to explain…You had an ex, once, who sat down with you to talk about menstruations and it sort of drove you crazy. He thought it was nice, but your hormones were wreaking HAVOC and he was trying to explain to you how periods work and what it felt like ??? Give you advice about it and that it would be fine if you did what he said ?? Excuse me ??? As if you didn’t try everything already to feel less pain. And as if, as a woman, you didn’t know what it felt like or what it was exactly…

And there came Bruce. Reading up on it. And knowing he would never quite know how it feels. But educating himself so he won’t say something that could trigger you in any way. 

Sweet sweet man…If only people knew. 

He caressed your cheek softly, before whispering : 

“Then I-I watched something on endometriosis, because I read in a previous article it felt horrible. And you said your periods were bad, when we were on the phone. It sounds awful. Do you-…Have endometriosis ?” 

You shake your head weakly. Endometriosis was one of the reason why your periods were so painful and dreaded. And the worst ? It was a sickness many people said didn’t even exist. 

A woman being in pain during her periods ? Drama queen. Right ? It didn’t hurt that baaaaad. See, some women didn’t feel anything, just bled for a bit and moved on with their months. So obviously every women felt the same. Some were just being too sensitive…

Endometriosis was still, even to this day, a rather unknown illness and one that was rarely taken seriously. Some people just couldn’t even fathom you being in pain because of your periods, so much so that you couldn’t move. 

That you occasionally fainted, that you couldn’t eat much because it made you vomit, that you had awful migraines, stomach ache and back pain. That you couldn’t focus or sleep because of it. No. 

No those were just “made up symptoms” because you were “weak”…What awful things to say, right ? It was even worst to hear. Someone telling you this, as you felt like you were dying because of the pain, made you feel GUILTY to have painful periods. 

But it wasn’t your fault ? IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT ?! Nor were the moodswings, the cravings, the fatigue…

You hated going to the doctors when you were younger, because you knew he wouldn’t believe you when you said your periods hurt…

Anyway. Even without endometriosis, women who had bad periods pain were rarely taken seriously. Unless they met another woman who felt the same. Then they’d feel like they weren’t alone, or crazy. Like there were others who felt bad too. 

Every woman was different. And you unfortunately never met someone else with the same problems than you…

You felt very alone, for so long, and it was enhanced by your hormones going crazy and the pain being unbearable at times. 

And then, in come Bruce. 

Your Broosh. 

“Ok. Well. I brought you some of your favorite food. And um, I picked up some snacks if you want to do a movie marathon ? I brought all The Lord of the Rings extended editions. I got heat pads and a hot water bottle like I said. We can also just cuddle and relax if you prefer, I read that physical comfort was good ? Or, I can leave everything here, settle you in properly, and leave you alone. Just, tell me what you need my love ?” 

What did…you need ? 

Nobody ever asked you that. Nobody. Not even your parents. 

What did you need ? 

The answer came quickly. 

Him. You need him. His warmth. His large and soothing hands. His comforting presence. His calming voice. 

You knew you were in love with him since a while now. You exchanged “I love yous” already. But never did you feel as much love for him as right now, seeing him sitting in front of you, asking you what you needed…

A simple action. Simple words. And yet, it meant everything. 

“What do you need, honey ?” 

The concern in his eyes, and how he was very obviously ready to do whatever you wanted him to. 

It already made you feel better. The physical pain didn’t go down, that’s not how it worked unfortunately. But the emotional anguish ? Gone. 

Because he was there. 

Without even realizing it, you started crying. This was too much for your heart, too overwhelming. It meant the World, in that moment. 

It meant the world, to you and your overworked hormones. And so you cried. You cried hard. 

Without thinking twice, Bruce moved towards you. Taking his coat off and leaving it on the floor (Alfred would scold him about this for sure), he climbs in your bed and engulfs you in his arms. And it’s so warm and comforting, comfortable, too. 

“Just tell me what you need..”

He whispered to you, in his deep calming voice, his fingers running soothingly through your hair. 

“Could you just…keep holding me ?” 

He smiles softly, and says : 

“Of course.” 

He never, and never would, shy away from comforting you in any way. If you needed to have a good cry in his arms, so be it. And if you just needed him to be there, he would be there. 

You cuddled for a bit, the soothing circles he rubbed on your back doing wonders to make you feel relax. He brought some essential oils, that he massaged on your belly before filling the hot water bottle and laying it there…It relieved the pain a little bit, as you started a marathon of your favorite movies.

He took great care of you all day long, answering your every need even as you didn’t dare to ask…as if he could read your mind. You almost suspected he really could. You never felt so in phase with anyone before like you did with him.  

You had been together for less than a year. Although your anniversary was right around the corner. But him coming over as soon as he knew you weren’t feeling well. Him educating himself on what was it that hurt you…

If you weren’t sure yet that he was the one…You knew now. 

It sucks to be a woman, sometimes 

Bruce never knew periods could be that bad. Well, of course, he was a guy. And “periods” was never really a subject he talked about with anyone. He never really paid attention to it, like many men really. 

Until he saw you while on it. 

He knew you. He knew you were a tough lady. Once, you broke your leg while on a date with him. A silly accident really. Involving an ice rink, and an overzealous you chasing a hockey puck…Long story short, you ended up with a bad break. And you barely said a word about it. 

Bruce had his bones broken many times, he knew the pain of it. It was one of the pain he hated the most, along with burns. One he dreaded the most. And you took it like a champ. 

The break was bad enough you even needed surgery, yet you kept smiling at him (he might’ve feel bad that he let his over-competitive mind take over, “pushing” you to really want that puck…but of course, it was not his fault, after all, you too were very competitive, it was a pure accident). Saying you were fine, and that it’d be ok. 

He always hated seeing you hurt, it hurt him too. Inside. And scared the Hell out of him, to even think about you being harmed. So that day, he was rather frantic. You staying calm helped him, which made him feel a little guilty that even as you were the hurt one, you reassuredhim. 

But then you reminded him the roles were often reversed when he came back hurt from a rough vigilante night…You always had the right words to ease his mind. 

Anyway. That one time, after badly breaking your leg, you stayed rather calm and collected. But when you had your periods ? 

He never knew it could hurt so much. You couldn’t hide your pain, or pretend everything was alright. 

It was clearly a really bad moment to go through. 

He knew about the terrible migraines, being unable to sleep which made everything worst, feeling like your lower belly was being twisted from the inside, being sore all over for no reasons, not being able to move… 

Seeing you, was enough for him to know that periods sucked. 

“Being a woman is the worst, sometimes!” 

You’d often say during those moments, and he’d just soothe you, wishing he was in your place…

He hated when you were hurting. It hurt him too. Inside. 

And never. NEVER would he doubt that you were in real pain. Because unlike the doctors who kept telling you it was in your head, he knew you. He saw you get injured before. He knew you were tough. So for you to not be able to pretend everything was fine… 

You were hurting. Badly. And it was awful. But he believed you. He believed you and that’s all that mattered to you. 

Space

He also knew how to give you space when you needed it, though. 

He would be here if you needed him, bring you any food you craved, giving you relaxing massages, rubbing essential oils on your belly, filling up your hot water bottle etc etc. 

To be honest, his reaction to you being on your period is what made you sure he would be a great father one day…And you were right. 

Not a perfect father. 

But oh. Oh he cared. And wanted so much to do good…

And he knew. 

He knew exactly when he had to be there, and when he had to give you space. 

His hoodie

Bruce couldn’t always be with you when you had your periods, of course. 

He often took time off to be. But it was unrealistic to think he could be 24/7 with you the entire week. 

And sometimes, when he was away, you really suddenly craved his presence…So you came up with a trick. 

You stole his clothes. 

Particularly, hoodies he often wore when hanging out casually in the Manor. 

First of, they were very comfortable. And second, and most importantly : they smelled like him. 

They were warm, had his scent, and you could fall asleep feeling like he was almost there. 

Bruce couldn’t count the number of hoodies he lost to you….Then again, after a while, you’d ruthlessly abandon one because it stopped smelling like him, and would steal another one. 

Of course, he never minded. In fact, beyond the fact hoodies were nice and comfortable, he started to wear them a lot while in the house or during times he didn’t need to wear a suit (in every sense of the term), specifically because he knew you’d steal them when you felt lonely. 

It was cute. And it made his heart beat faster just thinking about it. 

Nobody. 

Nobody ever needed him that much before. Nobody ever loved him so much that sometimes him not being around was distressing. 

Of course, he felt the same. And the knowledge that you too, would sometimes feel lovesick when you were separated for too long…Filled his heart to the brim with the best feelings. 

For so long, he thought someone being dependable of him, and him being dependable of someone was bad…Oh, how he was wrong. 

It’s not because you open your heart to someone that you’ll get hurt, or that they’ll use it against you. You just have to find the right person… 

So. Yes. He will always cancel plans just to be with you. 

To bring you hot water bottles whenever you need. To cook your favorite food and snacks. To be there during all your mood swings, and endure even if you’re not the nicest to him (it’s not your fault). To watch your favorite movies. To let you sleep in and run your errands…

Periods sucked. 

He didn’t need to be a woman to know that. 

So he was there. Right there. For you. Taking care of you. And he would forever be there for that. 

But when he wasn’t ? 

Then he’d strategically leave one of his hoodie near the bed, so you could steal it, and comfort yourself with his smell…

Mood Swings 

“Brooooooooooosssssh…” 

You’re crying. You’re crying ! 

And it makes Bruce panic. You cry very rarely, so when you do it means something really bad must’ve happened or..or…

Bruce makes a quick calculation in his head and…Yup. 

It’s that time of the month again. 

Already ? Poor you.. 

This means that tomorrow, you’ll be a mess as everything will hurt too much, and today, the eve right before, you’re overly emotional. 

Hence you clinging to him right now, sobbing while repeating “I love you so much Bruce, I love you soooo much”. 

Hormones could really turn your head around. Right at the start of your period, before the pain, you had a rush of many emotions. 

You could either get very irritated for no reason (like “WHY IS THIS FLOOR ON THE FLOOR ?!”) or cry at everything. Right now, you were crying because you realized you loved your Broosh to death and you just had to tell him and you didn’t want him to go that night and…ah…

“It’s alright, it’s alright my love. You’re ok. We’re ok.” 

He lets you cry in his arms, of course. And already made the decision to not go out tonight, and stay with you. Kate could take over. He couldn’t leave knowing your emotions were doing quite a trick on you…

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

Your mood swings during your periods were particularly bad. 

You guessed it went in pairs with all the pain. Of course, not just one thing had to be exacerbated. Oh no. EVERYTHING bad about periods had to be turned to the max for you. Otherwise, were was the fun, right ? Sarcasm. 

You’d get irritated for no reasons. Then feel bad and cry for hours. To then feel ridiculously giddy once again for seemingly no reason…and then suddenly a burst of anxiety would attack you. 

It was a circus in your mind, and in your body. 

You couldn’t focus on anything. You couldn’t sleep properly. You felt awful all the time. Everything hurt. God…

And there he was. Bruce. Taking the brunt of your bad moods without saying a word. He knew it wasn’t your fault. That you didn’t mean it. That your hormones dictated your behavior against your own will. 

He knew. 

And he was there. 

He was there. 

“Every little moment is important, Son” - Thomas Wayne, to Bruce during the Flashpoint events.

“Bruce ? What are you doing here ? Thought you had important meetings ?”

“They weren’t that important.” 

“Really ? Lucious said-”

“Lucious is overdramatic. Anyway, Tim is taking care of it.” 

“…You’re letting our sixteen years old son taking care of the future of your company ?” 

“To be honest, he’s probably more competent about it than me.” 

“…That’s actually pretty accurate. But, why did you cancel things ?” 

“Because it’s this unpleasant time of the month, right ?”

“Oh. You don’t have to-” 

“I absolutely do.” 

Disappearing for a few seconds, your husbands comes back, wearing one of his favorite silk pajamas (and by “his” favorite, he really means : he knows you love them and think they look good on him, but won’t ever admit it because they’re “damn pajamas, it’s silly”…but he likes to please you). He then climbs in bed with you, and settles comfortable against you. 

“So, what’s the program today ?” 

This wasn’t unusual, for him to do this when you were on your periods. 

In fact, it was almost a ritual. Delegating his works to others, so he could take care of you. 

Ever since that first time, all those years ago, things didn’t change much. He would ask you what you need, you’d tell him, and he would do it happily. 

He knew it was a tough moment for you, physically, hormonally, mentally…Having your periods sucked. So he was there. Right there. 

The words his father…Well, not really his father. The “Thomas Wayne” of another dimension. What his father would’ve become if he died that fateful night, instead of his parents. Regardless, to him, it was his father. 

The father that never saw him grow up and became the man he was now…Yet who had important words for him. 

“Take advantage of every little moments, you never know when it’ll end.” 

Those words stuck with him. Because it was true. It only took a few seconds in an alleyway for his whole world to turn upside down…Why would it take any less for it to completely change now too ? 

What if something happened to you ? And he didn’t spend enough time by your side ? Or to his kids ? 

There was a time, being Batman was everything to Bruce. Because he was angry, lost, and devastated. 

But over the years…Over the years this role stayed important. But he expended his vision. He included others in it. 

So. Yes. He would treasure those small moments with you. And if it meant taking a day and night off to take care of you during a rough time, then he’d do it. If it meant missing work (both his works) because one of his children was sick, so be it. 

He was Batman. But he was also a husband. A father. 

And now…Now he knew his priorities. 

He’d never stop being Batman. Never. 

But he knew now. He knew there was more to life than this dark world he thought he’d get stuck in till the end of his life. 

“I was about to watch a movie.” 

“A movie it is. If you want me here, of course.” 

“Do you even have to ask ?” 

“To make sure you’re ok ? Always.” 

“-sigh- Yes. Yes Bruce, I want you here. I want nothing else, in fact.” 

“Ah, not even pop-corn ?”

“…Once we’ll have pop-corn, I’ll want nothing else.” 

“Um, why is there tampons in your drawer ??” 

One day, one of Bruce’s associate, Carlton, needed some paperworks to finish a deal, and came into his office. Bruce was on the phone, and gestured to him to just pick the papers up in one of his desk’s drawer. 

Only the man misunderstood and opened the wrong drawer and…

“What the-Why is there tampons and pads in your drawers ?”

He asked, half-bewildered half-amused. Bruce finished his phone call, and answered : 

“Why wouldn’t there be ?” 

“Um, are you a woman ?” 

“No, but my wife, who often come to this office, is.” 

“Jeez Louise Bruce, never pegged you to be such a simp haha ! Oh man, they’re even “organic”, how far can you go for one woman right ? Haha joking of course, or maybe..haha !” 

There was something in the tone Carlton took that brushed Bruce the wrong way. Something disrespectful and irritating. Not disrespectful to him, as if he cared to be called a “simp” (by a grown ass man by the way, which made it even more ridiculous). No. He didn’t care. But..This was his wife, they were talking about, in the end. 

“A…”simp” ? Because I have items who can be useful to my wife in my desk drawer ? A place in which she often comes, as I already said ?” 

His voice was cold, and Carlton definitely noticed. He always thought Bruce was an affable man, but sometimes…Sometimes he had something almost scary in his eyes. 

Ah, but Carlton wasn’t the kind of man to really take this things seriously. And he added : 

“Come on Bruce, don’t you think it’s a little ridiculous ?”

“No.” 

“I just think it’s funny you have a drawer full of those things.” 

“As I said, my wife comes by often, and might need it sometimes. I keep them here for her. It often came in handy you know.” 

“Don’t say that, that’s so gross.” 

“Why ?” 

“Just thinking about it.” 

“Just thinking about something my wife, but also yours by the way, have no control over ?” 

“My wife doesn’t- We just don’t talk about it.” 

“Well I guess yes. Or you wouldn’t react that way. Do you not take care of her when she has her periods ?” 

At the word “periods”, the man opened his eyes wide, which made your husband roll his. It truly TRULY baffled him that this dude was being grossed by OBJECTS and most likely didn’t take care of his wife ? How could you love someone and not want to comfort them ?! 

“Well, I don’t think she- I- She doesn’t - I …It’s embarrassing, no ?”

“No.” 

“Well, maybe it’s not with your wife but with mine it has been. She asked me a few times to buy pads for her.” 

“Why would it be embarrassing ? I can assure you, nobody is going to think it’s for you.” 

Carlton’s face was steadily going red. He said : 

“It’s just something we don’t talk about.”

“Why not ?” 

“It’s just…gross and…” 

“Why is it gross though ? Why do you think that way ?” 

“I mean, you know what periods are right ?” 

“Of course I do. It’s something happening to a very large chunk of our population, and that is a natural phase in their life. Do you think your wife wants to have periods ? Most likely not. Mine definitely doesn’t. But she does. So I do keep pads and tampons here in case of an emergency, in case she has nothing else on her.” 

“Nothing else ?” 

“Do you think only pads and tampons exist for women’s periods ?” 

“I-”

“It’s not hard to read up on it a bit. Especially when someone as close as your own wife is a “victim” of it.“

Awkard silence. Clearly, the man was uncomfortable. Bruce sighed, and said : 

“Just go take care of those papers.” 

Evidently relieved, his associate almost ran out of the room. 

Bruce kept thinking about how funny Carlton thought it was to have pads in his drawers. How he was about to mock him further before he got called out. “Simp”. If taking care of the woman he loved meant being a simp, then whatever. 

Bruce couldn’t stop thinking about his associate’s words. And it gave him an idea…

The next day, every newspapers and local news channel talked about how the (Y/N) Wayne Foundation gave millions of dollars to every school and public places in the country to provide free tampons and pads to women. And how Bruce Wayne became a huge advocate of the “period positivity” movement his wife started. 

“Periods shouldn’t be taboo.”, he said in his speech for the grand-opening of thousands and thousands of free pads distributors. 

When the kids are around. 

Dick 

Dick was little when he first witnessed what your periods did to you, and he downright panicked when you fainted in front of him while you two were shopping for Bruce’s birthday present ! 

That morning when you woke up, you knew you were going to have your periods. You always felt it in your bones, a little bit before it truly started…But you also promised little Dickie you’d help him chose a gift for your husband. 

You hated breaking your promises. Especially the one you made to your kid. He was just nine, and already experienced so many heartache…You couldn’t just break a promise you made to him, no matter what. 

So you went anyway, knowing there was a high chance you’d feel ill during the day. You were hoping, in fact, your periods wouldn’t truly start up until the evening, and so you could spend the day with your son. 

Alas…

“Mom ? Mom !? Someone help !!” 

Your fainting during your period never lasted long. Just a sudden drop of energy, feeling dizzy, and falling…you woke up fast. Opening your eyes to see your baby boy with tears in his eyes. You knew what happened, and reassured him immediately. 

You refused to call an ambulance, and instead called Alfred to ask if he could come pick you two up (you would NOT risk driving while in this state). 

And there you were, sitting on a bench with your son while waiting for Alfred who would be there as soon as it takes to get from Wayne Manor to Gotham’s City Center. 

“Are you sure you’re ok ?” 

“Yes, don’t worry, this is normal.”

“Fainting is not normal !” 

Dick looked so distressed…Should you tell him what was going on ? But he was such a young child. 

Ah. But you were amongst the people who thought that kids weren’t as stupid as many people thought. And that they could handle the truth, especially this kind of things. 

Understand what was happening to you would surely easy his mind. And make him understand, and act accordingly in the future. Wether with you, or a possible girlfriend ? 

So you do just that. 

You explain to him what is going on. You don’t give too many scientific details, but you explain as best you can so he understands. 

“And every women has it ?” 

“Every women have periods yes. But not everyone’s hurt.” 

