Dick Is Trying His Best - Tumblr Posts
I imagine it'd be right before Damian shows up. Suddenly, Bruce has a feral assassin child and a mystery toddler under his care and is not coping well. This man is stressed. God bless Alfred because he wouldn't be keeping it together without him.
It starts off really rocky. Danny's clearly traumatised from something, severely touch-starved and very clingy. Damian is prone to trying to kill his siblings and so closed off from how he was raised that they're like polar opposites. Not to mention how young they are. Danny's too young to even start self-defence classes, let alone know about their nightly activities.
Jason hates Bruce, but he misses Alfred and wants to look out for Damian and Danny because he's worried Bruce will ruin them. Besides, he may have never met Damian, but Talia spoke of him plenty. He can't help but feel a little protective of the guy.
So he comes to the manor. He tries to time it for when Bruce will be out and avoids Tim like he's contagious. He's brilliant with Danny. Danny feels something's familiar about him but can't place it so he's just extra curious about him. Damian is thankful Jason doesn't treat him like a kid or ridicule him for being a killer, though he'd never admit it.
Tim doesn't feel like he's part of the family. Damian tried to kill him, he's not Robin anymore, and there's two new little kids running about for everyone to focus on. It's like he doesn't exist. So he keeps to himself, running himself ragged working away with basically no supervision.
Dick is just trying to be a good big brother and keep everyone and himself together. It's not his fault he forgets to check up on Tim. He's stressed and exhausted and trying to be everywhere at once.
Cut to, Bruce "dies". Everyone sort of splits up. Tim is alone, naturally, Dick and Damian slot into place at each other's sides, and Jason is busy dealing with a bunch of unresolved trauma and being a crime boss. Alfred tries his best, but it's impossible for him to upkeep the manor and look after a five-year-old kid all at once.
So Danny's alone. Bruce died and everyone left. It wasn't purposeful, obviously, but everyone sort of assumed someone else would look after him and they've never been great at communicating with each other. Danny's confused. He knows ghosts are real, so why is everyone so sad Bruce is dead? He's not gone forever.
He's also so, so lonely. He got used to being actually cared for, and suddenly that care is gone. He becomes very quiet, drawing into himself and wandering the silent manor all alone. Damian and Tim still live with him but they're doing their own things, busy with their lives. They don't have time for him. Danny doesn't try to reach out.
Tim is convinced Bruce is alive. He's exhausting every avenue he can think of, distancing himself from everyone even further in the process. No one notices, because why would they? He's not resentful or anything. Just resigned.
And then Danny and Tim cross paths in the manor. Danny's crying because he's scared and no one's around. Was it something he did? Tim sees little Danny who he's barely interacted with one-on-one crying in a communal space and awkwardly tries to cheer him up. After that Danny attaches himself to Tim's side.
Tim's not sure how to treat him, but he tries to be a good brother. Alfred seems happy they're spending time together (and Tim's realising how overworked the poor man has been) and Danny's soaking up his affection like he's never known love in his life. It's familiar. He sees himself in Danny.
So he can't turn him away.
Danny and Tim become really close. Tim rambles to him about his theories, assuming Danny wouldn't understand because he's so young, and Danny doesn't get all of it but he believes Tim wholeheartedly. His input even helps pull Tim out spirals several times. Having someone, even if it's a five-year-old, believe him does wonders for Tim's psyche.
Tim was ready to kill himself to get Bruce back. That was his job; be Bruce's guardian. But suddenly there's a toddler who follows him around and looks at him like he hung the stars, listening to every word he says with wide, trusting eyes, and Tim can't just leave him alone. So he's less reckless. Just as determined, of course, but no longer downright suicidal.
Tim gets involved with the League. He's absolutely ruthless. You know how it went in the comics (with him blowing up bases)? Yeah, well it's worse now. Tim has to get back home to Danny. He can't trade his life for Bruce's or spend a long time away. He speeds up his plans and leaves an even bigger lasting impression as a result. Who cares about his kill count? Most of the family has one.
Yadda yadda, Bruce is back. Everyone slowly comes together again, and are surprised to see how close Danny and Tim are. They ask about how it happened. Danny says after everyone left when Bruce died Tim still loved him, which leads to realisations all around about how they've taken Tim for granted and sort of abandoned him and Danny.
This leads to them being an even better family. They all put in an effort to be there, especially for Tim and Danny. Tim is unused to people caring about him, and thinks it's temporary. Everyone goes out of their way to prove it's not. (Well, except Jason, who still has to be sort of dragged into family events and such.)
EDIT: it cut off my tags so let me include
Tim gets Danny a really fancy telescope for his birthday and Danny is over the moon. This causes Bruce to realise he doesn't know his kids' interests and stalks them to find out what they like because he can't communicate like a normal person.
Dick gets Danny a star teddy and Danny carries it around everywhere.
Danny is super affectionate. He says "I love you" and initiates hugs and so on. This leads to everyone else saying "I love you" back and it becomes normalised to just say "I love you" to each other whenever.
Tim has a panic attack the first time Bruce says he loves him. He assumes Bruce has been possessed or replaced or something. It takes a lot to talk him out of it. Bruce has a lot of realisations about his shitty parenting as a result.
Basically, Danny makes the family less dysfunctional by just existing.
Danny doesn't want to be a vigilante or hero and cries when he finds out his family are. He wants to be an astronaut so bad. Bruce is so relieved.
Danny still has his powers he's just hiding them because it's what he knows to do.
