#Damian and danny have to figure out what the fuck is going on but neither are willing to call their parents to confirm

[ew-selfish-art]

My brain is unwilling to let go of Twin AU prompts. Sorry for the long post lmao.

Jazz and Jason are getting pretty serious in their relationship, and honestly, they’ve both been hesitant to introduce their family members to one another despite constantly talking about them. They’ve been dating since she started her doctoral studies at Gotham U and she’s about to defend her dissertation, so it really is about time. He saved her in her first week as the Red Hood and he immediately felt at home with her (something, something liminal), she runs into him the next day at a coffee shop and thanks him for taking the time to help her. 

Identities are obviously blown. Jason knows that her brother works in ‘politics’ and her younger sister is a travel blogger, and that the three of them don’t talk to her mad scientist parents anymore. Jazz knows that he came back from the dead, his adoptive family had a slew of issues in addition to their hero-complexes and that he would be prepared to kill for any one of his siblings. Their communication skills are top notch. 

But then came the issue of actually meeting the family. Like Jazz knows all of the drama between the siblings but could not pick them out of a line up, or more importantly, know who to talk to if an emergency situation came up. Jason agrees, that yeah, it would probably be for the best if he could at least identify her little brother and sister if they had to like, meet at hospital or something. 

So that was the plan. Invite just siblings over to their shared apartment, no parents and no fuss. (She even called Danny ahead of time to tell him not to portal straight into the apartment, he needed to walk in the door like a normal person. They could share Ghost King secrets later.) 

Tim arrives first, he’d been working a case nearby and Jazz & Jason live pretty close to a nice coffeeshop, so he stopped along the way. He’d done some creeping to figure out that she drinks Chai so he brought one for her. Creepy and yet, endearing. 

Ellie comes in second from the window, launching into a story about how annoying it was to find the place with all the gloom, didn’t this city have any respect for the dead? Tim doesn’t get it but Jason is laughing along so Tim files it away for later. 

Dick comes in with a shit ton of Pizza he panic ordered, a fruit bouquet and two bottles of wine from Bruce’s cellar. Duke came along with him, a large tupperware of Alfred’s cookies. 

Then Steph, Babs and Cass show up, immediately treating Jazz like family while also being hella suspicious about the whole thing. She notices them looking at her hands and Jazz explains that no, they weren’t doing this because Jason proposed. Steph and Cass are annoyed at Jason but tell Jazz she could do better if she wanted. Babs is happy they aren’t rushing into anything (she’s the only one besides Tim that knows how long they’ve been dating- this is just to throw out a red herring for the others)

Everyone is getting along and having a great time, Ellie being a natural entertainer along side Dick, everyone trying to tell embarrassing stories about Jason. Loud noises are coming from the hallway when they realize that neither Damian nor Danny had arrived. 

Rushing out the door, the boys are alternating putting each other into choke holds and arguing about not being clones. Danny keeps phasing out of Damian’s grip and Damian keeps pulling out more knives. The hallway looks like it had been blown up and the two are continuing to yell at one another about going to a family dinner. Jason and Jazz just stare at them from the doorway, and wouldn’t you know it, they look like fucking twins. 

Jazz grabs Danny, Jason grabs Damian, and everyone is fucking confused. Both sides of the family can confirm growing up with the twins, that neither are a clone. Ellie helpfully supplies that she’s the clone and that opens a whole other bag of chaos. 

Eventually they get everyone to sit down for dinner and the night gets weirder from there. 

[clockwayswrites]

City Pigeons Bleed Green - Part 11

“Robin can’t stay here like that again,” Jason said as he chopped up a cucumber. “If he wants to come back, we need to introduce them properly and Danny needs to be okay with it."

“I know,” Dick sighed. “He’s been getting better but him not listening to B when in cape is a real backslide.”

“That’s not…” Jason made a frustrated noise and put the knife down with a level of care that worried Dick. That worry grew when Jason purposefully stepped back from it to lean against the counter.

“Hood?”

“Kid knew that Robin was here,” Jason said, glaring down the faint leftover ring from a cup of last night’s hot chocolate. “Wing, Danny knew, and he was terrified.”

Dick stilled. He had just thought it was fear or someone else being in the apartment. “How?”

“Smelled him, apparently,” Jason said with a casual shrug that Dick didn’t believe for a moment. “Said that Robin reeked of death.”

“Well, fuck,” Dick said. “The Lazarus Pits?”

