a schmorgasboard of sorts [random, fic, ♔icons ♔004]
★ [i] Rant about Batman, Dick Grayson, & shoes.
★ [ii] A second one about trolling.
★ [iii] "Meet The Bats" A fic based on a prompt from the YJ anon meme, about the rest of the team meeting Robin's family, meaning the bratty Jason, tiny and adorable Tim, and precious baby Damian.
★ [iv] 28 Batfam + Young Justice icons.
I feel like I've been dead to LJ for quite some time, so I figured, hey, why not have a jack of all trades sort of post? A little bit of random, to get me back into the spirit of things.
First things first, Spring sucks. Just, all around. The people I have to deal with, the school, the allergies. Ugh. Although the weather was better for a while, it's always full of rain, making days sucky, and more like, all I want to do is stay inside and draw, and not go to school, but hey, what can you do. So, I've taken a LOVING to Young Justice (if the icons haven't given it away), and more importantly, to Dick Grayson, which inevitably led to an obsession. With him, of course. Which leads to my reasoning as to WHY I MUST HAVE THESE SHOES.
GUH BUTIWANTTHEMSOBADLY. DROOOOOL.
★
Ahem. In other slightly more lulzery news, I've been lurking on anon memes again, bringing you this nifty little trinket.
LJ, you trying to tell me something? >3>
On to bigger and better things, I've, of course, got my usual things running, except that I haven't updated that website thingy in a while, and on top of that, I've gained a tumblr that I sometimes lurk on. It's mostly for stalking people there. What? Don't look at me like that. So, have a fic, and a few icons, and with that, I bid you adieu, fair lurkers, and anyone that has stumbled here thanks to my link to the fic below. Enjoy!
★
fanfic | tumblr | website | youtube
★
It had taken a long time, over a year, through everything they'd been through, through the fights amongst themselves, through the hundreds of villains they'd helped defeat, and they'd finally managed to drag him to the edge. He had been ready to tell them for ages, but permission from the Bat himself had been difficult to obtain. So, on this fine Saturday, things had finally blown up, but he'd had a peaceful solution.
"We've been friends for years, Rob!" Kid Flash threw the remote across the room and grabbed his friend, whom had shot up quite a bit over the past few months, by the scruff of his neck. "And you're still going to treat me-us like we're not good enough to lick the bottom of your shoes?"
"That's not it, and it never has been, KF," He said in a quiet sort of way, a secretive smile on his face. "And besides, I've been waiting for you guys to ask since August."
"And I've never even..." The redhead trailed off, his whitening knuckles coming loose as the words processed in his mind. "Wait, what?"
"Seriously," Robin brushed himself off and coughed a bit, smiling the whole while. "I finally convinced Batman to let me tell you guys. Heck, I even got you all a free pass to the Batcave, but not today. And it's only good for one visit," He wagged a finger in warning, but his friend had already jumped onto him and squeezed the smaller teenager in a hard hug. "Can't...breathe...KF!"
"Sorry, I'm just so...psyched!" He clicked his heels and gathered the rest of their teammates, leaving Robin in the kitchen. The raven smiled and went back to his own room, changing into civilian attire and throwing his utility belt on under his clothing. Minutes later, when everyone had gathered, they couldn't find their second-youngest member on the team. "Rob?" Wally had asked, dressed in his civvies already. "Where are you, man?"
"Right here, doofus," Robin called without his shades, brilliant blues and that signature smirk almost blinding them. "Also, since we're going out like this, call me Dick."
Wally snickered a bit at that and nudged him in the side. "Ham it up, dude. Seriously, we're gonna need some sort of a name if we're going to your place, right? We're gonna meet your parents and all that!"
"That is his name," Batman suddenly arrived, looking surlier than usual. "Dick is a nickname for Richard, Wallace." Wally cringed at that, but then muttered, "Right," before zipping next to his friend and smiling.