Cujo shows up and none of the bats can figure out what he is (a ghost) but deem him a non-threat and let Danny keep him as a pet following lots of pleading.
DC X DP - DeAged
The Nasty Burger explosion took a lot from Danny.
Stopping Dan meant nothing when Danny lost everything. His friends, his parents, his sister, his teacher - all gone. Danny, desperate to not become Dan, fled. He would not let Vlad destroy the only thing he had left; himself. He didn't turn human again if he could avoid it. Let Danny Fenton die with his family.
He did what he could, trying to keep it all together. Avoid Vlad. Catch havoc-wreaking ghosts. Try to not have a panic attack every time he saw his reflection. FentonWorks became out-of-bounds. No one was sure how to turn off the portal or any of the house's defence mechanisms so it was taped up instead.
Danny kept the GIW away. They wanted his parents' research, even if they had to bend the law to get it. Danny would not let them have it. Never.
But the GIW was persistent and Danny weak from nearly two months of being Phantom and nothing else. He was so tired. Tired from grieving, from fighting, from wandering around, completely lost and alone.
The GIW got a lucky shot in. Danny went down. He woke up, still ghost, somewhere white. He'd trained himself not to have to turn back. He was grateful he did.
The GIW studied him. Danny did not have the energy to fight back. The will to survive. Curled up in his cell, bloody and becoming less human with every passing day, Clockwork finally intervened.
He could not let the future High King wither away into nothing.
With Nocturn's help, he whisked him away. His world was dying anyway. With no one to maintain the portal, it would soon overload and explode. The radiation would kill all life on Earth, leaving nothing behind, and taking with it the potential for new life. One world among infinite realities meant nothing. But Danny, as High King, is a singularity. A unique existence, only found in one reality. Clockwork, for the sake of everything that lives and dies, could not let Danny fade away.
Danny slept at the Far Frozen, dreaming of his family, his friends, and the stars he would one day rule over. He healed, wounds knitting together into scars and fractured core slowly, ever so slowly, repairing itself. A future Ancient, bound to protect all that is and will be, was bound to be very badly hurt from such a loss.
Clockwork only wished he could have done more, but to remove Danny too early would have spelt disaster worse than the deaths of billions. This boy would someday be someone he'd proudly call his grandson. Seeing that future alone was enough to make his own core ache for the young one.
The Infinite Realms wept for its child, still but a babe yet having suffered so much. It embraced its future King, blessing him with its loyalty and adoration. The ghosts of the realms, spread far and wide over distant realities, timelines and worlds, felt the loss too.
Danny healed, unaware of how loved and precious he was to so many - how far he was from alone. The dead's sudden quiet unsettled many. Enemies froze in the silent mourning, animosity forgotten. Raging wars came to abrupt ends. So many, unable to bear the ever-reaching, unidentifiable pain in the air killed themselves. Good, kind people cried alone.
Magic users, like Constantine and Zatanna, hid, waiting out the Infinite Realm's despair for its child. No one spoke of it, for fear of disrespecting the dimension between dimensions. But they hid, and they waited, and they couldn't help but worry for themselves and everything and everyone else.
Danny got a lot of visitors. Ancients, regular ghosts, crowded around his bed, gifting him blessings and support. Danny slept, he healed, and his world died, taking with it all he'd known. He wouldn't remember or know of any of this when he woke - even the memories of his pleasant dreams will have left him. He'll awaken and think himself entirely alone.
But he'll know, someday.
Clockwork will make sure of it.
---
Danny doesn't know where he is or who he is.
He has a vague idea. His name. His life and his death. But so much is so distant, like impressions on sand, washed away by the ocean. He knows he should be bigger. He knows this isn't home. He knows there is no home anymore.
He knows there are people he misses, but he doesn't know who they are or where they've gone. He knows so little yet so much. White walls and orange hair, green (toxic, writhing green) and hazmat suits, white and black and orange and blue. Expensive, Packers-branded cologne, burning flesh, the scream of an alarm and laughter and fear and hope and love and pain and loss. Disjointed flashes, snippets of another life.
And this isn't familiar - this city and these people. These crowded, filthy streets aren't home, but there's no home anymore so of course they aren't. And maybe Danny should be afraid. He doesn't know where he is, or how he got here. There are people, so tall, walking around him not sparing him a glance. It's loud and smelly and so much to process all at once.
But Danny doesn't care because he's so tired, and he wants nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep the day away. But he doesn't have a home, so obviously he doesn't have a bed either. He looks around for somewhere else to sleep, rubbing at his chest subconsciously as he does.
There, a building, on the other side of the road. The windows are tinted, but the doors open and Danny, through the crowds and passing traffic, catches a glimpse of what has to be a couch. Maybe the people that own the building will let him sleep on their couch for a little bit.
So he crosses the street, sticking close to the legs of some lady with skinny heels that go tap-tap-tap so the cars don't go because they can't see him. The lady turns to go a different way after but it's okay because Danny is in front of the building now.
He pushes the door open and slips inside. It's quieter inside, and warmer. Danny wasn't cold outside but in here there's a nice heat that makes him feel even sleepier. He looks around at the fancy chairs and potted plants and lights, and is happy to see there are couches. Long couches, with lots of pillows and space for him to spread out.
He walks up to the desk. He's too short to see over it, and it makes him kind of angry because he's sure he's supposed to be taller. But he figures maybe he remembers wrong because people don't just shrink. Except, he's a halfa so maybe ghosts do?
