Writing blog • No idea what is canon, don't know her • Okayest father defender • latinoamericana • ESOL • Rebobinarte on AO3 {https://ko-fi.com/lacote}
hi, so i was curious. so after your lil fic i looked that manga up and read it. i needed a break inbetween cause MA BOY I WAS READY TO SMACK HIM the hells wrong with him??? oh nooooo i would break that little grinch heart of his like GLOWSTICKS and claude??? i mean sure he seems like he got some serious problems but ohohoho give me 5 min. ill give him problems.
love literal everyone else they are awesome and nicole is my gurl and i hope she gets to leave that country and be happy and clois or what ever his name was now sobs :))) u have to endure my rant cause u told me of that manga (indirectly but i also read tags soooo)
Sasa!
I loooove the manga, but yes. He's infuriatingggg!!!
Manga: I’ve gotten used to being on my own, so i’m ignoring my fiancé (Or "Perfectly Fine on My Own, So My Fiancé Can Twist in the Wind")
Mmmh... Sorry, lovely anon, I'm not the right blog for that.
I can, though, give you this:
"You ok, there, big boy?"
Dick, didn't look up from where he hid on the crook of Bruce's neck.
"... Yes" He didn't need to see him to hear the contempt of Clark's answer. "Peachy"
Bruce kept typing, ignoring the storm forming behind them. Dick grumbled, rubbing his nose against kevlar.
He had insisted on going home half an hour ago. He had been ignored since then.
"If I had known he liked clingy men..." Excuse me? Dick tilted his head, noticing the imperceptible change on Bruce's typing.
"Lantern..."
"C'mon, Supes! We're in the same boat here!"
A sigh "There is no boat. We have to respect his decision."
Dick slowly lifted his gaze, staring empty to the blue screen. His dad had stopped his fingers, doing the same. Clearly, both of them too focused on the conversation at their back to keep their previous endeavours.
"Please. What decision? The kid shows out of nowhere and he has Spooky around his finger"
"Don't say that-"
"I'm not the only one thinking that"
They must be talking about something else. They have to be angry about someone else. There's just no way. No way in hell! They can't- They wouldn't-! He looked down, and the upset reflected on Bruce's lips crushed all hope about any misreading on the other's conversation.
Slowly, he turned his head around. By their reactions, he had failed in his attempt to smile at the pair.
"What are we talking about?" He heard Bruce take a steady inhale at his side. Clearly the upcoming answer was too much for them both.
Hal opened his mouth a couple of times without answer. Clark raised his hand in front of the Lantern. "I'm sorry, Nightwing. We shouldn't be talking about you behind your back." Dick's eye twitched. Bruce's hand slowly moved to press the hand that was still over his father's shoulder. Clark noticed. Stared. And then slowly looked up to Dick's eyes behind the domino. "It's hard not to comment on the excess of public displays of affection" Clark frowned "Maybe you should tone it down"
Dick couldn't help the scoff. Who does he think he is? He opened his mouth to speak, but a known feeling stopped him. He lifted his gaze upward, head in place, facing Superman.
Bruce turned around before Dick's surprise gave anything away.
"Why should he stop?" Bruce moved his hand from Dick's own, to his shoulder. "Nobody questions it when you hug your own son"
"You just said it, Spook. That's his son." Oh, that felt like a punch to the gut.
Bruce quickly turned to face him, and Dick could feel the panic behind the cowl. His dad reached to comfort, "I know, I know" but he denied the touch with a shake of his head and his palm between them. He immediately regretted it when Bruce briefly looked to the floor in defeat.
Batman took a deep breath before staring down at the Lantern. "I would appreciate it if you refrain from commenting about mine and Nightwing's relationship, which you obviously know nothing of, Green Lantern."
It was Hal's turn to scoff "Well, I would if you stopped showing it off in front of our noses!"
"Lantern..."
"No, Supes! Not even Arrow is this embarrassingly clingy, and he's fucking married with Canary!"
Bruce slapped a hand against his forehead, and Dick could tell there was a headache incoming. He lifted his hand to press it against his dad's sien. "Stop doing that. It's only going to get worse and you'll be a pain in the ass during dinner"
Bruce, the asshole, completely disregarded his caring son's concerns, and looked front. "I am willing to cut affection displays if it's a norm implemented to everyone in the base" the betrayal.
Dick pretty much pouted at that, dropping his hand to his side. "Again, Spook. The only ones who could be this annoying aren't even close to yours and the kid's levels of pda. So-"
Dick saw the way Superman's head slowly tilted, lifting his ear to the ceiling. "Anyway!" He raised his voice. "Even if you don't see my relationship with B in the same level, you have to be fair." He pointed at the Kriptonian. "So, if you're hugging mini you, I can hug and annoy Batman"
Clark sighed "Again. He's my son. You can't just compare-"
Oh fuck him. He raised his hand to stop Bruce from intervening. "I don't give a shit about what YOU think, Superman. My relationship with him is just as valid as yours and Superboy."
