this was all for you

The morning sun filtered through the kitchen curtains, casting golden stripes across the countertop where you were attempting to make pancakes. Attempting being the key word, because your daughter had very specific opinions about the shape they should be.

"Mama, that one looks like a blob," your daughter, Lily, announced from her perch on the kitchen stool, her dark hair (which she got from her father) still mussed from sleep.

"A blob can be a shape," you defended, flipping the admittedly misshapen pancake.

"Not a good one."

You were about to respond when a pair of strong arms wrapped around your waist from behind, and lips pressed against your neck. "I think your blobs are perfect," Dick murmured against your skin, his voice still rough with sleep.

"You're biased," you teased, but you were already melting back against his chest, the familiar warmth of him seeping through your thin sleep shirt.

"Oh definitely," he agreed, spinning you around with the easy grace that never quite left him, even in domestic moments like these. Even after seven years of marriage, three years of parenthood, and countless mornings exactly like this one, your breath still caught when those blue eyes focused on you like you were the only person in the world. "Biased toward my beautiful wife who's making breakfast for our family. Sue me."

"Daddy, you're being gross," Lily groaned at him, though she was grinning.

"Gross?" Dick gasped in mock offense, releasing you to scoop Lily up in one fluid motion, flipping her upside down as she shrieked with laughter. "I'll show you gross, little miss."

You watched them with a smile, turning back to rescue the pancakes before they burned. This was your favorite version of Dick Grayson — not Nightwing, not even the charming socialite he could be when the situation called for it, but this one. The one barefoot in pajama pants and an old Gotham Knights t-shirt, hair sticking up in every direction, making your daughter giggle so hard she could barely breathe.

"Dick, the baby," you warned, and he immediately righted Lily, settling her back on her stool with an apologetic kiss to her forehead.

"Sorry, Mama's right. Gotta be careful with the little guy." His hand found your hip, thumb stroking absently over the small bump barely visible beneath your shirt. Four months along, and he still looked at you like you'd hung the moon.

"Or girl," you reminded him, plating the pancakes.

"Or girl," he agreed, stealing a piece of bacon from the plate. You swatted his hand, but he caught your wrist, bringing it to his lips. "Have I mentioned you're gorgeous this morning?"

"You mentioned I make good blobs."

"The best blobs." He grinned, that devastating smile that had made you fall in love with him in the first place. "But seriously, you're glowing."

"That's sweat from standing over a hot stove, babe."

"Nope, definitely glowing." He released your wrist to cup your face, thumb brushing your cheek. "Most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"You said that last night." You shook your head a bit sheepishly and nudged his arm

"I'll say it tonight too." He leaned in, and you met him halfway, the kiss soft and sweet and tasting like stolen bacon.

"Still gross!" Lily announced, but she was smiling around a mouthful of pancake.

The morning continued in comfortable chaos. Dick helping Lily get dressed while you cleaned up breakfast, the three of you negotiating what constituted appropriate clothing for a trip to the park. (Lily wanted to wear her tutu. Dick supported this decision. You were outnumbered, and you didn't mind because she looked so damn cute.)

By the time you made it to the park, the sun was high and warm, and Lily was racing toward the playground with the boundless energy of childhood. Dick's hand found yours automatically, fingers lacing together as you walked.

"Think we'll be able to keep up with two of them?" you asked, watching Lily scale the climbing structure with an ease that spoke to her genetics.

"Are you kidding? We're going to be outnumbered and exhausted." Dick brought your joined hands to his lips, the biggest grin on those lips of his. "I can't wait."

You laughed, leaning into his side. "You're insane."

"About you? Absolutely." He tugged you closer, pressing a kiss to your temple. "Have been since the day we met."

"That's not what you said when we met. I believe your exact words were 'nice to meet you' and then you spilled coffee on my shoes."

"I was distracted by your smile," he defended. "And I bought you new shoes."

"You bought me very expensive new shoes and then asked me to dinner."

"Best investment I ever made." His arm slipped around your waist, hand splaying possessively over your hip. "Look at me now. Beautiful wife, amazing daughter, another baby on the way, and I still get to come home to you every night."

You tilted your head up to look at him, finding his expression soft and open in the way it only was with you and Lily. "You're really happy?"

"Happy?" He stopped walking, turning to face you fully. Both hands came up to frame your face, and the intensity in his eyes made your heart skip. "I'm so far beyond happy I don't think there's a word for it. You're everything, you know that? You and Lily are my whole world."

"Dick," you breathed, and he kissed you again, deeper this time, pouring years and years of love and devotion into it until you were dizzy.

"Mama! Daddy! Watch me!" Lily's voice broke through, and you pulled apart, both turning to watch her hang upside down from the monkey bars.

"Very impressive, baby!" you called, and Dick whistled his approval.

"She gets that from me," he said proudly.

"The showing off or the acrobatics?" Your eyebrows raised, accompanied by a wink and a smile.

"Both." He grinned proudly at that. "Come on, I'll push her on the swings. You can sit and look beautiful."

"I can push my own daughter on the swings."

"I know you can. You can do anything." His hand squeezed yours. "But you're growing a whole human, so let me take care of you both. Please?"

The please got you, the way it always did. You let him lead you to the bench near the swings, settling down with a sigh you hadn't realized you'd been holding. Pregnancy was easier the second time in some ways, harder in others, but having Dick by your side made everything better.