"Soo..." Megan spoke up from behind the two of them, smiling next to Superboy and the rest of the team. "What's your last name, and where do you live?"
"Grayson, and I'll show you," He smirked in Batman's general direction, knowing that the man was already annoyed by this turn of events. They'd waited for the Batmobile's presence, and they hopped in only after the Dark Knight had warned them not to touch anything, and if they did, they would suffer the consequences.
They chatted amongst themselves, already curious. If he was the Richard Grayson, ward and adopted son of the famous multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne, chances were that they both lived at Wayne Manor. Well, no wonder he wouldn't tell us! Wally lamented to himself, pouting a bit. I mean, I already kind of knew, but still! No one wants to be treated like a spoiled little rich kid all the time.
Before they'd known it, they were at the top of that hill, and Batman had sped away quickly, bidding them all adieu, and telling them to watch themselves. Once at the gates, Richard had rung the bell and waited for a response. "Master Richard?"
"It's just me and a few friends, Alfred," He replied back in his play voice, winking at them as a signal to stay silent. "No intruders that I know of. I'll go ahead and run a second sweep when I'm inside."
"Very well then," The Butler paged them in and the gates opened. "Shall I prepare refreshments for you and your guests, Master Richard?"
"It'd be much appreciated," He smiled and led the bewildered teenagers inside. "Well, come on, guys. The gates only stay open for so long." With that, they hurried behind him, and watched as the older gentleman from the gate's PA opened the door for them and bowed at their entrance.
"Thanks, Alf," Robin-Dick Grayson, that is-nodded a little to the gentlemen as they came inside, Kid Flash zipping around energetically, whereas Miss Martian, Aqualad, Artemis, and Superboy were behaving themselves, trying to take everything in. "This is Alfred, everyone. Alfred, Megan," He pointed to the green girl with red hair freckles, and she blushed a bit. "Kaldur," The darker-skinned youth smiled and waved his webbed fingers at him. "Artemis," The archer politely nodded, but didn't smile all too much, as it wasn't in her nature. Rather, she was scowling at the Kid Doofus's actions. "And Conner," The clone merely nodded, unsure of what else he was supposed to do. "The kids asleep?"
"Kids?" Wally rushed back in to the room with everyone else, looking confused. "What kids?"
"My little brothers," Dick said happily. "It is a little early for bedtime, don't you think?"
"They're wide awake, Master Richard," Alfred seemed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Most of them have gathered to watch the television in the main entertainment center."
"The 'main' entertainment center?" Wally's jaw fell, shocked at just how rich these people had to be. "You're joking."
"You don't think I learned how to play all those games by luck, do you, Walls?" Robin joked and his signature laugh prompted his teammates to chuckle as well, whereas the redhead had huffed and crossed his arms. But as soon as he was about to nod to the butler and take a step, someone had run right into his leg and latched on.
"Dicky!" If no one had known any better, they could've sworn that Dick Grayson and this little boy were blood-related. They shared the same dark, wavy tresses, and those piercing blue eyes. He looked up at his older, adopted brother with a wide smile and spoke again. "You're back!" He hugged him around his waist awkwardly, and his taller, teenaged brother ruffled his hair befored crouching next to him.
"Yup," He turned toward his friends, the two of them sporting similar grins. "Everyone, this is Tim. Tim, say hi to my friends!"
"Hi," The boy blushed a little bit, still clinging on to his brother's pants. "Nice to meet you! Do all of you know how to calculate the square root of eleven thousand, six-hundred and sixty four times pi-squared? Because I do!"
"Just because you and I can calculate that the square root of that is one hundred and eight-pi doesn't mean that everyone does. Now stop being such a show off."
"Kaaaaay," Tim smiled proudly, grabbing his brother's hand. Miss Martian laughed a bit as Kaldur spoke.
"They have much in common, it seems," The Altantean said, and Wally muttered, "Got that right."
