#...grabbing the spray bottle rn though /j

[silens-oro]

Well Enough Alone: Prologue

Not all fics have adult content, but this blog is 18+. Andrew "Pope" Cody x f!Reader (nicknamed Hawk)

Masterlist Pope Cody Playlist

General Synopsis: Hawk juggles her life between Julia, Julia's son J, and the Cody family. Slow Burn. Word Count: 1,667 Content Warning: No description of the reader, other than the nickname. Warnings will be updated chapter by chapter. Mentions of sex (educational). A/N: I have been writing and editing this story for the better part of two months, piecing it together like Frankenstein's monster. Hawk's relationship with J is everything to me rn. I love Pope as a deeply flawed character and I hope you enjoy what's coming down the pipeline for this. I haven't decided just how long this fic is going to be total, but we're in for a ride. As always, your feedback and comments are most welcome.

“Hey,” J greeted as he stepped into the kitchen, dropping his backpack on the floor by Hawk’s feet. She was sitting on a barstool with her laptop in front of her, working on a schedule for the upcoming orders she had at the shop. “Busy?” 

“When am I not?” Hawk answered rhetorically, giving J her attention. “What’s up? How was school?” He opened the fridge, grabbed the carton of orange juice, turned to face Hawk and took a big swig right from the carton, then put it back. “Ew, kid. Nasty. Gross. Disgusting. Foul. Bad.” This made J’s grin widen at the reaction he got out of her. It was times like this that Hawk wished she had a spray bottle.  

“You don’t drink it anyway,” He shrugged, knowing exactly what he was doing. Little Shit Behavior, Hawk had told him once, and he ran with it. 

“Gee, I wonder why. It's not like you've been leaving little floaties in my drinks your whole life or anything." Hawk brought her attention back down to the schedule. “I swear every teenage boy does this and I cannot for the life of me understand why you have aversions to glassware.” J leaned on the opposite side of the counter, his arms holding his weight up. 

“I could leave floaties in it if you miss the good ol' days,” Hawk laughed, stretching her back.

“Keep this up and you’ll be on dish duty for the next week.” Her threats were flimsy at best. The kid picked up after himself and left the house spotless, so much so that he didn’t even dirty the glasses she had, Hawk thought with a sigh as she shook her head. "What are your plans for the night? Any homework you gotta handle?"

“I’m gonna go check on mom, then head over to Nicky’s. There's a pre-calc test on Friday that we need to study for. Is that cool?” Hawk nodded, returning her attention partially to her laptop.

“You gonna be around for dinner?” Click here, move this to Tuesday, a cancellation for Thursday -the motions were second nature to her by now.

“Might not be back until later, depending on how mom’s doing. And what dinner is.” He finished with a raised brow as Hawk glanced up. Cheeky little bastard. 

“I’m thinking some take-out? Maybe Thai, maybe Indian. I haven’t made up my mind. Want me to get your usual and stick it in the fridge?” Hawk offered, already knowing what his answer was when he smiled.

“You’re the best.” 

“Oh, I know, but I don’t get tired of hearing it though.” J flicked a piece of debris that was on the island at Hawk, but chuckled nonetheless. 

“Speaking of Nicky,” She started, but was interrupted by J groaning and pushing himself off the island.

“Not again,” He begged, hitting his forehead against the counter gently.

“No, I’m serious, J. You’re being safe, right? Teen pregnancy is no joke, and STI’s are even less funny. Both of them stick with you for life…in most cases.”

“Nicky isn’t pregnant and she doesn’t have an STI,”

“You never know, kid. Anything can happen even when you’re careful, but the odds are more staggering if you’re not. Nothing against Nicky, I like her a whole lot, but I’m protecting her against you too. It goes both ways. I’m not condoning what you little heathens get up to in your free time, but I also know I can't stop it, so there’s condoms in the hall closet, top shelf to the left. Take what you need, no questions asked. I just want you to be careful. If I raised one kid just for another to come rolling in after the first one grows up, I’m going to be pissed.”

“Well ahead of you on that.” Hawk had to bite her lips closed and squeeze her eyes shut when he let that slip. She held her hands up, shaking her head. 