“Why do yours hurt ?” 

“We don’t really know. I guess I wasn’t lucky ?”

“Scientists don’t know ?” 

“Well, research on it are rather recents to be honest.” 

“Why ? Women had it long ago too no ?” 

“Yes, but it was a little taboo.” 

“Why ?”

“Patriarchy.” 

“Oh, damn patriarchy.” 

You laugh. You knows he didn’t understand your answer, said as a joke to yourself. But it’s absolutely adorable how he immediately sides with you anyway. 

“When I grow up, I’ll be a scientist. So I can help.” 

“Ah, I thought you wanted to be an adventurer like Indiana Jones ? Or “whatever dad is doing I want to do it too” ?” 

“Well. I can do more than once things at the same time, right ?” 

“Sure you can. You can do anything.” 

He smiles at you, and get closer for a little cuddle. And that’s how Alfred finds you two, your son hugging you, and you hugging him back, on a bench in the streets… 

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

After the initial panic, Dick made it his mission to take care of you. He got really scared when he saw you faint, and would actually be a little…overbearing. 

When he knew you were on your periods, he’d literally forbid you to walk around, and would make sure you had everything you needed. 

His attentions, plus Bruce’s, made you feel like periods weren’t so bad in the end ? 

Even as a grown up, Dick would often come by the manor with your favorite cake, for example, when he knew you didn’t feel well. And he would still get strict with you if he saw you roaming around and getting too busy while he knew you were in pain. 

He’d do whatever you had to, for you. Wether it was cleaning things up, picking groceries…Running any errands for you, so you could rest. 

You were definitely grateful. Even if sometimes, you wish you could just tell him to ease up a bit…Ah. But how could you really ? 

The trauma Dick felt when loosing his parents made him overprotective and rather intransigeant. This was just how he was. And you always loved all your children unconditionally. You could take him being a bit too overprotective sometimes, because oh, oh he brought so much in your life…  

Jason 

You having really bad periods is the reason why when Jason, as a child or an adult, heard anyone say to a girl : “Jeez, why you so moody are you on your periods ?!”, would get mad. 

It was cute to see his little ten years old self lecture grown adults about it : “Periods are really tough on a girl ! It’s not their fault is they don’t feel well or have mood swings, be more empathetic !”. 

And it was still cute to see him as an adult glare at those who’d say this and give them a sermon about why it was wrong, and they better not say it again “or else” (and when a man like your son said the words “or else”, literally no one wanted to find out what he meant by it). 

Once, someone told him, sarcastically : 

“Wow, you drunk a lot of “respect women juice” huh ?” 

“What is that even suppose to mean ? I’m being a decent human being. You should try it sometimes. If respecting women is so foreign to you, that hearing me say what I said is funny and ridiculous, reassess your life mate.”

It’s really not like anyone really wanted to argue with your son. Besides the fact he was very tall, and as a vigilante definitely worked out a lot…he had a “dangerous” air about him. It was his eyes maybe, daring anyone to argue and making them understand he wouldn’t back down without a fight ? 

Ah. But if only people tried to look beyond that. If they only tried to know your son. 

They’d realize he’s the sweetest little buddy around.  

It surprised people that you still called him “little buddy” even as he was fast approaching his mid-twenties. But for you… 

For you he was still that little, sweet Jay he was before he died. The one that you could still see sometimes, behind all his anger, trauma and hurt. 

Ever since he was a child, Jason always felt everything more than anyone around him. He was an “hypersensitive” child. When he was angry, he was enraged. When he was happy, he was the happiest boy on Earth. When he was sad, it was hard to console him. 

When he grew up, and all those bad things happened to him…This trait of his got even more enhanced. It was sometimes hard to reach him under all those negative emotions…Yet. Yet you managed to do it. 

Bruce too…But that was another story. 

For now, you just always felt extremely proud that your son was actually not as harsh as some people thought (the same mistakes they all kept making about your husband…you hated this kind of assumptions). 

He always stood up for the underdogs. And was always respectful, and would voice his opinions. 

Like how he hated when people told women : “ugh are you on your periods ?!” if they were being just a tiny bit difficult (sometimes, not even). 

As a kid, Jason would worry a lot about you when you were on your periods. He hounded Bruce to know if you were ok, which your husband didn’t mind, of course. But he never quite dared to “bother you”. 

Of course, he would never bother you. But Jason was a complicated kid who always worried too much. He didn’t want to get in your way, or annoy you. 

So he had little quiet actions for you. 

Like getting your slippers warm when you’d wake up, by placing them near the radiators all night and putting them right beside your bed before you’d wake up. Or bringing you hot beverages. Baking your favorite treats, and leaving them in strategic places so you’d see it. Or scolding his dad when he thought he wasn’t taking care of you enough haha. 

Jason was a good kid. Nobody would ever change your mind on that. He was a good kid, to whom bad things happened. Yet he never strayed from his principles…No matter how people could see his recent actions. 

Jason was a good kid. 

He was your kid. 

As a child, he hated this week during which you had your periods. He dreaded them as much as you did. Just like Bruce, he had a hard time standing you being hurt…

As an adult. It was the same. And he still had little silent actions to make you feel better. To make your day easier. 

That was Jason for you. 

Such, such a good kid… 

Tim 

Tim, very much like his father, was a boy who needed to always have a plan, and to know everything before finding solutions. 

When you were on your periods, he’d always know. Because he kept a calendar about it. 

Some people might find it weird, but…Why ? He kept count of the days to know when you’d have your periods, so he could act accordingly. So he wouldn’t be caught off guard by one of your mood swings. And so he could take care of you ?? 

It was an act of care, to keep track of your periods. Sometimes, he even knew before you when you were going to have it. 

People who thought it was weird to kept such a calendar, were the same people who thought periods were gross and a taboo subject. 

Sure, it was definitely not very glamorous. But it was part of half of the World’s population life ?? Why keep it taboo and refusing to talk about it ? 

Tim immediately, just like his dad, did a lot of research on women’s menstruations…Which got you to be called in his principal’s office once. 

The man was worried, and unhappy that your son was reading a magazine “for woman” about “menstruations”, he thought the topic was vulgar and inappropriate. 

Your son was 13. Which was also the age many of his girl friends were experiencing their first periods. And that principal was out there, scolding him because he talked about it, making an entire generation of little girls thinking they were wrong for having periods ? 

Needless to say, you got rather mad. And the principle never called you ever again (if he had to call, he was always making sure to get your husband on the line, and not you).

And so Tim kept learning everything possible about it, in the hope also to find the perfect remedies to ease your pain. He tried a lot, to help you out. Gave tricks to Bruce, too. 

And so, kept a calendar. 

This allowed him to know if something was wrong, as well. 

He was the first one to guess you were pregnant with Thomas, because of his calendar. And one time, you had hormonal problems and he’s the one that told you you should check an endocrinologist because you’d been too irregular with your periods time ! 

Yes. Just like his dad, Tim needed to know a situation fully before acting. And seeing him trying to know as much as he could in order to help you was…why, it was the most adorable thing in the world. 

Cass

Cass’ periods were not painful, and you were so glad for her. 

To her, it was a mild annoyance, there was no pain, it was just irritating. And yes, she had mood swings and could easily get mad, but it was nothing major. 

She never even knew other women could have it so bad…The education about periods was really lacking ! They never talked about it anywhere ! 

Cass was a woman of few words…but she knew how to pass her emotions through her body language. Oh, how she knew. 

“Momma.” 

Just like your other kids, she’d come check on you when Bruce couldn’t take care of you. You wanted space sometimes, which they all understood. But honestly, during your periods, when you were so sensitive about everything ? You also wanted them around almost all the time. 

A paradox. Very fitting of those damn periods time. 

Cass would just sit with you, and make sure you were comfortable. She wouldn’t say a word. Lay her head on your shoulder, and hold your hand. Watch movies with you. Hold you close. 

She was delicate with you, as if afraid to break you. 

Just like your husband, her presence had a soothing effect ? As if nothing bad could ever happen to you as long as she was there (and that probably was right, Cassandra would never let anyone touch her “momma”).

She didn’t need to talk. She didn’t need to do anything more than stay with you when you didn’t want to be alone. 

She never experienced the pain you had, but if even to her, who had painless periods, it was annoying and a damn plague ? Then to you… 

She didn’t need to do much. 

Just her being there already meant a lot. 

Her holding onto you, even as she stayed afraid of anyone’s touch for so long. 

“Momma.” 

Cassandra was your only daughter. And oh you were glad her periods weren’t as bad as yours. That’s all that really mattered to you. 

“Momma.” 

You often fell asleep with the warmth of your kiddo right there. Next to you. Knowing she wasn’t going to leave unless you wanted to. Knowing she wish she could take your pain on. 

Ah. But no. No even if it was possible you’d never allow that. You were the mom. YOU were supposed to take their pains on. 

And knowing that Cass never suffered on her periods as bad as you did, was enough. After all, your baby suffered enough in the past…She could get a little lucky, right ? 

“Momma.” 

That word was music to your hear. Cass’ first word to you. 

She didn’t need to talk anyway. Being here was enough…

It was more than enough. 

Damian 

Everyone who saw Damian around you would notice that he wasn’t quite the same boy than "normally”. 

He was calmer, nicer, and sweeter. 

You’d argue that it was his real self. That this was his “normal”. That he was just never allowed to show his true heart before, and wasn’t used to trust others and open up. And you were definitely more than happy that he finally managed to do that after arriving into your home. 

That none of you ever gave up on him. 

You especially had a calming effect on him. After all, he never had a “conventional” mom, who could take care of him when he was sick, kiss him good night and make sure he always had everything he needed. 

Some would say you coddled him too much…And you didn’t care. Because that boy lived 10 years being the opposite of coddled. So what, if you’d cut the crust off of his sandwiches, or read him bed time stories every single night ? 

Damian loved it. As he often said, being a momma’s boy was “hardly something he was ashamed of”. He never felt loved and safe before, you bet he’d take every chance he got to be cared for. 

He never got to act like an actual kid. You allowed him to do just that, AND you made him feel like he belonged. Finally. Like he had an actual family. 

So…The day he heard about your absolutely awful periods, what did he do ? 

Every single day of your life with him, you had at least one nice intention to him. Wether it was baking his favorite cookies, or telling him how proud you were of him, you always had nothing but kindness for him, often going out of your way for your son. 

It was normal for you. Of course. And you did it with all your children…but you had to admit maybe Damian had just a little more of it, because he really never had anything like that to him. 

And to him, it only felt normal then, when you felt at your worst, that he’d be there for you exactly like you were there for him. 

During any mood swings, he’d have comforting words for you. He had little attentions for you that just made life easier. 

Again, it would greatly surprise anyone but his family, but when you had your periods, he did a lot of overly sappy little things. 

Like for example : every month, he wrote seven things he found extraordinary about you and would put them in a jar. Seven. The number of day in a week. And usually the number of day, give or take, your periods would last. 

The jar would be sitting right on your bedside table on the first day, with the indications you had to read one paper every morning, or every time you felt down (it was supposed to be one paper a day). Sometimes, you’d go through his seven messages in less than a day…and magically, the next day, the jar would be filled again. 

Damian made sure of it. 

This was just a small example. But it showed exactly what kind of boy your son really was. 

If he was heartless, a killer, someone destined to destroy the World…would he really put that much effort into making you feel love ? Into making you feel better any way he could ? 

You didn’t think so. The only way your son could ever “turn bad”, was if you (and Bruce) stopped caring for him. Left him alone (A/N : this is a CLEAR jab at current comics canon, if you know what I mean :I ). Only if he felt abandoned, unloved, and rejected. 

You knew your boy had, just like you, “rejection dysphoria”. It was hard for him to accept any kind of rejection, and it made him act out and hurt. But that was another story… 

Right now, all that mattered to you, is that you knew your son was always going to be there for you, just like you’d always be there for him. 

That he finally learned how to love, and care. That he would never unlearn it, as long as you lived. 

Your periods sucked. 

So bad. 

But Damian was a ray of light in the darkness of those seven dreaded days…

Duke 

Duke’s mom also had endometriosis. 

Over the years, he perfected a “special remedy” he always made her when she had her periods. 

He hesitated to make it for you. After all, it was something that made him bond greatly with his own mom…was making it for you, now, acceptable ? Did it mean he forgot about his mother ? 

No. No of course not. 

Duke scolded himself for even thinking that. You too, became his mom. He learned over the years that it was ok, to have two mom. That when they’ll find a cure for his parents, it wouldn’t take away the years you filled in for the mother role, and took care of Duke as if he was your own. 

So here we go. 

Some ginger. Some lemon. A dash of his little secret ingredients. Your favorite blend of tea. And it was done. 

He brought it to you, saying it always soothed his mom…

And just that. 

Just those words. It meant so much. 

“It always used to soothe my mom. Used to do it all the time, ever since I was five !” 

He said with a smile. 

It was something he used to do for his mom, and now he did it for you. Just this. Just that fact, it was enough to make you feel better. 

It didn’t take away the pain, but mentally ? It felt amazing. 

You drunk his concoction and…Oh god. 

Oh god it was disgusting. And…Ah. Yes. His mom probably pretended she liked it. “Ever since I was five !”. Ha. So cute. But also, it really was gross. 

At the same time, you felt a pleasant warmth spread through your body as the terrible aftertaste slowly faded. Duke smiled to you, and with a little mischief in his voice said : 

“It’s really gross, isn’t it ? But it does the trick haha” 

There was a few seconds of silence. During which you blinked at him, not quite registering what he just said. Until… 

You burst out laughing. The little mischievous smile, and the way he said “it’s really gross, isn’t it ?” was just too funny. 

Your communicative laugh spread to Duke, and as he laughs it makes you laugh even louder too and…You forget. 

For a moment you forget about your periods. The pain. The anguish. The emotional labor. This damn week of hell. 

You forget.

And you just laugh. 

You laugh alongside your son. 

Thomas(if you wonder who the H is Thomas, you can check my “Batmom” masterlists, he appears from the story “the great mall adventure” ^^)

Thomas must’ve been about four, when he first saw you having your periods. 

Your littlest baby was also one of the most sensitive out of them all (right along with Jason, the two of them cried their eyes out when they watched “Inside Out” and Bing Bong disappeared). Bruce always said he took that after you. And honestly, you couldn’t disagree. It’s true you could be very sensitive. 

So one morning, when he woke up and went to breakfast and heard you weren’t feeling right, he immediately went to you and…

Bruce found him an hour later, crying in his room. 

“Oh wow hey hey, what is it buddy ?” 

He asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice. Thomas might’ve been sensitive, but he rarely cried. He was just a very empathetic boy. But also a cheerful one, and he had a knack to see the good even in the worst situations. 

So seeing him sob like that, made Bruce’s heart drop. 

“Is mommy going to die ?!” 

It took Bruce a few seconds to get a hold of his racing heart. His son crying. And asking if you were going to die. It shortcircuited his brain for a few seconds. Until he realized what Thomas was talking about…

“Oh, oh no champ, no, mommy isn’t going to die.” 

Your kids were used to see you strong and fierce. Of course the first time your little one would see you on your period, he’d think something big was wrong.

He had just recently learned what death really mean (you can read about this here : The day he understand what Death means), and since then was so scared it’d happen to his parents. Or his siblings. Or anyone he knew, really… 

Picking up his son and slowly and softly tapping his back in soothing circles, he walked around the room and rocked him until the boy calmed down a bit, before trying to explain as best he could why mommy felt bad, without going in in too many details. 

Once Thomas understood this was just like when he got a fever that time, that it would pass, he felt much better. But also worst. Because his mommy wasn’t feeling well ! And it happened often ! 

Bruce reassured him that there were ways they could help you…And soooo : 

Thomas brought you hot water bottles, with the help of his dad (the bottles were almost as big as him), and ended up falling asleep  on one as it laid on your belly (he heard that humans’ body heat was very strong and wanted to “help the hot water bottle”). 

The water in the bottle became cold, and you removed it..Your son didn’t woke up, so you laid him back down on your belly. And he was warm and so tiny, and you loved him so much…It made you feel like the luckiest woman in the world, to be surrounded by people like this little one. 

And all your kids. Alfred. Your friends. Broosh…You fell asleep with sweet dreams made of warmth and cuddles. 

Not long after, Bruce came by to check on you, finding both you and Tommy deeply asleep and…An overwhelming feeling of happiness took him over. 

You weren’t the only one feeling lucky. Except for Bruce…For Bruce it was even stronger, because after his parents died, he never thought he would be happy ever again. 

This was why he’d always be there for you. You gave him another family… 

His schedule was freed, and he had a busy day. A nap sounded perfect. Especially while nestled against you, with his little one right there. 

Dick came by in the afternoon, and found all of you like this. Bruce holding both you and his son, Thomas taking way more space than such a small body would make you thing he’d take. 

Dick snapped a picture, and send it to the group chat he had with his siblings and some other close friends and such (like Clark, Wally, Conner, Diana etc etc they used the group chat to gossip about Bruce, mainly). With the caption : “Big bad bat tamed by a four year old”. 

Cass send multiple hearteyes emojis. Jason said it was adorable and send a crying emoji, and didn’t care one bit what anyone would think of him saying such things. Damian yelled at Dick that he should’ve put the comforter back up on his baby brother and mom because it wasn’t properly put on !! Duke send a : “I’m downloading that picture for the next time he gets mad at us and we need to soften him up”. Tim replied with a gif of Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist saying : “dis dad”. Clark said “they look so peaceful, you wouldn’t believe he threatened me just yesterday to punch me because I made a joke” to which Diana answered : “that joke was so bad I wanted to punch you to. Cute pic btw, give kisses to Tommy for me, you should come see me more, I just stocked my freezer with nothing but ice creams”..Everyone send a little comment about it. 

Because even superheroes, could have normal conversations about those they love. 

Suffering alone is a thing of the past

It’s funny. You couldn’t even remember, now, what it felt like “before”. 

Before. 

Before you met Bruce.

Before that first time he showed up to your apartment to take care of you. 

How were your periods before that ? The worst. 

Definitely. 

Actual Hell.

Not that they were feeling better now. Oh no. There were time your overdramatic self exclaimed : “uuuugh just kill me alreadyyyy” when the pain was too grand…But you weren’t alone anymore. 

That’s what made it a bearable moment of the month. 

It still felt as bad as it used to when you were younger. 

But it wasn’t just you agonizing in your bedroom all alone anymore. 

It wasn’t you wishing you’d have someone to take care of you, and to try and ease the pain. Not anymore. 

It wasn’t you crying with nobody to dry your tears anymore…

No. You had an entire army of people right there just for you. 

Alfred, your children, and most of all…Bruce. 

Your Broosh. 

Ah. If only some people could see this side of him you and your family knew. The caring and loving one. In a way though, it was rather comforting and made you feel special, that only you and your kiddos knew the real Bruce ? 

Of course  nowadays, some of his closest friends like Clark and Diana weren’t fooled anymore either. But they’d never see him the way you did, when you were in unbearable pain, and he was right there, drawing soothing circle on your back, keeping you warm and safe… 

This was only privy to you. 

Your Broosh. 

Yes. 

Your periods were still as painful as they used to. But now…

Now you weren’t alone anymore. 

The end. 

________________________________________________

Hey guys ! I hope you liked this :). As usual, feedbacks and reblogs are always welcomed ! (Especially lately, the reblog ratio seems at its worst haha). And again, I really hope you liked this. I was finally able to sit down and write after weeks of  being stuck in a depressed mood, so I’m quite excited about sharing this. But as usual, always a bit nervous that you’ll be disappointed blahblahblah low self-esteem and all that haha… :). I just hope this is to your liking. Thank you.  