"I heard that, you know," Robin chided from in front of them, and they all giggled a bit, following after the two raven-haired youths leading them around this mansion.
After a series of twists and turns and a flight of stairs, they'd run into another problem. "Out of the way."
"No need to be rude," Dick flicked this little brother, taller and obviously closer in age to Robin than Tim, in the head. "Jason, meet my friends, Wally, Kaldur-"
"No one wants to hang out with a loser and his band of loser friends." Artemis contemplated shooting this brat right in the ass with one of her trick arrows. That might teach him some manners. "Get out of the way, Grayson, or I'll have to show your friends who's boss around here."
"Fighting is bad!" Tim piped up, but already Dick had gently let his hand drop and looked ready to kill. "Dicky! Jay!"
"You shut up!" His loud voice had prompted their younger brother to almost go into tears, and Dick looked furious at his other blue-green eyed brother.
"Stop yelling," Dick said in a quiet sort of rage, his hand on Tim's shoulder, trying to urge him to hold back his urge to cry. "You're scaring Tim."
"I don't give a fuck if I'm scaring Tim!" Jason spat, earning a fist that had almost connected with his face for that. His oldest brother and his friends all looked ready to fight, and he smirked. "What if that's what I want, huh?" He pulled at Tim's hair, and this time, his shins were kicked before Dick did a back handspring and let both of his feet land on his younger brother's jaw, and then said, "Watch your language, Jason," While dusting off his hands. He was groaning and wincing in pain on the other side of the hall, and his friends all gasped in surprise.
"I know the snot is rude, but dude! Don't you think you went overboard?" Wally stepped in, grabbing his friend's wrist. Dick looked up at him from his now crouched position next to him, holding his hand and stroking his dark hair.
"He's fine," Dick murmured, his light eyes glancing up at his friend. "He'll be up and trying to get back at me if I don't do that. This way, he'll go sulk in his room and train all night instead of picking on Tim."
His friends looked at each other worriedly, but sure enough, Jason had picked himself up, spat something out that looked suspiciously like blood, glared in Dick and Tim's direction, and then slunk off to what they assumed was his room. "You okay?" Dick asked once Jason had finally gone, and his little brother smiled with those big watery eyes, and Megan and Artemis melted at just how cute a scene the two of them made. "Good. Now, there's only one more."
"There are more?" Wally asked more to himself than anyone else, but Superboy found a hearty chuckle in that.
They'd finally made it to the entertainment center, and since all of them had moved from there after Alfred had said they were watching the television, the members of the Young Justice couldn't help but wonder if the last child would actually be where the man had said.
On the floor, there was a toddler, but despite all odds, he looked so much like his brothers, and also amazingly familiar. They couldn't place the exact reason why, but he struck them, with those deep blue eyes and the fray of short, straight black hair sticking off of his forehead. Smiling his way, Dick walked over, and Tim ran over with a smile too. Picking the fussy toddler up from off of the floor, Robin turned back to his friends. "And this," He tickled under his chin, earning a little kick and a squirm for his efforts. "Is Damian, my youngest brother." He held him safely in his arms, and he'd resisted at first, but then quietly embraced Dick's hold when he'd realized who was holding him.
"Aww," Megan held out her arms, one moving towards the boy's head to smooth his hair and the other to his tummy. However, his blue eyes sharpened and he bit her finger. "Ouch! Is he teething?"
"Damian!" Dick chided his youngest brother, who was playing innocent. "Stop it. These people are my friends."
"Let me try," Wally chimed in happily, holding out his arms for the toddler. "I'm used to kids, and they usually like me."
"Yeah, because you act just like them," The blonde young woman chimed in, and he scowled in her general direction, but Dick just laughed a little bit, holding out his hesitant younger brother.
"Watch yourself," Dick said in warning, smiling knowingly. "He doesn't seem to take well to anyone but Bruce or me."
