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downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 23 days

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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 2

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 5030 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

(6 Months Later)

Dick Grayson looked up at the Carr family home from his car, apprehensive to open the door just yet. It was a nice home, and from the research Dick did, a nice family lived there too.

His eyes trailed to the apartment situated above the garage, imagining the people who were inside. How were they going to react when he told them what he was there for? Scratch that, how were they going to react when they saw him?

'Should I go take a nap or are you going to man up and go inside at some point?' Oracle's sarcastic voice came through the car's bluetooth.

Dick clenched his hands around the steering wheel. Barbara - newly named Oracle - was right. It didn't matter what his friends were going to say. He needed their help, and he needed to man up.

Dick finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. 'I'll call you when I'm done,' he said, then ended the call before Barbara could sneak in another witty remark.

He made haste running up the Carr's driveway, then up the stairs to the apartment above the garage. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard laughter and lively chatter that made him pause. An overwhelming sense of guilt and shame and longing surged through him. Was he really going to break up the joy beyond the door? Once upon a time he would've been glad for a party, for a break from work and his vigilante duties.

His mind flashed back to that first party him and his friends had in Mount Justice. It was Wally's birthday and he had been lapping up all the attention, especially from M'gann, who had made him a cake and had in fact organised the whole party. This was before Wally realised him and Artemis were meant to be, same with Connor and M'gann.

But Y/N had known, had even pointed it out to Dick as they sat in the corner just the two of them, watching everything play out.

'They're all so thick,' Y/N said, taking a sip of her lemonade, trying to hide her knowing smile.

'How so?' Dick asked.

Y/N rolled her eyes. 'Can you not see?' She grabbed Dick's chin and guided him to look at Connor and M'gann interacting awkwardly but in a cute way, then Wally and Artemis "fighting", matching wit for wit with every snarky comment they threw at each other. 'Connor and M'gann are so into each other, and you could cut the emotional tension between Wally and Artemis it's so thick. They are all crushing hard.'

Dick watched the two couples interact a little longer and realised Y/N was right. 'Well would you look at that,' he said, turning back to Y/N. 'You're quite the observer, aren't you?'

Y/N chuckled. 'Dick, we've been best friends for three years now. If you're just figuring that out now, then you're just as thick as the rest of our friends.'

'Hey! I am not!'

'Are to.'

'Am. Not!'

'Are. To!'

The two fell into hysterical laughter, gripping onto one another so they didn't fall to the ground.

Y/N's smile came to him then, and the longing in his chest ached even more. She was more than likely beyond the door too, laughing and smiling without a care in the world. He suddenly had the thought that he couldn't go through with it. He couldn't possibly ask them - couldn't ask her - to help him. Not after what he'd done...

Before he could chicken out completely, he forced himself to knock lightly on the door.

'I'll get it,' M'gann's sweet voice called out to whoever she was with, and Dick prepared himself as he heard her walk to the door.

M'gann opened the door, and she was smiling, the remnants of laughter twinkling in her eyes. She was in her human form, but it had changed since the last time Dick saw her. Her ginger hair was now cropped just under her ears, and her features were sharper, more refined than that of a young adolescent. She wore a flattering white blouse and casual jeans, not bothering for shoes in her own home.

She was grown up. In just two years?

Her brown eyes locked with Dick's blue ones, and immediately her smile dropped as shock froze her face.

Dick offered her a small smile 'Hi, M'gann,' he said softly.

'Dick...' was all she could manage as she continued to look at him, eyes raking over him as if she were imagining things. 'What are you doing here?'

'Honey, who is it?'

Dick's guilt deepened at the sound of Connor's voice. The Superboy himself came to the door when M'gann didn't answer, and stopped in his tracks as soon as he laid eyes on Dick. But he didn't stay shocked for long.

Connor furrowed his eyebrows and stepped up behind M'gann, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. 'What are you doing here?' he asked icily, eyes solely focussed on Dick.

It hurt to see such distrust in his old friend's eyes, but Dick somewhat expected that. 'Nice to see you too, Connor,' he said, slipping into his casual, carefree persona easily. If there was one thing Dick was really good at, it was putting on a mask. 'I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd swing by. It's been a while.'

'Why don't you answer my question first before you start acting like nothing is wrong,' Connor suggested, his voice taking a deep threatening tone.

'Connor, please,' M'gann said, seemingly getting over her initial shock. She placed her left hand over Connor's on her shoulder, and that's when Dick saw the shiny diamond ring on her finger. 'He's our friend.'

Dick didn't think his guilt could worsen at those three words.

M'gann opened the door wider and offered him a small smile. 'Come in, Dick. We'd love for you to join us.'

Dick flashed her a grateful smile. 'Thanks,' he said as he ducked through the doorway. He then looked from M'gann to Connor and back again. 'Congratulations, by the way.'

M'gann looked confused for a moment, then a joyful twinkle flashed in her eyes as she looked to her ring, a soft smile gracing her features. 'Thank you, Dick,' she said. 'That's what we're actually celebrating. Come on, there is food and drinks this way.'

M'gann walked back towards the party, but Connor and Dick remained in the entrance, staring at one another.

Dick took Connor in. Because of his clone genetics, Connor never actually aged. Not physically anyways. He'd changed ever so slightly from when Dick first broke him out of Cadmus, only growing a centimetre or two every year or so. His muscles had toned more having entered his theoretical twenties, and but his face still held onto those baby features he'd had since being replicated as a teenaged Superman.

Dick sized himself up against Connor and shockingly found that, for the first time, they were looking at each other eye to eye.

Connor seemed to scan Dick, too, coming to the same conclusion that Dick had changed too since they last saw each other. Dick waited for Connor to say something, but when Connor was done he gave Dick a stone cold grimace then turned to follow M'gann.

'What a warm reunion,' Dick mumbled under breath as he followed Connor down the hallway.

The hallway opened into an open-floor plan that held the kitchen, the dinning room and the lounge. Dick expected a few more people to be waiting for them, but he only spotted Kaldur lounging on the couch, drink in hand. Being the vigilant person he was, Kaldur immediately recognised Dick and placed his drink on the coffee table as he stood up.

'Dick,' he said, teal eyes wide with surprise.

'Hey, Kaldur,' Dick greeted awkwardly, ready for the same cold treatment as Connor.

Instead, Kaldur's face broke into a warm smile as he manoeuvred around the furniture to make his way to Dick. 'Old friend,' he said as he embraced Dick. 'It has been too long.'

'It sure has, buddy,' Dick responded, returning his friend's embrace.

Kaldur released him, but kept his hand on Dick's shoulder as he scanned over him. 'Look at you! You seem to be healthy and strong.'

It was true. Dick had noticed he'd muscled up a little more since leaving the team, though still keeping towards the leaner side of muscular. He certainly wasn't has bulk as Connor, or Kaldur for that fact, who Dick noted also had more muscles and toned features. Kaldur certainly filled out the black button-up he wore. But, as it was with Connor, Dick was happy to see him looking directly in Kaldur's eyes as they spoke, not from slightly below as it had been since they were children.

'Thanks man,' Dick said. 'Been working out. I see you've been doing the same, Aquaman.'

'My King left some large shoes to fill,' Kladur admitted humbly. 'But thank you.'

'So you know of Kaldur's promotion, but couldn't contact him to say congrats when it happened?' Connor interjected from his place in the kitchen.

M'gann scolded him as she placed some plates on the dining table, but the mood had already changed to tense and quiet.

'Connor's right,' Dick admitted, addressing his three friends. 'I'm sorry. These past two years... I should've stayed in contact. I wanted to. But every time I went to, I convinced myself that you didn't want to hear from me. That it would be better to leave you all be while I try to figure out myself again.'

'Oh Dick,' M'gann started, walking around the table to pull him into a hug. 'Of course we wanted to hear from you. You're our friend and we missed you. But we understand that after Wally died, you had to take a break from everything.'

M'gann pulled away and then pointed an accusatory finger at him, looking extremely cross with him. 'But if you ever do anything like that again, I swear I will hunt you down and kick your sorry ass into another universe. Understood?'

Dick nodded vigorously. 'U-Understood.'

M'gann's sweet demeanour returned and she walked back to the table to continue setting it. The three men looked at her quietly as she went about her work, until Dick turned to Connor and said, 'Your fiancée is scary.'

Dick expected another glare from the Superboy, but he was gladly surprised when the dark-haired boy nodded in agreement, face slightly pale. 'You got that right.' He then shook himself out of his frozen state of fear to help his fiancée dish out their meal.

'Give him time,' Kaldur said quietly to Dick. 'You know how Connor can be with expressing his emotions.'

'Well, he's not as emotionally constipated as he once was, I'll give him that,' Dick said. 'Unfortunately, I don't think I have time.'

'What do you mean?' Kaldur asked.

Dick went to explain but quickly decided against it. Kaldur was in the Justice League now. Dick couldn't really explain what he was planning to do. Not yet, anyway.

'Forget I said anything,' Dick said instead, flashing his charming smile and wrapping an arm around his old friend's shoulders. 'For now, why don't you tell me everything I've missed. How is it being Atlantis' new champion, first starters...'

For the next hour, it was like old times. The four of them ate and laughed and swapped stories about what Dick had missed in the last two years. They recalled some of the good times they all shared when they were on the team, and Dick convinced himself for a brief moment that they could all stay like this. Happy, carefree, young.

But Dick had come to Connor and M'gann for a reason.

Once they'd had enough of dessert, Connor offered to wash up and Dick saw his chance.

'I'll help wipe up,' Dick offered, taking his and Kaldur's plates to the sink while Connor filled the sink with soap and water. Dick waited until M'gann and Kaldur were in deep conversation over on the couch that Dick decided to broach his intended subject. 'So, how is the team going?'

'The team is doing okay,' Connor answered flatly, never lifting his eyes from his work with the plates in the sink. 'I just try to help M'gann as best as I can. We're down a few numbers since your old man decided to take half of the Justice League and our team with him in his little stunt.'

Dick winced. He recalled getting the call from Tim about it about five months ago. It had been an orchestrated walk out from over half the Justice League and their protégés, all of them wanting to go back to their vigilante ways as the League and the team had become somewhat irrelevant. Those that remained never saw it coming.

'I'm sorry about that,' he apologised, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Just felt appropriate.

Connor looked at him briefly, hands pausing in the sink as he did, and then released a sigh of defeat. 'Don't be sorry, Dick. It's not like you had anything to do with it.'

'No,' Dick agreed, 'but I should've been there at least. I should've reached out to see if you were okay. We started this team together, I shouldn't have just left it all to you.'

'Well, I know the rest of the team would really appreciate it if you came back now,' Connor said, his tone hopeful. 'That is, if you're ready to come back.'

Dick's heart lurched at the thought of going back to the team, both with want and terror. He liked Barbara, he really did. But, if he were being honest, he'd missed being a part of something bigger than himself and his own agendas.

'Connor,' Dick started softly, looking to see M'gann and Kaldur still locked in deep conversation before continuing, 'I would love to come back. Please know that. But you should know I haven't just been idly moving about the place the last two years. I've been conducting undercover missions of my own with Barbara in relation to the meta-human trafficking crisis.'

Connor's eyes widened and Dick saw he was about to raise his voice so leaned in close and hurriedly whispered, 'Keep your voice down, please.'

Connor took a second to register what Dick had said before whispering harshly, 'What do you mean you've been working on your own? You should've come to us if you were getting involved.'

'First of all, I just said I had Barbara helping me, and secondly because the team and the Justice League are full of public figures now. The missions wouldn't work if they got involved. But I've actually come here to ask you for your help on a mission, Connor.'

'Me?! Why would I-'

'Let me explain. First of all, it'll be you, me, Artemis-'

'You've pulled Artemis into this too?! Where the hell has she been, anyway?'

'Would you stop interrupting me for one second?' Dick hissed, wiping up a plate or two before returning to the conversation. 'As I was saying, from our intel, Markovia's Princess Tara has been found dead. Killed by a meta human supposedly, and I have a sneaky suspicion someone has been testing on people with the meta gene, turning them into extreme versions of their meta abilities. I need your help to find out who. As I said before, I've convinced Artemis to help already, and I was looking to you, Jefferson, and Y/N to make up the rest of the team.'

Dick looked around the room, looking at how empty the couches were around M'gann and Kaldur and sudden thought struck him. 'Speaking of which, where is Y/N?' he asked. 'I would've thought she'd be here celebrating the good news.'

He'd forgotten to keep quiet that time, and so Kaldur and M'gann looked at him alongside Connor, all looking as if Dick had sprouted three heads.

'What?' Dick asked, patting around his face. 'Do I have sauce on my face?'

'You don't know?' M'gann asked, sounding almost on the brink of tears.

That's when Dick realised something was majorly wrong, and his gut twisted with fear. 'Know what? Where's Y/N?'

'Y/N, she...' Kaldur started, then took a deep breath before continuing, 'Y/N left the team, Dick.'

'What?' Dick said, almost dropping the plate he held. 'What do you mean she left?'

'She left about six months ago,' Connor answered, washing up the last plate and emptying the sink. 'Before everyone else left. She felt like she wasn't doing enough with us anymore, so she just... left.'

'I've sent her plenty of messages,' M'gann said, 'but she hasn't answered any of them. And I can't sense her at all in the country. Even the Watchtower couldn't find her.'

Dick couldn't believe this. Y/N was gone? 'So Wonder Woman doesn't even know where she is?'

'Wonder Woman has been busy running the Justice League since Batman resigned,' Kaldur answered. 'Even if she did know where her daughter was, I don't think she'd like us to know, and I would have to agree.'

'Why?' Dick asked, suddenly very angry at Kaldur for not being as concerned as he was about Y/N. 'Do you know where she is?'

Kaldur shook his head. 'Regrettably, no. But when we last spoke, she sounded like she didn't want to be found. That she would come back to us when she was ready. I think we should respect that.'

Dick shook his head in disbelief. 'No, that's not like Y/N. She wouldn't just leave anywhere without telling anyone.'

'What, you mean like you?' Connor asked, and that cold stare was back.

'I mean she is loyal and empathetic. Surely she would know how her absence would affect the team,' Dick continued, ignoring the personal dig.

'She was loyal, Dick,' Connor countered. 'She was loyal, and stuck around with M'gann, Kaldur and I until the team got back on its feet. She held the team together when we were on the brink of falling apart. But you wouldn't know that because you weren't here.'

Dick wanted to argue but found that he couldn't. What he had thought was the best for the team turned out to be the complete opposite. He could sense it now; his relationships with his oldest friends were no longer as they were.

'You were gone for two years,' Connor continued. 'You'd be surprised as to how much a person can change in that time.'

The day Dick left flashed in his mind, and he recalled the pain in Y/N's eyes when he left her behind. He remembered how she'd held it together, but he knew she would probably cry about it later because she'd done it some many times before, always going to him to cry on his shoulder.

But he wasn't there that time. He'd left her all alone to dry her tears.

You're my best friend. Always have been. Always will be...

Dick looked to his friends again, but they could barely meet his eyes. Kaldur was disappointed, Connor was angry, and M'gann was just sad. An apology bubbled up in Dick's throat, but he didn't think it was sufficient enough for what he had done to them.

'I have to find her, then,' Dick said into the quiet room, and finally they all looked to him.

'Did you not just hear Kaldur?' Connor asked. 'We should leave her alone like she wants.'

'We don't necessarily know that,' Dick countered. 'Besides, this isn't about bringing her back. This is about me making things right with her.'

'But what if Kaldur is right?' M'gann argued. 'What if she doesn't want to be found. Maybe the right thing to do is leave her alone?'

Dick shook his head. 'She's my best friend, M'gann. I can't accept that she wouldn't want to see us ever again.'

