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spacemammal · 4 months ago

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How About Breakfast In Bed?

Masterpost

─ ✧ ─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─ ✧ ─

Part 2: Bruce Wayne?

It was a dream. He’d never released the ghosts or revealed his identity. When Superman said he would catch Phantom, Danny had just sat there. Empty. When he realized the crowd and the Justice League were gone and he was standing there alone, he’d just gone home. It had been a month since then. Phantom retired after their declaration. He didn’t want to deal with them on top of everything else. So he gave up.

The Justice League had been gone for a long time. It was over. So why was he still dreaming about it? He continued to lay in bed even though he was awake. Even with his ghost hunting days over, he was still empty. He was still so tired. He dreaded the day ahead, he just wanted to stay here. He didn’t want to leave the comfort of his pillows. They were so warm. They almost made him feel a little better. Maybe he could close his eyes and pretend he was in Batman's warm embrace like he’d been in the dream.

“DANNY!” his mom broke him from his delusions when she called him downstairs. He didn’t want to get up, but what choice did he have? He had to leave the warm embrace of his bed for the cold and cruel air awaiting him. He got ready for the day again. This time, he didn’t bother with picking an outfit or anything. He just shoved on his binder and went in what he slept in.

He didn’t bother getting breakfast either. He just left his room and headed straight out the door to go to school. He hated school even when he didn’t have to fight ghosts in the middle of it. The teachers were still mean, he was still getting bullied, he still had no friends, and his grades were still shit. The classes were so boring. The teachers just yapping on and on about things he didn’t care at all about.

“Mr. Fenton!” Mr. Lancer's yell pulled him from his sleep. When had he fallen asleep?

“Mr. Fenton, it’s not nap time. You’re 17 for god’s sake. Pull yourself together! Your junior year is the most important year of highschool. Pay attention.” As Lancer finished yelling at him, he heard snickering from behind him. It was Dash. The hypocrite. He knew Dash had never paid attention in class a day in his life. Oh well. He didn’t have the energy to call him out.

The rest of the class was torture. He just couldn’t get himself to absorb any of what Mr. Lancer was saying. Something about a rich guy’s party? A girl named Daisy? He rested his head on his desk. It was cold and he was looking at the messy ground. He hated being there. Sleep was dancing at the edges of his brain and core again when the bell snapped him back to reality.

He was the last to get up, and starting to leave when Mr. Lancer called after him, “the counselor would like to see you.” Right. They’d gotten a counselor after that ghost had posed as one.

“Sure.” Danny knew why the counselor wanted to see him. He knew how the discussion would go.

“You wanted to see me?” Danny feigned ignorance to the topic of the conversation even though it was obvious what this meeting was about. His grades were shit because he wasn’t doing any class work.

“Yes. Come on in, sit down please.” Her voice was warm and gentle, which suprised him. He’d thought that she would be harsh and give him a lecture about how he’s slacking and needs to get his grades up.

“I’m Ms. Perry.” She gestured for him to sit. He hadn’t realized his feet were still firmly planted in the doorway.

As he took a seat, he began to examine her office. The room was homey. It smelled like the ground after rain and the lights weren’t harsh. The chairs were plush with a soft floral pattern on them.

“So, Danny, how have you been feeling lately?” her question sounded far too genuine to be simple small talk, but it didn’t feel like she was pushing for the information. She wasn’t the mean, aged teacher he’d thought would be hired. She was young, probably fresh out of college, and her face showed authentic kindness.

“Oh! I almost forgot, do you want any snacks? I have a ton to choose from.” She pulled out a bin of snacks from under her desk. There were so many, and… he wanted some. When had he gotten so hungry?

“Sure,” he hesitated, he didn’t even know what he wanted.

“Can I have.. uhh… juice?”

“Of course.” She gave a small, light hearted laugh with the reply, and handed him a capri-sun.