"You cannot be seriously com-"
"He is my son, Nightwing."
"And so what?!"
"Please, Spooks. You need to calm your sugar baby"
Bruce's fist was what cut the conversation short.
Dick stared at the back in front of him. The way those shoulders raised and downed in barely contained anger.
"Don't you ever refer to him that way." No screams. A monotone tone that made it all much more terrifying.
"Batman-"
"You hit me?" Dick looked over his father's shoulder, he bit his lips to cut the proud smile to come out. "You HIT ME!"
"You disrespected my family. Of course I hit you"
"Family?!" Hal laughed "PLEASE!"
"It seems one hit wasn't enough"
"Tati, breathe"
"Batman, calm down" Clark tried to grab Bruce's arm, but Dick put his own around Bruce's, protectively, ignoring the red fuming on Clark's eyes.
"You barely know that kid!!" Hal shone green, his body floating up the ground.
"I've known him longer than any of you. I could put my life in his hands without blinking" This time, Dick didn't bother to stop his smile.
"He's a newcomer"
"My son has been around as a hero before the League even existed"
"I've never heard of his hero's name until you introduced him to us!"
"Nightwing has worked hard on his city to cement his own identity"
"No matter how hard he's tried, or how famous he is on his own city, it doesn't take away that he's a newcomer on the Le- wait. Your son?"
"My. Son."
"What do you mean... son?" Clark frowned and slowly worded it.
"What do you mean, what-?" Bruce pressed to fingers over his nose bridge "No matter what your opinions are. He is my son. He always has, and always will be. If it bothers you so much that I refer to him as my son, you better start getting used to it, because I'll stop calling to him in any other-"
"No, no, no!" Hal shook both hands in front of them. "Back down, rewind a bit! What?"
"Batman?"
Bruce turned around, looking at him. Dick could only shake his head and shrug back.
"My... Son?" Bruce opened his pal in an introductory way towards his chest, and as an immediate response acquired since childhood, Dick waved with a polite smile.
Clark facepalmed so hard, it made Dick cringe in pain at the sound.
"Your... Son" Hal slowly repeated. "Nightwing."
"My son. Nightwing"
"A pleasure?" Dick tilted his head
"Oh, Rao" Clark muttered against his palm.
Slowly, the realization hit Dick like a truck. And by Bruce's grunt as he turned away to grab the console's border, it had hit him as well.
"Eugh..."
"Wait, give a second to process-"
"EUGH! THAT'S WHY YOU WERE UPSET?!" Dick gagged "That's why you said- oh god. That's why you said he liked clingy men" he covered his mouth.
"Ok, in our defense-"
"Stop. Quiet." Bruce lifted his hand without looking back.
"You called me sugar baby..."
"Kiddo, I'm so sorry -"
"You thought I was- with my dad-"
"Nightwing, please, we didn't know!" Superman panicked and attempted to move to his side.
"We never tried to hide it" Bruce muttered. "We were so obvious... Where did we go wrong?"
"We thought you were raising a child together" Hal's voice was empty as he looked forward to the nothingness.
That got both of them looking front again.
"A child?" No way, right? Robin has never been subtle, and he constantly defies Bruce by openly calling him father during missions.
"I mean, your kid calls him father-"
Dick whipped his head up, covering his face with both arms "THIS IS NO MY FAULT!!", before the vent's cover fled towards him.
Bruce jumped front to catch Damian's middle, avoiding the kid's feet to collide with Dick's exposed chest.
"Robin!"
"Let me go, father! If I stop Nightwing's heart, nobody will ever say that again!!"
"Killing me won't solve their stupidity!!" Dick quickly tried to hide behind Bruce's form.
"Robin!" Batman barked up without letting go of the child.
Tim's face slowly showed up in the vent "Just for the record," he climbed down "I did try to stop him" he mumbled, joining their side.
"Just take your brother and go back home! We'll talk about this later!"
Tim grumbled and avoided a kick to his face "UNHAND ME, TRAITOR!!", taking Damian under his arms and swiftly moving out of the room.
It took second for Damian's yells to vanish. Father and son staring towards the doors, in complete silence after the chaos ensued. The quietness only cut with Batman's cape making sound as his owner turned around to click a few buttons on the keyboard.
"Batman-"
"No"
"Listen-"
Batman turned around, giving the pair a stern look before moving towards the doors. Dick only sighing and following behind.
They moved in awkward silence to the zetas.
"You know..." Dick cleared his throat "We should buy tee-shirts" Bruce completely ignored him "Batman's son and Batman's daughter" he heard the small sound under his father's breath, triumph. "I can even order them in our representative colours, and each of us would have one whenever we have to come up-"
"Love," Dick smirked and jumped next to him inside the teleporter "please shut up."
He is a cutie patootie. Apologizing because he is distracted AND he is distracted because he is thinking about their dads being alone at the restaurant on Father's day, because that worse than them being in a trap for him.
