Waynesitter’s Runaway Bats
✧ Sometimes your job requires you to go on little excursions to drag back some family runaways. And when Alfred says little, it means Bruce intends for you to borrow the Batmobile.
✧ “Uhh… Thanks. But I’ll just use Tim’s Prius.”
✧ “Y/N, I insist.”
✧ “Mr. Wayne. I’d rather be bringing home your son and not another Arkham escapee.”
✧ Sometimes the others tag along with you when they’re awake, still alive, or generally just bored.
✧ “Oh my god, Tim. You have the worst songs.”
✧ “Apart from being dead weight in my car, Jason, what else are you good for?”
✧ “Tch. Y/N, Jason brought a gun again.”
✧ “Jason, I swear to god if you fire that gun you better shoot me first.”
✧ Whenever Dick runs away, he always goes to Amusement Mile, Gotham’s entertainment district, where Haley’s Circus used to be. When something really bad happens, Dick would actually leave town to follow the Circus’ tour. But for now, you pull over by the boardwalk.
✧ “Stay in the car.”
✧ “What if there’s trouble?”
✧ “I’ll light up a bat signal.”
✧ “Harhar, Y/N.”
✧ You quickly find Dick inside the large tent just sitting in the middle of the ring. He always greets you with a sheepish smile and pursed lips.
✧ “Time to go back already?”
✧ “I have two volatile children and Tim stuck in a Prius so…”
✧ Dick laughs and slowly gets up. “Okay.” When he reaches you, he stops and rests his head on your shoulder. You hear him sigh and quietly say, “I don’t know what I’m doing, Y/N. I’m no leader.”
✧ It’s one of those days. One when all the responsibility is on Dick’s shoulders and he feels like no one taught him how to be an adult. Not his parents. Not Bruce or Alfred. He still feels like a child. Most of the time you think he’s more a child than Damian. But the innocent kind. Not the murder you in your sleep kind. Or the annoying brat kind in general.
✧ “Y/N.”
✧ “Oh, sorry. I spaced out.”
✧ “Y/N!” he chuckles, “this is supposed to be the part where you say something that’ll motivate me to do the right thing.”
✧ “The right thing? I don’t even know the difference between laundry detergent and fabric conditioner. They both just clean clothes, right?”
✧ He laughs. “Right.”
✧ “But Dick… No one’s ever going to say the exact thing you need to hear because only you know what that is. You just have to be patient with yourself and continue to listen to your gut. The fact that you’re here means you feel like you did something wrong. So it’s time to go and fix it.”
✧ As far as your speeches go, persuading Dick to go home is the easiest. But when it comes to Tim, you need to be a bit more creative. Or diabolical.
✧ “Uh, Robin. Your babysitter’s here to see you.”
✧ “Don’t let--”
✧ “Thanks, Beast Boy. Next time you’re in Gotham I’ll give you a tour of the cave. Oh hey, Tim. Fancy seeing you here.”
✧ “You’re in San Francisco. You’re at the Titans Tower. You know I would be here.”
✧ “Really? But why would you be all the way here when they need you in Gotham? BB just told me--”
✧ “BB??”
✧ “-- that the other Titans are home for the summer. Like you should be. Suspicious.”
✧ “Why are you here, Y/N?”
✧ You smile and take out a small folder from your bag. “I need help with Chemistry--”
✧ “Chemistry? You’re a lit maj-- Wait a minute… These are the compounds for Scarecrow’s fear toxin.”
✧ “Nope. Look at the bonding element.”
✧ “... It’s... It’s a mutation of Joker’s laughing gas!”
✧ Of course, once you get back, you’ll tell Tim you just fudged elements together and you’re surprised and proud of yourself for making up a whole new deadly chemical. By then, Damian or Jason is ready to apologize to Tim just like you practiced.
✧ On the other side of the spectrum, the least bat you have to worry about is Cass. Whenever she goes missing it’s the only time you volunteer to bring a Wayne back. Only because you always find her sitting on your couch hugging a bowl of popcorn.
✧ “What series are we binging tonight, Y/N?”
✧ “Legends of Tomorrow? It’s about a group of misfit superheroes who fixes history. You might recognize a few costumes.”
✧ Cass recognizes all of them. Sometimes you forget that Cass isn’t a civilian and she’s even more of a vigilante than the boys. That this is what most her life has been and she has no inclination to quit it.
✧ “Can I live with you?”
✧ “You can’t, Cass. You’ll know all my bad habits and then you won’t want to be my friend.”
✧ “You’re more than a friend, Y/N. You’re family.”