He left the meeting with the counselor a little confused as he left her office. What had just happened? She had asked him about his home life and hobbies and basically everything but school. He hadn’t had a real conversation like that in a really long time.

It didn’t really matter though. It’s not like his life would get better. His hope for that died when he realized quitting as Phantom didn’t do anything but let him stop fighting ghosts.

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

“Alright, thank you.” Maddie said as she hung up the phone.

“Jack dear!” she called out to her husband, who was working on a ghost-hunting invention.

“Apparently Danny isn’t doing very well right now. The counselor suggested we do something.”

“Then what should we do?” Jack hollered from behind the machine, not bothering to look up.

Maddie thought about it.

“I don’t know.” She really hadn’t the slightest idea what to do.

“I wonder if a change of scenery would do him good?” he had put down his tools and was peeking past the machine.

“He can’t go to Alecia’s.” she considered, “He hates it down in Arkansas.”

They both thought about it for another moment.

“I do have a cousin. I could see if he can take in Danny for a while?” Jack offered.

“That sounds nice!” With that the conversation was finished and they continued to focus on what really mattered. Their ghost tech!

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

Danny went straight up to his room after school like he’d been doing every day since he retired. He went straight for his bed and let himself sink into it. He could finally breathe. Sometimes it felt like he was suffocating when he was at school or with his parents. It was finally the weekend though. He didn’t have to get out of bed for a while. He just stared at the ceiling. He’d put up those tacky glow in the dark star stickers on there when he was 10. A lot’s changed since then. He didn’t really have the time or energy to study the night sky like he did before the accident. He really missed it though. If only he could turn back time and-

There was a knock on the door.

“Danny?” It was his mom. He pulled his blanket over himself and rolled over, pretending to be asleep. They came in anyway.

“Daniel, we have to talk to you.” his dad nudged his shoulder. The same shoulder he’d shot at just a month before. He hated it when they called him Daniel.

“I don't want to get out of bed.” He wanted them to go away.

“That’s alright sweetheart. We can talk to you from here.” His mom didn’t take the hint and started talking anyway. He didn’t really listen to what she’s saying, but caught some of the words and phrases.

“Blah blah blah, call from the school, blah blah blah, bad grades, blah blah blah, cousin, blah blah blah, Bruce Wayne.”

He stops them at that last bit. “Wait, Bruce Wayne?" That seemed super off topic, even for his parents.

“You need to listen better. Bruce Wayne is your father’s cousin.”

WHAT?! Bruce Wayne? How was that even possible? Danny was trying to wrap his head around this, but failing. This didn’t make any sense. How was Bruce Wayne, the prince of Gotham, related to his dad, the crazy scientist of Amity Park?

“You’ll be staying with him for a little while. We think it will be good for you. Ok?”

Oh.

They were pawning him off on someone else so they didn’t have to deal with him. That made a ton more sense.

“Alright then.” he felt the words leave his mouth.

“We’ve arranged for you to leave in a week.”

Wow. They really wanted him gone.

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

It was really a strange request.

Bruce’s cousin had gotten in touch with him after all these years. It was strange for multiple reasons. He had only met this relative once when they were small children and he wasn’t asking for money, or fame, or any of the things one would think. He was only asking for Bruce to take care of his son for a few months. The reason they cited was that he was struggling with his grades. Why would the man trust his son to a cousin he hardly knew?

A normal request to Bruce was for lots of money. A normal request was to leave your child with someone you actually knew and trusted.

The bizarre nature of the favor drew his curiosity so , naturally, he did a full Batman-style background check on the entire family.

It would seem that the couple were scientists specializing in ghost-based study. They were considered irresponsible and conspiracy theorists in their town even after the existence of ghosts was confirmed. They developed anti-ghost weapons and Maddie Fenton had a background in martial arts, but that was about the extent of their ‘battle prowess’ if you could call it that. They had 2 children. Jasmine Fenton, a college student studying psychology, and Daniel Fenton. When he pulled up the kid’s photo, Bruce recognised him as the teenager he’d noticed in the crowd. Something about that day still didn’t feel right to him. He’d made sure to give Clark a lecture after what he had said. He was trying to make people feel at ease, but he could’ve done that while dodging the question instead of speaking on a case that wasn’t closed.