"Hello?"
There's a lady here too, behind the desk, but unlike the one he followed across the street she has short, curly hair. Danny wonders if she's wearing skinny heels too. Leaning his head back, he can see her look up, glance around, and then look back down.
Danny pouts. Did she not see him?
"Hello?"
He waves an arm this time, reaching as high as he can to catch her attention. She finally sees him, eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, sorry! Hello." She has a nice voice.
"Your voice is pretty."
She smiles, and Danny decides her smile is nice too. "Why thank you. You have a pretty voice too. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Can I please sleep on your couch? Just for a little bit."
"Of course you can. Would you like a blanket? I could fetch one for you from the staff room."
Danny shakes his head. "I'm okay. Thank you."
"Alright. But if you change your mind, do tell me."
"You're very nice."
"Thank you, but it's really no problem. Not much to do today anyway."
"You should sleep too then. Sleep is good."
She giggles. "That is a very good idea. I just might take your advice." Danny nods. He has lots of good ideas. "Okay. I'm gonna' go nap now. Bye-bye."
"Sleep well."
There are a few couches, and for a bit Danny's not sure which one to sleep on. He chooses the one with the most pillows. It's very comfy, and the pillows are nice too. He puts one under his head and hugs another, curling up around it. He falls asleep in seconds.
-
When a toddler with black and blue eyes asked to sleep on one of the couches on in the reception hall of Wayne enterprises, May had assumed he was one of Bruce's boys. He certainly fit the type Gotham's favourite playboy liked to adopt, and it wasn't unusual for his wards to show up out of the blue.
Once she found Tim Drake passed out on the floor under her desk. Apparently, he'd been hiding from Dick who was visiting from Blüdhaven and forgot to bring his coffee with him, consequently falling asleep while he waited for her to arrive so he could ask her to go pick some up for him. That had been an interesting Thursday morning.
On another memorable occasion, Cass, Bruce's only official daughter, and her girlfriend Steph had shown up, said hi, went upstairs, then came back down after about an hour, giggling as they ran out with a wave goodbye. Not even ten minutes later, Bruce himself stumbled out of the elevator, absolutely covered in purple glitter. May remembers raising an eyebrow and asking if Bruce wanted her to have another suit brought in.
He'd ended up collapsing on one of the couches with an exhausted sigh, and said he'd have Alfred pick him up instead. He left a sparkly trail behind him when he walked, and the couch he sat on had to be replaced because, even after numerous cleaning attempts, no one could get the glitter out. He had glitter in his hair for months afterwards.
So, May hadn't bat an eye when the little boy came in. Well aware Bruce had several meetings scheduled that day, she sent him an email saying one of his kids was taking a nap in the reception hall and resolved to look out for the boy herself. Throughout the day, she made sure to check on him often, making sure no one picked him up ran (this was Gotham after all).
He slept soundly for most of her work day, barely shifting. She ended up putting a blanket on him herself during her lunch break and leaving him a water bottle and little snack for when he woke up. She also made sure security kept an eye on him whenever she left for whatever reason.
It was well into the afternoon when Bruce finally replied to her email and asked if his kid was still sleeping downstairs. She said yes, and not long after he arrived on the ground level. He walked up to her desk and asked if his kid had caused her any trouble. She smiled and assured him no.
Then Bruce asked where Tim was.
"Sorry? Tim isn't here today."
Bruce frowned, looking just as confused as she felt. "My apologies. You said one of my wards was asleep here. I assumed it was Tim."
"Oh! No, no, it's not Tim. Well, I don't actually know his name but the little guy has been here since this morning." She gestured to the toddler in question.
Bruce turned around, saw him, and frowned. "He's not one of mine."
"He's not?"
"No. Are you sure he's not an employee's child?" He kept his eyes on the boy, eyes narrowed in thought.
"Yes, I am. Only three employees brought in their children today, and all of them are ten or above. He can't be older than five." She frowned now too, turning to her computer to double check. "I'll send out a company-wide email to be sure. I should have done this sooner. I'm sorry, I was just so sure he was under your care."
"It's alright, May. I'm not upset. I'm just worried about him. When about in the morning did he get here?"
She glanced up, but Bruce was still looking at the sleeping boy. "A little after nine."
"And he's been sleeping all that time?"
"Yes, as far as I'm aware."
"Alright. Thank you for looking after him. I'll take it from here."
"Of course, sir. I'll reach out to you if anyone identifies him."
He nodded appreciatively and walked over to the boy. She watched, frustrated with herself. She's worked as one of Wayne Enterprise's receptionists for over four years. She should have known better than to just assume some random, black haired blue eyed child was Bruce's kid. She should have at least reached out to make sure that was the case.
She sighed as Bruce knelt down by the couch and gently shook the little boy awake, resting her head in the palm of her hand. This poor child. His poor parents. They must be worried sick.
She has to make this right.
---
I imagine it'd be right before Damian shows up. Suddenly, Bruce has a feral assassin child and a mystery toddler under his care and is not coping well. This man is stressed. God bless Alfred because he wouldn't be keeping it together without him.
It starts off really rocky. Danny's clearly traumatised from something, severely touch-starved and very clingy. Damian is prone to trying to kill his siblings and so closed off from how he was raised that they're like polar opposites. Not to mention how young they are. Danny's too young to even start self-defence classes, let alone know about their nightly activities.