Surely enough, as soon as he was in Wally's arms, he'd bitten three of his fingers and fell out of his hold, but while Kaldur, Artemis, Wally, Megan, and Conner were stuck with concern over the baby's safety, and wondering why Dick or Tim weren't doing anything, Damian had neatly landed on his feet. He then walked on his two wobbly feet over to Tim and kicked him, and the older boy could do nothing but scowl down at his younger brother.
"How did he..." Conner had already been perplexed by humans, but that was certainly not a normal feat for any human so small. "I mean, what happened?"
"All of us have been trained since we were small," Dick chimed in as Damian kept scowling at Tim and walking towards him. He picked him up and hiked him up onto his shoulders neatly, smiling all the while. "He'd probably mouth off too, if he knew you guys better. He doesn't know loads of words, but he's a mean little snot when he wants to be." Earning a tug of hair, he reached up and ruffled his baby brother's hair. "But he's my cute little snot. Bruce is at work most of the time, so I have to take care of these guys."
"When do you find time to sleep?" Artemis wondered in a snort. "Straight A's in school, son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, and part of the Batman and Robin dynamic duo by nightfall? Geez. I'm barely passing, and I'm exhausted from working one job."
Dick flashed him that million-dollar smile. "It's a practiced art." He glanced down at his beeping wristwatch and looked his teammates. "Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up with you later."
"No, Robin," Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly. "Take the evening off. Spend some quality time with your brothers." They nodded and waved goodbyes.
Once they had gone, Damian had kicked his oldest brother in the jaw to tell him to let him down before muttering quietly. "Annoying. Grayson, down."
"Alright, Damian," Dick took his baby brother down and kissed him softly on the cheeks, earning a flush for his efforts. The toddler turned up his nose as he kept speaking. "It's almost time for bed, right? Daddy and I have work to do."
"Night, Grayson," He says quietly, and then glares at Tim, and refuses to even acknowledge Jason's existence upstairs somewhere, or rather, hiding behind the corner, where he'd been watching for some time. Damian wobbled off to his own room, met in the doorframe by Alfred to help him down the stairs. Dick nodded at the butler before squeezing back on Tim's hand and grabbing Jason by the back of his shirt as they went back to their rooms. They'd come to Tim's first, and he bent down, kissed him on the forehead, and bid him goodnight.
"G'night, Dicky," Tim says cutely, and he closes the door behind them, leaving Jason and Dick alone in the hallways as the older of the two dragged his younger brother to his room.
Although Jason turned up his nose and resisted, Dick had pulled him into a hug and let his lips touch his neck. "Good night, Jason." Their gazes stay on each other, and the older waits patiently. Jason huffs and mutters back, "Good night, Grayson." Before sliding into his room and slamming the door. Now that all of them are in their rooms and quiet, Dick rushes to the study, where his entrance to the Batcave lies. He comes down the elevator and changes during the plunge, meeting his mentor face to face-or rather, mask to cowl-once he'd come all the way down.
"Thought they told you to take the night off," Batman greets in his gruff, slightly annoyed voice. "You had a long day."
"Don't I always?" He smirks that little smirk and Bruce only rolls his eyes from behind the cowl. "Jay and Damian are probably looking for you. Tim's probably being the perfect little child that he always is, meaning that he's asleep already." He smiled at his mentor, letting his hand fall on the older man's shoulder. "Go on. Me and everyone else can handle this one. Right now, those boys need their father," Richard stared at the man he considered his father, despite all his faults. "Not Batman, or Bruce Wayne. They need Dad."
He sighed and let his scowl turn into a little smile. "I guess you're right." Bruce shed the cowl and looked right back into those masked blue eyes. "Be careful, Dick. And don't mess around."
"Me?" Dick laughed a little bit, flipping back into the elevator. "I don't even know what you're talking about." His laugh echoed in the cave, and Bruce could only sigh and smile again.
Kids never grow up, no matter what they say.