Bruce was interested in knowing what Daniel was doing with Phantom’s thermos. As well as why he was so injured. Though he now had a suspicion it might be neglect or even abuse. The way his parents were so dismissive of him didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Having the boy stay with him could give him more insight into the situation.

“Alfred?”

“What is it, Master Bruce?”

“Could you prepare a guest room by next week?”

“Yes, but might I ask why, sir?” Alfred’s face showed clear suspicion.

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew he would get an earful from his children for this.

“We’ll be housing my cousin’s child for a time.”

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

Danny didn’t like change very much, and this was all happening so fast. Before he knew it the week was over. At first he had packed to last around 2 weeks, but his parents told him that he’d be staying for the rest of the last month of school and all of summer. So he decided to pack not just essentials but also other things that he just liked. He grabbed his astronomy books, his bass, his notebooks, along with a few other things to keep his mind occupied. He wished that he could pack his bed, but he settled for his blanket and most comfortable pillow. He also made sure to pack his extra binder, first aid kit, and other ‘in case of emergency’ things. This included the Fenton Thermos. He really didn’t want to leave it, but he decided he would need it if it came down to it. All of his things were packed, and he was scheduled to leave in an hour. His room was left without much in it. There wasn’t much in the first place, but it looked even more empty. Especially since his mom made him clean his room earlier in the week in preparation for him leaving.

He looked over at his bed where a stuffed bear was sitting. Tucker had given it to him when he turned 16. They hadn’t been friends anymore when he’d turned 17. He missed seeing them. He missed being their friend. It dawned on him that he wouldn’t get to see them in the hallways of school anymore. Why was he even upset about going? Nobody liked him in this town even if he wasn’t Phantom. It wasn’t like he was leaving any friends or big relationships behind. The only person he was on good terms with was Jazz, and she’d moved away for college.

“Daniel, let’s get going.” his dad came into the room without knocking. “You wouldn’t want to miss your flight.��

─ ✧ ─

The flight was not the best. He’d been sat in a middle seat next to an asshole who decided to hog up his armrest and invade his personal space. It also didn’t help that Danny hated flying in planes. He could already fly by himself and it made him super uneasy when he wasn’t in control. It made him super airsick.

Luckily he was out of the plane now, so he didn’t have to deal with it anymore. Now he had to figure out how to get to his next location. Mom and dad had said something about someone picking him up, but they were super vague about it. He was just standing in the pick-up zone at the airport, stranded.

“Daniel Wayne?” He was put off by the use of his full name but still turned to face the man who’d said it.

“Yeah, I prefer Danny though.” He tried to keep his tone light but could tell that he still sounded uncomfortable.

“Ah. I will make note of that.” The man was older, maybe in his 60’s, and he was dressed way too fancy for a Saturday afternoon. “I’m Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne’s butler. I will be escorting you to the manor. Please follow me to the car.”

“Thank you.” Danny tried to make his tone as polite as possible. He didn’t really know rich people etiquette, but he could do his best to not be rude. Alfred led him to a really fancy black car and opened the door for him (which he’d made sure to thank the man for). He said the drive to the house would be around 30 minutes. Luckily he didn’t try to start up any conversations after that. Danny really didn’t want to talk right now. He just had to survive this car ride.

That’s right. He just had to bide his time until he got to the house, then he could go up to his new room and avoid people again. Go back to laying in bed.

He wanted to be in bed so badly. He didn’t want to meet the Waynes. He didn’t want to leave home. He just wanted to stay in his bed forever. That way he could avoid ghosts, and his problems, and people, and life in general.