✧ “Oh god. I mean no offense, Cass. I love you, but the only reason you’re always trying to kill each other is because you’re family. I don’t want to be in your Lord of the Flies.”
✧ Cass doesn’t really get it. “They know every bad thing about me… but they still want me.”
✧ “Oh.”
✧ Cass is the most observant person you know. She knows exactly how the family feels about her and they would move Earths for her. But having never experienced any kind of love growing up and then jumping into their unconditional love, it shocks you and leaves you anxious about the day when the dream is over.
✧ “You can live with me one day but you gotta pay rent. I’m not letting you mooch off of me.”
✧ Cass smiles at you. You turn back to the TV and she curls up beside you all night before you take her home in the morning.
✧ Jason’s another one that’s easy to find. He always holes up in his own apartment because no one in his family would dare bother him there when he’s in a mood. This is one of those moments when you’re glad you’re not family.
✧ “Open up, Zombie boy!”
✧ “When are you going to stop calling me that?”
✧ “When you go to a derma and finally get rid of those autopsy scars. Seriously, Jason, they’re unsettling.”
✧ Jason touches his chest and then stays quiet the whole time you settle yourself in his apartment. With Jason, there are no words or tricks to play. Whenever he’s seen too much of the family he just needs time and distance. You’re only there to shorten that time and make sure the distance stays within city limits.
✧ “Can you sing it again?”
✧ But Jason makes you pay the highest price. Ever since he heard you whistle and sing The Dancing and the Dreaming from How to Train Your Dragon 2, he always asks you to sing it when he’s not particularly feeling high on his horse. So how could you refuse?
✧ “Sure. But could we not do a duet this time? It makes me feel like we’re having a Viking wedding.”
✧ “Damian would love that.”
✧ It’s bad. If Jason doesn’t fight you for that duet and just wants to close his eyes and listen, then something really bad happened. So you sing while you watch Jason relax in his chair. You maintain a slow tempo throughout the whole song.
✧ When Jason finally opens his eyes, tears slip through. He’s staring at you with wide eyes and he touches his cheeks, wondering why they’re wet. Your lips quiver and you bite them before you approach Jason and wipe his cheeks.
✧ “Was my singing that bad?”
✧ Jason blows on your face and laughs even though he’s still crying.
✧ You didn’t really know what to do when Alfred told you Damian ran back home. Isn’t this his home? But when you’re strapped in the batplane with the Batman, especially since he’s also your boss, you can’t really opt out anymore.
✧ “Mr. W-- Er Batman? Is it really smart to bring civilian me to the base of one of your mortal enemies?”
✧ “The League knows all of our identities--”
✧ “Yeah, but I think I’d feel a lot safer in a bullet-proof costume like yours. No offense.”
✧ “They use swords here, Y/N.”
✧ “Oh… kevlar can’t stop that?”
✧ When you arrive, the fortress is even more intimidating and terrifying than you imagined. You stick close to Batman, clutching his cape, and warily eye the assassins clad in all black, stationed at almost every corner.
✧ “It sort of feels like the cave. Maybe if you trained more bats, you can finally get some sleep or go to your 10 AM meetings.”
✧ Batman can’t suppress his grin. “Do you really want more of them to take care of?”
✧ “I would quit. Or make you quadruple my salary.”
✧ When you finally see Damian after several days of his disappearance, you forget yourself and run to him, only to be met with the hilt of a sword an inch away from your neck.
✧ Damian’s eyes widen when he realizes it’s you and drops his sword. He looks horrified. Quickly forgetting your own shock, you bend down and pick him up to hold him tight in your arms. You can feel him sobbing against your shoulder.
✧ “Beloved. I see you’ve started involving your servants in your crusade.”
✧ “Don’t be jealous, Talia. She’s only family.”
✧ “Damian,” you whisper. “Ready to go home? I might need your help in stopping Bruce from adopting me.”
✧ Damian sniffs. “That mustn’t happen if we’re going to be married in the future.”
✧ You don’t leave Damian’s side until you get back to the manor. You stay later just to lie beside him in his bed until he falls asleep. You’re brushing his hair when a thought comes to you. “You know, in the future, maybe run away to Paris. I hear they have an old cave network there. It might take me days or weeks to bring you home.”
✧ Damian scoffs and smiles. He turns to his other side, away from you. “Y/N, I’m trying to sleep.”
✧ “Yeah, but think about it okay? What are you doing tomorrow?”
Notes: Here’s that version of the song YN sings to Jason. Fair warning, it’s a Drarry animation.
✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