“Best as I can figure.”

Best as Jason could figure, but Jason was still bothered by something— something that wasn’t how Damian smelled to Danny.

Dick reached out to still Jason’s hand from where it was picking at the dried ring of coco. “Little wing… what did Danny say?”

It said a lot that Jason didn’t pull away.

“He was terrified because Robin smelled like death but hadn’t died.” Jason looked up to meet Dick’s eyes. A ring of green circled the blue. “He hadn’t died, not like us.”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh fuck,” Dick said again. That was the sort of statement that deserved more cussing. He got up and started to pace. “Did you…?”

Jason shook his head. “No. Wasn’t the time, Danny was too freaked out about Robin’s presence. But fuck, Wing, the way he said it… like I should have already known that about him.”

“Like he knows it about you.”

“Yeah. Since he can smell it or sense it or whatever,” Jason said. He ran his hands through his hair, spreading the streak of white throughout the dark locks.

Dick’s eyes stuck on the movement.

“Wing?”

“You’re hair.”

“Who cares if I mess it up—”

“No, J— little wing, your white hair. Danny…” Dick swallowed around the taste of bile. “We know he should have black hair, but it’s all white. Jay, how many times did he die? How many times did they kill him?”

Jason pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, looking ill. “Fuck. Fuck!”

“Okay, it’s okay,” Dick said, immediately regretting upsetting Jason like that. He hated hurting his little brother, but Dick did need someone else on the same page as him. He needed someone else watching out for things. “We’ll get the story when Danny is ready. What matters right now is that he’s here and we’ll keep him safe.”

“We sure as fuck will,” Jason said, a growl rumbling under his voice.

“But we have to wait until he’s ready.”

“Yeah, got you.” Jason leaned back against the wall. His head thumped against it with a sound that made Dick wince.

“But I do think you’ll be the one he talks to,” Dick soothed.

Jason snorted. “Cause the dead stick together.”

“You’re not dead, Jaybird, and neither is Danny.”

“And we’ll keep him safe,” Jason echoed with a sigh.

Dick didn’t have any illusions that Jason’s version of keeping Danny safe wouldn’t include murder if it came to it, but Dick was sure he could play distraction for Bruce, Cass, and Duke if need be. Damian should be kept away too, he had been doing better. Dick groaned and gave in to laying his head down on the counter.

“What horrible thing did you realize now?” Jason asked.

“Just that I’ll need to go see the baby bat. We need to talk about last night and I should just spend more time with him and the other kids.”

“Yeah, that might be good. You should get some damn sleep too before you start trying to subsist on sugar. Don’t think I didn’t see that cereal you had B.B. buy,” Jason chastised.

“I thought Danny might like it!”

“Danny would have a sugar high for three days if he ate a spoonful,” Jason said and went back to chopping up the very healthy cucumber he had.

“Fine, then what are you making?”

“A quick pickle. We’ll have it with feta cheese and couscous. It will be good protein for Danny since we don’t have him eating meat yet,” Jason said.

Dick smiled back. “You know, if you ever get tired of stabbing people with knives, you could just become a personal chef.”

“Why, looking to hire one and solve your horrible eating habits? You should get a maid while you’re at it.”

“Little wing,” Dick whined, clutching at his chest. “That’s so mean! My place is looking great! You’d know that if you ever visited me.”

Jason glanced past Dick and smirked. “Kid, tell Wing he’s a liar.”

“Wing, you’re a liar,” Danny mumbled, the words broken up by a large yawn.

“It’s no fair using Danny against me while he’s still half asleep!” Dick turned away from Jason with a pout and held his arms open.

Looking far from awake, Danny basically stumbled into Dick’s arm. He rested his head against Dick’s shoulder and seemed half ready to fall back asleep right there. Dick didn’t even try to hold back a coo.

Jason snorted. “Yeah, you’re really suffering over there.”

Dick stuck his tongue at Jason before deciding to focus on his littler, cuter brother. He ran his hands through Danny’s hair, trying hard not to think about the color. “Did you have a good nap?”

Danny shrugged. “Mostly.”

“Yeah? And what does mostly mean in this case?” Dick asked.

“Just… I don’t know. Didn’t dream, not really, but sorta felt like I was close to dreaming.”

“I guess you don’t want to dream?”

“Don’t think they’ll be good,” Danny admitted, softly.