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

__________________________________________________

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

Synopsis : After a few shitty weeks of everything going wrong, you somehow find yourself faking a relationship with the one and only Bruce Wayne. 

That’s it. I did it. After 3 years posting stories on this platform, I finally succumb to one of the biggest fanfiction cliché of all time haha. The infamous fake boyfriend trope. And I really hope you will like it : 

My masterlist :@ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

The Gap Year of Disaster

Today, you were an utter mess, and you couldn’t care less.

You know, this kind of days where you wish you would just have stayed in bed ?

Where everything goes wrong and you just want to hide under your blanket and pretend you don’t have any responsibilities ?

Well today…Today was most definitely this kind of day.

It was suppose to be your first day at an exciting new job and you were so psyched about it, that you hadn’t been able to sleep all night. 

You finally fell into a deep slumber during the very early hours of the day, and…

Of course you woke up late ! You didn’t have time to take a shower, or to do your make-up nicely or even to brush your hair. But worst of all you didn’t have time to get coffee !

When you got out with your bike….it was pouring outside. Ah but of course, because when one thing goes wrong everything has to follow. Everything WILL go wrong. Murphy’s law or some stupid things like that !

It’s in those moments you wish you had a car ! Because when it rained in Gotham…It felt like Noah was ordered to built another ark !

So, sleep deprived, soaked, in a bad mood and looking like a mess, you managed, by some miracle, to arrive at your job on time.

Only to discover that this wasn’t at all what you were expecting. It was NOT what was promised to you, which was experience in an exciting workplace and a way to make the most of it. 

Instead, it was a desk job where you ran errand for everyone. Amazing. 

This was supposed to be your first try at “real life”, this was why you took that gap year from college. 

“I want to find myself, find who I really am !” You told everyone around you, ignoring those who were negative and telling you you should finish your study first. 

Now, as you were stuck in a tiny cubicle with an endless list of coffee orders you had to get for everyone else, you felt like maybe they were right, and that this wasn’t quite the way you were going to “find yourself”. 

Then again, wasn’t it through hardship that this sort of things unlocked ? Wasn’t it with great determination and knowing how it was to struggle, that you were going to thrive ? That’s what they said in TED talks dedicated to “success”…

So far in your life, things had been rather normal. Not particularly easy, but not hard either. You grew up in a small town in New Jersey, no troubles on the horizon. You then moved to Gotham for college as you had a scholarship for Gotham’s University, and as you were about to start your third year you sort of questioned wether or not this was your path…

One of your favorite professor told you to maybe take a gap year. A few semesters off, to think things through. Taking advantage of it to do some soul searching and try to know what you really wanted and…It sounded wonderful ! 

That’s when you started to have job interviews in many different fields, and it took you three months to finally find something. Three very stressful months of wondering how long you could live off of your measly savings, and wether or not you’d have to move back in with your parents (anything but that !)…Not a very good start to that gap year for sure. 

And when you landed what you thought was going to be a great job, things definitely were looking up ! Ah, but the fact that you were chosen while you had NO experience and such, should’ve been your first warning that this was too good to be true. 

You were trying to stay positive though. Maybe it was only for the first day ? Maybe their coffee person was sick or something ? It’d get more interesting later ? Yes. Yes let’s keep a positive outlook on everything. 

Except right now, as your entire morning was made of you walking up and down the building (the elevator was not working, but of course), to the coffee shop at the corner of the street, and bringing back orders for people, you didn’t feel in the mood to try and stay cheery. 

And the worst in all that ? You didn’t even get ONE cup for yourself…This “real life” thing was not starting very well. 

And so here you were, during your lunch break, looking like a mess, bag under your eyes and still wet from the rain (your trips up and down the street for coffee runs not helping drying yourself off), your morale at its lowest..And…

“That’ll be 3 dollars and 50 cents for the large latte with triple espresso shot, m'am.”

Catastrophe. 

Proof that things could ALWAYS get worst. 

As you were looking through your bag, you couldn’t find your wallet !

Did you leave it at home ?! Maybe. 

People at your work gave you the money to buy them coffee (and not a single tips, bunch of cheapskates). And you didn’t notice you were missing that oh so essential part of your daily life…Your credit card. Or any type of money. 

Damn it ! 

“Um, excuse me miss, that’s 3,50 please ?”

“Oh yes yes, um, you know what I just-” 

“Here, miss, you dropped this.” 

As you were about to explain that in fact, you didn’t need coffee (even if when you asked for it you might’ve mentioned it being a question of “life or death”), too embarrass to admit you didn’t have the money to buy it, a…very handsome man handed you a twenty dollars bill. 

You were a hundred percent sure this wasn’t yours. You never carry lose cash like this. A quick look to his kind deep blue eyes, and soft smile, and you realize…

Oh. Great. A total (very handsome) stranger took pity of you. 

You probably looked even worst than you felt. You were about to say this was a mistake, but before you could, he gave the bill to the barista, and left with a last smile to you, taking his own cup of coffee away with him. 

Damn. You didn’t have time to say “thank you”. He vanished as fast as he appeared, disappearing in the crowd of the busy coffee shop. 

“Here’s your change, m’am.” 

“Ah you know what ? Keep it buddy. Thanks for the coffee.” 

“Wow, thanks !” 

You were pretty sure that barista never had such a big tip, and it oddly made you feel better, to make someone else’s day like that. Your grandma did always say that you found true joy from helping others…

Oh, yeah, ok, you just helped someone out, why was the universe so angry at you ?! 

As you turned around and started to leave, almost at the exist of the shop, mood a little better after this nice encounter with a (again, handsome) stranger, and the barista, you see him. 

Him. One of the reason you sort of decided to take a gap year. 

Him. 

Your ex-boyfriend, Eric, who cheated on you with your friend Monica. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good memory. And you hadn’t seen neither him nor her since you left college, especially not since you heard they actually got together. 

Your FRIEND. With your BOYFRIEND. And it went on for a while, before you finally discovered it (that day was as shitty as today…). 

Oh. And of course Eric wasn’t alone. She, was there too. The one you thought was your friend, and who stabbed you in the back like that. Both of them discarding you like a dirty old sock. 

Great. Really. Awesome. This day was going from “bad” to “please kill me.” 

“(Y/N) !” 

He looks surprised to see you, although also a little pleased. And it makes you want to punch him in the face. You don’t care if it’s because he wished things ended another way, they both betrayed your truth and then never even tried to talk to you again afterward. 

You’re not sure you would’ve forgave them, but at least, it would’ve shown they still cared about you in a way. Nobody chooses who they’re going to fall in love with (that, you’d soon discover for yourself). But she was your best friend. And he was with you for over a year. 

She’s a little more awkward than him, and smiles, clearly embarrassed. You always knew she was a bit of a coward, if she wasn’t, she would’ve face you, right ? 

And that’s when it happened. The decision that would forever change your life.

In this great moment filled with despair and awkwardness.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw that nice stranger who paid for your coffee. The handsome one. He didn’t leave the shop, but instead went to seat at a table that was a little further away than the rest of them. 

His eyes were glued to his phone, and you thought : “Well, fuck it, all this can’t get any worst right ?”

You were sort of hoping that, since he had been nice with you once and offered you those twenty dollars without knowing you (although you were very aware it was probably just pity), maybe he could help again ? 

Maybe it was the fatigue, the fact you were getting sadder and sadder, that you had a terrible day, and that you just saw two people you loved and who threw you away like you meant nothing (oh but not before being super fake to you, pretending they WEREN’T cheating behind your back)…maybe it was a combination of all of that, that made you act crazy. 

But here you found yourself, sitting at that stranger’s table, and saying, as he looked up from his phone clearly surprised : 

“How are you guys ? As you can see, I’m great.” 

You don’t dare to look at the handsome stranger, and hope he’ll be too stunned to say anything, and you can make your ex-friend and ex-boyfriend feel embarrass enough they’ll leave quickly. But then Monica says something that makes your heart skip multiple beats : 

“You…You know Bruce Wayne ?!” 

You turn to the man who gracefully paid for your coffee, and your eyes go wide. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. How did you NOT recognize him ?! Of course. Chiseled face, beautiful blue eyes, a suit that was definitely worth your entire year’s salary, a very charming aura…

Your hazy mind full of “fuck this day” didn’t register that THE Bruce Wayne, was the one who helped you out. How did you miss that ? His face had been plastered everywhere in Gotham for the past year, since he came back to the city, in fact. 

You hear yourself wish with all your might to be struck by lightning this instant, as the two assholes who hurt you so much are looking at you expectantly and are not about to live (of course, they just met celebrity BRUCE WAYNE !! Could someone be as unlucky as you were today ?!)

And that’s when you hear a chuckle, a beautiful deep chuckle, and finally turn to look at Bruce. He smiles at you, and takes your hand, saying : 

“Honey, who are your friends ?” 

Your brain go full “ERROR 404″, not quite able to grasp the fact that THE Bruce Wayne just ran with what you were trying to do. How ? How was this possible ? You initially went to sit with him in the hope that Eric and Monica would see you were totally ok and with a hot date, not quite sure still yet how you ever thought this was a good idea and…

It was turning out alright ?! 

HOW ?! 

“Oh um, I’m..Eric. And this is my gir…This is Monica.” 

What a piece of shit. Not even brave enough to call her his “girlfriend” when he cheated on you with her for months and months. You glare at him, unable to stop this gut reaction. 

And that’s something Bruce caught. 

In fact, as soon as you sat down, avoiding looking at him and nervously looking at those two people, Bruce sort of knew you were in an uncomfortable situation. One that made you take an irrational decision. 

And oh, he didn’t like the look Eric and Monica gave you. Like they felt superior as they caught you in a bad moment. Bruce hated, people who thought they were superior to others… 

And you clearly seemed in distress and in need of help so…He ran with it. 

Bruce had to pretend to be someone he wasn’t enough that it felt natural, to run along with what your hazy mind thought was a good idea. 

“Nice to meet you, are you friends with-” 

Damn it. He realized he didn’t know your name. Quick thinking saved him, and he managed to keep his tone even, as to hide his hesitation : 

“My love ?” 

His hand around yours felt warm and reassuring, and you still couldn’t believe that, not only a total stranger, but THE Bruce Wayne was helping you out like that. Especially after you had such a bad day. 

Him calling you his “love” made your exes feel very awkward, and they shake their head “no”, suddenly pretending they’re very busy and have to meet up with someone. They leave the coffee shop, clearly stunned, whispering things to each others that you knew were probably : “how did sheget a guy like him?!”

You can’t help but glare at them some more…But then your hand feels cold again, and you realize Bruce let go off it. Well. Duh. Of course he would. 

You turn to him, your feature softening, and say : 

“Are you an angel ?” 

Ah yes. Your defense mechanism. “Humor”. 

He chuckles, and says : 

“Well, I’m afraid not. My butler would think this is very funny. But thank you.” 

Awkwardly, you rub your neck, your free hand nervously turning your cup of coffee clockwise in your palm. You don’t really know how to end this, what : “thanks for that” and leave ? 

“Thanks for the coffee. And for um…Saving my ass, just there.” 

He smiles, and wow hello white teeth and charming dimples ?! 

“You’re very welcome. They looked like they were jerks.” 

“Haha oh you have no idea.” 

“Glad I could help.” 

“Thanks again. Really. This means a lot, especially since we don’t know each others. Well, I know you. Everyone in Gotham does haha. And ok I’m going to leave now, my lunch break is almost over and I don’t want to make this even more awkward.” 

You start to rise up, but he holds you back by catching your sleeve, and says : 

“Actually miss…?”

“(Y/L/N). (Y/N) (Y/L/N).”

“Miss (Y/L/N), you are kind of saving my life right now.”

“…I am ?”

A flash blinds you. Not a lightning, a camera flash. You turn, just in time to see a guy hastily hiding a camera and running away. 

“What the…” 

“A paparazzi. Good timing, for once.” 

“Huh ?” 

You wish you had some witty come back, or would just know what to say. But you’re confused. And this has been a really weird day. 

“I am sorry if this will seem forward, or like I helped you wanting something in exchange. But I promise I will make it worth your while if you just sit back down and listen to me for a few minutes.” 

You sit back down. More because you’re unsure your leg can still support you in this moment, than because he asked you to. With a smile he continues : 

“Thank you. So. Let me explain a little, and again, sorry if this is too forward. If you don’t want to help of course, I would understand. I’m about to ask you something rather odd, I guess. And I’ll clear things up with paparazzis. I also promise I did not help you with your “friends”-”

“They’re not my friends.” 

“I figured that much. And I promise I didn’t help you with them and ran with whatever you were trying, just so I could ask you this.” 

“Ask me what ?” 

“Well, you see…it’s arranged marriage season.”

“What ?”

“Every year, every single rich family try to make me marry their single daughters. It’s a very tiring season, but I’ve never been able to avoid it…I thought about having a fake fiancee before but could never find the right person.”

What he says does not register with you. His clear proposal doesn’t hit your brain. And you just stare at him, waiting for him to keep going. But he doesn’t, and by the way he looks at you, you slowly starts to understand where he’s getting at. 

You gasp, now pretty sure this is all a dream (or a nightmare) and say : 

“And I’m the right person ?”

“Well, yes. You seem to be a…“normal” person.”

“…Thanks.”

“In that case it’s good. It’s very good. It means that if I’m dating you, a woman that has nothing to bring me, then it must be true love.”

“Wow, stop with the flatteries already mister Wayne, I can’t handle it…”

Ah, your slight wits are back. Good sign that you’re regaining your senses. Everything that happened in the last ten minutes still feel like a bad dream, but you’re back in reality now. 

“No no no, I didn’t mean it in a demeaning way ! But it’s just, you’re not rich, and you’re not famous or have political ties. You’re just a regular person. So they won’t think I’m trying to trick them, even if I am, do you know what I mean ?”

“Gotcha. My broke ass person cannot bring you any value, so it must be love and not just an arranged thing they can break. Cool.”

There’s a slight silence. And you find it a little fun, to play a little bit with the famous Bruce Wayne. He seemed so confident and cocky on TV, you never thought you’d be able to make him look so guilty. 

“I’m sorry if I offended you.”

He says, clearly meaning it. But you shake your head and smile at him (and oh why does he feel his heart tightening slightly at your smile ?), and reassure him instantly (you feel a little bad, actually, to mess with him while he did just really do a huge favor to you while he had no obligations to) : 

“Haha, just messin’ around with ya Mster Wayne. I’m not bothered by it, it’s the truth. I’m really broke, and I don’t think you could find more “regular” than me right now. So, and because you really did save my ass from an extremely displeasing experience back there. And also because you allowed me to see those assholes’ face of surprise and “how did she manage that ?!”, tell me more about your plan, and let’s see if I can help you back.”

And so Bruce starts to explain to you how, every year, this beginning of Fall is the worst time ever, as it’s a moment where everyone seems to want to marry off their daughter. And of course, Bruce Wayne is a good “party”. 

The plan was fairly simple. You’d fake a relationship with him, so he could avoid all of this, and in exchange…Well. You’d gain a lot in exchange. 

This is how you started to really feel like you had fallen into a “romcom” by accident…You and Bruce, became an actual living trope. 

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

“And then when the “marrying season” is done, you can break it off.”

“I ?”

“Well yes, I can assure you you’ll gain quite a rep if you break up with me haha.”

You raise an eyebrow, unsure you like that sort-of overly confident side of him. But you can see something behind his eyes, like a slight unsureness as he looks back at you, trying to see if you’ll agree or not.

“I don’t really need a “reputation”.”

Breaking up with THE Bruce Wayne himself. For sure people would talk about it a lot, and maybe it would help open some doors for you ? But you felt a little odd taking advantage of this like that. 

Seeing that he hadn’t convinced you quite yet, he adds : 

“Of course, I will pay you.” 

What kind of Pretty Woman sort of nonsense was this ?! You were about to protest when he added, realizing how he sounded : 

“I mean, you ARE doing me a great service. You ARE going to have to act, you know ? An…actual job ? And I will be honest with you, it won’t be easy, to find yourself in the public eye. I think it definitely justify a salary.” 

Put that way, you had to admit that, well, yeah it sort of did. Especially since you knew how crazy tabloids were about Bruce Wayne. Becoming his “girlfriend” would definitely put you on the front lines. 

“And it would truly help me tremendously.” 

Your grandma always said it : “True joy comes out from helping others !” So. What if you benefit from it a little ? If it helps you financially, and you can get a little network out of it ? First rule of Alchemy (what a weeb) : “equivalent exchange” ! Plus, he did really help you with your coffee, but also with Eric and Monica so…

And hey, this gap year was meant to help you find what and who you wanted to be. Help you go through this little twenty-something crisis. And this ? Living a literal romantic comedy cliche by faking being someone’s girlfriend ? Well, it definitely felt like the kind of adventure that could help you figure things out.  

With a smile, you finally nod and shake his hand, not knowing quite yet in which mess you actually put yourself into…

Briefing. 

Like every “secret mission”, this one too needed a “briefing”. 

A little meeting to put all the rules down, and the goals too. 

And here you were, feeling very out of place in a huge conference room in the biggest and tallest building in Gotham : “Wayne Tower”.  

The concierge stared at you for a very long time, when you said you were there to see Mister Wayne. No “nobody” like you ever called for his boss. 

Suspicious, as it was his job, he called security on you…Until it was finally cleared up that you DID have a meeting with Bruce Wayne ! 

Both the concierge, and the security guys, stared at you as you left to take the elevators they indicated to you, wondering who the hell had the kind of credentials to go all the way up there to see their boss ?! They didn’t recognize you from anywhere, not a model, not a famous politician or CEO, just…A regular person ? 

That was odd. And they noticed, it was odd. Which you assumed was what Bruce was aiming for, but it felt so awkward, to walk through this huge hall under their scrutiny. 

You finally arrived on the right floor, and oh look, some more staring. 

From his secretary, this time. She was used to see women coming to see her boss. But they’d usually wear Prada, and have plunging necklines full of pearls and fanciness. They weren’t…like you. 

You felt like it was easy, to know that you were just a “normal” person. You were definitely not wearing any designer clothes, and you were pretty sure the way you carried yourself made you super obvious. 

Hence all the staring. You could clearly see in her eyes, that she was wondering who the hell you were… 

She had her answer when Bruce came out of his office, and made a gesture as if he was going to throw his arm around your waist, and kiss you (which made you downright panic). But then, he looked awkwardly at his secretary, and instead just shook your hand. 

Something that DID NOT go unnoticed by his secretary. 

You saw how her eyes widen, and how she clearly hitched to take her phone out and call everyone…and you realized Bruce did this awkward thing because he knew his secretary, and her tendency to be a little gossipy. 

You’d discover later, in fact, that he hired her entirely because he knew if he said something, she would pick up on it and it would help him control rumors and such. Clever. 

For the moment though, he took you to a large conference room with huge windows. 

“I’m sorry for the weird “hello” back there, I wanted Shirley to think I was embarrassed to display affection to you in front of her. Usually, I do not mind at all. So doing it would make her think that-”

“I’m someone special to you.” 

“Exactly !” 

He smiles widely as you understood his plan (not sure how you felt about it, then again, that’s why you were here for, making sure you knew where both of you stood in all this), and then tells you he’ll be back in a few minutes. 

You have time to feel anxious and stressed before he finally comes back. 

“Sorry for the wait.” 

“Oh no, I bet you’re a busy man.” 

“Yes well. Anyway. Let’s get to it shall we ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Ok. So. I thought we’d settle sort of a little contract, so neither of us ever feel uncomfortable ?” 

“Sounds good, mister Wayne.” 

“Yes well first, please call me Bruce.” 