Jason hates Bruce, but he misses Alfred and wants to look out for Damian and Danny because he's worried Bruce will ruin them. Besides, he may have never met Damian, but Talia spoke of him plenty. He can't help but feel a little protective of the guy.
So he comes to the manor. He tries to time it for when Bruce will be out and avoids Tim like he's contagious. He's brilliant with Danny. Danny feels something's familiar about him but can't place it so he's just extra curious about him. Damian is thankful Jason doesn't treat him like a kid or ridicule him for being a killer, though he'd never admit it.
Tim doesn't feel like he's part of the family. Damian tried to kill him, he's not Robin anymore, and there's two new little kids running about for everyone to focus on. It's like he doesn't exist. So he keeps to himself, running himself ragged working away with basically no supervision.
Dick is just trying to be a good big brother and keep everyone and himself together. It's not his fault he forgets to check up on Tim. He's stressed and exhausted and trying to be everywhere at once.
Cut to, Bruce "dies". Everyone sort of splits up. Tim is alone, naturally, Dick and Damian slot into place at each other's sides, and Jason is busy dealing with a bunch of unresolved trauma and being a crime boss. Alfred tries his best, but it's impossible for him to upkeep the manor and look after a five-year-old kid all at once.
So Danny's alone. Bruce died and everyone left. It wasn't purposeful, obviously, but everyone sort of assumed someone else would look after him and they've never been great at communicating with each other. Danny's confused. He knows ghosts are real, so why is everyone so sad Bruce is dead? He's not gone forever.
He's also so, so lonely. He got used to being actually cared for, and suddenly that care is gone. He becomes very quiet, drawing into himself and wandering the silent manor all alone. Damian and Tim still live with him but they're doing their own things, busy with their lives. They don't have time for him. Danny doesn't try to reach out.
Tim is convinced Bruce is alive. He's exhausting every avenue he can think of, distancing himself from everyone even further in the process. No one notices, because why would they? He's not resentful or anything. Just resigned.
And then Danny and Tim cross paths in the manor. Danny's crying because he's scared and no one's around. Was it something he did? Tim sees little Danny who he's barely interacted with one-on-one crying in a communal space and awkwardly tries to cheer him up. After that Danny attaches himself to Tim's side.
Tim's not sure how to treat him, but he tries to be a good brother. Alfred seems happy they're spending time together (and Tim's realising how overworked the poor man has been) and Danny's soaking up his affection like he's never known love in his life. It's familiar. He sees himself in Danny.
So he can't turn him away.
Danny and Tim become really close. Tim rambles to him about his theories, assuming Danny wouldn't understand because he's so young, and Danny doesn't get all of it but he believes Tim wholeheartedly. His input even helps pull Tim out spirals several times. Having someone, even if it's a five-year-old, believe him does wonders for Tim's psyche.
Tim was ready to kill himself to get Bruce back. That was his job; be Bruce's guardian. But suddenly there's a toddler who follows him around and looks at him like he hung the stars, listening to every word he says with wide, trusting eyes, and Tim can't just leave him alone. So he's less reckless. Just as determined, of course, but no longer downright suicidal.
Tim gets involved with the League. He's absolutely ruthless. You know how it went in the comics (with him blowing up bases)? Yeah, well it's worse now. Tim has to get back home to Danny. He can't trade his life for Bruce's or spend a long time away. He speeds up his plans and leaves an even bigger lasting impression as a result. Who cares about his kill count? Most of the family has one.
Yadda yadda, Bruce is back. Everyone slowly comes together again, and are surprised to see how close Danny and Tim are. They ask about how it happened. Danny says after everyone left when Bruce died Tim still loved him, which leads to realisations all around about how they've taken Tim for granted and sort of abandoned him and Danny.
This leads to them being an even better family. They all put in an effort to be there, especially for Tim and Danny. Tim is unused to people caring about him, and thinks it's temporary. Everyone goes out of their way to prove it's not. (Well, except Jason, who still has to be sort of dragged into family events and such.)
EDIT: it cut off my tags so let me include
Tim gets Danny a really fancy telescope for his birthday and Danny is over the moon. This causes Bruce to realise he doesn't know his kids' interests and stalks them to find out what they like because he can't communicate like a normal person.
Dick gets Danny a star teddy and Danny carries it around everywhere.
Danny is super affectionate. He says "I love you" and initiates hugs and so on. This leads to everyone else saying "I love you" back and it becomes normalised to just say "I love you" to each other whenever.
Tim has a panic attack the first time Bruce says he loves him. He assumes Bruce has been possessed or replaced or something. It takes a lot to talk him out of it. Bruce has a lot of realisations about his shitty parenting as a result.
Basically, Danny makes the family less dysfunctional by just existing.
Danny doesn't want to be a vigilante or hero and cries when he finds out his family are. He wants to be an astronaut so bad. Bruce is so relieved.
Danny still has his powers he's just hiding them because it's what he knows to do.
Cujo shows up and none of the bats can figure out what he is (a ghost) but deem him a non-threat and let Danny keep him as a pet following lots of pleading.
DC X DP - DeAged
The Nasty Burger explosion took a lot from Danny.
Stopping Dan meant nothing when Danny lost everything. His friends, his parents, his sister, his teacher - all gone. Danny, desperate to not become Dan, fled. He would not let Vlad destroy the only thing he had left; himself. He didn't turn human again if he could avoid it. Let Danny Fenton die with his family.