“Well, Dandelion,” Dick said, putting as much cheer into his words as he could, “if that happens you come find me or Hood or whoever’s here. Cuddling is always a good cure for nightmares and if that doesn’t work, hot chocolate is even better.”

When Danny didn’t respond, even nonverbally, Dick gave him a little poke in the side which made Danny squeak and squirm a little.

“Tell me what you’ve got rattling around in that brain of yours,” Dick prompted.

Danny heaved a sigh as he pulled away and sat on the stool next to Dick. He kept his eyes downcast, focused on the rather frayed cuff of the hoodie he had taken to almost constantly wearing. “I don’t want wake anyone else up if they’re sleeping. I know you guys haven’t been getting enough rest because of me…”

“Less than we’d like, maybe,” Jason said casually and Dick shot him a glare. They were supposed to be reassuring Danny!

“But,” Jason continued, “we’re fine with that if it means helping you get well. Besides, we’ll get B.B. over here maybe tomorrow and the big blue bird here can go check on the rest of his life for a bit.”

“But only if you’re okay with her being here,” Dick added.

“I don’t want to… you all have done so much for me already. Of course you can go deal with other things. It’s… you don’t have to pay attention to me.”

“Hey, Danny.” Dick reached out, clearly telegraphing his motions so that Danny could pull away if he wanted. When Danny didn’t even twitch, Dick rested his hand over Danny’s. “We want to. I promise you, we want to make sure you’re well and that you heal. We’ll be here the whole time until you’re ready to talk to Bruce.”

“Hell, we’ll be here after,” Jason said. “Gotham is our city, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll still be around if you need us, even if it’s just to be around us.”

Danny glanced up at at Jason with such blatant hope showing through from where it was shuttered behind hard learned lessons and a horrible life. Dick’s heart just about broke.

“Really?” It wasn’t more than a whisper that Danny asked, but it carried so much weight.

“Really,” Jason said with a shrug and that devil may care confidence that only he could manage.

“Really,” Dick added, trying to put as much care and love that he already felt for his new little brother into the word.

Danny glanced down again, but instead of going back to picking at the hem, he twisted his hand to wrap his fingers up with Dick’s.

“I… thank you. That’s… I don’t know why you all care so much when—” Danny cut himself off sharply, biting his lip so hard that Dick was worried that it would bleed.

Dick just squeezed his hand.

“Anyways,” Danny continued after a few shuddering breaths, “it means a lot, thank you.”

“Always,” Dick swore. This was their brother.

-

Damian’s brother was being annoying again.

This was hardly unusual.

“Grayson, do stop lurking like that. It is unbecoming.”

“I wasn’t lurking baby bat!” Grayson said, bouncing forward like some sort of overly cheerful ungulate.

“Tt.”

“I wasn’t! I was being polite and waiting for you to be done with your kata,” Grayson protested with a pout. “If I was being rude I would have just swept in and scooped you up.”

Damian took a step back. “Grayson, no.”

“No what?” he asked, his eyes impossibly wide and innocent.

It was best to leave, Damian decided.

Unfortunately Grayson was actually far more wolf that sheep and he pursued Damian. They tore around the Cave. Damian attempted to use his smaller stature to be able to slip through spots that should be impossible for Grayson to follow him through, but that hardly stopped his brother. What little speed Damian might have gained from his pathing was well made up for Grayson being larger and, as reluctant as Damian was to admit it, better at free running.

“There’s my baby bat!” Grayson cooed as he held Damian close after catching him.

Damian let his arms and legs dangle listlessly. He had learned that Grayson was annoying resistant to nerve strikes and that it was sometimes better to simple accept the… cuddling.

“My bitty bat! Baby bat! Bladed bloody bat!”

Damian sighed.

“We are going to go out!” Grayson said, hauling Damian towards the lift. “I found a shelter that needs some help socializing a whole bunch of cats taken from a hording situation so we’ll pick up a big food donation and head over. Afterwards, we can get falafel from that place on 8th and ice cream from a new place right down the street!”

That… didn’t sound too poor of a day, really.

“I suppose that the cats will have a better chance to be adopted if socialized quickly,” Damian said, haughtily. He couldn’t simply let Grayson know how appealing the idea was.

“Right? And you’re the best person I know for it,” Grayson said. Thankfully he set Damian down once they were in the lift and moving up towards the manor.

Damian stared at the rock on the the other side of the cage. “And… you do not need to go back to the safe house today?”