'Maybe she doesn't want to see you, have you considered that?' Kaldur asked, his voice taking on a protective demeanour. 'The bottom line is, Dick, that you left her behind without a second thought. And she respected that, even if it killed her inside knowing that you would rather abandon her - abandon us - than face the pain of losing Wally together. She missed you every single day, and yet she still fought and trained and guided the team without faltering. And now, when she finally finds the courage to do what's best for her for once, you want to shame her for it?'

Anger surged through Dick, fiery and hot. 'I am not shaming her for anything. Do you not think I didn't think of you all every single day?'

'If you did, you didn't do anything about it, did you?' Connor mumbled, but Dick heard him just fine.

'Look, if you guys don't want to help me find her, fine,' Dick said, looking at all three friends pointedly. 'But I will find her. Because she needs to know that she was right. That I was wrong to leave and I am a terrible best friend.'

His expression softened as he looked down at his hands, imagining how long ago him and Y/N would link their pinkies. How simple friendships were back then.

'If she never comes back,' he continued, quieter this time, 'then I won't blame her. But best friends don't give up on each other.'

It was quiet for what felt like an eternity. Until Kaldur walked up to Dick and grabbed his shoulder comfortingly.

'You may be a terrible best friend,' Kaldur said, a small smile warming his face. 'But that doesn't mean your heart isn't in the right place.'

'Thanks, Kaldur,' Dick said, patting Kaldur's hand upon his shoulder.

Kaldur dropped his hand and the four of them sat down on the couches. 'Y/N didn't tell me where she was going,' Kaldur started, 'just that she needed to find out who she was again.'

'I don't follow,' Dick said.

Kaldur chuckled. 'Don't worry, I said the same thing to her when she told me. But she also said something along the lines of, "I need to find out where I've come from to find out where I will go.".'

'What the hell does that mean?' Connor asked.

'Again, not sure. But when I asked her the same question, she said she had to go back to her roots,' Kaldur elaborated. 'Something to do with where it all started. And her mother...'

Dick contemplated all of Kaldur's recollections, juggling each statement over one another to try and make sense. It was so vague, but Dick could sense there was a blatant truth staring right at them if they just looked hard enough.

Where it all began... Where she's been... Her mother...

The answer hit Dick like a brick wall.

'Themyscira,' he said softly, then more confidently. 'She's gone to Themyscira.'

'The Island of the Amazons?' M'gann asked. 'Are you sure?'

Dick nodded. 'It has to be. That's where Wonder Woman is from, and Y/N mentioned all the time when we were kids how much she wanted to go visit it one day.'

'But isn't it hidden?' Connor interjected. 'I mean, that's why they haven't gone back right? Anyone who leaves the island can never find it again.'

'Wonder Woman must've had something to help her remember,' Kaldur offered. 'Or at least guide her back home. I would suggest we go ask her, but again, I doubt she would tell us anything.'

It was like nothing had changed. The four of them had slipped back into theorising and planning and bantering as if no time had passed, as if no one had left or been promoted. It warmed Dick's heart at the thought that they all wanted to help find Y/N, even bring her home.

But Dick shook his head in dismissal. 'You guys don't have to worry yourselves over this. It sounds like I'm part of the reason she left in the first place, so it's my responsibility to find her and make this right on my own.'

'While I agree that this is partially your fault,' Connor said, earning a slight slap from M'gann beside him that he barely flinched at, 'Y/N's our friend too. The least we can do is help you find her.'

Dick smiled gratefully at his friend, who gave him a nod in return which was a start. 'Okay then...' Dick brought his watch up in front of his chest, clicked a few buttons before bringing up a large holographic screen with Barbara on it. 'Can you see us, Babs?'

'In quality HD, as well,' Barbara replied with a witty smile. 'Now, what can Oracle do for you?'

'We're trying to find Themyscira,' Dick explained. 'But it's not on any maps that we know of. Anything in any history records? Sailor sightings while out at sea?'

'You're asking me to find a mythical island from greek mythology that is meant to be hidden from Man's World and is forgotten by any who leave it?' Barbara asked incredulously, but then began typing ferociously on her end. 'Yeah, sure. No problem.'

Dick and the others waited in silence as Barbara worked her magic, files and maps and illustrations of the island popping up all over the screen around her face. After a minute or two, she spoke again.

'Okay,' she began, 'according to maps, you're right, the place doesn't exist. Even old sailors from Ancient Greece don't have any records of the place. However, I did find some similar tales being published in short stories of greek mythology and sailing journals. And all of them mention a couple of times sailing near what has now become the mouth of the modern Terme River in what we now know as Turkey, and having a strange sensation wash over them about danger. Each and every one of them have been convinced there is danger ahead and have turned away.'

'But they're just stories,' Kaldur argued. 'How can you be sure that what they speak of is the Island of the Amazons?'

'Ease up, Aquaman. I'm getting there.' A few more clicks and taps and Barbara brought up a picture of a very odd looking fish. 'Do you recognise that at all?'

Kaldur stared at the fish for a moment, contemplating its odd structure. 'I don't recognise it as a species,' Kaldur said. 'But I do recognise parts of it. It is like... different fish species have been spliced up and put back together to form this.'

'Exactly,' Barbara said, tap and clicking fervently again. 'This is a fish that has been found not near Turkey but close enough, and on multiple occasions. Now, if we isolate all these fish types... and then map out where each species usually resides... then find the crossover point for all of them...'

Dick watched diligently as Barbara isolated the fishes, highlight on the world map which species resided where, then drew lines horizontally and vertically, then zoomed in on the section the two lines crossed over.

'And there you have it,' Barbara offered proudly. 'The mouth to the Terme River in Turkey. You're welcome.'

'That makes sense,' M'gann said, looking up at the map, intrigued. 'If Themyscira is supposedly this pocket of space no human can find, then it makes sense that sea creatures of different genetic combinations would be able to breed there in peace, more than likely living there except for the stray pod or two that wander off into the open ocean.'

'I would have to agree,' Kaldur said, fascinated by it all as well. 'Who knows how many sea creatures live in harmony there.'

'Well, I'll be sure to find out when I get there,' Dick said as he stood up. 'Thanks Babs.'

'Any time,' she said, then the call ended.

'Wait, you're leaving now?' M'gann asked as Dick made his way to the front door.

'This cannot wait, M'gann,' Dick insisted, opening the front door. 'I have to speak with her as soon as possible.'

'Hey.' Dick was forced to stop when Connor grabbed him by his bicep, bringing the two of them close enough Dick could feel Connor's breath on his cheek.

'Are you really doing this for Y/N's sake, or for yours?' Connor asked in a hushed voice. 'Because whatever mission you think you need her for, I can assure you it cannot be more important than your friendship. Do you understand?'

Dick didn't quite understood what he meant, but he nodded anyways, and Connor let him go.

M'gann and Kaldur stepped up beside Connor as Dick made his way down the apartment stairs and back to the car. M'gann wrapped her arms around Connor's waist as he embraced her with one arm over her shoulder.

'Good luck, old friend,' Kaldur called out. 'May your journey be safe and successful.'

Dick chuckled as he waved farewell. 'I know you've always been well-spoken, but is it now a job requirement as Aquaman to sound like Gandalf?'

Kaldur pulled a face that Dick and M'gann laughed at, and Connor cracked a smile at the slight burn. Before he could psyche himself out of it, Dick hopped in the car and took off towards Wayne Manor.

'Call Alfred Pennyworth,' Dick spoke loud and clear, and the car immediately began ringing.

After a few rings, Alfred promptly answered the phone. 'Master Dick, what a pleasant surprise.'

'Hey, Alfred. Is the Batwing free at the moment?'

'I've just given it a deep clean now. Why?'

'Excellent. Could you please prepare it for take off by the time I reach the Manor? I have a little excursion I have to go on.'

'Will that excursion bring the Batwing back in one piece, Master Dick?'

'...I'll be there in twenty.'

Dick promptly ended the call, not waiting to hear a scolding from Alfred. Those were never fun.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to expect when he went to Themyscira. But Steve Trevor did it once, surely it could be done again.

Either way, it was a risk Dick was willing to take to get his best friend back.

---------------

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dysfunctionalmaki · 4 months

Text

Say My Name

Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader

Chapter 03/?

Summary: You work all around at the local country club, to your advantage you flirted and used your beauty to get what you want, though with this certain woman your own way can't seem to work.

Warning: This work contains smut and foul language, minors DNI!!

A/N: This update came too long but with the holidays going on, I was occupied but I assure this work could be smooth sailing from now on.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.───

You were nervous, that's the simplest way you can describe what you're feeling, the table by the window was occupied by Wanda who was having her lunch alone, you were too sure that your eyes would always meet with hers whenever you'd look her way. Yelena even noticed the way you're fiddling with the pen you're holding, Bucky had to steal it away from you since he can't stand the constant clicking sound that came from the object. “Well, what the hell are you doing here? Go do your pretty girl things that you always do, Y/N.” Barnes teased and you can't help but roll your eyes.

“What? No! Y/N, you're not pulling that shit with a married woman.” Yelena retorted, trying to play with your conscience until she chuckled. “Just kidding, go do your thing, her husband's an ass.” she snorted which made you laugh nervously, looking around the room you looked eyes with the redhead once more. Slightly raising her hand to get your attention, you went to be at her service after all you’re still her waitress. “What time are you heading out?” She asked casually which made you widen your eyes a little but you looked at your watch. “In four hours… I'm sure you won't push around your salad for that long.” You say which made the older woman smile. “I have some errands to do but I think it'll be nice to tell Yelena that you won't be going home with her.” Wanda says as she took her designer handbag, taking out her purse so she could get her credit card to pay for her meal.

Doing your job, you went to take it and bring it over to the counter. You weren't sure why you're so nervous, you've done this before… you've hooked up with people way shadier than Wanda, in fact… she's probably the most normal one you're about to go after. When they're finished with her card, you went back to Wanda to return the item to her. She smiled as you returned and took back her card, placing it back in her purse before putting on her sunglasses that made her look even hotter considering how well it matched her outfit. “I’ll pick you up, make sure those two keep their mouths shut about us.” she softly says before getting up from her seat, clearly talking about Yelena and Bucky who were basically watching from their stations.

Placing a hand on your forearm, gently squeezing on it and letting go of you almost immediately, then you watched her walk out of the restaurant with such elegance and style, she didn't have to wear the most obvious designer clothing to scream out that she's loaded, the way she carries herself and her aura was enough to tell that she's that kind of person. Getting inside of her luxury car that the valet got for her, that kind of vehicle was enough to tell you that she is surely a powerful woman. Making your way back to your station, the two gave a certain look and you're immediately reminded of what Wanda told you to do. “So… I hope you two can shut your mouth about this.” You say then Bucky shrugged. “I can keep my mouth shut, I don't know about this one.” Barnes teased while using his thumb to point at Yelena who's waiting on the drink he's making. “Just be careful with what you're doing, you're playing with fire here, Y/N.” she warned you, shrugging with what your friend said, you just went on to do your job.

Hours went by and you were exhausted, you've told Yelena that Wanda’s most probably picking you up, and you think that the older woman was… well, ‘man’ of her words. Heading into the restroom so you could freshen up after your shift, finally you've let your hair down, spray on perfume that has worn off hours ago, and finally you clock out. Heading to walk outside the country club, you see the familiar car that has picked you up once. Making your way towards there, you hear someone call your name and it's coming from a car that just pulled up. “Y/N, how are you darling?” The familiar voice called to you which surprised you, Wanda was about to open the door for you from the inside but confused by what made you stop.

“Diana? Hi! How are you home so soon?” You greeted the other woman who just exited her car, Diana wrapped her arms around you the moment she got close to you, you went to look at Wanda’s car and you're sure as hell that she's watching all this happening. “The meeting went well, everything goes to my approval hence why I'm back here early, didn't tell you ‘cause I'm planning to surprise you… seems like I did.” she says as she batted an eye towards the redhead’s car. “Well, yeah- I'm actually surprised.” you say then you looked at Diana before gently pulling away from her arms. “Mhmm, are you coming with me or not?” she asked so casually. Meanwhile, Wanda can't really hear what you and this woman was talking about, though she could sense there's something between you and this stranger but she didn't want to pry much instead she just waited.

“I- I'm afraid I can't, I made a commitment and I really stick by my words… you know that.” you say which made Diana roll her eyes. “Sure, but you know where to find me and you'd have to promise that you're going to make it up to me.” She says which made you bite the inside of your cheek. “Of course, you know I always do.” You say and finally you bid your goodbyes to her, and Wanda unlocked the door for you… now, you awkwardly get inside her car. “She looks familiar.” Wanda commented the moment she finally drove off. “Oh, she's also a member of the club so you probably ran into her a couple of times if you went here back then.” you say while the redhead nod in response.

“So, I'm going to ask the same question that I asked you last night in our texts… You're aware that I am a married woman, right?” she asked then you simply answer with a yes. “You like trouble don't you? The way that woman held you? There's something there isn't it?” she softly chuckled then you took a moment to think what to answer. “Well, it's no secret that Diana and I do go out… completely casual and no strings attached.” you say causing Wanda to raise a brow. “I hope you're not expecting the same thing with me, Y/N.” the redhead softly spoke. “I don't like sharing at all.” she added with the most innocent smile that she could put on.

“But I think you and I both know what I want.” you say honestly and Maximoff looked at you for a moment. “Oh, you're getting straight to it?” she chuckled before biting her lower lip. “Well, this is how it usually is, right? The married woman goes for the girl she wants to experiment with and once it's done… it's done.” you say, causing the older woman to laugh softly. “Marrying a man is more like the experiment.” Wanda scoffed, she went to drive a little longer and finally you both arrived at some motel out of town, well, she probably chose this one so no one could recognize the both of you and especially her.

Getting out of the car, you went after her just tailing behind her, heading into the motel the older woman asked you to do most of the talking so you did, you chose a decent room for the both of you. While you two were in the elevator, you went to move a little closer to Wanda’s side. “It's Diana Prince… I think she works for Wayne's company.” Wanda says all of a sudden. “Yes, that's her. Do you know her?” She shook her head at your question then you nodded yours. “Well, it's probably just I've seen her whenever I have to do some errands when I do business meetings with their company.” she added. “And you're aware that I'm married to a man who's somehow related to Stark too, right?” you nodded your head once more.

The moment the elevator, Wanda went ahead first and you followed after her, though you had to go first eventually since you're the one holding the key card. The moment you two were inside, Wanda went to look around the room for a moment, while you placed your bag on the chair by the desk near the bed. “What do you mean you don't like to share?” you ask her and tracing back to what she said earlier. “If you want to get me and have me, I want you to have me and only me.” Wanda says and she turns to face you. “Come on, I'm sure you're aware how much of a pretty face you are.” she added which made you even more confused.

“You really want me to put it into simpler terms?” Wanda says with a sigh before composing herself, walking closer to you. “I want to be the only one kissing this lips of yours, be the only one who gets to mark you up… take you whenever I want and whenever I need.” the more the redhead talked about her whims for you, you can't help but feel your body warm up. Eventually, you felt her hand resting on your waist. “You're going to have an affair with a powerful woman, Y/N, are you sure you're ready to take the heat?” she asked as she pulled you closer to her, fingers slowly digging into your skin. “I- uh- You mean I have to drop every possible connection that I have?” That was the question you could ask, sure it does sound stupid but your mind stop working when this woman had you under her spell.

“Well, you're quite greedy if you want to keep me around and still have other people, don't you think?” she asked then finally your face was only a couple of inches apart from hers. “I mean… I know I'm a catch, sweetheart.” she confidently says. Unsure of what to say at this point, all you know is that the both of you were staring at each other's lips, you didn't know how it occurred and who made the move first all you know is that the both of you started kissing… It was needy, hot, and desperate. To your surprise, it was Wanda taking the control here, you were always the one in control… they always have the hots for you and not vice versa, but this woman certainly has her way for you.