He did what he could, trying to keep it all together. Avoid Vlad. Catch havoc-wreaking ghosts. Try to not have a panic attack every time he saw his reflection. FentonWorks became out-of-bounds. No one was sure how to turn off the portal or any of the house's defence mechanisms so it was taped up instead.
Danny kept the GIW away. They wanted his parents' research, even if they had to bend the law to get it. Danny would not let them have it. Never.
But the GIW was persistent and Danny weak from nearly two months of being Phantom and nothing else. He was so tired. Tired from grieving, from fighting, from wandering around, completely lost and alone.
The GIW got a lucky shot in. Danny went down. He woke up, still ghost, somewhere white. He'd trained himself not to have to turn back. He was grateful he did.
The GIW studied him. Danny did not have the energy to fight back. The will to survive. Curled up in his cell, bloody and becoming less human with every passing day, Clockwork finally intervened.
He could not let the future High King wither away into nothing.
With Nocturn's help, he whisked him away. His world was dying anyway. With no one to maintain the portal, it would soon overload and explode. The radiation would kill all life on Earth, leaving nothing behind, and taking with it the potential for new life. One world among infinite realities meant nothing. But Danny, as High King, is a singularity. A unique existence, only found in one reality. Clockwork, for the sake of everything that lives and dies, could not let Danny fade away.
Danny slept at the Far Frozen, dreaming of his family, his friends, and the stars he would one day rule over. He healed, wounds knitting together into scars and fractured core slowly, ever so slowly, repairing itself. A future Ancient, bound to protect all that is and will be, was bound to be very badly hurt from such a loss.
Clockwork only wished he could have done more, but to remove Danny too early would have spelt disaster worse than the deaths of billions. This boy would someday be someone he'd proudly call his grandson. Seeing that future alone was enough to make his own core ache for the young one.
The Infinite Realms wept for its child, still but a babe yet having suffered so much. It embraced its future King, blessing him with its loyalty and adoration. The ghosts of the realms, spread far and wide over distant realities, timelines and worlds, felt the loss too.
Danny healed, unaware of how loved and precious he was to so many - how far he was from alone. The dead's sudden quiet unsettled many. Enemies froze in the silent mourning, animosity forgotten. Raging wars came to abrupt ends. So many, unable to bear the ever-reaching, unidentifiable pain in the air killed themselves. Good, kind people cried alone.
Magic users, like Constantine and Zatanna, hid, waiting out the Infinite Realm's despair for its child. No one spoke of it, for fear of disrespecting the dimension between dimensions. But they hid, and they waited, and they couldn't help but worry for themselves and everything and everyone else.
Danny got a lot of visitors. Ancients, regular ghosts, crowded around his bed, gifting him blessings and support. Danny slept, he healed, and his world died, taking with it all he'd known. He wouldn't remember or know of any of this when he woke - even the memories of his pleasant dreams will have left him. He'll awaken and think himself entirely alone.
But he'll know, someday.
Clockwork will make sure of it.
---
Danny doesn't know where he is or who he is.
He has a vague idea. His name. His life and his death. But so much is so distant, like impressions on sand, washed away by the ocean. He knows he should be bigger. He knows this isn't home. He knows there is no home anymore.
He knows there are people he misses, but he doesn't know who they are or where they've gone. He knows so little yet so much. White walls and orange hair, green (toxic, writhing green) and hazmat suits, white and black and orange and blue. Expensive, Packers-branded cologne, burning flesh, the scream of an alarm and laughter and fear and hope and love and pain and loss. Disjointed flashes, snippets of another life.
And this isn't familiar - this city and these people. These crowded, filthy streets aren't home, but there's no home anymore so of course they aren't. And maybe Danny should be afraid. He doesn't know where he is, or how he got here. There are people, so tall, walking around him not sparing him a glance. It's loud and smelly and so much to process all at once.
But Danny doesn't care because he's so tired, and he wants nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep the day away. But he doesn't have a home, so obviously he doesn't have a bed either. He looks around for somewhere else to sleep, rubbing at his chest subconsciously as he does.
There, a building, on the other side of the road. The windows are tinted, but the doors open and Danny, through the crowds and passing traffic, catches a glimpse of what has to be a couch. Maybe the people that own the building will let him sleep on their couch for a little bit.
So he crosses the street, sticking close to the legs of some lady with skinny heels that go tap-tap-tap so the cars don't go because they can't see him. The lady turns to go a different way after but it's okay because Danny is in front of the building now.
He pushes the door open and slips inside. It's quieter inside, and warmer. Danny wasn't cold outside but in here there's a nice heat that makes him feel even sleepier. He looks around at the fancy chairs and potted plants and lights, and is happy to see there are couches. Long couches, with lots of pillows and space for him to spread out.
He walks up to the desk. He's too short to see over it, and it makes him kind of angry because he's sure he's supposed to be taller. But he figures maybe he remembers wrong because people don't just shrink. Except, he's a halfa so maybe ghosts do?
"Hello?"
There's a lady here too, behind the desk, but unlike the one he followed across the street she has short, curly hair. Danny wonders if she's wearing skinny heels too. Leaning his head back, he can see her look up, glance around, and then look back down.
Danny pouts. Did she not see him?
"Hello?"
He waves an arm this time, reaching as high as he can to catch her attention. She finally sees him, eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, sorry! Hello." She has a nice voice.
"Your voice is pretty."
She smiles, and Danny decides her smile is nice too. "Why thank you. You have a pretty voice too. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Can I please sleep on your couch? Just for a little bit."
"Of course you can. Would you like a blanket? I could fetch one for you from the staff room."
