#I know I said only DickJoey this week

[bluejaysandblackbats]

An Oyster's Pearl

Fandom: DC Comics

Summary: Shortly after moving in with Joseph Wilson, Grant Wilson makes friends with a fellow pledge for a fraternity. During this time, Grant grapples with realizations about his childhood trauma, his sexuality, and his relationships with his father and siblings.

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Grant Wilson, Joseph Wilson, Rose Wilson, Dick Grayson, Slade Wilson, William Randolph Wintergreen, Original Character(s)

Relationships: Grant Wilson/Original Character, DickJoey

Additional Tags: University AU, No Capes AU, Angst, Deaf Joseph Wilson, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Grant Wilson has a Sexuality Crisis, Frat Boy Grant Wilson

Chapter Six: Nesting

Ken knocked on my door and woke me up. "Hey, sorry—."

"You can come in," I mumbled as I reached over the side of the bed, looking for a sweatshirt. Ken stepped in and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't wanna put you out... My back's just acting—."

"I can sleep—."

"Your bed's big enough for two... Unless you're uncomfortable with that," Ken suggested. I moved over and dropped my sweater as he climbed in. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, wondering why he'd ask to sleep next to me. "Sorry... Is this weird?"

"No, it's not weird for me," I lied.

"When I was a kid... When my parents were alive, I never slept in my own bed. I'm not gonna lie... I've always been a little afraid of sleeping in new places. It took me two months to be able to sleep in my own bed when my sister took me in," Ken whispered, "I'm talking like I've known you my whole life..."

"I feel like I've known you all of mine," I mumbled as I turned to face my closet. It was weird of me to say it, but I meant it. "Don't worry about it. Go to sleep. I've got a game tomorrow, so you've gotta join me on my run."

Ken made a soft noise, and we both went to sleep. I think he slept better than me because I was up several times that night. I got up for a drink of water and then to pee, and then Joey woke me up with a text asking if I had any binder paper. I climbed out of bed and held my face in my hands. "You okay?" Ken asked.

"Uh-huh... Do you have binder paper? My brother's out," I mumbled. Ken nodded. "He doesn't need it now. Just before we go out for our run."

"It's four-oh-two," Ken mumbled.

I groaned painfully and got up for the last time. "Pommel horse, right?" I asked.

"Pommel horse... Now hit the showers. I'll give Joe the paper," Ken replied. I grabbed my clothes and a towel before walking to the bathroom.

Game day was my favorite day of the week. It was the most intense day of the week, from start to finish. Morning workout, team meeting, hot shower, my morning classes before a second gym run, lunch, warm-ups, the game, a nice contrast bath in the gym, and finally, a nice cool shower at home before dinner. My first shower of the day was always ice cold. I washed my hair and rolled my shoulders back, stretching my back and arms out. My timer went off, and I got dressed for my run. Then, I got started on my protein shake. I lived and died by my game day routine. Joey could set his watch by it. I drank my breakfast and waited for Ken to get ready before handing him his shake and heading out.

Ken quietly took sips of his protein shake. "What's on your mind?" I asked. It wasn't a question I'd usually ask, but I wanted to know if he'd changed his mind about being paired with me.

"Who's Carol?" Ken asked. I shrugged and looked straight forward.

"My ex-girlfriend. She's not—. It wasn't serious," I replied. It was the truth. "Why?"

"You were saying her name in your sleep," Ken replied, "Not moaning it... You were saying it like—."

"I know what I said it like," I interrupted.

"Sorry... Can I ask what you're thinking about?" Ken asked.

I nodded and tried to come off as less defensive. "I know how stupid it might sound, but I love game day. It's the only day of the week where there's just enough pressure—."

"To be great," Ken interrupted. I grinned and nodded.

"Yeah... Exactly," I smiled, "What's pommel horse?"

"It's an art form. You use your arms to support your body while you perform a routine, keeping your legs straight and your feet pointed... If you have time later in the week, I can show you," Ken answered.

I grinned at him. "I'd like that," I replied. Again, I get how that could come off as flirtatious, but I didn't mean it that way. We hit the track, and I managed to beat my mile time. Then we walked to the campus gym together. The gym allowed time for the two of us to talk, and I got to know a little bit about Ken.

"Sorry about last night. If that was weird, I can—."

"It wasn't a problem," I interrupted. I thought once I could get past the initial weirdness of being that close to Ken, I'd be okay with sleeping next to him. Besides, it would only be a week. "You said you've always been afraid of sleeping in new places?"