“Only if you call me (Y/N).” 

Oh and you two were still on the path of “romcom cliches”, with this conversation. He smiles, nods, and continues : 

“Ok, then I thought we could-” 

And so your fake relationship started, with some little ground rules. Like he could only kiss you after you gave him permission, if you ever felt overwhelmed everything would be called off, etc etc. 

Most rules were in your favor, to be honest. And WOW the paycheck he was going to give you for this little farce…Hey, maybe this gap year was finally gonna get interesting ?

Meeting the Little Buddy. 

It was sort of necessary. By then, Dick had been his son, officially, for a few months. He wasn’t calling him “dad” yet (and Bruce didn’t particularly want him to, at the time…ah but everything change one day, right ?), but they were already family. 

And it was a needed step. 

It wasn’t in the little “contract” you made, and honestly you could’ve refused to meet him but…Well, you liked kids. In another life, it felt like you could’ve been a teacher (A/N : AH, like in this story ;) : “Can you be my dad’s girlfriend, please ?” ). 

And you’d feel awkward, to fake a relationship and not ever meet his boy. 

The first time he saw you, it was at the Wayne Tower, and his eyes widened as he exclaimed : 

“Wow you’re so pretty ! Are you Bruce’s girlfriend ? You’re too good for him, you know.” 

You could feel your heart melt, how adorable this little guy was, right ? You chuckled, and almost full on laughed as you saw how vexed Bruce was by the comment. 

Not that he thought he was too good for you, no, he was just a little unhappy his son was stealing the show, and thought he couldn’t land someone like you…Oh but that, you couldn’t guess at the time, of course. 

“Nice to meet you, Dick. I’m (Y/N). And…I’m not really his girlfriend.” 

“Can you be mine then ?” 

You laugh again. You and Bruce had decided to tell him the truth, Bruce assuring you that kid was good at pretending too. You answer : 

“No, I’m saving him from marriage proposal.” 

“Oooooh !” 

Good at pretending. Dick had no idea what you were on about, but he was very good at acting as if he knew. 

It’s only way later, that he finally got it. By then, he already accepted you as : “his dad’s girlfriend”, and even knowing the truth, there was no way to change his mind. And to be honest, out of everyone, little Dick Grayson was probably the most aware of what the situation truly was. 

He had a knack, to notice how people felt. 

A “family” outing.

Two months in, and it was going GREAT. Faking a relationship was actually pretty easy. All you had to do was hanging out with him (and he was very nice to hang out with), and when a paparazzi was around, quickly kiss his cheek, or hold his hand, or let him put his hand in your hair…All those cute things new couples do. 

Today was one such small date. 

You could see Bruce was nervous, though.

After hanging around with him that many times, you started to know him a little better. Started to know he wasn’t really that persona he portrayed publicly.

He was actually quite a dork. What a pity, nobody else would ever know his real self…Yet, it made you happy you were one of the few in on the secret.

“Ok, out with it mister, what’s up ?”

He looks at you with such surprise in his eyes, as if it was the first time someone guessed what he was feeling…and, well, yes. It was. It was the first time someone who wasn’t Alfred got it. Someone realized something was on his mind. And asked him about it, didn’t just ignore and move on. Actually cared to know. 

“I-Um…”

“Well ? Come on, I think literally nothing can surprise me by now, given you know, I’m faking a relationship with a billionaire, and it’s like, my job now.”

He smiles, and he couldn’t possibly know how soft his look was, as he gazed at you.

“I…well, people don’t quite believe in us because-”

“WHAT ?! With all the “dates” and kisses and lovey dovey shit we did ?!”

He chuckles at your reaction, loving how honest you always were, and adds :

“The problem apparently is that you weren’t seen with my son yet, so many don’t believe we’re serious.”

“Oh…”

You met Dick. Because it felt like a necessary step to yours and Bruce’s scheme. And you knew he knew this was all fake…But neither of you wanted to confuse the boy in any way so he was kept mostly out of the plan.

“I talked to him, and it’s actually really up to wether you’re comfortable with it or not. I know he wasn’t part of our contract, and I should’ve probably thought about it, I’m sorry. But um…If you’re ok with it, we could..Do things with him, too ?”

Bruce is really nervous; And you’re pretty sure no one but you (and maybe Alfred) ever saw him like that. It’s kind of…sweet. But you let the silence linger for too long and he hurries to say :

“You really don’t have to ! It’s ok if they don’t think we’re that serious and I get someproposals. I can manage ! You’re still a great help right now. It was just an idea. Dick is a very social kid, he would go along with anything and loves to do activities outside. He would be fine. But if you’re not then we can-”

“No. No no it’s…It’s ok Bruce. The few time I saw him, Dick did seem absolutely a peach to be around. And I always have fun with you, so sure, let’s organize a little something and show those bastards we’re totally real.”

You chuckle a little, your smile and carefree face making his heart skip a beat, for some reasons…Bruce also decided to ignore how happy it made him, to know you were always glad to be with him, and instead, he smiled and settled a date.

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

And here you were. In one of Gotham’s biggest park, opening a basket full of delicious sandwiches made by the one and only Alfred. Pretending to have a great family outing.

“Hey, hey look !”

Dick was absolutely amazing, at acting as if you were really a thing. As if you were really a “family”. Right now, he was doing flips and cartwheels, demanding your attention with avidity.

Bruce made sure to always hide his face from pictures (he was GREAT at noticing where paparazzis were hiding, a life of practice, you assumed), as he wanted to keep as much as he could his son’s privacy (especially after he made all the headlines when he lost his parents).

It was quite adorable. And…You were really having fun.

Dick was such a lively kid, and he was full of talents. The food was good, and it was so comfortable around Bruce. It felt so natural.

This wasn’t all that bad. To fake being a family. A good use of your gap year, really. 

You purposefully decided to ignore the glint in the boy’s eyes. The way you sort of suspected for him, this was getting real, and not only pretend.

You and Bruce purposefully ignored it, actually. And you both felt shitty for it. Because not only were you risking to break that little boy’s heart when it was all over but…It was too hard to accept that maybe, maybe he was right.

And that all of this ? Might’ve not been as fake as you’d love to repeat yourself.

First Official outing. 

First gala. You were terrified. So far all you had to do was hang out with Bruce in the afternoon, there and there. It mainly consisted in him buying you coffee, and keeping the addiction to caffeine real, while talking about anything that would come to your mind. The conversations between you two was always fluid and pleasant. 

Or you’d go out with him and Dick, to do some fun things like mini-golf or catching a movie. Nothing too big and scary. It was mainly just you guys, no one else. 

It seemed like he knew where the paparazzis would be (most likely because he was “anonymously” tipping them off himself), and he’d take you on random short dates when he had time in between his work, slowly fueling the rumors Bruce was not a heart to steal anymore. 

And that he was dating a “commoner” ! (He hated this name for you, while you really didn’t mind that much). 

And this gala, was what made it completely official. Finally. It was your idea, to take things “slow”, and hang out with him and his son BEFORE hanging out in public areas like this. 

It was clever, really. To make it seems like you were trying to “hide” your relationship by being low-key, to then finally announce everything in public like that, at such an event. 

Bruce went to get a drink for the both of you, and you were looking around you, horrified at the mere idea that someone would come talk to you. 

But for some reasons, nobody seemed to dare. Maybe Bruce made sure that people would leave you alone ? Even as if you were clearly the talk of the evening, all eyes on you, and not even trying to be subtle ? 

You knew he did the same with little Dickie. That he made sure he was safe from the paparazzi and that no unsolicited journalist would come around him.

Thinking of it, where was the little one ? Usually, according to Bruce, whenever there was a gala he would spend his entire time near the food table, eating as much as he could, and he would come home feeling nauseous because of it…Haha sounded like Dick alright. That kid was so-

Oh oh.

Who was that sleazy looking gal talking to him ? He seemed so uncomfortable, yet too polite to brush her off…Oh no, she wasn’t one of them, was she ?

Without thinking twice about it, wether it was your place to do what you were about to do or not, you resolutely walked towards them.

“-Think it’s because he relates to you ? As both of you lost your parents in horrific situations, you know ?”

“I-I don’t know m’am.”

When you saw Dick’s distressed face, and his eyes slowly filling with tears, there was no doubt in your mind.

This woman was not supposed to be there, and was definitely not supposed to talk to that child…

This woman was a - shiver of disgust- tabloid journalist.

Your blood boiled as you saw her take a picture of the teary eyed Dickie, and you were standing protectively in front of him before you could even think about it. When you felt the boy clutch to your sleeve, hiding behind you and holding on for dear life, you knew you wouldn’t regret it.

“Can I ask you why you’re talking to that boy, please ?”

“What, it’s illegal to talk to fellow guests now ?”

“Lady, you’re well in your thirties. He’s eight. You have no right talking to him. Not only is it weird, but I know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, and pray tell, what am I doing, lovey ?” 

“You’re trying to get a story out of him. And you should be ashamed of yourself. He’s eight ! And from what I heard, you were asking some very disgusting things back there !” 

“I-”

“Shut up.”

Your words came out harsh and determined, and the woman was so shocked she stayed silent for a while. You crouch down to Dick’s level, and ask : 

“Are you ok, my little buddy ?” 

He nods weakly, and then burst into tears as he launches himself in your arms, clinging to you tightly. You turn your head towards the woman, glaring at her so fiercely she doesn’t dare to take a picture of the scene, even as she knows she could sell them for a golden price. 

“You should be ashamed of yourself. He’s just a child !” 

The woman was about to say something else, something you knew would fuel your anger further, when Bruce arrived, and it was clear from his face that he was not happy. 

A quick look to you holding his crying son in your arms, and to the lady with the camera in her hands, and he understand what happened. With a cold voice you never heard him use before, he says : 

“I suggest you leave the area now, before I force you to.” 

There was something almost scary, in his demeanor. Almost like…No. Impossible. In any case, you didn’t worry about it much, drawing soothing circles with your hand on Dick’s back, trying to calm him. 

People around quickly stopped staring as they met Bruce’s assassin glare. It was not secret, that he was very protective of his son. And of his new girlfriend, apparently. 

You picked the little boy in your arms (Dick, at the time, was still so tiny), and Bruce comes closer, trying to soothe him too. And it really looked like all this was real…

Dick fell asleep in Bruce’s arms shortly after that, and was still there when it was time for the gala official pictures. Not wanting to wake him up, for once, Bruce allowed people to photograph the boy, as long as they did not frame his face. 

He laid his free hand on the small of your back, and just like you got used to those past months, you pretend to be head over heels for him and have one of your own arm around his waist.  

“Would you please allow me to kiss you on the cheek, for the cameras ?”

His question is so sweet, softly whispered in your ears. And you felt like a tease tonight, and maybe a little tipsy too. You tell him : 

“On the cheek only ? Let’s give them a show no ? Let them forget about what happened with Dick.”

Of course, you’re only joking, but there’s a light in Bruce’s eyes you haven’t seen before and…It disappears quickly. He chuckles, of that low chuckles that would charm anyone in the world, and says :

“I don’t want to force you to do anything you wouldn’t want to. Actually kissing me, I realize, might be too much.”

You know he caught on your joke, but you can’t brush off that light in his eyes that ignited when you suggested to kiss him…You don’t know why, and it feels you’re not controlling your own words, as you hear yourself say :

“Oh because kissing you would be such a horrible thing wouldn’t it ? Oh my, you’re only one of the handsomest man in Gotham, a rather attractive fella, how could I handle kissing you ? So disgusting !”

Your tone is teasing, and a little bit challenging. He catches on that, too. He answers : 

“But I am merely here to serve. I will do as you wish. You only have to say the words.” 

His smile fills your vision. His face. And the way he softly holds your waist, even as his other arms is carrying his son (the man was BUILT). And you think…Well, fuck it ! It was time for the first (fake) kiss, right ? 

Right here, in front of the cameras, where everyone was seeing you. Making it go full circle. Making it “official”. 

“Kiss me then, if you dare.” 

You simply say. Releasing a breath you were unaware you were keeping in. And he feels his heart squeeze, and as if he’s sweating a bit. When was the last time he was nervous about kissing a woman ? 

He couldn’t remember. 

And then he kisses you, the flashes of cameras slowly fading away as his lips melt onto yours. 

Wow. What a perfect, and nice, first kiss. 

As fake as it might be.

Your room. 

Your room at Wayne Manor was bigger than your entire apartment. 

You and Bruce decided that sometimes, so you wouldn’t raise any suspicion, you’d sleep at the Manor. Paparazzi were so on top of everything, it would seem weird if he was in a “committed relationship” and you never slept at his place. 

So Alfred settled a room for you. 

Oh. Alfred ! You met him not long ago, and he was the best ! 

It felt like he could magically guess what you wanted when you wanted it, and magically appeared with that warm cup of tea you craved, or that meal you’ve been thinking about all day. 

But beyond that, he was genuinely nice and made sure to make you as comfortable as possible. He showed you around, and his conversation was so pleasant ! 

You could actually see a lot of Bruce in him. Or, rather, it was evident that Alfred had raised Bruce most of his life, because they had a lot of similar mannerism, and were both kind and caring (Ah, imagine if Superman knew what you thought of Bruce, how crazy it’d sound to him eh ? But of course, that you’d discover way WAY later). 

You never went to explore much when it was time to go to bed, too afraid to get lost. This place was huge, and you never quite had a good sense of orientation. 

One could only wonder, what would you have discovered if you ever dared to wake up during the night, and explore his home ?

Build a Bear. 

Sometimes, Bruce really had to wrack his brain for original date ideas. Ever since he came back to Gotham, his dating days consist of pretending to sleep with every model in the World. 

He’d take them to fashion shows, to galas, to charity events…All very public places, unsuitable for a “serious” relationship like he was hoping to make yours and his pass for. 

Enter : Clever little Dickiebird, who always had an idea (and who might’ve been the best wingman someone like the Batman needed…that, of course, he’d discover it way, WAY later) :

“You can take her to a build a bear !” 

“Build…a bear ?” 

“Yeah, you know. You go and you make your own teddy bear !” 

“I do know, I took you to get Chester - the name of Dick’s favorite plushie toy now, and maybe with which he slept-. But…For a date ?” 

“What ? It’s cute and intimate !” 

“Huh ?” 

It has been a long time, since Alfred Pennyworth had to hold his laughter in that hard, and try to stay impeccably neutral. And there, faced with his master Bruce, who was known as the “ultimate womanizer”, the “perfect playboy”, and who was currently taking advice from his eight years old son…It was really hard to keep a straight face. 

It was also incredibly adorable. Especially how Bruce seemed to genuinely listen to the little one, unaware that he seemed actually way too interested for things just to be for his “fake relationship” to be more convincing. 

Not that Alfred was going to tell Bruce anything. 

“Dick, you know (Y/N) isn’t really my girlfriend, right ?” 

The way the boy talked about taking you to a date, felt to Bruce like he was forgetting this was all fake. And it was important to remind him.

But Dick had to invoke all the efforts in the world to not roll his eyes as to say : “sure she isn’t”, by now, it was oh so obvious to everyone but you and Bruce that there was a very real thing forming between you two. 

Instead, he said : 

“But you’re suppose to make the public really believe it right ? If you take her to build a bear, I can assure you they will think you guys are the real deal.” 

Bruce pondered this for a little bit, and realized that his son was right. It did seem like a cute and intimate date to bring your girl to, even if she was your fake girl…

Ah. Bruce forgot his own words. “Dick is great at pretending.” He is. He really is. Just like right now, he was pretending his idea was completely innocent, while he knew it would bring you two ever so closer. 

That whenever you’d see those bears you were going to build in your home, you’d think of one another. And remember fondly of the memory. 

And oh. Oh that boy was right. 

Your bear was sitting proudly on your couch, and every time you saw it, you remembered how clumsy Bruce had been, filling his own bear up. And how cute he was, carefully thinking of his options. 

And every time Bruce saw his own bear, that Alfred, for some reason, settled in the Batcave on the “trophy shelves” (and for some reason Bruce didn’t take it off of it…), he couldn’t help but think how he had genuine fun that day. 

Genuine fun, for the first time in what felt like ages. And how your smiling and giggling face didn’t seem to leave his mind, whenever he saw that bear…

Conniving traitors. 

“We both agree, he’s in love with her right ? He’s just too dense to realize it.” 

“Oh yes, young Master Richard, he definitely is. And he is dense, at times.” 

“Should we do anything ?”

“No more than what you’re already doing.” 

“Which is ?” 

“Which is continuing to push them in the…Right direction.”

“Oh ! I get it ! I’ll keep going Al’!” 

“And I’m sure you’ll make miracles, young master.” 

Dick’s smile to the old butler was so pure and happy, that Alfred had a hard time keeping his composure once again. 

And oh. Oh how he wish they were right, and that his Master Bruce would FINALLY allow himself to be happy… 

Rumors and Truth 

Bruce was just a tiny bit older than you. 24, according to his wikipedia page. 

And you couldn’t help but be a little jealous, as you were looking at the page to re-enroll yourself in Gotham’s university, knowing he was done with college.

Then again, he was obviously a genius and would’ve been done faster than you anyway, even if you were the same age, since he finished his PhD just the year before, while most people don’t even START their doctorate until they’re around 23/24. 

Mmmm. Made you think. Was this just yet another rumors about the man ? 

Maybe not, after all it was proven he started college at age 14, and in Ivy Leagues ones, all across the world. 

From Cambridge, to Oxford, without forgetting La Sorbonne (A/N : by the way, this is canon haha, Bruce really did start college that early and went to many different places, and honestly, is anyone surprised ?). 

This wasn’t really something you absolutely couldn’t believe, compared to other crazy rumors about him. And you knew he WAS smart. 

By then, you couldn’t count how many things were circulating about him, and how hard it was to know the truth from just plain old rumors. 

He had over a thousand lovers, he had MORE than one PhD (impossible, right ?), he had died once but survived somehow, he was part of a cult, he often lost his status as a billionaire because he gave so much money to charities and such, but his companies meddled in so many areas that his bank account was always filled more and more…

Honestly that last part didn’t really surprise you. You saw him gave his money away to things he cared about (like education and medical care) without a second thoughts, so the fact he constantly oscillated between “billionaire” and “multi-millionaire” didn’t really surprise you, not when you knew him like you did now. 

You totally trusted the rumors that said that by now, he gave away more than he currently owned. It sounded like him alright…But how to know the truth from the downright crazy ? Did he really have a PhD or was this just an addition to how special and different Bruce Wayne was in Gotham ? What kind of PhD did he have anyway ? 1000 lovers, really ?!

So many questions. And not a lot of answers. Even if you grew closer (as friends, of course), Bruce was still somewhat of a mystery to you. 

He never really tried to dismiss rumors, even the bad ones (unless they touched his son). Which made you wonder if they were true or not. And you really, really, for some reasons, wanted to know more about him…

“Is something the matter ?” 

He asks. Oh goddamn you, day dreaming on one of your regular “coffee date”. 

You shake your head, sipping on your drink and say : 

“Was just thinking about…Tabloids.” 

“Ah.” 

He frowns. For understandable reasons.

“I was just thinking about wether some rumors were true or not.” 

“What do you think is not true ?” 

“I don’t really know, and you never really say a rumor is false so it’s hard to know.” 

“Do you want to know anything in particular ?” 

Bruce knows it’s dangerous, to let you enter his private life like that. There’s a reason, after all, why he never dismisses any rumors. 

It helped build his fake persona, and take away any suspicions that he might be the infamous Batman. 

But he felt weak, around you. As if he just wanted to please you, no matter what. Sometimes, he felt dangerously close to just tell you : “ask me anything and I’ll tell you the truth”, even if it meant revealing his night activities…

Crazy, right ? 