Danny shakes his head. "I'm okay. Thank you."
"Alright. But if you change your mind, do tell me."
"You're very nice."
"Thank you, but it's really no problem. Not much to do today anyway."
"You should sleep too then. Sleep is good."
She giggles. "That is a very good idea. I just might take your advice." Danny nods. He has lots of good ideas. "Okay. I'm gonna' go nap now. Bye-bye."
"Sleep well."
There are a few couches, and for a bit Danny's not sure which one to sleep on. He chooses the one with the most pillows. It's very comfy, and the pillows are nice too. He puts one under his head and hugs another, curling up around it. He falls asleep in seconds.
-
When a toddler with black and blue eyes asked to sleep on one of the couches on in the reception hall of Wayne enterprises, May had assumed he was one of Bruce's boys. He certainly fit the type Gotham's favourite playboy liked to adopt, and it wasn't unusual for his wards to show up out of the blue.
Once she found Tim Drake passed out on the floor under her desk. Apparently, he'd been hiding from Dick who was visiting from Blüdhaven and forgot to bring his coffee with him, consequently falling asleep while he waited for her to arrive so he could ask her to go pick some up for him. That had been an interesting Thursday morning.
On another memorable occasion, Cass, Bruce's only official daughter, and her girlfriend Steph had shown up, said hi, went upstairs, then came back down after about an hour, giggling as they ran out with a wave goodbye. Not even ten minutes later, Bruce himself stumbled out of the elevator, absolutely covered in purple glitter. May remembers raising an eyebrow and asking if Bruce wanted her to have another suit brought in.
He'd ended up collapsing on one of the couches with an exhausted sigh, and said he'd have Alfred pick him up instead. He left a sparkly trail behind him when he walked, and the couch he sat on had to be replaced because, even after numerous cleaning attempts, no one could get the glitter out. He had glitter in his hair for months afterwards.
So, May hadn't bat an eye when the little boy came in. Well aware Bruce had several meetings scheduled that day, she sent him an email saying one of his kids was taking a nap in the reception hall and resolved to look out for the boy herself. Throughout the day, she made sure to check on him often, making sure no one picked him up ran (this was Gotham after all).
He slept soundly for most of her work day, barely shifting. She ended up putting a blanket on him herself during her lunch break and leaving him a water bottle and little snack for when he woke up. She also made sure security kept an eye on him whenever she left for whatever reason.
It was well into the afternoon when Bruce finally replied to her email and asked if his kid was still sleeping downstairs. She said yes, and not long after he arrived on the ground level. He walked up to her desk and asked if his kid had caused her any trouble. She smiled and assured him no.
Then Bruce asked where Tim was.
"Sorry? Tim isn't here today."
Bruce frowned, looking just as confused as she felt. "My apologies. You said one of my wards was asleep here. I assumed it was Tim."
"Oh! No, no, it's not Tim. Well, I don't actually know his name but the little guy has been here since this morning." She gestured to the toddler in question.
Bruce turned around, saw him, and frowned. "He's not one of mine."
"He's not?"
"No. Are you sure he's not an employee's child?" He kept his eyes on the boy, eyes narrowed in thought.
"Yes, I am. Only three employees brought in their children today, and all of them are ten or above. He can't be older than five." She frowned now too, turning to her computer to double check. "I'll send out a company-wide email to be sure. I should have done this sooner. I'm sorry, I was just so sure he was under your care."
"It's alright, May. I'm not upset. I'm just worried about him. When about in the morning did he get here?"
She glanced up, but Bruce was still looking at the sleeping boy. "A little after nine."
"And he's been sleeping all that time?"
"Yes, as far as I'm aware."
"Alright. Thank you for looking after him. I'll take it from here."
"Of course, sir. I'll reach out to you if anyone identifies him."
He nodded appreciatively and walked over to the boy. She watched, frustrated with herself. She's worked as one of Wayne Enterprise's receptionists for over four years. She should have known better than to just assume some random, black haired blue eyed child was Bruce's kid. She should have at least reached out to make sure that was the case.
She sighed as Bruce knelt down by the couch and gently shook the little boy awake, resting her head in the palm of her hand. This poor child. His poor parents. They must be worried sick.
She has to make this right.
---
Dead Man's Diner pt3
Dick knew that Tim was sending him looks every few seconds.
How could he not? This places food names were honestly the best, if this was some kinda murder cult Dick would be so disappointed.
Glancing up over the menu at Danny, Dick smiled at the teen who had been whipping down the same cup for five minutes like some wild west bartender while trying very hard not to stare at the two vigilantes.
"Okay, I think I have made up my mind, Red you got what you wanted?" Finally meeting Tim's eyes, Dick mentally winced, Tim's eyes were doing that twitchy thing that happened sometimes...
"Yes. I am." Dick understand slightly but like...the puns weren't that bad
Out of the corner of his eye Dick saw Danny pop up, nearly slamming the mug he had been holding as he fumbled with a note pad, coming closer to the two, he did a pretty decent customer service smile as he waited.
Since Tim was having a problem with words, Dick went first.
"So, I'll have some Boo-berry Poltergeist pancakes, with two sunny side up eggs and a side of bacon?" Dick watched as Danny paused for a moment, let out a little laugh and then started to write before looking to Tim.
"I will have...Ugh, the Wraith waffles with the hunting hashbrowns on the side...please." Dick had seen Tim look less pained over being stabbed than say the wonderful puns.