★
Young Justice
★
★
And that is all, folks. Hope you enjoyed the ride. :3
★ [ii] A second one about trolling.
★ [iii] "Meet The Bats" A fic based on a prompt from the YJ anon meme, about the rest of the team meeting Robin's family, meaning the bratty Jason, tiny and adorable Tim, and precious baby Damian.
★ [iv] 28 Batfam + Young Justice icons.
I feel like I've been dead to LJ for quite some time, so I figured, hey, why not have a jack of all trades sort of post? A little bit of random, to get me back into the spirit of things.
First things first, Spring sucks. Just, all around. The people I have to deal with, the school, the allergies. Ugh. Although the weather was better for a while, it's always full of rain, making days sucky, and more like, all I want to do is stay inside and draw, and not go to school, but hey, what can you do. So, I've taken a LOVING to Young Justice (if the icons haven't given it away), and more importantly, to Dick Grayson, which inevitably led to an obsession. With him, of course. Which leads to my reasoning as to WHY I MUST HAVE THESE SHOES.
GUH BUTIWANTTHEMSOBADLY. DROOOOOL.
★
Ahem. In other slightly more lulzery news, I've been lurking on anon memes again, bringing you this nifty little trinket.
LJ, you trying to tell me something? >3>
On to bigger and better things, I've, of course, got my usual things running, except that I haven't updated that website thingy in a while, and on top of that, I've gained a tumblr that I sometimes lurk on. It's mostly for stalking people there. What? Don't look at me like that. So, have a fic, and a few icons, and with that, I bid you adieu, fair lurkers, and anyone that has stumbled here thanks to my link to the fic below. Enjoy!
★
fanfic | tumblr | website | youtube
★
It had taken a long time, over a year, through everything they'd been through, through the fights amongst themselves, through the hundreds of villains they'd helped defeat, and they'd finally managed to drag him to the edge. He had been ready to tell them for ages, but permission from the Bat himself had been difficult to obtain. So, on this fine Saturday, things had finally blown up, but he'd had a peaceful solution.
"We've been friends for years, Rob!" Kid Flash threw the remote across the room and grabbed his friend, whom had shot up quite a bit over the past few months, by the scruff of his neck. "And you're still going to treat me-us like we're not good enough to lick the bottom of your shoes?"
"That's not it, and it never has been, KF," He said in a quiet sort of way, a secretive smile on his face. "And besides, I've been waiting for you guys to ask since August."
"And I've never even..." The redhead trailed off, his whitening knuckles coming loose as the words processed in his mind. "Wait, what?"
"Seriously," Robin brushed himself off and coughed a bit, smiling the whole while. "I finally convinced Batman to let me tell you guys. Heck, I even got you all a free pass to the Batcave, but not today. And it's only good for one visit," He wagged a finger in warning, but his friend had already jumped onto him and squeezed the smaller teenager in a hard hug. "Can't...breathe...KF!"
"Sorry, I'm just so...psyched!" He clicked his heels and gathered the rest of their teammates, leaving Robin in the kitchen. The raven smiled and went back to his own room, changing into civilian attire and throwing his utility belt on under his clothing. Minutes later, when everyone had gathered, they couldn't find their second-youngest member on the team. "Rob?" Wally had asked, dressed in his civvies already. "Where are you, man?"
"Right here, doofus," Robin called without his shades, brilliant blues and that signature smirk almost blinding them. "Also, since we're going out like this, call me Dick."
Wally snickered a bit at that and nudged him in the side. "Ham it up, dude. Seriously, we're gonna need some sort of a name if we're going to your place, right? We're gonna meet your parents and all that!"
"That is his name," Batman suddenly arrived, looking surlier than usual. "Dick is a nickname for Richard, Wallace." Wally cringed at that, but then muttered, "Right," before zipping next to his friend and smiling.
"Soo..." Megan spoke up from behind the two of them, smiling next to Superboy and the rest of the team. "What's your last name, and where do you live?"