He knew it was. And that he shouldn’t let it happen. Yet here he was, asking if you wanted to know something. Craving your attention. It felt so unlike him. But…You seemed to unlock a certain part of him. 

The one that didn’t die with his parents, and remained hidden. The one that was the old little Bruce, full of hope, honesty and happiness. Full of wish for the future…Even if he knew there was none. 

“How was college, for you ?” 

You hear yourself asking, really wondering if it was true he was 14 when he started, and if it was…How different you guys were, right ? You were 21 right now, and taking a gap year after two years of college…When he was your age, he had already finished a master (or even maybe two). 

“My college years were actually pretty boring, and unlike some rumors say, weren’t particularly wild. I was really young.”

“Ah, I heard the rumors.”

“Those are true, I’m afraid haha.”

“Afraid ? You’re a genius !”

Which is why you found, more and more, his “himbo” persona to be odd. WHat was Bruce Wayne trying to hide ? Mmm…

Bruce recognized that look in your eyes. The look of someone who was onto something, and it was too frightening to let it happen. So he said :

“Yes well, I feel I missed a lot, during those years. Which is why I make it up now hahaha !”

His boisterous laughter seemed genuine, and totally fooled you. You couldn’t always be on top of everything eh ? And this, did answer your question about his himbo persona…Oh, Bruce was good.

And he knew it. He trained for years, to make sure nobody would ever even suspect him to be Batman.

But he had to be careful with you. He knew it. It was obvious. You weren’t that easy to fool…

The Day Batman saved you. 

The fact he had to be careful with you was confirmed not long after. When, as Batman, he came to your rescue.

He should’ve known, that even with a voice changer, and a mask covering most his face, plus a demeanor that was completely different from his usual one, you’d still get suspicious…He should’ve known because he, by then, knew you quite well. 

But, what ? Was he suppose to just let you get mugged ? 

He couldn’t. 

Even if in the grand scheme of things, it would’ve been better, and he would definitely intervene if it got too rough…He couldn’t. 

He couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt, or feeling distressed.

He knew this was stupid. That he shouldn’t get so attached. That muggings weren’t really his area of expertise, that to stop them, he had to hit the big bosses. He knew. Small thugs weren’t his target. He had a much bigger vision. And rationally, he should be somewhere else right now. 

Yet he couldn’t resolve himself to. Because, and that was a dangerous thought and feeling, he was in l- 

“Why are we spying on your girlfriend ?” 

Dick’s voice takes him out of his reveries, good. It WAS getting dangerous. Still keeping you in his field of vision (you were slowly going back to your apartment, a few minutes still, and he could leave to do other things knowing you were safe and sound in your home), he answered :  

“We’re not spying on her, we’re making sure she’s safe. And she’s not my girlfriend, you know that.” 

“Oh yeah ? We’ve been following your “totally not girlfriend” since the night started, awfully looks to me like we’re um, you know, stalking her.”

“We’re not.” 

“Suuuuuuuuuure.” 

Bruce gives an annoyed look to his son, who had way too big a smug face right now, and says : 

“The night is calm, if something comes up we’ll go. But right now, it’s alright. And it has been made official, that she and I are a couple.” 

“Fake couple.” 

“Fake one to us, not to the public eye.” 

“Ooooooh !” 

Connections were quickly made in the boy’s head, and he understood why they were following her. After all, this was Gotham. And if THE Bruce Wayne had ONE known lover…Well, it was easy to know it’d attract some nasty business. 

Dick was about to make a smug remark of which he had a talent for, when it happened. He pointed at you, fear in his eyes, and Bruce focused your way again. 

“Stay here.” 

“What why ?! I wanna help her too !” 

“Because she’s too smart not to put two and two if she sees you with me. She knows us in our day lives. She’ll recognize us for sure, if we’re together.”

“Oh…”

“Just stay still, ok ?” 

“Ok.” 

Without a second thought, Bruce jumped down in the street down below, under Dick’s worried eyes. If anything happened to you, he knew his dad would never be the same again. 

And he knew he couldn’t bear to lose yet another person he cared about. Even loved. Yes. Yes Dick loved you, as if you really were part of his family…

The months of “faking” family outings made it so. Your worst fear happened. Dick was getting attached, hardcore. And he really hoped you and Bruce would figure out you were actually in love with each others before the end of your “contract”, and before his sometimes very dense dad would decide to let you go…

For now though, he was anxiously looking at Bruce making his way to you, after he spotted a suspicious group of men genuinely stalking you. 

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

“Hey pretty girl, can we talk ?” 

You stop in your track, turning around, cursing yourself for not having the instinct to just take off running. Oh. But you can see at least one of them has a gun. You can’t run faster than a bullet… 

“Ah it is you, isn’t it ?” 

You don’t answer, knowing what they mean. Bruce sort of warned you against this. But you didn’t take his warnings seriously, and here you were, going home at night, something he definitely told you not to do. 

You just couldn’t sleep that night, and needed a walk…And here you were. 

“You’re gonna come nicely with us, right ?” 

“I dont’ think so.” 

Uh ? You’re pretty sure that weird robotic voice wasn’t yours. Even if that’s exactly what you wanted to say. And that’s…oh wow. 

That’s when you see him. Batman. 

Immediately, the atmosphere grow even tenser. And you can see the thugs who wanted to take you with them fearfully looking at him. 

“This has nothing to do with you Batman, leave us alone, we didn’t do anything wrong !” 

“It has everything to do with me. Leave.” 

“We have to-You don’t understand. We have to take her to-” 

“Nowhere. Leave.” 

Even if he was protecting you, you had to admit that, that dude was frightening. He had his back to you, and even then, he looked so intimidating and tall and broad…

Bruce was tall and broad too. But he was soft and sweet, not scary at all.

“OH MY GOD LOOK OUT !!” 

One of the thug had a gun pointed at Batman. Right at his head. He didn’t have the time to enforce his helmet yet, and if he shot around his mouth, he was done for…

A rock coming out of nowhere hit the thug right in the face. 

Coming out of nowhere ? To you, maybe. But Bruce knew that this was little Dickie’s doing. “Robin always has Batman’s back”, he said often…

For the time being, the one taking his gun out being knocked out triggered a “fight or flight” reaction in the others, and as two took off running (and were mysteriously hit by rocks too, knocking them out), three decided to attack Batman. 

Bad move. 

Very bad move. 

In a matter of second, it was over. 

He turns to you, and it’s hard to discern any emotions with his lighted eyes and mask. He asks : 

“Are you alright, (Y/N) ?” 

“How-How do you know my name ?”

“Well, you’re Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend, right ?” 

There was no hesitation in Bruce’s voice as, as soon as he pronounced your name, he knew he messed up…but he trained himself to think quickly. And this “fake” relationship was a perfect excuse, of course. Everyone in Gotham knew about you two, by now. 

“Oh, right, ok.” 

You seemed a bit disappointed, and Bruce couldn’t quite understand why…

It only hits him later, as he was going to bed, why you looked like that. And it made hi heart beat widely. Because he was pretty sure that it was because you sort of hoped Bruce talked to “Batman about you…Oh…Oh this was getting dangerous. 

But of course, Bruce had a reputation to be the one funding Batman’s gadget (a really good cover for the fact he was actually Batman). So they’d know each others…

But right there and then, as he just saved you, you felt so stupid, hoping that Bruce would’ve talked to you to Batman. Why would he ? How the hell would your name even show up in a conversation between Bruce Wayne and Batman (but oh, if you knew you occupied his thoughts many times, and who he really was, maybe you’d feel less bad ? It was, in a way, Bruce talking about you to Batman, right ?). 

You smiled weakly and shyly at this impressive being in front of you, and thanked him one more time. He nods, smiling too (oh ?), and bid you farewell. 

Ah. But Bruce didn’t notice your eyes go wide, as he took off with his grappling hook, and you caught the side of his face in a certain light…

Fake ?

“You know, he smiles more when you’re around.” 

Dick tells you once, you look at him curiously, as he continues : 

“And before you say it’s “all pretend”, let me tell you there’s a difference between this smile and the fake one. Look, that’s how he pretend.” 

On that note, he looked at you and smiled widely, exaggeratedly, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. And it was so like how Bruce portrayed himself in public, that it made you chuckle. 

It also scared you a little. 

Not because there was a possibility Bruce did smile more around you, but because as that little boy was being silly, and now imitating his adopted father further and oh so perfectly…You felt a surge of love for him. 

And that wasn’t good. 

Because the day, which was coming soon now, you’d have to “dump” Bruce Wayne, you wouldn’t be able to see that little one again…why would you ? 

It’d be too weird, right ? Someone like you, once “broken up”, would have no reasons or ways to ever interact with billionaire Bruce Wayne or his son ever again. 

That little boy was the sweetest child you ever met. He suffered a great loss so early in his life, and there he was, making you laugh and being nice by saying you made his dad genuinely smile. 

It hurt, to know that one day, you wouldn’t see him again. That he’d grow up, and you wouldn’t know what he became. 

You were sure he was destined to become a great man, and you wished you could see it…No. No this was bad. This was so bad. 

“I mean it you know.” 

His little voice brings your attention back to him. 

“I think you make him happy. With you, it feels he can be himself. He laughs more, really laughs. And it’s often that he tells me “oh this makes me think of (Y/N)” and calls you. He doesn’t need to call you for the fake relationship thing, right ? Yet he does. That means something. I think he likes you.” 

You shake your head, smiling at this little boy’s wild imagination. No way. No way was THE Bruce Wayne falling for you in any way. Were you guys becoming real friends ? Sure. But it definitely stopped there. Right ?

Oh but if only you knew Dick had a knack to see this kind of things, and to guess people’s real feelings. If only you knew, that yes, Bruce was starting to fall for you…It would make the next episode way less painful for you. 

“Catch me dead before you catch me catching feelings” - You to yourself, a few days before starting a fake relationship with THE Bruce Wayne. 

“Fuck you” - You to yourself, almost six months in faking a relationship with Bruce Wayne. 

This was…bad. 

Soon enough, you and Bruce will break this entire deal off, you will “dump” him, and you’d go on your separate ways. And…

This was bad. 

Why ? WHY COULDN’T YOU JUST HANG OUT WITH THIS AMAZING CHARMING MAN AND THAT’S IT ? Why ? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AND CATCH….

Catch…

Catch those body shivering “feelings”. 

Not just for Bruce though. But for the little buddy too. 

You felt yourself fall for Bruce slowly, and as if it was completely out of your control. But you also felt like if Dick wasn’t in your life anymore…You wouldn’t feel whole again. Like he was sort of your son, too, by then. 

This was so bad. How did you get yourself in this mess ? What was that FIRST rule you gave yourself when all this started ? 

Right, “Catch me dead before I catch feelings”. Damn it. 

Thanks GOD the “marrying season” was finally coming to an end. Both you and Bruce settled you’d wait a few weeks after it to make your break-up official, so nobody

Synopsis : You have a special little way to tuck your children in, to tell them “Goodnight” and send them off to have sweet dreams, and they absolutely love it. It makes, however, your Bruce a little jealous, at times…

When I was a kid, my mom used to sing to my brother and I a song every night, after our bed time story, and then she’d tell us she loved her, we’d in turn be like “I love you from here to the Moon !” and it’d go for a good half an hour of arguing over who loved the other one most…It inspired this mini-fic. Something very short, again to make you wait for longer more elaborate stuffs. Sorry i’m being slow, a lot of things (good things) is happening and I have very little time. I hope you will like this little thing :) : 

My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

Dick

Dick is the one that invented this little “night ritual”. 

He told you this was the perfect name for it, because it sounded like you were witches up to no good, and he “loved that for you two”. 

Of course, it was fairly obvious he’d be the instigator of it all, as he was the oldest child. Your first little kiddo. Oh, but you helped too. 

The good ol’ days, during which you had absolutely NO idea how to raise a child. When you and Bruce, frankly, hadn’t been adults for THAT long, considering. 

And yet, and you were sure it was entirely thanks to little Dickie, everything came to you naturally. Everything felt right. Even if sometimes, you were a little clumsy. 

Both you and Bruce tried so hard though. To make Dick feel home. And like you were his parents. You never tried to replace his mom and dad. But in Dick’s own words, you just slowly became his chance at having parents again. 

Becoming Dick’s mom, and Dick’s dad, didn’t mean he forgot the ones he lost. It just meant he loved you as much as he loved them. And though the loss would forever hurt, he did know both John and Mary Grayson would’ve want him to be happy. 

And at Wayne Manor ? With you and Bruce ? He became happy. There was a few rough and dark first days, but things slowly build up. 

You became a family. You were his parents, now. And he knew, that his mom and dad wouldn’t be mad at him if he “moved on”, and allowed himself to love again. 

Bruce often said that he adopted Dick because he didn’t want the boy to become him. And in that simple fact, in that simple way little Dick Grayson understood he still had a chance at being happy, at having a family…He was already extremely different from his “new” dad. 

At least, from when he was at his age. 

Mission accomplished. 

In any case, this parent thing that was thrown your way, became one of the most important thing you’ve ever done in your life. 

And again, although there were some clumsy moments, and not everything was always great (Dick had some mighty fit of rage at times, Bruce could be a jerk, and hell sometimes you needed to get away from them as well because you could be such a dick…Everyone has their moments where they’re not on their best behavior, it’s called life), you were a mom, now. 

And being a mom, in your mind, meant tucking your kid in when it was time for bedtime. 

Only, it was easier said than done. 

Dick was a difficult child to put in bed. He’d always find ways to not sleep, and make you stay longer with him. Eventually, you made a “deal”. 

And that’s how the “night ritual” was born. 

You see, before this little ritual. This “deal” as you called it at first, before Dick found the name. It took you hours, to put him to bed. 

Bruce was often out in the city early (although he always made sure to be here for a good night kiss and a “love you, champ. See you tomorrow, sleep well”) and Alfred would monitor the computer, at those times. 

Later, when Dick grew up, you’d often be behind that monitor. But if a kid had to be put to bed ? You gladly took it upon yourself to do it. 

For you, especially in those early motherhood days, it was important to be there for your child. For him to feel like he wasn’t an afterthought, and that “the butler” (although everyone knew Alfred was more than that) wasn’t here to take him off of your hands. 

So bedtime, was your task. The task you gave yourself. 

And oh boy, with Dick ? It quickly turned into a hassle. 

“I’m thirsty…Wait, I’m afraid to stay alone in the room, piggyback ride to the kitchen ?” 

“I can’t sleep, it’s a full Moon.” 

“Hey, I didn’t clean up my room today ! We can’t leave all my toys laying around like that, can we ?” 

It was always “one last story” or “I have to pee” or “I forgot to brush my teeth !”. 

And at the time, you just didn’t have the heart to scold him and tell him it was enough, that it was time for bed. Oh well, who were you kidding. Even now, you didn’t scold your kids if they took their sweet time to get to bed. 

You just didn’t quite understood the point in getting  mad at them just because they didn’t go to bed right away. Dick eventually fell asleep, and not even that late. And if he was stalling for too long, he would only get mad at himself the next day because he’d be exhausted, and then that night he’d go to bed earlier. 

So no. You didn’t get mad. It sounded ridiculous, to yell at kids for this. However, you were a mom now. And you knew your kid couldn’t just do whatever he wanted, even if he was as sweet as Dick. 

Dick was nice almost all the time. He listened, did his chores, worked in school…So what if you gave him a little freedom sometimes ?

Yes. Sometimes. It was fine sometimes. 

But not all the time, like it had become. And not for bedtime. Seeing your son, in the morning, with big bags under his eyes, made you think of your husband, and oh you didn’t want this little 8 years old to be as tired as your Broosh could be. 

Of course, Dick was in bed WAY BEFORE Bruce came to bed. But for a small child like him, falling asleep at 10 or 11 pm was already too late. 

And so, one day you had enough. And you decided to make a deal with him. There had to be things required for him to go to bed (like a story, for example), but when you said : “it’s time for bed now”, he HAD to listen. The threat was that you’d just kiss him goodnight and leave. 

At first, Dick didn’t believe you. You couldn’t possibly have the heart to not tell him a story, and leave him alone so soon ! But you had to give him a lesson. 

And so, came the first unpleasant act you did as a parent. Because being nice and lenient was one thing, but you still were his mom. Not his friend. And there had to be certain rules, especially for such a young child. 

Rules, that he had to understand, or it was meaningless. Now, of course, you weren’t as harsh as your husband (you’d get mad at him enough, when he trained Dick and was a little too much). But still. You couldn’t let him decide of everything. You really REALLY didn’t want him to become a brat who thought he could just have anything whenever he wanted. 

Dick was a great kid, your worst fear at the time was that he’d turn into a phony who thought of himself as superior just because he was from a famous and rich family, and allowed to do whatever he wanted. 

And so, the “night ritual” began. On a common accord (because Dick was such a good kid, but also because that time you just kissed him, tucked him in and left really left a mark on him and he hated that so much !). 

You realized the reason he couldn’t get to sleep right away was because he was always wayyyy too excited, but also…because he didn’t want you to leave so soon. 

He dreaded the moment you’d leave, and he would be alone in his room. 

So you put in place a system, that would gradually make him sleepy. And…

It worked. 

First, you’d get dessert in bed. Usually fresh milk and a cookie. Something light, just to put him a little bit to sleep (Dick always got sleeping after he ate something, for some reasons). And you’d talk about your day, about how you felt. You’d lay it all out, so that your boy wouldn’t get to bed with any negative feelings. Talking, always helped. 

Then you’d read him a bedtime story. Better yet, you’d invent a bedtime story just for him (this is how your most famous book saga, “Richard and the Space pirates” came to be). If you felt benevolent that night, you’d even tell him two stories. 

One would usually do the trick, however.

Then you’d sing him a few lullabies, to lull him softly to sleep. 

And as he’d fall asleep, you’d whisper : 

“I love you so much.”

And he’d answer, outraged but too weak to really argue. A few last words before falling into a deep slumber : 

“I love you more !”

And bam. He’d be passed out. Your soft voice in his ears, as you told him a story, sang to him, and told him he was loved…It was what he needed. 

He was a rather young child too, who had a busy life. School, training, homework…So of course, with a little coaxing, he’d fall asleep fast. 

But he had to know you were there. Had to know he had those moments with you, and wouldn’t be alone before he fell asleep.

See, you understood that all his stalling before the “night ritual” was put in place, was because he was trying to tire himself out before you left. He was trying to keep you there as long as possible, just so he would fall asleep fast once you were gone. 

“I love you most.” 

You’d tell him, as he was already sleeping sweetly, clinging to his comforter as you slowly caressed his hair, laid a last kiss on his forehead, and left the room. Making sure before, that his little light was on, in case he woke up at night. 

Dick hated the dark. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you more !”

“I love you most.” 

Night ritual. 

Existing because your oldest kiddo, Dick, needed some “guidance” to fall asleep. But most importantly, because he needed to know you’d be there too, until he fell into his dreams. 

You’d indulge him. Meeting him half-way between “doing everything he wants you to do” and “being way too strict”. There were rules, to bedtime. 

A “night ritual”. 

But the rules were lax. Could be bend. And existed only so he would be able to sleep relatively early. 

For years and years, you’d do that little nightly ritual with him. It stopped when he was around 14, even if he still had a kiss goodnight and got tucked in. Things really stopped overall when he left for the Titans, shortly after turning 16, after that awful fight with his father. 

Oh and to be honest, something he’d never tell anyone…Even now, as a grown ass adult, he’d sometimes call you at night just so you could sing him a song, as your voice was still the thing that’d put him peacefully at sleep even to this day. But the real “night ritual” stopped. Your little boy grew up.