"Alrighty, anything to drink before I head back and get started on your order?" Holding up a coffee jug in one hand and an orange juice jug in the other, Danny gave a slight smirk.
Perhaps it was the coffee but Tim looked a bit less pained after that.
---
As he slapped down a few pieces of bacon, Danny totally didn't use his ghost powers to bring the bowl of pancake batter over closer as he scooped a ladle full on a freshly buttered side of the flat top, making sure it set first, Danny heard a beep from the frier, heading over he paused to see French fries in there as well.
Shaking his head, he dunked them all into the oil, and moved to set the timer only to see it already clicking down, "Oh um...thank you very much." Patting the deep frier, Danny moved back to the flat top as it let out a gurgling purr.
---
Tim took all of five seconds after Danny rounded the corner into the back of the house to start whispering
"Wing, this place is mocking me. Apple apparition pie? Haunting Hashbrowns? Ethereal fucking eggs benedict." Hissing Tim shifted in his seat, "like I would get it if this place was ghost themed but it very clearly isnt! It is mocking me because I know this place doesn't exist!" Slamming a fist down on the counter, it very much thudded.
Sharing a look with Tim, Dick placed a hand on Tim's shoulder, "Buddy...I agree there is something up with this place but...I very much think it exists? Since we are kinda sitting here."
Dragging his hand down his face with a groan Tim leaned back in his seat, "I know and it is infuriating me..." Grabbing the coffee mug Tim looked at it with a not insignificant amount of distrust before taking a swig, pausing, than taking another, much slower sip, holding the mug with both hands as he lowered it down, staring at the dark liquid with a small glare.
"Red? You okay? Is that the bad coffee look ot oh shittake mushrooms that was poisoned look?" Dick said worryingly, looking to the cup of orange juice that was in front of him with suspicion.
"N-no...I" Tim's words cut off as he took a breath, "Just...tastes just like the kind Mom used to drink, came from this little town in Chile they passed through..." staring at the cup a little longer Tim shook his head, "They closed a few years back, the farmer that made it got killed by a drug cartel that wanted him to plant coca rather than coffee, it's just that this place should very much not have this."
There was a tension between the two vigilantes, Dick moving to speak before being cut off by Danny quickly coming out from the back.
"Order up! Got two pancakes for Mr. Nightwing, side of bacon and eggs and two waffles for Mr. Red Robin with some hasbrowns!" Setting each plate down in front of said vigilante, Danny gave them both a grin.
"And a side of Phantom fries for both of you on the house!"
After refilling the little bit missing out of Tim's cup, Danny seemed to be to there one second and back in the kitchen a moment later.
---
"Phantom fries?" Danny whispered to himself as he started to clean off the griddle, a grin on his face as he did, he might of left the hero business, but oh God was it funny, he wondered if other people got the same fun out of it.
Checking out on he customers through the small window to the front, Danny felt his core thrum at the sight of the two eating, it was a different kind of thrum that he got while protecting people, this one...this one gave him a full body shudder and cleared a fog in his mind he didn't even he had.
Shaking his head, Danny tried not to let the purr building in his chest out.
---
Screw the worries that Tim had, Dick was having the time of his life.
"We can't tell the others about this place Red...Little wing would try and place it in the Alley and B might try and buy it cus holy guacamole this shit is good..." Dick had dug in after Tim's wrist mounted computer had tested the food for any known poisons which said that there weren't any, but still went and saved a few samples for further analysis at the Cave.
Dick didn't know why but the pancakes tasted like those that Alfred made the first week he had been at the manor, he had gotten upset at Brcue and hid in the attic all day, but Alfred managed to lure him down with the promise of blueberries in his pancakes.
They were perfectly fluffy, butter soaked with that little edge around it that was crunchy, the berries were tart enough to battle the maple syrup and...it was just like how Dick remembered.
Shaking his head as he finished up his food, Dick threw a look over at Tim, who was hunched over his empty plate, holding his mug of coffee closer, at Dicks questioning look the teen spoke.
"We have to leave Wing something is just...off about this place, its...they taste like when my dad used to make breakfast after coming home from a dig...has to be brain waves or mind reading or..." Tim continued to ramble on, ideas flowing out of him like a water fall.
By the time that Danny went back to check on the two, they were gone.
Not DDD but some tooth rotting fluff with Dadwing that I had written a while ago.
Dick had always had a kinda 6th sense when it came to Damian, they had been Batman and Robin together, *the* dynamic duo! So he knew when his little brother was upset, more so than usual.
It started after a failed capture, the Riddler had been out of Arkham for over 3 weeks, the longest that he had been out for quite some time.
Bruce had finally found Eddie's hiding spot and was staking him out for some time, trying to determine whether the Riddler was truly there or this was once again a decoy safe house.
Bruce regretfully has the communication skills of a particularly grumpy slug and failed to properly give Damian the brief on what he was doing after joining his father from a round of patrols with Dick.
It really truly wasn't Damian's fault that he rushed in and only really succeeded in flushing out the Riddler and driving him to ground once more.
And once again, Bruce the grumpy slug scowled, let out a grunt and demanded Damian back to the cave, further not explaining why Bruce tried to stop him from taking down the Riddler and why he didn't pursue.
---
Dick was surprised to come out of the locker rooms of the cave to his youngest brother, practically shaking with rage as he not so carefully pulled off his suit, and what was the most concerning to Dick was the quiet, but still angry mutterings coming from the boy.