"Yeah, actually, there's a story behind that," Ken replied as he stood over me at the weight bench. I liked the way he spotted me. I didn't have to tell him what to do. Ken did everything how I wanted him to, and he put my water bottle where I wanted it. "I um—. When I was a kid, I had a traumatic experience at my sleepaway camp where I was attacked with a knife. I still have nightmares about it."

"Reminds me of when my—. When Slade took me on my first survival trip," I replied casually.

"Grant... I feel as if that needs more context," Ken whispered.

"I was five, and he took me on a survivalist trip... That's the cute way of saying he abandoned me in the wilderness and forced me to fend for myself for thirty-six hours. He um—. He decided it'd be a good idea to pretend he was hunting me the whole time, and he graded me on how well I avoided his attempts on my life," I answered. Ken put the weight back on the rack, and I turned to look at him. He was pale. "You okay?"

"This guy? Slade... Is he your father?" Ken asked. I nodded. "Jeez. I'm sorry, Grant."

"It's okay," I replied as we switched places at the weight bench. "What were your parents like?"

"My parents were great. They were a little off the wall, but they were good people. They never made me feel like an outsider... And they taught me to speak my mind. They did a pretty great job with my sister, too," Ken replied, "I was closer to my mom, though. Culturally speaking, I felt like I related to her more. I almost changed my name because of it, but my sister would kill me if I did that. She wanted me to have an American name like Dad... Easy for her to say. She got a cool name. My name is literally Kenneth Benjamin Fowler."

"What's your sister's name?" I asked.

"Fang Lai Fowler, which is funny because it's the name my father insisted on. My mom wanted to name her Lia," Ken replied, "I would've changed my name to Lixin as an homage to the name Fang would've had and to our grandfather, who had the same name." I softened.

"If you want, that's what I'll call you," I offered. It grew silent between us, and I felt like I might have said something wrong.

"You would call me Lixin? Even though no one else calls me Lixin?" Ken questioned.

"Yeah. That's what friends are for. Right? Besides, it'll be like my nickname for you. If that's what you want," I offered a second time.

"Cool, I'd like that," Lixin grinned. He walked me to the team meeting, and I told him the plan for the rest of the day.

I took a shower at the gym, and Lixin joined me. He stood under the showerhead next to mine, which I thought was weird, but I didn't mind. He had a muscular build, and his lower body was just as strong. I'd glanced at him too long. I caught myself noticing other things. I blushed and turned my head forward to face the tile wall in front of me. "Hey, Grant? You got any extra conditioner in that bottle?" Lixin asked. I nodded and squeezed a generous amount into his hand. I couldn't risk turning his way because I didn't want to end up staring at him again.

After my shower, we walked to class together, but I couldn't get the image of him out of my mind. "You okay?" Lixin questioned. I nodded. "Pre-game silence?"

"Oh no, sorry. I was thinking about something stupid... Wanna grab lunch after your second class?" I asked. Lixin nodded.

"Not like I've got a choice," he joked. I shook my head and laughed before going to class.

[neonphoenix]

When Dick Grayson originally bought his apartment in Bludhaven, he had exactly two pieces of furniture: a couch and a coffee table. He owned one bowl, a coffee mug, a disposable fork, spoon, and knife that he made reusable, and a pan. He also owned a coffee maker and all of his vigilante gear, but those were in the “Super-secret hidden room in the back that No One will ever find.” Eventually he caved and bought a larger spatula/wooden stir spoon so that he could cook things without melting his only utensils. 

He led a remarkably minimalist life. Until Jason, that is.

Jason showed up out of the blue on his doorstep one day and forced himself in, all sharp elbows and opinionated observations about the sparseness of the interior. Once he started spending more time there, Dick invested in a second set of dishware and cutlery. The mug and bowl were ones he specifically picked out for Jason at a yard sale, both the same garish red as his hoodie.

When Dick complained about Jason’s habit of abandoning his shoes and hoodies in the middle of the living room, he cited the lack of place to put them. So Dick bought a hallway tree for the entryway. Also because of Jason, who kept abandoning books at Dick’s apartment, presumably in an effort to make him read more, “Sensible literature,” Dick acquired a small, two shelf bookcase. When Jason died, Dick put his mug and bowl and various photographs into the bookcase, before moving it to a storage unit with some of his parents’ old things.

When Tim popped into existence in his life, Dick found him a mug and bowl of his own, just like with Jason. These were a less garish red on the inside, and black on the bottom. More tasteful pottery seemed to fit Tim better, so Dick put a bit more time into finding it. With Tim came a game console and monitor, with the coffee table being repurposed as a tv stand.

