#realwhenitsuseful

‘ HOME RUN FOR THE BAT: FOURTH VILLAIN APPREHENDED BY GOTHAM’S GREATEST DETECTIVE. ’ as the dark figure graced upon the rooftop, nygma recited loudly the morning newspaper’s headline. he turned the front page around to face the only other person on the roof with him --- BATMAN.

‘ the cement ... man. ’ he took another peek ( more for dramatic effect than anything ) and pointed to the media’s nickname for gotham’s latest fallen villain. ‘ nnnn-- not the best they can come up with. a bit lazy, don’t you think? ’ he raised his brows at the summoned vigilante. now, the riddler knew this might not seem his smartest move, sitting here alone against the evening wind in a folding chair under the freakin’ batman signal shinning into the cloudy sky. but unusual times called for unusual measures, so to speak.

    thomas was exhausted, it had been over forty seven hours without sleep and he was surviving on a mixture of red bull and coffee in a brightly colored to go mug from one of the old tenants in his apartment. however, he thought that he was holding it together well until bruce tried to send him home early. 

so where that child support, huh?

Send me a ‘kiss’ to see where I’d kiss you. 

❛ To learn what we fear is to learn who we are. ❜ @realwhenitsuseful​

Fear was something that came up often in Danny’s life. Parts of his story were defined by it. That kid in the airplane that shook and groaned and fell to pieces around him had been afraid. The boy who’d fought for the right to live in K’un Lun, who fought tooth and nail just to be allowed to exist, he was afraid. The man who stood in front of a cave prepared to fight a dragon with nothing but his bare hands and his stubborn pride, he’d been afraid too even if he hadn’t been allowed to show it. Some part of Danny had always been afraid.

Then came Midland Circle. 

Matt Murdock --- Daredevil had a reputation. The Man Without Fear. When Danny made him that promise, when he swore to protect Matt’s city as the world rumbled and shook above their heads, he’d known he needed to be the same. He needed to be a man without fear. He’d failed at that. He’d failed at a lot of things.

He wondered if Bruce knew.

“I don’t think I’ve ever known who I am,” he admitted. “But I know what scares me. I definitely know that.” It was one of those painfully obvious truths, one of those things that just was. Danny figured everyone could see it. “Are --- Are you afraid?” 

(He hoped Bruce wouldn’t hate him for the hope in the question.)

@realwhenitsuseful​ ( by accident, but also cause batdad forehead kisses for the holidays )

It had been too long since she had been inside Wayne Manor, but Tim was living there and, honestly? She missed Bruce and Alfred -- and everyone. But like her own family, the Wayne family was wildly complicated. They rarely all got along, Cassie was sure it had been too long since she had seen them all in the same room. (Had she ever seen them all in one spot? Masks on or off?) 

Cassie was being dramatic, she had to be. There was no way she had never seen them all in one spot. It was probably just so stressful because of work -- or something else had clouded her mind during it.

But inside Wayne Manor, Cassie noted how quiet it was. Peaceful in a way that reminded her of Themyscira. Like the waves that would touch the shores and sing her to sleep on the worst nights. (The ocean always reminded her of home, but the gentle silence of Wayne Manor felt familiar too. But it was hard to place. Hard for her heart to explain why she felt at home here.) But the second that Bruce was in the room, Cassie had a feeling. Father hadn’t been a word she used when she was a child. Zeus might have been her blood, but he was never her father. Not in any way that mattered. But there was a warm feeling that came with being around Bruce. A trust that came so easily. He was the father figure in her heart but without any of the expectations. Just a man she admired.

It was him that pointed out the mistletoe that was still lingering in the decorations, “I’m surprised the kids didn’t run through and tear all these down,” Cassie said, as if she weren’t one of the kids. Reaching up to grab it when Bruce planted a small kiss on her forehead. Cassie relaxed into his touch and wrapped an arm around his waist before pulling him into a real hug.