Eventually, you found yourself going at Wanda’s flow, you could feel the warmth of her tongue against yours, her wet muscle just swirling against yours. You walked backwards, trying to get a feel whether you're near the bed or not and as the back of your leg hit it, you slowly sank to your knees and sat on the mattress. This time your hands were around the older woman's waist, you were trying to take control this time… your hand was hiking up the blouse that she was wearing, yet you were stopped when she held your wrist. “Who said that you could touch?” Wanda purred as she parted her lips from yours just so she could speak. “I've got to have you first before you get me, malysh…” she spoke in her thick sokovian accent that caused butterflies all over your stomach.

“I- uh- I'm yours…” you stuttered which made Wanda chuckle. “We both know you're not there yet, sweetheart.” she says and you know damn well that she's not wrong. “But, we'll get there.” she whispered against your lips, now she crashed her lips against yours once again. The redhead straddles your lap, her lips moving perfectly with yours, you never felt this desperate… desperate for someone's touch, lips, and warmth. “Give me a chance tonight…” you mumbled against her lips which made her smirk. “No, I want you to crave for me… to the point you'll have no choice but to submit yourself to me.” she answered.

For a couple of hours the both of you didn't do anything but make out, and you've never felt so frustrated, neither of you took your clothes off. Here you are facing the mirror by the sink at the mirror, and what's worse? You're alone, the older woman had to leave since she had to be home when her husband unexpectedly came home. Taking your phone from your bag, you went to call someone.

“Hey, I know it's late and you're probably tired but I was wondering… if you can pick me up?” you hear a soft laugh from the other end. “You didn't score? You're not in your game, darling?” Diana teased which made you chuckle. “I guess you can say that.” You went to tell her where the motel was, this woman actually drove this late so she could get to you, she asked what your room number is and not even an hour later she was knocking on your door. “Should have come with me.” she says before leaning instantly for a kiss and you made sure to give her that satisfaction.

Spending the rest of the night with Diana instead of Wanda whom you came here with, lavishing on Prince’s warmth and taste on the same bed where you made out with the redhead you had earlier. You really are playing with fire after all, it's either you burn brighter than the fire you caused or be burnt, and you know you're never one to back out from a challenge.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ.───

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta @reginassweetheart @lvinhs @alexawynters @mfd-101 @dorabledewdroop

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summonerj · 1 year

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Danny goes to the DC universe to see his comic book heroes in person, but they’re all children when he first gets there, as in when Wonder Woman was a child. And he sticks around a while. He’s their “Imaginary” friend, they all have different names for him because of this. None of them realized that the boy from their childhood was real for a variety of different reasons… until Batman realizes that his children’s imaginary friends all describe his from his childhood. The other heroes that also have kids find this out themselves

You can kinda know what happens next

#dp x dc crossover #dp x dc #dc x dp #danny fenton #danny phantom #batman #bruce wayne #wonder woman #diana prince #dc robin #Danny didn’t expect to stay long so he just didn’t bother explaining #He also didn’t expect to be found out… for some reason #Because a child with snow white hair and glowing green eyes is obviously the default form of imaginary friends #To be fair he made it this far with no one the wiser #He picked a hero and stayed with them for a while before moving on #He has pictures #He played with Jason’s ghost in the ghost zone so he wouldn’t get lonely. Jason only remembers this as a nice dream #He also made sure Tim had someone in this time period #Coincidentally this was also when he left Dicks childhood.. so angst?#Damian did know he was real for obvious reasons #damian wayne #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #richard grayson #nightwing #red hood #red robin #robin damian

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fandomnerd9602 · 2 months

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May I request a Wonder Woman ( suicide squad kill the justice league) x male reader where he saves her from getting killed by evil Superman

Y/N speeds in and grabs Diana right before the eye beams hit her…

Y/N: baby are you alright?!

Diana: I am,my love. But this world is-

Y/N: I know. I have to go back and prevent this.

Diana: we will meet again

Y/N: I love you Diana. In this world and every other.

Y/N kisses her and runs off into the speed force…

#dc #dc comics #dc wonder woman #wonder woman #wonder woman x reader #diana prince #diana prince x reader #diana of themyscira #suicide squad #suicide squad kill the justice league #dc comics angst

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platitudinalteen · 28 days

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Blood In The Water - PlatitudinalTeen - Batman - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

As promised, here's the winning fic from the poll I posted yesterday. (I'm sorta sad the Joker fic didn't win, but there's always next time)

(Summery- After returning from being dead, Jason makes amends with his family, but the rift between him and his father only grows. They are constantly waging war until one day Jason disappears without a word. When he returns, he and Bruce finally hash it out the way they should have from the very beginning. Only, with an audience.)

(Snippet↓↓↓)

("You said you'd save me, but instead, you got me killed. You said you'd catch me if I fell, but you didn't even scrape my body off the damn pavement!" His words were laced in venom, and it's clear that his resentment had been building for a long time. "Did you even care that I died?" Jason asked, wondering how long it took for him to move on.

"Of course I did," Bruce exclaimed, hurt that he could ever think otherwise. "I mourned you."

"You mean you mourned Robin?" he retorted bitterly. "But not for long, right? You just got another. You're good at that, aren't you?"

"No, I mean I mourned you!" His father shouted, taking everyone, especially Jason, by surprise. "I mourned my son's death for months, and I'm still mourning you after all this time because alive or not, the child I raised is still dead!")

#batman #bruce wayne #jason todd #red hood #red hood angst #the justice league #diana prince #wonder woman #superman #clark kent #barry allen #the flash #oliver queen #the green arrow #batfamily #Batfam mentioned #ao3 #archive of our own #Unhappy reunions

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folk-ever-lore · 2 years

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sure there's the angst potential in superbat where clark out lives bruce. but instead give me superwonderbat where only two of the three live longer lives than the regular human, so the two remaining members of the relationship give together and have to figure out their new dynamic once bruce is gone.

give me that, the angst, the brilliance

just give me clark and diana standing, staring at a person they've loved for years and not know what to do now that the man they both loved is gone, them not understanding how they could ever more forward without bruce

#superwonderbat #superbat #wonderbat #superwonder #angst #bruce wayne #clark kent #diana prince #diana of themyscira #batman #superman #wonder woman #outlive #character grief #grief #character death

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morgansunflower · 11 months

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Worst Anniversary

Jason Todd X Wife! Reader

Warnings:suggestive content, explicit language.

Words:1234

Arthur's notes! Third P. O. V

Bruce and Jason become at odds with each other as the anniversary of his death nears.

Jason came inside. He was exhausted. He wanted to change his clothes and then lose himself in his spouse. He walks into their room seeing Y/N's head resting on her pillow. The moonlight shined through the windows onto her soft skin. She looked perfect. All he wanted was to lay with her and hold her. She opens her eyes and gives him a kind smile that faded to a saddened one. His eyes were heavy, shoulders slouching and his jaw clenched. Bad night.

"hey.. You ok? You look drained" she asked with a soft tone it blankets his heavy heart

Jason sighed heavily running his hand down his face "Bruce and I got into it, again"

"that's the third time this week. What's going on with you two?"

Jason began to rid of his clothes piece by piece "there was a bomb, I tried to diffuse it.. I did. He wasn't exactly proud that I didn't follow his exact orders" he lays on the bed wearing a fresh pair of underwear "Bruce lost his temper and grabbed my collar.. "

Jason lifts the covers and laid in the bed beside her. She lays on his chest laying close to him.

'go ahead and swing at me old man!! We both know you've been thinking about doing it for the last week' Jason had said with a glare

Batman had glared in anger of his sons recklessness and then he remembered.. He remembered Jason in his arms as he cried that his little boy was no longer with him. It was the very reason Bruce had been harder on Jason.

"we all know the day is nearing. I know it doesn't seem like it sometimes but Bruce does love you. I'm sure he's scared of losing you again"

It was in 2 days now that it would be the anniversary of his death. Even though he was back, Bruce could never forgive himself. Every year on the day of the anniversary. He still would go to his room and look at Jason's favorite book. By the end he would be in tears. Guilt that he couldn't save him and now he had guilt that Jason hated him... He had no reason to harbor any less blame for what happened that day. Jason was anything but at ease. His anxiety was even more intense as the day became closer. Y/N accidentally dropped a cup and Jason flinched in fear. Y/N tried to help him unwind but he still was having trouble.. Coping. His panic attacks were becoming more frequent. Their son Tyler would often sleep with them worried about his dad. Every year was like this. Jason sat in the bed as Y/N took a shower. He hears his phone ringing he looks -Wonder-Mom-

He answered "hey D.. Everything OK?"

"I wanted to check on my son before the new day.. Your father told me of your troubles with with each other. I don't want to inflict pain to the already the difficult day.. However you should know.. He blames himself, son. Now I know he should be the one telling you this. He is soo proud of the man you are and he is only scared of losing you again"

Jason took a deep breath not knowing what to say. "thanks D.."

"I love you son and so does Bruce.. Please don't forget that" her voice was so genuine it made his heart wrench.

Why couldn't things go back to the way they were? Why can't they just move on? He just wanted to let it go. As Jason got off the phone. He sighed heavily running his hand down his face in frustration. Y/N stepped out of the shower drying herself with a, towel. She walks into the bedroom her husband still in great turmoil. She dresses herself in Jason's shirt and her pants. She crawled into the bed laying on his chest. Jason held her close fighting the need to close his eyes. Though she was just too comfortable or comforting.... Jason wakes early in the morning Y/N was still laid on his chest asleep. He gently rubbed her cheek. As she slowly began to wake up she squeezed him into a tight hug. She lifts her head to him kissing him. He kisses her deeply wishing he could escape the day while loving her immensely. He only parts so they could breath. He lays his forehead against her own.

"what do you want to do with the day?" she said optimistic trying to ease the inevitable of toady

"I don't know" she kisses his neck and forehead "I know I sure as hell don't want to sleep but I don't want to go through" he takes a deep breath hugging her "today"

"I know I wish I could help you more" she said genuinely.

Jason moved to look her in the eye "what?.. Y/N--" he scoffed at himself in guilt that she didn't realize "fuck babe. You do so much to help keep me at peace. You're the most amazing beautiful person. You think I didn't notice how hard you're trying? I genuinely appreciate you so much.. I'm sorry I didn't make that more clear"

She kisses him deeply "thank you for saying that and I know you appreciate me" he held her close as they look at each other in bliss. She held his face "you do a lot for me to, you know? Cooking me a delicious meal after I have a bad day. You make me feel so safe and secure. You make me feel so much better when I get upset.. I'm sorry if I ever didn't tell you that enough"

"I think it's safe to say we genuinely love the shit out of each other" he smirked to which she softly laughs.

Y/N's phone rings. She answers seeing it's Diana. Her heart wrenches as she hears Diana's voice shaking. Jason's face falls recognizing that look. Someone was hurt.. Bad.

"Diana, what's wrong?" Y/N asked holding Jason's hand

"I don't know how to really say this so I will get straight to the point. Bruce was ambushed last night.. He's stable now however his injuries were quite severe.. He's in a coma"

Jason could hear, what she said. The words sends chills down his back and made his heart heavy. He grits his teeth as his eyes shake. Who did this to his Dad? Jason got up and grabbed his red-hood uniform. As Y/N got off the phone with Diana she leaves the bed to stop her husband. He puts on his pants.

"Jason what are you doing?" she asked

"what does it look like I'm doing?!" he snapped putting on his shirt "I'm finding the bastard who did this and I'm taking care of it"

She takes his hands into her own before he could grab his helmet "Jason you're not going on some revenge hunt, especially not right now"

"and why the fuck not?! I'm thinking clearly! I'm fine!" he shouted on the verge of tears "I.. I" he stammered as he couldn't hold the pain away. As a tear fell down his face soon more follow by.

She hugs his neck as her own tears fall "it'll be OK I promise"

"I'm fine" he repeats shakily

"shhh" she mumbled as he buried his face in her neck

Requested taglist@too-strong-to-lose @asrainterstellar

#PTSD #Crying #Heavy angst #Guilt #Batdad #Jason Todd X Reader #Tyler Blue Hood #Wonderbat #batfamily #jason todd needs a hug #Diana Prince

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cerealboxlore · 1 year

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It's almost midnight so let's make Billy Batson's life worse :D

TW: a little graphic mention of violence(?)

This is gonna be a longer post I'm going to make later, but has anyone considered the idea of a villain/antagonist wanting to de-power Billy Batson from saying the word SHAZAM again and then through maniacal magical means, sewing his mouth shut with the thread of fate. To ensure that not only would he not evoke the magic word of the Wizard as the Champion of magic, buy that the death of a child would not fall onto their hands, because if Billy removes the thread, HIS thread, it could snap and accidentally kill him.

Maybe they don't want to kill Billy right away, and perhaps want to use him as a sort of magical battery while he's unable to fight back or transform into Captain Marvel.

I've seen versions where villains/antagonists have used magic to make him stop talking, used tape or rope, even cut out his tongue I think at one point, but I haven't seen someone just straight up sew his mouth shut, and I think that has incredible angst and story potential. A little graphic and mean, yes, but, consider this; I like to make my favorite characters suffer.

And considering it involves the Greek fates and the mystery of how a villain managed to get their hands on Billy's own thread of fate, it could allow a team up with Wonder Woman (Diana) and showing the bond they have or could create on this journey. Maybe this can also prove that Billy is a hero even without his magical powers as Captain Marvel.

Let me know what y'all think in the tags or comments! My thoughts are a little all over the place, but I had a long day and have exams tomorrow :'D

#billy batson #dc captain marvel #Shazam #wonder woman #diana prince #greek mythology #Writing idea #Angst #We like to make Billy suffer in this household #Maybe a god is out to get Billy and thats why they stole his thread of fate #They are putting him in an unfair trial/challenge to endanger him #I blame Zeus and his many enemies #If there are spelling errors aaaaaaaaaaaa I sleep #Things got a little dark in this story idea #woops lol

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bucketwritingpail · 4 months

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The Person I Admire The Most (by Jason Todd)

Post Ethiopia, grieving

----

The Person I Admire The Most

By Jason Todd

6th grade Language Arts

Mrs. Smith

The person I admire the most in the whole world, is Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is very strong and she helps people alot. I think she is very cool. She is an Amazon, which is a female warrior from Greece, but she left her island of all woman warriors to help save the world. And now, she is in the Justice League. She actually helped create it!

She is well known for her compassion and diplomasee diplomacy, but she can also crush steel with one hand, Just like Superman! I admire Wonder Woman the most! I want to be just like her when I grow up!

------

Diana saw her tears soaking into the page before she had even registered that she'd been crying. Snuffling, she rubbed them from her eyes and looked back to Bruce. His eyes were just as watery as hers and he looked awful. It was a disconcerting to see from the otherwise stoic Batman.

"We found it when we went through his things," he explained, voice ragged, "I thought you might like to have it." Suddenly it was unreasonably hard to breathe.

"Robin." She didn't know if it was a statement or a question, but images of that sunny child that had visited the watchtower only a few weeks ago, flooded her mind. He had been so excited to meet her he had tripped over his own feet. He had never stopped talking either, he wanted to know about her, and her homeland. He had rambled about how excited he was for school and how happy he was living with Bruce. The man had had to practically drag the kid out of the watchtower. It was almost hard to believe that such a sweet kid-

Bruce had only told them the news two days ago.

Diana looked back at the paper, wiping her eyes to prevent anymore stray tears from marring the precious surface, and flattened the creases, holding it close to her chest. They had already missed the funeral. It was hard to blame Bruce though, even if that didn't stop the inkling of hurt that lingered hot in her chest, the man looked terrible.

"I-" she started, her voice shaking. "Can I hug you?" She was expecting a no, maybe a signature Batman grunt as he turned and left, but that didn't happen. To her surprise, Bruce shook. A nearly indetectable tremor passed through his body and he pitched forward into her arms. Diana barely had time to safely stow the paper before Batman was sobbing in her arms.