Tim made him get a proper dining table with, “At least two chairs because you should be able to have guests over in a proper manner.” Alfred said something similar, and pointedly gifted him a tea seat to go along with it. Neither of the chairs matched the table or each other, but Dick liked it better that way.

When he heard about Spoiler from Tim, he made a prediction and bought a mug and bowl, specifically glazed in her trademarked eggplant.

Cass showed up, and at first she was strange, but Dick was used to strange. She left brightly colored post-its with doodles all over the place when she visited, but he rarely saw her, at least for a while.

And then Jason was back, and Dick thought about the storage locker, but never got around to collecting his things. Then Tim wasn’t Robin anymore, and his apartment got blown up, and Blockbuster, and the rooftop... And then Stephanie was dead and he hadn’t even known her.

It was strange, to mourn someone he’d never known.

He got a new apartment, and replaced everything that had been in his old one. He bought a proper bed this time. His back was only so forgiving, after all. And then he tracked down another eggplant plate and bowl, and put them in the storage locker.

Barbara sent him a plushie of herself in a wheelchair, and he laughed and set it on his microwave. He reminded himself to find some green dishware for her.

A month or so after one of Clark’s visits, he received a black and blue quilt from Ma Kent, and a reminder that he was always welcome at her farm. He pinned the reminder to the fridge, next to the post-its from Cass. He wasn’t sure what their relationship was, she still didn’t stop by for long periods of time. Then one day, he was at an art fair, and he found a black kintsugi mug and bowl that reminded him of her costume.

After they appeared in his cupboards, she began staying longer. He took her to the Nutcracker, and taught her how to fly, the same way his parents taught him. In turn, she left him more post-its. There was an entire wall in his living room covered by them.

Damian arrived and Bruce died, and everything fell apart. Stephanie came back, and Dick got to meet her this time. But Cass was in Hong Kong, and Tim was who knows where, and Dick didn’t know how to fix it, and he was worried that he had lost any hope of rebuilding things with Jason, and Damian was just so young. Too young. 

Dick tried his best.

He got Damian a mug that bore a hand painted robin. When Dick first offered it to him, he turned his nose up and huffed about it. Dick shrugged and put it in the cupboard. He wasn’t living in his apartment anymore, and he had moved most of his things to the locker. It seemed strange to buy Damian a bowl when Alfred served them their meals on matched sets daily.

But eventually Bruce came back, and Dick moved back into his apartment. He got his stuff out of storage, and this time, Jason’s bookshelf came with him.

The second time Duke came to his apartment, it was with a box of silverware from goodwill. Dick snorted and put it in his drawer. The Titans, Donna being the driving force, had gifted him a box of photos and picture frames. He put his favorite ones on the wall next to one of Damian’s paintings.

Harper showed up one day asking if she could use his apartment, “For science.” Dick figured, why not, and came back to one of the most intricately rigged lighting systems he had ever seen.

Cullen built a shoe rack in his woodworking class, and it took up residency by the fire escape window, along with a mat because people Would Not stop Dripping.

Stephanie’s lip gloss and nail polish began to take residence under his bathroom sink, and she donated her old waffle maker to his kitchen after Barbara got her an upgraded one.

Eventually he got used to new things appearing whenever his siblings decided his living space had a deficit. They treated it like a safe haven of sorts, somewhere they could go to get away from Gotham without leaving familiar territory.

He did have to put his foot down about the industrial soft serve machine. That was a batcave-only type of utility.

It started with Jason showing up on his doorstep, barely five foot and 100 pounds soaking wet. Now, he climbed in through the window, a mountain of a man, and sat down at the table across from Dick, holding his red mug.

Dick’s apartment had once been the sparsest thing known to man, but now each member of his family had a mug and a bowl in his cabinet. He even had a spare set for guests. 

He never did get more than two dining chairs.

And Jason still couldn’t put his shoes in the cabinet, because he was a massive Jerk that liked to make his brother’s life harder.

Author Notes:

My personal headcanon is that Dick doesn’t buy things unless he needs them or they have sentimental value. So he’s not against having stuff per say, he just doesn’t feel a need to get it. 

I feel like this could be interpreted as glorifying materialism and maybe I’ve just been on Tumblr to long, but that’s not what I’m going for. 

Also I thought about including all of the Titans but that was a lot and I didn’t have time for it

Please feel free to add more to this? I love seeing other people’s thoughts. 

But don’t feel pressured.