“You’re using them. That’s all that matters. No questions. I don’t need specifics” Hawk stood from her stool and walked over to J. “Now I need a shot of bleach to kill whatever brain cells just survived through that.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“You don’t gotta keep bringing this up,” She cupped his youthful cheeks in her hands, squishing them just slightly, making the last word slur.

“Yeah I do, so long as you're young and your frontal lobe hasn’t fully formed, I will bring this up every chance I can. You'll thank me later, believe me. You’re like my son, J. It kills me to see you getting older, but I trust you. You’re a good kid, you go to school and get good grades, and you’re smart” Hawk made a face, “…er than most other boys your age, so I’ll give you that, but you know you can come to me if you need anything, right? I know you know that, but do you understand what I am saying?” He nodded and Hawk kissed his forehead before ruffling his hair and freeing him to go sit back on her stool, but not before he took a playful swipe at her as she retreated. “Good. Do you need a ride?”

“Nah, I should be good on my bike.” He said as he fixed his hair.

“Alright, try not to stay out too late. It’s a school night.”

“Yes, mom,” Hawk fixed him with a look and he returned one sheepishly. J moved around the island to grab his backpack and wrap his arm around Hawk’s shoulders for a quick hug and a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll try not to wake you up when I get back.” 

“You better not be out that late, kid. Tell your mom I said to give me a call and please shoot me a text when you’re on your way back so I know you're aright.” He nodded and took off out the front door.  

Hawk’s relationship with J was both complicated and simple. She grew up with Julia and the Cody brothers.Like a broken record, Smurf took her in at 13 when her own mother died and she had nowhere left to go. The tumultuous relationship Hawk had with her mother before she died was less than J currently had with Julia, and while Julia had her own set of problems, J still had his mother.

And he had Hawk. 

Since J was two, he spent most of his days with her while Julia did what Julia did. Sweet Julia -a child of encouraged alcohol abuse by Smurf, grew into an adult with a crippling heroin addiction who had a baby she had no business having, but Hawk loved Julia as a sister so she made sure that baby was well cared for in any way she could. 

At twenty one, struggling to keep her double life afloat, Hawk was contacted by a lawyer from North Carolina -her absent father wasn’t actually an absent father. Her mother kept her from him in any way she could, forged documents, and Hawk was none the wiser until she was met with a will from her now deceased father -along with a letter telling her how sorry he was about the way that things turned out with Hawk and her mother.

It turned out that he was very wealthy -he owned property along the east coast that he left to her, along with a hefty sum of $4.8 million in liquid cash after taxes along with some other assets. The how’s and the why’s of Hawk’s disconnection with him didn’t matter anymore. Both of her parents were long gone and her world kept spinning. 

Hawk kept the real estate running on the east coast with the same property management her father had just to keep the money flowing in -occasionally making the trip out to check in on things. It was passive income that would keep her afloat should anything happen and that was a security she never had before. 

With some of the money that made its way to Hawk’s bank account, she bought a house near the beach between Smurf’s place and Julia’s. It was a three bedroom on a hill that had a small infinity pool and a wrap around back porch that faced the ocean. The first sunset she witnessed in that house, which was empty minus an air mattress and a duffel bag of clothes, was something she would always remember. 

Hawk didn’t go to college, and she barely graduated high school due to disinterest and the lovely upbringing she had -add on J and there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell to go even if she wanted to. 

She was smart, charmingly so, but everything about a classroom setting made her skin crawl in the worst way. What she did have, though, was a passion for plants and so she leaned into it because she could now that finances weren't an issue. 

Opening her own plant nursery wasn’t easy and it consumed every waking second that she wasn’t already giving to J, who had turned three at that point. It was tricky, but doable, and the next thing she knew her business was up, running, and flourishing. The clientele grew exponentially within that first year with weddings, funerals, and other events and within two years Hawk was a well known name in Oceanside with clients coming from all around Southern California. 

Sometimes it felt like she was living someone else’s life because this was not the way hers was supposed to pan out.  Not in the slightest.

Keeping Hawk’s life with the Cody's and her life with Julia and J completely separate was another level of hell on Earth for her in the beginning, especially when she had baby J most of the time. Julia made her swear up and down that no matter what, she wouldn’t speak to them about her and her son and it was a promise Hawk kept wholly. Anytime one of the brothers came into the shop or stopped by Hawk’s house while she had J, she simply said she was watching a friend’s kid. No further explanation. No questions asked. And so that’s who J was to them -Hawk’s friend’s kid, which wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either. 