Dick felt a pang in his chest at the words, his Arabic was not the best but he could tell more than a few foul words slipping from Damians lips, taking a small breath to prepare, Dick slowly approached his little brother, holding his hands up in surrender even before speaking.
"Hey Babybat? Dami? You okay kiddo? What are you-" Dick stopped mid sentence at the scathing glare that was leveled at him, blinking a few times as his brother collected himself enough to speak clearly, but his voice was rough with emotion, and his accent that was usually hidden away came back harder. (Something that Dick realized that Jason and Damian shared, the angrier they are the more they go back to their roots.)
"Do not attempt to placate me Richard, I am not playing your foolish games nor am I wanting to speak of my feelings, so I simply ask you to leave. Me. The. Fuck. Alone." At the end the boys words were ground out as he threw down the Robin chest plate and stromed past Dick, heading to the showers.
---
Dick knew it was a little bit risky, but something was clearly upsetting his little brother greatly, so here he was, standing outside of Damians room, letting out a small sigh, Dick softly knocked on the door.
Two short, one long: U
Three long: O
One long, one short, one long: K
Morse code, one of the first no vocal languages that all the birds and the Bats knew, Dick and Damian had used it more than a few times on the field.
The only thing that Dick received from that was a dull thud of something being thrown at the door and the much softer sound of it falling to the floor, but the rest of the room was an inky black.
Letting out a sigh, the oldest of the Wayne children grabbed onto the doorhandle and slowly turning it, pushing the door in as he popped his head in, seeing the sacrificed plush animal laying on the ground where it was thrown
Dick felt guilty being glad it wasn't a knife.
"Dami? Little D? Kiddo I am going to come in..."
Opening the door more, Dick slipped into the dark room, spacial awareness helped Dick circumvent the few basic traps laid around his little brothers room, and made his way over to the boy's bed.
Eyes adjusting to the dark quickly, Dick could see the small outline of his brother shaking under the covers, looking so small in the king-sized bed, sitting on the edge, Dick laid a hand on where he thinks Damians hip is, feeling his heart break a little at the small jump he felt as he did.
"Can you talk to me? Please? I want to help kiddo." The only response he got was a shaky drawn in breath and the form under the blankets shifting, sitting up and revealing his younger brother.
His jade green eyes practically glowed in the dark of the room, Damians glare more tired than angry.
(It was times like these that Dick had to force himself to believe that Damian was just his brother, that the boy was not his son, wasn't the boy he raised for a year and a half as his own)
Shuffling closer to the center of the bed, Dick softly placed his forehead on the boy's own before pulling back after a second, he had learnt that little touches of affection got him a lot farther (and a lot less stabbed) with Damian.
Sitting back Dick watched as Damian crawled over, closing the distance between them and leaned his head onto Dicks shoulder, his eyes fluttering closed as he took in several deep breaths, calming himself even further.
Dick didn't dare move while Damian re-centered only snaking his arms around the smaller boy once he felt Damian go slack against him, softly cradling Damian in his arms as he pressed a soft kiss to the boy's spiky locks.
They stayed that way for a while, Dick gently rocking them both as he held his younger brother, silently waiting for Damian to speak first.
"...Father is an idiot..."
Blinking at the words that finally came out, Dick took it in stride, "For a man that is called the worlds greatest detective he can't see two feet in front of him when his loved ones are involved."
Silence lapsed after a little while, only breaking again as Damian pulled back from the hug, staring into Dicks powder blue eyes,
"...is it bad that some days I hate him Baba?" The words crush him, hitting at Dicks heart far worse than anything he had felt before, throat raw and itchy suddenly, Dick tried to not let Damians choice of words affect him.
(Dick has never heard Dami call Bruce Baba, only a ever respectful Father.)
"I-I, Um...I have felt way about B more than a few times Dames...He tries his best but sometimes...some times I do" There was a shine to Damians eyes as he looked into Dicks as the man continued softly "But I don't think it's bad...no I think you are just growing up...It...it's the beginning to when your seeing B how he can truly be like." (A scornful son of a bitch, only that Martha was a wonderful woman...)
Damians face grew distraught, and the shine pooled until soft tears ran down the boys face, "I do not wish to hate Father, but why can he simply not...speak to me? He has not spoke to me outside of case work for over three days and even during that no more than a few words..." leaning his head against Dicks shoulder, the boy's words were muffled slightly as he continued
"Is...is it wrong to expect more from him Baba?"
Dick didn't have any words for his Damian, because he sure as shit isn't Bruce's at the moment, sweeping the boy up into his arms, Dick hled him close while laying the two of them down, Dick on his back and his boy on his chest.
Running a hand through Damians soft hair, Dick thought hard of what to say, "I will speak to him...and maybe Tim...I know you two still have disagreements but honestly for some reason he listens to Tim more than even Alfred...you deserve so much more than that kiddo..."
Dick felt the soft shakes as Damian cried ontop of him, it broke the man's heart to smithereens that even while overwhelmed by emotions his boy still felt the need to try and be as quiet as possible.
Once he felt Damians shudders slow, an the boys breathing came back to a normal rate, Dick reached into his pants and pulled out his phone, "I think we both gotta unwind a little bud...have I ever shown you Bob Ross?"
---
(They watch till the sun peaks through the black out curtains, well, it plays that long, but the two where asleep for a lot longer than that.)
(Bruce gets a very long talking too by his kids, and gets the cowl taken away from him until he gets therapy)
(It only works a little.)
(He made a new one)