“Nope!” Grayson chirped. “I’m even going to stay at the manor tonight.”

“That is acceptable. You have informed Pennyworth?”

“Of course baby bat.”

“Very good,” Damian said. They fell into silence as they moved fully into the manor. Damian made his way for the stairs to go up and shower, but paused at the bottom. “Grayson?”

“Yeah, Dami?”

“He was afraid of me.”

Damian was thankful Grayson was astute enough not to ask who.

“He could sense you, it seems,” Grayson said. He walked over and leaned against the railing of the stairs. “Think of it from his point of view. He was asleep in what he had been told was a secure location and woke up to someone else being there. He didn’t know who, or what, you were. I’m sure you’d go on the offensive right away to find out who it was. Danny though… we know he’s been through a lot and I don’t think fighting back was an option for him.”

Damian thought back to the scars that had covered the other’s body in the first pictures. He frowned down at the steps. “Yes.”

“Right, so for him, he needed to find out who you were, just like you would, but he was scared instead of aggressive.”

“Which is why he hid behind Todd.” Damian had barely been able to catch sight of this ‘Danny’.

“Yep. Jason was one of the people who got him somewhere safe, so he trusts Jason to at least try to keep him safe. I’m sure Jay reassured him that was likely you before they came to check.”

Damian snorted.

“Hey, give Jason some credit, he knows his security stuff. He only pretends to still be bad at cellphones so he has a reason not to call.”

“Tt.”

“Don’t worry, baby bat, I’ll talk to Danny about having you come over again when everyone knows to expect you,” Grayson said with a gentleness that annoyed Damian.

“I never said I wished to go back over.”

“No?”

“No. But,” Damian said, stressing the next part, “if it is something everyone in the family is doing, then I will put up with the chore.”

“Thank you, Dami,” Grayson said. “Babs is next and then we’ll see about you! Now go change so that we can get to the shelter.”

“What exactly do you think I was doing,” Damian snapped and headed up the stairs with his head held high and a flutter of worry in his chest that he was pretending didn’t exist.

---

AN: Aaaah it was good to get back to writing this! This was my first time writing Damian's POV and he was an unexpected delight to write! His part got done very quickly. We'll have Babs up soon and Steph will need to bully her way in I'm sure. Bruce is pouting in front of the Batcomputer I'm sure, waiting for his turn to meet his son.

Anyways, stay delightful darlings!

[confessedlyfannish]

DP x DC Writing Prompt #10

Damian wakes up to low-pitched arguing, and in his daze thinks the hand running through his hair is Richard's.

"S'rry," he murmurs, turning his cheek into the hand. His head hurts, and Richard's hand is cool against his cheek, delicate nails ghosting over his scalp.

Hm. Richard does not have delicate nails. Nor a woman's voice.

"-lty is to Danny, all you've done is put a bigger target on our backs!"

"So be it," the young woman says, voice measured. It's her hand that's in Damian's hair. He'd pull away but his body is weighed down, eyelids barely ably to slip open to grab a glimpse of ginger hair before slamming shut again.

He's...drugged. He thinks. Nothing he recognizes immediately, but it's been a while since his poisoning sessions and thinking right now is difficult. His mask is still on, which means his identity is intact. There's nothing he can do except hope it will stay that way.

And so he sinks back under.

Some time later, he resurfaces with more lucidity. He's still costumed, mask on. His body still feels heavy, but this time he can wedge his eyes open enough to catch three figures next to the bed he now lies on. The redhead stands closest.

"--you an out," she is saying, her back to Damian. The other two, a pale girl with pitch black hair and a boy wearing a red cap, look at each other.

"That's not what we're asking for, and you know it!" The pale girl yells.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't take it." The woman says, her voice extremely level in comparison. This only seems to agitate the girl further.

"Team Phantom means we make decisions as a team, Jazz." The boy says through grit teeth. "And if you had run this by us, we would've,"

"Said no--" the pale girl says, meanly.

"--At least figured out a better way," the boy says, head turning sharply towards the girl. "Between this and Jefferson you've been making really rash choices. We can't find Danny if we get caught by the Justice Loogies--"

"Team Phantom," the redhead interrupts. She turns towards Damian, and if she notices he's awake, she doesn't say anything. "You really don't get it, do you. There is no Team Phantom, because Danny's gone. We're not going to find him."

"Stop eating their bs--"

"Stop living in denial, Sam. Both of you. We can't find Danny because Danny's not anywhere to be found."

