Rec-Cember 2025 Day 5: Batman [24]

[mrsluigivargas]

I read fics in this fandom for about 4 reasons: 1) I was reading a lot of DPxDC fic and I was curious, 2) I saw a fandom stats chart that said that the Batman fandom had a lot of genfic in there, 3) an author that I read a lot when I was in high school that I also currently follow on Tumblr got really into it, so I spent an afternoon or two perusing their bookmarks (they're a big fan of Tim Joins the BatFam Early AUs), and 4) once I figured out Cassandra Cain was portrayed as nonverbal sometimes I scoured the whole Nonverbal Cassandra tag for stuff to read. I love nonverbal characters, haha.

5 Times Tim Spends the Night at Wayne Manor + 1 Time He Comes Home by motleyfam
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Batfamily Members & Tim Drake
Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Found Family
48,700 words | 6 chapters
Tim is good at galas. No, scratch that—Tim is great at galas. He’s been attending them ever since the age of three, when his parents first stuffed him into his little Gymboree tuxedo and gave him a stern lecture about ‘sitting quietly’ and ‘speaking when spoken to.’ He knows all the rules: what to wear, how to stand, when to smile, what to say, what not to say. He knows how to come across as polite and intelligent and charming, and on absolutely any other day, he would be rocking this.
—
Or, my take on a ‘Tim Joins the Family Early’ AU, told through a series of sleepovers, most of which are unplanned.

A Brief Interview by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Fluff, Comfort, AU - Tim Drake Joins the Batfamily Early
3,192 words | One-shot
When Damian finds a small child with an expensive camera on a rooftop in the middle of Gotham, he decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and take the boy home. After all, why should Bruce be the only one who gets to add to the family?

between a rock and a hard place by envysparkler
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen | Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Whump, Hurt/Comfort
5,449 words | One-shot
Tim curled up in a ball and shook with several, near-hyperventilating breaths. Jason clenched his hands into fists.
“Hood?” came Nightwing’s tentative check-in, “How’s everything going?”
I’m trapped under a building, he didn’t say. Tim thinks I’m going to murder him, he didn’t say. Get me out of here before I claw my own skin off, he didn’t say.

beware the patient woman by destiny919
General Audiences | Gen
Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake
Nonverbal Cassandra Cain
2,055 words | One-shot
When Tim is about to turn down yet another invitation to Smallville because of a WE board meeting, Cass doesn't hesitate before volunteering herself as CEO for the day.
He smirks at her. "Remind them who you are," Tim says.

Brother Wanted by Vamillepudding
General Audiences | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Gen
Tim Drake & Jason Todd
AU - Tim Drake Joins the Batfamily Early
11,062 words | 2 chapters
Well-behaved boy (10) is looking for big brother (11-15). Must meet up with me three times a week, for at least two hours each. Overall duties include helping me with homework, playing videogames with me, and showing me how to play catch. 10$ per hour.
Tim, lonely and in desperate need of company, decides that if his parents are not going to give him a sibling, he's going to hire one instead. Luckily, Jason Todd-Wayne shows up in the nick of time.

Candle Light and Plastic Bats by Jackdaw_Kraai
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Batman & Gotham City, Gotham City & Bruce Wayne, Batman & Robin
Blood, Accidental Deification, Accidental Cults
10,574 words | 3 chapters
The People of Gotham are well aware that there is a demon hiding in the shadows of their city. They are also well aware that unless provoked by injustice the demon, the Bat, is benevolent and aids them in their struggles when no one else can or will.
The People Of Gotham aren't without honor, they give thanks when gratitude is due.

Crescendo by EmilyArmadillo
General Audiences | Gen
Cassandra Cain & Barbara Gordon
Semi-Verbal Cassandra Cain, Friendship
2,147 words | One-shot
Cass finds a way to express how she’s feeling, and it starts with the piano in Barbara’s apartment.

disappointment by envysparkler
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Jason Todd & Dick Grayson
Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Enemy to Caretaker
3,585 words | One-shot
Jason supposes this is what he gets for delaying his confrontation with the Replacement.

Enhanced Fashion Sense is a Perk of Being a Cat by 12pt_timesnewromanfont
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Selina Kyle, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
AU - Canon Divergence, Sickfic
23,314 words | 2 chapters
When Catwoman drops into Drake Manor to steal back a stolen artifact, she's not expecting to find ten year old Timothy Drake standing in the doorway watching her.
She's definitely not expecting to see him on a rooftop in Chinatown a few months later, taking pictures of Batman and Robin with a smile on his face.
Well, she's always had a bad habit of picking up strays.

Fussing Over Scars by maychorian
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake
AU - Soulmates, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning
64,666 words | 23 chapters
Never again, Bruce told himself. He was broken, just like he'd always believed. It hurt too much. He couldn't bear it.
All he was meant for was the fight. He was a dark knight, not a light one. He was not a father, and he would never try to fool himself again.

Inscribed on Body & Soul by drowningfire
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Bruce Wayne & Batfamily Members
AU – Soulmarks, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending
81,682 words | 25 chapters
Jason Todd died knowing he was loved. His resurrection took even that from him. Turns out he came back to life needing saving just as much as he did when he left it.
Thankfully the Bats and Birds have always specialised in impossible rescues. And while love can't fix everything having proof of it can't hurt.
aka. In a world where the names of those who love you inscribe themselves upon your skin Jason's resurrection plays out a little differently.