Hawk worked her way through email after email, put her staff schedule together for the next month, dealt with time off requests, and went through order sheets from her suppliers for the next hour when her phone rang on the island.

FSP flashed on the screen. She swiped to answer and put it on speaker.

“This is a collect call from Folsom State Prison on behalf of-“ “Andrew Cody” Pope’s voice interrupted the automated message before it continued. “Do you accept the charges to connect the call?”

“I accept.”

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[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts days 19 & 20

From this prompt list. I set a goal of writing at least 150 words per day in 2024, which sounds pretty pathetic but if you take into account the fact that I haven’t written any fiction since 2019 it felt like a feasible target. Anyway I’ve finished the first draft (it topped out at 88k words) and will be unlocking each post as I edit.

read from the beginning here

Day 18 here

***

88. “Might I remind you that these walls aren’t sound proof.”

95. “Need me to remind you on what happened last night?” (slightly modified for characterization purposes)

***

Out of sheer spite, he worked till when he usually got done with patrolling. Or, close to it, anyway. He fell asleep at his desk at some point and woke up with a crick in his neck and his latest case notes punctuated with a huge text block of j's from where his face had pressed against the keyboard. He glowered at the document as he highlighted the pages of sleep typing and deleted them. This proved nothing. It especially didn't prove Damian was right. About anything.

He texted Jason. where are u rn? want to talk to u abt some of the info i found on the weapons trafficking case

Jason replied after a second. Just got done showering in the Cave. I can hang around if you want or meet you next time I come in.

The city lights filtered across the room between the slats of the blinds. Tim frowned at the dust they revealed, floating sparkly in the air. He really needed to get a housekeeping service in here. He really needed to do a lot of responsible adult things.

Well, it would have to wait, because right now he had more important shit to take care of. He typed, i’ll come to u. Jason didn't like letting them know where his safehouses were, and it could be hard to catch him. Plus he wouldn't allow his computers at home to be connected to the Batcomputer, so getting information to him securely was a pain in the ass. Tim transferred what he needed to a flash drive and grabbed the keys to his Taycan.

Once he got to the Cave, he was greeted by the sight of Stephanie and Cassandra sprawled in an impossible pile on the mats in post-patrol sweats.

Stephanie looked over, distracted from spraying her water bottle's straw at Cassandra's open mouth. "Hey, Tim! You okay?" Cass made an outraged sound and leapt to her feet as water splattered all over her chest. Tim shouted with laughter. "Oh, shit! Cass—I'm so sorry—" Stephanie took off her shirt and offered it as a towel.

Cassandra waved her off with a tiny side-smile. "I have more shirts. Put yours back on." She wandered off toward the showers.

Stephanie got up and walked closer to Tim. "Seriously, though, are you all right? It's not like you to bail on patrol at the last minute."

"I'm fine. That was outside interference." He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice, and Stephanie's gaze sharpened with curiosity immediately. Before she could ask, he cut her off with, "Where's Jason?"

She shrugged. "He left."

"What the fuck?" Tim pulled out his phone and saw a new text waiting.

Shit, sorry, didn't get your message till I was halfway home. I'll come by your place tomorrow. Lmk when you'll be around.

Ugh. Well, Bristol cell reception was notoriously bad, as witness the fact that Tim hadn't gotten any notifications himself. it's cool see u later. "Well, that sucks."

"He stand you up?" Steph asked, voice muffled by her shirt as she pulled it over her head.

"Not on purpose. But there's no real reason for me to be here if he isn't."

"Oh, fine, I see how it is." She grinned at him, sunny and unbothered.

He grinned back."You’re right. You are completely worth driving to see at 4 AM for nothing but the joy of saying hi to you. I've gotta head back, though." Movement near the showers caught his eye, and he glanced over to tell Cassandra goodbye. Instead, he saw Damian, toweling off his hair and walking barefoot toward them.

"Tim?" Stephanie's expression shifted into confusion. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'll see you later." Tim turned on his heel and started walking back to the elevator.

Damian's voice was no louder than normal, but it still stopped him in his tracks. "Drake."