He stared out the window, in an attempt to get out of his head. They passed run down warehouses, shady businesses, and apartment buildings that definitely weren’t to code. Slowly the architecture got more stable and clean until they were passing huge gothic style buildings that looked incredibly expensive to maintain. Eventually, the buildings stopped appearing, and nature took it’s place. Not so long after that happened, they reached the overly extravagant gates of the Wayne’s Mansion.

He hadn’t realized just how big their house was until he stood in front of it. He didn’t even want to be here. Why couldn’t Bruce Wayne have picked any other kid to be his charity case of the year?

“Master Bruce isn’t home right now, but his children are here so they will be greeting you in his stead.” Alfred already had his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it.

“Alright” At least he wouldn’t have to deal with meeting Bruce Wayne right now.

─ ✧ ─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─ ✧ ─

Honestly I'm super surprised about how many people like this! thank you so much for the kind words :D It genuinely means a ton to me

Thank you for reading! I haven't started working on the next chapter yet, but I'll get it out as soon as I can! :)

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dcxdp #dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #batman #danny phantom #danny fenton #maddie fenton #jack fenton #bruce wayne #batfam #danny gon get adopted #the title will make sence in the next chapter lol #just hold on a little while longer the angst will slow down #and the hurt/comfort will start rollin in #how about breakfast in bed?

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spacemammal · 4 months ago

Text

How About Breakfast in Bed?

Masterpost

This is my fist fanfic EVER sorry if its bad lol

I basically stole the entire idea for the inciting incident from a fanfic by Renee4567. Give it a read! here's the link:

Phantom's Hope

─ ✧ ─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─ ✧ ─

Part 1: Tired

Danny was so incredibly tired. The alarm blaring in his ears was giving him a piercing headache. Why did he even have to wake up? He reached to turn the damned thing off before his head exploded. His limbs ached and felt so incredibly heavy, he didn’t want to get out of bed. What was the point when it was just going to be the same as yesterday? He turned his head to look at the same grey walls he looked at every morning. He needed to clean his room but couldn’t find the energy. There were dirty cups everywhere that he hadn’t bothered to take back down to the kitchen. His clothes were in a scattered mess on the floor along with other junk. His homework was littered across his desk and room. None of it was complete. Why even bother doing it?

“DANNY!” his mom was calling him from downstairs.

“COME DOWN FOR BREAKFAST!”

He didn’t want to go. He wanted to skip breakfast, skip school, skip being shoved into his locker, and skip fighting ghosts. He just wanted to stay in bed and sleep the rest of his life away. He knew he had to leave the safety and comfort of his bed eventually. No matter how badly he didn’t want to. He dragged himself out from his warm, soft blankets and rifled through one of the shirt igloos on his floor for his binder. Getting dressed was the first step to the day ahead, so he dreaded it.

He gazed into the mirror, taking his reflection in. His hair was messy and slightly overgrown. His clothes were two sizes too big with the pants fraying at the bottoms. His under eyes were dark, accurately reflecting his tiredness. He wore long sleeves under his shirt to hide the constant injuries he got from ghost fighting. He looked like a mess, but he didn’t care enough to do anything about it.

He made himself go down the stairs and sit at the table. The food in front of him looked ok. He didn’t really have much of an appetite right now, but he knew he would suffer later if he didn’t eat right now. He wanted so badly to just go back upstairs and get back in bed. Instead, he looked around the kitchen and spotted the simplest thing to grab. A bagel.

“How did you sleep sweetheart?” his mom startled him with her question.

“I slept fine.” he mumbled the words through his bites. The bread was dry and cold, but he didn’t feel like warming it up or anything. It was a miserable meal.

“I’m still really tired though” as he said it, he looked up to see his mom already in a full on conversation with his dad about an ‘amazing idea’ to catch Phantom that she’d had. Great. Now he’d have to deal with that too. He didn’t even know why he bothered saying anything. Since Jazz left for college, this is basically how every morning went.