"They wouldn't get rid of him--"

"Why wouldn't they? Don't you see?" Jazz says, whirling around. She waves a blurry arm in Damian's direction.

"They can recreate the experiment anytime they want. And they do want. They found his genetic doppelgänger when they got their hands on Robin's blood. That's what they had on file in Jefferson."

Jefferson, Damian thinks. It's familiar. Information starts to filter in. It's not a person, but a place. There was an explosion at a government facility. Blew up three city blocks. 45 Casualties.

The redhead's a terrorist. He thinks. Redhead.

Fuck. She'd been getting mugged. He'd rescued her. Her face had been bruised.

She'd wanted to go to the hospital. Held onto his cape for dear life. Flinched back from Richard.

He'd smirked at Grayson before offering to escort her.

He'd felt important.

...He'd been an idiot.

"--You really think he'd just hand him over?"

"I don't know anything about Batman," the girl says. "But I'm not letting another brother die."

There's a sharp inhale, and neither side speaks.

"So that's it," the pale girl says. "You give up and immediately go get a replacement?"

"Sam..." the boy says warningly.

"Danny would want me to protect him," Jazz says. "So that's what I'm going to do. And you are free to leave."

"You're acting fucking crazy," Sam says. "And you're too deep in your grief to realize it. Danny would want none of this."

"Well then maybe it's a good thing he's not here," Jazz says, "Maybe I should be thanking you two instead."

The resulting silence is so sharp Damian hears only the sound of his own breaths.

"Fuck you," the girl spits, a door slamming a split second later. The boy doesn't say a word, crossing over to Damian.

"I'm going to keep looking, Jazz," he says, after a long moment. "I'm going to find him. Because he's alive."

Jazz doesn't respond.

"Listen, they found Robin's blood, right? They don't know who he is, so if we tell him to stop with the costume, lay low-"

"They'll finger prick all of Gotham if they have to. You know that. They can't get to him here, not with the portals and research destroyed. Even if they catch Mom and Dad, the ghosts will rip them to pieces if they ever step foot in the zone."

Jazz steps closer to Damian. "Here, Superman won't be able to hear his heartbeat."

"What happens when he wakes up? Wants to go home? He must have a family out there, he can't be Robin 24/7."

"You know I used to read to Danny?" Jazz says. Her voice is distant. "Every night before bed. He'd never heard a fairy tale before. He could read, of course, but he liked the way—" Jazz swallows. "He liked the way I did the voices. We were supposed to be in bed by 9 but when Mom would come to check on us we'd just pretend we were asleep. Danny was really good at it, but I could always tell when he was pretending."

A hand brushes through his hair again.

"You really are his twin, Damian."

Damian opens his eyes and sits up as the boy, a teenager his own age, takes a startled step back. Jazz, yes, the woman he'd 'rescued', smiles warmly at him.

He's in a canopied bed, surrounded by rich fabrics and what looks to be purple-bricked walls. There's a green tinted window to his right. Bookshelves with old looking tomes lines the walls and a suit of armor stands by the door. He notes the mace in its hands. With any luck, it won't be welded to the gloves.

"Danyal is dead," he says shortly. Jazz's smile turns sad.

"Yes," she takes his hand. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way. He was so brave—,"

Damian yanks his hand away. "No, he's not newly dead, he's been dead. For years."

Jazz shakes her head, that same sad condescending smile on her face. "No, Danny didn't die. He escaped the League. He told me all about you. He," her voice wobbles, "he loved you very much."

Damian's blood churns. "You're lying."

"He lived, and he was a hero, like you. He helped people. And then he became a King," Jazz says. She continues to smile, even as tears start to trail down her face. "Which makes you a prince."

She sounds, to quote Sam, fucking crazy. And now that he can see the manic gleam in her eyes, she looks it too. Damian shoots an incredulous glance at the boy, but he refuses to make eye contact.

Jazz stands up and opens her arms out, gesturing to the room. "This was his home. And now it's yours."

Damian weighs his responses. Remembers Dick's lessons in diplomacy.

And still chooses the nuclear option: "If you know of the League then you know what it means to be the heir of Ra's Al Ghul. I will not be made into a prisoner and if you attempt to keep me here, you will be sorry."

The boy mouths "the league" to himself, questioningly, but Jazz doesn't so much as flinch.