Which made you so sad…But then Jason came in. And soothed the pain. 

Jason

Jason ressembled Dick in that he really wanted you to stay for the longest possible. But, unlike Dick who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and who could be a bit of a brat sometimes, Jason wouldn’t say anything. 

Dick definitely used his little charms and smiles to make you and Bruce crack, and give in…the little bugger even taught his younger siblings everything about how to manipulate you two into saying “yes”, to your greatest dismay…

Oh but, was one more scoop of ice cream really that bad ? After all, your children were nice most of the time, it was fine to be a little lenient sometimes, and though Bruce loved to think of himself as a strict parent, nobody was fooled, you were both pretty cool and lax…Which didn’t mean your children were misbehaving brats, although they had their moments, like everyone. 

Anyway, Dick used to make it clear he was demanding for you to stay longer with him when bedtime was coming. 

But Jason was a little shyer. He spend his entire life until then thinking he was bothering the people around him, that he was a burden, so he really didn’t want his new family to think that of him. 

But you could see it in his eyes. You could. When he wanted for you to tell one more story, or to sing him one more lullaby. And although you were constantly teased by your husband about how easy those kids played you (as if he was one to talk)…you couldn’t resist. 

You were always left rather sad and depressed, if you put one of your kids to bed and they looked visibly upset. So you’d stay longer. Anything for them to go to bed feeling good. 

About life. About themselves. About everything, really. 

A child shouldn’t have his sleep burdened by any worries.

Of course you knew you couldn’t be forever there for them, they’d eventually grow up and you wouldn’t really need to “tuck them in” anymore (at the time, you had  no idea that even well in their twenties, if they came to sleep at the Manor, even as they already moved out, they’d ask you for a good night kiss…The magic of being consistent in your love for them, really). 

You knew that eventually, they’d grow up too much and wouldn’t need you as much. That it’d be harder, too, to cheer your little ones up. Growing up unfortunately meant your worries grew with you too, and were harder and harder to forget. Or to be distracted from. 

You knew one day would come, in which little Jason would not be soothed anymore, by you telling him a bed time story. 

So maybe, you cracked a little too often, especially with him. 

You knew Dick had a good childhood, before you adopted him. But Jason ? He was bruised and abused, and thrown away like a dirty socks too often. Nobody ever wanted him, anywhere he went. 

Which was why, he didn’t dare to ask for a second story when you finished the first one. 

See, Dick would just jump up in his bed, do a backflip and dramatically say : “Pleaaaase fair lady, another story for the poor squire boy !”. Which would make you smile, and tell him one more. 

But Jason ? He didn’t say anything. And held all his feelings of sadness and disappointment inside. 

He wanted, more often than not, a second story so bad. But he didn’t want to bother you. He didn’t want you to realize he was actually a burden, and to throw him away, just like everyone else did. 

Jason always got to have a second story. Of course, any of your kids would if they asked. But Jason never dared to ask. So you’d just give it to him naturally. 

He always started to fall asleep half-way through the second story, which you’d keep on hold to then sing to him. 

Your songs would make him slowly drift to sleep, a genuine smile on his face. 

Oh. Jason. Always such a sweet boy, afraid to bother others, yet as contradictory as it sounded boisterous and full of life. 

Your little Jason. When Dick left for the Titans, you hadn’t realized how much you missed having a little one home. And then. 

Then there was Jason. 

When he died, you thought your “motherhood” died with him. Dick was over eighteen by then, and even if Jason’s death made him come back to the Manor, there was no “night ritual” anymore. You didn’t have the heart for it anyway…

You still had Dick, but losing your young son like that, knowing how he died, made you feel like you would never recover. You were in such a bad shape, that you couldn’t even help Bruce when he also fell into a dark well. When he turned back to being overly violent as Batman, practices he stopped when Dick left and opened his eyes. When Dick questioned him. 

You still had Dick, but it felt like part of what you were as a mother, died with Jason. How could you do a “night ritual” properly now, with the memories of your son’s sweet smile, him telling you this was his favorite part of his day ? With the memories of…

You moved from the East wing to the West wing, after Jason’s death. None of you could walk past his empty room anymore. 

Dick came back. And it was his turn, to help you fall asleep. More than one night, he spend trying to comfort you as you couldn’t stop the tears from running down. He never left you alone. 

Bruce couldn’t handle any of it, and he buried himself under his work as Batman. It would take him some time, before he realized that you had to be there for each others…

When Jason died, it felt like it was the end of everything nice about motherhood. Every night, you fell asleep with your head in your oldest son’s laps, seeing in his eyes the grief and pain of it all.

And you felt guilty. More depressed and sadder. You always hated seeing your children off to bed looking upset…

But it was hard to resist. Everything felt so far away. And Bruce wasn’t there. This was one of the darker moment, in your family life…

Dick felt helpless. He hadn’t been able to save his little brother. Now he couldn’t even help his parents. It felt like the entire family was breaking…

And then. Then Tim came in. 

Tim

Tim’s parents never tucked him in, too busy with their high society lives. 

So when he started to live with you and Bruce, after he lost both of them, he didn’t really expect you to…

“Do you want a bedtime story, maybe ?” 

You asked him on his first night being officially adopted. 

Oh but this was rather long after you started to see him as your own son. Tim already stayed over the Manor many times (without his parents ever even calling to know where he was). And he’d been Robin for a few months, before his parents passed away and he was officially adopted into the Wayne family (A/N : no need to tell me that canonically, Tim got adopted quite a long time after his parents died and he was “just” a ward like Dick was, for a while ;). No need either to tell me he was “older” than the age I give him there, which is around 10/11…Firstly because it varies according to canons, like sometimes he’s young, sometimes he’s fifteen, but also because this is a fanfic and my canon ages for the boys are taken from the canon I prefer XD which are not the ones in which he had a certain “Happy 15th birthday” pizza. Anyway what I mean is, that I’m not entirely accurate here for sure, but eh, it’s a FANfic, let’s allow ourself a little freedom…there’s no official canon on his age or how old he was when adopted anyway, it varies wildly from era to era hehe). 

Both you and Bruce kept your distance from him, at first. In more way than others, he painfully reminded you of the son you lost. And it felt wrong, to replace him so…

Replace him ? 

Slowly, both of you were reminded of that conversation you had with Dick, once. When he was little, and asking if his parents would be mad if he called you and Bruce “mom and dad”. 

That conversation, during which all of you talked about how you didn’t replace John and Mary, you just became another family for him. His new parents. 

Didn’t mean he would ever forget about the ones who were ripped away from him. Just that he…

He allowed himself to love again. 

And you did, too, when you finally accepted Tim in your life. 

That boy had a way, anyway, to crawl inside your heart and settle comfortable there…He was just such a bright one, in more than one way. Sure, he was extremely intelligent, but he also just…Shone. A new sun in your life. 

Not one that would replace any other Sun. Just. A new one. That you were allowed to love, too. 

“Do you want a bedtime story, maybe ?” 

Now, he was officially your son. And this was the first night he’d spend in the Manor being yours. Before, you never dared to tuck him in, by fear of getting too attached just for him to be ripped away from you…And he almost did. 

His father, almost took him away, before his ultimate demise… But that was another story. 

Tonight, was the first night as your son. And he was still so small, just ten little years. The age Jason was too, when the official adoption papers were signed…

You chased away the painful memories, as little Timmy looked at you, surprised. But you could see a hint of interest in his eyes. 

“A bedtime story ?” 

“Yes, if you want to of course. You don’t have to-”

“I’d love a bedtime story !” 

He was in such a hurry to tell you this, that it made you smile. And you could feel it in your bones. That boy never had anyone asking him if he wanted to be told a story, before sleep. 

It was obvious in his excitement, and it was obvious in his hopeful eyes. Eyes that were asking : “…Do I really mean something to you ? Enough that you’d spend time reading to me ?”. 

It broke your heart. Poor little one. Even though he had parents, and came from a rich family, he was never truly cared for. It was obvious in everything he did. 

Often, he’d try to do stuffs on his own, and would be surprised if you, Alfred or Bruce would ask if he needed help… 

Ah. Well tonight. Tonight called for one of your made up stories for sure. A mere random storybook wouldn’t do. No. You had to tailor one for him. Just for him. So he would finally know how special he is. 

“Ok, well then.”  

You settled next to him in his bed, as he sat up, the excitement pouring out of his very being. Alfred chose that time, to drop some milk and cookies, as he informed you he would be down in the Batcave to help Bruce. 

Impeccable timing. As usual. 

You thanked him, and started your story, as Tim looked at you with wide eyes, eating his cookie absentmindedly, quickly realizing you were telling a story about him ! : 

“Once upon a time, there was a little boy. His name was Timothy, and he didn’t know it yet but one day…He’d save the entire Kingdom of Waynalia. How, you might ask ? Well it was simple. You see, young Timothy had a talent to cure people’s heart. And the King and Queen of Waynalia, who were known to be cruel and vile, only were so because they’ve had broken hearts for far too long…” 

Tim fell asleep at the end of the story. And just like his brothers, quickly took to this “night ritual”. After all, he was still just a child. And this entire “milk/cookie/ story/lullabies/kiss goodnight” was great. 

Cassandra

Cassandra was fifteen, when she started to live with you at Wayne Manor. Too old, you thought, for the “night ritual”

Dick himself stopped demanding it around aged fourteen (after a certain Wally West mocked him when he heard of it), and even that was rather old when you thought of it. One of the main reason he slowly detached himself from it (apart from being mocked), was being Robin full time now, and going most nights out, so he didn’t really have the energy anymore for the ritual. It wasn’t needed. Which sort of broke your heart. 

Jason died before he ever got the “chance” to ask you to stop….

But this was not something you wanted to think about. Oh no. 

In any case, Cass was fifteen, and you thought, too old to want some bedtime stories by her mom, or any sort of snuggles. 

That was until…

A nightmare. 

You heard her, it felt even in your sleep. Something woke you, and then she started to scream. Bruce wasn’t home yet, and it was her night off (you forced all of them to have one, at least once a week). 

That night, you had marathoned your favorite TV show with her, and went to bed your separate ways. You did kiss her goodnight, and told her you loved her (you always told them at least once a day, because you learned that in your line of work…you never knew what could happen…Jason’s smiling cheeky face came to your mind, did you tell him often enough that he-no. Not tonight.). 

And then, late, it was pitch black out, you heard her scream. 

Your mother instinct made you run to her. Quickly, you understood she had yet another bad dream about her father coming to get her, and forcing her to be a weapon again. It happened so often… 

You shook her up, and she almost knocked you down as she was slowly regaining consciousness and wondering what the hell was happening and where she was. You know, those few seconds before you’re fully awake, when you’re not even sure you’re even someone anymore ? The time you need to remember oh right, I’m human, and I was in my bed. This is my bedroom. Right. 

To sooth her, you started to slowly sing to her. To hold her while you rocked gently back and forth, and sung. 

She didn’t talk, as you dried her tears. As you reminded that this was all fine, she was home, and David Cain would never hurt her again. 

Cass calmed down, and fell back asleep. You held her most of the night, waiting for Bruce to come back. You just didn’t feel like going back alone in your bed, after such screams

The next night off she had, when it was time to part at the top of the stairs after yet another TV show marathon, when you’d go to your room and her to hers…

She stopped. And held onto your sleeve. 

“Cass, honey, what is it ?”  

There was a few seconds of silence, before she said : 

“Do it again ?” 

And you understood instantly. 

See, the other nights, the ones she didn’t have off, Cass would come home exhausted after a night of vigilanting. But when she had her night off, when she wasn’t “working”…Sleep was hard to come. 

You knew all too well what she felt. Your Broosh was the same, and already poured his feelings to you about it more than once. 

Now, Cassandra wasn’t much of a talker (your husband either, really, but then it was different with you)but you could see it in her eyes. 

“Sing ?” 

She nodded. And so you went to tuck her in. 

You thought she was “too old”. You thought she wouldn’t like it. You thought, as she was slowly discovering her own independence after being treated as a weapon and not choosing anything in her life, that she’d want to be alone in moments like this. 

And oh. Oh you thought wrong. 

That night, you sang to her until she fell asleep. And slowly but surely, the “night ritual” put himself into place. 

Over the years, it didn’t change much. Because it was such a successful formula. Milk and cookies was talking about their day, getting their feelings out. A story by you. A soothing lullabies. Snuggles and kisses. 

Winning formula. 

Why change it ? Your children were all wildly different, but the one thing that linked them all, was how much they loved you and your antics. 

Each of them had “mom time”, where they’d spend the day just with you (just like your Broosh and you had date nights and such). You always took time to spend individual time with all of them, and during those times the activities would be very different from one kid to another. 

But those “night rituals” ? They didn’t need to change. Because they were perfect the way they were. Exactly what they all needed. Pure love, in many ways. And the knowledge they’d never be alone again. 

Love and loneliness. 

Two things your youngest son, Damian, struggled with for years. 

Damian

“I love you, little one.” 

The first time, Damian didn’t respond. He just nodded, and turned around in his bed, back facing you. 

He couldn’t face you, or you’d see the “stupid” smile plastering his face at the mere thought he was loved, and had a real mom…But that, you didn’t know.

You didn’t really take it personally, you happened to know another “emotionally stunted” Wayne, so you were used to it. It took a while, for Bruce to finally admit his feelings for you. Even if they were obvious, and written all over his face (which is why Damian used the “back facing you” trick). 

You knew it’d take time. So for now, you’d settle with a simple kiss, and reminding him he was cherished. 

And then one day… 

“Why do you not read me bed time stories ? Or make one up, with me as the hero ?” 

“Beg you pardon ?” 

You were diligently tucking him in, as he never told you off when you did it, when he asked this, taking you by surprise. What he said didn’t quite register, until he added : 

“Grayson says that when he was little, you’d tell him a story. Made him the hero of it. And then you’d sing. He said there were cookies, too. Why do you not do that with me ?” 

Oh. Oh. Oooooooooh. 

You got it now. But you’re no less surprised. 

“I thought…You had no interest in those ?” 

Damian nodded slowly, and said : 

“I know why you would think this…Mom.”

Mom. That…He hadn’t call you that very often, so far…

“But when you come to tuck me in, I never have nightmares. I sleep soundly, and I dream of-Soft things. Like unicorns and cats.” 

This makes you smile. Oh. Oh if only people could see the Damian right in front of you, and not the Damian he liked to pretend he was. 

Sweet, sweet boy. 

“I know why you think I don’t want a story, and snuggles, and all the thing Grayson gushed about for hours. But I…Do. I like when you come to tell me goodnight, and I wouldn’t mind if it lasted longer ?” 

He was so unsure. Very unlike his cocky usual self. 

This, was the real Damian. 

The one who really wants to connect with others, who wants to be good, but he’s just not really sure on how to proceed. So he pretends he doesn’t care. 

But he does. He cares a lot. 

He’s very much like your Broosh, in that regard. Like father like son, eh ? Both of them love to hide emotions from their faces, and pretend everything is ok, even when they’re breaking inside. 

Silly boys. 

You managed to reach Bruce. You were sure you could reach your son…

And it had already started. You could see it. You smile, and leave his room to get cookies and milk. 

And oh damn it, you should’ve told him you were doing that ! Because when you came back, he was laying in his bed and looked absolutely crestfallen ! There was even small tears in his eyes, oh no ! 

You quickly understood that he thought you were refusing to do the famous “night ritual” with him. That you just went to bed too, and weren’t going to tell him a story. 

His face brightens, truly brightens, reminding you of when the sun just comes out from behind high mountains. He sees the cookies and milk, and oh. Oh he looks so excited. 

You dried his tears with the back of your hand, and smiled fondly at him. 

It makes everything worth it. All your effort to connect with him, worth the work and heartache it brought. 

You knew. You knew you’d eventually make it. And it’s that evening, when he asked for “the night ritual”, that you truly realized it. 

First, cookies and milk, and a little talk about his day. His feelings, too. 

Then the story, one you made up with him as the hero. He seemed to love that, especially to be a good hero, and not a villain. Cute, and heartbreaking at the same time. 

Then come the lullabies. 

And finally, the soft drift to sleep, and a last feel of warmth as you kiss his forehead and leave him to a deep slumber. 

Damian has never felt so peaceful in his life before. 

Duke

You didn’t really dare, at first, going to tell him good night. 

Unlike your other children, Duke arrived in the family being a sixteen years old boy. Way pass needing someone to tuck him in. And you didn’t want to overstep your bound, you already knew how difficult things were for him. How hard it was to adapt to it all. 

It was quite the same than with Cass. But even more complicated. 

Cass’ childhood was inexistent, really. Destroyed before she could enjoy it. So sometimes, when with you or Bruce, she’d let go, and act like a child, even though she was older. It was fine. She never had a childhood, she could make up for it now. And so what if she liked hot cocoas and cuddles ? Nobody would hold it against her. 

In fact, most adults would probably LOVE to be taken care of by their mom again.

But Duke, was different. He had a happy childhood, parents who were loving and caring…His mom most likely told him stories, and sung him lullabies. 

And he was sixteen. And in the middle of an identity crisis, as his powers just barely manifested. 

So you didn’t go to tuck him in. Even if you really wanted to. 

You wanted to give Cass freedom, let her explore herself, as she always lived following someone else’s orders and view of life. 

But Duke ? Duke was an entirely different case from Cass. And you could see him, at times, feeling lost and sad. 

You always hated having your kids go to bed upset. But what could you do ? 

He was certainly not gonna let you…Or, was he ? 

After all, you never asked. 

“Do you…Want a bedtime story ?” 

He stares at you, visibly confused and thinking you’re a little crazy. And you realize yes, this question is ridiculous. The boy was sixteen ! 

“Nevermind, sorry that was stupid. I was just thinking…Well I don’t know what I was thinking. Sorry. Night buddy.” 

“Wait !” 

Uh ? There was a sort of little panic, in his voice. As if he was afraid you were leaving so soon. You turned around, and waited for him to speak again. 

“Maybe not a…bedtime story but…Maybe, maybe we could talk ? For a little bit ? My…My mom and I used to talk every night, it helped me sleep.” 

You felt a lot of things at the same time. 

Touched he wanted to do with you what he used to do with his mom. 

Reassured to realize your guts were right, and that his mom did tuck him in sweetly every night. 

And sad that it took him so long to ask you for this. 

“Of course Duke, of course.” 

Duke, was older than any of your other children, when he came into your life. But it didn’t mean…

It didn’t mean he didn’t need you. Or your motherly side. 

He never quite had the full “night ritual” experience, as some aspect of it were definitely too childish. But he had the cookies and milk. And the talk. And the feel that you would always be there for him. 

Always. 

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

The end ? 

No. 

Bruce 

Bruce tossed and tossed in his bed, sleep evading him. 

There used to be a time, every nights were like that. Unable to fall asleep, and when he did, his slumber was plagued with the most terrible nightmares. 

Maybe that’s why, more than anything else, he decided to use his nights to be a vigilante ? Of course, the cover of nights helped in many ways, doing his Batman work in broad daylight would be more difficult (even if he did do some work during the day). Especially in regards of his “Brucie Wayne” persona, his cover up, pretending he definitely can’t be Batman. 

Ever since his parents died, Bruce had trouble falling asleep. That’s probably why it was so easy for him to train himself to sleep barely a few hours a night, and stay in shape even as he often ran on very little resting time. 

He lived like that for so many years…

And then. Then you appeared in his life. 

And every nights in your arms were peaceful, he was taken by a deep sleep that could happen only with you. He slept so soundly, when you were there, that often when you had to wake up before him, you had to call Alfred so he’d help you untangle yourself from his grasp (I wrote a story about that haha :How to remove a Wayne safely).