Before Bruce was sobbing in her arms.

But she was sobbing too.

And she knew they both needed this.

So Diana held the Dark Knight as he fell apart, and they mourned the brightest child either of them had ever known.

#dc comics #ficlet #jason todd #diana prince #bruce wayne #bucket writes things #angst #yeah sorry about this one guys

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eliemo · 2 years

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Somniphobia

Summary: Somniphobia: The irrational fear of falling asleep Bruce has to protect them. It doesn't matter how long he's been awake, it doesn't matter how exhausted he is. He's never safe when he shuts his eyes. No one is. Why can't they understand that? Notes: Superbat, Justice League as a family, tw for panic attacks, nightmares, and Bruce having lots of issues also this got deleted but it's back now!

If Bruce was in a better mood, he might have teased Clark over his choice of car. Really, it would have been less ridiculous if they’d all just taken separate vehicles.

As it was, Batman driving a minivan full of exhausted superheroes through the desolate countryside wasn’t something anyone was finding a way to make light of right now. It was a testament to how grim their situation was that Barry hadn’t even cracked a joke when Bruce had kicked Superman out of the driver’s seat, and Clark had slid over to the passenger side without a word.

Flash had, however, complained for the first fifteen minutes of the drive, fidgety and restless where he was sat in between Green Lantern and Aquaman, insisting that it would be safer if Bruce gave him the address so he could scope the place out before the rest of the league arrived.

“Absolutely not,” Clark had said, clearly run ragged with the weight on his shoulders, voice tighter than he usually would have allowed. “Like Diana said, we need to limit using our powers as much as we can. We have no idea how they’ve been tracking us, we can’t risk it.”

“But we can't just–”

Batman had met his eyes in the rearview mirror, leveling Flash with a steely glare, and Barry had immediately shut his mouth without further complaint.

Really, as if Bruce would ever bring them somewhere that could be compromised.

He’d lost track of how long they’d been driving for, the world outside of the road in front of him blurring dangerously, but he knew the way to all of his safehouses like the back of his hand. It had to be pushing six hours or so by now, the sky darkening to a sea of orange and gray as the sun sank behind the endless scenery of dark forest.

Bruce hadn’t been this exhausted in a long time. He was used to going days without sleep, night after night spent patrolling Gotham’s streets, but the last week had taken a toll on all of them.

The Justice League had been kept on their toes, running from battle to battle for four days straight, their enemy always two steps ahead, never giving them a chance to rest. The Watchtower had been compromised and the founding members of the League had been sent running, left on the defensive without a solid plan of attack.

They needed to lay low as long as they could, gather their bearings and come up with a plan before someone got killed. Nobody was thrilled about it, sitting back and waiting when a hostile force could change tactics and start targeting innocents at any moment, but there wasn’t much of a choice until they figured out what it was they were up against.

Hence the minivan with tinted windows, and Bruce driving them to one of his remote safehouses. He’d done everything in his power to ensure they weren’t being tracked or followed, and the roads were desolate, but he hadn’t let himself drop his guard for a second.

Clark and Diana had both offered to drive several times, worry lacing into their tones as they tried to coax him into pulling over, but he’d barely offered them a word of response, shrugging off their concern and keeping his eyes fixated on the road, stubbornly ignoring the way the right one had begun to twitch.

Most of the others managed to doze off a bit during the car ride, Bruce able to breathe just a bit easier each time he saw one of them sleeping soundly, even if it was only for a few minutes. Even Clark managed to rest his eyes when it became clear Batman had no intention of willingly giving up the wheel.

Bruce was used to running himself this thin. He’d been burning the candle at both ends his entire life, he could handle a few more days. He’d rest when the Justice League was safely back in the Watchtower where they belonged.

“We’re here,” Bruce said, turning the van onto the dirt road. He ignored the spike of guilt in his chest when Hal jolted awake at his words. “Get in as quickly as you can, then check and make sure every door and window is locked.”

They all went without argument, Clark and Arthur moving around to the trunk to bring in what little supplies they’d managed to grab. Bruce slowly made his rounds along the outside of the cabin, scanning the walls and the ground, double and triple checking for any signs of life.

There shouldn’t be anyone around for miles, the cabin one of his more secluded safehouses, and everything seemed to be just as untouched as it was when he’d left it last. They hadn’t been followed, he’d been doing this long enough to know when he was being tailed, and they had a decent vantage point in case anyone did try to ambush them. Still, it never hurt to be wary.

The rest of the team was already inside by the time he slipped through the front door and locked it behind him, (Three locks. All of his safehouses had three sets of locks.) all of them doing exactly what he’d said and checking every window latch and every back door. Bruce could feel Superman’s eyes on him, scanning his movements for any sign of fatigue, but he refused to waver under Clark’s gaze.

He was fine. He’d been hiding his entire life, disappearing in order to survive, weaving lies and shadows to everyone who laid eyes on him. A situation like this wasn’t something that was entirely unfamiliar.

He just wasn’t used to having other people to worry about.

He should feel better this time. There were people here he trusted with his life, people who had proven time and time again that they had his back as much as he had theirs, capable heroes who could hold their own no matter what the world threw at him.

Instead, it was only sending his thoughts spiraling farther downward than they would have if he’d been alone. Too many things could go wrong. Too many people could get hurt. One wrong move could mean he loses a teammate. One bad decision could get his friends killed.

This was exactly why he worked alone.

“We should be safe here for a couple days at least,” Bruce said . Should be. They had to be. “I’ll keep an eye on things and make sure we don’t have any company. The sooner we come up with a plan the better.”

“Nice place,” Hal commented, plopping onto the flimsy armchair in the corner of the main room. Bruce didn’t think that thing had ever been sat on before now. “If it wasn’t for the impending doom, this might actually be a nice getaway.”

“It is a nice view,” Wonder Woman agreed. Bruce rubbed his temples, barely registering their words through the mush his brain was quickly melting into. “Right now all we can do is wait for J’onn to get back to us with more information. Until then, we all need to get some rest. We’ll be useless in battle run ragged like this.”

“She’s right.”

Bruce did his best to tune back in as Superman voiced his agreement, a shudder of relief falling over the rest of the team, but his mind was stuck elsewhere.

This was one of the largest safehouses he had access to, but there was still the question of having enough room for everyone. The manor would have easily been able to house all of them, but putting Alfred or the kids at unnecessary risk was out of the question.

It would be a bit cramped here, but it was far better than wearing themselves thin staying on the run, or dead on the battlefield. Though he’d never willingly admit it, he was beyond grateful to be out of that damn car, his stiff legs still protesting every little movement.

They’d need to take shifts throughout the night. Bruce had no plans to leave his post or drop his guard anytime soon, but he could admit to himself that he wasn’t running at full capacity. He could use a second pair of eyes tonight. Not to mention he still needed to take stock of what supplies they had left, and gauge whether or not it was safe enough to make the drive into town to pick up more food or water or tools.

Bruce knew how to remain unseen, blend into a crowd and slip in and out unnoticed, but the idea of leaving the cabin for even a few minutes sent a rush of alarm shooting down his spine.

Then again, sending someone else would mean one of them would be alone and defenseless, and Bruce wouldn’t be able to have eyes on a member of his team. They could be followed or hurt or captured, and Bruce would have no idea.

He could send Barry, he’d be in and out in the blink of an eye and nobody would even notice, but that would mean using his powers, running the risk of being tracked down, and they couldn’t take that chance either.

Which meant they’d need to hold off on making the trip for now, and hope they had enough supplies for all of them. Bruce always kept his safehouses stocked, always prepared for the worst, but he only ever planned on one person using them at a time. Two at most, if he and Dick managed to get caught up in something together.

There were countless other things to worry about, whirling around his scattered mind like a torn up checklist. He should make another round of the house, double and triple check his security, maybe even scan the surrounding woods again just to make sure they weren’t being watched. After that, he still needed to–

“Batman?”

Bruce blinked, careful not to make it too obvious that he’d completely lost track of the conversation. They were all staring at him, expectant and a little concerned, and Bruce ignored the frustration threatening to rise up in his chest. He’d usually never let himself zone out like this, and he felt a spark of panic flicker to life in his chest. He couldn’t afford to be off his game, not when the situation was so dire. Not when he had so many people relying on him.

“There’s two beds,” he explained, taking a wild guess as to what they were asking him. He had the odd sensation that he was floating, his voice far away to his own ears. God, he was so tired. “One in the bedroom down the hall, one in the loft upstairs. You can all work out who’s getting the couch. I’ll keep watch for the first few hours, but after that I need you to start taking shifts so I can handle some work around the house. I’ll need at least one of you to help me go over–”

“Batman,” Clark said again, more forceful this time, and he almost looked surprised when Bruce snapped his mouth shut. He didn’t have the energy to try to talk over Superman right now. “You’re sleeping first. We can handle the rest.”

Bruce hoped the way his panic skyrocketed wasn’t as obvious as it felt, silently grateful he still hadn’t removed his cowl. Not that it would do anything to deter the alien who could hear his heartbeat from across an ocean. “No.”

“You need to sleep,” Diana said, the princess leaned far too casually against the kitchen counter, like she didn’t expect this to turn into much of a debate. “We can handle whatever it is that needs to be done, go on and get some rest.”

“You all need to sleep more than I do,” Bruce argued. He was the one who was used to pulling all-nighters, running himself into the ground, being pushed forward by nothing but fear and spite. “I have work to do.”

“What work?” Clark asked. His voice was soft, treading carefully, and Bruce was quickly becoming sick of being treated like a cornered animal. His skin was crawling, but snapping and creating an unnecessary argument was the last thing any of them needed. “Checking inventory and keeping watch? Any of us can handle that, it doesn’t have to be you.”

“It’s my safehouse.”

“This isn’t our first rodeo, Bats.” Hal was smirking at him from across the room, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes, shoulders held far too tense for his nonchalance to be genuine. “Seriously, man. We got this, go lay down. You look like shit.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are not fine,” Diana said, voice tilting towards something that teetered dangerously between affectionate and authoritative. “All of us managed to sleep in the car, and I know you. You didn’t get a chance to sleep before any of this started, did you?”

And Bruce… didn’t have an argument for that. Because she was right. Just before the League had called him in to deal with what turned into an endless week of dodging extraterrestrial attack after extraterrestrial attack, he’d been trapped in a game of cat and mouse with Joker, keeping him on his toes for two nights in a row before he finally sent the clown back to his Arkham cell.

He’d managed to snag maybe an hour and a half after that, dumping himself unceremoniously on the couch in the early afternoon sun before Alfred shook him awake to inform him of Superman's distress call.

But that was his job. He was supposed to be able to handle this.

And he could, he was fine. They’d stay here a day or so, two or three at the most, and Bruce would keep himself occupied watching the treeline and working on a way to understand their new enemies and locate a weakness.

It would be over soon enough, and then he could go home and… and maybe try to find time for a nap. Maybe. He was sure he could spare a couple of hours at most before his next patrol.

“I’m fine,” he said again, but it sounded weak, his strength fading. The exhaustion was finally catching up to him now that attention was being called to his less than ideal sleep schedule, weighing him down, every little movement making his chest ache. The pressure behind his eyes was building, his throat tight, and Bruce quickly bit back the helpless frustration.

He was supposed to be able to handle this. How was he supposed to keep his team safe if he couldn’t even handle a little fatigue?

But they were all still looking at him, unrelenting, and Bruce knew he wasn’t going to get off that easy. He took a steadying breath, blinking a few times to clear his tilting vision. “I can’t… I can’t risk it. You’re not used to this like I am, you all need to sleep. We don’t have time to argue like this.”

“Nobody here is sleeping until you do,” Flash said, and Bruce’s heart sank. “If you’re staying up so are we.”

“That’s not fair.”

“And it’s not fair for you to stay up and do all the work,” Diana said. “You already drove us here, we wouldn’t have a safe place to go if it was not for you. You’ve done enough today. Please. Before you collapse.”

Bruce wanted to argue, wanted to point out every little danger, everything that could possibly go wrong, everything that he needed to stay awake to prevent. He wanted to throw every worst case scenario in Wonder Woman’s face, the probability of them being attacked while Batman was asleep and unable to help, until she relented and let him get back to work.

He wanted to fight, because the idea of letting himself be defenseless in a house full of people with danger looming in every corner, the next attack inevitable, made his vision hazy with a new wave of uncontrollable fear.

But he was so tired. He couldn’t find it in himself to even open his mouth again, his entire body lethargic and slow.

There was a hand on his shoulder, gently gripping the heavy material of his suit. Bruce flinched before he could stop himself, shoulders hunching under the other’s stares, blinking as he registered Superman now standing at his side, refusing to pull his hand away. Bruce found himself silently grateful for the steadying warmth.

“Hey,” he said, achingly soft as he gestured to the door at the end of the hall. “Come into the bedroom with me for a second, okay?”

Bruce averted his gaze, staring stubbornly at the wall. “You can’t order me to sleep.”

“I’m not ordering you to do anything.” Clark’s grounding touch was somehow making Bruce feel more weightless, but he couldn’t bring himself to shove him away. “I’m asking you to come sit down with me.”

He’d like to think that if he was more awake, if his head was clearer, he would have refused, twisted out of Superman’s hold and stalked out the door until everyone gave up and just left him alone.

But he’d never been able to deny Clark Kent anything, had he?

He grumbled a barely audible “Fine,” adamantly not looking at any of them as he pushed his way past Superman, making his way down the hall and into the small bedroom as quickly as he could.

Clark was right behind him, gently shutting the bedroom door as Bruce hovered in the middle of the room, glowering at the double bed up against the wall like it had personally offended him, like it was laced with traps or poison.

Which was stupid. It was his bed.

Clark didn’t say anything for the moment, carefully crossing the room to put a gentle hand on the small of Bruce’s back, never forceful or unwanted, guiding Batman towards the edge of the bed like he was trying to coax a wild animal into a crate.

“Clark,” Bruce tried, hating the way his voice broke. “I can’t—

“Just for a minute,” Superman said, and Bruce didn’t fight when he was eased down onto the mattress. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted, even as his vision tunneled the second he made contact with the bed, the longing to lay down and close his eyes forever nearly overwhelming. “I can’t… Clark, I have to keep watch. We don’t know if we’re safe here.”

“We’re as safe as we can be for now,” Clark said. “And the rest of us can handle it. We’re a team, B. It doesn’t always have to be you.”

“Something could happen.” Bruce’s heart was racing, breathing coming too fast as every possible outcome flooded his mind, every bloodstain and cry of pain and gunshot he’d be too slow to save them from. He knew Clark could hear it, the wild racing in his chest, knew he was honed onto Batman’s rising panic, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. “While I’m asleep they… something could–”

“Then we’ll wake you up,” Superman said, steady as ever. Bruce never would have let himself fall apart like this in front of anyone else. “I think we’ll be alright for the night, Bruce. But if we’re not, you can’t help us if you’re dead on your feet. We need you sharp.”

Bruce closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath, feeling almost childish, small and vulnerable. “I know.”

“Then you need to rest,” Clark said. “Let me help you, Bruce. Please.”

Bruce didn’t agree, not out loud anyway, but he didn’t stop Clark’s hands from slowly removing Batman’s cape, gloves, and boots, carefully undoing the belt and chest piece, his movements gentle and steady like he was handling a delicate piece of glass. Bruce’s face burned, shame and frustration waging war in his sluggish mind, but he just clenched his jaw and refused to look up from the floor, well aware his own hands were far too shaky to undo his suit right now.

It was only when Clark moved to pull off the cowl that Bruce jerked back, gripping Clark’s wrist before he even registered he was moving.

“No,” he growled, tugging protectively at his mask, his hold trembling and weak. “No, I… someone- someone could–”

“I understand,” Superman said, and Bruce dropped his hand. It was terrifying sometimes, just how much he trusted Clark. “You can keep it on, that’s alright. Just lay down for me, okay?”