Tim considered keeping walking, but that would lead to questions from Stephanie that he really didn't want to answer. With a resigned sigh, he pivoted again to face Damian. "Yeah?"

Somehow, Damian had ended up halfway across the room without looking like he'd moved more quickly than an amble. "Todd mentioned you had found some new information about the weapons traffickers. What was it?"

Tim gave him an incredulous look but managed to keep his voice even. "I'll have him tell you after we talk tomorrow." He made to leave again.

Before he could set foot in the elevator, Damian's hand had his elbow. "You may tell me now. I don't wish to wait for Todd's inevitable exaggerations and mischaracterization of the information." That was blatant slander of Jason's methodical approach to investigation. Tim opened his mouth to tell Damian so, but he didn't get a word out because Damian pushed him onto the elevator and stepped in with him. "I'll accompany you upstairs."

"Gee, thanks," Tim muttered. He waved goodbye to Stephanie and Cass, who had returned and was looking at them with far too much interest. As the elevator ascended, Tim shoved Damian back and moved as close to the exit as he could. "I don't know what you're playing at and I don't want to," he shot over his shoulder. "Leave me the hell alone."

Damian's face reflected in the door showed nothing but faintly amused contempt. "Tt. You're being childish. All this because you had to miss patrol one night?"

The doors opened to the main study, which was thankfully empty. Tim practically leaped toward the door, but once again Damian's longer legs gave him the advantage. He beat Tim to the doorknob and locked it, then stood with his arms crossed as Tim tried not to run into him.

He leaned back on his heels to glare up at the human barrier between him and freedom. "Damian, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Damian's brows lifted in cool inquiry. "I'm investigating. I thought we left things on good terms, but it seems you've decided to throw a tantrum. I want to know why."

Tim scoffed. "Oh, now you're going to act like implying I'm weak and incompetent to Bruce is somehow an accident? Like it isn't you just trying to push me out again? I can't believe I actually thought you were sincere about wanting me to help you. Was this all just some gigantic ploy to get a closer look at my vulnerabilities? Because it seems kind of hard on you, to have to spend time with someone you hate just to get an advantage."

Damian narrowed his eyes and made a grab for Tim's wrist, but Tim twisted free and shoved him again. Damian used his proximity to seize his shoulders and spin them both so Tim's back hit the door. Damian lowered his face until their noses were practically brushing and snarled, "You're delusional. For all your vaunted detective abilities you're still making unwarranted assumptions with no basis in reality. Make no mistake, the fact that I fucked you has no bearing on my decisions or actions."

Tim stiffened. Anyone could come up the elevator or be walking by in the hall. "Might I remind you that these walls aren't soundproof."

Damian loosened his hold for a bare second, then slammed him against the door again. "Might I remind you of what happened last night?" Tim wondered, through the fog of weariness, if Damian was going to kiss him, but instead, he hissed, "You quite literally fell asleep on your feet at one point while I was drying you off after you showered. That was after I listened to you crying and begging your father and mine to let you save them in your sleep, and then pretended not to wake up while you got up and began working again on just a couple hours of rest." He released Tim's shoulders and straightened to look down his nose. "Of course I told Father you needed to stay home. It was a logical decision based on observation and experience. Which is more than I can say for any of your choices at the moment."

"Oh, fuck your experience." Tim jabbed him in the chest with his finger. "It was none of your business! I'll be the one to judge whether or not I'm able to do my goddamn job, and I don't need to be nursemaided by a guy with a superiority complex big enough to sink the Titanic."

A sudden flush flooded into Damian's cheeks. His fists clenched at his sides. "Perhaps when you cease behaving like an infant, you'll no longer need a nanny to keep you from killing yourself one way or another. Until then, I suppose you'll continue foisting that job off onto those more capable of doing it, as you have so many others."

"Yeah?" Tim straightened too. His hands were shaking. He wrapped his arms around himself to hide it, which had the side benefit of helping a little with the nausea churning in his gut. "Well, I might suck at taking care of myself, but at least I was capable of getting rid of my virginity without having to beg someone I despise to do the job just because no one else wanted it."

Damian's chin jerked toward the ceiling as if Tim had slammed an uppercut to his jaw. Without waiting for him to muster a comeback, Tim unlocked the study door and fled to his car.

day twenty-one here