"Grayson, and I'll show you," He smirked in Batman's general direction, knowing that the man was already annoyed by this turn of events. They'd waited for the Batmobile's presence, and they hopped in only after the Dark Knight had warned them not to touch anything, and if they did, they would suffer the consequences.
They chatted amongst themselves, already curious. If he was the Richard Grayson, ward and adopted son of the famous multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne, chances were that they both lived at Wayne Manor. Well, no wonder he wouldn't tell us! Wally lamented to himself, pouting a bit. I mean, I already kind of knew, but still! No one wants to be treated like a spoiled little rich kid all the time.
Before they'd known it, they were at the top of that hill, and Batman had sped away quickly, bidding them all adieu, and telling them to watch themselves. Once at the gates, Richard had rung the bell and waited for a response. "Master Richard?"
"It's just me and a few friends, Alfred," He replied back in his play voice, winking at them as a signal to stay silent. "No intruders that I know of. I'll go ahead and run a second sweep when I'm inside."
"Very well then," The Butler paged them in and the gates opened. "Shall I prepare refreshments for you and your guests, Master Richard?"
"It'd be much appreciated," He smiled and led the bewildered teenagers inside. "Well, come on, guys. The gates only stay open for so long." With that, they hurried behind him, and watched as the older gentleman from the gate's PA opened the door for them and bowed at their entrance.
"Thanks, Alf," Robin-Dick Grayson, that is-nodded a little to the gentlemen as they came inside, Kid Flash zipping around energetically, whereas Miss Martian, Aqualad, Artemis, and Superboy were behaving themselves, trying to take everything in. "This is Alfred, everyone. Alfred, Megan," He pointed to the green girl with red hair freckles, and she blushed a bit. "Kaldur," The darker-skinned youth smiled and waved his webbed fingers at him. "Artemis," The archer politely nodded, but didn't smile all too much, as it wasn't in her nature. Rather, she was scowling at the Kid Doofus's actions. "And Conner," The clone merely nodded, unsure of what else he was supposed to do. "The kids asleep?"
"Kids?" Wally rushed back in to the room with everyone else, looking confused. "What kids?"
"My little brothers," Dick said happily. "It is a little early for bedtime, don't you think?"
"They're wide awake, Master Richard," Alfred seemed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Most of them have gathered to watch the television in the main entertainment center."
"The 'main' entertainment center?" Wally's jaw fell, shocked at just how rich these people had to be. "You're joking."
"You don't think I learned how to play all those games by luck, do you, Walls?" Robin joked and his signature laugh prompted his teammates to chuckle as well, whereas the redhead had huffed and crossed his arms. But as soon as he was about to nod to the butler and take a step, someone had run right into his leg and latched on.
"Dicky!" If no one had known any better, they could've sworn that Dick Grayson and this little boy were blood-related. They shared the same dark, wavy tresses, and those piercing blue eyes. He looked up at his older, adopted brother with a wide smile and spoke again. "You're back!" He hugged him around his waist awkwardly, and his taller, teenaged brother ruffled his hair befored crouching next to him.
"Yup," He turned toward his friends, the two of them sporting similar grins. "Everyone, this is Tim. Tim, say hi to my friends!"
"Hi," The boy blushed a little bit, still clinging on to his brother's pants. "Nice to meet you! Do all of you know how to calculate the square root of eleven thousand, six-hundred and sixty four times pi-squared? Because I do!"
"Just because you and I can calculate that the square root of that is one hundred and eight-pi doesn't mean that everyone does. Now stop being such a show off."
"Kaaaaay," Tim smiled proudly, grabbing his brother's hand. Miss Martian laughed a bit as Kaldur spoke.
"They have much in common, it seems," The Altantean said, and Wally muttered, "Got that right."
"I heard that, you know," Robin chided from in front of them, and they all giggled a bit, following after the two raven-haired youths leading them around this mansion.