He didn’t have the energy to protest anymore, even as that frantic voice in the back of his head screamed at him to get up, get up, don’t you dare drop your guard for a second. You’ll get them all killed. You’ll lose someone again.

“There you go,” Clark said, and Bruce definitely would have had something to say about his coddling if he had the strength. “I’ll keep an eye on things, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen, you can rest.”

Bruce hummed, lips pressed into a tight line as he was eased back against the blessedly soft pillows, a thin blanket draped over the remaining armor on his chest. “Ten minutes. Then wake me up.”

He felt more than saw Clark hesitate, his vision more than a little hazy now. “Bruce, you need at least a few hours.”

“Ten minutes.”

“Give yourself three hours,” Clark said. “I promise you'll feel better if you do.”

“I can’t be gone that long,” Bruce argued. Then, because Superman clearly wasn’t going to budge, “Twenty minutes.”

“Batman–”

“I’ve survived off less.”

“But you shouldn’t have to.” Clark sighed, visibly composing himself, and Bruce fought to keep his eyes open. “You have a team of people watching your back now, and we can look after ourselves. Nothing bad is going to happen, Bruce. We’ve got you.”

Clark didn’t get it. He didn’t understand that Bruce couldn’t. He couldn’t let go like everyone else, couldn’t drop his guard for a second, couldn’t be stupid enough to let himself rest when so much was at stake.

One wrong move would get someone killed. Just a second of hesitation could rip his world apart. Letting himself rest could mean he loses everything all over again. Someone could sneak in, get past their defenses, and incapacitate the rest of the League while Bruce was helpless- useless. Someone could hurt him in his sleep again-

“Bruce,” Clark said, in that horribly soft, understanding tone that Bruce always selfishly wanted to bask in, as if someone like him deserved that kind of comfort. “Just a few hours, okay?”

“Clark, I can't.” But he was so tired. Maybe… maybe it would be okay. Just this once. “I… half an hour.”

“Two hours.”

“Clark–”

“Two hours,” Superman repeated, but it sounded more like a plea than an order. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Two hours. So much could happen in two hours. “One hour.”

“Bruce–”

“One hour,” he snapped, surprised that he still had the strength, even as the force of his own words made him dizzy with exhaustion. “Please.”

He couldn’t handle more than that. He couldn’t–

“Alright,” Clark agreed, still sounding painfully hesitant, but Bruce let out a trembling breath of relief. “One hour. But you have to close your eyes and relax.”

“I know how sleeping works.” It would have been more effective if his words didn’t come out heavy and slurred, eyes already drooping shut despite his best efforts to level Clark with a glare.

Clark rolled his eyes, but there was a smile tugging at his lips. “Sometimes I’m not sure you do.”

He didn’t give Bruce the chance to respond, not that he could have formed a coherent sentence if he tried. He heard Clark stand, Superman keeping his movements intentionally loud so Bruce would be able to track them, and he adamantly ignored the flutter in his chest at the patience he was being shown. Most people wouldn’t have bothered. Clark turned off the small lamp in the corner, shrouding the room in darkness as the moon rose outside, and slipped into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Bruce could count the number of times he’d woken up slowly on one hand. He was sure there were more when he was younger, simpler times when he was safe and unafraid that he could hardly remember anymore.

But ever since that gunshot in the alleyway, waking up was something that came suddenly, bringing a wave of panic and adrenaline when he gasped awake, distant screams from whatever nightmare that had been plaguing him following him into the conscious world before everything swam back into focus, plunging him right back into a familiar state of racing paranoia and uneasiness.

Today was no different.

He’d dreamt of the League, of a losing battle, of the stench of blood and the faces of dying friends. He’d dreamt of being useless, weak, trapped on the sidelines, forced to watch his team fall. He’d dreamt of his safehouse soaked in blood, trashed and demolished from the attack they hadn’t been ready for.

It was a dream he’d had countless times before, just another nightmare he’d added to the list after the Justice League had become something important to him.

The only difference this time was that Bruce didn’t wake up in his own bed. Or anywhere in the manor, for that matter.

He jolted upright, tangled in unfamiliar blankets, heart beating so hard in his chest it was painful, gasping for air as he fought to piece reality back together, the nightmare still seared into his mind, lingering screams drowning out his own ragged breathing.

He was in his safehouse. He recognized it, gradually, the dark wood floors, the bare walls, the tan comforter strewn across the bed, the flimsy curtains parted just enough to let the first rays of the dawn’s light seep into the room.

Bruce froze, breath catching in his throat.

It was dawn. The sun had just barely set when he’d closed his eyes. They hadn’t woken him up. Nobody had woken him up.

What if there was no one left to wake him?

He was out of bed in the blink of an eye, the room spinning dangerously the second he was on his feet, body still fighting to adjust to the waking world. He’d slept through the night. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been allowed to do that.

The house was empty. The house was covered in blood. He’d slept through the battle. There was no one left to scream for him.

He grabbed for what the armor he’d allowed to be removed, suiting up in record time despite his shaky hands and tunneling vision, foregoing the gauntlets and utility belt as he yanked on his gloves and fastened the weighted cape over his shoulders, already running for the door in a panic.

There wasn’t time. There wasn’t time, everyone was dead and he needed to… he needed to assess the damage, save who he could, and find a way to protect himself. He’d have to run. He’d have to be on the run alone again, lost in guilt and grief with nothing to pull him out again, and he couldn’t–

Batman practically crashed into the adjacent wall as he flung the door open and burst into the hallway, shaking so badly he almost couldn’t get a proper grip on the door handle. His legs were unsteady, nearly sending him tripping over his own boots as he stumbled into the main room, eyes watering at the overwhelming stench of blood–

All eyes turned to him when he screeched to a halt in the doorway.

There was no blood, no broken dying faces, no sign of a struggle. The team was staring at him, all of them awake and alert, albeit a little confused. Clark and Diana were at the dining room table, Barry and Arthur were on the couch, and Hal was slumped across the armchair in the corner, clearly having been woken up from his doze by Batman’s uncoordinated entrance.

Bruce froze in his tracks, reality fighting to make itself known, his panicked mind still clutching to the images of the nightmare, his blood like ice in his veins.

“B?” Superman called, brow furrowed in concern, exchanging a worried glance with Wonder Woman. “Are you okay?”

Bruce blinked, scanning each of their faces in frozen silence, fighting to convince himself that this was real, that they were alive, that he hadn’t been too late to save anyone.

But there was sunlight shining through the kitchen window, it was morning, and he was supposed to be back hours ago–

“What happened?” he demanded, voice rough and far too quiet, turning back to Clark almost frantically. “What… what’s going on?”

They were all still staring at him, unmoving, like their lives weren’t in danger, like Bruce hadn’t been too late to protect them. Clark just blinked at him, shifting slightly under Batman’s stare. “Wh-? Nothing happened, Bruce. What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t wake me up.” It was the only thing he could manage for a moment, throat unbearably tight. “You said you’d wake me up in an hour.”

Clark blinked, but something in his eyes softened. “Bruce–”

“You said you’d wake me up,” Bruce repeated, swallowing thickly when his voice shook. He couldn’t lose his composure like this, couldn’t showcase his fear so plainly. Not in front of the team. “You… you didn’t wake me up, I thought- I thought something happened.”

“Everything’s alright,” Diana spoke up, her expression unbearably soft as she watched him from the table. “Everyone’s safe- we’re all safe. We only thought it would be good for you to sleep through the night.”

Sleep through the night. He’d been asleep all night.

“You said one hour,” Bruce practically snarled, his eyes only for Superman. “You said one hour.”

Clark’s face shifted into something that perfectly resembled a kicked puppy, and if Bruce wasn’t spiraling so violently he might have felt guilty for snapping. “B–”

“One hour wasn’t gonna do shit,” Hal piped up, clearly still groggy from being startled awake so suddenly. “You were barely standing, and we would like to have you lucid enough to get us out of this mess. And god knows you’re too stubborn to sleep normally on your own. So yeah, we let you sleep through the night. You’re welcome.”

Bruce only heard about half of what Hal was saying, breath catching in his throat when he turned to Green Lantern, ice cold dread flooding his lungs.

All he could see was blood. The living room was coated in it, splattered across the walls, the floors, bodies strewn across the cabin. All he could see were Hal’s lifeless eyes, the wound in his chest, the battle he’d slept through–

“Spooky? You with us?”

He couldn’t latch onto Hal’s voice, reality slipping through his fingers, the world coming apart by the seams only to be replaced with the nightmare he couldn’t shake, not when the panic was fueling his worst fears, the putrid stench of blood making his eyes water behind the cowl.

He backed into the hallway before he retched, a hand clamped over his mouth, stumbling to the bathroom before slamming the door shut behind him and dropping to his knees in front of the toilet.

He hadn’t eaten in days, Bruce recalled suddenly, and there was nothing in his stomach to throw up. It didn’t make the dry heaving stop, didn’t make his throat burn any less as he hunched over the toilet bowl, gripping the porcelain with trembling hands, gasping for breath around the sickening panic.

It felt like an eternity before he stopped, slumping in an exhausted, breathless heap, chest still unbearably tight, head fuzzy with confusion and fear. He was dimly aware of the commotion outside, the knocking on the door, diligently ignoring it as it faded to a background hum, drowned out by his own heartbeat and labored breathing.

Bruce scooted backwards, legs far too unsteady to support his weight, and found himself pressed into the bathroom corner, his back against the wall and his knees pulled up to his chest. His hands found the ears of the cowl, yanking the mask off so hard a few hairs were pulled along with it.

Everyone was dying, everyone was dead, and he hadn’t been able to save them because he’d fallen asleep.

He’d been asleep for hours, alone and vulnerable and defenseless all night, where anyone could have walked in, someone could have–

“Bruce, hey. Breathe, just breathe. Deep breaths, you’re alright.”

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t catch his breath, shaking and gasping in a pathetic pile on the bathroom floor, choking on the smell of blood. Hands flew to his hair, dark strands a tangled mess after being under the cowl for so long, yanking hard enough to make his eyes water.

“Hey, careful.” There were hands on his wrists, gentle but firm, coaxing his fingers away from his hair. “None of that. You need to breathe, B. Come on, look at me. Copy my breathing, Bruce.”

Bruce blinked in the direction of the voice, pressing himself further back against the wall. Superman was crouched in front of him (In a puddle of blood, his chest caved in with Kryptonite. Unmoving. Dead) his hands warm against Bruce’s skin, eyes brimming with concern and confusion.

“Clark,” he choked out, the sound nearly lost to his own hyperventilating. “I was- I was too slow, I was too slow to help, I–”

“Nothing happened, B,” Clark said, dangerously close to feeling real. “You fell asleep, and the rest of us took shifts throughout the night. Everything was quiet. We would have woken you up if it wasn’t.”

“You were supposed to wake me up,” Bruce snapped in between gasps, but there was no room for anger anymore, his voice nothing more than desperate wheezes. “Everyone- everyone died because I wasn’t there. You’re dead and I couldn’t help, I- I slept through it–”

“Bruce–”

“I don’t know what they did. I don’t… I don’t know what they did to me I don’t know who… I... I was asleep, I don’t–”

“Bruce.” Clark's hands were torn away from his wrists, only for the warmth to be replaced a second later on his face, that indestructible steel grip now carefully cradling his face finally free from the confines of the cowl. “I’m alive, I’m okay. Everyone’s safe, Bruce. They’re all just in the other room, they have been all night. J’onn is meeting us as soon as it’s safe. I think… I think you just had a nightmare, B. I think you’re confused.”

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut against the phantom screams lingering in his ears, the stench of blood he knew wasn’t there, the image of his teammate’s lifeless eyes, of the grief he couldn’t bare to live through again.

“You didn’t wake me up,” Bruce said again, for what felt like the hundredth time. “I thought… I thought it was real. I thought you were gone and there wasn’t… there wasn’t anyone left to wake me up.”

“I’m so sorry,” Clark said, barely a whisper, and he sounded like he meant it. “We just… I just thought you needed more rest. We were keeping watch and one hour didn’t seem like enough to–”

“It’s not,” Bruce said, focusing on his shaky breathing, forcing himself to copy the Kryptonian’s steady breaths. “I know it's not. I’m not stubborn just for the hell of it, Clark. I can’t sleep.”

This was real. Superman was alive- the team was alive. There was no blood, no death, no lost battle. He’d slept through the night for the first time in years, undisturbed, and everyone had made it to tomorrow.

“The world isn’t going to end if you let yourself rest,” Superman said. “You can’t be expected to watch everything all the time, especially when you have people who want to help. That’s not fair to you.”

“I can’t risk it.” The fading panic had apparently loosened his tongue, the words leaving his mouth before he could think about them. “Something always happens when I close my eyes. Someone… someone always needs me.”

Clark was silent for a moment, two superheroes still crouched in a heap on the tiny bathroom floor, practically on top of each other, and Bruce belatedly realized Superman's hands had never left their position cradling Batman's face. He didn’t make a move to pull away.

“I know how you feel,” he said softly, and Bruce didn’t doubt that. “I promise, I do. But you can rest, B. Nothing happened last night. No one was hurt, no one was in danger. We just needed you to sleep.”

Bruce hesitated, one hand wrapped around himself, the other fiddling absently with the material of Clark’s suit. “I know. I do, it just... I always have nightmares when I sleep. I always think they’re real.”

“We’ll work on something to help with that,” Clark said, eyes softening when Bruce scoffed. “There’s always something, and I promise I’ll help you find it. You deserve a proper night’s sleep.”

It was a hopeless idea, as nice as it was to imagine, even just for a moment. Bruce hadn’t slept properly since he was eight, since he’d had everything ripped away from him in that alleyway. Even before that, he’d always had a hard time falling asleep, always restless, always plagued by an overactive imagination.

“And for the record,” Clark added before Bruce could voice his doubts, one hand moving to gently tilt Batman’s chin up. “Nothing will ever happen to you in your sleep. Not ever. I swear on my life, I won��t let anyone even get close.”

Bruce blinked, chest heavy, struggling to comprehend the meaning behind the words, the weight that promise held.

Because he knew Clark meant it. Superman had his heartbeat memorized, a secret he’d sheepishly admitted months ago, Batman’s life a noise he could pick out from a crowd thousands of miles away.

If Bruce’s breath so much as hitched, if there was an intruder or an unwelcome guest, Clark would know. Nobody was going to get to him, as long as Bruce allowed him to listen. As long as he trusted him enough to believe he would.

“Thank you,” Bruce forced himself to say instead of the million other things he couldn’t find the words for. “I’ll… work on it.”

“I know you’re scared,” Clark said, and Bruce quickly pushed down the defiant protests already rising up in his throat. “I’m not asking you to change overnight, B. But you don’t have to be dead on your feet all the time. You can trust us to look after you.”

Bruce just nodded, dropping his hand to pull the discarded cowl closer to him, not yet making a move to put it back on. “I still have work to do. And I want to keep watch this afternoon.”

Clark watched him closely for a moment, almost like he was studying him, picking apart the look in his eyes. He must not have minded what he found, because he smiled softly as his shoulders relaxed, just a little, slowly pulling his hands away from Bruce’s face.

“Breakfast first,” he declared, not quite an order, but not something that left room for argument either. “The kitchen's stocked, we've got enough food for a while. I was planning on pancakes, if you want to help.”

Bruce moved to stand, still unsteady on his feet, face still stinging with dried tears, his body violently protesting the sudden movement. He didn’t shove Clark’s hand away when he quickly moved to help, steadying him without a word. “Alfred’s had me banned from the kitchen since I was sixteen.”

Clark barked a laugh, warm and grounding. Real and alive. “How about you just brew a fresh pot of coffee, then?”

His hands hadn’t quite stopped shaking, the anxiety still settled deep in his gut, but it was manageable now. He knew it would fade by the time they all sat down to eat together, when he could really see for himself that they were all alive and well for the time being.