"I know this is a long to take in," she says, voice dripping with sympathy. "But I promise, it will all make sense, and in time you'll come to adjust. Let's let Damian rest, Tucker."

The boy, Tucker, looks at him now with a troubled gaze, but when Jazz opens the door he reluctantly walks out. Jazz pauses in the doorway.

"Damian," she says, that same far off tone in her voice, her back to him. "Danny used to tell me about the League's code. Hunting down those that threatened its power without ceasing. Ensuring every target was dead. No mission left uncompleted. No failure tolerated."

Jazz looks back at him, a small serene smile on her face. "I'm going to avenge our brother Damian. I'm going to hunt down every last one of them. Without ceasing. Without failure. You have my word."

She cocks her head at him thoughtfully. "Danny loved macadamia nut muffins. I'll pick us up some on my way back. A welcome home present."

She strides out the door. Damian waits to hear a lock turn, but there is nothing but the sound of her fading footsteps. He waits until the noise has fully faded before he attempts to stand, glaring at his legs until they sluggishly begin to respond.

A squeaking noise erupts from the far wall and he watches in disbelief as the suit of armor creakily moves to stand in front of the door. Sufficiently positioned, it ceases all movement once more. However, now Damian can make out the two glowing red dots staring straight through the slits of its helm.

Damian's lip curls up in a wicked snarl that Jason calls feral as it becomes clear the guard is not going to attack but rather...guard. He heads for the window instead and stops short as he gets his first peek of the outside.

The window is not tinted green at all. Instead, for as far as he can see, there is an unnatural, electric green. Blobs of more of the green float and drift through the expanse, as if he is trapped in a lava lamp.

Here, Superman won't be able to hear his heartbeat.

"Where am I?" Damian asks, staring out into the void. This whole time he's been angry, and embarrassed, and annoyed. But for the first time since this ordeal began, he feels afraid.

"Where am I?"

[piedpiperart]

Phantom of Gotham 9

Chapter 8

Jason wasn’t worried. He wasn’t. He was just coming by to drop off some case files and say hi to Alfred. It was just a coincidence that he would check on Danny when he got there. It just so happens that he was also here to drop off some of Danny’s stuff from the Pizzeria. Jason was not getting attached.

Danny had been through a lot the past few days, what with being homeless and dealing with winter only to be snatched by the big bad Red Hood and dropped off at a literal mansion. As a street kid himself, Jason knew the change could be a bit overwhelming and he didn’t want any of his brothers making anything worse. Tim and Damian were not the most helpful, and neither had been on the streets like Danny and Jason. So maybe he was worried and a bit attached to the snarky teen, but he definitely wasn’t staying at the manor longer than he had to. 

Climbing the stairs with a duffel bag of the kids' stuff, he made a beeline for the kitchen to hopefully sneak in some of Alfred’s breakfast platter. Imagine his surprise when he heard voices coming from the kitchen so early in the morning. 

Jason turned the corner to find the usual arrangement of breakfast foods on the counter, but with the demon child sitting petulantly by the counter with Danny on the opposite side, holding a spatula out to him menacingly. 

“It’s supposed to be a giraffe!” Danny exclaimed, exasperated. Jason could see he was in some of Tim's clothes, but more baffling was that he was… making pancakes… in Alfred’s kitchen. 

“This looks nothing like a giraffe, Folson,”Damian scowled at his plate. “You should stop making those and eat before it goes cold.”

“You just don’t appreciate art,”Danny sniffed playfully, turning back to the stove. 

Damian gaped indignantly, about to retort when Jason entered the room. “What’s all this about giraffes?” Jason asked. Danny turned to him, a bit surprised, but elated all the same. 

“Pancake art!” Danny exclaimed, turning to plop something on a plate and pushing it towards the counter. “I helped Alfred with breakfast, he’s going to wake the other people that uh, live here, but he’ll be back soon.”

“I would not call it art,” Damian grumbled. Jason snorted and sat down at the counter next to Damian, passing the duffel bag over the counter to Danny.

“Red Hood dropped off your stuff,”Jason explained when Danny raised an eyebrow at him. The kid perked up and took the bag to rummage through.”I’m Jason by the way, second oldest around here.”

“Ah, thanks for the stuff. I’m Danny,”Danny smiled. He eventually closed the bag and slid it to a corner that would be relatively in disturbed. Jason couldn’t help but wonder where he used to live, or if he had any family. Tim was supposedly doing a background check on the kid last night though, so Jason figured he’d get the information sooner or later. Meanwhile Jason looked at the plate he was handed, only to find what looked like a gingerbread man in pancake form and what was maybe a butterfly. Or a clover. 