You forced him to take at least one night off, and he was so sure he wouldn’t be able to rest on those nights…yet he always fell asleep like a baby, around 11 pm max, often falling asleep in front of whatever movie you were watching, just the two of you. 

You had that power. To allow him to sleep well, and not have such awful nightmares.

So when you weren’t with him, he couldn’t find sleep. 

He would toss, again and again, and whenever he’d almost fall asleep, his hand would unconsciously look for you in bed and the fact you were absent would make him be wide awake again. 

Yes. He just couldn’t sleep, when you weren’t there. 

Which is why…Which is why he was a little grumpy, when you would take a long time telling your children good night. It was a sort of jealousy he wasn’t very proud of. 

Fighting other men to get your attention ? Any day. Fighting his own children…Felt a little shameful. Not like he could control this feelings, there was time, he was a little selfish. And you two had such few times to yourself, with the life you lead, that any opportunity was taken gladly.

He’d always try to be there for the story time, and for a kiss and some “Love you, kiddo” before leaving either for the cave, or to take an early night in.

Early night ins. Rare occasion. 

Like tonight. His one night off this week. 

He trusted his cousin, Batwoman, to take care of the city, and his oldest sons, Dick and Jason, who were now old enough to go out there on their own, too…Well, he did still hid trackers in them, and made sure to ask Kate to keep an eye on them, but they were adults. 

Capable of taking care of themselves, and go out there to keep Gotham safe, and take care of their younger siblings.

They were still absolutely forbidden to go out there alone. And no one wanted to argue much with your husband about safety, he had already made punchlines for those occurrences and it was impossible to win against him. 

Cass, Tim, Damian and Duke weren’t allowed yet to fly solo like their older brothers. They were only allowed to go out there while Bruce wasn’t IF they were with Kate, Dick, or Jason. 

Bruce particularly liked when they were with Jason because although many would think he was the most reckless one, because of his “bad boy” reputation but…When it came to his siblings’ safety, he did NOT joke around. 

Dick encouraged them to become their own person, and to take initiative (he trusted them to know what they could and could not do, and he was right). But Jason ? Jason took after you, and your “mama hen” personality, for sure. 

Actually, Bruce often sneakily stuck one of his younger kid with Jason, so his reckless son would be more careful. Neither you nor your husband wanted to ever lose him again…So what if you had to resort to dirty tactics and ask him to look after a younger siblings for him to be less incautious ?

In any case, it had been a long time deal by then, that Bruce HAD to take at least one night off. All of them had; They each had one night a week. Conveniently, there were seven of them. 

On those nights, you and Bruce would be together every single second of it, relishing in a little alone time, and in spending an entire night together for once, and not just a few hours there and there. 

But tonight, Damian was sick, and couldn’t go out either. Which was why you weren’t in bed with Bruce, right now. You were tucking your sick son in, and it already took quite a while on normal days but as he was feeling under the weather ??

Bruce knew you. He knew you would stay with him until he fell asleep. And he knew his son, too. He knew he would try to stay awake as long as possible just to be with you. 

Which meant…Your husband being alone, right now, and unable to sleep. Ugh. He should’ve just gone out as Batman tonight, and take a break another day. …As if you or Alfred would’ve let him. You knew that “taking a break another day”, with him, meant never. 

Bruce tossed a few more times, and resolved that he couldn’t sleep up until you’d come. So he sat up, and thought he might as well take a walk around the Manor. It always calmed him down, as a child… 

That’s when you decided to come in.

“Going somewhere ?” 

You ask him, suspicious. He knows you think he was about to leave for the Batcave. And he doesn’t correct you. It’s better you think that, you already knew way too much how to push all his buttons down, he’d rather you not know that he was in fact about to just walk around the Manor and not go to the bat cave because he promise you to take the night off… 

Oh. Oh if Superman could hear his thoughts right now. He would surely not recognize his “workaholic” friend…And definitely not recognize his will to not piss off his wife, and listen to her. The Batman didn’t care, if he pissed people off ! Well. Except for his wife, who could be very scary, when angry. 

Damn it. 

Your face. 

Your face shows much concern, behind that slight bit of anger at the thought he was about to sneak to the Batcave, that he can’t hold it back for too long. 

To hell, if you were the only one who knew him perfectly, and had him wrapped around your little finger. You gave it back to him plenty. So, just as soon as he was telling himself he wouldn’t tell you the truth…He told you the truth : 

“No. I was-…I was just about to take a walk around the Manor.” 

You look at him, a question in your eyes. And you don’t have to ask him, as he answers : 

“I can’t sleep when you’re not there. Needed to clear my mind.” 

It makes you smile, of course. And it’s the truth, oh it’s the truth. 

He really can’t fall asleep, when you’re not near. 

You climb on the bed, and slowly move to him. 

“How’s Damian ?” 

“Asleep. His fever went down, finally. Thanks the gods.” 

“Was he trying to fight sleep, and argue to have another story ?”

“Oh you know he did.” 

“Haha, I don’t blame him. Anything, to keep you closer for longer.” 

“What a sappy man you turned out to be, my heart. Who would’ve thunk, right ?” 

“Don’t tell Clark.” 

This makes you laugh, and you move even closer to him, settling in his laps, facing him. His hands find themselves around your waist naturally, and as you lay your own hands on his cheeks, looking at him fondly and longingly, you say : 

“I love you, my Broosh.” 

“I love you more.”

“I love you most.” 

“I love you so much I think I’d die if you were gone.” 

“I love you so much I put up with your bullshit.”

“Hahaha. Cheeky. I love you so much I eat your awful gluten free cake without batting an eye.” 

“You ass ! Well, I love you so much I don’t even mention it when you call this disgusting mixture you make in the morning “coffee” “

“Oh wow, ouch. I love you so much I don’t even care about you criticize me.”

You chuckle a little, and kiss his nose, before adding :  

“I love you so much, that I wouldn’t change anything in my life. Not even the heartaches…Because everything lead me to you. And a life without you, is no life at all.” 

Admittedly, you cheated a bit, using his “I love you so much without you I’d die” against him, twisting things a little to pack a little more punch. And…

There’s a short pause, he looks at you, and then he leans over, slowly and softly pecking your lips. You think this means you won tonight, and you will be back in his arms in no time, allowing him to sleep properly…But you’re wrong. 

He says, after burying his face in the crook of your neck, in barely a whisper, his breath tickling you softly : 

“I love you so much, I would quit being Batman if you asked me to.” 

“Wait, what ?” 

You never asked him to. You never did, and never will. Because you were on of the only person on this Earth that truly understood him, and that loved him unconditionally. 

You knew and understood why he dressed like a bat each (or almost each) nights, to go fight crimes in Gotham City. 

You knew and understood all of his motives. 

And for this reason, you’d never ask him to stop doing so. But him admitting he would stop if you did ask, it made you feel…So much. 

It touched you beyond all measure. You didn’t even know how to respond to it. 

“Ah, I win, didn’t I ?” 

You had no words to answer. You knew how much you loved him, how much he meant to you, and how impossible it was to even envision a life without him. But he always  managed to surprise YOU with how deeply in love he was with you. How much he’d give up, just for you. How you knew, he would burn the entire world, if it meant saving you…

He would for his children, too. There was no doubt in his mind that if he had been to that warehouse sooner, and killing the Joker meant saving Jason…he would’ve done it. There was no point doing in afterward, once his son was already gone…But there, in the moment, to save him ?

He would. He would kill everyone, just to save his family. 

This was a side not a lot of people knew. They all assumed he wouldn’t do it, that he would let you or his children die for the greater good. That’s why considering, you guys weren’t kidnapped that much. 

Every villain, everyone, always thought that the Batman would not budge from his principles even if it meant saving those he loved. 

And they were wrong. They were so wrong. 

It was good, though, that only you knew that. 

“Ah. I win, didn’t I ?” 

You don’t have the words to answer him, your heart overflowing with so much. Overwhelming. So you go to the next best thing. 

Actions. 

You kiss him. With all the passion and love you can gather in your being. 

You kiss him, and he kisses you back. 

That. 

That was his night ritual. 

The only way he could fall asleep peacefully, like he used to when his mom and dad tucked him in. Before their death. 

Finding purchase once more, in your arms, after years of night plagued with nightmares and pain. 

Being near you. With you. In every way possible. Touching you, feeling you near. Right there. By him. 

The big bad bat’s “night ritual”, it was you. 

It was, and would always be you. 

The end(for good, this time, haha). 

_________________________________________________

As you might’ve noticed, I’m in a very soft mood lately haha. I guess I’m just happy about my current situation, so I wanna write all the fluff and make the Batfam happy…Not for long though. I have some mighty angst in store for you, just you wait ;). In any case, here’s to a small bonus story. Hope you liked it even if it’s not what I said I’d post ^^’. I assure you what I planned is coming, I’m just being damn slow. As usual any comments and reblogs are more than welcomed<3. 

PS : Last time I posted a bonus story, an anon wasn’t happy I wasn’t posting longer stories I said I would post soon haha…So just a quick thing : those stories I’ve been posting lately literally take between 20 minutes to an hour to write. It’s extra fast, and I don’t re-read myself. So I can post them rather rapidly. But those I have in store that are long as hell and full on one-shots I thought a lot about, not just random drabbles, need a lot more work. Which is why they take longer. Which I’d think is obvious to everyone (most of y’all are super understanding and nice <3), but I guess not huh…Please. Be patient with me. I’m super busy lately. But everything I said I’d post WILL be posted. I can promise this much. 

Synopsis : Even big scary tough vigilantes, sometimes need a hug. Comfort. And you ? Well, you’re always here to help with this. Wether it be for your husband, or your kids. 

Another bonus thingy before posting tomorrow (or Sunday), the “fake boyfriend trope” with Bruce :). Just a little thing, about the kids, but also Bruce, needing and seeking comfort. The pandemic got us all hug-less, so I wrote a story about giving hugs and all haha. Hope you’ll like it : 

My masterlists blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

_________________________________________________

Bruce. 

You had to admit, when you first started dating him, you were a little selfish. 

He was the one giving you comforting hugs. Reassuring you. He was the big spoon, and the one to always initiate it. 

The one to put his arm around your shoulders when you felt a little scared or uncomfortable. Or his hand on the small of your back when you were anxious during a gala, his mere touch soothing you. 

The one pulling you on top of him to fall into a soft slumber. The one you used as a pillow when you fell asleep in the car, or on the couch. The one to give you a massive bear hug, holding you tightly against his heart, if you felt even remotely sad…

And for a while. For the first months of your relationship, in fact. It just…Didn’t occur to you that he would need those kind of hugs too. 

Yes. When he hugged you, you hugged him back. But it wasn’t the same, was it ? Most of the time, he was holding you, and you’d just respond. There was a difference. Anyone receiving a hug from someone could tell. Giving hugs, although very nice, never felt quite as comforting as receiving one. 

Feeling warm and safe in your loved one’s embrace. 

You felt quite ashamed, when you realized that you never really gave him a hug, never initiated things because…Well, Bruce always seemed sure of himself, so strong and poised, right ? 

Both as Bruce Wayne and Batman, it always felt like he was in total control and knew what he was doing. And sure, he often was, but…Even the strongest people on Earth, sometimes needed comfort. 

Later on, you’d feel mad at yourself for thinking he could handle himself. To your defense, he wanted you to think that. Both because he wanted to protect you, and because one of his biggest flaw was his pride and he didn’t want to…Ask for a hug. Plus, your relationship was very new, you couldn’t know all his secrets and weaknesses right away. 

But then.

Then one day, he came back from a tough night, and it was visible on his face that he had seen some pretty messed up things. 

And that’s when it happened.

It was pure instinct. Probably very much like it was for him, when he hugged you. As he was coming to bed, ready to take you in his arms…You made the first move. 

You delicately took his head in one hand, and his arm in the other, and pulled him to you. Laying his head against your breast, and sneaking your arms around him. Holding him tight. 

You ran your fingers through his hair and…A sigh. 

A warm sigh of relief, right against your skin. He relaxed in your arms. He snuggled closer, quite like a little kitten (although “little” was hardly a word used to describe Bruce Wayne). And in an instant, he fell asleep. 

That was a revelation to you. One that made you feel guilty at first, because you never really thought the big scary Batman needed hugs sometimes. But one that would slowly shape and describe your love for him. And his for you. 

You two, you were always there for each others. 

Always there to comfort one another. To hold each other. Whoever needed to be held. 

It took you a few months, but once you made that discovery, you made sure to never forget it. You still sought comfort close to him of course. Everyone needed a hug, sometimes. 

Everyone. Even the Batman himself. 

When he wasn’t feeling well, for any reasons, you would hold him. His head against your breast, your fingers running through his hair slowly scratching his scalp, drawing soothing circle on his back with your other hand. 

Wether you were laying down, or standing up, it was always the same (A/N : not putting specific heights, but let’s imagine if you’re short and couldn’t possibly hug that man while he’s actually standing up, he sits down or just really hunch against you haha). 

Often, you’d just guess when he needed it. And would never even think twice before taking him into your arms. 

But sometimes. 

Sometimes, he demanded them. Asked sweetly. In a way that would completely ruin his reputation if anyone else but you knew, or even noticed. 

It even happened in public, sometimes. But no one ever seemed to realize what he was doing. Only you, knew. And you’d give him what he wanted. 

It was always the same. 

He would never just downright ask for one. No. Instead, he’d look at you with those puppy eyes you loved so much. And he’d slowly tug on your sleeve. 

Quite like a child, yes. A 6′2″ child. Who worked out. Like, a lot. 

A little pull on your sleeve. A light in his eyes. 

The Batman himself, demanding to be hugged and comforted. 

Ah, if anyone knew…

But no one did. Not even his kids, or Alfred. Sure, they saw you hugging him. But they never noticed. They never noticed, he was the one asking for it…

Dick. 

Out of all your children, Dick was the one that would give out hugs the easiest.

To be honest, your son had this reputation that followed him all around, to be quite a witty, flirty, happy go lucky guy, who didn’t shy away from showing his affection for the people he loved and…although it was true, it always made you smile when you heard someone say that he always looked happy and ready to hug the life out of people. 

It always made you smile a little, to hear people say that. Because in your personal experience, he could enter quite scary rages, and he was too proud, and he hated being scolded, hated being wrong…

But that was another story. And to be honest, although, just like everyone, your son had flaws and wasn’t always the nice guy people thought he was (you’d always forgive him anyway, everyone had days where they weren’t particularly nice…you could’ve gone without the sibling rivalry he used to have with  Jason though, god those boys worried you…)

But it hasn’t always been the case. Oh no. 

Dick had terrible nightmares. That kept him awake at night. And sometimes…He’d scream. At the top of his lungs. 

Over and over again he saw his parents fall to their death. 

And he would scream. Cry. And call for you or Bruce. 

A needed hug. A warm one. Full of love and support. You’d end up falling asleep with him, sandwiching him between the two of you, making him feel safe, and helping him chasing the nightmares away. 

But this was it. Those were the only moments, at the time, he sought comfort. During the day, or any other time in which he had control…He wouldn’t. Even if he really wanted to. 

Only when it total distress, unable to control his emotions after a terrible nightmare, would he yell for you or Bruce to come get him. Only in those moments. Otherwise, although he was cheery and such, he would still stay a little distant physically. 

A kiss goodnight on the forehead. A hug when he woke up, scared out of his mind. That was it. 

And you didn’t want to force him. He went through so much already. 

But then one day…One day, he came into your writing office, tears in his eyes, and it made your heart race. What happened ? What happened ?!

“Can I-Can I have a hug, please ?” 

He asked shyly, staying at the door frame. And you jumped on your feet, going to him, telling him “of course baby boy, of course”, and he lunged in your arms, sobbing. 

What happened ?! WHAT HAPPENED ? 

“I just- I Just-” 

He couldn’t tell you. It must’ve been terrible. Was he missing his parents again ? You’d understand. You were-

“I just watched “The Fox and The Hound” and it’s just so saaaaaad !!” 

He managed to let out, holding onto you with his little arms. And it absolutely melted your heart. 

Finally. Finally he was opening up. Not just in great moment of distress. But also in regular every day life. Finally. Finally, you knew he considered you his mom too. You knew. Just because, after watching a sad movie, he came to you for comfort. 

Oh. Oh and you’d give it to him. You patted his back in soothing circles, telling him “it’s ok buddy, it’s ok. I know it’s sad, it really is.”, and giving him exactly what he needed. 

Just a little eight years old seeking comfort from his mama. 

Everyone always assumed Dick was the one who had the easiest time hugging you, or everyone. And they were sort of right. He found giving out hugs easy, and quite liked it. 

Yes. It’s true. Although he had quite a temper. 

But…receiving hugs ? It wasn’t as easy. It wasn’t as easy for him, to truly open up, and asks to receive comfort. 

He found it easy to be there for others. To be there when they needed his support, to hug them if need be. But he found it so hard to ask for help. To ask for the same kind of support. 

In fact, even to this day, he’d only ever come to you for this. For you to hold him. Wether it be because he was truly sad and devastated about something, or because he saw a puppy hugging a baby. 

Dick, since that “Fox and Hound” incident, would only ever come to you to receive hugs. And honestly ? You were quite happy to have this little special bond with your son. 

Dick Grayson would hug a lot of people to make them feel better, but he only ever asked for his mama, when he needed to feel better. 

Jason. 

Touched starved could describe Jason. 

When Bruce brought him home, the boy had been living in the streets for quite a while already. And before that ? 

An abusive father who quickly disappeared from the picture, and a mother addicted to drugs who was never able to get out of it, not even for her son. 

Jason could probably count on his fingers, the number of time he got a hug. 

There was that one time, when he was really little, his grandma visited from California and gave him a big hug ! She had to leave though, go back to her home in SoCal. She died the year after and he never saw her again. She was the only family he had, except for his parents…And she gave hugs that he remember to be nice, although he was so small he couldn’t really be sure anymore. 

There also was that time his classmate, Ariana, hugged him and said she had a crush on him ! Only for her mom to yell at her and say, right in front of Jason, to not associate herself with such a delinquent. Jason didn’t even understand. He was four, and he tried to be nice. He always behaved in school. Why did that woman hate him ? It made him feel sad. And then angry. So angry. He couldn’t possibly know that Ariana’s mom knew his mom, knew where they came from…

And then, there was that time his dad split, and his mom clung to him all night, crying. The only time she truly hugged him. But it was because SHE needed comfort, not him. And so he hugged back, little six years old trying to console his mother in this trying times. 

Oh ! And there was all the hugs he gave his dog. And if his dog had arms, he would probably have hugged him back. 

But that was it. Jason’s experiences with hugs were pretty much non-existent. And somehow, it registered in his head as him not liking physical contact. 

But it wasn’t true. 

Jason was a naturally sweet boy. You instantly noticed it. 

He had a soft smile, eyes that reflected wiseness beyond his years (and so much sadness and pain…) and a will to help and make himself useful. 

People always thought he was the rowdiest of your children, and though nowadays he might be, it hadn’t always been the case. On the contrary. 

He was such a sweet boy. 

And you knew, your motherly instincts were telling you…He didn’t hate hugs. He just never really had ones, and convinced himself he didn’t need them.  

The first time you gave him a hug, his entire body went rigid, stiff, and he reminded you of a cat in many ways. You know, when they’d stand on their tip toes, hair all up, and hissing ? Quite the same thing. 

You immediately let go, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable ! And you apologized. But then, then he told you it was fine, and there was something in his eyes…Something in his eyes…

You hugged him a second times, later on. After he had a particularly good grade at school, and go praised from his teachers. And he was a little less rigid. 