It was a typical day, getting shoved in a locker by dash, getting yelled at by his teachers, saving the school from another ghost, and trying not to notice how Sam and Tucker pointedly ignored him. They liked him before, hell, the teachers liked him before, but since Phantom, his grades have been dropping, his schedule’s been full. He’s learned pretty quickly that teachers only liked him if he had good grades, and his friends only liked him when he had time to actually be their friend without putting them in harm's way. So at school, he tried his best to stay out of his own head. Most of the time, that meant being on his phone. Even outside of school he was on his phone, it helped him not think so much. There were funny things that actually made him laugh. There was news that he wasn’t directly involved in. He liked to look at what the Justice League got up to, it made him feel a bit better about his decision to help.

He was laying in his bed like usual, this time he was looking through people’s instagram stories. They were all pretty boring until one caught his eye. It was about the Justice League. It said that they were coming to Amity? He wondered why they would come to a random county in Pennsylvania, so he looked up what it was referencing.

What. He sat straight up reading the JL’s official statement.

“We will be visiting Amity Park to investigate ‘Phantom’ as there have been multiple reports that the creature may be a potential harm to the residents.”

They were coming to investigate Phantom. Why did they need to investigate him? They should be able to tell that he’s trying to help. Those reports saying he’s a threat aren't true. He’s a hero just like them. He’s just… trying his best to help.

Well. There’s not really much he can do. He’ll just have to hope that they see past the reports. There’s no way he can handle dealing with THE Justice League on top of everything else.

─ ✧ ─

When the Justice League came, Phantom was busy. Way more busy than normal. He’d hoped to be able to catch them. If not to convince them he’s not actually evil, then to just get to see his heroes in person, but Vlad must’ve let out a ton of ghosts in hopes he wouldn’t catch a glance. So he was stuck fighting ghosts while people were telling the Justice League how much of a menace he is. They were recounting tales of how him causing property damage, injuries, and striking fear into the hearts of the innocent. All while he was fighting ghosts and trying his best to keep their town safe.

It wasn’t helping that he had the Ghost Investigation Ward and his parents hot on his tail trying to capture him. They shot their ecto-rays right at him, even managing to hit him every once in a while. It’s like they weren’t even trying to get the other ghosts anymore, it was just him. Luckily, he was able to get most of the ghosts fairly quickly and without major injury. He was almost done capturing them all then he’d be done. Luckily the box ghost was the only one left, and he had an easy time putting him into the thermos. As he secured the thermos’s latch, he was relieved to be done. Now he just had to return them all back to the ghost zone-

There was a sudden shooting pain in his shoulder. He fell to the ground and his vision was going spotty. He pressed his hand to where it hurt and braced himself on the ground, breathing heavily. His arm was stinging with pain and could hear his heartbeat in his head. What had happened? He pulled his hand from his arm to look at it as his vision came back. It was covered in ectoplasm. Where’d that come from? He heard people yelling behind him, but couldn’t make out their words. There was another pain, this time it was more of a knick in his calf. He looked behind him to see where this all was coming from and there was his parents. He looked back at his hand as he realized, this was his ectoplasm. He was bleeding. He was bleeding really badly. His parents were getting closer, they looked like they were ready to shoot again. His head was pounding, he had to leave quickly. He pulled himself to his feet, and started to haul ass. He was tired, so he wasn’t moving fast enough to outrun them, but he was moving. He just needed to go invisible and intangible and he could escape them.