Joyride by motleyfam
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson
Minor Injuries, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, AU - Different First Meeting, Slice of Life
2,374 words | One-shot
It feels amazing. The wind is blowing through Tim’s hair and he’s smiling so big that his cheeks hurt. Harder and harder he pedals down the sidewalk, picking up speed from the slight downward hill as he goes.
He’s doing it — he’s actually riding a bike!
Then, a little ways down, Tim notices another boy on the sidewalk, wobbling unsteadily on a bike of his own. He doesn’t look much bigger than Tim, but his bike is way taller, to the point that he’s sort of standing up on the pedals. He looks like he’s concentrating super hard on what he’s doing, the handlebars wobbling side to side as he tries to stay up.
That’s about the point when Tim realizes he never learned how to stop.
—
Or, in which seven-year-old Timothy Drake bumps into Bruce Wayne’s new foster kid. Literally.

Luminous Beings by Bandity
Teen And Up Audiences | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Gen
Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson
Hurt/Comfort, AU - Tim Drake Joins the Batfamily Early
15,885 words | 4 chapters
Jason didn’t know when it started. If he thought about it, he remembered the bright light that surrounded his mom in her last days. After that, he noticed the way some people lit up, outlined in a growing brightness that emitted from the edges of their beings. The brighter the individual, the closer they were to death.
At the parties that Bruce insisted on dragging him to, he expected the dim light from the tired old businessmen who drank too much and were limping closer to their ends, glowing a little more every time Jason saw them.
What he did not expect was for the 12-year-old neighbor kid to light up like a damn Christmas tree the second Jason laid his eyes on him.

Not Alone by RaspberrySwish
General Audiences | Gen
Cassandra Cain, Original Characters
536 words | One-shot
Cassandra Cain runs across a young deaf girl on patrol, who tries to speak to her in ASL. She's never seen anything like it before, and begins to wonder, could there be other people out there who speak like she does? Other people who could possibly understand?

Rocking Chairs by Shirokokuro
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne
Sickfic, Fevers, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
1,759 words | One-shot
Tim doesn’t understand rocking chairs.

salespeople know (listening is the most important part) by Mayhem10
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Original Characters
AU - Canon Divergence, Magical Realism, Angst
77,175 words | 16 chapters
The Traveler's Corner is found by the people who need it at the time they need it most. Timothy Drake, proprietor and current owner, is rather proud of the difference he makes to his customers. Then he returns to the city that raised him.
Not all customers are simple. And the past is never truly left behind.

straight back by TheResurrectionist
Not Rated | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Gen
Oliver Queen & Bruce Wayne
Identity Porn, Developing Friendships, Angst and Feels
3,993 words | One-shot
“I know what you’re going to say. Poor little rich boy. But he -- really was, okay? At least I lost my dad when I was older. I had training to deal with everything. I had people helping me. He had nobody.”
In the middle of a Justice League meeting, Oliver stands up for Bruce Wayne.

the flute of your whole existence by LovesFrogs
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne
Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Fluff
4,220 words | One-shot
He could voice his greatest fears, weaknesses, or most secret dreams at the drop of a hat; all the things he’s never put into words before and keeps tucked close between his ribs.
What kind of ammunition is his son going to ask for? What will he make Bruce admit, knowing he is incapable of a lie?

The Lone Ranger Never Had to Deal with Bruce Wayne by theskeptileptic
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth
AU - Tim Drake Joins the Batfamily Early
25,522 words | 6 chapters
Tim is an independent, clever, and super mature eleven-year-old. Unfortunately, his dopey neighbor, Bruce, can’t seem to understand that.
When he decides to disappear on a “solo camping trip” and run away to Canada, he figures it’s the perfect plan that will make everybody happy. He didn’t expect the Waynes would tag along with him and ruin everything.

The Sins of the Father by FairyDell
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen
Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Crack
4,170 words | One-shot
Jason stumbles across a news article and learns what Bruce has been doing since his death.

Three Smart Saps by VelkynKarma
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Silly and Lighthearted
11,810 words | 2 chapters
At this point, Jason's hardly surprised to discover that Tim's been kidnapped by those same three idiots again.
What is surprising is that they did it to get Red Hood's attention. Or that they need his help.
Tim's definitely not going to be happy about this one, but Jason's having the time of his life.

wrong number by adelfie
General Audiences | Gen
Tim Drake, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd
AU - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
6,423 words | One-shot
There’s a few rings, then the phone picks up.
“Wayne Residence.”
That’s funny, Tim thinks, Mrs. Mac doesn’t sound like herself.
--On a hot July evening while home alone, eight-year-old Tim gets a fever. He means to ask Mrs. Mac for help — but ends up accidentally calling Alfred Pennyworth. Somehow, even in sickness, he wins all the hearts of the Wayne family in one fell swoop.

You, Me, and the Humanity in Betweenby JUBE514
Teen And Up Audiences | Gen, M/M
Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne & Alfred Pennyworth
Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Happy Ending
65,898 words | One-shot
Bruce doesn’t know what’s wrong with his child, but he’s pretty sure kids aren’t meant to work like this.
From the day he had looked up into the tops of the circus tent and saw a frightened mirror image of a boy who had just experienced the worst day of his life, Bruce had instantly gone into emergency mode.
The Gotham PD had wanted to pass the boy off into the care of the circus. The circus had mumbled underneath their breaths about superstitions, about not having a boy like that with them, about not being able to handle something like Dick. So GCPD, not knowing what to do, had started talking about one of the handful of overburdened boy homes that handles a majority of Gotham’s unlucky orphans.
All the while, the camera lights flash bright and loud, wanting to know everything.
Bruce couldn’t let that happen. Not then, not ever again.
-🦇-
Bruce is trying his best to protect the city that he loves. He doesn't know how exactly his Robins came to be- they're not fully human, not even at all. All he knows is that he wants to keep them safe.

You'll Feel My Fingers Down Your Back by spitecentral
General Audiences | Gen
Cassandra Cain & Duke Thomas
Found Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Semi-Verbal Cassandra Cain
2,127 words | One-shot
Duke and Cass have an early morning conversation about their parents.

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