Sometimes, you’d hug him. For whatever reasons. Did a mother really need a good reason to hug her son ? No. So you did. Always making sure it was ok, though. And over time…He hugged you back. 

Jason discovered that he didn’t hate others touching him. On the contrary, he was heavily touched starved. 

It wasn’t a sudden change. 

It took a few years, actually, for him to slowly open up. For him to heal from a painful past. For him to willingly come to you, and ask for a hug when he felt down. But he did. 

Once his barrier were down…Oh you always knew. 

You always knew Jason was a sweet boy. 

And him ? He had years of hugs to catch up. He often sought comfort in your warm hugs. Often. 

When he died, you thought you’d have to start all over. You thought you’d have to teach him all over again that he was loved. Oh, he was so so SO loved. 

But no. No. The first time you saw him, after you learned of his resurrection and begged Bruce to take you to him…

The first time you saw him, after years of mourning him (and never quite recovering), he- 

He looked at you. Helmet off. Straight in the eyes. 

He was so mad. He was so mad at his father. He was pure anger. 

But he looked at you. And all you could see…It was that little banged up orphan that decided to steal the Batmobile’s tyres once. Whom Bruce brought home. Who became your son. 

He looked at you, and all you could see what the eyes of that sweet, sweet boy you loved so much. 

And when you looked at him, kept your eyes on him, not quite believing he was still alive, and he saw you. He saw you… 

Bringing you to him was something that Bruce never regretted. 

Because that night, as you looked at each others, having rushes of memories on rushes of memories all coming back to you. 

That night…You went to him. And you embraced him. 

At first, he was all rigid. Like a cat who was on edge, back and hair sticking up, and almost hissing, you know ? 

But then. Then a tear fell down his eye. And another one. And your arms were warm and loving. 

Bruce never regretted taking you to him, even as it was dangerous because Jason wasn’t himself anymore. 

Because that night….That night was the first step in taking back your precious son, bringing him back from that dark pit he fell in. 

Because that night, for the first time in years, he sought comfort in his mom’s arms. And he felt the warmth back. 

Cassandra. 

Cassandra dropped you on the floor, the first time you tried to hug her. 

She had spoken for the first time, and you wanted to celebrate. It was a gut reaction, you hugged her. Her own gut reaction, pure instinct, was to throw you off of her and push her knee to your throat, immobilizing you. 

Thanks god Bruce wasn’t around. He would’ve freaked out. And not know what to do. On one side, his wife got attacked, which would usually made him see red and lose control. On the other side, the attacker was his daughter (whom he JUST adopted). 

Thanks god Jason and Dick weren’t either, they probably wouldn’t know how to react as well, and it’d just be so awkward. And you DID NOT want any sibling rivalry or suspicion anymore. Not when those two finally stopped bickering all the time. 

Anyway, once she realized what she did, she immediately let go, stood up, help you up too, and looked so stricken and distressed that before she even said “sorry” you reassured her : 

“No no no, it’s my fault, I’m the one who should’ve asked before hugging you. It’s ok. It’s ok little one; I’m sorry I scared you. Look. It’s ok. It’s ok.” 

Bruce hugged her before, right before adopting her. And a few times after that. She sought Bruce’s hugs, because her biological father never gave her any. Or any physical contact. And you knew how Bruce could feel safe and warm. 

But you ? She wasn’t used to yet, of course. Not to your hugs. To your softness and love, yes. But. Hugs. No. 

Slowly, carefully, you gestured to take her into your arms again. She let you, even taking a step towards you. Really wanting to understand why she felt the need to have a hug from you, now. 

And you held her. Telling her you were proud she was starting to speak more. Telling her it was ok, it would be ok. Telling her…Everything she never heard, everything she never knew she needed to hear. 

And there it was. When she understood that, when sad, you’d always be there for her. 

After that, whenever she felt sad or a little down. Sick or stressed. She came to you for a “mama’s hug”. She never really asked, and it was always quite surprising. 

She’d just come to you, and sneak herself around you. “Snake” herself, would maybe be more appropriate. 

Meaning : if you were laying on the couch, reading, she’d crawl in between your book and you, trying not to disturb you, and just laying there waiting for her hug. If you were talking to someone, standing there, cooking..She’d come and snake her arms around you, and wouldn’t let go up until you hugged back. 

She wouldn’t ask, like her brothers. Or stare at you with puppy eyes, like her father. She’d ask in another way. A way she knew better than words. And a way you taught her to be ok, too. 

Taking what she wanted. 

It was ok. 

She lived so long following horrible orders and not thinking for herself, at first, she just wouldn’t dare to do anything. 

You often found her, standing in a room, not moving. And when you asked what she was doing, she’d answer she was waiting for you guys to tell her what to do. 

It was a real learning process, that you and Bruce spend a lot of time on, to make her understand it was ok to live her own life. And maybe, just maybe, she learned on one of your girls night out that it was ok, too, to take what she wanted without asking. 

And hugs from you, were one of those things. 

She’d come to you, no matter what the situation (at galas, in the watchtower, during dinner etc etc), and “snake” herself around you, demanding a comforting hug from the one she came to call “mom”. 

And without missing a bit, you’d hug her. If you were talking to someone, you wouldn’t stop. Just hug back, and brush her hair softly (it really was something all your children, and your husband, loved and found soothing). 

It was natural. No matter the time, or the place. 

A daughter wanting support and love from her mother. 

And a mother giving it without a second thought. 

Tim.

Tim had hugs before being adopted by you and Bruce, but none of them ever felt warm. 

His parents cared little about him. They weren’t absolutely terrible people, they just…never really paid attention to him. 

They were high society, you see. They had a son only for appearances. Tim was mostly raised by a nanny. He saw his parents rarely, and they never seemed to really want to be with him much. 

They were almost the exact opposite of what Thomas and Martha Wayne. Same high society, awfully rich (although the Waynes were definitely richer), same world of appearances and fakes…But the Waynes loved their son. To death. 

The Drakes ? Well. Their son existed, and that was that. They were both rather selfish beings. They only started to care when they realized Bruce was taking care of him a lot….But that was another story. 

All of that to say that, Tim had an automated response, to hugs. 

When you gave him hugs, you noticed. He would pat your back a few times, and pull away. It would be almost formal…And. It was. 

He was taught to be polite, and proper. A short hug, a few pat on the back, for appearances. “Yes I love my mother and father.”, and yes they love him too…

No warmth. 

Just a few forced embraces. That they had to get on with. 

Naturally, without even noticing you were doing it, you took it upon yourself to show him what a real hug was.  

When he tried to pull away, you wouldn’t let go. You’d hold him tighter, and tell him you loved him. And at first, he was a little lost. 

What happened if someone didn’t let go, after he patted them three times on the back ? 

What happened ? 

Warmth. Love. Feeling comforted and safe. 

That’s what happened. 

Slowly but surely, you showed him what it was, to truly be hugged. And cared for. And it…changed something in him. It really did. 

Tim was arguably the more “cerebral” out of all your children. The most pragmatic one for sure. It’s because of the way he was raised. Always keeping up appearances, and acting like everything was fine. 

It was just a mean to achieve your goal. Or so his parents told him. 

What he found, after slowly warming up to your hugs and even seeking them, was that…There was more to life than just “work”. Than just pouring his very soul into school, or into “Robin”. 

Sure, it was important to him, and he’d probably always be a bit of a workaholic. He liked it, ya know. Not in the same way his parents chased after social status and such. No. No Tim ? He just wanted to help. 

He really REALLY wanted to help. And make the world a better place. He was a little Batman fan, who took it upon himself to give a hand. 

And he was slowly learning, that it was ok to have “mundane goals”. To not always be ambitious, like he was taught. To have some downtime. And to…show his feelings. 

If he was sad, or didn’t feel well, he was allowed to show it, with you and Bruce. When with his parents, he’d have to pretend. Always. Pretend. 

Not with you. 

He didn’t have to pretend anymore. 

He didn’t have to give out fake hugs devoid of any warmth. 

He could enjoy it. The physical contact. He could revel in it. He could appreciate it. He could… 

He could ask for it. 

Although he never quite asked. Not like Dick. No. He would…give you that smile…That smile…

It could sound weird to anyone not knowing his past, or not knowing your family. What, asking for a hug ? Odd. But it wasn’t. No. It wasn’t. 

It just meant Tim finally understood he was allowed to be an actual human. And not a robot that needed to please everyone, regardless of his own feelings. 

In many ways, he reminded you of when you first met Bruce. Both of them had very similar ways of hiding it all behind a smile (a smile you could ALWAYS tell was fake). 

That smile.  

That fake smile. “Everything is alright, mom.” That smile you could always tell was fake. Meaning…Meaning he needed comfort. 

Meaning he was seeking it. “Everything…is not alright. Could you-”. 

Yes. 

You could. 

Of course you could. 

You would always give your beloved son a hug, when he needed one. Especially when he was asking in such a sweet way. 

To an outsider, it would just seem like he was fine. Like he wasn’t asking. But to you…Oh to you. 

You knew your son. You were, with Bruce, the first person to truly know him. To show interest in him. To want to know him. 

You knew your son. 

And that fake smile ? It meant he WASN’T alright. And that he’d soon return your hug with all his might, and hold you back for a little while before he’d finally confide in you…

You knew your son. And you loved him so, so much. To death, really. And now..

Now, he knew you knew him, too. 

Damian.

He always saw Dick giving you hugs, to say “hello”. And “goodbye”. And…Dick gave you a lot of hugs. For no apparent reasons, Damian often thought. 

Was baking his favorite cookies really worthy of a hug ? 

Damian couldn’t be sure. 

Sometimes though, he noticed that it wasn’t his older brother giving you a hug, it was you giving him one. And that…That Damian truly couldn’t understand. He even saw his dad, once, clearly asking to be held by you. 

That someone as soft as you accepted to be hugged, it made sense in Damian’s head. You were nice, and kind, and sounded like someone who would love hugs (you did, but at that time, Damian still had the little misconception that you could never be scary or dangerous…terrible misconception, as he’d learn one day, seeing you genuinely mad at someone). 

He knew you were strong. But yes. You struck him as someone who’d love to be hugged. But his father ? Big scary bat ? And Grayson ? Proud cocky Grayson ? Why did they even like it, and would ask you for it ? 

Damian simply couldn’t understand. He couldn’t. 

Up until…That fateful day.

He was afraid of thunderstorms. In  his mind, it was reminiscent of those cold lonely nights his mother would send him to places for missions. Reminiscent of being all alone and freezing, in a dark scary forest full of danger. Reminiscent of having nobody, and the only source of light would be the piercing lightnings through the sky…

Damian never liked thunderstorms. Even when he wasn’t out on missions. Even when he was “safe” in his bedroom. It just always freaked him out. The roll of thunder, the terrible sound it made. And then the piercing light. Who would illuminate everything for but a few seconds. 

He always thought he saw things, during those few seconds. Silhouettes haunting him. Ready to jump on him. 

And sometimes, he was right. It was a habit his mother had, to hire assassins to “keep his reflexes sharp”. 

A flash of light. 

A movement in the corner of his room… 

Damian stood up, jumping out of his bed and ran to turn the light on…But alas he was home. At Wayne Manor. Actually safe. 

Yet the rumbling outside, and the lightnings still scared him. 

A phobia deeply ingrained within him. 

Tonight, because he had hurt his arm recently, he had the night off. Meaning everyone was out. Everyone…but you. 

You told him you would sleep in your room tonight, since he also was there. He scoffed at you, saying he could very well be alone. As if he needed anyone, he wasn’t a scaredy cat. “Maybe they -he pointed at his siblings- needed you to hold their hands as they slept, but I don’t.” 

He wasn’t even sure why he said all of that. He kind of regretted it…Especially now, as the thunderstorm seemed to be right above Wayne Manor ! 

You told him it didn’t matter. That you hated when one of them slept all alone in the Manor, while everyone was out in Gotham or down in the cave. So you’d sleep upstairs too. 

Meaning you were there. 

You. Were. There. 

Another loud “BANG”, followed right away by lightning. It was right above him ! Damian didn’t think twice, he opened his door in a hurry and started to run down the hall towards yours and Bruce’s bedroom. 

His father, of course, was out as Batman. But you, you would be there. 

He came rushing in your room, scaring you as he took you out of your slumber but…Well, you were kind of used to being woken up in a panic. You were Batman’s wife, after all.

Very quickly, you regained your senses (something that could save your life, in moment of real dangers), and there you saw him. During a flash of lightning. Shivering in the doorway, looking downright terrified. 

“Damian ?” 

He quickly filled the gap between you and went to stand next to you, one hand holding his other one, trembling. 

“Are you ok, buddy ?” 

He didn’t respond right away, but another rumble and flash of lightning made you immediately understand what scared him. Your guts that were dangerously tightening in fear at what might’ve happened to your son slowly uncoiled, and you smiled at him. 

He was holding your comforter now, and it seemed he didn’t even notice he did. Slowly, he said : 

“I don’t normally-It’s just…The thunderstorm.” 

You just smiled. Didn’t even comment. And pulled back your comforter, opening your arms. 

Damian hesitated a few seconds, before slowly walking to you, climbing in bed and…letting you hold him.

And he found that…He understood why Dick always asked you for hugs. Why his father, did too. Why sometimes he’d stand next to you, give you puppy eyes trying to make you understand he wanted to be held. 

Damian understood, even as if now Dick was a grown man, why he did it. And why his father seemed to crave them. 

It felt so nice. It felt safe. Warm. Loving.

He never felt all those emotions before. All at the same time, it was overwhelming. 

He curled up against you, quite like his father did (except Damian was a tiny bean). His hand were holding you with force, and his eyes were shut tight.  

He felt so many things. It was so confusing. Yet…Soothing. 

And when you started to hum a little lullaby. When you started to brush your hand through his hair, and pat little soothing circle on his back. 

It was as if the rumble of the thunder, and the lightnings, disappeared in the background. Damian knew the storm was still right above them. But he wasn’t afraid anymore. He didn’t even pay attention to any of it. 

He felt himself…drift…to…sleep…

You smiled. Holding him dearly against you. This was the first time. The first time Damian actually asked to be held. Well, he didn’t asked with words really, but his entire demeanor was screaming for it. The first time…

You felt incredibly happy. And later on, Damian would find that all those new feelings he discovered that night, made him feel incredibly happy too. 

And whenever he felt down. Sad. Scared. He knew. 

He knew his mom would be there, and gladly accept to hold him until she chased all his worries away. 

He knew. 

He knew that, finally…He was loved. 

Duke.

Duke didn’t have it easy, that’s for sure. 

Well. None of you did. But him…His parents were still alive, but would never be the same. He was thrown into a new family and…He discovered he was a meta-human. 

Everything about his life was novel. 

From having siblings, to being THAT powerful (and not even knowing or understanding quite yet how his powers worked). 

It was a lot to take in, for a teen. 

Sometimes, he felt like he wasn’t quite part of the family. 

His parents held him back. The mere hope they might get better one day, made it hard for him to truly feel like he was part of it all. 

It was understandable. His situation was quite different than those of your other kids. Of course, for you, it didn’t make any difference. You’d love him all the same. And you knew he cared a lot about you, about Bruce, and about his “siblings”. 

But it couldn’t be help. He was really in a difficult situation. 

And to be fair, he has been with you for barely a few months, by then. 

So many changes. Duke never liked, changes. As a child, he loved doing crossword puzzles because once you solved one, things ended up being very logical with the rest, and all definition sort of worked in the same way. 

It was a nice anxiety reducer, to do something he knew didn’t change much. Guessing words was easier and easier, the more he filled crosswords. It was the same mechanic, and often the same kind of words. 

So when his entire life was flipped upside down…

Bruce thought that Duke had trouble acclimating to Wayne Manor because he blamed him for what happened to his parents.  But it wasn’t true. Duke never NEVER blamed Bruce. He knew the real culprit was The Joker. 

And that Bruce was NOT responsible for his actions (Jason would maybe pipe in that if he had killed him…Oh but that was another story, and Duke wasn’t Jason). 

You spend a lot of sleepless night, holding your husband and trying to comfort him after his guilt and will to make Duke comfortable in his new home kept him awake…Even as it was a “night off”, where he wouldn’t put the Batman mantel on. 

Yes. 

Duke, at first, really struggled with his own identity. And felt he didn’t belong, at times…Over the years, he would come around. Come to think of you as his real family. Introduce you other children as his siblings. But for now…For now he wasn’t quite there yet. 

His parents held him back. They were still there. There was still a chance…And what if they got cured, and they went to see him only to realize he forgot them and called someone else “mom” and “dad” ? 

It was so many changes. And everything was so painful and confusing. 

But then. Then there was you. 

Bruce, in his guilt ridden state and will to do good by Duke, sometimes was too overbearing. Duke didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him how he truly felt, telling him his “belong” problem. 

And with your other children ? They all had difficult childhood too. All lost their loved ones. All had a painful background. Compare to some of them, Duke felt like he shouldn’t even feel like that. He hadn’t been killed, like Jason. Or used as a weapon, like Cass or Damian. 

But then. There was you. 

Your smile made him feel safe. And he knew you would understand. He knew. You were just that kind of person, making people want to open up to you. 

Sometimes, it was annoying. God knew how many times some rich idiots blabbered to you all night long at a gala about their stupid meaningless problems. 

But sometimes…Sometimes, it allowed you to make people like Bruce feeling safe enough that they could confide in you. This is why your relationship with him was so strong. You told each others everything, when things weren’t right. And one was always there to pick the other one up. 

Yes. There was you. 

And Duke spilled the bean to you. He told you everything. He ranted for hours, about feeling bad that he felt sad while some people had it worst than him. That he felt lost and confused, with those new powers. That it was difficult, to adapt to this new environment. 

He told you everything. 

And at the end, you didn’t say anything. You knew no words would make him feel better. Because he heard them all. He heard them from you, Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Jason, Cass, Damian…From Commissioner Gordon. 

He heard everything someone could say to try and cheer him up. And it wasn’t what he needed. 

For now, you weren’t sure what he needed. So you did what your instincts told you to do…and you hugged him. As simple as that. 

During that time, when in your arms, as he sobbed against your shoulder and you listened to him, truly listened to him…He had an epiphany. 

He’d understand it truly only later on. But it was your hug. 

Your hug made him feel like he belonged. 

At least on this front. Being part of the family. Truly. Your hug solved it…

It sounded silly. Yet it wasn’t. All it took, was a mother putting all her feelings of love into one simple hug. 

From then and on, whenever Duke felt lost, confused or sad. Unable to find his way and his place. He’d come to you. He’d have this look in his eyes, that you could recognize anywhere. 

And you’d give him a warm loving hug. A mother’s hug. Making him understand that it was ok. That it was going to be ok. And that he did nothing wrong, seeking comfort like that. 

Because yes. At first, he thought of his mom, still in that special hospital opened for Joker’s laughing gas’ victims. He thought, what if his mom saw him, there, hugging someone else who he started to think as as a second mom ? 

But then you were there. 

Telling him seeking comfort was ok. Wanting hugs was ok. 

And his mom ? She’d probably give YOU the biggest warmest hug, if she knew you were there for her son. If she knew you considered him your own…

All it took, was a hug. And being willing to ask for help. 

__________________________________________________

Since the pandemic, I haven’t had a single hug. I felt compelled to write about one of my favorite thing ever :). Just something written in a few minutes, in one sitting (understand that as : “I’m sorry if there’s typos I didn’t re-read myself and I’m using the fact I wrote it fast as a poor excuse to explain those” haha). 

Hope you liked it. As usual, comments and/or reblogs are more than appreciated and super motivating <3.