He’d finally lost his parents, so he floated his way back into his room and collapsed. As he fell to the ground, his ghost form fell with him. He took a few breaths, clutching the fenton thermos to his chest, thankful that he hadn’t lost it when he was shot. He took another second to himself before examining his injury. His wound was deep and if he didn’t patch it up soon, he’d bleed out. When did ghost tech get so painful? He took out the med kid Jazz had made for him. She always thought ahead. When she first suggested it, he’d said no, thinking he wouldn’t need it. But in times like this, he was glad she cared enough to threaten him into listening to her advice. He couldn’t do stitches or anything, but with his ghost healing, it would be ok if he managed to hold his wound together. After disinfecting the gash on his shoulder, he pinched it together and secured it closed with band-aids. He’d been pretty sure he’d seen something like that in a doctor’s video or something? Whatever. He’d finished bandaging his worst wounds when he heard a commotion outside. He slowly peeked out his window to try and see what was happening. To his surprise, there was the Justice League. They’d been trying to interview people but it looks like it turned into a meet-and-greet of sorts. He’d thought they would’ve left by now, but they were answering questions and signing autographs. Maybe he could still talk to them. He pulled on a shirt that hid his worst injuries and headed outside, not realizing he was still holding the thermos.

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

This was going on far longer than it should’ve. Bruce knew it was a bad idea to all come here, let alone announce it. Now they were being swarmed by people who wanted autographs or to ask them pointless questions. It was all getting out of hand. He knew that they should’ve gone undercover. If this Phantom is a threat, why let it know they’re coming? Batman wasn’t engaging with the crowd like the others were. He was here to help people, not be a celebrity. The crowd was a mix of people, but they were all here for different reasons. Some were just gathered to meet them. Some were complaining about the ‘ghosts’ that apparently haunt this town. As he scanned the crowd, his attention caught on a teenager approaching the group. He didn’t quite hold the same energy as the rest of them. Where other teens were enthusiastic and happy, he was hesitant, almost scared. But there was a glimmer of hope there. It was a strange mix. He was a skinny kid with black hair and blue eyes. Probably around 15 years old. He was wearing a short sleeved shirt that exposed the scrapes and bandages running along his arms. He looked tired, and he had a slight limp to his walk. In his hand he was clutching what looked like a thermos. The grip was tight, but the strangely high tech object looked comfortable in his hands. The boy opened his mouth, about to say something before he was interrupted.

“ARE YOU GOING TO CATCH PHANTOM?!” The question came from the other side of the crowd.

They hadn’t been able to gather any real information on Phantom. Most of the people here simply didn’t like the ghoul. They had no evidence that the creature had any malintent at all.

Before Batman could answer, Superman replied to the question with a reassuring smile,

“We’ll do our best.”

Why would he answer without discussing it first? They were going to have to have another meeting about this.

With Superman’s reply, the crowd around them began to cheer. There was only one among them who didn’t. The beat-up teenager he’d been observing. He looked stunned, broken even. He looked like they had just killed all of his hopes and dreams.

─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─

Danny felt like he was going to barf. Superman had really just said that they would capture him? They believed he was a threat? No. No no no no he couldn’t accept this was happening. There must be some mistake. He looks at the heroes, trying to find anything. They’re joking, they have to be. They can’t seriously believe he’s bad, right? He searches their faces trying to find any hint that he had heard them wrong, that they’re faking it, anything. He’s been trying his best, they can’t think he’s evil. They can’t. He searches each of their smiling faces and he doesn’t see any sign that what they said was anything but the truth.

They want to capture him too.

Danny feels his world crumble as he loses all of the little hope he’d had. He began to give up. What was the point? Why even bother doing this? It was volunteer work that only ever left him injured and friendless. He looked down at the thermos in his hand. The smooth metal in his hand felt so familiar. He’d worked so hard to keep these ghosts from hurting people. He’d given his blood to keep this town safe. They still hated him. He was just a highschooler who was hurt and tired and just wanted to go to bed. Yet they still hunted him. How had he ended up like this? He used to do well in school and have friends and not feel like shit all the fucking time. He used to want to live. Now he was just wishing he could go back to before he half-died. He wanted his friends back, but they all hated him now. They didn’t hate him at first, but Sam got tired of making excuses for him and constantly helping him fight ghosts. Tucker was more or less the same. They’d left him. They didn’t want to fight ghosts. They’d realized what he hadn’t. The pointlessness of his mission. All that came of him ‘being a hero’ was him getting hurt. He was in so much pain he could barely move right now. So far he’d been able to avoid the GIW and his parents and Val, but… could he avoid the Justice League?