Whatever. Jason shrugged, piling other things on his plate. He cut into the human pancake only for something red and squishy to come out of the middle. “What the fuck?” Jason frowned.

Danny looked up from where he was at the stove, confused before looking towards Jason’s plate. “Oh! The human pancake has strawberries inside, so when you cut them up it’s like guts.” Danny informed him.

Damian looked offended, and Jason barked out a laugh. “Why would you do such a thing?” Damian scowled. 

Danny shrugged. “Used to make pancakes with my sister. We got creative,”Danny smirked. “Besides, art is subjective. I can see why you wouldn’t appreciate such a masterpiece.”

“Yeah Damian. You wish you could have a pancake as cool as this.” Jason laughed, taking a bite of the surprisingly good strawberry pancake. He wondered what Bruce would think of the human pancake. Did this count as murder?

“I am not surprised that you came up with something so childish. The one you gave me definitely looks like something a child would do,”Damian stated flatly, busying himself with some eggs.

“I told you it’s a giraffe! Look, it’s got eyes and spots and everything!” Danny complained, gesturing with the spatula. Jason grinned, leaning over to catch a glimpse of the thing, and he could kind of see the resemblance. It looked more like a hippo with chocolate chip spots and a long neck with a head so small the two blueberry eyes barely fit on it. 

“Yep, looks like a giraffe to me,”Jason confirmed, smiling easily at the glare Damian returned. “Still not as cool as the human pancake, or this other one. Butterfly?”

“Exactly! See Damian, even Jason knows art,”Danny proclaimed. Seeing Damian getting worked up over pancake art was pretty funny, but Jason had to admit he was surprised Danny hadn’t been stabbed yet. “But it’s okay, I can teach you my secret pancake art making skills next time. Then we can make them together!”

Jason smirked as Danny’s offer halted the rage in Damian’s eyes. A glint of challenge lit up in the kids eye. “You would not need to teach me anything, I have no doubt I’d be better at it than you and your… giraffe.” Damian scoffed.

Danny pursed his lips, turning mysteriously,”We shall see, young grasshopper. You may have much to learn from master pancakers like me.” He said sagely. 

“Stop that. Pancakers is not a word, idiot, and it can’t be that hard,”Damian frowned. Danny just hummed, and Damian sighed, seemingly given up on entertaining the conversation any longer. “Now stop making your abominations and eat already. There is enough food here and it’s getting cold.”

Danny sighed dramatically. “Alright,”he drawled, but abandoned the pancake station to grab a plate. Jason couldn’t tell what pancake he’d gotten, but it looked like a ghost from where he was sitting. “Hey Damian,”Danny whispered. 

Damian huffed, but turned to Danny sitting next to him and asked in a normal yet exasperated voice,”What?”

“What do ghosts eat?” Danny whispered, and Damian frowned. 

“What are you talking about?” Damian squinted. 

“Boo-berries,”Danny whispered, and  lifted his plate so Damian could see the ghost shaped pancake with blueberries for eyes. The teenager looked on with a satisfied smile as Damian got the joke.

Jason snorted when Damian gave him a flat stare in return. “How old are you?” Damian asked seriously. “I refuse to believe someone so childish is actually attending highschool.”

“Don’t let Dick hear you say that,”Jason smirked. 

“Grayson is worse than Danny,”Damian grunted. Danny blinked at the two of them, out of the loop a bit. “But at least he doesn’t look like a twelve year old in addition.”

“I know I’m short and all but I’m actually 16,” Danny complained. Jason frowned, seeing Danny had only put the single pancake on his plate. Was the kid not hungry? Jason wondered. 

Before Damian could say anything, Tim bounded around the corner, coffee in hand. “Jason, you would not believe what I just found out about- Danny!” Tim cut himself off to exclaim when he caught sight of the teen sitting next to Damian. Tim looked between the three, bewildered. “What uh, what are you doing here?”

“Tim?! Did you get kidnapped too?!” Danny exclaimed with wide eyes. How many people lived in this mansion, he thought incredulously.

“What? No, I um, I live here. What happened?” Tim asked, looking between the three of them. Jason just snorted, so Tim shot him a glare, knowing it was somehow Jason’s fault he was unaware about his friend. 