Lazurus Pit this, Superboy-Prime's reality punch that, yeah Jason Todd was actually resurrected because Gotham herself felt Bruce Wayne's grief and maternal yearning for his baby and jumpstarted that kid's heart.
Dick studies him. Swallows his pride. He's not a teen anymore, yelling should not be an option. He forces his eyes close, and reopens them. Slowly.
"I need you to rephrase that" He tries to contain the hurt. The anger. The betrayal.
"... What?"
"I need you to hear what you just said. Because, right now, you're invalidating all my efforts" Deep breathes. Clarity. Put your words out. Deep breathes. "I'm not mediocre, Bruce"
"I never said that"
"No. I know you haven't." Deep breathes. In. Out. "You're making me feel like it, thought" In. Out.
"I don't think you're mediocre"
"No." Measure your tone. Think your wording. "You're just saying that where I am standing is mediocre." You love him. Don't hurt him. "You think I can do better" Don't hurt him. "But what if I don't want to do better?"
Bruce looks at him. Dick sees the confusion behind his stare.
"I-"
"What if I'm fine right where I am?"
"Son-"
"Ask me, Bruce. Talk to me, please: Dick, are you comfortable where you are?"
"Dick..."
"Are you happy, son? Are you proud?" He breathes deep. Retains the air. Absorbs the silence. He is listening. "Ask me, dad."
Bruce breathes in, eyes shining wet with something unreadable, and straightens his shoulders.
"Are you happy, son?"
Dick smiles. "I am." He breathes, shakily. "I am, dad"
A pair of arms drag him into a hug, soft kisses and apologies against his skull.
"I don't want to be better" he whispers "Not right now, at least. Can I enjoy this moment?" He tries not to cry. He fails, and does so against Bruce's shoulder. "I'm proud of where I got, dad"
Bruce nods.
"You're my dad. You'll always want the best for me. I got it" he sighs. "I got it" He does. He understands.
But understanding doesn't take the hurt or the shame, nor the pressure of living under the shadow of a legend.
"I am so proud of you."
"I know."
"You know." Comes more as a question. His forehead is warm under the kiss.
"... I think I do." He contemplates. "Sometimes I do"
Bruce doesn't apologize again. But Dick hears it behind the sad inhale and the way those shoulders tremble.
And maybe he'll come to believe those words at some point. Maybe. Hopefully.
Bruce always had a beautiful voice. Charming when he was Brucie, deep when he was batman. But, it was most angelic when he sang. That smooth rumble as words slipped his lips, curved perfectly around each word and vowel.
Jason remembers sneaking through the hallway to get a late night snack and pausing when he heard Bruce singing from his room 2 doors down. Jason sat where he was, head leaned against the wall, letting that voice take him over. Bruce was singing "Like A Prayer" by Madonna, and clearly enjoying himself. That was the first of many nights Jason slept somewhere that wasn't his bed.
Now grown, Jason has taken to smoking. He's on a rooftop, standing next to Bruce. Bruce who had been kidnapped and was now rescued. They both watches as GCPD officers saw the tied up culprits and looked for their hostage. A cigarette rests between Jason's lips.
He catches Bruce eyeing it and sighs. Plucking it away, he looks at Bruce. "Gonna give me shit for smoking a cig? Save your breath, I'm not quitting."
Bruce purses his lips, and then smiles softly. "Just wondering if you got more."
"Who's asking?"
"Me."
Jason surpresses his surprise. Instead, he stares at Bruce, trying to connect some dots. "You... Smoke?"
Bruce chuckles. "Like you didn't know. There's an ashtray in my study."
There is? Since when? Was it there when he was younger? How had he not noticed?
"Hasn't anyone told you smoking's bad for your voice?"
He gets look in return. "Hypocrisy isn't a good look on you, Jay."
But then.
Then.
Bruce's voice cracks around his nickname. A soft, almost indiscernible break in his speech, but it's there. An obvious tell.
Jason feels a burn in his throat that isn't from the smoke. Memories of falling asleep in a hallway, nodding off to sleep with the sound of angels.
He shoves his pack into his pocket, taking a silent vow to throw them away later. "Why destroy your throat when you can destroy your wallet?" Jason smirks, grabbing his jacket and passing it to Bruce. "Let's go get burgers. I promise to burn a hole in your black hole of a debit card."
Bruce pushes off the railing. "You're welcome to try but few have succeeded." They head towards the stairs going down. When they reach Jason's motorcycle, Jason's stops Bruce.
"I don't ask you for much."
Bruce reads between the lines and hsi eyebrows scrunch. "something wrong?"
"No, just-" Jason looks away. "Sing for me. Tonight."
Bruce's eyes widen, like he didn't know how ethereal his voice was. But he doesn't say anything, just climbs on behind Jason. It's only when they reach the Manor that Bruce takes off his helmet with a smile. "Got any song in mind?"
areudirty
theartofmadeline
pixelskylines
prguitarman
germansingergirl
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
romaincrisis
dailybridgerton