‘We’ll do our best.’ Superman’s words were echoing in his head. If they caught him, what would they do with him? Torture him? Kill him? He could feel his emotions bubbling up in his core. He was scared, but he felt a little more free. He wasn’t going to protect a town that didn’t want him anymore. Why had he been doing it for so long? To think that he’d fought for them, bled for them.

He laughs. It’s a hollow laugh. The crowd looked at him like he was crazy. Some people started backing away in disgust. On second thought, he didn’t think it was that funny. He was in so much pain and none of them cared. He found he was still staring at the thermos he held firmly in his hand. It was the thing he’d used over and over and over again to save the people who were now praying for his downfall.

“I guess I’m really not wanted here.” he said it quietly, almost a whisper, but it was still heard. He could feel his fangs peeking out from under his lips and his hair start to float as he started to lose control over his form. The sky, that was just moments before sunny and clear, was now dark and stormy. He tightened his hand on the thermos and before he’d even realized it, he pressed the button to release the ghosts. They were yelling and announcing themselves until they noticed Danny, stewing in his emotions. He stared up at the ghosts puzzling them out in his brain. He was so angry, and sad, and so many things he couldn’t sort it all.

“Oh shit” he recognized it as Ember’s voice.

“This seems like a bad time” This one was skulker.

Soon, all the ghosts fled, citing Danny as the reason.

He stared blankly at the now empty thermos.

“I just… tried to help” his voice breaks as he says it. Tears formed at the edges of his eyes, but they don’t fall quite yet. Something shifted in Batman as he looked at Danny, picking his every movement apart. The rain started falling and soon you could see his red blood seeping through his bandages and his shirt, exposed by the sudden water that was now soaking him. It gave his hair and clothing back the weight that it had so recently lost. Batman took a gentle step towards Danny. He looked up at Batman, searching for something that told him that the man didn’t hate him. He found nothing. His mouth was a careful, neutral expression. The rest of his face was covered by an expressionless cowl, so he found comfort in looking at the rough pavement instead. He wished so badly to not be here. He ached for the comfort of his bed.

“I’m just so tired.” as the words fell from his lips, he began crying. He couldn’t help it, just as he couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees and transforming into Phantom. He heard a few gasps from the crowd that had backed far enough away to stay out of danger but still watch. His wound had reopened and it was bleeding again. He hated being so exposed and vulnerable. He was a spectacle for them all to gawk at. But he didn’t have the energy to hide anymore, so he simply sat there. Slowly, Batman swooped down towards him. Danny flinched, prepared for the worst. Instead of pain, or an attack, he felt warm, strong arms around him. He looked up and Batman, the vengeance of Gotham, had taken him into his warm cape.

“You did a good job” the deep voice that came from Batman wasn’t as cold as Danny had been expecting. His voice was compassionate and gentle. Before he had even realized it himself, Danny was sobbing uncontrollably into the rough fabric of the costume.

It was a while before he lost all energy and stopped crying.

“I can’t do this anymore.” his voice was quiet and he still clung to the cape as he said it.

“That’s alright.” Batman’s voice was reassuring.

“Did I…” he paused. Ancients, he was tired. “Did I really do alright?” He was looking at the cloudy sky when he said it. Wishing he could see the stars.

BEEP BEEP BEEP! He gasped for air and sat up straight as his alarm clock pulled him from his sleep. Oh. It was a dream.

─ ✧ ─ ✧- ☽ -✧ ─ ✧ ─

This is just the first chapter! I promise it will get less angsty. Trust

Edit: I forgot to mention, danny's like 17 in this, he just looks younger (being trans'll do that to ya)

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