“Um. Well,”Danny started, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know the vigilante Red Hood? He kinda picked me up and brought me here last night, but I’m only staying until the weather lets up, and then I’ll go back home.”

The three of them frowned at the explanation. “Huh, okay, why would Red Hood kidnap you?” Tim asked, shooting Jason a look. 

“I dunno,” Danny shrugged. “I was fine on my own, but I think he thought I was ‘unprepared for winter’ or something like that.”

“I heard you were camped out in a building with no heat or water, so he brought you here so you wouldn’t freeze to death during the blizzard,”Jason scoffed. Danny shrugged again.

“Same thing,” Danny said, much to Jason’s exasperation. He glanced at Tim, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Sorry, this is probably really weird for you. I’m not staying long, I promise.”

Damian turned his frown on Tim, surprisingly, and Tim scrambled to reassure his friend. “What? No- no you can stay as long as you need to, I don’t mind. And you’re always welcome here.” Tim finished lamely.

“Yes, and I doubt anyone here would let you go back to being homeless when we have so many resources to help you,”Damian added. Danny’s face contorted to one of panic.

“I really don’t need help, promise,”Danny said hurriedly, glancing to his bag of stuff. Jason rolled his eyes at his siblings. They were obviously freaking the kid out. 

“Quiet down,”Jason said. He looked to Danny,”No one’s gonna force you to do anything you don’t wanna do. We just wanna make sure you’re okay, whatever your plan is.”

Danny paused, but nodded after a second. The table was quiet after that, mostly because Jason was glaring at the other two to shut up about it. He didn’t really understand why Damian was so adamant about Danny staying either, but it really wasn’t helping. “So,”Jason started. “Have you had the tour yet?”

“Oh- no,”Danny stammered,”I saw the library though. And a living room? I think?” 

Damian nodded. “He arrived late last night, but had cocoa with Alfred in the living room,”Damian reported. “I am not sure to when you visited the library though.”

Danny’s smile turned sheepish,”I uh, couldn’t sleep so I went to get some water. Ended up at the library and just, read for a while.”

Jason perked up at the mention of books, but didn’t get a chance to ask before Damian pointedly passed some fruit over to Danny. “You know there’s plenty of food. You don’t have to eat so little.”

“Uh, I’m not that hungry,”Danny said nonchalantly, but picked out some fruit anyways, if only to get Damian to stop staring. 

Tim startled at the comment, but soon picked up his own plate, piling food onto it and staring in confusion at the precarious pile of mishshapen pancakes. “Uh, what are these?”

“Pancake art!” Danny chirped, mood sufficiently brightened. Damian on the other hand, frowned at Tim. 

“Alfred and Danny cooked breakfast this morning,”Jason crowed. Tim’s eyes widened in awe when he looked to Danny.

“He let you cook?” Tim asked. Danny nodded, confused at the reaction. “He never lets anyone cook. Except Jason.”

“Really?” Danny asked, looking thoughtful. “It was fun. How come no one else can cook?”

“Because they suck at it,”Jason smirked, dodging the blueberry thrown at him by Damian. “Timbo’s only allowed to touch the coffee machine, but otherwise the rest of the family is banned from Alfred’s kitchen.”

“Cooking is a waste of time when Pennyworth is perfectly capable,”Damian reasoned. 

Danny sighed. “I guess you don’t want to learn the art of pancakes then,”He teased, making Damian freeze.

“I am sure I would be allowed in the kitchen to participate,” Damian stated, albeit hesitantly. 

“I’ll have to come by for breakfast tomorrow then to help judge,” Jason mused. 

“You could join us!” Danny exclaimed, then continued mischievously. “Tim and Damian can be on a team since they suck and we can be on the team of winners.” 

“Wha- that’s not fair,”Tim complained. “Why not split up the good cooks and bad cooks?”

“You saying you can’t beat us?” Jason wiggled an eyebrow challengingly.

“No,”Damian objected at the same time Tim said yes. They traded looks. 

“Alright then, Drake and I will prove to you we are superior at your weird pancake art. Even if Drake is unhelpful, we’ll still make better art than your human pancake.”

“Human what?” Tim asked. Jason snorted, but stabbed one from the pancake plate and plopped it onto Tim’s plate. 

“Try one,”Jason said, and the other two watched in anticipation as Tim warily cut into the pancake. 

“What the fuck?”

Chapter 10