After a series of twists and turns and a flight of stairs, they'd run into another problem. "Out of the way."
"No need to be rude," Dick flicked this little brother, taller and obviously closer in age to Robin than Tim, in the head. "Jason, meet my friends, Wally, Kaldur-"
"No one wants to hang out with a loser and his band of loser friends." Artemis contemplated shooting this brat right in the ass with one of her trick arrows. That might teach him some manners. "Get out of the way, Grayson, or I'll have to show your friends who's boss around here."
"Fighting is bad!" Tim piped up, but already Dick had gently let his hand drop and looked ready to kill. "Dicky! Jay!"
"You shut up!" His loud voice had prompted their younger brother to almost go into tears, and Dick looked furious at his other blue-green eyed brother.
"Stop yelling," Dick said in a quiet sort of rage, his hand on Tim's shoulder, trying to urge him to hold back his urge to cry. "You're scaring Tim."
"I don't give a fuck if I'm scaring Tim!" Jason spat, earning a fist that had almost connected with his face for that. His oldest brother and his friends all looked ready to fight, and he smirked. "What if that's what I want, huh?" He pulled at Tim's hair, and this time, his shins were kicked before Dick did a back handspring and let both of his feet land on his younger brother's jaw, and then said, "Watch your language, Jason," While dusting off his hands. He was groaning and wincing in pain on the other side of the hall, and his friends all gasped in surprise.
"I know the snot is rude, but dude! Don't you think you went overboard?" Wally stepped in, grabbing his friend's wrist. Dick looked up at him from his now crouched position next to him, holding his hand and stroking his dark hair.
"He's fine," Dick murmured, his light eyes glancing up at his friend. "He'll be up and trying to get back at me if I don't do that. This way, he'll go sulk in his room and train all night instead of picking on Tim."
His friends looked at each other worriedly, but sure enough, Jason had picked himself up, spat something out that looked suspiciously like blood, glared in Dick and Tim's direction, and then slunk off to what they assumed was his room. "You okay?" Dick asked once Jason had finally gone, and his little brother smiled with those big watery eyes, and Megan and Artemis melted at just how cute a scene the two of them made. "Good. Now, there's only one more."
"There are more?" Wally asked more to himself than anyone else, but Superboy found a hearty chuckle in that.
They'd finally made it to the entertainment center, and since all of them had moved from there after Alfred had said they were watching the television, the members of the Young Justice couldn't help but wonder if the last child would actually be where the man had said.
On the floor, there was a toddler, but despite all odds, he looked so much like his brothers, and also amazingly familiar. They couldn't place the exact reason why, but he struck them, with those deep blue eyes and the fray of short, straight black hair sticking off of his forehead. Smiling his way, Dick walked over, and Tim ran over with a smile too. Picking the fussy toddler up from off of the floor, Robin turned back to his friends. "And this," He tickled under his chin, earning a little kick and a squirm for his efforts. "Is Damian, my youngest brother." He held him safely in his arms, and he'd resisted at first, but then quietly embraced Dick's hold when he'd realized who was holding him.
"Aww," Megan held out her arms, one moving towards the boy's head to smooth his hair and the other to his tummy. However, his blue eyes sharpened and he bit her finger. "Ouch! Is he teething?"
"Damian!" Dick chided his youngest brother, who was playing innocent. "Stop it. These people are my friends."
"Let me try," Wally chimed in happily, holding out his arms for the toddler. "I'm used to kids, and they usually like me."
"Yeah, because you act just like them," The blonde young woman chimed in, and he scowled in her general direction, but Dick just laughed a little bit, holding out his hesitant younger brother.
"Watch yourself," Dick said in warning, smiling knowingly. "He doesn't seem to take well to anyone but Bruce or me."