“Alright,” he agreed, letting Clark lead him back to the main room. “Coffee first."

#batman #dc #dc comics #bruce wayne #superman #clark kent #angst #diana prince #wonder woman #j'onn j'onzz #martian manhunter #hal jordan #green lantern #barry allen #flash #superbat #superbat fic #writing #fanfiction

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smalls-words · 1 year

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Fulfil Your Oath

Summary: Handmaiden to the Princess of Themyscira, you have one well-known rule: where she goes, you follow. But you have another only you know: never fall in love with the princess.

Pairings: Princess Diana x Handmaiden!Reader, Unnamed Mother x Reader, Antiope x Diana (aunt), Antiope x Reader (trainer), Menalippe x Reader (mentor), Menalippe x Antiope (wives).

Warnings: Death, battle, requited but unseen love, soft fluffy bit at the end.

Genre: Fluff and Angst

A/N: Here is the masterlist of the now miniseries!

*not my gif*

It was tradition. The handmaiden of the Queen would have a daughter, who would then grow up to be the handmaiden of the Princess. From the moment you could walk, you shadowed your mother, who shadowed the Queen.

You took in everything you could to learn about what you needed to learn, and after fourteen long years, your mother finally introduced you to the princess.

“Princess.” Your mother bowed to her small form.

“Hello.” Her Themysciran accent was thick.

“Princess, I’d like for you to meet your handmaiden. My daughter, Y/N.”

Your mother moved out of the way to reveal you standing quietly, your eyes not lifting until your name was spoken by the princess. “Speak.” She added.

“Good afternoon, Princess.” You bowed.

She gave you a smile before the appearance of the Queen had you kneeling before her. “My Queen.” You addressed her.

“Good afternoon, Handmaiden Y/N.” She nodded, the signal to relax.

You stood and moved behind Diana, as your mother did with Queen Hippolyta. The two conversed as they walked through the gardens, your mouth sealed shut the entire time but you listened to everything.

Over the first year of being Diana’s handmaiden, you learnt her schedule off by heart. You learned all of her favourite meals, prepared her bed every morning after she woke up. Stood by her shower, helped her dress, and kept her together.

Now, officially four years from your first day as her handmaiden, you entered her room.

“Good morning, Diana.” You murmured as you walked in.

“Mmm.” She grumbled.

You sighed. “Good morning, Arteia.”

You waited patiently for the woman to leave, helping her collect her belongings before you walked around to the windows and opened the curtains.

“Y/N, no…” Diana groaned in annoyance.

“You have a meeting with your mother in half an hour.” You pulled the bedsheets off of her very easily, her groggy sleep-filled mind not quick enough to react.

She buried her face into her pillow, her voice muffled. “I’ve had enough of these meetings.”

“Well you can bring up that topic with your mother, at the meeting.” You replied.

As you were about to get her bath ready, you felt her hand take your wrist. Her beautiful raven hair shone like obsidian in the sunlight, and her chocolate brown eyes looked like pure gold.

*Stop it.* You thought to yourself.

“Can’t I just… skip it?” She gave you a grin, hoping you’d be lenient.

You shook your head. “I cannot allow that. Now come, we are going to be late.” You removed your wrist from her grip and waited at the bathroom door for her.

You were careful to not look at her naked form.

She had a quick bath and thanked you for the towel in your arms, dressing herself in simple clothing before following you out the door. You knew the palace like the palm of your hand, corridors and hallways interconnecting like the lines of your skin.

As you came to the closed oak doors, you opened the left one and held it so as Diana walked through. You followed her to her seat, drew it out from under the table, and pushed her back in.

“Thank you, Y/N.” She murmured.

She watched you stand by the corner guard, your eyes fixed forwards on a spot of marble. Diana looked down at the meal before her, thanking the gods quietly before she ate.

The meeting over breakfast was quiet and concluded quickly since the Queen had to deal with some trainees, leaving you with Diana and her schedule. Training was soon and you needed to dress her in her training armour before taking her to the fields.

For once, Diana wasn’t fidgeting or talking randomly as you dressed her. She was silent.

“Speak your mind, Y/N.”

You just realised she was looking at you, observing the concern hidden behind your eyes. “You are not acting as you normally do.”

“It is nothing. Just… frustration from breakfast.” Diana murmured.

“Of course.” You nodded, standing after tying her boot lace around her calf.

You walked down with her to the stables where your horse was ready to be ridden. You sat at the front and Diana the back, her hands lightly falling to your waist for a grip.

As you arrived at the training field, you watched Diana run down to General Antiope before climbing off the horse. Diana’s training session would be two hours, before lunch and some formalities before coming back for another two hours in the evening.

You gave Antiope a nod of respect before going for a walk in the forest.

——————————\\//\\//——————————

In the evening, you found Diana once more at the training field. She looked battered and bruised as she normally does, her hair slightly filled with grass whilst a happy grin spread across her face at the sight of you.

“Y/N! Come down here!” She yelled from the valley.

You carefully made your way down to where she stood next to Antiope. “Y/N, I want you to meet my aunt, Antiope. I don’t know if you two have ever met before but she thinks I’m ready to join the ranks! What do you think?”

You looked at the General, who gave you a slight shake of her head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, General Antiope.” You spoke instead, bowing your head.

You turned to Diana. “And as for you, I think you need a bath.”

Antiope chuckled at your remark whilst Diana gasped. You shook your head with laughter as she walked up the hill frustratingly, your smile dying down as you looked at Antiope.

“Don’t be late tonight, or I will go much harder on you.” She warned with a grin.

“Of course, General.” You smiled before following after your princess, who was extremely annoyed since your horse wouldn’t move without you.

“Y/N, hurry up!” She ordered.

“I’m coming.” You murmured, swinging yourself onto the saddle at the front.

As you walked back to the palace, Diana’s fatigue set in. She leaned her head on your shoulder and carefully looked at you, your eyes glancing down to her for a moment.

“Someone is tired.” You teased.

“You try training for four hours a day against Antiope. You’ll be exhausted.” She mumbled, her arms tightening around your waist ever so slightly.

After returning your horse to the stable, you walked Diana back through the palace to her chambers. You undressed her and let her sink into the warm water of the bath, grabbing your stool to sit next to it.

You washed her hair thoroughly but gently, listening to her groan in satisfaction. You carefully scrubbed her down, being extra careful over her bruises and scrapes, before you invited her to climb into the warm towel in your arms.

You then dressed her into her night clothes and folded the sheets over her, chuckling as she took your wrist in her hand.

“Stay with me tonight?” She asked with a grin.

“I cannot, Princess.” You took your hand away.

She sat up, her damp hair falling over to one side. “Why not? You are my handmaiden. You serve me.”

You hesitated at the door, your hand on the frame. “I am a handmaiden. I do not sleep in my Princess’s bed.”

Diana grew confused by your words and walked to the door, but she could no longer find you in the hallway. She closed the door quietly, moving back to the bed to lie down.

Her eyes gazed up at the stars. “I wish she would.” She begged the gods before sleep took her.

You looked up at her bedroom window as Antiope was getting water for you both. You dressed into your training armour, gazing at the light of the candle fading in Diana’s bedroom.

“I wish I could.” You murmured before Antiope’s footsteps enticed you to swing your sword and start your four hours of training.

——————————\\//\\//——————————

The days blurred together as you trained with Antiope and cared for Diana, using the time she was at training to earn more rest before your own would begin that night. You were much better than Diana, having trained for years upon years, starting when you began as handmaiden.

One day as you were trotting towards the training grounds to pick up Diana, you heard a loud whirring sound. It couldn’t be any of the blacksmiths, nor the armour makers since it was coming from the ocean.

Black smoke trailed from some small yellow spot, your eyes locking onto Diana as she dove off of the cliff. Alarm bells rang in your mind before you galloped down the mountain to the palace, not even dismounting as you found the Queen outside.

“My Queen! The border has been breached!” You reported.

She mounted her horse and followed after you, throwing you an armour set as she held your horse’s gallop steady. You slipped it on over your clothes and took a set of weapons from Arteia, thanking her with a nod.

As you approached the cliffedge, you leapt off of the back of your horse and shot an arrow into the cliff, swinging down to be met with Diana’s worried eyes.

“Princess!” You cut the rope just in time, rolling towards her.

“Y/N, stay behind me!” She ordered, covering you with her body before you pushed her down, your chest on top of hers.

“I am your handmaiden, which makes me your protector. Stay down.” You growled, lifting your eyes to see the stampede of horses coming across the beach.

“General!” You bellowed, your voice carrying across the cliff face.

Antiope spotted you and nodded, a sword landing in front of you. You gripped it tightly in your hand and stabbed the enemy to your right, forcing him to drop his weapon.

“You.” You pointed at the man staying close to Diana.

“Use that.” You gestured to it.

He nodded and gripped the gun, firing off at the enemy whilst you let arrows fly and swords clash with their guns. In the end, nobody made it within ten feet of Diana unless you wanted them to.

But Diana moved.

Standing at the shore, an enemy gun pointing at her.

You were too late.

“ANTIOPE!” You roared, throwing your sword through the throat of the enemy soldier to decapitate him.

You crouched down next to Diana, propping up the head of your mentor. “No, no, no…” You moved Antiope’s hair away from her face, tears welling in your eyes.

She looked at Diana. “Diana… the time has come. You… You must…”

“What, Antiope? Tell me what to do, please!” She begged.

Antiope strained to talk. “Godkiller. Diana, go…”

“Go? Go where?”

Antiope looked at you. “Your oath…” Her hand came to rest on yours as it held her head. “Fulfil it.”

You nodded. “I promise.”

She looked back at Diana before you felt the limpness of her hand, a few tears coming from Diana before Menalippe came to her corpse, begging the gods to bring her wife back. Hippolyta came to your side, to which you were confused by her empathetic expression.

“I’m sorry, child. I… She fulfilled her oath.” She murmured.

“No.” You shook your head, standing up to scan the standing warriors.

She was lying down in the sand.

“MAMA!” You bellowed, racing over to her corpse.

“No, no, no…” You moved the hair out of her face, dusted the sand off her skin.

“Mama, please, no. You- Mama.” You pressed your forehead against her chest, clutching her limp form tightly.

The tears finally broke through, streaming down your cheeks and onto her breastplate, scratches of old being filled in with tears of new. You didn’t dare take your eyes off of hers, even if they weren’t smiling at you.

Anger bubbled below the surface of sadness.

“You.” You snarled, staring at the man behind Diana.

Diana stepped in front of you and whilst you could have overcome her in a normal spar, your emotions clouded your judgement. “Y/N, do not! He fought at our side!”

“You brought them here! You killed my Mama!”

Menalippe gripped you by her arms wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you away from Diana and the stranger. She held you tightly against her, waiting for your anger to dissipate.

“We shall grieve together.” She murmured in your ear.

——————————\\//\\//——————————

You stood beside Diana, tears still trickling down your reddened face as Menalippe held the stranger within the Lasso of Hestia. The princess looked at you every sniffle or two, urged to comfort you but she needed to deal with the stranger first.

It was her duty.

You left after the feeling of more than two pairs of eyes overwhelmed you, collapsing after you found a dark room to hide in. You stayed in the darkest corner and shook as grief gripped your heart with no remorse, not even hearing the door opening.

“Y/N? Y/N, it’s me, Diana.”

Her voice sounded so far away. You could feel your mind spiralling so far that it felt like you were falling into Tartarus, only for a simple touch to your cheek to bring you back.

“Y/N?” Her soft voice queried.

“M-My Princess, um…” You tidied yourself up, brushing away your tears. “H-How can I help you? I can run you a bath, I can dress you, I can-”

“I want you to breathe.” She murmured.

You looked up at her, feeling so small yet so seen. Your bottom lip trembled at her words, forcing your own out. “I can’t.”

She pulled you closer to her, scanning your teary face before you yelped as she picked you up. She placed you on the edge of the bath before she ran the water, not budging when you gestured for her to leave.

“Diana, I can do this myself.”

“Not in the state you’re currently in.”

She moved to undress you but you protested, undressing yourself to sink into the warm water. You faced away from Diana, wanting to be alone so desperately so you could grieve without judgement.

Her hands fell into your hair and gently began to massage your scalp, introducing the water before adding the oils you used on her hair. You didn’t make a fuss, not wanting to show her your teary eyes, and let her scrub your back and lower body.

“Turn.” She muttered.

“No.” You replied softly.

She sighed and quietly stood, grabbing a towel to wrap around you. “Come on.” She urged.

You stood nervously and stepped out of the bath whilst facing away from her, shuddering as the warmth of the towel failed to reach further into you than your skin. Diana guided you out to her bedroom and sat you on the bed, bringing what is normally your stool in front of you.

“Now… Tell me why you seem to be an excellent fighter, much better than some of our greatest warriors. And why does Menalippe care for you so much?” She asked, rubbing your feet gently just as you would do for her.

“Menalippe was my handmaiden mentor before Antiope.” You smiled sheepishly.

“And your fighting?” She queried.

“I… train in the hours of night. I have since I became your handmaiden.” You admitted, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Although I assume they are finished, since Antiope is… with the gods.”

Diana looked up at you as you brushed away another tear, giving her a short but untrue smile. She stood and moved to her cupboard of garments, sifting through them before holding one up to you.

“Diana, please, I have my own clothes-”

“Silence.” She ordered, to which you had no choice but to obey.

She brought you to your feet and gently pushed away the confines of the towel, noticing how nervous you were to show your body. “Arms.” She ordered again, slipping the clothing onto you very easily.

You let her put on every piece of clothing before she then placed a fur cloak over you, confusing you. “What are you doing, Diana?”

“We are going with Steve.” She murmured.

“The stranger?!” You stepped back, falling onto the bed.

“Yes. But we have to be quiet.” She hissed softly, noting your anger as she pulled her own fur cloak on.

“My Princess, there is nothing you can do to get me to go with you and him.” You murmured, spitting his descriptive.

She turned to you, a determined look on her face. “You are my handmaiden. Where I go, you follow. That is your oath.”

You lowered your eyes as the princess’ anger frightened you slightly, but she hugged you tightly afterwards. “We will go when dusk has fallen. Get some sleep.”

You made your way out of the room to find Menalippe standing at your door. You startled her by the sight of your clothing, her footsteps urgent as she came to you.

You were prepared to be scolded.

But you were embraced.

She held you close, tucking your head against her chest. The floodgates opened once more, her tears coupling yours. “We grieve together, Y/N. No matter our occupation.”

You sniffled and nodded against her, letting her lead you inside to sit on your bed that was much smaller than Diana’s. Menalippe held you close as the stars began to reveal themselves in the waning light, sighing as she pulled away slightly.

“You do not have to go. Hippolyta will give you time to grieve. You may even end up as her handmaiden.” She murmured.

“Antiope said I must fulfil my oath.” You replied just as softly.

“I will not let her last command die simply because she is gone.”

Menalippe nodded, kneeling in front of you as the moon revealed itself besides its companions. “Go. Be by her side.”

She brushed your cheeks clear of tears. “But you are still a child. If the emotions come, let them through. The greatest skill a warrior can have is empathy.”

You nodded, letting her kiss your temple before she stood. “Go. Before I have to inform the Queen of your leave.”

You thanked her with a tight hug before sprinting out of the door.

#smalls words #diana prince #diana prince x reader #diana prince x fem!reader #wonder woman x reader #wonder woman x fem!reader #diana prince fluff #diana prince angst #wonder woman fluff #wonder woman angst #fulfil your oath miniseries

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downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 26 days

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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 1

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader)Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 3631 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

(21 years old)

'All right, team,' Y/N Prince addressed her small group of young heroes. 'Good work today. Now go hit the showers and enjoy a nice quiet night in. You've earned it.'