You watched him push Lily, his laughter mixing with hers as she demanded "higher, Daddy, higher!" He obliged, of course, because Dick Grayson had never been able to deny his girls anything. The sun caught in his dark hair that was greying at the roots, and his smile was bright and unguarded, and your chest ached with how much you loved him.

Later, after the park, after lunch, after Lily had been coaxed into a nap with promises of ice cream later, you found yourself in Dick's arms on the couch. His hand was tracing lazy patterns on your stomach, and you were playing with his hair, and everything was perfect and quiet and right.

"Thank you," he said suddenly, voice soft.

"For what?"

"This. All of this." He shifted to look at you, and there was something vulnerable in his expression. "I know I'm not always here," he continued. "I know some nights I come home late, or bruised, or..."

You pressed your fingers to his lips, stopping him. "You're here now. You're here every morning and every moment you can be. You're an amazing husband and an incredible father. I knew who I was marrying, and I love every part of you." You smiled at him, your head tilted to rest on your arm. You meant every word, truly, and you knew he did too.

"Plus, it's not like you're out late doing bullshit, you're out late being a literal superhero, vigilantes.. whatever you wanna call it." You couldn't help the teasing smile that came to your lips with that.

His eyes shimmered, and he caught your hand, pressing a kiss to your palm. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I ask myself the same thing." You smiled, cupping his cheek. "Though I think it might have something to do with you being charming and handsome and making me laugh even when I want to strangle you."

"I am pretty charming," he agreed, and you laughed, the sound making him grin. "And handsome. Don't forget handsome."

"Impossible to forget." You kissed him, slow and sweet. "You're also so humble."

"My best quality." He pulled you closer, until you were practically in his lap, his arms wrapped securely around you. "I love you. So much it scares me sometimes."

"I love you too," you whispered against his lips.

← MLIST. ᝰ.ᐟ edawgz 2025.

shin knew you loved stealing his hoodies. something about how they fit better on you but really, your mind said it was because they smelled like him. so, it’s not unusual for him to find the odd one missing. his first thought was that it’s either on your body or in your closet. so when he sees—on your guys’ way out to sakamoto’s—that you’re wearing his sky blue hoodie that was missing the past few days, he smiles with a ruffle to your head. “you’re gonna mess up my hair,” you pout, laughing as you make your way out his apartment first. shin catches up quickly, arguably messing up your hair even more when he suddenly tugs the hood over your head. then, he rubs your shoulders up and down roughly, “hey—it’s cold! i don’t care if it’s a short walk.”  and with your hand in his coarse, but oh-so-warm one, the two of you head out. 

heisuke is an energetic boy who’ll find himself doing almost anything with anyone. but when it comes to downtime, he wouldn’t want to spend that time with anyone but you. lying face-to-face, heisuke smiles at you under the warmth of your blanket, hand in yours as piisuke sleeps soundly in his cage. “this is the best, yo.” you’re not sure what exactly he’s implying to, and you’re too tired to really ask. just as sleep is about to take you, light fingers begin to trace soft pathways along the slope of your face; your forehead, temples, cheeks, nose, and lips. it’s relaxing, and when you mutter under your breath in a sound that suggests encouragement, heisuke suddenly uses his thumbs to brush your eyebrows back into place. almost roughly, pulling you away from sleep’s soothing grasp. “beautiful,” he grins, laughing when you narrowly glare up at him with tired eyes. he bumps your nose with his in apology, forehead against his.

seba was working on another invention, something a little more mundane but he claimed was still necessary. he said it was gonna make life easier, though you’re watching him from the counter with a confused look as he fumbles around with the tools. his hoodie sleeves keep falling over his hands, slipping down past his knuckles and even covering his fingers at times. but instead of doing the obvious, seba only kept working—too absorbed in his work to care about the obstruction. you sigh with a soft shake of your head, so much for making your life easier, natsuki. he hears your footsteps, acknowledging you with a hum but stopping altogether when your hands tug at his left sleeve, folding and rolling the fabric up a few times to keep it in place. “hey–” but he’s quickly interrupted when you move to repeat the same to his right sleeve. “don’t hey me, it’s torture watching you work like this.” he’s stunned for just a second, before smirking and pressing a soft kiss to your temple while you’re still bent down. “thanks.”

shishiba got you anything you craved. something sweet? sure, or maybe you wanted something savoury with a little tang. name a spot or ask him for one, he’s got that for you too. the two of you decided on dango, shishiba watching patiently as you chew the last bit of your dessert. you hum in delight, nibbling with your mouth strictly shut. a smile emerges on his face, noting how long its taking you to swallow the tender dessert. “hey, you’ve got a little..” he starts, voice softer than it was with anyone else. his eyes crinkle as his smile grows, a hand coming up to wipe a bit of sweetened soy sauce from the corner of your mouth. “...sauce,” he finishes, moving to pinch your cheek gently. you grumble lightheartedly, but the action only makes him do it again. 

slur had an air to him. cold, calculated, and careful. his skin and hair were nothing short of winter. before, it was enough to send a wake of goosebumps across your arms or at times, even send a shiver down your spine. now, you’ve gotten use to such a man. still, it was a surprise to see how cold his hands were all the time. uzuki’s also grown use to you, the way you’d suddenly sandwich his hands between yours, calling them ice blocks with a nudge to his shoulder. most of the time, you didn’t say a word though—only applying pressure between your two palms before doing it with his other hand. uzuki was stuck, like your hold had him trapped. but he didn’t mind, always letting you do it without a mind and with a little smile. “thank you,” he’d say. “all warm now, hm?”