Surely enough, as soon as he was in Wally's arms, he'd bitten three of his fingers and fell out of his hold, but while Kaldur, Artemis, Wally, Megan, and Conner were stuck with concern over the baby's safety, and wondering why Dick or Tim weren't doing anything, Damian had neatly landed on his feet. He then walked on his two wobbly feet over to Tim and kicked him, and the older boy could do nothing but scowl down at his younger brother.
"How did he..." Conner had already been perplexed by humans, but that was certainly not a normal feat for any human so small. "I mean, what happened?"
"All of us have been trained since we were small," Dick chimed in as Damian kept scowling at Tim and walking towards him. He picked him up and hiked him up onto his shoulders neatly, smiling all the while. "He'd probably mouth off too, if he knew you guys better. He doesn't know loads of words, but he's a mean little snot when he wants to be." Earning a tug of hair, he reached up and ruffled his baby brother's hair. "But he's my cute little snot. Bruce is at work most of the time, so I have to take care of these guys."
"When do you find time to sleep?" Artemis wondered in a snort. "Straight A's in school, son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, and part of the Batman and Robin dynamic duo by nightfall? Geez. I'm barely passing, and I'm exhausted from working one job."
Dick flashed him that million-dollar smile. "It's a practiced art." He glanced down at his beeping wristwatch and looked his teammates. "Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up with you later."
"No, Robin," Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly. "Take the evening off. Spend some quality time with your brothers." They nodded and waved goodbyes.
Once they had gone, Damian had kicked his oldest brother in the jaw to tell him to let him down before muttering quietly. "Annoying. Grayson, down."
"Alright, Damian," Dick took his baby brother down and kissed him softly on the cheeks, earning a flush for his efforts. The toddler turned up his nose as he kept speaking. "It's almost time for bed, right? Daddy and I have work to do."
"Night, Grayson," He says quietly, and then glares at Tim, and refuses to even acknowledge Jason's existence upstairs somewhere, or rather, hiding behind the corner, where he'd been watching for some time. Damian wobbled off to his own room, met in the doorframe by Alfred to help him down the stairs. Dick nodded at the butler before squeezing back on Tim's hand and grabbing Jason by the back of his shirt as they went back to their rooms. They'd come to Tim's first, and he bent down, kissed him on the forehead, and bid him goodnight.
"G'night, Dicky," Tim says cutely, and he closes the door behind them, leaving Jason and Dick alone in the hallways as the older of the two dragged his younger brother to his room.
Although Jason turned up his nose and resisted, Dick had pulled him into a hug and let his lips touch his neck. "Good night, Jason." Their gazes stay on each other, and the older waits patiently. Jason huffs and mutters back, "Good night, Grayson." Before sliding into his room and slamming the door. Now that all of them are in their rooms and quiet, Dick rushes to the study, where his entrance to the Batcave lies. He comes down the elevator and changes during the plunge, meeting his mentor face to face-or rather, mask to cowl-once he'd come all the way down.
"Thought they told you to take the night off," Batman greets in his gruff, slightly annoyed voice. "You had a long day."
"Don't I always?" He smirks that little smirk and Bruce only rolls his eyes from behind the cowl. "Jay and Damian are probably looking for you. Tim's probably being the perfect little child that he always is, meaning that he's asleep already." He smiled at his mentor, letting his hand fall on the older man's shoulder. "Go on. Me and everyone else can handle this one. Right now, those boys need their father," Richard stared at the man he considered his father, despite all his faults. "Not Batman, or Bruce Wayne. They need Dad."
He sighed and let his scowl turn into a little smile. "I guess you're right." Bruce shed the cowl and looked right back into those masked blue eyes. "Be careful, Dick. And don't mess around."
"Me?" Dick laughed a little bit, flipping back into the elevator. "I don't even know what you're talking about." His laugh echoed in the cave, and Bruce could only sigh and smile again.
Kids never grow up, no matter what they say.
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Young Justice
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And that is all, folks. Hope you enjoyed the ride. :3