'So crash!' Bart cried with an energetic jump. If anyone were to guess how the team's week had been solely based on Bart's energy, they would've said it had been cruisy. Not that Y/N had led a covert task force over the past week into Bialya to take down meta-human trafficking outposts.

Y/N watched with pride as Bart and Jaime bantered on their way out, followed by Stephanie and Cassie chatting excitedly about something, all the while Tim and Cassie held hands quietly. It had surprised the team a little how, out of the blue, the two of them were dating. But if Wally's death had taught them all anything, it was that time was too precious to waste in their line of work. They'd been together ever since.

Two years, Y/N mentally noted, and suddenly the adrenaline she'd been running on for the past week died as the last of the team exited the entrance chamber of the Watchtower. Exhaustion weighed down on her spent body, but an extra weight now sat in heart. Has it really been that long already?

So much had changed in that time. Like how the Young Justice began working out of the Watchtower alongside the Justice League, having both the Hall of Justice and Mount Justice destroyed by the Reach and the Light respectively. M'gann and Connor were back together, having finally gotten over their differences and accepted their mistakes. Also, Kaldur had been offered a position in the Justice League following the retirement of his king, and so Kaldur took his place as the new Aquaman in the Justice League. M'gann was promoted to new team leader, with Connor and Y/N assisting her as senior members of the team.

Some things had remained the same, however. Like the team's energy and slight dysfunction that always made Y/N feel at home. They weren't perfect, but what family ever is?

Dick was still gone. So was Artemis. She'd, understandably, retired as Green Arrow's protégé immediately after Wally's death, assuming her undercover identity Tigress instead and going off on her own. Neither had stayed in touch with anyone on the team.

You're my best friend. Always have been, always will be...

'Yeah right,' Y/N mumbled bitterly as she made her way to the conference room. No doubt that'd be where M'gann and Connor were waiting for her to debrief the mission.

Upon entering the room with the long table, she was immediately embraced by M'gann. 'Welcome back,' she said, squeezing Y/N tighter. 'We're so glad you're okay.'

Y/N smiled softly as she embraced M'gann in return. 'You ever doubted me?'

'No,' Connor answered, 'but you can never be too cautious right?'

Y/N let go of M'gann to hug Connor as well. Since getting back together, Connor wasn't as emotionally suppressed as he'd initially been. It was nice seeing him this way, more happy and free. The same effect had happened to M'gann, who (only around the team and the Justice League) revealed her white martian self proudly instead of pretending to be something she wasn't.

'You're right,' Y/N said as she released him, then the three of them took a seat to discuss the mission.

The debrief didn't take long, there wasn't much to report on as all out-posts had been hit successfully, putting Queen Bee's meta-human trafficking at least a little behind.

'It's not much, but it's the best we could do with the little information we got,' Y/N admitted. 'I dislike Queen Bee and her minions as much as the next person, but I've got to give it to her, she knows how to keep things under wraps.'

M'gann reached across from where she sat and closed her hand over Y/N's. 'Y/N, the mission was a success,' M'gann insisted. 'And what's most important is that you brought everyone home. Alive.'

Y/N heard the underlying fear in her words, the memory she was thinking of as she spoke them. Y/N twisted her hand over to clasp M'gann's in return. 'I know,' she said softly. 'But I just... we haven't so much as put a dent into the underbelly of meta-human trafficking in the two years it's been running. Somedays... Somedays I just feel so useless.'

'I know, Y/N,' Connor reassured. 'But we've just got to trust that our hard work will pay off eventually. I know it doesn't seem like much now, but every mission counts. Don't be so hard on yourself.'

Y/N withdrew her hand at the comment, hastily standing up. 'Don't be hard on myself? My mother is Wonder Woman, is the Champion of Themyscira, a World War II hero, and had already saved the world once by my age now. My father was a fighter pilot in the Iran-Iraq war and died fighting for his country,' she said angrily. 'And what am I doing? Hiding under the protection of darkness, taking out small outposts that will just be rebuilt elsewhere just as quickly? How can I not be hard on myself?'

At M'gann's taken aback expression, Y/N felt slightly guilty for raising her voice. But they just didn't understand. All her life, she'd been training and fighting for her supposed "destiny". Surely this wasn't it.

'I'm sorry,' Y/N said, forcing herself to calm down. 'I just...'

'You don't have to a apologise,' M'gann interrupted, standing and walking over to Y/N to clasp their hands together. 'After all we've done together, I understand that what we do now doesn't seem like enough. But I can tell you were made for more.'

Y/N offered her a grateful smile and M'gann let their hands drop. 'I should go. Mother and I have patrol in Washington DC tonight.'

'Already?' M'gann asked, face dropping with disappointment. 'But you just got back. Surely she knows that.'

'Unfortunately, even in the country's capital, crime never sleeps. I'm just grateful it's nothing like Gotham,' Y/N said.

'I agree,' Connor said. 'Visited there once with-' He paused for a moment, eyes growing wary as he looked between Y/N and M'gann. But Y/N already knew what he was going to say and gave him a slight nod to continue anyway. 'With Dick. We did patrol once there together. To put it simply, they're all nutcases there.'

Y/N managed an amused half-smile. 'You're not wrong there,' she said, then made her way to the door. Before she reached the doorknob, M'gann called out.

'Maybe when you're free next, you can join us for dinner at home,' she offered, her eyes hopeful as she waited Y/N's answer.

'Yeah,' she eventually answered though it wasn't as enthusiastic as she should've been. 'Yeah, that'd be nice. I'll talk to you guys soon. Don't stay up here too late.'

It had to be close to 7pm in Washington DC at least, so there weren't many people still left in the Watchtower. Just those from the League and her team that were rostered for overnight supervision. Y/N made sure to greet each person she walked by on the way to the Zeta-tubes. But just as she was about to dial in her code to leave, a resounding voice made her pause.

'Wonderess,' Kaldur called. 'Not even a hello before you head off for another mission?'

Y/N smirked as she turned back around to face the new hero of Atlantis. 'I'm sorry, Aquaman,' she said in an exaggerated tone. 'Not all of us can sit around having team parties with our Justice League buddies.'

To anyone else, it would've been taken as an insult. But Kaldur saw her humour and smiled. 'Oh is that what this is about? You know the League do more than just chit chat.'

Y/N shook her head. 'I don't know. The mess you guys left behind in the conference room before I left tells another story.'

As Kaldur approached Y/N, the sarcastic banter dropped as they both embraced each other. Kaldur had grown into a fit, muscular man, and now stood a good head taller than Y/N. His uniform was more or less the same as it had always been, except now both his arms were covered from shoulder-to-finger in gold armour. He certainly was no longer just a young lad, but the man his predecessor saw he could become.

'It is good to see you, Y/N,' Kaldur said softly as he pulled away.

'And you, old friend,' Y/N replied, a genuine smile splitting her lips.

'I heard you went into Bialyan territory,' Kaldur continued. 'I am glad to see you and the rest of the team are unharmed.'

'Well, the team are no longer just children' Y/N said, 'but it was a simple enough mission too. Nothing too dangerous.'

Kaldur's brows furrowed together as he looked over Y/N. 'I sense you are not happy with something. Wasn't the mission successful as I have heard?'

Y/N let out a soft sigh. 'It's not that I'm not happy with the mission's success. Of course I'm happy we all got home okay. I just...' She didn't really feel like explaining herself again, but Kaldur nodded in understanding.

'You feel stuck,' he finished, to which Y/N nodded in confirmation. Kaldur turned so he could look to the giant windows of the Watchtower's entrance chamber. They framed Earth in a way that made it seem both ginormous and insignificant at the same time. 'The League is in a similar position, I am afraid to admit. Some days there is progress. Other days, it feels like I wait so much I am afraid I will freeze in one spot.'

'How do you combat that?' Y/N asked.

Kaldur turned back to Y/N, his face softened with a small smile. 'I train.'

'That's it?' Y/N asked, not quite believing her friend.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'Amongst other things, yes. I train, I go home, I see my family, I laugh with my friends. I do all these things to remind myself why I am here. Why I do what I do. It sounds to me like you need to remind yourself why you are here.'

'Because of the team,' she said without hesitation. He hadn't asked a question, but she felt she needed to justify herself. 'Because I can't just desert them, not when they're working so hard.'

'And yet you feel you are not doing enough,' Kaldur countered, his teal eyes gazing hard at her. 'Why?'

Y/N opened her mouth to answer but no answer came.

'Y/N,' Kaldur continued. 'Why do you feel the need to stay when you don't want to be there?'

'I do want to stay-'

'Don't lie to me, Y/N,' Kaldur interrupted.

Y/N swallowed thickly as she looked from Kaldur, to the conference room door where M'gann and Connor still were, and back to Kaldur. Seeing no escape from his fierce questioning, she caved.

'It's not that I don't want to stay,' she admitted quietly. 'I love the kids, I love the team. I'm just... so tired, Kaldur. Of doing the same thing week in and week out and getting nowhere. But if I leave, I don't want the team to think I'm abandoning them. Not like-'

Y/N bit her lip at the thought of him. No, she wouldn't leave. She just wouldn't.

Kaldur pressed his lips into a firm line. 'Dick needed to reforge his own path. He was grieving in his own way.'

'Well I was grieving, too,' Y/N countered, a sudden surge of anger flaring up inside her. How dare Kaldur defend Dick. 'And I had to get on with my life because the team needed me. We needed him, Kaldur. I needed him, and he just left.'

Y/N bowed her head to collect her thoughts and calm down. That's two friends she had yelled at for no reason. Before she could apologise though, Kaldur placed a hand on her shoulder, and she raised her head to find him looking directly into her eyes.

'I cannot say I am not also disappointed in our friend,' Kaldur admitted sadly. 'I did not expect him to become so closed off for so long. But you've helped rebuild this team from the grief and pain it experienced when Wally died. I think you've earned the right to decide where you go from here, Y/N, without feeling guilty or selfish if your wish is not to stay with the team. In my opinion, you were made for more than this.'

'That's funny,' Y/N said in a flat voice. 'You're the second person today to tell me that.'

'Maybe because it is true,' Kaldur said sincerely. 'You know you still have a place in the Justice League whenever you'd like to join us. I would be honoured and happy to fight alongside a warrior such as yourself again. It would be like old times.'

Y/N offered a grateful smile as she patted Kaldur's hand that still rested on her shoulder. 'Thanks Kaldur, but I'm not ready for that just yet. Besides, you don't need two Amazonians running the show. And let's be real, we would so be in charge of you boys.'

The two shared quiet laughter as Kaldur's hand retuned to his side. 'Very well, then. So what will your decision be, Wonderess?'

Y/N looked to the Earth and space beyond it once more. Her heart and head were tearing her in two. She truly loved being a part of the team, but something inside her agreed with M'gann and Kaldur. Surely she was meant for more. But what exactly that was, she had to go find out.

'I think you're right, Kaldur,' she finally said, turning back to face her friend. 'I think I need to remind myself why I am here in the first place. And that comes from knowing who I am to begin with.'

Kaldur's face pinched in slight confusion. 'I'm sorry, but I do not follow.'

Y/N didn't answer straight away. Instead, she turned to dial in her code to exit the Watchtower. 'B-00: Wonderess,' the computer announced as the Zeta-tube activated.

She then finally turned back to Kaldur. 'I need to know where I've been to then know where I will go,' she said. 'I need to go back to where it all started.'

'And where's that?' Kaldur asked.

'With my mother,' she answered, then spared him one last sweet smile. 'Tell M'gann and Connor and the team I'm sorry.'

Kaldur looked as if he wanted to say something, ask more questions. But Kaldur was always more insightful than the rest of their group. He didn't always need an explanation. He just somehow knew, and so Y/N was grateful when he accepted her words with a simple nod of his head.

'Be safe, dear friend,' he said in farewell. 'May destiny be kind to you, wherever it leads you.'

Y/N nodded her appreciation and entered the Zeta-tube. It was always a weird sensation travelling by Zeta-tube, like a million light pricks into every part of the body. Thankfully the trip was quick to the Zeta tube depot in Washington DC, with Y/N walking out of an abandoned janitor's closest in the post office down the road from her apartment.

She smiled and waved down to civilians as she flew over the busy streets, but she flew as fast as she could to the meeting point.

Her mother casually sat atop the Washington Monument as Y/N approached, floating just in front of her. 'I was starting to worry you had gotten caught in Bialya,' Diana joked as she stood to greet her daughter. 'Welcome home, my daughter.'

'Good to see you, Mother,' Y/N said, and the two briefly embraced.

'Now that you're here,' Diana said, prepping to take off for the usual patrol, 'why don't we get going.'

'Actually, Mother, there is something I wanted to talk to you about first,' Y/N interrupted.

Diana raised an eyebrow. 'Really? And what would that be?'

Y/N took a deep breath in before she spoke the words. But when she did, she had never been more sure. 'I want you to take me back to your home. To Themyscira.'

~~~

Since she was a little girl, Y/N had heard hundreds of stories from her mother about the homeland of the Amazons. How beautiful it was with its architecture, its nature, and the women who ruled the island. She'd always dreamed of someday going there, but her mother said it was impossible to find it.

Except she failed to mention that despite leaving the island and forgetting where it was located, Diana had been gifted a compass that would always lead her back home, but only if she used it. It would not work without Amazonian hands.

So after all the storytelling and all the dreaming, nothing came close to actually witnessing Themyscira in the flesh.

Y/N stood speechless on the beach, looking up at the steps that led up to the first level of the city that seemed to climb higher and higher towards the sky. It was something out of the Ancient Greek text books Diana used to make Y/N read as a child, but even more fantastical and wondrous.

It wasn't just the visuals, though. Since the Invisible Jet broke through the barrier that hid Themyscira, Y/N had felt a pull of sorts towards the island. Now that she stood on its soil, she felt a warm energy wash over her, strengthen her, pull her into its embrace as if to say, Welcome home at last.

An entourage of women in red leather slitted skirts, plated tops, and armour while holding spears followed behind a woman dressed in white and purple robes. Ebony hair billowed out behind her golden leaf crown, the grey strands in between looking more silver as they caught the midday sun.

Y/N knew immediately who she was. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Her grandmother.

As Hippolyta approached Y/N and Diana, she opened her arms to take her daughter's face into her hands. 'Diana,' she said, bringing her lips to her daughter's forehead in a simple kiss. 'Welcome home.'

'Thank you, Mother,' Diana said, and Y/N could tell by her mother's smile that she was joyous to be home. 'I'm sorry it took me so long.'

'Do not worry about that, child,' Hippolyta reassured. 'You are here now.'

She then looked over to Y/N, and for some reason Y/N straightened up, flattened out her Wonderess uniform, made sure her hair was tucked behind her headband. Y/N was briefly taken back to the time she (consciously) remembered meeting her grandparents on her father's side. All dressed up so as to make a good impression.

Y/N held her breath as Hippolyta walked slowly over to her, grey eyes scanning every inch of Y/N's figure in silence. When she'd done a cursory glance, she then stepped closer and took Y/N's face into her hands. Y/N was unable to look away from Hippolyta as the older woman caressed and poked and prodded at her features.

At last, Hippolyta stopped and her hands dropped to Y/N's shoulders. A kind, joyous smile graced the older woman's features. 'You have my daughter's eyes,' she said quietly, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'So kind and forthright. What is your name child?'

'Y/N Prince,' Y/N managed to get out once she caught her breath. 'Daughter of Steve Trevor...' Her gaze flickered to her mother, and the two shared a smile. '...and Diana Prince, Princess of Themyscira.'

Y/N looked back to see Hippolyta tearing up as realisation finally hit her. 'I have a granddaughter,' she said as she finally embraced Y/N completely, to which Y/N reciprocated and the entourage of Amazonians cheered and smashed their shields with their spears in celebration.

Hippolyta let go of Y/N to clasp one of her hands as she went to grab her daughter's hand. She then turned the three of them to face the crowd. 'My daughter and your champion, and my granddaughter have come home!'

More cheers erupted.

'Let us prepare a feast in their honour,' Hippolyta continued, and when the crowd began to disperse, she turned to Diana and Y/N to speak more quietly. 'I am sure you have both come here for a reason, and not just to say hello.'

'You are correct, Mother,' Diana said. 'It seems as though I have neglected our origins as Amazonians for too long and can no longer teach Y/N our ways.'

'I wish to learn who I am,' Y/N added. 'I wish to know where I come from, so that I may know where I must go next.'

'And how long do you believe that will take?' Hippolyta asked.

'As long as it takes,' Y/N answered, more certain than ever before. 'I don't care what I must do, Your Majesty. I will follow your guidance, as my mother once did.'

Hippolyta considered Y/N for a moment, then spared Diana an impressed smirk. 'Well, you taught her one thing, Diana.'

'What's that mother?' Diana asked.

'Your steadfast stubbornness.' Hippolyta looked back to Y/N. 'Very well, granddaughter. You will train among the other warriors. I just hope you know it won't be as easy as you might think.'

'Trust me,' Y/N replied, 'I'm hoping it isn't.'

Hippolyta's smile widened and her eyes sparkled with excitement. 'That attitude is already a good start. Come, we will talk of this later. First, let us celebrate this homecoming.'

That night Y/N ate and drank and danced among women like her, some older, some younger, some taller, some stronger. And she had never felt more at home, more recognised and celebrated. She'd had her doubts if she had made the right decision, but now she had no doubt.

She was where she belonged.

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imaginationintowords · 2 years

Text

Speak Now *sequel to The Kids Will Be Alright*

Chapter 7

Single dad!Bucky, Single mom!Reader, Clark Kent x Reader; Hybrid Social Media AU

Summary: Bucky and Y/n are dealing with the aftermath of Y/n’s engagement to Clark. Everyone has mixed feelings about the engagement, seeing as it is too quick, but they’re all just trying to be supportive of her and Clark, that is everyone except Natasha. Natasha and Y/n are still not talking. Sam and Natasha are also having marriage issues, Sam not agreeing with the way Natasha handled everything, while Natasha wishes he’d just be on her side. Bucky is trying his hardest to push down his feelings for Y/n, but as time continues on he can’t help but feel sadness as he sees Clark and Y/n plan their wedding. He continues to suffer in silence, while Steve watches his best friend slowly deteriorate. Y/n is out of her mind stressed, debating whether to call this whole thing off, or just elope.

Warnings: just pure angst.

Word Count: 2574 Masterlist

*taglist to this series is closed. To be added to the waitlist/permanent tag list. Info here*

______________

Clark stood there holding [Y/N], while she quietly cries, after ending the phone call with Bucky.

“I can’t believe he would do this to me,” she cries.

“He won’t,” Clark tries to reassure her, “We’ll make sure he doesn’t take her away. Okay?”

“I can’t lose her, Clark.”

“And you won’t,” Clark tells her, “Not if we beat him to the punch.”

“What do you mean?” She sniffles, pulling herself slightly back to look up at Clark.

“He hasn’t filed anything yet, so all we need to do is file before he does,” Clark explains to her, “I know a few family lawyers, they’re really good. I can make a few calls.”

[Y/N] pauses. She takes a moment to think it through.

“Are you sure that’s the only thing we can do?” [Y/N] asks.

“If we don’t want to lose Daisy, yeah I think we have to.”

“Okay,” she agrees, “then let’s do it.”

“I’ll go make those calls. Do you have any idea who Bucky’s lawyer might be?”

“I’m assuming someone from work, in family law. Bucky has a lot of connections in the law world,” [Y/N] says, as she feels her anxiety rising once again.

“Okay. Do you know who he might get?”

“No,” she shakes her head.

Daisy walks into the kitchen. Clark and [Y/N] immediately stop their conversation. Daisy glances between the both adults. She notices [Y/N]’s sullen expression.

“Is everything okay Mommy?” Daisy asks, looking straight at [Y/N], who is trying to look away and wipe her tears.

“Yeah, I just smashed my finger, but I’m all good,” she turns back around and gives Daisy a tight smile, “dinner will be ready soon.”

“Okay, can you help me finish my coloring please?” She asks [Y/N].

“Clark can help you color while I finish dinner,” she tells Daisy.

“Oh, but I wanted you to help me please,” she pleaded.

[Y/N] notices the pleading look in Daisy’s eyes. She turns to Clark, “do you mind finishing up dinner?”

“Yeah of course,” she smiles at her.

[Y/N] takes Daisy’s hand and leads her to the living room. She sat on the floor with Daisy and colored with her.

“I like when you color with me mommy,” Daisy says, smiling at her.

“Me too,” [Y/N] smiles back at her.

[Y/N] ponders over what Bucky had told her regarding Daisy. She looks over at her young daughter.

She starts to realize that she has been a bit MIA when it comes to solo quality time with Daisy.

Then when she really starts to think about it all, she never truly asked Daisy what she thinks about the whole situation with her and Clark getting married.

Before she can ask Daisy anything, Clark walks out of the kitchen.

“Dinner’s ready,” he smiles.

“Daisy, can you go wash your hands please,” [Y/N] tells her.

Daisy scurries off, as Clark and [Y/N] go set the table.

“I have a lawyer friend that can meet with us tomorrow,” he tells her, “does that work for you?”

“Yeah, it does. Thank you again,” she smiles.

___________________________

“Why aren’t you taking me to ballet?” Daisy asks [Y/N] through the mirror, while [Y/N] does her hair in a bun.

“I have a very important meeting,” she tells him, “But Grandma and Grandpa are going to take you. Isn’t that going to be fun?”

“I guess,” Daisy sighed.

“I promise when I get home, we can go get ice cream, okay?” [Y/N] tells her, hoping it would cheer her up.

She really hates that she’s going to miss Daisy’s ballet class, especially since it’s her weekend. After last night she’s been stuck with this gut feeling that she is neglecting Daisy a bit too much the last couple of months. But Clark was able to get this last minute meeting with a lawyer, so she feels obligated to go. Especially if Bucky might be threatening to get full custody of Daisy.

“Okay,” Daisy forced a smile.

Before [Y/N] could say anything else the doorbell rang.

“Grandma and Grandpa are here,” Clark called out.

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” Daisy nodded her head, and hopped down from her stool and walked out of the restroom with [Y/N] following her.

[Y/N] and Clark walk Daisy and [Y/N]’s parents out, before they all go their separate ways.

Clark and [Y/N] make their way into the heart of Manhattan. They stopped at a nice big building, and made their way up to the Prince Law offices.

The elevator doors open and they’re greeted by a slick modern looking law office.

“Hi, we’re here to see Miss Diana Prince,” Clark tells the receptionist.

She points them in the direction of Prince’s office.

As they walk in the direction, they’re immediately greeted by a young redhead outside of Diana Prince’s office.

“Clark Kent, do my eyes deceive me?” The young gorgeous redhead greeted him.

“Hello Barbara,” he smiled and greeted her with a hug, “It’s been awhile.”

“You don’t say,” she says, subtly trying to check him out.

[Y/N] notices the way Barbara checks out an oblivious Clark. She couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward. Almost like she shouldn’t be there.

[Y/N] hasn’t really met too many of Clark’s friends. Whenever she would ask about his friends, he would simply say how they’re always out of town, most of them being journalists like himself. She didn’t think too much of it, until this very moment.

“Barbara, this is my fiancé [Y/F/N]. [Y/N] this is Barbara Gordon, she’s Diana’s assistant,” Clark introduces the women.

“So you’re the lucky lady that gets to call Clark your’s,” she teases.

“I guess so,” [Y/N] says, forcing a smile, and trying not to show her discomfort.

“Let me tell Diana you guys are here,” Barbara steps away from the couple to go check on Diana.

“Isn’t she nice?” Clark asks [Y/N], his hand on around her waist. He looks down at her and smiles brightly, completely oblivious to her discomfort.

“Yeah, she seems very nice,” she forced.

“Clark Kent,” they heard a voice announce from in front of them.

[Y/N] looked to be greeted by the most gorgeous woman she’s ever seen. If Barbara made her feel some sort of way, Diana had her replaying every ounce of insecurity she’s ever felt about herself.

How the hell does Clark know all these gorgeous women, she thought.

“Diana,” Clark’s voice boomed, letting go of [Y/N] to hug the Amazonian woman.

“Thank-you so much for seeing us on such short notice,” he says as they pull apart.

“Anything for an old friend,” she smiled, and turned her head towards [Y/N], “and you must be the future Mrs. Clark Kent.”

“Hi Miss Prince, I’m [Y/F/N],” [Y/N] awkwardly holds out her hand.

“Please call me Diana,” she smiles, shaking [Y/N]’s hand, “Come on in you two.”

They walk into the sleek, all white office, with windows lining up the wall behind Diana’s office.

Clark pulls out the chair for [Y/N] to sit across from Diana’s desk.

“I see you’re still ever just the gentleman,” Diana comments, which causes Clark to blush.

[Y/N] catches the way Diana causes Clark to blush.

Diana sits at her desk, with her laptop open. Barbara grabs a seat next to Diana, with a notepad and pen.

“Do you guys need anything? Water? Coffee? Tea?” Barbara asks them.

“No, we’re good,” [Y/N] says, just wanting to jump into everything.

“Okay, perfect. Let’s begin,” Diana smiled at [Y/N].

[Y/N] could tell Diana was trying her best to be comforting, but she couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

“So Clark mentioned that your ex is planning on suing for custody?” Diana says.

“He’s not my ex,” [Y/N] clarifies.

“Oh, okay,” Diana says, Barbara jots something down.

“He’s one of my best friends,” [Y/N] explains, “we have known each other since high school. We slept together once, and Daisy was the result of that.”

“Okay. How old is your daughter?”

“She just turned four on January 1st.”

“Ah a New Year’s baby. How cute,” Diana smiles.

“So, you and,” Diana pauses for a name.

“James Barnes,” [Y/N] tells her.

Barbara and Diana pause at the mention of Bucky’s name.

“James Barnes?” Barbara asks.

“Yes,” [Y/N] nods her head.

“As in James Buchanan Barnes? From Stark and Rhodes?” Diana asks.

“Yeah,” [Y/N] says, not getting the hesitation between the women.

“Is there a problem?” Clark asks.

“No, of course not,” Diana shakes her head, “This just probably won’t be as simple as we thought.”

“Why is that?”

“Well not only is James Barnes one of the best lawyers in the state. Stark and Rhodes’ family law attorneys are some of the best,” Barbara says, “assuming that’s who’s going to represent him.”

“No worries though,” Diana reassures them, “We are just as good as they are. And we’ll do everything in our power to make sure you don’t lose custody.”

“Now do you know who Bucky got to represent him?” Diana asks.

“No, I’m just assuming it’s one of his co-workers,” [Y/N] says.

“Okay. Perfect. So just ase on our experience and what we know about Stark and Rhodes, their top family law attorneys are Pepper Potts, Loki Odinson-Maximoff,”

“You can probably scratch Loki off that list,” [Y/N] says, cutting Diana off.

“Why is that?” Diana asks.

“Loki is part of our friend group. He’s one of our best friends, practically family. We’ve all known each other since college,” [Y/N] informs her.

“You don’t think Loki would help James out?” Diana asks, not convinced.

“I don’t see our friends really getting in the middle of it,” [Y/N] says, “Well maybe one of our friends. She also works at Stark and Rhodes. Natasha Romanoff.”

“Natasha Romanoff?” Diana asks.

“Yeah, she’s been very vocal about her dislike of our engagement,” [Y/N] says, pointing to herself and Clark, “we haven’t spoken since New Year’s day.”

“Okay,” Diana nods, making a note of that on her laptop, “Natasha is more of a criminal defense lawyer, but do you think she’d be willing to help Bucky?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“Okay then,” Diana nods, “we’ll make some calls and figure out who is representing him.”

“So [Y/N], what exactly do you want from this custody arrangement?” Diana asks.

“Honestly, I like the way things are between us. One week on, one week off. Every other year for holidays,” she tells Diana.

“Well don’t you guys typically spend the holidays together?” Clark carefully intervenes.

“What do you mean?” [Y/N] asks him.

“I mean you told me that in the past you and James normally spend Christmas Eve and morning together with each other’s families,” he says.

“Oh well, yeah,” she turns back to Diana, “Daisy is the only grandchild on both sides, so neither group of grandparents want to miss out. Plus Daisy loves having both James and I together during Christmas. So yeah James and I spend Christmas Eve and day together, swapping between our families.”

“And you want to keep it like that?” Diana asks.

“It is nice that we both don’t have to miss out on the holidays,” she says, then turns to Clark, “Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not,” Clark shakes his head, “but what about when we go visit my mom for the holidays? Is James going to come around for that as well?”

“Oh, I didn’t really think of that,” she says, “I always forget that not everyone grew up here. But, um no, I suppose James won’t but we can just visit your mom on the years I don’t have Daisy.”

“Okay,” he nods his head, wanting to say more but he stops himself. Figuring this isn’t a conversation to have in front of Diana and Barbara.

[Y/N] could tell Clark wanted to say more, but decided not to push him on it. At least not until they were in private.

“Okay,” Diana clears her throat, sensing the tension, “so we can do the normal 50/50 child custody agreement. One week on, one week off. Holidays and birthdays every other year. You both have joint custody in regards to her education and medical needs. I can draft up a custody agreement proposal for you and you can tell me what you like slash don’t like. What you want added, etcetera. How does that sound?”

“Perfect,” [Y/N] nods her head, giving Diana a tight lip smile.

“Perfect,” Diana repeats, “I can have this emailed to you ASAP, so we can get this sent over to Bucky’s lawyer, once we find out who it is.”

“Thank-you so much Diana,” [Y/N] thanks her.

“No worries,” Diana says, getting up from her chair, the rest of the room follows suit, “I’m just glad to help.”

Diana and Barbara walk Clark and [Y/N] to the elevator doors, bidding them a goodbye.

“Do you think she knows that Clark,” Barbara begins.

“Used to be a massive playboy?” Diana finishes for her, “And that he’s had relations with the both of us? Doubt it.”

They begin to walk back to their office. Diana pauses.

“But Barbara, it isn't our place to tell her. That was over a year ago,” Diana tells her, “so let’s please keep this professional. She seems like a lovely lady, and Clark clearly adores her. It’s very reminiscent of how he was with Lois.”

“Before she walked out and left him with just a note,” Barbara says.

“Again, it isn’t our business,” Diana tells her, opening up her office door, “let’s just help her not lose custody of her daughter.”

“You know this isn’t going to be easy right? Especially if he has Natasha Romanoff helping him,” Barbara states.

“Oh I know,” Diana sighs, “but this can be our moment to prove that we can beat Natasha Romanoff.”

___________

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Cc: [email protected]

Subject: Regarding [Y/F/N]’s potential custody battle with James Buchanan Barnes

Good Afternoon Mrs. Romanoff,

Hopefully I’m not catching you at a bad time. I am writing you this afternoon to inquire about a possible custody case you might be a part of.

Today I had a meeting with [Y/F/N] and her fiancé Clark Kent, regarding some concerns with her custody agreement with a James Buchanan Barnes. It seems that James contacted [Y/N] yesterday in regards to their custody agreement, and wanting to potentially take full custody of their daughter Daisy Barnes. [Y/N] mentioned that he might already have a lawyer, and I’m just trying to figure out who that lawyer might be. Your name was brought up as a contender for that. You and I both know that you’re not a family law attorney, but seeing as there is a lot of history between you three, I thought I might email you and ask, if you are representing James Barnes in this custody battle.

If you can please respond as soon as you can, it will be a great help with us so we can get this custody agreement going in the right direction. Would hate for their child to suffer a horrible custody battle.

Best Regards,

Diana Prince.

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